Thursday, May 21, 2009

NCLEX: the test from Hell

*note: my last two posts refer to gods and hell... which is not a reference to the movie "Angels and Demons" which I have no desire to see.

I did it. I took the mother flyin test. and it humbled me so strongly, I believe I collapsed on myself and am now a black hole of self-doubt. Of course, that means I passed (final results still pending - I repeat, no confirmation of a pass yet!!!!). Confusing? Let me explain how the test works.

You start with a question that is at passing level. If you answer it right, the next question is harder. If you're wrong, the next question is easier. Kind of like Goosebumps (remember those books?!). Then, when you exhibit a consistent right/wrong answering pattern (get 1 right, get 1 wrong, get 1 right...etc.), then the whole test shuts off. The minimum amount of questions you can get is 75. I got 77. But... I would say that roughly 40% of the questions were on drugs I have never heard of, surgeries I didn't know existed, and disease complications that are so rare, they aren't even mentioned in the small print of the test books... you just have to know that maybe it COULD happen.

lame.

I guess though, hard questions = doing well.

For "doing well", I feel like hell... that rhymes. maybe if I fail this test, i could be a poet instead....

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Dinner of the Gods


...and amazingly enough, of the skinny goddesses too!!! Seriously, though. This is 1. healthy 2. easy, 3. amazingly delicious 4. not boring and ordinary 5. low-carb for those of us who's husband's are going low-carb after 3 pm.



This dinner involves three EASY parts, and thus will be graded all together as one "recipe"
Healthy Scale: 9
Yummy Scale: 10!
Filling Scale: 9 - only because I wanted more sausage

Difficulty Level: Easy, Easy, and Easy
Time to Cook: ~15 minutes

Dish One: Garlic Sautéed Green Beans (5 minutes)

you will need:
-a handful of washed, fresh green beans (frozen would work too, but... fresh is better)
-a pan with 1cm of water on the bottom
-1 tbsp. butter
-dash of garlic salt (yes I am aware that I use garlic salt in almost everything.)

how you do it:
1. easy, put beans, butter, and garlic salt in the pan, cover, and steam for 5 minutes
2. eat
3. love

Dish Two: Sliced Sausage (3 minutes)

you will need:
-sausage of your preference, sliced (mine was packaged pre-cooked - if you are getting raw sausage, cook first, then slice and fry)
-1 tbsp of oil in the bottom of a pan

how you do it:
1. easy, oil in pan, lightly fry both sides of sausage.
2. eat.
3. love

Dish Three: Mango, Avocado & Sunflower Seed Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing (4 minutes)

you will need:
-mango, peeled, cut into chunks
-avocado, peeled, cut into chunks
-sunflower seeds (or any nut, really)
-spring green salad
-raspberry vinaigrette dressing

how you do it:
1. throw all of the ingredients on a plate; mix
2. eat
3. love... well. first be a little unsure if putting the avocado (which IS a fruit... right??) on the salad was a good decision or not, then keep chewing, and realize the smooth and oddly-not-out-of-place flavor brings out the sensational "twang" of the mango and raspberry dressing, and feel that the avocado is the perfect transition into the nutty taste that comes at the end of the flavor rainbow... THEN love.

Oh my flippin' gosh. so good. I know the salad sounds weird, but you HAVE TO TRY IT. it is SO good. I ate dishes 1&2 first, because the heat and saltiness and deliciousness are so good, I couldn't stop eating them. (also, I was a little afraid to try the salad). But, it was perfect, because the salad is sweet enough where it's almost its own little dessert, and you don't want to stop eating that either. Plus, switching back to the strong and consistent flavors of the beans and sausage would totally ruin the whole palate experience.

seriously. eat this dinner.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Dinner Recipe! "Jamba-liar"

Why is it called Jamba-liar? Because, I was in the mood for what I thought was Jambalaya, but when I went to look up a recipe, all the recipe's for Jambalaya were nothing like I thought/wanted. SSOOO, I thought, screw you recipes. I'm going to make my OWN Jambalaya... This recipe is Jamabalaya-inspired, but if you call it Jambalaya, you're a liar.

