Thanks, Jami!

Jeremy and I went over to our friends Adam and Jami's home for dinner tonight so that the boys could watch the national championship college football game and so we girls could sit and chat ;). Our friends Chuck and Alec also went over...so the boys had a good time of eating Jami's great food, drinking beer, yelling at the game and each other, and being general perverted men together ;).

Jami made chili....which was awesome! She even made TWO pots...she made one "regular" or as she typically would...and one gluten free! It was so thoughtful...and quite delicious, too! We even brought home a bunch of leftovers...probably enough for 4 more servings or 2 dinners for the two of us! How wonderful!

She also baked me a big gluten-free chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting! It is really yummy...and sooo thoughtful! I got to bring it home, too. WOW!

Yahoo for great friends and fun nights away from home :)

On labels and anger

It's weird having a label. I am a "Celiac" (well, until proven otherwise). It's strange. I guess I shouldn't let that define WHO I am, though. It's hard, though, when it's basically part of my every waking thought. It comes out in many conversations. I don't try to hide it, it's really nothing to be ashamed of. Sure the symptoms were/are disgusting, but it wasn't anything I could help, was it? If it is really genetic, then it's just the way I was made...Wait, WHY?

Which leads me to anger. Yesterday I found myself getting very angry. Jeremy just cracked a joke (as he often does!)...he was upset that we didn't have any "normal" noodles because he wanted macaroni and cheese (he worked late and wanted something to eat when he got home). I said, "You could have some rice noodles, they are actually quite good." Jeremy said, "If God wanted me to eat rice noodles, I'd be the one who had Celiac disease!"...he really meant nothing by this. He tries his darnedest to say off-the-wall things to catch me off guard or get under my skin (not in a mean way!)....and this one just made me mad! Not at him, at the situation. WHY do I have this?! Sure it's not the worst thing ever, I could have it FAR worse; many people are dealing with medical issues I can't even fathom. But, I am a selfish person (aren't we all, at times?!) and it was a ME moment. Why do I have to deal with this, why can't I eat normal food and enjoy PIZZA and GRILLED CHEESE? Why do my friends and family members get to run around doing whatever they please in regard to food?! Ok, really, I don't think like this most of the time. I know it's not rational or reasonable, really. Things happen for a reason, but we don't necessarily understand or know the reason immediately. I just need to accept that.

I am a Celiac...and I will be fine! I WILL get healthy this year, I WILL get the genetic test, I WILL have a healthy pregnancy (God-willing!) in the not-so-distant future.

AND, I love my husband...even when he makes silly comments...;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, I bought a great book over Christmas break...The Gluten-Free Bible by Jax Peters Lowell. Jax writes with a great wit and wonderful candor. I need to be more like her!
"The good news is, you're not dead. Not only are you not dead, you don't have anything that could be even remotely construed as fatal or life threatening, unless you cheat constantly, and you aren't going to do that, are you? Even better, your condition can be managed quite nicely without drugs, frequent doctor visits, and expensive hospital stays, nor does it require that you suffer any more bad news than you have already gotten....
The bad news? Well, you knew there'd be some. If you want to avoid some long-term complications, you've ordered your last pizza with everything on it. You've eaten your last cheeseburger on a sesame seed bun, buttered your last croissant, and bought your last frozen dinner, ice-cream come, slice of apple pie. The bad news is that from now on you have to think about every bit of food you put in your mouth. No more aimless grazing, nibbling, or grabbing something, anything, when you're hungry. You've got to plan meals and snacks and restaurant dinners. The bad news is that you are on a diet that allows no slack, one that will test your resolve and turn even the meekest among us into a serial killer (which, in your case, is spelled cereal)."--The Gluten-Free Bible; Jax Peters Lowell

Silly Shirt

So my chiropractor, Ryan, told me about this shirt today....

Yeah, I probably need this! ;)

(in case you can't tell, that's the Pillsbury Dough Boy and the caption "gluten for punishment"....get it?!) ;) HAHA!!!

