Frequently Asked Questions: Celiac Disease

For those of you who don't already know, I was diagnosed with celiac disease about 2 1/2 years ago. I get a lot of questions about it so I figured I'd share some of those questions (and my answers) here.

1. What is celiac disease?
Thanks for asking! Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the consumption of gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye) causes damage to the lining (villi) of the the upper intestine.  Villi are finger-like extensions in the intestine that absorb nutrients, so without them people who have undiagnosed and untreated celiac disease are at risk for other nutritional deficiencies and related illnesses.  There is no cure for celiac disease except to follow a very strict gluten-free diet.

2. How did you find out you had celiac disease?
I remember having stomach problems for years and finally brought it up to my doctor, who ran a full blood panel including celiac disease.  The blood test was positive, so I had to go to a gastroenterologist to get my intestine checked through an endoscope.  This test was also positive for celiac disease, so after a gluten-filled meal at Ruby Tuesday I started on a gluten-free diet.

3. How did you get celiac disease?
Typically you have a genetic predisposition to celiac disease--there's no gene for it per se, but the tendency is there and can be "turned on" by any number of factors.  No one else in my family has celiac disease but I do have a genetic predisposition toward it; according to a DNA test Rob bought for me for my birthday, I had a 1.2% chance of developing celiac disease (in comparison to the average Northern European female's chances of 0.7%).

4. What can't you eat?
Pasta, bread, cookies, crackers and wheat cereals are the biggest, most recognizable ones.  Some processed foods have "hidden" gluten so I've had to learn which names to watch out for.

5. What can you eat?
If it comes from the ground and isn't wheat, then I can eat it.  Potatoes, rice, rice-based pasta, quinoa, fruits, vegetables, chocolate, and most candy with the exception of Twix, Kit Kat, or regular Milky Ways.   All meats are okay assuming they haven't been treated with a wheat-based preservative (like some cured meats) or marinated in something containing flour to thicken it. I can eat French fries if they are cooked in clean frying medium without breaded items.

6. Can you eat white bread?
No. It's still bread. (side note: I get this question far more often than you'd imagine.)

7. What can you drink?
Most drinks are fine, including alcoholic ones.  I can drink vodka as it's usually so far distilled that the gluten is at an undetectable level (at least that's what I've been told).  I can't drink beer (though I never drank it before) or whiskey.

8. Is it hard to eat gluten-free?
No, at least once you get a lot of practice at it.  And even if it was hard, I don't have much of a choice. There are lots of gluten-free "substitute" foods that have worked just fine for me, and it's forced me to be much more aware of what I'm putting into my body in general.

9. If I couldn't eat cookies/pizza/bread/pasta/crackers I'd kill myself.
Well if I had your face I'd kill myself.  See how obnoxious that is? Celiac disease is not something I chose, it was something I was born with.  I will never get rid of it and it's not that big a damn deal.  I think that if a doctor told you that you could give up Oreos or put yourself at risk for cancer you'd probably make the same choice I did.

10. I have a family history of celiac disease/have celiac disease symptoms but I'd just rather not know.
That's absolutely your right as it is your body.  One thing I want to clarify, however, is that celiac disease is not the same as a gluten intolerance.  If you have a gluten intolerance, you can eat gluten without physically damaging your intestine. If you eat gluten and have celiac disease you put yourself at risk for infertility and miscarriages, colon cancer, rectal cancer, diabetes, anemia, nutritional deficiencies and early death from other causes. For me personally pizza, bread and other yummy bread-y things aren't worth any of that.

10. Can you eat at restaurants?
Yes, but I generally have to be very careful and know exactly which questions to ask to avoid cross-contamination with gluten-containing foods.  The only times I've gotten sick from gluten after my diagnosis were at restaurants so I am very careful.

11. Does Rob eat gluten-free too?
Not completely.  We don't make two dinners or anything so he does eat gluten-free meals, but we do have bread and cereal in the house and because of this take a lot of extra precautions.  For example, we usually have separate jars of peanut butter, butter, cream cheese, etc. so that he can use them on his bread without worrying about getting bread crumbs on whatever I eat.  We also have separate toasters for this reason. He's also learned to wipe down the counter/stove after making something and if he's using a condiment I use a lot to not touch it to his bread/tortilla so I can use it after him.

