Comic: The right and wrong way to teachhttp://xkcd.com/803/

[Source]

Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a Catch-Up

This post is going to be a catch-up post of sorts.  Simple and sweet.

First of all, I want to remind everyone that it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  So for all the ladies (and even gentlemen) out there, please remember to do self exams and remind your friends.

 

  

Back on September 26, Chris and I celebrated our three year anniversary of dating (the Bob Marley quote makes me think of him... awww!).  We had a wonderful day checking out an amazing place... where I decided I very much want to get married!  For this reason, I am not going to share the place or most pictures yet, but I am SUPER EXCITED!

 

In running-related news, my compression socks that I won from Tricia's give-away arrived and so did my  Nathan's Women's 2.0L Hydration Pack.  I love them both!!!  I have to say that the socks are not easy to put on, but they really seem to help my recovery.  The hydration pack I used for the first time on Monday for a 12.26 mile run with Caitlin (in 2:28).  The first mile I had to get used to the pack and make a few adjustments, but after that it was wonderful.  I used it again today for a solo 6 mile run (in 56:44... a 9:27 pace! Sweet!).  Both times I used it, I forgot to take a picture.

 

 

Last weekend was my 10 year high school reunion.  I had a good time seeing old friends.  I also got to see my family, which was great.  I wish I could see them all more often.  My niece, Joy, is getting so big!  She speaks in full sentences now and is so bright.  In other family news, my little brother turned 16 yesterday.  SIXTEEN?!  My little brother is growing up.... and I feel ancient!

 

 

 

 

 Last but not least, I was drooling over the Pumpkin Pie Brownie 'Cupcakes' at OhSheGlows, and I asked my friend Caitlin if she would make them (she is awesome at baking!).  She did, and they were Oh My Goodness Good!  I definitely recommend the recipe!

My kitties are demanding attention, so I'm off.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

7 Universal Truths...

I saw these on Angela's blog OhSheGlows where she received these from a friend going through Zuda yoga teacher training, and I immediately loved these Universal Truths.  I decided to "steal" them and post them on my blog to share as well.  I highly recommend checking out Angela's blog post where she elaborates on her thoughts/feelings about the 7 Universal Truths.

Zuda Yoga Teacher Training – 7 axioms/Universal Truths

1. You are exactly where you are supposed to be
2. Fear and pain are life’s greatest teachers
3. Laughter and play are the keys to the fountain of youth
4. Exercise and rest are the keys to vibrant health
5. Touch and intimacy are basic human needs
6. Everything is impermanent
7. Everything is connected

Puff the magic dragon

Warning:  This is not a happy post, but as I said, my blog is also like a journal so I am going to share.

This evening I was catching up on the latest episode of Glee.  I knew it was the "Cheesus" epsidoe (Jesus featured on a grilled cheese sandwich), and to be honest I expected to roll my eyes, but instead I cried my eyes out.  The dad of one of the characters ends up in the hospital due to a heart attack.  The episode also includes reminiscing a funeral.  That had me in tears thinking about my dad. 

That was when it hit me.  I can not remember the last time I saw my dad.  I honestly cannot remember.  I remember my graduation on August 6, 2005.  He passed away on September 2, 2005.  I think I went home between those days, but today I couldn't remember.  At the time of the accident, I remember not being able to recall what our last phone conversation was about.  We used to talk multiple times a day, about everything and nothing at the same time.  I figured we must have just been talking about the basic day-to-day activities, and at the time it wasn't a significant conversation, so I didn't remember the details.  But the fact that today I could not remember our last visit... that nearly killed me. 

After my balling, I took a shower to help me calm down and decided to focus on good memories.  That is when I remembered earlier in the day when a friend showed me a box of vinyl records that her dad had sent her.  The one record she pulled out of the box was Peter, Paul, and Mary.  You know, with "Leaving on a Jet Plane", "If I Had a Hammer", and "Puff the Magic Dragon".  My dad, siblings, and myself used to sing Peter, Paul, and Mary as loud as we could in the car on road trips to visit my grandparents.  I even had a video of Puff the Magic Dragon... you know, back when my only thought about that song actually involved a magical dragon.  Focusing on good memories really helped.  I hope to keep writing those memories down.

Thanks for "listening" to me vent.

Switching up the layout and template

I decided this morning that my blog needed a bit of a change.  I have switched templates and played around with the layout.  I hope this is a little more pleasing to the eye. 

Back to work!

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010 and the Improbably Research Award

Announced today!

Physics and medicine were previously announced.  You can follow along for the rest here.

The article below is copied directly from NPR [source]:

American, Japanese Scientists Share Chemistry Nobel

by The Associated Press

October 6, 2010

American Richard Heck and Japanese researchers Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki won the 2010 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for developing a chemical method that has allowed scientists to make medicines and better electronics.

American, 2 Japanese Share Nobel In Chemistry

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the award honors their development of "palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic systems."

The academy called that one of the most sophisticated tools available to chemists today, and one that is used by researchers worldwide and in commercial production of pharmaceuticals and molecules used to make electronics.

