Cross Running

As I mentioned in a previous post, I want to be a runner and have been diligently sticking to my Couch to 5K plan.  For those of you don't know, awhile back I thought it would be a good idea to try Crossfit because there was a nurse working for me who was a trainer and she had the most gorgeous arms I had ever seen and I wanted to have them too.  I found a local Crossfit gym near my work and decided one night to attend a class.  People had told me that you could do Crossfit without being physically fit to begin with...I beg to differ.  I got to the class, was shown a couple moves that were on the agenda for the night and then we jumped right into the workout which began with 100 burpees.  For someone who had barely even heard of a burpee, let alone done one, this was a tremendous request.  After 50, my head was spinning, my knees were about to give out, and I thought I was going to vomit.  I decided Crossfit might not be for me and rather than stick it out and do my best, I just quit...I left the class and never looked back and I have been embarrassed and ashamed of quitting ever since. 

Now that I am on this new workout kick, I wonder if I could have stuck with it and gone for a couple more classes.  On Pinterest, I found a neat link to a 10 Minute Crossfit Workout and I thought, "I can do that!"  So today, I decided to try this Crossfit circuit before doing my Couch to 5K routine.  Oh my word!  For only being ten minutes, that was quite a workout and I was certainly sweating when I was done.  When I got on the treadmill, I was fine for the "brisk five minute walk", but when I started running, my legs were not cooperating.  I thought I was going to have to stop and not complete my run, but after I got off the treadmill, I remembered a motivational quote I saw somewhere and I decided that I was NOT going to quit.  Once my run was over, I felt so proud of myself because I did it!  I completed both workouts!  Now I know I probably could have stuck with Crossfit.  I think I am going to try to incorporate some Crossfit into my weekly routine now that I know I can!

Worn

The Christian band Tenth Avenue North has a song out that I hear frequently on K-LOVE called "Worn" and today I totally feel it.  Going from home to work to class and back home to do it all over again starts to wear on you after awhile.  I have been picking up extra shifts at work on the weekends to help bring in a little extra money while I am in school.  I thought I was going to get a day off this week, but my employer couldn't find anyone to work on Sunday, so it looks like I will be working all weekend which will have me working twenty-one straight days by the end of next week.  What I wouldn't give to just spend an entire day at home with nothing to do and no where to go.  I just feel so worn out and tired and just want to sleep in or not have a commitment.

On top of the fact that I am working all the time, so is my husband.  Needless to say, I don't really see a whole lot of him lately.  I know that we have to deal with this for right now, but it doesn't make it any easier.  It's almost as if we are fighting to stay afloat and my head is barely above water.  In a sense, we are doing pretty well in that we can maintain our lifestyle and still cut away at some of our debt while I work part-time and go to school.  However, we hardly see each other and sometimes the stress of everything that's going on makes things a little harder between us.  Not to mention, I am dealing with this really strong urge to have a baby when I clearly know now is not the right time.  I pray God helps me to deal with these feelings and helps Justin and I to keep our marriage strong through this trying time.

I will just keep remembering how it feels to lay on a warm beach with my chair in the edge of the water, my toes in the sand, and a great book in my hands.

Becoming A Runner

I have always admired people who sincerely enjoy running and working out.  I would always wish I could have that sort of motivation.  Now over the years, I have tried many different workout plans from Jillian Michaels to Insanity in an attempt to find one I could stick with.  Burnout would quickly ensue and I would make excuses why a certain workout wouldn't work for me.  I would always say, "The only way I'm running is if a lion is chasing me."  Secretly, I want to love running and be one of those people who runs several miles to clear my head or find my center.  That has just never been my thing before.

Well I may be onto something now.  After months of trying to make up my own running plan and failing to make myself into a runner, I decided I needed to change my approach.  I realized that no amount of new workout clothes or professionally fitted running shoes would make me into a runner.  I would need a solid workout plan and some real desire to stick with it.  I had heard about the Couch to 5k program from several people and I had tried some of the routine, but I had never thoroughly read about it and I missed the part where it said stick to the plan and don't try to push yourself faster just because you think you are ready.  I finally decided to commit to the running plan and am starting Week 5 of 9.  I am starting to see that running is actually not so bad and, to tell the truth, I am actually starting to enjoy it.  My goal is to be able to run the entire length of the Race for the Cure Susan G. Komen 5K in May.  I have decided that when I accomplish this goal I have set for myself, I am going to treat myself to these awesome running shoes I found.

The only thing I need to figure out now are some other workouts I can add to my running routine that will tone the rest of my body...namely my back and arms.  If you know of any good ones, give me a shout!!

