i'm a bad blogger

I've been a very bad blogger. Laying around on this lazy Sunday morning, I thought to myself "wow, it's been forever since I've blogged!". So here goes, my crazy busy life...

First of all, has anyone had Sweet Frog frozen yogurt? OMG best new hot spot in Richmond, hands down. They have this amazing wall of frozen yogurt that you can mix and match whatever you like... my most recent was peach and chocolate mixed :) Then, you get to add whatever toppings from the amazing options. I personally LOVE the fruit/chocolate/nut/reese's pieces combo :) It's all I can do to ONLY indulge maybe once a week, but YUM!

So I have also been working on my DIY wedding goodies the past few weeks, including my shell frame which I painted a off white then glued shells that John and I have collected over the past few years and this will be over the picture frame "guest book" for our guests to sign at the wedding! I love love love this idea to showcase the "guest book" frame as something to hang on the wall, instead of the traditional guest books that get put away and never looked at again. It also makes me feel very crafty to do things like this for the wedding and putting my personal touches here and there :) There are a few others but life has been CRAZY the last month with the new J-O-B!
I have also gotten hooked to making granola all the time, even John has developed a love of it, too! He has been snacking on that more than he does on sweets now, choosing that for desert sometimes instead of ice cream... SO incredibly proud of him and the lifestyle changes that he has been making recently... including QUITTING SMOKING! We hit the one month Thursday that he has quit and I couldn't be more proud! He has become a gum-o-holic, but I'll take that any day over cigarettes! He is also working out with me at least 2 times a week and about to run his first race with me in a month at the Ukrop's 10k. SO proud I could burst! :)
So, my new job is amazing and I love love love going to work every day :) I have been working for 5 weeks now as a registered nurse and couldn't be happier with my life decisions I made to make it where I am now in my life. Over the past few weeks, we went through computer charting training, hospital orientation, and super preceptor where we got to practice all the skills that we didn't have the opportunity to do in nursing school. Of these, I got to place foley catheters, straight cath, NG tubes, OG tubes, IV starts, blood draws, central/PICC line pulls and dressing changes, Code Blue, tube feeding, blood administration, PCA pumps, and much much more. It was a great experience and I feel like just practicing and watching those things over the last few weeks will help to give me the confidence I need when I hit the floor for real starting TOMORROW! My first week of work and I am scheduled for 44 hours! Hit the ground running I suppose :) 3 12 hour shifts await me, along with a basic arrhythmia class to perfect my knowledge of EKG strips and recognizing different heart rhythms since all patients on my unit are on telemetry monitors. Needless to say, this is part of why I have been such a slacker on blogging, because I have been brain dead after work from the mass knowledge being crammed in ;) Did I mention that I LOVE my job?!
And to top everything off, only 69 days until the wedding! It's been rather cute to see Prince William and Kate's count down on TV since theirs is one week before ours :) Bet she hasn't done ANY DIY stuff for theirs! We started marriage counseling a few weeks ago and it has been very helpful and eye opening and I really think it is going to help us to be a better couple. We are both getting so excited about the wedding and I can't wait for it to finally get here! I had my first dress fitting yesterday and got all pined up for my alterations to be made and will pick up my dress April 1st! We also got a necklace yesterday for me to wear with pearls and shells that I fell in love with. The bridal shower is next Saturday and I am so excited to see all my girl friends that I haven't seen in forever :)

So back to my lazy Sunday... seems like everyone is napping except for me in my house! I think I'll catch up on some reading until John wakes so we can go for a run... Happy Sunday everyone!

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.

Merry Christmas!

Well! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We actually ended up having a white Christmas, with snow starting yesterday afternoon and continuing until now, 4pm the day after Christmas! Our Christmas was wonderful, with a few bumps in the road last night, but all in all a success. I made all sorts of goodies to give as presents and felt so "betty crocker" when I finished. I made pumpkin butter, cream cheese cookies, pumpkin apple struslle muffins, and white chocolate oreo fudge and I will post those recipes later this week. YUM! The pups are exhausted from playing with their cousin, Lucy. Last night after dinner, my 96 year old grandma began to act very confused and rambling, and my mom and I thought it may be a stroke. We rushed her to the emergency room and they did many tests, labs, etc and decided it was probably a UTI and admitted her to the hospital for IV antibiotics and rest/comfort. GEEZ! At least it was minor and treatable, but so hard when it is your own grandma and she has age working against her. Any who, here are a few pictures to enjoy and I must get to studying for my NCLEX while I have time!

xo
My mess of a kitchen while cooking up a storm!
Pumpkin Butter! Prepping my baskets and labelsPassed out pups amongst the Christmas mess :)

absent minded at times.

