Mer's Blog

lindy vs. west coast

2008-07-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been doing some west coast swing in addition to lindy hop, because it is nice to be able to validly dance both styles. Before, I would claim lindy hop and "fake" west coast swing.

Some of you may be wondering what the difference between the two styles of dance are. I have provided for your convenience a few videos of each dance:

Kevin and Carla--lindy hop
Skye and Frida--lindy hop
Notice with the lindy videos they are dancing to swing/big band music, and they dance in a sort of circular (non-linear) style.

Wayne and Sharlot--West Coast
West Coast Jack and Jill contest--4 couples
With West Coast, the music is usually either more blues-based, or more modern music. I have many times danced west coast to maroon 5, etc b/c it just works. Also, there is typically more spins for the follows in west coast, and the dance is done in a slot, or a line.

Anyway, both are a lot of fun, and I feel like I can almost say "I don't fake west coast--I can actually dance west coast!" I have received lots of positive feedback from teachers, leads etc on my west coast, which is really encouraging. The main thing I am told I need to work on is smiling when dancing, and looking less apprehensive. I could be having the time of my life dancing but nobody would know it because of my expressionless face. Soooo, that is my project now--working on expression, smiling, and of course I will always still be working on technique, musicality, styling, etc. One day I'll be a rock star crossover (lindy and west coast dancer) and you'll be like, "hey, I know her!" Haha, j/k.

Addendum: wow, last night was insane, dance-wise. One really good west coast lead told me I was the only girl in the room that knows how to dance. I was totally blown away by that compliment because I looked around and saw lots of follows who I really thought were better than me! Then another follow showed up who knew how to dance too... and she taught me this really cool slide that you do out of a dip, and she looked at me seriously and said, "you're realllly good." I was like, "wow, thank you." Another super confidence booster. So apparently I am a valid crossover, though I have certainly not achieved rock-star status, at least not on a state, region, or national level.... maybe on a very small-scale local level, and only at certain venues. In all my time dancing, I have never felt my dancing so in demand than now. Two leads will ask me to dance at once and I have to choose--it's insane. I'm just so thrilled! And with the confidence-boosting compliments, I become a more confident dancer. Yay, I'm so happy!!!

Nothing, extras, and scary interview

2008-07-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

Nothing much has been going on lately. I had quite enough excitement last weekend, and this past week and weekend were pretty mellow. I'm kind of bored today... not much to do. Went visiting teaching, went to church, and that's pretty much it. I have been reading the 4th book in the Uglies series, called Extras. I like it, and I am almost finished with it. It's a pretty quick read, which is nice. I got rid of a lot of clothes, but I haven't really started packing, which I should definitely do asap.

I had a 2nd interview at a hospital in sugarland, which was scary because there were four people staring back at me, asking me questions, etc. I felt okay about the whole thing, but it is so hard to tell with these people if they like you. Like, the first interview I thought for sure I wouldn't get the job because the interviewer gave me no hints whatsoever that I would ever see her again. And same story the second time. So I will just wait and see. It would be a very good job, and this hospital is known for being a top-notch employer. Anyway, that's my story.

Just another lame DPS experience

2008-07-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

I went today to the DPS to get a Texas driver's license--I figured it was about time--and I waited in the looonnnng line, only to find out that there were some documents I needed that I didn't have. Arggggg. What a wasted half-of-my-day. Then, because I was so discouraged, I went to the library to get the teen sci-fi that was waiting for me, and spent much of the rest of the day reading it. So, pretty much my whole day was spent doing worthless stuff.

Although I will say that the teen sci-fi brought consolation to my soul. AND I made myself an excellent eggplant-spinach muffuletta, which brought consolation to my stomach. And I am practicing west coast swing tonight, which will undoubtedly bring joy to my feet. So I am extremely unproductive, yet consoled. Haha.

kids, don't try this at home.

2008-07-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been doing stupid things--things I don't recommend trying.

Example #1: Thursday night I had a band dress rehearsal and there was a really good swing band playing that night so I headed there after the rehearsal. I got there and for some reason my follow was really in demand, making for a good night of dancing for me. So good that I lost track of time b/c I was dancing like every song. Four hours later, it's really time to go. Plus, I have to wake up early tomorrow so I can go to the gym before heading to San Antonio. On the way home, there was a bad accident so it took me FOREVER to get home. With that in mind, I began to (stupidly) ponder the fact that if I go to sleep when I get home, I will not want to wake up in a few hours to hit the gym. Soooo, rather than go to sleep I had the bright idea of just going straight to the gym for my six-mile run. Long story short, I didn't sleep that night, and I left straightway to go to San Antonio. Yes, in San Antonio I was zombie status, not very personable for my extended family. Sorry everyone. I do stupid things.

Example #2: While in San Antonio, I had the privilege of staying at Carol and George's lake house and going jet skiing. It was great fun, and Kevin had the really good idea of going and jumping off the cliff that everyone jumps off into the water. I was all for it, and I climbed up and jumped off. Fifty feet later, I hit the water like I was hitting a brick wall. The water didn't cushion me like it should have because I was wearing a life jacket. Kevin didn't jump....stinker. So, right about now I have a huge bruise/rash/ugly thing on my right thigh (good thing I'm not a short skirt kinda gal) and my upper chest and the back of my head and neck are in more pain than I think I have ever been in. I was crying last night because I was in so much pain (and I don't cry often anymore). It still hurts and I am worried that this injury might put a damper on my running and dancing habits. That would be like a death sentence for me because as you know dancing is what keeps me out of depression which allows me to be successful in my weight loss attempts. So I will try running tomorrow, and I really hope it will work. I'm not much of a medicine fan, but I think these are circumstances that warrant some really good pain killers!

Anyway, don't try that stuff at home. I will say that the dancing was worth it, but perhaps the all-nighter wasn't. The cliff thing was fun just to say I did it, but the pain pretty much prevents me from ever doing it again.

On another note, I played with the Houston Symphonic Band for 2 Methodist worship services today and it was sooo much fun!! It was a patriotic theme of course and there were at least 600 people at each service. Quite the crowd. The church served us breakfast between services, which was nice. The preacher gave a really good sermon on "what America needs from us as a church" and how Christians should set a example to the country of kindness and goodness, and supporting the country as a whole. He talked about Geroge Washington's values, and then he talked about Jesus Christ being full of grace and truth. All in all, it was a neat experience. HSB is mucho fun to be a part of.

mouse hunt over, house hunt in progress

2008-07-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

Looking for a house is kind of fun. Made an offer on one. It is in the Heights--almost as close as you can get to the freeway. The front of the house isn't really much to look at, but the interior is beautiful. The whole interior, excepting the kitchen, has hardwood floors. There are two big open rooms (living and dining) in the front, with a few steps leading from the living to the dining. Given my minimal furniture ownership, this house is a lindy party waiting to happen. The garage is in the back, which I really like b/c then the house doesn't feature the garage. There's a big tree in the back, and a nice grassy area.

After making an offer on the above stated house, I am sick of looking for houses. I just want to get that house. But there are two other offers on it, so we shall see. And it is a forclosure, so the bank selling the house doesn't really work with you, you have to work with it. So until the bank makes a decision, the house hunt continues. Because of the seven-mouse incident, I am leaving my current apartment in less than 30 days. Soooo, it's packing time!

All creatures great and small...

2008-06-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

...seem to be inhabiting my apartment, much to my disgust. Last night a rodent of unusual size appeared in my kitchen. It pretty much freaked me out. To make matters worse, it disappeared. So now it is still *somewhere* but I don't know where. This morning I washed some dishes and cleaned the counters and found that the creature had rudely gnawed into my package of walnuts and helped himself to my favorite little source of omega-3 fatty acids. Blast. Those were expensive, too. And I had to throw away all my Central Market finds, which were also theived by the lame-o animal.

It certainly didn't help that there was an ant crawling on me last night when I was trying to write my cover letter. What is going on???!!!! I am definately more upset about the rodent than the ant, but really none of this should be happening. I keep my place pretty clean, keep my trash covered, don't leave food sitting out, keep the dishes washed for the most part, and a creature comes in??? This Texas "thang" just isn't working for me. My mom called it an "adventure." I think I prefer my adventures to be of a slightly different nature.

no reason to smile

2008-06-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

When I was little, adults used to tell me, "Meredith, smile!!" and I would think, "Why???" is someone taking a picture? Did someone say or do something funny? Did someone say something nice? If not, how do you expect me to just smile for no reason? This has been the case for me all my life--I always have this serious or expressionless look on my face unless something "makes" me smile. Until Friday.

I was driving home from the library. I was stopped at a traffic light, and I found myself smiling--for no reason!!! And not just a little grin for a second, but a big smile for a long time! This was a really big moment for me. I was trying to figure out why I was smiling and I realized that there was no logical explanation to this smile; in fact, I shouldn't have been smiling because I was stuck at a traffic light for an extended period of time. But I was smiling without cause, expect perhaps that I am really very happy. I hope I can smile "for no reason" more often because it feels good.

I really don't feel like studying....

2008-06-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

...but I have to. I have to study for the RD exam so I can pass it on the first go, so I can get a job as a Registered Dietitian so I can make some money so I can get my Master's so I can get a better job.

So although I really don't feel like studying I am going to "discuss the nutritional complications of cachexia and other abnormalities in the cancer patient." And after I answer a few hours worth of questions, I will be forced to do something else that is productive--like practice my flute, or cook a good meal for myself, or put the five outfits I tried on this morning away--because my power cord died so I can't use my lappy, so I can't just waste time online.

Oh, how I look forward to the arrival of my new power cord! No more productivity!!!

lindy hop diet

2008-06-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

Nobody likes to be overweight, but it seems that it is hard for people to find a way to lose weight that suits them well. I myself am not "morbidly obese" but I do claim the "overweight" category. I have been trying for three years or more to get back down to that ideal body weight that I was so comfortable with, but to no avail, until March. I attended lindyfest, and have been dancing consistently ever since.

Does lindy hop cause weight loss? Nope, not really. I don't dance frequently enough to burn enough calories to lose a significant amount of weight. However, up until Lindyfest I had been struggling with depression, and turning to food for consolation. So, by targeting the thing that caused the weight gain in the first place--depression--I have been able to stay clear from emotional eating and lose weight (among other benefits).

I will also say that my weight loss has not been due solely to an absence of emotional eating, but has included really watching what I eat, and exercising six days a week. Because I have an analytical personality, I have a checklist of what to eat every day, and when I run out of boxes to check off, I am through eating for the day. My checklist includes grains, fruits, vegetables, beans and a serving of nuts or some other high fat food. It also includes cardio, resistance, and stretching in an exercise category. Through my daily checklist, I am able to lose weight whereas if I were to only stop eating emotionally I would probably just maintain my blasted weight. Of course I reward myself with music, like I have mentioned in other posts. All in all I have lost 23 pounds so far and I have 42 to go. And back to the root of the problem--because I am not depressed like I was, I am able to carry out this checklist, whereas before I may have tried the same exact thing and it wouldn't work because I relied so heavily (excuse the pun) on food to alleviate depression.

