Olympic Fun

Here's what we went outside to find after the Canadian men won the gold in hockey:

What a way to end the 2010 Olympic Winter Games

14 Gold medals - the most gold medals EVER won by a country in the winter olympics and the most gold medals ever won by the host country.

Let's take a moment to celebrate with some national pride.

O Canada!
Our home and native land.True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,The True North strong and free
From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

To properly close the Olympic games, here are my top Olympic men.

Jon Montgomery - you participate in a crazy sport but your beer pitcher walk through the streets of Vancouver on your way to a CTV interview will forever endear you to me. Well done, sir.

Also - further information provoking more love for this man: his occupation? Used care salesman and auctioneer.

John Morris, Canadian men's curling's pin up boy. Who knew? Ed note: the second picture is by far my favourite. Look at that deep lunge. Sexy.

Stevie Y, because you just helped us to win gold and you are adorable, especially in a suit. Keep up the good work.

P.S. I couldn't find a non-dopey looking picture of my boy Alex Bilodeau but he has a special place on this list having won the first gold and getting the games started for us.

P.P.S. I have been tirelessly trying to locate a picture of Jon Montgomery's beer trek but have so far been unsuccessful. Will try again. Promise.

Hats off to you, athletes of Canada.

You've made us all so very, very proud :)

Chalet Weekend

Chalet Weekend at Mount Tremblant.

Who's excited?

This girl.

I will definitely be making the soft pretzels to take up (got rapid-rise yeast today) and will be posting some more snack recipe options that I will consider making.

Sorry this is a short post but the gold medal men's hockey Canada-USA game is on in like 5 minutes and I have a few friends coming over.

Don't judge, I'm making soup and sandwiches.

And doritos.

GO CANADA!!!

Tex Mex Salad (...and another Banana Bread Recipe)

Good news: Murray doesn't have a parasite!

He does have ear mites though...and they suspect the diarrhea/blood in his stool was a result of changing his diet too quickly. Poor little guy. He's on a gastro diet and things have improved.

Last week I decided to mix things up a bit for dinner and make a delicious and easy salad. It's one of those salads that you can customize to your own tastes and add all sorts of ingredients that you have just lying around.

Tex Mex Salad

For my salad I used the following:

• Iceberg lettuce
• Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• Roast beef, sauteed with onions in about 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• Jalapeno Doritos crumbled on top
• Buttercorn Ranch dressing

We didn't have cheese otherwise I would have shredded some cheddar or marble on top.

I liked the taste and texture that the Doritos gave the salad. The flavour of the Jalapeno really made it feel tex-mex-y and the crunch went nicely with the crunch of the lettuce and the tenderness of the beef.

Now.

Because I've already given you one or two banana bread recipes I promise this one will be the easiest you've ever made:

3-Step Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a loaf pan.
1. Beat together 1 1/2 cups sugar with 1/2 cup butter. Add in 2 large eggs, 1 tbsp of vanilla, and 3 softened, ripe bananas. Add in 1/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of sour cream.

2. Stir in 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of quick oats, and 1 tsp baking soda. Stir until combined then add in chocolate chips (the amount is totally up to you). Pour mix into loaf pan. Cut half a banana into thin pieces and arrange on top of the loaf.

3. Bake for about 1 hour or until golden brown. Let cool, then enjoy!

Soft Pretzels ......and more of the cat

Hello!

It's only Wednesday but I feel as though the week is done...and it's definitely not. I had 2 midterms (Mon, Tues) this week and I have a simulations lab on Friday...not excited.

I am taking today off though because Murray needs to go to the vet and also because I don't feel so great. He's got his appt at 2 and the poor little fella's gotta go get his shots. There was also a little bit of blood in his litter box doings (poop) so I want to make sure there's nothing serious causing it. Google search alerted me to the fact that a lot of kittens get parasites which can be the main cause of blood in stool. Fingers crossed it's something non-serious and non-expensive......

Here's Murray enjoying the ski cross - he's a big fan of the winter olympics apparently.

And here he is enjoying John's glass of water.

