Gluten free in Moscow

So since I am still eating gluten free, I brought an entire suitcase full of gluten free food with me to Moscow (small suitcase) and figured I would supplement with produce and dairy here. I brought several Pamela's Products mixes with me and tried one of them the other day

I borrowed some muffin pans from one of my coworkers, Carla, who stays here for months at a time and therefore has lots of domestic goodies...like muffin pans. I then borrowed my fellow group-mate's, Erin, who is here supporting the mission as well, room key, because my room does not have an oven (this required her to knock on my door at 445am before heading to her shift to hand me her key).

After looking up what 350F is in Celsius (~176C in case you were wondering), I put the chocolate-ly goodness in the oven:

27 minutes later...(not the 16-22min later on the bag)...out popped these:

I sprinkled them with some sugar and voila! Gluten free chocolate cupcakes the easy way (i.e. out of a mix):

They were pretty tasty and my coworkers seemed to enjoy them (they disappeared pretty quickly). Another score for Pamela's Products!

Farmers Market

I have been such a slacker since I got to Moscow. I've actually adjusted pretty decently to the time change...however, that's probably because I am sleeping about 11 hours each night! This leaves little time for me to get out and about before my shift starts at 1pm. However, the other day, I managed to drag myself out of bed at the early hour of ::ahem:: 9 am and meet up with one of my coworkers to go to the local farmers market. I wish the farmers markets in Houston looked like this - I would do most of my grocery shopping here...I didn't take any pictures because my hands were full of bags, but here are the fruits (and veggies) of my shopping trip. Yum.

Boise!Boise!Boise!

That would be where my sis and her family lives...which includes the two cutest and bestest nephews EVER. I saw them at Christmas, but hey, it's been a few months...time for some auntie time!

Laughing at something...


It's a Carter!


Look at me Sissa! I'm going UP the slide!


Yeah, I am ridiculously cute and I can't say "Sissa" quite yet...it comes out either "Sis" or "Sissy" :)


John Michael's preschool class just finished studying space. Here he is with his teacher introducing "Sissa" :) to his classmates. I had a ball answering their questions and listening to their stories (For instance, one little girl asked "Can you have pets in space?", so I spent a few minutes talking about the animals/insects we have had in space. This was followed by at least 5 different hands being raised in the air...each to tell me about THEIR pet that they have at home :)


I was one of their "stations" in class that day. Here the kiddos are looking at space pictures.


Sorry for the rice cake smiles, but these guys needed a snack before taking me to the airport. Love these guys!

There is something on my wall...

A picture!!!! of a Convair B-36 Peacemaker.

Yes, I have finally hung something on the wall of my living room.

There's a saga to it...of course there is, it's me who's typing this right?

It started when I took a picture at the Pima Air and Space Museum over a year ago. I decided I wanted to put it on canvas and put it over my couch. After editing the photo, I sent it to a canvas place. They emailed me back and said that the resolution wasn't high enough for the size I had requested, so I had them send it out anyways...yeah it was too small and got swallowed up by the wall. Yay for 100% money back guarantee and no shipping costs for returns!

I was bummed about the resolution, I must have had my camera settings on something different. So this past Christmas, I meant to go back out to PASM and take another picture with the right settings. I never got around to it.

See, saga right? A few weeks ago, I pulled up the photo file and was thinking "this resolution really should be sufficient...I am getting a second opinion". So I sent it off to Canvas Pop...and they had no issues with the custom size I wanted! And a couple of weeks later...voila! Wall art! :)
I am thrilled with how it looks, the resolution is great - the only slight graininess is what I put there via editing. Highly recommend this company.

Yes, I know that ceiling fan is hideous. It's being replaced hopefully soon. Apparently, I am very particular ( read: picky) about ceiling fans.

