What makes Hershey's so Great?

As Sandy and I found out on our recent trip to Hershey, PA: Its the Milk Chocolate!


We went down to see the Hershey's Candy Lane, which is basically what the Hershey Park becomes around the holidays. The roller coasters were closed, but we were able to ride some of the smaller rides. I can't wait to go back in summer, the roller coasters look awesome. It was pretty fun, and a lot of the candy was really reduced after Christmas. The tour (complete with singing cows) is a fun little ride that you get to see how all the chocolate is made.














Above are some pictures from the tour. Some bags of candy going along conveyor belt, and some Hershey's Kisses. And below is one of my favorite pics. Once we saw this Twizzlers guy, we immediately thought of Sandy's Grandma Peterson. For those of you who don't know her: saying she loves Twizzlers is an understatement.

New Year--More Blogging

One of my New Year's Resolution was to blog more so here I go.

As I mentioned before, I am working in endocrinology and high risk pregnancy. I am learning a ton about diabetes. The dietitian I am with right now is VERY knowledable and has really taught me a lot. Yesterday we visited a women in labor and delivery who had been in the hospital on bed rest for 73 days. She is from Florida and was on vacation in PA. She had a spontaneous rupture of her aniotic sac and was admitted to Geisinger. She is hundreds of miles from friends and family and all she can do is lay in hospital bed. I can't even image how boring that would be. They will be inducing her on Saturday so she only has 4 more days to go.

Last night Wes and I had dinner with Don and Joan, the owners of the farm Wes works with. Even though I had only met Don once and only for a few minutes, it was not awkward at all. They are both really nice and fun to talk with. It was interesting hearing about all the places they have lived and the things they have done.

I am getting pretty sick of this weather (ok so just this week has been bad). So far there hasn't been much snow but there has been some freezing rain which sucks worse than snow. It's almost impossible to scrape your windsheild and the roads can be pretty slick. Wes was not even joking when he said people in PA freak out about a little bad weather. The schools were closed today and it wasn't even that bad, a little freezing rain from last night and then it just rained until around 2 pm. At Geisinger, you better plan on at least half of your patients cancelling because of the weather. Its kind of funny to me and Wes.

Just incase I havn't bored you enough, here are some recipes I have been meaning to share.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND ROSEMARY GARLIC LASAGNA
This was really good and takes some time to prepare but definitely worth it. I mashed the butternut squash a little bit even though the recipe doesn't say so and the heavy cream could be optional.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Butternut-Squash-Rosemary-and-Garlic-Lasagne-13479

APPLE WALNUT SALAD WITH CRANBERRY VINAIGRETTE
I added more cranberries to the dressing (at least double the amount) and sprinkled my salad with a little goat cheese
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Walnut-Salad-with-Cranberry-Vinaigrette-844

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE CAKE
This made really delicate, moist cupcakes...no frosting even needed. Don't wory if your batter is really runny; mine was like water.
http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=184

GRILLED BLACK BEAN AND RICE STUFFED PEPPERS
EASY! I made these a day ahead and then Wes just popped them in the oven.
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/dinner/beans-rice-grains/grilled-black-bean--and-rice-stuffed-peppers.aspx

CAULIFLOWER AND RED LENTIL CURRY
I did not have the cumin seeds or fresh ginger and I used green lentils not red when I made this and it still turned out really good. Wes loves cilantro so I added extra.
http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/recipe-individual.html?action=showRecipeDetail&recipeId=1866

Our Little Sputnik

Wes definitely surprised me this Christmas with a hamster. I think he was just sick of me bugging him about wanting a dog/cat/bunny/hamster and he finally gave in. So the day after Chirstmas we set off to PetCo and picked out this little guy. He is a dwarf hamster and we named him Sputnik aka Spud. We've had him for about a week now and he is so cute. Look at his cute little white tail!









Now here is a little info to fill you in on what I have been up to. I have been on vacation from the internship for the past 2 weeks and I have just been lounging around and being lazy. Don't get me wrong, it has been relaxing but I would have preferred to keep working and finish the program 2 weeks earlier. I start back at Geisinger doing endocronology and high risk pregnancy and then onto oncology and rehab. This month is packed full of projects and assignments. I just hope I don't procrastinate everything as usual. I have been learning a ton and I can't wait to start working and building my career. I don't really know what I want to do when I'm done but I am kind of leaning towards working in a hispital as a clinical dietitian but who knows were I will actually end up.