Lovin' me some Flat Top Grill!

Flat Top Grill is a new somewhat-obsession of mine! On Saturday, December 6th I met up with an Augustana professor/friend, Kathy Jakielski, for some chatting and Christmas shopping in Peoria. When deciding where in the area to eat, on a whim, I suggested Flat Top Grill. I have been there in the past (it's a make-your-own-stir fry place) and enjoyed it...and for some reason remembered that they had RICE NOODLES and probably lots of things I'd be able to eat! Well, sure enough...they did! Tons of veggies, meats, rice, rice noodles, and sauces that I can eat! I can eat practically everything there...except the yellow noodles, most of the sauces (they have many, but I can only have 4-5 of them), and the BREAD ( :( Their bread is awesome...a greasy pancake-like thing...YUM!). Well, it was a yummy dinner...and I knew I'd be back...frequently!

Well, Jeremy found out that around Christmas time they had a special...buy $30 worth of gift certificates and receive $20 free. WHAT?! Well, my stocking from him came stuffed with $50 worth of gift certificates from Flat Top (so $50 worth of food there for only $30!!). Also, Jeremy's brother Jon gave me some gift certificates, too, so I had a total of $80 (that we personally only spent $30 on) for Flat Top from Christmas! WOO HOO!

Tonight we ate at Flat Top here in Bloomington with Jeremy's good friend Adam and his wife Ann. I suppose I should say OUR friends Adam and Ann! :) It was delicious!!! I loved it. One of my favorite things is the pineapple in the stir fry...I LOVE hot fruit. I know that might be kinda weird...but I really do!

Jeremy even enjoyed his meal tonight! :) He isn't the biggest fan of Flat Top, and isn't the biggest fan of vegetables in general ;). Well, he filled up his stir fry bowl with just POTATOES, CHEESE, carrots (to feel good about himself? ;) ) and some black-bean garlic sauce...and then had a big huge bowl of beef added to it. Well, he ended up really liking it :). That's a good thing...because we'll most likely be back. When he went up to the line for his second trip, he skipped the carrots ;), and had only POTATOES, TONS OF CHEESE, some black-bean garlic sauce, and tons of beef once again. He liked the second bowl even more. Sigh. ;)

YAHOO for being able to eat nearly everything on the menu...they even have a signal for allergies...you put a special white stick in your bowl to show that you would like your meal cooked in a separate clean wok instead of on the huge flat top grill with the rest of everyones' stir frys...so you won't get cross contamination during the cooking process! It's great!

I love Flat Top Grill!

Oh, and I should mention, too, that we had a great time with our friends! They moved to Brooklyn in August, so we don't have the opportunity to see them much :). They both have parents still here in Bloomington, though, so they have multiple reasons to visit :)

FOUR THINGS...to be thankful for (yesterday's thoughts)

I spoke with my mom on the phone yesterday and shared with her the following three wonderful things that had taken place yesterday, for which I was very thankful!

1) HUMMUS: A friend from the Peoria Easter Seals office, Stephanie (a PT) sent me a facebook message on Friday saying that she was going to be passing through Bloomington tomorrow (which was Saturday) on her way back home to Peoria and wondered if she could stop by and give me a present. Totally unexpected and fun! So, we made plans to meet up for a few minutes in the Sam's Club parking lot (per my suggestion, since it wasn't far off of the highway and she was eager to return home!) where she gave me her present...A few months ago over lunch at work (when I was still at the Peoria office), we had gotten into a conversation about hummus and how much we both liked it. She told me about her favorite two places in Chicago that have homemade hummus that she LOVES (she is originally from the Chicago area and still has family there). Well, for some reason she decided she would bring some to me...so I could have a nice little gluten-free snack, as she put it! How sweet was that?! I tried it as soon as I got home, of course...and it was DELICIOUS!!! That stuff is awesome. I was floored by her kindness...I love random stuff like that! It was such an encouragement to me...and a reminder that I need to turn around and show others kindness like Stephanie did to me!

