Quick Update

I haven't really been feeling like blogging lately, but I suppose I should at least post a little something! :) Where to begin?

Rob and I are loving being engaged! It's funny... we knew that we were planning on getting married, eventually... but wow. Being officially engaged is wonderful! :) We both have been going around telling everyone! Poor Rob made a good point... I get to flash my sparkly ring, but the guy gets nothing to show for it. I offered to make him a t-shirt that says "Engaged" but he declined for some reason. Haha! :) Of course, once we got over the initial excitement of the proposal, it became apparent that there is so much to do to plan a wedding. Yikes! It's like a whirlwind. A really fun whirlwind!! :) We're planning to get married next spring so we have about a year to get it just right. :)

Aside from the obvious, there are a couple other new/big things in my life lately. First, I got a new computer!! I am writing this on my brand new MacBook Pro! I got it on Friday night (after a trip to the FedEx warehouse with Rob... long story) after they only were announced last Monday. It is pretty darn awesome, I gotta say! If only because I can blog/surf from the comfort of my couch while watching TV. :)

As you may have noticed, I am writing this in the middle of the night, which means I am all messed up from working night shifts. :( But only 2 more night shifts left until I go back to days! And when I do, I am training to be a charge nurse! Pretty exciting but also pretty scary. :) Kind of a complement, though. We'll see how it goes.

Alright, time to try to sleep a bit so I can be productive during my day off tomorrow... or today as I guess it technically is...

Engaged!

Rob proposed!! We are getting married! :)

It happened on Sunday night, when we took a drive to Alki Beach in West Seattle after dinner. We went out on the beach just after sunset, and he got down on one knee in the sand!

We haven't picked a date or even a location yet (our families are all over the world!) but probably within the next year. :)



(I would post more pictures, but my quota is full for Picasa!! What terrible timing on that. Check out the one on the sidebar, though, in the meantime.)

Time for me to get off my cloud and start getting ready for work...

The End of Vacation

I just finished uploading 80 or so of my 300+ pictures from the trip to CA onto Facebook! Almost all of them have been put on Picasa (link on the sidebar) but I haven't had a chance to caption or edit them... there are a bunch that are similar or didn't turn out well! Eventually I will get around to that, I suppose. :)

The trip to California (and technically Nevada, too) was so much fun! Rob and I flew down on Saturday morning, was met by his family at the airport, and then spent the day in San Francisco. On Sunday, we drove to Lake Tahoe, stopping at a petrified forest, a geyser, 2 Napa wineries, and the Jelly Belly factory along the way! Monday was spent in Lake Tahoe, exploring the area and just relaxing in the sun in the afternoon, followed by a BBQ for dinner. Tuesday we drove to Tracy, where Rob's parents live, and I got to see their house and the town a little bit before heading back to the airport. It was a whirlwind trip, but definitely worth it! I really enjoyed meeting more members of his family and getting to know them all much better... now we really need to go to Iowa so I can meet Rob's sisters!

It's back to work tonight for me (hence the 3 am post... trying to stay up as late as I can). Not really looking forward to it! Although I suppose that nobody actually likes going back to work after a vacation. :) But these night shifts have been brutal for me. Sleeping (or lack thereof) has been a problem, as well as just work being tough. Only 6 more weeks of night shift left!

Here is one of my favorite photos from the trip... I was going to put more in the blog, but I have reached my Picasa quota! Oops. :)

Not a Morning Cat

I thought cats were nocturnal... but here's a picture of Smokey that I took at like 3 am the other day. If looks could kill...

Flaming Soy Corndogs

I haven't done a random bullet post lately, so I think it is time for another one! Some thoughts:

* I am completely addicted to playing Mafia Wars on Facebook! And now it seems as though I have gotten Andy and Kelly hooked on it, too. :) Hehehe.

* I just realized that I am off work until next Thursday night. I mean, I knew intellectually that I was on vacation, but I actually just put away my work shoes/bag in the closet. And washed scrubs... and put them away in the dresser!! Lately I've been leaving them folded in the laundry basket since I am just going to wear them the next day. Lazy, I know.

* Tonight Rob and I are going to go see "Wolverine"!! I am very excited. :) I loved the first three movies!

