And now...

I'd like to interrupt my slow-as-molasses blogging about my trip to California for the 411 on my week. 

Let's begin with Monday. I woke up at 5am, turned on my side to see what time it was and all of the sudden felt that weird sensation of post-nasal drip. Or so I thought. Turns out, for the first time in I don't know how many years, I had a bloody nose. I was out of my bed and in the bathroom in a flat 0.89 seconds. So after successfully sticking tissue up my nose, pinching my nose, and praying it would stop so I could go back to bed, I hopped into bed, propped my pillows so I was sitting up and tried to fall asleep. Well, I did, kind of. My alarm went off and again I turned over to shut it off and the blood came gushing out. Sick. And on a Monday!!! FOR. THE. LOVE. For the entire day, I had the urge to sneeze and was afraid I would spew blood everywhere. A little later in the day my nose starting leaking again. I thought I was going to have to hole myself up in my office but thankfully it stopped. Embarrassing...

I have somehow tumbled off of the running bandwagon and it's really been frustrating for me. Except I ran an 8:36 pace for my 10K Turkey Trot, and that's after slacking on consistent running so that made me feel a little better. I'm just really lacking in motivation. Well, I was. Yesterday I went and got some new running kicks. It was VERY exciting! I went to a local running store with my friend Amy and got fitted for running shoes. First let me just tell you, Amy is awesome. She is a legit runner, my mentor in many ways, and patiently helps me try to get better. She also brought me a yuuuummy salted caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks and it was about 157% better than the one I got when we went to Charleston. What a great way to begin the day! Back to the running shoes; I was so giddy. Like a 4 year old. I tried on a few different pairs and finally chose these new beauties: 

My first pair of REAL running shoes: New Balance Barringer 890. Ahhhhhhhh so cool! 

I've never had New Balance shoes before so this is doubly exciting!

So, I took them for a spin yesterday and it was amazing. They are so light. I felt like I was running on squishy, comfy, wonderfulness. Bliss I tell you, bliss! I didn't look at the clock when I left so I have no idea how fast I was, but I ran 4.5 miles and it felt great. So, looks like I'm climbing back onto the wagon. I'm hoping to break my half marathon PR in February. We'll see. Running in the cold is a little intimidating for me, but I'm excited. And let's face the facts for 3.5 seconds: I live in South Carolina and it's not exactly that cold here. Though, I am acclimating...wimp. 

Last night I went to my first Barre class and it was interesting. It was a mix of aerobics and ballet. I liked it and I feel a bit sore today, but I'm not sure it's for me. We'll see. I have a 3-class pass so we'll see. 

But the best news of the day is...it's Friday. And that means Froyo Friday at Orange Leaf so I'll be having froyo for lunch for $5!!!! YES. YES! YES! YES! And then I'm going to yoga with one of my yogi friends. AND Amy, who is on her way to the Bahamas for a 4 day cruise, has left her beloved Garmin watch for me to use while she is gone. I am SO excited to use it!!!! 

And now I am watching the show finale of Boy Meets World on TV (I have today off) and it makes me a little teary-eyed! Did you know they are doing a spin-off called Girl Meets World about Cory and Topanga's daughter?!?! I hope it's to par with Boy Meets World. Those are some big shoes to fill. 

Oh and P.S.: For those of you who have been sharing my frustrations about the stupid photo limit had some difficulties uploading pictures because you've reached your quota, I think I figured it out, or at least a way around it. When you try to upload pictures, there is the "From Picasa Web Album" option. Well, I just uploaded pictures I wanted to post to a new album on Picasa's website and it allowed me to upload them to my blog using that option instead of the usual "Upload" and then choosing pictures from my computer. Give it a try!

My day in pictures and stories

This post may be all over the place because that's kind of how my mind and my day has been today.

For starters I'm pleased to tell you the cookies I mentioned from the last post actually came out pretty well. Just don't eat them fresh out of the oven (which I don't like doing anyways. Hot cookies? Yuck.). I substituted half the butter with Greek yogurt (one of my favorite substitutions) and the peanut butter with PB2. The PB2 isn't as sweet as regular peanut butter so the cookies, therefore, weren't as sweet as I've known them to be. It's not bad, just different. I ended up adding about 1/4 cup of regular smooth peanut butter to the last 2-3 batches and those ones tasted better. Anyway, the staff liked them a lot. And they were healthier. And soft. And moist. Yum. Score!

