Childrens Names

Today I treated a little girl whose name was Brooklyn. Not Brooke Lynn, that would have been bad enough, but Brooklyn. And that's not the first time I've seen that name for a little girl. I've know 2 or 3 Brooklyns'.

I'm sorry, but that's cruel and unusual punishment for a child. She is going to be taunted HORRIBLY for her name when she's in school. Kids are mean and that's an easy target. Carie was an easy target, (ie Carry, can you Carry this blah blah because your name is Carie and that's what you're supposed to do... or Carie, you can't be yourself on Shabbas! (that was in college too..)) If that's an easy target, Brooklyn is worse.

It's like naming you daughter Sandy when your last name is Beach. Or like a girl I knew in High School whose name was Nyshea beacuse her father was a Mets fan. (NY, Shea Staduim)

Whay do parents DO that to their kids??? I don't get it.

The Stew Leonards Experience... and the rest of the weekend too.

Saturday night Rob and I went to Stew Leonards. Yeah, I know, great Saturday night activity. :) We couldn't decide what to do, neither of us had ever been, I hadn't even heard of it until recently, and Rob wanted to see barnyard animals. So we went. We needed produce anyway. It was certainly an experience. Kinda like a cross between an amusement park and a grocery store and a dairy, and HUGE! Rob got to pet a cow, which he was VERY happy about, but not a lamb-ie which he was disappointed about. We got fresh produce which I was happy about because the Stop and Shop by us has ICKY produce that goes bad very quickly. We got 2 cases of Snapple (24 bottles) for $11. That was kinda cool. And we got to eat ice cream. :) That was good too. Ice cream ALWAYS makes it a good time. It's one of life's 3 cure-alls. :)

So that was our weekend experience. The rest of it was nice, though nothing amazingly special. We went to shul Saturday morning and too our Shabbat Schluf in the afternoon, Stew Leonards in the evening. Sunday we slept in and went to visit Rob father out in Stonybrook Long Island for the day. And I painted last night and periodically through the weekend. YAY for painting!

Anyway it's Monday AM and time for work. People are in need of getting out of bed... Have a good day all!! :)

New Glasses!

I got new Glasses! YAY! It's nice to be able to see properly again.

I have officially given up on contact lenses. My eyes just don't tolerate them anymore. So if I'm wearing glasses only, I need 2 pairs. I'm keeping my old pair, though I'll get new lenses for them (the coating is coming off making things blurry) and I got a new pair. They're VEEEEERY different than anything I've ever worn before. Plastic, and dark.

I usually get minimizing frames, something that isn't too stand-outish, you can see my face not my glasses kind of glasses. These are plastic, dark, a brown tortise shell, you're definitely wearing glasses glasses, though there's a blue green in the background that peeks through a bit lightening it. PLUS I haven't worn plastic glasses since I'm about 12 years old, so it's taking a bit of getting used to the feel of them. I think it's a fun new look. I like them a lot. I never thought plastic frames would ever look good on me, but these are fun, and so different! I still can't believe it's me, every time I pass a mirror I need to do a double take.


Here's the difference. I think I look so different with each pair. Just a completely different look and feel.































Different, but fun. I like that I can choose my glasses to fit my mood or the look I want. :) YAY for new glasses! They're so much fun!!!

Shingles and Google.

Last week I saw a patient who was complaining of numbness and weakness in her left leg. She also had a rash. She said, "I got a rash 2 weeks ago, and thats when my leg got weak and I started falling." I thought that was interesting. A rash associated with numbness and weakness? On futher evaluation, I discovered that she had numbness and decreased sensation where the rash was, and that was in a dermatomal pattern. Furthermore, her weakness was in a myotomal pattern of the same level. VEEEEERY Interesting I thought.

WHAT the heck is she saying, you wonder??? Ok, in English, I had a petient who had a rash and numbness in the same area on her leg. That area correlated to a pattern known ad a dermatome. A dermatome is an area of the skin supplied by nerve fibers originating froma certain level of the spinal cord. The dermatomes are named according to the spinal nerve which supplies them. C4, C5, L1, L2 etc. There is an area of skin for every level of your spinal cord. My patient had her rash and her numbness in a specific area defined by a dermatome. She also had weakness in her leg associated with a myotome. A myotome is the muscle or muscles who get their nerve supplies from a particular level in the spinal cord. This patient had muscle weakness associated with the same area of the skin as the rash and the numbness. L3. The third lumbar nerve. As shown by the inner knee/thish area. And Weakness in straightening the knee and lifting the leg.

