Holidaze

The Man and I are headed home from visiting my family in FL. It was a wonderful, hard, painful, blissful, frustrating trip. Family is hard sometimes.... I will have a lot to write about but for now I will just say that The Man and I are brainstorming ways to "run for our troops". I will say more soon but I feel compelled to throw out a little "teaser". I hope this finds you all well and enjoying the holiday hubbub. I for one, will be happy after new years has passed...I agree with Maureen!

<3 Anna

Putting the Christ back in Christmas and other culturally insensitive holiday sayings...

I was raised in an atheist/Buddhist household. My father has long been a meditator and my mother well...she always said "I am a spiritual person with a deep faith but I don't think there is some guy in the clouds deciding my fate and I certainly don't need anyone down here telling me how to live my life". My mother believed in the power of new life. As a long-time midwife she believed very much in higher powers. Anyway, this is not about my parents religious inclinations. As I was saying I was raised in an organized religion free household. The one caveat was Christmas. My Mother LOVES Christmas. She loves the traditions and the lights, the zillion piece jig-saw puzzles, the tree in the corner, visiting family and above all the music at midnight mass. I went to church almost every Christmas as a kid just so we could sing in the most amazing acoustics once a year. Christmas was a big deal in our household. My Father had a Santa suit and every year for many many years, my mother and I would buy books for my cousins, wrap them in brown paper and hand pain winter scenes or lovely designs. My father would dress up and dust off his best, most convincing ho-ho-ho and we would put on a show of Santa coming to my aunt's house to ask all the little cousins what they wanted for Christmas. It was a full scale production. It was magic.

It was my Mother's favorite time of the year. It was mine to for a long time just because my Mother was always so energized and enthusiastic. I loved the art projects and the time spent shopping for the books. The books were a tradition started when I was an infant by my aunt Margaret. Every birthday and Christmas she would send me some beautiful book that always seemed absolutely perfect for my personality and developmental stage. She lived 9 hours away and we hardly ever saw her in person but she was uncanny in her ability to send me a "new favorite" book EVERY TIME. In fact I still have most of them today. I have read them to the dozens of children I have cared for over the years and I will give them to my own children some day.

Christmas was always a very thoughtful time of year. As an older child I didn't love it as much as Thanksgiving because it always seemed to come with this added buzz of money worry and too many other obligations. But as a child, Christmas did seem magical.

As an adult, I have worked Christmas eve and day for the last 6 years. The particular day doesn't mean an awful lot to me and I know how much it means to many people and their families. Someone has to be at work in the emergency department on Christmas so it might as well be me. My husband feels the same way about there being someone in the ambulance and thus, we try to pick up the holiday shifts and our family (his is here in Oregon) has learned to roll with the punches and celebrate Christmachaunuka on whatever day we can all have off together somewhere in the week surrounding actual Christmas. I don't work holidays to get the praise or to use it as a bargaining chip in future vacation requests. I do it because as a kid there were lots of holidays that my mom spent on-call or in a delivery at the hospital and I was one bummed out six-year old to have to wait or have presents on the next morning. I get how hard it can be for the family of the shift workers. I do it because I can and it doesn't ruffle too many feathers any more. I do it because it makes my heart feel good to know that I made the holidays a little easier and brighter for someone else's family and that when folk show up in the ED they are going to be cared for by at least one person who wants to be there on that day.

So, all of this is leading up to a little rant about sayings like "Tough crap if I offend anyone by saying Merry Christmas! It's not Happy Holidays! Its Christmas so too bad!" Its this sort of militant "Christmas" beating that drives me bonkers. "Christ is the reason for the season. I'm only going to say Merry Christmas and if that offends anyone they can shut up" ** I am NOT kidding you people! Facebook status** "They can shut up? How very Christian of you! How super tolerant and loving of you. The attitude of "Jesus died for all our sins so I'm gonna punch you if you don't agree" seems rather profoundly UNChristian to me. If I did believe in Jesus or God I think I would believe that he was a loving and tolerant one. I think I would believe he truly wanted us to love and cherish one another and not just the oneanothers who agree with each other. ALL the oneanothers. I have a lot of trouble with people who hate other people in the name of God. If God is so all powerful he can hate whoever he wants without my help. I think the Godly thing to do however, is to see the beauty in our differences and to appreciate the richness of the world. My Mother ALWAYS said it but it is true..."How boring would the world be if we were all alike?"

SO, my challenge to the world this Christmas/Holiday season is to actually practice being like the spirit you worship or believe in. I have heard the quote "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son..." He loved the WORLD. The whole world. Not just the Christian world. He loved all of the rest of us as well. I am not asking anyone to give their children to be crucified....I am simply asking us to practice that kind of love in the many small ways we are able. Take a breath and step aside from how angry political correctness makes you and think about it on a more personal level. Acting, giving and even speaking "Merry Christmas" out of love and genuine love will always be a good thing to do. But the same cannot be said for beating someone up with your faith.

Three Things Thanksgiving

So yesterday was the best day! I spent the night before at a holiday party hosted by some neighbors who are also work buddies from the hospital. It was, as their parties usually are, a really great time spent packed into their kitchen with 20 other people while the huge living room is mostly empty. I don't know what it is about Jordi and Ember's house but parties ALWAYS happen in the kitchen. It was a blast. There was a lot of delicious food and I ate some of everything I wanted including some baked spinach dip and mac and cheese. I didn't go hog wild though and it was good. I wasn't denying myself anything, instead I focused on portion control.

The next morning I woke up (only sightly hung over) and put on my arctic running tights for the Turkey Trot with JC up at the zoo. I was nervous about running with J but I had run with her on the very last leg of her 50K this fall and knew that if nothing else, she was a kind spirit. So, we met up and ran the hills between the zoo and the gardens. It was sort of killer to get to the bottom of this brutal hill and then turn around and run back up it. I swallowed my pride and walked in a few places. I decided that my goal was to run a fun race in such a way that I could feel uninjured and ready to at least work out the next day. Mission accomplished. I must admit that at one point I thought I saw the finish and I started pouring it on. My legs were flying. It was not the finish line at all. We probably had 1/2 mile left to go. It was the entrance to the zoo. Well, that was a confidence blow as then my legs began to feel like they were cast in jello molds. Anyway, we had a great finish and laughed and chatted the whole run. It felt really great to have a buddy to run with and to feel like it was easy to talk and to be myself. This may sound totally silly but especially when it comes to my running or working out, I am so self conscious. I don't want to seem fat or slow or silly. I want to seem like a runner. I totally felt like a runner yesterday and it was a great confidence boost to get me through the rest of the day.

The Man and I went to his Uncle Al's house for (my 3rd) family thanksgiving. There was a metric TON of food and lots of love and laughter as there always is at these events. It is usually Uncle Al, Grandpa, Momma, Dad, Sister A, TheMan and myself. It is nice to be included and to see that the traditions are very similar to my family traditions. It makes it easier. I realized yesterday that this was my 3rd Turkey with them and will be my 3rd Christmachaunuka this year as well. I am so very fortunate to have married into a really loving and sweet family. I am not even going to GO into how much I miss my family at the holidays but it is a LOT so having similar celebrations with this part of the family is nice.