*all scales below are 0-10
Healthy Scale: 5
Yummy Scale: 9
Filling Scale: 8

Difficulty Level: Medium
Time to Cook: ~2 hours (give or take 45 minutes?)

you will need:
-1 cup of pearl barley
-1 cup of wild rice
-1 cup of brown rice
-lots 'o' water
-extra virgin olive oil
-dried basil (to taste) - 2 tbsp?
-chili powder (to taste) - 3 tbsp?
-Seasoning salt
-one or two other spices... I didn't really keep track... just kind of went by what smelled like it would go with Jamba-liar...
-Sriracha Sauce! - a little to a lot, depending on how spicy you like things
-Sausage, cut up
-Shrimp
-minced garlic
-1 onion
-1/2 green pepper
-1 can of diced tomatoes (and sauce, but seperate the two)
-patience
-the ability to wing it because aparently I can't remember what I put in it, or how much...

how to do it:
1. fill one pot with water, and put all the rice and barley in it. I don't measure proportions of rice:water, I just boil the rice till it's done, then strain it. I know that's a weird way to do it, but it makes the rice a lot softer, and mixes it together well.
2. Once cooked and strained (about 30 minutes to cook the wild rice), then put the rice in a pan with the oil, spices, and sriracha sauce and stir fry it. It took me about 45 minutes to do this, because I boil my rice, but if you cook rice like a normal person, it should take much less. I just kept stir frying and adding things til it tasted spice, and yummy
3. now, while you're stir frying, you dice the onion, pepper, and sausage, throw them in a skillet with the garlic, tomatoes, and shrimp - do this about 15 minutes before you're done stir-frying the rice.
4. Mix the two together.
5. eat.
6. love.

so, I know how crazy/incomplete this recipe is, and I don't really expect anyone to actually try it... but it was good. and if nothing else, you can read this and be jealous of the fact that I got to eat it.

Sorry for the recipe tease, but GOOD LUCK if you DO try it! You won't be sorry! :)

The epitome of a perfect day

Today is what you call a perfect day, in my book. And, since two of my three faithful readers aren't here to experience it, I will tell you how amazing it is.

First of all, the temperature is around 78 degrees. A couple lazy, fluffy clouds are rolling around in the sky, and an occasional kiss of wind will gently graze your cheek. Not so hot that wearing jeans would be uncomfortable, or sitting in the grass having a picnic would be unbearable. Just right.

The wine-colored clover fields are a burst of almost misplaced color in a tapestry of lumpy green hills. Dark evergreens stubbornly refuse to join the gaiety of the kelly green oaks around them, standing alone with old mossy beards in fields of daffodils and grass.

The shy spring blossoms that eagerly exploded with the first sun of spring are still hanging around; pinks cherry trees, purple clumpy flowers, and the brilliant rhododendrons of every color loudly stake claim on the passerby's full attention.

Every leaf is so honestly optimistic and glad to be bathing in the warmth of spring, it gives the most sincere color it can muster.

The freshly tilled chocolate fields emit a fruitful glow, having been just turned upside down, the dirt clods stretch their cold backs to the sky.

The sounds is of tractors humming, birds socializing, and the leaves thrilling in a foreign warm breeze. The smell is so naturally intoxicating, the heated earth pumping the air with the aromatic energy that spurs spring on.

The cars in parking lots have their windows cracked; drivers trying to spare themselves the choking heat that only our 4-wheeled, portable ovens can muster on such a lovely day. The grocery store is leaking inexpensive produce with every shopper that goes out the door. Workers straining to try and restock the oranges - consumers grabbing the juicy orange globes faster than they can be replaced.

This spring day is the one we hope to see repeated all summer. It is the sheer positivity of the natural world that makes it so intoxicatingly blissful. Everyone wants to be outside in it.

I am quite literally eating a bowl full of cherries, and I cannot find anything more fitting to end this post, than to mention the very last cherry in my bowl. Too much energy for one skin, it broke the cherry-society rules and burst into two. A double cherry to epitomize my very thoughts and feelings of such a perfect day.

let's get some shoes.

