I FOUND A DRESS!!!!! WHOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!! I haven't officially ordered it yet, but I really think this is it. I'm SO GLAD I don't have to keep dress shopping and the sprinkles on the icing on the cake is that the store is walking distance from my apartment!!!!!
It was such a last minute thing, we had made two appointments at two different stores and the first store had a selection of like 10 dresses total, all heinous, so we had a space of like 5 hours before the next appointment. So I called a local bridal store in Stamford to see if I could come in last minute and they said come on in and so we did and I FOUND IT! It totally was meant to be. teee heeee!
The funny thing is, I never thought I'd go there because they didn't have any dresses from any of the designers I liked. But I figured we had time, it's right here, and let's go and see, we might be surprised. And the dress is actually one I'd seen in a magazine and thought it was nice but never thought I'd get it. It had some of the things I wanted but some things I didn't think I'd like, PLUS it was strapless. But we tried it on because the company is REALLY flexible about adding things to their dresses. And this dress was REALLY amenable to adding sleeves even though it's completely strapless, all because of the locations of the beading. Apparantly the company makes alterations and adds sleeves and changes things around to personalize it for customers all the time and from what they told me @ the bridal store, the dresses come out looking really good because the manufacturer does it, not a seamstress later on. They had little "sleeve additions" for me to put on with the dress so I could see the effect and it looked perfect.
I wasn't 100% sure @ first because it really didn't have some of the thinggs I wanted in a dress, but the longer I had it on the longer I liked it and the better I felt in it. And seeing the sleeves made a huge difference too. It made it A LOT easier to imagine. I didn't order it right away because I wanted to sleep on it, plus we had another appointment later in the day. (Which turned out to be totally NOT worth it) SO I'll call them later this week and order it.
So that's that. I have a truly elegant dress that made my Mom and Sister tear and exclaim over, and even now, the more I look at pictures of it the more I like it. I even printed out a picture from the computer, took out my paints and painted in some sleeves with white paint. And it really looks great. SO YAY!!!!
I'm not going to post it here because I don't want Rob to see it, but I wanted to update y'all on my dress progress and celebrate that I'm done shopping!!! WHOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Only In New York (Though I THINK it happened in Buffalo)
I guess Buffalo still counts as New York.... but this is something I REALLY thought a NYC driver would do.
Someone printed this out @ work and I went searching for the photos again because it was too good NOT to post.
Both cars driven by New Yorkers, one more in a hurry than the next one.
I wonder whose EZ-PASS paid the toll?!?!?!?!?!
Someone printed this out @ work and I went searching for the photos again because it was too good NOT to post.
Both cars driven by New Yorkers, one more in a hurry than the next one.
I wonder whose EZ-PASS paid the toll?!?!?!?!?!
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HOW CRAZY IS THAT!?!?!?!?
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
The Biggest Loser
Ahhhhh reality television. The latest craze in prime time couch potatoism. I'm actually not a HUGE fan of reality TV. I never got into Survivor, or The Bachelor, or The Apprentice. I never liked the ruthless competition and the elimination and well, I found it all kind of boring and pointless. I found a couple of shows interesting that I do watch though. I watch my daytime reality show Starting Over. I really find it interesting to really peer into these womens lives and to see how they truly learn to change their lives for the better. And so many times I find myself thinking about things they talk about and I find out something about myself. I've gotten hooked. :)
Until recently, that had been the extent of my reality TV watching. Until I came across The Biggest Loser. A group of overweight, morbidly obese people coming together, forming teams and competeing to see who can lose the most weight. And on the way they work with trainers who teach them about exercise and its benefits and how to exercise healthily. And they also learn about making healthy eating choices, resisting temptation, and perservering when the going gets tough and all you want is a piece of chocolate cake. They learn healthy ways of dealing with that, and healthy ways not to deprive themselves of the chocolate every so often without going overboard. And it doesn't hurt that there's a large sum of $$$ for the winner. But in a sense they all come out as winners. Yeah there's an element of competition and strategy to the game with eliminating players and so forth, but the changes I saw almost all the cast members go through was completely amazing. They truly learned how to lose weight and keep it off and live healthy, active lives. A good few of the cast lost 47-49% of their body weight! The transformation was absolutely amazing to watch. Really truly phenomenal and inspiring. And once again, I enjoyed the show for the things I learned about myself when I watched it. Plus it was a fun and enjoyable kind of show. :)
ANYWAYS, why am I BLOGging about all this reality stuff. It could be just a topic to BLOG about. And I've had the topic stored in the back of my mind to BLOG about when I was at a loss for BLOGging material. This entry though has another purpose.
The hospital is having a "Biggest Loser" competition. It's a 12 week competition. You have to pay $17 to participate and the $$$ all goes into a pot. The team who loses the greatest percentage of body weight wins half the pot and the one person who loses the greatest percentage of body weight gets the other half. A pretty cool incentive I think! As far as I knew there were 2 teams that formed, and a third sort of formed today. I'm getting to that. The telemetry floor staff signed up as the team called the Tele-Tubbies. VERY cute. I loved the name. One of the medicine floors signed up as a team, the Med-Eaters. Cute, but not as cute as tele-tubbies. Some of the therapy staff WAS going to sign up with the telemetry team. But then word got out in the department and people got excited and now we're trying to form our own team last minute... The "No Flab Rehab" team. GREAT name! :) The few who signed up with the telemetry floor switched over to our team except for one. So it's the rehab staff against her. She apparantly had already weighed in and paid up etc. and didn't want to change because of that and also because "There are some big people down there! And it'll be easier to lose a greater percentage to win when you have bigger people!" So we traitored her and covered her desk with candy and brownies. :)
We may not be able to fully participate because we're signing up so last minute, but we decided that even if we can't participate in the hospital wide program we'll do it for ourselves. There aren't a lot of overweight people in our department, we're a pretty active bunch. But there are a few of us who could stand to lose a few pounds, and we figure whether we win or not it's great incentive to lose weight and be healthier. Like the cleverly thought of title, its a good thing to be a loser. :) And fun too. :)
My personal goal is to drop ~30-40 pounds of fat and gain ~10-15 pounts of muscle, so a net loss of ~ 30-35 pounds. I have nine months to lose 30 pounds! One I don't want to be at the weight I am anymore, two I want to be more active, and three I want my wedding gown (whenever it is that I actually find it) to look GOOD! And I've been sluggish in my activity motivation so I figure this'll be a good way to jumpstart myself so I can start earlier rather than later and not stress myself out over it.
And so, if you haven't ever watched The Biggest Loser, look for it next season. It's a fun show. And don't forget to watch me too! I'll keep y'all updated because I'm gonna hopefully be a BIG loser myself!!!
Until recently, that had been the extent of my reality TV watching. Until I came across The Biggest Loser. A group of overweight, morbidly obese people coming together, forming teams and competeing to see who can lose the most weight. And on the way they work with trainers who teach them about exercise and its benefits and how to exercise healthily. And they also learn about making healthy eating choices, resisting temptation, and perservering when the going gets tough and all you want is a piece of chocolate cake. They learn healthy ways of dealing with that, and healthy ways not to deprive themselves of the chocolate every so often without going overboard. And it doesn't hurt that there's a large sum of $$$ for the winner. But in a sense they all come out as winners. Yeah there's an element of competition and strategy to the game with eliminating players and so forth, but the changes I saw almost all the cast members go through was completely amazing. They truly learned how to lose weight and keep it off and live healthy, active lives. A good few of the cast lost 47-49% of their body weight! The transformation was absolutely amazing to watch. Really truly phenomenal and inspiring. And once again, I enjoyed the show for the things I learned about myself when I watched it. Plus it was a fun and enjoyable kind of show. :)
ANYWAYS, why am I BLOGging about all this reality stuff. It could be just a topic to BLOG about. And I've had the topic stored in the back of my mind to BLOG about when I was at a loss for BLOGging material. This entry though has another purpose.
The hospital is having a "Biggest Loser" competition. It's a 12 week competition. You have to pay $17 to participate and the $$$ all goes into a pot. The team who loses the greatest percentage of body weight wins half the pot and the one person who loses the greatest percentage of body weight gets the other half. A pretty cool incentive I think! As far as I knew there were 2 teams that formed, and a third sort of formed today. I'm getting to that. The telemetry floor staff signed up as the team called the Tele-Tubbies. VERY cute. I loved the name. One of the medicine floors signed up as a team, the Med-Eaters. Cute, but not as cute as tele-tubbies. Some of the therapy staff WAS going to sign up with the telemetry team. But then word got out in the department and people got excited and now we're trying to form our own team last minute... The "No Flab Rehab" team. GREAT name! :) The few who signed up with the telemetry floor switched over to our team except for one. So it's the rehab staff against her. She apparantly had already weighed in and paid up etc. and didn't want to change because of that and also because "There are some big people down there! And it'll be easier to lose a greater percentage to win when you have bigger people!" So we traitored her and covered her desk with candy and brownies. :)
We may not be able to fully participate because we're signing up so last minute, but we decided that even if we can't participate in the hospital wide program we'll do it for ourselves. There aren't a lot of overweight people in our department, we're a pretty active bunch. But there are a few of us who could stand to lose a few pounds, and we figure whether we win or not it's great incentive to lose weight and be healthier. Like the cleverly thought of title, its a good thing to be a loser. :) And fun too. :)
My personal goal is to drop ~30-40 pounds of fat and gain ~10-15 pounts of muscle, so a net loss of ~ 30-35 pounds. I have nine months to lose 30 pounds! One I don't want to be at the weight I am anymore, two I want to be more active, and three I want my wedding gown (whenever it is that I actually find it) to look GOOD! And I've been sluggish in my activity motivation so I figure this'll be a good way to jumpstart myself so I can start earlier rather than later and not stress myself out over it.
And so, if you haven't ever watched The Biggest Loser, look for it next season. It's a fun show. And don't forget to watch me too! I'll keep y'all updated because I'm gonna hopefully be a BIG loser myself!!!
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Wedding Dresses
I've been looking for the last couple of weekends for a wedding dress. I've only been to 2 stores and already I'm completely frustrated! I just want to get this done with! It's such a frustrating process..... which dress, which cut, which beading, which skirt, which train, which everything in the world. All made even more complicated by the fact that I want/need to have a dress WITH SLEEVES! And if you know anything about wedding dress shopping, you'll know that sleeves are practically non-existant. 98% of dresses are strapless. Another 1.5% have spaghetti straps or tank topish sleeves or cap sleeves; all not appropriate. The last .5% have a sort of sleeve. And most of those are either too sheer, don't cover the shoulder, or exist in a store in Utah only. PLUS I'd prefer a long sleeve to a short sleeve. I think the short sleeves give the dress a "t-shirt" look. And hi-ho! Even the "modest" made dresses are all short sleeved!
I REALLY don't want to have to schlepp into Manhattan if I don't have to. I don't want to have to schlepp into the city and then all the way downtown for fittings and all that, plus it's usually more expensive when you get it in the city.
So I've been to a couple of local places and I know things can be done to alter dresses, but at the same time it's so hard to imagine what they'll look like, or how it'll turn out, or if the alteration will take away from the look of the dress... I'm just frustrated at the process. I wish I could find a dress I didn't have to alter except just for sizing. PLUS there was a REALLY RUDE saleswoman this weekend who shooed my Mom out of the dressing room and then told me that she was too picky. ARRRRGH! I wanted to strangle her, I felt she was being rude and pushy the entire time I was there. She said I was picky too, and when you're picky you have a harder time. Ummmmmmmmm this is MY wedding dress, and shouldn't it be just the way I want it?
I know BASICALLY what I want. The cut, the skirt line and width, the train, the amount of detailing... But it doesn't seem to exist. Except for this one dress I saw online, it has everything I'm looking for, including long sleeves. But no one carrys it. They carry the designer that makes the dress but not that dress because no one else in the world wants sleeves and they wouldn't be able to sell it and why carry a dress that won't sell? I can't order it without purchasing it and I don't want to purchase a gown I haven't tried on...
I KNOW that this all takes awhile, but I hate shopping to begin with, and by the end of a couple of hours in a Bridal Store I'm tired and cranky. I want a mostly modest dress. I don't want strapless or low cut or slinky, I want the sleeves to have some semblance of solidity instead of sheerness. I feel like a dress like that would just be the complete opposite of the type of wedding I want to have. PLUS we're going to be in our Synagogue so I REALLY want to feel comfortable and appropriate and still special all at the same time. I just wish things were simpler. Why does every little bit of planning a wedding have to be so complex? Right now I'm just feeling really frustrated with the entire process. Isn't all of this supposed to be fun and exciting and amazing and a once in a lifetime special thing that you do????
So, one again I'm asking the BLOG reading universe for advice. Does anyone have any ideas as to where I can more easily find a dress with sleeves???
I REALLY don't want to have to schlepp into Manhattan if I don't have to. I don't want to have to schlepp into the city and then all the way downtown for fittings and all that, plus it's usually more expensive when you get it in the city.
So I've been to a couple of local places and I know things can be done to alter dresses, but at the same time it's so hard to imagine what they'll look like, or how it'll turn out, or if the alteration will take away from the look of the dress... I'm just frustrated at the process. I wish I could find a dress I didn't have to alter except just for sizing. PLUS there was a REALLY RUDE saleswoman this weekend who shooed my Mom out of the dressing room and then told me that she was too picky. ARRRRGH! I wanted to strangle her, I felt she was being rude and pushy the entire time I was there. She said I was picky too, and when you're picky you have a harder time. Ummmmmmmmm this is MY wedding dress, and shouldn't it be just the way I want it?
I know BASICALLY what I want. The cut, the skirt line and width, the train, the amount of detailing... But it doesn't seem to exist. Except for this one dress I saw online, it has everything I'm looking for, including long sleeves. But no one carrys it. They carry the designer that makes the dress but not that dress because no one else in the world wants sleeves and they wouldn't be able to sell it and why carry a dress that won't sell? I can't order it without purchasing it and I don't want to purchase a gown I haven't tried on...
I KNOW that this all takes awhile, but I hate shopping to begin with, and by the end of a couple of hours in a Bridal Store I'm tired and cranky. I want a mostly modest dress. I don't want strapless or low cut or slinky, I want the sleeves to have some semblance of solidity instead of sheerness. I feel like a dress like that would just be the complete opposite of the type of wedding I want to have. PLUS we're going to be in our Synagogue so I REALLY want to feel comfortable and appropriate and still special all at the same time. I just wish things were simpler. Why does every little bit of planning a wedding have to be so complex? Right now I'm just feeling really frustrated with the entire process. Isn't all of this supposed to be fun and exciting and amazing and a once in a lifetime special thing that you do????
So, one again I'm asking the BLOG reading universe for advice. Does anyone have any ideas as to where I can more easily find a dress with sleeves???
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
YAY!
Today was an ordinary day, nothing too special. I got to have a student for the day. There's a PT student in the department now and his CI needed to orient an outpatient to inpatient stuff so I got her student. That was fun. I like having students around. I thought that was exciting enough for the day. But I got home and had supper and called my first bridal shop to go looking for a dress.... (ok so SOME out of the ordiary things happened today, but not as cool as this one) Then I sat down to relax with my computer (actually Rob's but who's counting) and I started my usual BLOG reading, catching up on the past couple of days events on friends and random peoples BLOGs I read. And YAY! YAY!!!!!
I got some great news! (As Evi would say, it made me SQUEE!!!) YAY for Adam and Laurie! WHOOOO HOOO and YIPEEEE, I'm so happy for them!!!!!!!!
