Recharged

For a change of scenery, I decided to write this blog post from the comfort of the passenger seat of Sean's car as we bomb down the Trans Canada highway.  I'm trying to avoid motion sickness so that I don't FROW UP (which I usually do) but I figured if I didn't write this post now, then I probably never will.

First off, I sincerely hope all of you lovelies had a fantastic May long weekend.  The weather was apparently pretty shitty in Calgary so we were both very happy to be in Kelowna, even though it wasn't too much better…we did manage to get one nice day in on the boat though.  That was awesome.  I got to show Sean a lot of the sights, which was cool because I got to play tourist as well.  We went to a few wineries, did a tiny tiny bit of hiking (not as much as I had hoped) saw a lot of different places and spent some quality time with the family and the beagle!  It was a nice break for sure…even if I did spend all day Monday cutting and colouring the entire family's hair.

I didn't have much of a chance to see any friends while I was back, which I find crazy because I was back for an entire 5 days, but I just get myself so goddamn tired when I'm in Calgary living my stupid crazy life.  Not to mention that I also get sick of people in general.  It was nice to just kind of unplug and unwind and not focus on much of anything for a little while.

During my visit I also had some appointments to try and figure out what the hell is going on with my health.  I told my doctor about how sick I have been, and that I have cut dairy and gluten from my diet completely.  He said that's wonderful, because your body doesn't NEED dairy or gluten to function, and in most cases they're actually more hinder than help anyway.  The unfortunate thing is that I didn't really get any answers as to what to do about it.  

Unfortunately, there is no test in existence that can determine whether or not a person is lactose intolerant, so I guess it's just a matter of not eating what makes you feel sick.  So I guess I'm doing the right thing by just simply not eating dairy.

As far as the celiac/gluten thing goes, there is a blood test that exists to test gluten allergy and sensitivity.  So thats good news.  However, they can't actually test for that unless you have gluten in your system, in order to see how it reacts with your blood and body.  So in order to take this test, I basically need to find a 3 month period in my life where I can eat a lot of gluten for 3 months, feel like shit, and then take the blood test.  Obviously that time is not going to arise any time soon (or ever, who the fuck has time to feel like shit for 3 months!?) so I have been advised to just keep doing what I'm doing and simply not eat any of it.

Another thing that my doctor did suggest is slowly experimenting with certain things and keeping a journal on how they make me feel.  For example, one day I may have a glass of milk, another day a slice of bread…etc. etc. just so I can see how individual foods make me feel, because sometimes people will just be sensitive to a few items instead of dairy or gluten as a whole.

So that's the update kids.  I've got a lot of work and bellyaches ahead but hopefully in a few years I'll know what the fuck is really happening all up in my digestive GRILLZ…and of course I will keep you posted.

In other news, life is actually pretty wonderful.  I feel very lucky to have somehow caught an absolutely wonderful boyfriend.  I've never had anyone love me so completely or treat me so well in my entire life.  We actually have a pretty cute story behind us…but I think I will save that for another time.

xo-ac

Keep on keepin' on

Welcome to another blog post from my iPhone on the train. Somewhere between the smelly person in front of me and the snoring man a few rows back I am finding my focus aboard Calgary Transit once again. It has been an incredibly turbulent few weeks which is why I haven't posted in so long. I got the news that I had to leave my apartment 4 weeks ago on Friday night, which was devastating, and I was moved out and into my new place by Sunday afternoon. Talk about gettin 'er done. But I am now all settled in my new condo (which I absolutely adore more than I ever dreamed I would) and we had the official inspection and move out of our old apartment last Tuesday. Glad that whole stressful chapter is behind me. I also transferred locations within my salon last week. Working way up north when it would sometimes take me 90 minutes just to get to work was really wearing on me (and the little free time I already had) so I am much, much happier to be working at a mall in the south that takes me 15 minutes to drive to. The staff there are so wonderful and I've truly never felt that I fit in so quickly. Another major change I've had to face in these last few weeks is that I found out I have developed celiac disease and a lactose allergy/sensitivity. I have yet to be officially diagnosed as it requires an extensive amount of blood work and allergy testing (not exactly my forte) but I did speak with a doctor who explained that given my symptoms and reactions to dairy and wheat, that is almost certainly what it is. He said its something he's been seeing a lot of in people my age, probably to do with all of the chemicals and hormones added to the foods that we eat nowadays, and that I may eventually grow out of it, but based on my history it's probably something that I have been suffering from minorly for my entire life. Party hey? To make a long story longer I have completely cut wheat and dairy out of my life cold turkey since I found this out 4 weeks ago. No more bread, pasta, cheese, milk, yogurt, chocolate (I know) or many sauces containing balsamic vinegar or worcestershire..it's been a learning experience. Grocery shopping now takes me three times as long and costs me double what it used to..and attempting to eat out at restaurants or fast food joints is an unimaginable struggle. I've learned to cook a lot of my own staples that I'd otherwise took for granted. What a fun year this is shaping up to be! At least it's not uneventful... Anyway.  School is still clippin right along..I'm still loving it.. I just can't believe it's possible for a person to even function when they are as mentally, physically and completely exhausted as I am right now. I'm so grateful to have such an incredible support system behind me..between FaceTime sessions with my family in BC and the support from my boyfriend and all my wonderful friends..it's actually kind of sad to see the toll this school year is taking on all of us. We started with so much energy and passion..and now we just walk around like zombies following any scent of coffee that we may catch. Most of us are doing 80+ hours a week between school and work, one of my friends even goes to school for 36 hours a week, is a flight attendant at westjet, AND a server at moxies. How he isn't dead yet, I have no idea. It's going to be really rough pushing through all the way until December with no breaks at all. But the sun is still shining and the weather is getting warmer, which means the days are getting longer, and that makes us all feel a hell of a lot better. It's not even half over yet. Onwards and upwards! Take care of yourselves darlings. xo ac