The Mystery of Milk

How does milk know when to go off?

At the moment I am living without parents, Mum has gone to China to visit dad, Jake has gone to china with school so its just Dusty and I left. So being the loving caring person mum is, the fridge was well stocked just before she left including about 6litres of milk. Now Dust and I don't really drink that much milk and the other day I just happened to be looking at and realised that it all went off either that day or the next day, so I madly tried to use as much of it as I could but I just couldn't use it all.

Anyway this got my wondering...as my studies have told me a "used-by" date is used to mark the date after which the product is unsafe to consume and milk has one of these. But...how does the milk know when to go off...is it at midnight the night before the used-by date, is it just casually through out the day that parts start to go bad...can you consume it and still be safe? Has some one just guessed that it might be bad after then? Is it worth risking it? Is there a small...microscopic even...time bomb in the milk that goes off when its time?

I don't know...hence the confusion...if you do please let me know!

Leviticus 20:24 "But I said to you, "You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations."

God of the Traffic

So I have decided that I need to make my blogs a little more succinct, short and sweet, but still pack that classic punch! So I will try my best, but seeing as I suffer quite badly from verbal diarrhoea I don't know how well I will go!

Anyway, yesterday I had my last day of placement, which was a little sad because I have been loving my placement very much, anyway...short and succinct I remember...this particular morning I had to drive myself because I had to race over to another a seminar I had to go to last night, so as usual I was running late, but then I got stuck at an intersection where I had to turn right and there was lots of traffic coming both ways...so can you kind of picture it? Maybe??...probably not...

Anyway, there were two cars in front of me also trying to make the same turn, but not having much luck...so I had a little chat with the big man, and just asked if he could please let there be a gap in the traffic big enough for all three of us to get through, and do you know what...not very long after that there was a gap and not just 3 of us got through but the car behind me as well...so I said thank you and told him that maybe 4 cars was just showing off, but it reminded me that God loves me enough to give me a gap in the traffic! It seems like something so little and silly, but it meant a lot to me, and it reminded me that I am loved and that He his watching over me and protecting me!

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you"

The words of my mouth

Recently I have learnt about the value of encouragement....the thing is I haven't really tired any new skills or done anything that was sooooooo amazing I am surprised you haven't heard of it, but I have done some "different" things and it been in these things that I have been encouraged and it has really made a difference.

Not Saturday just gone, but the Saturday before I was given the opportunity to do something that I have wanted to do for a long long long time...(and cross no. 7 off my list, which was a bonus) I got to sing with a big band...not just any big band though...the box hill salvos big band! Now I have sung lots before, but not this style and its something that I have always wanted to do. Naturally because it was all very new, i was a bit stressed out about it. But I got lots of encouragement before, during and after and it made all the difference.

On Friday at uni, we had what is called a teaching clinic where we get to practice our dietetic skills on actresses and actors, during which half the class participates and are filmed and the other half observe. Well it was my turn to participate and I had the job of closing the session with the "patient", so I just had to recap and let them know what would be happening next time we saw them. Being the very person that I am I was more stressed about what I would look like on camera, than what I would say because I talk all the time so it wasn't that strange. But afterward I got some really nice encouragement from people in my class, the actress and from our teacher about my manner with the client. Not something that I really did on purpose, but it meant so much to me that people took the time to affirm the qualities that they saw in me.

Why do I tell you these stories I hear you ask??? Not because I want to tell you how could I am because I can tell you in detail lots of reasons why I wasn't, and because there is a better and defiantly more important point to my blog...here it is...

There is sooooo much power in encouragement. It is something that is soooooo easy to do, it requires so little effort or thought, but it means so much to the person that receives it. In the bible it talks about the tongue being a destructive weapon that can corrupt the whole body (James 3:5-6) and so often it is... I know I am constantly paying people out and have a go at something, in fact its part of culture and way of life to have a go at things and people. But words can do so much good too and I don't think that there is enough good words going around!

I think that if I encouraged people as much as I paid things out, I would probably explode of encouragement. But it would be nice to even just have a balance, or maybe even just a little more encouragement going out than all the other rubbish I say! I want to be an encourager that looks for the good in people and tells them when I see it!

Just a thought I had...

Stay tuned.

My Dietetic Duty

For many years the heart foundation has done some great work the area of public health awareness, and without them lots more people would be in a lot more trouble then they currently are. But at the moment I have real issues with their policies on "occasional" food ticks...I have been trying to let it die or even just leave it be, but I can't...it makes me soooooo mad!

