where did the rainbows and butterflies go?

My perseverance is being tested. Week one was surprisingly easy. Not only did I not have any issues sticking to my diet, but my head pain was the lowest it had been in months. I only had to take a major abortive one day out of the seven. Life was great rolling into week two. Then...my migraines decided to return home from their mini-vacation. Day after day, I was experiencing major head pain, and I had to take a major abortive almost every day. This, of course, made following a strict vegan diet slightly more difficult, but I was still managing surprisingly well.

Life wasn't so great rolling into week three. The daily onslaught of migraines continued day after day. I seemed to finally get a break yesterday (Although, I'm now fighting a cold instead.). I'm not sure what caused the week and a half long continuous migraine. I imagine it's probably my body's response to being taken off of a couple of medications. With that in mind, I do believe the diet is still helping, significantly, actually, even though it may not seem that way.

Although, I'll admit, it has gotten more difficult to stick to since week three began. There have even been a couple of times during this past week where I imagined myself doing a face dive into an extra-large cheese pizza. These cravings have been even more difficult to control because my pain levels have been so high, but so far, I haven't ate any animal products (purposefully) since January 31st. I say, purposefully, because I ordered Chinese the other weekend, and I ate the fortune cookie at the end of my meal without even thinking about it, and as it turns out, fortune cookies are made with eggs...whoops! But I promise you, it was completely innocent.

Even most of my eating-out-experiences have been easily navigated. On Friday night, my boyfriend, Aaron, and I went to a local Mexican chain with some friends for drinks and dinner. I ordered the mushroom fajitas, hold the cheese and sour cream, and substituted black beans for the refried, and everything was absolutely delicious. I didn't feel deprived at all. However, the next day at brunch, I wasn't quite so lucky. For those of you who don't know, brunch with bottomless mimosas or Bloody Mary's is big in DC. My girlfriend had been trying to get me and Aaron to go out to brunch with her and her husband for a few weeks now so I finally agreed. She picked the spot with a three-course brunch that she had been wanting to try for awhile and even called the restaurant to make sure that they could accommodate my dietary needs. After reviewing the shortened brunch menu, it was apparent they didn't offer any vegan dishes so I ordered a salad without cheese for my appetizer and a fruit plate for dessert, and as for my main meal, I told them to just make me something vegan. My salad was delicious, and I was hungry and excited to see what my main course was going to be. That is, until it was brought out and I was given a plate of stemmed vegetables. Really, stemmed vegetables?! That's the best you could do?! Everyone else had chicken and waffles or  eggs and bacon, and here I am with stemmed carrots, broccoli, asparagus  and a couple of cherry tomatoes. Everyone at the table felt terrible for me, and I was immediately embarrassed so I asked our waiter to at least bring me some potatoes too. If I hadn't been slightly drunk from my bottomless mimosa, I probably would have been more upset, but at least I wasn't thirsty. This was the first time I felt like an outcast for being vegan, and unfortunately, I'm sure it won't be my last, but overall, it's mostly been good experiences. Next time, I'll just have to be much more specific when I order, which I certainly will be.

You live and you learn...