A Year Lost

Autoimmune disease. Chronic illness. If you know me, you probably know my struggle with living life to the fullest. I rarely make long-term plans anymore because chances are, I will not be feeling good when the time comes to do the thing I was looking forward to. It’s been day-by-day and lots of ups and downs… sometimes the ups stick around for awhile - like when I first finally convinced my doctor to put me on Natural Thyroid Hormone, that worked great for about a year, but then it didn’t and so I gave up gluten and felt on top of the world until I didn’t, and then had to give up grains and go Paleo, which worked great until… it didn’t. Story of my life. One rotten head cold can ruin my life for months… the cold lasts longer than it should and it messes with everything else and throws all the other stuff *off*. Same with stress. Poof, sickness. Exhaustion. When I feel bad, I pace myself. I get done what I have to do and little else. When I feel good, I do too much to try to make up for lost time, only to crash because I do too much. I should know better, but I keep trying.

I keep trying. I admire that about myself. I have given up a lot of things, but I don’t give up the hope that someday I will get those things back. And I keep trying. Sometimes I complain, because I feel like I do everything in my power to be healthy, yet I still struggle.

This past year was especially rotten. I crashed harder than I have crashed ever, since my son was born, when AI disease reared its ugly head… and it took a long time to figure out what the heck was going on. I went to my doctor because, that is what you do. She’s not perfect, but she’s better than most, and very smart. So you can imagine my frustration when she said to me “I don’t think it’s your thyroid, it has to be something else. Let’s do a sleep study. Let’s look for another AI disease.” Um…. No, let’s NOT. I don’t want another AI disease, I want to figure out what is wrong with the one I have.

So we ran labs. Lots and lots of labs. My thyroid levels, especially my Free T3, looked a little high, so she said to cut back. WHICH MADE NO SENSE because I was in Hypo Hell. I went home and stared at that lab sheet for at least a month. Why do the numbers look that way, when I feel so bad??? I got back online and started researching thyroid disease again – maybe there were some new developments in the time between now and when I last did the research… maybe there was something new to try.

Well, first of all I figure one piece out, my Free T3 was pooling (http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/pooling/). That is why it looked high on my labs when I felt so low. The clue was the very very low cortisol test in relation to the high FT3. So adrenals (http://www.drlam.com/articles/adrenalexhaustion.asp) were my second piece of the puzzle. Adrenals and pooling. Two things that take a lot of time to fix. Adrenals can take months or years, pooling takes 8-12 weeks to clear out once you fix the reason it’s happening, UNLESS you go straight to T3 and skip the mixed T4/T3 meds for awhile. So that was my new plan of attack – get some T3, work on adrenals, heal.





Back to the doctor – and more frustration: “It’s not the meds, Pam, it’s Lupus. Your ANA test came back positive for Lupus.” So she wouldn’t give me T3, and wanted me to go to a Rheumatologist for Lupus. NO. No, no, no, no. I’m not taking on another label, another disease, until I figure out what to do about the one I know I have. Lupus is not an easy diagnosis. I looked it up. I looked at the online support groups, and I looked at pictures of people who have it and their stories do not match mine, they do not look like me. So I reject that. A positive ANA test can happen for lots of reasons… and can change from one month to the next. It’s not the sole diagnostic tool. So, no thank you to Lupus.

More tests showed very low serotonin and also positive for one of the MTHFR gene defects. Two more significant clues. Low serotonin, it turns out, can cause fibro-like body pain… one of my issues this year. MTHFR…. can cause ALL KINDS of problems, including low neurotransmitters, like SEROTONIN.

MTHFR is a somewhat new development in gene research. It’s pretty complicated, but the gist of it is this: If you are positive for MTHFR, your body can not handle the lab-created folic acid that most grain foods are fortified with, or the product that is in most vitamin supplements – you need real Folate. Methyl folate. Same with the B vitamins. You need active B vitamins that are in the form your body can use imediately, not in a form that your body needs to convert to a usable form – the converting process is broken if you have MTHFR. And if you have MTHFR, your body can’t detox, it can’t get energy from B12, it can’t function right. One MTHFR gene has a lot to do with high homocysteine levels and blood clotting, another has to do with neurotransmitters and fertility problems and various diseases like Fibromyalgia and Alzheimer’s. That’s the one I have. Go figure. Preemie baby, low serotonin, thyroid disease with fibro-like pain (another label I refuse, because I know it’s all connected to AI thyroid disease.)

