I Don't Know . . . It's A Mystery!

Mashed Cauliflower & Parsnips

2012-03-05T00:03:00.002-08:00

Happy Monday, friends!

I am on the mend, and able to type again (for the most part) so it's back to work for me! And I'm going to start the week with a wonderful little side dish that is just fabulous. A healthier twist on a comfort food basic.

Mashed ~~Potatoes~~ Cauliflower and Parsnips

This idea came from a dish my mother made for Thanksgiving dinner - Mashed potatoes and parsnips. I love me some parsnips so this was an amazing addition in my opinion.

For our Valentine's day dinner, Mitch made an amazing meal of lamb chops, asparagus and this new creation: mashed cauliflower and parsnips! It blew me away how yummy it was and reminded me so much of that fluffy little side at Thanksgiving.

It definitely has the flavor of parsnips, but it's such a great side dish for one of those cold nights where all you're craving is comfort food. Pot roast and mashed potatoes? No! Pot roast and mashed cauliflower and parsnips!

Ingredients
1 Head of Cauliflower
1-3 Parsnips (depending on the size)
1-2 tbs Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Butter or Cream of your choice (optional)

(Feeds 2 with a bit extra for leftovers)

1. Peel the parsnips (If you can find a large parsnip use just one, but here on the island we were only able to find small parsnips so we used 3. Don't worry - they have so much flavor you don't need much.) and chop into round slices. Chop the cauliflower into small pieces (see picture).

2. With a pot and steamer basket, steam the parsnips and cauliflower for about 10 minutes or until fork-tender.

3. In a food processor, puree the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper until they reach your desired consistency. We whipped them until they were fluffy and mashed-potato like, which only takes a few seconds.

4. Pour out the water from the pot used to steam the veggies and return the mashed parsnips to the pot. I recommend doing this to warm the mash up again, as the pureeing process can cool it down somewhat. If you'd like to add butter or some sort of cream, this would be a great time to do so!

It's a fast, simple dish that is surprisingly good, and fills that need for comfort food you might be having.

And think of all those wonderful nutrients!

Hope you all have a great day!

Partially Interesting Things

2012-03-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

It's been a long week, my friends. I was surprised to find out that today is Friday.

I had so many things planned to do this week. Alas, not many of them were followed through.

And I'm still typing this with 1 1/5 hands. Lame.

Anyway, since I deserted you this week, I'll try my hand (ha) at a week's worth of interesting things.

First off, one thing that many would not imagine is that the incoming mail has been very interesting this week. I received a package from Doc Wiz, with copies of my most recent files, and an unexpected handwritten note from him saying hello. And you wonder why I am so picky when it comes to my new rheumatologist!

I also got a weird one . . . a first . . . you see, I had to go to the emergency room this week because of a very deep, very painful cat bite. Poor little Tesla got her foot caught in what I assume was a very painful situation, and as I was helping save her from the clutches of a garbage lid, she bit my right hand. Twice.

Not just play biting, which she often does, but real, going for the arteries, kill-shot biting. Note to humanity: cats panic when they are in these situations, and their mouths happen to be filled with crazy bacteria. Who knew!

Well I did because I've been in this situation before. (See: 3 years ago, Tesla's collar caught, choking, finger bite.) I hurried to the ER to have them fix me up, which they did, and wonderfully by the way.

And then a few days later I got this . . .

A thank you card from the Emergency Room.

Wow.

I think this town and I are going to get along just fine.

So that was fun.

I also finished booking my flights for the It's A Mystery National Tour! Hooray!! At the end of April I will be off to New Orleans, then Indiana, and then home to see my family! YAY! Have I used enough exclamation points to make you understand how excited I am for this?! Good!

p.s. Thank you to my lovely reader Stephanie who gave me all sorts of useful traveling tips! Some were reminders and some were new, great ideas, and I love her for it. Smiley face!

I have a new recipe to share, but my hand is hurting so I think I'll end the week here. Unfortunately I don;t think that was a week's worth of interesting things. Hopefully I'll do better next week.

Here's to a weekend of recovery!

Cheers!

Mess

2012-02-28T12:38:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Lyda Clark.

Please have pity on me, for my life is a mess.

In the last 48 hours I have . . .

Come down with a terrible, feverish cold.
Booked a plane ticket for the wrong day.
Called in the airline nearly in tears and begged them to cancel the ticket.
Gained at least three paper cuts.
Spilled water on myself numerous times.
Got badly bitten by a cat while trying to save said cat from the clutches of a garbage lid.
Used up 9 bandages and drove myself to the emergency room with a swollen, bloodied hand.
Was recognized at the pharmacy as the girl who has been there three times in one week.
Spilled coffee in hair (don't ask)
Dropped a glass bottle on the floor which shattered everywhere and spilled red carbonated juice.
Hurt hand numerous times while trying to clean up the mess.

I am done for now. I will be wrapped in pillows on the couch, not moving for the next few days.

Koko Head

2012-02-27T09:46:00.001-08:00

Sometimes people with arthritis and other physically disabling issues feel like they can’t do anything. Life is limited and we don’t have much say in the matter. We feel exhausted and strained and well . . . it sucks.
But sometimes we are able to push ourselves past our perceived limits. Sometimes we achieve the impossible. Those times are what keeps us going – knowing that we are able to move and groove like the rest of ‘em.

I’ve mentioned in the past that one of my biggest complaints is that I am physically unable to keep up with others my age. I often pass up opportunities to go out with friends for fear of being stuck in a situation where I can’t keep up. Since moving to Hawaii, there have been a lot of outdoor activities that are calling to me, but I get afraid to really jump out there, especially with other people.

Recently, my husband and I were invited to go on a hike with some of our new friends. A big group of people, all in our mid 20s, going on a hike and then to lunch. Sounds like a wonderful Sunday, am I right?

It was wonderful, until I saw the mountain we were about to climb . . .

The guys of our group were all going up the back side of the mountain, which was said to be significantly harder to scale than the front side. I would go along with my girl friend Katie on the front side of the mountain, where most sane people made the climb. I was told that it was a bit of a hike, but we should make it up before our bushwhacking friends. I was ready.

Fast forward to me standing at the bottom of the trail. Looking up. Waaay up.

This mountain wasn’t just steep, it was crazy. But lots of people were headed up the trail so I figured I’d be able to make it. My legs were tough, right?

Maybe.

A little less than halfway up the hill I was huffing and puffing. I was way more out of shape than I thought. But beyond that my right knee was killing me. Luckily my friend was very willing to take breaks with me, and I love her for it. I took those moments, between gasping for breath, to really fill her in on my joint troubles and why I was having such a hard time. But I slapped a smile on my face and kept going.

Halfway there. It’s getting steeper. I’m hurting even more. At this point it wasn’t that I was too tired or out of shape to keep going – it was that I was afraid my knees weren’t going to get me there in one piece. The aching got worse. The pain was building. But I couldn’t stop there. I kept going.

Three-quarters of the way there, I stopped completely. Holding back the tears out of frustration, I cursed my bad knees. I was angry at my arthritis for giving me such a weakness. I knew I couldn’t keep going. I was at the point where I had to make every step up with my left leg leading because my right knee couldn’t hold my body weight. Each step was killing me. And I was sweating and stinky and generally gross.

I told Katie to go on ahead, that I would catch up with her, and she reluctantly headed up. I wasn’t sure if she was thinking the same, but in my mind I wasn’t going to get up off of the stump I was seated on. There was no way I was going to make it to the top. I knew that a smart person, someone who knows her limits, wouldn’t push it anymore.

But I kept going.

I’m not sure what made me do it. And I have to state that I absolutely DO NOT recommend going so far past your limits. I knew it was stupid and dangerous, but somehow something clicked in my head. I couldn’t just sit there and wait for my group to head down the mountain.

I thought about how impressive it would be if I got to the top. I thought about what must be the beautiful view. I thought about spending a few moments with my friends enjoying our success.

But most of all I thought about how proud of myself I would be if I made it.

And so . . . against my better judgment . . . I kept going.

Eventually I made it.

And it was a glorious day.

I’m not gonna lie, it was a stupid thing to do, but at the same time I am thrilled that I did it. I overcame this obstacle and through the pain and the tears, I succeeded.

And I iced my knees for the next two days.

This article was originally written for Achieve Clinical Research, and can also be found here.

"It's A Mystery" National Tour!

2012-02-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a slow morning. Out late last night at the Hawaiian Islands Invitational Soccer Tournament, an event sponsored by my husband's company and therefore we were given free tickets which was awesome. I forgot how much I love soccer. I played soccer for years before arthritis took over my knees and wished I could have kept up with it. But alas, my soccer fun is limited to simply watching. But fun nonetheless.

So this morning we slept in a bit, cooked up some bacon and made some smoothies, and took a bit of time to begin nailing down our trip.

What trip you ask?

Well the "It's A Mystery" National Tour, that's what!

Actually, it will simply be a trip of pure personal enjoyment, but quite the trip at that.

The first week of April Mitch's company is sending him on (another) trip for work. This time it's to lovely Pascagoula, Mississippi. Exciting, huh? But what's more exciting? The fact that it's quite close to New Orleans, a place that I've always had a hankering to go to but never the opportunity.

What's happening in New Orleans at the time he'll be there? Jazz Fest.

So, with our third anniversary in mind (Though this will be over a month after the date), we decided for me to tag along and go a few days early to enjoy a new city and a new adventure in the Bayou State.

Fantastic.

But since I'll be on the mainland, I thought I'd take advantage of the fact that I will be so much closer to loved ones I haven't seen in a long time. So right after spending a few days in the south, I'll head up to Indiana, where my girl Melissa lives now, and spend a few days with her.

I'm thrilled I get to see her!

After a couple days there, I'll start heading back to Hawaii, but make a stop in my beloved home state of Washington. Again, I am thrilled to be able to see some family and friends. It's been a while and I'm so used to seeing my family on such a regular basis that living this far away has been a bit tough. Plus I think it'll be good for me to get off island for a while. A change of scenery is always good.

It will be a lot of traveling. A lot of time spent on planes. I'm a little nervous to actually book the flights because I'm looking at the amount of time I'll be spending on some of these planes and it's not funny. But I plan to be as prepared as I can for this trip. Booking it enough in advance will help me with that.

So, to any of you who live in Louisiana, Indianapolis, or Washington, I'll be coming your way!

Oh and if any of you have any tips to share on how to travel a lot and keep your sanity, that would be much appreciated.

xoxo

Lyda

My Baby Boy

2012-02-22T00:05:00.000-08:00

I am tired.

After days and days of dealing with a cat with serious issues, we have finally figured out what's wrong with him. And I am spent.

It's been about two and a half weeks since the first incident. After two and a half weeks of his twitching, erratic cleaning and incessant weird behavior, I took him back to the vet to have a follow up appointment. Mitch and I had already done some research (aka googling) and had our own theory about what was going on, but I needed the vet to help.

And it turns out, we were right.

Poor little Niki is having seizures. He has something called Feline Hyperesthesia, or Focal Seizures as our vet calls it. My poor baby has some stuff going on in his brain that ain't good. It's apparently genetic and rare but happens to appear most in Himalayan cats, like lil Nick.

Sigh.

Luckily it's treatable, but when I say treatable I mean I have to feed Niki medicine twice a day, every day.

Sigh.

I have to say that I love our vet. She has helped us so much through this whole process and really seems to care about Niki and helping him get better. Her goal was to make sure that Niki gets back to a comfortable, happy life. With her help and some good treatment, Niki can finally get back to having a good quality of life that every good pet owner wishes for.

Little Niki . . . I love you so.

Looks like me and my arthritis aren't the only ones in this house that need caring for.

Not Paleo Blackberry Yogurt Muffins

2012-02-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've had some serious weaknesses. A lack of willpower, maybe. I'm not exactly sticking to my whole "paleo" plan very well. Give me points for regular, day-to-day following, but I'm not gonna lie, I'm not perfect.

Gasp!

I know, I know. Get over it.

The thing is, there are some primal eaters out there who are so strict about their diet that they won't even think about giving some wiggle room. I, on the other hand, will cut myself some slack every now and then.

Most of the time those slacker moments are accompanied by a stern, you-know-we-shouldn't-eat-that glare from Mitch, but luckily I have a talent for ignoring that look.

Many people must stick to their diet-plan because of severe food allergies. Others are just very tough about their food choices. I say, good for you! But for the other portion of paleo/primal eaters out there like me, I provide you with recipes from both ends . . . the good eater and the bad eater. Because, well, life is worth living and I like to take breaks. Although it leaves life full of conflict. Should I or Shouldn't I?

So for those of you who also like to take breaks, I give you another awesome recipe.

But you shouldn't make it.

Because it's so delicious that you will throw out every good-eating-diet-plan you have just to eat these.

Blackberry Yogurt Muffins

Thanks to finding this wesbite, I now have this recipe sitting in my collection of things that are delicious but not paleo and I want to eat these every day of my life. Thank you Lauren, this recipe has ruined me. But I love it!!!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons coconut oil/butter
3 tablespoons softened butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup fresh blackberries

Note: As I was doing my prep for this recipe, I was shocked to see how much sugar is in these muffins. Pouring all the sugar out into a prep-bowl was almost a deterrent from making these . . . but then I said "screw it" and dumped the sugar in. BAKE AT YOUR DISCRETION! Yum.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper liners and set aside.

In large bowl, mix coconut oil and butter together. Cream with sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, eggs {1 at a time}, yogurt and milk. Scrape edges and mix again until smooth. Pour in all dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Scrape edges and mix by hand to ensure batter is evenly mixed. Stir in blackberries gently. Scoop by the tablespoon into prepared muffin tins evenly.

Place into preheated oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool 10 minutes and serve.

As you can see, I simply copied and pasted this recipe because there was nothing I did to change it. It was fabulous all on it's own.

And then I made it again. Because, well, I had yogurt in the fridge and what else was I going to do with it?

Mitch was hesitant at first, thinking of his own strict diet and how there was no room for these muffins on the list of acceptable foods.

Until he had one, and then it was a battle between us to get to the plate of muffins. Blackberries everywhere. It was a mess.

Anyway, thanks again Lauren for tempting me with this recipe. Although it has only given me another thing to add to my list of "do not make these or you won't be able to stop eating them" things, I love it.

Orange You Glad It's Friday?

2012-02-17T00:03:00.000-08:00

It's Friday! Yay! Who doesn't love Fridays?

This Friday I'm keeping things short and sweet. A new recipe I just tried and it will take you all of 2 minutes to make.

Ok, it's a drink. A smoothie. An orange smoothie.

I know what you're thinking . . . "Real thrilling, Lyda. What's next? How to make a PB&J?"

No, and you've got a real sour attitude for it being Friday and all.

I never use my blender because I think it's a pain in the butt to clean. But I got this idea for an "orange julius" style smoothie from Colourful Palate the other day and decided to get over my annoyance at washing a blender and try it out.

What can I say? Her photo is a little fancier than mine.

It was yummy and worth it. A delicious dessert-y treat that I drank almost as quickly as it took me to make.

Orange-Vanilla Smoothie

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Almond Milk
1/4 cup Orange Juice Concentrate
1/2 tsp Vanilla
4-5 Ice Cubes

The almond milk I used was flavored with vanilla so I cut down the vanilla extract to 1/4 tsp. It's definitely a sweet drink but it's yummy.

Step One: Put ingredients in blender.

Step Two: Turn blender on and . . . blend.

Step Three: Pour into a glass and drink.

Step Four: Clean the blender.

Did you try it yet? No? Go on ahead, I'll wait.

. . .

What did I tell you? Delicious, huh?

You're welcome.

Enjoy your weekend!!

xoxo

Molten Chocolate Cake

2012-02-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are not still in a chocolate-coma after Valentine's Day, I have a treat for you.

On February 14th our home was filled with the delicious smells of a beautiful home-cooked meal. I will have to share with you Mitch's wonderful meal including the recipe for lamb chops with a strawberry balsamic reduction, but it must wait.

Right now, it's more important to share with you . . . the dessert.

Because if you regularly read my blog, you understand and share my love for sweets.

Don't deny it. It's a beautiful thing.

I searched the internet for something spectacular. Something out of the ordinary. Something chocolate.

And then I found a recipe for my absolute favorite dessert of all the desserts

. . . Molten Chocolate Cake.

It's no lie, if you are with me at a restaurant and the dessert menu has some form of molten chocolate cake, I will order it. I live for that moment when your spoon dips into a piece of cake and comes out with ooey, gooey, chocolatey goodness. Is your mouth watering yet?

Unfortunately, the recipe I found was not what you would call "paleo", or even "sorta-paleo". It was full on buttery magic. I wanted it, I needed it, but I thought I'd search for something similar that might be a little better for my belly.

I only found one recipe for cake like this, and it was by ThePaleoMom (all other recipes linked back to hers so I was assuming it must be good). The only alterations I made were to add more sugar, (per the suggestions of many people who "tried it but would add more sugar next time") and a bit of finely ground coffee to amp up the flavor a bit.

