Hi, kids!

September 13, 2017

Well, hello, darlings!

Have you missed me all these months? Don’t even lie and say you didn’t!

Did you think I was done with the blog? Seriously, you thought so? I’m offended! That means you do not know me at all! I’d get rid of my kid before I get rid of the blog. Actually, I’ve been trying to get rid of him, unsuccessfully so, as he is not cooperating in his adulting process. Honestly, I refuse to fully adult myself most days so I don’t blame him.

The truth is, when I get wrapped up in serious health issues, especially multiple ones, I need to pull back and concentrate on the essentials in my life. If you’re my fairly new blog follower, you may not know that I’m a cancer survivor, rounding up my 10th year as we speak, plus I had other multiple health issues prior to cancer diagnosis or stemming from the aggressive treatment I received, so, being health-minded or being rigorous about particular treatments, nutrition including, are part of my life. That also means, that sometimes I just don’t feel well and have to deal with my body breaking down at certain points.

I also have a rich life outside of the blog. I have a full-time hospital job in mental health and a successful part-time psychotherapy practice, and a kid in college (with all the headaches that he brings), and family, and friends, and other interests and social endeavors, so, I’m busy. And, comparing to some other bloggers who make a living running the blog, it’s my hobby, but a very serious and the one that’s dear to my heart (and maintaining a blog, making the recipes, shooting the pictures, etc. do require financial investments actually). Have you noticed, by the way, there are no advertisements on my blog? I do not participate in any ad campaigns, so, the blog does not generate income for me. Not that I’m opposed to it, but, I’m striving to only bring my original content and recipes without overwhelming the readers with multiple ads. Also, I may not have a choice what ads run on the blog, if I were to sign up, and I’d not want to promote anything that undermines my concept of gluten free recipes using real ingredients and cooking wholesome foods. And, yes, sweet indulgences are part of the food enjoyment, so, it’s okay to make them too.

So, these past several months, blogging just had to let be as I’ve been dealing with doctor visits, ER trips and simply not feeling well many days. My arrhythmia has literally been doing the cha-cha dancing…

I’ve seen a very fancy arrhythmia specialist, as a regular cardiologist already experimented on me with many different drug candies and they are just not sweet enough for my heart. So, the fancy-pants specialist is going to attach me to a very fancy heart monitor for a month to see if there is life left in me. This is a picture I took leaving a hospital at 5 am after spending the night in ER: the literal ups and downs of life.

And, I’m facing a probable surgery sometime this fall-early winter. My surgeon is all ready! 🙂

And, that’s not it! Do you know how people post bare toes in sand to show off how they spent their summer? Well, I have my own version of it.

Yep, a fractured bone AND a torn ligament because one morning in late June, I thought that falling down my 2nd floor stairs would be much faster than walking. Apparently, the only body part to withstand any health issues is my empty head. I’m out of the cast by now and in physical therapy, but it’s going to be a lengthy process, plus I had a complete meltdown when the doctor told me wearing heels and fancy shoes is not on the agenda at this point and I have to stick to sneakers and sturdy shoes for now. I’m still crying about it!

So, see, kids, standing up to cook delicious recipes was a bit complicated this summer!

But, just like in that hospital picture of highs and lows, we had some definite highs too. My kid, aka know as the biggest PITA of my life, turned 20 in May. NO MORE TEENAGERS! Now, tell me how many more years do I need to wait till he can adult? I know, I can’t adult either, so it runs in the family! Here he is contemplating life (and a view 🙂 ) in Soho.

He had an epic birthday cake for his party! He told me he wanted chocolate but wasn’t sure what exactly. So, I made him chocolate cake for the undecided: layers of white chocolate, milk chocolate with brownie center and vanilla mascarpone cream, white and dark chocolates, sugar decorations and edible gold – the works 🙂 and all made by me of course.

And, we spent some time in Italy in June (luckily, it was before my staircase flying lesson and a foot fracture, which was probably due to a jet lag come to think of it). I’ll do a separate post about some foods we had in Italy, all of it was truly amazing! Here is my kid next to his famous namesake finally feeling his name is not weird in Italy (but he mostly goes by Gus).

Anyway, I’ll post when I can with all the things happening and as I prep for the surgery. But, if one day, I go into a very very long silence, that means I’m off flying in ether, so, just remember how much I love you and prepare for your house to be haunted.

Though, most likely, St. Peter will shut the Pearly Gates in my face and I’ll be off tormenting the devil.