Frustration

As the time gets closer for me to go back to work, I am realizing more and more that I need to focus my time in finding another job. It is not that I hate where I am working right now, or that I couldn't continue to work for them, but I feel that it is a dead end job. Ideally I would love to get a job at a hospital on a med surg floor. If I could work at a hospital- I would make more money, get paid more for working second and third shift (which are the hours I love to work), and possibly be provided with the opportunity to continue my education and get a BSN. I would also be given more nursing experience- which is what I want. I do not want to be an "okay" nurse, I want to be a GREAT nurse! With all of this being said, getting a job at a hospital around here is almost impossible. I don't know what I need to do. When I get on the hospitals websites, they say not to call and ask about your application, but everyone else says call, be aggressive, get your name out there. Which is right? I have filled out applications, spent hours on my cover letters and resumes, but nothing seems to work. What do I need to do, to get noticed, to stand "head and shoulders" above the rest of the crowd? I am open to suggestions. I find this all very frustrating!

In Case You Care

Matthan's six week old check up was today. Besides some cradle's cap and a rash everything is "A" okay. He weighs 14 lbs, 1 oz, and is 23 and 3/4 long. That puts him in the 95 percentile for height, and literally over the charts for weight. He also got his first shot, but handled it like a champ. His doctor was very impressed with him, and stated that he is "very advanced". This is my proud momma moment. ;)

6 weeks

Disclaimer: I am trying very hard not to be one of those moms overly obsessed about their child, but today, I am.

Yesterday Matthan hit the mile marker of turning 6 weeks. How time flies. He has already achieved the major milestones that he is suppose to by this time (like smiling and "talking), in fact he has been talking almost since he was born. He just likes to communicate- a lot. He makes noise while he eats, sleeps, and while he is awake. My mom told me that when he actually starts talking I will need some duck tape. But what else could you expect from a child of Matthew and Tabitha- two of the worlds biggest talkers.

So turning the big 6 weeks means something else too... mom goes back to work in two weeks, and Matthan needs to be ready. So today, after Matthew got home from school I pumped, and Matthew fed Matthan a bottle. Matthan, being the little man that he is, took the bottle no problem. Apparently to him food is food, and a nipple is a nipple. Watching him take the bottle from Matt hit me like a ton of bricks. Feeding Matthan was something that only I could do. Now, anyone could feed him. Deep down inside I cried.

Cool Days= Hot Soup

I think that autumn is my favorite time of the year. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the seasons, and enjoy certain aspects of everyone, but I love fall! Once the cooler days start coming, I fire up my stove and oven and cook and bake away. There is nothing better on a cool day then fresh baked bread and steaming soup. Yum.

On Friday, I made one of my favorite soups (but they are all favorites). Chicken, Black Bean, and Cilantro Soup. I found this recipe sometime last year when I was looking for a way to use up a large amount of cilantro, and it quickly made my mental list of top ten soups. As I mentioned earlier, my friend Ashley and her husband stayed with us for the weekend, and I feed them this soup when they arrived at 10:30pm. It was a huge hit, and Ashley had it several more times, and even stated "man, this soup just really hits the spot." So this is for you Ash. I must give credit to were credit is do go to http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2005/12/kalyns-very-favorite-herbcilantro.html for the recipe.

Friendship, Sauce and Pizza Dough

This past weekend I taught my bestfriend how to make pizza dough. I have the simplest, most easiest recipe ever, but for whatever reason, she was having a hard time with it. So we made a deal. When she came up this weekend with her husband, she had to bring her homemade tomato sauce, and I had to show here how to make my pizza dough. We would then make pizza with her sauce, and my dough- that she would make. Saturday afternoon (after a trip to our obnoxious mall), while I took care of Matthan, I told Ashley the ingredients, and what to do. Wouldn't you know it, Ashley made the best homemade pizza crust that I have ever tasted! It was so perfect I should have taken a picture of it and posted it here to my blog- but I missed the moment (sorry Ash)!

Anyway, for those of you who care, here is my pizza dough recipe that I got off of the internet a few years back ( I don't know where). But it is easy, and oh, so good!

Pizza Dough

1 package yeast (or 1 tablespoon)

1/4 cup warm water

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups flour (may need a little more)

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup water

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a small bowl.

