Last Tuesday I learned that hot oil is, well, hot; and hot things can splash out of pans while you make chicken and burn you. I wish I would have thought to take a picture on Tuesday night, it looked so much cooler and you could see four lines above the ovaly burn and not just one.
It doesn't hurt anymore though.

Oh well. Unless you could dropping the glass I keep my silverwear in about once a week (and getting more flustered about it than I should) this is my first kitchen mishap. Which I think it a pretty good record for me.

Here's a copy of my schedule. Sorry it's so blurry. The yellow is when I have class, the green tutoring, blue working out, and pink when I'm with the soccer team (which changes depending on when we have games. Then I go from spending 4 hours with them to about 7)
I think this explains why I never know what to do with myself when I have free time. I'm just not used it. I'm used to always having something to do or somewhere to be.
Oh, I forgot to put grocery shopping on there, which always happens on Saturday from 8:30-10:00am before practice.
THIS SCHEDULE IS NORMAL TO ME. I don't know what I'm going to do when I graduate and only work from 9-5 five days a week. Learn to knit or something.

I looked at my tentative schedule for next fall yesterday. If all the class times stay the same as there are this fall, I only miss one class to come home for Rachel and Brian's wedding, which is awesome because I thought I would be missing three days of class for sure. I'll have to thank them for deciding to have it on a Friday.

Why, yes. I do feel all sorts of snazzy with my official Gatorade water bottle. Which I got for free cause I'm just that cool. Actually, it's cause I'm an AT, but we're still cool either way.

Speaking of being an AT student. Today in Physics lab we were shooting little metal balls (about 1 inch in diameter) out of little spring-loaded cannons to calculate distance and velocity and time and all that fun stuff. Right before we started working our TA was all "ok, who are the Athletic Training Students in here." It was only me, so I raised my hand. I expected he was going to come tell me I was in charge if anyone's toes got broken (which A) no I would not be in charge of that, the PHYSICS department is in charge of that and B) the balls we were using were not heavy enough or going fast enough to do anything but maybe sting for a few seconds). Anyway, the TA comes over and is all "So I'm running in the Milwaukee Marathon this Saturday, and for the past few weeks my Achilles tendinitis has been really bad. ... Is there anything I can do for that on Saturday."
So I kind of smiled and told him how to tape his heel to take pressure and stress off the Achilles. It made me feel pretty good about myself. :)

250th post

This is what I get for always leaving my apartment and cutting straight behind the dental school to get to campus. I almost never walk on Wisconsin Ave. anymore. It was quite startling to look up and see that all the trees had already changed.
They were brighter my freshman year. A brilliant red that looked like fire. I'm not sure if it's later in the year now, or if I was just more impressed by red leaves back then.

So I found out this morning that Eggo Multigrain waffles do not have the same flavor or consistency of regular waffles, which was slightly disappointing. I tell myself they taste better though, because I need more fiber in my diet.
You'd think if I was going to be eating Eggos I'd just go for the original and accept it's not good for me. But I'd like to at least pretend I'm eating a nutritious breakfast.

I think Nutrition is slowly starting to ruin me forever. I've started keeping track of how much riboflavin I'm getting each day. I'm realizing how much of what I eat isn't actually food, but "eatable food-like substances." Like wheat thins, there's no such thing as a wheat thin tree.
Nichole keeps talking about how we need to go down to the farmer's market and buy a bunch of organic produce. While this is an excellent idea in theory, I cannot afford to pay twice as much for half the product that I could get at Pick n' Save. Maybe I'll try it when I'm a real adult with a real adult income, but for now, it's hormones and chemicals for me. I figure I've been eating them for the past 20 years and I'm still doing just fine, there's really no need to switch now.
Almost everything in the American diet started out as corn.
Cereal? Corn
Big Mac? Corn
Pasta? Corn
Soda? Corn
Just read the label. High fructose CORN syrup. (which really isn't as evil as they want you to think. It's all about moderation.)

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Once upon a time a boy named Blake Smith posted in his livejournal, "I have the most beautiful girlfriend... she's athletic and got a great body."
It's very flattering to know he was talking about me, even if I was only 15 at the time. I can go back years and years and look at all his posts and watch our relationship spiral into the ground. It makes me laugh now. I was so happy when I finally dumped him. It was freeing.

At another point he said, "I want to know what she's thinking, she doesn't tell me unless I ask. But I don't just have to ask, I have to pry it out of her like a stripped screw."
It's good to know some things haven't changed.


