Bones.

This could end badly.
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Sunday, September 20, 2015
Priorities Change.
Let me reintroduce myself. It's been over two years, after all. I'm no longer a pre-medical student. I'm "pre-chiropractic." Why? After my ankle was reconstructed Spring 2014, I was entirely over pain medications. After everything with my back injury and such, I decided I'm tired of them. Orthopedic surgery or physical therapy would still be such great routes to go, however there isn't a position that allows you to meet the patient as a human being, treat the patient, fix the problem, and help with their rehabilitation, thus helping them throughout the process and seeing how they progress. Except for chiropractics, essentially.
My life currently? All of the science classes at UMKC, working at a market research company (read: office job with flexible hours), living at home again (read: saving money until I can move back out), playing with my dog, trying to read non-school-related things now and again, and dating the best guy in the world. More updates/stories to come, I promise. We're getting this show back on the road.



Monday, July 8, 2013
Sea White.
Here we are, meeting on a Monday again. I didn't do that intentionally, but it happened. I hope everyone has been doing well. The other day, I realized I hadn't told you about my other blog. It's my own blog I've had for a while longer than Humerus Apollo. On it, you'll find many gluten-free recipes, the recent happenings and adventures of Clyde (my betta fish), fitness stuff, college life and so much more. I'm in the process of totally revamping the entire thing. But go check it out, anyway, and definitely let me know what you think either here on Humerus Apollo or at Sea White. 

Until next time!
--Bones.


Monday, July 1, 2013
Gluten Free Iced Oatmeal Cookies.
First of all, happy July, everyone! I can't remember if I've ever mentioned this before, but I'm allergic to gluten and wheat. I have always been a baker of sorts, especially cookies, and once I found out that I was allergic to, I was very sad. I love bread, pasta, crackers, cookies, you name it. What was I supposed to do about not being able to enjoy those wonderful, carbohydrate-rich foods? A lot of research, apparently. I have found so many tips, tricks, recipes and the like from so many different places. Thankfully, the whole gluten-free thing is becoming a big deal. Whether it's a lifestyle decision or an allergy (like mine), people are really catching on. Now, here's a great recipe for one of my favorite cookies from when I was a kid: Iced Oatmeal Cookies. Not the squishy, chewy ones with the raisins. The ones you get at the grocery store that are satisfyingly crunchy and have that wonderful dried icing. My family would always bring them when we went camping, so it's kind of nostalgic for me. This is a great recipe that I adapted, and have made many times since. Let me know in the comments, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram your pictures. Happy Gluten-Free Baking!

Iced-Oatmeal Cookies
(Gluten-Free)
Adapted from Roben Ryberg's The Ultimate Gluten-Free Cookie Book, these are sure to surprise and delight yourself and the others you're baking for. They're just like the ones you can purchase at the grocery store, nice icing and a crunchy oatmeal cookie underneath, without the gluten!

Materials:
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup oat flour (or brown rice flour)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon NaCl (salt)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (add a bit extra)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (add some extra)

Icing Materials:
2/3 cup powdered sugar/confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon water
Red Hot cinnamon candies

1.   Preheat your oven to 350 degress F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet if you wish.
2.   Put the oats in a blender and pulse/run it until most pieces are really small. In a large-ish bowl, combine all your ingredients. Make sure and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, the dough will be soft and pretty heavy.
3.   Drop rounded spoonfuls of the dough onto the cookie sheet. Press them mostly flat with the bottom of a glass/cup. You can use your fingers if you like, but the glass makes them level. They should be about 1/8 inch thick.
4.   Bake them for 11ish minutes, until they're lightly browned and crispy.
5.   Mix the powdered sugar and water together. Crush the Red Hot candies, and mix those in as well. Or leave them whole, your choice. Spread the mixture on the oatmeal cookies and enjoy!

Until next time!
--Bones.