I was curious. I was stumped. I had heard vaguely of neurological illnesses with a dermatological presentation. But I wasn't sure about them. So I had my student look it up overnight and I looked it up also. I couldn't find anything in my class notes or books, so I did multiple Google and medical searches on the subject. Finally I found it. YA for GOOGLE!!! It was SO simple!!! Shingles. Yup! She had the Chicken Pox! Again.

It threw me off at first because shingles isn't usually associated with numbness and weakness. AND it usually happens on the chest and back, AND it's usually pretty painful! But for the location of her rash pain isn't common, and weakness is.

According to the research I read, (YAY FOR GOOGLE for giving me a TON!) the virus stays in the roots of your spinal cord after chicken pox. And it lays dormant. And any decrease in your immune status can bring it out. Usually happens in the elderly and immunocomprimised. (My patient was in her 80's) And you get a recurrance. But only in the level of the root in which it is laying. USUALLY (95%) that's in the thoracic area, giving the rash in the chest and back with significant pain. But sometimes (5%) it can happen in the cervical (referring to the neck/arm areas) or Lumbar (leg areas) regions of the spinal cord. And when it does, it is often associated not with pain, but with sensory loss and motor weakness.

TA DUM!!! I had figured out the problem. I felt so smart. :) The next day I asked one of the neurologists about the symptoms and he automatically said shingles. TEE HEE!! I was right! I felt all happy that I was able to find the answer. Granted I had to go looking for awhile, but I found it and that was perty rewarding.

So now you know. A rash with numbness and weakness is Chicken pox. And Google kicks bootie for information. When in doubt, search Google.
And then you can feel smart for knowing all that information and figuring out what's wrong with people. :)

New Student

I got a new student this week. But just for a week. They wouldn't throw a new student on me so soon after the first one/ But one of the outpatient therapists went on vacation, and his student needed somewhere to go for a week, so I got her. Which is fine with me. I actually really like having students around. So I'm glad I got to have her around.

It's a different experience though. First she's only with me for a week. Second she's on her first rotation, so she hasn't had all her classwork yet and doesn't know a lot of the hospital type diagnoses and treatments. And third she hasn't had all the PTA experience my last student had. I think I got spoiled with her, she was such an easy first student. Not that my new student is hard, it's just different. I have to alter my teaching, and give her a lot more help and explanation. Which is fine, just new. I talk a lot. I like explanations, so I assume other people want them too. So I talk a lot. She must think I'm a nut case, running around like a chicken without a head so much and talking her ears off. OY. But fun at the same time. :)

I'm trying to keep to the orthopedic floor, though I dislike spending a lot of time there, but she saw a lot of joint replacements in outpatient, and it's good to give her the earlier stage view. And hopefully I can arrange for her to observe a surgery this week, that would REALLY give her an appreciation for all the therapy needed. It's the one thing I regret not being able to do as a PT student. I wasn't allowed to observe surgeries. The hospitals I was at didn't allow it. Oh well.

I just hope, as I did with my last student, and will with all of them probably is that I give her a good experience. Even though it's just for a week, I don't want it to be the week from hell for her. That would totally be stinky. But it seems that she's having an ok time so that's good!

And that's that! :)

Murderball

Featuring fierce rivalry, stopwatch suspense, and larger-than-life personalities, MURDERBALL, Winner of the Documentary Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize for Editing at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, is a film about tough, highly competitive rugby players. Quadriplegic rugby players. Whether by car wreck, fist fight, gun shot, or rogue bacteria, these men were forced to live life sitting down. In their own version of the full-contact sport, they smash the hell out of each other in custom-made gladiator-like wheelchairs. And no, they don't wear helmets.

From the gyms of middle America to the Olympic arena in Athens, Greece, MURDERBALL tells the story of a group of world-class athletes unlike any ever shown on screen. In addition to smashing chairs, it will smash every stereotype you ever had about the disabled. It is a film about family, revenge, honor, sex (yes, they can) and the triumph of love over loss. But most of all, it is a film about standing up, even after your spirit - and your spine - has been crushed.


That was the synopsis I read when looking for a good movie to see. I found out about the movie aboot a week ago, and last night Rob and I went to see it. Quadriplegics playing rugby! That's my kind of film. It's the PT in me I guess, I was so riveted. I REALLY wanted to see this movie.

