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Our family has been living gluten-free due to Celiac Disease for over 6 years. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and very similar to the protein found in outs. This means that any food needs to be made specially – bread, pasta, cake, pizza crust, pretzels, cookies, etc. Finding the Betty Crocker gluten-free mixes was a wonderful surprise!

Over the past 6 years there has been a huge increase in availability of gluten-free products, but most of the GF products have been found in the health food aisle of the grocery store or in a specialty store.

However, gluten-free products are becoming more mainstream as the number of people diagnosed with celiac disease rises, as well as the number of people living gluten-free for other reasons. Last summer, General Mills introduced a new, gluten-free formulation of Rice Chex (they changed the sweetener from barley malt to another sweetener). In addition to becoming more mainstream, gluten-free products are becoming much more commonly available and found in most grocery stores.

One of my friends who is not on a restricted diet (and therefore actually looks at the boxed cake mixes) noticed the Betty Crocker GF mixes while doing her weekly shopping. So, the next time I was shopping, I picked up the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil’s Food Cake Mix. The ingredients* are free of gluten, dairy, and eggs, but they have a “may contain soy” warning, which is somewhat disappointing – there are a lot of people who are sensitive to gluten, dairy, and soy. However, the package is labelled gluten free, and the packages have also been labelled as being produced in a GF facility – which means it is unlikely that any gluten flour could end up in the gluten-free mix. The package is also labelled as Kosher pareve (no dairy or meat products per Jewish law)

I made our cake with real eggs (the instructions call for 3 eggs), 1 stick (1/2 cup) dairy-free margarine in place of butter, and water. I followed the directions for a 9″ round cake and ended up with a wonderful and moist cake.

The cake rose well and was moist, fluffy, and delicious. We frosted it with a delicious and fluffy chocolate frosting, and then sprinkled candied violets on top. We brought the cake to my Nana’s 87th birthday lunch, and none of the people there would have guessed it was gluten-free if nothing had been said. Unlike a lot of gluten free flours, the rice flour in the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil’s Food Cake Mix is not gritty.

My one criticism is that the folks at General Mills/Betty Crocker chose to use rice four rather than a more nutrient rich flour. However, a cake is a treat, not a dietary mainstay, so that’s a minor complaint. The price is in the $3.50-$4 range, higher than the gluten-containing mixes, but lower than many other gluten-free mixes.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil’s Food Cake Mix Ingredients: sugar, rice flour, potato starch, cocoa processed with alkali, tapioca starch, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), salt, guar gum.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix Ingredients: sugar, rice flour, potato starch, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), xanthan gum, salt.

We’ll be trying the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix soon, as I picked up a box of that too. General Mills is also selling Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix and Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

This is both one of the hardest things I’ve done and one of the easiest choices I’ve ever made. I am torn between my children and my grandmother, but being here feels very right. My heart is full.

Internet connectivity is spotty, as is email, but I’ll be back on Monday with book reviews, reviews of some new Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free products, recipes, a review of a Solar Science lab, and more random musings.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking to stock up on cool t-shirts for the summer, UneeTee is having a big sale, all t’s are $13 through June 1. The Summer-themed shirt.woot winners will be on sale Friday, Saturday, and Sunday starting at midnight Central time. You can get more than 20 shirts from their Reckoning List for $15, but the shirt of the day is $10 – shipped!

Spring and Summer have arrived, so it’s time to break out the outdoor games! Gamewright has been our favorite source for games for the past year and a half, and with its new releases, it looks like that trend will continue. (and not just because they send us games for review!) We spend the winter (and evenings) playing games from Gamewright, so it is only fitting that we are playing one of their new games, Boochie, outside!

Boochie is a game that reminds me a bit of horseshoes, a bit of bocce, and a bit of Calvinball (games with rules made up on the spot by kids). The game is designed for children 8 and up, but my 4 1/2 year old was able to play it reasonably well, and it was fun for all of us. Unfortunately, the game is designed for four players andwe have 5 people in our family, but you can play in teams, or have one person be the judge/scorer.

The rules of Boochie are pretty simple. Every player has a wrist counter, a ball, and a hoop of the same color. Someone tosses the large, multi-faceted ball, then each player tosses their ring and their ball towards the multi-faceted ball.

For scoring, there are points awarded for being closest to the Boochie ball, and for being farthest away. The ball itself has scoring that changes each time you toss it – you never know what bonus scoring you’ll get! Once you’ve noted your points on your wrist counter, you go back to the line to toss again. Only now the wrist counter has some new trick for you – can you throw laying down? on your knees? under your leg? with the opposite hand? Everyone will be challenged!

Our family has really enjoyed our games of Boochie. They were fun, and competitive in a way that continued the fun rather than making someone thing they weren’t going to win, so they should give up. Boochie will be a great beach game this summer, and it’s a great game for spring when you’re starting to enjoy going outside again. We give it 5 spotlights out of 5, and are looking forward to playing it again soon (after Daddy mows the lawn).

As the wife of an IT professional, I was fascinated to read about these results. Within the 2008 IT Skills and Salary Report, we are seeing a raise in salary in general for IT professionals, a great thing to see when your family relies on an IT job. It was also cool that my husband received a larger raise than the average.

Within the report, we can see that when IT professionals have 4-year degrees or above, they have an increased salary. Additionally, with each additional certification such as MCSE training, salaries tend to increase as well. In a time when our country is headed into a recession, it is heartening to see a profession that is growing, and a profession that rewards people who continue their education and increase their skill set.

