My Low-Fodmap Life

There's an aspect of my life that I haven't shared much about on this blog: IBS.  I've often thought about sharing my story, but have never quite gotten to that point.  In short, about eight years ago, I became really sick with a parasite, and even after using a couple rounds of antibiotics and going through a few natural cleanses, I was still having problems.  So my road of testing began, and we were able to solve a smaller problem, but still didn't have an explanation for my stomach pains and bowel patterns.  After a series of tests, some very uncomfortable and humiliating, the results were in. Nothing.  However, with my set of symptoms, I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a functional bowel disorder where nothing appears to be wrong with the bowels, but they don't function properly.  As a result, the patient often experiences abdominal cramping, constipation and/or diarrhea, gas, bloating, etc.

Well, there seemed to be ways to at least control symptoms, and the mantra my doctor gave me was "fibre, water, exercise" as well as managing stress. And so I tried a high-fibre diet, eating All-Bran, Fibre 1, multigrain bread products, adding inulin to my drinks, etc.  Also, yogurt and probiotic supplements were recommended.  I also tried using an antispasmodic drug for a while.  So I tried different things. However, as much as I was pushed to have a big bowl of fibre cereal every morning, I kept telling my doctor that milk in the morning made me feel queasy.  Eventually this led to the question of lactose intolerance, and about a year after my initial testings, I was confirmed somewhat lactose-intolerant.  Now I was diving into experimenting with expensive dairy free milks and lactase enzymes.

In short, after some time, I learned to manage my condition, and when I didn't feel good, I could usually trace it to something I ate.  Then about two years ago, it all started to go downhill.  This happened after a rather stressful time in my life, and I confess I prayed suffering upon myself.  Soon, no matter what I ate it seemed, almost every afternoon I was plagued with pains in my stomach, back, and got bad gas.  After awhile, this sent me back to a doctor's office to see if anything else was going on.  Tests related to my digestive tract were clear and I was back to assessing my diet.

While working with a dietician, I learned about the Low-Fodmap diet, a diet developed in Australia, with credible research behind it. About 70-80% of individuals that suffer from IBS experience improvement.  The basic theory behind the diet is that there are certain groups of carbohydrates that don't digest and then create a lot of water and gas in the digestive tract, causing pain, bloating, discomfort, gas, etc.  In order to go through the diet, you cut out all five carb groups (fructose, lactose, fructans, galactans, and polyols) for about 6-8 weeks, until you see improvement, and then add each group in individually to see which foods cause symptoms.  So it means a time commitment of several months to follow through with the elimination process.  The research and success rate did make me consider it, but the lists of foods to avoid were outrageous.  I tried finding recipes for this diet, and most of them contained unfamiliar ingredients, would have been expensive, or just didn't look like food I would eat.  Many other books on IBS recommended high fibre recipes including lots of beans or carciferous vegetables; not good when they really cause gas issues.  Besides all this, in a home down to three people, I would have to make most of my own food, which hardly made sense.

So, I left it on the shelf.  But since my husband and I started dating last year, my health became a frequent topic of discussion, and often caused inconvenience.  After we were married, I tried a few different elimination diets, including gluten and dairy.  This seemed to provide some relief.  But I was still daunted by the Low-Fodmap experiment.  However, my husband was supportive and willing to go through it with me.  A trip to El Paso was also necessary to get ingredients, due to lack of availability of certain products in Mexico.

To give readers unfamiliar with the diet an idea of what I was up against, here is a brief list of foods that were off the menu, or could only be eaten in limited amounts.

• apples, pears, peaches, plums, mangos, guayaba, blackberries, apricots, watermelon, dried fruits
• honey, fructose syrups
• milk products like milk, cottage cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc (unless lactose free)
• beans
• wheat based bread, pasta, crackers, baked goods
• garlic and onions (the green part of green onions was allowed, as well as garlic/onion infused oils)
• barley, rye, regular oats
• avocados, mushrooms, asparagus, cauliflower, celery, cabbage, beets, peas, corn
• almonds, cashews, pistachios
• chocolate

Giving up gluten especially was hard.  Cooking without garlic and onion.  Being limited as to which fruits and vegetables I could eat.  Having to read labels on pretty much any packaged food.  It was daunting.

So I spent a lot of time preparing, researching, gathering recipes, and becoming a Pinterest addict.  And we began our endeavour. We started the process in early January and we're still going at it.  We have a couple weeks of the process left, after which I will start eating more foods I can tolerate, but still be careful for a few months while I experiment with others I'm still unsure about.  Although some dairy is allowed in this diet, for most of it, I have been very low dairy/dairy free.  I have also done a natural cleanse, taken probiotics, bone broth, sauerkraut, other supplements, etc. It has been a lot to keep up with.  Also, I cook all my own broth, make my own salad dressings, ketchup (which we actually like better than Heinz), and my own sausage.

When people hear about all this stuff I can't have, they wonder what we actually eat.  Well, I have been able to adapt and cook really good meals.  I cook more with raw herbs and spices and use fruit/citrus flavours.  There are things that are still harder.  There are foods I miss terribly.  But we have managed.  At home, it's not too bad.  The challenge becomes greater when we go out somewhere to eat.  But here are some examples of the great food we do enjoy.

Breakfasts generally consist of some sort of potato and egg combination, heuvos rancheros, veggie omelettes, baked oatmeal, gluten free pancakes, or simply fruit, cereal, or smoothies.

This orange french toast on homemade gluten free bread was a real treat.

Lunch is generally our biggest meal, and I've discovered some great new recipes and played with some different flavours.  Chinese five spice and fresh ginger is what makes this an awesome beef ginger stir fry.

Sometimes a little modification is all that's necessary to make a dish that you normally enjoy. Such is the case with this Hawaiian chicken and Herbed Basmati Rice.

This Cincinnati Chili included a unique blend of spices and is served on gluten free pasta.

Homemade Jamaican jerk seasoning and warm sauteed pineapple totally puts a new favourite kick on chicken fajitas.

Orange marmalade isn't just for toast. Sometimes it's for Spicy Orange Glazed Pork Chops too, with a rice and veggie pilaf.

Comfort food can be had too, and we enjoyed a classic Shepherd's Pie with a salad and homemade ranch.

And sometimes, you just need some gluten-free chocolate pudding cake! :)

In addition to this, we also eat lots of salads (although we avoided raw veggies for awhile), and eat lots of soups to get cooked veggies for easier digestion.

I must say, I am looking forward to being done with this process. It hasn't been easy to stick out, and without my husband, I think I would have caved numerous times.  It hasn't brought as much relief as we had hoped for, but slowly we're working through what's okay, what's not, and what we're still not sure about.  We've had to work with the challenge of getting enough fibre without eating wheat.  Right now, it looks like I may have to stay low-gluten or gluten-free, although we're not entirely sure yet. That is one really sad possibility for me. There is definitely a wealth of fantastic gluten-free recipes out there, and although I have succeeded in baking a few fairly good breads, it still doesn't measure up to wheat. And in times when I get super frustrated about what I can't eat, I have to be thankful for what I can still eat, remember that I'm not alone, and know there's more to life than food.

What Did I Do?: This and That

I'm taking some time to write a real quick update on the last week. I'm really busy right now with lots of things going on and a to-do list more than a page long. So I'm keeping things simple.

