Unsolicited Advice

Thank you SO much for all the support in my starting CNA class.  I've definitely been pretty tight lipped about my long term goals in nursing since I'm not there yet and it is so competitive that it really freaks me out. 


Yay!  I'm so glad we can all suffer together from our less than clear complexions at times.  Hey, we're all human, right?  


I am in a better mood this week.  Things are still busy, but I feel like I'm keeping up better and enjoying the ride.  Could be because my gigantic lab test over muscles and bones is over with.  Whew!

CNA school is going swell, we practice taking blood pressure often because it is the trickiest skill to learn and I feel like I'm really getting the hang of it. I feel totally important in scrubs with a stethoscope around my neck (which really is the easiest way to hold it when hands are busy).

Scrubs are so darn comfy.

And would you look at what I did all by myself to my (never manicured) nails:

So flipping cute.  I can't get over these.

They are actually the stick-on nail colors.  I was really skeptical about them but could NOT pass up the polka dots.  You have to work a little quickly, but the plus is that there's no drying time!  I can't sit still long enough to let regular nail polish dry.  They make me look a lot more high maintenance that I really am.

And to top it all off, I finally got the curtain hung over the bathroom window.  This is on the side of the tub.  I realize you can't really see much of the curtain in this picture.  It's a transparent bronzy color.

Everyone likes a hot bath next to pretty things right?

Oh, and by the way, I've found the BEST thing to help with those cystic zits (hard, painful, don't come to a head) I was complaining about last week.  Here's your unsolicited advice from me:

Peter Thomas Roth AHA/BHA clearing gel.  

It's a little pricey, but you can ask for a free sample at Sephora and a little goes a long way and it LASTS.

October Goals


Sunday: rest
Monday: another 6:30 am workout: legs (Oh the burn!)
Tuesday: arms + abs
Wednesday: rest (I am now completely crippled)
Thursday: sick
Friday: sick
Saturday: sick




Arg, I keep getting the same cold for a couple of days, then it comes back again! What the heck?!?  I've noticed though that exercising regularly seems to help me get well faster from colds.  Win.

My track record has not been great for October.  But, it's been a super busy and stressful month so I'm not going to waste any time feeling guilty about it.

I also ate oatmeal twice this week.  I'm not much of an oatmeal person. So it's a sign that I was sick. ;)  No photo, I'm confident you all know what oatmeal looks like.

I also made a batch of tortellini soup just in time for my cold and it was definitely comforting between sniffles, sore throat and muffled hearing.

Yum.  

Lots of lunch salads lately.  No, this was not solely my lunch.  I can't remember what else I had.  Probably soup.

I like to toss my greens with the dressing before adding other stuff.

Some of the last zucchini (arg, that is a hard word to spell) and asparagus of the season.

Plus a salmon burger, LOVE those.

Now, if only I could get some more baking into my life.  I miss it.

It's nearly Halloween!  Are you dressing up this year?


What is a recipe I should bake asap?  Links please!

p.s. if you're viewing this in a reader, click over to see my recent tweaks to my blog design.


p.p.s.  I'm finally getting professional help!  For my blog that is.  Stay tuned.

Zits and Other Rambles

How is it already Wednesdsay!?! Bear with me if I'm not little miss sunshine today.  It's been another exhausting week.  The kind where you lay in bed at night and can't shut your brain off.  I don't even work full time.  I'm a whiner.

Can we skip my October goals this week?  Yes?


If you are dying of curiosity:

Monday: pilates with the ball
Tuesday: brisk walk
Saturday: 3 1/2 hours of mowing the lawn (after putting it off for a month)

I have nothing more to say about that.  The end.  I have no food pictures this week, so I'll entertain you with some recent pictures-- including Hunter.

He is so serious. 

This was one of those weeks.  One where you feel like life is just dragging you along and all you do is hang on for dear life.  You go where you are supposed to but you feel like the days are just whizzing by.

