So, one of the biggest questions I get after saying I'm gluten free is "What happens when you eat it?" Since I got "gluten-ed" (ate something with wheat in it) today, I figured it was a good time to talk about it!
After feeling the effects of it, it makes me wonder how I ever lived with it all the time before. I'm not completely sick (only had a very limited exposure to it today) and even when I have a lot, I've never actually puked from eating gluten. But with what I'm experiencing today, and knowing that I felt like this often before, makes me realize how hard it was for me to function at 100% all the time. And no wonder I was tired and withdrawn a lot.
Anyways, here is what I feel after I eat gluten. Many of these are fairly typical for people with allergies to wheat/gluten.
Headaches. For me this is one of the biggest signs that I've been gluten-ed. I used to have them ALL THE TIME. Right now if fairly mild, but I would get migraines frequently before I switched. And when I do get gluten-ed, they tend to linger longer than the other symptoms. Sometimes, kind of associated with this is light sensitivity and vision issues.
Brain fog, or what I call "The Dumbs." I have a hard time concentrating on any one thing, I get easily distracted, short term memory is slightly impaired. Putting enough thoughts together to write this is stretching the limits of my mental capacity at the moment. I tend to like to talk a lot, but I ramble or switch topics quickly. Be glad for spell check- it's a good thing you can't see all my mistakes as I'm typing. This usually lasts for 24-48 hours after.
Digestive issues. I tend to feel tight, painful, and/or uncomfortable in my lower abdomen (intestines area), with the other lovely issues of gas, diarrhea, or constipation. I'll feel slightly nauseous, and go back and forth between starving and not wanting anything to eat. Loads of fun. This lasts about 24 hours or so.
Acne. I'll break out afterwards, plus my skin will take longer to heal for a while after. This effect lingers.
Aches and pains. For me, these center in my hands (I'll have lovely arthritis one day), back, hips and sometimes knees. Makes it hard to want to exercise when you hurt. This clears up quickly when I avoid gluten, though.
Sometimes I get shaky, but this is rarer. This is the more extreme cases, plus comes with ALL the others. If I'm shaky, get me protein, water, and sleep, in that order.
Anyways, that's what happens when I eat gluten. I know there's other symptoms, but that's what I get. Since going gluten-free, head-aches are rare, digestive has settled down, acne has cleared (except for hormonal flares), and aches disappeared. It's been much nicer.
Now I just need to convince myself I really can do sugar-free. Permanently. Sigh...
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Saturday, November 15, 2014
What Brings You Joy? Musings From My Life
So, Tuesday was Staff Development Day at the City Library. We close all the libraries in the system, everyone gathers at Main in downtown Salt Lake, and we have fun! There's speeches, workshops, lunch, snacks, massages (ahhhh...) and just a great chance to see everyone in the system that you usually don't get a chance to see. Most years I have a pretty good time, and this year they did a great job.
One of the workshops I went to was about mindfulness and mediation. We had a presenter from a local center with degrees in stuff (very technical there, I know) and she was great at leading the group in various exercises (short meditations for the most part) and educating us on being more mindful of ourselves, our emotions and feelings, and our surroundings. I really enjoyed the class, the chance to slow down, calm down, and connect with myself, find my inner peace. I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but I really enjoyed it and hope to incorporate meditation into my days.
One exercise that really made me think was one where we asked another person "What brings you joy?", listened to them, and then thanked them for sharing, then repeated the question. There wasn't any more conversation than that, and after a minute we switched roles, the other person asking instead. I was surprised that I ran out of things that brought me joy! I thought of several things right away, but then had to think a little deeper, later though of more things that bring me joy.
Many of these things mean a lot to me, so thought I would share them with you! Here's a list of things that bring me joy!
First: my religion. Many other things that bring me joy mean even more to me because of my religion. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I believe in God as our Heavenly Father. I believe in Christ and His Atonement. I believe there is so much more to our existence than just this life that we live right now. We will continue after death, which makes my relationships with family and friends even more precious to me. Because of my faith, I served a mission which helped shape my life and who I am today.