The reason I write this is because different things work for different people, but the important thing is to get to the root of the problem. Why are you gaining weight/overweight in the first place? Sometimes getting to the root of the problem can include counseling or some form of professional help. If you can find a solution for that, then chances are you can be successful in your weight loss (or other) endeavors.

I don't like writing about my personal weight loss because then I take the chance of not being successful and having everyone know that I failed once again, but who knows, maybe someone will benefit from this. I also don't like writing about the fact that I have been struggling with depression, but I guess this information helps explain why being involved in the swing dancing community is so important for me--someone who is totally new to the area, who wants to belong somewhere, and who has loved lindy hopping since I was 14 years old--but my dance story is another story for another post.

Unfortunate animal cracker experience

2008-06-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

So I was at Wal Mart the other day, which I suppose it serves me right for being there in the first place. All I needed to purchase was an envelope and some tape, and I went in the express lane. In front of me was a guy, probably in his late 30's, with a stack of animal cracker boxes, two containers of deli ham, and about six bottles of vitamin water. He was making it very clear to the cashier and I that he lives mainly on animal crackers. And his beaming grin indicated that he was proud of it.

This is not something to be proud of. I decided not to discuss my profession at that time.

End of story.

looking forward and backward....all in one post!!!

2008-06-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

I was pretty successful in my primary class yesterday. It was like magic--if someone asked an irrelevant or disruptive question I would quickly dismiss it and quickly move on, and it worked soo well! Anyway, I am slowly but surely learning how to deal with this particular class. Kind of funny--they asked me to teach the same age group next year. I was like, you mean I don't get to graduate from primary too???? I feel so cheated!! Maybe we'll move though.

Moving depends on if I get this job I just interviewed for in Sugarland. Not the best place for a non-sugar-eater to live--my fruit-eating self would personally rather live in Pearland, also a city near Houston. But if I get a job in Sugarland, then Sugarland it is. If I get this job I would be a clinical dietitian at a small, yet rapidly expanding, hospital.

I absolutely enjoy my current life-situation, but here are a few things that I am looking forward to:

Family reunion at SoPadre
Going back to San Antonio--and staying for more than a day! :-)
Achieving rock-star status on the dance floor and competing (heheh, like either of those things will ever happen)
Renouncing lindy hop and becoming avidly involved in a Saturday late night card-making club
Patriotic band concert for a local church
Getting old, er, turning 23.
Going to Austin...and Dallas...one day....not sure when....but it will be cool when it happens
Working full time as a Registered, Licensed Dietitian

Foods to buy organic and the terrors of mayonnaise

2008-06-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

One very good nutrition question is: is it worth it to buy organic produce? If so, should I buy all my produce organic? What is the difference between organic and "regular"? I will now attempt to answer those burning questions.

Some produce carries more pesticides than others, which is the main reason to go organic. Here is a list of foods high in pesticides compiled by Dr. Joel Fuhrman in order from the most pesticides to the least:

strawberries
green and red bell peppers
spinach
cherries (USA)
peaches
cantaloupe (Mexico)
celery
apples
apricots
green beans
grapes (Chile)
cucumbers

The benefit of organic produce is mainly that you will not be consuming pesticides. Pesticides are known to promote both birth defects in children and cancer in children and adults. However, it is more important to me to eat a mainly (or completely in my case) plant-based diet than to vigorously purchase organic produce. There are more benefits of avoiding meat and other animal products than there are benefits of purchasing organic produce.

And now for the terrors of mayonnaise:*
Because mayonnaise is an egg-based product, it is naturally both high in fat and cholesterol. Not only does it gue your food together, it also gues you arteries up inside of you. Studies show that a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol put you at greater risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. Additionally, because mayonnaise is almost completely devoid of useful nutrients excepting calories, it crowds out the room for more nutrient-dense foods in your diet. It is just another white food you should do without, unless you are a young child experiencing seizures and unable to be treated by medications and thus on a therapeutic diet consisting of mostly fat.

*this mayonnaise message is mostly for the starving musicians who hate mayonnaise and want more reasons to hate it.

I love California.

2008-06-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

It is so lovely here. I believe that growing up here, I didn't realize how lucky I was. The climate is so comfortable. I love being able to put on a sweater in the morning because it is slightly chilly, then the rest of the day it is perfect! On Thursday my mom and I went running, then we went to the beach, and that was wonderful. The ocean was perfect--blueish green, the islands were perfectly visible. The sky was bright blue. I had a fun picnic with my mom and her parents. I had a delicious hummus lettuce cucumber sandwich.

Friday was our family temple day. I drove down to LA with my dad's parents, and that was fun because they have very entertaining music (not to mention I enjoy talking with them). Every time I go to the LA temple, I am amazed at how incredibly gigantic it is. After a false ice cream trip, ie, we were at the ice cream place, then Nick had a sudden change of plans, we went to 50's cafe with viola diva and piano man and mom and dad and grandma and grandpa sheldon. It was fun.

Yesterday I went rollerblading instead of running, then my dad came home and asked if I could help a lady move. So, I helped the lady move. Or rather, I packed *some* of her stuff. There was a lot of stuff. I am lucky I didn't get sick because everything was dusty. In the evening we went out and took some pictures. I just have to say that my family is sooo beautiful! Then Malena and I went shopping. Today is church, of course, and it is nice to have a break from going to primary. I often feel in my calling that I am one of the soon-to-be 12-year-olds waiting to graduate from primary, getting a little too cool for all the games and songs, and really wanting to move on to the next program. But alas, they asked me to teach the same class next year too. I guess I am not turning 12 after all. Bleh. Oh well, I will do what they ask me to do to the best of my ability. And I will like it, darn it.

upping the mileage

2008-05-27T10:56:00.001-07:00

So I have been running five miles, four days a week. And it is fun, so today I decided to do six miles, and that was fun too. The only problem is that the treadmill at the gym does an automatic cool down so I had to restart it for my last mile. Anyway, it's fun. And I'm feeeelin' good (reference to Nina Simone song on me playlist).

over and out.

Because I have nothing better to write about, I am doing a "tag."

2008-05-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

4 jobs I've had

Worked at Shamsi's Deli as a cashier/food prep person
worked at my dad's office doing clerical stuff. "It's the cure for insomnia!!!"
Worked as a cake decorator at BYU--coolest way to get "dietetics hours"
briefly did some catering/wedding cake stuff for a small business

4 movies I can watch over and over

strictly ballroom--"vivir con miedo es como vivir a medias!" something to think about.
"groovie movie" (it's a funny 1940's short film about jitterbug. you can find it on youtube)
ratatouille. Anyone can cook!!!
La vita e bella (life is beautiful)

4 place I have lived

Albuquerque, NM (but I don't remember it)
Ventura, CA
Provo, UT
Houston, TX

4 Shows must to watch

not much of a TV person except the occasional episode of dancing with the stars. I'm glad Kristi won. She's cool. I waste much more time watching good swing dancing on youtube than watching TV.

4 foods I can eat anytime

sweet potatoes
bananas
strawberries
plain old fashioned oatmeal

4 places I have vacationed

oregon/washington
hawaii
new york
florida

4 places I'd rather be right now

lindy hopping anywhere, perhaps at a place with unlimited non-rockstar rockstar leads
ventura, but I am going to be there soon so yay!
with dave--hopefully he'll get back from san antonio soon because we have people coming over... and because I miss him.
somewhere less humid, not that I don't like Texas, but the weather is kind of crazy.

Nutrition for Dummies, Part two

2008-05-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

Hopefully by now you have adopted some of the habits of highly healthy people. Incorporating these (or any) habits into your life is a process. It takes a while. You'll have ups and downs, of course. But when you do succeed you will notice a difference. You may feel your body saying, "thank you for treating me well," and in return you will get a good night sleep, or you won't be as fatigued, or you won't feel bloated all the time. For me, when I have been eating well I have much better workouts. Actually, I did a five mile run this morning, and I seriously could have kept running another mile or two because I was feeling so good (I just had to get to an interview).

At this time I would like to recognize that Nutrition for Dummies, Part two, is brought to you by the letter V. V is for vampire, vindicate, veracity, van morrison, vacation, vacuum, and vagabond. But more importantly, V is for variety, vitamins, volume, vegetables, and victory! Oh my, it seems as though those words are all somehow nutrition related. So let's talk about each word, one at a time.

#1 Variety: Let's say I really really like bananas. Well, there are many good things about bananas. The banana is low in fat. Bananas are a good source of vitamin B6, potassium, fiber, vitamin C, and magnesium. Bananas provide an easily digestible source of energy. So because bananas are soooo good and good for me, I guess that's the only fruit I will eat. Wait, wait... this is not good. If all you eat is bananas, you will be missing out on the manganese and vitamin E found in blueberries! Blueberries also contain the antioxidant anthocyanidin. So, okay I will eat a variety of fruits, but really the only vegetable I like is carrots. In summary, don't limit yourself to only a few fruits and vegetables. Next time you go to the grocery store, try a fruit or vegetable you have never before tasted. Maybe it's disgusting. Then try something else next time. This goes for grains and nuts too. Try quinoa. It's quite lovely tasting, and very nutritious.

#2 Vitamins: Variety and vitamins go hand in hand. The greater the variety in your diet, the greater the variety of vitamins you consume. Hold on. But I thought vitamins are those little multi-colored pills that mom makes me take every day, and for some reason my urine is bright yellow. I am here to tell you that it is O.K. to take vitamins in a pill, but there "ain't nothin' like the real thing, baby." So rather than thinking, "it's okay that I only eat bananas, because I am taking a 'great' multivitamin," change your thinking to, "I'm going to do everything I can to eat a variety of foods, then just in case I didn't eat a complete spread of vitamins and minerals I will take a multivitamin." When choosing a multivitamin, make sure it does not contain vitamin A, and if you are a man, it should not contain iron. Vitamin A is one of the few vitamins for which there is a likely toxicity. Eating lots of beta-carotene rich foods (a precursor to vitamin A) is okay because beta-carotene is stored in your skin until it is needed, then it is converted to vitamin A to do it's job. There is not a known beta-carotene toxicity although if you eat a lot of orange foods you may develop an orange tint in your skin (I know from experience), but there is a vitamin A toxicity.

