Random Confessions Vol 4

• I love classical music. I wish I lived in a city where I could go to the opera/symphony on a regular basis, like at least once a month. I'd also need someone to go with me since Aaron only tolerates it in small increments for me.
• In Paris, Aaron and I tasted escargot, just so we could say we'd tried it. It actually tasted pretty good- sort of like the texture of a huge chewy mushroom.
• I've been fishing for lobster. My dad's cousin has a boat in Prince Edward Island, Canada and we used to go out for a day of fishing with him when we went up there on summer vacations. There is nothing like lobster fresh out of the ocean less than 12 hours ago when you cook it. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. Therefore I cannot eat lobster at mainland "seafood restaurants"- I've been forever spoiled by tasting the "real thing".
• For the longest time (since Aaron and I were dating) I wanted a baby so desperately. I'm afraid Aaron probably feels like I nagged him to death about it. Now that I've had one, I'm sometimes filled with feelings of doubt about my preparedness and ability for motherhood. That doesn't mean I regret having Chloe, because that's most definitely not true. I guess it's more learning as you go than I expected it would be.
• In high school, for some reason, I loved cows. I had cow mugs, cow stuffed animals, cow patterns for my bookcovers, cow everything. Cows?! What was I thinking?!
• I love laying in the hammock in the backyard on a warm sunny day. I wish I could do it every day all year round. "Daily To do list item # 23- Take an afternoon nap in the hammock."
• One of my favorite classes in college was a European Lit class. I took both semesters of it. We read an insane amount each week but it was one of my few "non-nursing" classes that was a nice relief from all the anatomy & physiology, pharmacology, etc. Week 1 we read the Iliad. Week 2 the Odyssey. Week 3 Dante's Inferno. You get the picture....I know I'm a book nerd.
• I had a clinical instructor in nursing school who almost failed me because I forgot my stethoscope one week. She was an NP married to a Cardiologist, pregnant at the time, and more concerned about varicose veins than she was about teaching us. That semester was one of the toughest- I think I cried after that clinical every week. It's possibly the reason why I would never ever want to work in Cardiac.
• When we moved to MN, I drove from Milford, NH to here all by myself. 2 whole days of solitary driving. I don't know how truck drivers can handle it. I was ready to pull my hair out by the time I made it here. I did stop and see Niagara Falls on the way...one small highlight.
• I've only ever had one speeding ticket in my life (despite being pulled over half a dozen times). It was at 11pm on a Sunday night. Aaron and I had left from Malcom, IA @ 630am and driven straight through to Virginia. Got pulled over 30 minutes from home on a road with not a single other car on it. I was SOO furious.
• One of my favorite books of all time... A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
• In 12th grade English class I did a book report about a book by Danielle Steele. Still can't remember how I convinced my teacher of that one. A book report on a cookie-cutter romance book?
• In that same English class I did a poetry analysis paper on Sylvia Plath because my teacher said she thought I would do well with Sylvia Plath. A deeply depressed poet who killed herself with her children in the other room?! What was she trying to say about me? I got an A on the paper.
• I got accepted early decision to UVA. I knew the week of thanksgiving break in high school that I was accepted to college. TOTALLY destroyed my motivation for the rest of senior year.
• I accepted my job at Mayo at the beginning of February during my senior year of college. That also seriously hindered my motivation for the rest of the year despite being a huge relief.
• I absolutely love eating at Noodles & Co. It doesn't help that it's less than a mile down the road from here and I'm a pasta fanatic. I've been there so much they recognize me and sometimes give me free desserts or a free drink. Customer dedication pays off!
• One of the girls killed in the shooting at VTech last year was from my home county. She graduated from high school with my younger brother. Nothing like events like that to make you feel sober/serious about life.
• My high school GPA was 4.0 and my college GPA was 3.3. Those numbers seemed so earth-shatteringly important at the time. Funny how they're totally immaterial now. Like people care what my GPA was?!