I spoke to both of my parents and exchanged email with my brother who live is London yesterday. I miss them but it is more than that. My parents divorced when I was an "adult" in college. They sold the house and began lives with their respective partners. My childhood memories of holidays are totally intact. It is just that they are unreachable now. I never had to go through the shared holidays or anything like that as a kid. Instead, it is more like I just can ever go back there.... not with my husband or my own children in the future. It makes it bittersweet. I said I wasn't going to focus on this a ton and I won't but I will throw in that 3 years ago I never would have imagined the possibility of a "family" holiday of any sort where my brother and I would be sitting celebrating over a meal with both of my parents. This fall at my wedding all of that changed. My parents and their partners were all so wonderful and were having such a genuinely lovely time together that something shifted and while it may be a geographical challenge, all of them have said something to the effect of expressing a desire to spend a "family" holiday all together in some form soon. So, I hold out hope that we can make that happen.

I managed to eat just one plate and not to stack anything. I ate slowly and enjoyed my food, I got rid of most of the left overs by sending them to work with G, and I ran my race before dinner and walked the dogs for 45min after dinner. I think I will make it through this season and still manage to lose weight. I certainly hope so anyway....

Ok, that was my day.... Here are the things I am thankful for...

1. Community. I never would have dreamt 3 1/2 years ago when I moved out here, that I would have such beautiful community all around me. It is as minor as the people I see every day at the grocery store and as deep and wide as the new family of neighbors I find myself a part of. It is the crew who buys my soup and the friend of a friend who helps teach me the finer points of canning. In an ever less personal and connected world I am finding myself more connected and more enriched by those around me. For that I am grateful.

2. My Family. This year has been hard. My family (ALL of them) is what got me (us) through it all. They put aside personal issues and stepped up with love and assistance. They overcame personal hurdles to help G and I over some pretty friggin' HUGE ones of our own. They continue to show me unconditional love and support. I have the most wonderful family.

3. My husband. I know he is often the recipient of my thank you shout outs but I truly couldn't do what I do without him. He is the cream in my coffee. Everything is richer and more lovely with him by my side. He makes me strong, helps me when I am weak, supports my efforts and listens to help me clarify my intentions. He is a wonderful man and a really fantastic best friend. I sound all smooshy and gross but I am one lucky bunny.

I hope turkey treated everyone well. I am headed to the gym to try an ensure that the turkey and stuffing and gravy and mac and cheese and coffee cake don't stay for long.... What are you thankful for?

Learning to fly...er, race

I had a great weekend. I got to spend real time with the Man. We got the house cleaned, not scrubbed clean but much improved. I pulled off a tasty meal over 100miles away (post on this tomorrow). I woke up this morning, ate a little breakfast and not only did the right thing by my body by not upgrading to the 10k, but I managed a PR in a 5k. Yup, things are looking up again for old Liz Lemon....

I was nervous this morning, that my legs would hurt, that I would be slow, that I would look silly. I started out waay too fast but managed to keep it together and finish strong. I told the Man that I think I am learning to "race". I am learning to push a little harder and stronger than I do in training runs. I am learning to be more comfortable being uncomfortable. This is not to be confused with pushing too hard or over doing it. On the contrary, it is just a transition from "lah lah lah, fat kid on a run. Just feeling lucky to finish..." to "what am I capable of? What do I really have in here anyway? Can I dig a little deeper and push a little harder?" And when I am trying to do those things it is not about being comfy, or taking it easy. Anyway, it felt good even if I did start too fast (9:27 min pace to the first mile woops!). I got the side stitch/hiccups and took 2 half minute walk breaks but mostly I spent my run today settling into feeling uncomfortable. In meditation they talk a lot about making friends with one's self, getting familiar with the ups and downs, getting comfortable even when physically you are uncomfortable. One great teacher once said to a room full of us on day 4 of a 30 day retreat "Stop fidgeting. Moving around is just another distraction. Your mind will do anything to distract you from stillness. Just stop. It isn't about being perfectly comfortable. It takes work." Well, the same seems true for running faster and racing in particular. It isn't a slumber party...it is work. Quit expecting it to be easy and you won't feel so upset when it is hard. I quit expecting it to be easy and oddly enough, it got easier. There was less mental struggle. I felt calmer. I shaved 3minutes off of my last 5k.

The other, very cool, thing that happened was in the Man's race. I sort of shanghaied him into running. He started taking his meds again and is a focused, driven dude again. He has been running and for the first time since beginning to run as an adult, he is curious about his personal potential. I sort of backdoor convinced him to "consider" running the half marathon this weekend and he did! He not only considered it he ran it in SUB 8MIN PACE!!! He is a FU%$ING MACHINE! I am so proud of him. He is so proud of him. He came through the finish line and was totally vacant. I think he got a little hungry at the end and was not totally with it. When he finally came around he was pretty proud of himself. He finished about 4 min faster than his goal time for the day. I can't wait to see what happens this winter! We have some good races lined up.... Hagg Lake 25k, Shamrock Run 15k.... Eugene....As long as I can keep losing weight, getting stronger and staying injury free, I feel like this could really be my year! Or maybe I should say this could be my first of many years....

Negative Nancy Says Hush Little Rage Muffin Hush

So... after all of that.... I found out the state has everything they need and on Monday I am trotting my little behind to the EMS office and walking out an Oregon EMT-P. Then I will turn in my application and anxiously pace up and down for about a week.

In all of this I learned a few things. 1. Do not put off today what may cause you to not get a job you should really get tomorrow. 2. You are very very very very lucky if you can find a partner in this world who will watch you pull off some of the stupidest shit in history, know that even if they wanted to they could not stop you, and then totally refrain from judgment or shittiness when you come crying to them for help. 3. Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans....the important part is that you continue to make other plans and just roll, gracefully if possible, with what comes. 4. The woman at the state EMS office has a heart and soul after all and last but certainly not least #5. Admitting you created your own train wreck when asking for special help and acknowledging that people are not required to help you, but you really really appreciate it when they do goes a very long way in pulling yourself out of said train wreck.

And now I am off to Eugene to watch the Man run a half marathon in likely, only twice as long as it takes me to run my 5K..... Up next: The Midwestern girl attempts to impress her father in-law by cooking a yummy dinner....

Three Things Thursday turns to FU%K Me Friday....

So I missed TTT. I thought about writing. Honestly I did. I just felt so wiped out after my night at work on wednesday followed by a PT appointment in the middle of the only REM sleep I got all day. The dog was being a jerk and I didn't sleep which lead to feeling like yuk and not writing TTT post.

So, what happens when things are left too long without proper attention? Three Things Thursday turns into FMF. Here is a list of the three things I have not dealt with and am thus under the gun about on this lovely grey Friday.

