Basic Tomato Sauce

So I decided to try my hand at a basic pasta sauce that I can freeze and use over time. I found this on foodnetwork.com It was really easy to make and tastes great! I am going to freeze single servings, frozen the sauce will last up to 6 months.

Basic Tomato Sauce
-Adapted from Everyday Italian - Giada De Laurentiis

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 4 to 6 basil leaves
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

Directions

In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. (My food processor is small so I used my blender) Process until smooth. (Blending will significantly lighten the color of the sauce) Continue with remaining tomato sauce. Cool sauce completely and seperate 1-2 cup servings into freezer bags. Freeze up to 6 months

New Stamps!!

Today I got my first roller stamp in the mail. I started stamping for my wedding invitations (they were embossed) Now that I am getting into making cards I wanted to get some more stamps. I found Stampin' Up! online and I saw these stamping wheels and I decided to get one to see how it worked.

It's really cool!

Nice Clean lines. And I did that in about 10 seconds :-)

Dane Cook

Today I won two tickets to see Dane Cook at the San Diego Sports arena this Friday!!! I entered this raffle at work thinking I would never win (since I never win anything!) and today I found out that I won! SO Excited!

Now I just need to pick who to take with me.....

Cricut Cards.

I had my preceptorship class today, went pretty well I think.

A little less than a month until I'm home in RI and eating lobster rolls on the Cape.....can't wait.....

My Cricut Expression came last week and I have been using it to make cards. I wanted to show you guys my first attempts. What do you think?

thank you card for Aunt Kathy

Note for mom

Note for M-I-L Lynn

This Past weekend

So I never really had time to tell you all what happened over the weekend. When I work night shifts it is hard for me to think at all after all of the sleep deprovation etc..

One of my cats went to the pet hospital on Friday night. I feel that the best way to update all of you would be to send you the e-mail that I sent Kyle explaining it to him

Dear Kyle,

I don't really know the best way to start this, so I am just going to go ahead and do it. This morning when I woke up I started to notice that Alex was "favoring" his genitals. He was always licking them, like every 5 seconds. I figured it was just a guy think and dismissed it. As the morning progressed he started to moan alot when he was walking around and seemed to only be comfortable when he was on his back. again I didn't think much of it and went to work. When I got home at midnight I changed into my PJs and started to make myself dinner (the shift was BUSY and I didn't get a chance to eat) when Alex again started crying. only this was about 10 times worse than earlier. when i looked at his crotch his penis looked all red and inflamed, and when i compared it to zach it looked really swollen (no wonder he was in pain right?) so I thought I would wake up early and take him to the vet before my shift. but whoops, it's the weekend, a HOLIDAY weekend. so now what do I do. Alex kept looking up at me with his big amber eyes and crying. So I looked at our vets magnet again and found the number for after hours emergencies and called them. I guess our vet is affiliated with this pet emergency center in la mesa which is about 10 minuites up the 8 from us, open 24/7. So I decided to take him tonight. I was worried and I didn't want him to be in pain.

So I walk into this office at 130am and Alex is immediately wisked away while I fill out paperwork. On the bottom of the first sheet is the disclaimer (all fees due at point of care, we do not offer billing services) oh great....they tell me to sit and wait, they usher me into a empty room, tell me the doctor will be in. and i sit and wait. and worry, what's wrong. what if it's something big? maybe they are just busy with someone else, maybe they forgot about me...this goes on for about 10 years (actual time probably 5 min) when the Vet FINALLY walks in "Alex's urethra is blocked, we need to un-block him tonight" I guess our 11month old baby has a kidney stone, renal calculi or other stone blocking his urinary tract and causing a build-up of urine. "It hasnt been long enough for there to be dangerous fluid and electrolyte imbalances, but that's where it's heading if we don't fix it now." he tells me. I sit in shock. a what? he continues into a battery of tests, labs, x-rays, cathater placements, overnight stays, monitoring, anti-biotics that Alex is going to need. he has to stay at the pet hospital for two days for observation, to make sure he can pee on his own, they will take samples to try and figure out why this happend. "this is a very young cat for this to happen" he tells me. All that flashes in my head is (then it will probably happen again....) he says if it happens again they will probably have to correct it surgically.

Oh and he has to be on prescription food for the rest of his life... all this time I am sitting there, with no cat, at 2am, totally speechless....we'll go get you a estimate they say they leave me in the little room. FOREVER. I am alone with my thoughts. how much? i'll pay whatever it takes. what if its thousands? His life is worth anything, what I am going to do???? I start to think of outragous figures so I don't get the wind knocked out of me when they come back with how much I have to pay for all of these tests and fees and overnight stays.