That bastard cheated on me twice. The first time he made out with my best friend after the three of us had been hanging out, the second time he slept with some girl at a Halloween party.
This probably explains why I don't trust anyone.

bulk

Some people would see this as an excessive amount of oatmeal. I see it as 5 Quaker products being on sale for $7. (I got the plain instant, flavored instant, Life cereal, oatmeal squares cereal (OMG SO GOOD!!), and a box of granola bars). So sure, I have a lot of Oatmeal, but I'm going to eat it eventually, and it's not like it's going to go bad. Now I don't have to buy Oatmeal for the rest of the year, and I know I couldn't have gotten it for $7 if I just bought it in small amounts each week.

I'm currently $11 under budget on food. I give myself $50 a week and so far I've been in the $45-ish range. When I'm $50 under I'm going to buy myself something nice. I'm thinking a really fancy lace nighty from Victoria Secret for when we go to Hawaii in THREE MONTHS WOO!

I went for a run down to the lake and back this morning. It was glorious. And my knee didn't bother me at all, which is good.
Although I'm pretty sure decided to train for and run the half marathon two years ago has biased me for life. It's hard knowing that I am (or at least was) capable of running for 5... 8.. 10... 13 miles without stopping; when I'm only going four at most now. Even after a year anything less than 5 miles seems like a "short run" to me. Logically I know that most people think of going for a run as a mile long, maybe two; and that most people wouldn't consider 7 miles a "nice distance."

There's not a whole lot of stuff I do just FOR ME, but running is one of them. I love that I can put my ipod in and just go. Not have to talk to anyone. Not have to think. Just run.

I like pretty things.

Went a little crazy with the pictures today. But I wanted to make sure and capture all the flowers outside of Joan of Arc Chapel before they all die.

Fall has always been my favorite season. I think there is something absolutely beautiful about changing leaves.

Apparently, the guys in O'Donnell Hall playing on a teeter-totter for 72 hours straight (in half hour shifts) is supposed to bring an end to sexual violence against women. I'm not really sure how that works out.
However, the girls from Cobeen Hall do a similar thing next semester involving swinging for two days. Why they let the guys do their thing in September when it's fairly nice out still and make the girls come out in February is beyond me. They asked me if I wanted to swing at like 4am my freshman year and I was like "Um, no. Not really."

Well, summer's officially over. It's now "Fall" here. Which means that the sky is gray for days, leaves drop off trees and collect in squishy piles on the sidewalk, and the impending doom of winter is rearing it's ugly head.

I miss football.

I've been making oatmeal a lot lately. For a long time I didn't like eating the plain instant oats from the giant container due to lack of flavor. But I've been experimenting with what I can put in there, and it's been pretty good so far.
Yesterday I came in under budget on groceries for the second week in a row I decided to reward myself with some raspberries, which you see in my oatmeal. Shopping at Pick n' Save has made me better appreciate my Smith's Fresh Value's card. Average savings on a week's worth of groceries at Smiths is $20+ but here, I'm excited if I save over 5 bucks. It's lame. There's a "complete this survay for a chance to win $50 in groceries" on the bottom of the receipt though. I fill it out every week and yell at them for never having what is in the ad in stock. I think that has to do with the store we go to though; it's the closest one, but it's kind of ghetto.

It's raining. I really don't want to stand in the rain at the soccer game for three hours today. Ugh.

Last night I went over to my friend Lita's house and we made banana bread. It's pretty good, better than I expected actually. However, we were unable to use my grandma's recipe, because I don't know it, and was unable to get it in time, so it not as could as it could be.
My grandma might be senile, but damn, that woman can bake. I'm pretty sure that's why we still have her living with us. Every now and then she's bust out some brownies or banana bread or coconut cream pie and it's SO GOOD!
Don't even get me started on her Christmas cookies.

Last night I had a dream that I was back for Christmas, and when into Hand and Ortho for a shift, then the whole group showed up (Andrew, Matt, Jill, Brian, and Rachel). Then we had to solve a mystery or run away from a murderer or something - it involved running into a back corridor and down into a basement that doesn't actually exist on that building. And those Russian dolls that stack into one another.

