Gluten Free Girl???

This is for those of you that have been asking about how that "gluten free" thing is going... The title IS a rip off of the real Gluten Free Girl, and if you are interested in GF cookery, read her blog. She's engaging, funny, brilliant and also married to a chef. (We've got that chef thing in common...)

I've been gluten free for nearly three months. Not ONE bite of Rob's breads, ravioli or gnocchi. Not even any cinnamon roll goo (just in case). Certainly no Girl Scout Cookies (torture, I tell you). And how is it going (you may have already asked...)

Well, it didn't change my life. I've heard stories of people losing 40-50 pounds in a year after going Gluten Free. Me? I gained weight. WTH? So, was it fair of me to expect that making a small (although in my world SIGNIFICANT) dietary change would transform me? Probably not. And I did notice that my congestion significantly diminished, my joint pain wasn't quite as bad (despite that extra 7 pounds - again, WTH??) and my mental fog was a little less... prevalent. Also my "tummy trouble" that has plagued me for a LONG time... was better.

So this weekend, while Rob and I were at the coast for nearly 48 hours of downtime (it took us about 26 hours for the realization that we really weren't going to be disturbed and we had NO obligations to do anything for anyone, anywhere), we had dinner. Not just any dinner, but we splurged on two MONSTER Dungeness Crabs from Local Ocean Seafood, where we had lunch. (I had the Garlic & Crab soup and Crab Cocktail. No such thing as too much crab, right?).

Our usual accompaniment for such a treat (pre GF me) would have been a really good loaf of sourdough. Well my friend Lisa told me about a bakery in Nye that might just have such a loaf... of course she didn't realize I was GF at the time... but I threw caution to the wind, grabbed a couple of mini boules (one whole wheat, one not), a bottle of Elk Cove Pinot Gris for Rob and headed back for the feast. (The bread is dead center at the top...)

The crab? Amazing. So sweet and TONS of meat. The bread? Just as good as promised. So SO yummy. I only had two pieces, since my crab was so freaking HUGE... and I felt good about just indulging a tiny bit. And yesterday? I felt fine. So I was thinking that maybe I can get away with a little every now and then. Now, I wasn't thinking I was going to toss back saltines or manufactured cookies (I'm looking at you, Thin Mints in the back of the freezer...) just for the heck of it, but for something really REALLY good? I'm in.

This morning? Oh. My. God. The pain. (anyone not interested in my tummy trouble should move along now...) For those of you keeping score, we are currently at Janet: 1 (the bread was so good!), Gluten: 5 (payback is a bitch). So today, I've been feeling pretty bloated and none too social (my kids have to love me, right?). Also, it could be my imagination, but the brain fog seems to be creeping in (or it could have been here all along, hell, I can't remember...).

Back on the Gluten Free train for me I guess.

Unless it was the crab...

Insured White Guy Driving Car

So, Rob's new (to him) wheels are, well, old. His Montero was starting to require more daily care than an ICU patient. So, when I heard of an available and affordable '89 Honda Accord Rob jumped at it. Which is to say, he said "If it can get me to work and home, I'll take it."

We had reached the point where we could not afford to be picky, because we REALLY couldn't afford to be a one car family. So, car is acquired, and after a few weeks some necessary paperwork issues finally start to resolve. Now mind you, this car was available and affordable. I did NOT say it was legal (to drive). The tags were 18 months expired, and getting the title transferred proved to be a major challenge. (No offense to my friends that work at the DMV, but seriously? Not the same answer, in three different encounters.)

So Rob was tooling along, with all the necessary paperwork in said car (oh, by this point, we've named her Daisy), and he's pulled over. He knew it was a possibility, given the condition of the tags, but finding time to get BACK to the DMV had been tough. So, the office walks up and asks for his "license and regist... errr, ummm, license please". Yeah, good recovery.

After patiently explaining aforementioned paperwork snags, cop scratches his head and says, well, you need to get this taken care of, I'm documenting that you received a warning. Right, okay thanks then. And Rob starts Daisy, waits the requisite 8.3 minutes required for her to get her self "presentable" and ready to move, and heads on about his business. A couple days later, Rob makes it a priority to get to the DMV, and get said paperword stamped, notarized, sealed and blessed by the appropriate civil servants. (Yeah, he got my tags too. As Pederson kept reminding me, "Hey Janet, your tags expired yesterday", "Hey Janet, your tags are still expired" to "Hey Janet, you know your tags are 2 weeks expired?!??!!". Yes, thanks Ryan. I do appreciate the reminders. And thank you, Honey, for actually remembering to take care of mine while you were there too.)

Any hoo, Rob's new stickers are on the car, but the title may take 4-6 weeks (see above reference to complicated title transfer paperwork and DMV). So Rob is tooling along, minding his own business when he sees a cop pull out behind him, and follow him until he parks in United Grocers parking lot. He goes in and shops, loads aforementioned supplies in the car, and once he pulls out on the street, WHOOP WHOOP, the light show starts.

"So, you just buy this car?" Officer Dos asks. "Yessir I did." "Got the tags just recently did ya?" Quieries Dos. "Yessir." Rob explains complicated paperwork and DMV situation to Dos. Rob offers all copies of processed, stamped, paid and blessed paperwork to Dos for review. "Nah, it's good. I guess they just haven't had time to update their system yet. You have a good day now."

