Some days in the life

Argh, I still have not had a spare second to sort my final Nova Scotia pics and get that post up. BUT I WILL! Because the last days were incredible and deserve all the attention too! So please stay tuned… hopefully soon…😫 (Promise you won’t skip it just because it’s late!!!)

It feels like so much has happened since I posted on Friday! Let’s run through it.

Friday 10/17 was my 42nd birthday!

Thanks to those who answered my impromptu poll about blog post types. 🙂 This is how the results shook out:

I suspected “random/ everyday posts” would be the front runner, and they were, by a lot! Not surprising to me because those are my favorite posts to read too! 😀

After work, my parents came to town for my b-day. We all headed out to go out to dinner downtown for my birthday (minus Asher who went to his Homecoming football game). Well. This turned into a sort-of bust. I had not made any reservation because the place I wanted to go actually does not take reservations. I didn’t want a fancy dinner, anyway- just a cozy place with “fall vibes”, maybe.

I failed to take into account: a) the weather was mild and gorgeous, so everyone was out (literally, it felt like the ENTIRE city of Madison was downtown) b) it was Friday night, duh c) Wisconsin was playing Ohio State on Saturday…. and d) there was a major protest planned for downtown Madison on Saturday, also. All of these things brought the masses out in droves on Friday night!

Whoops.

I mean, I figured it would be busy-ish, but I didn’t expect the levels we saw. We also got a later start than intended, too…

Anyway, it didn’t really work so well. The first restaurant, where I had thought we’d aim for, had a 1 hour and 50 minute wait. Oof. We decided to try The Great Dane, a local brewery, which is quite large. They also said it would be a 1:30 wait. Argh! We put our name in there, left my parents + Ethan outside waiting, and Ivan and I did a full loop around the Capitol, checking literally every restaurant. Everywhere had a 1 hour 30 min + wait!!

#planningfail. (I feel silly saying this, but in my defense, we so rarely try to go out on Friday nights anymore anywhere except our Mexican place, which is just enough off the main drag that we don’t usually have issues getting in. And we typically sit at the bar rail.) I learned my lesson though, and the next time we want a downtown table on a weekend, I will be making a reservation well in advance!

*Okay, these pics above that my mom took fail to properly represent how busy downtown was!! haha. Just trust me.

We finally gave up and decided we’d just wait for our table at the Great Dane (where we’d already joined the waitlist).

Luckily, the wait was significantly shorter than they’d said. It was very packed in there initially, but once we were seated, it was late enough that it started to slow down a bit and was all good!

I hadn’t been there in ages, so it was fun to go back. It also is all decorated in wood/ pub style and gave me some good fall vibes, which was great.

I had a pumpkin beer and Ivan and I split an order of Wisconsin mac and cheese + nachos. Of course. 😉

It was a really nice night!

Despite the chaotic start, it ended up being a perfectly lovely birthday dinner with my people! 💗💗

Saturday 10/18 was a BEAUTIFUL fall day. Literally perfect! Warm but not hot and sunny and the leaves are reaching peak.

My parents stayed over Friday night and came to Ethan’s 1 pm soccer game at school with us.

On the way home we went through downtown (it was a Badger football Saturday, so we rolled the windows down and drove through the sea of tailgaters and sidewalks lined with students in Badger red and white) and then got this great view of the Capitol lined with yellow leaves.

Then things got a little crazy. I had not checked the exact timing of the downtown protest and it turns out the route home was totally blocked. We got stuck in a traffic jam, which would have been fine, except I NEEDED to get home by ~3:15 to pick up Asher to get him to Homecoming pictures!!!!

After a bit of stressing and some angry phone calls from Asher (“WHERE ARE YOU?!”), we made it only slightly late. He had gotten himself all ready to go and he looked soooo nice!!

My mom and I ran him to his friends’ house, and then to a nearby park for group photos with friends. The park is a hotspot for pictures and was swarming with dressed up girls and guys! So fun.

We were very concerned because the boys had a dinner reservation at Lucille, which is down on the Capitol square in Madison. They made the reservation ages ago, long before knowing about the protest + subsequent traffic issues. Fortunately, the roads reopened in time for their 5 pm reservation and they made it without incident. (His friend drove all 6 of them in a minivan….)

It sounds like he had a great time. The dance was from 7-10 pm and then a bunch of them slept over at his friend’s house. We didn’t get him back until noon the next day! Very good times.

I’m really grateful he has such a NICE group of friends who are smart, make good choices, are well behaved, respectful, etc.

My parents left shortly after we got back from the photo session, and I was TIRED. It had been a WEEK with my long work shifts, soccer games, volleyball, birthday festivities and a hectic Saturday! Ivan and I ended up going out for a quick bite at Buffalo Wild Wings and split some chips + queso and a chicken wrap before going home and watching The Woman in Cabin 10 on Netflix. I really needed that low key night.

Sunday, October 19

Sunday was such a pleasant day! We had NO major plans, which again, after my in-laws, travel + the very full week, sounded amazing.

I did have a very long to-do list, but nothing was truly “urgent urgent”….

The big ticket items were GROCERIES and the 3:25 p.m. Packers game.

I also really wanted to put up my Halloween decorations. I had actually thought maybe I’d just skip it this year, since it was already October 18th… It’s practically time to get out the Christmas tree. lol. But Ethan particularly was like, “You’re not going to put them up?? Awww…. can’t you?” (I had put up some fall stuff in September, but I hadn’t done my usual outdoor (or indoor) orange lights and Halloween-specific decor yet.)

