H1N1

I finally got my H1N1 shot. The hospital was only offering them to direct patient care staff right now, but since I patient sit on the weekends and evenings I convinced them to give me one. I'm sitting tonight so I'd better get going.

More tomorrow...

Monday morning

This morning I slept in and woke up to snow. It's pretty falling but I hate scraping off car windows. It's not that cold so I don't imagine any of it will stick.

Breakfast this morning was a heated Udi's Lemon Streusel muffin and a Fage's yogurt with Honey. Very satisfying.

More later....

Boots

I picked up my Whooga Ugg Boots from the Post Office yesterday. I was worried that they would be too small but they fit perfectly. Don't you love that new shoe smell? The packing slip caught my eye because it was hand written in Chinese. The WUB Co. is in Australia but I guess their boots are made in China because the package shipped from there. They had to go through customs and everything. I walked around the house in them for about an hour. I'm looking forward to colder weather when I'll be able to enjoy walking in the crisp air wearing them. My daughter is going to take a picture of me wearing them and when she does I'll post it.

See ya'll on Monday.

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Ouchie

Just got back from the dentist and oral surgeon. I had a bridge that the seal broke on and the tooth underneath decayed. There wasn't much left of the tooth to begin with so it had to be pulled. My general dentist separated the bridge so that the tooth could be pulled and the oral surgeon pulled it. Why this procedure required the services of two professionals I don't know.

My face is now swollen and numb. Not much pain yet. I am hungry but won't eat until the numbness goes away. I'm supposed to stick with soft, cool foods and of course - GF.

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Via's Pizzeria

Last week my daughter and I went to a pizza place which was featured in the local newspaper as having gluten-free pizza crusts. I was quite excited because I love pizza and was certain I'd never eat it again if the diagnosis came back positive for Celiac. The waitress was NEW. I asked about the crust and she told me I could get it in white or wheat. Wait a minute... wheat crust is gluten free? I ordered the veggie special 8 inch. The cost was $7.99 plus $2.50 for the special crust. I consider that to be expensive for a small pizza. The pizza was very good. The crust was all nice and crisp and the veggies and cheese were arranged artfully. I only ate half. The next night I nuked it for about 30 seconds. The crust was still good if not quite as crisp. I'll be back in spite of the comedy of errors which ensued. The waitress brought the check in one of those ubiquitous black folders. I placed my money in the folder and the waitress took it, brought me back my change and this is where it got interesting. I opened the folder, there was my change, my receipt and someone else's credit card receipt all nicely signed. I took the change without looking at it, returned the folder to the manager telling him that I'd gotten someone Else's receipt. He told me that he would give it to the correct party. When I got home I cleaned out my wallet and arranged my money. There was the $50 I had put in the folder, plus my change. I don't know why I was embarrassed but I was. I didn't want them to think I had walked out without paying so I called the restaurant and told them what had happened. Of course, the next day I returned to make it right. In spite of this craziness I will continue to patronize the establishment because I really liked their pizza.

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Amy's Kitchen

I've used Amy's products off/on for several years. There was only one store in town that carried their products back then - now there are two. One is a big Hy-Vee. The other is a good sized health food store called Akins Natural Foods. I checked out Amy's website today and they have a PDF file available listing their gluten-free products. I bought the Mexican Casserole Bowl. The box says no gluten ingredients which I'm almost certain doesn't mean 100% gluten-free. There's possibly some cross contamination going on. I ate it anyway. It tasted like the homemade tamales we bought on the street corner in New Orleans back in the day. I enjoyed eating it and will buy it again. I plan on using the PDF file to ask the stores to stock more of the gluten-free products. For example the Lentil soups. I didn't react to the Mexican Casserole Bowl. Hope that's a good sign.

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With just one diagnosis...

...my life has changed. I am a Celiac and I can no longer eat foods which contain gluten. I must read labels thoroughly. Most processed food is off limits. Eating in restaurants is like walking through a mine field. It all seems a little overwhelming right now. I'm reading a book called The Gluten Free Bible. I've learned a lot. I've been referred to a local woman who is a Celiac Nurse. She was diagnosed about 30 years ago so she has lots of experience dealing with it. I have the feeling that I will be uncomfortable shopping for awhile. I'd just gotten to the point where I was getting comfortable with raw foods and fresh fruits and vegetables and now there's so much I'll need to pass on. Thanks for traveling this new road with me.

Today I tried a new flavor of Kind bars - Fruit and Nut Delight. It was quite delicious and also gluten-free. It was thick with nuts - almonds, peanuts, walnuts, and Brazil nuts - some of my favorites. It also had pieces of raisins and apricots. I will be having this one again.

This morning I had a Udi's lemon streusel muffin. The taste is divine. It's just what I wanted. I no longer feel quite so deprived. The texture isn't like a regular muffin. They're more bready than cakey. I noticed that Hy-Vee also carries the same brand in a blueberry flavor. I look forward to trying them next shopping trip.

More later...