1. My school loan/account balance for my final term. Yes, I graduated months ago. This summer in the heat of the insanity I decided, wisely at the time, that I would apply for one more little bump of help. I went through the whole mess of applications and co-signers and on and on. I was under the impression that all I needed to do was pay the balance and it was game on. Well, I did not have the $$ to pay the balance so I waited. I waited and the school held my diploma hostage. It was not the biggest deal. I would soon have the money and they would soon send me my diploma right? WRONG! You see, when you don't follow up properly even the simplest things turn into a total goat rodeo. I now have a shot at a job with a company here in the city which would pay more, be soooo much closer, start at full time more quickly and would involve a promise of that full time indefinitely but.....I need my state cert and to get that cert....I need my diploma. So I think, bad girl, you should not have dragged your feet for so long, now this is going to be a time crunch. I had no idea! I call school today all peppy, thinking all I had to do was fork over about 1200$. Nope! My loan disbursement got all jacked up and the bank and the school never caught up with each other to pass the cash. So, here I sit, on the verge of job opportunities totally screwed by my own hand. I said to the man "If I were my kid, I would be pretty disappointed in me right now".

2. Cleaning our bedroom....need I really say more?

3. The dryer is broken. We have a new homeowners warranty on all of that sort of stuff but in the mean time I went downstairs to find 2 loads of wet funky laundry laying in a pile on the washing machine. It was enough to give me a stroke. I was so pissed. I get it. It not working... SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DOOOO ABOUT THE ROTTING LAUNDRY????!!!!!! I lost my cool a little then sucked it up and hung the shit on the drying rack. I go all Martha Steward on a bender of rage and passiveaggressivity sometimes when things like this happen.

Anyway, today is Friday my school situation is a total cluster, my bedroom is filthy and we are expected in Eugene tonight. I am in a labile mood at best....I hate it when the universe conspires against me to show me how disorganized and irresponsible I am.... I get it universe!!! Go back to casually ignoring my existence now please....

BLAAARRGHHH

Pardon my French but FUUUUUHHHHHCK!

I went to PT this morning and while he was checking out my pain scale I told him my knee felt a little janky. He checked out my knee and compared it to the other one and said "you have a little fluid on your knee." You must have jacked it up on the elliptical (based on what I was telling him) and now it is a little pissed and swollen. Then he gave me the fear of god speech as he called it. He threatened me with a torn meniscus if I didn't chill the F out. I am allowed pool running and walking and that is about it. Fuck Fuck Fuck! That is such a bummer! I have things to do, races to PR JAMES!!!! What the HELL?!!! More like what the hell body?! I am, needless to say, a little torn up about it. That said and profanity aside I am using this as a chance to practice being more patient, more creative and more positive. I think PT is a huge part of that as every time I go we work on something and I feel results and I leave with a clear picture of what to work on for next time. I'm such a follower! Anyway, I guess this is a two sided post. The first being the afore mentioned F!!! and the second being that I am taking a moment to pause and see this challenge for the potential growth it affords me. I will come out of this stronger, more creative and much more familiar with the pool down the road. I will learn how to read my body's signals and what to do to honor its needs while keeping my physical and mental fitness. Thanks for listening....

Three Things Thursday

Hi buddies. This week has sort of become a mixed bag of yays and shit. Instead of bitching and moaning though I am going to focus on the things I am "wicked" greatful for on this thursday. It might be more like a 6 things thursday but hey, it's my party I'll list make if I want to.

1. My Husband! He is my friggin' hero. He really just makes my world go round in so many ways. He keeps me fed, clothed, heat on, water running...he is sort of an all American guy. He is also a big fat feminist! But in all truth and seriousness. I could not get through the days without him. I am so freakin' lucky its a little wrong.

2. Sun Chips Harvest Cheddar...it's hard to follow my number one. It is a spot that can really only be filled with CHEESE! They are cheesy and salty and only 3 points per serving. They are my current favorite "I have worked hard and earned a treat damn it!" snack. I still haven't figured out how to get around the fact that if I were to buy a large bag instead of the single serving packs, I would eat the whole thing in one sitting 100% no question. I do feel a bit environmentally hypocritical.

3. My DM buddies. My PT told me this week that I am slowing my recovery down by trying to over do it. He cut my work outs way back and decreased my intensity....boo! But tonight, mid self pity party, my DM girlies gave me a little multifaceted pep talk and I am feeling resolute in my goals and in my prescribed treatment. I will simmer the F down until I am better.

Ok, well, that really covers the big three this week. We will have to see what tomorrow brings.
Hope this finds you all well,
-Anna

Sometimes We Struggle

I am not sure who it was who decided to indoctrinate millions of little girls into believing that one day they would get married (a totally blissed out "best day of their lives") and then everything would be happily ever after. No, I am not sure who came up with that line of crap but they ought to be punished, harshly. I don't say this to mean that "had I known how tough real life is I would have done anything differently", I mean it more in the "why do we perpetuate a concept that leaves women feeling freaked out, isolated and like failures?" I think it would be much more powerful and honest to say that real life continues after the wedding, which was probably a pretty overwhelming pain in the ass at times if we are honest with ourselves and our partners. Anyway, I have been thinking about it and it bums me out that we continue to act as if once you get married you should ride off into the sunset and drink fancy cocktails on the beach for eternity. No honey, that isn't eternity, that's the honeymoon. Eventually you come home and there are bills to pay, jobs to search for and the dog has knocked over the trash can and shredded a 3 day old chicken carcass on the sofa. Wedded bliss right? Well, actually, it can be. Not because you didn't give the rose colored glasses back to the flight attendant, because you have a partner now.

This may sound crazy but bear with me. When the Man and I were dating there were certain things that would send me into a tail spin about if I was right for him and vice verse. I would get upset about something, voice my opinion and then worry that he was going to decide I was a huge pain in the ass and he was out. No matter how much I loved him or how much love I felt from him I knew there was this line I shouldn't cross because I was "just the girlfriend" and he could easily just leave. There are still lines all over the place in our relationship. They migrate dependant upon blood sugar levels and hours of sleep logged in the last 72 hours. The difference now is that the line is not a line of "I will break up with you", it is a line of "I will be pissed" or "my feelings will be hurt" or worst "I will stop listening and likely do exactly the opposite of what you want just to be contrary". I hate to sound like a smug married but after the beerlopement in January, I have felt this sort of calm about things between us and it damn sure isn't because things have been so easy. We were down to one income as I was working like a slave in school, we found out that we had to move a second time in 9 months, we were getting married (big stinky wedding style), we decided to buy a house, move into it and I flew to Denver to take my boards. I maintain that all of these concerns and stresses are VERY VERY privileged concerns however, stress is relative and it was a LOT to manage all at once without losing sight of those lines. The point is that the lines are different now. It is so hard to describe but somehow, we have this understanding that we can get stressed, we can be badly behaved and underneath it all (as the great Gwen Stefani says) we really love each other so the rest is just weather. It will rain, it will shine, it will pass. The high risk lines are barely visible in the distance these days. It would take something pretty big to get either one of us there.

