"I hope ya know, we had a hard time"

A favorite general conference address by Quentin L. Cook Oct, 2008  click here for the article

The title is adequate  for this blog post as it is going to be a quick run down of the past few months.

March:
We filed our taxes, professionally prepared and we found out that we owed. Joseph's "cancelled debt" {i.e. student loans that were forgiven due to disability} became taxable income this year. so suddenly we had to pay 10% of that. Our best option was to pay it all at once. The IRS charges you to set up a payment plan and all payment plans come with interest.... anyway really crappy situation.

**Blessing*** We had the money to pay the IRS, all of it, all at once, and it took every penny we had. We're still ridiculously broke because of it, but so glad that we were able to pay off the IRS.

April 11th- Wrote the dreaded IRS check.

April 13th- Jessica takes 3rd in her pageant! So proud of you Jessica! She did an amazing job and we were so sad that we had to miss it.

April 29th- Shaylee had a large cyst rupture, on her left ovary.

**Blessing*** No hospital this time

April 30th- Doctor appointment with ultrasound. My doctor and another performed the ultrasound, my first ultrasound in this office. The main objective was to evaluate my ovaries, and see if I required surgery to drain or remove the cyst or cysts. Luckily, I did not need surgery as the cyst on my left ovary had already ruptured, there was however, free fluid behind my ovary as a result of the rupture. I was allowed to keep working  as long as I spent as much time as possible resting, bed rest at home. I brought a heating pad to work- and I refused to take my "good pain killers" while working, because they make me high. I prefer to be mentally present while teaching.

**Blessings*** Amazing doctors and modern technology.

May 4th- Flood! Yup, our neighbors' sprinklers flooded our yard, then water went under the garage and into the house. Our living room, closet and bedroom were affected.

**Blessing*** We were home when it happened, so we were able to stop the water and clean up before the damage was extensive.

May 5th- Our 7th wedding anniversary! We spent it in bed together as the night before we hurriedly moved furniture and removed water from the house. So naturally we were both exhausted & as I had violated my bed rest I was is lots of pain.

May 10th- Joseph's neurology appointment in Spokane. Great appointment, very uneventful, still seeing small improvements each visit. We decided to elimnate one of Joseph's MS medications.
While in Spokane we were able to see Kaelee and Calvin! Calvin was teething and grumpy but still enjoyed flirting with his favorite Aunt Shaylee :) We stayed in Spokane that night, so the trip served as our anniversary celebration.

May 11th- We watched Iron Man 3 in IMAX 3D. It was my (Shaylee's) first IMAX and it was a great movie, so glad that we stayed and did that soo worth it.

May 19th- We were preparing to get the carpets cleaned so we texted Dustin to come and help. His friend saw the word "flood", and half of the Pasco singles branch Elder's Quoram showed up at our house and emptied it. Before we knew it our possessions went flying out the door, we weren't quite prepared for that.

**Blessing*** The men were a HUGE help, even though it was shear craziness, oh yea and we still held choir practice that afternoon.

May 20th- "Dan the Carpet Man" came, said that we needed to call our insurance due to the type of water that came in the house (irrigation). So he cleaned the carpets in the rooms upstairs, and gave us numbers and recommendations for restoration companies. A restoration company came a little later and gave and estimate of $3,000-4,000 in damages. Including: mold treatment, wall removal & repair, and new carpet.

May 21st- Dad, Mom and I ripped out the sections of the walls that got wet, in preparation to have the restoration company come and treat it for mold. During that we did find mold in our closet.

May 22nd- Mold treatment

June 10th- We gave up waiting on the insurance companies, had Dan come and clean the downstairs carpets.

Music Recital!! I am once again a proud teacher, I had about 25 people perform in recital. It was a beautifully diverse show, as far as age, ability and styles of music.

We moved our bed in this night as well, let me tell you it was a beast!! It's a crazy king size bed that's floppy and has cooling gel-like topper built in, it took Mom & I 30 minutes to get it in the house, it went faster when Joseph was able to lend a hand.

June 11th- Mom and I went paint shopping, and bought new vent covers.
I had a practice for a special musical number I was a part of on Father's Day. Once that was over we painted my entire bedroom, and Joseph's office corner, we moved in most of the furniture: bookshelves, his desk, love seat and piano.

June 12th- Dad & I put up sheet rock in my bedroom and living room, including mudding and taping.

June 13th- Bought and installed more vent covers, Dad textured all the new sheet rock. I painted the walls.

June 18th- Summer Lessons started (I have 20 students, which is good, but not great)

June 19th- Dad and Joseph put up new wood paneling, Dad was able to make it match, texturally but we can't stain it to match exactly.

June 20th- painted wood paneling in the living room.

