Thankful Thursday | hello, gluten!
This week, I am thankful:
that we are back to eating gluten
The bad news is that the low FODMAP diet didn't make an appreciable difference for Sonia.
The good news is that if it doesn't work, you don't have to keep doing it!
So, that is something of a relief, even for Sonia, because she was hating the low FODMAP life.
And just in case, while Zoe had some other routine bloodwork done, the doctor threw in some gluten-intolerance tests, and it looks like Zoe is not sensitive to gluten either.
Whew.
Sonia's other food allergies are a walk in the park compared to low FODMAP restrictions.
that I got to see my mom this week
We haven't seen each other in person for quite some time, but we did this week. Yay!
(we are both vaccinated now)
that I was able to help my cousin do a little nesting
Yesterday, we spend about four hours organizing and sorting kids/baby clothes.
She's due in May, but now no matter when her little guy is born, she's got clothes and blankets and such ready. Which is a nice feeling when you are very pregnant.
I'm thankful I live close enough to help her and that some of the things I enjoy doing (organizing!) are things that are helpful to her.
for my empty school assignment page
The Canvas app shows all the assignments that are current, and for the first time this semester, it's totally empty. Yay spring break!
for the opportunity to learn
I have now become one of those adults that annoyed me when I was younger; I really do have a fresh appreciation for the joy of learning.
I had a light bulb moment during our last lab experiment that totally changed the way I thought about respiration and digestion and I felt...excited!
Sixteen-year old me would be so annoyed with 42-year-old me.
I really like learning about how the human body works, so that's been my favorite part of biology so far. And that makes me think that I will probably enjoy my future anatomy and physiology classes.
for light at dinnertime
I really, really love that it is not dark when we sit down to eat at night now!
for my dry, climate-controlled house
It's so easy to see what is less-than-perfect about my own house, but when I think of people who have no homes, I am reminded what a privilege it is to have a house at all.
(It was raining hard yesterday, which is what reminded me of this.)
for all the things I've learned in my lifetime
There are downsides to getting older, but I am so thankful for all the things I know and understand now that I did not know and understand when I was 20.
(To be sure, when I am 80 and I look back on my 40s, I will be thinking, "Yikes! I knew so little then!" But still, I am wiser now than I was when I was 20.)
I tested positive for COVID from a routine surveillance test at the school last Monday, so this is a Thankful Thursday, COVID edition:
--I have had no symptoms whatsoever, which is a big thing to be thankful for.
--My husband tested negative.
--Due to a snow day last week, I was only at work one day when I was considered a transmission risk, and don't go anywhere else anyway, so there were very few "close contacts" to worry about.
--Because of the 5 students that WERE considered my "close contacts" in addition to my own three school-age children that comprise about a quarter of our very small elementary school, the school went straight to virtual learning. We've done this so much this year for snow days and so on that it's not a big deal anymore. Not FUN, but not a big deal.
--Several of the other teachers called or e-mailed to ask if we needed anything.
--Because of my habit of being contantly stocked up on everything, we did not need anything. I could quarantine for a month and still not need anything.
--It's easy to quarantine here. With the exception of church and school, we rarely go anywhere anyway.
--Our family quarantine is over now, and no one else showed any symptoms, either.
Kristin, I hope your family stays healthy and you continue to be asymptomatic.
So glad you've been symptom-free!
I'm thankful to have the chance to do an outreach tonight with my church. Our church is fired up to get outreach missions going in several different directions after a year of almost nothing going on, and I'm happy to see it.
I'm grateful to see my husband get excited about his tomato and pepper plants, which he started from seed and are growing very, very well, even though it means he's taken over the living room with them. He has not much to be excited about, usually, so this is fine.
I'm thankful to see the opening blossoms on our new Satsuma tree planted this winter. And on a related note, for the first time ever, I got to watch a hummingbird go from blossom to blossom on our Meyer lemon tree.
I'm grateful for the bag of frozen, cleaned and filleted fish that our neighbor brought us after he went fishing.