Since the dust has settled a bit new struggles have popped up. Most specifically my general discontent with unemployment and our mutual frustration and exasperation at the magnitude of the Man's ADD. He was born high speed. As he reads the book Driven to Distraction, he finds many passages that make him say "Oh, gosh! I never thought that was because of my ADD!" It has been a life long companion for him. I was pretty skeptical about adult ADD that is until we started living together. I am almost certain that I am not ADD free myself but there are differences between my procrastination and his and my distractability and his. I describe his unmedicated state like this; It is like I am trying to talk to someone standing in the middle of a very small room surrounded by TVs getting shitty reception on high volume. He is straining to hear me but he can't really over the noise and all the flashing lights. When he is medicated it is totally different. It is like we are standing in a room where it is quiet and peaceful with maybe a television on in the next room. Sometimes the sound drifts in but it isn't really constant or very distracting.

I think it is safe to say that a large portion of our fights or struggles with one another right after the wedding were in large part, due to me, getting really frustrated with the ADD and handling it badly. I felt like it wasn't his fault that the TVs were on all the time so it was sort of stupid to get mad at him. I felt ready to explode. I was over trying to find ways to coax and suggest and eventually, all out manipulate him into being a functioning grown-up. Hind sight being 20/20 I now wish I had just said something sooner instead of trying to puppet master the whole thing. I think I would have spent less time totally enraged on the inside. All that said, he went to the doctor last week and started a combination of medication and education. Things are better already. It is not all the ADD. It is me too. I am impatient and easily frustrated when I want something I cannot have for whatever reason. I was spending a lot of time feeling sorry for myself and I was sinking into a stinky place full of manipulation and far from the golden rule.

I think the golden rule would have really helped me out in the last 2 months. I was walking around demanding to be treated a certain way but I wasn't reciprocating. I wasn't treating the Man or the sister-in-law the way I know they want to be treated. I was too busy feeling robbed of my culturally promised fairy tale ending. I had a melt down a little over a week ago and the Man said a lot of sweet things but he also said this "I love you and I know you were tired after everything this summer, but you have layed down feeling sorry for yourself for long enough. It is time to get on with it already". I was sort of stunned. I am usually the tough love giver in our family and he usually ignores my bad behavior until it is over and then readily accepts my apology once I have come to my senses. This was different. I was full of love and sincerity and not the slightest hint of malice so I took it as it was intended. It was a life raft. I climbed in.

The life raft is well equipped. It came with a gym pass, a weight watchers membership, a supportive helper on souper Tuesdays, a job interview and some new medication for the Man. I prefer the life raft to the stormy sea of self pity.

So, this is sort of a rambly entry but the point are 1. Why do we insist upon painting this picture of happily ever after for our girls? I get that it is easier to say H.E.A than it is to say, and then they worked at their relationship and personal goals together and independently for as long as they were together, but who are we kidding? Who are we hurting? 2. I dig the way I feel about being married. Even when the shit just keeps hitting the fan it is easier than it was before and thank God for that. And 3. You don't have to be in elementary school to remember or relearn the Golden Rule. It is still good.

I intend to write more about our journey as a pair and the ever moving lines we create and erase but this stuff has been rattling around and I thought it best to start trying to talk about it. Who knows? It may be something someone needs to see. It may be just the thing to let another person know that they are not alone in the H.E.A struggle.

Souper Tuesday

It is upon us again friends! Soup Day! Hooray! This is week three of my little underground soup biz and I am excited. The last 2 weeks I have made some rather off beat soups like white bean and chicken, fish chowder, pureed garden veggie and autumn potato-squash. By off beat I mean they are not soups that people can imagine the flavor of right away. They are not as mainstream as what I am rolling out this week...Lentil as the veggie option of the week and Organic Beef Chili. I think they will be a big hit. They are very classic soups and it is sort of a dreary day outside so soup will be PERFECT!

Speaking of dreary days...we finally caved in and turned on our furnace. We had originally set the goal of making it to November before we turned it on but lo and behold, we made it an entire week further before deciding that we had had enough of freezing fingers and toes and wearing hats to bed. Yes friends it is truly fall here in the pacific NW. I dare say it is even inching on towards winter.

In happiest of happy news I had a really great interview with a rural ambulance company yesterday. I walked in and the "boss lady" greeted me and took me to the classroom where there was another woman waiting for us. The BL then said "Ok, we're going to start of with a megacode. Just get things rolling from there." In paramedic speak megacode is the training drill where everything goes wrong and a patient is trying very hard to die on you and you are trying very hard, including using all of you drugs, electricity, breathing tubes and sphincter control, to keep them from staying dead. It is NOT my favorite thing. Anyway, she said that and I am reasonably certain I let out and audible "guhh". Very confidence inspiring, I know! The BL started laughing and said "No, No just kidding". I think I must have looked like I was about to throw up. You see, in "real life", and ACLS class, you usually have a little cheat sheet with the algorithms on it and you look at the patient, decided which of the three flavors of dead they are and you start down the appropriate pathway. I had NOTHING of the sort on my person and had gone a solid 3 months without much thinking about megacodes. I was a little unprepared to say the least. So, once my heart stopped beating so hard I was shaking and I calmed my gag reflex a bit, we started the interview.

The interview went well, there were only a few moments where I felt like my mouth was moving and I wasn't quite sure what I had already said and what I was about to say. There was some quick thinking going on. Not that I was being untruthful, but there were questions I had not anticipated and thus, I had to think quickly a few times to answer them in a thoughtful, put together manner. I was feeling like things were going pretty well when the question of "how would you get patient so and so to go to the hospital with you if he didn't want to go but was probably having a heart attack?" I stepped back and said "I would look around his environment and see what I could find. Does he have children?, a wife? a pack of buddies he goes fishing with? Does he seem to have anything he really cares about? Once I find that thing, I will lean on that emotional connection. "Sir, you seem to have a lot of folks who care about you. I don't think you want to worry them like this. Let's get you checked out so you can get back to your grand kids (or whatever)". It was that answer that caused the change in the BL's language. She stopped saying "If you come to work here" and started saying "when you start". It was very subtle and I am not sure if she even noticed she was saying it but it shifted. I was IN! The interview ended with her telling me that the process was going to take some time and not to freak out or become discouraged. Also, that I am coming on as several folks are leaving or dropping down to fewer hours to have babies so it will be a rather dynamic schedule. I don't even care! I have an in and that is all I needed. I drove home very happy.

Three Things Thursday

1. This week's soup was a smash hit Roasted accor squash with garden veggies and Chicken with mixed beans and veggies. This is important because last week was a different crew on at the hospital and now that I know both rotations like the soup I know I can make a go of it. A buddy even pointed out that it is totally legal to sell food to friends without all of the legal business stuff like commercial kitchens and blah blah. I hope that is true however, even if it is not, I am going to continue gambling because it is starting to make a dent in the bill for the man's holiday gift and as soon as I can get that taken care of I can get on with the rest of the things I need to figure out how to pay for. Anyway, take home message is SOUP IS GOOD! It is good for your body and spirit and for my mind and wallet. EAT SOUP!

