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DRAFT TODAY, POST TOMORROW: Some posts may be in draft status until I (aka procrastinator extraordinaire) get around to posting them.



Monday, October 31, 2011

What's for dinner

slow cooker "Mexican" chicken (meh)
coconut milk ice cream (yum)

bluburger grille

I had a class in Chandler today.  I was not feeling great--still.  I think this is the fourth day of crappiness.  When I looked for restaurants around there, I saw a place that I've heard is very special-diet friendly.  I got there and it was closed--on Mondays and for lunch.  I was having trouble moving at this point, so I was not too happy to get back in my car and randomly find a place to eat.  I drove around the shopping center and decided to go into bluburger grille.

I sat at the bar in case I had to leave without eating.  But he said they could make any sandwich as a lettuce wrap, and he checked all my ingredients for me.  So I had a chicken lettuce wrap with lots of tomato and avocado, and a side salad of mixed greens and little tomatoes, and a fantastic dressing that I used on the salad and the "sandwich."

I was relieved to be able to eat something I wasn't too scared of eating.  Unfortunately, on the way back to class, I felt the worst of the day (not from lunch--too soon), with lots of pain.  It subsided by the time I was back and did not reach that level again.  So I recommend bluburger, but not the pain if you can avoid it!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Do you dream about food?

I ran across this blog about clean eating, which seems to have a lot of recipes I can use (some with modifications), so I was clicking through to different links and came across this question: have you ever dreamed about food?  Um, yes.  I recently dreamed about eggs.  I don't recall the specifics, but I think I was looking for eggs, maybe in a store.  Oh, eggs, how I miss you.

Native New Yorker

We met friends for lunch at Native New Yorker.  I couldn't find an allergen or gluten menu online, so I wasn't sure I would have much luck.  It wasn't looking good when the waitress didn't understand what I was asking for.  But she came back with the manager, who wasn't sure he should hand me their kitchen copy of the allergens.  We said, yes, yes you should, and he did.  It listed everything--it was awesome.  Except the part that I'm getting used to, and seemed to surprise at least one person at the table--almost everything had wheat (or something I can't have) in it.  However, we found that I can have a couple of the wing sauces, and they can make the chicken "strippers" without flour (but it comes with a coating so you have to ask).  I had the mandarin orange sauce, which was very good but not spicy at all.  And since a pound of chicken contains a lot more meat than a pound of wings (even boneless), I was very full.  I can't believe I ate it all.  Too much!  And no veggies or anything.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Halloween

Rodeo Queen?
We went to a neighbor's Halloween party and took some friends.  I wasn't feeling so great today, but after a nap I wasn't feeling so terrible, although it came and went.  I wasn't able to eat, but I drank water and socialized.

I wore my red dress again.  I really do not wear strapless tops or dresses. Or tiaras for that matter. Besides the fact that the dress was still too large for me on the top, I wore the hell out of that dress.

Valle Del Sol Golden Retriever AKC Agility Trial

Excellent JWW
Cassi ran first in Excellent A Jumpers with Weaves.  I'm not sure if (as another handler said) the starting jump to the weaves was directly into the morning sun, caused her to change her behavior, but she went really slow through the weaves.  She never really picked up speed, and it threw me off.  I didn't adjust well, so right before we got to the end, I called a switch--she normally would have taken the jump and turned, but she didn't take the jump.  That was her second refusal--of course, in Excellent, it's a non-qualify after the first mistake.

Excellent Standard
Then she had her Standard run.  She did the tire just fine (yay).  I wasn't where I planned to be after the dog walk, and she got a refusal at the #7 jump.  She did the teeter super-slow.  She missed her weave entry but completed them.  She was actually under time but did not qualify with the 2 refusals (jump and weave).

Open JWW
Teka had been waiting for a few hours when it was her turn to run Open Jumpers with Weaves.  She went over the first jump, entered the weaves, and then totally shut down.  We think Princess Teka decided it was too hot.

