Scientists on the road to success

First and foremost, I must congratulate my friend Michelle on receiving a grant from the American Heart Association. Michelle is a grad student at Duke, working on her Ph.D. in cell biology, additionally, she is an excellent pianist and handbell-ringer. GO MICHELLE!!!

Today, I started back to writing my thesis, as I have a meeting with my advisor next Monday, where I am supposed to turn in rough drafts of Chapters 1-3 (introduction, lit review, and methodology). I now have VERY rough drafts of Ch's 1 and 3, and a rough outline of Ch. 2. Our goals for the summer are to get these chapters written so that I can propose my thesis when school starts back in August. Then it's onto the really fun stuff: getting IRB approval, recruiting subjects, collecting data, analyzing the results, and figuring out what it all means.

In the words of Bill Nye the Science Guy, "Science rules!"

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit

As an aspiring exercise physiologist and PE instructor at UNC, I study things like human performace, fitness, sports nutrition and human physiology, so I am constantly being reminded about how proper nutrition and exercise are vital to staying healthy and fit for life, athlete or not. I have always been fond of the verse from 1 Corinthians where Paul says that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. If we all thought of our bodies in that way, there would be a lot less obesity and other behavior-related diseases (including those related to substance abuse, sexual activity, poor nutrition, and being sedentary). I've included an excerpt of 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, where Paul talks about our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit. In this section, of 1 Corinthians, Paul is specifically talking about this in relation to sexual practices, but I've taken those references out to make it apply to all behaviors.

"You say, 'I am allowed to do anything'--but not everything is good for you. And even though 'I am allowed to do anything,' I must not become a slave to anything. You say, 'Food was made for the stomach and the stomach for food.' (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) They [our bodies] were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead. Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Don't you realize that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body."

My Mac-ified PC

Thanks to Flyakite OSX, I have transformed my Dell laptop into a Mac! I mean, the operating system is still Windows, but Flyakite OSX has allowed me to configure the appearance of my desktop and programs to look like Mac OSX. I even have the blue apple icon on the top left-hand corner and the dock taskbar with the bouncing icons. It is so cool!

Going to the next level

As you probably already know, I am a recreational runner, heavy emphasis on the word "recreational." For a long time, I stayed around the 5K distance because it was pretty easy, didn't take much time to train for, and there are 5K road races virtually every weekend. But last fall, I decided I wanted to take my running to the next level and train for a 10K. I ran the Carrboro 10K in October and the Cary Wakemed Distance Festival 10K in March, and really enjoyed it. Now, I have decided to go to the next level and train for a half-marathon. My goal is the City of Oaks Half Marathon in Raleigh on November 4th. Right now, I am kind of in maintenance mode with my weekly mileage, but I will officially start training for the half in July, approximately 16 weeks before the event. I will be in good company; two of my classmates are going to train with me, so hopefully we will be each other's motivation and accountability partner. Wish me luck!

The best grocery list of all time

This is an article from Runnersworld.com which is one of my favorite websites (see link to the website on the right under "favorite links." It lists 15 foods that every runner should consume on a regular basis for optimal performance. I think that any active person should consume these foods regularly no matter your sport.

Here is the article URL:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--10200-0,00.html?cm_re=HP-_-Quick%20Links-_-The%20Best%20Grocery%20List%20Of%20All%20Time

Easter Triduum Pictures

Here is the link to our Easter Triduum/Easter Sunday photo album from St. Thomas More. If you go to the Easter Vigil album, you'll see me playing oboe in a few of the pics.

http://www.extendgallery.com/stthomasmore/gallery/triduum07

Updates

I have updated my "favorites" lists on the right side of my blog. I've added Favorite Sports and Favorite Musical Groups/Artists.

Blackberry Strawberry Apple Crisp: Antioxidants x 3

Last night for our advanced exercise physiology "final exam" (i.e. cookout), we all had to bring foods that had anti-aging qualities. I made a blackberry strawberry apple crisp. Blackberries, strawberries, and apples contain polyphenol antioxidants which can help reduce inflammation, coronary artery disease, and wrinkling of skin. I used the apple crisp recipe from the Joy of Cooking, which makes a great-tasting crisp every time.

Also making an appearance at the cookout were two salads, mashed sweet potatoes, grilled portabello mushrooms, couscous, banana walnut chocolate bread, spring rolls, almonds, dark beer, red wine, a veggie tray, and a fruit tray.

The light at the end of the tunnel

I can see it...the end of finals...it's almost here! Actually, I am pretty much done wth my finals. I turned in my research methods final on Tuesday, I had my lab oral final on Wednesday, and we had our advanced exercise physiology "final" (cookout) last night.

The only things I have left to do are to turn in grades for the PE classes that I teach, and to redo the two items on my lab oral final that I missed. Then I can officially say that my first year of grad school is done. I will celebrate by getting a good night's sleep.