Life Makes Love Work Hard

On Valentine's Day, the day of love, I find myself thinking that Taylor Swift was not kidding when she sang, "Life makes love work hard."  If you don't know, my husband is a firefighter and his schedule is not exactly a 9-to-5.  He works for 24 hours and then is off for 48 hours.  However, he also works a part-time job, as most firefighters do.  For him, his part-time job is at another, smaller fire station where he usually picks up a couple of shifts a month.  This month, his part-time shifts all fell within two weeks, so as of yesterday, he is working 48 hours and being off 24 hours.  I know he needs to work, but I am still a little bummed about it because I don't get to be with my love on Valentine's day and on the days that he is off, I am working and in class, so I really only get to see him for a couple hours. It's hard to not be able to spend quality time with the one you love.  If I could have my way, we would spend the majority of our time together because we just have a blast with one another.

I have to admit this time apart really makes me appreciate my husband more though.  I probably don't tell him enough how proud I am of him, but I am and I am so glad that he loves his job.  It makes me so happy to be able to tell people that he is a fireman. He puts his life on the line every time he is on duty.  While most of his days are not life-threatening, you never know when that day will come that his job becomes extremely risky.  Obviously, I worry about him frequently, but I trust that God is watching over him while he works.  He really is the love of my life and I couldn't have picked a better man to be married to.  He is the missing piece to my puzzle and I can't imagine my life without him in it.  In fact, I don't know what I did before him.

Since we don't get to have a romantic evening together for Valentine's Day, I decided to let my hubby know how much I love him by...how else, through his stomach!  Justin really likes his sweets, so I decided to try a Pinterest recipe out on him.  I made Dreamy Oreo Brownies and he really loved them!  So did the rest of the guys he was working with.  They were really easy to make and were, of course, delicious.  I mean, how can you go wrong with brownies, Oreos, and a cream cheese frosting-ish concoction?! 

Try out these brownies and let me know what you think!  Also, let your loved ones know you love them and that you are proud of them.  As the band SafetySuit says in their song "Never Stop", never stop trying.  Never lose that butterflies feeling you got when you first fell in love.  Do the things it takes to keep the fire burning!

Happy Valentine's Day Y'all!

Swamped!

So I haven't posted in a couple days because I have been totally swamped with school stuff! In clinic, they tell you to monitor your patient, write down all this information, then you will need to write a journal about lab, the patient's labs and their significance, their meds and their significance, as well as several grids and tables which all show basically the same thing. What you don't realize is that this process will take you upwards of 5 hours to complete. Not to mention, you have other homework to complete as well...I have been out of the school scene too long apparently.

I wish I could just be like my cat Harry who literally sleeps 23.5 hours a day. He has not a care in the world and is basically pampered and lazy...what a life!

Until the swamp clears!!

God Speaks

It is so amazing to me the way God finds opportunities to speak to us.  He doesn't always speak in the quiet moments either.  Sometimes I find I can hear God's voice above all the noise.  I find that He speaks to me most often when my mind is wandering to places where I am doubting God or questioning His plan for me.  He answers my questions sometimes without me ever asking.

Now I don't know about y'all, but I sometimes find myself looking at other people and comparing my life to theirs.  Usually, I don't see the negative, but see only how things seem to work out exactly right for them.  In the rational part of my mind (which I'll admit is sometimes on the fritz), I know that everyone has to do what works for them and what works for you may not be right for me.  For instance, I am a nursing student in a 2-year associate's degree program right now.  Having already obtained a bachelor's degree, I would rather be in an accelerated program where I would come out with a BSN, but this would require that I not work while in school.  Unfortunately, I have to maintain some income while in school, so I am taking the longer route to afford myself the ability to have anincome and get a nursing degree.

I have been thinking about people I know lately who are my age and already nurses because they went through an accelerated program.  Admittedly, I was a little jealous.  This green-eyed monster is something I've been dealing with for awhile now.  Then God spoke to me!  He spoke through my daily Bible verse app on my phone.  My alarm clock went off this morning and considering it too is on my phone, I grabbed the phone and switched off the alarm, then I noticed my Bible icon in the Notification bar, so I opened it up.  Much to my surprise, God answered my jealous question of, "Why didn't it work like that for me?" with a simple reply.

 

 

WOW!  Could God be any clearer?!?!  I have started my own personal journey through the Bible, reading everything from Genesis to Revelation.  The way God spoke to me makes me think about what I just read about when He spoke to Noah.  When God told Noah to build an ark, Noah didn't question Him.  Noah knew God had a plan for him and his family and by following God's plan, he saved himself and his family from the flood.  My goal is to be more like Noahand trust in God's plan for me.



