Sunday, December 2, 2012

Clean Eating High Protein Waffles

Looking for a healthy alternative to the favorite breakfast food? Look no further! I have a recipe that is clean and higher in protein that normal waffles, thanks to greek yogurt. So, bust out your waffle iron and mix up these simple ingredients for a delicious breakfast!!


CLEAN EATING HIGH PROTEIN WAFFLES:

You will need:
 1/2 cup of greek yogurt
4 eggs
3/4 c. of whole wheat flour
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c  coconut or olive oil
1/2 c  milk ( I used almond milk)
1/2 t vanilla
1 T cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together. I do not have a mixer so I  just used a whisk. Cook according to your waffle iron directions. You could use this mix for pancakes as well. Top with some butter and syrup or honey and enjoy!!!



Batter in the iron!



Ready to eat!




Thursday, November 15, 2012

Three Good Things Day #6

I am tired today and do not feel like writing. But I am making myself. Here goes:
  1. I was feeling sick at clinicals, and I just wanted to come home and take a nap. But I did not. Instead, I got up and went to yoga. So glad I did too, because I felt better afterward.
  2. New episode of Big Bang Theory was on. Yay!
  3. Tomorrow is Friday and I only work a half day. Looking forward to that!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Three Good Things Day #5

Today, some great news:

  1. My little cousin Collin had his second open heart surgery in his ninth year of life. All went well and he is in recovery. Yay!
  2. I have a job on Saturday, which is great because I am feeling broke. 
  3. I got  to work out this morning. Ever notice how expending energy actually gives you more energy and makes you feel better? Weird. 


Collin, pre-op.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Three Good Things Day #4

So, what was positive about today??

  1. Kind, genuine interactions with patients. It's nice when they see that I am doing my job well and tell me so. 
  2. I had an evaluation due today at clinicals and received a perfect score. 
  3. Laughter. There were a few really funny moments today at clinicals that made me laugh out loud. It's the small things :)

Monday, November 12, 2012

Three Good Things Day #3

Well, I skipped yesterday. I was busy, on the go all day and not home. But today is a new day!


  1. Thank you veterans for serving. Also, thankful that I have the day off because of it!
  2. I am going to use this day off to be productive. Make some soup, do some homework and be happy to get things around the house done. 
  3. Happy to have a scholarship opportunity to apply for. Which I will go do now!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Three Good Things Day #2

It is a bit early for a post today, seeing as it's only noon. But I am busy the rest of the day and know I need to do this now!

  1. Sister time. My youngest sis is coming for a visit today. That always fills me with joy.
  2. I got to sleep in this morning. I have to get up at 6am Mon-Fri so the weekends are always a great time to catch up on sleep.
  3. I have power/electricity to write this blog! I am sure there are some without. Lucky for what I have. 

Sis and I at Radiohead concert this past summer.



Friday, November 9, 2012

Three Good Things


In the spirit of NaBloPoMo, I am going to try and blog every day this month. However, it's already the 9th. Oops! I have never tried this before, mainly because I am such a sporadic blogger as it is. So I came up with a simple idea on how to blog every day. In order to try and keep positive, I will write about 3 good things that happened each day. It will help me focus on the good things in life, which may often be the simple things that are overlooked. So here goes!


  1. Half-day clinical day! Working only 4.5 hours instead of 9.5 hrs makes such a difference. For that I am thankful.
  2. Vegan pineapple burger for lunch. Yum!
  3. Sunshine. The sun has been out all day and it's not been too cold.


Let's see if I can try and keep up with this simple task for the rest of the month!


Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!!!




Some pictures of Halloween past!! Love to dress up!! Life's no fun without a great scare!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Album Review: Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra

If you have never listened to Amanda Palmer before, now is the time. In my opinion, she has never made a record more accessible. Plus, the cover is gorgeous:

The other super cool thing about this album is how it was crowdfunded. She is the first musician to make more than a million dollars using Kickstarter. We are the media!!

Amanda Palmer has made two solo records previous to this new release. This time around she has teamed up with The Grand Theft Orchestra, whose members include Chad Raines, Jherek Bischoff, and Michael McQuilken. And they've made a killer record.

I am in love with the album! It has been on repeat at home, in my car, on my phone, pretty much everywhere. I want to highlight some of my favorite songs so far:

The Killing Type:  Electric. Raw. Killer. Click on the link to see the video.

Want It Back: This stop-motion animation video is so cool. Driven by her powerful piano playing, her body becomes the canvas for this excellent song.

The Bed Song: Such a beautiful song, about the sublties of a relationship and communication breakdown. Anyone should be able to relate to this song in some manner. It brought tears to me eyes when I first heard it.

