I’m not feeling particularly chatty today but I thought y’all might enjoy this.  I put together a white bean chili today using this:

Plus the beans, onions, 2 chicken breasts, and chicken broth.  While I was preparing it I was planning what I was wearing to a business dinner tonight.  Yes you read right.  I was planning my outfit for a dinner tonight while making dinner for tonight.

Good thing Lu, Auntie Laina and Uncle Richard will enjoy this!

I also picked up some daffodils yesterday. COME ON SPRING!

And lastly, our friend John came over last night.  He was here for an interview from DC.  He hadn’t met Lu yet so he brought her a present. Here’s an awful picture of it.

How sweet of him?  We had a blast with him last night.  WE MISS JOHN!

I made the boys (2 friends came over with John) 2 pans of Pizza Bombs!  They were a huge hit! YAY Pizza Bombs!

Pizza Bombs! and beer seemed to be a hit with boys!

I ended up having leftovers since my planned food added too much stress to my night.  The tomato-less Mexican Pasta was just as good the second day.

My magic sleep number used to be 7 hours.  It’s now jumped to 8.  I’ve been working under the assumption that I need 7 hours and for the last 2 weeks I haven’t made it to the gym because the alarm goes off after 7 hours and I can’t get out of bed. Maybe my body is focusing on healing itself and needs more sleep?  I don’t know. All I know is that 8 hours seems to be the magic number.  To get up at 5:30 that means going to bed at 9:30 and starting the process to get ready for bed at 9.  That won’t be happening tonight since I have a friend visiting from DC but from here on out, it’s a 9:30 bedtime for me!

I am going to go on a walk at lunch today.  Heather wrote a great post about walking last week and it makes me want to walk more.  So I shall!

Lots of social stuff this weekend plus a teething baby.  Lu’s getting her 2-year old molars (at least we think that’s the problem) and she was whiney, clingy, and just not herself this weekend.  Saturday was a housewarming/birthday party that I “made” cookies for. I only made them if you consider putting pre-made dough on a cookie sheet in the oven.

They are Immaculate Bakery which uses all organic and natural ingredients.  Nothing unpronounceable on the the package.

That was followed by a trek up to the city to have dinner with my childhood neighbors.  It was so fun to see them!  LOVE FACEBOOK for bringing us back together.

Sunday, I met up with Jill for some Thai food and Yogurtuille.  VERY preggers Jill was in LOVE with Yogurtouille.

Here’s mine:

Just fruit and roasted almonds.

Here’s Jill’s:

Vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter pieces, brownies, peanut M&Ms and chocolate sauce, I believe.

Here’s us:

The great thing about Yogurtouille is that it’s completely self-serve.  You pay by the ounce ($0.35/oz) and you get whatever you want.

Jill brought me some loose leaf tea that she packaged in tea bags.

Which I’m enjoying right now 🙂

Jill will be full term (37 weeks) on Wednesday and she looks FANTASTIC.  I think she’s having a boy but that probably means she’s having a girl.  I’ve only ever been right with my sister, so I’m 1 for like 100.  Not very good odds.  We had a blast and I can’t wait to meet her little babe! Yay internet friends!!!!

Last night I made tomato-less, corn and gluten-free Mexican Pasta. I replaced the tomatoes with 2 cans of chopped chilies and I added some jalapeños to both mine and Shaun’s for some kick.

It was DELICIOUS.  Shaun and LU agreed.  THIS is the type of dish for GF pasta.  You couldn’t even tell a difference. YOM.

Now, I’m enjoying the aforementioned tea:

And some oats with flax and maple syrup.

Now it’s time to work.

What’s your magic sleep number?

1. Stop putting myself down.  Treat me like I would want others to treat Lucy. I was doing great at this and then lately I’ve been slipping up.  This needs to go on the top of my priority list NOW.

