Gave up coffee....

Maybe I should have done it for lent.  The fact that I don't know much about lent shouldn't matter, it's participating in life!  

I didn't do it for lent.  I started reviewing the foods that I eat so that when I commit to my Whole30 days of clean eating I know where my weakness's are. One of them is coffee.  I love coffee, especially good coffee.  I love fancy coffee drinks too.  I found that I am spending too much money and calories on coffee. I don't like drinking my calories either.  

I found a delicious tea and I've been drinking it with a spoonful of coconut milk in it.  OMG, so good!  When I say coconut milk I mean the canned, very thick and delicious fatty kind.  After 3 days I realized I hadn't drank any coffee.  Well that was easy.

I definitely didn't mean to go 5 day without posting.  I love posting on my blog and had lots of great ideas!  I hate catching up with posts.  It's a love/hate relationship! This last weekend of work pretty much handed me my ass on a plate.  All three nights I worked I flew all night long.  I didn't get much sleep and by the time I got home yesterday I was so tired!  I slept 12 hours last night and I'm still tired!  

I love my job but over the weekend when I realized I would be spending the entire time up in Rock Springs because of the weather I was not happy.  I only have Daniel left at home (Sami moved out last week - I could do an entire post on that situation itself!) and the two dogs are here and I just worry.  A lot.  By the end of Saturday I was pretty much ready to look for another job.  Cut down my hours, something.  I was feeling pretty down.  I am sure that most people go through it with their jobs.  I have before and luckily I'm smart enough to not have any knee-jerk reactions because the next day was awesome!  

It was a beautiful day to fly!!

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Clear blue skies and tall mountains.  Fresh air and lots of sun!

I was excited to fly even though my medic left me in the back alone and flew "co-pilot"

Looking back it was a good idea.  By the end of our 24 hours o'hell there may have been a little snapping/yelling/swearing.  And not all by me! 

(not at all inappropriate...considering the situation)

That day we transferred a wonderful patient.  So sick and so sad.  Sometimes bad shit happens to good people.  She really touched my heart.  I wanted to scoop her up and tell her everything would be OK.  I did my best to make her comfortable and she and her family did more for me then they will ever know. They were so grateful and kind.  It was humbling and gave me a new excitement for what I do and what I was doing with my life.  Sure I had to make sacrifices to be a flight nurse and work away from home, but look what I can do.  I can make a difference that doesn't make everything better but puts a little flavor into a crap sammich.  

After we dropped her off I went to visit the patient from the night before.   A patient that was having a really bad week but that was grateful and kind.  Sometimes we get patients after a couple of doctors down the way have messed up or missed something. Makes me feel so good to get them where they can get some real help.  I follow up too....so you doctors out there that are taking care of my patient, I'm watching you!!  Hahaha.  He was so happy to see me and was happy for his care.  

I was yet to do two more middle of the night transports (over the next 2 nights) and I was tested to the very limits of my patience and energy. But with the help of some great medics and kind doctors all went well.  I'm going to keep my job.   I am so grateful for those moments that make me re-evaluate and appreciate life, my family and my job. 

I even made some chicken breasts that were so delicious and had two Paleo/whole30 friendly meals!

I downloaded Nom Nom Paleo's recipe app.  Best food app ever!!  I love it!  The pictures are amazing and instructions simple.  You can put together a shopping list as you browse your recipes.  She even has a Whole30 section!

I also got a sneak preview of this book:

I really like it!  She gives pretty clear instructions on how to prep only once a week and have easy meals!  The key to eating clean is having something to eat when you are hungry that doesn't take a lot of preparation.  Lets face it, we are a busy people and sometimes hunger and desire to cook don't coincide.

Like I mentioned earlier my daughter moved out.  Perfect opportunity to clean out the cupboards!  She is starving and I need food out of here that I don't eat.  I did leave a few things for my son.  But I plan on cooking for him too!

Bye Bye food!

Ab Month!

Yes, I've been doing ab work.  Yes I missed another day.  Life can be such a pain, don't you think?  I do love working on the stability ball but I'm determined to ride this thing out.  I know if I was running more then I wouldn't be so cranky.  Speaking of running - it's time to GO!  I'm leaving in a week for Arizona for the Del Sol Ragnar!  I'll be running at least 4 times until then!  

Do you ever have days you could just quit your job?

Blog on.............