Now yesterday I came home from work and fell asleep for about 50 minutes and woke up to my neighbor's obnoxious chihuahua barking. And not just freaking out barking but he would bark three times and pause for 2 minutes and bark three times. I wanted to kill him because a) it was annoying as ever and b) caused my dog to whine, whimper, growl, and bark as he ran around my apartment in frustration. Grrr......So I walked outside to make sure everything was ok and I think my neighbor and his girl were arguing. Ooooh a little drama next door! (Maybe?) After about 40 minutes the stupid dog stopped. I was NOT happy. And I think I got overheated when I was napping so I felt sick. Sad day. And I really wanted bread but I didn't have any, at least none that I wanted. I wanted french bread. 

So. I showered, felt better, and then made some bread. 3 hours later (@ 11:45pm), voila!, I had bread.

YUM. French bread=a very happy Gabe

Next.

When I was in college my roommate Emily (hi Emily!) had this great conditioner that made her hair look and smell AH-mazing: Matrix Sleek and Shine. So I tried it and I loved it and then for whatever reason I decided to move on to a different brand. I think I'm always looking for the brand that makes me hair look, smell, and feel amazing. Well, years later after being unsatisfied with most of the products I've tried, I one day had the brilliant idea to go back to this brand because so far, it's been the best. Well, this stuff is hard to find. 

No matter.

Amazon has everything AND I got shampoo and conditioner for the price of one. Score! 

And they arrived today. Good thing because when I washed my hair last night, I was sad. My conditioner is almost gone and I don't like my shampoo and my hair needs some TLC. 

Next. I checked my mail today and almost threw this out. 

What's this?. Another frozen yogurt place near me that I have a 50% coupon to and just have to go try?  Well darn... 

Then I went to yoga. I love Fridays because it's my yoga day and I think it's a swell way to end the work week. I had a really hard time concentrating tonight. I couldn't focus on anything, I found myself forgetting to breathe properly, and my quads are aching and I don't know why. It was a great practice but geez it was hard mentally. You see I was thinking about Clary and Drew and Noah today and how I can't wait to see them hopefully in the near future. And....

I met with my manager today because I've decided we need to revamp our patient menu and include more gluten free stuff so I pitched a few ideas to her. I'm excited. She's letting my take the reins on this. BUT she decided to take the time to go over my goals since our annual reviews are coming up (....).  Apparently she thought I hadn't met one of my goals, which technically was ok (according to her) since I can still play the "I'm-a-new-dietitian" card (muahahah). The goal is to do an activity each month with the rehab patients I work with on one of the floors. Little did she know I had completed my goal. Apparently I am supposed to tell her every month when I do this. I couldn't tell if she was surprised that I had done it and not mentioned anything to her or if she was slightly annoyed that I had done it and not mentioned anything to her. I didn't realize I was supposed to make a big deal out of it. Once again my independent nature works against me. Curses.

So that whole incident was playing through my mind. I don't know if I feel embarrassed, sheepish, or stupid. Either way, I did what I was asked so lesson learned. Be more vocal. (Still feel stupid).

So after yoga I decided to hit up World Market to browse and pick up some Ghiradelli chocolate chips because I am sick and tired of having to use low quality chocolate chips in my baking!!! NO MORE. Two bags of 36oz. Ghiradelli chocolate chips later and I am a happy woman. And so is my chocolate chip jar. 

As I was browsing I stumbled upon a few things I just had to have: 

*The Republic of Tea's Apple Cider Tea

*Zhen'as Gypsy Tea's Firelight Chai Herbal Red Tea (which I am sipping on now with a dash of milk and 2 packets of sweetener. Its' goooooood)

*THE BEST chocolate chips (one bag 60% cacao and one bag semi-sweet. Hallelujah!)

*Ginger

*Maple leaf cookie cutter

If you couldn't tell...

I am SO ready for fall.

I have decided that I have created a fall challenge for myself: make a fall-themed meal and dessert every weekend. Bring on the pumpkin, butternut squash, and apples (Macintosh please!!!), among other delicious things. 

Jeepers I can't wait for fall. Too bad tomorrow it's supposed to be 91. Gross.

And tomorrow is September 1st. My birth month. Let the month long celebrating begin!!!!

(The month long celebration idea started in college with my dear friend Shawna who celebrates her birthday the entire month. Brilliant! So I have adopted this practice and let me tell you, I am a fan). 

Make Way For Ducklings

I was on my way to yoga tonight, I stopped at a red light and looked over across the intersection and saw two ducks looking to make sure no traffic was coming before they waddled across the street.

It was the cutest thing. 

As the light turned green I looked in my side mirror and kept thinking, Come on little ones! Hurry up!!! Good news, they made it safely and after that all I could think of was the book "Make Way for Ducklings." 

