The Accidental Boilermaker

Just because you're sick doesn't mean you can't have fun.

Apparently I was sick enough today (I think it was a look and sound consensus) to not be allowed to see a new patient, get sent home early, and be told to take tomorrow off. Now Nate has mandated I take a nap. I have a pretty bad sore throat, but I hope this doesn't turn into the cold Nate had last week. Since no one likes being sick, I have thought of some things that I really do like: Shout wipes - they can get out almost any stain, even pen on my new khaki pants Tech support guys who know how to fix your problem when even you aren't sure what the problem is People who refer to themselves and their pet as "us" Chai tea with a little half & half and honey Watching Penny nap in the sun

We made falafel tonight and it was delicious! It was a box mix where you just add water, but we did make the cucumber sauce from scratch. Next time, we're going to make the falafel from scratch too.

I tried making dinner in the crockpot - Lime Salsa Pork Chops - and it was really not very good. It had this weird bitter aftertaste. We did the best we could and then threw the rest away. I really don't like wasting food like that. Burn Notice marathon on USA today. Not as good as NCIS, but it's starting to grow on me. Nate is still sick and it rained all day. I did the laundry but it isn't folded yet. I already had a small bowl of ice cream after my run, but since dinner was bad, I think I'm going to have another.

I just finished this book and I would definitely recommend it. I found the beginning a bit slow, but the plot picks up and really draws you in. The book takes place in Ireland and tells the story of a 100 year old woman - Roseanne - living in a mental institution who decides to record her heart wrenching, yet still beautiful life story. At the same time, it also follows the life of the institution's head psychiatrist who, for reasons unknown to him, has taken a special interest in Roseanne and decides to dig deeper into her past in order to find out what lead her to be institutionalized. My favorite excerpt: "There has never been a person in an old people's home that hasn't looked around dubiously at the other inhabitants. They are the old ones, they are the club that no one wants to join. But we are never old to ourselves. That is because at close of the day the ship we sail in is the soul, not the body." ~ Sebastian Barry, The Secret Scripture

The Tippecanoe School Corporation has to make some serious budget cuts as do many school systems across the state of Indiana and probably the whole nation. The reason I know this is because a nurse I work with, her husband is a PE teacher. PE, art, and music are three possible "special" classes on the chopping block. I feel bad for my co-worker, but I also feel bad for the students. Why do schools still feel these classes are optional or unimportant? Kids need to move and express themselves. Learning to read music or play an instrument is like learning a new language. Which reminds me that they might consider getting rid of foreign language requirements for the high schools. Gosh, school would be so boring if all there was was reading, writing, and arithmetic. If you're interested you can read more here .

I made chicken and vegetarian bean enchiladas today - yummy. I meant to take more pictures, but I got caught up in the cooking.

We got a fairly large winter storm over the past 2 days. Large for West Lafayette especially since the town's policy is wait and plow till everything is over and the roads are terrible and cars are in the ditch. I got to leave work an hour and a half early on Thursday even though I really did have charts to work on, but when the boss says you can go home, you don't really have to tell me twice. I was asked and agreed to leave early today since by noon, we only had 4 patients show up for exercise. Nate's patient cancelled too, so we got to send the afternoon together and that's always nice. The best part of the snow was my run yesterday. We got about 4 inches of fluffy snow which is so much fun to run through. I also got to use my yaktrax that Nate gave me last year for Christmas. And when you're outside in that fresh snow, everything is so white and peaceful. Plus, I like to imagine that drivers look at me and think, gee whiz that person is crazy to be running...

If the temperature is 6 below and you want to go for a run, this is what you wear. 2 pairs of socks 2 pairs of gloves heavy tights and yoga pants tank top 2 compression shirts t-shirt sweatshirt face mask and hat iPod I was really quite comfortable.