GF Christmas!

I'm truly thankful this Christmas because I received a number of gluten-free gifts from loved ones.  

From my in-laws I was sent GF pasta, GF baking mixes, and GF desserts.  From my sister-in-law, I got GF pizza dough, GF all-purpose flour [yess!!], a GF cookbook, GF pretzels, and GF chocolates!  THEN, a dear friend of mine mailed me a package yesterday with GF brownie, cookie, and pizza dough mixes. 
I'm thrilled!!

I want to thank everyone SO much for their consideration.  GF shopping adds up very quickly, so these are truly blessings.  I took a picture of my gluten-free tower.. but not everything made it into the shot. 
Half of the items were gone and eaten before the others arrived on scene for a photo-op.  Haha.

Thank you so much to everyone.  I am incredibly grateful.  

The true cost.

So I've got something to say, and I'm going to use my blog to do it.  

I'm officially outraged by America's meat industry.  When I speak of it generally, I'm regarding the monopolizing meat companies, not the little guys who give their blood, sweat, and tears to provide us good-quality products.  A big "THANK YOU" is due to the farmers and workers who won't compromise our health for a bigger paycheck. 

It's hard not to hear about the conditions of these "Optimus Prime" factories, working underpaid people around the clock.  [Not to mention the injured animals thrown about and tumbling down chutes]   Let me say right off the bat that I love my meat.  I'm a meat-eater, and I always will be.  I'm not trying to be insensitive when I say I love bacon by the truckload, and sausage on my pizza.  [mmm, pizza]  I was raised eating meat, and I plan to raise my family on meat. 
But it's the quality of meat that is my concern. 

I've just watched "Food Inc."  It's a documentary about where America's food comes from and how it's all processed and made available.  I avoid documentaries like these because I generally can't handle the scenes of animal exploitation.  I'm the first person to run screaming from the room when the ASPCA commercials come on.  [no joke, just ask Scott]  The worst are the ones with Sarah McLachlan.  [Ahhh!]  I've got 4 animals of my own and I can't stomach animals abuse.  But I committed to watching the documentary for my own benefit.  I NEED to know what I'm putting on the table for my husband and I.  I'm responsible for my own health, and for that of those around me. 
You are, too.

I won't go into a lengthy detailing of the documentary, because I hope you'll take the hour and a half and do yourself a big favor in watching it.  And although the animal cruelty is a HUGE reason behind my horror, its mainly the health issue.  Who can argue with that?  I doubt God intends for us to be stuffing our faces with genetically-modified meat.  I'm not talking about just the preservatives that keep it on the shelves longer, I'm talking about the ammonia that it's doused with to kill the bacteria as it tumbles down the filthy conveyor belts.  I'm talking about the carbon monoxide that its infused with just to keep its color.  [Who cares?!]  I'm also talking about the antibiotics that the meat's pumped with because the animals are sick and unsanitary.  Apparently the way to fix the problem is NOT to give the animals better conditions, but to drown them in antibiotics so that we Americans can eat chicken and beef infected with dead E. Coli  bacterium. 
At least its dead..?  [I'm being sarcastic]

To eat a piece of chicken breast has always seemed like a health-conscious option to me.  I would think.. "lean protein!"  But guess what.. YES, chicken in its natural state is an extremely healthy option as far as building protein goes, but chances are your chicken isn't in its natural state.  God created chickens to eat grass; that's what they've eaten for however many millenia.  But these days they're force-fed corn.  [They haven't ever even seen sunlight, so there's no way they're getting grass!]  That's because corn is cheap and it makes them grow twice as quickly;  SO fast in fact, that they're bodies can't keep up.  If you watch Food Inc., you'll see many chickens who can only walk 3 steps before collapsing.  So your chicken, [whether it be Tyson or Perdue, or some other monopolizing meat manufacturer] is filled with corn and by default, YOU'RE eating corn.  Now I don't know about a lot of you, but in losing weight I try and stay away from corn as much as possible.  It's a starch, and it breaks down into sugar.  Diabetics are actually implored to stay away from corn because of these very reasons.  Do you see the problem here?  You're not just eating the chicken, you're eating what the chicken ate.  THAT, and whatever sickness and unnatural side-effects arose from its surroundings. 
Ugh.

I don't intend to be a nut who goes around burning down meat-packing industries.  Far from it.  But I'm realizing that the pork, beef, and chicken manufacturers are giving us crap on OUR hard-earned dollar.  No thank you.  I want to get exactly what I'm paying for, and that's food to nourish and strengthen my body.  I eat to be healthy, so it's absurd to eat blindly what's being put on the shelves.  A lot of people have died from tainted meat.  It's no surprise when cows are up to their knees in their own manure and urine.  Traces of manure in fast food meat is pretty common.  Love on THAT next time you're chowing down on a Big Mac.  [seriously] 

It's very sad that free-range, certified organic meat is nearly twice the price, but my health and my husband's health is priceless.  I would like to eat food as the good Lord intended. When a cow is picked up by its ankles and dragged through a factory to its death, the level of its adrenaline shoots through the roof and BAM!, you're eating tainted meat.  Not to mention, a scared cow is going to taste differently than a happy cow.  Think I'm joking?  Google it.  Free-range animals taste better than those locked up in boxes.  

And if that's the only reason to change my ways, it's reason enough.  

If you're going to take the life of an animal for food [which I truly believe is a God-given right], then do it humanely and for the benefit of society.   C'mon people.

Here are some pictures and resources to get us all a little more hot and bothered by the meat industry:

And these are the tame ones.  

