A strange thing happened. . .

For years, more than 8 years, I have had a specified number of M&Ms along with hot tea or decaf coffee before bed.  For a couple of years that number was 16.  More recently it was 12.  Don't ask me how I landed on those particular numbers.  I guess I felt I was getting a treat, but not going overboard.

However, about a month ago, I started snacking on cocoa nibs.  These are very much unsweetened, mind you.  Not really a treat, but gave me the taste of real chocolate, I guess.  Anyway, the husband had purchased a bar of Lindt 90% Cocoa bar, didn't really like it, and it got shoved away in the cabinet.  One day I was cleaning my cabinet (Wow. I know, right?) and I found said forgotten 90% cocoa bar.  I nibbled a bit.  That night, I had a square of that with my tea, and the next night, and the next, until I ran out.  So I decided to go back to my M&Ms.  Alas, I don't like them any more.  And, mind you, they were dark chocolate.  A little sad, but not really.  I was not too happy about those artificial colors, and what are those shells made out of anyway?

Happy for me, I won a Walgreen's gift card at Bunco last month.  I am now happily supplied with the good stuff for a couple of weeks.

I never would have guessed I would let my beloved M&Ms go.

Waxing Philosophical

First, a vocabulary lesson:

Waxing - assuming a (specified) characteristic, quality, or state
Philosophical -  of or relating to philosophers or philosophy
For the purposes of this blog entry:
Philosophy -  the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group 

O.K., do you feel much smarter now? I know I do.  Actually, I had a really hard time finding an actual definition that explained what I intended to say with this post title: Growing Thoughtful. Those words just don't have the same punch as Waxing Philosophical, so I had to make it work. 

That was a huge digression from what I wanted to say, so on with the business of writing this entry.

I was surfing Pinterest. (Of course I was surfing Pinterest. What else would I do with all this free time I have between eating bon bons and watching soap operas?) I was surfing Pinterest, and came across this quote:

 "I've learned that you can tell

alot about a person by the way (s)he

handles these three things:

a rainy day,

lost luggage,

and tangled Christmas tree lights."

                                 ~Maya Angelou 

I, obviously, had to analyze how I handle these three things.

A rainy day - That totally depends on weather, er whether, that rainy day is cold and windy or warm and sunny behind the rain. If it is cold and windy, then I am a total grump. Actually I am a total grump if it is cold and windy, forget the rainy part. I do not like to be cold, and rain just adds insult to injury. If it is a warm, sunny day, I probably handle it a lot better. Except I do not like for my shoes to get wet or for my glasses to be spotted with rain. So, I guess I am pretty finicky about rainy days. If I know it is going to rain, I will try take care of any outings before hand so I can avoid the rain.

I am not doing so well on this analysis.

Lost luggage - I have never lost luggage before, a fact for which I have actually been thankful-literally. I guess that, in and of itself, pretty much sums up how I would handle lost luggage. I would be totally worried and annoyed. I would be wondering how I was going to handle the few days I might be without my belongings. I know that I would not just shrug my shoulders and take myself to the nearest store to obtain the few things I might need to get by. I have actually considered packing in a carry-on bag the things I do not feel I could do without. Top on that list: clean underwear.

 I am starting to see a pattern here.

Tangled Christmas tree lights - I will sit down and try to untangle Christmas tree lights, until it is obviously a hopeless mess. However, the actual answer to this one is that I avoid tangled Christmas tree lights to the best of my ability.  When taking lights off the tree, I will either walk around the tree carefully forming the lights into a loop, or put one of my children on the other side so I can hand them the loop of lights, all while telling them exactly how important it is to be extremely careful while removing lights from a tree. Then, once they are off the tree, I will carefully use twisty ties around several areas of the loop in order to maintain the untangled state of said string of lights until the next time they are needed.  This works quite well, I must add.

My final analysis:

I am a planner. Plain and simple. I like to predict what will happen and avoid what I consider to be unpleasant about the situation to the best of my ability.  

I chalk that up to another wise lady who was in my life. My grandmother, Nana. I know she wasn't the first person to say it, but she was the first person I heard say it, so I always think of her in regards to this quote:

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Thank you, Ms. Angelou for the mental exercise. 

