October update.

I made a quick trip (less than 48 hours) back to Wichita a few weekends ago to help my friend of 27 years (wow...I'm feeling old!) celebrate her 30th (I only have one year left...yikes!) birthday.  I also got to meet Katharine and George's sweet, baby girl Martha.  It was a fun filled 45.34053459 hours!

Lillianah showing me her Cinderella dress.

 The next few are of Lillianah and me having fun before her bedtime.

Loved having lunch with Desi, Katharine and baby Martha.

And finally, the main purpose of the trip...celebrating Erika's birthday.  Somehow I managed to NOT get a picture taken with the birthday girl, so I picked a few of my favorites of us over the years...

The good ol' days!

If you haven't already, check out my new website www.kristenmarvin.com, as I'm transitioning from a personal blog to a professional blog.

Weekends.

We've had some fun weekends recently!  Jody came to visit last weekend and we had a blast.  It was her birthday weekend, so we were definitely in celebratory mode.  It was a weekend full of the usual (yummy food, a fun afternoon in the city, shopping, etc.) and one special outing...just a little Bruce Springsteen concert at Wrigley Field!  We were so happy that she came to visit us and we had such a great time!

This weekend one of my oldest friends (Tina) just happened to be in town from Wichita for a little weekend get-away with her boyfriend, and we met up Saturday for a quick brunch.  We've been friends since kindergarten and it's always fun to catch up whenever we can!

Update.

Somehow, my two-and-a-half week break is down to 5 days before I head back for the fall trimester...Where has the time gone!?!?!  I suppose the first week I was a jet-setter, spending the first long weekend in Seattle for a school meeting and a conference, and the second long weekend in KC/Wichita visiting friends and family...thankful that Tim held down the fort taking care of the doggies.

Seattle was a great experience.  I went as a proxy for the president of a group I'm involved with at school and had a great time getting to know other naturopathic medical students.  Despite a day-long meeting, we were rewarded with a great, 2-day conference filled with wonderful speakers.  The annual AANP (American Association of Naturopathic Physicians) conference was wrapping up while we were there and we scored some free tickets to the closing gala - think fancy wedding reception minus the bride and groom, complete with dinner, wine and dancing to a live band.  I wish I had some fun pictures to share, but I've discovered I'm terrible at capturing fun moments with a camera.  I guess I'm too busy trying to enjoy the moment! =)

I came back to Chi-town for two whole days and then Thursday I was off again to Kansas City.  I got to have a fun dinner with my awesome sis-in-law (Abby), one of my favorite girlfriends (Molly), and my sis and her boyfriend (Tay).  Friday afternoon Gretchen and Tay joined me for a weekend in Wichita with my parents.  We had fun catching up with family and friends.  I got to see both of my wonderful mother-in-laws, and I got to meet Erica and Kyle's new baby boy, Hudson.  My favorite couple (Erika & Goran) were my sidekicks for the weekend and they joined in on both evening activities (out in Old Town and dancing at Margaritas).  Actually, my favorite part of the weekend was probably dancing it up with my dad at Margaritas.  For those of you who don't know, my dad is quite the dancer.  We had a blast!

Of course there's never enough time when you're back in your old stomping grounds, visiting those that you love.  But I suppose it will hold me over until the next visit...whenever that may be!

Also, in case you were wondering I haven't given up on my Wellness Wednesday blogging.  I've decided to start a new website, that will eventually transform from a student website to a professional website as I complete school.  This new site will contain blog posts similar to what I've been blogging about on Wellness Wednesdays, I just wanted to separate my personal blogging from my future-career-blogging.  I will share with you the new site once it's up and running!

Here are a few pics that somehow managed to get taken...

With Abby at La Bodega in KC

With Erika at Harry's

With Jamie, Erika & Gretch at Margaritas

With Erika & Jamie at Pumphouse

Friday Favorites.

I hope this post makes sense...I'm in the middle of finals and my brain is about fried!  I really wanted to get a post in because I'll be traveling the next two weekends.  Here are this week's faves...

1.  Current favorite Pinterest recipe.  Superfood Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette courtesy of a blog called Iowa Girl Eats.  Quinoa + black beans + corn + orange + cilantro + red onion + avocado + shrimp + an amazing lemon vinaigrette with garlic = pretty much all of my favorite things.  The recipe also calls for pomegranate, but I'm too lazy busy to prepare one and I'm too cheap to buy the already prepared version...however, this dish is not one to be missed!  You can find the recipe here!

2.  Favorite new ice cream that doesn't make my stomach hurt after I eat it.  It's called So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk Vanilla Bean.  It really is so delicious, and so creamy, and so does-not-taste-like-healthy-ice-cream.  Sugar + dairy = one unhappy tummy.  This is definitely a must try for anyone with a sweet tooth!  Oh, and they have multiple flavors like mint chip, cookies n' cream and german chocolate...

3.  Close friends who become first-time mommies.  One of my dearest friends became a mommy this week to a handsome little boy named Hudson.  I'm so happy for Erica and her hubby, Kyle. 

Friday Favorites.

My blogging has been a bit inconsistent this summer.  I really didn't want that to happen...but it did.  I have a handful of excuses...but I'm sure you don't want me to bore you with those.  This week I'm combining "Friday Favorites" and "Wellness Wednesday" into one post.  I call this efficient...but in the back of my mind I know it's slightly lazy.