* I've been listening to my iPod today and dancing around the house as I clean. Just put it on shuffle and the last song it chose was from the Spamalot soundtrack... "Lancelot"! Makes me laugh. :) "His name is Lancelot, he wears tight pants a lot..." Slightly inappropriate but I am still giggling!

* I learned a valuable two-fold lesson today. First, Trader Joe's frozen soy corndogs do, indeed, get freezerburned and go bad after a couple of months. Second, if one decides to try to eat them anyway and pops them into the microwave... they are flammable. I wonder if I am the first person to ever set a soy corndog on fire using a microwave? Luckily I was standing right there watching it (let's face it, I was really hungry!) and managed to stop it before it damaged the microwave. I am rather ashamed to admit it, but I actually tried to eat the non-burned part. It was really gross. And this is coming from a person that normally likes soy corndogs.

* To go back to thoughts about music, I am currently listening to Steven Curtis Chapman's album, All About Love. For some reason, I really enjoy his version of "500 Miles". Of course, I can't help remembering that Molson commercial where the guy walks to Canada for beer, then drops it by accident at the border crossing. Hahaha! Makes me laugh just thinking about it. Anyway, good album. :)

* My house is filled with cobwebs. They seem to be multiplying like crazy lately! What's up with that? I tried using the swiffer to bat them down but then they are all dangling everywhere instead of just being in the corner. Sigh. Maybe I need to buy a broom.

* I need to pack for the trip to California! But I can't decide what to bring/wear so for the moment I am procrastinating on that front. I suppose I should look up the weather forecast, first, huh! I hope it will be sunny and warm!

* The Seafair Torchlight 5K is July 25. Which means that I need to start running again! Otherwise my goal of beating last year's time is NEVER gonna happen!

* I have decided to postpone buying my new computer for a few weeks for a couple of reasons. First, I am hoping the Apple runs a promotion (like in previous years starting in June) that gives not only the existing education discount (which I am eligible for) but also some other gift. Last year it was an iPod! Also, I am trying to decide whether I should wait for Snow Leopard to be officially released. Rob has played with the beta and wasn't super impressed so maybe I don't need to wait for that reason! But I decided to try to save up a little bit more money so I can get the faster model... because I intend to keep it for a while!

Can you tell that I am feeling rather lazy and not wanting to continue cleaning my house? :) I guess that's enough randomness for now, though.

Day of 3 Posts

Ok, well... technically it is after midnight so this is not the third post of the day... but rather the first post of a new day!

I just spent all this time on the internet. Surfing and whatnot. You know, Facebook, playing Mafia Wars, random friends' blogs, Mafia Wars, news websites, more Facebook, more Mafia Wars. And now I am totally depressed. Can I blame it on my circadian rhythms being all out of whack? Probably not.

I should know better than to compare myself to other people. I really should. And yet, I seem to always fall into a pattern of doing so. Sigh. I read other people's blogs and look at their Facebook photos, and it makes me think about my own life. Inevitably I fear that I fall short of what I want for myself. I am not the kind of bold Christian that some people are. I don't have it in me to go to a foreign country or even an uncomfortable place, in the name of Christ. I look at these pictures and read about their experiences, and it makes me think about how I barely could work in Philadelphia without having a nervous breakdown! I mean, I had nightmares for months after quitting my first nursing job and moving away... and that was in the US! How is it that there are people that can have the kind of faith that takes them to the ends of the earth? And why is it so hard for me, even on a daily basis in Seattle?

A friend sent me a card today to celebrate Nurses' Week, and in it she mentions that this (nursing) is what God called me to do. It's true... I know that He has guided my life for His purposes. So why do I have such a hard time letting go of the control? I get so frustrated with myself sometimes. I hate being so anxious! I don't want to be "a stress ball"... but I am. It's what I do. And there's no way out of it on my own.

Sigh. Maybe I should spend less time online. :) And I am definitely in need of some sleep. Sorry to be so random and, well, anxious in this post!

Tomorrow is a new day. And His mercies are new every morning. :)

Spotted on CNN.com

Check out the sponsor of the poll...

Sick Day

I'm not feeling very well today, so I called in sick for tonight's shift... which I suppose means that I am technically on vacation (since this was my last shift before being off for a week). But man... the problem with that is that you have time off, but... well, you don't feel well! Seems like kind of a waste. Haha!