#3 Volume: This topic was covered briefly in part one, but I would like to revisit it. The volume of food you eat can sometimes make or break whether or not you are your desirable body weight, or you are feeling your best health-wise. There are some foods that you just should not eat a lot of, some foods you can eat plenty but not too much of, and some foods you can eat as much as you want. Let's compare these categories to the red, yellow, and green of a traffic light.

Red foods include meats, especially high fat meats and fried foods; high fat dairy products such as butter, cheese, and high fat milk; Desserty things such as cakes, pies, brownies, cookies, you get the drift; Processed foods, such as white bread, white pasta, and prepackaged ready to eat meals and snacks.
Yellow foods are beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. If you eat low fat/fat free dairy products I would put them in the yellow food group too.
Green foods are fruits and vegetables.

#4 Vegetables: I just can't say enough about them and their partner: fruits. They are perfect for everything from meals to snacks to cool birthday treats at a sushi restaurant.

Hehe. Hopefully Bria doesn't mind me posting her picture. It's a good picture of you, Bria. Anyway, the other day I created a delicious main dish salad for lunch. I wish I had a picture because it was beautiful. Here it is:

Santa Fe salad

1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped and washed
One medium tomato, diced
One green onion, chopped
1/4 C green bell pepper, diced
1/2 C corn (from frozen, thawed)
1/2 C black beans
1/2 avocado (mmm... this one was especially yummy because it was from my grandma Jones' backyard)
Soy and salsa dressing: 1/2 container of silken tofu with 1/2 C salsa of your choice, and 1 T lime juice (the tofu doesn't add flavor, it just adds soy protein and gives the dressing a wonderful smooth consistency)

Anyway, V is for vegetables. Eat em up.

#5 Victory: Here is the "motivational" speech. While incorporating the habits of highly healthy people, remember the letter V, for variety, vitamins, volume, and vegetables. Perhaps the most important V is for victory because as you are successful in treating your body better, you should celebrate!!! Find a reward to work for, and then follow through with the reward. It is best if the reward is not food. You can eat desserts that you love, but make sure they know their place as a "red" food. Treats should be treats, not habits! Your reward might be money toward buying something you have been wanting. Maybe it can be time set aside for something you love. As I said before, I love music, so my reward is a song on itunes every day I am successful, and I have quite the music collection now. No matter what, don't let negatives get you down. If you eat five brownies, don't eat five more because you already blew it. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off (or hose yourself down), and start all over again. Don't let one little missed workout or overindulgence in calories negate all the hard work you have already done.

Hopefully this wasn't too redundant. If there is any particular nutrition topic you are interested in, please let me know and I will cover it. On a more personal note, I had an interview today that went well, and I have a few more job prospects at hospitals. I have been enjoying unemployment especially because I get to sleep in, practice flute, keep the apartment more clean, and cook for Dave. But soon it will be time for me to get back to work. Eat well, do good workouts, and keep in touch.

Nutrition for Dummies, part one

2008-05-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

It always kills me to visit patients who have diseases that 99% of the time could have been prevented. Then I ask them what they ate yesterday and it's no wonder they have type 2 diabetes, or heart disease, or kidney failure, etc. These diseases are not a part of the natural aging process. They are a result of poor habits over an extended period of time. Your body is a miraculous gift from God and should be treated as such. Just as smoking or drinking alcohol affects us in a harmful way, so does:

1)Excessive consumption of calories
2)Over consumption of saturated/animal fat
3)Inadequate intake of nutrient-dense foods, causing vitamin and mineral deficiencies
4)Sedentary lifestyle

Longevity studies show that even if you are maintaining a normal weight, over consuming calories leads to a quickened metabolism, which actually speeds the aging process. You may look at yourself and say, "I'm a normal weight, so I will continue eating the way I have been eating." You may be a normal weight, but I bet your body would appreciate a diet tune-up. What follows is four habits of highly healthy people. Kudos to you if you have already adopted any or all of these habits.

#1. Highly healthy people eat their vegetables, and lots of them. You may have heard dietitians say before, "you should fill half your dinner plate with vegetables, 1/4 with a starch, and 1/4 with a high protein food." That is a good place to start. If you are a total non-vegetable eater, start by filling half your plate with vegetables. This could include a main-dish salad like the ones I have posted, or steamed green beans, or broccoli, cauliflower, or zucchini to name a few. Those are some of my favorites. I eat sweet potatoes (no sugar added) probably 4-5 times a week when I can afford it. Rather than thinking, "what should I have for dinner... I should have pasta with meat sauce," think, "I should have (insert vegetable) with some (insert whole grain) and a little (insert high protein food) and for dessert I'll have (insert your favorite fruit)!!!"

#2. Highly healthy people choose plant fat instead of animal fat. And by fat I mean foods with a high concentration of fat. It is really best to avoid straight-up fat. Instead go to the original source, like nuts, seeds, and avocados. But when you do use straight fat, use a plant oil, not butter or lard. Many people have asked me, "butter or margarine?" I say neither. But if you insist on using one, use tub margarine. Because it is softer, it has less partially hydrogenated fatty acids. But margarine, even stick margarine, is "better" than butter. When choosing animal products, please choose the low fat ones. If you drink milk, try try try to work your way to skim milk. That animal fat just does you no good; in fact, it does you a terrible disservice by increasing your risk of several chronic diseases. If you eat cheese, use the lowest fat you can, like mozzarella instead of cheddar. And don't eat too much of it. Okay...that's enough about fat. For now.

#3. Highly healthy people avoid super processed/convenience foods, and eat more whole foods. The thing with super processed foods is that they have refined them down to a fiber, vitamin, and mineral-devoid unit, and then built them back up in a way that is just not as good for you as the real thing. A good place to start is your grains. Purchase brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole grain couscous, and quinoa instead of white rice, white pasta, etc. Don't even get me started with Little Debbie!!! They are a waste of calories. Please don't eat those types of things. I don't care how hungry you are. Find some fruit, or vegetables, or nuts, or anything but not those packaged convenience snacks, chips, cookies, bleh.

#4. Highly healthy people "get up offa that thang." Get some physical activity whenever possible. Something is always better than nothing. Start small, get bigger. Then if you are overweight you will start big and get smaller. Lol. For example, I started running at the gym on the treadmill four days a week, and doing a step aerobics class the other two days (resting Sunday.) I started with a three mile slow run. Now I am running 5 miles four days a week. If you have a hard time running, walking is great too! If you don't get any activity, start with one or two days a week. Don't be so hard pressed to get the closest parking spot. Think of climbing stairs as a great opportunity to challenge yourself. It always helps to find a friend with whom you can exercise. My friend is my MP3 player (until it went blank yesterday...grrr). Now I have no friend. But really, have someone, or something to keep you going. Often setting goals helps with exercise. For me, if I do cardio, resistance, and stretching daily, along with eating a specific diet pattern, I download a new song from itunes. Before I know it I have a great CD that I can dance to or put on my MP3 for running.

Okay this concludes Part One of Nutrition for Dummies. None of you are really dummies, but maybe there is something here that will help you, or get you thinking about how you can take better care of yourself. Eat well, do good workouts, and keep in touch. ;-)

Binomial swinginclature and other things

2008-05-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

I am currently eating my homemade vegetarian chili and pondering binomial swinginclature. Sometimes at a swing venue I do not dance every song. You may wonder what I do when I do not dance. The answer: binomial swinginclature. This is a system of classifying swing dancers according to 1) how good they think they are and 2) how good they really are.

There are three possible classifications:
1) rock star: a really good dancer, or one who thinks he/she is a really good dancer
2) non-rock star: a not-so-good dancer, or one who does not recognize his/her skill
3) semi-rock star: an okay dancer, or one who thinks they dance so-so

So, because this is BInomial swingclature, everyone gets two names. As mentioned above, the first name is how good you think you are, and the second is how good you really are.

For example, if there is a dancer who thinks he/she is the best thing ever, but is really only okay at dancing, they would be considered a "rock star-semi-rock star." If there was a dancer who doesn't think they are very good, but they actually are amazing, they are a "non-rock star-rock star." This classification is always subject to change of course.

Okay that's enough swinginclature. Thursday I had a lovely symphony practice, and Friday I had a concert, which went well. Dave took his last CPA exam Friday, and I am glad that is probably over (we don't know if he passed). Saturday we went to the art car show downtown and it was a lot of fun. We saw some pretty wild cars. I wish I had pictures.

Monday I got a lot done, including continuing my hunt for a job. Today the game plan is much the same. I ran 5 miles this morning. Next up: practicing flute, working on Sunday school lesson, making a menu for the rest of the week and getting the food for the menu, looking for jobs, reading John Robbins' Food Revolution, and volunteering at an interfaith second-hand store.

Surprisingly I am unemployed but I am definitely occupied. But for the next few weeks if I post my daily comings and goings, it will look like the same thing every day. Therefore, I will dedicate my next few posts to the requested "Basic nutrition for dummies." and "Western vs. Eastern medicine" among other things.

end of trip post

2008-05-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

I go back to Houston tomorrow! I am sad to leave California but kind of excited to go dance again in Houston. Either that or I am just plain excited to dance again. I went to a West Coast/other types of dance place last night. I saw some people that I knew before and it was nice to catch up. My friend Danish was nice enough to introduce me to practically everyone and tell them to dance with me. Because of this, I danced most of the time, making for a very fun experience.

Let me back up. Friday the BYU singers came to town and we spent the day hosting them at a beach house, then going to their workshop, then their dinner, then their concert. The concert was very good. I especially liked the songs about the panther, and a cow. It was so funny that I almost DIED laughing. But not to worry, I didn't die.

Saturday I went rollerblading again, then I went to BJ's with Grandma and my aunt and my two sisters. Then Grandma took us shopping, and we got some cute stuff. Sarah got shoes for prom...exciting!!! When I went to prom it was lame, but then I went to "lindy prom" in Sandy Eggo, and that was much more fun. Saturday night Malena and I went to get pedicures, then to dinner at Natures Grill, then we saw Iron Man, which was rather enjoyable.

Sunday I went to church and it was fast Sunday, so people got up to bear their testimonies. In order to stay focused I made a "Testimony Meeting Top 10" list. I was going to post my list but I couldn't find it. Blast. Some were kind of funny too, such as "I know laser eye surgery is awesome."

Monday I went for a 11 mile bike ride with my mom to the beach. Then I went rollerblading with Bria. THEN, I went with Bria's family to a Sushi place for Bria's birthday. I must say this was my first sushi experience. Being strict vegetarian, I got vegetable rolls, which were quite good. I also had some scrumptious miso soup, and seaweed salad--certainly a new experience. And we are back to the beginning of the post where I went dancing.

