Just wanted to share a quick recipe! I found this on EatingWell awhile back, I think, and may have modified the original recipe a bit. Grilled Turkey & Tomato!
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| grilled turkey & tomato |
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
I'm not sure I'll be going hiking today. I am not feeling too great -- a headache among other things, and the ibuprofen doesn't seem to be helping much. I'll just leave it at that. I'm going to go try to take a nap -- hopefully that helps. I was really looking forward to it, too, because 1) I need to start doing things with my classmates so I don't spend every weekend like last weekend, haha. 2) I need the exercise, and 3) hiking in the MOUNTAINS?! I should be taking advantage of every opportunity to do that.
Just wanted to share a quick recipe! I found this on EatingWell awhile back, I think, and may have modified the original recipe a bit. Grilled Turkey & Tomato!
Just wanted to share a quick recipe! I found this on EatingWell awhile back, I think, and may have modified the original recipe a bit. Grilled Turkey & Tomato!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
I successfully figured out the library! Well, the printing part of it anyway. It was surprisingly simple. Find a computer, sign in, send your documents to the printer, swipe your student ID, and there you got it! There seems to be quite a few quiet places to study, too, which I really need to start taking advantage of. Getting back into the rhythm of school again is going to be a bit challenging. Especially right now because we don't have much for concrete assignments due, just reading. I have the best intentions, as always -- get ahead while I can. However, this past weekend was not productive in the slightest. Unless you count getting through a whole season of Brothers & Sisters on Netflix (excellent show, by the way. Mom, you'd love it). Or the six hours of shopping I did on Saturday. I should be enjoying this free time now, though, right?
It has given me lots of time to cook! And, of course, look for more recipes to try. The problem? I have so many leftovers! I'm forcing myself to eat them and not waste food. Or money.
I have another "blog" that is mostly just for my own personal recipe storage. I think I started it when I was taking my food production class at St. Ben's -- loooooved that class. I am going to post a couple of the new recipes I just tried this week on there. The link: http://eat-love-laugh.blogspot.com/
Oh, and the second year students are taking the first years on a hike up in Big Cottonwood Canyon tomorrow evening. So excited. I neeeeed to do something other than go to class, come home, do homework, and be lame.
It has given me lots of time to cook! And, of course, look for more recipes to try. The problem? I have so many leftovers! I'm forcing myself to eat them and not waste food. Or money.
I have another "blog" that is mostly just for my own personal recipe storage. I think I started it when I was taking my food production class at St. Ben's -- loooooved that class. I am going to post a couple of the new recipes I just tried this week on there. The link: http://eat-love-laugh.blogspot.com/
Oh, and the second year students are taking the first years on a hike up in Big Cottonwood Canyon tomorrow evening. So excited. I neeeeed to do something other than go to class, come home, do homework, and be lame.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
I made it safely through the first week of classes. Didn't even get lost! (knock on wood!) Or have heat stroke. Wow, it's been hot. I don't think the daytime high has dropped below 90 in the (almost) two weeks that I've been here. Yuck. I have definitely inherited my mom's genes when it comes to handling the heat. At least it's not 95* with a heat index of 120* though, right?
Classes all went well -- The nerd in me is excited about it, ha. I actually feel like I'm finally going to be doing what I want to do. The major problem I had working at the hospital was feeling like I was going absolutely nowhere. The only chance for advancement in that job required me to be an RD.
My classes: Medical Nutrition Therapy, Nutritional Biochemistry, Nutrition Communications & Graduate Seminar, and Nutrition Assessment. I can tell much of the first few weeks are going to be review of what I went through in undergrad. This was a major concern of mine when I was applying for and deciding between schools/programs. I knew that I would have to take a couple classes incredibly similar in content to what I had at St. Ben's, so I was a bit worried that I would feel like I was almost "cheating", that I wouldn't be challenged enough to feel like I was truly earning a higher degree. I've had three of my most admired professors tell me the same thing, though -- "Grad school is going to be what YOU make it. You need to take advantage of the opportunities you are given. Build on your experience and use your knowledge to your advantage." However, if this past week was any indication, I don't think I have to worry too much about being challenged.
