The 90%-Gluten-Free Man of my Life

Doing the gluten free diet on your own is a difficult thing. Alone is difficult, period. That's why I think there are so many support groups when people are overcoming something difficult: alcoholism, medical treatments, etc. The list could go on forever. I never got into a support group after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I'd feel somewhat silly, seeing as how I refuse to wear most of my emotions on my grubby sleeve.

But I do have a support group, in a way. A one on one counselling service. My boyfriend. I figured there were three phases (generally) when it came to how he dealt with my Celiac Disease, so I'll outline them here...

Ready to raise baby plants

I grew up in a greenhouse run by my grandpa. He's got the greenest thumb of anybody you'll ever have met. And since he only has one thumb, it's a super concentrated green thumb.

I'm assuming that my dad got a little bit of the genetic green thumb (but he's never gone outside long enough to garden. Us pale folk are delicate creatues in the sunlight). My mom has a tad of the brown thumb. She can kill tomato plants like it's an art. Mix my parents together, and I think I got a brownish-green thumb.

I've always loved growing plants. And now I live in a house that has a garden, and I signed the lease for another year. I'm going to garden. But I hate germinating plants in expensive peat moss planters, or those plastic things. I want something cheap. Then I read "Grow Great Grub", which suggested using cardboard tubes to germinate plants. Awesome. But the bottoms were left open in the book. And the whole tube was used. And then I read this article that I found on craftgawker:

http://gardentherapy.ca/seed-starting-containers-pt-1/ 

And my first thought was "I need to do this right away". So I put on a few episodes of Eureka, and found my happy place to make a few dozen baby planters. I'll show you how. Let's gather our materials.

Fire > BBQ > Oven

Even though I live in the middle of a city in the middle of the Canadian prairies, I love water and I love camping. I specifically love camping at a site that you can only reach by water (on a canoe). So, eight months into my relationship with The Boyfriend, I decide to test the waters (literally) to see if he likes my favourite and adored pastime. 

To Do in 2012

Happy 2012, everybody! It's nearly been a year since I last posted, and really I have nothing to blame but laziness. Laziness is a big thing in my life, but my friend Kim Schmidt (@sneakyfox on twitter) has come up with a way to get things done throughout the year that appeals to my OCD: a list.


{Just a quick aside, if you haven't been reading Kim's blog, you should head over and check it out:

http://sneakyfoxproductions.com/blog/ 

She's very crafty, so expect some amazing tutorials and craft posts. Her writing is as enthusiastic as she is in real life (just check out all the exclamation marks). Head over to her site, look at her photography, and look up the last several To Do in 20XX lists she's done. }

If you're one of those people who adore making lists and have immense satisfaction in crossing out items, you might want to try this! It's simple: categorize your life (work, school, hobbies, interests, things you've always wanted to do), write anything that comes to mind (don't limit yourself by what you think you can't do!), and you'll be surprised how many items you end up with. Some items might be easy and some might be difficult; you may only be able to complete some items at the far end of the year. That's how this list works: give yourself something to reach for during the entire year.

So here's my list of Things to do in 2012. I'll be updating this post throughout the year with things that I finish!

Diagnosis: Celiac Disease (One Year Later)

A month short of living a year with celiac disease, I'm continuing to live on the straight and narrow. I come to you now with gluten free cooking experience, plenty of photography to post, and lots of products and celiac-friendly restaurants to review! :) I'll hope to plunk out the first official gluten free post within a week!

Diagnosis: Celiac Disease

Well, I just got a nasty surprise that any food lover just starting a food blog would hate to hear. On February 22, I got a letter from my doctor saying my blood screen for Celiac Disease came back positive. So now I'm on a gluten-free diet, unable to bake my old favourites of poppyseed lemon muffins and banana bread.

And I'm on a quest to continue my food blog. Let's call this motivation to stay on the straight and narrow to avoid gluten.

It'll be a surprise!