Ups and Downs

Life is a series of triumphs and losses. Success and failure. Health and sickness. Fulfillment and discontent. Happiness and grief. Rainy days and clear skies. Sometimes, it feels like all your low points seem to happen at once. As you may have guessed from my last post, the last week or so has been punctuated by some not so happy moments (and perhaps a few tears), but that's not to say that there weren't good times as well! Let me just recap a bit of what life has been like over the last week or so...
-Work can be rough sometimes. When someone is sick or stuck in a rehab program for weeks, they aren't always the happiest campers.Too often, I somehow become a target for frustrations as I try to deal with kitchen errors or distaste for certain dishes.These days, I just try to look at it as a way to "toughen up" or "get a thick skin".
-Thanksgiving was out of the ordinary for Will and I this year. Instead of turkey and the usual sides we cooked up some authentic New Mexican red chili enchiladas. Definitely not for those who don't have a tolerance for spicy dishes!

Enchilada assembly

-I was still feeling a bit nostalgic about Thanksgiving however, so we did have traditional pumpkin pie for dessert. :-) Not as good as my Grandma's though. I remember when she would cook up so many tasty treats during the holidays! Pies, poppy seed and pumpkin rolls, dozens of Christmas cookies.  Sigh. I miss her.

I'm totally going to devour this pie!

-Precepting interns has been such a game changer at work. At first I was totally freaking out because I felt like I didn't have anything to offer. Just a year and a half ago I was in their shoes! A few of them are my age or older! Almost everyday I have to give myself a little pep-talk and convince myself that yes, I do have some things I can teach them. I really have learned quite a bit in the last 2 1/2 years! That's not to say I that don't still have a LOT to learn!
-On Thanksgiving, Will and I drove to a local park to do a little hiking only to be shooed away by the terrible smell... we were thinking there must be a sewage plant in the area. :-( After we jumped in the car, I noticed a tick on Honey... so we quickly evacuated the car and did a rapid tick search! Honey was covered! (But luckily, no bites!) So much for a leisurely fall walk!
-I mentioned earlier that I did something to tweak my knee on a long run and have been out of commission for the last 2 weeks to rest. I thought that perhaps I was really babying it too much and tried to go for an easy run this afternoon. I made it about two blocks before this searing knee pain came back and I had to limp it right on back home. (Grr.) I think it's time to get a second opinion and see the doc - because Mr. WebMD just didn't cut it! This also means, I'm probably going to be sidelined for the St. Jude Half on Saturday. :-( I'm so disappointed!
It's days/weeks like these when I have to remind myself....

Even if it is rainy and my hair will be a hot mess all day at work!
I have plenty to be grateful for!

Worst Luck Ever!

Now, I always figured that I was a pretty good, model citizen and a relatively safe driver. I mean I pay my bills, my taxes, I follow the law. Well, I guess I'm wrong. In the last month I've been pulled over 3 times! Give me a break! I'm beginning to think that the Memphis police force has it out to get me! Here's what went down.

Pull-over #1: After meeting with my running group on the Greenline for a 10 mile run, I was happy to be heading home to hit the shower. I was cruising down Union Street which has a speed limit of 35 miles/hr. I always thought the rule was that as long as you were within 5 miles of the speed limit you were ok. Obviously not! I got busted for going 40. :-(
Pull-over #2: On Thanksgiving, I was really craving a cup of Starbuck's holiday blend. I was parked on the street in front of my apartment building and today, like most days, I swung out of the space and made a U-turn to head towards downtown. Sitting at the red light at the corner was a cop who immediately flagged me down. I seriously was still 500 feet from my house! According to this officer, it is illegal to make a U-turn from a park. Really?! He let me off with just a warning. Probably because it was Thanksgiving. But really?! I can't do anything!
Pull-over #3: Yesterday, after work, Will and I stopped at Walgreens so I could return my movie to the Redbox, which is located outside. After dropping the movie, we went to leave without even entering the store. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, a cop comes speeding into the turning lane and I move into traffic. As I near the red light on the corner I see that the cop has turned around to follow me and pull me over. He jumps out of his car, gun in hand, and orders me to shut off my vehicle and get out of the car with my hands up. What?! I did as I was told and he walks around the car to do the same to Will! Meanwhile we are parked in the turning lane of a busy intersection within just a block from where I work. What a great thing for my boss to see both Will and I pulled over with our hands in the air! Apparently, the cop was called to pull over a black Jeep Cherokee from Walgreens as whoever it was had just picked up some illegal prescription. Cause, you know, a green Jeep Patriot is close enough. I had never been so scared!! Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Welcome to my life!

