Thursday, May 26, 2011

7 Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. Just finished this book by John Nicholls called One Day late, late last night. (I just had to see how it ended!) I thought it was definitely cleverly written and it made me think about how I want to grow old and whether there is a unique way I could document the passing years. Hmm. The story starts off with the main characters fresh out of college and braving the "whole new world" (lol), so there were a lot of things about the book that resonated with me.
2. My brand new coffee grinder! :-) I can't say that it totally changed the way I drink coffee... but I will say that my coffee does taste a bit fresher!
3. Reading celebrity gossip magazines while working out on the elliptical. (Don't judge!)
4. I am totally addicted to these colorful cherry tomatoes from Micmak farms. I've been buying them religiously every week since the Memphis Farmers Market opened.
Vegetables? Yes, please!
5. Crossing things off of my "to-do" list. So satisfying...
6. Oatmeal + plain yogurt + sliced banana + Jones' peach jam = one killer breakfast! It keeps the "stomach growls" away until lunch time. :-)
7. Catching up with old friends on the phone. I've always despised talking on the phone. However, now that I have moved so far from my best friends, it has become one of the best ways to still keep in touch. I know, what a revelation right? Haha.

BTW- I'm headed to DALLAS tomorrow for the long weekend!!! So excited!!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

I'm Feeling... Red!

Last week, one of the many blogs I now follow (eatliverun!) posted a recipe for Beet Risotto. I was totally intrigued by the photos of this rich red pot of creamy rice and figured I should give it a shot! For awhile now I had been in the mood to experiment a little in the kitchen and this recipe turned out swell. :-)
Beets are one of those foods that you turn your nose up to when you are a kid and then learn to appreciate them as you get older. I remember one of the summers I went to PA to visit my grandparents when I was around 11ish and picked up a can of beets and begged for them to be added to the cart. My Grandma was thoroughly boggled by my sudden obsession/need for beets, but she allowed me to get them anyway. In my little head, I was thinking that I had picked up that strange, jello-y cranberry sauce from a can that is a Thanksgiving staple. (I know, I was kind of a weird kid!) Imagine my utter surprise when I finally did sit down to my little bowl of "cranberries" expecting to taste the sweetish-tartness I was craving and instead... tasting beets! Ugh! No wonder I avoided them like the plague for years (until last year in fact!).  Now, I can honestly say I’ve gotten over my traumatic beet/cranberry mix up and thoroughly enjoyed this beet risotto.  :-) In fact, the recipe made so much I took some leftovers to Will's the next night and we paired it with an Orange Cauliflower and Bean puree. Talk about "tasting the rainbow"!
So, give it a try. I'm sure you'll love it too. --> Beet Risotto Recipe

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Weekend Recap

Hey Y'all!
The week has just been getting ahead of me! Here's a bit of a recap of what I did this weekend. :-)

Friday
- One of the most hipster parts of Memphis is the neighborhood, Cooper Young. It reminds me a lot of Coventry in Cleveland. (Warm feelings!) We decided to try out Sweet Grass where I ordered a delish apple, pecan salad topped with blue cheese. Also, we shared an appetizer of fried macaroni and cheese balls which were so gooey and warm...
Not a Good Pic, but Definitely Tasty!
- As you can tell, I was enjoying the night. :-)
- Afterwards, we headed to Urban Outfitters for a bit of window shopping. Then, to my fave, Muddy's Cupcake Shop!
 
Poor Will wasn't feeling well and took a little cat-nap!
Saturday
- Up and at 'em! I headed to the Farmer's Market to help my coworker Erin present our little poster on goat's milk which was the featured item of the week at the market. Afterwards, Will and I volunteered to pet sit. There were so many cute and cuddly pups that people brought by! My personal favorite was a wee ball of fluff named Iz. :-)
- After a long day at the market, Will and I biked over to Trolley Stop Market to enjoy some sandwiches created from local produce/ingredients and share a bit of Golden Ale. I got the best veggie burger I think I have ever had! Mmm...

