Shiny, pretty, and RED!

playing nurse (because i still don’t feel comfortable calling myself a nurse!)

Last night was an okay day at work…I got pulled (again!) to another floor, which was nearly as traumatic as last time.  I went to the same floor as before, as I was at least a little familiar with the territory, and I recognized some of the nurses.  I actually had a positive experience last time and everyone was super helpful, so I didn’t cry or anything this time around.  One of my patients was apparently the former chief of surgery (yikes?), which I learned upon discharge when his doctor informed me of that.  (By the way, his doctor was super nice…he introduced himself to me using his first name and actually made small talk…crazy!)  But anyway, I had a successful blood draw and successfully started an IV all on my own, without anyone even leaning over my shoulder.  Yay!  Confidence is half the battle.

(Annnnnd I just got a call saying that I’m cancelled tonight.  I think I need to start watching my spending if I’m going to be cancelled once a week!  This is getting a little out of control.)

delicious eats

I’m really trying to do better with cooking since I do enjoy it!  I just lose motivation when I’m cooking for myself.  Yesterday I tried to make baked ziti, already it really wasn’t baked ziti at all since I used penne pasta…but it was baked!  I basically sauteed a bunch of veggies (red pepper, green pepper, onion, zucchini…I forgot I had a mushrooms!!), added some spices (pepper, garlic, “Italian medley”), and then threw it in the oven mixed with tomato sauce, cheese, and pasta.  Thirty minutes later, voila!

I may have already eaten some before I took the picture…

Do try this one at home!

It was easy and I will have this ALLLLLL week.  Works for me.

running machine

Okay, I may have been a teensy bit nervous for my run today.  On the schedule was ten miles with five at LT pace, which went well the first time, but not so well the second time.  The difference with today was that it was a cool SIXTY degrees when I headed out!  AWESOME.  I actually got my butt out of bed before nine (a major feat for me, I promise) and was running by 9:15.  Here’s out it panned out:

Tuesday, September 1 (Really?  That’s not okay.)
10.04 miles in 1:17:11, avg pace of 7:41

Warm-up:  2.52 miles in 21:12, avg pace of 8:26
LT miles:  5.01 miles in 35:39, avg pace of 7:07
Splits:  7:17, 7:13, 7:02, 7:02, 6:51
Cooldown:  2.52 miles in 20:21, avg pace of 8:06

Check out those negative splits!!  I felt soooo much better on this run than I did my last one.  One of the main reasons was probably the weather…60 degrees versus 80-something?  Obviously I’ll run better when it is cooler!  Also, my mindset was totally different for this one.  I didn’t put pressure on myself to hit 7:00 right away, especially since I don’t really need to be running 7:00 miles!  By telling myself that running 7:20 would be better than fine, and reminding myself that I don’t need to be sprinting from the get-go, I felt much more relaxed and less worried about being a speed demon.  These runs are easier when I don’t go into them thinking about how hard they’re going to be and how much they’ll hurt.  Woo!

i love the fedex man

From my bedroom window, I can see the delivery trucks drive by, and I always hope that they’re going to bring a surprise for me.  I loooove getting mail, especially when I’m not expecting it, but today I received something in the mail that I’ve been waiting a couple weeks for.  Here it is, all shiny, new, and RED!!

Please pardon the terrible picture, although I think it is kind of artsy with the reflection of the picture of the Rocket Scientist and me.  Anyway…my new laptop!!!  The computer that I currently have is the one I got right before I went to college (in 2003…), so it’s about six years old and is having some troubles.  I finally bit the bullet and bought a new computer, which is my first laptop!  I’m excited to lay on my bed and blog.  :)

And yes, although I’m the most frugal person EVER, I did pay an extra $40 for the red top.  That’s my Terrapin pride, thank you very much.