Gluten-free Update: Cry Me a River

Gluten-free update, maybe day 6? 5? I don’t know, all the sad wheat-free days are running together. I have no energy. I thought cutting it out would boost my energy, give me radiant skin, and I would start Benjamin Button-ing my way to a youthful 26. Nope. I am irritable. I have NO ideas of what to make. Sure, I have recipes from the internetz, but almost all include a BOATLOAD of ingredients and take time. And right now there just ain’t a lot of time.

I took my boys to the pediatrician for the body rash, as it progressed into a full-body thing after their hours of operation this weekend, and they announced it was a combo of eczema and a viral rash. I asked if changing our diet would help the eczema and she said most likely not. But dammit if I didn’t just spend a small country’s GDP on wheat-free and dairy-free and egg-free ingredients, so we are sticking to our guns. Also, I have a bit of disbelief towards doctors and what they prescribe. I worked in a health food store for a better part of early adulthood- I’m programmed to believe more in vitamins and healthy living. But then again if I got cancer I would blast that crap with enough radiation to make me glow, because reasons.

So no- I don’t have any delicious recipes to share. We’ve been eating grilled chicken, almond butter in rice tortillas, and gluten-free oatmeal, so there’s very little creativity going on. If you have some ideas I would gladly listen. I’m thinking of making beans and rice for dinner tomorrow, but the thought of no delicious cheese is mildly heartbreaking. After we’ve cut out everything for another week or so, then we will add stuff back in and see if there are reactions. And who knows- this dreary weather is enough to cause most of the symptoms I am seeing.

Dear Polar Vortex, seriously consider a hobby.

Thanks,

Bailey

How Pinteresting

I’m about to do it. I am wavering between shame and excitement.

I am going to join Pinterest. I think.

Like a bride before her wedding (wow well I can’t believe I went with that analogy, but ya know, ya work with what ya got), I’m wondering if this is a good idea. Or was that just me?

Background story- I quit Facebook because of… well… reasons. And many of my “friends” took to writing on it like a daily journal. There was too much awesome stuff they were doing which left me feeling inadequate, or there was too much personal stuff about illnesses and bodily fluids that left me panicky about the contagion I might catch via interwebz.

Fast forward to the present, where I am happily social-media free (except for twitter but that barely counts, since I don’t really post and follow few enough people to be irrelevant). In my very limited knowledge of Pinterest, it isn’t social media. It’s a site where people put pictures, recipes, inspiration, etc and other people “pin” it to their boards that are named various things, such as “My Future Wedding” or “Healthy Crap for my Family”. Anyone living within the regions impacted by the so-called “Polar Vortex” is feeling like I’m feeling right now- GTFO. Now I’m not one to shy away from bundling my children up when it seems ridiculously cold and schlepping them outside to play and get fresh air. But today for example- it’s -6 with windchill to -20. I’m pretty sure Child Protective Services is just driving around writing up citations for every child playing outside in this. It’s stupid cold. I can rationalize anything to about 10 degrees. Under that it’s game over.

So basically here I am with loads of indoor time on my hands, and not a lot of projects. Sure, I have crayons and markers and coloring books and paints, but as I mentioned previously, my boys can sit still and focus on that for all of 5 minutes. We did homemade playdough one day, and that was a hit for about 2 days and then my eldest decided it was “germy”. Ah so sweet to see mom’s neuroses rubbing off at such a young age. I need stuff to do, new, novel stuff to do, that will occupy time, and be pretty cheap to make/do (did I mention I just quit my job? Yep, so we be po’ folk ‘til I find a new one). It wouldn’t hurt to have recipes too, as my stand-bys are getting a little tired.

Here’s where I need help. Who is on Pinterest? What do I need to do? Have any good activity or recipe pins or boards? Am I just signing myself up for a giant time suck? Would it be easier to wade through the internet than use Pinterest?

HELP!

PS I totally stole the post title from my bff, so I'm totally unoriginal. Thanks bff.