Hiatus

I've taken a four month hiatus from the blogging world. I can't believe that I haven't updated since November and it is already February! But I have a reason...back in November I declared I would blog more, but then something happened. Blogger wouldn't let me upload any more pictures. It said I had used up my photo space. I didn't even realize that could happen! So I debated if it was worth it to pay the monthly fee. However, I've been missing it a little and we've been eating some amazing recipes lately. Justin has been making a couple Paleo recipes a week. So I had an instinct today to try and update with pictures. So far it's working...

Since I have been absent for a few months, I'll do a quick photo recap.

At Justin's work Xmas party

In December, I walked in the commencement ceremony for my master's degree, even though I graduated in the summer.

Over Christmas break, we did a little tour of the midwest. This is me with snow at my grandparent's house in Wisconsin.

We rung in the New Year in Las Vegas!

We thoroughly enjoyed our vacation.

Summary of Michigan Trip

I need to wrap up my Michigan vacation posts since tomorrow is my actual last day of summer vacation. I officially go back to work on Wednesday to start another year of teaching fourth grade! Plus, I've been working on some fun DIY projects I want to share. So this post sums up some memorable things I did (& that I have pictures of) while in Michigan last month.

I was fortunate that my sister, Jill and her husband allowed Iivana and me to come stay with them for a few days. While they were at work my parents and I took the kids to Potter Park Zoo one day. These two pictures crack me up! Maren is petting the goats and my dad is with Maren in the kangaroo cut out.

 Jett and my mom with the spider monkeys which was his favorite part.

After our zoo visit, we stopped by the MSU Diary Store.

We enjoyed some ice cream.

We went out to eat for Jill's birthday at Ruby Tuesday.

They had a gluten free menu, but it was a chain restaurant. If I'm at a chain, I usually try to pick something that doesn't require a lot of modifications. I'm not sure how knowledgeable the kitchen staff is about gluten free and cross contamination. So I kept it simple with the petite sirloin, a baked potato, and broccoli.

 I was able to attend my sister's annual 4th of July party with my baby, Iivana.

I think I pretty much scarred her for life of being terrified of fireworks. For some reason, I didn't think the noise would scare her because she hears loud planes all the time. But we retreated to the van for safety during their show.

But I still got a glimpse of some of the fireworks.

My niece, Maren was still going strong that night. She was a doll and put on her mama's shoes; she was so proud of herself.

I met up with some friends for drinks.

I tried some new gluten free beer that I don't have access to in Texas. (Thanks to my sister, Kristen for hooking me up!) Here I was drinking Dogfish Head's Tweason'ale beer. I thought it was a wonderfully refreshing summer drink. The strawberries and honey give the beer a fruity flavor that isn't as sweet as cider. I hope they start selling this in Texas soon.

Check these links for other Michigan things from my trip:

• Vince & Joe's
• Fruitiversary
• Crunch Granola
• More Goods from Vince & Joe's
• Yummy Filled Donuts
• Gluten-less Maximus IPA

Gluten-Less Maximus IPA

Still posting about my vacation in Michigan!

One night my mom and I met up with my sister, Julie, to eat dinner. Of course, I had to choose a place to eat that was gluten free friendly. I searched the Royal Oak and Ferndale area for something that would please every one's palates. Searching consumed a considerable amount of time. I looked for blogs, read Urbanspoon reviews, perused online menus, and even found myself on Facebook. And then it happened...I found out that Woodward Avenue Brewers just came out with a gluten free beer on tap! It is a rare occurrence to not only find a gluten free beer at a restaurant, but to find one on tap none the less.

My mind was instantly made; I wanted to have dinner at the WAB! Plus, it was a week night and we could score happy hour prices.

The beer was made from sorghum, like many I drink. But this beer was definitely different than what I'm used to with gluten free beer. I think because it was an IPA, it had a bitter taste. It had more of a beer (with gluten) taste. With each sip, I loved it more and more. I loved it enough to get a second one.

I assumed by the description that it was all gluten free. I wanted more proof and was searching the Internet to see if the gluten content was ever tested. But I really couldn't find anything about that. I did however, come across a question on Facebook.

Before we went to eat at WAB, I looked at their online menu. I figured if they had a gluten free beer, they would surely have gluten free food. I was disappointed to find nothing about gluten free on the menu; they only had vegetarian friendly items noted. I decided to call before we went to ask if they accommodated GF diners. My call left me a little hopeless, but I REALLY WANTED TO TRY THE BEER! There were some items on the menu that seemed like they could be okay with some rapid questioning. When we arrived, I asked about their tortilla chips, which I learned are made in a shared fryer across the street so those were out. After what seemed like a billion questions, I settled on a salad, the Southwest Chicken Salad. I opted out of the bacon because I wasn't sure, I ordered the salsa for dressing, and I asked what brand of BBQ sauce they use. I felt positive about my menu decision and proud of myself for asking the right questions. (After reading over the menu, I feel they could make some of their menu items GF as a way to expand their market along with their GF beer. If they used GF tortilla chips, a lot of their Mexican dishes could be GF. So take this hint WAB!) It was a nice treat to enjoy some GF beer at a restaurant like everyone else.

Wisconsin - Favorite Things

Before we drove back to Texas, my mom, dad, Iivana, and I went to visit my grandparents in Wisconsin for a few days. It's almost been 2 years since I was diagnosed with celiac disease and when I go to visit my grandma and grandpa I am pleasantly surprised at what they've done to accommodate my dietary needs.

