Gone in a Second

Jeff and I were going to get a christmas tree this afternoon. I was studying on campus when Jeff and Nate called me on their way to pick me up. I had this ircky feeling when I saw Jeff calling shortly after we had just spoke. He was in a car accident and is alright (his arm is really sore) but his truck was destroyed. Jeff was driving down the main road and a guy sitting at a stop sign on the left decided to speed out into the intersection to beat traffic- well that traffic was Jeff's truck. He slammed into the driver side of Jeff's truck, causing his truck to hit two other vehicles and roll up onto the curb. Nate was in the passenger side, which was the side that impacted the other two vehicles. Nate is alright but has a concussion and is still at the hospital. I met Jeff and his parents there ( thanks for being there Preston and Momma Mo, i love you). Andrea met us there also and is still at the hospital with Nate.

I swear the 30 minutes that I waited to hear back from Jeff after I found out was the longest 30 minutes of my life so far. I called my parents ( hi, i love you) and then Jeff's parents and then Jeff's younger sister and then my parents again and just could't seem to think about theoretical frameworks or qualitative research.

It is just awful how someone you love or something you love can just be gone, in a second, all at the hands of another person's bad decision. I am so thankful everyone involved is alive, only minor injuries that we know of. It could have been so much worse. Jeff said if I had seen his truck I would have thought there was some serious injuries, thankfully it was his truck that took the permanent damage and not him or nate.  I am so thankful for my whole family and jeff's whole family and everyone who cares so much. Jeff just finished paying off his truck too. So, now we have to figure out how this all works, figuring out what his next vehicle will be. 

I am going to try to get some studying in this evening since I didn't get much accomplished today. Jeff said he isn't hungry so I am not going to make my planned " Dinner with Hangry Pants Heater"  will have to wait.

I will be back on tomorrow- If anyone has ever been in an accident and it was the fault of another person and you had to get a new car- feel free to offer suggestions on what we are supposed to do- kind of a first for us.

Tell whoever you love just how much you love them because they could be gone in a second.

Smiley Face

Good Morning !

 

 

Totally Plain, Totally Happy. There has to be something said for enjoying oats for how they truly are. No seasonings, spices, mix-ins, whatevers.  Just plain old oats in their true form. I wanted to appreciate oats for who they really are.

Irish Style Oats: 1/3 cup , A little Uncle Sam's with Flaxseed, Mix with Water, Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes-  Quick, Simple, Delicious!

Banana Mouth with Peanut Butter Teeth

Peanut Butter Nose

Chobani Plain Eyes

Off to Study. HAPPY WEEKEND to All!! Have fun christmas shopping or final-studying like me or basketball watching like Jeff or whatever you may be up to!

Christmas Party 08

Appetizer Hour:
My Glass #1 of Sonoma Merlot, Jeff's Glass of Bass

Oh My gosh... quite possible this was the best cheese I have ever had

Brie with Cranberries ( they were fresh softened deliciously cherry like), and Goat Cheese with Pesto

Here is mine: It was soooooooo satisfyingly delicious

I should have taken a picture of everyone at our table! I warned them when we sat down that I take pictures because I write a blog about food and nutrition. I was completely surprised that everyone was genuinely interested in knowing why and what it was like and they all want to get the link to the site- so whenever they stop by- Hi Michelle, Justin, Melissa,Woody, Christ, and Gretchen!

Glass #2 and Bread

I am not a huge bread person but I like to try things. I ripped off a hunk but it was too chewy

Salad: This was a very interesting way to do a Caesar Salad. A rib of romaine, anchovy slices on top, thin strips of parm cheese, that little wafer tasted like cardboard.