Gosh, I love that little kitten.

So this morning on Martha she made soft pretzels and I thought, "hey, I LOVE pretzels especially the really salty ones with the mustard dip or the cheese dip" so I decided to find the recipe and perhaps attempt to make them! I don't have rapid-rise yeast though and I doubt Murray wants to be toted to the grocery store in his cat carrier after the vet.....unless the shots make him sleepy.....hmmm.....

Soft Pretzels

Photo courtesy of Marthstewart.com

1. In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups warm water, yeast, and 1/2 cup brown sugar; let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together 6 1/2 cups flour and 4 tbsp coarse salt using your hands. Add 1/2 cup butter (cut into small peices) and continue to mix with your hands until mixture is crumbly. Add yeast mixture and, using your hands, mix until a shaggy dough is formed and water is absorbed.
3. Using the dough hook attachment, mix dough on medium speed until dough is tight, elastic, and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator; let chill at least 8 hours and up to overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
5. Roll dough out into a 14-by-12-inch rectangle. Cut dough into one dozen 12-inch-long strips, each about 1-inch wide. Transfer to a large baking sheet and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Transfer to refrigerator and let chill for 15 minutes.
6. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out each piece into a 30- to 33-inch-long rope (about 3/4-inch thick), starting from the center and working toward the ends. Make a "U" shape with the rope and cross the ends over, pinching at the bottom of the "U" to form a pretzel. Return to baking sheet and repeat process with remaining dough.
7. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In a large saucepan, combine 8 cups water, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup beer (pale ale is best), and 1/4 cup brown sugar; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer pretzels, one at a time, until pretzel floats, about 30 seconds; transfer to prepared baking sheet using a perforated spatula. Don't be alarmed when the pretzels look droppy - they're supposed to. They aren;t supposed to fry in this pot. Repeat process with remaining pretzels.
8. Sprinkle pretzels with pretzel salt; transfer to oven and bake for 5 minutes. Rotate baking sheet and continue baking until pretzels turn a chestnut brown color, 4 to 6 minutes more. Remove from baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm with butter or mustard.

.....or cheese dip.

These don't look too difficult to make. If I can get my hands on some rapid-rise yeast I'll make 'em. In the meantime I'm going to get some school work done and then take ol' Murr-man to the vet!

Tomato & Basil Tart

Let's get the obligatory cute kitten photos out of the way straight of the bat:

There. He's such a funny cat. We had friends over last night to ooh and aah over him and he hid for a bit but got bold and started walking around. Then he would run into the bedroom and meow until someone went to look at him. He'd be standing right in the middle of the bedroom just waiting. He slept under the foot of our bed last night on my snuggie. This morning we played with him a bit and then plopped him down on the bed next to John and the boys fell asleep together. He's like a little shadow too 'cause he will follow us from room to room. He doesn't like to be alone and he really likes his belly rubbed.

I'm smitten with this kitten.

So is John.

We got him a little mouse and a flea toy today and he's already almost chewed the tail off of the mouse. OH! And to our happy amazement, he's already fully litter trained! He had his first pee last night (we applauded him - no joke) and then he took a number two last night all on his lonesome in his litter box. He's such a smart guy.

I wish he would stay this tiny forever.

But enough gushing!

Tonight we're going out for my friend's birthday so I thought I would make an appetizer to take over to her place for the pre-drink. I've made this a few times before and it always goes pretty quick. I got the idea from an episode of Chuck's Day Off but made it my own.

Tomato & Basil Tart

For this tart you will need:

• 1 pkg thawed puff pastry
• 2-3 tomatoes or 1 pkg of cherry tomatoes
• hot mustard
• Shredded cheese
• Basil (ideally fresh but dried will work if you don't have it fresh as seen above)
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350. Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface. Place on a baking sheet with a peice of parchment paper or tin foil underneath.

2. Spread a thin layer of hot mustard on the puff pastry. Lay the tomatoes on top, then sprinkle with cheese (I didn't have any cheese :( ), top with basil and salt and pepper.

3. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the puff pastry starts to turn a golden brown. Then cut and enjoy!

Now I have to go enjoy my tenderloin that I've been grilling and then get dressed for a party!

Happy Saturday!

Introducing....Bill Murray!

Are you ready for this cuteness?

My little boy Murray :)

I love his little Murr-face.

Red Velvet Chocolate Cupcakes & Kittens!

Ohhhh what a week.

It's supposed to be my reading week yet today is the only day this week that I feel as though I'm taking a break. I've worked everyday this week... which is good! Don't get me wrong. I definitely need the money but I've been craving a day like today where I wake up, make cinnamon buns (my week "off" includes diet and exercise) and lounge for hours.

So I'm ready for the laziness that is today.

Tuesday was my friend Marion's birthday so I made her some cupcakes which were inspired by Martha and also by my best friend who made a similar cake for valentine's day.

Red Velvet Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 cup cocoa; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 1/2 cups canola oil, and beat on medium speed until well combined. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 1/4 cup red food coloring*** (I only added a few tbsp of it because 1/4 cup is like 2 of those little food colouring bottles) and 1 tbsp vanilla extract, and beat until well combined.
3. Add flour mixture, alternating with 1 cup buttermilk, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

If you don't have buttermilk use this substitute: 1 cup of regular milk with 1 tbsp of white vingear.

4. In a small bowl, mix baking 1 1/2 tsp baking soda and 2 tsp vinegar until combined. Add to batter, and beat for 10 seconds. Spoon batter into muffin cups or greased-muffin pans.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Let cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Remove from the pans, and allow them to cool completely before icing them as desired.

Easy!

And also very pretty and very tasty.

So, friends, I have big news.

John and I are getting a roommate.

!!!!!!!!!

After a year and a half of sad faces, pleading, idea-planting, etc, we are getting a kitten!

It's not quite the puppy we had been talking about, but a kitten makes a lot more sense and, having never owned a dog, I am a little biased in the feline direction.

I'd been looking online to see if there were any little babies that would want to come live with me at the apartment for a nominal fee (read: free) and found some darling ones.

If you also could track my google search inputs from this week this is what they would look like:

kittens; gray and white kittens; black and white kittens; "tuxedo" kittens; tabby kittens; 3 month old kittens; adorable kittens

Yes, I google searched 'adorable kittens'. Do it. There's one with a little hat on. Adorable!

Anyway, I got in touch with a woman who's cat had 4 kittens and she needed homes for them. 2 boys and 2 girls but since we picked out a male name already we're going to take one of the little boys. I bought the essentials last night: litter box, litter scooper, 5 kg jug of litter (my poor weak arms), food and water bowls, kitten food (awwww), and cinnamon buns for John.

I made the cinnamon buns this morning so that John doesn't use his golden power of veto today against the kitten. And I made him look at the search results for 'adorable kittens'. Just in case he had his doubts.

I will present him to you once he is home and confident enough to come out from under the bed or wherever he is bound to hide.

I'll lure him out somehow.

I almost bought this thing called a kitten mitten from the dollar store but I believe I could craft my own. It's essentially a yellow dish glove with mice on strings attached to each finger.

Doesn't beat the ACTUAL KITTEN MITTONS though.

Note: I've been pimping this clip out to everyone but I don't think anyone has watched it yet. Now you'll be so curious. Click on that link. You won't be disappointed.

My cousin Mike got John the 4th season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for Christmas and we're hooked. What a show. If you like laughter you will like this show.

Get ready for 1000 kitten posts in like T-minus 6 hours.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies for Family Day

Happy Family Day!

Two holidays back to back AND Canada's first gold medal of the games. Alexandre Bilodeau won gold last night in the men's mogul and John and I watched it sitting on the edge of our seats. We jinxed the other competitors as mean as that is to do.

Here's what our delicious pasta and garlic bread dinner looked like:

And here is a family day recipe for you!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, mix together 2/4 cup butter and 1 1/4 cup brown sugar. Add in 1 egg, 2 tbsp milk, and 1 tbsp vanilla extract.