Molten Chocolate Cake à la Paleo Mom

Ingredients:
4 oz semisweet baking chocolate
4 tablespoons of coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp coconut flour (I know, seems like nothing! but trust me)
2 tsp cocoa powder
1/4-1/2 tsp finely ground coffee/espresso powder
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

1. Grease 2 ramekins (The original recipe says it makes for four, but I only had two and it came out perfectly so . . . )

2. In a small bowl, melt the chocolate and the coconut oil. Stir together well and set aside while doing the rest.

3. With a mixer, beat the eggs, vanilla, salt and sugar for 5 minutes. (She says to make sure to keep it going for that long . . . so I did. Not sure what her reasoning was behind it but I'm assuming it's to get the eggs to whip up enough to add that light airy texture.)

4. Pour egg mixture on top of the chocolate/coconut oil. (Don't mix it together yet.)

5. Sift the cocoa and coconut flour over the top. Add your espresso powder. Gently fold the ingredients together. (Took me a little while to get everything incorporated, but I made sure to do this carefully.)

6. Pour the batter into greased ramekins (yay!), filling within 1/2'' of the top. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Note: the original recipe told me to bake them for 11-12 minutes, but they were not near done by then, so I continued to bake them for 2-3 minutes at a time until the tops of the cakes looked like they were a little less liquidy and a little more cakey.

The center will sink in a bit. Don't worry. It won't last long enough for you to care.

Also, let them cool for about 5 minutes before serving or else you'll burn your lips off when you take your first bite.

But oh . . . that first bite . . . it's like chocolatey heaven on a spoon.

We served this with chopped strawberries and red wine and for a moment, all was perfect and good in the world.

It was beautiful, I tell you!

Absolutely beautiful.

And I have just enough ingredients to make this one more time. . . .

Molten Chocolate Cake . . . 2nd try. BOOYA!!

Loves me some chocolate.

The Energy-Sucking Nature Of RA

2012-02-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

In the past few years I’ve found a few differences between me and my non-arthritic friends (those poor suckers). Most of the time I am able to overcome those differences. I might not be the most in-shape person, but I do exercise. I might not be able to run and play like the other kids, but I still have fun with the hobbies that I’m able to do to keep active. I might have some down days, but who doesn’t? It’s all in how you look at it.

But some things make me very different and I just gotta learn to live with them. Most notably and unfortunately, my energy levels.

I know you can relate.

How many times have you been invited to go out to do something and even though it sounds fun and you want to be with your friends, just the thought of getting yourself ready to go makes you tired. And it’s a difficult one to explain.

Most of the time I just say I’m lazy.

But really, that’s not 100% true. My laziness has little to do with a lack of interest, it’s a lack of energy. And it’s a bummer, but every now and then my energy is zapped and you’re gonna have a hard time getting me up and running.

A lot of things take a lot of energy out of you. Things that most people take for granted. Here’s an example:

The other day I was having lunch with a friend who also had Rheumatoid Arthritis, and we were talking about this lack of energy and how frustrating it is. (Let me tell ya, it’s a wonderful thing having someone who can relate!) She was telling me about how achey and exhausted she was after one night where she hosted just about her entire extended family for the holidays.

Now that’s a lot of people and a lot of hosting and mouths to feed. But even in a smaller version of the same event, it’s still tiring. It got me thinking about how much energy it really takes to do something that might not seem all that consuming.

Like being around a ton of people.

I’m not joking.

Hear me out. You could be in a room lounging with 15 of your good friends, simply gabbing away and laughing about the latest gossip, but keeping up with so many people is going to take some energy. And when you’re working on a lack of energy as it is, that can be difficult at the end of the day.

I started thinking about my days in school, going out with friends, crowded bars and house-parties, and then spending the rest of the weekend recuperating. No, it wasn’t drinking myself under the table that caused the need to rest, it was the fact that it literally takes all the energy I have to handle a large crowd of people.

I had 30-odd people at my wedding reception – perfect and relaxing. Downtown Waikiki on New Years Eve? Nut-house and I gotta go home and rest.

Now I’ve found that with exercise I’m able to bump up the amount of energy I have in the day, which is great. And sometimes I’ll push myself to go out and about even when I think I can’t possibly do so. Sometimes I’ll come back and want to curl into a ball, but a lot of the time I’m grateful that I went.

But these little things help me understand how my body works and how to find that balance. Sometimes I get down on myself about my lack of energy, but when you put things into perspective it makes it easier to live with. Perhaps that “spoon theory” is on to something.

This article was originally written for Achieve Clinical Research, and can also be found here.

Love

2012-02-14T00:04:00.000-08:00

Ah, Valentine's Day . . .

Some people just hate it. How many times have you heard something about how Valentine's Day was created by Hallmark or the candy companies?

I say phooey. You don't have to have a significant other to celebrate Valentine's Day. You just gotta have love.

Get over the idea that you have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a night out or a life-size bouquet of red roses on February 14th. Instead just do a little something to remind the people you care about that they are in your heart.

And if you need help with that, here are some someecards to help . . .

In the Clark household, we celebrate by making yummy dinner for each other. This year he's making dinner (no idea) and I'm attempting to make a paleo version of molten-chocolate cake in my sweet new ramekins! Oh yeah, and I bought myself some Hawaii-smelling lotion and got my eyebrows waxed. Thanks Mitch.

Happy Valentine's Day my loves!

Unnecessary Excitement & Lyda Makes 4 Cupcakes

2012-02-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

I am troubled.

I realized that I have developed weird emotions toward things that normal people would not find as amusing as I do.

Most of these things are food/kitchen oriented. Where did this come from? Probably too much time spent in the kitchen and reading food blogs. But it's turned into an abnormal obsession with random things.

It's the little things in life that thrill the pants off me.

Little things like the delight I get from a new pepper grinder . . .

We've seen this from me before, with laughter and amusement from a particularly large head of broccoli. Yes, that was enough to make me want to pose with it.

I also recently got very excited about another gem that Mitch bought for me. After one trip to our local grocery store, Mitch surprised me with not one, not two, not three, but FOUR packages of local grass-fed ground beef, randomly on sale.

Oh yes. I was thrilled. My mind was swirling thinking of all the wonderful goodies I could make with this wonderful gift.

Speaking of wonderful gifts, if you'd like to bring me true jubilation, you can make a purchase for me at any number of kitchen supply stores with unique and fancy tools that I could possibly use.

The other day I decided to splurge on myself, and bought two lovely ramekins, perfect for making baked omelets, and also giving me the ability to try out a new recipe involving paleo ingredients and lots of apples and cinnamon.

Now that I have these cute little ramekins, I am finding an endless amount of ways to use them. So many recipes, so many possibilities, just the idea of using them makes me happy.

It must be a sickness, this odd enthusiasm I have for things like bakeware and beautiful produce. But I'm not ashamed of it. In fact, I embrace it.

And now that I have shared this weird information about me, I'd like to share another recipe.

I found out about our new friend's birthday the night before and wanted to bring him some sort of nice, last minute gift. So I decided I would bake him something birthday-ish. How about cupcakes?!

But I didn't want to bake a dozen cupcakes and have so many to tempt me, calling to me from the refrigerator, begging me to eat all of them. That's why I was so excited to find a recipe for 2 cupcakes! Fantastic! So thank you to Kerry at Baker Girl for this recipe.

I doubled the recipe to make 4 cupcakes (yay math!) for quality control and to make sure I didn't mess up on the whole frosting portion (which I did, so I was thankful to have extras). I ate one, gave the birthday boy 2 and saved one for Mitch. Yay math!

Birthday Cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
4 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 heaping teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk (I used almond milk)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

1. In a standing mixer, whisk the egg whites with sugar until well combined.

2. Add the melted butter and vanilla, continuing to whisk.

3. Change out the whisk for the regular beater and slowly add in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Continue until all mixed together, scraping down the sides as needed. Add 2 tablespoons of milk.

Note: Maybe it's because I've been baking with "paleo" ingredients so much, but I wasn't used to how liquidy the batter would be! Surprising!

4. Pour batter into lined muffin tins and bake for about 10-15 minutes. (The original recipe says 10-12 min, but I found I need an extra five minutes to get these cooked through.)

Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
1 tbs vanilla

1. Whisk the butter until soft and fluffy.

2. Slowly add the powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Add the vanilla after the sugar is all mixed in.

3. Whip the frosting on high for a few minutes, until it's light and fluffy. (add food coloring if desired.)

Now I'm not going to tell you that I'm any good at cake decorating. In fact, I kind of suck at it. Doesn't matter how hard I try, frosting always looks like I was wearing a blindfold while decorating.

But I rather like the way these turned out. And again, I got a kick out of a new food coloring (and some new cupcake liners that I didn't use here but will soon enough!)

Ah, it's the little things . . .

Strawberries & Chocolate For Valentine's Day

2012-02-10T00:09:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is coming up, my friends, and you know what that means . . . a wonderful excuse to consume lots of chocolate!

And, ya know, saying "I love you", but whatever.

Chocolate.

I had an exciting time recently trying to create the perfect dessert for this holiday. A true decadence. But also something that stayed within the lines of being "paleo". After a few days of making my kitchen a mess, and washing more dishes than I care to talk about, I think I came up with something pretty delish.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients for Cupcakes:

1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 eggs

2 egg whites
1/2 cup of grapeseed oil
1/2 cup of agave nectar
1 tbs vanilla extract

1-2 tsp strawberry preserves

¾ cup finely chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Whisk together your sifted coconut flour, sea salt and baking soda in a large bowl.

2. In a smaller bowl, whisk four whole eggs and two egg whites. Add grapeseed oil, agave, and vanilla.

3. Mix the egg mixture into the flour mixture until combined. Add strawberry preserves (jam, jelly, what-have-you) and fold in your strawberries. (A couple drops of red food coloring might be fun here, to add a little strawberry color!)

4. Pour batter into a lined cupcake tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes, take out when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:

1 cup of chocolate (I used dark chocolate chips because that's what I had, but white chocolate could be delish!)

1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 tbs agave nectar
1 tbs vanilla extract
pinch sea salt

1 tsp strawberry preserves

1. Melt the chocolate. I used the fancy glass bowl on top of a pot of water trick. Add a pinch of salt. Stir stir stir.

2. Using a standing mixer (Or a hand mixer if you have one . . . I don't) whip the chocolate along with the grapeseed oil, agave, vanilla, and strawberry for about 5 minutes, until nicely combined and looking yummy.

3. Place bowl in the freezer for about 20 minutes in order to thicken up a bit. Once thick, bring back to your mixer and continue to whip until fluffy.

4. Frost cupcakes. Store in the refrigerator and serve cupcakes with chopped strawberries.

My photos make the frosting look a bit lumpy, but in reality it had a very smooth texture.

These were crazy good.

I mean, come on, what's better than chocolate and strawberries?

A perfect little treat for a little Valentine's day celebrating!

I love you.

Coconut Shrimp. A Meal Or An Appetizer.

2012-02-09T00:22:00.000-08:00

When times are stressful, I sometimes forget to blog. I also forget to eat well. Actually, that's a lie, I'm completely aware that this bag of Barbara's Jalapeno Cheese Puffs are not in any way paleo or good for me, but I'm eating them anyway. Moving on . . .

In light of my lack of any real willpower when times are tough, I'm going to share a new recipe that has all the beauty of a sinful treat and still (in my mind) falls under the category of paleo. Or as paleo as I'm gonna get on certain days.

Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients:
1lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I also plucked the tails off for easy devouring.)
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper
pinch of garlic salt
2 eggs
1 cup coconut flour
2 cups shredded coconut
2-3 tbs coconut oil

1. What we're doing here is using egg, coconut flour, and shredded coconut to make a coating on the shrimpies, so set up your station: eggs in one bowl (beaten), coconut flour in another bowl, shredded coconut in a third bowl, and a clean plate at the end. Season the egg with salt, pepper and garlic salt (whatever spices you want, really).

2. Pat the shrimp dry before starting. One at a time, dip the shrimp into the coconut flour (giving the shrimp a thin coating of flour before moving on), then dip into the egg, and finally the shredded coconut. Set on a plate. Repeat until all the shrimp are coated.

3. Heat coconut oil in a skillet. Lay the coconut-breaded shrimp on the skillet and cook for about a minute (enough for the shrimp to become opaque) then flip over. Cook the shrimp so that they are golden and crispy.

4. You can also bake these by setting the oven to 400 degrees, laying the shrimp on a lined cookie sheet and baking for about 15 minutes.

I'm still trying to come up with the perfect dipping sauce for these bad boys. I'm thinking some sort of lime-type sauce, maybe a little tart to counterbalance the sweetness. But really, I think they are fantastic on their own. And delightfully delicious!

Shrimpy, coconutty, yuuuummm!

Oh Niki . . .

2012-02-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel like life throws more challenges than necessary. It's as if it's some humorous joke to see how we react to stressful situations. In my case this weekend, I think Niki has a thing for making me freak out.

A weekend of vet visits, freak outs over the possibility of my poor kitty having partial seizures, and little-to-no sleep, I'm exhausted. It's still a mystery as to what was happening. Signs pointing toward Niki having had a seizure, or something less serious as having an allergic reaction to something in the house (which is surprising because there is nothing new in here. Le sigh.) About a million trips to the vet and an overnight stay, Niki is home and I'm trying to process everything that happened.

To make everything worse, Mitch had to leave on Sunday morning for a business trip so I've been dealing with most of it on my own. At first I was panicking about that. I'm too much emotion and not enough reason. I have a hard time making serious decisions like this without taking everything personally.

But the exciting thing was that once it came down to it, I was able to. I learned that I do have the ability to handle tough situations on my own, and that's very liberating. Sometimes I don't give myself enough credit. Sometimes I discount my abilities and I shouldn't.

For now, I have a little family to take care of and I'm leaving it at that. With things finally calming down a bit, I think I'll give myself a day to just . . . relax.

Ahhh . . .

Boozey Bratwurst!

2012-02-03T00:08:00.000-08:00

Alright, this is not the recipe that I have been slaving over for the last three days. That will be coming to you soon. Right now, I'm sharing with you another amazing dish that will knock your socks off.

And I got it from a wonderful little cookbook called "Cooking With Booze".

Yep.

My mother bought this cookbook for us a couple of years ago. I'm just now getting around to testing some of these recipes, but let me tell you, Ryan Jennings and David Steele have some awesome ideas in here. Their photos are beautiful, their humor is entertaining and there are convenient cocktail ideas to go along with each recipe. Genius.

Check out their website here for more info.

Now, getting back to sharing time. In Hawaii we are lucky enough to be able to use our bbq all year long, so we take advantage of this fact quite a bit. If any of you are able to bbq now, you should go ahead and get on this. And if not, save this recipe for the warm weather because you're gonna want to try it. I give you . . .

Mustard-Glazed Brats with Caramelized Onions

I have a lack of photos of these because: 1. We made these for our neighbors one night mid-week and it got pretty dark by the time we were settled at the table. and 2. Brats with onions on top aren't exactly the most beautiful looking combination. Though they taste amazing.

And they're made with booze. A fact I made sure all my neighbors knew because I was so proud of it.

There is something entirely fun about cooking with booze. And by cooking with booze, I mean both using it as an ingredient, and drinking it while cooking. Double fun.

Ingredients
Caramelized Onions:
2 tbs olive oil
1 large onion
1/4 cup dark German beer
pinch of salt

Mustard Glaze:
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/8 cup of agave nectar
2 tbs molasses
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup orange juice
dash of hot pepper sauce

6 bratwurst sausages
2 bottles of dark German beer
6 sausage buns (optional to keep paleo)

The addition of beer was a Lyda and Mitch choice. We had it, so we used it. And we needed more booze in this recipe. That's how we roll.

The agave nectar was a replacement for 1/4 cup of brown sugar if you want to change back to the original recipe.

1. For the onions: heat olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 10 minutes (until translucent).

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add beer and salt and cook until very soft and golden brown (about 20 minutes), then set aside.

3. For the glaze: whisk together mustard, agave (brown sugar), molasses, and garlic in a small saucepan.

4. Add bourbon, orange juice and hot pepper sauce and whisk until combined. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until the glaze thickens slightly.

5. Brats: in a larger pot, pour two bottles of dark beer and bring to a boil. Add bratwurst and cook in the beer for about 5 minutes, or until cooked depending on the size of the brats.

6. On the grill: Brush the sausages with glaze and grill for a couple minutes, turning on each side to get grill marks and a little crispy skin. Add more glaze as needed.

7. Serve bratwurst with the grilled onions on toasted buns if you're eating bread. Otherwise they are fantastic with the onions on their own. A little extra glaze on the side and you're good to go!

Ahh . . . my belly is smiling just thinking about that bbq!

This is only the beginning of my adventures with booze-based cooking. It's simply sensational!

Happy Friday!

Teaser

2012-02-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had high hopes of presenting you with an amazing new recipe.

Four tries later, I finally came up with the perfect combination of ingredients.

Oh baby this is gonna be good. . . .!

See you tomorrow!

Omelet Muffins, Breakfast Of Champions

2012-02-01T00:08:00.000-08:00

Like I said earlier, I've been on a mission to find or create new recipes for delicious breakfast treats that follow my nifty little paleo diet. I've scoured the internet for recipes. I've attempted some of my own personal creations. Some of these recipes have been successful, some not so successful.

