February

It's hard to believe that it is already mid-February.I finished up gathering all of my preceptors information and forms and put them all in order, made copies, filled out a rotation schedule form and was so glad to be done with it! Then I completed my personal statement and updated my resume and spell-checked everything on my application on Sunday morning. Finally, I submitted my DICAS application and mailed my supplemental things to the University of Northern Colorado on Monday. I signed up for D&D Digital and now I get to play the waiting game until April 6th at 6:00pm to find out if I will be in the 2012 graduating class of the University of Northern Colorado's Distance Dietetic Internship. I am praying that all goes well, but I know that it is in God's hands what happens and everything will work out for the best.

So for a backup plan - I am applying to Liberty University online for a Master's in Health & Wellness.

As for wedding plans, with one shower out of the way (thank you Caitlin & Mrs. Joni Towns for being wonderful hostesses) I am a little over 3 months away from marrying my best friend and love, Benton! He and I are starting to meet with my old youth minister, Daryl next month for premarital counseling and I am excited! It's always great to have someone who has been married for a long time and not to mention has four adorable little girls to be a mentor and talk with us about all aspects of marriage and how God views it and everything.

Now that I have engagement pictures out of the way, I am getting down to the nitty gritty details of wedding planning. I have all of my registries complete and have a second shower coming up March 3rd for all of my Statesboro friends! I cannot wait to see everyone!

Not to mention, I will be in my sweet friend Holly's wedding in June and in Jenna's in September! I also have a wedding almost every month from May through November to go to. How exciting! Benton will be busy being my wedding date this year! :)

School is in the full swing of things with twelve hours this semester I thought it would be easy, but no, I am busier than ever! I have Metabolic Nutrition Therapy II, Experimental Food Science, International Studies, and Quantity Food Practicum. Every Wednesday morning, I am going into Nevil's Elementary School at 6:30am sharp and working in the lunchroom for practicum! Learning the flow of foods, sanitation and safety issues, delivery mechanisms, procurement, and everything else is helpful and makes for a long day! I thank Georgia Southern for making it be a requirement though, because I definitely have learned to appreciate the lunchroom staff more because by no means is it easy work or a short day! In experimental, I am working on developing a new product: Candied Couscous Cornbread. Soon, I will begin my trials and we will pray that all goes well! The idea is to make cornbread a sweet bread, since that is what I prefer! I am interested to see how everyone elses products turn out this semester.

Well, I better run so I can work on my experimental food science proposal and my metabolic nutrition therapy II case study on diverticulosis! :)

Ice Ice, Baby!

So here in south Georgia we have officially had our first "ice" of the year. Last year is snowed in February and I am keeping my fingers crossed to see another snow day soon! I have this week off and then I go back to college next week for my last first day of undergraduate classes EVER! I am very excited!

The ice outside is now melting and I am craving a good Keurig cup of coffee! My granny uses a Peculator to make her coffee and it makes some of the best coffee one could ever try but it makes a lot at one time, so for those who only one one or two cups, this is not the best solution. Whereas, my granny drinks coffee from sunup to sundown so she finds it useful. Now, my mama purchased a Keurig and I must say, it seemed expensive to buy the individual cups but when I thought about how much I spend at Starbucks on one drink, it no longer seems so bad. I absolutely love breakfast blends! No, they are not that strong, but they are delicious!

As for my Cricut expression that I received for Christmas. I have yet to use it a whole lot, I wrote my name on my sewing machine and on my Cricut. I made letters for my mothers car and I made a huge K for her pie plate but other than that I have not used it much. I ordered some material to attempt to make a few iron on things for little kids! I am anxiously awaiting its arrival so I can put my new Cricut to use!

Today I have been rather productive - I have merged all my duplicate Gmail contacts, I have contacted Verizon to successfully return my Android Eris #4 and FINALLY they agreed to send me a new phone the Droid 2. Reviews are not that great on this phone, but I am just ecstatic that they are sending me something other than the Eris. It is now being shipped overnight and will be here tomorrow for me to try out! Wish me luck!

Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred is in the works while I am at home - it always makes me feel much better when I exercise! I cannot wait to start jogging again! The wedding is just around the corner and I have a majority of things out of the way. I have my rehearsal dress, wedding dress, and reception dress - now all I need is shoes for these! Below is a picture of some of my bridesmaids when we went to let them try on dresses. They got to choose their own style dress in Satin or Cotton Sateen, they just have to have the same color - Sangria!

May

So I am still on Christmas break and I have one more full week off! 5 weeks at home has been so nice! I substituted all week this past week. I had first grade, special ed, fifth grade, and third grade. I absolutely love third grade students! If I was going to be a teacher - I would pray that I could teach them! They are super cute :)

I am currently working on the DICAS application for Utah State Distance Dietetic Internship and for Northern Colorado University Distance Dietetic Internship. I am praying that in April I will find out that I am accepted into one of the two. I have two of my preceptors forms completed - Ms. Dena Barrows, RD, LD, School Nutrition Director and Ms. Millie Smith, RD, LD, is going to be my Clinical preceptor. I am waiting on a district person from the Health Department to e-mail me back about being my community nutrition preceptor and I need to find a long-term care center for 2 weeks to complete rotations at.

