I've been trying to find a way to express myself clearly for my entire life. I was born with Neurofibromatosis Type 1, a neurological disorder that in short causes tumors to grow anywhere, but usually along the spine and the brain. I've been lucky and have a very mild case. But it is a progressive disorder, so how I feel now doesn't necessarily reflect how I will be in five years or even 6 months.
Mainly my symptoms are my lack of fine motor skills, learning disabilities, very slight bone irregularities, infrequent nerve pain, weird infrequent eye issues, cafe au lait spots, slight curvature of the spine, lisch nodules, high blood pressure, mild sleep issues, controlling my emotions and A.D.D. My A.D.D has calmed down considerably over the years, but it still over takes my better control sometimes.
One of the more lighter but still horribly annoying (but sometimes works to my advantage) symptoms of NF is my hypersensitivity to sound, smells, taste and touch. I can smell a full garbage can from a room away. But I can smell something nearly done baking 5 seconds before the timer goes off. I can hear tapping and slight variances in sound. I can taste when there is too much Rosemary in chicken or the dash of cinnamon in chocolate. Matthew jokes I ought to snort vinegar to buffer my sense of smell.
Symptoms of NF vary from person to person. What one person experiences every day another may never face. It's what makes the disorder so frustrating and so difficult.
But some of my NF friends and their families have so much more to live with and I'm not about to complain. I have NF, but NF does not have me.
I never talked about my NF growing up. Not to my friends, teachers, or anyone. I kept that up, but since finding so many people with NF on Facebook, I've become more comfortable talking about it, at least on here. But NF in my "real" life is still on a need-to-know basis which is limited to doctors.
But obviously if it were to adversely affect my life or my work, I'd be open to sharing it with others.
If you want to know more about this most common neurological disorder, you can click here for a Google search of "Neurofibromatosis", and my dear Thriving Friend has her own blog that is exclusively about NF in her life. Here is also a basic chart of NF1 issues, but doesn't begin to touch upon everything.
But life goes on! I grew up loving to bake and when I was in the 5th grade I made my choice to attend the Culinary Institute of America, because baking was my passion and wanted to make it my life. My palette grew and my love for baking and pastry expanded in ways I'd always wanted.
I was lucky enough to meet a great, smart guy there (Matthew) who turned out to be a great, hardworking guy. We've been together for 5 and a half years this September and and we got engaged in July 2010! We're planning to get married May 19th, 2012! I'm so lucky to be with him. My blog postings frequently include him, as he is an amazing cook and his food is worth blogging about.
I loved to write and eventually began this blog to house my everyday experiences and perspectives but made it an exclusively food topic blog. This blog may be weird and imperfect, but everything is a work in progress and I hope one day I can be lucky enough to have a career that allows me to indulge in my love for words and writing at least in my own free time.
Thanks for stopping by! I really appreciate you taking the time to check me out. I hope you enjoy it!
