Bison Stew

I meant to post sometime on Sunday, but I didn't, and it's Thursday before I know it. After my post last Friday, I witnessed some of the craziest storms I had seen in a long time. Fortunately I missed the downpour, hard winds, hail, thunder and lightning while at work. Then, when I left around 5, the temperature shot up! (I don't think it's gone down much since.) My classmate/friend Megan had called me earlier to see if I could help her move. She said my help was still needed, so I went over there after work. Who have known that I pretty much helped move pillows?! haha I helped a little with one couch, cut they had pretty much finished everything. I hung out over there for awhile and was pretty tired by the time 10/11 hit. 

I finally had an opportunity to sleep in Sat morning, so I took that. I was a little late but made it to yoga at 10. It was so hot out! I had to have a smoothie when I got home. I took a seat outside on the porch and caught up with Karishma before showering and getting ready for the day. I had plans to hang out with Lindsay! We caught up for awhile, and then the two of us met Seth, and his friend Tim, at Cubby Bear. (For those who don't know, Seth, Lindsay and I traveled together in Europe.) When we got to the bar it was in the 11th inning. I was very happy to be able to sing Go Cubs Go in Wrigleyville! As soon as the song ended, the DJ, and dancing, began. Seth and I were known to bust a move in Europe, and Cubby Bear was so different. While I don't particularly like the bar scene, I realized how much I had missed going out dancing. The problem is... Not everyone goes out with the intention of dancing. Sadly I did not get to dance too long because I had to babysit that night. :( I got home around 11 and crashed again!

I met a couple of my classmates at a cafe to study Sunday afternoon. Afterwards I realized that I was pretty prepared for my midterms and should have a little fun. I called Rachel, who I hadn't seen in probably a month, and the two of us went for a walk along the Lakeshore path. I had been on the go most of the day, so by the time I made it home, I was hungry! I had been a good patient and took my herbs Sat and Sun. Now it was time to try the bison recommendation. I didn't think I could do a straight up bison steak, so thanks to the internet, I found a recipe that I thought would work for me: Sweet potato bison stew. I feel like I now know why 1. perhaps why I decided not to eat meat and 2. why I haven't been cooking much lately. My 1lb. organic bison steak cost me a little less than $20. And the stew took over 2 hours to cook. (Don't forgot all of the prep time.) Besides some of the vegetables being a little crunchy, it had good flavor, and it was not too difficult for me to eat the meat. It's the way I grew up. 

While I was nervous, I aced my Anatomy Practical on Monday. I literally thought my hands were shaking, but I guess no one else could tell. Not a 100 without extra credit, but luckily we have a lot of opportunity for extra credit. My Tai Ji midterm on Tuesday was practically perfect-besides my butt sticking out. haha After my Clinical Counseling class that night, I was reminded of how much I love Turbokick at the gym. Even though it was so so hot in there, it was so great to make it to class! It had been awhile. Nothing too noteworthy yesterday or today. My energy has been pretty low this week, and for that reason, I am heading to bed soon. Tomorrow afternoon is the KC's Academy Awards Ceremony, and I am excited to see the kids. Then, I get to see Cristy!  

Yang Sheng

Wow... I just got done with a really intense (acupuncture) treatment. I had been seeing the same intern for a month or so but decided to switch it up today with one of the ones that is known as "the best" around here at PCOM (Barry) I can actually still feel the points where he needed. My treatment was so different than any of the treatments I received in the past, and I feel like he taught me as much as he could (seeing as I am just now learning the basics). Getting my weekly treatments always reminds me of why I am studying so much, why I may stay in on a Friday night, etc. It will all pay off in the end, and I can't wait to understand it all and share my knowledge with others.

I titled this blog entry "yang sheng" which is the nourishing life principle. Essentially it means understanding and knowing the constitution of your body and living by its constitution or makeup. (It is a way of preventative medicine.) For example, some people have a hard time digesting raw foods, so interns instruct them to cook their foods, eating them warm. Some people need more sleep then others and so on. That being said... Today was not the only day I've been told to eat meat. The issue that I'm working on now is blood stagnation, which goes hand-in-hand with qi stagnation. (My energy has also been really low lately.) Barry even pointed out spots in which the stasis presents itself in my body. Even though I have been eating a lot of tofu, beans, leafy greens, cherries and so on... It seems that I do not have enough iron in my body. While I made the decision not to eat meat for a reason, I am beginning to think my body needs a little. This medicine is so interesting, and I wish everyone would at least give it a try. I bet you will lean a lot about yourself as well as your body's needs.