Okay, so at this point, I'm asking Rob - "Why didn't you ask WTH he pulled you over to begin with? I mean, what's the deal? You had your tags on, right???

Rob says, "Yes, Honey. I did. But apparently the '89 Honda Accord in Frost Blue is frequently viewed by cops as a 'auto of potential interest'. In other words, my car is being profiled."

At this poing, I haved realized that I'm going to make a million. Selling bumper stickers. Because if you show me proof of insurance, and I provide you with a bumper sticker for $5 that says "INSURED _____ DRIVING CAR" that cops will acknowledge as vetted by me, and therefore not worth pulling over (just for a "looksee" that is), you will save time and money by not being pulled over for no good reason, and the municipality will save money because I'm pretty sure it costs the City Police Department more than $5 to pull someone over and not get a decent fine out of the deal. So, my friends, I think this is a WIN/WIN/WIN.

Please send your orders (along with valid proof of insurance) to me so I can get your personalized INSURED DRIVER ON BOARD sign or bumper sticker right out to you. Special font & color requests are welcome.

Oh and of course, all products will have a Daisy on them.

Life's Little Lessons, See also: Mom's (ALMOST) Always Right, Chapter 6, Lesson #37

Drop off at school went smoothly, wrote a couple of checks to the kids' teachers for pre-purchased school supplies (while I'm sure that was hard on the teachers to lay out money ahead of time and then rely on getting reimbursed, I LOVED it!). We hadn't met either of the teachers the kids have this year yet, but all seems to be well after the first day. Linzy and I met the kids at the bus stop so that she'd know where to find them from now on. The girls were anxious to get home (and use the bathroom!) but Jack wanted to walk down to the house with Nathan (another first grader that lives across the street). I said fine, but "don't run downhill". Then I had to stop again, and remind him... and then AGAIN, I stopped (because the boys? were playing "Red light, Green light" down the hill) and said, "DUDE! Don't run DOWN hill..." and no sooner had the words left my mouth (for the 3rd time, you were counting along with me, right?) Jack went ass over tea kettle. Thank God he didn't scratch up his face or knock out a tooth, but his bendy points (knees and elbows) got some really good road rash.

Linzy jumped out and scooped him up, and I ran the girls to the house (cause now they REALLY had to go!). Once we got him inside, Linzy started to get a towel to clean him up, and my maternal instincts kicked in too... I grabbed my camera! Well, I for one, was not going to let this little incident pass without having physical, photographic proof that sometimes, Mom knows what she's talking about. Yup - these babies are going in the scrapbook for SURE.

About a half an hour later, Jack had picked up my camera and was looking through the pictures I had taken... and he looked at me and said "SERIOUSLY Mom!!??!! You took pictures of me CRYING???" and then he asked for permission to delete them. Sorry, Bud, permission DENIED. But thanks so much for asking. Love you!

Stage Debut - NTAC

OK how FREAKING cute are they??? According to Grandma they did great and the audience loved them. I can't wait to go see it in person!!!

Stage Debut - NTAC

OK how FREAKING cute are they??? According to Grandma they did great and the audience loved them. I can't wait to go see it in person!!!

41-55

What is this? Score for a really good defensive basketball game?
Nope.

Perhaps it's a homework assignment? As in "Read pages 41-55 by Friday"?
Nope.

This? Is now the age range I have to check in Marketing Surveys. WTH?

When did I get lumped in with (no offense intended here, my FABULOUS friends in your fifties) women with grown children??? I'm a different demographic. I still have small children. For Pete's sake, ALL my kids are still in Elementary school... doesn't that mean anything?

Not that I'm resenting my age, mind you... I actually mentioned to my friend (who gloated that she is LOVING her 40's - yes, YOU Cyn) that I might have to wait for my 50's to enjoy the freedom and flexibility she is given that my kids are still so young... And yet? Marketing experts are now considering me to be one of what I'm going call 'Post-Dependent Child' Moms. PDC Moms do not have to worry about carpooling. Their kids can drive themselves (or, at least ONE of their kids can drive the younger ones). They do not have to worry about hiring babysitters so they can go out for a drink. They do not worry about daycare. Their kids can feed themselves, and for the most part, bathe, clothe and groom themselves independently.

And yet? I had to check the 41-55 box today. And I? Am not yet enjoying the life of a PDC Mom. Yep - life (and marketing surveys) are SO unfair.

What a year...

This year has been a hard one for us and many of our loved ones. Rather than dwell on all of the sad endings - lives, friendships, and so much more - I wanted to share something that was a new beginning... Maddie started voice lessons just this fall, after performing in her first musical production down in California last summer.

This video isn't great quality and there's plenty of background noise and camera jogging (yeah - you try filming steady with 2 wiggly five year olds on your lap!).

The most amazing part to me is that this was her first time singing solo in front of a decent size crowd and she did great! Please feel free to send any comments for her - she would love to hear encouragement (from someone OTHER than her parents!)

Enjoy your week - cherish your loved ones!