This weekend is the trip to California! Yay! Looking forward to some sun and seeing Rob's family and just general relaxation. :)

Hm. What else is going on? Not too much besides work. And I think I have complained about working nights enough for now! I just got my pay stub for my next paycheck in a few days and saw something interesting. I am being paid an extra $6 for floating to another unit last week. Wow, what amazing compensation for the stress of doing that! [note the sarcasm] Seriously? Well, at least I won't be subjected to that for a while since we rotate who gets floated. And our unit doesn't float much... usually folks get floated to us!

Well, I COULD write about it being Nurses' Week or some other such thing, but I am not really feeling up to it. Time to go curl up on the couch with Smokey and watch some TV.

Made It!

Well, I made it. It is nearly 8 am, and I managed to stay up all night!! Yay! Now hopefully I will be able to get some good sleep today. :) Didn't get a chance to work on those curtains, but it is supposed to stay nice and rainy today so maybe they won't be necessary!

Yawn. I am tired. Time for bed.

On a Dark and Stormy Night

Just a quick post... hopefully I will write more later. Tonight I am staying up all night so I can sleep tomorrow... so I can work tomorrow night. It's complicated but the only way I can be well-rested before work!! Of course, all last week I got about 4-5 hrs of sleep before each 12 hour shift, and it was miserable, but that's another story. :) Just trying to make it through the next 2 shifts, and then I am off for a whole week!! Hooray for mini-vacations!

So I am attempting to stay up until about 7 or 8 am... we'll see how well that works. Last time I made it until like 3 and then it was a battle of drifting off and waking up 5 minutes later and trying to do whatever I could to stay awake (for example, pacing around my house). Not very productive.

I am working on a couple of sewing projects tonight, which should do the trick. Current project is a surprise for someone who will likely read my blog so I won't go into too much detail yet until the gift is given. But I am getting close to the end on it! Yay! Then hopefully I will be able to work on a more practical item... a gift to myself... curtains to block out the light in my bedroom! The blinds just do not cut it when one is trying to sleep during the daytime. Especially when Seattle has one of those gorgeous sunny days (like it was all last week when I was trying to sleep! Argh.).

Speaking of which... it is definitely a dark and stormy night. Like, the wind is whistling through the trees in a way that makes me wonder if we will have tree branches down and power outages and stuff. Seriously blustery outside!! Originally I was going to go hit up the 24 hr drivethru Starbucks in Northgate, but then I decided to just make some coffee here since it was so yucky outside. :)

Alright, time to get back to quilting. And battening down the hatches. While drinking my coffee.

Shift Transition

I think I'm getting too old for this whole night shift thing. Yawn. I have been up all night (minus a few minutes here and there where I have drifted off accidentally) in preparation for the transition to night shift later today. It's been a few months since I did this... and man, it is tough!!

I thought I was all prepared... drank my coffee, had all the lights on, etc. But as soon as I even remotely sit on the couch, there I am, drifting off again! At this point, I am hoping to make it until 6 am before heading to bed. Then it's off to work a 12 hr shift tonight... 7 pm to 7:30 am.

Smokey is no help. She was actually snoring on the couch next to me a few minutes ago! I thought cats were supposed to be nocturnal!! And who knew they could snore? :)

Rob was kind enough to come over earlier in the evening for a little while... I get all stressed out over working nights, and so he came over to watch some TV and eat popcorn and generally keep me company. (Yes, that is what I served for dinner... popcorn!) It was especially nice of him as he is on call this week, so he is kinda stressed, too.

Well, I'm going to go see if I can clear one more show off my Tivo before bedtime. That is, if I can do it without falling asleep halfway through!! :)

[By the way, I've been meaning to write about the flu thing and stuff, but that requires brainpower that I don't have right now. However, I did catch the news tonight, and it seems that there are 3 cases now in Seattle. Not just in Washington, or in King County. But in Seattle proper. Did I mention that I am super excited to go to work?! Sigh.]

Simpsons Acapella

For those of you that may have missed last night's episode of The Simpsons, check out this video that they aired during the closing credits. It is an acapella version of the theme song, performed by a group called Canvas. AWESOME!! :)

In case you need another fix of the acapella Simpsons music, check out this version of "Spider Pig" (from the movie) by the Dordt College Concert Choir:

Teaching Moments

So yesterday I completely rambled about a random topic that was probably of little interest to anyone. (Although I have to say that I suspect that most of my blog posts fall into that category!) Tonight I feel like I need to write something a little less, well, strange.

