Long time no write!!!!

It's been a long time since I last wrote. I can't believe I let that much time go by!!!!

A lot has happened since June '08. At the end of July I left Japan. I had a great time there, and still feel nostalgic about it from time to time, but I was ready to come home. The first thing I did after arriving home was get my kittens!!!!! Monique (or MoMo) and Loki are absolutely wonderful!!!!!! They are the cutest and funniest cats in the world. I couldn't have ended up with two more wonderful pets. They love to play with Millie (the black lab) as well. They have fun trying to catch her tail, and Mo has been known to snuggle up with her from time to time.

I moved home with the hope of moving into an apartment right away. That, unfortunately, didn't work out as planned. Due to the current state of the economy, I was a bit out of luck in the job department. After a few months of looking for a job at Walmart without having much luck, I applied to teach gymnastics at "The Little Gym". I am currently the Gym Director, and I enjoy my job quite a bit.

I did finally find out what had been making me sick for so long. It turns out I have Celiac Disease. It's an autoimmune disorder that damages your intestines when you eat gluten (wheat, rye, or barley). I've had to drastically change my diet and that has definately taken some getting used to. No more pizza, subs, pasta, beer...you get the idea. But unfortunately there's also the issue of cross-contamination, like french fries and onion rings being fried in the same frier, so it's made eating out less of an option. The real burden isn't in the foods I can no longer eat, but with the loss of convenience. Most of the food I eat has to be cooked from scratch. It isn't easy, but I'm getting better at it.

Other than loving my kitties, teaching gymnastics, and learning to live a gluten free lifestyle, there isn't much else to talk about. I've gotten so much help from the gluten free blogs online, that I'd love to post a little on that in the future, but we'll see if I can find the time ^..^