2. Mix in 1 3/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and (if you don't want to be as decadent you can adjust this) 1 cup chocolate chips.

3. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes then let cool and enjoy!

Happy Family Day!

I'm off to work to make time and half and then spend some quality time with my family!

An Olympic Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

This was last year's breakfast but this morning's was very similar. Just substitute the egg and toast for banana-blueberry pancakes.

(All you need to make a breakfast like that is a cookie cutter. Cut the shapes out of the toast. To fry the egg in a heart-shape, butter the inside of the cookie cutter - don't be shy with the butter - and set it on the pan then crack the egg into the cookie cutter. Viola!)

We're getting ready to make our valentine's day dinner and we just finished the first of our 2 movies. We rented The Hurt Locker (really good, very suspensful) and Zombieland, which we're saving for after/during dinner.

Right now we're watching the women's 3000 speedskating event. Cindy Klassen (Sinter Clausen is what we've nicknamed her) didn't do so hot and Kristina Groves just kicked it up into 3rd place. I was cheering my little heart out for Clara Hughes though. This woman amazes me. She's medalled in speed skating AND in cycling. Winter and Summer Olympics. My lord.

Plus look how darn adorable she is!

You cannot look at her happy face and not want to cheer for her.

She'll medal in the 5000. I feel it in my bones.

I've got an angel food cake in the oven. I love angel food cake. It's so light and airy and there's nothing bad but sugar in there. Well a cup of flour but that's small potatoes when you're talking about a cake. No butter, no oil, no cholesterol-filled egg yolks. Mahhhhhvelous.

Angel Food Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix 12 egg whites until they foam and then form soft peaks. Add in 1 tsp cream of tartar (unprofessional note: I have no cream of tartar and did not add this, my cake is still fine). With the mixer still on, gently sprinkle in 1 1/4 cup sugar into the egg mix and beat until stiff peaks form. Add in 2 tsp vanilla extract.
2. Using a seive to ensure there are no lumps, measure out 1 cup of flour and add 1/4 tsp of salt. In 4 additions, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture using a rubber spatula.
3. Gently spoon the batter into an angel food pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool in pan for about an hour, then use a knife to loosen the sides and invert the pan. Cut gently and enjoy!

I made the bellinis....but with peach schnapps instead of rum. And not enough ice. It's not as good as Moxies. Darn.

And lastly.....

Our valentine's day chair! So ergonomic. Lovely.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pulled Pork Sammy's & (faux) Bellinis

I am sleepy.

But the weekend is here!

I have lots of exciting plans lined up for this weekend - AND on top of all that, this upcoming week is my reading week!

Here are my plans:

Sleep, sit for hours in bubble baths, and make fancy drinks.

I'm really craving a Bellini and I'm hoping that the place I'm going for dinner tonight has them on the menu. The one's from Moxies are by far the best. Swiss Chalet, though, does make a mean bellini also. I ordered one in a fancy Italian restaurant in Stratford and they gave me an actual bellini - proseco and peach juice.

I want the frozen kind that comes loaded with various liquors splashed all up in there.

Perhaps tomorrow, or Sunday, or Monday night, or Wednesday night of next week I will attempt to create my own. Maybe I'll even do it on all of those days.

If you want to make your own (faux/slushy) bellini here's what you should do:

Mix together:

• 1/2 shot white rum
• 1 shot peach shnapps
• 1 shot sparkling wine
• 1/2 cup sprite
• 1/2 cup soda water
• 1/2 cup peach juice

Pour all of these into a blender, add ice, and blend away then finish with 1 shot of sangria poured over the top.

This year for Valentine's day dinner I bought some heart-shaped pasta from Costco. Cheese and spinach filled pasta. Mmmmmm. John said he would make a sauce for it. I kind of want a rose sauce. He makes good ones.

Soon, my darlings, soon you'll meet your fate in my stomach.

Now, tonight I'm going out for dinner with John and some friends from work. We're going to the Memphis Smoke House and boy howdy my stomach is excited. I'm mulling over my menu options and I keep coming back to pulled pork.