So. MTHFR is most likely the reason my serotonin was so low. Also, a body that can’t detox and is anemic (iron or b12) can’t convert T4 to T3 very well, and T3 can pool. A body that can’t detox stresses out the adrenals. And everything else. More big clues. And the answer to MTHFR is pretty simple: take the right kind of folate and b’s and avoid the wrong kind. And start SLOW. I took the full dose the first time and crashed hard. Could not stay awake. I was done for the day. Sometimes we learn the hard way.



http://mthfr.net/

http://mthfr.net/mthfr-a1298c-mutation-some-information-on-a1298c-mthfr-mutations/2011/11/30/

http://mthfr.net/mthfr-c677t-mutation-basic-protocol/2012/02/24/

http://www.dearpharmacist.com/2013/08/08/2394/

So I worked on MTHFR, and I took SAMe and 5htp to help boost serotonin levels. And I started feeling better and better. This information led me to a very interesting book – I wanted to learn more about neurotransmitters. Dr. Kharrazian wrote a fascinating book about the brain… everyone should read it… you will recognize yourself in this book, and your family members and friends. The best thing is that you can do something about it right away. It’s not a doom and gloom, scary brain book at all.



More on neurotransmitters:
http://pietilachiropractic.com/docs/NTAF.pdf

http://www.createvibranthealth.com/services/neurotransmitter-assessment/

http://www.gethelpfordepression.info/DepressionTests.aspx

On top of all this, I decided I wanted to try something that people have been reporting success with for at least a decade now. A pharmaceutical drug… yes… something I try to avoid because that’s just the way I am, but this one is different. It causes your body to respond with healing… the drug doesn’t mask symptoms, or make you forget about the symptoms, it causes actual healing – makes your body do the work needed to heal. It’s called LDN. Low Dose Naltrexone. Naltrexone is an opiate blocker – a drug given to heroin addicts to block their heroin high… to help get them off street drugs. Sounds kind of scary and totally not appropriate in my situation, right? Well LOW DOSE Naltrexone is different. It’s a tiny fraction of a regular dose, enough to block opiate receptors for just an hour or two at night while you are sleeping… you don’t even notice it… and when the receptors come back online, they cause a healing reaction in every cell – by calling for endorphins to be made to fill the receptors that are now empty. So many endorphins get made, that new receptors are made. And all this work heals DNA at the cell level. Normalizes the immune system. Like magic. I decided I wanted some magic, if nothing else, than to keep all other AI diseases at bay. No Lupus, no RA, no whatever might be lurking around the corner.

My doctor wouldn’t prescribe it – which is pretty typical – most doctors either don’t know what it is or think it’s something it’s not… like an opiate drug. So I had to find a new doctor for it, which was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I’m pretty happy that I did, because she’s been using it in her practice for several years and considers it the best anti-aging product available. It’s pretty amazing stuff, and I’ve had nothing but good experiences with it. My antibodies have gone down, my energy level has gone up and my body feels relatively pain-free and normal again. I highly recommend it, and if anyone has a hard time finding a doctor to prescribe it, the best way is to call your local compounding pharmacy and ask them if they know of any doctors who use them to fill their prescriptions. It’s a compounded drug – meaning they take the full dose and make it into smaller doses. Your regular drug-store pharmacy is not the right place for this. Also, LDN Science site (below) has a doctor finder tool. The video on their home page is really easy to understand, too.