Love, love, love the Trolley Stop Market!
Sunday
- Grocery shopping. Always a bit of an adventure.
- Ever since I've moved here I've been meaning to try out a yoga class at Midtown yoga. They have classes that are "pay what you can" so I picked a random one on Sunday to try. It was a Hot Yin yoga class which didn't end up being anything quite like I imagined or hoped. Instead of stretching and strength it was basically a relaxation class where I spent the majority of the class with my butt against the wall and my feet in the air. Not exactly my style... haha.

This week is already flying by! I'm looking forward to this 3 day weekend! (More on that to come!)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

24 Things I've Learned in the Last 24 Years...

There’s this article that one of the blogs I check up on daily mentioned that was really interesting. (To read it, go here.) It talked about what kinds of things I should have figured out now that I am almost 25(!). I decided to sit down and make a list of some of the things I have come to learn in the last 24 years, and I thought I would share with you. Just promise not to make fun!
1.) Friends are hard to make, so hold on tight to the ones you have.
2.) Feeling stressed? Sad? Angry? Frustrated? Get sweaty. (lol.) Exercise has become such a great outlet for me for all the above.
3.) The passing of a loved one is never easy.  It makes all the memories you have of them all the more sweet and precious. I miss you, Grandma.
4.) Just because you’ll never be the winner of a race doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth running. People cheer for the first and the last person to come in!!
5.) Life is kind of like running I’ve come to realize. Sometimes things are going well and you feel great… and then you fall on your face. You just have to get up, brush yourself off, and keep going.
6.) Do the best you can. That’s all you can do.
7.) Laugh and smile a lot. People notice. :-)
8.) There’s always time for coffee.
9.) Reflect. Journal. Pray.
10). Pulling freshly baked bread out of the oven is one of the most satisfying things ever.
11.) I’m a dietitian with a sweet tooth. What can I do?
12.) You can’t predict or control your future. No matter what grand schemes I may have for myself, God always makes things work out better than I may have imagined.
13.) I could seriously eat PB&J for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
14.) I love discovering new music and appreciating it. I’ve always been a bit envious of people who are able to create inspiring melodies.  
15.) Even though they are pretty much guaranteed to be cheesy, making a handmade card for someone gives me so much more satisfaction than buying some boring Hallmark!
16.) The idea of working at a museum used to be really cool. Then I worked at Bodies.
17.) Falling in love is exciting, and fun, and scary.
18.) Try new things. See new places. Meet people who are different than you.
19.) Think before you speak. People shape some of their strongest opinions about you based on what comes out of your mouth.
20.) It’s ok to cry sometimes… even if someone may see you.
21.) Being coordinated just isn’t my thing. I’ve finally given up on ever thinking I may one day be graceful. Haha!!
22.) The image of God as the potter and me as a mound of clay needing to be shaped has always fascinated me.
23.) My hair is big. It’s taken me this long to finally let it do its thing. I will never have Jennifer Aniston locks no matter how much I wish it or how many hours I spend with a flat iron.
24.) People move in and out of your life all the time. Make the most of the time you have to spend together.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Glimpses of My Weekend

This past week of work just seemed to drag on forever! (Must have been what sparked my "Work" post... haha.). Here's a bit of a recap of my weekend.

 Friday
  • Bhan Thai for dinner - so delicious!!! Will and I split these sweet and tangy spring rolls with mustard for an appetizer and then had the "Dirty Old Man" entree with tofu. (I've gotten him to eat tofu twice this weekend! Hehe.)
    Mustard on Spring Rolls? Go figure.
  • Bridesmaids! This movie rivals "The Hangover" for one of the most hilarious movies I have ever seen.
Saturday
  • Memphis Farmers Market. Below you can see some of the things I picked up. :-) This weekend they had a woman lead a demo on how to make strawberry jam. I'm thinking a weekend project may be in the making...