Gluten, parting is such sweet sorrow

We have been doing gluten free for six months now.  Our home is gluten free.  Well, to the extent that I no longer bring items with the offending gluten in them into our house.  I did not get rid of all my cookware and utensils.  We do not have celiac disease, so I did not find it necessary to go to that extent.

Every once in a while would I like a traditional pretzel?  Why, yes, I would.  However, the temptation really is not that great.  At this point I am worried about how my body would react to invading gluten.  Better to not find out.  I did give some Trader Joe's Os a go when we were a month into this journey.  I did not get sick, but I did not like the way I felt.  So I am good there.

However, tonight whilst browsing Pinterest (oh, the gluten laden goodies contained therein), I came across a recipe for rugulah. At that point I had a pang of regret.  For years and years I would look at recipes for rugulah because I really like those guys, but I never did get around to making them.  Opportunity lost.

Sure, I could attempt to make a gluten free version, and maybe I will.  I have been extremely fortunate in the gluten free baking area.  Sorry, I cannot share my recipes.  My dear husband has told me not to as he hopes that one day I will open a gluten free business and support us into our golden years.  Ah, perchance to dream.

Lesson: if you are pining over a recipe, go make it.  There may come a day when an unexpected reason prohibits you from doing so.  Oh, yeah, have a bite for me.

Yeah me!!!

Just throw a boa around my neck and call me London Tipton! Yea, there has been a little too much watching of the Disney shows around here. What can I say. Truth be told we like to watch tv. Mind you we don't have either cable or local channels but we do rather well with Hulu, Netflix and other internet viewable stuff.

But I digress.

This post was to be about the fact that I have accomplished a first for me. The Azure order is due tomorrow. Guess who placed her order tonight? Yup, that would be me. Usually I wait until the last possible minute. But not this month.

I feel like such a responsible grownup. It's the small things, ya know?

What a whirlwind

I have wanted to write a post so many times in the past two weeks, but I couldn't figure out how to put into words what I have been feeling.  The past two weeks have been such a bustle of activity.  Most good.  Some not so good.  All very thought provoking.

I would have to say that the activity that had the most impact on me was being allowed to provide labor support to my friend as she gave birth to her second child.  It is not my story, not really, but it is still a chapter in my life.  I do not know how someone can have the privileged of witnessing someone bring a new life onto this earth and not be profoundly affected.  When I had my first child, I experienced a bit of postpartum depression.  It was wonderfully lifted when I was able to share the story of my birth experience.  That experience lead me to believe how cleansing it is to verbally share your story.  From viewing the process, there is so much I want to share, but honestly I do not feel I can.  As I said, it is not my story to tell.  And while I have no desire to share the story of the birth, I want to tell how incredible it was to witness. But I now understand why Mary, "pondered all these things in her heart."  Jesus' birth was not about Mary, but how could she not be affected?  I will be forever changed and forever grateful to have been allowed such an opportunity.

The next event that took place is so pale in comparison as to be almost transparent.  However, I was immensely overjoyed to be able to sew a dress for my daughter that she not only loved, but that she received many compliments for.  Not that I wanted compliments; however, have you gone clothing shopping for a young girl who is trying to live while displaying a testimony for Christ?  It is next to impossible to find suitable clothing.  So I took matters into my own hands.  I knew the style she was looking for, so I found a pattern then showed her the line drawing.  My dear daughter is such a visual person.  Once she sees something in a certain pattern of fabric, she cannot look beyond that far enough to see the style and know that it can be made of something different.  My plan worked, and she gave me permission to proceed.  Several years ago, she was involved in Christian Youth Theater.  I worked on the costume committee for several shows and made some pretty nice pieces.  But I was hesitant to try it for Snickerdoodle.  I decided to put that fear behind me and I am so glad I did.  The dress was a triumph.

The next activity was that the husband and I got away for a couple of days, sans children, for our 17th anniversary.  We have never been able to do that and it was quite nice to be able to leave our children in the care of very capable people and just enjoy being a couple again for a few days.

