My favorite things: Tattoo

I can't even begin to express how great this trip was!  Of course, now that I am home all the fun realities of work, home, laundry etc is still waiting for me.  Absolutely worth it.  

My favorite souvenir from my trip is this:

Tattoo by: Lindsey Carmichael

Shop:  Wooster Street Social Club

Yep,  I went to the filming site of NY Ink.  I took Kaylyn with me the first time on an "adventure".  She pushed me to go in and talk to them.  I talked to Lee Rodriguez who was AWESOME and told him I would be in the next day.  I wanted to make sure I had enough money and all my ideas together.  

Kaylyn (black jacket) giving really good instructions to some "non-natives".  They asked me but....yeah.

More on my adventure with Kaylyn in another post.

(Can you tell I'm not going to do them in order??)

The next day was a big rainy day so I skipped my run and found a great breakfast place.  It's called Vive la Crepe!

BRILLIANT!

 This is an omelet cooked in a crepe that I can eat from my hand.  Good thing they don't have a restaurant here like that.  I would be a crepe-a-holic. 

***** 

I jumped on the subway after that and made my way to SOHO, where the tattoo shop is.  I considered getting a pedicure.  Decided I didn't want to.  So I have a few toenails missing.  I'm a runner.  Deal.  Like Lindsey said, "don't apologize for that".  Can he be my best friend?

When I got to Wooster Street I talked to Lee again and found out that an artist named Lindsey was going to do my tattoo.  I had researched Lee because I thought he was going to do it, but I figured it's a pretty reputable shop and Lindsey was probably pretty good.  Oh dear lord I know so very little about the tattoo world.  Lindsey is AMAZING!  He was actually a guest tattoo artist from California.  I had about an hour to wait.  Lee told me I could wait or come back in an hour.  I had to wait.  I wanted to take in the sights and sounds plus I was tired.  

Hanging out.  

Watched a few people come in and talk to Lee.  The fire marshall came in and checked the fire extinguishers.  A couple of people had a small tattoo done. I heard some awesome conversations with people about cover ups and getting tattoos on hands, neck and ears.  Apparently they are very popular now but they have a really poor healing outcome.  Then people want them touched up.  Interesting.  I'm like a tattoo savant now.  (KIDDING!)

Bathroom spray.

Luckily I didn't need it, but I think it's hilarious.

I met Lindsey and I showed him the 3 pictures that I wanted as ideas for the one tattoo.  He took about 45 minutes to draw it up. 

It was perfect.

I wish I had a picture taken with him.  I didn't even think about it.  The experience was seriously like hanging with old friends.

Here are a couple that I grabbed from the internet.  You can always follow him on Instagram.  And yes, he posted my tattoo on there.  BAM!

The good news is that I got a few crotch shots of him when I took pics of my tattoo.  Totally unintended....I mean, come on!

I'm not going to lie.  Hurt like hell.  

I was scolded more then once or 10 times.  He would hit a nerve and my foot was flinch.  I felt sorta bad about it but I did try my best.

I stared at this wall A LOT.  Tried to concentrate on anything that would help.  I ended up sitting up and watching him tattoo.  That was his suggestion.  He was awesome.  Funny too.  He was also OCD like me.  Perfect.

Break while he gets the colors together.

My toes and foot have ink on them.  I do NOT have hairy toes.  ;)

See my shoes in the right hand corner?  I threw them over there and he had to straighten them out because he couldn't stand having them piled up.  Bingo!  If he wasn't married already...

But then again, this sweet single eye candy was working next to us.

(more internet pics)

 credit

credit

YOUR WELCOME!

And that is my tattoo story.

blog on..............

Half way? Already?

Can you believe it?   It's gone fast!  

This week, as I mentioned in my last post, I picked up 2 extra shifts in the ICU.  ICU work is a LOT different then flight nursing.  I'm basically on my feet the entire 12 hours and Wednesday I certainly got my butt handed to me.  Thursday was a little better because I was back on my game with charting, but I didn't go the day without learning more about being a nurse.  I really miss all the interactions I have when I go back.  

I managed to keep myself fed and fed well using Whole30.  I made steaks one night and had a leftover "Emergency Meat" with cabbage for lunch each day.  I feel that the energy I'm getting with this program really helped me get through those extra 24 hours of work.  

Today I didn't manage much but I did go to Trader Joe's after my Pilates class.  I needed to get some more cashews.  Someone finally got it right and now you can buy cashews and almonds that are dry roasted and salted.  No vegetable oil!  

BOOM!

Of course I picked up some dehydrated bananas that seriously are like a sugar cube!  I only had a couple and then hid them from everyone and myself.

Ingredients:  Bananas.

I also stopped by Whole Foods and picked up some Kombucha and a few things.  I checked out their bulk cashews and their dry roasted/salted are still more expensive then Trader Joes.

Organic HOT DOGS!  Hehehe.  

I also bought a couple of shrimp/veggie frozen dinners.  I'm trying to stay away from anything premixed but I'm exhausted and I'm sure my big prep day tomorrow will be a bit short.  I also bought some pecan and hazelnut encrusted salmon for dinner tonight.  It was delicious!

