24 hours to go...

In just about 24 hours, we will have a new family member joining us...Winston.  I can't wait!  Tomorrow, our lives will change forever in a good way and the feeling is so good.

Not Winston but a 9-week old Westie (Source)

 Today is day 5 of being gluten-free.  One of the big reasons for going gluten-free were hives that I was getting daily.  Since I've cut gluten from my diet, I've noticed that the hives have slowly disappeared.  I'm shocked at how quickly things have improved.  I'm happy and sad.  Happy because my hives are gone.  Sad because this might mean my thoughts around food may have to change forever.  It'll be interesting to see what happens in 9 days when I eat a big bowl of gluten-filled pasta! :)

Last night, day 4 of gluten-free eating, I had:

Breakfast: same boring breakfast of rice cakes with peanut butter and honey and a yogurt

Lunch: roasted chicken with salad, raspberries, yucky gluten-free crackers (still have a whole box left that I'll have to finish)

Dinner: sauteed chicken breasts (in butter, I know, I know) with sauteed spinach with garlic (in olive oil, a little healthier!)

Tonight, we go out for dinner and I'll do my best to find something on the menu for a gluten-free meal.  I might turn into Sally from the movie When Harry Met Sally and order something on the menu and then turn it into my own creation :)

In other news, my mom is coming for a visit!  I can't wait to see her.

Stay tuned for new photos of Winston - I'm sure before the weekend is over!

Day Two of Being Gluten-Free

So far, so good.  Either I'm doing something wrong or being gluten-free isn't as hard as it appears.  Yes, it takes me longer to grocery shop and it takes a while to think of a menu for the week but that's it!  I kind of actually started over the weekend - making a conscientious effort to avoid wheat and other things I knew contained gluten.  Yesterday was the first official day of two weeks of gluten-free.  One of the driving reasons and purposes for this is to see if the hives that I've been suffering from for the past few months would go away.  While they haven't completely disappeared, they have gone away - there's one or two that pops up and bugs me but for the most part are gone.  Yay!

Day One (yesterday)
Breakfast: two rice cakes with peanut butter and honey, yogurt
Lunch: chicken breast cut up on top of butter lettuce with chopped celery, halved cherry tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese (not sure that’s Gluten-free but oh well), dried cranberries, balsamic dressing and a handful of salt and vinegar chips (gf, of course).
Dinner: curried whole chicken legs with carrots, rice and lime
Snack: popcorn, sliced apple with peanut butter

Day Two (today)
Breakfast: two rice cakes with peanut butter and honey
Lunch: chicken breast cut up on top of butter lettuce with chopped celery, halved cherry tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese (not sure that’s Gluten-free but oh well), balsamic dressing
Dinner: Pad Thai from Eat, Live, Run
Snack: Salt & Vinegar Kettle Chips, sliced apple with peanut butter

I've Fallen In Love with Another...

...A new little puppy.  His name is Winston and he will be nine weeks old when we pick him up this coming Saturday, October 22.  We are thrilled to have him join our family.  Winston is a West Highland White Terrier also known as a Westie.

Fuzzy iPhone photo taken on the day we chose him

Before I met Mark, I created a vision board and on it was a photo of a West Highland White Terrier.  I've always thought they were super cute dogs.  I've wanted a dog for the better part of my life but never had one because when I was younger as a family we traveled extensively for long periods of time and it didn't make sense.  As I got older it was too overwhelming to think about raising a puppy on my own especially as I was on the road often for work.  Putting a Westie on my vision board was important as I knew bringing a dog into my life was a goal.

Shortly after Mark and I met, we were talking about dogs.  I learned that he had a Westie when he was growing up - her name was Dooby (because when she was little, she looked like a little rolled up joint).  When I learned about Dooby, I knew that we had a special connection.  It wasn't until we started to talk about a future with each other that I shared my vision board with him...we were meant to be together (you can roll your eyes, I know that I'm so sappy)!!

We are both so excited to bring this little guy into our life.  I know that he will be spoiled!  And, yes, I'm sure that I'll blog so much about him that you'll soon tire of hearing about him :)

xoxo,

Trying Out Gluten-Free

Starting Monday, I'm trying a new healthy routine.  For two weeks, I'm going to attempt to go completely gluten-free.  For the past few months, I've been struggling with some strange things with my body.  I've gotten hives on a regular basis.  They're terribly itchy and uncomfortable.  In doing some research (because of course, I haven't gone to the doctor for it), I've learned that it could be a symptom of a gluten allergy.