  • Library time! No matter what, I find myself at the library at least once every week. It's so big! Every time I go I spend way too much time wandering between the shelves trying to pick out just one book. (I usually give up and come home with at least 3.) When I got home, I was happy to chill on my couch and read while sipping a Chai latte. Yum.

  • Dinner time! Will came over and we cooked up the humongous head of broccoli I had gotten from the market in a stir fry with some bok choy and tofu(!). That was my first experience ever cooking with tofu, which Will taught me how to fry it up so it is slightly crisp on the outside. (I love having a boyfriend who knows how to cook!) 
Sunday
  • Sleeping in always feels so good. 
  • Church. The sum of the message today: "Faith without works is dead". James 2:20.
  • More time spent chillaxin' on the couch with the new books I picked up from the library while I wait for my bread to rise. It's been a bit of a chilly weekend so I was actually in the mood to do some baking. (It's been getting to 90 most days the last week or so!)
  • All new "Bob's Burgers" tonight! Always guaranteed to make me chuckle. 
Trying to savor the last few hours of the weekend before it's back to the daily grind!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Work

I may have mentioned this before, but working at the VA guarantees you’ll never have a totally uneventful day.  Even though working in a hospital means being around many sick, grumpy patients, it is not without it’s moments of humor. Here are a few things that have made me chuckle over the last few months.

1.) So, per the typical protocol, the technician referred a patient to me for weight loss. I walked to the patient’s room, clipboard in hand with handouts ready to find him standing in his hospital gown beside his roommate’s bed  chatting away with the two other men in the room. I approach and ask if he was indeed Mr. X, to which he turns to me and joyously announces, “Are you here to see my groin?!?!?!” with a huge cheesy grin on his face! I was so tongue-tied and embarrassed I could only respond with a shocked, “Umm.. well… uh…. Nooo”. Then it got super awkward for a few more minutes as he tried to explain himself saying the last few young women who had come in had asked to see his groin (ie. check the status of his cardiac cath leg wound). Lol. That probably had to be one of the most awkward moments of my life.
2.) One patient was upset that he was getting sweet milk on his tray. I had no idea what sweet milk was other than, um.... chocolate milk? He patiently explained to me that sweet milk = regular milk and buttermilk =… well the opposite(?) of sweet milk. Ah, light bulb! It's shocking how many patients love buttermilk down here.
3.) Typical diet recall I hear everyday: “Well, for breakfast I eat sausage, bacon, eggs…” and everyday I have at least one patient ask me for sausage and/or bacon for breakfast EVERYDAY. I’m getting very good at saying, “N-O”. Haha.
4.) What the hell (pardon) is neckbone anyway?!?! And why in the world would you want to eat that?! So many guys like it! I can’t imagine there is anything worth eating off the neck of a chicken!
5.) Some of these guys seriously don’t ever get any fiber in there diets. How in the world do they stay regular?
6.) No, you will not die if you do not eat a serving of meat at all of your meals. A vegetarian meal of ravioli once a week will not kill you. I promise.
7.)  Yes, sea salt is still salt. So is seasoning salt. And garlic salt. And salt. Really sir, if the word “salt” appears anywhere in the name of the seasoning, it is indeed salt.
8.) “You’re not from around here are you…”

So, that’s just a brief glimpse of a few of the things I run into on a semi daily basis in this oh-so-glamorous job working for the government. It keeps life interesting. :-)

TGIF!!!!!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Come Hell or High Water!

A most appropriate slogan for the Memphis in May BBQ festivities this coming weekend!! (Which they did indeed have to move locations due to flooding.) This flooding thing is a much bigger deal than I had first realized. Will and I ventured to Mud Island on our bikes Saturday to check out the damage. The Mississippi is definitely pushing its limits. Here are a few of the pics I snapped on our ride just so you can get a little bit of an idea. Something I didn't picture was the park along the river near Will's apartment complex that is now all underwater. :-( I miss going there on my runs! (But I'm not ready to add a swim yet! No triathalons for me!)
There's no getting to that side of the island!

