Last Day

Today's the day!!!  My last day of work!! 

AAAHHHHHHHH!!

Someone pinch me!!  It seems so surreal and I'm sure I won't notice that much at first.  It helps that I'm not actually leaving forever and I'll still be connected as a consultant.  I just won't really be back in the office and I'll only be interacting with a few people.

Here's what my desk looks like now...just a few more things to take home and a bit of dusk to clean up.

See that pink cup?  My sister bought that for me the first year I started here.  It's a hoops & yo-yo cup and it was hilarious.  It doesn't work anymore, but it gave me many laughs. 

I'm so excited about nursing school and this new chapter in my life.  I've had a lot of "chapters" and they have all been great experiences, so I'm sure this one will be too.  I already have homework - chapters to read before the first day of class.  Fun times, right!?

Thanks for sharing this journey with me and being there through work, pre-reqs, applications, and decisions!!!  I promise I won't turn all my posts into complaining sessions about how much school I have....

Have a great Friday and a fabulous 3-day weekend!!!

Feeling Special and our Favorite Thing

I love how some days I have absolutely nothing to say and then other days I am full to the brim of experiences to share.  Today is one of those days where I am full to the brim of really random things, but all things that happened since the last time we chatted.

First, let's talk about how I was too tired to do my PiYo workout this morning.  I'm not even sure it was tired, I just felt a bit burnt out.  So I didn't do it.  I kind of knew I wasn't going to do it yesterday night because I just felt to exhausted.  And not physically exhausted, more mentally exhausted.  And that can be just as bad - if not worse.  I figure I can do it tonight if I want to or I can do it tomorrow (since Fridays are rest days).  We'll see.  I don't think I'm giving up by any means, I just wanted a day off from the 4:15am wake-up call and the double days of PiYo and running.  I think I'll still run this afternoon, but we'll see how I feel.  I really wasn't feeling my run yesterday before I left, but then I felt really good on the run and thought about lots of things and worked other things out in my head, so I was really glad I went.

In other news, I had my goodbye party at work and it was AWESOME!!!  They worked so hard on it and it was so fabulous.  They made me this Good Luck bulletin:

Isn't it fabulous!!  The little skeleton is saying "Kattrina calls the shots" and those are all pictures of me with a nursing hat on.  The cake was amazing too - it was lemon cream.  And my co-worker put the prescription meds on the cake (M&Ms).  Those little pieces of paper are for people to write me a "prescriptions" for school and the future.  The notes were so sweet that I actually shed some tears.  I really love my co-workers - they not only do amazing work every day, but they are truly amazing people.  My one co-worker made me a condom necklace (since I work in HIV prevention):

Complete with a female condom that matches my shirt.  Of course, none of these condoms are usable, since they all had holes punched into them!  The room was decorated with nursing stuff (like a kid's medical kit!) and condom streamers.  And there was also a slide show of a bunch of photos of me over the years - 7 years - from numerous events, trainings, and staff fun.  Here's a picture of me from our 2008 Award Ceremony with my good friend from high school (she didn't work with me, she just came to hang out).

And here is our 2008 Wine Tasting, with the same friend from high school and another good friend from Peace Corps. 

I would show you other photos but a lot of the people in the photos are related to work and I don't have photo releases for them.  But here are some of my adorable co-workers from the party!

I'm gonna miss them all so much!!!  In addition to the wonderful party (it was an Italian potluck - think pasta, chicken parm, meatballs, bread, salad, cookies, Bundt cake, and other yumminess), they also gave me a HUGE gift card to Amazon.com so I could buy some nursing supplies and books and other odds and ends.  It was so generous and helped out so much.  Yes, I already spent every last penny.  I bought two pairs of scrubs, two undershirts, a pair of nursing shoes, a stethoscope, three books, and a filing cabinet (not really school related but I really need something to keep my files, loan documents, work documents, etc. organized - right now they are in piles in the kitchen).  It felt so great to buy it though, now I'm almost ready for school.  I ordered this backpack:

I couldn't decide if the pink color made it look childish, but I really like it and didn't want the obligatory black/gray/blue backpack.  So, pink it is!

So, that was my party.  I hope everyone has the chance to work at a place as great as my current job.  Obviously, I did my fair share of complaining, but even when I complained, I knew how lucky I was.  The party really made me feel special and like I had made a real contribution to the organization and the community we serve.  Oh, and I bought my boss/supervisor a gift too:

It's a tie with microscopic images of the HIV virus (gold and silver circles)!  I loved it and was so excited to give it to him!!  I think he was really surprised and said he was planning on wearing it to a wedding he's going to in September.  I told him it is a conversation starter and that he can use it to bring up HIV prevention whenever he's out at events - and he can be reminded of me and the six years we spent working on HIV prevention together.  It was a bit pricey and I was hesitant to buy it at first, but I'm SO glad I got it because it was nice to give something back.

Ok - enough party talk!

Yesterday I met a friend and her daughter at the nature center and we went and threw rocks into the river again!

This time I put Evan in his bathing suit and shoes that dried easily.  He was really excited to go and hang out and hike again.  It took him a while to warm up because my friend and her daughter were with us and he gets all weird when we hang out with other people that he doesn't know that well (although we hang out with them a LOT).

We spent about an hour and half there - walking in the water, throwing rocks, hiking, picking up sticks, picking up rocks, jumping on stumps, etc.  I'm gonna be really sad once summer and the warm weather is gone.  I'm not quite ready to spend six months inside again.  Plus, Evan is still in 18 month clothes and all his winter clothes are size 2T!