2. Eat something green every day. Check!

3. Eat 2 servings of fruit every day. Check!

4. Completely cut out dairy. Check!

5. Get back on my bike. Rain, Rain, GO AWAY. Cold and wind too.

6. Do something only for me 1 hour each week. Check! Girls lunch today.

7. Do something with Shaun that doesn’t include me sitting on the computer and him on the XBox or us watching TV for 1 hour each week. Check!

8. Dress nicely, including putting on make-up, at least 3 times a week. Check!

9. Clean out Lucy’s drawers. This will be happening very soon.

10. Clean out and organize the filing cabinet. This too will be happening very soon.

11. Complete Lucy’s birth book. Have some more to do.

12. Become a faster walker. If you can speed train for running, you can sure as hell do it for walking. Check!

13. Send out thank you notes in a more timely fashion and to everyone that deserves one. Fail.  I start over on this one.  I may send out emails this week for Christmas.  I’m tired of feeling guilt over it.

14. Feed myself healthy food and exercise, trust myself. Exercise needs to become a priority.  Healthy eating is going very well.

15. Save my personal money for a new wardrobe. Check! Up to over $600

16. Be on top of my budget and update Quicken every 2 weeks. Check!

17. Severely limit my computer and phone time when I’m with Lucy.  On weekdays, I should never use them when she’s awake and on weekends, I should use them sparingly when she’s awake. Check!

18. Get the bird out 4 times a week. I suck at this.  I’m getting her out tonight. I wish Shaun could get her out-we’d be much better at this.  She tried to bite his head off though 🙁

19. To appease my husband, never let the gas tank get below 1/2 a tank. Check!

20. Improve on my photography. Working on it.

And, the original 10 in 2010:

1. Take time out every day to simply enjoy my daughter. Check!

2. Try not to look too far forward or lament the past.  Check!

3. Drink more water-at least 80 ounces per day. Check!

4. Use my juicer A LOT. I think it gets to make a return in a month!

5. Go to the gym more often than not. Grrr…going tomorrow.

6. Floss EVERY day. Check!

8. Run to the top of Waterdog Lake Road, while pushing Lucy, without stopping and back. Check!

9. Post at least 365 times in 2010.  I can post 3 times a day or skip a day but I want my average to be 1 post per day. Working on it.

10. Fold my laundry by Sunday night. This is hit and miss.

I’m a work in progress that’s for sure!!!

I almost forgot to do this this month.  What is wrong with me?!?!

I forgot that today was Lucy’s first swim lesson of the season.  Major fail.

She probably shouldn’t have gone since she had a fever yesterday but I would have liked to have made that decision before the fact not after.

Note to self-buy swim diapers.

I’ll miss you…

I had my doctors appointment yesterday and it’s official-I’m allergic to gluten.  I DID test negative for Celiac but I tested positive for Gluten Intolerance.  Here’s a great site that describes the difference.

From the above mentioned site:

Gluten intolerance is a broad term which includes all kinds of sensitivity to Gluten. A small proportion of Gluten intolerant people will test positive to Celiac Disease test, and so are called Celiacs (~0.5% of the population).
But most Gluten sensitive people return negative or inconclusive results upon Celiac testing. The correct term for these people is Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitive (NCGS) and may be as many as ~15% of all people or 1 in 7.

People who are not Gluten Intolerant usually have Gliadin antibody count of 0-13.  Mine is 43.

Yeah, so no more Gluten.  French bread, sourdough bread, spelt, traditional pasta-farewell.  I’ll miss you!

The tests also found a lot of different bacteria in my intestines.  The doctor said that this is to be expected given my GI issues.  Also my Intestinal SIgA (shows if your intestines are inflamed) was 90.  Normal is 400-800, low is <400.  The diet I’m on now will help with this as will the additional supplements she gave me yesterday.  As if what I showed you yesterday wasn’t enough, I get to take this twice a day:

Yep, 12 more capsules for the next 6 weeks.  I’m okay with this-it’s going to get me better!  I’m just so glad to have answers!  I can’t even tell you.  And? I’m NOT allergic to dairy, eggs, or soy.  The doctor wants me to stay on this diet (that cuts out dairy) for another month at least and then we can try adding in some dairy to see how I do.