Along with some roasted brussel sprouts.  Yummy!

Earlier I made my own little mix for a snack.

Those are just dried bananas, not the candy I bought today.  After 2 days in the ICU I always have a day where I am just starving.  I'm sure I'm calorie deficient and certainly dehydrated.  I tried to drink lots of water today too.

Now, for my first Whole30 recipe tragedy.  

How can you go wrong with this? 

I'll tell you how.  Warm avocado is nasty and tasteless.  There isn't enough spice to help it either.  Maybe if I was a hot sauce person, but I'm not and I could hardly finish it.  Seems like a match made in heaven.  

Lesson learned.

Tomorrow I pick up my fruit/veggies coop basket and I plan to go to the farm that I get my organic meats.  I'll do some prep, but not an excessive amount. I have to work Sunday, maybe Monday and then Tuesday.  Friday is my little surgery.  ALREADY!  

Hoping for a little run tomorrow to warm up for the Virtual Jelly Bean race that I plan on running Thursday.  5K or 10K.  It hasn't been decided.  (Leaning towards 10K)

Good luck to the racers of the Canyonlands Half Marathon tomorrow.  One year ago today I was getting ready to run my very first Half.  Soon my half marathon friend, I'll come back to you......

Racing this weekend?

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

Whole30 Day 5 aka Spicy Shenanigan Day

Today was a great day.  It started out pretty crappy but luckily I had eaten a good breakfast before I started my day to give me the energy not to burst into tears, stomp my feet and yell stuff.

Leftover Fajitas and eggs.  

Later my friends Tera and Nicole were asking me about all this madness.  Nicole stated that I need to post each recipe, that I needed to make that happen.  Hahahaha.....I am just not that motivated!   Plus I think the books/apps that I'm getting the recipes from are amazing and worth a few bucks.  Seeing them started the upswing of my day.  I wasn't super tired, cranky or hungry today.  Decreased my cashew intact by bunches!

I cooked a couple of wonderful things this afternoon.

Set up my recipes and ingredients

I made something called "Emergency Meat" from the Nom Nom App.  It's just Curry, ground beef and cabbage.  I made double the recipe and stuck a bunch in the fridge to add to eggs and other veggies for the next couple of days.

My lunch was a huge helping of Emergency Meat with an entire avocado.  I sprinkle a little ras el hanout (a Moroccon blend of spices I put together last week) on everything and it was super delicious.  Even Sami liked it and she eats Mexican food and ramen noodles.

I also whipped up these Spice Tuna Cakes from the Nom Nom app. 

I didn't have time to do anything special when they were done cooking and I just stuck them in the fridge.  When I got home, Daniel mentioned to me they were amazing.  And they were amazing!  Even cold out of the fridge.  Better warmed up.  SO easy and so good!

Thumbs up for the Whole30 so far!  It's the end of day 5 and I'm feeling good and ready to keep going!  

Another reason that I may be feeling awesome today is that I got to spend some time with these fine folks.

My mom and my brother, Joe.  My dad was there too. 

We were at a Bank meeting for a bank my dad helped to build into the success it is today.  I'm very proud of him and he's so super smart!    My mom is amazing.  She has had heart problems this year and I was glad to see her doing better.  I don't get to see my brother Joe too much and it really is always nice to see him. I love how my parents are so proud of their kids and how much they love us.  We are lucky kids!  I can't help but be happy after spending time with the people that love and adore me most. 

My mom will even take a silly pic with us at a serious bank meeting!

Missing was 3 other brothers and a sister.  They were all at work. 

Tomorrow is day 6!  I don't have anything fancy planned to cook.  

What pictures will I post??   Do you want a picture of me meeting with my attorney?  Getting my eyelashes done?  Talking on a conference call?  Working a night shift in Payson with the chopper? 

 

Such a full day and so many good eats in the ice box!

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

Another day off...

My third shift they haven't needed me at the hospital.  My timing is really off. I get messages they need nurses when I'm working flying and then when I'm off they don't need me.  Anywhoooo...I still had a great day!

I went for a run!  I wanted to get a six miler in this week and today was the day.  It was 34 degrees outside and of course I overdressed.  It felt so good and so warm!  I think wearing gloves and a hat makes a big difference.  I wore black capris, pink shirt with a purple long sleeve and then a black half zip.  I really didn't need the half zip.  I also had on white gloves and purple calf sleeves...with my yellow and blue hat.  Who's matchy matchy?  Not me!

But I do love my Oakleys!

I wore them in the house while I folded laundry before I left.  

That's how cool I am.

Forgot about the pink shoes.  Love my pink shoes.

And the blue sky!

The side braid was a fail.  Half of it came out.  My hair is almost long enough!

Followed by foot icing, elevation and a protein smoothie.  I also wrapped myself up in my electric throw blanket.  It gets cold with all that ice!

Before I ran I did the Victoria's Secret AB workout that I posted yesterday.  It looked pretty good when I first saw it, and it was a kick ass work out, but it was crazy!  I was bitter when I was done.  I think it's a trick so that we can do reverse crunches and get a good look at our muffin top.  I'm pretty strong in my core and although I did all the exercises, I didn't do as many as they listed.  Tomorrow I'm doing stability ball exercises!  Yes!

