a year end review

Everyone is saying they can't believe 2013 is over.  I'm here to say I can believe it. This has been a long year with tons of changes and busyness and while I don't think 2014 will slow down, I am looking forward to it!

Since I failed miserably at blogging this entire year, I thought a recap was fitting! And in my rage towards social media making everyone's lives look like square-sized pieces of perfection, I'm including highs AND lows from the past twelve months. You're welcome. Here it goes...

January high: Discovering gold foiling// settling into our apartment and getting to enjoy crafting, decorating, DIYs, and cooking in MY OWN HOME for the first time in 15ish months!

 

January low: Missing Lucy's newborn days. Tears were shed over family separation this month

February high: Karl's Valentine's Day card// Trip to Sedona with Karl & the unexpected beautiful snow we got to enjoy there!// Beginning BSF for the first time- life changer!

 

February low: Karl worked nights this month. I never write about this for safety reasons but now that this chapter is good and gone and shut I will say him being on nights was THE WORST! And he was probably on nights for the first 8 months of our marriage and then again when we lived in Phoenix. Scary, lonely, boring.

March high: Our first visitors in Phoenix- The Bailey Family! Oliver also walked for the first time while they were here!

March low: The Bailey Family leaving// missing oliver's first birthday party

April high: The Bowen's visit and getting to keep Lucy by myself for 3 whole days!

April low: The Bowen's leaving and realizing that I still had several long months ahead before the big move and missing these people.

May high: My parent's visit to Phoenix.. there is NOTHING like knowing your mom & dad are sleeping under the same roof as you.

May low: Being diagnosed with 10 food allergies- life changer.

June high: Girls trip to Kansas City for sweet Emily's wedding!

Source

Source

June low: Karl's work schedule stunk// reaching my boiling point with the LOUDEST upstairs neighbors ever. Like ever ever.

July high: Celebrating July 4th in Colorado with Karl, my parents, & Gammy!// seeing rain for the first time in 9 months// getting to meet a new friend (read: our only friends) in Phoenix at Karl's work softball games. So fun getting to watch him play!

 

July low: Celebrating my birthday without my whole family. Real life: I was a big baby and managed to make the day super lame. There is no picture that can adequately convey the lameness.

August high: Finn's birth and Karl getting to be here for it// Celebrating our 3rd anniversary

 

August low: Leaving this new baby in Texas for our last month in Phoenix.

September high: Belated Anniversary trip to San Diego with Karl// Moving home and getting to start being a part of so many fun family things!

 

September low: Our departure from the Air Force was definitely bittersweet. I had some major sad moments about the Air Force perks we were leaving and thinking about all we had been through because of the Air Force.

October high:Visiting Emma in Fayetteville// Watching sweet Susanna get married and being reunited with best friends// Getting a 2nd opinion on my food allergies and having my list of 10 foods to avoid whittled down to 3!

October low: The government shutdown and the major inconveniences and stress it caused as we were trying to transition out of the military. Thanks for nothing, Obama.

November high: Both Karl & I started working here in Arlington- me at a job I reluctantly left in 2012 when we moved and Karl at a job he was so excited to start and has since grown a love for!// Also Karl got to start growing out his beard (which we both love, however, someone likes it longer than someone else thinks is socially acceptable...)// My dad went and picked up our new family member- Stanley the goldendoodle!// I hosted a party for Karl to celebrate his military service! It was such a joy to be surrounded by friends and family and get to all love on Karl and celebrate him!// We got to be home for Thanksgiving!

November low: Karl cutting his finger BIG time on hedge clippers the day of his party// Losing our military insurance. Real life insurance stinks and our bank accounts are sad about the loss of free healthcare.

December high: Praying through the advent of Christ// Celebrating Christmas with a deeper understanding of His coming// Getting to celebrate Lucy Mae's 1st birthday// getting my first manicure and pedicure in like, 6 months.

December low: My favorite local lunch spot in Arlington closing its doors- Boo Boo's- I'm going to miss you.

I feel SO glad that my lows aren't really very low at all. I'm thankful for a year that really hasn't had many trials, that has been full of health and wellness and life!

Some of my goals for 2014:
-I am excited to keep learning and growing in Christ! I love BSF and praise God for the hunger and thirst He sustains in me for Him!
-I am excited to grow in my work and job at The Arlington Pregn@ncy Center with new job opportunities!
-I hope for Karl & I to be homeowners this year and we look forward to a BIG fat renovation in our near future :) Although if this doesn't happen until 2015, I totally trust God's timing and am willing to be patient.
-I want to be intentional about making new friends and maintaining the wonderful friendships I already have
-I want to be intentional about making things happen that are important to me! This year I want to learn modern calligraphy and try out watercoloring!
-I want us to plant our feet in a church home and develop community for the first time since we have been married.
-I'm looking forward to watching Karl succeed in school and do things he enjoys like sports and woodworking and grilling- all things that have been hard to do the past few years and in an apartment!