So there we have it. I am loaded up with fresh mandarin oranges and avocados from Grandma's backyard, ready to head back to the big state of Texas where people call me "honey," and tell me to "have a bless'd day."

California mid-trip post

2008-05-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

I definitely miss Dave but I have to say that I am having a lot of fun here in California. I took the trip semi-last minute because I was through with my internship and still looking for jobs, and flights were a really good deal so I decided it would be a nice time to go visit my family.

I arrived Wednesday and went rollerblading over to Grandma and Grandpa's, we visited for a while, then I went rollerblading down to the park a few times. Then I was put to work, I mean, made a cake for Sarah's interact club for a Rotary Club auction. It turned out okay, but not that good. Hopefully it will get some $$$ for Sarah's club.

Yesterday my mom and I went running at the beach, and then I hung out at the house while my mom was getting things done for the BYU singers (they are coming today). Thursday night I went to Lindygroove--a swing venue in Pasadena (LA area for you non-California-people). It seemed like there were way more people there than in the past. I am glad to see that the swing scene in southern California is still alive and well. I danced a ton and some people remembered me.

This morning I went rollerblading again, which was very fun and refreshing. I work out a lot in Houston, but mainly in the gym. It is nice to work out outside. Okay, over and out.

Professional stuff

2008-04-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

I am currently munching on carrots with homemade hummus and it is oh so good. This week kept me pretty busy. Wednesday I had my internship closing ceremony which Dave kindly attended, and then I just sort of sat on the couch for a few hours wondering what to do now that it's over. After my daze cleared, I realized that the kitchen needed cleaning, so I spent a while washing dishes and listening to jazz/swing on my MP3.

Thursday I had a fun meeting with DaVita dialysis. All the dietitians in the area who work for DaVita were there and there were classes on professional development. It was at a fancy restaurant in the galleria. Thursday evening I went to band and we read a new Julie Giroux (sp?) piece of music which was a lot of fun. She is coming to one of our concerts as a guest performer/conductor.

Friday and Saturday I went to the Texas Dietetic Association annual conference. That was fun too. I talked to a lot of different vendors and employers about things that interest me, and about possible job opportunities. I have one really good prospect working for a food distribution company (like Sysco, but not) making menus and providing training for Long Term Care facilities. This job would be really flexible and I would be in charge of the facilities in Houston. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on the job hunt. There were speakers at the conference on some really interesting topics including humor in dietetics, organic farming, cooking with nutrient-dense foods, family mealtime, diet therapy for IBS, migraines, and fibromyalgia, and much much more. I particularly liked celebrity chef Jon Ashton's presentation/cooking show on nutrient dense foods. He was VERY funny! He's British and everything was "lovely" or "smashing." Anyway I wish I had pictures from the event. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday evening and Sunday morning was stake conference, which was nice. We went out to eat with a couple in our ward before the Saturday evening conference. Wednesday I am going to California to celebrate being completely done with school (for now). I get to see my family again!!! And as most of you may know, my brother got his mission call to Budapest, Hungary. Way to go, Nicksta!

Soy Success!

2008-04-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

When I first learned how to do a tofu stir-fry in high school I was really good at it; however, the past few years I have struck out every time I attempted a tofu stir fry, and have eventually resorted to Pei Wei rather than produce soggy tofu again. Today I decided to be brave and try one more time, and I had great success!!!

Sooo, tonight for dinner I ate brown rice with fresh steamed green beans and a tofu stir-fry with onions and green peppers and a fire-hot Asian chili garlic sauce. And it was FIRE-HOT. But yummy. Of course a tofu stir fry would not be complete without chop sticks!

I took the final exam for my internship and did a-okay. Tomorrow is the "closing ceremony" kind of a luncheon type thing. Dave is going to take off a few hours of work to attend, which is nice. This weekend I get to go to a renal dietetics conference, then a conference for the Texas Dietetic Association. I am excited, it should be really interesting/educational.

My favorite vegan salad

2008-04-21T16:07:00.001-07:00

So usually when someone suggests I eat a salad it's kind of a slap in the face because there is soooo much more I like to eat in the realm of my diet-style than salad!!! Often when people think of vegetarianism they think all vegetarians eat is vegetables, but vegetarians include a great array of grains, nuts, seeds, beans, fruits, and vegetables in their diet.

I do, however, have a salad that I thoroughly enjoy and I made it today. It was kind of pretty so I took a picture:

Anyway here's what is in it:
1/3 head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
1/2 C garbanzo beans, rinsed
1/4 avocado, sliced
1 large tomato, cut into wedges
1/4 granny smith apple, cut into thin wedges
1 oz walnuts, chopped
The dressing is a raspberry balsamic dressing, and I made it with a raspberry balsamic vinaigrette blended in a food processor with silken tofu, which gives the dressing a great consistency. The combination of these flavors is PERFECT. It is very yummy, and for a salad, it actually makes an excellent whole meal. Mmmm.

No more working for free!!

2008-04-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

I finished my last rotation today. Now I just need to take a few exams pertaining to the internship, then I will take the big RD exam this summer. Meanwhile I am applying to jobs for dietitian positions in hospitals. The key here is that they will actually pay me to work. I have found this to be very encouraging.

My preceptors at the dialysis clinic took me out to eat today to a hole-in-the-wall very yummy Chinese restaurant. It looked a little bit questionable, but the food was good. I had a nice tofu and vegetable dish. And of course for my last day I had to have a funny incident with a patient, as follows:

Dietitian: This is Meredith, she is going to tell you about your labs, and this is the last day of her internship.

Patient: Oh, so you're in school?

Me: Well, not past tomorrow.

Patient: is your internship through the University of Houston?

Me: No, Prairie View.

Patient: Prairie View!?! But you're white! So are you Cajun or French or anything?

Me: No.

Patient: So you're just plain white!!!

Me: (turning red) yes, I'm just plain white.

Patient: Well where did you do your undergrad?

Me: (Thinking: here goes..) Brigham Young University

Patient: So you're Mormon AND white!!!

Me: Yes.

Patient: I was friends with Steve Young, I spent some time with his family. They didn't even notice I was black, they just treated me like one of them. (Patient proceeded to discuss BYU sports with me).

Anyway, it was pretty funny. I'm glad they treated him like one of them. That's the way people deserve to be treated. It doesn't matter what color you are. You're a child of God no matter what. In conclusion, I am "Mormon" (or rather a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and plain ol' white.

I learned some things about myself this week.

2008-04-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

1) I type "wicked fast" on the keyboard. (Thank you, high school keyboarding)

2) Pei Wei is for sure my favorite fast-casual restaurant (mmm... Pei Wei Spicy tofu and vegetables with brown rice)

3) I am not meant to commute. I get so frustrated driving for a long time in traffic... that must be why my systolic blood pressure is over 120 for the first time in my life. (Diastolic blood pressure is still 70. Weird.)

4) Playing flute for 3 hours at a time is on the list of things that wears me out. Running is on the list too... cardio-wise I can run at least 3 miles at a time with no problem, but for some reason my shins don't appreciate it.

5) I like working for a dialysis clinic because the drug companies are always trying to do nice things for you. But I don't particularly like Western medicine. So I contradict myself.

6) I get along pretty well with 14-year-olds. I don't know what that says about me, but maybe I don't want to know.

Bold statements.

2008-04-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

I love Central Market. Today between conference sessions I went to Central Market, and it was fabulous again. There was live music and dancing when I got there, so not only does Central Market have the best most diverse selection of food ever, it also has that cool factor because of the other things that take place there. Not only was it live music and dancing, it was live swing/blues music and dancing--my favorite.

The Westies around here are like Norwegians. I checked out the West Coast swing scene last night and someone told me that the Westies are like Norwegians because they seem cold but it is a great environment once you get on the "in" side. They did seem cold from my standpoint, yet it seemed like they were having fun with each other. For some reason, I have found that the lindy hoppers in the area are more friendly than the westies. That's fortunate because lindy is really the better dance.

Dialysis is convoluted. I started working at a dialysis clinic this week. I feel really really bad for the patients because their lives must stink. Most of them go into the clinic for 4 hours, three times a week to have their blood cleaned. They have to take a ton of medications and watch their phosphorus (processed meats, dairy, chocolate), potassium (many fruits and vegetables), sodium (eating out, prepackaged foods), and fluid intake. So what on earth can they eat???? (It's my job to answer that question.) This diet does not provide very well for a good quality of life. But the alternative would be death due to consequences of kidney failure. My main job this week has been to talk to patients about getting their phosphorus level down.

Symphonic Band kicks my bum. But now I have someone to talk to about it!! Janet joined band with me Thursday and it was really fun having her there. We have a concert coming up in May and another in June, I think. Anyway, we still don't know what we're playing in the concert... but we do have a folder full of crazy music. (Which pieces to practice???)

Live simply so others might simply live. That is something Gandhi said and is quoted in John Robbins' book, Diet for a New America. This is an excellent book, and discusses the different reasons for vegetarianism. I just finished the book last night and I am glad I read it. I actually read it previously in High School and that is what got me into veganism in the first place. Now I remember why I started, and I am glad to have resumed this diet-style. Nobody in the world would go hungry if meat and other animal products weren't such a staple in the Western diet. If you don't understand vegetarians and would like to know more of the reasoning behind this diet-style, Diet for a New America is the best book out there to answer your questions.

Dave played April Fools on himself

2008-04-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

This morning, I looked at Dave's clock, because it is the only one illuminated in darkness. It said 8:00. I don't have to work Tuesdays because I have class up north in the afternoon, so I wasn't too worried, but I woke Dave up and said, "Dave wake up it's 8:00." Dave was panicked and got ready very quickly then looked at the clock on his computer and realized that by then it was 7:30am. Last night when he set the alarm he accidentally changed the actual time. So he played an April Fool's joke on himself, and it was a pretty good trick!

Level-seven-vegan

2008-03-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

According to the ultimate vegan cookbook, Veganomicon, "cooking with quinoa at least once a week will elevate you to level seven vegan in no time" (whatever that means). No, but seriously I tried quinoa for the first time today. Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") is a grain used by the Incas for hundreds of years. It is high in protein, not that I am concerned with my protein intake, and tastes slightly nutty.

I just made a dish called Chickpea-Quinoa Pilaf, and it is rather delicious. Here is the recipe, and if you want more delicious, animal-product-free recipes, go out and buy Veganomicon.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup quinoa
1 15-oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth

In a small stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions in olive oil for about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the tomato paste, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and salt. Saute for another minute. Add the quinoa and saute for 2 minutes. Add the chickpeas and broth, cover and bring to a boil. Once mixture is boiling, lower the heat to very low, cover, and cook for 18 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water.

