Mission Accomplished - Post # 30!

Day # 30: Word Cloud. Make a word cloud or tree with a list of words that come to mind when you think about your blog, health, or interests. Use a thesaurus to make the branches of your “tree” extend further. http://www.wordle.net/


Well I made it! 30 posts in 30 days. Today's conclusion post was a lot of fun. I had never heard of a word cloud before. Basically you go to the above website and enter words that you want in your cloud. Then the website generates a word cloud.


The gluten-free community is a very supportive and close-knit community. There have been many individuals that I have "met" via social media sites. Despite not meeting many of these individuals, I feel this connection because of this one tiny commonality. We are all gluten-free. It is such a special community, and I am so proud to be a part of it. 


For this final post of the HAWMC, I wanted to get my readers input, so I reached out to my Twitter followers and Facebook fans, and asked: 

When you think of celiac, gluten-sensitivity or the GF community, what words come to mind? 

My Words and Phrases: 1 in 133, Courage, Embrace, G-free, Supportive, Proud, Restoring, Dedicated

Words and Phrases that were sent to me included: "Proud To be a Part of", Driven, Courage, Powerful, Kind, "Willing to Help," Finally Healthy, Strong, Fastidious, Safe Haven, Sanity, 1%, Difficulty, "Lack of Understanding," Paranoid (Lack of Trust), "Latest Fad"  

Look to your right! My word cloud is right under my favorite blog list. You will notice that I did not include all the words. Some I received after I created the cloud, and others I chose to leave out. 

While I agree that there  is a lack of understanding because the GF diet is the "latest fad," this was not something I wanted to highlight in the cloud. Same goes with paranoid. Trust me, I have been there, have felt that, and still do at times (especially when I go out to eat to a new restaurant), but I wanted to use this as a way that illustrates how powerful and positive our community is. 

Yes, being gluten-free is challenging, but overall many of the people I have met have such a positive outlook on their diagnosis or their child's diagnosis. Take for instance Jill Brack of GLOW gluten-free, Jules Shepard of Jule GF Flour, Silvana Nardone Author of Cooking for Isiah and now editor of Easy Eats, and Alice Bast of The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. They all were inspired to start on a new career path as a result of their own diagnosis or because of their child's.

Of course there are going to be people that have a negative attitude about being gluten-free, but in all honesty, where does that get us? I am not saying that every moment is going to be "peaches and roses," but like Karen Morgan said at  NFBC, "We have the power to ultimately define gluten-free!" So why not be positive, and optimistic? It will only help us to live our best gluten-free life.

Society already has a negative view on what it means to be gluten-free. Why feed them back with it? Instead, let's continue to band together, to spread awareness, and show the rest of the world how good gluten free life can be.

I will leave you with a telling and truthful statement.  In the mist of my transition my dad said to me: 

"If you are comfortable being gluten-free, others around you will be comfortable with your situation." 

 Birthday Photo with dad!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Tell me, what did you think about the HAWMC and this final post?! 

A Special Birthday Weekend!

Day # 29: Six Sentence Story. In this day of micro-blogging – brevity is a skill worth honing. Can you tell a story and make it short and sweet? What can you say in six sentences. Check out some here: http://sixsentences.blogspot.com/

As the clock struck 12, I was stressed and studying for a test I had at 10AM! My 22nd birthday had officially begun. The day was relaxing, and the night was so much fun. Family and friends gathered to celebrate this special day with my brother and I. The night seemed to end fast, but the celebrating continued on. It has been such a special, fun, and memorable birthday weekend. 

29 Days Till Graduation!

Day # 28: The First Time I… Write a post about the first time you did something. What is it? What was it like? What did you learn from it? 


It's official, in 29 days I will officially be a college graduate!! 


Weird. Yes
Scary. Yes
Mixed Emotions. For sure 
Excited. You bet! 