One of them is this yummy little omelet-like dish that I was more than pleased with.

What I'm talking about here is muffins. Egg muffins. And they are delicious.

I found the recipe here, and am so happy I did because this little discovery is fantastic. Omelet in a muffin form. Eat it with your hands, eat it with a fork, whatever, it's perfect. Do your kids like eggs? They will love this! Are you feeding a good number of people? This is much easier than making individual egg dishes for each person. It's fairly simple and definitely adaptable to whatever your cravings are.

I have to thank Tara at The Foodie & The Family for sharing this genius idea. Of course for my first attempt I changed ingredients a bit, but with this recipe you can put whatever ingredients in you like - that's the beauty of it! Here it is . . .

Omelet Muffins

Ingredients
8 Eggs
1/2 Cup of broccoli
1/2 Cup of cooked bacon
salt and pepper

Like I said, you can easily change this to whatever ingredients and spices you like in your omelets. Next time I might try using sausage, bell pepper and mushrooms (all chopped up nice and small of course). I took out the cheddar cheese in the original recipe to fit my non-dairy diet, but cheese would be an amazing addition. I'm also interested in playing with some spicy flavors - Mitch is a big fan of hot sauce with his eggs so some sort of chilies in the mix or a sauce to go along with it would be perfect!

This recipe makes 12 muffins.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tin.

2. Cook up some bacon. This recipe will take about 4 pieces, but you could always make more to add extra (or just to eat bacon while the eggs are cooking like I did . . . ). Chop up the bacon into little pieces when cooked.

3. While the bacon is a'cookin, steam some broccoli. At Tara's suggestion, I simply put the broccoli in the microwave with a bit of water for a couple of minutes. Rinse and drain to cool off and chop into small pieces.

4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together with salt and pepper to your liking. Add the broccoli and bacon and mix until combined well.

5. Pour the egg mixture into muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the eggs are fluffy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

(Note: We turned on the broiler for a few seconds to brown and crisp the top of the muffins.)

6. Eat eat eat!

What I love about this recipe is that even though it takes some prep, it's fairly low-key. Like Tara mentions on her website, it's a hot breakfast that doesn't need close watching over. Unlike cooking eggs on the stove-top, once you put these in the oven you can continue to shower, put on makeup, etc.

These muffins are perfect for a nice, sit-down brunch with family or a early morning on-the-go! Paired with coffee and fruit (my favorite breakfast go-tos) it's a wonderful blast of protein that tastes like it took a lot more effort than it really did. Fabulous.

Happy eating!

UPDATE 2/21/2012:

Omelet Muffins are just as delicious in ramekins! They come out a little easier than in muffin tins, and are just as delicious.

Alternate filling options I've included: bell peppers, onion, sausage, spinach, mushroom. Yum

A Little RA Q&A

2012-01-31T00:28:00.000-08:00

A little while back I started a segment on my blog called “RA Friends”, where I encouraged others with rheumatoid arthritis to open up about their life with RA by answering some commonly wondered upon questions. At least questions that I felt were important for outreach to the newly diagnosed or the newly searching for connections. I currently am working on rebooting that segment, and I thought I’d start again by answering some questions about my own experience with RA. Some of those questions that people might wonder about if they haven’t read much about me or known me very long, and some questions that I‘ve received by email from readers. So here it goes . . .

How long have you been diagnosed with RA and what treatments have you been on?

I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis 13 years ago and have since been on my fair share of arthritis drugs. I was young so my treatment first started with simple steroid injections at the site of the swelling, sometimes associated with draining the fluid from the joint. That was a fun time. After months and months of those exciting needles, my then rheumatologist turned to weekly injections of Methotrexate, a drug that I am currently on in pill form, but that took me a while to find the right dosage. I had some unfriendly reactions to it at first, but eventually we came to find a dose that worked and kept me feeling well.

Later we added twice weekly Enbrel injections. As a teenager I was giving myself three shots a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. At this time I was such a baby about needles still that we had to enlist the help of family friends who happened to be nurses and neighbors that were doctors. Once I even had to get my older brother with Diabetes to give me a shot. What a wimp.

Eventually I needed more, and we turned to Remicade. I was getting an IV once every four weeks for a few years, which carried into my college years. Later on my new rheumatologist would decrease how often I came in for treatment, but I was on Remicade for a total of 5 years.

I chose to go off Remicade and back on Enbrel, though at a once-a-week dose. It’s currently a love-hate relationship. I love how it works to give me no swelling and little joint pain . . . But I hate those damned shots.

A little lighter now, what hobbies do you have and how has RA affected them?

Growing up I didn’t have a lot of very “active” hobbies, I think mostly because I didn’t think I could do much physically with my RA. When I met my husband, a very active person himself, I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and found that I am able to enjoy quite a few very active hobbies. I love skiing. I’m not a great skier, but I love putting some music on an iPod (oddly, the only time I‘m a hip-hop fan is while skiing), cruising on some “blue” runs and carrying on conversation while skiing side-by-side with friends. I found that keeping up with exercise and building my leg muscles helps with keeping my joints happy while skiing.

A couple years ago I started golfing by taking a ladies golfing class through a local driving range. Again, I’m not the best golfer, but it’s a fun thing to do, and also easy on my joints. Recently I started paddle-boarding, which I LOVE. It would be nice to take up surfing while living in Hawaii, but I like the calmness of paddle-boarding for now.

On the less-active side, I love to cook and bake. I’ve been teaching myself how to cook over the last couple of years, and trying to create new Paleo baked-goods recipes is both challenging and fun! I’m also an avid movie and TV watcher. I like to place my laziness and watching shows in the category of hobbies.

How do your friends and family deal with your arthritis troubles?

Most of my family members are very understanding about my health, and probably a little too inquisitive, but it’s a good thing. My parents went through the whole diagnosis and beginning of my life with arthritis while I was growing up, so they take my ups and downs very personally. If I ever need to talk about my pain I go to them, but I also like to keep them from the hurt of knowing my worst moments (if that makes sense).

My husband is the person I am the closest to, and he tries his best to understand what I’m going through, but is aware that he won’t ever really be able to understand the pain. He is extremely supportive, though, and will always accompany me to any doctor appointments I have, which I find incredibly helpful! Love that man!

Only a few of my closest friends know much about my arthritis. I pick and choose who to tell, and those that know understand that I sometimes have limitations . . . For the most part!

How do you stay positive on your worst days?

We’ve all had our bad RA days. Days where we can’t get out of bed or off the couch. When we’re embarrassed to be seen with swollen joints. I try to relax as much as I can on those days and treat myself to things I might not normally do very often, like getting a pedicure or splurging on some online shopping. But even on days when there isn’t obvious swelling, things can still be hard on me. I try to preoccupy myself with things I love, like being with my family, beautifying my little home and playing with my pets. Often just taking some time to talk it out with my husband and then laugh about things makes me feel so much better.

We all have our tough days. Sometimes I’ll give myself 30 minutes to stress or feel bad about things, and then after the time is up I gotta move on and get working toward making things better.

More questions and answers to come!

This article was originally written for Achieve Clinical Research, and can also be found here.

Good Monday To You!

2012-01-30T12:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, friends!

It was a slow week last week, but a slow week filled with delicious paleo goodness created in the kitchen and other shenanigans. Since it's been a few days since our last visit, let me give you a quick rundown of what's been going on.

First of all, like I said, some interesting paleo surprises coming out of the kitchen. I've been on a crusade toward gathering a collection of new and exciting paleo breakfast choices and it's been very rewarding for the most part. I've been getting a little more adventurous with trying some of my own creations by taking what I've learned about cooking with these newer ingredients and just running with it. But also tackling some new recipes I've been dying to try.

Most notably, a recipe used for a little Clark-hosted bbq . . . cooking with booze.

So look forward to some new recipes coming your way!

On the same line of food . . . I have a rekindled love for pistachios and have built up enough stamina to successfully finish an entire bowl all to myself. And by the way, is there anything more exciting than finding pistachios that have already come out of their shell on their own? It's like taking all the work out of it for you! Those little gems!

Mitch also brought home the biggest head of broccoli ever.

Another new love . . . I recently fell in love with the PBS show Downton Abbey. Yes I watched the first season on Netflix in only a few days. Yes I made Mitch watch it with me and set up his laptop so we could catch up with season 2 online. Yes I watched the most recent episode last night. I'm into it. Please watch it with me so we can get excited about these things together.

Mitch went on a hike. And when he came home to show me the pictures I was terrified that he just went on said hike. That's all there.

Since the laptop was destroyed, my blogging buddy has found new places to sit while helping me blog. Cute.

We received letters from our nieces back home in WA that made our hearts melt and well, made us laugh out loud.

Ava does not like blueberries anymore, but she likes blueberry yogurt. Very insightful.

We started house hunting a bit, which was exciting. Finding actual decent houses in our projected price-range boosted my mood about the housing market here on Oahu. Sure, we won't be living on the beach any time soon, but it's nice to see we have options. Good ones.

I'm also thinking of starting a charity . . . the "Get Mitch and Lyda a house in Hawaii fund". Donations warmly accepted.

I have also started the job hunt . . . again. More money would be helpful with this whole housing situation. Although money would also be helpful with my desire to travel. We really need to get our priorities straight.

I have some weird feelings toward the weather lately. Still can't get over the fact that when it rains it's only for a short while and not for the next three days. It's always surprising and sometimes disappointing when the sun comes out right after I threw on some sweatpants and curled up, ready to spend the day indoors watching shows like Downton Abbey. Is there a hurricane or sunshine? Make up your mind, Mother Nature!

All in all, things are the usual in this bizarre head of mine, except for a new desire to pull pranks on everyone I know. Don't ask me why, but the feeling is taking over. Must. Pull. Pranks.

Now if you don't mind, I have some scheming and pistachio eating to attend to . . .

Banana Almond Muffins

2012-01-25T00:30:00.000-08:00

Oh there is so much on our minds these days.

The luxury of being "worry free" is one not seen by a majority of people these days.

So sometimes we need something that allows us to take a moment to enjoy simplicity and happiness.

Something delicious.

That's right, folks! I have another recipe to share!

This one was brought upon by the fact that I had very little to eat as far as breakfast the last few days. Not as many leftover dinners and getting tired of the usual scrambled eggs . . . sometimes you need just a little somethin' to mix things up. To add to your coffee and fruit.

So we have a lovely little portable baked yummy to snack on . . . anytime of the day really!

Paleo Banana Almond Muffins

Ingredients
1 cup of finely ground almonds / almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cups of crunchy almond butter (make sure it's unsweetened)
2 eggs
3 bananas
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

And if you're looking for a sweet treat, throw some chocolate chips into your grocery cart.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat muffin tin with grapeseed oil (or whatever you choose to grease with).

2. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, and baking powder together.

3. Add the almond butter and eggs to the dry mixture. You can use a standing mixer, or you can work those arm muscles and mix it yourself!

4. Mash the bananas in a small bowl. Add the cinnamon and vanilla.

5. Add the banana mixture to the almond mixture and combine well.

6. Divide the batter into your cupcake tin. If you want, you can do like I did and add chocolate chips to one half of the mix. Or hell, add chocolate chips to the whole thing! Bananas and chocolate are awesome together.

7. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes - until you can stick a toothpick (or the small end of a chopstick in my case) in the center of the muffins and it comes out clean.

8. Let cool and devour. Serve as a dessert or a delicious addition to your breakfast!

I've attempted paleo banana breads before, but this has to be the best outcome I've had. Lots of flavor. Good texture. Very satisfying.

And oh baby, those choco chip ones . . . they are to die for. I might have to eat another . . . quality control, people.

Try 'em out and let me know what you think!

Printer Friendly Version

Really Good At Fooling Everyone

2012-01-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of people out there who write about their life with arthritis. You can find a number of different blogs by normal, wonderful people who talk about their struggles with RA. How they cope. How they try to help the people around them understand their pain. Often you will find people who have children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and they work hard to help maintain a happy childhood for their kids with pain they can hardly understand. It’s all out there, and it’s all helpful.

But no one really talks about what I spent a majority of my life with RA doing . . . pretending I didn’t have it.

When I was diagnosed I was 12 years old, in middle school, going through the tumultuous, chaotic world of an adolescent. The last thing I wanted was to have to deal with something that would make me more of an outsider, different from all my friends, less “cool”.

So I went on as if nothing was wrong. I’m not sure how many of my friends at the time knew what I had and what I was going through. I didn’t get into the details much, because at the time I really didn’t know much myself. And I really could care less.

This attitude continued on through high school, and it didn’t help that boys started to become a bigger part of my life. Let me tell you, nothing makes a teenage girl sexier than swollen knees and little to no energy. I had 2-3 girl friends that I’m pretty sure I told. It seems so long ago, and I cared so little about it that it’s hard to remember.

I got really good at covering it up. I might miss a few days of school in order to see my rheumatologist, have a minor arthroscopic surgery, or I just couldn’t get myself moving much that day. But those were things that were kept hidden. You wouldn’t know it from looking at me that I had more of a burden than your average teenager. And I lived that way for my entire adolescence.

Even through college I rarely told anyone. I had to tell a few professors about it, mainly because I was having Remicade infusions throughout college and I needed to be excused from a day or two off every month. That was a weird thing for me to get used to – being open about my arthritis to people who actually had a need to know. I was a theatre major and took movement and dance classes often, so I had to keep those teachers up to date on my body, but there was no need to share the details of these conversations with any of my classmates.

It wasn’t until years later that I started writing about my life and opening up about my arthritis. I’m pretty sure it surprised a number of people who have known me growing up.

In some ways it’s therapeutic to be able to talk openly about my health, but I still find myself keeping quiet about it unless somehow the topic comes up. There is no real need for me to gab about my achey joints to my neighbors, or bring up how swollen I am when we’re out at dinner with friends. I prefer people to see me as I am, not labeled as the poor girl with arthritis . . . (and why does she have arthritis if she’s in her 20s? weird!)

Like I said, you can search the internet for a number of people teaching you how to explain to others what life is like for you. I think it’s important to be open with the ones you love, and to not keep your troubles inside as it can prove to be unhealthy to hold those things in. But you should also be able to live how you want to live. If that means keeping the details of your health to yourself, so be it.

And hopefully those parents out there with kids who have arthritis read this and understand – when you are growing up and dealing with RA, there’s nothing you want more than for it to go away. Some of us cope by keeping it a secret and that’s fine.

Eventually we all learn to embrace it and understand it . . . but for now, let’s fool everyone.

This article was originally written for Achieve Clinical Research, and can also be found here.

Ouch, My Head

2012-01-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

Some days life just wants you to stop moving.

You might have plans, but you better cancel 'em.

As what happened to me this weekend . . .

I had all these plans . . .

Plans to go into town.

Plans to surf in the ocean.

Plans with friends.

Nope. Instead I slip and put a nice little dent in my forehead. An unfortunate accident that I could not explain how it happened if I tried. All I know is I fell, hit my head on the metal towel rack in the bathroom and hit the ground.

Mitch's explanation is this . . .

There was a thud. Then an "ooow!"

And a bunch of blood.

Nothing like a little head injury in the morning to start your weekend, huh?

Fortunately, since we're so self-serving, we just threw some neosporine and a bandaid on it and called it good. Unfortunately, I had a major head ache for the rest of the weekend.

I know, I know, head injuries are nothing to laugh about. But this bandaid in the middle of my forehead is kinda funny.

You're expecting a photo, I know. Come on, I have a little more dignity than that! . . . maybe.

So instead of doing all the wonderful things I wanted to do, I laid on the couch and rested. Perhaps that's just what I needed. Perhaps I was just lazy this weekend. Who knows.

All I know is, I've got a bandaid on my head and I need to come up with a much better battle story than the truth.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday, friends!

It's time for another recipe to share!

I tried out something new and it turned out pretty darn good. I'm excited to make it again simply to play with the recipe more, but for now let's look at it as a great start of a beautiful new regularly-made dinner.

I'm sure many of you have already tried a recipe like this before, but for those of you who haven't . . . let me just prepare you for this delicious little meal by saying . . . it's . . . delicious. Yeah, moving on . . .

Stuffed Bell Peppers!

Oh yeah, and it's paleo. Booya!

Let's jump right into this, shall we?

Ingredients

2 bell peppers

1 tbs olive oil

1 small-medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

3-4 small tomatoes, diced
1 - 1 1/4 lb grass-fed ground beef (Any ground meat works for this recipe!)

6 basil leaves, chopped

2 cups of spinach, finely chopped

Salt

Pepper

Other spices and seasonings can be added, but we’ll come back to that later.

How beautiful are these tomatoes? Love em.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

1. Slice the bell peppers into halves and clean out the seeds.

2. Lay the halved bell peppers face down on a lined baking sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the oven for 15 minutes or until they are cooked to your liking. (If you like them to still be a bit crunchy/raw don't cook them as long. I cooked them until they were tender & soft.)

You might want to prep the rest of the chopping before putting them in the oven - that way you can let them cook while you prepare the filling!

3. In a large pan, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the diced onion and cook until they are browned and beautifully fragrant!

4. Add your garlic so it smells even more delicious. (Cook for a couple minutes.)

5. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 3-5 minutes allowing the flavors to mix and the tomatoes to soften. Add some salt and pepper for fun.