11. I'm gluten-free and I make all my own food which is so much better than gluten-free substitutes and ipso facto I am better than other gluten-free people who don't make their own food.
Congratulations, you have won the gluten-free people contest.  I'm going to keep eating premade gluten-free substitutes because they are easy, I am healthy, and I don't have the time and ability to cook.

If you have any other questions for me or for my intestines, or if you are a gluten-free eater who has other questions you'd like to add, please feel free to share in the comments.

Tuesday Bits & Pieces

1. Thanks for all of your kind words about my cactus-in-finger situation. It's slowly getting better, thanks to the antibiotics the doctor put me on.  Anyway, the antibiotics had a rather unintended side effect, namely that I spent all day yesterday vomiting or trying not to vomit.  I honestly don't remember the last time I felt that sick.  By the end of the day I was sobbing to Rob because the nausea just. wouldn't. stop.  Thankfully we isolated the problem antibiotic (#1 of 2) so today I am feeling much better.  What a warm welcome from my new home state, eh?

2. It feels really good to finally know which of Santa Fe's many grocery stores is "ours." I know that's a tiny thing, but in Maine most places only have one grocery store so you kind of identify with it.  We loved our Hannaford back in Farmington because we knew where everything was and could get anything we needed there.  The one issue with our new grocery store is  that we can't get a lot of "conventional" brands (like normal Chex) because it's kind of a hippy-dippy all-natural situation.  Oh well, I guess that's what CVS is for.

3. We've been having fun cooking in our new kitchen, though space is far more limited than in our last apartment.  Our first meal was comprised of baked chicken tenders and french fries, and tomorrow we're going to our new favorite restaurant for yummy Mexican.  We're trying to get better at meal planning, since our usually MO is to just buy every day what we need for that particular day.

4. We've had a lot of fun decorating our new home.  Since, as previously mentioned, our house is considerably smaller than our previous domiciles we've had to work a lot harder to make all of our things fit.  One thing we got really excited about once we got here was that holy candles are available everywhere, including Target.  We bought La Virgen de Guadalupe and San Antonio, my grandmother's favorite Saint.

5. My Nikon D60 finally got repaired and was sent back to me just before we moved.  I took it along with us on a short hike and maybe, just maybe, you guys won't have to deal with crappy iPhone pictures on here anymore.

6. I hope you all are having a great week so far!

Guest Post: Melisande Makes Yummy Spaghetti Squash

While Rob and I are on vacation in Florida I thought I'd share some awesome blog writers with you.  This is my first guest post extravaganza so I hope you enjoy!  Today's post is from Melisande of sweet honey.  Melisande was one of my first blog friends when I restarted blogging earlier this year, and I love reading about her life with her boyfriend in California.  She also eats gluten-free, so she's a girl after my own heart! Today she's sharing a pretty yummy-looking recipe with you, so enjoy!

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Hi To Make Love Stay readers! My name is Melisande and I blog over at sweet honey. I live in a small California beach town with my sweet boyfriend where we enjoy adventures, riding bikes, and eating clean and gluten-free. Today I want to share one of my new favorite recipes with you, because it's the perfect winter-time meal and it's healthy and gluten-free. We've been obsessed with making spaghetti squash for dinner lately because it's so easy to make and it's delicious.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the squash in half length-wise. Drag a fork over the surface of the squash and dig most of the seeds out. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and rosemary over the squash. I like to add a big pat of butter because butter is awesome and delicious! My boyfriend likes to chop fresh veggies into the squash and bake them in it, and I like it plain. Either way is good and it's fun to try out different recipes! Bake the squash for 40 minutes. I like to add extra seasonings after 20 minutes of cooking. Remove squash from oven and let cool. Drag a fork through the squash. If it's cooked thoroughly, the squash will unravel and look just like spaghetti. You can eat the "spaghetti" right out of the squash, or spoon it into a bowl. Enjoy!

 Thanks Caitlin for letting me guest post for you! Happy Holidays!

Guest Post: Sandi of Adalou Makes Pumpkin Donut Muffins

While Rob and I are on vacation in Florida I thought I'd share some awesome blog writers with you.  This is my first guest post extravaganza so I hope you enjoy!  Today's post is from Sandi from Adalou Vintage.  Sandi is one awesome, talented lady, and I love her blog, which is jam-packed with her awesome collections, lovely vintage things, inspiration, and her life with her family.  She's sharing a delicious-looking recipe today, so enjoy!  

