Rants, Recipes, and Running

Today is National Wear Red Day.  It's the day to remind us that Heart Disease is not just a killer of men. It equally effects women!  Heart Disease is the #1 Killer of us women! As many of you know....We used to only associate heart disease with men. We call the Left Main Artery the "Widow Maker" in reference to the fact it gets blocked in men, in creates women-widow's after major myocardial infarctions (heart attacks)! However, after my experience of working on a cardiac floor -- I have more female patients receiving cardiology work-ups than men! Now, we could play devil's advocate, look at statistics, etc -- and say that "Yes, but, women tend to be more proactive about going in and attacking their health than men" -- which is true...but.....This is my statement to get women to think about their hearts! ;) I had to do a post on this -- becauseI heart the heart! I did my senior capstone on heart disease (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/Cardiac C...

It got into the teens last night here in Tucson - which is like serious record-breaking cold. The Tucson Media made me giggle last night, though. They finished covering the story of the INSANE storm in Chicago. Showed pictures of literally PEOPLE (yes, humans) blowing in the street through the blustery weather. ....and then went RIGHT into giving us Tucsonans tips on winter weather survival b/c it was going to get into the 20's and possibly below. I understand they need to teach us to bundle up and wear warm clothes, because I know sometimes when it's cold out -- it gets confusing on what type of attire one should wear.. ......(no sarcasm there...) All I heard in this particular newscast before I left for work was teaching us to bundle up. I put a snarky comment on facebook about the media. And TALK ABOUT A STORM. I pissed of so many Tucsonans. Rage!!! I even got an evil text message at 1 am while I was at work! I didn't mean to piss people off. I was just m...

Okay, so I just had this post typed out about how I feel extraordinarily down in the dumps. ......But I deleted every word of it. No one likes to hear about a cloud of doom. The truth is, I am having one of "those weeks". " Those weeks " where every action I take -- results in an epic fail. Every attemping polite gesture comes off to the other person as wrong, rude, and bad. In my attempt to be graceful and helpful...I'm only coming off klumsy & careless. I can't wait for things to turn around! In the meantime, I think maybe I should just quit talking and go hide in a bubble. So, I'm here to make a list of "all things happy" The sound of the garage door opening when my husband gets home. My reaction of excitement is no different than the reaction I got when at age 6 my Dad would come home from work. Jicama . This is a new vegetable that I have added to my diet. It is delicious plain, on salads, or however you may wish to enjo...

1. What is your favorite childhood memory? -Spending entire days out in the lake swimming and tubing behind the boat.... And  then roasting marshmallows over the campfire after a day of sun. -Trombone & piano lessons. I miss everything about them 2. What is your favorite quality about yourself? -My motivation and energy 3. What is your favorite thing that your child does? -I do not have a child. But I am an aunt  - and I will say my FAVORITE thing ever is....... - When they greet me with a hug and know my name. - Sounds rather simple. But living across the country from them for .... pretty much all their lives -- I always worry they don't have a clue who I am. So when they do know my name, and aren't scared of me (like most children are....b/c I'm not the best with kids)...... it seriously warms my heart! 4. What is your favorite thing to do to relax? Baking and cooking. Whenever I try relaxing, I find myself saying "This.Is. So. Boring". In...

My poor husband did not get very much sleep this weekend, for it was almost as though he had to take care of some old, confused person with "sun-downers" (which is a type of condition where normal elderly people get totally confused, disoriented, looney, and demented when the sun goes down....hence the name) I just told him, "Well, now you know what it will feel like when we grow old together" Lord, I hope not. Twice this WEEKEND ......I sleep walked!!! Thursday night, I just found myself wandering around the bedroom -- also talking to him. No biggy. Then Saturday night, (I only VAGUELY remember this)........I apparently got up to go to the bathroom. All was well. I crawled back into bed. I was alert & awake for this Then about 20 minutes later, I got up again I started rummaging around the room. Going into our closet. Flipped on and off the light switch. And this is how our conversation went: Ryan: "Abby....?? Is everything okay? What a...

I created some gourmet burgers, as planned, Friday night. I searched some recipes online, and nothing was "hitting the spot" for me. All the recipes I as perusing were probably excellent - but it wasn't satisfiying my vision. I finally found a recipe for Bobby Flay's Poblano Pepper Burgers. His recipe involves grilling peppers, placing in a blender with honey, cilantro, s & p, making a sauce -- and using that to garnish the burger. I am almost positive this would be absolutely delicious. But, it wasn't what I was wanting. So instead......I did my own thing..... 1) Make patties. Add BBQ sauce and fresh herbs to the hamburger so it's sticky (I cook only with low fat beef). Make sure you throw a little cayenne in there too. Gotta have a little bit of heat. 2) Grill poblano peppers face down right next to the burgers on the grill. 3) Once the burgers are getting read, place 1 pepper on each burger, and top with a healthy slice of Provalone cheese. This...