Mmmm, Friday :)

(picture)

I have completed 5 weeks at ODE, which means that next week is my last week! I have to admit, I am going to miss this rotation a little bit. It has inspired me to begin a nutrition blog, which is soon to follow :)

I was at the Oregon School Nutrition Association Administrators meeting today and guess what we did? We got a tour of Truitt Bros., Inc, an Oregon food processor of shelf stable products. We got a tour of their canning and production facilities, as well as an amazing lunch compliments of the company! That is the great thing about this profession--lots of opportunities for free, delicious food. ANYWAYS, we got to watch how fresh pears get canned! Have you ever seen those TV shows about how they make candy? I LOVE THOSE SHOWS! So this ended up being a lot of fun because I love watching the machines.

The weather ended up being nice enough for me to go for a run today--yay! I got a solid {30} minutes in--GO ME! Running is absolutely my preferred daily exercise regimine; I really hope that I am able to go during the winter.

When I got home, I made a yummy PEAR AND WALNUT SALAD:

• Spring mix lettuce
• Sliced pear
• Grilled chicken
• Toasted walnuts
• Goat cheese
• Raspberry vinegarette

~Toss, and enjoy!~

As for the rest of the night, I have been busy trying to relax: watching Just Friends, reading SELF, blogging, contemplating working on a project, texting my friend Mikey, iTunes shopping, and now watching That 70's Show. I'm feeling pretty tired and should go to bed. But I did want to share :) If you haven't, you should check out Taylor Swift's new music--SO GOOD!

My Walk to Work is Lovely, Thank You

Do you see the gradient of color?

What I always envisioned real "Back-to-School" looked like.

Look at these COLORS!


~So many *leaves* on the ground~

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to fall in the Pacific Northwest! For this soCal girl, this kind of fall is a welcome treat to the normal Santa Ana winds and blistering heat. I love it so much more than I ever thought I would! The pictures are taken in Salem, Oregon on my way to work at the Oregon Department of Education.

But as we transition out of this season, we head into cold, wet, cloudy, and dark--THAT I am NOT excited about :( Boo. It is going to make my running endeavors very, very challenging. My short exercise history is this: I have played basketball competitively since I was 7, stopped when I graduated high school, experimented with some different kinds of exercising, and fell in love with running my senior year of college. Who knew that I would be a distance runner?? Not me. Now, when I say distance, don't get crazy--right now I'm running between 2 to 3 miles. But if there is one thing I have learned about exercising on your own, it is this--it is FOR YOU. Therefore, go at your OWN PACE. If you can only run for {5} minutes, just do it for {5} minutes! If you STAY AT IT, your endurance and stamina will improve, and you will go farther faster, without burning yourself out. I love running the neighborhoods and watching kids play in their front yards and grandfathers out raking leaves. Plus, I get a solid {30-60} minutes of ME time where I feel fresh air fill my lungs and my feel my feet pound the pavement. I could not do it without my iPod--I put it on shuffle and let my mood pick what moves and shakes me.

If I want to maintain my sanity, I will need to become less of a weather wimp--living in Malibu for the last 4 years has TOTALLY spoiled me. Mission: buy shoes that can get wet, gloves that don't shed, and a rain/windproof jacket.

The great news is that tomorrow is Friday! That yeilds more good and bad news--good news is that Halloween is Saturday, and we interns are having a party! This will be the first that I have been too since April and it should be fun! Bad news is that I have A TON of homework due Monday, and I am going to be buried in it for the rest of my weekend. Yay and nay?