I made it!!

We are HOME from AZ and had a wonderful wonderful trip! Absolutely fantastic...and I wish we were still there! Well, kind of ;). It is of course, always nice to be home. There's nowhere quite like home, is there?! :)

I was SO nervous during the weeks leading up to the trip...I had basically resigned myself to the fact that I would get sick at some point during the vacation. In my mind it was inevitable. Between eating out and eating meals at Eileen and Dave's house (our hosts) it was bound to happen at some point.

I am so thankful to report that I needn't have been so worried!!

Eileen had stocked up on some gluten free goodies that she had for me in the guest house where Jeremy and I stayed...check it out! She had even gotten my favorite granola! (accidental! She had no idea!). She also got me some pretzles (not shown; they were in my bag ready to take with to the baseball game!). The yellow box of Trader Joe's mac and cheese was one I'd brought from home (one of the boxes Jillian got for me!). I survived! ;)

Eileen also went way out of her way to prepare many gluten free meals for me during our stay. The woman is truly a saint. She and her husband Dave used to be neighbors here in Bloomington of Jeremy's parents, but moved to Mesa sevenish years ago when Dave was transferred with State Farm (he is a vice president of State Farm; in charge of auto claims out there in the AZ area. Big stuff ;)). I had never met them before, but they were two of the most accomodating, loving individuals I had ever met. I can't wait to see them again someday! I cannot thank them enough for their kind generosity! In a future post, I will share two recipes from her: a soup with pork, green chiles, and hominy (phenomenal!!) and a margharita lasagna (she made mine with rice noodles!!). Both were sooo yummy!!!
Jeremy and I had read that there was a Red Robin in Mesa; however we had forgotten to check the address before embarking on a journey to find lunch on Monday. We ended up "happening upon" Red Robin and dined like kings! ;) Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE Red Robin!? YUMMM indeed!

Jeremy just loves it when I take "pointless" photos of him ;). HA!

Red Robin...YUMM!

I am not sure if I have mentioned this on here yet....but I absolutely love Red Robin restaurants! We unfortunately don't have one in Bloomington, but there is one in Davenport and we frequent it when we are in the Quad Cities visiting family and friends. They have a HUGE gluten free menu and the food is fantastic. Love it love it LOVE IT! They have awesome, unlimited french fries with your meal which is just AWESOME...I love french fries!!!

We had dinner at a Red Robin last night...in Raleigh, NC! We are here right now visiting Jeremy's parents' new home...it is awesome! We are having a great time and it is fun to have a little weekend getaway adventure. Jeremy's mom has been here since the beginning of January and is very excited to have guests.

My favorite entree there now (post gluten-free diet...previously I loved the whiskey river BBQ chicken wrap and chicken tortilla soup...sigh!!) is the Royal Red Robin burger...a burger with a fried egg on top! Sounds crazy, but it is soooo delicious! It is a great substitute for a bun, if you will!

Have a great day!

Day 45

Today, December 1, 2008, is my 45th day of living gluten free. Crazy! I am still in the infancy of this new lifestyle...learning more every day....but things are, for the most part, going pretty well! Sure, I have cravings for foods that are part of my "old life" (like I expressed in my prior post!)...but for the most part I am happier living the way I am. I know it's healthier, and I know it's better for my body. That doesn't mean it's easy....or fun all of the time. However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun sometimes...making new recipes, reading new information; it's all kind of a big puzzling adventure! I do enjoy a challenge...and this is definitely a challenge!

This weekend I had TWO new messages on Facebook from girls I knew in college: one has Celiac disease and the other is gluten free by choice (since it is healthier). Random encounters such as those help me see that I am not alone in this craziness ;). I really am finding out that quite a few of my acquaintances either have Celiac, live gluten-free by choice, or know someone who has Celiac disease. It's kind of crazy! I mean, in my reading I learned that an estimated 1 in 133 people has Celiac in the United States....

I guess, technically right now, I fall into that category of someone who has not been officially diagnosed; someone who is just living gluten-free by choice. I mean, we all obviously have choices every day of how we are going to live our lives...my choice just happens to be somewhat strange and/or unique...I am going to attempt to live as gluten-free as possible. My doctor has strong reasons to believe I have Celiac disease...however he suggested a gluten-free diet prior to getting the biopsy of my small intestine. Based on some of my reading, this was a poor call on his part...since the only way to REALLY know for certain if it IS Celiac is a biopsy...and you need to be eating a "normal" diet for the biopsy to be truly conclusive. SO, in order to have a reliable biopsy, I would need to go back to eating normally for a while. Honestly, I am not sure that it is worth it to me to go back to eating normally, feeling terrible and not knowing when exactly I will need to visit a bathroom! I am fine with having a "possible diagnosis" of Celiac or just generic gluten intolerance. I know how much better I feel...and that it really is probably what has been ailing me for years and years. However, before we decide to have children I plan on having genetic testing. Regardless of the result, I believe I will raise my children gluten free, at least until they are 2. Based on my reading, this is suggested by some people, even for kids who are not gluten intolerant. Human bodies are not made to digest gluten...and no one digests it fully. It's just that some people can tolerate it and some (like me and so many others I am learning about!) can't!

SO, there you have it.

Oh, this weekend I found out that Red Robin has an extensive gluten-free menu! We had lunch there on Saturday before leaving the Quad Cities to come back home. We met up with some of my aunts and cousins...it was a great time! I felt especially wonderful because I had TONS of choices! We will definitely be going back there :). The manager and our waitress were both wonderful...very accommodating and cautious. I totally appreciated it!

Have a wonderful day...it's snowy and nasty here! I have to drive around town to some off-site visits today, here's hoping my car handles the nastiness well!