Gluten Free

What is gluten?

Before last week, I really didn't have a clue. I knew it was something related to bread, but didn't understand all of the specifics about it. That was last week.

Now, I feel like I could write a freaking book about it.

You see...

About three years ago, I was diagnosed with Endometriosis.

Well wait --

They couldn't officially diagnose me with Endo without going into surgery to take a look themselves. But lets just say that the three doctors I've talked to agree and I have 8 of the 9 symptoms of this lovely condition --- I could very well have the 9th symptom as well but we won't know it until I can have surgery.

What about surgery? What about fertility? What about a hysterectomy?

Those are entirely different posts --  probably tons and tons of different posts -- that I quite honestly don't have all the answers to right now.

This post is about pain.

Ouch! 

That horrible pain that is associated with Endometriosis. The pain that I thought for eight years was normal for women and that everyone dealt with. Oh no, my dear friends.  It wasn't normal. Not at all. This pain even has a special name - Dysmenorrhea. (which is a really long word for nausea, the inability to stand up, the feeling of knives in your stomach, and "I just want to curl in a ball and die" pain that doesn't happen for just a week -- More like 15-20 days out of the month).

Yuck!

The pain is so unbearable that I often compare it to passing kidney stones (which I've done several times, too). And I just can't decide which one is more "fun." Trust me, they both suck in their own special way.

So for years now, I've been dealing with the pain and thinking there really wasn't anything I could do about it. Well last week, I was so fed up and miserable that I started researching it a lot and found out that gluten (specifically wheat) has a direct link to pain in Endo. More importantly, eliminating gluten (along with reducing red meat, pork, and dairy consumption ----Ay Caramba!!!!) could have a huge positive impact on reducing pain.

Adios Gluten and friends!

I shared this somewhat exciting news (a light at the end of the tunnel) and somewhat horrible news (Bye bye donuts, pizza, pancakes, cheeseburgers, and everything delicious) with Matt and we decided that I should indulge in as much gluten (all my favorites) for the weekend before starting gluten free (GF) on Monday. Enjoy the pictures.

Matt was there for emotional support. And to pay for the bill. 

Kidding! Oh people!! Joint Checking.

Beer.

Fried Pickles.

Buffalo Wild Wings fries and wings.

Breakfast

Pancakes.

Red Robin (SO SAD!)

After this extreme indulgence on so much bad food, we learned that there are LOTS of GF alternatives. For example:

• The only "beer" that I like (Angry Orchard) is naturally GF. Yay!
• The Fresh 20 (Remember this post?) has GF meal plans and they switched it over free of charge!
• My favorite cheeseburger place -- Red Robin -- has gluten free buns! YUM!
• Most grocery stores have GF breads, pancake mix, flour, cereal -- and pretty much anything if you do your research.
• I found lots of help from Gluten Free Goddess, Gluten Free Girl, and from people I know who have gone GF. They say its absolutely imperative that you get support throughout this lifestyle change and Matt has been amazing and is more than willing to eat GF meals.  But--- he will not give up Craft Beer --- understandable.

All of our gluten free groceries

We are roadtripping in about two weeks and I'm really nervous about vacationing, eating out, and staying GF -- but honestly, I just don't have a choice anymore. There's no way I could enjoy all these gluten filled foods knowing it causes me pain. Keep your fingers crossed that I will stay this strong.

In other news:

We went to Madison's downtown Farmer's Market and inside the capital for the first time ever. We've lived in Madison for three years. What took us so long??  I have no idea! We had a blast.

Matt peeking in the Supreme Courtroom.

Me peeking my camera into the Supreme Courtroom

In honor of Memorial Day.

A replica of the Liberty Bell

Of course we bought Catnip and Fennel. I mean, its us.

My amazing hubby.

The Sunday before Memorial Day, we drove to Rockford to spend the day with my parents. We ate a yummy meal my mom made for us, played some Sequence, and got a "day in the life of Pam and Sam Smith" view.

