I’ve hit a dry spell! I was posting new recipes constantly on the old blog and it seemed like I couldn’t make and post them fast enough sometimes! However, I’ve barely posted any food yet on this blog besides things I reposted from the old site….this is not me giving up on your taste buds. This is not me feeling uninspired, and this is definitely not a sign that I quit making food! ;)
In the past month I have tried several things that just don’t live up to my standard. Period. I don’t post a recipe unless I LOVE it! That is how you guys trust me when I say something tastes amazing! So, like a school kid that is feeling like they have to justify what they have been doing with nothing to show for it….

I tried lemon ginger coconut milk ice cream. This was amazing in my mind! However, the crystallized ginger didn’t keep its texture and the coconut milk I bought a case of (because there are no fillers and it is in a bpa free can) leaves things sort of grainy. I ate it…but would be lying if I told you it was amazing.

I tried scones. TWICE. I made a lemon blueberry scone. It was crumbly and dry and not that good. So, I switched somethings up and decided to make pistachio lemon ginger. You are seeing a trend in my flavor desires lately! They were okay…but I felt like I needed a drink every time I took a bite. So, not now.

I tried a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I took the recipe from Against All Grain and tweaked it to have browned butter. In my mind, I was thinking about these toffee flavored discs of goodness. But, the texture came out more like muffin tops, and to me, that’s not a cookie! So, back to the drawing board.

I haven’t given up. Patience will bring us amazing food because now I’m determined!

Two things happen when I have had a lot going on:

1. I lose time and energy to blog.

2. I have so much to blog about because I have so much to think about!

Depending on how in depth my patient cases are, I can spend hours working on things to help them restore their health. When a patient’s emotions are running high, it turns up the heat in my kitchen! When they are going through the mental and emotional roller coaster of drastic life change, it always gives me things to think about. I don’t think I am ever “not” thinking. Blessing or a curse….
I have been watching the show occasionally called “Black Box.” I find comfort in watching doctors work that toe the crazy line because I sort of relate! It’s like “House” in a sense. He may have been crazy, but he was darn good at what he did, and sometimes his work took over his life….the hallmark of borderline crazy, I suppose. Anyway, this show is about a psychiatrist that works with complex mental patients. She is bipolar herself. In the first few episodes, she battles what to do when she must choose between taking medications to “level out” her moods, which leaves her numb to the world. OR, she can choose to ride the highs and lows because her highs send her into the most magnificent, brilliant, passionate place when it comes to work.

This made me think about a lot of people that have been so influential in history when it comes to art, politics, music, medicine, etc. Where would we be without the borderline crazy?
This makes me ask the next question. If these individuals were able to accomplish the unimaginable because of a slight imbalance, would they take meds to level themselves out if they had the choice?
So much of my work is about people’s hormones and body chemistry. Do you know how much of your personality comes from those things?! Are you heavy on testosterone? Then you are probably more confident, strong, driven, and sexual. What if that was also the reason you were more snippy with your spouse and had oily skin? What if balancing out your hormones also meant that your personality was different. Part of what made you great at the gym or the boardroom is no longer a part of you?

What if you are heavy on estrogen? You probably have a larger chest, smoother skin, more nurturing tendencies and show more emotion. This may also mean you are constantly battling body issues and crying spells! What if balancing out your hormones meant you lost some body fat which meant boobs, as well. What if it meant that you didn’t have the same glow?
What if your “imperfections” are a part of what makes you great? What if your “handicaps” provide you the perfect opportunity to change the world? What if you are not who you would be if you changed everything you thought was “wrong” with you?

Embrace what makes you you. Sometimes imperfections are the best part.

I sort of feel like this post may turn into a confessional. Oh man. No judgments please. ;) If you have followed my blog from ATC, you know that I went on vacation back in November. That’s where it all started….

My intention was to workout in Denver at a Crossfit gym. That didn’t happen, and I was ok with that. No one wants to be the person who leaves their friends to go do something no one else wants to do! There goes a week.

The next week was Thanksgiving…definitely didn’t hit my normal schedule.
Back to the gym the next week=no lung capacity. How does your metabolic capacity go away so quickly?! I felt like my lungs were starting over! However, my lifting was still up to par. Not too shabby.

A couple weeks later, sick. You can’t work out when you can’t breathe! A few weeks off from sickness, then it was Christmas/New Years. Ugh. Schedule too crazy to want to make it work.
By this time, I’m looking at 2 months of essentially no training. Now I’m a weakling! No lungs AND no strength. Humbling….

I hate the cold! I hate when it’s dark at 5! So here’s the confession. It’s not like I was trying to preserve beastmode anymore! I am lucky if I went 2 times a week for a good couple months.
The open. Say what?! Those workouts WERE NOT made for someone so outta shape! I died!
Open is over…now I just need to get back on track. No biggie. EXCEPT. I am back to every part of my body being sore after workouts, lifting 75% of the weight I used to, and having my lungs stop working about 6 minutes into every workout.