I had heard about wheelchair rugby when I was a PT student doing a rotation At Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, on the Spinal Cord Unit. There was this one kid there, young, quadriplegic, and VERY athletic, and he had been interested in playing. It sounded REALLY cool. I wasn't exactly sure about how the game was played, but I was familiar with the Paralympics and knew that some pretty cool adapted sports were out there for those disabled by spinal cord injuries, amputations, blindness, deafness, and other disabilities. The adaptations were great, there are some amputee runners I've met who say they're faster now with the technology in their prostheses than they were before they lost their leg(s). And there are some really interesting adapted sports. Like Floor Volleyball, like Wheelchair Fencing, and like Wheelchair Rugby. AKA Murderball.

The movie was great. It gave a great perspective of these guys lives, from the beginning of their therapy after their accidents to playing rugby on the US National Team. Rob was amazed at all some of these guys can do, I was and wasn't. Life definitely does NOT stop in a wheelchair, and all the adaptations around to help people are pretty cool. As one of the players put it, "I've done more in a chair than I've done able-bodied." The movie pretty much let you see things from their point of view, literally... which ended up being my only complaint. If you have a tendency for motion sickness, the camera shaking etc. during much of the filming might make you a bit queasy. But I think they did that on purpose. So you can see the game, and life through the eyes of the players.

I HIGHLY reccommend the movie, it was really well done, and very interesting. More info at the movies website, and you can check out the trailer too. ENJOY!

I don't remember if I ever potsted this joke... So I'll do it again.. :)

BE WARNED! DIRTY JOKE TO FOLLOW! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR/READ SUCH A JOKE, DO NOT CONTINUE!!!
It often surprises people, but I DO know dirty jokes. ;)

Cinderalla And The Magic Tampon

Cinderella had to go to the ball, but she had her period. And she was bloated and crampy and cranky, and she really didn't want to go. Of course, her Fairy Godmother came to her rescue, and gave her a magic tampon. "Put this in," she said, "and you'll feel so much better, you're cramps will go away, you'll feel happier and less bloated, and you can go to the ball. BUT.." she cautioned, "Be sure to be back home by midnight, otherwise the tampon will turn back into a pumpkin, and that will hurt!!"
Cinderella agreed, put in the tampon and went happily off to the ball. The Fairy Godmother waited at home.

Midnight comes and goes, and Cinderella isn't homr. 1Am, 2AM, 2:30AM, 3AM... the Fairy Godmother is starting to get worried! Finally at about 4:30 AM, Cinderella gets home.

The Fairy Godmother was frantic! "WHAT HAPPENED? ARE YOU OK, WHAT ABOUT THE PUMPKIN!?!?!?!?!"

Cinderella smiled, and said "Oh, don't worry about that. I met a REALLY great guy named Peter Peter!"



BA DUMP DUM!!!! TEEE HEEE! ;)

Ok Ok Ok

I know, I know, I know, my third post this afternoon.... but I'm relaxing and doing little except laundry on my day off, and since I'm relaxing and not running around, I'm enjoying the ability to be computering and well, I just keep having things to say.

I was just spending some time on my BLOG's web counter. Some 3,000 and change people have visited my BLOG in the past year or so. Not a HUGE # but not horrible either. I kinda like it.

One of the things I noticed, was that most of the people who have come to my rambling place on the web, have done so from an "unknown" source. To me, that assumes that these people know the blog address and go to it directly and don't necessarily stumble upon it from another site, or a search. Those who do come from another site, 90% are looking for swollen tonsils, and the other 10% is a mix of the next BLOG button, Rob's site, and various other peoples who have linked me to their sites at one time or another.

So as I looked at these unknowns, I noticed a lot of repeat IP addresses/internet companies. AOL, Optonline, etc. I realize AOL and optonline and others are companies with multiple users, however, I can also look up the location of the user, city and state. And when I did that I noticed patterns and repeats.

There were a lot of repeat cities, and I am assuming that many are from the same persons in those cities. Which means I get regular visitors to my BLOG from places where I don't know, or don't think I know anyone. Places like Oakland, CA, Toledo, OH, South Burlington, VT, Atlanta, GA, Edinburgh, UK, New Rochelle, NY, Hinesville, GA, Ontario, Canada and many others.

