Rants, Recipes, and Running

As Advent and Christmas season is among us, I thought I'd share my thoughts and joys via blog with different themes throughout the month.  This is my absolute favorite time of the year, for a variety of reasons.  1. The temperatures start to get amazing in Tucon. 30-40's at night. 60's during the day. Cool enough for tights, leggings, and sweaters. Warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine.  2. I adore Christmas music, decorations, lights, garland, and everything glistening. 3. The food!  The drink! An excuse to spend every weekend baking something new. Sipping Christmas themed cocktails or delicious red wine. Gingerbread, peppermints, fudge.....ahhhh So for post #1, I share my favorite: The fireplace.  Ryan and I have lived in 4 houses, and 2 apartments - and this is our 1st with a fireplace! I have dreamt of decorating a mantle for years - so am very pleased we get that in this home.  Our fireplace was converted into a do...

This past weekend was spent on the beaches of Miami enjoying a much needed girls trip with my mom, 2 sisters, and 2 sister-in-laws. My heart is so full, and my face-muscles sore from all the laughter! Originally I wasn't going to be able to do this trip due to a lack of PTO, but I somehow managed to eek this out one! I am so blessed. We stayed right on the water on South Beach. The weekend was the perfect mix of shopping, exploring, and lounging on the beach. We ate some amazing food and made amazing memories. We got in Wednesday evening . After getting unpacked, a few of us went straight to the ocean to dip our feet in. Then we walked across the street to a little bar and enjoyed our 1st cocktail of the trip . Thursday morning, Lisa and I woke up early and headed out for a run! Well, "early" in terms of vacation ;). Although humid, the running was amazing in Miami! Miles and miles of beach-side running paths! INCREDIBLE people watching. ;)     Next we to...

This recap is a bit late. But better late then never, right? I feel like I cannot keep up lately. The change of the new job, all of the hours of getting scuba certified last week, still adjusting to having a non-human animal living among us (aka puppy Miles), and just meeting my standards of how our house should look. However, it's all positive things in my life - so I need to stop worrying about dust and dirty windows. (as I'm secretly breathing into a brown paper bag in the background....) The 2nd weekend in March, we took a trip to see Ryan's sister and her family. They recently were re-located due to the military, and weren't exactly thrilled about their place relocation. So it was good to get out there and help them discover their new "home", plus we haven't seen them in 2 years! Here are the highlights from that trip: Getting some quality time with our nieces and nephews. We had 3 little shadows all weekend. It always amazes me to see how fa...

I started writing this blog on November 30, to kick off the month of December. And here we are, halfway through the month! I sometimes get frustrated by how fast this month goes! Christmas is just such a fun time with all the parties, snail mail from you friends, and glimmering lights. I try so hard to savor every single day, and then it's gone like the blink of the eye! I understand the holiday season is a source of stress and sadness for many. And that becomes very eye-opening for me, especially in my career. Taking out the sadness attached to this time of year is often out of one's control. But I really do wish people would take the stress out of the season. Looking back on the seasons' past, people don't remember how pretty your Christmas card was, how many varieties of cookies were baked, how nicely the gifts were wrapped, or the presents. The memories are what truly stick. (I know I'm getting kind of sappy....) My fondest memories of Christmas include: T...

I simply cannot be a "blogger", and not write some form a "thankfulness post". But I fear that this may turn into a novel. Or an Odyssey-like poem. I will try to keep it simple. Bare with me, my friends. Every single day I am reminded with how blessed and lucky I am. Maybe it's because I work in a career where every day I'm talking to people who are dealing with bad news, and it  gives me an overwhelming sense of grace. But lately I have really honed in on listening to my patients, and trying to be a shoulder to lean on. Being that shoulder to lean on, and focusing more on really listening instead stressing about all the work that needs to be done has really made me take a step back and count my blessings . So here are a few of the things in which I am grateful for: Every single day, I have a home to return to. Let's start with the obvious. It has a roof. During the 100+ dog days of summer, I have the ability to crank that AC to as cold as I wan...