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Hi friends, this is Sandi from over at the AdaLou blog and I'm honored to be popping in today to guest post while Cailtin enjoys some time away. For those of you who don't know me, I blog about my love for vintage, art, everyday inspiration, and general life. Among everyday life, which is kinda a broad topic, we (my mister and I) enjoy baking tasty treats for the family and then sharing this yumminess with all of you. Well, today I wanted to share some delicious Pumpkin Donuts Muffins, which were highly enjoyed by all of us especially the kiddos. Thanks again Caitlin for letting me share this recipe.

Enjoy!

PUMPKIN DONUT MUFFINS
Makes 12 // Total Time 1 Hour 20 Minutes

for the muffin:

10 Tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) of unsalted, room temp, Butter
3 cups of All Purpose Flour (**Gluten Free friends, substitute mixture below)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/ 1/4 cup pure pumpkin puree (from 15 oz can)
3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 large eggs

 **Gluten Free flour this would work well, if not this recipe is actually quite tasty for a flour substitute.

for the sugar coating :

3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted, melted butter

also needed:

muffin tray
muffin cup liners
electric mixer

DIRECTIONS

1.) Preheat over to 350. Place muffin cup liners in tray. Make batter by mixing in medium bowl, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and allspice. In smaller bowl whisk together buttermilk and pumpkin puree. In larger bowl, using electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time scraping down mixture in bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with 2 additions of pumpkin mixture. Beat to combine.

2.) Spoon 1/3 batter into each muffin cup and bake till golden brown, approx. 30 minutes. For sugar coating mixture, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Let muffins cool for 10 minutes on wire rack. Working one at a time take melted butter and brush tops of muffins and roll or toss muffin into sugar mixture. Then let cool completely on wire rack. Store in airtight container up to a day, freeze muffins up to 3 months.

 

Guest Post: Danielle Makes Smothered Pork Chops

While Rob and I are on vacation in Florida I thought I'd share some awesome blog writers with you.  This is my first guest post extravaganza so I hope you enjoy!  Today's post is from Danielle from Danfredo Rivera.  Danielle is an awesome sassy blogger from the Big Apple who blogs about her life as a newlywed and her job as a dietician.  She's a great read so after you check out this recipe (which sounds amazing!) you should check out her blog!

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Hai, guys! I'm Danielle from Danfredo Rivera and I'm here to talk to you today about the most AMAZING pork chops I have ever eaten in my entire life. Like Caitlin, my diet is gluten-free, but don't let that scare you...I swear on my life that you would never know the difference between my smothered pork chops and the ones served at your local Cracker Barrel. These bad boys take a bit of time to prepare, but then again, I was taking pictures for the blog and Instagram and Twitter and Facebook when I probably should've been chopping or stirring something. Nevertheless, give yourself at least an hour to get this dish ready. Okay, let's do this thing!

Take all your delicious pork bacon (because we need more pig in this recipe), throw it in a deep skillet, chop it up into little, tiny pieces and fry it up until crispy. Put the bacon to the side, but make sure you keep the grease; it's going to come in handy when we start making the gravy...

...which is NOW! Add in your coconut flour and get it nice and toasty. Keep an eye on it because it won't be too long before you're ready to add the other animals (via broth) in the mix.

Now comes the fun part the part that went too quickly to take pictures! Heat up your coconut oil and saute your onions and garlic. Take 'em out, sent 'em to the side, then brown your chops. Once they've got some nice color on 'em throw everything back in the pot. Since I didn't take a picture of this part, here's another gratuitous bacon shot.

After 45 minutes, remove the chops and wrap them in tin foil. Turn up the heat on your pot, add in the thyme and thicken up your gravy (or thin it, if that's how you like it). Once your gravy is good to go, set your chops on your plate, pour some gravy on top and enjoy the ride! I served these with mashed parsnips, which are an incredible substitute for mashed potatoes. Oh, and wine. Lots of wine.

Smothered Pork Chops: (Adapted from The Domestic Man)


Ingredients:

4 half-inch pork chops (bone-in, center cut preferred)
6oz uncured/nitrate-free bacon (about six strips), chopped
2 tbsp rice or coconut flour
1 cup each chicken and beef broth
1 tsp each sea salt and pepper
1 medium onion, chopped or blended
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
10 mushrooms, sliced 1/2 tsp thyme (fresh preferred, dried okay)
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp coconut oil

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon pieces in a saute pan on medium heat until crispy. Next, remove the pieces with tongs and set the aside, keeping the grease in the pan. Turn the heat down to medium/low and slowly stir in the flour.

