last night was worse than yesterday morning. Way way way worse. I spent the middle part of the day travelling all around town, taking A to his 9-month check-up, then visiting my soon-to-be-former place of employment, then to Diaper-eez for to pick up $200 worth of snap-on diapers for 'the boy who would not stop moving', then to haul ass back to neighbourhood to sign lease on new apartment. Get home. Eat stuff I shouldn't eat. Pay the price miserably for the rest of the evening with continued vomiting and watery diarrhea. I have finally rid myself of that hideous, fermented-soy burp taste, and have also noted a 5-7 lb loss in weight. Let's have that one again: I lost a minimum of 5 lbs in ONE day. wtf?

N stayed home again today because I was too weak to even pick up A. I'm doing better now. I can pick him up and pee him. Woo!

So... how did I know it was the soy that did me in? For starters, I'd experienced less-severe versions of this in the past (by which, I mean only the watery diarrhea that seems to come out of nowhere with zero notice making it impossible to leave the house). On 3 other occasions, actually. And all were accompanied by the very potent and unforgettable fermented-soy burp taste. I never clued in that it was *soy* until I explored those past experiences more fully.

The first happened after I had mixed apple juice with my soy milk in my cereal one morning. I thought it was just the apple juice and soy combo, so I never repeated that. The second experience is the fuzziest, but I know I ended up not being able to teach that day, due to the can't-stray-from-a-bathroom phenomenon. I don't actually remember what I ate that precipitated it. The third time came after L bought me a different brand of soy milk that I wasn't used to, so I never bought that brand again.

And this last time? Well, that came on the heels of the following diet:
Tamari several times last week
Miso at some point last week
Tempeh on Friday and Saturday
Tofu on Saturday and Sunday
Miso on Monday
Tofu on Tuesday
Hideousness on Wednesday

What's interesting is that while I was eating dinner on Tuesday (which was fabulous, btw), I kept thinking, "This is too much tofu. This is too much soy. It has become a meat replacement, which it's not supposed to be." Cue GI distress several hours later to validate this line of thinking.

So I can't have wheat or dairy or soy. At least I can still have corn and can kinda have sugar. Why is the North American diet so heavily based in these five substances? What happened to dietary variety? WTF? Me no like. Me want easy meal planning with good food. Me want FAST meal planning with safe food. Harumph.

It has come to my attention that I am allergic to an excess of soy (defined as an unspecified amount). This realisation came about this morning when I had the typical symptoms of a soy protein allergy (profuse vomiting and watery diarrhea) right after a dinner with tofu. Can I share with you how much fun it is to try to nurse your son right before and right after the vomiting? especially when he likes to kick you in the stomach because he has so much energy that he doesn't know what to do with it other than MOVE? Oh so much fun.

I am eternally grateful that N has good benefits and can take a sick day today.

I have no idea what we're going to do about A's doctor's appointment at 2pm today. I hope I'm well enough to leave the house by then... Otherwise, Aidan will have to go without me (which upsets me because I haven't actually been away from him for more than a walk around the block since he was born), or we owe a cancellation fee of some amount.

***

Is it possible to be healthfully vegan while also being wheat- and soy-free? Or, at the very least, wheat-free, soy-free, and dairy-free?

What's interesting (and upsetting) is that I can trace the cause of all of these allergies back to when I was a very very small baby. I was formula-fed because my dad didn't want my mother to nurse me. Due to the nature of their relationship, she obliged resentfully (and went on to nurse my sister for a full 7-9 months when she was born 2.5 years later). So *I* have all the food issues that my sister does not.

Soy and dairy are the only two types of formula base on the market and both can cause serious gastro-intestinal upset in the baby, resulting many times in a lifelong sensitivity/intolerance/allergy that may or may not ever be noticed (people can put up with a lot of allergy symptoms and never trace it back to the source). The wheat comes into play because my idiot pediatrician thought it was a brilliant idea to start me on solids (via cereal in my bottle) at 6 WEEKS. Well before the lining of my gut was intact (see here for illustration). So all these proteins (wheat gluten, dairy casein, and soy protein) wreak havoc on my body.

The wheat and dairy proteins breach my gut lining and find their way into my bloodstream, doing various unwelcome things to my person (from mild herpetic dermatitis, to swelling of mucosal membranes making it difficult for me to breathe through my nose, to doping me up all opiate-like and creating a physical dependence on the so-called nutrient). The soy protein causes severe gastro-intestinal upset. Thankfully, I'm not so sensitive to soy protein as to not be able to have it at all; I can only have it in serious moderation, and no tinkered-with monstrosities such as soy protein isolate that you find in protein power bars.