I'm thankful for some of the things that were or are not good in many ways -- my mother's several serious hospitalizations taught me not to fear hospitals and to value good health. Living at times on next to no money taught me empathy for those in poverty and the joy of giving when I can. Growing up with a developmentally disabled relative taught me not to fear or avoid the disabled. Losing my old family home to fire taught me not to get caught up in the perfect Pinterest-worthy house syndrome. Having my husband lose a lot of his physical ability is teaching me to do more things on my own than I thought I could. I won't say I have enjoyed learning all these things (and more), but I am thankful that I have discovered the good in them.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom, JD!
For allergy medication. Goodness pollen season really does a number on me and add COVid to the mix with people looking at you every time you clear your throat...ugh. But I think of people that didn’t have access to good medicines and boy does that make me grateful for the science behind Zyrtec!
For a day off so I can rest and hopefully feel better.
For a good rain that helped clear the air and hopefully pulled some of the pollen from the trees. Tree pollen is what gets me!
For the fact that I was able to reschedule my first COVid vaccine appointment and my
Husband is getting his first dose today. Yay!
For a scheduled vacation that gives me
Something to look forward to. For therapy to help my horribly painful shoulder. For a husband who hasn’t yet walked out the door on his grumpy wife...shoulder pain is no joke and PT is a process...I wasn’t a boy to be around after my first appointment. Gotta be sure to let him know that today.
Be well everyone.
Hi Angie, I have tree allergies this time of year, too. I live in Arizona and the trees started blooming in February. Luckily, after the first few weeks, my allergies plateaued and they're not as bad as in the beginning. It's supposed to be very windy here today, so I will just try to stay indoors as much as possible. Feel better!
For the ongoing, faithful, creative support of friends and family. My mom passed away a couple of weeks ago and there has not been a day since when someone hasn't reached out to me in support.
For my mother's full, rich life filled with faith and love and humor. She was 90 years old and I don't wish her back--she is with Jesus and my dad--but I do miss her. It's at odd moments, like when I saw that our neighbors have a new cat and I thought, "I'll have to tell mom about the cat" (she loved cats!) and then I remember that we are separated for now. It's not an overwhelming sadness but there is a sense of loss.
For Easter eggs and how my teens still love decorating them. I just sat by the sidelines and enjoyed the laughter.
For our unusual springlike weather recently--which has enabled some daffodils to bloom.
For the house finches who yearly build a nest and hatch little ones on our front porch wreath. Yes, it makes a poopy mess but it's so fun!
So sorry about your Mom! God bless and give you peace as you discover a new sense of closeness with her, despite your current temporary, separation on earth. ♥♥♥♥♥
Oh, I am so very sorry to hear this, Kris. Much love to you.
I remember when my grandma died, I would think, "I should send her a picture of this." or, "I should tell her this." and then I would realize she's gone. It's hard to adjust, and I think your sense of loss is more than understandable.
Kris: I wish you and your family gentle passage through this difficult time.
I'm so sorry about your mom, too. I remember well the time my daughter got an award in high school and I actually had the phone in my hand to call my recently deceased mother when I remembered -- I can't. It was pretty hard there for a second. Bless you as you go through this, and yes, how thankful to know that she is so happy!
Thanks to all of you for your kindness.
I am thankful for our health. Thankful that we're able to "go and do" all the things like biking and golfing and skiing - and usually all in one week, thanks to our high desert climate!
I'm thankful for posts like this that remind that, even on the days when I'm grumpy, there are things to be thankful for!
I'm thankful for my clients and for sweet kitties who make me laugh and give me cuddles when I need them and I'm thankful for a husband who does most of the housework! Hello, clean sheets and folded clothes!
I'm thankful to be almost 2 weeks into my first vaccine shot and I'm thankful to all the scientists and researchers who created vaccines for so many things!
And I'm thankful that I took 5 minutes to list some things I'm thankful for today. Now I feel better.
I am thankful for the woman and young boy who helped my son and me drop off donations for a church school yard sale. She used the time to talk to him about the importance of being a helper and how to carry boxes down stairs, and he took it as an opportunity to show off how strong he was in carrying boxes of books. It was rather sweet.
I am thankful and honored and blessed that my family has excess to share. Even more than I was able to get loaded up this time waits in the basement for another donation.