I'll let Adam tell you the good news, but YAY! I'm SO EXCITED! I love it when things like this happen. You think you have a semi-ordinary day and then you get happy news from a friend and it makes your day "squee-full." That's always fun. SO YAY for Adam and Laurie, and Mazel Tov and WHOOOOO HOOOO!!!!!
I got some great news! (As Evi would say, it made me SQUEE!!!) YAY for Adam and Laurie! WHOOOO HOOO and YIPEEEE, I'm so happy for them!!!!!!!!
I'll let Adam tell you the good news, but YAY! I'm SO EXCITED! I love it when things like this happen. You think you have a semi-ordinary day and then you get happy news from a friend and it makes your day "squee-full." That's always fun. SO YAY for Adam and Laurie, and Mazel Tov and WHOOOOO HOOOO!!!!!
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Bert And Ernie Sing-A-Long
When I was a kid I LOVED this tape. A Sesame Street Sing-A-Long tape, with Bert in the bathtub and Ernie and the rest of the Sesame Street gang interupting coming into the bathroom and having a sing-a-long. It was so much fun! And a great mix of Sesame Street songs and general kiddie songs. I LOVED it, and I played it over and over. I still loved it as I got older, I listened to it all through high school and even college. Until it disappeared that is...I for the life of me can't figure out where it is. I've looked everywhere, with my tapes in my apartment, with my parents tapes... I can't find it. And I miss it! I've tried to find it on the WWW to buy, but it's not made anymore and REALLY hard to find. I just can't find it anywhere. I-Tunes doesn't have it, Amazon doesn't have it, E-Bay doesn't have it... I've looked EVERYWHERE.
So I'm sending out a plea. Does ANYONE have a copy of this record/tape??? If you do, can I have a copy??!?!?!?!?!?! Can I purchase a copy!?! I PROMISE to love you forever and ever and ever. And you will be my Sesame Street Hero. So PLEASE, if you know where I can find this childhood treasure, I would LOVE a copy!!! THANK YOU!!!
Oh yeah, and while I'm on the subject of Sesame Street, I seem to remember and episode where they all counted Big Bird's feathers. Does anyone know how many feathers Big Bird had/has??? I know the costume has ~4000, but I remember the characters all counting and coming up with a specific number. I can't find that info anywhere either. Any help would again, be MUCH appreciated.
THANKS!
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Pastels
My watercolors class has not been offered in the evenings for a couple of semesters now. My old teacher George has started teaching again after his CVA, but not at night. And they haven't scheduled a watercolors class @ night to replace the one he taught. I'm not sure exactly why, but that's what's happened. And I can't take a daytime class obviously. I've done some painting on my own of course, but I've still wanted to take classes. My teacher Teresa (who took over for George when he was out) was offering a pastels class last semester and I wanted to continue studying with her so I took that class instead.
I didn't like it as much as watercolors but it was fun in its own right. There were some things that were a lot easier... Pastels are a lot easier to control and A LOT more forgiving than watercolors. And they can be really bold and abstractify even a simple landscape. But they're REALLY MESSY! And the fixative spray to keep it from smudging all over everything when you're done is STINKY! Besides that I like the idea of painting rather than drawing. I can't totally explain it, but there's something about holding a brush rather than a pastel. It's a different feeling. It's more relaxing for me, I feel different and I feel like I get more of a release. Plus I like that watercolors aren't forgiving. It's great therapy for me. I can't be a perfectionist. And I like the way they look. I find it easier to achieve a softer look. I do need to work on that, I tend to paint heavily, but that's ok too.
While I like watercolors a bit betterer, I did enjoy the class. Pastels ARE fun in they're own right. And I did learn a lot about different kinds of techniques. And I got to see a different side of my teacher and meet different students with expertise in different mediums. I really learned a lot. And I got to do something a little different, which actually helped my watercolor techniques. And they're great mediums to mix with each other as well. I'd like to try some of that.
I'm actually taking two art classes this next semester. A watercolor techniques class in color and perspective and the pastels class again. Teresa said I could come and work in either medium if I wanted to, and she said she would show me about mixing the two as she often does. I'm excited about it. AND, on a different note, Rob and I are taking ballroom dancing and swing dancing lessons through the Stamford Adult Ed classes. So I'll have nights out 3 nights a week and that'll be a nice way to get through the rest of the winter. I always get stir crazy mid-winter, ESPECIALLY since I've been living in CT away from a lot of friends. I've really loved taking all these classes and get out and meet new peoples. :)
So, back to my original point... I finally came across the photos I took of my pastel paintings ages ago and in the spirit of continual posting of my work, here they are. Well some of them anyways. :) Enjoy!
This one is from a photo Rob took while in Greece. I liked the sea (It's so BLUE!) and how it contrasted with the buildings and the landscape. It took a lot of blending to get it all right. My fingers were pretty dirty. That's when I started using hospital gloves while using pastels. It made it easier not to mix things that shouldn't have been mixed and kept my hands cleaner @ the same time.
This one I love. I felt like doing something seasonal, and I loved the way it blended and reflected into the water. It's just something very simple. It's one of my favorites.
I've done this one in watercolors multiple times. It was so different to do with pastels. (This was actually my first pastel painting. I figured I'd start with a scene I was familiar with.) The different media made it look much "rougher" and "bolder." Using the rougher side of the paper added to that. It gave the picture a grainer and kind of abstract look.
This one was fun. I was cold that day, and I found a nice warm sunny spring scene to draw.
And the butterfly was fun too. :)
This one I completely love. I modeled it after a piece of Chagall's mosaic mural in Chicago, The Four Seasons. I had taken a close up picture of these two charactures and I thought it would make a nice watercolor the way it blended. I haven't tried it in watercolor yet, but it made a beautiful pastel piece. Very bold, and yet very smooth and soft at the same time. This one I had to work in layers using a workable fixative spray so that all the underlying background layers didn't smudge into the more detailed top layers. It took a long time to do, but I love it. And the man reminds me of Rob with his red hair. :)
So come February I'll have more classes to take and technique to learn. I'm looking forward to the technique class though I'm sure it'll frustrate the heck out of me. Hopefully though I'll work through it and really learn some control with the water. And I'm looking forward to mixing media. And I'm REALLY looking forward to ballroom dancing. (We need to learn for our wedding) And in the meanwhile I'm looking forward to designing our wedding invitation.... :)
And on that happy note... NITE NITE! Sweet Dreams!!!!!
I didn't like it as much as watercolors but it was fun in its own right. There were some things that were a lot easier... Pastels are a lot easier to control and A LOT more forgiving than watercolors. And they can be really bold and abstractify even a simple landscape. But they're REALLY MESSY! And the fixative spray to keep it from smudging all over everything when you're done is STINKY! Besides that I like the idea of painting rather than drawing. I can't totally explain it, but there's something about holding a brush rather than a pastel. It's a different feeling. It's more relaxing for me, I feel different and I feel like I get more of a release. Plus I like that watercolors aren't forgiving. It's great therapy for me. I can't be a perfectionist. And I like the way they look. I find it easier to achieve a softer look. I do need to work on that, I tend to paint heavily, but that's ok too.
While I like watercolors a bit betterer, I did enjoy the class. Pastels ARE fun in they're own right. And I did learn a lot about different kinds of techniques. And I got to see a different side of my teacher and meet different students with expertise in different mediums. I really learned a lot. And I got to do something a little different, which actually helped my watercolor techniques. And they're great mediums to mix with each other as well. I'd like to try some of that.
I'm actually taking two art classes this next semester. A watercolor techniques class in color and perspective and the pastels class again. Teresa said I could come and work in either medium if I wanted to, and she said she would show me about mixing the two as she often does. I'm excited about it. AND, on a different note, Rob and I are taking ballroom dancing and swing dancing lessons through the Stamford Adult Ed classes. So I'll have nights out 3 nights a week and that'll be a nice way to get through the rest of the winter. I always get stir crazy mid-winter, ESPECIALLY since I've been living in CT away from a lot of friends. I've really loved taking all these classes and get out and meet new peoples. :)
So, back to my original point... I finally came across the photos I took of my pastel paintings ages ago and in the spirit of continual posting of my work, here they are. Well some of them anyways. :) Enjoy!
This one is from a photo Rob took while in Greece. I liked the sea (It's so BLUE!) and how it contrasted with the buildings and the landscape. It took a lot of blending to get it all right. My fingers were pretty dirty. That's when I started using hospital gloves while using pastels. It made it easier not to mix things that shouldn't have been mixed and kept my hands cleaner @ the same time.
This one I love. I felt like doing something seasonal, and I loved the way it blended and reflected into the water. It's just something very simple. It's one of my favorites.
I've done this one in watercolors multiple times. It was so different to do with pastels. (This was actually my first pastel painting. I figured I'd start with a scene I was familiar with.) The different media made it look much "rougher" and "bolder." Using the rougher side of the paper added to that. It gave the picture a grainer and kind of abstract look.
This one was fun. I was cold that day, and I found a nice warm sunny spring scene to draw.And the butterfly was fun too. :)
This one I completely love. I modeled it after a piece of Chagall's mosaic mural in Chicago, The Four Seasons. I had taken a close up picture of these two charactures and I thought it would make a nice watercolor the way it blended. I haven't tried it in watercolor yet, but it made a beautiful pastel piece. Very bold, and yet very smooth and soft at the same time. This one I had to work in layers using a workable fixative spray so that all the underlying background layers didn't smudge into the more detailed top layers. It took a long time to do, but I love it. And the man reminds me of Rob with his red hair. :)
And on that happy note... NITE NITE! Sweet Dreams!!!!!
Friday, January 06, 2006
A CARE-ing Registry
We did it. Finally. We registered. SO MANY PEOPLE have asked us Where!? When!? We want to buy you an engagement gift!!!! What? Not yet? Still? When??? So, we finally gave in. We're registered. We weren't initially going to do it so soon but we figured if people were wanting to buy us gifts so badly we may as well get things that we want/like/will use. Otherwise we'd probably end up with 12 bread boards, 8 fondue pots, and 27 crystal picture frames or something like that.
So we went last weekend and got it over with. We didn't put in everything we'll probably need because a lot of things such as bed/bath/table linens are seasonal. But we got dishes and silverware and some serving pieces and of course baking stuff. That's my FAVORITE part btw, I CAN'T WAIT until I get all the new baking stuff and the HUGE mixer that's under my parents dining room table and when I have the room and I can bake and bake and bake... TEE HEE!! I'm so excited!
I LOVE the dishes we picked out too. We got 2 sets, one each for meat and dairy. One set is glass because glass is amazingly versitile when it comes to kashrut because it's non-porous. So we can use it for pretty much almost anything and interchange it as needed. And that's one less set we need for Passover. I like that. Glass dishes are hard to come by and when you do, they're pretty plain. But we managed to find a set that's pretty basic, but at the same time interesting and fun. We had to get mismatched bowls because the set didn't have matching bowls, but what can ya do...
And I truly LOVE LOVE LOVE our dairy dishes. They are so beautiful and simple and timeless, I can't wait to start setting my table with them. The set is called "Flora." The dishes have flowers on them but not a pattern of small flowers. One big flower. Or two growing together. Or 1, 2, or 3 in various stages of opening. They are SO beautiful. There are different sets that all mix and match. There's a daisy and a rose and a poppy and a cornflower, and a sunflower. So we got 2 place settings of each flower, except for the poppy and the sunflower. The sunflower only came in the dinner plate, but we liked it so much that we susbstituted out the poppy dinner plate for the sunflower and got the rest of the poppy set by itself. I'm so excited to mix and match them and make a pretty floral and fun dairy dinner table. :)
So now we have most of our stuff set and it'll be nice when we eventually get a house to have nice new and matching things to put in it and use instead of the mish-mosh of hand-me-downs we're using now. I',m looking forward to having a matched set of plates, a matched set of silverware, nice serving pieces, matched bedding, etc, etc, etc. I'm excited about the prospect of one day setting up a home with beautiful things tht I'm going to enjoy using and sharing with others. When I have more space I can't wait to have more people over more often. I can live without it, but Rob is excited about having a dairy AND meat kitchen. Ours now is just too small to have 2 sets of everything.
SO... now that I've gone on and on about my excitement over home-making and dishware, you'll probably want to know where to look for these things if you were one of the many people who have previously asked aboot the registry. We are registered at Fortunoff, Crate and Barrell, and Williams-Sonoma. So you can go to those stores or to their websites to do your thing if you so desire.
IF however, you decide to order a gift online, Rob and I ask that you PLEASE do it through the registry search at weddingchannel.com. For every gift bought through this website, WeddingChannel.com will make a donation to the charity of our choice. Rob and I have decided on CARE-USA.
CARE is an organization that works with impoverished communities in more than 70 countries around the world to find lasting solutions to poverty. They not only aid the poverty but also look at the big picture and confront the underlying causes. They have a broad range of programs based on empowerment, equity and sustainability. They work in some of the poorest communities in the world aiding them in self help, economic, educational, and health care opportunities. They also provide emergency aid for those communites struck by disaster and help them to rebuild. It's a worthy organization with a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator, and they put over 90% of their monetary donations towards their relief projects.
And so that's that. Rob and I have tried to make the difficult task of registering a little easier by chosing to participate in helping a program that does so much good around the world. For me anyway, it makes me feel better that in the huge whirl of all the wedding extravaganza STUFF, that some semblance of deeper meaning and good can come out of it all. I am SO excited to know that Rob and I will be spending our lives together. And I'm SO excited to celebrate that with our families and community. But we also want to recognize our priviledge to live the lives we lead, and we want to incorporate a piece of Tikun Olam (Healing the World) and Tzedakah into the celebrations. This is one way we can start to do that even before the actual celebrations.
So for all of you who have been asking, there you go. And thank you so much for your generosity and thoughts at this special time in our lives. And thank you for helping us to extend that generosity further into the world.
So we went last weekend and got it over with. We didn't put in everything we'll probably need because a lot of things such as bed/bath/table linens are seasonal. But we got dishes and silverware and some serving pieces and of course baking stuff. That's my FAVORITE part btw, I CAN'T WAIT until I get all the new baking stuff and the HUGE mixer that's under my parents dining room table and when I have the room and I can bake and bake and bake... TEE HEE!! I'm so excited!
I LOVE the dishes we picked out too. We got 2 sets, one each for meat and dairy. One set is glass because glass is amazingly versitile when it comes to kashrut because it's non-porous. So we can use it for pretty much almost anything and interchange it as needed. And that's one less set we need for Passover. I like that. Glass dishes are hard to come by and when you do, they're pretty plain. But we managed to find a set that's pretty basic, but at the same time interesting and fun. We had to get mismatched bowls because the set didn't have matching bowls, but what can ya do...
And I truly LOVE LOVE LOVE our dairy dishes. They are so beautiful and simple and timeless, I can't wait to start setting my table with them. The set is called "Flora." The dishes have flowers on them but not a pattern of small flowers. One big flower. Or two growing together. Or 1, 2, or 3 in various stages of opening. They are SO beautiful. There are different sets that all mix and match. There's a daisy and a rose and a poppy and a cornflower, and a sunflower. So we got 2 place settings of each flower, except for the poppy and the sunflower. The sunflower only came in the dinner plate, but we liked it so much that we susbstituted out the poppy dinner plate for the sunflower and got the rest of the poppy set by itself. I'm so excited to mix and match them and make a pretty floral and fun dairy dinner table. :)
So now we have most of our stuff set and it'll be nice when we eventually get a house to have nice new and matching things to put in it and use instead of the mish-mosh of hand-me-downs we're using now. I',m looking forward to having a matched set of plates, a matched set of silverware, nice serving pieces, matched bedding, etc, etc, etc. I'm excited about the prospect of one day setting up a home with beautiful things tht I'm going to enjoy using and sharing with others. When I have more space I can't wait to have more people over more often. I can live without it, but Rob is excited about having a dairy AND meat kitchen. Ours now is just too small to have 2 sets of everything.