Moral of the story? FEED YOUR BABY BREASTMILK!!!

In the meantime, I've got to figure out how to feed myself. I'm heavily reliant on bread and butter as a snack, by which, I actually mean my kamut multi-grain sourdough and my vegan margarine. I had to switch to the vegan margarine when I discovered that all the other margarines contained whey, which was still getting into my bloodstream and causing GI upset in my son. ...but my vegan margarine contains both soybean oil *and* soy protein. Fuckity.

Breastmilk, people. It's what we're made to eat when we're babies. Not this bullshit artificial milk that hurts and kills babies and lines the pockets of doctors and CEOs.

I have a ton of other problems, too, because I was not breastfed that I've been saving for a post, but I haven't had any time.

So we made it to Fressen this evening and, lo, it was open. Here's my review:

Fressen is an haute cuisine, vegan restaurant with several wheat-free and gluten-free menu items. Their food is presented as art and tastes exquisite. The prices aren't too bad ($9 for all salads and entrées, $6 for soups and $5 for sides), but their portions are too small.

Additionally, while they list several components of any given dish on the menu, they do not list ALL components, which is how I ended up with red bell pepper in my quinoa salad. They had no problems taking it back. But when I got my replacement dish, it had puréed bell pepper garnish on the sides of the plate, which the server realised as she was handing me the plate. Try and keep a messy tower of salad in the middle of a plate. Just try it.

They are also not the least bit baby-friendly. NO HIGHCHAIRS. Fresh has highchairs. *sigh* Oh, and when I mentioned to the server that they might want to consider getting a highchair, she replied something to the effect that they've been open for eight years and the owner still hasn't gotten one and that he must have a very good reason. (Meaning, we don't want no stinkin' babies cryin' up the joint, kthxbai.)

So I give it a lukewarm Meh. I had an easier time at Sushi Time, even though I can't have the soy sauce with my vegan sushi.

for those of you who aren't on misslynx's LJ, and thus have not heard, she and I are separating. It was a long-time coming and was not really a surprise for either of us. Still, it sucks.

She has an apartment, and now optimystik and I officially have one, too. We're still all in the same neighbourhood, and N and I are in the building he lived in before he moved in with us, right around the corner from where we currently live.

We all have a good overlap for moving. L has a month and N and I have 2 weeks. We have all started packing.


A. has teeth. Three of them. Soon (it fucking better be soon, dammit), there will be a fourth. Today... has been trying, with the teething. *head wall*


In nutrition news, I have read The China Study and am now mostly vegan (mostly whole foods, no dairy, the occasional egg, and my fish oil). If you have had experiences (first-hand or second-hand) with cancer, heart disease, alzheimer's, osteoporosis, diabetes, auto-immune diseases and, well, any other weird, chronic ailment, I highly suggest that you or the afflicted party read this book. Basically, if you eat food, you should read this book. It is extremely well-documented and very convincing. I feel better knowing that food adults eat should resemble the composition of breastmilk: lots of good carbs, an appropriate amount of fat, and a little bit of protein. And that we should eat lots during the day. It's ok that food doesn't stick with you. It's ok if you're hungry a couple of hours after you last ate. Knowing this helps me a lot in my daily struggle to fill my pie-hole while caring for a nearly-9-month old babe.

I have also read the first chapter of The Omnivore's Dilemma and am glad that I have switched over to using only organically-grown, non-GMO corn products (I survive mostly on snacks of corn chips and salsa and occasionally guacamole).

I am looking forward to someday eating at Fressen, which is vegan and has wheat- and gluten-free food and does not seem to rely on bell peppers, raw tomatoes, and celery as primary components of their menu. They were closed for some reason last night. I was pissed, but got to enjoy vegan sushi at Sushi Time on Queen.

Life is a little crazy right now.

I've been dizzy for the last 2-3 days, off and on. It's really annoying.

I'm getting enough liquids and am not going too hungry. I have been eating lots less meat but I'm still getting plenty of protein... just less than my body is used to.

The dizziness doesn't subside when I eat, so I think it's something else.

How long does it take for an inner ear infection to develop? That's the only thing I can think of. I haven't had any pain or irritation, but I've been getting water in my ears when I wash my hair (weekly), so that could be it...

