This week has flown by. Going to see my Mom and getting serious again about job applications have distracted me from blogging. I’ve been to three luncheons in the past week. That’s a higher than usual number of meals eaten in restaurants. Each presented it’s own BTD challenges.

Last Wednesday I attended the Tea Party across from the Courthouse in our county. After the Tea Party, two friends and I went out to lunch. We chose a local restaurant that I have passed many times, but never tried. They had a plate lunch that comes with a vegetable and a salad. It sounded perfect until I asked what the vegetable of the day was. “Corn,” said the server. I was not going to get into an argument, but corn is not a vegetable!!! I abandoned the idea of meat and vegetables, and ordered an omelet. I have been intrigued by a line in one of the GenoType daily e-mails that said regarding Hunters, “To help heal and regenerate your digestive tract, aim to eat seven to nine eggs a week.” This omelet contained NO bacon, sausage or ham. Instead it was loaded with beneficial vegetables. It was a good and filling choice.

Friday I returned to my hometown to visit my Mom. The trip was scheduled to coincide with the funeral of the father of my best friend from elementary and high school. After the service, the family invited me to join them for lunch Chili’s. I like eating there, because they are quite agreeable to serving me a hamburger with broccoli instead of fries, and they are very generous in their broccoli portions. The topic of conversation for most of the meal was dieting. My friend and her husband are on a variation of the Atkins diet that has them only drinking Atkins shakes. A cousin has recently had stomach-stapling surgery. She ate about 1/3 of her meal, and took the rest home in a to go box. An aunt is thinking of paying high dollar for a doctor-monitored program. I said I was had been on the Blood Type Diet since 2003. None of them had heard of it, and the level of interest varied. My friend is Type O. She was relieved that the low carb approach of Atkins was heading in the right direction. The cousin specifically chose stomach stapling because she did not want to ever be on another low carb diet. The aunt seemed to think that paying a high price and having a doctor’s input would motivate her. It illustrated to me the confusion of people who are confronted with so many contradictory diets, but no one blinked an eye when I dumped my hamburger out of the bun and left it behind.

Today I attended a ladies’ luncheon in the town where I live. I realize that I may need to do a little networking, and develop some stronger ties here, in order to find a job. I met some delightful women; some of whom I hope will become friends. The menu was fajitas. I knew I could make a meal out of the meat and lettuce. However they also served green beans! I don’t usually associate green beans with Tex-Mex food, but I was certainly glad to see them. They were well seasoned, though I couldn’t quite identify what the seasoning was. We did not talk about dieting, but as I looked around the table, I noticed that I was not the only one who said “No” to tortillas.

After three luncheons so close together, I’m ready to eat food from my own kitchen for a while.