Lookin all fancy

In case you couldn't tell, I switched it up a little bit! I guess it had been over 4 years. And I have always looked good in maroon. Then again, I don't think I wear any maroon. Ever. I used to have a lot of it, but I don't anymore.

Tonight I am going to talk about doing naughty things. No, mom, dad, siblings, or whomever else reads this, not dirty things. Just things that feel...um...wrong. NO! Still not sexual. 

#1 wrong thing: wearing socks outside. My dad drilled this into us when we were young. I don't know if he had a bad experience as a child, but the second we stepped out onto the back porch with socks on, he knew it. And the pointy finger of shame came out. "Get back in there!" You could have been trying to save Missy (our childhood dog) from a pack of rabid squirrels, but the dirtiness on the bottom of your socks mattered ten times more. To this day, I feel awful - and dirty - wearing my socks outside. Even if I am just making the 15ft walk through our garage to the garbage can, I try to find something to cover my feet (no, taking off my socks would be too easy...and then my feet would be cold). Sometimes I find this to be silly. Then other times, however, I try to think about just how dirty our socks could have gotten had my dad not been so strict on the socks issue. The more I contemplate it, the more I think this is a hill to die on. Decided: my kids will feel shame when wearing socks (w/o shoes) outside.

#2 wrong thing: touching mirrors or windows with my fingers. This may be two totally different things, but I will lump them as one. First: windows. As a child, sometimes it was fun to fog up the window and draw your name. Forwards. Backwards. Didn't matter. It was fun. Something about seeing your name as a child was thrilling. Somehow, however, my parents always knew when you were about to do it. They could just sense your eagerness to prove your existence to the outside world. To this day, when Matt wipes off the windows in the car as they fog up, it takes everything within me not to snap at him. And if I haven't slept well, I snap at him anyway. And the second: touching mirrors. Something about this one bothers me more. I think it is the ability to see the fingerprints so easily. The problem is, even when I go to clean the mirror, I cringe if I have to touch it. I have this inner sense that what I am doing is wrong. Toothpaste that needs to be scrapped with a finger nail? Nope. I just scrub harder. Usually I fail and have to resort to using my nail, but I avoid it at all cost. It just feels so wrong. You judge me? You go try it. Go put your finger on a mirror and tell me that it doesn't bother you at all. No? It doesn't? Huh. 

One Animal

"If you could be one animal, what would it be? (human doesn't count)"


I have always thought that this question can tell you a lot about a person. This and "3 foods for the rest of your life," but that is for a whole different blog post.l It can tell you not only what they enjoy most about life but also what more they want from life. My answer, for the time being at least, is: bald eagle. Hear me out before you start to argue with me.


-You are totally awe inspiring --> people paint pictures of you, take your photo all the time, stop dangerously in the middle of the highway just to get a better look
-You are a great mascot for the USA, and Eastern Washington University
-You can fly --> 'nough said. No erally. This may be what draws me to it most. If you ignore your instinct to return to your nest and have no little eagles to take care of, you can see so many places in a short span of time. Which brings me to..
-You have killer eyesight. Or so everyone says. Not sure how we can actually test this.
-You don't have to put on a show for people to notice you, but if you do, people will think it is awesome no matter what
-You have a muppet that is supposed to represent you that is blue
-You are on the VIP list...of endangered species
-You are way protected --> people can't even have an eagle feather without having a license for it. I am also pretty sure if someone thinks a bad thought about you, they get thrown in jail


I rest my case.


Matt and I ventured to the mall over the weekend trying not to get killed. We parked across the street and walked over - not because it was that busy but because NE drivers are awful and even worse in crowded parking lots. We didn't buy anything but just walked around and people watched. After that, we were, of course, hungry! Matt sounded like he wanted a sandwich, so we headed to a place nearby that neither of us had tried. In the same strip mall, however, there is a Mexican restaurant that neither of us had tried either. For those of you who have read my rants previously, I had stated that I may have given up on Mexican food. My faith has been restored!


