New York State of Mind

Greetings from the city that never sleeps!

I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to spend 10 days in New York City with my wonderful brother, J.  There is so much to see and do here that we spend the entire day exploring the city and still feel like we haven't seen nearly enough of it!

What do I love about NYC so far?

• The Metropolitan Museum
• The Natural History Museum
• Soho
• Nolita
• Greenwich Village
• The incredibly friendly locals
• The inexpensive organic food at Trader Joe's
• People-watching in Little Italy
• The subway!
• Walking around all day
• The fashion (it varies depending on the neighborhood)
• The various local boutique stores 
• The unique vintage clothing shops

NYC can be a bit expensive, so to save money my brother and I are staying at a rental apartment in the financial district that we found through Craigslist.org.  Since we have access to a kitchen, we can cook most of our meals here instead of eating out.  We also make sure to flash our student IDs at all the museums and art galleries to gather some additional savings.  Another hind: skip the cabs, take the subway or your feet.  And lastly, buy cheap broadway tickets the day of at the various TKTS Discount Booths around the city.  

I heart New York.

Magical Numbers

I love how the orange butterflies contrast the purple flowers...

I'm taking a quick break from my NPLEX studies to share some exciting news with you.

As of yesterday, I am officially no longer anemic!  I got my ferritin numbers back (the molecule that stores the iron in your body) and I am delighted to report that it is within the "normal range" (the reason for the quotations is that even though it may well be within the range, the range happens to extend from 15 to 300.  Remember, within range isn't the same as being at the optimal level so always take your lab results with a grain of salt).

Regardless, after years of being well below range I am ecstatic (not to mention quite rosy in the cheeks and less cold).  I admit, I owe most of my success to my daily Proferrin iron supplement as well as my red meat-dedicated summer menu.  Coming from a reformed vegan, I never thought I'd love my meat so much but at the moment it's quite literally saving my life.

Wish me luck on the NPLEX!

One of my favorite restaurants in Calgary; The Ranche.  Famous for serving wild game meat.