Friday, June 5, 2009

Nutrition

As I've spent the better part of a day at work assembling online course syllabi for the nutrition program, I thought I'd post a little about the program. Most of you know that in addition to getting his Doctor of Chiropractic degree, Cory will also receive his Master's of Science in Applied Clinical Nutrition (long title, I know, that's why we abbreviate it to MSACN). The school runs on a trimester basis, with 10 tri's in the chiropractic program, and 6 in the nutrition program. Cory started the nutrition program when he was in his 5th tri of chiropractic -- thus, they end at the same time.

Here's the list of classes he's taken as part of the MSACN degree:
Macronutrients: Carbohydrates, Fats & Proteins
Micronutrients: Vitamins, Minerals & Amino Acids
Nutrition Assessment
Developmental Nutrition
Pharmacognosy
Nutrition for Pain & Inflammation
Drug Induced Nutrient Depletion & Herb/Drug Interaction
Experimental Analysis
Exercise Physiology and Sports Nutrition
Critical Evaluation of the Current Nutrition Literature
Therapeutic Nutrition
Food Science

People thought Cory was crazy when he signed up for the extra degree. The chiropractic program is rigorous enough, and adding another program on top seemed daunting. But we both agreed it would be very advantageous when he was done... which has turned out to be true. He's learned so much; it's been quite the eye-opener.

For example, he's learned about a diet/detox program - one that he wants to use in practice - and he convinced me to to join him in doing it. I never thought I'd see the day when I would agree to a diet... but we've been on it for about 3 weeks now, and we both feel so much better. We've both lost weight, we don't feel sluggish in the afternoon, and I think I'm actually sleeping better at night. All by changing the foods we eat, and taking some supplements. It's simply amazing. And marvelous. This is just one example...

Our post-graduation plans aren't defined; we're still in the 'deciding' phase. Cory's toying with the idea of going home, opening his own nutrition practice, and teaching others how to help themselves... or something like that. But I know that this additional degree is going to bring good things for Cory, however he decides to use it. It's already brought good things to our little family of 2.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Visiting Kirtland

Kirtland, Ohio is only about 5 hours from us, so ever since we moved to New York, we've been saying we were going to go... and we finally made it. I'm so glad we did, since it was so pretty and such a spiritual place! We went with some dear friends -- Andrea served her mission here in New York, as a site sister. She spent many months serving in our ward, Fayette. She went home about 1 1/2 years ago, and we've stayed good friends. She came back to visit New York, bringing with her husband (Deven) and her parents. It was our great privilege to go with them to Kirtland.

Newel K. Whitney store. He was the first bishop of the church. Opened his home and store to the Prophet Joseph. Such a neat man!

Inside the store

Upstairs in the store - this was the room that Joseph Smith used as his office.

Inside the store, in the room used for the School of the Prophets. Such an amazing feeling in here!!

Historic Kirtland - so pretty!

Johnson Inn, where missionaries would meet to begin their missions - persecution was bad enough that they had to meet in the dead of night in order to get out safely.

Loving the tour

The saw mill, owned by Bishop Whitney

Gorgeous scenery!

The ashery, also owned by Bishop Whitney. These were made here in the ashery, then sold to people who ground them up for windows, china, etc.

Cory, playing around in the ashery

More gorgeous scenery. The weather was perfect!

The Kirtland Temple (yes, now owned by the Community of Christ)

Kirtland Temple - we got to go on a tour through the inside, which was neat/weird. It was used as more of what we now call a tabernacle - for big meetings, etc. It also has classrooms on the 3rd floor, where Joseph Smith had an office, and where Hebrew classes were held.

Me and Andrea on the steps of the temple. She's one of my most favorite people. And no, we didn't purposefully coordinate outfits, but aren't we cute?

Kirtland Temple

We drove the 55 minutes out to Hiram, to see the John Johnson farm. Emma and Joseph also lived here for a while.

Joseph and Emma's bedroom - remembered particularly since it was out of this room that Joseph was dragged, to be tarred and feathered in a nearby field. The mobsters hoped to stop him from preaching the next morning, but when morning came, he was out on the front porch, preaching like normal.

In this room was where the 76th section of the D&C was received - God the Father and Christ appeared here, in vision.

The Johnson Farm

Isaac Morley farm - another place where Joseph and Emma lived.

Morley Farm - there was a cabin built up here, which is where the 4th General Conference of the church was held. It's also another known place that God the Father and Christ appeared.

The 6 of us.

Me and Cory, in the clearing of where the cabin stood.

One of the things that struck me most about Kirtland was how willing the saints were to open their homes to the prophet and his family. The spirit in Kirtland was undeniable. Given that we've lived the last 3 years where the church started, it was so neat to see where the saints went when they left New York. A trip to remember, definitely!

The rest of our weekend was relaxing. After conquering our mounds of laundry, we chilled. We ate at Five Guys (so yummy!), saw Star Trek (LOVED it!), had friends up from New Jersey for a nice Sunday afternoon visit, BBQ'd on Monday with other friends ... all-in-all, it was quite a nice mini-break! It's been so long since we had time to chill and just do whatever we wanted. I rather enjoyed it!!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

GAH!


Look at this!!! Yea!!! Oh, I seriously can't wait...

Monday, May 18, 2009

The last hurdle...

Well, I have no pictures to post... but good news to share. In order to be a licensed chiropractor, one must take 4 National Board tests. Cory took Part 4 this weekend... which means HE'S DONE! It's a huge test, hands-on, costs over $1000... so yeah, it was a very big deal. He's worked so hard to get where he is, and I'm so proud of him! And soooo glad he's done!! He's only got a couple months left of class and clinic work... and then he graduates. His formal education will be complete. We're starting to see the proverbial 'light at the end of the tunnel' and it feels great! To celebrate, we're taking off on Thursday for Kirtland and we're going with some dear friends. I'm really looking forward to seeing the sights there, spending time with friends & Cory, and not having the stress of such a huge test hanging over us. Well done, Cory!!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Spring... finally

While it's been spring-like temperatures for a couple of weeks now, it's only been in the last week that the vegetation has finally begun to spring to life. Seriously, through the end of April, most of the trees were still bare. Now pretty much everything has come to life and it's beautiful. I love the haze of green I see everywhere I drive.

Everyone always says they love the fall colors... and I include myself in that category... but I also love the spring colors! Green, obviously, but purples and pinks, too.

Our yard - in the forefront is some kind of white lilac type tree (I think) and it smells divine - and in the back are trees that flower with gorgeous white blossoms, before they eventually turn into just leaves.

NYCC campus - no idea what kind of tree it is, but it's beautiful and colorful.

Another tree on campus - again, no idea what it is - but I like it!

A view from my co-worker's office, overlooking our beautiful campus.


And we finally got around to planting the herbs we got from the wine tour. We planted them on the side of our house - in limited space. We're not sure how they're going to do, but hey - at least we tried!


I LOVE SPRING!!! And I'm so happy it's finally here!