6. Add your meat, using a wooden spatula to break it up. Cook until the meat is fully browned and no more pink showing, stirring occasionally.

7. Here's where you can get exciting with the seasonings. For my first try I kept it to salt and pepper, to keep this an Italian themed meal, but I'm thinking chili powder would be yummy here. Italian seasonings - a nice fit. Garlic powder/salt - yes. Heck, throw in some cumin and hot sauce and you've got yourself a spicy, south-of-the-border treat! Get creative. But first, try it simple.

Don'tcha just love the smell of basil? Mmm

8. Add the chopped basil and spinach. Take off the heat after it's mixed in.

9. Remove the peppers from the oven and flip them over. Fill the peppers with the filling. Really put a good mound of meat and veggies in there. You'll want lots.

10. If you want, top with a bit of bread crumbs or finely ground almond meal seasoned with Italian seasonings.

11. Place back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Take an extra minute or two on broil to crisp up the top when the 15 minutes is up.

12. Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

Each half is filling enough for one person, so two bell peppers could feed four people (or two really hungry peeps). Leftovers can be saved and reheated in the oven, just make sure to crisp it up again by using that broiler at the end.

I'm pleased with how this recipe turned out, and I can't wait to try this again with perhaps a few flavor changes.

If you eat rice, I would say some wild or brown rice mixed in with the meat and veggie filling would be divine!

And when you finish the meal, you will have a full, happy belly and you'll feel good about the food you just ate. A wonderful thing!

We all know what it's like to finish dinner

. . . and feel like you could explode. Not tonight!

Happy eating! And happy weekend!

You can find the inspiration for this recipe here. Take care, all!

Doctor Rant (Again)

2012-01-18T09:05:00.000-08:00

A funny thing happened yesterday that I thought I'd share with my blog friends. Still on the search for a new rheumatologist, I finally made the call to my new primary care doc to get a second recommendation. I told the nurse about the situation, how the first rheumatologist just wasn't a good fit for me and I wasn't comfortable going back to him, and all was well. We were on the same page.

And then the funny part . . .

A few days later I get a call back from the nurse telling me this hilarious little tid bit of information: Apparently, since the first doc I went to was in a large office full of possible rheumatologists, the office had a policy. The policy was that, out of "respect for the doctor" they would not allow me to see any other doctor in their office.

. . .

Wait . . . what?

Oh by the way, when I say funny, I mean absolutely ridiculous.

Apparently they are so worried that I'm hurting the doctor's feelings by choosing not to see him again. The doctor that probably wouldn't recognize me if he passed me on the street. The doctor that I knew within the first two minutes that would not be a good match for me. Poor doctor might cry himself to sleep knowing that I decided to see another doctor in his office.

Yeah. Like I said, ridiculous.

I tried to think of any possible explanation for this but in the end, there is no excuse for turning away someone looking for healthcare. Even if it was a different situation, there is absolutely no reason that a doctor's feelings or opinions should get in the way of a patient's preference.

Just my opinion, but really.

Come on.

Last night Mitch and I got into a heated conversation about healthcare and this little hiccup and although my doctor is working on getting me in to seeing another rheumatologist (in a different office) this should never have been an issue.

I'm not saying this is the case, but what if the perfect doctor for me is in that office? My perfect match is working in that building and if that's the case then I would never be able to see him or her because I had one appointment with one doctor who I did not like.

Sheesh.

Doctors really need to take a different look at things. A doctor should be working hard to impress you. They are the one's selling you something - treatment. They are the ones who should be trying to get your business. They should be the ones hoping that you will choose them and not that you should be grateful to see them in the first place.

What is wrong with these people?

In every other part of our lives we would never settle for the first choice. We won't pick a contractor to work on our house if we get negative reviews about him. We aren't going to hire a babysitter to take care of our children if we get a bad feeling when meeting. We won't keep coming back to a restaurant with horrible service and bad food. Hell, much of the time people spend more time picking out the right realtor rather than settle for someone who doesn't connect with us.

So why, WHY, do we settle for doctors who don't treat us the way we need to be treated?

All that other stuff doesn't mean anything. Your body, your health, is the most important, and yet less time is spent on this subject.

I am determined to find the right doctor and I am not going to settle.

And I don't think any of you should have to settle either.

Thank you for listening to my rant.

Happy Wednesday

Recipe Search & Piña Coladas

2012-01-17T00:04:00.000-08:00

I have spent the last couple of days scouring the internet for new, exciting recipes. Mostly I've been disappointed by the lack of dinner items that do not include pasta, rice, or potatoes. It's upsetting. Not to mention the amount of amazingly delicious-looking desserts that sadly include more dairy than my grandmother-in-law's former dairy farm used to produce. Sure, I know, there are tools and specific sites out there to use to find me some paleo goodness, but I feel like I've seen 'em all. And I'm bored.

One thing I used to love to do when I was pre-paleo was to read food magazines. I'd flip through the glossy pages filled with amazing, ridiculous recipes with nearly impossible to find ingredients and wonder how I could possibly recreate these crazy meals and make my belly happy. I've since given up on regularly purchasing cooking magazines since most of them are filled with filler foods - those pasta and rice meals that I just can't see myself making.

I've been feeling so uninspired when it comes to food. What a bummer. Perhaps I just need some new perspective. Or perhaps I need a cocktail.

One amazing creation I found in a magazine was a paleo cocktail recipe. It wasn't marketed as paleo of course, but I saw it and I wanted it. And after I made Mitch whip this up for me (I'm not a fan of using blenders . . . they're too much of a clean-up mess,) I wanted to share it.

I give you . . . a paleo friendly Piña Colada!

We found it in a small local magazine that found it's way into our mailbox. Sure, my photos look like they're of a banana smoothie, but trust me, this one is good. If you're looking for something that will instantly transport you to the Hawaiian islands with just one sip, give this a shot. You won't be disappointed.

Ingredients
1/2 cup of fresh pineapple chunks (go ahead and use drained, canned pineapple if you can't find a good fresh one)
3/4 cup light coconut milk
3/4 cup 100% pineapple juice
3 oz white rum

Hey, it looks like banana, add some banana if you want! I don't care!

1. Set the pineapple chunks in the freezer for a few minutes. Frozen/chilled pineapple is the goal. In fact, make all the ingredients cold. You'll like it, trust me.

2. Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth and frothy.

3. Pour into a highball or hurricane-style glass.

4. Add a pineapple wedge, straw, fancy umbrella, whatever garnish you have that might help transport you to a beach somewhere warm. I'm sure you need it.

I tell ya, this is delicious. And it improved my mood and gave me the motivation to keep searching for that next great recipe! If anything, at least I know there are delicious, frozen treats out there that I can pour into a coconut and enjoy.

Garnish, garnish, garnish. Aloha, friends. Aloha.

Be Stress Free & Eat Pie

2012-01-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

It's funny . . . I talked all week about being healthy and doing everything I can do to take care of myself. But I'm in no way perfect. Not close at all. That drives me crazy because, like everyone else in the world, I want things to turn out the right way. Striving for perfection is nice, but it's not always going to be where you end up.

Like this pie crust for example. . .

It was Mitch's birthday yesterday (fantastic!) and I asked him what he would like me to make for him . . . last year I made this black forest cake that was surprisingly delicious for the fact that I had never made it before and I was using a recipe that I continued to "tweak". And by tweak I mean change just about every ingredient. But whatever. It turned out awesome.

This year, he wanted me to recreate the cherry pie I made last year for my family. That pie was dang good. So good, in fact, that my nieces have told me it's their absolute favorite dessert they've ever had. Big compliment. *yess!!!*

I thought it would be simple to remake this amazing pie, but somehow things were off. I was getting frustrated that my pie crust (which I have made enough times for me to think I have perfected the art of pie crust making,) wasn't turning out as perfect as I wanted. I kept comparing my oddly shaped, rolled out crust to the perfectly round, even one in my recipe book.

And of course I took a picture of it.

After running into a few other problems with this whole pie making business, I cut a slice for Mitch, worried it wasn't going to taste like that perfect one I made a year ago.

Lucky for me, he still loved it.

A lot of times I focus on little things that don't matter, like uneven pie crust. And that's just silly. There's no need for that kind of sillyness. There is only need for enjoying pie.

In the end, you work things out and grow from the little hiccups in life. The important thing is to not stress out about those imperfections. That'll just make you sick.

And I know. I'm a stresser. I stress easily and it's not a good thing.

If you're going to be healthy you have to learn to let go. Remind yourself that no good comes from unnecessarily worrying about silly little things.

Be free. Play. Have fun. Enjoy life.

And good day!

Work That Body!

2012-01-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, another given . . . to add to your health you have to find some way to be physically active. If that means going to the gym everyday, running in the morning, doing lunges around your house or using that Wii Fit you bought yourself three years ago, it's time to get that body movin'.

The thing that get those of us with arthritis stuck is the fear of causing more pain than what's already there. That sucks. But the fear of what might happen keeps us from doing what we know is good for us.

It's a true thing that exercise helps decrease pain and inflammation when it comes to arthritis.

But you have to do it right.

For me, finding an awesome trainer to teach me how to exercise without straining my joints was the key.

If you have a good doc, ask him or her for a recommendation. Sometimes they'll only be able to recommend physical therapists, but if they know of a good trainer in town that can handle someone with arthritis, it's the best gift you can give yourself!

Anyway, once I started with Ginny Spooner at Fairhaven Fitness, I learned how important keeping active is. I always knew that it was something you should do to be healthy and fit, but I didn't really know how important it was to my life.

After moving away and not working out for a few months, it became clear - I feel 100% better when I work out a little bit throughout the week.

I'm not saying I worked out every day. I worked with Ginny twice a week for a while, and then did my own thing the rest of the week.

Pilates was a big one for me. She showed me moves that I could do to strengthen my body at home while I watched TV. Bonus. For me, building strength was my biggest goal, so I took this very seriously and did it every day. (I'm feeling guilty now because I haven't done it in a while. I blame my hard tile floors for not being so enticing to lay down on.)

Lyda, what are you doing?

Yoga is also a great way to get some movement and stretching that won't hurt your joints. Again, find yourself a good yoga instructor who has worked with people with joint issues and you'll be good to go.

And of course, I love me some TRX. Obviously from the pictures I've been making good use of my Christmas present from Mitch. I'm sure you've been laughing at the fact that I'm in my kitchen working out, but hey, it's the best place in my house for it!

Not only is the TRX great for strengthening my body, but it's also an amazing tool for stretching. I'm not saying you should go out and buy a setup right now, but if you can find a gym with a TRX class, you should try it out and see for yourself. It's not nearly as intimidating as it might seem.

My biggest motivation is my appreciation for what my body can do. I've been at those low points where you can't pull yourself off the couch and you cry over the pain. It's a terrible feeling. Sometimes I think back on those moments, the low points in my life, and am amazed that I'm now able to do squats and pushups, able to hike and paddleboard. I can run up and down the stairs with ease (most of the time).

If not being able to move is the worst feeling, then seeing how well your body can recover is the best.

Our bodies are meant to move. They are meant to be strong. You might not think it now, but you have the ability to do the things you want to do. It just might take a little more effort, that's all.

Now get moving! :-)

p.s. I have to give a shout out to my awesome husband, Mitch, on his totally awesome birthday! Happy birthday love!

Lovin' Your Loves

2012-01-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

One thing that unfortunately tends to get looked over when it comes to thinking of one's health is taking care of one's relationships.

I'm serious on this one. Friends, loves, family members you rarely think of, they're all important and all those relationships affect you whether you realize it or not. We really have to nurture our relationships with people we care for.

The other day I was able to skype (love it but I don't use it nearly enough) with my best girl friend who I hadn't talked to in . . . well, sadly to say, months! When I first moved here we got in touch, but we were both going through big moves and big developments in our lives and time slipped by. We were both focusing so much on our relationships with our spouses and trying so hard to build new relationships with our new acquaintances that we forgot to keep in touch with each other.

Of course we never let go completely, and finally we were able to match our schedules up to a time to talk.

And we talked.

And talked.

And it was as if no time had passed and we weren't over four thousand miles away from each other. After I hung up I instantly felt better. Where I once was a little too contained and uncharacteristically timid for some reason, I was now back to my normal, loud, emotional self. It was all thanks to a wonderful conversation with my best friend.

This little story has a point. The point is that we need to make sure to take time out of our busy schedules to talk to our friends. We need to open up to the people we love. In order to be healthy individually, we need to also be healthy socially. And that means caring for the loves of our lives.

It also means cutting yourself from those toxic people out there. You know the ones. The person in your life who whenever you see them you are instantly drained of energy. They take and take and never give. In order for you to be healthy you have to excuse yourself from the relationship and move on.

When we talk about being healthy we think about what we eat, what exercise we do, but we don't think about the people around us. The family we are born into and the family we choose. They affect our health just as much as the food we put into our bodies.

I gotta go make some phone calls now.

Eat Healthy

2012-01-10T00:16:00.000-08:00

The first key to living healthy is to eat healthy.

. . . duh, Lyda.

I know, I know. Big surprise. But it was a very interesting moment when I realized that things are starting to go down hill because I let my diet go for a few weeks.

Pin It

The funny part was when Mitch and I both mentioned that we've been breaking out in pimples recently . . . pimples . . . out of nowhere . . . like angsty teenagers again. Awful.

I had also been cheating weight gain. After Thanksgiving I was gloating about how I hadn't gained any weight after all that feasting. Well, it's finally caught up to me.

And the laziness. Now there is a normal amount of laziness that I can live with. But recently, my energy levels have been much lower than normal, and that's saying a lot.

I thought a moment about just buying some of that acne treatment stuff I see on TV all the time while I'm being super lazy, but then it hit me. . .

I don't need to buy face wash, I need to get back to eating better.

And especially after having to skip my medicine this week due to the near-death plague I caught, I really have to watch what I'm eating to avoid any extra funny business in my joints.

It seems so easy to get rid of those bad eating habits, but it's not. I'm not going to bore you by turning into another diet blog, but I am going to encourage you to try cutting out a couple food groups: dairy and grains.

It's surprising to me what a huge change it makes. Taking out grains and dairy (dairy especially) not only makes me feel physically better but it improves my mood. My motivation. When you consider what you are fueling your body with, it makes total sense.

It makes even more sense that I've been feeling extra like garbage with this flu.

On top of eating better, those of us on immune-suppressant meds could do with some good immune-BOOSTING foods!

Nuts are totally delicious and also totally awesome for the immune system. Everyone always goes on about Brazil nuts and how they're the best because of the selenium they contain, but lots of other nuts are great too. Nuts are packed with Antioxidants and Vitamin E which rocks, and many nuts contain a good amount of omega-3s which we all know I'm a big fan of.

Thank you FoodNetwork for this enticing photo.

Check out this recipe for Sweet-and-Spicy Pecans and Walnuts . . . I want to eat these now.

Of course citrus fruits are a given when it comes to keeping away colds and things like that, with all that juicy Vitamin C they pack. I am dying to try this lobster and grapefruit salad recipe I found at Mark's Daily Apple, but have not yet. And as much as I would love a couple lobster tails in order to make it, my first venture into this salad will most likely be sans-lobster. Still, it looks amazing, and salads are a great way to incorporate more citrus into your wonderful life.

You can also go here and find some of my recipes for delicious citrus-y beverages and my lemonade vinaigrette, though I don't think the drinks would be considered too immune-boosting. Maybe, though!

Garlic.

I love garlic.

And it's totally ballin' when it comes to the immune system. It was actually used as an antibiotic in WWI and WWII because all the badass infection kicking stuff it has in it. Awesome. Plus it makes things that much more delicious. I use garlic in just about everything. It's also why I have such great breath.

And of course, leafy greens are probably the best thing you could put into your body . . .ever. Just my opinion. Raw kale is especially good at kicking disease butt, or so I've heard. But raw kale . . . man, I guess salads are the way to go. I can't imagine just chomping on a leaf of kale as a snack, but if that sounds good to you, go for it!

I have a goal which is to try my best to have at least one green veggie on my plate every dinner. And a big pile of it too, which is why it's important to continue the search for new recipes. I recently stumbled upon Fast Paleo, a website where users can upload all the drool-worthy recipes they have for me to use. How nice of them!

Even more recently I tried a recipe, or I messed with a recipe, for baked broccoli (which sounds weird, but trust me, it was delicious).

Ingredients
1 pound of broccoli
olive oil
ground black pepper
garlic salt
almond flour (or bread crumbs if you want)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Cut the broccoli into bite sized pieces. Cut the stalk into thin, coin-like slices. (You can skip the stalk part if you prefer not to eat it.)

3. In a bowl, mix the broccoli with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to your taste.

4. On a foil-lined baking sheet, toast the almond flour/bread crumbs for a couple of minutes. Remove from the oven and mix in with the broccoli until the broccoli is nicely coated.

5. Pour the broccoli onto the same baking sheet and put back in the oven for 10-12 minutes (just until the broccoli is tender).

6. Eat. Yum.

This can also be done with Brussels sprouts and is equally delicious. I don't have pictures of this divine adventure because I was too busy scarfing it down to get the camera, but hopefully you get the idea.

