For as long as I can remember, I have had a love/hate relationship with food. For reasons I could not understand, seemingly normal meals would have me scurrying off to the bathroom before I was even finished eating them. If it hadn’t been for my struggle with weight, I’m sure people would have suspected those regular trips were something else.
I believe I have found the answer to my problem, and I have my grandmother to thank. And to blame, it turns out. A few months ago, she was diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease. Celiac’s Disease is a gluten intolerance. While complicated, it means that her body (and that of millions of other people) reacts to gluten — a protein in wheat, barley and rye — differently. Celiac’s Disease makes your small intestine attack itself every time you eat gluten. And as you might think, that’s just about every time you eat.
Celiac’s Disease is genetic, (Thanks, grandma.) and is reported to affect one in every 133 people. There are a few people in my family who seem to have problems with this, with different symptoms. There are over 300 symptoms known to be associated with this disorder. Or you may have no symptoms, just to make it more interesting. Tyroid disease and infertility are problems in my family, and I wonder if Celiac could have something to do with it. Others have symptoms more similar to mine.
As I explore this horrible and reasurring explanation to my problems, I’m reminded how much of communication is listening. Listen to my body. Listen to the people around me. Listen to my doctors and ask smart questions. Remember, if we all knew everything, we won’t need anyone else. Pay attention. Help when you can. Listen when you can’t.
By the way, almost everything contains gluten. Which is an over-statement, but when you want a nice sandwich, it certainly feels like that. There are many resources for gluten-free eaters, more now then there ever have been. Most grocery stores have a growing section of gluten free products. I had a gluten-free pizza at Uno’s last week. My local Trader Joe’s has gluten free bread, made from brown rice flower. Betty Crocker’s website has a section on gluten free products. More and more products are being labeled and gluten free, so the search is easier. The Gluten Free Chef website is a great resource on foods you should, and should not, eat.
For more information on Celiac’s Disease, please visit their website or your doctor.







Have you ever been a part of a conversation, when you suddenly realize some conversations have been going on before this one which you were not a part of? That’s the funny thing about the loop – you only know you were out of it when you get back in. Welcome to my old relationship with social media. I’m kind of digging it now.
Enjoy! And thanks, Jeff, for doing the heavy lifting on this one for me. Happily adding your blog to my recommended blog list. Loved it.
Several months ago, I had a conversation with my department’s chairman, Dr. Rick Cole. He was asking what we thought about this new media stuff and if Michigan State put together a class on something like, would we be interested in something like that. Naturally, we said we would and went on to completely forget about the conversation. Spring semester registration rolled around, and low and behold, there was a social media class. I knew I had a lot of excitement. I knew the subject came up a lot at work. I knew it was going to be a big part the future of marketing. I also knew I was totally freaked out about the whole thing and had about 10 minutes of exposure to social media. I didn’t even have a Facebook account!
I would read this book even if I didn’t have to. And you should too. In fact I liked it so much, I made 



So there you are, driving down the information super highway. Information is passing you on both sides — websites, blogs, ads, wikis, friend invitations. You know, all the regular stuff. Some if it catches your eye, and some of it doesn’t. Some of it you never even register. But why? As a “consumer,” what’s the thing that makes a site click for you? And as a marketer, what are you doing to be found?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a strategy for getting your website into people’s search box and onto their radar. At its basics, SEO is organizing your website — content and layout — to be the most impactful to your viewers… and, of course, Google. The ultimate, supreme, number one thing SEO does is make your website visible in searches. If you build a website and Google doesn’t find it (and put it on the first page of someone’s search results), does it really exist?