Hurriquake 2011

Hi Friends,

I haven't blogged since last week, and as a budding writer that is unacceptable.  I did finish up an introduction to a paper that has been weighing on me for much too long.  Now to only finish up the results, write the discussion, and get it published.  That will be resolved in no time.

Someday I'll have a book to add to this pile!

But enough of that work-related stuff.  I went back to KC this past weekend and spent lots of time with two very gorgeous young men (2 months and 21 months) and have pictures and videos to share.  Perhaps it shall be a weekend project.  It will be a great weekend project because....

HURRIQUAKE 2011

This weekend is my first hurricane!  I am so excited.  I just recently experienced my first earthquake and multiple aftershocks *more on that in a second* and now I get the chance to experience a hurricane.  This weekend is the weekend of the hurriquake (2011 edition) and I get to be a part of it.  I'm honored.

The preparations involve buying some water, getting some non-perishable food, and most importantly, stocking up on red wine that does not need to be chilled to be enjoyed.  And maybe some chocolate.  Perhaps I'll bake something.  These are the important issues to consider when preparing for a hurricane (it was in the official preparation media).

The shelves look like this

This is wine...you knew that.

I'm a cookie monster.

Now, back to the earthquake.  I have a confession.  I haven't felt a damn one of them.  Tuesday was the day of the *big* one.  By California standards, we are apparently wusses who can hardly survive a sneeze.  But it was big for the non-prepared, non-earthquake-ready lives we lead here on the east coast.

Some of the damage!

It happened up there.

But now the story.  I had just finished aforementioned introduction and decided to waltz up the street to purchase a little Starbucks yummy as reward.  It was 75 degrees and glorious outside, so I felt it was a great way to kill 30 minutes.  As I was walking back, iced soy vanilla latte in hand, the earthquake apparently hit.  I say apparently because the first inkling I had that something was awry was from the people sprinting out of my building yelling and staring upward.  I'm pretty sure they were looking for a plane in the post-9/11 hysteria that is understandable in this area of the world.  There wasn't a plane.

But there was an earthquake.  And I didn't feel it.  We have now had multiple aftershocks that wake people from deep sleeps and get mentioned on the morning news.  Yet nothing, nothing, have I felt.  I'm an earthquake ignoramus.  And to be fair, I actually do not wish to have an earthquake that is strong enough for me to feel it.  Obviously, if its strong enough for me to feel it, it might be bad.

That is all for now my friends.  Look for a post about the conclusion of hurriquake weekend and my trip home to KC soon.

Love,
Amber

Desiree in DC

Dear Friends,

This past weekend was rather great.  I was honored with the presence of soon-Dr. Desiree in my area of the world.  She swooped into town Friday night after only three hours in transit (it will never be that short for me, as I am always going the wrong way with traffic).  She brought along cuddly and sweet Kya, the yellow lab, for our weekend mis-adventure.

Although cuddly, Desiree is not Kya. Kya's in yellow.

We went to downtown Bethesda for a late dinner and drink, talked for a while, and then headed to bed.

Saturday morning, at the lovely hour of 6am, Desiree bounded into my bed to welcome the day...I groaned and drug my tired bootie to get ready.  After returning ourselves to our normal beautiful state, we ventured to Starbucks and hit the metro (subway) down to Alexandria, VA.  Our mutual friend, Kristi, picked us up, delivered us to Starbucks numero dos of our day, and showed us around Old Town Alexandria.

Kristi.

From there we visited Arlington National Cemetery.  It is an amazingly beautiful, austere, and humbling place. We were lucky enough to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  I haven't witnessed so many people standing quietly and respectfully in a long time.

Next, we visited Ray's Hell Burger, a favorite of President Obama, for burgers, sweet potato fries, and vanilla milkshakes.  My hands were too greasy and happy to take pictures.  From there we moved to the mall and the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

After braving the crowds in the museum, we made our way back to Bethesda, my apartment, and dinner out on the big town.  We dined on seafood, multiple bottles of wine, and drinks out afterwards.  Without divulging very secretive discussions of our future bestselling books, I will say we had a fabulous evening.

Deep discussion!

Beeee-utiful!

After dinner, we retired to my abode for some shenanigans and wine aplenty.  Then we slept soundly.  Both Desiree and Kristi had to sleep on the recliners in the living room as I severely lack guest-roomage.  Then Sunday involved a lot of nothing.  Kristi left for a brunch.  Desiree and I watched a marathon of Jerseylicious. Then she headed home.  Overall, it was a brilliant weekend, one I badly needed.  This weekend: KC!