Cilantro's: I had read numerous reviews on this place. Well, no really reviews as much as little snipits in the newspaper or weekend readers. It had been on my list for a while as well. Man am I glad we went. Being that it was lunch on a Saturday, it wasn't super busy, and we were seated right away. Free chips came out next! While they are my arch nemesis, I love free chips. Maybe it is the fault of that one Mexican restaurant decades ago that started giving free chips that cause me to expect them always, but that doesn't matter now. I hate when you have to pay $4 for a small bowl of chips and salsa. The salsa here, made in house, was some of the best salsa I have had in a long time. It was "restaurant style" in that it was close to pureed but not all the way there. This stuff had just a touch of heat and plenty of onion and...cilantro! We love cilantro! As I stated a month or so ago, I normally get the wrong things when I go for Mexican. This time, I fought my inner beast that yelled "combination plate" and "things wrapped in tortillas" and went toward the "entrees" section. I narrowed it down to 2 things; pork tamales and pork verde (it helped that both had pictures. I am a visual person). I decided on the latter and don't ergret it one bit. Unlike most other places, our food didn't come out "surprisingly fast," which, in my opinion, is a good thing. No, we weren't waiting longer than any other place, but sometimes it seems that Mexican food practically runs to your table seconds after ordering. This slight 'delay' in our food screams, "we actually put some effort...and love...into making this!!" Matt didn't get nachos! (Mostly because none of the appetizers were true nachos in his definition). He got the "Texas Chimi," which was more on the Tex-Mex side of things. The filling was chicken mixed with what tasted like a little bit of sour cream. It was moist and delicious. My pork verde was was great! Copious amounts of tender pork slathered in fresh green salsa. Man do I love green salsa. It was flavorful and not too spicy. It came with rice (nothing to write home about), black beans ( I love black beans, these were great), and a little sweet blob (?) of a cornmeal yummy. That is the only way I can describe it. Matt didn't enjoy the blob as much as I did, so I ate his too. In summary:


I will try to rate things consistently on a 0-6 scale: 
0 - never again 
1 - if someone else (Matt doesn't count) is paying
2 - if it is a big group and they decide on it
3 - only on Matt's request
4 - Oh yeah, I like this place, I will suggest this next month or so
5 - put it in the rotation!
6 - GET ME THERE NOW


Service: amazing, fast, courteous, willing to answer our questions
Cleanliness: yep, clean
Ambiance: beyond your typical decor for Mexican
Menu: great choices, love the menu style as well (tons of pictures)
OVERALL: 5. Totally a 5. Next time we want Mexican and don't want to drive to South Omaha, this is where we are going.

Surprise!

I tried to be good about reviewing where we eat, but sometimes, as you can tell, I am not very successful. I think it is mostly because I forget exactly where we eat. Unless I look at our receipts. Plus, I don't really like reviewing places we go to all the time. Like Cici's Pizza. Yes it is messy. No the pizza isn't that great. But it is cheap. And the people watching is amazing.

Last night, I pulled of the fiet of all fiets. I managed to throw Matt a surprise party! By party, I really mean a dinner. I had been planning this for over 6 weeks now, yet I never managed to let it slip. And neither did any of his work friends! This is amazing simply because they enjoy adult beverages together frequently and can be a little loose lipped at times. Anyway, to the details. I had told the guests (about 20 in total) to be at Lazlo's Brewery at 630pm. Not 635. Not 640. I wanted them seated by 630 as we were going to get there at about 6:50. Last week I told Matt "Date night, my choice!" for Tuesday. Surprisingly, he never questioned it. He got home from work at 545 and was antsy to go to dinner. At 610 (takes maybe 20 minutes to get there) he insisted on leaving. Trying to delay us, I said we have a 7pm reservation. My strategy failed as he said "Oh it is a Tuesday night, they won't be busy." Dang it! I tried to delay as long as I could. Regardless, we pull into the parking lot at 637. Ah. And of course, as per usual, we parked far away from the front door within open window view of the private dinning room. Dang you Matt!!! It was raining, so we weren't looking around at scenery or anything. We get in there and ask for our table. I had arranged that the hostess wouldn't say "Oh, the party!" And she didn't ruin it! Yay! As we walked to the room, I could see everyone back in the room, so I made Matt go first. I didn't want them to yell "Surprise!" with me in the way. Matt found me wanting to walk in back odd, but that too worked! All the little pieces came together, and he was totally surprised. It turned out just great. Now that I have surprised him once, I never have to do it again. Yay! Let's review the place now:

