A Meme

As you can see....I should be folding laundry. Speaking of that blog...she has inspired me to do a meme, so here you go:

Where is your cell phone? Safely in a pocket in my new spring purse.
Your significant other? My handsome, smart and funny hubby is at work right now.
Your hair? Is curly, tempermental and I'm trying to grow it long right now.
Your mother? Haven't talked to her yet today...which is unusual I talk to her every day.
Your father? Lives in Oregon
Your favorite thing? I really love my IPod.
Your dream last night? I dreamt that I had 5 toddlers...three girls and two boys. It freaked me out. Last time I watch Jon & Kate Plus 8 before bed.
Your favorite drink? Lemonade...I drink it every day!

Your dream/goal? I have a few: to have a child, to be a better writer, and to someday find a job that I love.
The room you are in? Living room...on my couch specifically.
Your ex? don't really want to talk about it.
Your fear? failure, death, snakes, tornados
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy...a mother...traveling more.
Where were you last night? Home with my hubby half watching the cubs game and working on that damn blanket.
What you are not? Patient, Outgoing, & Brave
Muffins? I love warm chocolate chip muffins and banana muffins, and cinnamon muffins.
One of your wish list items? a sideboard for my dining room.
Where you grew up? Northwest Indiana. aka "tha region".
The last thing you did? Finished up last night's dishes.
What are you wearing? My PJ's still. I'm cleaning house.
Your TV? I'm watching the original version of Cheaper by the Dozen. I love old movies.

Your pets? Tim and Peter are lounging on the couch next to me.
Your computer? A Dell Inspiron 1525 Laptop. I LOVE IT!
Your life? It's good.
Your mood? Content and a little moody...it's the hormones.
Missing someone? My sister in Colorado
Your car? A 2005 Saturn Ion.
Something you are not wearing? My wedding ring. I don't wear it when I'm cleaning.
Favorite store? So many...but my most favorite is Target!
Your summer? Will hopefully be relaxing with lots of reading and napping and swimming.
Like someone? Everyone.
Your favorite color? Blue and sometimes purple
When is the last time you laughed? Last night watching The Office on TBS. I try to laugh every day....it burns calories.
Last time you cried? A few days ago...at work.

Who will repost this? If you are reading this - you have been tagged. Let me know if you played along.

Practice Makes Perfect

New shoes+40 degree weather+having to pee due to all the H2O to keep "hydrated"= only walking a little over 2 miles today.
But hey, it's a start right? Better than laying on the couch and eating leftover cupcakes from this weekend's party.
I bought new walking shoes today. They're Nike's. For some reason Nike shoes fit me the best. I will say this though. Finding the right pair of shoes is difficult. Especially if you're picky like me. They all fit differently and have different supports. I must have tried on 30 pairs before purchasing my pair. These aren't the actual pair....very close though. They will probably last me a while as I am NOT sporty. I think it has something to do with my poor coordination.
I also am wearing my first ever sports bra. Can you believe it? I told you I wasn't sporty.
Hopefully the weather will be a little better for tomorrow's walk. I NEED to practice!!

Super Sarah

Sometimes I wish I had super powers. I spend more time thinking about this than is probably normal, but I have reason to. If I could have one super power I would like to have the power to heal. I know I have the power to heal now, through my job, but it still breaks my heart a little bit every day when I see true tragedy that I cannot cure. I would even gladly take some of the pain on myself if it would relieve it from others. There are times, with my patients that I rest my hands on their brows...or lightly on their chests...that I wonder if I could have this power just by wishing for it...as if by sheer force of will I could make things happen. I'm always a little disappointed that I can't.
If I could have two super powers I would also like telekinesis...because I'm lazy like that.

**Avon Walk Update** I raised $231 today! I work with some great people!

Random Stuff for a Saturday...

