here we go!

In less than an hour I will be on my way to the airport. This is a photo of Managua the part of Nicaragua that I am flying into. I am completely anxious/nervous/excited/worried and a million other things. Thank goodness for an extra long acupuncture appointment this morning! I guess I'd better pack!

While driving between clients today I started thinking about all the different languages that I hear in a week. Not sure what made me think about it, but I was almost surprised at the answer. I have families that speak one or more of the following languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Creole, Bengali, Russian, German, Serbian, and Mandarin. Quite a list! I am proud to say that I know a few words in a few of those languages. So much for my 4 years of high school French.

Pride 2012

Here are some photos of the massive parade that was yesterday. It was really amazing to see how many people were there. I feel very lucky that I live in a place where this event was so welcome and embraced by the city. It made me think about the people who don't have that. I try never to forget how lucky I am that I can walk down the street holding hands with a girl and no one pays any attention. I even have the right to get legally married. Pretty awesome. And as your can see from the photos, there was a lot of celebrating of all of that.

About 6 months ago I decided that I needed to add exercise to my life. Did I want to? No way. Do I enjoy it? Well, I do after I'm done. I've never been any bit athletic and people throughout my life have consistently reminded me of that. Six months ago I walked into the gym for the first time in a really long time. I logged 5 miles on the elliptical. It took just over an hour. Over time I have shaved off quite a bit of time and have done it in as little as 51 mins and 44 seconds. Two weeks ago I faced a new challenge: running outside. A friend asked me to go with her and while completely sure I couldn't handle it, I went. We ran about 4.5 miles. I only walked for about 50 yards. When we made it back to her house I was exhausted but so proud of myself...and a bit shocked! Two days later I did 3 miles. Yesterday I returned to the scene of the crime. I decided to do the loop that I did with my friend. It was rough, but I did it with about the same amount of walking. I was almost back to my starting point and realized I was just shy of 5 miles. So, I circle the block and made it 5 miles! Unfortunately, the running has left me with an injury. I see my acupuncturist tomorrow to assess it. If you live anywhere near Boston and hear screaming tomorrow night, it will be me as she works on me. She's amazing, but the body work is incredibly painful. The photo was as I was running back across the bridge into Boston.

Even the fountains are preparing for gay pride week in Boston!

That's right. We totally went here and did the tour....

A delicious batch of dinners for the week. This is a new recipe that I tried tonight. I like something that is basically dumping things into a pan and putting it into the oven. This was exactly that. Check it out for yourself here.

Red Sox

Last night was my very first Red Sox game! While I have been to many Celtics games, this was my first Fenway experience. It was pretty fun, but MUCH slower paced than basketball. It was over FOUR HOURS. The photos were from our seats (except the 1st one)

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Cradles Photos

This place is SUPER organized. Each bin is labeled with the size/sex of clothing or the toy's appropriate age, etc. It's my dream! The 2nd photo is the station where I was. We emptied bags of donated clothes and made sure they were in top condition. It was amazing to see just how much gets donated.

Cradles to Crayons

Today I volunteered for the 2nd time at Cradles to Crayons. Cradles is one of the most amazing organizations that I have ever come in contact with. It started when one woman realized how many kids go without basic essentials like clothes, shoes, books, and even toys. Since the early 2000s it has grown to fill a 35,000 sq. ft. warehouse. Everything is donations. There are strollers, books, clothes, toys, blankets, bottles, shoes, etc. It is an overwhelming place to see. I am the Cradles contact person for my office and each month put in an order. The clinicians I work with fill out forms of what their clients need. I submit these orders online and within a week get word that the order is ready. While they can't always fulfill everything, they do a pretty awesome job. I always leave there with my car packed to capacity. They serve over 300,000 kids in Massachusetts each year. There is also a division in Philly. They rely on volunteers and have over 20,000 of them each year. I took a few pictures to show just how massive (and incredibly organized) this place is. It truly is a savior for so many of the families that we work with.

It was that kind of day....lots of rain. Perfect for wellies. Home visiting without them? No way.