The DICAS form is a little aggravating because it is the first year it has been used and being a transfer student, when I am entering my courses, on my ABAC transcripts, I have no idea if it is wanting to know the way it was named at that school or if it wants how GSU accepted it and what GSU called the class and in the instructions that is not listed. I have to have the DICAS form completed and have additional information mailed by February 15th. Time is moving so quickly!

Besides, internship stuff - I have been walking! My roommate Caitlin said that she got a new Jillian Michaels video that uses a Kettle ball - so I am definitely going to get one. We love the 30 day Shred video Jillian has - so I have no doubt that her new video "with weights" is a good one!

My first shower is the 22nd of this month! I can't believe it! I am super excited and I have no idea what I am going to wear!

My grandparents gave Benton and I a set of really pretty fine china and I am registered for casual china. It is Juliska Thread and Berry! I LOVE it! It is very pretty and I have already received my first gift! I dinner plate from that registry courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. Harrington! I was super excited, and no, I did not break the bow :)

My wedding is 140 days away - it is sneaking up! I have the florist and photographer out of the way. Below is a picture of my two main colors for the wedding, I call it sangria & lime :) And yes, the boys are wearing "toffee" colored tuxess!

I really have been wanting a puppy. My mother thinks that it is not the right time in my life to get a puppy, but they are so cute and I have a lot of patience and I can't help but to look at the online constantly. Benton and I have talked about it a lot and it definitely is in the future! We both like miniature schnauzers! This is a white one that is irresistibly cute from the kennel in which we are going to buy one from!

Benton and I went to the Falcons game last week and I had a blast! I loved that it was in a dome and the people were all so enthusiastic! It was one of the best Christmas gifts! Brandy & Jake gave the tickets to Benton, second row seats! At first I was a little hesitant about a football game in January thinking it was going to be long and cold and full of old people. I was wrong! It was a lot of fun, only cold outside, and people of all ages! I would definitely go back!

Well, back to working on the DICAS form. I am excited to see if here in south Georgia if we will see the "snow storm" on Monday that the weathermen are predicting!

New Years Resolution

I must stop biting my fingernails in 2011. On the way to the hairdresser yesterday I caught myself biting my nails out of boredom. I must stop this. I had a case of MRSA in May 2009 and it was not fun having surgery on my finger and literally removing the flesh all the way to the bone in order to stop the infection from spreading further. I almost lost the top part of my index finger on my right hand.

I am considering becoming an avid runner in 2011, I miss aerobics so much so I am sure that running could become a new addiction.

I love newspapers and this morning my father brought back the local newspaper. When I was checking the Harvey's salespaper has red seedless grapes on sale this week! I love red grapes and they are better than green grapes for you!

Preparation

Preparing for what comes after graduation in May began the day that I chose my major in college but never has it felt so real as it does during my last Christmas break during my college career.


After taking the GRE I was so excited and I still am but stress is what I call trying to make the "right" decision.


I applied for a job with a health district and listed on my resume that my anticipated graduation date is May 2011. I also applied for a job with a school system in a town nearby with the same thing listed. High hopes is why I applied, how great would it be to know that I have a job right out of college.


Also, I am working on DICAS applications for two distance dietetic internships. I have been working on setting up rotations with potential preceptors and it is neat getting to interact with Registered Dietitians in all of the fields out there in my surrounding community. So the applications are due February 15th and I will find out if I was accepted the second week of April.


Also, I am still working on figuring out which Master's program I want to apply for.


Moreover, I am still planning my wedding. It is less than 160 days away now. I am registered for my casual china, small appliances, linens, and home decor. I am so excited that my first shower is in January! My bridesmaids are getting their dresses in, I have alterations scheduled for February, I have booked the florist, cake baker, photographer, and a lot more! The save the date's have been sent and now the tedious job of finding and booking a caterer!


My mama and I was talking today and she made the statement that my granny thinks that no one actually listens to nutritionists and dietitians in clinical settings. I hate that my granny feels this way, but to some extent it is true. Medical Nutrition Therapy is often practiced but changes are never made in any persons life until he or she is actually willing to change their ways or in this case eating patterns and diet. A diabetic could be a diabetic for years and the damage that occurs to his or her body over time may increase the persons willingness to change their ways and improve their lifestyle, but it may take years for the person to see it. Just like with heart patients, it may take someone having multiple heart attacks for him or her to realize that diet and exercise may really be beneficial. Sometimes a person giving one a diet "to try" is not enough. It takes a willing and motivated heart with a burning desire to change. The same goes with any profession, not just nutrition. Teachers in classrooms can teach a classroom until they are blue in the face but if a student is not willing to put effort into paying attention and studying and actually wanting to learn the material, then the lesson will not be remembered. I think that there are a lot of grateful people in the world that have benefited from a nutritionist or a dietitian out there.