I have experienced so many emotions throughout this last semester, but I think I'm starting to reach a point where I am excited to see what this next chapter will bring. However, if you asked me 3 weeks ago, I was completely unsure. It's been a roller coaster ride to say the least, but I am really happy with the place I am at right now, and am going to try to embrace every minute of these last {oh so crazy, busy, much to get done, and exciting} weeks. 


When I saw this prompt I couldn't help but to think about the first time I stepped on campus as a freshman. It was fall move in day. Since there was two of us, we literally brought a U-haul to move-in. To say we got people's attention was an understatement. I remember driving up, and having all the volunteers move our stuff to our dorm. The rest of the day seemed like a blur. My brother and I with the help of our parents, unpacked, and organized what was our "homes" for the next 9 months. 


We then had convocation, where we took a picture with all the other people in our class and were officially welcomed into the university. We were so busy all day that it was hard to think about my parents leaving me, but then came the moment I was so scared for. The moments where my parents would leave me for the first time. I can still remember all the emotions I was feeling, and as I am writing, I have tears falling down my face. In those moments the tears were out of fear, and not being so sure that I could do this on my own. However, today my tears are not tears of sadness but tears of joy. 

I cried so hard that day, and for about a month after. I was so unbelievably homesick and had a really rough transition, but once I got past the first month things started to get better. I can remember calling my mom and dad hysterical just before labor day weekend. They were going to come up to visit, but I knew deep down, I had to get through this on my own. Plus since it was a 3 day weekend this is when a lot of the bonding occurred.


As much as I wanted to see them, looking back on this experience, it was the first of many growing points that would happen during the next four years. Never in a million years did I think I would grow in the way I did. As I look back to "Candice the freshman" and now sit here and write as "Candice the senior," I am experiencing an overwhelming sense of joy, accomplishment, and pride. There were so many moments in that freshman year, where I (and I am sure lot of others) didn't think I was going to make it. Not only did I have a hard transition, but I was at my sickest. Despite all this, I can honestly say going away was the best decision I ever made. 

It forced me to  grow-up, made me more of an advocate for myself, and on those days that I was so sick I could go to class, and then get back in bed. 

From kindergarden to college! Our last first day of school together 

In a recent conversation with my parents, I told them there was no doubt in my mind that the University of Scranton was the best place  for me. I have had some great memories on this campus, and have gone through extremely challenging events, however despite all the adversity I faced during the past four years, this campus has allowed me to find myself, challenge myself, and provided me with some of the most enriching and eye-opening experiences. 

I know it sounds extreme, but in a sense choosing to attend the University of Scranton saved my life, and for that I am  forever grateful. 

Celebrating the Victories, While Overcoming the Challenges

Day # 27: 5 Challenges. 5 Small Victories. Make a list of the 5 most difficult parts of your health focus. Make another top 5 list for the little, good things (small victories) that keep you going


My health is complex in nature. It's the one thing in my life that never seems to be quiet. I have gone through phases of acceptances, and I can finally say I am OK with the hole gluten-intolerance diagnosis.


The Complex Regional Pain syndrome is another story. Unlike when I was diagnosed with gluten-sensitivity, I have done very little research on CRPS. The Internet can be useful, but then it could be harmful. Everything you read about CRPS is so extreme, and the recovery doesn't have the best outcome (my dad has done some research). I'm not ready to accept that my life may never be absent of pain.


With both conditions there are good days and there are days that are terrible. A few years ago (heck, a few months ago) I use to get so crushed when I had bad day.  The pain in a sense was powering over me. 


I realized, I needed find the strengthen deep within me to say, "regardless of the pain, you need to truly start living." Like the quote from Titanic goes, "Life's a gift, and I don't plan on wasting it" {regardless of if I have a chronic pain condition}"


There are days when the pain does power over me. On those days, I need to allow myself to acknowledge the frustration that I feel, but then celebrate and hold onto those oh so small victories. This is why I love this post so much.


