D is for Dine with Food Network Chefs

If you read yesterday's post, you won't be at all shocked to find out that I'm ever so slightly obsessed with the Food Network.  Mom and I watch the weekend line up every weekend, and I generally just like to have it on whenever I'm not catching up with the DVR.

I've decided I'd like to have a dinner party with a handful of my favorite chefs.  We would all make dinner together, and then just eat and hang out.  Nothing fancy, just dinner and conversation.  I just want to be friends with them all!  I don't even know that I would request specific chefs.  Whichever ones had time in their schedules to come hang out with me would be just fine.

So, I'll ask you all the famous question.  If you were hosting your dream dinner party, who would attend?  It can be anyone dead or alive.  Discuss... :)

C is for Culinary School

Culinary school is on my more short term bucket list.  I love to cook, and last year I had the epiphany that I loved it enough to try and make a career out of it.  If I'm being completely honest, the idea of culinary school really intimidates me.  It shouldn't, because I'm already fairly competent in the kitchen, but I think it's the idea of starting something from scratch that's just a little scary.  I always thought that if I went back to school it would be to get a masters or doctorate in the field that I started in (Psychology), or at least something similar.  On the other hand, I'm ridiculously excited, and I wish I could start taking classes tomorrow!

I have some things I need to take care of before I can get started (like getting rid of all of the credit card debt I accrued in college, and when I decided to move across the country), but I've made good progress with those things since moving back home, and I'm hoping to be able to start school in the next year or so.  I still haven't decided if I'm going to to do pastry school or the savory side of things, but when I do, you'll all hear about it!

B is for Bull Run

I have a very lengthy list of places I want to see in the world.  For most of those places I also have separate, very lengthy lists of things I want to see once I get there.  However, I don't really have a lengthy list of activities I'd like to partake in outside of touristy things like tours.  Spain is one of the exceptions.

I really want to experience a bull run.  I don't know that I really want to participate in it, as I don't have much of a desire to be trampled.  I do however want to be a spectator for one.  I think it would be amazing to see it in person rather than on TV or online.  So one day, I plan to be sitting on a balcony in Spain cheering on the running of the bulls.

A is for Attend a Stanley Cup Final

I love hockey.  It is hands down my favorite sport.  The rest of my family is obsessed with baseball, and while I like it, it's just not enough action for this girl.  I love how fast hockey is.  I love that I get to sit in a cold rink to watch it.  I love that it's not only acceptable, but expected, that the players beat the crap out of each other.  I just can't find anything about the sport of hockey that I don't like (except for maybe the trapezoid, and the delay of game penalty, but I digress!).

I'm currently an avid follower of two teams.  My hometown team, The Phoenix Coyotes, will always be my #1 team, but after living in Washington, DC for a few years recently, I also fell in love with the Washington Capitals.  Unfortunately for me, both teams have a reputation of getting into the playoffs, but not making it past round two.  I have faith that one day they'll both make it to the end game.  I plan to be there for the final game when one of them does.  

A to Z Blogging Challenge

Okay, so as per usual, I'm late in getting a post done.  I should have written this yesterday, or earlier today, but I didn't.

Anyway, back in January, my mom convinced me to join her in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  I figured, sure, why not?  I have 3 months to prepare and pre-write.  It'll be easy!  Unfortunately for me, I got hit real hard with the procrastination gene (Thanks Dad!).  So now it's literally 12:01 AM on April 1st, aka day one of the challenge, and let's just say that I didn't do any of that preparation or pre-writing!

I did finally decide on a theme this morning, now it's just a matter of figuring out what to write about within said theme.  So here's the run down of the challenge.  Starting today, April first, we'll all blog about one thing a day.  Your topic for the day must follow alphabetical order.  Today will be A, the 2nd will be B and so on.  We'll blog every day except Sunday (with the exception of today of course).  That's basically it, but if you want to read more about the challenge, you can click the logo on the right.

I've decided to blog an alphabetical bucket list for you all.  Finding topics is turning out to be harder than I anticipated, so it should be interesting to see what I come up with!  Stay tuned....the letter "A" will be coming at you in about 12 hours.  :)

6th Time's a Charm

So...as we learned in a previous post, I was "diagnosed" with PCOS about 4 years ago.  I use quotes because I found out last week that while it's likely that I have PCOS, I was improperly diagnosed.  I can't really say that I'm surprised by that though.  Last week I had a consultation with the endocrinologist that I was referred to.  He's the 6th doctor I've seen in the last four years, and he actually knows what he's talking about!

