:: 2016 Calendars are HERE! ::

They are here! 2016 Printable Calendars are here! I use these simple printable calendars all over. Let me share with you a few ways you could use them!

I print one copy on cardstock and punch two holes in the top and then hang it on my refrigerator by those hook magnets for the family calendar.

Then I print another copy for myself. I LOVE LOVE LOVE sheet protectors and I slide the calendar pages into sheet protectors and then put into my binder. Ok, binderS. I have more than one. I also have a calendar I use to write in events for my sewing and crafting. And yet another one for our 4H Cloverbud club.

I hope you will find lots of good ways to use this calendar.

Download the Two Peas 2016 Calendar

:: If you are local to Columbus, OH - I would love to have you join me at my Handmade Holidays Crafty Workshops. Come craft some gifts for the holidays! Find out more and register here! ::

:: Handmade Holidays Crafty Workshops ::

Regsitration is now OPEN for all of these workshops - See the bottom of the page to purchase your workshop tickets!  

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Powered by Eventbrite

:: Farmhouse Friends ::

My friend Kristin, from Local Farm Mom, and I recently hosted our first "Farmhouse Friends" event, a Harvest Gathering. You can read more about how it started here. It combined my favorite things. Farming and Crafting. It doesn't get much better than that.

Our Harvest Gathering was such a wonderful escape from the everyday busy - ness of kids and work. We crafted, ate delicious food that Kristin prepared, took a hayride, shared gifts, and shopped. We gifted each of our farmhouse friends with a basket of goodies that included farm fresh eggs, a handprinted sign, gifts from Georgie Emerson Vintage and more. Our hearts were full at the end of the day along with our bellies.

Kristin and I have plans for a Holiday event, coming up in December. We will have more details about it soon...we will be decorating cookies and crafting gifts to keep and give away. Be sure to follow us on Instagram where we post most often.

We would love for you to join us for one of our events - here's a peek at our Harvest Gathering! (Thank you Hannah Marie Photography for the amazing photos!)

Farmhouse Friends - Harvest Gathering

The Farmhouse Friends girls are inviting you to the farm for our Harvest Gathering

Saturday, September 12th, 2015

I am so excited to announce that my friend Kristin, from Local Farm Mom, and I are launching a really fun new collaborative event, The Farmhouse Friends.

Kristin and I started as "sheep farm friends". Her Dad happens to be one of the Two Peas 4H advisors and has helped us along the way with our sheep showing activities. Soon enough, Kristin and I signed up to co-lead our 4H Cloverbud club that her daughter Campbell, son Parker and my Sprout are members of and we've been scheming for awhile now about how to bring our passions together ; arts and crafts, vintage shopping AND farming.

I called Kristin up one early evening and said I had an idea. We met at the farm and brainstormed while doing sheep chores. Her dad came home and found us still hanging out in the barn late at night still gabbing away while we were sketching, plotting and planning how this perfect retreat would work (as best we could while the new barn kittens kept walking across our notebooks and climbing on us). We think you will have a great time - if you love to craft, eat, be outdoors, enjoy farm living, and shopping that is. To us, that is just the perfect day! And we are so excited to invite you to join us!

We will start our day with coffee and hot cider in the Farmhouse Friends glampor (it's a work in progress but we love it! Kristin and her family use it for the perfect hang out between shows at our county fair).

We will enjoy a hay wagon ride out to the field where Kristin will share with us her talents in the kitchen. She is preparing for us a delicious locally sourced, farm fresh lunch.

When we are filled to the gills with goodness, we will take some time to learn some basic embroidery and start stitching a sweet little cow, like the one in our logo, while we sit near the pond or maybe back up at the house in our outdoor living room.

We will end our day at Georgie Emerson Vintage in historic Canal Winchester for an exclusive shopping opportunity. Polly, the proprietor, curates the most amazing finds in her shop. Just to visit is a wonderful experience.

We will be gifting each farmhouse friend, our brand new subscription box. Filled with local fresh farm food items plus locally crafted accessories and more.

We promise you an amazing day on the farm, plenty of fun and laughter, and farmhouse girls swag to swoon over.