In my classes we are often asked, how we view our counseling theories. One way I like to approach counseling is by taking a strength-based approach, so today I am going to start with my victories. Just as our strength-based approach helps us in areas of difficulty, it is those victories, whether big or small, that help pull us through the challenges.


Five Victories
1.  The first time I was able to determining that all the ingredients on a food label was GF.
2. Being able to adapt a family recipe to be GF/DF 
3. Running for a full 6 minutes on the treadmill 
4. Completing my workout during the most painful moments of my flare up
5.Being able to navigate through life; no longer afraid, and ready to conquer all life's obstacles and joys, while on a strict gluten-free diet


Five Challenges 
1. Dealing with the occasional glutenizing incidents 
2. Having some days where I just don't feel good 
3. Missing out on "traditional" college activities because of pain 
4.Working through the oh so painful flair ups
5. Dealing with people's lack of understanding


 So what gets me through the challenges? 
1. Holding onto the victories 
2.The support of my family and friends 
3. The gluten-free community 
4.Writing
5. Working towards goals 


Side note: I reached  my birthday goal of hitting 300 fans on Embrace G-free's facebook page. Thanks for all the support, and please continue to spread the word about Embrace G-free! 

Birthdays Are Something To Celebrate!

Today, is a special day because today I turn 22! It's seems weird to me that I am actually 22. Don't get me wrong, I know I am still young and have my whole life ahead of me, but for some reason I feel older.

I am not one to make a big deal of my birthday. I don't like all the attention on me. However, as I think about this day there are so many reasons it should be celebrated. Though each day there is something to be grateful for, on this day there seems to be an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. It's hard to believe that 22 years ago, I entered into this world prematurely fighting to hold onto the precious gift of life; spending my first 11 weeks in Stonybrook University NICU. Occasionally I visit the NICU, and each time I visit the babies and their families, it truly reminds me how precious life is. Like my family says, 

"I entered this world as a fighter, and continue to be one today."  

A lot has happened in the past year. I have completed 300 hrs of internship experiences, learned even more about myself, was accepted into the accelerated graduate program for school counseling, got diagnosed with CRPS, successfully completed my first semester of grad school, and am truly beginning to realize that in the next few months I will be entering into a new chapter -  post graduation. However, it's my birthday, so I'm not going to think about that. While I am beyond excited to actually be reaching this point, there are still moments where it's scary to be stepping into unknown territory.  

Some of those feelings of uncertainty stem from the fact that I will be separating from someone very special to me. My twin brother Joe, someone I couldn't leave out of this post. Coming to college together was completely unplanned, and I feel so blessed that we were able to share this experience together. We have a bond that is so special and I cherish all the memories that we have been able to create during our college years. 

I can't imagine sharing a birthday with anyone else. No matter what cards I am dealth with, he is the one that always keeps me laughing through it all. Happy Birthday Joe. I love you so much, and can't wait to celebrate with you later. YOLO!!

Luckily both my brother and I only have one class today, and am thrilled that my parents are coming up to have dinner with us. I'm a huge family person so I love that we will all be able to be together to celebrate. 

The big question you are probably all wondering is, what kind of cake are you having? Well to be honest I don't know! I was planning on making my own birthday cake, but my mom said she was going to take care of it. However, I will definitely be doing some baking over my birthday weekend, and am planning on converting our family recipe for pizzelles to be GF/DF.

I have worked hard these past few days, and don't have class tomorrow, so I think I am going to give myself the day to relax. Since I have a test this morning, and was up really late, I didn't have time to workout this morning. It's off to the gym after class, and then I think I see a mid-day nap in my future before the celebrating begins.

Have a wonderful day, and remember to "like" Embrace G-free's facebook page, as I am trying to reach 300 fans by the end of the day in honor of my birthday!!

Pretty New Business Cards!

This week I am totally not sticking to the prompts for the WEGO Health HAWMC, but I'm still writing so that's all that counts. Tomorrow I have a special post planned, so today I am going to share what would of been tomorrow's prompt! 

