Happy Easter!

Romans 6:8-11: "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Happy Easter!  I hope everyone has had a great day.  I had a nice, relaxing long weekend with my husband, who didn't have to work on Good Friday.  It's a nice little bonus holiday for him.


Tomato Seedling Update
Well, I lost my patients.  All but one of the tomato transplants have withered and died.  I was so sad when I saw them the next morning...one of the plants was doing well until a few days ago, when it too began to wilt, and there was no recovering it.  One plant remains, and it's better than none, but I had hoped for a better outcome.  Lesson learned, sadly.

There is still hope for the tomatoes.  Click on this post to see what happened!  Tomato Seedling Surgery 2.0


Gluten-Free...For Now?
I have had quite an eventful week this past week.  After a month of having strange stomach and intestinal problems, I visited my doctor, who thinks I have a gluten allergy.  Not the greatest news for one who lives for gluten-based foods like pizza, pasta, breads, cereals, cakes and cookies.  I have been ordered to remove any gluten from my eating choices for a month, and then return for a check-up.  I haven't had stomach problems up to this point, so I'm hoping that the diagnosis is not accurate.  Honestly, I have really struggled with this, because that completely destroys all of my meal planning for the month.  I have no idea what to make for meals now.  I don't have the time or interest to make every single meal from scratch...I, as most people do, depend a lot on convenient pre-packaged grocery items to help me with cooking.  I spent $56 on baking and cooking substitutions of rice flour, gluten-free all-purpose baking mix, gluten-free bread crumbs, gluten-free quick oats, and a few other things.  Gluten-free items are very expensive.  Should it be determined that I'm allergic to wheat, or that I have celiac's disease, I'm  honestly not sure how I will afford the new grocery bills.  It's a huge adjustment in lifestyle, and one that I really don't want to make unless I absolutely have to.  I'm sure that I'll post more about this at a later time.  For now, I ask for prayer, that God will heal me and my life won't have to drastically change.  It's not just my life that will change; my husband will be affected, too.  It's difficult to know that you will suddenly become a burden or annoyance to others.  I know that those who love and care about me will be understanding, but those people are few, and the world is a huge, unaccommodating place.

If you are interested in more information, visit this page: Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity

For some gluten-free recipes, visit my Pinterest board: Gluten-Free.  I have tried the pizza crust recipe posted there (not terrible), and I hope to try more of these these recipes soon!

Another Project
Hubby and I spent Friday and Saturday having fun together.  While we were out on Friday, we went to the local antique shop to look for something specific.  However, I walked out with another set of sleigh bells!  Oops, I just can't help it.  These are smaller bells than the last set I purchased, but I will be restoring these myself.  I sent the last set away to be restored, but I feel confident enough now to want to try this on my own.  These bells are quite a bit smaller than the others, only about 2" wide, and will make a nice small decorative strap in the future.  I'll post the process on here when I have time to start working on them.

Happy Easter...He is Risen!!