Lazlo's Brewery: I had only been here once before, and it was for happy hour. I didn't have any food at that time and just had one beer. It wasn't that it rubbed me wrong then (over 3 years ago), but it didn't rub me "right" either. That isn't sexual. This time, however, my expierence was amazing and not just because of the party. They have a vast choice of brews and a good sized menu. Truthfully, they weren't that expensive either. All their sandwiches and burgers were between $7 and $13. They had a few higher priced steaks and "entrees" (always weird to me when some things are labeled as entrees and others aren't). We got sliders to start (yes, we are fat kids). It was a "variety" pack with a buffalo style, california style (basically, avacado), and classic. The buns weren't too overpowering but were just slightly too big compared to the patty. The patty was moist (I hate using that word), and all the ingredients were fresh and flavorful. For dinner Matt ordered the Reuben. We are thoroughly convinced that Reubens 'out' are way better than home made. It is just easier for them to make. Since he was the birthday boy too, they added extra meat on there. I got the french dip with fries as my side. I love a good french dip, but they don't usually call my name. One of my friends convinced me to get it, and man am I glad I did. This roast beef was sliced so incredibly thin and was so incredibly flavorful. The au ju was, well, au ju. The sandwich, however, will stand out in my mind as the french dip that I now compare to. The fries were great as well - not too salty, and they put pepper on them too! Slightly different but in a good way. So to summarize:

I will try to rate things consistently on a 0-6 scale. 0: never again. 1: if someone else (Matt doesn't count) is paying. 2: If it is a big group and they decide on it. 3: Only on Matt's request. 4: Oh yeah, I like this place, I will suggest this next month or so. 5: Put it in the rotation! 6: GET ME THERE NOW!!!!

Service: amazing especially given the large group
Cleanliness: above par
Ambiance: par for this type of restaurant 
Menu: great selection but nothing too exotic

OVERALL:  5. I told Matt we are going there more often. I swear I won't just get the french dip every time :D 

Progress in the kitchen

This is gong to brief. My apologies ahead of time. I haven't been busy per se. Just doing Christmas shopping/baking sort of seems to suck up the day before you know it.

Night float is going well. I only have 3 more nights of admitting! Then just cross cover! Woohoo!!

On to the post title. I was talking about this with Matt: the progress I have made in the kitchen from <3 years ago amazes me. I am by no means an amazing chef. I can barely stick to a recipe. I have, however, progressed very far in the types of things I am making. When Matt first moved to Omaha in 2008, we would eat "chicken & rice" at least 3 times a week. And pizza the other nights. Not fancy versions of either of those either. Some store bought marinade on some chicken on some white rice. Woohoo? Maybe spaghetti from time to time. Then some biscuits. I would get fancy and do gumbo from time to time (it makes so much!!!) 

About 1.5 years ago, I started really getting into cooking; you couldn't keep me away from the cook book section of Barnes & Noble. About a year ago my amazing sister Amanda and I started sharing recipes. Since then, my variety of cooking has expanded exponentially. I made tikka masala last week. I own a candy thermometer and english muffin rings. I hide baking materials from my husband :D While cooking may be on the verge of taking over my life, I can't imagine going back now. Onwards and upwards!