Anything But Study

As you can see in my About Me section, I am a nursing student right now.  One of my classmates today told me she had seen my blog and then asked me how I have time to blog with all the work we have for school.  I pondered this for a moment and then realized that the reason I have time to blog is because I procrastinate.  There are a multitude of things that I could be doing at this very moment, but I find that my mind knows I have things to do, but my heart just isn't in it.  Rather than spend my limited time doing work for school, I would like to tell everyone about this new book I am reading from my pile of "Books to Read".

"A Reliable Wife" by Robert Goolrick is my newest read.  I started it this morning and at the beginning, I wasn't sure if I was going to mesh with the reliable wife, but as I continued reading, I became enthralled in the story and can't seem to bribe myself to put it down.  It is the story of a man from Wisconsin at the turn of the 20th century.  The man is rich and attractive and has a dark past.  He posts a personal ad in the paper and a woman responds saying she is a simple, reliable woman.  He pays her train fare to get to him and when she steps off the train, he realizes she is not who she says she was.  She is anything but plain and he finds out that the photo she mailed him prior to her arrival was actually a cousin of hers, so immediately he is suspicious and doesn't trust this woman who has lied to him.  On their way to his home through a blizzard, a deer jumps from the woods startling the horses and they have an accident that changes the course of their beginning together.  I am so anxious to see where this story leads.  I really think this is going to be a great work of literature.  According to the cover, The Washington Post would agree!

I would love to hear reviews on this book if anyone has any!  Feel free to post on my Facebook page or shoot me an email with your thoughts!  Happy Monday!

Superbowl Sunday

Getting close to time for kick-off and I am so pumped about the Superbowl!  One of the things I love most about Superbowl Sunday is the food and good times with friends!  Everyone knows that people always go a little overboard making Superbowl game-day treats.  I have to admit, I am one of those people.  Justin and I are going to hang out with some friends for the Superbowl and we decided to make the whole day about good food.  It all began after church with some Thai food (Drunken Noodles to be exact).  They were so yummy and I am so lucky that my husband actually will eat these.  I have the recipe below and hope you enjoy as much as we do!!

 Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)
Ingredients:
1 package brown rice noodles
1 lb ground turkey meat (**We used strip steak)
2 cups broccoli crowns, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced into matchsticks
1 medium onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced (any color)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 chiles minced (Thai, serrano, habanero, or jalapeno)
2 tbsp basil, shredded
1 tbsp EVOO

Sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sriracha sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp brown sugar (**I use a little more to make a little sweeter)

Soak and rinse noodles according to package directions.  Sautee garlic, onion, chiles, andd carrots in olive oil until soft (2-3 minutes).  Add turkey breaking into chunks (we usually wait a little later to add meat when doing steak).  Add broccoli and bell pepper and sautee 3 minutes.  Add basil.  Whisk together sauce ingredients.  Add noodles and sauce to meat and veggies and cook on low for 2-3 minutes until sauce is absorbed.  Serve with lime slices.

Like I said, Justin and I are going to a Superbowl party this evening and of course we need to bring a snack!  We decided to bring sausage dip which is one of our favorite snacks for sporting occasions (well any occasion for that matter).  I find that everyone has their own variation of sausage dip and each is good in its own right...I just like mine better!

Sausage Dip
Ingredients: 1 block of ground sausage, 1 can Rotel (any kind you like), and 1 block of cream cheese
Brown ground sausage and drain off the extra fat.  Add Rotel and softened cream cheese to the pot and stir until combined.  Serve with Scoops for the ultimate dipping experience!

Our other treat is Skinny Cupcakes, the recipe for which I got on Pinterest (where else??).  I had found these really cute football cupcakes papers back at the beginning of football season and was determined to use them at some point.  I figured Superbowl Sunday would be perfect!  The recipe for Skinny Cupcakes is so simple and the cupcakes are great.  I got them from a website called www.sixsistersstuff.com.  They just call for a box of Funfetti cake mix, a 12oz can of Sprite Zero, an 8oz container of Cool Whip, and a box of vanilla fat free pudding mix.

Needless to say, we will be having a great Superbowl Sunday munching away on some great snacks!  To all the rest of you sports fans out there, enjoy the game, enjoy your friends, and GO RAVENS!

WELCOME!

Hey Y'all!  Welcome to The Eclectic Book Worm where you will find everything from recipes and craft tips to book reviews and Jesus moments.  I wanted a place to document my life and share with the world the craziness that it is.  I am a firm believer that God has a plan and a path for all of us and this blog is an opportunity for the world to follow my journey!  Enjoy!