However, real life smacked us in the face very quickly after getting back home. We had to put our dog, who has been with us for 15-1/2 years, down because of a series of health complications.  That is an experience I never wish to repeat.

I also got to put my new found sewing confidence to use when a friend asked me to alter her daughter's prom dress.  Talk about nervous!  Try cutting into the fabric of a dress that someone has paid more than $100.00 for.  But I was glad I was able to do it.

One more big event.  Today, on Mother's Day, Snickerdoodle and myself, along with other moms and their daughters, got to go enjoy an afternoon and evening together.  We went out to eat, then went to see a Britt Nicole concert.  Not that big of a deal for me, but a huge deal for my daughter.  She was even able to "touch" Britt.  Heartwarming to share that with my girl.

Other mentionable activities include son #1 going on a overnight hiking trip--that gave me much reason to worry, and Bubbie Boy testing all my fortitude as a mother.

Ahh, onward and upward!

Menu Plan for the Week of April 30, 2012

Only four days to plan for this week as the husband and I are headed out of town this weekend to celebrate our anniversary.

I have really got to get proactive on the menu planning stuff. I plan meals, I just have lost my way as far as planning for more than one day at a time. There was a time I would plan and go shopping for two weeks at a time--with two young children and my pregnant self. Sometimes my neighbor would join me with her two young children. We lived about 45 minutes from the nearest grocery store. You should have seen the mini van loaded down with four kids, ice chests and food for two families for two weeks. Wow! Can't believe we did that.

*I will make the necessary changes to make these recipes gluten free.  We are pretty much loving this change in our diet.

Most of these recipes are linked although for some reason my blog won't display them as such.  Just mouse over to see if there are links.
 
Monday

Breakfast: Coconut Flour Banana Muffins 
Lunch: Waffle Iron Hash Browns with Spinach & Fried Eggs
Dinner: Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas  

Tuesday
Breakfast: Pumpkin Muffins 
Lunch: Tuna Casserole and Peas
Dinner: Sweet & Sour Chicken and Asian Slaw  

Wednesday
Breakfast: Refrigerator Oatmeal 
Lunch: Black Bean Salsa & Corn Chips
Dinner: Chipotle Chicken  

Thursday
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Alfredo and Mixed Veggies
Dinner: Taco Corn Fritters & ???  

Friday
Breakfast: Pancakes & maybe Mini Quiches

The one where . . . we decide to try gluten free

It has come to my attention that for various reasons my husband and I should venture into the land of gluten free. I also think that it may be beneficial for my oldest and youngest children, and that it may not even be a bad idea for my middle child. Consequently, I am deep in research mode on this front. I have been making more gluten free choices and two weeks ago, my husband said that he actually wants to give it a try. That makes it easier for me, so the research mode has been amped up.

In my dilemma over making this decision, I wrote the following e-mail to a friend who lives gluten free:

The idea of just taking baby steps until it is accomplished seems more reasonable now than just going cold turkey. I have made dietary adjustments before, so I know it is possible; there is just a bit of mourning that goes along with it. With everything else I was able to have a conversation with myself. "It is not like you will never have chocolate ever again. You can do this and enjoy the times when you can have the treat." But bread? It is the staff of life. No, it turns out. Not so much.

I think one of my biggest mental blocks is the idea that there will be times when I will ingest gluten, albeit unintentionally (or intentionally at times--I am still human and I cannot comprehend that I will absolutely NEVER give in to temptation), and it makes me wonder if it will all be for naught. Will an occasional slip-up completely negate all the hard work of avoiding gluten?

For years I have been a creature of moderation in eating. There are certain things that we have totally said, "No," to, but those are things that, while not always easy to avoid, have been very doable. But the idea of staying away from those vegetables and fruits that are known to be heavily sprayed while still eating some conventional has been a simple switch. The idea that all the good could be undone with only one bite is where I am stuck. Add to all that the fact that a high-fiber diet is how I have been living for so long and now I have to change is daunting. And it is not as though I eat with no thought or concern. I put a lot of careful attention into our/my diet.

So here we go, on a gluten-free adventure. I am excited, overwhelmed and frustrated. However, it is a journey and I am looking forward to traversing the terrain.