Was it just yesterday I was pumping up my local Whole Foods store? I was so happy that they were carrying good, nutritious food with easy to read labels and ingredients...
It's a sad, sad day my friends. Whole Foods has apparently surrendered to Monsanto (i.e. genetically engineered crops). Please read the posted link. I think we'd all agree that we have the right to know what's in our food! I find it amazing that other developed countries REQUIRE GMO-tainted food to be labeled and the US does not. Honestly I find it quite sad.
I know Whole Foods will still carry other responsibly grown items, I just hope this inspires everyone to shop smart and READ THOSE LABELS!!!
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22449.cfm
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Snowpocalypse 2011
I'm happy to report I survived Snowpocalypse 2011!!! I think official totals were 20" in my area. Can you imagine 20" in Wichita??? The city would be shut down for a week! The big rig machine just finished clearing my parking lot, so I'm sure I'll make it to my 8 AM class tomorrow morning just fine! I was a bit worried earlier, but neighbors assured me they'd have everything cleared tonight. City streets and all! I've never seen anything like it in my life!
The snow started about 2 PM yesterday and didn't stop until about 10 AM this morning. It was definitely white out conditions. Every time I peaked out my patio door all I saw was solid snow coming down sideways!!! My favorite peak-out was when I saw a Siberian husky frolicking along with his poor owner. As soon as the dog discovered they were headed for the indoors, he plopped right down in the snow and did not budge! It was so funny! His owner was tugging and tugging on that leash as that snow and wind was whipping around them. Finally he gave in and they went inside, what a true snow dog! Too bad I didn't have the camera out for that one.
I snapped a few pictures to share. I wish I was a kid again, happy to have a day off from school to go sledding with my friends, not a day off to spend studying!!! Enjoy!
The snow started about 2 PM yesterday and didn't stop until about 10 AM this morning. It was definitely white out conditions. Every time I peaked out my patio door all I saw was solid snow coming down sideways!!! My favorite peak-out was when I saw a Siberian husky frolicking along with his poor owner. As soon as the dog discovered they were headed for the indoors, he plopped right down in the snow and did not budge! It was so funny! His owner was tugging and tugging on that leash as that snow and wind was whipping around them. Finally he gave in and they went inside, what a true snow dog! Too bad I didn't have the camera out for that one.
I snapped a few pictures to share. I wish I was a kid again, happy to have a day off from school to go sledding with my friends, not a day off to spend studying!!! Enjoy!
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| My patio, which is under a balcony! |
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| My car, to the right of the sign post. |
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| My patio and what's left of my 3 foot tall shrubs! |
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| Starting the dig-out!!! |
Saturday, January 29, 2011
All I wanted was an english muffin...
Whew, what a week! Just finished week #3 of school and with 27.5 hours, I'm sure I'm going to be crazy by week #15, so my apologies to everyone now!
I sure am missing home, Tim & our dogs. With my heavy course load there is no way I can make it back to Wichita until my 2 week break at the end of April. This makes me sad, but Tim is planning on spending a week with me sometime in March. To be honest, I have very little time to be down about it, so I know it will be March/April before I know it!
I know I've mentioned this before, but I have this wonderful Whole Foods store very close to my apartment. I LOVE LOVE LOVE grocery shopping there. The selection is wonderful and it's so EASY to read labels, mainly because most things have few, simple, recognizable ingredients! The only downside happens to be that I don't have a money tree growing in my backyard...and it's VERY VERY VERY easy to rack up a huge bill at Whole Foods!
So, this week I was on my way home from school on my short day and decided to stop at another local grocery store (comparable to Dillons for my Wichita folks!). I was inside for about 20 minutes and had a jar of natural peanut butter and organic honey in my cart. I made my way over to the bread, looking for english muffins. First of all, most of you should be thinking, "It took 20 minutes to get peanut butter and honey?" Yes, it took me that long to look at and read all of the labels, trying to find one thing that didn't have high fructose corn syrup, food coloring and/or some kind of preservative in the food. After about another 10 minutes reading labels on english muffins, I'd had it. Can someone please tell me WHY a PLAIN ENGLISH MUFFIN needs to have high fructose corn syrup and crazy, unpronounceable preservatives in it? I'm not going to eat it next year, I'm going to eat one every day this week for breakfast! I'm sure it won't go bad before then!!! Frustrated, I put the pseudo-english muffins down, put the peanut butter and honey back in their spots, and left the store. I cruised on over to my good ol' Whole Foods, where I found my good ol' english muffins. You know, the ones made out of whole wheat flour, water, yeast and a few other ingredients I totally recognize and better yet I can even spell and pronounce.
I've found that with some planning, only buying what I need for the next few days and with the help of the occasional marked down prices, I can continue to shop at my trusty Whole Foods and most importantly not have to worry about what I'm putting into my body!