April 9: On Thursday, I tried a plain butter tart at work, which I determined isn't quite my preference. It didn't have pecans in it; only a little bit of coconut. And although the syrupy filling is good, that much at once is a little too much. Then I dumped popcorn all over the floor, when I tried to pour it from a big 50lb bag into a bucket. The bag was almost empty, so it should have been easy. But no, not for me. I found myself laughing as I looked at my mess of popcorn all over the floor. When I got home, I found out what bicoastal meant: "of or relating to or living or working on both the east and west coasts of the United States." I don't think I will ever afford to be bicoastal.

April 10: April 10 is National Sibling Day. I rely on Facebook to inform me of days like this. I only found this out after I noticed a number of friends posting pictures of themselves with their siblings. I didn't know there was such a thing.

April 11: A friend told me about Worldometers, a site that provides real time data on a ton of different facts. A lot of those numbers change way faster than I can keep up with. I picked something random out of all of them. When I checked on April 11, over $164 million had been spent on video games so far on just that day. That baffles me, that this world collectively spends hundreds of millions of dollars on just video games in a single day.

April 12: At a book study with a group of believers, I got to try some monkey bread, and was also offered a double salted "dropee", which I said I had to try. You may have seen my video earlier this year of eating a regular Dutch salted black licorice, but this was a double salted variety. I can't describe how horrible. I would maybe eat one of the regular coins again, but I think that was my first and last time eating a double salted. I looked down at the coffee left in my mug, and sadly knew it would not suffice to wash the awfulness down. But I survived.

April 13: On Monday, I discovered how depressing of an endeavour redecorating can be, especially finding bedding for a twin bed that had an adult design and matches the other colours I have to work with in my room. I walked from store to store and was unsuccessful in finding something satisfying, And then I got hungry. So I drove out to Farm Boy, a newer market in London to check that place out and get some supper. I really like the store, where I was able to find coconut milk to add to coffee. They sell a lot of healthy/organic/alternative foods. Definitely a good place to go if you have a food allergy or intolerance. I did find their regular groceries more expensive though. But, their fresh bakery bagels are the closest thing in Canada I've had to New York bagels!

Figuring what to eat for supper was hard with the amount of options available. Eventually I settled on a southwest chicken wrap (which had real chicken in it, not processed!), a roasted pepper bowtie salad and a chicken samosa. I'd heard/read/seen something about samosas before. It's kind of like a fried stuffed dumpling. I don't know how else to describe it, but it was good.

April 14: On Tuesday, I tried a new Minestrone Soup recipe. I have a recipe I like, but it doesn't have any tomato in it, like most minestrones. This one was a combination of veggies, including tomatoes, herbs, beans, and pasta in a chicken broth, and I was quite pleased with the outcome. It was kind of a combination between the minestrone I usually make, and a Vegetable, Bean, and Spinach soup I really like.

April 15: As I've been trying to make my health a bigger focus this year, I've been exercising a little more frequently when life and schedule allows, and I'm looking for some new things to try. And I think I have found something that will be a little more manageable and effective. On Wednesday I tried a 12 Minute Leg Devastation workout. I made it through, although I wasn't able to do all the exercises quite properly. I now know what a duck walk is. I'm looking forward to trying more of these kinds of workouts, and seeing some results!

What Did I Do?: The Deep End

Well, it was a good week. Having some extra time off, I took the opportunity to catch up with friends, be social, have fun, etc. However, I was also happy when I had the chance to have a few quieter days to slow down and stay at home more.

March 26: On Thursday night I had dinner with a friend, and we tried The Open Kitchen. Although they had a $12 steak special that was very tempting, I knew there was no way I was going to eat a 14 ounce steak. So I opted for a California Chicken Salad. Yeah, there was no way I was going to eat all of this at once either!

It reminded me of the salads I would get at a restaurant in Staten Island, except there they would have twice as much chicken on them. People may wonder why I would order just a salad when I eat out, but salad veggies and lean protein is usually a tummy friendly option for me. This one had romaine lettuce, spinach, cucumber, strawberries, candied pecans, dried cranberries and goat cheese. This was my first try at goat cheese. It's softer than I like most of my cheeses and has a more sour taste, so it's not a new favourite. Although I want to brave blue cheese yet and try goat milk. I've tried  many milk alternatives (rice, soy, almond, and coconut), but not any other animal sourced alternatives.

From there, we went to a prayer meeting with a small group of believers I hadn't met, and it was a blessing to meet with them. It was here I also heard about antinomianism. I'm not one to delve deeply into theology and although I'm familiar with some ideas, this was new. According to the dictionary, an antinomian is "one who holds that under the gospel dispensation of grace the moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation." I would be interested in learning more about this idea, even if I don't agree with it.

March 27: Friday was a see what happens kind of day where I didn't really plan anything. I was reading a local magazine publication and learned a little about DMQ (Difference Making Quotient), but I never did figure out how you measure a person's DMQ. I tried a Salted Caramel timbit, which was tasty. I set out to explore some different educational options I had found out about in the previous 24 hours, ways that I could grow in my administrative and writing skills, or take Bible school type courses, without making a big commitment. I was definitely very interested in The Silo Project and hope that later this year I can work through some of their courses.

I also learned that in Hawaii, after the Pearl Harbour invasion, the state was concerned about another Japanese invasion and what would happen if the Japanese stole cash and used it to fund their war effort. So the state recalled all the bills, with small allowances, and printed new ones, so that if money was stolen, people could see it came from Hawaii. Not knowing what to do with the $200 million recalled, and it being too expensive to ship the bills to the mainland, they burned them.

March 28: Tom Ryan was the culinary scientist who invented the McDonald's McGriddle, stuffed crust pizza for Pizza Hut, and a lot of other fast foods.

March 29: Sunday was a bit of an emotional day for me. It was a day of God bringing together the things I was thinking and praying about in the previous few days and revealed to me a purpose. I don't know yet what it will look like and exactly what He has in store, but it could get exciting.

I also had another friend catch-up day. After bowling, which we discovered goes way too fast with just two people, we pondered what to do while we got hungry enough to have dinner. We set out to find the Jumbo monument, which I hadn't seen since I was a kid, knowing the general part of town. From there I followed signs and winding roads to see what Historic St. Thomas was all about, which reminded me of Staten Island. This exploring came in very useful the next day when I tried to get from one part of town to a place I had never been, with a few directions, an address and a general idea of where to go. After letting our appetites build, we settled on Bella Jack's which I had often wanted to try. The first unique item on the menu that caught my eye was a shrimp and pineapple quesadilla. I like shrimp, and I like Hawaiian pizza, but pineapple in a quesadilla? It was good, although they could have filled it a little more. All in all, a good afternoon catching up on life, which is what really mattered.

March 30: I swam in the deep end! We kept it simple the first time, and I learned that once you cross that black line, it really does drop off far and I was hanging onto the wall to keep my head above water. I just swam across the pool on my back, without strokes, just to get used to it. My instructor stayed beside me, to make sure I didn't drown in case I panicked, but I actually remained quite calm and made it without any problems. Keep your chin back, stay calm, and keep kicking! I also made some significant improvements on my whip kick. The hardest part has been keeping my feet out, since I keep wanting to have ballerina toes or something. Thankfully I'm not a kid or my instructor would make me walk around the deck like a penguin!

