Am I crazy?!?

I went to a meeting with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training on Tuesday night. I have been wanting to get back into running, but I just haven't had a whole lot of motivation. I figured that it may be easier to jump back in if I had a group to run with. One of my good friends ran with Team in Training and so I went just to get more information. Push come to shove, they were very motivational and when I left I was signed up to run in the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll marathon on May 31, 2009! Wow! Not only does all the money I raise go to a very good cause, running a marathon is on my list of things to do before I die. I have already set up my fundraising website and official training starts on February 7. I'm really excited (and of course a little nervous) about it all. Check out my website below to donate or to monitor my progress over the next several months as I train.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntx/rnr09/mflenniken

I'm also including the link to the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll marathon and half marathon. There is a video on the homepage that is very inspiring and it makes me so excited to cross that finish line!

http://www.rnrmarathon.com/home.html

My goal is to run 2 miles 4-5 days per week until training starts. The Dallas running coach told me at the meeting that the first run will be 2 miles. Throughout the training process, Team in Training offers different clinics to teach participants about different aspects of running, such as shoes and nutrition. I went to the grocery store today and bought all healthy food so I can begin to prepare my body for the challenge ahead!

If you cannot donate, please feel free to forward my page on to anyone you can think of. I feel very confident that I will meet my goal without any problems! And just for fun, here are a few pictures from the last few months...

Kyle & I in New Jersey

Cohen & I on Christmas morning! He loved my wooden spoons!

Cohen & I at Thanksgiving! I don't know why, but I absolutely love this picture!

Have a great night! Keep checking for progress notes over the next several months!

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas...

Here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I want to send a special holiday wish to all my fellow nurses. While many of us will be able to celebrate with family and friends over the weekend or have already spent fun time with family and friends earlier in the week, there is still something a little sad about being alone on the actual days of the holiday season. Especially working the night shift, there really is no time to be able to spend with anyone in between shifts (unless you risk getting no sleep and ending up being cranky for later festivities). I know we are all extremely grateful to have a job we enjoy, and probably even more grateful for the time and a half we get for working the holidays! But even among the joy felt at this time of year, there is always a twinge of sadness and loneliness that rears its ugly head at those of us alone on Christmas Day. So I would like to say thank you to my "family" of nurses who will be celebrating today with me, and a VERY VERY special Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Rockin' New Year to all my fellow nurses who understand this ambiguous feeling when working on Christmas Day!

And just for fun, here are a few pictures of my family!

Cohen all bundled up to play outside!

Melanie, Kyle, & I goofing around...
Dad, Kyle, Melanie, & I...

Kyle & Marissa

Christian, Melanie, Mom, Kyle, & I...

Kyle & I in New York last year...

Melanie & I at Thanksgiving this year.

The cutest little Santa you've ever seen!!

Checking out those presents...

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

8 things!

My sister, Melanie, tagged me to do this! I'm in New Jersey hanging out with my awesome brother, Kyle, and his wife, Marissa. We are waiting on one of his friends (who is deploying on Wednesday) to call us and we are going to dinner. Here are my answers!

8 Things I Did Today…
1. slept in!
2. went for a walk in the park with Marissa and their dog Amos
3. wore my new red peacoat for the first time
4. went shopping at these really cute shops close to Kyle & Marissa's apartment
5. took a shower
6. listening to Kyle play the guitar
7. watched The King of Queens and Everybody Loves Raymond
8. had left over spaghetti made with Marissa's old family sauce recipe (very tasty!)

8 Of My Favorite Restaurants…
1. Gloria's
2. Chili's
3. Oasis (hole in the wall breakfast place in Dallas)
4. Chick-fil-a
5. Freebird's
6. Sonic
7. The Melting Pot
8. Main Street Bread Baking Co. (excellent choice, Mel!)

8 Shows I Watch…

I don't have cable. I didn't even have a TV for the first 4 months I was in my apartment. I used to watch Grey's Anatomy, but I've heard it's not good anymore. So really, the only purpose for my TV is so I can watch movies.

8 Things I Wish For…
1. the war to end so my brother, Kyle, doesn’t have to go to Iraq
2. to not live in the ghetto anymore
3. for Kyle and Marissa to move back to Texas
4. to have a day job
5. to be able to travel the world, starting with Hawaii
6. motivation to start running again
7. warm weather
8. my student loans to be paid off by someone other than me

8 Things I Look Forward To…

1. Seeing White Christmas on Broadway tomorrow!
2. completing a sprint triathlon someday
3. Super Bowl weekend
4. Christmas!!
5. moving out of the ghetto
6. summer weather
7. vacation of any kind
8. finding a hobby, now that school is over!