All in all, life is good. I can feel the intensity of school picking up, which brings me back to my "go, go, go" schedule, but I am happy. I find that I am taking better care of myself and my needs. Last Sunday was the perfect mix of work and play for me: yoga, studying over brunch, studying with my classmates, a Wrigley rooftop date with Carryn and Kay, gym, studying/dinner, a walk with Amber (who moved less than a mile away) and a little studying before bed. My week was a little less balanced: classes, midterms, work and studying. I can't believe it's already Friday. Besides babysitting on Saturday... No set plans for the weekend. Let's see what happens with the weather.

Weekly Recap and What I have Learned

Last weekend seems like it was a long time ago. What did I do? 

As of July I started working another shift in the clinic (Friday afternoons). While it's nice to have another opportunity to make some money, between last Friday and yesterday, Fridays seem to be the best days for weather. Oh well. It is what it is. Last Friday I got acupuncture at 11, worked 12:15-4:45ish, helped out at KC's for a little over an hour and then went to yoga. I felt loved to get out of class with a couple of friends wanting to hang out, but I felt like I needed the night to get some work (and odds and ends) done. While some call it lame, I have been told to develop my study habits now. I didn't get that much done in regards to studying, but there was laundry, e-mails, etc. Saturday consisted of CPR/First Aid certification (I am going to need that for being an observer in the clinic come September!) followed by babysitting at 3. It was a long night of babysitting, and I even stayed overnight to babysit a couple of hours in the morning (5:30-8:30AM). Dominique and I met for brunch at Nookies Tree Restaurant in Lakeview. We hadn't had Karissa/Dominique time in awhile, so that was really nice. The food was delicious too! After our brunch date I sat myself up in Caribou and worked on a couple of papers. 

10-9:30 in PCOM always makes for LONG Mondays. Tuesday night I got to see Cristy, David and Parker. I am going to miss them so much!! I wasn't hungry when they ordered food, but as soon as I left, I got really hungry. I decided that it was necessary to pick up food from Late Night Thai before starting my paper. On my way over I happened to get in touch with Dave. I hadn't seen him in over a month, but he told me he'd meet me at the Thai restaurant. We have such an interesting friendship... Nothing much to say about Wednesday. By the time class ended at 4 on Friday, I was so ready to not think for the evening. Emily came into town, and the two of us grabbed dinner at House of Sushi and Noodles. Then, we met Grace Charlie and Jess for dessert at Icream. I would describe Icream as a crazier version of Coldstone. I'm not supposed to be eating anything cold or raw (aka ice cream), so I was happy to see that they had "hot pudding" as an option, in addition to the soy option. It was soo overwhelming there! You walk up, have the option of hot pudding, ice cream, frozen yogurt or sorbet. Then you can pick the flavor of the last selection. Step 3 involves mix-ins, and step 4 concludes with your color?! I told the cashier to just make me something. I forgot the name of mine, but I think it had white chocolate and cream soda flavored hot, soy pudding with nutella mixed in (natural brown color). I tried a couple of bites and felt like it needed crunch, so I added graham cracker bits. I would say that it was decent-good, a fun experience, but I don't think I would fork out the $5+ often.

Yesterday consisted of yoga, financial work (at the clinic) and studying- woohoo! I knew that today would be a fun day, so I put in some work last night. My family came in around 10 for the Cubs vs. Twins game. I had not gotten in touch with my Mom in over a week, so it was nice to be able to catch-up with her (and of course see Monica and my Dad).  With the Fehler family luck, we had some issues getting our tickets. Luckily, there was a rain delay, but the first part of the game was cold and drizzling. As well, the game was incredibly boring: The Cubs lost 2-0. :( We filled our stomachs and enjoyed one another's company a little longer at Mystic Celt.  One of the best parts of my parents coming in was them bringing my sister's bike that she doesn't use. I had been wanting/planning to get a bike for a long time but would always end up studying or doing something else. After they left, I went straight to Target (and Sports Authority) to get a helmet, a lock, a rack for the back and some lighting for the dark. Even though I am a little nervous, I am incredibly excited to cruise around the city!

Below are a couple of valuable lessons I learned this week:

1. For the most part, I cannot get work done in my apartment. 

2. If I don't have some sort of plan or to do list, I am not very productive. 

3. A day mixed with work and play is the best for me. :)

Doing Nothing

In contrast to my last post, I have done nothing since I got home from work about 6 hours ago. I had a bad headache all day and haven't felt like doing anything since I got home. I had two midterms and a quiz this week, so all I really remember from the week is studying. I haven't gotten everything back, but I feel good. 

Caitlin, Margot and Mary were in town last weekend, and it was so nice to see all of them- a little difficult though because they wanted to go with the flow in regards to scheduling, and I had studying to do. No huge plans for this weekend, but I want to get ahead for the week. I feel like I'm still at Northwestern for the reason that I pretty much always have something to do. Heading to bed early... nothing too exciting.