Rants, Recipes, and Running

com·fort [ kuhm -fert ] Show IPA verb (used with object) 1. to soothe, console, or reassure; bring cheer to: They tried to comfort her after her loss. 2. to make physically comfortable .  Comfort is a profound part of our well-being. Essentially, I spend about 40 hours a week helping people to reach "comfort". Somtime's they are unconscious and unresponsive, and so we use medications to prevent anxiety (because we even feel discomfort in the deepest of comas). There are days where I could give all the medications, pillows, hot tea, and hot-packs...and they won't feel "comfortable" because their state of discomfort is emotional or a mental illness.  When we complain or are unhappy with current conditions , it is usually due to a lack of comfort. "Too cold". "Smoldering hot". "Tired". "Anxious". "Hungry". "Stuffed". "Lonely". "Overwhe...

My initial disclaimer is that if the following information I'm about to post about is old news to you -- sorry. It's new news to me! And I'm pretty excited about it. Greek Yogurt. (G.Y.) Lately with all this triathlon training - I have been putting many hours in the pool, bike, and running trails. Weight training and foam rolling in between. Although most of it is fun for me (especially the run, bike swim). Heck, swimming doesn't even feel like a workout to me since it's so fun and natural to me to swim (I've always been a fish). This high activity level cannot be achieved with out proper fuel ! Hmmm..."Fuel".... Isn't that how Lance Armstrong was such an awesome athlete? Success = fuel = supplements = Blood doping........ No. I don't even dabble in taking protein - I haven't found any protein that doesn't make my stomach feel queasy. The closest thing to a supplement I take is my B Complex vitamins and Calcium & Magnesium. ...

I can now call myself a biker chick! No, not the harley driving, motor revving, leather chap wearing type. I am the padded spandex, helmet wearing, bright jersey, mile-trekking type! Tucson is a huge road biking city! If you're out on a Saturday morning, don't be surprised to see huge packs of road bikers in their bright colors and spandex trekking the mountainous, hilly roads in our beautiful climate. It was named #9/51 for top cities to bike in the US. (Minneapolis won! Which I thought was pretty neat) To be honest, cycling has not always been my favorite sport. I liked cycling indoors, in spin class, away from traffic. My husband and I used to ride a few years ago, but he had a light road bike - and I had a heavy trail bike. It was really challenging to keep up. So gradually I started to form a bit of dislike towards road bikers. I would be running along the trail, and a road biker would zip past me. I would roll my eyes. I feared the traffic, the risk of a t...

My soul is feeling very nourished right now. I had the Easter weekend off, originally because Ryan was supposed to be home during this time. But because he is in pilot school - I decided I was in dire need of some family time. So booked a last-minute trip to Minnesota to be with my family over Easter. It was exactly what I needed. Getting to spend time with my nephews, finally meet my niece Anna, catch up with my siblings, and of course spend time with my Mom and Dad gave me so much joy. I also got to see my Grandma! If only flying was cheaper.......I wish I could do this on a monthly basis. So last week I talked about diving into new adventures to make these 6 weeks go faster. Here is what I accomplished week 1: I dove "head-first" into triathlon training. (Literally. Ha!) Bike, Swim, Run, Repeat is in progress. I took a trip home to Minnesota - spent time with the family, laughed a lot, and smiled endlessly I braved a run in the cold, wintery fog Saturday morning o...

I call this phase "Round 2". I survived Ryan being gone for 6 weeks during his AMS (Academy of Military Science....aka Officer School....aka Pinning on the Butter Bars). It was the longest we've ever been apart since we met back in 2007. He came home for 1 crazy week (it really was a crazy stressful week). And then packed up and left for Colorado for his first round of Pilot training. Which will be 6, 7, or 8 weeks (still to be determined...) As I look back on the 1st 6 weeks, it went really fast! But I kind of planned it that way. In fact, I over booked myself with craziness. I worked tons of overtime. I taught fitness classes. I trained for my Ragnar race. Any day off I had -- I planned some sort of social event. By then end of it all, I was exhausted!! Now it's Round 2. It came so fast (he wasn't supposed to leave until April 4, but that changed.) And several things are different this time around........ I quit being a fitness instructor. I know, that ...

Well I am back in Tucson with my better half! However, he's home for only less than a week - so it's a little bit more of a stressful week than we'd like. Rushing to get his uniforms and flight suits ready, getting our taxes filed, setting up a pool man (because I was an epic fail at managing the pool while he was gone).... But we are loving every second we get together, I must say! Even picking weeds yesterday was a blast. (We got a lot of rain while I was in Montgomery, which produced a lot of weeds). It's just good to be together. I am joining in on Lisa's fun with the 11 things on the 11th - so here goes. 1.  If you could live in any other city besides the one you currently live in, which one would you pick? Both Ryan and I have our eyes on Macdill AFB -- which is located outside of Tampa, FL. That AFB happens to house his dream job -- and being I can work just about anywhere, this works. I just love the ocean, and I love Florida. Maybe some day.....:-) ...

Wednesday I "celebrated" my birthday. Let's just rephrase that, and say I turned 25. I worked on my birthday. I should've known it was going to be brutal. I tend to be the "black cloud" of my ER -- and sure enough, it was a "black cloud" kind of day. It was a wild and crazy day -- but I am thankful that my job never leaves me feeling bored! I was very blessed with love that day, however. My husband even sent me a present (which he probably had to set up before he leave for officer school)-- I got a brand new GPS watch. And it has more bells and whistles than I know what to do with! My coworkers gave me the sweetest card, and a fruit tart (they knew the health nut in me wouldn't get excited about a cake). I left work and went out for drinks and appetizers with 3 of my dearest girlfriends. The night was filled with laughter that left me with sore cheeks from the smiles. It was bittersweet, as all I really wanted was a birthday hug from my hus...