Big Changes Around Here (Not pregnant)

I'll keep the suspense to a minimum and just come out and say that I'm gluten intolerant.

I realize this probably isn't interesting to anyone except my mom (love you mom!) but at the very very least maybe I won't have to answer questions of why I've lost weight when I'm in Texas next time:).

I'd been having mostly mild stomach pains for years and years (I don't even know when it started...pre-high school probably) and finally Brent and Amy convinced me to see a professional about it. It's been quite a process and a pretty big change for me and Brent. Brent has been such a trooper! Love him!

I've been doing a lot of research. Mostly trying to find recipes I can eat. I'm on an even stricter diet for the time being (overseen by a nutritionist). I can't eat: processed foods, added sugar, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, nuts (almonds are allowed), corn, citrus fruit, nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant)....so you can see why I'm scouring the internet for recipes. Luckily there are some really delicious recipes out there even with all these restrictions, it just takes time to find them. I'm on these restrictions until I test each food one-by-one to see how my stomach reacts to them. (I've tested gluten and dairy so far)

Most of the recipe blogs I end up reading mention something or other that divert my attention from finding recipes to reading about food and how they effect our bodies. Just thought I'd sharing some of the interesting articles I've come across that have helped educate me a little more (or confuse me a little more:).

The jury's still out for me on a lot of topics although I can say for me I feel better than ever and have noticed improvement in my skin, hair, energy level, and obviously for me my stomach feels so much better. But as far as the research goes there are a lot of different ideas and opinions and even contradicting studies that make it hard to decide what's true. I do know I will need to avoid gluten, though I do cheat for special occasions.

Just saw this one today...
14 Foods You Should Never Eat. A few of these are obvious like McDonald's or diet soda but some might surprise you.

The New York Times article last Sunday about Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food gives an interesting perspective about the produce in our grocery stores. "The United States Department of Agriculture exerts far more effort developing disease-resistant fruits and vegetables than creating new varieties to enhance the disease resistance of consumers."

This one's for my doctor who told me that dairy is the devil. Haha. Dairy: 6 Reasons You Should Avoid It at All Cost or Why Following the USDA Food Pyramid Guidelines is Bad for Your Health.

I particularly enjoyed the authors sense of humor while challenging the age old idea that dairy prevents bone fractures, his encouragement to get calcium from foods other than milk, and this quote about the USDA food pyramid:  

"Some of the "experts" who helped create the pyramid actually work for the dairy industry, which makes the US Department of agriculture's recommendations reflect industry interests, not science or our best interests." 

I love a good conspiracy theory and how hard is it to believe that there are greedy and powerful people out there trying to keep us consuming their product?...milk is tasty though. 

Man, you guys are gonna think I'm such a hippie! Hope all you're tummies are well! Mine's getting there!

Weekend Getaway: Seattle

Brent had a business trip to Seattle so I joined him for the weekend. It worked out well for me because by the time I got there he already knew his way around town and exactly how to get to the best donut shop in town, Top Pot. He has a talent for finding them.

I am not usually a donut person but it was my first time to have sugar in 4 weeks (more on that later). So I ate every sweet I could like it was my last meal. 

SUGGAARRRR!

more SUGGAARRRR! 

couldn't stop myself...

Seattle is a beautiful city and the weather was just perfect, clear and warm. We did tons of walking. Tons! It was easy enough to get to almost everywhere we went by either walking or taking public transportation.

Our weekend in a nutshell:

Friday I arrived in the late afternoon and rode the Sound Transit lightrail to meet Brent downtown. It was clean, safe, and super easy to figure out...much nicer than SF's subway. We walked to our hotel and found a nice restaurant on the water, Daniel's Broiler.

Saturday we ate breakfast at Lola's, walked to Pike Place Market, the Olympic Sculpture Garden, and Kerry Park for an amazing view of the city. Dinner at Crush. 

Didn't get any pics of the sculpture garden but did get this cool art on the wall inside. 

I don't think I'd go back to the Pike Place Market. It was touristy and the things for sale weren't anything we would buy although their flower bouquets and groceries (produce, fish, meats, etc) looked really good. I was glad we experienced it though. 

Sunday we took a ferry to Bainbridge Island and ate sandwiches on the island at Hitchcock's. We didn't find much more that interested us on the island but the ferry ride back to Seattle has a great view of the Seattle skyline. Afterwards we headed over to Ballard, a Seattle neighborhood, walked around, shopped and found some really good BBQ at Bitterroot and dessert at Hot Cakes. 

Beach Mondays

I love my work schedule: part time in an office environment and part time at home with Brent. Sometimes on a warm and sunny Monday, we take a break from work and just enjoy life. It looks a little like this....

....and then back to the grind.

The Happiest Place On Earth

And we're back to LA...

