Thoughts on an ever-changing nation

Today I voted in the primary presidential elections for the very first time. It was an exciting experiance, not at all difficult because I had made my decision quite a while ago. I just drew my line, turned my folder in and did't think much about the actual situation until afterwards, sitting in my favorite chair at Starbucks, snacking on my afternoon snack (a Golden Delicious Apple- how American) when I began to "nibble" on something else- the thought of change.
One of the things I truly like about America (and usually the things I dislike far outnumber those I favor) is the fact that we do have rights. Some may argue not enough rights, but the fact of the matter is we are fortunate to have freedom. The freedom of speech, the right to voice our opinion, on whatever our hearts may desire. Some opinions may have a great affect, some may matter over others depending on the situation but they all matter in the long run. Especially when it comes to making decisions that can affect change.
It is an amazing opportunity we have here in our fairly young nation, the ability to cast our vote and have our say in the leader of our country. One who, undoubtedly can have significant effects on the state of our nation, the welfare of it's people and place in the world. Maybe my "one little vote" isn't worth much, but it's worth something- my contribution, my ingrediant into a piece of a pie that affects changes in the world.
And boy, oh boy is change what we NEED in this day and age. I have a tremendous amount of respect for any individual who feels he or she has the ability to run our nation in an organized, efficient, peaceful way. However frankly, I don't feel as though our current "leader" is doing a very good job leading. In fact, I don't see him doing anything positive to advance our nation, if anything the only changes i've seen thus far have been for the worst. This is why I feel we desperately need a new face in the office, a new mind for change with a heart set on aiding our country in it's overall revival, while making positive efforts to affect the rest of the world with peace, AND hopefully have a stronger influence on the disintegrating state of the environment. We need someone, and fast- which is why I am so happy to be able to have my say in this change; this improvement. I hope the next person in office does a better job at leading our country than the present one.
I'm confident the person I chose would be the best fit out of the candidates for this tough job, and I can only hope the majority of the rest of the nation agrees.

Anywho, those are just my brain nibbles. I hope some of your agree- feel free to agree or disagree, comment in any way you please, after all- this IS America! And, much like Jenna's atmosphere on EatLiveRun, I want this journal to be a comfortable place where opinions are respected, advice can be given and happily recieved, and we can all share our thoughts, rants, raves, victories, failures, trials and tribulations. Most of all, my hope is we can be open to sharing bits of ourselves with others, while being accepted for the unique, beautiful, free individuals each and every one of us is. I hope you get all of that and more from this blog, because I am as serious about this as ever, I LOVE having readers, its an honor you enjoy my thoughts, food and photos, and am open to any suggestions you may have on how I can improve this blog to be the best "Kristin's Nibbles" it can be. I encourage you all to share your opinions, and tell you friends as well- let me know how I can be the best blogger for you.
That's our freedom, how's that for a bit of political empowerment for ya girls?

Onto my REAL nibbles (Food-wise, that is)
Today was as exhausting a day as ever, and the weather did not help. It cooled down significantly from the 50 degree comfort I awoke to, and became quite a dark, dreary day. Misty throughout the morning, which progressed into full blown rain by the time I left campus, voted and headed to Starbucks before work. (What a wet walk across the parking lot!) At least I got a nice ride home from work tonight- no way would I want to walk in this!

Philosophy wasn't particulary interesting this morning (is it ever?) but I did get an "A" on my exam so this livened my day up a bit. I spent the time in between classes studying- I feel as though I'm getting to the point of overstudying, which I know can do more harm than good. I'm just so paranoid after my previous failure, and now I'm all "chem-ed" out!
I'll give it a rest tonight and pick it up again tomorrow to prepare for my exam on Thursday. I didn't study all the way through my break though, I had to take a lunch break!

I paused for a good "eat while you work" munchie lunch- I cup 1% Friendship Cottage Cheese, a serving of Kashi Honey Sesame crackers, some carrots and a juicy plum. Talk about a balanced meal- fruit, veggies, grain, dairy, give me some "meat" or beans and I'm set with the food groups!



This held me over very well, (a great balance of protein & fiber with the complex carbs/cheese) until I had my afternoon apple-snack around three. I also had a tall nonfat latte, which hit the spot and kept me going through work!
I got very hungry at work, I hate being the only cashier on at night because it's nearly impossible to catch the manager when he's not busy to get myself a dinner break.
When I finally did get a break (about 45 minutes after I would have liked), I was just about starving, so I quickly heated the leftovers I'd saved from the weekend of the Pineapple Cashew Quinoa Stirfy I made. Mmm! It was a pretty big portion, about 1/2 the 3 cup container as you can see from the picture... lots of pineapple and cashews in this serving- but I ate it all up; a. because I was so hungry and b. because it was so darn tasty!





I actually didn't even feel full immediately after (I did eat fast- we have to, only 15 minutes including cooking time!!) but decided to wait it out and let my stomach digest a bit.
Sure enough, it was only a short while after those healthy fats kicked in and I felt nice and full!

Work seemed almost pointless tonight. There wasn't too many customers, I didn't really get anything done because I was alone, and all I could think about were all the things I could be doing back at the dorm... things that seemed much more important than standing around a R.A. register! So that and my serious chocolate cravings didn't make things much better. Ah, well, a little extra cash. Life.