Laundry Woes, Continued

    Good lord, things have been a royal pain in the patootie since I posted last about our lovely flooding.  It took forEVer to get the homeowner's insurance rolling on cleanup and repairs.  I have been using the jimmy-rigged Sir Maytag (remember, I married MacGyver) on the less possessed cycle outside and it's been working okay--the only thing is that the patio always ends up with a lot of water where the hoses join because there is water that squirts out.  The insurance finally did the analysis towards the end of the week last week and then had the restoration company come and do cleanup/demolition in the kitchen on Friday. They literally called on Friday and asked if they could be there in 20 minutes.

    I had to squirrel my daughter away in our bedroom to sleep (she has had flipped sleeping patterns again and had just gone to bed), because our room is the furthest away from the main part of the house.  I was worried about the treatment they were going to use once they got the flooring torn up to eliminate any mold or mildew that may have started, because she is so chemically sensitive.  My husband gave them a heads-up on the fact that she has severe allergies and they assured him that this should be fine.

    Once they started spraying I knew she was NOT going to be fine. She was extremely frustrated when she woke up.  She started off setting up a computer table in our room to camp out there, but after awhile she realized her legs were feeling heavy and she fell back asleep for several hours, then went outside.  We have a patio off to the side of our house, between the house and garage.  My husband set up a camp chair, table and space heater for her and she ate quinoa and vegetable stir-fry I had made (cooking outside on a camp stove) for when she got up.  I was so tired from being up all night that I didn't know about those arrangements--when I went outside and saw her she looked like a homeless person warming her hands over a barrel or something. We kind of joked about it later and she said the same thought crossed her mind, especially when she found herself warming her hands over the food while she was eating.  It was horrible. She pretty much stayed outside just so she could breathe and when she was ready to go back to sleep she laid in our room again.  When they came on Saturday to do readings they asked how we were and I said, "Sick."  He said that was so weird because in five years of doing this they've never had complaints.  Uh-huh, whatever.  I know we're the weird allergy people but seriously???  That first night my eyes were burning and my skin was prickling and the next day I felt mildly sick to my stomach.  When my husband got back from work he opened the garage and made a hangout for her with the space heater, table, chair, an old TV, the Wii system so she could play games or watch Netflix, and a boom box.  That way at least she didn't have to just sit outside and freeze and would have something to do.

    Yesterday when I got up I saw that he had set up our tent just in back of the patio facing in so she could sleep there if she wanted to. It's a two-room tent and he put the air mattress in there with her bedding, etc.  I went out there to check on her and she was in a lot of pain and nauseous.  I have learned how to do some energy work, so I was able to do some and ease her symptoms and she finally slept peacefully.  She wanted me to lay there with her for quite awhile.  At some point the restoration company came to take readings on the drying process, and then I heard my husband moving things around on the patio.  He set up a long table as a cooking station, and an old couch facing opposite to where the tent is, with the TV and game system he had set up in the garage on the end of the table facing the couch.  Then he put a tarp up to where you enter the patio from our side door to block the view from the street, and the wind because it was pretty chilly.  It is such an awesome setup, really.  It looks like a little apartment the way he has it enclosed, but outside.  He even put a welcome mat at the door of the tent. :) When she got up, she was pretty excited.  At one point when she was laying on the couch either doing stuff on the iPad or game system I checked on her and said, "So how does it feel to live like a hobo?" and she laughed and said, "Pretty luxurious hobo, if you ask me!" Hubby and I have been kind of taking turns staying up during the night and keeping watch since our family room window looks out to the patio.  I've been freezing because the weather has been chilly but we've had to keep the windows open to air the fumes out. I still can't believe how ridiculous this whole thing has been, but I feel like we're handling it pretty well under the circumstances.  If you're not gonna laugh what are you gonna do???  My maternal grandmother would be finding the humor all over the place in this if she were still alive, and would be loving how clever my husband has been with setting things up.

    HOW cute is my husband???  He is so sweet and is seriously the cutest dad ever. Who else has a guy so sweet that he would even put a welcome mat in front of the door of the tent?  He is adorable. He sure loves his "little girl."

    I have to say that I am glad to have all the equipment off finally--they came and turned it all off and took it away today.  The sounds from the machine and fans were driving me mad.  Now I get to wait for whenever they decide to replace the floorboards and linoleum. Oh, and after us telling them that the spray made her sick they said, "Maybe we should use this less allergenic one when we do the downstairs."  I wanted to kick someone, especially because WE TOLD THEM we deal with allergies!!!  They should do tile instead of linoleum or something, and eat the difference in cost for all the crap this has put us through.