2. The man built a shed! He is HAAAAAANDY! I knew it was in him but was unsure how deep down it was buried. He started scheming over a month ago and today his man buddies came over and together, they built a huge, very cool, very well crafted wood shed. I should state for the record that he had all but the roof completed yesterday and the man clan just helped with the roof which would have been do-able but not very pretty alone... The Man has great friends. They are neighborhood guys who either work with me at the ED or have wives who work with me. They are a solid, sweet, nerdy, freakishly handy, studly bunch. They do roofs, they play bingo and they all love muts. I took them a pot of coffee this morning and as I was carrying the tray out to the yard I caught myself in the midst of a 40's housewife moment. My reaction was to set the tray down and say to the Man Clan "Don't get any ideas, I just don't want you tracking shit in the house" Grumble, stomp off back to clean the bathroom...Oh Anna! You are such a conflicted little freak!

3.Compression socks....I am wondering if these bad boys might not help me feel better. I have been compressing and icing for the past few days and the compression feels really good. I am going to see what the PT says tomorrow but some zippy new leg sleeves might be in my future. I just want to run already! This whole injured not injured thing is for the birds!

Shin splints and shitty days

I have been really sidelined by my shinsplints the last few days. I actually stopped a run and got in the car the other night because walking and running were just too much pain. I am pretty bummed. I went to the doctor today and he is a reformed chubby runner who has overcome much of what I find myself struggling through. It is a nice relationship. I feel understood, respected and heard when I go see him. He is funny. He is very supportive. I loves him!

So, as I was being checked in by the medical assistant she put me on the scale and as she slid the weight up, and up, and up finally arriving at my weight she looked at me and said, "Dang girl, where do you keep it?! You don't even really have a booty!" It was hilarious! She instantly, embarassedly caught herself and reverted back to professional mode apologizing. I told her no need and continued to giggle as she continued to, very earnestly, tell me she was shocked and that I wore my pounds well. I told her thank you and informed her that no matter what the scale said it was 4lbs less than it was a week ago when I started the WW. Yep! You heard me! F_O_U_R! And I have even had my fill of Halloween candy! I know that every week will not be like this but it feels so good to know that it can actually happen even if it doesn't happen quickly all of the time. It is a nice little jump start.

The doc warned me about the WW nebulous calorie counting methods for activity points and that it will be beneficial to operate under the 1 point for every 300kC burned. I think I need to look into one of those calorie counter watches....Hmmm. Anyway, he referred me to a physical therapist and I will see them the day after tomorrow. I am pissed and bummed and frightened that I am going to have to give up or modify the one thing I felt like I had control over right now. Whoo, I don't want to talk or think to much about it right now or I will be back in the sob fest I had last night....Needless to say more on this as things progress... but for now, please keep fingers crossed that there is a magic PT bullet. I need my running right now.

The world has a way of waking me up....

Last week the Man and I were down in Eugene at his folks house for the night. I decided to step on the scale. YIKES! Married life is good to me...Cheese is not as good to me. I made the (really stupid) decision to calculate my BMI and was horrified to find that the CDC thinks I should weigh about 90lbs less than I do! First off Fuck you CDC! I would need BONES removed to weigh under 150lbs! Anyway, as insane as I thought the CDC BMI info was I really had to stop and think about where I was. Was this the way I wanted to treat my body? My one and only body? Was this the body I wanted to be setting as an example for my kids? Was this the body I wanted to grow little people in? The answer was no. This was not the "Me" I wanted. And so....My loving husband signed me up for Weight Watchers here-to-for known as WW.

It has been a week and it is pretty easy. It is almost enjoyable to have a structure to use to control my frankly, out of control eating habits. I found an iPhone application for the point tracker and I am all over planning my meals and snacks and staying within my points for the day. It also helps that I am running distances again which allow me many more activity points that are mine to eat or not eat as I wish. For right now, as long as I am not HUUUUNGRY I am trying not to eat the "extra, extra" points. That's how I think of my activity points. My daily points are 35 my weekly points (first extra in extra, extra) are 35 and that ought to be enough unless I am running mad distance and even then, there are enough filling yummy foods out there that don't cost a zillion points. I think for the first month I am really going to try to stay within the first extra. We will see how it goes and how running a 1/2 marathon in 3 weeks goes along with that.

I realized I have not written much since I started running again. It all started with my sister-in-law running the Portland Marathon 3+weeks ago. The Man and I were all signed to run the full 26.2 until our lives fuggin exploded! I am not even kidding! My internship, his picking up a silly amount of OT to cover our expenses, wedding planning (for a wedding 5 weeks away!), and then our rental agreement was terminated so that the owner could sell it. Sidebar: The house still has not gone up on the market and the owner's car is there all the time now...hmmmm. Serves her right for offering to sell it to us at a leotarded price of 300K+ she is HIIIIIGH! Anyway, this would have been our second move (third rental) in a year. No thanks! We decided to look into buying and thanks to the amazing help and generosity of our families we were able to buy and are now in love with our little 1929 bungalo in the hood! You may be able to see how this was a total and utter train wreck for our marathon training. Well the sister soldiered on and laced up her kicks that rainy bleak morning. It was literally raining swimming pools that morning. I had offered to join her for part of the run and was already cold by the time I met up with her around mile 13. We chatted and ran and she blew me away with her high spirits and glowing zen runner-ness that day. I was having so much fun and was feeling so inspired that my original plan for a 7mile run morphed into a 13 mile run and before I knew it I was hugging her and stepping onto the sidewalk at the 26mile sign. It was a great day and despite being suuuper sore the next day I was suuuper inspired. I started scheming. I ran two days later and then the day after that. The next weekend I volunteered to help with medical assistance at the "Girlfriends Half Marathon" in Vancouver. It was even more inspiring! It was an all women's race and there were women from ALL walks of life. I teared up repeatedly as groups of women clad in pink crossed the finish line hugging, holding hands and weeping tears of accomplishment, pride, joy and pain. It was very moving. At one point I was standing at the finish line keeping an eye peeled for any runners who may not be doing so well when a woman sort of staggered over to the shoe station and started crying as the man cut her timer tag off of her shoe. I could read her name on her race bib and asked "*Janet*, how are you doing?" She turned and looked at me and choked out "I did it! I did the whole thing!". I teared up and as she hugged me I said "Yes you did my friend, yes you did". It has been a while since I ran a race I was truly uncertain I would complete. But I remember those runs. I remember being 17 and being terrified as I laced up my sneakers that this 10 mile, this 17 mile this whole fuggin marathon would be too much for me. For better or worse, I no longer have that groundless doubt anymore. I know pretty well that even if I am crawling, I will make it to the finish line. The difference now is how will I feel about that finish line? Will I feel like I gave it everything in training and then left all I had out there on the course? Will I feel like I half-assed the training and now I am just phoning in the race? Will I feel embarrassed and woefully unprepared? Will I PR and know that my efforts and smarts paid off? Well, this is my journey right now. As the whole house wife thing is a little irritating I am focusing on running and shaving pounds and time off of my running. I have the most wonderful support team from the Man to the women I have been fortunate enough to stumble upon. I have the motivation and the drive to get out there and run...now it is just a matter of putting all of the pieces together. As it was back in the Outward Bound days, first it is about learning the basics of the skill, the hand eye coordination, then it becomes about the craftsmanship...

Secret Soup....