**Blessings*** As a family we are incredibly handy, we we able to do all the work ourselves and it looks great. Dustin works at Lowes, we got to use his employee discount for all our supplies.

June 21st & 28th- called in for jury duty didn't have to report.

**Blessing** no missed work!! I am quite curious about juries, but not about the violent crimes that are coming up for trial.

Somewhere in there: Alisha and kids came to visit, Mechams came through town,  Mother's Day & Father's day & lots of softball games... Posts to come: Flood Fiasco with pictures!!, the never ending wheelchair battle, and our new puppy Rylee

Mexican Lasagne

So I found this recipe on Pinterest here. 

I liked the look of the original recipe, 

but being a working gal it needed to be simplified for time. 

Mexican Lasagne

(Shaylee's adaptation)

1 lb. Lean ground beef

1 jar of salsa

Corn Tortilla Shells

1 can of corn

1 can of black beans

2 cups of mexican blend cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Prepare a 9x13in baking pan with non-stick spray.

Cook beef on stove top until throughly cooked, drain. 

Assembly:

Put some salsa in the bottom of the pan first then lay tortilla shells on it, (when putting the shells in I ripped some of them so that there were no gaps).  My layering went like this: tortillas, then beef, salsa, corn, beans & cheese. Repeat until your pan is filled. About 4 layers. Top with cheese. 

Bake for 30 minutes. 

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower, baked crust, finished product, we enjoyed ours with root beer. 

Cauliflower pizza Crust

1 head of cauliflower, stems removed & cut into 2-in florets

3 eggs

2c. Mozzarella Cheese

1 1/2 tsp. dried herbs (italian seasonings, oregano, thyme, rosemary.. anything you like really.)

A couple big pinches of salt

& your favorite pizza sauce and toppings

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees,  Prepare a rimmed baking pan, with non-stick spray, silicone liner or parchment paper. 

Boil or steam cauliflower until it is easily stabbed with a fork. Drain, I would also pat the cauliflower dry to. Puree cauliflower then add eggs, cheese & spices. Mix well.

Spread mixture in an even layer on the baking sheet.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, it's done when the edges are golden brown and the top has spots. 

Remove from oven. Add sauce and toppings and return to oven until toppings are heated through and cheese melted. 

Photo challenge Days 14-29

Day 14: Eyes. Sorry, Thursday is my long day. 

Day 15: Silhouette. Speckles in the window.

Day 16: A good habit. Reading my scriptures, usually on my phone though.

Day 17: Technology. Screenshot from my iphone, 

it has everything I need to keep our crazy life organized.

Day 18: Your shoes.

Day 19: Something you want.

Day 20: In my bag. Couple of notebooks & pens, wallet, glasses, house & storage keys, bobby pins, a plethora of chapstick &lipgloss, car key & gym card, small bag with lady things & medications. 

Oh, and the side pockets have headphones, hand sanitizer & lotion.

Day 21: Faceless self portrait. My hair in a french braid.

Day 22: Inspirational. Quote by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Day 23: Patterns. The cover of my favorite notebook.

Day 24: Animal. Here are our animals, T-bone & Speckles.

Day 25: Strangers.

 I haven't yet met this nephew of mine. 

Soon Sean, we'll snuggle.

Day 26: Close up.

Day 27: Celebration. Dustin's birthday (the 28th) 

we had a little party at his volleyball game the day before.

Day 28: Black & White. Columbia River Temple.

 A good end to an awful week.

Day 29: Flower.

My Gluten Free Life

labels at Fred Meyer

"Hi, my name is Shaylee. I am gluten intolerant, 

my last donut was 8 weeks ago"

The following are pictures of my adventures in gluten free baking.

This is my first gluten free fail. 

I was trying out different gluten free flours.

I have since discovered a flour mix that is excellent for baking, cookies at least.

Found here, but for your convenience I will include it here as well.

Gluten Free Flour Mix

Ingredients

• 1 C white rice flour
• 
  
• 1 C oat flour
• 
  
• 1 C coconut flour
• 
  
• 1 C tapioca flour/starch
• 
  
• 1/4 C cornstarch
• 
  
• 3 1/2 tsp. xantham gum

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients together and make sure they are mixed well. 
• 
  
• Store in an airtight container and use as flour in any baking recipe.

**my suggestions:  the 3 1/2 tsp of xantham gum is almost exactly what comes in the small packets you can buy @ Walmart, so its no use buying a larger amount. I sifted the flours together twice before I used it to bake.**

I recently made sugar cookies using this flour, they were great. You use this flour exactly as you would normal flour, but gluten free flour acts differently and bakes differently. So I let the dough "rest" in the freezer for 30 minutes before rolling it out, and I reduced the oven temperature and increased the baking time.

