I'm all in

The first I'd heard of Twilight was over the summer. Vampires? I don't think so. But then it got more popular and hyped, and some of my friends read it and loved it, so I decided I'd do the same. Not to just follow the crowd, but because if this many people liked a vampire book, there must be something special about it. But I hadn't made it a priority until now.

Now the movie is out, and last week I got tickets to see it on the Imax with some friends. They challenged me (and I've challenged myself) to finish the book before I watch the movie. I found this a very daunting task, seeing as I began the book on Tuesday and I'm not the fastest reader (I like to read every word...and sometimes read them again). I was a little skeptic...it was hyped SO much by everyone that I didn't possibly think it could be as good as they said. But it is. I'm all in, and it is possible that I'll finish it before tonight.

What CAN I eat?!

I had an allergy and hormones test done today (among other things). It's part of a whole health and wellness treatment I'm doing in seek of the cause of my migraines. I always wanted to re-affirm my intolerance to gluten, so that it did. Here is a complete list of all food I am allergic to:

vinegar, yeast mix, coffee, wine, albumin (cowsmilk), cheese (except feta/goat), amaranth, gliadin, gluten, oats, rye, spelt, wheat, soy, peanuts, peanut butter, thyme, carrots, celery, potato (white), and tomatoes.

Quite impressive, isn't it? Who knew someone could be allergic to so many things. Actually, they call it a "sensitivity," so I can have these things in moderation, but should just try to stay away from them. I would have thought I'd be depressed after this news. Heck, being allergic to peanut butter alone is almost the end of the world (but I learned of almond butter, and Henry's roasted almond butter is pretty darn good). I think what has kept me in high spirits are a few things...

1. I have already known I'm intolerant to gluten and soy, and have already cut them out of my diet. And I had a hunch about cow's milk, so I don't drink milk (I'm not willing to cut out cheese...I will cut down). So, knowing that I've already cut out one item that is in so many things, I know I have willpower, and I know I can do it.

2. I know it will make me feel better. Before I went off gluten I was getting several migraines a week. Since going off it, I get 1-2 per month. Seeing that improvement gives me hope that I've finally found the rest of the problem. (In addition to the hormone issue I have...more to follow.)

3. Since I am gluten-free, I know that there are ways around your intolerances. For example, I bake with rice flour and tapioca flour instead of wheat flour. I eat nut thins instead of wheat thins. I have quinoa pasta instead of wheat pasta; to name a few.

The other thing I had tested was my hormone levels. This is the main issue I was concerned with, because I already knew my migraines are hormonal. Turns out that several of my hormones are too low. I got a hormone supplement to hopefully correct this issue. Maybe if the hormone issue is fixed, I can still eat things I'm sensitive to and be fine. I'll still be doing plenty of testing on my own, so I'll let ya know!

If I could have gluten...

I've been gluten-free for a year and a half, and I love it! (For those of you who don't know, gluten is found in wheat, barley, and rye. So no normal baked goods, bread, or beer for me...don't worry, I have ways around it!)

Even though I've gotten very accustomed to this lifestyle, there are many times I would really love to have a glutenous delight. Many people in my situation may cheat here and there, but I don't. I have definitely learned the art of self-control. It's selfish, really, because I don't want to get a blasted migraine!

But recently I've been thinking...dreaming...of what I would eat if I could have gluten again. Many things that I used to eat are easily replaced with the GF version (although the GF version is often not available if I'm at a restaurant, etc., so it's convenience I miss most), but some are just irreplaceable.

So, here is my top ten list of gluten-filled food I would eat if I could...

10. Sourdough bread
9. Bagels
8. Maple doughnuts
7. Ravioli
6. Triscuits
5. Sundried Tomato & Basil Wheat Thins
4. Real Mexican Flour tortillas
3. CPK Pizza
2. Bronx Pizza
1. Cheez-its!

Disclaimer: I wouldn't eat these junky foods all the time...it would just be nice to be able to have some every once in a while if I wanted.

Last week Erika and I exchanged haikus at work, and here's what I wrote in honor of my beloved #1 missed food:

Yummy orangish square
How I love your cheezy ways
But hate your gluten

Thank you, thank you. I'll be signing autographs next week.

Lipstick Jungle: A Sad Farewell

In the TV world nowadays, a good show is few and far between. My current shows consist of Entourage, CSI if I'm in the gory mood, sometimes the Office (hasn't been as good lately), Heroes (although I'm still on season 1), Lipstick Jungle, and anything on FoodNetwork. Of all those shows, Entourage and Lipstick Jungle are FAR above the rest. But I just found out that Lipstick Jungle has been canceled. I almost cried. I can't understand why people don't see the brilliance in this show.

The show is based on the book "Sex and the City," and that show did phenomenal. It's a sexy drama about 3 friends instead of 4, and they're a little older, but still the same premise.

Then I thought about it...the show wasn't marketed enough! Every time I mentioned the show to any friends, they may have heard of it, some had "meant" to watch it...if it was marketed enough they would have remembered! It's hard for me to really get hooked on a TV show, but I'm HOOKED on this one, so it's gotta be good. I have good taste, right? So the problem is that it didn't get enough exposure. And now it's been canceled. So it is with a very sad heart that this Lipstick Jungle fan says farewell to Wendy, Nico, Victory, Kirby, Joe, and Shane.

