I'm BAAAAaaaack

Thanks for all the well wishes. I am feeling MUCH better. I appreciate all the virtual greeting cards, phone calls, etc. I had the biggest thrill yesterday when I heard from a friend that Heidi Collins on CNN did a story on Celiac Disease. I was equally as excited when I saw that my hero Gluten-free Girl gave it a plug as well on her blog. I am not quite 100% yet, so I apologize for keeping this short, but... here is a note I sent to all my family and friends and I will share it here with you as well...

Since many of you have asked me about the disease I have, I thought I’d send you this link to a story that ran on CNN yesterday. It’s quite thorough and not very long, so if you’re interested, take a gander. It does a far better job of explaining this crazy disease than I! I hope you’ll forward it on to those who have been diagnosed with Celiac or who may need to visit the doctor to investigate it as a possibility… Finally finding out what was up with my own body nearly two years ago changed my life! I’m hoping that if I send it to enough of my friends it will help someone else.

http://www.celiaccentral.org/Other/CNN_Interview_with_Dr_Green/300/

P.S. – You can also find lots more info. on this site: http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/ That’s where I found out about this story. I’ve been reading this site daily for over a year and it’s been a real comfort to me… pass it on to others if you think it will help. Thanks!

I promise to post again as soon as I can... much love and xoxoxoxS

Farewell Friends!

Well, it's been a rough few weeks. I had been well for so long that it was quite a blow. I hope to someday comeback with regular contributions to bloggerland, but for now I will just stick to posting to the blogs of others when I have time. I need to refocus and spend time at rest getting healthy again. Feel free to post here and I will answer when I can.
Will miss you all! xoS

One Book...

Was tagged for this one... I went to grad school to become a librarian and was one quite happily for 8 years. I believe I always will be. If I ever find the right library again, I will rejoin the library world. Cross your fingers for me. This meme was a snap for me (though difficult to just stop at ONE for each).... Oh yes, thank you Green for the tag!… now on with the meme…

1. One book that changed your life: Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: William Shakespeare – The Complete Works (duh!)

4. One book that made you laugh: Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris)

5. One book that made you cry [or feel really sad]: Death Be Not Proud (John Gunther)

6. One book that you wish had been written: Family stories written down by all my grandparents.

7. One book that you wish had never been written: I really couldn’t think of one, so started doing some searching to get possible ideas… came across this link of “Worst 100 Childrens Books of All Time“ and it really frightened me … oh someone has A LOT of free time… I did laugh a little too… ;o)

8. One book you’re currently reading: In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: My nightstand overfloweth…

10. One book you wish you had written: (Ok, I invented #10)… Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown) … the best bedtime book that has ever been or ever will be written… period.

FOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!

I have a love, love relationship with food... Sometimes it’s my body that I’m unhappy with though… simply because it just doesn’t adjust as well as it should to my food intake... goshdarnit… stole this meme from Vesper.

How do you like your eggs? Scrambled, with a drop of olive oil in the pan and just a hint of milk in the eggs – definitely fluffy.

How do you take your coffee/tea? If ordering from a coffee joint it’s usually a soy latte of some variety… my tea… redbush chai or green tea.

Favorite breakfast foods: Larabars (ok, I know I shamelessly plug them, but I’m allergic to gluten so I do love them so since I can’t have granola or energy bars…), also omelets and brown rice toast. Fruit is sometimes good too – kiwi, grapefruit…

Peanut butter: smooth. I go through phases with p.b. I usually don’t ever eat it, but sometimes I get a craving… usually it has to do with a chocolate accompaniment of some kind, so I can’t blame it solely on the p.b. Also, like Vesper, I only like unsweetened, please!

What kind of dressing on your salad? Annie’s Naturals g.f. Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette … my FAVORITE!

Coke or Pepsi? I don’t drink anything carbonated (except Perrier).

You’re feeling lazy. What do you make? Popcorn… if I’m feeling really lazy…. For somewhat lazy moments mung bean noodles (aka Cellophane noodles) with pesto or marinara (I keep these both in my freezer since I have to make my own). Mung bean noodles take just a few minutes and are a great sub for pasta! I’m Italian so I LOVE carbs… I just can’t eat a large percentage of carbs b/c of my CD. If I have more time and energy I’ll do rice pasta…

You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order? Can’t order pizza… however, I’ve considered opening my own GF pizzeria… I instead doctor up one of Amy’s rice crust cheese pizzas with some turkey pepperoni and some veggie or another… that only takes 12 minutes… fast enough for me…

You feel like cooking. What do you make? Roast chicken with roasted sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts (see below). And for dessert… GF apple pie with homemade gelato! MMMMM… I guess I’d also have to be VERY hungry too…

Do any foods bring back good memories? My mother’s Asian chicken wings with white rice. My grandmother’s gnocchi and calamari. My dad’s linguini w/ clam sauce & frittatas. Lots and lots of popcorn.

