I'm really having trouble coming up with titles lately

2.6 running straight, 5.1 overall. I ran a new route so it was hard to keep track of exactly how far each stretch was except for the first one. I have 7 blisters and one hot spot. Boo.

So I met up with Ben, the guy Kim warned about me, yesterday for coffee....which turned into lunch and dinner and a School of Rock and playing in the pool.

Today he's coming over to help me wash and wax my car ( -.^ ), watch Prison Break and have dinner. Tomorrow we're seeing Transformers 2. He's a little obsessed with Megan Fox. I mean, granted, I drool over Zachary Quinto almost daily (and to the point that it drives Mike absolutely bonkers when we're trying to watch Heroes together) but I do not have his face as the wallpaper on my phone. Admittedly this is in part because I had never thought of it before...

Who wouldn't want to see that every time they turn on their phone?

Blisters blisters go away

3.6 + 0.6 running and 0.6 walking = 4.8 miles today. Then I came home and did a little swimming. Could have done more but I am terrified of hitting the walls of the pool and so I can only take 6 small strokes or 4 big ones before I have to stop and walk to the wall and turn around to go again.

Convo of the week (I believe there have been two in the same week. It doesn't matter)

Kim: *to me* I told him you’d scare him off.
Mom: *to Kim* He’s been to Iraq, how scary can she be?
Kim: He's been warned.

Success! (x2)

Background: the Navy has the strictest PT requirements for entry out of any of the branches (well, except maybe the Marines, I ignore them because grandpa always dogged them, lol). One of my goals was to beat their entry requirements, not because I want to join them but because I wanted to be able to if I ever wanted to. Anyway, they want you to run 2 miles in less than 19:26. I ran it in 18:13 today. :-D

Also I finally got in a whole 5K in one stretch (instead of stop-go) which means I can officially start signing up for 5Ks! YAY! If only I had committed to this in HS I might have actually been really good at something other than hurdles.

Oh, and these are my new shoes! --->

Nike Air Max Moto+ 6 in Womens. I wanted the black and purple ones but they didn't have them in my size. The red is growing on me though, especially since they didn't pop my existing blisters or give me new ones. The only thing is that I forgot to take my weak ankles into account when researching the best shoe for my foot type so I wound up with a highly cushioned shoe with little support (I have high arches and tend to supinate/under-pronate, plus I'm mid-foot striker so padding all the way through, baby!). I turned my ankles so many times today they were sore when I got home. If I can't strengthen them I'll have to buy a new pair of sneaks and use these ones as my hospital shoes.

I've been using a calorie/fitness diary online but the things has got to have a problem: the last three days I've been deficient 1000 calories. But I eat! Including Ben & Jerry's, chili, and this coolwhip pie thing. AND I'm too lazy to alter the default settings when I eat something "low-fat" or with less calories than the diary has recorded. But I am not calorie deficient! I'm only burning an extra 300-500 calories a day so if this thing is right, then I've been deficient 500 calories every day of my life....I should look like an Auswitch survivor by this point if that's true. I suspect something odd is going on....

I went to Vinyasa Yoga class today hoping it would be a little more advanced than the Hatha classes I went to during the week. Well, it was. It was KILLER!! It turns out the purpose of Vinyasa is not just to link the static poses but to make you sweat like a dog to release toxins. I had just showered and put on a cute new tank top because I was expecting little more than slow position changes. Ha. Ha ha. Not what I got.

Also, our yogi decided to make today all about remember how short life is (gee, I wonder why) and played Michael Jackson half the time. Which is great when you're working and dripping with sweat...not so helpful when trying to relax into shavasana at the end. The ridiculous thing is that I'm the youngest person in this class by at least 20-25 years (other than the one cute guy my age who was there today) and yet when the CD started and "Bad" started playing it took them like 15 seconds before they all recognized it and laughed. I knew from the beginning notes. I was highly dissappointed in their musical memory. Especially with 5000 tributes to Michael Jackson all over the place yesterday.

Well, I want to pass out but can't so I have to go find something to keep me awake. Some protein or carbs or something...

