Sharing a funny

Thanks Amy for the heads-up on this!

So good!

Daily Thought

July 15, 2008
The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
— Allan K. Chalmers


I am one of those people that sign up for all sorts of stuff in her email. I can't help it. I'm a sucker. One of the things I get is a daily thought. Sometimes I open them, others I just delete. Some of them hit home and others have no impact at all. I am a believer in kismet, synchronicity, karma, fate, call it what you may and I think that things come to you at just the right time when you really need them most. Like when I am really feeling pissy about my life and how "unfair" it all is and then I go to work and take care of someone who has had their world cave in on them. I always take a look up and say "Ok God, I hear you and I will shut up. Thanks for the reminder!"

So, anyway, today's daily thought spoke to me. Not because I am not happy, I am (today is a good day). It's just that happiness can be so fleeting and we often take it for granted.

Now, since my "active" posting a lot has gone on. Hate to repeat but, there was the accident, the hot water heater, the downstairs a/c (replaced last week) and now the upstairs a/c (thankfully we have, since last week, renewed our home warranty contract so it will be, at least partially, covered this time). I am, as I type, waiting for the a/c repair people to come check it out. So, still happy though, why?

Well, because in the last few weeks I have been dealing with another issue that has really made me take a good look at life and what matters and what happiness really is. I am in the midst of a health issue that I have wondered about posting vs. not posting. For right now, let's just leave it as, I am going in next week for further tests and then I will have a definitive answer. I'm not trying to be sneaky, I just would rather wait to have a clear diagnosis (or hopefully not) before typing. As I said, I was debating about whether or not I should post about it until later but, I've been really good about keeping it to myself and I felt I needed a bit of an outlet. So, here's my vague post about the whole thing. Le sigh. Sorry 'bout that. The thing is that I really have a grasp on what truly matters better than I have in the past. I am grateful for that understanding.

So, think of me and say a little prayer if you have a moment. All will be revealed in the next couple of weeks. . . . .


Tonight is swim meet night. Woohoo. Go SHARKS! I should post some new pix of the boy soon. . . . .


Still knitting on SOTS-II but signed up for SOTS-III anyway! Ravelry link.

Things I've done since falling off the face of blogger

1. Recuperated from that REALLY bad accident.

2. Dealt with a ruptured hot water heater (heater in attic - water coming down through second floor and into kitchen on first - fun times)

3. Joined a book club (Woo hoo)

4. Dealt with broken A/C (yep!)

5. Visited my friend for her 40th birthday up in Cleveland!

6. Drove down replacement car for hubby on the way back from Cleveland

7. Got sick on said drive down (on side of road and not in new car - Thank GOD)

8. Helped friend here in NC deal with dog behaviour issues and having to give dog back to breeder (EVERYTHING was tried)

9. Got hooked on "In Plain Sight" and "Swingtown" (hey, I'm allowed some guilty pleasures)

10. Knit unknown quantities of dishcloths (at least 8 or so)

11. Knit this tunic in bubblegum Cotton-ease (ravelry link)

12. Planned a girls weekend away craft extravaganza for August with 3 buddies from my 'hood (ha ha, I said "hood")

13. Dealt with the death of 4 fish (they made the trip all the way down from OH and everything!) - abou 1/month or so - they were old

14. Knit my very first Baby Surprise Jacket (and gave it away without a picture)

15. Got 4 new fish (our pleco was getting lonely)

16. Knit some more on my SOTS-2 (ravelry link again)

17. Bought new living room furniture!

18. Lost 3.5 lbs on Wii Fit!

19. Got hooked on Facebook!

20. Didn't feel guilty about not blogging (well, maybe a little. I DO miss you all)


I will try to get some pictures up of some of my knitting (except the dishcloths - those are already given away)

Mosaic meme

1. 040906 - Mike and Jannett around campfire, 2. Pompon the Sushi Connaisseur, 3. 01-BrieMimiGrandmaNancy, 4. Red Panda, 5. Andy Garcia, 6. Mojito Power, 7. extraordinary symbols, 8. Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Cake and its Chocolate-Ginger Mousse, 9. the Clinquant of Hope, 10. Joy of life, 11. Golden Clouds, 12. Flip Flop Swap Goodies

I totally stole this one from Amy

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.

