Lambrusco

So my favorite wine used to be Moscato, and Jason read online that the only reason to drink wine other than the obvious is the antioxidants.  I don't like red wine I never have, I like sweet wines not dry ones.  Then Jason read somewhere that white wine is basically just sugar that's why it is sweeter and he persisted until I gave in and agreed to try red wine again. Being as relentless as my husband can be, he came home with several different options of a new favorite wine for me, just as long as it was red, then he would move on to another project.  So it was definitely a challenge to find a sweet red wine filled with antioxidants, but I found it.  It is Lambrusco, and it is my new favorite, so delicious.  If anybody out there watches Cougar Town, you know the main character has a gigantic wine glass and it has a name and every time it breaks, she gets a new one and names it.  I think she has gone through Big Joe, Big Carl and now Big Earl.
Well this is the glass Jason got me for Mother's Day along with some Lambrusco.  I think you have made your point honey, I will never drink white wine again (in front of you).
Everyone meet me my new Cougar Town inspired wine glass Big Bob, I just have a red plastic party cup there so you can see how big it is.

Experimentation

I have been experimenting with new recipes since I can't eat gluten now.  Last night, I made gluten free spaghetti with gluten free turkey sausage, gluten free bread from a bread mix, it was delicious, then for dessert I made gluten free brownies.  Everybody ate the food and liked it, even my picky boy Jack.
I found this recipe on pinterest for fruit salsa and baked cinnamon chips, and I made it today for lunch along with banana smoothies and carrots with hummus.  Jack ate it all well except for the fruit salsa and hummus, but hey I'll take what I can get.  It was really good. I used corn tortillas and stevia instead of sugar for my chips. I used flour tortillas for the fellas, the flour tortillas were larger and crispier, but I have to get used to no gluten.

Headed for a big change and I don't like change

So, my Dad was just recently  diagnosed with celiac disease, which is a fancy word for being allergic to gluten.  Gluten is in everything.  It's in the obvious stuff of course likes breads, muffins, bagels, cakes, cookies, but it is also in flavor packets, salad dressings, soy sauce, barbecue sauce, hard candy, flavored and malt vinegars.  It is a hereditary, autoimmune disease, it is the only autoimmune disease controlled by your diet.  The only way to fix it is a complete and total gluten free diet.  I was allergic to gluten as a baby. I am patiently waiting on the results, but the Dr is 90% sure that I have because of the other symptoms I have.  Usually people that are allergic to gluten get sick to their stomach every time they eat gluten, but other symptoms are: losing hair, arthritis, osteoporosis, skin issues, digestive issues, iron deficient anemia.  I have all that but the osteoporosis, which I am going to get my bone density checked eventually after all my other tests.
What does celiac disease do to you?  Celiac disease is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy.  So if you don't go on a gluten free diet, you become malnurished and sickly like an anorexic person even though you are eating food. 

Because the Dr was so sure that I have it, I organized my pantry yesterday, the fridge and the freezer, I have my own shelves in all.  After I get the results of the antibody test back, it will be official, the I have to have a colonoscopy to see exactly how bad the damage to my small intestine is, then after that I will have the gene test done and they want my Dad to have the gene test done, to know which specific gene to check for in Jack.

So, while this is completely turning my world upside down, it couldn't have come at a better time.  I have lost 80 pounds and gained a lot of muscle definition over the past 2 years, I eat a lot of fruits and veggies, lean meat.  So, at least this didn't happen 2 years ago, I would have just cried, but now I am in a healthier athletic state and can handle another diet change.  I have done my research too, there are several restaurants that offer gluten free menus, and hey I can still eat Mexican food, woo hoo, it just has to be corn tortillas.  Hey who knows, maybe being gluten free will make my thin hair grow back too.  I think the worst is gonna be at work, I won't be able to eat any of the desserts or bagels, cookies that other offices send us. Grrrr.

Mother's Day Weekend

I had an amazing Mother's Day weekend.  It started with Jack's baseball game and a visit from my Dad and step Mom. Then we drove to Mom's for Mother's Day lunch/dinner at her house, the men did all the cooking, cleaning and serving and the women got to kick back, relax and open presents. My Mom got me these great stainless still mixing bowls and dish towels.
My son brought home this flower from his last day of preschool for me and I planted it in this planter that I dressed up with a butterfly rub-on from my craft stash on Sunday

Then my son and husband made this card from my craft stash, so cute.

Then my husband surprised me with good smelling stuff and a giant wine glass to rival the one from Cougar Town.
Then I took my Mother-In-Law out for lunch and we went to see Cats then to Starbucks, then when I came home, the house was clean.  Yep I had an amazing Mother's Day weekend.
here we are before Cats

Style Icon

So for a while after I had my son I didn't wear makeup, I would walk around in sweat pants.  I didn't feel bad about myself, I just didn't feel pretty so I didn't even try.  Now, that I have lost the weight I am wearing makeup and jewelry, I am wanting to dress up, because I wear scrubs all day at work.  I have always liked Lauren Conrad's style, she has a very classic style with some trendy pieces but not trend overkill.  I was looking through my closet and she is probably the celebrity I dress most like.