My acupuncturist says that I should go completely gluten-free for two weeks and then enjoy a large piece of wheat bread.  I should know almost immediately if there's a problem.

Mark has been pretty adamant that I'm being ridiculous but he isn't the one who is itchy almost every day.  We finally had a conversation about it and it turns out that he's completely supportive as long as I don't make him go gluten-free! :)

Source

The bad news is that there a LOT of things that have gluten in them. The good news is that there are a LOT of things that don't have gluten in them.  I just have to be VERY careful to read labels.  Luckily, here in Seattle there is a fantastic grocery store introduced to me by a friend called PCC.  They label their gluten-free products with an orange tag, so it makes it easier to identify the GF products.  I think that I'll shop there a lot during the next two weeks!

I think that we'll be eating a lot of meat, potatoes veggies and fruit.  I want to buy myself a blender so I can make a smoothies.  I'll find some tasty GF pasta and make some for me and some for Mark.  I'm hopeful that it won't be too challenging and that the transition is smooth.

My understanding is that I'll crave gluten after a few days of being GF but after a while like anything I'll get over it.

There's a website that I came across that nicely lays out which products are GF, which will help make my life easier: http://www.glutenfreeinfo.com/

Are you gluten-free?  If you have any tips or favorite recipes that you can direct me to, I would really appreciate it.

NaBloPoMo: If Your LIfe Flashed In Front of Your Eyes: What Five Moments from Life Are Included

Even though I'm not participating in the October National Blog Posting Month, I like the prompt for today: If my life flashed before my eyes, what five moments would be included?

1. I don't remember a single thing from it but the moment when I was adopted by my mom and Dad from Thailand - my life would be incredibly different if I weren't adopted.

2.  The day that I received my "doggie" when I was a very little girl.  I've loved my stuffed dog ever since and on occasion I still sleep with him tucked under my arm at night.

3.  Walking up the aisle with my new husband next to me and starting a new life, adventure and journey.

4.  Even though it didn't directly affect me it has had an impact on my life, September 11, 2001 is a day that I will never forget.

5. The day that I got on an airplane on August 4, 2007 and moved myself across the country from DC to San Francisco.  I was on my own and making a major life change.  It was one of the best decisions that I made for myself and I'm so glad that I did.  If I hadn't, I wouldn't be married to Mark and I wouldn't have the amazing and on its way to being very successful PR consulting business.

What are your five moments?

Let It Rain, Let It Rain, Let It Rain!

One of the worst things about Seattle is also the best things about Seattle!  I have the chance to buy some new rain boots!  And, I have the chance to buy a new rain jacket!  (Wow - that's three exclamation points in a row).

I wish I weren't on a budget right now.  If I wasn't, I would run to Burberry and get myself this trench coat.

Source

Those of you in Seattle: is a trench coat realistic?  Or should I just get myself to Patagonia for one of these? 

Source

It's a Lasagna Kind Of Night!

We are slowly getting used to the rainy weather.  I actually don't mind it so much.  It may be because I'm such a homebody that it makes it feel all cozy to me.  I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune come February!

To get into the fall mood, I'm making one of Mark's favorite meals of all: lasagna.  I am going to make a modified version of the one I made him for his birthday.  It'll be delicious nonetheless!

We're getting more and more settled with only a handful of boxes left.  We may leave those packed too since we hope to be out of this apartment sooner rather than later...

This past weekend was the San Francisco Fleet Week Air Show.  I read all about it on my friends' Facebook postings.  It made me a little sad and miss San Francisco.  But, I'm adjusting otherwise.

It helps to have friends and acquaintances already here in our new home town.  On Thursday, I'll have dinner with a colleague and friend from my days of DC.  She's been here for a while now.  I haven't seen her in years and I'm super excited.  We also have dinner plans with one of Mark's college friends on the weekend.

One of my best friends, who lives in Philadelphia, introduced me to one of her friends who is also new to Seattle.  We met for lunch when I was here a few weeks ago and I'm hoping to get a lunch scheduled with her again soon!

I found a dance studio that offers beginning ballet classes.  They have drop in classes, so I'm going to start going once a week.  I took ballet when I was a wee little one and then again a few years ago for a bit.  I can't wait.  I think it'll be tons of fun to go again.  Hopefully, I won't make a fool out of myself :)  And, maybe I'll even meet a nice person or two!

And so getting settled continues...