http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/

http://www.ldnscience.org/

My new LDN doctor also led me down another path: iodine. Iodine… sigh. Something I’ve seen thrown around the thyroid boards for the past 10 years, mostly with big warning that it’s like throwing gas on the fire, or at the other end of the spectrum, someone who is fanatical about their success with it and telling everyone they MUST try it… something that I’ve tried a couple of times only to end up sicker with a swollen thyroid. So when she mentioned that I immediately said no, thank you, very much. But… like most things I’m stubborn about, that I need to learn more about, it kept popping up in various places and I started to understand there is a proper way to take it – you can’t just pop an iodine pill… there is a whole PROTOCOL. And after more research, I decided to try it. And yes, it totally worked, this time. No thyroid reaction at all, just good positive stuff. Detox, yes, but then good happy energy. Happy energy. What is that? I have not seen that in a very long time. Not to become a fanatic about it, but it’s really something everyone should look into. It fights cancer and other tumors and cysts, it raises IQ levels in people who are deficient. It heals fibrocystic breast disease and PCOS. We need much more of it than ever in order to fight off all the toxins in our modern life – bromine and fluoride and chlorine, for example – they all fight for the receptors that should be used by iodine.

http://www.breastcancerchoices.org/iprotocol.html

http://iodineresearch.com/supplementation.html



And so, I think I’m better. I’m not deluding myself that I won’t crash again at any time, but I have some new tools and they are working for me. I’m still working on my adrenals, but I have my life back, and I’m not just sleeping my days away like I did all summer. My AI antibodies are down to remission levels, and that makes two AI diseases I’ve beaten now… Graves and Hashimotos. I’m looking forward to making up for lost time, life is good, and getting better. Finally. And for as long as it lasts.

Please note: This is my story – I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. These are only things I’ve researched and found work for me and my body. Everyone is different.

Getting to the root cause is key with AI disease. Two more excellent books on the subject:





Diet is also huge, and I have found the best diet for me is Paleo. Gluten-free/Grain-free. This book has information about customizing Paleo for AI.



Some supplements I’ve come to rely on and won’t live without:
Iodine:



Vitamin C, corn-free:



Selenium:



Methyl Folate:



Methyl B-12:



Methyl Factors:



Adrenal Support (for low cortisol)



Vitamin D3 in olive oil:



5-htp – serotonin support:



SAMe – serotonin support:



Magnesium:



My favorite multi with active folate and B’s – gluten-free:



A good, gentle iron that works. No folic acid in it:



Facebook Groups:
Hashimotos 411: a very large group full of smart people getting to the root cause of AI disease.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hashimotos411/

Got Endorphins? A Group dedicated to LDN:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/GotEndorphins/

Iodine:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/iodine4health/

Adrenals:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOAdrenals/

Autoimmune Paleo Diet support group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/EPDiet411/

Baking Successes

More gluten-free success this week.

First of all, Fanny Farmer's banana bread - I followed the recipe exactly, just substituting gluten free flour blend for regular and adding an extra banana. It was very, very good.

Second, there was cheese straws. Ones the whole family thought were great. I'd serve these at a cocktail party, they were that fun and yummy.

Art of Gluten Free Baking's Cheese Crackers and Straws.

I added a sprinkle of salt and baked until totally crispy:



And then there was shortcakes, for strawberries. These were good. Not my grandmother's shortcake, obviously, but a little on the tropical side with almond flour and coconut oil. I substituted sugar for the honey and it was a bit too sweet. But, we enjoyed them.

Speaking of strawberries, our strawberry patch finally started producing, and I swear! these are the best strawberries I have ever in my entire life tasted. So red and juicy. Red all the way through. I am having a love affair with strawberries again, after years and years of those beautiful huge store berries that taste like nothing and are white inside... I finally remember what Grandma's berries were like, and why she got up early every morning to water her berry patch. I'm sure I was 10 the last time I ate her berries... and now here I am in my (gasp) 40's and finally have her secret back.

So, when my little patch did not give me enough to get through the year with my new berry love and refusal to ever again buy the grocery store/costco ones... Luke and I went berry picking at an organic farm.



I made, for the first time, strawberry jam. Freezer jam. The first batch did not set, but is still delicious. The second batch worked great (I decided to follow exact directions for a change).



And now I'm inspired to can for real. Glass jars, hot water, the works. I got my ball canning book and I'm ready to go, I just need something to can! Raspberry picking is up next, if it would only stop raining around here.

Happy National Ice Cream Month!