Definitely going to be busy -- I actually don't have classes on Fridays this semester, but I'm not sure how many of those I'll have free. We're required to put in 40+ hours of community service in all things nutrition-related. The opportunities are already flooding in -- I'm putting in a few hours working at a farmers' market a couple weekends over the next couple months! They recently started accepting food stamp benefits, and an alumni of the program works for the non-profit, Utahns Against Hunger, that runs the booth that uses a POS machine to trade their benefits for tokens to spend at the market. I think the part of this that I'm most excited about is getting the experience in and making the connections with an organization that does precisely what I think I am most interested in as far as a career goes -- community nutrition & health promotion. I can go more in-depth on this later, but I just want to work with food. Sometimes, I think, there is too much focus on specific nutrients in the diet -- leave that up to the researchers. I want to show people that eating better is not such a daunting task after all. The average person, in my opinion, does not need to count calories or nutrients, but rather focus on a whole food "diet" (if you want to call it that). Starting with one small change -- such as replacing sugary, refined cereals with a whole grain cereal -- is going to make a difference. I don't want to just tell people what to do -- I want to show them. Cooking, gardening, grocery shopping! Anyway, I digress.
[A little side note in relation: If anyone wants some really awesome recipes, check out eatingwell.com. It's the website for my favorite magazine, EatingWell (duh), and they have fantastic recipe collections as well as well-supported food and nutrition articles. I have a sooo many recipes bookmarked to try.]
As much as I was thankful for the short and sweet orientation, there's a whole lot that I wish they would have gone over with us -- like printing. I've got a few journal articles to print off for classes and am slightly confused. I'm a big girl though and will just have to go exploring. Or take the easy way out and buy myself a printer, since I didn't freakin' bring my one of my own from home. Blahhhhh, it wasn't like we didn't have room for it either...
The first weekend here is almost over. I didn't do a whole lot. Got some shopping done yesterday that Dusty and I didn't have time for last week. Or were just too exhausted for, is more like it. Actually spent about six hours shopping -- definitely not what I had expected. My room and bathroom are almost all fixed up, now. Just need to put something on my walls! There's nothing up right now. I bought a couple picture frames and the supplies to make another "apparatus" for hanging pictures. I was going to buy a couple shelves to put up but I was all shopped out and didn't really feel like putting them up anyway, haha. I promise I'll get pictures up of the apartment sometime this week.
Oh, and I was also thinking I may want some sort of bookends to put on my desk. Anyone have an idea of where I could get some??
Classes all went well -- The nerd in me is excited about it, ha. I actually feel like I'm finally going to be doing what I want to do. The major problem I had working at the hospital was feeling like I was going absolutely nowhere. The only chance for advancement in that job required me to be an RD.
My classes: Medical Nutrition Therapy, Nutritional Biochemistry, Nutrition Communications & Graduate Seminar, and Nutrition Assessment. I can tell much of the first few weeks are going to be review of what I went through in undergrad. This was a major concern of mine when I was applying for and deciding between schools/programs. I knew that I would have to take a couple classes incredibly similar in content to what I had at St. Ben's, so I was a bit worried that I would feel like I was almost "cheating", that I wouldn't be challenged enough to feel like I was truly earning a higher degree. I've had three of my most admired professors tell me the same thing, though -- "Grad school is going to be what YOU make it. You need to take advantage of the opportunities you are given. Build on your experience and use your knowledge to your advantage." However, if this past week was any indication, I don't think I have to worry too much about being challenged.
