Fat (Burning) Tuesday

I have decided to devote Tuesdays as the 30 Day Jump Start Update. It has been a little over a week since starting and I have been pretty loyal to it, but it can be so hard, especially when you are doing it alone.

First day was great, I made and ate everything that I was suppose to and worked out for an hour at the gym. Burned 665 calories! I always do this, I over exert myself the first time I get started on a new workout plan. I don't mean over exert myself like I almost passed out and could not move for 4 days, but I was suppose to only walk for 20 minutes but instead was on the elliptical jamming to Ke$ha for an hour straight.

I kept up the workout for the next few days, but a horrible day on Thursday put that to a halt. I then kept finding excuses not to keep working out: "I have too much reading" "I am exhausted" "I just want to relax before dinner". Needless to say, I did not pick up working out again until today, but I walked around the apartment for nearly a hour while catching up with some of my friends back in Raleigh which made it so much easier to do.

I wish I had more to report, I actually have no idea where my scale is. It is somewhere in the 2394873247 boxes that are in my dining room. Therefore I actually am not sure of my starting weight or if I lost any weight (helpful I know). I will try my best to locate it and have more helpful information next week.

I thought I would post my favorite meals of the week, so perhaps you can enjoy them too:

Pork Tenderloin and Wild Rice:

Pork Tenderloin

Wild rice cooking

Yum Yum

To Prepare: I just cut the pork tenderloin into pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and it should be ready.
Wild Rice: Prepared according to box directions (classy I know) topped with sea salt!

Pesto Pizzettes:
This was my favorite dish by far of the week. However there was a struggle with the polenta. I am not sure if you have ever tried to make polenta, but its harder than it seems, even if it is "instant". First of all the book said that I could buy it in a roll and just slice and it would be ready to use. Not true. I was unable to find such a magical polenta roll. I did find instant polenta, which only takes three minutes but also make a RIDICULOUS amount of polenta. I started to pour the powder into the boiling water and as soon as it hit the water the polenta mixture starting boiling out of the pot and popping onto my skin burning me in the process.

Finished Polenta, see how much?!

Pesto Pizzettes!

To Prepare:  Once you have tackled the polenta disaster, cut into squares or circles (or your favorite shape). Top with marinara sauce, a teaspoon of pesto (I used the sundried tomato kind), mozzarella cheese and strips of roasted red bell pepper. Bake in the oven on broil until the cheese is melted and enjoy!


I hope you enjoy the recipies and tell me what you think!
Off to bed so I can be up early for my 4 hours class ::groan::

hate early. must kill early.

Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls is by far the best television show ever made. My current situation in Columbia leaves me stranded without a  TV in my room, which is a problem since I constantly need the presence of others' conversations. To remedy this situation, I have been watching my seasons of Gilmore Girls on my computer as I go to bed each night which causes several problems:

1. It makes it difficult to ACTUALLY fall asleep
2. It makes me wonder how many times I have seen each episode
3. I quickly stop counting because the number is too high
4. Wondering if naming my cat Rory is considered obsessive
5. Realizing that if I did not name my cat Rory it would have been my first daughter

But with every set of cons there are also a set of pros:

1. No matter how many times I see these episodes I still love them, making them perfect for a lifetime of entertainment
2. It provides me with witty banter that I can bring into everyday conversation
3. No matter what mood I am in it always makes me smile :)
4. Every time I watch it with Jared, he sings the theme song with me
5. Where you lead, I will follow, anywhere that you tell me to, if you need, you need me to be with you I will follow where you lead

Now that you have learned a little about my fondness (or obsession) with Gilmore Girls, I hope you take the time to watch an episode. I promise you will not be sorry and it will lighten your mood.

oy with the poodles already!

Information Overload

One difference I have noticed between my two Master's degrees is the amount of reading. This degree requires a LOT of reading, and I mean a lot. Now don't get me wrong, my other degrees also had their fair share of reading, but it is the science combined with the counseling that adds so much more to the equation.

 

This is the current state of my coffee table and my couch. I am in desperate need of a huge organization binge, which I am planning on doing this weekend now that I have been to every class at least once.

Overall the classes have been really interesting. My Medical Genetics class is four hours long (not ok) but he splits it into two parts making it easier to handle. I think that Embryology might be my favorite so far. I always forget how wonderful and amazing the development of a baby really is, not to mention all of the order of events that need to occur at just the right time and just the right place. I guess that is why it is called the miracle of life :)

Back to reality, I need to located my hole punch in order to be prepared for class tomorrow.

peace. love. & ginger ducks

First Week of Class for the Lucky Seven

School is in full swing and I am dragging behind it. I wish that it was still summer, I feel like I need a couple more months in order to be really prepared. Never-the-less school started this Thursday and so did I. They eased us in this week, but starting tomorrow we are in full swing! I have decided that I will refer to the cohort (my genetic counseling class) as the Lucky 7 in the Class of 2013. We all have such amazing stories and are lucky to have been put together :)

Normally on Thursdays we have Case Conference in the morning but since the second years have not started their rotations (they start tomorrow) we tabled class until this week.  Because of that, we only had one class this past Thursday which was Facilitating the Genetic Counseling Process.  Our teacher for this class is Crystal, who is a clinical psychologist and she will be helping us with our counseling skills. Her class will consist mostly of role playing (which I am super nervous about) and building our counseling skills. We started off with a get to know you session and ice breakers to get comfortable. Crystal is extremely enthusiastic and loves to joke around. I think that this class is going to be challenging/amazing/scary/rewarding all at the same time.

After class, the Lucky 7 plus Darcy's husband went to lunch at Mellow Mushroom. It was many people's first time going and it was perfection as always. Best part of the afternoon is that it was our waiter's second day and he bent over backwards to make us happy including looking up beer information on his phone!

Friday we went to the School of Medicine Library and learned about searching databases and Lib guides. Jealous? I knew it. Afterwards I went to the SC DMV to get my new SC Driver's License! I was sad to give up my NC license, my picture was awesome, but my new one is pretty good too.  The office was really nice and I was only in there for an hour. Highlight: I met a really nice older military man who also owns a college in Pennsylvania....why are people so much cooler than I am?

Last night after a day of reading for class and laundry, the Lucky 7 minus 1 went over to Kim's house to meet John's girlfriend. Darcy's husband provided us with a recipe for a delicious drink, here it is if you would like to try:

2 parts Simple Syrup

1 part Tequila

1 part Rum

1 Part  Triple Sec

2 oz Cranberry Juice

We played silly drinking games while listening to the  Ke$ha Pandora station and having an all around good time. We also played a board game called Bladerdash which is hilarious! It combines everybody's terrible vocabulary skills with their creative ability to make mess up :)

Buy it here

Tomorrow I am starting the 30 Day Jump Start by the Biggest Loser, so I went grocery shopping for it today, and my wallet hurts. I always forget how expensive it is to eat right, plus it does not help that I have only lived here for a little over a week and I have not had the chance to stock up my pantry.

Jared and I did the "6 Weeks to a Healthier You" book also by the Biggest Loser starting in March and I lost 30 pounds. I am hoping that this book will get me back on track, I fell off the wagon towards the middle of the summer and have had a hard time getting back into the swing of things. I am hoping this plan will be just as successful especially since it has a built in workout schedule with it.

 

I will probably begin to devote a day of the week to updating you on how the plan is going so you can choose to read it if you want :)

And so it begins, my first full week as a genetic counseling student!

peace. love. & ginger ducks