Run Ravenswood Run!

B and I ran the annual Ravenswood Run 5K on Sunday.

I admit to doing a pretty lame job with training for this 5K (3.1 miles) and was worried I'd be upset a few blocks in and resort to walking. But, B (who has become a great runner lately) told me I could do it and we sauntered over to the start on this cool, drizzly morning.

The race wasn't too crowded, but it's definitely a popular run. We started around the 10-minute-mile group near a few strollers and lots of friendly people. The start of the race is loud but super fun. The first few blocks have speed bumps so there are race officials who warn you about the bumps ahead. It's delightful. 

I started running at an easy pace, feeling really good. We ran by our friends' house and they stuck their head out the window to cheer us on. As we hit the first mile I felt really good. We kept running through our neighborhood, down streets we walk down all the time, being cheered on by neighbors, kids, families and some friendly dogs along the way. 

We hit the 2 mile mark near Lincoln Square and I still felt pretty great. I pushed myself harder for the last mile west on Lawrence to Damen and then a bit further west on Wilson. We ran by Amy's Candy Bar, one of our favorite places in the neighborhood, and got "Yay!"s from Amy and her dog. 

We finished the race strong and feeling great. We got water at the finish line, some samples (all for my lunches) and cinnamon rolls (all for B). And now I really want to sign up for another race, prepare better and run more. Yay!

Sunday 6

• March Madness is awesome. I love any excuse for Big Ten loyalty (except for Indian -- gross). Last night we were cheering for Michigan State. I love to cheer for Wisconsin as a rule. And, after meeting some awesome friends in nursing school, I can sort of cheer for Michigan. Come football season or Big Ten interplay I'm an Illini fan (Wisconsin is my #2 Big Ten team). But it's fun to have some midwest pride every spring.
• When I work 12-hour day shifts during the week B likes to leave with me. He often meets me after work in the lobby at my hospital. (I do the same for him when I get done with work before him.) It's super sweet and such a nice treat. Our workplaces are about a 20 minute walk apart. After we meet up take the train home together (sometimes stopping for beers, wine or dinner on the way). I don't know how long the waiting-in-the-lobby will last, but it's pretty lovely. 
• We have windows open right now! Out stuffiness! Out smell of soup! Out stinky-end-of-winter apartment smell! Out!
• We took a 7 mile walk Saturday. We wandered through our neighborhood then southeast to Southport Avenue. We walked down Southport to Belmont then up Clark Street back to our neck of the woods, to the grocery and then home. We stopped for a pitcher of beer and eggs (weirdly delicious) at the Salt 'n' Pepper diner in Wrigleyville. The walk was perfect. I wore a jean jacket and a t-shirt without being cold. It was terrific to be outside!
• We were all set to celebrate Easter with two of our nieces and more family. We made homemade granola for little parfaits. We chopped strawberries, washed blackberries, packed up yogurt & honey, and little cups to serve it all in. Then our car wouldn't start. Nothing. So, an important to-do on my list is now to get the car to the mechanic and get it fixed up. Argh! Missing Easter, nieces, sunny days in backyards with feasts of brunch food and fun with people we see don't see often enough -- it sucks. 
• During our run today, B and I talked about Easter egg hunting. As a kid my brother and I always hunted for eggs outside (maybe inside if it was cold). We hunted for plastic eggs with candy in them. B hunted for hardboiled dyed eggs! What!?! I think I knew this happened, but it seems SO weird to me. 

Happy Easter!

An announcement?

Nope. 


After losing our baby more than a year ago, there's been an empty spot in our lives. But life remains good. B and I both have fantastic jobs. I graduated nursing school, passed my nursing boards and organized 90 percent of our home.

I know that sometimes people hope for an announcement that we're expecting again.

I don't know when that announcement will happen. And I don't want to disappoint anyone about it, but I'm not sure that I want to make announcements early or with too much excitement because there is SO much unknown with pregnancy.

I feel the way people glance at me sometimes -- with that "Are you?!?" look. They watch to see if I'm having a beer. Or if I mention feeling sick or exhausted recently. A delightful blog I read (mostly about fixing up a home) talks about these "Are you pregnant?!?" excitement that people get -- a "State of the Uterus Address" that's a very kind-hearted "shut up" to all the lovingly uterus-centric people out there. 

I can't wait to have a baby. But I have all the patience in the world for the process. I feel very little urgency about getting pregnant or announcing a pregnancy. Pregnancy is complicated. 

Lots can go wrong. (Going to nursing school and working in pediatrics only emphasizes how many things can go wrong or weird or bad with kids.) Having a healthy, happy kid -- it's miraculous, beautiful stuff. Stuff that I hope for with my whole heart.

And despite the best wishes of our friends and family, having a baby is going to be a scary situation whenever it happens. Right now as we wait for this all to get moving along -- whether the wait is long or short, rough or smooth -- best wishes (not questions or eager concerns or advice) are all we need. 

Thank you.

This pic is from Niagara Falls -- what's over that edge? A crazy-huge waterfall, that's what. Scary. But beautiful too. 

Work it.

I started work yesterday. 

12 hours of being a nurse. Not a nursing student. Not an almost-done nursing student who knows the unit and can almost act like an RN when it's 3 a.m. and everyone else wants to doze at the nurses station. 

12 hours of being a nurse. It was busy and scary and strange and fantastic. I got lost in the "back porch"  -- the back end of the floors where the med rooms, supply rooms, lounges, meeting rooms, transport elevators, etc... are located. I said "Let me check on that" when I had no idea what to say. I charted. I gave meds. I even took the medications out of the crazy machine that holds all the meds and requires a fingerprint to get them out. 