Is there really such a thing? I don't know, but I saw it on Facebook, so it must be true. At anyrate, I thought I'd start the month off right by making some. Gluten-free, dairy-free, all chocolate yum.

It couldn't be easier.

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

In your blender, mix together:

2 cans of coconut milk - you want the full fat kind, not the "lite".
2/3 cups cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

*optional 2 teaspoons Erythritol (I like Organic Zero)

*The erythritol is supposed to keep the finished product from freezing into a block of ice that is impossible to scoop. Corn syrup does the same thing, but I don't do corn. Mess around with your own favorite sweeteners, I'm sure you can make anything work here that will make your sweet-tooth happy.

Then, pour the blended mixture into your ice cream maker and mix according to your machine's instructions. I used my KitchenAid ice cream attachment, which works pretty well:



Here is mine, mixing and mixing for half an hour. (I would have liked to dump in some chocolate chips, shredded coconut and almonds at this point, but then no one else in my family would have eaten it. Oh, wait, why didn't I do that?! Next time. Muwahahahahaha!)



It thickened up and expanded, but never got really frozen, so I just poured it into a tub to stick in the freezer.



And then... we ate it. I may never buy store-bought ice cream again. Really.

Another Favorite

Gingersnaps.



Everyone in the family loves these, and they won't last long. Another keeper from "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" by Annalise Roberts. This book is quickly becoming my favorite gluten-free baking book - though I admit I don't follow the recipes exactly - I like real butter, not shortening, and I mix up the sugars with whatever I'm in the mood for, and I don't add in the icky xanthan gum. But the basics are solid and so far my results have been rave-worthy. Luke says these gingersnaps are the kind of cookie he could eat all day. I guess I'll have to double the batch next time!



Gingersnaps

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses

1 3/4 cup brown rice flour mix (I used GF Classical Blend sold by Authentic Foods)
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together butter and sugar, add in egg and molasses. Combine dry ingredients and add to the wet - mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet, sprinkle some sugar on top, bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Super simple! Enjoy!

The Short List

Finally, something to add to my standby list - the good stuff, the stuff everyone craves and begs me to cook. These, right here, are as good as my old Oatmeal Cookies. You know, the ones on the lid of the Quaker oats tub. These of course, are gluten free. You'd never know, though.



Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from "Gluten Free Baking Classics" by Annalise G. Roberts

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon gf vanilla extract
2 cups of your favorite gluten free flour blend (I used Authentic Foods Classical Gluten Free Flour Blend)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups gluten free oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix the butter and sugars til creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, and cream together. Add in flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, then add in the oats, and then add in the chunky stuff that you like.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

A Smile in Every Bite

I have been hearing about the sadness of missing goldfish crackers for a few weeks now. My boy is nothing if not persistent. One day he even sat down at my computer and googled gluten free goldfish crackers and left me several recipes to choose from on my desktop. Such a smart boy! Anyway... I ordered my fish cutter and my GF Flour, and we finally got around to trying one of them. These came out REALLY good. Of course I used Beecher's cheese - how could they go wrong? Such a lot of work for a small snack, but I have a happy child and really, that's all that matters, right?









Super Gold Fish Crackers
Adapted from Cindy at Gluten Free in Montana who's recipe is adapted from Yumsugar.

1 C GF flour (I used GF Classical Blend sold by Authentic Foods)
1/2 t xantham gum or guar gum
4 T cold butter, cut into small pieces
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I used Beechers!)
3/4 t salt
1/2 t ground pepper
1/4 cup buttermilk

In a large mixer combine the flour, xantham gum, butter, cheese, salt and pepper. Add the buttermilk and mix until it forms a ball. Add more buttermilk if needed but don't add too much, the dough will be on the dry side.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes to 24 hours. If the dough gets too cold you may need to let it warm a bit before you can easily roll it out.
Heat the oven to 350 F. Place 1/3 of the dough on wax paper and cover with a second piece of wax paper. This is the best way I've found to roll out GF dough. Using a rolling pin roll it to 1/8" thickness and cut out your desired shapes. We used this mini goldfish cutter and used a toothpick to poke eyes and a spoon to make smiles. Place the cut outs on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden and crisp, don't under cook! These are best crispy. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Let Them Eat Cake