Now I have to tag 8 people: Kyle, Christian, Leslye, Angela, Meghan, AmyRose, Chandra, Laura

In the kitchen....

It turns out I'm not entirely useless in the kitchen after all!! I decided to get in there and practice making some cookies this weekend. I even bought a handheld mixer and a food processor for the festivities, thinking that maybe I would use them again someday (not holding my breath though!).

I made two different kinds. The first batch on Saturday was White Chocolate Macadamia Nut. I found the recipe online on some random person's blog (thanks to whoever it was for the recipe!). These are not my favorite, just because I think they are really rich, but they were tasty! Here is the recipe I used (is this plagarism? I hope not! I did reference the blog, I just don't know the name of it...):

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda10 ounces white chocolate (chips or bars cut in chunks)
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped into chunks

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 F. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, beat well. Stir together flour, and the baking soda; gradually add to butter mixture,beating until well blended. Stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. (Edges are golden brown and center is set.) Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool completely.



Yesterday I made "Neiman Marcus" cookies. Now these are tasty! We have enjoyed these cookies for years in my family. I actually didn't grate the entire chocolate bar like you are supposed to, mainly because I got tired of grating it, but they still turned out very well! Here is that recipe:

“Neiman Marcus” Cookies
2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp soda
2 cups sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal
24 oz. chocolate chips
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 8oz. dark chocolate bar, grated
4 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Measure oatmeal and then blend in a blender or food processor to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and soda. Add chocolate chips, shaved chocolate nuts and stir until combined. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes between 50-80 cookies.

I definitely staged the pictures, but I kind of think they could be magazine worthy! And for the record, I did not burn a single cookie! Not ONE! I was so proud of myself. Most likely I didn't burn them because I set the oven for 325-350 for both because I really think my oven cooks fast! My kitchen was a mess and I had tons of dishes to do, but overall I enjoyed the baking. Maybe I'll keep it up! Hope you all have a very wonderful day!

Just because I can...

I saw this on one of my friend's blogs. Now that school is over, I don't feel guilty about doing things that are a complete waste of time. So, just because I can, here are a few other random things about me!

10 years ago...
1. I was a sophomore at Big Spring High School.
2. Basketball was my life.
3. I was even more naive than I am now, if you can believe that!
4. We had one of those cell phones that had a box and a cord.
5. I never would have guessed that I would get to do all that I have done!

5 things on today's list
1. Wrap some Christmas presents.
2. Work on my Christmas cards.
3. Relax.
4. Make a lunch for work.
5. Go to Starbucks before work.

If I were a Millionaire
1. Pay completely out of debt.
2. Travel the world!
3. Work only one day a week.
4. Volunteer time at nursing homes or children's homes.
5. Give my nephew anything he wanted (sorry Mel!).

5 Places I have lived (actually only lived in 2 places)
1. Big Spring
2. Lubbock
3. Dallas
4. New York
5. Houston

5 Jobs I have had
1. United Supermarket
2. Covenant (Rehab, SICU)
3. UMC NICU
4. NY Presbyterian Weill Cornell NICU
5. Baylor NICU

I tag Melanie to do this next! Love you!

I'm thankful for...

This is kind of cliche, but I have really been thinking a lot over the last few weeks about all the wonderful people and things in my life. Here is an "I'm thankful for..." list, just for fun!

- time spent with family and close friends
- a job I absolutely love
- my experience in NYC this time last year
- the opportunities I have had to travel
- school is over!!!!!!!!!!!
- my health and the health of my family
- T ;)
- lazy days
- freedom
- the cinnamon dolce latte at Starbuck's
- clean sheets
- laughing
- books
- CHRISTMAS!!!

And the list goes on and on! I hope you all have a wonderful, Happy Thanksgiving!

Wish I could have taken a picture...

So I went to the grocery store today to pick up a few things. I was talking to Melanie on the phone in my car before I went in. Right after we hung up, I heard this extremely LOUD rap music, loud enough to shake my car. So I turn around expecting to find some ghetto-fabulous Caddy with spinning wheels and hydraulics....only I find this brand new, shiny, red VW bug convertible with an old, bald, white guy at the wheel!!! Hahahaha, it was hilarious! He was completely straight faced, music blaring! I was trying so hard not to laugh because he was 3 feet from me, but I know that I didn't have straight face! Hope you all got a great laugh out of that, I know I did! Have a great week!