2. Toast the flour/grease roux for a few minutes, stirring frequently until it becomes aromatic. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the bacon/pork bits that get stuck on the bottom to mix them into your roux.

3. Stir in the chicken and beef broths, salt and pepper. Bring to a slow boil and turn the heat down to low, then leave it to simmer while you prepare your pork chops. Don’t worry if the gravy is too thin, but if it’s too thick, thin it a little with some water.

4. In a dutch oven, heat up 1 tbsp of the coconut oil for a few minutes on medium heat. Add the chopped/blended onions and saute until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Scoop everything out and set aside.

5. Add the second tbsp of coconut oil and turn up the heat to med/high, letting it heat up for a couple minutes. Add the pork chops and brown on each side for about two minutes. If the pork chops are too big to brown four at once, brown them in batches.

6. Once the pork chops are browned, layer them on the bottom of the dutch oven and turn the heat down to low. Scoop the onion/garlic mixture on top of the chops, then the mushrooms, and then the bacon. Pour the gravy over everything. Cover with a heavy lid and cook for 45 minutes on low.

7. Pull out the pork chops with some tongs and set them on a platter, covering them with tin foil. Turn up the heat on the dutch oven to medium and stir the cream and thyme into the gravy. Be sure to scrape up any browned pork chop bits so they mix into the gravy. This is your opportunity to get the proper consistency with your gravy. Allow it to reduce if it’s too thin or add some water to thin it if it’s took thick. Once the gravy is bubbling and at your desired thickness, pour it over your pork chops.

What Happens When Caitlin Gets Sick

I don't mind telling you lovely people that I am a whiny sick person.

It makes me cringe now, but when I was younger being sick gave me the opportunity to get attention--which I craved after I had cancer and was the center of a whole lot of attention--and to this day I'm still pretty childish about it.

What's funny about this is that when I'm being whiny I start to second-guess myself and become convinced that I'm making it all up for attention.  After I got tested for celiac disease, even when I had the diagnosis in my hand, I told my husband with total confidence that I probably didn't actually have celiac disease, that they made a mistake and that I caused my own intestine to damage itself with my mind.  I figured that if hysterical pregnancy is a thing, then so is hysterical celiac disease.

Aaanyway earlier this week I felt pretty under the weather and by Wednesday my whole body ached.  My skin ached.  As a side note, has anyone else had that symptom before?  Where it hurts to have things touch your skin? I actually winced when I put a bra on and jumped when Rob walked by and rubbed my back.  Bizarre. I'm probably making it up.

Suffice it to say I felt pretty awful and spent the entire day in bed, working and watching Arrested Development episodes on Netflix.

20 miles to Lego Laaand!

Pictured: Most pathetic thing ever. And my tyrannosaurus wrists.

The upside of being sick and whiny was that my husband made me a delicious gluten-free chicken pot pie using this recipe. It won't win any awards for being healthy but damn, it was yummy and perfect for a sick day.

Today I'm feeling much better but my laryngitis is for some reason horrible so I sound like Lindsay on Arrested Development when she's hitting on Steve Holt (Heee thinks I'm cuuuute).  

In other sad news, No Shave November ended and my husband's positively majestic beard is gone.

Taken after I killed him for not having a beard anymore.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  We're going to lay low and snuggle a lot.

Labor Day Camping (Heavy with Picture)

This weekend Rob, Megan, and I went camping with Rob's summer coworkers.  I hadn't gone camping since I was 13 and we went to Virginia and DC with my family, so I was pretty excited.  Rob and I even drove all the way to Augusta to get ourselves a tent (only $42 at Dick's!) and also ordered two brand-new sleeping bags from L.L. Bean.
 

I'll spare you all the details because pictures are generally better, but I'll share some of my verbal highlights:

//Hearing Amie read aloud from "The Guide to Getting it On" (best sex book ever, by the way) and all of us laughing like 12-year-olds.

//Driving to the lake and seeing beautiful sunny sky!

//Watching Sara and Tim's beast, Ollie, running around like a mad man and playing tug-of-war with a leash tied to a tree.