And if that's what's causing the dizziness, how do I get rid of it?

for plumjudy, in particular, because it reminded me of part of a conversation we had last time I visited: Advaita Vedanta

i also recently discovered that a neighbourhood mama friend knows some of the same circus peeps i know. my world gets smaller and smaller.

ETA: as a bonus to the parents and someday-parents: Advice for Parents To Be (#s 1, 7, & 9 are the best).

Having dreadlocks suddenly means any one or a combination of the following:

I like reggae music.
I am a Rasta.
My preferred scent is patchouli.
I have to used stuff in my hair to keep it locked up.
I don't wash my hair.
oh, and the obvious: I'll have to shave my head to get the locks out.


Really, for 3 month old locks, this isn't too bad a list.

Someday, I'll post more photos.

I can't believe he's already 7 months old!

He's been cruising a fair bit. He's currently learning to duck when crawling and will go under my arched leg a few times a day. Earlier today, he crouched nearly flat to the floor because he wanted to follow one of our cats under the bed. It was so cute! But I picked him up before he got any further... I don't want him to be able to crawl under beds yet.

He knows his name and is reacting in a cat-like manner when called (sometimes he'll pay attention and sometimes he won't, depending on how engrossed he is in his world). He knows "potty" and will smile great big if he has to go when asked and signed to. He knows "milk" and will bury his face in my cleavage if he's hungry, which he usually is because he has the metabolism of a hummingbird.

He understands when we ask him to turn lightswitches off and can usually do so, but he has a more difficult time turning them on. He gets less practice with that, though, so it's no wonder.

Oh, and he's been climbing on things and over things.

He's gonna give me a billion heartattacks throughout his childhood, I just know it. *sigh*

Also, he's amazing. I love watching him discover the world around him and seeing his brain work. He astounds me and brings a sense of wonder to my everyday. I'm so grateful for him.

This time it was a huge chimpanzee, followed by a monkey, a bear, an elephant, the disembodied head of the bear, and then the chimp again. Somehow, in the dream, I remember thinking, "don't freak out; it'll be over soon; it's just a dream." Which never happens to me.

Last time, it was 2-3 bears.

The time before that, it was several aquatic mammals and huge fish. There was no water involved, though. They were all floating where the water would have been.


***

Also, I'm getting weary of the night wakings. Not Aidan's, because he rarely wakes up fully, but mine. Several times a week, I'll wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to get back to sleep for 1-2 hours. Currently, I've been awake for an hour and a half. No fun. At least I have the option of napping with A during the day. Glad my wicked, near-migraine is gone.

I miss having time to post here.

We have a tooth! Ack! The boy GROWS UP just a little more... :\

(and we have pre-cruising and, finally, after crawling for a full month, a solid grasp on depth perception!)

*looks up at 4-foot icicle hanging from eavestrough*

Please oh please be careful walking around today, folks. I have a bad feeling of someone getting it in the noggin from one of those things.

death by icicle on Valentine's Day (or any other day) is not a great way to go.

Well, this is depressing. With all the changes I've made and all the crap I spout about greening your life and whatnot, I get a less than stellar score on the Eco-Footprint Quiz.

According to this, if everyone lived the way I do, we would need 2.6 earths.

Except that we only have the one.


My total footprint is estimated at 4.7 hectares, which, granted, is far less than the 8.8 hectares the average Canadian uses. But when it says that there are only 1.8 biologically productive hectares per person, I've definitely fallen short. My guess is that the meat-eating and the packaged food put me far above where I'd like to be. Maybe I don't eat as much packaged food as I thought... Idunno. Regardless, I eat more meat than I'd like, but at least it's from The Healthy Butcher.

It doesn't take everything into account, though. I make my own toothpaste now, using fairly simple and very basic products (salt, baking soda, glycerin, essential oils). I've started washing my face using the Oil Cleansing Method and it's been working really well, so no more buying things like Neutrogina blah blah blah with Alpha-hydroxy acid whatever. I'm currently working on figuring out a sustainable form of deodorant. I knitted a hemp scouring pad which holds soap better than standard dishcloths (which I also knitted), and I turn off the water while soaping up every dish. We got a better kitchen sink faucet that helps with that (the lever kind rocks my socks!).

Anyhow, I thought I'd share my shame and my latest progress. :-)

And now time to give some lovin' to my little wonder boy. His smiles make me all puddle-like. SOOOOO AWESOME!!! Did I mention he was crawling at 5.5 months? Yup. Videos! (someday, we'll figure out how to upload the ones from the camera that has a mic. His giggles are hysterical!) Happy little Energizer Bunny Boy. Buuuuny! /dork

I'm a postin' fool! Woohoo!