In any case, I present to you "My Favorite Supplements"!

1.  Probiotics.  This is probably the one supplement I would never want to live without.  It keeps my tummy happy and my mind clear.  I also know it's working on keeping my immune system strong (because approximately 70% of your immune system is located in your digestive tract!), plus keeping the good vs. bad bacteria in my gut in check.  I know I've blogged about probiotics before and I've mentioned them a handful of times, but I really love them and I think they're great for everyone!

This is the brand I use.  I like it because it has a variety of different strains of good bacteria.  The serving size on the label calls for 3 capsules, but I only take one and still get about 28 billion units per serving.  I take it in the morning about 20 minutes before I eat breakfast.

2.  Vitamin D.  If you haven't heard about the many health benefits of vitamin D, you've probably been living under a rock for the past few years.  This little gem is frequently in the news and is frequently being studied.  Benefits of vitamin D include:

• Helps maintain calcium balance, which is important for many reasons including bone health and normal functioning of the nervous system.
• Boosts your immune system.
• Cancer - some preliminary human studies are showing vitamin D to be protective against certain types of cancer.

It is possible to take too much vitamin D, which can potentially be dangerous.  It's a good idea to get your levels checked with your primary care provider before taking larger doses if needed, however it is widely accepted that a dose of 2000 IUs is safe for most adults.  Most primary care docs are regularly checking vitamin D levels and typically insurance companies pay for it.  It's a simple blood test and one that may show a deficiency...most Americans are deficient in vitamin D. I take 4000 IUs daily, as I had my levels checked and I was low in vitamin D.

Many studies are showing the D3 form is used more efficiently in the body than the D2 form, so make sure you check the label.

3.  Fish oil.  It's actually the omega-3 fatty acids in the fish oil that make this supplement so beneficial.  Along with being cardioprotective, aka reducing the risk of heart disease, studies have shown many other benefits of omega-3 fatty acids...

• Improves immunity
• Anti-inflammatory properties
• Relieves depression and anxiety
• Improves various skin conditions such as psoriasis, dry skin and eczema

One thing I always look for when I purchase fish oil is the quality of the fish the supplement was made from.  I choose to purchase fish oil that comes from one type of WILD fish.  Farmed fish are typically exposed to many toxins and I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm already exposed to plenty of those...I really like New Chapter's WHOLEmega, which uses wild Alaskan salmon. 

There you have it!  Have a great weekend...GO TEAM USA!!!

Friday Favorites.

Another Friday! 

This week...

Kombucha.  I like GT's Kombucha, which is a fermented drink with vitamins and live probiotic (good bacteria) cultures.  I just tried the Guava Goddess today and it was delicious...and good for the gut (you can read a previous Wellness Wednesday post about probiotics here)!

Available at most health food stores like Whole Foods and I know Green Acres carries it for my Wichita peeps!

Opportunity.  I found out this week that I get an all-expenses-paid trip to Seattle next month to attend a naturopathic medical conference!  One day of speakers and one day of what they call "Success Boot Camp", where I'll get tips with residency applications/interviews and practice building.  I'm really excited about this wonderful opportunity...and even more excited that someone else is paying for it!

Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites.

Remember when I blogged about how happy I was the weather was warming up?  Well, I think it's warm enough now...the car said it was 104F driving home this afternoon!

This week's favorites...

1.  My slimmed-down sis.  You probably read about her on this week's Wellness Wednesday blog.  She's just such an inspiration and just down-right amazing!  Way to go, keep it up sis!

2.  Healthy meals.  This is always a weekly favorite for us.  We buy organic, grass-fed steak and season them up for the grill.  We also make a garlicky bell pepper topping for the steak that we learned about from our wonderful friend, Goran.  We grill the bell peppers with the steak and add freshly chopped garlic with some olive oil and it is delish!  We always do either a side salad or sauteed veggies...it's definitely my favorite meal of the week!

3.  Humor.  Aw, I love love love a good belly laugh.  Well, this had me literally crying.  I'm taking a botanical medicine class this summer and we've been doing group presentations the past few weeks.  A group this week did a presentation about fennel.  Fennel has carminative actions, meaning it expels gas from the stomach and intestines so as to relieve flatulence or abdominal pain and distention.  Well, someone did a bit of research about how fennel got it's name...this girl read this quote straight of the powerpoint slide without even cracking a smile.  I really think she just thought it looked important so she put it on her slide.  Maybe she has really good self control, or maybe she wasn't quite sure what the word "arsehole" means...

Keep in mind during these group presentations, not many people in class pay attention (they are usually on their computers or studying for another class) so I think I was the only one who laughed out loud and then realized the professor didn't find it amusing - or maybe she was in complete shock because anyone taking a class seriously probably wouldn't include such a quote in a presentation...but I think I sat in my seat shaking so hard because I was just dying to laugh out loud, with tears rolling down my face, trying not to draw any attention to myself.  Later that night, Tim and I laughed for a good hour after I showed him the slide.  I keep meaning to find the gal who said this and ask her where she found such a hilarious quote...and to see if she even knew what she had said!