    And in even more exciting news, they discovered asbestos in the ceiling downstairs and had to have a separate company come out and take a look at that.  When they start work downstairs, it will look like a scene from E.T. with the plastic tubing coming out of the house and everything.  Who knows how long it will take to get everything fixed once they tear everything out down there.  Maybe at the end of all this my defunct washing machine will prove to be a blessing, because everything that is being done is thousands of dollars in work that we can't afford, and we are planning on trying to move next year. The flooring in the kitchen needed to be replaced anyway but we don't have the funds right now, and we didn't know about the asbestos.

    We are definitely looking like the classy people on the block.  I need to do laundry again and need to figure out how to do that without flooding out the cool new outdoor apartment. LOL

Laundry Woes

Gaaah!!!  I am so frustrated!!!  The End.

Just kidding. :)  And, I promise there is an allergy-related nugget in the following rant.  I just need to be a drama queen for a few minutes, if you don't mind.

Our ancient Maytag washer decided to demand retirement in a very dramatic "Look at me and thank me for my zillion years of service" kind of way several days ago.  It started when I had been running both Sir Maytag and the dishwasher at the same time and wasn't sure which one caused the lovely flood in my kitchen.  It was evident that it was the washing machine when we realized it wasn't draining before spinning and throwing water everywhere.  My husband figured out that if we used the cycle on the opposite side of the dial it wouldn't do that, so we thought we'd be fine with that solution.  Well, the problem with that turned out to be that when it hit the "off" spot it started filling up again, which we didn't realize until it continued on to the aforementioned possessed cycle.  Of course more flooding came along with those discoveries.  Sooo much fun.  It seeped under the floorboards and we haven't been able to get it all up yet, the linoleum is bowing up, etc.

Day before yesterday my husband figured out that if we only ran medium loads and used the cycle that doesn't flood along with setting a timer for 30 minutes we could then run into the kitchen and turn the dial to the possessed cycle's "off" button.  We had been able to clean the other messes up mostly with towels, although it was obvious we were going to need to replace flooring.  Yesterday we ended up with the biggest mess yet that extended to the downstairs carpet and bubbling in the ceiling, requiring a wet vac.

So we decided to head to the laundromat to do our mountains of laundry, safe and unscented detergent in hand, only to realize when we got there that not only was the perfume in the air worse than the laundry aisles at the store, but even with our safe detergent we couldn't use the machines because of how much residue from perfumed detergents and fabric softeners was caked in the dispensers.  So much for that effort.  I was so frustrated!!!!  BUT, I'm glad that 1) my daughter was still asleep so wasn't with us to get bombed with the airborne allergens, 2) I made the realization that using the machines was a bad idea for even the piles that weren't her laundry, because the towels are in the other loads and she would have gotten chemical exposure that way, and 3) I am married to MacGyver.  My husband is now in the process of moving Sir Maytag outside and hooking him up to the hose, with the idea of channeling whatever spillover happens into the grass until we can find a royal replacement.

Sooo. . .if you are corn allergic, don't go to the laundromat.  For oh-so-many reasons.  It probably won't end well.

Invisible Dragons

    A friend of mine shared a post she did on her blog called Invisible Dragons, addressing some challenges they deal with in their family.  She does a beautiful job of describing how we all fight battles but it is particularly challenging for those whose dragons are invisible.

    As I've interacted with others on the allergy forums, the subject of being poorly treated by others who don't understand the range and severity of their symptoms often comes up.  It's often a very isolating experience. Brittany has had people tell her to her face that she is just making excuses to not get out and do things, to stay home, etc. and it has been very hurtful.  There are people in our lives whom I would have expected to have been a source of loving support and have been extremely cold and silent instead, and it has been very evident that there are people who think we either lie about this or exaggerate how bad it has been.  You know, because we love not being able to attend functions due to environmental factors. Anyone who has known us over the years knows that we love socializing, and Brittany has always, prior to this experience, been the person cycling, rock climbing, hiking, etc.  Spending the majority of time inside is NOT her idea of a good time, but she has made the most of the circumstances.  It has been really hurtful and one of the strangest experiences I have ever had.

 Anyway, as I read her post I felt that a lot of people can relate to her words, although our individual circumstances vary.  And it is a beautiful, gracious reminder to try and not judge people for what we see on the outside.  You just never know what people are dealing with.  First I am providing the link to her blog and then copying her post here.

http://invisibledragons.wordpress.com/

What are your Dragons?

