Oh hullo! Here I am, just in time to dust off my blog for 2015. Looks like my first post in forever will also be a 2014 recap, seeing how I dropped off the face of all social media avenues late last winter. And now… it’s winter again. Hoo-ray.

Let’s start with the ugly, shall we?

2014 started out with a bang, in a pretty traumatic way. I got really sick, then sicker, and sicker and…. you get the point. I learned a hell of a lot though, and proved to myself once again that if you think you won’t be able to get through something YOU WILL, just because, well, you simply have to.

I also learned:

1. TO LISTEN to the smoke signals your body/mind/soul send to you. Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it’s blaring from the top of a mountain like the dude in the Ricola commercial. So… listen.
2. MEDICINE can have some really nasty side effects- be prepared for them. They might make you feel worse. You might feel downright miserable. They’re so funny that way!
3. Two words: BRAT DIET. If you have to go on this, no matter how creative you think you are with 4 ingredients, YOU’RE NOT. It gets real boring real fast. Astonishingly I still love bananas. (See also number 2)
4. MIGRAINES ARE REAL! I wasn’t a believer. I rolled my eyes if anybody complained about one. I’m sorry a thousand times. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!
5. FLUIDS are very important! Don’t wait until you’re so depleted that you get a migraine. And you’ll prrrrobably need 3 liters of saline but your veins will be so dried up that you’ll get poked and bruised and hematoma’d and wear long sleeves in the summer as to not look like a heroin addict which is quite the epidemic here in Boston these days so never mind you’ll fit right in. (See also numbers 3, 4, & 6)
6. IF A NURSE says “aww nuts, I blew out your vein”…. don’t freak out! It’s not as bad as it sounds, I promise. (See also number 5).
7. IF YOU EXPERIENCE rapid weight loss, your hair will indeed fall out. A lot of it. Totally stinks but it will grow back. Most of it anyway. Even the grey ones. Get yourself a shorter haircut. Wear a hat. Or just don’t give a shit. You may have tufty baby bangs for a while. Your eye bags will also get really saggy. You’ll survive. No bigs.
8. DON’T PUSH yourself when you’ve been out of commission. Getting back on the horse is going to be rough as hell. Go to work when you’re ready and able. If you’re with a good company they’ll be supportive. If not, send them my way and I’ll show them my (boney) fist.
9. IT COULD BE WORSE. So much worse. It could always be worse worse worse.
10. This is more of a suggestion but THANK EVERYONE and anyone that played a role. Thank your doctor. Your family and friends. Your boss and coworkers. Neighbors, strangers, whatever. They’ll appreciate it because when it comes down to it you’ve been a real pain in the ass burden. Sort of. Actually yes. Thank them thank them thank them.

BUT WAIT! A LOT OF GOOD THINGS HAPPENED!

1. I literally just celebrated my grandmothers 89th birthday. We surprised her SO HARD she’ll/I’ll never forget it.
2. I drove 10 hours to visit my dad and other PA family. It was the longest drive everrrrrrr by myself. I listened to “learn conversational german” for many many hours aaaaaand don’t remember much of it. Ick feshteeeun no-uhh eye-n bissyuun Doyeech. Dunk-ah! I appropriately wore my poncho when visiting my native american grandmother. I also shot A LOT of ammo (at inanimate objects). Hey, when in PA.
3. I got a visit from my dear friend and favorite healer, Sobonfu Some. She squished mud in my belly button. She gave me a mysterious powerful powdery black potion. She ordered a very special bowl of dirt to be placed under my bed… probably for eternity (thanks cuz for digging that up!).
4. I had plenty of time on my hands to go through storage boxes and found this gem:
5. I went camping on the Mohawk Trail with cuz and his lady friend! We went on a 2 hour zipline tour. We listened to public radio. We learned that if something in the wilderness looks like a small kitten, it’s probably a giant porcupine. We also learned that mice love avocados. Very valuable life lessons here, people.
6. And I had a birthday! Just like you probably did too!
7. I went to 2 gorgeous weddings for 2 of my favorite girlfriends. I wore a jumpsuit to one of them and it was fabulous. I also wore it for our office halloween party. POSH.
8. Jessica aka little miss run shine left the office (sad) to pursue her dream of fitness (happy!).
9. I took a lot of cat/dog photos.
10. I saw lots of family and did things!
11. I was introduced to Michele Wolfson via Kitchen Surfing who delivered a month of delicious homemade meals to my door! 
12. I survived! I conquered! Residual GI issues ain’t got nuthin’ on me.

So that’s it… in a very big nutshell. Because I have new dietary restrictions, most of the recipes from here on out (for the most part) are one or the combination of : gluten free, FODMAP friendly, candida diet friendly, GAPS friendly, paleo friendly and probably some other weird diets out there that I’m not aware of.

I shall call myself Gludida FODGAPS. Catchy, no?