diabetic coma

there was a note in our mailbox monday that said we had a package in the office. unfortunately, the office was closed when i got home. and since the next day was christmas, and i forgot about it wednesday, we didn't get the package until thursday. we actually got two packages: one from my aunt carol, and one from josh's aunt filled with prezzies. guess which one josh opened first?

At the zoo (and later the farm)

in addition to shopping and baking, we went to the zoo. this was quite a feat since the babies took up most of the seats in the sub. mamsis got us all shakes (egg nog for me, yummy) so the trip was made easier by consuming sugar and fat. unfortunately, the elephants and rhinosaurs don't like snow, so we only got to see ocean and desert animals. when we were entering the aquarium, there was a sign that said "shark petting tip: use two fingers." what a weird sign we all thought. turns out there was a pool with dog sharks that you could "pet." i think silas touched one or two, but eli was a little more reluctant and his arms were a little too short. we also saw seahorses in cylindrical tanks and penguins swimming under the floor between the tanks.
the dolphin exhibit had also been remodeled so you could walk underneath the pool and look up. it was like being in an underwater greenhouse with 6 in glass walls. we also went to the desert exhibit which had a really neat meerkat enclosure. there were pipes with cut-out and underground windows so you could see them in the tunnels. the snakes were next and you can see mom and silas imitating them.
besides giving me a cold. the babies were a lot of help around the farm. they helped feed the goats and calves every day and then helped collect eggs. when we'd come inside silas would insist on washing the eggs.
eli even helped dad and mom feed the cows.
they also helped decorate the christmas tree. ellis helped by breaking and ornament over the living room and silas arranged eight ornaments on three branches. these were about the only branches he could reach, so it wasn't bad for a first try. for more cute pictures see the web album.

he's so cute, except for his giant wiener

i flew home last week to attend my grandmother's funeral. it was nice to see everyone, although it was a solemn occasion. unfortunately we didn't get a lot of time to visit due to the weather.
i did get to spend a week at the farm baby wrangling (which resulted in a cold) and baking cookies. rachel got some 3-d rudolph the reindeer cookie cutters so we tried making those. most of them came out really well, although some of the legs (and a head) broke before we could put them together. (this is where the title comes from) bridget just kept talking about wieners after rachel put together sam the snowman. can you guess which one mom decorated?
i went to the doctor yesterday. bp is good and i've only gained four pounds. (which i was told isn't a lot) and heard the heart beat, though the baby kept kicking the machine.

maternity hotel

yesterday morning josh and i went on a birth center tour of the nearby hospital. the hospital is only four years old so everything is still relatively new and shiny. the maternity center is really nice. there are locked doors and you have to be buzzed in, which reminds me of the psych ward at home hospital. all the giant rooms have mountain views, a recliner, and a pull out sofa for people to spend the night (one room even has it's own jacuzzi, and there is a second one for everyone else). there is also a 'baby care station' in each room so the baby never has to leave the room except for pediatrician visits. and mom, dad, and baby are all tagged and baby has a security tag that goes off if he gets too close to the doors or the regular tags are tampered with. there is also operating rooms in the center so you don't have to go all the way down to the regular OR for a c-section. a chef prepares the meals and you can order them pretty much whenever you like! i was really impressed with this place, even though the tour seemed a little like a commercial. plus they have player piano, which i think may be the deciding factor.

my subconscious is working on it

about a month ago, catherine and i were trying to find a book that she had when she was little. we couldn't remember what it was called, just what the cover looked like and the plot. there's no database we could find that would let you search by plot. (well there is one, but it's not helpful at all). somehow, i remembered what it was called and i felt very proud of myself.
today, we were trying to remember the title of a book about a monster that moves to a new neighborhood, but none of her neighbors will come and visit her. we searched monster, neighbors, and anything else we could think of that would be key words. finally i told catherine that i'd call her when i remembered it. and about 15 minutes later, i remembered three of the four title words. it's nice to know that your brain works on recovering that information even when you are thinking about something completely different or nothing at all. so good job brain! does anyone else (besides catherine) know what the title is?

