Gluten intolerant....what?!?!?

Wow,  it feels like it has been forever since I sat down and even thought about blogging.  Where, oh where, did  February go??  I vaguely remember that it was a pretty darn cold but, other than that, it just flew right by me.

So, let me tell you a little about what has been going on.  About 3 weeks ago I found out that I am gluten intolerant.  Now, before I go any further,  the symptoms that I had that led me to get a diagnoses are symptoms that I have had for many years.  Lately though, they have been getting worse and worse.  Bathroom "issues"..bloating, colitis, severe "fluffing" (lol) ,  my gall bladder was hurting pretty much everyday and I was sure that I was developing arthritis in the knuckles in my fingers because they were swelling and were very tender.  So, off to the doc I went.  I won't go through all of the details blow by blow but, suffice it to say,  the conclusion was taking all of the gluten out of my diet.

Oh, to say that I was reluctant would be putting it very mildly.  How could I "suddenly" have a wheat allergy??  I was sure that this was going to be a wrong diagnoses.  But, because I am one who jumps into things head first,  I immediately removed ALL gluten laden products from my diet.  

Within 4 days ....FOUR DAYS....my symptoms were all but cleared up!!  I am soooooooo not kidding!!  Problems that I have dealt with for years....some from my childhood...suddenly gone!   

Oh...this has been a challenge though... I have to be mindful of every.single.thing. that I put in my mouth.  I am slowly getting my family on board.  Unfortunately, this is not just  a change for me....it is also a change for them because I'm not cooking a gluten meal for them and a non gluten meal for me every day.  We are so very much in the beginning stages of a major life change for all of us.  So much research to do and revamping of recipes.  I want to come as close to what they are normally use to eating as I can.  We are also a sugar free family because I also have diabetes (which, by the way, I am finding out could have been caused by the gluten intolerance.)  

Not much more to relate on the subject right now....I am very much just beginning this journey.  I am looking forward to learning much more about this new diagnoses and finding out how it has been affecting me.... maybe since childhood.  Wish me luck!

What we did on a snowy Sunday....

Today has been one of those days that just kinda happened as the day went on.  No real plans...no schedules..... just stuff.

My daughter awoke with an idea that she wanted to make pancakes for everyone.  :)  She has never made pancakes.  This was going to be fun.  And, she insisted that she was going to do it herself.  OK then.  :)  I gave her the recipe and told her to "have at it"!  She was amazing!  The pancakes were very, very good!

(little does she know that she has a cooking gig every weekend from here on out!)  :)

I did have one thing on my agenda for today and that was to make a big crockpot of beef stew!  I got all of the ingredients together and in the pot by 8am.

By noon the entire house smelled awesome!
And, by noon,  my daughter decided that she wanted to bake cookies..... another first.  :)
And, yes, she wanted to make them herself.  So,  I found an easy sugar cookie recipe online. We checked to make sure that I had all of the ingredients and she went to work.

(yuk!  I need some new cookie pans!)

First pan ready for the oven!

And, for the second time today,  she did an amazing job!  I know that she looks like she is about 14 or so in these pics but, she is only 11.... pretty darn good for an 11 year old.... dontcha think??  :)

It's nice when such hard work pays off!  Cookies for Lunch.

So, the rest of the afternoon we cleaned up the kitchen and I did a little reading until it was time to get dinner on the table.  The stew turned out very good and I also made some homemade rolls to go along with it.  

YUM!  And very warm and comforting on such a cold winter day.

Yes, tha'ts my poor hubby shoveling the driveway.  Way to go, Honey!  :)

If you are wondering about a recipe for the Beef Stew, well..... there really isn't one.  I kind of made it up.  But, here are the ingredients that I used :

2 medium onions, sliced thinly
(about) 4 cups of baby carrots
4 large yukon gold potatoes diced into large pieces.
2 lbs of stew meat
2  (14.5 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
2 tsp. of dried thyme 
1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste.  I am diabetic so I do not add salt.

I layered all of this into the crockpot in the order listed.  Cooked on low for 8 hours.

