damn. way to get into the Christmas spirit.

I think you need to talk to them about this.

someone on facebook mentioned The bloggess- so I started reading

[link]

the above link is from her sex column

let's set the alarm clock should not become a euphemism according to DH.

Not really safe for work - because you will be saying things out loud , even though you shouldn't.

I didn't realize she had a sex blog. Clearly I don't poke around her site enough.

less happy news: mom now feels pressure and around her eye. MRI will happen as soon as possible.

Lots of ~ma for figuring out what is going on, and for getting it all sorted out. Plus some coping and peace~ma.

Pix and Drew, I'm sending warm thoughts and vibes for you, and for Byron, and for your whole household.

erika, stupid conditioning making you all conditioned to feel afraid in your living room just because you associate it with a rather nasty experience. I hope it fades into the background quickly

Ginger, what those people did was pretty crappy. I hope they can be reasoned with.

{{Ginger}} Sounds like those high school buddies haven't quite gotten past high school yet. I wonder if they even realize how casually cruel they are being? Do any of them take criticism well, or would it be fruitless to even mention it?

Shir, much ~ma to your mother. May the MRI provide some answers this time around.

{{Pix and Drew}} I'm so sorry about Byron. Peace~ma to him and you.

Paging Teppy! I think I've seen you rave about a pumpkin bread that you make. I'm pretty sure it's gluten free, and as such I'm hoping you've either shared the recipe here before and could point me to the post or would be willing to share it again. We've got a potluck at work next Monday and I'd like to bring a gluten free bakery product. We've got a significant number of folks with gluten problems at work and I never see any gluten free offerings when there are cakes/cookies/pies/etc.

oh, as usual dear. We have a fairly new receptionist (although she prefers to be called "Customer Experience Specialist") who's set up the phone system so that unless she or someone picks up an incoming call, if you don't know the extension of the person you're calling, you can't leave a message. There's no way to leave a voicemail on the main number; we supposedly have a directory, but I found out that it doesn't work.

We're moving soon and in a meeting to discuss the kinds of things people would like to have, she suggested having music piped through the office. Everyone else thought it was a horrible idea - possibly the worst - so it looks like that's not going to happen.

Seriously - what goes on in some people's minds?

Paging Teppy! I think I've seen you rave about a pumpkin bread that you make. I'm pretty sure it's gluten free, and as such I'm hoping you've either shared the recipe here before and could point me to the post or would be willing to share it again. We've got a potluck at work next Monday and I'd like to bring a gluten free bakery product. We've got a significant number of folks with gluten problems at work and I never see any gluten free offerings when there are cakes/cookies/pies/etc.

I may have posted it in Natter. Let me look. It requires that you buy gluten-free flour or baking mix or something; it's not just magically free of grains.

Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2 c. flour -- you need a gluten-free all-purpose flour here
1 c. pumpkin (if you use fresh pumpkin, omit the 1/4 cup of water listed below, because fresh has a higher water content)
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
(for the last 4 ingredients, you could just swap in 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice mix if you have it)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the ingredients together. Grease a loaf pan, pour batter in. Sprinkle with cinnamon on top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

You can add in chopped nuts, dried cranberries, or chocolate chips as your heart desires.

Alternatively, if your heart is not set on pumpkin bread, the easiest gluten-free route, especially for someone who hasn't baked anything GF before, is to just get one of the gluten-free Betty Crocker mixes. (There is a brownie mix -- which is excellent -- as well as yellow cake and chocolate cake mixes, which are also very good. There's also a mix for chocolate chip cookies, but I haven't tried it, so I don't know how they turn out.)

Thanks, Tep! I thought I'd buy gluten-free flour for this, do you have one you'd recommend? Or are they all pretty similar when it comes down to it?