Celiac Diva

I was told two weeks ago that I have celiac disease, an autoimmune disease that causes the body to react negatively to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye.

Since I was a kid I had stomach pain and other...ahem...gastrointestinal issues. They've been going on for the majority of my life and I never thought for a second that they could be abnormal. Until I moved in with Rob...who was...ahem...surprised at all the gastrointestinal "issues" that I faced. I finally decided to get it checked out, and a bloodtest and endoscopy later, my doctor told me to begin a gluten-free diet.

Basically this means that all "normal" food, such as bread, pasta, pizza, cookies, cake, brownies, and processed food is all out. This is a huge switch for me, and for my household. We are avid consumers of pasta and bread, and on the road I am used to eating out for...well, every meal.

I'm lucky that Rob is so supportive. He basically eats no gluten while I'm home (except for his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which just aren't as good on gluten-free bread) and is always watching out to make sure I don't get a stray crumb here and there.

Oh, yeah, my food can't come into contact with even a crumb of bread or gluten-containing food.

Anyway we've learned to adapt by using gluten-free bread (which has to be frozen) and rice, potato, or corn pasta. So far we've actually been quite successful, and I'm not feeling the strain of the diet at all.

Well...except at Newark Airport last week.

There was a girl, maybe 13, who was eating a piece of cheese pizza. The crust looked fluffy and delicious, the grease was shining off the cheese in the most intoxicating fashion...my mouth literally watered and I ached to taste its gluteny goodness. I don't usually stare at people but I was definitely hardcore staring at this piece of pizza and the fortunate girl who was preparing to eat it.

What sucks about celiac disease is that there is no. cheating.

Gluten causes my intestines to physically react. The villi become blunted and the lining itself is damaged. This can lead to other autoimmune diseases, cancer, infertility, etc., and the only way to stop it from happening is to not consume any gluten, in any shape or form.

So this diet is for real, and it's for good.

One positive side effect: because preservatives are largely made with gluten, I have to eat all-natural foods. This also means that gluten-free frozen meals are about 80x better than regular frozen meals because the ingredients are all REAL food.

So there are some upsides.

Wow, Five Months...

Five months since a new blog post.

I guess since I lost my Army girlfriend status my life became much less interesting, and I feel bad subjecting people to my boring life stories. But here we are!

I'm still working as a software consultant, which requires me to travel every Sunday. Currently I'm on a project in Houston, which is quite a trip to make every week. But in this job market, I'm happy to have a job and to be able to support my little family while Rob's in school.

Speaking of Rob, he got an internship this summer which is very exciting, especially since the G.I. Bill doesn't pay in the summer! He's doing fabulously in school and I can't wait until he's out and we can finally be real adults. :) And start having babehs!

Our wedding is a little over a month away and I can't believe it. I got so used to saying/thinking "I have MONTHS to go," and now I'm staring at five more weeks.

I'd like to share our most recent wedding project.

It all started when Rob and I were brainstorming potential wedding card box ideas. Usually people use boxes, wishing wells, or birdcages, but we wanted something different. My initial idea (of which I was quite proud) was a decorated mailbox. People could put their cards in our mailbox as "mail" for us. But Rob didn't let it go at that - he said that we should add some teeth and eyes and make it a Wedding Card Nom-Monster. So here is the initial result (my apologies for the crap-tastic picture):

Eventually we're going to add some arms, one of which will "hold" a sign with some type of LOLSpeak message ("I can haz ur wedding cards for nomz pls?"), but this is all we got so far!

My favorite wedding planning site, http://www.offbeatbride.com/, plans to feature it! This is thrilling since together we have the creativity and craftiness of a 7 year old. The beauty you see above was made with two syrofoam balls, acrylic paint, and posterboard.

I do follow all of your blogs quite avidly, as you all live much more interesting lives. I hope you are all doing fabulously!

Pictures for Sale!

Hi all!

I recently created an Etsy shop to sell some of my photographs...

...and you are welcome to check it out and let me know what you think!

