Pardon My Absence

I'm been slacking. I'm sorry. 

This week has been absolutely dreadful.

For reasons too complicated and wicked stupid to explain, one of our dietitians was whisked away to help another hospital in our region leaving us short-handed. So 2 dietitians were doing the work of 3. Now let me just tell you, our job entails far more than just handing out nutritional supplements and slapping the wrists of non-compliant diabetics (that was slapstick sarcasm if you missed it...), FAR MORE. I don't really want to explain because I'm tired of thinking about work but this truly has been a 60-hour work week AND I had to work yesterday. After we checked in and had our pile of patients to see, I sat at my desk for 10 minutes, no joke, and tried to motivate myself. I had no desire to work yesterday. Alas, my legs stood me up and I walked out and saw all of my patients. It was a long day. One of my patients is very, very, very sweet and calls me Julia Roberts, but she is very, very needy and so I spent 45 minutes talking with her. It was worth it. I don't regret it because she needed to talk and sometimes you have got to do what you have got to do, but it was a long day. Sometimes patients (including this patient) just need to put in a little bit of effort to get better. All of our pro-nutrition doctors (which I love and am grateful for, don't get me wrong) appear to be on-call this week so we've gotten a bazillion consults. Vent second: can I just say thank you Dr. for NOT READING MY NOTE WHICH SIGNIFIES I AM ALREADY SEEING THE PATIENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Thus, I do not need another consult. I'm on it. Got it. Already done. One step ahead of you. Jeepers. So basically I got home from work late everyday exhausted and frustrated. You know it's been a long week when my colleague, who usually handles stress very well, was ready to throw the towel in. I'm never seen her so exhausted and overwhelmed. 

In other news....

I house/dogsat this weekend (another reason for my absence). It was fun. I'm even more excited for Scotty's arrival. Albeit, it's like having a child and that kind of freaks me out but it's ok. It'll be ok (*gulp* Right? RIGHT??). I missed my bed though. I did not sleep well and so despite going to bed early every night (a miracle! Cue angelic choir!), I tossed and turned. I woke up this morning and was unable to turn my head from side to side; you know how horrid that is, right? It's awful. I felt like I had a neck brace on. I've loosened up a little over the day but it kills.

My plants are looking gorgeous. My chocolate mint has exploded and smells heavenly. I'm so excited. See? Neat huh!?

Clary will be here on Thursday. FINALLY. I cannot wait to see her. I cannot wait to have this girl here and to just talk and laugh and giggle and go on adventures and eat sushi and cook for her and everything. I cannot wait. I cannot wait. I CANNOT WAIT. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, I may have found a new dress for some upcoming weddings next month. This is a big deal. Like I've said approximately 359 times, I do not enjoy clothes shopping, about 88% of the time. AND I ordered it offline from a company I've never tried before and we all know that's etch-a-sketch. I love the dress but, it must be best-friend approved. I'm in love with it so hopefully Clary thinks it looks good. We'll see on Thursday!!! Time to Skype with Clary and make more gnocchi (maybe...) and take a nap (want to) and read (likely) and maybe watch Gilmore Girls. Whatever I do, I'm veggin'. This week was the pits.


P.S. Have you head of Jabari Parker???? He's, you know, only the biggest high school basketball sensation right now. And he's Mormon, like me. Read about him here (love Sports Illustrated!)

The Latest

My green thumb has been throbbing so I added to my little balcony "garden"...

Lavender, basil (going very well I might add!), and chocolate mint. I love how fragrant each plant is. Basically I bury my face in each plant everyday for a little aromatherapy. It's fabulous. 

I've done a little "spring cleaning" by trying to get rid of the rust from my beach cruiser. Trying would be the key word there. I've made some fantastic progress but there are still some spots. I guess I should just break down and buy rust remover shouldn't I? I pumped up the tires and was ready to cruise around the neighborhood a few days ago when it started raining. It hasn't really stopped but I'm not complaining. I like the rain and overcast sky and it cools things off a little. Now the tornado warnings I'm not a huge fan of...

I watched "Something Borrowed" and was reminded once again how much I like Ginnifer Goodwin and how adorable John Krasinski is. Then I became smitten by Colin Egglesfield. Smitten I tell you. 

(Except -1,000 man points for starring in a daytime soap opera...slight gag. But he's still swoon-worthy so swoon I shall. Watch it Dermot Mulroney...you've got some competition for my affection).  