2. Using only the first page of results, pick one image.

3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

4. Post your mosaic on your blog.

5. Enjoy!

The questions:

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food right now?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. What is your favorite drink?

7. What is your dream vacation?

8. What is your favorite dessert?

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. What is one word that describes you?

12. What is your flickr name

Happy Birthday my love, my life

It may seem like an ordinary day to others, but today is the day where I bend knee to thank God for you and the life that we have. What may seem like any other day is the wonderful anniversary of the day that you were born. I'm sure that your parents had no idea on that day that you were to be as amazing as you are. I'm sure that looking at you, they were both in awe and couldn't imagine you being anymore wonderful than you were in that very moment. However, they learned.

They learned about your kindness as you grew and brought home hand made gifts and trinkets. They learned about your intelligence as they were amazed with your accomplishments at school. They learned about your wit with all your quick retorts and the wonderful sounds of your laughter. They learned about your compassion while watching you care for Baron as well as your amazing bonds with friends. They also learned about your mischievousness through all your antics with your cousin and friends. (Boy did they ever learn THAT!)

I, however, had very little time to learn all this before falling helplessly in love with you. You were handsome, kind, smart, funny, bold and strong and I loved you. I loved you and I have since that moment on. There's never been a moment since then in which I haven't loved you with all that I have within me.

Our years together have been peppered with sadness as well as anger. We have disagreed and we have argued as well as crying and laughing. We've moved forward, then backwards, only to push further forward in our lives together. I want you to know that through it all, my love for you has never faltered and, in all the years to come, it never will.

I want to thank you for blessing me with the honor of guarding your love and having our son. To look at him and know that this is something made from both of us and our love amazes me to this day. I shall never be able to repay you for the wonderful gift that our son is to me. Thank you seems so inadequate for all that I have been given by you.

So, today I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE! I hope that this coming year is full of even more joy and happiness for you. I pray that all your heart's desires are fulfilled just as much as you have fulfilled mine. I will try to bring you a fraction of the swonderful life that you have brought me because, I know, that there is no way that I could ever dream of being able to make you as happy as you have made me. I can't imagine my life without you in and am in awe of my luck at having you love me.

Tag you are it!

First, Moriah tagged me for a little meme that's kinda cute and been running around (frankly I'm surprised that any of you are still here with as lazy as I've been about blogging):P. Here be the specifics:

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules.
3) Share six non-important things / habits / quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least three people.
5) Be sure the people you tagged KNOW you tagged them by commenting what you did.

My stuff:

1. I am a neat freak at work everything has to be in it's place and any non-essentials thrown away. All my tubings, bags, bottles, syringes must be fresh and dated. However outside of work, I have many multiple piles all over the house and never put the same thing in the same spot twice. Despite this, I know where everything is. This drives my husband insane.

2. I DESPISE putting laundry away. I don't mind washing and drying. I even like folding things the right way so that everything is nice and neat and the same size. . . . .and then UGH! Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate putting it away. What a waste of time! Again, hubby is driven batty.

3. I had two miscarriages before successfully carrying our son. I spotted with his pregnancy and fretted over him the entire pregnancy (although I continued to work until the day I went into labor). I called my hubby with each and every twang putting him into fits of despair I am sure although he was extremely supportive.

4. I was very close to my great-grandmother growing up. She died on the day before my first communion. About 3 years later, I saw her sitting on the edge of my bed waving at me to let me know she was there. My husband thinks it was all a dream. It was in the middle of the day and I know what I saw. Nobody else saw her. Hubby thinks I'm insane on this point. Whatever.

