Obsessions: Serial podcast, 23andMe, and Finding Your Roots

Non-food/wellness/fitness things I've been obsessed with lately:

Serial Podcast Anyone else obsessed with Serial? I wasn't sure I'd get that into it when I first started listening, but I think I should have been a detective because I love mysteries and trying to put clues together, like the host Sarah Koenig is doing in each episode. It comes out every Thursday and I so look forward to listening to a new episode on my way to work. I've been discussing it with my colleagues who are also hooked. One of them is even more obsessed than I am with it!

23andMe The same colleague that is obsessed with Serial also got her 23andMe test back recently with percentages of her ethnicities outlined. I love genealogy and I was pretty much ready to pay the $99 to get the test done when I heard it was now that cheap. I started doing some research on twitter about the health aspect of the test (which will be approved by the FDA soon I hope). Somehow I stumbled upon a tweet that mentioned if you have Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), you could get the test for free and contribute to IBD research. I signed up immediately and literally was dancing with excitement in my kitchen. Yes, total nerd here.

My sample ready to be sent! I cannot wait to get my results back in 6-8 weeks. I am really hoping they get processed before Christmas so I can show the genetic percentages to my siblings and parents. Obviously, I am also excited to contribute to IBD research with this test as well. I told three of my family members who also have Ulcerative Colitis about it and urged them to sign up. 

Finding Your Roots show on PBS I don't watch a whole lot of TV, but when I find a show I love, I get addicted. I am currently loving Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s PBS show about celebrities' family histories and genealogy. I am getting inspired to log onto Ancestry.com and do more research on sides of my family that are still a mystery to me. I just wish I was fortunate enough to have researchers in Norway, Germany, Austria and Denmark to find more information on those sides of my family that I know so little about. Maybe my 23andMe test will be helpful, as the DNA test is for celebrities on the show.

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My husband's latest obsession? Researching the Amazon Echo and watching funny parodies about it. Someone really wants Santa to bring him one, that's for sure.