Dear George Foreman,
Thank you for making such an awesome grill. Last night I made mini-hambergers. And, cause I'm just that cool, I mixed the ground beef with 16 different beans, rice, ground cumin, Italian seasoning, chopped onion, carrots, and celery. It was delicious AND nutritious!
Love, Michelle


For my nutrition class, we have to make a food log for three random days over the next month (random= better chance of seeing what's "normal"). My first day was last Wednesday, and so far, I'm fairly surprised at what MyPyramid.gov has to say.
My fruit intake is 125% of what it should be, and my calcium intake is 150%. This is not surprising (I eat an apple and yogurt every morning).
However, my vegetable intake is ONLY 37% of what it should be. THIRTY-FIVE PERCENT! This surprises me. I knew I wasn't getting enough, but I didn't think it was that bad.
Vitamins A, C, and E are low. My mom is sending me my multi-vitamin in my next care package (I bought it freshmen year and kept forgetting it at home) but until then I will just be eating lots of oranges. If they are on sale anyway. The last time I went to the store apples where $0.69 a pound- you can't not buy apples for that price!
My fiber is only 1 gram less than it should be, which I'm pretty proud of. Fiber is ususally hard to get enough of.

Clipping coupons.
Like a boss.

Dear Humidity

Dear Humidity,
Why don't you fuck off and die or something? This is the reason I always wear my hair in a ponytail or a bun.

I made pancakes this morning.
I forgot to take a picture of the actual food (which I burnt) so here is the box.
I like fiber.

Jimmy Johns is amazing, you should try it.

I haven't been able to keep my blood sugar under control today. I changed absolutely nothing in what or how often I ate, or my activity level of the day. But one minute I'm feeling good, the next minute I'm shaking, my muscles feel heavy, and I feel like I'm going to pass out. I've been like this my whole life (I literally get SICK if I don't eat often enough) so I know all I have to do is get some food in my system, but it's still rather annoying.

Today was full of soccer.
We hosted a Tournament this weekend, so not only did I go in at 8:30 for regular pre-game treatments and set up (game was at 11:30- we lost to Santa Clara), but then I stayed for the 2:00 game as the Marquette medical staff contact for the visiting teams. That game when into double overtime, so I didn't get back to my apartment until 5pm.
The weather was BEAUTIFUL today, so that was a plus. Unfortunately, four hours in the beautiful weather caused me to burn. So I have a wonderful farmer tan going, as well as raccoon eyes from my sunglasses and a little tiny triangle from where the front of my shirt was unbuttoned.
My forehead kind of hurts.

It amazes me how just sitting in the sun for that long completely drains you.

Don't get excited, it's not actually raining that hard. That's just what got caught in my window screen.
Nevertheless, it is a sweatshirt kind of day.

I felt cute today. Like, really super cute.
I think it's because I had Perfect Hair. And that made me want to put effort into my makeup, which was also perfect.

This is the view I have this year. I think it is much better than last year, when I was looking at the parking structure on 16th street. You can see the duplex with the boys that always throw drunken parties. I have suspicions that these boys at actually Frat boys, due to the fact that I heard then singing the other night. They all new the song, and it was rather vulgar. I have made the executive dissision that going over to a party with a bunch of drunken Frat boys singing about fucking sluts would be one of those things they told me not to do.

I felt really lazy when I got back to my apartment after working out tonight, so I threw a pizza in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Then I remembered I'm not supposed to use my oven yet because I don't have oven mitts. I tried to improvise with my dish towel, but my fingers still kinda ache.
Also, serving sizes make me really sad. 260 calories in 1/4 of that thing? I should have known better than to buy frozen pizza in the first place. Maybe it would help if I wasn't hungry ALL THE TIME to begin with.
I really need to find time to plan my meals better. Start trying harder to make sure I get 5 small ones in instead of going "Oh look at that, it's 2pm, I should probably go back to the room and make something to eat before I pass out."

Also, my pizza cutter is useless. :(

One more thing. Anyone else love Snow Patrol as much as I do?

I'm not afraid of anything, even time.
It'll eke away at everything,
but we'll be fine.
-The Golden Floor

I'm shaken, then I'm still.
When your eyes meet mine, I lose simple skills,
like how to tell you
all I want
is now.
-Set Down Your Glass

It got cold and dark so suddenly, it rained.
It rained so hard the two of us where the only things
that we could
see for miles and miles.
And in the middle of the flood I found my worth;
when you held onto me like I was your little life raft.
Please know:
That you were mine as well.
-The Lightning Strike

Zwa-ha!