Yoga kicked my butt tonight...and my thighs...and everything else...and I loved it.

And now, another Dr. W story for your reading pleasure:

I have a patient with diabetes (I KNOW, shocker. I hope you were sitting when you read that). As I was doing my assessment I was asking her if she checks her blood sugars at home, what her numbers are, if she's had a hemoglobin A1c checked, etc. Well her numbers weren't good and she told me she had her A1c checked and it was high. Never good. So I wanted to check one because...I wanted to see because...it's helpful with education, which she said she'd like more of. Wonderful. So, at staffing in between patients I turned to the delightful Dr. W:

"Dr. W, may I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"May I ask you another one."

"You just did." 

"May I ask you a few questions???"

"Yes, go ahead." (At this point he's smirking at his wit and sass and I'm smirking because I'm throwing it right back at him and I'm prepared...you'll see. Read on).

"Well the patient in room [whatever] has diabetes and I know it's not her primary diagnosis but she told me her blood sugars are high and her A1c the last time it was checked was high and I'd like to check it here because I believe it will be a helpful education tool to use when I give her more education, which SHE requested." (Please note, in true Gabe fashion, this was spoken as fast yet as clearly as possible (which means probably nearly incomprehensible) without any breaths in between. Thank you New England for teaching me to walk, talk, and be fast. Thank you Mom for cursing/blessing me with the ability to speak fast (which means I speak even faster than your average New Englander). 

I paused and let him process this...for about 4 seconds and continued:

"I mean, you don't have to but I think it would help."

"'I don't have to?' Oh thank you for telling me what I can and cannot do." Dr. W smirked (getting his pen out) and was getting a little sassy. And I started to giggle.

"NO! That's not what I meant! I just meant that, you know, if you don't think it's really beneficial and would be a waste, especially since it's not her primary diagnosis, I am prepared to accept your decline. BUT. I'm just saying that it would be helpful. Unless you want her back in here for renal failure secondary to uncontrolled diabetes which may have been prevented had I struck home after getting that A1c number and using that as I educated her."

He cocked his head, listening to my not-so-subtle-plea but well thought out and urgently delivered argument. 

"Fine."

Score 1 for the dietitian!!! *victory dance*

 I am always prepared to bring my A game for my patients.

Random thought.

I am, at any given moment, quite seriously tempted to throw responsibility and caution to the wind, quit my job and move to Europe. I am SO SICK of watching other people get to live my dreams. I'm sick of it. I'll just move to Italy, find some random job working as the hired help in some quaint little shop or restaurant, be adopted and taken in by the elderly and adorable shop owner and his wife. They'll teach me to cook, I'll be blissfully happy, and then her handsome, gentlemanly Italian son will come for a visit, we'll fall madly in love and I will have an Italian mother-in-law whom I will love, adore, and cherish, live in a foreign country, and be an awesome cook. And travel throughout all of Europe with the love of my life.

Don't. Dash. My. Dream.

*sigh*

Since I will not throw caution to the wind tonight (but don't tempt me, I'm nearing my breaking point people),  I will make a french baguette tomorrow (since I have yet to find a place to buy a decent blasted baguette in this bread-forsaken place) while dreaming of buying an authentic baguette at une boulangerie et du fromage and munching on them while sitting on the grass in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Picture from here

King Pigeon

Once up on a time in a land called Myrtle Beach lived a spritely, red-headed, freckled girl named Gabe (but never Gab). 


One day, after doing three hours of yoga with some of her darling colleagues and loving it, she decided to take up her own personal practice of yoga. 


Gabe loved it, but would quickly learn that Shakira was right, you're hips do not lie: Gabe was not nearly as flexible as she had believed or perhaps once been.  Gabe needed to work on her flexibility. One warm, early spring evening Gabe got home from work and decided that she would attend a flow yoga class, her first of this nature. The guide (instructor) informed the class that the goal of the the evening's class was the King Pigeon pose. Gabe, being a beginner yogi secretly chuckled to herself and thought, There is NO WAY I will be able to do that," but decided to humor herself and the guide and to go along with it. After several down-ward facing dog poses, warrior 1 and warrior 2 poses, and many screams from her thighs and hips later....

...she nailed it. The only one in the class (of 4 but who cares? This is my story! Don't ruin it!) to do it. Shazam!!!!!!! 

I love yoga. No really. It's awesome. 

And.

My 1.37 seconds of fame. Please scroll to 8:30 and see me and my dear friend Caitlin rocking it at a conference we went to last May where I met....

(That's Grant Hill for those of you who do not know.

