Rosacea & Celiac Disease

Recently I decided to take a deeper look at why my face is so red and breaking out. I have always had little bumps on the back of my arms and stomach issues, but I just learned to live with all of these things. Turns out, I have Rosacea and according to my 23andMe.com results it's highly likely I have celiac disease. The good news is both of these things can be managed.

My daughter recently gave me a gift certificate for a facial and that was the first step in the right direction. My esthetician said I needed to start using gentle cleaning products and suggested I look at what food items irritate rosacea. The items on the list that were currently in my diet were hot drinks (coffee & tea) and red wine. So, one thing at a time, I cut out coffee and didn't notice a difference so it thankfully came back into my life and then I cut out red wine.

At the same time, I was trying to manage my rosacea, I was learning the breakout on my face and bumps on my arms could be related to celiacs disease. Unbeknownst to me, there is a link between rosacea and celiacs disease. According to the National Rosacea Society, a study shows women with rosacea are "2.03 times more likely to have celiac disease".

So, I stopped eating gluten too. No red wine, nothing with gluten, I was not excited about any of this! I continued my monthly facials, started a new skincare routine, stopped drinking red wine, and removed gluten from my diet. I quickly noticed a HUGE difference in my face. The bumps were gone, the redness gone, the bumps on the back of my arms were gone, the pain in my stomach after eating was also gone.

I’ve tried red wine since removing it from my diet and my face immediately reacts. If I slip and eat something with gluten, my stomach definitely lets me know and if there is quite a bit I will notice it in my face as well.

If you have rosacea and/or celiac disease, take a good look at what you are eating. It helped me tremendously and I hope it will help you too.

Share your rosacea/celiacs story below.

Nashville

Have you ever traveled to Nashville?  I finally made it! The occasion, the continued celebration of my daughter's 21st birthday!  What a blast!  If you decide to visit Nashville, I recommend checking out the party wagons.  Literally, a wagon was pulled through town by a tractor and we enjoyed some adult beverages while singing and dancing through downtown Nashville.  

We also found a really nice boot store called Boot Country where you buy 1 pair and you get 2 free!  So, of course, we each had to get a pair to wear to Zanies Comedy Night Club that evening. 

If you have some spare time, take a side trip to the Jack Daniel's Distillery. We did the Angel's Share Tour and learned a lot along the way.

What do you suggest for must-see or must-do options for our next visit?

21st Birthday - 21 Shots

My daughter turned 21 this year and we wanted to go out and do something fun, so I created a list of 21 fun birthday shots. 

I printed a copy for each of us and we had a ton of fun over several days trying to complete the list.  The bar staff at each location really enjoyed the list too.  We would show them the list and let them choose our next shot!  We took several days to try to complete the list and we didn't quite complete it (YET) but it sure has been fun!

Feel free to use the list I created, or use it as motivation to create your own.  

*Please drink responsibly. Not recommended to do all 21 shots in one day.

Passport

Well, I drug my feet long enough on renewing my passport, and of course, it expired. 🤣 I finally got motivated (since I'm planning a trip to Europe) and made an appointment with the USPS to get my passport application done.  I'll admit, I didn't know I could do this at the post office and I definitely didn't know how easy it would be.  

If you need to renew your passport or apply for one check out the USPS.  Make your appointment online and follow the instructions provided.  It was very easy and I'd highly recommend it! 

Now let's hope it comes in time for my trip in May. 🤞

Happy New Year!

With 2020 behind us we start another chapter and begin 2021!  This year we are hoping to spend some time in Wisconsin at the cabin, in Ohio with family, and a few weeks in Europe! 🤞

Where do you hope to go this year? 

Europe Trip Planning

We just booked our trip to Europe!  This is my first time so I'm excited and nervous!  We'll be spending 3 nights in London, 3 nights in Paris, 3 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Florence & 3 nights in Rome. If you have any suggestions (things to see and/or along the way) please let me know!

If you need help planning your next vacation contact Cameron here!

Another Cross-Country Trip...This Time With A Cat!

My Mom decided to join us in this adventurous lifestyle so we packed up her 2 bedroom apartment, sold/donated mostly everything she had, and she and I drove from Ohio to Washington State.  Just over 2,500 miles towing a Uhaul trailer with a 30-pound cat in the car with us was one exhausting trip!

How do you travel with a cat and a cat litter box? Short answer..... DON'T!  My Mom wanted to get a large dog crate so the cat could be contained and have enough room for himself and his litter box, so I did.  It took up the entire back seat, but the litter box and the cat fit in it quite well. About 30 minutes into the trip the cat hasn't stopped crying but decides to go into the litter box and kick it everywhere!  Yep, it made it into the front seat too.  I quickly did some research to see how long a cat can "hold it" and I was VERY surprised to see 24 to 48 hours was the answer, although that was way longer than I needed it to say.  We weren't traveling more than 12 hours a day so the next day the litter box was gone!  We brought it into the hotel room at night with us and all was well, at least regarding the litter.

We knew traveling with the cat was going to be rough so we asked the Vet for some meds to help keep him calm.  I swear she gave us the equivalent of cat meth because he was never calm he just kept meowing, well until about 3 hours before we were done driving each day but then again all night!  So neither the cat nor I got any sleep on this trip!

Each night, I'd unload the vehicle get Mom (with her walker and oxygen) in the room then go back out in the freezing cold to put the cat (in the large doge cage) on a dolly (yes a dolly) and then reload it all again in the morning.  

We had 5 nights in hotels! I booked each night online a few hours before we were ready to call it a night and enjoyed most of the rooms along the way. We only ran into one issue regarding cat-friendly hotels and that was because the app I used didn't allow me to specify what type of animal I had or that I had an animal at all.  My advice, if you are traveling with a pet call before you book online to make sure the hotel allows your type of pet.  If you book online I'd call after you book too because some of the hotel booking sites don't allow you to note that you have a pet, so make sure the hotel knows you're coming so they can confirm that your reservation is in a pet-friendly room. One of the hotels we booked said it was pet-friendly but when we showed up they said no cats. I usually call before and again after just to make sure they save the correct room for me, of course, this was one time I didn't.  Fortunately, the manager refunded the fee and there was another hotel just down the road.   

Overall, the trip went very well!  We had a few laughs, no one peed their pants and no car accidents. We were VERY thankful it wasn't a repeat of our last cross-country trip (just Mom and me) which ended in a totaled vehicle, a few concussions, and a broken neck.  I also learned I'd rather travel with my puppies any day of the week versus a cat. Sorry Momma I'm just not a cat person.  🤣

Have you traveled with pets? Tell us your story.....