Mmm, mmm, good.

Cold, rainy days need warm, hearty soups. This one is from my mom's Skinny Soups cookbook, which means you can eat a giant bowl, get cozy on the couch, and resist turning into Jabba the Hut. (Skinny Soups gets credit for the chilled strawberry soup at Jen's baby shower and for a chicken rice soup that can cure any sickness, except mine because I don't eat chicken.)

CREAMY BROCCOLI-POTATO SOUP (makes 6-8 servings)

• 4 medium-sized leeks (about 1 lb)
• 2 tsp non-diet, tub-style margarine (do your heart a favor and use Smart Balance)
• 3 c. chicken stock, divided (I used veggie stock)
• 1 1/2 lbs boiling potatoes, peeled and diced (3 1/2 cups diced)
• 4 cups broccoli florets (I used 4 crowns because I hate measuring)
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 1/4 c whole milk
• salt to taste
• 1-2 tsp chopped chives as garnish (I used scallions)

Since sand and dirt collect under the leaves of leeks, clean them very carefully as follows: Trim off and discard root end and all but about 1 inch of the green tops. Peel off and discard 1 or 2 layers of tough outer leaves. Then, beginning at the green end, slice down about 1 inch into leeks. Put leeks in a colander. Wash them thoroughly under cool running water; wash again to remove all traces of dirt. (This was a leek education for me!) Set them aside until well-drained. Cut leeks crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces.

In Dutch oven or very large saucepan, melt margarine over medium heat. Add leaks and 3 tbsp of stock and cook, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes until leeks are tender but not browned. If liquid begins to evaporate, lower heat slightly and add more stock. Add remaining stock, potatoes, broccoli, and pepper.

Lower heat, cover, and simmer about 11-14 minutes or until potatoes and broccoli are tender. Remove pot from heat and let cool slightly. In batches, puree mixture in a blender on low speed for 10 seconds (I used my immersible blender that my culinary genius momma got me). Then raise speed to high and puree until completely smooth (I left some chunks in mine because I like using my teeth). Return puree to pot in which it was cooked. Add milk and stir to mix well. Simmer an additional 4-5 minutes. Add salt if desired (I definitely desired it).

Serve in medium-sized bowls. Garnish individual servings with sprinkling of chopped chives if desired (I recommend desiring). Soup keeps 2-3 days in the refrigerator.

calories: 163          fat: 2.8g          % cals from fat: 15
sodium: 219 mg    protein: 6.7g    cholesterol: 5mg      

Nurse Google

Yesss, I'm still in nursing school. Noooo, I'm not positive I want to be a nurse when I grow up. Buuuuut, no one will pay me for party planning. Soooo, I get to tell stories like this.

I started this year in a mental health rotation. Having grown up in my family, I learned to love me some crazy. Got anxiety and depression? Yay! How about childhood trauma? Woo hoo! Can I get some substance abuse? Oh yeah. Violence as common as family reunions? That's what I call a party.

To be fair, I think I love me some crazy because I've always just been on the periphery of it. Sure, I've had to pack my grandma's stilettos in a garbage bag so she could flee a fever-ravaged psycho killer, but my family family -- my parents and my sisters -- was at its worst Roseanne-caliber crazy. We weren't the Huxtables, but we weren't the Bundys either.

For me, crazy people are as fun as a good episode of Cops. Or Intervention. Or Hoarders. Or Bad Girls Club. Maybe it's time to tone down the TV watching...

I think my appreciation for crazy people comes from a place of compassion more than a need for entertainment at other people's expense. Although, come on, if someone ever told you they used to hang out with Chuck Norris and were waiting to collect their fortune from Crime Stoppers, could you resist being entertained by the story they were spinning? Even television isn't that good.

My first day on the unit, I was mostly curious, but I was also a little bit afraid. I know my mood disorders, am pretty good with my personality disorders, and am basically an expert with substance abuse, but I had never been around schizophrenia more than as a passerby on a street corner. I had never had to interact with someone whose brain was really, truly betraying them, making them believe things as fully as I believe my perception of the world. To probe those minds even a little bit was completely fascinating sprinkled with a little bit of terrifying. You see, they're not stupid. Their intellect is intact, moreso than some people I go to school with. Some of the things they said, some of their insights, some of their feelings about strangers, while they were completely bizarre at first, they sort of had a psychic transcendence about them after a double-take.

My most memorable account, however, was just plain crazy.

My class was lined up against a wall and a guy walked past us and locked his eyes on mine in such a way that I needed a shower. I tend to think I imagine things, so it wasn't until a fellow student said to me, "I think you just got eye-raped," that I gave that feeling some credence. Not wanting to provoke him, I sort of looked away, then looked back to prove I wasn't afraid of eye contact, and then looked away again. That's called non-verbal communication. Dogs do it, too.

He made another round, and this time he asked my name. I answered him, and then he explained that he had dated two other girls with my name before. Apparently, one had a smell he liked and the other didn't. And then he asked me the weirdest question I've ever been asked in my life.

"Can I smell you?"

How exactly are you not supposed to find that hilarious?

Partyin' Partyin' YEAH!

Ben asked his mom for a popcorn party for his 5th birthday. Yes, a popcorn party. I had never heard of a popcorn party before, but that didn't stop me from blindly renting a popper and making a mood board.

The day before the party I decided I'd better check with Leiah to make sure that by popcorn party Ben meant the snack and not some superhero I'd never heard of. Dodged a bullet on that one and Leiah and I stayed up until 3 am snipping marshmallows and turning cupcakes into sweet popcorn boxes.

The party was adorable, and thanks to Steve de Ruble's job as a "package engineer," we got a couple of giant popcorn boxes and the kids were able to go inside them and play... which scored me big points toward best auntie ever. Boxes and balloons. That's all you need to keep kids entertained. For two hours.

After everyone had left, Leiah, Ben, and Lilly stayed and helped break down the party, which was my favorite time of the whole day. Lilly pulled at the grass while Leiah and Ben sat on balloons and got pop surprises. It was just one of those unexpected perfect moments, propelled by a 5-year-old's delight and the sanctity of a backyard. Success.

Sugar. Spice.

I do not have baby fever. Renee is just getting to be so sweet even though she's a sass diva and now there's Kieron who is a sleeping beauty and seriously.