Gluten Free?

Due to many years of stomach issues I am debating whether this whole gluten free rave that is going around might actually be beneficial to me. This is incredibly sad to me though and would be such a bittersweet feeling if I found gluten to be the cause of my problems…

It is hard for me to even think about giving up gluten but I am willing to try it. The biggest problem is that I love to bake. I know that going gluten free doesn’t mean I can’t bake anymore, I will just have to get more creative…it is almost like going vegetarian in the grain world. Anyone else have any gluten free success stories? Or Gluten free baking recipes?

10 Minutes in Hell

I finally lost the game of Russian roulette that I was playing with my group exercise class. Yes, this means I had to get up in front of class and teach for 10 minutes. Ten whole excruciating minutes. I guess if you think about it, I didn’t really lose, but more like surrendered. I could of gotten out of it again if I wanted to, but I felt that I needed to do it; not only for the sake of my grade, but for the sake of being able to say I did it and overcame one of my greatest nightmares. She passed around a sheet of paper for those of us that had not yet done our aerobic demo. We were to sign our names so she knew who was left to go. I watched the piece of paper slowly get passed from person to person, until I finally saw it reached the guy next to me. ( I swear he is Fogell from Superbad ). I was next. Should I sign it? I could get out of this if I don’t sign it. She would never know.

I saw McLovin sign his name on the paper and then look at me and say “do you need to sign it?” “Yes”, I said hesitantly as I grabbed the piece of paper and pencil. Hands shaking, and sweat pooling I signed my name at the bottom of the list. I felt as though I had just signed myself up for a voluntary beheading.

The teacher continued her usual morning blabbering until she finally ran out of things to say and we got to doing our demos. One after one, people went and I could feel that my turn was getting closer and closer. My head began to ache, and my muscles were so tense I felt like I was being squeezed by a python. 

Finally it was McLovins turn and I was next. I was really going to have to do it this time. There was no escaping. Why did I sign that piece of paper?! What do I do? Pass out? Play dead? Pretend I already went and signed the paper on accident? Hmmm no I suck at lying that won’t work. My only option was to just do it. <---insert Nike product placement here. Just do it.

The teacher blew her whistle signaling McLovin that his 10 minutes was up and then shouted my name over the music. My heart was beating so hard that I probably could of just used it for a beat instead of the music. I walked over to my backpack, grabbed my trusty Tune Belt and headed up to the front to get fitted with the microphone.

The instructor quickly handed me the microphone while she babbled on about the time and other various subjects. It was surprisingly calming though because she was so non-shalant about the whole ordeal. When she saw that I was struggling to figure out how the microphone was supposed to go she asked

“Haven’t you used it before?”

“No.” I said with a nervous laugh.

“OH! That’s right, your one of the ones that cheated!”

“Yea…”

Darn she knew the whole time?

She continued to fit me with the microphone, awkwardly pulling at my belt getting a little closer than I would of liked. “Alright, go for it. Don’t freak out.”

I slowly walked to the front of class, looking in the mirror making sure the microphone was properly positioned on my head. I remembered that I had a dream like this before…only this time I had clothes on so that was a good start. Here goes nothing.

“Hi, my name is Amber…can you please start the music?”

The teacher cheerfully started the music and I began my demo. After I got moving, and nestled my way into a grove it ended up being a lot easier than I thought, and it didn’t even seem like the longest 10 minutes of my life. All the guys ( I am only 1 of 3 girls ) were really supportive and started clapping half way through. They knew I was hating life at the moment and was really thankful for their support.

Finally I heard the sweet sound of the teacher’s whistle. My time was up. I did it. It was over. I walked over to the teacher and she gave me my review. To my surprise she said that I actually did pretty good. That I counted in all the right places, that she could hear me clearly, ( which no one ever says…I suppose the microphone helped me out in this area ), and that the class was able to follow me really well.

I was on cloud 9 when it was over. I couldn’t believe I actually did that…not to mention I have been dreading that experience from the first day of class. Unfortunately that won’t be my last time having to do that…now on to step aerobics…Ugh.

Wow this is a long post. My apologies…

Wish Upon a Star

I don’t feel like doing step aerobics today…nor do I feel like “practice” teaching it. I can’t get over how much I hate this Friday class. It wouldn’t be so bad if our teacher actually gave us time to learn things, or just understand that not everyone devotes every second of our days thinking about group exercise classes.

Potentially I could see myself teaching a class, just not in these circumstances. My instructor thinks modern aerobic exercise classes are the best thing ever invented…or that she invented it because apparently she is the best teacher in the universe that refuses to go by any name other than “Star”. Yes..she really does want you to call her that. ( her real name is Judith ).  Come on Judith, not even Richard Simmons is vain enough to want to be called “Star”.

So Star, if you are so good at what you do, why are half of your students sick most of the time? Is there some mysterious strain of swine flue going around that only affects those attending your class? Why do I see people sneaking out the gym door not even half way through your class? Well, there are two reasons for this one.. #1 your class blows, and #2 you are too crazy to notice.

Wanted: Sleep

I spent most of my morning creating an avatar for an army version of Second Life…who knew that existed right? Well it does..and I couldn’t help myself. I suppose it thinks all army wives are sluts though because the female avatar starts out with size DD boobs and a short polka-dot skirt. I spent nearly an hour and a half just trying to tone down my whorrish avatar only to find out there is a glitch that makes it so you must forever wear a pink polka-dot skirt and high-heels regardless if you are wearing pants or not.

