Blogging the Menu: Day 96

My alarm went off at 4:30am and I seriously had no idea why.  I heard it, and I sat up and looked at it and just thought Whhhhaaaaaaaa???  Thing makes noise for why? So early...not understand.  Then I remembered I was supposed to go to the gym.  In fact, I spent about 20 minutes carefully packing a bag with everything that I needed to work out, shower, and get to work by 7am.  It just took me a little while to remember that.  I feel a little bad for my husband, because I didn't turn off the alarm while the cavewoman part of my brain tried to figure out what the fuck was going on so it just...kept...beeping.

I was proud of myself for about 5 seconds this morning.  First off, I was thisclose to hitting a 77# snatch (which is peanuts for a lot of people, but it's a BFD for me) and the WOD included double unders which I have only recently discovered I can do (on alternate Tuesdays when the moon is full, or some shit).  I managed to get 43 DUs during the first round, which is amazeballs because the workout called for 50 and I totally almost got 50. Then I had two rounds where I got capped without getting close, but what the fuck ever, 43 is totally almost 50.

I also had a Macgyver moment while I was getting ready for work.  I forgot the brush for my powder and was looking at a shiny face wondering what to do when I realized I had a tampon in my bag and they're basically cotton swabs with a string.  I opened the thing up, flattened it out, and used it like a cotton pad to apply the powder.  I felt pretty damn smart.  Anyone who saw me today?  I wiped a tampon all over my face at the gym this morning.  Now that picture is forever in your head, you're welcome.  But you also have a nifty solution to the "I forgot a brush" issue.  You're double welcome.

On to the Menu!

I ate a RxBar on the way to the gym.  And since I left home at 4:30am and didn't return until almost 6pm I didn't have a homemade breakfast or lunch today.  I will in the future as I Enter the Zone (Jesus that's a lame phrase).  The cafeteria did not disappoint.  The fact that Zoning will require me to limit my intake of bacon makes me sad.  Hopefully a smaller, higher ass will make me feel better about only eating 2-4 slices/day.  The sacrifices we make for health and fitness.

I totally fish out the pineapple and strawberries. The people behind me i

in line are left with nothing but honeydew.

Lunch was pit ham on a pretzel roll on the grill, which is fucking fantastic.  I opted not to eat the roll (I mean, how devoted am I?) but the ham was delicious and I had the potato chips because they are made fresh on site.  Potatoes, fried.  The end.  I don't feel that's a cheat because there isn't anything added. I also had broccoli, because I like it and it was there.  Usually lunchtime broccoli is nice and green, but today it was a bit olive drab.

Dig the tree trunks.  Bleh.

Dinner was this beautiful Salisbury steak with cauliflower mash and mushroom gravy.  This is 100% paleo, no lie.  Doesn't it look better than any Salisbury steak you've ever seen?  It was delicious.  This looks like a plate of evil, when in fact it is a virtuous blend of grass fed beef, fresh mushrooms, and vegetables.  My husband hasn't made this for a while, but holy shit does he get it exactly right.  I hated this dish as a child (because frankly, my Mom was not a good cook), but I have rediscovered it as an adult and I'm in love.

Ermahgerd!  Potatoes and gravy but not!

I'm going to finish up my last shamrock shake tonight.  I have to get out my recipe calculator and figure out my Zone blocks for breakfast tomorrow and I am not looking forward to it.  I just have to power through it this first week and it'll be fine.  

Kale.  But dessert.

My big excitement for today was the arrival of my Yarnageddon package from Stitchjones.  Hand-dyed yarn and an exclusive pattern for a shawl.  I can't wait to start.  Go ahead and ridicule me and my old-lady hobby, I don't care.  I love to knit shit and I don't care who knows it.

Plus surprise free handmade soap!!

I'm also expecting the next installment of my sock knitting club patters/yarn sometime soon.  It's an embarrassment of riches, people.  

Time to cast on.  But first maybe a meat stick.  I do love a meat stick.  

That is what she said.

Blogging the Menu: Day 95

It's going to take me an hour to write this, because Cosmos is on and I'm only writing during commercial breaks.

I woke up sore as shit today.  My triceps actually feel bruised, and my son almost made me scream when he drove his sharp little elbow into my quad.  So I went to Pilates, and even that felt like a punishment.  Sigh.  I do feel better today (even though I'm still coughing), but my nose got nice and blistered up.  That usually means the end of a viral illness, so I'm hopeful that by the end of this week I'll be back to my usual sunny self.