In a large mixing bowl mix together three cups flour and 1 tsp salt.

Once yeast mixture is foamy, add honey and oil, and mix.

Add yeast mixture to flour, and stir with wooden spoon.

Add water slowly- (you may not need all of it), mix until forms ball.

Place dough on a floured surface and kneed for about 5 minutes, adding flour as needed, and until dough is soft, and elastic.

Pour a small amount of olive oil into a bowl, place dough in bowl, and coat. Cover and let sit for about 1 hour, or, until doubled in size.

Spread dough over pizza stone, or cookie sheet. Top with favorite toppings, and bake at 400 for about 30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and center of pizza is warm. Enjoy

Julie and Julia

So I have finally watched the movie Julia and Julia. I had read most of the book shortly after the movie had come out, and I had watched most of the movie with my friend Amanda one night while I was pregnant with Matthan- but I was so exhausted I feel asleep. So last night Matthew and I started Julia and Julia, and finished it tonight. What a great movie! I think that I might have enjoyed the movie so much because of how it portrayed Julia and Julia's love for cooking, and I could identify with that love. I also got a kick out of "Julie and Julia's husbands, and the relationships that the women had with them. Specially Eric and Julies- I felt like their marriage mimicked my mine with Matthew (to an extent). Oh, and I love movies based on true stories- and this was based on two! After watching the movie, I am thinking about investing in Julia Child's cookbook, and reading her book about her life in France, and of course finishing the book Julie and Julia. All in my spare time, all in my spare time.

Where are the Tidbits?

Yesterday when I got on facebook I had a message from my mom. It was short and to the point, only three sentences long. The last one simply stated- "Where are the tidbits." I think that was her "subtle" way of telling me that I needed to get back to "blogging". Problem is- I don't have any tidbits.

DC

When I became a registered nurse Matthew was so jealous. Not because he wanted to be a nurse, or even the good pay, or my education. No, he was jealous because I now have a tittle, letters to sign behind my name. Not that I go around signing my name Tabitha J. York RN, or that it is written on the Christmas cards that we send out. No, the only time that I sign RN, is when I am working as a registered nurse (or after I have worked mad hours, and just out of habit, accidently sign my name Tabitha J. York RN). Since I now have an almost five week old baby, who is uber sensitive to a dirty diaper, I have decided that I need a new tittle. For the letters RN, I am now going to sign DC. Tabitha J. York DC. Yep, DC. Diaper Changer. You know what, you can even forget the Tabitha. All signatures from now on will be Momma York DC.

The Company of Good Friends

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Matthew and I love to entertain. When we lived in PA we would host these "Halo Parties" (Halo is a video game), and would set up four TVs, four xboxes, and 16 people would be able play the game at a time. This would go on all day, and I would usually make lunch for everyone and then leave! (All of this was done in our little 1000 sq ft apartment).

We enjoy having people come for a weekend, for dinner, for desert, for lunch, breakfast, for anything. I do the cooking and Matthew the entertaining. I most love spur of the moment events- having guest over after little thought or planning. What I love the most, is being able to have good friends over, and not having to worry about the condition of the house, what is being served to eat, and being able to use paper plates. Today was one of those days. After church this morning, Matthew invited our good friends Paul and Amanda over for lunch. This was a spur of the moment "event". One on which we ate on paper plates, and had leftovers. Our lunch consisted of beef pot-pie, home made pizza, cream of mushroom soup, pulled pork sandwiches, and scalloped potatoes. None of these foods really "go together" but everyone enjoyed the meal and left with a full stomach. But most importantly, we delighted in the company of good friends.

Why I Do What I Do

Even though I have already stated how much I enjoy cooking and baking, there are sometimes that I start a project and then wonder- half way through- "Why do I do this to myself?" For example, sometime last year I decided that it would be neat to make my own pasta- I picked ravioli. I made spinach ravioli with a butter sage sauce, all from scratch. I remember of getting about halfway through this process and wanting to shoot myself in the head! I was starting to feel like that last night. We have friends visiting us from Rhode Island, and I thought that it would be nice to have sticky buns for breakfast in the morning. But of coarse, because of the way I am, I wanted to make these sticky buns, not buy them. So at 9 o'clock- at night, I started the labor intensive process of making sticky buns from scratch. All was going well, until about 11 pm, and my dough still wasn't "doubled in size". Frustrating. By this point I just wanted to go to bed, and was kicking myself for thinking that I wanted to make sticky buns from scratch, when I could just go to the store a mile up the road and buy them! But, this morning, as we all bit into the warm, goo oozing cinnamon sticky buns, the frustration of last night quickly disappeared, and was replaced by the aroma of cinnamon through out our apartment. The satisfaction that I received from watching our guest enjoy the morning treat is something that I can't put into words- it is just that- satisfying.