The 2008 IT Skills and Salary Report is a very useful piece of information for anyone who is looking at IT as a profession, as well as for IT professionals who are looking to improve their own salaries.

Home and Bedroom is a great source for ideas as well as furniture. BG loved checking out the Fashion Bed Groups, and is contemplating the best location for a bench in addition to her dresser, canopy bed, shelf, and plans for a lizard tank. We were really impressed with their prices for children’s beds, as well as with the variety of options.

Not all of the Hillsdale Furniture is BG’s style, but I am longing for a new Baker’s Rack for the kitchen, and the nightstand looks lovely. Sadly, we aren’t redecorating my room.

Headboards are a bone of contention here. BG wants a canopy bed. Her dad is thinking of something more practical – a sturdy metal headboard. Meanwhile, my dream has always been to have a bookcase headboard, so I’m pushing that option, and drooling at all the different headboards. I’m glad we can argue discuss this at home, looking at a website rather than fighting becoming agitated at a brick-and-mortar store!

Perhaps it’s a good thing that the move is taking longer than expected – it’ll give us a chance to discuss and decide! We suggest checking out Home and Bedroom when making furniture and design choices!

If you need to get your book in print, one way of doing it is self-publishing. You need to be careful, though – sometimes “self-publishing” companies are actually scams. Author House has been around for over 10 years, and has a history of working with authors. These Book Publishers will work with you to help you see your words in print!

Interestingly, a book I recently reviewed was originally self-published – and now it’s being published by a major publisher! This could happen to you, too!

My husband was the passenger in a car accident that left him with whiplash. We didn’t want to sue, thinking that his neck pain and headaches would go away. The driver’s insurance paid for the medical bills, and we had our own health insurance, so we weren’t too worried.

Well, it’s now over 10 years later, and my husband still has neck pain and migraines because of the damage from that accident. We really wish we had sued for Accident Compensation back then! If only we knew then what we know now! We’ve also dealt with workman’s comp, too.

Invisible injuries like neck pain, back pain, and headaches are hard to quantify and prove, but they can be completely debilitating. If you’ve been in an accident, make sure you find someone to represent you – take care of yourself and help pay for future medical bills.

So, if you are looking to search for jewelry, see if there is a theme that will work for your particular needs. Are you going to a garden party, or an event to benefit the local conservatory? In that case, you may want to search for floral themed jewelry. Some of the more ornate pieces might not be best for volunteering at the Audubon, though!

Perhaps you are going to an elegant benefit or fund-raiser, and you will be wearing your hair up, with a ball gown or gorgeous evening dress. You could take your theme from the chandeliers that will light your tables, and search for long, dangly earrings which will help frame your face, necklace, and gown.

If you are a part of a wedding party, you will want jewelry that matches the color you are required to wear. Or, if you have chosen a dress for another event, you may wish to find jewelry based on the color. Another reason to search for jewelry in a specific color is if you are going to a charity benefit – remember the (PRODUCT) RED(tm) is helping to fight AIDS in Africa, and pink is associated with Breast Cancer research. Therefore, if you are planning to attend a Breast Cancer fundraiser, be sure to stock up on pink jewelry in advance!

Sometimes you can’t determine a theme for the event, and you end up going through page after page of jewelry search results. In that case, it can be helpful if you choose a brand name or a style, such as Bulgari style rings, and go from there. It’s like deciding to put a Tiffany-style lamp in your living room, sometimes a touch from a well-known designer (or a knock-off) can pull together the rest of an outfit!

Looking over the selection of Select Blinds, I’m excited by the President’s Day coupon (president25 takes 24% off), and the huge selection. For our bedroom, I’d like to replace the cheap-o, quickly broken blinds we have with some wooden blinds. But for the living rooms, I want Roman Shades. In particular, I want light-filtering roman shades for upstairs, and the basic roman shades for the den downstairs.

The right window coverings can really make or break a room, so it makes sense that the Select Blinds folks supplied Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with blinds. What a great way to help out!

Hmmm… a company with a coupon AND a conscience? Sounds too good to pass up!

I was lucky enough to get some makeover advice last year, and as my birthday comes around again I start to look at buying new clothes. There’s a trend toward wearing cute mini-dresses, but I’m not sure if I can quite pull off that look. Perhaps over 35 means no more minis? I’d feel a need to wear leggings or bike shorts underneath because of all the kid-lifting and bending over, so that makes those Rebecca Taylor dresses less appealing.

I spent a lot of time last summer looking for cute sundresses (note to self – search using The Find…). Sure, some sundresses are less than appealing, but there are plenty that are cute, lightweight, and can be worn down to the beach and then when you run into the convenience store. I could never pull off the very skimpy dresses, and I prefer real straps to the little hoop that runs around your neck. It’s great to be able to narrow down by price or color, too – I really don’t want a yellow anything, but a cute red and white floral sundress would look great with some strappy sandals, in red or white. I think I’d fall over in many of those sandals (and I don’t think they’re made for walking on beaches), but I’ve got toes waiting for warmth and an excuse to wear several pairs!

Another type of dress I’ve been seeing more frequently is the one shoulder dress for women. They look lovely, but the style is fashionable enough now that most are currently way out of my price range. These dresses are also not really for schlepping kids around on errands, nor for beach trips. I’m almost wishing we had a formal event this summer, because this style looks fancy right off the bat. Gorgeous.

Now to narrow down my choices in time to do birthday shopping. Only a month to go…