A word of warning: most grocery stores do not carry quinoa, so you may have to go to a special place to purchase it, like whole foods, or Lassen's if you are in Ventura, or Central Market in Houston. But if you buy it from bulk barrels it is not too costly. This dish is quite yummy, and even my omnivore husband said he enjoyed it. So, be bold. Try quinoa. You will not regret it.

Spring Cleaning, and much much more!!

2008-03-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

I have been spending the past few days of my spring "break" cleaning the apartment. It got kind of dirty when Dave and I were both working and studying insanely. So now it is nice and pretty again, hopefully I can keep it that way.

Here is the much much more part: I finally passed (82%!) the clinical exam that I needed to pass in order to complete my internship, and I had a party for my primary class for earning points for good behavior and bringing their scriptures. I practiced flute because band practice is today and I don't want to sound really bad. I have been running at the gym these past few days and it is really nice feeling.

I re-arranged the furniture in the living area (again) to include our newly acquired entertainment center (thank you Aunt C., and Susan for bringing it). I was puzzled because the TV wasn't fitting in it, then I realized the entertainment center was sitting on it's side, so I turned it the other way and the TV fit just right. :-) (Blonde moment?)

Now I get to attempt the community exam I need to pass (80%+) in order to finish the internship. I am looking forward to going lindy hopping again, hopefully at the end of this week...somewhere.

Finished product

2008-03-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well, there it is. By no means is it perfect, but that's okay. It was fun to create. Hopefully the Relief Society will like it. I put "Happy Birthday" and "Relief Society" on the top front, then around the cake I put phrases found in the RS declaration, such as "Meaning, Purpose, Direction." Hopefully it shows my personality in that it's not old-fashioned-perfumey, you know--no lace or Greek columns, but still a little flowery and a tad bit modern. Or something.

Egg-xtreme debate

2008-03-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Dave and I are currently debating whether eggs have enough health benefits to eat them, and if the cholesterol affects a person's risk for heart disease, atherosclerosis, etc. Now tell me, do you think the accountant will win, or the dietitian? I guess it depends on the person with the most convincing argument, and right now Dave is looking up studies and proving himself wrong... that egg-sessive egg consumption contributes to the progression of heart disease. So there we have it.

On another note, today was my last day of my clinical rotation at the hospital, so now I have a few days off and then I will start at a dialysis clinic, teaching people with kidney disease how to eat in their best nutritional interest.

I went lindy-hopping Saturday and it was uber fun. Excellent (for the most part) music, and super fun leads. Sunday was nice, we had Brazilian dinner for Easter, and then Dave told me a few stories from his mission to Brazil. Then I finished my case study and went to sleep. Tonight we are going to have Family Home Evening with another family in our ward.

Things are going egg-cellently.

A bit of bragging?

2008-03-22T14:15:00.001-07:00

I am currently in the process of making the cake for the RS birthday party, so I made a bunch of fondant flowers for the cake, and they are pictured above. It took a while, but the flowers are done!! Now I just need to bake the cake, ice the cake, and put the other decorations on. It's fun to go all out on a cake every once in a while. I will post a picture of the finished product next week, but I just thought the flowers were fun.

Hope everyone has a nice Easter!

Lindyfest, etc

2008-03-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

I am sitting down on the couch enjoying a nice bowl of couscous and lentils, reminiscing on my hectic, yet thoroughly enjoyable week. The cake decorating class Wednesday went well, and Thursday evening I had fun at symphony sight reading all new music.

After symphony, I went to the opening night of Lindyfest and did some swing dancing. Friday, I went to a swing workshop all day, and a dance at night. The rock-star instructors performed and it was fun to watch. Chazz Young did a really cool tap number. Frankie Manning danced with Dawn Hampton, which was classic. Saturday was another fun-filled day of swing workshops, and a dance. Saturday was for sure the best night of dancing for me, and there were some crazy performances Saturday as well.

In between the workshops and dance, I went to a stake picnic, went to a choir dress rehearsal, and met Dave and Janet, Clara, and James for dinner. All in all, the gas tank in my car is now empty. But really, I had a very very good time dancing.

Tonight was the stake Easter choir concert. It was really good. The chapel and cultural hall were packed. I was privileged to accompany the choir on the flute for one of the pieces. Even Dave said it was very good and now he is going to join choir.

Here comes my last full week at the hospital, then I will take a few days off, and then I will work for three weeks at a dialysis clinic.

Rainy Day, but no Heads up Seven up.

2008-03-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day "on my own" as a dietitian. I was in charge of seeing the patients in the ICU, and on another floor. I had thirteen consults today, and I was really nervous that I would take a long time, but thankfully I finished by 4. But, tomorrow I have at least 15 consults to do, and two hours of meetings...so I don't think I will be finishing by 4 tomorrow.

Wednesday I get to teach a cake decorating class for the Young Women activity at church. It will be fun, but I have a lot to do to prepare for the class.

Okay, back to business!!

I'm glad February 29th will not happen again for a few years

2008-03-02T18:16:00.000-08:00

The day started after 3 hours of sleep. I had stayed up late the night before working on a presentation after coming home from band practice. I woke up at 4 to finish my presentation. I realized that I need five current references for my case study. Long story short, I was just barely ready for my case study presentation at 10am. Now I know that giving a presentation after sleeping only 3 hours will not go over well. The rest of the day went about as good as the presentation. I was tired, I tried to put on a happy-untired face to see patients, but it was quite the stretch. The weekend was kind of a blur, and hopefully by tomorrow morning I will be mostly caught up on sleep. Anyway, this is why I am glad February 29th won't happen for a few more years.

On a more happy note, I am still living. I am almost an RD (6 weeks and counting until I finish my internship). Dave got me roses Friday because he knew I was having a rough day. I have gotten to practice flute more because I am playing in a bunch of different things. My primary class went well today. So, there! Life is good! It's just February 29th that is not good, and that hardly ever happens.

All of this information is somehow related.

2008-02-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

Tuesday I gave a presentation in my internship class on the ketogenic diet which, when used for medical purposes, can reduce or eliminate seizures in children. The basis behind the diet is that it puts the body in a fasting state by using fat for energy instead of glucose from carbohydrates. When fat is used for energy, ketones are produced, and when enough ketones are in the brain, it somehow affects the occurance of seizures.

Speaking of the body being in a fasting state, I am speaking in church Sunday, on fasting! I was going to play flute in church too, but when my primary co-teacher found out I was doing both she didn't think that was fair to me, so she talked to the bishopric member who gave me the assignment and now I am going to play next week instead. But really I didn't care that I was doing both--writing and practicing a talk takes time, but playing a musical number is no big deal.

Which brings me to my next point. I am not the most outgoing person in the world, and have been described as "painfully shy;" however, I am very capable of performing when asked. It's kind of funny because when people ask me to do something that involves a large crowd they ask expecting me to turn them down because they assume that I am deathly afraid of public speaking/performing. Actually, I like speaking or performing. The trouble comes when I am asked to speak on the fly. I prefer to thoroughly plan in advance. This is one of the things that distinguish "introverted" people from "extroverts." Extroverts are often masters of improv, whereas introverts can have a powerful public presence if they are given the time to prepare.

Speaking of performance, I have symphonic band tonight and I have a concert coming up on Friday, March 7th. It will be pretty good, if any of you local family/friends (I don't know if locals read this, but hey it's worth a shot) would like to come. Let me know and I will give you details.

Is the girl wearing the outfit? Or is the outfit wearing the girl?

2008-02-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

Good question, eh? I kind of have no idea what it means. But I actually have some sort of idea. Anyway, I was walking down the hallway in the hospital, minding my own business, wearing a lab coat, and somewhat baggy, yet nice pants. My lab coat pockets were full of pocket reference books, and a calculator, and I was carrying a clipboard with my workload on it.

A doctor starts walking beside me and says nonchalantly, "Is the girl wearing the outfit, or is the outfit wearing the girl?" I sort of laugh, and go on my way, then I realize that I have no idea what he is talking about. Then I thought about it more. Maybe I don't look like a convincing dietitian. Dave once said that when I wore my lab coat I looked like a little girl playing dress-up as what I want to be when I grow up. This doctor was an older gentleman, so maybe he thought I looked much too young to be dressed the way I was--as a dietitian.

Then I thought about how I should have responded. I should have said decidedly, "The girl is wearing the outfit." But instead I just laughed, confirming that indeed, the outfit is wearing the girl.

I wonder how many people are really confident within themselves, and how many just act confident to hide their insecurities. How many people let the outfit wear them? I often feel like I define myself by what I do rather then who I really am. Then when I take a step back I don't really know who I am--and what characteristics define me.

Defiant at a young age, unfortunately

2008-02-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned in the past, I teach primary at church--the 11 and 12 year-olds. Today we talked about obedience, and tactics the devil uses to try to lead you astray. After my nice lesson, we went to "Sharing Time" and "Singing Time" which is an hour where all the older kids (ages7-12) come together and have an interactive lesson and sing songs. Well, one of my students, who I will call "J" really likes folding paper airplanes. I have asked him several times (nicely) to put the papers under his chair to show respect for the teacher. He will act like he is putting it under his chair, then bring it back up one second later. Does he think I'm totally dumb????? So, I tried to "eliminate the distraction" by taking the papers away, and he resisted my attempts by gripping the papers firmly. Are you serious, J? 11 years old and defiant.

It makes me sad that somewhere somehow this boy got the message that it is okay to blatantly disobey "authority." Further, his parent is also a primary teacher, and I don't know if he is just oblivious to his son's behavior, or doesn't care but I wish he would do something. I am going to talk to his father next week and ask him to talk to his son. Then I am going to talk to J personally and see if there is something going on that I need to understand.

I am not meant for this. I am not a "bad guy" and I struggle to be a disciplinarian. But I came home from church crying because I am sick of my class being disrespectful, especially J. And not just to me, but to the other leaders, including the stake primary leaders, who were at church today. Any ideas? I know many of you have experience with this. I don't want him to hate going to church but at the same time what he does is not acceptable. If I didn't have some sort of testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I would quit church because this is really really frustrating.

When all else fails, I can just fire him. (That was for you, Lizzy)

Medical Nutrition Therapy: Consult

2008-02-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

Assessment: 22 y/o female, 5'6", ???#, admitted c completion of first clinical rotation. Pmhx includes community rotations, management rotations, stress, homework, stress, commuting, anger at crazy drivers. Pt states she enjoyed the hospital at which she interned and will miss the dietitians who were "real characters." Pt. confirms feeling dumb at times secondary to a senior dietitian giving her "you're dumb" looks. Pt denies any problems chewing or swallowing the generous evaluation from the dietitians. Pt reports some mouth pain from talking to so many people in one day. Estimated energy needs approx. 1200-13chocoate calories based on adjusted BEE. Educated pt on next rotation which will be more complex due to the long-term acute care nature of the environment. Informed pt that Joint Commission may visit the next hospital, so she should be on her best behavior.