Registration is now open. Register today - space is very limited

See you at the farm!

Girl's Guide to DIY fashion Book Tour

I'm so pleased to introduce to you a brand new author, Rachel Low. Rachel is the owner of Pins and Needles in NYC where most days you can find her teaching classes and inspiring lots of new sewers in creative endeavors. Today is the launch of her mini blog tour for her book and I'm honored to be the first stop.Rachel's brand new book, Girl's Guide to DIY fashion, is full of projects geared for 7 - 14 year olds.

Rachel says all her students were the inspiration for the book and the best part is that not only does she feel she is teaching them a skill, but she is also encouraging them to be creative, feel empowered to express themselves, be confident in all that they do, be excited about learning something new and even spend time with their friends and often make new ones!!!

When the book arrived on our doorstep, my Two Peas (my identical twin girls) who just recently turned 14 were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over each and every page! They thought the book was fabulously bright and fun and wasted no time at all picking out a few projects they wanted to try.

We started with the Peace Out Pajama Pants. My peas wanted to make them more suited for the warm nights we have here in Ohio. So, with the inspiration Rachel offers in the book for making the project their own, they decided to shorten the length of the pants to make shorts. I love how throughout the book, Rachel builds on each skill and gives the reader confidence to try new things.How I would love to show you their pajama pants turned shorts but they haven't finished them quite yet (and when I say they, I really only mean my sweet Baby B because her sister doesn't enjoy sewing. She just likes to pick things out and have others make them for her).

See that little short girl standing next to her sister? Well, we call her Sprout and she sweet talked her big sister into making something for HER from the book, which is how the pants turned shorts project got set aside.

Sprout requested the Amazing Appliqué Sweatshirt project. (This is the version above from Rachel's book with the cupcake.) Sprout kept a patient and watchful eye from the sewing room door, holding her naked babydoll who would be the recipient of this appliqué project. Together,my pea and I embellished a onesie just in time because Sprout was about to burst from anticipation. Sprout promptly put the shirt on her baby, ran out to her playhouse and announced, "Dinnertime sweetheart!". Big sister scored major points tonight with the Sprout for sure.

Rachel's book is packed full of colorful images that my girls all loved. The projects are simple enough that kids won't feel intimated to try them. The book includes great points like working with HOT TOOLS such as an iron and glue gun plus gives pointers on how to pin properly. It's written in a way that my pea quickly comprehended and was able to apply the information as she worked.

I'm so happy that Rachel has offered to gift a copy of the book to one of my readers. To be entered to win, simply leave a comment telling me what was one of your very first sewing projects you ever made and how old were you when you learned to sew.

Winners will be chosen using random.org. This giveaway will close at midnight EST on April 23rd, 2015.

Next stop on the book blog tour:

Thursday, 4/16 – Sew She Can

Friday, 4/17 – Whipstitch

Hearts on Fire Hot Pads

Making gifts for others is one of my favorite things about sewing (one of the reasons I wrote an entire book on the subject of gift giving). February is the month of LOVE and to celebrate, I designed this free tutorial to make the Hearts on Fire Hot Pads. You'll find all the details over on the Olfa website right here. The heart is actually a pocket for your hands and makes this more of an oven mitt.

There is even a little spotlight interview with me where I brag a bit about my cooking abilities.

In these samples, I used the "Kiss the Cook" fabrics from Dear Stella. I LOVE them. My Two Peas are on a livestock judging team in our county and they raise market lambs so it seemed pretty appropriate for our family.

Thanks to Dear Stella for providing the Kiss the Cook fabrics and The Warm Company for the Insulbright interfacing. As always, thank you to Bernina USA - I sew with a B580 and it makes sewing a breeze!

bacon. makes me happy.

Agriculture in Ohio (where I live) is the number one industry in our state. It's a billion dollar industry with a B...billion, not million. It also accounts for roughly 14% of employment in Ohio. I think it's one of the things I like best about Ohio because we have this amazing connection to our heritage through agriculture yet we are also a very modern state with amazing diversity and culture and education and industry. I live in Columbus, the state capital, which offers the best of both worlds. It's where we have chosen to raise our kids. Our kids are learning a lot about the world of agriculture. My Two Peas (my twins) are sheep producers and raise market lambs during the 4H season. They've also just joined our county livestock judging team and are excited to be learning more about hogs, cattle, sheep, goats and how farmers in Ohio operate and also across the country to provide us with safe and delicious foods.