Today was grocery shopping, and I filled my cart up with all the appropriate things.  I'm getting ready to go Zoney on the first, so I picked up some cheese to add into my diet.  I just can't eat that much meat every day, and I don't understand why whey protein is okay but not actual dairy.  I'm not lactose intolerant, so I will eat full fat dairy in it's closest-to-natural form in moderation.

On to the menu!
Breakfast was pretty standard.

The last of the blackberries.  Back to Costco!

I finally finally finally got the venison sticks I was promised.  They are Maplewood Meats awesome.

Ohmahgah SAUSAGE!!

Nice leftover lunch of carne asada and guac with cauliflower.  This meal was pretty damn Zoney!

Avocados are magic.  And the ripe ones are like unicorns.

After lunch I sort of wanted to do this.

Why don't children see the value in napping?

Instead I got out the cookbooks and did the monthly menu.  Then I made a shopping list.  It really only took about 30 minutes to do both.  Now that our pantry is paleoified we have most of the stuff in most of our recipes.  All we really need to buy is produce.  And sometimes chicken.  The Complete Book of Food Counts is something I've had for a long time and sort of forgot about.  Should be handy for Zoning the menu.  Although I tried to figure out the Zone blocks for tomorrow's dinner and my head exploded, so I don't know.  I found an online calculator for recipes that I'm going to try.  It's fiddly as shit but once I know,  I know, you know?

So much maths.

I ate another meat stick.  Because meat stick.  And then I wasn't hungry for dinner, so we went for a walk when the kids were done eating and I went to the store while my loving husband washed their stinky little bodies.  The boys went to Sir Bounce-A-Lot for a birthday party today, and they were red faced and grinning when they got home.  Who doesn't love a bounce house.  I'm seriously considering throwing myself a giant birthday party with bouncy houses this year.  I've even researched the cost.  Bouncy houses and booze.  If I threw a party like that, would you come?  I'll be 37.  

Dinnerish.

It's not really dinner, I just wanted something to eat during Cosmos.  Talk to me, Neil deGrasse Tyson. You have just enough knowledge and just enough swag to be pretty fucking awesome.  Plus you know the President and Bill Nye.  Let's be best friends.

I'm trying to figure out if I can fit in CF and a shower before work tomorrow.  I'm on days, which in the hospital means 7-5:30.  Close fit if I want to workout and not be stinky.  I may have to use the box showers for the first time.  

Ok.  Back to Cosmos.  Carry on.

Blogging the Menu: Day 94

Ow.  That's all I have to say about how I feel today.  I am drug-free for the first time in a week, which is pretty damn awesome, but I'm so sore from Friday morning that putting on my seatbelt made me whimper a little.  Just a little stuffy and mucus-y and I can deal with that.

I was relatively productive today considering the screaming glut of lactic acid swimming around in my muscle tissue.  I did some laundry, cleaned the first floor and did some dishes.  I also loaded up the spawn and made a trip to Target for a couple of birthday gifts for a party the boys are going to tomorrow.  I am deeply proud of myself for that.  I bought and wrapped gifts for a party more than 2 hours in advance.  That's big fucking deal, because I am the girl who stops at Target on the way to the wedding to purchase a gift.  And a gift bag, because you can't wrap shit in the back of your car without it looking a bit slapdash.

The kids were actually pretty good in the store. They stayed with me and didn't even get too squirrely in the toy section.  I let them pick out toothpaste and we got some milk and bananas.  Very exciting.  At the checkout they were looking at all the flotsam hanging on pegs and pretty much chorused "Can we have a treat?"  I looked at them and said "I'm not sure why you think 10 minutes of walking around a store without a major meltdown warrants a treat, but you're not getting one."  P just shrugged.  My daughter said "Daddy always gets us one" to which I responded "Well, that's a pretty bold lie".  Keep in mind that none of them cried and none of them fussed, just a little discussion.  I'm pretty sure the woman in line behind me snorted, but I can't be sure.

