Communication Breakdown

Me: Honey, can you please run to central market and pick up some salmon?
Chris: Sure, do you need anything else?
Me:  Yes, just a red pepper, ckn broth, and lemon
Me:  and most importantly don't forget the salmon, I have a new recipe.
Chris: Okay, so fish, pepper, broth, and lemon.
Me: Yes, Salmon, red pepper,Ckn broth and lemon-do you want me to make you a list?
Chris: No-I got it.
Me: Printing out my recipe from epicurious.com, perfect!

20 minutes later Chris comes home sets the grocery bag on the counter and walks away. I start to unveil what Chris purchased and noticed he bought fish but it wasn't salmon he got redfish.

Me: Honey, do you remember I said Salmon, this recipe calls for salmon(feeling anxious because I HAVE to follow new recipes exactly the way it is written )
Chris: I thought you LOVED the black drum from Manuel's on Friday?
Me: I did, but this isn't black drum-its redfish
Chris: Well,  they didn't have black drum.
Me: But I asked for salmon?!
Chris: Right. You did.

Pacifiers Are For Suckers

Friday Jacob asked for his paci at night night time, I told him that we gave them to the babies. Since then he hasn’t even mentioned paci!! Cold Turkey!

Pacifier Lover

Jacob loves his paci but little does he know, paci's days are limited! 

How I am going to break up this love affair?

Samantha suggests to "do it cold turkey".

Here are my two cold turkey ideas:

Me:  J. lets get all of your paci's together to give to baby Lauren because Baby's use pacifiers and you are a big boy now.

Jacob: Gathers Paci and happily hands them to baby Lauren

Done.

or

I cut all the nipples(ouch) and let Jacob decide that pacifiers are wack!

What element are you?

Today on Stephanie Klein’s Greek Tragedy blog, she posted a link to a quiz that determines your five elements. I love these kind of things and true to the “Fire” and “earth” elements, I have  to post my results:

 

WOOD ARCHETYPE: The Pioneer………………………… 7
FIRE ARCHETYPE: The Wizard……………………………… 17
EARTH ARCHETYPE: The Peacemaker……………………. 12
METAL ARCHETYPE: The Alchemist………………………… 4
WATER ARCHETYPE: The Philosopher……………………. 3

and Chris:

WOOD ARCHETYPE: The Pioneer.............................. 9
FIRE ARCHETYPE: The Wizard.................................... 8
EARTH ARCHETYPE: The Peacemaker......................... 4
METAL ARCHETYPE: The Alchemist.............................. 7
WATER ARCHETYPE: The Philosopher......................... 11

 

Technorati Tags: elements,fire,earth,metal,water,wood,personality test

I Live Without Gluten And It’s Not So Bad

Technorati Tags: gluten free,infertility,digestive health

Last week as I was working/eating/eaves dropping at Galaxy Cafe in the Triangle, I couldn’t help but to pick up a conversation that began after I complimented the waitress for the delicious gluten free bread.

 The nosey know it all “ Oh, the newest trend is gluten free diet” sheepish listener “ what is gluten?” NKIA” It’s bread/carbs like the Adkins diet and removing them from their diet actually causes more harm than good” Sheepy” why is gluten bad?” NKIA “ There are all kinds of reason why they think it’s bad but if they just start with removing processed, pre-packaged foods from their diets they would be fine.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears! My first inclination was to walk to the table of women and inform  miss Nosey Know it all that she is mistaken but then I realized that my time & energy are limited and since I am trying to be eco-friendly and not wasteful, I buried my nose in my computer and kept eavesdropping  working.

I am asked often why I am gluten free and very simply-I am healthier without it. It all started three years ago after I had exhausted all my fertility options via conventional medicine and decided  to search more options.  So, with an open mind I started researching articles, books, blogs, forums, about the correlation between fertility and digestive health. I realized that I had several indications of a gluten intolerance which  for me were  irregular cycles, endometriosis,constant bloating,constant red face(tried every type of make up,lotion, serum), IBS(so I thought), tiny red bumps on my arms and most importantly the inability to conceive. In fear of getting my hopes up, I decided to try a two week elimination diet. I must admit that was a very dark time in my life, I was gluten free  and although I felt wonderful physically, I felt like I was going through a heart wrenching break up with my beloved bread. The cards were on the table, I must move on. So, reluctantly, I decided to subject myself to the bread/soy sauce/cookie-less zone a little longer and slowly each symptom disappeared- my stomach was no longer bloated,my face was no longer red, bumps on my arms vanished, cycles became regular(never in my life had they been regular), and  then after six weeks  of a gluten free diet, I became pregnant. Its been three years now and I have finally adjusted to living without gluten and have never felt better.

