The End of an Era

Last week one of my favorite TV personalities said good bye to her day time show. I was two when the Oprah show first started. I remember watching it with my mother with my grandmother and then in college with my best girlfriends. I have laughed with Oprah, cried with Oprah and have grown up with the Oprah show being a constant. There have been long stretches when I couldn't watch due to work or classes etc. but the show was like an old friend no matter how long I had gone without watching all it took was one episode to get me right back in the swing of things. During her last episode Oprah shared what she called a love letter to her viewers. It was a summary of all the lessons she has learned during her 25 years. Although there where many valuable lessons she shared one really resonated with me.

"I've talked to nearly 30,000 people on this show, and all 30,000 had one thing in common -- they all wanted validation. ... They want to know, do you hear me? Do you see me? Does what I say mean anything to you?" -Oprah Winfrey


This is such a simple concept; yet, one I find so applicable to my life, especially my life as a physician. I have written before how one benefit to my career choice is interacting on a daily basis with people of all walks of life and nothing seems more valid to me than Oprah's statement. Everyone wants to be validated, wants to be heard and a big part of my job is making sure they are heard. 

I will miss the Oprah show but I am sure she will be on to bigger and better things at OWN. 

Kerri's Corn and Bean Salsa

Our friends were amazing helping out with the big graduation. Kerri brought an enormous bowl of her corn and bean salsa and it was the biggest hit of the party! I have been thinking about it ever since and yesterday I finally made up a batch of my own. She sent me the recipe to share and here it is. It is a great summer staple and I am sure I will be bringing it to many a BBQ.

Kerri's Corn and Bean Salsa

1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 can corn rinsed and drained (I used frozen because I had it on hand)
1/2 red onion diced
1 big bunch of cilantro chopped
3 scallions minced
1-2 jars of your favorite salsa (Kerri recommended Chi-Chi's medium)
The juice of 2 limes squeezed

Toss it all in a bowl and mix until it becomes thick and soupy. This is great as a topping for tacos, quesidillas, chips etc.

Happy Summer!!!

First Blooms from the Garden

To my delight we inherited a hydrangea bush. I love love love hydrangeas almost as much as I love lilacs and they are just starting to bloom along with the rose bush I received as a graduation gift. I hope to have beautiful blooms all summer long! I love that we have a garden at our new house. The backyard is my favorite spot.

Chop't

I have a new take out obsession, Chop't. Basically it is a salad making dream. They have everything you could ever want in a salad and some stuff you never even thought could be good in a salad. You pick your choppings, pile them high and then they chop the daylights out of it and toss it in some dressing. The key thing about a Chop't salad is that each bite contains all the magic ingredients you selected, so every bite is perfect. I especially love a little goat cheese and some avocado as these creamy ingredients coat the rest of the salad and really pull it all together. My favorites are the Southwestern Chicken and the Vegetarian Power House which is especially good if you add some chicken or some goat cheese. My only problem is that there is not a Chop't right down the street. I have to travel a whole seven miles to get there and while not overly expensive if you were to eat it every day it would add up. So, yesterday I made my own homemade version of a Chop't salad and it turned out pretty darn good. Here is what I threw in to the bowl:

I started with some mixed herb salad
1/4 avocado
1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
2 tbs diced walnuts
1/2 cup peas
1 carrot diced
1 mackintosh apple
1 tbs balsamic vinegar

First I put all the ingredients except the vinegar on the cutting board and I went at it. I chopped until I didn't think the salad could take any more and then I tossed it all into my bowl and added my vinegar. It was delicious and will now be a weekly addition to lunch on E. Mason.

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day! Memorial Day in DC means Rolling Thunder is in town and if you have never experienced hundreds maybe even thousands of motorcycles flying by you, let me tell you it is quite an experience! Rolling Thunder is an annual rally to support prisoners of war and those missing in action. It started in response to the Vietnam War. It is an incredible event to watch. DC is taken over by bikers a dramatic change from the typical political stiffs. Capitol Hill is covered in leather and metal studs instead of the navy three button suit. I'll be out watching on Monday as they cruise their way around DC and Arlington honoring those who have served. 

DC Summer

I love living in DC for many reasons mostly because of the people here. It is nice that the winters are not so cold that spring sometimes comes in February and that we are within driving distance of many great East coast cities. Plus there are about a million things to do in DC and most of it is free. One thing I HATE about DC other than the traffic, metro riders who have no idea what they are doing and tourists is the summer. Summer used to be my favorite season. I used to wake up put on a bathing suit and spend all day at the lake. Michigan has beautiful lakes and perfect summers with cool mornings and evenings and toasty hot afternoons. DC lacks this key element of an enjoyable summer day - some relief from the heat. It is still MAY and it is in the 90s here in DC. By 9:30 AM it was too hot to sit in the sun and it never cools down. There is no choice but to run the air conditioning all the time and we never have much of a spring. We have maybe a few days at most where you can leave the windows open. I miss the spring. I miss lovely 70 degree mornings and evenings where you need a sweat shirt for a walk. It is possible to sweat from the second you wake up to the second you fall asleep in DC.

Yesterday I had Richard for the day while his parents moved to their new house. We spent a solid eight hours together and took a lovely trip to the park. I was worried the whole time if I put enough sun screen on him and where I could find a hat that might cover his sweet bald head. He looked so cute in the swing in just his onesie. But seriously if it is 90 degrees in May what will it be like in August? This Northern girl was never meant for Southern summers.

Well Hello Handsome!

Wedding fun!

Kevin and I spent this past weekend in Hawley, PA at the wedding of Rosy and Bennett. It was a true college reunion and all eight of my best friends from Bates were there in full force. It was amazing to be reunited with friends that always seem to know you best and no matter how long it has been since you last saw them you pick right back up as if no time has passed. It was a beautiful wedding and the whole experience made me so much more excited to get married myself. There is nothing better than having all the people you really care about and love in once place at the same time celebrating your decision to spend your life with the person you love most on earth. Beautiful!