My first completely free day in a long time. No work. No school. No homework! I started my day this morning by making a green smoothie. I got the recipe and idea from this website as she's been having them all week. I thought I'd actually try one. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't usually eat/enjoy healthy foods. Give me candy any day. But I am trying to make an effort to be healthy. This smoothie had: a banana, peaches (tip: take the sticker off before putting in the blender) honey, water, and a handful of spinach...yes spinach. It's supposed to be filling and good for you. Not so much...I even added a dollop of vanilla yogurt. I think it was the texture.

I only drank half the glass. I think I'll try different ingredients tomorrow.

After the smoothie, Spiderman and I went to Target( hadn't been all week) and the grocery store. We're having a party tomorrow to celebrate Spiderman's birthday. Speaking of birthday's...today is my sister Abbie's birthday. She's spending the day driving back to Colorado from a brief visit home. If you want to read a great Birthday tribute, my mother wrote one over here.

Happy Birthday, Bean! I hope it's a great one!

School's Out-Thank God!

Today was my last day of classes for the semester. I handed in that dreadful paper on Lady Chatterley's lover (finished last night at 11:45pm thankyouverymuch!). I sold back all my books to the bookstore for a tiny windfall. It felt good to come home with an almost empty book bag. A literal lightening of the load off my back. It's ridiculous that a book you bought for $100 at the beginning of the semester is bought back for less than half the amount. I think it's a scam. It's not as though all the knowledge is sucked out of it or anything. Sorry ma'am, there's just nothing left in here to learn. You used it all up. The bookstore then sells them back as "used" the next semester for twice as much as they paid you....go figure.
Regardless, it's a huge relief to not have to do homework tonight. This semester was heavy and totally kicked my ass. Now I can catch up on some of the things that I let slide.
My house, for example is gross. I have crunchy carpets and a fine layer of cat hair on all my furniture. I'm completely out of clean bra's and panties....so there's laundry. I can also finally read all the books that have been piling up on my nightstand. Their nice shiny covers and unbroken bindings calling out to me all semester..beckoning for me to open them and get lost in their stories. I'm going to put in flower beds in my yard. We moved into our house the middle of last summer and I've been planning them all winter.
I'm also going to work steadily to finish the baby blanket for my girlfriend's baby. I can hopefully make some headway tonight while watching new episodes of The Office! and Grey's Anatomy! I cannot wait to see what happens tonight!
I'm just so relieved to not have school anymore that I feel like I should gather some friends and have a good, old fashioned last-day-of-school shaving cream fight. Yeah, that would make an impression on the neighbors! (most of whom I still have not met...yet)

Happy Birthday Spiderman!

What I wanted to post was a cute picture of my husband on his 29th Birthday....Unfortunately, he does NOT want his picture on my blog...something to do with an unflattering picture of him, and our niece and nephew eating chicken nuggets....whatever.
So this will have to do.

Happy Birthday, baby.

I love you. (even though you won't be on my blog)

Get Me a Kilt-I'm Moving to Scotland!

Several years ago a girlfriend and I discovered this series of books. It was the "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon. These books are fan-freakin'-tastic. I LOVE them. There are 7 in the series and each one is roughly 900 pages long. (I know it seems like a lot, but it goes quickly and by the end you're wishing there was more) I made everyone I knew read these books and soon we were discussing the characters like they were real people.
The books take place among the clans in the Scottish Highlands...a little after "Bravehart" times. A 20th century nurse, Claire, gets sucked back through time by a stonehenge-like rock formation. She meets a young highlander, James Fraser, and they fall in love. There is SO much more to this series but I don't want to spoil anything!

After reading these books I became interested in all things Scottish and eventually would like to visit the country. It seems like it's a beautiful country, rich in history...Oh, and did I mention the men?

Hello Ewan!

And my newest Scottish crush James McAvoy. Isn't he cute?

You may have seen this guy in P.S. I Love You, or The Phantom of the Opera. Let me tell you, this boy can sing! Aren't convinced he's sexy?

I give you exhibit B. Yep. That's a loin cloth. And look at those Abs!

Don't you feel like moving to Scotland with me?

