Today, August 9th, is my two year anniversary for writing this blog. I can’t believe it’s only been two years. Sometimes it feels like I’ve been doing this for many more years. I have shared so many stories and recipes over these two years.
From one of my first posts-bad birthday cake
I started writing this blog so I could keep track of the resources I found on living gluten free and then dairy free too. I also got tired of my family and friends saying that my meal was great, could I make it again. Well I never wrote down my recipes, I just cooked. I’m very lucky to have grown up with a mom who was a great cook who let me help in the kitchen. I learned at an early age that you could make a lot of people really happy with food. It was a common language, a reason to stop all of the hard work and sit to rest and enjoy the food and the company. So now I write down my recipes and share them here, good ones and bad ones like Brad’s first gluten free birthday cake I made.
This past year I have accomplished many of the goals I set out for myself including starting a newsletter (one coming soon I promise), an event that would involve the food community at large- 30 Days to a Food Revolution, connecting with Jamie Oliver in some way- the 30 day event and he’s following me on Twitter, getting to know more food bloggers- too many to list and hope to see you at the IFBC conference, having more conversations with readers on my blog- thank you for the comments, getting people thinking about where their food comes from- a box or single ingredients, and my first e-cookbook. Also on my list was to meet Karina- Gluten Free Goddess . I thought that might happen this summer while I was in Santa Monica but it didn’t. However the year is not over and who knows. Two other goals are to return to the BlogHer Food in San Francisco in October and attend the IFBC this month in Seattle. Well I have my tickets for each so I think those two will happen.
As I start my third year of blogging my goals are now shifting again. Now I want to move more towards my health and the health of others through the food we eat, the activities we do and don’t do, and the gaining of knowledge on how all of that works. I’ve been so impressed with Wendy of Celiacs in the House and her quest to lose weight while sharing it on her blog. She’s really working to make changes to her life and sharing what she learns.
I am starting on a similar path. Over the past year my life has had way too many sources of stress including lots of family medical problems, the issues one runs into while running their own business like suddenly taking on 3 other jobs than the one I already had, and the day to day logistics most of us face trying to do too much in a 24 hour period. It has really taken a toll on me. The photo you see of me on my blog is not what I currently look like, but hope to again. I’m over worked, over stressed, over weight, and way low on the doing the right things for my body scale. I do eat real food, but way too much and not just the food that is good for me. There is a lot of real food available that is full of sugar, fat and calories and I’ve been using that as my relaxation from the stress.
So now that I’ve outed myself I begin a new journey of reclaiming me and my life. This would be a whole lot easier if all of the problems just went away and I could focus on just me. But that is not my life and I’m sure not many of you can do that unless you are one of those famous people that has a staff to handle the details of every day living.
Diane & Scott on Pier 39- San Francisco
The first thing I did was take a 2 week vacation. Something I was lucky enough to pull off. Part of it was work the first week but in California which made finishing up a meeting and heading to the beach or pool worth it. The second part was with my family. We explored as much of the San Francisco area, on foot, as possible. We literally walked from breakfast to bed. We had a great time, relaxed, had someone else cook for me and tried some new foods. It was a great way to break away from the treadmill life set on 10 that I had found myself on. The continuous cycle of work, eat too much, sit at a desk for way too many hours and get up and do it again was killing me in more ways than one.
Now that I’ve been home for a week I’ve started to implement some new ways of doing things and gathering support. I call it Team Diane- gathering support, knowledge, peace and love. Someone I’m excited to have on my team is Melissa McLean Jory who writes the blog Gluten Free For Good. I’m retaining her services as a holistic nutritionist who walks her talk. In fact she just won the Outdoor Diva photo contest with a photo of her wearing skis standing on her head in the snow. She’s amazing. I first met Melissa via email and blogs when I first started mine. I wanted to share low cost gluten free gifts to give and she shared her recipe for Mile High Gluten Free Granola. I’m looking forward to learning so much. I’m very excited.
I’ve also started tracking everything I eat, my workouts and daily weight on Spark People. It’s always good to know exactly what you ate in a given day. This is especially true if you are working to figure out what foods might be giving you trouble. The workouts have to happen in order for me to log them in and my weight is just a number I use as feedback if I’m on the right track.
Also on my team is a good friend JoAnne. She’s my accountability and walking partner. She may even come back to Jazzercise with me when I get back to that point. Each day we check in with each other to make sure we’re on track.
Scott, my husband, is also on my team. He’s key. His support in what I do and what I cook for meals is so important. Without him this would be so much harder. I could do it, but there would certainly be more obstacles.
Liz, my really cool Physiotherapist, is working to get my Frozen Shoulder healed so I can be more active. After having done physical therapy on my other shoulder last year and physiotherapy this year, I’ll never go back. Physiotherapy works so much better with a persons body.
I hope to be adding a yoga teacher to my team soon. Yoga is so good for our bodies on so many levels. There are even poses that can be done to help different areas and systems of the body function better. How cool is that! Can’t wait to learn more.
I’m not sure who else will end up on my team but I’m looking forward to this journey.
Before I started last week, I did sit and contemplate what I wanted to be different and the steps it would take. They will need to be gradual and fit into the life I have while taking steps to change the parts of my life that create more barriers than assistance. If I try to do things that are too much or too fast right away I’m setting myself up for failure. So it will be little steps but they will be steps in the right direction.
So enough about me, what about you. Where are you on your journey? Are you moving along where you want to be? If so I would love to hear some of the cool things you do. What if this was your anniversary and you were looking back over the past year and looking ahead to the next one? What would you see?
