signs

Yesterday was just as busy as advertised. Overall, a very good and fun-filled day. Correction: a very good, fun-filled, and LONG day. Didn't make it to bed until 5am and I never do that anymore! Sleep is just way too much fun:) There was a moment of doubt when trying to locate a specific location on SMU's campus. Time was an issue and wandering around until I happened upon the right place wasn't really an ideal solution. That's when I spotted this:

The world is a funny, funny place.

"what? what's that you say? you say today is saturday?"

am blogging soundtrack: the howling wind outside my kitchen window
am blogging sustenance: hopefully coffee soon . . . please?
am blogging subject: the day ahead

I am cold. So cold. And I'm about to get colder. Got my 5K Butterfly Boogie starting here in a couple of hours and am wondering how many layers I can put on and still ambulate. This thing seemed like such a good idea about a month ago when we were easing into spring with some pretty spectacular weather. Frankly, now sounding kinda crappy post arrival of cold front last night. Anything for a good cause, right? Maybe that could be my mantra this morning. Oh, who am I kidding? My morning mantra will be what my morning mantra always is: coffee, coffee, coffee.

A nap will definitely be in order immediately after. Or maybe eggs? Yes, eggs will be in order immediately after. Accompanied by coffee. Followed by nap.

And then? It's basketball time!!!! So excited to see my Tigers in the Elite Eight:) Had several conversations with randoms at work yesterday about how "wouldn't it be great if the Big 12 took over the Final Four?" I'd smile and nod my head, indicating agreement. Trying to stay loyal to the conference. But you know what? I'm just not beat up about KU falling last night. And I just don't want OU to take down North Carolina tomorrow. Because I just don't like them. I don't. There! I said it! I'm free! I actually feel sort of lukewarm hatred for KU and OU at baseline these days that escalates into something very, very ugly during football season. So, I'm not perfect. I can live with that. Go MIZZOU!

Immediately following our victory (please, please, please) I'm expected at some benefit thing at SMU. I'm not at all sure what exactly I'm getting into. But I trust you, Sharmilla. Sharmilla? I can trust you, right? Shar?

Next stop, Flannigan's Right Hook at the Tipp with my kickball peops. Rockin' Irish band from KC and my teammates who embrace the philosophy "We may never win a game, but we've never lost a party!" Definitely a set up for a good time:)

Hmm. Pretty busy day I've got lined up for myself.

Maybe I should get dressed.

Yeah, good plan. I think I made the people at Starbucks a little uncomfortable last time when I showed up in my pajamas:)

figures

After a little over 6 months on the job, I finally got my name plastered on the wall in the parking garage.

The problem?

This is not my parking spot.

back to the basics

Been a busy, busy couple of weeks. Work. Play. Not a lot of time to document. But I had this last weekend off and got back to cooking so wanted to share:

Hit the Big D Farmer's Market again with Autumn. Spring has definitely arrived in North Texas! Found some really beautiful fruit - for a bargain! - and decided we had to make a killer fruit salad. Paired it with an equally killer potato salad and had Autumn work her magic on a couple of chicken breasts and some fresh herbs (sage and rosemary). Intermixed the above with my infamous and oh-so-fresh bruschetta and a few pitchers of homemade mojitos. Then we took it outside for a little picnic at Stone(r) Park. A perfect late March Saturday afternoon ...

stolen from facebook (thx KK!)

Jacelynn, Ripley, and Myla

what's cookin' good lookin'

Number 7 was a huge accomplishment for several reasons. But the most important? I cooked meat. And my smoke alarm didn't go off once!

Made turkey meatballs in my new (overpriced) pan. Then added some leftover homemade marinara sauce that I'd frozen after our pizza making adventure several weeks back. Throw in a little whole wheat penne rigate and we had the perfect pre-kickball pump-us-up meal!

gotta love it, livin' on the edge

am/pm blogging soundtrack: Aerosmith's Get A Grip
am/pm blogging sustenance: peanut butter on whole wheat, skim milk, and Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters organic coffee

Sitting here thinking about the value of well laid plans. I had it all worked out. It was perfect. Perfect except for the fact that I am now surrounded by disaster. And that, definitely not part of the plan.

Got off work yesterday morning around 7 and was excited about the prospect of a week off from the hospital. A week where no travel was planned. A week where I could simply do whatever moved me, whenever it moved me to do so. Didn't want a messed up day/night schedule to start me off on the wrong foot. So instead of heading home to the beautiful oblivion of my bed, I headed out in search of a different kind of comfort. Something that would be a recurring theme throughout the day. Something, ultimately, that I believe may have contributed to the downfall of those previously mentioned well laid plans. I went looking for coffee. The caffeinated kind. And I found it. In abundance.

Bought myself an omelet and a newspaper to accompany the coffee and then spent a pleasant few hours just winding down and reacquainting myself with the waking world. But the winding down thing, you see, was definitely a problem. Not at all a part of the plan. It was time for a location change. I had several shopping errands that required my attention in the vicinity of the West Village so I headed there. The places of business that I'd planned on patronizing had not yet opened their doors so I detoured to the neighborhood Starbucks. Settled in on one of many comfy couches with my good friend Vente Latte and observed the goings-ons. Just a few days ago I had read a very entertaining article in D Magazine about this particular Starbucks and its regulars. Passed some time (unsuccessfully) trying to identify Kareem Abdul Bizzare, Mad Underscorer, and the Speed Dater before the couch became a little too comfortable and I again felt compelled to move on.

Became a bit of a shopping whirlwind over the next few hours and ultimately came home with quite the varied list of goods: a dress, a spa gift certificate, several books, a food processor, some Gerber daisies, a ridiculously expensive saute pan, owl stickers (?!?), a case of Miller Light, and a somewhat random collection of perishable food items. Oh and, of course, more coffee. My shopping mania took me from the West Village, then further into Uptown, and finally back to the OC. I went to more than one grocery store yesterday during this out-of-body shopping extravaganza and still somehow found myself perilously low on milk when I woke today. Note: sleep deprivation, over caffeination, and a credit card do not, should not, mix.

Decided on arrival home to further stave off sleep by attempting cooking challenge number 6. The lone advantage to attempting this solo is that I don't have to divulge the messy details. To anyone. Ever.

Somewhere during the above efforts I thought sleep sounded like an ok idea and stopped mid-challenge to position myself on my couch with a 3 hour run of NCIS. My eyes didn't close once. I was so beat that the thought of picking up my arm to reach for the remote made me wanna cry. But still sleep would not come. At the end of my mini-marathon I did manage to switch over to CBS for new episodes of Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother. I don't remember much about that period of the night so I can only guess that I did actually catch some zs. The next thing I remember clearly is flipping through channels and finding yet another run of NCIS. Apparently sleep came again shortly - I woke at around 3 am and stumbled to the bathroom and then on to bed. Got up this morning (afternoon?) and was greeted with a global apartment disaster that spanned from the floor of my bedroom to every available counter space in my kitchen. I don't really recall the making of this mess but assume that, unless last night I played hostess to some kind of weird food-processing house party, I am responsible.

And so, I find myself sitting amongst disaster and thinking about the value of well laid plans.

I think I'll have another cup of coffee.

When will I learn?

So. One acute MI and one acute stroke later - both on ortho patients and thus both occurring on ortho floors - and 7 am still seems like a hell of a long way off.