2) BREAD: My friend Catherine called me yesterday afternoon shortly after I picked up the hummus from Stephanie...as I was running some errands about town. Catherine has a friend, Starla, who has Celiac Disease...and has known she has it for like 10 years (so she is an expert! ;) ). Well, Catherine told me that she had been thinking about me and my plight to find bread so that I could once again enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich...well, Catherine told met hat she had spoken with Starla about where to find some decent/delicious bread. Starla told her that her favorite bread can be found at Whole Foods (a grocery store in the Chicago area) in the freezer section...and that the first time she discovered it, she ate the whole loaf in about a week, it was just THAT good! Awesome!! I can't wait to try it. So, yahoo for another great friend and the great kindness and great help she showed to me :)

3) BOOKS: I had a book to return to Barnes and Noble, so I went there yesterday, returned the book, and perused around for another to get in its place. I found...The Gluten Free Bible...check THIS out for a book review! This book is truly awesome! There are tons of topics...from initial diagnosis, to cheating, to pregnancy, to recipes, to suggestions of doctors! I LOVE this book and spent a good amount of time yesterday looking through it. I can't wait to read it all! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone living a wheat-free/gluten-free life!! I am so thankful I found it...I love good, new books...and especially ones that pertain to my life and can offer help to me! :)

4) CHILI'S: This last thing to be thankful for happened later last night, and post the conversation with my mom...but of course is worth noting! See the previous post for a full description :)

Have a wonderful day!

Chili's

Jeremy and I LOVE Chili's...in fact, our first date was to the Chili's in Davenport, IA (near Augustana, where we were both attending school). We typically go to Chili's at least once per month...but we hadn't been in about 3 months, since before I started the gluten-free diet! Chili's does have a gluten-free menu, we just hadn't had the chance to try it out yet. Well, Jeremy got a gift card to Chili's in his stocking from his parents, so we decided to go on a date last night to Chili's!

I was sooo excited, because I had looked at the gluten-free menu beforehand and knew they had baked potato soup that was gluten free! I was so pumped to have a "real" soup that I could eat! I ordered the soup and a chicken Caesar salad. The soup was AWESOME!! The salad came out with a visible crouton on it, and maybe more hidden croutons...so I sent it back. I explained that I couldn't eat anything that had touched wheat, so it wouldn't work just to pick it out. I felt bad, but they were nice to me about it. A manager even came out and apologized to me. I thought that was very nice. The second time it came out it had clearly been entirely re-made...and it was fantastic!

All in all, I was VERY satisfied with my experience at Chili's and would definitely return! :) It was very encouraging to me!! It's great to know that something that was a part of our life pre-gluten-free menu doesn't have to be entirely eliminated from our lives...just modified. Sure I can't order mozzarella sticks (what we ordered as an appetizer on our first date...and Jeremy was "impressed" because I wasn't a wimpy eater and ate HALF of the cheese sticks...what was I thinking?! :))....or the turkey sandwich and broccoli cheese soup (the entree I ordered on our first date and on many visits thereafter...Chili's broccoli cheese soup is my favorite EVER!!), nor can I order the fajitas (we often would order the "fajitas for two" entree)...but I can be completely satisfied with the baked potato soup and Caesar salad...plus there are some other things that look good that I will try on subsequent visits!

YAHOO for CHILI'S!!!! :)

Dreaming and other musings

First, I have been DREAMING about gluten again. Really. It's fairly unsettling and quite annoying. Last night, for example, I dreamt about being at some big conference or convention or something of the sort and of course at lunchtime when they wheeled out the big buffet line of sandwiches and such there was nothing I could eat. For some reason, in my dream state, I "knew" the only thing I could eat was a hamburger bun (wait...bread? What?) with some cheese and lettuce on it. So, I ate it...pissed. When I woke up I realized how stupid that dream was. First of all, when I am in those situations (which I have been a number of times over the past 2 and a half months), I pack my own food. Second of all, I am pretty sure...even if I was able to eat anything on that buffet, it wouldn't have been a HAMBURGER BUN! Whatever.