I am thankful my nephew and his family have hundreds of prayers for them and their daughter, as she battles an unknown lung infection. I am thankful for the health care professionals, lab technicians, researchers, supporters, fund raisers, child specialists, and all others who have made her life this long possible. I am thankful for hope.
1. Thankful for a daughter old enough (and happily willing) to entertain our 9 month baby while I grab a real lunch before feeding all the kids. (They prefer to eat a later lunch)
2. Flexibility as a homeschooler to take a much needed few days off this week.
3. Good healthcare to make sure our babies get the well visits and vaccinations needed to stay healthy.
4. Modern technology that allows us to still see church sermons until it’s safe to take our whole family to in person church.
5. Good health after a year of a few scares.
1. I'm so grateful that I can work from home every other day. Pre covid I spent 2 plus hours commuting a day.
2. I'm so grateful that I have learned to love staying home all the time. At the beginning of the pandemic I felt stir crazy being home all the time. Now I really am loving being home and am very happy spending lots of time at home.
3. I spoke with a coworker today who is dealing with some serious health issues and I have a roommate who deals with chronic back pain. I'm grateful to have a healthy body with no aches and pains.
4. I'm grateful to be naturally frugal. I'm not tempted to spend lots of money, in fact I have to talk myself into spending money on things that I know will bring me lasting value.
5. I'm grateful for the relationships I have with my siblings. Our parents got divorced last year, which has been hard (even as an adult!), but my siblings have remained among my loyal and faithful friends. My siblings are probably the best gifts my parents gave me.
As someone who has a harder time staying at home I'd love to hear what you do at home that makes it fun. I could use inspiration!
It's another Georgia edition of thankfuls for me.
I'm thankful to see Georgia in the spring.
I'm thankful for my mother-in-law's porch swing to see the spring beauty.
I'm thankful for a $10 freebie coupon from GrubHub that provided a giant "Kitchen Sink cookie" from Panera to eat on said porch swing.
I'm thankful for people at banks who have the expertise to help us as we adjust all the accounts.
I'm thankful for the gift of understanding -- the reminder that the people in the call center who are *not* able to do what I want them up do are still people, with their own stories, trying to do their job and they still deserve my kindness.
I'm thankful for good relationships--that my extended family is gracious with me and not yelling at me as we navigate this new journey clumsily.
And I'm thankful that I'll be home in Colorado by the time the next thankful comes along. It's been a month away and I'm ready to be home.
I'm thankful I took AP biology when I was 17, not when I was 42! It's been nearly 40 years now but I still dislike the ATP cycle.
That the dinner I made last night using puff pastry instead of phyllo was delicious.
That today is one of those misty, foggy days on the coast where the ocean and sky are the same color, so the horizon is almost imperciptible.
That I work at home so I can take a beach walk with my dogs in the afternoon.
My daffodils are almost in bloom.
I'm piqued that:
I'm not a person who enjoys organization. Or cleaning.
You'd think I would have had a lot of brushes with biology as a homeschool mom, but my kids have all taken high school biology at the homeschool tutorial and haven't needed much of my help. Math, on the hand? I've helped a lot with that so my math skills are really sharp right now.
I don't love cleaning a whole lot, but I do like organizing. The nice thing about organizing is that it doesn't immediately need to be done again the next day. If you do dishes, there are more there the next day. But if you organize a cluttered closet, it still looks pretty good the next day!
Maybe that is why I also love organizing! It makes me so happy to open a cupboard or drawer and everything is in its proper space! My husband does not get it, but I just smile and keep organizing.
Reminds me of one of my favorite jokes (Joan Rivers): “I hate housework. You make the beds, you wash the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again.”
Precisely. 😉
“My math skills are really sharp right now” —a sentence I have never uttered, not even once, in my life.
That is definitely not my natural state of being! But having helped four kids through math from the start, I've had lots of practice in the last 17 years.
That your children can go back to eating at their normal is awesome news. Perhaps there will soon be a relatively simple and easily tolerable answer to whatever is causing a problem. We'll hold out hope for that.