The next thing that brings me joy- my husband. He has been a light in my life. He make me laugh, holds me when I feel bad, makes me feel so loved. He makes the silliest sounds (one day he made me believe a bird was chirping back and forth with me), supports me, encourages me to be the best I can be. He makes it worth getting up in the morning, even though it's cold outside (brrrrr). Above all, he loves me despite mistakes I make, despite my shortcomings. He brings me presents. Right now, I can't think of anything else in my life that makes me happier. Knowing that I will be with him forever, through the sealing ordinance of the temple, brings me such joy it overflows.
Connected with that, the next thing that brings me joy is my family. Again, they encourage me, make me a better person, boost me up, and are there for me whenever I need them. My best memories are always with family, whether mine or Dan's. Family reunions and camping trips are the highlight of our summers!
Another big thing in my life that means a lot to me and brings me joy and happiness: music. It lifts me up, gives me answers to prayers, strengthens my testimony of Christ, and sometimes it's just plain fun. I am so grateful for my musical talents, a mother that taught me how to play from a young age, and being surrounded by many great musicians. I love listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and lots of other people too! Music can take a bad day and turn it into a great day.
Something else that brings me joy- nature. I love seeing the beauty in the world around us. I love the mountains, forests, oceans, streams, meadows, flowers, trees, clouds, everything! I feel humbled the God created this world for us. And it's not plain, it's beautiful. I am so lucky to live in Utah, where we have majestic mountains, lakes and rivers, cliffs, meadows, red rock, deserts, and more. I find beauty and joy in everything from water droplets on pine needles to clouds at sunset and trees so big that the camera can't capture their size. I love how flowers can be intricate or simple.
Along with this, I love taking photography of the beauty in nature. I love it when I capture that moment perfectly. My memory fades, but these photos are great reminders of what I see, and I can share them with everyone around me! Sharing that beauty brings me joy.
A random thing that make me happy and brings me joy- being crafty and creative. I love to quilt, cross stitch, crochet and pretty much make something from nothing. I cut up fabric, sew it together, just to cut it again and sew it again! Creating patterns with color, a little duck made of yarn, a picture from tons of little stitches, seeing something coming from chaos- this brings me joy.
Another thing that brings me joy- working! Especially in the library. I love feeling productive, like I make a difference. When someone asks for a recommendation and I help them find something and they read it and love it, it's fantastic! When I help someone find the solution to a problem, or a book that they need, I love it. Helping people is one of the best things about my job. And some days, just having a job, even if it's not ideal, is so much better than the alternative.
One last thing that brings me joy- teaching. I teach a Gospel Doctrine class in my ward (an adult class where we study the scriptures). I love teaching this class. Most the time, I try to find ways to make it more of a discussion, not just me lecturing. But being there, leading the discussion, sharing my testimony, hopefully helping other strengthen their testimonies, I love it. Having a chance to share my love of the gospel, my love of the scriptures, my gratitude for Christ, it brings me joy every time, even if I stress about it too!
Making this list, I've started to wonder why I don't spend more time doing those things that bring me joy. I spend way too much time on Facebook, or doing things that don't really matter. That mindfulness session has helped me reevaluate my life, even though it was just this little presentation at the library. Once again, the Lord watches out for me, helps direct my life. Ever since I saw this session was being offered, I knew I wanted to attend.
I want to spend more time pursuing those things that bring me joy! I want more joy in my life! Finding joy despite the hard times, despite how crazy the world is around us, this will make a difference in our lives- improve them and make us happier people. Hard times will be there, struggles will come. But if we pursue joy in the right places, in things that matter, we will be happy.
What brings you joy? I want to know!
One of the workshops I went to was about mindfulness and mediation. We had a presenter from a local center with degrees in stuff (very technical there, I know) and she was great at leading the group in various exercises (short meditations for the most part) and educating us on being more mindful of ourselves, our emotions and feelings, and our surroundings. I really enjoyed the class, the chance to slow down, calm down, and connect with myself, find my inner peace. I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but I really enjoyed it and hope to incorporate meditation into my days.
One exercise that really made me think was one where we asked another person "What brings you joy?", listened to them, and then thanked them for sharing, then repeated the question. There wasn't any more conversation than that, and after a minute we switched roles, the other person asking instead. I was surprised that I ran out of things that brought me joy! I thought of several things right away, but then had to think a little deeper, later though of more things that bring me joy.
Many of these things mean a lot to me, so thought I would share them with you! Here's a list of things that bring me joy!