SO... now that I've gone on and on about my excitement over home-making and dishware, you'll probably want to know where to look for these things if you were one of the many people who have previously asked aboot the registry. We are registered at Fortunoff, Crate and Barrell, and Williams-Sonoma. So you can go to those stores or to their websites to do your thing if you so desire.
IF however, you decide to order a gift online, Rob and I ask that you PLEASE do it through the registry search at weddingchannel.com. For every gift bought through this website, WeddingChannel.com will make a donation to the charity of our choice. Rob and I have decided on CARE-USA.
CARE is an organization that works with impoverished communities in more than 70 countries around the world to find lasting solutions to poverty. They not only aid the poverty but also look at the big picture and confront the underlying causes. They have a broad range of programs based on empowerment, equity and sustainability. They work in some of the poorest communities in the world aiding them in self help, economic, educational, and health care opportunities. They also provide emergency aid for those communites struck by disaster and help them to rebuild. It's a worthy organization with a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator, and they put over 90% of their monetary donations towards their relief projects.
And so that's that. Rob and I have tried to make the difficult task of registering a little easier by chosing to participate in helping a program that does so much good around the world. For me anyway, it makes me feel better that in the huge whirl of all the wedding extravaganza STUFF, that some semblance of deeper meaning and good can come out of it all. I am SO excited to know that Rob and I will be spending our lives together. And I'm SO excited to celebrate that with our families and community. But we also want to recognize our priviledge to live the lives we lead, and we want to incorporate a piece of Tikun Olam (Healing the World) and Tzedakah into the celebrations. This is one way we can start to do that even before the actual celebrations.
So for all of you who have been asking, there you go. And thank you so much for your generosity and thoughts at this special time in our lives. And thank you for helping us to extend that generosity further into the world.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
An End of the Holidays Thought. And Happy New Year!
I always hear all these stories during the holiday season. I got this this this this and this for Christmas. I get all these presents all eight nights for Chanukah. Selfishness in children and selfishness in adults. So and so got me THIS but so and so only got me THAT. Or I see the gross over commercialization of the holiday season... in the malls, on the streets, at peoples homes... The amount of presents and the amount of $$ spent on these presents is always completely amazing to me. I got presents when I was younger, but I never remember it being completely over the top. I don't get Chanukah presents anymore though. My parents stopped giving me and my sister presents years ago, and I stopped giving friends and family presents gradually over the years. Rob and I decided not to give each other physical gifts this year in exchange for the gift of the effort to spend more time with each other, making even more room in our busy schedules for quality time together.
In this spirit, sort of, I was re-reading one of my favorite childhood books from the Little House series by Laura Ingals Wilder. I was reading the series namesake, Little House on the Prairie. And I got to thinking as I read the chapter entitled: Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus. It's a bit of a big excerpt but I'm going to retype the part that got me thinking.
Before I quote, for those of you who don't know the book by heart like I do, Laura Ingalls and her family are living on the prairie in Indian Territory with very few neighbors. The don't have a ton of things as they are so isolated on the prairie. Mary and Laura for example share a tin cup to drink from at meals. That year the winter is wet and rainy with no snow. Mary and Laura have accepted the fact that Santa Claus won't be able to get to them for Christmas because of the bad rain and because the river has risen too high for him to cross. They are disappointed, but understand the problem. Their parents are disappointed also but try and cheer Mary and Laura up. Then, out of the blue, their neighbor, Mr. Edwards, shows up with presents from Santa Claus! He managed in the heavy rains to walk 40 miles and back to the nearest town and braved the rising river to "meet" Santa Claus and bring the girls their presents.
And here's where I bring in the quote...
And that's that. I think the world could learn from a simple passage like that. Simplicity is so much nicer than greed. And I'll bet there are still plenty of children in this world who would love a cup to drink from and a stick of candy. Every time I see holiday craziness and holiday commercialism, and all that, I think of this passage. It's so simple, but I think it says so much. Plus, the book that surrounds it is so much fun to read!
And on that note it's time to get going. Happy New Year!
In this spirit, sort of, I was re-reading one of my favorite childhood books from the Little House series by Laura Ingals Wilder. I was reading the series namesake, Little House on the Prairie. And I got to thinking as I read the chapter entitled: Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus. It's a bit of a big excerpt but I'm going to retype the part that got me thinking.
Before I quote, for those of you who don't know the book by heart like I do, Laura Ingalls and her family are living on the prairie in Indian Territory with very few neighbors. The don't have a ton of things as they are so isolated on the prairie. Mary and Laura for example share a tin cup to drink from at meals. That year the winter is wet and rainy with no snow. Mary and Laura have accepted the fact that Santa Claus won't be able to get to them for Christmas because of the bad rain and because the river has risen too high for him to cross. They are disappointed, but understand the problem. Their parents are disappointed also but try and cheer Mary and Laura up. Then, out of the blue, their neighbor, Mr. Edwards, shows up with presents from Santa Claus! He managed in the heavy rains to walk 40 miles and back to the nearest town and braved the rising river to "meet" Santa Claus and bring the girls their presents.
And here's where I bring in the quote...
"Something was shining bright in Laura's stocking. She squealed and jumped out of bed. So did Mary, but Laura beat her to the fireplace. And the shining thing was a glittering new tin cup. Mary had one exactly like it.
These new tin cups were their very own. Now they each had a cup to drink out of. Laura junped up and down and shouted and laughed, but Mary stood still and looked with shining eyes at her own tin cup.
Then they plunged their hands into the stockings again. And they pulled out two long, long sticks of candy. It was peppermint candy, striped red and white. They looked and looked at the beautiful candy, and Laura licked her stick, just one lick. But Mary was not so greedy. She didn't take even one lick of her stick.
Those stockings weren't empty yet. Mary and Laura pulled out two small packages. They unwrapped them and each found a little heart-shaped cake. Over their delicate brown tops was sprinkled white sugar. The sparkling grains lay like tiny drifts of snow.
The cakes were too pretty to eat. Mary and Laura just looked at them. But at last Laura turned hers over, and she nibbled a tiny nibble from underneath, from where it wouldn't show. And the inside of the cake was white!
It had been made of pure white flour, and sweetened with white sugar. Laura and Mary never would have looked in their stockings again. The cups and the cakes and the candy were almost too much. They were too happy to speak. But Ma asked if they were sure their stockings were empty.
Then they put their hands down inside them to make sure.
And in the very toe of each stocking was a shining bright, new penny!
They had never even thought of such a thing as having a penny. Think of having a whole penny for your very own. Think of having a cup and a cake and a stick of candy and a penny.
There had never been such a Christmas."
These new tin cups were their very own. Now they each had a cup to drink out of. Laura junped up and down and shouted and laughed, but Mary stood still and looked with shining eyes at her own tin cup.
Then they plunged their hands into the stockings again. And they pulled out two long, long sticks of candy. It was peppermint candy, striped red and white. They looked and looked at the beautiful candy, and Laura licked her stick, just one lick. But Mary was not so greedy. She didn't take even one lick of her stick.
Those stockings weren't empty yet. Mary and Laura pulled out two small packages. They unwrapped them and each found a little heart-shaped cake. Over their delicate brown tops was sprinkled white sugar. The sparkling grains lay like tiny drifts of snow.
The cakes were too pretty to eat. Mary and Laura just looked at them. But at last Laura turned hers over, and she nibbled a tiny nibble from underneath, from where it wouldn't show. And the inside of the cake was white!
It had been made of pure white flour, and sweetened with white sugar. Laura and Mary never would have looked in their stockings again. The cups and the cakes and the candy were almost too much. They were too happy to speak. But Ma asked if they were sure their stockings were empty.
Then they put their hands down inside them to make sure.
And in the very toe of each stocking was a shining bright, new penny!
They had never even thought of such a thing as having a penny. Think of having a whole penny for your very own. Think of having a cup and a cake and a stick of candy and a penny.
There had never been such a Christmas."
And that's that. I think the world could learn from a simple passage like that. Simplicity is so much nicer than greed. And I'll bet there are still plenty of children in this world who would love a cup to drink from and a stick of candy. Every time I see holiday craziness and holiday commercialism, and all that, I think of this passage. It's so simple, but I think it says so much. Plus, the book that surrounds it is so much fun to read!
And on that note it's time to get going. Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Candy Canes Part II
I just want to say, that on the 26th, I went to CVS and bought candy canes for 50 cents for a box of 12. I got $3 worth. That's 72 candy canes. That's A LOT of candy canes. I'll be happy with my hot chocolate for a good amount of time! YAY!
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Good Morning!
Happy Holiday for all those who may celebrate a holiday. I personally am VERY much looking forward to lighting my menorah tonight. I LOVE Chanukah because I LOVE lighting the candles and then I REALLY LOVE watching the candles. They're SO PRETTY! Fire is just FASCINATING! :) It's just very peaceful to watch the candle flame. (Especially with my hot chocolate with my candy cane) It's all warm and comforting and happy... :)
But first...... I have work. YES I have to work today, that's the breaks when you working a hospital, and YES as a therapist I still force people OOB even on Christmas. Last year I still had rehab groups on the rehab unit as well as making people in the hospital get OOB. (But my groups were fun!!!! I played cheesy music like the Chicken Dance and the Hokey Hokey and YMCA and Hands Up, and the Electric Slide and the Macarena and The Limbo and alllllllllllllll that, and we danced and did all the "moves" that went with the music... It was pretty cool. And it went REALLY well for range of motion and strength and all that. The patients all thought I was NUTS, but it was fun.) Today as it's a new hospital and they don't have a rehab unit, so I'll just be doing the Acute Care thing. And I'll have help this year. That's nice. AND I get paid at least time and a half if not double time. AND I'm working tomorrow so just in case the hospital's policy is to pay the doubles on the "celebrated" day instead of the "actual" day, I'm covered. Being Jewish has its bonuses sometimes. I can watch movies and eat Chinese food anytime. So I don't mind at all giving the day off to those who it's important to so they can spend the time with their families etc. And I'll ALWAYS have Thanksgiving off. That's always nice.
And on that note, It's time to be offfffffff..... Time to get people up. Have a great day all! Happy Happy!
But first...... I have work. YES I have to work today, that's the breaks when you working a hospital, and YES as a therapist I still force people OOB even on Christmas. Last year I still had rehab groups on the rehab unit as well as making people in the hospital get OOB. (But my groups were fun!!!! I played cheesy music like the Chicken Dance and the Hokey Hokey and YMCA and Hands Up, and the Electric Slide and the Macarena and The Limbo and alllllllllllllll that, and we danced and did all the "moves" that went with the music... It was pretty cool. And it went REALLY well for range of motion and strength and all that. The patients all thought I was NUTS, but it was fun.) Today as it's a new hospital and they don't have a rehab unit, so I'll just be doing the Acute Care thing. And I'll have help this year. That's nice. AND I get paid at least time and a half if not double time. AND I'm working tomorrow so just in case the hospital's policy is to pay the doubles on the "celebrated" day instead of the "actual" day, I'm covered. Being Jewish has its bonuses sometimes. I can watch movies and eat Chinese food anytime. So I don't mind at all giving the day off to those who it's important to so they can spend the time with their families etc. And I'll ALWAYS have Thanksgiving off. That's always nice.
And on that note, It's time to be offfffffff..... Time to get people up. Have a great day all! Happy Happy!
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Candy Canes
There isn't much that I like aboot the holiday season. I dislike the gross overcommercialization of it all, the CONSTANT replaying of all that music, the advertisements that begin in September, the lights on all the houses especially when people go WAY overboard, the pitiful looks I get when I say I'm working on Christmas because so many people are too ignorant to realize that there are people out there who DON'T celebrate Christmas and they just don't get it, all the FOOOOOD that's out there ESPECIALLY if you work in a hospital.... I can go on and on.
There are 3 things I can think of that I like aboot the holiday season. In no particular order...
One, all the great baking and even real food cooking recipies that are out there especially on the Food Network. It's always great to collect a whole bunch of recipes that I can try out during the year.
Two, Gingerbread Houses. I am FASCINATED by gingerbread houses. They're so much FUN and imaginative and I love seeing all the amazing things that people can do with them. Making houses and scenes and whole villages and all that. It completely fascinates me.
And 3, Candy Canes. I LOVE Candy Canes! And they're in abundance! And after Christmas they all go on saleand you can get like 50 of them for like $3 or something like that. Candy Canes besides being Yummy are fun to look at, bright, and often colorful, and I LOVE to put them in my hot chocolate. I often on winter evenings sit down with a mug of hot chocolate. I find it SO comforting and relaxing. And it's so much fun to see the candy cane hanging over the side of the cup. PLUS it gives the hot chocolate a minty fun flavor. I very much enjoy candy canes like that.
Our apartment building had a holiday party dinner as they do every year, and I stocked up on a bunch then. They were scattered around on the dessert plates, and when everyone had picked over the desserts I took the rest of the candy canes. And I got some from work. My boss gave us each a little packet of candy for the holidays. :) So I have a stash. And I'll get some after the holiday when they're all on sale. :) that makes me happy. So YAY for Candy Canes!!!!
There are 3 things I can think of that I like aboot the holiday season. In no particular order...
One, all the great baking and even real food cooking recipies that are out there especially on the Food Network. It's always great to collect a whole bunch of recipes that I can try out during the year.
Two, Gingerbread Houses. I am FASCINATED by gingerbread houses. They're so much FUN and imaginative and I love seeing all the amazing things that people can do with them. Making houses and scenes and whole villages and all that. It completely fascinates me.
And 3, Candy Canes. I LOVE Candy Canes! And they're in abundance! And after Christmas they all go on saleand you can get like 50 of them for like $3 or something like that. Candy Canes besides being Yummy are fun to look at, bright, and often colorful, and I LOVE to put them in my hot chocolate. I often on winter evenings sit down with a mug of hot chocolate. I find it SO comforting and relaxing. And it's so much fun to see the candy cane hanging over the side of the cup. PLUS it gives the hot chocolate a minty fun flavor. I very much enjoy candy canes like that.
Our apartment building had a holiday party dinner as they do every year, and I stocked up on a bunch then. They were scattered around on the dessert plates, and when everyone had picked over the desserts I took the rest of the candy canes. And I got some from work. My boss gave us each a little packet of candy for the holidays. :) So I have a stash. And I'll get some after the holiday when they're all on sale. :) that makes me happy. So YAY for Candy Canes!!!!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Player Piano
Someone recently, I forget who, asked me if it was true that there was someone playing the piano all day in the hospital lobby. Well it's semi-true. In the main lobby/atrium area there is a piano. So yes, there's music most of the day on most days, but the piano plays itself, as player pianos do.
Even so, it's a pretty elegant touch for a hospital lobby. What else can you expect from the wealthiest community on the East Coast? The hospital caters to its clientele. (Again, making it a nice place to work when it spills over to you as staff.) It IS kind of nice though to walk down a hallway on the second or third floor and peep down over the banister into the atrium and hear some nice music. (Well, mostly nice... I'm REALLY sick of Christmas songs... but that's another story for some other time) Suffice it to say though, I do generally enjoy the pianos presence.
Its a pleasant touch. :)
Even so, it's a pretty elegant touch for a hospital lobby. What else can you expect from the wealthiest community on the East Coast? The hospital caters to its clientele. (Again, making it a nice place to work when it spills over to you as staff.) It IS kind of nice though to walk down a hallway on the second or third floor and peep down over the banister into the atrium and hear some nice music. (Well, mostly nice... I'm REALLY sick of Christmas songs... but that's another story for some other time) Suffice it to say though, I do generally enjoy the pianos presence.