The thing is, as most of you would know, this year there were 9 meals approved by the heart foundation available for purchase from McDonald's...last week we had a lecture done by the heart foundation about how great the tick was in terms of public nutrition interventions which is all true except for the fact that they have now started putting ticks on "occasional" foods, so foods that you should only eat "occasionally" claiming that it shows consumers the healthier choice in a particular food area, because people will eat these foods anyway, so lets give them a healthier option...well I don't buy it. What kind of attitude is that? Don't change your diet because we've changed your food????

For so many years the heart foundation tick has been great at showing consumers which foods are good for your heart and most of the food that the tick was used on were everyday foods, foods that are good for you to eat on a regular basis. The lecture was taking about the fact that the tick is the only nutritional symbol that didn't cause consumer confusion, but I don't think that that is true anymore!

Putting the tick on foods like McDonald's implies that the meals are good for you...not just that they are better than say Hungry Jacks, but the truth is they are still high in every macronutrient anyway and they are not good for you at all (to McDonald's credit they have worked very hard to get their meal options in the heart foundations requirements, so it is better than lots of other things, but?)...But if you read the fine print the Heart foundation only suggests that you eat those particular meals no more than once a week, but who would know that...no one. But it gets better, you have to eat the meals exactly as they are suggested, you can't even swap the high sugar orange juice for a no sugar diet coke or even water...its just silly, as if water isn't the better choice!

The heart foundation claims that we the general public, thats us, should eat according to the Australian Dietary guidelines...but does anyone outside the health profession have a copy...probably not. We asked this lecturer how the population is supposed to no what the guidelines are, or even just want is considered a "occasional" tick item and an "everyday" tick item...and she told us that its the dietitian's job! But seeing as most dietitian's only see those that are unwell or have a specific nutritional need, not everybody in the population...no one will ever know.

So I figured as a dietitian (well almost) and this is apparently my duty...I would just blog about it...so here you go...

The heart foundation tick is put
on everyday and occasional meals/food items and therefore the items should be consumed accordingly not just because they have the tick!

Talk about confusing...just writing this blog was confusing!

The day my sunglasses died…

Today I was walking back to my car from the train station in the glare of the sun when I remembered that I had my sunnies in my bag, so I went to grab them out and made a horrible discovery…they were broken, not just a little, but snapped right down the middle between eyes.

Now you are probably all thinking, never mind you will have to get another pair, but I tell you what its not that simple…I am the kind of person that takes forever to find sunnies, because they always have to be just right and that means they need to be cheap, but have eye protection and the need to fit my little head (I know it probably doesn’t look little but you would be surprised, it is actually quite small!) and look hot…naturally! So it is actually quite hard to find sunnies that I like. So this was a devastating discovery…my sunnies and I have been through a lot, granted it was almost time for some new ones but I still loved them and I wasn’t ready to start the search again. We have been everywhere together, and I even think that it was the sunnies that made me look cool in most of my photos over the last year…they get all the credit, but now they are gone. So this is a little tribute to them and all they did…

Smoking

Yesterday I had my first day as a student dietitian in a hospital, just for lectures so I didn't have to do anything, except for listen of course, but it was all very new and exciting, I felt very out of place but enjoyed imagining what it would be like to work there, catch the train in and work in the very busy and important looking building that makes St Vincents what it is. I was a little bit disappointed though, as it appears that ALL the good looking doctors work for Seattle Grace, and there are none left for the hospitals in Melbourne!

Anyway, we were in the inwards part of the hospital, so all day we saw people with various diseases and injuries going in and out of the hospital, some just to enjoy the fresh air for a little while, but some to go home with friends and family. While I was there I rediscovered just how much I love to watch people, they are so fascinating, each with a very different story and all doing such weird and wonderful things, but there was one thing that I saw a few times that I just didn't understand, smoking!

Seriously everyone knows smoking is bad for you, and yes its addictive, but if you were in hospital with some sort of severe illness don't you think that the last thing on your mind would be having a ciggy? I just don't understand why patients are even allowed to go out for smokos, it just destroys everything that the doctor is trying to do. The number of people I saw outside the front of the hospital with an IV drip attached to one arm and a cigarette to the other was ridiculous, what made it worse was the number of people I saw two or three times!