I think she dresses feminine and girly with a classic sexy side, granted I'm not that skinny but I pretty much have this outfit in my closet. I wish I had her hair, my hair doesn't look good long , because it is so thin.

Now I don't wear shorts this short, but I love this look.

This is probably my favorite look, it looks so comfortable and just thrown together, but it's casual and trendy at the same time

I love wearing sleeveless tops since my arms and shoulders are smaller and have more muscle definition.  I do not like her sunglasses in this picture though, they are almost beetle like, bug eyes

This is from her own style collection at Kohls and I love how flowey and feminine this look is. I spent so many years looking like a tomb boy that I am so ready to look girly and pretty now.

My thighs aren't small enough for a pencil skirt, but I love both looks. I pretty much wore this look on the left yesterday.  I am not bold enough to wear heels with shorts but I did wear wedges. Baby steps, to not looking like tomb boy.  I always though Lauren handled herself with style and grace, so here is to my fashion icon Lauren Conrad.

Cobbler

I found this recipe on pinterest and followed it to this girls weight loss blog and she has a ton of healthy and yummy looking recipes. This recipe was super easy and calls for just 3 ingredients: Frozen fruit, cake mix and sprite.  I didn't have mixed berried or strawberries like she used, I just had a big bag of frozen unsweetened blueberries, I used yellow cake mix and sprite zero.  I used one of her reviewer's advice about stirring the cake mix and sprite together and it ended up great. Even though I made it for the Mother's Day celebration at my Mom's tomorrow, I had to take a little taste. Sorry Mom for the missing spoon full.  It was so yummy, it was sweet, but not too sweet and I am taking vanilla ice cream to serve with it. I baked mine at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Thank you to her commenter that said to stir them together, cause it ended up great without any dry areas.

A different view, showing all the berries. I might make this for July 4th with blueberries, strawberries and vanilla ice cream.

A picture of my little helper, he stirred and poured and in between dances on the Just Dance game he came in and looked at it with the oven light to see it turn into cake.  I can't wait to dig into this tomorrow at Mom's.

Addicted to pain?

So I did this Backyard Boot Camp type work out yesterday. It was awesome cause it challenged me and I like to be challenged  when I work out, cause I get bored easily, I have worked out every day for 2 years after all.  Well it was a challenge, I am super sore, but I loved it. I got to do things like jumping over hurdles, slamming a sledge hammer into a giant tire, kick/boxing with a sparring partner, doing squats and lunges on a Bozu Ball, lots of other things too, but that's what stood out the most.  I am sore, but after that I came home I went swimming, then later on that day I went for a walk after dinner with Jack.  Today I woke up so stiff and sore, but I forced myself to get up and work out, I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and I played just dance and the Wii fit with Jack, then I'm gonna lay out and get some sun, then I might roller blade.  I went from being someone who was addicted to tv shows to someone who is addicted to working out. since the DVR was invented I can do both, I am not a slave to my tv anymore, I don't have to be home at a certain time to catch a certain show.  So, I get to run around and play with my kid and get exercise and not be a couch potato.  I think my life is pretty good. This is my idea of playing outside on a beautiful day.

This is Jack's idea of playing outside, he is pouting cause the ipad battery just died.  Yes I know I have my work cut out for me with him, but he is watching less tv and playing baseball now.

Uh Thanks?

Here are some of the weird and random compliments? I have gotten since I lost weight.
"Wow your eyes are big now"
"you have tiny feet now"
"you can see lines and muscles around your mouth now"
"Wow, you have a super skinny neck"
"Your legs from the knee down are tiny"
"Did you always have freckles"
"Don't lose any more weight, you look anorexic"
This is what I feel like saying to those responses
Were my eyes not big before, did my fat face swallow them or something?
Were my feet huge before?
Are you saying that my head is huge, if my neck is super skinny?
So, my legs are tiny from the knees down, what are you trying to say about my thighs?  I know I have tree trunk legs but sheesh do ya have to point it out.
YES, I always had freckles!!!
The anorexic comment hurts the most, because for your information, I am 5 foot 6 and a half inches tall and should weigh between 130 and 160, and I am currently 144 pounds, so I am still in my weight range, I am not under weight, I do eat and I do not binge (thank you very much).  I was just determined and set a goal and people that know me really well know that when I set a goal for something NOTHING will stop me from my goal.
Whew, I feel better, I just had to get that off my chest.
FYI, I have always had a low self esteem so when you tell someone like me that I have a skinny neck, I become paranoid and think holey cow do I look like Maria Shriver or something?
I should also note that I have had a glass of wine.! hee hee, so if this blog post offends you in anyway, just ignore it.