Yes, Barack Obama won the Election of 2008. I did not vote for him, but I will support him now, because let's face it...we're stuck with him for at least four years. Today, my Grandma sent me an email about something David Letterman had said. And I thought I would share it on my blog, because he is very true. With all the complaints about Bush and the state of the country, no one is stopping to look at all the good in this country:

As most of you know I am not a President
Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not
about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it
seems to hit the mark.
The other day I was reading Newsweek
magazine and came across some Poll data I found
rather hard to believe. It must be true given
the source, right?


The Newsweek poll alleges that 67
percent of Americans are unhappy with the
direction the country is headed and 69 percent of
the country is unhappy with the performance of
the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry
just ain't happy and want a change. So being the
knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What
are we so unhappy about?''


A.. Is it that we have electric ity and
running water 24 hours a day, 7 D ays a week?


B.. Is our unhappiness the result of
having air conditioning in the summer and heating
in the winter?


C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of
these unhappy folks have a job?


D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk
into a grocery store at any time and see more
food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last
year?


E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our
cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the
Atlantic Ocean without having to present
identification papers as we move through each
state?


F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean
and safe motels we would find along the way that
can provide temporary shelter?


G.. I guess having thousands of
restaurants with varying cuisine from around the
world is just not good enough either.


H. Or could it be that when we wreck
our car, eme rgency workers show up and provide
services to help all and even send a helicopter
to take you to the hospital.


I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70
percent of Americans who own a home.


J.. You may be upset with knowing that
in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of
trained firefighters will appear in moments and
use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames,
thus saving you, your family, and your
belongings.


K.. Or if, while at home watching one
of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or
prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun
and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you
and your family against attack or loss .


L.. This all in the backdrop of a
neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and
pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where
90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.


M.. How about the complete religio us,
social and political freedoms we enjoy that are
the envy of everyone in the world?


Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks
unhappy.


Fact is, we are the largest group of
ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever
seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet
has a great disdain for its citizens. They see
us for what we are. The most blessed people in
the world who do nothing but complain about what
we don't have, and what we hate about the country
instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.


I know, I know. What about the
president who took us into war and has no plan to
get us out? The president who has a measly 31
percent approval rating? Is this the same
president who guided the nation in the dark days
after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to
bring an economy out of recession? Could this
be the same guy who has been called every name in
the book for succeeding in keeping all the
spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist
attacks? The commander in chief of an
all-volunteer army that is out there defending
you and me?


Did you hear how bad the President is
on the news or talk show? Did this news affect
you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't
take a look around for yourself and see all the
good things and be glad? Think about
it.......are you upset at the President because he
actually caused you personal pain OR is it
because the 'Media' told you he was failing to
kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.
Make no mistake about it.


The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have
volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have
died for your freedom. There is currently no
draft in this country. They didn't have to go.
They are able to refuse to go and end up with
either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than
honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a
''dishonorable' discharge after a few days in
the brig.


So why then the flat-out discontentment
in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?


Say what you want but I blame it on the
media. If it bleeds it leads and they
specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a
car crash with blood and guts How many will
watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The
media knows this and media outlets are for-profit
corporations. They offer what sells, and when
criticized, try to defend their actions by
'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask
why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J..
Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill
his wife, but if he did he would have done it
this way......Insane!


Turn off the TV, burn N ewsweek, and use the New
York Times for the bottom of your bird cage.
Then start being grateful for all we have as
country.. There is exponentially more good than
bad. We are among the most blessed people on
Earth and should thank God several times a day,
or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With
hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud
slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up
the country from one end to another, and with the
threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we
sure this is a good time to take God out of the
Pledge of Allegiance?'


David Letterman

It's just something to think about. Maybe Obama can help fix things that need fixing, but no matter what, someone will be unhappy. We should focus on the things we do have.

~Taylor~

We're raising money to build a Habitat for Humanity house! I'm very excited about this opportunity. I am getting ready to get out there and raise money for this awesome cause. We have to raise 40,000 in order to be able to build the house. So after the money we already have, each student only needs to raise $100. I think we all should be able to go above and beyond that, and can hopefully start a fund for the next house we can start to build!

More information later. I hope whoever reads this will want to contribute also, and I will get you info on how you can. Thank you so much! I really appreciate any support!