In the afternoon, I got a hair cut, and in addition to enjoying my bouncy curls again, I also got my hairdresser to wax my eyebrows for the first time! I have eyebrows that tend to want to take up more of my face than I like, and I was quite pleased with the end result! I didn't get as many tears as I expected. I mostly giggled. I don't know which is worse for the person having to do it!

March 31: You know when you kind of know the meaning of something, or have an idea, but not really? Yep, Anne Shirley felt "unregenerate" around Mrs. Lynde and that set me searching. Also, the word "contrite" came up at Bible study, so I now have a decent understanding of that. How often do we read stuff in our Bibles and miss lots because we just don't understand the meaning of a word?

April 1: And sometimes I like to know where days on our calendars or traditions associated with days came from. You know what else this means??!!!! I'm a quarter way through my year!!! I think there will be a great sense of relief when this year is over, but also a sense of satisfaction to look back and see what I accomplished.

Anyhow, to my point! And this is no joke! It's April 1st. The first association between foolishness and the date is found in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Other references and dates go back  to the 1500s and 1600s. During the Middle Ages in Europe, people celebrated New Year's Day on March 25, and others over a long-weekend ending on April 1. There is also an April fish tradition (poissons d'avril) that French-speaking people have of trying to attach a paper fish to a person's back unnoticed. Hmm, this gives me ideas!

And, it's now sinking in that a quarter of this year is indeed done and it has gone by fast. But I'm looking forward to what's ahead. :)

What Did I Do?: Overalls and Authentic German Cooking

This week started off a little low-key, then got a little more interesting. I started mostly with my cheater approaches: online articles and the dictionary. I hope I can move away from this more again, and actually do some stuff worth talking about. Something I have been challenging myself with is limiting distractions in my life. One of my approaches the past week has been to leave the music off. Music is great, but I find that when I'm always listening to music, or looking for this or that song on Youtube, I get hardly anything done. And I need to stop surrounding myself with noise all the time.

March 19: Since I had put making Jaegerschnitzel on my list awhile back, and planning to try it soon, I explored many recipes, and also learned about how to make Spaetzle, and found out what a potato ricer was. I also learned that thumbing the touch screen on your smart phone changes the way your brain responds to touch. There's an intriguing article about that here. It's crazy how technology affects us.

March 20: Scientists in Australia have figured out a way to use ultrasound technology to restore memory loss in mice. It could be used in a few years to treat Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's develops as a result of lesions--neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques--building up on the brain.

March 21: I learned about the various benefits of coconut oil, and thanks to Anne of Green Gables, I now know the meaning of the words vim, implicit, impeach, and veracity. And you're probably thinking, is she ever going to finish that book? All in good time. :)

March 22: Sunday one of my coworkers saved me a ton of efforts by informing me that James Watts invented the steam engine. Except I thought I had heard John Watts. Good thing I verified the information when I got home. Steam engines were first used in commercial enterprises in 1776.

March 23: Monday was a very interesting day for me. It consisted of various activities, lots of driving, and lots of waiting. I started my morning at the pool. I didn't really learn anything new this week, but just kept practicing things I've been working on. However, I did venture deeper into the pool. Although not ready for the deep end yet, my instructor had me go in up to my shoulders. Although I have waded into water this deep before not knowing how to swim, there was something scary about actually swimming in it, taking my feet off the bottom. And in my mind I was singing, and the the words seemed to take on a whole new level of meaning.

"You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find you in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand." --"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong United

From there I headed to The Pita Shack for some lunch. Although initially disappointed that they didn't warm or toast the pita, it was actually excellent. Hours later, I found myself near the downtown core of a city, that as it turns out can be a little uncomfortable to be in. I parked in the parking lot of a convenience store, where I got myself my mid-afternoon coffee and a pack of Cadbury Mini Eggs. This way I could justify parking as a customer while on the premises, instead of putting change in a parking meter. As I waited and enjoyed my afternoon snack, I observed my surroundings and the various people. I looked in the rearview mirror to see a guy vomit in front of Pizza Pizza. My eyes followed an animated young woman with a shopping cart, full of various items and bags. The real curiosity though was a bundle of wrapping paper rolls attached to the cart, which she showed off to many passing by. She later got some assistance from a man to make some modifications to this bundle, and soon he was busy with a roll of electrical tape, utility knife and other items I was unable to recognize. I never could figure out exactly what they were trying to do. And then there was the man parked a few spaces away from me in a black SUV, wearing big black shades, with his window rolled down, having a smoke. And he was watching something. Or for something. Or someone. At times I got a little unnerved, thinking he was watching me. Well, of course, I was watching him too...with locked doors. And then I saw the moment something switched, he took off and sped across the intersection, dodged a cyclist as if he had somewhere real important to go really fast, only to pull into the laneway right across the intersection, and later across the street. I never did figure that one out either, but "drug deal" certainly did cross my mind more than once. It was way too much like a movie! And as I watched these people with seemingly broken lives, I couldn't help but admire those who have the courage to walk into them, build relationships, and show them hope.

Then I went to the mall and shopped for a couple hours, which was all I could handle after my already eventful and slightly draining day. I walked into Urban Planet, not expecting to find much I would be seriously interested in. I saw some denim overalls, which seem to be fashionable again. I never would have thunk. I entertained the thought for a moment, then walked away. But my mind kept going back to those overalls. And I thought, Why not? Might as well take time to have a little fun. I grabbed a pair from the rack and headed for the dressing room. The straps were difficult to adjust and they fit rather awkwardly. I was wearing one of my many MDS T-shirts, my favourite everyday go-to item in my closet. And I thought, if I ever go back to a project to work on the job site, I might just have to get a pair of these for kicks.

And I went home later and looked up the word "epoch", but wasn't about to find out what all the unfamiliar words meant that I came across while reading Anne of Green Gables during my afternoon out.

March 24: Sometimes I just need to pretend I'm a pro chef. On Tuesday I attempted an authentic German meal, with help from my mom. I made Jaegerschnitzel, or German Hunter Schnitzel, and Spaetzle, which is a boiled dumpling. I considered finding a noodle to cook instead of Spaetzle, but after finding out how it's made, I had a real hankering to try it. Also, having had Spaetzle in Germany, I really wanted to try this.

I used a recipe I found online for the schnitzel, which was a bit of a task. Most recipes either called for packaged gravy mix or the sauce was mostly cream based. I wanted to make my own sauce if I was going to do this. So I used pork loin chops, and we discovered the secret to an awesome breading on schnitzel that fries really nice. I made the gravy out of beef broth, wine, flour and cream, which then had fried onions and mushrooms added to it. This was poured over the schnitzel and then sprinkled with fried bacon. The Spaetzle was an interesting endeavor. I didn't have a Spaetzle maker or a proper potato ricer, so I tried using a colander. Spaetzle is made from a simple dough made of milk, eggs, and flour. The dough is then ideally pressed through a Spaetzle maker, directly into a pot of boiling water. Once it's cooked, you toss them with melted butter, although I used bacon fat I had left over. To serve, I also spooned jaeger sauce onto it.

On a whole, it was good, and pork schnitzel like this has me spoiled. However, I have learned that I way overcalculate mushrooms when I buy them, and could have done with a fraction of what I bought. The gravy didn't thicken well, which was disappointing. I think if I make this again, I will try a different gravy recipe, or eliminate the wine and thicken it a little more. I'm a little undecided as to how much I liked the wine flavour in it. And it made a whole lot more gravy than necessary. Also, I discovered making Spaetzle using a colander does not really work, and dropping the dough into a pot with a spoon isn't great either.

