First Day

I survived my first day of school.  I feel like it was a huge accomplishment because it was not very fun.  It should have been really easy because two of my labs were canceled so I only had one class.  No, it was mega stressful and I got a headache early in the day and it didn't go away until 10pm.  It was manageable until I was sitting in lecture, then it got worse, and then it got even worse when I got home.  I took two Motrin at school and they didn't help at all and so I took two Aleve when I got home and those finally helped a few hours later.  Yikes, let's hope the rest of the days aren't quite as horrible.

I'm not even sure what was so bad.  I hung out with a few people I met all day.  We got a table in the library and studied for a few hours before lecture.  I did some work-work for about two hours and then switched to reading for my lecture class.  It took me a bit longer to read because I was interested in the stuff and didn't just want to skim through it.  Then I decided I wanted to go for a run before lecture.  By the time I changed, headed out, and got back I only had 15 minutes before class so I had to change super quickly (while I was still sweating) and run to class.  The class was pretty good but they went over so many different things for lecture and lab and community clinicals and exams and quizzes that I was pretty lost.  It was a bit intense. 

Here are some observations I had throughout the day:

1) When people around you stress out, it makes you feel worse.  I need to surround myself with more people who have positive energy because it was not helpful that the people I was sitting with were stressing over everything.  I am really trying to approach school the same way I did work and that is with a positive attitude and with a calm outlook.  I can stress or I can not, and I will be in the same place and still have the same amount of work.  I would prefer to not stress.  We'll see how long that lasts.

2) A lot of people are already friends and I feel like an outsider. Not the best feeling, but I hope I find some people I really connect with.  The people I hung out with yesterday were really friendly and fun, but they were already friends and they didn't really click with me in the sense that we were going to be best buds.  Maybe after a while we will bond, but it would be nice to get to know everyone and to find some common souls.

3) Running in Baltimore is WAY different than running in DC!  When I lived in Baltimore before, I ran up in the northern part, but now I am in a completely different section of the city.  Most of the streets were ok and not too sketchy, but there weren't a lot of people out (walking around or running) and it felt way different than the streets of DC that are filled with runners, tourists, Secret Service, etc.  It was pretty though and a nice route.

4) My days are a lot more busy than they were at work.  I had more down time at work where I could take a breather, chat with my co-workers, make a phone call, etc.  Yesterday was pretty full of reading, working, and attending class.  I guess I got a run in there but it felt like everything was so much more scheduled, and it is.  I am bound by my classes and study times and I don't really make my own schedule.  However, it is exciting and fun learning new things and being in a school environment.  

5) The bus ride is much shorter!  It was so nice getting to class and home in less than an hour combined.  So much less time wasted on a long commute.  Of course,  no napping or anything, but I can deal with that without too many problems.

6) I can still drive a stick shift.  Ok, not really related to school but kind of is.  We got our new car from my co-worker and it's a stick shift.  Ivan made me take it out for a drive and I didn't die once.   I learned how to drive on a stick shift and my first car was a stick shift that I drove for about 6 or 7 years.  I didn't particularly enjoy it and I will always prefer an automatic, but it is kind of like riding a bike.  Once you learn you don't ever really forget.  I drove it home from the bus stop yesterday and am still slow going into 1st gear but I moved and didn't die.

I think those are my only comments.  I am on the bus heading back to school today.  I have some readings to skim before my 9am class and then I have an afternoon to get some more work done before heading home (my afternoon class was canceled).  So, first day was a mix of everything: excitement, stress, nervousness, interest, and everything in between.  I will be happy when I feel like I have things figured out and get into a routine!  And I miss my fun co-workers and hope I meet people as cool as they are.

And because I have no pictures of school yet (I am sure snapping candid photos around school would not help me make friends), here is a fun picture of Evan from this past weekend.

We went to the playground a bunch of times throughout the weekend and he wanted to bring his fox each time.  Mimi made it for him and he put it down the slide numerous times.  He also gave him a few kisses here and there.  It was pretty adorable.  It looks like he's picking his nose here, but he's not.  If you look closely you can tell he's just pointing to your nose - and that is because in order for me to get him to look at the camera, I asked him where his nose was.  This is him showing me his nose!

[EDIT:  It is now later because I didn't have time to post earlier and Day 2 of nursing school is a lot better.  I don't feel quite so overwhelmed.  And I met a new friend which is nice and she's in my lab group so we will be working together a lot.  ]

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!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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!  

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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!

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What was your best moment this weekend?

Do you say see-saw or teeter-totter?

PiYo and Pinterest

I have nothing much of interest to report on.  I didn't take any pictures so I have nothing much to show you either.  Guess this is going to be a really exciting post! 