Thanks for reading.  <3

Official Link to Food Inc. website

2 year old dies of E.Coli in tainted beef 

Find organic, healthy food near you! 

Wok!

My original intention for this blog was to be an avenue for my thoughts.. 
But all I seem to come up with is food.  [No surprise]  So why fight it?  

I'm going to use this blog to share my gluten-free food adventures. 
If I happen to share some intelligible reflection along the way, then great.  

Since I last posted, I've made gluten-free apple crisp, gluten-free peppermint shortbread cookies, gluten free pasta & sausage-meat sauce, and a VERY spicy GF Asian stir-fry.  Stir-fries seem to be my thing..  I've never really messed one up.  I take a heated pan and roast garlic and peanuts in sesame oil.  I put those aside in a bowl.  Then I take my diced-up chicken breast [pre-marinaded in sauce] and brown it through.  I don't always have the time to marinade my chicken, but the longer, the more flavorful.  While the chicken's cooking through on medium heat, I microwave loose broccoli in a bowl for 4 or 5 minutes.  Just enough to get it tender.  Scott and I invested in an awesome Japanese rice-cooker, so that does all the work for me as far as the rice goes.  Once the chicken's cooked through, I toss the peanuts, chicken, and broccoli in a bowl and get the rice served up.  I honestly haven't found a stir-fry sauce that doesn't work in an Asian stir-fry. 
Here are the gluten-free ones I've found at various stores:

Two nights ago I made a stir-fry with a mix of these and it turned out SUPER spicy.  I had grated fresh ginger into the mix, and that certainly didn't help.  But Scott loves spicy, so he was thrilled.  By the way, the difference between GF stir-fry sauces and regular "off the shelves" ones are the soy content.  Soy sauce [most of the time] is made with wheat flour.  Others are made with barley.  True gluten-free ones avoid all no-no's like wheat flour and barley.  They taste exactly the same, they're just more expensive.  And harder to find.  But so goes the shopping experience of a dedicated gluten-free-er. 

This is how the chicken & broccoli stir-fry looked just before serving.  Sometimes I add canned baby-corn to bulk it up with veggies.  I've also used toasted almonds instead of peanuts to change it up. 
You can do almost anything with a stir-fry.  Seriously.

What stir-fry experiences have YOU had?

δώσει τις ευχαριστίες.

First, an edit. 
Two posts ago I lost my mind for a brief moment and thought "Voila!" should be spelled like this:  Wallah.  How embarrassing.  It took a good friend to help me find my brain and lead me to the right spelling.  Apparently in that moment, all ten of my years spent in French academia were laid waste.  But I'm back in the game!  "Voila!", it is. 
[Thank you, Brett]

Also.  It's Thanksgiving!  That nebulous holiday wherein it seems only a minority of folks celebrate its true meaning.   Thanksgiving is a good day to spend with family and friends.  Truly.  Scott and I are heading over to a deacon's house from church later today, and it's there that our holiday will be spent.  I'm doing my duty of baking gluten-free chocolate chip-pumpkin bread.  And yes, you're remembering correctly that t'was only a week ago I made GF chocolate chip-banana muffins.  Chocolate chips are one of the few items that [I feel] can go in almost any baked good. 
They're square, because I have a really fun baking pan for them. 
Kitchen gadgets are mah'thing.  

Oh, and is anyone else truly annoyed by the line in this song?
"You uh chee-wow-ah, Om uh rot-wallaaaah"?  [Totally stupid] 

Oh, but look!  ..Wallah has made its way into the English language.  Ha.

Anyway.  That's it for now.  Happy Thanksgiving to all. 
And remember to put chocolate chips in everything. 
Go crazy.

PS - I'm receiving scamming e-mails like nuts.  I took the time to write a response e-mail to one of them that went like this: 

It's a holiday.  So why don't you take a holiday from scamming people? 

Please stop wasting my time, 
Christina

Petit dinosaur.

Ok, so I finally did something with the spaghetti squash.  It went like this:  I split it in half.. well, Scott did.  Then I scooped out the seeds, oh wait no, that was Scott.  Ok, but I put them in a baking pan with water, a little olive oil, and sea salt.  I baked the squash, open side down, for 45 minutes at 350.  I guess I should have cooked it for an hour though, because it was still a little crunchy.  Or is it supposed to be slightly al dente upon eating?  S.O.S.

Anyway, once it cooled off, I took a fork to its innards and literally in microseconds it fell away into shreds.  Noodles, or what have you.  I had heard that pasta sauce does wonders because it takes on any flavor its given.  So here's my take on it..  yes, it tasted just like the pasta sauce.  The end.  Truly it has no flavor of its own, so it's best with pesto, or pasta sauce, or some butter and salt.  I think I may have been a little jaded since it crunched in my mouth.  I don't know about you, but I don't like my noodles crunchy.  I tried frying the rest in a pan with butter and salt, but it never quite came together for me.  Scott ate a serving at dinner time with homemade GF chicken parmesan, but I said no thanks.  I'm determined to make it work for me, so I'll try again at some point.  This is how the spaghetti squash left me feeling at the end of the day:

Oh!  Also.. today I was cleaning up my living room and I found THIS on my coffee table.  It nearly sent me straight to the grave because I mistakenly thought it was a leaf.  

That is certainly no leaf.  It's a cute little gecko from outside.  It didn't save me 15% on car insurance, but I had a grand time watching it slink around.  I gently brought it outside in a bowl and let him free.  I captured his freedom for you.  

