The Best Kind of Snow

In my post from yesterday, I mentioned the snow we're expecting three times this week. I snapped some pictures form our 4 inches received last night! Nick and I carpooled the past few days and driving to get him after work last night was a bit blizardy {I think I just made up that word}. It was so windy and the snow flakes got bigger, reducing the visibility. It was really a plain ol' midwestern snow storm we've driven through before. I was giddy as the night went on to see how much snow we'd receive. Not like we'd get a snow day out of the deal, but the days of excitement over snow storms aren't over for me yet.

As I peaked out the window before bed last night, I saw it. My favorite winter site. A winter wonderland! I love when everything outside is coated in snow. Not all snow storms I've witnessed create this effect, but it's so dreamy when it does! The last time I saw a winter wonderland was in Dallas/Fort Worth in this post when Nick and I got to enjoy an official snow day together! Here are the photos I snapped last night - the lighting is weird since it was dark out. I lightened them and they look a bit funny, but at least you can enjoy the winter wonderland with me.

As I woke up this morning, I headed toward the window with the hopes that the winter wonderland effect was still there. 

Nope. 

A lot of the snow on the trees blew off or melted, so the completely frosted in snow look diminished, but it's still a pretty winter day!

 The other thing that makes this the best kind of snow is that the temperature was just right so the roads mostly remained wet rather than snowy/icy - probably thanks in part to the plows out all night too.

I have days I miss the warm culture of Texas, but pretty snow days like today make me enjoy my Minnesotan surroundings! Now I'll be curious the rest of the week to see what this bigger snowstorm on track for this weekend might have in store for us.

Did you notice anything different about the blog today? If you're reading in your Google Reader, you may not have noticed, but I did a little blog redecorating tonight.  I also added Twitter and Pinterest buttons on the right bar so we can connect!

1.5 Weeks Without Dairy (or Chocolate!)

Yes, it's true. I've successfully completed my first week and a half dairy free! YES. One huge positive result is much less bloating (I got right to the point, eh?). That is a symptom I had nearly every day and was so used to that feeling (although it still bothered me), so it feels great to notice that difference so clearly. I think it's cheese really that caused it. I didn't drink much milk anyway, but I added cheese to lots of food, and loved it! I'm now realizing it may not have been loving me back.

Since I've noticed so directly the impact food really has on the way my body feels, I'm more aware of all food I'm eating. Since most chocolate (aside from very very dark chocolate I think) has milk, I haven't had any of that either! For those of you who know my love for chocolate, this is a big deal. I've been skipping dessert altogether pretty often too. I just have a new awareness of what the food I intake is doing for me, and see more clearly how little that junk food does for me - in fact, with all I'm reading lately, it really hinders our bodies and can work against us. I'm not nixing desserts all together, but have a new awareness for reading labels (it's amazing how many words are used for milk!), and being cautious of the food I eat, and how it will impact my body. 

Another positive update for today is that my new medicine routine (gradually lowering Savella doses, and adding scheduled ibuprofen) seems to be helping. The main difference is I don't feel quite as stiff throughout the day, and headaches may be better, but are definitely still there right now. 

On Saturday, Nick and I were also able to enjoy dinner with my cousins and a friend they traveled to the Twin Cities with. It was SO great to see them and catch up on life - I love and miss these girls! It was also my first meal eating out since starting dairy free, so I was a bit nervous about my options since I can't eat bread, many dressings, etc. I verified my option was dairy free with the server and got an asian salad that was really good! I started easy, but eating out dairy free will take some getting used to. Driving by Jimmy Johns tonight made me think of Turkey Tom (#4, one of my go-to choices there), and I got sad thinking there's probably milk in that bread. Maybe I'll have to try their unwich, where the ingredients are wrapped in lettuce instead of bread... sigh.. Jimmy Johns bread is sooo tasty.

I did buy this "ice cream" ;) last week at the store as I was worried about how I'd handle being without chocolate. I haven't even tried it! I'm a bit nervous I won't like it really. This brand is all dairy free though, they do a lot with almond and coconut milk rather than cow's milk.

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I've also come to appreciate brands that list out the "allergy warning" clearly so we don't have to scan the entire ingredient list looking for the code words. Brands that don't have that warning get under my skin and just may lose my business! People with actually allergies to milk, wheat, peanuts, etc, need to be able to quickly look at that label and see if something is going to be a problem. I can't imaging a mom at the grocery store with kids in the cart looking at every label for potential allergens to keep her family safe. Once you know the products you get each week, the labels are less of an issue, but still, many companies need to get better making their labels family friendly, like the one I found below (I'm trying to overlook the fact that this product appears to be Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies...).

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A fun "did you know" tidbit I learned this week. Raise your hand if you think eggs are a dairy product. Yep, many of you out there raised your hands, as I would have a week ago. You may know now that I asked the question, that eggs are NOT considered a dairy product! Dairy products come from the mammary glands of mammals to produce milk, cheese, etc. Eggs, well, don't come from those glands, so they're not dairy! They're considered an animal byproduct. Find out more information about it here - it's pretty fascinating stuff. 


In other news, we have 3 snow storms coming our way in the 7 day forecast! One is happening outside our window as I write. This is crazy since we've had a record mild winter since moving back to Minnesota. It's a bit exciting, but would have been nice to happen on a Saturday when we can be snowed in and not worry about our drive. Oh well, we do live in Minnesota :)

7-Day Forecast

MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
80% PM	30%	30%	40%	30%		50%
40	36	38	34	30	28	32
28	30	26	26	21	18	25

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Pinterest Fun

I've been having fun with Pinterest lately and thought I'd share some finds...

Here's a super cute and simple Flower Necklace I like:

Some DIY projects I've been eyeing:)...

