The Miss List

What do I miss being on this diet?  The answer to that question has changed each day of the past 12 since we started (this is day 13, I think..).  Not enjoying sugar or gluten has been tough, but I'm also enjoying it, believe it or not!  Here are a few of the things I've missed along the way...

Day 1: not much.  I was excited for the challenge and enjoyed all the fruits and veggies.

Day 2: Halloween, so therefore I missed candy.  It was TORTURE and Micaiah got such a great stash of all sorts of wonderful candy, that I had to really watch myself...

Day 3: Bread.  I love bread.

Day 4: cinnamon rolls.  I love waking up on a Saturday morning and having warm cinnamon rolls or french toast or pancakes or whatever other weekend treat is on my mind.  Unfortunately they're all sugar/gluten based, so that's a no-go.

Day 5: our church had its annual roast beef dinner.  I hated passing up the dessert table, but I also missed the applesauce (sugar) and bread.  I had another plate of mashed potatoes as my dessert.

Day 6: ice cream. 

Day 7: graham crackers.  I'm not the kinda girl who has one or two-- I have an entire pack (that's about 11 crackers, for anyone who is counting), and dip them in milk.

Day 8: gluten-ous pancakes.  I tried a gluten-free flour today and was not impressed. 

Day 9: I was daydreaming about warm rolls fresh from the oven.  I've gotten pretty good at baking them over the years, and I was very much in the mood for some!

Day 10: real pasta.  Ok, so the quinoa/brown rice alternative wasn't BAD, but it wasn't awesome, either. 

Day 11: cereal.  My daughter (age 8) is not with us in this sugar-free, gluten-free thing and continues to enjoy Cheerios and Life cereals.  Those are two of my favorites and I had to have some pretty strong will power to not nip a bowl today!

Day 12: chocolate chip cookies (and dough).  I baked some peanut butter cookies with agave that were a total flop, and decided that was not acceptable to serve to my small group.  So I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  This was the first time in my ENTIRE LIFE that I did not either taste the dough or have a warm cookie straight out of the oven.  Wow.

Day 13 (today): chocolate.  I could really use some right now.  Maybe chocolate pieces mixed with some cherry craisins and some almonds-- my favorite pre-diet evening snack.

Well there you have it.  I'm about halfway through.  We're aiming for 3-4 weeks but haven't pinned down a firm end-date.  I'm curious to see how the second half goes and whether the cravings will be quite as strong.

-JLR

A New Diet

We are currently living in the beautiful city of St Louis.  Not downtown, of course, but slightly West in a little two bedroom house.  We've made our house a home, but as we're prone to the nomadic lifestyle, it's hard to say how long we'll be here.

I'm on medical leave.  I've had some medical issues that I've been dealing with for over 18 months now that brought us back from our life in Tanzania.  I currently have a team of 3 amazing doctors and I'm very happy with them all.  That's huge, considering how picky I am!

One of the things that two of my doctors have suggested is trying a gluten-free diet.  My naturopathic doctor also recommended that I go sugar-free.  10 days ago, Tim and I embarked on a sugar-free, gluten-free trial.  We've made it 10 days so far and are still going strong!  I have put this off for as long as I thought was possible... it's not easy for a midwestern girl to give up her carbs and sugar!  Plus, I'm really not a fan of fad diets and gluten-free is super trendy.  But I want to be eating in a way that will facilitate my healing.  The other thing is that I've known so many people who have gone off gluten without a doctor's supervision or recommendation, and I don't actually like that approach.  So this trial is after allergy testing (E95 plus saliva gluten testing) and under two doctors' supervision.  What do you think, is a gluten-free diet something you can safely try without a doctor? 

First impressions... well, it's much more do-able than I expected.  We started October 30 and it was difficult to look at our daughter's Halloween candy without eating it!  Reeses, snickers, butterfinger... it was a major test of will power!  But I'm glad we made it through that phase.  We also made it through the headaches, the sweats/fevers, and the crankiness without killing anyone, so that's a plus.  I also notice that I'm not as hungry.  I can actually taste food better and enjoy the different flavors.  I've read that that is because of the sugar-free aspect.  Sugar (including splenda, stevia, and aspartame) can reduce your taste buds to "sweet or salty" when there are much more complex flavors to enjoy.

Anyway, the diet is the real reason I decided to pick up again with the blog.  I'd love to look back and see just how it did (or did not?) help. 

-JLR

Hello Again, Old Blog

I've learned some things about myself over the past few months.  One that's pertinent to this blog is that I don't like to write about things until I have a sense of completion.  I admire my friends who can put it all out there, but I tend to have it wrapped up before I share it.  I've always felt that I should maintain some degree of self-composure.... I really don't like other people seeing the mess in my life until I can show them that it all works out in the end.  The funny thing is that I LOVE seeing this sort of vulnerability in others, but don't really care for it in myself. 

Another thing I've learned about blogging is that I like it to be more of a conversation.  I think that's why I tend to enjoy facebook more than blogging in general.  There are more "likes" and comments and people tend to interact with what I write.  And more than that, I actually KNOW who is reading it!  It drives me a certain type of crazy to not know who-- if anyone-- will actually read this.  Sure, I can see general locations on the geography ticker and blogger tells me other stats, but in order for this to be more of a conversation, please feel free to leave comments or engage with me on what I've posted.  I appreciate it a lot!