Hunger pains will go away on happy turkey day

i spent most of the afternoon baking and cooking our thanksgiving feast. we had the usual fare: turkey with a honey bbq glaze, stuffing, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and cinnamon rolls. we were going to have cranberry sauce, but i forgot it in the fridge, like always. i'll just have some with my turkey sandwich tonight. we haven't had our pie yet, but we'll have that as soon as there's room in our tummies. everything was really good, and since i made a schedule everything was done at the same time. josh helped with most of it, but commented that the rolls needed more cinnamon sugar. next year he can make them. hopefully everyone had a nice holiday with good food and good company.

finally, a post!

i do realize that it's been a looooong time since i've posted, but i do have a good reason. i've been feeling sick and sleepy all day every day for almost two months now, and suprisingly neither of these things made me want to post. as you may have guessed, i'm pregnant! i'm due on june 5th, which is also eli's birthday so mom might be lucky and have two grandkids with the same birthday. we're also planning on moving back to indiana after the baby is born so most of the family won't have to travel so far to see us.

snow in october

this is what i woke up to this morning:


it is supposed to be 74 on wednesday, so i have to enjoy it while i can. my plan for the rest of the day? hot chocolate and movies.

balloon fiesta or bust?

bust. sunday morning we left at 5 am to drive 6 hours to new mexico for the hot air balloon festival. i had done some research that said they were launching some balloons at 7 am, and i knew we weren't going to make that. but we'd be able to walk around, go to the museum and see the balloons up close. (they let you walk through the launching field when the balloons and grounded.)
we got there a little after 11am to find that the parking lots were almost completely empty and people were leaving the park. not only were the entry gates closed, but there was not one balloon in the sky. i couldn't believe that they are closed during lunchtime. you'd think that the vendors would sell the most when people were waiting for launches. or that they'd have balloons in the sky all day to draw more of a crowd. so i was very upset to have driven all that way for nothing, and wasting a perfectly good sunday. needless to say i will not be going back. we should have gone to roswell instead. the aliens are probably available all day.

how stupid can one person be?

i've had some very frustrating days at work lately. people are impatient and we have a lot of new staff so it takes longer to fill a script than it really should. luckily there are some ridiculous people to make me laugh at my job, and a blog on which i can vent. here's some highlights:

(on the phone)
me: may i help you?
man: the viagra you gave me doesn't work. it is possible you gave me fakes or ones from mexico?
me: no, we get them from pfizer
man: who?
me: the manufacturer
man: the samples from my doctor always work, is there anyway you can test them?
me: no sir, we don't have the equipment for that. (here ends the conversation)

(lady in the store)
me: can i help you?
lady: yes, i need some crutches
me: we have some for sale, but we don't rent them (i pre-empt with this because most people don't want to buy them). they are just around the corner
lady: i want to rent some (what did i just say?)
me: sorry, we only rent them

we had an intern(she was in her last year of school on rotations) a few weeks ago, and she didn't know how to spell some of the drugs. on the left is what she wrote, the right the correct drug.
superdox=ciprodex
voltram=ultram or voltaren (we had to call the md)
methylin=medrol
atavert=antivert
once we ordered panera for lunch and she accidentally ate someone else's sandwich. she didn't realize it until it was completely eaten. the sandwich she ate: turkey. what she ordered: tuna salad.

we once had a lady pull up to the drive-thru to buy a cane. clearly this will not fit through the chute. people think they can get their pictures through the drive thru, too. and sadly, i've had people ask me how to use rectal suppositories (one guy was going to swallow it, i'm sure). perhaps i am being a little mean, (and i know i probably shouldn't have gone into retail) but sometimes i can't help it. and it makes me giggle, but it may only be funny to me.

