several things I am grateful for today

1.
2. A nice long chat with Wendy
3. My friend/coworker, Peggy took me out to lunch today.
4. I slept 10 delicious hours last night.
5. For breakfast today I had half of a small avocado, a teaspoon of olive tapenade, a few chips and an orange. I love being a grown up. Don't worry Mom, there was plenty of protein in my lunch and dinner.
6. I should have taken a picture of our dinner because it was really pretty: orange slices, blueberries, carrot sticks, cucumber slices and pizza. Turns out when you fill up your plate with fruits and veggies you don't need much pizza!
7. Things are going pretty well at work. I have only ten patients and they are all on the East Side.
8. When one of my patients said something so sad it nearly broke my heart today, I was able to take a deep breath, tell myself it was okay to hurt but that it would serve him best if I didn't tear up, and responded professionally. It's nice to see growth--partially in terms of being a little better able to keep control of my emotions and also responding to my own hurts with kindness instead of judgment. These are big challenges for me. I tend to cry pretty easily, always have. I'm also pretty hard on myself despite my good intentions to be kind. So good for me.
9. Our t.p. seed pots are starting to sprout. I'll take some pictures soon.
10. I learn a lot every day about hospice/meds/nursing/communication.
11. I'm pretty psyched to have a piece of leftover pizza for breakfast tomorrow.
12. Sharon Salzberg's meditation retreat begins in 2 days!
13. My friends
14. Yesterday Abby sent me a nice, long email.
15. The sound of Tiny Clover's breathing
16. My mama's house has sold and her offer was accepted on the condo of her dreams. Congratulations, Mama!

San Diego and our very first egg-o

I'll catch up on things in photos:

That's Mead.

Fact.

Nice scenic background, right? The sun was starting to go down, so even though we were facing the ocean, we couldn't be in the picture with it!

This is Drew, the concierge at our hotel. He was super awesome and gave us a bunch of great ideas of what to do, where to eat, etc. Here he is impersonating a mean cat. I guess you could say we all got to be friends.

Look! Our first egg! I found a second one this afternoon. I think we are now official urban homesteaders! Oh geeky joy!

Two of my favorite creatures

Eric took this picture with my camera while I was on vacation. Isn't he cute?! Yeah, I think so too.

Maybe she's not an ingrate after all!

Bah-kack, look Dad! I love my roost!

Suffice to say Mead and I had an awesome vacation in San Diego. We couldn't believe how friendly people were everywhere we went. A few recommendations: brunch and dinner in Little Italy, go to Monello. The farmers' market in Little Italy was the best one I've ever been to. Breakfast was also good at Cafe Zucchero. Dragon's Den had good Asian food but I wasn't blown away. Mead loved the fish tacos at The Fish Market. We loved our hotel and would stay there again: Porto Vista in Little Italy. Mead took a ton of great pictures but I can't show them to you until she sends them to me. Hint hint... I would love to go on vacation to San Diego again! Thanks Meadz for a super fun vacation!

Lucky Seven Things I Am Grateful For Today

I have more things to list than I have time to write! I should probably be writing this after work instead of before, but I don't want to accidentally let all of these things slip by.

1. At work the other day I was with one of my favorite patients and asked if there was anything else he wanted to talk about and he responded, "well, there is but I know you are in a hurry." I asked why he thought that and he said, "it's how you're sitting." I wasn't aware that I was sitting at the edge of the couch, holding onto my bag as if I were just about to run out the door, but it was true. I am really grateful that he pointed this out to me so that I could lean back and show him that I was truly present and not about to leave. Once I leaned back I immediately relaxed, I didn't even know I was holding so much tension. I love it when others gently point out my blind spots. Since that visit I have been more conscious of my body language which is another level of mindfulness to bring to my patients. I try so hard to show them that I am deeply listening to them so this is an important insight that he shared.

2. I just finished a really awesome book by Tammy Strobel. It's about simplifying your life and being truly happy. It felt like a conversation with a kindred spirit all about prioritizing time and relationships over making money, buying things and going into debt. The book was about true freedom for the average American. This is a subject that I think about a lot and I try to be very intentional about my time and money. I feel very strongly that my choices can either free me up for what I enjoy or weigh me down and pull me away. This is why I don't buy a house, have an expensive car or shop as a hobby. Ideally I would rather spend less time working and more time riding my bike, volunteering, going to yoga, playing with friends, being outside, cooking whole foods and just plain relaxing. In order to do that I have to avoid the trap of thinking that buying things will make me happy, and remember that freedom from debt and not having to spend most of my time working are the soil that happiness grows in. Her emphasis on spending money on experiences as opposed to things also really resonated with me. The book was very inspiring, I would definitely recommend it.

3. Last night I went to a great yoga class with a teacher I hadn't seen in a couple of years. Monday I took my first Qigong class--it was a neat experience and I think I'll go back.

4. Tomorrow Mead and I leave for San Diego! Eric's friends are coming to visit for the weekend so Mead and I are heading to the beach. Yippee!

5. It snowed yesterday, right here in Tucson, Arizona! Here are a few pictures:
I hope my garden survives!

Clover is not a fan of snow.


6. I found out yesterday afternoon that I was accepted to Upaya Zen Center's Being With Dying Professional Training!

7. Also Sharon Salzberg is coming back to Tucson and leading a 2 day meditation retreat on the place of loving-kindness in spiritual practice. It will be March 2-3 and I am all signed up! (She's doing a one hour dharma talk on Friday night also. I think I am going to go with my dance teacher, Tama, and having dinner with her beforehand. Talk about an awesome Friday night!)