And yes my eyes are closed. I was capturing the moment, taking it all in...or...I blinked. The other picture where my eyes are open isn't a flattering one of Mr. Hill so you know, I'll take the hit for him to look good :) ...)

 Being a sports RD is my (realistic) dream job (that or a sports writer, children's book author, or anything to do with living in Italy or France).


Additionally, please pardon my lack of blogging. I've been currently working myself out of a funk. It sucked, wicked bad, but it's getting better. I have many blog posts (my first pedicure, the latest and greatest patient stories to share, etc) to catch up on. Get excited!

Shuffling, T-Bones, and Mass Accents

I was sitting in staffing this morning (2.5 hours. OH. MY. LANTUS. -_- ), and we were almost finished with our gargantuan list of patients when one of the physical therapists was voicing a concern about how his patient shuffles when she walks. Dr. W's response was, in the most dead-serious, dry tone ever:

"So, your telling me every day she's shufflin'?"

 

I lost it. If you don't know what that's from, it's from the song "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO. My mind caught on to the joke before I actually "got" it and I just starting laughing out loud. Wicked hard. I thought it was hilarious. I'm talking, I was grabbing my stomach laughing. To top it off, Dr. W then turned to me and said, "You didn't think I was hip did you?," and attempted a ganstah pose. Picture it with me people: a white, balding doctor in a shirt and tie in a buttoned-up lab coat attempting to be gangster. Just let the giggles roll. This, of course, made me laugh even harder. Ooooooh so awesome and so needed. I haven't laughed, like a straight from the depths of your belly laugh, in a while. Delightful. Thanks Dr. W for once again giving me reason to come to work each day. Your humor is therapeutic.

Next. I was driving home from work and almost, I'm talking centimeters here, got T-Boned. IDIOT. Who bangs a left when there is still oncoming traffic? THIS MORON. Even Mass drivers know to bang a left right AFTER the light turns green not right when YOU THINK it's about to turn yellow and assume I'm going to slow down when I'm already half way through the intersection. IDIOT!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!! Get off the road. Thank goodness my body reacts faster than my mind because I swerved, literally, tires screeching and everything, and was missed by centimeters. I was waiting for the impact, the pain, and the sound of crunching metal and glass but nothing. I didn't even have time to lay on my horn.Thank goodness no one was in the lane next to me because surely there would have been a several-car crash. It took me a few seconds to remember to breathe again and my hands were shaking like I was going through withdrawals or something. I couldn't decide if I should go back and yell at that moron for almost killing me or not, but I was running late for yoga so I just kept going.

SO, you can only imagine how challenging it was for me to go to yoga and try to focus and dwell on the good and connect with my body and relax and be soothed when all I wanted to do was have a good cry and a hug. Instead, I was doing downward facing dog trying to keep my hamstrings from snapping and my head from exploding from the blood rushing to my brain and from trying to fight back tears from a crappy day, a stressful weak, and the constant reminders I have of all the massive changes going on right now and it sucks. Ok? it sucks. I am not a fan. Basically every day I break down and cry. Geez. It was a good yoga session but truthfully, it was not really relaxing at all. But, my instructor is totally from Massachusetts, which brought intermittent rays of happiness to my little New England-loving (coveting may be a more appropriate word right now) heart and soul. She told us to bend as fah (far) as we could and to bring our hands to our hahts (hearts) and to drawer (draw) ourselves inward. Basically I wanted to cry every time I heard her accent. Gosh I want New England so badly. 

Then then I went and played basketball with some guys who play pick up ball every Tuesday. It was fun. While I waited for them to arrive I longboarded in the parking lot. My sweet new Reds bearings make my riding as smooth as buttah. Thanks Chase :) Oh and, I hit a 3. 

Then I talked to my best friend Jenna for an hour and half, which was basically Gabe's therapy session with my occasional shutting-up to let Jenna talk. It was awesome. I love Jenna. I have always admired her and been in such awe of the incredible, mature, strong, beautiful woman she is. Thanks Jenna Jo. You are the best. I love you. 

Next, my other best friend Clary is coming in May. It's official. The ticket has been purchased. You don't even know what much I am looking forward to this. Especially right now. 

So much for getting to bed before 11. Whatev. I'm getting my first ever pedicure (Amy E, I know you, Emma, and Greta will be sooooo proud!) with the ladies from work tomorrow in celebration of "RD Day" last Wednesday. Oooooh I'm excited!

Move Over Martha

Just kidding. 

I'm not even close to Martha Stewart's skills BUT I have been rather domestic this weekend. 

