I’ve been doing the NEW 52 project for almost 3 weeks now so I’ve tried 3 new things. Go me! Now it’s time to document the details in photos & words. I’m going to blog here and also share in the official flickr group. Someday there might even be some scrapbook pages created from these experiences!
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My first “new” thing involves a lot of my old favorites – legos, board games, & my kids. I’m still counting it though because it was a NEW game that I’ve never played before. It was also a very unique game and one that I will have to blog about over on Toy to the World (which is up and running again). We played the new Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts game and it was really fun! It’s clever that the board can move around to change the game on every turn. It’s really like the moving staircases at Hogwarts. And hello… Legos + Harry Potter? Love them both! I love playing games with my kids, I really need to do it more often. Did I mention that I won? Just a little icing on the cake. lol!
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I was making a dish that we call “taco rice” (I replace the lettuce in taco salad with rice instead since lettuce makes me sick to my tummy) and I realized at the last minute that I didn’t have any Kraft Catalina Dressing. This is what we always put on this “salad” and I panicked for a minute about what to do. Then I thought, Hey! I’m doing new stuff so I’m just going to Google how to make my own Catalina dressing. I found this recipe (I cut the salt in half because that seemed like a lot of salt) and it was delicious! We will never go back to bottle Catalina now. I felt like a domestic genius for making my own dressing.
The recipe is basically rice (or lettuce), browned ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning, canned kidney beans (drained), shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, and crushed corn chips. Toss and coat with dressing. One of our favorites. My son even liked the dressing and he doesn’t like saucy stuff.
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The 3rd new thing isn’t all that fun, but it is something that will hopefully help me. I’ve had a lot of digestive system issues in my life, especially in adulthood. I’ve had 2 Upper GI Endoscopies, 2 colonoscopies, and an abdominal ultrasound and I’m only 41 years old. I’ve been gluten-free and dairy-free and come back from both. Over the past few years I’ve narrowed it down to lettuce, oats, orange juice, and really fiber-filled foods as being the culprits. I’m usually just fine if I avoid those, but every once in a while I still get really sick. Painfully sick. In 2008, I was really sick for an entire month. I’ve been doing pretty ok lately but last week when I had a banana for breakfast and an apple with lunch, I became extremely ill. Strange, isn’t it? Anyway… I hate to ramble on about all of this, but I need to give some context. So I really had given up on the whole thing. I’ve just figured I have to live this way. My family doctor really encouraged me to try another GI doctor. I went yesterday with very low expectations. I figured he would say either “eat more fiber” (which just about does me in), or “let’s schedule a scope”. To my surprise he had several ideas and approaches. Dare I say I have a bit of optimism about this?
My “new” thing is a probiotic pill + using the online tools to track my symptoms. I also had several blood tests and there are other steps that might hit my NEW 52 later on.
Another big one I have to implement right away is to quit taking Advil. That could be part of my problem. The thing is that I still have daily hand pain (and it is starting with my other hand as well) and lots of swelling in my hands. Advil has been a big part of my life for a few years now. I want to quit taking it. Now I’m just going to do it. That really isn’t my technical NEW 52 thing for this week, but it sort of goes along with the new approach I’m taking.
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How’s that for 3 really different but new things in my life this year? If I wasn’t doing this challenge, I would have probably not documented any of them. I’m so glad I am participating!
What’s new with you?
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