GIVEAWAYS!! Who Wants Some Free Stuff?

Who wants to win some free stuff? Well, I've got two great giveaways to tell you about...

My friend the Homesteading Hippy is giving away an awesome prize package! Check out her post on...

Living a Less Trash Lifestyle,

and enter to win some way cool EcoJarz lids and stainless steel straws to help you use less disposable crap. It's a good thing, I tell you! She's got several ways to earn extra entries, and the giveaway ends in just 5 days, as of this posting [Monday, April 15]. Let's quit TAXING the environment and start being a BYOC kind of society (;  What's BYOC? Head on over to  her blog and read all about it!

And, the second giveaway is one I'm doing myself on my Purposeful Nourishment blog. I got so excited about CC Dolch All Purpose Gluten Free Flour that I wrote the company and told them how much I loved it and that I recommended it on my blog. Well, they linked to my blog on their website and sent me some flour and a very nice reply to my email. They're a great, family-oriented kind of company that takes great care of their customers! I am convinced I've found my "forever flour" and will be a loyal customer for sure. So, since they were so kind to send me some GF love, I'm going to share it with some lucky reader! Check out my post at 

GIVEAWAY!! Win a Bag of C.C. Dolch Gluten Free Flour!  Giveaway ends on April 30, 2013!!

Now, go get yourself entered to win some terrific prizes! 

No Grain, No Pain

There is nothing more scrumptious than the heavenly aroma of freshly baked bread, blanketing my home in total comfort. I’m a big fan of bread, and many things made with wheat. In fact, I just recently ordered a 50 pound bag of organic soft, white wheat berries…and I wasn’t out of the last bunch I ordered. I was thinking ahead, you see. Sometimes, I think I really shouldn’t think…

To make a long story short, God has convinced me to go gluten-free. For how long, I do not know. I’ve been having issues with keeping my blood sugar normal, and in my investigations on how to fix that I’ve come across interesting information regarding a connection between gluten sensitivity and high blood sugar. Yes, I know High Blood Sugar has a shorter name, but I can’t go there right now. That’s a whole other post. Probably filled with a lot of whining and profanity, to be perfectly honest.

Anyway, I have noticed that I consistently have much higher blood sugar readings after consuming something with wheat or oats, and while oats don’t have gluten, unless they are specifically labeled gluten free, they may have become contaminated in the processing if other grains containing gluten (such as barley and rye) are also processed on the same equipment.

I have wondered for some time if my son, Mister Wiggles, has some kind of gluten issue, but just didn’t want to do the elimination diet. It’s a pain in the butt, it’s expensive, and it’s hard when you’re not at home and everyone around you is eating whatever they want. As I read what I just typed, I am thinking “What a bad mother I am! I’ve thought my son had an issue, but it’s not until I have a serious problem that I do anything about it. So selfish!” Be that as it may, what’s done is done and here we are today. This week, the kids and I started doing the GF thing, my husband is doing SLG (Significantly Less Gluten…ha ha!) as long as he eats at home, as will anyone else dining at our table for the unforeseeable future.

In the interest of saving time, both yours and mine, here are some links to informative sources of information regarding gluten:

Gluten-Free-Diet-Help.com

Kalish Research - Dr. Daniel Kalish

Gluten Sensitivity vs. Celiac Disease - What Do We Know?

Already, in just a few days (five, to be exact) of not eating any gluten…aside from the little girl I  babysit giving Mister some animal crackers, and me eating some Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (containing MODIFIED FOOD STARCH…oops…)…we are already seeing indications that this is a better way for us, specifically, to eat. Mister is noticeably less wiggly (he’s still a boy, and still ornery…I think that is just the way he is), Sister reports feeling less tired and more alert, and I just feel better in general and have not had such high blood sugar levels.It’s still too high, so just eliminating wheat/gluten from my diet isn’t going to magically fix things, but I think it’s a step in the right direction. I also have noticed my jeans are a bit more loose, and regardless of the reason that is a good thing.

It appears that gluten sensitivity is genetic, and when I look back through my family line, particularly my father’s side of the family, I have to wonder if this is something in my family. It can take up to a year to really be “fully healed” from the ravages of gluten problems, so it will be an interesting journey for sure. I am encouraged by the initial changes in just a few days and plan to continue with our GF diet.

I’ll be posting recipes, so be sure to check Purposeful Nourishment and see what we’re eating!

How I Experience You…

Have you ever had a friend ask you a question that was hard to answer? I was asked this question by another dear friend who has moved far away to the other side of the country almost, and another in our little group asked it as well. It's How Do You Experience Me? I haven't been brave enough to ask it yet, but my friend Heather said post this answer to her question on my blog, so I am. Hhhhmmm...should I ask you to leave a comment about how you experience me? I think that sounds dangerous, so I won't...LOL!

