This week we had our final presentations on Monday, and then I was off to Minnesota for winter break! I’ll be on break until January 16th when I’ll begin my clinical rotation. Since I’m not doing a lot of intern stuff over break, I’ll be posting general life updates until my semester starts back up again.
Here’s what my week looked like:
Monday:
We each had two final presentations today to finish off our semester. The first presentation was in groups about the nutrition intervention assignment we completed. My groupmate and I did our nutrition intervention on nutrition education sessions for young men recently diagnosed with high blood pressure. It was interesting to get to hear what other people’s interventions were about. One of the other groups based their intervention on blood pressure as well. The other groups talked about food insecurity in the elderly, and obesity prevention for adolescents. After these group presentations, we had a catered lunch together (Mediterranean-yum!!). Then, we each presented our research posters in the afternoon. It was cool to see what everybody chose to focus on (my poster was on fiber intake and belly fat). These posters were designed around the dietary and anthropometric data we gathered from high school freshmen throughout the semester. Overall, these students had very high sodium and sugar intakes, and low fruit/vegetable intakes. It felt very surreal to leave campus after these presentations since we were officially done with the first semester of our internship.
Tuesday:
I loaded everything I might need for the next month into my car and drove 7 hours to Minnesota. I was nervous about snow/ice, since it snowed Monday night, but the roads were completely dry (hooray!). Maggie was extremely excited to see me–her whole body wiggles with the force from her wagging tail. :P After relaxing for a couple of hours and eating supper, I had to run out to the grocery store with my mom to pick up chocolate fondue things for the blog post I wrote for the Chicago Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (posted later this week). It was a bit stressful to try and set up everything to take a nice picture the night before my post was due, but with the end of the semester and travelling, it’s the best I could do. I’m definitely a beginner when it comes to food photography, but it’s fun to experiment and get at least a semi-impressive photo out of it.
Wednesday:
Spencer and I made brunch together, and then went to get frozen yogurt in the afternoon. It doesn’t matter how cold it is outside, I am always up for getting frozen yogurt. Cherry Berry has been my go-to for years now (though I may be a bit biased since I worked there briefly in high school). Where’s your favorite place to get fro-yo?
Thursday:
I pretty much relaxed the day away–it’s been a long time since that’s happened! In the evening, I made homemade chicken noodle soup with my parents for supper. I was so busy during the semester that I rarely had time to do much cooking beyond pasta so it was nice to actually get back in the kitchen. I anticipate that I’ll be doing a lot more cooking before my break is over–when I actually have time for it, I find cooking to be relaxing.
Friday:
After my lazy day yesterday, I figured I should do something active, since I actually have the time now, so Maggie and I went on a nice long walk. My parent’s house is very close to some beautiful walking trails–lucky me! Getting out and moving in the fresh air with Maggie felt amazing–I definitely miss going on long walks with her. Ben, my younger brother, arrived from Duluth just in time for supper (chicken pot pie–so good!). He’s officially on his winter break now too from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Saturday:
We took Maggie to see Santa today! Our local Cabela’s had free photos with Santa, and they allow dogs, so of course I had to take my fur baby. :P The store was pretty packed, but personally I think the pictures are worth it. Maggie was a little apprehensive when we were waiting in line (lots of people and commotion), but she was happy and cooperative with Santa. She also got lots of pets from all the kids there which she loves! We spent the rest of our day relaxing, making chicken stir-fry, and playing card games.
Sunday:
We attended my cousin’s baby’s baptism. It’s always such a treat to see them since they live all the way out in Maryland. They had a get together at my grandma’s house after the baptism where we were all able to catch up and enjoy some yummy food. We’ll see them again for Christmas next week!
Overall, it was a week full of good eats and quality family time. My second blog post for the Chicago Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics was posted this week too! You can find it here. Until next week!