Sunday's at the Chamber of Horrors

I love Sundays at the hospital. It's the day when all the family members who were too busy to visit during the week come in. They immediately jump down everyone's throat and accuse us of not giving their beloved grandma/father/brother/3rd cousin's best friend's daughter the very best treatment that money (the hospitals, not theirs) can buy. The entire extended family is in the room dressed in their Sunday best, fresh from church. You'd think they were having a picnic in there. After several hours of harassment to everyone on staff and talking to each other and not the patient, they all file out not to be seen again...until next Sunday.

I Can't Wait For This Semester...continued...

Double spaced...size 13 font....I have 6 pages...must continue on...must finish stupid paper!

I can't wait for this semester to be OVER!

Today I'm working on my 12 page paper...due on Thursday. This is what I have so far:

Writing a 12 page paper is stupid.

Do you think that's good enough? Wait, maybe I should add a quote.

William Shakespeare once said, "While I love writing sonnets and plays, writing a 12 page paper is stupid."

So I'll just increase the font, play with the margins a little and I totally have 12 pages, right?
No...I guess I'll have to go back to work. Why am I going to school again? Oh yeah...myjobsucks!

Cats vs Dogs

Are you a cat person or a dog person? In High School I worked very briefly for a pet store. I was fired. Apparently I spent too much time playing with the animals and not enough time selling them. I'd like to say that I'm an "animal" person. (except snakes, they're icky) That isn't entirely true though. I do favor cats. I have two of them. Tim and Peter (Peter Parker is his full name...guess who named him) Before I met my husband I could easily have seen myself becoming the cat lady. You know, the little old lady that lives all by herself with a million cats that all the neighborhood children are afraid of. Yep, that'd be me.

But look how cute they are!






I think I love them so because I'm very much like a cat.

Cats
Independent
Moody
Enjoy napping
Love to be pet
Shed a lot

Me
Pretty much all of the above


How can you see a kitten and it not make you instantly happy? There'd have to be something SERIOUSLY wrong with you.




How can you not want to smooch him?

Wordless Wednesday

Not Cool

I am not cool. There, I've said it. I've never been cool. I'm awkward and quirky. I do not have fabulous fashion sense or great hair. I like to read. I love bad television, movies and 80's music. I tend to be shy and am not very good at expressing myself.

I'm also not a great writer. I so want to be. I read other blogs and am in awe of the truly great writers that are out there. I'm not prosaic. I just write about whatever pops into my head. Hopefully with a little humor. I have high hopes for this blog. I just hope that it can become what I want for it. I hope people will read it.

I don't know where I'm heading with this post, but I'm trying desperately to avoid doing homework. I should be doing research on my 12 page paper on D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterly's Lover due next Thursday (that I haven't even started) What I'm actually doing is blog hopping and becoming intimidated by the greatness of others.

I purchase some 5 lb ankle weights today with the hopes of using them to help me with my "walk" training. Let me tell you, they are fashionable although I've mostly been wearing them around the house.

They are not helping with the coolness, however.

Avon Breast Cancer Walk

As you may already know, I am doing the breast Cancer walk in Chicago the 1st weekend in June. My main reason for doing this is in honor of my friend Rachelle who lost her battle with cancer when she was only 33 years old. Rachelle was one of the best people I have ever met. She was an inspiration to everyone who ever met her and she is missed every single day. She (along with her sister--my sister-in-law) is the person who introduced me to my husband. Even though she didn't get to see our wedding, I felt her presence at the ceremony in the unseasonably warm and sunny October day.

In order to do the walk I must raise a minimum of $1,800. Please help me reach that goal!
You can make a donation here or on the sidebar. I greatly appreciate your support!

Miss Tori's Visit

Spiderman is out of town this weekend for is 3rd Fantasy Baseball Draft. (eye roll) That means I was a single gal all weekend. What did I do? Unfortunately, not much.