I had a pulled pork sandwich for the first time this past summer during the Martha-Cottage-Cookoff-Competition when my cousin and his wife made them. Heaven.

I thought I'd find a recipe for it and mayhap one day try to make it all on my own. For now I will dream about eating it in mere hours.

(Lighter) Pulled Pork Sandwiches

(I forgot where I done stole this photo from - oops)

Martha says that for this recipe you will need:

1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 head small green cabbage, shredded
4 whole-wheat rolls, split

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together tomatoes, sugar, garlic, mustard, and 1/2 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; add pork, and simmer, covered, until tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer pork to a plate to cool. Simmer sauce over medium, uncovered, until reduced by half, about 20 minutes
2. Meanwhile, make slaw: In a bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon vinegar, celery seed, and 1 tablespoon water; season with salt and pepper. Add cabbage, and toss to coat.
3. Shred pork with 2 forks, and return to sauce; stir in 1 teaspoon vinegar. Serve pork on rolls, topped with slaw.
   
   I'm going to go start getting ready for this big dinner. Do my stretches, etc.

Date Squares

Here it is as promised

maybe for a date night this Sunday....?

DATE SQUARES

1. Cut (as best you can, dates are awfully sticky) up 2 cups of dates and add to a pot with 1 cup of water, a small pinch of salt, and the zest and juice of one lemon. Let the dates simmer on medium heat for about 12 minutes or until soft. Allow them to cool.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1 tsp of baking soda. Cut in 12 tbsp of butter until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Press 2/3 of the mixture into a baking pan, covering the bottom and up the sides.

3. Pour the cooled date mixture into the pan.

4. Crumble the remaining 1/3 of the flour-oat-brown sugar mixture over top of the date mixture. Place in the oven and let the squares bake for about 35 minutes or until the top starts to turn a golden brown.



Allow the squares to cool then cut and enjoy!

Rustic Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

Appologies for the delay in posting the recipe!

It's been a busy week already and now that I have a night to myself I'm going to make it up to you by giving you a two-for-one.

I'm going to do two posts: one with the chili recipe (this one) and one with the recipe for the date squares that I'm making right now.

This is a tasty chili, super easy to make, and a great option protein-wise for those of you who don't eat meat.

Rustic Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

Here's what you'll need to have on hand:

• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of mixed beans
• 1 can of corn niblets
• 2 medium-large zucchinis
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 large carrots
• Chili poweder
• Cumin
• Olive oil

1. Coat the bottom of a large pot with about 3 tbsp of olive oil and turn the stove to medium heat.
2. Cut the onion to desired size. If you want a more rustic look cut all of your vegetables into larger than normal sizes. Toss the onions into the heated oil and sautee until the onions are well coated and look kind of translucent.
3. Cut up the zucchini and carrot and add to the pot, stiring to coat with the remaining oil.
4. Add the diced tomatoes, beans, and corn. Stir well, careful not to smoosh* the beans.
5. Add in about 3-4 tbsp of chili powder. Make sure to taste the chili before adding too much. Add in about 2 tbsp of cumin.
6. Cover the pot and let the chili simmer on a low heat for awhile until ready to serve.

*"Smoosh" the beans does not refer to smoosh in the Jersey Shore sense.

And there you have it! So easy and so good. I meant to add okra to it also but forgot to thaw the bag I have in the freezer. Maybe next time.

I have to go put the laundry in the dryer, then write a paper, then finish the date squares, then prepare myself for acting as "team lead" in clinical tomorrow - bum bum bum!!!

There'll be another post with the date squares recipe + pictures up in a few hours!

Superbowl Madness

Well, dear friends, the Colts didn't win it. It was close but they got their behinds handed to them by the Saints. That one touchdown where the Saints guy (please note my obviously expert NFL knowledge) ran like 74 yards was pretty nice.

I really enjoyed myself though. It was a fun night FULL of delicious food, good company, and I think I genuinely like football.

Now that I have a pretty pimped out t-shirt I may just become a regular Colt's fan.

