Happy Day to my Mom!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom! I am a lucky girl to have a supportive, involved and loving mom in my life to look to. She has been an example for me of a sacrificing and devoted mom, whether driving us to basketball practice when we were younger, teaching me how to cook or even just taking the time to go on a walk together. I'm very blessed and hope to one day be a mom and be half as fabulous as she is!

Blessing of the Hands

So, I work at a Catholic hospital. I'm not Catholic but there are some things that come along with working in a faith-based organization that I really like. I work side by side with both ministers and priests everyday, which I think adds something to the environment when there are so many sick and injured people who need God on their side. I love the morning prayer every day at 8 am. There is a gong that goes off on the overhead system and one of the chaplains says a short prayer for everyone beginning their day, including patients, staff, doctors and families. Last week I made my first pot of coffee....I think ever. It was for one of the priests who wanted some and they were out. Apparently it turned out okay.

Today was an annual ritual called "Blessing of the Hands". The Catholic Priests and protestant chaplains alike went around to all the staff and said a prayer over each of our hands. It basically said, God, use these hands for healing and for helping the patients who need it, as well as acknowledging that he ultimately is the Healer. It is good to recognize that and to remember for everything that man and medicine can do, it is ultimately in His hands. I wish all of my friends in other work environments had this spirit of enrichment in the workplace. I appreciate it more and more everyday; for all the sadness and death that we see, in the end, it's God who is in charge.

Newsworthy!

Last time I went to Dillon's...I saw a new "Skinny Cow" item; individualized small low-fat ice creams. Um, delicious! At about 3 points each, some of the best calories I have had in a LONG time! There are 5 flavors (Caramel Cone, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Cookies & Creme, Dulce de Leche and Strawberry Cheesecake) and I have worked through 4 (all except the Strawberry Cheesecake). No complaints....would recommend any of them. Just had to share!! :)

Brain Dump

I saw this idea from Julie that I worked with in Wichita...seemed like an appropriate blog format considering I had lots of random thoughts running in my head but nothing too exciting for a full post.

• I am very excited for summer! It's so nice to actually see neighbors out and about. I look forward to some time out on the deck in the nice weather, softball (I joined 2 teams), garage sales and going to the pool. Not excited to mow the lawn.
• Two of my best friends at the hospital have given their notices. One is moving to Colorado and the other is going to drive to Lawrence and work at a clinic there. Makes me sad.
• I made two Pioneer Woman recipes for a dinner party tonight. I did the lasagna again and also tried her chicken spaghetti. Looks fairly fantastic.
• I am counting the days, hours, minutes until my family's vacation in San Antonio this month. Can't wait for some quality time outside of the daily rush of life, as well as seeing my sister.
• My coworkers and I are looking for a 10K to do this summer....since the Brew to Brew is now over, we are all wanting something else to look foward to and train for.
• I started going to a new toning class at my parents gym last week and it is AWESOME! I couldn't sit down without wincing for several days from leg pain. We all measured our parts (chest, hips, waist, arms) and my coworker who has done the class before said she lost 8 inches in two months last time she did it.
• I need to get my car cleaned. It grosses me out whenever I get it in. Dirt/debris from winter needs to go!
• My cousin, aunt and uncle made a quick trip here this weekend. My cousin is going to law school at Washburn this fall and was here to find an apt. Proud of her and glad it's not me! Look forward to seeing them hopefully more often.
• I am ready for TV "season" to be over. I can barely keep up with my DVR. I am loving Glee, Modern Family and Biggest Loser right now.

Brew to Brew...

Last weekend I took part in the "Brew to Brew" run with some friends from work....this was my first race....since track in high school....so it's been awhile! This run is a relay from The Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City to Freestate Brewery in Lawrence and is approximately 44 miles. I ended up running the first leg of it, which was marked as 4.3 miles and it was tough! The whole day we cheered on our teammates and drove along the race trail dropping off a runner and picking up the one who just finished. It was perfect weather for this all-day outdoor excitement and since my work was done by 9:30 I got to relax and enjoy some snacks and cheer on my friends! We are hoping to do it again next year....definitely worth it!

Did I mention they gave us free beer at the Boulevard before we ran?! Yum! Nothing like beer at 8:00 in the morning!!

We survived! Here is us in Lawrence. Happy to still be friends after 7 hours in a car together!! :)

This holiday is brought to you The Pioneer Woman.....and Jesus.

For Easter my sister came up from Dallas and we had a low-key weekend of shopping, going out to dinner and then Sunday I hosted a non-traditional Easter lunch before Meg flew back to Texas.

When we were trying to decide what to have to Easter, we decided to pick something out of "The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook" that my fantastic friends Lindsay and Kylie gave me for my birthday. I so LOVE this cookbook! I love to look at it, read it, imagine that I have time and calories to cook something from it every day. It is marvelous....and my family is equally enthusiastic about it, even my dad.

So, since we're not big ham lovers, I finally decided on the non-traditional lasagna.....and it was GOOD!!! It involves making your own sauce, adding fresh spices and cooking sausage and hamburger. Yum! I also made the French Pastry Puffs in the book for breakfast Saturday morning. Very sweet and delicious (sorry, no pictures of those little guys). Here are a couple pictures of the lasagna and my favorite people on Easter. Oh, and I had given up Diet Coke for Lent, so of course it was a part of the Easter celebration! :)

A Night with Taylor....

A couple weeks ago my mom and I had the awesome opportunity to go see the Taylor Swift concert in Wichita! Her friend won tickets from the local radio station and we rode an Arrowhead bus down and back and got to see an excellent performance. Kellie Pickler opened for her and on a bonus we got bumped up to the media section and had amazing seats! It was more than a concert; with 9 costume changes and a ton of set changes, there was always something going on. Here are a couple pictures from a great evening: