I haven't blogged in a while. My boys and I had strep last week, and I'm still catching up on sleep whenever possible. I usually don't get strep, but when I do, it really hits me hard...worse than the flu. Caring for two sick children didn't help me get better as fast as I'd hoped.

So, we survived and now we're getting back into the swing of things.

Otherwise, things have been going well for us.

I must say that I'm happy to have the holidays and their avoids, behind me. It was great fun, but I had a few too many avoids. I did avoid all gluten, and that's a good thing. Only one more holiday event coming up, a big dinner at a restaurant. I know from experience that it's too risky for me to actually eat there...so I'll bring some chewy finger food and sparkling water, and I'll just focus on and enjoy the company.

Loved Isa's blog today. I'm a new student of the law of attraction, but I can see it all around me now that my eyes are open to it. Funny thing is, you probably can tell that I'm rather obsessed with the gluten-free lifestyle, it's in my thoughts quite a bit. I went out to visit my parents in rural utah for Christmas, and stayed in the house most of the time, but one of the times I did go out I met two other women who were gluten free. I probably only talked to 4 or 5 strangers that evening, but two of them were gluten free! What are the odds of that? Of course, the topic always comes up at a restaurant, and my server was also gluten-free and dairy-free (now that's always a sigh of relief!). My other stop was at a pharmacy to get my MetaNX (B6/B9/B12) refill, and the pharmacist's assistant had just been diagnosed with celiac disease a few weeks prior. (MetaNX is usually prescribed for coronary artery disease...not what I have, but it has done wonders for my HDL cholesterol!)

One thing that The Secret video says, about the law of attraction, is that it's better to focus on what you're FOR rather than what you're AGAINST, as in, have a peace rally instead of a war protest...if you want to really reach a goal. I'm trying to think of a way to apply this to the gluten free diet. What else could I call it, besides gluten-free? Health-full is accurate but not quite specific enough...how do you specifically say you don't eat something in positive terms? Celiac diet is descriptive, but as the name of a disease it's still not a positive way to say it. I'm open to ideas, because I can't quite pin down the right words. So many foods are described as much by what they are free of, rather than what they actually are... bone-building diet? Digestable foods diet. Nutrient-dense is good, but still not specific.

Dr. D'Adamo has said something like "telling people what not to eat helps them get less sick, but only telling them what to eat makes them well" so one of my goals is to focus on the beneficials.

It's been a wild ride this year, but I've learned a lot. I actually did lose some height due to the vitamin D deficiency, and resulting hypocalcemia and bone loss. So the upside is, that I can now have a unique goal for a nearly-32-year-old this year...to get taller! I'm grateful to know my path to wellness, I'll focus on the expansive scenery along the way, and the company I keep, rather than the narrowness of the pathway!