Time Travel

I am on Spring Break.  It is Sunday night and I still have one full week of freedom.  I won't deny that this is awesome, but I don't know if I can take being cooped up in the house all week.  Why on earth would I do that?  

This is why.

View of the back yard March 2013. 

It is March 24th, people.  Last year was a totally different story.  I was pregnant and therefore, hot, all the time.  Over spring break, we broke 90 degrees and I found myself lamenting the fact that most of my maternity clothing had been purchased with winter in mind.  C'mon Missouri.  Get it together. 

View of the back yard March 2012.  

Due to our new nine inches of snow, I've been throwing myself a big ole pity party.  Daphne has been sick for a week.  Roseola.  Since Matt is paid hourly and I'm on a salary with quite a few days built up, I'm the default person to stay home.  I'm generally okay with that, but little girl had a fever for four days!  We were miserable and cooped up in the house with no option go to anyplace at all.  I'd consider myself a homebody, but five days without going outside is too much!

So instead of being sad that we decided not to go on a spring break trip this year or chiming in on Facebook with my whining about how Punxsutawney Phil is one lying sack of groundhog, I've decided to be grateful for all of my past travels.  That is easier for me, knowing that I already have a trip planned with a big group of friends for the end of July.  So I just have to wait - that just means more time to work on my beach bod, right?!

I don't have pictures from all of the trips I've taken in my life.  And many of these were not digital until I took a photo of a photo this afternoon.  Here is what I found on my afternoon trip down memory lane.

Gulf Shores, Alabama  

1990-ish.  I'm not exactly sure of the year, but since these are all of my siblings I know I wasn't ten yet. Mary, sibling number five, was not born and she was born when I was ten!

Top Row:  brother Mark, cousin Justin, me, cousin Brooke
Bottom Row:  sister Sommer, sister Audrey

Girl Scout Camp, Camp Cederledge

I think I was about nine years old here.  I know I had a terrible disposable camera with me.  Sommer was there, too, but I have no pictures of her.  I do, however, have some sweet pictures of my bunk which I remember staging very carefully before taking pictures.  Oh geez.  Get a load of that archery stance.  I think the long hair and Umbro shorts are key.  

                             

Florence/Assissi/Arrezzo/Rome, Italy

There is a break in my photo collection here.  The next trip I have evidence of was my trip to Italy with the All Saints Youth Group.  It was 2000, and I was 17 years old.  The photos from this trip are not great.  There are a ton of them, but they capture my limited 17-year-old focus instead of the amazing trip this was. 

Pictured in Florence:  Friends from the youth group.
 I am wearing the backpack (top right) and Sommer is sitting exactly in the middle on the curb.

Chicago, Illinois

As a senior trip, I went to Chicago with my friends, Laura and Megan.  We were graduating form high school and I was 18.  Again, there is not a ton of photo evidence that actually makes it clear that we were in Chicago.  This was our commemorative photo after our trip up to the top of Sears Tower.  We planned this trip from start to finish by ourselves.  This was my first time on a plane without a parent or guardian who was in charge, we took a shuttle to our hotel on Michigan Avenue and we found our way around the El Train.  It was liberating!

Daytona Beach, Florida 

I believe it was the summer of 2002 when we went to Orlando, Florida.  I was 19.  We were totally immersed in Disney and found our way to the beach for a short bit.  Mark let his feet get utterly sunburned so we only went for one day.  Here I am with Sommer, reluctantly posing for the camera in our swim suits - proof that she has always been thinner and blonder than me.  Jerk.

Estes Park, Colorado

One of my favorite family trips was our vacation to Colorado over the fourth of July. I was 21 years old.  For half of the trip, we camped at the base of a small mountain that was a two minute drive from the entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park.  

Again, these pictures don't show my parents or much of the awesome trip.  My favorite moment of any vacation I've ever been on was the moment I saw the sun come up over the Rockies.  So cliche, but true.  After meeting a shuttle at 6:00am on one side of the national park, we drove through the mountains to get to a white water rafting drop-off point.  Dang.  It was gorgeous.  Most of my family was sleeping and it was impossible to take pictures from inside the van but it was stunning.  