Disclaimer:  I am not saying everybody who has a stomach ache or having a difficult time conceiving should stop eating bread, but it’s worth a shot especially if you have similar health issues. It can’t be worse than all the drugs the fertility specialist are injecting inside of you. Read the facts, do the research, ask several different doctors, and then make an informed decision.

To read more about gluten please go to the experts:

ACL Mud fest + Texas Pot Roast = LOVE

Great time at ACL yesterday better time when I got home and had a plate of the most delicious pot roast ever. You must go to the store and get these ingredients today, the weather is perfect for pot roast.
After-Work/ Music Fest Beef Pot Roast Dinner
Ingredients

• 3-3 1/2 lb. boneless beef chuck shoulder pot roast or bottom round rump roast
• 1 envelope (0.7 oz.) Italian dressing mix
• 2 large onions, each cut into eight wedges
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup ready-to-serve beef broth
• 2 zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp. water
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Press dressing mix evenly onto all surfaces of pot roast. Place onions and garlic in 4 1/2 to 5 1/2-quart slow cooker; top with pot roast. Add bell peppers and broth. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 hours or on LOW 8 hours. Add zucchini. Continue cooking, covered, 30 minutes or until pot roast is fork-tender.
Remove pot roast and vegetables. Strain cooking liquid; skim fat. Combine 2 cups cooking liquid and cornstarch mixture in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 1 minute or until thickened.
Carve pot roast into slices; season with salt and pepper, as desired. Serve with vegetables and gravy.

Letter to Jacob's Teacher

Jacob's favorite teacher was out for a early childhood convention on Friday. I knew the minute I saw him looking for Ms. J and couldn't find her it was going to be a long day. His other very sweet teacher confirmed that he had a tough day. He missed Ms. J, so I sent her a quick email:

Ms. J.,
Just want you to know Jacob had a tough day on Friday and we think it's because you weren't there:( What are we going to do when he moves to another class?! Jacob just loves you.


Her Response:

Jacob is a sweet heart. During the convention, one of the sessions was on Separation Anxiety. I didn't really tie Jacob in with this, but, I did speak about him as an example.... how he went through a process and made a great transition. I love him as well, I feel very connected to him. See you all tomorrow...take care.

I love that he is loved at school.

A Compassionate Little Boy Is Good, Right?

 

The other day at our library’s story time Miss Elizabeth performed a finger puppet show with monkeys and alligators. You know the one that goes…

Five little monkeys swinging in the tree
Teasing Mr. Alligator
Can’t catch me
Along came Mr. Alligator
Quiet as can be
And snapped that monkey right out of that tree.

The minute Miss Elizabeth’s alligator puppet ate the monkey puppet, Jacob started crying and crying and crying. He was inconsolable. I quickly picked him up and carried him to the back of the room when a ultra trendy daddy glanced up from the book he was reading and said” that is the most “emo” little boy I have ever met”. I am guessing “emo” means emotional, gag. I proudly responded” ‘yes, we sure got lucky. He is very compassionate”; the very minute my words left my lips, I realized that I was getting that disapproving stare and “emo” was a bad thing. An Awkward moment to say the least. That second part of me wanted to kick him in the face for judging, but then the other part felt guilty for once sailing in the same sea of ignorance. B.J. (Before Jacob)  I remember thinking that little boys are suppose to be one way-tough. When I encountered otherwise, I would roll my eyes, stick my finger down my throat to gag myself and then say to myself that  poor boy is shark bait. On more than one occasion, I remember walking away from a sensitive boy and have a serious concern for their future; how they are going to stand up to the bullies of the world. Now, I think of  boys differently. They should be confident and compassionate  that are social enough to make friends but just as comfortable being alone. I understand that there are bullies out there and Jacob will encounter plenty but as long as he has a good understanding of human nature and a great understanding in karate, he will be just fine. What’s your take?

Bob Schneider is Austin

Flashback: It's the Mid 90's in Austin on any given Tuesday, do you know what you were doing? You could find me front row at the Scabs @ Antone sandwiched among several twenty-something girls, dancing, sweating and singing at the top of our lungs while collectively fighting for Bob Schneider's attention. The only exceptions being illness or exams. 15 years later,I still love his music. Somehow in my mind it comforts me to feel as if Bob and I have grown together;always evolving and in my opinion, always getting better. At the end of the month Bob is releasing another album, I can't wait. Here is a clip from December singing one of his new singles for your viewing pleasure:

Sunday Sunshine

If we could just read their minds....

Jacob(18 months) & Lauren (6 months)

Lisa took these pictures yesterday