First off, we have finally decorated for Christmas! We actually got a REAL tree this year, which the smell is AMAZING, but good Lord the needles keep falling! Especially with the crazy cat running under it.... My parents, sister, and nephew came over last night for dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday. I was really really REALLY excited about making a butternut squash soup that I adapted from a coworker's recipe that she shared with me. We ate this, chicken with pomegranate (not the best thing I have ever cooked...), and orzo. The soup was SO easy to make!

Butternut Squash Soup

3 tbsp butter

3 medium butternut squash (cubed)

5 cups chicken broth

1 medium white onion (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

2 tbsp cumin

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup light cream

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 4 minutes. Stir in cubed squash and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth and cumin and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and, using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Add light cream and salt/pepper to taste. Stir well and serve!

I served it with a dollop of sour cream on top and some basil sprinkled and it was delicious and such a beautiful orange color! I loved it so much so that I just had a second bowl for lunch today and will probably do the same tomorrow :)

So on to today. I feel SO incredibly stupid and have no excuse but my absent mindedness. I had my Surfn Santa 10 miler this morning in VA Beach, so after scurrying around this morning, stopping at several gas stations trying to get gas (or a OPEN gas station), we were on the road for our 1.5 hour drive to the race. At Williamsburg, about half way there, I discovered that in our hurry, I had totally forgotten my running shoes. I mean REALLY? REALLY? How does a person leave for a RACE and forget her running shoes? So, needless to say, we turned around and drove back home with my tail tucked between my legs like a dummy. Oh well. There's always other races, but I was pretty excited about this one. I need to sign up for another, but definitely need to wait until money isn't so tight, so it may be a little while. I better keep motivated! The good news is that John is running the 10k this year with me on April 2nd!!! I'm SO excited he has committed to this and we begin training in January!

I did have a cool, new experience yesterday at clinical :) I put in my FIRST NG tube! For the non-medical peoples out there, this is a nasogastric tube placed in the nose, down the throat, and into the stomach either to administer tube feedings or medications, or to relieve distention from "back-up" or undigested food due to a blockage somewhere along the GI tract, among many other things that could be wrong. This poor 18 year old chap had a belly so distended that he looked 7 months pregnant. I initially was in the room to just assist, but the nurse asked if I wanted to do it, which I responded "well, I never have...", and she said "ok, you can do it now!" AHH! I was definitely shaking and nervous, but did it with no problem! Very exciting for me, not so much for my poor patient. Hope he is feeling better today...

Also, we went bowling Thursday for the annual memorial bowling tournament for my grandfather. My grandfather passed away about 8 years ago around Thanksgiving, and since he was such an avid bowler, every year our family, both here and in Cincinnati, OH & Charlotte, NC, all go bowling. Whoever gets the highest score gets to hold the trophy thru the next year, in which we use one of my grandfather's old bowling trophies. It's a pretty cool tradition, but I unfortunately did not inherit the bowling gene. I am a HORRIBLE bowler! But the shoes are pretty fun :)

Time for some studying for my exam Monday. Only a presentation, one clinical, and one final exam left to get through after Monday! The suspense is killing me!

xo

My first half on my half!

I successfully completed my FIRST HALF MARATHON, with my 68 year old father, and on my half birthday! (yikes, half way to 28!) It was absolutely the hardest thing I have ever done, but I will definitely do it again. My time was around 2:20, but I'm still waiting for the results to be posted.... Next up, Turkey Trot 10k on Thanksgiving day & Surfin Santa 10 miler on December 4th! Gotta stick with it if I'm going to make it a lifestyle for good! The best motivation to me is that I keep amazing myself with my accomplishments. I have been running now for almost a year and actually stuck to it (except a week here or there). I think I'll lay off running until next weekend, then start back up before the 10k since that is in only 12 days! I came across this quote and loved it: "Just like coffee, running is an acquired taste. And also like coffee, it can be quite addicting if you'rewilling to power through the initial bitter taste". Ain't that the truth!

