Down 5 pounds :-)

Woo hoo, ya'll. I have been low-carbing, no-sugaring, gluten-free-ing for the past 9 days and I finally got up the courage to step on the scale this morning....down exactly 5 pounds. Woah! I don't expect to lose this much each week, since the fastest weight loss is always the initial loss....but still! I'd be ecstatic with a "normal" 2 pound loss per week. When I get back from my lunch date and running errands today, I'll post some links to some of the low-carb recipes I've been using lately along with reviews. Now it is time to go do my hair...having lunch with a friend and one of our nursing school professors. It's SO HARD to call her Kathy and not Professor Rose!

Tips for ICU patients and families

I wish all my patients and their families would follow a few simple guidelines...would make life easier!

In appreciation of critical care nurses...

I keep seeing these posters and felt compelled to make one for ICU nurses. We rock!

I had an awesome day skiing!

I went skiing for the first time this season...it was fabulous! I was worried that I was going to be awful and stuck on the bunny hill most of the day, but I got my ski legs back pretty quick! After two quick runs on the bunny hill, my friend and I rode the big lift to the top of the mountain (OF COURSE it stopped on us...why does it always stop when I'm at a really high spot over really hard ground?)

Though we spent most of our time on the green runs, we snuck in a few small blue runs and I have to say I did better at them than I did last year! There's one run called "Lower Main" that is steep, straight and long. My friends talked me into doing it and all I can say is peer pressure is a bitch. I pretty much went down sideways, but I didn't fall and I made it to the bottom! That run will be conquered!

Here is a pic of me after our beautiful day!

In other news, I was thinking about my RDW the other day and realized that I hadn't checked in in awhile...I looked at my lab results and saw that with my last draw it was in the normal range! Could this mean my bone marrow is playing nice? Interestingly, my RDW shot up as soon as I started working night shift...now that I've cut back on my schedule to two nights/week it was normal. Good thing I am starting day shift someday (hopefully) soon!

In other news, made some super delish (but probably a bit too garlicky), faux mashed potatoes using cauliflower. Now, I have tried this concoction in the past, but that was before I welcomed my VitaMix into my family. When I made it before it had an awful, grainy consistency...not anymore! Smooth, creamy and delish! A fabulous substitute for carby potatoes!

So, if you are interested in making them...here is the linky-poo:
Click here for yumminess!

I am so high-tech and awesome, it's scary.

I realized as I was sitting here pondering life and awesomeness, that I probably don't blog as much as I should because I have two different blogs and it's sometimes a hassle to deal with them both. OK, to be fair, I haven't posted to my nursing-related blog since I started working as an actual nurse...see what I mean by hassle?

So, in a sheer move of awesomeness, I merged them together. You now have all my musings in one convenient place. Ta da! And though no one else reads this...it's kind of neat to go back and read everything I've written over the years. Probably what keeping a journal is like, only I suck at keeping journals, too.
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Good kitty: Had homemade juice with breakfast.
Bad kitty: Did not exercise today, but I'm sick so I get a pass.
Short-Term Goal: Get the office unpacked (did I mention we MOVED???)

Wow, I am really bad at blogging.

I really need to get more stick-to-itiveness in my life...not exactly  my strong suit. Maybe it's that my blog lacks focus (well, is being awesome a focus? If so, then I guess I'm covered), or maybe I just have ADD, or maybe I'm just lazy.

Either way, as the new year rolls around, one can't help but think of ways to make this year better than last year. Essentially the only New Year's Resolution I made was to be as awesome as possible despite this stupid blood disease and the fatigue-inducing medication I take to keep me from keeling over. A big part of that involves making healthier choices overall as I'm sure my craptastic diet as of late is not helping. With that said, I actually JUICED yesterday (and no, I did not take steroids...I made juice!). It has been so long since I used my juicer I almost forgot how to put it together....how sad is that? I also forgot what a holy heck of a mess juicing can be. Regardless, I made some delish juice which I call "Sunrise Juice"....here is the recipe (it's the orange colored juice in this awesome pic):

A fruitful afternoon of juicing! Deee-lish!

Sunrise Juice
4-6 carrots
4 stalks celery
1 lemon
2 apples


As for the PV...been feeling run down for awhile now. In a stroke of sheer genius I realized that interferon therapy and night shift do not mix. I spoke with my oncologist/hematologist dude and he suggested I cut back my work hours while working nights. So that's what I'm doing...and despite having a horrible cold this past week, I can tell I'm going to feel a TON better with this adapted schedule. Hoping to get on day shift soon since I kinda sorta need a full paycheck...organic produce is expensive!

Have an awesome day, all one of you who ever read this!