And that makes me happy.
I sure am missing home, Tim & our dogs. With my heavy course load there is no way I can make it back to Wichita until my 2 week break at the end of April. This makes me sad, but Tim is planning on spending a week with me sometime in March. To be honest, I have very little time to be down about it, so I know it will be March/April before I know it!
I know I've mentioned this before, but I have this wonderful Whole Foods store very close to my apartment. I LOVE LOVE LOVE grocery shopping there. The selection is wonderful and it's so EASY to read labels, mainly because most things have few, simple, recognizable ingredients! The only downside happens to be that I don't have a money tree growing in my backyard...and it's VERY VERY VERY easy to rack up a huge bill at Whole Foods!
So, this week I was on my way home from school on my short day and decided to stop at another local grocery store (comparable to Dillons for my Wichita folks!). I was inside for about 20 minutes and had a jar of natural peanut butter and organic honey in my cart. I made my way over to the bread, looking for english muffins. First of all, most of you should be thinking, "It took 20 minutes to get peanut butter and honey?" Yes, it took me that long to look at and read all of the labels, trying to find one thing that didn't have high fructose corn syrup, food coloring and/or some kind of preservative in the food. After about another 10 minutes reading labels on english muffins, I'd had it. Can someone please tell me WHY a PLAIN ENGLISH MUFFIN needs to have high fructose corn syrup and crazy, unpronounceable preservatives in it? I'm not going to eat it next year, I'm going to eat one every day this week for breakfast! I'm sure it won't go bad before then!!! Frustrated, I put the pseudo-english muffins down, put the peanut butter and honey back in their spots, and left the store. I cruised on over to my good ol' Whole Foods, where I found my good ol' english muffins. You know, the ones made out of whole wheat flour, water, yeast and a few other ingredients I totally recognize and better yet I can even spell and pronounce.
I've found that with some planning, only buying what I need for the next few days and with the help of the occasional marked down prices, I can continue to shop at my trusty Whole Foods and most importantly not have to worry about what I'm putting into my body!
And that makes me happy.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
2011.
Back in Chicago. I left Wichita yesterday...which was a bit tough, it was really hard to leave Tim after spending three wonderful weeks together. We spent Christmas out in Palm Desert with my parents and Gretchen and had such a fun time. Lots of time at the pool, delicious dinners and fun nights with our Palm Desert friends.
After our warm winter holiday, we spent the next week and a half visiting friends and enjoying our time together. On New Year's Eve we went to Mike's Wine Dive with friends and had a great five course dinner with wine pairings.
I'm ready to get started with the next trimester. My next long break is at the end of April and I can't wait!!! Don't get me wrong, I'm still excited about school and my program...but I'm counting down the days until I get 2 consecutive weeks with my husband. We'll have a few short visits in between and I'm hoping to make it back to Wichita at least once before April. I know 2011 will fly by, just like 2010 did. Here's to 2011!
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| X-mas fireplace at the condo! |
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| Lazy days pool side. |
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| Christmas Eve dinner at La Spiga with family & friends. |
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| Dinner at Las Casuelas. |
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| Coolest parents around! |
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| Goran, Erika & baby #3! |
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| Love. |
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| Erica & Jason |
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| Rock Chalk!!! |
Friday, December 17, 2010
Home.
Today I am home. I finished my first trimester of med school and today marks 6 months since Tim and I tied the knot. The past four months have zoomed by and they've been extremely rewarding and extremely challenging. I knew being away from home was going to be really hard, but it was ten times harder than that!!!
Tim has been wonderful. He is my number one fan and I know that I couldn't be doing this if I didn't have his support 100%. He's been working very hard to take care of our home and our dogs. It hasn't been easy, but I love him very much and I appreciate everything he has done for us. I'm very proud of him and I'm honored to be his wife.
I know the next 3 weeks are going to fly by and soon I'll be returning to the windy city. But first a little trip out to California to warm the soul (literally) and lots of visits with friends to my favorite spots in Wichita. And I couldn't be happier...well maybe after my spa treatment this afternoon...then I couldn't be happier!
It's very true, the most challenging times turn out to be some of the most rewarding times. Cheers and happy holidays!
Tim has been wonderful. He is my number one fan and I know that I couldn't be doing this if I didn't have his support 100%. He's been working very hard to take care of our home and our dogs. It hasn't been easy, but I love him very much and I appreciate everything he has done for us. I'm very proud of him and I'm honored to be his wife.
I know the next 3 weeks are going to fly by and soon I'll be returning to the windy city. But first a little trip out to California to warm the soul (literally) and lots of visits with friends to my favorite spots in Wichita. And I couldn't be happier...well maybe after my spa treatment this afternoon...then I couldn't be happier!