On to the menu!
I have wanted to make waffles for a week, but I'm out of almond butter. This morning I wanted to make banana pancakes, but the green bananas my husband bought are the type that will never be yellow.  You know that type?  When you buy a bunch of yellow and a bunch of green, but you eat all the yellow and a week later the green ones are still bright green and hard as rocks?  Yeah.  Those.  So I decided to make pumpkin pancakes, because I had pumpkin.  I used Sunbutter in the recipe and they turned out great.  Funny little kitchen chemistry thing I forgot, though.  If you sub sunbutter into a recipe with baking soda in it?  Whatever you make will turn green.  Isn't oxidation grand?  So when you see these pancakes again (and you will, because the recipe made 3 or 4 servings) they will be weirdly discolored and/or emerald green.  Cool, huh?

Spice cakes always look dark.

I spent my morning de-nastifying the house so after I put lunch on the table for the kids I was too lazy to do much beyond fishing for leftovers.

Random.

The kids "napped" and I went to my room and locked the door so I could shower and get dressed in peace and privacy.  I also remade the bed and tidied up a bit.  Not much, but a bit.  I did a little reading and had a brief moment of "Ermahgerd!  Cosmos is on tonight!" and then I remembered that today is Saturday and Cosmos is on Sunday night.  Then I was bummed out because I'm a big fucking nerd.

I roasted a head of cauliflower for the first time tonight.  It was better than steamed, but I'm still pretty "meh" on cauliflower in it's original form.  Went reasonably well with leftover meatloaf.

Not terribly colorful.

I made shamrock shakes, but I should've made them last night instead.  The avocados that were so perfect yesterday?  Yeah.  That fucking evil slut avocado was half brown  when I cut it open tonight.  So there's only half an avocado in the recipe.  I also used kale to make it green today instead of spinach as I have kale and do not have spinach.  Genius.  It doesn't appreciably change the flavor, since peppermint extract pretty much obliterates all other flavors.  Kale doesn't obliterate quite as well, though.  I was lusting after the Vitamix blenders at Target today.  But they were $400, and I'm not that devoted to kale smoothies.

Mmmmmminty!

I have good intentions of hitting the gym tomorrow, for Pilates if nothing else.  The boys are off to bounce at a birthday party, and aside from grocery shopping and a load of laundry I don't have much else to do.  I love that.  Because I am really, really lazy.

I might go to bed at 8 tonight.  Unless I'm too lazy to climb the stairs.

Blogging the Menu: Days 92 & 93

Did you miss me?  I was working second shift again last night.  Do you know what today was?  The first weekday I've had off without having to take PTO in 14 months.

It's, sing it with me now, A Whole Neeeewwwww Woooooorrrrlllld

Seriously, it was super weird to not have anywhere in particular to be today.  Even better is my girl child was barfing her brains out last night and had to stay home today and I didn't have to call in!  I mean, that's not a good thing (believe me, she's a shitty barfer just like her youngest brother), but you get my drift.  The last time this stupid stomach thing went around our house I had to leave work early one day to pick her vomiting self up from school and call off sick the next day when she spewed all over the kitchen floor.  Calling in makes me feel terrible.  It probably shouldn't, because shit happens, but it feels like failure.  And since I'm the type who will go to work unless I'm bleeding from the neck, I've been on the receiving end of lots of sick calls.  They make me feel everything from sympathy to deep panic depending on the situation and I never want to make anyone feel that way.

So I am pretty happy to be back at the hospital.  There's things I'd forgotten that came rushing back (in a good way), I learned some stuff about the new technology, and I got my computer access so I can be useful while I learn on the job.  The only thing that sucked about this last week was this fucking awful cold/plague thing that I've been fighting since Sunday.  I feel better today, and I'm only lightly drugged, but I still can't draw a full deep breath without feeling gurgling in my chest.  Combined with a couple of sleepless nights and barf catching?  Makes me a hot mess.

I went to the box this morning to do the final Open workout.  After last week's superfantastic awesome fitness extravaganza (seriously, I worked out at least once every day) this week was more like supersucktastic shitty lifeless blob seminar.  I was barely making it through the day most of the week and coughing like a fucking emphysematic octagenarian.  I was so high on cold medicine that I began to feel slightly detached from reality.  Sort of like my head was stuffed full of wool.  To make a long painful story short?  I finished the WOD, but it was a bloodbath.  I hyperventilated.  I cried.  I felt alternately like I was going to puke or pass out or both.  I more or less showed the weakest, shittiest side of myself to my fellow CrossFitters.  And yet, oddly, they didn't run away screaming.  In fact, they stayed and talked me through it, cheered me on, assured me I could do it, and then made sure I did.  It took me more than 47 minutes to complete a WOD that others did in 20 minutes, or 15 minutes...or 10.  I would run a marathon tomorrow if it meant I never had to do that WOD again.

