Oh, my! It's been awhile...

So, I was contemplating not writing here anymore. The truth is, my sister is really the only one who reads this, i think, or at least the only person who has any interest in what I ate for lunch two wednesdays ago, so I could just email her everyday. But, here I am. Because...well, I don't really know why.

So, because I'm a little lazy, and because I spent TWO WHOLE DAYS on this, I'll just list this thing I did for Facebook:

25 Random (and seemingly unimportant) facts about me:

I like to count down instead of up. (I guess that's number 25.)
24. I hate squirrels. The whole country's popluation of squirrels lives on the campus where I work and people (namely those who work with me) feed the squirrels right outside my office and thus they are not afraid of people and LOVE to sit at my window and STARE at me. And did I mention that they're the same size as the miniature dachshund that lives at my house????
23. I miss College Football and being in the south during the football season. People out here only care about Pro Ball (Broncos) and it makes me very sad.
22. Along the same line as squirrels...I hate the meerkat species. Long story. But I will tell you this: if I ever see a meerkat injured on the side of the road...I'll keep walking.
21. I am very weird about stuff touching my ears. I don't like other people to touch my ears and I'll get furiously mad if you give me a wet-willie. If i get water in my ears I sort of freak out.
20. Two things give me panic attacks. The first is something I've known about for years and that's the Ocean. I can be near it...see it...and even stand with my tip-toes in teh water...but if I have to get in the water for any reason I will FREAK. And the second I just recently learned about: driving in the snow. It's much scarier than you think when you live in a climate where everyone driving isn't scared and you ARE!
19. I work in an Eye Clinic for type I diabetics. We dilate peoples eyes and then use several different methods to look at the retina for signs of Diabetic Retinopathy. The best method we use is called Retinal Photography. I am in training to learn Retinal Photography. Most people who go through Optometry school don't learn retinal photograpy. I'm very blessed to be here and to be learning so much!
18. I used to fight so much with my brother and sister. A LOT! But now...I can't imagine my life without them. I also love my nieces and nephew more than I ever though I could love little kids with sometimes-snotty noses.
17. I have been so blessed to find the most wonderful church! It's a "me too" community like I've never experienced! www.flatironschurch.com And because of that church Jules and I have had the change to make such wonderful friends (the commUNITY group)! :)
16. I wear long johns almost every day. (under my clothes, of course)
15. I cry at almost anything to do with the military. At ballgames where they have fly-overs, when I see young soldiers at the airport, when there's a military-related song on the radio...i cry and cry. I'm so thankful for the sacrifice all military personnel make. I have friends in the military and I cannot tell you how proud they make me. It never fails--i cry.
14. I have a very real fear of getting breast cancer.
13. When I read books I actually see the story play out in my head...so vividly sometimes that I cannot remember if a story was a book I read or a movie I saw.
12. I have almost died each time I've tried skiing. Therefore, even though I live in CO, I do not ski.
11. I am thinking about being a flight attendant someday. Not as my forever career, but for a while.
10. I tend to smack my gum. I cannot help it. I try to make a conscious effort not to, but I still do it without realizing. I'm sure it's pretty annoying.
9. I crack my knuckles almost constantly. All day long. I do it without even realizing. I'm sure it's pretty annoying.
8. I make the dumbest jokes. I laugh at my own jokes. I seriously think I'm hilarious! Most of the time Jules is the only one who thinks my jokes are funny too. That's why we're best friends. Sometimes other people laugh. That's okay too.
7. When I shop I look at little decoration things and crafty things, and instead of buying it I think, "I can make that! I'm not buying that when I can make it." And sometimes I do actually make it. For the most part I say, "I'm not buying that because I can make it!!" and then I do one of two things: 1. I make it, but spend double what I could have bought it for. 2. I don't buy it and then never make it. :(
6. I learned how to swim correctly, you know, with all the strokes and all, about a two years ago...and I'm actually pretty good...but I still look like I'm drowning if thrown/pushed into a pool. I'm told it's one of the funniest things you've ever seen.
5. I sneeze about 100 or more times a day. My boss can account for this. He doesn't even say "bless you" anymore.
4. I have only bought one cell phone in my life. All my others have been hand-me-downs (mostly from my sister.)
3. I drive like a maniac (except when it's snowy, of course). Seriously, i get really aggravated at other drivers. I don't ever make hand gestures or yell obscenities, but i do yell...and I've been known to honk on occasion.
2. I am so un-interesting that it has taken me TWO DAYS to think of this many things...
1. I love post-its. I write everything on post-its. I've been known to walk around with post-its stuck to me so i can remember something.
Well, there we go. None of this was all that interesting, but they were at least random. :) I Hope you enjoyed


