Projects, projects, projects...

I will hopefully be posting pictures soon of projects I am working on and will be completing! Here is a list of things I am currently working on:

-3 dinosaur hats

-4 tractor hats

-baby quilt (for my nephew/niece) with a monkey on it. I'm super excited about this and am going to by sister-in-law's tonight to work on it with her!!!

-soon to be working on: baby quilt for my baby niece with a ladybug theme

-a twin-sized quilt for my 8 year old niece, Alyssa, which is almost completed

-Crochet baptism blanket (and possible dress)

-Quilt for myself

-And about 20 nursing covers/hooter hiders!

**This pic is a sneak-peak of the fabric I'm using for some of my hooter-hiders!

So what the heck am I even eating?

A lot of people say to me, "so basically you eat air then" when I tell them what I am allergic to. There are quite a lot of things I actually CAN eat! Here is a yummy recipe (remember the 1 pound of Cruciferous Veggies A DAY that I need to eat?) for a Gluten/Dairy-free Coleslaw:

http://www.wholeliving.com/132454/sweet-and-spicy-coleslaw

*I did not include the jalapeno nor the apple which would make it spicy. I wanted the salad to last several days as I was doubling the recipe. I ate it one night with shrimp, another with salmon, another with chicken...and it always tasted good!

**19.5 days of being "allergen-free". Praise the Lord!!!

***This is a shout out to all my friends at the Young Adults group in Fresno...you know who you are!! :). After being busy or gone for the last 2 months, trying to get a hold on what I CAN eat, etc, I haven't been able to go but once. It was SO AMAZING to see all of you last night, to worship, laugh, and talk.

~2 whole weeks!~

It has been 2 whole weeks and 2 days of being "allergen-free" and let me tell you...it has not been easy. However; I feel a lot better. Whenever I feel a moment of weakness coming on, I just tell myself, "this is a new way of life - not a diet - this is something I'm choosing to do so that I feel better and can better glorify God." And it helps.

This is the longest I've gone "allergen-free" and I'm so thankful! I just take 'one day at a time' as the ol' saying goes and regularly pray for God's courage to get me through. Hopefully, one day soon, it won't be such a struggle and it will come as second nature to me; because (as I'm sure you all know) changing things in life are always hard at first but having good discipline always pays off in the end. The verse, Philippians 4:13, is one that I have been clinging to, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Something that has been super helpful is the full version Serenity Prayer:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. --Reinhold Niebuhr

~The Great and Mighty Juno~

My 6th month old puppy, Juno, was finally able to get back home with me on Sunday after being at my parents house for a month and a half. She was too big to fit through my "doggy-door" and I wasn't finished building my fence (with the help of some buff guys I know) for her. After playing with Juno in my backyard I knew she needed to burn off some energy.

"Let's go for a bike-ride," I said to Juno. Off I go to get my bike out of the barn, pump up the tires while Juno is getting excited right on the other side of the fence. I grab the leash, open the gate, clip Juno onto the leash and we walk through a small field to a dirt road. My neighbor, Kara, was also by the barn and was giving her two boys a ride on their pony.

Kara hollers, "have fun on your bike ride!"

"I'm sure we will!" I respond back.

So off we go. Once we reach the dirt road I get on my bike and starting pedaling at a slow speed. I make sure to train Juno to stay on the right side of my bike while the leash is on and she definitely learned fast! "You are such a smart girl!" I say to Juno.

We turn the corner by the edge of the field and Juno does even good with that. There are not as many distractions now and Juno was doing so well so I gain speed, saying, "Let's Go, Juno...come on!" We are going at top speed for about thirty seconds when all of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I see Juno take off into the field. Its too late...I can't react in time. As I'm yelling, "Noooooo....Juuuuunnnnnnoooooo" (in slow motion for effect), my right hand which is holding the leash and the handle bar yanks to the side, jolting my bike along with it. I somehow managed to let go of it all as my body flew forward, hitting the hard dirt ground with a thud. I roll over, sit up and am greeted my Juno who is sitting right next to me and licking my face.