Becky: 1...Night Float: 1

I can safely say that I have survived 1.3 nights of night float (should have been 2). Let's start with the Becky victory. I show up Friday night, bright eyed and bushy tailed. And early of course so that I can use my free $6 before all the places in the VA close. I get check out (the list of patients I am supposed to be taking care of) from one team and then hear from my supervisor that we have two transfers from outside facilities already on the floor and 2 new guys in the ER. Whelp. Here we go. In the span of about an hour we get 6 admission! And finally the other 2 medicine teams check out to me. We each did three of the admissions. I seriously thought I was going to cap (interns are only allowed to see 5 new patients in a 24 hour period). My 3 were pretty easy. Her 3 were much tougher. I am glad she took those ones :D By the time all is said and done with the admissions, it is 1am (with a Jimmy John's break in the middle.) Sehr (supervisor, pronounced suh-hair) went and did a few more things, and I hit the hay. I got a few pages in the middle of the night and then an admission at about 5am. That took up until about 715am or so, which means....time to check out to the day teams! I got home at about 830am, took a nice little nap, then lived it up the rest of the day. Until last night...


I head to work driving carefully as we got snow and ice over the weekend :( I had a headache all day, but I thought it was because I was dehydrated. I try to drink some water. At about 6pm we get an admission, which takes us until about 740pm or so. I go up and try to see if sleeping will help the headache. I start to become photosensitive (light was hurting my eyes), so I turn all the lights out. I get a few pages that require me to get on the computer. Every time I do, the headache gets a little worse and I start to get a little nauseous. Now, mind you, I have never been a headache person. No migraines ever. Not even in my family. I get a text at about 1030pm from Sehr saying we have a new one in the ER. I get up and pull myself together. Nausea is getting worse. I step out of my bedroom into the hall way, and BAM. Stage 5 watery mouth. We have all been there. That point where you know you need to be hugging that toilet. That point (don't read if already queesy) where saliva is simply free flowing out of your mouth. I decide the toilet is too far, so I hug the garbage can just inside my room. Somehow, I talk myself back from the edge. Back down to stage 2 or so I would say. I make my way down to the ER. Look up a little on this guy. Get ready to go talk to him. Thank goodness Sehr showed up. She goes in and starts talking to the guy, getting all the history of what is going on ("History of Present Illness" or "HPI"), etc. I have to excuse myself 3 times in the span of 10 minutes as I am feeling weak. On the third time...hugging that trash can...and losing my dinner :( I return from the bathroom (left the trash can in there for the sake of the ER staff), and Sehr says, "You look like shit. Did you just throw up?" I respond appropriately, and she sends me home. That wasn't a fun drive. Needless to say, after 9 hours of sleep I felt better.


I didn't have much of an appetite, but in general I am back to full health. Very weird. Maybe TMI for many of you, but I didn't force you to read it :D

Well Hello There Scrubs

I always joke with people that the main reason I am going into anesthesia is because I want to wear scrubs the rest of my life. While no, that is not the reason I am going into it, it sure is a bonus. Next month, I will get a little dose of it. Today is my last day on VA floors as in December I move to VA Night Float! I am a little excited and a little nervous. I will work from 5pm to 8am every other night. And I get to wear scrubs. And I don’t have to go to clinic. The first part of the month I will be admitting patients to the various Creighton teams (there are 3 of them) as well as taking “cross cover” calls. This means that any time a nurse has a question on a patient that is on a Creighton team, I will be the one answering that call. The second half of the month I won’t be admitting and will just be taking the nurses calls. Ahhhhh….to be out during the day time sounds simply marvelous. Ask me in 2 weeks and my answer may be different. For now, however, I am excited. I will do night float again but at Creighton in March. That month will be much rougher. I am not looking forward to that one L

Review time!!!!