I've been precepting a new nurse at work for the last month or so. We have had our good moments and also our share of more frustrating moments (on both sides, I'm sure). I found out tonight that we get to have a few more shifts together next week, which makes me really happy. I like teaching, even though it can be really tough sometimes! We have had our share of hard shifts lately, which only makes the learning process harder.

When I first started orienting folks, I was a little bit in disbelief that I, of all people, would be the one to do training. I mean, what sort of wisdom do I have to impart?! And yet I realized that even though I might still feel inexperienced, I certainly have more experience than someone who just graduated and has maybe only a few shifts under their belt. God has really provided this as opportunity to teach ME some valuable lessons. Sometimes, it might be a boost to my confidence level, when I discover that someone is turning to me for advice or my opinion. Or it might be a humility thing... a reality check that I do not have all the answers (like when a student or new nurse asks a great question or points out my error). Often, it is that working with someone else forces me to step back and analyze or to view a situation with a new perspective. And I love that. Even when it kicks me in the butt. :) That is precisely the reason I work at a teaching hospital!!

One of the my pet peeves, though, is when other staff get this idea that perhaps a nurse preceptor "isn't working" or that they are just sitting around and supervising. True, that occasionally happens when the new nurse is at the end of their orientation. But I have always taken that opportunity to help out other nurses that are swamped or to restock the supplies or answer the phones or whatever might need to be done. That's just me, though. Anyway.

We have had some tough shifts lately, even for me. I can only imagine what it has been like for my preceptee!! This past week was the first time I ever busted open a code cart for one of my patients. Talk about nerve-wracking. There is this little plastic "lock" on the carts when they are stocked (so that once it is open, a whole new one can be put in its place... so you are never without supplies)... and never before have I had to break that seal. It sounds silly. I have been to lots of codes and rapid responses. (OK, maybe not "a lot". But my fair share.) But this week I was in a situation with my orientee and one of our patients, where he just started crashing. The stat nurse was already there, and the docs were quick on the scene. Before I knew it, they were intubating the guy, and soon we were transporting him to the ICU while he was being bagged. Craziness!

Here's the thing, though. This was the first time I have been in one of these situations where my legs weren't shaking. Usually, that adrenaline starts pumping and my legs start to shake (honest to goodness moving) and I can't think straight because I get so overwhelmed. Sure, I felt that level of anxiety to a certain degree this time, but yet I realized later that not only did I stay calm, but I actually did the right things. Piped up when it was appropriate. Took charge with certain things. In short, was an asset rather than a liability (or maybe more accurately, a neutral party). It might sound arrogant. But I was really proud of myself. Honestly. I felt like I had made a difference. And hopefully taught something to that new nurse.

Nevermore

I was just sitting here, trying to think about what to write about. And I looked out the window at this tree in the backyard (which of course has no leaves, since it is late April in Seattle)... there is the biggest crow sitting on a branch. Huh. Made me wonder what the difference between a raven and a crow is. I mean, is a "raven" what they call a big black bird in Maryland, while a "crow" is what they call the same bird on the west coast? And yet I feel like a raven is bigger than a crow. Except that the bird staring at me through the window is pretty darn big. Hm. Might be time to go to that fount of knowledge (no, not Dad)... Wikipedia.

Here's what I learned.

The true crows are large passerine birds that form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-sized jackdaws Eurasian and Daurian to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents except South America and several offshore and oceanic islands (including Hawaii). In the United States, the word "crow" is used to refer to the American Crow. The crow genus makes up a third of the species in the Corvidae family. Other corvids include rooks and jays. Crows appear to have evolved in Asia from the corvid stock, which had evolved in Australasia. A group of crows is called a "murder," though this term usually appears in poetry rather than scientific contexts.

Hm. Interesting. Seems as though the difference is that crows are really Corvus brachyrhynchos while ravens are Corvus corax. And both exist in North America. Also, it appears that every place in the world has some form of large, black, annoying bird!!!

Wait, further research on Wikipedia shows that:

Apart from its greater size, the Common Raven differs from its cousins, the crows, by having a larger and heavier beak, a shaggy throat, and a wedge-shaped tail.