 

Sep11

Everyone has them. Not all are seen. Not all are heard. They are there. They are standing guard protecting man’s greatest treasure. Happiness. Some days our Dragons are more visible, other days they are invisible to all but the brave soul waging war to seek out the treasure of happiness. While I struggle with my own Dragons, the ones that seem to win more often than not are the ones I have to watch my sweet son battle. As a mother, nothing is more heart-wrenching than sending him in to battle against his Invisible Dragons. I give him the weapons, support, encouragement and help that I can along the way but in the end it is a battle he must wage on his own; at 5. It is a battle most will never understand and one that he is constantly judged for. When the adversary is invisible, the judgements are harsher. None of us see the size, strength or determination of the foe. All we see are the times the knight falls down, drops his sword, loses his resolve. We don’t understand the quest he is on nor how vigilant he must be to protect himself from the Dragon while on his quest to find the treasure. Let us all be a little more understanding, patient, kind and loving as we see others struggling against their invisible Dragons.

May we all take a moment to ask ourselves, “What are my Dragons and how can I make progress in my quest to secure that treasure they are so skillfully guarding?”

If we are truly honest with ourselves, I’m sure the answers will surprise. My hope is that as I share some of our experiences, positive and negative, with my son’s Dragons that others will find support, strength and encouragement to wage battle.

Corn Allergy Symptoms: My Daughter's Perspective

    At the beginning of the year my daughter did a blog post talking about her corn allergy symptoms.  I'm providing the link here for your perusal.  I think it's good for people to hear the words directly from her on how this allergy has affected her, and why it is has been so difficult and limited her lifestyle so much over the past couple of years.  She doesn't go around talking about it all the time because she doesn't want to be defined by it, and all things considered has handled herself with astonishing grace and courage.

    I hope you enjoy reading--and with that, here she is: 
http://ramblingsoftheblissfullyblonde.blogspot.com/2013/01/corn-allergy-symptoms.html

Recipe: Mango Pineapple Chicken (Free of Corn, Gluten, Dairy, Soy)

    Tomorrow I'm making this recipe for dinner, and thought I'd post it. Just to give credit where it's due, I made some tweaks and added to this recipe I found online sometime ago:  http://paleopot.com/2012/06/paleo-mango-coconut-chipotle-chicken/  Originally I made the recipe as found at that link, but found that we wanted more sauce and thickness. I also added more mango than called for Over time I also added pineapple in its own juice and that has been a fantastic addition.  So, this is the recipe that works best for our family.  This has become a family favorite; I love how easy it is, since you put everything in a crock pot on high and it's done 4 hours later.  We eat it over rice, but you could eat it plain or serve or another grain such as quinoa.

Mango Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients:

2 cans whole coconut milk

1 T chipotle pepper flakes*

1 tsp. salt**

1 lb. chicken breasts or tenders, cut up into 1" pieces

2 softball-sized mangos, peeled and cut into chunks (reserve mango pits)

2 T arrowroot flour or tapioca starch/flour (with tapioca they are the same thing)

1 can pineapple in its own juice***

2 T sucanat or brown sugar if desired (try the recipe without it first and see how you like it; between the mango, pineapple and juice you may not feel that it needs any more sweetness)

Pour both cans coconut milk into crockpot, along with pepper flakes and salt; mix well.  Add chicken and mango chunks, as well as the mango pits (they add a lot of flavor and usually end up with "meat" still on them).  Drain pineapple juice into container with lid; add tapioca to the juice, put lid on the container and shake it up really well.  Pour mixture into crock pot.  Add pineapple chunks and stir everything together.  Put lid on crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours.  During the last 15 minutes of cook time, add sucanat or brown sugar if desired.  Turn heat off after done; remove lid and let cool for 10-15 minutes to allow to cool and thicken.  Remove mango pits before serving.

    I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have!

    *The Spice Hunter brand chipotle flakes have been safe for Brittany.  Not all spice brands are safe in regards to corn cross-contamination.  Some people on the allergy forums use Spice Garden or Penzey's spices.  We have also done well with Frontier bulk spices, which I buy at Sprouts Farmer's Market.

    **If you are avoiding corn, do NOT use iodized salt.  The flowing agents used to keep it from clumping are corn derived.  I usually use pink himalayan salt (Kirkland brand at Costco has been safe and is a good value price-wise) or Redmond RealSalt.  If you don't have ready access to these, use canning/pickling salt--you can usually pick up a good sized bag or box for a couple of dollars.  Canning salt has to be pure for the canning process, which is why canning/pickling recipes will specify using it.

