For the Love of Friday

St. Louis is not a trendy city. The summers are too hot, there is no cross country skiing, and no easily accessible fresh water. Many of my classmates are adamant they are exiting as soon as classes end, and I understand that view. I could use more family closer, some skiing, and some swimming too. But on a day like today, running through the park with the dog, anyone who can't find some love in their heart for St. Louis doesn't have much of a heart.

So I can add a fourth genre of things on the blog: photos of the park. Today I have nothing but photos of the park.... 

 

This weekend I am super pumped about Steve visiting. I am not so pumped about homework. But both of these things will happen. Dinner with Phoebe's parents tonight, Steve in late. Between now and then, Epidemiology! 

Today I am thankful for: 

9. Legs that move (mostly) how I want them to. 

10. Helpful academic advisors and the promise of another semester with new things to learn. 

11. Hot showers. Even better, hot showers after a run.

6-7-8

6. I am thankful for hot coffee and heated seats on rainy days.

7. I am thankful for friends. The fact that I live three blocks from Phoebe makes this neighborhood soar in the coolness factor.

8. I am thankful for academic things with due dates. Because when they are done they are done!

Saturday in St. Louis

Today is the most beautiful fall day in St. Louis. Sunny and cool with lovely fall colors. A perfect day for a morning walk with the dog.

I am going to work on a month of being thankful as well. So here are 5 to start me off:
1. I am thankful for sunshine and fall colors.

2. I am thankful for Tower Grove Park, probably my favorite place in St. Louis:

3. I am thankful for a healthy and happy puppy, with lots of quirks and lots of character.

4. I am thankful for Ridley Dexter, a pretty fabulous kid who turns 3 today. Happy birthday from Raya and Nonny!

 5. I am thankful for Robin, who sees me at my worst and loves me anyway. Because that's the biggest gift I can imagine.  This article pretty much sums it up.

Here's hoping your Saturday is full of sunshine!

Washington, DC

    This past weekend was crazy and a little chaotic, but seeing one of my best friends was pretty great. Being with her while she bought her wedding dress wasn't half bad either ;). It poured rain the days I was actually free, and then the American Public Health Association conference was a flurry of activity. It was so nice to be involved in the Maternal and Child Health section though, and see all the things people do within public health. Being in DC again was really fun, and while I don't miss the price of rent, I do miss those people!
    Of course one of the few non-wedding dress related photos I took all weekend was of food: Chopt, a chain with pretty good salads. I ate it in the sunshine outside of the convention center. Sad that this is the only thing I think to photograph, but true.

    Then I got to fly home with Phoebe, and we had the best hour-long flight delay I can think of. We drank over-priced beers in the terminal, and could almost forget we were exhausted and delayed in a fairly empty terminal with mounds of homework to do. It was the best flight delay I've ever had.

You'd almost think we were somewhere classy, not in the airport getting kicked out of the restaurant as they closed!

Our new favorite grain base: polenta. So easy and so delicious: bring 6 cups of water to a boil, add 1.75 cups of polenta corn grits, cook 15 minutes. I added a tablespoon of butter, a little bit of parmesan, and some Tony's (again, thanks dad).

Terrible photo, but oh well. Trader Joe's sells southern greens all ready to cook.

Unrelated, but snuggly puppies and partners are the best. 

This weekend will be full of conference in DC, wedding dress shopping with one of my nearest and dearest, and hopefully lots of catching up in DC.

Today was the most beautiful day in St. Louis. And I didn't have to work, so I did homework, ran with the dog, and ran errands.

Today I am thankful for:
-Trees in our backyard (terrible photo, but it's the only one I have)

-Tomatoes from the garden - I swear October has given us more tomatoes than any other month!

-Changing leaves, puppies growing up, and all the telltale signs that time moves forward, and sometimes that's actually a good thing.

Breakfast

So it turns out I mostly talk about weather, food, and our dog on this blog. I might as well embrace it, so I made a fabulous sandwich today.

Onion and Kale Grilled Cheese:

Grill onions, add kale just before the end, just to get it wilted. White cheddar cheese, onions and kale mixture on whole wheat bread. Ate it with Trader Joe's cilantro dressing: if you've never had it, you should. So so delicious. Sitting on the deck with puppies on a sunny fall day was just about the perfect lunch.