Showing posts with label allergies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label allergies. Show all posts

Some updates

>> Monday, December 28, 2009

I have spent a good portion of this morning going through old blogs and putting labels on all the old posts. As BFF lost a piece of information yesterday and had to search through her blog the HARD way because she had done SOME labeling but as many of us do, had not totally labeled her blogs. So she had to go through and find the blog in question. She mentioned that she needs to go through and label her blogs so this doesn't happen again. It made me think, most of my blogs are unlabeled as well. So that is what I have spent probably 2 hours doing this morning. (In between breaking up little fights with the kids, taking care of them, getting coffee, etc. LOL)

I also wrote one update during this, it is the post immediately prior (I suppose following this LOL) to this one about Bug's speech/hearing. I felt it was very pertinent as I read that prior post. I did also post one embedded edit into a prior post, it's one that I felt was better to put as a retrospective edit that looking back that was a powerful day.

But most importantly there were some little things that I jotted down to write about in a new post.

One post I wrote some months back What do you want to do with your life? needs a bit of an update. In it I was excited to move on to learning to do cakes and possibly turn this into something more. I did begin the Wilton courses as you can see from several of my subsequent posts over the following months. I completed courses 1 and 2. I did quite well. I enjoyed it quite a bit. And I discovered that although I enjoy doing it as a hobby and enjoy having the more advanced skills of having taken the classes, I do NOT want it as a career.

I ended up spending SIGNIFICANTLY more money for the classes than anticipated. And although it WAS fun, it was also frustrating. My work schedule made it quite difficult at times to concentrate because I'd end up going straight from work to class. I'd be tired, sometimes aching from scanning groceries all day. I just realized toward the end of the second class it was NOT for me. I did not sign up for class three, and I've had no regrets about it.

I enjoy baking cakes for church, our family, and when asked, for friends. BFF and I still do mostly vegan cakes, it has become our specialty sort of. People at church who are having parties for their children who are NOT vegan and are ordering a big non-vegan cake and are inviting us and any vegan guests will ask us to do a smaller cake for BFF's children (due to the allergies, not because we are vegan. Most store cakes involve a LOT of soy) and any vegan's in attendance.

Another factor in that post was why I did NOT want to go back into the medical field. The fact is, the more I think about the more I realized how much I miss it. I really enjoyed being an EMT, and I really wanted to go on and be a Paramedic. So I am now planning to go back. I really WANT to go back this spring, but for personal and financial reasons I don't think it's going to happen. But hopefully by summer the financial side will be worked out, as well as the personal.

Another thing I wanted to update on... In this post: So much to update on I had said I wanted to be more minimalist. NOT that I wanted to get rid of everything, or be one of those people with only 100 personal possessions. Just that I wanted to purchase less, be more cautious about WHAT I purchased so that I could purchase NICER things, etc. Well, I have been trying to do that to an extent. Although I am still sticking for the most part to my rules about shopping (most items on sale, etc.). But due to my weight loss, I've had to buy a LOT of clothes lately, especially pants. I've actually been able to get BACK into some pants I haven't been able to wear in YEARS, so that is great. But the fact is, the time has come for a purge. I have GOT to go through the closet, the drawers, etc. Sort out what fits, what doesn't, and what has no hope of ever fitting. Some of my things that don't fit, BFF will fit now or soon. (I'm only a size or 2 smaller than her and we've both been losing weight). But there are distinct body differences between us, so some things will NEVER fit her. Those things need to go.

I need to do this same purge with the girls toys. I have multiple boxes of toys and animals in the garage that they haven't played with in MONTHS. MOST of them can be sold. They have plenty of toys inside. Most of the toys in the boxes in the garage they have "aged" out of anyway, since they are primarily rated for 18-24 months!! So, I think that in the near future I will be doing a MASSIVE toy purge. Fortunately I do have a great twin club that I can sell many of the toys to.

I am in the process of setting some goals for 2010. I will make a separate post for them, one that will post on January 1st. So yes, you will have to wait!! LOL I don't believe in setting resolutions for the year. I don't like them, I think that it sets me up for disappointment. I prefer to have goals. Because I do not feel as much sense of failure or disappointment in myself if I do not succeed. I know to most people it is a matter of semantics. But it matters to me.

So what sort of goals can you expect to see on my list?? No, I won't be totally mean and make you wait. What you will NOT see is "I will lose 20 pounds" or "I will work out 2 hours every day" or anything like that. I have in mind some spiritual goals, some physical/fitness goals, educational goals, employment goals, financial goals, and parenting goals. None are set in stone, none are make it or break it, none will make me feel like a failure if by December 31, 2010 I have NOT completed them. A goal is just a guideline, something to aim for. I will NOT tie my self esteem or self worth to it!

I will try to blog a bit in the next few days if time permits, otherwise, look for my 2010 Goals on January 1, 2010!!! :)


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No creative title to this Blog.