Runners often say that running is the only sport where the cheers are the loudest for those that finish last.  That isn't true.  CrossFitters will gather around the last man or woman standing and cheer until they're done.  They will do extra squats or burpees so that person isn't doing it alone.  It's a powerful thing.

On to the menu!
Such as it is, since I didn't photograph everything and most of it is pretty damn boring as we need to go to the grocery store so I was mostly just eating whatever was around.

Pre-WOD today.

post-WOD today

Lunch Thursday

Lunch today.  Damn I want those pickled carrots!!  Next time.

Morning snack today

Afternoon snack today.  Chestnuts, not scallops!

Cafeteria dinner Thursday.  Why are mixed vegetables always so shitty?

Dinner tonight.  Carne asada with guac and some fresh fruit.

We actually had avocados in the house that all came ripe at exactly the same time on the day we wanted to use them!!  I need to go buy a lottery ticket ASAP.  I swear I took a picture of my breakfast yesterday, but there is nothing in my phone.  I had eggs, coffee, and blackberries.  I might make myself a shamrock shake tonight with the lone remaining avocado.  Even if I just put it in the freezer for later.  Otherwise that whore thing will turn by 8pm tonight and be totally useless.

I am not an emotional person by nature.  Dramatic, yes.  Emotional?  No.  In fact I am often accused of being cold, distant, and overly analytical.  That's sort of my baseline.  For some reason it's athletics that make me emotional.  During a Ragnar two years ago I was approaching the end of a very hard leg and the song I ran my first ever for-real-no-stopping mile to popped up on my playlist.  And I cried like a child.  Last year during the Open I shed my first tears at CrossFit, and this year I've shed a few more.  Maybe when my heart rate gets above 85 I can't keep my shit together anymore?  Aside from my husband I think the people I run with and the people I lift with have seen a wider range of emotion from me than my family of origin.  I didn't even cry when my kids were born.  I'm probably just defective.

I really wish I could breath through my nose.

Blogging the Menu: Day 91

I worked a turnaround today, which means a rushed morning.  I used to work these turnarounds a few times a month, but I'm a little out of practice.  I took a shitload of drugs before heading out and I was able to keep the symptoms pretty much at bay until, well, right now.  I'm starting to sundown, but I still have to wash the kids tonight.  Time to swallow another handful of Sudafed and Benadryl.

This year has been craptastic for me from an illness standpoint.  I really don't get sick very often, but between the stupid sinus infection I had for 3 weeks and two shitty colds, I'm done with this winter.  Living with 3 kids 6 and under is like living with 3 noisy Petri dishes.  If there's a virus lurking in a 50 mile radius it's going to tear through this house like wildfire.  If it would just warm up enough to open the windows I might have a chance, but based on the forecast that'll be a while.

On to the Menu!
I forgot to photograph my cafeteria breakfast.  It was eggs, bacon, and fruit.  The usual.  Today I shadowed a tech for the morning and got a refresher on the automatic dispensing cabinets and the new carousel.  Carousel sounds fun, but it's really just a big boring machine full of unit dose drugs.  Once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad, but I will admit to staring stupidly at the screen wondering what the fuck the damn thing wanted me to do.

Back to the cafeteria for lunch (I suck at mornings when I have to be somewhere early, and making a lunch is the furthest thing from my mind after a PM turnaround) which was a dullsville chicken salad and fruit.

So boring.  They ran out of bacon.  Whores.

I had to get a gallon of milk from the little convenience store, and while I was down there I got a couple of hard boiled eggs for an afternoon snack.  They didn't peel worth a damn and I was pretty pissed about it.  At least it proves that it's not my cooking method that sucks, but it certainly doesn't rule out shitty peeling skills.

Dirty little bitches, both of them.