Its a pleasant touch. :)
I LOVE The Little Old Ladies
I had the CUTEST patient today. I love the little old ladies. She was completely adorable to work with! We were getting ready to walk and then
“Who are you again?”
“I’m Carie, I’m a Physical Therapist”
“Do you know Martha?”
“The nurse Martha?” (There’s a nurse on the floor named Martha)
“No”
“Is she a nurse?”
“No”
Is she a Therapist?”
“No”
“Who is Martha then?”
“My granddaughter”
“Does she work in the Hospital?”
“No. She’s young, you’re young I thought you might know each other.”
I was ROLLING inside it was so funny. I didn't want to be laughing at her. But it was SO CUTE!!! YAY for Little Old Ladies!!!! :)
“Who are you again?”
“I’m Carie, I’m a Physical Therapist”
“Do you know Martha?”
“The nurse Martha?” (There’s a nurse on the floor named Martha)
“No”
“Is she a nurse?”
“No”
Is she a Therapist?”
“No”
“Who is Martha then?”
“My granddaughter”
“Does she work in the Hospital?”
“No. She’s young, you’re young I thought you might know each other.”
I was ROLLING inside it was so funny. I didn't want to be laughing at her. But it was SO CUTE!!! YAY for Little Old Ladies!!!! :)
Monday, December 19, 2005
Update
An update on some of the daily goings on in my life......
We gave our deposit with the caterer on Sunday. (Thanks Mom and Dad) YAY!!! So now it's REALLY official. Sunday October 22, 2006. And we've chosen a caterer who'll provide us with yummy dairy food at a really yummy price. :) I guess now I have to tackle bands and photographers and oh yeah, the wedding dress. And I'm sure that there are a TON of other details that need to be tackled. I have no doubts that they'll all show up in their turns. It's like a never-ending planning event... all for one day, for one party. But fun and exciting all at the same time. I love having my "sparkly sparkly" on my hand. It's still so new and surprising to see it there, and yet if it's not there I do notice it. YAY for the SPARKLY SPARKLY!!!
Work remains good. I'm definately liking the slower pace, and the environment and the people and I LOVE my desk as I've said multiple times, the only ploblem is that I'm having trouble with my status and my benefits. I thought transfering withing the system would be easier, but it's turning out to be harder because I'm working full time in one and per diem in the other and my status is all weird. So to make a looooong story short, I've been on the phone with human resources from 2 hospitals and things are still moving as slow as molassas. My supervisor told me though that if I need a Dr. I'm covered. I'm just hoping that's right if something happens. I don't want to make any voluntary appointments until I KNOW it's all squared away though. And I need to go to the dentist! But I do like the job, and I'm really happy with the transition. Sometimes I'm completely amazed that I did it. But it really was a good thing for me, and will be even better for me in the long run. So I'm glad, even though I'm tired at the end of the day from all the absorbing I do. And have I ever mentioned that I LOVE HAVING MY OWN DESK!?!?!?!?!?!?!? TEE HEE!!!!!
Hmmmm what else is new. I've been reading the Chronicles of Narnia. I started re-reading The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe because I wanted to refresh my brain before I saw the movie. I've never read the rest of them. And Rob has MOST of the rest of the series, so I've been reading them. They're pretty enjoyable! It's nice to get lost in another magical world for a time. I love it when I can get totally immersed in a story. These are like that. PLUS, I love reading and re-reading childrens books. They're mindless and enjoyable and relaxing. And much easier to get lost in much of the time. I can't even count how many times I've read the "Little House on the Prarie" series. Those were my FAVORITE books growing up and remain so still. (Though new, Harry Potter is a close second though!)
I've been doing/planning for doing some baking. I LOVE the Food Network! I think the only thing I like aboot the holiday season is all the cookie and cake and pie and food recipies that emerge. Plus I'm fascinated by gingerbread houses. And the gingerbread house competition that I watched on the Food Network was AMAZING! The things that people can make with food! It was completely amazing the detail in not just houses but cities and towns and scenes, it was really cool!
And that's that! My update on the mundane and exciting in my life. Hope all your lives are JUST as exciting... :)
We gave our deposit with the caterer on Sunday. (Thanks Mom and Dad) YAY!!! So now it's REALLY official. Sunday October 22, 2006. And we've chosen a caterer who'll provide us with yummy dairy food at a really yummy price. :) I guess now I have to tackle bands and photographers and oh yeah, the wedding dress. And I'm sure that there are a TON of other details that need to be tackled. I have no doubts that they'll all show up in their turns. It's like a never-ending planning event... all for one day, for one party. But fun and exciting all at the same time. I love having my "sparkly sparkly" on my hand. It's still so new and surprising to see it there, and yet if it's not there I do notice it. YAY for the SPARKLY SPARKLY!!!
Work remains good. I'm definately liking the slower pace, and the environment and the people and I LOVE my desk as I've said multiple times, the only ploblem is that I'm having trouble with my status and my benefits. I thought transfering withing the system would be easier, but it's turning out to be harder because I'm working full time in one and per diem in the other and my status is all weird. So to make a looooong story short, I've been on the phone with human resources from 2 hospitals and things are still moving as slow as molassas. My supervisor told me though that if I need a Dr. I'm covered. I'm just hoping that's right if something happens. I don't want to make any voluntary appointments until I KNOW it's all squared away though. And I need to go to the dentist! But I do like the job, and I'm really happy with the transition. Sometimes I'm completely amazed that I did it. But it really was a good thing for me, and will be even better for me in the long run. So I'm glad, even though I'm tired at the end of the day from all the absorbing I do. And have I ever mentioned that I LOVE HAVING MY OWN DESK!?!?!?!?!?!?!? TEE HEE!!!!!
Hmmmm what else is new. I've been reading the Chronicles of Narnia. I started re-reading The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe because I wanted to refresh my brain before I saw the movie. I've never read the rest of them. And Rob has MOST of the rest of the series, so I've been reading them. They're pretty enjoyable! It's nice to get lost in another magical world for a time. I love it when I can get totally immersed in a story. These are like that. PLUS, I love reading and re-reading childrens books. They're mindless and enjoyable and relaxing. And much easier to get lost in much of the time. I can't even count how many times I've read the "Little House on the Prarie" series. Those were my FAVORITE books growing up and remain so still. (Though new, Harry Potter is a close second though!)
I've been doing/planning for doing some baking. I LOVE the Food Network! I think the only thing I like aboot the holiday season is all the cookie and cake and pie and food recipies that emerge. Plus I'm fascinated by gingerbread houses. And the gingerbread house competition that I watched on the Food Network was AMAZING! The things that people can make with food! It was completely amazing the detail in not just houses but cities and towns and scenes, it was really cool!
And that's that! My update on the mundane and exciting in my life. Hope all your lives are JUST as exciting... :)
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Hospital Holiday Party
This week we had a holiday party @ the hospital. I was SCARED!!! People had described it to me as a food orgy. Not a party, not a large lunch, a FOOD ORGY. FIVE separate people told me that. FIVE separate people in FIVE separate INDIVIDUAL conversations. FOOD ORGY. I was scared. It sounded like A LOT of food. Like A LOT, A LOT of food. It REEKED of overindulgence and calories and eating WAY more than one should. It was almost TOO much to look forward to. How much food could POSSIBLY be out there? I mean, looking forward to a lunch party is one this but a food orgy? It sent off warning bells and whistles and red flashing lights....
Well, it was A LOT of food. But I think food orgy was a bit of an extremist term. Or maybe not. I couldn't eat about half of what was there so I didn't think it so bad. It was set up like a buffet, and there were multiple table lines of the same stuff. There were like 15 different dishes. There were PLATTERS of shrimp. That's what EVERYONE went on about, the shrimp. Well, there was A LOT of shrimp. It was a shrimp orgy. :) I don't eat shrimp. No shellfish for me. So there went the orgy part. J There were dishes with shrimp in them and there was meat stuff that I couldn't eat. There was some great pasta primavera, eggplant rollatini, veggie sushi, pastry puffs with cheese and spinach, spring rolls, and a bunch of other stuff i don't remember. There was eggnog and a sherbet punch, there were cookies and cannolis and cream puffs and all that. It went on from 11-2, but I went down during my lunch 3/4 hour and got food and brought it back upstairs. It was too crowded to stay down there and eat standing up balancing stuff. And I was glad it wasn't the scary food orgy I thought it would be. Although I suppose if I were eating a bit of every dish there had seconds… and I stayed down for more than the 15 minutes it took to go through the line and get my stuff it could have been a food orgy, but I was ok. I didn't get sick, I wasn't feeling horribly sluggish that afternoon, I had a nice meal, and that was that.
And the hospital really did a nice job. The food was very good, there was a lot of variety, there was plenty for me the vegemetarian to eat without feeling deprived, a bit of something for everyone, and more than enough to go around. It was though, more of a holiday party than I had ever seen any company/hospital put on. But I guess that's what you get when you work in such a neighborhood. The stuff that the residents as patients want rubs off on how they treat their staff. Which is REALLY nice.
And that was the holiday party. A potentially scary thing but it turned out nice. Another new reason to like my new job. Although I STILL maintain that my desk is the best part!
Well, it was A LOT of food. But I think food orgy was a bit of an extremist term. Or maybe not. I couldn't eat about half of what was there so I didn't think it so bad. It was set up like a buffet, and there were multiple table lines of the same stuff. There were like 15 different dishes. There were PLATTERS of shrimp. That's what EVERYONE went on about, the shrimp. Well, there was A LOT of shrimp. It was a shrimp orgy. :) I don't eat shrimp. No shellfish for me. So there went the orgy part. J There were dishes with shrimp in them and there was meat stuff that I couldn't eat. There was some great pasta primavera, eggplant rollatini, veggie sushi, pastry puffs with cheese and spinach, spring rolls, and a bunch of other stuff i don't remember. There was eggnog and a sherbet punch, there were cookies and cannolis and cream puffs and all that. It went on from 11-2, but I went down during my lunch 3/4 hour and got food and brought it back upstairs. It was too crowded to stay down there and eat standing up balancing stuff. And I was glad it wasn't the scary food orgy I thought it would be. Although I suppose if I were eating a bit of every dish there had seconds… and I stayed down for more than the 15 minutes it took to go through the line and get my stuff it could have been a food orgy, but I was ok. I didn't get sick, I wasn't feeling horribly sluggish that afternoon, I had a nice meal, and that was that.
And the hospital really did a nice job. The food was very good, there was a lot of variety, there was plenty for me the vegemetarian to eat without feeling deprived, a bit of something for everyone, and more than enough to go around. It was though, more of a holiday party than I had ever seen any company/hospital put on. But I guess that's what you get when you work in such a neighborhood. The stuff that the residents as patients want rubs off on how they treat their staff. Which is REALLY nice.
And that was the holiday party. A potentially scary thing but it turned out nice. Another new reason to like my new job. Although I STILL maintain that my desk is the best part!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Lamps and Lightbulbs
YAY for light! I love light. I really love sunlight, but our apartment doesn't get a lot so I settle for the artificial kind. Light makes me feel more awake and bright and well, who really wants to sit ina dimly lit room trying to get stuff done? I like light, and LOTS of it.
Yesterday, the hospital had a lightbulb and lamp sale from Energy Star and The CT Energy Efficiency Fund in association with Connecticut Light and Power. They were selling energy efficient lightbulbs and some lamps to go with them. All @ AMAZING prices! A dollar a bulb for the equivalent to a 60, 75, or 100 watt bulb, and 5 dollars for a three-way bulb. And tall torch lamps with the bulbs for five dollars. They had some other fancier lamps for $15 and $20, which was a GREAT price. The room was mobbed. They sold over 600 lamps yesterday.
We needed more living room light, so I got one of the torch lamps :) and I also got a bunch of bulbs. I got 7 bulbs and a lamp for $15. 5 100 watt equivalents, one free 60 watt equivalent (buy 5 get one free) and a three way. I was VERY happy when I got home and had all that light in my living room. Light is a good thing. :)
And that is my BLURB for my BLOG for today. Time to go get more peoples OOB! Have a good rest of the day all!
Yesterday, the hospital had a lightbulb and lamp sale from Energy Star and The CT Energy Efficiency Fund in association with Connecticut Light and Power. They were selling energy efficient lightbulbs and some lamps to go with them. All @ AMAZING prices! A dollar a bulb for the equivalent to a 60, 75, or 100 watt bulb, and 5 dollars for a three-way bulb. And tall torch lamps with the bulbs for five dollars. They had some other fancier lamps for $15 and $20, which was a GREAT price. The room was mobbed. They sold over 600 lamps yesterday.
We needed more living room light, so I got one of the torch lamps :) and I also got a bunch of bulbs. I got 7 bulbs and a lamp for $15. 5 100 watt equivalents, one free 60 watt equivalent (buy 5 get one free) and a three way. I was VERY happy when I got home and had all that light in my living room. Light is a good thing. :)
And that is my BLURB for my BLOG for today. Time to go get more peoples OOB! Have a good rest of the day all!
Saturday, December 10, 2005
On Hugs
Anyone who knows me well knows some of my philosophies on life. I believe that there are three "cure alls" in life. Smiles. Hugs. And Ice Cream. (Preferrably Chocolate) I found this piece on hugging @ the hospital. I thought it was cute. It made me smile. :) Something about hugs made me smile. OF COURSE I then had to go and eat ice cream. :) I hope that it does the same for you.Notice: The Surgeon General has determined that hugging is good for your health.
Hugging is practically perfect. No moveable parts to wear out, no periodic checkups, low energy consumption, high energy yield, inflation proof, no monthly payments, no insurance requirements, theft proof, non-taxable, non-polluting, and of course, fully refundable.
Hugging is all natural; organic, naturally sweet, non-fattening, no pesticides, no preservatives, no artificial ingredients, and 100% wholesome.
The best people places and times to hug??? Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
No More Labcoat!!!
You may remember, at some point I don't remember where I wrote aboot my labcoat pockets. I love labcoat pockets. They're so USEFUL!!! They hold EVERYTHING! Pens, pencils, hilighters, chapstick, hand lotion, gait belt, goniometer, stethoscope...... etc etc etc. You name it, I probably had it in my labcoat. And if I didn't have it in my labcoat, I had it in my clipboard folder.
Well, no more labcoats at my new job! OY! We have a uniform, which is great, khaki pants, black shirt. I never have to think aboot what I'm going to wear in the morning. But I don't have all my pockets! I have to carry my goniometer and pens in my folder which makes them more easily lost, I wear my gait belt which can be a pain in the neck because it's so loooong and I trip over it when the tuck ins come loose, and I don't even carry my stethoscope anymore. It's WEIRD! And so much harder to get used to! I miss having my chapstick and lotion around. My hands and lips are SO DRY in the winter with the dry heat in the hospital and all the hand washing. My fingers are starting to crack open. (time for the corn huskers lotion)
I'm getting used to it, as I'm getting used to being in a new place with a new routine and new rules, but I do miss my labcoat. It's SUCH a different environment... not better or worse, just different. I miss some things and peoples I left and not others. And I LOVE things aboot the new stuff, and some things arent 100% great. I just need to adjust I think, and change for me is hard... I REALLY do miss my labcoat though. Oh well. I guess that's the tradeoff for my own desk. Which when thinking about it, is SO MUCH BETTER!!!! TEE HEEE!!!!!
I love having little pictures around, and a place to keep things like extra food in case I forget my lunch, or extra pens, and paperclips, and papers and reference books... The desk is so much fun! Like my own little home away from home. I like having some personal space that's always free instead of sharing a tiny space with 20 other people and not always guaranteed a place to do what you need to do or a safe place to keep things. YAY for desks!!!