I am thankful for one of my two bosses, who always answers the phone and finds the answer for me. The other is a nice guy but not so much on the available. Also thankful for my wonderful husband, who has been taking care of family business this week while putting in a more than full time hours at his job; our sweet dogs, who greet me with happy dances when I come home from work every evening; for the Libby app that makes reading library books so incredibly easy (I am reading so much more now); and for the beauty of spring after a long, cold, wet winter.
* That my grandmother was able to get vaccinated. She wasn't going to get the shot but he only surviving brother told her to get it and I was able to get an appointment for her.
* That I was able to purge a lot of stuff from my house this week that had been sitting in my garage since ... October, I think? Most of it was cardboard and I had no ambition to cut it down into small, manageable pieces that the trashman would actually take away.
* That everything, at the moment, is working. Having to share a laptop charger was annoying so I'm glad we have two working ones now.
* Sunny days! Grilling outside and most especially, things to look forward to! Winter was particularly bleak for a lot of reasons so it's so nice to be in spring, finally!
Oh, that's wonderful news for your grandmother! Mine was able to get vaccinated as well.
I hear you on your fourth one; it's a lovely feeling when nothing is broken.
She apparently had no side effects from the vax so far. We'll see how the second dose goes in a couple weeks!
Thankful for
1. Modern technology. Our son sent us a short video of our granddaughter last night. How I love hearing her 2 year old laugh!
2. For our 2nd COVID vaccine scheduled for tomorrow. That means by mid-April I’ll be able to visit that precious granddaughter.
3. Excellent doctors, medicines & health insurance that all keep us healthy & help us manage chronic conditions.
4. A warm, dry house on this rainy day.
5. The financial wherewithal to cover our needs & quite a few wants.
I am grateful for every single day I am alive and well. 500,000+ are not.
I am grateful for the current Admin for COVID Relief funds. It’s been extremely important for most of my family members.
1. Another week of staggeringly gorgeous northern lights. And one night they appeared at the same time as pillars of light, which is when, "At low temperatures, trace amounts of moisture in the air freezes as hexagon-shaped ice crystals. Each of the small ice crystals acts as a mirror; Ice crystals at different heights bounce back different beams of light, allowing a vertical column of luminance to form over natural light sources or those of human origin." (This is a quote from an article on Friday's Fairbanks light show, in the Wash Post.) So we had a two-fer light show that night.
2. You Tube, for helping us fix an oven problem. I don't think there is any problem on earth that you cannot find a You Tube for.
3. Two friends who found out my husband was out of town for two days and called each day to make sure I was okay.
4. The teen of one of those two friends who insisted on shoveling the snow off our roof. The snow load is getting pretty heavy (it snowed yesterday) so a cleared off roof is frugal preventative measure.
5. Our local paper, barely hanging in there financially, but still trying to keep politicians honest and highlighting community members who make exceptional contributions to the community.
1. Smartfood White Cheddar popcorn was on sale. I love it but only buy it on sale as it's much cheaper to make regular popcorn at home. (I don't buy the cheese powder you can sprinkle on either because we never use it up fast enough so this will be a treat.)
2. My brother got his second vaccine dose and no side effects other than a sore arm.
3. My friend and colleague gets hers today.
4. The weather will be nice enough to read on the terrace in the sunshine this weekend.
5. My Spring allergies have been milder than usual so far. Hope it stays that way, I prefer not having to take medication for it.
1) Thankful that I am still here at age 60, which happened on Sunday.
2) Thankful that I rode my bicycle with my husband 60 miles for my birthday -- my birthday goal -- without incident. I came home and was so relieved that I have now completed 2 out of 3 goals for this year. I was toast the rest of the day; took 2 advil and went to bed at 9:00 and slept for 12 hours and felt great Sunday morning.
3) Thankful that my husband is so good to me and bought me an iWatch for my birthday. It is extremely helpful with exercise and making sure I don't sit too much. I was thinking of buying one, but balked at the price. He is a bargain hunter and found me one at a great price.
4) Thankful that I took Monday off and got my first vaccination. I go back on 4/12. I am so thankful to the people that worked so hard to get this vaccine out to the public -- from the lab personnel to the volunteers directing everyone. What an operation!