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a run.  It was only 59 degrees in the morning.  It felt great, even though there was a small bit of humidity.  I just did my regular four mile loop.  Then I came home and did my Define: Upper Body PiYo workout.  It wasn't too bad.  Today I got up and did my Define: Sweat workout and boy was I sweating.  And exhausted.  I thought getting up at 4:30am was exhausting, but getting up an extra 20 minutes early really puts me over the edge.  I've had to have real coffee every day this week, which I NEVER do.  There's real caffeinated coffee in there!!!

Next week my goal is to get to bed earlier!  I can't tell how well the PiYo is working (i.e. am I getting "toned") because I'm never super sore afterwards...but is that because I am being lazy and not working hard enough?  Some of the moves are complicated and I'm probably not doing them exactly right, but I think after doing it a few times I'll start getting better at it.  I hope.

Yesterday I made another Pinterest meal that was pretty decent.  It was called One-Pan Chicken Burrito Bowls. 

Photo Credit: no. 2 pencil

It turned out pretty good and Ivan really liked it.  Total win!!!! The only reason I wasn't a huge fan was because it was made with white rice and I'd prefer to eat brown rice.  I had bought brown rice to make with it but then the cooking times are so different that I was unsure if it was ok to make the switch.  Plus, it was 7pm by the time I started cooking and white rice only has to cook for 20 minutes and brown rice has to cook for 40.  It was still good, especially topped with Greek yogurt and avocado.

Although Wednesdays are work-from-home days when I am supposed to be finished work early and able to get dinner on the table early...I tend to take Evan out to play after picking him up from daycare.  Today we met my friend Anne (from my A&P class) and her daughter at the park.  Anne did an accelerated nursing program and today is her last day!!!  She's doing an RN program (a two-year degree vs. BSN which is a four year degree) and graduates this summer.  Then I start a few weeks later.  Yikes!  I still can't believe it is coming so soon. 

Today I sign my loan papers for $20,000 from Wells Fargo though - so it's about to become super real.  Scary stuff people, scary stuff.  Wells Fargo now owns me.  And my family.  And my future.

Ok - I am about to fall asleep while writing this so I am going to nap for the last hour of this bus ride. 

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What good Pinterest recipes have you made lately?

White rice or brown?

My last work trip and a PR

I've been gone for a while and I have so much to tell you.  I still haven't even posted about my last day in Vermont, which I still want to do.  Maybe you aren't that interested but I want the memory written down.  However, today I am going to give you a quick recap of my trip to Los Angeles, which is where I was for the past week-ish.

But first, my exciting PR news.

Yesterday I ran a neighborhood 5k.  I'd been doing some speed work and signed up for this race specifically to see whether I could improve my speed.  My previous PR had been 23:49 back when I was 21 years old and I was hoping to beat that.  And I did!!!  Not by much, but my new PR is 23:46 - a whole 3 seconds faster.  However, I am definitely NOT 21 anymore so I was excited that I actually got a new PR.  I came in 19th place overall (out of 376 people) and 3rd place for my age group.  Excitement people!

And now, a quick recap of my trip to LA.

Every year I organize HIV testing for a big national conference.  This year the conference was in Los Angeles so my co-worker and I headed out there.  With Evan (because he hasn't missed a work trip yet) and my Aunt Pam (who was nice enough to come hang out with Evan while I was working).
 

This conference is huge and stressful and I am pretty much stressed from May until I get back into the office and have paid all of the bills and our boxes are returned.  The thing about this event is something, or many things, always goes wrong.  It's a huge exercise in problem solving.  This year was no different.  All kinds of crazy things went wrong, but luckily it was a huge success on the outside.  No one but us knew the internal drama and disasters that were going on behind the scenes.

I'm not going to describe them all because I am sure my work is not the most interesting thing to read about, but I will describe one.  Like how we brought in a mobile testing unit this year and the unit ran on a diesel generator and we couldn't run it inside the convention center.  That meant that our entire testing unit had to be run on the battery...the lights, the refrigerator that held the tests, etc.,  and there was no air conditioner so the temperature kept rising and the tests become unstable in temps higher than 86 degrees.  Nice.  So we ended up having to run to an auto parts store, buy a 12-volt battery, and plug it into the wall.  This actually didn't solve the problem because it still wasn't enough power and although the fridge was working, we could only turn the lights on in one testing room.  Ahhh!!  These are some of the problems I dealt with.  Fun stuff.  It made for a very long trip with anxiety as to what disaster we were gong to be faced with each day.

However, we did squeeze in a bit of fun.  My aunt and I made it out to the Santa Monica beach!