The consultation took about an hour and a half.  He was really attentive and explained everything to me in length using notes and diagrams (someone must have debriefed him on my personality prior to my arrival!), and we set up our plan of action as far as treatment goes.  The first part of treatment is officially diagnosing my disorder.  Previously, I was told that I had PCOS, but none of the other doctors bothered to actually go through the steps necessary to officially diagnose me.  In order to this, some unlucky phlebotomist is going to get to suck my blood.  That will happen in about a month after we've given my body some time to filter out the medication I was taking prior to my appointment last week.  Once the blood work is done and has been analyzed I'll start a new drug regimen and a new diet.

I'm mostly excited about having a diet that will work.  He created this diet with PCOS patients in mind (he's writing a book about it currently!), but says he's used it and he makes all of his friends use it as well.  He also said that every woman he's put on it who has stuck with it has lost all of the weight they needed to lose to be healthy again.  Also, he says the weight loss happens pretty quickly as well.  It will definitely be nice to not be carrying around all of this extra weight...both physically and mentally.

Overall, I'm so grateful to have been referred to this doctor.  So far I think he's amazing, and I'm excited to finally start getting everything worked out.  I'll keep you posted as I get more into everything.  Maybe when it's lab work time I'll treat you to the story of how I hate needles and phlebotomists hate me.  It should be a fun read!

What February 14th Means to Me...

For me, February 14th has nothing to do with roses and chocolates and over the top, absolutely ridiculous proclamations of "love."  However....my feelings towards Valentine's Day are for another, much different, post.  :)

So here's what actually happens on February 14th.  The state of Arizona turns another year older.  We became a state on February 14th, 1912.  Yes, that's right....that would mean today is Arizona's 100th Birthday!

Now I have to be honest.  Am I Arizona's biggest fan?  No.  I've spent most of my adult life thus far trying to get away from it.  There are two reasons for this.  First, I feel like everyone has a place.  Somewhere that is the embodiment of their personality.  Somewhere that you know when you're there that you're in the exact place that you should be.  For me, Arizona isn't that place.  Well, Phoenix isn't anyway, and that's where I spent the majority of my life.  I also think you can have more than one place (to date I think I have 5), but that's also another blog topic for another day.  Second....THE HEAT!  I mean really, I think the people who claim to love it when it's 120 degrees outside are lying.  It's awful, and it's not like you get a break from it when the sun goes down.  The high is 115 and the low is 112.  It's out of control and I HATE IT!  Give me humidity, cool evenings and lightning bugs over the oven-like feeling and lizards any day!

Arizona does have it's good points though.

• First point goes to Flagstaff.  I spent 4 years there attending Northern Arizona University, and it was the best choice I could have made for a school.  I got a great education, met amazing friends, had tons of fun and got to live somewhere so gorgeous for 4 years.  Located only 2 hours north of Phoenix it's located at an altitude of 7000 feet surrounded by the amazing San Francisco Peaks.  It's woodsy, it snows and the weather in the summer is mild and amazing.  I love everything about it (to the point where I have a hard time believing that it's actually part of Arizona), and if it were a slightly bigger city I might still be living there.  It's definitely one of my 5 places.
• Second point goes to the Grand Canyon.  Because it's awesome.  If you don't believe me...go there and see for yourself.
• Third point goes to the sunsets.  They're unlike any others I've seen.  It's likely because of all of the pollution, but if it gives me something pretty to look at on my way home I guess I'm okay with it.
• Fourth point goes to monsoon season.  My personal favorite part of the year in Arizona.  Lightning storms are amazing to watch, and it's really the only time of year we get any significant amount of rain in the desert.
• Fifth and final point goes to all of our spring training facilities.  It's great to be able to watch baseball games before the season even starts (speaking of which, even though I don't pay attention to much until hockey season is over...pitchers and catchers report in only 6 days!).

Long story short...while it may not be my favorite place in the world as a whole, Arizona will always have a special place in my heart.  My family is here.  It's where I was raised (point six would probably be it's a great place to raise a family).  It's home.  So while I don't plan on staying here forever...for now it's just fine.  

Now, this was a co-blog with mom, so head over her way to see her insights on our home state.  I know you'll enjoy what you read.  Happy Arizona's Birthday Everyone!