Duke

I've worked at a lot of places. Having had some type of job since the time I was 17, I have a pretty good basis for comparison. I had the good fortune to spend the last two days at my favorite - Duke University. I spent approximately three years at Duke and from the moment I stepped on campus for my interview, I knew it was a special place. I had the chance to work with some incredible people within my office and across campus. People that I was thrilled to be able to catch up with this weekend. I had supervisors that mentored me and helped shape me into the professional I am and the one I want to continue to become. I miss it very much. That's not to say that I don't like Texas. As I said in my previous post, I like Texas. I love North Carolina. Walking around campus today felt wonderful. It made my heart happy to see the students and the campus, not to mention spending time with some of my favorite people. I was very very lucky to have had the chance to work there.

A Dangerous Method

Viggo Mortensen + David Cronenberg = Gold

Viggo Mortensen + Michael Fassbender + David Cronenberg = Must See

Back in the RDU

I'm here! I'm so excited!!! I'M HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA! Sorry for the shouting y'all, but I can't tell you how tickled I am to be back in North Carolina. To all my family back in New England block your ears for this next part, hmm hmm hmm nothing to see here. Coming back to North Carolina feels like coming home. Apart from my home where all my family is, of all the places I've lived, North Carolina is home. I love it here and I miss it terribly. Now Texas friends, that's not to say I don't like Texas. I am thoroughly enjoying living in Texas - I have my favorite places and my dance class and school. It's not the same though. I can't explain to you why it feels so good to be here. It just does. I love all of the Triangle - from Chapel Hill to Raleigh. The people, the places, my friends. Knowing Charlotte, NC (and by extension Kelly, Korey, and Kennedy) is only a couple of hours away warms my heart. I've been here just over an hour and I'm already dreading flying back on Sunday.

The hotel I'm staying at for this conference is the one I stayed at for my interview with Duke 4 years ago. It's kind of eerie. In a good way. I still remember what I wore to dinner the night before my interview. I remember what I wore to my interview. I remember being sunburned as all get out because I had spent a few days before the interview in Charlotte visiting and went to a tennis tournament and got burned bad. It was a great icebreaker for all my interview sessions. Truly, I looked like a lobster, ha ha.

I am going to enjoy these next four days.

Sunday Day Book

Outside my window ...it's hot, 80+ degrees, but sunny and not a cloud in the sky

I am thinking … about my trip to North Carolina, I can't wait!

I am thankful for ...the opportunity to continue my education, even when I'm buried under work

I am reading … Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie

I am hoping …that things turn out the way I want them to.

On my mind ...school, work, travel, work, school...

I'm learning ...that I need to just let it go

Noticing that ... the cleaning lady really does a good job cleaning my apartment. Best decision ever.

From the kitchen …chicken and apple salad with cranberries and walnuts for lunches this week

Around the house …bought a pumpkin for the dining room and orange lilies for the mantel. It may not feel like autumn outside, but it looks like it in my apartment.

One of my favorite things …Pottermore. JKR really did a great job with that one.

My Favorite Times of the Week

There are two parts of the week that I look forward to, regardless of how my week is going - good, bad, or ugly. Wednesday nights I get to dance. I love to dance. Great big puffy heart love to dance. I used to take lessons and assistant teach up until the point I left for college. I did some dancing in college, but not much. I haven't actively taken lessons in about 14 years. For an hour and a half I get to assistant teach a class of 7-10 years olds. They are new to dance so we start simple - shuffle, plie, jazz square, etc. They are so earnest and try so hard; they are a joy to work with. After that class I have my own, an hour of tap lessons. Such bliss. And I push myself, hard. I am a competitive person by nature and when the teacher asks if I want to try that up to tempo, of course I say yes. Everytime. It's a great workout and definitely a highlight of my week.

My other favorite part of the week is Saturday morning. I don't sleep in, I don't lounge around. I am out of my bed and out the door in time to get to my Weight Watchers meeting by 8:30. I have an awesome, amazing, inspiring leader. She really energizes me and inspires me to make good food choices throughout the week. The other people in the meeting are great. It's only 45 minutes out of my Saturday but I look forward to it every week. I enjoy it so much it almost makes me want to stay in Texas.

Friday Fun

Thursday Recipe

This is another recipe courtesy of Pinterest. Chicken and Apple salad. How yummy does this sound? I'm thinking of making this on Sunday to take for lunches next week.

Ingredients

2 chicken breast halves
2 small apples
1/2 medium red onion (I'm including this in the recipe but since I don't like raw onion, will omit when I make it)
1/4 dried cranberries
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the chicken breast - however you want, in a Foreman grill, in the oven, on the stove. Cook all the way through. Allow to cool.

2. Wash and dice the apple and onion.

3. Dice the chicken and place in a bowl with apple, onion, and cranberries.

4. In a separate bowl combine mayonnaise, mustard, yogurt, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir, taste, add more salt & pepper if necessary. Stir dressing into bowl with chicken, apple, onion, and cranberries. Enjoy!

Sweet Escape

Three weeks ago I made a decision. I follow Alton Brown of Good Eats/Food Network on Twitter and he was talking about giving up soda. I haven't had regular sugared soda in years, but I was drinking a lot of diet soda. Diet Coke, specifically. Oh how I love Diet Coke, and Diet Sunkist, and Diet A&W. Tasty tasty tasty. But I also got to thinking, there are a lot of chemicals in diet soda. It's not cane sugar. It's chemical sweetener. No calories, which is good, but a lot of aspartame. So I made a decision that night. No more soda.

It's not like I kept a lot of it in the house. I don't, but if I was out to dinner or passing by a Sonic, then there was definitely soda involved. But I quit. I pretty much stick to water and maybe a glass of crystal light iced tea with dinner. 99% of the time though, it's water. The third day was the hardest. I really really wanted a soda from Sonic. I held on though and now I don't even think about it really. I just automatically go for the water. I feel better. I don't know that I've noticed anything else different, other than that I use the restroom ALL THE TIME. I feel good about my decision and I feel good and that my friends is what it's all about.

Single Ladies

I happened to catch this clip on the today show this morning. For the longest time - high school, college, grad school, I thought all I wanted was to get married and have babies. Then I fell in love with being single. (I can hear my grandmother weeping now). I travel when I want; I have a career that I love; I'm back in school working on my doctorate. It's not that I don't think I could do these things if I were in a relationship or married. The decisions are just easier when you're the only one you need to consider. I've moved all around - much to my family's chagrin. I've tried new places and made friends all over the country, all on my own time. It works for me. I'm not downplaying being married or having kids. Being married makes some people happy; having kids makes some people feel complete. I'm not those people. While I will admit to the occasional bout of homesickness for New England or wistful longing for a return to North Carolina, I never feel lonely. Here's the clip from Today:

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Kate on the Mend

Lo and behold when I woke up this morning she had eaten a little bit of kibble. She's still not to 100% and I need her to drink water but I think we're making progress.

Jack has also stopped hissing at Kate which probably helps her feel a little better too. It can't feel good to be hissed at every time you come within 10 feet of another cat.