//Hanging out for a few hours at the campsite only to be drenched in rain and finding ourselves hiding in our tents.  And getting to spend a few quality alone moments with my darling husband in our little tent shelter.

//Playing Never Have I Ever in the tent hiding from the rain with Amie, Megan and Robbie.

//Having maybe 20 minutes with a beautiful fire before the rain/thunder/lightning started up again.

//Eating a cheese-filled Oscar Meyer hot dog and singing the "Cheesy Blasters" theme song with Megan and Rob over and over and over.

//Hearing insanely loud thunder and intense rain all night long.  Hearing an extremely loud (and close) thunderclap and instictively grabbing my husband's hand in fear.  Felt good to know he was there :)

//Waking up to more rain and delicious breakfast sandwiches made by Amie!

//Taking my husband out on a date to celebrate how awesome he is...and because neither of us felt like cooking.

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Your Questions Answered Part VII: Dream Vacations, Regrets, Guilty Foods & Celiac

First order of business: Happiest of Birthdays to my husband, Rob, who turns 26 today!  Because he's on the wrong side of the 20s decade (and on the fast track to 30) this last week has been birthday week! I plan on sharing a post on all the fun things we've done once I'm done with these questions!

We're also having a party later tonight with his coworkers. I've never hosted a party so I'm pretty excited. :)

With that said, we're almost done with the questions!  These came from Holly and Elizabeth.

1) Is there any place that you always dreamed of visiting but haven't yet?
Rob and I really want to go to Ireland.  Rob promised me that we'd go at some point but we're holding off until he has a job and regular vacation time.  He may join a class next May that would entail a trip to Ireland and we're currently investigating whether or not I could ride along (perhaps as an extremely cheap photographer?).  If it doesn't happen in May we most certainly will go soon.

2) Where would be your dream place to live with Rob?
I honestly could live anywhere with Robbie.  But I like the idea of living in the Pacific Northwest or maybe in Colorado.  I also could see living in Maine for the rest of our lives.  As long as I'm with him we could live in Antarctica and I'd be happy. :)

3) Do you have any regrets in life so far?
I regret sometimes allowing anxiety to get the best of me and not being present in all of my experiences...particularly when Rob was in the Army.

4) What's your guilty pleasure when it comes to food?
Rob always says that if I lived alone I would probably eat like a four-year-old, and he's totally right.  I love sweet foods like brownies and cookies, plus Phish Food ice cream from Ben & Jerry's (thank god it's gluten-free).  I also eat cheese like it's my job.

5) How did you first discover that you had celiac disease?
For as long as I can remember I've had stomach issues, predominantly persistent gas and bowel problems (hey, you all like that my blog is honest, right?).  I've more or less lived with it, assuming that I had a lactose intolerance, and dammit I was not going to stop drinking milk and eating cheese.  My mother passed along an article to me early last year about how children survivors of Wilm's Tumor can have digestive issues later in life.  I mentioned it to my doctor, who told me that she would test me for a variety of ailments including celiac disease.  As soon as she said "celiac disease" I knew that was it because it was the only thing that made sense - my stomach pain happened without any logic and I knew that gluten was in everything.  Suffice it to say I received a not-so-surprising phone call from my doctor telling me the test was positive, and later I got a biopsy that was also positive.  After a pig-out meal at Ruby Tuesday's, I quit gluten for good and have been free of it for over a year.

Are you guys enjoying these question posts? I have a weird insecurity that everyone is super bored with them.

Your Questions Answered Part III: Disease, Middle School & Dream Jobs

I'm going to skip my Things I Love Thursday post this week.  Haven't found enough fun things on the interwebs and I'm liking this whole question answering thing. I beg your forgiveness, loyal readers.

Today's questions come from Sara Bell.

1. Why are you gluten-free? Do you have Celiac Disease?

I am indeed the proud owner of a faulty immune system and a faulty upper intestine.  I was diagnosed with celiac disease in June of 2010, just weeks shy of our wedding.  Luckily our wedding was already pretty gluten-free (we had a baked potato bar!), but it was still an adjustment.  Rob has been an absolute blessing throughout the whole obnoxious process.