A Day Off From Church

A holiday season inevitably means a break from the usual church services. Easter brings passion plays and Via Dolorosa processions. Christmas means Christmas concerts and four weeks of Advent. But no holiday is a greater break from the usual than the fourth of July. It is a regular vacation from church.

Back story: My parents' home church (which I am currently visiting while spending time with them) puts on a big Independence Day celebration the first Sunday of every July that takes up the whole service and provides no preaching. Although God is mentioned in passing songs lyrics and prayer, the focus is on Americans. I overheard the rehearsal for the program this afternoon and wanted to start overturning the tables in the lobby: The choir director was recounting all the ways in which America was a wonderful place because of other Americans, specifically veterans. No mention of God. No mention of the areas in which America is horridly inadequate.

(Disclaimer: I am certainly not anti-veterans. I'm from a big Navy family, grew up on and off of Air Force bases, and have occasionally toyed with the idea of joining the military myself. I am very thankful for my freedoms and for the chance to selfishly hoard riches and resources if I were to so choose. I am immensely proud of my grandfather, dad, uncle, aunt, cousins and friends for their contributions to the country and therefore my way of life. I am all for honoring them and the sacrifices they have made, but not in lieu of church.)

Regardless of your intentions, it does not make it right to take an entire Sunday away from worshipping God and spend it worshipping America and it's soldiers.
1. It's divisive. I've heard from greater world travelers than myself (although I found this to be true on my trip to Argentina) that we are the only people that places our nation's flag on the pulpit, in equal standing with God. It always makes me wonder: are we Americans first or Christ followers first? Why do we feel the need to be reminded of our nationality when worshipping the God who created ALL people?
2. It's disloyal. To pledge allegiance to an earthly kingdom in the "embassy" of our true citizenship (Heaven) is tantamount to treason, in my opinion. (To do outside of a Church I find far less troublesome.) I refuse to swear fealty to a man or a manmade entity in the house of the One I owe 100% of my loyalty.
3. It's simply not church. We are to have one day set aside to actively remember God, worship Him, and dwell on His goodness. To replace that with a time of celebrating our accomplishments is to change the entire point of what church is supposed to be.


I'm submitting this to ReveLife, basically the entire reason I wrote it. *crosses fingers and hopes not to be attacked too viciously by the trolls and America-Lovers*

How lazy am I?

I've realized that I can get away with applying eye makeup every other day, even though I wash my face several times a day. Just slap on some dark liner and a couple coats of mascara on day one and even after a heavy work out, a shower, and a couple face washings I still have definition around my eyes.
I'm so lazy.
And yet, not always! Today I ran 2.5 miles (and my longest stretch was a mile) plus walking another 0.7 miles interspersed.

Winner of the "Random Convo of the Week" award:

Me: maybe in the next lifetime. When we're bull weevils or something
Andy: weevils???? THAT's what we earned with all this learning???!?!?! WEEVILS???!!!!
Me: its our dirty minds, they counter acted all our good deeds and all our higher education. Sorry.
Andy: Well then we should get some mileage out of them whilst we're still human lol
Me: thats exactly the sort of thinking that made us come back with exoskeletons!
Andy: IM SHOOTING FOR SINGLE CELL!!!

Body Wars

I've been running with Chase the last three days (well, walk-running) and it's amazing to see how fast my body adapts. The first day I ran 1/3-1/2 and walked the rest (alternating). Yesterday I ran about half, and today I ran 2/3. YAY!!!!!! Soon I should be able to run 1/2 way without taking a break, hopefully.

Such a snarky brat, he is.

But now everything hurts :( My legs hurt in weird places that they never hurt during track season. I don't know if I ran poorly then or am doing so now. Or if it's just because the terrain is different. Or if it's something I'm doing/not doing in yoga. *shrugs* My abs are killing me, especially my obliques, thanks to my 300 crunches routine that Morgan taught me back when she and Deborah and I were going to the gym together. My arms, sadly, are actually fine. I think it's because the heaviest hand weights we have are 5lb and I need 7.5lbs.