I swear that thing looks like a small alligator up close.  But he was a good boy.  =)

I love North Carolina.

This gluten and I have a love/hate relationship.

Ok, so I'm in love with gluten.  I should stop pretending.  When my two favorite foods are pizza and boneless battered chicken wings, it's hard to pretend that I'm not.  I am a sucker for pizza at all costs.  Pizza has been my #1 nemesis in staying committed to my new gluten-free lifestyle.  Tonight, after a difficult day, I turned to Scott and said the worst 7-letter word I know:  Domino's.  I'm pretty peeved because Domino's now has a garlic bread crust.. amazing enough to weaken me in the knees.  On bad days, it's almost too much to resist.  

But why make a bad day worse?  Why sleep through the next 5 days in a hazy fog otherwise known as my "wheat fog"?  [Unless you have a gluten sensitivity, you probably have no idea what I'm referring to]  I decided to be proactive, and not let Domino's get the better of me.  I turned to Google.  

On Google I discovered making homemade onion rings is easy as pie.  [mmm, pie.. but I digress]  All'z you need is an onion, oil, and pancake batter.  Apparently pancake batter [ie: King Arthur, Bisquick, Krusteaz] doubles as a great frying batter for any and all items.  This was news to me!  So I got to fryin' and 10 minutes later I had fantastic gluten-free onion rings.  I used King Arthur's top o'the line GF pancake mix and prepared the batter.  I sliced up the onions, dipped them in heated oil, and wallah!  [Is that how one properly spells "wallah"?..]  I doused them in salt and forgot about Domino's for all of ten minutes.  But it did the trick.  I may have consumed some serious fat, but I totally avoided the gluten nonsense.  If I had eaten Domino's pizza, I would have ended up with both.

One day I'd like to be a gluten-free guru.  I want my blog to be educating Googlers all around the world!  So I'll start with this:

Oh!  And also:  yesterday I made some fantastic GF banana/chocolate chip muffins to get rid of our old bananas.  Thanks to King Arthur's GF all-purpose flour, I'm on a roll!  [or a muffin]

Trouvé.

Last night I stopped into Walgreens and guess what I found!  

 

It's a little greener in real life, but definitely the teal I was looking for.  Yay!

On another note, next week I'm BOOKED with Thanksgiving clients.  I'm really happy to have such a busy pet-sitting week next week.  I love going into peoples' homes and taking care of their furry families.  Having done in-home childcare for so many years, it's really comfortable for me.  I have a new client that has 5 adult cats and one adorable black and white kitten. [my fave]  I'm actually heading there today to take care of their 3 dogs, and I'm really looking forward to it.  This is kind of the perfect job for me right now. 
Thank You Lord, for Your provision.

Also, I went to a big [and I mean big] Christmas show down here yesterday.  It was in a convention center, and the inside was all done up like a town.  Some vendors had their own little Christmas shoppes set up with trees and lights, and everything.  Kind of like a mini Christmas-Disneyland.  Pretty amazing.  But anyway, there was this young jeweler there from New York, and her pieces blew me away.  I kind of just kept telling her how amazing her stuff was and how much I wanted to be like her.  Haha.  It's a tricky thing, because in order to make beautifully ornate pieces, one needs the funds to purchase the necessary materials.  But in order to purchase the necessary materials, one must make sufficient sales.  Somewhat of a "chicken or the egg" scenario.  I have in my head exactly where I'd like my trade to go, I just need the funds to get there.  I truly hope that one day I can manipulate metals and have endless supplies to work with.  
Lord-willing.

What types of jewelry would you like to see me create? 

“It's only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.”

I read the most incredible thing yesterday.  Apparently you can make soap out of bacon fat.  Bacon fat!  All you need to do is add a little lye and fridge it.  [Fight Club, anyone?]  Ok, maybe there's more to it than that, but I'm determined to make it happen.  And if I have to eat three packages of bacon, then I'll take one for the team.  [Visions of Atkins' dancing in my head]  I'll let you know how it goes, if and when I get around to it.  For now, doing something with the week-old spaghetti squash is priority.  No, I have not done anything with it yet.  Shame on me.  

Also, I've practically watched six hundred Say Yes to the Dress episodes on Netflix's instant watch.  [No, not really]  Scott and I can't really afford TV right now, so Netflix has been pulling it's weight around here.  At some point it would be nice to watch something other than every episode of The Hills and Say Yes to the Dress.  One day.  I miss regular TV.

DanceOut was great tonight!  Zumba is on the menu for tomorrow evening, so I'm hoping to burn off the frozen yogurt and chocolate chips I just gorged on.  As if that wasn't enough, I then reached for the plantain chips we've had for two months.  I couldn't tell if they were stale because I was eating too fast.  

I'm also obsessed with Phalaenopsis Orchids, and can't get enough of them.  I was fawning over a fuchsia one in Harris Teeter the other day, but my last four orchids have been failed projects.  I've essentially been watering sticks for the past year.  I've tried everything I can think of.. even took them to a nursery and asked for serious help.  If Scott won't let me be a crazy cat lady, then maybe there's still a chance with the whole crazy orchid lady thing.  Hm..

You've seen enough pictures of my cats for now, so how'z about an orchid shot?

I get giddy just looking at them..

HuminahHuminah.

To start, a couple housekeeping things.  [By the way.. why is it "housekeeping"?  Who knows]  Anyway.