The basic explanation for my systems is that I’m allergic to gluten and it’s causing some severe inflammation in my intestines which is basically making my intestines shut down.  The test was able to confirm that my stool had been in my intestines for longer than 96 hours.  Isn’t that lovely?

Like I said-I’m so happy that I know the issue and that we can deal with it.

Now that I’ve completely disgusted you, don’t you want to see my food? HA!

Last night I did make a pretty spectacular dinner.

I marinated the chicken in a Tandoori mix from Whole Foods for 48 hours and then grilled it until it reached 170*.  On the side I mixed kale, chard, and spinach which I sautéed with coconut milk, a bit of Braggs, and cracked pepper and some rice.  Both Shaun and Lu loved the chicken and the rice and didn’t love the “green stuff”.  I thought it was delicious 🙂

Speaking of Lu we’re home today.  She’s got a 102* temp but she’s acting fine? I don’t get it.  She’s dancing right now and giggling but her temp is up so we’re home.

Did you see that I posted the Japanese Chicken recipe from Sunday night?

Do you have any allergies?  Do you ever stop yearning for that food?

I found the original recipe on recipezaar by searching for “chicken” and then sorting by rating to get the top rated chicken recipes. It’s the fourth one down with almost 700 ratings.

I’ve changed it up a bit to make it gluten and refined sugar free.

Ingredients:

-8 chicken drumsticks, skin on (you can do any cut of meat and you can take off the skin-the skin does make it taste amazing though)
-1 cup water
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/3 cup Braggs Amino
-2 TBSP honey
-4 garlic cloves-peeled and bruised (just smush it under a knife)
-1 jalapeño, seeds removed

Instructions:

-Put all ingredients in a pan over high heat. 

-Once it starts to boil, reduce it to a  a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered-turning frequently.

-Remove any scum that rises-scum has never risen for me but just in case!

-Increase heat to medium/high and boil until sauce is thick.  Remember to turn chicken frequently.  This takes a good 20 minutes.

-Serve over rice and ENJOY!

Serves 4

Shaun LOVES this meal and give it a 5.  Lu loved it too.  I had to remove the skin and I wish I would have removed the skin BEFORE I cooked it so that the meat could soak up all the yummy sauce.

Look at Lucy this morning!

Many of you have asked in the comments how everything is going and how I’m feeling.  (If you missed it, here’s the new healthy living plan that my naturopathic doctor put me on-and why I’m on it.)

I am feeling so much better.  I can’t even tell you.  My GI distress has vanished.  I am the most regular that I have ever been in my entire life.  Granted, it’s only been 2 weeks but the improvement is HUGE.  I’m also sleeping much better and I’m much less moody. 

I just started my period two days ago and usually I have a day or two where I would say that I am extremely depressed-like scary depressed.  I didn’t get that this month.  My cramps were also much better.  It’s amazing. 

Still, it’s only been 2 weeks but I am VERY encouraged.  I have been doing EVERYTHING that is laid out.  The sock treatment was only for my head cold so I don’t do that everyday but everything else is done pretty much everyday.  At first I didn’t think the skin brushing was doing anything but now I feel much better after I do it.  That could totally be my mind playing tricks with me, but if it is, oh well-it’s WORKING!

I go in today for acupuncture and I’m hopeful that my test results are back. The lab charged me, so I’m think that that means that my results are done.  The results will tell if I have a parasite and if I’m actually allergic to milk, soy, gluten, and/or eggs. We shall see!

I thought it may be interesting for you all to see what my supplement look like and how I take them.

Day 1-14 of my cycle, here’s what I take in the morning:

Days 15-menses just take away the fish oil (EFA Liquid) and add a bottle of Evening Primrose Oil.