Since we do enjoy LA and Brent LOVES Disneyland, it only made sense that when our good college friends Jared and Chris called on Saturday to see if we wanted to go to Disneyland on Sunday, we hopped in the car and 5 hours later it was a friend reunion. Maybe some nerding out going on. I think Batman was mentioned a few times. Yada yada. 

And back to Disneyland...

The guys enjoyed planning their picture moments. I was just trying to keep my head attached to my neck. Roller coasters aren't the same when you're (almost) thirty. Chris was doing a bit for his tumblr, I'll Sleep On It. 

The couples at the back seem to have the same idea. 

Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth. Lots of smiling that day. 

And laughing with old friends.  

Yes, we watched Captain EO. Michael Jackson and weird monsters...IN 3-D! What's not to like.  

                            

The tiki room was fun. It was the first time for me. Loved the pineapple juice while we waited for the show. 

Our favorite restaurant is Blue Bayou. This is the view you get while you eat as the Pirates of the Caribbean boats float by and the food is delicious. 

Brent and I rode the carousel. We have to hold on to our youth...since we're THIRTY now. Jared and Chris were too cool for school. They had to talk about retirement funds and capital gains I guess. 

The guys enjoy watching robot Abe Lincoln before we go. I DO NOT enjoy it! All I want to do is take a shower and sleep, it does feel good to sit though. 

It was a very happy (Easter) day even considering all the the screaming kids and frustrated parents! I can see why they call it the happiest place on earth. 

Ahhh, 30...

It sounds SO old. 

We had a great time celebrating Brent's 30th birthday. (I'm still in my 20's by the way.) Taking a trip made getting older a little easier to swallow. 

We love driving down to L.A. and Santa Barbara is one of our favorite stops along the way. It's a laid back town with lots of great food and warmer weather than we get in San Francisco with a great beach vibe. And home to one of our favorite Tex-Mex and Italian restaurants (Los Arroyos & Tre Lune. Can you guess which is which?). Since our trips revolve around food, we choose our destinations based on their proximity to good food. We saw Carol Burnett at Tre Lune, bonus.

Our good college friend, Jared, drove up for the day and we got to enjoy the pool and good food together. 

After a couple days in Santa Barbara we continued on our way to L.A. Brent's birthday present was front row seats to the Clippers/Thunder game. 

I had convinced myself that I would be sitting next to a celebrity. They're always at NBA games. I would get a picture with them and maybe share some laughs and small talk. They would ask Brent to brand one of their companies. I thought maybe Eva Longoria or a Kardashian. Didn't happen though....surprised right? We did see a very old Billy Crystal..and the players, that was cool. They're so tall!

Jared joined us for breakfast & dinner. We had a great breakfast at Nickel Diner. This pop tart inspired me to make my own pop tarts. These are on my to do list. 

We didn't take many pictures. Well, Brent took a bizillion pictures of the beach but I'll spare you. That's his thing...taking pics of the beach. Check out his instagram if you don't believe me. 

Dinner was at Mastro's and it was amazing. We still talk about it. Did I mention our trips revolve around food? We are going back in June. It was that good!

Happy 30th Brent!

2013, I like you so far.

Possibly my favorite experience of 2013 thus far was visiting Facebook for the installation of the newest restaurant sign in their ever expanding outdoor food court, Teddy's Nacho Royale. Designed by my favorite graphic designer. I don't have a pic of the complete sign (the "Nacho Royale" part is missing) but will post pics when everything is finished. 

 The sign is humongous! 

And even more impressive when lit up. 

Another sweet surprise was this commercial, airing during the Grammy's, which includes Brent's cityscape illustrations. It's always exciting to see Brent's projects make it out into the real world!   

Christmas 2012

First stop, Houston. 

When we pulled into the driveway Santa and his reindeer were waiting for us to arrive.  I'm sure the neighbors were also glad for us to arrive as it was 2am and the Clark Griswold Christmas lights were probably keeping some people up.

Dad spent all month drawing, painting, cutting, & hanging the perfect Christmas scene to welcome us home. What a sweet Dad! The reindeer even sprung to life Christmas night when a strong cold front came through and knocked one through a window.

Christmas Day with the whole gang.

Cousin Kelley joined us for Christmas this year. It was so fun!

Henry was the highlight of Christmas this year. It was so fun to be with him for his very first Christmas! 

That face could get away with anything!

Next stop, Boerne. 

We had such a great time at Couchman Christmas that we didn't stop to take any pictures except this one with Brent's Grandmother JoJo. Next years Christmas goal is to take more pictures at the Couchman's Christmas! 

In closing, I would like to give myself a pat on the back for reaching my 2012 New Years Resolution of visiting Texas more. We came to Texas 5 (or 6?) times in 2012. I'm not sure if I can match that in 2013 but I sure hope so.