I'm going (I went) to Jackson

my aunt susan was kind enough to host me for the weekend in jackson, wy. (which means i have another pin to add to my collection, in addition to the pittsburg one carol sent me) but more importantly, i got to see susan! the (eight hour) trip was long, but uneventful. i even managed to shave 1/2 and hour off the estimated drive time. it's amazing how few cars there are on the road at 4 am. we spent friday afternoon doing a little shopping in downtown jackson. after a yummy chicken pesto pizza, we went to see the bison up close.
saturday we got up early and drove to yellowstone. there were some elk near the road, and we got to hear the creepy bugling. it looked as though two were going to fight, so susan and i chanted 'fight, fight, fight' but to no avail (we didn't really chant). we tried to see old faithful, but there was this slow poke rv in front of us so we just saw the end of it. but we went to west thumb (in the park) and saw some beautiful geyser pools. the steam was rolling off the water, and the fishing cone was at a full boil. the legend says that you can catch a fish in the lake, and turn and cook it in the 'fishing cone'. this is the abyss pool, the deepest of them.
sunday we played with the wii. we played a cooking game, which was very frustrating because i kept smashing the eggs, burning the meat, and breaking the custard. in all fairness, the directions weren't all that great, susan and i burned about 4 dishes before we realized we were supposed to take it off the heat. then we played some sports. the tennis was my favorite the armless, legless mii's would jump around and roll on the court.

death to the vcr

i tried to tape the season premier of 'avatar' on friday since i wasn't going to be here. i even had to get out the manual to figure out how to set the timer. i was more than disappointed to find that it didn't work. the stupid vcr taped some weird show that i had never even heard of (which is surprising given how much tv i watch). i may just have to give in and buy a tivo, although i hear those have some recording problems as well.

ever fire two guns whilst jumping through the air?

i finally saw hot fuzz, and i thought it was hilarious.
sorry for the absence, i went home for a while for the honey harvest and to see rachel and eli. i used the book trink got me last year to try to make liquid soap. it seemed to work pretty well, although i think we messed up two steps. we also watched 'flight of the chonchords' and 'extras' both of which are very funny.

welcome baby mikayla!

when i checked my e-mail tonight, i was suprised by this:

my friend andrea had her daughter mikayla (i think today). she has red hair and is supposedly brillant (according to papa). now i can get her prezzies and hopefully see her soon! and since her birthday is only five days after mine, i'm more likely to remember it, which means even more prezzies!

another year older

it was my birthday on friday and now i am 26. i got e-cards from catherine, bridget, mamsis and eli. josh made me breakfast before i had to go to work. one of the interns made me a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. it was very delicious. since i had to work until ten, we had my celebration last night. josh made me this for dinner:
stuffed mushrooms, grilled lobster tails, salad, garlic bread and italian roasted potatoes, with strawberry pomegrante italian soda. everything was delicious. the salad tongs were from rachel (along with a most desired salt pig). josh got me an ipod and bridget got me a necklace from ireland. after prezzies, we had dessert

OOOOIIINNKK!!!

jennifer invited me to got see her brother show his pigs at the fair, and since i haven't been to a fair in a while, i went. the buildings were all really big and they looked fairly new, but there were only four horses, and about twenty cows. i had a good time, but there was no elephant ears or lemon shake-ups and i actually missed benton county's fair. the pig judge took forever, he had to explain why he chose each pig's placement. i think he was a little biased, because he kept putting jennifer's brother in third, and the same kid in first. jennifer said that the pig breeders get into fist fights over who's pigs are better.
i'm going to try to go down to the state fair with her in september, so maybe i'll get my elephant ears down there.

a pin from every state

i couldn't let july have only 2 posts, thst's pathetic. i've been trying to get a pin from every state/country that i've visited for my world map. i have quite a few already, but i've been asking people i know if they could send me one. i've even traded scotch-a-roos to a friend of josh's for a georgia pin. unfortunately. the USPS can't seem to find his house and they were returned yesterday. this really annoyed me, and now i am afraid to open the box. what if they are moldy? and i think i should get a refund on my postage since the address was correct. and now i'm out postage AND cookies. how rude!
but if those of you that read this blog would like to send me a pin, i would love it. i'm missing CA, TX, AL, TN, KY, WV, OH, PA, NJ, and SC