First I star with the magnelevures-that little packet thingy up there.  I take half in the morning and half at night.  I mix it with 1-2 ounces of warm water.

With that I take my vitamin D:

Day 15-menses, I take the vitamin D AND the 3 capsules of Evening Primrose Oil:

Then twice a day, with food (breakfast and dinner), I take 1/2 tsp of probiotics:

In the morning, I also take a TBSP of vitamin B:

It’s not quite as gross as it looks, but it’s still pretty gross.

Also in the morning, from day 1-14 of my cycle I take the fish oil:

The icky aftertaste stayed with me for a looooong time yesterday but today I ate immediately after taking it, instead of before and there’s no aftertaste-YAY!

Finally, at night, I take 3 capsules of Biotone EFAs at bedtime:

Additionally, I drink 2 tsp of apple cidar vinegar mixed with 6-8 ounces of water before lunch and dinner-this is gross, I won’t lie.  But I AM getting used to it.  I also make sure to have 2 TBSP of fresh ground flax everyday during days 1-14 of my cycle and then either fresh ground sesame or fresh ground sunflower seeds day 15-menses.

Those are my supplements!  And?  I did that all from memory.  It has definitely already become a routine and it’s not too bad.  It may look like a lot but it’s really not.

This morning I made a ROCKING bowl of pumpkin oats!

-1/3 cup of GF oats, unsweetened almond milk, water, and pumpkin
-Cooked with Vietnamese cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  (I need to pick up some vanilla! It was sorely missed)
-I mixed in about a TBSP of maple syrup at the end
-Topped with coconut, pecans, flax, and pecan butter

It was really good!  I know it’s chock full of calories but I’ve been eating really small breakfasts lately (a piece of GF bread toasted with pecan butter and jam) and it caught up with me last night.  I was super snacky so I decided to flip my calories on their head (where they should be) and I had a huge breakfast.  I’m F-U-L-L.

I’ll leave you how I started-with the cutest kid on the planet!

It’s the time in my cycle where I sub out Evening Primrose Oil for Fish Oil.  I was REALLY nervous about it.

As you can see, it’s liquid form and I had to take a TBSP of it.  It says to take it with food so I made sure to eat my breakfast and then I took all my supplements except for the fish oil and my probiotics.  I mix the probiotics in water and they actually taste pretty good so I figured it could be my chaser. 

I seriously had to talk myself into taking the fish oil.  I measured it out (it was much more liquidy and less thick than I imagined it would be), plugged my nose, and went for it.  Guess what?  It tasted like ORANGE.

It has orange peel oil in it and doesn’t even taste like fish!  I DO have a fishy aftertaste in my mouth now and that is a bit disconcerting.

Last night I made some beans and rice.  I had had these puppies:

soaking since Sunday.  I got them when I went to the Farmer’s Market with Stacy and Beth.  Don’t they look like they have cow spots?

They taste very similar to pinto beans and so I made some beans and rice.  I cooked them in the crockpot with some veggies and then seasoned them up once I got home.

This was delicious.  I gave Lu a similar sized portion (without the spinach) but added cheese and she ate all of it and asked for more.  It was a hit!  Shaun liked it a lot too.  He gave it a 3.  I kinda just mixed a bunch of stuff together until it tasted right so a recipe will have to wait until the next time I make it.

I do want to do a post on how I’ve been cooking beans and I know that I owe you a recipe from Sunday night’s dinner.  Things have been quite hectic both at work and home but I will be posting that recipe.  Believe me, it’s WORTH the wait 🙂

Speaking of hectic, later!

But first, have you ever taken fish oil?  If so, what was your experience?

I was prepared to go to the gym this morning but Lu had other plans.  I forgot to turn her heater on last night and she woke up at 4:55 freezing.  🙁 Poor thing.  I brought her into bed with us and she cuddled for about 30 minutes but by 5:30 she was saying “hot” and wanting to get down.  Shaun is sick, so it was up to me to entertain her until it was time for daycare. It was the best morning EVER.  We had SO MUCH fun.  We read books, we ate breakfast together, we played, and Lucy’s newest word made its debut.  She now says “Cuddle” and reaches up to be held .