    ***When shopping for canned fruit, ALWAYS check the ingredients label for citric acid.  Citric acid used commercially is a corn derivative.  I have found that there are very few canned fruits I can buy, but was pleasantly surprised to find canned pineapple that is just the fruit and juice at Sprouts.  I also found, believe it or not, that the Great Value brand at Walmart is pure.  That was a shocker because there are so few things I can buy there and at other regular grocery stores.  I buy the pineapple rings and cut them up myself, because the options so far have been sliced or crushed.

Guest Post: Wearing a Mask

    As I was describing the kinds of things my daughter has to be sure to pack with her any time she leaves the house and mentioned keeping a mask with her, I was reminded of a post she did back in December on her blog describing an experience she had when we were out one day.  She hadn't been able to leave the house for quite awhile and we ventured out for a couple of hours to do a little Christmas shopping.  At this point she absolutely had to wear a mask, and even then we were troubleshooting reactions constantly.  Some of the reactions we got from people really upset me.  I am a nice person, but there were several times when I wanted to just let people have it.  It's amazing the ignorance that is out there.

    I thought I would share her post here, as what she wrote was very thought-provoking.  I thought the way she conducted herself was very kind and showed a lot of grace. I think she offers insights that people need to hear; I know that reading it made me think not only about her situation, but also made me consider my reactions to how she was treated.

http://ramblingsoftheblissfullyblonde.blogspot.com/search?q=wearing+a+mask

    In addition to this blog, she also keeps a healing blog called Blonde Recovery.  The link is on her sidebar.

Comic Con, Camping and Other Stuff

    This will probably be kind of rambling post, because I just want to talk about some of the fun things we've been able to do as a family over the last several months.  We don't get out very much these days, so it's a pretty big deal when we do.

    So Comic Con is this weekend, and Brittany and my husband are attending.  It started last night and is going through the end of the day Saturday.  Britt and hubby have wanted to do this together since she was about six, so I am really excited for them to have that experience together.  Even with the short time they were there last night, they had such a great time.  They got a picture with Dirk Benedict (my husband was obsessed with Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team growing up) and the look on hubby's face is like he's 7 years old. :)

    Another reason I'm excited that they are doing this is because over the last few years it has been so difficult for Brittany to go out and do things. Things that almost all of us take for granted are things that have been absent from her life--the ability to just get out of bed when the rest of the world does, being able to go outdoors safely--and so as her body has been recovering she is stuck at home a LOT. There have been stretches for months at a time where she has literally been indoors because of her sensitivity levels.  During those periods of time she often has her sleeping patterns flipped, so she figured out that if she went outside just after dawn she was okay to be in the back yard for awhile since with the rest of the world asleep there was smaller risk of getting sick from car fumes and other toxins that are in the air just as a result of everyone going about their business during the day.

    Although we're not home-free and still have to be careful, her body is a LOT stronger than it was this time last year.  On hard days I have to keep that in mind. I'm really thankful that we've been able to bring her sensitivities down; that has made all the difference in her being able to get out and do more.

    It's interesting how different life is when you deal with an allergy to this extreme--to go anywhere she usually brings a paint fume mask with her in case she needs it, andhas to bring a pretty good-sized "purse" with her so she can bring her own toilet paper and soap, and pray that the bathrooms wherever we are aren't heavily doused with air freshener.  She also has her compounded Benadryl in tow, along with quercetin + C supplements in case of a reaction. Usually there are also a couple of cans of coconut water in tow, also a precaution for reactions. So she and my husband have all these things packed in with everything else they're taking with them. :) They said there was a lot of cigarette smoke outside last night while they were waiting in line, so she was really glad that she had her mask.  It's an amazing thing to me that after being around all that she was able to get up this morning and get herself ready. That alone is huge; not too long ago it would have been a guaranteed 3 weeks to recover.

    She had a pretty rough time during June and July and we didn't get all the camping in that we were hoping to do, but for her birthday in the first part of August we decided to take a trip down to the southern part of Utah and see a show at the outdoor ampitheater they have there and then camp overnight. Our son and daughter-in-law came with us and were so sweet with her and mindful of what her needs were. Britt was pretty weak and tired but I couldn't believe how much she came alive when we were setting up camp.  Being that high up in the mountains was so rejuvenating for her!  All that clean air and just being close to nature made a huge difference.  The show we saw was the stage musical version of Mulan. This was our first time at this venue and I didn't realize that Mulan wasn't showing outdoors, so we ended up in an auditorium for it. She had to wear her mask the entire time because they were popping popcorn in the lobby.  It was a good show, though.  When we got back to camp we did a little star gazing before going to bed.  It was actually really overcast but the clouds parted for just that little while and we were able to see a lot. We were camping in Cedar Breaks, which is known as the second darkest place in the country so a lot of people go there just for star gazing. Hoping we can go again and spend a few days.