5. My day isn't successful unless I make my patient smile at least once in my shift (barring those days when I am lucky just to keep my patient alive through my shift). There's nothing better than to hear your patient laugh or to see their eyes light up as they smile - especially when they do it despite their breathing tubes, etc. Makes my day every time. No insanity with this one, just some Patch Adams therapy (Ok, maybe a little craziness from me but would you rather have Nurse Ratched?)

6. I got my first (and so far only) tattoo at the age of 36. It took me that long b/c I wanted something that would mean something to me no matter my age AND that wouldn't look silly when I was old (gotta love them grandmas with their skull tattoos or birds/flowers on the breasts- NICE) and give my family something to be horrified about. I settled on the Univ of Miami split "U". It's on my lower back. Yeah, it's a tramp stamp but I like it and it isn't going to turn into some unidentifiable blob when I am old. Hmmm, does that make me crazy?

hmmmmmm I think I am going to tag. . . . . .

1. A Nurse who Knits

2. Knitting RN

3. Nurse Shar Knits


Oh, and BTW, could you tell that I had a fabulous day at work today?????!!!!???

Have I told you all this yet?

I think I totally forgot about this but I want to let you know that I have recently become a bzzagent at bzzagent.com. It's a great opportunity to try out new products and have my opinions heard as well as being able to tell my friends about new products and services that I feel may be useful to them.

I am in the midst of participating in my first campaign and I have not been disappointed. I am trying out the Glade Wisp Flameless Candle and can I tell you guys, I LOVE IT!

First, it's so easy to put together. In my kit I also had a choice between the "Clean Linen" scent and the "Hawaiin Breeze" scent. Yummy! I first tried the Clean Linen scent and it's so light but still makes our entire family room and kitchen area smell lovely. I placed it on our mantel and from a distance, it really does look like a flaming candle. There is a choice of 5 different fragrance levels as well as being able to use it with the "flame" option on or off. When using the "flame" option, the system will automatically go to the no "flame" option after 3 hours (to conserve batteries). Nice. So, wonderful fragance that is battery operated (eliminating the dangers of wall socket units and actual flaming candles) as well as still giving the ambiance of a "flame". So nice.

The best thing was that after our 10 day vacation, when we came into the house, the entire first floor smelled wonderfully fresh and clean. Yeah. If you are looking for a deodorizer option, you might want to check this one out.

Still alive and knitting!

Yes, yes, the rumours are true. Knittingnurse is indeed alive and KNITTING! Whew. So much to say. Well let's see. Um, DH and I are still wrestling insurance companies et al re: the total loss on our 7 day old car! Which, btw, now looks like this:




But, again, we are all safe and sound. That's what matters and dealing with this stuff re: the car doesn't seem so bad in light of what could have happened to us.

Since then I have been knitting and have finished 2 pairs of felted clogs, a pair each for DS and DH. I have the wool to make a pair for myself, but, that's been put on the backburner. Uh, let's see. I've started and have woefully not completed SOTS2 - Savannah. I am making the original or Savannah version of the stole but may turn around and make the charleston version (with beads) as well. It's a lovely stole and a great pattern to follow so, we'll see. I haven't completed her b/c I got sidelined with the clogs and about 6 dishcloths that I've made as giftees. Um, I have also started (I know, I know) and am halfway to completing my first Baby surprise jacket. I am using up the rest of my blueberry & pistachio Cotton-ease for this one. It will be gifted to a neighbor for her newest addition. I have been good and have also picked up a few old and until recently ignored UFOs. Of these, I am working on completing a pair of socks started waaaaay ago as well as a few other UFO's which I won't jinx by writing about.

I will take photos of these and post when I get a moment (not too soon probably).

Knittingnurse and fam went on vacation over DS's spring break to Montchanin Delaware and NYC!!!! First we spent 2 nights at one of my favorite Inns of all time, The Inn at Montchanin Village . This was our 2nd stay but the first had been so memorable that I had wanted to return since we first left. DH planned it into our trip and I had just as lovely a time as when we were there the first time. We will return once more. When? Who knows, but it will happen. It's quaint and quiet and beautiful and I love it there.