Thankfulness

Some things I am thankful for this year...
-God. Without Him I wouldn't have these things to be thankful for!
-Family. Although I may be a few hundred miles away, I'm still wishing you the best this Thanksgiving!
-Friends. I have some pretty incredible friends, and for some reason, I thought it would be fun to move away. :-/ I miss y'all so much!

Y'all even came to Tennessee, twice! 

I miss these fun times in Cleveland!

Hoping to visit both of you in the next few months!

-Will - Best friend and boyfriend. He made this transition to a new town, new job, new life an adventure. I love him. :-)

-Vets. Without them our country may be an entirely different place. I also wouldn't have a my job and it certainly wouldn't be as highly entertaining without them!
-My Jeep. It's been incredible to not be plagued by random clunking noises, a leaky transmission, breakdowns, or the fear that at any point, my old jalopy van (RIP) just might not start.
-Coffee. (Without my regular caffeine fix, I'm not sure I wouldn't be a walking zombie.)

-StarRunners! This running group got me out of my house so I could meet new people, make some friends, and get in shape doing one of the things I love most - RUNNING! (Still keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to run St. Jude next week!)
-Farmers - without them we wouldn't have any real food. Plus, after working the market this summer, I've come to realize they are some of the coolest people. :-)

Hope you all are enjoying lots of delicious food and quality time with family and friends.

I Miss Endorphins

I haven't been on a run in almost a week. I'm dying to burn off some extra energy!!! There's less than 2 weeks until St. Jude and last week I did something to really make my knee angry, like really angry. Oi. In the mean time I've been doing my best to make myself rest, avoid the stairs (those killed!), ice, and pray that it will be better before the half marathon! I've been missing running group so much already. Plus, I've realized how much I've come to depend on running to clear my head, get motivated (ie. reason I haven't posted in over a week!), and just feel so much better throughout the day. Those little exercise endorphins do so much more than I realized!
Ok. Enough about that! This week was "Downtown Dining Week" so the majority of restaurants in our neighborhood were offering a 3 course meal for only $20.11! After perusing the list, Will and I headed to the classy, chic Majestic restaurant which is housed in an old theater. I had heard a lot of good things about this place, so I was excited to finally try it!

So excited to eat!

Salad for me to start, and chicken liver pate for Will. Trout for the main course...

Then, to finish... a cute little dessert in a glass. Tiramisu for me (of course!) and key lime pie for Will! YUM!

I totally want to back for one of their super fun looking movie theme meals - especially the National Lampoon's Christmas Special meal!
Today I had to cover the weekend shift at work. Not too crazy busy luckily! The hospital always seems so eerily quiet on Saturday and Sunday - it's kind of creepy! :-/ Hope y'all had a fun weekend!

15 Things for Saturday

What's up with the monkey?

1. Thursday night, Will and I went to see David Sedaris do some readings of his stories live. He's so funny, cute, and quirky. He was get flustered at times and just go "oops... oops...". Also, he kept a pencil in his shirt pocket and would actually edit on stage as he read. If you are wondering who he is... you should look up one of his podcasts or an audiobook of one his works like Me Talk Pretty One Day or Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. One of the things that he does so well as an author is that he can really develop even average seeming people into fantastic characters. I walked out of the auditorium feeling inspired to write more - especially in my journal! (Which has been sadly neglected the last few months...)
2. Remember how I mentioned reading Sarah's Key a few weeks ago? I saw another book by Tatiana de Rosnay called A Secret Kept. Like Sarah's Key, this book involved a lot of flashbacks/forwards as you follow middle-aged Antoine Rey in his quest to discover more about the mother he never got the chance to know well. Definitely one to check out!
3. I loved this post "10 Real-Talk Blog Tips" by Joy the Baker. She's kind of like my blogging idol.  So inspiring.
4. Sometimes you just have a really bad day. Wednesday was one of those days. I just happened to have a lot of very vocal, unhappy patients and at one point I just felt like "I just can't. please. a-n-y-o-n-e!!". Being a dietitian at times is a bit like being a waitress in that you take all the slack for when the kitchen messes up and the food doesn't come out right. Oi. I think by the next afternoon I had things sorted out.
5. Last Saturday and again today, I tried fueling with a GU Gel for on my long run. It's a lot like candy toothpaste. (Did you ever get the cotton candy flavor toothpaste when you were a kid?!) So, it's kind of weird but it was definitely a lot easier to get down than any other other things I've tried so far!
6. Can I just say that I absolutely adore Zoe Deschanel and her new show New Girl! It makes me look forward to Tuesday night!
7. Cely from the blog, Running Off the Reeses is absolutely hilarious. I often open up her blog in the mornings before I head to work to start off my day with a few funny thoughts.
8. This was my first week precepting my first intern! I was sooo nervous on Monday! I think it has been going pretty well though. I feel like it could be so rewarding to see all these interns improve and learn throughout the internship. :-)
9. I brought out my "Link boots" this week. (That's right. I just made a nerdy Nintendo reference... haha.)
10. Vet - "I'm not a 5 year old girl. Stop trying to feed me like one!". (BTW - the diet he was on provides 2400-2600 kcals... so, yeah.)
11. Will and I saw this sign in front of the church that hosts the Cooper Young Farmers' Market today. I couldn't help chuckling...