This is SO not what I thought I might blog about today. But nevertheless, there it is.

Alison is Famous, Again

Longtime readers may remember my excitement when I started getting hits from another blog (that one about Costco, found here). Well, it has happened again. I am famous. Sort of. In a mild, Internet-y sort of way. :)

Again, I was purusing my Google Analytics and discovered that there was a new source of traffic to my blog! And not only that, but the website was actually quoting me as a nurse. Haha. That amuses me for some reason. Perhaps because I have never really thought of myself as "inspirational". Still, kinda cool.

If you want to check out my "famous" and supposedly "inspirational" quote, click here.

:)

#175

This is post #175! :) I have been terrible about keeping this blog up to date! But sometimes I like to maintain a level of privacy... kinda strange to think about whatever I post being put out on the web for all eternity. Haha. :)

Today is a BEAUTIFUL day in Seattle! 70 degrees and sunny. One of those cloudless days that makes people want to move to the Emerald city. :) This afternoon I decided to do a little sunbathing in my new swimsuit (in the privacy of my backyard!!) and it was glorious. Might have gotten a bit sunburned but thats ok.

This morning I had coffee with my friend and former college roommate, Jordan!! She was in town to visit some friends who moved here last year, and we got together to catch up. It was so good to see her, honestly. I didn't realize how much I had missed her! :( Funny how all the dumb stuff fades away over time and the actual friendship can remain. It was also neat to catch up on all the folks from F&M that I haven't kept up with, since she is much more in the "alumni loop" than I am. She is the first F&M person I have gotten together with in years!!! It was good. Made me think about how much life has changed in the last 10 years... and how much I have changed. Wow. Thank goodness for that. :)

Me and Jordan

Hm. What else is going on? This is my last week on day shift... next week is back to night shifts for 2 months. I am sad about the weird schedule but happy about the differential pay since I am saving up for both a new computer and a new phone. Hopefully a Macbook and iPhone!! :) This computer is doing well for being nearly 6 years old (ok so some of the parts are newer...) but I want a new one before this one dies (knock wood)!!

I am looking forward to a trip to California in a couple weeks! Rob and I are going to go visit his parents and go to Lake Tahoe with them for a long weekend. Yay! A vacation will be fun. :)

My latest addiction is playing Mafia Wars on Facebook. Sigh. So much fun! But I need more members of my mafia. :( Wanna join me?

Friday!

Rob's on his way over, but stuck in traffic, so... just a quick picture to share with you while I am waiting.

One of my favorites from our trip to Canada. :)

Canada

Rob and I took a mini-road trip to Vancouver, BC yesterday. So much fun! Here is the link to my Picasa album, as well as the link to Rob's photos.

Alison's Canada Photos
Rob's Canada Photos

It was a beautiful day, so we mostly visited parks (Stanley Park, Jericho Beach Park, and Queen Elizabeth Park), but we also made time for Tim Hortons and of course, Canadian McDonalds. :) It was a long day and we ended up very sore from our walk on the seawall (as well as a little sunburned), but it was definitely worth it!

Twitter

No, I haven't joined Twitter. And guess what? I probably won't, ever. There was a time that I seriously considered it. But like the early days of Myspace, where I was worried that it would say something like "Alison has zero friends", I was concerned that nobody would "follow me" on Twitter. That would make me feel like a big dork! Haha. Beyond that, I didn't really feel like I actually NEEDED to have such instant updates on people. To paraphrase something that Whoopi Goldberg said on the View recently, I don't need to know everytime someone goes to the bathroom. No matter how close a friendship we may have!

I have realized in recent weeks, however, that there's another reason to avoid Twitter. It has become overly mainstream. Now call me a tech elitist (please do, I'd love it! Haha), but honestly, do I need to jump on the massive bandwagon now that EVERYONE has? I am getting really tired of hearing that someone has joined Twitter and we should follow them. Do I care to get constant updates from CNN? Nope.

Thinking about Twitter has made me wonder what kind of things I would post if I did, indeed, use it. I mean, my life is rather mundane, most days. Here are some examples that I have come up with... things that I could have Twittered the last couple days:

* Alison is at work and really needs some coffee.
* Alison is cleaning her bathroom.
* Alison is at Costco with Ingrid.
* Alison is woefully behind on episodes of "ER" on Tivo.
* Alison went running for the first time in a month.
* Alison is going to owe the IRS this year.
* Alison needs a new cell phone.
* Alison is vacuuming.
* Alison hates the new Facebook.
* Alison is dancing around to Ace of Base.
* Alison wants to break the diet with McDonalds.
* Alison is quilting.
* Alison loves NCIS.
* Alison is at Costco, again.