Oh, and I am in the middle of learning a zillion bones and their landmarks as well as 50 muscles and their movements.  Only the second number is accurate.  It is interesting, except for the looming dread in the back of my mind that I'll have to take a massive test on this in 2 weeks.  Whee!

How cute is this teapot?

So let's talk about skin.  I actually just learned about skin in anatomy and how acne is a disorder of the sebaceous glands.  Somehow, knowing what causes breakouts isn't comforting.  For a good two months now, I have had worse acne than when I was a teenager.

Nothing takes a hit to self confidence like bad skin.  Lovely, right?

Even worse is I've been getting those really deep, really big and painful cysts that take FOREVER and a day to even come to a head, and double that time to go away.  TMI?

Hopefully my skin clears before pigs fly.

I hope it's finally clearing.  I've tried reducing the amount of dairy and peanuts (both are suspected to cause breakouts), washing my face morning and night (though I always do that), drinking lots of water, taking vitamins, eating clean(er) but I have a hunch it's hormones.  Sigh.

AND NO I'M NOT PREGNANT.

This makes me feel oh, so Canadian.

I do have an announcement though.

While I finish up my prerequisites to apply for nursing school, I am starting CNA school this week.  It's twice a week for 4 hours.  My teacher is the sweetest, sweetest older southern woman.  My classmates are quite the eclectic group, two are from Congo, my desk partner is from Bosnia and one is from Thailand.

This is a big step and I'm both nervous and excited.  Tuesday was my first class and if there is one thing I learned it was: you are the nurses' gopher.  But I'm ok with that.  I can't wait to start taking anyone's blood pressure who will loan me their arm.

I love Pilates

(And my husband of course!)

Especially since he gave me these for our anniversary:

I swear that vase has almost 2 gallons of water in it. 

This was a long, exhausting, busy week.  I had two quizzes and one exam and I only have school twice a week!   At the end of the day, it's nice to feel like I've accomplished a lot.  Now if only my house would clean itself...  :/

But let's just chat for a minute.  How are you?  How about the inevitable coming of fall?  It rained almost all of this week which was glorious (I love the rain) but I couldn't completely enjoy it since I know that soon enough it will be snow and freezing temperatures.  Sigh.  

I kind of got sick this weekend.  Sort of a sore/golf ball in my throat, tired, no appetite.  Seems like it's going around.  

Today, all the primary children got to practice for their program in two weeks.  Since I teach the (now) 4 year old "sunbeams", they had a hard time sitting still... I had a hard time sitting still.  And for so much sitting and wrangling wiggling boys and girls I am bushed.  Bless their wiggly little hearts. 

Then this evening, I got a nice little surprise at my doorstep.

Things like this really make my day.  

Even though I have a tough exterior, I can feel left out sometimes and it was so nice to know I was thought of!

October goals:

Sunday: rest

Monday: early morning weights: arms, shoulders, chest and back

Tuesday: rest (body rested, brain studying in overdrive!)

Wednesday: pilates with the exercise ball

Thursday: cardio hodge podge: 30 min on the treadmill, 10 minutes on the stair climber, 20 min on the eliptical

Friday: sick

Saturday: sick

Wednesday, I almost talked myself out of a workout for no reason other than being lazy.  Instead of going to the gym, I decided to do some pilates with the exercise ball.  It had been much too long since I'd done pilates and this only reminded me that they will always be my favorite.

Best breakfast:

Thursday morning, I was inspired by this breakfast quesadilla.  I changed it a bit by using 2 egg whites plus one egg, colby jack cheese and adding some shredded spicy chicken that I made in the crockpot on Sunday with some red enchilada sauce and salsa.

Best lunch:

Keeping up with the theme of breakfast.  Butter lettuce mix, red beans, spicy shredded chicken, Greek yogurt, guacamole, crushed Food Should Taste Good chips. 

Best dinner:

How about a tie?

Szechuan shrimp + green beans.

Poached eggs + spinach sauteed with a bit of lemon juice.

