Rant

I'm hoping not many people read this post; I try to keep a positive vibe on my blog all the time. But there are times I just can't fake it. Today is one of those days. This post is more of a way to allow me to vent without worrying those around me.

I got my MRI and blood work back. I'm again low in C3 (which means I have an autoimmune/inflammation issue). I knew that from my rheumatologist, so I didn't give it a second thought. My Dr.'s interpretation "Difficult to know how to assess this in the absence of any other blood work abnormalities."

Then when telling me my MRI results I get this: "They did see a cyst on the liver. The radiologist commented on one other imaging abnormality in the liver that he also thinks is a benign finding. It's something they hadn't seen on prior MRIs largely due to the way the images were obtained. I certainly don't think that explains anything that is going on with you."

WTF am I supposed to think? Now do I need to have my liver biopsied to make sure there is nothing to worry about. Have all the meds finally worn out my poor, overworked liver? I'm just not sure what to think. Should I be worried or not? Thank goodness I have a GI appt coming up to discuss this further. Meanwhile I have another MRI lined up a week from tomorrow at Duke. Maybe a different hospital will be able to figure it out.

I'm seriously considering going to the mayo clinic and having kidney surgery. I just can't go on like this. My positive facade is cracking and I'm trying to keep it together.

Put Your Best Face Forward Part II

Wow, I really waited awhile to finish part two of my favorite facial products. Between weaning off seroquel, trying to figure out paleo meals, and pain attacks, it wasn't a priority for me. But now I'll finish up. And let me tell you the products I'm about to tell you about are AH-MAZING!! So here we go, onto part II

Now that I have shared my daily cleansing routine, it’s time to share my favorite “extras” that I use occasionally to keep my skin clear, luminous, and wrinkle-free. I have already shared the benefits of Peter Thomas Roth’s Un-Wrinkle and how it works wonders on fine lines on my forehead and eyes.


GlamGlow Mud
I got a sample of this when I ordered some products from Sephora. It was love at first try. I immediately went to the store to buy this stuff. It’s a mud mask that pulls out all the impurities and blackheads in your skin. As it dries, it leaves dark spots showing where it’s pulling out an impurity; so cool. You can use it as a spot treatment or all over. Mr.Surly uses this, too (Shhh, don’t tell him I told you) and noticed his pores were smaller after a few uses. I have small pores so I’ll have to take his word for it. Now, there is a caveat; since it pulls out impurities, you could wake up with a pimple the next day. But it comes to a head and doesn’t last long. It makes me feel good that all the yucky bacteria is pulled out from beneath my skin. This is a must have in my skin care routine.


Philosophy 2 step Microdelivery Peel
This is a great product to use before or after showering. It’s a two step process. First, you scrub your skin with the exfoliant, then add the liquid enzyme. It reacts and produces a foam you can rub around on your face, then let sit. I use this to get rid of tiny bumps on my face (esp my forehead).



Philosopy Microdelivery One Minute Purifying Peel

Yes, you read that right. A one minute peel; ONE MINUTE. Who is too busy for a minute enzyme peel? Not me. I may leave it on for a bit longer than a minute. It tingles and you can feel it working. My face is a bit red when I rinse it off, but it doesn't matter because I do this at night. The redness could be due to my sensitive skin, who knows. But I love this stuff.

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NOTE: Not a paid advertisement for GlamGlow nor Philosophy. I bought each product myself and found them so amazing I had to share them.

Put Your Best Face Forward Part I

I have loved makeup and beauty products ever since I was a little girl playing with my grandma’s makeup. She had a very specific routine and always wore the same products and rarely, if ever, tried anything new. What can I say? She was a stubborn German.

As for me I will try anything within arm’s reach. I have extremely sensitive skin so sometimes some products can be too harsh for me and cause adverse effects. But I wanted to share some of my recent faves.

I think it’s really important to take care of your skin; it’s something that if damaged is hard to repair. Plus, it’s the base of your makeup. Who wants to be wasting a lot of foundation and concealer covering up flaws? Not me. I like to just slap on some moisturizer and mascara when I’m going to the grocery store (mascara is the one product I never leave home without). Lucky for me (and thanks to the products mentioned below) I have skin where I can do exactly that; go out and feel confident in my skin au naturale.

Hopefully, these products, if you try them, will work as well for you as they have for me. If you want to try a sample of the NARS and AmorePacific products, visit your local Sephora and ask them to make a sample for you. Due to my sensitive skin I usually need to do this often for face and skin products. When I visit my local Sephora store there is a sales associate who knows me and is great at recommending products for me since she knows my skin.