I picked up the kids.  Initially I drove right past the daycare  lalalalalalalaaaaaaaa....and then as I was turning onto my street I was all "Shit!  The kids!" so I had to turn around and go back for them.  Luckily for me we live about 8 inches from the daycare so it wasn't out of the way.  On the flip side, I had literally driven right past the daycare and the sight of it failed to trigger the "Stop here and pick up your kids" reflex it should have.  I? Am a great parent.

It's leftover night since the fridge is filling up, so the kids had leftover mac and cheese and I had the meatloaf I wasn't home to eat last night.  Meatloaf and sweet potato, to be complete.

That's ghee, not butter.

I wish I could say it tasted good, but I'm so congested that my nasal passages and taste buds are completely dead.  It was filling.

I have resorted to the use of Oxymetazoline nasal spray again.  Nasal sprays make me feel like a fucking coke addict.  I hate snorting that shit up into my head, and it really works, but it hurts like a motherfucker.  So my choices are suffocate without pain or breathe with a deeply disturbing burning sensation in what amounts to the center of my head.  I know, I know.  I shouldn't say sexy shit like that on a blog.  I'll end up with a stalker who likes old women with nasal spray issues and shitty parenting skills.  It's a very specific fetish.  I bet if you Googled it you'd find "old nasal spray addicted shitty mom" porn.  Because people are sick fucks.

Off to the doctor with the boys tomorrow for a well child.  Next Tuesday I go have my eyes checked for reading glasses (I realize I get sexier by the paragraph).  

Now I want to Google random phrases to see if I can find weird porn.  Instead I'm going to clean the spawn.  Because I am a great parent. And because I fairly certain the pediatrician would appreciate slightly less stinky little boys.

I can go to sleep in an hour.  

Blogging the Menu: Day 90

Woo!  90 days!  I'm working a turnaround, so I'm going to make this quick.

On to the menu!
Breakfast was the same as yesterday.

Yummy

Lunch was...a sausage.  Because I'm lazy.

Saaaauuuuuusssaagggeee

I had leftover Vietnamese lettuce cups.  So tasty, but I did miss the pickled carrot, no matter what my husband says.

Amanda reminded me to take the picture.

Watermelon for dessert.  Tastes like summer.

I was pretty full the rest of the evening, but I ate this around 8pm.

When I got home I had some dates.  Why?  Because I really wanted cookies and this seemed less evil.

Sweet like candy, soothes my soul.

When I left the hospital last time I left behind my Magic 8 Ball.  I used to keep it by the phone, so when I would get frustrating calls I could consult it for the answer to the problem.  It was sometimes very, very funny.  I thought it was lost in the move, but one of the techs kept it.  It was in my brand new locker when I got to work yesterday, and I thought that was pretty fucking cool.

Was coming back the right choice?

It is decidedly so.

And now that I've pumped myself full of drugs, I'm going to finish watching the Daily Show and go to sleep.  Tomorrow is Technology Day.  What fun.

Blogging the Menu: Day 89

I'm a day behind.  I worked until 10:30pm last night and didn't feel like blogging when I got home.  I'm a bit under the weather and figured going to sleep was a better idea, so that's what I did.  I feel better than yesterday, but still a bit gurgly when I breathe.  I'm trying not to cough, because it hurts like a bitch.  I need to shake this a least a little, because there's still one Open workout left and I'd prefer not to spend it wheezing.

Yesterday was my first day back at my old job.  I've got a lot of computering to learn, but the basics are still the same.  I missed it.  My schedule is going to be a little odd for a couple of weeks, but I'm actually going to get days off during the week which is something I can barely wrap my brain around.

I'm going to try to make an appointment for the eye doctor on Friday, because frankly?  I'm getting old and my eyes are tired at the end of the day.  I'm a little excited at the prospect of glasses I don't have to wear all the time.  I had my eyes lasered so I wouldn't have to wear glasses for running or working out and I could just wear cheap sunglasses in the summer.  I do miss having glasses as an accessory, and I'm tired of squinting at the computer screen.  Since my job involves a lot of screen time I'm accelerating the crow's feet, and that can stop.

On to the Menu!
Breakfast was pretty basic.  Starting April 1st I'm going to give Zone a serious go.  I've been playing with it for the last couple of weeks, but I'm going to really hit it for a solid month and see if I can dump the last 10lbs of fat I'm still toting around.  After that first 30 days I should be in a place where I can balance my meals and keep myself from shit eating on the third shift as I make that transition.

Pretty Zoney.