Entree:

Chicken on top of creamy mushroom risotto, zuchinni, steak. Last year they had a similar dish only with chicken and salmon. I mentioned everyone at our table being interested in my blog, well we had quite the discussion about this entree! My steak was medium-well. There was no pink at all. However, Melissa's was bright vibrant red, Justin's was a rose/blush, Jeff's was a mix of Melissa's and Justin's- It was incredibly odd how the same dish came to 8 people at the table but the steaks were cooked all different. Mine was so well-cooked that I could not even chew it. My chicken was very tasty, however, Michelle's chicken was very dry-

Congratulations Michelle ( she is having a baby girl!).


Dessert:

I ate the whip cream, the nuts, and that chocolate stick coming out towards you! I had a few bites ( again I like to try things) but I am not a huge fan of pudding AND I was full!

Overall Recap and Review:
I think the cheese was phenomenal and made my night! Everything was "tasty" otherwise so I hate to bring up the negative because it was "over-the-top"! It is definitely a fancy place and I love being able to attend. On top of that, to hang out with Jeff's co-workers because they are all about our age and really funny was fantastic! Last year, Jeff and a few others formed a secret band that played a great set of cover songs. They were outstanding, however, this year shortly after they began practice the drummer caught pneumonia. He had to be hospitalized and has some permanent damage but is overall fine now. Unfortunately, they couldn't do it without him. So we missed out on that but I got to spend more time with Jeff since he wasn't playing.

Jeff and I at the Tree

Initiation of the New Employees: Teams had to dress up one person like Frosty The snowman. We cheered for this guy because they were right next to our table- and one of the new employees sat with us. (They won, so they had to sing Frosty The Snowman)

I had so much fun chatting with Emily, Christy, Jennifer, Amy, Stacy, Michelle, and Melissa! Hi, Ladies if you stop in!!

Earlier Friday...
Lunch:
I know it is not as "spectacular" as the food above- Leftover pasta and chicken from the other night.

Mid-Afternoon Red-White-Green Snack( actually at about 4 because I did NOT want to go to the xmas party starving)
Red and Green Peppers, Mushrooms and a little blue cheese dressing (full fat deliciousness)
Chobani Strawberry with Pistachios

Body:
Cardio: A fantastic run. A wonderful run.

I "sprinted" 4 miles. I stretched for a few seconds at each mile but jogged in between all the sprinting so no walking for this lady!

My general treadmill pace: 6.5 mph (recovery/slow jog) 7.5-7.7 mph (usual, comfortable pace) 9.3-9.8 mph (sprint)

9.8 felt super sonic- I felt like I was going to fall off the treadmill, which made it even more exciting hahaha. I didn't keep track of much else aside from running for at least 2 minutes of each mile above 9 mph... So it was mostly at a 7.5 speed, I would sprint when a good song came on during each mile at 9.3 bump it up to 9.8 then recover at a 6.5 for no more than 2 minutes... back up to a 7 + then back up to a spring etc.

My goal was to run the entire time, sprint during each mile and I met my goal.

Mind:
I turned in my paper, I only studied a little. I felt a little burnt out from the three papers due total this week. I have this weekend to study so I wanted to pace myself.

Soul:

Fantastic evening. After the holiday party we went downtown to a bar - one of our friends' birthdays- so we danced with them and had a phenomenal evening!

Efficient-See!

"efficiency"... "efficient-See".. get it?

Breakfast:

I think there are plenty of ways to eat a completely delicious, healthy meal without laboring over it. I hate spending a long time cooking breakfast, it just seems so unnecessary. While I realize that adding in lots of things to a meal can be fun and totally delicious, sometimes I think its just plain silly to make everything so complicated! ( yes, i am fully aware that I do this sometimes as well and I am calling myself silly just as much as anyone else).

I am especially impatient because I have a whole day ahead of me to get started, get going, write, read, run, play, work etc. I understand why so many people would skip breakfast because of their busy schedules. Plus, I hate having to clean more dishes ( "i ain't got no dishwasher" ).  I make almost everything in my microwave or in my toaster oven- to save energy, to save time, to save dishes- I like to be efficient.