And because one of my reasons for BLOGGING is to meet people and make long distance acquaintences etc, I'd like to hear from y'all. Who are you? How did you come to my site? Why do you keep coming back? Do you have a website or BLOG I could read? Anything you want to tell me. Y'all know a lot aboot me, I'd like to know aboot you too. Plus I get curious to know the identities of all my anonymous commenters. 99% of my comments are anonymous. I'd love to know who y'all are!!!!!!

So here's the hand of friendship and communication. (Imagine me sticking my hand through your computer screen) Grab a hold and lets chat! :)

Let's get together, yeah yeah yeah.... why don't you and I combine.... Let's get together what do ya say? We could have a swingin' time..... And though we haven't got a lot, we could be sharing all we've got...... Let's get together!!!!!!! YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!!

(Bonus points for anyone who can tell me where that's from!) :)

Junior High School Dirty, And Junior High School Silly :)

Wanna hear something dirty????

2 pigs in the mud.


Wanna hear something really dirty?

There were 2 pigs in the mud, and then 3 came out.

************************************************

One man walked into a bar.

OUCH!!!

Two men walked into a bar.

Ya think one of them would have seen it!!!!

What I made with my Squash and Zucchinis

Well, I didn’t receive any suggestions for my large amounts of veggies, so I did some research and found these recipes.

Yellow Squash Casserole
(Recipe courtesy of Cheryl Alters-Jamison & Bill Jamison, American Home Cooking, Broadway Books)

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

1 3/4 pounds crookneck yellow squash or other yellow summer squash
1/4 pound zucchini or additional yellow summer squash
1/2 cup coarse-chopped carrots
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 large onion, preferably yellow, chopped
1 plump garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 cups saltine or Ritz cracker crumbs
1/2 cup grated mild to medium Cheddar cheese
Hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a medium baking dish.

Slice the yellow squash and zucchini lengthwise into quarters, then cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Place the yellow squash, zucchini and carrots in a saucepan, barely cover with water and salt well. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium and cover. Cook about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft.

Meanwhile, warm 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.
Stir in the onion and cook slowly until very soft and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
Scrape the mixture into a mixing bowl.
Wipe out the skillet, return it to medium-low heat, and add to it the remaining tablespoon of butter.
Stir in 1/2 cup of the cracker crumbs and cook briefly until the crumbs are golden.
Scrape them onto a small plate and reserve them.

Drain the squash mixture, mashing the vegetables just a bit.
Spoon it into the mixing bowl.
Stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of cracker crumbs, cheese and a good splash or two of the pepper sauce. Salt and pepper generously to taste.
Stir in the eggs and spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Scatter the toasted cracker crumbs over the top.
Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, until golden brown and lightly firm in the center. Serve hot
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved


This one was pretty good. It made a nice casserole, though I think it would have been better, more solid with more crackers. It would actually be great I think for a Passover veggie dish with matzah farfel substituted for the crackers.


Rice with Squash and Cumin
c.1997, M.S. Milliken & S. Feniger, all rights reserved

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings


5 to 6 assorted small squashes, zucchini, yellow summer squashes, patty pans
1/2 cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked rice, (aromatic is nice)
1 bunch parsley leaves, washed and chopped roughly

Trim squashes and cut into small 1/4-inch dice.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan and add 1/3 of the diced squashes and some salt and pepper. Saute small batches briefly over high heat stirring often until lightly browned and slightly soft. Transfer to a bowl.
Cook diced onion in remaining olive oil in frying pan over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook briefly. Add cumin, reduce heat to low, cook stirring about 2 minutes, and then add to squashes in bowl.
Add rice and chopped parsley and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

This one was ehhh. I thought it would be a nice combo of flavors, but it was kinda ordinary. Tip, use less rather than more parsley, or leave it out all together, and salt the zucchini and squash well or it won’t have much taste. It was also kinda oily, frying the squash, I don’t love frying. I felt I could have used a lot less oil, but that would be easy to fix. I also think that the recipe needed more flavor than just cumin. Maybe I’ll play around with it some time. It was good enough if you had a ton of zucchini and squash to make, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to make it again.