1. Schaum Torte

One of my favorite desserts that my grandma makes is called schaum torte. It's been a favorite of mine even before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, so I'm excited that it is a dessert that I can still indulge in. It is basically a meringue, but I think it is more fluffy and marshmallow-like. When my grandma makes it, I don't think she even uses a recipe. I was searching for recipes on the Internet to post, in case others were interested in making it. I think this one seemed close to what I remember of hers because I've made it with her when I was younger. Although I don't think she uses vinegar, but she does the second method cooking option like the recipe suggests where you preheat the oven and then turn it off after a couple minutes and allow the torte to cook for hours. Mine pictured below is topped in strawberries and whipped topping. I came across this lemon schaum torte recipe that I thought looked interesting to try to make in the future.

2. Chicken Rice Soup
Every time we would make the drive from Michigan to Wisconsin for as long as I can remember, when we would arrive my grandma would have homemade chicken rice soup ready for us for lunch. She normally uses bullion in her recipe, which contains wheat; but she makes a special batch for Kristen and me that doesn't use it. Mmm, I always try to replicate her soup, but hers is always the best.

3. Wisconsin Brick Cheese
These are my favorite Wisconsin things all wrapped into one trip! Because what is a trip to dairy land without cheese. We always buy brick cheese, which is a treat because we can't really find it other places outside of Wisconsin. It's a light, buttery tasting cheese which means you can eat slice after slice. I brought a couple pounds of it back to Texas with me!

En Route on the Fourth

I realize I have some recent things to recap on, but I thought I would write about my current happenings first. Yesterday was my last day of class, which I plan to write about another day. So my parents and I decided to head back to Michigan today. Iivana has been a very good girl in my parent's van. Of course, she thinks she owns the place and is sitting in the captain's chair.

She took many naps through out to journey (so far.) Hopefully she continues to behave during the long ride tomorrow too.

We stopped in Oklahoma to have lunch at a park. Afterwards we started to hear a rattling sound that one of the tires was making. We kept going but it seemed to get worse. So we pulled off to the side of the road and my mom noticed a lug nut was missing. We drove a little further to a visitor's center in Missouri and asked where we could take the van. Of course, today is a holiday so we weren't sure if anything would be open. We started to make our way to Walmart, but came across a Goodyear Tire first and pulled in there. It was 4:50 and they were going to close at 5:00! We were very thankful to make it there safely, because when we arrived we had noticed another nut was missing.

Unfortunately, they were not able to fix it in 10 minutes. So we left the van there for the night and had to halt our travels for the day. The manager drove us to a hotel, so we are spending the night in Joplin. Do you notice Iivana in the tire store?  I think she is still trying to figure out what in the world is going on.

Happy Fourth of July to all! Safe travels to everyone.

Houston

My stress level has been reduced dramatically. Iivana's bite wound is healing. There is still no hair but it is no longer red and has scabbed over. The best part is that she doesn't have to wear that dreadful e-collar. Friday was my last day of school with my students. I have to work tomorrow to finish up paper work and pack up final items in my classroom. Last weekend I enjoyed a weekend away in Houston, which was much needed and filled with fun in the sun. As usual, the majority of my photos do not include people, I'm still working on that. But here are some of the highlights!

Infused tequila drinks at El Gran Malo which are so fresh and amazing. I can't wait to go back to this place some day for more and I usually don't like tequila. 

I ordered the blueberry jalapeno cilantro margarita! It was spicy but sweet at the same time.

Dinner at Taco Milagro which the majority of the menu is naturally gluten free. Rachel and I each ordered something and split them. Below are chicken tamales.

Here are the spinach and cheese enchiladas. I preferred these over the tamales, but both were scrumptious and filling.

We stopped at The Hay Merchant which had too many beers to count. But there were also a few ciders, so I wasn't left out.

We drove to Galveston to spend a day at East beach.

While it was cloudy, it was still a sweltering day.

Before we left the beach area, we stopped to eat some crawfish. It was my first experience eating the sea creature and was nervous. They required lots of work, but I actually did enjoy it. I know my husband is a little jealous that I ate some fresh boiled crawfish.

Finally a shot with people! Sangria at Pub Fiction

We also stopped at Spec's and I found Woodchuck's Farmhouse Select.

The label

Thank you Rachel, Amanda, and Ashley for a much needed get-away weekend! Since last weekend wore me out, it's been nice to relax this weekend. I also start my last semester of classes for my masters tomorrow.

The Way Fall Should Be

During September and October, we spent four weekends out of town. Four out of eight weekends we weren't home; 50% of the time we were gone if you didn't get the math the first time. While I loved going to Dallas twice and Michigan two times, it felt good to be home this weekend and to know the next couple of weekends we would be here as well.

While I'm happy to be home, last weekend was fun and memorable! We were able to spend time with friends and family.

Wedding fun.

Me and the Hubby

Tailgating at MSU

Gorgeous fall! Trees actually changing color...I miss fall so much living in the south.

Justin and Jett looking at planes.

 The banks of the red cedar

My whole family was at tailgate

Sparty and an MSU win over Wisconsin.

We picked up an exhausted, clean dog from the pet resort complete with a Halloween bandana who was excited to see her ma and pop.

Looking at my pictures, I can't believe I didn't take any GF food ones! There were so many great food memories too. A GF wedding meal and my sister, Kristen stopped by to generously bring me snacks, GF beer, and an Udi's bagel. Tailgating was filled with GF goodies and late night GF pizza from Cottage Inn. And on Sunday, a GF brunch at my sister, Jill's house. Thank you to everyone who provided me with treats to eat on the weekend out of town; it is most definitely appreciated and made the trip that much easier. So my recap of the weekend focuses on what mattered the most, seeing my wonderful family and friends.