I probably should have posted this a few weeks ago, but I am currently without laptop. I tripped, the screen shattered. I am hoping to have a new one soon! In the mean time, I apologize. For someone who is trying to build a blog following, falling off the face of the planet wasn't my best move.

You may know me as Allie Jekyll, but, these days, I'm going by Allie Hyde (cheesy literature joke anyone?). I want to hit something. HARD. I am angry and I'd love to take it out on something. I even contemplated asking for a punching bag for my birthday (April 21, in case you were wondering). I haven't always been a loose canon, ready to explode at any second. Well, I've always had a little bit of a temper, but not like this. For the past two weeks I have been out for blood, I may have even instigated a few fights (sorry Mom, sorry Michael). I'm not proud of that. My poor husband has to live with a person who is exhibiting the behavior of a psychopath with steroid-enhanced PMS.

So why the out of control anger and rage? The paleo diet. Oh, the paleo diet. Cutting out all grains, dairy, sugar, most fruit, and coffee (and pretty much every good and delicious food) has shocked the niceness out of my body.

It's not all bad, however. I get to eat things like apples "fried" in coconut oil and coconut milk (DELICIOUS) once a day:

Michael found this recipe. He's the best!

But, then again, I mostly just eat things like vegetables pureed into soup.

Please admire my classy Gladware.

And chicken. LOTS of chicken.
It's cheap. I'm cheap. Match made in heaven.

HANDY PALEO TIP: If you make some delicious drumsticks (cooked in olive oil, thyme, and rosemary), be sure to dispose of the remains properly and immediately. Do not leave the bone on the table, your blind dog will somehow figure out how to push the chair out, hop on it, climb on the table, and go to town on the chicken bone. He will also scatter the shells of your hard-boiled egg, making a huge mess on the floor. Do not leave them in the garbage. Your blind dog will figure out how to open the cupboard and tip the trash over to get it. He will also figure out how to break the elastic you put on the two cupboard pulls so he couldn't make a mess again. You will discover that your dog is actually a genius. He will drive you crazy but you will love him because he looks like this:



I will say that, despite the raging anger, I am feeling better. I have not had any hives since I started paleo, save for the one time two times I cheated. Michael and I had some birthday cheesecake (we planned on having that before we started paleo and ran it by our doctor. He said "do what feels right". When doesn't cheesecake feel right?), and it was fantastic. I laugh/cried with joy. That, combined with stress and a late night, resulted in the worst hives of my life. Nearly a week later, I still have the "scars" remaining. It's safe to say that I will not be eating cheesecake any time soon. The other time I cheated was a few days ago. Michael and I adore ice cream. Seriously, if we could, we would double fist it and shove it in our mouths faster than a competitive kid playing "chubby bunny". There is no reasonable paleo substitute for ice cream that does not involve bananas. Every non-banana recipe I've found involves about 300 steps and is more trouble than it's worth. I decided to get some ice cream in hopes that it would give me hives so I could learn my lesson. So far so good, so I might have an occasional cheating problem. We'll see :)

Also, I've lost about 6 pounds, which is pretty good for a week and a half. The sugar withdrawal has made me too tired to work out, so it's nice that I lost that weight while sitting on my derriere eating bacon, fried apples, and other pretty alright foods. This is especially awesome because my body is resistant to losing weight thanks to my lovely thyroid. Michael and I have also cheated the system by having small amounts of 85% dark chocolate. It definitely helped with the sugar withdrawals!

HANDY PALEO TIP: If you are eating chocolate, be sure to put it away after eating. Do not leave it on the couch and go to Target for a mini-date. Your dog will eat half a giant bar and get chocolate poisoning  He will throw up all night and all over, ruining the scent of chocolate forever. He will also throw up directly on you (if you're Michael). He will get super hyper and will need to go to the animal hospital at three in the morning.

I have done a stand up job sticking to this, y'all. I have been following it to the LETTER. Except twice. But you're allowed three strikes with everything in life, right? Considering I did this cold turkey, I am pretty much a champion. I've never possessed an ounce of willpower in my life, and now I have an abundance! I'm still struggling with drinking all the water I'm supposed to be, taking all my supplements, and going to bed at time. I was supposed to be lights out 48 minutes ago, and off electronic devices an hour and 48 minutes ago. Oops!

So paleo doesn't sound too terrible, right? I'm losing weight AND eating bacon, and my body is going to be incredibly healthy. Despite this, I am still super grumpy. I miss greek yogurt, ice cream, and would sell my left arm for a  green tea frappucino. Actually, I am left-handed, so maybe my right arm. My body is in shock, and I can't blame it! I guess crazy-strong-angry emotions are its way of dealing with it. Most of the time you can hear me using sailor's words in the same sentences as the names of vegetables. I am a lot more whiny and complain a lot more than usual. My personal advice is to have little to no contact with me in the next....however long it takes to get a normal head on my shoulders again. And, if anyone has a spare punching bag, please send it my way!