I’ll admit that it pulled at my heart strings that Ethan actually cared about my decorations! And I honestly love fall, and my Halloween decorations are a big part of what makes the season feel like the season, for me. (Us, I guess.)

So on Sunday morning I did some meal planning, week prep, walked Charlie, made a grocery list, went to the gym, and came home to eat the chilaquiles Ivan made.

Then I dragged the Halloween boxes out and spent a few hours putting everything up! Including the outdoor lights and all. 🙂 I lit a fall candle, made pumpkin tea, and had football on the TV and it was all very cozy. I tried not to think about the fact that in a few short weeks I’ll take it all down and start all over for Christmas… 😅

Ivan did a bunch of misc. chores that kept him out of the house for a while… he took his car for an oil change, picked up Asher from the sleepover, and he and Asher got the groceries. This meant I had extra space to decorate and just enjoy a quiet house! (Ethan was around but doing homework and then left for work in the afternoon.)

By 3:25 we settled in on the couch to relax and watch the Packers game while Ivan also did the laundry. It was a good game and we won! (Barely, but yay.) We ordered pizza at half time.

After the game I made a pot of broccoli/cheese soup for Monday, knowing I had a busy Monday-Tuesday coming up.

Ivan had his first indoor soccer game of the season, at 9 pm!, so I took advantage of him being gone to GO TO BED EARLY. I think I was asleep by 9:30, which is very early for me. I ended up with many not-done things from my to-do list for Sunday (finishing my email cleanout, Monarch $ update, changing around my closet for winter, etc.), but there was no way I was getting to my whole list on Sunday anyway. I got some things done at least and good enough is good enough! It was a really enjoyable day. 🙂

Monday, October 20

On Monday I had to work on site at the hospital. The morning felt chaotic getting us all out of the house and Charlie needed an extra early walk.

Work itself was fine except I had a weird thing happen where I almost passed out!! In a clinic room, in front of the PA I was observing, a patient and his wife. 😳 I still don’t know what happened. It was not a situation of “observing something gross”, and anyway, I was an inpatient nurse for 10+ years. There is basically nothing gross I haven’t already seen.

I was merely observing a transplant evaluation (for a process improvement project I’m working on)- they were just talking. In fairness, I was standing up for almost 45 minutes (mostly just standing still/ in place) when this happened, though I was leaning against a counter. I had also done a 20 minute cardio video + a 20 minute walk earlier + had a pretty hectic morning getting there… (just was running late, rushing, etc.) But I did eat and drink plenty for breakfast, so I don’t think I was dehydrated or anything.

Anyway, I suddenly felt a little wave of nausea and got super lightheaded and then everything went black. I told my coworker who was observing with me what was going on and I had to crouch down on the floor- I was afraid I was about to truly pass out and fall! This of course totally disrupted the patient care happening, which I was mortified about. I couldn’t see anything for a minute yet heard myself apologizing to the patient. He was so sweet and was like, “Well we aren’t bothered in the slightest!”

After sitting down for a minute my vision came back and I was able to step/stumble out, but I was still very embarrassed. I also broke out in a cold sweat for a minute or two. I chugged a bunch of water, got a snack, and eventually started feeling better. It was SO WEIRD! I felt off the rest of the day and had a headahce.

I checked my blood pressure in the clinic (though it was a couple hours later) and it was 127/79 which is certainly not low. Not sure what that was all about but it was not cool! I am on Spironolactone (a diuretic, which can also lower blood pressure) for my skin, so it’s very possible that’s what caused it- though I’m on a pretty low 50 mg once daily and have been on it for months now without issue.

Who knows! 🤷‍♀️ Obviously will keep an eye on this if anything similar happens again.

Like I said, I felt off and headachy the rest of the day, so after work I was very lazy. I was grateful the soup I’d made on Sunday was waiting, and thankfully Ivan was home to do the bulk of driving Asher (pick up at school from his lifeguard work shift –> back for swim practice –> pick up from swim practice).

Tuesday, October 21:

I had to go the clinic again today, which meant another extra early wake up for Charlie. I had to draaaaag him out of bed, lol. Here he is at 6:50 something this morning. He is not impressed. “Mom, it is still dark out. Why are you taking me on a walk in the middle of the night?!” 😅

Walking in to the hospital…. I’m so glad I don’t need to drive way down there every day!! Jeesh it feels like a PRODUCTION and I am just not used to it anymore. All that traffic and rushing around…. pass.

It was a nice change of pace, though, and sort of fun to wear real “work clothes” for a change and connect with some people in person. A fun highlight was also working with my coworker in the Health Sciences building (attached to hospital) for a bit in between our meetings! This is where I went to nursing school, so I had flashbacks from sitting and studying at these tables.

After work I made this chicken + veggie skillet dish over cilantro rice with a side of sourdough bread:

Ivan is gone all night tonight at a random concert with his cousin + a friend! In CHICAGO of all places! (His cousin got tickets for some Mexican group and invited him to go along.) This meant I was solo for all the back-and-forth running with Asher, though I had a nice candlelight dinner with the boys. 🙂

I am looking forward to my regular WFH schedule for the next few days! Tomorrow is pretty busy though, with multiple meetings, a piano tuning appt and I have a volleyball game tomorrow night…. no rest for the wicked! 🙃

Time for bed! Nighty night. 😴

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for a nice shoutout during the Transplant Grand Rounds today. The surgical director presented on a topic directly related to a project my coworker and I have been heavily involved with, and we got a very nice, public shoutout commending our work on it. 🙂