Gluten Free Goodness & Lactose free magic!

Uuuummmmm can i tell you how excited I am!???

So when i found out i was sensitive/intolerant to dairy and gluten i had to give up cheese... and let me tell u i FREAKIN LOVE cheese!! I have found a good vegan parm but otherwise usually avoid cheese and “fake cheese” or dairy free cheese in general. When i eat something like cheese, ice cream, or anything w lactose i gets shooting stabbing pains in my stomach and then shortly there after my system is completely empty (sorry for the info... if u have lactose issues i know the deal). So needless to say i don’t really have a desire to eat cheese any more but sometimes i miss it. I was being a nice human the other day and decided to grab some cheese curds for my “significant other”. I decided to randomly google if they had lactose in them... bc they r squeaky and weird. Low and behold it said no... most ppl can eat them bc there is very little lactose and w aging is goes away. So i was real careful... made sure i had no where to go in case i got sick, and ate 2 curds. No shooting pains. Felt ok. Had a few more and called it a day. No reaction, so i ate the rest the next day! Yes!!! Freakin yes!!! I can eat me some freakin cheese. If ur freaked out like me i would try a couple and see how it goes... but i was very pleasantly surprised. When sharing my excitement about me cheese curd revelation w my cheese loving bf she said to make some cheese sticks in the air fryer. Let me tell u... life changing for the cheese sticks liver in me. So I’ll share my recipe in case anyone is in the same boat!

-Cheese curds (i broke the big ones in 1/2)

-gf Italian seasoned bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder mixed together

- gf 1 to 1 flour

-egg

-Wet cheese curd w cold water, roll in flower (cover all sides), dip in egg, rollin seasoned bread crumbs

-Put on plate and freeze for 30 min (so cheese doesn’t melt to fast)

-put in air fryer for 5-7 min at 375’ (take a peek, give a toss, take out when a wee bit of cheese escapes)

-eat that shit up!! (I dipped them in some heated marinara and Red Hot

#nomnom #yum #deliciousness #glutenfree #dairyfree #lactoseintolerant #lactosefree #recipe

“Just like the lotus we too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of darkness, and radiate into the world.” Unknown Author

Maybe this is the universe’s way of telling us to slow down. Maybe this is the universe telling us that we don’t have all the answers. 

Today we can order just about anything we want and have it delivered to our door in 2 days. We can have someone shop for our groceries on our phone  and  have them put in our car on our way home from work. We get answers immediately from our phones and computers. A lot of us have forgotten what being bored feels like. Everyone’s lives are scheduled to a t. Too often i read a txt message and forget to respond till a day later bc I am multi tasking or moving from one thing to the next. 

The Corona Virus is telling us to slow down. It is telling us to social distance and just be. It is reminding us that we don’t have all the answers, we can’t plan everything, and what is important. So many hard decisions are being made about the unknown. I believe the ultimate goal is to protect us from the the unknown, or impending doom and be proactive rather than making a mistake and having regret about what we could have done.

As a teacher of tiny humans, someone who loves my grandparents, and has lost a mother to disease,  I can tell you that I do not want to share and spread germs . In my classroom each day I see 7-8 classes of students ranging from the ages of 2 1/2-12….. and there are SOOOOO many germs. Kids love to pick their noses, lick their hands, touch their mouths, face, feet, floor, put shoes in their mouth (yes shoes, I have literally had to say, “please don’t chew on your shoe it is full of germs”), put markers and legos in their mouths, and touch each other. Animal noises often fling spit and bodily fluids into the air… and they are still learning how to cover up while they cough and sneeze. I am not necessarily fearful for myself but i do consider the impact of all of us being together and then taking germs home to our loved ones who are older and people who have an underlying medical conditions. If this was last year and I was taking care of my mom with stage 4 cancer I am not sure what I could have done… surely i would have had to stop working and not risk bringing home any silent and sneaky corona virus germs from school. From articles I have read about the tough decisions that medical professionals are making in Italy I am hopeful we can avoid having to choose who to treat… or that I can at least avoid being a part of the spread of germs. 