It's important to our family that our children understand the true meaning of the farm to table concept. I want them to make conscious food choices and be a part of a healthy ecosystem by being inspiring and innovative contributors when it comes to our food supply and challenges.

So when I got asked to be a part of a new blogger group that was all about agriculture, Ohio's Local Flavors, I asked first, the most important question, would there be bacon involved?

The answer from Kristin, the coordinator for the group who blogs at Local Farm Mom, was "of course!". That's really all I needed to know. I was in.

Our first meet up was just a few weeks ago at the gorgeous (gorgeous!) Turner farm in Perry county. There was a nice mixture of bloggers and farmers who were able to attend. A few of the bloggers there included:

Taysha from dirtroadcharm.blogspot.com

Emily from cultivatingconversation.com 

Morgan from columbusliving.weebly.com

Kathy and Sophia from kasuallife.com

Stephanie from Retro Dinner Diva shared with us 8 different delicious meals made using pork that we were able to take home, freeze and enjoy later. This was my first foray into freezer meals - and holy smokes guys! Who knew it would be this life changing?! I love them! An afternoon of prep for quick meals during the work week and they were so delicious!

After our meal prep was done, we talked a little bit more about hog farming. It was great to hear each girls story, what they blog about and their passions, from what's hot in Columbus to sewing design (oh wait, that's me!). Several of the girls live on and operate large hog farms and they shared with us what an average day looks like for them. They shared with us about how raising livestock is changing with fewer farmers and greater demands from an even greater growing consumer group (we are a world population of 7 billion and we like to eat!). These are some smart cookies! Well educated, compassionate, hard workers. I trust the food they are putting on my family table.

It's so easy to think that the majority of our meat comes from a big "factory farm" but what you read on the internet and what is the truth behind how our food is raised are sometimes different stories. This was a great experience to hear from real farmers about their family farm operations, both large and small, and how they provide for my family's table. How they care for their animals, our environment, their own family and mine.

Was there bacon at this event? Heck yes! As promised, Kristin had some amazing candied bacon on hand for us nibble on! I'll share the recipe with you soon - you will definitely want to try it!

Great conversations, fabulous food, and wonderful hosts (thanks Mr. and Mrs. Turner!) - I'm looking forward to our next meet up with the Ohio's Local Flavor Bloggers!

Do you have a question about how your food is raised? Be sure you check out the blogs mentioned above and ask a real farmer about how they do business.

(p.s. Thanks to the Ohio Pork Producers and the Ohio Soybean Council for your sponsorship of our event!)

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Giveaway Winners!

Finally, right?!

The Preston clan found ourselves down and out through a good part of December with the flu going through our house and hanging on to each person for a solid 2 weeks. Not the best way to spend the holidays, I don't recommend it.

So TODAY it's my pleasure to announce our giveaway winners. I truly enjoyed your comments!

The winner of the signed book: Jeifner - I've emailed you dear! And the winner of the big prize package of the bag and notions and more...Elizabeth P. - I have sent you an email too!

Congrats girls! Check your emails

because I love YOU sew

Thank you. Words that don't seem to express nearly the gratitude that fills my heart after the last 14 days of this blog book tour for Because I Love You Sew.

The last stop on the tour is right here, today.

This book was most certainly a labor of love.

Many people think that sewing and design work is my "full time" job. Truth is, I have a long time career working in higher education and the environmental field which is where I spend the majority of my "work" time. This "Two Peas" business of mine is my passion. It's my creative outlet.

It's where I get to dream and imagine, draw and paint, create and sew, write and share. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have that outlet. It fulfills me and I'm so thankful that God created ART. I love it.

And I love this creative community that I am a part of - you are beautiful and you fill my heart to the brim.

So when I sat down to write this book, I did it on the weekends. After bedtimes late at night and during nap times on my days off. There were tears. And sleepless nights. And a lot of ripping out seams on stitches that just didn't work.

