Milk part 1

I am sure most people, by now, have heard of the book "Skinny Bitch"...the latest in dieting trends. I own this book and have flipped through it, but not read it in it's entirety. I do know a few people who have though.

As with all other fad diets, this one is quite an extremist point of view, with some good ideas mixed in. I like to read things like this and go on the "with a grain of salt" approach. Unless written by a doctor or nutritionist (even then it can be biased), we have to understand that, like religion, you cannot simply go on blind faith.

One of the points of the book is that you should stop drinking milk. It claims that it is not natural for cows to produce milk constantly and that their teats can get infected leaking pus into milk. Anyways, there were plenty more claims as to why milk should be banished from your diet.

This really got me thinking. I love milk. Love it. I drink it by the pint glass, so the thought of deleting it from my life was a hard one to swallow. I had dinner at Emma and Kevin's recently and realized I was in perfect company to get to the root of all of this. Kevin works in bovine nutrition and Emma is writing her PhD thesis on cows and milking cows more specifically. Emma and I ended up talking about this for probably an hour and she provided me with so much insight into the fallacies that Skinny Bitch was preaching. "Milk is one of the most perfect foods", she tells me. The treatment of milking cows is a science and art in itself. After much more discussion, she referred me to PubMed and has printed off some articles of scientific studies directly related to milking cows, treatment, illness, etc. and I'm anxiously awaiting to pour through them. Milk Part 2 will be up in a few days once I've gathered more info and can adequately sum up what Emma told me in conjunction with these other studies.

I think my main point in blogging about this isn't directly related to milk but more that people don't spend enough time looking further into something, they are willing to just buy into a fad and change their habits because a pop culture book says so. I am a fact seeker, a scientist at heart so I constantly delve deeper into issues and immerse myself in facts so that I am truly informed from all points of view. To me, doing anything but that would be like walking into a debate without even researching your topic. Blind faith may work for some people and may have a place in religion, but when it comes to science, nutrition and your health, it is only right to truly investigate claims especially when one of the sources is a "self made know-it-all".

Milk Part 2 coming soon.

When it is dark enough, you can see the stars

I started our new bookclub book this past weekend, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. So far, it is a really good book and I find it hard to put down which is rare for me. I have to remind myself that our bookclub meeting will not be for another 3 weeks, possibly 4, and I don't want to finish it too soon and forget key parts.

Each chapter begins with a quote or saying. Chapter one began with what I have as the title to this blog - "When it is dark enough, you can see the stars". At first, I just liked the way that sounded and it's direct meaning. The past few nights I have been walking places at night and on multiple occasions I could feel a very strong light shining down. At first I would assume it to be a street lamp, but upon glancing up, I realized it was a big, bright white moon shining down. On nights that are so bitter cold you can barely feel your face after walking just one block, the sky seems to be 10 times more clear, the stars 10 times more visible, the moon 10 times more powerful. I love nights like this. I get lost in the moon, entranced by it. The glow it creates behind the few wispy clouds feels so magical.

I began to think more about that quote in terms of my life in general and realized it has a very direct relation to things going on in my life at present. Sometimes things become most clear when everything is turned off, all distractions put aside, everything removed from the situation for at least a bit. Sometimes clarity comes from stepping completely out of, and far away from the box. Sometimes it seems dark at first, scary, unpredictable. But then your eyes begin to adjust to the "dark" and slowly, the "stars" appear. We become so used to seeing things by the light of day, and sometimes are so scared of the dark and the loneliness that can sometimes accompany it, that we avoid the dark with all of our might. I think the dark can let all of our other sense perk up and absorb things we were oblivious to in the light. And then the stars appear and we are no longer lost, no longer wandering blind.

Various topics

I feel like a variety of interesting things have transpired lately. In an effort to keep this post exciting, I am throwing chronological order out the window! These quips will flow as they flow in my mind at this very moment.

We just had another book club meeting to discuss The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. As always, the discussion was well rounded and colorful with every woman bringing a different set of views to the table. I love leaving book club feeling like I have a whole new understanding of a book I just read and thought I had all figured out. I was, however, the one possessing probably the most controversial opinion as to the ending. I hate to say it but I was disappointed she didn't commit suicide in the book, although perhaps Sylvia Plath's real life is the true answer.

I feel like I can finally reveal the theme behind a few of my latest posts. I stumbled upon someone a few weeks ago and have found myself quickly falling into an amazing relationship. There are behaviors I exhibit that I don't recognize and I realize it is because I have never met someone that fit so well. It hasn't been much time and some people may say I am getting ahead of myself but the difference is I know where he stands and we are honest and open and both share the common interest that we value our time together in a way we never imagined or planned. I couldn't be more pleased.

There are more new things in the works...things of altruism and giving back that I'm very excited to explore more. I am realizing why things are so great right now and it's because the people around me are amazing and inspiring and I am continuing to meet more amazing people that I can already tell will have a big impact on me. There are certain people that, upon seeing each other and then separating, I feel such satisfaction of my time spent with them that I realize how lucky I am to have them in my life.

The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain

Yesterday I was starring out my office window at beautiful blue skies and an almost visible crisp fall air. Today I look at gray skies, drizzling rain, gloomy thick air. I think back 24 hours to when I said how much easier it is to sit at my desk when the weather is gray. Well, perhaps I was wrong. I sit at my desk thinking about how great it would be to be curled up on my couch with my latest bookclub book in hand, a little jazz or classical music wafting through the air, a freshly made cappuccino beside me, Oliver curled up by my head purring gently.

Perhaps it's not the weather that determines my desire to sit at a desk all day. Perhaps I just get listless, hour upon hour spent sitting at a computer screen. Perhaps I get bored, waiting for answers from clients, phone calls from vendors, files from the designers. I hate wasting time in transit, I equally hate wasting time in waiting.

Lonely Planet - Travel Writing

The latest edition to the stack of books I'm currently reading....