First off is I'm having a BLAST at my dance exercise classes.  So far I've done Zumba a couple of times, and now I'm getting into this DanceOut! class.  DanceOut's really awesome because I can burn some serious calories to awesome music.  Sometimes I pretend I'm in one of those ridiculous dance flicks where everyone's a star.  I really don't want the class to end because then I'm back to lame-o me.  I drive home with the music a little louder than usual on those nights.  http://queencitydanceout.com/

Secondly, I REALLY wish I had more pet-sitting clients.  This job is tons of fun and I want to stay on board as long as possible.  I check my e-mail like a hundred times a day to see if I've got a new client.  People in eastern Charlotte: I'm an awesome pet-sitter!  I'll come and walk your dogs and feed your cats.  Check me out!  http://www.fluffsofluv.com

Ok, anyway. I made an interesting dish today.  I bought an unbelievable amount of pine nuts a while back, and I've been hankering to use them.  I bought some prosciutto for the first time two days ago and decided to marry the two.  So today I made a gluten-free pasta dish with prosciutto, spinach, toasted pine nuts, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese.  It was pretty good.  Next time I'll be sure to use tons more spinach and a little less prosciutto.  I'm a huge salt fan, but the prosciutto was a bit much.  The recipe called for 2 slices and I used 1/4 pound.  Go big'er or go home, no?

Also, TCBY has made a total comeback.  My mom never really let me have real ice cream when I was a kid, so TCBY was our joint.  I've been an avid fan of TCBY since elementary school, and have even driven seriously out of my way for White Chocolate Mousse on more than one occasion.  I'm thrilled that there are a couple TCBY's down here in Charlotte.  And guess what!  They're self-serve.  So hip, so with it.  They've got a ton of flavors and a host of toppings and you can find me there pretty regularly.  Well, not as regularly as I'd like because the closest one's 25 minutes away.  I suppose that's for the best, though.  I'm currently dreaming of banana froyo with chocolate chips and Reeses' cups.  Oh man.  http://www.tcby.com/

I'm also really hoping for jewelry sales to pick up.  This is generally the time of year when people appreciate the trade I have to offer.  I'm truly hoping for good holiday sales.  http://www.earringsbychristina.com/

Also, Tiramisu makes the ugliest sound when she's cleaning herself.  I wouldn't normally write on that, but she's doing it right now and it's disgusting.  Gross. 

With this ring.

So it's been 3 years, 1 month, and 5 days since Scott and I were wed on the altar of a beautiful New England church.  [I remember being convinced that something catastrophic would happen and we'd never make it to our wedding way.  But, we did]  And I'd have to say that our wedding planning was almost too easy. 
Sometimes I think back and wonder, how was it all such a piece of cake?

Let me start off by saying yes, my parents paid for the entire wedding.  That relieved Scott and I of any financial burden that could have complicated things.  So I recognize how blessed we were in not having to budget or cut corners.  The interesting thing though, is that as much of a textbook "girly girl" I truly am, I never once truly envisioned my wedding prior to the occasion.  As a 5 year old, I never danced around the living room pretending to be a beautiful bride.  I never visualized my wedding cake in all its fifty flavors, nor did I conspire to have white doves in ornate bird cages.  Simply, I knew I wanted to be married in a church wearing a white dress.  That's really as far as I had gotten by the time Scott got on his knee to ask for my hand in marriage. 

And I think the fact that I hadn't put much stock in how it should all look really made for a smooth ride.  Sure, I knew I didn't want my wedding to take place on a muddy soccer field with "all you can eat!" finger foods, but I was pretty flexible outside the nice church and white dress.  Even the "nice church" idea was nonessential, given the right circumstances. 
So ok, I was committed to a white dress. 

Living in Vermont really limited my options as far as dress boutiques, florists, reception locales, etc.  I didn't mind, though.  It actually made the process a whole lot less complicated.  Within an hour's drive, there was really only one all-purpose wedding store, so that's where we committed to.  At this one particular boutique, I ended up finding my wedding dress & veil [on the first day of shopping], our wedding invitations & "thank you" cards, Scott's tuxedo, the bridesmaids' dresses, and the wedding party's tuxes.  That was almost everything we could have needed in one-stop shopping.  We went to one reception locale, which turned out to be great because they also catered and provided an open bar.  We found a talented NYC baker ten minutes south of us who practically paid US for our wedding cake and cupcakes.  My parents chose the three entree choices for the buffet, and it only took two phone calls to find the DJ.  My mom took over the amazing floral arrangements, and made each and every wedding favor by hand.  [Thank you, Mom]

Really, all there was for Scott and I to do was to look forward to a beautiful honeymoon made possible by Scott's parents.  [Thank you, Lisa & Manny]  Oh, and I forgot to mention that when Scott and I viewed the reception hall for the first time, it was already decked out for a wedding taking place that very evening.  I fell in love with the decor and colors [black, white, and red] and simply asked if it could be redone..  

Not my proudest moment, but why reinvent the wheel? 

Looking back, our 6-month engagement was a beautiful time.  I had two amazing bridal showers, and the very engagement ring I had set my heart on.  Not to mention, the man I fawned over for years.  It was such an exciting time, and I never once had a bridezilla moment.  I can't believe how richly God blessed Scott and I in our engagement, and how perfect our wedding day was.  

It saddens me to the deepest part of my heart when people view marriage as antiquated and dispensable.  It's such an incredible time of preparation and newness, and I will do my part to share its importance and uphold the institution of marriage.  

That, and I will continue to watch "Say Yes to the Dress".  Every bride should feel like a princess on her wedding day, and the right dress is partially responsible for that.  Just remember not to break the bank on the dress.  Mine is currently, and has been for the last 3 years, folded away and preserved in a box under our bed. 
Keep that in mind when you want a dress that costs a year's rent. 