However, as a future dietician/ gastronome- I always conjures up these delicious ideas of healthy eats:   i.e  Pumpkin Pie for One Breakfast, B_Healthy Stuffed French Toast - Even with these, I am always eating breakfast within 10-15 minutes of starting to make it.

Today, the efficient B_Healthy totally won.

 

British Whole Wheat Muffin

1/2 with Chobani Nonfat Greek Yogurt

The other 1/2 with Naturally More Flaxseed Butter and Smucker's All Natural Peanut Butter

Organic Banana

I may not be gourmet but it was functional: whole grains, protein, nonfat dairy, fruit, healthy fats

 

Off to start my lovely day and here is my plan:

Body: Run either today or tomorrow. Yoga Today!

Mind: Study Study Study Study Study Time! Good luck to all my bloggie grad student readers that have exams also!!!!

Soul: Gourmet dinner at The Umstead Hotel and Spa with Jeff this evening. We have to get all fancied-up! Dancing included as well!

Update to Thursday

It has been such a cozy, cuddly movie watching week I guess-  Jeff and I have watched:

August Rush- interesting concept but a little hard to believe... B

How the Grinch Stole Christmas...jim carrey is fantastic and what great artists that put Whoville together... A+

A Christmas Story... its a classic... A-

Rudolph The Rednosed Reindeer... oh my, the 1964 version will never get old in my opinion A++

Stepbrothers - hilarious at times, a little odd at the end.. . A

Tropic Thunder- We were lost at the opening credits but then finally got into it -Such a great cast!... A

I swear, we never watch this many movies. Especially me, I cannot sit still for two hours. I even started writing during a few of them and I had to take breaks too. I am just such a multi-tasker that to not do anything else is so weird!

Anyhow- last night we finished Tropic Thunder and I wanted chocolate alllll week so I finally bought this guy yesterday when I returned Stepbrothers.

Yummm

Paper # 3 Done!

"Eat me Eat me Eat me" said my breakfast to me:

British Whole Wheat English Muffin ( from Trader Joe's)- meh its okay

Slice of Healthy Canadian Ham

1/2 cup Cage Free Egg Whites (Trader Joe's)

w. hot sauce and

Black Coffee in my snowman mug from college

Banana with Smucker's All Natural. I have been eating Smucker's All Natural since freshman year of college (8 years!) and I have never gotten tired of it. So yummy, the only ingredients are peanuts and salt.

The banana was really small...

2 Lunches ?

I normally do not have a mid-morning snack- most of the time I am writing or reading or exercising before lunch and just never hungry. I think it has alot to do with habit because when you are used to not snacking mid morning, you usually aren't hungry. But today, I was heading to campus mid morning (10:30) in hopes of getting as much of my project due tomorrow done as I could. So I had this Chobani Blueberry to hold me over..

SO GOOD! I swear, this is by far my favorite yogurt. I strive to consume organic dairy products ( Check out the Tag "CLA" for info why) but this yogurt is just soooo delicious. I have tried stoneyfield organic, fage, and Trader Joe's brand and Chobani just beats all of them in texture and taste ( in my opinion!). I for sure like all of the others but Chobani ROCKS!

I was so involved in my project, I realized I needed more fuel by 2 pm- grabbed an Odwalla Protein- another yummy mini-meal

( sorry for the repeat photo - didn't have my camera today on campus)
Good news- I finished my project at 4 pm!!! Woohoooooooo!!! It is due tomorrow by 5 but I am not even going to look at it anymore since I need to spend all day studying for either/both of my finals next week AND... getting ready for Jeff's work's Holiday Party. It's at the Umstead Hotel and Spa... Gorgeous new, total upscale, ritzy place.