This is the best cake mix that I have used thus far, it wasn't dry or gritty like others I've sampled. The cupcakes that I made were  moist, and the texture was spongy and just a little more dense than "normal" cupcakes. Overall, deliciousness so I made cupcakes, decorated them and froze them to eat later.

And these are the cupcakes I made. 

We decorated them for a contest that Grandma Wiberg hosted. 

Shaylee's Rose cupcake- GF, also my first roses.

Joseph's John Deere cupcake- not GF, very original.

**Note: we don't have sweets often, most of my baking is holiday related or to give away**

Up next: Yummy gluten free foods we've had, with recipes!

30 day photo challenge

So this month I decided that it would be fun to do a photo challenge, not because anyone else was doing it, purely fun. I found a list of picture prompts that I liked and started it at the beginning of the month.

Day 1: Self Portrait

Day 2: what you wore, striped shirt and favorite black boots, I love the back zipper.

Day 3: Clouds

Day 4: Something green. Yes, my student came to lessons wearing this. 

(N age 8)

Day 5: After Dark

Day 6: Obsession. Chopin's Waltz in A flat Major. Memorization.

Day 7: Changes to come. 

This on was hard, here's a fun wedding photo. 

We'll be celebrating 7 years in 2 months, and hope for good changes to come. 

Day 8: Routine. This is my daily hair styling routine: 

super skinny serum, twirl around styling cream and  finish up with worked up spray.

 Sometimes diffuse with blow dryer. 

Love my Paul Mitchell products.

Day 9: Someone you love. 

Joseph my handsome husband, I love you so much!

Day 10: Childhood memory. Ione Washington, family reunions and thunderstorms. 

A little ways down from this cabin is my great uncle's place, where I remember swinging on a huge rope out into this river one summer.

Day 11: Something Blue. My birthstone is blue topaz, 

I got this ring for my 18th birthday. I love the heart details. 

Day 12: Sunset, this is actually a sunrise. 

Oh well, that's what happens when you work afternoon/ evenings.

Day 13: Cannot live without. Joseph & chapstick,

 honestly those were my first thoughts.

P.S. we got all the paperwork in for Joseph's wheelchair, hope everything goes through. And when he does get his new chair we're going to have a party, cake and ice cream! (gluten-free of course) 

February 8th, 2013

We went to Hughes Physical Therapy in Kennewick to do Joseph's wheelchair evaluation.  This is just one of the steps we'll have to take to have medicare pay for most of the chair he wants. Joseph found this certain chair and he really wants it, I don't blame him. The chair he has now is starting to fall apart, it's still together only with TLC and the mechanic know-how of my sweet husband.

At first he was really resistant to the idea of having a wheelchair, but I jumped at the chance when a free one was offered to us. Initially a wheelchair seems really limiting and restraining, but now he sees a wheelchair as a liberator, he goes miles and miles on his chair outside on his own, he was able to do a 5k again, albeit a little differently than before. And it allows us to do so many things together, especially when we travel, this wheelchair is a door opener rather than a closer.

So this is the chair, it's made by Ti Lite, it's base weight is 12 lbs! (much better than his current chair which is about 40 lbs)  This has been our project lately, finding someone to do the evaluation and measuring and how to get all the info for billing etc.

So his chair will be blue and have handles, so he can be pushed. And wheelie wheels in back so he doesn't tip. We're both pretty excited but there are a few things to do: wheelchair evaluation, a prescription written for a "ultra light weight" wheelchair, dated within 45 days of the evaluation, a letter accompanying the evaluation stating exactly why he needs an ultra light weight chair (10-18lbs) as opposed to a light weight chair (24-38 lbs)  we have to have it worded perfectly and such. And then once the order is in to Spinlife, the company we are choosing to order through the doctor has to sign a copy of the order before all of that is sent to Medicare. Yea, I think that's all but I don't have the list with me. It's in the works, hopefully everything works out so Joseph can have the chair that he wants/ needs. 

January 25th, 2013

This was the day that our newest nephew was born, Sean Robert Bready. 

To Alisha and Marc, and big sisters Tori and Sera Jean.

This makes us Aunt and Uncle x7.

Brand spankin' new

Big Sisters.

Tori looks so proud, and Sera is like "brothers stink!" 

Alisha and her 3 kiddos. 

Tori 3, Sera 21mo. and Sean born 3 years and 10 days after Tori!

It's always a party when Oma comes to town. 

(don't worry it's cream soda.)

pictures courtesy of Mom, mostly.

Gluten- Free for me

Well if the title didn't give it away I will now, I (Shaylee) am gluten intolerant. After coming up with this diagnosis, I've done lots and lots of research that I will share here, mingled in will be my story... thus far.

