Martha's So-Called Life

bon voyage!

I'm headed out of town tonight, so my blog posts will be few and far between until after 3/13.  

I'm running my 1/2 marathon on Sunday and then getting on a cruise ship on Tuesday to head through the Panama Canal and back to the West Coast.  

Have a great couple of weeks!

only in alaska

Some of you may have seen the photos and videos of the young moose that made it's way into Providence Hospital yesterday.  It's been hanging around the parking garage for a few days, and I knew it was only a matter of time before it triggered the automatic door and came inside (I'm sure fresh bread from Subway smells good even to a moose!).  

I think my favorite part of the whole ordeal is the sign that was posted as a result

Only in Alaska!  Here's the link to the article in the Anchorage Daily News. 

 

what we're eating 2/20 - 2/26

Last week we tried a bunch of new recipes.  The pasta and carrot lentil soup were my favorites.  The Crockpot Chicken Parmesan was delicious, but probably didn't need to cook as long as it did.  The stuff on the bottom got a bit burned.  I'll have to figure out how to fix that. 

Here's what is cooking this week:

Monday: Crockpot Thai Chicken

Tuesday: Bean Burritos

Wednesday: Spinach, Bean, and Bacon Hash

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday - Sunday: FLORIDA! 

I originally had Spaghetti planned for Wednesday, but then I realized that if we were leaving on Thursday night, I should make the things that make lots of leftovers early in the week so we can have lunches and not have to throw out any food when we leave.  

running, fireworks, and bad dogs...oh my!

On Saturday, Arctic Valley had a 75th Anniversary bash.  There was tubing under the lights, a torchlight parade, and fireworks (of course).  I headed up around 4 with a plan to go running when I got there and then enjoy the festivities.  

Kiva and I ran down the road for a couple of miles and then turned around and ran back up.  Usually I run uphill first, then down, so switiching it up was an interesting twist for the ol' legs.  Running down was fun.  The road was mostly ice with some loose snow on top.  That made it super fun (and a bit challenging) heading down.  I was wearing my grippers, but they slide a little before gripping, which was a bit scary at first, but fun once I got used to it!  The way back up was not so much fun.  The other side of the road had more snow on it so I had to do a lot more work in order to not slide backwards.  

After a quick wardrobe change and a delicious salmon burger, I enjoyed the torchlight parade and practiced my night photography skills (sans tripod...which is why things are a bit fuzzy).  

Then I headed over to the tube park with John to see how things were going.  Apparently night time tubing is wildly popular with kids and adults alike.  It was awesome to see everyone having such a good time (and no one seemed annoyed to have to wait in line)!

After tubing was over for the night, it was time for fireworks.  At that point I was on my way home (I wanted to beat the mad dash down the road after the party was over), so I was able to catch a few shots from the parking lot on my way to the car.  

On Sunday, Kiva decided that she was tired of being cooped up in the backyard and hopped the fence.  Honestly, I'm surprised that it took her this long to figure that out.  Because of all the snow, the fence in the backyard is probably about 3 feet tall and definitely no match for a bouncy dog.  John had to go retrieve her (I was at the grocery store), and then dig a trench around the yard so she can't continue to escape.  Then, she decided that she did not want me to cut her toenails and her flailing around caused me to trim too much off of one and she bled a whole bunch.  Thank goodness I'm a trained professional and know how to stop bleeding!  John had to clean up the carpet and the floor where she left bloody spots.  Being that she is a smart dog, I tried to explain to her that she needed to stay still and this was mostly her fault. But...I doubt that she learned anything from this experience other than she gets treats to distract her from things like blood pouring out of her foot...

Next up...three days of working and then vacation!!

why I stopped eating non-fat dairy

Fat is an essential part of a functioning human body.  Many people are afraid of it and try not to eat it, which according to some studies (that I am not going to take the time to cite because this is NOT an academic paper, thank goodness, and I can't remember where I read all the stuff I read on the intenet these days), does much more harm than good.  

Basically, your body needs fat.  If you don't eat it, your body doesn't get some of the essential compounds that come from it. Remember, you brain is made up of a lot of fat (like 70%), and the protective covering on your cells (cell membrane) is composed mostly of fat as well.  

Also, remember that when they take the fat out of something, things have to go in to replace it.  When I realized this, I stopped buying non-fat half-and-half.  Seriously, look at the ingredients on a container of non-fat half-and-half.  It's long.  Then look at the list of ingredients on regular half-and-half: milk and cream.  

If you are interested in the evidence...google it.  There are varying views out there, but remember to consider the source when looking at this kind of information!

I've been tracking my food using MyFittnessPal which is free on your computer, phone, and iPad, and I started to notice that I'm consistnely eating a little bit too much protein and not quite enough fat.  So, I stopped eating non-fat yogurt too (and I have always refused to eat non or low-fat cheese...it's gross, and I love cheese).