     

Various Cities, England

In August of 2004, I flew across the pond by myself.  Sometimes, I still can't believe I did that.  Or that my mom let me.  Or that I wasn't scared at all!  I navigated Heathrow airport for god's sake.  The thought of doing that now makes me anxious...

It was a great trip to visit my friends Rachel and Phil.  Rachel was a foreign exchange student living in my dorm during my first semester of college and we have been friends ever since.  I haven't seen her in a year or two... maybe it's time to plan another trip to Britain!  

At the replica of The Globe theater in London.
We had just watched Romeo and Juliet live from the pit - it even rained on us during the performance!

Exploring Warwick Castle

Stonehenge

Representing MU at London Bridge

Road Trip to the Smokies 

After finishing graduate school in July of 2007, I went on a road trip with my newly married friend and roommate.  It was our last roommate hurrah before we parted so she could live with her husband and I could live in my own place.  We loaded up our camping gear, took an old school atlas and just left.  We knew we wanted to head east instead of west since the thought of driving through Kansas didn't sound fun.  The whole week was spent looking for the perfect piece of pecan pie.  A trip launched by pie quickly became one of my favorite road trips ever.

Posing with Jacqui in Nashville for a few hours of pie-hunting.  No luck. 

Hiking at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee.  My gosh we look young.  

We passed this giant cow on a trailer as we drove down the highway.  Hours later, as we stopped for gas and to search for pie, we were reunited!  It was visiting the Cream City Crankin' ice cream contest which we happily participated in as judges.  No pie, but delicious ice cream and a story!

Metropolis, Illinois was a town along the way.

Hermann, Missouri

We took a long weekend trip to Hermann in 2009 for the BBQ and Berries Wine Trail Festival.  Each of the six participating wineries paired BBQ dishes with a specific wine from their vineyard.  Delicious!  This little trip was our solution to not having the time or cash to go on a long vacation that year.  For one of our nights away, we stayed in the Alpenhorn Gausthaus and we vowed to return someday.  It hasn't happened yet, but I think it probably should soon!

At Oak Glen Winery. 

In the wine cellar at Hermannof Winery.  

Nashville, Tennessee

Over Christmas in 2009, we visited family in Kentucky and decided to take an excursion around Nashville.  Matt went to grad school there and wanted to show me around.  My previous trip was short and disappointing since we couldn't find any pecan pie - he wanted to turn my opinion around!  We found the Loveless Cafe which had been featured on the Food Network.  Two hours later we were seated only to have a retired couple approach us and ask if they could avoid the wait by sitting with us at our four person table.  They were a wealthy couple from New Orleans who visits Nashville every winter.  And in exchange for crashing our table, they  bought our lunch!

Loveless Cafe

Lovelss Cafe

New Orleans, Louisiana

Our honeymoon was in New Orleans!  What an awesome road trip.  The food, the culture, the architecture....  I love this city.  It was so hot in July so I'd like to go back in the fall sometime soon.  We stayed at the Frenchman Hotel at the very end of the French Quarter.  We walked or took the street car everywhere.  It was all we could do to fit in all of the restaurants we wanted to check out, but we managed to visit Cafe du Monde twice without falling into a food coma.  

Just married!

Getting on the Saint Charles line street car. 

At Pat O'Briens on Bourbon Street.  

 

Dauphin Island, Alabama

In 2011, we went on a spring break trip - my first ever!  I haven't been on one since and I am sad about that fact.  This was a huge group of friends who rented a beach house, on stilts, in the sand, with the beach as the front yard....  As a winter storm rained down on Missouri, we skipped town and watched the car's thermometer rise, rise, rise as we went South.  

I had never been on a vacation that had so much unplanned time.  It was wonderful and exactly what we needed - a break from the hustle and bustle.  We read, walked the beach, played in the sand, jumped waves, played cards, cooked.  It was so lovely.  

In our "front yard" for the week. 

The Rib Shack in Mississippi - We had to find some good BBQ on the way home!

Kansas City, Missouri

Okay, okay.  I know this isn't much of a travel for us, but it was all we could swing because of the baby bump.  I was almost 8 months pregnant and we just couldn't make a real trip happen.  So, we went to Kansas City for the day.  We hit up a famous sandwich shop, visited Nelson-Atkins, did some baby girl "going home" outfit shopping, and walked around the zoo.  Oh and ice cream.  We had some great ice cream.  

