The thing that I'm the most excited about is finding a new guy (I know I'm in beast mode/training mode, but I have to have a life too, you know?!) It's been a very interesting journey with him already. It started out so innocently: it was the Sunday I was wearing the "powered by beets" shirt, and I walked right by a cutie on the bike, locked eyes with him, and filled my water for the fifth or so time. I was drenched and couldn't wait to be home, but not before letting him know that he was a total cutie. One of my pet peeves is when you compliment a man in the gym and he immediately snaps, "I'm married." Hey buddy, that's great, but all I was saying is that I appreciate the hard work you've been doing, not trying to wreck your home. For this guy, I opened with, "I don't care if you're single or not, but I just wanted to tell you that you are cute." He chuckled and said, "You're cute, too." We shook hands and traded names (Eric and Erin, how convenient), and I put his number in my phone.
That wasn't even two weeks ago, and it seems that we are both intrigued and smitten :)
He is such a novelty to me because I've almost only online dated for the last few years, and it's different to meet a person "in real life." I didn't know his age, job, interests, or even height (he as on the bike the whole time), and it was up to me to figure him out at my own pace. I didn't even see him until the following (last) Saturday, when we decided our first date should be a daytrip to the Biltmore - he'd never been! I asked if he was going to hit the gym with me before we headed out, and that's when he revealed...
His 28-year-old body has been plagued by rheumatoid arthritis for about a year :( He met me at the bottom of my stairs and limped his way up. His main trouble spots are feet, ankles and thumbs. He's just taller than me (I'm 5'4.25", but he didn't realize my saying, "Wow, you're shorter than I thought" was a HUGE compliment. It's obvious to outsiders that he has some type of problem based on his limping, but we were able to do everything we wanted that day. Even my feet hurt after that much walking, so I had to give him major credit. The most endearing part was the conversation at dinner about if I was cool with dating a person with RA. I was flattered that he wanted my opinion, and my answer required no thought: "It wouldn't change how I feel." I then explained that because I've had so many people have a "problem" with my lifestyle, I'd be a hypocrite for not wanting to take a chance with him. He was also brave enough to share this delicious meal with me at Rosetta's Kitchen - pulled Portobello BBQ, vegan chili, coconut curry over rice, and sweet potato fries:
We also shared an excellent goodnight kiss; the kind that makes you feel a little wobbly and fluttery and a lot excited about the future...
I couldn't wait to see him again, so he met me in the gym (Easter Sunday) right when it opened at noon. I expected him to be in a lot of pain, but he was walking just fine in ankle supports. He was practically glowing (I call it an "Erin high," ha) and was just so adorable that I had to give him a peck right when he came up to me (also a plus, because one of my "biggest fans" was close by.) He was wearing ankle supports that allowed him to walk in a way that made me forget he was limping the day before. He’s not quite ready for the two-hour sessions I do on the weekends, but I enjoyed having someone to occasionally glance over at and smile to while he was there. I had an amazing workout, and then I decided I couldn't wait a week to see him again. A few hours later, but a couple hours before my parents came for my week trip, I went to his place, which is a convenient 2.8 miles away.
My anxiety over the vacation had been building for probably a week, so I wore myself out with prepping food in advance. I came up with the most amazing breakfast tofu scramble, and it will probably become a breakfast staple:
I forgot to pack the tahini that Mom brought, but I also whipped up my first beet hummus – pretty good, but I’m sure the tahini was the key:
I was excited about some of the food options that I found for Williamsburg, and we decided on the restaurant Food for Thought for our first night. I’m glad we did, because the menu was more veggie-friendly than the pamphlet I viewed while we checked into the Wyndham condo. I was able to substitute two vegan chik’n breasts for regular ones and get them Jamaican jerk and cilantro lime style with veggies, and Mom got a humongous stuffed acorn squash. Yum:
The next night we had more vegan pizza, which we also had the night my parents came into town. Sunday night was Brixx Wood Fired pizza, which was a veggie mix including artichoke and soy cheese on whole wheat crust. Tuesday night was a buy one, get one for $5 extra large pizza deal at Z Pizza, and Mom and I shared a Berkeley Vegan with faux sausage, zucchini, other veggies and soy cheese on whole wheat crust. Mom even admitted that my pizza was better than Dad’s American, which included ham and sausage. I had to make a “sacrifice” that I hated by tossing the crusts (outside so the animals could get them, and we saw a crow the next day with a huge crust hanging from its beak), but I made up for it with a delicious side of baked kale with sliced almonds and nutritional yeast:
I was incredibly pleased with the fitness center and the amount of traffic in it. I almost didn’t get to do cardio a couple times, but I practically had free reign over the weights. I used nice Life Fitness equipment that I had used once before in Gainesville, GA, and it’s the kind that uses a row of buttons that you push in for resistance. I think it uses more of a resistance band system than weight plates, and it’s smooth and user friendly. It also almost wasn’t a match for me! The levels went from 1-12, and I “maxed out” the lat pulldown, overhead press, chest press and preacher curl. Booyah! I got to have an encouraging private body image moment with myself on Friday morning. I was the first person in, and I was wearing a spaghetti strap racerback top with built-in shelf bra, so most of my upper back was visible. I looked SHREDDED in the mirrors that were arranged so I could view my lats. I hadn’t seen my back like that in a while, and it was just the motivation that I needed. I know that I could have eaten a lot better this week, and I’m starting to feel a little heavy…
I navigated through other obstacles as a vegan but came out as a winner! Mom allowed me to stock her purse with Good ‘N Natural bars while we toured Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens, but I also found a salad and vegan chili at a burger place called Retro’s in Williamsburg:
and a vegetarian combo of cabbage, baked potato and salad at Busch Gardens:
The ultimate meal was at The Yardhouse in Virginia Beach. We had a great time checking out the beach and the boardwalk, and we made it there about 5:30, while happy hour prices were still good. Check out this part of the menu!
And the spread of food: vegan jerk chicken nuggets, tofu mushroom lettuce wraps, vegan orange peel chicken and vegan BBQ chicken salad. One of the best restaurant meals I’ve had in a long time, probably since Valentine’s Day’s romantic vegan four-course event.
We’re heading home today, and I’m very very ready to be in complete control of my diet and exercise again. Mom tortured me by buying clearance Easter candy that I couldn’t eat and having bread products and stuff that I try to avoid most of the time. I’m proud of the work I put into the fitness center, but now I have a better understanding of how temptation can bring even the strongest person to her knees…
I’m equally excited about seeing Eric tonight and introducing him to my parents (which doesn’t happen much, that’s for sure) over dinner at Swad, an entirely meatless Indian restaurant that was recommended by a reporter from The Greenville News. I found her on Twitter, answered some interview questions and will be getting my picture taken this week to be featured in a story. Score one for the V Team!
Tomorrow will include a workout and Spinning with Eric, a performance by the Acrocats kitties and the Asheville Aerial Arts team in Asheville and probably a delicious vegan meal up there My morning time will consist of trying to unpack and prep for my week as well as trying to establish some sort of normalcy. How could I forget, I’m most excited to pick up my baby Jezabel – a miss her A LOT after a week!
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