Much love friends,
Amber

Truth

“It's no good pretending that any relationship has a future if your record collections disagree violently or if your favorite films wouldn't even speak to each other if they met at a party.”

Nick Hornby

Photo Book

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Working on some projects...the most crafty you'll ever see me!

Southwestern Eggroll Recipe

Happy Thursday Friends,

Two days ago, I attempted to create a healthier/yummier/easier/cheaper version of Chili's Southwestern Eggrolls.  I'm not sure I succeeded completely (maybe they turned out equally delicious rather than more so, and it took more effort than ordering take-out).  Nevertheless, I think the process and the outcome were both rewarding.  I did not add any meat, but chicken could easily be added at whatever step you wish.  I found them to be amazing without it.

Southwestern Fakerolls

Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
2 jalapenos, diced
15oz can of corn, drained and rinsed (I actually used 2 cobs of freshly cut corn from the farmers market and it was amazing)
15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
15oz can of green chile enchilada sauce
1 bunch of cilantro, torn or cut into small pieces
1 cup pre-cooked brown rice
Cumin and Cayenne pepper to taste (or your own favorite taco seasoning)
1 tbsp olive oil
Eggroll wrappers (a bit bigger than wonton wrappers and can be found in the refrigerated section of most stores)
Pepper jack cheese (I used rice cheese to avoid dairy)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.
Add onion, red pepper, and jalapenos to pan and saute/soften for a few minutes.
Add black beans, corn, green chile, rice, seasoning, and cilantro (to taste) and cook until thickened.

In the meantime, spray a large baking sheet with Pam (or Pam alternative).
Open the eggroll wrappers, grab your cheese, and prepare a little place for the wrapping activity to occur.

When the eggroll stuffing is thickened, lay an eggroll wrapper out, place your cheese along the diagonal, and spoon 2 to 3 heaping spoonfuls across the top of the cheese (the eggroll wrapper should be laid out like this <> and you put the filling in the middle).

Now roll it up (the package should have instructions for this).  I folded in the sides and then wrapped the top and bottom across the sides, using water to stick the edges together.
Place the roll on the greased baking sheet.
Continue to roll until all your filling is done (I ended up with 14 rolls).
Spray the tops of the rolls with Pam to aid with crisping (I actually didn't have any and they turned out fine, but I think they would be even better this way).
Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

I found the rolls were amazing without any sauce, but you could easily dip into salsa or ranch dressing for an added oomph.

If you try them, I hope you find them as delicious as I did.  I completely made up the recipe, so I imagine you will come up with something even better than I have!  Let me know what you do to make this better.

Much love,
Amber

Chicago!

Happy Monday!

I am sitting in the final week of my summer cancer course, trying to stay awake/engaged.  This week focuses on molecular cancer prevention.  Words such as apoptosis, stromal remodeling, and neovasculature have been flung  toward my brain but have yet to find a hospitable (and intellectually able) landing strip.  In fact, as I nodded off while pretending to listen earlier, I decided it was time to focus on the important things in life...my blog!

This past weekend I was blessed to be able to join my friends Sara, Elizabeth, Lydia (Elizabeth's almost 3 year old daughter), and Cody in Chicago.  Sara recently began her big girl job at St. Xavier University, and so we crashed her new apartment and toured her new professional digs.

It was a tremendous weekend full of touring, eating, drinking, and enjoying some of my favorite people on earth.  Our two most organized outings were to the Museum of Science and Industry (largest science museum in the western hemisphere) and south to see St. Xavier.  We ate and played at various locations in-between.

I will briefly outline the trip (read if you choose), and post pictures below.  You can also check the full album at my Picasa site: https://picasaweb.google.com/amber.koblitz/AugustInChicago.

Friday
Arrived in Chicago.
Toured Sara's 600 square foot studio apartment.
Walked with Cody, Sara, Elizabeth, and Lydia to dinner down the street.

Dinner!

Stayed up late-ish talking with Sara and Elizabeth.

Saturday

Walked right next door to the Oak Park farmer's market for fruit, flowers, and donuts.

Lydia picked this flower herself.

Amazing donut!

Road the L downtown to meet up with Cody and head to the Museum of Science and Industry

First ride on the L!

Chicago is beautiful, even through a window!

Spent hours in the museum (check out the photos, there are too many to post here)

The museum.

Shhhh!

The ladies!

Went to The Burger Bar for eats and drinks and merriment.

Good beer!

Good cider!

Rode the train home and stayed up late watching movies, talking, and drinking with Sara and Elizabeth.  

Sunday

Went to breakfast at a cute corner diner right down the street from Sara's apartment.