Holiday Ho Ho's!

What a wonderful Christmas day!!  

Mostly because of these little rug rats!  

It started out a little tense.  Out of the 60 hours I put in up at Rock Springs I only flew one time and that was a late flight at 7:15am on Christmas morning.  We tried to fly at midnight but the runway wasn't plowed and of course they got up early and plowed it in time for us to fly her before our shift ended.  That meant that I didn't leave Rock Springs until noon. I also spent the first half of Christmas in my thermals and sweats that I wear under my flight suit.  Which mean that the day culminated in the most refreshing shower ever!

  Arrrrgggghhh!!

I did get to pass off my patient to one of my favorite nurses and the new ride!

It was so nice to be with my kids and my dogs and just RELAX!

Daniel

Jake

Austin

Sami

Weirdos

Ted is ready for his present!

So is Zoe!

Ted is protecting his new squeaky steak!

Merry Christmas!!

Blog on.............

First time for everything.

I'm posting from my iPad. I love it. It was worth saving and planning.

I can't type very fast on it so I am going to sum up today in pictures.

Merry Christmas!

Family Time

Day four of my five days of no work.  Hopefully I will actually get it posted on the day I write it.  In my defense, I was busy obsessing over my wonderful new iPad until 2am.  I'm pretty sure that's the best way to spend a day off.  

Yesterday I did take the time to drag myself to the gym.  I've had a month off of running and although I'm not running I wanted to do some aerobic exercise.  Pilates, TRX and athletic conditioning classes are awesome but I thought I'd throw in some bike.  Stationary bike.  

Thirty five minutes at a pretty good clip and it felt pretty good.  I had a good sweat going and the foot didn't hurt at all.  I did some machine lifting and called it a day.  Next time I'll avoid the busiest time and pizza night.  The smell of pepperoni burps was nauseating!!  

Today is a BarrEvo class that is a cross between Barr class and lots of low weight repetitions.  I will hurt tomorrow, I can promise that!

Last night I had my daughter dye my hair.  I am sick of having gray roots and I have been spending so much money on my hair for so long that I decided to just give the home dye a shot.  It actually worked pretty good!  My hair feels great and the gray is gone.  I haven't curled it yet but I'm excited to see how it looks when it's done. 

Playing with my iPad as my daughter does the work.

Biggest picture is after.  It was fun and it worked!

Then the kids and I were messing around with the camera on the iPad.  Daniel didn't want to cooperate with a family picture at midnight so Sami and I made it happen.

This is my favorite picture.  I'm not really laughing but my kids are.  I'm so lucky.  I love them dearly!  

My foot ached a bit after cleaning for a few hours but hardly at all after icing and rolling.  It's starting to itch.  Like deep in my heal.  I think that is a sign of healing.  It's my heel and I'll grasp at anything!!!  

What exercises do you do when you can't run?

Blog on.............

  

It's here! It's finally here!

This is my 3rd day off (well now it's the 4th), in a row.  After working soooooo much the last two weeks I am a little lost.  Sure, it's Christmas and I could decorate or shop, but I don't feel like it.  I've watched a lot of movies on Netflix, in bed, eating chocolate (dark, but still chocolate) and even some popcorn.
Luckily I had signed up for some kick-ass classes at the Pilates studio and have worked out at least every other day.  I wouldn't want my body to go completely to crap in 30 days or less.  

It has been almost 30 days since I have ran.  I am a run-a-holic.  Do I get a medal for this?  I should.  There should be a Universal Committee for Runners That Rest While Injured (UCRTRWI).  Medals should be given out for being "good" and letting the body heal.  I'm going to put that idea in my back pocket!  You know runners are basically medal whores?  Ok, just making sure. 

Today I have spent the day longingly waiting for the Federal Express man.  He is carrying my new iPad around in his truck and apparently is taking his time.  I can't do anything that will cause me to miss the ding dong of the iPad arrival.  Thank god I have two dogs that go bat shit crazy when the doorbell goes off.  

Don't tell my foot, but yesterday I was actually considering that it may be healing a little.  There was ice, massage and some KT taping.  I wore my new Mizuno's all day and I even participated in an Athletic Conditioning class that did not aggravate it.  That is all I can say for now.  I'm afraid my foot will see this and start acting like a big baby again.  In my head I'm cheering right frighty to hang in there and let me start running again in two weeks.  Just two weeks.....common big gal!