But in the end, it was a good experience and I tried something new and unique.

March 25: I made dessert! Shocking, eh? I usually keep a good supply of frozen fruit in the freezer, especially berries, to use in yogurt and smoothies. I never would have thought that I would go crazy over sales at the grocery store, but with frozen fruit I often will. I saw a recipe on the back of one of the bags for a Berry Buckle and I thought it sounded yummy. Especially when I read you were supposed to serve it with ice cream. So this morning, being at a loss and tired of the cheater solutions, I ventured into the kitchen, even though we didn't need more dessert things.

This cake does take a good hour to bake, and I was hesitant even taking it out because, although the recipe said it would be moist and instructed not to overbake it, I was afraid the centre would be dough and berry juice. However, I let it rest awhile, served myself a nice warm slice with frozen yogurt, and poured a cup of Earl Grey, and it was delicious. Definitely did not disappoint!

In the afternoon, I tried some new exercises as part of my workout. One was an inchworm exercise. I didn't get very far before I fell on the ground laughing until I almost had tears. Gotta have fun!

Random note: I saw my first robin this year on the first day of spring. It's coming!!! :)

What Did I Do?: Shawarma and What I Have Wondered About the Irish

It's been a quiet week, and I've been able to keep up my resolution, weakly. Fighting a cold for three weeks means I don't have energy to get ambitious. So I've been trying to learn things more through what comes up or finding online articles.

March 12: While reading in the books of Acts, something caught my attention. I was reading about Paul being shipwrecked on the island of Malta, and the writer mentions Publius, referring to him as "the chief man" on the island who owned a lot of the land. Publius offered his hospitality for a few days. His father was sick with dysentery, and Paul healed him and Publius was converted. That made me ask who Publius was. Luke had basically said that this guy was the "head honcho" around there and that he owned a lot of the land. So who exactly was he? My research led me to learn that he was the governor, and was later honoured as the first Bishop of Malta. He's also considered a patron saint. Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church observe a feast in his honour. I was a little conflicted by some of this, not sure what to make of it.

I have determined that if I looked up all the unfamiliar words I read in Anne of Green Gables, I would probably greatly expand my vocabulary. I learned that a manse was the "the house, owned by a congregation, of an esp. Presbyterian or United Church minister".

March 13: I learned about the Cross Bones Cemetery in England. Beginning in the 1100s, it was an unconsecrated burial ground for prostitutes, and also became the final resting place of countless others, not deemed worthy of a burial anywhere else, the poor, and the destitute. It has since become a memorial. This is a painful reminder of how society makes distinctions between people and makes unjust judgments about what others are worthy of.

March 14: On Saturday, I learned a few different random things. Something stuck out to me in the morning while reading in Romans.

"For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." --Romans 10:2-4

I had never understood it this way before. People that establish their own righteousness, living by a set of rules, do not understand the righteousness of God, the righteousness that comes from faith.

I also learned about some common things that happen in Dubai, one of the world's richest cities, that would seem downright crazy to many of us. Wild cats ride in the front seats of cars with people as their pets. They have ATMs that give you gold and extra wide Jeeps that look like two smushed together. Camels are tied up in parking lots, much like horses with buggies are in my hometown. There are ice cafes in the desert that serve hot drinks. Yep, it's an interesting world.

March 14 was also Pi Day, to celebrate the mathematical constant pi. It was designated in 2009. I didn't know we needed a day to celebrate pi. Why can't we celebrate pie instead?

March 15: On Sunday I tried shawarma at Laziz in London. Shawarma is a meat stacked and roasted on a rotating spit, and is then served with other toppings and condiments in a pita. I've had gyros and other pita wraps before, but never shawarma. I was disappointed that cheese does not belong on shawarma. Nevertheless, I got my chicken shawarma topped with hummus, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, pickled turnip, tabouli and tzatziki sauce, all wrapped up in a pita. I had never had turnips before, and pickled turnips are definitely not my thing. Tabouli is interesting. It's a salad made of bulgar wheat, chopped parsley, onions, tomatoes, garlic, etc. That added a refreshing element. All in all, shawarma is pretty good, but it's not my new favourite. We had fun exploring the Middle Eastern store and butcher shop, looking at the different kinds of cultural food items. At least now I know where I can definitely find tahini if I want to make my own hummus. 

March 16: Thomas Edison was a thief! And he almost seemed proud of it! I couldn't believe it. He ended up bankrupting George Melies, the first master filmmaker, after he stole and pirated his film A Trip to the Moon. The filmmaker stopped making films by 1914 because of lack of money.

March 17: In honour of St. Patrick's Day, I set out to learn relevant Irish information. Saint Patrick was abducted as a teenager and sold into slavery in another country. There he adopted his parents' faith while enslaved, but eventually ran away and journeyed back to his home country. Here he became a priest. He then willingly returned to the country where he was enslaved and served the poor. It's sad that the way the day is celebrated is so far removed from how it all started.

But, what I really wanted to know was where the line "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" came from and how it came to be on countless T-shirts. This was an observation I made a number of years ago when I went to the Embro Highland Games and wondered what the point was. Why do you want people to kiss you just because your're Irish? Well, it turns out the phrase came from the Blarney Stone. Kissing the Blarney Stone in Blarney Castle was believed to bring good luck and make a person a smooth talker. But if you couldn't kiss the Blarney Stone, the next best thing or chance at good luck was to kiss an Irish person.

March 18: This past fall I began using oregano oil to boost my immune system, since I'm prone to get colds and coughs on about a monthly basis from the fall into spring. This winter I was determined I was not going through that cycle again and I wanted to strengthen my immune system. Oregano oil is expensive, but I was able to make a 10mL bottle last about 5 months. Aside from a few days or a week here or there where I felt a little under the weather, it did the job until just a few weeks ago. I had recently bought another bottle, 30mL of a different brand this time, which cost me less than the first bottle I bought. But I noticed immediately it didn't have the same strength as the first. Oregano oil has a very strong taste, and I found I could tolerate more with the second bottle. That's because I discovered it was diluted with olive oil. But what I really wondered about was how it said it contained minimum 80% carvacrol. I finally wanted to know what this stuff was, and whether this was further compromising the strength of the oil. 

It turns out carvacrol is a monoterpenoid phenol (whatever that is) found in the essential oils of oregano, thyme, pepperwort, wild bergamot, marjoram and savory. It prevents the growth of different types of bacteria. So it's not that my oregano oil is diluted with a completely different substance, but I'm still going back to a more expensive brand once this bottle is gone.

I also got to try Reid Chocolates. I really like chocolate, but fancy chocolate like this was  real treat.

What Did I Do?: Masks, Funnel Cake, and Whip Kicks

Well, I'm feeling the hurt of lack of creativity, but I'm trying and learning new things nonetheless.

March 5: Last Wednesday, I saw an interesting snippet in the local newspaper, but it didn't occur to me that it was something new. The next day, I pulled that snippet out of a newspaper and got it drilled in my mind. According to The Aylmer Express, "Daylight Savings Time was originally instituted during the First Great War as a way to save energy in Europe, U.S.A. and Canada. It was cancelled at the end of the war but reinstituted during the Second Great War." I did not know that. I know that I don't mind falling back, but springing forward is a little more difficult to adjust to.