They tell me the estimate.....i need a paper bag to breath into please......they go over what the costs are, my print out is two pages long, tests, labs, pain medication, nursing care, kennel fees, antibiotics, now it's 3am and all I want is to see alex. So I pay them, what choice did I have? they take me back to the examination room. Everything is set for them to cath him (which they sedate hime HEAVILY for) I meet the techs. They show me Alex in his cage, they gave him morphine, he is as happy as a kid at christmas. licks my fingers when he sees me, rubs hard against the cage bars, and i fight tears. I give them my number, they tell me the Doc will call in the morning to let me know how he's doing. I tell them i'm working overnights this weekend. I want to be called at ANY time. I will call tomorrow to check on him, I dread going home and seeing Zachary. I tell the secretary he has a brother at home, that they've never been seperated. I fight tears again. I take the now EMPTY cat carrier from the secretary. people reassure me "I will be with him all night", "we will call if ANYTHING happens." "go home and get rest" So I get into my car, I am a zombie. I somehow make it home. I open the door. Zachary is sitting there, he looks at me, "where is my brother?" his face asks? and I cry......I sob.....he sits in my lap and head butts me while my tears fall in his fur I know that Alex is safe, I just want him home soon.....I worry I have been worrying ever since they put me in that little room, and I haven't stopped. this is a nightmare that my body refuses to wake up from, Zach is wandering through each room.....I know he is looking for Alex..... Buddy, he's not there....but he's comming home soon

-Sara

Everything that was oulined in the letter happened. I picked Alex up from the Pet Hospital on Monday morning. He is doing well. I have to give him antibiotics for 5 days. The renal diet I have him on he actually likes (thank GOD) and things are slowly getting back to normal.

His little Paw where they put in the I.V.

My Big Guy...feeling better!

Four Months

One Month Down.....6 to go......

Kyle has been gone for a month today, it seems hard to believe.

I honestally haven't talked about it much on the blog, I wanted to keep this seperate from the pangs of missing him, which I feel pretty much every minute of every day. I can't tell you guys where he is or what he is doing, but he is safe. The day to day life of a Naval Officer at sea is no easy one I have come to know, but everyday he is away is a day closer to his return

I miss him greatly, everytime I look at my left hand I find it hard to believe that that day in January even happened, our wedding day. Sometimes it seems like a wonderful dream, that it was too good to be true, that such a wonderful, giving, committed man is my husband.

My Officer and my Gentleman!

I miss him.....come home soon sweetheart....

This was taken the day Kyle left.

Chex Party Mix

Another addition to the box for kyle. Classic

Kicked Up Chex Party Mix

*(adapted from original recipe, taken from the back of the box :-)

3 cups Corn Chex
3 cups Rice Chex
3 cups Wheat Chex
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup bite-size pretzels
1 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder, Dash of hot pepper sauce

1 In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in seasonings. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated.
2. Microwave uncovered on High 5 to 6 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

For thr journey to kyle I shut it into a ziplock tupperware and sandwich baggies so he can take it a little at a time. I hope he likes it!

Banana Crunch Bread/Muffins!

I made this batter to make banana bread to send to kyle on the ship. I had a lot of extra so I made some muffins to take to work. They were very well recieved.

Great recipe for banana bread if you like cocconut and nuts.

I encourage you guys to give it a try!


Banana Crunch Muffins

(adapted from the Barefoot Contessa )

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 extra-large eggs
¾ cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup small-diced walnuts
1 cup granola
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Dried banana chips, granola or shredded coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift the flour, sugar, banking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don’t over mix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

If baked as a bread: batter is enough for two pans. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes.

~*~yum~*~

Good News

So I have high hopes of transferring to the Emergency Room over at Scripps Mercy in downtown San Diego sometime in the fall. My goal is to be done with my training by the time Kyle comes back in November, but I figured that it was a little too much to ask.

Today my manager mentioned in passing, "make sure to check your e-mail today." He had forwarded me a e-mail correspondence he had with the DIRECTOR of the Emergency Department over there, about me! He CC'd it to me with a small note.

--Go ahead and send her your resume then they can give you a tour of the ER.--

YAY!!! Maybe it's less like January and more like August!!!! SOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!


P.S. THIS IS HILARIOUS....

Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Finale

So I am WAY out of the loop and didn't watch the season finale of Grey's until about 30 seconds ago....if you haven't seen it you Must watch it immediately if not sooner...

Click on me NOW

Holy CRAP...that was almost as good as the pink mist episode back in season 2

thank you ABC for ending a shaky at best season on an amazing note..

NOW OCTOBER NEEDS TO GET HERE NOW!!! please?

What did you guys think? give me some comments.......007? seriously my heart stopped.