When my iPad did make it my son Daniel helped me get started.

With a photo montage.

Then my daughter Sami got home.  She decided that a montage full of pictures of me before my shower were not enough.  She decided to take a picture of me, in my yucky hanging out around the house cleaning clothes as I changed lightbulbs.  

She is adorable, and quite the actress!

I love my iPad!!  LOVE!

What is your favorite electronic toy?

Blog on................

I'm a big girl now

No running today again.  I did go to my Pilates studio and participated in a class called Friday Focus.  It was a blast.  We used classic dance moves (cha cha, ballet, waltz, etc) to really work our core muscles.  

***********

Tomorrow I have my first big girl shift on orientation for rotor.  I can't help but be a little excited!!  I love my job on the fixed wing, but super excited to start with a few helicopter shifts a month.  I even picked up my helmet today.

I tried taking a cool picture of my helmet and coat.  My dog Zoe photo bombed it, the little turd.  She was probably mad because I let Ted wear the helmet.

And then my daughter tried it on.

Samantha...a future flight nurse?

Maybe.

Planning on a medium long run around 8 miles on Sunday.  Still icing and massaging my foot daily and it feels pretty good.  Getting excited for the Las Vegas Ragnar!!  

What cross training do you love?

Blog on.............

Ragnar Napa

I love running relays.  If I could find 11 people that had the passion and some discretionary spending money and wanted to do 5-6 a year, I would be after it.  I'm sure I've spilled my woes of Captaining a team on here in little snippets but I haven't done much of a full on post about it.  I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea - because I LOVE running relays.  

I hate being a captain.  
I love to organize and put together ideas.  I am just OCD enough that I'll spend a day figuring out how far hotels are from the closest major exchange, how long each van will be out running and what would be the best place to go if we needed to crash.  I will love EVERY minute of it too.  I also enjoy finding, or trying to find, a great deal so that the trip is affordable for everyone.   I love thinking of decorations, names and t-shirts.  

I hate finding all the runner spots and collecting money.  The first race I ran I wasn't the captain and 12 people from the ICU I worked at ran it and committed up front.  The second one I had a friend from that race that brought a bunch of her friends and it filled up. The next one, not a captain and I was actually filling in for an injured runner. This race was pretty difficult.  Lots of people encouraged me to captain another team so I did, and I shelled out the over 1200.00 to buy the team and then started working to fill it up.  There were a few that bailed and a few that just couldn't do it.  Then I had the 50 other runner's that just didn't answer or respond to any emails.  Pet Peeve alert!  

BUT that is over now.  I lucked out.  I found 2 vans that are going to be full of awesome people.  Each person has been kind, generous and grateful for the work I've put into it.  I think the secret is, I'll probably get more from it then I ever put into it.  New best friends, expanded running circle and an experience that is so unique and challenging that I will never forget it.   In the movie "Hood to Coast", Rachel gets in the van after a very challenging middle of the night hill run and she is just beaming!  "It was Awesome!"  That is what it is, it's awesome.  I would guess any person can make their experience what they want it to be.  I choose to go for the very best.  I know I'll be tired, grumpy, sore, hungry and irritated.  I will not become a raging bitch.   (YEAH for my team!)  I saw a lot of that going on at the Wasatch Ragnar and it made me sad.  The smaller relay's tend to have hoards of just crazy happy people.  You don't even need booze or drugs (well, ibuprofen)!

All my duties of head honcho are winding down and it's almost go time.  I've done it enough now that I'm not nervous about not having the right stuff or forgetting something.  I'm confident I can finish my legs and my foot will hurt but won't slow me down too much.   I'm pretty sure I'm just as excited to get to know my new friends as I am to get this party started!

I'll definitely be posting updates on my blog, twitter and Facebook.  They will probably be from my phone, so they aren't as fancy as I can make them on this here laptop.  (totally hilarious, since I'm just not much of an Internet, tech person)

These bottles are going on this van.

My daughter is holding one of the inflatables and standing by the van so that the peeps that haven't experienced the Mystery Machine could get an idea what we are in for. 

Lets get this party started!!

Blog on.............

Yep, it's a random day of pics with a little TMI.

Running today.  Five miles on the treadmill, 3 miles at half marathon pace.  The workout was good.