When I get time, and the motivation, I make a special snack for my Monday group. The babies in the group are anywhere between 7 and 15 months. I make things that are easy but healthy. It's a nice opportunity to talk healthy food and eating with the parents and hopefully inspire them to try something new. Tonight I made waffles with beets inside. I cheated using canned beets and waffle mix. I mashed the beets with a fork (probably should have pureed them to make it smoother) and made the mix according to the directions. However, I slowly added the water. It didn't need as much as recommended due to the juice of the beets. We'll see how they go over. The small container is the remaining beets that I pureed for the younger babies.

Due to a busy week I did some prep tonight. A whole tray of baked veggies (red peppers, garlic, asparagus, mushrooms, and brussel sprouts), and a container of quinoa. I love knowing that everything is ready to go and easy to grab. Carrots in small containers to eat in the car. A small container of mixed fruit for each day. Also for in the car. I drive a lot during the day and need things that travel well. l (

patriots day/marathon monday

Thanks to Patriot's Day I had today off. It was 80 degrees and sunny which was perfect for a 3 and a half hour walk. Okay, maybe there was a brief stop to buy new sandals and 30 or 40 minutes of lying under the trees in the park. This week I am house sitting, but this time I also have the dog. Max was part of the journey today. We even took another half hour walk tonight!
Photos are a few places we were.

Something Major

From:
Boston Logan, MA , US (BOS)
To:
Managua, Nicaragua (MGA)

Depart:
Thu, Jun 14, 2012
06:45 pm - 12:16 am (+1 day) (1
Stop)

Return:
Fri, Jun 29, 2012
01:10 am - 11:15 am (1 Stop)

Evan and I were here tonight to watch the Celtics beat the Wizards!

If you know me in "real life" you know that I have less faith in western medicine than the average american. This isn't for lack of knowledge or intelligence. Actually you could say that it's because of those things and experience with the alternative. I'm in the last few pages of the book Suffer the Children: the case against labeling and medicating and an effective alternative. If you work in any type of health care field you see how easy it is for drugs to be prescribed, especially to kids. While there is an argument that there are those rare cases that drugs are needed, there are far more times that they're not but given anyway. Why they are so readily given out is a topic for another day. The author of this book states in the last chapter something that made me stop dead in my reading tracks. "Antipsychotics are the single biggest drug expenditure for medicade. Medicade provides antipsychotic drugs free of charge to covered children.....Children on medicade are given antipsychotic drugs at a rate 4 times higher than children on private insurance." I don't know about you but that leaves me feeling ill and disappointed, yet again, in our "healthcare system."

Raw Truffles

Tonight's experiment? Raw truffles! After eating a few, I think I can say that they are a success. Super easy and yummy. I'm guessing they won't last long in my meeting tomorrow.

Upscale Pub Crawl

Yesterday afternoon/last night was spent enjoying a few different bar/restaurants in Boston. A friend of mine had friends in town who are looking to purchase real estate and wanted to check out different neighborhoods. They started int he Back Bay and I met up with them on the 2nd stop in the South End. Picco, our S. End stop is a great place for pizza (we had the roasted garlic) and a glass of wine. Then we headed to J.P. (Jamaica Plain) to Tres Gatos. Incredible wine/tapas bar that also has a used book store and record store in it. It's way more upscale than it might sound. The cheese plate with fresh honeycomb was amazing, not to mention my 2 different wine choices. The location is in an old house. There are only a couple of rooms and they are small, which make for a great atmosphere. Highly recommend! The final stop was across the street at Canary Square. Description from their website: Warmly furnished with a bar of reclaimed wood and chairs made from recycled materials. We didn't eat anything here, but the cocktails were great. This tour was so much fun and the best part was being home in my bed by 10. I like a good time, but just can't do the staying out all night thing!
Each restaurant mentioned above has a link to its website.

Disturbing

For every 1% increase in calories obtained from saturated fat, food costs drop 28 cents, and for each 1% increase in calories gotten from sugar, you'll save seven cents. All of which helps at least partially explain why way too many people are eating junk, getting fat, and falling ill. It's a lot cheaper -- at least in the budgetary short term.