Mix these mixed nuts, I see two almonds touching

i've been on a blogging hiatus, if you haven't been able to tell. i was home for a while, then worked for a straight week. and i've been working on something for a reader, so unfortunately i can't post pictures because it wouldn't be a suprise. and i got an ipod early for my birthday, so i've been adding songs to it. and i've been busy with social obligations.
yes, contrary to mamsis' beliefs, i DO have friends. i went to lunch last friday, then i saw HP 5. i love those movies because i get to play 'what else was that british actor in?" i've been watching 'all creatures great and small' lately and haven't see HP since then. when i saw HP 5 i realized that Fudge is Sigfreud!
i went bowling saturday night, although i was terrible. out of 12 people, i got the lowest score. it was pretty sad.
last night i had dinner then saw ratatouille with some work friends and josh. at dinner i had a vanilla-strawberry mojita. it was delicious. i really liked the movie, and was especially excited that gusteau was on the cover of cuisine at home, in addition to bon appetit and gourmet.

hold on to your asses!

i'll post about my weekend home soon, i promise. but first, last night's events. mom and dad and i went over to 'logan' to see my in-laws and their fireworks display. (imagine five grown men running loose in a firework tent with little female supervision) i did get to meet baby ben, who is josh's cousin's son. he has a full head of hair and bright blue eyes and seems like a pretty even tempered baby. and i got to shove my face with lime-berry trifle, rice krispie treats, and pound cake with strawberries. i guess i skipped dinner and went straight for dessert.
finally is was dark enough to light some real fireworks, and at this time all the bottle rockets and smoke bombs had been lit. josh told me to sit in the back row because the front row would get fired upon first. they'd set a firework on a board, one person would lite it, then all four would run like hell away from it. this was sometimes more entertaining that the light show, since they were silhouetted against the fireworks. and there were screams like "jesus christ, josh" or the title of the post, or simply "run!" i was complaining to mom that there was too much time in between each firework, and she said that it was too dangerous to set them off too close together. what a mom thing to say!

margaret brown

i took mamsis to the molly brown house. ('unsinkable' molly brown that survived the titanic sinking) we had a different tour guide than when i was there with trink, so i learned more information about molly brown. her name was actually margaret, but it was changed to molly for the musical because it rhymed better.
the next day steve and dad went shooting, and mamsis and i went shopping. mom got a new watch from the fossil outlet. then we picked up some groceries for our delicious dinner: steak with blue cheese sauce, twice baked potatoes, fresh asparagus, and trifle for dessert.
mamsis and dad left thurday afternoon, and i was sad to see them go, but i'll see them next week.

back to work

yesterday i had to go back to work. after a week off it was hard to remember the door codes, but i managed. and everyone was happy to see me (i think). and in a few more days, i'll be in indiana!

donut a-hole

monday we made reservations to ride the cog rail to the summit of pike's peak. the website said that all reservations needed to come thirty minutes early to get their tickets. there were a lot of people in front of us, so it took a while for our tickets. the ladies told us that they could get us better seats if we sat in a row across the car. it turned out that we were sitting in the jump seats. but that was okay, because at the top of the peak there were world famous donuts. (water doesn't boil at 14,000 feet, but oil does). the conductor pointed out trees, old watering stations, animals (marmots) , and rock formations. it took about an hour and a half to reach the top, but josh and i had to get up a twice so the conductor could throw the switch.
finally at the top, we went in for the delicious donuts, but were sadly disappointed to learn the the fryer was broken. mom was very upset about this. instead we were going to get some hot chocolate, and there were fries in the food court. (apparently you can't use fry oil to cook donuts, and a new heating element can't be sent up on a train car). so we walked around in the wind and cold, and tried to get mom close to the edge. during the trip down, mamsis was still complaining about the seats and the lack of donuts. but, as usual, bitching paid off and she got us a small refund for our trouble.

fon don't

saturday morning we went shopping at sheplers. (sadly the same last name doesn't qualify me for a discount) we got some nice shirts and a pair of dress pants for daddy. hopefully he'll post a fashion show online. then we went to savory spice shop. mamsis and i went a little crazy but only came home with smoked paprika, dried lemon and orange peel, dried and candied ginger, whole nutmeg, dried shallots, vanilla beans, and an assortment of dried mushrooms. then mamsis and i went grocery shopping and got some low carb/no carb foods and did some meal planning.
sunday was father's day. after breakfast dad went shooting with steve (a pharmacist i used to work with) at an indoor range. they shot for about 90 minutes and then they set up another play date to sight in steve's rifle later in the week. for dinner i made reservations for 7:30 at a fondue restaurant. we got there a little early, and so we waited outside for them to call us. at 7:40 we went back in to see if our table was ready and we were told it was going to be just a little longer. when we finally did get seated, we had to wait 25 minutes for our salads, and even though dad asked for no cucumbers, there were some on his salad. so we waited for a fresh salad for dad. the food was really good and we had delicious turtle dessert fondue. but the evening was a little spoiled by the service.