Quick Dinner:

Big Delicious, In Need Of Veggies Salad

( greens, red pepper, green pepper, mushrooms, snap peas, EDAMAME, hummus from the other day)
Smoked Salmon from TJ- this brand was SUPER SALTY... i mean "country ham" salty... ick
Garlic Twists ( I used TJ pizza dough with garlic herb seasoning and cheese)

Body:
Gym trip Late Afternoon: Elliptical 30 minutes, Bike 4 miles

Mind:
Paper #3 FINISHED!! It was actually a series of small papers combined for this project on College Women Food Choices. I will make a separate post to explain it!

Studying tomorrow for Research Methods Final and/or Nutrient Metabolism Final ( Lipids)

Soul:
I got a big ol chocolate bar (hershey's dark pic tomorrow) and Jeff and I are watching "Tropic Thunder"...

I am getting in trouble for writing and not watching so its boyfriend-time

Randomness on Commercial Honey Mustard

I receive a daily email from cooking light with a recipe of the day for dinner. One was oatmeal crusted chicken, which seemed interesting to me ( although I prefer chicken without breading or skin).
I am struck by one little detail they mention in the description of the recipe:

"Oatmeal in the breading adds crunch to these chicken tenders, which are sure to be a hit with adults and children alike. Serve with commercial honey mustard or light ranch dressing for dipping."

Why the heck would you go to the trouble of making an already healthy lean meat, "healthier" by crusting it with oatmeal and then suggest "commercial" honey mustard? Are they not aware that it takes two seconds to mix honey into mustard and make your own without all the extra sugar/chemicals/HFCS often found in commerical honey mustard?

I'm not feeling that suggestion, especially when light ranch dressing really isn't any healthier either-Light Ranch usually has more sugar to make up for the lack of fat and added in unhealthy saturated fat.

I think I would have appreciated an easy dip you can make yourself much more than their suggestion, something with yogurt or maybe a hummus-style bean dip.

Here is an article on honey mustard I found interesting:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/weight-loss/eating-help/calories/honey-mustard-diet-friendly/

Question: "I love getting honey mustard on my sandwich. But even though it has 'mustard' in the name, is it closer to mayo? I don't want to wreck my diet."

Answer: "There's a huge range of options, from fat-free to high fat," says Cynthia Sass, RD, of honey mustard. "But in either case, it's far from plain or spicy mustard nutritionally."

Full-fat honey mustard is even more detrimental to your diet than fat-free, and not just because of the fat content. "The full-fat honey mustards have about 120 calories, 11 grams of fat (in two tablespoons) and contain high fructose corn syrup, which is usually higher in the ingredient list than honey," says Sass.

Sass further cautions that by substituting honey mustard for regular mustard, you might be missing out on added health benefits: "Actual mustard contains cancer-fighting phytochemicals similar to those in broccoli and cabbage."

Sass points out that even fat-free honey mustard, at about 50 calories per two-tablespoon serving, is significantly higher in calories than spicy and yellow mustards, many of which are calorie-free. Some spicy and Dijon mustards do have up to 30 calories in two tablespoons, but Sass notes that you'd be unlikely to use that much on a sandwich: "A little bit goes a long way, flavor-wise."

I am fiddling around with new templates ...

One of my Favorites

Dinner: One of my favorites! Boneless, skinless chicken breasts with whole wheat pasta, hunt's garlic and onion tomato sauce

Salad: TJ Champs Elyse, Red bell pepper, mushroom, snap peas and Goddess Dressing

I saute the chicken in the pan with some pepper, salt and a dash of parm cheese... While that cooked on low, I boiled the pasta, drained it, then tossed in the sauce into the now-empty pan.

Dessert:

No Pudge , using the single mix method- Genius!
Added in banana, peanut butter, pumpkin butter and extra nonfat greek yogurt!

Body:
4 mile run, 10 minute elliptical cool down

"ahhhh" this is me sighing because it felt fantastic!

Mind:
Paper #2 done, worked on Paper #3 due friday, lots of studying this weekend while my sister will be enjoying herself in paradise..

Soul:
Done with classes for the semester!!!
Woohoo!