And a fun Throwback Thursday pic from 2002 (I think!):

One year for Christmas my father bought me a week long trip to Costa Rica for a yoga retreat.  The girl with me was the yoga instructor - my Dad and I always went to her studio in DC when I was in college and she ran the retreat in Costa Rica.  It was SO fun!!  We did so much yoga but also got to go zip lining, white water rafting, and a lot of fun other things.  This year she's leading a yoga retreat in Italy!!!  Hint hint Dad....haha!

********************

Do you like your job?  What is the best thing about it?

Have you ever gone on a yoga retreat?  What's your favorite yoga pose??

  -- My favorite pose is Pigeon Pose!

Tired Legs and Ice Baths

When we went to Costco last week they had those special spa mats on sale - the memory foam kind that are super comfy and soft.  I decided to buy one for the kitchen so that I had a nice plush mat to stand on while washing dishes.  Evan decided he LOVED the mat and played on it all day.  He'd stand there and stomp his feet a million times, loving the way it felt.  Then he emptied all the plastic lids on top of it.

It was hilarious because normally he throws the lids all over the kitchen but for some reason he decided he wanted them all on top of this kitchen mat.  Along with my water bottle.  What a funny boy.

This morning I finally fully completed my PiYo Sweat workout.  That means I finished the entire thing without having to go into child's pose when no one else was doing it (aka taking a break).  I still have to do all my push-ups on my knees, but I can now do all the push-ups, so hopefully I'll move to my toes eventually.  Oddly enough, my legs are always the most tired after a PiYo workout, even though I feel like my legs are the strongest because of running.  My arms need to become sore because I need to strengthen them the most.  In the videos where we have side plank I can barely get up there because my arms are so weak.  It's surprising I can lift my own son.  Maybe that's why sometimes my arms are sore after running - my water bottle is too heavy for my weak arms.  Today is a rest day, thank goodness, because my legs kinda feel like jello.  I ran 5 miles on Sunday with the jogger and then another 5 yesterday around the mall (National Mall - not shopping mall), so that is more than I usually go.  I am really shocked that I have been running 5 days a week for almost three months.  I usually only do 4 and then eventually move down to 3.  Even when training for a marathon I end up only doing three days a week because I run out of time. 

Here are a few strategies that I have employed to keep my work-outs on track these past few months:

1) I joined a Challenge Group.  My friend from elementary school recently became a Beach Body coach and she started a 100 Mile Challenge Group with the challenge to run 100 miles in 2 months.  That's not really that hard (some people run almost 100 miles in a week), but it still motivates me to get out there so that I can report my miles to the group.  I also joined a Challenge Group for PiYo and that has helped immensely because I definitely don't want to fall behind in that.  It's what I think about when I get up at 4:15am to do yet another PiYo DVD.

2) I made a schedule.  I always had a basic running schedule but now I have a real schedule with the days I'm going to run and how I'm going to fit them in.  Running during my lunch break at work has worked really well and I've been able to keep that up.  Plus, after a while all my co-workers got used to the fact that I ran every lunch and so it helped motivate me to go.  Even the doorman knows my running schedule.  I tend to go four miles during lunch and occasionally I'll put in an extra mile.  On Wednesdays I go in the morning before I start work, on Fridays I go in the afternoon and Evan and I always stop at a random playground, and on Sunday I always go in the morning with Evan and we also stop at a playground.  That's pretty much the schedule and I've been really great at sticking with it.

3) I've incorporated running into other activities.  For example, like I mentioned above, instead of just going to the playground we always run to the playground.  I can do a 3, 4, 5, and 6 mile loop that all have playgrounds on the route.  I tend to run, play for an hour, and then run home.  Yeah, it's not the most effective workout, but it gets me out there, it gets Evan outside, and we both return home happy and tired.  I've also run to my sister's house, run to the farmer's market, run to the doctor's, run to meet friends for coffee, and run to the grocery store.  This way I can still get a run in, even if I have a bunch of errands.  It is really helpful that the doctor's office (both mine and Evan's), grocery store, Farmer's Market, etc. are all really close to our condo...it's not like I am running 10 miles or anything.

Ok, those are the only things I can think of right now.  I feel like this summer has been extra stressful with all the transitions going on and I've really stayed calm through most of it and I think it's because running has given me time to think things through and take time for myself.  I really do love to run and I'm so glad I have gotten into a routine that works for me.  I just hope I can keep it up once school starts!  I am planning on running during the day, just like I do now, but my schedule is less flexible than it is at work - so, we'll see.

In other news, I took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

I am really dramatic - if you actually watch the video you can hear me whine and complain about how cold the water is and how big the bucket is.  You can also see Evan run up to the bucket and say "Ice" and look cute.  Ivan was overly excited about the challenge and had the ice all waiting for me when I got home from work.  How husbandly of him.  I conveniently challenged him so he went right after me.  It was fun though and a good cause.  I hope that the ALS Foundation can use a lot of the money they receive for research and a cure comes out of this.  And I really hope a lot of the money also goes to help families, especially ones that need financial help to take care of their loved one.  I'm still really shocked that the challenge is still going on and that it is raising so much money!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Tuesday!  Today is my going away party at work and I'm really excited.  I don't particularly enjoy parties thrown for me because it's awkward, but all work parties are fun so I'm excited about that.

************************
Have you done the Ice Bucket Challenge?

What other tips do you have for keeping your sticking to your work-out routines?

Family time is the best

This weekend was kind of a blur.  I just spent about 4 minutes trying to think of what I did this weekend.  My parents drove through down on their way home and pretty much their visit is dominating my memory.  I'm sure something else happened over the weekend, but I just remember hanging out with them.

