Well, it’s officially 2011. I know, I have been MIA, and I would love to say that it was because I was busy traveling all around the country or inventing the next big thing, but well… I wasn’t. I can only blame it on pure laziness. That and a lack of things to talk about. Thinking about it though, a lot has gone on in the last few months.. so I guess I should touch on that before I get into the real reason I am posting something today.
On December 17, I had my tonsils removed. I know, isn’t that only what kids do? Well, apparently not when you have tonsils the size of golf balls in the back of your throat. After a sleep study, about 15 tips to the doctors, we all came to the conclusion that it was time to get those babies out. And out did they come! The doctors told me it would be a two-week recovery and I did a ton of research online (which might have been my first mistake) I thought I was never going to survive. I literally had the doctors office number dialed on my phone, ready to cancel the surgery and just learn to love my tonsils, I even thought about naming them. But, I realized that I was time and that I better just put on my big girls panties and go through with it. I also went into it ready to be back on my feet in 4 days tops! Haha what a joke! That surgery knocked me on my ass. Literally. Getting out of bed seemed like the biggest task in the entire world. BUT luckily for me I have AMAZING friends who waited on my hand and foot until I made a full recovery. I definitely feel blessed to have surrounded myself with such incredible friendships over the years. I am one lucky lady:) in case anyone was wondering, after my dramatic description of the recovery, if I made it out alive… yes, yes I did! By new years I was feeling back to my fabulous self. I am SO glad that I went ahead with the surgery. I feel a world of difference and am already sleeping so much better and I really feel like a new woman.
Christmas and New Years were both great. I was able to go home for about 5 days and spend time with my parents as well as my grandparents. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy time with my family. Sometimes it feels like life gets so hectic and you don’t get the time to really enjoy your loved ones. So I feel especially blessed for that time. To sum up my New Years Eve: I was in my pajamas by 11pm and asleep before 1am. I am not a fan of the hype that goes into that holiday. I feel like people make such a big deal about it and it usually ends in disaster. In fact, the last 5 years I have somehow ended up in tears halfway through the night. Sooo I figured what could be better than going out to dance for a few hours and then spend new years at home. Plus, my new years kiss was about 800 miles away with his family so I was probably missing him more than I care to admit… nobody tell him:)
Is anyone feeling a little anxious over the fact that it is already February? Seriously, where did January go? I am really hoping that 2011 is going to be a phenomenal year. I know I said that about 2010, but this time I really mean it. Seriously though, it has to be amazing! So far, it has been pretty good… so I figure that is a good sign.
Okay, now onto what I originally was posting about….
In 2006 I found out that I was allergic to gluten (among other things). After a long series of doctor visits and absolutely no answers, I went to see a homeopathic doctor. And boy, did I get answers. The six months prior to the visit to the homeopathic doctor, was quite possibly some of the hardest few months of my life. I won’t get into the details of it, but let’s just say that I thought I was doomed to a life of depression and overall misery. After I got the answers I was looking for my life changed. Unfortunately I didn’t really educate myself too much on the subject and after about a year or so of living an almost vegan diet, I moved to Orange County and slowly started eating all the things that I had been living without for so long. In 2010 my body was just not acting normal. I wasn’t sleeping more than a few hours a night and then I would get over 13 hours of sleep and still feel so tired. I was lethargic, I had awful headaches, I couldn’t seem to concentrate and had gained weight and couldn’t seem to get it off... and the list goes on! I decided that I needed to make a change and I knew exactly what that change was going to be. Gluten free. I definitely didn’t dive right in and change everything right away! It took about 3 weeks for me to go completely off of it. I don’t think people realize how much of a change it really is to cut something major like that out of your diet. Something else I didn’t realize, or had forgotten, was that gluten is seriously in EVERYTHING. Stuff like soy sauce and licorice. It is crazy! I learned that this was going to be something that was going to take some getting used to and I was going to have to educate myself on the best and most efficient ways to go about this. Thankfully again, I have such great people in my life who have been supportive and wonderful. They have encouraged me when I need it and always up to try some new GF thing I have cooked or baked. After about 6 months of making the decision to change my diet, I am happy to say that I am about 99% (I leave out that 1% for when I take a bite of someone’s non gluten free meal or have a sip of beer, which by the way I miss the most). I am not going to lie it’s hard sometimes. It takes so much dedication in pretty much everything you do. I can’t just go to any restaurant I want to. If it’s some place that doesn’t have a GF menu, I have to call ahead and talk to a kitchen manager and even then, I don’t always get the answers I am looking for. If someone is having a party at their house, I have to make sure there is food I can eat or cocktails I can drink. I feel like such a nuisance. I rarely eat out these days. I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. I have a new love affair with cooking though. I can’t get enough of it. I am always looking for new recipes or altering some of my favorites to accommodate my allergy. I feel like a whole new person. Seriously, I can’t even begin to describe how much better I feel on the inside and out. I am starting to feel like myself again and I wouldn’t ever go back to eating gluten again. This is a lifestyle for me and I have learned to embrace it. I have found all of these wonderful GF blogs, where people share their stories, recipes, product reviews. It is such a neat little community of people and it has helped me tremendously to not feel so alone in this. Sometimes I envy people who can just eat whatever they want, whenever they want. It is so easy to take that for granted. Learning to live without can be difficult. But I feel lucky to have so many resources at my fingertips and really I don’t really feel like I am living without…. And for that I am pretty grateful. My only complaint might be trying to find a gluten free beer that taste just like an ice-cold blue moon…. one day:)
I have lots of other things to update about. Hopefully I’ll get some time this weekend to do it. Cross those fingers!
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