Monday Musings.

Hello Again!

Thankyou lovelies for your comments on my last post.

Just sitting here at my desk, having attended to the Monday morning rush and wondering how it is that the weekend went by so fast.

On Saturday night, the Fella and I went to Cicciolina in St Kilda for an early dinner. I really recommend this place. The steak was to die for - it is not known as a steak restaurant but there it is. The service was also excellent - as they weren't busy they lavished attention (and little tasties of wine) on us. It is a Melbourne Stalwart, and was one of the first of the "no bookings for dinner" restaurants. Hence on a Friday or Saturday night it is good to get there early so you don't have to queue. If you are from interstate or overseas, definitely check this one out, as St Kilda is a great place to visit.

After that, we went to see the band "Of Monsters and Men" at the Palais (oh snap Ruth). They are an Icelandic indie Pop group and are great fun. If you are unfamiliar, please click below.

Lots of folks of all ages there, singing along and bopping. Very cutesy but in a cool way.

Yesterday I had the dog. Here is a picture

Did you or did you not squee at this? I would hope you did squee.

Anyway - Candydog isn't too well, her cancer has spread to her lymph nodes. So I was granted some access. The fella and I took her out for breakfast (she loves Cafes) and she MAY have got a whole pork sausage to herself. Plus half of my breakfast. We then took her for a walk. She is a bit slow on her legs, and has gotten tubby from the steroids she is on to hold things at bay. We let her sniff at every blade of grass she chose, piddle where she needed to and drink from as many puddles as she liked. She was a bit tired after the walk.

I have been a bit under the weather for the last week or two. Possibly some remnants of the SSRI withdrawal, but have had a lot of sinus headaches, and have been feeling bloated in the tummy. I have been on some antibiotics for some perioral dermatitis. I think this has upset things. All yesterday, everything I ate or drank was followed by a sinus headache (last night's was awful), nasal congestion and my tummy blowing up. I was most unwell last night, which is not the way I wanted to spend the festival of One Year.

After a bit of consideration, and given that I have just challenged myself to a month (mostly) without wine, I am going to see how I feel with 4 weeks off the wheat and dairy. Plus I am going to take some probiotics.
The reasons are below:

• I was diagnosed with Fructose Malabsorption in 2008 - part of the list of things to avoid is wheat, as it contains fructans. When I was strict off the wheat I felt really good, far less bloated and far clearer in the head. (I stopped being so strict cos I like wheaty things) If you want more info about fructose malabsporption I can write about it.
• I get very sinussy when I have dairy in significant quantities, and low fat is worse than full fat dairy. It can make me feel crappy.
• I am tired of feeling bloated. My fella is tired of me farting.
• It will probably be less of a challenge than wine avoidance.

Already this morning, I dodged the cream sponge that was there to celebrate a colleague's birthday. It was easy to say no after having made this decision.

I shall report back on compliance, and how I feel. NB I am off to Attica for a dinner with the fella so might have to have a night off - though looking at the menu it doesn't look like there is a lot of either on the menu. Will report on that meal too.

Casein and gluten are probably not any of our friends, but some people tolerate them better than others. That opinion is a bit of a fringe view, but is scientifically reasonable, and there is mounting evidence for it.

Speaking of sick and tired, I have had it up to my eyeballs with the federal election already. I like some of the reforms that Labor has made - Gonski, the NDIS, the Carbon and Mining tax. I think they need to go further. I think Labor's hardline stance on refugees is awful. I cringe at the prospect of more Labor infighting. And don't even get me started on Tony Abbott. Malcolm I could tolerate.

I think you can guess who I will be voting for.

I will actually be away overseas on Sept 7. Thank GAWD.

So tell me:

Have you ever tried eliminating things from your diet? How did it go?

What pisses you off most about the political parties?

Are you going to see any music gigs soon? Planning any good restaurant feeds?