After almost 3 weeks of truly healthy living, I caved about a day and a half before the end, while we were in Atlanta this past weekend for a CDC veterinary student conference, for my FAVORITE RESTAURANT EVER! And here's the dish that made the decision for me:
Shrimp Poori @ Panahar's in Atlanta
Ahhh, that place/food is to die for! Maybe we should've been studying for pharmacology, but hopefully Jenna and Peach agree that this was the better choice. Also, I got to see my OTHER Jenna, which was FABULOUS, as usual! The only downside: I woke up the next morning at some ungodly hour, with the most ridiculous earache I've ever had in my life (especially considering I've never really had an earache), and I didn't want to wake anybody up to get meds, so I just suffered through it, fearing for the life of my eardrum and losing very valuable sleep. Needless to say, our 6:30 alarm didn't find me in a good condition, and what would have been a really great day was a little painful. Relevance to the dinner? I have a suspicion that the earache may have had something to do with some sort of allergic reaction to one of the ingredients that I've been staying away from for the past few weeks. Hm. I should probably look into that, although, if I had to eliminate dairy or wine from my diet forever, I'd be a very sad panda.
In the realm of health, however, I have taken away some good lessons from my detox, which was an extremely positive experience:
I really get a lot of joy out of cooking, especially foods that are legitimately good for me, which I tend to prefer the taste of anyway. And I really may look into staying as gluten/dairy free as I can while remaining a happy panda.
Exercise is a wonderful thing, especially when you do it regularly. It's when you take several days off (such as this week, eek!) that it gets hard to head back to the gym, which you just have to work through, because, no matter how busy you are, life is better when you spend some time moving your body.
A reduction in alcohol intake is never a bad thing. I must remember to take breaks from it every now and then...
I CAN live without caffeine! I still haven't incorporated that one back (except for a few cups of green tea to get me through the CDC conference), and I feel great!
I legitimately cannot WAIT to grow my own veggies! I even have mustard and collard greens and arugula starting to grow now, and we'll be working out getting raised beds ready for the spring just as soon as possible, plus I've already started collecting a compost pile. YAY!
My baby mustard (bottom left) and sprouting arugula (all the rest)!
Basically, living as healthy a lifestyle as possible makes life more enjoyable. Not that I'm tee-totallin' for the rest of the year, believe you me, but I'm going to try to maintain as much of what I've incorporated as possible.
As far as the CDC veterinary student event goes, it definitely has me thinking about possibilities for the future. Such as, well, public health work. Going for a Masters in Public Health, maybe? What the hell, all of my friends are doing it...
Studying anatomy on the way to Atlanta
We were in the "infected" group of our case study for the day,
involving a virus prevalent in South Africa! (imagine that...)
As far as the rest of life goes, exams are getting good and started, and it's time to start doing things like raising money for our international trips, applying for scholarships, etc., etc... Ya know, the fun part. (*long face*) But on the other hand, we've got a lot of fun stuff coming up! For example, I've convinced a few of my good friends, mostly from out of state, to head to New Orleans the weekend before Mardi Gras to get some experience in the realm of Southern decadence. (Bitches with Beads, round... 3?) AND there's Spring Break, which will see a few of us heading to Austin for SXSW, and I will finally get to visit Leggy! Yay! I'm so excited that I have friends in vet school that are willing to take some time off to just HAVE FUN! Because, as so many people are so quick to remind us, this is IT. It only gets harder from here. So soak it up! And soaking it up is kind of my forte...
Like right now. I'm soaking up the delicious dinner I just made:
The Lee Brothers broiled salmon, over arugula, and purple potatoes Anna
while sitting on my couch with this adorable kitten perched on my shoulder, purring sweetly:
This little guy needs a HOME!
Any takers?!
and my sweet Ferny at my feet:
with my newly-arrived slippers that my dad got me for Christmas (and my mom sent to me):
Sooooo comfy!
simply loving life.
Now, to the gym for a little serotonin release via swimming, followed by some anatomy learnin'.
(A few more pictures for the road.)
Poached egg (like, in a big pot of boiling water! first time ever!)
over spinach/mushrooms/onions over seduction bread (breakfast for dinner)
Pathology learnin' -- that's just some platelets and fibrin forming a clot, no big deal
Quinoa cakes!
A delicious berry/banana/spinach smoothie in my new favorite glass EVER!
My roommies. So sweet... (although Fanny is PISSED about this kitten being in her territory)
Homemade granola
(the rest of my Holga shots, or the ones that somewhat turned out...)
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