CA Adventures - Part 2

Angie dropped me off at my cousin, Shannon's, place in Hollywood. I haven't seen her in four years!!! She was at work, so I hung out with her boyfriend, Miles, during the afternoon. We had fun "shopping"...going to this store called Opening Ceremony (literally clothing worn for movie openings) and making fun of the outrageous clothing. I was ::this:: close to buying this crazy construction cone orange wool coat that was worn for the movie TRON....really... ;-).

Both Miles and Shannon work in the entertainment business...it was fascinating hearing about their jobs (record label company, reality TV shows, etc)...so very different from the world I live in. They have a super cute apartment right off of Melrose Place and they were kind to let me crash on their couch for a night. We went out for dinner and got an odd look from the waitress as I was asking questions about what was gluten free, Shannon was asking questions about what was vegetarian, and Miles was all about the meat :). Good times. Of course, I completely forgot to take any pictures.

On Sunday morning, they drove me to Irvine to meet up with a couple, Nate and Anne, who used to attend my church. They currently go to one of our sister churches, so it was a lot of fun worshiping with "family". Afterward, we hit up Trader Joes to take some food over to one of the church member's homes for lunch. Nate is a fellow gluten-freer- and Anne has been a huge help to me, recommending foods and recipes via email, so it was great having them point out new foods that I could eat.

I couldn't go to CA without seeing the Pacific at least once, so we drove down to Huntington Beach. I actually saw Catalina Island from the shore- it's never been clear enough for me to see it, so that was a treat.

Even more of a treat (since my world centers around food I can eat these days :) )- going over to Nate's parents house and his aunt having made a smorgasbord of gluten free treats. Including cake pops. I ate...A LOT.

Nate and Anne have a cozy little apartment (a "back-house" to a main house) and they are doing a great job of making it into a home (they have only been there a few months). Anne has done some pretty brilliant stuff with an old trunk she found. Again, another great couple who allowed me to crash at their place and enjoy their hospitality.

Nate and Anne

All in all, a great, wonderful, laid back trip.

CA Adventures - part 1

After meeting lil Brady, I headed west...far west, like...7 hour flight west...to sunny...and by sunny, I mean cold-rainy-freezing, California.

Again, for some reason I booked a flight that had a stop in Denver...in February...but thankfully good weather prevailed and there were no delays.

I landed at LAX and my friend Angie (remember her, she and her husband housed me during all my hurricane evacuations thus far) picked me up and we noshed on some amazing healthy CA fare:

It looked prettier before I started eating it, but it's a kale and red cabbage salad with blackened tempeh. Tempeh is the amazingly delicious result of culturing and control-fermenting soybeans until it makes a solid "cake". This is thin cut into strips and cooked. Pretty much tasted like a soybean cake. Super yummy.

We grabbed a hotel in Anaheim (since Angie and Andrew live pretty far from our intended destination the next day and Angie's mom had a free hotel stay that she kindly gave to us) and woke up early to go to...

Disneyland!!!!

I love love LOVE this place. And it's becoming sort of a tradition with Angie and I (this was our third time going together). I was a bit nervous about how the back would hold up with all the walking and rides, but it did phenomenally well! Thank you God! We alternated motion-y rides (like Indiana Jones) with non-motion-y rides (Pirates of the Caribbean). Angie and Andrew birthday-surprised me by having already purchased my ticket! And it included a park hopper pass to California Adventures! I had never been there before and there were two things I was told I "must see": Soarin' California and the musical of Aladdin (my ALL TIME favorite Disney cartoon). Both were awesome (the musical was really impressive- about 45 minutes long, hilarious, and awesome special effects).

The library from Beauty and the Beast in California Adventures. You can determine which Disney character you are most like. Apparently, Angie is like Mulan and I am like Jane (from Tarzan). Interesting.

Warming our hands at the Disney fireplace :)

It was downright chilly the entire time we were there, interspersed with rain, which always abated...mostly. We didn't have umbrellas...so when the rain decided to downpour at 9pm...we called it quits...but still managed to get in a solid 13 hours of the Happiest Place on Earth :)

Posing like Buzz and Woody (except the camera was zoomed in too much and you really can see what THEY were posing like, but believe, me, we look JUST like them)

(I did avoid Space Mountain and the roller coaster in California Adventures, but the back did great on the Thunder Mountain coaster- love that ride).

