On Tuesdays, Juniper and/or Fae will pick a great blog post from our friends and write a paragraph about it. We’ll  include a link to their post in our paragraph. We’re going to invite you to do the same – find a post that you’ve found that moves you (and it doesn’t have to be from today, it can be an older post) and share it here. We’ll have a centralized list of of recommended posts here, and a button that can link us together. The group can grow and grow, we don’t have to limit the amount of recommended posts…but it would be a way for us to find incredible things to read, and remarkable people to meet, recommended by our peers, without having to surf for hours. The goal is all about sharing interesting posts, and interesting people. It doesn’t have to be limited to ANY topic, religion or ideology. We can’t wait to read what you find!

Here’s Fae’s pick this week:

The concept of self-awareness seems to be one of the recurrent themes of this month for me. Faerwillow at Serendipity always posts wonderful poetry and thoughts with incredible aesthetic sense. I could quote her every day, but I’m sharing one called Words to Ponder in particular because it so beautifully puts all my thoughts of late in together in a lovely post about living in the now, and the thread of commonality we all share as human beings. I hope you love it as much as I did!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So here’s what you do…if you’d like to read more, click through to Serendipity. If you’d like to leave comments for her, feel free!

If you have a friend whose post you want to share, here’s how you do it…(look at my post as an example if you have any questions…it’s easier than it looks:)

1. Write a paragraph or two about your friend’s post in your blog. Include link to the post you’re writing about so your friends can clickthrough to it and read it themselves.

2. Name your post “TurnAround Tuesday – [and then the name of your friend's blog]“.  Look at the name of my post today for an example.

3. Copy and paste the code below at the bottom of the post you’ve just written. This code will put a button on the bottom of your post so your readers can join Turnaround Tuesday if they wish. Then publish your post!

4. After posting, come back here and fill out the information below:

Link Title: Title of your post you’re blogging about.

Email Address: YOUR email address (it won’t show on the page, don’t worry).

Link URL:  Copy and paste the link to your Turn-Around Tuesday post.

5. Hit the ‘Submit Link’ button.

That’s it!

I’ve been finding myself going back to DomesticWitch’s site over the last few days to look at this photo…

…and I finally just stole it from her site:). Ends up it’s an artist is named Jordan Matter, and this photo is from a book called Uncoverered, which appears to have been released about June of 2009.

I’m not sure why I can’t stop looking at it. There’s a ‘drawing down the moon’ quality about it, with the light shining down on her body, and I love the juxtaposition of her naked torso against the scarf and snow. There’s an ecstatic quality in her pose, and a sense of freedom that just draws me in.

I’m almost disappointed that I found Uncovered. Not that I don’t like the book, there are photos in it that are brilliant (be sure to take a look using the above link). The collection is remarkable, at times thought-provoking, poignant, jarring and humorous. Had I found the book as a whole, I’d still have loved it (which I do), but perhaps this photo would have been less unexpected. I think I saw this shot as singular, instead of one of a theme.

So this touches me in a way that few photos do. My favorite piece of all time was shot by Jeffrey Silverstone, and entitled “The Woman Who Died in Her Sleep” (1972). I found it in a collection called Photographs of the Human Form, by William A, Ewing.  The woman in Jordan Matter’s photo above is vibrantly alive, but she shares  the ecstatic quality and a sense of freedom I see in “The Woman Who Died in Her Sleep”;  although Jeffrey Silverstone’s subject has been rent with the deep Y-shaped incision of post-mortem exploration, she is smiling peacefully, her arm is curled up by her face as if she’s stretching and about to wake. Sounds terribly macabre, I know, but it is deeply touching – and comforting. I wish there was a link I could share with you, but it doesn’t seem to be online. As well as Uncovered, I’d recommend Photographs of the Human Form highly, it’s filled with noteworthy works by a plethora of artists.

