Favorite Things

I don't really have much to say...except that I am SO HAPPY to have 3 whole days off of work!  Yay!  I am so happy about relaxing for a few days that I started to notice other things that make me happy.

Word games.

First game of Bananagrams with Mom.

I won.

Best word that didn't make it to my final board according to Eric...MAIMED. 

New toys for Marcie.

New bed sheets and a soft blanket.

Scarves...even though I have NO IDEA how to wear them!

Air fresheners.

Especially inexpensive ones that smell nice and match the colors in my bathroom :)

Decorative butterfly thing.

This used to be in my Grandma Lach's kitchen...for as long as I can remember.

It was so dusty when I got it that I had no idea it had color until I cleaned it.

I love it.

Beautiful wooden frame

around a beautiful picture

 of my beautiful nephew.



Travel

Shawn and I started collecting shot glasses from the places we visiting when we first started dating.  We plan to continue this habit as we travel more throughout our lives, but I have struggled with finding a way to display them.  I hate just having them sitting in a box!  Well...the other day Mom and I were at Michael's (one of my favorite places to shop!) and I found a display box designed for shot glasses!  It was exactly what I wanted!  Now it is up in place over our "bar" in our apartment.  Love it!

I also discovered this picture of Logan on my camera this morning.  Must have been last night when he was sleeping in his Pack 'N Play when I got home from work.  Look at that belly hanging out.. and those chubby legs!  How cute is this baby :)





Working...Busy Busy Busy

So, I promise the story about work.  First off, I switched to dayshift a couple of weeks ago.  For those of you who know me well, you'll know that I have never been a morning person.  I have worked nightshift for a long time and I LOVED it!  I have never had trouble sleeping during the day...until we moved to Texas.  I'm not exactly sure why, but I was having a terrible time sleeping.  I was tired all the time and had absolutely no energy.  So when the oppotunity to switch to dayshift arrived I snatched it up!  Shawn is quite happy about it because now I am home every night.  The waking up at 5am hasn't won me over yet, but I know this is the best thing for me and for us right now.

Everyone at work keeps asking how I like days...but it is really hard to answer right now because we are CRAZY BUSY at work.  Our NICU has been growing like a weed for the past couple of years.  Our NICU director has been on a journey to increase the reputation and quality of our NICU to allow us to become a Level III NICU in the Austin area that people are excited to utilize.  There was a huge expansion to the NICU about a year ago and she has been so successful in her plan that we have already outgrown the expansion!  We are filled past capacity right now!  We had to reopen the old nursery to use as overflow beds for stable babies getting ready to go home and both of our NICU bays are FULL!  We are technically full at 37 babies in our NICU bays but we currently have 46 babies in our NICU!  As well as not having enough space, we do not have enough staff!  We are hiring new people as fast as we can, but due to the busy time we really need nurses that already have NICU experience and that is a challenge to find.  So I have been working a lot lately to try to help our babies continue to receive the kind of care they would if we weren't busy.  And it doesn't look like the busy time is going to ease up any time soon, so my life currently is work, home, sleep, work, home, sleep...etc.  I'll be back blogging when my work life slows down a bit :)

Weight Loss Journey: Entry 3

I am a bit late with my weight loss for the week, but it has been CRAZY at work (more on that later) and I just haven't had time to get to the computer.  I did find the time to get to the scale this week though!

I lost 2.2 pounds!

Total weight loss...9.2 pounds!

Well...I'm on my way!  Weight Watchers keeps telling me that I'm moving too fast with my weight loss and I should slow it down, so I'm trying to do better about eating all the points I'm alotted for the day.  We'll see how that is working on Sunday :)

Nail Clipping

I wonder how many Activity Points I earn for the strenuous workout that I get while attempting to cut Marcie's nails?  30 minutes of all out wrestling with the dog on the floor?  I think that is just as hard as 30 minutes on the Elliptical...