Definitions:
"Gluten sensitivity (also gluten intolerance) is a spectrum of disorders including celiac disease and allergy, in which gluten has an adverse effect on the body"
"Gluten is a protein composite found in food processed from wheat and related species, including barley and rye"  (Source)

Signs and Symptoms of Gluten intolerance
1. If you have eczema (or other skin rash) and no one seems to know the actual cause behind it, you may have some sort of food allergy.
2. If any of your blood related family members are gluten intolerant then you should get tested. (My Aunt, on my father's side is extremely gluten intolerant)
3. Symptoms associated with gluten intolerance:
-Weight loss/ or gain
- nutritional deficiencies due to malabsorption (ie. low iron)
- gastrointestinal problems (bloating, gas, pain, constipation & diarrhea)
- fat in stool
- aching joints
- depression
- eczema
- headaches
- exhaustion
- irritability, behavioral changes
- infertility, irregular menstrual cycles & miscarriage
- cramps, tingling and numbness
- slow infant and child growth
- decline in dental health.
(Source)

My symptoms include: skin rash on my arms, that looked a lot like Keratosis Pilaris, but didn't go away and got worse when I ate bread. Gastrointestinal discomforts, that mimic the side effects of metformin & headache that lasted all week.

After determining that these were symptoms, not side effects & that I am not sick, I consulted google and my doctor. We agreed that there is a link between gluten intolerance & PCOS, infertility and miscarriage. We also decided not to do a blood test, which can be expensive and inconclusive, instead just eliminating gluten from my diet.

Back to google, I wanted evidence that gluten intolerance may be connected to my infertility. Here are my findings:
The body has an innate intelligence that prevents pregnancy when the health of the mother and/or father are poor. To force pregnancy through unnatural means is a dangerous practice. miscarriage, spontaneous abortion, birth defects, infant developmental problems are common among those having children through treatments.
The 2 most common causes of infertility are pelvic inflammatory disorders and polycystic ovarian syndrome, PCOS. A study in the medical journal of human reproduction identified gluten sensitivity in as many and 8% of women with unexplained infertility problems. The following fertility issues have been linked to gluten sensitivity: (only listed are those that I have had) PCOS, diabetes (or insulin resistance), amenorrhea (absence of menstrual cycle), spontaneous abortion & multiple miscarriages. Gluten intolerance has become a modern plague on human fertility. (Sources here, here and here)

So I then I went on to research what does and doesn't have gluten in it. and because my symptoms included my skin, I need to cut gluten out of my life entirely. Do you know how many thing have gluten in them? Everything, basically.

Cutting gluten out of my diet hasn't been the hard part, it's ridding myself of products that have gluten in them. So far I have replaced my soap (to Dove), deodorant (to Dove), toothpaste (Colgate), face wash (Neutragena, tons of gluten- free options)  & some makeup (Physicians Formula & E.L.F are entirely gluten free make up lines). Luckily a lot of my beauty products are gluten free, way to go Paul Mitchell (I use Super Skinny Serum, Round Trip & Worked up), my shampoo and conditioner (Garnier Fructis), my lotions (Melaleuca's Renew & Hempz), my laundry detergent (Melaleuca). I find myself double checking labels on EVERYTHING. Especially after having a little set back a few days into going gluten free, I used products with gluten- totally on accident, and got a dry itchy rash.

Isn't this absolutely insane? I am 1 week into being gluten- free internally and topically, and I already feel better; no headache, stomach is great, skin is clearing up, I have more energy & sleep better.
I'll keep you posted as I go.

Come on 2013...

I asked you to be kind. Our friendship isn't starting out well, you're new here so be warned: I may be nice but I am also feisty & I will fight back.
January was a little rough...

Grandma Swanger fell and then needed brain surgery she has been in the hospital since the 22nd. And that threw life into chaos, between taking shifts at the hospital and helping with my cousins, it's been so busy and quite hectic.  Grandma will be home tomorrow, on her 75th birthday. It's still going to be a long road and we'll still be helping as much as we can.

I've been taking the little cousins to school, and this is Ralphie my aunt's cat. When I got back he demanded some snuggles. He has missed Grandma, in fact today he spent a lot of time sleeping on her bed, while we were preparing the house for her return. 

Joseph's internship with Yakima Specialties ended on the 16th and again the company couldn't hire him. Yes, we are disappointed, but not surprised. let me explain: a few days before the end of the internship Joseph had a strong feeling that this particular job wasn't for him. We didn't understand exactly what that meant at the time. So now it's back to the drawing board for us. We'll welcome any ideas for part-time work from home kind of jobs. I think that we've concluded that this is his best option.

Now that it's February I'll get caught up with the blog.