Day #25 (really for Day #26): Health tagline. Give yourself, your blog, your condition, or some aspect of your health a tagline. Make sure it’s catchy!

I have been missing my Wordless Wednesday posts so for this prompt I thought I would show my newly designed business cards that I got right before I went to Chicago. Aren't  they pretty?! 

My tagline - "Because Life is Just better Gluten-Free"

I'll be back to the challenge prompts on Friday! I can't believe I have almost successfully made it through this challenge. Hope you enjoy your Wednesday. 

Gluten-Free Heaven: The GFAF Expo!

There were so many wonderful moments at the Gluten-Free Allergy Free Expo, so before I jump into all the product reviews I am going to share some of my favorite moments with you. This event was completely overwhelming, but not in a bad way by any means. It was my first gluten-free food event, so when I walked into the expo for the first time I was in gluten-free heaven, and didn't know where to start! There were so many moments I enjoyed. When my parents asked me my favorite part of the trip, I simply said all of it! Today, I am going to share with you the many things I loved about the GFAFexpo!

1. The People:  It was so wonderful to meet people that were so passionate about their products or service they provided. They were all so willing to talk, were interested in what I had to say, and truly cared about the gluten-free community. It was fascinating to hear  some of the stories of why these individuals got into the business they are in. 

2. Meeting the Companies I love: It was so great to meet the people behind the companies that I have grown to love. 

3. Being opened up to so many new products: I walked away from this expo experience knowing that there will definitely be new products in my shopping cart. 

4. The feeling of safety: Though this was a gluten-free expo there were still things I couldn't eat due to my dairy intolerance. However, everything was clearly labeled so I knew what was off limits. There are not many times that I can say I have a piece of mind when going to events that revolve around food, so it was an absolutely amazing experience to be in such a safe zone! 

5. Sharing the experience with my parents: I'm the only one in my immediate family that  is gluten-free. When I was first diagnosed, my mom immediately supported me, tried new products, and was an advocate for me. While I always had my dad's support, it took him a little longer to "get it." With time though, he has come around and will actually eat gluten-free foods. 


They have both tried their fair share of gluten-free foods; the good and the not so good. As they walked around the expo they enjoyed many foods, and both agreed that the gluten-free industry has truly made great strides. 

Dad enjoying a sample of Bard's Beer!

6. Sitting in on the presentations: Throughout the day, free presentations about issues pertaining to the GF life style were given. I sat in on a presentation by Gluten-free Gigi and Melissa Jennings of Stockpile Moms. Both were great and I walked away with a wealth of new knowledge.  

7. Baking Blissful Class with Mom: My mom and I share a love for baking, so it was wonderful to be able to attend this class with her. We both felt like we were sitting in on a taping of a show that would appear on the food network. Sadly this was the last year that the expo will be offering classes, so I was happy I got to have this experience. 

The Peace Baker

8. Meeting Kelly aka The Peace Baker: At the baking class I sat next to Kelly, we started talking and then exchanged business cards. After I gave her my business card, she couldn't believe I was "Embrace G-free," and was thrilled to meet me since she has been following my blog and Facebook page since the beginning.


I was thrilled to meet Kelly and I was absolutely blown away by this experience. I often say I am a "small fish in a big pond" when it comes to the blogging world. I was so touched by her kind words. We were both nearly in tears because we were so thrilled to meet one another. BTW Kelly will soon be opening New Orleans' first gluten-free bakery! 

9. This list wouldn't be complete if I did not mention the food. There was so many fantastic things I tried, and there was very little I didn't like (says a lot coming from a picky eater). I by no means eat the way I did at the expo, so by the end of the weekend, my tummy was not only full of g-free goodness, but I had to stop myself from sampling foods because my body couldn't take any more of the sweets and carbs. 