Saturday, June 22, 2013
Spinning.
I've started a new experiment. Have you ever heard of Spinning? Not to make yourself dizzy, and nothing sewing related. I'm talking about Spin Cycling. The high-intensity cardio thing? Yes, that. I figured out that I needed to make a change in my workouts; I wanted something completely new. You're probably thinking, "how could a cycling class be a new thing? Haven't you ridden a bike before?" Of course I've ridden a bike before, but I've never ridden a bike this way. I never do anything small, be it injuries, school achievements/failures, musically, scientifically, or anything else. Before deciding on this Spin class idea, I figured, "I love riding my bike, this will be great." Then I dove right in. After an hour of intense cardio, interval training, resistance training and sweating more than I had ever before, I had accomplished a spin cycling class. It was one of the most (if not The most) intense cardio workout I've ever done. It was so hard but so fun! I was so tired and so very salty, naturally, it took me a while to convince myself to go shower (I finally did, don't worry.) I figured I would be dead the next morning. After that class, I slept so hard and really got some quality REM time. Sure, I was sore when I got up, but a long, Pilates stretching session helped tremendously. That evening, I was back at it, at the gym, in the 5:30 spin cycling class, ready to go. Now I can't stop, it's just such an experience. A really great, sweaty, hard, fun, exciting, sweaty workout experience. I can't recommend it enough. I have dreadful knees, a bad ankle, a strained Achilles tendon and perpetual back problems I have to be careful of. This low-impact, high-intensity cardio has been great for all of those injuries. Just go try it! Try your best to follow along with the instructor, but start at your own pace, and try to push yourself as much as you can. I'll be honest, I started at a low-resistance on the bike, and had a tough time switching from standing, hovering and sitting positions. It takes so much work and effort to get started, but it's completely worth it after a few classes. Now, I'm following the instructor exactly, using the harder resistance settings and really going for it, and I'm only a few weeks into this. I augment the spinning with Pilates. This really helps keep my core strong so I can really protect my back. It's also very hard and very fun at the same time. But that discussion is for another post. Make sure to stretch before a spin cycling class. It helps tremendously. Also make sure to stretch afterward. The instructor(s) should lead you in some stretching at the end, but make sure you actually stay and do that part! It's very important. When you get home, make sure to rest and recoup, eat something, drink some Gatorade or a little chocolate milk, and you'll feel great. Before you go to bed, do some more stretches, it'll make all the difference for how sore/stiff you'll be in the morning. BRING WATER TO A SPIN CYCLING CLASS. It will save you. Trust me. Tweet/Instagram/Facebook me your thoughts and photos on spinning #spinningbones. Happy spinning, happy Pilates, happy weekend. 1, 2, 3, go spin!

Until next time!
--Bones.


Thursday, June 20, 2013
Tuesday was interesting.
Although I'm writing this on Thursday, I have a not-so-typical Tuesday story. 
My father and I had appointments that morning, 11:30 and 1:15. We all know how doctor's appoinments run: late. After three plus hours at the doctor's office, we were finally on our way to lunch. We were all of five blocks away from our destination, stopped at a stoplight. I heard someone (who I thought was in the lane next to mine) really booking it down the street, about to blatantly run the light. I was wrong. They were in my lane. I guess they hadn't realized the light had changed, and all of a sudden panicked. What happened next, you ask? The driver's side rear-end was smashed in to. My poor, wonderful little Toyota Camry. Thankfully, everyone was completely okay, and the cars were drivable. The driver in the other car ended up swerving to the left so he wouldn't totally rear-end me straight on. That was good. Said driver was an elderly gentleman who was a disabled American veteran. He was very nice, and he was pretty embarrassed and felt bad about the wreck. Due to his veteran status, he had excellent insurance, and everything is going to end up fine with repairing my car, and his, too. We got to spend a good 45 minutes out in the middle of the intersection waiting for the cops to arrive. Of course we had caught them right at their shift change. Once the officer got there, she took care of everything really quickly and handled the situation beautifully. Now we wait until Monday to put my car in the shop for repairs. That'll take a while though; the corner/quarter panel is toast, the bumper is compromised, the tail light and blinker are gone, and it'll need painting. Thankfully, they're providing a rental car. Like I said, everyone walked away with no problems, and we're all completely fine. Check Instagram for possible photos. Here's a refreshing note to end on: at least fifteen people stopped at our wreck, asking if we were all okay, if we had a phone to call 911, if they could help, and the like. Our overhead dark cloud had a thick silver lining after all. Although there's still a dark cloud inside that silver lining, I think the pros outweigh the cons here. Optimism and man-kind's inherent goodness prevails once more!

Until next time!
--Bones.


Saturday, June 15, 2013
Headline
After a halfway productive all-nighter with Rocket, a nap and a fantastic thunderstorm, I find myself with a cup of chai tea and half of an idea in my head. Let me introduce myself. I'm Bones: pre-medical student, jazz musician, Trekkie and general bibliophile. My main goal as a premedical student is to become an orthopedic surgeon. I've been through knee injuries, wrist problems, elbow problems, back injuries complete with sciatica, achilles tendon and ankle problems. I never get sick, I only get injured. All of my joint injuries continually yield great, first hand (and knee) learning experiences, thus I can surmise the universe is trying to tell me something. Orthopedics it is, then. As a jazz musician, I spend my time complaining that I should practice, procrastinating, then complaining that I procrastinated once I finally start practicing. It's a vicious cycle. I teach private lessons. I take private lessons. I should mention I play saxophones, clarinet and flute, so, woodwinds. I am a very proud Trekkie. While I tend to favor Star Trek: The Next Generation, I love all things Star Trek, up to and including tshirts. Bibliophile is another term for bookworm, by the way. My favorite book is Catcher in the Rye, followed closely by The Great Gatsby. I'm also allergic to gluten and wheat. I bake many different varieties of gluten free cookies. As Rocket has mentioned, I work in retail. It certainly generates many stories. Some of which I'm sure I'll share. I tried to think of a better name for this post, but I originally wrote "Headline" just for filler purposes, and it stuck.
To clarify: the title of this blog, Humerus Apollo, means this:
Humerus, as in the bone of your upper arm. Apollo, the spaceship (or rocket.) Make sense?

That's all for now. Until next time!

--Bones.