Exhibit A: Homemade Dippin' Dots

The idea for this delectable treat was given to me by Anna, one of the dietitians I work with (she is also from the Boston area...what! what!). It's super easy, healthy, and delicious. 

Greek yogurt--whatever flavor you have in your fridge. Mix it up if it has fruit on the bottom (I used blueberry) and then put it into a sandwich bag, snip the tip of the bag off and pipe the yogurt onto wax paper. 

Then, place in the freezer for about 30 minutes, peel off, and enjoy! 

It's really, really yummy and it has an icy,creamy texture. Plus, it's a nice alternative to ice cream especially when your sweet tooth (or in my case, teeth) start acting up. 

Exhibit B: Roasted Chickpeas

Fun fact. I love chickpeas. Love them in salads, wraps, and now, roasted. Yum! Yum! 

I got this recipe from Anna too (although she technically got it off Pinterest). She loves to cook and has inspired me to do more cooking. I'm a baker for sure, but cooking....ehhhh. Not quite. I'm working on it. Anyway, back to these delicious roasted chickpeas. I actually was snacking on these the second they came out of the oven. They were crunchy, savory, and oooooh so good. I think mixed in the spices as called for in the recipe. I think I put too much cumin in but they still tasted good. 

HIGHLY recommend. I will for sure be making these again. I doubled the recipe and I bet they'll be gone by Monday. Recipe here

Next on my list is to make homemade fruit leather. When I was in high school I told my mom the first thing I was going to buy when I was in college (aka FREEEEEEDOM!!!!!) was a box of fruit roll-ups and eat them all. Clearly, I was deprived of these in my youth. They were (and still are) stocking stuffers and treats on birthdays. And no I didn't actually buy a box when I got to college. Let down huh? I know. College budgets...need I say more? Well, I literally can eat a box in an entire sitting and now I want to make my own. So I bought zillions of strawberries at the Piggly Wiggly (hahah I love to shop here just for the name!) and will be making them this week. The only bummer about the recipe is it takes 6-8 hours for the drying process, but promises to be delicious. AND,it only a few ingredients: strawberries, lemon juice, sweetener/sugar/honey/whatever you want to sweeten it with IF you desire. I am VERY excited. And I found this guy in the box of strawberries. Behold a Siamese strawberry:

Now, can I tell you about my week? OH MY LANTUS. I was busy every night this week but Monday. I loved it!!! Except it was exhausting, but in a good way. Friday I was invited to dinner. I met this fabulous couple--The Gosses--at church last week and they invited me to dinner. OHmylantus. It was a blast. I instantly adored them when we were chatting on Sunday and I felt like I was among old friends at dinner. It was so fun! Angela and I were chatting like old friends, while her husband Brian sat and listened, chuckled, and occasionally would interject (if we would let him). He's a solemn man with a twinkle in his eye and a fellow lover of ice cream and herb tea. They are wonderful people and I'm so delighted to call them friends. It was great. Oh I adore them! 

Then today. I did not 1, not 2, but 3 hours of yoga. It was my first time ever in my life doing yoga and I was really excited. One of the other dietitians whom I work with, Britney, is working at becoming an instructor and the studio she works at was offering free classes today so basically all of the dietitians came to support Britney and to indulge in some free yoga classes. I did a beginner's class, arms, and core. Holy catscans. I am feeling it, but I feel wonderful. I am hooked. I think I am going to start taking some classes at a closer studio with one of the pharmacists (who also joined us) whom I also work with. But good night, let me just tell you that after the arm class (that's the class Britney taught and let me tell you, she is jacked and incredible), my body was crying. I am such a weakling. But I LOVED IT!!!!!! 

Also can I just tell you one of my favorite things to shop for is hair care supplies. I bought some stuff to tame the mane and such and I saw this and had to have it: 

I mean really. How can you say no to Johnson Kids detangler?!! I used this stuff when I was a kid and spraying it on my mane today brought back sweet memories. Plus I really did need it. My bottom layer of hair has decided to get all ratty as of late and I am NOT a fan. I need a trim. My split ends are showing.

OH AND. My dear, darling, awesome, wonderful, latina friend Beca just got home from her LDS mission. I cannot wait to talk to her. She is FANTASTIC. I just adore her and am so delighted she is back!!!! And my besty Clary left me, legit, a 7 minute voicemail. It was the best voicemail I have ever received. Love her. 

P.S. Move over J-Biebs. There are some new boys in town. British boy band: One Direction. They are cute, like aaaaawwww cute and, well, easy on the eyes. But they are probably 16 and that's weird. But, they do have catchy tunes. Presh. Will they become of the N'SYNC of the 21st century???