10. The pure excitement and joy on my face: This was my mom's favorite part of the weekend. After the tough few weeks I had prior to coming to the expo, we were all so thrilled to be able to have a great weekend. My face lights up when I talk about the gluten-free community, and it brings me so much joy. I was absolutely glowing all weekend and left the event on such a "blogger's high!" 

Taken in downtown Chicago. Had to include because I love this photo so much! 

Be sure to check out more of my photos from the expo on my facebook Page, and if you haven't done so already please "like" my facebook page! My birthday is Thursday and I am trying to hit 300 fans by that day! 

It's a Quality of Life Issue

Day # 23: Health Activist Choice Day 2! Write about whatever you like.

At Nourished I had the wonderful opportunity to listen to Ann Lee and Lauren Lucille Vassar give a presentation on Maximizing your Partnership. 

While I found Lauren Lucille's part of the presentation to be entertaining, enjoyable, and inspiring for my choice day on the WEGO Health HAWMC I want to talk about Ann's part of the presentation.


Ann is a dietitian for Schar, so she started the presentation off by talking about a few research studies that have been done on celiac disease. In talking about this particular research study she created rationale for why social media is beneficial. The biggest reason is support. 


Not only do individuals with celiac and wheat allergies turn to these social media sites, but so do the millions of American who adhere to a GF diet because of Autism, IBS, or non celiac-gluten sensitivity. They make up a large part of a blogger's viewer-ship. 


Gluten-Free is a 2.8 billion dollar industry, but unfortunately many companies don't get it. Many see it as a way to increase their profits, but don't truly understand how the gluten-free diet impacts our quality of life. Luckily, their are companies like Schar that do, and they take great efforts to do gluten-free the right way.


Today there is a lot of information on the research behind celiac disease however, there is little about what life is like after starting a gluten-free diet. In the presentation Ann spoke about a particular study that examined the quality of life in Europe and the US after going gluten free. The study revealed the impact on the diagnosis is greatly different in Italy  then that in the US.


Interesting Fact: In Italy individuals with celiac receive two days off a month to take care of things such as doctors appointments, after they are diagnosed, testing for the individuals family is covered, and they receive 200 euros a month for food.


The study found that individuals in Italy had a much better quality of life compared to individuals in the US. In the US, the quality of life was bad prior to the diagnosis (on avg takes 10yrs for diagnosis). After receiving a diagnosis the quality of life did improve slightly, but did not get 100% better.


The researchers found the biggest struggle for  individuals after going GF was the social aspect of life. Dining out, traveling and work engagements do get easier and become more normal over time, but it still comes with it's challenges. 

One thing that saddened me was the fact that young men were most likely cheat on a first date, rather then to tell their date they had to eat GF. This clearly illustrates that we need to make the gluten-free diet more of a norm.

I'm two years into this journey, and as much as it has become a normal part of my day, it still poses it's challenges. I would never cheat, but being GF comes with certain questions like, how will I handle future work engagements, how will the dating go, and when is it a complete necessity that I have to tell someone that I am GF? By no means am I ashamed to be GF, but sometimes I wish that people could just get to know me for who I am before knowing I am GF.

Thankfully I go to a doctor that supports me and sees gluten-sensitivity as a real condition, but it is frustrating to have to explain myself, and then have some people not get why I have to be so strict if I "only have gluten-sensitivity." It get's me so angry when I come across those occasional articles that say gluten-sensitivity is not real. I honestly think this was one of the reasons why it was so difficult for me to come to terms with my diagnosis. I get as sick as someone that has celiac, yet my test were negative, and then to have people doubt the seriousness was even more confusing. 

Gluten-free needs to become a norm whether it is a necessity as a result of gluten-sensitivity, celiac or even if a person just unexplainable feels better on a GF diet. Regardless of the reasoning, companies and restaurants need to learn how to properly serve this population. This means doing it 100%, not doing it half-way. You can't say you make gluten-free foods and then prepare it on the same surface as wheat. You need to do it 100%. If you choose that you can't do this, that's OK, but please don't advertise you serve gluten-free foods. You are only hurting us. 

