Saturday

A little preview of our lovely Saturday afternoon...

Started the day off with a morning run with Ricky...

I got busy in the kitchen making gluten and dairy free lemon cupcakes (at the request of the hubby)...

Ricky kicked back on our new couch and played some video games...

The end result..turned out quite tasty!

In one word, today was: delightful.

Happiness

I am a happy girl.  Today I was thinking about how blessed I am for so many reasons and was feeling particularly happy because God is doing so many great things for us here in Seattle.  As a recent Mrs., I have never been happier after marrying my best friend seven months ago.  We have been together over six and half years, and now that we are married it has been SO fun to:

1. live together (and purchase our first house!)
2. create our home together (and go furniture shopping!)
3. work together (yes, we really do work together and it's wonderful!)

We pretty much do everything together. We only have one car and for the most part it works out great. We never get sick of each other and we live a pretty simple life.   We are both naturally optimistic, positive, and HAPPY people, so together we make a pretty fantastic team. 

But one thing I think is so true is that happiness is a choice. The second you are faced with a difficult situation, you choose your outlook and how you are going to respond and handle it.  Do you see the glass half full or half empty?  There are definitely times that I  get discouraged and times where I need encouragement.  Having a hard day or going through tough times is apart of life, there is no way around it.  Happiness doesn't have a universal formula that can be applied to everyone.  I've learned that for me, if something isn't making me happy or is bringing me stress, I need to remove it from my life and be okay with it.  For the most part, it's that simple (but sometimes very difficult to do). To sum it up, do things that make you happy, and eliminate the things that don't. Often the simplest things make the biggest differences...give it a try :)

Things that make me happy happy happy:

• Traveling
• Dates with my husband
• A clean house
• The beauty of the outdoors
• Flavorful healthy meals
• Baking
• Craft projects
• Exercise
• Family/friend time

A few things that don't:

• Running on a treadmill
• Negative and flaky people
• Gossip 
• Washing our car in the cold...but I do this anyways because it makes my husband happy  :)

 

A quote from my favorite romance movie- I don’t need things to make me happy.  A nice quiet place to unwind at the end of the day, beautiful views, a few good friends.  What else is there? ~ Nicholas Sparks

Have a HAPPY day!

All About Allergies

When thinking about what to write for my second post, of course I asked my husband for suggestions. His first answer was...Allergies! This is a topic that will probably get brought up several times during the course of my blog, so I thought a little into to allergies would be beneficial for a few reasons:


1. Understanding a bit more about me- I have food allergies...gluten, dairy, and sugar are the biggies!
2. I LOVE to cook- so when I post recipes, they will (almost) always be GF, DF, and SF...but I promise they will be delicious and full of flavor!
3. Education- even though gluten-free options are popping up everywhere, I find that most people have a misconception of what it means to have a food allergy!


When most people hear the word allergy, they immediately think of symptoms such as skin rashes, runny or itchy eyes, sinus problems, or in more severe cases, anaphylactic shock (most commonly experienced by those with nut and bee sting allergies). What most don't know is that there are many different forms of food allergies; some people refer to the less severe reactions as sensitivities or intolerance's rather than allergies.


In fact, until recently, my wonderful husband had always doubted my food allergies and couldn't comprehend how certain foods affected me.  A few weeks ago he started getting this strange sharp pain after eating.  We went to our family Dr, a GI specialist, and even got blood work done.  They couldn't tell us what was causing his horrible pain.  After keeping a food journal, he recently narrowed it down to either eggs or coconut, and he is almost positive he has a food allergy (crazy huh? Those of you that know him can understand my shock and will be surprised to know that he came to this conclusion entirely on his own!).  In a few weeks we should have a definite answer, as he wants to get the allergy testing, but in the mean time, no eggs or coconut products for him!


Okay...back to ME....


So you are thinking, if you don't have itchy eyes or your throat isn't closing shut, than what exactly happens to you when you eat these so-called "allergy" foods?


I'm glad you asked :)


Hmm lets see...when I eat foods containing gluten, dairy, or sugar (or a mix of them all), I notice that:

• I get bloated and don't digest food in a "timely" manner
• my heart beats faster than normal
• my face breaks out 
• I have little energy
• I have a difficult time falling asleep at night (partly because of my fast heart rate)
• I get headaches (not very frequently though, but when I do, they are horrible and last for days)
• during the spring/summer months, my seasonal allergies will be out of control
• I will easily gain weight

A food allergy occurs because of a variety of reasons and can cause an assortment of symptoms. I initially visited a naturopath because of my severe seasonal allergies. He did an allergy test and realized that not only was I sensitive to pollen and grass, but that the foods I was eating every day were putting my body in overload, making my seasonal allergies go out of control! I eliminated gluten, dairy, and sugar, and guess what happened? My seasonal allergies went away because my body was not being flooded with histamines.  In addition, my skin cleared up, I had a ton of energy, and was sleeping like a baby.  I dropped a few pounds and was experiencing a new level of health that I never had felt before. I went to the Dr. hoping to get seasonal allergy help, but it ended up being so much more than just that.


That was about five years ago. For the most part, I am really good about avoiding G, D, and S, but there are definitely times I struggle. But I am still dedicated and extremely passionate about health.  I am excited to share my knowledge and also learn from you...so please leave comments :)


Do these experiences and symptoms seem all too real to you? Do you think you could be struggling with an unknown allergy?

2012

My first ever blog post. For the last few years, I have said I wanted to do this, so now I finally am.  I look forward to a fantastic 2012- stay tuned for more 'Doses of C (chelsie)' as I get into a blogging routine!




For now, I will post my official new year's resolutions:

• Wedding Photos- get them printed, frame them, make a wedding photo book 

• Fit in Fitness- regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. I must make it more of a priority...even on the busiest of days!

• Travel- anything from a weekend road trip or a plane ride to the sun, traveling is a must for 2012!

• Sports- nothing makes my hubby happier than cuddling up and watching a football or baseball game together. I can definitely work on this! 

• Save- after the wedding, honeymoon, buying a house, furnishing our house, ect., we now plan to set up saving accounts for our future kids' college tuition, a special travel account, and a few more retirement accounts.

• Daily Devotions-  be better at spending quality time with my amazing Creator and regularly thank Him for my blessed life :)