I totally need to start going here now! My bike could use a tune-up...

12. Peppermint White Chocolate Mochas are back at Starbucks. Yum!!!!

13. Love advice from my patients = hilarious. This came about Friday for example: Vet: "You married?". Deb: "Um, no. But I'm dating". Vet: "How old are you?". D: "24". Vet: "What's that boy waiting for?! If I were younger, I'd cook for you. Put about 14 lbs on you. Put you in a set of heels and your guy would be sorry he didn't ask already!" D: Umm... (And that's when this conversation rapidly turned from entertaining to incredibly awkward...). 

14. I got a speeding ticket on Union last weekend for going 5 miles over the speed limit. Seriously?! 

15. After my third attempt to make kale chips failed last night, I think I give up. You win Kath (of Kath Eats) and Deb (of Smitten Kitchen)! You go eat your perfectly baked kale. :-/ Haha! Kidding! (sort of...)

This looks like it's going to be a crazy busy week! A potluck, tea party, intern presentations, graduation, book club, and one last 13 miler before race day. Whew!!  Hope y'all are enjoying your weekend as well!

Happy 11/11/11!

If you know any Vets, thank them for their service today! The VA grants this a holiday, so I have the day off today. :-)  Earlier this week, I cooked up some of this hearty chili. I am totally on a soup/stew kick right now. Make a pot for yourself - you won't be sorry!

The ingredients...

Hearty Pumpkin Black Bean Chili
Ingredients:
-1/2 medium onion, chopped
-1 green bell pepper, chopped
-2 tbsp oil
-3-4 cloves garlic
-1 can black beans, rinsed
-2 cans spicy stewed tomatoes
-1 cup pumpkin (mine was a fresh one I had roasted a few days ago)
-4-5 small red skin potatoes
-1 bottle of Lager or other dark beer
-1-2 tsp chili powder
Directions:
1. Heat oil in stock pot. Add chopped onions and green peppers and cook until softened. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
2. Dump in the beans, tomatoes, pumpkin, and beer. Simmer. Add spices to taste (ie. chili, salt, pepper, etc).
3. Cover pot and continue to simmer on low heat until all of the vegetables have softened.
Top with some shredded cheese and sour cream/yogurt and you're good to go!

Chili for my belly...

Veggie Drawer Soup

So, early last week, I guess I went a little overboard at the farmers' market, because the veggie drawer in my fridge was about to burst! The easiest way to use a lot at once?? Vegetable soup of course! The other plus of making this big batch of soup was definitely the leftovers. There are few nights when I come home from work and am inspired to cook, especially when I have running group in the evening, so this gave me a quick fix for dinner.

The ingredients...

 Veggie Drawer Soup
Ingredients:
-1 small onion, chopped
-1 tbsp butter or olive oil
-3-4 carrots
-1/2 quart mushrooms
-Handful of cherry tomatoes
-1 bunch bok choy
-1/2 head broccoli
-5-6 red skinned potatoes
-3 cups of mustard greens
-1 qt vegetable broth (add more for a more "brothy" soup)
Directions:
1. Heat oil/butter in a large stockpot. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Add broth. Add the carrots, potatoes, bok choy stems, and broccoli (chopped into equal size pieces). Heat until simmering and cook for about 10 minutes. Next add chopped bok choy leaves, mushrooms, tomatoes, and greens. Simmer until the harder veggies are fork tender (ie. the carrots and potatoes). Add salt, pepper, and additional spices to taste.

Serve alongside a grilled cheese sandwich on a chilly fall evening. :-)

Harvest Festival!

First off... keep this picture in mind...
To celebrate the end of the Downtown Farmers' Market season (and to raise money for the market!) they held the Harvest Celebration in the ballroom of Central Station. :-) As promised, many of the tastiest restaurants in town brought in some of delicious dishes to highlight the produce sold at the market. Not a whole lot of vegetarian options though. :-/ The best dish by far was a mushroom gravy over goat cheese grits. Yum!!