What a Lovely Blog!

I would like to Nominate some people because they have some lovely blogs!

1) Far From the Shore - My Life on the Plywood Stage

Updates

So it's been over a WEEK since I last posted. Sorry guys! and a lot has been happening, well not TOO much but there you go.

Last week at work my manager came up to me as told me that I am going to be in charge of precepting (nursing term for training) one of the new grad nurses he just hired. He is sending me to a preceptor class at the end of the month and I guess she will start at the end of June when I get back from Rhode Island. At first when he told me this I was really excited, I love to teach and work with younger nurses, I love answering questions and finding answers for people. I definitely see myself as a Clinical professor someday. After the news sank in a little bit I started to get really nervous about it, after all I'm just a baby RN myself, what if I don't do a good job? What if she thinks I'm a big idiot because I can't answer all of her questions?? I talked to some people about my frustrations and I am feeling a little better about it but I am still nervous. I hope I do a good job!!!!
Good news I herd during this conversation is that my managers are looking to transfer me to the ER. I am hoping to go in the fall, I'll keep you posted!!!!

Also yesterday I met some of the JPJ Officer's Wives for a play-date in the park. It was a good time to spend with some other women who are going through a similar situation that I am going through. It isn't exactly the same of course (most of the other women are older and already have children) but even just the small bit of time we spend chit-chatting really helped. I was the first to arrive at the park so I spent a few minutes sitting on a bench watching children play. It was really wonderful to watch them with there families, so happy. I can't wait to be a mom someday (oh wait, yes I can wait haha!)

Hope you guys didn't think I had totally fallen off of the radar. Here's to another long week of life on the Med-Surge floor!

Movie Review - Angels and Demons

Friday night I went with two friends to see the new movie Angels and Demons, the latest movie adaptation of the first Robert Landgon adventure novel written by Dan Brown (the second of course being The Davinci Code but some people don't know that Angels and Demons came first.)

The story opens on the death of the latest Vatican Pope and according to tradition, after the death of the pope all of the high Cardinals get together in Vatican City to perform a ritualistic vote called Conclave, where behind lock and key they vote on who should be the next "vicar of God on earth." Tom Hanks plays symbologist Robert Langdon whose expertise in ancient European history and symbology buys him a one way ticket to the Vatican when the 4 favorites for the Pope (called preferity) mysteriously go missing right before Conclave is set to begin. A video is sent to the Swiss guard with images of the 4 missing Cardinals with a message stating that starting at 8pm one man will die each hour until midnight. Langdon quickly discovers that the reason behind this kidnapping is to settle a blood feud that is centuries old between the Catholic Church and a secret underground society of Scientists and Mathematicians called the Illuminati. The resulting discovery sends Langdon on a dangerous quest that spans all throughout Vatican City as he races against the clock to save the future of the Catholic Church & all of Rome.

This was my favorite book out of the two and the movie certainly didn't disappoint. So grab your symbology text and your pass into the Vatican Archives and go see the movie!

Today is a Day for MOM!!

I am really sad today because I am not home for Mother's Day. I was a good girl and sent her a totally amazing gift but I would have much rather just been able to take her our for coffee and spend the day with her. Instead I had to sleep for most of the day because I worked last night. I called her and we talked but it just wasn't the same, I would have given anything to be in Rhode Island today. I will consider myself blessed when the day comes where my mother and I can be together for mothers day (and someday celebrate together when I'm a mommy too!)

My mom is one of the biggest reasons why I went into Nursing. She went to nursing school at night and got her ADN in 1992. Now that I am a nursing school graduate I have a deeper understanding/respect that she worked during the day, had class at night, and still had time for me and my brother while we were so young. I still don't understand how she did that and held on to her sanity. I had a hard enough time and I was ONLY doing school. She is my role model 100%. She is a wonderful nurse, and if I can grow up to be half of the woman she is, I would consider myself lucky

So cheers to my mom, the best mom on the whole freakin' planet!! (as far as i'm concerned!)

Star Treak: Review

~*~*~Don't Worry...No Spoilers!~*~*~

So last night a couple of work buddies and I went to a midnight showing of Star Trek. Now I am not going to tell you I am a trekie by any stretch of the imagination (that designation is best saved for my husband) but I know enough to know when they are doing a bad job of telling the story, and I am glad to say that I wasn't disapointed!

Chris Pine plays wrong side of the tracks, arrogant (but you gotta love him) James T. Kirk. Alongside him is Zachary Quinto (Syler from Heroes) as Spock. The movie is set during the maiden Voyage of the Enterprise.

Now the thing I really liked about what the director and writers did was that they wrote the script in such a way that they could let the plot go wherever they wanted without the die-hard fans getting upset.