Rod & Staff.

God has really blessed me.
Truly.

Scott and I met with our pastor today to discuss some difficult things that have been on our mind.  Turns out our pastor is an even greater man than we had previously thought.  As I was sitting there between my husband and my new pastor, I was experiencing a glimpse of heaven on earth:

three Christians working together for the common goal of God's glory. 

I was really concerned to leave Vermont and our beloved churchfolk at Thetford Baptist, but God has kept us steadfastly in the palm of His hands.  He loves me, and He refuses to let me go.  My true hope is to become a strong oak for Christ's sake.  I ache to be an efficacious Christian who is committed to integrity and truth.  

I also believe God is calling me to the choicest of fruits, and that He will reward me in Heaven for my undertakings. 

I just pray that He'll make straight my paths so I can finish well.

Mindful Meanderings.

I went grocery shopping today, and guess what was on sale.  Yeah, that's right; spaghetti squash.  I wonder if spaghetti squash will some day save my life, or something.  Who knows.  Anyway, so I bought one and I'll stare at it for a couple of days before deciding what to do with it.  

I also finished watching The Hills tonight.  I'm not sure how or why I got into it, but I just did.  I was pleasantly surprised at how little promiscuity and substance abuse there was.  Well, at least up until the 5th season.  My favorite part of it all was watching the dynamics between the girls.  But I lost interest mainly when Kristin arrived on scene..  Was I supposed to care about her?  

Anyway, so that part of my life is over and I'm fine with it.

Also, this Reforming Marriage book that Scott and I are reading is incredible.  Sometimes God places something in your life at the exact moment that you desperately need it, and that's where we're at.  Oh, and something I realized tonight in a big way:  If it's true that the husband is to the marriage as Jesus is to the Church, [and it is] then what does that say if the husband does not fulfill his God-given roles as a man?  If Jesus hadn't executed the responsibility He took upon Himself for our sakes, we'd all be in hell.  I think that's kind of what a marriage is like when a husband isn't taking seriously each charge appointed to him; a marital hell. 
Seriously, you gotta check out this book.  

*..Just don't put too much stock into the cover.  No one that I know understands its intention.   

PS - I'm going to dance myself to a healthy weight.  I'm determined.  

Imposter of sorts.

Does it ever happen to you that you hear of something for the first time, and then it's just.. everywhere? 
..Well, spaghetti squash is that thing for me.

There's a really cool gluten-free blog that I'm following online lately: Gluten Free Blog  One of the recent articles was about how versatile spaghetti squash can be.  A month or so back Scott and I tried spaghetti squash at a restaurant and it was pretty fantastic.  [I think it was prepared with a little butter and seasoning]  It wasn't the best new thing I had ever tried, but its potential was exciting to me.  

There's this younger girl at church [who also has a gluten issue] and she's been raving a bit about spaghetti squash.  She rattled off a couple ways she prepares it.  Of course it was all new to me and I was quickly lost in the excitement.  Something about baking it and shredding it like pulled pork.  I guess it can be a tasty substitute for pasta.  We'll just have to see, because I'm pretty picky about my Italian dishes.  So it's a good thing I've found a fantastic gluten-free substitute.  Farmo Pasta!  

So I'm pretty excited to try spaghetti squash, but I don't know where to start.  I'm still pretty reluctant to believe in its ability to replace real pasta, but I'm open-minded. 
My plan is to buy some this week and start experimenting.

So have you ever had spaghetti squash?  

If so, would you be willing to grant me some direction? 

Any help would be appreciated.

DIY.

I read the most ingenious thing in Glamour a couple of weeks ago.  

The article was about affordable fashion, and how to be crafty on a budget.  I'm all about fashion and my life is one big budget, so I was all over the article.  It said if you can't find the right color nail polish in store, or if you're tired of all your old colors, mix new ones!  How have I not thought of this before? 
Make new colors by mixing your old ones.  Magnificent.  

Yesterday was the first time I had a chance to sit down and do the hard work of waiting for my nails to dry.  I grabbed my elephantine bag of nail polish and hit the ground running.  I had to find a bowl that I was willing to deface with all the colors of the rainbow.  That was my first task.  Secondly, I needed to appoint colors that would mix, and mix well.  Lastly I committed to a nail polish brush I was willing to commandeer for purposes of this new color, yet to be determined.  Then I got to mixing.  If you know me well, you can probably predict my colors of choice.  I ended up with red, pink, carrot, and white.  The result?  A coral of sorts.  THE color I haven't been able to find in stores.  [Not for less than $10 a bottle, anyway]  So now I'm on a mission.  I'm going to make new colors each time.  My ultimate goal is make teal.  That's something I haven't worn in this decade, and I'm determined to achieve it gracefully.  Teal is my next project.

Wow, that is a very big of example of teal. 

*Glamour says to add clear coat in the mix, just to give it the shine. 

So what about you?  Have you ever heard of this ingenious concept? 

Perhaps I missed the boat on this one and everyone's been doing it for years..

The side-part.

*Today I parted my hair down the center.*   

This may seem inconsequential to many, but to those who've rocked the side-part for years, it's anything but.  

I decided to take a flying leap and style my hair with a center-part.  There I stood, in the bathroom, blow-dryer in hand.  I knew it was moment of consequence.  Was I really going to do it?  My fingers tingled with delight at the thought of it.  *I went for it.*  The entire time I blow-dried and straightened, I questioned myself.. What do I even look like with a center part?  I honestly couldn't remember, as I haven't styled my hair that way in at least 4 years. 