>> Friday, November 27, 2009

Sorry I haven't had a chance to update more lately. It's been a long and tiring week. My manager had me on regular cash registers Sunday through Wednesday, because it was going to be so busy. And it was busy, and it wore me out. And BFF and I stayed pretty busy each evening.

Thanksgiving was a great day. We cooked an awesome dinner:
22 lb Turkey
Gravy
Dressing
Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Yeast Rolls
Green Beans
Spinach
Cranberry Sauce
Pumpkin Crunch
Pecan Pie

It was ALL made totally from scratch due to the food allergen issues in our home.

Today I was VERY grateful to stay away from the sales. I had to work, and was back to the Service Desk, but it was quickly dubbed the day that "if it could go wrong it WOULD go wrong." Within the first two hours the lottery machine went down, the coinstar machine broke down, it was discovered that certain sales were not ringing up properly in the registers, several gift cards purchased had not been activated yet the customers had been charged for them. We didn't have a regular manager today, it was a department manager who doesn't really know how to handle front end problems... And it continued like this all day long. I was SO glad to walk away from the store today!

I'm looking forward to church tomorrow, hoping for a quiet and peaceful service. A nice down day at home with my family. And maybe some quiet time to myself when the girls take a nap. Maybe I'll work on some of my Bible studies tomorrow.

I hope you all have a Blessed Sabbath. :)

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Cookies, Candy, and Vitamins

>> Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Got your attention???

Today I stopped by Job B to pick up some food for our "picnic" lunch. Fruit and cheese. BFF's DS3 had asked for a treat. He has allergies... LOTS of allergies. The biggest are: milk, soy, nuts of all kinds, Red 40. These are the MAIN things I have to label read for, for his sake. And it can be TOUGH to find a treat that doesn't contain these. I was willing to forgo the HFCS and hydrogenated oils for this, just to get him something.

Well I took a walk down cookie row. I figured I'd have better luck with some kind of cookie than candy. Regular stuff? All out. Hydrogenated SOYBEAN oil all over the place. Organic?? NOPE, still has soy or milk. Started looking at shortbread like cookies, most had butter, which is MILK. *sigh* Would I EVER find something he could eat??? I picked up a pack of Lu Cinnamon Sugar Spice Cookies. Mmmmmmmm... Sounds good. I looked, fearing the worst. Guess what? NO milk, NO soy, NO nuts, NO dyes!!!! I couldn't fallen on the floor.

My next stop was checkout. I am SUCH a sucker for Skor Bars. The delicious toffee and chocolate... mmmmm. So I grabbed it, took a quick gander at the ingredients thinking, "I probably should NOT be eating this, I'm SURE it has a hydrogenated oil or HFCS." To my surprise, AGAIN, it didn't have EITHER!!! So I have found a candy, that I LOVE, that is still on the safe list as of today!!! LOL.

Among our many stops today we needed to pick up some supplements for BFF's DS3. Since he can't have milk, he needs extra calcium, and for other reasons, extra Vitamin C. He also takes Acidopholus (I can't spell today, i'll fix this later). At our fave store, Target, we began perusing the vitamin aisle. Now, all her DS's already take a daily multi-vitamin, which INCREDIBLY enough, lacks ALL DS3's allergens. So she was HOPING to find a gummy style chewable calcium and vitamin C for him. After much looking we found it, a gummy style Calcium and vitamin C's that lack the allergens. IN A MAINSTREAM STORE!!!! OMW!!! So I gotta give a shout out to the company that makes "Lil Critters" vitamins. How AWESOME is it that this company takes care of the kids (and adults) with allergies like DS3? And he says they taste good too! :)

As for the Acidophilus. BFF read the ingredients list for the A I take. It's a capsule, too big for DS3 to take, but it was a place to start. Sure enough, LACKS the allergens!!! We mix it into something such as applesauce for him. So another shout out to Origins brand at Target for again being a great company committed to producing a product that allergy prone person's can safely take.

BFF's DS and my own desire to lead a healthier, hopefully thinner, life have really taken me down a path. I strive to KNOW what's in my food, most importantly, I strive to know that what I am eating DOESN'T contain things that are unhealthy or unsafe for myself or the people I am with. I would go TOTALLY milk, soy, and nut free for this incredible little boy. I already am striving to stay away from red 40.

READ THE LABELS, know what you are eating. There's an old adage out there about not eating your food unless you can pronounce EVERY SINGLE ingredient in the list. I urge you to follow this! Also, know the HIDDEN names for things. Soy and Milk have so many names.

****UPDATE****

BFF found the link to these vitamins by Lil Critters!!! Gummy Vitamins Among the interesting things she has learned, I HAD to share this ONE:
Q. Are L'il Critters product bottles recyclable?

A. Yes. We use only #1 and #2 recyclable bottles and they are BPA Free.


I <3 them!!!! OMW!!! Good, allergen free vitamins and supplements, in recyclable bottles, that are ALSO BPA FREE??? I LOVE THEM!!!!! :) :) My DD's will be taking these vitamins!

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