Friday night after I got off work, I ordered pizzas and my parents came over. We watched August Rush. Has anyone seen it? I really enjoyed it. I'm a music person, and the music in this movie was fabulous!

Saturday I did homework and laundry. That evening I went to visit Miss Tori-in town for the night with her mom Angie. I suggested we get her a black leather onsie and go out for a chick's night on the town. Angie suggested a bottle and a night in with Grandma. Oh well. Her mom and dad and I went out for drinks and adult conversation but not before I managed to gracefully fall down the stairs at Angie's mother's house. My butt hitting Every. Single. Step. (you should see the bruise on my butt Angie) Cuz' that's the way I roll..literally. It just wouldn't be a night out without me injuring myself!

Sometime today Spiderman is coming back home. Too bad, I rather enjoyed sleeping diagonally.

Rainy Day

I am in a foul temper today. I woke up with a migraine which is no surprise considering the rain and the horrendous night I had at work last night. (I don't want to get into it, but I can really understand now why some employees go to work and shoot people. If I were already imbalanced....there'd have been trouble)

The weather also seems to be reflecting my mood.

Normally, I love rainy days. I can put on sweat pants, drink tea, and curl up with a good book. Today, however, the foul mood. I just put the makings of a beef stew in my crockpot. Today is definitely a comfort food day. Later I'll make some crusty french bread and we'll be all set.

As for the headache....I truly believe in the medicinal effect of pinwheel cookies.

I feel better already.

Fear

I was a shy, fearful child. Very unlike my sister who would jump right into the deep end of a pool at 2 years old with no water wings. I was afraid of snakes, large dogs, tornados...many of the things I am still afraid of today. Add to that the adult fears of my husband's sudden death (every time he's late I assume he's dead somewhere), never being able to have children and filing bancrupcy and losing our house. I'm afraid that one day my sweet tooth combined with the fact that I loathe exercise will result in me weighing 300lbs.
I know that most of these things I can control. It doesn't make me fear them any less.
I think my biggest fear in life has been of making mistakes. Maybe it comes from being the eldest child. Maybe it's from being raised by a single mom who wanted the world for us. Maybe it's because I'm a huge people pleaser and cannot help myself. My mother says that I've done everything "right". Graduated high school, went to college, got a job, paid off student loans, bought a condo, got married, bought a house. Sounds pretty normal, right? Sometimes I wish I had made a few mistakes in between there somewhere. It is through our mistakes that we learn greater lessons and I wish I had taken more chances. I haven't made mistakes, but I also haven't done a lot of things that I really wanted. I would have found a job that I had a passion for and not one that I feel lukewarm about. I would have moved for a time to a big city...I LOVE going into Chicago now.
I am happy with the path that led me to my life now. I like my life now. I just have to remember to be brave in the future.

I'm Crafty!

Yes, I'm crafty. I love to craft. Scrapbooking.....crocheting....cross-stitch and needlepoint. I make my own Halloween costumes every year. It keeps me from shooting people. I feel my blood pressure lowering.

I especially love crafting gifts for others. When my girlfriend Angie was pregnant this past summer I made her a baby blanket(my first). Now my girlfriend Gina is pregnant and I'm slowly working on another....very slowly. I've been so busy with my classes this semester and with work as well that I haven't really found time to work on this project. She's due in June, but thinking she'll go early. STRESS!! Here's how the project currently looks.

Do you think I'm going to make it? I only have two more weeks of classes and hopefully I'll be able to really haul a** and finish it. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

*** This is my 1st post written lazily from my couch via groovy new laptop.***

It's Here....

Now I only have to figure out how to use it.
Maybe I should turn it on.

OMG!

I have always been fascinated with twins. I wanted to have a twin. I watched shows about twins. (remember Double Trouble?) I think most girls at one time in their lives all have the twin sister fantasy. You know... instant best girlfriend...dressing alike...switching places.... all that. Where am I going with this, you ask?