Definitely going to be busy -- I actually don't have classes on Fridays this semester, but I'm not sure how many of those I'll have free. We're required to put in 40+ hours of community service in all things nutrition-related. The opportunities are already flooding in -- I'm putting in a few hours working at a farmers' market a couple weekends over the next couple months! They recently started accepting food stamp benefits, and an alumni of the program works for the non-profit, Utahns Against Hunger, that runs the booth that uses a POS machine to trade their benefits for tokens to spend at the market. I think the part of this that I'm most excited about is getting the experience in and making the connections with an organization that does precisely what I think I am most interested in as far as a career goes -- community nutrition & health promotion. I can go more in-depth on this later, but I just want to work with food. Sometimes, I think, there is too much focus on specific nutrients in the diet -- leave that up to the researchers. I want to show people that eating better is not such a daunting task after all. The average person, in my opinion, does not need to count calories or nutrients, but rather focus on a whole food "diet" (if you want to call it that). Starting with one small change -- such as replacing sugary, refined cereals with a whole grain cereal -- is going to make a difference. I don't want to just tell people what to do -- I want to show them. Cooking, gardening, grocery shopping! Anyway, I digress.
[A little side note in relation: If anyone wants some really awesome recipes, check out eatingwell.com. It's the website for my favorite magazine, EatingWell (duh), and they have fantastic recipe collections as well as well-supported food and nutrition articles. I have a sooo many recipes bookmarked to try.]
As much as I was thankful for the short and sweet orientation, there's a whole lot that I wish they would have gone over with us -- like printing. I've got a few journal articles to print off for classes and am slightly confused. I'm a big girl though and will just have to go exploring. Or take the easy way out and buy myself a printer, since I didn't freakin' bring my one of my own from home. Blahhhhh, it wasn't like we didn't have room for it either...
The first weekend here is almost over. I didn't do a whole lot. Got some shopping done yesterday that Dusty and I didn't have time for last week. Or were just too exhausted for, is more like it. Actually spent about six hours shopping -- definitely not what I had expected. My room and bathroom are almost all fixed up, now. Just need to put something on my walls! There's nothing up right now. I bought a couple picture frames and the supplies to make another "apparatus" for hanging pictures. I was going to buy a couple shelves to put up but I was all shopped out and didn't really feel like putting them up anyway, haha. I promise I'll get pictures up of the apartment sometime this week.
Oh, and I was also thinking I may want some sort of bookends to put on my desk. Anyone have an idea of where I could get some??
Monday, August 22, 2011
back to school, back to school.
It was a big day.
Rode the TRAX line to campus. All by myself.
Rode the TRAX line to campus. All by myself.
- Interesting first experience, however. The line that I ride is supposed to take us up to the campus stop closest to my classes in eight minutes. I have been told that the trains are extremely reliable as far as being on time. I was going to get on the 8:21 to get to my 9:00 class, just to be safe. At the last minute, I decided that it wasn't necessary and walked over to catch the 8:36 train. Should have been plenty of time to get up to class, right? Especially since my class is only about a 4-minute walk from the TRAX stop. Well, low and behold -- the train was freakin' LATE! And, I'm not talking two minutes late. No, it was 12 minutes late. TWELVE! Everything else was on time for the rest of the day, though. Thank goodness.
- Yep, walked into class a couple minutes late. Good way to start off the program, huh? Especially when there are only thirteen people in the class, ha. It was okay though. Three other girls actually walked in later than I did.
- Class went pretty well. I had Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) this morning. Already feeling a bit overwhelmed. Lots of big assignments to do over the semester. Many of them involving public speaking. And we all know how well that goes for me. Eek. I'm just really hoping that already having a strong undergraduate base of nutrition will help.
- I'm also a TA for an undergraduate intro nutrition class. I also went to that this afternoon. Welcome to a major university -- 180+ students in my class! Another EEK.
- The faculty of my program seem AMAZING. I'm relieved -- after the incredible professors I had at CSB/SJU, I was a bit worried that I wouldn't like the ones here as much.
- Free public transit! Woohoo!