Learning the Ropes

We've been in Seattle for exactly one week, as of yesterday.  In that short amount of time, I've learned some new rules of the "road"/life here in Seattle:

1) Do not jaywalk - they give out tickets - so I need to learn to be patient and wait for the walk sign to illuminate and I need to find the crosswalk

2) Do not use an umbrella - I guess true Seattleites don't use umbrellas.  I picked up the dry cleaning down the street from us and I used an umbrella.  I don't care.  I'm not going to let the rain ruin my fresh shirts!

3) People are exceptionally friendly on the road here - they slow down and let you merge, they don't honk their horns, they don't drive through yellow/red lights - it is actually quite lovely!

I wonder what else I'll learn in the coming weeks.  So far, so good!!

It's kind of fun to be back in a state where we can experience Autumn and the change of seasons.  I'm loving it!!!

If you live in the Seattle area, are there any really amazing restaurants we should try?!

The Family Jewels

Gene Simmons' Family Jewels season premiere on A&E was last night.  For some odd reason, I love this show.  I've watched every single season - usually on demand.  For those of you who don't watch it, the last season was short and very intense.  But let me back up.

Gene Simmons is the front man for the band KISS and his long time girlfriend Shannon Tweed and their two college-aged kids are the focus of the show.  The two of them have been together for a VERY long time and are not married.  Gene has a history of cheating on Shannon.  In the last season, Shannon realized that she didn't want to put up with this behavior.  In a very raw and intimate look into their lives, we see them all go to family therapy and experience how infidelity can affect a home.  At the very end of the last show, Gene proposes to Shannon.

Source

I don't know why I love this show.  I am not a particular fan of KISS but I love to watch it.  Last night's episode was hard to watch.  Shannon accepted Gene's marriage proposal.  When I first started to watch this show a couple of years ago, I loved their relationship.  I loved how easy the two moved together in a dance of love and marriage (even though they weren't married).  But then the "image" shattered of Gene and their relationship as it was revealed earlier this summer that Gene was cheating on Shannon almost constantly.  Whether his relationships with these other women were purely sexual or just "for company" I can't be for sure but it made me angry at him (which is so dumb because I don't know him, clearly).  I also got mad at her.  How could she tolerate this behavior for so many years?  Why didn't she leave him?  Part of me hopes that it is made up for TV but I don't think it is made up.  I think it is very real.

I know why this show upsets me not.  It's because it makes me uncomfortable.  As a relatively newly married woman, I can't imagine my husband cheating on me but I know that it is possible - just as possible that I could one day cheat on him.  I don't want to think about it.  But, there are times even in our early marriage that I get jealous of a female friend or other friends who are in Mark's life.  It isn't often but occasionally it does happen.  I realize that it happens when there are things going on in my life that are making me feel insecure and/or not as connected to my husband as I usually feel.

It doesn't help that two close friends recently got divorced and another friend is "the other woman."  It upsets me that friends of mine are divorced but I understand and support them.  The friend who is the "other woman" is a friendship that I struggle with and am sadly letting go, quietly.  I can't support her life choice.

Luckily, I can talk with Mark and those feelings of insecurity and jealousy quickly passes.  Marriage is hard work.  It takes time, energy and a commitment to each other to stay connected and remind each other how much we love each other.

I also realize that it is my own emotions that causes the jealousy.  In Shannon Tweed's case, it is clear that it is Gene's fault and not her own insecurities.  I hope never to be in her shoes.  I don't know what I would do especially after a long history of shared love and life that those two have and I don't blame her for not turning her back on him.  It is clear that she truly loves him.  I can see that he loves her but I don't know if he is possible to turn his back on his old ways.  I hope so.

I'll probably continue to watch to the end of the season.  I want to know that there will be a happy ending but I also acknowledge that this is reality TV and a happy ending may not be in the cards.  At least for now, there is a happy ending.  Shannon and Gene were married on October 1.

Do you watch the show?  What would you do?

And, we have Internet...

Mark and I arrived in Seattle three days ago on Wednesday.  On Thursday, the movers arrived.  Yesterday, we unpacked a lot of boxes and went shopping to stock our pantry and to buy new items that one buys for a new home.

This morning, Comcast arrived and we have Internet and TV!!!  So, we're almost 100% back in action.

The first two days in Seattle were beautiful.  The skies were blue, the sun was shining and the feel of Autumn is in the air!

Today, the skies are a little greyer but it is to be expected!

As we get more settled, I'll update again more frequently.  In the meantime, Happy October 1!