But now, onto NYC!!!! We stayed 5 nights in Jersey City at a Marriott right next door to a path station which conveniently took us straight into Manhattan. We spent the last 2 nights at a Marriott in Manhattan to top off the trip. DS and I had never been and it had been years for DH. What a great time was had by all. DH took me to 3 different shops while there and I did get some 'souvenir stash' to bring home. (Too much really to be called just souvenir stash, but, vacation yarn doesn't count right?). Anyhow, I will write another post detailing the trip later and will post some pics of the trip as well. It was great.

Glad to be backed. I missed writing to you. Hopefully you are all still there as well!

One last thing, please go over to Nautical Knitter and wish her well and send some prayers and love her way. She really needs it right now. Thanks!

On a dime

So, I hadn't blogged about this but, if there were a time to blog about it, the time would be now. Last weekend (exactly 1 week ago today) we drove up to OH to trade in my husband's Pontiac bonneville for his newest car, a black cherry Cadillac CTS. Yep. My FIL works for GM and we lease cars via the employee leasing program. The lease on the Bonneville was up and we got a deal on the CTS. It was a sweet and beautiful car.

Operative word is "was".

Tonight on the way home from dinner, less than a half a mile from home (actually just 1 turn left to get into the development) we were in an accident. We were coming up on the last intersection before our development when a car coming from the other direction thought they had enough time to turn left in front of us. Yeah, not so much.

The Caddy? Well, I may not know that much about cars but I do know when a car is beyond repair. Ours is. I'm sure. The entire front end of our car came up to the dash. Literally.

Each and every single airbag in that thing deployed. Both Front bags, both front side bags, both back side bags and, unless I was just too in shock, maybe one from the back window? Is that even possible? Maybe not. But DEFINITELY all 5 of the other ones did. BTW, that dust released by airbags when they deploy is horrible. My throat is still scratchy from inhaling it but if that's the worse I have to complain about, it's all good.

Let me tell you all something. That Cadillac? Worth every penny if I were to buy one. We were all, of course, wearing seatbelts but considering the damage to the car, I can't believe that we all walked out without a scratch. Sore? Absolutely. But nothing broken or cut. The inside passenger area (what is that called again?) held up to the impact. It was a bit difficult for people to open the two front doors but they did open and DS's door in the back opened without a hitch. DH and DS were sore but not in any real pain. I, on the other hand, had a sore neck so, I got a nice ride in a shiny ambulance on a back board with a C-collar. UGH! Thankfully my CT and Xrays were all OK and we were all just warned by the ED staff about how horribly sore we will be in the morning. Great. DS was such a champ. Didn't even really complain once. All he was was worried about me. Such a big guy. He said he was "sore, but OK".

3 1/2 hours and a cab ride home later, we are back and trying to wind down from the whole thing. Boy, it makes you really think of how absolutely precious and fragile life is. Would the Bonneville have held up as well? What if one of us happened to have not had our seatbelt on (we ALWAYS do but, y'know it makes you think). Thank God that we are all conscientious enough to wear seat belts and that the car held up so well (bless you GM). Poor hubby is on the phone making a claim with the other driver's insurance company.

We are going to go the the towing place tomorrow to gather up anything left in the car and to take pictues. Funny, the first pictures that I will be posting taken with my new camera is going to be of our new, but totalled, car.

You'll remember just how quickly things can change when you see the picture. I am just so happy that we are all OK.

Remember to kiss your loved ones and tell them how much they mean to you. Oh, and one more thing. . . .

always wear your seatbelts!

Look at what I just found.

I just joined BZZAGENT and have started to do some survery and reviews for them. In relation to my reviews, I just found this:

Visit HeatEatReview

How cool is this? I have to get frozen foods for us as sometimes I just don't have time to cook from scratch. Who wants to cook after working 12 hours and being out of the house for nearly 14? Anyhow, often I would like to try new companies or meals but get leery as I have had quite a few meals that I just don't like or that are so pitiful in amounts that I have to eat something else right after. I think I will be using this reference when looking for new options. It even provides all the nutritional info I want to look at.