 

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 I realize that I am not significantly under my fat "goal" for the week, but I realized that eating full fat dairy was not enough to make a significant difference in this graph.  Also, it tastes better and keeps me full longer, so the benefit of eating it (in my mind) outweighs the "risk" of eating too much fat.  

The lesson here, eat a well-balanced diet of whole, real foods!  (I like to call foods that have ingredient lists that I can pronounce and generally understand what all the ingredients are, "real food").  Happy eating!!

 

my favorite kind of patient

Here in Anchorage, there is a surprisingly large Hmong population, fortunately for me, they are some of my very favorite patients to take care of.  Last week I had a patient who came in dilated to 5cm, and was still 5cm three hours after she was admitted.  Every time I asked her if she needed anything she shook her head (she was kind of shy).  Her sister, who was serving as her translator, told me that my patient had told her that she didn't think it was time for the baby to come yet.  Given that this was her 8th baby, I figured she knew better than I.  So I told her to let me know when she thought it was getting close to time.  I checked on her a little later and she said that her stomach hurt (contractions), but she still didn't think it was time for the baby to come.  Less than 15 minutes later she called out and said, "the baby is coming." 

By the time I got in the room with the charge nurse and the resident, half of the baby's head was out.  

By the time anyone got their gloves on, most of the baby was out.     

The doctor, who missed the delivery, said to the resident afterwards, "now, what did you learn about this patient population?"  Her response, "that they have babies quickly" and he added, "and they don't usually give you any information until the baby is on its way out."  So true.  So awesome.  

singles awareness day

 

 

I have never liked Valentine's Day.  Never.  I won't bore you with details and self-reflection, but I will say that I always felt like being single got rubbed in my face (mostly in high school) on V-Day.  No one ever professed their love for me or secretly admired me either.  

I think it's a made up holiday for people who make greeting cards and chocolate and were worried that people didn't actually love each other enough to send cards and delicious treats to each other for no reason.  

Anyway, somewhere along the way I heard about Singles Awareness Day...and I embraced it.  You can read what Wikipedia has to say about it here, and what the Urban Dictionary has to say about it here.  

Even now that I am in a relationship, I still think Valentine's Day is stupid.  Thus, I will be working an extra shift and John will be at home doing dishes from the delicious dinner that I fed him before I left for work (just like every other night in our house).  

So, I ask all of you who are being extra lovey dovey with your special someone, to please remember that there are people out there without a special someone.  Some of them don't want a special someone and some of them do.  Either way, celebrate those who face the holiday (or life in general) without anyone "special" to send them chocolate, flowers, or take them out to dinner.  

what we're eating 2/13-2/19

Once again, we never had spaghetti, and the Chicken Parm got put off for another day.  Saturday night we went to the Bear Tooth and watched Mission Impossible 4 and had dinner.  The movie was at least entertaining, and we're now taking bets on when the next one will come out.

Last night we had nachos made with leftover chili...they were delicious (the "recipe"/idea came from here)

 

 

Here's what this week looks like:

Monday: Crockpot Chicken Parmesan 

Tuesday: Carrot Lentil Soup

Wednesday: Zucchini Bake

Thursday: Lime Chicken Tacos (crockpot)

Friday: Past with Tomato, Artichoke, and Olive Sauce

Saturday: Arctic Valley's 75th Birthday Bash

Sunday: Spinach, Bean, and Bacon Hash (I use black beans instead of pinto beans, and usually just sub regular potatoes or yams for the squash, unless I happen to have squash)

Except for Sunday's dinner, this menu is composed entirely of things I've never made before.  Hopefully this will give us some new recipes to add into our rotation!

green with deliciousness

Recently, I started getting BeachBody Shakeology protein powder.  My friend Court is a Team BeachBody Coach and suggested that it might be a good solution to my eating at work problem (or lack of eating as the case may be).  It keeps me full and is easy to sip on or chug all at once, depending on what is going on.  

Today, even though I wasn't at work, I made myself a smoothie to go with my lunch using the Greenberry flavor (right now it comes in Chocolate and Greenberry...I just learned that Tropical Fruit is coming soon!).  I made enough for both John and me, so I used a whole banana, 1/2 cup of almond milk, 1/4 cup of water, 2 tbsp PB2 (powerded peanut butter...it's amazing!), and a scoop of Greenberry.  

 

 

It was so good, I forgot to take a photo of it until it was almost gone! 

I'm not big on protein powder or "drink this and you'll be healther" kind of things, but I love smoothies and I want them to be filling.  Shakeology is actually the only protein powder that I have found that doesn't taste funny to me.  The stuff I got from Costco before comes in a close second.  The Greenberry, although it looks questionable, is quite good.  It has a little more aftertaste than the chocolate, but with the addition of banana and PB it tastes pretty darn good! 

slow, slower, slowest

Apparently the more I run, the slower I get.  I'm attributing it to the less than desireable conditions.  Running on snow in 32 degrees is like running through the sand.  

I was under the impression that the more you practice something the better you get at it...I guess I'm disproving that theory...