I, um...didn't eat lunch.  I got busy and forgot.  I had best intentions of eating a RxBar, but I didn't, so sue me.

Dinner was in the cafeteria and there wasn't anything non-gravy covered so I got a salad.  Grilled chicken with many veggies and a little wing sauce for dressing (Frank's Red Hot, which is paleo).  I also got a couple of hard boiled eggs and an orange to round things out.  It filled me up.

Serviceable. 

I ate a RxBar later in the night, not because I was exactly hungry, but I figured I could use the calories.

Still my favorite flavor

Today I go back for a little more second shift fun, then Wednesday I'm going to be a tech for the day and learn about the new technology in the pharmacy.  I'm looking forward to it.  I've always been the type of person who likes to know how things run from every angle.  My goal is to be proficient in the function of the med carousels, the vault, and the Pyxis.

I'm hoping to be back at the box on Thursday for mobility and Friday for the Open WOD.  I also need to get out for a run this week.  Friday is looking good for that, provided my lungs are cooperating by then.  

And now I'm going to go back to drinking tea and trying not to cough.  

Blogging the Menu: Day 88

This morning I woke up to a 4 year old barfing in his bed.  That is not a good thing.  No idea what set him off, but he's been fine all day since a few dry heaves before breakfast.  Color me relieved, because if there's one thing I hate it's barf.  It's smelly, slimy, and with this particular boy?  Everywhere.  He's a crap barfer.  Never hits the bucket, or thinks he's done when I know he has 3 heaves left, tries to put down the bucket and then spews all over the place.

I hope you weren't eating.  My bad.

Today was a rest day, unintentionally.  I was going to run the Two Rivers 10-mile but couldn't get a sitter.  After the barf incident I wouldn't have gone anyway,  which is okay because after the last few days my ass is pretty sore.  I did some mom stuff.  Laundry, cooking, baking, knitting. I'm so fucking domestic.  I did not, however, clean anything.  It's okay, I can't keep it too clean around here or my husband gets suspicious.  Later I have to wash the children.  I'm not looking forward to it.

On to the menu!
Breakfast was banana pancakes again.  Mostly because I had one banana on the edge of overripe and the griddle was out.  I made chocolate chip pancakes for the kids by special request, so I figured might as well get double duty.

With blackberries today.

Lunch was leftover pizza.  Next time I make this I'll try freezing it.  I'm not sure how that will go, but the recipe is too big if it's just me eating it.  I end up eating it for days.

It's good, but it's a lot.

I spent the afternoon visiting with my sister and then cooking.  The cookie dough was tempting today, so I ate these to keep from eating those.

These.  Yes I ate them all.

Those.

Dinner was the last of my scallops.

Time to hit Costco.

I've been craving sweets the last few days, and I don't really know why.  Could be stress, that's a big trigger for me.  I turned the pager off for the last time this morning at 8am.  That was a big relief, especially since the husband is working and I was staring down the barrel of a day with a barfing kid.  That didn't materialize, but it was nice to have a day off between jobs.  Not that I got anything really accomplished, but at least my work clothes are clean.

We watched Frozen last night.  I don't get it.  I mean, it's less sharp-stick-to-the-eye inducing than some other Disney movies, but I don't get all the hoopla surrounding it or why "Let It Go" is on the radio.  The lesson is still "If you're different you'll fuck up everyone's life and also you should probably find a dude, little lady.  And try to be thin and hot with really good hair, m'kay?"  Meh.

I'm planning to finish the night with this bad boy.  

Minty goodness.  With veggies.

My throat is sore as shit and I'm coughing, which really sucks.  I blame a week's worth of stressing out.  I never get sick during times of high stress, but I do right after they end.  Time for some tea.  If I can swing it I'm going to re-do 14.4 tomorrow at 9:15 and see if I can get a couple of motherfucking toes to bar.  Then it's off to the hospital for training on the second shift.

The next chapter of my life is about to start.

Blogging the Menu: Day 87

The smalls are back.  It's loud in here.

Got to sleep past 7am today, which was pretty rad.  Then we got up and had a little breakfast before trucking over to the box for the Saturday Free WOD.  My husband has only been able to come with me once before, and we had to take the kids.  It didn't go well.  So we took the opportunity to go today, kid free, and we had a ton of fun.  It was a team WOD, and there was much laughing and some dancing.  Good stuff.