Fifteen long minutes later, there I stood.  And stood.  I had random thoughts buzzing through my head; Fergie, bad 70's movie, senior photo.  But you know what?  It wasn't bad.  I think I actually like it.  It ages me, but in a good way.  I actually look my age, like a professional.  Does anyone really know when the side-part pandemic originated?  I'd have to say it's my favorite hairstyle of all time; flattering on just about anybody.  But there's something freeing about parting your hair down the center and forgetting about it completely..  Almost like that's how hair was meant to fall.  I don't know.  I may decide to go "center part" every once in a while to change things up, but don't expect to see my side-part disappear any time soon.

What do you think.. are you a side-parter, or a center-parter?  

Or... do you *gasp* not even part?..

"Je voudrais flanné avec toi."

It's after midnight and I'm still awake.  Scott's fast asleep in bed, and I'm double-fisting Halloween candy.  What is wrong with me?  

I started up Zumba classes last night again.  I can't say enough of how nice it is to live in a city.  Living in Vermont really changed me quite a bit;  I learned how to be alone, which is something I never really did well at all.   But I'm glad the Lord saw it fit for us to move somewhere new.  After an amazing work out last night, I drove home through the city of Charlotte.  The golden arches of McDonald's never called my name so loudly, as they did last night.  I was tempted to get a small fries and inhale them before pulling into the driveway.  I decided against it.  Oh, and if anyone says that Ballantyne is THE place to live, I say give me a Providence Road home any day.

Jewelry sales are going pretty ok this time of year.  I'm hoping I will do even better as Christmas approaches.  Two young ladies from church have already taken a real interest.  One asked if she could sell some pieces at her work place, and the other wants to help me plan a jewelry party. [think Pampered Chef party]  I'm very happy about that, and grateful to both women.  I'm just realizing I haven't updated my "Item of the Week" yet.  Whoops, I'll have to do that tomorrow.

This weekend will be a busy pet-sitting weekend.  I hope at some point I'll stop having slow weeks and busy weekends, and have just the opposite.  But I'm grateful for the money that's coming in. 

Ok, I just realized how tired I am.  Good night.

So much for a following.

If I even have any faithful readers at this point, I'm probably risking their association to me by saying the following:  I love how my cats smell.

Ok, that sounds gross out loud;  I realize that.  I probably love my cats too much.  Their fur, especially Tiramisu's, picks up delightful scents from the air.  [My cats are kind of like scratch 'n sniff stickers]  Sometimes their fur smells like chocolate chip pancakes, sometimes they'll smell like banana bread, and other times they just smell like warm sunshine.  I'll always be a cat lady at heart.  [Will you still be my friends?]

And maybe one day.. one day.. I'll have one of these to love, too.  =)

Le fin.

Barely even skipped a beat.

It's so warm down here in Charlotte..  For most of the week it's been in the 70's, and some days have even hit the 80's.  I can't believe how different it is from Vermont.  I constantly check the weather report for my old town in Vermont and it never ceases to amaze me how cold it gets.  Cold weather is fine, but the thing about Vermont is it never seemed to go away.  I would literally get depressed by late April because it was still chilly each and every day.

But things are different down here.  Today it almost feels like summertime.  It's 77 degrees and super muggy.  It's been really nice walking dogs in capris and t-shirts.  I will definitely get used to this.  It's so nice not to feel the need to hide inside and keep warm.  All of our windows are open, and the warm breeze is making its way in.  The cat room is even lit up with warm sunshine.  [The cats are just as happy as I am.]

*PS - Tomorrow, 85 and rainy.

I don't normally spend that much time talking about weather.. it's just a nice change.  I'm glad Scott and I moved down here.  Our lives picked up pretty quickly, so we've barely even skipped a beat.  Scott's working full time, and I'm hoping to get as many pet-sitting clients as possible.  We already have three couples relatively our age that we're happily getting to know.  And four weeks into being here, we found the church we're committing to.  We've already had three meals with church folk, and this Sunday we'll be at the pastor's house discussing membership.  He said he doesn't normally discuss membership "so early in the game", but he sees that we're serious about getting involved. 

Although we're struggling majorly with some things, namely finances, we're really optimistic about this big move we've just had.  Some things are super different than up in Vermont.  Little things like stores all around us, two malls within a half hour, Christian radio stations, black neighbors, and central air.  These were things we longed for while in Vermont, and now they're ours.  And we praise God that sometimes He gives us what we ask for. 

We will have a lot to figure out: I need to assess if the Lord is calling me to finish my Masters of Divinity.  Scott's only working a temporary job right now, so he needs to figure out what God is planning for his occupational future.  There's a lot more that needs sorting out, but those are the main issues we're working on.

 *Totally unrelated.. Tomorrow evening a professional dog trainer is coming to assess Fudge.  
    Is there such thing as being declared "too naughty to teach"?  [S.O.S.]

You don't always needs to paint the town.

It's Friday night.  So what did Scott and I do instead of painting the town?  Well, we watched another episode of Roswell and we ate.  I made Scott whole wheat chocolate chip banana bread.. And well, since it'll probably kill me if I ate that, I made egg drop soup for myself.  

I don't always have the most exciting things to write about, but sometimes it's the banal moments of life that should be remembered.  Eventually I'll lose Scott in this life, only be reunited with him sweetly in heaven..  But I'll remember things like the way he lights up when I bake for him.  And the way he always offers a hand with removing hot things from the oven.  He loves me in a deep, quiet way, and he needs to know that I know.  So this entry is dedicated to the man I devote myself to, and all the quiet things that I love about us.