Cypress Stream Photography

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CypressStreamPhoto

Thanks :-)

2 Months

So it's been almost two months since writing. I'm not sure why I've let this sort of peter out.

I've been insanely busy at work and planning wedding things. The wedding is start to come together and I'm thrilled about it.

I'm not sure if anyone reads this or WANTS to read this, but regardless, I'm still here. :-)

A Confession.

I totally have baby fever. It seems like everyone around me is getting all preggers and such, and though my logical mind says "YOU AREN'T READY FOR A BABY YOU TRAVEL FOR WORK AND ROB IS IN SCHOOL," the estrogenical mind says "Oh, look at THOSE CHEEKS." Not fair.

It doesn't help that I have a [somewhat unfounded] fear of being infertile. As a result my planning mind says "Maybe you should just *try* to get pregnant, just to make sure you can," which of course makes no sense.

For now I guess I'll just visit the homes of people with lots of babies (best birth control ever. Srsly, The Mrs., I admire you SO MUCH) and value my sleep.

FIN.

Giveaway from The Mrs.!

Another lovely giveaway from The Mrs.!

I'm just passing on the word! Click here!

:)

An Update on Life!

Well, it's not like anyone reads this or particularly cares what's going on in my life...but I'm sitting here in the Washington-Dulles Airport, happily digesting my Godiva chocolate bar with raspberry sauce, and I might as well do something to pass the time.

1. Work. Work has been going really well though I've been extremely busy. I've been given more responsibility and work, which is always welcome because the more work I do, the quicker the weeks go by and the more money I make. Traveling is, admittedly, exhausting. I travel every Sunday, returning home every Thursday. I arrive home pretty late on Thursdays but damn, it is wonderful to see Robbie and a dog who is almost apoplectic upon my arrival. Next week I'm working remotely, which means I get to stay home. I'm pretty excited about that.

2. Robbie/wedding. Things with Rob have been going stunningly. I'm feeling super lovey lately (perhaps because I'm gone so much) and that warm feeling in my chest and stomach is quite nice. I've been feeling so lovey, in fact, that I was able to write my wedding vows a whole 9.5 months before I actually get married. I [obviously] won't share them here since I don't want Rob to stumble upon them, but this is the quote that I am including/working from:

“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.”

It's from my favorite author, Tom Robbins. I'm quite a fan.

Speaking of wedding planning, I'm going to break my rule and write about my wedding planning.

I chose a dress (click here if you'd like to see) and it fits perfectly. Could not have fit better if it was made for me, which was fortunate since I bought it online. The colors we have chosen are dark green and black (with some lighter greens thrown in there for good measure) in kind of a "modern Celtic punk" theme-ish. We've been trying to come up with some other ways to make the wedding interesting. A few ideas:

• Paper table cloths on the reception tables (along with markers/crayons) so people can draw us messages.
• A centerpiece idea I totally stole from Offbeat Bride...vintage books, wrapped with a ribbon with a candle on top.
• Awesome-ass cake toppers that you can see here.
• I don't really know what to call this, but basically we're encouraging our guests to wear Chuck Taylors for shoes, and everyone who wears them gets extra super-special wedding points. Not sure what those points will go toward yet.
• Rob and I are both wearing Chuck Taylors with our outfits. Our party (with a whopping 4 people) will also be wearing them.

Those are just some of the things we've tossed around up to this point. We have also:

• Hired a photographer. This one is different from the previous photographer. She's an amateur, but really QUITE talented. AND, she's only going to charge us $250.
• Come close to hiring a DJ. This one is tougher. I found one that I liked but he magically had something going on on our wedding day. Go figure.
• Figured out the venue for both ceremony and reception (my grandmother's).
• Figured out food (my dad, aunt, and grandmother will make the food with help from nearby family).
• Figured out, more or less, the guest list (80 - 100 people ZOMG).

And all this 9 1/2 months out! Damn I'm good!

I think that's all that I have in the way of updates as of now. I have been following you all and please, please forgive my lack of commenting.