And in the end, came this. A book. With my name on it. Where I shared stories about my kids and our lives. Projects that I have loved making and I hope you enjoy making them too.

I am incredibly humbled that anyone besides my Mom has purchased this book and equally humbled and grateful for the kind words and reviews this book has received.

I want to tell you THANK YOU - with a big giveaway.I'm offering a signed copy of the book, Because I Love You Sew. A trio of my Two Peas patterns. A handful of wonderful threads from Aurifil. A pretty blue stack of fabrics courtesy of Dear Stella fabrics. A package of InsulBright thanks to the Warm Company. AND I'm giving away the handmade sample of the Sweet Tweet Bag from the book made in Bari J.'s gorgeous fabrics and made by me.

How to Enter:

1) Leave a comment here on this post sharing with me your most special handmade gift you have ever given.

2) For an extra chance, follow me on Instagram (trishpreston) and repost about this giveaway. Come back here and leave a comment that you have shared on Instagram and be sure you leave your Instagram name.

3) For one more chance, share this post on your Facebook page and tag Two Peas in a Pod and leave a comment that you have done so.

This giveaway will be open until DECEMBER 27TH, 2014. I will choose a winner using Random.org. Open only for domestic shipping in the US.

BUT for my international friends - we are having a 2nd giveaway for a signed copy of the book only so that you aren't left out.

Thank you for being a part of my community of friends. Be sure to visit all the previous stops of the tour and enter in the other giveaways for Because I Love You Sew.

Because I Love You Sew Bloggers Book Tour December 1st: Come visit with C+T Publishing December 3rd: My sweet friend, Heather Jones December 4th: Lovely Caroline Hulse of Sew Caroline December 8th: My creative friends at Generation Q Magazine December 9th: Quilty and fabulous Sew Cal Gal December 10th: My mentor, Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom December 11th: Fellow twins Mom Alison Little of Little Green Thread December 12th: Dear friend and amazing artist, Bari Ackerman of Bari J Designs December 13th: My industry partner (and fav sewing machines) Bernina December 14th: Love this girl! Karen Davis of Celebrate Life with Us

Blessed beyond measure

I woke up this morning feeling very blessed.

My book has been our tour for the last 13 days around the blogsphere and far beyond my thankfulness for friends and industry partners sharing about my book, I feel blessed.

I wrote this book to share my love of handmade and gift giving to others. What I have received in return has been a greater gift.

I am blessed with 3 beautiful daughters who inspire everything I do. I have a husband who has worked hard to provide for our little family and loves us unconditionally. And God has put amazing friends in my path to lift me up when I need strength.

All along this book tour, I am reminded of the people in my life who have selflessly helped me along my creative journey. Friends who have mentored me, inspired my creative soul, shared hugs with me, shared scripture and their loving hearts, and I am humbled and blessed beyond measure. Thank you dear friends.

Tomorrow is the last stop on the book tour and I'll be here to share the very last handmade giveaway and it's a big one. It' s a little handmade, a little bit notions and supplies for your own creations and more.

Today, I'd love for you to visit with some of my friends and check out the giveaways on their blogs and browse the stories and creations they've made from "Because I Love You Sew".

Because I Love You Sew Bloggers Book Tour December 1st: Come visit with C+T Publishing December 3rd: My sweet friend, Heather Jones December 4th: Lovely Caroline Hulse of Sew Caroline December 8th: My creative friends at Generation Q Magazine December 9th: Quilty and fabulous Sew Cal Gal December 10th: My mentor, Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom December 11th: Fellow twins Mom Alison Little of Little Green Thread December 12th: Dear friend and amazing artist, Bari Ackerman of Bari J Designs December 13th: My industry partner (and fav sewing machines) Bernina December 14th: Love this girl! Karen Davis of Celebrate Life with Us December 15th: and finally, ME, Trish Preston, right here at Two Peas in a Pod

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=d9jo0c3O4rY

I heart BACON

I was born and raised in Ohio.

I live in the same county that my grandparents and great grandparents farmed in and love continuing a legacy of agriculture in my family .