I was able to get dinner in the crockpot this morning and still make it to work at the normal time.  I was planning on coming in a little late so that I could get my beans cooking but Lu took care of that for me. While I chopped, she had some crackers.  Apparently, the bowl I gave to her was not sufficient.  The crackers should have been stored here:

In Mommy’s lunch bag.  Maybe she was just making sure that I don’t go hungry?

Speaking of CUTE! Yesterday was a warmer day and Lu got to wear a new outfit that I bought awhile back.  Look at how cute she is!

Bring on the dresses!!!

Too bad is pouring rain right now.

Last night I made gluten-free pasta (brown rice) with chicken sausage and veggies.

I’ve used this pasta before in dishes with marinara and it was pretty good.  It was a little too gluten-free for this type of topping.  It was still good but I’m on the lookout for a better gluten-free pasta.  This was Applegate sausage-it’s all organic chicken and turkey and does not have dairy, gluten, or a pork casing .  It actually doesn’t have a casing at all.  It was really tasty.  I wish they would make a spicy version!

Lastly, the title of the post.  My Calorie King subscription expires today.  I was an active member of that community from May 2005 until April 2009.  I met Kath and Sabrina through CK.  I also met MANY other amazing women-many who leave VALUED comments on this blog and others that just stalk (I know you’re out there!).  Women who I am extremely proud to call friends.  I wrote in my journal almost every single day from May 2005 until April 2009 for the whole community to see.  It got me writing and is what spurred this blog.  I am incredibly thankful to CK for meeting those amazing women and for getting me to open up and learn to be a writer about things other than business and linguistics.

I’ve been working over the last few weeks copying all of my journal entries from my pregnancy to the time I stopped writing over there.  I wrote VERY openly almost every day of my pregnancy.  I am SO incredibly thankful that I have that.  I can’t wait to share it (perhaps edited) with Lucy one day.  For now, I’ll share some of my favorite snippets with you.

The month before I got pregnant (January 6, 2008)

I want a baby. I want a baby. I want a baby. I want a baby. Does crying like a baby make a REAL baby come faster?!?!?! I know I need to be freaking patient but it’s not one of my strong traits. What makes it worse is that you find out you’re not getting a baby during the time of the month when you’re the most irrational and hormonal. That sucks. I knew that this month wasn’t the month and still I’m sad. So very sad.

7 days before I found out I was pregnant (January 23, 2008):

I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m pregnant. This isn’t like past months where every weird thing my body does is a sign that I am. It’s just like I know. The other weird thing? Is that if I’m not, I’m totally okay with it. It will happen when it happens and me freaking out about it doesn’t help, it actually hurts. In past months it’s like "I hope. I hope. I hope. I hope. I’ll be so sad if I’m not. I don’t know what I’ll do." This month? "I’m pregnant but if I’m not, there’s always next month." I’m supposed to get my period in a week. We’ll see.

The day after I found out (January 31, 2008):

I’m also tired for another reason. I couldn’t sleep last night. I was too excited. See, yesterday when I didn’t get my period I pee’d on a stick. I got a very faint second line. I tried to not get too excited (I failed). Last night I kept waking up saying "5 hours until I can pee on a stick again" "4 hours until I can pee on a stick again" and on and on. Well I pee’d on a stick and I have 2 lines. I’m preggers!!!! I can’t even tell you how excited I am. I know, I know, it may not work out and if it doesn’t I’ll be completely devastated but I figure I’ll be devastated on here so that’s why you guys are hearing so early. It’s surreal it really is. Yesterday when I told Shaun I got scared for the first time. Today, I’m excited but also scared. And Shaun? Is SO excited. He’s had to be the voice of reason throughout the last six months (poor guy) and yesterday gave me a bit of a glimpse into his feelings, he said, "If it really is positive (that line was faint yesterday), we’re naming that baby molasses because it took long enough!" I told him that 6 months is not that long and he said "Long for me!" Anyway we’re stoked. I think we’re naming the kid Bean because I’ve had the worst gas ever!