So I had these shoes. They fit perfectly, were a great height of heel, and were the only pair of super cute brown shoes I've found. UNFORTUNATELY, one of the buttons on the side that held the trendy cross strap in place popped off. This happened over a year ago, and finally, today, I got around to fixing them.

First, I had to find new buttons to sew on. It is right about now I wish I had a camera and pictures to show you each painful step of this process... but I don't.

I found these really vintage cute buttons that were made out of brown leather (just like my shoes!) and lo and behold, there were two of them in a giant sea of unmatched buttons! Fate!!!

So, with my dream buttons in hand, I got down to business on the first shoe. After about 15 minutes (yes. that long), I felt really good about the sewed up little strap and button. They loooked great! better than the original! I walked into the other room to show dad.
me: "Hey dad, look, I fixed my shoe!"
dad: "Looks great (looking at the computer)"
me: "Thanks! Now I just gotta go do the other one"
dad: "Or you could just leave it like that... no one would notice the difference"
(ummmm... yes they would)

So, one down, one to go. Easy peasy. Well, the old buttons were held on with a metal ring, so I got out the scissors and cut the metal (cheap metal! no wonder they broke). I begin to sew the other button on, when all of the sudden, the little leather hoop that I was working with cracks and falls off! DAMN YOU VINTAGE LEATHER BUTTON!!!

So, I look for another pair of brown buttons I could use. None can even compare to the ones I had originally picked. And, I can't find a match.

Now, how to make this old, crumbling leather button work? I see a safety pin to my right - hmm, the ring at the end will be perfect. I'll just cut it off and drive it in to the button and vwa-la.

I go out to dad's garage and get the wire clippers, cut the safety pin, get some needle nose plyers and a hammer and center the newly made button ring over the button. Several uncoordinated swings later, I have a cute leather (crumbly) old button with a newly fashioned ring! sweet.

Now, to soldifiy the ring in place, I need glue. Krazy glue. I find some, and of course, the spout is hardened from the last time it was used. Off with the old head, and one straigtened paperclip and a lot of shoving later, I have a new hole! Unfortunately, the glue is old, and is the consistency of slightly warmed tar; and in the efforts of squishing the goo out the paperclip-made-hole, I shove my nail through the glue container. krazy glue everywhere. damn.

grab paperclip, damage control. Somehow, through all this, I nimbly glued my metal ring to the leather button. I also got glue all over my fingers, fumes in my eye, and a little glue on my upper lip (I don't know how).

But, now my button is drying, and the giant glue mess is all cleaned up, and after 15 minutes of sewing, I am sure I will have a brand new pair of shoes to wear!!!

Industry... meet fashion.

Now, onto converting a pair of too-short jeans into shorts, and using the scraps to fix up some other paire of holey jeans.

I don't think I'll ever throw clothes away again.

A weekend with children.

a.k.a. ICK!!!

So I babysat (?) for a ten y.o. and thirteen y.o. set of brothers this weekend while the parents were away. Four nights, three days, two boys, one massive headache.

It wasn't all bad, actually. We went to the beach, Hagg lake (Hajj lake, as I like to call it), saw Star Trek at the Bridgeport IMAX (LOVE that movie!!!), played a lot of wii, ate at Hales and Dancing Dragon (Chi-knee food), and had a lot of laughs.

HOWEVER!!! I have never been so disgusted with kids in my LIFE! I am hoping that this was the exception, but these boys could do NOTHING for themselves.

"Lee-suh, can you get me a popsicle?" No! get it yourself, lazy ass!

"Leeee-suh, can you buy me this video game ($60)?" HELL NO!

"Lee-suuuh, I don't want to carry my towel. Carry it for me." SHUT UP I HATE YOU.

