3 CommentsBlog Category: Family, Food, Holiday by Krista on 02.16.10.
Happy (belated) Valentine’s Day, friends! I hope you all were able to enjoy the day with the ones you love! Hubs and I have agreed to not buy each other gifts for holidays at this point in our lives – once we’re both out of school & making decent money, then maybe we’ll change our minds! Rather than fighting the crowds and going out to eat, I decided to make a special dinner at home. As always, I relied on my good friend Maria at TwoPeasandTheirPod for a dinner idea – she has the most delicious recipes on her blog and if you add together all the time I’ve spent on her blog in the last 6 months, it probably adds up to about a whole month! So, I decided to make the Blackened Salmon with a Parmesan Potato Pancake and roasted asparagus. OK, before you even finish reading, go see the recipe NOW and promise me you’ll make it, ok? Because, seriously, it was amazing! It was the second time in my life I’ve ever cooked salmon (my hubs is the fish chef in our house!) and I never even dreamed of making a potato pancake. But my, oh my, it came out amazing. My hubs kept declaring that this was “the best meal you’ve ever made, EVER.” Now, if that’s not a compliment, I don’t know what is! Here’s a pic of our delicious dinner — keep in mind, I am NOT a food photographer!
Well, tomorrow is another snow day at school. As we get older, that becomes less fun and more annoying. It just means that we are even more behind at school now! Argh! I’m just about finished with this winter. We just had a big snow storm last weekend and we probably got another 6 inches today and it is still snowing! When will it end??
My dad is being moved to another hospital tonight and is having a minor surgery tomorrow. I can’t wait until he is home and healthy! He gets so bored and lonely and although my mom and siblings visit every day, there are still so many hours in the day when he’s alone (well, relatively speaking). I wish I could think of an activity he could do to keep him occupied. He’s sick of watching TV and he can’t focus on a book long enough to read. Anyone have any ideas?
Did I tell you all that my husband upgraded my wedding ring set for Christmas? He is so great! When we got married, we had both just moved to a new state and neither one of us had found a job yet. So, needless to say, our finances weren’t in great shape. My husband’s band was passed down to him from this father, which we absolutely love. And we bought a very modest wedding ring set for me. Now that we’re in a better position financially, he surprised me with an upgrade. Even better, I got to design it myself! I’ll do a post about it sometime soon and post pictures!
I went to Best Buy yesterday and fell in love with a Macbook Pro. And considering I’m really going to need a laptop next quarter, when school gets busier and clinicals start… I think the little beauty will be mine sometime soon! yay! After 25 years of being a PC, I have turned into a Mac. My dad might be disappointed, but I absolutely love it!
4 CommentsBlog Category: Family, Favorites, Photography by Krista on 02.07.10.
Life has been so busy since I last posted! School is keeping us so busy and we have another round of exams this week! I went back to Illinois last weekend to spend some time with my family and see how my dad is doing. He’s still in the hospital, but doing much better! He’s actually fully awake now and able to talk and communicate his feelings and needs. He still gets sleepy and a little loopy – due to all the medications he’s still on – but it’s so nice to be able to have conversations with him!
The big news that I’d like to share is that my nephew was born Friday, January 29th. His name is Aiden Michael and he is absolute perfection! My sister and her husband are going to be the most wonderful parents and I am so excited for them! This is the first grandchild for my parents, so you know he is going to be spoiled! So, welcome to the world precious little Aiden! We were in love with you before you were even born, and every day I see your precious little face, I fall in love with you even more! I wish I lived closer to you so I could hold you and love you and squuuueeeeze those chubby little cheeks! You are so blessed to be born to such amazing parents and grandparents. This world can be a crazy place and life has a way of throwing you curveballs when you least expect it – but know that your Aunt Krista will be here for you always, protecting you from pain, providing you with anything you need, and loving you more than life itself. Congrats J & J, your baby is beautiful and amazing! And thank you for making me a proud Aunt!
Well, as always, I’ll be doing my best to post again soon! My head will be buried in nursing books for the rest of this week, so don’t get mad if I can’t stop by again until next weekend! I have so much to talk about and I can’t wait to share it here! Love you all, thanks for sticking by me even when I take long absences!
5 CommentsBlog Category: Favorites, Friends, Inspiration by Krista on 01.23.10.
One of my Facebook friends had the following quote on her wall and I thought it was just lovely: “Under the right context, anything can be a cause for a celebration.”
Isn’t that a sweet little saying? And so true, too! I get so caught up in the daily hum of life: wake up, go to school, home for lunch, work 5-6 hours, make dinner, clean up, work out, do homework, study, wonder how it’s already after midnight, go to bed, wake up and repeat – and I often forget to take time out to notice the happy little things.