Oh I wish I could be going to my sister's 30th birthday party in paradise this weekend! I could not afford the $700. Had I worked this semester as planned, I would have been just fine. Unfortunately, I could not and I know she will only turn 30 once but I can't go bankrupt for it as much as I want to!
Plus, I have finals on monday and wednesday and that would just not be easy to relax on the beach with a Pina Colada when I need to memorize metabolic pathways and research methods!

In the past seven days I have done yoga twice and run on 3 of the days. I feel FANTASTIC. Incredibly balanced. I love it!

I rented movies specifically for Jeff- "Stepbrothers" which we just finished watching after dinner & during dessert. We totally turned the lights out like a movie theater, and now its time for Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer from 1964!

Cornbread, Cheese, and Chili

Lunch:

Crockpot Chili


I browned 93% lean ground beef in a pan seasoned with chili seasoning (1/4 of a packet), and I added frozen bell pepper mix (thawed).

I added the following to my crock pot ( which my mom gave me- Thanks Mom, I use it all the time!)
-can of dark red kidney beans
-large can of crushed organic tomators
-can of chili beans
-hot sauce ( texas pete)
-chili powder
-can of fresh whole kernel corn
When the meat and peppers were cooked through, I added them into the pot and left it on low for a good 5 hours.

Cornbread:

Wet Ingredients
-can of whole kernel corn , drained
-can of cream style corn
-1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt
-1 egg
-1 tablespoon melted butter

Mix Wet ingredients together

Dry Ingredients:
-1 cup cornmeal
-1/2 cup all purpose flour ( I found the most amazing Organic Whole Grain AP flour- it works completely like the refined regular AP but is organic and has fiber from whole grains!)
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 tablespoon sugar
-1 tablespoon Baking Powder

Mix dry ingredients together, Add Dry to wet. Add whole mixture to a lightly greased 9x13 ( or I also use a 3 inch high, 12 inch round corningware). Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes- I check half way through and usually mix up the middle.

I made this yesterday for dinner for Jeff b/c I had my final and wanted to have something ready-to-eat in the fridge too. Which meant it was even more delicious as lunch for both of us today!

Oatmeal Sundae

The Base of my sundae, instead of ice cream: Irish Style oats!
- Mixed with organic pumpkin puree, Chocolate Protein Powder, Cinnamon, and heated up in the microwave.

The Toppings:
- Marshmallows- were, well, Marshmallows, but then I got creative

- "Whip Cream": I put on a scoop of nonfat greek yogurt with a spoon of pumpkin butter ( i swear this combo is scrumptious)

"Fruit Topping": Blueberries (frozen heated in the microwave)- I LOVE the purple color

"Nuts": My favorite heart healthy fats: Flaxseed and Peanut Butter (Smucker's All Natural Creamy)

I know it is not really a sundae, but essentially the way I put it together totally reminded me of a sundae with all the toppings!

Happy Hump Day to All!

Final Exam #1, done in a diner among 40 Gastronomes

Yes I took a picture of the bathroom- how cool is it though !?

My final exam for my fall Gastronomy course was at "Poole's Diner". Students actual €asked her for a regular exam instead of having our "culminating event" as dinner at a local, organic, fresh diner! After all, dance majors have their final exam as a dance performance, Gastronomes should have their final performance- eating a locally sustainable, fresh, organic dinner among 39 other gastronomes. This is how we got away with having "final" as a "culminating event" deemed necessary by the college.

Here we go, No writing involved, wine is welcome, and there are no right or wrong answers

Question One: Would you ever try chicken liver patte? How about local pimento cheese?

My answer: "ew to liver, but sure for the sake of trying it! "

( It was different. I really don't know how to describe it other than meat-flavored cream cheese. Not something I would choose to eat.)

Question Two: Should I have wine?

My answer: Yes, of course! A lovely "Chont De Rute" It tasted like a combination of a merlot, cab and syrah. Intense like a cabernet, sweeter like a merlot, but very very easy to drink like a syrah...Yummy

Question Three: Do you enjoy roasted beets?