Tomorrow is the boys' 4th birthday, but since my husband had to work we gave them their presents tonight.  There are a million ninja turtles laying around, and P is wearing the new costume ninja turtle shell.  They are actually playing nicely with their joint toy...the Shellraiser.  Jesus.

On to the menu!
We ate before going to CFGB, because you never know what the free WOD is going to be and crapping out because your sugars are low is not fun.  Ask me how I know.  So I had first breakfast.

I didn't eat the pager.

This was plenty for the workout.  We laughed our way through burpees, lunges, squats, push-ups, running (repeat) for about 30 minutes.  Then we headed home to shower up.  I had second breakfast, because I'm a fucking hobbit.

Eating paleo is soooo booooooring.

I have to say, fresh strawberries are a dynamite addition to banana pancakes.  This was really, really good.  Also filling.  Since it was going on lunch time when I ate this, I ended up skipping lunch.  

I went to Target to round out the stuff for the boys' birthday present, and I got a call while I was there which meant I had to head to the office.  I was going there anyway, but it horsed up my plans a bit.  Still, I got to help someone out and get some housekeeping stuff done.  I hate leaving things unfinished, so I'll probably run in tomorrow and make sure all our ducks are in a row before my final exit.  I start back at the hospital on Monday at noon.  No down time for me...I swear I haven't been unemployed longer than 5 minutes in the last 22 years.

I made it home and wrapped presents just in time to sit for 10 seconds before the kids arrived.  Dinner was cleaning up some leftovers and a quick sausage.  Heh.  Sausage.  I had to go get my own because someone keeps forgetting to bring the hot sticks he promised to the box.  

That's ghee, not butter.

I finished off the last of the "vanilla" cauli mash.  I'm gonna be gassy tonight.  Good thing I'm home with just the kids tomorrow.  They'll just think one of the other kids farted.  I also don't have to do any squatting that isn't laundry basket related. It's a rest day up in here.

I'm considering buying some yoga classes.  I really felt like it helped with my mobility these last couple of weeks.  I can also never get too much balance work, and maybe a little more yoga will help me even up my legs.  I still feel like a bull in a china shop, and I could feel the yoga girls staring at my tattoo...probably didn't help that I was wearing a "Sun's Out, Guns Out" tank top, but fuck it.  To quote a friend "I do what I want."

Oh, and this came.

You have no idea how happy this shirt makes me.

On the docket for the rest of the night is watching Frozen and eating popcorn for the kids.  I may go for a shamrock shake, because why not?

My little babies are 4.  When the fuck did that happen?

Blogging the Menu: Day 86

Another active Friday!  Went to the box this morning and did a pretty extensive warm-up, then rowed 60 calories and got thisclose to toes to bar.  Never quite made it, though.  Did plenty of cursing.  I may give it another go on Monday-we'll see how my hands feel.

Work today was super weird.  It was my last day in the office and things were rolling along pretty smoothly, then we went to get some chow and when we came back?  The whole world was burning down.  Holy cats it was busy this afternoon!  We pulled it off in style, though, to many accolades from the transitional care coordinators and nurses.  It feels good to know you got your shit together right.  Everyone benefits.

This morning was pretty nice, weather-wise, so we went for a quick walk to break up the day.  It was nice to get some air, and I'm always up for a little movement.  After work I met my husband for hot yoga (hip hop music included!) and had an hour long session of deep stretching followed by drinks at S.A.L.T

I had a seltzer with lime.  Because that's how I roll.

On to the menu!

I had a banana on the way to the gym.

Breakfast was at the cafeteria because I barely had enough time to shower up and make it out the door. The WOD ran long and I didn't get home until 6:50.  I will say one thing for the hospital cafeteria, they make it easy to put together a Paleo breakfast.

Took me almost 2 hours to eat it....

Lunch was on the technicians for my last day, which was really nice of them and completely unnecessary.  

Fajitas with guac, no sides.

The afternoon flew by with my phone going bonkers and 157 instant messages popping up in the middle of my work.  That really fucks up my zone, but I'd rather IM than voicemail.  I hate voicemail.  I never had the chance to eat a snack, which was ultimately fine as I snarfed a RxBar on the way to yoga.  After yoga we joined some other couples for a drink, but we had to bail so I could do some work stuff, plus we needed dinner and shit is expensive at S.A.L.T.  

