Well

I revisted my orthopedic doc yesterday. I, he agreed, have some concerns about how achey my knee can be and I told him I get stabbing intermittent pains some days. He wrote a script for an MRI and meanwhile I'm able to take patient's at work but am limited from squatting, kneeling, and stairs and whatever else seems like 'too much'.

This is all fine to me as I tired of being in the middle as charge nurse or as sitting on 1:1 observation patients. One is stressful purely for having to deal with others that don't respect my opinions or direction. Importantly these are not really my coworkers/ floor staff as I have a pretty good working relationship with them all. It is the NODs that don't trust my judgement on how to run my floor. It is them that constantly short staff and question our needs while dumping multiple patients on us at once. Last night we entered a staffing crisis and I was given no help at all. My patient's waited while I ran the phones begging people to come in. Gotta love that!



Anyway, the holidays are upon us! I have my tree up and the stockings are hung from the bookshelf with care. Most of my gifts are wrapped but I'm still waiting on a few to ship in! I purchased a joint present for me and Denis recently. Groupon had a deal that was $50 for 2 tickets to any masterworks FL orchestra events. If you book early you can get a value of $138 and since I've prebought I can't "forget" to plan for it as I often do with these kinds of things. I also think we're taking the kiddo to Beauty and The Beast. 2011 WILL be the year of theatre for me :D

Holidays and some more

As the month passes by I'm getting more and more excited for the holidays! Denis and I picked out our christmas tree this Saturday and even found a cute "our first christmas" ornament to go on it. I'm putting on  the lights, pine cones and bows tonight but we're waiting for his daughter to help us do the fun decorating later this week. I'm excited because I have been single for the holidays the past couple of years and celebrations are definitely a little more lively with little kids around.

Also of note is we're going to have our first stayover guests this season. Denis' dad is going to be stopping by for a couple nights at Christmas and also one of his childhood friends will be living on our couch for a bit.  Pretty glad about that because I know he's been missing some of his old friends.

My knee was dislocated a couple of weeks ago but work has been very accomodating with the light duty status. I'm able to walk on it but it fatigues early and gets pain above and below the kneecap if I forget and am too active. I see my orthopedic doc sometime next week and hope he has good news for me. I really want to start strength training to better stabilize the area and get back to some thing I enjoy like hiking and swiming.

I'm sitting a 1:1 today so I think I'll research some holiday cookie ideas! I bought the cutest snowman tin so I need to fill it up!

veggie lasagna- it's whats for dinner!

So yesterday I made a recipe I stumbled upon on google from http://vegetarian-hausfrau.blogspot.com/
Here's the recipe: black bean and spinach lasagna.

First of all I didn't get pictures of my finished product because we cut into it so quickly. The only changes I made were using a green pepper/mushroom pasta sauce and using less shredded cheese.

My review? Delicious! My vegetarian boyfriend went back for seconds and even requested it as something i make again. I was loving it because I can add another recipe that uses a bunch of cilantro to my list. I LOVE cilantro. Like, really, I've been teased about liking it so much. Also, pretty cost effective as we've both eaten leftovers from it a couple times and she provides directions for making 1/2 to freeze for later.

Now, back to Glee!

hello

RAIN
So I ended up taking a day off of work yesterday b/c of vertigo. I'm not sure why I'm having episodes again as I haven't had it since college. I know I've been really stressed out lately with headaches everyday (I think I've been grinding my teeth while sleeping again). I feel better today but the day is so lazy it's somewhat depressing. There was a glimmer of a chance to go boating today but it's not looking like it during this deluge. My friend thinks there is some meteorological conspiracy occurring. She's kidding but seriously, this is some INTENSELY long rainstorms.

CATS
My cat Addy darted out the door two nights ago. It was raining at the time and like 3am so I gave up pretty quickly trying to get her back in. I haven't seen her since. I'm not sure she knows where the apartment is. She usually comes back by now for food and whatnot. Maybe it's the rain that's got her in hiding but my money says she went exploring the trees in the other side of the big  pond and found some cats and isn't coming back anytime soon :( OH well, still have my dog Macy, my other  cat Benson and now Denis' senile cat Sonia for company.