Or whichever team Peyton Manning, aka my future husband, is playing for.

THIS (if you haven't seen it before) is what convinced me to cheer for the Colts.

The quality is kind of crappy but the man is hilarious.

Love.

Our contribution to the Superbowl party was a vegetarian chili and some jalapeno havarti cornbread:

John also made some bruschetta but I was at work and forgot to take a picture of it at the party.

I'll put up the recipe for the vegetarian chili on Wednesday when I have some more time.

Congrats, New Orleans. You played a good game and your I hope the victory brings your city new hope for the future :)

P.S. Love you, Peyton.

Cakes and Cupcakes and Birthdays - Oh My!

Wednesday was my Mom's birthday so I baked her a cake. After a bit of nagging I finally got her to tell me what kind of cake she wanted: carrot or chocolate. Knowing she loves carrot cake I went in that direction. I forgot to copy down the recipe but it's in a school-recipe-book from my mom's former school. I'll get the recipe next time I'm over there and copy it down to post here. It's a delicious cake.

I also subsituted apple sauce in place of oil which made the cake more dense and less bad :) That substitution, however, made it impossible to get the cupcakes out the liners...oops.

And I brought those cupcakes to clinical the next day for a girl in my group because it was her birthday. Hope she still enjoyed the way they tasted!

Straight outta the oven:

After decorating - cream cheese frosting (made with brown sugar because my parent's house is sparse in baking essentials now that I'm gone apparently), orange mike & ikes and green icing:

I have to explain, the cake was still warm when I frosted it and was so warm that when I put it in the fridge to cool it down the icing cracked :( Boo hoo.

Anyway, I'm making more baking. It was my friend's birthday on the 2nd and it's another friend's birthday today. I made them cupcakes.



In an effort to save time I used a cherry chip mix but added in a whole load of marachino cherries that I cut into smaller pieces. I also added in a dash of brandy for good measure. This could be a sloppy night as one of the girl's just got back from a trip yesterday and brought back a big ol' bottle of rum with her. She's making rum punch and pina coladas.

Good thing I went to the gym today.

Speaking of the gym, I'm kind of curious as to how tomorrow plays out. The elliptical (one of two, the second of which has been 'broken' since September) is broken so now there are only one bike and 2 treadmills for cardio. In the gym, however, there are 3 treadmills, 2 ellipticals, 1 stationary bike, and a stair climber. Apparently no one cares when machines need to be fixed.

Anyway, ranting aside, I hoped on the treadmill. I have been careful not to run for more than 20 minutes because last spring/summer I did something to my knee. If I ran for more than about 20-30 minutes I got an awful pain in my left knee everytime I went down stairs or bent it. I went beyond 20 minutes today...I ran 6 miles. Which is what I used to do but considering I haven't run that kind of distance in a looong time is both incredibly exciting and worrisome because while my knee is okay now I'm scared that tomorrow it'll be sore again. I really should make a physio appointment but they're so pricey. Maybe I'll ask for one for my birthday :)

In other news (aka nursing news):

1. I gave my 1oth ever needle today! Celebration! And of the 3 I did today my hand didn't shake at all! I did 3 today and 3 yesterday - diabetics have really helped up my needle-giving.
2. I changed a diabetic foot ulcer dressing and packed it....it was gross in a really cool way. I want to find a similar picture but it would (a) gross everyone out, and (b) possibly break some sort of nurse-patient confidentiality laws.

I'll google you's a picture tomorrow. Or you can do it if you're that gross-curious type. The pictures of people with black tissue on the bottom of their feet? Seen it. The ones with deep holes in their feet? Packed two of those bad boys with gauze. Twice.

Ya, I'm that good.

And ready for the weekend.

And rum.

Happy Birthday Mom!

"Women know

The way to rear up children (to be just)

They know a simple, merry, tender knackOf tying sashes, fitting baby shoes,

And stringing pretty words that make no sense,

And kissing full sense into empty words."

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

A little girl, asked where her home was, replied, "where mother is." ~Keith L. Brooks

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

I love you :)