Apple Zucchini Bread
Recipe courtesy Tama Hiles

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 to 3 loaves, 12 to 15 servings

4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
5 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded apples
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine first 6 ingredients and set aside.
Combine eggs, oil, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat until well blended.
Stir in zucchini, apples, and nuts. Add to dry ingredients; stir until moistened.
Put into greased and floured loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes.
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

This one was GREAT! I had never had zucchini bread before. I made it at the request of the friend who had given me endless amounts of zucchini in the first place. It came out really good, it was easy to make, and everyone at work loved it. It made 2 pretty decent sized loaves. One was devoured at work and the other my friend happily took home with her. As expected, I didn’t truly taste the zucchini in it, but I didn’t expect to. I LOVE “Rena’s” pumpkin bread, but I don’t particularly love pumpkin. I would definitely make this recipe again. YUMMY!!

Spaghetti with Zucchini and Garlic
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

2 small to medium zucchini
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano

Pile up 2 or 3 layers of paper towels on a work surface. Working on the paper towels, shred zucchinis using a box grater holding the zucchini at an angle.
Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan.
Add chopped garlic to the oil.
When garlic speaks by sizzling in oil, add shredded zucchini. Season zucchini with salt and pepper.
Sauté shredded zucchini 7 to 10 minutes.
Add hot, drained pasta to the pan. Toss spaghetti with zucchini and garlic oil.
Add a couple of handfuls of grated cheese to the pan. Adjust seasoning and serve.
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

I haven’t made this one yet, (supper tonight) but it seems right up mu alley, something I have done with countless other veggies, and well I have loved every single one of Rachael Ray’s recipes, so I’m assuming that this one will be no different.

And that’s that! Just a few things to do with pounds of Zucchini and Summer Squash. I’m sure there are more out there, but these were pretty good too. :) :) :)

My Favorite Kitchen Appliance

My Salad Spinner

I LOVE my salad spinner. It's so much FUN!

Now I get to clean my lettuce without eating wet salads. YAY!!!!!! PLUS, it's fun to push the pusher thing and make it spin. :) I like to make it spin. And it's oddly pleasurable to see how much water it really truly gets off my lettuce. It's very exciting. :) :) :)

It's the simple things that make life fun! :)

HEEEEEEEERE THEY ARE!!!

My Zucchini and Squash. HUGE! :) Still looking for recipes......

More Watercolors

I haven't had the chance to post my paintings recently, and I've accumulated a lot since my last posting. So at the risk of making this page really long to load I'm going to post some more. :) ENJOY!! :)



Rob took a photo of a random boy in the park. I thought it was cute. Pretty good for my fist "portrait"


Random Mountain shot. I like the misty look. :)


Tropical shot. I love the way the water came out in this one. Really clear and yet misty at the same time. I like the flow. A happy accident! :)


Random mountains and lakes. Not my best but not my worst either.


Fuzzy photo of a fuzzy sunset.


Yosemite!


More Yosemite! This one of the fanmed view outside of Wawona tunnel.


Stone bridge I painted from imagination. Not so bad...


Autumn rain. Nice painting, thought the umbrella is a bit opaque. I used the wrong color paint. I meant to use a more transparent yellow, but ended up with the opaque one. OOPS!


I love the Brooklyn Bridge!


River with grasses. The reflection was hard to do in this one because of the contrasting colors. I had to paint it in and then blur it rather than just drybrush it down. The appeal of the shot was the reflection, so I worked hard to get it to come out well.


Rob and I at the top of Killington. I love and hate that mountain!


Mt fist flowers. Pretty good! :) I painted this one in negative space. My teacher put out the flowers and I flipped out trying to get all the details. But then I took a step back and saw the shapes against the background. I painted the background around the shapes first, and went from there. The key to detail sometimes is simplicity. Thats hard to learn!!!


I LOVE this painting. I couldn't get that resd sunset again if I tried. It was a truly happy accident that my watermark, turned out to my benefit. I love everything about this painting. The sunset, the reflection, the beach, the people, the dog... :)


More flowers. The flowers came out great, the vase didn't. Not everything can be a masterpiece.


From Chicago. I like this scene with the garden and the street in the background. This was one of my first where I REALLYH tried to lighten my style. I tend to paint heavily and I wanted to achieve a more watercolor lightened look.


This one was the photo I took in Chicago with the close up of flowers with the buildings behind. I LOVED this photo. The painting came out pretty well too I think!


The ivy covered building on the Chicago River. I loved the look of the shot, simple and peaceful yet so pretty in an urban sort of way. You don't often see an ivy covered building in the middle of a city.