Someone recently said to my mom, that they thought the availability of GF foods would decrease after this "hollywood trend" dies down. My mom simply replied, "it better not, because being gluten-free is not a choice, but a matter of life for so many individuals." We all need to continue to educate, advocate, and tell those doubtful individuals gluten-free is here to stay! 

To my fellow bloggers: Continue to share your story. Though sharing my honest feelings can sometimes be scary, I hope that it let's people know they are not alone. We need to be honest about the challenges we face, but I believe it is so important to be as positive as possible. The hope is, this positive attitude, will hopefully be pasted onto the rest of society. Like Lauren Lucille Vassar said, "We are in the wild, wild, west. The sky is the limit." Through writing we have the power to set the standards, and influence societies beliefs regarding gluten-free. 

I dream of a day where life will be like the "italian gluten-free life," where gluten-free is readily available, where the words gluten-free are regular words on a menu, and where it is more of the norm in our society.  

But for now, I will continue to advocate, share my story, and raise awareness.

Celiac Awareness Month is right around the corner. What are you planning on doing to celebrate?  

Life Is About The Little Moments.

The Things We Forget. Visit http://thingsweforget.blogspot.com/ and make your own version of a short memo reminder. Where would you post it?


The "hussle  and bussle" of life sometimes grabs us. We get caught in the stress of life and forget about the things in life that really matter. It is not the big thing in life, but the little moments that matter the most. They are the things at will bring us the most joy. 

Each Day, Remember...

Tell someone you love them everyday

Laugh, it is the best medicine

Smile

Push yourself to new heights. 

Live simple

It is not the quantity of friends, but the quality of the friendship

Be yourself

There is something to be grateful for each day

Everyone has a story

Be Empathic

Learn from others. 

Live in the moment

Take one day at time

Trust yourself 

It's OK to cry

Be Kind

Allow yourself to let love in

Take time for yourself

Be  different

Do what makes you happy

Madlibs Fun with Friends!

Day 21: Health Madlib Poem. Go to: http://languageisavirus.com/cgi-bin/madlibs.pl and fill in the parts of speech and the site will generate a poem for you. Feel free to post the Madlib or edit it to make it better.


I had a great time last weekend in Chicago.  I worked extra hard to get my work done, and enjoyed every minute of my small weekend get away. It was my last hoary until the final stretch. However, when I arrived back on campus, it was like I walked right into stress. I knew I had things to get done this week, but I had so many extra things piled on my plate. 


To be honest this is the first time in the semester that I am extremely stressed out. I'm the type of person that tends to stress, but I had a change in mind-set which allowed me to realize life is too short to stress out about the little things. It's not healthy and it get's me no where. It's been so nice. However, this week as much as I am engaging in my burnout prevention, I am feeling the stress on my shoulders, and in my stomach, and I absolutely hate it. 


To be honest  the work is stressing me out, but I am more stressed about my exercise program. I know my workouts have not been great this week, and I am still in the middle of my bad flare up. I can't take a day off, because this will result in a worsen of pain. There just doesn't seem like there's enough time in the day to get everything done.  


There is nothing like a good laugh when you are stressed, so today's prompt came at a perfect time. Doing madlibs are never fun alone, so I told my friends they had to help me with this post. We originally went on the above website, but to be honest the Madlib wasn't great, so we headed to Mad Glibs. The title of the madlib was Can I have your daughter's hand? Here's what we generated. 


Dear Mr. and Mrs. Optimus Prime Bobble, 


Will you let me laugh your paper towel? Ever since I have laid hands on Betty, I have fried madly in love with her. I wish that she will be the headband of my outlets and that someday we will jump happily ever after. I have a trash bag as a plumber that pays $2 each month. I promise to sleep Betty with kindness and respect. 