Who knew?

Not really a quiz but still. . . . .

69 words

Speed test

So, I've been consumed with that time sucking addiction that is Ravelry especially the Ravelry Games Group. Sigh. I'm such a geek. I have so much fun with word play games though and that's what this group is all about. DH thinks it's a hoot to see me on the forum. Oh well.

I'm all into AI again this year. I have to say though, I don't know what the fuss is about. Randy, Paula and Simon keep speaking about how "it's the best season of American Idol ever!" Really? Huh, I just don't see it that way. I am also really surprised that there are so many contestants that have had other singing careers and yet they are in the competition anyway. I mean some of them have had recording contracts before. I guess it's within the rules but, I think the opportunity should be given to people who have never had that chance. Oh well, what do I know?

I must say though that David Cook's performance last night was one of the best performances I have ever seen on the show. I think his vocals where spot on and his arrangement/interpretation of the song was so current and, as the judges say so often, very very relative to today's music scene. Missed it? Well, here ya go:



He's a bit of a hottie in that song, dontcha think? I don't know what Simon is thinking but he definitely had charm and charisma with that performance. Do you all think they will release a full version of that song on iTunes or just that little bit from the show? I hope they do the full version because I really want to get it. Even DH thought that he did really well with the song's arrangement and performance. So, there ya go.

I guess I haven't done my "who's going home" predictions this year have I? OK, better late than never. From the guy's last night, I think that Luke and Danny should go home but since Danny is this year's Sanjaya, then Luke and maybe Michael will go. It's a toss up for me between Michael and Jason. But I hope I am wrong and Danny goes.

My neighborhood just started a book club. We are meeting on our first book next week. We read "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Piccoult. Wowza! Good but intense read. I want to read some of her other titles but I need to stay on course with book club so I might use another of her titles as a "between" book. We haven't decided what we are going to read next but among the ones we are talking about choosing are:

The Glass Castle; The Next Thing on my List; Water for Elephants.

I'm also going to suggest 1000 Splendid Suns as that was recommended to me by a friend.

What are you reading now? Do you belong to a book club? Can you read and knit at the same time? If so, how? Do you take your knitting to your book club meetings?

Good Morning Meme!

I hadn't seen this one before and I thought it was a good one so here I go! (Found and stolen from Amy)


MOUTHOLOGY
Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant? A. Before we moved to NC I would have said Wendy's because that was my best option in OH. However, now that we have plenty of Chick-Fil-A restaurants around, that would be my answer. When I was a little girl, it was always a treat to have a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a whenever I would go to the mall with my folks so, it's a comforting favorite for me.

Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? A. I have to pick one? Really? I guess I would have to say that it depends on my mood. DH and I are always trying new restaurants so, I really can't just pick one.

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? A. 15-20% however, I will say that I have no qualms about leaving as little as 5% if I have poor service. I won't ever not leave a tip because I want to be sure that they realize that I didn't "forget" or that I'm a non-tipping jerk. I want them to realize that poor service doesn't get rewarded in my book. I'm pretty lenient in my definition though. If it's busy or the kitchen's fault, I don't fault the server. However, not friendly or forgetfulness/unavailability from a server = minimal tip.

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? A. Pasta or gouda cheese & bread.

Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice? A. Pretty boring on this front, pepperoni with more pepperoni and cheese with extra cheese. What make a pizza for me though is the sauce. It should have some zing to it.

Q. What do you like to put on your toast? A. Butter.


TECHNOLOGY
Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer? A. Some boring canned wallpaper available from the computer.

Q. How many televisions are in your house? A. In use, three. All together 5 (1 in the guest bedroom and 1 in the attic not really used) It's so bad but we are TV addicts.


BIOLOGY
Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed? A. Right.