There’s so very much that led up to today…

Like this post in October of 2008…and this post and this post from November of 2009, to share a few…

…but if you’d like the reader’s digest version, our daughter Gillian is the first in our school system to be diagnosed with Celiac Disease (detailed description of Celiac below), and we’ve had quite the time getting her legal protection via a 504.

As of today, we’ve signed off on the document, and got everything we fought for. The only thing I needed to let go of was the gluten-free class parties, which we’ve worked out seamlessly with the nurse, teacher and class parents for two years now.

So I’ll share the 504 with you, below. If you live in the US, you’re legally entitled to everything on it for your school-aged child with Celiac. The cherry on the sundae, though, was getting the school system to train and provide hot lunches every day for her (for which we’ll pay the same as every other child in our district, $2.25). We had trouble getting them to agree to this (we were told that they didn’t see this as a necessity), until I told them that, according to the Food & Drug Administration in Washington, DC, schools have to accommodate under 504 by preparing and serving at least one SAFE meal per day to the student (this goes for kids with 504s with food allergies as well, and there are lots of them in our district).  This means safe hot dogs, hamburgers, etc (whatever is formulated in 504 plan) and prepared in separate area of the cafeteria with separate utensils. Either they weren’t aware of this, or they didn’t think I’d know, but I’ve had almost 3 years to do my homework. We had also consulted a lawyer, and perhaps it’s my imagination, but after I said the phrase “Our lawyer has advised us that…” in conversation with them, things seemed to go more smoothly.

To be fair, although this has dragged on way too long and I’ve had to push for every inch we’ve gotten, the staff has been polite and professional to us throughout the process.  We also know for a fact that they found this web site in the online research they’ve needed to do (as I said, we’re the first in the district with a Celiac 504) to prepare their end of this document. We’ve got a good friend who hears everything in the PTO, and there have been no rumors passed about our religion, for which I am eternally grateful. I was very, very concerned about this at first, and am relived to find I appear to be wrong about being outed to the community at large.

Back to school lunches – Gillian couldn’t be more excited! She’s been living on cold ham slices and peanut butter with gluten-free crackers for years now. The nutritionist that works with the catering company that supplies our school system has prepared a menu providing her with a different balanced meal each day of the school week, and although the same menu currently repeats itself weekly, she’s looking for other food I’ve recommended to her, such as fish sticks and pancakes. The best part is that her menu dovetails with the regular school menu, so she’s eating the same type of food as the rest of her class – only much more nutritious, since gluten free food is a lot more expensive and held to much higher standards of production and quality than the food normally served in a school cafeteria. She begins buying lunch this coming Tuesday!

Here’s the current weekly menu they sent me to sign:

Okay, no on to the 504. The biggest argument we had from the school was the determination of whether or not Celiac falls under the Rehabilitation act of 1973. Here’s the proof that it does:

The Department of Education (ED) Office of Civil Rights regulations define a physical or mental impairment as any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine… The regulations do not spell out every disease and condition that may constitute physical or mental impairments [which leaves room for Celiac to be included]. Section 504(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 34 C.F.R. 104.3(j)(2)(i) and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), Title II regulation at 28 C.F.R. § 35.104.

Here’s the Accommodation Plan section of her 504. If you’re the parent of a Celiac kid, please feel free to use this as a guideline in researching what your child is entitled to.

SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973
ACCOMMODATION PLAN

• In the event of excessive trips to the restroom (out of the classroom for 3 hours) one hour of instruction will be provided. In the case of excessive absences (10 consecutive days with a prognosis of additional days absent) due to illness related to Celiac Disease, home instruction will be considered.

• General: All Staff members involved in the care and education of Gillian must receive training in the management of Celiac Disease. Each substitute school teacher and substitute school nurse will be provided with written instructions regarding Gillian’s Celiac Disease plan of care. Benedryl will be kept in the Nurse’s office and will be made available to Gillian should accidental exposure occur, as hives can appear when cross contamination occurs.