Eat it. Enjoy it. Be healthy.

Check out some of my other paleo recipes or some of the paleo based websites on my links page.

Be Healthy Week

2012-01-09T00:08:00.000-08:00

After spending four days of being so sick that I could hardly lift my head off the couch (the jury is still out on what sort of evil bug I caught) my health definitely came back into focus. A good new years resolution for many people is to strive for healthier living. Making healthy choices, keeping up a healthy lifestyle.

Now if you're like me and you read something like that on a blog, website, news article, you immediately get bored and move on to something more interesting, like what the newest celebrity weird baby name is out there now.

People who ramble on about being healthy and how easy it is annoy me. I will do my best not to become one of those people.

. . . Ahem

But I do think it's important, and especially in the last couple months, I've noticed the negative things that can happen when you aren't living the healthiest lifestyle.

So put that crack pipe down and join me this week while I try to address healthy changes I need to make. Whether it's getting back on track with things I used to do or giving myself some more options and trying out some new things, the final goal is to be good and healthy.

For the most part.

I'm not going to mention the pile of chocolate in the fridge left over from Christmas. Is it my fault that Mitch and I both bought each other tons of dark, milk and white chocolate? Is it also my fault that I ate about half of it?

Never mind that.

I'm determined to end this week much healthier than I started it.

Bravo! And good day!

Heavy Head

2012-01-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had all sorts of plans.

I had goals.

I had a list of things to do and I was looking forward to crossing each one off as I finished them.

Alas, none of those things were accomplished.

Because halfway through my grocery shopping it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I realized that I was terribly sick.

With what? I have no freaking clue. Half cold, half flu, question mark. Just an all around icky feeling.

I hurried home and then slept for an unknown number of hours.

It's common for people with auto-immune diseases and their corresponding treatments to often get sick. Catching colds is a hobby of mine. Though in general, I am pretty healthy despite my immune suppressant meds. But when I do get sick, ho boy! Watch out! I'm crashing and there's no sign of when I'll return to life.

So I have the sickness. The bad sickness. And add a very unfortunately timed lady cycle and life kinda sucks right now. (I apologize to my male readers at this point. I'm in a delusional fog.)

At least yesterday was a cloudy, stormy day so curling up in bed with some juice and a nap was comforting. But I'm watching the morning progress and getting angry while noticing that it might turn out to be a beautiful day.

There is nothing worse than being sick on a beautiful day.

I had a point with this blog post . . .

. . . I just forgot what it was.

Perhaps I will come back to it later. For now it's back to bed.

Sweet dreams.

Adventures With Lyda

2012-01-03T09:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was an exciting day.

Mitch had the day off so we decided to go out and enjoy the amazingly beautiful day.

Seriously, it was gorgeous. Not a cloud in the sky.

I wish you were there.

Anyway, going along with one of my resolutions and trying out some new things, I went with Mitch to a local surf shop and rented a couple of paddleboards for the day.

I had never been paddleboarding before but Mitch had gone a couple of times and had enough of a handle on it to teach me how to get started. My wonderful, wonderful husband.

After stumbling down to the beach with the gargantuan board I was given, (Apparently the bigger the board the easier to use. They still had to give me a smaller one though because I'm tiny.) we made it into the water. I'm not sure if I took any people out with that board but once I was in the cool water it was full speed head.

Getting your balance at first is a little tricky, but I luckily didn't fall off the board. After paddling around in the ocean . . . in the OCEAN . . . I got the hang of it and was cruising in no time.

It helped that it was one of the calmest weekends we've seen in a long time.

We were able to get some of these great pictures because we brought my old camera with us in a small backpack Mitch wore.

Luckily it was the old camera.

Things went downhill when I offered to take a picture of Mitch on his board.

It happened to be an amazing picture of him, though!

What's cookin' good lookin'?

Mitch asked me what happened that caused me to drop the camera into the ocean, but I had no good answer.

Nope. It just happened. In slow motion.

First the camera was launched out of my hand. Then I screamed at the top of my lungs. Then launched myself after the camera. Got the camera in my little hand, but then my sunglasses popped off my head.

Camera gone. Sunglasses gone. Lyda screaming and crying and flailing in the water in front of some of the largest, million dollar celebrity mansions in Lanikai.

Luckily, Mitch was able to dive down and get both of them, which happened to be located at the bottom of the ocean . . . also luckily it wasn't that deep.

After a while of sitting on my board, putting both the camera and my sunglasses into his backpack, I calmly said . . .

". . . I freaked out a little just now."

Yep.

After that the day was great. I was able to cruise up and down the beach, calmly and confidently.

And for the most important part . . . my knees are totally fine!!

Celebration! Drinks all around!

Sure my shoulders and back are sore. And I have bruises on my hip from carrying the paddleboard to and from the car. But my joints feel fine.

So I continue to follow the rule that even with rheumatoid arthritis I can still do awesome things . . . like paddleboarding.

Take that arthritis!

Booya!

And good day!

2012

2012-01-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you all were able to ring in 2012 in glamorous style.

We spent the evening having an amazing dinner downtown . . .

And after we headed to a show. We saw comedian Bill Maher perform at the Waikiki Shell which turned out to be a hilarious fun-filled event.

Hey Bill, how ya doin'?

After we drank cocktails, enjoyed good times

. . . and learned that by 2012 I have become the person who can't stand the tourists in Waikiki.

But beyond that, it was a wonderful night.

This past year was a good one for us.

I worked at a fantastic boutique, made some amazing long-time friends and really lived up life in our little town in Washington.

Then Mitch was offered a new job that moved us to Hawaii. Yeah, that's all that needs to be said there.

I was pushed out of my comfort zone a few times in the last year and allowed myself to move forward, limiting those moments of looking back.

And best of all, in 2011 I started this blog and met all you fine people!

I'm hoping 2012 will bring some equally cool things to the party.

Hopefully a job.

A great new doctor, perhaps.

Surfing?

And maybe a few new awesome paleo recipes to share.

Looking forward to see what the new year brings us!

Cheers!

Resolutions

2011-12-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

I like new year resolutions.

There's something cleansing about a new year. It's as if you can start over again, maybe do things better this time around. Even if it's just in your head, it's somehow refreshing to be able to give yourself a clean slate on January 1st.

You can always change any time of the year, but the first of January gives you a good starting point . . . for the record books, ya know.

Most of us don't follow through with our resolutions. And most of us aren't very original. (lose weight, volunteer more, read more books . . . )

I like to give myself a few things to try to keep in mind, even if it's just for the first few months of the year. Even if I don't really keep up with them. I like to spend some time thinking about what I'd like the new year to look like.

Though a couple of years ago I made a resolution to teach myself how to cook and I'm pretty proud of how far I've come. I would not be able to make it as a food blogger had I kept making the crap I used to.

Obviously, my first resolution has already been set. As hard as it might be.

My second resolution . . . put some more time into figuring out what I want to do with my time.

I'm not going to give myself something like "find the perfect job," because as much as I would love the perfect job for me, I'd really settle for any half-way fulfilling job at this point. Landing a job would be amazing, and it's a big goal of mine, but even bigger a goal is finding some direction.

That's a big one.

Next up . . . continue to welcome new offers.

Since I moved, I've been doing my best to keep up with saying "yes" to opportunities that approach me. It's been going pretty well. I'm becoming less of a flake, which is a good thing. But that should continue.

And finally . . . the last resolution . . .

Stop being a "ball-buster" according to my husband.

. . .

Ah, who are we kidding? That's the funnest hobby of all!

Happy New Year everyone! See you in 2012!

Dairy And The Trouble With Holiday Feasting

2011-12-29T12:48:00.000-08:00

I love holiday feasts.

But the trouble with holiday feasts is post-holiday feasting.

I've been eating mashed potato and ham left overs for the last few days, and though I am not sick of it in any way (very surprising considering the amount I've eaten) my body is feeling punished.

Not only does the stick of butter in the potatoes or the heavy cream in the quiche hurt my tummy after a few days but my joints are screaming at me.

Normally I curl into a snuggled ball on the couch when my husband and I watch a movie like we did last night, but unfortunately I couldn't keep my knees bent for more than 5 minutes at a time. It's like they were angry at something . . . what could it be?

Even my fingers, which I have never once had problems with, feel tight when I continue the horrible habit of popping my knuckles. But none of it has stopped me from eating all the delicious dairy-filled food choices in my fridge.

Oh yeah, the left over pastry cream and berries from the tart? Yeah we ate it.

The sad part is that it's preventing me from using my favorite Christmas present - my TRX set up.

So this year, one of my new years resolutions isn't to get back to working out or losing weight. It's simply to stop eating the dairy products I love so much.

The former resolutions will hopefully be a nice side-effect.

Holiday Fruit Dessert

2011-12-28T00:06:00.000-08:00

I'm still recovering from Food Belly.

Definition: Belly full of food.

Christmas dinner was awesome, but I'm definitely feeling the negative effects of eating so much food that I'm not used to eating on a regular basis. See: Dairy.

Oh dairy, how I love you. But how my joints hate you. Oh the aches that come with dairy consumption!

But I still stand by the fact that it was all amazing food. I do not regret eating piles and piles of mashed potatoes with peas, which I am eating as I write this. Or the delicious homemade dinner rolls. Or the quiche . . . OH the quiche! (I'll share it, don't worry.)

But of all the awesome food made this weekend, the most delicious, and the most necessary to share with the world is the fruit tart.

Be still my heart! I have a new love. And it's strawberry-kiwi-raspberry tart.

Perhaps it's not the most seasonal of desserts, but any time you can find these amazing little fruits, you must buy them up, grab some cream and butter and make this tart immediately.

First . . . the crust. The amazing, cookie crust.

Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
1 tbs heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces (about 1/2 inch)

1. Whisk the egg yolk, cream and vanilla together. Set aside.

2. In a food processor, process the flour, sugar and salt until combined.

3. Add the pieces of butter and use short pulses to combine until the mix is combined (My cookbook says until it resembles coarse cornmeal if that helps you.)

4. While the processor is still running, pour in the egg mixture and continue to process until the mix starts to come together almost in a ball. Take out and wrap in plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator over night.

5. Let the chilled dough soften a little at room temperature before rolling it out into a tart pan. Place the tart pan onto a cookie sheet and move the rack to the middle of the oven.

6. Cover the tart crust with a sheet of foil (also covering the edges) and fill the crust with pie weights. Bake in the oven at 375 degree for 30 minutes (rotate halfway through). After 30 minutes, carefully take off the foil and weights and continue to bake for 5 to 10 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely before moving on.

Tart Filling Ingredients:
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
5 egg yolks
3 tbs cornstarch
4 tbs chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 in pieces
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Fruit (Use whatever fruit you like really. Here's what I used):
2-3 kiwis, peeled and sliced
1-2 cups strawberries, sliced
small amount of raspberries
1/2 cup red currant jelly

1. In a saucepan, bring the half-and-half and 6 tbs of the sugar to a simmer on medium-high heat. Add salt and stir.

2. In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks, cornstarch and the remaining sugar together.

3. Slowly whisk about 1 cup of the simmering half-and-half mixture into the eggs to temper it. Slowly whisk the tempered yolk back into the saucepan and whisk constantly until simmering and thickened and small bubbles start bursting at the surface. Whisk whisk whisk!

4. Take the saucepan off the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. Pour the cream into a bowl, layer a sheet of plastic wrap right on top of the cream and refrigerate for at least three hours (or overnight like me - I did all my prep work the day before.)

5. Spread the filling on the tart crust, filling all the way to the edge. Shingle the kiwi slices along the edge, then layer the strawberries next, and finally a little pile of raspberries in the middle.

6. Melt the currant jelly and drizzle over the tart to make a glaze.

7. Take out of the tart pan, serve it up and eat it until it's gone, which won't be long. This baby goes fast.

Enjoy!

Holiday Recap

2011-12-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

Greetings, friends!

I hope you all had an amazing weekend!

For the record, Christmas in Hawaii is fantastic.

A few people worried that we were going to be lonely spending Christmas just the two of us, an ocean away from our family, but no . . . we had a wonderful holiday weekend.

Let me begin my story on Friday, when we were on our way to the movie theatre, after having dinner at a little Mexican restaurant (where I made friends with a lovely girl who bought me a drink. Fabulous). We were yards away from getting on the freeway when we were stopped by a large amount of police on motorcycles.

It turns out we were one of the last cars stopped (others behind us were turned away) in preparation for closing the road for President Obama's convoy to drive through.

Did I mention we live blocks from his vacation home? Awesome.

After dozens and dozens of police drove by (one blocking each car funny enough), we witnessed the craziness that is the presidential convoy. I have to say, it was the craziest, coolest thing I have ever seen. Wow.

After that eventful night, on Christmas Eve we spent the day prepping for our Christmas dinner. Oh yes, even though it would only be the two of us, we were making a feast.

We had a last minute dinner with a few of our neighbor friends that night, which was wonderful. It was great to spend that evening with new friends. I loved it.

And on Christmas day, we opened presents . . . and then went to the beach.

Is there anything better?

And what did I get for Christmas, you ask?

A TRX set up (remember how much I love it?)

And a new camera. This is particularly exciting since my old camera, though it still took good pictures, was falling apart so badly that it needed to be put down for good. Well, we might keep it around for beach days, but when you have a camera where pieces of it fall off when you hold it, well, that's not good.

Oh it was a great holiday! I loved it! And I can't wait to share parts of my Christmas dinner with you all. Stay tuned!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well.

On to the new year!

Twas The Friday Before Christmas . . .

2011-12-23T00:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday everyone!

Is anyone else as excited as I am that Christmas is only two days away?

I thought so!

Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, you gotta feel the holiday cheer throughout the month of December, right?

I'm not a religious person, but I love this holiday. I love spending that special time with your loved ones, giving gifts, making a feast and spending a few days without worry or troubles because it's the one time of year that you can let go of it all. To appreciate what you have and show how much you care.

I love gift-giving. To me, there's nothing better than coming up with the perfect gift. My favorite Christmases in the past haven't been the ones where I got everything I wanted, but the ones where I gave gifts to my family and friends that were particularly memorable. More thought goes into what I could give than what I want for myself.

Though, I admit, I might purchase a gift for myself every once in a while. I know I'm not alone! Sure, don't admit it now, but you know you do the same!

Picture taken just seconds before Tesla tugged down the stockings.

This year, as much as I will miss my family, I am excited for the part of the holidays where you let go of the petty troubles, the stresses, the things that make you upset, and just enjoy being happy. Being at peace. Appreciating the life you have. I have a feeling this will be the most relaxing holiday so far.

And though it's just the two of us, we are still having a feast of a dinner! Yeah, cooking - it's what we do.

Did I mention my dream kitchen would have two stovetops so that Mitch and I could cook at the same time without bumping into each other? Ahh, that would be nice.

For Christmas I am letting go of my diet (because I've been sticking to it so well . . .) and trying out some new recipes.

For breakfast, a quiche. I have never ventured into quiche territory before so this will be an all new experience. If it turns out well I will share it with you. *crossing fingers*

Another new adventure will be dessert, which this year will be a fruit tart. I haven't made it yet but I went out and bought all the ingredients I'll need for it today and I'm anxious to try it. I'm also anxious to share the recipe with you, even though I haven't made it yet.

I hope it turns out good as well.

But as the holiday season comes closer I'm brought back to thanking my readers and friends. You all have been a joy to write for and to get to know. I love that I have met so many amazing people through this website and it means the world to me that so many of you enjoy what I write.

You mean the world to me and I thank you for stopping by every day.

So happy holidays everyone! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Hugs all around!

xoxo
Lyda

One Last Holiday Cookie

2011-12-22T00:07:00.000-08:00

Days until the 25th of December is here and I still have one last cookie recipe to share with you!

Only one, because I've been working myself to death trying to keep up with exercise to make up for all the desserts I've been eating this month.

Luckily, this one gets to be filed in the paleo category. So we've got that going for us.

Here is a recipe that just tastes like Christmas in every bite! You can find the original recipe here.

Molasses Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup Almond Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Vanilla
1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
1/4 cup Dark Molasses

Ready for an easy step-by-step?

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine all dry ingredients into a bowl.

3. Combine wet ingredients in a large liquid measuring cup.

4. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

5. With a tablespoon, roll the dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (Makes 12 cookies)

6. Bake for 10 minutes.

7. Let cool. Eat 6 of the 12 cookies immediately.

Super easy. Super delicious. Nothin' to it!

Go forth . . . bake! Be jolly!

Happy Holidays!

Holiday Rush

2011-12-21T16:18:00.000-08:00

I think I might be finally finished with my holiday shopping.

Maybe.

Almost.

So close.

My main gifts are purchased, wrapped and sitting sweetly in place just waiting to be opened.

Does anyone else out there have a hard time waiting for Christmas for their loved ones to open their presents? The suspense is killing me!

This year our Winter Solstice celebration will be spent just the two of us (four of us with the cats) in Hawaii, which is bitter sweet.

We'll miss spending the holiday with our families, especially our nieces. I love this time of year, especially when little ones are around.