My Dad was an FFA member and kept a large flock of over 40 Shropshire sheep in New Albany, Ohio which is where my love of sheep was born.

And I'm proud to be raising my kids with a strong awareness of agriculture in Ohio.

As a mom, it's important to me that my children understand truthfully, the process of how their food gets to their plate and to make smart decisions that support our local farmers in Ohio. Farmers who are also responsible advocates for our environment and are good stewards of our resources. The tree hugger in me would expect nothing less.

Ohio pork farming creates and touches over 10,000 jobs in Ohio. These are farm families who care about food safety and care about their animals.

I'm excited to be taking part in the first Local Flavors blogging event sponsored by the Ohio Soybean Council and Ohio Pork Farmers. This weekend, I'll be meeting with other bloggers from all over Ohio and beyond to talk about pork farming and that can only mean good things.

Because if there is anything that I love more than God, my family, coffee and sewing...it is BACON. Please let there be a lot of bacon at this event!

We will be creating a variety of freezer meals to make cooking dinner during the week easier and I can't wait to see AND taste the new recipes. Especially, gluten free ideas (because I'm gluten sensitive - celiac). And BACON is gluten free. One of my favorite dinners I fix here at home includes a nice pork chop covered in caramelized onions and mushrooms, topped with bacon and then pepper jack cheese! Oh, so, so good!!

I'll be sure to take pictures and share recipes after this weekend's event!

Don't forget - the blog book tour for my new book, Because I Love You Sew is still going on now. Go check it out and enter the giveaways to win your own copy! The last stop on the tour will be right here and I have a great handmade gift giving giveaway to offer.

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Because I Love You Sew Book Tour

I'm so SEW excited today because I'm launching the blog tour for my book, Because I Love You Sew. Today through December 14th, I've partnered with some of my favorite people and industry partners to share more with you about the process and behind the scenes of my very first book published with C+T Publishing. There will be giveaways for a free copy of the book on each stop and on the very last day - it will be my turn to offer a fabulous giveaway. Stay tuned!

Here's the schedule - I hope you enjoy visiting each one and learning more about Because I Love You Sew!

Because I Love You Sew Bloggers Book Tour December 1st: Come visit with C+T Publishing December 3rd: My sweet friend, Heather Jones December 4th: Lovely Caroline Hulse of Sew Caroline December 8th: My creative friends at Generation Q Magazine December 9th: Quilty and fabulous Sew Cal Gal December 10th: My mentor, Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom December 11th: Fellow twins Mom Alison Little of Little Green Thread December 12th: Dear friend and amazing artist, Bari Ackerman of Bari J Designs December 13th: My industry partner (and fav sewing machines) Bernina December 14th: Love this girl! Karen Davis of Celebrate Life with Us December 15th: and finally, ME, Trish Preston, right here at Two Peas in a Pod

pillsbury pizza dough

I made pizza for breakfast.

I'm not much of a sweets person and breakfast is not my favorite meal so I often eat dinner leftovers or something savory first thing in the morning.

And I love pizza. LOTS of cheese. I love onions and green olives and tomatoes and mushrooms and...oh, I love pizza.

But I can't eat anything with wheat in it - because I'm gluten free.

I've been on the hunt for a quick, easy and yummy way to make pizza. I've tried the ready made Udi's brand crusts. They are perfect. Easy and taste good. I keep them in the freezer and have them on hand all the time.

The other day, I found this at the grocery. It was next to the refrigerated cookie dough and canned biscuits at Meijer.

Pillsbury also had a gluten free cookie dough. What's that you say? Of course. Of course I bought the cookie dough! (I haven't cooked it yet but fyi - it's not good raw in case you were wondering. My go to snack in college during finals was a tube of nestle tollhouse cookie dough! Yum!)

This is a Pillsbury brand (and no, this is not an ad, I am not being paid to review the product). I used half the tub to roll out one pizza. And then I loaded that sucker with cheese and onions. (Did I mention I did this at 9 o'clock in the morning?)

