1st Monthiversary

Today is our 1 month anniversary! It is hard to believe we have only been married a month…the wedding seems like it was so long ago. Perhaps because so much has changed since that wonderful day!

Tim has been keeping busy with work, he comes home and tells me about the new cases he is working on. I try to follow along, but sometimes when “lawyer Tim” appears, “non-lawyer Asha” has a hard time tracking, especially with all the terms that are only used in the legal profession. I have to ask him to define about every third word. Sometimes I do that right back to him using medical terminology, and then the tables are turned!

I have just finished applying for both my Maryland and Virginia PTA license. I decided to apply to both states since we are literally a few minutes (just across the Potomac River) from Maryland, and this way I will have more options as far as jobs go. It was quite a process (and some days, a huge headache) especially with the name change …but I finally got it all finished! 

We do not have cable at our house, instead we opted for Netflix. The other day we watched a documentary called “Forks over Knives,” it was very interesting and gives a lot to think about! This is taken from the synopsis:

“Forks over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. Dr. Campbell, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, was concerned in the late 1960’s with producing ‘high quality’ animal protein to bring to the poor and malnourished areas of the third world. While in the Philippines, he made a life-changing discovery: the country’s wealthier children, who were consuming relatively high amounts of animal-based foods, were much more likely to get liver cancer. Dr. Esselstyn, a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, found that many of the diseases he routinely treated were virtually unknown in parts of the world where animal-based foods were rarely consumed. These discoveries inspired Campbell and Esselstyn, who didn’t know each other yet, to conduct several groundbreaking studies. One of them took place in China and is still among the most comprehensive health-related investigations ever undertaken. Their research led them to a startling conclusion: degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be prevented – and in many cases reversed – by adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet. Despite the profound implications of their findings, their work has remained relatively unknown to the public. The filmmakers travel with Drs. Campbell and Esselstyn on their separate but similar paths, from their childhood farms where they both produced “nature’s perfect food,” to China and Cleveland, where they explored ideas that challenged the established thinking and shook their own core beliefs.

The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Throughout the film, cameras follow “reality patients” who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments – while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.”

Also because of no cable, we don't get any of the Bears games, much to the disappointment of my die-hard-Bears-fan husband. Luckily, we have found a sports bar just a few minutes from our house that has a regular crowd of Bears fans that go to watch the games every week. Here we are in our matching jerseys…..oh yes…awwww…. :)

 
This past weekend, we visited Roosevelt Island. It’s pretty interesting: the Teddy Roosevelt memorial is in the middle of this island, surrounded by several different trails. We walked a few trails, then relaxed with a picnic by the Potomac, using our new picnic bag from the Hinkle’s!

 

Thanksgiving is this week! Our first Thanksgiving as Mr. and Mrs. We plan to spend it with friends from church, and then host our first overnight guest, Erik Torrez, who will stay with us Friday night! He is a pilot and has to fly out of DC on Saturday. Old Town Alexandria has tons of activities the day after Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season, so we plan on going to check it out! There are also lots of fun things going on across the river at the National Harbor…that place is unbelievable (http://www.nationalharbor.com/intro.htm).

Thanksgiving day is also Tim’s 28^th birthday! So that’s double the reasons to be thankful and rejoice in all that God has blessed us with.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Until next time...