The utmost highlight of this trip was family. And I'm not just saying that because the only people that probably really read this blog are my family. ;) I mean this with the utmost honesty. I have to say we were quite successful in seeing as many family members we could possible squeeze in during our short time home. All 5 of my siblings were at the lakes for the weekend. Plus spouses. Plus their children. Which makes a happy bunch of 18!!!!! My mom hired a photographer to come out and take photos. And although photos can make us groan in agony ( especially the men ) - I am so glad she did this. It's not very often we got that many people in one place at one time! Saturday my Mom invited her siblings to her house for a get-together. She came from a family of 8 children, so as you can imagine - that can make for a large group! We had a grand total of 36 people at that gathering, and it was awesome. Most of that side of the family Ryan and I haven't seen since our wed...

As I look back on the weekend, I am almost pinching myself thinking, "Did that really just happen? Where did the time go?" I hadn't seen my Mom in almost 6 months, my Dad in 1 year - and have been feeling extremely homesick. I have learned over the past few years that "homesick" has nothing to do with location - but with the loving arms of those you miss. Lately I have been in kind of an emotional fog. Not a very exciting or riveting person to be around, with not a lot to talk about. And I feel like that fog was cleared this weekend! Especially when my husband walked in the door Friday night (we haven't seen each other in 3 weeks). It was a wonderful weekend. Here are a few of the things that filled my weekend with joy: Mornings of drinking multiple pots of coffee and catching up on life -- I have always cherished weekend mornings with my mom and dad..... Showing them the sights of Tucson Taking them to the Farmers Market to show them that things r...

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've had some deep posts lately, so I'm going to lighten things up today and talk about what has made me smile lately. Pomegranates . They're in season, and they're delicious. They are great with feta and spinach. This is the 1st year I've started using them. And oddly enough, I find cutting a pomegranate kind of relaxing.  Cold temperatures . Everyone else in my town is miserable, and I'm smiling ear to ear. I love soup, sweaters, warm pajamas, and hot tea. Running . Cool temps + training for a Ragnar race = lots of running. Makes me smile. Blissful last evenings. Ryan will be leaving soon -- and we both know that. So every moment we get together is savored, pleasant, and happy. Teaches me a little lesson about "savoring the moment". Incense . I've been on an incense-burning kick lately. It makes me feel calm. My days off . The ER's across the country are insane right now. Flu season + post-Christmas season (people try to wait through...

Today I am focusing my giving of thanks to my Mom & Dad, Marlys & Paul.   (this is a photo of us @ the reheasal dinner before our wedding)   I never knew how much I'd miss them before we moved to Tucson. Growing up I took for granted how lucky I was to have such loving and wise parents. They taught me so much about God, family, work ethic, and so many valuable life lessons. They demonstrate the meaning of a marriage centered on love and commitment. They run a business together and raised 5 children together. It is sometimes easy to get sad when I realize we only see them a few times each year. But, then I must remember I am so very blessed that I get to see them. And I talk more than once/week. In fact, I text my Mom almost daily!  I am so happy to have them in my life. AND I get to see them in just a few short months as we're making a short trip home for New Years -- which is a TOTAL surprise since I didn't think we'd get home at all this year!!

Well, let me start by saying my trip home to Minnesota for our exteneded weekend at the lakes was everything I imagined & dreamed for it to be! The weather was great! People kept saying "Too bad it's not warmer for you guys"....but we LOVED it. It's been seirously 112 EVERY SINGLE DAY here in Arizona. In MN it was in the 70's every day. Amazing!! We did tons of fishing. I wakeboarded. Went tubing with my nephews. Ryan did some water skiing. And wakeboarding. (I cannot water ski) Many hours were spent visiting & laughing with our family out on the deck. Ate many delicious meals including the best rotisserie grilled turkey ever. It put Thanksgiving to shame. I lounged on our raft in the sun. I actually turned a little pink, which is surprising with my AZ-bronze skin! (Apparently I'm not used to that *hot Minnesoooota sun*) My nephews took quite a liking to Ryan - and he spent many hours out on the dock fishing with the boys (and helping u...