I was made for another era.

I've been meaning to write on this for a while.  I'm not quite sure if it'll come out eloquently or not, but my point must be made.  *Sometimes I feel like I was meant for another era.*  I'm not saying this in any sort of facetious way, as if God doesn't know exactly what He's doing by placing us in a particular place and time.  I'm just saying that I often feel like a square peg in a round hole in this generation of mine.  Oh sure, I love the lines and shapes of modern furniture and architecture, but my soul longs for tradition and days of old.

I think I would give almost anything to live a day in ancient history..  But not necessarily the obvious times in history, like the fall of Rome, or the day the light bulb was invented.  It's more the quiet times of history that I long for.  The thought of spending a day in the wooden pews of a 17th century Puritan church is intriguing.  Wearing all sorts of somber clothing, bearing not even an ankle is admirable to me.  There was an uprightness about that time.  I also think there was something unbearably enchanting about the Victorian era, where wealthy women wore their long hair in tresses and dresses of the most unreasonable shapes.  There were expectations back then; expectations of dance and etiquette.  Does anyone actually know how to quadrille anymore?

Very recently, my taste has even started to change.  I used to think IKEA furniture was the bomb, but now I find myself at antique stores, reveling in the artistry of a wooden armoir.  I've gotten into gold, too.. which was a total shock to me.  Not so much golden jewelry, but golden furniture and decor.  Large, ornate mirrors and frames catch my recent attention.  I have fallen in love with stand-alone porcelain tubs and tables with lions heads for feet.  If I could decorate my entire home with Victorian decor, I would.  If I could promenade around my house in a dress too big for the door frames, I would.  No Covergirl, no curling irons, no Facebook.  Just the sounds of the birds outside, landscaped courtyards stretching half a mile, and afternoon tea.  Ok, maybe I'm romanticizing it all, but why not?  It's beautiful to me.

As far as I know, there once was a generational reverence for things, like women.  There was a way to go about winning the heart of one's lady love; in courting and wooing.  No pulling up outside, waiting for her to hop in.  Men were taught that women should be treated in a particular way, opening doors, and standing when one entered the room.  These days, I often end up standing at places because men have taken all the seats.  Am I the only one who's disappointed by things like this?  I don't know.  But this is only half the story for me.

I'm also catching myself falling into more traditional roles, like staying quiet and letting my husband speak on behalf of me.  Scott and I are reading an amazing book called "Reforming Marriage", and I'll tell you it's not for the faint of heart.  God designed men and women to be very different from each other, and so our roles are very different.  Women are to bear children, God-willing, and men are to be spiritual leaders and financial providers for the household.  I see the beauty in it.  I see how it all works, and how it honors God.  I don't know, I just know something's brewing inside me.  I want to learn more about how to live in this generation I've been placed in, but still stay true to God's original intentions for me.  I'm ready to commit myself to God, whether I like it or not.

I don't want to sound like the things that once were are better than those that are now, but I think we could all stand to be a little more traditional. 

What do you think?

Gluten-Free is me.

I'm not sure how common knowledge it is at this point, but I'm now living a gluten-free lifestyle.  And you know what?  It's tough.  It's expensive, and it's hard work.  But sometimes we just gotta do what we gotta do.  

I won't get into too many details about how and why I'm now eating this way, but I'm VERY happy to delve at any point if someone asks.  In short, I have a gluten intolerance which simply means I can eat gluten, but then my body has no idea what to do with it.  It's kind of like putting maple syrup in a car for an oil change.  My internal numbers get all wacky and it makes it almost impossible for me to be a healthy weight.  

..But I guess I shouldn't assume you know what eating a gluten-free diet entails.. I didn't, until it became my new reality.  To quote the ever-reliable Wikipedia: "Gluten (from Latin gluten 'glue') is a protein composite that appears in foods processed from wheat and related species, including barley and rye.  It gives elasticity to dough, helping it to rise and to keep its shape, and often giving the final product a chewy texture."  In addition to wheat flour, barley, and rye, oats, spelt, and triticale are also bad for me.  When I eat gluten, I get super-fatigued, my arms get a strange discoloration to them, and sometimes I get sick to my stomach.  Not to mention the unbelievable cholesterol and triglyceride count.  It's crazy how someone can eat something for so many years, and not realize it's poisoning them.  It took plenty of expensive doctor visits, and a ton of trial and error before I realized this sad reality.  

I'd have to say the worst thing about eating gluten-free foods is the cost.  I mean sure, if you want your bread and cookies to taste like hockey pucks, shopping can be pretty inexpensive.. But if you want your food to taste just like it did before this new reality, you'll need to shell out the big bucks.  Example: When Scott and I were on Cape Cod this past summer, a personal-sized gluten-free Margherita pizza cost me $17.. Seventeen dollars!!  A large pepperoni pie at Domino's costs half that.  Most restaurants, if they even offer gluten-free pasta or pizza, will charge you extra.  Now, I understand that keeping pots and utensils and cooking water separate can be tough.. but sometimes I feel like places are robbing us blind.  As if it doesn't stink enough, it's easy to go broke in the process. 

King Arthur has the best line of gluten-free baking products that I've come across, so far.  It's such a painful irony that I moved from the very location of their distribution center to 1,000 miles away.  An order was just placed to their online store for $135, courtesy of Scott and Christina Amado.  And no, I won't be receiving some high-end baking apparatus, simply an assortment of GF flour, GF pancake mix, and the like.  It's tough to know that regular mixes would cost half that at the local grocery store.  

