doctor, doctor, won’t you please prescribe me something? a day in the life of someone else!

can you name that tune? another day of randoms.

there’s no good video for this song on youtube, but once again, p!nk. it’s all your fault

no good video for this one either, p!nk,   ava mary a

someday i hope to have a job where people do  not ask me questions like, can i douche?

someone at work told me today they wanted to be just like me, and i thought wow! i don’t even want to be just like me.

while at the gym working out with my p.t. i told her that one of the exercises was too easy, so i was sure i must be doing it wrong. she laughed and said, no chance you could be getting stronger eh? turns out it was a little bit of both.

my neighbor has gotten a dyslexic rooster. it crows at 3:30 a.m.! my little pepper is a carnivore. she leaves little presents on the back porch for me all the time. i keep telling her there is a giant bird down the road just waiting for her. she usually just yawns, and curls up on a chair when i mention it. i call her my little hit kitty.

just for future reference when having a pelvic ultrasound there is no legitimate medical reason what so ever to inform your sonographer that when your bladder is full that is makes you feel like having a bowel movement, nor can your sonographer tell you the exact volume of urine you should excrete when taking a piss. (yes, people really do say these things to me)

i worked out with my p.t. on my birthday (i know) she demo’d several exercises for me and as i watched i thought no way i can do this, what is she thinking? then did them all. the next day i had kickboxing class and for the first time ever i kept up with tona on abs. forty is pretty freakin’ awesome!

the problem with my line of work is that you spend a lot of time with terminally  ill patients, you seem them on a weekly, sometimes almost daily basis. every now and then you let you guard down, and get emotionally attached to them,  and you really miss them.

the other day i let a few people into my lane during heavy traffic, the highway was down to one lane due to an accident. not one, not a single one waved. just pulled in front of me and never looked back. i started wondering, what ever happened to the thank you wave? i always give the thank you wave.

p!nk cuz i can

love this quote.

“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” herm albright

40 memorable moments in (my) history

not every moment is a happy memory, but every memory is precious.

going to the dog pound, kneeling down in front of a cage with an emaciated dog. you could see every bone in her spine, hips and ribs. she reaches a paw through the bars and rested it in my hand. i knew she was coming home with me that day.

holding bandit in my arms for the last time, thirteen years later.

feeling her take her last breath. knowing the exact moment she was gone. wishing i could take it back.

the first time i held my nephew scott.

the first time scott said my name. i was on vacation with my sisters in colorado, he couldn’t pronounce their names, but he could say mine clear as day.

the first time i laid eyes on my nephew kyle with his thick full head of curly hair.

the first time i saw my nephew kurt in the nursery at the hospital, he was thirteen pounds and twice the size of all the other babies.

the day lexie’s adoption became final.

the first time i held my nephew noah on thanksgiving .

the first time i saw the colorado rockies.

standing atop pike’s peak.

seeing oahu from the air as the plane approach.

splashing in the pacific ocean off the coast of waikiki.

hiking to the top of diamond head.

visiting pearl harbor.

my first trip to nyc with tracy, kelly and lisa.

my perfect nyc christmas. (thank you tracy)

sitting on the forty five yard line at three rivers stadium at a steeler’s game,  so close to the field you could hear the quarter back call out the plays, with my dad.

sitting behind first base, third row back at pirates stadium, with my dad.

riding in the car to pittsburgh, just me and my dad, talking about my life, talking about his, and getting to know him as a person.

the night the call came letting us know my paternal grandmother had died. crawling back into bed, crying. bandit laying next to me, resting her head on my chest, letting out a sigh, and staying there in that position all night. until i cried myself to sleep.

the holocaust museum in washington d.c.

playing in the water with the dolphins at disney.

picking up knitting needles and learning how to knit and purl.

my paternal grandmother’s funeral. (and my aunt hazel asking me why i was still single, not dating, and when i was getting married)

my brother’s wedding. (and my godparents asking me three times why i was still single, not dating, and when was i getting married)

dancing with my favorite uncle, my uncle bill at my brother’s wedding.