Anyways, so that's my lament aboot labcoat pockets. And of course my goings on aboot my desk. I think that's going to worm it's way into the conversation a lot for a bit.... :) :) :)
Well, no more labcoats at my new job! OY! We have a uniform, which is great, khaki pants, black shirt. I never have to think aboot what I'm going to wear in the morning. But I don't have all my pockets! I have to carry my goniometer and pens in my folder which makes them more easily lost, I wear my gait belt which can be a pain in the neck because it's so loooong and I trip over it when the tuck ins come loose, and I don't even carry my stethoscope anymore. It's WEIRD! And so much harder to get used to! I miss having my chapstick and lotion around. My hands and lips are SO DRY in the winter with the dry heat in the hospital and all the hand washing. My fingers are starting to crack open. (time for the corn huskers lotion)
I'm getting used to it, as I'm getting used to being in a new place with a new routine and new rules, but I do miss my labcoat. It's SUCH a different environment... not better or worse, just different. I miss some things and peoples I left and not others. And I LOVE things aboot the new stuff, and some things arent 100% great. I just need to adjust I think, and change for me is hard... I REALLY do miss my labcoat though. Oh well. I guess that's the tradeoff for my own desk. Which when thinking about it, is SO MUCH BETTER!!!! TEE HEEE!!!!!
I love having little pictures around, and a place to keep things like extra food in case I forget my lunch, or extra pens, and paperclips, and papers and reference books... The desk is so much fun! Like my own little home away from home. I like having some personal space that's always free instead of sharing a tiny space with 20 other people and not always guaranteed a place to do what you need to do or a safe place to keep things. YAY for desks!!!
Anyways, so that's my lament aboot labcoat pockets. And of course my goings on aboot my desk. I think that's going to worm it's way into the conversation a lot for a bit.... :) :) :)
Monday, December 05, 2005
Week One in Review Week Two To Start
Well, I'm starting Week Two at my new job.
So far so good! I had orientation on Monday and Tuesday which was a process, a lot of repetitive safety, fire safety, policies and procedures etc, but there was also A LOT of customer service and satisfaction. The hospital is in the 99th percentile for customer satisfaction nationwide according to the Press Gainey survey. And they've been there for the last 15 quarters. WOW! So they take customer satisfaction VERY seriously, and likewise almost HALF of orientation was dedicated to that. And I got a lot of it in my departmental orientation as well.
People are really nice, really accomodating, and really helpful. There's some kind of learning curve, my clinical skills are fine, just learning the computers, and the lay of the land and the goings on etc. The hardest part?? Learning everyones names!!! The best part?? MY OWN DESK!!!! With My OWN COMPUTER!!!! That's exciting. :)
I spent a lot of time last week learning stuff, treated a few patients, but I was perty slow. Which I'm not used to being, so I feel REALLY unproductive... but like I said, there's a learning curve. :)
The second best part??? I got the weekend schedule at the end of last week, and until June I'm working only 5 Sundays. That's like a MILLION percent better than where I was. I'm planning on doing some per diem work to earn some more $$$$ but that's MY choice. And I get paid extra. :) I was off this weekend! :) And guess what!?!?! I'm off next weekend too!!!! TEE HEE!!!
The third best part?? If I work late I get paid for it! That's nice. The culture of working late I'm finding is so different. Before, we were SO far behind that we could have been there 48 hours straight and still not get it all done. And we didn't get paid extra for staying late. So we didn't if we could help it. If something important came up we did, but on the whole we left on time. Here, we're behind, but nothing that can't be fixed if we all stay an hour or so later. And we get paid for that hour. So we stay. It's SUCH a difference! I'm looking forward to my new paycheck, a higher salary with getting paid for my extra time. That'll be NICE! :) :)
And on that note I've gots to go to work now. Don't want to be late. But I wanted to give a blurb on the goods so far of my new job. More laterer!!!
So far so good! I had orientation on Monday and Tuesday which was a process, a lot of repetitive safety, fire safety, policies and procedures etc, but there was also A LOT of customer service and satisfaction. The hospital is in the 99th percentile for customer satisfaction nationwide according to the Press Gainey survey. And they've been there for the last 15 quarters. WOW! So they take customer satisfaction VERY seriously, and likewise almost HALF of orientation was dedicated to that. And I got a lot of it in my departmental orientation as well.
People are really nice, really accomodating, and really helpful. There's some kind of learning curve, my clinical skills are fine, just learning the computers, and the lay of the land and the goings on etc. The hardest part?? Learning everyones names!!! The best part?? MY OWN DESK!!!! With My OWN COMPUTER!!!! That's exciting. :)
I spent a lot of time last week learning stuff, treated a few patients, but I was perty slow. Which I'm not used to being, so I feel REALLY unproductive... but like I said, there's a learning curve. :)
The second best part??? I got the weekend schedule at the end of last week, and until June I'm working only 5 Sundays. That's like a MILLION percent better than where I was. I'm planning on doing some per diem work to earn some more $$$$ but that's MY choice. And I get paid extra. :) I was off this weekend! :) And guess what!?!?! I'm off next weekend too!!!! TEE HEE!!!
The third best part?? If I work late I get paid for it! That's nice. The culture of working late I'm finding is so different. Before, we were SO far behind that we could have been there 48 hours straight and still not get it all done. And we didn't get paid extra for staying late. So we didn't if we could help it. If something important came up we did, but on the whole we left on time. Here, we're behind, but nothing that can't be fixed if we all stay an hour or so later. And we get paid for that hour. So we stay. It's SUCH a difference! I'm looking forward to my new paycheck, a higher salary with getting paid for my extra time. That'll be NICE! :) :)
And on that note I've gots to go to work now. Don't want to be late. But I wanted to give a blurb on the goods so far of my new job. More laterer!!!
Sunday, December 04, 2005
A Final Date! FINALLY!!!
Rob and I have FINALLY decided on a final date and place for our wedding. It took FOREVER to find the right place for the right price. And after all that looking we ended up deciding on the place we thought we might want to have it originally. Our Synagogue. :)
It's right after all the holidays, Rosh Chodesh actually, so WE DON'T HAVE TO FAST! YAY!
We haven't put down $$$ or signed the contract yet, but the Congregation and Caterer have both penned (as opposed to penciled) us in and reserved the time for us. We'll probably get all the paperwork together sometime next week.
Now comes the task of finding a photographer/videographer, and band, and dresses, and flowers and all those other details. I'm sure there are pleanty more things that will have to be done that I'm not thinking of but they'll come up eventually I'm sure.
I'm feeling better though that we have all that finalized. I feel a bit calmer.
YAY for getting married!!! I'm SO EXCITED!!!! :) :) :)
So....
Family and Friends.....
Save the Date!
Sunday October 22, 2006
Family and Friends.....
Save the Date!
Sunday October 22, 2006
It's right after all the holidays, Rosh Chodesh actually, so WE DON'T HAVE TO FAST! YAY!
We haven't put down $$$ or signed the contract yet, but the Congregation and Caterer have both penned (as opposed to penciled) us in and reserved the time for us. We'll probably get all the paperwork together sometime next week.
Now comes the task of finding a photographer/videographer, and band, and dresses, and flowers and all those other details. I'm sure there are pleanty more things that will have to be done that I'm not thinking of but they'll come up eventually I'm sure.
I'm feeling better though that we have all that finalized. I feel a bit calmer.
YAY for getting married!!! I'm SO EXCITED!!!! :) :) :)
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
My Thanksgiving Desserts
Took some pics of my baking! :) I'm proud. :) They looked good and tasted YUMMY!!!!
My Rainbow cookies, I broke from the traditional white, green and red, and went for more autumny colors, red, orange and yellow. And OF COURSE with chocolate on top :)
Pumpkin Bread in the shape of a PUMPKIN! With the great Pumpkin pan and cream cheese frosting with a little food coloring. I made The pumpkin orange with stems and leaves! Pretty! And REALLY YUMMY!!! :) I LOVE Pumpkin Bread.
You can see more of the top here, a better effect from this angle.
A birds eye view of the Great Pumpkin! :)
And last but not least, my Apple Crumble Pie. And the Yummys keep on coming..... :)
My Rainbow cookies, I broke from the traditional white, green and red, and went for more autumny colors, red, orange and yellow. And OF COURSE with chocolate on top :)
Pumpkin Bread in the shape of a PUMPKIN! With the great Pumpkin pan and cream cheese frosting with a little food coloring. I made The pumpkin orange with stems and leaves! Pretty! And REALLY YUMMY!!! :) I LOVE Pumpkin Bread.
You can see more of the top here, a better effect from this angle.
A birds eye view of the Great Pumpkin! :)
And last but not least, my Apple Crumble Pie. And the Yummys keep on coming..... :)
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Happy Thansgiving Back
I was thinking aboot the supermarket scene in You've Got Mail!
Anyways, tomorrows Thanksgiving and YAY for Thanksgiving. It's a good time for me right now. I'm moving forward in my life and making scary yet good changes. Today was hard to leave and say goodbye at work, but I'm still excited to move on. I need the change. Even though I hate change. I know, it's quite a paradox. I've been struggling with it myself for the past 3 weeks. But now it's here and I have 4 days to regroup before I start my new job, my new bright future. :)
Thanksgiving is a great way to do that. I'm so excited to spend time with my family and have wedding talk and just enjoy each others company over good food and a warm atmosphere. Then up to VT for the weekend for visiting Rob's family. I Love VT, I always feel relaxed and peaceful and it's such a good place for me to take a brain break and refresh before I stary work on Monday. But for tomorrow, I'm doing a lot of dessert this year, as I LOVE to bake. :) I'm apple pieing, Pumpkin Breading and Rainbow Cookieing. I LOVE these recipes, bake them all year round for various functions, get lots of YUMMYS! I've posted the pumpkin bread and Cookies before, but I'll refresh, as I don't remember exactly where it is on the BLOG. I think last Thanksgiving. But oh well, I can repeat it. This way neither of us has to go searching through 18 months of BLOG posts. (Has it really been that long??? WOOW!!!!) Hope you enjoy!
Anyway, first for the pie crust. From Allrecipes.com.
BEST EVER PIE CRUST (Their name not mine, though it IS pretty good, and REALLY easy. MUCH easier than I ever thought pie crust could be!)
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening (or butter)
1/2 cup water
DIRECTIONS:
-In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
-Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I'm a hands-on baker, I break up the softened butter into small pieces and do grabbing and squeezing of the mixture until it's all incorporated. It kind of looks like wet sand.)
-Stir in water until mixture forms a ball.
-Divide dough in half, and shape into balls.
-Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
-Roll out dough on a floured counter.
-Don't over work it. Use as directed in pie recipe.
Note: If necessary, use a little less water than called for in recipe. (I ALWAYS use less)
And then the Apple Crumble Pie :)
INGREDIENTS:
1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
5 cups apples - peeled, cored
and thinly sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons butter
DIRECTIONS:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.)
-Roll out your pie crust (I do it between sheets of wax paper for some added ease.)
-To get the rolled out crust into the piepan, fold in half then again so you have a 1/4 circle. Then it's easier to lift and put into the pan, center it and then unfold.
-Arrange apple slices in unbaked pie shell.
-Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.
-Mix 1/3 cup sugar with flour; cut in butter until crumbly. (same technique as with the pie crust)
-Spoon mixture over apples.
-Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until apples are soft and top is lightly browned.
This year I have the GREAT PUMPKIN PAN!!!! A gift from Williams Sonoma. :) Pumpkin bread shaped like a pumpkin! How cute! :)
Rena's Pumpkin Bread Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon each of:
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves
baking soda
baking powder
3 cups of sugar
3 and 1/4 cups of flour
4 eggs
1 cup of oil (you can use butter or margarine too, same amount)
1 cup pumpkin. (but I use the whole of the small 15oz can)
DIRECTIONS
-Mix butter sugar and eggs.
-Mix separately the flour, aking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
-Add to the wet ingredients a bit at a time.
-Stir in the Pumpkin
-Bake in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes to an hour until the toothpick comes out clean etc).
It makes 2 loaves, or ~24 muffins (depending on the size), or 2-3 small cake pans, or a great pumpkin with some left over after triming the bottoms so you can fit it together. Either way, it makes A LOT. and good thing to because it's YUMMY!!!
Rainbow Cookies
Makes 8 dozen (96 servings).
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces almond paste (I use almond filling)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
6 drops red food coloring
6 drops green food coloring (or whatever colors you want)
1/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam
1/4 cup apricot jam
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted (I use dark chocolate)
DIRECTIONS
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
-Line three 9x13 inch baking pans with parchment paper.
-In a large bowl, break apart almond paste with a fork, and cream together with butter, sugar, and egg yolks.
-When mixture is fluffy and smooth, stir in flour to form a dough.
-In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
-Fold egg whites into the dough.
-Divide dough into 3 equal portions.
-Mix one portion with red food coloring, and one with green food coloring.
-Spread each portion into one of the prepared baking pans.
-Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.
-Carefully remove from pan and parchment paper, and cool completely on wire racks.
-Place green layer onto a piece of plastic wrap large enough to wrap all three layers.
-Spread green layer with raspberry jam, and top with uncolored layer.
-Spread with apricot jam, and top with pink layer.
-Transfer layers to a baking sheet, and enclose with plastic wrap.
-Place a heavy pan or cutting board on top of wrapped layers to compress.
-Chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.
-Remove plastic wrap.
-Top with melted chocolate chips, and refrigerate 1 hour, or until chocolate is firm.
-Slice into small squares to serve.
This has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. It's an Italian bakery cookie/cake, but I like the homemade recipe betterer. It's got a milder Almond flavor. It's not hard, just time consuming, but SO worth it! YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!!! :)
Anyways, so if you try out any of these I hope you enjoy them. If not, then I hope whatever you are making is wonderful and enjoyed by all. May this Thanksgiving be filled with warmth and love, family and friends, food and fun.
More after the weekend!!! Happy Tofu Turkey!!!!
Anyways, tomorrows Thanksgiving and YAY for Thanksgiving. It's a good time for me right now. I'm moving forward in my life and making scary yet good changes. Today was hard to leave and say goodbye at work, but I'm still excited to move on. I need the change. Even though I hate change. I know, it's quite a paradox. I've been struggling with it myself for the past 3 weeks. But now it's here and I have 4 days to regroup before I start my new job, my new bright future. :)
Thanksgiving is a great way to do that. I'm so excited to spend time with my family and have wedding talk and just enjoy each others company over good food and a warm atmosphere. Then up to VT for the weekend for visiting Rob's family. I Love VT, I always feel relaxed and peaceful and it's such a good place for me to take a brain break and refresh before I stary work on Monday. But for tomorrow, I'm doing a lot of dessert this year, as I LOVE to bake. :) I'm apple pieing, Pumpkin Breading and Rainbow Cookieing. I LOVE these recipes, bake them all year round for various functions, get lots of YUMMYS! I've posted the pumpkin bread and Cookies before, but I'll refresh, as I don't remember exactly where it is on the BLOG. I think last Thanksgiving. But oh well, I can repeat it. This way neither of us has to go searching through 18 months of BLOG posts. (Has it really been that long??? WOOW!!!!) Hope you enjoy!
Anyway, first for the pie crust. From Allrecipes.com.
BEST EVER PIE CRUST (Their name not mine, though it IS pretty good, and REALLY easy. MUCH easier than I ever thought pie crust could be!)
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening (or butter)
1/2 cup water
DIRECTIONS:
-In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
-Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I'm a hands-on baker, I break up the softened butter into small pieces and do grabbing and squeezing of the mixture until it's all incorporated. It kind of looks like wet sand.)