I got a coffee on my way (Starbuck's Pikes Place with steamed milk). I packed a huge lunch: a peanut butter sandwich, clementines, raw carrots & green beans, some leftover quinoa mixed up with salad & sunflower seeds, and Special K. I wore a scrub top from school and new scrub pants (somehow they're too short but they have awesome pockets).

B walked to the train with me. He even came to meet me after work (my work is a 20 minute walk from his). We stopped for dinner on the way home -- wine and pizza. I came home, showered and promptly fell asleep on the couch. 

Just a day as a nurse. 

Blessed

I am exhausted. 


I've spent the last four days learning about the new hospital I'm working at -- benefits, delegation, mentoring, social work, family perspectives, infection control, pain management, dress code. And we got 8 inches of snow. And there's construction on the Brown Line. So, life has been pretty ridiculous these last few days.

But this is my dream job. And I couldn't be happier.

My job is awesome. The hospital I'm working at is among the most incredible places I've ever been in my life. Everything there -- from the dress code to the building design to the cafeteria to the phones and well beyond.

I'm definitely overwhelmed and excited. I'm part of a fantastic internship program that means I will be super-supported until I feel much less overwhelmed (and possibly less excited). 

Even though working here has been my dream for quite some time and I was very calculated about going to nursing school to become a pediatric nurse, I still can't believe this is happening. How'd I get so lucky? How'd all that hard work turn into this? Whoa. 

Gossip Girl tour 101

I'm a fan of Gossip Girl. Really, only recently. 

My BFF, Julie, recommended it as a good Netflix show to watch as I was deeply immersed in studying at home for several weeks in January. She was right. It's terrific melodrama, with fun outfits, plotting, scheming, redemption, scenes of New York City, and some dreamy leading men.

So, while in NYC it was only natural that Julie and I hit a few Gossip Girl hotspots. 

• Empire Hotel -- Owned and operated by hearthrob (and my personal favorite) Chuck Bass, Empire is actually just a completely regular, Manhattan hotel near Columbus Circle. They have a rooftop bar and a bar on the first floor (which had Gossip Girl cocktails, but said those were coming off the menu soon). We had drinks in both bars. The first floor bar was a little slutty, by my judgement: animal print pillows, velvet upholstery, moody lighting. The service was fine, but there were some families hanging out which wasn't very Gossip Girl. The rooftop bar had great views, decent service and a similarly pricy drink list. It's worth a stop if you like Gossip Girl, and if you don't swanky bars are still worth a stop for views, ambiance and beverages.
• Ice Skating -- We picked a spot in Central Park for ice skating that just happened to have been featured in Gossip Girl. Seriously, it was next to the NQ Line stop near Central Park. It was lovely and took us quite a while to even figure out that it was Gossip Girl place. Anyway, skating was fun, but expensive. 
• Plaza food court -- This is not ever featured on Gossip Girl, but I think it should be. It's the swankiest food court I've ever been to. Delicious. We went to the Todd English side -- sat at the bar. We had beers, a flatbread pizza and lobster hushpuppies (which are more amazing than they sound). Afterward we grabbed a slice of crepe cake (cake made with crepes layered between pastry cream... dreamy!) on the way out. Divine. 
• Met Steps -- This is a key Gossip Girl spot. And we were not far away. But it was a Monday when most museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, are closed. It's nice to walk along Central Park anyway and sitting on the sets of the Met (the ones that aren't under construction) was an easy Gossip Girl stop.

This might rank highly on the stupidest things I've ever written, but these are still reasonable stops if you've never heard fo Gossip Girl. NYC has it all -- for Gossip Girl fans and otherwise. 

On Broadway

The lights are really brights mostly because you're near Times Square which is crazy.

Julie and I saw two Broadway shows. 

Cat On a Hot Tin Roof
Julie and I got tickets for this play through TKTS. The drill for TKTS is that you arrive several hours before shows begin, wait in a long (but fast-moving) line in the middle of Times Square, and get tickets at whatever price TKTS tells you.

We got matinee tickets for a Saturday show. Tickets to our first choice, Newsies, were $141, so we declined. Tickets for Cat On a Hot Tin Roof were $77 each and we got those, paid with a credit card. Despite the long line, rain and being surrounded by the craziness of Times Square this was easy as pie.


The theater was zany, without a ton of space. But we had amazing seats. Orchestra. Dead center. The play was good. It was also really long. The set was beautiful, the costumes were gorgeous, Scarlett Johansson was fantastic. 

Newsies
As long-term fans of Newsies -- a Disney musical movie from 1992 with a cult following -- Julie and I really wanted to see this. The tickets are a hot commodity and priced as such.

On Sunday, after dim sum in Chinatown, Julie and I headed back to Times Square. We entered the lottery for Newsies tickets. This was better than TKTS for two reasons: it wasn't raining and cute young men in Newsie caps answered our questions. The lotto is free. We entered at 12:30, took a walk around the non-Times-Square area near the theater, and returned for the lotto. For the lotto, the cute young men in Newsies caps drew names and the crowd waiting cheered when their names were called. Of the 30 or so people waiting everyone got tickets (not all together), but Julie's heard that there are times when only 5 or so tickets are up for the lotto. We paid $30 each for tickets, in cash, and went on our merry way until curtain at 3 p.m.

We walked to Midtown, walked by the original Macy's & Madison Square Garden, returned to the theater where we saw a long line before the doors even opened, got a beer, then waited in line to get inside. The line into the theater was odd and around the block, but totally worked. We got inside and to our seats quickly. The bathroom line during intermission was similarly strange-but-fast. 

Newsies as a play was delightful. The songs we knew and love were terrific. The dancing was amazing. There was tap dancing, flipping, hand stands... OH MY! These broadway fellas know what they are doing. There were a few new songs, which were nothing exciting, but overall Newsies met serious approval from the both of us. 

Hooray!

Here are Julie and I on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.