Another thing I've always been looking forward to having in my own house: Epic Kitchen Accessories Magnet!
From left you see: Pizza Cutter (??), my favorite new sharp knife, a knife I don't know what to do with, my favorite new (small) sharp knife, the useless fruit knife from yesterday, scissors, and a can opener.
I have yet to have to open any cans, but I did at one point my freshmen year, hence, the can opener. I don't know why I have a pizza cutter, my aunt gave it to me among other apartment necessary things for my birthday. I may just like new knives as much as new socks. They are so sharp I feel like I could do one of those "watch me cut this thing-you-usually-struggle-to-cut with one effortless swish" commercials. The last knife I really don't know what to do with. There was an explanation on the packaging, but that has long since been thrown away. It's serated though, so maybe... bread? It doesn't look like our bread knife at home though, it's too small.

Lately, I've been drinking tea like it's going out of style. Like there's going to be some sort of tea shortage tomorrow. Like the WORLD IS GOING TO FUCKING END.
Ok. Not that extreme.

But really, I think I've had at least one cup every day for the past week.

I've never liked tea before, and I still can't decide if I like it now. I think I'm mostly bored of water, and to avoid eating senselessly I drink things.


In the picture you can see a tiny cut on my ring finger. That happened the other day when I was cutting up an apple with a dollar store fruit knife. Moral of the story? Don't buy knives at the dollar store, even if they are specifically for fruit, just use the nice ones your mom bought you at Kohls.
It's been a really long time since I've cut myself, even shower knicks have been at a minimum the past few years (probably helps that I only shave once a week... less when I'm here). Bleeding enough to need a band-aid was weird.

My 16-bean soup turned out to be fucking delicious, by the way.

secret

I spend my free time making 16-bean soup. Why? Because I'm a total fucking loser with no friends here, and I have nothing better to do, that's why.

I'm definitely afraid that at the end of this 6-year college stint I'm going to hit adulthood and be bitter that I never had the typical college experience. I've never been invited to a party, never played beer pong, never just gone out on a Friday night.
I feel like this is something I should be doing at this age and I'm not.
Most day's I'm fine with this. The vast majority of days really. But every now and again I wish I wasn't so fucking responsible. Every now again I wish I could go out and just get trashed, stumble back to my room at 3am then sleep till two in the afternoon.

There are some days I wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't met the man I want to spend the rest of my life with when I was 16. Don't get me wrong, I am perfectly happy with the relationship I have, and I wouldn't want anything else. Sometimes I just wonder though. What it would be like to just date someone else. To go out and try to get guys to get me a drink. To be hit on and flirt back.
The last time I went on a date with someone other than Drew, I was still in the "OMG let's go to the mall and hold hands teehee" stage.
I have absolutely no desire to actually be with someone else. In fact, I'm pretty sure I would just feel sick the whole time. I just wonder.


Jill, it's turning into Fall here. It can't hold a candle to Fall at home. You should take lots of pictures for me. Utah Fall is definitely the thing I miss the most after people at home.

Today, Lita and I went down to the Made in Milwaukee festival thing in Cathedral Square. There was hipster art, organic vegetables, and music I wasn't too fond of. Apparently, Cathedral Square is where everything happens: Jazz in the Park, Farmer's Market, all that.

We lost interest rather quickly and decided to wander around Metro Market for a bit, because who doesn't like wandering around posh grocery stores with over-priced goods?
On the way there, we met a squirrel who kept looking like he would have been happy to eat us.


Coming out of Metro Market, we saw this, which has no explanation.

Then I went to Pick n' Save to do my real grocery shopping. It was a success! I was able to get out of there for under $50, which was my goal. I can't decide if I'm going to go to the store weekly and get a few things that I need, or try to stretch it out as long as possible and then make a big trip. Actually, I just made my decision. I live on the third floor, so trying to get three weeks worth of groceries up to my apartment wouldn't be fun. Plus, I am carless, so lots of groceries wouldn't be fun on the bus either.
I'm glad I have fruit and milk again though.

FRUIT

When my dad was here two weeks ago he took me grocery shopping, and we decided a watermelon would be a good investment.


Except I can't fit even half of it in my biggest Tupperware container.

Here you see my enormous fuck-off Therapeutic Exercises book. It's heavy. I have this and two other books like it to read before I take my exam to become a Certified Athletic Trainer in less than two years.

It's raining.

Lunch

Today my copy of Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (paperback, large print) came in.
I think it's the most excited I've been since I got here.