Beauty school drop-out

So we've been hit with ice again. Not as bad as last year. So far all trees are standing. To pass time today Davis and I added a little highlights! Davis even helped pull my hair through the cap! Fun fun...Sophie had fun just brushing through the stringy strands of hair. She finally crashed on my bed at 3pm! I'm off to check the damage.

Simple Entertainment

This morning at church I had the privilege of hearing a wonderful sermon by Jeff McMillon. One of the highlights of his lesson focused on our emphasis put on entertainment. These days we are not easily entertained and often seek out the most extravagant forms of entertainment. I so agreed with his examples. I can't say I have not fallen in to this way of thinking but I do have strong opinions about overspending on lavish excursions over and over...Part of my opinions are based on frugal ways of thinking. Don't misunderstand me; I do think it is good and important to vacation with family. I just think that all to often over indulgence is taking place.

So my intentions of this post is to hear what others are doing for entertainment with their families. What do you do that is simple and memorable with your loved ones?

As for our family we have done many "simple" things to have fun! Here is a small list.
1.Read together
2.Sleep overs
3.Karaoke
4.Make desserts
5.Camp outs (my son has done this the last 2 years for b-day, it was less than $50, and very memorable)
6.Slept out on trampoline
7.drive out to Pops
8.visit Oklahoma attractions (we love Roman Nose State Park)
9.Go to the dog park
10. Visit a family who has farm animals (this has included gathering eggs, and holding baby kids (goats :))
11. Attended concerts in the park
12. Volunteered at outdoor theatre and received free tickets for admission (Summerstock in Edmond during summer)
13. Block parties
14. attended several county fairs and went to 4-H competitions

There are many more but 14 is our family number so I'll stop there.

Eating out is overrated...

How many of you agree with this? Probably not many :) I love to eat out, or shall I say loved eating out. I actually struggled with this at one time...wanting to always eat out that is. mainly because I thought it was faster and easier, I'm starting to realize I was wrong. Not only has eating out been hard on the budget but I'm sure it's been hard on our bodies.

Since finding out I have Celiac I can only eat limited things if we do eat out. Salad...with my own dressing. How fun is that? Maybe a few more items, but not many. There are a few places that have GF items but they are pricey restaraunts like PF Chang (only for Krista's b-day) and Outback. After my most recent episode/flare up last Thursday I'm terrified to eat anything I did not prepare. I'm sure I'll get over that eventually.

I'm proud to say I have eaten all my meals at home for the last 7 days. That is really good for me.Although, I have had a couple of half price medium Coke's from Sonic :) I have made some really good meals this week, and very healthy too! My favorite was a pasta bake w/ GF noodles and salad w/ a huge avocado from Crest. Yum yum! Oh, and I cooked a chicken in the crockpot after pulling all the skin off, that was a chore but very yummy! ( I have made chicken this way many times but never w/o the skin, it is so much better)

To make the week worse...then better

Following my difficult 2 days Sophie developed a kidney infection. She has had a fever for 2 days with abdominal pain and painful urination. it is heartbreaking. To top it off it has been almost impossible to get her to take her medicine. We are trying one last attempt of putting it with chocolate ice cream...that was recommended by the on call nurse, otherwise she will need to get a shot. Monday we will try to get in to the Dr.

In addition to that news we welcomed our new student Karine from Panama! She is only 16! She will only be here 6 weeks. Most of our other students have stayed for 4 months or more. As far as I can tell I think she is going to be a delight to have in our home.

Well I am off to attempt a GF dessert!

Well I was right...

Yesterday morning as I wrote I was predicting that I was not going to feel well. I attempted to go back to sleep with no luck. I managed to drag myself out of bed, shower,and get ready for work. While driving Davis to school I continued to feel worse to no avail. I turned the van around and came home. Within 20 minutes I was thankful I did! I was sicker yesterday than I have ever been...I experienced all the symptoms listed for about 8 hours straight. You could compare it to a terrible stomach virus. My conclusion was...I must be eating gluten.

Around 5pm or so I had a little energy to read and discovered my conclusion was correct. I learned that gluten is in malt, which is in candy bars,which I ate on Wednesday. I know I had other things too, like salad dressing. This is such a learning process. My life will be consumed w/ reading labels for awhile. So when you see people reading labels...
perhaps they have Celiac??