2. What band did you usually listen to when you locked yourself in your room in middle school? (Obviously you thought your life was insanely hard and did this because so did I, and everyone I know)

What a great question! In 5th and 6th grade I was positively obsessed with the Beatles.  Like in a really creepy, obnoxious, attention-getting way.  I wanted everyone to know how much I liked the Beatles.  I even sort of looked like John Lennon at one point (don't ask).  In 7th and 8th grade I grew more into an obnoxious poseur and started listening to a lot of the hits of the day, such as Nelly, Eminem, Limp Bizkit, and, of course, N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys.  I am not particularly proud of this period in my musical history, as you can probably imagine.

3. What is your dream job?

Another great question.  I used to think I'd like to be a veterinarian, but now I think I would love to be a comedy writer on a television show.  Preferably with Tina Fey please.  I doubt I'm funny or witty enough so for now it's just a dream, but a fun one regardless. I think I would also enjoy just writing in general, as long as I could maintain some level of creativity.

Your Questions Answered Part I: I Married my Brother and Other Thoughts

So here is my first post aimed at answering some of the questions you posed to me in this post.

This post's questions come from Deanna and Kristina (hi ladies!).

1. Does anyone ask you if Rob is your brother instead of your husband?

I have to say that this question made me laugh out loud. We get this so much, especially since I cut my hair in '03 and started wearing glasses full time instead of contacts ('05 or so).  No one has outrightly asked us if we are siblings, but I can't even tell you how many people have mentioned how much we look alike. Even his brother and mother have made comments about it. I always wonder how many strangers see us and wonder the same thing, particularly after we have shared some sort of decidedly not sibling-appropriate sign of affection. Once we went to a movie theater with Rob's dad and Rob said to me, "I wonder how many people assume we are two siblings walking with our dad." Creepy.

Taken at Christmas, 2003

2. Can you ever imagine yourself with long hair again?

Yes and no. I love the idea of long hair, but not the required maintenance.  When my hair is long it is poofy, frizzy, unruly, and obnoxiously curly.  I was reminded of this when I tried to grow it out earlier this year; I made it to the helmet-head stage before I finally gave up (if you recognize your hairdo on a man in a movie from the 1970s, it might be time to quit).  I think Rob would prefer I have long hair again, though he would never impose that on me or even admit it, but right now I just can't be bothered.

First picture together, 2002 or 2003. Notice the great variety in my husband's t-shirts.

3. Are you far- or near-sighted?

I am near-sighted.  I wore a reading glasses in second grade or so, but between you and me, I think I lied about not being able to see well to my parents because I wanted glasses (that's how cool I am and was).  They went along with my little charade since we had great eye insurance.  When I was in 5th or 6th grade my family's great myopic tradition was passed on to me and I started wearing glasses, and later contacts, then back to glasses, full-time.

4. What is your favorite gluten-free food?

I would have to say all Udi's bread products--muffins, bread, pizza crust, and bagels in particular.  They can be treated like "real" bread (as in, you don't have to freeze and then toast them) and they actually have a decent consistency.  They were the only gluten-free bread product that didn't cause my teeth to squeak against them.  If you have frozen and toasted other gluten-free breads you know what I mean by the "squeaking."

5. Have you ever had an imaginary friend?

In fourth grade I used to imagine a little man that sat inside my desk, but I never went all that far with it.  I grew up with two sisters who were relatively close in age to me, so I had scant desire to dream up one more person I'd have to fight with for space.

I'll answer some more questions as the week goes on. Hope you all are having an amazing Monday!

Remedial Stress Handling

One of the difficult things about writing a public blog is that you really have no choice but to censor yourself when discussing matters that involve other people. 

I wish I could go into more detail about this but I'm afraid that my approach to writing is generally that once you write about someone, that person will probably stumble upon it...and my goal in writing is not to offend or to hurt.  Suffice it to say I had a pretty rough week, and I'm still trying to determine the best way to deal with all the stress, anxiety, frustration, fear, and sadness that I've been feeling. Sometimes it feels like it's crushing me and threatening to completely engulf my mind.

My darling husband is on yet another camping trip for work (this time in Aroostook County, 6 hours away and no cell reception for miles) so I'm alone in my thoughts until later tonight.  As I'm sure the case is for many of you, being alone is just about the worst thing then you're already your own worst enemy, so I'm trying out some new de-stressing techniques.  Since I'm a pretty high-strung person I'm not particularly well-versed in the ways of effectively handling stress, so it's been a bit of a trial and error experience.