CAMPING
I have been obsessed lately. I have the biggest hankering to jump in a packed up car and get lost in the woods for a couple of days. I'm going to GA in November to visit Denis' family. While I initially wanted to swing by Savannah on the way back I'm thinking of asking if we can pack up a few supplies and do a night or two of  camping instead. Unless it's too terribly freezing already- then I'll just settle for exploring ATL.

HAIR 

I recently ordered this Sedu hair straightener 
from Folica.com (where the pic is from). I've read and seen lots of
good  things about it. I'm hoping it does the trick. No I haven't become
a CURL hater! I am however thinking of cutting my hair and on the chance that the bangs/cut looks awful curly I will need a straighener. Plus
I've always been envious of straight hair some days- the long sideswept bangs and flippy layers- you just can't do that with curly hair. The purchase came with a free 2 yr warranty, heat proof pouch and a mini solia straightener that I can use for just my bangs if I want or sell it/ give it away as a gift since I may not need it at all.

I'm planning on getting my hair cut like AnnaLynne McCord as seen in this picture from CelebSalon blog

Just gotta find a good salon out here in New Tampa.

realization

After a couple of days in the gym followed by a couple days of varying degrees of L knee pain from excruciating to nagging but always constant, I am hanging up the jogging hat for now. I enjoyed the accomplishments I was making. I cannot deal with the constant pain especially with my line of work. I was using running for weight loss but perhaps I need to focus on weight loss before I try the running again. c'est la vie. Can't say I didn't try.


In other news, I have a couch. Hooray!

New Home

I've all but been dead to this site for awhile. I'm officially all moved in at my New Tampa apartment. I have some more unpacking to do and also some furniture shopping. The pets are all settled in and it's starting to feel like home. I'm still getting adjusted to the new commute (need to leave 10 mins earlier!!) and learning the layout of the lands (ie- where's worth eating).

I may have some new roommates soon... more on that later ;)

Loving it
Christine

so?

I've fallen off the bandwaggon. A new love, a hated knee and seriously rainy weather are to blame. And me.

However,
The sun is shining. My Ibuprofen and RICEing regimen are working. I am ready to balance life again.

I work evening shift tonight. Tomorrow I head for a beach overnighter for my boyfriend's birthday. He's returning from GA today and I miss him so.
Next week I work a ton of hours and I am dreading it but then I get to move to my new place! My schedule is somewhat acceptable for a move in and I have half a month (About.) to get out and clean my old place. Very excited.

Sexual Harassment

Two creepy instances of sexual harrassment this week. I am going to look into some gel mace because I seem to be a magnet for this behavior lately.

Via FB comes today's account-

server- (not releasing my plate) are you sure you don't want gravy?
me- oh, no thanks. I don't eat meat.
server- are you sure? I promise there's no meat in my gravy. (suggestive smile)
me- no. (skin crawling).

And from twitter we have Monday's account-

just so we're on the same page. whispering 'i know someone that loves you' into my ear and then slinking away is fucking creepy and gross.

That second one came after I recoiled from the guy (I've had trouble w/ him before) because I thought he was going to kiss me on the cheek. I was browsing the internet on my phone in an abandoned hallway at the time of the offense. 

I am seriously done with this kind of behavior. Is it too much to respect women in public? Ladies, can you please raise your sons with manners and decency? Please withhold breeding with jerks so this behavior can stop. Women now and especially in future generations would really appreciate it! It seems no compliment is ever given to a female without a suggestion attached to it. These suggestions are disgusting and need to stop.

life gets in the way?

So my entry just got deleted!
Basically I missed about 4 days on my c25k training plan due to being out of town for a wedding and having crappy weather following two 12 hr work days. I should have taken shoes w/ me on my trip as I had plenty of time to hit the streets. Maybe the future workout me will have the foresight to plan ahead but I am at least recognizing what I can do better!

On other fronts, things seem to be going well. I don't want to jinx mysef, so no details!