Just because I was feeling under the weather didn't mean I couldn't do a little fall decorating. 

Remember this from last year?

Back on Track

Well!  Taking a week off definitely put the spring back in my step!  I was worried that I might have a tough time getting back into my routine, but it turns out I just felt energized to get moving.

Today is a BIG day!  It's Jeremy and my 4th wedding anniversary.

Hard to believe it has been so long because, as cliche as it sounds, it doesn't feel that long.  Which I guess is a good thing.

I'm so lucky.  We've been through so much together as any couple will but the thing that really glues us together is two things.

1) Our faith.  Being able to come together to learn and pray really has brought us so much closer.
2) Our laughter.  If there's anything you should know about me is that I'm a total goof ball.  Despite sometimes embarrassing my husband with my antics, we have a lot of fun together.  We need a reality show.

While I could never count all the things I love about Jeremy, here are just a few:

-He always encourages me.  

-He believes in me, even when I don't.

-He makes me laugh.
-He teaches me new things when I least expect it.

-He is patient with me when I am stubborn (a lot).

-He is a good snuggler.

-He is good at fixing things. 

-He stays calm when I panic, like when Hunter took a tumble.
-He is a good cook.
-He helps me clean.
-His smile and his belly laugh.
-His efforts to surprise me-- it's not easy.
-He does sweet things like leave me a note telling me he loves me.

-

Dawww... 

September Goals:

Sunday: rest
Monday: spinning
Tuesday: hot yoga take 2
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 5.48 mi run (truth: ran 4.5 with short walking breaks, cool down walk for last mile)
Friday: rest
Saturday: impromptu rest

Hot yoga take 2:  This week was slightly better than last week because
1) I knew what to expect
2) I remembered to breathe (do you ever hold your breath when you're concentrating hard on a pose?)
3) I wasn't directly under a heating vent and
4) I woke up a little earlier so I didn't feel quite so groggy.
There is nothing quite like finishing up a yoga class to the sunrise.

5.48 mi run: Wow!!  My friend and I set out with her baby in the jogger, and Hunter on the leash.  We planned to try for at least 4.5 miles, to which I promply whined at but grudgingly agreed.  We took a route we were fairly used to and by the time we took a stopping break, we had already run over 4 miles!

At this point, we decided to go ahead and run another mile or so and then walk back home for a much needed cool down.  Hunter completed a new PDR! The farthest he's ever run is a 5k and today we nearly doubled that.  Horray Hunter!

Best breakfast:

4 egg whites + 1 egg + spinach + cheese, bagel thin with butter and strawberry preserves.

Lunches

More sammiches!  Tuna + sprouts + spinach + avocado. 

Falafel with homemade tzatziki.  Salad with dried cherries, feta, blue cheese, sunflower seeds, almonds and cucumber with white balsamic vinaigrette. 

Best dinner:

Rice + sauteed broccoli + kielbasa sausage.

Best snack:

Ms. How Sweet's  Crazy Feta!   I halved the recipe, but it only took me two days to polish off. 

Best dessert:

The lovely Lindsay recommended these to me and they are SO good!  

Sorry Hunter, dairy is a big no no for doggies.  

This post is getting long so I'll try to keep this last part short and sweet.

October:

1.  Keep drinking water.  I kind of petered  out at the end of the month on this one.

2.  Take my vitamins more regularly.  I definitely improved but I still need to be more consistent.

3. Continue exercise 4-5 days a week.  I have no problem taking an extra rest day if I need it. 

4. Do yoga or pilates at least once a week.  With increased running, I need some extra stretching.

5. Kick the scale to the curb.  More on this soon.

6. Keep up with my grades.  So far, I've been kicking it in anatomy, but the hardest is yet to come. 

Ok!  I might add a few more goals to this list but that's all for now!

I was featured on Healthy Living Blogs!  Click here to check it out. :D

Have a fantastic week!


What is something that connects you and your significant other?  Or what is something you look for in a partner?