So,  that was our Sunday in a nutshell.  A good day of no planning and just kicking back and letting the day "happen".

Frugal Accomplishments So Far This Week

It's Tuesday!  Yay!  

Had to give Tuesday a "shout-out"!  I think that, as a rule, Tuesday is an ignored day....dontcha think?!?  Monday is "Ugh, its Monday.... Wednesday is "Over-the-Hump" day.... Thursday is "Yay, tomorrow's Friday" day.... and , Friday is "TGIF"!  And,  Saturday and Sunday are the coveted weekend!  So, as a rule, Tuesday is just "blah" day.  But today I declare it "Yay, it's Tuesday" day!  :)

N-E-way..... I thought I would share a couple of my Frugal accomplishments so far this week.  

I have been shopping for a nightstand for my daughters room.  And, by shopping I mean, hitting up thrift stores looking for something to breathe new life into. :)  Well, I found her....and she is full of life already so there is nothing that I really need to change.

$ 7.50!!!  She has a little mark near the handle on the bottom drawer but, other than that, she is perfect!!  Mission accomplished.

This morning I was going through some of my daughters "too small" clothes to see what I could donate and what will go to the "rag bag".  I found a fleece top that she practically lived in when it fit her.  She wore it until  she could not possibly get into it any longer.  She was sad.  So, I had a "light bulb" moment and decided to make it into a throw pillow for her.

Ohhhh.....I think she is going to be pleasantly surprised when she gets home today!!  :)  I even left the pocket on it so she can stuff whatever she wants in there....I'm thinking it will end up being a home for one of her beloved Beanie Babies.

So, that's what's happening in my neck of the woods so far this week.  What have you'all been up to on these chilly winter days??

A Super Busy Week!

I have NO idea where the week went!  I swear I closed my eyes and it was February!   Wedding planning and home projects have kept me rolling this week.  I finished removing the wallpaper from the hallway:

Before:

After:

I am so very happy that I have a steamer....after 16 years, getting that paper off was a real bear!  Now on to priming and painting.  :)

Also spent a lot of time working on my daughters wedding decorations.  I am making all of the table runners and centerpieces.  I cut out and hemmed 8 of the table runners.  

And.... did a "rough draft" of the centerpieces.  

You can tell that we have been handling these a lot because the box has smudges all over it.  :)

So, between these projects and the regular day to day chores, homework, grocery shopping, etc etc etc.....  the week just flew right on by!   
So, how was your week?   Are you  working on any special projects?

Have a wonderful day!
Teresa






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New "Project"

Wow, I can't believe that it is Tuesday already!  This week is already flying by.  Tuesday morning is usually my "thrift store" morning, but, today I will go this afternoon.  My daughter said that she needs some new books to read, so, I told her that when I pick her up from school we would shoot over to the thrift store. She also needs a couple of warmer shirts/sweaters because she is growing like a weed and the few that she has are getting way too short.  And, the temps are suppose to plummet again starting tomorrow.

So, this morning I worked on a table runners for my older daughters wedding (making them out of burlap and lace) and will now be tackling this:

I am soooooo glad that I have a steamer.  This paper has been on here for at least 15 years.....

We are updating our house room by room.  We just finished our daughters room and this is the hallway just outside of it.  The bathroom, which is in the bottom picture, was the very first room that we tackled about 5 years ago.  Since then we have also done the master bedroom, but, for some reason I can't find the pictures right now.  

Well, I have quite a bit of work to get done before it is time to pick up my daughter so I better get to it!  :)  Hope you'all are having a wonderful week!

Finally finished!

Wow....I was wondering if we were ever going to get it done!

Hubby and I decided that it was time to turn our daughters room into a "grown-up" room.  She is 11 and very much a "tween".  :)  That's not to say that she doesn't still LOVE her toys, but, she did not love the "purple" and the "kiddy" wallpaper that was on her walls.

And so it began.....

Yes, those are pallets!  Thank you, Pinterest, for all of your lovely ideas!