So, how was it? Meh...it was ok. I had rolled it pretty thin and pre-cooked the crust following the directions on the tub. I like thin and crispy crusts (which is what the package indicated it was) but this tasted fairly sweet to me. I guess I like my crusts a bit more on the salty side if that makes sense.

Would I buy it again? Probably not. The Udi's ready made crusts taste just a little bit better in my opinion plus I don't even have to roll them out, they are just ready to go. I was hoping that this Pillsbury crust would give me a closer to "pizzeria" style experience but it just didn't for me.

Regardless, I just ate pizza for breakfast. And pizza anytime, makes me happy. So, win, win!

Do you have any gluten free pizza suggestions? I'd love to hear them in the comments!

My Gluten Free Story

{This is my story - my long story - about why I'm gluten free}

Every time I happen into a casual conversation and tell my story about why I'm gluten free, I find out that my story is a common one. It all started with my thyroid. Funny how so many of us have thyroid problems.  I think it's worth sharing our stories. You are your best health advocate and when we talk to each other, we might just pick up on an idea that could help us in our own journey.

This Spring, I went for my annual physical with my primary care physician. I love him. He is so smart and personable and always remembers everything about me and my family. I realize he has it on a chart in front of him too, but he truly remembers "our history" and will call us at home to chat about our care. He's great.

During my exam he said I had a goiter. And nodules that he could actually feel.

Yuck! What the heck is a goiter?!

What he was telling me was that my thyroid gland was enlarged and that he could feel that I had nodules on it. He asked if I had trouble swallowing which, I actually had been having trouble but honestly, I didn't think twice about it. I figured it was allergies and sinus related and paid no attention. He said I needed to have it checked.

The next day, I was laying at the hospital in the ultrasound room having my neck scanned. Fun stuff.

My lymph nodes looked clear. And the nodules did not appear to be "abnormal", meaning they didn't think I had thyroid cancer. My doctor called me at home and said, "You have Hashimoto's. It's a thyroid condition. Yours has quit working.". He wanted me start taking Synthroid which is a medication to help regulate your thyroid.

My symptoms

For years, and I mean since high school, I have complained about having a "sensitive stomach". I have carried Immodium with me in my purse for half my life. I never knew when what I ate would send me running to the bathroom with horrible stomach pains and well...you know. Sorry  (too much information?)

I was getting headaches 3-4 days a week for years.

I had been telling my doctor that I have always felt like I had ADD. I could not concentrate and focus to save my life. I used to chalk it up to being "creative" or a "twins mom" but the truth is I've spent my whole life with a lot of noise in my head that is very distracting.

I complained that I always felt bloated to the point that I had pain when I bent over right in the middle of my gut. Like a constant cramp. It was also really sensitive and somewhat painful to the touch.

And I had no energy. I was usually good to go until about 2:30pm each day. That was it. I was cooked after that. I needed a nap and my brain would just completely shut down.

So when my doctor told me I had this thyroid issue and to take medication, I asked him, what happened? Why did my thyroid quit working.

He said it was due to my age (I'm *cough* over 40) and that was just what happens to women my age.

Before I would start to take the medication, I googled everything he had told me. And I found medical journal articles and more that seemed to indicate that GLUTEN could exacerbate a thyroid condition. I found a link for celiac disease. And as I read through the symptoms I thought...THIS. IS. ME.

I have other auto-immune issues. Primarily an auto-immune liver problem that isn't harmful but it just makes my liver enzymes appear that I'm in liver failure when in fact, it's just a weird thing my body does (long story - but I was seen at the Cleveland Clinic and it's all just fine). I also have a severe vitamin D deficiency. My doctor said I barely register any Vitamin D at all. And that sensitive stomach. Headaches...everything. They all were symptoms of celiac disease.

I asked my doctor if I quit eating gluten, would that help. He said no. There was no correlation.

But I pressed on. And I asked if I cut gluten out, maybe it would reduce the amount of medication I needed. He said it wouldn't matter but he agreed we could try and experiment and go gluten free for 6 weeks and then retest my thyroid.

I woke up the next day and started to avoid anything with wheat, barley or rye. After 7 days, my daily headaches were gone (gone by day 4). I had more energy and made it past 2:30 without feeling like I would collapse. And my stomach quit hurting.

