Clarity and Appreciation

Last night it was made clear in my mind that I love my job...in the neonatal ICU. I was floated to another unit it was a pediatric unit and i went in with a good attitude because I hate when people come to our unit with a chip on their shoulder and pissed off because they had to float. However with that said it sucked I hated it I realize I dont like pedi I like babies... little ones...I appreciate my job alot more now honestly.

We all know it sucks floating to another unit, but deal with it. So I did. I guess my assignment wasnt bad but it was with kids who are larger than I can hold with two hands and one of them talked and was scared of nurses and I dont kmow what to do with big kids like that!!! I love my babies and last night made that even more clear to me.

This video has been floatin around facebook between some fellow NICU nurses but I wanted to share it here. I love this video and it tries to put into words and pictures why my job is so awesome!! It brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it.

super cool giveaway by Tay

so over at The Undomestic Goddess Tay is giving away this Sodastream you can make your own soda at home!! I think this would be so cool, if you go to their website they have the nutrition facts of their soda based on the brand name and to make it at home is way healthier and less expensive, also, you can use it to make your tap water into flavored sparkling water or an energy drink YUMMMMY

Bunny Hop Swap Goodies!!

So I participated in The Bunny Hop Swap, it was so much fun!! I was matched up with another blogger and we bought each other a lil easter basket with goodies.

I was paired up with Carol and she got me some of the cutest little goodies




This notebook was adorable I am going to use it for my weekly grocery list/meal planning as it has perforated pages


There was also this really cute little post it note set



Also included were these super cute plates and napkins I am so excited to use them, I dont think I need a special occasion but just use them because theyre cute :)


Thank you Carol this was so much fun!!

Stayin busy

So the past two weeks have been like a whirlwind, super duper busy, but very fun!!

We started of this craziness by going to Vegas March 23-25 (a tuesday through thursday) we went for my birthday just me and the hubby. It was so fun, The Venetian was having a special when we booked and we were able to upgrade to a suite for free.

This place was glorious mainly the shower is what exited me it had the rain shower head thing plus the body jets, I could have lived in there!! The bathroom was about as huge as the living space and it was all marble and very pretty. We were slightly disappointed by the comfort level on the bed though we would have thought they would have invested in some softer sheets or something.

We didn't do alot of gambling actually we just stuck to the penny slots. I have not the slightest clue how to play any of the card games but we decided when we go back we will study up on some of them so we can participate. Mark likes blackjack but decided not to make me sit around and wait for him even though I said it was ok I didn't mind. We really just did alot of walking around but thats fine by me :)There is so much to see in Vegas that thats all we really had time for.


For my birthday we went to eat at this super fancy restaurant and had one of the best meals I have had in my life!! I got the Kobe beef flat iron steak which came with a small dallop of mashed potatoes and one carrot haha and then we got a bowl of sauted serrano peppers which I was hesitant of at first but they were so amazing not the slightest bit spicy. I also ordered this sushi that had pop rocks in it!! It was quite the delicious experience and I would have never thought to put pop rocks in sushi but it totally rocked!!! Then after dinner we went to see a Cirque du Soleil show "O" It was fantastic and think everyone should get a chance to see it!


Then we came home thursday and friday I left for Austin to run another 1/2 marathon with my mom. This one was the best it was the ZOOMA womens race series in Austin. The course was beautful, lots of clean porta potties with TP and then after the race we got free massages, free beer and wine, free lunch and lots of other free goodies...because you know thats totally why I run for the free beer and goodies at the end!!



I beat my last time by 24mins!! I did the race in 2:03 which now makes me want to beat my time and do it under 2 hours!! I know if I train I can do it because I really didnt train for this one I admit it! My mom was a total rockstar too, she had a pretty serious calf injury about 9 weeks ago and was instructed by her doc not to run, but shes too competitive and did anyway and actually beat her last time by 4 minutes!! The picture above is actually her crossing the finish line.

The weekend was a great girls bonding time with my mom hangin at the pool and chattin it up!!

Then I worked during that next week and headed back to Austin last weekend for my sweet friends wedding shower and bachelorette party she is such a sweet girl and we had an amazing time and I am so excited to be in her wedding in May it will be my first time as a bridesmaid!! Her shower was like one out of the movies. It was so much fun and so amazing I am going to dedicate it to a post by itself!!

Now I am back home trying to get my life back into routine and back into the daily grind, but man the last two weekd sure were a blast!

25

I turned 25 on Sunday, I am a quarter century old!! So much has happened in my 24th year of life!! I would say it was defanitly a fabulous year!

My 24th year started off with a trip to Belize with my mother and Grandmother and Dos Amigos a group out of Slidell, LA that does dental/medical missions in Belize. It was my grandmas last year and the first year there were three generations of us there together, It was an absolutely amazing trip and I want to go back again some time.


Then not long after Belize I got engaged!!!

The rest of the year was a whirlwind of wedding planning, we moved out of our ghetto apt and into a much nicer apartment in the medical center which I love!

I also went on my first cruise with my bestie Erin we went out of Galveston to Grand Cayman, Cancun, and Jamaica, we did so many fun things and it was such a fun and relaxing trip


I ran my first Half Marathon!! The San Antonio Rock and Roll it was so much fun and defanitly spurred my passion for running and stirred up my competitive side, I beat my time by 24 minutes 4months later the day before my birthday this year (more on that to come)

Then later in the year I had an awesome bridal shower and bachelorette party thrown by my amazing bridesmaids

I then was married on January 16, 2010 the most amazing day my wedding was perfect and I couldnt have asked for anything more!! I promise I am going to have a post about the wedding but I want to wait till I have the pro pics as mine really dont do the day any justice!!!