Grown Man Cry: Throw back to the 80's! This song sounds like it could have been done by The Cure or Bowie. It's simply snyth heaven.

What's not to love about strings, percussion, piano and rock? Go give it a listen!!!
http://www.amandapalmer.net/


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Marriage Is Like A Bottle Of Wine.....

Why you ask? 

Well, because it gets better with age. It is meant to be shared. And it's a journey, a  process from the vine to the bottle.

At least according to the pastor at my friend's wedding last week!! I had the pleasure to witness one of my longtime friend say her vows and tie the knot in the great state of Oregon. The ceremony was short and sweet, straight to the point. Just like her. It was pretty perfect. She got married in a winery, outside of Eugene, OR. It was an absolutely gorgeous backdrop for a wedding. Take a peek!

The bride and her father.
I do!




The kiss!



First Dance





King Estate Winery

Vineyard
Lavender!



Thursday, August 9, 2012

Life Is Good Because............


1. My sister is in town for a week!!! YAY!!!

Oregon coast. 2011
2. I have three weeks off from school.
3. I am leaving for vacation one week from today.
4. I will be going to yoga tonight.
5. I am ALIVE and breathing!!!!

Despite all the family drama and bigotry of late, there are still things things to be thankful for!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Welcome To The Real World

Today was my first official day of summer break from school. I just finished up my first rotation of clinicals for vascular ultrasound school. 36 hours a week for 15 weeks. It seemed like a long time, but it also went by pretty quick. We kept busy, which made the day go by fast. I just wanted to take the time to remember a few things that I have learned. Maybe reading back on this someday will help me remember my time at the hospital.
Patient care/dealing with difficult patients. Trying to put myself in their shoes and how I would feel in the hospital weeks on end. Showing compassion.
Learning how to drive a cart/wheelchair w/ an IV pole at the same time. Transferring pts from the chair to the bed. Lift with your legs! Ask if they can stand on their own. Ask about their comfort level. Ask as many questions to gain as much info as you can.

Scanning skills and techniques. Compressing into the bone, not the bed. Positioning the pt in the right way. Trying to maintain ergonomics. Optimize the image. Elongated vessels and angle correct. Correct annotation. Scan range and zoom for small calf veins. Pressing in for edema.

There were lots of stinky feet. Scaly skin. Ulcers. Gangrene. Edema. Amputees. I learned to look past all these things and tried to focus on the patient as an individual. Most of the time it worked. Of course, you will always have the difficult, screaming, uncooperative, unruly patient. But the good ones make up for the bad ones. In the end, we are all the same. We really just want some love and acceptance at the end of the day. I try to smile and remember that.

Now I get 3 weeks off before I start this all over again. And my days are busy already. I have something planned for every day off. But all good things since my sister is visiting, and I am going on vacation for a week. I also get to actually work a few days. Being a nanny seems like the easiest thing in the world compared to what I am doing now. It will be a nice change.

In summation, I wouldn't change what I am doing and all that I am learning. It's just a lot different than what I ever expected it to be. No one tells you that you only learn the basics in school. You really can't prepare for all that's waiting for you beyond the lab doors at school. You must experience it for yourself. And what a world of difference it is being out in the real world!!

I know this experience is preparing me to work in the field someday, and I am thankful to have it.


Sunday, July 22, 2012

Cleveland Tattoo Expo

Last weekend was the CLE Tattoo Convention, held at CSU. It was the first one the city has had in 10 years. I didn't get the chance to walk around and take many pictures as I was too busy getting tattooed and running up on stage for the contests. I have a beautiful tiger lily started on my calf now. Check it out!
The stencil is applied. 
Karl just getting started.
My nephew and I getting inked together!
We are finished for now. About 2.5 hrs in. 
Hubby took Best Large Color! Yay! At least one of us won!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Recipe: Kale Chips

Kale chips are the perfect snack food: delicious, healthy and easy! All you need are two ingredients: kale and olive oil. Simply arrange the kale on a baking sheet, drizzle olive oil over top and broil at 350 for 8-10 min. Chips are done when toasted and crisp. You can also add any seasonings you want. What are you waiting for? Go make some kale chips! This can be done in the toaster oven too.
Only two ingredients. 



Delicious kale chips!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Video Blog:How To Wake A Teenager


Just how do you wake up a lazy teen on a weekend before noon? With a youtube video of a screaming woman, naturally.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

A Poem: Cosmic Soul

the cosmic soul
is me, is you, is everywhere.
united as one.
reaching, stretching, growing, 
open your heart center.
stretch to the sky and
wonder at the infinite void.
the stars above, twinkling, 
they let me know how small my being is.
we are lucky to be here,
to breathe on this planet.
to have been given life at all.
and we are so arrogant to assume we just belong. 
we endlessly take and never give back,
to our one true mother, gaia. 
but we are all connected and only taking from ourselves. 