ps I have been working on this post for the last two days.... thanks Matthan

pss- where I got the recipe- http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cinnamon_sticky_buns/

1 month

Yesterday was Matthan's 1 month birthday. I suppose that I should have written a big blog, something about my childs life... but I have nothing. It is amazing to see the difference in Matthan, he is more alert, and active, and developing his own personality. Already, he is fighting me with sleep. Amazing I know. This is part of the reason why I didn't blog yesterday- Matthan would not sleep!

Our First!

While visiting our friends and family in PA for Labor Day weekend, Matthan had a big "first". This first, I am sure, is very unimportant to Matthan. I mean, what does he care if he sleeps through the night or not? In fact, I am quite positive that he probably hates the fact that he did sleep through the night. I mean, would you would want a dirty diaper for so long? Matthan doesn't! This kid is so sensitive to his diaper being dirty it is ridiculous! And six hours without food? This is a long time for my son, whom I can usually set the clock by. Every two hours, and this child is ready to eat! So you can just imagine- this kid ate like he hadn't eaten in years! The night of August 5th, 2010, while my child slept with a dirty diaper, and starved, I slept peacefully, undisturbed, for hours, and will treasure it always.

Labor Day Weekend- Not So Laborous

Even though the weekend was full of "Matthan Meltdowns", there were some advantages of being in PA, - plenty of hands to hold him (when he wasn't meltingdown). My parents (the parents who were "not ready for grandkids", and not excited at all about the idea of having a grandson), couldn't wait to cuddle with the little guy! My mom, now known as Omi, was even so desperate, that she would change Matthan's poopy diapers just to get her hands on him! At my brother and sister-in-laws house, I was able to get a shower without having to worry about coming out of the bathroom, and hearing Matthan crying. My sister-in-law was more then happy to watch him while I got myself ready for the day. Also, beside making a dish for a picnic- I didn't have to cook or bake to come up with any meals. If it wouldn't have been for the meltdowns, the weekend would have been pretty easy. But, as always, all good things must come to an end.

Labor Day Weekend- and it was Laborous

Where to begin? I guess the beginning is always a good start. When Matthew and I make trips to PA, we usually leave straight from Matthew's work Friday evening. Matthew works in Jersey, and it is about a half hour on our way to PA. Usually I go with him, and entertain myself with shopping, and reading, while he works, and then we hit the road. This time would be a little different. I wasn't about to entertain myself, and our four week old son for four or five hours. So the plan was that I would leave at 9, and meet Matthew at work with our car loaded and Matthan. Matthan was great all evening. Then eight o'clock hit. Matthan woke up, I fed him, and then it happened. He had a meltdown. For the next 30 minutes he cried, no, he wailed. Needless to say, I didn't leave until 9:30. Little did I know that this would just be the beginning of "Matthan Meltdowns"- which lasted for the entire weekend. I am not sure if it was PA, my family, Matt's family, or our friends that he didn't like, but either way, my little New Yorker, is much happier here at home in New York.

Nurse, Baker, or Cook?

Cooking and baking are two of my passions. Which is amazing, because at home, before I moved out, my mom was determined to teach me how to cook- and I hated every single rotten minute of it. Then I met Matthew, married Matthew, and like most men, Matthew loves to eat. It was around this time I realized that I love to cook and bake for people who love to eat. My passion for cooking/baking may also have developed once I had my own kitchen and I didn't have to look all around my mother's very tiny, and very unorganized kitchen for every single thing that I needed! There are times that I wonder if I shouldn't have gone to chef school and become a cook, or a baker. I would think it would be a lot less stressful then nursing, and I have seen the pleasure that a great cook receives from making fantastic food and pleasing a crowd.