Open FAST

Next, she ran her FAST run.  I took her to the teeter so she would have something fun (she loves the teeter) to get her going.  But when we got to the send bonus, it was just way to much distance for her.  My husband gave me all kinds of grief about I shouldn't have entered her in that and I should have made her do the tunnel after I got my fault (when I thought I just had to leave the course, but I guess I could have gone up to the tunnel with her.)

Open Standard
She ran her Standard run, and actually got almost everything, until we got to the weaves.  She popped out right before the end and would not finish them.  She finished the course, but the failure to complete an obstacle kept her from qualifying.

Excellent FAST
Last, Cassi ran her FAST course.  I had to bribe her out of her kennel, she was so tired, probably from the heat, as she had been resting for a while, so I thought she'd be recovered.  She was doing okay, but slow--I took her around the outside loop.  But she could not get the send bonus as it was just too much distance for her, as slow as she was going.

I was feeling terrible today, on and off having serious pain and having uncomfortableness the rest of the time, so I wonder if that affected the dogs.  My husband just thinks it was too hot, Cassi is too old, and neither of them should be running FAST.  I really need to work distance with both of them but haven't figured out where to find the time.  Oh, and I still need bars for my jumps....

We also discussed that I haven't been at a trial for more than six months.  Besides not getting enough practice, it was interesting to see people who haven't seen me in all that time.  They were very vocal about their reactions to my weight loss.  I was really hoping the weight loss would make running the courses easier, but it was hard to tell what effect that had since I was in pain all day.

Update: I found the posted count results interesting.  Cassi's Excellent A Standard group had a Qualifying (Q) ratio of 21%.  Yeah, that's really low, isn't it?  Teka's Open Standard was 39% Q ratio.  Cassi's Excellent A JWW group was 30% and Teka's Open JWW group was 29%.  Wow, that's pretty bad, IMO.  Cassi's FAST group was 57% and Teka's was 31%.  Based on the October heat, if nothing else, we are not going to enter this trial in the future.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Opportunities to NOT eat

I was invited by a coworker to a lunch at the Suns stadium.  I asked him to make sure someone else wouldn't want to go, since I wouldn't be able to eat.  Well, I was the last choice to replace the person who backed out.  And anyway, he was "sure" they would have something I could eat.  So I grabbed my Larabar and went with him and 2 other coworkers.

There was pizza and soda.  I had my Larabar and a cup of water.  We were not able to see the locker room as was expected but we did get to go down to the floor, which was being refinished.

Officer at the bar
I picked my husband up to go with me to happy hour.  I was concerned that we would be too late and I'd miss all my high school people.  I was friends with girls 2 years behind me, and their reunion is this weekend.  Fortunately, they were still there, and stayed for a while.  In addition to the girls I went to see, my friend B was there with his wife.  We thought it was kind of funny that the "curbies" were still outside while everyone else was inside, even though most of us don't smoke now.  And we smelled that someone (not in our group) was smoking a little something something.  AND, my best friend for years and years, well she wasn't there, but a friend of hers was, and he saw her recently, so he is going to send me her contact info.  I was so happy that I didn't even care that I couldn't eat or drink there.

We found Axl Rose!
We were maybe going to meet my husband's friend, so we headed to a late dinner at Serranos.  The waitress was very nice about my craziness, checked that the chips are fried separate, the bean dip has dairy but the salsa was great.  I had chicken and rice and beans.  It was very good.  We went out for a drink and music and watched the costume party.  Out too late, but so much fun.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Blanco Tacos at the Borgata

I had a class from about 7:30 to around 1.  One of our contractors was there and suggested I check out this resource to be able to eat things I'm allergic to.  At least that is what it sounded like.  There were some breaks; breakfast was provided, and later, cookies, but there was no lunch break.  I ate my apple, and my Larabar, and drank some tea.

I was ready to eat when I left.  And I saw a sign for tacos, so I went to Blanco Tacos.  They had mole on the menu, so I asked the normal ("new normal") questions and found out it has dairy.  Huh?  Okay, so I had the veggie tacos.  They were excellent.  And the extra filling came in a side dish, so I took it home with me and had it over salmon for dinner.

Surprised by boredom

I returned the audio-book, Surprised by Joy by CS Lewis.  I love, love, love The Chronicles of Narnia.  And I have heard of these other CS Lewis books, essentially "classics" so I thought I should read it.  O. M. G.  That was so terrible.  I listened to the whole thing, thinking it had to get better.  If you are going to listen to it, skip to the last CD.  But even then, I don't recommend it.  But if you want to be surprised by boredom, this is IT.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Dr. H

Today's treatment started with the sauna, about 5 minutes.  My student has another student helping her, so she did the monitoring.  It was hot, but not as hot as I expected.  Next was acupuncture.  She said my back and shoulders were very tight, more than last time.  Hydrotherapy followed--hot wet towel, cold wet towel, alternating.

They recommended, and I bought, lecithin granules.  I'm supposed to take 1/2 teaspoon twice a day.  I took the first dose, then read the container and it says "soya" (link goes to soya allergy in the UK; I don't have an allergy, but rather am hypothyroid, thereby avoiding soy).  I think this warrants discussion before I proceed with any more doses.  They also recommended detox pills--the most "gentle" detox they can find.  I take one, twice a day, for a week, then bump up to 2, twice a day.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  Detox--yay; it needs to be "not too rough" for me--that can't be good.

Agility class

Went, played, that's all....

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Eating is boring

I ate breakfast, lunch (pinto beans, brown rice, salsa; guacamole and g/f tortilla chips), and dinner at home today.  I thought about making oatmeal for breakfast but decided on a smoothie--frozen banana, cucumber, mixed berries, almond milk, coconut milk, brown rice protein powder, hemp protein powder (it's terrible--I use about 1 part hemp, 3 parts rice powder), flax, and pollen.  It's nothing to look forward to but it's okay.

I delayed lunchtime because I'm used to having a frozen meal, but I don't have any left that I can eat.  I decided to open a can of organic pinto beans, add some to leftover brown rice, mix in salsa, and call it a meal.  So that I wasn't just eating a bowl of mushy stuff, I had some corn chips.  Dinner was more of the same.  Blah.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Tomaso's

I was nervous about having a professional lunch at a restaurant.  I have not been to Tomaso's but looked briefly at their menu and thought I could at least have a salad.  As the person we were waiting for walked in, I thought about my first date with my husband--he told me later that he may not have called me again after that first date if I had ordered a salad for my meal.  I understand how the salad order can be interpreted, so I looked back at the menu.

I found Chicken Paillard with steamed vegetables.  I asked the waiter about it and he said the chicken was "plain," and confirmed no flour or cheese.  He offered a side salad to start, and confirmed no croutons or cheese.  It was a very good meal.  The seasonings on the flattened chicken and mixed vegetables made it seem much less "plain."  I ate everything.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Garden Update

radishes
covered and netted
hardware
turnips
protected from the elements and dogs (mostly)
mushrooms in the well of a palo verde
(unwanted) mushrooms in the garden

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Volunteer pageant contestant

Princess Leia and me
I volunteered for a professional group.  Lunch was provided for the volunteers.  It was a box lunch, so I knew I wouldn't be able to eat it, but I discussed it with another volunteer who recently discovered that she has a gluten sensitivity.  She decided to eat the tuna salad off the bread, along with the chips and some of the cookie.  She didn't feel so well later.  I took a cookie home for my husband.

Later, we went to my friend's house for a pre-Halloween costume party.  I wore the dress that she altered for me, although it was a bit too large on top still.  One of the friends who went with us tried to help me pin or tape it at home, but it didn't really work.  But she did get a good look at my back scar.

As my friend, Princess Leia, is allergic to several foods (not the ones I'm allergic to), she tried to accommodate me.  The chicken was very good (her guy made it), but I didn't want to take it all.  There was also some veggies and chips and salsa.  I wouldn't normally eat those tortilla chips since they didn't specify gluten-free but I know she bought them just for me.  In fact, I had to take them home since she doesn't eat corn.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Survey says...

no.  All no's on my monthly monitoring survey.  That's a good thing--yes's have to be reported immediately!

