Muzammal Blogger

  There was no Black Friday shopping for me today….not that I minded.  The one and only time I ventured out for Black Friday shopping was to appease my Filipino exchange student who wanted to experience the American Black Friday shopping experience. She wasn’t impressed. Neither was I. I prefer to shop in my jammies, coffee in hand, in front of my computer. But none of that today, either. Like I mentioned before, I work in healthcare. Healthcare is open 24/7, 365 days a year. So, instead of Black Friday shopping, I went to work today. We decorated the facility for Christmas, so all in all, it was a great day. Since I have a 45 minute commute to work, I like to eat breakfast on the go. I like portable food that I can grab and go. Since I am gluten-free, gone are the days of Pop Tarts and buttered toast and bagels. So, I have to be creative. I spend Sundays baking muffins or other such portable food. I also love my Orgreenic pancake pan. This morning, I made a sweet potato chocolate chi

  Our thoughts possess a lot of power.  A negative thought can steal our joy whereas a positive thought can redirect our focus . Our minds are an intricate weaving of memories, thoughts, information, and emotions…somehow all blended together to make us who we are. I spend my days with people….I work with residents diagnosed with dementia, families, coworkers from all walks of life, other residents who may not have dementia but require assistance with their day to day living…I experience a multitude of personalities and emotions .  I witness firsthand reactions to situations and experiences in response to various coping methods of people. Life does not always go as planned , in fact, it seldom does. My life is nowhere anything like I pictured it would be when I was a senior in high school, but my life is good. It’s a meshing of experiences that have created who I am today. I consider myself a work in progress. One thing I do believe, though….we have the power of mind over matter. We ca

  Traveling used to be a lot easier . I mean, there is a Subway or McDonald ’ s every few miles along the interstate. Well, gluten-free and a host of other food issues aren’t so easily accommodated as one travels. I packed my favorite Larabars, Luna Bars which are now gluten-free, apples and bananas, and some rice crisps. Day  2: We visited Gardner Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina , and they had a dedicated allergen free cooking area. I enjoyed a delicious salad with homemade dressing and a pork chop. Kudos to the college for acknowledging the food issues of some of their students. As far as food for the majority of our vacation , we chose to rent a condo with a kitchen. Breakfast was always eaten inside our condo. We alternated lunch and dinner out. I love my  “Find Me Gluten Free” app on my phone which allows me to locate restaurants, read reviews, and preview menus before eating out. One of my favorite parts of vacation is finding good clean eats. We have a family

  Bright red lips .  On my face. And no, I wasn’t sampling a new shade of lipstick . I was dealing with a horrible food reaction that inflamed my lips and caused the skin to flake and peel all around my mouth. I would have taken a photo, but I don’t really want to remember that horrible image. I almost wore a mask at work (I work in healthcare, so it would have been acceptable), but  I didn’t. Those bright red lips made me extremely self-conscious. It all seemed to start with my tuna reaction, then aggravated by a reaction to a new skin care product , and then further aggravated by excessive coffee intake and stress. Read More: Mind Over Matter A Decision To Make? I sat in church last Sunday and decided to put on some lip balm, a natural brand. I wanted to fly out of that pew….the peppermint burned so intense. So, I mentally added peppermint skin products to the “Do Not Use” list . Fortunately, I have found another all natural lip product I like without peppermint oil from The Fresh

  Carefree…spontaneous… At what point in life do we transition from carefree, spontaneous child to serious, schedule and task   oriented   ruled adult… I am learning to be still. To enjoy living in the moment. To accept myself for who I am flaws and all. Yesterday, as we biked through the beautiful Hilton Head Island , my carefree 11-year-old son was singing… ”Waffle, waffle, waffle” without a care in the world without caring who was listening. Later, we ate at a cute coffee cafe called Watusi for lunch, and he told his father he could now cross something off his bucket list… he had eaten at a cafe . As we played putt-putt golf at a Legendary golf place, my daughter read all 18 Bible verses at each of the 18 holes without caring who was listening. I want to be able to eat a square of dark chocolate without any guilt or worries. I want to be able to not be so hard on myself because I didn’t finish everything on my to do list for the day. I want to accept I am still on my journey to my

 I love Thanksgiving… Time with family, delicious food, a day off work, and the reminder to pause and reflect on all I have to be thankful for. That being said, I will admit…I loved Thanksgiving much more a few years ago before all these stomach issues. I loved the stuffing (especially the oyster stuffing), Aunt Linda’s date pudding, sweet potatoes oozing with brown sugar topping, buttered dinner rolls, Buckeyes (a delicious chocolate peanut butter combination) , and all the pies. It was also much easier a few years ago before I had to juggle multiple family get-togethers and a career in healthcare which operates 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. Even with the challenges the day brings ,  I still look forward to Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I love turkey and sweet potatoes although I have learned to always ask before I eat anything I did not personally make. One year, the sweet potatoes had been dredged in flour before they were coated in the gooey topping. Who does that? Oh well, th

  I’ve been in a quandary over this for a little while.  It seems like a simple decision, but it’s one that I am having some difficulty with. It involves letting go. Let me digress ….I’ve never been very athletic. When I was in 7th grade, I lost weight through diet and simple exercise. When I was in 8th grade, I ran track because my friend asked me to. (I ended up with a bloody knee during a practice, and I still have a faint scar to remember it by!) In high school, I played club soccer because another friend who had recently moved to the area missed soccer and wanted to start a team. We needed players, she recruited friends, and I played. I enjoy physical activity, but I am no athlete. Yet, a few years ago when I became ill (see my About post), I needed an outlet, something to relieve my frustration and fear. So, I began running. Running is not anything I ever did beyond the mile in track. But, I began running. I ran in all forms of weather. I enjoyed the solo runs-just me , my thoug