We ripped up old carpet, "revamped" a too small closet and primed and painted and primed and painted and primed and painted.....

Yes, she helped paint her "new" closet.  :)

This is the beginning of the "pallet" wall.  (if you look outside you will notice that there are still leaves on the trees!)  :)

And..... It's finished!  YAY!   Long process, but, I think that the end result was well worth the wait!

Porcupine Meatballs

This recipe is the very first meal that I made  (about a million years ago)  when I was about 14 or 15 years old.  My mom had a very hard time getting me into the kitchen so that she could teach me to cook. So, one day, out of the blue, she handed me a cookbook and told me to pick out something that I thought I could handle making by myself because she was going to be busy all day and she needed me to make dinner.  HA!   Very sly, that one!  :)  (I'm sure that she was secretly praying the entire time that I wouldn't burn down the house)

Anyway....I found the recipe the other day and realized that I had NEVER , in my 24 years of marriage, made this for my family!  So, I made it for dinner last night.  :)

And, here is the recipe :

Porcupine Meatballs

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup white rice

2 TBS worcestershire sauce (divided in half)

1small onion, diced

1 TBS garlic powder

1 egg, beaten

2 small cans of tomato soup

2 soup cans of water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In bowl, combine ground beef, rice, 1 tbsp of worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic powder, and egg.  Make meatballs from this mixture and place them in a 9x13 baking pan/ dish.  In another bowl, mix together soup, water and remaining 1 tbsp of worcestershire sauce.  Pour this over the meatballs.  Cover the pan with foil and bake at 400 for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for 15 additional minutes at 425 degrees.

I served this with baked potatoes, steamed brocolli and homemade bread.  The hubby LOVED it and wondered why I had never made it before!  Needless to say, it will now be added to our revolving menu.  :)

Baby, It's Cold......

Outside, Inside....Everywhere!

After several years of above normal Winter temperatures,  today was BRUTAL!  Our high was 5 degrees....yes, I said FIVE!  And tomorrow,  our HIGH will be -2....n-e-g-a-t-i-v-e  t-w-o!  (with a wind chill of  -20 to -30!)   

Yes, I do live in Minnesota....and, yes, I have very many times experienced these crazy cold days....however, I am NEVER ready for them.  They always catch me off guard and unwilling to accept them!  :)  So, tomorrow is going to be a warm blanket and homemade soup day.  And, being that it is Martin Luther King Day....that means that there is no school so no waking up early and driving the kiddo.  Yay!  Just me, my blankie and my soup....yeah....who-am-I-kidding?!?  :) 

OK, back to reality....the reality where I have had my niece over here all this weekend and she and my 11 year old have terrorized this house!  So, tomorrow will be regroup and reorganize day.

I haven't been posting much lately due to family illness (yes, we had that dreaded flu) and extended family health issues.  I'm happy to say that my Mother in Law is doing quite well after her pacemaker surgery and my Father in Law is all recuperated from his own bout of the flu.

Immediately after her surgery and before we all became sick here,  we took dinner to them and helped them get things back to normal at their house.  I made a hearty beef stew....

and a yummy Apple Crisp......

and we spent the majority of an afternoon and evening getting everyone caught up and back to normal.

Hmmmm.....I'm thinking that tomorrow may be a great day to make another pot of that stew........

Anyway.....later that week I finally got out to do some shopping and had an awesome adventure at Target:

......where I spent 22.16 and saved 51.30 in coupons!

And, then a trip to CVS where I spent 1.53(after coupons and extra bucks) and received 8.00 back in ECB's.  I do love to get some bargains especially they way prices have been skyrocketing lately!

So, this is the beginning of the first "normal" week that we have had in a while.  Tons of laundry to catch up on and time to clean a house that has definitely not been feeling the love lately.  And, hopefully, some time to scour the ad's and find some deals this week.  

If you live in the upper midwest....throw a few more logs on the fire and remember that this is the way it is suppose to feel in January....not the 40's that we had last year at this time.  :)  Have a wonderful Monday, everyone!