Mad as a Hatter :)

Disneyland has a 4 page, front and back printed, gluten free menu. It was awesome! I could eat so much stuff there and everyone was really helpful (although Angie started calling me high-matinenance every time a manager stepped out to speak with me before preparing my food). But seriously, I had a grilled chicken sandwich and a BUN (gf of course!) for lunch and an awesome veggie enchiladas for dinner. And ice cream. But not for breakfast, because apparently Disneyland doesn't believe in selling ice cream at breakfast time. Odd, no? Oh well :)

PA Adventures

Last week I traveled to PA to visit my friends Jana and Scott. Their first kiddo, Brady, arrived in December and this was my first time meeting him.

For some reason, I booked a flight with a layover in Chicago...in February. Not sure what I was thinking, but even though it was snowing in Chicago, I had no issues with my flights, thank you Lord!

It was a lazy two days of hanging out and enjoying their new addition :)

I'm a big fan of his shirt :)


The little cutie-pie talking to his mama after a feeding

Gluten free - week 2...and Dallas

Figured I would roll two posts into one, since I kinda forgot to take pictures (well, I took two...of food :)) of my trip this past 3-day weekend to Dallas (really, Granbury) to visit my friends, the Frazier family. It's so awesome to not have to fly for 22 hours to visit them :) (Houston to Dallas = 44 minutes). Anyhow, it was a great time of catching up (pretty sure Colette and I talked the entire time :)) . Good times. We baked gf dark chocolate chunk cookies, compliments of Pamela's Products mixes (substituted applesauce for the butter). They were a bit chewier than your normal chocolate chip cookies, but I liked them, and so did Colette (Brian tried one I think, not sure what he thought though...). And only 6g of sugar per cookie!

Week 2 of gluten free went well. I tried out three different restaurants (Thai Cottage, BJs, and Jason's Deli). BJs was my favorite, with some pretty phenomenal gf pizza (I topped mine with artichoke hearts and mushrooms). But the others were tasty too (veggies soft spring rolls (TC) and a sandwich with gf bread (JD)).

My biggest realization of gf this week is that calorie counting is a bit different and that gf foods have a higher fat content than I am used to eating. Now, I pay attention to how many calories I eat because I am a triathlete...that is, when I am not on the injured train ;-)...I have to make sure I eat enough to replenish what I burn off during training workouts. The habit has stuck, which I figure isn't really a bad thing...as long as counting doesn't consume me, so I'm not very exact in my counting, just giving myself a rough idea. Anyhow, I discovered the higher than expected calorie numbers when toasting some prairie bread I bought at Whole Foods. Each slice was 160 calories!!! Now, this is because most gf stuff is made with some type of nut flour- which means higher calories and fats...but it's the good fat, so that does make it better...still, that makes for a hefty sandwich if you're just looking for a light snack! It's a bit of an adjustment for me, seeing numbers like those on what I am eating. For instance, I was estatic to score some Thai-brand microwave meals for $1.80 apiece at Kroger. Sweet! Until I got home and actually read the nutrition label- 520 cal and 66% of my daily sodium! Yikes! All for some peanut thai noodles, with no veggies or really not much nutrition in general. Bad Melissa. I will say, that Amy's meals are awesome and definitely worth the extra cost- all organic ingredients and very well balanced nutritionally....definitely more "clean eating".

So, I've decided to avoid pre-made meals as much as possible (I only allow myself to buy two Amy's meals per week, just for those "I'm-so-tired-it's-a-challenge-to-even-push-Start-on-the-microwave" days). Hence why I have some spinach and mushroom gf risotto and sauteed asparagus and zuchinni on the stove right now... looking forward to lunch tomorrow :)

Airport snack- almond crackers and gf pretzel sticks

Tucson times

I forgot (read: was unable to locate) my camera cord before heading to AZ, so you'll have to deal with the pictures I have taken on my phone...which actually aren't too bad...yay EVO! I am having so much fun with my nephews and getting to hang out a lot with my family. I would have more pictures of Carter, but I am usually holding him. Apparently, he's quite taken with Aunt Sissa...no complaints here :) Good times!