I am not going to do a totally detailed post of the weekend.......I'll leave that to my sister, Lisa. ;) ;) Thanks in advance, Lisa! Just kidding - but I didn't take much for pictures, as I never do. But she did! So when we get pictures of the weekend downloaded -- one of us will do a more detailed recap! But what I will say is that it was a fantastic time! She had a little dilemma of flights getting here -- and it was a VERY VERY close call. Minneapolis winter weather ALMOST held her from getting here Friday night. But, luckily the plane in Denver literally held to wait for her and other flights that were late due to weather. We started out the weekend going up to Phoenix to meet up with her friend Heidi -- and got to meet her new daughter (who was born in December). And let me tell you, this little girl is the most precious and delicate baby!! I haven't seen a newborn in a VERY LONG TIME. I forgot how little babies are! We went out for a great lunch! The weather...

Today I am very excited, for tonight I go to the airport to pick up my dear sister Lisa !! As she stated in her blog this morning -- growing up we weren't the best of friends. In fact, we fought a lot. I remember Mom and Dad would have to sit between us during church because we'd fight. Sometimes during the sign of peace when you shake hands, we'd give the MOST death-squeezing-hand shakes. I remember when we'd fight, my Mom would be so sad. She would say every Christmas, "All I want for Christmas is for you girls to get along !!!!" She'd also say, "Someday when you're grown up, you will be best friends" We'd roll our eyes. Then I moved away to Tucson, and we realized we missed each other. We discovered black-berry-messenger. We found out just how much we did, indeed, have in common. And in the process of re-getting-to-know-each other....we became great friends! So this weekend will be wonderful. We plan on taking a road trip up to...

Yes, I am a little behind ya'll. Most "reviews" were done prior to the New Years Eve festivities. But, I feel like my 2010 needs to be recapped in a somewhat brief sense. 2010 was a huge year for both Ryan & I and many changes occured..... so here it goes! January January began in the comfort of my family's lake cabin on Battle Lake, MN. Ryan & I were fortunate enough last year to get out there for the whole week of xmas to spend time with them. This will probably never occur (the whole "week stay") until I return in 70 years. It could for Ryan..he gets the week off. It will never occur in the healthcare world. So I'm glad we got to do it! The Rest of "The Winter" My dear sister Lisa made a trip out to Arizona for my Birthday. It was an awesome birthday present!! We met Lisa and her friend & husband in Phoenix for a night of fun and a great dinner. I had my Community Health/Psych Rotation. It kind of changed my view on ...

Before I start my "30-blog-challenge-sibling-post" -- I need to give a shout out to all the Veterans who do such a great service to our country! Ryan and I had our traditional (3rd year now) Veteran's day lunch at Applebee's -- where he got a free meal. I also ran 20 miles prior to this lunch date - so let me tell you I was ravenous!!!!!! Now onto siblings.... I started writing a post 2 days ago on this. But it turned into a book. I started writing about each sibling I have, and the unique traits they have that has impacted my life. But it would've gotten long -- for my siblings are as follows: Chad, Emily, Kevin, Julie, Emily, Jason, Lisa, Erin, Nick, Michael, Alexa, Sophia, and Jack!!! That's a long list! I consider my sister/brother-in-laws siblings too. When you marry someone, you truly marry into their family I believe. So instead of writing a 700 page book on sibling love, I'll break it down into 2 sections 1) My Immediate Siblings: (Chad,...

As you all know, from the Mother's & Father's Day tribute-posts, and the uncontrollable excitement I get about trips home......I have an very close relationship with my parents. There isn't a day where I don't thank God for the parents who raised me. The parents who were a little more "strict" than the "16-year-old know-it-all Abby" wanted them to be. And now, I am SOOO glad they were strict!!! I am SO glad I was the only kid in my class with an 11 o'clock curfew (when all my other friends would stay out until 2). I am SO grateful of how tough of critics they were of any boy I tried to date . They never approved any boyfriend of mine -- until they met Ryan. I think there's a darn good reason for that ;) I am glad to know I grew up in a home where dinner was had at the table as a family every evening. Prayers were said before dinner. We had dinners as a family whenever it was possible -- although sometimes it was impossible with...