"Lee-suuh, can you help me get my shoe on? (I'M STANDING WITH MY HANDS FULL, HE'S HALF HEARTEDLY SHOVING A FEW TOES INTO A WATER SOCK AND JUST STANDING THERE)" ...How about instead, I drop all this sh*t in my hands and give you a stiff right hook. That way, when you fall to the ground, you'll be that much closer to your stupid foot, and you can put your own damn shoe on!!!!!

At one point, I ignored them. Completely. For about five minutes. And I know this makes me a bad person, but I had a migraine, and we were at the lake, and they were asking asinine questions reapeatedly. So I just laid back in the sun, and pretended they didn't exist. And of course, after those five minutes, they stopped asking me questions, and I thought for sure they had drown... after that panicky sensation, I felt so guilty I kind of sucked up to them for about 30 minutes.

But, I did learn some things about myself from this experience:
1. If I do get knocked up (God FORBID), my kids will never, ever, ever, ever be lazy little f*cks that can't do anything for themselves.
2. I WOULD be a good mom. I think I would be one of those that lets the kid swim too far out, just so they could get a little scared, and think they were going to get eaten by a shark, and have the adrenaline rush of their life, and paddle like a mad-person back to shore. Builds character, I say.
3. I'm going to be an EXPENSIVE babysitter from now on.
4. I am WAYYYY to selfish to have kids ANY time soon.
5. I have a huge, undying respect for the moms out there that did/do a good job. *cough-maureenandcaitlin-cough*

All in all, I had an okay weekend. The emotional/mental/physical demand was huge, but it reminded me of how AWESOME my life is, and I don't think I'll take it for granted as much now. I love the fact that my day-to-day involves me cleaning up after myself, and catering to my own interests and desires, and only my own. It's pretty bad ass. I did get a free gas fill, and also a free everything-mentioned-above.

But, I did have to deal with a boy who hadn't shat for THREE WEEKS. I'm serious. I didn't even know it was possible... till I saw the poop of a small boy that was larger than the biggest two terds I've seen in my life combined. It was an experience, to say the least.

I hope their mom doesn't ever see this blog.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

oh, prose.

landing breathlessly, your scarlet chest heaves as you watch me watch you.
frozen; I delicately blink. you do not.
hyper-vigilant. even as you rest.
something so perfect about your cautious body captured by the lines of my window.
yet, you're the one that can fly.
i watch you recklessly fall backwards; wings spreading at just the right angle
to swoop you upwards
into your hidden treehouse.
my favorite neighbor.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

I am not that smart.

So today, I finally mustered up the motivation to get my ass (oh, did I tell you guys that my blog may get R rated at times?) to the gym. I would like to take credit for this, but the really the driving force was Dan (my roommate) had someone over, and I didn't want to meet them because I'm an antisocial person after an 8 hour review for NCLEX.

None the less, I get my said ass on my bike (I had a reallllly good parking spot and I didn't want to lose it - seriously.) and rode the 1.3 miles to the gym. Coasted is more like it, since the entire ride is downhill, and if I coast on my bike and don't pedal or use my brakes, I hit the green lights perrffff(ectly).

So, now at the gym, I start jump-roping (tough leg work out) for twenty minutes, and as i go to get water, I notice there's a spinning class at 7:30 - "only forty minutes away! I can kill 40 minutes! I'll just do this nifty running/stair-stepping/leg-MURDERING machine here!!!"

Then, beet red and sweaty (and smelly), I haul my tiiired butt into the spinning room, get on my bike, and recognize a girl (that I don't like that much) from school. Great. She's coming over to talk to me.... oh flip. She's putting her bike next to mine. mother f*er I don't want to talk to this b- "Oh yeah! I totally love spinning class! ... SUCH a good work out! ... Oh, what's his name? ... he hasn't called you yet? ... No I'm sure he will!!" ........

p.s. cute boy on my left

So, now the class starts and cute boy and annoying girl are spinning like PROFESSIONAL BIKERS!! ugh. gotta keep up.

60 minutes later, I'm about 20 pedal strokes away from death. I almost fell when we were getting off our bikes to stretch.

Finally, what a good work out. I can't wait to be home and shower and .......... i rode here. it's raining. and dark.