 

 

                            My Avatar is a whore

I hate wearing skirts so much that I couldn’t even stand to watch my avatar wear one and quickly exited the program…maybe I will try again later. Who knows though, maybe I should buy myself a pink polka-dot skirt to wear over my jeans.

On another note..I am having the hardest time sleeping. Not necessarily falling asleep..I am still compared to a 95 year old in that sense. ( by that I mean not being able to keep my eyes open past 9:30). I am just having trouble with quality of sleep. I wake up at 3:00 and have to force myself to sleep in until 4:00am. This hour from 3:00-4:00 is usually filled with me waking up every 10 minutes. Then by 4:00am I am up..and most of the time with a headache. Wah Wah hear me whine. Tired of it yet? I am tired of hearing myself whine. Sorry guys.

Blogging? Anyone?

I am not particularly in the blogging mood…so why am I writing this? Probably because I will feel lost if I don’t, and the world might just come crashing down. Okay maybe not your world, but possibly mine. This whole blogging thing has become part of my routine and my fingers can’t help but tip tap at the keyboard robotically every morning. I don’t really even have anything particularly interesting to blog about.. but yet I am continuing to type, and you are continuing to read… my advice would be to stop reading or just skim through the rest of this and try to leave a relevant comment in hopes that maybe someone will check out your blog and then pass on the deed..but no one really reads this so unfortunately you may be S.O.L. but hey it’s worth a try. Maybe I should just give something away to earn some reader love. If you read my blog I will give you candy? Jewelry? A new car? An invitation to my birthday party?

On another note, I got my “I am here safe, everything's fine, I gotta go, love you bye.” phone call from Eric last night so he has officially arrived at bootcamp…I can’t help but wonder what he is doing right now. Whatever it is, I know it’s not sleeping like he would be if he was at home right now. In fact he is probably freezing his ass off out in the middle of no where Missouri. I feel bad for him, but I will admit, some of me wants to laugh. I know, what an evil, evil, wife I am, but picturing Eric running outside in the snow at 5:00am is quite humorous if you know him.

I do miss him though, it is weird not having to put the toilet seat down in the morning, find hidden candy wrappers in the bed, ( I swear he is a closet fat kid ) or see the bedroom floor littered with dirty underwear…Sigh.

Five Months to Forever

I  ended up being able to say goodbye to Eric one more time last night before he flies out to Missouri this morning. I went back to the hotel he was staying at after he got done with the medical checks and etc. yesterday. We went to dinner at Chipotle, enjoyed some good food and then said our last goodbyes. It really is such a weird feeling to hug someone, or just physically be in their presence for the last time in 5 months. I’m kind of at loss for words…but I know it’ is not forever, it just seems like it right now.

Have you had to be away from a  loved one for a long time? How did you keep your mind off of it?

It’s Meatless Monday!

I know you are excited, so excited you can barely restrain yourself right? Well, probably not but I am! So now for your Meatless Monday recipes. The first one sounds particularly delicious…I can’t wait to try it, however if you are a little short on time, the second recipe might be more what you are looking for…or if you just feel like a little latin flavor.

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

ingredient list

Serves 6

Sweet Potato Topping

• 1-2 medium sweet potatos, peeled and diced (1/4 lb.)
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk or plain soymilk
• 1 Tbs. nonhydrogenated margarine or butter
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Filling

• 1 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
• 1 leek, white part thinly sliced (1 cup)
• 2 turnips, diced (1 cup)
• 1 carrot, diced (1/2 cup)
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped (2 tsp.)
• 1/4 cup white wine or water
• 1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 3 Tbs. shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions

To make Sweet Potato Topping:

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add sweet potato, cover, and boil 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and return to pot. Mash with milk, margarine, cinnamon, and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper, if desired. Set aside.

To make Filling:

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and leek, and sauté 5 to 6 minutes, or until leek is soft. Add turnips, carrot, thyme, and rosemary; cook 2 to 3 minutes more, or until carrot begins to soften.

3. Add wine, and cook 30 seconds to deglaze pan. Stir in beans and broth. Cover, and simmer 10 minutes, or until carrots and turnips are soft. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

4. Remove thyme sprigs from Filling, and discard. Pour Filling into 2- or 3-qt. casserole dish. Spread Sweet Potato Topping over Filling. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if using.

5. Place casserole on baking pan. Bake 30 minutes, or until filling bubbles and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

6. Frozen cooking instructions: Preheat oven to 375°F. Cover casserole, and place on baking sheet. Bake 60 to 75 minutes, or until filling bubbles and top is golden. Remove foil during last 10 minutes of baking. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Chimichangas with Fresh Tomato Salsa

ingredient list

6 servings

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 lbs. fat-free ground soy "meat"
• 14.5-oz. can low-sodium diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp. chopped roasted jalapeno pepper
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 6 medium (7 1/2-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
• Fresh Tomato Salsa

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat baking sheet once with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Coat large skillet with cooking spray and place over low heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until just softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds.
3. Add soy "meat," breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Stir in tomatoes, roasted jalapeno, chili powder and cumin. Mix well. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, stack tortillas, wrap in foil and bake until warm and pliable, 8 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, using tongs, heat each tortilla over an open flame.)
5. Place tortillas on work surface and spoon about 3/4 cup "meat" filling in center of each. Fold in sides and roll up, jelly-roll style. Place on prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Bake until chimichangas are lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Serve hot with salsa.

Enjoy!

What did you cook this weekend? Anything yummy?