Delicious Dinner

As I mentioned yesterday, I made some salsa/pico de gallo from scratch...which I had never done before.  It was delicious, if I do say so myself!  Plus, the whole plate was only 8 POINTS!  Woot Woot! Even Shawn and Eric liked our dinner, except the broccoli (which we got at the Farmer's Market).  They won't eat that and I think they're CRAZY!



Weight Loss Journey: Entry 2

The weight loss journey continues through week 2...

 I lost 3.2 pounds this week!
Total weight loss...7 pounds!

So far Weight Watchers is going well.  It has really helped to have Mom do it with me.  We are still cooking up some really great stuff.  I made salsa (well...it's more of a pico de gallo) from scratch today, using whatever I thought would make it good.  It turned out delicious...and nothing in it has any points!  Woohoo!  I am going to use it for dinner tonight.  Stay tuned for a picture of the delicious dinner I will be making later!

Weight Loss Journey: Entry 1

So...once again I am giving Weight Watchers a go.  This time Mom and I are doing it together, so we should have good results.  We have completed one week with success!

I lost 4.2 pounds!

Now only...well A LOT still to lose but I'll get there.

Mom and I have already found some really great recipes, so I'll share some of the good ones we find.  Here is a breakfast recipe I found, which is awesome because breakfast is my favorite!  Also, I read something recently that said your breakfast should consist of 40% of your caloric intake for the day, with 30% at lunch at 30% at dinner.  Who does that on a daily basis?  I guess we should.  This breakfast is not 40% of the daily calories, but it is delicious and filling.

Eggs Italian Style

4 Servings

8 - 1 oz slices of Polenta (I used a Sundried Tomato & Basil variety)

4 small tomatoes, in 1/4" slices

4 egg

1 Tbsp Olive Oil (or cooking spray)

Oregano, Salt & Pepper

In a non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add polenta and cook 1-2 minutes per side then place 2 per plate.  Lightly season tomatoes with salt, pepper and oregano and place in same skillet.  Cook 30 seconds per side, until sugars of tomato start to slightly carmelize.  Place each tomatoe (approx 3 slices) onto plates over the polenta.  Add eggs to skillet (season lightly with salt, pepper and oregano) and cook until whites are opaque but yolk still runny (over easy is what I did).  Place 1 egg on each plate.  Serve.  Yummy.

Lunch

Mom and I decided to go to the Farmer's Market this morning to buy some fresh vegetables to help us with Weight Watchers (which I don't think I've mentioned yet, but Mom and I are doing together.)  We found some delicious things at the Farmer's Market!

Tangerines.

Tomatoes.

Texas Pasta...linguine flavored like Spinach and stuff.  yum.

Parmesan Cheese.

Kale.

and best of all...Portobello Mushrooms.



We also got some hoagie rolls at the grocery and some delicious Mozarella cheese from Costco, so when we got home we made sandwiches.  I should have taken a picture of mine because it was fabulous!  I sauted my half of the mushroom with red peppers and zuchini then put it on the hoagie roll with mozarella cheese and some Mayo made with Olive Oil. 

Heavenly.

Serioulsy.

We decided we are doing this every Saturday that I don't work.

Puzzles

Oh how I love puzzles.

All kinds of puzzles.

Word puzzles. Number puzzles.

But most of all...I love jigsaw puzzles.

They are awesome!

Here is what I have been working on for the last couple of days (with a little help from Mom and Eric.)



On a side note...in case you hadn't already guessed...I also love Harry Potter.

It's a New Year!

Another year has gone by...

Shawn and I saw quite a few changes in our life.

A move to Texas.

My mom and brother living with us.

New jobs.

A NEW NEPHEW!

New challenges in our relationship.

Missing our friends desperately...We miss them SO much!

But we survived and are ready for whatever new challenges lie ahead.

For new years we...

played games.  Mom won :(

ate lots of food...Me and mom start a diet tomorrow.  Seriously.

played with Logan.  He's awesome.

gave the dogs beer.

kissed at midnight.  Love it.  Every year it gets better!

laughed. A lot.

hugged.

planned for a new year.

went home exhausted.

Happy New Year Everyone!