So anyway go and see the movie, trust me you'll be glad you did....if for any reson just to see Chris Pine shirtless

**heart flutters**

Thoughts

I have thought a lot over the last couple of days about my career and where I want it to go over the next year. After being turned down for 3 NICU jobs and 5 Labor and Delivery/Post Partum jobs because I "lack experience in the field" I started to become very frustrated and was thinking that I would just have to wait until a job opened up , which could take AWHILE (like forever awhile)

I talked to my manager at work yesterday about it which is totally cool. (The unit I work on is full of new grads and we have a pretty large turn-around rate. we are constantly bringing in externs and hiring them when they graduate and become RN's and they come and take the place of the older RN's who go to specialty areas in the hospital) Now even I am finding this really hard to believe but since we are anticipating our second round of new grads coming in a couple of months since I started I am working my way into that older group of nurses.

So anyway I talked to my manager (who used to be a NICU manager...I know, complicated) and she gave me some really good point to stew on

**NICU jobs are HARD to get...no matter what the economy is like
**Once people get into an area so specialized they are likely to stay.
**You are a NAVY WIFE (I bolded that not because that's the way she said it, but because that's what I herd in my head) and I'm going to be moving around a lot, so it would be much better for me in the long term to enter into a specialty that is in higher demand.
**All that said I can surely get a NICU job if I want one....but it will definately take TIME.

So after that conversation I went home and lied in bed thinking about it. And I thought about WHY I wanted the NICU in the first place....what was the draw???

I was flash-backed to the night at South County Hospital when I saw the NICU transport team manage newborn twins that I observed through their delivery and until the NICU nurses got there. I was awed by their job....so what about it did I like?

The Speed
The Adrenaline
The Fast Pace

.....would now be a good time to mention that all 4 years of college I wanted to be an ER nurse?

the more I thought...the more I started to like the idea...why did I ever put that on the back burner? isn't that what I WANTED all along??

it looks good for me transferring to the ER in the late summer.

HAPPY NURSES WEEK!

Even though I have only been a Nurse for 8 months I found this hilarious! Especially since around the unit I have become "hey Sara can you start this IV for me?"

haha, Happy Nurses Week Everyone!

Proud to be a 100% fully qualified
Caring
Rehabilitating
Encouraging
Patient monitoring
COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED
Nurse!

I need your help

I still haven't picked a picture for my Signature Matte Frame, and I figured there is no time like the present.

But I need your help in choosing a picture! I have narrowed it down to 6! I wouldn't mind getting two so I can switch them up once in a while but 6 is too many.

Just post in the comments which ones you like!

Pic #1. I love the sun through the trees and the way Kyle is smiling at me. Also it's a perfect picture of the dress :-D

Pic #2 Kissing in the Woods. I will probably Crop this one if I choose it

Pic #3. I love the snow the the background here.

Also gorgeous picture of the dress

Picture #4 I wanted to include Ochre Court I LOVED this stairwell!

Pic #5 Even though the veil covers alot of my face I love the emotion on both of our faces. This one picture sums up my entire Wedding Day. Happiness.

Last but not least. Pic# 6. Classic Pose, Classic Bride...Classic.

So please post your vote. At the end of the week i'll make my choice!

Once you go black....

Hey! Get your mind out of the gutter!

So this is my third and FINAL re-design, and as you can see we are back to black. It just feels so much like....well...me. Simple and Classic.

Hope you like it!

**I'm thinking of changing the main picture every month to chronicle the year as well as take you through my wedding day!

Too Purple??

So this is my second re-design attempt.

Don't know if I like it or not.....

The Power of a Praying Woman

I was raised in the Christian church since infancy. I read my bible (occasionally). I went to Sunday School. I pray. I believe.

But there is still something missing...

Now that I am beginning my life as an adult I am starting to develop my personal relationship with God. Sometimes my cynicism gets the better of me. I look around at people who have NO doubts NO reservations NO problem believing with their whole heart and soul and mind and I envy them.

Sometimes....I do have doubts.

But regardless, I do believe.

So recently I decided to start honing my personal relationship with my faith. A couple of weeks ago I was in church and our Choir director said she was going to start a prayer group for women. "If you are just starting to explore prayer, or want to know how to strengthen your prayer ministry, this is for you"

BINGO!

I just got the book today for the group, entitled "The Power of a Praying Woman" by Stormie Omartian. So over the next few weeks I will be posting about the chapters we discuss in class and hopefully start a dialogue with you girls that so wonderfully read my blog every so often....

wish me luck....

“Scepticism is the beginning of Faith.”

-Oscar Wilde