This beautiful Fabric Flower Necklace was on Etsy, but there are so many DIY sites with fabric flowers:

No-sew curtains made from a Target table cloth - I've been thinking about curtains for our bedroom, and I don't sew, so this option sounds nice and easy!

I've been loving all of the cute wreaths like this W Wreath this winter! I bet I could find a spot on our wall for this puppy.

These cute Chevron Painings are done on shoeboxes! Cheaper than canvases if you have some laying around. I love the look. I want to use {cheap} canvases and cover them in fun fabric swatches and make a similar look for one of our walls.

These Framed Handkerchiefs inspire my fabric canvas idea too.

AND this Fabric Covered Corkboard {from I Heart Ogranizing blog - may have to look that one up later!} - you can see this project has been on my mind quite a lot! It seems like such an inexpensive yet eye catching room improvement. 

 Some dairy free options (and blogs) I can try!...

This Dairy Free Homemade Coffee Creamer blog post has many flavors (almond joy, cinnamon streusel to name a few!), and they look EASY to make! I'm psyched. I bought dairy creamer last week (a special treat for myself!) and am so sad I'll have to say goodbye, so these sound awesome, and keep for a week in the fridge! The blog is called Deliciously Organic - I'll have to check that blog out more for organic recipes.

Dairy Free Peppermint Patties - these sound so good and fresh. I've always loved peppermint patties! Plus, I'll need some way to meet my chocolate quota you know. 

Dairy Free Pizza - as long as I can find a {not actually cheese} type cheese I like, I'll try it!

Dairy Free Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies - these are so simple to make! It was fun to realize these are dairy free, because I made these cookies a few months ago {posted here} for a pool party at my mom's house! I'd just need to get dairy free chocolate chips, which apparently Trader Joe's has.

These Dairy Free Stuffed Shells look great - I was worried I'd miss out on this tasty dish!

I'm always needing to de-stress and keep stress in check - if you share that need for balance, you may enjoy some of these photos to retreat into (ahhhh....)...

Café Crème - I just want to sit there and sip that coffee {with non-dairy creamer of course;)} and watch the world pass by for the day

Who's up to do this with me?!

Or sit atop this cozy hill?

If that doesn't sound good, we could go here:

And float freely like this:

 

Then, at the end of that hard working;) day, we can find a cozy spot like this one to let our cares melt away and live in the moment. 

I told you I've been having too much fun on Pinterest lately! 

http://pinterest.com/marss/

Going Dairy Free

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I saw a new doctor here this week, and thankfully, she was great and attentive. Nick came with me this time, and we were there from 3:15 to shortly before 6pm (some of that time was doing some tests - hello crazy blood pressure and high pulse (we're changing meds to combat those symptoms)). She was thorough and wanted to hear the whole story, starting with my first symptoms of fibro, and wanting to hear about things I've tried to help it. She was great. We're changing some meds (thankfully, I couldn't tell if they were helping or if side effects were just making it worse), and making some other life changes too. 

I took a list of symptoms with me, along with my current medications, things that help me, and questions I had for her. Since I've never written them all out, here's the list of symptoms I took with me:

• Constant headaches, most are light sensitive, with pain/tenderness in upper neck, jaw, and temples
• Pressure behind my eyes – seem to coordinate with headaches, also increases feeling tired
• Extreme fatigue – I sleep well (wonder about my sleep cycles), but am always very tired and can sleep all the time. Nothing seems to help the fatigue.
• Daily radiating pain and tenderness (always in neck-shoulders, radiates to other areas: knees, hips arms, legs)
• IBS – difficulty eating gaseous foods, greasy food, some raw vegetables
• Tips on trying dairy free or gluten free diet?
• “Fibro fog” – difficulty concentrating, remembering some words on the spot, or thinking very quickly
• Irritability  - low stress tolerance
• Dizziness when from sitting to standing or bending over to standing straight
• Hot/cold flashes (feverish)
• Joints pop often – neck and hips
• Lack of energy/motivation

Uffda, it's quite the list. I'm so glad I took it though, to be able to concretely talk through what's going on so she has a clear picture. She appreciated it and took a copy of the info I brought with me. 

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I'm trying a lactose/dairy free diet. This is NOT going to be easy, as I found out while grocery shopping today. I've realized though, that I want to get better, but I haven't been making any changes to get there. I was really hoping the medicine would make me feel all better, or better yet, that I would wake up one day symptom free :) So I'm at a point where I know I need to get these symptoms under control, so I have to make some changes to get there. 

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I visited www.godairyfree.org to figure this thing out, and learned a few things that are encouraging me to stick to it. Basically that some people with migraines, autoimmune type symptoms, low energy, and stomach issues (some of my symptoms) can benefit from a dairy free diet (learn more at their website). My IBS has been acting up more lately, and I almost always feel bloated and have some sort of digestive pain or cramping when I eat. 

After  analyzing nutrition labels at the store and eliminating ones with these hard to see dairy ingredients, just about everything seems to have dairy! If someone really isn't tolerant of dairy, the stuff we eat daily all has hidden dairy in it, and that person would have pretty constant symptoms. It's interesting and worth a try! I've found a few foods my body just doesn't want to digest, but it's so hard to tell, so I'm hoping to pay closer attention and make some progress.

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I'm still reading little by little in FibroWHYalgia (great book about Sue Ingebretson (above) and her fibro journey to wellness), and came across a quote yesterday that says, "In order to change we must be sick and tired of being sick and tired", and I'm pretty much at that point now, so change is on its way! If you have any tips for dairy/lactose free meals/brands, etc, feel free to pass them my way, I'll need to find something to eat this week:)