I still get the question: What do you do with a degree in nutrition? There are endless opportunities. In my small town there are at least three registered dietitians that I can name. One is at the health department working with Women, Infants, and Children. One is the School Nutrition Director who is also over the Summer Feeding Program, and contracted out through the local hospital, and the other dietitian is a clinical dietitian at the Medical Center of Central Georgia working with both inpatient and outpatient settings. There is also a dietitian that is contracted through the local dialysis center and at the local long-term care facilities. That is not even near the only job options. Registered Dietitians are all over television now on talk shows, on the food network, and on other shows. Dietitians can work for corporations such as US Foods and Mars M&M. Some insurance agencies hire dietitians in order to reduce their costs. Dietitians can be employed with the military as a civilian on the bases or enlisted. Dietitians work selling products such as natural herbs and in organic stores as consultants. Some retailers hire dietitians to be "personal grocery shopping assistants," some dietitians are lactation consultants, some are private consultants or business owners, programs like weight watchers hires nutritionists and dietitians, some dietitians get paid to write for magazines such as Shape or Cosmopolitan, some dietitians get paid to blog, and there are endless opportunities in media and sales for dietitians. Dietitians also work with research since nutrition is a "new science" and products and supplements are constantly being developed research opportunities are endless. So is nutrition and dietetics a useless field? No! I think not!

Christmas is Saturday! Where has this year gone? It seems like I was just at Benton's (my fiance') friends house for New Years Eve playing catch phrase with friends waiting on 2010. I am so grateful for this time of year though where my Savior's birthday is celebrated because God sent his only son to save sinners like me and you. I am so grateful that I know that my father was born to save! My sins are forgiven and my life is in his hands. All of the preparation in the world could never prepare me for things that he has planned. I constantly try my best to plan every detail of my life, but God is in control and will provide and has every plan already laid out for me and my future. And sometimes, it takes a while for me to step back and remember this. 

Miss Nutrition

The future scares me - but when I sit down and think about what I love and what my dream jobs would be here is a list:

I would love to be a Martha Stewart - Have my own show/blog/network with home projects and recipes

I would love to be a Dietitian and work for a television station and do short segments on nutrition and food science and healthy living.

I would love to travel the world and have Samantha Brown's job.

I would love to plan weddings - oh how I love details in things!

A country singer ;) of course that requires talent!

Ah back to reality... I honestly have no idea what I am going to do with my life. I graduate with my Bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Food Science with an emphasis in Dietetics in May. I apply for graduate school and for dietetic internships in early spring. I find out if I have been selected for an internship the second week in April. Oh, and the other thing - I am marrying my best friend and prince charming at the end of May. So I have a lot of decisions to make! What do I want to pursue a Master's degree in? Journalism? Media? Community Health? Master's of Art in Teaching? Family and Consumer Sciences Education. So many options! I know that I want to work with people! I love children too! I love to travel also. So why is it that choosing places to apply for internships is so difficult? Well, first of all - Benton, my soon to be husband, has a great job but he is willing to move and he completely supports me in 100% of the things I choose to do. He constantly reminds me of what I am capable of and not to limit myself. I pray about this a lot and its still so hard to decide. Graduate school on the other hand, what do I want to do? Master's programs often have courses that are required before entrance into the program. I have researched and I just want to do something that I love. The question is where is that offered? Also, I kind of want to go ahead and begin work and pursue a master's degree online that way I can begin saving money and building up retirement. There are so many choices!

An option is school nutrition director. I can apply for jobs that may come open niear graduation and be under provisional status for 5 years that will require me to obtain a Master's degree and a certificate for a school nutrition director. I would love to do that, but I imagine it is stressful. That is why I have been researching, talking to current professionals in this field, and job shadowing.

Overall, I know that God has a plan for me and he will never leave me. He is in control and the more that I try to stress about it and take over and plan every detail, the more I am telling him that I am not trusting that he will provide. So I have prayed about it and decided that I am not going to settle, I am going to find what I love and go for it. I love my small town and family but if I never try new things, I will not allow a door to open in which God could be leading me towards. So here it goes - research into programs and internships and job opportunities has now begun. Will you see me on television one day as "Miss Nutritionista?" Maybe so! Will you see me in the hallway at your child's school teaching family and consumer sciences or planning meals for their lunchroom? Maybe so! Will I be in a clinical setting as a Registered Dietitian? Possibly! But my journey has begun and in these next six months, we will definitely have some fun and stress. Wedding planning - here I come!

Pineapple Casserole

20-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
2/3 c. sugar
3 T. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. margarine, melted
1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
2 c. Ritz crackers, finely crushed

Combine all ingredients except cracker crumbs; place in a lightly greased 8"X8" baking pan. Top with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, until hceese is melted. Serve warm. Makes 4 servings.

Recipe from Ashley Hartley 

:)

I am making this and green bean casserole tonight! YUM!