I have decided to start a little underground soup operation. I am making homemade soups and taking them in to my work peeps who will pay me for the yummy creations. It is a gigantic government nightmare I am sure. No oversight of my kitchen, no current food handler's card, no inspections or taxes?! That's right folks I am a renegade soup chef here in the hood! Delivering healthy, delicious, simple food to those who stay up all night to watch over us all. I am such a rebel. Instead of Bob Marley's "Soul Rebel" I am a Soup Rebel....with a cause! Anyway, I made the previously mentioned veggie stock and then got crackin' on my two soups for the night. The first is a roasted butternut, potato, broccoli soup. All vegetarian with a little condensed milk and about a 1/5 stick of butter to saute the veggies and roast the squash. This soup is brought to you by the letter B for BLENDER!!!! We received a new blender for the wedding and it has become a very frequent player on my soup making team. The next soup is the omnivore's dish. Fisherman's chowder. A family recipe passed on to me over the generations and over the iphone from my mother's partner .... It is a very traditional Maine Haddock chowder with one twist...Seasonings! God bless New England but damn! Their chowders are so friggen' bland! This one is NOT. This one passed the picky man fish test. I am pretty proud of it. Corn, potato, onion, celery, carrot, white fish, condensed milk, seasonings, bay leaves, olive oil and again, a little butter maybe 1/4 stick for the veggies. Anyway, giant steaming pots of soup! I am proud. We will have to see how people like it. We will have to see how far I get. Wish me luck on the eve of Secret Soup: The journey of a soup rebel....
-Anna

Veggie Stock Tutorial

I have a little underground soup business I am starting up. I will be delivering late night soup to my buddies at the ED for dirty cheap in hopes of earning enough cash to cover my running habit or my Weight Watchers membership....either way : ) I did a lot of reading about making cheap stock as I will be spending waaaay too much $$ on stock otherwise. Today I decided to take a crack at veggie stock. Here is what I did....

1. Buy a soup sock. This is a meshy thing that expands and is safe to boil.
2. Round up all the shit you haven't used from your farmshare that is starting to turn unsightly.
Eggplant, carrot, broccoli, onion, celery tops, Swiss chard, garlic, you get the point...
3. Wash and cut up above items and shove them into the sock sprinkle salt, pepper and several bay leaves in the pot.
4. Cover with hot tap water and place on stove. Achieve rolling boil then reduce heat to a simmer for 2-3hrs. DO NOT STIR!!!! If you stir this stuff the broth will cloud. Just fight the urge and leave it be.
5. Gently remove sock and strain broth. Boil with lid off for 20-60min to reduce the water content and concentrate the stock for more compact storage.
6. MAKE SOUP!

Enjoy!
-Anna

Back to Basics... Step 1 tie your shoes...

I have been a "runner" for 10 years on and off. I watched my big brother run a full marathon the fall I was 16 and started training for my own the very next day. I trained all winter and completed my own 26.2 mile journey the following spring at 17. I finished last. Very very very last. I was chubby, stubborn and optimistic. I am still proud of myself. I finished in 5:30:something...

I have been back to running on and off for the last 2 years. It waxes and wanes depending upon the weight of the other plates spinning. I was registered to run the PDX marathon two weeks ago but with internship(4 days a week of 7p-7a), buying a house, moving, taking my national board exams and planning my wedding all within a month....my running sort of fell apart in August. My sister-in-law kept on running and completed her first full 26.2 miles with grace and good humor. I had the honor of running the last half with her and on that stretch somewhere between the St John's Bridge and the western banks of the river downtown I reclaimed my motivation. I sort of realized how close I had come. It was motivating, energizing and a little sad to see how close I was to making it.

It has been about 2 weeks since the race and I am running again. I am running consistently and with great enthusiasm. I am competing in a 13.1mile race in December and will soon register for a full Marathon in Eugene for May 2011. I am back to basics. I have new goals and new inspiration, even a cute new running skirt but I am back to square one.

The hardest part is that I am at my highest body weight ever. I have maxed out way past my comfort zone and I think it is taking a toll on my mind and my joints. I KNOW it is taking a toll on my pace. I have never been small. I am a very strong, stocky, "built like a small refrigerator", corn-fed, cheese loving, Midwestern farm girl. I have never been very good at calorie counting or restriction. Obviously. I always feel like I am punishing myself. Food is love and fun and family and comfort and celebration to me. I hate the idea of having to restrict but I think it is time. Beyond that I think my body is telling me it is time. My joints ache after my runs and I don't think I should feel this sore. I'm pretty sure its because of the weight I am lugging around. It is time for my relationship with food to change. Damn! It feels a little like getting ready to break up with someone. God! I sound like one of those women on one of those scary reality shows. Ick! Anyway, I have done WW before and I think the point system will work for me. It will allow me to have my beer on a high activity day and to keep track of what I have "earned" and what I have not yet earned...I think it is part of the next step in my running development. I will not get faster until I get lighter. For now, my aching joints are my reminder that I weigh too much for what I am asking my body to do on runs. It is frustrating and depressing and inspiring all at the same time....Well, the Man has returned from the salt mines cranky, hungry and cold....I must cut this blog post short for now to tend to him (Because I love him not because I am obligated). More on this later....
-Anna

Quick Tip For Hardwood Floors...

I have worked on boats for years. It was my previous life....Ahh it was so much simpler no? Anyway, when I worked on those boats we used to have very specific cleaning practices to ensure the wooden decks (fancy boat word for outdoor floor) and the soles (fancy boat word for indoor floors) were clean yet preserved the best possible for as long as possible. For the decks we would haul up buckets of sea water, sploosh them over the decks and then scrub them down with hard bristle brushes. The salt in the sea water along with the oil we used to seal the decks throughout the season, worked to preserve the wood. Fresh water was the devil. It would break down the oil and cause the wood to rot. It was a rarity to wash the deck with fresh water. Down below we used Murphy's Oil Soap and fresh water. The sole was varnished and sealed with clear coat. What does any of this have to do with the hardwood floors in my house? Well, I wish I could wash them with sea water. I would oil them three or four times a year and then slosh buckets of sea water over them daily.

As it stands now my floors are old old old wood floors. They are hungry for a refinishing. I am in constant search to find the perfect cleaning routine to combat the dogs dirt, dog hair, garden dirt, street dirt and general grubbiness of an active family of three (plus 2). Right now I sweep several times a week and once a week I use Bona Floor cleaning system. They have some very attractive refinishing system that claims to be dustless and damn! That looks nice! Anyway, I love the bona system. I am just still trying to find the perfect system for actual mop up the super gross shit that the dogs drag in to the kitchen. I have long been a Murphy's oil soap girl. I even get nostalgic at the smell of it! I thought Murphy's was the way to go until my mother pointed out that it is a soap based cleaner that will leave a dulling residue. She gave me the tip to rinse with very diluted white vinegar after I am done moping with the Murphy's it seems to be a good method. It doesn't leave any yucky smell or dull film on the floor. So, for now, until I can pay a zillion dollars to have the Bona guys come a refinish my floors (or more likely, option B: Next summer when our friends come help us refinish the floors) I will keep using the bona wet mop and dust mop and on the rare disgusting occasion that the dogs drag crap through the house or pillage the trash can, I will use the Murphy's/vinegar method. So there you have it. The homestead stance on cleaning the hardwoods.

