1. Watch three episodes of Mad Men.
2. Finish reading Midwives.
3. Prepare my blog posts for next week. It’s anniversary week!
4. Clean the floors.
5. Run at least once.
6. Cook something…maybe.
Category: goals
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#7. Do A Bike Race: Tour de Pink Recap!
This morning I rode in my first ever biking event. It was a lot of fun and I definitely want to do more like it.
Whenever I thought about it yesterday, I got nervous. Mainly just because I had never done this type of race before so I was afraid of not being prepared and not knowing where to go or what to do. It wasn’t timed or competitive, so I wasn’t worried about doing well. And since this was my first time, I chose to go the shortest distance, 12 miles, which is less than I routinely ride so I knew it would be easy.
My wonderful husband came with me because I didn’t know anyone else, but he was NOT happy when I told him that we needed to leave the house by 5:30 a.m. He grumbled and grumbled, but when it was actually time for me to wake him up he didn’t complain at all and was very sweet.
A little nervous!So we drove the 45 minutes to the race site and parked. It was still dark, and I had no idea where to pick up my registration packet. Fortunately it wasn’t hard to find; we just followed the music. The packet contained a t-shirt, water bottle, magnet, pen, and information about breast cancer and other racing events. I put my biking shoes on, visited the bathroom one last time, then got into place. David was able to hang out with me at the starting line right up until the end!
Waiting around for the race to start.
Bye David, see you when I get back!
Off into the crowd…As for the course itself, we first had to navigate out of the college campus that we started on. After that we were on a rough road, going fairly slowly. I was getting a little frustrated until someone passed me and I realized that it was OK for me to pass the people in front of me whenever I wanted to, as long as I was safe. After that I started passing a bunch of people. Most of the course was flat, smooth highway with very little traffic. The back half had some rolling hills but they were still fairly easy. I saw one pit stop where a lot of people pulled off the road, but I kept going. If I had been riding a longer distance I probably would have stopped, but I didn’t think it was necessary.
Toward the end I had the road pretty much to myself. When I made the turn for the last mile there wasn’t another biker in sight. When I coasted through the finish line the volunteers were all just sitting around, but when they saw me they all started cheering. It was kind of embarrassing and cool at the same time. I immediately saw David and rode up to him. He said, “You’re the first one finished! You won the Tour de Pink!” I kept telling him that it wasn’t a race, that all the serious cyclists were probably going much longer distances, but he kept saying, “You won!” It was so cute. :)
Me and my man after the race!We didn’t stick around for the after-race festivities because I realized that if we left right away we could make it to church on time. And we did, although we were both so tired that I don’t think the sermon really sunk in for either of us. I would definitely do this event again, and next time I think I’ll go a longer distance.
Having participated in this also made my wish list grow. Here are some things that I definitely want to acquire soon:
1. A women’s specific seat. Riding on mine makes my bum and my female area go numb ever so quickly. I constantly have to stand up just to relieve the pressure.
2. A saddle bag. I need a place to put my phone and my keys when I ride. Right now I just shove my phone in my pants, but it’s not too comfortable.
3. A flat tire repair kit. I haven’t had one yet, but I want to be prepared when it happens.
Next up on the race agenda is the Galveston Seawall Crawl 5k on November 7. Gotta start focusing on running again!
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On Being A Wife
My husband and I have been married almost a year. Although I’m not planning on trading in my scrubs and stethoscope anytime soon, I have this crazy idea that I can be both a full-time, successful nurse and a fantastic, domestic wife. In my mind that means everything from keeping the house clean, doing chores, cooking frequent meals, budgeting and saving money, decorating the house, entertaining, and gardening to birthing babies and keeping my husband happy.
In some of those areas I am quite deficient, which bothers me if I’m honest with myself. So yesterday, my day off, I resolved to be the perfect housewife.
First there were the four piles of dog vomit that needed to be cleaned. Step One: pick up the bulk and throw it away. Step Two: vacuum the dry pieces left behind. Step Three: spray with pet stain remover and forget about it for hours on end. Step Four: drizzle with water and scrub. Step Five: blot dry. I’m sure you have all been dying to know that information your whole life.
Then there was dinner to prepare for. I found this recipe for spicy meatballs in creamy beef broth and was bound and determined to make it happen. I spent an hour or so on the prep and then they were in the Crockpot cooking away. Later on I cleaned the house, paid some bills, and was just settling down to read when David came home. After some last minute preparations we ate dinner together (success) and I asked him how his day at work was. Then he took a nap and I read.