Drive to Rockford.

Dinner.

 This is apparently what they do most nights: Sit side by side, iPads in hand, dog and cat on laps while watching TV. We asked them if they email each other back and forth and, believe it or not, my dad answered with, "Pam, did you get my email I sent the other night?"

Sigh.

 I just love them so....

 Our neighbors across the street (who is also a Little Gym Family!) gave me a kiddie pool full of hostas, daylillies, and irises -- all perennials, all beautiful. I was so excited to get them into the flower bed in the back. So I put my good ol' hubs to work.

After Matt dug all of the holes, I planted them into the ground.

EEK!

I hope they survive. I guess we will see.......

Matt is most excited to announce that we have officially made plans to purchase his parents' old 1995 Sea Ray 18ft. Speed Boat. His parents got a gorgeous BIG boat over the Winter and Matt helped Papa Fennel pick it up on Thursday. He was quite excited.

^ A picture of Papa Fennel's new boat.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of our actual boat, but here is an example of the same length, year, and model we are buying. Ours is white and gray. (You will also be happy to know, our boat doesn't have bright red flooring/carpet) Thank God. 

We cannot wait to get on the water this Summer, but the water levels are too high for us to move the lifts around the pier. Urgh! Patiently waiting.......

I will post pictures of our actual boat and our first outing (when that time comes....)

Also, (not as exciting but...) we bought a new bed this weekend. 

(The model in the Show Room)

.....so Ernie and Matt could do more of this.....

The new bed will be put in our room after we get our new carpet installed (sometime in July!). So excited.

This coming weekend: Matt and I are meeting my sister and heading over to Milwaukee for our Trash the Dress session! So plan on seeing those on here after we get back from our trip. 

Right Now: There is a tornado watch tonight until 1am. NO! I hate them! I'm nervous and trying to convince Matt to sleep with me in our finished basement/mancave so we don't get blown away. Lulu seems to agree. 

She hates storms, too. Ernie is no where to be found.

Matt, on the other hand, loves storms and finds them "relaxing" Pffff......

I'm going to the basement, ya'll.....

Until next week.

p90X and Running

*Friday Night: Sorry, I am so incredibly late with posting this week's. BlogSpot's picture uploader seems to not like me this week so I'm currently waiting until I can upload them all. Urgh! Patiently waiting.........

Original Post:

Ah, yes. The time has come where my age and metabolism has caught up with me and my jeans size. For months now, I've been telling myself that I need to start working out and with the start of Summer coming, I'd figured it'd be a great time to start.

When we first moved to Madison, Matt and I were amazed at how many people we saw running, biking, etc. outside as we drove by. This towns lifestyle is so much more healthy than most communities and I can't exactly explain why. It just is.

There is an old man (and when I saw old, I mean 70-80s) who Matt and I have seen several times working out in the mornings. Not only does he walk from one end of our town to the other (we've seen him ALL over on numerous occasions), but the man does it while swinging two five pound dumbbells. He is OLD. He should be fishing and drinking a beer on a boat somewhere or in bed.

So as I drive by (probably while eating a cheeseburger), I think to myself: If this old man can work out every morning at 7am and walk all over town, I can definitely do it, too. Right? It took me about 10 times seeing this same old man before I did something about it.

All the while---

Before the wedding, Matt and I purchased p90x and decided to give it a try.

Well.........

1) The first time we actually made it through an entire 40 days nonstop, no cheating and felt really great about it. Matt started to thin out A LOT and we actually sort of, some what liked it. (ew, I know).

2) I started to gain weight because I was gaining a lot of muscle and I hated it. So, I quit. Which in result made Matt quit. He has tried to restart several times with no such luck.

3) We really, really dislike this guy.

Damn You, Tony Horton

Back to the Running....

My dear little friend at work, Addie, is quite the runner.

(Isn't she cute?)

Her facebook is covered in pictures of her from past races she's done, she is constantly talking about her next marathon, and she runs the hill on the street one over from the gym during lunch breaks (pfff, while I eat more cookies). Anyways, her attitude towards running could convince a sloth to get up an try it, so I decided to ask her how I should get started. She recommended signing up for my first 5k so I'd have no choice but to learn. I could either be out the roughly fifty dollars I spend on the race or learn how to run.

So being the gullible girl I am, I took her advice and signed up for my first 5k. She was thrilled because we signed up for one together and now she thinks out of pure fun-ness I'll want to run the hill at lunch breaks, too.

Oh Addie, I'm so sorry....

But in all seriousness.... I'm actually really, really excited to run my first 5k with her.

My reasons are:

1) We'll be doing it with several other co workers who aren't Chicago Marathon runners, like Addie. (Maybe I won't be the only horrible one).

2) Our team name is "Peanut Butter Butterfly!" (Holla Randy McCoy!)

3) We are doing the Color Me Rad 5k!

Doesn't that look SO awesome!

Its going to be so amazingly fun.................... if I survive. 

Must. Learn. To. Run.

I decided I would get up in the mornings to run so I could still have time to cook at night (Look at me! Such a little homemaker!) The only problem I ran into (no pun intended) was the fact that I hate mornings! Probably more than anyone you will ever meet. The hypochondriac in me has googled several different sleeping disorders like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Narcolepsy because I am so bad at waking up in the mornings.

So, as I was thinking about starting to run outside in the mornings, Matt was thinking about restarting p90x. And after we communicated our thoughts out loud to each other, we decided to give it a "go!" and see what happened. I even enlisted in Matt to help me get up in the mornings.

Well....... It took two weeks of my alarm going off at 6am and Matt screaming at me while half asleep for me to roll out of bed.

But I finally did it.

I rocked out to some good ol' Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra while running our neighborhood a full fifteen minutes. Fifteen Minutes. That's like amazing for me. And since I jogged, it had to be at least over a mile.

Whew!

Another co-worker of mine recommended reading her Dad's website who is a huge triathlon runner, and I am so happy I did!! For those of you who would like to learn as well, I highly encourage you to check it out.

I also decided to join Matt in the p90x Yoga x portion. His work out plan has him doing the Yoga X workout once a week and even though Tony Horton drives me bonkers, I know how important yoga is for clearing the mind and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

 In fact, I did a free month trial at Inner Fire Yoga in Madison a few months before our wedding and loved the Hot Yoga class so much that I seriously considered paying the one hundred dollars a month to continue going. I considered it. But wasn't totally sold.

I'd miss this guy way too much.

So my new work out plan consists of alternating days Yoga and Jogging.

Oh! Another fun thing!

With the weather warming up, Matt and I have decided to take daily walks around our pond that's practically parked in our back yard. It gives us a great chance to walk off our dinner, spend more time outside and with each other, and spend less time in front of the TV.

I'll post this again to clarify.

Patient: Doctor, I don't feel well and I'm not sure why.

Doctor: I want you to meditate for 20 minutes, twice a day, exercise at least 30 minutes a day, avoid processed foods, eat plenty of organic fruit and vegetables, spend more time in nature and less indoors, stop worrying about things you can't control and ditch your TV. Come back in three weeks.

(Life Goal)

Enjoy the pictures of our fun around our pond!

  

Courtney's bridal shower was last weekend. I swear it was just yesterday that we were here:

(In the dorms -- 2005)

But now we're grown ups and we're getting married.

She's so beautiful!

 I'm super excited for their wedding. Like I said in my last post, its about damn time. We cannot celebrate with Mr. and Mrs. Boris on July 20th!!

(oh, and at her Bachelorette Party in Nashville on June 28th!)

*******My next post will be about Madison's Farmers Market, the capitol, Neighborly love, and our memorial day celebrations. We had lots of fun this weekend, but after I dealt with picture uploader's mishap, I need a break (and a glass of wine) Oh uhm wait--- its 11:36 AM --- Maybe coffee.