    Back in April, we went to see Bon Jovi in concert and that was completely awesome! We have listened to a LOT of Bon Jovi during this healing process; I love how his music is about picking yourself up and not letting life beat you.  It's interesting listening to their different albums; I feel like you can get a sense of his life journey through his music.  It changes so much from those classics we all love from the 80s to their more current ones. Seeing them in concert has been on my bucket list and our whole family loves their music. Brittany has also always wanted to see them in concert, so it was very exciting for us! When our son and daughter-in-law found out we were going, they got tickets, as well and came with us.  It was so much fun. At one point she started having a bad reaction when someone sat down by us with popcorn, but it turned out we were in the wrong seats so after we moved it wasn't as bad.  We did have to do damage control with Benadryl and quercetin but made it through and had a good time. I still blare their latest CD all. the. time.

    About a month ago Brittany did bridal portraits for a friend she grew up with, and then photographed the wedding a week and a half later. The portraits were so professional looking that when they went to print the bridals the worker refused at first, saying they had to be copyrighted (Brittany did the shoot for free and just sent them the digital images to print what they wanted). It was pretty awesome. :) They used the bridals as elements for the table centerpieces and they were just beautiful.  The day of the wedding was a great day and I was so excited that she was able to put in such a full day, with the ceremony being that morning and the reception in the evening. She had a great time and reconnected with some friends she hadn't see in a couple of years.  It was a good day.

    After each of these events she had to rest for several days afterward (well, I don't know about Comic Con yet) because of how much it took out of her.  I guess my point in doing this post, besides recording some of the good things, is to remember that although I wish it didn't take so much out of her, the fact that she has been able to do these things is a big deal.  A year ago, we couldn't have attempted any of it, and there was no way she would have had the stamina to do the wedding photography. Her recovery time is less and her body's responses less extreme.  So she is making progress, and for that I am grateful.

    Here is a gorgeous photo of my daughter, which she did herself yesterday.  She is so talented and I just love how the picture turned out. :)

Allergy Friendly Ranch Dressing Recipe (Free of Corn, Gluten, Dairy, Soy and Sugar)

    About that ranch dressing tease back in March. . .

    Here's the recipe.  I would say it's allergy free except that there are some people who are allergic to coconut. I think I would probably be completely bald from tearing my hair out right now if that were the case for my daughter, because coconut has literally been a godsend for her nutritionally and made my life a little easier as far as cooking for her goes.

    This literally came to me in the middle of the night in a lightbulb moment kind of thing, and I was so stoked that it worked!

    What you need:

*1 can whole coconut milk with guar gum added (NOT lite!!! Thai Kitchen adds guar gum; there are some others as well)

*1-1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar (Bragg's)--gives the tang you would normally get with buttermilk

*1 tsp. salt (I use Redmond's RealSalt or Himalayan pink most of the time)

*1/8 tsp. black pepper

*1 1/4-1 1/2 T  onion powder or equivalent green onion, sliced very thin and chopped finely

*3/4-1 T dried parsley

*1-1 1/2 T dill

    Refrigerate the can of coconut milk overnight.  The solids will rise and solidify at the top and you can just scoop it out.  Reserve the leftover liquid (I use a cup with a lid on it) in the fridge to use in cooking.  Add all the ingredients and whisk well; let sit for at least a couple of hours to allow all the flavors to infuse--best if you make it in the morning and use it at dinner.  Adjust the spices to your liking; I prefer the lesser amount of parsley and more dill.  If you feel like you need to thin it out a little, use some of the leftover liquid, a little bit at a time.

    The first time I made it, Brittany said, "No way is this legal for me to eat!"  Best compliment ever. :)

    If you can't find canned coconut milk with guar gum added, you can buy regular WHOLE coconut milk (again, don't do lite) and add 1/2 tsp. guar gum in with the rest of the ingredients; you'll just need to let it sit for a couple of days to thicken.

    *A word about guar gum--for some people it has been known to cause bloating, and we figured out a few months ago that it was doing it to Brittany.  I haven't made this since then, but if it doesn't bother you, celebrate and enjoy!  All of a sudden we wanted salad all the time. :)