my brother and his wife leaving the reception hall as fireworks exploded in the back ground. (there was a local street fair going on a few blocks away)

my nephew scott, then three years old, feeding deer outside of royal gorge park in colorado. laughing hysterically as the deer ate out of his hand.

hiking to the top of st mary’s glacier.

making the pilgrimage to the super mother pumpkin in circleville with lori.

riding in the back seat of the car, on our way to visit family, combing my dad’s hair.

my nephew kurt, about 3 years old, waking up on christmas morning, running past the christmas tree and the presents, crawling up on the couch to snuggle with me for a few minutes before waking his brother.

my parent’s fiftieth wedding anniversary.

the fireman marching at my godparent’s son’s funeral procession.

taps being played at my cousin’s funeral. he died in a hiking accident while on leave from the airforce.

9/11. not knowing if my aunt is safe. watching the twin towers collapse. the overwhelming urge to get into the car and be there, because with all my medical training i knew i could help. the realization that there was no one to help.

letting go of the dream of having children.

dad taking us to the pound to pick out a puppy for our birthday. (my brother’s and my birthdays are three days apart)

having to give bandit a bath in the middle of winter because she was laying in her own vomit too weak from chemo to get up. angry because of what the cancer was doing to her, and worried that she was going to be cold. i bathed her, wrapped her in a big beach towel, sat on the couch and held her in my arms. i pressed her against my body for warmth and covered us both in a thermal blanket. she fell asleep. by the time she woke up she was dry, and i was soaked through to the skin, but it didn’t matter. she had been warm.

all in the family

today was one of those days. a fantastic summer day, sunny, lazy breezy, lots of good food, and even better company. my mom’s two brothers, my uncles came in from pennsylvania yesterday and today we had a big family picnic.

this is my mom and her two younger brothers, on the left my uncle bill, mom, and on the right uncle george.

i have wonderful memories of going back to my uncle bill’s house in the summer as a little girl, playing with my cousins, my aunt always having some kind of treat waiting for us. nothing but loving, happy memories.

uncle bill has always been my favorite.

we trease my brother because he looks so much like uncle bill it’s freaky. he acts like him, they even sound like each other on the phone.

the whole family was there including my godparents, ralph and dad have been friends since grade school, grew up together and were each others best man at their weddings.

and of course there were a couple of kids who stole the show.

noah and lexie

hope you had a perfect sunday too!

in the market for fleas

i have relatives visiting from out of town this weekend and they are flea market fans. we have a rather large flea market in our area in hartville ohio in the heart of amish country. i spent a good part of the day walking around with them and visiting, we have a big family gathering planned for tomorrow so more about family ties later then. it just so happens that while we were at the flea market there was a local celebrity there as well.  dick goddard, local tv personality and weather man, he is 78 years old and goes out promoting animal rights and adoption thoughout north east ohio. he has been forcasting weather in our area for forty nine years and is still working. today he was at the flea market promoting adoptions. he greated me and told me i was a lucky girl because they were selling calendars and i could buy one as a gift for my mother in law. i told him i was a lucky girl, because i didn’t have a mother in law. he chuckled and asked if i would look a picture. so here i am with dick!

(of course i freakin’ have me eyes close! ~sigh~)

they had all kinds of pets up for adoption, kitties and puppies, but i had my eye on these two!

just think of the yarn!

40 favorite flicks

40. under the tuscan sun

39. amos and andrew

38. amelie

37.  re-cycle (the japanese film)

36. breakfast at tiffany’s

35. sense and sensibility

34. on golden pond

33. sliding doors

32. city of angels

31. forrest gump

30. fried green tomatoes

29. kiss me goodbye

28. what about bob?

27. while you were sleeping

26. benny and joon

25. my cousin vinny

24. untamed heart

23. wizard of oz

22. bringing up baby

21. big

20. turner and hooch

19. pirates of the carribean (the first one)

18. the money pit

17. ice castles (that’s right, i said it!)

