It's official. I AM STRUGGLING! The weekends have been absolutely awful with temptation, but I am back on a Monday and hopefully in safe territory. Let's recap the horrors:

Last weekend I went to my family reunion at my grandparents and this was awaiting me (Not the adorable cousin, the pile of pig). My mouth legit watered but I settled for bread in bbq sauce instead. NOT THE SAME. I even had to lie to my grandpa and tell him I had a rib when he wasn't looking. I just wasn't feeling strong enough to tell the truth?

Before I launch into this past weekend, let me just say that my parents are completely supportive of this little "phase" of mine! My mom is reluctantly reading my vegetarian bible, and my dad is more than happy to steal the pepperoni off my salad. My little brother on the other hand, ya you'll see.

ANYWAYS, this past Thursday I eventually made it back to the suburbs after a bit of a rough start. (On my way into the city, I legit had to get off one bus I was so sick (4th of July FTW), only to catch a bus that took me to Southside without me realizing. With no other options, I decided to walk across Birmingham Bridge - not pedestrian friendly- to wait for a bus in the Hill district. On top of that, I had an hour long trolley ride followed by a 30 minute drive to my grandparents where I was forced to pull it together. Thank you God for my brother who bought me a gigantic Gatorade when I told him I had to bounce off a bus, and my grandparents for their potato pancake recipe!) Despite the rough start, Thursday wasn't killer and I got to make my zucchini pasta for my parents! I also carried a heirloom tomato from my share on my journey home, so we got to all share an epic first tomato of the season!

Friday, I spent about 10 hours shadowing in a Suboxone clinic. Not really vegetarian/green so not a blog topic, but absolutely magical and a medical revolution, I tell ya! My dad and I plan on writing an article for the paper, so if and when that happens I'll def post a link!

Saturday, on the other hand, was THE WORST! My little brother (who is not so little) left this weekend for a 6 month food and beverage internship at the Ritz Carlton in Doha, Qatar, so he got to choose all his meals for his last day. With a smirk on his face, he announced for breakfast that he just wanted an entire pack of bacon, fried with onions. Yea this might have been legit as he will be pressed to find any pork in that part of the world, but really NOTHING SMELLS THAT GOOD EVER! There we sat watching an ANTM marathon (perhaps that's why he was so cruel) as the smell of bacon and fried onions wafted in from the kitchen. That was the closest I have come to caving yet!

To get me out of the house (at this point I think I may have been cranky), my mom and I go to Giant Eagle, where OF COURSE they are having their annual burger bash! What other day would they possibly have it?!?! The old lady at the front door proudly listed off all the samples of burgers they were handing out as I snuck by with no eye contact. The only burger I was able to eat was some old man's creation of gelato inbetween two nilla wafers thereby appearing like a burger, with a side of potato straws and strawberry jam. I give him an A+ for imagination, or maybe a C for not telling me that the potatoes and jam were just for looks, but it regardless it didn't cut it.

I'll save my complete dinner for another post, but it would not be spoiling the ending to say that, of course, my brother chose steak for dinner. My mom, feeling sympathetic, bought me salmon which was just as delicious I'm sure!

Sad salmon.

Awful, just awful. I thought that the Sunday departure of my meat-eating brother would have eased the tension a little bit, but what do you do after dropping someone off at the airport but cruise some IKEA?! IKEA is basically the coolest place ever, and a great place to bring a boyfriend as it brings out everyone's true colors. Stay on the path or go directly to what you're looking for? This is apparently a deal breaker. Anyways, I love IKEA even though they discontinued french presses, but what I love even more are their Swedish Meatballs! INCREDIBLE!!! Obvs at this point you should know that my family doesn't change their ways on my behalf, and I had to sit across from my mother as she devoured her plate full. I got a taste of her gravy, mashed potatoes, and ligonberries, but still a slap in the face ending to a rough weekend! I am happy to be back in Oakland and am anxiously awaiting my share on Wednesday :) It's officially the highlight of my week!!

PS: I feel like I complained a lot, so here is a cute picture of my evil brother and adorable cousin to put that smile back on all our faces!

Ain't no thang.