I begin laughing. I look up to try to see if Kara and her boys are watching me but I can't tell. I laugh even harder imagining that they are probably laughing while wondering if I was okay.

So I slowly stand up, stand my bike up, grab the leash and hop back on as I'm thinking, "you've got to get right back on the horse". This time I keep the slow speed. Juno did great...even better than before!

Once I got back home, I walked over to my neighbors and as she was sitting on the couch with a friend I asked, "Did you just see me eat loads of crap on my bike?" She just started busting up laughing while trying to say, "no." So I explained what happened.

So...now that I know what not to do, I'm gonna let you know what to do when training a dog to run with you while on a leash for the first time:

1.) Make sure he/she is fully used to the leash.

2.) While riding a bike, I recommend not using a leash that can expand in length - that way they know they can't go very far.

3.) Stay at a slow pace the whole bike ride for the first time.

4.) I recommend biking gloves (which I had on, thankfully), so if you do happen to fall...you won't get as scraped up.

The END

Sidenote: It has been 9 full days of being "allergen-free"! Woo hoo!

ROAAAAAAAR!!!

Does anyone like Dinosaur's? Well, my nephew does and so for his birthday I made him a little Dinosaur hat. I gave it to him right after he took a nap so you can see he gave me the "eye" when I was taking a picture of him. But it didn't take him very long to be running around, "roar-ing" and I was later told that evening he wore it (yes, even in the house) for a huge chunk of the rest of the day.

I got the pattern from: "Baby Bird Patterns" on Etsy while I was in the checkout getting another pattern from her. As I started crocheting, I made

many changes due to personal preferences. However, I love the spikes and they are not flimsy...they stay up!

1.) My nephew has a large (and may I say a darn cute) head, so I had to change the pattern and make it MUCH longer than what the original pattern called for. I also made one extra row of expanding the width of the hat.

2.) I prefer not to have ear-flaps on hats I make, which is another reason why I made hat longer.

3.) Because I didn't make ear-flaps, I also didn't make the "teeth".

4.) As I was sewing the spikes on top, I was explaining to some friends that I'm not sure about what "eyes" I want to make. We all agreed that it would look better without eyes -just because if you are taking pictures, etc, then you get a double-eye effect which may look odd. Also...this way the child wearing the hat can be the dinosaur.

I'm already working on 2 similar hats for twin boys! I will post pictures as soon as I'm done.

I have a couple other super cute patterns from "Baby Bird Patterns" which includes a 'sleeping owl hat' and cowboy boots to crochet. I can't wait to get started on them!

"And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good." ~ Genesis 1:25.

I've made it FIVE days! And let me tell ya...today was definitely the hardest one of all!!!

Here is a tip for anyone who is trying to change their eating habits:

There will always be a time when temptation is at its finest. You need to be a detective as to when those times are. A lot of people will just try to use "self-will" in order to not cheat when they are around friends, in a stressful situation or out shopping.

The key is, to have a SUBSTITUTE. I'm sure all of you have heard that at some point in your life, "when you are trying to change a bad habit, replace it with a good one." Well, how can you have a 'good habit' of eating a sweet with friends, craving a chocolate in the check out line or you want to get your hands on whatever food is closest during a crisis?

Since I'm not on a "diet" where I have to count calories, I'm able to bring along some chocolate I have found that I can actually eat. There are also some recipes for "baked goods" also. I also bring rice cakes with honey or caramel flavor, etc. This takes away the temptation for me while satisfying my sweet tooth!

***The chocolate I have found can be found online or at Whole Foods. I always look for a sale as they aren't the cheapest. For anyone who has loads of food allergies, make sure to look for the ones you can't and can eat (ie: they also make milk chocolate products, so I can't eat those). They have an amazing dark chocolate with real mint! For those who also love mint chocolate.