5) Thankful that my first flight to NY since January 2021 was cancelled and I got a $50. credit to book another flight at another time. I have since booked a flight on another carrier because I really wanted to go to NY to finally pay my respects to my mom who died last May (not covid related, but because of restrictions, I had to watch her funeral on a computer screen). I will also be able to spend time with my sisters and brother and hug them as they are all getting vaccinated too!!!!!!
Happy Birthday!!!! What a wonderful celebration. Age is just a number.
Wow, that is a great way to ring in the next decade -- Your trip sounds great -- enjoy!
Eclipsing everything else this week is the gratitude/joy/hope that receiving the first Covid-19 vaccine dose gave me. Also, lots of friends and family members have been blessed in the same way. I have helped direct people to vaccine appointment methods and several "older" friends have managed to get vaccines through various no-tech channels (without my help).
I am thankful that rain means we aren't suffering from a drought and it was rain yesterday and not snow, tornadoes, etc. Umbrellas, a warm house, dry clothes, and hot drinks make it possible to walk outside in the rain and not suffer misery.
I am thankful for friends. That we help each other find vaccine appointments and meet outdoors for a semblance of a social life.
I am thankful for family, the people you have a long history with even, if I can't see them right now. Also that technology helps you keep in touch.
I am grateful for physical health. My body works well and I have the ability to treat it with respect.
I am thankful that shortages of groceries, paper goods, and the like are mostly a thing of the past.
I am grateful we had nice weather days. It feels good to be outside and yard work is welcome. I also have been able to attend a few outdoor yoga classes this month. Even on a cool morning it is so much nicer than Zoom.
I am thankful for gluten free flour. It works well for quick breads, muffins, cupcakes, brownies, and pancakes. I'm also thankful for the muffin tins that Kristen recommended a few years ago. They are non-stick and made in the USA.
The vaccine really put me in a better place, too
It was my turn this week to receive the first dose of the Covid vaccine. For this I am very grateful.
Yay -- so glad for you!
Yay for Sonia and Zoe! And I had to laugh about 16 year old me vs. (ahem) 63 year old me -- boy, howdy! And it IS exciting to make those connections in a way I probably took for granted(or completely missed!) when my brain was firing on all pistons 😉 Enjoy your VACATION!
Thankful for:
Spring vacation coming up and Easter ! Thankful for the short week next week and being able to go visit my mom, now that we are all vaccinated. Not looking forward to wearing masks the whole trip and time in the airport, but thankful for the opportunity.
This thankful is attached to a big frugal fail. I always pay my credit card on the 22nd and missed it this time. Thankful I thought of it soon enough to pay it off entirely and stop the relentless tick tick tick of the interest. Grrrrrr! They might overlook the fine and bit of interest but not holding my breath.
Just thankful my daughter is settling into her new life, job, and apartment on the other side of this whoppin' big land. She is handling it all, even the heartaches, and I am so glad for that. Also thankful she calls and we are still part of her life. Her dad gives her great advice and we talk stuff thru with her.
The people I work with! They are so wonderful. Sometimes I walk around the classroom in a fog and they are always on it and love the kids and really do an amazing job teaching our little guys. Their suggestions are spot on and improve things tremendously. And they are fun and kind. I really appreciate them 🙂
And always, FRIDAY! Thankful to have our treat date tomorrow and to eat whatever we feel like for dinner. Ahh!
Thankful for:
The Monday morning walking group. This past week our walk was approx 3.5 miles at Billington Sea in Plymouth, MA and then some of us ended up walking another mile to research another spot. A little info: I learned about Billington Sea in Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower and in looking at my ancestry this year I found out my ancestor's 2nd wife was the daughter of the man for whom Billington Sea was named.
I went for a walk to pick up the school lunches with my daughter and grandchildren this week.
The weather has been nice all week. It rained a little last night but today was nice again.
I am thankful that my grown up children are able to take care of, support, and educate their children.
Small world, I’m from Plymouth also!
I have posted my thankful list. I will shorten it here.
1. Work and coworkers
2. Tax season extension (Yes, I work in a tax office.)
3. Online church and socializing on Zoom
4. Twin had a mild case of Covid and many of my family members have gotten the vaccine, with more to come soon.
I really want to try and make this a weekly thing, as tax season and covid times are making me a bit grouch lately.
