nuts

I love nuts. All of them.  Almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia, pine, peanuts... (we're going by culinary definitions here!).  If you give me a nut, I'll be happy.  I promise. Thank God I don't have oral allergy syndrome, because my life would be over.

Cashews are probably my favorite nut (followed closely by pine nuts, pecans, and peanuts), and I just discovered I am allergic to them.  I am sad.

A few years ago I bought 2 pounds of cashews. They were roasted and delicious and my mouth still waters at the memory.  Nuts just might be my addiction; I can never eat just one. So, in less than 48 hours, I ate all 2 pounds of the cashews.  Yes, all of them.

Something funny happened to me after that.  I got a rash.  All over my arms and legs.  It itched, but it was only mild.  I made a mental note that perhaps it was an allergic reaction to the cashews.  I don't eat cashews very often, so over the next few years I never ate them.  Last year I munched on some cashews at my in-law's home but nothing happened, so I told myself I wasn't allergic to them.

Last week my husband and I were in Austin for his spring break.  We were staying at his sister's home, which is just a few blocks from a hike and bike trail.  One morning we got up and took the dog on a walk.  It's a beautiful trail, right on the edge of Lady Bird Lake. After a couple miles, we turned around.  It was then that I noticed the whole trail was surrounded by beautiful, green, leafy plants.  Poison ivy.  Everywhere.  I'm horribly allergic to poison ivy.  I don't even have to touch it to get it, the oils just need to be in the air around me.  I've gotten it twice all over my body.  All over my body, in every place you can imagine.  I think the worst place to get it is inbetween your toes and fingers, because they're constantly rubbing against each other and those spots get sweaty easily.

Later that day, we went to Whole Foods on North Lamar and I bought half a pound of raw almonds.  I ate about 2 ounces of them.

The next day, I woke up with a rash all over my arms.  I never get stressed (ask my husband), however this morning I began to feel a little bit panicky and we rushed over to HEB to find some medication.  Problem is, I wasn't sure if the rash was from poison ivy or cashews.  After much deliberation and a discussion with the pharmacist, I decided it was probably a cashew allergy and bought the recommended Zyrtec - the most expensive drug I've ever bought.  It was $25 for the generic brand.  After 48 hours of Zyrtec, the rash went away.  So, I've come to the depressing conclusion that I'm allergic to cashews.

I did some research on cashew allergies and found that lots of people who are allergic to poison ivy are also allergic to cashews. Apparently cashews and poison ivy are cousins - so beware of cashews if you're allergic to poison ivy. I also discovered that cashews are closely related to mangos and pistachios.  I'm crossing my fingers that I'm not also allergic to those

I sure am going to miss my cashews. :(

division

I'm sure my presence has been greatly missed.  I've been busy, very busy.

. . . busy relaxing on my spring break.

One thought:

division.

Why?  Why do we as humans allow ourselves to be so divided?  Obviously we're divided geographically and by language, but besides that.  Yes, everyone's different, but why do so many people gloat about it?  Everyone thinks and acts like they're *that* much better than everyone else.  Their language is better, their traditions are better, their religion is better (and within that, their sect/denomination is better), their clothing is better, their hair is better, their food is better, their lifestyles are better, their family ties are better... I could go on and on.

I'm not completely naive, as I do expect that to some degree, but I expect it so much less from adults who've lived life and seen things.  I expect this attitude more from the youth and less exposed populations, but I just don't get it when older adults walk about with pride.  I for one love different cultures and different aspects of different places and ethnic groups.  Yes, we're different, but that shouldn't divide us.  Why can't we embrace the fact that different doesn't mean worse/lesser/bad?  Admit the fact that we don't have it all together?   Maybe we *should* start looking at how other people do things, because we're definitely not perfect.  And, even within religions, while I believe there is only one truth, I do think all other religions are intriguing and have great traditions that I should perhaps carry into my own life.  And within my own faith, why should I pretend like I have all the answers?  If my God was small enough for me to understand, small enough for me to have all the answers about, why would I want to worship him?  There's so much to know, so much to understand, so much truth to grow in... let's not get stuck in rut and see only what we've known.

Let's open our eyes and admit we just *might* be wrong.  Let's embrace our differences and love each other because of them, not in spite of them.

star wars

me - "Are you going to make your kids watch Star Wars?"

Jesse - "No."

me - "What if they want to watch it?"

Jesse - "Okay."

me - "What if they want you to watch it with them?"

Jesse - "Then I will paint eyeballs on my eyelid and take a nap while they're distracted by the movie."

heavy topics

two heavy topics in my family violence class the last two weeks.

religion based medical neglect

and

ritualistic child abuse.

oh.  my.  goodnesss.

they make me want to run around and kill everyone.  it's not a christian thing to say, but i'm so angry toward "christians."  i'm fighting desires to hate them.  can your closest ally also be your greatest enemy?  i'm beginning to think so.