Time to cook up some kale

So what we ended up having for dinner was:

Chicken Picatta
Roasted Asparagus
Beets with Orange

and Breadworks Walnut Raisin bread

the next day I chopped up the leftovers and mixed in some plain yogurt and voila!

Chicken salad with beets and asparagus!

which was delightful.

I did make coconut sorbet, it is still sitting in my freezer.

But other than that, I am still on the grilled cheese and v8 habit.

Two amazing v8 variations -

If you chop up some cucumber, some bell pepper and some tomato and maybe some onion and douse this in v8 - you have quick and dirty gazpacho to have with your grilled cheese!

If you heat it up with some heavy cream you will have cream of tomato soup!

Yay!

Purge and re org is pretty much complete - I need a dresser. Other than that all systems are go.

It is ungodly hot here.

Am reading a midwife's biography and it is making me super excited about becoming a nurse midwife and also kind of making want to have a baby. Yikes.

I always thought that I would have kids, and the older I get the more unlikely it seems and I'm almost mostly ok with it.

If I don't get 100% ok with it I'm not sure that I will midwife. I think that the moments after the birth, with the parent/s and new baby might be too painful. That I will grieve too much that I will not experience it for myself.

If I don't midwife I imagine that I will do hospice. It's the flip side - I believe that life should begin and end with as much dignity as possible. It is a privilege to assist with coming into the world and with going out. And we all get to die.

Moving on -

went to Yoga for the first time since I've been back in Pgh. WOW. First, I'm out of practice - waaaaay out of practice. Secondly - it felt amazing. My wrists feel better, my shoulders, my back - jeez. It's like the meds I guess - never stop again!

Method to my Madness

dudes. I am in the middle of a huge purge and reorganize. Is crazy and awesome. Except for the fact that Bex is coming over tonight for dinner and to read my cards and the house is a topsy turvy disaster.

But this is what's on the menu-

Chicken Piccatta
Beet Risotto
Carissa's Kale and Carrot Salad
Coconut Sorbet

mmm!

Friday is garbage day

This was a successful experiment:

Sherried Grape Compote

A bunch of grapes
some maple syrup
some sherry

put all in a little pot
partially cover
simmer until grapes collapse
dump grapes into a collander set over a bowl
put liquid back into pot
reduce by half or until it doesn't smell like alcohol
pour liquid back into grapes

I am eating this over plain yogurt, but it would be delicious over ice cream, or pound cake!

What else?!

The house needs to be cleaned.

This is the bachelor's program I'm planning on doing - the 26 credit version - scroll down -

BS

Doesn't that sound totally rad?! I know!

This poster is rocking my world!

I need to get one.

PS oh SEATTLE - will someone please procure this year's viking days poster for me?

thanks!

what else?

oh, the asterisk from yesterday's post? With no follow up? The follow up should have looked like this

*One giant step closer to wearing pajamas 24/7/365!

okey doke time to shower, bike ride, clean, go out to Monroeville for lunch with Judy (and mulch spreading. She just had her right wrist carpal tunnel fixed. The least I can do is spread her mulch.) Then work. Yip!

Signed Sealed and Delivered

I am officially going to nursing school. My last clearance came back in the mail yesterday. I bought the anatomy coloring book. I've made all my medical appts - except for the going-to-be-so-awesome testing for rubella, rubeola and hep b antibodies - which will happen at the Allegheny Health Dept walk in vaccination clinic - wheeee! And the two step TB test which will happen at the same location, only at a different time!

But the extensive physical and drug test have been scheduled. As has the COMPLIANCE MEETING. Where we go over the fact that my clearances are back IN TIME THANK GOODNESS, and clear, and that I've done all the happy med stuff, and schedule and uniforms* and etc.

OMG THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING.

Jeez. My biggest worry is not the book work, nor the clinical. It is getting enough sleep. And managing my time so that I maximize sleep opportunity
. Which involves organizing my space and stuff to maximize efficiency. One of my favorite things to do, as you well know.

Are you so excited to hear how I'm going to go about it? I thought so.

1. Is time to buy a dresser. No more clothes in bins in the downstairs closet.

2. Am getting a dvd playing flat screen tv for my birthday. I don't know why this seems crucial to success but it is.

3. What else? Oh, re organizing the crafty bits and getting rid of all the extraneous matter.

And what am I going to eat with no time to cook?!

Grilled cheese and V8.

Has been my favorite thing to eat this summer and I don't see myself getting tired of it.

Plus if you add a bit of heavy cream to your V8 and heat it up you have cream of tomato soup.

Yep. And Apples.

Oh, and I forgot -

4. a nano seemed CRUCIAL to the keeping of my sanity. So I bought one! I should've bought the 16 GB, but oh well.

YAY! Portable music awesome!-

So here's something delicious!

Yellow squash with corn and pasilla pepper

For 1

a yellow squash
an ear of corn
a pasilla pepper

2 cloves garlic
a shallot

some feta and ricotta - or whatever cheese you have at hand, except blue.

finely chop the garlic and shallot
saute over low heat in olive oil

dice or slice pasilla pepper and add to pan

same with yellow squash

when these are almost done - ie to your desired softness - scrape corn off the cob into pan.

let simmer a bit

add cheese and let warm/melt

salt and pepper to taste! YUM.

Any leftovers can be added to eggs the next day.

Ok babies. That's what I've got for you today. Yipyip!