He Who Shall Learn To Be Handy....

Now that the wedding dust has settled the Man and I have found our selves at the beginning and ends of about a zillion projects. We have been trying to sort out some sort of priority for these projects and then put it into a list some place where we can see them and cross them off when we are done. We are both HUGE nerds and find the crossing off of things on a list extremely satisfying. We put our heads together and decided that our giant white board which served us so well in the wedding planning/house buying/camping trip planning process in the past, would be perfect. I would have a picture inserted here but my computer is acting up so you will have to use your imagination.

We divided up the areas of the house and then wrote out priorities for the next 2 months worth of projects. The priority level was determined by several factors. 1. How much money will said project cost? 2. How much time will said project take? 3. How crazy is it making me that said project is not done?(Also, how much better will life be with said project completed) 4. How weather dependent is said project. We live in the rain forest so how much time do we have/need before the monsoons arrive? You get the point. All of those things went into deciding that the gutters needed to be cleaned out in Oct not Nov and that the wood shed should be built in Oct not Nov but that sorting out camping gear and setting up a craft area could wait until Nov.

The dogs have infiltrated our compost compound in the yard. They have figured out how to get over the fence and dig under the barrel to inflict the maximum amount of damage to the pile. This has resulted in multiple baths, a new collar for Gwen and a great deal of frustration which lead to inspiration on the part of The Man. He got all fired up and decided it was time to build one of those fancy rotating drum composters. He drew out plans, he measured things, he re purposed lumber from the yard and learned how to use new tools. He built a freaking awesome rotating drum composter. He knocked my socks off.

My husband is not one of those guys who was born handy. He was born nerdy. He was born curious and creative but with the attention span of a kindergartner. If you need to intubate someone on the side of a mountain while suspended over a cliff in a harness he is your guy. If you need chapter and verse quotations from any number of wilderness medical protocols or research studies on prehospital EMS he is your guy. If you need an "adult" to supervise a rowdy group of teens in the wilderness again, he is all over it. He is also a wealth of information on Battle star Galactica, Firefly and I suspect a host of other sci-fi hits. My point is that he did not spend his childhood building things in the physical world. He has not, until now, been handy.

This weekend however, he blew me away! He busted out the Dremmel tool, he learned to use a chop saw he built a pretty rad rotating compost bin and in doing so learned a little more about being handy. He has asked if he can provide guest posts to the stream about his projects and I was more than happy to oblige. So COMING SOON! The Man posts about his quest to become handy! Up next, Wood Shed!

Joining the Ranks

Things have been rather melodramatic in my head lately. I have been feeling a little out of control waiting for the job thing to happen and trying to get the lose ends of school/state certification and wedding thank yous tied up. I think part of my problem is that for the last year my hair has literally been on fire with one project/deadline or another. I have been operating at full tilt for 13months. Now I have come to a nearly full stop. I am a "housewife". Not by choice either.... Anyway, I had a chance to spend some time with some friends of ours last night and it really helped me re frame my reality in a very helpful way.

On our wedding day the Man and I had some badly behaving family. It happens. It was such a minor part of the whole beautiful weekend that it barely warrants mention, however, on that day it seemed huge and it had me pretty keyed up. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what the proper etiquette was in this situation. I wanted to ask my Mother but I didn't want to burden her (or any of my 4 mothers for that matter) with the politics. I looked around at my maids and realized I needed some advice from an "elder". I curb sided my friend Liz. She gave me the following amazing advice "This is your and G's day. All of these people are here because they have accepted your invitation to come celebrate your day. If they can't handle themselves or be well behaved that is not your problem. Now get out there and enjoy yourself." It was really beautiful advice. It was not aggressive or disrespectful. It encouraged me to shake it off and enjoy the day. To prioritize my time and spend it with those who are fully engaged in the celebration, with those who have traveled thousands of miles to help us start our lives together surrounded with love. It saved my life!

When I say "elder" I don't mean old in years. I don't even mean that far ahead of me in experience though, mothers and aunties who have been married for decades are very handy to have around as well. I mean the women who's sisterhood I have now joined. The women who are just barely ahead of me in this whole wife thing. I am not by any means discounting my sisters who are un-partnered, I am merely writing about the other ones here. Liz, Andrea, Sara, all of them are just steps ahead of me in this new land. It sounds silly maybe but now that the wedding is over things do feel different. I feel "married". I feel presented to the world as part of this three legged race team called me-and-him. It is beautiful but it is also oddly more different than I had anticipated. Maybe in time I will be able to be more specific about what exactly it is that feels different but for now I will just say that it does.

Anyway, I digress wildly. Last night I had made stew and grudgingly watched the Man go back to work (still not entirely well). I knew that I was likely going to spend the night with my friends, the cast of Law and Order, have a few beers and fall asleep feeling upset only to wake in the morning just as upset as the day before. I texted our friends GW and KJ. They are another health care couple who have been through much of what we have been through and more. They are engaged to be married a year from now. I adore them both. KJ and I have very different personalities at first impression I am loud and outgoing. She is seemingly shy. It didn't take us very long to discover that we are actually very similar. Anyway, I invited myself over to their house last night offering to bring stew in exchange for company. I arrived to find them wide eyed sitting in the kitchen. They announced they had just put an offer in on a house. I was SOOOO excited for them. They have been living in a tiny little rental and I just think it would be exciting to see them blossom into a family in a home where they could really make it their own. Not to mention that if the Man and I can do it ANYONE can do it.

We spent most of the night talking about house stuff. We did a ninja drive by and stalked around in the back yard. When we got back to their house they had to sign the offer paper work. I told them about our realtor's advice that we write a letter to the sellers about us and how we saw ourselves in the house. I suggested it to them and they wrote a really lovely and enthusiastic letter. They sent all the papers to their realtor and he wrote back that he loved the letter. Today we sit around crossing our fingers that their offer is the one that is accepted and they will be on their way to closing and moving and on and on. It is a very exciting time to be sure. It wasn't until I was driving myself home last night that I realized I have joined the ranks of the "elders". Not just as a bossy girl with lots of opinions but as a woman who has walked through some fire over the past year and who has learned a shit ton about life in the process. I like the idea of my errors being of use to those I love. It seems like a terrible waste to be the only one getting anything out of them. I know that this is only the beginning of my adult journey but it is nice. It feels good to offer help and it feels good to see that help ease some of the tension lines around a friend's eyes now and again. I am honored to be here on the roster of elders.

Of things I thought I knew but clearly I do not....