March 6: Although I'm not really into a whole lot of beauty stuff, what do I do on a day I feel under the weather? Pamper myself, of course! So I attempted the facial mask. I had researched some different recipes, many of which seemed pretty straightforward. I found some interesting ones, like the one that used ground coffee and cocoa, but I couldn't justify wasting a 1/4 cup of expensive Hershey's cocoa on my face. Another one that intrigued me was one for acne-prone/acne-scarred skin, which called for a pureed onion. But then it occurred to me that putting pureed onion on my face could become an emotional ordeal. In the end, I settled for grinding up some oatmeal in my Bullet, adding some honey and water. It smelled good. And I confess, I ate some before putting it on my face.

The facial is supposed to tighten your skin, and my skin definitely felt tight with oatmeal drying on it! I won't post pictures of that, because I don't look so good with breakfast on my face. But while I was waiting for 15-20 minutes, I sang this simple song, which has been on my mind a lot lately, and seemed fitting for the occasion.

"I have so many masks to cover up and hide."

Washing all the oatmeal off was a bit tedious, and I found myself thinking "I don't think I'm going to do it this again." But afterwards when I saw and felt how nice my face was, I wasn't so sure anymore. Who knows?

March 7: After my shift at work Saturday, I fried myself a funnel cake. I had never had a funnel cake before, and although we unfortunately didn't have ice cream or berry sauce or any other kind of yummyness to put on it, we did have whipped cream. Oodles of sweet, fatty goodness!

March 8: On Sunday, I saw a video about how to use a seam sipper in a way I didn't know. Not that I sew. In truth, the thought of sewing terrifies me. I would do just about any household chore before trying to sew. But if I do try, the seam ripper has to be handy.

Then I also read an article from which I learned some new things, although it also left me somewhat disturbed and disgusted. In 1951, doctors could take tissue samples from patients and use them for research without the patient's permission. And so, one woman's cells were mass reproduced and sold for research and other medical and scientific discoveries. I had very mixed feelings about the situation, especially when something is taken from a person and turned into a multibillion-dollar industry without their knowledge.

March 9: In my swim class, I tried learning the whip kick. By this I mean there was a whole lot of kicking going on, but I wasn't going much of anywhere. I can almost guarantee people that if they were in a pool with me during one of my lessons, the two phrases they would hear out of my mouth most often would be "I hate this!" and "I can't do this!" Thankfully, I'm not ready to give up. I enjoy it, even when I'm frustrated, can't figure something out, or just don't have the strength and endurance. I do sometimes wonder what people think of me when they see my talking to myself, trying to talk myself through what I'm supposed to do, or should have done before sinking below the surface again. However, I did have a great conversation with the lifeguard afterward, just encouraging each other in our faith, and swimming has been one thing I'm so glad I'm learning.

March 10: Since I would like to learn how to knit and crochet, an article about the history of knitting caught my attention on Knowledge Nuts. It turns out, men used to knit professionally while women weren't allowed. There were guilds that men could get into but it was about as difficult to become a professional knitter as becoming a blacksmith. Only in the Victorian Era did knitting become a hobby dominated by women.

March 11: On Wednesday morning, I was reading in the book of Acts, and in Acts 22, the word "tribune" caught my attention. It occurred to me I didn't know what a tribune was. I held that thought and kept reading, becoming aware of the number of times the words "tribune" or "tribunal" came up. Then I headed to my computer for some research, and I learned more than I initially anticipated.

According to Dictionary.com, one of the definitions of "tribune" is as follows:

" 1. a person who upholds or defends the rights of the people
2. Roman History
a. any of various administrative officers, especially one of 10 officers elected to protect the interests and rights of the plebeians from the patricians
b. any of the six officers of a legion who rotated in commanding the legion during the year."

Between the dictionary and Wikipedia, I learned a number of things. Plebeians were the common body of free Roman citizens, while patricians were the ruling class of ancient Rome. A tribunal was a raised platform where officials would take their seats.

Going back to the text with this knowledge, a lot more made sense now. When the centurion was going to flog Paul in Acts 22:22-30, he called the tribune. It was the tribune's job to intervene on Paul's behalf, a common Roman citizen. This also explains why, when Paul's nephew comes to Paul in the barracks to tell him about the ambush planned against him in Acts 23, Paul asks the centurion to take his nephew to the tribune to speak to him. This tribune was Claudius Lysias. Lysias actually comes on the scene already in Acts 21, but it didn't occur to me then to ask what a tribune was.

There were also military tribunes as mentioned in Acts 25:23. And although I'm not exactly sure what he meant, Paul says he's standing before Caesar's tribunal in Acts 25:10. So I don't know what everything means, but what I learned does give me a better understanding of what's going on in these chapters. I also learned that the barracks referenced in Acts 21-23 when connected to Lysias's cohort, refers to the Tower of Antonia, which was rebuilt by Herod. This tower was located on the northwest side of the temple in Jerusalem.

Isn't it funny how often I can read something over and over again and never really know what it means? Sometimes it's just because I'm too lazy to put the effort into finding out. But I'm glad I'm taking the time this year to put in the effort.

What Did I Do?: Engagement Rings!

I took it really easy this week, and although I didn't learn or do much of anything really excited, my mind has been more than occupied. I have been reminded this week that I am so not in control of my life and every day is a blank page. A lot of what is going to be written on those pages will depend on whether or not I am willing to yield to God's calling, whether it's at home where I am or somewhere else.

February 26: On Thursday night, I had dinner with a friend, and since way too many people seemed to want the $11.95 steak dinner in one restaurant, we hopped over to Crabby Joe's instead of waiting 15 minutes for a table. There I enjoyed a Peppercorn Chicken BLT Sandwich and a bowl of Wicked Thai Soup. A soup with the word "wicked" in it is going to get my attention. It was a creamy, spicy rose soup with chicken, rice, mushrooms and veggies. Good, but a small portion at once is plenty. Too much is certainly not good for my IBS tummy.

February 27: On Friday, my eye caught an intriguing link to a site where you could find out what the #1 hit song was on the day you were born. I don't know who keeps track of this stuff for all those years, but apparently on my birthday, the #1 hit was "Black or White" by Michael Jackson. This led me to learn some more interesting things. I won't share the video here, because, well, it's a Michael Jackson video.

February 28: Earlier in the week, my eye caught an article on Knowledge Nuts about the history of engagement rings. Not that this would be something that would intrigue a young woman like me or anything! Of course I wanted to know! But I must say it was rather disappointing. It's pretty much just so big companies can make big money. Since medieval times, when a man promised to marry a woman, it was a legally binding contract. If a man broke off the engagement, his fiancee could sue him. The law, in this way, provided some insurance to the woman, who would have a more difficult time marrying if she was previously engaged. Beginning in the 1930s in America, states began to do away with this "breach of promise to marry" law, and DeBeers saw the opportunity to market an engagement ring! This way the suitor had to make an investment to get engaged and it provided an "insurance" to the woman that the law no longer did. If the man broke off the engagement, the woman still had the ring. Now though, a woman is expected to return the ring if an engagement is broken off. Although engagement rings have some earlier history, it seems the real reason they became common was to make money.

This was really disappointing. I was expecting something much more romantic. However, I admit, I still want a man down on one knee to put a shiny, diamond ring on my hand some day as I say "Yes" to being his wife.