• Classroom: Teachers will give Gillian’s parents a 48-hour notice of any special events outside the classroom at which food will be prepared that is not from the cafeteria. Snacks will be available in the classroom, or Gillian’s backpack, or the nurse’s office (whichever is deemed the most viable) in the event that she becomes hungry. If the school is providing food for the students, gluten free food will be provided by the school for Gillian.

• Cafeteria: The school will designate a person to be responsible for ensuring that lunch tables and surrounding areas are thoroughly cleaned before lunch with a dedicated container of wipes. The cafeteria will continue to have gluten-free foods available for lunch.

• Gluten free lunch options will be made available to Gillian on a daily basis. The appropriate health measures will be executed by the Maschio staff after training by their supervisor.

• Bathroom: Gillian shall be permitted to use the bathroom without restriction. If she deems it necessary, she will be permitted to use the bathroom in the nurse’s office in case of serious stomach cramping and cold sweats, so that she can be overseen by an adult.

• Art/Art Projects: Disposable gloves will be accessible to Gillian for projects that contain gluten such as play doh or paper-mâché. School projects utilizing glutinous ingredients which can become airborne (i.e. flour or paper-mâché dust) must be substituted with another project or gluten-free ingredients, such as gluten free flour. The staff should call Mrs. Cushing if they have any questions about projects that may include gluten.

• Field Trips: Parents will be notified of upcoming field trip plans that would involve food or food related activities. The school staff will provide reasonable notice to her parents when there will be a change in planned activities such as field trips or parties. If the school is providing food for the students, gluten free food will be provided by the school for Gillian.

• Parental Notification: Gillian’s parents should be notified immediately in the following situations:
*The student has eaten a food item that contains gluten
*The student has symptoms of gluten ingestion such as abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea or hives.

• Emergency Situations: Gillian’s parents shall provide the school with a three day emergency supply of non-perishable gluten-free foods.

Medical History: Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that causes damage to the intestinal lining, interfering with the absorption of nutrients. Untreated, Celiac disease causes multi-system complications such as diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, iron deficiency anemia, decreased bone density, failure to thrive, short stature, and behavior problems. The only treatment for Celiac disease is a strict gluten free diet for life. Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley and contaminated oats. Therefore, all foods with wheat, rye, barley and oats must be eliminated from the diet. In addition to the foods being gluten free, it is equally important that these foods are not contaminated by coming in contact with gluten containing foods during their preparation or service. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that causes damage to the intestinal lining, interfering with the absorption of nutrients. Untreated, Celiac disease causes multi-system complications such as diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, iron deficiency anemia, decreased bone density, failure to thrive, short stature, and behavior problems. The only treatment for Celiac disease is a strict gluten free diet for life. Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley and contaminated oats. Therefore, all foods with wheat, rye, barley and oats must be eliminated from the diet. In addition to the foods being gluten free, it is equally important that these foods are not contaminated by coming in contact with gluten containing foods during their preparation or service.

Celiac disease is a disorder that causes problems in your intestines when you eat gluten. Gluten damages the intestines of people with Celiac Disease. Once the damage occurs, patients with Celiac disease have difficulty absorbing vitamins, calcium, protein, carbohydrates, fats, and other important nutrients. This can lead to weight loss, malnutrition and anemia.

Gillian experienced very frequent stomach pain/Irritable Bowel type symptoms. Lack of growth for three years prior to diagnosis.

Diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2007. Gillian continued to experience pain and irritable bowel symptoms throughout the second and third grade. She needed to spend a lot of time in the bathroom during the school day. She appears much improved in fourth grade. She takes no medications at this time – however, she must follow a strict gluten-free diet for the rest of her life.

Physical – No physical restrictions. Gillian is small in both height and weight when compared to her same aged peers. She has grown 4 ¼” and gained 12 pounds since being diagnosed.

