~Shadowscounted

A lot has happened in the past couple weeks...some good, some mixed but nothing really bad has happened (Knock on wood...knock knock)

So the good that has happened is that I got to visit with my little brother and meet his fiance this week. OMG she is great! I loved her to death, and can't wait to see them both again. I have never seen my brother this happy before, and I can tell that he is really happy with her. I am so glad that he has found someone who is so perfect for him. She even got along with my mom! (that is to say my mom loves her...and it's hard for mom to warm up to someone that any of her children are dating so quickly! This of course speaks volumes about her )
As a gift, my brother brought me a computer that he put together, and so i just got everything up and running on it (transferring all my files from the old computer to the new one over the network) and it's MUCH faster than my old POS.

The mixed is that I have very recently been diagnosed with something called Celiac Disease. I have suffered from several things that I believed to be seperate illnesses for years, and there were so many medical problems that some of my family, some of my friends, and even a few doctors that I went to had accused me of being a hypochondriac...for a while I even thought that maybe it was all in my head, but whenever I tried to ignore the problems they only got worse so that obviously wasn't the case...well it turns out that all these medical problems are ALL symptoms of Celiac Disease, and with treatment these symptoms may go away...most will, some might not though.

On [link] it has a pretty decent explanation of what Celiac Disease is... "A lifelong autoimmune intestinal disorder, found in individuals who are genetically susceptible. Damage to the mucosal surface of the small intestine is caused by an immunologically toxic reaction to the ingestion of gluten and interferes with the absorption of nutrients. Celiac Disease (CD) is unique in that a specific food component, gluten, has been identified as the trigger. Gluten is the common name for the offending proteins in specific cereal grains that are harmful to persons with celiac disease. These proteins are found in all forms of wheat (including durum, semolina, spelt, kamut, einkorn, and faro), and related grains: rye, barley, and triticale and must be eliminated."

So I have to go on this elimination diet which includes anything and everything with gluten in it...wheat, rye, barly, most oats and anything made from them like red food coloring, white vinigar, etc...there are SOOO many products with gluten in them that it is really hard to find a good diet that is inexpensive. At least I know what the cause of all my medical problems is now though.
Thankfully I got in contact with a good friend of mine recently who was telling me about her son who has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease otherwise I probably would have gone on not knowing and letting the disease cause damage to my body un-noticed. She is a real life saver, thanks to her I will be able to have a much more healthy life! Thanks Again hon, you mean the world to me!

Anyway, enough for now...I haven't slept yet because my brother and his fiance were on their way home to northern cali and I've waited for them to let me know they got home safe. Now that I know they are doing ok, I can get a couple hours of rest. hope you all have a good day....I've got the day off work today and I think I am just going to tool around on the computer for a few hours then clean the house after my nap.