16. darby o’gill and the little people

15. message in a bottle

14. music and lyrics

13. the bishop’s wife

12. phenomenon

11. keeping mum

10. practical magic

9. the amazing mr blunden

8. guarding tess

7. philadelphia

6. the harry potter series

5. emma

4. finding neverland

3. ghost town

2. arsenic and old lace

1. harvey

june som

this scarf is gorgeous if i do say so myself, but it wasn’t an easy knit. using lace weight yarn and size three needles, and as you can see lots of yo’s in this pattern. yo’s are the bane of my existence, maybe someday i will conquer them. (it’s not the yo it’s self mind you, just the fact that they exist in a pattern is enough to throw everything off kilter in my knitting world). i bought this yarn at the wooster fiber festival in 2008 and i was very excited about it, it’s 100% llama, it’s my first and only llama. the label is gone so unfortunately i can’t tell you who the vendor was, but it was a small independent, not a mass produce yarn. which for knitters makes it all that more fun to knit with.

the yarn is very fine, and light as a feather. not to mention unbelievably soft. the pattern is a vine pattern, can you see it? in the center?

the yarn is 100% natural both in content, and color. (isn’t that a lovely shade of beige?) i have to say natural fibers are the best knits.

it keeps getting better

the nice thing about celebrating your birthday for an entire year is that you can pretty much justify any purchase by declaring it a birthday gift. on june 13th, wwkip day, i bought myself a birthday pressie. a friend of one of the girls working at the yarn store was selling these bags.

he works at an upholstery business and used recycled and scrap parts to make knitting bags. they had some kind of plastic hoop at the top and bottom, a draw string top, and a vinyl bottom.

i just love it! my mom gave me a gift card to barnes and nobles, i am saving it for a knitting book i want (big surprise) that won’t be out for a few more months. i bought kid rock’s cd rock n roll jesus so i could load it into my ipod, then re-sold it on amazon and recovered all but a few dollars of my money. (not bad) my sister came up on my actual birthday and hiked with me in the morning and then treated me to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, and because i am a sadist, i scheduled a workout with my personal trainer leslie on my birthday. we worked out with weighted bars and steps. i had two out of three components we used at home ,so after my workout i went out shopping, well after my workout and a shower, and bought myself a twelve pound weighted bar.

i already have a nine pound weighted bar, using these two bars and the step, leslie, as usual, kicked my butt. the great thing about this workout, besides the fact i can do it at home, is that every exercise she demo’d i thought to myself, there’s no way i can do this, is she serious? and then i did it. i amazed myself. forty years old and i did what i thought could not be done. it was a great feeling. i also treated myself to some weight lifting gloves for my kick boxing class.

after the sporting goods store i stopped at my lys. they give you a twenty five percent discount on your birthday. i got enough sock yarn to make two pairs of socks for less than twenty dollars! and the owner asked me how many more years until i hit thirty! (seriously i could’ve kissed this woman, but that would’ve been weird)

but the best birthday pressie so far came from my amazing friend amy. it was delivered to my home on my birthday, i wasn’t home so my neighbor kept it for me, so i didn’t get it until late evening. i love this gift for so many reasons. first, well look at it, it’s gorgeous!

secondly, people underestimate what i will do for free food, this gift shows amy knows me well! thirdly, a lot of thought went into this gift. amy knows how hard i have been working on jenny craig and this gift fits in perfect with my jenny craig lifestyle and not only is it delicious but healthy. i can snack away to my heart’s content with zero guilt. gotta love a guiltless birthday pressie!

i also got wonderful birthday cards, and text messages and phone calls and posts on message boards. i love my friends! no doubt there will be more birthday pressie’s to me in the months ahead!