Good thing you are sitting down you know…or you’d probably fall right off your chair, wouldn’t you? I’m sure you gave up on ever getting a response from me…you probably thought I forgot. Couldn’t blame you…I do forget things a little too often.

Maybe you thought I was avoiding the question all together. No, not really. Maybe a little, because that’s one of those Real Questions and I’m not always real good at real stuff. I’m usually so concerned about what someone else will think that I can’t always be as real as I want to.

Well, when you were in Arizona…in the overly sunny land of people with common sense about time…and you said when you got back we would have to blog together since I’d have my Little Blue Friend, I decided right then that the first thing I would whip up would be the answer to your question. Isn’t that clever?

So, now that your cardiac issues have been resolved, be sure to fasten your seatbelt, put your chair back into an upright position and hold on, because I’m Going To Be Real:

….da da da da da da da…da da da da DA da da da da…

…boy I sure want more iced tea but that line is terribly long…

Wait…you want Real, not Stream of Consciousness, right? Ok…

You’ve said to me before that you don’t think you’re a good friend. I’m pretty sure I’ve told you that’s pretty much a bunch of crap. You are a great friend! Yes, you have things about you that aren’t ideal, but then who doesn’t? I know you could rattle off a few about me, surely!  (But wait until I ask you…)

You are…

• giving
• honest
• loyal
• dependable
• hysterical
• inspiring
• encouraging
• fascinating

Good friends give…they give their time, opinions, shoulders for crying upon, advice, things they have that their friends need without keeping score. They are honest and tell you things you need to hear, even when you don’t want to hear it. They got your back, and you know that no matter what they are there for you. And if someone attacks you, they are there to defend your honor. They make you laugh so hard you’re likely to pee your pants and they inspire you by how they live – taking on challenges other people wouldn’t touch, making the ordinary seem extraordinary and igniting a desire to learn and achieve in others. They encourage you  when the world has beaten the crap out of you and all you want to do is crawl into a hole where nothing exists and no one knows you're there, so you can fade away into nothingness. They remind you of what is important in your life and why you need to be present…that others are counting on you, like your family and your friends. They are fascinating, because while they share the same interests with you, they also have interests of their own and love to share them and teach you if you’re interested. And they always seem to have something interesting hidden away somewhere inside…there is always treasure to seek out within them.

Yes, that They I’m referring to is you. Just realized I should have been saying ‘you’ LOL…well, I finally got on a roll…you know how that is. But anyway, that’s the good I see and experience of you. You are honestly one of the most interesting friends I’ve ever had. I don’t mean that in a But She Has A Nice Personality kind of way, you surprise me often, and I love that! You’ve had some crazy adventures  and I love hearing about them! And even though you sometimes sell yourself short, you are someone I look up to and admire, and would like to be more like.

Now, with that being said, the other side of the Heather Harris Experience (just thought of Jimi Hendrix there….LOL) is that sometimes you can be very abrupt…sometimes your honesty is brutal (but then sometimes brutal honesty is necessary), and sometimes, I just don’t know how to take you because I haven’t yet deciphered your particular brand of sarcasm…those little nuances that are unique to you that take time to pick up on. 

But Heather, what all this boils down to is that I just love you to pieces…even if I don’t always ‘get’ you…because you ‘get’ me. I can talk about things with you that I can’t talk about with, say, Someone Else, because you know exactly what I’m talking about and where I’m coming from…and you wouldn’t write me off as heading to hell in a handbasket because I Went There...(sorry folks, location joke (; )

There is so much good in you that I am willing to take the bad right along with it. I understand why you are the way you are sometimes, other times I don’t…but that doesn’t matter to me, I know it’s something I’ll learn in time. You are a worthwhile investment of my time, my energy, my resources, and my heart and I am so very, very grateful that God brought us together. 

This concludes the trip on the Real Express. Please wait until the ride has come to a complete stop before unfastening your seat belt and moving around the cabin. We hope you’ve enjoyed your experience with us and that you’ll travel Real Express again soon. Have a nice day and thank you for choosing Real Express.

Ok, that was kind of dumb…but thanks for asking me this question…a million apologies for taking so long to get this done…and I hope that this answers the question satisfactorily.

Love you always,

Dawn <3

GIVEAWAY ALERT: Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure and Darlene Schacht

Who among us wouldn't want to reshape things in their life - physically...spiritually? Are you inspired by the stories of people who have been where you are and overcome the same things you struggle with? Then head on over to The Homesteading Hippy's website, read her review of Bure and Schacht's Reshaping It All, and enter for your chance to win this book!