Words

I sometimes make reference to things when tweeting/texting/blogging that may not make sense to a person not living in my head. I don't recommend you live in my head. It's not a healthy place. But, here is a quick rundown of what words mean.

PTB - I ripped this off from Angel. It literally stands for Powers That Be. I use it to refer to any of the higher ups at work.

Brooks Brothers - this is simply the artist formerly known as Team Paul. See also PTB

Awesomesauce - I want to make this word happen. Let's do it.

Boh - This is one of my favorite Italian phrases/expressions. I don't think it's an actual word. It's more an expression or a sound. It's best expressed with a shoulder shrug. What does it mean, you ask? "I don't know" or "Whatever" or "I don't care." And the exact meaning is best expressed by intonation. We say it a lot in my family. One of my favorite examples of how the word is used is this story.

A few years back I was in Rome with a good friend of mine.
Our first night there we tried to go to the Coloseum or the Forum and failed at both.
We were also followed by the gay pickpocketers of Rome who tried to break into our suitcases while we tried to find out hotel.
We were not loving the Rome.
So, walking we passed by an Irish pub. We decided beer would make everything better. (this was before the gluten free days.)
We walked in. Ordered pints. Drank. Ordered french fries. They were amazing and cooked in olive oil. They were amazing. I still remember how wonderful those fries were. And I'm not a big french fries person. But those fries - holy shit.
But I digress.
While we sat at the bar loving those fries and drinking beer, we were amused by the bartender.
He was confused by us because he knew everyone else in the bar but not us.
He bought us shots. Of what I'm not sure.
I finally started talking to him in Italian and he eventually loosened up.
Then I noticed there was Brazil flag on the ceiling. So I asked -
Why do you have a flag of Brazil on your ceiling?
He looked at it. Looked at me.
Shrugged his shoulders and said "Boh." And then turned towards his other friends.
From that moment on, my friend has had no problem understanding what I mean when I say "Boh."

GF or GFree - This is pretty simple - gluten free. It's sometimes to long to type out. So in answer to the questions - no I am not referring to "girlfriend" or "girl free" things. And my next comment is think about that a bit before you ask. Girlfriend cupcakes? Girlfriend bread? Girl free beer? Think a bit.

I thought I had more expressions. But I realized I just wanted to write this post and share my story about wierd Roman bartender and olive oil french fries.

I remembered #10

I remembered my #10 from my last post. I had forgotten about it because since going gluten free, I simply had to remove it from my vocabulary. But here it is.

10. Malt vinegar. I miss malt vinegar. I miss going to a pub, ordering fries, dousing them in salt and malt vinegar and having a beer.

I remembered today since I was at Vaughn's eating the Glenkerry Potatoes and saw the malt vinegar on the table. It made me momentarily sad. But the Glenkerry Potatoes are absolutely amazing. I can eat those. They don't need malt vinegar on them.

10 THINGS I MISS MOST SINCE GOING GLUTEN FREE

It's been a year and 12 days since I received my official celiac disease diagnosis. While it's been difficult and I'm still trying to figure out what I can eat and not eat and what exactly is still bothering me (bye bye soy milk), I would never want to go back. Here is what I wrote then.

And most of it holds true. I think I have a fairly good attitude about it. Usually. Oh I whine. Oh I make a point of pointing out how difficult it is for me. But for the most part I try to be upbeat about it. So I have to order really differently at restaurants. And maybe it's not the easiest to visit someone (who is not already living a gluten free life). But if giving up gluten means I won't have horrible stomach pains anymore and I stand a better chance of not having the massive health issues my entirely family appears to be plagued with, then adios gluten.

BUT, there are 10 things I miss since starting this lifestyle.

1. Italian bakeries. Bye bye sfogliatelle, pasticiotti, and cannolis. I did however learn to make gluten free pizzelles this weekend. See for yourself.
2. Being able to run out to the local cafe and order a sandwich.
   
3. Not having to call every restaurant before heading out to see what they're gluten free options are.
   
4. A good loaf of fresh baked bread. I'm still trying to make this happen.
5. Having a beer at a sporting event. The sangria just isn't the same.
6. Pretzels. (But when in the city and in need of a quick snack, cashews are a good substitution.)
7. Going out for pizza.
8. Not having to worry about cross-contamination.
9. Cornmeal bagels from that place in Elmwood.
   
10. Um... Honestly. I can't actually come up with a tenth. And really #9 was sort of a stretch.
    

I do miss these things. But again, I will eventually adjust. Or figure out how to make an excellent gluten free option. Not just a "decent" gluten free option. Seriously, can anyone make gluten free phyllo dough?