oh cheese and rice

It's been a long couple of days. My man is sick so my world has all but come to a halting stop. I spent most of my evening (prior to the Thera Flue and Motrin kicking in) convincing him that he really didn't need to go to the hospital and that he had his own personal RN to care for him. Until his fever disappeared, it was getting testy whether I was going to remain nice and caring, but thankfully, he is FINALLY on the mend :) Yes, there is a God! Anyways, I made my first delicious hummus today! SO EASY! I have discovered yet another wonderful vegan website Fatfree Vegan and found this:

Hummus

2 cloves garlic

1 can chickpeas, drained

1/8 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tbsp tahini

In food processor, chop garlic. Add chickpeas and lemon juice and pulse until blended. Add water until it becomes a smooth paste. Add cumin, paprika, tahini and pulse until smooth. Garnish with parsley and paprika. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to let flavors blend and become delicious :)

Yum and YUM! I'll have to hold myself back from eating it all so I can enjoy the chicken cooking in the crockpot....

ALSO, I made these delicious no-bake yummies from my favorite website, Oh She Glows, last night because I was craving sweetness in the stress of caring for my sick man...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chews

1 cup crisp rice cereal

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

3 tbsp organic brown rice syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp dark chocolate chips

Line plate with parchment paper. In bowl, mix peanut butter, rice syrup, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Microwave on high 35-45 seconds and stir well. Immediately add cocoa powder. Add rice crisp cereal until all coated. Wet hands and make 7 golf-ball sized balls and place on parchment paper. Place in freezer for 5 minutes. Let stand 5 more minutes and enjoy! Delicious little yummies!

Anyways, we went to Washington D.C. last weekend to chat with an old friend about marrying us, and she said YES! We officially have her, as long as we go to our 3 more meetings and work on us as a couple ;) I think the counseling will do us a lot of good, especially in communicating with each other and finding out what we can do to bring out the best in each other and grow as a couple together :) Back again in 2 weeks!

I start on my floor tomorrow at the hospital! I have completed my computer training for our electronic charting and now have to do unit and hospital specific orientation, then preceptorship, but I am LOVING it so much :)

Does anyone else HATE running in the cold, because I sure do. This winter seems SO much harder to run outside than I remember experiencing last winter. I'm trying SO hard to make it to the gym at least 2-3 days a week and running outside at least once a week. I did have an awesome workout today though, running intervals on the tredmill at 6.0 mph for .25 miles then up to 7.5 mph and repeating until I had completed 3 miles. GOOD LORD did that beat me up! I then did my upper body and abs workout, but I need something new because I'm getting rather bored with my regimen. I heard that Jillian Michael's 30 day shred it pretty awesome and I'm considering purchasing it... Any user reviews out there???

Off to finish cooking dinner...

P.S. I have a severe obsession with taking pictures of my sleeping puppy :) He smiles in his sleep.