I love that the more I exercise, the less junk I want to eat. I don't generally crave junk food anyway, I just eat it becase it I'm bored and it's something to do. Now when I'm bored and I stand in front of the fridge I think I am so not hungry right now and if I eat that it's just more weight I have to haul around the block tomorrow.

I did make pizza though! Homemade whole wheat pizza with spinach, pesto, and fresh tomatoes. It was also supposed to have feta but I forgot...oh well. Good for my mama, who's watching her cholesterol: 0mg cholesterol and 2g fat. And very filling, we each only had one piece.

And for dessert? Key Lime Pie yogurt! Another tasty Yoplait flavor that I adore.

*flops into chair overdramatically from sheer exhaustion*

I think Chase is a mah-velous exercise partner. Granted, he cannot race me to the end of 3o0 crunches, but he can...

...push me to run instead of walk, but not say anything when I have to revert to walking

...make me practice my footwork by deciding to go left around the sewer grate instead of right (at the last minute possible)

...strengthen my knees every time I have to tug him back into position

...spice up my yoga routine

I love downward facing....dog

...never cancel on me because he is sick or has errands to run
...never tempt me with food that will make me fat
...always beat me in a race of any distance but never secretly (or not so secretly) gloat about it
...never wear cuter clothes or shoes than me
...give me an excuse not to stop and talk to/run with random people
...never complain that we run the same route every day, or that I've gone and changed the route without consulting him

I will miss my puppy :(

The nursing view

I decided to refocus on myself these next couple weeks before I move in an effort to keep the impending chaos from making me ill again. You know: eat more fruit, exercise, read, etc.

Well, I was surfing some of the Xanga "-ish" sites that focus on health and cosmetics and such and ran across this picture:

"You look like a swivel stick. It's not healthy." --In and Out

At first I was automatically envious of her abs and started pouting to myself. Damn her and her perfect stomach. AHHHHH!!!!
But recently I've developed this odd habit of looking at people like I'm their nurse, even when I'm not. And the new instinct kicked in here without my even thinking of it. She looks malnourished. Her ribs and pelvis are sticking out. Where the hell would I give a SQ injection on this chick?? She's going to need extra blankets...
This is why I love Shawn Johnson. Her abs are still completely unattainable but at least she doesn't look like she exists on one carrot a day. Plus, I won't give myself a disease trying to look like her.

Plus, Shawn has Mark Ballas. Gotta be something to that...

What will she do next?

Find a man!

So I had a long car ride yesterday to think about random things and I started listing my characteristics for an "ideal man." Like a little jr higher. Anyway, some were amusing so I thought I would just share.

Ok, the first round:

1. Christian. In a real way. Explaining this takes too much time and is pretty unnecessary anyway.

2. Non-smoker. Icky.

3. Wants a lot of kids. Because I want my five rugrats.

4. Likes big dogs. Because I already have one and he's not going anywhere.

5. Doesn't spend a lot of money. Because I am paranoid.

Now the oddities begin. These are what makes him "ideal" and not merely "compatible." I do not suffer under the delusion that anyone will in anyway fit all of these qualities.

-- Geek. And I do mean in the dresses-up-to-see-Star-Trek, counts-down-to-Comic-Con, Leonard/Sheldon-from-Big-Bang-Theory kind of nerd. Not just in the knows-the-difference-between-Cylons-and-The-Borg sort of way *shudders at such loose usage of the word "geek"* (fluency in Klingon not required)

-- Likes country music.

-- Preferred profession: engineer (bc that is the running joke), trauma/ER/military doctor (specifically), country boy (this includes cattle rancher, horse breeder, farmer.....I dunno, I like cowboys, heehee)

-- Likes to travel.

-- Can give awesome back rubs.

-- Can cook really well. And he has to measure up to my dad so... He at least has to do the obligatory grilling. Cuz I have no desire to stand over a fire in July but I love me some grilled hamburgers on the 4th!

-- Sings. But in a Chris Tomlin way, not a BSB way.

-- Dances. Think Dancing With The Stars, again not BSB.