I have come to find what conditions I run best in. Just enough sleep and an extremely empty belly. I had a moderate meal last night, got good rest, awoke around 0830 and only had sips of water by the time I finally left the house at about 0930. I am also not at all hungry when I get back in from exercising. It wasn't until about 1230 that I was like, okay, let me prepare something. Ended up making a really 'meaty' sauce and had a small bowl of pasta. I am trying to cook everything in my pantry and fridge in anticipation of the BIG MOVE next month. I am so excited :)

I've been really into this song lately. I love how Ms. Ditto kills it at the end. It's such a good motivator song. It has pushed me to do something out of character that turned out well this week so it's no big surprise that I found this on youtube today.



Enjoy :)

p.s. I am doing a 100 miles in June (anyway you can) challege via dailyrace.com. So far I have shaved 3 miles off and will do a couple more this evening. I love challenges like this.

Completed W2D1 of my c25k this morning. Unfortunately, my phone has been having issues with it's GPS which I hope resolve very soon! I hate not knowing my exact distance and all that goes with that. I just focused on not quitting and got through all of the jog sections. I feel like I did at the beginning of W1 where it seems each 90s segment is finished right when I want to walk so I know at the end of this week it'll be a piece of cake just like the 60s segments were.

I've been eating a lot better lately. Including the delicious homemade pizza I made for dinner tonight. It was a thin crust w/ a homemade pesto base so my mom and I split it. I love being able to use their homegrown herbs.

Got a voicemail from Karen at the complex I am moving to. She wanted to verify that I am going to send her my vaccination info for the pets tomorrow and also said that they needed pictures. Pictures, really. Why? So if they see a dog in the complex they can sort through all of their pictures to see who it is? It just seems really silly.

New Territory

I will be moving to New Tampa in July. I have a few friends that live in the same complex and they all liked it. I toured and they had ONE apartment left that I wanted so I filled an application and they will be processing it this week. It's a 1/1 with a den. So, effectively a 2/1. I really liked the floorplan and it's almost TWICE the size of my place right now with heaps and heaps of storage. It is on the first floor (not ideal, but I live on the first floor now) and it faces a big pond (with lots of nice trees on the other side). So it's a huge upgrade from where I am living now.

Things I am apprehensive about are the following- location. That's it. It's more spendy but I can afford it no problem. I just don't know much out there. I do know there is a library off my main road and plenty of sidewalks for exercise and lots of really pretty views. It's twice as far from my family and one real good friend and just a few minutes further from most of my other friends. I am not real familiar with the ins and outs of the area but that's half the fun, right? I go out too much as it is and I'll have a better kitchen so I'll actually enjoy staying i9n more to cook. (I will miss having a good bar right across the street).

So, yes, I am nervous about moving to this 'new' territory but pretty damn excited for a change of scenery.

Another Couch to 5K entry

So, technically, I should be well done with week 1 of the program. But technically I am VERY out of shape. I decided to run local today (well, I left my running shoes at my parent's house) and did a course around Babe Zaharias golf course. This is a big step for me as I HATE exercising in front of a bunch of people, much less neighbors I've grown up with. I also always have a fear of someone insulting me for looking ridiculous. Really, though, there is nothing ridiculous about trying to get into shape so I put my music up loud as I safely can and truck along.

Now my last 3 workouts were today, Tuesday and the previous Fri. I didn't like that stretch of time so I will complete one more week 1 exercise before going forward.

I used a different podcast today and I LOVED it. Loved loved loved it. They can be found on The Chubby Jones Podcast page. She chimes in here and there and I know the encouragement will help as I continue on. Much better than the techno garbage that I tried to use at the begining of this journey- no wonder I wasn't doing well. Also hae been using Suz's podcasts which is more hip hop.

My L knee hasn't been bothering me at all which is to much relief. My right posterior calf cramps up pretty bad towards the end but I try to stretch it out as good as I can afterwards. I hope this doesn't become a problem on longer segments.

I used today's podcast for the first time and kept waiting for her to say we were halfway done (the previous one I used had this cue) but it never came- what did come was the last run segments announcement. I was kinda shocked. I was prepared to do 2-3 more runs. Also, I think running in a neighborhood made me run faster bc of the slight embarassment element. I shaved 13s off my avg mile from last week. And last week was 12s improvement over the previous week. Hooray slow but steady improvement.