The Golden gate bridge from the car. My favorite photo from our SFO trip. I love the way the shadowing and shading came out on the bridge. But I couldn't do the cars without them looking like tonka toys. But I still like the painting, it just has a more juvenile childrens room painting feel.


And that's that! More when i get more pictures. Hope you enjoyed!

Interesting News Story

I heard a news blurb on the radio this morning on the way to work. I wanted to find the article to read it, but I can't find it.

Sex can make you smarter. A study was done that shows that having more sex increases I think progestin or some hormone like that, which stimulates brain cells and can make you smarter. Not only that, but it also may prevent Alzheimers and Parkinsons Diseases.

COOL! So go and be bunny rabbits everyone! (I've gotta get married soon!!!!!!)

:) :) :) :) :) :) TEE HEE!!! :) :) :) :) :)

Anyone Know Any Good Recipies????

I need some good recipies for zucchini and summer squash. No meat no mushrooms involved please. (I'm a vegemetarian who is allergic to mushrooms)

Why zucchini and squash recipies? Well I have enough of it to last me a long time, and I want to use it before it goes bad.

How did I come across such quantities of zucchini and squash you ask?? I shall tell you.

One of my friends from work has a garden. In her garden 2 of the things she grows are zucchini and summer squash. She had a lot extra so she gave me some. And, well, I think her garden is next to a nuclear power plant, because these are the HUGEST veggies I have ever seen. (Is hugest a word? oh well)

The zucchini are about 2 feet long each, with a diameter of about 6-7 inches each, and weigh about 5 pounds each. The squash are about half that size with a slightly larger diameter. I took pictures, but I have to wait until my film gets developed. YES I still use film....

So yeah, I have a lot of veggies to cook and I only have a couple of recipies. Any good ideas anyone??????

BIG Family

I saw a patient today who had a BIG family. She was 83 years old (and did NOT look it) She was so cute!!
She has 6 brothers and 4 sisters.
She has 5 sons and 3 daughters who have provided her with 27 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren.

How cool is that! Now THAT'S a BIG family! Pretty good for 83.....

Tee Hee!!! :-Þ~~~~~~~*

A Panda's Diet

According to my Snapple Cap, Bamboo makes up 99% of a Panda's diet. So what makes up the other 1%?????

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

I LOVE Harry Potter. I have DEVOURED all of the series so far, and know most of them by heart. BTW, If you haven't read them, read them, they are an awesome mix of fantasy, good vs. evil, fun, good storytelling..... It's so easy to get lost in this wizarding world (JKR thought of EVERYTHING, it's so COMPLETE!), and so much fun to read! Anyway, so as you might imagine, I finished the 6th and latest installment in about 3 days. And that was me trying to take it slow to savor it... Oh well. I couldn't help myself.

I will not tell you what happened for not wanting to ruin it for you. I will however, say these 4 things.

1. I LOVE DUMBLEDORE! He cracks me up. :)
2. The Book was AWESOME, though dark.
3. I cried. :(
4. OH MY GOSH!!!!! :-O

So that's what I have to say about that. Enjoy the book! YAY for Harry Potter!!!

Marin And Daryl's Wedding Weekend Extravaganza!

My Cousin Marin got married to my New cousin Daryl last weekend. Here are some of the pics. I'm going to add more when I get them. In the mean time, Enjoy!

First there was the Luau.

Hey look! Rob got leid! ;-)


And Brian And Stoofie too! What about me!?!?!?!


Sisterly love with leis


The Fab Four For a Fantistic Feast!


All dressed for a luau

Then there was the Main Event. DUM DUM DUM THE WEDDING!


Me in my blue dress, all dressed up


My BLUE DRESS!!! I love that dress.


Me and Rob. Doesn't he look so HANDSOME in his Tux?!?!?!?!?!!!!


The Levine's all dressed for a good time. :) :) :) :)


Stoofie and her Brian. How cute!


Me and Stoofie all dressed up


The Wedding aisle to the chuppah (Wedding Canopy)


The chuppah. Pretty!


Rob caught me off guard with a close up


Me and Stoofie pretending we love each other. All smiles :)


My dad and his two gals


Me and Stoofie and the Bride and Groom, Daryl and Marin Greene. YAY! :)


Our extended cousins who we rarely get to see but love seeing when we do. YAY! :)


Me being silly at 2:30 AM in my Blue Dress :)

And That's all I have for now. More when I get them!