My breakfast!

Drove south to St. Xavier's to see Sara's office and her new campus.

Sara's building.

Sara's office.

Headed to the airport and came back to DC.

Best airport food ever.

Great news about exercise (and how little you need for beneficial effects)

I just read a blog post, and will provide the link below, that discussed new studies (yay psychology!) that suggest that even very moderate activity such as walking and simple lifestyle activities can have beneficial effects on cognitive/mental ability in one's later years.  One of my favorite quotes came from a study in which sedentary women in their 70s were able to stave off mental decline simply by walking around the block.

"Walking and other light activity had bought them, essentially, five years of better brainpower."


I love that science is supporting the conjecture that any type of movement is better than nothing.  Walking five minutes is better than not.  Doing one's dishes by hand and hanging up laundry is better than allowing the dishwasher and dry cleaner to do the work.  


In my own life, I have long had an all or nothing approach to life.  My Mother accused me (often) of being too black and white.  I've always either been on a diet or eating whatever I wanted, been in the midst of a rabid workout routine or lazy, been really happy or really sad.  I'd like to think that I am starting to recognize and embrace the loveliness of the gray area in-between, and I love that science supports my move to moderation and away from extremism.  


Happy Thursday friends.  Tomorrow: Chicago (and probably a bit of happy, eating, lazy extremism!).
Love,
Amber


http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/how-exercise-can-keep-the-brain-fit/

For Chip

On my August 19th-21st trip to KC I will be enjoying the company of Chip Cohlmia, MPHer and friend extraordinaire.  It will be deliriously exciting, and will hopefully kick off his school year in a glorious way.

My upcoming plans...

Dear friends and family,

I like to pretend you're out there reading these.  I'm collecting quotes and advice from some of my favorite writers and websites to astound you, my pretend readers, in the future.  I might even get around to expounding upon insights of my own.  Until then, I write some updates, and post some pictures, and enjoy the feel of typing something other than research.

I'm particularly excited about several of my plans approaching forthwith.  Let's do a rundown of the next month, shall we?

In two days and five hours, I get to fly to Chicago to see Sara, Elizabeth, Cody, and Lydia (clap and cheer now!!!).  It's a short two day trip that will only serve to get me excited for future trips, but it will be amazing nonetheless.  You'll read about it next week.

Then, I actually have a weekend in the DC area.  So what shall I do?  Unless I become terribly lazy and want to enjoy a weekend in my own apartment, I plan on driving to a nearby beach or go down to see Desiree in Roanoke.  I'm  not sure which.  I find am rather motivated to drive to Roheboth Beach, DE that Saturday because I've found several fun things to do (national skimboarding championship, art festival) and I would enjoy lazing about the beach by myself.  We shall see.

Then, the next weekend I zip back to KC for a short two-day trip to play with my nephews and hopefully meet up with a few friends for drinks and relaxation.

AND THEN...the next weekend (August 27th) I'm going to the Jersey Shore!!!!!  My friend Paige has a family beach house, and several of my friends and I are planning on joining her there for a weekend of birthday celebrating, relaxation, and whatever else might happen :-)  I intend it to be epic.

AND THEN (I know, the excitement never stops)...the next weekend I fly to St. Louis for Labor Day weekend for fun and games in the hopefully cooler weather with my family.  It shall be an amazing way to say goodbye to the first summer of this adventure.

Okay, pretend readers, I'm out!  Have a happy Wednesday.
Much love,
Amber

Amazing wedding weekend!

This weekend I flew home to Kansas to attend the wedding of my best friend from college.  Without boring you too much about our past, I'll just say we haven't seen each other at all over the past seven years but we have this amazing friendship in which it seems to not matter at all.  She's brilliant, beautiful, creative, organized and amazingly fun.  I was honored to be a part of her gorgeous day (a day that she designed and created almost completely on her own).

I don't have many pictures of the event, as I was trying to not melt (it was 101 degrees at wedding go time) and trying to help as much as possible, but I'll share some of them below.  Needless to say, if you knew Rachel, you would know that the entire event was perfect.

The runner up to the arch.

Bella, beautiful daughter and flower girl!

The archway that Rachel created.

Me...love love love that dress.

My gorgeous Mom!

Rachel looked amazing!

The wedding occurred up on the brick area...guests could watch from the deck.

The deck, pre-decoration.

Table lights.

Flowers on the tables.

Hanging throughout the event.

Alpha Chi Omega was present!

Amazing groom's cake wedding topper.

Miller (Jonathon Miller) + Rachel...several of these placed throughout.

The handsome couple. Wedding brunch.