But the crucial part of the day came when I went to see Julie & Julia with my mom. It was a great movie that we both loved, and it affected me on several levels. Most obviously, it encouraged me to cook more. It also made me want to continue to be devoted to my blog while adhering to personal boundaries. I could write an entire post about either of those subjects.
But one thing that especially stood out to me in the movie was how these two women had amazing husbands. I kept expecting something to go very wrong with their relationships like it usually does in movies, but it never did. This movie made me want to be a great wife, and I don’t mean by cooking elaborate meals.
I’ve been married for almost eleven months, and I am trying to learn how to cook, decorate my house, live on a budget, and hopefully even birth some babies along the way while balancing my vocation as a nurse. This blog is in large part a record of those things. But most importantly, I just want to love my husband. I want to love him better all the time. Lucky for me, he’s quite lovable.
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weekend review
I’m propped up in bed ready to read for an hour or so before drifting off to sleep and then starting another week. Before I do that, though, I wanted to share a few things with you from the weekend.
We babysat our nephew Lucas for the first time.
He was adorable, calm, smiley, perfect for the first half. Then he got hungry, so he started to cry. We fed him every last drop of milk that we had. We burped him and got four really good ones. We changed his diaper. We held him and walked around with him, and sang to him. He continued to cry…for about an hour and a half. It was actually quite cute to see David’s reaction to this. He was so worried that something was wrong with Lucas. We eventually had to call his parents to come home, because he was still hungry and his food supply was nowhere to be seen. Before they got home I managed to calm him down by doing deep knee bends and walking up and down the stairs a million times. It was a serious workout.
You can see the slightly frazzled look around my eyes.I signed up for the Tour de Pink.
The glitch was finally worked out on the website, and I signed up for the 12-mile bicycle race in Houston that will take place September 13! I’m really excited because it will be my first bike race. Here is where I ask for your help, though, because in order to participate I am required to raise at least $100 in addition to my entry fee. Please donate; even just $1 gets me closer to that goal, and I would love to surpass it if possible! Here is a handy dandy link for you:
Some other stuff happened too.
Including, but not limited to: David’s second cousin’s baby shower, cooking and grilling, a long bike ride, leading worship in church, and starting The Time Traveler’s Wife. It was a good weekend, and it’s going to be a good week.
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Chicken and Dumplings
Here is a recipe that I used to complete my goal of cooking dinner 4 times in 4 weeks. (Don’t judge, I have to start somewhere!) This was one of my husband’s favorite meals so in order to learn exactly how to make it, I asked his mom to come over and cook it with me for the first time. It turned out so good that I decided to make it again today, only a couple of weeks later.
Ingredients: Chicken
1-2 pounds of chicken tenders (or whatever kind of chicken you like)
1 cup Bisquick
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Vegetable oil
1 26-ounce can cream of chicken soupIngredients: Dumplings
2 1/4 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1. Wash chicken and pat dry. Wash your hands too. You don’t want to get salmonella, do you?
2. Mix 1 cup of Bisquick with the salt, paprika, and pepper. Put it all in a large Ziploc bag and add the chicken a few pieces at a time. Now it’s time to shake it up!
See how much fun I’m having?3. Heat up some vegetable oil in a large skillet and brown the chicken. If you notice it getting a little dry, just add some more oil. Drain off the excess fat. Feel free to feed it to your chubby dog Cleo.
Don’t forget to flip ’em!4. Add the entire can of cream of chicken soup to the chicken. I know it seems like a lot, but trust me those dumplings will soak it up, and you’ll want the extra gravy! Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Make sure it’s still bubbling a little bit. Cook it until the chicken is fork tender. With tenderloins it only takes about an hour.
The chicken’s under there somewhere!5. Prepare the dough for the dumplings by mixing another 2 1/4 cup Bisquick and milk in a bowl until it’s nice and squishy.
Yum…just how I like it.6. Drop the dough by large spoonfuls into the hot chicken. If your skillet isn’t large enough (like mine), just take some chicken out and put it on a plate. You’ll add it back in later.
7. Cook uncovered 10 minutes, then cover and cook an additional 20 minutes.
Those dumplings swelled up quick, kind of like my stomach after eating them.Now just serve it up, add a side dish of your choice, and enjoy!