I also took the NARCOMS Fall update survey.  There were the normal function and therapy questions.  There were also questions about diet and exercise, like how many servings of fruits and vegetables I eat daily, alcohol consumption, and amount of exercise.  As of this week, I am down to 169, so I'm down almost 25 pounds from my high.

Luci's

Moment of Zen smoothie.  Yum.  I bought some groceries while I was there, so I could use my coupon.  I tried the Sahale Soledad nuts and don't really think I like them.  That's kind of disappointing after the other Sahale nut mix was so good.  But that Moment of Zen smoothie.  Yum.  In fact, the guy that's always working there took the "extra" to drink.  Yep, it's good.

"[we] forget what it is like to walk in someone else's shoes because we never take ours off..."  (a comment on Michael Kitces blog)

Thursday, October 20, 2011

True Food

I had a lunch meeting with a group of people I don't know, in a conference room.  As soon as I arrived, I realized that it was a lunch meeting; for whatever reason, I just went for the meeting without thinking about the lunch part.  They had Paradise Bakery sandwiches and salads.  And cookies.  And someone brought brownies, which were passed around twice.  I almost took a salad and then realized there was cheese on it.  So I had a Larabar.  Surprisingly, no one seemed too interested in what I was eating or that I wasn't eating the provided lunch.

When I left, I was pretty hungry, so I stopped at Delux and got gazpacho.  They were filming something for TV so it took quite a while to get my cold cup o' soup.  But it was good.  I was so out of it that I didn't even take advantage of the offer for a free drink.  I got about half a mile away and thought, I should have asked for an iced tea.  Hmm.

My friend who was taking my dress in for my Halloween costume said she could meet for a drink, maybe dinner, so I could get my dress.  Since we have so many allergies between us, we decided on True Food.  She wanted the steak tacos but they were on corn tortillas, so they substituted pitas, which completely looked like little tortillas.  I had the turkey bolognese (no dairy, served on rice pasta) and it was very good.  Perfect for a pasta with meat sauce craving.  I also had a cucumber margarita, which was a little chunky for me but tasted excellent.  And I had my first dessert in public--orange sorbet with pomegranate seeds.  Pretty good stuff.

Update: my boss has a daughter who has health issues and they think there may be an allergy or a sensitivity issue, so she's on an elimination diet or gluten-free diet or something.  I recommended True Food for when she's in town.  She has hormonal, adrenal, thyroid issues so I also sent him the link to the book, Living Well with Hypothyroidism.  Are these health issues becoming more common or am I becoming more aware of them?

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Agility class

Teka's nemesis: distance
 This is a distance exercise; the handler cannot cross the orange line.  The path was to be out over the left jump, back this way over the middle jump, and then into the tunnel.  We tried it from this front side as well as the other side to start.  There are lots of variations.

Cassi's nemesis: control
This was numbered, starting with the almost left jump (in back) to the left jump in front, round to the front middle jump, then out to the jump to the right front, to the back right jump, ending over the back middle jump.  This can also have lots of variations.

Wicked weave entry
This was quick and fun, although the first part is pretty tricky.  The front jump to the next jump, into the weaves.  Those jumps are not really lined up, and they aren't lined up with the weave entry either.  Coming out of the weaves, a turn to the teeter, and then back over the last jump.  Or from the teeter back into the weaves.  Fun but difficult entries!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Hillstone

Someone took a few of us out for lunch.  My coworkers let me start the ordering, since I have all the questions.  The waiter checked on a couple things for me.  I learned that they make their own chicken stock; they put the rinds from the Parmesan cheese in the stock.  I had the half chicken without the glaze (made with the stock).  They had a few veggie sides, but there was cheese in the spaghetti squash, so I ended up with the spinach.  Not bad, but it always makes my tongue feel fuzzy.  Almost everyone at the table had burgers and fries.  And more than one said they "should" eat what I'm eating.  Huh.

