Food Porn, and Boston

I'm sure I'm living vicariously through someone at Red Robin right now. Ever since I got my wisdom teeth out on Wednesday, I've wanted a burger. Or chicken. But definitely a burger. And of course, they told me to stay away from ground beef... So I'm assuming a burger is out of the question (especially the fabulously spicy Burnin' Love Burger at Red Robin, fried jalapenos and all!)

...

Still trying to figure out how to get proper nutrition for running until my mouth completely heals. It's hard enough (and sad enough) when I get GI issues from running anyway...

On that note, here's a picture for you. Because I can ;)

Red Robin's Burnin' Love Burger, at your service.

(Also, I'm totally baking some sweet potatoes/yams right now. Got some mashed ones I'm hoping come out like sweet potato pie (yum!!), and some sweet potato pieces that I'm hoping come out like fries/wedges/what-have-you, but, you know, sweet) ;)

That said, with everything that's been going on in Boston, what with the explosions at the 117th Boston Marathon on Monday (15 April 2013)... Facebook, Twitter, the news... Everything and everyone has been talking about it. And I don't don't blame them. It's a pretty major event, scary and life-changing for so many - in positive and negative ways.

Negative ways... I shouldn't even have to specify how. Three dead, a large number injured (100+), and even more affected in other ways.

Positive ways, well... It's amazing to see people joining together to provide one another with support. From the slowest runner to the fastest runner, those in between, those are aren't runners, etc., etc., etc. - I've seen nothing but support, and it really does make a person feel good about some of the goings-on in the world, realizing (or having it reaffirmed) that there are wonderful people out there.

Today (within the last few hours, in fact) they caught the (still living) suspect. Boston was on lockdown this morning while they searched.

The other suspect (his brother) is dead.

That said - and please don't try to burn me at the stake or through the computer for this - I truly hope they have the right people. Looking online, seeing that people have been sending the suspects death threats in some way, shape, or form (and the threats sent to the person they initially thought was a suspect, but actually wasn't)... It stings.

Maybe it's just me and I'm overly sensitive (or not sensitive enough), but I can't imagine wishing someone dead. Maybe hoping they stub their toe or something, I guess, but not actually wishing someone dead.

I know some people will say "You run, why don't you get it?" or "Well, they shouldn't have done this!" or "That's what they get!" but... It's not up to me to decide "what they get". Such a concept has always made me rather uncomfortable.

I don't believe it's up to me to decide if someone lives or dies.

Take that how you will. Agree, disagree, hate me, love me, whatever you will.

I stick by that.

On that note: I hope those in Boston, as well as friends, families, runners, those who were at the Boston Marathon, etc... I hope they can breathe better and rest easier tonight. And that the right people are held accountable.

♥

Words of Wisdom (Teeth)

I had my wisdom teeth taken out yesterday. Something I could've lived without, but nothing like the horror stories people kept feeding me with horrible nurses, oral surgeons not listening to people that novocaine won't work on them, that kind of mess.

Although I will say it was kinda weird and creepy because they had wrist clamps for heart rate/pulse monitors, and the cords attached to them (so yay, no sticky stuff!). I was hanging out around 68 or so, and then the oral surgeon walked in and it jumped to about 78.

Nervous much?

I found it rather... Humorous, for lack of a better word, that they told me to come in wearing short sleeves or something that could easily be rolled up past the elbow (for IV sedation)... Yeah, they stuck it in my hand.
The oral surgeon told me that in about two minutes the room would spin.
I only got as far as thinking "Man, my hand feels a little numb..." and then I woke up.

Yeah, I don't know what "room spinning" he was talking about.

I love my MIL. My husband has a bad habit of volunteering her for things and not telling her until a day or two before (or, you know, being "nice" and "volunteering" me for things... We gotta work on his communication! lol??), and she ended up taking me to the dentist AND staying in the waiting room for an hour and a half - all while being on a teleconference that she'd had scheduled.
Not to mention the fact that they actually showed me a video on how to care for my mouth AS I was waking up.

