july life update

I'm well overdue for another gluten free post, but there are so many other things to talk about, so I'm going to do a combo post—a life update, if you will. Hopefully the pictures will keep it interesting!

Cats
I celebrated two years with my cats at the beginning of July. When I got Isis, Hammond, and Skaara, I simply hoped they'd stay around for a few months—I didn't dare to hope I'd have them for years! Here are the before and after pictures I posted on Facebook.

Hammond & Skaara

Isis

Gluten Free
There's not really much to say here. I no longer have the extreme hunger or fatigue that I faced in the first couple weeks. I'm also not having the amazing digestive results that I had at the beginning. The angry bowels are back, folks. (TMI?) I'm not having the extreme reactions to some meals that I used to have (I didn't get sick once during Val's bachelorette weekend, where I ate out every meal—I'm very thankful for gluten free menus!), but I also wouldn't say that everything is "normal." Really, though, my digestion hasn't been normal for my entire life ... I'm beginning to wonder if the reduction in IBS symptoms has more to do with being more conscious of what I'm putting into my body and eating fewer processed foods than it does with cutting gluten. I haven't seen a single change in thyroid symptoms, but I'm going to keep plugging away with the gluten free diet, at least until I see my doctor again at the end of July or beginning of August. I want to know if cutting gluten has reduced my thyroid antibodies. (Because some people asked after my last update: I currently take Synthroid. I was on levothyroxine—generic for Synthroid—for about 12 years, and the ENT I saw in April recommended I take name brand Synthroid to see if that helped. I don't think it has, so I'm going to be requesting a switch back to the much cheaper levothyroxine ... or perhaps Armour. Most importantly, I now know what questions to ask. I know this means nothing to you non-thyroid people!)

Shoutout to my friend Sarah, who gave me this great stuff after she found out she didn't need to be gluten free! Keep her in your prayers—she's also dealing with some frustrating health stuff.

Essential Oils
A few weeks ago, I went to an essential oils party—this one was for Young Living oils. I love the concept, but man are these oils expensive! I almost signed up on the spot, but I decided to think about it for a while, and I'm glad I did. I ended up buying this Edens Garden set for $25 (including shipping) from Amazon. So far, I've only used the peppermint and lavender, and I'm very happy. I've mentioned before that I have terrible menstrual cramps—I normally take upwards of 30 ibuprofen pills per period (which is terrible, I know, but the cramps are so bad!). During my most recent period, I took six pills. SIX! Sure, I smelled like a walking peppermint the whole time, but I think it's a good trade off!

In the last few days, my dad has also smelled like a walking peppermint because we've been using several oils—and peppermint seems to overpower the others—to treat poison ivy. His results haven't been so amazing, so he's headed to the doctor this afternoon. You can't win them all, I guess!

(Note: If you're a Young Living/doTerra/any other oil company rep, I'm not interested in hearing why your product is so much better than Edens Garden. The oils work for me, I'm happy, and that's all I need to know right now. Also, the lack of an apostrophe in "Edens" really drives me nuts—but not nuts enough to avoid the products!)

Bachelorette Weekend
My sister is getting married ... in less than two weeks! At the end of June, several of us met outside Chicago to celebrate. It was so great to spend time with her, eat great food, and relax. I also had my first exposure to this shopping wonderland:

Oh, Ikea. How did I ever go 32 years without understanding how wonderful you are? I spent less than $75 and got some amazing stuff, including curtains for my bedroom and a new coffee table. Then I ordered some stuff when I got home, too, because I realized I really should have bought the matching end tables to go with the coffee table.

Painting Project
When I moved into my house, there was one thing I wished I could have done first: paint the guest room. But the desire to move in as soon as possible trumped the desire to paint, so I put it off. Over the 4th of July weekend, Blendy and I finally painted! Take a look at the before and after photos:

The room was very cute before, but only suitable for a child ... The room looks much more "adult" now. To top it off, I was able to hang my favorite painting on the wall:

I fell in love with Starry Night when I was in high school. The first time I remember seeing it was on a very special episode of Boy Meets World. Topanga is mad at Cory because he kissed another girl. She and Angela go to this art museum, and she meets an intriguing boy played by General Hospital's Lucky Spencer, Jonathan Jackson. They bond over Starry Night, go on a date, he kisses her, and then Cory and Topanga get back together. (I tried really hard to find you a clip, but this was all I could find. No Lucky. Sorry.) Anyway, Blendy found the print at Ross for $20 during Bachelorette weekend. Score!

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