They arrived on Saturday and we met them at the Italian restaurant I used to work out when I was a kid.  It's delicious but it was a crazy dinner because we met my sister's family there too.  So, picture a nice Italian restaurant with four adults (my parents, my BIL, and me - my sister was working and my hubs was at the Ravens game) and a 5 years old, 3 year old, almost 2 year old, and a 1 year old.  It went surprisingly well!  No cups were spilled, no food was flung across the restaurant, and only one child cried the entire time.  Success.

Before my parents arrived on Saturday I went to the grocery store and coached golf.  I amazingly spent less than $100 at the grocery store!!!  Except on Friday we went to Costco and spent $145...so I'm not sure if that's really a success.  On Friday we also went to the playground and for a four mile run.  Normal stuff.

On Sunday I woke up and Evan and I ran to my sister's house.  We were promised pancakes for breakfast but then when we arrived (five miles later), they had changed their minds and there were no pancakes.  :-)  We had oatmeal instead.  It was kind of chilly out and I wore capris instead of shorts.

Ok, so it was a bad choice because it was like 65 degrees so 2 minutes into my run I was really hot.  I even put Evan in pants and long sleeves. 

I'm not sure why I was thinking it was so cold!  It ended up being a beautiful day.  Notice how Evan insisted on bringing his golf club and a ball to my sister's.  He actually held on to both of those the entire stroller ride.  We went up to the golf course to watch my nieces in their golf classes and Evan played golf in the grass the entire hour.  He really does love his golf.

He also loves his Mimi and Papa.  He work up Sunday morning and the first thing he said was "Mas (more)  Mimi Papa".  Yup, before he even opened is eyes.  And my dad bought him a new John Deere tractor for his birthday and he happily played with that all day too.  He loves his tractors.

We just hung out all day chatting, playing Jewelry Store (my mom got stuck playing that with the girls), cooking, and eating.  Good times.

I brought my camera to take pics of Evan with his grandparents but then I snapped those two pictures above and the camera battery died.  Nice.

Have a great Monday!!!  It's my last week of work - I'm gonna soak it all up!

**************************

Favorite food to eat for breakfast?

Grocery shopping: love or hate?
  -- I LOVE grocery shopping.  If I had a plethora of money it'd become my hobby!

Thursday's Random Thoughts

I had so many thoughts about what I was going to write about today, but now I can't think of any of them.  So, I guess I'll give you some randomness.  Here are ten random thoughts floating in my head.


1) All I can think about right now is my PiYo Drench workout that I did this morning.  I was in Downward Facing Dog (my least favorite yoga pose EVER) and sweat was dripping off my thighs and my chin.  I was really sweaty.  And my legs still feel a little wobbly even sitting on the bus.  That workout was 48 minutes, so it's the longest one.  I kinda miss the beginning workouts that were only 20 minutes.  I will say my triceps pushups are getting better and Ivan actually noticed a smidgen of a muscle in my arm - so maybe I'm getting stronger....even if I spend a lot of time in child's pose!

2) An amazing thing happened this week.  Remember a few posts ago I mentioned that I wished I had a person that was 100% devoted to helping me out (for free - because I realize that that is a paid position)?  Well, God must have heard me because as I was complaining to my co-worker (for the umpteen millionth time), she said her dad might have an extra car that we could have.  Just like that.  And he did and he's willing to sell it to us for $1.  Not only that, but he's been running around town getting it ready and sprucing it up.  Yesterday he took it to get a new battery and was going to pay for it himself, and then when he explained that it was for someone who was going back to school and couldn't afford a car, the guy said he's donate the battery and put it in for free.  The whole this is just amazing to me and I feel like someone must really be looking out for me...because how often do people give you cars?  Never.  Even my parents didn't give me a car when I was in high school, I had to use all my savings bonds to buy their old car (mainly because they didn't have enough money to buy themselves another car, so they needed my money to put down a down payment on their new car - not because they were mean people or anything).  This car is significantly older, but it is still a gift that humbles me to the core.  And I do realize that nothing is free in this world and that it's gonna cost money to transfer the title, etc., and it's gonna cost gas money and maintenance and things like that, but it will be so helpful.  I can officially stop worrying about how I'm going to get to clinicals.

3) August has been a month of lasts.  Today is the last time I'll see my favorite co-worker (she's going on vacation next week), I had my last staff meeting on Tuesday, my last DC commute is coming up, my last paycheck, my last partner call, etc.  September will be a month of firsts.  First time wearing scrubs, first nursing lab, first nursing class, first time working as a consultant, etc.  What an exciting and scary time this is!  My stomach is in a constant state of butterflies.

4) Yesterday I tried Oats in a Jar for the very first time.

I had a bit of peanut butter left so I just put my oatmeal in there and warmed it up in the jar.  That way what was left of the peanut butter was softened and melted right into my oatmeal.  It was delicious.  I don't buy peanut butter too often because I eat it too fast, but the next time I do I will definitely be making this again!

5) Today I am going out for lunch, courtesy of my favorite co-worker.  We are going to i Ricci and I CANNOT WAIT.  I have already looked at the menu a million times as I drool thinking about what I'm going to order.  I love Italian food and rarely get it because Ivan doesn't like it.  Plus, lunch with my friend is always spectacular.

6) Evan got a new bedroom set yesterday.  Some close golf friends of ours had an entire bedroom set (bed, mattress, box spring, dresser, night stand, desk) that they were getting rid of and asked if we might want it for Evan.  Umm, yes please!!  Even though he still sleeps in our bed, one day he will need his own bed and this bedroom set is beautiful.  The wood is in amazing condition and is super high-quality.  I can't wait to decorate his room (on a budget...).

