Rants, Recipes, and Running

It's Christmas themed Ten On Tuesday! I have been counting down the days for Christmas for months now, in excitement to return home to spend Christmas with my family. However...I am fighting a large KNOT OF STRESS in my stomach right now -- b/c I heard it may be storming. :( 1. When do you put up and take down your Christmas decorations? -Basically, since we're in school and life is crazy....it's whenever we get a chance after Thanksgiving. this year we did it the Sunday after Thanksgiving with the attitude of, "If we don't do it today....it won't get done." For once finals come around, we have no life! -We will probably take it down January 6? Or whatever it is. The Sunday when Christmas season is officially over. 2. What do you do to simplify the holiday? This year, since I don't work at all -- it would be absolutely silly to go all out and buy each other expensive gifts! So Ryan and I decided instead of doing extravagant gifts to keep it on a budget...

Here we go again! I'm done with my semester! I just have to write a reference page on a paper today--and will officially be finished!! Oh, I don't get my grades until December 27.....because our instructor is extraordinarily lazy. Don't get me started on this one.....Alright! Ten on Tuesday! Here we go! :) 1) If you could change anything about your physical appearance, what would it be? I would probably change my face. Ha! Is that legal? Not like a face lift, or nose job, or some plasticky thing. Just...a different face. 2) Is there a habit in others that you find annoying? Coughing lightly. Stupid wimpy little coughs. JUST CLEAR YOUR DAMN THROAT ALREADY! Slurping. Like hot drinks? Soup? Ahhh...... Poor grammar. Smoking. That's beyond annoying. 3) What is your favorite recipe using ground beef? Taco soup. It's a mix of ground beef, chicken broth, stewed tomatoes, corn, and black beans...which lots of chili peppers and onions. I like it as an alternative to regular c...

Tomorrow is a day in universities referred to as "Reading and Review Day". This is a day of no classes. Focusing. Preparing for a week of finals ahead. However, the reality and importance of this day doesn't always set in during the first years of college (unless you're realllly focused). It's a pretty cool concept. An entire day that you would NORMALLY be in class that is TOTALLY focused on studying? How amazing..... It never happened that way in my 1st years of college, however. This was an extended weekend of endless fun! It began Thursday at 3! -- Bust open the boxed wine! We get a long weekend! Oh.....how silly I was. This weekend has a special place in my heart. It was the weekend, 2 years ago, that I told Ryan "I think I'm falling in love with you......" When did I realize this? Was it a romantic date? Was it on a beautiful, magical, walk through a snowy winterhaven? No -- We were sipping coffee and Baileys in -40 degree temps , huddled over ...

This is a double-post Tuesday! It's time to vent. And it may get ugly. I don't like my neighbors. We have the nosiest (not noisy...NOSEY), most irritating, 50-something old next door. Oh, but it's not just the 50 year old, because the 50 year old has a 20 year old son. And they both live with the the 50-year-old's parents. Can you imagine being in your 50's, and still living with mom and dad??!! Not because you're taking care of THEM....but because they still pay your bills, wash your laundry, cook your meals!!!??? So sad. The 20 year old is the absolute image of the sin of Gluttony. He is overweight. He only wears shorts. And his shorts go down to his ankles. He doesn't shower. And he has probably not gotten a haircut since he was 12. And he wears all black with a lovely abundance of facial piercings. Every morning, I am out stretching in the driveway prior to my run. And father and son are outside smoking. (what nice bonding...ruin your lungs and harden yo...

Another Tuesday! Next week at this time...I will be officially on Christmas break! How incredible...:) 1) Cost aside, if you could go back to college for anything besides what you "do", what would you study? -I would say -- go back to get a degree in English. I've always wanted to be a journalist. But I have realized that I love the healthcare atmosphere way too much to move away from it. I'd either go back and go more towards research with microbiology. Or I would do Nutrition and be a Registered Dietician. 2) What do you do for a living? Do you love it/hate it? -At the moment, I am a student. But this is short lived. I will be an RN in about 8 months. I think I will love it. I really enjoy nursing. I seriously become a different person when I'm doing it, in a good way. 3) What is your favorite Christmas ornament? If you don't celebrate Christmas, what is your favorite holiday tradition? -Hm....I love glittery red Christmas balls. I'm all about red at Chr...