...Luckily My God Owns a Backhoe

Aha! I am done! My cave-in is resolved and I am FINISHED with nursing school!! *excited screaming commences*

The plan now is to pare down all my crap into a few less boxes, get some much neglected exercise, sleep, eat, watch movies, and generally do nothing until the middle of July.

So nice to do nothing.

An avalanche just caved in my light at the end of the tunnel

I'm not getting any better. No. Every day I get sicker.
Thursday I had a bit of a sore throat.
Friday it was a bad sore throat and a funny nose.
Saturday it was a nasty head cold and exhaustion.
Today it is migrating into my chest, the exhaustion is even worse and I feel hot all over.

I don't see how I could possible pull together a 12 hour shift like this, let alone if I am worse tomorrow. And my nurse is only scheduled for three days this week and I have 17.5 hours to get in by Friday. Of course on top of that, this is likely to turn into bronchitis if not pneumonia and linger around me for a couple weeks.

I emailed my professor to ask her what the contingency plan is and if she makes me stay here into July to get the hours clocked I will be sooooooooooo ANGRY with her: At the very beginning of the summer my nurse only worked 24 hours one week and I asked my professor if I could work an extra 12 with someone else that week to make sure I finished on time and she said no because there was extra time built in at the end for something like that. Well I knew if we didn't prepare for the worst, the worst would come. And it has.

It's taking me longer and longer to recover between shifts and the stress of knowing I'm not going to finish on time is not helping.

Lucky Girl

What's the first thing you do when you get a cold?
"Uh...chicken soup, aspirin, scotch..."
"You never just have the cold?
"I don't know what..."
"Taken nothing. Just have the cold."
"No."
"No. And that's us, right? We drown it, kill it, numb it...Here they feel everything straight from God. There's no drugs, no painkillers....we have no idea what courage is."
-- Nick and Sarah, Beyond Borders

I picked up a big bag of Jolly Ranchers and a box of losanges that promised to cut my cold in half. (I was too tired to even be annoyed that they claimed to be "clinically proven.")
I was applauding myself for toughing this out without trying to get antibiotics when I remembered the quote from Beyond Borders.

Suddenly I didn't feel so tough anymore.

Mikki would be ashamed of the baby Michelle has become

When I was 18 I literally sat in the middle of the sidewalk between the Lake and the DMC and cried I was in so much pain...then got up and went to Bible class and math class. And we all know how that story ended.
Today I woke up with a cold and I'm really wondering how I'm going to manage tomorrow at practicum. Though, to be fair, it is a little harder to do sterile procedures with your nose dripping like a faucet than if your abdomen feels like it's going to explode. Ah, oh well.
Since I have no health insurance I refuse to visit the student health center (who knows how much lab tests cost for Strep? I don't want to find out.). Instead I've been gargling with salt/garlic water every hour or so. It really helps the sore throat but I think it's what gave me the drippy nose. Dangit.

I sold my little bookcase today. Yep. I dug it out of the trash 11 months ago and sold it today for 6 bucks.
Hopefully I'll get this guy to fork over at least $10 for my free desk later today.

Almost everything is packed. The only things not packed are the clothes, food, dishes, and toiletries I need the next couple days and some random little things I can't figure out how to pack. My room is very naked. All my decorations are down, my snoopy collage separated, my blinds wide open, my walls clean (well, soon to be anyway) and only one picture of my family still out. But it's quite the opposite of depressing: the big "6!" (my countdown) on my wipe-off board is the only decoration I need :-P

Back to the Basics part 34739

It's no secret that I've been trying to figure out exactly what Christianity is supposed to be about. I'm trying to strip away the religiosity and get back to life. Life as it is meant to be lived: isn't that really what Christianity is all about?