Casablanca: So this restaurant is relatively new I think. It is a “tradition” during VA months for either your supervisor or attending to take the team out for lunch near the end of the month. We went on Tuesday and chose this place as our attending had been before and loved it. It is located near the ‘hip’ and upcoming part of Omaha called Midtown crossing. It isn’t actually in the cool part. Just near it. And slightly in the ghetto still. The place, however, is run by 2 people. The chef/waiter/host/bus boy and hostess/waitress…who only speaks Spanish I think. Anyway, this place is a tiny hole in the wall that has been open less than a year. It is Moroccan. I don’t eat Moroccan often, but I am not opposed either. It wasn’t busy at all, which was great since I had to go to clinic at 1. Without asking, they brought us out some hummus (I think they usually charge for it), which was delicious. The English speaking chef was a little slow to take our orders, but…he is the only one working. He was awesome. While they had the menu, he would ask you “What type of meat do you like?” I wanted lamb. Then he said “I make you something; you want rice and vegetable?” Yes please! It was out pretty fast and was super flavorful! In looking at the plate I didn’t think it would be as there was no sauce or anything. The middle of the plate had a beautiful (and oh so yummy) pile of rice with meat and vegetables surrounding it. So good! And filling too. I have no clue what the total came to as I had to leave for clinic, but it wasn’t outrageously expensive given the proximity to coolness. Yes, on a busy night it may be ill advised to go, but otherwise, hit it up if you are in the area. In summary:


I will try to rate things consistently on a 0-6 scale (had been 0-5 but changed it a little...there goes consistency I guess). 0: never again. 1: if someone else (Matt doesn't count) is paying. 2: If it is a big group and they decide on it. 3: Only on Matt's request. 4: Oh yeah, I like this place, I will suggest this next month or so. 5: Put it in the rotation! 6: GET ME THERE NOW!!!!

Service: slightly below par, but forgivable
Cleanliness: par
Ambiance: a notch step above par, still working on decor I think
Menu: obviously eclectic but relatively small...he will make you a combo of anything though
OVERALL:  4. If we wanted to head downtown I would throw this one out there. I may not make a special trip however (I don't have a number for that....3.5 I guess?)

How do they come up with this stuff?

Do you ever watch TV ads and ask yourself that exact question? They chose that line? That actress? That really awkward conversation? I have two favorites right now, and both of them have to do with jingles. I think one of the most obvious mistakes you see (or hear) in TV ads are unnecessary jingles. Why do ad agencies think everything needs a little jingle with it. Yes, I am sure there have been studies showing that the human brain is more keen to remember something if done with music (I can remember all the words to a song I haven’t heard in 5 years but can barely remember the age of my patients). To me, however, that doesn’t warrant a bad song. Now, if you can come up with a good one, great! Go for it. Mediocre or bad ones, however, are more likely to turn me, the consumer away. Sometimes I would like to sit in on those brain storming sessions, focus groups, and test audiences just to see from where these thoughts stemmed and who actually backed them up and told them it was a good choice. My three cases:

Gheridelli chocolate with caramel: Yes, the combination of these two things is down right heavenly. Why ruin it with the song???? It makes no sense. Plus, her outfit is downright awful. I am not saying I have great style, but you paid someone to put her in this ugly get up! I highly doubt she just stumbled into the commercial looking that way. Nix the song, change the outfit, you are good to go.

Lego Duplo: Cool. Little kids playing with big legos that their little hands and developing coordination can handle. The song?!? Wait, what is going on here? Are these kids all siblings? Why are we singing? Is this her first time walking? I guess if you look at it, a song is better than someone trying to explain what is going on in the ad. I would change this one all together.

Cat food: Pretty sure this has Acid in it or some other hallucinogen. Basically I think you now just have pot heads buying this and trying it. This didn’t need the cartoons or the song. If I take a step back, however, I can almost see the reasoning behind it: you have to stand out from all the other boring cat food ads AND your fan base is probably crazy cat ladies who love this stuff. Enough said

There ya go! So next time you are writing a TV ad, run it by me first before you embarrass your company