I guess what I don't understand is that even though it stuffs up everything in your body, people keep doing it, even when there body is starting crumble and even dying. But it made me think that even though I don't smoke, I still sin, and that is killing me on the inside every time, but I can't stop, maybe that the same thing in my life...I don't know just a thought, but seriously if you smoke...stop, its really not good for you!

Just a thought I had...

Stay tuned.

no. 37...The Phantom of the Opera

Last night I was able to knock another thing of my list...because last night I went on a hot date with the man of my dreams, and he took me to see the Phantom of the Opera, not before picking me up dressed to impress and cooking me a beautiful dinner!

It was a lovely evening and the musical was fantastic! There was a little drama as when we took our seats we were politely informed that "for tonight's performance the part of the phantom would be played by Simon Price" not Anthony Warlow as advertised on everything! But I did find out today that he is actually very sick, so I understand and I forgive him...but I must say the other guy was very good and I probably wouldn't have noticed the difference anyway! Seriously though, the performers last night were amazing...I had never actually seen the full play before even though it is on DVD, and I think that made it even better because I had a very vague idea of what might happen, but not the complete picture so it made it so much more exciting, so if you are in Melbourne at the moment do your self a favor and go and see it! Its heaps good!

Just on the side....Last night when I was taking some pictures of my lovely night out I noticed a banner advertising the musical that stated "The World's Greatest Love story"!

Now if you know the story of the phantom of the opera...would you really say that it is the greatest love story...yes there is love, but this love is full of pain, its a love that drives a man insane, causes him to do things that he probably wouldn't have done other wise. I guess it got me thinking...The Phantom's love was selfish and demanding and it was on his terms...that doesn't sound like a very good love story to me...it sounds like a good story, one of tragedy and despair but not of love...I think there is a better love story in the world, one of Amazing Grace and of Boundless Salvation...a love that only gives...a love that gave its life...The love of God...now that sounds like a love story...maybe even the World's greatest!

Just a thought I had...

Stay tuned.

Winter Update

Wow, it’s been a long time…I feel like every blog I write starts with that, but it’s normally true! What has happened since last time…LOTS! Where will I start???

I am back at uni and I tell you what it’s a bit of a shock to the system, this semester is full on, I am actually learning how to be a dietician (I even have a badge that says so!), despite the fact that I have been studying nutrition for two and half years already, but its good, I am now actually seeing what I get to do and the impact that I can make, which is both very exciting and scary at the same time. I think what scares me most is that it’s up to me and I actually have to make decisions about people, that effect their lives, but I guess I will get used to that eventually! So with that keeping busy, I can imagine that my life is about to get very hectic!

Anyway, I thought that you all needed an update on what is happening on my list because believe it or not I actually have done some more… ready…ok, lets go…

19. Allow Dave not to be my slave… Well seeing as though we are no longer together, this one was kind of like the blessing in the storm…although it was a very little blessing in a very big storm, it still comes off the list by default!

33. Pull of a Parallel Park…I did and I have photos and witnesses (just Dave, but its still a witness), seriously it was the tightest park ever, but I was amazing…not that I could ever do it again, but, all the list says is once!
Sorry the pictures a bit dark...

36. Go to a concert of someone famous…no its not the circus, or a salvo thing, its actually someone famous, well two actually…a couple of weeks ago I went and saw Missy Higgins, with my good mate Pez and her sister, and it was fantastic, I even got some good pictures! And…it gets better…Missy’s opening act was a girl called Kate Miller-Heidke…who may not be famous now, but will be so I am counting her as well!

Missy Singing her heart out...

Kate Miller-Heidke and I...
73. Go to the snow…did it… lake mountain…fun fun fun, but it turns out that I am either too old or too heavy to enjoy tobogganing!
Kitty and I being silly...
75. Beat Brad at Buzz on PS2…much to brad’s disgust I beat him on Sunday at buzz’s music quiz…that’s right brad…I beat you!

99. Well I crossed of lots more “emma” streets…heres where Flic, Claire and I drove to…
Emma St, Collingwood Emma Ave, Reservoir Emma Ct, Thomastown Emma St, Fawkner Emma Ct, Coburg Nth Emma Ct, Taylors Lakes Emma Ct, Woori Yallock All in one day too, might I add...thanks to Karen (the GPS) and Claire that is!

I think that’s all the ones that I have done so far…there are a few more in the pipelines, but there you go! Now I better get back to work before I stuff up number 2…keep up to date with uni stuff!