Sunday, November 25, 2012

I'm an Elf for Health!

I first heard about Elf for Health from a retweet by a dietitian on Twitter; curiously I followed her link and was directed to Lindsay Livingston’s blog, ‘The Lean Green Bean’. I’m so glad I did! Lindsay and Elle (aka Nutritionella) are soon-to-be dietitians who, in my opinion, are creative geniuses. They’ve organized a 6-week holiday challenge for “elves” everywhere to encourage and be encouraged by others to make and achieve their health and fitness goals. The encouragement works in two ways: First, elves are paired together to act as motivation buddies, exchanging e-mails once or twice weekly to swap recipes, workouts, and support. Second, each elf completes daily challenges and posts their progress publicly. The challenges range from trying a new workout to donating clothes to Good Will.

I'm in love with this challenge for a lot of reasons. The challenges and partnerships hold participants accountable, making them more likely to succeed. It also serves to benefit the body, mind, and soul; and whole-body health is a philosophy to which I definitely subscribe.

Well? Have I convinced you to sign up yet? Go ahead, click it... you know you want to!


The challenge starts tomorrow, but I’m already feeling motivated to get fit, eat healthy, and stay motivated through the ever-tempting and delicious holiday season. I’ll be chronicling my experiences here, and if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram you’ll certainly see my #elf4health posts there. 

Wish me luck!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rifle Paper Co.
I am so thankful for my family and friends near and far. I am grateful to be fully employed -  not only for employment itself, but for employment with a company that supports my personal values and respects me as an individual. I am happy, healthy, and excited about my future. I am a very fortunate girl, and I'm most thankful for that.

What are you thankful for?

Sending my love to you and yours! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

We're Engaged!

It's the day girls dream of, and it caught me completely by surprise. It was Friday night: I came home from work, ate dinner, showered, and turned on Grey's Anatomy. Not long after that, I heard the screen door open and a sweet 7-year-old voice suspiciously calling, "Ooohhh, Staaaaa-cyyyyyyyy!"

Nick brought Ariana home? I was immediately confused. They asked me to come out to the family room, where Nick's parents were sitting with cameras in hand. Ariana dropped a Twix bar and a bouquet of pink roses into my lap and stepped back.

Nick stepped forward and asked me, "Remember the other day when you told me that you felt like we were already married?"

And for the next few moments, I must have blacked out, because I don't remember a darn thing.

The next thing I do remember is me crying, Nick crying, and a beautiful ring being slipped onto my finger. Thankfully Nick's parents were filming the whole thing, so there's videographic evidence that Nick dropped to his knees and asked me to marry him.  On camera, you see me bury my head, start crying, and nod my head 'yes'.


Wee!!! I'm a fiancee! It's been a week and a half and I am still blissfully elated. We're looking at a wedding in the spring of 2014, which gives us plenty of time to plan every detail of the wedding of our dreams. 

Nick already posted his thanks on Facebook, but I'd like to echo his thoughts: Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of our wonderful friends and family for the warm wishes! We couldn't be happier and are so thankful for the beautiful people we have in our lives. 

Stay tuned for updates!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Creamy Lime Squares

Last week, our neighbors brought by three, very large bags of fruit from their citrus trees. While appreciative, I was also stumped - what's a girl to do with this many grapefruits and limes?

My sister recommended grapefruit bars, but I couldn't find a recipe that I trusted. Luckily, I stumbled across a recipe for lime bars that sounded awesome, and sure enough, they were great!

To be honest, the first thing that attracted me to the recipe was the website itself - Eat, Live, Run. The blogger's name is Jenna, and according to her 'About Me' she's a trained chef, food photographer, freelance food writer, and recipe developer. Already impressed, I read on to learn that she supports local ingredients and active living. What's not to love? I obviously had to try her recipe for creamy lime squares, and in turn, share it here. I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I did!

Monday, August 27, 2012

"I now pronounce you husband and wife."

My friend Megan got married this weekend! Megan is one of the warmest, truest, funniest, most beautiful women I have the pleasure of knowing - and boy, she can really put on a great party. I couldn't resist sharing some photos from the event this past Saturday.

Megan is one of four women with whom I have a very special friendship. The five of us worked together at the eating disorder clinic in San Francisco, where we all tackled a number of hardships, both personal and professional. We've since separated from the clinic, but we've still managed to do a good job of staying in touch and seeing each other often.

Lisa, Jen, Megan, Caitie, and me 
I love these gals, and as you will see, we sure have a great time when we're together. Congrats again, Megs!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

My boyfriend's aunt and uncle are coming for a visit this week, so I thought it was a perfect occasion for some baked goodies.


These lemon poppy seed muffins from Dorie Greenspan's Baking are nothing short of delicious!

Friday, June 8, 2012

Chronicles of a DI


I woke up this morning and the first thought in my head was, "Holy cow, it's almost over." ("It" being the dietetic internship, the single-most important step so far in my becoming a registered dietitian.) Three weeks from today, I will be sitting at a graduation luncheon and giving my final thanks to all of my previous preceptors; the only thing left to do will be to take the registration exam, and that "RD" will finally be mine to claim.

Three weeks.

Fourteen working days.

Seriously?

Was it really ten months ago that I moved to Napa? I remember so clearly the first day of work in August; I was a hot mess of excitement, nerves, and fear: excited to start the next chapter in my life, nervous about working in the new and strange environment of Napa State Hospital, and so totally terrified that I wasn't cut out for a career as a registered dietitian.

I can say with complete certainty that I have made leaps and bounds from where I was on that first day last Fall - professionally and personally. In addition to learning confidence (something I always seemed to struggle with), I've stopped biting my nails, become a regular gym rat, and changed my hairstyle (I understand that these last three things pale in comparison to the first, but I'm still proud of them nonetheless).

There are so many things I want to recount about this internship, but to give each story it's rightful attention, I'm going to share each over a series of posts. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy recalling them. This has really been such a special journey (read: crazy ride) in my life and I hope that by writing down my experiences I won't forget a single, important detail.

Here goes.