7) I can't decide what to do for Evan's 2nd birthday.  I know I don't want a party, but I still want to do something special.  A cook-out at the lake?  A family bike ride?  A trip to the zoo?  Rocks at the Nature Center?  I don't know.  I have to work that morning because another coach will already be gone, so we'll have to celebrate in the afternoon, but I still want it to be something he really enjoys.  We'll see.  Birthdays are stressful.  We are thinking of buying him a balance bike but I can't decide.  Anyone out there have a balance bike for their kids?  Do they like it?  Hate it?

8) Talking about sleeping.  Last night we had a super cuddle session in our bed.  Evan slept in my arms all night long, curled up right next to me.  I loved every minute of it.  When he does eventually move to his own bed, I will be a bit sad.  Cuddle time during the middle of the night is the best thing ever.

9) Ivan has liked every dinner I've made all week.  It's a miracle.  After ever dinner he has said, "That was a great dinner" (well, he says it in Spanish so I guess he doesn't say that exactly) and he only says that when he means it.  Often he says, "Thanks for dinner, it was ok but maybe don't make it again".  I make sure to write down all the dinners he likes so that I keep them in good rotation.  His favorite meal to date is my mom's Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup.  He asks for it at least once a week and I make it probably twice a month.

10) On Facebook it's Throwback Thursday, so I figure I'll post my pic here too. 

This is an old picture from college (I'm sure it's obvious, but I'm the girl on the left in the gray Army shirt) - the first time I went to college.  We had a Model OAS team and each spring we'd head to DC to compete with all the other teams.  Our school took it mega-serious (although plenty of others took it as a time to party in DC) and it was a super stressful class, but I have some great memories from that time.  And surprisingly I am still friends with some of these girls!  I really hope I meet some amazing people in nursing school, although it will be hard to top the amazing people I met in undergrad and graduate school previously.  As exampled above - I really do have very special and amazing friends that I probably don't deserve.  Over the years they have done so many things for me and I'm not really sure I've done as many things for them.  Hopefully one day I can repay everyone for all they have given me in life.

Ok - those are my ten random thoughts!

*****************************

Tell me two random things floating around in your head.

Did you love or hate college?  Are you still friends with your college friends?

Rocks in the water

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday because I was at an orientation for school.  It was fun getting to meet some new people and hearing more about what my schedule will be like and stuff.  The schedule does not look fun.  At all. I met and hung out mostly with two girls who happened to be twenty.  That makes me 14 years older than them.  I could practically be there mother.  Nice thought, huh.  It was fine though.  I guess all thrown together we are similar enough since we are all going to nursing school.  I did meet another girl who has three step-kids, but only on the weekends.  

This past weekend the weather was beautiful so I tried to get outside.  Evan and I went for a run and then met a friend from TNT for coffee and a walk to the playground. I hadn't seen her since the winter and then I barely got to catch up with her so it was really great spending the afternoon chatting.  I had to walk to the coffee place because the hubs was golfing and I thought I would have time to get a four mile run in before we were supposed to meet...but I forgot to account for the fact that I run much slower with the BOB so I ended up being 15 minutes late.  Yikes.  I felt badly.  I really need to work on my punctuality.  At one point Evan was playing at the playground and pointed at her and said bye-bye.  I don't think he was thrilled about sharing my attention.  

Saturday was the normal golf and grocery shopping.  Nothing too exciting.  I didn't get a chance to do my PiYo workout because Evan was really clingy and fussy and wouldn't let me leave the bed (I noticed that he has his two canine teeth pushing through so that would explain that).  I surprised myself by coming home from golf, putting Evan down for a nap, and then breaking out the PiYo Sweat DVD.  Usually I am not motivated to do anything in the middle of the day but I actually got it done.  Score!

On Sunday we went to breakfast with the other golf coach I work with. She had watched Evan on Thursday so we wanted to thank her.  Evan was a hoot on breakfast and kept stacking the creamers and then knocking them down.  It was hilarious...until one burst open and drenched the hubs in creamer.  Haha!  After breakfast we ran to the outlet mall to look for scrubs for me.  It turned into a disaster.  I tried some scrubs on and that was fine but then I made the mistake of letting Evan ride one of those little rides that you pay a quarter for (or 3 since this one was $0.75) and he decided he wanted to ride every single one.  Of course he could only ride the one (because there was no way I was going to let him ride all of them) so then he threw a Disney-style fit.  It was huge.  And it reminded me of why we shouldn't go places that are over stimulating and have too many things catered to little guys.  We barey made it out alive.  Evan proceeded to cry the entire way home until about 5 minutes before we got home.  I quickly put him to bed. 

When he woke up, in a better mood, we decided to go throw rocks in the river.  His favorite thing!  Although I didn't feel badly about not letting him ride the rides, I did want to take him somewhere where he could do whatever he wanted and fully enjoy himself.  Even the hubs decided to come and we had SO much fun.

Ivan was less into the hiking and kept asking where the river was, but Evan and I forced him to be patient so Evan could pick up every rock he found and jump on the tree stumps.

 His hand is blurry because he was waving it so ferociously telling me which stump I should stand on.

We finally made it to the water and the hubs gave Evan a lesson on how to throw rocks into the river.

Then the hubs got really into it and took his shoes off so they could walk across the river together to the "beach" on the other side.

They were really cute together walking through the water and throwing rocks.  Evan eventually decided to sit down in the river so he got all wet, but oh well.  Then it was my turn.

I forced Ivan to take pictures of me so that I had some memory of Evan and me throwing rocks.  Usually it is me taking all the pictures and there are only selfies of me.

