Rants, Recipes, and Running

I am making a point of savoring a little "me time" before it gets busy. Starting this afternoon, then next few weeks I will be going 100 mph at life. So many exciting things I look forward to coming up. But I'm also a little stressed, as our house has sat vacant for 4 months (ahhh!) -- and we have a party hosting about 30-40 people just 6 days after we get home! So this is my moment to breath. Okay, okay, I lied. I'm procrastinating . All the luggage bags and totes are nicely laid out, I'm supposed to be packing, and then going to the gym, and then packing more, and then picking up Ryan's family at the airport. But I am avoiding packing like the plague. So decided, "I really should drink my coffee and play on the computer...." I'm not going to be able to do my 30 days of Gratitude post tomorrow, as tomorrow is going to be a very busy day with Ryan's pinning ceremony starting at 9 am! I have major butterflies in my stomach thinking about...

Here are my confessions...... I have not cooked a dinner in 2 weeks. I did so well all summer long - using the crockpot in such creative ways. Some fuse in me has burnt out, and my care and dedication to being a great "hotel"maker has vanished.  I never thought this day would come, but I think I'm sick of the Oven Roasted Chicken Breast sub at Subway. (I consume this about 3 meals/week). Yet, I'm too much of a creature of habit to just... order a different sandwich! Part of me feels guilty that I won't be accompanying Ryan to his next school in California. Especially after I was visiting with one of the wives last week at a bbq, who is accompanying her husband in a kitchenless hotel room for 5 months with their 3 month-old . (the hotel room at the next school doesn't even have a kitchen sink!) I felt even worse when she said, "Hey, we're a family. We stick together!"  I got to run today! I've had no pain in my toe all week. I was all ...

Well, I'm into week 4 of marathon training. Supposed to be doing a 10 mile run this week, actually! Guess how many miles I have mapped out in my training schedule this week? Zero. Awesome, right?! No. It's not awesome, but I'm keeping a smile on my face and a positive attitude here. Let me recap week 3. At the end of week 2, I had my 9 mile run. Then I worked the weekend. Well, while at work that Saturday I felt a strange discomfort in my L great toe. So I took the rest of the weekend off. All weekend at work, I proceeded with caution. I decided to cross train and rest until I feel better.  Monday -30 minutes spin bike, 20 minutes eliptical - 30 minutes shoulder workout. Barely any foot pain! Tuesday - 40 minutes spin bike - 10 minutes elipitcal - 30 minutes back/bicep. No foot pain at all! Wednesday - 5 mile run (easy pace 8:35/mile) - leg work out. New running shoes, no foot pain, I hit the ground running! Thursday - 4 mile run with speed work (40 sec hard,...

I'm stealing this idea from my sister, Lisa , as I think this is a great way to "refocus". We have so many great things to be thankful for. This summer adventure has put light on that. From the bad moments to the best moments ever -- if I've learned anything it's that m y life is very full and my husband and family are rockstars. So here it goes! 1.  I'm most thankful for my ability to adapt . I feel like I am a very "adaptable" person. In fact, my old manager (you know, the guy that didn't let me run the marathon) once described me as a cat . And that I could be throw from any height, and will find a way to land on my feet. I've moved to new cities twice now where I knew no one, and had no idea how to get around...and I've found my way. I learned to work at 2 new hospitals this summer, with completely new charting systems, department flow, etc. Back in AZ, I was the Nursing House Supervisor, as basically a new grad, googling poli...

With only a few weeks left in San Antonio, and Ryan finally is in a school where he get's his weekends to enjoy -- we are taking advantage of living in a different city. I also know that I probably will never return to San Antonio again, unless I have to. Pretty much, I will never come back unless we some day have a son or daughter who decided to join the Air Force. Then we will come to San Antonio to attend their graduation from Basic training (which is the city for Basic training in the Air Force) Can you tell how much I love this area of Texas?  I will post more on that later. We had a delightful weekend! We each picked something we wanted to do. Saturday we went with Ryan's choice: Six Flags Fiesta Texas. If you asked my family how I do at amusement parks, they would start laughing. One time our family went to Valley Fair in Minneapolis. There is a picture of me (age 6?) on the "kiddie coaster"( you know, the train that rides through a garden ). I was sob...

News Flash - I have reached a point where I am "over" living in this hotel. I cannot bring myself to elaborating, as this post would turn into a novel. But let me just say, because I am incapable of holding back my words , that we have had to get our door to our room fixed 5 times now . Yep. That means I've been locked out of the room 5 different times. On Friday when I got locked out, it was after my 9 mile run. It took 2 hours for them to fix it! So I sat out in the sultry Texas heat before I could get into my room and get some post-run hydration, food, and shower!! Oh, and the front desk told me I "wasn't helping the situation because I refused to be moved to a different room". We live here for 4 months. Moving 4 months worth of shit is not helpful. Okay, back to Wednesday smiles. Here are the little things that are bringing great smiles to my face today.   The days I don't work, I get to eat lunch with Ryan. Living on base has it's...

I'm two weeks into marathon training. This is my third marathon I have trained for. Inconspicuously, I've only ran in one marathon. Hm.... How is that possible? Oh, I know! * BEWARE, SHE'S IN RANT MODE * Once upon a time I had a boss. When I set up my work schedule for my 1st job, I told him I NEEDED that day off as I was running a marathon. His response, "Welcome to nursing, sweetie. You're working that day. In fact, I'm switching you to night shift that day. So you may want to reconsider your little race."   Yep. I had completed the entire Hal Higdon training program by that point, did my 3 20-mile runs, and was told I had to stop. Anyone who's ever trained for a marathon would understand the utter slap in the face this was. I think I stopped running for about 2 months after that meeting.   Want to know the real "kicker"?! My schedule ended up getting switched around, and I didn't even end up working that day. **Insert blood cu...