First: my religion. Many other things that bring me joy mean even more to me because of my religion. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I believe in God as our Heavenly Father. I believe in Christ and His Atonement. I believe there is so much more to our existence than just this life that we live right now. We will continue after death, which makes my relationships with family and friends even more precious to me. Because of my faith, I served a mission which helped shape my life and who I am today.
The next thing that brings me joy- my husband. He has been a light in my life. He make me laugh, holds me when I feel bad, makes me feel so loved. He makes the silliest sounds (one day he made me believe a bird was chirping back and forth with me), supports me, encourages me to be the best I can be. He makes it worth getting up in the morning, even though it's cold outside (brrrrr). Above all, he loves me despite mistakes I make, despite my shortcomings. He brings me presents. Right now, I can't think of anything else in my life that makes me happier. Knowing that I will be with him forever, through the sealing ordinance of the temple, brings me such joy it overflows.
Connected with that, the next thing that brings me joy is my family. Again, they encourage me, make me a better person, boost me up, and are there for me whenever I need them. My best memories are always with family, whether mine or Dan's. Family reunions and camping trips are the highlight of our summers!
Another big thing in my life that means a lot to me and brings me joy and happiness: music. It lifts me up, gives me answers to prayers, strengthens my testimony of Christ, and sometimes it's just plain fun. I am so grateful for my musical talents, a mother that taught me how to play from a young age, and being surrounded by many great musicians. I love listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and lots of other people too! Music can take a bad day and turn it into a great day.
Something else that brings me joy- nature. I love seeing the beauty in the world around us. I love the mountains, forests, oceans, streams, meadows, flowers, trees, clouds, everything! I feel humbled the God created this world for us. And it's not plain, it's beautiful. I am so lucky to live in Utah, where we have majestic mountains, lakes and rivers, cliffs, meadows, red rock, deserts, and more. I find beauty and joy in everything from water droplets on pine needles to clouds at sunset and trees so big that the camera can't capture their size. I love how flowers can be intricate or simple.
Along with this, I love taking photography of the beauty in nature. I love it when I capture that moment perfectly. My memory fades, but these photos are great reminders of what I see, and I can share them with everyone around me! Sharing that beauty brings me joy.
A random thing that make me happy and brings me joy- being crafty and creative. I love to quilt, cross stitch, crochet and pretty much make something from nothing. I cut up fabric, sew it together, just to cut it again and sew it again! Creating patterns with color, a little duck made of yarn, a picture from tons of little stitches, seeing something coming from chaos- this brings me joy.
Another thing that brings me joy- working! Especially in the library. I love feeling productive, like I make a difference. When someone asks for a recommendation and I help them find something and they read it and love it, it's fantastic! When I help someone find the solution to a problem, or a book that they need, I love it. Helping people is one of the best things about my job. And some days, just having a job, even if it's not ideal, is so much better than the alternative.
One last thing that brings me joy- teaching. I teach a Gospel Doctrine class in my ward (an adult class where we study the scriptures). I love teaching this class. Most the time, I try to find ways to make it more of a discussion, not just me lecturing. But being there, leading the discussion, sharing my testimony, hopefully helping other strengthen their testimonies, I love it. Having a chance to share my love of the gospel, my love of the scriptures, my gratitude for Christ, it brings me joy every time, even if I stress about it too!
Making this list, I've started to wonder why I don't spend more time doing those things that bring me joy. I spend way too much time on Facebook, or doing things that don't really matter. That mindfulness session has helped me reevaluate my life, even though it was just this little presentation at the library. Once again, the Lord watches out for me, helps direct my life. Ever since I saw this session was being offered, I knew I wanted to attend.
I want to spend more time pursuing those things that bring me joy! I want more joy in my life! Finding joy despite the hard times, despite how crazy the world is around us, this will make a difference in our lives- improve them and make us happier people. Hard times will be there, struggles will come. But if we pursue joy in the right places, in things that matter, we will be happy.
What brings you joy? I want to know!
New Job for Brenda! Hooray!
Finally, so good news in the job hunt! I basically walked into a job near the end of October. Wow! It made me feel so blessed just because of all the timing involved. I know that my Heavenly Father looks out for me!