March 1: So, about this resolution of mine. Some days I forget about it, then I remember, then I forget about it again, and then all of a sudden I remember again. Sunday was such a day. So late in the evening, I was flipping through a dictionary again.

"cassoulet: a stew of beans with pork, mutton, and either duck or goose"

Done. I can go to sleep now.

March 2: On Monday, I dragged myself to the pool, but it turned out to be a better lesson than I had anticipated. I can swim on my back, but this week, my instructor taught me strokes, so now I can do an actual back crawl. Although it felt really crazy at first, I learned much quicker than I had anticipated. I wish it was all that easy. The front crawl has been my thorn. Last week I almost drowned myself working on it. It would be so much easier if I didn't have to turn my head out of the water to breathe and then keep swimming.

March 3: Snow stormy days make for a good excuse to bake, right? Naw, I don't need an excuse to bake. I just bake! So I made carrot brownies. No, they don't have any chocolate in them. It was more like carrots, orange juice and oatmeal. Kind of like a carrot cake, but a different flavour. I got a little carried away making the glaze. Without thinking, I dumped a bunch of milk in my icing sugar at once. So it was really runny and clumpy. How does one fix this? Just add more icing sugar! So, with the help of a whisk, I got a smooth glaze, although much more than necessary.  But what am I going to do with leftover glaze? However, as I looked at the edges nearly drowning, with only a little left in my bowl, I said, "I think I better stop now."

March 4: Wednesday I learned something strange. Some crazy guy by the name of James Moran sat on an ostrich egg in 1947 for 19 days and successfully made it hatch. He did all kinds of crazy stunts, and people paid him to do it. He was a publicity agent, which made me ask, "What's a publicity agent?" Well, publicity agents help draw attention to people, products, events, etc., and I guess James Moran was the guy to do it.

Furthermore, I researched recipes for facial masks, which is something I want to try. You'll get to read about that next week!

What Did I Do?: Raw Sushi!

I'm finally back! I got a new laptop, had a busy weekend, and now I'm hoping to finally be able to reorganize and catch up on things. It was a hard week. If humiliation could kill me on the spot, I would have been done last week. I am thankful for grace, even when I lose sight of it and try to keep my head above the water myself.  A bit more on that later, but first, what did I do?

February 12: On Thursday, my whole morning started bizarre. I stole (I mean, ahem, picked up) a shield from somebody's car that had gotten stuck under my car and was dragging along the road, which made me stop on a busy city road to get out and dislodge it. Yeah, that's a mouthful. I also had a Coffee Culture craving for some time, which I don't indulge easily because it's a little more pricey. But I needed to try something new, so I got a Chocolate Chai Latte and a Spinach & Feta Twister. Two lattes and said pastry cost me a whopping $14. It was good, but certainly overpriced. I came home only to discover my laptop seemed like it had finally died. It lasted five and a half years and had given me fair warning that it was in its last days, so I had most of my important files backed up. Even so, such things are an inconvenience. And I learned, never splurge on unnecessary things because I think I'll be okay financially. Always be prepared for the unexpected.

February 13: Working at an arena, I serve a ton of fries with those little wooden fry forks. One of the condiments we put out is malt vinegar. I don't get what the deal is with malt vinegar, or why people want it on their fries. I couldn't recall ever having put even white vinegar on my fries. So, in a little time to breathe, I threw in some extra fries for me and ate fries topped with malt vinegar and a little fry fork.

Rest assured, I don't serve such epic proportions of food to my customers. I merely wanted a taste, lest I shouldn't like it. But I found it rather enjoyable. Then I took the rest of the fries and turned it into a poutine. I don't easily crave it, but did it ever hit the spot. And then my craving was satisfied for some time.

February 14: On busy days, I take it pretty easy. After having some awesome sweet potato wedges and ribs for dinner, I had a "double date" on Valentine's Day. Translation: I took my nephews to a hockey game and they loved it. I'm not sure I've had sweet potato fries or wedges before, but these were certainly the best ones I've had.

Also, just to fluff my day, I pulled out a dictionary. Yay for printed dictionaries when the computer is down.

curare: a resinous bitter substance prepared from certain S American plants, paralyzing the motor nerves, formerly used to poison arrows by Aboriginals of S America, and as a muscle relaxant in surgery

February 15: Sunday was definitely the highlight of my week! I heard a faculty member from Heritage College & Seminary, had a shift a work, and then had a special sushi outing for dinner. I had a Japanese teacher one year in grade school, and she introduced us to a California roll kind of sushi, so I had had sushi like that before. But one thing on my list this year was to try raw sushi. I had never been so excited to eat raw meat!

Of course, I had to take pictures for my readers. I started off with some sort of crab sushi.

This is a spicy salmon roll.

This, I believe, was the spicy dragon roll. This was one of my favourites. The orange sprinkles are fish eggs. They added some texture. So now I've had raw fish AND fish eggs.

A yummy fried tempura shrimp. It was so good I just kept eating. Then I noticed something crunchy.... Don't eat the tail!

I had some of whatever this is too.

This here was as hardcore as I was able to go: a slice of raw salmon on top of rice. I had two little bites of one piece and I was done. I determined I am not ready to brave sushimi, which is just a piece of raw fish.

I even braved a teensy tiny bit of green wasabi.

Fiddled with chopsticks and dropped one of the floor. Had a mango salad, which was good aside from the fact that the mangos were green.

I tried green tea ice cream for dessert and finished with a cream puff and some cheesecake. All that was missing was the coffee.

February 16: pareve: "(of food) being or containing neither meat nor dairy and so kosher for use with either, according to the dietary laws (includes fruit, vegetables, fish, etc.)"

Pareve is an adjective pertaining to Judaism, but does anyone else find that definition confusing?

February 17: I made Garlic Bubble Loaves on Tuesday to go with a pasta casserole for lunch. It was one of the funnest breads I have made. You shape the dough into little balls, and then roll them in melted butter mixed with garlic powder and parsley flakes, then place them in loaf pans. It was super fluffy.

Carbs are supposed to make up the largest part of my diet, right?

February 18: And finally, I was reading Anne of Green Gables on Wednesday, where Anne talks about a piece of poetry that she likes, or rather two lines in particular.

"Quick as the slaughtered squadrons fell
In Midian's evil day."

Anne doesn't know what 'squadrons' means, and it occurred to me that I didn't either, although I had a slight idea. So I looked it up.

"squadron n
1. a principal division of an armoured or cavalry regiment consisting of two or more troops.
2. the basic administrative unit of an air force, usu. consisting of two or more flights.
3. a formal unit in a navy consisting of a number of ships.
4. often jocular an organized body of people or things."


Now, back to one of my thoughts from the beginning. In the midst of a slightly crazy week, this song was on my mind a lot last week. I go to music a lot when I'm down. This is probably my favourite song so far from For King & Country.

"My help comes from You
You're right here, pulling me through
You carry my weakness, my sickness, my brokenness all on Your shoulders
Your shoulders
My help comes from You
You are my rest, my rescue
I don't have to see to believe that You're lifting me up on Your shoulders
Your shoulders" --"Shoulders" by For King & Country

What Did I Do?: New Desk, Snow Head, and The Message

I've had a busy and eventful week. I feel like I've accomplished some things. This post is late because Thursday I found myself without a functional laptop, and then I had a really busy weekend. I'm hoping to get a new laptop this week, but I can't promise my next post will be on time. So my updates may go back a little ways.