I figured it was my imagination. I happened to be at my obstetrician's office for my yearly checkup and told her about it. I told her I figured I was imagining it and she said, no way. She believed there could really be a link.

I called my doctor and asked if it was possible, since I had this symptom relief, and I had these symptoms for most of my life, if I could be celiac. His immediate response was no. But he also agreed to run a celiac panel blood test. That would require me to be actively eating gluten. So I started to eat normally for the next 6 days. During that time, every time I ate something with gluten, I broke out in hives, itchy bumps and rashes, and then would get a horrible stomach ache. My headaches came back and my sinuses got very congested.

My blood test came back negative. No celiac.

But in order to test the theory about the absence of gluten having an effect on my thyroid, I went off the gluten after my celiac panel test for 6 weeks. During that time, each time I accidentally ingested anything with wheat, literally, a crumb, I would break out into a rash, run to the bathroom within 30 minutes followed by 3-5 days worth of dibilatating migraine headaches and sinus congestion. My reactions are always fairly immediate. Sometimes it takes an hour. Usually it's within 20-30 minutes. It's pretty miserable. (and as I write this, I'm regretting eating a bun-less hamburger tonight from a fast food place. My stomach is guessing it was on a bun and removed before given to me. Ugh.)

After 6 weeks gluten free and not yet on any thyroid medication, I went and had my thyroid blood test done again. My doctor called me at home. My thyroid. It was in the normal range. He didn't know why but told me not to take any medication and keep doing whatever it was I was doing.

Last month, I had a ton of medical tests and bloodwork done. One of the things they noted was my liver enzymes. My ALT and AST. They have been off the charts high for roughly 10+ years. They are both normal now.

Does that mean gluten is the problem? I don't know for sure. I know that I feel better when I don't eat it. I know that my thyroid, for now, is normal and so are my whacked out liver enzymes. And I know that when I do eat anything with even a trace of wheat in it, I get sick, really fast.

Is it possible I might have celiac?  I think the blood test can be false negative. I had gone off gluten and then only ate it in limited doses before having my blood test. I'm hoping to get gene tested next because you have to have one or two specific genes to even have the potential to have celiac. The other test is a biopsy of your gut but you have to be actively eating gluten to have it done. I don't see how I could possibly do that without making myself extremely sick. Maybe I get sick so easily because it is celiac...because of the skin reactions and rashes and the severity of all of my reactions and because I've spent most of my life with "sensitive stomach" issues. It seems like it was the culprit and was killing my thyroid and maybe had something to do with my liver autoimmune issue. But who knows.

That's why I'm gluten free.

In this space, this is where I plan on sharing good foods I find that I like or different meal ideas that are gluten free. It's been quite the learning curve. It helps a lot to share info because eating gluten free can be expensive. I hate to buy something only to find out it tastes terrible.

And truthfully, this process has been depressing. I haven't gotten back to cooking like I used to before. I feel somewhat defeated. And sad that eating isn't that easy anymore. It requires more time and thought. (for instance, I had to let my church know so that I could still take communion each Sunday. Luckily, they offer individually wrapped corn wafers)

It's not like I would go to Subway everyday to get a sandwich. But I miss it. I miss the taste of sweet, just out of the oven, smooshy breads. And I miss Oreos. And pies. Doughnuts. Not like I ate them often. But I miss them. So, when I find good stuff, I'll try to share it here and if you can't eat wheat or gluten either - hopefully, we can encourage each other to eat, drink and be merry in spite of the whole gluten free thing.

If you have a story to share about your own thyroid or gluten issues or a food suggestion - I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Family, Faith and Farming

There are certain things that reaffirm for me I'm doing right as a parent. 4H is one of them. The kids work so hard with their projects and can't wait for County Fair week. It is everything "americana" and so much more. I heard it quoted recently that if only more kids were involved in 4H that our crime rates would be virtually non-existent. I could never say enough good things about what my kids have gained from being involved in this program.

And Moms, this isn't just a rural program. 4H is everywhere. Even in the heart of downtown Chicago at very urban schools. They offer projects in robotics, electronics, mechanics, sports, nutrition, child care, sewing, baking, environmental sciences. There is TONS of stuff the kids can choose for projects and amazing life lessons to be learned with each one.