Anyways here's the story behind the job:
On October 30th, I finally decided to take some books to a little used book store in Bountiful that I liked. They had sat in a bag in my front room for months! I had pulled them months ago, knew I wanted to take them back, and they had just sat there. On that Thursday, and for a few days before, I had really urged from within to get more organized, de-clutter some stuff, and just get rid of unneeded items. So, I picked up the bag, got in my car and drove up to Bountiful.
When I got there, I gave them to the girl at the desk, and started browsing while they processed my credit. While I was looking, I heard the people at the desk talking about how a person had just left, without warning, and how they were adjusting without her. I let them finish their little conversation, went to check on my books, and happened to ask, kind of flippantly, "Are you hiring?", wondering if they were looking for holiday help.
They said yes, but not just holiday- they were looking for someone to work part-time permanently, not just the holidays. I told them I was interested, asked if they had an application, they asked if I had a resume. I said I could bring one by the next day, but I was a librarian plus had retail experience. They became very interested at that point, which made me excited. They asked if I could come in the next day to do a trial run, see if I fit in the group and if I really knew my stuff.
The next day was Halloween, and they invited me to dress up. I had the stuff from a couple years ago when I was Madame Trelany from the Harry Potter series. Used that as my costume (bonus points for it being a literary character!), and went in for a couple hours. They showed me around, had me do a few things on the computer taking a few books, and just making sure I really could do this job. By the end of the day, they had offered me a job! HOORAY!
I've been there several times now, mostly shelving books, helping them catch up on that, organizing as they shift their collection around. They are super grateful that I like shelving and that I'm fast at it. Who knew those years shelving would come back and help me now!
Just in case you want to come visit (or want to trade in some books), I now work at the Book Garden in Bountiful. It's on Main Street in downtown Bountiful, only about 15 minutes from home. Click here to go to their site, and you can find them on Facebook too! Come see me!
The way I found this job makes me know that God was watching out for me. I had that bag for months before I was urged to go in. They had just had a person leave, they needed someone with my experience, and I just happen to be there to overhear that conversation. All of those influences meeting together at exactly the right time could not have happened on their own. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father that watches out for me, helps direct me, and gives me hope when I need it. I love Him and am so grateful to have His guidance in my life! #imamormon
Anyways here's the story behind the job:
On October 30th, I finally decided to take some books to a little used book store in Bountiful that I liked. They had sat in a bag in my front room for months! I had pulled them months ago, knew I wanted to take them back, and they had just sat there. On that Thursday, and for a few days before, I had really urged from within to get more organized, de-clutter some stuff, and just get rid of unneeded items. So, I picked up the bag, got in my car and drove up to Bountiful.
When I got there, I gave them to the girl at the desk, and started browsing while they processed my credit. While I was looking, I heard the people at the desk talking about how a person had just left, without warning, and how they were adjusting without her. I let them finish their little conversation, went to check on my books, and happened to ask, kind of flippantly, "Are you hiring?", wondering if they were looking for holiday help.
They said yes, but not just holiday- they were looking for someone to work part-time permanently, not just the holidays. I told them I was interested, asked if they had an application, they asked if I had a resume. I said I could bring one by the next day, but I was a librarian plus had retail experience. They became very interested at that point, which made me excited. They asked if I could come in the next day to do a trial run, see if I fit in the group and if I really knew my stuff.
The next day was Halloween, and they invited me to dress up. I had the stuff from a couple years ago when I was Madame Trelany from the Harry Potter series. Used that as my costume (bonus points for it being a literary character!), and went in for a couple hours. They showed me around, had me do a few things on the computer taking a few books, and just making sure I really could do this job. By the end of the day, they had offered me a job! HOORAY!
I've been there several times now, mostly shelving books, helping them catch up on that, organizing as they shift their collection around. They are super grateful that I like shelving and that I'm fast at it. Who knew those years shelving would come back and help me now!
Just in case you want to come visit (or want to trade in some books), I now work at the Book Garden in Bountiful. It's on Main Street in downtown Bountiful, only about 15 minutes from home. Click here to go to their site, and you can find them on Facebook too! Come see me!
The way I found this job makes me know that God was watching out for me. I had that bag for months before I was urged to go in. They had just had a person leave, they needed someone with my experience, and I just happen to be there to overhear that conversation. All of those influences meeting together at exactly the right time could not have happened on their own. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father that watches out for me, helps direct me, and gives me hope when I need it. I love Him and am so grateful to have His guidance in my life! #imamormon
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