I need to find out if that's a real acronym or just some pretentious bullshit.  My money is on pretentious bullshit.

At home my leftover "pizza" was calling to me.  This reheated beautifully in the toaster oven and was actually more pizza-like today than when it was fresh.  Has to be reheated, though.  It would be fucking awful cold.  This one was pepperoni and green olive.

I heart this.

On the whole, today was good.  I'm going to head in tomorrow to finish up some documentation and make sure I have all my stuff before clearing out.  My husband is going to the in-laws to retrieve the spawn, so our nice quiet week is coming to a close.  It was nice.  I'm not sure I missed the children.  There wasn't time to miss them, really.  Too much other shit going on.  Tomorrow I need to get some home made mac and cheese together for the smalls and wrap the boys' gifts for their birthday.  I might have to come up with a birthday treat, too.  There will likely be chocolate chip pancakes on Sunday.

My little babies are 4.  Wow.

14 years left.  Not that I'm counting.

Blogging the Menu: Day 85

Today was a weird one.  I got up and went to the gym (instead of mysteriously becoming unconscious again) for some mobility.  It was painful.  Again.  But I felt better after, which is the point.  I made it home to cook breakfast and get my stuff together before work.

Most of today went fine, except for the couple of inevitable fires.  The inferno I was expecting seems to have petered out a bit, which is fine.  Still some stuff hanging onto the last-minute tree, but it's mostly low hanging fruit.  I had my eval today, which is always weird for me.  I feel like I do a good job, and I know I'm a competent clinician, but it's strange to sit in a room with your boss and have him tell you what he thinks of you.  Today I was told that I am a "gifted clinician".  That's a pretty cool feeling, especially since I'm on the way out the door and it would have been easy for him to torpedo me.  So, yay and stuff.

I made sure to let the boss man know that if I was "gifted" at my job it was at least in part due to the amazing support staff in the office.  It's easy to make things appear as if by magic when you work with the Compounding Whisperers.

On to the Menu!
I made breakfast!  Lazy whores of the world rejoice!  Banana pancakes and bacon with a teeny bit of maple.  Once you get the hang of this one it comes together really quickly.  You can have from scratch pancakes in less than 5 minutes.  Winning.

Belly full.

Lunch at the cafeteria today was my favorite.  MEAT SALAD!!  Well, technically it's called "Black and Blue Salad" and comes with blue cheese crumbles and crispy fried onions.  I don't get that stuff, but I do get double meat.  One of my favorite things in the world is to stand behind a whip thin dietician in the lunch line and right after she orders a "half salad", say "I'll have the full salad, please, and DOUBLE MEAT!" because the lunch line people seriously look at me like I've grown a second head.  I'm a big woman.  I eat big.  And I love meat (that's what she said).

The white stuff is horseradish sauce.

I had a couple of clementines in the afternoon.

He's just a wittle guy.

I got a call from our puppy breeder today.  She'd like to match us up with a female puppy instead of the male we were originally slated for.  She said that based on our family and our needs that the little girl would be a better fit-more of a people pleaser, more affectionate, and more easily trainable.  These are all good things.  I told her we had no objection to the switch, so on 4/5 at noon we'll pick up our new family member. We just have to decide on a name.  Lucinda (Jack Daniel's mother) or Finetta (his favorite sister).  Decisions, decisions.  

I got home this evening and figured I'd eat leftover paleo pizza for dinner, but I ended up making faux Shamrock Shakes instead.  I was mostly just fooling around, but after drinking one I was so full I couldn't eat anything.  The original recipe wasn't quite green enough.  If I'm eating mint, I want that shit to be greeeeeeen.  Technicolor green.  So I stuffed a big handful of spinach in the blender and voila!  Shamrock Shake.

Maybe next time more spinach for more green.

This was sooooooo gooooooood.  Minty sweet and creamy.  Perfect.

I went to the gym for the reveal of the next Open workout.  It's a beast.  I'll go tomorrow and do my best, because what else can you do?  Tonight I'll hit the sack early and get some good sleep.  I'm also hoping to hit hip hop yoga tomorrow night if all goes well at the office.  One more day in the office, two more days on call (three if you count today), then it's back to the hospital on Monday.  

Overall, life is pretty damn good.