Diagnosis: Increased energy needs related to being overworked and underpaid as evidenced by stack of dishes in sink.

Intervention: Nutrition Rx: anything but hospital cafeteria food, po, TID. ADAT.
Recommend transferring pt to other hospital to assess aptitude for and enjoyment of clinical dietetics field.

Thank you for this consult,
MW, dietetic intern

High School Student or Doctor?

2008-02-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

Neither, but I had two funny experiences today questioning who I am.

#1: Went into a patient's room to explain her Cardiac diet. Patient is quite old, and after I explained the restricted fat/salt thing she said,
"You're so cute! Have you finished High School?"
"I have finished college!" I replied.
"So you're studying to be a nurse?"
"A dietitian." I replied.
"That's wonderful. Great field."
"Thank you."

#2: Nurse guy walks up to the counter at which I am standing, tries to get a look at my name badge and after a moment says,
"Are you Doctor Kahn?"
"No, I'm an intern."
"Oh, I thought you were Doctor Kahn--her hair looks like your from the back."
"Hmm, ok."

So, just for the reference, I am neither in High School nor a doctor. Today I took over part of a floor. Tonight I am writing an article for a Prairie View newsletter about the Ketogenic Diet, which is used to treat seizures in children with Epilepsy. A very mild form of the Ketogenic Diet is the Atkins diet, but one is for (not very smart) weight loss, and one is to actually treat a condition. It is interesting how similar the diets are, yet how different their uses are.

Better go get to business.

Squash soup, etc.

2008-01-30T09:43:00.000-08:00

We went to San Antonio and had fun spending time with Grandma, Carol, Susan, et al. Grandma gave me a butternut squash with which I am currently making soup. Here is the recipe.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup:

5 cups water
2 cups soy milk
1 can low sodium vegetable broth
6 carrots, sliced in large slices
5 celery stalks, sliced in 1/2 inch slices
2 onions, cut in half
2 zucchini, medium size, cut in large pieces
2 whole butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3 tablespoons veggie seasoning (like Vogue veggie base)
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt-free Spike or Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 - 1 pound mushrooms, stems removed and cut in half

Instructions:

Place everything in soup pot except mushrooms. Boil and then simmer for ½ hour. Blend everything together. Add mushrooms and cook another ½ hour. Makes about 7 quarts. I eat a serving and then freeze the rest.

It's a nice vegan recipe, and uses lotsa veggies, as you can see. I like to add the mushrooms, then blend it because I don't like the texture of mushrooms but I don't mind the taste.

Anyway, back to San Antonio, we went to a fun stake dance and Dave and I enjoyed ourselves. Carol and George did some incredible tango at the dance. We had some neighbors over for games Sunday night, which was fun. I was feeling great Monday morning, until I got to work and immediately became sick. So I'm home sick today because I went in to work and they told me to go home. Fortunately, I had a fever for a long time last night, fighting the bad guys inside of me.

Any in favor of 30 hours in a day?

2008-01-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

If only there were just a few more hours in a day. Then I would be able to do my homework, practice flute, clean, cook, work out, go to work, go to evening things, invite friends over, and get enough sleep, with some lindy nights out.

Yesterday was my first day of my clinical rotation. The head dietitian sat me down and explained to me what the schedule was: I would watch the dietitians visit and consult patients, I would help the diet tech put information from the computer to a paper (counterintuitive, eh?), I would always be with a dietitian for the first few weeks. At the very most I would hand out papers to the patients explaining their diet and tell them to call the dietitian with any questions. Okay, this can't be too scary.

Then she turned me over to another dietitian, who decided that I should do more than just watch, I should do the consulting, write the chart notes, calculate the energy expenditure, etc. And shame on me if I forgot how many centimeters are in an inch. Not what I was planning for the first day; however, all in all I am glad she let me do some work because that is really what I am here to practice--how to be a dietitian, not how to observe a dietitian.

Today I went to WIC for a little required reunion (to get more practice counseling) and it was pretty good. Then I went to my class and the teacher didn't show up--we sat there for an hour then we went home. I suggested we write her a note saying, "We were here, you were not." But we all agreed on a more tactful, "Sorry we missed you, here are our presentation topics."

to D.C. or not to D.C.?

2008-01-18T11:14:00.000-08:00

That is the question.

I found out that the Symphonic Band of which I am a part is taking a nice little trip to Washington, D.C. and Virginia this summer. It is not too late to sign up to go on the trip, and it would be sooo cool--the places we play and the sites we see. My only reservation is the $$$.

This week went pretty well. I was busy. Dave and I hardly saw each other. As he was coming, I was going, and vice versa, but that's not the part of the week that went well. I got to the gym more, I went visiting teaching, went to Symphonic Band, and finished up my Head Start rotation. Starting Monday I will be going to a hospital doing the thing that most people think of when they hear the word "dietitian." White lab coat and all.

Eat to Live is going well too. I have been going strong for over two weeks and I am excited to continue. The frozen soup thing is really working well. For some lunches, I pack a salad in a plastic container, then bring a frozen soup in a freezer bag. The soup acts as a cooler for the salad, and I eat the salad, then put the soup in the plastic container to heat it up. The soups I froze the first week will probably last me another 3 or 4 weeks.

One last thing: my band director, speaking to the brass section said, "There is a fine line between pushing the music forward and making us throw up." Something to think about.

Bittersweet Symphony

2008-01-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

Thursday I went to by first Houston Symphonic Band practice. Getting there was a bit of an adventure, but when I arrived the real adventure began. I got pretty lost, so I went inside the Epicurian Market, went to the bathroom, got some laundry detergent, and went to the front to pay and ask for directions.

"I have a question." I said

"No." responded the cashier.

I stood there dumbfounded for a second, then I half-way laughed and said, "But really I need directions."

Because the store was mostly devoid of people all three of the cashiers came over and tried to explain how to get to my destination. It didn't make sense, but it worked. I arrived thirty minutes late, when I had planned on arriving thirty minutes early. A nice lady came out to go to the bathroom and asked if I wanted to go inside for the practice. I went inside with her, she got a chair for me, and I started sight reading the music.

Some of the music was approachable, but none of it was "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." I am going to have to practice my bum off in order to do well. The band is a dynamic mix of both professional musicians and other adult professionals. There are a lot of music directors in the band, which makes it interesting for the actual director, trying to persuade them to play it his way.

I'm excited to be a part of this band

Small Victories

2008-01-04T11:11:00.000-08:00

Small victory #1: Today I walked to the movie store and the grocery store! They are really close by--just 5 or 10 minutes, but I was proud of myself for walking. I felt like I couldn't walk there before because there are no sidewalks, but today, I just went and it was great!

Small victory #2: I tried some incredible yummy and good for you recipes put out by Dr. Fuhrman, the author of both Eat to Live and Disease Proof Your Child. I have followed his suggested menu for three days now (that is why it is a small victory) and I love it. I made a few soups in bulk and froze them in portion-size bags so I could have them any time. This will be especially beneficial when I start school again Monday.

I met a family in California who prescribes to this way of eating, and they inspired me to give it another shot. They have one child who was not going to live at all, and she has been living now for five years--longer than anyone with her condition. Their other child is never sick--ever. No allergies, no colds, no flu--nothing. And it's not just because of good genes. Anyway, I thought it was cool that this family ate the way I want to eat.

Small victory #3: I read a whole book yesterday. It was quite nice--it was cold outside and I just sat on the couch most of the day, wrapped in a blanket, reading. The book is called Uglies by Scott Westerfield. It is about a society where when you turn 16 you become "a pretty" and a group of people who decided they wanted to stay "ugly." Next I will read Pretties, the next in the series.

Small victory #4: I went in-line skating!!! I was distraught here for quite a while because I couldn't find a decent park in which to in-line skate. January 1st, I set out to find a park and I found one with eleven miles of paved road for bikers, walkers, joggers, and me!! It was a lot of fun. I didn't go the whole eleven miles this time...and I probably won't next time either...but maybe one day. (That will be under Big Victories)

Happy New Year

2007-12-31T18:40:00.000-08:00

I am now back in Texas. California was fun and very pretty. The top picture is from the Beach house with Santa Cruz Island in the distance. The water was nice and blue. The next picture is my two good friends Lizzy and Bria (hopefully you don't mind me posting your picture) on a nature-made seesaw. Some highlights of the trip: I got to play some the Doppler flute duet with Lizzy, I went ocean kayaking, I went to Bria's Grandparents' for a family dinner, I watched Meet the Robinson's, my cousins and Northwest Grandparents came to visit. I to to visit with my Ventura Grandparents, my Grandma took all the ladies to lunch, I got my hair cut and donated it to Locks of Love.
Here is a picture of me with my different hair: You can't see it that well....but that's what happens when I take a picture of myself.

I experienced Whole Foods Market today. It was nice, but Trader Joe's is better. Trader Joe's: Please Come To Houston!!!!

Poor Dave has been experiencing just about the worst business trip imaginable. He missed his connecting flight, had to take two more flights to get to his destination, the airline lost his luggage, and he ended up having to stay for another day, leaving him on a business trip New Year's Eve and Day. Not fun for either of us. I'm watching Shall We Dance now. Happy New Year!!

Hi from California

2007-12-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

I have been in the lovely Ventura since a week ago yesterday. My mom and I did some shopping, and I hung out with Lizzy and Bria. I also went rollerblading and played flute in church. Dave came out Saturday, and right now is working on fixing something about the TV. The beach has been very nice and the ocean is beautiful. We spotted some dolphins swimming near the shore. We had a nice Christmas morning, the latest ever because the person who used to want to open presents as early as possible now sleeps nonstop.

We went to Golden China last night for dinner, and there was some yummy food, including brown rice and broccoli with spicy garlic sauce. We are having a lot of fun at the beach house--we played the animal game (don't ask) and taboo. Those joining us after Christmas will probably get to play the animal game too. Dave, Mom, and Sarah went kayaking yesterday, and I am hoping to go later in the week.

I tried to visit the Grandma and Grandpa household but they weren't there. We're going over later today and then I will go over again this week. That is all for now.

Rather Blustery Day

2007-12-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

Today I somehow ended up spending the day making cookies...again. These ones turned out a little better because I actually sort of knew what I was doing this time. Dave's work party was fancy. It was a New York theme, and there was lots of food and drinks (I had Perrier, hopefully not mistaken for vodka) and there was a band and a dance floor and lots of people, some dressed fancier than others, and some better at schmoozing than others. Some interesting dancing took place.