Ok, here's the thing: I have discovered that the corks from wine bottles (and some other types of liquor bottles, I guess) do NOT need to be tossed in the garbage. There Is Another Way!

There is a cork recycling program in Ontario called Bag-a-Cork.

"Cork is an amazing natural material that is 100% reusable and recyclable. An estimated 100 million corks will be discarded in Ontario this year. Please join Ontario Girl Guides [OMG Girl Guides?!?] in this unique waste diversion program and recycle your natural cork bottle stoppers. As of December 2006 Ontario Girl Guides have diverted over 5 tonnes of cork bottle stoppers since the inception of this program in Ontario in February 2005. That is approximately 1.6 million cork bottle stoppers!"

So how do you get the corks to where they need to go? Why, I'm glad you asked. Here is a handy-dandy bin locator.

Drink up, recycle your bottles ANd your corks! W00t!

How Green is Bamboo Fabric? (it's not, unfortunately.)

The 5 Hidden Dangers in Toothpaste

(I've been making my own, using this recipe: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/teeth1.html)

Turn off the heat (Japan) They're hardcore and it's inspiring. It's also an old story from 2006, but it's still inspiring.

Speaking of heat, it was finally dealt with in our apartment (it's been crazy hot). Unfortunately, it was overly dealt with and now we have no heat. I am unhappy with this. Moderation would be nice. Especially for someone who has gone a winter and a half being able to wear tanktops at home the whole time. A nice transition period would be much appreciated. Yesterday, we had the windows open still from it being too hot, and now I can barely feel my fingers. Argh. It will eventually get taken care of.

In the meantime, I will be grateful that we can actually have a fire in our fireplace and enjoy the HEAT as well as the pretty flames. Fire IS pretty. :)

from this blog entry, using a revolving door is the greener option: "classic swing doors exchange roughly eight times as much air than their revolving counterparts, which are far superior in the energy saving department."

Breathing Earth displays the CO2 emissions of every country in the world, taking birth and death rates into account, in real time.

Pedestrian Sundays in Kensington Market! I had no idea...

This local (as in Toronto) potter recycles her extra, unused clay instead of tossing it. This makes her the better (greener) choice for people interested in buying pottery from a local artisan.

This woman is awesome! She writes for the National Post, which makes her an aberration because she's a leftist greenie. (The NP is stupid conservative.) Her self-challenge has been to make one green change in her life every single day of the year, and she blogs about it all. Oh, and she just moved from her condo into her very own house. Here's a Treehugger post about it.

Also in the category of wicked cool green blogging is this woman: Confessions of a Closet Environmentalist. She's got a particularly brash style of writing that really keeps me entertained. LOVE!

College stoner: Wouldn't it be awesome if, instead of being Oedipus's mother, Jocasta was Wal-Mart or some other embodiment of the commercial-industrial complex? And, instead of blinding himself with his mother-wife's brooches, Oedipus stabs himself in the eyes with his name tag pin? Like, I wonder what that all would mean, dude. You ever think about that?
Studious black friend: Wow. Pretentious much? Or are you just hashed right now?
College stoner: Hashed, man. Totally. What were we talking about, again? Oh, yeah!

--The Strand, Union Square

Does anyone know where I can purchase a glass spray bottle? I'm not talking about the dinky aromatherapy spritzers. I want a medium-sized (pint? half-litre?) sprayer in glass and my Google-fu is failing me. ('glass spray bottle' turns up only the aromatherapy spritzers)

I have seen them before, so I know they exist.

does anyone know anything about the correlation between water heater temperature and steam-rod/radiator heaters?

the hot water in our apartment is WAAAAAAAAAAAYY too hot. We're talkin' 3rd degree burn territory, easily. We have radiators/steam-rods. Does the water heater have to be this hot in order for the radiators to put out heat? or is this a stupid waste of energy/unnecessary danger to tenants (and their little babies)?

1. For fuck's sake, it's pronounced MAY TIE, not my tie. Mei tai is a traditional Chinese baby carrier. Mai tai is an alcoholic beverage. *head desk*

2. alexisyael is right: TEETHING SUCKS!!!

3. and so does bronchitis and noro-virus, right on its heels with teething added to the mix. It's been so much fun around here.

And that's pretty much all I have time to share... :\