I have been at a huge loss. Didn't even want to be a nurse, anymore. Thought to myself, Nothing really draws me in. How can I be doing well in my classes, when I'm absolutely miserable. I was actualy getting pist off when teachers would give me positive feedback. But today, I got to be on the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). And it was amazing. Not so much the pediatric aspect of it all. But the ICU aspect, I loved. Which is perfect. Because my contracting hospital has no kids or babies. I felt like my education was finally being applied, I was thinking, I was being challenged . It was incredible. This is probably the shortest, most uninteresting blog I have written. But I had to update. I'm ecstatic. I have had this cloud over head lately that has suppressed my past dreams. I didn't think I had the ability to reach my goals. I originally was excited about my career. And that excitement is back! So.....my game plan = Continue to network with my teachers/mentors to...

Feels as though it as last Tuesday minutes ago! Wow the week flew! 1) What was the last concert you went to? Dashboard Confessional back in 2006 with my sister Lisa! It was a fun sister date before I headed off to college! We went running shoe shopping, out for sushi with our brother, and to the concert! Oh...and she took me to Starbucks. It was the first time I had ever drank coffee before! (I just realized that....) Thanks Lisa, you officially started my coffee addiction! :) I don't know where I'd be without it! 2) Is it easy to make you cry? That totally depends on who it is. I can be extremely talented at being very stoic with no emotion. And then there's days where I'm like a water hose of tears! But I rarely do the whole "happy cry" thing. 3) Do you ever feel like people underestimate you? Yes--I think. I don't know if " underestimate " is the correct word for this. But being I'm young, and I'm the youngest in my family, and I'm...

So I am stealing this idea of the "monthly recap" from my sister Lisa! I think it's a cool idea to get the latest news! It is just crazy to think that this month is gone. It was super busy and SUPER FAST! But I am ready for December to be here. I love the Christmas season. AND Ryan and I get to fly home to see the family for 10 days!!!!!!!! (*Pause...while Abby jumps up in down in cart-wheels-of-glory) So here it is! Current Book(s): Nursing Care of Children & Infants by Hockenberry & Wilson. Very exciting. But seriously, December 14 is my final. Then I get almost 3 weeks off!!!! (Allleluia!) So I am looking forward to doing some reading. So to you "Book Worms" out there, I am open to suggestions. Otherwise, I'm reading "Going Rogue". I dont care what you think, I think Sarah Palin is an amazing woman, and I would love to read her book! I am a proud fan! Current Music: Christmas, Christmas, and More Christmas! However, I shouldn't soun...

Ryan & I celebrated our first Thanksgiving as the "Nastase family" cooking our 1st feast! And looking back, I feel safe to say it was a success! We did take photos of some of the events, but being I purchased a new computer (thank you, Black Friday)...I don't have the energy to upload photos. I'm tired of "uploading" stuff! But I will recap on the great day! Let's start with the prep : Growing up my mom hosted Thanksgiving nearly every year. She has a giant family (8 kids) -- so Thanksgiving was very, very plentiful with lots of family, tons of food, and great memories! I remember she was always a little..... tense ....the days leading to this holiday. I always thought, "Gee, Mom. What's the big deal?! It's just Thanksgiving. You're family will love you no matter what!" Now I hosted my first thanksgiving, for a much smaller crowd. And let's just say I was also.... tense . This week I officially became My Mother's Daughte...

So it seems to be the trend this year to do a post on your choice of social networking to state what you are most thankful about. I thought that was a really night idea -- but never got around to starting to do it! Besides, I'm more of a "list" person. So here I am going go list, in NO particular order, my blessings in life that I am ever thankful for! My husband . He is essential. It's pretty amazing to get to call your best friend your husband , or vice versa. Coffee . It gets me through extraordinarily long periods of studying & 5 hr lectures! My health . I am reminded of this blessing every day in every aspect of nursing. Target . I would say 75% of my wardrobe is Target. My house . Since I have moved away, I learned that I was kind of sheltered (in a good way). I had never really seen a homeless person before. Now I see them every day, and have even had them has patients. I can't imagine the utter fear of not having a place to go at night. Education...