Here are some things that have helped make my day a little brighter during my recent foray into remedial stress handling:

1. A comfort lunch fit for a gluten-free 7-year-old...an American cheese sandwich with local organic strawberries on the side:

2. Slathering obscene amounts of aloe on my itchy sunburn in preparation for my first thigh tattoo session this weekend:

3. A brand-new coloring book and a box of 64 crayons:

4. Taking my adorable little slice of dog out to the field for a romp with her BFFs:

5. Writing a letter to my husband about how awesome he is.

6. Old "Twilight Zone" episodes on Netflix:

7. Cranking music in the car and singing my lungs out (especially to this, this, and this)

8. A brand-new planner with which to fill in all our upcoming activities:

9. A glass of "homemade" lavender lemonade and maybe a vodka cranberry or two later:

10. A date with myself sans telephone at the only restaurant in town that has gluten-free food our favorite restaurant while reading one of my favorite books of all time:

11. A Modcloth dress (the one mentioned in yesterday's post) that fit like a freaking glove. I won't subject you to pictures of it just yet.

12. This desktop background courtesy of Kyla Roma.

What do you do to relieve stress?

If I were an Ancient Greek I'd be Sansspectacles: A Photo Essay

So on Wednesday night I was pulling a sweatshirt over my head when I heard a giant snap. This happened:

My 2-year-old glasses snapped in half. I've never had that come even close to happening but here it was.  We tried to tape them:

My amazingly awesome husband tried to super-glue them:

But they were irreparably damaged. And it was 8 p.m. And we live 40 miles from the nearest optician.

I of course couldn't give up my internet, so I sat about 6 inches away from my computer all night.  This is me having an awesome Twitter chat sesh with Ivelisse and Jess:

I was the awkward one.  I'm always the awkward one.

Needless to say I had a little bit of a breakdown since I obviously couldn't drive myself anywhere and I had no backup glasses (smart, I know).

Rob, lovely little husband that he is, took the day off and drove me the next morning to the big city of Lewiston to get my new glasses.  Problem was, I had to spend the entire morning without glasses.

I thought you might like to see the first part of the day through my myopic, glasses-free eyes:

Cypress--or maybe a panther--getting ready to go to daycare.

Either my husband or a stranger come to steal all my things.

What a beautiful day, right?

I hear that Auburn Lake is beautiful this time of year.

Once at the optician's, which was located in a somewhat deserted mall, I picked out a designer brand (Coach, ooh-la-la) because I'm cool like that. I also picked out some prescription sunglasses, which I've never had before.  But of course we had to wait a little bit before I was granted the gift my full eyesight again, so we frolicked around the mall for a bit.

Because we're awesome music nerds, we ended up in the music store, where apparently you can create and sell your own CDs:

I'm not sure what an "Evangelism Explosion" is and I'm not sure I want to know.

Then we went to the bookstore, where we found a book called The Dog Selector (some sort of new anti-canine supervillian?), and I proceeded to take pictures of every dog that looked remotely like Cypress:

After an hour of waiting or so we returned and finally, my transition from Caitlin to some sort of bizarre Caitlin-Liz Lemon hybrid was complete:

I CAN SEEEE

Once I finally re-joined the world of the seeing my husband and I got some lunch at this yummy, eco-friendly and gluten-free-friendly restaurant while we waited for the optician to finish with my prescription sunglasses. I had a veggie fiesta bowl with black beans, rice, veggies and cheese, and Rob had a chicken burrito. I also got a delish smoothie made with bananas, berries and Maine honey. Which is pretty much the same as regular honey, except with more lobster.

We were pretty shocked (and pleased!) that this place existed because the city we were in is known by all Mainers as a bit of a sketchy place.  Most of the other local restaurants fall into the Ruby Tuesday/Denny's/Applebee's category.

Side note: I told Robbie that one of the upsides of eating gluten-free is that we actually have to scout out restaurants rather than just eating at Denny's.  Though most times I'm pretty sure he'd rather eat at Denny's.

Anyway we picked up the sunglasses and drove home having completed our mission.  I'm still getting used to the new glasses because apparently my stupid eyes are more comfortable without any glasses at all.

THE END.

P.S. Doesn't this mall sign look like something you'd see in a 1980s teen movie? There were even LIGHTS on the "Mall" part of it:

Welcome to Maine!

P.P.S. Enter my giveaway! You know you want to!