I need to go away. I need to go on a trip. I need a honeymoon with the man. I thought that all of this wonderful wedding stuff would be "enough". I thought I would get to today, the last of my nearest and dearest dropped off at the airport, and I would just feel relief. I thought I would sleep. I cannot. I am homesick and overwrought with worry about jobs and mortgages and dirty bedrooms. I cannot stop. What's worse is that I feel like if I were to stop it would all crash down on me like a massive tidal wave and I would no longer be able to out swim it as I have for the past 10+ months. I need to be somewhere else. I need a mini break with the man. I hate to say it but I really do need to fall in love with him all over again. I love him in the ultimate sense all of the time every day. Right now I lack the relative sense. I feel like we are a pair of tea cups in the cupboard, set next to each other. I can't see if we match or not. I don't feel in touch with our shared usefulness. I feel like a roommate. I need a little romance and uninterrupted joy. That's not to say I want an escape...OK, fuck it! I need an escape! I want to take the dogs to the beach and see them running happily down the sand while I hold the man's hand and we talk about the next year in a not at all business like fashion. No lists, no trajectories, no schedules. Just dreams. I want to play cards and drink coffee. I want to go for a hike and come back to eat cheese and drink an entire bottle of champagne. I want to not be so exhausted that I fall asleep before getting the chance to lay awake talking for hours.

I thought I understood how I would feel when I reached this finish line. I thought I would feel lighter and brighter and at ease. In many ways I do, as I said, feel ultimately fulfilled. What I could not have anticipated were the tiny annoying as hell ways in which I feel worried and sad. I got to the other side of the mountain to find there are more mountains to climb and they seem equally appealing, beautiful, daunting and far off as the one I just climbed. What the fuck is all that about anyway? It doesn't help that the man is ill and that he has weekends off for the next month making it more expensive to go anywhere than during the week. Ahhh, my father would say. "The unsatisfactoriness of it all..." Maybe I need to find a yoga class this week....maybe I need to find three....

He IS human afterall...

So the man has been sick MAYBE a total of 3 times since we met 3ish years ago. He has called in truly ill a total of 0 times since we met. He is not normal. I have seen him ill however, it is almost always self inflicted and usually secondary to him trying to keep pace with some large fire fighter who has an easy 100lbs on him. He doesn't drink that much that often so when he goes all out it usually doesn't end well. Anyway, today's post is not about binge drinking or drinking at all really. Today's post is about how my husband has a sensitive little girly stomach now that all of the wedding/school/ house buying stress is over. Poor thing has been intermittently nauseated and loose in the caboose for the past week. Yesterday night he went to work feeling a bit prodromal and upon arriving home this morning reported full blown grossness. Poor guy had been in and out of the bathroom all night. I got all maternal on him and forced some vitamin c and toast into him assuming that he was likely empty and putting a little something in that hyperactive angry pit would improve things. Not 5 min after I said "finish half of that toast and drink the vitamin C stuff" he was in the bathroom returning to sender. Poor kid!

This afternoon we woke up and he was requesting yogurt and ginger ale. Probiotics are good! Fizzy gingery love in a liquid form is good! He kept it in pretty well but it did not last long. I got up and headed to the store for reinforcements. I gathered the usual artillery OJ, Reed's Ginger Beer, avocado for the day after, coffee for me. Then I found myself in naturopath land. It is a strange and magical place filled with expensive supplements I find myself highly skeptical of. Two employees approached me and asked if I needed any help. I thought what the hell? Let's see what they think would work for (likely largely stress induced but also likely somewhat viral) GI upset. One girl started in on dietary things and adding more kale and barley to his diet and including psyllium husks to yogurt etc...etc... I stopped her and informed her that he was sort of unable to eat much of anything currently and that I was probably looking for something more along the lines of ginger tea or other soothing agents. She started telling me about aloe shakes and how important natural anti-inflammatories are to healing an angry stomach. The man is pretty darn liberated and pretty darn enlightened. He also happens to be a great sport most of the time especially when it comes to trying my whacked out food ideas. He once thought he didn't like beets until one night, too exhausted to look at his food, he ate 2 giant bowls of beet stew and L-O-V-E-D it. Anyway, I digress. The point is that no matter how good a sport he is he is not going to go for me grinding up an aloe plant and serving it to him over crushed ice when he is feeling WELL, let alone when he is broken at both ends. The other girl seemed to sense this and started showing me some ginger supplements. She showed me some pills and some gels and then showed me this stuff pictured above. It is about the consistency of maple syrup and has some honey in it. I put a tablespoon into a glass of raspberry fizzy water and as I sit here he is finishing the last of it. I will be anxious to see how he does trying some food food but he seems a little less green in the gills already. The store girl also said it is her favorite cure for hangovers. I'll keep you posted on that too.

I am not into spending oodles of cash on naturopathic remedies. I think homeopathy is largely psychosomatic (don't get all angry, I still insist on trying it EVERY time I get sick but it never seems to work and I always end up with a shit ton of sugar pills sitting next to the sudafed after a few days). I DO think that the supplements my besty was forcing down my hatch every day the week before the wedding were awesome and very helpful in preventing my usual stress related illnesses. I might even be sold enough to spend the cash (once I get a job that is) to get the chewy supplements and make a 3 month trial out of it. I do OK with fruits and veggies but damn I was feeling GOOD leading up to the wedding and it certainly wasn't because I was eating well and getting lots of sleep. What do you guys think? Anyone have a favorite supplement or favorite "cure" for the common cold or flu? Anyone have a favorite stress busting plan other than the age old sleep well, eat well and run around the block to burn down some of that cortisol?

I will keep you posted on the man's recovery from whatever the hell this thing is (all I know is that it is NOT sexy). I will also look forward to hearing any one's favorite tips and tricks to calm an angry belly. Hope you are all doing better than the man.

Hello and Welcome

I am very excited about this blog. I feel like saying to the world "Thanks for having me". It has been a whirl wind year and I am finally getting a chance to catch my breath and reflect instead of react to my life and my world.

I married my best friend one week ago yesterday in front of our family and friends in a heartbreakingly lovely ceremony here in OR. It POURED rain! If rain is luck we are set! I will post photos and reflections on that whole adventure as soon as I get some space around it myself. It was easily the most emotional weekend of my life and that is saying something for me as I am an emotional little monkey.

I am starting this blog with the intention to not only reflect upon my current station in life but to try to push myself to explore living more sustainably while remaining "mainstream". I want to learn better more environmentally friendly ways to clean my house and feed my family. I want to work on saving money and becoming more self sufficient in the home improvement department. My husband (henceforth referred to as "the man") and I are both excited to learn how to care for and maintain our new addition, a 1929 bungalow.

I intend to do some serious reflecting on the wedding in part as I have several dear girlfriends going through the planning year and I feel rather full of advice yet don't wish to flood any of them with my well intentioned yet largely unsolicited advice. I will use you dear blog witnesses as my sounding boards. I look forward to posting recipes and home tips as well as accounts of my **fingers crossed** new life as a paramedic and wife. I will process my friends having babies and adopting pets as well as personal family events and current world affairs. All I ask of you is to consider communicating with me. Post a link or pose a question. Disagree with me or cheer me on. If something upsets you please please please write to me. If not on the post then send me an email. Don't let something you read on the Internet drive an angry splinter beneath your thumbnail. That hurts and makes people cranky and unreasonable. Join me or just sit back and watch. Welcome to the stream and here goes my attempt at homesteading.