-Stir in water until mixture forms a ball.
-Divide dough in half, and shape into balls.
-Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
-Roll out dough on a floured counter.
-Don't over work it. Use as directed in pie recipe.
Note: If necessary, use a little less water than called for in recipe. (I ALWAYS use less)
And then the Apple Crumble Pie :)
INGREDIENTS:
1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
5 cups apples - peeled, cored
and thinly sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons butter
DIRECTIONS:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.)
-Roll out your pie crust (I do it between sheets of wax paper for some added ease.)
-To get the rolled out crust into the piepan, fold in half then again so you have a 1/4 circle. Then it's easier to lift and put into the pan, center it and then unfold.
-Arrange apple slices in unbaked pie shell.
-Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.
-Mix 1/3 cup sugar with flour; cut in butter until crumbly. (same technique as with the pie crust)
-Spoon mixture over apples.
-Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until apples are soft and top is lightly browned.
This year I have the GREAT PUMPKIN PAN!!!! A gift from Williams Sonoma. :) Pumpkin bread shaped like a pumpkin! How cute! :)
Rena's Pumpkin Bread Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon each of:
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves
baking soda
baking powder
3 cups of sugar
3 and 1/4 cups of flour
4 eggs
1 cup of oil (you can use butter or margarine too, same amount)
1 cup pumpkin. (but I use the whole of the small 15oz can)
DIRECTIONS
-Mix butter sugar and eggs.
-Mix separately the flour, aking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
-Add to the wet ingredients a bit at a time.
-Stir in the Pumpkin
-Bake in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes to an hour until the toothpick comes out clean etc).
It makes 2 loaves, or ~24 muffins (depending on the size), or 2-3 small cake pans, or a great pumpkin with some left over after triming the bottoms so you can fit it together. Either way, it makes A LOT. and good thing to because it's YUMMY!!!
Rainbow Cookies
Makes 8 dozen (96 servings).
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces almond paste (I use almond filling)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
6 drops red food coloring
6 drops green food coloring (or whatever colors you want)
1/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam
1/4 cup apricot jam
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted (I use dark chocolate)
DIRECTIONS
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
-Line three 9x13 inch baking pans with parchment paper.
-In a large bowl, break apart almond paste with a fork, and cream together with butter, sugar, and egg yolks.
-When mixture is fluffy and smooth, stir in flour to form a dough.
-In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
-Fold egg whites into the dough.
-Divide dough into 3 equal portions.
-Mix one portion with red food coloring, and one with green food coloring.
-Spread each portion into one of the prepared baking pans.
-Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.
-Carefully remove from pan and parchment paper, and cool completely on wire racks.
-Place green layer onto a piece of plastic wrap large enough to wrap all three layers.
-Spread green layer with raspberry jam, and top with uncolored layer.
-Spread with apricot jam, and top with pink layer.
-Transfer layers to a baking sheet, and enclose with plastic wrap.
-Place a heavy pan or cutting board on top of wrapped layers to compress.
-Chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.
-Remove plastic wrap.
-Top with melted chocolate chips, and refrigerate 1 hour, or until chocolate is firm.
-Slice into small squares to serve.
This has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. It's an Italian bakery cookie/cake, but I like the homemade recipe betterer. It's got a milder Almond flavor. It's not hard, just time consuming, but SO worth it! YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!!! :)
Anyways, so if you try out any of these I hope you enjoy them. If not, then I hope whatever you are making is wonderful and enjoyed by all. May this Thanksgiving be filled with warmth and love, family and friends, food and fun.
More after the weekend!!! Happy Tofu Turkey!!!!
One Day More...
Another day another destiny.
This neverending road to cal.....zzzzzzzzzzzpppppp
oops.. Got a bit carried away. It IS my favorite some from Les Miserables though. I LOVE that show. Know it by heart. But once again I digress...
Today is my last day at work. I am leaving the inner-city of Bridgeport for the super-duper overwealthy town of Greenwich. It's a change, and not one that is easy to make, but well, circumstances are circumstances. The job kind of stumbled upon me and when I went to check it out, they made me an offer I just couldn't refuse. Significantly higher salary, with significantly less weekends and MUCH closer to home. So with gas prices being as they are, not quite $3+ a gallon but still high, and putting 50 miles a day on my car was getting expensive. My loans are killing my budget, and every other weekend was getting REALLY tiring. I REALLY missed Shabbat. It was SO hard to give up. And yet with all that, I didn't want to leave. I LOVE the hospital, I love the trauma and burns and open heart surgery and all the awesome things you get to see and learn in a Level 1 Trauma Center, a hospital with all the interesting diagnoses etc etc. I love my coworkers and leaving them is so hard. ESPECIALLY knowing that I am leaving them yet another PT short.
But more $$, one weekend day every 6-8 weeks, and 6 miles away, round trip 12, I couldn't pass it up. All the benefits of Bridgeport just couldn't compare for what I needed to do for my financial stability, and for my sanity. Between my monthly expenses, and saving for a wedding, and hopefully being able to put a down payment on a house in a couple of years, I needed to be paid more and spending less on gas. And Greenwich hospital is REALLY great.
It's BEAUTIFUL first of all. I've had hotel rooms shabbier than that hospital. Carpeting in the hallways, wood floors in patient rooms, wood paneling on the walls... Almost all the patients have private rooms, and all of them have flat screen TV's, with direct TV, Movies on Demand and Internet Hookups. The only thing that makes it look like a hospital room is the bed. There are computers everywhere, everything is charted on the computer, so no more trying to read doctor's handwriting. And I'll have access to test results, MRI's, xrays, etc, which is REALLY useful to me and almost impossible to find out sometimes with paper charts. The staff satisfaction is awesome, there's little turnover, and the patient satisfaction in in the top 1% in the country. They are financially stable so they are able to provide so much for their staff and patients. The Rehab staff seems really nice, I like my new boss so far, and well, I get my own desk, computer, and locker. Sometimes it's the simple things that are REALLY nice. PLUS it's in the same "health system" Yale New Haven health System, so I get to keep ALL of my benefits without missing a day. Which is a HUGE plus. Being without health insurance for 3 months would have been horrible. With some of my medical needs right now, I couldn't do it.
So I made the switch. Today is my last day. I start on Monday.
I'll be around on a per diem basis, and I'm probably STILL working Christmas there, but it's my last time as a full time employee.
I am SO going to miss the staff at Bridgeport. I love working with them SO much, and I'm really close to a lot, and I'm going to miss our conversations and advice and well, just seeing them. They've all been really great though. They all understand why I'm doing it, not upset, and realize that this is a good thing for my life. And they've given me a nice send off. I didn't expect much being right before Thanksgiving. But we had a happy hour last night, and they all pitched in to get me a gift certificate to one of my favorite stores, Williams Sonoma, (tee hee!!!) which I'll probably be registering at.. which they KNEW!! Secret spys... :) And a couple of people got me small personal gifts that were really meaningful and they all got me a nice card. All standard stuff to do for someone who is leaving, but it still feels really special.
And that's that. My last day. I'll probably be bawling by the end of the day. But this is a good thing. I have to keep reminding myself of that. Change is hard, especially for me, but I need to do it. The card the staff gave me said this:
It's a perfect send off wish. And I thank them much for it, and all else they have given me these last few years.
Goodbye Bridgeport, and thank you. Hello change, Hello Greenwich.
This neverending road to cal.....zzzzzzzzzzzpppppp
oops.. Got a bit carried away. It IS my favorite some from Les Miserables though. I LOVE that show. Know it by heart. But once again I digress...
Today is my last day at work. I am leaving the inner-city of Bridgeport for the super-duper overwealthy town of Greenwich. It's a change, and not one that is easy to make, but well, circumstances are circumstances. The job kind of stumbled upon me and when I went to check it out, they made me an offer I just couldn't refuse. Significantly higher salary, with significantly less weekends and MUCH closer to home. So with gas prices being as they are, not quite $3+ a gallon but still high, and putting 50 miles a day on my car was getting expensive. My loans are killing my budget, and every other weekend was getting REALLY tiring. I REALLY missed Shabbat. It was SO hard to give up. And yet with all that, I didn't want to leave. I LOVE the hospital, I love the trauma and burns and open heart surgery and all the awesome things you get to see and learn in a Level 1 Trauma Center, a hospital with all the interesting diagnoses etc etc. I love my coworkers and leaving them is so hard. ESPECIALLY knowing that I am leaving them yet another PT short.
But more $$, one weekend day every 6-8 weeks, and 6 miles away, round trip 12, I couldn't pass it up. All the benefits of Bridgeport just couldn't compare for what I needed to do for my financial stability, and for my sanity. Between my monthly expenses, and saving for a wedding, and hopefully being able to put a down payment on a house in a couple of years, I needed to be paid more and spending less on gas. And Greenwich hospital is REALLY great.
It's BEAUTIFUL first of all. I've had hotel rooms shabbier than that hospital. Carpeting in the hallways, wood floors in patient rooms, wood paneling on the walls... Almost all the patients have private rooms, and all of them have flat screen TV's, with direct TV, Movies on Demand and Internet Hookups. The only thing that makes it look like a hospital room is the bed. There are computers everywhere, everything is charted on the computer, so no more trying to read doctor's handwriting. And I'll have access to test results, MRI's, xrays, etc, which is REALLY useful to me and almost impossible to find out sometimes with paper charts. The staff satisfaction is awesome, there's little turnover, and the patient satisfaction in in the top 1% in the country. They are financially stable so they are able to provide so much for their staff and patients. The Rehab staff seems really nice, I like my new boss so far, and well, I get my own desk, computer, and locker. Sometimes it's the simple things that are REALLY nice. PLUS it's in the same "health system" Yale New Haven health System, so I get to keep ALL of my benefits without missing a day. Which is a HUGE plus. Being without health insurance for 3 months would have been horrible. With some of my medical needs right now, I couldn't do it.
So I made the switch. Today is my last day. I start on Monday.
I'll be around on a per diem basis, and I'm probably STILL working Christmas there, but it's my last time as a full time employee.
I am SO going to miss the staff at Bridgeport. I love working with them SO much, and I'm really close to a lot, and I'm going to miss our conversations and advice and well, just seeing them. They've all been really great though. They all understand why I'm doing it, not upset, and realize that this is a good thing for my life. And they've given me a nice send off. I didn't expect much being right before Thanksgiving. But we had a happy hour last night, and they all pitched in to get me a gift certificate to one of my favorite stores, Williams Sonoma, (tee hee!!!) which I'll probably be registering at.. which they KNEW!! Secret spys... :) And a couple of people got me small personal gifts that were really meaningful and they all got me a nice card. All standard stuff to do for someone who is leaving, but it still feels really special.
And that's that. My last day. I'll probably be bawling by the end of the day. But this is a good thing. I have to keep reminding myself of that. Change is hard, especially for me, but I need to do it. The card the staff gave me said this:
Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.
-Chinese proverb
-Chinese proverb
It's a perfect send off wish. And I thank them much for it, and all else they have given me these last few years.
Goodbye Bridgeport, and thank you. Hello change, Hello Greenwich.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Fun And Frustrating And Yet I Can't Stop!
I've had some TOUGH patients this past week. Some difficult because of diagnosis, some because of personality. It's been a strange mixture of fun and frustration. And through it all I still love my job. Go figure!
I mentioned not so long ago that I got one of my patients to take a step. Well, now he's walking outside of the parallel bars! I worked with him all weekend and some this week too. He's making such great progress I'm so excited. But he's REALLY involved and large so having a lot of treatments with him can be tiring. He had a stroke with some severe hemiplegia, and he has trouble speaking and swallowing as well. But he's such a great guy, always motivated, always ready to work. And we worked SO HARD in the parallel bars last weekend and now he's doing well enough to be out of them. I'm SO excited for him. :) That's why I love rehab. I love working with the same patient and seeing their progress, and getting them excited about their progress and just helping them achieve their independence again. TEE HEE!!!
I've had some fights with patients also. Dementia, cranky old men, advanced Parkinsons Disease, pusher syndrome, angry 7 year old boys... It hasn't bee a ton of fun and games.
One patient has a combo of Burns, Dementia, and Parkinson's Disease. Sometimes he's great and sometimes he's so argumentative, it's impossible to get him to do anything. "I'm a stubborn Irishman and you can't make me!!!" Kinda funny when you look at it from afar. But serious when you're trying to get him to do his exercises.
There's one woman who had a CVA, but she's DIFFICULT because she's a pusher. What does that men??? Most of the time when you have a stroke and you have weakness on one side, you lean to your strong side, you rely on your strong side for balance, mobility etc. A pusher has the additional brain malfunction that the brain thinks that upright neutral is 18 degrees to the weak side. So for instance this woman has left side weakness/paralysis. So she is constantly leaning/falling to the left. It's REALLY hard to get her to sit upright in a chair. And the more you push a pusher to neutral, the more they push to that side. Think about it. This patient, her brain thinks that she is in neutral, and you're pushing her over. If someone pushed you over you'd fight back, so she pushes harder to the involved side. It's REALLY hard to work with a pusher. A lot of mirror work, a lot of reaching and balance activities all trying to get the patient to realize her position and self correct to upright. But at the same time it's SO INTERESTING because pushers are rare, and you have to throw everything you know about treating CVA's out the window and start with completely different tactics.
Don't forget the 7 year old shoulder burn patient who shouldn't have been playing with a lighter who didn't want to get out of bed for the sole reason that I asked him to. So he hit me, kicked me and tried to bite me. HARD! I actually felt kind of bad for the kid, there's a lot going on at home, his father just passecd away and DCF was involved with the case, and there's just a ton going on and I can see why he would be upset and angry. It didn't make hitting and kicking right, but somewhat understandable. Either way, it still hurt.
Oh yeah and then there was the incidents with the massive amounts of poop and projectile vomiting.
And to top it off I had the cranky elderly man who just didn't want to do anything and required a TON of encouragement to get him to participate at all let alone the whole 3 hours a day. And it's funny, whenever I gave up and said fine you don't want to participate I'm bringing you back to your room, he suddenly wanted to do the therapy. It was EXASPERATING!! He was a sweet man at heart and he realized we had his best interests at heart and he said he wanted to participate, but when it came down to do the exercises and to do the walking, he just didn't perform. I like him as a person, and I want so much for him because I know he has the potential to go far with his rehab if only he'd believe in himself and the process enough to do it. So that's been frustrating and rewarding all at the same time.
And that was my week. Fun and frustrating. Awesome and happy, and yet cranky at the same time. I guess it's just a part of being a PT. You get SO frustrated when a patient isn't doing as well as you'd want and yet it's such a thrill when a patient meets a goal or blows through goals in his progress. It's like a drug when that happens. You get so happy and excited for your patient and you're trying to convey it to them and all the hard stuff, the complaints of others, the back pain from all the lifting and arm pain from the kicking, it just disappears. It's the PT thrill, and I love it. :) Being a PT is great. Yeah it's difficult sometimes, but still, it's great and I wouldn't trade all the poop in the world for another job. :) I guess I'm just lucky that way.
YAY for PTing!!!!
I mentioned not so long ago that I got one of my patients to take a step. Well, now he's walking outside of the parallel bars! I worked with him all weekend and some this week too. He's making such great progress I'm so excited. But he's REALLY involved and large so having a lot of treatments with him can be tiring. He had a stroke with some severe hemiplegia, and he has trouble speaking and swallowing as well. But he's such a great guy, always motivated, always ready to work. And we worked SO HARD in the parallel bars last weekend and now he's doing well enough to be out of them. I'm SO excited for him. :) That's why I love rehab. I love working with the same patient and seeing their progress, and getting them excited about their progress and just helping them achieve their independence again. TEE HEE!!!