In preparation for my Whole30 month I made a delicious Curry Broccoli soup.  It was better then I expected, plus I chopped up some ham to put in it.  It had leeks, onions and green peppers and lots of broccoli.  All blended up in deliciousness.  

My treat for running today.  This is the flavor Trilogy.  It is a little more vinegary then the others I've had but still delicious.  

I'm about done packing for Ragnar and I spend a day in Rock Springs tomorrow.  I'm getting super stoked for this weekends race!  Not so much for the running part, but the company.  I have some sweet teammates!

How warm do you dress when it's 34 degrees?

Do you run relays?  Would you?

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........................ 

Day in pictures

Lots of watching TV, surfing the web and reading.

New Faucet installed by Matt.  I think the next thing is a new kitchen window.  It's a slow process, replacing old windows.

Our delicious local grown Pork.  Pork chops tonight for dinner.

Ended with watching "21 Jump Street" with Matt.

Lazy day.

Good day.

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

I'd stomp my feet, if I could

I wouldn't want to hurt my foot more and have to get another shot in my heel!  

Last night in the last 12 of my 24 hour shift, we got a call.  We (me, my medic and pilot) left about midnight and I crawled back into bed around 5am.  It was a great flight, but I didn't get any sleep before the call and very little after.  It makes for a cranky me for the day.  I finished my shift at 10am and the drive home was not bad at all.  I just stopped once when I was a little sleepy and bought delicious cashews. 

When I left the apartment in Rock Springs I saw these cows.  They look like they are made of wood and I have no idea why they are there.  Why would they be there?  So odd.

I have lots of stuff to do for work, the cabin,our calendar and finances that I attempted to sit on the couch with my blanket and get started.  First I had to pick out my pen/pencil from the stash I have in my computer bag.

What is wrong with this picture??

No blue pen.

I have to have a blue pen if I'm going to update the calendar.  CRANKY!

This doesn't make me cranky.  

It's a random plant that started growing in our flower beds and we've just let it go.  We've decided it's pumpkin.  Why is there a pumpkin plant (or 3 of them) randomly growing in my flower bed?   I haven't carved a pumpkin in years!  The mystery remains.  We almost want to keep it there just to see what happens.  I hope a HUGE pumpkin grows and when we carve it...it's full of money.    It could happen.

I managed not to take a nap AND drag my ass to the gym.  To top off my day of cranky I am reminded that it will be another 11 days before I can run.  I promised myself I would do the elliptical or Pilate's every day.   So I "faux" stomped to the gym and spent the first 15 minutes on the machine so cranky I wanted to throw myself on the floor and throw a fit.  Thank goodness I didn't or I would have missed the end of "Undercover Boss".   I was impressed (in a bad way) of how CHEAP the Mr. 1-800-flowers boss is.  Usually they give cash and stuff.  This guys BIGGEST gift was naming a flower arrangement after one of his outstanding employees.  GAG!  Show me the money!  

I finished my 30 minutes and then did some machine work for a total of ONE hour of exercise.  I was sweating like a whore in church (teehee - I love that expression)  but it wasn't all from the workout.  The humidity in Salt Lake right now is 47%! 

It makes all my refreshing beverages look like this, with a big wet spot. 

This is an icy delight with NUUN in it.  NUUN is a tablet that has electrolytes and awesomeness in it and helps you stay hydrated and all around ninja like. I drink them when I am running and I like to have them after a flight for hydration.  I am trying a flavor I haven't tried before.  It's grape.  White grape apparently.

I swear by them when I run Ragnar's.  Check out their website:  NUUN  

It is the ultimate hydration.

Not a bad day all around.  My family had the entire house clean before I got home, I lost .7 lbs with only 6.7 to go, I finished my project for my work meeting on Monday and I have the entire weekend off!  

Maybe I can get some blog posts done on things I've been wanting to post about, but haven't had the time to get all the pictures together.  I think I will call them FLASHBACKS.  This way I can get some important fun pics up from the past year or so when I was lazy and not posting.  Maybe I'll start including my family in my blog posts too!  Ideas.  I got em!

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

Monday Funday

Monday fun stuff.

Daniel went with my brother Dave to help set up his stage and light show.  This is Dave's rig.  NICE!

Saturday I bought a free range chicken from a local farm here.  It was 5.5 lbs!!  Monday I found a recipe to cook it in the crock pot.  I wish I had a great pic of after - but by the time I got home from Yoga, the family was digging in.  That's what I get for having a late dinner.  It was super delicious and then we picked off the meat and added water, carrots and celery and then simmered it for fresh chicken broth.  

Here is a link to the recipe.  The Best Whole Chicken in a crock pot.

It's a super easy recipe with just a cut up onion in the bottom and a dry rub made with lots of spices!

Yoga with my Trader Joe's bag.  Intervention?  

I feel so....healthy and popular.

Oh look, an idea for my 50th birthday.  Mechanical Bull.  I would also have an open bar and paramedics on standby.

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