Rants, Recipes, and Running

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! ...