~A New Way of Life~

If you know me personally, you may know that recently I've found out I'm allergic to several different foods. I am actually quite thankful for my doctor...who is AMAZING and is getting to the root of my problems.

Let me give you a small background: For the last 4-6 years I've been struggling with 'not feeling well'. Being dizzy, my vision changing, not sleeping well, being fatigued, getting migraines and having sinus problems for the first time in my life.

I went to a doctor in Chicago, not a super great one because of my insurance at the time, and was told that I "probably" have hypoglycemia. So I tried implementing all of the literature (and friends with hypoglycemia) said for me to do. But the problems persisted and got worse: lack of focus...which any graduate school student needs!...and muscle pain and more.

I moved to California in the summer of 2010. I went to see an endocrinologist who had a really good pedigree, because my physical symptoms just keep getting worse. He told me I AM NOT hypoglycemic, I don't have any thyroid issues...that I have some hormone imbalances which can be treated by medication for the rest of my life. At this point I was willing to try anything, so I went on the meds he prescribed, but the symptoms DID NOT go away. So I did my research, found a naturopathic doctor up in Washington who worked with people with weird physical problems, but does it in a natural way. And, yes, he is a Christian. So I went up to Washington in December for a week and then January of 2011 for 3 weeks in order to try to figure this thing out. He began seeing different issues but I would have to continue to see him (or someone like him) to really figure it out.

However, my insurance didn't think my "problems" were bad enough and so I went back to California...but WITH a recommendation of another Doctor, who is a friend of the one up in Washington. So I made a couple trips to L.A., where the doctor is located, got more labs done and then found out that my "hormone imbalances" are due to the fact my body is not liking what I'm putting into it! So now there are about 5 different issues that I am trying to work o

ut with the doctor but we are doing it in a natural way, with natural supplements, foods and different regimens. I'm already feeling better than before, I've seen progress. But the true "getting better" begins with my "Allergen-free living" - and the courage that can only come from my Father God.

So when I say I'm allergic to several different foods...I am NOT exaggerating! Let me name just a few: nuts (mainly almonds and peanuts but I need to take all of them out of my diet for awhile), eggs and oh...here is the big one: gluten. Gluten is found in all wheat products as well as MANY others. I told my doctor, please...if you tell me all other food products, I will be fine...just please, please tell me I'm not allergic to dairy. I grew up on a dairy-farm, I love milk, cheese, etc. Sure enough...I'm allergic to dairy and massively allergic to cheese products.

On top of all of these "major food groups" that I'm allergic to, there are other minor ones: peaches, oranges, pepper, etc. But for now, I'm putting most of my focus on the "big guys". I'm also going to eat A-POUND-A-DAY of cruciferous vegetables to help with detoxifying my body.

After trying to take all of the above out of my diet. I succeeded. For a week. Then the next time...two weeks. Then another week. But travels, being busy and not being disciplined enough got the best of me.

So here I go again. And this time, I hope to update a little more on amazing recipes that anyone can eat, how I'm feeling and...yes...each week of progress! I have my recipe's planned for the entire week, my grocery list made of items I don't have and I'm about to hit the road!

Here is a link to one of the recipes I'm going to make this week: http://www.godairyfree.org/Recipes/Soup/Creamy-Broccoli-Soup-II-Egg-Free-Gluten-Free-Soy-Free.html.

Are any of you fans of the San Francisco Giants?

Well, a couple months back I was asked to make 2 beanies and diaper covers for a woman who was pregnant with twins! Her and her husband are HUGE fans of the Giants...thankfully they had two adorable baby boys.

Hello to everyone!  This is my NEW blog and I'm super excited.  It is going to a be a mixture of a whole bunch of things:  things I design, make, random thoughts, happenings, etc.  Basically...a day in the life of ME!  So I hope you sit back and enjoy!