Anyway, it struck me today on my way home from practicum that Christians are a very negative group.
1. Sin. Christians love sin (as long as it is someone else's). We love to point it out, gossip about it, lecture about it, complain about it, lament about it etc.
2. Hate. Christians love to be hated. In fact, I've met plenty that have no problem admitting that they actively try to get people to hate them. o.0 Excuse me?
3. Prayer requests. While Biblical at the core, it seems like a lot of time people use "prayer request time" to simply talk about all the bad things in their lives. Compared to the amount of time spent offering "praise reports" or affirming that they believe that God will fix their problems or has a plan, "complain time" is definitely predominant.
4. Immoral politicians. This gets a group apart from "sin" because it is entirely different. Not only are we angry when politicians are gay/divorced/embezzlers/etc. but we like to lament in great laborious detail about all the laws that negatively effect us....or may in the future.

I noticed this because the Christian radio was on and I thought Boy am I glad they don't have news reports like K-Love. That's when I realized that, like the K-Love news reports, Christians like the focus on the bad things going on in the world.
I'm not saying we shouldn't be aware. But our awareness should drive us to make things better AND appreciate what we have. NOT drive us into the depths of despair.

Phil 4:8 Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

The final week is about to begin

In one week I will be packing everything into my car and my mom's van and leaving Gainesville in the dust! (well, technically I have to get up the next day and go to clinicals for a whopping 2 hours, but I'm looking for ways around that)

How can one week seem like such an immense amount of time when my five days at home this weekend just whooshed by?

Don't forget!

Today through June 22 it's free to register as a bone marrow donor!
Join me in the fun: http://www.marrow.org/index.html

All of my friends are getting married, I'm just busy being AWESOME!!

Allie and Liam are engaged! YAY!!! I thought it would be more odd given the fact that I've known Allie since she was an awkward Jr Higher (and now we're awkward adults...my how times have not changed) and that I dated Billy for such a short period of time so very long ago.
But it was not odd at all. Maybe I've finally reached the age where it seems normal that people are getting married, instead of surreal. (I always have been two years behind after all.)
I cannot wait to move back to Ohio so I can stop observing all these thing from far away!

8 days to my last full day of practicum
10 days till I move back home
12 days to end of school
about 40ish days till I move to my new city and start my new life! (finally...2 years behind my schedule, but right on time with God's!)

Awesomeness

Now and again ReveLife will actually post something that nearly everyone agrees on and that doesn't spark an angry fight between philosophically differing groups.
Here is one: "Things People Like to Tell Singles" The girl, 29 years old (I feel better already!), added her own snarky responses to the common "lines" we get.

1. When you stop looking, it'll happen. (Do I need to poke my eyes out?)
2. When you are content in God, He will bring you a spouse. (Are you always content with YOUR husband? Until you are, God won't bring you better one!)/ (I want to tell a starving person that when they're content being hungry, God will send them food.)
3. When you stop idolizing marriage, God will allow you to be married. (cuz God gives spouses as doorprizes)
4. Don't look for the right one - be the right one. (Apparently, I am the wrong one right now.)
6. God is your husband. (Really? Can I be His stay-at-home wife?)
7. Better to marry than to burn... (I am aware. I burn EVERY day. Go get the extinguisher. I'll try not to use it on your head)
8. Jesus and Paul were single. (Jesus died at 33. Is that my fate too?)
9. Enjoy the gift of singleness (a.k.a selfishness) while you can. (I'll be happy to do a gift exchange...you can enjoy my carefree life and I'll take guiltfree sex.)
10. Have you ever considered being a missionary? (so you just wanna ship me off eh?)
11. It's great that you are single-you can do so much more for God. (Indeed. You aren't doing anything for Him.)
12. You are going to 'find' that special someone soon. (Is he lost? Do I need a map?)
15. Don't worry, he's out there! (Where? In the Dryer-Sock Abyss?)
17. Have you ever considered that your standards are too high? You're never going to find the perfect person and you're not getting any younger. (breathing, Christian, tall, nonsmoker, non-divorced, non-baby daddy...too high you say?)
19. You're just so awesome, God needs time to mold a guy into someone awesome enough to be with you (He's the God of the Universe - he can make the world in 6 days, but he can't get me a man in 30 yrs?)
20. You know marriage isn't as easy as it looks... (*gasp* no! really?! guess what - neither is 30 yrs of singleness/no sex.)