I've had some fights with patients also. Dementia, cranky old men, advanced Parkinsons Disease, pusher syndrome, angry 7 year old boys... It hasn't bee a ton of fun and games.
One patient has a combo of Burns, Dementia, and Parkinson's Disease. Sometimes he's great and sometimes he's so argumentative, it's impossible to get him to do anything. "I'm a stubborn Irishman and you can't make me!!!" Kinda funny when you look at it from afar. But serious when you're trying to get him to do his exercises.
There's one woman who had a CVA, but she's DIFFICULT because she's a pusher. What does that men??? Most of the time when you have a stroke and you have weakness on one side, you lean to your strong side, you rely on your strong side for balance, mobility etc. A pusher has the additional brain malfunction that the brain thinks that upright neutral is 18 degrees to the weak side. So for instance this woman has left side weakness/paralysis. So she is constantly leaning/falling to the left. It's REALLY hard to get her to sit upright in a chair. And the more you push a pusher to neutral, the more they push to that side. Think about it. This patient, her brain thinks that she is in neutral, and you're pushing her over. If someone pushed you over you'd fight back, so she pushes harder to the involved side. It's REALLY hard to work with a pusher. A lot of mirror work, a lot of reaching and balance activities all trying to get the patient to realize her position and self correct to upright. But at the same time it's SO INTERESTING because pushers are rare, and you have to throw everything you know about treating CVA's out the window and start with completely different tactics.
Don't forget the 7 year old shoulder burn patient who shouldn't have been playing with a lighter who didn't want to get out of bed for the sole reason that I asked him to. So he hit me, kicked me and tried to bite me. HARD! I actually felt kind of bad for the kid, there's a lot going on at home, his father just passecd away and DCF was involved with the case, and there's just a ton going on and I can see why he would be upset and angry. It didn't make hitting and kicking right, but somewhat understandable. Either way, it still hurt.
Oh yeah and then there was the incidents with the massive amounts of poop and projectile vomiting.
And to top it off I had the cranky elderly man who just didn't want to do anything and required a TON of encouragement to get him to participate at all let alone the whole 3 hours a day. And it's funny, whenever I gave up and said fine you don't want to participate I'm bringing you back to your room, he suddenly wanted to do the therapy. It was EXASPERATING!! He was a sweet man at heart and he realized we had his best interests at heart and he said he wanted to participate, but when it came down to do the exercises and to do the walking, he just didn't perform. I like him as a person, and I want so much for him because I know he has the potential to go far with his rehab if only he'd believe in himself and the process enough to do it. So that's been frustrating and rewarding all at the same time.
And that was my week. Fun and frustrating. Awesome and happy, and yet cranky at the same time. I guess it's just a part of being a PT. You get SO frustrated when a patient isn't doing as well as you'd want and yet it's such a thrill when a patient meets a goal or blows through goals in his progress. It's like a drug when that happens. You get so happy and excited for your patient and you're trying to convey it to them and all the hard stuff, the complaints of others, the back pain from all the lifting and arm pain from the kicking, it just disappears. It's the PT thrill, and I love it. :) Being a PT is great. Yeah it's difficult sometimes, but still, it's great and I wouldn't trade all the poop in the world for another job. :) I guess I'm just lucky that way.
YAY for PTing!!!!
Monday, November 21, 2005
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I love Harry Potter. Anyone who knows me knows that I know the books practically by heart, I've read them over and over and over, and I've listened to them on tape over and over and over. I can discuss every and any detail, Harry Potter philosophy and plot points etc etc etc. I love getting lost in the story, the magical world, everything is so specific, and yet it doesn't seem so, everything is thought of, almost NOTHING is left to the imagination, unless of course JKR wants it to be. And if there is a string untied that she didn't mean to be untied, undoubtedly she has an answer for it. And with all that I still feel that I can have full imagination of the magical world, what Hogwarts looks and feels like, what doing magic is like, what playing Quidditch is like etc etc etc.
So if I LOVE the books, I've disliked ALL the movies. I've been pretty disappointed. They claim to be "true to the books" and well, often they're not. Sometimes things are word for word from the book and other times things are grossly changed. Even small details that didn't necessarily need to be changed are changed. For example, the snake in the very beginning of the first book that Harry accidentally let out of his cage at the zoo, he was from Brazil, but in the movie they said Burma. Or when Harry was asked to be on the Quidditch team in his first year, Professor McGonagall took the captain Oliver Wood out of Charms with Flitwick. In the movie it was DADA with Quirrell. Things like that bother me almost more than the gross distortions of the book.
I understand that you can't fit ALL the details of the books into a movie. And how do you turn a 800+ page book into a 2.5 hr movie? So I understand the plot changes and all that. But I still don't like them. The movies are good and well made, but I'm loyal to the books, and well, I feel that the movies rush through things and take the "magic" out of the details of the story by glossing it all over.
So on that note Rob and I went to see the 4th movie yesterday afternoon. Besides the theater being full of talking children which I CAN'T STAND, when ANYONE talks or whatever, but I was, as expected, disapointed with the movie. Rob wanted to see it, and I wasn't totally opposed, so we went. I could have waited for video or HBO to tell the truth. The movie was significantly different than the book, the major plot points were there, but still, it was all different. It wasn't BAD, and it wasn't unenjoyable, and I didn't not have a good time (WHOOPS double negative) but I guess I just have high expectations. I love the books too much. I've always been that way. I'm a bookworm. Can't help it. Oh well.
So if you love the books you'll probably be as disappointed in this movie as you may have been with the others. But if you loved the movies and don't know all the details of the books or haven't read them, you'll enjoy the 4th movie as you probably enjoyed the other 3. But if you haven't read the books, I HIGHLY recommend that you do. They are completely awesome.
And on that note, time for work. Only 3 more days.......
So if I LOVE the books, I've disliked ALL the movies. I've been pretty disappointed. They claim to be "true to the books" and well, often they're not. Sometimes things are word for word from the book and other times things are grossly changed. Even small details that didn't necessarily need to be changed are changed. For example, the snake in the very beginning of the first book that Harry accidentally let out of his cage at the zoo, he was from Brazil, but in the movie they said Burma. Or when Harry was asked to be on the Quidditch team in his first year, Professor McGonagall took the captain Oliver Wood out of Charms with Flitwick. In the movie it was DADA with Quirrell. Things like that bother me almost more than the gross distortions of the book.
I understand that you can't fit ALL the details of the books into a movie. And how do you turn a 800+ page book into a 2.5 hr movie? So I understand the plot changes and all that. But I still don't like them. The movies are good and well made, but I'm loyal to the books, and well, I feel that the movies rush through things and take the "magic" out of the details of the story by glossing it all over.
So on that note Rob and I went to see the 4th movie yesterday afternoon. Besides the theater being full of talking children which I CAN'T STAND, when ANYONE talks or whatever, but I was, as expected, disapointed with the movie. Rob wanted to see it, and I wasn't totally opposed, so we went. I could have waited for video or HBO to tell the truth. The movie was significantly different than the book, the major plot points were there, but still, it was all different. It wasn't BAD, and it wasn't unenjoyable, and I didn't not have a good time (WHOOPS double negative) but I guess I just have high expectations. I love the books too much. I've always been that way. I'm a bookworm. Can't help it. Oh well.
So if you love the books you'll probably be as disappointed in this movie as you may have been with the others. But if you loved the movies and don't know all the details of the books or haven't read them, you'll enjoy the 4th movie as you probably enjoyed the other 3. But if you haven't read the books, I HIGHLY recommend that you do. They are completely awesome.
And on that note, time for work. Only 3 more days.......
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Interesting Parenting Tactics
Listening to the radio this AM. Heard another interesting news story.
A teenager in Oklahoma City was slacking off, not doing her homework, talking back to her teachers etc. Her Mom, tired of the continued problems in school, made her stand on a busy street corner with a cardboard sign that said:
"I slack off in school and I don't do my homework so my parents are preparing me for my future. WILL WORK FOR FOOD"
Kinda funny, kinda scary. I'm not sure what to think, but without real thought because I'm too tired right now, but it did give me a bit of a laugh this AM when I was REALLY sleepy and coming in to work.
Anyway, Have a good day! :)
A teenager in Oklahoma City was slacking off, not doing her homework, talking back to her teachers etc. Her Mom, tired of the continued problems in school, made her stand on a busy street corner with a cardboard sign that said:
"I slack off in school and I don't do my homework so my parents are preparing me for my future. WILL WORK FOR FOOD"
Kinda funny, kinda scary. I'm not sure what to think, but without real thought because I'm too tired right now, but it did give me a bit of a laugh this AM when I was REALLY sleepy and coming in to work.
Anyway, Have a good day! :)
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Found this in my archives....
It brought back some fond memories of childhood.
"We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first "lost generation" nor today's lost generation; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak.
We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and gave Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut. We collected Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Ponies and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just a little bit like I would when I was a woman. Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enough for you to play in. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang back up to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like Michael Jackson's.
Today, we are the ones who sing along with Bruce Springsteen and the Bangles perfectly and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to the Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through T.V. stations and stop at the A-Team and Punky Brewster and "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?" We hold strong affections for The Muppets and The Gummy Bears and why did they take the Smurfs off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Pokka Dot Door was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated?
We are the ones who still read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, Beverly Clearly and Judy Blume, Richard Scarry and the Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins went on shoes - preferably hightopVelcro Reeboks - and pegged jeans were in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean jackets and jams and charm bracelets and side pony tails and just tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubberbands made you cool.
The backdoor was always open and Mom served only red Kool-Aid to the neighborhood kids - never drank New Coke. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron; Sit 'n' Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stop; Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes never failed to trip someone. In your Underoos, you were Wonder Woman or Spiderman or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king.
In the Eighties, nothing was wrong. Did you know the president was shot? Star Wars was not only a movie. Did you ever play in a bomb shelter? Did you see the Challenger explode or feed the homeless man down the street? We forgot Vietnam and watched Tiananman's Square on CNN and bought pieces of the Berlin wall at the store. AIDS was not the number one killer in the United States. We didn't start the fire, Billy Joel.
In the Eighties, we re-definied the American Dream, and those years re-defined us. We are the generation in between strife and facing strife and not turning our backs. The eighties may have made us idealistic, but it is that idealism that will push us to be passed on to our children - the first children of the twenty-first century. Never forget we are the children of the Eighties!!"
"We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first "lost generation" nor today's lost generation; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak.
We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and gave Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut. We collected Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Ponies and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just a little bit like I would when I was a woman. Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enough for you to play in. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang back up to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like Michael Jackson's.
Today, we are the ones who sing along with Bruce Springsteen and the Bangles perfectly and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to the Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through T.V. stations and stop at the A-Team and Punky Brewster and "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?" We hold strong affections for The Muppets and The Gummy Bears and why did they take the Smurfs off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Pokka Dot Door was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated?
We are the ones who still read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, Beverly Clearly and Judy Blume, Richard Scarry and the Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins went on shoes - preferably hightopVelcro Reeboks - and pegged jeans were in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean jackets and jams and charm bracelets and side pony tails and just tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubberbands made you cool.
The backdoor was always open and Mom served only red Kool-Aid to the neighborhood kids - never drank New Coke. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron; Sit 'n' Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stop; Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes never failed to trip someone. In your Underoos, you were Wonder Woman or Spiderman or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king.
In the Eighties, nothing was wrong. Did you know the president was shot? Star Wars was not only a movie. Did you ever play in a bomb shelter? Did you see the Challenger explode or feed the homeless man down the street? We forgot Vietnam and watched Tiananman's Square on CNN and bought pieces of the Berlin wall at the store. AIDS was not the number one killer in the United States. We didn't start the fire, Billy Joel.
In the Eighties, we re-definied the American Dream, and those years re-defined us. We are the generation in between strife and facing strife and not turning our backs. The eighties may have made us idealistic, but it is that idealism that will push us to be passed on to our children - the first children of the twenty-first century. Never forget we are the children of the Eighties!!"
Fans Can Beam Up Words With Scotty's Ashes
I found this on the news this morning. I thought it was perty cool beans :)
John McKay
Canadian Press
Monday, November 14, 2005
TORONTO -- Scotty's ashes are heading for orbit.
And his legions of fans can go along for the ride. Or at least their best wishes can. Following the precedent of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, some of the remains of Canadian-born actor James Doohan will be launched into space some time in February or March.
It was one of the last requests of Doohan who died at 85 last July and who memorably played chief engineer Scotty of the starship Enterprise on the original Star Trek sci-fi series and subsequent big-screen adventures.
"You know, it's the final frontier," says Susan Schonfeld, a spokeswoman for the Houston-based Space Services, Inc., which has been arranging memorial space flights for several years now. "I think space is just so loved by people. It's a thing that's inbred in human beings when they look up at the night sky and they see the stars."
In a phone interview from New York, Schonfeld said that the Space Endeavor Center at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base has given them a launch window for their sixth memorial spaceflight some time during February or March. Details will be posted online (www.spaceservicesinc.com) where fans of Scotty can also post a few words of tribute that will be digitized and sent up as part of the Falcon 1 rocket's payload at no extra charge.
Some fans have already done so (see also www.scottylaunch.com). "Thanks for exploring the final frontier and inspiring many others," wrote Philippe Drouin of Montreal.
"You were an incredibly talented man," wrote Kevin Gordon of Denver, Colo. "I wish we could see you in action one more time."
The actor's widow, Wende Doohan, has issued a formal invitation to fans to attend the launch and the memorial service that will take place the day before. If not, they can send their tribute message. "I can't think of a more fitting sendoff than having some of his fans attend this, his final journey," she writes on the website. "For those who wish to attend the launch, you are more than welcome. And for those who can't, just look to the heavens on launch date and know that you are sharing a worldwide memorial for James (Scotty) Doohan."
Also included in the Explorer launch capsule will be some remains of early Star Trek writer John Meredith Lucas, country music singer-writer Randy Vanwarmer - who wrote for the likes of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton - and some 170 others including rocket scientists, plus someone well-known whose identity won't be released until launch day at the family's request.
Here's how the memorial works.
It costs anywhere from $995 US to $5,300 to send some cremated remains up on the rocket packed in a tube integrated into the flight hardware - basically a thousand dollars per gram (the payload available to Space Services is limited).
The aluminum capsule will be launched into orbit where it will remain for dozens, perhaps hundreds of years, before re-entering Earth's atmosphere as a shooting star. The ashes are not scattered in space.
"Everything that goes up must eventually come down," explains Schonfeld. "Whether it's 10 years, 30 years, 50 years, that all depends on where it's released in space."........ Their maiden launch in 1997 carried remains of Roddenberry and writer and LSD-promoter Timothy Leary.
Schonfeld says such alternative funerals - it's been called thinking outside the box - are growing in popularity. "There are funeral homes throughout the world that now carry the space memorial flight service," she says. "It's a very popular thing these days for people to plan ahead for their final journey. "These type of services have become more mainstream."
The Vancouver-born Doohan died July 20 at his Redmond, Wash., home with Wende, his wife of 31 years, at his side. He had retired from public events last year after announcing he had Alzheimer's disease.
It costs anywhere from $995 US to $5,300 to send some cremated remains up on the rocket packed in a tube integrated into the flight hardware - basically a thousand dollars per gram (the payload available to Space Services is limited).
The aluminum capsule will be launched into orbit where it will remain for dozens, perhaps hundreds of years, before re-entering Earth's atmosphere as a shooting star. The ashes are not scattered in space.