See? Who needs THAT in their life?! Haha. I can only imagine if there was an automatic Twittering of what we do at work... "Alison is handing out narcotics like they were M&Ms"... "Alison is kinda grossed out by her patient". The possibilities are endless. :)

It might be funny to read Smokey's tweets, though...

Back in Seattle

I am back in Seattle after a trip to PA over the weekend for Andy & Kelly's wedding reception. We got back to my apartment about 12:30 am (this morning, technically) and then poor Rob had to drive back to Issaquah (another 25 minutes or so) so he could sleep and then go to work this morning! He must be exhausted! But I don't have to go back to work until Thursday, so I am enjoying my vacation time today. :)

I just finished unpacking! Very proud of myself. But I haven't uploaded the pictures from my camera or anything yet, so that will have to be a post later today or tomorrow. There are some great ones, however!

Smokey is being very cuddly and following me around the house looking for attention. Apparently I was gone too long, in her opinion. I woke up this morning with her sitting on my chest and meowing at the top of her little lungs... for no apparent reason other than she felt it was time for me to get up and pet her. Hahaha! Spoiled little kitty.

Well, I better get some chores done around the house. And make a quick run to QFC... I need to buy a Guinness to have tonight!! :)

Boring Post

I know that should blog more. But I'm not really in the mood this afternoon. Don't know why, really. Maybe there's just a lot on my mind. And I don't really feel very well today, either. Nothing specific, honestly. Just a bit... off. I forced myself to do the powersculpt dvd this morning, but it really wore me out! Seriously! I am exhausted and sore now! At least it is done for today.

I'm working tomorrow and Saturday, and then again on Tuesday. Then it's off to Pennsylvania for Andy and Kelly's wedding reception!! Should be a fun time. :) I am definitely looking forward to a mini-vacation.

That's about it for now. I fear that if I write more it will be further complaining and things, so maybe I better stop. :) Boring post, I know.

Dreaming of Summer

My computer screensaver is a whole bunch of random photos that I like. I walked past my computer just now and saw this one from last year and simply HAD to post it on my blog because it makes me smile. And it reminds me of summer. :)

Me and Rob at the locks, July 2008

Cold

I am cold. Just got home from work and my house is a tropical 55 degrees inside! And poor Smokey just sneezed... no joke. Maybe I will have to rethink this whole "turn off the heat to save money" thing!

We got less than 2 inches of snow here last night. Just enough to make my morning commute annoying! But it was all gone and the pavement was dry when I came out of work tonight. Of course, everyone was parked all crooked and stuff because when we parked there this morning, you couldn't see the lines! Haha. :) Looked pretty funny.

Tomorrow is my last day of precepting for a while, I think. Sad. I like the whole teaching thing. It is good practice for me to learn how to back off and not micro-manage so much! Work has been good, lately. Knock wood! (Or IKEA particleboard covered in wood veneer, since that is what my desk is made out of!)

Well, I am hungry and Smokey is starved for attention... time to get off the computer and get some dinner. :)

Skiing Pictures!

My immune system is attempting to fight off a cold, I think. It's making me miserable. Lucky me, sick on my 2 days off! I am using it as an excuse to wear sweats today. Technically, a sweatshirt and my fleece pants. :) Also, I have resolved to keep the heat in my house at a balmy 63 after getting my City Light bill last week! Sigh. It was cold enough when I kept it at 67!

It was a nice rainy morning, although now it is actually kind of sunny and windy. We are maybe going to get an inch or two of snow tonight! I am rather surprised that schools aren't closed for tomorrow already...

I just finished uploading some pictures to Facebook... here are my favorites.




We went to Snoqualmie last weekend... it was my first time back on skis in 4 years and only Rob's second time on a snowboard (I think). It was so much fun, even though it was a little harrowing at times. Unfortunately, it was pretty icy, which was sad. Of course, THIS weekend it is supposed to be awesome! Oh well.