Health tip #1: Eat Yogurt

The newest Publix (as if two on a city block weren't enough already) has the largest yogurt section I have seen in my entire life. I'm not the biggest fan of yogurt, but knowing how good it is for me I've tried to eat more of it. Plus, it makes a nice and easy snack to throw in my lunch bag.

At first I went for the cheap stuff: Yoplait's value size tub (9 cents an ounce). I mixed in fruit and/or granola for tasty breakfasts or dessert substitutes. Vanilla was my preferred favor until I tried stawberry. Now I can't go back. Vanilla, ewwww.

The last couple weeks I tried Yoplait's YoPlus in blackberry-pomegranate (I really want to find a store with cranberry-raspberry!) because it was on sale. It has the probiotics everyone is raving about, plus fiber and extra vitamin A and D. (A little cave-dweller like me can never get anough Vit D.)
It's now my favorite yogurt because it doesn't have the yogurt-y taste I grew to hate in childhood, but it is pretty expensive: 2.50 for a small 4-pack. (63 cents a serving/15.6 cents an ounce) There is, however, a $1 off coupon on their website and a money-back gaurantee if you don't love it.

Today I picked up Dannon's DanActive: Immunity in strawberry and pomegranate-berry because everyone I know is getting sick and I spend 36 hours a week on a hospital floor infested with shigella, MRSA, VRE, and other nasties. I'm really interested in seeing how this makes me feel because there's scientific evidence from the past ten years that really supports the use of the specific probiotics for boosting immunity.
However, it's almost the same price as YoPlus and it has a weird aftertaste that is strangely reminiscient of the acidophilus tablets I had to take as a kid (gee, imagine that). It is conveniently packaged as a drink, though. I'll ride it out and see.

I hate that all the food that's good for you is so expensive :(

In other news...

It's JUNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I almost forgot to make a big deal out of that...

Bone Marrow: "Be The Match Marrow-thon"

Bone marrow -- the liquidy inner part of your bones that makes blood cells, red and white.

Bone marrow is threatened most commonly in leukemia, which is cancer of the blood...or more specifically, of the bone marrow. It is also killed by radiation, which is the cure for some more radical and rare diseases...like you see on house.

Without properly functioning bone marrow your body cannot protect itself against even the common cold, in addition to making you anemic (and therefore pale, cold, tired, and shakey) and possibly causing severe bone pain.

The National Bone Marrow Registry is a database that holds the contact and health information of all Americans willing to donate their healthy bone marrow to individuals who need it (usually children with leukemia).

Bone marrow is much harder to match than blood because while blood only has to match on 2 levels (ABO antigens and Rh factor), bone marrow has 6 different HLAs. The closer the match, the better the chance that the patients body will not realize that the transplanted marrow is foreign and kill it.

Bone marrow harvesting has come a long way. There are two ways to harvest it from the donor.
1. The donor takes a drug called Filgrastim for several weeks. The drug increases the bone marrow stem cells available in the bloodstream. Then the donor visits a center: A needle goes in each arm. One needle takes your blood away, filters it through a machine, takes out extra stem cells, and the blood is returned (with less stem cells) in the other arm.
Side effects include bodyaches and headache while on Filgrastim.
2. The donor is put under general anesthesia and a hollow needle is used to remove some bone marrow from the pelvis. The marrow is replaced by your body in a few weeks, and your body doesn't even miss it.
Side effects include lower back soreness for up to a week after the surgery.

Not everyone in the registry will be contacted to donate. If you are contacted you will be provided with information on the procedure the patient needs done and you can still refuse to donate at any time. (Some short-term conditions, like pregnancy, will prevent you from donating until the condition is cleared.) If you consent to donating, you will be compared to the other top 20 or so matches and the best one is picked as the donor.

Usually it takes about $50-100 to join the registry because typing the bone marrow (done by collecting a small sample of blood at your doctor's office) is expensive. However, as previously mentioned, it is free for the weeks of June 8-22, or until they meet their goal of 46,000 new volunteers.

I'll be registering ASAP to check off yet another thing on my life's goals list (and who knows, maybe two of them! ["save a life" is number 61])

The website is here: http://www.marrow.org/index.html