Heck, 79, is a professor emeritus at the University of Delaware. Negishi, 75, is a chemistry professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and 80-year-old Suzuki is a professor at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan.

Negishi told reporters in Stockholm by telephone that he was asleep when the call came.
"I went to bed last night well past midnight so I was sleeping but I am extremely happy to receive the telephone call," he said.

Officials at Hokkaido University were delighted by the news, said university spokesman Hidetoshi Nakatsuka.

"Professor Suzuki has been mentioned as a candidate in the past few years and we've been waiting for this to happen for all these years," Nakatsuka said. "We were standing by and we are extremely delighted."

The method has been used to artificially produce discodermolide, a cancer-killing substance first found in marine sponges, the academy said in its citation. It added that no cancer drug based on the substance has been developed yet.

"Only the future will tell if discodermolide turns out to be a life-saving drug," it said.
The 2010 Nobel Prize announcements began Monday with the medicine award going to 85-year-old British professor Robert Edwards for fertility research that led to the first test tube baby.

Russian-born Andre Geim, 51, and Konstantin Novoselov, 36, of the University of Manchester in England won the physics prize Tuesday for groundbreaking experiments with graphene, an ultrathin and superstrong material that scientists say should be a versatile building block for faster computers, transparent touch screens and lighter airplanes.

The literature prize will be announced on Thursday, followed by the peace prize on Friday and economics on Monday, Oct. 11.

The awards were established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, and are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of his death in 1896.

Update:  I should include a link to the IgNobel prize for improbable research.  Hilarious!

My thoughts on The Marie Claire Article and what blogging has done for me

I was incredibly disappointed and angered by The Marie Claire Article that targeted Healthy Living Bloggers, most of whom I follow.  I have to say that I thought the article was poorly researched and gave a very incorrect perspective of Healthy Living blogging.  I posted a comment on the website, which I will share here (there was a character limit):

I am a blogger and a magazine reader, and I do follow most of the blogs mentioned.  I was disappointed by this story, because I felt it was very hypocritical.  Marie Claire has published articles suggesting that readers keep a food and fitness journal, yet according to this article they seem very against it.  The blogs that I follow show women who have trained to run races, because they enjoy running and racing.  That is the reason I follow the blogs, because I enjoy running and racing too.  I am currently training for my first marathon, because it is a goal of mine and I am running a marathon that supports breast cancer in honor of a family friend who died.  I am not running the marathon to lose weight.  I also enjoy both magazines and blogs for new recipes.  I get sick of cooking the same food, so I look forward to new recipes, especially if they incorporate food I don't often eat.  I noticed a negative comment about one of the bloggers making parsnip fries.  Well don't you sometimes get sick of plain old french fries?  When was the last time you tried a parsnip?  I thought the recipe was great because it involved something I wouldn't normally eat.  It is nice to get nutrients from food rather than just vitamins.  The photographs included with the recipes in both magazines and blogs entice me to try them.  Unfortunately, with any public written word, whether it be a magazine or a blog, some people will compare themselves in a negative way.  But then there are those of us who look for inspiration.  It is nice to read about non-celebrity women my age who can balance work/school/family/social-life/and especially a limited budget and still be healthy and active.

I could go on and on, but instead I decided to make a list of positive points that I have learned/gained/experienced from blogging and reading other blogs, specifically those attacked in the article.

1. Good food- Thanks to others posting delicious blogs and accompanying pictures, I have tried several new restaurants in my area as well as delicious recipes.  This is the reason I post pictures of food in my blog.  I personally do not keep a record of what I eat, but if I enjoy something tasty, I like to share it with others.  
2. Reviews-  I enjoy reading the reviews of different races or products.  Races and running gear are not cheap, especially not for a graduate student.  It is nice to get opinions before I invest my hard-earned money.
3. I'm not alone-  I like reading that I'm not the only person who is balancing work/school/family/budget while living a fulfilling and active lifestyle.  It's nice knowing that others bounce back from obstacles to succeed.  
4. More people-  It is nice chatting with others who enjoy the same things I do.  I have even made more friends through running and have joined running groups.  
5. Accountable-  Am I going to die from not running?  No.  But do I feel better when I work-out consistently?  Absolutely.  Since I started this blog, I have gone through phases where I set aside running to focus more on school/work/life, but I have always found that I feel better and more balanced when I take time for myself to run.  Posting my 2010 Challenge (to run at least 3 days a week) has helped me hold myself accountable for my goal.  I am more likely to stick with it knowing that I am keeping track of it somewhere for people to read.  No, the world will not end if I do not complete my goal, but I feel better and stronger because of my goal.
6. Journal-  Ultimately, my blog is my personal journal.  It is a way for me to keep track of my runs/posts about graduation/various goals I have accomplished, so I can look back and say, "Hey look what I accomplished?  Hard work really pays off!"  It is where I post pictures of fun events in my life, people I love, and what is going on in my life for my family and friends to read.  

I hope that you all have a great week!  I'm off to work!