Each week I usually spend hours pouring over emails, websites, cookbooks and cooking magazines, trying to come up with new meals that are season appropriate (I mean who wants soup, chili and stew in July when it is 100 degrees outside?), and I also look for meals that will suit our taste, and that are convenient for the week. ( I mean I look to cook and bake, but I also have a life outside of the kitchen, and if we are having a busy week I am not going to plan on making ravioli from scratch! ). I also try to plan so that I use the meat that we have on hand (we always have beef and pork in our freezer from my family), and whatever chicken and fish is on sale at the store.

Tonight's specialty? Sausage bread. This is actually one of my mom's recipes. Whenever I feed this to friends and family it is a huge hit. In fact, at the beginning of each semester I usually make this for one of the Nyack College students who likes to visit our apartment, as a "welcome back", as this is his favorite meal that I make.

The recipe is so easy, try it!

1 lb bulk sausage, cooked

2 cups shredded mixed Italian cheeses

1 frozen bread dough, thawed, or fresh bread dough

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out bread dough into a rectangle shape, about a 12 inches in length, and 6 inches in width.

In a bowl, mix together cooked sausage, cheeses, garlic powder and pepper (add more garlic powder and pepper if needed for taste).

Spread sausage unto rolled out bread dough. Fold over sides of dough to connect in the middle. (It should look like a stromboli or a calzone). Place on a greased baking stone, or cookie sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes, and turn oven down to 350. Continue to bake an additional 20 minutes until top is golden brown. Let cool. Serve by cutting into slices.

This can be eaten hot or cold. Enjoy.

3 weeks and a few odd days

After getting pregnant I went through my closet and cleaned house! I got rid of bags of clothing. A lot of my clothing was borderline to small, and just plain old! And of coarse I also had a nice pile of clothing which were way to small. Size 4/5 jeans? Crazy. That was the smallest I ever seen- the summer before I got married. The only clothing I packed away were the "bigger" sizes, and prayed to God that I would one day, somehow, be able to wear them again. So anyway this past Sunday while trying to find something to wear to church I came across a pair of nice khaki colored dress pants. I am not sure where they came from, or if I had ever worn them. Did I dare try them on? I did, and they fit beautifully! To bad the tag is missing so I have no idea what size the mystery pants really are. Naturally I figured that they are a bigger size. So Monday came and Tuesday, and the maternity bottoms that I had on were literally falling off of me. By Wednesday I was desperate. I went searching through my closet, hoping to find something that I had forgotten about, and I did! I found a pair of light weight pants from old navy. Now these I KNEW I had worn before I was pregnant. One leg in, second leg, yes, they made it past my hips, and actually fit! I wore them for about 1 hour, and gloried in the fact that three weeks, and some odd days past having my first child I was able to put on pre-pregnancy pants... until Matthan had a blow-out and got poop all over them....nice.

It's a big lie

So what is that saying? Something to the effect of "sleep when the baby sleeps?" This is the biggest bunch of boloney that I have ever heard while being pregnant. If I slept while Matthan was sleeping I would never get anything done! It seems like while he is awake all I get done is nursing and changing diapers. Oh, and I eat. So while he is asleep I make dinner, wash dishes, pick up the apartment, clean the bathroom, make the bed, fold laundry, and whatever else I have time for until the little beast awakens, and once again needs his diaper changed and a nipple.

The Beginning

I have never been very good at keeping a journal, and its not because I don't try. I always start out with good intentions and keep it up for about two weeks, and then my journaling usually falls to pieces. I am hoping that I am much better at "blogging", but this all might be an epic fail.

I have found that our lives are always changing and nothing is ever the same. Two years ago, come the middle of September, Matthew and I started the biggest journey in our lives. We came to Nyack College for Matthew to attend college to become a pastor. We are committed to doing this part of our journey without any loans, and so far God has been providing for us.

Our latest adventure is Matthan. Our three week old son.

I am enjoying my maternity leave, and cry almost every time I think about the fact that in a few short weeks I will be headed back to work and leaving my beautiful son at home. This is something that I literally do not have a choice about, my income pays our bills. Period.

I am learning how to be a mom, and fitting that into the rest of my life. Everything is much more challenging, even just the daily routine. What time I get up in the morning is determined by my young son. From then on, I plan my day around his naps, and right now that is very unpredictable!