1.3 MILES OF COMPLETELY UPHILL DARK, WET ROADS.

I kind of can't feel the balls of my feet.

my legs are rubber.

I am not that smart.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Guess what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow morning?

Beans and Mexican rice!!! Yumm!!!!

except for the fact that I cooked it on Cinco de Mayo, and have nothing else in my fridge (including milk), and have been too busy to go shopping, and this is the 5th morning in a row I've eaten it for breakfast, and I think it's kinda going bad, and it did give me a stomach ache this morning, and it really doesn't go well with my tea, and all I realllly want is my muesli & milk.

But I could have NO access to food at all, so for those poor Ethiopian children, I will savor every last (rotting) piece of rice as if it were a morsel of heaven. Promise!

Because they say it's healthy to vent your frustrations...

Now, I'm not usually a mean-spirited person. I tend to find the best in people and forgive them their shortcomings in hopes that they are only doing the same for me.

HOWEVER...

Our ref tonight was a fat, stupid pig that couldn't make a decent call for the life of him, and truly lost the game for us... and I hate him.

Imagine a tie-breaker game, so intensely close that each rally incurs more excitement than the last. bam, killer block that Bam, got pancaked up by a dedicated woman mercilessly throwing herself on the floor then BAM the most beautiful recovered bump-set out to an outsider who SMASHED the ball only to be *BAM* dug by only a miracle, and a perfect set to me... and I put the mother flyer away like my mother's life depended on it. YAAAAAAA!!!!! *tweet*... *twee-tweeeeeet*... "double hit, on the setter"

WHAT?!?!?!?!? You good-for-nothing, ascites-bellied, beady-eyed, creepy-faced, sqatty little pitiful excuse for a man.

clearly, sir, you're drunk.

i hate you. we would have won the game if you had kept your breath of astonishment at the perfection of that play in your pathetic little lungs. Instead, you gave the ball to the other team, who was ALSO surprised at your call, and who thus continued to score two points, through a series of TWO MORE bad calls by who? YOU!!!!

Yes, I glared at you. with the meanest, most spiteful look I could give. And, considering my face was red as a beet (not in optimal shape here... and it WAS a tough game), I'm sure it was a face that reminded you a bit of satan. And indeed... satan did not hate you as much as I hated you at that moment.

But, I hope you drive home safe, and can reflect on the pain you caused, learn from it, and become a better ref...

I do hope you stub your toe on something though.

Monday, May 11, 2009

New Delicious Dinner!

Hello Everyone,

I have a recipe I invented (?) tonight.

*all scales below are 0-10
Healthy Scale: 7
Yummy Scale: 8
Filling Scale: 7

Difficulty Level: Easy!!
Time to Cook: ~9 minutes

I call it... Broccoli Delight.

you will need:
-1 head of broccoli
-1 can of cream of mushroom soup
-1 can of tuna
-cheese
-garlic salt
-water... like. some.

how to do it:
1. fill one pot with water, cut broccoli into bite-sizish pieces. put broccoli in water (where else?) and boil. cook til al dente.
2. Meanwhile. empty can of mushroom soup into skillet. drain tuna and throw that in there too. Cut a hefty (1/2 inch?) piece of cheese off the block, and cut into little pieces. put that in the skillet too. and a dash of garlic salt (not too much, as soup mix is already salty)
3. now, you're gonna make this skillet business hot, and add water so it's a the consistency of runny snot... bad analogy? okay... then kind of alfredo sauce texture. but it's going to be chunky (tuna) and sticky (melted cheese). cook till the cheese is melted and it bubbles if you're not stirring it.
4. strain broccoli. add about 1/3 of the skillet sauce over the top of the broccoli.
5. eat.
6. love.

so, i eat one whole head of broccoli, and saved the sauce for take-two's (leftovers). However, if you're feeding more than your hungry, creative self... more broccoli, as it is sort of the pasta, and the cheese-tuna-mushroom sauce is sauce. It's great. I loved it. You will too.

and yes, i'm back.