- Free gym! Woohoo!
- Cheap tickets on student night at Target Field! Woohoo! (too bad the opportunities for this will be incredibly limited...)
- Maybe some other things, too...
Became a member of the American Dietetic Association!!
And this means...
- Nutrition journals in the mail! (yes, nerd, I know)
- Access to their evidence analysis library! (again, nerd)
- Cheap(er) textbooks!
I didn't get lost on the first day. That is a big accomplishment I think. The school is a tiny bit bigger than what I'm used to. Just a little. Tomorrow's the big day though -- I have a class in a different building and I am not quite sure how to get there. It shall be an adventure.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
but they've got planes and trains and cars...
Today was the (second) big day -- said the last big goodbye. Dusty is now home and I'm officially on my own now. It hasn't quite hit me yet, I don't think. Just too much going on at the moment, too much to do.
Summary of the last week:
We, of course, got going a bit later than we wanted on Monday -- didn't leave home until about 11:30. We drove through the night and somehow got to Salt Lake City a bit earlier than anticipated -- around 8:30-- a pleasant surprise, it only took us 22 hours rather than the 24 - 25 we were expecting. Driving through the night actually went a bit better than I had been expecting -- I've done it a couple times with three or four drivers but never with just two.
The apartment is great, as is the roommate, Kellie. Met the landlord and got the lease signed yesterday, as well as an explanation of some of the "weirdness/sketchiness" of the whole thing. So, yes, Dusty was right -- it all worked out great. So far, even better than I could have hoped. As I said, Kellie is awesome -- she is just this tiny little blonde girl. Probably about 5 feet tall and just petite. And she has a personality to match. Very spunky and talkative and so sweet. She reminds me a lot of my sister. And my cousin Haylee Dee. Just a bit smaller ;-) I don't think we're going to have a problem getting along. Not at all. AND SHE'S NEVER WATCHED AN EPISODE OF ONE TREE HILL!! Good thing I own all of the seasons on DVD...
Dusty and I spent a lot of time shopping the last week. Poor guy. Had to buy a bed, desk, bookshelf, and a few little things to keep my closet organized. Literally probably spent about 20 hours shopping over two days. And not just wandering around the mall browsing type shopping -- we were on a mission. [[I HAVE THE BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!!!]] I'll get pictures up of the apartment soon-ish -- I still have a few boxes to unpack and get organized.
Thursday we decided to take a break from the craziness and drove down to Moab to visit Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. I was so excited when I found out it was only a three and a half hour drive down there! That's just a quick trip to the Twin Cities from Rapids! I had been to Arches twice before and Canyonlands once. You'd think that it would start to dull a bit on the third visit. Definitely not. Simply takes your breath away.
Friday was orientation. After some minor traffic issues (sorry again, Dust!!), I made it there right on time. Definitely made me feel like a freshman again, ha. The girls (and one guy) in my class all seem great. Most of them are from out west (Utah, Oregon, California, Colorado...), but there are a couple from a ways away, like me -- Michigan and Pennsylvania! Many of them already knew each other, too, which I was surprised about. A few went to the U for their undergrad and a couple others had already been in the area for awhile.
That's about it for the update, I think. Classes start tomorrow. I'm not even going to try to drive over to campus -- they're doing a ton of construction and I guess parking is just horrendous. The apartment is in a great location, only about a block and a half from a stop on Salt Lake City's light-rail system (called TRAX). The one that stops there runs directly up to the school. I'm sure it'll feel just like the good ol' days riding the LINK! Minus the Bean Song, I am sure.