A trip or vacation would be an excellent addition to our year but mostly we are full speed ahead on saving for a house, spending time with family, and trying to prioritize in life what matters most!

I have been loving this passage lately from Matthew-
"Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and in me, your souls will find rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
So this is what I'm praying is at the forefront of my mind this coming year- just coming to Jesus and allowing Him to shoulder my burdens and worries!


Happy New Year!
Hannah K.C. Burton

on current food satisfaction

So I'm finding foods that I'm really enjoying that are in line with my food allergies!  And in the interest of being positive about the 9 million things I can't eat, and in the off-chance someone stumbles on this blog that also has food allergies or chooses not to eat dairy, chicken, lamb, pork, turkey, peanuts, almonds, potatoes, or onions, here are a few things I'm loving these days...

This recipe that made AWESOME blueberry muffins that didn't taste the slightest bit vegan!  I've found that searching for Vegan recipes is the most useful... I'm certainly not vegan, but those recipes tend to follow most of my allergy guidelines.  Paleo recipes, on the other hand, have way too much meat and eggs for me to try and modify to suit me. So these muffins... seriously delicious.  I chose to use unsweetened applesauce instead of a banana and coconut oil instead of vegetable oil as well as soy milk instead of almond. They turned out great!  I mean, they did have an average amount of sugar in them.  I didn't say they were healthy.

I'm totally addicted to these microwavable bowls from Sprouts.  They have a decent amount of protein and hardly any sugar.  Literally the best microwavable food I've ever had and I am so picky about that stuff!  

Protein is what I struggle to get.  I have been eating the most unusual amount of beans and lentils lately.  Like, daily.  In my pantry at all times are: black beans, pinto beans, black eyed peas, lentils, baked beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, & refried beans.  And I eat at least one of those everyday.  And yes, I hear a sufficient amount of bean jokes from Karl. I eat fish and red meat probably 2-3 times a week and no meat at all anywhere from 1 day a week to 4... depending on how much I hate fish and beef that week.

Breakfast has been a big adjustment because I have to have, wait for it, PROTEIN in the mornings.  Nixing eggs, bacon, & sausage has been rough. So last week I bought meatless bacon.  Gross, right??  It's actually not that disgusting.  It certainly doesn't taste like bacon but I'm not exactly sure what it tastes like?  Regardless, it's fuel and the protein I need to keep me from feeling like I'm going to pass out in between meals.  Also helping? Sunflower butter.  Since peanut butter and the good protein it packs is off the table, I bought some sunflower butter and it's pretty tasty!  I actually think I like the more mild taste than peanut butter.  

I've found a few great quinoa recipes that I have been able to eat-on all week once I've made them during the weekend (like this one) and I bought basically everything at Sprouts that was Hannah allergy approved so I didn't feel empty-pantry-defeated.  Hopefully I don't die of heart disease because of red meat overdose and also I don't gain a million pounds because of all the carboloading that's happening at this house.  I literally have every type of rice and pasta known to man in the pantry right now.

On the menu for this week: lime marinated mahi mahi, my favorite salmon ever, tikka masala, vegan lasagna, and avocado chickpea salad

I'm hoping by posting recipes and sharing more online, I'm slightly more accountable for making good food choices?  I don't know... maybe not.  We'll see.  

Happy cooking and congrats on making it thru the most dry post in the history of DL!

Hannah K.C. Burton

our pictureless lately

We have had such a fun past couple of months!  I went from the most bored housewife in the history of housewifery {that's a word, y'all} to actually having things to do and people to do them with.  Karl and I met the most wonderful couple here thru Karl's work/squadron softball team and we have been seeing a lot of them lately!  I'm praising God for friendship and fellowship!  In other news, we also just got back from an awesome long weekend in Colorado with my parents and Gammy which deserves a whole big long post full of pictures as does my girls weekend in Kansas City and 48 hours at home... all of which happened right before Colorado!

In food allergy news... I have totally given up trying to eliminate all my trigger foods from my diet... until I had a come to Jesus doctors appointment yesterday.  My gastroenterologist told me that my esophagus is as fragile as crepe paper.  Awesome.  This is a problem because if I continue to eat what I want, my esophagus will only get worse and will only get smaller and more tight which will lead to a need to have it dilated which is a major problem for fragile tissue.  So I came home and made an appointment with a registered dietician.  And spent lots of money at Sprouts on things like meatless bacon and sunflower butter.  Woof.  Karl is helping me research food allergies, testing, and EE and figure out how we can really change our diets and lifestyles to accommodate this, which is so helpful and makes me feel a lot less overwhelmed than I have been.  However, I can't continue to cheat and blow this off.  So, here goes my second attempt, and if this is anything like trying to stop cracking my knuckles or stop smoking {which I hear is hard} than this will likely not be my last attempt.

