My kiddos don’t seem to understand that their mom needs her beauty sleep. Every single day, they’re up at the crack of dawn, scampering down the hall and clamoring for breakfast.
Well, every day except for today.
This morning, I was the first one awake at 7:30 am – which meant I only had 15 minutes to get out the door for my ACLS recertification class. Sacré bleu! In the blink of an eye, I roused my hubby, barreled out of bed, and jumped in the shower. (I had to wash the bacon scent from my hair from the previous night’s dinner.)
After my quick hose-down, I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the salad my hubby packed for me, a packet of buffalo chicken jerky, and a square of chocolate. I sped out of the driveway and made it to class with just a couple of minutes to spare, sliding into a seat next to my pharmacist buddies hiding in the back row.
As we learned about new advanced cardiac life support guidelines, I snacked on my jerky while my classmates grazed on the complimentary breakfast of bagels, muffins, and fruit. We spent the morning pushing hard and fast on a bunch o’dummies…
…and by the time lunchtime rolled around, my stomach was snarling at me. Again, we were provided with free food (CALZONES! COOKIES!), but I opted to eat my salad of sous vide salmon (140°F for 45 minutes), avocado, carrot, and bell pepper salad.
After lunch, we did a bit more hands-on practice with the dummies, and then it was time for the final exam. And yes, I passed. Failure would’ve meant having to suffer through a humiliating discussion with the instructors, who’d already pre-printed everyone’s names on a stack of certificates of completion.
I spent the rest of the afternoon shuttling my kids to extracurricular activities, and when we finally pulled into the driveway in the evening, my hubby was just arriving home from the city. We were both beat, so the whole clan piled into my car and drove to Steak Out for dinner.
Lil-O inhaled a lettuce-wrapped kiddie burger and sweet potato fries…
…and the rest of us shared two sirloin platters…
…and a bacon, grape, and goat cheese salad.
Big-O loved the steak and creamy mushroom sauce…
…but I thought both of the steaks were a bit on the tough side tonight.
No matter. I’ll take a reasonably-priced, too-chewy grass fed steak over a grain-fed, factory-farmed piece of mushy beef anytime. Plus, Steak Out’s sweet potato fries are fantastic.
Tomorrow night I start my week of night shifts again. One more week of work, and then I’m off for vacation yet again! Sure, being a night shift worker’ll put you at risk of all kinds of metabolic badness, but the flexibility it affords me is priceless.