Summary of the last week:
 |
| finally in utah (well, almost)! about 6:30 AM, i think? |
The apartment is great, as is the roommate, Kellie. Met the landlord and got the lease signed yesterday, as well as an explanation of some of the "weirdness/sketchiness" of the whole thing. So, yes, Dusty was right -- it all worked out great. So far, even better than I could have hoped. As I said, Kellie is awesome -- she is just this tiny little blonde girl. Probably about 5 feet tall and just petite. And she has a personality to match. Very spunky and talkative and so sweet. She reminds me a lot of my sister. And my cousin Haylee Dee. Just a bit smaller ;-) I don't think we're going to have a problem getting along. Not at all. AND SHE'S NEVER WATCHED AN EPISODE OF ONE TREE HILL!! Good thing I own all of the seasons on DVD...
Dusty and I spent a lot of time shopping the last week. Poor guy. Had to buy a bed, desk, bookshelf, and a few little things to keep my closet organized. Literally probably spent about 20 hours shopping over two days. And not just wandering around the mall browsing type shopping -- we were on a mission. [[I HAVE THE BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!!!]] I'll get pictures up of the apartment soon-ish -- I still have a few boxes to unpack and get organized.
Friday was orientation. After some minor traffic issues (sorry again, Dust!!), I made it there right on time. Definitely made me feel like a freshman again, ha. The girls (and one guy) in my class all seem great. Most of them are from out west (Utah, Oregon, California, Colorado...), but there are a couple from a ways away, like me -- Michigan and Pennsylvania! Many of them already knew each other, too, which I was surprised about. A few went to the U for their undergrad and a couple others had already been in the area for awhile.
That's about it for the update, I think. Classes start tomorrow. I'm not even going to try to drive over to campus -- they're doing a ton of construction and I guess parking is just horrendous. The apartment is in a great location, only about a block and a half from a stop on Salt Lake City's light-rail system (called TRAX). The one that stops there runs directly up to the school. I'm sure it'll feel just like the good ol' days riding the LINK! Minus the Bean Song, I am sure.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
all my bags are packed, i'm ready to go.
(almost anyway)
Tomorrow is the day. Everything has happened so fast. I do not feel prepared AT ALL. This summer at camp was probably the busiest one yet. Or maybe it just felt that way because I had so much more to do outside of camp.
Dusty and I will be leaving sometime between 10 and 11 to drive out to Salt Lake City, Utah. tomorrow. For those of you who don't know exactly what I'm doing, I'll be going to graduate school at the University of Utah. I'm working toward a Master of Science in Nutrition while also completing 1200 hours of supervised practice required to become a Registered Dietitian. It's a two year program, including the summer months, so unfortunately I'm not going to be able to come home for a summer break.
Yeah, yeah, I know what's on everyone's mind: Why Utah? Desert, Mormons, and a 21-hour drive from home? (Well, I'm beginning to wonder that myself, but I'm sure that's just the nerves.) Beyond having almost exactly what I want in a program, it's the area. I fell in love with the western United States the first time I was out there in Summer of 2007 with Miss Chelsea the Math Teacher. And again in Summer 2009. And, of course, on The RoadTrip with the College Besties last summer. Salt Lake is a gorgeous city. It's also got a "small city" feel to it -- more like Duluth or Fargo/Moorhead than Minneapolis/St Paul, which is probably going to be best for me, after growing up in Grand Rapids and then spending four years at sheltered CSB/SJU. It's so clean and the people are nice. Another plus: THE MOUNTAINS! The location is wonderful -- all the benefits of a big city, yet you can drive 20 minutes and be in the middle of nowhere. Amazing.
About the apartment search:
To make a fairly long story short: I was out in SLC with Lizbeth, Eds, and Dusty in June for a couple days to find an apartment. I was incredibly underprepared for this experience and didn't find a whole lot of anything. The thing about SLC is this: it's made up of mostly old homes with new interior renovations. There aren't many large apartment buildings/complexes like we're used to at home. The ones they do have are either way out in the suburbs or waaaay overpriced. I ended up finding a very nice one-bedroom apartment in a nice neighborhood right by their state capitol. Almost everything that I wanted, but it would run me close to $900/month! I put a deposit down to hold the apartment -- I had until August 1 to cancel my application and the only loss would be the $200 deposit I put down.