A really good weekend

Recently while at work, Eric found the perfect roost for our chickens. Here he is attaching it to the run so it will be steady and secure:

The chickens aren't sure what to make of it. I put Chickpea up on it and Eric fed her some leaves:

Eric thinks they are ingrates for not flocking to it and showing more appreciation.

We also made seed pots out of used toilet paper rolls. Then we planted three kinds of tomatoes that supposedly thrive in the Southwest, (we'll see about that--so far my tomato luck has been terrible) Japanese eggplant and okra. I only discovered okra the summer before last when Mead was on vacation and let us use her CSA produce. We were given A LOT of okra and I had no idea what to do with it. I made an okra casserole with heirloom tomatoes and have loved it ever since. Recently at Mead's house she made us a picnic and one item was okra that she had pickled herself. It was delicious. The variety of okra I chose at Native Seeds Search is supposed to be non-string and non-slimy. I'll let you know what they are like once they grow up.



Yesterday Mead and I went to a friend's yard sale and both made out like bandits! Here are a few of my treasures:

Grateful and some links (food and food for thought)

1. 9.5 hours of sleep last night--finally! This was my first night in a while that I've slept well.
2. My mom is awesome. I am so proud of her.
3. Chatting with Wendy for over an hour yesterday morning
4. I spent the afternoon with Cynthia at her house, catching up. Clover came along and caught up with her friend, Jezebel.
5. I'm eating leftover veggies and tofu from PF Changs. Cynthia and I got a takeout meal to share yesterday as a snack.
6. A relaxing night with Eric
7. Glorious weekend
8. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours just relaxing with Clover on the couch in the morning.
9. Not being busy
10. Today I have my dance class and then Mead and I are going to hang around. I wonder if she'll want to go to Sabino Canyon?
11. I'm starting my week with 10 patients.
12. It's time to plant the tomato seedlings.
13. Our fridge is full of vegetables. I am so grateful we have enough food to eat, and that our food is mostly healthy.
14. I'm really inspired by a bunch of recipes I found on the food blogs I read and on pinterest yesterday. (You know I am actually relaxing when I make time to read blogs and check pinterest--this is a great weekend!) Here are a few links:
Egg salad with pickled celery (pickled celery? What a neat idea!)
This salad (the dressing in particular)
This salad
These cookies
This salad (though I must say that even the ads from the show The Biggest Loser hurt my feelings and I would never watch it.)
These zucchini and carrot oven fries
The idea of peeling the skins off of chickpeas from this hummus recipe
and These cheesy quinoa cakes

The other thing I really enjoyed was an article that Wendy sent me about end of life care in America. Here's the link in case you want to read it too. It's REALLY interesting.

This short and touching interview on NPR, make sure and listen all the way to the end--I found it really moving that the announcer got choked up. I've never heard that happen before.

Have a good Sunday!

Five things

1. Eric made carne asada tacos for dinner. Yum.
2. Wendy's interview with UW went well.
3. My health
4. One of the patients that I have been closest to passed last night. I am glad that her passing was peaceful and that her family will be able to get some sleep after literally months of her needing their care 24/7. Most of all I am grateful for the chance to have been her nurse and get to know her for awhile. Rest peacefully, LP.
5. Tomorrow I am hoping to work a half day.

I reeeeally hope I sleep well tonight. Dude, this is getting ridiculous. I'm exhausted. I'm drinking kava tea now and about to watch some River Cottage with Eric and Tiny Clover to relax.

Five (x2) things I am grateful for today

1. I had a pretty great weekend. Saturday morning I got a massage, then I hung around the house relaxing until Eric came home and we went on a bike ride. Sunday Mead and I went downtown for breakfast and to scheme up our upcoming trip to San Diego. It's real now--we book a hotel room and everything! Yay! Then I went to dance class which was wonderful. In the later afternoon Wendy and I practiced med school interview questions for her interview which is tomorrow! (You've SO got this, W!) Then Clover and I went for a run/walk in the wash.
2. Today was decidedly pretty decent. I enjoyed seeing my patients and worked at a healthy pace.
3. I made a quiche last night for breakfasts this week: 6 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 6 frozen artichoke hearts, 4 slices of bacon, and 1.5 cups of spinach. Seasonings: nutmeg, salt, pepper Oh, it is SO delicious.
4. For weeks I have been missing lunch or just eating things that found their way onto my path. Turns out that makes me more anxious, head achy and scraw. Today I brought sliced turkey, a slice of Tillamook sharp cheddar, a Claussen pickle, a carrot and an apple. Today was much better accordingly. This weekend (Saturday night) we also went grocery shopping and our fridge is full of great things to eat.
5. My caseload is significantly smaller (8 patients right now). Tomorrow I'll be getting new patients assigned to me, but today was just perfect.
6. Eric came straight home from work and we are going for a walk.
7. Dinner: spaghetti with ground turkey, salad and garlic bread
8. This time of year is so delicious in Tucson. I love the early spring weather, it's the best.
9. Mom seems to have sold her (and my dad's) house. I'm waiting to start the happy dance until it all goes through.
10. I have a feeling I'll sleep better tonight than I have been. Is it premature to be grateful for that? Whatever. Maybe I should just say, I feel much more relaxed today than I had been feeling.

Five +2 things

1. It's Friday, this exhausting and stressful week is OVER.
2. Clover and I went for a walk after work.
3. Lunch at home
4. When something good happened to me at work, two of my favorite coworkers had a spontaneous dance part with me.
5. Homemade yummy dinner with Eric
6. Tomorrow I am getting a massage at the massage school. Thanks Clover for the Christmas present of a gift certificate for five massages!
7. My mom