Today I learned that we will be taking a break from school… I know what a tough decision this was for our leaders… but I believe in my heart that we all need to slow down. I cried in a coffee shop when I got the call. I am happy we are being proactive. I am sad to not be with my students. My heart goes out to everyone impacted by the current situation. I cried for my students from homes that have families that are abusive or don’t have the means to care for their own children. I cried for the parents who have to figure out child care. I cried for the people who are going without pay or who's business are suffering. I am sad that my plans for a “10th Annual Art Show” won’t be as big and beautiful as I had imagined. I wonder what will happen with all the awesome Square 1 Art projects we have been working on and are not quite ready to send out. BUT I hope that this allows us to not have as many deaths and reduce the spread of the disease. As hard as it will be to shut down our school and possibly communities it is better than saying good bye to loved ones. What if our kids brought home the virus and they were left with no care. So many students live with grandparents today.  I am happy that we are learning from other countries as the disease creeps into our country.

As of now, I am going to play it by ear with teaching regular yoga classes and work with my studio owners to do what is best for everyone. In this stressful time of the unknown I want to provide a way to destress and go within… and maybe build our immune systems a bit.  If it gets to a point where we can’t practice at the studio I will post you tube videos for you to do from the comfort of your home if you should so choose. 

The universe is telling us to slow down. Like it or not this global pandemic is pushing us outside of our comfort zones and we are faced with something we have never experienced in our lives. Grocery stores are overwhelming and the gravity of the situation feels very real when you go to the store. Slow down. Take care of yourself. Go within, stay in, be kind, compassionate, understanding, and go with the flow. We do not have all the answers. I know from living through my mom’s cancer and eventual death that things can be awful, unknown, and beyond shitty and some  amazing, beautiful, and awesome things can come from it. Choose to be  the light. “Just like the lotus we too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of darkness, and radiate into the world.” Unknown Author

WELCOME to my website!!!!! My website is a reflection of me!!! It combines my love of photography, yoga, art travel, food, and all things w good vibes and swear words. Yoga and photography both started as passions and turned into “jobs” that I absolutely love to show up for day after day!!

When I was in 2nd grade (back in the 80’s) I decided I wanted to be a teacher, photographer, or archaeologist. For years I was the “annoying” friend with the camera (you’re welcome for all the awesome “group photos” over the years friends!!). I collected rocks in elementary school and created random arts and crafts all day every day. You name it, I made it. I made sweet ass seed bead bracelets on a loom when I was like 8/9, I turned my play house into a studio with a mini potters wheel when we learned about Native American art, I made collages, drawings, paintings, FIMO creations, weird experiments with hot glue, sequins, and plastic shot glasses. I went to college for art and decided I wanted to be an art teacher and share my passion for creativity and creating with tiny humans.

I started my photography business Kreativity while I was looking for a full time art education position around 11 1/2 years ago. I invested in a studio, fun backdrops, lots of cool props and brushed up on all the college photography and photoshop skills I had learned. My photography business has grown into more than I could have ever imagined. The connections and people I have met along the way warm my heart. I love to pick fun locations that reflect the likes and interests of families. I love to watch people change, grow, and evolve over the years. I always wanted to show my art students that art can be a passion and/or a career. I think it is so important for me, as an art teacher to show my students that I am creating every day!!

In my spare time and during the times in my life where I was stressed or needed movement I found myself coming back to the same yoga DVD. I did yoga at home for years and then finally took a class with a real teacher…. yep a real person LOL!!! Small town problems… it took a long time to get yoga classes in the area I live in (so thankful there are a lot of awesome options these days). I was going crazy after playing sports and being involved in activities in high school and college. I fell deeper and deeper in love with yoga… I went to a training not really knowing if I wanted to teach or just do it for personal growth and on my way home from the training I started texting co-workers and setting up a class. Since then I have been teaching yoga, going to classes and trainings to learn and explore the practice. I love creating fun classes and themes, incorporating my love of color, music, fun lights, and the occasional swear word into my classes. Yoga has led me back to my love of rocks and crystals and all the magical things.

I am so grateful to follow my heart and do the things I am passionate about daily… and share that love with others. I hope that I can give students, art and yoga alike a moment of joy. A moment to pause and just be present. A moment to feel good about them-selves, a moment to take time out of their day to just be.

When I’m not teaching art, taking pictures, or teaching yoga… OR planning classes, projects, and events (I kinda love my agenda lol) I love to travel… cook…. bake…. drink lattes and wander.

I am so excited for my website and hope that in some way I can inspire, help, or relate to others living this crazy thing called life through my authentic and honest approach to all things.