My go-to chocolate cake. It's called "Darn Good Chocolate Cake" and it always has been. So, of course it's the first gluten-free Cake Mix Doctor cake I had to try. And as I sit here, drinking a cup of coffee and eating my "Darn Good Chocolate Cake", I can honestly say, I'm not disappointed. It tastes exactly right, just the way it's supposed to.... it's just a little less moist and heavy than the original. I used the gluten-free Betty Crocker mix. Next time, I'll try Pamela's mix. And maybe cook it a couple minutes less. Or maybe it needs a chocolate drizzle instead of the powdered sugar topping. That might make it absolutely perfect, actually.

Darn Good Chocolate Cake

1 package (15 oz) chocolate gluten-free cake mix
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup mini chocolate chips

dusting of confectioners'

Mix all together with an electric mixer for 2 minutes, pour into a prepared bundt pan, bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool for 10 minutes, invert onto cake plate, let cool a little more, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, enjoy!


More wonderful recipes here, in my favorite cake book:




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Another old favorite, is a scone recipe given to me by my old friend Lara. I decided it had to work with gluten-free flour mix, and so I gave that a try too. (All this baked food in the house!) Perfectly happy with these, they taste just right. Maybe even better than the gluten ones? Maybe.



Scottish Oat and Cranberry Scones

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1 1/2 cup flour (I used Pamela's bread flour mix)
2 cups rolled oats (I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats)
1/4 cup sugar (I used organic brown sugar)
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries

----------------

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup milk (I used coconut milk, and I used a splash more than 1/3 cup)


Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Add beaten egg, melted butter and milk and stir together.

Grease a baking pan, and make two rounds of dough, about 6 inches around and 1.5 inches high or so. Score or cut each round into quarters.

Bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm with butter and jam.


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And I have more gluten-free findings. I know, this is like three posts in one, but I'm going to try to keep my gluten-free posts to a minimum, because I don't want to bore you, so I'm sticking them all in one big post for the week.

This is gluten thing is easier than I'd thought and even if you are not a gluten-free gal, these foods are GOOD, or much better than I'd hoped.... foods I'll eat again, some of them I'd eat even if I wasn't avoiding wheat!

Rudi's Gluten Free Bread - seriously f.i.n.e. I like them just as well as any other sliced bread from the store. We made panini sandwiches and they were great. The slices are on the small side, which also makes me happy as I never finish a whole sandwich.

Udi's breads - We tried their frozen pizza crusts, and I have to say... they are not cardboard. But neither are they nice chewy thick crust. Ah, well, I will just have to think of them as a vehicle for pizza toppings. And I do think they are better than those boboli things. They will do for now.



Pamela's Products - gluten-free bread and cake mixes and flour mixes. So far, the corn-bread was good, and I used the buscuit-mix blend for both drop biscuits and my lemon bars. The drop biscuits were funny looking but really yummy. And the lemon bars... well I could have eaten the whole pan! I need to make more of those soon.

Blue Diamond Nut Thins - These are good. Good for dips and such. I've only tried the almond ones, but I'm happy.

Not gluten-free but dairy free and OH SO GOOD. I'd eat this over regular ice cream any day: So Delicious Coconut 'Ice Cream'. I'm going to try the coconut almond one next, and mix it with dark chocolate and then I'll have an Almond Joy in a bowl!

It Starts With the Books

Actually, it started with a few comments from friends who are going through the whole detox, elimination diet thing. A few things they said that made me go hmmn. Even though I've been down the elimination diet, allergy tests road before, wheat never came up as an issue. But I started to wonder: could wheat be a pain thing rather than a digestive thing for me? Really? Hmn....

And then I decided I was going to experiment. Just an experiment. One week with no gluten. By then I'd know. Right? I decided it was so. And I asked the family if they wanted to experiment with me. They both said sure. Four days? Five? A week tops? Sure, they were in. No problem. But first, let's finish that coconut cream pie. OK, now we were ready... one week, no problem.

Except, it was a problem. We all noticed right off that we felt better. Seriously better. Luke and I decided pretty quickly that this was it. We were done with wheat. Frank was not so sure. Grumbly. And then he ate something with gluten after not having any for a few days and he got all hot and bothered and said "wow, yeah."