In future news... Karl is on the job hunt in Arlington and we look at real estate literally everyday.  We.are.so.excited.  We spend a lot of time dreaming about weekend trips to Oklahoma, Karl hunting, time in Little Rock and Fayetteville with best friends, babysitting nephews & niece & cousins, helping my parents with DIY projects, road trips that are more than 6 hours away {Air Force restriction}, Karl finishing school... the list goes on.  We know it won't all be rainbows and butterflies and there are a few really awesome perks that we'll miss about the Air Force but we cannot wait for a new adventure {have I said this before??}  We will both be going home in 4 short weeks for Baby Finn's birth and for Karl to have some interviews- it is so crazy to me that we are already planning the logistics of our move and the next year!!  I'm going to attempt to post more frequently, I really want to document this time in our lives well so I don't forget the little details!  

Sincerely,

Meatless Hannah K.C. Burton

Health Probz pt 2

So I'm back with an update to all my mysterious stomach probz.  I had an upper scope... also known as a esophagogastroduodenoscopy.  Say that three times fast.  The result was a diagnosis of Eosinophilic Esophagitis, or EE.  The gist of it is that I have allergies to foods which trigger acid reflux which causes scarring on my esophagus which in turn makes my esophagus small and causes food to get stuck.  Allergies=eosinophilia cells.  Those shouldn't be in your throat.  Having those in your throat=more of the tiny throat rings.  So really these bad foods are creating this perfect storm/horrible cycle.  More on EE here.

I am SO GLAD to have an answer!!  My gastroenterologist thinks I've had this condition for years, definitely since my stomach pain started in junior high.  EE has only been commonly diagnosed and known about for the past 5 years so it would have been difficult to diagnose when I was younger.  As for the food allergies, I had a dairy allergy as a baby that my parents assumed I outgrew as my symptoms disappeared (skin hives, swollen lips).  My allergist thinks those allergies never went away, rather they just changed how they manifested, now causing reflux instead of hives.

Again, I am SO SO THANKFUL and praising God for these answers!!  I have a close friend with unique health problems too and we talked about what a blessing it is to know what is causing out troubles!  So many people go their whole lives without a diagnosis and a plan.  I am praising God!!

So yesterday I went to my allergist and had skin testing done on my back to determine what foods are causing the problems.  Skin testing, if you aren't familiar with, consists of one-at-a-time allergen-soaked needle scratches to your back... worse than getting waxed, better than dental work {in my humble opinion}. Then the doctor checks to see which ones you react to.  The result was and still is shocking.  Turkey, pork, chicken, lamb, potatoes, onion, almonds, peanuts, milk, & eggs {also the not shocking cat, dog, trees, mold, pollen, etc}.  I am still wrapping my brain around eliminating all of these things from my diet and what that will look like.  This is certainly not a pity party.  I am excited to feel better, to draw strength from God when I am sick of seafood and soy, and to not live in fear of my health issues!  I can't wait to blog about failures and successes in the kitchen while I try new recipes with egg substitute and other weird ingredients.  On the other hand, I also will not let this rule my life.  I won't turn down a piece of wedding cake, a meal at a friend's house that includes a delicious piece of chicken in a cream sauce, and I won't sit by idly during Thanksgiving while my family chows down on ham.  I'm going to give these diet changes my very very best effort but I will not obsess over it, expect others to accommodate me, and most importantly I will not feel sorry for myself.

In bible study right now we are studying Joseph.  He had years, YEARS of unjust suffering in the midst of serving his father obediently, then serving as a slave in Egypt loyally, he cared for prisoners while he was one, he was humble and just once he was delivered from his suffering... he didn't complain, he didn't pity himself.  Most importantly, he relied on God and gave God glory in his suffering and in his success.  I definitely do not have a life comparable to Joseph, however, it has been good to study this lesson this week!

So, that is where I am at.  It is my first full day on the new plan.  I did realize and take full advantage that a McDonalds quarter pounder with extra ketchup isn't excluded from my new diet.  And I also found milk-free chocolate-covered pretzels.  All is well.

almost basically accidentally vegan,
Hannah K.C. Burton

P.S.: Have any recipes that fit my almost-impossible new standards?!  Send me them!!