~Taylor~

Well, I have been having issues...we'll call them intestinal issues. Now, if I were anyone else, I would think...hmm, I should probably eat healthier and drink more fluids...etc, etc. And I do think that is what I should/need to do...but I have a mother who has celiac disease. It is hereditary, and I have the marker for it in my genes. It just has to be triggered for me to get the disease as well. Isn't that just mean? I don't think I necessarily have it right now. I think I'm not eating very well and I need to eat healthier. However, because I am having the intestinal issues, and the celiac disease effects the intestines...I just want to test if it would help.

So...no gluten for me. For a week. I am not sure if a week is really long enough, but Saturday I'm going to have to eat band food...and I'm pretty sure there is Mac & Cheese -- that is really good -- being served. So I think after being off gluten for a week, and then eating Mac & Cheese on Saturday will give me a clue either way. If it super effects me, then I need to visit the doctor, if not really...then I'm good. At least for the time being.

I have decided I am going to blog about my week experience. Also do some research. In my decision to do this, I thought about what I can eat around campus. Surprisingly, the more I thought about it, the less I could eat. There really is not a lot around campus for someone on a gluten free diet to dine on. So I'm going to do some investigative reporting on the situation!

Now, today I decided I would run by Food Lion, grab some breakfast and lunch for today. A quick run in and out stop turned into about 20 minutes in the freezer section. Things you think wouldn't have wheat in it does! Such as baked cinnamon apples...yes, it has flour in it. So I spent a long time looking at different items that would be gluten free. I finally found a Glazed Chicken with rice and green beans meal. It was alright. While I was eating it I heard the news that there were gun shots heard in Pritchard Hall. I pretty much freaked out because it took me back to April 16th, 2007. So I had to force feed myself since I was sick to my stomach. I knew I needed to eat. After the news had come in that it was a different sound, and not gun shots I felt so much better. I ate some Kettle Korn so I had something to munch on and calm my nerves!

After work, I was thinking I would like a taco from Taco Bell! They're gluten free right?! Well, sort of. I tried calling my mom and my dad to ask them if a taco from taco bell was alright, but I couldn't get a hold of either of them. So I googled it. I googled "taco bell gluten free" and I clicked on the first link. The part that said...

"My brother started working at Taco Bell a few months ago. One of the first things he noticed was that there was NO way a GF person could safely eat there because of all the cross-contamination. So, we don't eat no stinkin' Taco Bell." Poster to SillyYak site, 10/07

...made me think that Taco Bell might not be the best thing to eat. So I googled Wendy's. I know what my mom gets when we run by there for a quick bite to eat, so I figured I'd just get that. But I googled gluten free Wendy's anyway, and the first link was a PDF of everything that was gluten free at Wendy's awesome!

So I got some chili, a baked potato with sour cream, a kid's chocolate frosty (just my size!), and a root beer. Normally I wouldn't get the soda, but I went through a lot today, so I thought I deserved it.

I think I'm all set for the day!

~Taylor~

Today, I ate some peaches at work for breakfast. I hadn't gotten my rice chex cereal yet, so I stuck with the cup'o'peaches! It wasn't very much, so I ended up eating two of them, but I have my chex cereal now, so it is all good!

For lunch I had some Cheesy Chicken with Rice and Broccoli. It was surprisingly really good! Which I am glad it was good, because I spent about $4 on that thing. I don't like spending that much on a frozen food meal, but it is worth it for the time being and trying out this diet.

Alex and I went shopping for retreat. I was getting ingredients for what I am making for the Holiday dinner...Turkey Nachos. Only, I got Cheddar Cheese Soup. I forgot that most soups have flour in them to thicken it. So my mom suggested I get Velveeta. So hopefully that will work. So I can eat my own contribution to dinner! I also stopped by Annie Kay's Whole Foods to get Gluten Free Spice Cake Mix for Pumpkin Muffins. I've already tried that, and it's alright...but a little sticky. Gluten free stuff is never exactly like the real stuff. I think after years and years of being gluten free, you don't remember the real stuff. But I'm not sure if that statement is true, because I've only been two days free of gluten.

My dad called and asked if I wanted to go out for some dinner, so I said yes, MACADO'S! I knew I would have to get something different than my regular Grilled Munster on a bagel or Mac & Cheese! So I got a Betty Boop without the bread...and without the bacon, but that's because I don't like bacon. So basically I had turkey and Munster cheese warmed and melted on a plate. And a pickle. YUM! And as a bonus they had milkshakes for $2! Sweet! :)

So now I've made my pumpkin muffins, and I'm going to ice them soon. Tomorrow I'll look into getting that Velveeta cheese stuff for the Turkey (well...chicken actually...) Nachos.

~Taylor~

Hi. My name is Taylor and I've been Gluten Free for 4 days.