Here's my 10 for the week! Enjoy! Or ignore, b/c you're probably sick of hearing about Abby by now ;) Hope your week is wonderful!! 1. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? An Architect. I floated between architect and nurse. I even had this architect program on the computer where I would design houses -- but found I was more interested in the horticultural aspect of designing houses. The houses eventually had no walls -- just flowers and plants. 2. Name 3 of your irrational fears. -Vomit. I'm going to be a nurse too. When I have a patient get sick -- I still get reallly jumpy. -That I am forgetting to clean something in my house. Like there is a corner somewhere that I am consistently missing. And then one day, I'm going to find it and it's going to be infested with germs. However, with how crazy I am about cleaning -- I'm hoping this doesn't happen. But I check diligently every week!!!! -Having someone break into my house when Ry...

Here is my Ten on Tuesday. Yet another list of random questions. They are fun for me to do -- don't feel obliged to read! 1. What are some of your family traditions? Dotzenrod family - I must agree with my sister -- Christmas Eve is so full of amazingness in my family! Oyster stew (even though I don't eat it), tons of crab/shrimp/seafood, sardines (probably my favorite), lots of family, and just an all around amazing time! Words cannot explain how happy I am to be able to get Christmas with my family this year! My new family (with Ryan) tradition -- Valentines Day. We celebrate it a day early! It's b/c we are just so excited to celebrate our love. Okay, so really it began 2 years ago when we both had a test that week and needed to be spending V-Day buried at the library. So we had our day of love on the 13th. It was great! Restaurants aren't packed, and it's just ... different! :) 2. Do you know how to change a flat tire? Why, yes I do! I cry, get on my phone and c...

Today I am blogging a tribute to probably my favorite ingredient. This is not just an ingredient for the kitchen, but for your whole household! Often, this ingredient is looked down upon. People smell it, and say"ick!" Not I. I feel such an inexpensive staple is underestimated..... ....Vinegar! Here are some of the things I use Vinegar in my daily life!: Food uses : I always soak my meat in a variation of Vinegar & Herbs to make it it's tenderest. Balsalmic? Red wine? Rice? Apple Cider Even plain ole' White Vinegar. It is the best topping to a delicious & nutritious salad! Can't do just plain white? Try Red-Wine vinegar. Still too strong for your tastes? Dilute a dressing such as "French/Catalina" with some vinegar! Mix some Balsamic with your asparagus and throw it on the grill!! Laundry uses: Every month, I run an empty load in my washer on the HOTTEST temp, and a few tbsp's of White Vinegar & some bleach! It keeps my clothes smelling ...

Today was November 11. It's already bad out there, people. Dangerous. Scary. I wish I could've had some Ativan today. Not the pill. I wanted it from a syringe. I would have liked to inject it straight into my body as I had to make my way through the food court in the mall to get to the other side without bursting into tears of frustration . (Oh, I am so dramatic) Sneezing/hacking old men, emotional-eating women shoving Cinna-bons into their mouth 3-at-a-time , childen running around in a complete chaos, rude/snotty high-school-kids sucking down their $8 Jamba juices with an indiscriminable face from their abundance of facial piercings (Ow!!!). I suddenly felt like I was no longer in the mall, but in a zoo surrounded by screaming hyenas. I regress -- it was worse than a zoo. At least zoos contain the animals. This was not contained. The mall today was a truely a glimpse of hell . What a bad decision. I told Ryan, "I am going to quick run into a store" I set up a mee...

Happy Tuesday! (Who says that?!...Hm) Anyways, here are my Ten On Tuesday. 1. What gift are you most proud of giving? I can't think of a good one at the moment--only one that sticks out is the scrapbook I made for my Mom at Christmas a few years ago. It probably looks like shit, to be honest? I don't do extraordinarily well with creativity -- seriously. But, it was one of those gifts that I put time and love into. 2. What’s the best gift you ever received? -My birthday this year -- I walked into the restaurant and there was my mom & dad! They flew to AZ to surprise me. I still get a giant smile on my face thinking about that!! 3. In honor of my husband: What’s the worst injury you’ ve ever had? -As klumsy as I am on a daily basis, I haven't had any major injuries! But: -About 2.5 years ago, I lived with my sister Lisa. I headed out for a nice morning run with my new Saucony shoes ( Saucony's are BAD! Don't buy them!). Coming down a big hill, I tripped over m...