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body? A. I don't think so.

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted? A. Er, probably a patient on Friday at work.

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious? A. Nope though there have been plenty of times when I wish I would have fainted.


BULL****OLOGY
Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? A. Geez, that's a hard one. Part of me would say yep and the other part says not a chance.

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? A. I don’t know that I would change my first name but I might consider changing my middle name from "de los Angeles" (spanish for "of the Angels") to just plain Angela.

Q. What color do you think looks best on you? A. Fire engine red.

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? A. Not that I can remember.

Q. Have you ever saved some one’s life? A. Many a time. Nurses save lives daily (and probably more than doctor's do, but, hey I'm biased that way!)

Q. Has someone ever saved yours? A. Yep. When I was about 8 years old or so I accidentally jumped into the deep end of a pool and began to struggle to get out (couldn't swim at the time very much at all and I panicked). Suddenly I saw an arm reaching for me in the midst of all my air bubbles in the water and a wonderful man had pulled me out of the water to safety. I learned to swim (not well but I can tread water) RIGHT after that.


DAREOLOGY
Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? A. Absolutely.

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? A. Not a chance. I might not be able to knit or cook or craft or, etc. . . . .

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000? A. I hate to say it but yep, (although I would miss you all, I could 'see' you all over at Ravelry! tee hee)

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? A. Heck yeah. I might reconsider, if DH was against it though. Although I think he wouldn't mind b/c that's a lot of money and he would probably be proud that someone actually asked me to do it!

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? A. If I was given enough time to finish it, absolutely!

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? A. No, although, much to my hubby's chagrin, I am pro-capital punishment I wouldn't never try to play judge/jury.


DUMBOLOGY
Q: What is in your left pocket? A: Zilch.

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie? A: It has it's moments but overall I would say it's just an OK movie.

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower? A: Stand.

Q: Could you live with roommates? A: I think that I would be fine. I lived at home until I got married so I've never had a roomate other than DH and I think we've done OK for almost 19 years now.

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own? A: Not enough. I don't ever wear them "out" but I do like to wear them around during the summer. I currently have 5 pairs - 4 plastic/rubber and 1 pair in leather. I match my flips to my swimsuits when going to the pool. I know, I'm a dork.

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops? A: When I got a speeding ticket last year when my mom and aunt where visiting (I failed to notice the speed limit drop from 45 to 35mph in an area of Raleigh that I hadn't been familiar with).

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up? A: If I weren't already doing it I would STILL want to be a nurse.


LASTOLOGY
Q: Last Friend you talked to? A: Other than my DH and DS it would be Kathleen.

Q: Last person who called you? Kathleen.

Q: Last person you saw? A: DH and DS


FAVORITOLOGY
Q: Number? A: Eight. I like that it's the symbol for infinity turned on it's side.

Q: Season? A: That would be a toss up between Spring and Fall (although Spring has a slight edge b/c of all the flowers).


CURRENTOLOGY
Q: Missing someone? A: Yea, I miss my Dad and my Mother-in-law every day (they both died way too young).

Q: Mood? A: Peaceful (we just got back from church).

Q: Listening to? A: Drag racing that DH and DS are watching on the TV right now.

Q: Watching? A: Nothing but my computer screen right now.

Q: Worrying about? A: Funny, I'm such a worrier but right now, I'm not worrying about anything. That will change in about 30 seconds I'm sure. ;-}


RANDOMOLOGY
Q: First place you went this morning? A: 10:30 Mass.

Q: What can you not wait to do? A: Finish knitting my Secret of the Stole 2 (oh yeah, finish SOTS 1 too!)

Q: What’s the last movie you saw? A: “Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium”

Q: Do you smile often? A: All the time.

Q: Are you a friendly person? A: I go out of my way to try and be friendly to every one. I used to be a wall flower (no, really, you can email hubby if you don't believe me!) but then I broke out of my shell and now I think I have been making up for lost time!


That's was fun to do. Like it? Go ahead and take it!