When I wrote the post telling about my struggles with auto-immune hives, I was in a very dark place. When re-reading it, I feel that I sound whiny and bitter. I'm okay with that though, because that is a very accurate representation of how I feel more often than not. When I wrote that post, I had no idea I would get such a wonderful response. I heard from complete strangers, people I hadn't spoken with in a long time, and some closer friends that didn't understand the extent of what I was experiencing. I received so many kind words of encouragement, wise words of wisdom, and valuable advice. To each person who took the time to message me, call me, pray for me, leave a comment, and to the hundreds that read the post, THANK YOU. I cannot express just how much it means to me. It feels so good to know that I am not alone and have a strong support of friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers. I'm grateful for the words I can re-read when it gets rough. Again, thank you. A lot has changed since my last post and I wanted to give an update.

This is what my face looks like tonight, and I'm determined that it's for the last time.

Again, please don't make fun. It's not easy to post this publically! And yes, it hurts!

Last Thursday, Michael and I visited Dr. Buttler at Northwest Natural Medicine. We were both struck by his kind heart, encouragement, and ability to truly listen. Dr. Buttler spent over an hour with us, going over my symptoms and medical history. The next day I had blood work done, so he could get a better idea of what was happening.

Today (Tuesday), we had a follow up appointment. I saw "we" because Michael is my teammate and my partner; he is experiencing this journey with me. Dr. Buttler made a copy of my lab results and went over each result with me. I've never ever had a doctor do that before! We spent over an hour going over the treatment plan he based on my symptoms and blood work. Dr. Buttler is all about treating the cause, not the symptom. He believes he can reverse my auto-immune disorder (I've actually met several patients of his that have done this successfully) over time, as well as the 6 other chronic conditions I suffer from. He is also confident that he can eventually wean me off all my medications and regulate my thyroid naturally.

How is he going to do that, you ask? It's kind of a big deal, at least for me. The biggest change is going to be diet. Michael and I are going on a slightly modified form of the paleo diet. This means no sugar, legumes, grains, nuts, dairy, or nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes). Basically I can eat meat, eggs, sweet potatoes, fats (such as oils and butter), and vegetables. A LOT of vegetables. This is going to be a huge transition for me, but I am so excited! Tonight I attended a paleo potluck through Dr. Buttler's office. We met many people who changed their lives through eating paleo, including one who had stopped the progression of cancer.

There are some other treatments I will be doing that are unique to me. They sound a bit strange, but I was provided medical articles about each one and how they have been proven to help; even my skeptic self is convinced! I will now be taking a medley of vitamins and herbs, including B12, a genuine probiotic (meaning one that is refrigerated), and several others. I will also be doing hydrotherapy--after showering everyday, I need to turn the water to freezing cold for 30 seconds. This will help my blood circulate better, allowing my body to eliminate what it needs to without pushing out hives. Another thing I will be doing to help my blood circulate is to take a natural loofa and brush my dry skin. It sounds so weird! To improve my relaxation, I will take ten conscious deep breaths every hour. My body is incredibly stressed and is constantly in the fight or flight mode. This is a huge reason why it's hurting itself. Learning to relax and de-stress will help a great deal!

In addition to these things, I will need to drink EIGHTY oz. of water a day, as well as walk outside for 30 minutes, rain or shine. I will need to be in bed with the lights out no later than 10 pm. I can't so much as look at an electronic device at least an hour before then. I will meet with Dr. Buttler once a week to check-in as well as work on my emotional health and stress levels. I love that he treats the WHOLE body, because it's all connected!

This is going to be incredibly difficult, but both Michael and I are thrilled. We both truly believe that this is the absolute best decision for me right now, and are excited to see the improvements that come from our hard work. I've always been a skeptic about natural remedies  but I am absolutely convinced this is best way to go for me. We both love Dr. Buttler and are very grateful to be working with him. He is a kind, genuine man that brightens both of our days!

If you made it this far, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. It's going to be a difficult transition, and it may get worse before it gets better. I am one who gets discouraged really easily and will need great strength to keep up with it.

When I came back for our appointment today, I picked some tulips from our yard. I love spring and the sunshine and how everything is new again. These tulips fought weeds and a cold winter, yet still came up as beautiful as ever. Cheesy, right? But I find that little metaphor hopeful and encouraging.  So here is to a great tomorrow, the start of something new. Here is to a God that provides light in the darkest of days and hope for new beginnings.

Let's be honest about something: I am cheap. Even if I were incredibly wealthy, I still think I would have a hard time shelling out $4 or $5 for a teeny-tiny package of embellishments. I can't do it! Many I could make myself if I just took the time. Enter one of my favorite scrapbooking techniques--fussy cutting. Fussy cutting, or detail cutting as I like to call it, is a super great way to utilize a patterned paper with a large print.

For example, I am in LOVE with this gorgeous sheet from Simple Stories Vintage Bliss. I love the colors, the design, the text background, everything!


When it arrived in the mail, I just kept staring at it. It's so beautiful! The print, while beautiful, is not very versatile. It's difficult to use something that large as a base, and the beautiful design might be lost if you cut it into pieces. Wanting to preserve the beautiful flowers, I grabbed my trusty Tim Holtz scissors, sat in front of the TV, and cut away.

I ended up with three large and a few smaller sections that could be used as embellishments on a page. Here is what I did with a few of them:

hand-cut the pink doilies

hand-cut the flower detail

hand-cut the mason jar

hand-cut the doilies