My answer: Nope, but I loved the goat cheese and peppery organic arugula

Question Four: Care for organic white beans, roasted local organic tomatoes, and local fresh free range rotissere chicken ?

My answer: Yes please! I love protein!

Question Five: Do you enjoy panna cotta?

My answer: Not really but I was pleasantly surprised at the delicious shortbread cookie underneath made from FRESHLY GROUND PEANUTS! and "dulce de leche" sauce on top!

Final Exam #1 Done! I will take another exam like that ANYTIME! It was also a great night of conversation with classmates/friends Melanie, April, Jenny, Louisa! I cant believe I was the only one taking pictures!

How amazing is that? fyi: We weren't formally asked those questions, we actually weren't asked any at all. We had to write about our childhood experiences early on in this course ( I posted my response on the blog about mustard in septembe r). Well, our teacher took our responses and made them into ...
A FOODIE CALENDAR!!!

How awesome is that!? It was such a great surprise and each month has all the "foodie days"... My birthday is "white chocolate day".. "chocolate cake day" is in january... etc.! This was the start of a new tradition, as these calendars will be produced every fall and given to all current students AND all alumni!



I am updating my earlier Body Mind Soul post from today, and so excited the people at Foodbuzz ARE AWESOME! Thank you so much for being so attentive and helpful and wonderful! Thanks Shannon and Dorian!
then its relaxation time with Jeff!

Dining Hall Day

So I worked on my paper on Minority Health most of the morning and into early afternoon, I was sooo hungry so i ran over to the dining hall but wanted to take it home with me so I could take a photo!

Here is what I took home:
Box #1:
Salad with mixed green and hummus base
Olives

Carrots

Cucumber

Mushrooms
Broccoli

Tomatoes
Kidney Beans

Chickpeas

Grapes

Strawberry

And... Box#2Meatloaf. I do not know what possessed me to get meatloaf, other than it was the only protein option really ( the luncheon meat looked gross and in case you can't tell, I am not a fan of lunch meat either)...and I knew Jeff would like it if I didn't! I only had a couple bites, it was good but I knew it was super high in fat and I didn't need the calories from fat- the salad was delicious and I put in WAY too much hummus so it filled me up very well. I put it into the fridge for later!


Mid Afternoon Coffee: with a splash of organic cream and brown sugar!
This helped me finish my 5 page paper due tomorrow!

Pumpkin Pineapple Strawberry Yogurt Oats

Irish Style Oats: These oats are essentially steel cut oats, only quicker cooking. Much less processed than say, quaker instant, but do no need to be cooked for 30 minutes on the stove! I got them at Trader Joes for about $3 for a bucket (32 servings-ish ?) So that is 1/4 cup of irish style oats, mixed with about 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup organic pumpkin . Microwaved with cinnamon and a little brown sugar for about 4 minutes. It was so hot so I put a few frozen pineapple and a few frozen strawberries stuck into the oats to heat up

Then, I needed protein! I didn't feel up to eggs So O% Chobani Plain it was! ( That is the big container I have had for a few weeks but its funny how it looks just like the single serving size. Either way, there was just under one serving left.. so...

The Final One bowl Product

I mixed pumpkin butter into the yogurt- SO DELICIOUS! I added a teaspoon of peanut butter but apparently it thought the bowl was a slide...." Weeeeeeee" all the way into the oats. I don't mind so much with oats when things mix but I am totally the type that likes everything separate and not touching each other ( not in a weird way, just how i would prefer). In the middle is a little sprinkle of Uncle Sam's cereal (mostly just flax seeds because thats all i wanted)


Body:
I am not tired or sore from yesterday! Which is great! I think I will stick to running 3+ miles every other day + biking and more cardio to equal about a 6-10 mile run would equal. I would be up for a workout, but since I had a great cardio session yesterday and have LOTS of writing to do for my paper due tomorrow- I decided on a pre-final/dinner workout this afternoon ( I use purple dumbells my mom got me for me about five years ago- they are 8lbs each)

strength- shoulders and chest: push ups, plank, bent over fly 's; abs: planks, figure 8's, side to sides, my version of sit ups ( I have my arms above my head, knees bent, feet on the floor, keep my arms up and lift up then twist side to side and back down)

and... Yoga! 30 minutes felt fantastic, I wish I had more time!