Totally slept through most of it.

And on top of everything else, she changed my bloody gauze, and even made me try to have some milkshake before she made me take my painkiller (nevermind that I didn't need or want the painkiller, she followed instructions and wouldn't let me take it on an empty stomach - and she wiped my coat when I spilled shake and dripped blood on myself).
With a mouth full of clean gauze, I told her I loved her. And that I'd never felt so attractive in my life (sarcasm, of course).

My last run was two nights ago, and ended in enough time that I had a small dish of frozen yogurt, some orange juice... I think I also had my water and vitamins, or something like that... All right before the cutoff of when they told me to not eat before the surgery.
And then waking up around 8, about an hour before the surgery... Needless to say, I was crabby because I was hungry - AND I wasn't allowed to have water or anything.

The more recent dilemma has been deciding what I can and can't do. I woke up at 7, despite having the day off... And I wanted to go for a run.
Of course, I've been pretty clear-headed since the surgery (although a bit groggy yesterday, but still pretty lucid), but I know good and well that DH and the ILs would've been all "NO! NO YOU MAY NOT!!!"
And soI didn't.
I paid credit card bills. I looked up shoes for graduation for about an hour. I spent just over an hour on the phone with my FIL (and yes, the "NO YOU MAY NOT!" was confirmed). And then I was so bored (and maybe a little tired?? But mostly bored) that I slept from just after 11 until about 2, pausing for random phone calls, of course.
I was so bored I was tempted to go into work. Of course, I'm going in at about 5 anyway for an evening training.

And here I am, awake. Very minimal pain, maybe a hint of discomfort here and there... And I've been living on Ensure shakes and pudding - the kind of pudding that has to be refrigerated! (How weird is that??). And a little bit of applesauce.
Which is tasty and all, but it blows because I would go for a burger or a spicy chicken sandwich or something if I could, but I should probably avoid that for the next couple days.

On the subject of nutrition, I've been trying to figure out exactly how to take care of myself post-run for the next week while my mouth heals. I already have a hard time with GI issues post-run, and now it seems like I'm going to be on applesauce, Ensure, pudding (cold pudding! ick), and water for ages.
I feel a bit like an old person with hardcore dietary restrictions or something.

I tried looking it up, and I found all sorts of posts from people who ran a great distance the next day, or couldn't run the next day, who felt fine or had a horrible experience, and I'm just thinking "Well, I could be out and moving around instead of laying here like a lump because I'm not in pain..."

Even better, the experience I got from my other job... They called me yesterday afternoon with an open shift on Saturday - I'd already told one person I wouldn't be able to do Saturday (the day of the NCE), but that I wouldn't be able to come in to fill out the paperwork because I work during the hours the office is open. She told me it was ok.
My phone was on silent yesterday and I dozed through the call. When I saw they'd called I was going to make DH call and let them know I was unavailable for a shift - of course he didn't do that. So I sent them an email.
I called them this morning to make sure they got the message, and was told that when "something like this happens" (meaning my wisdom teeth getting taken out) I need to call and let them know I can't work.
Uh... That's not why I can't work Saturday. I'd already spoken to someone about it - I'm not working Saturday because I paid $300 to take a licensure exam. I feel perfectly fine, and I'm not available for them during the week anyway! I don't know what wisdom teeth Wednesday have to do with work Saturday - AND I was lucid enough to send an email that was grammatically correct and had no spelling errors.

Head, meet wall.

I love them, but I'm waiting to get a call to work graduation day this time around, too. I took the day off when I graduated with my bachelor's, and ended up working an overnight :-/

Which reminds me, if you all didn't notice... I'm graduating! May 4 :)
I rewrote my career counseling essay for my written exam, and I will be graduating! As in, diploma and everything! Now to find the right shoes for graduation. MIL and I will be going after the NCE on Saturday to see what we can find.

That is all. For now ;)