I want to be set free.
I want my heart to blossom like a lotus.


http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs49/f/2009/190/c/7/Lotus_Flower_by_Starfire_013.jpg

Friday, June 8, 2012

Concert Review: Radiohead

I had the immense pleasure and joy of seeing Radiohead perform live this past week, June 6th, at Blossom Music Center. It was a  beautiful summer night for a show, warm and breezy. Radiohead played an epic two hour show, coming back for not one, but two encores! They sounded better than ever, adding a second drummer to the mix (Portishead's Clive Deamer.) They didn't just play a rehearsed show. They played from the heart. The energy was palpable. Soulful and intense. They changed up the set list and added new songs from the previous shows. They debuted "Like Spinning Plates" that night. A favorite of mine! We were treated to old favorites like "Paranoid Android" and "Exit Music For A Film," as well as new tracks like "Identikit" and " Staircase." If the music itself wasn't enough, they outdid themselves with the visual light show. They had 12 different screens floating above the stage, each focused on a different band member. Flashing lights and floating screens provided for a bit of sensory overload, but in just the right way. At one point, Thom repeatedly said "thank you" into the mic and it echoed and reverbed out into the crowd and into the evening, above the dusk sky. Thank you, Thom! What an amazing experience. For a minute there, I lost myself.

http://www.blareshare.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/radiohead-concert-stage-dangling-lights.jpg


The Set List:

Bloom
15 Step
Kid A
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Staircase
I Might Be Wrong
The Gloaming
Separator
Like Spinning Plates(tour debut)
Morning Mr. Magpie
Climbing Up the Walls
Identikit
Lotus Flower
There There
Feral
Idioteque
FIRST ENCORE:
House of Cards
Myxomatosis
Supercollider
Reckoner
SECOND ENCORE:
Give Up the Ghost
Exit Music For a Film
Paranoid Android



Monday, May 28, 2012

My Trip To Bend, OR


I recently got back from a week trip to visit my sister out in Bend, Oregon. I had a two week break before my summer session started and I was in need of a vacation. What a better way to spend it than with my lovely sister! And in such a beautiful location. Bend is more central Oregon, high desert climate with gorgeous mountain backdrop views. Such a beautiful city with so much to do. We hiked, did yoga, ate some amazing food, made new friends and had a blast together.
Pilot Butte in Bend, Or.


At the top of Pilot Butte.  Sisters mountains.









Deschutes River
The best thing we did? Drove out to Smith Rock State Park and hiked up the giant rock. Intense hike with an amazing view.
Smith Rock.


The path to the top.


The view from the top, the pic doesn't do it justice.

Smith Rock and Crooked River

Sisters!


What a great trip! I can't wait to return someday soon.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

What's Your Superpower?

I feel like it's been forever since I have gotten the chance to sit down and blog. It's been over a month. School has kept me quite busy. I have been sleeping and breathing ultrasound. But that's okay with me. I am really loving all that I am learning.  Clinicals started three weeks ago. I am doing a rotation at a bigger hospital in the area. They are affiliated with a local college which makes them a teaching hospital and an ideal setting to learn in. I have seen so much already! It really is amazing to finally take everything I have only ever seen/read about in a textbook and apply it to real life. Being out in the real world and working with patients has definitely made me more passionate about this career choice. I am so glad I choose vascular sonography, especially over cardiac or general/ob. I think this will be a challenging career for me. It will never be boring. The cool thing is that you never quite know what you will see what you put the transducer down on a patient's skin. We may all have the same vessels, but the way they lie in the body is always slightly different. I am like a detective searching for missing pieces of a puzzle. I can see with sound! What's your superpower? ;)
Here is an ultrasound image, pulled from Google, of a carotid artery bifurcation. Cool!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Happy Spring!

This early spring weather couldn't have come at a better time, being that my Spring Break from school is this week!  We are expecting highs of 60's and even 70's this week. Hello Keen sandals! It's time to break out the  bikes and the gardening tools.  Last weekend we did some yard work to get ready for the garden. This will be our first attempt at a real garden in our backyard. Too bad all the rain we have gotten this season has left big puddles in our yard. I hope the sun is able to dry it out in time! Here's what we are planting this season:
tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, carrots, watermelon, pumpkin, squash and some kale or other kind of lettuce.
Are you planting a garden this year? Any tips/advice are welcome!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: A Peek Inside My House


Back in January, on a bright sunny day, I took some photos of my house. Things were finally coming together and the place was starting to feel like our home. I am finally getting around to posting them now! Take a look inside:
The living room w the new rug.

