Mood Matching Music

There's something indescribable about how certain music can sort of stir things up inside of you... (or is it just me??) After work today, I went to this Memphis District Dietetic Association (MDDA) "Spring Event" for a lot of the RDs in the area. It's kind of a tough crowd for an outsider like me to break in to. All the other ladies are loyal locals so (other than Will), I feel like the only one who isn't best friends with at least 6 other people there! Oh well. I just have to keep reminding myself to be patient. Be pleasant and friendly, and friends will finally be made(?). Anyways, back to the music reference I started this post with... After the "spring fling" the Faded Paper Figure's song "North by North" came up on Pandora. The lyrics from the chorus were just what I needed to hear "You said a long long time ago; you were happy being someone; Let's go far far far from home; I'll be glad to be with someone". I was definitely happy to have finally accomplished all I had originally set out to do after finishing school and finally landing my first RD job. Then I moved, and I realized Memphis is far, far, far from home. :-/ Yet, I am determined to make it home eventually though! I am afraid with all of sounding like I really hate it here! It's not true - at times, I feel like my Southern ignorance is a bit comical. Haha. Plus, every day I am glad to be here with a certain someone too. :-) Having Will, one of my closest friends here has really made this whole transition a lot easier!

That's a Long Way!!!

Wow! I didn't mean to make this post so personal-like! Oops. So, on a comical note before I sign off... I have been covering my office-mates floors the last couple of days since she's been off. One of her wards happens to be the psych ward. It's one of those places you kind of have to kind of mentally prepare yourself for... Anyways, they all hang out together in the lobby and you just have to stand and yell for your "man". Haha. As I was calling my patient's name out one of the others responded with, "Hey Doc, can I call you Dr. Ample Bosoms?". Ummm... (You talking to me?!)  Let's just say, it's a good thing he was a little crazy already! Never a dull day at the VA! Lol.

Good Reads and Good Food

I've just been on a roll with reading books lately! I think I'm now trying to make up for all those years of college that I missed out on reading "just-for-the-fun-of-it". The other night I finished Rescue by Anita Shreve. The reason this one really hooked me was that the father/daughter bond portrayed was so touching. The mother is forced to leave and the father is left to raise the daughter on his own. As you can imagine, I found a lot I could relate to.

 Last night, Will made some fantastic fish tacos! (I'm so lucky to have hooked such a good cook.) I traded a fish taco for a can of coconut milk I had hiding away in one of my cabinets and had not yet gotten around to using. It was so worth the trade! Plus, one of the other great things about these tacos is that they were probably almost 100% local (other than the corn tortillas and spices!). I've realized that now that Will has inspired me to be even more proactive about making the most of the Farmer's Market is that I think almost 75% of my diet was purchased locally. He's still working to convince me to start buying local, raw milk and I'm almost about to take the plunge...

So delicious!

Last night I made a trip to the library to stock up again! :-) Since I still have yet to invest in a DVD player or.. well, make many friends here, I've got a lot of free time to read!

More books, yippee!

Ahh... Summer-Time

This weekend, Will and I took the time to enjoy some of the things that truly make summer great...
-Chilling at the pool side. (We both ended up getting a little pink. Oops!)
-Drive-In movie!!! The Malco was showing X-men so we drove my Patriot over to enjoy the show. Only, next time I am definitely bringing bug spray! The mosquitoes kept wandering in our open windows and feasting on me. :-/

Pumped for X-men!

-Ice cream at YoLo (of course!). I indulged in espresso - white chocolate mousse swirl. It was delish!
-Blueberries have arrived at the Memphis Farmer's Market! Woot! I just sprinkled some on Greek yogurt with a bit of dark chocolate for dessert after dinner tonight. Yum.
-June Bugs and Juleps! Will found this fun event in the Memphis Flyer on Wednesday. A local Victorian home/museum was open for the evening - offering art, refreshments, and of course, mint juleps! We met a few characters and some sweet older women who were docents at the mansion. It made for an evening that was out-of-the-ordinary, but in a good way. :-)

Looking like he owns the place! :-)

-This morning I woke up with a hankerin' for pancakes so we headed across the street to The Arcade for breakfast. The sweet potato pancakes were definitely worth crossing the road for! I even tried to play it like a true Southern gal and ordered grits as my side.

Hope y'all had a great weekend as well!

Ramblings...

I just made this for last night for dinner for Will and I. We paired it with this interestingly tasty Indian beer. Yum. It all came together much better than I had imagined it would! I scrambled some eggs then topped them with chopped heirloom tomatoes from the farmers market, a sprinkle of feta cheese, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and diced basil leaves from my very own plant. :-)

My little basil is growing up so fast!

 On Tuesday I sacrificed this Dove dark chocolate bunny that had been hibernating in my fridge since Easter to make some chocolate chunk cookies. They are soooo good! They're even technically "healthy" since there are healthy antioxidants in the dark chocolate and I used whole wheat flour for the starch. Right? I like to believe so. ;-)
When two dietitians put their heads together, we know how to make a colorful meal! This one we had on Sunday. It consisted of roasted beets with feta and balsamic vinegar, white beans and salsa, shredded roasted brussel sprouts, and mashed sweet potatoes.We even managed to follow the "healthy plate model" that I am always telling the vets about at work, "Fill 1/2 your plate with non-starchy vegetables, 1/4 with protein, and 1/4 with starch...".

Yesterday, one of my favorite blogs, eatliverun.com, featured a post on the trials of moving. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I will find friends here in Memphis, despite the fact that I'm a Northerner.
Something I am getting pretty excited about starting at work is that my office mate and I will be coaching the "expert" (eek!) running group for this employee fitness program they are starting at work. I in no way feel like an expert runner but I think it could be a fun activity! We are supposed to help people train for their first 5K. It will give me an opportunity to get back into running more religiously too!