I received my paystub to find out I was paid for my Covid-adventure time. I was NOT expecting that and am very appreciative for this.
The beautiful weather we have had in NE Ohio has been such a MOOD booster, the fresh air has flowed through a few open windows lifting spirits and freshening the air!
I returned an amazon item to Kohls for the husband and actually used the 25% off coupon! We have desperately needed a new set of sheets for our bed but they are expensive and I am picky! I found a very nicely textured/count set of King sheets on clearance. They accepted the coupon bringing them from the $80 range to $25! We only have a queen bed but our mattress is extra deep and we have a foam topper on it.. They fit great!
For the new local Urgent care center and compassionate staffing! My teen daughter has had a rough go with these masks and dry lips etc. She has tried about every lip moisturizer, lotion, lip scrub etc. Last weekend she showed dad the latest issue and he let me know when I woke the next morning.. knowing the week was super busy for all of us I took her to a new walk in clinic.. The NP was kind, compassionate, chatty and VERY thorough. She confirmed something was not right.. and we left with scripts for medicated ointment and a strong antibiotic.. My daughter assumes she picked something up in the school weight room or at track practice.. The NP said Impetigo or MRSA.. either way after a few days her face has cleared up beautifully!
Dh had a new stroke-related issue pop up last week, causing intense pain and limited mobility. After conceding with his neuro, he was prescribed a new med which has lessened the pain and made walking in our home possible again.
We got our first shot last week!!
Our oldest son goes to college two hours away, but still wants to come home and see us. He graduates in May and will come home to live for a year before grad school, so the fact that he will come home now is a bonus.
Thankful that our youngest son, who was at college, decided to move back home since all of his classes were virtual. We told him he could stay if he wanted, but he said he would rather save the money.
So happy the temps are warming up. I love the snow, but I really love low power bills!!
I'm so glad he's able to walk again. Whew!
1. The assortment of tea boxes lined up in my kitchen. Choosing a cup several times a day provides me some comfort and joy.
2. That I still have some hope for things getting better. The worst thing about covid for our family has been being cut off from our family's support system. Being isolated and never seeing anyone from our homeschool group, never going to church etc. has resulted in pretty much all our friendships fizzling out. This was especially difficult when our son was born in September. We felt that no one shared our joy. We made efforts to stay connected but it didn't happen for one reason or another. The lack of friendships and support has been hard on my husband and me, and our kids also. BUT... we're making some necessary changes to fix this problem. We are beginning the process of finding a new church that offers children's services (we haven't been going to our church because there is still no nursery or children's services), and we are re-entering our former homeschool group. It's going to take time but I'm hopeful that we can forge some new connections that we desperately need.
Ok sorry that was too much!! I haven't talked about it much, maybe I needed to type it out.
3. For a husband who is open about doing things different ways. We have really different personalities and it's nice that we take each other's advice and try to keep open minds when we have different approaches to things. It's a back and forth exercise for us both every day!
4. For the pile of bibs I found super cheap secondhand. My six month old goes through bibs like water and we just didn't have enough. New bibs are pricey!!
5. For the sweet smile I get from my baby whenever he sees me. Soaking it all up. <3
Sarah G: It does sound like you needed to type that out!
Sending hopeful thoughts to you.
Thank you 🙂
Oh Sarah, that sounds so hard. I sympathize, and I hope that as vaccinations become more wide-spread, all of those social connections will get easier to make.
Yes, hopeful for improvements all around.
I'm thankful for:
* my mom's COVID coming to an end and that it wasn't bad for her
* audiobooks
* a friend that I can talk (or type) with who understands
* some really awesome weather for most of this week
* a new author I discovered that I love
* my church staff
* my husband's willingness to help my parents with things like moving furniture
1) I'm thankful for the author Dana Stabenow, mysteries set in Alaska. I always feel uplifted by her books, amused as well, even if the subject matter can be really tough.
2) my job, the paycheck mostly. It's allowing me to improve my house little by little
3) my next door neighbor who is a brat and a turkey LOL but is still a really nice guy who has a lot of skills that I don't have
4) that my house didn't have any damage from the windstorm we had on Sunday
5) Longer days, more sunshine.