A Young Wife’s Tale

My husband David is gluten free, but we do not eat a lot of “gluten free” products. Gluten free pre-packaged foods like pasta and cookies are expensive, and they just don’t taste the same. We prefer to eat naturally gluten free things like potatoes and rice. I’ll make things like flan instead of cake. But, occasionally I do attempt to bake something gluten free. I’ve made gluten free muffins several times, and they’re always so dry.

This time, rather than throw out a bunch of muffins made with expensive gluten free flour, I decided to re-purpose them.

My friend Maegan came to New Jersey for a ten day visit.

We had a wonderful time, but the highlight of the trip was Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The farmland was so pretty and green. The people were kind and friendly. We ate at two different Amish restaurants. Both were wonderful. Shoo-fly pie is delicious!

We did lots of shopping at Kitchen Kettle Village. They have a brilliant marketing strategy. There are signs everywhere telling you the story of the buildings and the people who make the items you’re purchasing. The quilt shop? They sell stuffed animals and Christmas ornaments made from remnants of salvaged antique quilts by two sisters. The jam and jelly shop? You can see the Amish women making the jelly and relish in the open kitchen. Oh, and you can sample absolutely everything. From sweet potato butter to Danson plum jam it was delicious! And they ship all over the US.

This rheumatologist did not talk over him. She asked many questions regarding David’s psoriasis, which was nice, since most rheumatologists focus on the arthritis part of psoriatic arthritis, especially since David never complains about his psoriasis. She listened to our answers and repeated back to us what she was hearing. At one point, during family medical history, she asked us to clarify if a relative had irritable or inflammatory bowel syndrome. She didn’t freak out the way other rheumatologists have when he mentioned having taken medications such as Wellbutrin and Celexa.

Towards the end of the appointment, she told David she wants him to get back to exercising. She emphasized that David do an exercise he enjoys. If you enjoy your exercise routine, you’re much more likely to stick with it. She seemed full of common sense.

I stocked up on Gluten Free Chocolate Chex for David and Cinnamon Burst Cheerios for me. I’m happy to know we’re helping our nephew’s school. ShopRiteShopOnceGiveTwice.com even has printable coupons!

I have one $25 ShopRite gift card to give away!

Our Shop Rite ran a special where if you spent $300 there during a certain time period, you got a free turkey. I got the biggest free turkey I could find. That’s right, I’m making a 20.49 pound turkey for two. We will have lots of leftovers, and I’m planning on turkey pot pies and lots of good stock.

Typically, David and I watch all of the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings movies around Thanksgiving. This year, we decided to switch things up and have a Star Wars movie marathon. ‘Cause we’re crazy cool like that.