Adaptive Behavior
Gillian is able to:
*monitor her diet and avoid eating foods that contain gluten
*wipe down her desk/table with a dedicated container of wipes
*inform the teacher that she needs to go to the nurse during a flare up of stomach pain

—– END DOCUMENT—

I’m so glad that it goes into effect tomorrow, when Matt and I sign off on it and return it to the school. What a relief to know that Gillian will have legal protection, and the school legal responsibility to keep her safe!

This post was originally published on Matt’s web site, but, being his wife, I stole it:) (That was in our vows…”We promise to love, honor obey, and steal good ideas from one another”).  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do….

Since Gillian has been diagnosed with Celiac disease, we’ve been trying to find ways to get her to eat more diverse foods than gluten free(gf) mac and cheese and gf grilled cheese and grilled chicken. Matt knew enough to download a translated card from the Celiac Disease foundation that listed the instructions and asked a few questions in several languages so the guys at our local sushi restaurant could understand and make her what she wanted with a clean board and utensils. They did, and she loved it.

Problem is, it’s really expensive. So for the holidays, Gillian bought Matt a sushi kit – a book, some implements and a wish to make it with me. Is he going to say no to that face? Don’t think so. Here’s Matt and Gillian’s documented foray into the world of sushi…

	First things first. Pour the rice into a big bowl that isn’t white. Why not white? The first thing you have to do is make sure that you rinse the rice to pull off any excess starch and ‘dust’. Put the rice into the bowl and put in water so it’s totally submerged and then some.
	You’ll need to mix it around so you get all of it ‘clean’. Gillian kinda liked this part
	Once it’s relatively clear, you’re good to go. Drop it in the rice cooker. If you don’t have one, google what you’ll need to do. My roomie from college gave me the one we used and we love it.
	Gillian likes cooked shrimp so we decided on a cucumber, mango, and shrimp roll. Yeah, she’s nuts for mango. The key to cooking the shrimp is to use wooden skewers. You slide it into the shrimp, trying to keep it inside the shell, but not piercing the shrimp itself. The skewers are so when you cook them, they don’t curl up. Curled shrimp is pretty freakin hard to put in a roll from what I hear. We got jumbo shrimp from the Wegmans counter, so they were iced, but not frozen. Get them de-veined too. eww.
	If you’ve eaten at enough sushi places and watched them (plus a lot of Iron Chef), you know that you don’t chop up the cucumber. You pare it like you’re peeling an apple, just make it one continuous sheet of cucumber. I managed to get 3/4 of the cuke peeled like this before I broke it Gillian peeled the skin off initially and then sliced the sheet into strips, of course eating the ones that were too thick
	For those of you who have made sushi before, I know, this looks really sloppy. KEY NOTE TO MAKING SUSHI – WAIT FOR THE RICE TO COOL. I almost burned all the skin off the tips of my fingers spreading this out. Hot sushi also tends to melt or tear the nori. Here we have the bamboo mat with a sheet of nori (seaweed) on top spread with the rice. Don’t do it all the way to the edge, leave about 1/5 of the roll free so you don’t have too much. Another key note – spread it thin or it’ll be one big ball of rice. The other thing I learned is that my ingredients are too close to the middle, needed to bring them towards me a bit more.
	Here’s my first roll, cut into pieces. Key Note: hot/warm rice doesn’t cut well. Also: having a container with 4 parts water, 1 part rice-wine vinegar that you can dip the knife into is ESSENTIAL. As you can see, it’s not cut well here. Knife was plenty sharp, I was pushing down too hard, and the rice got too sticky on the knife.
The first roll is finished: Matt & Gillian make sushi from Matt Cushing on Vimeo.
	As you can tell by the thumbs up, I got better as I went along
We’re done: We’re done making Sushi from Matt Cushing on Vimeo.

All in all, lots of fun, and something we’ll definitely do again

Domestic Witch is so creative…She’s come up with some great ideas for a month-long campaign promoting random acts of kindness, and is giving away a prize as motivation…as if the act wasn’t a reward in itself! She even has suggestions on easy ways to get started. As a matter of fact, she’s done everything for you except the act itself!

Click through her button above to visit her site and join in!