The One that's All Better

First of all, you should check out my latest addition to the recipe blog:  Southwest Chicken/Chili.

I just got back from Cafe Classics --a great little coffee house/diner in "downtown" Monroe.  Not only was my peanut butter cup latte glorious, but the fellowship I had with an SAU friend, Amanda was even better!  I met her in choir my senior year and really only knew her for the first semester as she left choir after that.  She just recently posted on my facebook wall that she too lived in Monroe and, in fact, drives by my house every day on her way to the college down the road!  How cool is that!?  So we set up a coffee date for this afternoon and I'm so glad we did!  Though we didn't know each other very well at SAU, it was great to connect with a friend--a girl my age--someone who's super easy to talk to--and to know that she's a couple miles away!  *happy*  

Also, I think the laughter & conversation were good medicine for the way I was starting to feel this morning--achy stomach, achy head, sore throat, sore all over--all bad signs.  But at the moment, I'm doing pretty well.  I hope it doesn't come back with a vengeance. 

The One with the Day

today I...

...had an orange strawberry smoothie.

...made homemade tortillas and they turned out wonderfully.  (That is going to be a great substitute for crackers and bread when I need a carb base for toppings of various kinds.)

...fell in love with refried beans all over again (these were even fat free!).

...fit all of our laundry into one load.

...rearranged two of our cupboards that were mis-matched in their contents.

...turned the heat down 2 more degrees (Now it's at 63).

...finished reading book four--Breaking Dawn--of the Twilight series.  (I read these books as a means of connecting with many of my youth who seem to have been swept away by them.  The first 3 books were a little slow in developing for my taste, but they had enough intrigue to keep me reading.  I'm glad I did because BD wiped the floor with books 1-3.  So yeah, I read 2,560 pages in the last few weeks.  That's a pretty big deal for me.  I love to read, but that's alot of pages. :D) 

...stayed in super comfy clothes all day long (sweat pants. zip up hoodie.  And I would never inform you of the fact that they happen to be the same color.  Nope.  Because then I would be admitting that I look like some one in one of those matching sweatsuits from the 80s. And I don't.) 

...missed (and am missing) the peanut butter to my jelly (Translation for those of you who think I am just obsessed with peanut butter--which I most certainly am not [YEAH RIGHT!  It's not like I have a stockpile in a cupboard designated at "the peanut butter cupboard"]:  Kevin's Mondays mean he's gone from 7am-10pm and I miss him.) 

The One with the Pop Quiz

What a wonderful day this has been.  (That reminds me of a song I once learned.  "What a day this has been.  What a rare mood I'm in.  Why it's almost like being in love.  There's a smile on my face for the whole human race.  Well it's almost like being in love.   All the music of life seems to be like a bell that is ringing for me.  And from the way that I feel when that bell starts to peel I would swear I was falling, I could swear I was falling, it's almost like being in love."  Anyone know where that's from?  Listen here if you're interested.)

It started out 52 degrees and rainy now it's 34 degrees and cloudy.  I had a great workout, was able to style my hair awesomely (don't knock my word formations), organized the bathroom shelves, booked a great hotel at a great price for our upcoming youth conference, made a delicious and nutritious strawberry-banana smoothie for lunch, read more of the suprisingly intriguing Breaking Dawn book in peace and quiet, and realized I haven't had a headache all week (we're thinking it's because severe headaches can be a side affect of Celiac and I've been nearly gluten free since last Thursday).  Not bad, eh?  

Oh, and for those of you who would never take the time to listen to the link above or could never come up with the source of the song without google help, it's "Almost Like Being in Love" from the 1950s musical Brigadoon.  I was in my high school's production of this great show in 2001. 

The One with the Cakes

My apologies for my lack of postage (not the of stamp genre...) I guess I have been distracted with reading other intriguing blogs, facebooking, researching Celiac, orchestrating multiple events for youth group, baking cakes and other delicacies I can no longer eat (for more info click here), and spending lots of qt with my groom.  

On the diseased insides front.  I have an appt with the GI in a couple weeks and until then I am to stay off of "bread products" according my general doctor.  He gave no specific information on the Celiac diet so if I were stupid or computer illiterate I would be no where close to following the gluten-free diet.  However, I thought I should lunge headfirst into this to see if it has positive effects.  (For an insanely long list of the ingredients that are unsafe for those diagnosed with Celiac Disease click here)  Surprisingly enough, I think it's working.  I have had a day or when when I "snuck" a bite of something with gluten and was quickly reminded of its affects.  My stomach would growl, I would feel nauseated, and...well...I won't go there.  But all that to say, I'm thinking this might be for real, folks.  I have been bummed about life without my life affair with carbs but I'm getting over that.  I know there are plenty of delicious and even more nutritious options.  And I think this might be God's way of completely eliminating one of my temptations.  

