Tag: birthday

Community, News & Research, Society

Donate to the 36 Million Migraine Campaign to Wish Me a Happy Birthday!

Kerrie Smyres

Many of you have expressed a desire to buy me a cup of coffee as a thank you for my work on The Daily Headache. My 37th birthday is coming up and there’s no greater gift I could receive than for The Daily Headache’s readers to further migraine research by donating to the American Migraine Foundation’s 36 Million Migraine campaign.

Whether you can only spare the couple dollars you’d spend on a cup of coffee or your budget will allow for a larger donation, every contribution helps further migraine research. That’s the gist of the campaign — if each of the 36 million Americans who have migraine donated just $1, we’d have $36 million to investigate the causes of and treatment for this life-altering disorder.

36 Million Migraine via The Daily Headache

Of course, not all 36 million migraineurs read The Daily Headache, so I’ve set my birthday fundraising goal at a modest $1,000. Please consider donating whatever you can spare to better the lives of everyone who lives with this poorly understood, debilitating illness.

I’ve set up a 36 Million Migraine via The Daily Headache donation page on Crowdrise so we can see how much The Daily Headache readers contribute toward the goal. If Crowdrise’s $10 minimum donation isn’t in your budget, you can donate through the American Migraine Foundation. I’m using my birthday to drum up support, but it doesn’t matter where you donate or if you mention The Daily Headache or me — it’s all about raising money for migraine research.

P.S. Click on the orange “Optional Processing Fee” text on the Crowdrise donation page if you do not wish to pay an additional amount for processing (or if you wish to pay more in support of Crowdrise!).

Coping

Birthday Goodness (and the Very Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe)

Kerrie Smyres

In response to All Migraineurs Are Different — So Stop Judging Me!, a reader (who happens to be my mom) commented that I share with you my frustrations and failings, but not what I do manage to achieve. I was ready to dismiss it as just my mom being a mom, but then another reader of no familial relation backed her up. Sadly, I realized that I don’t share my accomplishments because they are so often miniscule. I compare myself to “normal people” and come up way short.

I’m trying to overcome my feelings of inadequacy and share the good with you. This is made a little easier since cyproheptadine is reducing my head pain and the fatigue that has drug me down all summer suddenly lifted on Monday (fingers crossed that it lasts!). Also, today is my birthday. This week has been less about accomplishing and more about having fun. And eating foods that aren’t on my migraine diet, though only ones that I’m pretty sure aren’t triggers for me.

Here’s my week in food!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream — My first time making caramel was successful thanks to the fantastic tips from David Lebovitz. The ice cream is superb. Now I want to try making caramel candies. Can anyone recommend a good recipe?

The Very Best Chocolate Chip Cookies — These really are perfect, especially with a couple tweaks.

  • After rolling the cookies into balls, refrigerator for 36 hours. (If the dough is too soft to form balls, refrigerate it for 20 minutes and try again.) This step is a must. From the famous New York Times chocolate chip cookie recipe, it allows the dry ingredients to fully absorb the liquid, resulting in a better texture. Either bake or freeze the dough after the 36 hours is up; it starts to dry out if left in the fridge too long.
  • Use a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flours or all white whole wheat flour to add a little depth and nuttiness.
  • I vary the cookie size depending on the recipient. However, the ideal size about the size of a golf ball (3.5 oz), according to the New York Times and me.
  • Use real, unsalted butter and real vanilla. And be sure to use dark brown sugar for the fullest flavor.

Yellow cupcakes from Baking Illustrated are in the oven as I type. I haven’t made this recipe before, but Baking Illustrated has never let me down.

Quinoa Porridge — My new migraine-diet-friendly favorite. Quinoa mixed with a little plain rice milk and sugar, then frozen in 8 oz. canning jars to pop in the microwave for an easy breakfast. When I want dessert, I add some more sugar and call it pudding.

Happy birthday to me! Hope you have a lovely weekend full of delicious food and as little head pain as possible.