Evan wanted to walk down the river, which was a bit painful barefoot because it was all rocks and no sand.  I survived though.  Then we started on our way back and "raced" back to the car.  Evan ran the entire way again, with Ivan chasing behind him yelling to be careful and not fall.  The hubs hates seeing Evan in pain and is always telling him to be careful.  It's funny actually...I just figure Evan will fall every once in a while and survive.

Then Evan found a big stick and took it back to the car, but we made him leave it there.

Overall, it was super fun!  I am really hoping that Evan develops a love of the outdoors...especially a love that is bigger than his love of iPad games and indoor mall rides.  :-)

**********************
Other moms out there - how do you deal with temptations like rides and food when you are out and about?

Favorite time to exercise?  Morning, mid-day, night?
     - I prefer to run in the evening, but I tend to get it done more often if I schedule it in the morning.

Life is always switching things up on you

Do you ever feel like right when you have things figured out, life takes a U-turn and everything you figured out goes down the drain and you have to start over?  I swear that is what always happens to me.  I have spent so many months trying to figure out transportation to and from school and how my husband and I are going to survive on one car, etc.  and then when I have a tentative plan in place everything changes.

First, because my husband worked overtime during the winter his company decided to cut his hours down to 20 a week for eight weeks.  Seriously, I think that would stress most people out.  So then we were scrambling to figure out how to make ends meet when in three weeks my salary was going to be cut by 2/3rds.  And then, out of the blue, his old boss who now works at a private golf course calls him up and offers him 16 hours at his course to make up the hours he's losing.  I was pleasantly shocked that his old boss would be willing to do that and that he would shift things around so that my husband could still get his regular hours for the most part.  The catch though?  His old boss's golf course is 45 minutes away and he has to start at 6am.  Not that big a deal except that now we have to drop Evan off at my sister's at 5am.  I can tell you she is none too pleased.  She at least didn't flat out refuse but no one likes to be up that early...this I know because I am up earlier than that and it is no fun.  And then who knows when school starts...how we are going to get everything to work out.  I really just wish there was someone who was completely devoted to helping me out...who would out of the blue just offer to watch Evan in the mornings at 5am or come pick Evan and me up and give us a ride or things like that.  Someone who wouldn't make me feel guilty and who would totally understand that we have no other options and we are just trying to make ends meet...not trying to inconvenience everyone in the world.  Of course there is really no person like that because even very compassionate, loving, amazing people have their own lives and get inconvenienced at times...but still, it would be nice.

Ugg.  I can only handle so much stress and problem solving and I am about up to my ears.

Aside from that I got the pleasurable experience of trying to sign up for the Marketplaces (Affordable Care Act) yesterday.  It wasn't completely miserable, but it wasn't pleasant either.  The lady on the other side of the phone really just wanted to do something else because every time she asked for a document that I didn't have in front of me she would give me my reference number and tell me I could call her back.  I was determined to finish it all except that I couldn't find Ivan's green card number fast enough so I do have to call her back.  Not the end of the world except that if I want insurance coverage starting 1 Sept I have to fill out the paperwork by 15 August...which is tomorrow. I am hoping I get a chance to do it today or tomorrow otherwise we'll be out of luck.

Ok, that's all I have to report.  No pictures, no great stories, just complaints....

But let me leave you with a picture of Evan because I don't want you to end this reading session feeling down and depressed!

 

Transitions

Yesterday another graze box came.  Yum!  If you want to try a graze box, you can use my code at KATTRI44B and get your 1st and 5th box free.  I am loving it!  And I am not being paid to promote them or anything, I just thought I would share.

It is kind of fun seeing what little snacks come in each box.  I probably won't get too many more because once I start school I can't really justify buying a snack box once a week for $6, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.  For some reason I tend to migrate towards the sweet snacks rather than the savory so far.  Today I'll try a more savory one.

Yesterday I also wrote my first "transitions" email.  That's a euphemism for "I am leaving my job and won't be seeing you anymore".   I just sent it out to two people, my two partners on my current grant.  I will send out another email to everyone else I work with later this week.  It's sad and my eyes tear up a bit at thinking that this stage of my life is ending soon.  I really do love my current job and although there are plenty of frustrations, it is a great job and a great organization to work for.  I realize I will probably never have such a flexible work environment and such freedom to design and carry out a project. 

I also started to pack up my office.  When I first started here I brought a lot of stuff from home to decorate.  I figured that I spent more time in my office than I did at home so it should make me happy.  And it did.  It was filled with photos of friends and family, gifts from  Honduras, and various other trinkets.  Now it is all getting packed up and will probably just go into a closet at home since we don't really have any place to put it.  It really makes my office look bare though.

That's where I had a lot of decorations...and now, so much emptier.

I have agreed to consult ten hours a week, so I am not gone completely.  I just won't be going to the office anymore and will only be interacting with a few people.  It'll be different.  And hopefully I'll still have plenty of time to study.

Change is tough!  

And I'm not sure people really get it.  Everyone comments about how excited I must be - and I am - but on Sunday my neighbor hit it right on the dot.  She said, "You must be really scared" and she was right.  As excited as I am about heading back to school and finally pursing nursing, something I have wanted to do for years, I am terrified.  More scared than excited.  It is incredibly scary quitting my comfortable job, losing my salary and benefits, and embarking on an entirely new career not having any idea how the future will turn out.  Plunging my family into even more debt and just hoping it all works out.  Exciting, yes, but more than that -it's just down right scary.  Maybe one of the scariest things I've ever done.  Joining the Peace Corps and living in Honduras for two years was pretty scary too, but I think this is even more so.  My life motto has always been "Don't let fear stand in the way of your dreams" and when I make a decision I try to think about what I'd do if fear wasn't a factor.  And then I do that.  So, that's what I'm doing.  Yes, it's scary leaving my job.  Yes, it's scary taking out thousands of dollars in loans.  Yes, it's scary leaving my current career.  However, if I take all that fear away, nursing is what I want.  Therefore, I'm going for it.  And that's that.  