But we are grateful for our life here in Hawaii. I'm even more grateful that the sun is out today. It's been a stormy week, so it's been somewhat similar to the Christmases that I've come accustomed to . . . except it's quite a bit warmer than usual.

The last few days though, I've been running around from store to store to finish my shopping. And let me just say, those Christmas shoppers are ruthless!

It might seem more extreme because the town I live in is so small, and there is a significant lack of parking available, but people will stop at nothing to get to where they're going.

Cars circle like buzzards in search of a parking space to steal from those of us who have been waiting patiently for one to open up.

People rush past you in department stores in order to grab that last toy, shirt, frying pan, whatever.

And don't get me started on people at the post office.

Here in Hawaii there is a scramble to get your gifts out in the mail to your loved ones on the mainland. The post office stacks their flat-rate boxes by the cartloads, knowing that there will be a mad rush to get as many as you can fit in your car.

With so many people sending gifts, I've found the post office here far surpasses any other post office I've been to in crowd size.

And the people are angry.

I've gotten used to the laid-back vibe in Hawaii. There isn't as much anger that you see on a regular basis on the mainland. (Unless it's coming from the woman who lives across the street from me . . . don't ask.) People don't cut you off when driving on the freeway. In fact, many people go out of their way to let you into whatever lane you were hoping to get to. People might speed, but there is no aggression.

Except for this time of year.

Sheesh!

I'm happy to still be alive.

'Tis the season to run around like a mad woman, knocking people out of your way so you can show other people how much you care about them with a gift.

Hopefully you put a bow on it.

My Favorite Gingerbread Cookies

2011-12-20T00:07:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how much I love my readers?

Seriously, I've never felt more overwhelmed with love than when I read responses to my posts, emails from dear blog-friends, and it brings me close to tears.

And because I love you all so much, I'm going to share a delicious secret with you.

A delicious secret recipe of mine . . .

For the holidays, I give you . . .

Gingerbread Cookies!

This is my personal recipe that I've had for years. And it's fantastic. The cookies are chewy and spicy and oh so delicious. The frosting on top sweetly melts in your mouth and you are in gingerbread heaven.

It's true.

I wouldn't lie.

Not about this.

Not about my gingerbread cookie recipe.

Are you ready for this?

Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter (softened)
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Dark Molasses
1 Egg
2 3/4 cups Flour (sifted)
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Hot Water

1. Cream Butter with Brown Sugar.

2. Add Molasses and Egg and mix together well

3. Sift the dry ingredients and add 1/2 cup at a time.

4. Add Vinegar and Water and continue to mix for another minute or two.

5. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more.

6. Roll out the dough and cut using cookie cutters. Or you can roll into balls and flatten with your palm for round cookies. I like to keep the cookies thick so that they stay chewy instead of crispy.

7. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients

2 tbs Softened Butter
1 Egg White
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

Drink some wine while frosting cookies. Like me.

1. Mix all ingredients with 1 cup of sifted sugar.

2. Slowly add the rest of the sugar 1/4 cup at a time.

3. Use food coloring if desired.

4. Eat cookies.

The frosting will harden enough for you to pack in a tupperware container - just separate each layer with a piece of parchment paper.

Like I said, this is my favorite holiday cookie recipe. I've tried numerous other gingerbread cookie recipes in the past but none have ever turned out as good as these.

And no, they aren't paleo.

Happy baking!

Search For A Rheumatologist Cont'd

2011-12-19T00:09:00.000-08:00

First off, I want to thank everyone who contacted me through email, facebook, comments, etc. regarding my previous posts. I was surprisingly nervous about my upcoming appointment with a new rheumatologist, and it was incredible to have so much support.

I love you all.

Yep.

That being said, let me tell you all how it went.

I must say that perhaps I was spoiled with my previous rheumatologist. I was so comfortable with him and his office, I felt like I was heard and understood, and I always felt taken care of. Admittedly, I wasn't sold on Doc Wiz on my first appointment with him, but I wasn't uncomfortable.

This new doc . . . well, things were a little different.

Let me rephrase that . . . completely different.

Let me rephrase again . . . awful.

Starting at the beginning, I was heading into the situation nervous. I was going alone, which wasn't my ideal situation. I had my directions printed out and was carefully driving into a town that I haven't had much experience exploring yet, on my own anyway.

After accidentally driving into a private condo's parking garage, I found my way to the hospital's parking. When I got out of the car was the first realization that this was nothing like Doc Wiz's simple private office. This was a big f'ing building.

I've been to big hospitals before, don't get me wrong. But maneuvering around one as large as this without knowing where I was going was overwhelming. Scary.

Eventually, after elbowing my way through the large crowds of people, I found the doctor's office.

I can't say how many doctors were working in this one office, but it was a tad scattered. It wasn't the calm experience I was wishing for. But I was hopeful that the doctor would be worth it.

He wasn't.

I knew within the first five seconds he wasn't the right doctor for me.

He walked into the room and closed the door. Then, without saying a word to me, went to his bottle of disinfectant. It wasn't until he was finished rubbing his hands together that he finally greeted me. So there was about two minutes of me just watching him wash his hands.

Awkward.

The vibe was bad. He was the type of doctor who talks down to his patients, which drives me crazy. He asked me a few questions about my treatments, but rarely tore his eyes away from his computer screen. And worst of all, he had no interest in getting to know me and my personal medical history. Not a good sign.

The biggest red flag was toward the end of the visit. After arguing with him that I was not at all interested in his advice to alter my treatments (he wanted to change my medications even though I told him repeatedly that I'm finally in a good place as far as medicine), he told me he was going to send me to get numerous, unnecessary x-rays.

Not happening, pal.

If he had gotten to know me better he would have learned that I have had so many x-rays in the past that there are certain scans that are just no longer healthy for me to have anymore.

And what is it with doctors thinking that ordering x-rays is this simple thing? Don't they realize that crap is expensive?

We said our goodbyes, but instead of me heading down to the second floor for the x-rays I went to my car.

And then I cried.

Why? I have no idea.

I think it was such an overwhelming experience and it was just upsetting to have things go so wrong.

I had high hopes, even though my PC doc told me he wasn't exactly a warm and fuzzy guy . . . the understatement of the year. But I hoped that he was at least a good doctor.

Wrong.

He might be a smart guy and he might know a thing or two about arthritis, but I will not be going back to see him.

Nope. Not gonna do it.

After my long story, I want to leave you with at least one lesson : You should never settle for a doctor who isn't right for you.

Settling for a doctor who makes you uncomfortable is probably the worst thing you can do for your treatment. I would rather go without a rheumatologist than regularly see someone who doesn't treat me well.

There are a lot of doctors out there who seem to be on a power trip. Instead of me interviewing this guy to be my doctor, he seemed as if I was the lucky one to be seeing him. This God-complex some doctors have is infuriating, and I refuse to hand over my treatment to someone who doesn't keep my best interest in mind.

So there.

There are other doctors. Other offices. Other options. It will just take some time to find the right one.

This might mean that I have a long road ahead of me. I have to continue the search for a new doctor. It will be tough, but I have to follow my instincts.

And the journey continues.

Nerves

2011-12-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

My first appointment to interview rheumatologists is this afternoon and it's got me all flustered. The nerves might be from the cup of coffee I just drank in about two gulps, but whatever. It's a big deal.

Originally I scheduled the appointment so my husband could go along with me. All was going well until a last minute meeting prevented him from taking his usual Friday off, so now I'm flyin' solo. There's the first cause of stress.

You might think I need to buck up and show some independence, but I'm a firm believer in having a supporter come along with you to doctor appointments. There are too many benefits :

1. Someone will be there to remember questions you might forget to ask.

2. Someone will be there after the appointment to remember things the doctor said that you might have forgotten about after the whirlwind of a meeting you just had.

3. It's always nice to have someone there just to support you. Even if he says nothing, having my husband sitting next to me in the doctor's office is always comforting.

(Though side-note: Doc Wiz once told me that whenever he sees someone's spouse come along to the appointment, he's almost always expecting to be reprimanded by the spouse.

"Why is my husband in pain?!"

"Why haven't you cured my wife's arthritis?!"

Except when Mitch and I showed up. Then he would just talk to Mitch about skiing and I would sit there wondering when we'd get around to talking about me . . . .)

Having said that little tangent, the second stress inducer is simply meeting a new doctor when my current rheumatologist is so great.

It might be more exciting if I was coming out of a situation where I was looking forward to finding someone new. A really bad previous doctor makes it a little easier to find someone who is at lease a little better.

But in my situation, I didn't want to change doctors. I had such a good relationship with my doctor that now I have this ridiculously high expectation that might never be reached again.

. . . sigh . . .

Another thing I'm stressed about . . . having to give a play-by-play of the last twelve years of arthritis care.

So tell me about your situation.

Well, I was diagnosed, then on this medicine, then on this medicine, then I did this, and this, and yadda yadda yadda.

This appointment could go on forever.

Sure I have files I could hand over to him. I could just sit there and watch him read them. Or he could take them and throw them in a pile of other people's files and never get around to it.

How the doctor responds to my history lesson is a big deal here.

If he is interested and listens intently while I pour my soul . . . I mean . . . tell him about my medical history, then he scores points.

If he tries to rush me through with the Cliffsnotes version, then he loses points.

Simple.

In the end, in my mind it's a test. He's gotta impress me. He's gotta win me over in order to take care of me.

But man, I'm not ready to interview anyone today.

I'd rather stay at home, snuggled with my kitties, possibly trying out a new recipe for dark chocolate almond butter truffles.

But no. I have to go to the doctor's.

Wish me luck.

Please.

Looking For A New Rheumatologist . . . Part One

2011-12-15T09:06:00.000-08:00

The bad part about moving to a new, wonderful location is that the search for the perfect rheumatologist begins once again.

Why is this a difficult thing, you might ask?

For me, it takes a lot of time, understanding, and whipping into shape to get me to trust a new doctor. I don't just walk into a doctor's office and have that immediate trust and bond with them that comes after years of getting-to-know you conversations and genuine personal interest.

When I first met my previous rheumatologist, Doc Wiz, who I love, I was very skeptical at first. It took me probably a year of working with him to finally admit that he was a good doctor and that I should listen to what he says.

Now I show up there, announce my entrance, wander into the waiting area, throw off my shoes, open my thermos full of eggnog with bourbon and relax.

Well, the bourbon part isn't quite true, though that would be awesome.

I have been known to throw off my shoes at moments while in his office.

Doc Wiz once had to remind me I wasn't wearing shoes when walking out the door.

. . .

Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that it takes time to really develop that comfortable doctor-patient relationship that is so important.

That being said, I am nervous about an upcoming appointment I have with a doc in Honolulu.

It's been a long time since I had to find a new doctor. The good thing about the last few that I've had is that I had recommendations before hand. This time, I have a recommendation from my new primary care doc, so I'm having to break my usual plan and trust immediately that she knows what she's talking about.

My plan going into this thing . . .

Use this appointment as a test. A sort of interview, if you will.

This doc has to impress me. In the end I need to feel like the doctor I choose is going to help take care of me, keep me on a good path, and make sure that my treatment meets my lifestyle needs.

Yep, that's about it, think you can handle that Doc?

It will be an interesting day. You'll hear more about it soon.

Take care, loves!

'Tis The Season

2011-12-13T00:05:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season to send out holiday cards to family members . . . Those you see often, and those you only see once every few years if you're lucky.

It's also the season to eat so much candy while writing cards that you have a tummy ache.

Is it also the season for hunting geckos? (With help from Mitch and a yoga mat.)

It's the time of year to snuggle up with loved ones on the couch and watch holiday-themed movies.

I love the holidays. I don't want it all to pass by without me noticing.

It's important to appreciate and embrace it while it's here!

The hard part about this year is being away from family and living in a tropical area that doesn't feel like the Decembers I've been accustomed to. I'm wearing shorts right now, for crying out loud!

I need to plan out my Christmas . . . I have yet to really do so.

Any ideas, dear friends?

Cream Cheese Minty Candies

2011-12-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, friends!

I hope you all had a great weekend.

I received an email from a reader asking for info about what type of peppermint candy I used in my Festive Peppermint Chocolates and so I must clarify.

I used peppermint chips made specifically for baking. They were crunchy to start out but eventually I was able to melt them down for the most part. If you aren't able to find these, you might have to do some searching for a peppermint candy that will melt down. Or you could just find peppermint oil (extract).

If you have left over peppermint chips from making those delicious chocolates, I have a wonderful recipe for you to try . . .

Disclaimer: This recipe is not at all paleo. Not. At. All.

Cream Cheese Peppermint Candy

Ingredients:
4oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 tbs Butter, softened
3 cups Powdered Sugar
about 1/4 cup Peppermint Chips, melted (or 4 drops of peppermint oil)
Food Coloring (Optional if using peppermint oil)

1. In a mixer, blend the Cream Cheese and Butter together.

2. Add the melted Peppermint Chips (or the extract) to the mix.

3. Slowly add the Powdered Sugar, 1 cup at a time, until blended in well.

4. Set the bowl in the freezer for about 10 minutes to let the mix set up.

5. Once the mix is workable, roll into small balls and place on wax paper.

This was the tricky part for me - I'm not sure if it was just the cream cheese mix or the fact that it's so warm here, but it kept melting in my hands after making only a few balls. What I ended up having to do was roll a few, then set the sheet and the bowl back in the freezer to set up again. It took a bit longer for me to finish but you do whatcha gotta do!

6. Let sit back in the refrigerator/freezer for at least two hours.

7. Eat.

These are ridiculously good. The recipe makes approximately 1,000 mints.

Dust with a little powdered sugar or crumbled peppermint candy for added decoration/to keep them from melting if they'll be sitting out long. Store 'em in the refrigerator or freezer, they'll be good either way!

What I like about using the candy here is that the mint is mild enough that it's not so overpowering and you can eat a handful of them at a time.

Also, with the candy they come out with this cute pink color that's totally Christmas-y. If you choose to use peppermint oil you can add a bit of food coloring, which would be fun to make them both red and green.

And, in my opinion, everything made with cream cheese is AH-Mazing!

I love me some cream cheese.

Now I'm off to eat ten more mints. I will have the freshest breath of all.

Pin It

Totally Rockin' Jam Cookies

2011-12-09T00:15:00.000-08:00

You didn't think I would stop at one dessert-y snack this week did you? Heck no!

I love cookies and I need cookies and I have a whole lotta free time.

So there.

Jam Cookies!

The original recipe is from the cookbook Nourishing Traditions, which I checked out from the library a few months ago and didn't get much out of it. Instead I go to the blog of my friend Shaye, who posted the recipe here. Luckily this is another paleo recipe which rocks.

Go paleo jam cookies!

One reason I love this recipe is because I had all the ingredients I needed in my kitchen. That always makes me happy - not having to make a trip to the grocery store.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of blanched almonds
1/2 cup coconut oil (room temperature)
1 cup arrowroot powder
1/2 cup agave nectar (original recipe uses rapadura)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
lemon zest
jam - I had strawberry jam in the fridge so that's what I used but you can use whatever you like.

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees (wait . . . I ended up having to up the temp to 350 degrees to get the cookies to finish cooking.) Let's go with 325 degrees.

2. Grind the almonds in the food processor. Exciting fact about this recipe - the food processor is all you really need. No extra bowls necessary!

By the way, if anyone wants to get me something for Christmas, I'd love a new food processor. You can buy me this one. I dream big.

3. Add the coconut oil and agave nectar.

The dough will get thicker, don't worry.
I just lost track and forgot to take more pictures I guess . . .

4. Add the arrowroot powder.

5. Add the salt, vanilla and lemon zest.

6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into balls of whatever size cookie you'd like to eat. Yum.

What the heck, why didn't I take a picture of this step?

Note: like the peppermint chocolates, rolling these into a ball will cause the coconut oil to start melting which means you will have very oily hands by the end of this.

7. Bake for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, take the cookies out of the oven and using the back of a spoon (or whatever) make an indent in the middle of each cookie.

8. Fill the indent with a bit of jam. The original recipe says a teaspoon. To be honest, there were a few cookies that ended up with a tad more than a teaspoon of jam and they turned out just as delicious.

9. Put back in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until slightly golden brown at the bottom edges.

10. Eat like, fifty of these.

They're that delicious.

I am actively keeping myself from eating another cookie at this point. Mitch gets home on Saturday . . . I have to make sure there is at least one cookie for him to eat.

Hopefully he will be so lucky.

Happy Friday!

Updated 2/18/2012: These cookies are also great with different combinations of fruit. Replace lemon zest with orange zest. Replace strawberry jam for raspberry, blackberry, apricot jam etc.

Festive Peppermint Chocolates

2011-12-08T00:08:00.000-08:00

So beings the holiday baking extravaganza!

Who will eat all these treats, you ask?

Well since I have a very small group of people I know here in my new town I'll be eating most myself. Perhaps my neighbors and Mitch's coworkers will be lucky enough to get a platter of goodies delivered to them.

Or I might just not share at all.

Just joking . . .

My first try at a new holiday dessert recipe is a good one for sharing, only because it's so rich that eating more than one is a tad much for even the biggest sweet tooth. But delicious nonetheless.

Peppermint chocolates! (or peppermint patties as they are also known as) Yum!

