I've Been Busy

Wow! Can't believe that I haven't posted since July. I'm shocked that it's been that long but as I said...I've been busy! I've been busy trying to get healthy and it's like a second full time job. I haven't told this story on here really, but I would like to have it documented so I'll try to give a good summary. 

In January, while I was in Vegas for work I experienced a terrible head rush followed by confusion, difficulty speaking, and an overall 'off' feeling. This happened multiple times on the trip and continued when I returned home. Over the next couple of months, I went to several doctors and no one could figure out what was wrong. They checked my brain, heart, circulatory, thyroid, etc. Everything looked fine and they chocked it up to stress and offered me a prescription. I was infuriated by this typical traditional medical approach and started looking for alternatives. 

I started by cleaning up my diet and went on a juice cleanse. After three weeks I was feeling better but didn't follow the rules for reintroducing the foods that I had eliminated. I started feeling bad again but didn't know what foods were making me feel bad. In April I heard about a doctor in Lubbock that was a medical doctor that practices functional medicine who was shaking up the traditional medical approach by relying on detailed case history, comprehensive blood work and lifestyle modifications to diagnose and manage chronic health issues rather just prescribing a lot of medication. I was desperate so I made an appointment. I'm so thankful that I did!! 

After 2 hours of case history and a slew of blood tests it was determined that I have two (yes 2) autoimmune conditions--Celiac disease and Hashimotos Thyroiditis. What?!? I'm only 30 years old (29 at the time). And...Wait...I thought my thyroid was fine according to all the other doctors?! Turns out that I was only being screened for thyroid issues and celiac was never even considered. They think that I may have had celiac for 8+ years and that it caused my leg to lose sensation 3 years ago. Celiac (autoimmune response to gluten) has damaged my intestines severely and this has led to deficiencies in many vitamins and minerals in my body. It has also caused mini holes in my intestines and things that should be contained in my intestines are able to leak out into my body triggering an additional autoimmune crisis impacting my thyroid. Along with the thyroid issues, I also have low stomach acid production, severe adrenal fatigue and a systemic candida overgrowth which impacts my blood sugar and my hormones. When I think back over the years, I realize how much sense this all makes and I'm saddened that I allowed myself to live a lifestyle that triggered what was already in my generic makeup . So what now? Well that's a good question because there is no magic bullet. The only cure (and there is a cure) is to heal my body by removing the triggers and replacing the things that I'm missing. I have to heal my intestines from the inside out and as I'm able to do that then my other issues and symptoms should improve too. My doctor says that it can take 6 months to 4 years depending on the amount of damage and the committment. I've been at it for 5 months. 

Here's what I'm doing--I've been gluten and grain free since April. This is a BIG help to me. In July after some additional testing to determine foods that caused additional autoimmune responses I became gluten/grain/dairy/tree nuts/egg/refined sugar FREE and started taking a TON of supplements. I don't cheat because this isn't something silly like weight loss. This is my health and this is my ticket back to healthy. The diet modifications have helped but I hit some what of a plateau in June. I haven't worsened though. I'm also fighting the systemic candida overgrowth with antifungals since my intestines are still allowing bad stuff (yeast and bad bacteria) into my blood stream. I've tried things that made me feel worse and I've tried things that have helped tremendously. I work really hard to deal with stress in a healthy way and to get plenty of sleep. I'm doing acupuncture and colonics. I practice Pilates three times a week and hot yoga twice. I'm better but I'm far from healed. Sometimes I get really frustrated with being sick and having to be so strict with my diet but then I remember how lucky I am to have control. I have the control to change this course and that's empowering. 

Enough of that for now but I'll do a better job of documenting my steps. It's definitely a journey and I will look back and see what I've accomplished. 

Stella helps me get my makeup on in the mornings. This. Never. Gets. Old. 

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My Dad and the Microwave

My dad is the self-appointed microwave timer setter authority. If you don't know what that means...it means that my entire life my dad has made very strong suggestions for how long food items need to be microwaved...down to the second. He gets pleasure from it and never misses giving his microwave timer recommendation if he's in the kitchen during a microwaving event. Not to mention, he's pretty good at it too. It goes something like this-- "Mashed potatoes? 47 seconds." "Cheese tortilla? 18 seconds." "Banana nut bread? 8 seconds." You get the picture. 

Well I love this about him and unbeknownst to me, I had really missed it. No one at my house (Jay or the dogs) ever suggest the perfect microwave cook time based on food type. So tonight I had my dad over for dinner because my mom is out of town. I'm not the best cook but I'm even worse at timing the different dishes to be ready at the same time. I made a roast, potatoes and asparagus but the potatoes got cold while the asparagus was in the oven. I headed to the microwave with the potatoes and without missing a beat he said, "Potatoes? 30 seconds." It warned my heart. Thanks for reminding me of your super power, dad! 

After dinner I made my dad and I a gluten free, dairy free, peach crumble. It was delish!

I turned 30 on Saturday. I had big plans for an "I'm 30" birthday post but then I had a run in with some gluten on Friday night while eating at the Country Club's 4th of July party. I had a gluten hangover on Friday night and most of Saturday but pulled myself together in time for dinner with my family on Saturday night. Here are a few pictures of the 4th of July and my birthday. Enjoy!