Hibernation

Bears hibernate.  We learned about that in school this year.  And while I'm not a bear, I do feel as though this winter has been a time of metaphorically pulling myself in to conserve energy.  It has been a very difficult season, and I'm hoping the long winter is nearly over.  I actually just read the Long Winter (Little House series) and I really appreciated their struggle to survive.  In a way, I feel similarly-- that the cold (metaphorical) blizzards that have hit us time and time again during this season have nearly paralyzed me.  But I resonate with Paul's writings in 2 Corinthians 4:  
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. 

I don't plan to go back and catch up on everything that happened in the past five months, but let me hit a few highlights:

--We had a very special Christmas season with friends.  We built a gingerbread house, watched Christmas movies, had a traditional English Christmas feast (including Christmas crackers, Christmas pudding, and Christmas cake!), and had our traditional Cookies & Carols Christmas party... which resulted in weeks of leftover cookies!

--We went to Nairobi in January for medical tests and a much-needed change of scenery.  While there we (together with our organization and the advice of doctors) made some difficult decisions.  We decided to leave Mpanda in May for an earlier-than-expected return to our home country and that we would take a medical leave to follow up on some concerning (though thankfully non-urgent) symptoms I was (and still am) having. 

--Despite difficult decisions, we had a wonderful time in Nairobi and later visiting friends and the project in Musoma, where we worked from 2007-2009.  It was good to see so many familiar faces and reconnect.  We also got to do some field trips to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and Giraffe Centre in Nairobi, which was timely since we were on our Africa unit in homeschool!

--We have grown so very close to another family that was living in Mpanda.  They were a real blessing and such a joy to be around.  We will miss them a lot. 

--We finished units on Asia (studying India, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Russia) and Australia/Oceania (studying Australia and New Zealand) and finally Antarctica.

--Since then we have been sorting and packing and sorting and packing... could be the story of my life.  We have moved so much in our 10+ years of marriage that I really do feel like a nomad sometimes.  I think each time we move we do get a bit better at it, but I think I'm good now...seriously... I've learned all I want to learn... please, God?!

--This week we are finishing up and will move to a guesthouse so we can get the final things out of the house.  Then onward to Mbeya, Dar, Kenyan coast, back to Dar, and finally the US.... if all goes according to plan.  And since This Is Africa (T.I.A.), when does anything ever go according to plan?!

There.  I think I'm caught up.  I do have a few pictures I'll want to post when I can get to decent internet, but for now I'm just going to focus on waking up.

-JLR

Advent Calendar and other Christmas decor

Well, it's still *technically* Advent, but I was really hoping to post this closer to the beginning of Advent than now! Silly slow internet...

While we were living in Langley, BC, Canada, I noticed that my friend Kristin had strung together beautiful Advent calendars for each of her girls.  Hers were made out of fancy paper and fashioned into cones that held goodies for each day.  It reminded me of a childhood Christmas when my relatives living in Germany had sent me and my siblings each a cardboard calendar with a little chocolate behind each little door.  I know they're pretty widely available now, but at the time, it was the only one I had ever seen.  I remember going with my parents to my neighbors house... Mrs. Vogel was from Germany and translated the writing for us.  It was a wonderful little memory!

So I started dreaming about one that I could make or buy for my family.  Paper doesn't tend to travel well and I figured that over time it would look worn and crinkled.  But I found some cute ones (like the ones here and here) and started to formulate a plan... I would KNIT my Advent Calendar!  Only... I don't know how to knit.  But I was not deterred.  One of our colleagues on our team here in Mpanda is particularly crafty and I knew that knitting was one of her fortes.  So I started talking with her.  She actually came up with an initial pattern and brought out some of the supplies. 

We worked off and on for a couple months as she taught me to knit.  I already knew how to crochet, so it seemed to come pretty easily.  Then I think it was August when we started doing the mittens in earnest.  It was exciting and the mittens were turning out really cute!  We looked up how to embroider the numbers and I had to learn how to make i-cord (to hang them from).  I also experimented with how I wanted to attach the mittens and ended up doing a braid.  I tried tassles and pompoms, but wasn't happy with either.  I figured I could always add them later if I so desire!  And the finished product....

And a close up showing our special Christmas mitten...

I'm so happy with it!  I put a little chocolate inside each mitten along with a slip of paper where I'd written a special Advent activity.  Advent is my favorite holiday, and between decorating, baking, hosting (Christmas party!), making paper snowflakes, watching Christmas movies, listening to Handel's Messiah, and more, we have really been enjoying Advent this year! 

Here are a few other pictures of our Christmas decor.  This is the Fisher Price Little People (read: OK to be played with!!) Nativity Set.  We've had it since Micaiah's first Christmas and have enjoyed letting Micaiah act out the Christmas story.

 Our advent wreath.  This year I kept it simple. 

Our stockings (we wouldn't normally have a Jesus stocking, but it was sent as a craft, and Micaiah has decided that she wants to write a note to Jesus this year)...

Our oragami Christmas tree (in the background of this one-- sorry, I cut off the star!).  This came out in a care package from our family while we were still living in Musoma...

And our regular Christmas tree...

I love Advent.  Only a few more days until Christmas!!


-JLR