Not excited about going into work later. I think I left my badge at home so thankfully it's evening shift when that's not as big of a deal. I also forgot my new library book House of Leaves. It's a big one and supposed to be extremely creepy/scary. I am anxious to get it started and hope it lives up to expectations.

Good Afternoon

Hillsborough River State Park

Today I ventured forth in search of more trails for my jogging adventures.

Initially, I was headed to Hole-in-the-Fence trailhead in the Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve (or plain old Wilderness Park as locals refer to it) on a recommendation from my friend Jon. However, as I rode out towards Thonotosassa I started thinking about the rain we've been getting recently. The whole Wilderness Parks System is situated around the Hillsborough river (about of 1/4 of it's total length in the multiple parks) and whole sections of trail can become quite sloughy when it rains. For those that don't know, a slough is basically a swampy area. I have done some of the parks in the system but have never heard of the Hole-in-the-Fence trail so I'm eager to check it out sometime soon. As with most of the trails in the system they are multi use trails so I can probably expect to share the trail with many bikes but hopefully not get mowed down by one!

So, considering the rains I head out to Hillsborough River SP which I haven't been to in probably a year or better. I was hoping to avoid mud on the Florida Trail because I remembered it having some elevation above the river (if you can believe that). I more or less did! Luckily I started the trail going clockwise (it's a loop) as suggested by the markers as the first 1/2-2/3s of the trail where my couch to 5k program took place was bone dry. My cool down walk encountered lots of stretches of gunky mud and (worse) mosquitoes but I could take my time clomping through so as not to bust on my butt.

Did I mention I face planted? Heh. Not a true face plant but about halfway through my program I was jogging up an elevation and my R foot clipped an exposed root hidden by some grass. I stumbled forward and planted on my knees and hands with enough grace to lightly toss my Nexus One onto the dirt instead of crushing it. I really need to get an arm strap because I will cry if I kill that phone (electronics love *sigh*). I got to thinking how horrible it would have been if I had like flipped down the embankment into the river and got eaten by a gator...or something. The rest of the program was spent studiously avoiding roots and slowing down on the plank bridges.

I have been using Softrace on my phone (w/ the c25k podcast in the background- have I mentioned how I love that my android multitasks??) to get stats and I am loving it. It's the second app I've tried and I don't need to look anymore. It maps your run (for interest, and backtracking if you get lost) shows altitude changes, distance run, min/mile, top/avg speed and some other stats and also scores against your past logged runs. There is also a challenge mode which I haven't checked out. I also just discovered the diary aspect of it where it has your race stored by date- who doesn't love that?

So, how'd I do? My time today was about 30s/mi slower. However, this includes the fall and multiple freak outs from running face first into spiderwebs (I was the first one on the trail today, clearly). Also, everything else I have to compare it to was not only flat terrain but wide paths with no roots. So I am pleased. I like jogging REAL trails. I feel like I am connecting with where I am from. Even the elevation changes and roots were enjoyable as they made the segments appear to go by faster. I don't think I've mentioned that I restarted (yes, completely restarted) my c25k program at week 1. My workouts weren't close enough together to feel any progress. But the prep runs and this being the new w1d2 I didn't feel near as tired as I had in the past. Granted, I didn't drink last night, got plenty of rest, ate right this morning, and was running in the shade...aka the perfect scenario. I'm optimistic :)

                                                         

p.s. Somehow although I packed up the bug spray I failed to put it on! Mosquitoes annoy me but for some reason I don't suffer from them like a lot of people I know. When I evaluated myself for ticks in the bathroom before heading home I only saw about 5 welts (none that have sustained) but I did have a trickle of blood from a particularly evil stalker horsefly that had me running portions of trail long after my c25k program ended. Those bites hurt!

training, again :)

Finally got back on track with my c25k training! I love that I can say that and I only just completed w1d1. I worked a bunch, my one day off was super busy and then I had bad knee pain. I'm having some mild throbbing now but I really think the hour of geocaching on trails I did afterwards kept me nice and loose. Of course, working is fine to be an excuse for me as I am on my feet running for 12 hrs anyway. The thought of coming home and jogging is laughable! I have also been swimming on almost all of my off days :)