And, as a lovely little coincidence, Conan just closed his last episode of The Tonight Show with a quote that also fits in with what I’m trying to say. He said that he hates cynicism because it doesn’t get you anywhere. Just be kind, work hard, and amazing things will happen to you. I love it!
So, I’m going to try to stop being cynical and start finding the “right context” to celebrate all the beautiful moments of life.
Instead of focusing on all the time I need to spend studying, I’ll celebrate the fact that I have the opportunity to receive such a wonderful education.
Instead of complaining that I have a budget, celebrate that I have shelter, food, clothing and many other wonderful things in my life.
Instead of being frustrated that my dad is still in the hospital, celebrate that he’s doing much better and making definite steps towards recovery.
Instead of wishing I was thinner, celebrate that my body is strong and healthy.
Instead of being upset that I can’t find time to post regularly on this blog, celebrate that I have an amazing group of friends who still visit me here when I do post!
So, what do you say, friends? Should we celebrate more? Let’s try to smile, laugh and dance whenever possible. Let’s throw caution to the wind, stop being cynical, be kinder than necessary, smell the roses, support each other and find the joy in life. Because life is a celebration – and I don’t know about you, but I would hate to miss out on something so wonderful.
4 CommentsBlog Category: Favorites, Inspiration by Krista on 01.10.10.
Are any of you familiar with McMommy, from The McMommy Chronicles? Well, if you’re not, you should be. She is absolutely hilarious and her blog always makes me laugh. Well, except for that one time, when she talked about the mold inside her washing machine. That was just disgusting and I still have nightmares about it. Anyways… so, I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions. I prefer to just set my resolutions whenever I feel they’re necessary – no matter what time of the year it is. Ever since I got into yoga, I’ve become really introspective. I’m always “looking into my soul” to see how I’m feeling and what’s missing from my life. I’m determined to life a healthy and happy life, bringing joy to others and changing the world in whatever ways I can. That’s my all-the-time resolution, and sometimes I have a hard time fulfilling it. I forget to be carefree, I forget to enjoy the little things, I forget to be grateful for all that I have. Anyways… so how does this all relate to McMommy? Well, a few days ago she posted The 2010 Handbook and I absolutely fell in love with it. She said she received it on a day she really needed it – and she wanted to post it for her readers, in case anyone else really needed it. Well, McMommy, I did need it! Now, I’m not going to lie, I totally stole it from her so I could post it here. Sorry, McMommy! Forgive me? (I’m sure she won’t mind. She’s busy running for cover from the frozen iguanas falling from trees). So, here it is – I hope you can find as much inspiration from it as I did.
The 2010 HANDBOOK
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14.. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness..
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.. Don’t hate others..
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23.. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree…
Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
2 CommentsBlog Category: Exercise, Friends, Inspiration by Krista on 01.02.10.
I’ve joined the Ten in ‘10 Challenge over at RecipeGirl’s website, and I’m so excited about it! Basically, the Ten in ‘10 Challenge is for anyone who wants to dedicate the first 10 weeks of 2010 to become healthier! The challenge is all about being healthier – whether that means losing weight, exercising more, eating better or just incorporating healthy lifestyle changes into your daily life. We all have different goals, and we’ll all need to reach them in a different way. This group is simply about support and encouragement – whether you need tips on healthy eating, new exercise ideas, or a place to simply hold yourself accountable, the Ten in ‘10 Group has it all!
If you’re on Twitter, we’ve been using the hashtag #10in10 when tweeting about the challenge. A group has also been set up on SparkPeople, which is a great resource of keeping track of your goals and progress. Click here to join the Ten in ‘10 Spark team! I know RecipeGirl will be posting about the challenge on her blog every Saturday, so feel free to check it out (and her blog is FABULOUS, by the way!).
Now, honestly, I don’t do well when I set strict rules and goals for myself. So, this is going to be a bit of a struggle for me because I really want to be strict with myself about this challenge! My eating habits have become much better than they used to be… although I still eat out too often! I also want to exercise more regularly, including doing yoga at least 5 days per week. I feel SO much better when I do yoga regularly, and I hate that I’ve fallen out of the habit. Ideally, I’d like to lose 10 pounds- but I’m not going to tie myself down to that goal. If it happens, it happens. If not, that’s ok too. Just as long as I feel healthier and happier overall!
If you have health goals of your own for 2010, I urge you to join the Ten in 10 Challenge! I’m so looking forward to it, and I know we’ve got a great group of people already signed up!
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