a day at the park

mom and dad flew in last night, and they arrived a little late, but without too much ado. so as usual, this morning we got up early, packed a lunch, and headed to the mountains. mamsis was reluctant to get out of the car, but we were able to coax her out a few times. mom and i climbed up aluvial fan falls.
we drove further up the mountain and mom spotted some elk on the side of the road. this surprised me since she refused to look out over the edge. when we were coming back down, we stopped to take some pictures of elk, but i was even more excited when i realized that they were long horn sheep. (i've never see any in the park before) there was also a giant herd of elk, bulls, cows, and very cute babies.
after the park, we went to the celestial tea factory. the machines were actually working today, so we donned our hairnets, (some men wore beard nets) and went on the tour. the machines seal the tea in the bags, fold the boxes, close up the inside and the box, wrap them in cellophane, and box them up for shipping. it was a very full and tiring day, so tomorrow we will be sleeping in and maybe doing a little shopping.

Happy birthday Josh

Today is josh's birthday. i rewarded him with a visit from my parents and told him to vacuum the floors. he already got his new digital camera before we left for england, his parent's gift last weekend, and accidentally opened his prezzie from mamsis (two years of cusine at home!), so all he gets today is a smooch, some peanut butter frozen delight and to be another year older.

i'm like the wind, i'm everywhere

sunday morning of mike's trip we drove to the springs and went into the cave of the winds. joel's wife carrie mentioned that the lantern tour was supposed to be fun, so we went on it. the caves were discovered by kids in the late 1800s and then turned into a tourist spot by two men. unfortunately, their friendship ended in embezzlement, bankruptcy and death. this is a picture of all the business cards that visitors used to leave. the cave operators would know when to change advertising based on where the cards came from. we got to crawl through rock tunnels and see some interesting rock formations: a butter churn, dirty sheep, and a giant's runny nose. i'm trying to get mamsis to go in the caves with me, but in the larger part of the cave.
we also went to a bug and astronaut museum. this was listed as a 'must see'. sadly, the bug museum was just cases of mounted insects and the astronaut museum was space posters and star wars models. so at least we know not to take anyone else there.

fun city

after the mountains we went to fun city, and let me tell you, it was fun.

there was the giant slide like columbian park used to have. but we slid down on carpet pieces instead of burlap sacks. that's an airborne josh on the left.

and go karts

and bumper boats with squirt guns.

step and breathe

josh's cousin mike flew out last friday night for the weekend so saturday morning we got up early, packed a lunch and drove to the mountains. the drive up there was pretty uneventful. first we drove to the fan falls and mike and josh climbed some rocks to feel the cool mist. the trail we usually take up to the mountain was closed, probably due to snow. but we hiked up to chasm falls.

i didn't realize how far it was up to the falls, it felt a lot longer when we couldn't breath the thin air. but it was nice to hike there rather that drive. josh and mike played around the waterfall, and they were lucky that neither one fell in. we drove further up the mountain to the top and hiked up some other mountains. any time i felt out of breath i tried to follow nigel thornberry's advice. the snow was so deep that they had to post warning signs for the visitors to stay off the slopes.

sorry to disappoint

for those few that check my blog everyday, i'm sorry that i haven't been posting for a while. it seems nothing of interest is happening here. josh's cousin mike came out for the weekend so i will be posting about that probably tomorrow. instead of posting, i did laundry (still to be folded), emptied the dishwasher, made a grocery list, watched 'just visiting' and 'school for scoundrels', figured out garbled taglines with mamsis, took pup for a walk, and got to watch the season 5 premier of footballers wives! i know that show is trashy, but i like it anyway. i know, i do have an exciting life.