Half submerged trees
Take a seat...
It doesn't look good!! Hopefully, as the rain continues to hold off it'll start to recede... or something. There's all these signs up around town about how the end of the world is supposed to be coming on May 21... by flood. It's almost too ironic! Haha.
In other news, yesterday evening, I made us some awesome salads from the ridiculously fresh and delicious produce I had picked up at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. Let me tell you, these salads make me actually happy to eat my vegetables! :-)
As always, Monday rolls around way too fast and it's back to the daily grind at work. I can't complain though. I am enjoying my job... the Vets are definitely a special population. Never a dull moment!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Gettin' My Greek On!

One of the things I am loving most about Memphis is that there never seems to be a shortage of interesting things to do on the weekend. :-) This weekend was "Greek Fest" at a large Orthodox church in Midtown which was definitely worth checking out. There must have been hundreds of people there all willing to stand in long lines to get some of the best Greek food for miles around. Will and I enjoyed these dishes:
Moussaka and a Greek Cheese/Olive Plate
Baklava Cheesecake (This pic doesn't do it justice!)
 I'm starting to drool just writing about it! The Greeks definitely know how to cook (and how to party!)
On Thursday, I was feeling a bit lazy and not willing to cook dinner so we ordered a pizza from this shop on Mud Island (which is dangerously close to being drowned by the swollen Mississippi!). We enjoyed our pizza and sunshine(!) with a bit of Magic Hat on my porch/garden (which I am sooo loving!).
Awesome
Hope all is well with y'all! I'll be posting more soon!! :-)

PS-

I <3 Pastries!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Memphis = Music

The last few days have been such a flurry of crowds, humidity, mud, and MUSIC! When I moved here, I thought all Southerners only listened to country and/or Western (is there a difference?!) music, but my preconceived notions are proving to be quite wrong. Which is definitely a good thing!!! Here's a recap of the weekend's events. :-)
    Thursday, Will and I headed to the Orpheum theater just down the street from my apartment to see Arcade Fire. They put on one of the most entertaining concerts I have ever seen! It was definitely worth every penny. It just amazes me how incredibly talented they all are as a band because all of the members were constantly switching instruments between songs. If you can't play at least 5, there's no way they'd let you join! Haha. There were even a few new instruments I had never even heard of such as: a glockenspiel and a hurdy-gurdy. (That is so much fun to say!!!).

View from our balcony seats
       Friday kicked of the first weekend of the infamous "Memphis in May" at Riverfront park. Literally thousands of people flocked downtown for these live, open air concerts. I never fathomed it would be such a huge event! This first night we saw Cake, MGMT, and The Flaming Lips perform. The Flaming Lips definitely know how to entertain! During the course of their concert they released hundreds of balloons, tons of confetti, and had a stage loaded with random characters including: Dorothy, the Tin Man, and Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, a man in a bear suit, an inflatable butterfly and more. Plus, the lead entered the stage and crowd surfed in a giant inflatable ball! Soooo ridiculous!!!
Flaming Lips Craziness!
      Saturday was just as entertaining. I finally got to see Mumford and Sons who by far put on the best concert as far as music quality. They are obviously really talented. They sound just as incredible live as they do on cd. I was so impressed. They played a lot of new songs which I am so going to have to get my hands on! Other notables from the day were Ludacris, Hinder, and Ke$ha (who we could only stand watching for half a song...lol).
Mumford and Sons... swoon!
Sweaty and exhausted... but so worth it!
Sunday I had to work/cover the weekend so it has been an intense and tiring last few days! Whew. I'm still trying to recover. Haha.

Wish you could have been here! Start saving for tickets to come down next year. You hear?! :-)