February 5: I tried my first bottle of Vitamin Water. I'm not a fan of flavoured water, but this is a little different. I chose the lemonade flavour, which is the most popular flavour where I work. It was pretty good. I'm getting a good dose of vitamins in liquid form for my body to be able to absorb easily. It had a pretty good flavour, but that is because there's also 32 grams of sugar in a bottle. So...you're being healthy, but only kind of.

February 6: On Friday, I finally decided to get rid of the old office desk I was using and buy a new one. The desk I have been working on for the last year in a half was in really sad shape. I had to clean my room and office, and I figured getting rid of the old desk was a good start. One less thing to clean, right? So I took all of it apart, and took all the wood out to the garage. Then I headed to the store in search for the desk I had seen advertised in their flyer. It took awhile. There was one in stock and it was in a trailer, so I decided to buy the product without actually seeing it. As the employee loaded it into my car (the box just barely fitting into my back seat), I asked about how heavy it was. He gave me an estimate of about 60 pounds, maybe more. My next thought is, how am I going to get this big, awkward, heavy box into the house and up the stairs to my office? The box was a LOT heavier than 60 pounds, and after getting it into the house with help, I unpacked it on the kitchen floor and carried the pieces up to my office.

Late that afternoon, I began the task of figuring out all the pieces and getting the frame together. Anyone who has seen me try to use tools and do physical work that requires thinking of this sort would understand the significance of this. Luckily, all I needed for tools were two screw drivers and a hammer. I really wanted to finish it Friday night, but after 10pm and still quite a ways to go, I decided it was best to call it a night if I wanted to function the next day. And when I did that, I realized I had done something wrong with the drawer I had started assembling. Well, for my first time trying to put together a desk, I figured I was doing all right.

I finished it the next night, after working for a couple more hours and getting the drawers put together right. I must say I felt rather proud of myself. I could follow instructions after all...for the most part!

February 7: Aside from finishing my desk, I consulted Knowledge Nuts once again to learn something new. I learned that during the prohibition, the U.S. government ordered manufacturers to put poisons into alcohols, especially those commonly used to distill into other drinks. An estimated 10,000 people died from it and thousands more became seriously ill. That's bad. Just saying.

February 8: Sunday afternoon, I ventured outside into the cold and freezing rain intending to build my first upside down snowman. My determination wasn't as strong as I thought. I'm a wimp when it comes to cold. But hey, "Do you want to build a snowman?"

Well, I couldn't get the snow to pack together enough to build a body. And it was cold, and windy, and icy. So it ended up being a photo shoot with a snow head. Hmm.

"Strawberry lips, shining in the summer sun." It's more than just a song. Oh wait, it's winter.

Does anybody else look at these pictures and want to scream "Wilson!"

And anybody who thought perhaps I was crazy but wasn't quite sure is a little less doubtful now! There are days I'm amazed I don't die laughing at myself.

Oh, and I learned what a pangolin is, although I only learned how to spell it now while writing this. Looking at a picture of the animal, it reminds me of an armadillo. The meat is considered a delicacy in Vietnam and China and the pangolin can only be found in six zoos around the world.

February 9: Monday I braved icy conditions to go to my swim class again. The technique my instructor was determined to get me to master was learning to swim on my back, roll over to a front crawl, roll onto my back to breathe, and roll back to a front crawl. That was not the end goal of this exercise. I think I have to wait until my next lesson to get there.

In the evening, I enjoyed going to visit some friends for dinner and had Brazilian Cheese Buns. These are a unique, gluten free bun, with a nice cheesy flavour. They complimented the tasty soup well.

February 10: On Tuesday morning, I put aside my religiosity and read The Message for my devotions. My response to this is very lengthy and I shared it on Wednesday in my article "You're NOT Hopeless (Despite What The Message May Suggest)". I encourage you to read it if you haven't already done so.

I also had the opportunity on Tuesday to read Fifty Shades of Loved edited by Rachel Starr Thomson. It's a good, quick read that points to a true Love, as opposed to this world's counterfeits. One of the writers shared something that gave me a good laugh and I think it describes the mindset of a lot of single young women.

"I am in distress at all times and in a myriad of ways--I'm broke, I'm lonely, I'm fat, I'm hungry, I can't carry all the groceries, I can't lift my sofa to retrieve my remote, etc.--and I have been waiting for Mr. Save-My-Life to sweep me off my feet, solve all my problems, and make me feel good about myself. I try to put myself out there and let him know where I am and what I am doing based on my iPhone locator. When is that dude on FB I've been creepin' on going to get the hint from my damsel-in-distress status updates?" --Fifty Shades of Loved

Yep, that pretty much sums it up!

February 11: I tried a new recipe for Oatmeal Drop Cookies. They had quick oats, oat bran, raisins and walnuts. They're okay, but not on the definitely-have-to-make-these-again list.

Random note: Now I get excited when I see other people learning something new, or even aspiring to learn new things.

What Did I Do?: Tears, Hormones, and Hair Treatment

It's been another rather low-key week, picking out small things I learned or did differently through the course of my days, although I've had some other thoughts brewing. I'm excited to be registered for the Justice Conference this year in Chicago! I'm looking forward to my mini summer vacation and hearing some awesome speakers and artists. That trip will make for a lot of new things to share.  But for now, what about last week? I've got one month down now!

January 29: I tried brushing my teeth with baking soda. I can be rather picky about my toothpaste when I can afford to be and like to avoid fluoride. Since I was out of good toothpaste, I thought I'd try an alternative I already had. Although I like the idea, it would be hard for me to always brush with baking soda. Aside from it being distasteful, I found it was harsh on my gums. I may keep trying it occasionally, or I'll just find good toothpaste again.

January 30: After a long day, I found this intriguing article again on Knowledge Nuts entitled "The Different Types of Tears".  That's right! There are different kinds of tears for the different things that make you cry! Emotional tears flush out stress hormones, while reflex tears caused by irritants contain antibodies. Tears also have an effect on hormones. The smell of a woman's tears reduces testosterone levels in men. This fact reminded me of the time years ago when I learned that the smell of a man's sweat affects a woman's hormones. Crazy stuff!

January 31: When you don't have a funnel at work, use a slushie cup lid! I can't take credit for this idea because it wasn't mine, but it definitely helped me get more mustard in the bottle, than down the sides, like my initial attempt.

February 1: Sunday morning in church, a footnote in my Bible grabbed my attention. It explained that when LORD was spelled in all capital letters in my Bible, it means YHWH. This was according to a footnote pertaining to Exodus 3:15. I have so often wondered why LORD was often capitalized and had speculations, but never actually knew what it meant. Now I know. I also did a little further research later on and found out that YHWH is the most holy name for God. Jews even hesitate to use it because it is so holy.

February 2: Monday morning, my swim class was cancelled due to a winter storm, and so I ventured to try my hair treatment. I've wanted to try this for years, but never had, and I recently picked up the Bulk Herb Store treatment mix from a local retailer. It's an herbal mix that is to be combined with vinegar or lemon juice, eggs, and olive oil or mayonnaise. It's supposed to repair damage, make hair soft and shiny, and bring out natural highlights. You can use vinegar for red highlights, or lemon juice for blonde highlights. Since I haven't cut my hair since June, it was seriously in need of some help. I naturally have curly, frizzy, crunchy hair that is hard to manage and make it look good, especially without styling products.