I'm a Nerd.

I admit it. I realize I'm a total nerd. I knew I could learn to like Memphis the first time I visited their main library and practically got lost wandering its 4 stories. They even have escalators... and bright pink and yellow life size trees(!). The other equally great part about having such a large library handy is that I no longer have homework to hinder me from indulging in reading. Yippee!

In the last week I've been doing a lot of reading actually. I've discovered the "reshelving" shelf where all the latest, most popular books wash up before their lost in the sea of shelves on the rest of the floors. Last week I came home from work one day and picked up Room by Emma Donaghue. It was basically glued to my face until I turned the last page at close to midnight when I passed out in bed. I was totally entranced by this book from the first page. The entire story is told through the eyes of a five year old boy as he recounts his daily life as a captive with his mother inside a single room. I can't really say too much more about the plot or I'd give it away. So, you'll have to read it. I promise it won't disappoint. :-)

Another good read I just finished this evening was called Ape House by Sara Gruen (she's the one who wrote Water for Elephants). I seriously love this author! This is the second book of her's that I have picked up and just been swept away by how artfully she spins her story. Ape House recounts the capture and rescue of a group of bonobo monkeys. I had no idea that bonobos could learn American Sign Language! This was definitely another great read!

Freakin' Weekend!

Woooowheeeee! Things are really starting to heat up down South! I think it's been hovering around 100 degrees with a percent humidity to match all week. Oi. Thank God I have AC. I think I would totally melt. Or fry - like the fried chicken they love so much here. Haha.
Although I had an uncharacteristically short week, I was still more than ready for the weekend. After work, Will and I have been making it more of a habit to head over the pool for a bit to chill. Friday, a woman came up to us and asked if we would like to go the the Michael Buble concert that night at the Fed Ex Forum. Heck yes! She had tickets and couldn't go so she just gave them to us. Buble is definitely your typical charming, lounge singer type - the kind that makes girls feel all warm and lovey and gushy. (As evidenced by the thousands of swooning women filling the Forum!)
Saturday included the usual Farmer's Market fun. I helped the a few of the interns from my work do a little poster session on potatoes. Will was such a sweetie and surprised me with this gorgeous bouquet of flowers from the market. :-)

 After some more pool time in the afternoon, because what else is there to do when it's 100 degrees (!), we went to church then headed to Midtown for the Italian Fest. I was so excited to go, but left after staying only a few minutes (and paying $13, grrr). Memphis is weird about its festivals. Unless you know the right people there's no point in going. :-( Just like BBQ Fest, the Italian Fest involved a park full of tents where cliques of people meet to cook, eat, and not share their food. Ugh. However, the night was not all lost because we wound up at The Elegant Farmer which Will had learned about at the market earlier that day. The owner is a board member of the farmer's market and makes all the dishes in his restaurant using, almost exclusively, ingredients from the market. We shared a beet and goat cheese salad as an appetizer; catfish, roasted cauliflower puree, and bok choy for the entree; then key lime pie for dessert. It was fantastic! Plus, the owner Mack was super friendly and excited that we were getting involved with the market. He definitely made up for the snobbishness we had felt at the Italian Fest!
I am always being reminded that it isn't easy to make new friends. I still often find myself feeling a bit out-of-place down here - the lonely Northern vegetarian in a world of BBQ, tornadoes, and cliquish festivals. Then I remind myself that things can get better, it just takes time. There's some exciting possibilities for getting more involved in the market and making new friends there. Plus, our church just announced that they are planning on buying food trucks to deliver meals to the needy in the city. Will and I were both excited about the prospect of getting involved in that project!

The Big D! (ie. Dallas!)

So sorry! I totally meant to post an update about my fun, fun, fun trip to Dallas but a few things kept delaying it. :-/ Anyways! Here goes! So, after work on Friday we packed our bags and bikes into the back on my little Jeep and drove the 7.5ish hours to downtown Dallas, with plenty of coffee and a great driving companion :-), the hours didn't seem so long at all.
Saturday we headed to Fort Worth for the Kendall Art Museum. We had been looking for the Modern Art Museum but walked into this one by mistake. It was still worth a gander however! I fell in love with this piece in a series on Willows by Monet and even scored the print. Will also picked up a print of one of his favorites so now we have a fun framing project for this weekend. After some art, we headed to the Rahr and Son's brewery tour. The place was packed! (Which, is not too much of a surprise... they're beer was tasty!)

We hadn't quite gotten our art fill yet so we went back to the first plaza and found the Modern Art Museum. The pic below is from inside this giant metal structure they had outside the museum.

After being so "artsy-fartsy", we took our bikes out for a spin an a trail in between Fort Worth and Dallas. It felt good to get outside and burn off a few extra calories. For dinner, we found this classy little place within walking distance from our hotel and were particularly impressed by the impeccably fresh Caprese Salad. Yum!!

Sunday was focused in Dallas. We started the day the Dallas Farmer's Market (which was much bigger than the Memphis one!) bought a few plums, enjoyed an ear of freshly roasted corn, and tasted the wares of a few of the friendliest of the vendors.

My Sweetie with some sweet corn!

 Next we set off to the Aquarium - sharks and penguins and sea dragons - oh my!

Sea Dragon! 

After chilling at the pool a bit after the kid induced craziness that is the Aquarium, we found a local comedy club to check out. We got there just a minute late and were seated practically on top of the stage, ie. "the hot seat"! It was totally hilarious! A couple comedians picked on us a bit, but nothing too bad.
Monday it was time to make the long journey home. Unfortunately, I caught a bit of a stomach bug (I may never eat tofu again...) so I wasn't feeling to "hott", but luckily I have an awesome boyfriend, who didn't complain once while I snoozed in the passenger seat the entire drive home.