Monday, October 17, 2011

In the news: go organic, where's the fish, and kids aren't smart.

Someone was recently telling me about what a rip-off organic food is and there isn't any benefit to organic gardening.  I knew he was wrong.  Key findings of a 30 year study show:

•Organic yields match or surpass conventional yields.
•Organic yields outperform conventional yields in years of drought.
•Organic farming systems build rather than deplete soil organic matter, making it a more sustainable system.
•Organic farming uses 45 percent less energy and is more efficient.
•Conventional agricultural systems produce 40 percent more greenhouse gases.
•Organic farming systems are more profitable than conventional farming systems.

*****
An article in the LA Times (no link, annoying video ad) had this tidbit buried:

AquaBounty's proposal calls for the embryos of the fish to be sterilized in Canada before being shipped to Panama, where the males would be exposed to estrogen and sex-reversed. If the FDA rules in favor, the salmon would become the first genetically modified fish approved for human consumption.

The article was all about the fishing or fish farming industry and completely missed that these Frankenfish would expose the consumer to MORE estrogen.  Ewww.

*****
And why you should not tell a kid "you're smart"

Cypress Pita Grill (and ice cream, kind of)

Wow.  Just wow.
I haven't been to Cypress Pita Grill in a while.  Today, I reverted to the salmon salad, great dressing.  No feta, no pita.  Boring but good.  Salad for lunch should always be balanced by ice cream (after dinner).

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Jason's Deli

I went to lunch with my friend who has opposite allergies, after she fitted my dress (costume) for alterations.  We ended up at Jason's Deli.  They have a gluten-free menu, so I just needed to modify for cheese.  I found a nutty salad, ordered with no cheese, and tomato basil soup.  The soup came with a bunch of cheese on top, but they were quick to replace it with a bowl of soup without cheese.  This is probably the closest to "fast food" that I've found acceptable options so far.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Gardening Day

About 2 yards of dirt
The garden is ready for planting, so we went to Jackrabbit Nursery in Buckeye to pick up some transplants and seeds.  There was a super cute kitten that wanted to come home with me, wink, wink.  I'm a little late for transplants apparently--what was left was picked over and somewhat sad, but I got some tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce, a broccoli, a celery, and a globe artichoke.  I got lots of seeds: radishes, carrots, Romaine lettuce, turnips, beets, chard, cilantro, parsley, chives, and marigolds.  I had a basil plant and several pepper plants my friend gave me.  My FIL is going to give me some zucchini to plant also.

We went to lunch at Augie's.  I ordered a chicken sandwich with no bun, and a salad with no croutons.  So the salad came with garlic toast on top.  Awesome.  (that was in sarcastic font, right?)  I took it off, along with the cucumber is was resting on.  Unfortunately, that was not enough.  I don't think it agreed with me.  At all.  *sad*

Friday, October 14, 2011

Lettuce wraps

Professional meetings that include a meal (or two) make me nervous now.  This one, the coordinator knows I have some food issues, so she made an effort to accommodate me for lunch.  Breakfast was not something I could eat, but I brought my own oatmeal.

Splurge!
For lunch, there were the makings of sandwiches, but there were lettuce leaves too.  So I had (processed) turkey on lettuce with cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocado.  It was alright, enough to get me by.  Someone I've known for several years was there and had recently found out that she is gluten sensitive.  It appears she is trying to make some changes.  There were cookies too, so I had a Larabar in the afternoon.  It's difficult to eat differently and not bring attention.  It's kind of unwanted attention in my case.  It's hard to deal with the ignorance people have about food.  A guy there told me that he knows a  farmer and there is no difference in organic and non-organic food.  I completely disagree, but wasn't going to argue in that venue.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Barrio Cafe. Not IHOP.