I am trying to get a feel for what programs/apps to use for this c25k. I prefer the chimes that alert you to start/run/walk/stop on the app I have but I like having the music from the podcasts. I don't like the way they talk to you during but I suppose once I build up to longer segments it will be nice to have halfway updates during the jog/runs. I tried using a jogging buddy app today that measures distance gone. I do not think it was accurate bc I can walk faster than what i logged for my distance for that time. The trail I was on was a segment (they were doing road work at lettuce lake park) so I kept having to backtrack. I am going to go to lake park next time and travel in a linear path and see if it's more accurate. That park is much closer to my apartment, anyway.

Mother's Day

I'm back from vacation :) Had a wonderful time! Got some really great hiking in the first day at Torreya SP (About 5 or 6 hours worth) and spent the rest of the days doing more relaxing strolls, sunbathing, and checking out Apalachicola during which we checked out some art galleries. I picked up a piece of folk art at Artemis Gallery by Lois Swoboda. She's an entomologist/artist/reporter and all are reflected in her works.

While browsing art it really hit me that I should be creating on a regular basis. I love getting my hands dirty w/ paint or pastels. I am challenged by living in such a small space and taking care of such curious animals. However, I went and bought 3 panels today. I am ready to work. I am doing a piece for mother's day. What is really sick is that I asked my mother what she would like, hypothetically. Her answer was my number 1 option and I really wish I hadn't asked and had just done it. I am going to start on the painting of their house tomorrow, landscaping and all. I am not sure what angle I am going to choose as the front on is more classic but they do more living in the backyard which has more lush landscaping. Also unsure of my approach, stylistically speaking. I like very linear architectural pieces but I have a feeling she is thinking of a softer impressionistic painting in her head. We'll see what comes out- stay tuned :)

menu

I am about to head out to the grocery store. I know it's Fri night but I'm choosing to spend mine cleaning and cooking. I know if I go out I'll start drinking and I work tomorrow and also may have the tiniest touches of a cold that I don't want to exacerbate. This is how I will become a spinster, albeit a responsible one :p

On the menu:
Layered Caribbean Salad
Veggie Loaf
Mint chocolate pie

All three recipes are new and all three are vegan.either. I hope they turn out well :)
Thinking of taking the pie to work tomorrow. I'll be stuck there 12 hours, so...

Vacation

Just one more 12 hr shift standing in my way! I worked evenings last night and out of chaos came order. We had 2 call outs - our staff and a float nurse that was set up for OT. Last minute they found us a regular time float and one of our nurses that was to come in at midnight thought it was her 12 hr shift and showed up at 1930. It was a wonderful mistake!

On the camping front- I updated our 3rd nights stay from Grayton beach to St Joseph Peninsula on the account of some advice from my friend Melinda. She said the dunes at SJP (not the actress) are not to be missed! Also, it saves us a lot of drive time which will be nice and also will allow us some time to explore one of the parks off I-10, I am thinking FL caverns state park in Marianna. I do want to do some more out W in the panhandle but not just for a 1 night trip.

One thing I am not too happy with is that I woke up with sniffles. I am not sure whether to attribute this to the beginnings of a cold or that Benson slept in my face last night. I hate when he does that.

Geocaching

So as mentioned in my last post I have a bit of a geek streak in me when it comes to geocaching. This has only been exacerbated by my new Nexus One phone. Prior to having the phone application c.geo I was using a gps unit where I had to manually input all the cache data. My phone's app integrates your location to export ALL the info automatically right to your phone. It is completely paperless and so convenient!

I think part of the reason I took to this hobby so much is that 1- it takes me back to my childhood, 2- I like doing things outdoors in parks and 3- it gives you something to 'do' while out on trails.

I promised my friend Erin I would go walking with her today and I wasn't feeling Bayshore when we woke up late and would literally be baking in the sun the whole time. Instead I suggested Al Lopez- a nice park with some caches I haven't found.