It has been busy lately! It has been awhile since I have purely blogged for enjoyment. It seems this blog has become a list of disasters and adventures I run into during daily life. But life has been seemingly calm. So here is a list of completely random new things that are consuming life lately! 1) I started the gas grill the other day for the 1st time since the "Pre-Wedding Hair-Burning Incident" (if you remember). Let's jsut say, upon pushing the ignition I just back about 20 ft to avoid any possible flame up. It was less eventful this time. 2) I started my Pediatric rotation. I have been at the hospital in training/clinicals too much this week. 3) Kids are really cute, and they sure know how to melt my heart! But I really don't like seeing them sick hooked up to ventilators, going through chemo, IV's, and in pain. It hurts my heart, and is really hard for me to "leave at the office", as they say. 4) Ryan did some mad networking at his Telemetry confe...

I have been studying for the past 6 hours?? - And am losing my sanity. What better way to relieve myself than fill one of these out? It definitely is a fun way to distract myself from reading any more about Pediatric physical/psychosocial development!! 1. What animal should cease to exist? (Not including bugs. That’s too obvious.) -Pitbulls! Some people may hate me for this. But I have a thing against Pitbulls. As we all know--I don't really like dogs. Last week, I was on a nice run in my gorgeous, family-friendly neighborhood. I was approached by TWO, unleashed, angry, dogs (1 a pitbull, 1 a pincher ....i think that's the breed...). I was absolutely furious. People shouldn't own dogs like this. And if they do: lock them up, tie them up, keep them where they are safe!!! 2. What was your favorite thing about the beach? -The smells, the freshness of the air, the fun of the sun, and the sound of seagulls. Everything. I love the beach. 3. If scientists found a way to allow dogs...

Here we go again! Another post filled with information about myself--that may bore you? However, I am lacking creativity to write--and these are fun! 1. What are you going to be for Halloween? A wife. I, like my sister Lisa ( ), not big on the Halloween costume thing. Oh man--I could write a whole blog about Halloween costumes. 2. Have you ever been on television? Yes. Senior year in high school. I was on this Academic team and we had a "face-off" with another school. It's really embarrassing. 3. Do you have a toilet paper preference? I don't. Which is interesting. Because I am really anal-retentive, so one would think I care about this. However, I really don't. My husband does, though--and the toilet paper must come OVER. So sometimes I mess with him and switch it--and he changes it back. It's a war in our house. 4. When you’re pregnant, will you find out the sex of the baby? (Or if you’ve already had babies, did you find out the sex?) Why or why not? Nope! ...

This evening....Grandma Valeria entered my home and spoke to me I believe. Now, I don't do the whole "ghosts/resurrection from the dead/visiting from the spirts" kick. I think it's kind of lame, to be honest. But I do believe that people whom we have lost speak to us in various methods. And this occurred in my home this evening. Now let me give a little background info before proceeding with this story! There is a term in our family we use called "The Val Curse" or "Woah...Val alert!" This alert is the fact that my Grandmother cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned some more. She was the queen of Chlorox and a beautiful, spotless, clean home. She also cooked food of Godliness. She was basically Super-Woman. My dear mother, Marlys, definitely received these traits. In fact, nearly everyone in our family received a little Val. A trait to be proud of. I unfortunately was very young when my Grandmother Valeria passed--so just live out memories ...

Once again, I am stealing another survey from my sister Lisa's blog! My week has not been the greatest. School has me wanting to pull every hair out of my head. In fact, it's Thursday and the fact that I'm not bald yet is amazing. Things are starting to perk up, however. I am pretty much done with this 8 week session. So am on "vacation" until Monday. So am reallly looking forward to destressing by doing so extensive deep cleaning around the house. SO excited!! So here we go: 1. What's your favorite late night talk show? I like Jay Leno now. I used to not, because seriously (as conceited as this may sound)--the shape of his head and appearance kind of annoyed me. I like watching it because it's on at like 9:00 now. So I am actually awake for it! (I got to bed at like...10:00-10:30 often). However, I love Conan. His weird quirks make me smile. 2. If you got an all expense paid week-long trip for two, where would you go and who would you take? I would take m...

