1. Is this my first Thursday Things in a month? Yes, I believe it is. I have a surprisingly small amount to report, even though on my end it feels like a lot of things are going on. I guess I’m still waiting to see how those things end up panning out!

First off, I’m sure you’ll all be pleased to know I’ve been eating pretty well, at least over the past week or so.

It’s not until I compile all these pictures that I realize how many greens I’ve consumed. Good job, self!

This is mainly on account of our CSA box FINALLY arriving last week. After much drama surrounding our impossible front gate and the delivery man’s inability to get past the finicky latch, we at last received our box and are still steadily munching on it. I can neither confirm nor deny that I ate our entire head of broccoli in one day.

2. My Irlen glasses finally came! They are a very tasteful shade of lavender and I am absolutely in love with them. It took me a few days to get the hang of wearing glasses, but they make me feel so much better that now I can’t imagine being without them.

3. In case you haven’t seen it already, I started up a new Tumblr devoted to Mel, her cuteness, and gratuitous pictures of said cuteness. That’s right, every obsessive Instagram I’ve ever taken of Mel can now be found at gratuitouspicturesofmel.tumblr.com with daily updates. Go gaze upon the cuteness — you owe it to yourself!

4. As of today, I’ve been vegan for 3 months, wheat-free for almost 10 weeks, and soy-free for 9. And, somehow, it has indeed gotten gradually less torturous as I’ve gone along. Although I still have nightmares about eating the wrong things, like a bacon-wrapped chicken breast on a bed of breaded mozzarella sticks.

No joke. Actual dream.

I spent most of today working on a non-food-or-blog-related project that involved a lot of intent staring and fine motor skills.

Consequently, I am forgoing this week’s Thursday Things in favor of sleep.

In the meantime, enjoy this Instagram photoessay:

1. It’s taking me a bit of effort to scrape together a Thursday Things this week, not because it’s been boring around here, but more because I’m just so exhausted! I haven’t been feeling so great these past few days, but for now I’m just attributing it to a combination of wheat withdrawal, PMS, and the miniature heat wave rolling through the valley right now. I don’t want to self-fulfill any prophecy by claiming I’ve caught a bug!

2. As I’m sure you all gathered, Andy had a birthday this week. We’re not much for partying, but we did go out to dinner, and we’ve been receiving goodie packages from family (oddly enough, only from my side) on and off throughout the week.

3. Another fun birthday treat was our first-ever trip to Kindkreme in Pasadena! I had been wanting to go for a while, so I managed to (sort of) convince Andy that she had been wanting to go for a while too. I got both coconut ice cream (one of about three flavors that didn’t contain either caffeine or honey – sadface!) and their new coconut softserve, which was to DIE for. It’s a bit pricey and out of the way, but hopefully I can find an excuse to go back soon.

4. So you know how I’m slowly discovering that I’m intolerant/allergic/sensitive to everything? Well, you can add soy to that list. Only a few days after going completely vegan, I noticed that many of my caffeine allergy symptoms had returned — breakouts, eczema, cystic acne, etc. — so, naturally, I figured I had somehow managed to ingest a bit of caffeine. This is quite a feat, as I am VERY careful about avoiding it, but all I could think is that some sort of cross-contamination had occurred with my herbal tea or carob chips.

When cutting those out STILL didn’t help, I resorted to Google. Apparently, it’s very common for new vegans to have these symptoms as a result of a theretofore undiagnosed soy allergy. It made sense, because I had been eating tofu and soy yogurt like a fiend. I’ve been soy-free for several days now, and my skin has gone completely back to normal.

5. Other than the soy fiasco, the vegan thing has been working out well. I’m still experiencing withdrawal from going gluten-free, and cutting out soy hasn’t helped. The most notable symptoms include, but are not limited to, fatigue, insomnia, nausea, stomachache, occasional acid reflux, decreased appetite, and an overall feeling of malaise. I’ll be glad when this storm blows over and I FINALLY get that vegan burst of energy I keep reading about. I’m sick and tired of feeling sick and tired!

And yes, I do take a B12 supplement :/

6. Besides Kindkreme, I also made my maiden voyage to Babycakes this week along with my friend Karina who just moved out here. I like that they’re vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free. She likes that they’re nut-free. Everybody wins!

And yes, we did put away 2 donuts, a slice of cranberry bread, and a cinnamon/fig roll the size of a grapefruit all by ourselves. Don’t judge!

7. I recently discovered Pinstrosity. It’s like Regretsy, but for Pinterest. If you don’t know what Regretsy is, I can’t explain it. Just go look, and enjoy!

8. Here is a picture of Mel, to end this on an entertaining note. This is what I do to keep her from barking at people outside.