Okay, so I'm a total nerd. I just read that they are reissuing Sweet Valley High! I loved that series. I would go to the library and get 10-15 of those books at a time and just tear through them! I started reading them when I was in elementary school. My mother got me the Sweet Valley Twins books and it wasn't long before I segued into the High School years. Sweet Valley High books were everywhere so I know I wasn't the only one reading them. Admit it, you read them too. Remember when Elizabeth's boyfriend Todd got a motorcycle and they crashed? She was in a coma and woke up acting more like Jessica. Remember Jessica's snotty rich friend Lila? Ohhh I hated her! I wanted to work on the Oracle with Liz and Enid. Remember when Todd moved away? I cried like an idiot. The twin's mother was a working mother and I used to imagine "starting dinner" like they used to. It seemed so grown up. When my newly divorced mother went back to work, the reality didn't prove to be quite as exotic or fun.
It's nice to see that they will influence another generation of girls in hopefully the same way that they influenced me. I just may have to pick one up and reread it. Come on, you know you want to!

My Boyfriend

I love John Cusack. I mean LURRRVE him! My husband knows that if I ever meet him...all bets are off. He lives in the same building as my sister-in-law's parents and when I visit I just want to spend the day riding up and down in the elevator (I don't, I'm not creepy like that, I've just thought about it)
So why am I telling you this? I found a video on youtube yesterday that cracked me up. I wish I'd thought of it. It sounds like something I would do. Watch it here!

**LAPTOP UPDATE** They tried to deliver it, but no one was home. They'll try again on Monday. Damn the postal system!

Hormones--They're good for you...Really.

Today I started my period. No really...that's a good thing. I'm over two weeks late. I've been waiting to start so that I can start taking Clomid (a fertility drug that will hopefully help me get pregnant with only ONE baby and not a litter!) For a while I was excited thinking that I was pregnant. After 4 or 5 negative pregnancy tests (I'm not obsessive) I called the doctor and they did a blood test. No baby....but still no period. So for the last week they've had me jacked up on hormones to induce it. Let me tell you...Hormones are AWESOME! I've been SO pleasant. Just ask my husband.
This morning I woke up bleeding as though someone stabbed me (attractive isn't it?) curled in a fetal position with horrible cramps. Even though I would have loved to stay in bed occasionally whimpering and eating huge amounts of chocolate, I still had school. I pulled on some sweatpants and headed out. I don't know about any of you but I become a Lean, Mean, Eating Machine once a month. On my way home from school I decided that I Really, Really, Desperately needed me some Taco Bell. About halfway home I decided to start snacking and noticed that they forgot to include the nachos to go along with my cup of cheese. Deep Breaths, Sarah. A cup of cheese is never bad. I briefly considered just eating it with a spoon. Thank God, Spiderman reminded me that we have chips at home. Anyway....I decided that I also needed some cookies to make up for the nacho incident. So here is what my healthy lunch looked like.
Maybe today would be a good day to start training for my Cancer walk. I probably need the exercise after this.

***LAPTOP UPDATE*** Dell says it shipped today!!

Wordless Wednesday

Poisson D'Avril!

Today my blog is officially 1 week old! Also, it's April fool's day or Poisson D'Avril (fish of April). This dates back to the 16th century when Charles IX, followed the Gregorian Calendar, decreed Jan 1st as New Year's Day, rather than April 1st (Solstice). Those who didn't follow the new calendar were called "fools" and sent invitations to fake parties and the like. ( I bet you didn't know I was so smart-- It's amazing what you can learn from the 'net ) French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs. Those crazy frenchies! Seriously though, I'm a total francophile. (Thank you, Gina for that word, it totally suits us!)

Also this weekend I purchased a laptop. I feel it is my patriotic duty to stimulate the economy. This way I can blog... I mean do my homework...from my bed! That was a MAJOR selling point for me. I'm SUPER excited and got a great deal from Dell through the IUN student website. The estimated ship date on it is April 8th and I cannot stand it! 7 whole days. Here's a picture of what it will look like.
Isn't it pretty? Doesn't it remind you of spring?