Went to run at the gym.  I grabbed a bottle of water from the freezer and since I hate the all the condensation I threw on one of my hand crocheted cozy's. 

Was able to get my favorite locker at the gym....tee hee.

Showing off my new purple Lululemon shorts.  I really really like them.  Even though I'm a little bloated from yesterdays Hot Mess, they are really comfortable.  I am surprised how nice the back is, seems just a bit longer for coverage.  Good thing, since the price is a tear jerker.  They are the Turbo Shorts.

They are for running.  I had to go home and change so I could go to yoga.  Again, this exercise thing is confusing.  But we all know we can't wear running clothes to Yoga.  These shorts have a zipper on the back and that is PAINFUL during Yoga or Pilates.  

Dinner with two of my munchkins.  A delicious sushi dinner.  It was nice to spend some time with them before I leave for work tomorrow.

Word.

Here comes the TMI.

I have some bills I really want to get paid off.  I've been chipping away at them for the last 3 years and have made minimal progress.  I have decided to really set my mind to getting them out of my life. Working overtime is helping but i've had to make some additional sacrifices.  One of them is the ...umm....waxing sacrifice.  So I bought my own sugar wax and did it myself.  I'm feeling pretty successful!  The strips are washable and this is where they were this morning, drying.   I've also looked into dying my own hair.  I can't quite commit to that yet, so I'm sporting the grey look.  Keeping up this old body is exhausting!!  

Blog on........................ 

Wow! Things have changed!

Yep, 7 months.  That is how long it's been since I blogged.  This was not my intention at all when I started this.  But alas, life is ever evolving and I lost track of it about 8 months ago.  My new AirMed job, kids, hubby and all of it combined and the blog went back to the end of the line.  I saved pics though.  Thought of it often for about 3 months.  Then a few days ago I checked it out and started reading.  What a shame I haven't kept it up.  I'm sure I'll post some back pictures over time, but there is no catching up.  It's my scrapbook and lord KNOWS I'm not going to do any actual scrap booking in this lifetime.  My last scrapbook session was 17 years ago and I'm going to set all records for not doing it ever again.  Maybe.  I'm a fickle bitch.  


Job - oh hell yes.  Best job ever.  Lots to learn and lots of adjusting but I'm starting to feel comfortable.  I work with awesome people and we are there to do a great job and have fun in between.  The drive to Rock Springs is getting easier every week and frankly it's a great gig!  (shhhhhh...others have hated going to Rock Springs and we don't want the secret out that it can be freakin AWESOME!)  It's a little intimidating having to be "ready" for any type of patient and all that death and dismemberment, but for the most part my years and years of working with smart people in the SICU have given me a base knowledge that has brought me through.  I'm in a plane.  A lot.  

 Our plane.  It's actually getting painting right now.  The Rocks Springs hanger is right behind it.  

 I have lots of these pics.  I see some beautiful country!

Flight nurse.  Teehee

We go to some tiny towns.  This was Chester, Montana.  Nicest people ever.  Great experience.

Sassy patient...or wait.   That's my medic.  He's trying out the stretcher on the way home.  

Kids.  Well I still have them.  They are doing awesome!  Austin is working back up in North Dakota after a short respite back home.  He seems to be liking it although I miss having him around.  

Austin at Sami's Birthday dinner.

Jake is doing wonderful.  He has a job working on motorcycles and his band is doing great.   They won the "City Weekly Band of the Year" and are working on another album and touring.  

 Amie came to the band's showcase.  

 Max Pain and the Groovies

Jake is right behind the lead singer on Bass

 Watching them play at the Garage.

Sami is working at the UofU as an HCA and going to college.  Growing pains?  Yes, she has a few.  Still a beautiful loving daughter and I will not kill her.  

No - Sami is not drinking.  Matt and I were having a celebratory shot after I passed my orientation at work and of course she thought it funny to pose by it.  Such a cute girl!

 Looking so adorable!

Daniel is doing wonderful.  He's not working right now, but he is has already graduated from High School via GED.  Busy playing the guitar and planning his life.

 Yeah, he takes my phone and takes pics of himself.

 Daniel and Ted.  

Daniel and his girlfriend Haley.  Cute couple - they've been together almost a year!

Hubby and I are working hard and doing great!  I spend a lot of time running. Lots and lots of running.  I do love it and hope it keeps me fit for a while!  

I am a lucky girl!

Blog on............