Breezy!

Love him! 

Lottie is a doll. 

He loves me back. 

Birthday dinner at the Brazilian Steakhouse. 

And I would be sad if I didn't document that last week Jay gave me a pretty awesome birthday surprise. About a month ago, I had to take my wedding rings in to be resized. They said it would take about a month because they needed to send them to NY. Well long story short, the week before my birthday Jay came home and said that he had decided to give me my gift early. He tossed a box at me and when I unwrapped it...my engagement ring and wedding band were in there...except with a much larger center stone in my engagement ring!! Surprise diamond upgrade!! Woohoo!! I couldn't possibly deserve it but you won't hear an argument from me. :)

Oh and I got a ridiculously huge edible arrangement at work. 

That's a lot of fruit!!

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Thunder

Just laying in bed listening to thunder and thinking about the prospect of rain. Thinking about how amazing it's been to get all of this rain lately and giving myself all the credit for asking for rain boots for Christmas! 

My dad said, "What are you going to do with red irrigation boots? Start working at the farm?" I replied, "I need rain boots because it's going to be a wet spring and summer! You've gotta have faith!" Everyone can thank me later. 

These two are really something. 

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Hot Yoga

Yes, it was Monday. Yes, it was 5:11am when I woke up. Yes, I needed to leave the house at 5:15am. Yes, I slept in my clothes which helped me get out the door. And YES, I'm really glad that I made it to class! Oh and yes, I finally got to use the nice lululemon mat that I bought last summer. 

All in all, hot yoga felt amazing and was a great start to my day. I think I'll go again on Friday. 

My getting ready buddy. She's not amused. 

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Father's Day Fun

We went to Brownfield to celebrate Father's Day today. We did the usual church then lunch thing and I have to say that I'm so thankful for the 'usual'. Jay and I got a reminder on Friday that life can change in an instant and that the 'usual' isn't guaranteed. It sounds cliche but I'm thankful to be looking at this holiday through a renewed set of lenses. Church was great and lunch and company was even better! My mom made ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, salad, homemade rolls and homemade banana pudding. I wasn't able to partake in the tastiest parts of the meal but thankfully that's getting easier. 

Owen is FINALLY getting better!! His last allergy tests showed that he's severely allergic to eggs, not dairy. It's a little frustrating to have been on the wrong track for several months but we're so happy to see his hair coming back and his skin softening again! He sooo happy too!! He's definitely feeling like his old self. 

We ate, opened a few gifts and then Kay made us leave to be home in time to watch Tech in the College World Series. Sadly, we lost to TCU, but we have another game to go! 

Here are a few pictures of the day:

Wilbie is a sweet boy!

Owen loves his Grandad

All of our handsome guys! 

The original Swain kids

Will loves his Uncle Jay

Grana and Nana with the boys

Joel and I hit the Dad jackpot and these boys are pretty lucky to have him as their Grandad!

Well I have to wrap it up. I got a little ambitious today and signed up for hot yoga at 5:30am tomorrow. I'm sleeping in my yoga clothes and have already paid so that I can't back out! I've read that hot yoga can good for Hashimoto's or bad depending on how your body reacts. I'm obviously hoping to be on the side since Pilates twice a week isn't enough exercise and regular yoga classes aren't offered early enough to fit my schedule...that I know of anyways. 

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Custom Pools of Lubbock

Wow, a lot can happen in a year.  Last July 4th, Jay leaned over to me while we were watching a fire works show and said that he wanted to start a pool company. He said that he had been thinking about it and that there seemed to be a market for it. I peppered him with questions (like I always do) and then told him that I knew he could do it...even though I was pretty nervous since the most pool involvement he had ever had was swimming in one... He and his friend Jacob both had interest and decided to begin this venture together. Around December they started talking about company names and landed on Custom Pools of Lubbock. I had hoped that he would stick with the Paradise theme but he insisted on separating the pool company from his landscape company. His companies, his rules. Fast forward to this spring and things started getting real. Somehow without having ever built a swimming pool, Jay sold two pools back to back! They weren't just any pools either...they were both going to be showcased in the West Texas Home Builders' Parade of Homes!! I can't even explain the pressure on their shoulders to perform...it's like trying a brand new recipe at a dinner party x's 1000. Anyways--he pulled it off (of course) and did a phenomenal job. His pool and landscape in the Vintage Township neighborhood won the Outdoor Living award at the Parade Preview on Friday night!! I'm just so impressed and proud of his hard work and fearlessness. Here are a few pictures of the work. 

This jumper

I've really been wanting a black 'jumper'/'romper' (whatever they call it) all year. I've questioned whether I could pull one off but decided it was worth a try. So...I found this one at Ann Taylor online and had my assistant run by the store to pick it up. 

Well of course, I expected it to look just like this on me...but that was not happening. Let's just say that the torso was too short and I practically violated the damn thing. Awkward. 

Black jumper 1, Hillary 0

They probably wouldn't even take it back if they had seen me in it...Sorry Ann. 

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