Therapeutic, Cleansing Spring

I've never been one to dwell on Spring. I like the freshness of it and have appreciated it, but I have never truly loved it before like I do NOW!

Maybe it's because I had the roughest winter of my life and have gone through so many changes. Maybe it's because we have our first house. I don't know. But what I do know is that this Spring is therapeutic and cleansing. Winter was rough, and last week with the beautiful weather we spent time raking out old leaves, picking up branches, bagging, bagging, and more bagging. And then once the yard was nice and clear and the flower beds cleaned out, we planted! Fresh life! And then... we sat out on the porch looking at our beautiful fresh street drinking delicious lemonade!

Hope this photos inspire you as much as they do me!


whatscookingamerica.net



potterybarn.com

Food, Politics, Health Care, and More

Wow, has it been a crazy beginning to the week! Starting last night with the House passing the Health Care Reform. It will be interesting to see where this goes and what comes from it.

Today was a very busy day for me and my fellow Dietetic Interns. We had our first class day getting to see each other since January, so that was fun. After our class day we headed down into DC to join an American Dietetic Association Public Policy Workshop (PPW) Kick-off Party. This was the first time I attended one and was excited to participate in this event.

I have been thinking a lot of about how much I enjoy fresh foods and buying locally. Perhaps this has come along with the arrival of spring?? :) I'd say so. Anyway, I love farmer's markets, I love buying from and supporting local businesses, and I love the fresh food!! During these seasons I buy and eat way more produce, and I enjoy it so much. I am so excited for our local place to open back up. I had a rough time this weekend getting my fruits and veggies in. I got busy, lazy, and didn't plan my meals, and as a result I ate poorly. That was the case again today, so I am going to the store tomorrow and making a plan to improve my diet for the rest of the week!

What's Been Keeping Me Busy

Our house! Oh how I love it! We bought our first house in September, did some major kitchen renovations because it was not even possible to live here before that, and then moved in mid-November. We love our home! It's so charming... well, it's getting there. It was built in the 1930's (ohhh love!) and it's got potential written all over it. Some of that potential we've tapped into, but we will be working on this thing for so long. Since our home was so neglected before we moved in we have been doing some crazy yard work this week! Not to mention all of the down tree branches and limbs from the snow storms! Ohhh boy we've been outside and LOVING the gorgeous weather! I planted flowers this morning. I just love working to make our home more beautiful and more like us.

I promised some pictures last time I wrote of some of the things we've been doing on the inside.

We have a very small bedroom and tiny closets, so we are on a mission to have enough storage for our clothes but enough room to have a nice, "spacious" bedroom. Husband's idea: take the headboard and footboard off the bed. I didn't believe him at first, but it has made such a difference! Love how much more room we have. We made our own headboard. Rather adventurous for us, but it turned out nicely! Plywood, foam, batting, fabric, and a staple gun and we were set!

Before (please excuse the mess and the fact that I didn't make my bed this day)















These 2 were no help whatsoever...
alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450814850100279186" />


After!




Then...

Food Safety First

I am a huge fan of food safety! Really, I think most of us are-- no one wants to get sick from their food, or find a hair, or another foreign body in their dish...

But some of us are more vocal fans of food safety, and I am one of those people. I have always liked "clean". As a child, yes a child, I struggled with some serious OCD issues pertaining to "germs". I washed my hands a lot. Glad to say that I was able to channel that phobia-ness into a productive, healthy (although maybe slightly over the top) interest in food safety.

I wanted to go over a few basics today. I did not own a food thermometer until last fall! And now I couldn't go without one! I LOVE it! It is so easy to use and now I know for sure that I am cooking my meat, poultry, whatever to the safe temperature.

Get a thermometer... and then USE IT!




I used it with our chicken the other night. You want to be sure you cook poultry to 165degrees! Watch for that reading!


Then you can enjoy a safe, delicious, and nutritious meal!! :)


Take care! Tomorrow I am probably going to share some home improvement projects.... yes, we've been busy!

Your Thoughts, Please

I'm planning to watch Food, Inc soon. I have yet to see it, and I know there are so rather controversial aspects of it. So... I'm interested to see.

What are your thoughts? Seen it? Like it? No? Please share. I'm excited to hear from you!

Head on over...

and visit the wonderful world of Little Stomaks!

I am such a big fan of this blog. What great parents diving into the science to find out what the best nutrition is for their twin toddlers, and other toddlers too!

I had the privilege of writing a guest post for Little Stomaks on the Building Blocks of Nutrition for Children with Food Allergies. Click HERE to check it out!

My Dogs Love Their Food

Every day, twice a day, I pick up their bowls and walk towards their food bins. They know exactly what I'm doing. It's the same thing every day. The same routine. The same sounds, same smells, same everything. Even the same food. But they show so much enthusiasm for their meals every time. Thanks for being patient as I try to make this random connection. It's been one of those weeks of sleep deprivation. But I was thinking, what if I treated each meal that way with that enthusiasm. If I did would I choose "just anything"? I don't think so. Just my random thought for the night.