Not too much else going on. Rob came over last night and we did some Power Sculpt together! Then had chicken for dinner... we are both working on eating healthy. :) I did the workout again this morning and boy am I sore! But it feels good, I guess.

That's about it for today... I'm mostly just laying low and drinking tea and things in the hopes that I don't really get too sick. :)

Randomness

Here's the thing about blogging. Whenever there are exciting or interesting things to write about... one is too busy to do so! And therefore, when there isn't really anything in particular going on... I have time to write what often amounts to boring posts. :)

The other problem (sort of) about blogging is that you NEVER know who might be reading it. Sure, there are some people that you figure are probably reading the post, but my experience with Google Analytics (a wonderful invention) has shown that the audience for a blog is pretty widespread and/or random. Which means that I am sometimes hesitant to blog about the stuff that I really want to write about... because it is immediately very publicly available! Take, for example, the fact that some of my seemingly innocous posts have been linked to on a blog about Costco... which means that hundreds of random people have read about my shopping trips. Surreal and kind of exciting, for sure. But kinda scary too!

Anyway. That's part of the reason that I have been a slacker when it comes to blogging... I feel like I have to be very careful about what I say, because it is so public. And my personality is such that I tend to be what Rob affectionately calls "a stress ball". Haha!

Hm. What to write about? I spent my day off today doing laundry, a task that would be much simpler if there was a working dryer in my complex. Argh. I dream of a day where I will no longer need quarters for laundry... and a dryer that works. One day. :) I also went to Costco for some much needed groceries! I swear that I am not attempting to write about Costco for that infamous "Costco Bump" (not to be confused with the "Colbert Bump"!). It just so happens that I go to The Warehouse a lot. And I really like it! And, well, since Rob works there, it has managed to become an integral part of my life. :) I was happy to get some food in my cupboards... particularly the ground turkey (which is not technically in the cupboard, mind you) and my new obsession, Fiber One bars. Can you tell I am on a high fiber, high protein, low calorie diet?! Also got a 5 lb bag of carrots. Oddly enough, the bag of carrots lasts only about 2 weeks or less! I eat a lot of baby carrots. Especially at work. :)

I was amused by something that happened in the Costco parking lot today... I was nearly run over by a car whose driver was paying more attention to eating their chicken bake instead of pedestrians. I don't know why it struck me as being so funny, but it did! Driving under the influence of a Costco Chicken Bake. Maybe they should put a warning on it.

This post is getting ridiculously long, and is about nothing at all. :) The beauty of blogging, I suppose. I will close with a picture from a couple of weeks ago that I love... me and Rob with the Fremont Troll.

Bulbs, Binoculars, and Brandon Heath

It was a beautiful day today! And yesterday, too. Makes you almost feel like maybe spring (and summer) might not be so far away! In fact, my bulbs are starting to come up. Daffodils, I think. Which brings me to a funny revelation I had yesterday... I was preheating the oven to bake some chicken breasts for dinner, and had a few minutes to kill. I found myself out in the back yard, bent over the garden, clearing dead leaves off the flower bed with my bare hands. Then I wiped the dirt of my jeans, came inside, and started cooking dinner. I had this moment... I felt like a grown-up. Actually, to be honest, I felt like my mom. Haha! Not that there's anything wrong with that!! It reminded me of something Ingrid mentioned the other day on Facebook... that she and Chad had taken a Valentine's Day trip and that they brought binoculars... for bird-watching. Her comment was that she felt like she was turning something much older than 29! :) (Hopefully she won't mind me sharing the story here!)

Rob and I were talking last night about how strange it is to reach an age where you realize that, wait... this IS your life! It hit me last year. There's no more "check boxes" like graduating or finding a job or passing the next test. This is it. You wake up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, maybe watch some TV, and go to bed. Or whatever else you choose that day. This is life! I know this sounds kind of elementary, but it really is actually a pretty profound thing to have dawn on you one day. :) Kind of like the Switchfoot song says... "This is your life. Are you who you want to be?"