Do any foods bring back bad memories? Raw peanuts… I was once chased down the street by a woman on Halloween who I was scared of (she was dressed as a witch) … she was dead set on giving me a bag of peanuts… She thought I was afraid of her… I was afraid of having to eat the contents of that bag… I had been sick for hours the week before after binge eating peanuts with a friend of mine (we were six and decided to have a good old fashioned eating contest after seeing an episode of Little House….suckers…)

Is there a food you refuse to eat? Raw peanuts, capers, walnuts, mint jelly, anything with gluten

What was your favorite food as a child? Fish sticks, Hamburger Helper, Animal Crackers, eeegads….

Is there a food that you hated as a child but now love? Can’t think of a single one.

Is there a food that you loved as a child but now hate? Anything with gluten.

Favorite fruits & vegetables: fruits – honeydew melon, raspberries, strawberries, kiwis, Macoun apples. vegetables – bell peppers (all colors), carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, jicama

Favorite junk food: ice cream!!

Favorite between meal snack: handful of raw cashews

Do you have any weird food habits? Sometimes I try to cool off cold things by blowing on them like I would a cup of coffee… it’s silly… but I’ve been caught doing it before and it’s a reflex I can’t control… just a quirk…

You’re on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on? Salads. Soups.

You’re off your diet. Now what would you like? Dark chocolate

How spicy do you order Indian/Thai? Verrry mild… but I LOVE I/T food…

Can I get you a drink? Water (any kind)

May I get you a drink? Margarrrrita!!!!

Red wine or white? White, pinot gris

We only have beer: Is it GF? If so, yes PLEASE!

Favorite dessert? GF chocolate mousse from Bistro Vatel in San Antonio.

The perfect nightcap? A hot cup of decaf chai with a couple of small chocolates to melt in my mouth.

The Effort to Slow Down...

I've been taking dr's orders and sleeping in when I can, taking time out to do things that are truly relaxing and drinking LOTS of water. It's helping, it's just difficult to switch gears so abruptly. I used to find it easy to relax after a long day of work, but lately my mind just races around and even sitting down isn't relaxing...

I have been swimming a lot. Our pool is a welcome invitation after a long day, but it all depends on when I get home. I used to swim competitively so it's interesting coming at swimming from a relaxation standpoint.

I have been watching movies at least twice a week. Some of the latest have been Pumpkin, Brokeback Mountain, Hitch, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (had already seen but was worth the re-watch), Cinderella Man, and Beyond the Sea. Let me know if you have any suggestions for uplifting, relaxing, or funny films that I may not have seen. I like movies that have good character development and are well-written. I also love to laugh and crying can be therapeutic... so put on your thinking caps.

Books... well, I am reading 3 books simultaneously right now (Tender at the Bone - Ruth Reichl, Naked - David Sedaris, and The Professor and the Madman - Simon Winchester) ... I realize now that I'm reading all non-fiction. This is unusal for me... though I to gravitate towards books that have a narrative tone and these have that in common. If you have other reccs let me know... I am a librarian so I have a storehouse of books I have yet to read, but I'm always open to suggestions.

There you have it... my 3 prong approach... swimming, movies, books... now I know I'll get bored with this soon... next skydiving??? xoS

Wanting to feel carefree....

Ok, so I've been gone for awhile. Been doing some life re-examination and my work has taken up about 80% of my time. Busy, busy summer's end. Have a car for the first time in my entire life so am re-learning my deft driving skills... Probably the most frustrating thing is my health has not been happy with my workaholic schedule. I was just about to pack up and move to one of Money Magazine's best places to live. I feel like downsizing our entire life.... cutting our belongings in half... working part-time (HA!). ...only fleeting thoughts, but not entirely unfounded. I think that life has been just a little too breakneck of late. So that, in a nutshell, is what has been up, down and all around... xoS

Stole this from Gina who stole it from ???

1) Your Rock Star name: (first pet and current street name) Cindy Pebble

2) Your Movie Star name: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side and your favourite candy) Billy Rose Truffle

3) Your 'Fly Girl/Guy" name: (first initial of first name and the first two or three letters of your last name) R. Tu

4) Your Detective name: (favourite animal and favourite colour) Milly Red

5) Your Soap Opera name: (middle name and the city where you were born) Katharine Toledo

6) Your Star Wars name: (first three letters of your last name, last three letters of your mum's maiden name, and first three letters of your pet's name) Tureemil

7) Your Porn Star name: (middle name, father's middle initial, and the street you grew up on) Katharine J. Crescent

8) Your Superhero name: ('The', your favourite colour, and the automobile you drive)
The Red CR-V


On what for me has been an entirely too serious weekend... I hereby tag you all with this drivel! Have fun! xoS