NARSskin
Oh my goodness this is the perfect facewash for before bedtime. It removes makeup, which a lot of products I tried claimed to do, but failed. You just need a teeny amount of this facewash. It’s really thick and lathers really well. I love it; it leaves my face feeling squeaky clean.



AmorePacific Enzyme Peel
This product is a powder that you put a small amount in your hands, add a few drops of water, then lather. It leaves your face squeaky clean. This product is amazing. Sometimes I get little bumps on my face and this eliminates them. I use it at night after cleansing with the NARSskin.


In the morning I cleanse with Cerave hydrating cleanser (bottle with green label) which my dermatologist recommended. You can find it at Target and drugstores. If I’m going outside I follow with Peter Thomas Roth’s Max All Day Moisture Defense Cream. If I’m staying indoors I use Cerave Moisturizing Lotion (bottle with blue label). I also use this Cerave Moisturizing Lotion at night.

These are the cleansers and moisturizers I use on a daily basis. I’ll be doing a part II post with some extra products to really clear up your skin.
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Note: This is not an advertisement for any product listed above. I bought every product NARSskin and AmorePacific can be found on Sephora’s website where I purchased mine. Cerave, I buy at Target.

Keepin' it Real

I have been a horrible blogger, especially food. For some reason Feb and Mar were medically really bad months for me, I was having more attacks and side effects. This led to my doctor upping my klonopin which makes me extremely sleepy but has helped with the pain. Then my rheumatologist found problems in my blood work, suggesting I could have some horrible, serious chronic illnesses.

For this reason I haven't been cooking. I'm also scared to eat because of the side effects. I've been sticking to "safe" foods for me. The most I do is pop some chicken and a rice medley in the oven and bake. Or make pasta. Mr.Surly has been really great about the whole thing. I know he'd like more variety and better meals but I just cannot gather the energy to stand in the kitchen to make a normal meal.

Last week was hell. I had two doctor appointments. On Monday it was with my GI doctor. It went well, we are reducing my seroquel xr dose (Yay!). It is a horrible drug. I take it to sleep but the side effects are horrible; hallucinations, short term memory loss, vivid dreams, conversations with people that never happen (that I was sure had happened). So we made a plan to taper off of it and talked about possible issues with my pancreas.

Then, Wednesday, was an appointment with my nephrologist. I had a severe pain attack the night before, so he ordered bloodwork to check my pancreatic enzyme levels, as well as repeating my rheumatologist bloodwork. We're hoping it was just a fluke the first time. Then after feeling my abdomen he told me I needed to go get an emergency MRI; not what I was planning. I hate MRIs; I'm extremely claustrophobic. Luckily, I always carry my ativan with me for flare ups, so I took one before the MRI. I was not planning on spending my whole day in the hospital so I was glad to get home and crawl into bed. That incident kept me in bed the next day. And I have been chronically fatigued as well.

Mr.Surly wants to start the paleo diet so I have been researching it. I have no idea how I'm going to implement it. I guess I'll just gradually introduce it. I'm hoping this will help with my recent increase in pain; I'll try anything to get rid of the pain.

I apologize for the lack of food posts. I will eventually get some up. In the meantime I have some non-food related post ideas.

Please bare with me until I rebound; and I will rebound, I always do.

I hope everyone is enjoying their spring. Thank god, sunny, warm weather is here.

Wheat Belly

A few weeks ago we had a surprise 70th birthday party for my aunt. Relatives from all over traveled (as far away as Seattle) in secret to the south. We had a welcome party for the travelers the night before the surprise party. One concerned relative about the current status of my GI condition. I told her about the abnormal bloodwork and the rushing of making dr appointments to monitor me. She went on to tell me about a friend who suffered from crohn’s disease. This friend read the book Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis.

It’s sold as a “weight loss” book, but I don’t need the weight loss. I’m using it for easing my symptoms, period. Besides, I don’t think I can afford to lose any weight; I’m trying to maintain where I am.

Anyway, my relative's friend followed the diet guidelines in the book and noticed an improvement in her symptoms. I do remember learning in college (class: Plants & People) how grain had been genetically modified (GMO) to enrich it with nutrients for flour given to third world countries. This way, when the people ate the genetically altered flour, in any form, they would also ingest vital nutrients. I already knew not to buy enriched flour, where they remove the bran and re-enrich it, to make sure it was “unbleached.” I use Trader Joe’s 100% whole wheat white flour which is unbleached.