Okay...well, that's enough for today. I'm going to try to get back in the habit of posting (for you Heather!!) :)

Babies don't like me

Last night we had our commUNITY group over...and one of the "members" (or whatever) had to babysit so she asked if she could bring the baby. I said sure. I figured there's no reason she can't come just because she has this one baby. Now, bring over a toddler and it becomes a dangerous situation. Our house is puppy-proofed but not toddler-proofed. You know...toddlers have thumbs and can open things...whereas dogs just paw or nuzzle things. Anyway. She brings the baby over and as soon as it crossed the threshold of our house it started crying. I said..."Babies generally don't like me." and they just laughed. Y'ALL! That stinkin baby cried the entire time. We tried everything to get it to stop. Nothing worked. They changed her diaper, they fed her milk...everything. She just kept on crying. I felt very glad that I was not caring for this child. I even found myself thinking..."for heaven's sake, kid...will you STOP crying??" and then I thought, my goodness...it's a good thing I'm nowhere near ready to have kids.
Then, because we were talking about babies, M and E, who are engaged to be married in April 09 started discussing babies. E said, "I think we're going to try to have a baby in September 2009." and I thought for a minute...then I said, "Well, you had better get started on that now, because you have about 9 months and a couple weeks to get that going." and everyone laughed a lot. E meant to say 2010, and so she was like ?????? but it was really funny!

Today I called an English Muffin a "McMuffin" about 453 times. Fatty is as fatty does.

And Heather finally posted again! I was so glad to read it, except the parts about how she got pregnant. Thankyouverymuch. But Anyway, it's a sweet post about how much she loves her children. They are sweet children. :)

OK...I'm doing better today. I didn't get any more sleep than I was getting, but today I had some coffee and it's really helping me!

Let's waste time chasing cars...

Hi.

I have no idea why I always feel compelled to say Hi at the beginning of my blog posts. Jules joked me about it the other day, and until then I hadn't realized I do it. But the proof's in the pudding...or whatever the saying is.

Anyway.

Oh, also random: my title. Just a song playing on the radio right now. Whatever.

I'm having a hard time right now. I've started riding the bus, and although I cannot tell you how thankful I am for not having to drive to work everyday now, and also for the fact that the bus is not like ghetto and scary, I am TIRED. I have to get up much earlier than I would if I were driving, and since I'm new to the bus thing, I'm still having to perfect the amount of time I need to leave my house in, etc. Also, I get home around 7 instead of 6, which means LOTS to do at night and not much time to do it in. Also, I keep getting car sick. The driver is doing a great job, it's really not his driving. It's that I can't see out. The windows are constantly and completely fogged up because it's like 3 degrees outside and if you sit in the back part of the bus you just can't see out. And I like to spend my hours on the bus reading...so that adds to the car-sickness. So, I'm trying different seats, different sections...i don't know.

The point is...I'm really really exhausted. I haven't been getting enough sleep and this morning I got up, looked in the mirror...and I have black bags under my eyes. BLACK. like someone punched me. Hi. I'm 24 and I have the eyes of a 55 year old woman. YAY!! I'm trying to go to bed early but it just hasn't been happening. I actually am starting to feel a cold coming on...I think that's partly to blame on the tiredness and partly to blame on standing in the dad-blasted cold all the stinkin time.