The emotions that came on even before I knew I was preggo (February 5, 2008):

No crying yet today. We won’t speak of the SIX times I cried yesterday.

The insomnia and nausea starts (February 11, 2008):

I’ve been up since 2 AM with such bad nausea that no matter how tired I am I can’t go to sleep My poor sweet husband actually agreed that me getting up might be a good idea, not before telling me to remember to wear my slippers so my feet don’t get cold I tried a few crackers, not a good idea I haven’t actually puked but I wish I could. My sense is, though, that puking isn’t going to make this feel better I convinced myself that I was having twins in this pain because why else would I feel so ill. Such is the logic of a nauseated, exhausted, insomniated pregnant woman

The day I first saw her (March 13, 2008):

I got to see my baby!!!!! It was so amazingly awesome!!! They did an ultrasound and it popped right up and it looked so much like a baby I thought I was seeing things but the Dr. and his Physicians Assistants said "Wow. That’s a good one." We could see its head and its arms and its legs and it was moving like crazy. I’ll have scanned pictures tomorrow. The picture isn’t as good as seeing it in real life but you can still make it out. The ultrasound has me at 9 weeks and 4 days and has my due date as October 12th. I go back in 2 weeks exactly to hear the heartbeat. I saw the heartbeat today but didn’t get to hear it. So incredibly amazing!!!

A sweet Shaunism (March 29, 2008):

One last thing. We were laying in bed last night and Shaun says "I can’t wait until you’re in your fourth trimester." and I said "That’s when the baby will be here." and he said "I know" with a big smile on his face. It was adorable. I then said "We have a lot to do between now and then." and he said "We should start planning then!"

Thinking she was a boy (May 8, 2008):

Lately I’ve been feeling like The Bean is a boy. I can’t explain why but I have. If it turns out to be a girl I’ll be just as happy Only 6 more days to go!!!!

When I found out she was a girl (May 14, 2008):

…she (the nurse) started again and with no warning said "Well, you’re going to have a girl." I was amazed and the water works totally started (we don’t have a happy smiling crying smiley). I didn’t get to see the image of her goods but the tech was positive she was a girl. So girl it is! Then we moved on to the part where I got to watch. You guys, it was so incredibly amazing! She waved at us (as she has on every u/s), we got to see her sucking, trying to put her thumb in her mouth, yawning and stretching (my absolute favorite), she changed positions in a very Mom-like (hey that’s me!) way and was just so cute! We also got to see her very healthy spine, legs (they look long-this is probably just wishful thinking), and arms. Once I figure out how to post the video I’ll post a link! My friends who saw it said that her profile looks like Shaun and I have to agree. She’s so cute!

When we picked her name (May 19, 2009):

So we’ve 99% picked out a name and I’m going to tell you guys because we’ve already started referring to her as such. And I’m just not one to keep secrets. If you don’t like it, keep your mouth shut So the Bean’s name is almost most definitely going to be Lucy Camille Titus I absolutely adore it and so does Shaun but we reserve the right to rename her at any time up until we fill out that birth certificate Shaun thought of the name Lucy and a friend of ours brought up Camille after we decided that Chloe was too popular. I originally wanted to name her Camille but Shaun said there were too many letters in the name (boys are weird). One morning about a month ago Shaun says "What about the name Lucy?" I said, "I love it!" We have XM in the Element and 3 of the stations are named Lucy, Ethel, and Fred. Lucy is the alternative station and that’s how Shaun thought of it Heck, I was named after my parents kitchen color "Chelsea Yellow" so I think it’s a great story! And now we can sing her Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. so that’s the big news for the week.

Okay, I actually have to WORK.  If you guys like seeing this, I’ll continue.  Let me know if you’re interested!