With our loot from Buy Buy Baby.
The outfit on the right became Daphne's "going home" outfit.  

Me (and Daphne) in front of the Nelson-Atkins shuttlecock.

Chicago, Illinois

In June of 2012, our dear friends moved to Chicago.  At the end of July, we went to visit.  It was Daphne's first trip!  We walked around with the baby carrier and she slept most of the time, but I think she liked it!  We packed the two days we visited with lots of catching up and a few tourist attractions. I have always really liked the city  and we have friends there now, so we have plans to visit again - hopefully this summer.  

The train exhibit at the Museum of Science and Technology.

The electricity exhibit at the Museum of Science and Technology.

There you have it.  These are the places and trips I revisited today.  So, while I am not the worldliest of travelers and I would certainly like to do a LOT more glob-trotting, jet-setting and world-exploring, I realize I have been fortunate enough to make these trips happen.   Even though I am stuck at home without a dry sidewalk to stroll on, I will try to shake off the funk and look forward to my next adventure.   Next up?  Seacrest, Florida in July 2013!  

Almond Joy Cake

For almost four months, I've gone almost completely Paleo with my diet.  Almost.  On a normal day, you can bet that darn near everything I've eaten could have been gathered (or killed) by a cavewoman and I really like it that way.  It's not so different from how we used to eat anyway, but now it accommodates my pesky allergies and makes me feel leaner, clearer in the brain and less puffy.  All good.  Just officially call us Paleo converts.  

Oh, but this is not Paleo.  Not this glorious first success at baking something with alternative flours.  I have tried and failed at baking muffins, breads and cookies every single time I've attempted to bake without wheat flour.  Not this time!  Oh. My. Holy. Molasses.  You will gain three pounds in one weekend because of this cake.... not that I know from experience or anything. 

Working from a bunch of recipes, I mashed them together, modified them to suit my allergies and voila!  I tested it out on my very not allergic sister and husband who were also totally smitten with this cake that tastes like a candy bar explosion.  In my head I've already moved on to other toppings.  What about a big, fresh pile of raspberries on top of that chocolate?  Or what about no chocolate at all?  Vanilla icing with a sprinkle of cinnamon?  The possibilities are deliciously endless.  

Almond Cake with Dark Chocolate and Coconut Topping (Almond Joy Cake)

Cake:

1/3 cup  of coconut oil

3/4 cup of sugar

4 tablespoons ground flaxseed (flaxseed meal)
3/4 cup warm tap water

½ cup almond milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups almond flour

½ cup coconut flour
1 tsp xanthan gum (optional)

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

Add water to flaxseed meal.  Let this mixture sit for five minutes (until is has the consistency of egg whites).  Cream together:  – coconut oil, sugar, and flaxseed mixture.  Mix in milk and vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, mix flours, salt, xanthan gum and baking powder.  Add to wet ingredients and stir until blended. 

Bake in a greased spring form pan for approximately 35 minutes on 350 degrees.  Take out when golden brown on top. 

Chocolate Frosting with Coconut Topping:

1/3 cup coconut oil

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Fancy shredded, sweetened coconut

In a saucepan or microwave safe bowl, melt together coconut oil, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar.

Transfer to a bowl and let chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.  Remove and use hand mixer to whip frosting until it is light and fluffy. 

Spread over cooled cake, top with desired amount of coconut and enjoy. 

**Coconut oil has a very low melting point, so it will melt on top of even a cooled cake.  Ice the cake right before serving to ensure that icing will stay fluffy.  Store leftover cake in the refrigerator.  


Non-Dairy Chocolate Mousse as alternative to icing:

Store one can of full fat coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight prior to baking cake.   Scoop out the heavy cream that separates and sits on top of the coconut water.  Discard water or safe for other uses.  Mix in 4 tablespoons cocoa powder and honey or powdered sugar to taste.  This does not melt like the coconut icing does, but does add moisture to the cake.  Only add to the whole cake if you expect it to be eaten.  Instead top each piece as they are cut to save the cake from being mushy as leftovers.  