Second, I am still on a quest...to find a perfect gluten-free grilled cheese sandwich and gluten free pizza. These are my two biggest cravings. When we went to Trader Joe's in Chicago in November, I purchased some gluten free French rolls and attempted to make a pseudo grilled cheese sandwich in our toaster oven. Yeah, it didn't work. It was decent, but the bread was far to sweet and dense to really work out. One of the first Sunday evenings of my new "diet", I made a gluten-free pepperoni pizza using a Chebe brand pizza crust. It was decent...and I would probably try it again...but it wasn't the pizza perfection I was looking for. What do I REALLY want?! Just Pizza Hut, really! Jeremy and I DID discover, though, that Lou Malnati's in Chicago makes gluten-free crustless pizza. That is DEFINITELY on our list of things to go try...sooner rather than later!!! :)

Third, Christmas (in both the gluten-free realm and just the "in general" realm) was awesome! Jeremy got me 3 gifts (in addition to a few others) that will be a great help to me. Check out the Triumph Dining website. Even in all of my perusing of the internet and other resources, I never once came across this website! Jeremy somehow found it and ordered 3 products for me: a restaurant guide, a grocery shopping guide, and some handy-dandy dining cards that explain the gluten-free diet in a variety of languages. You are supposed to hand them to the waiter/waitress and explain them and then ask them to share the information with the chef and others who will be preparing your food. Awesome! He is SO thoughtful and I LOVE these gifts! What great resources to own!

Fourth, I've decided to pursue genetic testing for Celiac Disease, most likely through The University of Chicago. Here is information taken directly from their website.

"What is genetic testing and who can benefit from it?
There is a blood test or cheek swab test kit available to determine whether or not an at risk individual carries the genes responsible for the development of celiac disease. These genes are located on the HLA-class II complex and are called DQ2 and DQ8. Each case of celiac disease has been found to show these so-called "haplotypes"; therefore, a negative gene test indicates that celiac disease cannot develop in that individual.
There are two main reasons for using the genetic test when evaluating an individual for celiac disease. The first case is to "rule out" celiac disease, which is a medical term that indicates an individual does not possess a necessary risk factor for the development of celiac disease, genetic predisposition. Without this factor, it is impossible that the individual with a negative gene test will develop celiac disease in the future. People who test negative for the gene would not be required to have regular antibody screening for the remainder of their lives. For example, the children of an adult with celiac disease could have the gene test. The results would allow the parent to know which children need close monitoring.
In individuals with symptoms who have not had a biopsy to diagnose celiac disease, but have been on the gluten-free diet for a significant period of time, the gene test is often the only way to determine if symptoms could possibly be related to celiac disease. For a person who faces this situation, a negative gene test would indicate that symptoms are not the a result of celiac disease. A positive gene test, however, does not diagnose the disease but increases the likelihood that it is present."

I also learned through some additional reading that Celiac Disease, gluten intollerance, and wheat allergies manifest themselves in people by very similar symptoms. Since I never had the biopsy...even though my doctor REALLY believes I have Celiac Disease, we don't know...not beyond the shadow of a doubt. Naturally, I am not satisfied with this. Yes, I feel TONS better while on this gluten free diet...but I want to be sure that what is going on with me is truly Celiac Disease.

So, there you have it...my thoughts as of late. On another note...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! As far as resolutions go, I decided I should have a Celiac Disease/gluten-free living resolution for myself...my resolution relates to my fourth comment above: I resolve to undergo genetic testing for Celiac Disease at some point early on this calendar year in order to TAKE OWNERSHIP of my health and what is going on....and as a way to ensure I am doing everything I can (both for myself and my furture children) to be the healthiest person I can be.