I was inspired by the recipe found here, but my lack of ingredients made me alter it a bit. I was also a tad intimidated by the reviews of the recipe saying it was really difficult, but I think I got it down and I'll tell you how to make these so that it's the easiest thing ever! Ever!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup peppermint bits (a guesstimation, mind you)
dark chocolate chips for melting

I have my little blogging buddy/baking partner back!

The original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil, but after running around from grocery store to grocery store with no luck of finding the elusive flavor extract, I found the next best thing . . .

Peppermint candy!

I think the patties turned out fantastic and the inside was pink which seems extra festive in my opinion. And I felt a bit like I was on Iron Chef or Chopped, using a weird ingredient instead of the original. Awesome. So, that being said, the first step is . . .

1. Melt the peppermint candy. You can do this with a glass bowl and a small saucepan with simmering water on the stove, or simply microwaving it. Stir frequently.

2. After the peppermint is melted, mix in the coconut oil and agave nectar until combined. Make sure the coconut oil is at room temperature.

I melted the coconut oil and let it sit out to cool down before mixing, but you can also use un-microwaved coconut oil as well - just make sure to mash it so that it combines well and the texture of the mix is smooth.

3. Toss the bowl of peppermint deliciousness into the freezer for a few minutes (somewhere around 2-5 minutes) to set up. This would be a good time to snuggle your sweet kitty.

4. Take the bowl out of the freezer and mix up again (mine was separated a bit). The texture should be significantly thicker if you started out with melted coconut oil.

5. Roll the mixture into little balls and place on a baking sheet (or any sort of tray) lined with parchment paper. (Beware that if you keep the mix in your hands too long it will begin to melt.)

Squish down the balls into small patties with the back of a spoon.

The original recipe recommends using a 1.5 teaspoon ice cream scoop to measure out the servings, but you can make them however big you want, I say. Mine were a pretty decent size. Maybe next time I'll make little tiny ones as suggested.

6. Place the patties back in the freezer to set up. (I left them in for a couple of hours.) Check that they are firm before moving on to the next step.

7. Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl. Let the bowl sit out for at least 20 minutes. You don't want the chocolate to be hot when you coat the patties or else they will melt into a big ugly mess.

8. One at a time drop the patties into the bowl of chocolate and use a spoon to make sure they get coated with a good layer.

Use the spoon to serve them back on to your cold, parchment paper lined cookie sheet. (The cold cookie sheet is key here because it helps them set up when the chocolate is still a bit melty.)

9. Place the patties back in the freezer to set up and then eat! Served cold these are amazing.

The flavor is great - peppermint, but not so strong you feel like you're eating toothpaste (ick). And the dark chocolate pairs really well with it. The texture is also really fantastic, mind you I ate this right out of the freezer. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like these considering there isn't much to them, but it's surprisingly yummy. It also fits into the category of "paleo desserts" so that's a bonus as well!

It's so easy to do. And it's a fantastic treat. Like I said, with the peppermint and the dark chocolate they are very rich so it's unlikely that I could eat all of these in one night. That's good because I have a habit of eating handfuls at a time of my baked goods that turn out well.

I hope you try these, and I hope you like them. Let me know what you think if you do!

Happy holidays!

Xmas in Hawaii

2011-12-07T00:02:00.000-08:00

Holiday Baking Is For Sure . . . Yes

2011-12-06T00:03:00.000-08:00

So the holidays are just around the corner and I'm in the mood for some delicious holiday baking. The trouble is, I'm having to force most of my Christmas cheer because living in Hawaii with the tropical climate and all makes it feel less like the holiday season and more like mid-summer. Not that I'm complaining, but still . . . it's weird. That Christmas tree is throwin' me off.

Anyway, I have a hankering for some sweet treats (what else is new?) and this is the best time to indulge. Here's my dilemma: to paleo, or not to paleo?

Pros of paleo baking:
o Sticking to my diet somewhat (yes it's still dessert but it's better than most)
o Dairy-free means less joint pain which is always a plus
o It's exciting to experiment with new recipes (and to share them!)
o Allows us to eat lots of sweets without that super guilty feeling

Pros of non-paleo baking
o Almost always guaranteed to be delicious
o Easy to find new, fun recipes
o Oh hell, it's the holidays, might as well let loose!

Obviously the pros list is a tad more convincing. I think with the holidays rolling around and me job-less at the moment, baking treats is a must, and I will do whatever necessary to get those treat recipes to you. Be they paleo or not paleo, they will be attempted and they will be shared!

A few sneak peaks at my hopefully soon-to-be-made treats . . .

Ginger Snaps (paleo)
Gingerbread Cookies (paleo)
Truffles (paleo and non-paleo versions)
Peppermint Patties (paleo)
Shortbread Jelly Cookies
Peanut Brittle
Chocolate Frosted Bars

Ok I might not get to all my desired treats. I might find more interesting ones along the way. I might eat everything without sharing a bite with anyone. Who knows what will happen.

All I can say is this kitchen will be fired up!

Packin' Up Some Love

2011-12-05T00:04:00.000-08:00

Mitch left on Sunday for another business trip off island. At least this time I have my little kitties to keep me company while I'm alone in Hawaii. I love having those little furry rascals around.

There's something funny about Mitch heading off on business. I have this habit of packing his suitcase for him, and sometimes while I'm folding his shirts I wonder who the heck I've become. I'm a woman who takes pride in perfectly folding her husband's button-down shirts. Aye!

Usually I begin packing his suitcase before he even has a chance to say anything. He always offers to pack it himself, but I find something comforting in making sure he has everything he needs for traveling. He does so much to take care of me that the little things I can do to take care of him too mean a lot to me. We take care of each other, and for that I feel very blessed.

I am so grateful for my amazing husband. And my sweet little kitties. I'm sorry to gush but it's on my mind and it's wonderful.

Though, what's not wonderful . . . sweet little Niki has a not-so-sweet little cold. So though I won't be taking care of any husband this week I will be taking care of a poor kitty. Fluids, baby!

Day Off

2011-12-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

Today Mitch has the day off. A day off work before leaving for yet another business trip. So I will be spending the day with my beautiful family. Enjoying the fact that we are all together.

And it's a beautiful day to boot!

I'm going to relax, possibly do something active (Mitch is begging to go for a hike . . . will I give in?) but I'm not making any promises.

Do something today with the ones you love!

See you Monday!

December? Already?

2011-12-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

I was shocked when I looked down at the calendar and realized that today is the first of December. First I thought, "I need to pay rent." Then I thought, "Wow, time goes by fast." Then I thought, ". . . Christmas?"

It's hard to look outside right now and think of it being December already. Right now it's raining and the humidity is making the cats sprawl out on the tile floor. Where is the snow? Where is the Christmas-y feeling?

To go along with our little tradition of starting Christmas right after Thanksgiving, we dug our Christmas decorations out of our storage closet and put up our tree!

And I forgot how much the cats love it.

Luckily, a majority of the ornaments we own were purchased with the thought in mind that cats would most likely knock them off, so they shouldn't fall victim to the cats + tile floor situation. I can't say the same about a few dishes that I left on the counter the other night.

Moving on.

Cats and Christmas tree make me just a happy, jolly person. Tis the season to be with the ones you love, and luckily I have three of my favorites under one roof!

Happy beginning of the holidays!

Together Again!

2011-11-30T10:54:00.000-08:00

Oh Lawdy, thank goodness! It's over! The stress. The turbulence. The chaos. The struggles. The worrying. It's all over now.

Our kitties are here!

The last couple of days have been the wildest, headache-inducing days of my life. Let me walk you through the process.

After four months of paperwork, vet appointments, waiting, waiting, and more paperwork, the time finally came to bring Tesla and Niki home to Hawaii with us. Thanksgiving came and went and the flight home was booked. Alaska Airlines gave us some bs about how each flight to Hawaii was only allowed one animal in the cabin and one animal in the cargo, so we had to separate the poor little things. A few days before the flight we had to buy a new carrier that would fit under the seat in the cabin of the plane.

This photo does not show a picture of the carrier and a purse. That on top is the carrier I had to squish little Niki in, poor guy.

Along with the cats I packed just about every possible thing I could. All of our cat things, and a majority of our ski clothes (no, we won't be skiing in Hawaii. Hopeful ski trip in March!)

The night before the flight we rented a car to drive to Seattle. That drive was three hours and instead of keeping the cats in their carriers for an extra three hours in a row before the flight, we left a day early and got a hotel room by the airport. It was a good reminder of the fact that our cats do travel pretty well. In the last couple years they have moved numerous times and survived. Although that night, Tesla decided to punish me by keeping me awake all night long. Aye.

The morning of the flight I was a ball of nerves. Though I had all the paperwork filled out and checked multiple times, I was so worried about putting my cats through the hell of a six hour flight. Was I being selfish? Yanking them from a perfectly comfortable home in Wenatchee and throwing them into a plane that would terrify them for hours just so I could have them with me in Hawaii? Was I being a horrible cat mama?

The look on Tesla's face as I left her with the kind man at the airport who would transport her to the plane was sheer terror. I had to hold back the tears while I was waiting for the flight to board. It didn't help that Niki was crying the entire time. I don't blame him, he was squished. And my lack of sleep the night before was making me even more emotional than usual.

Then I was furious when I saw a woman boarding the same plane as I was with a small dog in her purse. Did the airline just lie to us those three times we called to make sure that the rule about 1 pet in cargo and 1 in the cabin was at all flexible? I was fuming when I realized the woman with the teacup dog was sitting in the row behind us. At least the yapping of a little dog took the attention off my crying kitty.

Once we got off the plane I had to pass of Niki to a man who would take him and Tesla over to the Animal Quarantine station at the Honolulu Airport. I was 95% of the way out of there!

Now here's the funny part: I have heard so many horror stories about the people at the Animal Quarantine station and how horrible they are. I think that's because people show up there and don't have all their ducks in a row. Hopefully they aren't transporting ducks to Hawaii but whatever. What I have found is that when you have all your paperwork filled out, have extra copies of everything, and slap on a smile when you show up, they are very friendly and helpful. Within a half an hour we had our cats and were out of there!

Oh that car ride home was the most wonderful drive ever! AND there was a rainbow!

When we got home the cats were still shocked from the terrorizing flight. I assumed they were pissed at us for putting them through torture, wondering where the hell we were taking them. Not long after hiding under the bed, Tesla emerged, and began to wander the house.

A few minutes later, Niki followed.

They scouted.

They recognized some pieces of furniture.

And explored new findings.

Then they started to relax.

They were up all night getting to know the new house, and I woke up this morning to find them sleeping on my feet. Ah, what a happy feeling. Now it's back to snuggles while blogging and listening to the chirp of Tesla's call while I clean. And things are right in the world again!

The Week

2011-11-28T00:02:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a busy one. It seems like we just got here and now we have to get ready to leave again.

Our day of travel to Washington was hell, to put it lightly. The red-eye flight was not exactly the most relaxing. Though I had my sleeping medicine to get me through it, it seemed as if everyone else on the plane was either talking or eating. Please explain to me why you are eating a bag of potato chips at 3am! Would you normally be eating at this time of night? That bag makes a lot of noise and I'm trying to sleep. *throws dagger eyes*

When we arrived in Seattle I think I had approximately 20 cups of coffee while we waited three hours for our next flight, only to find five minutes before we were scheduled to board that the flight had been canceled. So we had to rent a car to drive the three hours to my parent's hometown, which cost us more than the flight itself. Sigh.

And that drive was long. A few more cups of coffee later and a couple changes of the seasons. First hail, then rain,

then sun,

then snow,

. . . then sun again.

We made it eventually, and family fun ensued.

A couple of Thanksgiving dinners and a whole bunch of cat stuff (trips to the pet supply store and the vet) and now we're on our way home.

With Niki and Tesla!

Tomorrow will probably be a no-post day because I will be having a panic attack while we try to fly our two cats to Hawaii. Hopefully the next time you hear from me we will all have made it home safely.

Thanks

2011-11-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving readers!

This year my biggest thanks is to YOU!

Since I started this blog I have met some amazing people, I've received so much feedback and support, and it's been extremely rewarding, fulfilling and humbling. You all are so important to me and I can't imagine what it would be like without my new amazing friends made through networking in the past year. You all help me as much as I could possibly help you. I look forward to hearing from you each and every day!

So thank you, dear readers! This year is to you!

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

2011-11-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving on it's way, I felt it was time to attempt paleo pumpkin pie once again. My first attempt was a decent try. A good effort. But nothing special enough to write about.

This time I used what I learned from my previous baking, and what I knew about the ingredients needed, to come up with a pie recipe that was tweaked here and there. My inspiration was from the same recipe used last time for the filling, and based on a tart crust recipe found here.

Let's start with the crust.

For the record, let me say that the crust dough did not look like the the picture on the Elana's Pantry website, where I found the recipe. But it did turn out pretty well. The original recipe uses only almonds for the flour, but I chose to use a mixture of almonds and hazelnuts.

Pie Crust Ingredients

2 cups blanched almond flour and hazelnut flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbs coconut oil

1 egg

Needed: Food processor

First, blend the flours and the salt in the food processor.

Add the coconut oil and egg to the mixture and pulse. The dough will begin to form into a ball.

Take out the dough. If not all of it got formed into the ball, add the extra.

Press dough into your pie dish. It will seem to be extra oily.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

While the crust is baking, mix the pie filling. Alter the amount of spices for your tastes.

Pumpkin Pie Filling Ingredients

1 14oz can pumpkin puree

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

2 eggs

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup coconut milk

The instructions are easy - mix all ingredients together, one at a time, in a bowl.

Pour filling into the baked pie crust.

Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

After the pie cooled I put it in the freezer over night and took it out in the morning. It was still a bit cold when I went to slice it but I liked the way it held together that way.

And I have to admit, I made a disastrous mistake after the pie was cooked . . . when placing the pie in the freezer, a jar of something (perhaps ice cream?) fell on top . . . and it ended up like this . . .

Throw some whipped cream on top and no one will notice!

Unfortunately this mistake made for very ugly photos.

This pie was child approved by my three nieces. Hopefully this recipe will be a help to those of you working on your paleo thanksgiving dinner!

I hope you all have a wonderful day full of lots of delicious food!

Oh, and a big thank you to the people at Be @ Home for giving me an "Editor's Choice Award" for this website! Wow! Thank you!

Anger

2011-11-22T00:08:00.000-08:00

Anger is a funny thing.

There are a lot of people out there who get angry about the littlest things. Things that are nothing to get emotional about. Things that really don't deserve all the attention they give it. Things.

Those of us with chronic illnesses have a lot of reasons to be angry. More so than most people. Pain, fatigue, the inability to do everyday tasks. Why did this happen? Why am I in such pain? Why do I have this auto-immune disease?

Each of us makes a choice, every day, to let that anger take over or not. You make the decision to be angry.

But can you really afford to be angry? For me, anger always comes with sickness. My stress and angry emotions often lead to getting sick, headaches, weakness, even canker sores (my nemesis). Is sitting there, simmering in your anger worth the consequences?

I witnessed a girl recently who had everything going for her (including her perfect health, which is one of those things that I always look at and am jealous of). She was complaining about something so trivial that it was difficult to sympathize with her. She let it get to her so much so that she could not function for the rest of the day. Her day ended early so she could stew in her hatred of the world.

It made me think that we have the decision whether or not to let our troubles get to us. Do you want to let your struggles turn you into a negative person or are you going to push past it and see the positive? Sometimes we choose to be upset, and other times we choose to be happy with what we have. And what feels better?

We make that decision on our own.

Travel Day Again

2011-11-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends,

I realize that I haven't posted much recently, and that's because I've been focused on preparing for our Thanksgiving vacation trip! Tonight we are taking a red-eye flight from Hawaii to Washington. (My first red-eye ever - I hope I will be able to sleep on the plane!) The last couple of days I have been packing and cleaning and getting the house ready for my sweet little kittens!

That's the exciting thing! The next time I will be here in our home in Hawaii I will have Tesla and Niki with me! How happy we will all be! (I hope!)

Like I said previously, it's been snowing in Washington lately, and that will be a shock for us. It's funny, we've mentioned to our neighbors, coworkers, random people in Hawaii that we will be going up to WA and that it's below freezing there and the reaction has been utter shock. Like, why would we ever want to go there in that temperature? We must be crazy!!

But I'm actually excited for some winter weather! Don't get me wrong, I love and appreciate the warm weather here. I know how lucky I am to live in this amazing state. But I do miss the changing of the seasons. I love the fall, I love the first snow, I love the holidays where you cozy up to a warm fireplace and snuggle up with your loved ones. I'm going to soak up as much of that holiday feeling as I can while I'm up in my home state. I will enjoy every second of it!

Except for being cold. Ok, I hate being cold. Raise your hand if your joints go crazy and achey every time the temperature drops! And with my swollen knees and elbows, I'm assuming I'll be a little uncomfortable. But that just means I'll need to spend some more time with Niki under that super comfortable blanket in my parent's livingroom!

Oh, and by the way, my Enbrel finally got here! The deal was, in the state of Hawaii Enbrel is a "specialty drug". And because it's a specialty drug not all pharmacies will carry it. In fact, you have to go to a "specialty pharmacy" in order to get it filled. Luckily, because there is only one place (as far as my insurance is concerned) that I can get Enbrel filled, they have a delivery service that will bring the Enbrel to you. Hooray!