After the awesome wedding we went on our honeymoon it was to Antigua the sandals resort there and it also was so perfect I debated whether I would come home or not!! The all inclusive route was defanitly the way to go!!



And that concludes the highlights of my 24th year of life it was a really good one and I think my 25th year will be just as good with much in store I cant wait to see what God has in store for me this year!!

Pan Grilled Veggie Pasta Primavera

So lately we have been trying to eat a lot healthier more veggies and fruits less simple carbs and sweets. The sweets one is hard for me because I have such a sweet tooth lately like the past three months all I want is desserts and to bake and candy and chocolate, but I must control myself as all is well with moderation so I just keep that in mind.

I wanted to try this new recipe that was in My Womens Health Magazine

Pan Grilled Veggie Pasta Primavera
my adaptations in parenthesis

Ingedients:
8 oz. dry whole grain linguine (bow tie pasta, I realized we had run out of the healthy linguine)
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow summer squash, sliced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 medium red onion, sliced (used regular onion)
PAM Olive Oil No-Stick cooking spray (used regular olive oil)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 14.5 can diced tomatoes with Basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained (Used HEB Diced tomatoes with sweet onions)
1/4 cup Parm Cheese

1. Cook Pasta; Drain and keep warm in pan

2. Place Zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper and onion in a large bowl. Coat with Olive Oil and sprinkle oregano, salt, and black pepper; toss (I didnt add salt and pepper here)

3. Heat Large skillet over high heat. Add vegetables; cok 6 minutes or until crisp tender, stirring frequently. Remove from pan and keep warm


4. Add undrained tomatoes and vegetables to pasta; toss until well mixed. sprinkle with cheese, serve warm (I did not use nearly as much cheese as they say just a dusting of cheese)


Per Serving Calories 254; Fat 4g

I thought this had such good flavor, I was a little unsure at first but its so good and so healthy for you!! This would probably be good as a cold pasta salad too.

Ten on Tuesday

ok so I have been a hrrible blogger lately, I was actually waiting to get my picture cd from the wedding to do that and I still dont have it and then every time I think of something to blog about I feel it might be too boring. But, I have decided to write what I feel like writing and if your bored then don't read it.

But to get myself started up again I am going to start doing this Ten on Tuesday thing where you answer a list of ten questions every tuesday


1. Of your current hobbies, which would you choose to spend more time, money, and effort on? Why? Running. I have been so very bad about running lately and today had a very frustrating realization that if I dont get my arse in gear I am going to be very miserable and frustrated in about 2 weeks when I run my next 1/2 marathon. I love running but its one of those things where once you get out of the habit its so hard to get back, and I used to use my mom as my motivation and since she got injured it has made things very hard for me to get motivated, and then the weather has not been stellar lately it seems its beautiful on the days I work and rainy and cold and thunderstorms on the days Im off. Running long distances takes a lot of time and I just need start being more diligent about it.

2. List the two other hobbies/habitual activies (not chores) besides the one listed above that you regularly do now and didn’t choose in question one. Cooking, Reading.

3. Why are you spending time on the above two hobbies/habitual activies at all if you really wanted to spend your time on the first one you chose? …or to put it another way, what are these two hobbies/habitual activities fullfilling that the first one doesn’t if you don’t want to put all your effort into the first hobby? LIke I said I need to rerganize my priorities and I love cooking and reading they take little to no effort where as running is very taxing on my body and mind

4. Ready John 3:16 in the bible… In what way does this passage affect you? What are your feelings towards these words, positively or negatively? This passage is one of my favorites, to imagine that God would sacrifice his ONLY son so that I can have eternal life and no suffering makes me speechless

5. M&M’s: nuts, no nuts, or peanut butter? no nuts or peanut butter but defanitly not with nuts EEW, oh and I LOVE the dark chocolate ones

6. Putting away the feeling of pride being a bad thing; what secretly/openly are you proud about yourself? I am so proud of the fact that I have been able to run a 1/2 marathon and that I am able to do what I do at work and have a great job which I love

7. Given one room in the house to do with what you want, not changing the actual size of the room and with all the money you would need, what would you do, and be specific? (this can range from bouncy floor,walls & ceilings; to hard wood floor with wood paneling and purple ceiling with a chair; to nothing) Well If I had a house I would remodel to kitchen to be huge with a huge island and tons of storage and pantry space, it would have granite counter tops and dark cherry wood cabinets a huge gas stove with one of those ovens like Paula Dean has and a french door fridge and also dark wood floors and a pot rack, the backsplash would be like and ivory colored rough stone in a cool design ...you said be specific

8. What’s the next movie you’re going to see? Not what you’d LIKE to GO see, but the next movie you realistically are going to watch. No clue, saw Alice in Wonerland last night and that was the one on my list I wanted to see

9. Use the keyboard only and make your best smiley/funny/cool face –> like this! 8^) @:o

10. What makes you cry? What makes you pray? What makes you laugh? Lots of things can make me cry a sappy commercial, a very sick patient at work who I put lots of effort into caring for who then goes to be with the angels, weddings and new babies. I pray constantly about everything I would not be as happy as I am in life and would not be where I am today if it were not for prayer. I laugh about alot too stupid things make me laugh, I am easily amused