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!

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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!  

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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?