This thoughtful relative, after arriving home, bought the book and sent it to me. I am looking forward to reading it, giving it a try, and see how/if it affects my GI symptoms. I'm not sure if this book advocates going gluten free, since gluten free is more than just not eating flour. Going gluten free for 6 weeks had no effect, therefore I’m planning on slowing switching to a Paleolithic (or hunter/gatherer) diet. I'm interested in finding out what foods this book suggests to eat and avoid.


Since I'm slowly going to try to transition to the paleo diet, and I know there are many paleo food blogs out there, I was just wondering if:
1) any one follows (or knows a good blog) that follows the paleo diet
or
2) anyone has any good paleo meal plans

Finally, if anyone has read this book I’d love to hear your opinion.

Let’s do the Twist

I’ve noticed a lot of boot cuffs posted on pinterest. I admit, I became obsessed with them. I told myself “I must have a pair and I will not rest until I do!” Since I’m a decent knitter and have some knowledge of crochet, I planned on making my own. Well, there came the rub. Most of the boot cuff pins I coveted were on Etsy or just pictures of boot cuffs; no pattern, no directions. *Puff* I can’t look at a picture and guess the pattern. So I went to Ravelry to see if I find a pair I liked. I settled on this pattern. I really like the right twist stitch. I used 24 sts per needle (72 total sts) but you could use any multiple of 3 depending on your calf size.


The pattern is extremely easy:
R1: *k,k,p*
R2: *k,k,p*
R3: *RT, p*

k=knit
p=purl
RT=right twist
*repeat*

Note: I used Red Heart cotton yarn and US 3 (3.25mm) sized double pointed needles. I knitted every stitch on the first row; so technically my row 2 was row 1.

If you don't know how to do the right twist stitch (which I didn't until I researched it) this is the easiest version I understood and this way is how I knit the right twist.

These could also be knitted on circular needles but I prefer to knit in the round. Any questions about the pattern, how to knit in the round, or anything else just leave a comment.

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones

Out of all the tasty treats Starbucks offers my favorites are the Pumpkin and mini vanilla scones. Good Lord, they are so freaking good. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw this pin on Pinterest for the recipe. The first time I made them they were cakey and soft. They tasted good but weren't the texture a scone should be. So I went about changing and adapting the recipe until I finally got it right. The winning adaption is this recipe. I used coconut milk because I like it, but I'm sure any milk would work. Also, I have quit cooking with butter (due to the fact it's fat content hurts my stomach) and now use coconut oil, which is easier on me. If you are a butter person then feel free to substitute butter for the coconut oil.

I used pumpkin puree that I had frozen from this past fall. When the sugar pumpkins went on sale I bought a few of them, roasted and pureed them, then froze them in 1/2 c bags. I thawed the bag in the fridge overnight and used it in the recipe.

I got impatient waiting for the sugar glaze to firm up which is why my spice glaze is hard to see. I just wanted to get one of these guys in my tummy asap.

These are so good; it's hard not to eat the whole batch in one day. If you have any left, store in airtight container


Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
printer-friendly recipe
1 ½ c flour
½ c instant oats
¼ c sugar
¼ c brown sugar
1 Tbl baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbl oat bran (opt)
1 Tbl ground flax seed meal (opt)
¼ c + 2 Tbl coconut oil
1/2 c pumpkin (I used real pumpkin puree)
3 Tbl coconut milk (any milk)
1 large egg
Sugar Glaze (recipe below)
Spice Glaze (recipe below)

Make the Scones
Preheat oven to 375 F.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, spices, oat bran and flax seed) in a large mixing bowl.

With pastry cutter add coconut oil into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly with small crumbs. Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk pumpkin, coconut milk, and egg.

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.

Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1” thick rectangle. Mine measured about 7x11”

Using a knife or pizza cutter (which works great), cut the dough in half width-wise (from the 7” sides). Next cut into thirds length-wise (from 11”). Cut each rectangle in half diagonally. This will produce 12 triangles or scones.

Bake until scones turn light brown on top about 20-22 minutes.

Place a wire rack over waxed paper and put scones on to cool completely.

Make the Sugar Glaze
1 c powdered sugar
2 Tbl coconut milk (or any milk)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together with pastry brush til smooth, adding milk and/or powdered sugar as needed to get a thick consistency. Brush glaze over the top of each scone. Allow to set and firm up.

Make the Spiced Glaze
1 c powdered sugar
2 Tbl coconut milk (or any milk)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
pinch ginger
pinch ground cloves

Combine all in ziplock sandwich bag by squeezing and milk as needed for consistency. Cut off corner and drizzle over each scone. This can also be mixed together in a bowl and you could use a fork to do the drizzle.




Source: adapted from East 9th Street via Pinterest