So there you go. We are a gluten-free home. Even the dog and cat are grain free - they have been for awhile now - Zoe gets itchy paws, Tyger yacks. So, grain free for them, gluten-free for us.

And now I'm ready for more experimenting. Recipes. Originally, I had thought, forget it, gluten-free stuff sucks - we'll just eat veggies and fruits and protein and there's always rice and potatoes, and if you know me, you know that I do love potatoes. It will be fine. But, no. Luke wants cheese crackers. Frank wants bread. And if I'm completely honest, I want pizza dough. And cake, eventually. I can't live without cake. At least not forever.

Recipes. Because I'm not a boxed food girl, I prefer homemade. Everytime. Unless it's Oreos. I'll miss Oreos. And Girl Scout Thin Mints. Hmn.... I'll miss them too. Well, whatever.

Right... recipes. I started with the blogs. The blogs are great. At least the photos look tempting. The comments are encouraging too. There are so many good-looking blogs out there. Gluten-Free Goddess, Gluten-Free Girl, Gluten-Free Nosh... you can find them anywhere.... and they give me hope. The Gluten-Free Goddess just gave us a pizza dough recipe, for example. I'm all over it. (Except... it doesn't really look like pizza, does it? Maybe I should wait a bit until I'm really missing pizza.)

So recipes. Sure you can print them off the blogs... but there is nothing so satisfying as a good cookbook sitting on the shelf with handy go-to favorite recipes bookmarked and waiting, is there?

Here are my first finds:

I can't tell you how happy I was to discover The Cake Mix Doctor has a gluten free cake book. Seriously... overjoyed. Her cake mix books are my go-to books for every cake I've made in the last 10 years... I feel so much better now! And the reviews on Amazon are great. Encouraged and overjoyed.



I also found this one, which has a recipe for Luke's staff-of-life: cheese crackers. I'm making them RIGHT NOW. With Almond Flour. Who knew? Also, lots of good reviews.



And then there is the Gluten-Free Baking Classics, which, from what I am reading, as THE BEST chocolate chip cookie in all the world, gluten-free or not. Everyone says so... I'll let you know as soon as possible!



There are two more exciting titles waiting in my Amazon shopping cart... I'll get to them later. First to try these cheese crackers that are supposed to be just like Cheez-Its. They arn't, I'll admit. They need more salt. But they aren't bad. I don't think Luke is going to like them much. Maybe if I'd used Beecher's cheese?

Wanna try one?




Eh, I should have made those chocolate chip cookies. Next time.

Goodbye Leo!

Goodbye Leo, you were so much fun while it lasted! Goodbye yummy partner's flat crackers that I love so much. Goodbye you wheat thins, crack that you are. Same to you little round donut holes covered in powdered sugar, goodbye. Goodbye fancy bread flour that I was just getting to know. Goodbye Trader Joe's pumpkin bread mix that I loved (until I realized it was giving me hives). Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye to all the wheat-laden items in the cupboards. Goodbye.

Goodbye achy body, goodbye puffy circles around my eyes. Goodbye nervous shaky feeling that something bad is about to happen. Goodbye dark cloud that has been hanging over my head.

Hello, clear head, how I've missed you! For you, I'll keep this up, and for my poor body that has been achy and sore for longer than I can remember, I'll keep this up. And especially, for hugs from my child that no longer hurt, I will keep this up.

Hello to the challenge of discovering a new pizza dough, of learning to make gluten-free Leo bread (is that possible?)... of finding a substitute for the kiddo's beloved Goldfish crackers. We will do it!

Hello to the amazing blogs of people who have been doing it and making it easier and more delicious for the rest of us, I thank you in advance. Things look much brighter in this gluten-free world than they did almost 10 years ago when I dipped my toes in and pulled them back out too quick. Ah well... some of us have to learn the hard way. Remember a year ago when I said "over my dead body". Yes, I can still eat my words.

And I can also eat these amazingly delicious lemon bars, my first gluten-free baking experiment of many. So good. You know you want a taste too!