If you liked Sex and the City, go online to www.nbc.com/lipstickjungle and watch Lipstick Jungle from the beginning. You'll see what I'm talking about. I think they'll continue airing the rest of the current season 2 since they've already recorded them all...but I want them to keep making them!

Here's the premise:

Movie exec Wendy (Brooke Shields, "Suddenly Susan") does everything she can to balance career and family. Nico (Kim Raver, "24"), editor-in-chief of a hot fashion magazine, has her eye on becoming CEO. And free-spirited designer Victory (Lindsay Price, "Beverly Hills, 90210") longs to make her dreams come true -- and maybe find "Mr. Right" along the way.

Armed with humor and strength, these three modern New York women support one another through the triumphs and tears that are all part of making it big in the Big Apple. Also starring are Andrew McCarthy ("Joy Luck Club"), David Noroña ("Frasier") Paul Blackthorne ("Big Shots") and Robert Buckley ("Fashion House").

Heroes

I'm on episode 5 of season one of Heroes (watching on Netflix Watch Instantly). I'm hooked. I'm still not totally sure what's going on yet because I'm not far enough in...but every episode is a cliffhanger so I have to keep watching. At least it's something to pass the time between episodes of Entourage and Lipstick Jungle! Best shows on TV!

Back to tea

I've gotta say, I didn't thoroughly enjoy my half-cup of coffee yesterday. Even with the creamer. It made me feel kinda icky...I'm not used to it anymore. I guess the antioxidants in the tea have "cleansed" the yuckiness out of my body! So...I'm back to my mango black tea today and loving it :)

ERIKA

Erika has a poster of Dwight from "the office" on it. He's holding a piece of paper with his name on it, and each letter of his name is an acronym for something (i.e. "H" = hard worker). She hung it up on the file cabinet by her desk. So one day when Erika left we had some fun. I sent Michelle this picture of Erika (the only one I had that would work) and she turned it into a poster. This is hanging on Erika's file cabinet next to Dwight:

I gave in

I'm drinking coffee. I've already gotten a lot of slack for it, so I need to explain myself...

• I am now at the point where I can have a cup of coffee every now and then and not fall back into my addiction. (Albeit it was mainly an addiction to the creamer...it was still a need I had every morning.)
• My main reason for quitting coffee was that I hated my reliance on it. It used to be that if I missed my cup of coffee one morning...say, on the weekend...I'd get a headache from the lack of caffeine. I hated it that I depended on this substance for functioning during the day. Now I don't rely on it, so it's okay if I have it every once in a while! (My other reason for quitting coffee is because it is a headache trigger and the Lord knows I don't need any more triggers for my blasted headaches!)
• I really needed the extra pick-me-up today. For some reason I'm extra tired and have a lot of work to do, so I needed the coffee buzz.
• It was only HALF a cup :)
• In my earlier post, I said "there's no going back!" This is still true...I will not go back permanently. This is just an every once in a while occurrence.
  

My half-cup of coffee is good...but not as good as it used to taste to me. (Although my caramel vanilla creamer does make it pretty tasty.) I am over my addiction to coffee, which was my main goal. I still prefer my tea!

Tea Addict

The last time I drank a cup of coffee was Sept. 6. I've been clean of coffee for almost 2 months! It took a good 3 weeks before I stopped craving coffee (actually, it was the decadent creamer mixed with the coffee flavor that I was after). But now that I've switched to tea, there's no going back!

My desk at work is L-shaped. I have two small top drawers on either end of the L. One is for pens, pencils, white-out and the like, and the other...tea! And I'll admit, I've got candy stashed in there too. But when you open the drawer, you just see a bunch of boxes of tea. I like to have different flavors to choose from, because my tea mood changes from day to day. There's Chai tea, green tea with peach, pomegranate white tea, pomegranate green tea, a mixture of miscellaneous teas I grabbed from home, and my favorite - Trader Joe's peach black tea.

Peach black tea is my everyday choice if I'm not in the mood for the others. It's a little sweet on it's own, but not too sweet. The pomegranate teas are very good - and full of antioxidants - but I can't drink them with my almond milk because they're too acidic. (I drink my tea the British way, with some milk - almond milk, that is. I also add some honey.)

I was a little bummed to miss out on the holiday creamer flavors, but I may have a solution to that. Straight black tea with creamer? I'll let you know how that goes in the next couple weeks :)

My Etsy Shop

Most of you know that I live to craft! Well, as my projects have gotten better and more creative, I've wanted to sell the stuff I make. Some friends told me about Etsy (thanks Jen and Amy), so I finally set up my Etsy shop! (If you haven't heard of etsy, like I hadn't until recently, it's like Ebay but only handmade items.)

You can get to my shop at: www.jaymalew.etsy.com. I don't have a lot listed yet, but I've been working hard! And there's lots more to come! I've got oodles of ideas mulling in my mind...I'm gonna have so much fun with this! So check it out now just to see what I'm talking about...and then check back again and again and buy Christmas presents and stuff :) I can custom make anything, so if you see something you like but want it just a little different...colors or paper or embellishments or occasion...just let me know!