Dining room.
The french doors through the mirror. 
Sun porch. 
Life.
Kitchen windowsill. 
The other half of the living room. 
A kitchen is not complete without a bag of Stumptown!

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Vein Of It All

This week begins week two of my fifteen week semester. Venous anatomy, physiology, hemodynamics and pathology will be the focus of the first half of this semester. Then it will be onto abdmoninal vasculature. Last semester was spent on the arteries and all their parameters. I learn the material in lecture and then apply the knowledge and learn the scanning skills in lab.

That's the idea anyhow. And the only way to become a better scanner is through practice, practice and more practice. I go into open lab on the weekends. I stay after class to practice. I practice in between classes. It's how I learn. Now I need to get into the habit of bringing all kinds of different "patients" into the lab. The more variety of body types I scan, the better. And if there is one thing I have learned, it's that everyone is different. Everyone has different anatomy, different vessel sizes and shapes. There is never a dull moment. This is both exciting, challenging and a bit overwhelming all at once. Especially when it comes to scanning veins, no two people are exactly the same. It's similar to figuring out a puzzle, or finding the missing link in an unsolved case. I feel like a vascular detective sometimes. Just where does that vein lead and what does it connect to? What approach have I not tried yet? It's up to me to figure it out. And I'm definitely up for the challenge!
Is that mickey mouse or just a few arteries?

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Meeting The Dresden Dolls

One of the highlights of 2007 was getting to meet The Dresden Dolls. They were one of my favorite bands at the time, and I will never forget this moment. I am glad I have a picture to remind me of it.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Meatless Mondays

I have decided to jump on the Meatless Monday bandwagon. It's a great way to incorporate more veggies into my diet. It goes right along with clean eating and avoiding processed foods. I am always striving to eat more of a healthier, plant-based diet. After seeing the documentary Forks Over Knives, I was definitely inspired to eat less meat. Although the meat I do eat is all natural and grass fed. It did make me stop and think about how much meat I consume. There are many health and environmental benefits to this movement and I am excited to be a part of it!
Move over, meat. 

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: The Sun Is Out

It's cold outside and there is snow on the ground. But the sun is out, shining in all her glory. This makes me happy. 


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Memorable Moments of 2011

Here's to the new year! Out with the old, and in with the new. I wanted to take a moment to reflect upon this past year. I thought it would be fun to do a post with pictures from the past year, highlighting some memorable events.


The Spring was started off right with a trip to NYC to visit my favorite cousin. We went to the NYC tattoo convention, hung out in the city, shopped at H&M, ate lobster mac n' cheese and had a blast of a week together.
This summer Nick and I celebrated our 10 years of being together and 7 years of marriage. A relationship is somewhat like a roller coaster. There's ups and downs. There's periods of waiting. There's twists, dips and spirals. But you always reach the summit at the end. And you come back for more. It's worth it.  Because why wouldn't you want to ride the roller coaster of life with your best friend?


Ahh, Portlandia. We had an amazing week vacation in the City of Roses. We drove out to the coast and Hood River. We visited old friends and caught up on life. Of course, we had to make two trips to Voodoo Doughnuts. Really had a hard time leaving this beautiful place. Also, if you have not seen the TV series, go watch it here. It's awesomely funny.

The fall brought lots of wonderful changes. I tried henna for the first time to dye my hair. I am never going back to those burning chemicals again.  I also made the switch to natural deodorant. In November, we moved into a house!! It was such a relief to move out of our crappy apartment. We did well in eliminating any artificial and processed foods from our diet. I did a 15 day juice fast and was amazed by the results.

In October, my sister came for a visit. We celebrated my grandparent's 40th anniversary and our favorite holiday, Halloween, together.  We had a glorious girls weekend/sister reunion. It was great to reconnect with family. And while my sister was in town....


we got matching sister tattoos!!!!! We had been talking about it for a while, and we finally did it. We wanted the tattoo to mean something to us and represent our sisterhood. We have an inside joke that goes, "I love you more than my luggage." And the spiral is an Irish symbol representing sister goddesses. We had also found out this year that we have some Irish blood on our mother's side and so it seemed appropriate.

And the winter brought my finishing up the first semester of ultrasound school. It was hard but worth every minute of the pressure. I am learning a lot and really liking it. We had a housewarming party. The house is finally starting to feel like our space, our home. And we rang in the new year with friends and champagne. Life is good.

Happy New Year!