Our club meeting was to be at IHOP, and my husband could not attend, so I was going from work rather than going home first.  Since I can't eat anything at IHOP (seriously, nothing at all), I decided to go to Barrio Cafe on my way.  As soon as I saw pollo mole on the menu, I started asking questions.  No wheat or dairy in the chicken or mole sauce, and it comes with corn tortillas.  Sold!  When it was brought to my table, I received a small plate of sides.  It was kind of dark, so I thought maybe I was mistaken, so I asked more questions.  It was zucchini, which I ate, and mashed potatoes, which I skipped.  When I asked if there was diary, he said no, then listed the ingredients.  Including cream.  sigh.  Anyway, the mole was very good.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Dr. H and Islands (and agility)

I have a new student, L, working with Dr. H.  She was slow, but she is new.  Dr. H told her to talk while she is treating me.  She felt my pressure points, and did acupuncture on my back and shoulders.  We also did hydrotherapy--hot, then cold wet towels.  She wanted to keep me longer, but I had already been there over 2 hours and had to drop my car off for maintenance.

My friend K picked me up for lunch at Islands.  I asked for their gluten-free menu.  It was four or five items.  The disclaimer was 2/3 of the page.  Amazing.  The items were variations on menu items.  I can basically have chicken or veggie tacos.  No ranchero beans, which apparently have wheat.  They don't have a full allergen menu, and I'm not sure that their dressing is acceptable.  But the salsa seems to be a good substitute.

Later, I wasn't feeling great, but I had agility class.  I took the dogs for course night.  I don't know why I don't feel great--it's this huge mystery.  Is it my hormones--the woman's time of the month excuse?  Did I eat something inappropriate?  Is there anything I can do about it?  sigh.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Delux Burger

I saw online that Delux Burger had gluten-free options, so I checked out their menu--and saw gazpacho.  I'm a huge fan of gazpacho, so I finally went for lunch a couple of weeks ago.  I sat at the bar and had the gazpacho, which they top with a little goat cheese, and the organic green salad.  No croutons or bread all around!  It was very good.  The waitress was very accommodating, and as things slowed down, she said her niece has Celiac.  The staff at Delux have a "cheat sheet" for allergens, so she told me that she could check anything on the menu for me and find some additional lunches for me.  It's more than I'd like to spend on lunch, but it is an option.  I will be back for the gazpacho.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Tribal Waters

We went to the grand opening of an outdoor showroom.  They had a few (shallow) pools with different features and lots of paver styles in the walkways.  There were some cool barstools that were concrete or cement circles on top of iron work.  They were really heavy, so I imagine they wouldn't get moved much.  It was a good trip to get some ideas.

They were serving a lot of food: burgers and hot dogs, chips, cookies, cotton candy, candy and pizza from a semi-portable pizza oven.  I had some fritos.  I really would have liked some pizza!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Z's Greek

I went to Sonora for my monthly visit.  It was uneventful--I got my blood drawn, temperature and blood pressure, pee in a cup, all the normal stuff.

I went Z's Greek for lunch and had chicken with rice, potatoes, and salad.  They left off the feta and pita, and switched out the dressing for a non-dairy dressing.  It was very good.  I'm not sure if it disagreed with me or something else is making me feel blah.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Agility class



So many jumps, so little time.
We had three exercises.  First was tic, tac, toe.  There is an inside and outside box of jumps.  For the most part, the handler stays inside while the dog jumps the outside jumps.  We did this in both directions, sometimes starting or stopping with the inside jumps for flow.  This is great "out" practice.

Bright lights, crazy weave entry
The second exercise was a difficult weave entry and exit.  Starting at the jump pictured on the right side, go into the weaves.  I used the command "out" for this.  Coming out of the weaves, go into the right end of the tunnel, come out of the left, and come around to the jump on the left.  Great weave entry practice.

Dog's view at the start line
The last exercise was to practice discrimination--choosing between options.  Since most dogs are sucked into the tunnel, this started with the jump to the A-frame.

Then to the jump, onto the dog walk, then a kind of dance turn around to go into the end of the tunnel that is under the dog walk.  (The other end of the tunnel would be a flip.)  End with the jump.  This could have a lot of variations.

mini course

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Monday, October 3, 2011

It's urgent! Nope, it's not.

