OK ... this is gonna suck

I knew this was going to be hard, but man-oh-man ... The first meal? Right out of the gate?

Cripes.

Woke up this morning, the first of my week of vegetarianism, moved like a zombie out to the kitchen for coffee and breakfast and opened the fridge to grab a bite.

Mmmmm ... what looks good? Leftover stuffed French toast? Yum. Couple of sausage links on the side? Not too shabby!

Then it hits me.

"Blast!" I exclaim. "I'm supposed to be a vegetarian this week!"

My trusty beagle, Henry, sensed an opportunity coming. He padded over to me and peered up at his sad master holding a baggie with two sad sausage links. He perked his ears up, made his best "I'm hungry!" face and started to lick his chops.

What could I do? Did I really want to fail on the very first meal of my now-public foray into veggie world?

No. Of course not.

The first link I tore into two pieces. As I did, the grease from the fat inside felt slippery and delicious on my fingers. The smell of pork and maple syrup (these were Johnsonville maple syrup-flavored sausage links, folks) mixed in the air, a fragrant reminder of what I wouldn't be eating on this day, or any other day this week. Each half I gave to the beagle, who neither chewed nor tasted the savoriness; he just swallowed.

For the second link, I didn't want to torture myself any more than I had to. I let it simply fall from my hand into the waiting maw of Henry, the beagle who is suddenly very, very happy that I've chosen to forego meat for a while.

I got by with just the French toast. I wasn't happy about it. In the end I was oddly satisfied that I'd had plenty to eat without the extra 30 grams of fat.

But man-oh-man ... This is gonna be a long week.