And for all you doubters out there, I've put a lot of thought into this - I didn't just decide it on a whim.  I didn't choose nursing because becoming a doctor was too hard.  And no, I don't want to be a Physician's  Assistant or work in Medical Administration.  I realize nurses are underpaid and overworked.  I know I'm not going to become rich.  However, if you know me, you'll know that becoming rich has never been a dream of mine.  I want to become a nurse because I care about people and I want to help them, take care of them, and advocate for them.  It's that simple.  And in case you're wondering - yes, about 90% of the people I tell about nursing school suggest some other degree: doctor, PA, medical admin, etc.  It's annoying and doesn't help my fear factor.

And that's the end of my rant.  :-)

And now a complete change of subject.  Yesterday I went on a 4.5 mile run.  I felt nice and strong the entire way.  I really think it must be the PiYo workouts I'm doing.  It must really be making me stronger.  Who knew that strength training could be so effective!!  I've only been reading that you should do it for years - this is the first time I've really been serious about it.  And it appears to be working pretty well.  Today I did PiYo Buns.  I was really excited about it because of my weak glute problem, so hopefully it will help.  All I know is I did a ton of squats.  Since I do it so early in the morning I'm kind of still asleep throughout the entire workout.  My legs feel a bit rubbery though, so I know I must have done something right.

Ok - I'm gonna take a snooze on the bus.  I hope you have a fabulous day!

 **********************************

What is your life motto?

What's the scariest decision you've ever made?  How did it turn out? Please share!!

Lots of Tractors and Livestock

Last night I had the most terrifying dream.  I don't have nightmares too often but this one made up for all the nights I didn't have one.  It was filled with serial killers, tortured murder victims, and all those other fun things.  I am blaming it on the fact that I read an excerpt from a book called Heartbreaker and the beginning was all about a guy who was confessing to torturing and murdering a bunch of women in a small town.   Ironically, I think the book is supposed to be a romance novel...and I think I've actually read it, back in my romance novel days of high school.  That theme of psychopathic killers transferred nicely to my dreams.  I was actually very happy when my alarm went off this morning and I could escape my dreams.  Then I remembered I had to get up and do a PiYo workout and I couldn't decide which was better: nightmare or workout.  Haha - actually it was an easy and short 20 minute PiYo workout so I was happy about that.

This past weekend was BUSY.  We haven't had such a busy weekend in months.  It was filled with good stuff though.  I actually think the rest of August is going to be really busy because I am trying to fit every fun activity in between now and the start of school.  I am terrified that I won't have a free minute (or a free dollar) once school starts so want to get in every bit of fun possible. 

Friday afternoon was our regular routine of a run with Evan followed by a stop at the playground.

There I am, ready to head out.  Ivan makes fun of me when I take "selfies" and says no one wants to see me that close up except him - haha.  However, my arms aren't long enough to take photos farther away than that, so you will continue to get a nice close-up of my face!

Surprisingly when I asked Evan if he wanted to go for a run, he looked excited too.  I think he is realizing that I always make a stop at the playground when we go for runs, so he's not too upset about sitting in the stroller for an hour.

He brought his tractor along with him too.  I was thrilled that he didn't try and pitch it overboard while we were running.  Occasionally he has taken a shoe off and thrown it into the street.  Running into the street after a shoe or ball is not my idea of a fun sprinting drill.  Before heading to the park we took a small detour to the doctor to get my final TB test read.  Still no TB, thank goodness!

Saturday I had golf in the morning and then my friend Sarah came over from the Easter Shore to spend the afternoon together.  Good times!  She is one of my best friends from college and now that she moved far away I don't see her as often.  The county fair was going on, so we decided to spend the afternoon there.  I hadn't been for years, like 20, so it was fun to go back.  My husband and Evan thought it was great!  

Although he looks super serious, he was having a good time.  Promise!

I can tell you I am a lot older now because hanging out in the midway with barely-there clothes did not appeal to me.  What did appeal to me??

Fried dough and fried Berger cookies.  Berger cookies are a Baltimore specialty and they were extra delicious fried.  We had plans to try the fried Oreos, but when we saw the friend Berger cookies, we changed our mind.  Don't worry, that wasn't all I had for dinner.  I also ate French fries.  Haha.  My cholesterol may not have been thrilled but my taste buds were in heaven.  On the topic of cholesterol, I went for a physical a few weeks ago and my cholesterol was 136.  Umm, maybe it's because I am a health dork, but I was so incredibly proud of that.  I wanted to tattoo it on my forehead (not really).  High cholesterol runs in my family so I am always excited when I "beat" my genetics.

The rest of our fair experience consisted of cows and tractors.  Evan was in tractor heaven.  He took a picture on every tractor possible.

He really acted like he was driving them.  He moved the steering wheel and pretended to honk the horn and change the gears.  It was adorable.

The hubs was pretty excited too, climbing on big machines was pretty fun for him too.

And notice how the hubs put on his "farmer" wardrobe.  Shirt, jeans, and boots.  If he had a cowboy hat, he would have worn that too.

Yes, Evan was trying to eat this tractor.  I guess it was time for a food break....

I couldn't go without sitting on one tractor, so I made sure to climbed on one too.