Tonight is our CommUNITY Group...and although I'm really glad to see everyone...I'M SO TIRED. and lots of times people stay over until like 11. That CANNOT happen tonight. I have no idea if it's too rude to tell everyone that I'm super tired and that I'm shutting down at like 9. Is that too rude?? (i have no idea who I'm asking...Heather???)

I feel like crying. I feel like laying in the exam room and crying. Because I'm tired. Because I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. Because there' s still so much to be done. Because my house is a disaster and people are coming over tonight. Because work is SO busy now. Because I need to do things like eat and shower and I just don't feel like I have enough time. :(

It's too bad I'm not riding to work in an RV. That's SORT OF like a bus...and it has a shower...a kitchen table and fridge...and I could probably even sleep on the way. Anyone want to drive me to work everyday in their RV???

Yo! What's up with all the unity???

I think I've mentioned a couple (or 456) times that me and my roommate/best friend host what we call a community group on Wednesday nights. It has been going on a little over a year now. It's called a Community Group because our church is fairly large and we don't have Sunday School (thank the good Lord!!) and so it's a way to branch out and meet people and "do life together". It's a fairly new idea (or at least the idea set in motion is fairly new) having started a little over a year ago. The preacher was challenging the "congregation" (i hate that word) to start a small group where people can come over or meet at a central location and just do life together. When all this occurred, me and Jules had only lived here for about 8-9 months and we didn't have a lot of friends. Actually, we had 2 friends. TWO. So, Jules said, "why don't we do it!?" which is totally out of character for her! She's usually a little bit introverted and holds back when it comes to meeting new people. I'm usually the one who's like, "Yeah!! Let's put ourselves out there!!" But the roles were completely reversed at that moment. She said we should do it...I said Heck no!! But, in the end she talked me into it--basically by saying that if we wanted to make friends and have a life here then we needed to do SOMETHING. So, we signed up...took the "class" and started our group.
The first Wednesday we had a couple come. They were super nice. We hung out and had a little finger food tray. I think I remember thinking that they'd never come back. I figured that people have enough "crazy" in their lives without adding us to the mix. The next Wednesday night that first couple did not come. (I knew it!) but a new couple came. They were really nice and seemed pretty normal, too. I figured they wouldn't come back either, but they did. And guess what!? The first couple came back too. I think the next time we met was for a Christmas Party. There were 6 of us there. It was the first time the two couples had ever even been in the same room with one another. Me and Jules were both going out of town for the next week or so for Christmas and then there was New Year's so we didn't meet for 2 Wednesdays. I figured we would never see these people again--that they wouldn't come back after the holidays.
So, January 2008 comes along and the church hosts this thing where all the groups set up a table and a sign and you stand there and you advertise your group and people can sign up to get emails and info about your group. We had people come. About 8 signed up. Maybe not even that many. I can't remember. So I emailed the group list and the next Wednesday we packed like 10 people in our house. I remember thinking...Oh, these people will get a taste of my crazy and they'll never come back. But they did. They kept coming back. And they brought friends. (I have no idea why). At some point we were packing 25 people in our house. TWENTY-FIVE. I still couldn't figure out why 25 people wanted to hang out with us, and I kept saying, "They'll never be back.
In the beginning me and Jules sat down and really discussed in what direction we wanted the group to go. We knew that neither of us felt we wanted a very serious, straight-laced Bible Study of sorts, because neither of us are straight-laced or very serious. We knew we wanted to provide a fun atmosphere, and we knew that we wanted to create a comfortable environment where people could come and make good friends that they could count on and build relationships with. So, that became our main focus. We started out with a schedule of doing Dinner nights, Game nights, Themed-snack night, and Bible study night. That went on for months, and was pretty successful. We had a couple "members" who were coming every week, but sort of putting pressure on us to create a more strict "Bible study" program rather than a "fun" program. We weren't sure what to do, and we really didn't want cause anyone to leave, so we started trying to please everyone. There were some who wanted a little bible study but still fun, some wanted only bible study and some said they got enough bible study elsewhere (i.e. church, other groups, etc). We weren't sure how to please everyone and we started to dread having the group. We tried to assign volunteers to particular weeks to do a Bible study, but then people wouldn't show up and we'd be left scrambling. We refer to that time period as "the wonder years" because it's a WONDER anyone stuck around. It was terrible. The group felt strained because we were strained. It was a very rough patch. Finally we had to sit down with the people who were causing a rift and tell them that we had gone astray from our original focus. It was a very uncomfortable thing for us to tell someone, "hey, if this is not the group you're looking for THAT'S OKAY....but we're not changing. Let me tell you about some other groups you might enjoy." I was constantly worried that we had stepped on some toes and that those people would gossip or whatever about us. But, eventually we felt we had done the right thing. It wasn't immediate, but those people who were unhappy with our group, they left and last I heard they found a group and were very happy. And we were happy too.
So, fast forward a few months. We no longer have 25 people coming...lots of those must have figured out how crazy we really are ;-) . We do have a core group of about 12 that come almost every week. We have new people email me almost every week who want to try the group out. Sometimes they stay and sometimes they don't but either way, it doesn't matter. I really feel like we are doing exactly what we're supposed to be doing.
So, now we don't have a set schedule of what "activities" we do each week. But we are trying really hard to come up with some fun things to do. During the summer we did a great job, with things such as Kickball games and swimming nights. We had Thanksgiving dinner last week, and in December we have all kinds of things planned. Including a Christmas party--where there should be more than 6 people, and almost everyone will know one another.
In the beginning if you would have told me that we'd still be going strong after a year, and that the original 4 "members" are still there, I would have laughed in your face. I would have said that you were insane, because people have enough Crazy in their lives without adding us to the mix. I would have said that we don't have much to offer and that people won't come over just to be bored. And I would have been wrong. As it turns out, we love these people who come over on Wednesday nights. They have supported us in every way possible, showing that they really care about us too. There have been times when Jules was out of work when we weren't sure how the bills were going to get paid. Without anyone else knowing one of the "members" gave us 1,000 dollars. ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Another person gave us 300 dollars. THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS!! People sacrificed what they had to help us out. And they haven't just supported us. They've supported each other. They've been there for one another. They've built the relationships that count and that they can count ON. They have friends they can call at 2:00 AM if something goes terribly wrong. And THAT'S what we were aiming for. We love our friends--and can pretty securely say that they love us too.
That's what CommUNITY is all about.