I like the idea of red highlights, and although I have a little dark red tinge in my hair, I wanted more. My plan was to do the treatment with apple cider vinegar, although I can't stand the smell of it. But I hadn't gotten to buying some, and I really wanted to try the treatment Monday. I had lots of lemon juice though and I resigned to the idea of going for blonde highlights. In the end, I just wasn't sure I was ready for that and I settled for just using white vinegar instead.

If you ever decide to do a treatment like this, I will warn you: IT STINKS!! The smell of the herbs and vinegar mixture is certainly not tantalizing and it looks like manure. I was on my own to get it in my hair and it was interesting to figure out just how to do that and get it evenly in there. Unfortunately I don't think I had the mixture hot enough, and it dried pretty fast. By the time I was done, I was reminded of a "Little House on the Prairie" episode of what Nellie and Laura looked like when they were done fighting in the mud. That was me. And there were crumbs of mud-like gunk all over the bathroom floor and vanity. I wrapped around plastic bags and a warm towel and waited about an hour before rinsing it out, after which I had to rinse dirt out of the shower. I waited several hours and shampooed it before going to work to get the olive oil out. The smell didn't come out after shampooing it, but by the next day I didn't notice it, much to my relief.

In the end, I didn't get the highlights I was hoping for, although I do have more red shine than I did before. My ends could still handle a trim. Most people wouldn't notice a difference, unless they have been secretly studying my awful hair.  However, it is now incredibly soft, which I love! That crunchy feeling is no more. I haven't tried leaving it down yet and let it dry without product, but I love how soft it is on its own. People may not notice that though, and I can't walk around asking everybody "Ya wanna feel my hair?!!" Well, I could. But that could be weird. I still have enough herb mix for a couple more treatments, so next time I think I'll try the lemon juice and see if I can go brighter.

February 3: I tried a new recipe again. Anyone notice how I really like to bake? This time it was Oatmeal Raisin muffins. They turned out well, but not as great as the ones I baked last week.

February 4: I learned that the goblin shark is the world's rarest shark, according to this Yahoo article. However, I don't believe all the claims they make about this rare deep-water shark.

And I'm embarking on reading the entire Anne of Green Gables series this year, and I started the first couple chapters Tuesday night. It turns out the fiery Anne Shirley has some good insight that's relevant to my goal this year.

"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?" --Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

What Did I Do?: Kitchen Experiments

Four weeks down! This past week was pretty low-key, and I'm not sure what happened to my plan to use categories to add variety. This was definitely primarily a food week.

January 22: I have a confession to make: I really like baking bread. It makes me feel "housewifey." And fresh-baked bread both smells and tastes amazing. I started my week by making a braided challah. I have made a New Year's Apple Challah, before, which was good, but not a braided bread.  The Taste of Home Baking Book I got the recipe from also had great illustrated instructions on how to braid bread. I followed the instructions. I started in the middle, brought the left rope under the centre, and the right rope under the new centre. I braided half of it, then I was supposed to turn it around and braid the rest. Except when I did that, I stood there totally confused for the longest time. What I had been doing no longer worked. Finally I figured out that when you turned it around, you had to bring the outside ropes over the centre. The instructions didn't tell me that part! (Can you tell I don't braid my hair?)

The hardest part of making challah is actually not the braiding part; for me, it's trying to get my ropes an even length and even thickness throughout. I was not successful at this, and you can tell. By the time I did the second loaf, it looked a little bit better.

Can you tell which one I made first?

The amount of sugar in the dough and the egg wash made the loaves brown really quick in the oven, but they weren't too dark. And yes, my afternoon consisted of enjoying a cup of coffee and fresh bread and butter. I used a couple of slices to make a sandwich for work, but as I packed it up I really wanted to eat it right away. I didn't.

January 23: I read the last verse of each book of the Bible. It was actually more difficult to take away something meaningful than it was by reading the first verse. Something I noticed though was how Paul and some of the other writers often focused on the grace of Jesus in their closing greetings.

January 24: Tired, almost forgot I had to learn something new, and was happy when my eye caught a link to an informative article on facebook pertaining to the health benefits of turmeric. I had known that turmeric fought cancer, but I didn't know some of the other things I learned. It heals cells and makes them more resistant, as well as kills cancer cells. It can heal inflammation and skin diseases. It can prevent and cure diabetes. Turmeric improves concentration and memory. It is also as effective as Prozac in treating depression symptoms. Turmeric has other benefits as well, but those are a handful.

January 25: Sunday, wanting to relax, I made a cup of hot chocolate out of peppermint tea. I had noticed recently that McDonald's had a peppermint hot chocolate, and although I haven't tried it, I wondered one day if I could make something similar by adding hot chocolate mix to a cup of peppermint tea. Honestly, I didn't expect it to taste good, but I wanted to know how it tasted. To my surprise, it was actually quite tasty. It had a good chocolate flavour with a subtle minty taste to it. However, I did find the aftertaste rather unpleasant.

January 26: In swim class, I was able to increase my distance on my back, and also do relatively well with my initial steps of the front crawl. I also went to knowledgenuts.com and found out that there is a common misconception that immigration officers changed the names of people coming into the U.S. through Ellis Island. I didn't know such a misconception existed. Although names changed, it didn't happen at Ellis Island.

January 27: Tuesday morning was a pretty intense recipe experiment day. I tried two new recipes, with some modifications. I made a Winter Vegetable Soup. It called for parsnips, and I had never had parsnip before. I didn't really know what these big beige carrot-like vegetables were. I learned while making it that they were parsley roots. They smell the part. Anyhow, I also noticed the recipe said to put the soup in the blender once it's done. I don't think pureed soups are very appealing, but I thought I would try it. Anyhow, I put the carrots, celery, onion, and parsnips in the pot with broth, some seasoning and a bay leaf for good measure, brought it to a boil, let it simmer and dumped it in the blender. End result: orange baby food with fresh dill added to it. Or that's what it looked like anyway.

I also baked chicken breasts in foil with olive oil, salt and pepper, lemon juice, dill and green onion, a modification of another recipe, and ended the meal with some challah. That was the really good part. The chicken is debatable, but I'm definitely not making the soup again.

January 28: Wednesday's recipe experiment was a little safer and a lot more successful. I took a Blueberry Orange Bread recipe and made it into muffins. Although not your typical combination for a muffin or bread, I thought it still sounded good. The recipe advised to begin draining the blueberries well in advance if using frozen blueberries, so I did this. Anyone who has worked with frozen blueberries may know that once they're fully thawed, you're pretty much left with shriveled mush and purple juice. Well, I mixed my batter, then added my soggy blueberries, leaving the juice behind. Some of you will know where this is going. I ended up with a purple marbled batter. I should have remembered my last purple fruit salad.

Nevertheless, the muffins turned out beautifully! They're half whole wheat, with orange juice and zest, and blueberries. They're nice and fluffy and it's real hard to just eat one at a time. Who cares that they're purple?

 

It may be hard to believe sometimes, but I do know how to cook. I really do.

In closing, I want to leave you with some words that blessed me from a Passion talk this week.

"It's not a process; it's finished. God's not doing away with sin; He did away with sin. God's not in the process of taking away our shame; He annihilated our shame." -- Louie Giglio