Category: Just me being me

I haven’t done a Loving Right Now post in quite a while, but we’ve been binging an assortment of TV shows, so I thought I’d share what we’ve been enjoying.

Ted Lasso (on Apple TV)

Yes, I know we are late to the Lasso party, but we didn’t have Apple TV. There are 3 seasons of Ted Lasso on Apple TV so far with Season 4 expected to come out in the summer (I heard August). So, we spent the last couple months working through the first three seasons and WE LOVED IT SO MUCH.

It is that magical sort of show that makes you laugh and cry… sometimes in the same scene. You’ve got to love Ted and yes, I have a raging crush on Roy Kent. And kind of Jaime Tartt too (the season 3 version, obviously).

Shrinking (on Apple TV)

Another Apple TV show that we’ve been working our way through. We binged the first two seasons and then caught up to real time to finish out the third season. This one has also been renewed for a 4^th season, but a release date hasn’t been announced yet.

While this show does deal with grief and the growth and moving forward through difficult portions of life, it is also hilarious. Harrison Ford is an absolute delight and each of the characters brings their own brand of fun to the ensemble. Also, I sobbed at the third season finale to the point where Travis asked if I was okay.

Severance (on Apple TV)

When we finished Ted Lasso, we needed to add another show to our rotation so we picked Severance. So far, we’ve watched all of season 1 and we are about halfway through season 2. It’s giving ‘what the helly’ Lost vibes and we are totally into it. It’s gotten to the point that Jack begs us to turn it on each evening because he can’t resist finding out what happens next.

If you have any other Apple TV shows that we should be sure to check out, please let me know!

The Rookie (on Hulu)

When we got Hulu on Black Friday in 2024, one of the shows we started binging from the beginning was The Rookie. It’s a police procedural with a fun main cast of characters and some ridiculousness in each episode’s adventures. Eventually, we caught up to real-time and are watching Season 8 as each episode comes out each week.

I am a big Bradford and Chen ‘shipper’, but I’ve been over Bailey and all her drama for a season now.

High Potential (on Hulu)

We started watching this last year when it came out, so this has been a weekly watch for us and we just completed season 2. Its another police procedural with a smart kooky lady lead character. However, while we really enjoyed the first season, the second season had gone a little off the rails with one of the ongoing mysteries. So we like it, but it’s not really a ‘must see’ situation like the Apple TV shows we’ve become addicted to!

Do you have a bingeable TV show that we should add to our watch list?

Quick recap: I’ve been diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE), a chronic immune system disease where certain foods can cause your esophagus to become inflamed. Back in June, I had a bad flare (you can read about it here) and connected the dots to determine that gluten was the/a culprit. I went low gluten, but that didn’t 100% solve my issues. So, I went to an allergist (back in November) who scheduled me for a food allergy prick test at the end of the year.

Ok, all caught up!

So, in mid-December I was so excited to go into that appointment and finally get some answers to what was making me sick. I was 98% certain that gluten would cause a reaction, but I thought maybe there might be something else too that I had been overlooking.

The allergist had already determined that I don’t have a “food allergy” in that I won’t need an epi pen, but I most likely have food intolerances. By doing the allergy prick test, they poke you with tiny amounts of various allergens and if your body releases histamines you’ll get an itchy reaction bump. If a food causes the bump, you have an intolerance and you may want to reduce or avoid it in the future. So, by the end of the appointment, I would FINALLY have some answers.

So, I whipped my top off, laid down on the table and let them scratch me with all the stabby things.

Here’s all the foods they tested me for:

And here’s my “I’m trying not to complain about the itchiness” face:

Finally, I got my results. And I reacted to:

• Soy
• Sesame
• Hazelnut
• Lamb
• Pork
• Cherry
• Carrot

All were ‘mild’ reactions. And ALL were not things I’ve ever noticed having a reaction to in the past. But the most WTF of it all… is that I didn’t react AT ALL to gluten.

I feel like there should be a word for happy-disappointed-mad. Maybe something in German?

I mean, it’s great that I’m not allergic to gluten or intolerant to gluten from an allergy perspective. BUT, I know for a fact if I eat gluten after 2pm-ish, I will wake up between 12pm – 1am and vomit.

The allergist recommended I return to the GI doctor for another upper GI scope, but that was pretty darn expensive last time and didn’t really give me any great clarity. So, I’m going to pass for now.

But here’s what I do know:

• I do not have Celiacs Disease
• I do not have a food allergy
• I do have some mild food intolerances
• If I eat gluten after 2pm, I get sick

And I’m done. I’m done searching for answers, when honestly it doesn’t really matter WHAT the answer is. What it really comes down to is that it appears that I can control the EOE flare and vomiting 90% of the time if I avoid gluten after lunch. So that’s what I’ve started doing. I’ll eat the occasional gluten at breakfast or lunch and then do no gluten for the rest of the day. I’ve been doing this for a few months now and have only vomited once, so I’m planning to stick with it.

And as frustrating as it is not to have the answers I was craving, as long as I can keep this issue mostly under control… well, that will need to be enough for me.

Way, way back… in 2018, I did a pinup photo shoot. You can read all about it here: Feeling Like a Rockstar: My Pinup Photo Shoot. I followed the photographer on Instagram and Facebook, so every so often when she posts about a new set offer, I’m intrigued.

On a related/unrelated note, Taylor Swift launched Life of a Showgirl with some absolutely fabulous imagery. Like every single photo she dropped was perfection. In addition to giving us all an album of absolute bops, she was SERVING as the kids say.

So, when I saw that Atomic Cheesecake Studios had a set that was showgirl adjacent, AND she happened to have an open slot on my birthday, I decided it was time for me to get caked in makeup, stick on some false lashes, and have my own *Showgirl* moment.

Here are some of my favorite images from the shoot:

Are there a few things I wished I could change just a smidge… sure. However, when someone else is in charge of your look and the photos, you have to give up control. All in all, it was a fun way to spend the morning of my birthday and it was very fun to have a bit of my own Showgirl Era.