Can You Pronounce Everything in this Soup?

Today was one of my final days of internship and my wonderful coworkers took me out to lunch to celebrate. We set the date and then I went and did some research on the restaurant we were going to. Eating out and following food rules is difficult, which is why I have just been straight up avoiding it. This has made my mouth water at times when i go watch my friends eat restaurant-made meals. But gee-golly-whiz my pocketbook has been more than happy with my new lifestyle change! When I allow myself $300 for recreational activities per month and I spend exactly ZERO it can't really be beat....just saying that Starbucks, I love you, but you kill my wallet and my waistline. SO, I was proud of myself for doing the necessary research to ensure that I could eat and follow my food rule.

I decided on a salad but was concerned about the dressing. What if they had some weird preservatives in the dressing, as many do, that a third-grader could not pronounce? Was it a risk worth taking? I decided to play it safe and ask for oil and balsamic vinegar on the side. I was SET. Sadly, the unexpected occurred, as it often does when you are least expecting! The salad came with a soup. The waiter set a bowl of minestrone soup in front of me. I thought about sending it back. I thought about offering it to my coworkers. I thought about just letting it sit there and not touching it. I even thought about calling the waiter over and asking her if she could easily pronounce all the ingredients in the soup (Can you imagine?!?! Because I did and if I was a waiter and someone asked me that question the soup would end up on their face, or I would at least imagine it as such!). No, I was not brave. I did not want to make a scene. I ate the soup. I'm not sure what was in the soup. I may have broken the rule. I might never know. But, I think what counts is that I tried. AND, I had a fun lunch and ending to a rocky up and down and all around internship!

In happier news, Adele (our cute little 1st grader, almost 2nd grader, but has the mad reading skills of a 3rd grader) can pronounce Sulfates!!!!!!!!! HIGH FIVE ADELE! I don't think Adele knows why Ryan and I have taken recent enthusiasm in her reading ability, but I think she likes it. What other random adults get beyond excited when she can successfully read all the ingredients on a food label??? I mean, we jump up and down, high-five and I think I even started screaming when I heard the crystal clear "sulfates" come out of her mouth. Thank you Adele for being such a food reading label genius! I think I shall celebrate your reading ability by drinking a glass of wine!