It's very true, the most challenging times turn out to be some of the most rewarding times. Cheers and happy holidays!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thanksgiving Weekend 2010
Just got back to Chicago after a nice weekend back home in Wichita. I flew in Wednesday night and had dinner at my favorite bar in Ta town, the good ol' Anchor. Thursday was filled with lots of family time (Tim's side as mine is in California for the cold months!) and lots of yummy food! We had lunch with Jody's family and then dinner with Jack and Lisa (and Jill and Ginger of course). I was especially excited that my buddy Molly got to stop by for a glass of wine that night too! Friday I had lunch with a wonderful friend and former co-worker, Michelle, at the lovely Bella Luna (hooray for delicious falafel and hummus)! Saturday we spent the afternoon at Prairie Pines with Brian, Abby, Jody and the kiddos picking out a Christmas tree for Jody's house. That evening we had a wonderful dinner with the Velickovskis and topped the night off with KU basketball, brownies and Braum's peppermint ice cream at Jody's house. A lot of errands, walks with the dogs and good conversation in between with my hubby was also a nice little perk to a busy and fun long weekend.
It was definitely harder to come back to Chicago this time, I think because after being home for that long just made the homesick feelings come back a bit when it was time to return north. But the good news is I have two and a half weeks of school left and then I'll be back in Wichita for three weeks, minus a trip out to California for Christmas with my parents and Gretchen. The next few weeks of school are going to be tough with finals, but if I can stay focused and finish strong I'll get a nice little reward at the end...GOING HOME!!! Which is probably the next time you'll hear from me as far as blogging goes!
It was definitely harder to come back to Chicago this time, I think because after being home for that long just made the homesick feelings come back a bit when it was time to return north. But the good news is I have two and a half weeks of school left and then I'll be back in Wichita for three weeks, minus a trip out to California for Christmas with my parents and Gretchen. The next few weeks of school are going to be tough with finals, but if I can stay focused and finish strong I'll get a nice little reward at the end...GOING HOME!!! Which is probably the next time you'll hear from me as far as blogging goes!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Happy birthday to me!!!
Did I really only make one blog post in October???... Oops.
And am I really finishing my TENTH week of school???
Was today REALLY my 27th birthday???
Definitely not enough hours in the day. Instead of blogging about something wonderful I've been learning in school recently, I've decided to blog about the wonderful last week I just had! Last weekend was awesome. Tim and my parents flew up to spend the weekend with me. And it was much needed after a week with 3 tests. Oh and then another test on the following Monday. Talk about being brain dead. However the weekend with my family was just what I needed. We watched movies, cooked at my apartment and just spent some much needed time together.
I'm happy to report I didn't have to spend any time in the cadaver lab today, a nice little birthday break indeed. Not that I hate the cadaver lab, but trust me, 7 hours a week in there and it does start to wear down on you a bit. I got a ton of birthday wishes from back home (which was super nice!) and even one of the docs I used to work for at the clinic called and played the Beatles Birthday Song for me via voicemail (which is what he does for everyone who works at the clinic on their birthdays, just over the speaker system at the clinic instead of voicemail!). My awesome new buddies up here took care of me too. I got a super nice and funny birthday card and one of my girlfriends took me out for a post-class glass of wine. Even though I had to finish the day with a few hours of studying, I'd say it's been a great day to turn 27.
And to top off the birthday week, my sis is coming to visit me this weekend!
Happy birthday to me!
And am I really finishing my TENTH week of school???
Was today REALLY my 27th birthday???
Definitely not enough hours in the day. Instead of blogging about something wonderful I've been learning in school recently, I've decided to blog about the wonderful last week I just had! Last weekend was awesome. Tim and my parents flew up to spend the weekend with me. And it was much needed after a week with 3 tests. Oh and then another test on the following Monday. Talk about being brain dead. However the weekend with my family was just what I needed. We watched movies, cooked at my apartment and just spent some much needed time together.
I'm happy to report I didn't have to spend any time in the cadaver lab today, a nice little birthday break indeed. Not that I hate the cadaver lab, but trust me, 7 hours a week in there and it does start to wear down on you a bit. I got a ton of birthday wishes from back home (which was super nice!) and even one of the docs I used to work for at the clinic called and played the Beatles Birthday Song for me via voicemail (which is what he does for everyone who works at the clinic on their birthdays, just over the speaker system at the clinic instead of voicemail!). My awesome new buddies up here took care of me too. I got a super nice and funny birthday card and one of my girlfriends took me out for a post-class glass of wine. Even though I had to finish the day with a few hours of studying, I'd say it's been a great day to turn 27.
And to top off the birthday week, my sis is coming to visit me this weekend!
Happy birthday to me!
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