As you can see - I made another tragic weather assumption.  I thought Los Angeles was going to be HOT so I brought a bunch of shorts and t-shirts for Evan and me.  Nope.  It was chilly.  Evan had to wear my sweater when we went to the beach because it was so chilly.  Next time we go anywhere I'm just going to bring a bunch of sweaters and pants no matter what the temperature is supposed to be because I sure can't seem to figure it out!

We walked along the promenade (I think that is what they called it).  The houses right on the beach were beautiful. I was wishing I could go for a run along the promenade, but obviously that was not going to happen!  Plus it was downright cold so I would have wanted long pants and a long sleeved shirt, which of course I didn't bring.

And the pier was fun too.  A bit crowded for me, but it was fun people-watching for a while. 

We walked around long enough to see the sunset, which was beautiful.

I think this was the first time I'd seen the sunset over the beach.  On the east coast we usually have to get up really early to watch the sunrise, but never the sunset.  It was beautiful.  Actually, I changed my mind.  I think I've seen the sunset on the Pacific coast when I was in Acapulco like ten years ago.  But usually I think of sunrises on the beach and not sunsets.  Both are equally stunning and beautiful.  And really, can you see those people in the water??!!  It was freezing out!! 

That night we ate at Seasons 52.  I had never heard of it, although I guess there is one in northern Virginia (and I just looked at the website and one is opening near me soon).  The name means something like 4 seasons (they have a different menu each season) and 52 weeks in a year.  And everything on the menu is less than 475 calories - however, that doesn't mean you can't order an appetizer for 475 calories and then a meal for 475 calories, and then a dessert for 475 calories.  I got the Summer Vegetarian Tasting which was sooooo good.  It had a quinoa-citrus salad, soft taco, seasonal vegetables, and cedar-roasted tofu with a tropical salsa.  It was delicious.  Evan got the kiddie flat bread pizza and LOVED it.  He loves pizza these days.  I try to make it at home with whole wheat pita so that it is a bit healthier than Papa Johns.

The rest of the trip was pretty much taken up with work, work, work, and dinner.  We ate at the Yard House twice (both times I got the 5oz burger - for some reason I was really craving burgers), George's Greek Grill, The Farm of Beverly Hills,(for breakfast and dinner), and The Original Pantry Cafe (a historic cafe that's been open since 1924 - and actually opened since that day, it's never closed because it's 24/7 and they say they've been opened and had a least one customer since then).  I'm not sure why I think you're interested in where we ate every day, but I guess since all I did was eat and work, I figured I'd share.  If you are ever in downtown LA, these were all good restuarants.

We stayed at the JW Marriott LA Live, which was right next to the Staples Center.  Lady Gaga played there the last night we were there.  It was VERY interesting to see what people were wearing (or not wearing...lots of skin showing) to the concert. 

The hotel was beautiful and Evan loved hanging out by the window looking at the pool.

Luckily my aunt was nice enough to take him to the pool a few times.  He LOVES the pool and literally spent hours looking at it from our room and saying "agua" over and over again.  It was adorable, until the 900th time.

At the conference I got the pleasure of meeting Dora and her new friends, Kate and Pablo.

I wrote a little sign for my niece that said, "Good luck in kindergarten Peyton, Love Dora" and I was SOOOO excited to show her the photo.  She starts kindergarten this year and I thought that she'd be really excited to get this little picture from Dora.  I posted it on Facebook and my sister said she was really excited.

The only other experience was the 5 hour non-stop flight with Evan, by myself.  Evan's come on all my work trips so I am used to traveling with him alone.  However, before this trip, the longest we'd been cramped on a plane was 4 hours.  Not that an hour is that much more, but in toddler hours - it is FOREVER.  Plus, the plane was completely full so there was no space.  Evan and I were jammed into one seat by the window.  Surprisingly, he was an angel both there and back.

That's not a very flattering photo of either of us, but it was hard to get one.  He was so good on the way there that TWO people complimented me on how well-behaved he was.  Now, I did come prepared with books, toys, one or two iPad apps (he is not allowed on the iPad anymore due to a few breakdowns when I took the iPad away from him...it was great for the plane and for the trip, but definitely not ready for an iPad-addicted toddler), and lots of patience.  I really think the key was staying calm myself and pretending we were at home and not on a small, confined plane with a large audience.  The way back he slept for 2/3 of the flight (amazing) and so that was a small blessing.  I still nurse him on take-off and landing (even when we are jammed super close to our seatmates and it's a bit uncomfortable), so that works like a charm.  And it calms him down when he starts getting antsy, which is nice.

So, that was my trip.  I got back on Tuesday night but I took the rest of the week off because my sister was out of town and so we didn't have any daycare.  And plus, we needed all that time to readjust to East Coast time!  We just hung around, met up with friends, and played.

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Sunsets or sunrises at the beach?

Your saving grace for long plane rides?

Favorite restaurant??