After doing some serious thinking, I decided to start looking into finding a roommate. Responded to a couple ads on the university's off-campus housing website and the local TV's classifieds and found one fairly quickly. It's been sort of a rollercoaster of emotions with the situation though -- just ask Dusty, ha. Nothing is actually finalized yet -- I guess the landlord is just trusting the roommate and not having me sign a lease or put down any money until I get out there. Just makes me incredibly nervous that I'm going to get out there and have nowhere to live! I'm sure it will all work out just fine though -- Dusty says I need to stop being so paranoid :)
Anyway -- this will be a crazy busy week. We'll be out there hopefully before noon on Tuesday, then have orientation on Friday. I should have some time to update sometime this week.
Love you all!
And, a special THANK YOU, to miss AURORA Watson for all of her help last night and today. She's a pro at this packing thing!
Tomorrow is the day. Everything has happened so fast. I do not feel prepared AT ALL. This summer at camp was probably the busiest one yet. Or maybe it just felt that way because I had so much more to do outside of camp.
Dusty and I will be leaving sometime between 10 and 11 to drive out to Salt Lake City, Utah. tomorrow. For those of you who don't know exactly what I'm doing, I'll be going to graduate school at the University of Utah. I'm working toward a Master of Science in Nutrition while also completing 1200 hours of supervised practice required to become a Registered Dietitian. It's a two year program, including the summer months, so unfortunately I'm not going to be able to come home for a summer break.
Yeah, yeah, I know what's on everyone's mind: Why Utah? Desert, Mormons, and a 21-hour drive from home? (Well, I'm beginning to wonder that myself, but I'm sure that's just the nerves.) Beyond having almost exactly what I want in a program, it's the area. I fell in love with the western United States the first time I was out there in Summer of 2007 with Miss Chelsea the Math Teacher. And again in Summer 2009. And, of course, on The RoadTrip with the College Besties last summer. Salt Lake is a gorgeous city. It's also got a "small city" feel to it -- more like Duluth or Fargo/Moorhead than Minneapolis/St Paul, which is probably going to be best for me, after growing up in Grand Rapids and then spending four years at sheltered CSB/SJU. It's so clean and the people are nice. Another plus: THE MOUNTAINS! The location is wonderful -- all the benefits of a big city, yet you can drive 20 minutes and be in the middle of nowhere. Amazing.
About the apartment search:
To make a fairly long story short: I was out in SLC with Lizbeth, Eds, and Dusty in June for a couple days to find an apartment. I was incredibly underprepared for this experience and didn't find a whole lot of anything. The thing about SLC is this: it's made up of mostly old homes with new interior renovations. There aren't many large apartment buildings/complexes like we're used to at home. The ones they do have are either way out in the suburbs or waaaay overpriced. I ended up finding a very nice one-bedroom apartment in a nice neighborhood right by their state capitol. Almost everything that I wanted, but it would run me close to $900/month! I put a deposit down to hold the apartment -- I had until August 1 to cancel my application and the only loss would be the $200 deposit I put down.
After doing some serious thinking, I decided to start looking into finding a roommate. Responded to a couple ads on the university's off-campus housing website and the local TV's classifieds and found one fairly quickly. It's been sort of a rollercoaster of emotions with the situation though -- just ask Dusty, ha. Nothing is actually finalized yet -- I guess the landlord is just trusting the roommate and not having me sign a lease or put down any money until I get out there. Just makes me incredibly nervous that I'm going to get out there and have nowhere to live! I'm sure it will all work out just fine though -- Dusty says I need to stop being so paranoid :)
Anyway -- this will be a crazy busy week. We'll be out there hopefully before noon on Tuesday, then have orientation on Friday. I should have some time to update sometime this week.
Love you all!
And, a special THANK YOU, to miss AURORA Watson for all of her help last night and today. She's a pro at this packing thing!
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