I am feeling better today, not 100%, but MUCH better. I am so glad I went to CR tonight, because I considered not going. It was very uplifting and rejuvenating. Thank you to all of you and your kind words of concern and encouragement!

P.S. For those of you who asked, yes my kids are getting tested next week. That shall be interesting. Just a blood draw...a first for Sophie and Davis vomits at the sight of blood... we shall see :)

I'm struggling... with this Celiac

Since recently being diagnosed with celiac my life has been altered/turned upside down just a bit. Not only have I started the gluten-free diet, which by the way is very difficult to get used to, but I have also been experiencing other things that have been unexpected.

For one, this diet, which is the only cure for Celiac, takes time to get used to and to learn. I know I have made some mistakes along the way; it is difficult learning all the foods that contain gluten, so I know I have accidently ingested some. Not on purpose or to cheat believe me, I am praying for relief from the symptoms I have been experiencing for several years, I am willing to do what ever it takes to reverse the effects this has taken on my body and mind.

When you have Celiac your small intestine has been damaged and needs time to repair itself,therefore, relief is not immediate... at least not in my case. I have continued to have some symptoms over the past week. I am still experiencing fatigue,stomach problems,inability to concentrate/remember, and the skin issues. Over time this can certainly become a bit of a burden and even depressing. I have to say I have experienced some of this.

To add to the mix I went back to work full-time in August.. .this condition has not worked well with my job. I have missed several days of school because of it. This has only added to the frustration. I am guilt ridden for missing so much, and I'm not sure how much more I will need to miss while I am waiting to start feeling better, it is a vicious cycle. I am supposed to meet with my Principal today to discuss all of this,however, as I type this I am not feeling so hot and my stomach is churning...which is usually an indicator that the day ahead will not be so great...

Blogging has been an outlet for me at times, this would be one of those times. It helps to just write things out . The positive side of things is that I will most likely lose a little weight and there is relief in sight, or so I'm told :) I have faith that there is, really I do. I know that God will do wonders. My prayer is that those wonders will come soon.

Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. I know I could write even more but it's 5am and I going to attempt to gain one more hour of sleep, if possible. Until next time.

Milk Tea is a love of mine ! I was introduced to it by our student Lily. Currently I am living off of the stash she supplied me with that is directly from Taiwan. I'm not sure what I will do when I run out. Perhaps I will have to make a special order. This tea has such a unique flavor I have never tasted before.

The Red Cup is one of my favorite places to go in OKC...when I get the chance. Now that I am on a gluten-free diet I will not be able to frequent the Red Cup as often as I would like :( The atmosphere is great and on some nights they have live music. Check them out if you get a chance...they are located off Classen.

Looking forward to 2009

May all my blogging friends be blessed in the year to come. I am anxious to see what this year will bring. With a new President and economic troubles it shall be interesting. I am prayerful and have faith that the Lord has a grand plan.

Looking at the past year I am thankful for some things that are behind us. From David being laid off in February from Dell to my mom moving back to NM in May. As always the Lord blessed us in more ways than one. David quickly found a temporary job and was then hired at his current job that he really enjoys! I reluctantly went back to teaching. Sophie is able to go to school with me and that is yet another blessing to add to the list. Davis continues to be a great student and is developing a love of reading...and a love of computer games.(We will have to keep tabs on that one) Our student Lily moved out to live with her brother here in Edmond. We loved having her in our home for almost a year. We have missed her. We were able to visit Dallas in the Spring where Davis participated in Leadership Training for Christ, he brought home several medals. We were able to visit NM to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law and my mom, in the beautiful town of Ruidoso. Finishing out the summer we attended a family reunion on my side in Abilene. The fall has been a whirlwind as I have adjusted to working outside the home again. After battling several bouts of stomach problems I was diagnosed with Celiac the end of December. Another blessing is that this disease can be controlled by a gluten-free diet, no meds or surgery etc... We made another trip to Abilene to be with my Aunt Joy for Christmas. That brings me to the end of the year. I am looking forward to 2009 and what the Lord has in store for our family.

Goals for 2009...

1. Focus more on strengthening my marriage (15 years in March)
2. Grow in patience with my children
3. Have a simple vegetable garden
4. Eat out less (will be easier w/ this gluten-free diet)
5. Get rid of belongings that have not ben used in last 6 months
6. Do something for a neighbor
7. Finish establishing our emergency fund
8. Post on my blog at least 3 times per week