lazy days

my wedding china arrived a few weeks ago. and so of course i had to find a cabinet to put it in. after a week of searching, we decided on one and last friday it arrived. it was a little bigger than expected, so we had to rearrange some furniture but i think it looks pretty good. i was also able to put table cloths and some dishes in it so on the whole the apartment is better organized.
josh's seedlings didn't do very well, so we went to the garden center to find some herbs and flowers. i was really tempted by the orchids, but thought i could kill a $6 plant just as easily as a $40 one. so we ended up with mint, rosemary, basil, and coriander for our little herb garden (the last two from seeds!). deciding on mint was a chore. there was mountain mint, peppermint, and even chocolate mint. i wanted the last one just to smell, but josh said no. the one we got was second best smelling. we also got some clemantis and something that looks like a begonia.

yesterday and today are my days off. i'm always hopeful that i'll do something interesting or really fun. but sadly it's boring stuff like sleeping in and laundry. i went to see shrek yesterday, and it was a little disappointing. too much arthur and not enough puss for me. i think it's something to rent on netflix. today i need to clean out a closet and i'll probably make some ice cream. my boss lent me the book 'marley and me'. which is about a man and his unruly yellow lab. i guess zelda could be a lot worse, but i do notice some similarities, like the constant licking and tail wagging. so that's all i have planned for the day and it's back to work tomorrow.

thanks for stopping by

but mostly, stay classy

i just got site meter on my blog, and in addition to seeing if anyone posted comments, i check everyday to see who is reading my blog. Some of the locations i know: ireland, germany, and indiana. some i don't. so feel free to post a comment, even if it's "this is the worst blog i've ever read". hopefully, you'll say: "what beautiful pictures and insightful posts."

i love food. last night, josh made me a 'fancy' dinner. we had leek and potato soup in bread bowls, rice with oranges, pecans and dried cranberries, mashed pototes and roast beef tenderloin. yum yum.

now if you'll excuse me, i have a pan of scoth-a-roos to eat!

only 88%?

You Are 88% Control Freak

You are a total control freak, yet you often feel out of control. If your life isn't "perfect" - it really gets you down.... more than it should!

Are You A Control Freak?

you can't stop the mustache

after we left england, we flew over to shannon where orrin picked us up and took us to clonmel. although we missed the famous St. patrick's well, we went to cahir castle and kilkenny castle. in kilkenny castle there is a long gallery. it reminded me of the portrait gallery in p and p, even though it looked like the inside of a ship. first is was a fortress, and then remodled like a french chalet. we also saw a ginormous toilet that was built for the king and queen to use.

we also went to waterford to see the crystal factory and we went on a walking tour of the city. the parking lot had the title written on the side of a fountain. i've been told that it's a reference to pringles, and hopefully not something bad. since i'm so naive someone let me know. i really like the waterford tour. you could see all the steps in the process from blowing, to marking, to cutting, and finally polished. the workers get paid per piece with up to 15% rejection after blowing, and 2 to 3% after cutting. waterford does not sell imperfect crystal! the next day we flew back to america, and had to say goodbye to my sisters. you can read about my trip back here. but other than that, we had a great vacation.

rocks and cheese

we persuaded rachel and bridget to drive us to stonehenge. they stayed outside the fence while josh and i went in. although we weren't allowed to touch the stones, (people used to chip off pieces as souvenirs) we did get pretty close. the audio guide told us about the theory for the use of the stones (as a calender or an alter), where they came from (ireland or africa), and the purpose of exterior stones. the "alley" (where the druids would walk from the heel stone to the altar) was still visible in the grass. although bridget said it was disappointing because there was no mist or sunset and she couldn't imagine druids there, i still enjoyed seeing them.

on our last day in england we went to cheddar gorge. this is the birthplace of cheddar cheese. we didn't have time to go down into the gorge, so we decided to climb jacob's ladder. poor bridget had to climb the stairs with a baby, while silas took a ride on the lucy/rachel escalator. at the top there was a lookout tower and some beautiful views of the english countryside. after silas figured out how to use this gate. we climbed up a small hill. we even got to see some goats at the top.