Grits in the front, tamale casserole (for Will!) in the background...

Central Station. A cool place to party... and live!

Fun times!

The event included a silent auction as well. Will and I walked around and bid on a few things... at first we just wanted to bring the price up (to help the market at all...), but then we ended up winning a couple! We snagged some tickets for the Nutcracker ballet (so excited!!) as well as a coffee basket with locally roasted beans and a cute coffee bag purse!

In addition to eating and bidding, we also did some mingling and chatted with some of our market volunteer friends. :-)

Hiding in one of the corners was a fun little photo booth which of course we had to do! Promise not to laugh... ok, ok. I honestly can't look at this picture without cracking up! Now remember the American Gothic pic at the start of this post?

We. are. so. cool.

Happy Monday y'all!! 

From Indie Film to India Fest!

Remember how I said that Memphis can be cool? It proved itself yet again when we headed out to the Agricenter for the India Fest! The advertisement in the Flyer made it sound a lot more exciting than it really was, but we at least got to try out some tasty new dishes! We shared some spicy rice dish with yogurt sauce, mango lassis, and authentic chai tea. Yum! Which reminds me, I really need to learn to make my own chai...

Map of Indian Cuisine

Being awkward by Buddha...

Since India Fest took us to the far east (pun intended!) part of town, we did a little bit of shopping at the mall. Christmas carols and holiday decorations were up already! I'm not ready to start thinking about the holidays! We both picked a few new things including a new fish and a frog(!) for Will's little tank at home. Speaking of fish... after shopping we stopped at a pizza place for a bite to eat. I have never tried anchovies on my pizza but I was always a little curious what they tasted like. Will convinced me to share a pizza with him with the little fishies on it. I tried my best to like them but...

as you can tell by my expression, I wasn't a huge fan! Haha. So fishy! So salty! Noooo thank you! I'm sure it made for an entertaining meal for Will however! 

Well, we're off to the Memphis Farmers' Market year end Harvest Celebration this evening. It promises lots of delicious local eats! I'm excited! 

Indie Film Fest

Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised by how cool Memphis can be. All week, Will and I have looking forward to the Memphis' Indie Film Fest! We went to two events last night. But before we hit the theater, we made a trip to Central BBQ for some grub!

 A BBQ portabella sandwich (of course!) for me and a pulled pork salad for Will. By the way, macaroni and cheese + BBQ sauce = awesome taste explosion in my mouth!
Now to the movies! The first was actually a set of 9 short films grouped under the theme "Life". At the door, they gave us little ballots to fill out so we could rate each film!

Several of the films dealt with coming of age or the defining moment when a boy becomes a man. A couple were really strange abstract ones with basically just objects and music. One dealt with how you can't let your life be ruled by fear that something bad is going to happen because we hear about all these terrible things on the news and online every single day. The film that most impressed me was one that was filmed down the street from my apartment in this huge abandoned brewery building called "9 Flights". The protagonist has this recurring dream about being a soldier in WWII and trying to save his Jewish Love. So well done!
We walked to Yolo for some frozen yogurt while we waited for the second film we wanted to see called "How to Cheat". This was a cleverly done RomCom that was so much more realistic than any that come from Hollywood. A husband has become bored with his marriage and decides to have an affair. Things get complicated and the end is not exactly happy as the "other woman" ends up pregnant. It was sort of refreshing to see actors that looked like average people, making mistakes, and having to actually deal with the damage when things don't work out perfectly.
One of the best parts of the fest was that the directors/producers/actors were there to field questions! It was definitely fun to see the people you had just watched on screen in real life and hear their perspective on the film and all the work they did to create it!

Sometimes I wish...

-That I didn't get so nervous before doing a presentation. I've done so many throughout college, my dietetic internship, and grad school you'd think it'd be no biggie anymore. I wish!
-That I had a lab rat job where I didn't have to spend my entire day talking to strangers.
-That I was more confident. Assertive.
-That I was BFF's with Taylor Swift like in a dream I had once.

-That I had a dog.
-That I could quit my job and just work at Muddy's cupcake shop. Let's face it... patients are never actually excited to see a dietitian. But have you every seen an angry person eating a cupcake?! Yeah, I thought so.

Happy camper!

-That I had an iphone/smartphone/"fancyphone". But then again, what could be cooler than a Motorola Rival?

-That I could hop on an airplane tomorrow and visit Charis in Ireland!

-That I could play piano.
-That I was waaay less awkward! But then again...

That's right!! Just try to resist...

Then I think about all the wonderful things I do have, and I realize, "you know what? I really have a great thing going here". Not that it's bad to dream though!