A lovely young man delivered my Enbrel in a cooler today and I've never been so happy to get my prescriptions filled than at that moment. As I hobbled down the stairs with two swollen knees, it took all my might not to hug the man with thanks for bringing me my medicine. It's been much too long.

Although once I was injecting the Enbrel into my belly I was cursing it and wondering why the hell I would put myself through this pain. Oh well. I'll get over it.

Anyways, I feel I've been rambling. Mostly because I'm tired. Also because my husband and I just shared a bottle of wine. And also because I'm trying to type quickly to get this out before I have to leave for the airport.

The next time you hear from me I'll be in good ol' Washington state! And I'll be freezing my little butt off.

Take care, y'all!

Love,

Lyda

What?!

2011-11-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

I just found out that the weather forecast is predicting single digit temperatures in Washington on the day I fly in.

I am terrified.

Someone please save me from freezing to death!

Too busy today, packing every article of clothing I own.

Wish me luck.

Cheers!

2011-11-15T00:10:00.000-08:00

I was emailing with a woman yesterday about drinking alcohol and being on RA meds. Here's what I had to say about it . . .

Cheers!

Ok, I'm not a physician, I'm in no place to promote drinking and alcohol, but in my opinion as long as you aren't abusing alcohol (a good tip for everyone I think), and you are generally healthy, you will be ok.

Get your blood work done regularly, stay open with your doctor about your lifestyle, and then be smart about it. I told my doc that I'm not going to give up my glass of wine at dinner and that was that. Hopefully my Irish liver keeps me healthy.

I think it's a good rule that you don't abuse alcohol. That you don't abuse your body and do what would make your body feel bad. But a glass of wine is the best thing for me at this very moment.

Cheers! Here's to your health!

Paleo Pumpkin Cupcakes?

2011-11-14T00:06:00.000-08:00

Aye! Sunday was filled with baking, and more baking, and more baking. Baking attempts, I should say. I spent days searching for any possible amazing paleo-inspired Thanksgiving dessert, but I was left underwhelmed by the results. So since I had a whole bunch of ingredients and nothing but time, I decided to experiment a bit.

I took my favorite pumpkin cake recipe and did some research on possible ingredient replacements. I was looking at almond flour, coconut flour, hazelnut flour, agave nectar, maple syrup, almond milk, coconut milk, etc. I read and read and read and came to the conclusion that I simply need to take some sort of cooking chemistry class so I can better understand what each ingredient does and how it does it.

But taking a class sounds like a lot of work so I just went along with a little trial-and-error. Mitch played the part of the blind taste tester.

I wanted to play around with coconut flour. I haven't really used it much, mainly because my first experience with it didn't leave much of an appealing texture. But I did a lot of reading about cooking with coconut flour - the fact that a little goes a long way. Coconut flour soaks up a ton of moisture and that's why it can't be a substitute straight across the board. (Elana's Pantry gives a nice explanation of her uses of coconut flour here.)

Anyway, I took my original recipe and attempted to tone it down. Instead of a whopping 2.5 cups of sugar the recipe calls for, I used 1 cup of agave nectar and 3/4 cups of maple syrup. I also added an extra egg, to work with the coconut flour a bit better. A good start, I felt. Then it was on to the flour . . .

The original recipe calls for 2.5 cups of flour. From what I had learned after a day of studying, I knew I needed to reduce the flour quite a bit. I started with a cup and a half of coconut flour with the intention of adding more if needed . . . .

It wasn't needed.

I made a few cupcakes with this batter. Mitch and I sat staring at the cupcakes, chewing, questioning, coming up with ideas of how we could make it better. The flavor was great, but that dang texture . . . .

We decided that I should try adding another egg. Batch number 2 went in the oven.

Batch number 3 saw a bit of almond flour and a bit more oil.

Batch number 4 added another egg and some more pumpkin puree.

Batch 2, 3 and 4 went in the oven at the same time. That's what is fabulous about cupcakes. They make for perfect baking experiments.

In the end we liked batch number 3 the best. The addition of the almond flour added a great texture - just a little more heft to it.

Now I have a container filled with a mixture of mini pumpkin cakes of different tastes and textures. Help me.

I came to the conclusion that nothing can really compare to the delicious, horrible-for-you, original pumpkin cake. These are great secondary options, but when it comes down to it, if I'm going to eat a pumpkin cake, I'm going all out.

I think this ended with a good paleo option, though, so if you are interested in trying it out, send me an email and I will attempt to put the last four hours on paper for you. I would love to now, but I am spent.

I love you all.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie: First Attempt

2011-11-11T10:01:00.000-08:00

So the delay of post is because last night I was busy attempting my first ever all-paleo pumpkin pie. I was super excited to try it out because I would love to find a totally awesome paleo dessert to share with my family for Thanksgiving . . . and I was also looking forward to pie and coffee for breakfast, but whatever.

So the pie turned out . . . alright. The flavor was great, but obviously it wasn't exactly like the pumpkin pie that I have so many wonderful memories of. I think I've been baking with almond flour too much. Everything I make with almond flour is starting to taste the same. I love almonds, don't get me wrong, but all baked goods end up tasting like almonds and, well, I just want pie.

The filling had great flavor, but the texture was a little off. Perhaps I did something wrong . . . that's most likely the case. I always seem to make a wrong turn somewhere along the way. The problem was that it needed a little more to it . . . it had a little too much moisture. It needed something to bind it together a bit more. I'm thinking of taking out some of the coconut milk and perhaps adding another egg. Who knows. I think I need to take a food chemistry class or something.

Anyway, for the sake of time I'm just going to link to the websites that I found the recipes. First of all, the crust was from my awesome Gluten Free Almond Flour cookbook. You can find it at Elana's Pantry and give it a try yourself.

I'm gonna say that if you aren't sick of almond flour this recipe rocks. And what's great about it is it comes out with enough crust dough (would dough be the right word here?) to fit the pan, which I find trouble with a lot of press-in pie crusts.

The filling was from Everyday Paleo, another awesome website for paleo recipes. She also has a cute demo video of her making the pie with her kids. I added a bit more spices because, well, I like my pumpkin pie with lots-o-flavor.

I'm tempted to try a crust with something other than almond flour, if I can find a good recipe. Maybe coconut flour or hazelnut flour. Any ideas? Or should I just wing it?

On to the search. Happy Friday!

UPDATE: Click here for my second attempt Paleo Pumpkin Pie RECIPE

Oh and click here to read my RA Profile on RA Guy.

Oh Help Me - One Of Those Days

2011-11-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Alright, so I'll admit it, yesterday I had a bit of a breakdown. It happens to the best of us, right? Frustration with people while trying to get my medicine situation squared away. It was a mess of people not calling back, not following through, being condescending and irritating. Eventually I fell apart and it took a call from my husband to finally calm me down.

I love him, I do.

After I settled down about my medicine (or lack thereof), we were surprised by the airline we'll be bringing the cats home with. Oh lawdy, just what I needed, right?

Apparently, because Alaska Airlines is a new carrier to Hawaii, they will only allow one pet per flight in the cargo portion of the plane. Luckily, they also will allow one pet in the cabin, so we will be able to bring both of them home with us as planned.

But it also means that they have to be separated, which was not part of the plan.

My only consolation to having them fly for 6 hours in the cargo section of the plane was that at least they would be together. Now that's shot to hell, isn't it?

So I have to decide which of my kitty-children gets to sit in the cabin with us and which has to sit alone under our feet. How the hell do you make that kind of decision?

On the one hand, Tesla is tough, she could probably handle the cargo hold better than little Niki. But then again, Niki on the plane . . . might be worse than a crying baby. I can hear him now . . . yikes.

I have a feeling I will not be resting one bit on that flight.

Seriously, they wouldn't ask you to put your children in the cargo section of the plane!

Please, if anyone else has traveled with animals, tell me how to calm down!!

The small amount of hope I have is that they will be beyond happy to be here. Especially when they see the awesome scratching post that we purchased for them this weekend.

Apparently they're loving the one at my mother's house, so we got one similar, put it together and placed it right by a window in our living room.

And hopefully they appreciate the bugs and geckos that venture into our house. By the way, did you know that they killed a mouse recently? My innocent little kitties are mouse murderers now.

Maybe they'll be fine on the plane.

A Positive Spin

2011-11-09T00:03:00.000-08:00

I could go on and on complaining about swollen knees and how they bite, but really, what would I be contributing to the world? Everyone knows swollen knees suck. No one out there is saying "I'm so happy I have a swollen knee, this is the best thing that's happened to me all month!"

. . . That is . . . until now.

I decided to come up with a list of positives. Great things that come along with swollen knees. This idea came to me, like all good ideas do, while I was in the odd state between prednisone induced over-activity and a sleeping aid coma. I also came up with a brilliant idea to live blog a full day of wearing high heels with swollen knees, but this idea had less falling on my ass so I went with it instead.

So, the pros of swollen knees. Well, let's cut right to the number one benefit . . .

* Excused Laziness!

This is my favorite, for I am a big fan of relaxing and being lazy. With a swollen knee, I finally have a good excuse to sit on the couch and catch up on episodes of Bored To Death and The Office all day long. If anyone asks, just point to the knee. Darn I wish I could go bike riding but my knee is swollen. RATS! Probably one of the only moments of your life when you aren't sick and you get to just hang out all day and enjoy a book or a movie without anyone giving you crap for it. Enjoy it.

Disclaimer: you might have to follow through with activities post-swelling with some people. So keep track of what you avoid doing - it might come back to haunt you someday.

* Extra Love

If you have a spouse and children that don't do a thing around the house, now is your time to guilt them into doing their chores. Swollen joints are a great tool in motivating others to get stuff done. Kids I would love to make you a feast of a dinner but I can't. I'd like pot roast. Here's a cookbook, get to work. I don't have children yet, but you better believe I'll be pulling this move on them eventually. And if you have a spouse that watches football all day and doesn't pick up his dirty socks? Well now you have a great reason to get him into shape. I have to say, my amazing husband has been doing dishes the last couple of days and it's been ah-mazing. Love that man.

Disclaimer: Your family might hate you if you abuse this tactic.

* No More Cuts!

Shaving your legs has never been easier. Well, that's a lie, it can be hell to try shaving your legs with swollen joints. But now you don't have to worry about those damned knobby knees anymore! No! Your razor glides over the newly rounded kneecap without a single razor wound in need of tissue paper to stop the bleeding. You no longer have to worry about those boney kneecaps getting in your razor's way. Feel those smooth knees!

Disclaimer: Remember to be careful once again when the swelling goes down.

* Finally! A use for that bag of frozen vegetables!

Swollen knees need ice. Or at least something cold from the freezer. Good thing your kids didn't want to eat those peas for dinner the other night! And all that elevating has got to be good for your legs, right?

Disclaimer: If you live in a warm climate like me, you have to keep an eye on that bag of frozen food.

* A Check-In

If nothing else, having your joints fight against you is a good moment to check in with yourself and how you're doing. It gets you to think about what might have caused it - have you been eating badly, stressed, over exerting yourself? It's also a good reminder that yes, you have arthritis, and this is a part of your life. It's time to reassess your treatment and then move on and enjoy your life!

Thanksgiving. Paleo. Treats. Question Mark.

2011-11-08T00:02:00.000-08:00

So I'm currently searching for the best recipe for a Thanksgiving dessert, hopefully paleo, possibly vegan, definitely delicious. I have a recipe for a pumpkin pie with almond flour crust (yes, this cookbook is amazing). I have interest in a spice cake recipe that I randomly found by searching blogs all day. And I attempted a recipe for pumpkin bars . . . and the bars are gone.

They were good. A good base anyway. I would share the recipe but they need some work. They had great flavor, great spice, but the texture wasn't quite right. It was an almond flour based recipe but for some reason they kind of just . . . fell apart in your mouth. A little too gooey for my tastes. But promising nonetheless.

It's gonna take a bit more work. But I'm not sold on it yet.

Here's where you come in, dear readers . . .

If you have a totally awesome recipe that would be perfect for Thanksgiving and delicious to boot, please send it my way. I would be ever so grateful and my belly will thank you.

For now, it's back to baking. Pie perhaps? We'll see how it goes.

Cheers!

Attitude Adjustment

2011-11-07T00:02:00.000-08:00

It's been over a month since I had my last Enbrel shot. How are things going you ask? Not bad. As far as I know, the insurance and state of Hawaii issues are cleared up, and all that has to be done is the prescription sent to the special pharmacy and for me to drive on down and pick it up. Things are all good. And the sun came out this weekend.

Ahh . . . sunshine.

Even though I have a swollen knee and my elbows are feeling a little funny, I am not stressing out over this. A year ago I was in this same sort of position. I hadn't been on any medicine for months and every other day a new joint would swell, just for the fun of it. I was terrified, I was upset, I felt sorry for myself. I couldn't see much positive from my situation. What a sad, pathetic little thing I had become.

It would be easy for me to get into the same lull with my current situation, but for some reason I feel completely different about it. I'm not worried about the swelling - I have prednisone which sucks but hey, it works, and once I get back on my regular treatment all will be well again.

Aye, swollen knee.

In some odd way, I've just come to accept that this happens sometimes. And really . . . it's not that big of a deal. I'm not dying, the world is not coming to an end, it's only a swollen knee. Sometimes my body just does this and it's nothing to get upset about.

I can either feel bad about something I can't control or I can continue living my life. Sure, it's frustrating when joints swell. It's uncomfortable, painful, and not exactly attractive, but I'm not going to let it ruin my life.

Sure this positive outlook on life with arthritis might only be short-lived, but I feel surprisingly good.

"Surprisingly" because for some reason everyone expects me to be distraught, in agony, crying my eyes out. But nope, not this time.

Hopefully those of you with arthritis can give this a try. A simple change of opinion - having arthritis isn't horrible. No big deal. Slap a smile on your face and treat yourself to some good ol' "me time". And maybe some ice on your knee.

Sweet Potato Fries & Kitty Countdown

2011-11-03T00:04:00.000-07:00

My knees seem to be fickle lately. I don't know if it's the prednisone or what, but I've never seen swelling go up and down and up and down so quickly in such a short amount of time. My knees must be crazy. Or the prednisone might simply be making me crazy. Oh well!

Though it's moments like these where I miss my kitties even more than normal. There's nothing like a cuddly kitty to turn lazing on the couch icing your knees into a happy day. Only 26 more days! The countdown begins!

Other things that help the time fly by involve books, television and food. It's funny, it's as if it's engrained in me that this time of year I should be baking and cooking up a storm. Luckily, the beginning of the stormy season is here so the weather is cooling off enough for me to use that oven.

And one fabulous thing that I've been loving lately is sweet potato fries. Have I shared sweet potato fries with you? They're easy so those of you who haven't tried them before should definitely give it a go. And those of you who find this recipe boring, well, eat some fries and be happy.

Chop sweet potatoes into 1/8 to 1/4 inch fries. Place in bowl.

Add just enough olive oil to lightly coat your sweet potato fries and stir.

Lay fries flat on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Sprinkle some sea salt over top.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. For the last five minutes, keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn. If they need a bit more time, leave in for 1-2 minute increments.

Let cool for a minute, or as long as you can possibly wait before attacking the plate.

I find they are perfect on their own. Mitch likes to dip them in ketchup. But we both agree, they are delish.

Eat 'em up!

Don't mind if I do!

Success In A Different Sense

2011-11-02T00:06:00.000-07:00

With PALEOctober over and gone, I'm left to reflect on the last month in surprise because it flew by so quickly. Does anyone know where the month of October went? I seem to have lost it! Oh well, November is here. Let's move on.

It wasn't your average few weeks for PALEOctober. I traveled to my hometown for 10 days. I ran out of medicine. It was a little unusual. But it was probably a great time for it. I think that the last few weeks could have been a lot worse had I been partaking in a much worse diet. And although I started to fall off the wagon during my travels, I still taught myself a lot, or re-taught myself should I say.

Plus these guys weren't following their paleo diet either. It runs in the family. . . .

Anyway, my findings were nothing new, really. It makes perfect sense that what you put into your body directly correlates with how you feel. It's more likely than not that whatever your problem is, if you look back on what you've been eating recently you'll find a good answer. Not always, but a lot of the time.

For me, that means any weird joint pain, probably something I ate. Any weird anything, I can almost always figure out what food made me feel that way.

Yesterday I was thinking how long it took the swelling to show up. It was 4 weeks before I had any serious swollen joints, and even then it's not too bad. I've seen worse. And it's interesting how it all happened shortly after I starting losing track of dairy and grains.

Now I'm not saying that it's exactly what caused it, but I do believe the the extra pain is connected. Also, the all around great feeling I was having has changed. You know that feeling, when you're eating healthy, getting fresh air, taking care of yourself? Ah, that's good stuff. And damn if that plate of french toast makes a difference.

So though I may not have made it a full 30 days . . . yes, you can hold that over my head until the next month-o-paleo . . . I think it still had the desired effect. I learned my lesson. Proved my own point. Hooray!

Now about the rest of those cupcakes . . .