More Than a Cookie

I ate a cookie today. Well it was part of a cookie bar. And then I had another piece. I was like a heroin addict and one hit just wasn’t enough. This happened three hours ago.


Now I feel terrible. I felt nothing immediately or even within the first hour after my transgression.

Rewind to two and half months ago. It was Christmas time and about as soon as I got out of bed in the mornings, I was faced with some sort of cookie/cake/candy. On Friday, December 21st, I was released from the fall semester of school to enjoy my winter break. I’m sure I was looking forward to some free time most, but I was probably pretty stoked about the delicious holiday feast heading my way as well. That day also happened to be the day I had my follow-up appointment with my allergist.


In September I had a pretty scary fondue party experience that landed me in the hospital with a swollen esophagus. That night set in motion a series of tests and subsequent follow-up appointments. My follow-up with the allergist was the last one.

I knew the information about my food allergy test wasn’t going to be fun. After all, my environmental allergy test came back with news of a positive allergy for every single listed allergen possible. This had not changed from the last time I was tested in high school - still pretty allergic to cockroaches. It’s a good thing I like to stay away from them anyway…

My allergist was tentative and delicate about her delivery of the information. I now realize why. She began with a list of immediate reactors - wheat, barley, rye, oats, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, citrus, soy, peanuts, etc. Quite the list already and she still had part of the page deliberately covered up by another piece of paper. She moved that piece of paper down inch by inch as she described each allergy. Anything measuring higher than ten requires that I cut my consumption by half of my norm. Anything higher than 20, avoid all together.

Wheat was only at an 18.8 but because I have other grains on my immediate reactor list, she considers it higher than 20. Cow’s milk – above 30. Once they get to 30, they apparently stop counting… And egg whites? Well apparently I win the prize for highest egg white allergy she’s ever seen with a whopping 183. Now, I know I just said they stop counting at 30. Usually that is the case, but my charts were so weird they counted again just to be safe.

Because most of my already pretty “healthy” diet had just been obliterated in one fell swoop, my doctor has asked me to start small. When I incredulously asked, “What am I supposed to eat?” she replied, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Cut things out slowly.” That night I went home and finished off the small, once annually purchased carton of egg nog I had been savoring sip by tiny sip each evening.

The next morning, I woke with an absolutely debilitating headache. Hypothesis confirmed.
So for now, I focus on avoiding gluten, cow’s milk and eggs. Daunting already. Forget about the rest.

Back to that cookie. I originally gave myself until December 26th to eat without changing my diet. I made it through Christmas and the next morning, I cut out my “big three” completely. I have cheated three times that I can count since December 25th. I ate some cheese in the form of spinach and artichoke dip at a baby shower held at my house on January 11th, I ate the piece of chocolate I found in my school mailbox on my birthday, and I ate the roll that accompanied my salad at Panera on February 15th. Each time, I felt puffy and just not well.  It was more difficult to pinpoint at that time. 

What I realize now is that none of those things had egg white in them. The cookie bar I had today did. And I feel woozy. A little dizzy. And my head hurts really badly – nausea-inducing bad.

I think that even while I have been avoiding these allergens, I have not really been believing in my allergies until now. It took me thirty years to figure out they existed, but in the last two and half months I have felt considerably healthier. Things I had taken as normal are now no longer an issue – I have had far fewer headaches. In the first month I only had two! Usually I have four or five a week. My fingers aren’t swollen when I wake up in the morning. My brain feels clearer. I have lost a few pounds and my skin seems a little healthier.

That cookie was a reminder. I have to say it was delicious, but not worth this egg white hangover. I must remind myself of this the next time I’m presented with something irresistible.  Apparently, I am not Superwoman.  Who knew?

"Daphne Learns to Crawl"

Can you believe this girl?  Her development is happening so rapidly, I just can't keep up.  She is really loving her new freedom to roam the house these days and pushes the envelope every chance she gets.  So far, we've only had a few bumps and bruises, but since she has no fear I expect quite a few more.  This is a little easier for me than it is for Matt.  Sometimes, I think he'd put her in a protective bubble if he could!