Well, I feel better now that I've posted.  I must keep reading the most intriguing book of the Twilight series:  Breaking Dawn.  

The One with MORE Snow

Gosh, it's been a while.  I keep meaning to sit down and add another entry but for some reason I haven't been able to get around to it.  Thursday afternoon I helped set up for the church rummage sale and came home with a box full of goodies for only $4 (for more details on the contents of the box click here.)  Later that day when Kevin & I went over to the church for worship team practice we decided on a few more items during our private tour of the rummage sale.  For a grand total of $22 we came home with a nearly-new upholstered office chair (for Kevin's desk) and two lovely formal sitting chairs for our living room (they have dark wooden legs and low, horseshoe shaped back and arms.  Their deep maroon/navy striped fabric goes well with our maroon leather recliner and our couch.)  

Friday was a nice day at home for me.  I cleaned this and that, organized hear and there, baked a beautiful apple pie (pictured here) to take to dinner at the Eccles, read a few pages of Breaking Dawn, and who knows what else.  The only negative part of the day was my fifth migraine of the week.  fifth?!  Honestly, that's just ridiculous.  Due to my pain, we opted to postpone our steak and potatoes dinner for Sunday afternoon when I could fully enjoy it.  I did manage to start feeling a bit better around 8pm and we watched The Terminal--one of the new movies given to us on Thursday from one of the ladies in worship team.  Speaking of which, I am so excited about the widened selection of romantic comedies we now own.  I haven't seen all these movies and I'm not a huge fan of a couple of them, but there's a handful that I've been wanting for quite some time.  We were given:  13 Going On 30, 50 First Dates, A Cinderella Story, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Miss Congeniality 2, Monster-in-Law, The Perfect Man, Seabiscuit, and The Terminal.  Not bad for free!

Saturday morning we headed to the doctor's office for the second week in a row and found out that he's fairly convinced I have Celiac Disease.  The results of my blood test are strong indicators of the disease but he has referred to a gastroenterologist for a second opinion and a possible scope.  So.........it looks like I'll be saying, "Bye, bye gluten.....It was a bittersweet relationship we had.  Thanks for your deliciousness.  No thanks for your side effects.  Have a nice life without me."  (I'll keep you posted on this unfolding story.)

After the appointment, we did some quick grocery shopping (buying lots of fruit for me to eat), helped the church men move the piano and organ off the stage, and headed for SA around 11:45am.  After a snowy drive and a stop at Wendy's (grilled chicken salad for me...) we arrived at the Eccles' around 1:45.  I waved out of the car as Kevin went inside and I drove myself through the treacherous country roads to the home where Ruth's bridal shower was.  It was a small gathering due to the inclimate weather, but we had a really wonderful time together.  I got back to the family at 4:30 only to find out that we owed $230 on our taxes.  But the good news was we were getting $1300 back!!  Woot!  We celebrated with a great dinner topped off with my apple pie and of course wonderful conversation along the way.

We headed for home at 8:30 with Brian in tow.  The three of us had quite a fun car ride home despite the road conditions, and went to bed fairly shortly after getting back.  This morning, it's off to church after a great breakfast of pancakes and scrambled eggs for the guys and a veggie stuffed omelet and banana for moi. :D  

God bless our day of worship.

The One While Eating Blackberry Yogurt

So I just got back from 3 hours at the church working to set up for the rummage sale going on Friday and Saturday.  Wow there was a lot of stuff.  I worked mainly on the clothes--there were bags upon bags upon bags of clothes--and though they are definitely not organized how they should be (aka "how I would arrange them"), they should still sell.  I found a couple items for me and one for Kevin which is sweet and I was bummed that this gorgeous navy winter dress coat was too short in the sleeves.  I picked up a few other random things such as 2 mini pie plates, a large vase, a Necco tin (reminded of my grandpa Nick), a beautiful "bubble" glass bowl, and extra spoons (we're always running out it seems).  In addition to bringing over a couple bags of clothes, I baked 3 dozen peanut butter, chocolate chip, and snickerdoodle cookies to sell.  I displayed them quite beautifully (it's all in the presentation, right?) and even included my information in case anyone is so impressed they must order more! :D  

Now I'm trying to figure out what in the world I'm going to eat.  Yes, it's true that I have trouble making decisions, but that indecisiveness is not why I don't know what to eat.  You see, this morning I received a call from my doctor's receptionist saying that Dr. Kabir wants to see me in 3 to 5 days and has directed me to obstain from bread (gluten) products until the appointment.  *sigh*  My blood work has shown the anti-gliadan antibody which is a potential warning sign that I may, in fact, have Celiac Disease.  Though false positives are possible, my guess is that they doctor is going to order a scope and a small intestine biopsy--the only fail-proof means of diagnosing the disease.  Saturday morning we shall see.  For now I will dig through the layers and layers of gluten in our cupboards to find something less appealing to fill my stomach.