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And I've discovered how much I like Maroon 5. I'm always slow to pick up on the trends, mostly because I'm skeptical: skinny jeans, Toms, Vans, music, etc. I know Maroon 5 has been around for some time and I have a few of their hits in my iTunes but I decided to really check them out. They've got some good stuff! I'm currently loving "Stutter" from their "Hands All Over" abum. Great beat. And let's just be brutally honest for a second, Adam Levine is pretty fine. 

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Clary, one of my best friends in the whole entire world, will be here in 1 week and 2 days. Basically I might implode from excitement. 

And, in a month or so I will have a furry kid. 

Scotty, our darling miniature Schnauzer will be joining me in Myrtle Beach (temporarily...for about a year)! I'm kind of nervous. He will be my responsibility entirely. My furry kid. I cannot even tell you how excited I am. I absolutely love this little guy!!!! 

Farmer's Market and A Baby Green Thumb

I went to a Farmer's Market today! 

I went to one last weekend when I was with my Aunt Leslie in Wilmington, NC and it was really neat. It had a ton of plants and not much produce but it was still really cool. I like farmer's markets. So, I went to one this morning in Georgetown, SC with my co-worker Anna and her friend Kelly. It was small, being that it's the beginning of the season, but awesome. I've heard it gets a lot bigger. I can't wait! There was a lot of produce and a few plants and flowers. 

I was hoping to get a basil plant. I really, really, really wanted one.

We got there and walked around, checking the prices and the produce and finally, after scoping everything out, I decided I have to get some tomatoes (3 for $1!) and some strawberries ($5 for 1/2 gallon). 

Then. 

I saw it! A basil plant! 

And I bought it!  

And I rubbed its leaves and inhaled its delicious smell.

Bliss I tell you. BLISS. 

On my way home, I bought some potting soil and a pretty pot and potted my very first plant. My baby green thumb's first potted plant!

 Then I became ridiculously productive. 

I cleaned the rust off of my beach cruiser. Well, some of it. I dumped a bunch of baking soda paste on some spots and I'll let it work its magic and clean it off later. I don't know if that will work but it seemed to be working. I did some laundry, vacuumed, took out the trash, cleaned my kitchen, and did some dishes. Then I had some honey Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries and almonds. Yum!

 Next, I added some potting soil to the plant in my living room and watered it. It was looking a little sad because the top part it so heavy that it had started to grow straight out horizontally. Poor thing. I couldn't have that. So I went out, got some sticks and created a make-shift "splint" for the poor dear. 

Looks much better.

 And yes that's the basil plant next to it. I read that when you transplant basil you should leave it indoors for a couple of days to let it recuperate from the trauma. I kind of laughed when I read that but I want it to survive through the summer so I'm not taking any chances.

Then I cleaned my aluminum bakeware and they look like new!!!! I was pretty excited about that because the cleaning solution (lemon juice and boiling water) didn't appear to be working but add in a little elbow grease and voila! It works! And now I am preparing to make some homemade whole wheat French bread (in 80 degree weather...I know, I'm borderline crazy but I like it better than store bought stuff) for grilled tomato, basil, mozzarella sandwiches. Yum! I can't wait! 

Oh! Oh! OH! AND!!!

Remember how I said I was reading "The Shoemaker's Wife"? Well. I got so caught up in zipping through and finishing "Sarah's Key" and doing a bajillion other things that I was happily taking my sweet time getting through "The Shoemaker's Wife." Sadly, I discovered last Sunday that I had to return the book Monday and I was only, maybe, a third of the way through. What's a girl to do?!? I could zip through it and pay the late fee but I didn't want to do that. That's like chowing down a gourmet meal; you wouldn't even get to enjoy it. So...I bought it. Yup. I did. I found a used (how used could it really be?? The book was just released!) copy on Amazon and bought it. So every day, sometimes 2-3 time per day, I would sign on to Amazon to see if the book had been shipped. It hadn't. So yesterday I e-mailed the sender and what do you know, within an hour of sending my e-mail I got a confirmation e-mail that it had been shipped!!! I don't know if it's because of my e-mail or coincidence but who the heck cares?!? MY BOOK IS COMING!!! And now I can read it as fast or as slowly as I want and then read it again. And again. And anytime I want. 

I can't wait.

Addendum: Whole wheat french bread right out of the oven + fresh basil from the new plant + fresh tomatoes from the farmer's market + fresh mozzarella + olive oil + cracked pepper = 

YUM.