Dave and I did a little lindy/westie dancing but I don't like dancing in heels so we kept the dancing to a minimum. I saw another lindy hopper there, which was cool. I sure wish we could do the lead-follow thing. Who needs moves? I guess we are not quite there yet.

We went to our ward party tonight. Once again, lots of food, but just water this time. No band, no schmoozing, but excellent company. The choir sang some Christmas selections, among which was "Baby, it's cold outside." Of course in the song when she sings, "maybe just a half a drink more" she is referring to Perrier.

It's been cold and windy but I haven't been outside much today. One of these days I am going to go rollerblading. I found a park that I think has potential for a good rollerblading experience. I will have to check it out when I come back from California.

Sorry Mom, I'm bored again.

2007-12-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know my mother, you know never to tell her that you are bored because if you do she will give you a not-so-fun thing to do. Even while I'm here in Texas and Mom is in California, if I say I'm bored she will find a long-distance assignment for me.

Well, I don't have to go to work, so I have all week to myself to do whatever I want. You may be thinking, "Wow! I wish I had a whole week to do whatever I want!" But don't think so fast. After a day or so of this you will be wishing your old life back.

I've been doing stuff--don't get me wrong. I practiced flute for 1.5 hours yesterday, I made a cute little craft which I would post a picture of if it wasn't a Christmas present for someone. I even went to the dentist. But my productivity stopped there. I subsequently watched two hours of Antiques Road Show. There are some things that I should be doing, for example, washing the dishes, doing the laundry, doing homework, etc. But the Antiques Road Show is just so much more engaging.

But before you find an assignment for me, take a look at my plans for the rest of the week, which are looking better than yesterday: I played flute this morning and I am going to the bishop's storehouse to volunteer this afternoon, then going visiting teaching this evening. Wednesday I finally get to go hang out with Janet, Clara, and James. Thursday I'm doing the cookie thing again, and having some friends in the ward over for a movie night. Friday is that dumb party that I don't want to go to, nevertheless I will spend a good deal of time before it curling my hair.

So I guess I'm not bored anymore. Never mind, Mom. False alarm.

A month off!

2007-12-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

My winter break has officially begun!!! Yesterday was my last day of the WIC rotation. There was a staff meeting downtown that I got to go to, where all the Houston Department of Health WIC staff met and then we went to the Museum of Natural Science butterfly exhibit, then out to lunch at the "Breakfast Klub" (interesting LUNCH place). We had a nice little detour getting to our lunch destination--we took the metro from the museum to the restaurant area, but we didn't know where to go from the station so we ended up walking in a large circle--25 professional-looking women walking the streets of Houston--it was probably a sight to behold. The older ladies weren't too happy about the detour. When we got to the restaurant, the leader of our group told the restaurant greeter that we had reservations, and we are with the Houston Department of Health. I'm sure that gave them a little shock--inspections???!!

In honor of a month off of school, I spent all day today..... making holiday cookies!!! (I should have spent all day cleaning.) I made all sorts of varieties, and I will give them to the ladies I visit teach tomorrow (and our home teachers, and the people coming over, etc). They were pretty fun to make. Below is a picture of the cookies.

Cheap Sweet Potatoes!!!

2007-11-30T09:33:00.000-08:00

I went to the store last night because I ran out of sweet potatoes, and I like them for dinner. I thought they would be .25/lb, but when I got there I found they were .08/lb!!! I bought almost 12 pounds for less than a dollar. Oh the joy of in-season produce. I've been eating a lot of vegetables lately, and it is very nice.

This week has been abbastanza bene, WIC is okay, but not as fun as the Food Bank. The lovely thing about the internship is that I will know exactly what I want to do (or exactly what I DO NOT want to do)when I finish because I will have gotten a taste for everything. For example, I probably will not want to work at WIC because it is too repetitive and there is way too much paperwork. There are some good things about WIC: you learn more Spanish, the kids are cute (until you sit them down for iron testing), the environment is fairly relaxed, and you give advice to the people who truly need it.

We had Relief Society enrichment Tuesday and we talked about what modern conveniences we are grateful for. I am grateful for modern conveniences to a degree, but when it comes to cooking I can be kind of old school. Kneading bread by hand is a must--because it is so positively therapeutic. Chopping vegetables with a knife instead of some machiney thing makes me feel like I'm getting better/faster at chopping and I like that too. I digress. We also talked about the things God does for us--little things that make life easier or happier. We made notebooks to write all those things down. It was fun, and especially fun to meet other people.

2007-11-23T13:09:00.000-08:00

Today we went out at around 8am to buy a few things. We got a printer, some movies, and I got a dress for Dave's work party that I don't want to go to. It's black--a reflection of my desire to attend the party. Or it's black because black happens to be more flattering than say, brightly colored floral designs.

Thanksgiving was good, we got to see people. My nieces and nephews are growing for some reason. Must be all the Wheat Thins. It's fun to watch little kids grow up. The rest of my family, except my older sister was in Utah for a family reunion on my dad's side. I now feel pretty bad that I didn't make it there, and it would have been nice to get together with everyone for the first time in a loooong time. The morning of Thanksgiving I went to a workout thing put on by the trainers at the gym. Let me just say that I can barely move today because of the workout thing yesterday morning.

I copied my sisters-in-law and put some music on my blog. Some of it is good for lindy hopping purposes, other songs are just plain ol' good. Speaking of dancing, I had a crazy dream last night that I was really good at tango, but not as good at foxtrot. It was just like 4 or so years ago, when I was pretty good at tango, and foxtrot was next in line. It's been a while since I've done ballroom; when I do dance, I'm more of a lindy person now (and sometimes westie). Now a word about blues dancing: bleh. Okay, a few more words: if done well, it looks really cool and is fun, but if not it looks like a lame excuse for lindy hoppers to be sleezy. Bleh.

Monday and Tuesday I worked at WIC. I made some brochures about nutrition for nursing moms, and I learned how to give someone food vouchers--it's quite the process especially when I don't speak Spanish and they don't speak English. Yay for bilingual people!! I'm still working on learning Spanish in my car. I took someone's blood for iron testing, and I'm going to have to do that more next week. Now tell me, is this something a dietitian should be doing? Nooooo....it is something a nurse should be doing because it's in the "blood and guts" category. I much prefer the "digestive contents" category.

2007-11-15T15:11:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is my last day with the Food Bank. It has been my favorite rotation so far. This week has been crazy. I feel like I am employed by the Food Bank because the Director of Nutrition Services will call my cell in the evening and tell me about something I need to pick up for the next day at work. Man, and they don't even pay me.

I gave two presentations Monday, one at a private High School on Poverty/Hunger, and one in Galveston at a church to parents. They both went well, but the one in Galveston had a funny mix of knowledgeable people and not-as-knowledgeable people, resulting in me explaining basics while the smarty pants' looked at me like "teach me something I don't already know" and the not-as-smarty-pants kept asking questions about why they were not losing weight. So I would throw in a really smart question to keep the smarties occupied, then keep explaining the basic stuff. Heh.

I taught a group of people at an Assisted Living Center how to cook Barley Jambalaya on Tuesday. Then I went up to me University campus and did TPN calculations. I realized at that moment that all these nutrition calculations are is MATH, and a few memorized numbers. I also realized that I am pretty decent at math, which works out nicely. After my fun trip to the University, I went to my self defense class and further learned how to kick an assailant's bum, and such.

Wednesday I spent the morning experimenting with bottled mushrooms, because the following day (today) I was to try to convince the agencies of the Food Bank to purchase them. I made a pretty cool mushroom-cheese bread and refrigerated it for Thursday. I went to the Food Bank in the afternoon and taught a Kids Cafe class at a Boys and Girls club. They were insane again. We made bagel faces. It was....interesting. I went to the last night of self defense--where the policemen who taught the class put on complete body padding and attacked us, and we had to defend ourselves using the techniques we learned to get out of the bind.

Today I had to be at work super early, to be there when the agencies arrived. When I got there, there was NOBODY there. I had to turn on lights, etc... then set up my fantastic mushroom-cheese bread. At first people were reluctant to try it, probably because it was between 6:30 and 7 in the morning, then, one by one, people started trying it and realized that it tasted incredible. Then people started asking for more. Success!!! I made a fun little handout with the benefits of mushrooms and the recipe on the back. It's funny, whenever I make something for samples or classes, people ask if I made it myself. Do I not look like someone who can cook? I may not look like a dietitian, or even a dietetic intern, but I certainly look well fed. And hopefully the food I have been eating is pretty darn good--or else it wouldn't be worth it. Lol.

Anyway, that is my week up until now. I have another presentation tomorrow, and that will conclude my Food Bank Adventures. On to a W.I.C. clinic!!

2007-11-09T15:24:00.000-08:00

This week has been busy!! Yay! I went to a self-defense against assault class, which was good. I am going to two more next week--now I will know what to do if a bad guy comes along. But I will say that I am already quite cautious, so the difference is now I have moves. :-)

I went to a "kids cafe" grand opening at a boys and girls club yesterday. I held a lot of balloons and learned how to schmooze with nutritional big-wigs. I have 6 different presentations next week, so they are keeping me busy. Some for adults, some for kids, one for High School girls on Hunger/Poverty. That is the one I have been working pretty hard on, and I think it will be quite good.

I made Italian bread last night, and it is smelling good (I cooked it today). Kneading bread is so nice. Dave comes home from El Paso in a few minutes! Yay! He's been there all week for work. He told me he got some mysterious tasting and looking meat there in the form of a "hamburger." Interesting, eh?

2007-11-05T17:35:00.000-08:00

I went today to a Boys and Girls club to teach them about healthy snacks. The kids were pretty funny, and ravenous all at the same time. We made apple slices with peanut butter and dried fruit on top. They asked if I would stay a while, but I told them I had to get home, but I would be back Wednesday and Thursday. One girl asked me to write on her handout "Wednesday and Thursday" so she wouldn't forget to come. It was pretty fun, and pretty crazy.

I sure do get a grand tour of Houston doing this internship. I have pretty much gone everywhere there is to go in Houston now, perhaps some places by accident. Generally I have found my way around quite well--as long as I have adequate written directions.

Stake conference was Sunday, and one of the 11-year-olds in my primary class spoke! It was fun to see such a small kid speak in front of that many hundreds of people. He reminds me of Nick--very smart, very talented, and he even acts like Nick did when he was that age--willing to tell Bible stories, answer deep questions, and name facts.

It gets so dark so fast these days. It was dark by the time I returned from work. Makes me want to go to sleep right when I get home.