Mind:
Paper #2. ... (5 pages are written but I emailed it to the professor for revisions)

Minority health response paper. We have to read this week's articles on concordance in healthcare, minority medical research views, and how these concpets tie into our own topics we researched (mine was native american children on reservations). Minority groups such as african americans, native americans, hispanics etc. have experienced racial discrimination for hundreds of years and this not only reflects in their culture and education and emotional well being, but it leaves most with negative views of healthcare practices also. The Tuskegee Syphillis Study is one very very bad example that has unfortunately not been made well-known for a variety of reasons.

Essentially, a group of about 400 men who HAD syphillis, were offered to take part in medical research to hopefully find cures for the disease. At the time there was no institutional review board that oversees the ethical practices of research. Well, as a graduate student and having been a student member of the Institutional Review Board in undergrad, there are ethical standards we must now abide by in research (both animal and human research) such as:
- informed consent ( which protects the participant in the research by securing their participation and fully disclosing what is happening in the research. If anything not explained on the consent form should occur, they would be protected by law because they signed what was on the consent form only so anything else would be illegal for the researchers to try).
There are many other aspects of IRB's but essentially they were formed to protect the research participants- make sure they are not harmed etc.

Well, the Tuskegee study essentially gave some of their subjects the drug that helped the disease, while others got another drug that didn't do any harm but did not cure it. Because there was no IRB or standards at the time, the study needed to maintain the groups as they progressed to make sure there were no other side effects, make sure they found the cure, etc. Well the people that did not get the right drug ( which the researchers did NOT know at first which drug would help ) eventually started passing away because of the disease. So the researchers then found out which drug was the "cure" and STILL did not offer the "other drug" group the "cure drug" because they wanted to continue research on the other "drug" .This was a HORRIBLE example of medical research and luckily in the 70's when they found out about the "cure drug" , the researchers were slapped with a lawsuit and helped families of all the victims and tried to rectify their wrong-doings.

Unfortunately, this had major impacts of minority health research because now people that may be at a disadvantage are PURPOSELY not seeking health care because 1. they do not trust "white" doctors 2. they do not trust the government 3. Minority groups have been asked about the study and have complete misunderstandings of the TRUTH. (this was from a focus group that was one article I read this week). They believed researchers injected men with syphillis when that is not true. They believed that the government knew all along and was purposely trying to opress that group of men- all kinds of stuff.

So if you are interested in that study here is more info on it : http://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/after.htm . I left out a lot of details but tried to give a basic understanding of what went on.

Anyway, that is what I need to write my paper about today.!

Final Exam at 5:00 pm at a diner! It is for my gastronomy class, we are eating at a local diner that serves only local, fresh, organic food . I am not sure what part of that is the exam but we will see!! I will be bringing my camera!

Soul:

I had a dinner at a local sustainable organic diner that serves fantastic wines, cocktails and is in this fantastic historical building for my first final exam of the semester!! How awesome is that!

Jeff and I talked about our christmas plans and who/when/where we will be seeing.

My brother is most likely going to visit since he didnt get to visit over thanksgiving!

Jeff's cousin ( we went to their wedding in september in NY- Buffalo- Niagra Falls trip) is visiting the weekend after I am finished with exams.

My paper , although I am not satisfied completely with it, is pretty much done. I could hand it in as in, ( which feels great with all the other work I need to do) but I am a slight perfectionist.

Did I mention I had dinner as my final exam? I had a great conversation over dinner with classmates on top of that!