Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? I'm enjoying a cup of Starbucks Veranda Blend with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. What's new in your world?

Sunday, July 31, 2022

A Clear Head and A Different Perspective

I returned home on Monday night after my fun trip to Alabama to see Holly. I shared on my Runfessions post that even though I packed my running shoes, they never left the suitcase. We spent the entire weekend on the water, mostly waterskiing but also sunning and boating. It was so fun and just what I needed. While I knew that I was stressed from work and feeling burned out, I just didn't realize how much I needed a break. 

I returned to work on Tuesday with a clear head and a different perspective. Later that day, I met with my medical director to discuss some patient care issues. I told her that I am starting to consider finding something different to do. Working in healthcare is more challenging than ever. A few years ago, we were all heroes. Now people come in after 'doing their own research'. They demand treatments and refuse vaccines, filing complaints against us if we don't give them what they want. There's also the increased volume of mental health issues that we are seeing and the lack of resources available to help our patients.  The demands from upper management to see more patients, have high patient satisfaction scores, and provide good care are pushing everyone to the breaking point. 

She and I discussed the 'talking points' that management throws at us in an effort to 'help us' deal with the stress of the job: find ways to cope and maintain work/life balance. I manage my stress just fine outside of the office! By this, I mean that I work out regularly, eat well and sleep well, and I work part-time. I'm fine when I'm not at work. It's not me, it's the job. She completely agreed with me. Unless that changes--which it won't--then I need to make a change. So stay tuned while I sort that out.

Lake Jordan sunset

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? Today I'm having a local roast, Granville, from Metropolis Coffee. We used to live on Granville when we lived in Chicago, so I just couldn't pass this one up! I learned that Metropolis has opened a cafe in Edgewater, right down the street from our old apartment building. Such good memories and every time I have a cup of this delicious blend, it takes me back. What a great neighborhood!

Anyway, I've got my usual GLG collagen and a splash of half and half to make everything just right!

So what would you tell me over coffee?


Thursday, March 3, 2022

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? I'm enjoying a cup of Colectivo Brazil with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. My hubs gave me a couple bags of Colectivo for Valentine's Day. You know it's my favorite and I'm certainly enjoying it!

What would you tell me over coffee? 

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Let's catch up over coffee! October was a long month, and I'm so happy to be able to sit down and chat. What are you having? I'm having the usual cup of Dunkin with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. 

Friday, January 4, 2019

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Happy New Year! I can't believe that the holidays are over and we're already into the first weekend of 2019. That also means it's time for our monthly catch up over coffee! What will you be having? I've got some Starbucks Holiday blend in my cup, with a spoonful of GLG Collagen Hydrolysate (in fact, I just restocked) and some half and half.

Tell me what's new in your world?



Friday, July 6, 2018

Coffee Talk

I can't believe it's been a month since we sat down for coffee. Since it's too hot for regular coffee, would you like to try my iced coffee? I think it's pretty tasty.

Let's catch up!



Friday, January 5, 2018

5 Things I'd Share Over Coffee

Once again, it's time to sit down over a cup of coffee and catch up. Doesn't it seem like we just did this? Time flies, that's for sure.

Let me pour you a cup--I've still got some Starbucks Chrismas blend here. Cream and sugar? Baileys? Bourbon? Want to just skip the coffee?

Let's chat.



Wednesday, October 4, 2017

5 Things I'd Share Over Coffee

Good morning! Care to join me for a cuppa? I can't think of a better way to start the day. Do you take yours black? Cream and sugar? Or are you jumping on the pumpkin spice latte trend?

I'm drinking my coffee from my hotel balcony in lovely Palm Desert, California! It's time again for our annual sister trip. Today on the blog, we're just going to catch up on life off the road. Kind of nice, isn't it?


FYI, I prepared this post before I left. I did some editing on my iPad using an app called Blogo. It's my first time doing that, so if the post looks weird you'll know why!


If we were having coffee, I'd share that this trip to California couldn't have come a better time for me. Sometimes a break in the routine is therapeutic. Earlier this week, I shared my anxiety about the Las Vegas shootings and my upcoming trip to run the R'n'R half marathon there. I've also had an increase in my RA symptoms this week. In fact, I had to quit on a run this week because my knees did not want to let me move. There may have been some tears at that point. While we are in California, I'm hoping that the arid desert conditions will do my joints some good. I'm going to look for my mojo on the trails here. The temperatures are predicted to be in the 100s while we are here. But as we like to joke, "it's a dry heat!"


If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I've been feeling very nostalgic these days. That's probably because I'm reading one of the most fun books I've read in a long time. It's called Sting-Ray Afternoons (affiliate link) by Steve Rushin. It's a memoir of his childhood, a coming of age story about growing in up the suburbs of Chicago and Minneapolis in the 1970s. His writing is superb and the book is hilarious, especially for me because it's all so familiar, since I too grew up in that era. I don't know how he remembers all this stuff but every time he mentions some product or icon from that time, it takes me back! While I was reading this book, Spotify serendipitously came out with a new feature called "Your Time Capsule" which is a personalized playlist to take you back to "your teenage years".

My sister and me, 1969 That is my birthday crown on my head!

If we were having coffee, I'd tell you how sad it was to learn this past week that Tom Petty passed away. Still feeling nostalgic, I remember when his first single came out. When I was 16, I was working at the Fotomat-clone in the shopping center parking lot, listening to rock and roll on "The Loop", Chicago's album-rock radio station (40 years later, they still play that same music), and this whiny voice came out of my radio singing I Need to Know. Considering that I used to love the hard rock of that era, like Rush, Boston, and the like, this new sound wasn't an instant hit with me. Over the years, I grew to love the music of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. When I first started running with music, Running Down a Dream was on my original playlist and there it has remained since. I do have one other Petty song on my running playlist, You Wreck Me, for obvious reasons!

Tom Petty was a regular on The Simpsons

If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I've started seeing patients at my new clinic and it's a loving/not loving thing for me right now. The clinic is beautiful and I'm seeing a lot of patients from my old clinic, which is really wonderful. The nurse that I work with (and sit next to) is a scream and we make each other laugh most of the time. My commute is cut by about 20 minutes so that I can leave my house 15 minutes before I need to be there. The pace is much more relaxed than at my old clinic, which was crazy. And yet...I miss my old clinic and my colleagues. I'm sure I'm still adjusting. I also think that I'm just a little burned out on healthcare. Last week, I asked my husband when I could retire and he told me 5 years...

Some of my former amazing colleagues.  So nice to have lunch together while we attended the AAP national conference last month.

If we were having coffee, I'd need some mama brag time. I'm actually starting to think that maybe my oldest finally has his frontal lobe! He completed his 12 week college classes he needed for his IBEW apprenticeship, receiving all As in his classes! He's back on the job and is happy to be there. He's also taken up golf. Who is this kid? More good news on the homefront: this week we learned that our youngest son was named a National Merit Scholar. While this is an amazing honor, I can only hope that it leads to some scholarship money for college. Hence, the reason I can't retire yet.

Why I want to retire: Me at work, all day long. And for the last time, vaccines do NOT cause autism. My boys are fully vaccinated.


What would you tell me if we were having coffee? Dry heat or humid heat? Current read? Have you listened to "Your Time Capsule" on Spotify yet? Any running songs that have endured for many years on your playlist? Loving/not loving? Mama brags? Tell me everything! I love coffee and if we get too hopped up we can always switch to wine.

I love this link up! You can share your coffee post with The Ultimate Coffee Date, hosted by Deborah and Coco. I'm also linking up with the Friday 5, hosted by Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness. Have a fantastic weekend!