Okay..I really wish I didn't have an exam and presentation today. Because if I would've had time to blog about this around 10:00 this morning upon my return from the gym--this would have be far more angry and vent-ful. Do you guys have membership at a gym? Have you ever seen pure, disgusting, sweaty meatheads at a gym? Have you ever wanted to drop a 100 lb weight on someone's toe at the gym? In high school...I really didn't like jocks. The jocks in my high school were idiots. A-holes. Gross. Annoying. Going no where. Stuck in little North Dakota for life. But "Oh, how the girl's loved them." Not me. They made me sick to my stomach. Now, one would think men would out-grow that jock-ish, gross, testosterone-hyped phase of life. No. They just hang out at their local gym/fitness club all day. ALLLL DAY. Thankfully, it has been cooling off lately--and I have been getting more serious about running. And Ryan and I have set up an "at home gym" with weig...

I absolutely love surveys. They're so fun! Here's another one! 1. If you won the lottery, what would be your one random, off-the-wall purchase? Same answer as my sister, Lisa. A Steinway Baby Grand Piano. 2. What is popular now that you just don’t get? Strange sunglasses, and girls in Arizona that wear Ugg boots...in October...when it's in the 90's (I have seen this 2 times in the past week on the U of A campus. I don't get it...) 3. What would your last meal, you know, if you were ever about to be executed and you got to choose that sort of thing? I would start with a bowl of shrimp cocktail. With a yummy, spicy cocktail sauce. I would also have edamame Dinner would be sushi roll after sushi roll after sushi roll. With TONS of wasabi. I would drink a glass of Cabernet with dinner. Probably 2. Desert would be a giant slice of my Mom's chocolate pie. Pretty simple, but so delicious. 4. When is it okay to start listening to Christmas music? Well, to the public: Th...

Sunday I did the "Tucson Get Moving 10 Miler". It was the first long distance race I have done in awhile. Definitely the longest since the 26.2 marathon I did 2 years ago in October! I signed up for this race about 3 weeks ago!--so was a little nervous I wouldn't be ready...but I trained hard. It has been nice and cool (in the 80's) here in the desert lately. However, it decided to be miserable and hot that morning. Race start was 8:00am--and it was definitely 80 by that point. Yuck--I hate running in the heat. Overall, the race was a really fun time! My average pace was 8:38/mile. 8 seconds slower than my top goal--but...I'm okay with it! Ryan was the sweetest husband in the world--and came to the race with me, supported me, cheered me on, hugged my nasty/sweaty-self at the end of the race, and even snapped some pictures! This sure made me want to do another marathon :)

As we all know and are reminded of daily, is that the average American is in horrendous debt. According to some references, "The average American owes $9000 of credit card debt." Hearing this horrible statics seems quite shocking that a country that is considered so secure and well-off would have such serious issues in money management. However........ It is quite clear and obvious this would occur. I am currently working on a research project that is about "Educating parents on how to teach money management and responsibility to their children". I chose this subject thinking, "Wow! This will be a really neat subject to teach parents! It will be so interesting and fun. There will be endless resources I am sure!" Now that I have come to "research time"....this is such pathetic, seriously, limited results of research!! There is ENDLESS research on nearly every aspect of child-rearing: Drugs, alcohol, teen-pregnancy, childhood obesity, nutrition, bu...

I got this idea from my sister Lisa to do a little blog of honesty--to list 10 things that most people probably don't know about me! I love reading these about other people..so figured I would give it a whirl!! 1) I am a huge morning person. 6:00 am is my perfect hour if I am just getting up naturally on a free day. I like 5:30. 4:45 is when it gets a little difficult. This weekend, I slept until 7:40--and woke in an irate burst of anger at myself for being so lazy!! I felt terrible and wasteful!! 2) I love scrubbing floors. It is my favorite job around the house. Ryan always insists that I go buy a nice mop, and that it would be so easy. But I refuse--I love scrubbing the floor! 3) I enjoy running in the rain. It gets old after awhile. But running during an occasional rain is refreshing, and is just a new and fresh intensity. 4) I have always had the dream of being a personal trainer. I wish they got paid better. I would do it in a heart beat. 5) I'm really antisocial in publ...