Check-In February 2008

[aklap]

Hey...where are the birds? Looks like they've gone south! Seems like a good idea to me.

We have had lots of snow and nasty weather this year. More than my recent memory allows for [well...that ain't sayin' much I guess ].

I had quite the exciting ride home on Tuesday night. I was stuck in a full blown blizzard - whiteouts and all [which was most of the trip home]. Luckily they were mostly country back roads. I don't scare easily when it comes to driving conditions, but I have to say this was probably the worst I've ever been in. It took me 1 hr to make a trip that normally takes 20 min.

Hey - we made it a year with Check-In's. If you wanna see what you were doing last year, check this out.

For those of you just tuning in, Check-In is a chance to introduce yourself, let everyone know how you're doing, what you're up to, to touch base...something, anything, just let us know you're still around

The Check-In Time Tunnel
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[Jet City Woman]

Alright, my first check-in ever

Well, I've been GF for 3 weeks now, and despite the whole 'getting EXTREMELY worse before I got better' thing, I'm feeling great now.

I've just been accepted in to a college of Natural Medicine, where I am going to study Naturopathy. I'm very excited!

It's summer over here, so I'm still being a hermit inside the house, afraid to step outside due to a fear of melting to death... But hey, I understand most of you are sick of the snow so I won't complain!

I'm starting to figure things out slowly, realising which foods cause certain problems and avoiding them. Slowly I am starting to regain health. I know longer feel bloated, have awful headaches, aching bones and wake up with a terrible taste in my mouth... so things are pretty good!

This time of the year is very busy with concerts, as many overseas acts prefer to ditch the snow and come to Australia, and I'm certainly very delighted, although the bank account isn't...

It feels like my New Year has started in February, with the last three days being the best I've had in a long, long time.

Hope everyone else is well, and I look forward to many more check-ins with you lovely folk.
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- Amy

"You're safe from pain in the dream domain, a soul set free to fly..."

[Ghost_Hunter]

I'm still sticking to 100% gluten free. It's been 63 days so far. I've been having some gastro issues that they thought were due to my gall bladder, but all of the tests have come back normal. I'm due to see a GI doc soon (haven't made the appt yet).

The weather here has been nasty! My poor DH is out shoveling as we speak. That's pretty much it for me! Hope everyone is having a great 2008 so far!

[Barrett]

I have been gluten free for almost 16 months now!

Although I still have far to go in my healing, I am finally well enough to work again. I just got a wonderful job, with supportive people who are letting me work part-time to start. After the horrible experience I had with my previous employer, who responded shamefully to my health problems, I am so appreciative of this very different situation.

No complaints here about the snow. I love it! The mountains here in Colorado have gotten oodles of beautiful snow. I may even be up to doing a little snowshoeing soon. Of course, I haven't driven in any blizzards lately...that would surely put a damper on my enthusiasm.

[ostrich]

Barrett, you want some more snow? We're supposed to get 4-8" of the stuff today.

February should be much better than January. Now that DH and I are mostly settled into the house we can start thinking about decorating. Anybody have any good decorating tips?

Still GF and feeling fine. January put a damper on my GF cooking experiments. Hopefully I can start back up again this month.
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Ostrich :>--O==={

Time falls away, but these small hours
These little wonders still remain

[cruelshoes]

February 2 was my birthday. I got great presents from my kids and then we went to the in-laws for dinner. The best gift was that I didn't have to cok dinner that night. As the resident groundhog, I can tell you that I did not see my shadow, and that spring is just around the corner.

We are continuing the CF diet with Sean. I am now repenting for any whining that I did when we were just GF. GF/CF is soooo much harder. I have had to find all new recipes for bread and lots of other favorites. So far we haven't noticed any changes in his motor abilities. Now we only have to hang on until 3/5 to get back in to see the neurologist.

I have been posting news about our new GF support group on all the celiac sites I can find. The great news is that I have been flooded with offers of free samples! I didn't ask for any, manufactureres have just been emailing to offer free stuff. Woo hoo!

I got a raise yesterday! It's not a big one, but I wasn't expecting it, so it's definitely a happy surprise.

My husband is in the midst of a full scale kitchen remodel. He has torn down all the top cabinets and put up the new ones. The bottom cabinets will arrive on Saturday and we can finish the job. We are doing a 50's theme with pink and ice blue and seafoam green with all kinds of kitschy 50's accents. It is going to be so cute when it is done.

Finally, Esther the Easter Egger laid her first egg and it is green! Easter eggers can lay a variety of colors, from brown to pink to green to bluish. All our other hens lay brown eggs, so it is sooo exciting to get one that lays the green ones.


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-Colleen

Where are we going, and what am I doing in this handcart?

[Ghost_Hunter]

[HadassahSukkot]

Checking in!

Howdy!
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[Fifi]

I am a newbie to the group. I am so excited to find you guys. At last someone to talk to that is going through the same thing I am. When I talk to people they think I am going to extremes. I wish they could understand. i have printed stuff and sent links to websites. But at least now I GF friends who go through what I go through. 3 weeks GF and starting to get used to it and not feeling so deprived. I went through that panc at first and just overdosed on GF stuff. But I buy bread abd pasta and cereal and it is all good for me. Chinese food is the hardest thing for me because that is my favorite food in the whole world. I guess I'll be learning to make it myself.

Thanks so much for being here and listening!!! [/quote]

[ostrich]

Welcome Fifi! Yeah, it feels great when you find people who're experiencing the same problems. Please let us know if we can help.

Making your own Chinese food isn't that difficult. All you need is a wok (or a large, heavy duty sauce pan) and GF ingredients (particularly soy sauce). Are there any particular dishes you miss? Maybe we can help you convert them.
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Ostrich :>--O==={

Time falls away, but these small hours
These little wonders still remain

[Fifi]

spring rolls, chicken chop suey, fried rice. those are the ones I order most often

[ostrich]

Here's at least one recipe for chicken fried rice. I'm sure there's more floating around here.

Here's a discussion about spring roll wrappers.

If you can find a normal (non-GF) recipe for chop suey you can sub out the noodles for GF noodles.

Have you tried going to PF Chang's? They have awesome GF Chinese food.
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Ostrich :>--O==={

Time falls away, but these small hours
These little wonders still remain

[Fifi]

I love PF Changs. I can't order my favorite which is the eggplant with ground chicken, but I am sure I can find other GF meals there that I would like. Their lettuce wraps are delicious too. I just don't want to feel deprived because that is when I go overboard on something I don't need. I am going to look for rice wrappers. Thanks

[ostrich]

Their GF menu is over here. Personally, I'm a fan of their street noodles. OH, and the chocolate dome! Mustn't forget that.

Darnit, now I'm hungry...
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Ostrich :>--O==={

Time falls away, but these small hours
These little wonders still remain

[Fifi]

If there weren't 12 inces of snow outside and counting I would go tonight for dinner. I am getting hungry too!