Hello friends! I have been away for far too long for many reasons:

1. From 5:30-6:00am to 6:00-9:00pm I am out of my home due to internship rotations, seminars, volunteer hours and mentor meetings.

2. My current rotation is over 1 hour away (for 5 weeks), so 2+ hours are spent in the car.

3. Due to limited time I cook about twice a week (versus my normal 5+ times) and that typically occurs on Sunday and Wednesday when I have a little bit more time. On Sundays I make a lunch meal and some breakfast bites that usually last until Wednesday or Thursday(ex: bulgur and black bean salad, beet and arugula sandwich, banana bake, quinoa salad, etc.). Some of the events we attend provide breakfast or lunch or both, which really helps.

4.  On the weekends my time has to be devoted to: training for my 10k in October (!!!), washing massive amounts of laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, homework, homework, more homework and then if I am lucky, family and friend time. I attempt to catch up on sleep, but I hate to waste an entire weekend day just laying in bed because there is so much to do.

5. I have been having computer issues and due to fear that it will burn out at any moment, I have saved the little capacity it may have left on uses pertaining to assignments and little else. This issue will soon be fixed with the adoption of my sister’s old computer (which is still newer than mine) for which I am PUMPED and incredibly thankful!! Anyone who has experienced computer issues knows how stressful/exhausting/frustrating it can be, especially if you rely on it for the majority of your work.

6. Weekday schedule: wake up -> work -> homework/dinner -> pack lunch -> sleep
I am still making healthy eating a priority as much as possible, so making lunches, snacks and breakfasts ahead of time (or multiple at a time) helps me stay on track, especially on days where I have to take a baby nap to “power through” assignments until 10 or 11 pm. I have never been so exhausted and yet so determined to take care of myself. Remember, health is your greatest wealth and you need to constantly invest in your greatest resource (you!).

This all may sound like I am burning the candle at both ends, but I have to say I am so happy and grateful to be in this dietetic internship. It will definitely be an accelerated learning year and will be over before I know it, which baffles my mind. More and more I realize that flexibility and persistence in addition to hard work is the key to successfully managing this year.

The experiences and information we are being exposed to varies so much, which is great because I either have a) little knowledge of that topic b)outdated knowledge of that topic OR c) knowledge but no real life experience in the topic/practice. I have already had a lot of really awesome seminars by R.D.s in the field on subjects like: Sustainability, Nutrigenomics, Billing & Coding (may sounds boring, but was really insightful in terms of having your own private practice as an R.D.), Medical Records (incredibly important), Nutrition Care Process and Model (great review), Nutrition Education (Delivering the Message), TV Interviews (we actually had a mock interview with one of the past AND presidents!) and much much more. We have an all day Burn Seminar coming up this week, which should be fascinating and I am definitely excited for that.

Now that I have more of a set routine I will not be so m.i.a. Please forgive my absence, you know how life can be ; ) In my next post I will clue you in on some of the amazing food/drink I have been experiencing in my new city.

Have a wonderful weekend!