There you have it. Now everyone at the gym that wonders why I don’t seem like the same Angela in workouts (I think they’ve quit wondering now that its been months!), that’s why. Take a few months off….you’re back to newbie status. It has heightened my appreciation for what new people experience, that’s for sure. I will be back again soon….it’s just going to take some work. I’m officially part of the “has been” club!

1. PAPERWORK!!! (Records requests, letters, Personal Injury documents, Medicare compliance, database attestations, blah blah blah)
-No one tells you about all THAT stuff in school!
2. Read
-I read obsessively because I am a researcher at heart and I love going through info and finding gems that will help my patients! I read stuff about nutrition, stuff about exercise and mobility, stuff about medication, stuff about chiropractic research, stuff about mental impact on the body, stuff patients give me, you name it…
3. Continued education
-Every year, we get to go learn new techniques, refresh info, see our old friends, and embrace chiropractic!
4. Answer emails
-Supplement reps, new research alerts, new issues of chiropractic and nutrition publications, family, friends, nutrition patients, etc
5. Put together educational events
-These events take tons of time!! You have NO idea…
6. Put together presentations and write blog posts
-Powerpoints about leaky gut aren’t going to write themselves!
7. Make phone calls
-Check up on patients, call back reps, make referrals
8. Consulting with colleagues
-We like to talk about our cases with one another! 2 heads are better than 1!
9. Run a business (payroll, fix the toilets, meet with employees, update computers, update social media…)
-They also don’t tell you that stuff in school!
10. Prepare for upcoming patient visits
-That report of findings packet? It didn’t write itself either….

When ALL of that is done…and your name is Dr. Angela
1. Do kettlebell swings in the PT room
2. Work on ankle mobility
3. Tell funny stories with the staff
4. Eat
5. Drink coffee
6. Get inspiration from blogs, chefs, news
7. Listen to Pandora
8. Get adjusted
9. Step outside to soak up the sun and fresh air
10. Watch the Crossfit Games and look up cute puppy pictures….;) What?!

For some reason, patients always have an idea of what I am actually like outside the office. I have had people tell me that “my house must be so clean” or that they bet “I never watch TV.” I have had more comical characters ask if when no one is looking I eat chocolate cake in the closet! The pic above is me just being me. Hanging out with friends. Unedited. Playing bags on a summer day. I have to say, I have no clue why people sometimes have a perfect persona of myself. I am anything but perfect….so to show you that I am just human like everyone else, it’s show and tell time…kinda….at least “tell”
1. I hate cleaning (and therefore do it as little as possible)
2. I take naps
3. I have 2 pit bulls (and want another one!)
4. I have been to more third world countries than I have developed nations. which means…
5. I have used a hole in the ground to go to the bathroom way too many times
6. I poop every morning (and am really cranky if I don’t)
7. I have wrinkles (which I think of as “passion lines”…maybe I’ll write a blog post about that)
8. I can’t wait to turn 40, 50, 60….really
9. I am a coffee addict. Not just love it…will endure a lot in order to not give it up!
10. I often care more about your health than you do
11. I like my thermostat at 72 degrees…no more, no less.
12. I am terrible at rowing (my gym-mates know that)
13. I would play volleyball everyday if I could
14. I go tanning in the winter
15. My favorite donut is a Bavarian cream-filled powder sugared donut (and I have one about once a year)
16. I dislike treating my family (and sometimes send them elsewhere)
17. I am a sucker for a man’s mind
18. I LOVE trashy reality TV (because I am a sucker for a love story, fake drama, and watching other people’s dreams come true)
19. My favorite movies are SEVEN, Shawshank Redemption, and American History X
20. My favorite TV shows are Intervention and Locked Up Abroad
21. My worst fear is losing my dad
22. I prefer having my boobs over having my muscles (that statement flip flops every 3 months of so…boobs…six pack…boobs…six pack. They don’t occur simultaneously!)
23. I worked days at Finish Line and nights for Bacardi when I was at IU
24. I taught anatomy, histology, and spinal labs at Palmer
25. I have some version of dessert on the daily
26. I just stepped down from my position on the state board
27. I hate hospitals (and avoid going to them at all costs)
28. My most difficult lifestyle change is managing stress
29. I let my dogs on the couch (How else am I gonna cuddle with them?!)
30. I’ve never had a facebook page
31. I am a stickler for staying on time when treating patients
32. I have enough clothes to not do laundry for months
33. I used to be an accountant
34. I know NOTHING about current events and history
35. I know WAY TOO MUCH about health and physiology
36. I’m ultra competitive (to a fault)
37. I do not take any medications
38. I love (real) yogurt (and have it occasionally….like 2-3 containers a year)
39. I wish all my friends would move into the same cul-de-sac
40. I wish people still practiced “the drop by” after college (so much planning just to see your friends these days!)
41. I still use a flip phone
42. I hate eating out
43. I prefer really dark beer if I’m going to have one
44. I have strong opinions
45. I never judge people (regardless of whether they think I do)
46. I am grateful for something everyday (but I am human and have to remind myself of that sometimes)
47. I don’t have all the answers
48. I am anal about spelling and grammar
49. I have a passionate and addictive personality
50. Despite all my faults, I love who I am. I wouldn’t be the same without the entire package…..