A little angst-y today

     Just seeing who still reads blogger. I do. I love the stories we tell and the life that is remembered through stories. I have several bogs, but this was my first. I searched for my blog today and the name of my blog is up for debate. Apparently being Gluten free is  a big deal still. I am more than gluten free though. I am also caffeine free, acidic food free, low on dairy intake, Alcohol free, and low on sugar. Basically I eat meat and some vegetables. That is how I stay pain free these days.
     I recently found out that I have Interstitial cystitis. That is a fun new incurable disease that limits more of my food intake. That is why I have cut out the acidic group of foods mentioned above. So there is a little about me as of today.. Let's talk about you. No really.. talk about you. I miss this community and your blogs. I often wonder how we turned from telling our stories to taking selfies. Tell me a story. Tell me about your day, your kids, your dog, your job... whatever it is that you love or hate, tell me!

Sorry that I left you hangin'.. for like a month or two

     So.. After my MRI in January things took a surprisingly good turn. I was shockingly...NORMAL, like more normal than I ever expected and more normal than I have been before. I was told that I don't have an extra vein in my brain as I was told in 2001. So I had my chiropractor start adjustments and I felt better within a week. It was amazing! I feel better than I have felt in years. I went from being in bed for weeks on end to teaching aerobics again, sometimes 8 times in a week. I LOVE how great I am feeling.. sad thing is that I don't have a single class anymore, I just sub for other instructors now, but I take a completely different approach to teaching. I am so grateful that I can.
     On a completely different note, my husband and I are planning a trip to "Hell Roaring Lake". I haven't been there since I was 20 something and that is my only experience there, but I remember it being absolutely beautiful, so I would like to go again. If we think the kids won't complain too much about being in nature (ugh, drives me crazy how teenagers hate to leave the house) then we will take them there as well. I am so excited!! I love that my husband is excited to go as well. It is a bit of a drive, 3.5 hours away, but so worth it!!
     Life has hit us in the face already this year HARD, but slowly we are solving problems... one moment at a time. Teenage girls have another world that they live in... it's not pretty. All I want are modest, respectful ladies with good manners that are happy. Is that to much to ask? unfortunately sometimes, yes... but we are really trying!! Daily we try to create happy, healthy young people..
someday we will see the change. patience is such a good quality, some days I have more than other days.
     Anyways... I ramble. Life is crazy!!! ... and I wouldn't change a thing...

Looking up.

Not really Vertigo, I guess

So I went in for a hearing test last week and they ruled out all my inner ear theories. They scheduled a balance test for the first week in February and scooted me on my way.. So I got to thinking, why don't I go see my buddy, Dr Ogata? I have known him for about 15 years and he knows me and will take the time to check my ears and my neck and at least I will see a friendly face. He is the very best Chiropractor in the valley, but he wouldn't touch my neck. He told me that it sounds neurological and set up an MRI for the very next day. I went in to the MRI and came out so dizzy that I couldn't even sit up on my own. I did not like the loud sounds and the shaking, but if they were looking for a reaction, I'm sure they got it. My plan is to lay low for a while. Keep the distance from me to the hospital short and rest as much as I can stand. School starts this week and I was really looking forward to getting into the swing of having a schedule. I am still going to go, but I will have to find out the bus routes and take the safe routes to campus. It is very therapeutic to write about it instead of talking. Talking makes me cry.

Here is what I know. Dr Ogata was concerned about an extra vein I have in my brain. They rupture after a while. I guess the signs of it beginning to rupture are swelling and pressure. So if he is correct, Brain surgery is in my future. I am not sure that is what it is, but for now, that is the speculation that makes the most sense.  I can't believe that I could have brain surgery, it is a bit surreal. I hope they just find out that I have a swirley twirley gumdrop head and that a simple change of diet is the answer. I could live on apples and rice.

I love you all. I really do. You, my friends make life amazing. All the fun times and happy memories are flooding in big time this week. It's weird to think of how your life is totally not your own. It's like its on loan and when it's over, it's over. I hope to be around a long time still, but perspective is certainly changing. I always thought I would get older and teach dance for generations to come.. lol.. I guess motivational speaker might be better if this route takes me to where it just might.. I better put the positive thinking cap on and charge ahead.

I really do love you.. and I am looking up to the blue skies..

Vertigo.

SO when a group exercise instructor gets dizzy... no work for you. I have had dizzy spells since Thanksgiving and finally I went to the Doctor because they weren't going away. Now I can't even drive. I feel like a sixteen year old who got the car keys taken away. I hate the dizziness so much though and its getting scary to drive... and sometimes to walk. I almost fell over the other day in the kitchen, thankful that it's not huge.  I feel like my whole career is going to change now cause I can't spin around, even slowly. It's super frustrating!!!!!!  ugh!

 Praying for small miracles, like a healed head.

Christmas is coming!!!

There are so many fun traditions at Christmas time. Clam dip, egg nog, and peppermint... yes foods are traditional. And I love driving in the snow! Hanging lights and decorating the tree are such great memory joggers. I always feel a nostalgia when Christmas time comes. A longing to be small again and feel the magic wonder of Christmas. I sometimes can breathe deep and catch a snowflake as I walk through the parking lot of a grocery store to pick up my favorite Christmas snack (there are so many fun snacks for Christmas) or I can watch the tree with all the lights on it in complete darkness, snuggled in a blanket with.. yes hot chocolate another favorite snack! We always watch "ELF" at Christmas time and we play carols on the piano while everyone sings. This is truly a beautiful and connecting time of year.

      This year we are making presents, long boards to be exact. Everyone is getting one, even me! I am so excited and even though we can't ride them until the snow clears, I am going to practice in the garage until it's warmer.  Sean is cutting out the wood and I am painting some of them (in a house full of artists, their work is better than mine) and sanding them all. I am thinking this will be an amazing Christmas! It's always better to do something for people than just shopping for them, in my opinion. Also at 300 bucks a pop from Zumies...times nine, equals no thank you!


      If you need an idea for recycling white shirts, here ya go! I love this idea, but I have no babies or white shirts... lol...

I hope your skies are blue as blue can be!!  Much love to you all..

always sick of eating Gluten free at Restraunts....

I love eating out... Lunch with mom is awesome. I love spending time out with my sweetheart, and friends and whomever wants to dine outside the home is a friend of mine... however... I hate people telling me what I can and cannot eat because I have Celiac disease. Today a waitress told me that I couldn't eat olives and I was blown away.. why? I asked... Because the stuff they are soaked in does something to the gluten , she replied. As to not raise a fuss, I said, can I please get the olives on the side? and then I ate them. They may have been soaked in some kind of alcohol, but there was no reason that I could think of why I shouldn't eat them. It might have been barley that could have, but didn't send me into stomach spasms. I really am a stubborn woman. I know this about myself. The fact that this very nice, but unaware, waitress did not know was that it either has gluten in it, or it doesn't. Olives do not have gluten. If they are stuffed with bread or soaked in barley, malt, or some other gluten source, I understand... I will not eat them. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHY YOU ARE TELLING ME TO NOT EAT SOMETHING.. GO FIND OUT!!!! This makes me upset. If you are in business to sell food. Educate yourself and your staff on food allergies, or get out of the kitchen! This public service message brought to you today by me.. Yeah.