Uncle Bobby caught in the act of beating up on John Michael


Carter chowing down and flirting at the same time. Kid has talent :)

Blowing out his number 4 candle


Apparently sitting on a just-got-woken-up-by-my-adorable-nephews-Sissa is a lot of fun


Monica and I left John Michael and Nana to make cookies and this is what we returned to...


Wearing Sissa's hat


On the "milk truck" at Shamrock Farms

Tima's Baby Shower

So you remember that Tima and Mark came to visit me in September? Well, I was super excited to get to see them again just about a month later in Arizona for their baby shower!...little Miller due to arrive in the middle of December. And, I managed to convince my brother to pick me up from the shower and jet to Chandler to meet our parents (who had just arrived back from Idaho and were driving down to Tucson) for a quick dinner. That's a lot of birds to hit with one stone :)

I had to post a picture of this cake...they had it made to match the invitations I did, how cute is that!?


The glowing Mommy-to-be! Can't wait to meet my honorary nephew!

Minication

Due to the house buying and all, I curtailed my traveling for the summer and just went on a short jaunt to visit Jana and Scott in Pennsylvania and to visit my sis in Idaho (followed by a week and a half 'staycation'- so excited to get some stuff DONE around here :) )

I finally got to see Jana and Scott's new home (er..kinda new, they've been there for a year and a half now). This is the view from their front porch...they are surrounded by Amish farms. I love Lancaster!


I thought I had lost my sunglasses, so we went shopping and bought aviators. Aren't we stylin'?(turns out I had just left my other ones at her brother-in-laws).

It was a great time of catching up, coffee drinking, Bible studying, BBQing, visiting with her family, watching movies. I love this couple and I am SO excited to meet Baby Smith...due December 24th :) :)!!!!

Next, it was onto Boise to see my sis and her family. My brother decided to also fly up, so it was a partial family reunion :)

Seriously, how cute are these boys?


Carter meeting Uncle Bobby for the first time


Monica being a mommy and comforting a pouting John Michael


Carter and daddy playing


John Michael


Carter

Launch!!!

So I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Florida this past weekend to witness the launch of Discovery!!! I was planning on traveling out there anyways with my friend, Lynn, but then I was awarded a Space Flight Awareness award, which included a trip to see the launch...I love how God takes our plans and makes them bigger and better!

It was an awesome time: awards ceremony on Friday, tours of Kennedy Space Center on Saturday (my first time being there), we had Easter Sunday off (church and Cocoa beach time!), then up at 2am to board the buses to take us out to watch the launch from a distance of 3 miles. Amazing, amazing, experience. I don't know if the right adjectives exist to describe what I was feeling- an overall speechlessness at being able to sit so close and watch something that I have LOVED since I was little launch astronauts into space. Such a privilege to witness it. Beautiful, exciting, emotional (yep, totally teared up :)), and over much too quickly! Here are a few pictures I took, and a video of the launch (well, up through max Q :) ). Enjoy!

This one is for the parents :) Me and my award

In the Saturn 5 facility at KSC, about to start the tour


The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)- this is where the Saturn 5 was stacked and where the Shuttle is now attached to the External Tank (ET) and Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs)


Holy Space Shuttle Batman!!! You can't see the actual Shuttle because it's behind a protective shroud. They remove that the day before launch (we were there two days before launch). Still, wickedly cool.


The Shuttle lit up on the pad- viewed from the causeway at Banana River, 13 miles away...this is the best my camera could do :)


Eek!!!! Almost time!

LAUNCH!!!!!

Blurry, yes. But, proof we were there!!!

Discovery's trail and the sunrise= wow. Empty pad in the lower right hand corner.