The air seat was pretty fun, but I didn't get the urge to drive around and cut the grass or anything.

Then we went to visit the animals.  Evan practiced milking a cow.

The hubs showed him how it's done.  In Honduras, the hubs milked cows by hand for years.  He's a milking expert and huge fan of cows.

They had the cutest kiddie barn with these rocking horses and animals to pet and barley pits (instead of sand pits). Evan had a blast!

All in all, it was a great time.  Ivan can't wait for next year.

Sunday we did the unbelievable.  Hubs and I went on a double date and played golf!  

I know, it's a miracle.  My sister watched Evan for a few hours and Ivan and I played nine holes with the couple we used to play with all the time before.  It was so fun.  It helped that my golf game was totally on and I got two pars and two bogies...it's definitely more fun when I'm playing well.  And since I haven 't played since Memorial Day, it's pretty shocking that I did so well.  It must be because I spend every weekend concentrating on improving the golf game of 7-12 year olds that some of the instruction gets branded into my brain!

Later in the afternoon we headed to our old neighbor's house and played a couple rounds of bocci ball and ate some flank steak.  It was quite yummy and we had such a good time.  I am always so thankful for the amazing friends we have here.  I feel like adult friends can be hard to come by, so I am very thankful that we have made good friends in the area.  Evan ran around in their yard playing with balls and moving rocks from the garden to the grass.  He had a blast.  We got home pretty late so quickly got ready for the week and then headed to bed.  

So, that was our weekend!  

********************************

 

Do you have a county fair?  What fried foods have you tried???  Favorite fair food?

Any other female golfers out there??

1996

Wednesdays I feel extra productive because I wake up, get a run in, and the do my PiYo workout, then shower all before 8am.  Of course I don't feel like doing any of it and would just like to stay in bed, but after I finish I feel pretty hard core.  I don't find the PiYo workouts to be exceptionally difficult, but I am feeling stronger on my runs so it make me wonder if it is secretly doing something.  Yesterday I did PiYo Core, which was a new workout.  Today I did Define: Upper Body, one I have done a few times.  It was still hard waking up at 4:20am...especially since I had stayed up late reading my book.  Yeah, what is wrong with me??  I had the chance to crawl into bed before 11pm and instead I sat on the couch and read my book until 11:45pm.  I am a glutton for punishment.

So, this past weekend while we were cleaning out closets I came across this lovely photo that I decided to post for Throwback Thursday on Facebook.  Since most of you reading this are either family or friends, you have probably already seen it, but for the tiny fraction that aren't friends with me on Facebook, here it is.

That's me, right there in the center.  For my birthday, when I was in high school, some friends of mine paid for a giant gorilla in a tu-tu to come to the restaurant I work at and sing Happy Birthday to me.  Umm, yeah.  Humiliating.  And I remember that the owners of the restaurant were none too thrilled because it made it difficult for people to get seated and get their food - obviously their first priority.  The gorilla was probably there for 15 minutes or so.  I think there may have been a video too.

Yesterday I also got my TB test.  My third.  It appears to be negative again.  Afterwards Evan and I headed to the nature preserve to do a little hiking.  It was so cute because Evan ran around like a crazy person.  

Look at him go - he was a blur.  Just running, running, running.  I remember when we first started gong here he could barely walk.   And now he's running.  He ran almost the full trail.  I just know he's gonna be a runner when he gets older! 

And he looks like such a little boy.  What happened to my baby?

He still loves playing on the tree stumps.  I think I've posted millions of versions of this same photo.  Evan on a tree stump.

 

And then it was back to exploring.  He found two pieces of wood that he thought were the best things ever.  And he carried them around for a long time.  I was a bit nervous that he'd trip and the wood would somehow poke his eye out - but luckily that didn't happen.

 

 

We had so much fun walking around.  We went down by the river and he threw a bunch of rocks into the water.  He thought this was the best activity ever.

 And he was totally into posing on tree stumps.

He'd jump up there and say "picture" and then strike a pose.  So darn cute.  Especially since normally it's impossible to get him to look at the camera.

We only had an hour there before it closed so it was a quick trip, but at least he didn't pitch a fit when we left.

Then it was home to make some Mexican Pizzas (corn tortillas topped with refried beans, cheese, tomatoes, ground turkey, and sour cream) and off to bed.

The days go by way too fast these days!

Meetings and Subscription Boxes

I am so glad yesterday is over and today has begun.  Not that yesterday was horrible, but it started off frustrating and it stayed that way.  I got up early to do my PiYo and then the DVD player wasn't working so I could only do 15 minutes of the workout.  Annoying.  I think I may have told you that yesterday.  But then my bus friend was on the bus and we hadn't seen each other since before I'd gone to Los Angeles so we had some catching up to do.  But I was tired and catching up meant I didn't get to sleep on the bus.  I got to work and just wanted to nap in my chair, but I didn't.  I didn't even drink caffeinated coffee!  So, I was tired all day.

I thought about not going on my run, but decided to go anyway.  I was glad I did because it turned out to be a good run and it woke me up.  Plus, there are a ton of African leaders in town for the USAfrica meetings so there are motorcades up the wazoo.  I saw two motorcades while on my run.  Big ones.  Where I had to stop on the corner and I couldn't move until a bunch of really big, armed SUVs passed by.  I didn't recognize the flags though, my African country flag knowledge is not that high.  I got back to work drenched in sweat but feeling good.

The rest of the day was uneventful until my Graze box came!