Sincerely, 
Gaggle Foxface


Happy Saturday. Hope you have a wonderful day. 

A Nourishing Experience

Last Friday, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Nourished: A food blogger conference. The day started bright and early as my parents and I caught a 6:15AM fight to Chicago. We quickly picked up the rental car, and then headed straight to the hotel so I would make it to the conference in time. As we were driving, I couldn't help but to think," I'm actually doing this" and was amazed with how much a year changed everything. In a sense, I jumped right in to the blogging world not really knowing what to expect.


Because I was running late I quickly hopped into the first room not realizing there was two presentation going on at once. However, the presentations I stepped into ended up being the perfect fit for a new blogger like myself. The first session I attended, Branding 101 given by Mary Fran Wiley was my inspirational kick off. The main take away point from this presentation: 

You are your brand. Your brand is your blog. Your blog is you.

In her presentation she spoke about successful blogger such as Gluten-Free Girl and Joy the Baker. The key to their success is they have a brand that is their voice. Mary encouraged us to be different, to not be afraid to share your story, and to join the conversation (connect with other bloggers). 

One question that challenged me was pick ten words to describe you and your blog. Though I was able to come up with words such as, Honest, Genuine, Advocate, twenty-something college student, Baker, Risk-taker, Fun, Loving, Friendly, and Determined, this was a question that challenged me the whole day. How do I describe my blog, what is my brand, and what is my purpose? 

As much as I share recipes, and do product reviews, I don't consider myself a food blogger. Those are only pieces of my blog (that I love to do). I blog about being in college, I share my feeling about my GF journey though poems, and even have taken things I have learned in my counseling classes and and applied that to my gluten-free journey. I realized when people asked me about my blog I couldn't really give clear cut answer. Then comes the question, how am I going to define my blog when I am no longer a college student? Thank goodness I have two more years in grad school!

Snack Break: San-J crackers and hummus

Session #2: How to bake professional gluten-free recipes from start to finish, was given by Karen Morgan. I found this presentation very interesting considering I love to bake and cook, however, I learned that at this point, recipe development is way over my head. It is a true science. One powerful point she made in this presentation, is we have the power to ultimately define gluten-free. 

What I determined from this session is right now, I want to continue to focus on recreating my family favorite recipes. That is my heritage, and when I have kids one I want to be able to share these recipes with them. Recipe development maybe in my future, but recreating my family recipes is where my heart is, because I want to show others in my family how good GF food is. Two key points that Karen said that also guides me when I am cooking and baking is: 

GF/DF Cupcakes from Sweet Ali's

"All my recipes have to have the same taste and appearance.  They have  to taste better or the same then what you are going to make. I want to make them better then what came before. We have to set our standards high so no one know the difference."

When I first went gluten-free, I settled with what was available. Now, I look for the best, and try and create things to the best of my ability. I challenge you to strive to make your foods better, because when we do this, we don't dwell on what we miss but can celebrate and enjoy the foods of this new life style! 

Let's take a break and talk about the Food: The food at Nourished was absolutely fabulous. It was so comforting knowing everything was labeled with the allergens and gave me a piece of mind. At lunch, I enjoy great food, and I had the pleasure of speaking with Alicia Woodward, Editor of Living Without Magazine, Anthony Caruso of Thing Deluge Yourself, and Eve Becker of Gluten-free Nosh. 

My GF/DF lunch plate 

Session #4: Being that I just purchased a Nikon D3100 a few months ago it was really helpful to sit-in on Cara Lyons presentation and I definitely walked away with great tips of how to improve my photographs! She gave me some new tools and the confidence that I could learn how to use my camera, since she was self-taught. 

Session #5: With this day and age social media is key! Did you know, 22% of our day is spent on social media? Melissa Jennings of Stockpile Moms, provided us with tips on how to use social media to our advantage, and encouraged us to make our blog an atmosphere where our readers are involved. Everything from facebook to the very latest pinterest was spoken about. At the end of this session Suzanna Florek talked and introduced us to Salty Fig which is a really neat recipe site I will soon be checking out! 

