Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Feast





We have a lot to be Thankful for and had a wonderful few days off. We were lucky to be able to spend a lot of Wed, all of Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sunday together. We ate well, enjoyed the weather, caught up on sleep, went to the gym and watched some movies. We were also able to catch up with friends and even went out to a wine bar in Boulder with our roommate Ryan.

This weekend I received an update about a family friend who was diagnosed with cancer over the summer. He is 22 and until then in great health. He was athletic, smart, and ate well. Apparently they've tried all kinds of treatments and clinical trials, but they don't believe he will live until Christmas. This really upset me as I recalled almost the same scenario with my friend Jeff from two years ago. He was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 23 and died a few months later, just before Christmas. It really made me think harder about what I'm thankful for. We all say we're thankful for our family and friends, for our health, for the ability to work and go to school, for the food we're able to afford and for all the other blessings we've had throughout the year. The news of his progressive illness made be doubly appreciate all that I have. I am very fortunate. I have happiness, a wonderful family, the most amazing finace, a dog that is a handful, but loving nonetheless, the opportunity to attend school full-time and give that all the attention I need...I have friends who care about me, a mother and father who do everything they can to help me and for today, I have my health.

Going to nursing school and learning about disease process and all the things that can go wrong can be overwhelming, especially when you have friends who are being diagnosed with cancers that were formerly thought to be cancers in men in their 60's and 70's...I guess for today, I am thankful for my health and for the health of my friends and family.



We started cooking this feast Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Eric made orange-glazed salmon in the back right pan, roasted sweet potatoes (not pictured), and I made vegetarian stuffing in the back middle, dinner rolls (which were really more like mini-loaves of bread!) from scratch, butternut squash soup in the middle, and pumpkin cheesecake pie. In the front right is Emeril's recipe for green bean casserole that Eric and I spent like two hours making! We had to actually fry the onion rings for the top! It was all amazing though!

Eric's New Truck

Eric's New Truck

He's so psyched :o)


Eric got a new truck. I make fun of him for trading in his vehicles all the time, but I must admit, I like this one. It's automatic, so I can drive it and it's not as big as the Xterra, which I felt drove like a tank!

He built a little bench in the extended cab part for Peanut to sit on and even covered it with carpet. Peanut wasn't sure what to think at first, but she's grown used to it now! We haven't gone camping in it yet, but I'm sure excited too. I think the back of the truck will be much more comfortable than the car or the Xterra. Sleeping in the Xterra was hard because we always managed to be lopsided and crushed between the wheels.

A request to share :o)

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

This silky fall/winter puree tastes rich, though there is no cream or butter in it.

Recipes for Health

This series offers recipes with an eye towards empowering you to cook healthy meals every day. Produce, seasonal and locally grown when possible, and a well-stocked pantry are the linchpins of a good diet, and accordingly, each week’s recipes will revolve around a particular type of produce or a pantry item. This is food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and a pleasure to eat.

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 pound butternut squash, peeled and diced

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 medium-size Yukon gold or russet potato, peeled and diced

6 cups water, chicken stock, or vegetable stock

Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and stir together until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the squash, sweet potatoes, regular potato, and water or stock, and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, or until all of the ingredients are thoroughly tender.

2. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup (or you can put it through the fine blade of a food mill or use a regular blender, working in batches and placing a kitchen towel over the top to avoid splashing). Return to the pot and stir with a whisk to even out the texture. Heat through, adjust salt and add pepper to taste.

Yield: Serves 6

Advance preparation: You can make this a day ahead and refrigerate. Reheat gently. The soup freezes well. Once thawed, whisk well to smooth out the texture, and reheat.

Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories: 189; Calories from Fat: 29; Total Fat 3.2g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium,776mg; Total Carbohydrates,38.6g; Dietary Fiber, 5.7g; Sugars, 3.6g; Protein: 3.5g; Vitamin A 163%; Vitamin C 61%; Calcium 7%; Iron 8% (Approximate nutritional information provided by calorie-count.com)

Hats

These hats rule! I was about to get Eric one at Wal-Mart when my mom insisted she'd get us both one so we could match...she's calling it our Christmas present! These should keep us nice and toasty on the Peanut walks throughout winter :o)

Greenbriar Inn

Mom, Dad, Eric and I went out to Sunday brunch at the Greenbriar Inn which was expensive, but very good. We had waffles, french toast, omlettes, eggs benedict, salmon, chicken, lamb, salads, desserts, champagne...you name it! Mom and I drank our $6 worth of unlimited champagne, Dad got a headache from it and Eric ended up driving!









This is the upstairs of the Greenbriar Inn, which where we will have the reception. We'll have our own bar and dance floor, and we're able to go an hour and a half early to decorate!

Wedding Dresses

Wedding Dress Shopping

My mom and dad drove out for the weekend from Minnesota to get some of the wedding details in order. We managed to accomplish a lot this weekend! We went to the Greenbriar Inn, where we will hold our wedding ceremony and reception, then went to Tee and Cakes, where we were considering getting cake and/or cupcakes for the wedding....Next, we were off to David's Bridal to try on wedding dresses. This was fun, but it was very crowded at David's Bridal. We almost crapped our pants when they told us the cost of alterations. They cost as much as the dress! So, we're trying to figure out something cheaper...for now, we picked out a dress, decided on a veil and tried on shoes.



I feel like I must have tried on a hundred dresses, but I think I tried on about ten. I had been looking through the catalog for some time before we went, so I had an idea about which ones I liked. My mom wanted me to try on the one with the see through back. This was her favorite, but I liked some of the others better.

Having a picture of everything was essential. Here my mom captured the shoes I tried on. They were easy to walk in with a low heel, but I think I'm going to have to get a higher heel so we don't have to pay as much for alterations!

OB/GYN

We're entering week three of our Maternal Health and Childbearing class, which is a fancy name for Obstetrics/Gynecology. This course is five credits in eight weeks and includes ten hours of lecture, two hours of lab, and sixteen hours of clinical per week. This of course, is in addition to three other classes...no big thing for a nursing student, right?! Class has been extremely fast paced, lab has consisted of practicing baby baths and breast feeding a doll (okay, not quite, but we had to do the motions!), and clinical has had it's ups and downs.

I am at Boulder Community Hospital, which is without a doubt where I want to have a baby. They have brand new "suites" for labor and delivery, as well as suites for recovery that include a queen sized bed to include dad, spectacular views of the Flatirons (mountains for those of you unfamiliar) and jacuzzi tubs. They also highly encourage breast feeding and do everything in their power to make it work for mom and baby. They even supply donor breast milk to babies who need more calories than mom can provide. Lastly, they use cloth diapers, and let me tell you, cloth diapers have come a long way! These have velcro tabs and everything.

Above a really bad picture of me holding a very sleepy newborn! This was a highlight of my day today as I have still not seen a delivery, either C-section or vaginal. So far I've spent two days in Labor and Delivery and have seen very little action. I've not even seen regular contractions. Instead, my two patients have come in to be induced, which is a lengthy process. I've also spent a day in the NICU (Neonatal or Newborn, Intensive Care Unit). This is for babies with problems. Most of them were born premature. Luckily they were all stable when I was there and are just working on gaining weight and getting stronger. They are so tiny! The two I had were between three and four pounds! The other picture is three of the girls at Boulder. Alexandria, Erin and Jacinda. There are six of us total.





As of now, I'm not sure I have any interest in being an OB nurse. I could however, see myself working in the NICU someday. It's very interesting. Denver and Regis has a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program, so maybe someday I'd consider that? Who knows. Hopefully next time I write I'll have a story about a birth I saw!