Our county fair was just a week and a few days ago and the Two Peas and my Sprout showed sheep for their first time. It was fabulous. The Peas purchased two market lambs with their own money. They paid for all the materials to build them a sun and rain shelter and fenced in area next to our barn. They paid for all the feed bills. This was their very own business. And in the end, after the livestock shows and finally the sale, they ended up $32 in the hole. Almost breaking even. It was an excellent lesson in investing, hard work and business.

I kept looking at my husband as they girls were going over their receipts and winking at him, asking, "Are you SURE we aren't going to help them with any of these bills??". And the answer was a firm, NO. This is a lesson in business. Of course, we will find a way to reward them for their months and months of hard work. 5:30am feedings that we never had to nudge them to do - they just got up and did it everyday on their own. But he wanted the lesson to sting a little, to feel what it was, which was an almost break even investment.

And the Peas were ok with that. And they can't wait to do it all over again. Because what they learned from the experience was more priceless than any monetary gain they could have gotten from selling their sheep.

Here are a few highlights from our 4H projects this year and our county fair. Candy making, archery, savvy shopping and sheep.

This just makes me happy

I love Halloween. It just makes me happy. It's the silly, dress up, handing out candy, playing games like bobbing for apples or flashlight tag that reminds me what it feels like to be a carefree kid again. It's joyful and fun and it just makes me happy.

My neighbors threw another epic Halloween party this year for the kids. They are incredible hosts and it was THE perfect fall afternoon.

I hope you have some mischievous fun this Halloween and enjoy the tricks AND treats!

Sew to Speak

I love visiting with local shops - they always have such a warm and welcoming community of friends and Sew to Speak in Clintonville is no exception. Thanks so much to Anita and April for hosting a book signing and class recently. Can't wait to visit again!

[ trusting in your talents ]

"Your talents are a gift. Are you just going to drop them, hoping that someone will give you your dream job and a fat salary just for being you? Or are you going to take responsibility for what you've got and really push yourself to do something great with those gifts? You have to believe in yourself enough to know that you've got talent and that you are worth the investment of time and effort. God valued you enough to give you those abilities. Value yourself enough to grow those talents to become great." - Michael Oher in "I Beat the Odds"

One of my friends posted this quote on Facebook this morning. Michael Oher is the kid who found a forever family, football fame and had his life story made into the movie, The Blind Side.

I've had this mental block for awhile now since I finished writing my book. I've found it hard to even organize my thoughts. I'm not sure why. I've had plenty of time to decompress and move forward.

I think partially, it's fear.

I'm not sure what is next. I don't know what God has planned for me. I don't know where to focus. Many days, I feel pulled in far too many directions. I think this is natural for a lot of people. You can't be on your game all the time.

This quote just gave me an "Ah-ha" moment this morning. Each of us, me, you, all of us...are born with talents. To teach children, to help people manage their finances, to care for people when they are sick, to build buildings, or make art...each of us has a talent.

How we will use it, share it, hone it, work on it, let it be of service to the greater good...all depends on believing in ourselves. And trust. Trusting that God knows what he's doing and that our hands will do His work, whatever our work may be.

So, although I may feel like my brain is working in a vat of molasses...there's a process and a reason and an opportunity for me, for you, to grow in who we were made to be.

I think I should get some gummy bears, coffee and ponder this thought a bit more. Gummy bears and Coffee always seem to make things better.

| under the sea - a work in progress |

Finishing up the text for this fun bag pattern that involves patchwork and zippers into a cross body bag. I have loved these prints from Mo Bedell from her Full Moon Lagoon line and couldn't wait to use them in lots of ways. Mo has another great line of fabric out that is equally bright and fun. Both are great prints to shoo-away the winter blues.

Look for this sometime in the future on the We All Sew website as a free pattern....I'll keep ya posted when it's live.

{Say hello to Oliver while you are here - my little kitten who I adore. And there might be a sneak peek of a cute apron that will be a free pattern too - just in time for Mother's Day crafting!}