So this weekend was difficult. Because we had Holiday Dinner at our Tau Beta Sigma mini retreat. I made stuff that was gluten free. The Chicken Nachos and Pumpkin Muffins I talked about in my last blog post.

Luckily I still had a full plate. I went first so I knew no one had contaminated the gluten free things. I had chicken, mashed potatoes, chicken nachos, roast beef (thanks to Julianna for specifically making it gluten free!), and one of my muffins. It was a good meal. I still felt sick later after eating it. And I haven't felt improved in these past four days. So it either needs more time, or it's something else. I'm hoping it is something else because boy do I miss pizza, and Mac & cheese, and BREAD! And I mean the real stuff...while I could deal with the gluten free stuff if I had to, I just hope I don't have to.

I also bought Rice Chex cereal for breakfast, but i forgot it, so there was no breakfast for me this morning while everyone had eggo waffles. I didn't feel like eating another pumpkin muffin. So I got almonds at Starbucks later on.

So I successfully made it through the weekend without gluten...as far as I could help. I still have about 5 more days of this. Kevin is taking me out Friday to Outback. They have an extensive gluten free menu, and their Thunder from Down Under is gluten free, and it is SO GOOD! HOLY CRAP! :P

~Taylor~

Hi. My name is Taylor and I have been gluten free for five days.

Today I didn't really eat much. I'm at a point where all I want is some freakin' Mac & Cheese and bread and pasta and pizza and cookies! But I am determined to get through this week! I'm just tired of trying. And I know that if I do have Celiac Disease I'll have to try for the rest of my life, but being in college...we students live off of quick, easy to make meal. And most quick, easy to make meals are not gluten free. So, I pretty much ate rice chex cereal all day. I wanted a snack, and stopped by rite aid across the street from the bus stop on my way to class. There is no gluten free snack at rite aid...other than candy...or something. But I have been craving double dipped chocolate peanuts, and they had those! So I got a bag of those and a Mocha Frap to wake me up for class.

I'm hungry. I want nothing more to have a huge meal with whatever I want. It's tough doing this! It'd be tough doing this for the rest of forever. Either that, or I keep eating whatever I want and die a slow death of starvation. That's a weird sentence, but it is true.

Yesterday I was talking to Lindsay, and she told me I can look up the ingredients to Au Bon Pain's soups online. So I searched it on vt.edu, and it had a website that actually showed what food allergies it could have in it! Turns out a lot of soups are gluten free. I think VT only has one soup that is gluten free though. The Vegetarian Chili.

The others are soups like...Vegetarian Lentil Soup, Vegetarian Black Bean Soup, Tomato Rice Soup, Southwest Tortilla Soup (sounds the yummiest!), Potato Cheese Soup, Portuguese Kale Soup, Gazpacho (??? what's that ???), Garden Vegetable Soup, French Moroccan Tomato Lentil Soup, and Curried Rice and Lentil Soup.

Where's all the MEAT?! My mom was a vegetarian before she had Celiac Disease, but decided she needed to eat meat since going gluten free eliminated so many things. And I have no intention of getting rid of meat. I want to eat meat. I would like meat in my soup!

Just gotta get through the week, then I'll test myself by eating gluten...and I think it might make more of an impact since I haven't been eating it everyday. It would make an impact if I have CD, but if not...then I go on feeling miserable and not know why.

Maybe I need to take one of those allergy test things.

~Taylor~

I broke down and went to Taco Bell. My mom said she doesn't have problems with the tacos there, so I figured it'd be alright to eat some. So I did. YUM! Until my tummy felt sick. But that's typical.

I've been sick, so I haven't felt like eating much. I think I got a cough from being out in the cold for so long Sunday morning. And it just has gotten worse and worse. This happens every year. I'm looking forward to when it is gone and I don't feel like I have a frog in my throat! Plus it keeps making me lose my voice, and I sound totally weird.

I will be so grateful for sleep tonight.

3 days left.

~Taylor~

So I went one more day on Wednesday Gluten Free. I had a gluten free Thursday morning, then Thursday evening I went to PK's for their tijuana toss and to have my first tastes of gluten in over a week!

It was wonderful. PKs pizza had never tasted so fantastic!

And, after waiting and waiting, I didn't feel sick, bloated, or any pain! So, if I did have Celiac, I think I would have felt something being off the gluten for a whole week. So, for now, and according to my experiment, I don't think I have it. I still have the genes for it. And it just has to be triggered, and BOOM! I have it.

Sucks, huh?

Now I've been tasting my favorites! I missed them that whole week!

~Taylor~