So in my crazy nervousness last night, I made some Pumpkin Butter Oat Squares with Candied Pecans and OH MY were they delicious! I still haven't gotten tired of pumpkin, it's just such a perfect cooking element :) And the oat squares were a great treat for after the race!

Off to ice and nap a tad more... more later :)

xo

Here are a few shots from the race....

SO cold!

Last sprint for the finish line!

DONE! Next please!

it was just a chili kinda night!

Even if it did get up to the mid 60's today, I still got that chili bug in my system and had to make a big ole pot for dinner tonight :)

Mom's Chili

1 tbsp butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 lb ground turkey

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

3-4 cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp chili powder

1/4 cup red wine

In large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions & garlic and saute until onions browned. Add ground turkey and cook until browned. Add all other ingredients and turn heat down to simmer. Place lid over pot and cook for at least 1.5 hours, longer if possible :) Serve & enjoy!

I LOVE this chili recipe because it isn't your typical spicy, hot chili. It has a tiny kick from the chili powder, but you can add green/red peppers or more chili powder if you like that extra bite in your chili :)

In other news, I had manager interviews for a possible RN job, and MAN were they nerve racking! How do you convince a nurse manager in a 10 minute "speed dating like" interview that you are the best person for the job? Hopefully I wowed at least one with my charisma and charm ;) Maybe I'll get some good news tomorrow!

Toodles!

xo

Frost! Burr!

I think it's definitely a soup night tonight :) Maybe some baked goodies too?

6 months until marriage :)

WOW how time flies! After feeling like the big day will never come and now being engaged for 1 year and 3 months... only 6 MONTHS until our wedding! Unfortunately, it will be just me and the critters tonight since John is headed to North Carolina for work, but it's still pretty special :)

AND only 6 days until the half marathon! I ran 5 miles today and was super sore after, but I blame it completely on the cold. Man that cold air hurts my joints! Thankfully, they are calling for 67 degrees next Saturday :)

On another note, we got a new stove! My landlord rocks. We emailed her to let her know that 2, yes 2, of the stove burners were not working (SO not conducive to my cooking addiction!) and her response: "Ok, guess we will get you a new one!" Score!

Anywho, enough for tonight... first Transitions test tomorrow and I have a LOT of studying to do. Good thing it's nice and quiet ;) After this, only 2 tests, 1 final, and NCLEX left for nursing school! 5 weeks left of nursing school!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life is such a count down these days... lots to look forward to!

xo

oh hai November!

BURR! The temperature only went up to the mid 50s today, a perfect start to November I suppose! Just makes it super difficult to pull myself out of my nice cozy bed...

I tried to start the day with a bang, sick of hearing my poor Lilo scratching, so I popped both the dogs in the bathtub (at 6am) and tried my best to relieve her of itchy skin and just clean Beau up (because I've discovered that boy dogs are just so darn DIRTY all the time!). After feeling so productive so early in the day, I made a Pumpkin Pie Monster, one of my many favorite treats from Angela at Oh She Glows, a perfect breakfast on the way to class & work!

Pumpkin Pie Monster

1 cup almond milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp blackstrap molasses

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

2 large ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth!

I have added a banana occasionally when I am super hungry, which thickens it up nicely and fills me up more and longer! A girl from one of the units I work on frequently at work called me at work the other day to say "I just thought I'd thank you for telling me about Pumpkin Pie Monsters... They ROCK!". Nuff said :)

The rest of today was moderately productive after class... went for a 2 mile walk with the pups, cut the grass (hopefully the last time this year), weeded the front flower beds (hopefully without getting poison ivy like last time), studied a bit, and cooked dinner (Baked Chicken Parmesan) and some Buttery Apple Streusel Oat Squares... maybe a good desert with a scoop of pumpkin ice cream tonight?! The whole house currently smells like baked apples... YUM! John called me Betty Crocker... I asked if she was also a runner, then I would take the nickname ;)

Running in the COLD tomorrow morning... better get my fleece, gloves, beanie, and long pants out! Only 12 days until the half marathon!