I got a call on Friday that my lab results came back and I needed to come in as soon as possible to have my medication adjusted.  I have an appointment scheduled in a couple weeks, but she said I should come in right away.  The best part was that I asked if she was cancelling my other appointment or if I would still need to come in for the appointment in a couple of weeks and she said that was up to me.

So today, I go, and I see (another) PA.  She handles the appointment like a normal follow-up appointment, so I ask why it was so urgent I come in.  Although she did not give me the test results (she said I would get a copy), she attributed the call to the fact that my numbers are (always) out of whack, and someone overreacted without looking at my previous tests.  So my meds are not adjusted, I did not have to be stressed out all weekend, I did not have to take several hours away from my workday, and I don't have to go back in a couple weeks.

During the course of our conversation, the PA was checking her computer for my history and said a couple of things that made me perk up and ask questions.  She referred to my "Grave's" and "Hashimoto's."  I'm aware of these separate diseases since I've been reading my friend's copy of "Living Well with Hypothyroidism."  But this is the first I am hearing about me having them.  So she backs up a little and says that my history indicates the conditions but it doesn't look like I've been diagnosed with either.  She says I could swing between them, with Graves showing TSI positive and Hashimotos showing high TSH.  And I did not test as having either in July of 2010.  So I am going for another blood draw to get tested.  If I am positive for Graves, I will also need an eye exam.

She also asked about my Vitamin D and she was hinting that it was a little high until I told her I have MS.  How is that not the first thing someone sees in my chart?!  So annoying...

She also mentioned that I have a slight heart murmur.  I am so fabulous.  My next labs and appointment will be in about 3 months and I will have the next ultrasound later in 2012.

The Parlor

I went to lunch with the girls from work.  We went to a pizzeria.  I was not too excited.  But we got there and I saw this beautiful garden, so there was hope.
Featuring eggplant, pineapple mint, and catnip.  Yep, catnip.
Everyone got pizzas to share, along with some salads.  I had a salad that had some chunky chicken and spiced pecans--they make them there, just with spices.  The salad was supposed to have feta so I asked for a substitute of goat cheese; it came without either, which is better than the alternative.  It was a good lunch salad.  The girls raved about the pizza.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

I did not overreact. I acted badly.

And now, it's Sunday.  I still don't feel well, and we're 4 days into it.  WTF, body?  W.  T.  F.  This morning, I had this dull ache all the way around the area I hurt last night, where the body meets the legs.  I'm not in as much pain as last night, but....

After bowling (very badly, I felt so lopsided and off balance and TIGHT), we went to Majerle's for lunch.  Someone in our group wanted to watch the games.  They were packed, really busy, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to take some time with the waitress, but she seemed to be understanding.  I ordered a chicken sandwich without the bun or cheese, and salad for the side.

The sandwich came with an herb dressing which she assured me had no wheat or dairy.  When I got my lunch (from another server), there were a dozen croutons on top of my salad.  A couple of people suggested I take them off, so I started to, but they were very crumbly, so there were crumbs on my salad.  I flicked the croutons onto the table, quickly followed by the top layer of my salad.  Then I ate everything left on my plate--a large piece of chicken and a small salad.

I think my actions made my friends uncomfortable, and I feel badly about that, but I am 4 days into this horrible thing and I don't know when it will end or how I can make it end.  I was trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) not to cry, find a way to laugh about this, and flinging food off my plate was, while impulsive, a way to vent.  This is the first time we've been to Majerle's since I changed my diet.  I'm sure we'll go there again but I'm not pleased with today's debacle.  I left a note on the bottom of the receipt that said: "Croutons are wheat.  Please educate your staff about food allergies."

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Everybody poops. And other breaking news!

Fair warning: I discuss some bodily functions in this post.