Are you stalled, off track or headed in the wrong direction? Would you like to join me and we can support each other on our journeys? Feel free to share your stories with me and with this community. As part of my new journey, I will say that I am not spending as much time online as I used to, so if you email me I will be sure to read your notes (thank you for those) but I will not be emailing back. I wish I could but for right now I will be utilizing my Facebook page for The W.H.O.L.E. Gang for ongoing conversations.
I do hope you will share your ideas for healthy living and even your challenges. This is a great community and there may be someone with the same challenge or someone who needs to hear how you’ve found a way to meet that challenge. We can be a part of each others Team!
Thank you all so much for taking the time to check out my blog, try the recipes, and share with us your recipes, ideas and stories. I do love the food community and especially the gluten free one.
Happy blogaversiary! You're such an insparation!
Thank you Theresa, that means a lot.
Happy blog anniversary – and kudos to you for having the courage to share your struggles with all of us.
Eating more raw food has helped me a lot with getting in touch with what my body actually wants. It's not so great for blogging about food – since it's a lot less cooking. But, it has been good for not kicking off my cravings for salty, sweet, salty, sweet, ad nauseum. 🙂
Deanna- I’ve been adding in more and more raw foods which will probably show up on my blog at some point. Congrats on getting rid of those cravings. That is half of the battle right there. Keep up the good work.
Diane-I am so happy to hear I've inspired you to take better care of yourself! You give so much to the GF community and share so much of yourself. You've got my support and it sounds like you've assembled a great team to help you . I just ate my way through Cincinnati to celebrate my 50th and our 27th anniversary, but I'm back on my plan this morning. (Well, after I finish this latte while I wait for my car to get a tune-up.) You Go! Let's plan on a good brisk walk in Seattle.
Wendy
Wendy- Love the idea of a brisk walk in a new city to explore. You're on! I wonder who else we can get to join us. Congratulations on the birthday and anniversary. Taking time to celebrate is wonderful. Indulging once in a while is also good in my book, especially when it's once in a while not once a meal. 🙂
Congratulations on such a successful endeavor! I also enjoyed reading about Team Diane. What a great way to stay accountable and also supported!
You’re very inspiring 🙂
~Aubree Cherie
Aubree- Thank you! Yeah, now that I've just told the whole world, I better stick to it. Thank you for your note.
Happy bloggy birthday!! How exciting!!! It has to feel great to know you've accomplished so much. Wishing you many more years of success!
Amy- Thank you. It does seem like a lot when I write it all down, but not so much as it's happening. Good lesson for other journeys in life.
congratulations and thank you!
Kelly- Thank you for your note!
Wow! You are amazing. I'm inspired by your goal setting (and achieving). I was so inspired by your 30 days! That was amazing. I'm approaching my first anniversary and I'm definitely going to set some goals for myself. Thanks so much for sharing this.
Maggie- Thank you for the note. Have you set some goals yet?
Lovely post Diane, and happy blogiversary! I try to always be positive on my blog, but there are definitely times when there's a lot going on and stress gets the best of me. I find it so helpful when I realize that other bloggers are going through the same things…of course, this is life, and common sense would tell me that nobody's life is perfect all the time, but it's still nice to hear that we're all in it together and doing the best we can. I'll be supporting you from afar in your goals. My personal goal right now is to work on being healthy for me, not because I worry about being judged by others.
Iris, Thank you. I like how you think about your goal.
Diane, you are so inspiring! Congratulations on your Blogiversary, and here is to knowing that this upcoming year is going to be filled with growth and healing, on so many levels!
I am so anxious to meet you, and everyone else, at IFBC! I know that we will all take away so much from that weekend!
You should feel so proud of what you have done over the last couple of years and look forward to all that will come in the next ones!
Kim- Thank you. I can't wait to meet you and all the great bloggers going to IFBC. We're going to have a blast.
Diane,
First off, this is such a positive step in the right direction! You've offered your readers so much in your honest account of the trials and tribulations of life. It's an up and down journey and the more we share our path in a positive light, the better off we all are. Plus, sharing your struggles with finding greater health will help others. It's all good! Not easy, by any means, but an important and ongoing quest. The more knowledge we gain, the more insight we have into how our bodies work and what we need to do to thrive.
Second, happy blog anniversary! Way to go and thank you for all the good times at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.
Third, thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it. We're all in this together, so lets join hands and go for it!
Peace, love and green veggies!
Melissa
xo
Melissa- Thank you for everything!
Congratulations on this big milestone, my friend! I love how you always accomplish your goals. You are quite the inspiration to so many of us! 🙂
The latest photo of you and Scott is great; thanks for sharing it.
I agree that you've established an awesome team and I know you'll meet your goals in this regard, too. And, we'll be grateful to tag along and accomplish some of our own health goals with you! 😉
Hugsss,
Shirley
Shirley- Thank you so much. Can't wait til we fly out to Seattle. Bring your walking shoes!
Congratulations! and thank you! Thanks for sharing your story. I've enjoyed reading Wendy's journey, too. I love reading how people are changing to live healthier lives. It keeps me thinking about it, and wanting to do it, too. Sometimes our busy lives push the healthy living to the background, but I'm happier when it's up front and center. For me it's a balancing act that seems to change every year as my kids get older and have different needs.
Heather- Thank you so much. You are so right about the changes as the kids change ages. Each year it's something new to adjust to and recalibrate what we're doing. Keep up the great work!
Diane, congrats on your anniversary. You've accomplished so much! I think it's great that you're now taking the time and effort into your own health. Good for you! I am working on that same goal, and realizing that unlike before, when my reasoning was to "look good" or something like that, and I would simply eat less to accomplish this, I am now enjoying how I feel – stronger, more energetic, younger. These are the REAL measures!
Alta- So glad to hear you're feeling stronger, more energetic and younger. I could go for all three of those! I'll be working to follow in your footsteps. Thank you for the note!