40 rules to live by

practice the golden rule.

honesty is the best policy.

cheating is never ok.

when faced with a decision that is legal, though not necessarily moral or ethical, do the right thing.

make time to play.

say please and thank you.

make a list to organize your errands.

think positive happy thoughts.

maintain an attitude of gratitude.

always look on the bright side of life.

practice random acts of kindness.

be nice to people.

always set a goal for yourself.

spend time with your family.

get to know your parents as people.

eat healthy.

stay fit and active.

keep your mind active.

make time for nothing, relax and enjoy the moment.

show up for work. both mentally and physically.

find a hobby you love and enjoy.

know one song by heart.

keep your financial house in order.

know where your money is going.

have a savings account for emergencies. (retail therapy is not an emergency)

take responsibility for your words and your actions. if you hurt someones feelings it is YOUR responsibility.

never loan money to family or friends.

avoid debt whenever possible.

life is too short to read bad books.

donate to charity, be it time, money or goods.

recycle, reuse, re-purpose. be green whenever you can. it does count.

love someone with all your heart.

be kind to animals.

maintain your personal integrity.

live your life authentically.

remember to take time to take care of yourself. so many times we are so wrapped up in caring for others, we don’t take the time to take care of ourselves.

accept compliments graciously.

it’s ok to ask for, and accept help.

have at least one trusted friend you can tell your secrets to.

if you can’t say something nice, it really is best to say nothing at all.

brandywine gorge and blue hen falls, hikes 7 & 8

today is the day. the big 4-0 has arrived, it’s my birthday. my sister arrived early this morning, she wanted to spend a bit of time with me on this special day, so we went out to hike and tour the metro parks. i spend a good bit of time in this area and have gotten to know it well, she hasn’t so we did a bit of the tourist thing.

we started out at brandywine falls

and hiked the trail along the gorge, and next to the mighty cuyahoga.

after a brisk 1.5 miles, we headed out to the blue heron observatory. ok observatory is being a bit generous so much as a place to pull off the road, get out and look at big birds. she hadn’t seen them before and although they are not quite as active as they were a few months ago, it is still a sight to behold. this picture was taken a few years ago, but the blue heron, with it’s six foot wing span, is impressive.

after the herons we headed over to the tiny town of everett to see the everett road covered bridge. this will be on one of my future hikes, but since she had never seen it, we made a point to stop by.

after the bridge we headed to another hike on the hiking challenge, blue hens falls. this was a short hike of only half a mile, but we walked down a bit further and added another half mile onto our hike. next to the falls there was a park bench were we sat and enjoyed the view for a bit.

altogether we walked about three miles. after all that exercise we were ready for lunch and headed for aladdin’s. a lebanese restaurant near by and one of my favorite places to eat. i had the lamb roll, (i know, i love lamb, but eating potential yarn feels cannibalistic, so i don’t get it often) and this amazing fruit salad. i always get the fruit and nut salad. fresh fruit, walnuts, yogurt and honey. it’s delish!

so that’s how i spent my birthday, hope you enjoyed it too!

towpath trail hunt farm to ira, forest point & pine grove trails hike 5 & 6

i got a late start this morning, i had a few things i had to do before i could go outside and play. i didn’t get started until ten, usually i would’ve been out on the trail for three hours by then. i started with the towpath trail on the hiking challenge, it’s an easy, flat trail from hunt farm trail head to ira road trail head and back again.

i did part of this hike last year in early novemeber, it was quite a different hike this time. the towpath takes you past the beaver damn, beavers built a dam across the canal and flooded the area up stream. this area used to be a salvage yard, i like it much better this way.

lilly pads abound.

with beautiful water lilies everywhere.

there was a family of ducks out for a picnic,

a goose with no golden eggs,

and a couple of canadian tourist.

further down a long the way, i came across not one,

but two sunbathers.

i walked a little further than the challenge called for, in all four miles. i stopped for lunch and then decided to get one more hike in before calling it a day. the forest point trail is a very short loop, combined withe the pine grove trail together they make up 2.3 miles. this hike was part of last year’s challenge, the nice thing about this trail is that it’s dense woods, so very well shaded and very cool even on a hot sunny day.

i did take a short detour to the ledges overlook, even though the ledges trail is on the challenge, it’s one of my favorite places in the park.

this little side trip added an extra mile on my walk, this brings today’s total up to 7.3 miles.