Speaking of Christian pop songs (like the terrible segue?)... I'm currently listening to Brandon Heath's "Give Me Your Eyes" on my iTunes. I will be honest. I used to HATE this song. Mostly because it is simple pop chords and was very overplayed on the radio! But then one day, I was at work, in the med room where there is a radio (which is tuned to any variety of stations during any given shift!). Apparently on Saturday mornings, the local pop/dance music station plays a nationally syndicated Christian songs countdown show... I guess they figure their prime audience is not listening since they were out clubbing the night before! Anyway, I'm in the med room by myself, and suddenly I hear that song come on. At that moment, in that shift, I was struck by the lyrics. Here I go to work every day, and it is my job to care for people. I mean, literally. I am paid to care. And it is so easy to become jaded and cynical. In fact, on our floor, it is a known fact that if you aren't a little bit cynical and sarcastic... you will NEVER survive! That morning I had a homeless patient who was really being difficult, and I was feeling pretty judgemental and self-righteous. Yet God used that song to really make me think about what I was feeling and thinking! At any rate, I went home and bought it on iTunes, and now actually like it. And I have never again heard Christian music in the med room.

Well that was a random digression. I suppose that is what a blog is really about, though. :)

President's Day

This is my 4th day off in a row, and yet I am still not doing so hot on keeping up with the blog! :) I had a nice weekend... On Saturday, Rob and I went to go see "He's Just Not That Into You", which was a pretty good movie. Then we came back to my place and drank my Christmas present from Rob (a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne!). It was a nice Valentine's Day! On Sunday we attempted to go skiing/snowboarding after church, but unfortunately there isn't night skiing on Sundays (apparently). Kind of a bummer, but we had fun driving to the mountains and just hanging out.

I installed my new scanner this afternoon! It is pretty cool, and especially considering how inexpensive it was. Now I have to find more things to scan! Haha.

As I am thinking about what to blog about, I am realizing that my life is rather boring! The big thing going on today for me is that the dryer is still acting up, so my laundry is hung up all over the house. My neighbors and I are fighting back, however, and are starting to keep track of all the quarters (which add up) that we lose on the dumb thing, since the landlord was unable to replicate the problem when my neighbor reported it. Hm. Interesting. So, yeah. Exciting life, huh. :)

Time to go do my Power Sculpt DVD! I have not been very good about working out lately. Or eating healthy. But now that my workout clothes are almost dry, I should try to get moving!

I know, I know

It has been forever since I posted. Like 2+ months. Sigh. How did I get so far behind?!

I get myself into these situations where I want to do everything absolutely perfectly... and sometimes when I know that it is impossible to do so, well, then... I don't do it at all! And I think that's what happened with the blog. :) December was crazy busy and time got away from me!! And then I felt as though I couldn't post just any old random thing since it had been so long.

But posting something is better than nothing in a couple of months, I suppose, so here I am. Not sure where to begin. The perfectionist in me wants to start where I left off in December, and properly document everything since then. However, the perfectionist is rather tired and so we will just jump to the current moment. At least for now. :)

I'm back on day shifts at work (yay!) so that means that I have nice normal sleep patterns again. Was off from work today and did nothing of excitement. Mostly hung around the house doing random things. I am (still) working on handquiliting a quilt for my bed... It is taking forever and I feel like it will never be done! But it is coming along, at least.

My other current project is of the "get in shape" variety. I've come to the sad conclusion that my body really, really likes the weight I'm at now, give or take 5 pounds. Unfortunately, my "set point" (to steal an old biology class term) does not seem to coincide well with my goals for myself. Argh! After 2 very obnoxious weeks on a new diet plan, I realized that weight loss might not be the best goal. Sure, I can eat carrots for the rest of my life and be miserable, but what is the point of THAT?! So my latest thing is just trying to get in shape. This past summer, when I ran that 5K, I felt... strong. And I liked that feeling. That's my new goal... to feel strong and in shape. Regardless of what the scale says or what size clothes I wear. Of course, if the scale were to show a number 20 or 30 pounds lighter than it currently does, I wouldn't complain!! :)

To that end, I've started running again... sometimes. After a rather frightening experience where I had what I suspect (in my professional opinion of course) was the first ever asthma attack of my life, I've been doing less running outside (or at least not when there are severe air pollution warnings). Instead I've been doing some workout DVDs in my living room. Go ahead, call me a dork. :) But I have been SORE the last few days, so that can only mean that it's working, right?!

Not too much else to report for today. I'm getting tired, even though it's not even 10 pm. I'm turning into a little old lady! First quilting with my cat and drinking tea... now thinking about bed before 10. Yikes. :)