Still Sailing On

______A fortnight ago, I found out I was sensitive to gluten.

______Yeah, a fortnight.  You bet I waited two weeks to use that word.

______The signs were subtle at first, with little cramps here and there and a slight rising feeling in my bloodstream after eating something with wheat in it, but I always assumed that was the norm and didn't question it.  I'm not one to eat much wheat in the first place, though whenever I did, things never sat right in my stomach; however, I thought that was just how the cookie crumbled and how my stomach rumbled.

______But then on that fateful night two weeks ago, after devouring a marinara-drenched calzone alongside the woman who birthed me and the man who made that birth possible, things went rotten quick.  The next morning, it felt like my intensines were being stabbed by needles that expanded and contracted after poking me, and a murky, weak sensation dizzied my mind and body.

______This wasn't one of those food hangovers that we all get once in a while after stuffing ourselves silly like a Thanksgiving turkey.  This was AMURICA, LAND OF THE FR--wait no, I mean this was the unfortunate result of having a gluten intolerance.

______Not as cool. Or as free.

______'Murica.



______Upon unearthing this tibdit of information, I've been able to purge gluten from my diet for two weeks, and my stomach hasn't hurt once!  I've had a lot more energy, too, and thankfully nothing has really changed with what I'm eating.  The only wheat I ever ate before was a slice of wholegrain toast in the morning with a hearty slathering of cashew butter on it, and that's been ever so easily swapped with a brown rice cake.

______That's not to say I'm thanking my gluten intolerance for not making me too much of a prisoner in its grasp, because I'll surely miss sinking my teeth into the occasional soft-crusted pizza or chewy chocolate chunk cookie.  But it is something I can endure, and definitely one of the least horrible things that could've been messed up with my insides.  I mean, the internet is totally teeming with gluten-free recipe blogs to fill any food gaps I'll be missing, right?



______I sure hope so!  Things could have been much worse--I could have discovered that I was lactose intolerant, for goodness sake.  If I couldn't have the occasional scoop (or two, or five) of ice cream, I'd be desperately lost and miserable for all of eternity.  Stumbling on such a realization, I'd probably scramble to the nearest pit full of searing hot coals, vicious unicorns, and hungry cannibalistic Vikings, and dive right in, praying the pit's contents would shred me to pieces as quickly and painlessly as possible.

______Luscious dairy delights are one of those things I couldn't ever give up.  I love me some ice cream, I love me some yogurt, I love me some mold-ridden cheese, and I love me some goats.

______(The last one doesn't relate, really, but I just wanted to share my adoration of goats.)

______What's one food you could never give up? 



Top: Forever 21 (please excuse how obsessed with the back of it I am)
Skirt: Know Style
Oxford heels: Jeffrey Campbell
Socks: Target
Rose earrings: Charming Charlie