I bought some wild salmon, about enough for 3 portions.  I had the first piece Sunday night, the second piece Monday night.  I threw out the third piece.  I'm not completely certain that it wasn't something else I ate, but it seemed too coincidental that I had a "cowpie" the next morning after both meals.  Fortunately, I felt fine; it was just disgusting.

Tuesday, I got a new chair at work.  I hope it helps with my posture.  I also got some special treatment.  We had a catered lunch.  I knew I couldn't eat the pulled pork sandwiches and I wasn't sure I could eat the chicken (also pulled, seasoned with I don't know what) or anything else, so someone got me a salad from a place I like.  In retrospect, I'm not sure it was completely okay.  I don't think there were allergens but I wonder if there was dairy--there was pesto (which sometimes has Parmesan cheese).

Thursday morning, I woke up not feeling so well.  It was that kind of "it can go either way" feeling, so I did my elliptical time and got the day started.  And it did not resolve itself--although I went to the bathroom and got rid of some almost solid stuff, I was not feeling better.  I started thinking about what I ate the day before.  I knew what I ate was okay, with the exception of some tortilla chips I ate with salsa and guacamole at a social hour networking event--I was so hungry and had already eaten my snacks I carry and those are all things that should be okay.  Is it possible that the chips were messed up (for me)?  Am I going to have to blame myself every time I feel like crap?  Will I have to second guess every decision?  Could it have been from the day before?  Is it totally unrelated to my diet?  I don't know!

Friday was actually worse.  I had several times with serious pain, although, again, I made my deposit in the bathroom.  I'm pretty stressed out about my health, my work, my to-do list at home that seems like a to-keep-on-a-list.  *sigh*  And I get a call from my endocrinologist's office saying that they need me to come in right away because they got my lab results.  I have an appointment in two weeks--no, they want me to come Monday to see the PA and make adjustments to my medication.  Really?!  That's what you want to tell me?  So now I'm wondering if I'm doing something else wrong that is messing up my medication.  I'm taking it early, waiting an hour to eat, dairy is obviously not an issue now--what else can I do?  And why do I feel so crappy?

I realized this week that I will never eat another egg salad sandwich or fried egg sandwich.  Ever again for the rest of my life.  It's so final.  It's so damn depressing that my "comfort" foods are disappearing.  I can't believe that I actually came to tears when I mentioned that realization to someone.

Today, Saturday, started out well enough.  We went shopping for some new clothing and shoes for my husband.  I ate my leftover chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, and green beans with TJ glazed pecans.  I knew we were going to a pizza party for a club event, so I packed a Larabar and a Trio bar.  I ate both during the event, although one was probably sufficient--it seems that I feel hungrier when I'm around food that smells good.  By the time we left and headed home, I knew I was headed to some pain.  I spent the evening in some level 10 pain alternated with some keep-as-still-as-possible-it-doesn't-hurt-now moments.  That did not lead to a particularly productive evening.  I noticed that I was having (throbbing-ish?) pain in my right hip area, where the leg meets the body, especially in the front.

I am really annoyed with this opinion article that says restaurants do not have to accommodate food allergies. If I understand the author's view (and several commenters appear to agree), food allergies shouldn't be taken seriously because some people say they are allergic when they aren't.  In addition, he seems to think that a food intolerance is no big deal.  I think he's asking for one--then he can decide if he wants to spend a couple days with a "digestive reaction" since that is so awesome; compared to life-threatening allergies, I guess it is, but really, it is still life-impacting.  I have to say that his differentiation between allergies and tolerances confused me.  I'm allergic to wheat, bakers yeast, and eggs, but I've never ended up in the hospital because of them.  At worst, I've vomited, but usually it's a lot of pain and waiting for it to come out the other end.

Listen, if someone doesn't want to eat a certain ingredient, they shouldn't have to eat it.  I'm not saying that the restaurant should have to change their menu, but if some items can be modified to accommodate the customers' wishes, why wouldn't they want to do that?  It's a SERVICE industry.  As one comment said:
Allergies are really hard. They're limiting. You constantly have to work around them. I love food. I want to eat out.