"Everything that goes up must eventually come down," explains Schonfeld. "Whether it's 10 years, 30 years, 50 years, that all depends on where it's released in space."........ Their maiden launch in 1997 carried remains of Roddenberry and writer and LSD-promoter Timothy Leary.
Schonfeld says such alternative funerals - it's been called thinking outside the box - are growing in popularity. "There are funeral homes throughout the world that now carry the space memorial flight service," she says. "It's a very popular thing these days for people to plan ahead for their final journey. "These type of services have become more mainstream."
The Vancouver-born Doohan died July 20 at his Redmond, Wash., home with Wende, his wife of 31 years, at his side. He had retired from public events last year after announcing he had Alzheimer's disease.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Wedding Update
Still no decision on a date or place. We have a couple more meetings this week, and HOPEFULLY we'll make our decision by the end of the week. I'll feel a lot better and a lot less stressed when I know when and where I get to celebrate my marriage to Rob.
Will keep y'all posted.
Will keep y'all posted.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Honk for Peace
On a happier more fun makes me smile topic (instead of annoying and pointless political arguments with people who don't respect other peoples opinions topics...)
EVERY Saturday, and I mean EVERY Saturday, for the past two years (or at least that past two years I've been there) there is a Senior Woman in Norwalk who stands in front of the Norwalk Town Hall with signs and banners saying HONK FOR PEACE!!!
I see her on the Saturdays I'm off from work and go to shul. (Which from now on is EVERY Saturday because I don't have to work Saturdays anymore! YAY!!!) We drive right past the Town Hall on the way to and from shul. And there she is. Rain shine, snow, freezing cold, WHAEVER, she's there EVERY Saturday with her signs and banners.
I LOVE IT!!!! I go by honking and honking and waving to her, and she's always so excited and smiling and waving, its so awesome. The noise on that corner is awesome from all the honks. Luckily it's not in a residential area. But still, it's pretty cool.
I love her enthusiasm, and I admire her dedication. I think it's so amazing that she cares SO MUCH about the world and others to spend EVERY SATURDAY in front of Town Hall saying Honk for Peace. If only everyone in this world shared her enthusiasm, caring and spirit. Imagine what a world we would/could live in. I love it!!! TEE HEE!!!!
EVERY Saturday, and I mean EVERY Saturday, for the past two years (or at least that past two years I've been there) there is a Senior Woman in Norwalk who stands in front of the Norwalk Town Hall with signs and banners saying HONK FOR PEACE!!!
I see her on the Saturdays I'm off from work and go to shul. (Which from now on is EVERY Saturday because I don't have to work Saturdays anymore! YAY!!!) We drive right past the Town Hall on the way to and from shul. And there she is. Rain shine, snow, freezing cold, WHAEVER, she's there EVERY Saturday with her signs and banners.
Honk for Peace! End the War! Bring our Troops Home!
HONK FOR PEACE!!!!!!
I LOVE IT!!!! I go by honking and honking and waving to her, and she's always so excited and smiling and waving, its so awesome. The noise on that corner is awesome from all the honks. Luckily it's not in a residential area. But still, it's pretty cool.
I love her enthusiasm, and I admire her dedication. I think it's so amazing that she cares SO MUCH about the world and others to spend EVERY SATURDAY in front of Town Hall saying Honk for Peace. If only everyone in this world shared her enthusiasm, caring and spirit. Imagine what a world we would/could live in. I love it!!! TEE HEE!!!!
Tax Dollar Clarification
Ahhhhhhhh......... It's always the political things that get people riled up. Even if I don't mean for things to be political. All I MEANT to write was how I was appalled at how someone was being treated while attempting to vote. I guess I was just being naive once again about the state of the world and peoples views. I always assume that everyone would wanted to be treated respectfully no matter WHO they are and WHAT they thought, but once again I was proven wrong.
I just would like to clarify this:
*The translators, and most other election day poll workers are VOLUNTEERS!!*
So you can relax that you tax dollars aren't funding what YOU might consider an unworthy cause.
And while on the subjext of taxes, I found this info from a website entitled The National Priorities Project.
For every tax dollar we pay, the US government spends 30 cents on the military, and yet only 4 cents on education. Or 3 cents on Veteran's benefits. Veterans associations estimate that they are 4.3 billion dollars short of the resources they need to care for our aging veterans, and our newly disabled veterans medical needs. 19 cents per dollar is spent on debt (half of that being military debt) and only 2 cents spent on natural resources, 2 cents on housing and .04 cents on job training. Only 11 cents is spent on Social Security and Disability Income. Less than HALF a penny is spent on energy conservation, and yet safe, reliable and affordable energy alternatives will ensure our country against future instability and conflict by releiving our dependence on fossil fuels.
YOU may be worrying about the government spending your tax dollars on something that it isn't spent on, like translators, but personally, I'M worried about the gross disproportion of the governments spending of my tax dollars.
Editors Note: You may have noticed some changes. I decided that you all pissed me off too much by being idotic assholes, and I didn't want to have to keep looking at your mean spirited comments and harassments. So I deleted them, and all but the true points of my postings. I admit to being wrong. I was wrong in my actions, I know it. But there are a lot worse things that could have been done and are being done even now. There isn't anything we can do to change the past except change for the future. It is something that I have been striving to do for a long time in many different ways, and it is something I will continue to strive for, for I am not and never will be perfect, nor anyone else in this world. My hope is that all of the cowardly anonymous commenters who seem to dislike me and my views so much will attempt to better themselves and change for the future as well. Either mend your ways and start being respectful persons, or please stop reading my BLOG. And if you must read, please keep your disgusting comments to yourself. At the risk of using an cliche, If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Disagreement is fine by me, but there is a point when disagreement becomes rudeness, and I truly hope that you learn where that point is. For when you do, you will be one step further to being a better, nicer, and happier person.
I just would like to clarify this:
*The translators, and most other election day poll workers are VOLUNTEERS!!*
So you can relax that you tax dollars aren't funding what YOU might consider an unworthy cause.
And while on the subjext of taxes, I found this info from a website entitled The National Priorities Project.
For every tax dollar we pay, the US government spends 30 cents on the military, and yet only 4 cents on education. Or 3 cents on Veteran's benefits. Veterans associations estimate that they are 4.3 billion dollars short of the resources they need to care for our aging veterans, and our newly disabled veterans medical needs. 19 cents per dollar is spent on debt (half of that being military debt) and only 2 cents spent on natural resources, 2 cents on housing and .04 cents on job training. Only 11 cents is spent on Social Security and Disability Income. Less than HALF a penny is spent on energy conservation, and yet safe, reliable and affordable energy alternatives will ensure our country against future instability and conflict by releiving our dependence on fossil fuels.
YOU may be worrying about the government spending your tax dollars on something that it isn't spent on, like translators, but personally, I'M worried about the gross disproportion of the governments spending of my tax dollars.
Editors Note: You may have noticed some changes. I decided that you all pissed me off too much by being idotic assholes, and I didn't want to have to keep looking at your mean spirited comments and harassments. So I deleted them, and all but the true points of my postings. I admit to being wrong. I was wrong in my actions, I know it. But there are a lot worse things that could have been done and are being done even now. There isn't anything we can do to change the past except change for the future. It is something that I have been striving to do for a long time in many different ways, and it is something I will continue to strive for, for I am not and never will be perfect, nor anyone else in this world. My hope is that all of the cowardly anonymous commenters who seem to dislike me and my views so much will attempt to better themselves and change for the future as well. Either mend your ways and start being respectful persons, or please stop reading my BLOG. And if you must read, please keep your disgusting comments to yourself. At the risk of using an cliche, If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Disagreement is fine by me, but there is a point when disagreement becomes rudeness, and I truly hope that you learn where that point is. For when you do, you will be one step further to being a better, nicer, and happier person.
Friday, November 11, 2005
What a morning...
It's been a doozy. I'm on the Rehab Unit today. So I'm fighting to keep on a set schedule, which I'm not used to having out in house. My morning has been a bit nuts and I needed some time to vent a bit so here I am, BLOGging away my lunch hour.
My morning consisted of POOP, POOP, and lots of POOP!!! And not to mention projectile vomiting. It's a wonder my clothes are still clean. My hands are raw from all the washing though. Gotta go find some lotion.
On a good note one of my patients walked today int he parallel bars for the first time after his CVA! YAY!!!! It was perty exciting. He's making strides. I'm so happy. TEE HEE!!!
And on that happier note, I need to eat something, so off to the cafeteria I go.... Hopefully there will be less bodily fluids and functions this afternoon.
Have a good afternoon all, and Shabbat Shalom!
My morning consisted of POOP, POOP, and lots of POOP!!! And not to mention projectile vomiting. It's a wonder my clothes are still clean. My hands are raw from all the washing though. Gotta go find some lotion.
On a good note one of my patients walked today int he parallel bars for the first time after his CVA! YAY!!!! It was perty exciting. He's making strides. I'm so happy. TEE HEE!!!
And on that happier note, I need to eat something, so off to the cafeteria I go.... Hopefully there will be less bodily fluids and functions this afternoon.
Have a good afternoon all, and Shabbat Shalom!
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Elections Upset
Last night after work I went and voted. And I'm pissed. Very pissed. At one of the poll workers.
This woman was on a power trip or something, ordering people around yelling at people when they weren't sure where to go, just being plain rude and mean. This poor woman wasn't sure which table to sign in at because there were 4 districts in this one small room, and everyone was busy. She made the mistake of standing near the line of people who had signed in and were waiting to vote. This poll worker was SCREAMING at her that she's in the wrong line and she shouldn't be there and if she doesn't know where to go then she should ask for help. Like it was her fault that there weren't and signs and that everyone was busy and couldn't help her. Heaven forbid she stand waiting to ask in the wrong place.
But what REALLY incensed me was the incident with an elderly man. This man spoke very limited English. But he was obviously a citizen of this country as he was voting. (I DO think as a citizen of this country he should know enough English to communicate with the rest of us but that's a different argument for a different time.) ANYWAY, this poor man was SO confused about the voting maching, he was trying to make his vote but he couldn't understand the words, and the Chinese interpreter had stepped out to get supper. So this woman tried to help him but ended up yelling at him so much that he was more confused than ever. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" "NOT THERE" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!" "THAT'S WRONG" "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU THINK YOUR DOING" and on and on and on.
Finally she bursts out of the booth and yells "WHERE'S THE CHINESE INTERPRETER!?!?!" He went to supper. So instead of getting the interpreter in the next room she went on yelling that he was wrong he has to make up his mind, there are people waiting and he's delaying things etc etc etc. Finally the man tries to convey that he'll wait for the interpreter to get back. "Not now, I wait" He CLEARLY said that. I don't know if this woman was so dumb she didn't understand or so angry that she didn't hear, or so rude that she didn't care. But she told him "You're done? Pull this lever" So this poor man thinking he was cancelling things so he could vote properly later pulls the lever and makes whatever random markings he pressed down his vote. I was SO angry with her.
So finally while I'm in the booth voting the interpreter comes back and the man wants to vote. She starts yelling that he voted, he pulled the lever he didn't cancel things, he can't vote again and he should know that. People were in an uproar behind me. She's yelling, other people are yelling, the interpreter is trying to explain things to the old man, it was mayhem. I voted and left in the midst of it, I didn't want to get involved in the fight. By this point the voters and the other poll workers were yelling at the woman that she rushed him, she was wrong, she should have gotten the other interpreter etc. She's yelling that he should know he can't hold people up, that he should know what he's doing, it's his fault, she didn't rush him etc.
I left, but I was SO incensed at this woman. How DARE she rush this man, yell at him because he doesn't know much English, and make him vote mistakes when he CLEARLY conveyed he wanted to wait and vote later with the interpreter. And them blame him for it? I was really upset. There was no excise for this woman to be so mean and rude to this man, and then to yell at everyone else in the room that he was wrong and she didn't do anything wrong and it's all their faults too. OY! This was one GROUCHY woman. She was rude to almost everyone I saw her interact with, but this took the case.
And come tho thing of it, there were similar problems I can remember in the past. There was a woman who was EXTREMELY rude to me last year when I couldn't figure out where to go because the room was so small and crowded. I wonder it that's the same woman?
So my question with all of this is; Is there some way to make a complaint? To let the election board know what happened and to better screen and then train their volunteers to be helpful and not rude on election day? I felt SO bad for the poor man, he never got to make an educated, informed vote, and he was yelled at too boot. That should be prevented from happening in future. Any Suggestions??
This woman was on a power trip or something, ordering people around yelling at people when they weren't sure where to go, just being plain rude and mean. This poor woman wasn't sure which table to sign in at because there were 4 districts in this one small room, and everyone was busy. She made the mistake of standing near the line of people who had signed in and were waiting to vote. This poll worker was SCREAMING at her that she's in the wrong line and she shouldn't be there and if she doesn't know where to go then she should ask for help. Like it was her fault that there weren't and signs and that everyone was busy and couldn't help her. Heaven forbid she stand waiting to ask in the wrong place.
But what REALLY incensed me was the incident with an elderly man. This man spoke very limited English. But he was obviously a citizen of this country as he was voting. (I DO think as a citizen of this country he should know enough English to communicate with the rest of us but that's a different argument for a different time.) ANYWAY, this poor man was SO confused about the voting maching, he was trying to make his vote but he couldn't understand the words, and the Chinese interpreter had stepped out to get supper. So this woman tried to help him but ended up yelling at him so much that he was more confused than ever. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" "NOT THERE" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!" "THAT'S WRONG" "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU THINK YOUR DOING" and on and on and on.
Finally she bursts out of the booth and yells "WHERE'S THE CHINESE INTERPRETER!?!?!" He went to supper. So instead of getting the interpreter in the next room she went on yelling that he was wrong he has to make up his mind, there are people waiting and he's delaying things etc etc etc. Finally the man tries to convey that he'll wait for the interpreter to get back. "Not now, I wait" He CLEARLY said that. I don't know if this woman was so dumb she didn't understand or so angry that she didn't hear, or so rude that she didn't care. But she told him "You're done? Pull this lever" So this poor man thinking he was cancelling things so he could vote properly later pulls the lever and makes whatever random markings he pressed down his vote. I was SO angry with her.
So finally while I'm in the booth voting the interpreter comes back and the man wants to vote. She starts yelling that he voted, he pulled the lever he didn't cancel things, he can't vote again and he should know that. People were in an uproar behind me. She's yelling, other people are yelling, the interpreter is trying to explain things to the old man, it was mayhem. I voted and left in the midst of it, I didn't want to get involved in the fight. By this point the voters and the other poll workers were yelling at the woman that she rushed him, she was wrong, she should have gotten the other interpreter etc. She's yelling that he should know he can't hold people up, that he should know what he's doing, it's his fault, she didn't rush him etc.
I left, but I was SO incensed at this woman. How DARE she rush this man, yell at him because he doesn't know much English, and make him vote mistakes when he CLEARLY conveyed he wanted to wait and vote later with the interpreter. And them blame him for it? I was really upset. There was no excise for this woman to be so mean and rude to this man, and then to yell at everyone else in the room that he was wrong and she didn't do anything wrong and it's all their faults too. OY! This was one GROUCHY woman. She was rude to almost everyone I saw her interact with, but this took the case.
And come tho thing of it, there were similar problems I can remember in the past. There was a woman who was EXTREMELY rude to me last year when I couldn't figure out where to go because the room was so small and crowded. I wonder it that's the same woman?
So my question with all of this is; Is there some way to make a complaint? To let the election board know what happened and to better screen and then train their volunteers to be helpful and not rude on election day? I felt SO bad for the poor man, he never got to make an educated, informed vote, and he was yelled at too boot. That should be prevented from happening in future. Any Suggestions??
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