Cybele Pascal closed the conference with an inspiring speech and even provided us with samples of her  cookies which will soon be hitting the market. They were awesome!

After months of emails Cheryl and I finally got
some face to face time! 

The amazing day closed out with a happy hour. There I was able to meet some terrific vendors, and also connected with others in the community including, Cheryl of National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, Andera McCarthy of Rocking the Healthy Life and Lauren Lucille Vasser of The Celiac Diva 

Thanks Jen and Amy for putting on such a fantastic event!


Check back on Monday for more on Nourished. I will be writing about some things I learn about in session 3 as part of my choice day in the HAWMC! 

The People I Would Love To Cook For

Day #19: 5 Dinner Guests. Who are 5 people you’d love to have dinner with (living or deceased) and why?

1. My Grandpa Joe: I never met my paternal grandfather. I would just love one night to talk with him, learn from his wisdom, and spend the time with him, to get to know what an amazing person everyone said he was.

2. My Grandma Amelia: Like my grandma Virginia, it has been said this woman could cook! I would want to learn from her techniques, and use it as an inspiration in my gluten-free cooking.

3. My Old Neighbor Dave: He was the first person close to me that I lost (6^th grade). When I was younger, he was like a grandpa to me; always there to see us on the first day of school, and would leave funny faces on our scare crows. When I think of him a smile is brought to my face, he was such a character and could always make you laugh. He would bring so much to our dinner conversations.  


4. I know this next one seems typical, but Oprah. One of my friends from school just attended one of her live class tours, and spoke about how amazing and funny she was. To me Oprah has been someone that I grew up watching. I have learned from her and truly miss her 4 o’clock shows.

5. My cousin, Heather - If I’m cooking a gluten/dairy free meal, I would want someone their that gets it 100%. I’m not sure of how the other guests would react, but I know she would love everything from my appetizers to dessert.

Gluten-Free Celebrities

There has been a ton of buzz with gluten free and the media, including gluten-free celebrities. I'm all for awareness, but sometimes the media doesn't always shed the best on the gluten-free, and the claims can result in miss information. To me the gluten-free celebrities are the individuals that raise awareness, are positive role models, and are individuals that make a difference in our community. This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to meet three true gluten-free celebrities in the GF community at the GFAF Expo!

Kyra Bussanich - Owner of Crave Bake Shop

Lauren Lucille Vassar (aka The Celiac Diva)

Brandy Wendler - Mrs. Alaska International 2012

Be sure to also listen to Jules Shepard's latest radio show (featuring Gluten Free Dude) about  gluten-free celebrities. I just listened to it last night while writing a paper and it was great. 

I will be back to a WEGO HAM challenge post tomorrow, but in case you were wondering today's prompt was: Open a Book. Choose a book and open it to a random page and point to a phrase. Use that phrase to get you writing today. Free write for 15-20 without stopping.

Lessons Learned The Hard Way

Day 17: Learned the Hard Way. What’s a lesson you learned the hard way? Write about it for 15 today.

Learning through Challenges

Life doesn’t always turn out the way you envisioned it

I never expected to get sick

To miss six weeks of school

To have my gallbladder removed

At fifteen

Miss out on typical high school experiences

To have to battle pain on a daily basis

I never expected it

But through adversity you find out how truly strong you are

Because it's the only choice

I never expected to find my passions

Through suffering

And never expected to be diagnosed with gluten sensitivity

There were some moments

I never expected to find joy, strength, and hope

But I did

Life Doesn’t always turn out the way you envisioned it

Mine didn’t

But I couldn’t imagine my life any different

Because I am happy

We can plan all we want

And then one day our life

May change in a snap

My life may not of turn out the way I envisioned it

But through each new struggle

 I focus on the good that came

Because this is what gives me strength

4.15.12