I had received a coupon for a free Graze box in a Barnes and Noble shipment and I decided to try it out.  It's a weekly subscription (although you can easily halt the subscription and not get snacks weekly) of different snack foods.  I opted for the calorie-counter box meaning the snacks are low calorie.  There were about 50 snacks to choose from and you can rate them so that the snacks you like you get more often.

I tried my first little box of bananas foster.  It had dried bananas, seeds, and little caramel blocks.  Very yummy and totally satisfying.  I had the box delivered to work so I could get the snacks at work and it was a spectacular idea.  I was really in a snack mood yesterday and wishing I had brought more food - so I was quite pleased when an entire box of snacks was delivered right to my office.

Then it was home, dinner, bed.  My goal was to get to bed before 10pm and I crawled in bed around 11pm, so not too horribly bad.  I made a stir fry with black soybean tofu for dinner.  I saw it at the grocery store and thought it looked good so went ahead and bought it.  It didn't taste any different than regular tofu (which is made with green soybeans) but maybe it had different health benefits.

Today is a long day of meetings - I am working out the details for my consulting plan at work.  I agreed to consult for 10 hours a week while in school.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well because I'd really like to see my grant through to the end and the extra money will be a HUGE benefit.  However, I'm worried it might be too much work or that I might end up having to do all the work.  So, we'll see. 

It's a rest day for running and I did my Define: Lower Body PiYo workout this morning.  I used the mini-DVD player this time so the DVD didn't skip and I was able to finish my workout.  I actually did the entire thing without stopping to take a rest.  That must mean some kind of progress, right?

What did you have for dinner last night?

Do you like online subscription boxes?  Which ones have you done?
-- I love Stitch Fix (clothes/accessories), Green Kids Crafts (craft box), Hello Fresh (meals), and CookSmarts (recipes).  I've wanted to try BirchBox (make-up) and StrideBox (runner gear) and Conscious Box, but think I've already maxed out on monthly subscriptions!

Eating more veggies and Evan's favorite place

One of my goals these days is to eat more vegetables.  I scarf so much fruit down (last week I ate 2 pounds of grapes in two days), which I don't think is bad, but I hardly ever eat any veggies.  Like none.  Sometimes I eat carrots and I eat cabbage in my eggs, but that's about it.  I'd really like to start incorporating more veggies into my meals, particularly lunch and dinner.  Maybe eventually I'll get veggies into my breakfast, but I'm not quite ready to go that far yet.  So, my first step in this plan was to actually buy vegetables!  On Friday, Evan and I walked (or ran, since I tend to turn any opportunity into a running opportunity) to my doctor's office so I could get my TB test read (I got a TB test last week but then totally forgot to actually get it read - so this was actually my second test).  On the way out, I spotted a Farmer's Market in the parking lot.  Perfect!  Since I had been at the doctor's and needed ID, I had my money with me (normally I don't carry my wallet on runs) so I could actually buy things.

This is what I ended up with:

Instagram: @mapleandmud

Some carrots, really, really sweet tomatoes, and string beans.  I also bought an Australian Crystal Apple Cucumber, which is a rare heirloom seed.  The guy selling it said that it tastes similar to honeydew.  I haven't tried it yet, but I'll let you know what it's like.

The string beans are purple and green, but when you cook them the purple ones turn green.  It's funny, but at least lets me know when they are done cooking.

Instagram: @mapleandmud

I sauteed the string beans in coconut oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.  They were pretty tasty.  I even cooked extra and brought some in my lunch today.  The tomatoes are good to snack on because they are so sweet, but I've also been eating them in salads too.

After the farmer's market we headed to the playground, of course.  The playground is always on our agenda when we are out for a run.  I feel like it's only fair that after sitting for an hour in the stroller Evan gets a bit of time to run around.  He loves the playground, until someone else shows up.  It's funny really - he'll be playing and running around and then the second someone else shows up he wants me to pick him up.  Randomly, our friends came to the playground while we were there and he totally clammed up.  After about 15 minutes he got enough courage to go play though, so that was good.  He loves this little yellow car.

He rocks it back and forth so fast.  I love this playground because it's fairly simple without too many large structures that he could fall off of.  Plus, it's often completely empty.

The see-saw or teeter-totter (not sure what the appropriate name is) is a great thigh workout for me because Evan likes to go up and down but I have to be sitting on the seat or he gets mad.  I tried to just push one side down, but that didn't work.  Of course not.  I need to be sitting and working my thighs.

The rest of the weekend was spent teaching golf, watching my nieces again, and getting household chores done.  While watching my nieces we made Power Packed Fruit and Veggie Muffins.  I found the recipe on Pinterest and decided to try it out.  They turned out really good and all the kids liked them, even though they saw me put broccoli and zucchini in the batter.  The only problem was they really stuck to the muffin baking cups.  The recipe noted this and suggested using parchment muffin baking cups, but the girls really, really wanted to use pretty baking cups.  So, we used the pretty ones and all the muffins stuck.  I did notice that when I put all the muffins in a zip lock baggie and the moisture kind of built up a little, the paper got damp and peeled off much easier.

Yesterday I didn't get a run in because it was pouring out in the morning.  I may have gone in the rain, but I wasn't going to make Evan go in the rain.  I was bummed because on top of running, the hubs and I had a date to go golfing together.  Oh well, hopefully we'll go next week instead.  Instead we put our bed back together, cleaned out a few closets, and did a lot of laundry.  Fun times people!

That was my weekend - nothing spectacular but still a good time.  This morning I got up to do PiYo Sweat but the DVD machine wasn't working very well so I only go 15 minutes of it done.  I guess better than nothing - but, I could have used those extra 15 minutes of sleep!

*************************
What was your best moment this weekend?

Do you say see-saw or teeter-totter?