Lila, the observer from mars.

This scene takes place in modern-day Philadelphia. Mother and 5 year old daughter are in the Wine and Spirits store picking up a bottle of Cabernet savignon to go with their Italian red sauce.

A worker near-bye has an entire cart filled with wine bottles. She is wheeling the bottles from aisle to aisle and arranging them beautifully.

The daughter only notices the cart, not the arranging. She has JUST learned that "human" is another word for "person."

With some inherent alarm the daughter notices this worker and explains,

"MAMA!!! THAT HUMAN IS BUYING TOO MUCH ALCOHOL. THAT HUMAN SHOULDN'T DRINK SO MUCH ALCOHOL!!!!!!"

It's as if she were a space alien, observing earthlings from her skeptical and judgemental 5 year old body.

gluten free

I have an appointment to go and talk to someone about my nutrition and suspected gluten intolerance. The more I read about celiac and gluten sensitivity, the more convinced I am that this is my issue.

Last December, after my doctor suggested that I cut out a lot of the carbs I was eating, I felt better than ever! I still ate fruits and veggies but completely did away with all grains in my diet. I immediately felt much, much, much better than I ever had. I could eat until I was full and not feel sick, bloated and crampy after the meal. Generally, even when I do not overeat I am sick afterward. Also, even though I was eating plenty of natural sugar the weight fell off of my body.

Through my life, I've always eaten a carb-heavy diet. It's what I love. Originally, I attributed my better digestion to some sort of sugar-carb addiction that I had broken. Now, I'm certain that it's because I have an actual problem with gluten or some related issue.

When I began eating grains again in small portions, I would have a sandwich in a whole grain wrap or a salad with quinoa and barley. I might have one of these things one time in three days, so I wasn't going crazy or over-doing it. I noticed that I immediately started getting eczema. I mentioned this to my mom, who said that I was allergic to barley as a baby. It gave me rashes and eczema. I also noticed that when I ate these foods I'd feel so sick. I could eat rice or eat things that I've made with gluten free flour and not suffer from it. It makes so much sense.

It will be really interesting to have a few tests and see if this is an actual problem of mine.

It's funny, you never actually know that there's something wrong with you until you feel great. This reminds me of how amazing I felt after I began taking my thyroid medication. I remember thinking, "I had no idea how tired I was until I had energy again." For my whole life I just assumed that everyone finished a meal and felt sick and bloated no matter how much they ate. It wasn't until I stopped eating grains that I realized that I could enjoy food and not feel like I was about to explode.

Muck Boots

My friend L and her brand new, beautiful, museum worthy boots have inspired me to treat myself to a pair of Muck Boots. They're not beautiful, but they seem incredibly warm, waterproof and perfect for a city mama who trudges through the January streets of half melted, knee high frozen sludge. I've wanted these for a couple of years now. I recently noticed that they are selling them for kids and think that Bunny and Lila will really benefit from them as well.

I'll let you know how they work out.

First Day of First Grade

Poor Bunny. Even with a broken wing and bizarre looking shoulder contraption she never looks back. Lila and I were shouting after her, "have a good day," and "I love you!" She didn't even give a half-wave over her shoulder. She just marched toward the new year and away from us.

It really does go too fast. They're all telling the truth about that.

Figuring it out

I've been toying with a lot of plans for the future. Should I run away to India and live on the streets of Bombay selling clay beads to American tourists? Should I continue to be a stay-at-home mom who spends all day making her floors shine, is available to pick her kids up from school at any time, who volunteers at the school three days a week, who makes sure that her children come home to fresh baked goods, dinners that take all day to prepare and sharpened pencils that are ready for homework? Should I go back to school? Should I get a part time job? Should I start my own business? Should I be lazy? Should I be creative? What in the world should I do with my time now that my kids will be in school full time?

I have thought and thought and thought and thought about this but I always come up empty handed. I love being a mom. Seriously, I do. And I don't really want to go and get a part time job at the local Whole Foods. I just don't think that I'd be happy. But most of what I love about being at home is my kids. And with my kids gone, I just don't know that I want to be at home.

Do I want a career?

I've really struggled with finding something that I can really imagine myself doing. I'd definitely need to go back to school. I've been thinking that I'd really like to get involved with social work. I've always wanted to help people. I've especially always wanted to work in a women's center... or own my own women's center. I could always go back to school and get a master's of social work. But I feel like I should be sure about it before I do it.

How do you become sure about this?

Savory Rosemary and Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

The girls and I just made the most delicious biscuits ever.

We used a flour made by Namaste Foods as the base. They are mostly organic too. The only non-organic ingredient in the bunch is the baking powder. I looked at the ingredients and outside of cornstarch didn't recognize any of them. That's bad. It's just normal grocery store shelf stuff. I'll have to look around for a good alternative.

These are:

1 1/2 cup Namaste biscuit flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup water

a few pinches of salt

1 tsp. chopped, fresh rosemary.

Make dough into disks and cook on a pre-greased cookie sheet at 425 for 8-10 minutes. Then, sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top and put back into the oven until melted.

These are so easy, healthy and delicious. Your whole family will love and devour them!

Favorite Things Friday

I thought that it would be fun to write about a few of my favorite things each Friday. I feel like I find new things to love every day!

I really just like handmade everything. Etsy makes buying handmade so easy.

When I was looking for a template design for this blog, I went directly to Etsy. I even have my own little etsy shop, though I've been unsuccessful at keeping up with it.

I feel like it is very uncool and unhip of me, but I love the Banana Republic. The clothes there are well made and always seem to reflect my own little style perfectly. So, though I semi-wish that I was edgy and clad in fantastically vintage a-line skirts that I picked up on South Street. Truly, I'm a BR girl at heart.

These books are so good. They are, admittedly, totally trashy. Like, you have to be prepared for it beforehand. But... I love them.

I like all of the Meyers products that I've used, but the honeysuckle scent is definitely my favorite. I used to get a scent that had basil in it, which I also really enjoyed. But recently when I was shopping I found this. I love it so much that I'd like to spray it all over my house (and maybe my entire wardrobe of clothes) and carrying it everywhere with me. I like it so much that I sort of want to squirt people who talk to me so that the experience is ultimately pleasant!