We tried a couple caches in the park and one that we found had a trackable geocoin. Trackables are items you log on the site as having found and place, either yourself or by handing them off to other cachers, in different caches near or far. There is a site dedicated to each trackable where you can read about where it has been or its desired destination. The one I found is a fallen heroes coin in the memory of a PFC Michael M Carey. I am planning on dropping it off in the Panhandle next week.

Later on we headed over to a bird preserve over near Forest Hills and picked up a quick one there thanks to Erin's good eyes.

Please visit Geocaching.com for more info on this hobby and spread the word to those who might be interested!

Some pictures from the day. First two are at Al Lopez and the following four are from the preserve area.

 Didn't quite capture the perspective I wanted w/ these trees- they are really quite impressive in person.

(p.s. I am such a goof! I have been doing all the coding to this blog by hand and just now realized the 'compose' tab will do it for you!)

Late April NoFlo camping trip

SO later this month I am going on a short camping excursion with a good friend Kelly. Nothing too fancy, we will be staying at 3 different state parks by Tallahasse and along the panhandle gulf coast. This will be my first camping trip of the year and my first ever girls only camping trip. I am not opposed to more people attending but I am looking forward to it being just the two of us independent types just to say we can and did. :) I will leave out any actual photos of the parks because I will be posting my own soon enough.

First we will be departing Tampa on the 21st early in the morning to head out for Torreya state park. Here you can see an overview.

Our camping is situated along one of the bluffs and I picked a spot based on a book review that states there is an actual Torreya tree on the site's border.

The botany geek inside is very excited about this.

We will be doing lots of trail hiking here. I am excited because I think there will be some excellent photo ops as well as some good exercise to be had.

The next day we will head SW to St George Island

I have always wanted to go here but this is the campsite I am least excited about. The park was almost booked out- we got the last site for the night and I fear it's going to be nestled between two giant moving homes and with little privacy. However, with 9 miles of undeveloped coastline I am not looking to spend too much time at my campsite. Nearby Apalachicola will hopefully satisfy my craving for some cheap local seafood on the road. It's waters are supposed to be some of the cleanest and most producing in the nation. Hoping our drive back home takes us back through here so I can pick up some bags of Oysters for my friend Erin who is obsessed with them. (I'm not a fan).

Then we will head further West into the panhandle and stay the night at Grayton Beach.

I have a feeling this will be the most scenic. I mean we will have the gulf, the lake, all the coastal dunes, etc to help frame some excellent photos. I am hoping they have kayak rentals (need to do some research) so we can explore in some of the waterways. I really wish we were staying here two nights but alas, we are not. Originally in planning this trip the first stop was to be at a park in Gainesville and there was to beonly one coastal spot. We decided to shave some time off the trip and go for two nights on the coast but had already commited to here being our last night and unfortunately no sites available for the night prior. I read excellent reviews about the campgrounds but I have a feeling the beach itself is going to be packed.

I purchased a sunshade for the trip (and surely to get much use this summer and beyond!).
and it's supposed to be getting here today. BTW, if you're not familiar with Overstock, I highly recommend it. The prices are fair and the shipping rates are flat at 2.95 and oftentimes free for promotions. I have purchased many heavy items that I can't find around town without breaking the bank.

Another item I purchased for daily life but will definitely be coming in handy is a Nexus One!

I always intended to purchase a GPS when I got a new car and as it turned out I got a new car due to mine being stolen (r.i.p.). It was definitely nice to lay my '95 civic to rest but alas! My handheld garmin for camping and was also in my car. Ultimately did I want to buy 2 new gadgets or just incorporate them all into one? The answer was obv.

The phone will provide turn by turn assist and has a geocaching app among a billion other useful tools. It's expected to arrive tomorrow and I can't wait.

Later y'all :)

Hello! My name is...

Hey there, I'm Christine, a 24 yr old Tampanian. I wear many hats- nurse, painter, art collector, pescetarian recipe tester, wanna be architect/design guru, first time house hunter, lazy bones, amateur movie and book critic, geocacher, adventure traveler, etc and so on! I also have a million budding interests dealing with technology, food, art and sciences, and secret obsessions like getting SCUBA certfied (maybe this will be the year!) and running some 5Ks. So, welcome to my blog and may each post bring interesting content!