The lecture series on nutrition I'm working my way through taught me that having coffee or tea within an hour of having a multivitamin cancels out some of the nutrient absorption. (I forget which nutrients, but I think they were minerals, which I probably don't get enough of in my daily food. Also, it's not the caffeine, but some other ingredient in the coffee/tea. Tannins maybe?)

In the same lecture, I learned that eating a vitamin on an empty stomach gives you the most bang for your buck, but that it can also make your stomach upset.


Now, Melissa's previous morning food intake involved:

Toast, orange juice, vitamin if remembered, some variant of coffee/tea/mocha/hot chocolate depending on the day. These were ingested at various times, with a shower and maybe some dishwashing occurring someplace in the process.


Learning what I learned, I changed it to:

Roll out of bed. Bit of orange juice or water to moisten mouth after a long night of sleeping in dry air, vitamin, maybe wash dishes, shower, toast and tea.

But then I discovered that the upset-stomach thing was spot. freaking. on. holy crap. My stomach is not usually the most friendly thing first thing in the morning (thus the toast, whether I feel hungry or not), but that was NOT fun.


So now, we're at:

Roll out of bed. Bit of orange juice or water. Saltine cracker. Vitamin. Maybe another saltine. Shower dishes whatever. Then toast and mocha or whatever.


...this should seriously not be this complicated. Body, you'd better be absorbing things happily.

Labels: cooking, health, life in general

 
Massive picture post! Finally got all the pictures off my camera... and they do date back quite a ways. But they're all nice and organized on my harddrive now, so here are some favorites. :)


Black locust trees in bloom. One of my favorite things in the world - they're gorgeous, the smell is absolutely stunning, and the flowers are such a lovely contrast to such a dark and moody looking tree.



The new outfit I crocheted during the summer for good ol' Hannah, the Cabbage Patch doll I've had since I was a year old. Based on a pattern from somewhere, changed the colors and made some tweaks to make it fit better.



Braintree Maze Afghan, made for Brian as a belated wedding gift. Still in love with the colors. :)



We made this banner. This is the beastly thing I complained about alllll summer long. Chad came up with the design, the printer cut out all the letters, and Ashley and I spent A WEEK applying those giant vinyl letters all by hand. aaaaaaargh I feel exhausted just thinking about it still. (Note: This is about the same size as any of the other across-the-road banners I've complained about.)



I just love the colors in this shot. :) This is the blanket I made Tom for his chair, so he didn't stick to it so much in the summer, and could snuggle in during the winter. Based on a pattern from Lion Brand (though some resizing was needed, given that it was a baby blanket lmao), recycled cotton yarn.



I was so happy to get the sizing on it just right. :)



My little baby pumpkin! I honestly didn't feel the need to decorate it, it was such a cute little thing all by itself. (Maybe six inches or so.)



Fall makes for such gorgeous pictures out here. :)



Maple leaves. <3



Are these colors not ridiculous?! No picture or words can do justice to the colors I saw this fall - I looked out one bedroom window into a vast pile of molten gold, looked out the other into a flame of sheer scarlet.



Twinkie sushi!!! The first batch I made, for Halloween - I made it again a few weeks later for a PF-related party. Pictures can't do it justice, the yellow of the Twinkie, bright bits of fruit, and vivid teal of fruit roll-up. Ridiculously delicious. (Kel, I can never thank you enough for the cookbook. XD)



Close-up of the shawl I made Tom's grandma for Christmas. Sooo snuggly and gorgeous, the colors are lovely.



Boteh scarf I made for Tom's mom for Christmas. I found yarn dyed with all natural plant dyes! And the pattern turned out gorgeous, I have a hunch I'll be doing this one again. Unfortunately I failed to get a good photo of the scarf I made my mom, the colors in my shots are really off... Mom, you'll have to post a pic of you wearing it. :)



Tom wearing the hat I made him for Christmas! (He only looks that cranky because I was taking a picture. He wears it like every day now that it's cold out. yay.)



Christmas tree! Showing off a new ornament, alongside some older ones. <3



Pictures of myself = fail. This is a compromise on a not-awful shot of me and a not-awful shot of my hat. The pattern I was following for this and Tom's had three variations of the same basic hat, so I did different variants and different colors... unfortunately, it still feels a little matchy-matchy to Tom and annoys him. But I think he takes far more issue with the earflaps. Which keep me AMAZINGLY WARM in this frigid place so I refuse to care. :)


A few more to post, but the chicken parmesan is ready and I need to go eat it. <333

Labels: cooking, crochet, life in general, photos, plants, printshop, work