2007-11-02T07:50:00.000-07:00

The Food Bank rotation is good so far. I have been making educational materials, planning health fair displays, and my big project is a simulation on poverty and hunger for a high school social justice class. This rotation is much like my summer work for BYU doing nutrition education kits. Today I get to work from home because I have to make muffins as samples for a health fair tomorrow. The health fair is on colon cancer, and we are doing a display on the fat content in food because studies show that a high fat diet increases your risk of developing colon cancer. Anyway, the muffin I am handing out is low fat, and high fiber (and it tastes pretty good).

Another thing I have been doing at the Food Bank is calling organizations to see if they want a free freezer. Some people think it is a trick, but really we are giving out freezers, and what's more, they come full of "End Hunger" meals. Pretty sweet for those who can fit this freezer in their door. Making phone calls is one of my least favorite things to do--it is right up there with the moving process. But at least I am not calling people to collect money, eh?

2007-10-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

Today is the kind of day that makes me wish I had a back yard and garden. It is so pleasant outside that I need to find some excuse to stay out there for an extended period of time. It has been this way most of the week and it is so refreshing to be able to wear a sweater!!

Dave has been working like crazy and studying for the CPA exam. I've been trying to cook, keep the house clean, and keep up with my internship. (Trying is the key word) I just finished my rotation with the school district and my next rotation is with the Food Bank. It should be a good rotation.

I can usually tell if it will be a good rotation based on the email response I receive. If they ask about my classes so they can plan my schedule, the rotation will probably be a good one. If they don't respond for a few days, then put something short like: be there at 8, wear non-slip shoes, then I am pretty sure the next three weeks will not be very interesting. Or there are those cases where they don't even respond, and you kind of guess where to go and at what time, and when you get there they say, "I had no idea you were coming!" Anyway, there are many different possible rotation situations.

Tonight is our ward "trunk-or-treat" so I am going to decorate our trunk and hand out candy to the kids. It should be fun--it is nice to get out once in a while and interact with the ward. Tuesday I taught another cake decorating class--this one was on how to make roses, vines, leaves, etc. The people who were there seemed to really enjoy it.

Happy Birthday Yesterday, Grandma A!!!

#31: Own a bass flute

2007-10-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

Today I taught my primary class about honesty. The kids were pretty shocked when they learned that Ananias and Sapphira (in Acts 5) died on the spot because they were dishonest. The scripture says they "gave up the ghost," and when I asked the class what happened to them, they said, "Uh, they didn't feel good." and I said, "Actually, they DIED." Then they started acting it out. Lol.

These kids LOVE to talk about themselves. I will ask a question and all of their hands will shoot up. They will part-way answer the question and then tell an unrelated story about themselves. It's kind of funny. It seems that many kids just need someone who cares about what they have to say, and someone who will listen.

I get a day off tomorrow because the school district has a student holiday. It will be nice to take time and organize all my internship projects, print things out, start my portfolio, etc. We got a new table and chairs yesterday. I like it. We had a Halloween party last night. It was fun--we played games and I got to meet some of Dave's friends. Now there are ghosts all over our apartment, but not real ones. We dressed as pirates.

#17 ride in a hot air balloon

Call it Stormy Monday

2007-10-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

I left work at 3pm as usual and headed to the restaurant supply store to pick up a little gadget for my cake decorating class tomorrow. As I was heading north, the sky looked very dark. "That doesn't look good," I thought as I kept driving north. Soon after that thought I entered an uninviting dark abyss. Within minutes the freeway was flooded on the edges. I could barely see in front of my car, and it was pretty frightening--but I had to keep going. It took me an hour to get to the restaurant supply store (for a 49-cent piece of equipment) and another hour to get to my apartment.

Needless to say, I am glad to be home. I am debating going back out into the weather to go to the gym and get stuff to make a chocolate pumpkin cake for tomorrow. Blast this weather!!!

#11 see Diana Krall live in concert

2007-10-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

Today I got a new calling--primary teacher. I was pretty worried when Dave told me that the bishop was going to give us callings. My greatest fear is being called as a nursery leader. Luckily, my greatest fear did not come to pass, and I am teaching a class full of 10-year-olds. I am excited but kind of scared because 13 ten-year-olds--mostly boys is a lot to handle. I just hope I can influence them for good. They are at an age where they ask a lot of thought-provoking questions, and I just hope I will know what to say. Dave is teaching the 15-16 year old Sunday School class.

Yesterday I worked at my cakes/catering job and made box lunches for the "Pet Fest" in Old Town Spring. It was kind of funny because I'm not much of an animal person, and there were some very extravagant pet things at this function. Dogs everywhere!!! I have gotten to the point where I don't mind being around animals, but I probably wouldn't own one myself. My poor future kids--between having a dietitian for a mom and not being able to get pets--I hope they will survive.

I don't intend on being an "insane-dietitian-mom," ie, how many vegetables have you had today? Let's count up your calories to make sure you are achieving the proper balance of nutrients and physical activity. No, my intention is to offer my kids a variety of nutritious foods and let them choose what and how much they eat. Small children have an innate ability to govern the amount of food they eat. It is only when parents force them to eat more, use food as rewards, clean their plate, and when eating becomes a social thing instead of a hunger thing that children lose the ability to eat only what they need.

I get to teach a cake decorating class for enrichment this week--I am looking forward to it. It will be a basic technique class this week, then a more advanced technique class next week. I think it will be really fun.

#5 Have kids.

Nutrition at the School District

2007-10-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Today I was visiting one of the elementary schools during lunch and a little girl came up to me and asked me if I was the new doctor. It was funny. Nope, I'm just a dietetic intern.

I'm really enjoying interning at this school district. The nutrition department is really really good. I have been going around from school to shining school in the district looking at budget, menus, kitchen setup, staffing, wellness programs, employee safety, adherence to policies and procedures, government policy, and reimbursement issues; however, I have spent the most time writing up employees and hearing different people's stories of different problems. It is interesting--in school we didn't really talk much about conflict resolution, yet that consumes over 50% of the supervisors' time.

One thing that was hard was the day kids found out they would not receive a free meal because their parent did not re-apply. The meal would be taken away from the child and replaced with toast and milk for breakfast, or a peanut butter sandwich and milk for lunch. Some kids started crying because they didn't understand what was happening--why was their meal being taken away? It was sad.

Anyway I am learning a lot at this rotation, and they told me to come back when I finish my internship. We'll see about that. I started learning Spanish. I have found that I already know much of the basics.

#7 learn to sew better

Reflections on a Pricey Internship

2007-10-05T14:24:00.001-07:00

Today was my last day at the university dining facility. I am looking forward to the place I am going next--it sounds like they are very "with it." It also sounds like I won't be bored. Let's hope these projections are correct.

It's funny how fast rotations go by. They are all three weeks, and usually the first week you get comfortable with the place, the second week you get most things done, and the third week you are bored.

I keep trying to take this management exam online but things keep going wrong with it. First I am scheduled to take it Sunday (during church) instead of Saturday, then the password doesn't work, and so on. Arggg. Oh well. No test=okay with me.

#3 Learn Argentine Tango

2007-10-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today I gave my two presentations, and the employees said I did a good job. For the hand washing presentation, I presented the "wrong way to wash your hands" then asked what I did wrong. It was funny because the employees were totally grossed out when I dried my hands on my lab coat instead of with paper towels, then I touched my hair. They were groaning and yelling out: "wash your hands again!!!"

I was pretty sick yesterday, vomiting and such, in bed all day, but fortunately I was well enough to work today. Nope, I'm not pregnant...just food poisoning. I get to teach two cake decorating enrichment classes in October. I am excited--a lot of people are really interested, and I think it will be fun. I am going to demo a cool Halloween cake in the first class, plus the basic cake decorating techniques, then I will teach more advanced stuff in the second class and have the participants decorate their own cakes.

#2: Speak Spanish fluently

2007-10-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the wonderful Grandma A, there is hope for me in Houston!!!! (In the form of large kabocha squash at Whole Foods Market) I am soooo happy(er). Well today I made about 80 quarts of mashed potatoes, about the same amount of gravy, and six boxes of beef fajita meat. Lotsa food. I almost fell asleep in the after-lunch production meeting. I guess I had too many carbohydrates at lunch, which made me very sleepy.

I really enjoyed church yesterday. The testimony meeting was nice, and Sunday School was particularly thought provoking. I love it when Sunday School teachers inspire personal improvement, and this teacher really brings out good questions that make you want to become a better person. The class members are great too. There are so many insightful comments--I really like this ward.

I made a list of 101 things I want to accomplish in my lifetime. Some things are little, and some are big. Some are more trivial than others but they are all important to me. I will share some of the things from the list, in place of my previous gratitude statements. They are in no particular order, but I will start with #1.

#1: Decorate wedding cakes

2007-09-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well, after calling all the grocery stores, vegetable markets, and even Asian supermarkets in the greater Houston area, it has been determined that there is no Kabocha Squash in Houston. Houston, we have a problem. My favorite food, nowhere to be seen. I honestly don't know what to do. I guess we can't live here. The end.

2007-09-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today at the internship I worked as a cook. It was more fun than sitting in the office. The head cook was impressed at how fast I got everything done, which is funny because I always thought of myself as a slow cook (not to be confused with a slow cooker). Anyway, I did beef sausage, pork sausage links, French toast, pancakes, and chicken dumplings. This was the first time I had seen dumplings--I guess it's a "S'th'rn thang".

I am working on two trainings: one is proper use of knives, and the other is hand washing. I will present these trainings to the employees next week. It is funny because these folks have been in the business much longer than I, but I have to teach them how to use a knife. I have an idea for a fun way to present hand washing, but I don't know how fun I can get with the knives. Maybe I could bring in some Japanese Knife Artist, and say "don't try this in the kitchen." Or make some cool apple bird and say, "this is what can be done when handling a knife properly." I don't know--I just don't want it to be the next cure for insomnia. Any ideas?

I'm back, and here's an update:

2007-09-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

I decided to re-open a blog because it would be fun. But I just realized that I have nothing to say. In case you are curious, Pizza Smurf is my actual smurf name, based on my real name, which is funny because I make a pretty mean pizza.

Here's something: my internship is going fine. I am at a university dining facility right now. The most recent thing I did was work with receiving to check in all the products. That took a long time. Now I not only know how to receive a truck full of goods, but I also know how to react to boisterous men. So I am learning life lessons in my internship. The day before I assisted in taking inventory. Wow, that is a tedious process and it sure takes time... but that is okay because I definitely have the time there.

Before the university dining facility I was at a hospital. The hospital had only 60 patients and fed only half of them. (The rest were on tube feeds). But, the unique thing about this hospital is that most of the care is acute care with long length of stay. So we are treating serious diseases and conditions there, and unlike normal hospitals, these patients do not get better right away. So far I prefer the hospital setting to the university setting.

That's all.