I hope I don't sound embittered about all of this.  I'm certainly grateful that I don't have full-blown Celiac's.. which is a disease that renders it impossible for people to ingest gluten of any sort, lest they end up with horrible G.I. issues.  And I know that this is a walk in the park compared to a lot of diagnoses that people receive every day.  I also know that staying away from gluten can help with infertility issues and a HOST of other health problems..  

I guess a silver lining to my day is finding out that a local pizza place now offers my favorite GF pizza crust.   And THAT is exactly where you can find me later this evening.  

Gluten-Free Blog

Chocolate Bar

I promised an explanation about yesterday's chocolate mishap.  So here it is.

I'm sure you've heard it a hundred times that chocolate is bad for dogs.  Truth is, milk chocolate and white chocolate are no big deal.. but anything containing 70% cocoa or higher can be lethal.  Straight baking chocolate WILL truly kill a dog.  It's no joke.  Perhaps if Fudge our Newfoundland had gotten to it, the situation would have been less concerning.. but our 8 lb. dog discovered it first.

In short, yesterday I found Crumb behind the couch polishing off a chocolate bar still in its wrapper.  At first I was in total shock because the chocolate had been up on our coffee table.. It's still a mystery as to how Crumb got the chocolate,  but that really isn't important.  The focus is that he ate twice the amount of dark chocolate that a dog his size should ingest.  So I knew it was bad as soon as I snapped out of my disbelief.

I emphatically ripped the chocolate bar away and ran to the computer.  Funny how my first thought was "Google", and not.. "vet".  But regardless, I found plenty of hits on how to get your dog to vomit and expel any toxins that are sitting in his stomach.  Hydrogen Peroxide?!  Not wanting to burn a hole in Crumb's esophagus, I frantically phoned the vet for a second opinion.  It seems I wasn't being a psychotic individual, the vet was just as concerned as I was.  Apparently dark chocolate contains "theobromine" which for dogs acts as a slow, caffeinated toxin in their veins.  In toxic doses, a dog's heartbeat can become elevated to the point of heart attack and death.  I was NOT going to lose Crumb to a chocolate bar.  Two months ago we had a bad pancreatis scare that left him in the animal hospital for days.  $400 later we had a dog who now has chronic sensitivity to food and needs to be on a bland food diet.  So needless to say, this chocolate was neither bland nor healthy for Crumb's little system.

Anyway.  I was instructed to pour hydrogen peroxide down Crumb's throat until he puked profusely.  What a terrible thing to do to your baby.  Within minutes he was barfing uncontrollably.  He vomited upwards of twenty times.. and if there was any doubt that Crumb had eaten the chocolate all by himself, there was no longer a lingering doubt.  Chocolate vomit all over our floor and rugs proved that his stomach was being emptied out quickly.  After the puke fest ended, I called the vet for further instructions.  In the meantime she had done research to see how concerning the situation truly was.  Crumb ate at least 2 oz. of pure dark chocolate, which is slightly larger than a Hershey's bar; this was twice the amount that his system could handle.  Even though his stomach was emptied, the concern was how much had already been absorbed into his bloodstream.  Cardiac arrhythmia was still a possibility.  In tears, I rushed a miserable, exhausted Crumb to the animal hospital where they pumped his stomach full of charcoal.   What scared me the most was when he showed signs of being over-caffeinated and he couldn't stay still.  It appeared that his mind was racing, but his exhausted little body couldn't keep up.  I wasn't ashamed to cry in the waiting room.

There's more to the story than that.  Basically I rushed him twice to the vet because of recurring symptoms.. It was horrible to watch him vomit up charcoal sludge.  The cherry on top of the evening was the black sludge that slimed out of his bottom after dinner.  By bedtime, he was so doped up on pain meds that he couldn't walk in a straight line.  Now it's the next morning and he's sleeping peacefully next to me on the couch.  The vet gave him a Halloween bandanna, and he's back to being my little boy.

The vet said that if I hadn't been home or hadn't gotten him to the vet, the chocolate ingestion could have been lethal.  Enough freak accidents happen in this world.. I'm not going to lose my little boy to a chocolate bar.  So seriously, don't shake a stick at a dog eating chocolate.  Milk chocolate?  No biggie.. White chocolate?.. What the heck is that anyway?  Certainly not real chocolate.  It's the dark stuff you need to worry about.

I now feel like I need to put my dark chocolate and baking chocolate under the sink with the cleaning supplies.. because to little guys like Crumb, they're just as poisonous.

I'm back.

I go through seasons in my life where sometimes I write, and sometimes I don't.  Those of you who followed me faithfully through my Xanga period know that well.  

I always know when it's time to write again; I'll know because I get a static-y feeling in my fingers and my mind will go over something once, twice, three times.  Almost like it MUST be told out loud for it to be of any importance.  That, and it can't just be forgotten; it would be such a waste.  

So I'm going to dive right in.  Just like I've done recently with my diary.  I won't go into lengthy detail trying to catch up about life and all its details.  I'll just start telling things that need to be told.  So you'll feel like you're opening a book half way through, but I'll make it easy on you.  Most of what I'll be writing about won't rely on chronology or explanation.  They will just be good ol'fashioned stories that need to be told.  

The first story to come is how my Pomeranian ate a 70% dark chocolate bar and needed to be rushed to the vet this afternoon [twice].  $130 later, we have a miserable little dog who was barfing up charcoal sludge all day.  But the story in detail will come a little later.

Thanks for reading.