Thank you, God, for Turkey Day!

So, this Thanksgiving I couldn't afford to fly home, and let's face it...I wasn't making it on Standby, so Jules and I decided that we would just stay here and cook for our other out-of-town friends. Jules had to work most of the day, so we prepared almost everything ahead of time and just popped it in the freezer or fridge. It all went off pretty smoothly--I didn't even burn anything. I did have to peel the skin off the turkey because when I unwrapped the turkey it had this slimy snotty stuff all over it and I couldn't get it to wash off. So, i just pulled all the skin off. GROSS!! nobody wants snotty turkey. Later I got a little panicky because I felt like our turkey wasn't going to cook on time. It only took us a little while to realize the reason it didn't look like it was cooking was because it was naked. I took off it's (snotty) skin and so that made it a little more light pinkish than golden brown. Sounds appetizing, eh?

Well, anyway, we ended up with 6 people at our little intimate Thanksgiving Feast! I tell you, there's STILL some of that food left! Someone PLEASE come eat it!!!

And the best news of all, I didn't over eat. I ate slowly until I was full, and got up from the table. And seriously, I think that's the first thanksgiving in my life that I've done that!

Ok...now I have to go and gouge my eyes out until it's time to leave!!!

Jet-Lagged

My boss has been out of town since October 27th. He and his wife went to various areas in Europe, spending most of their time in Germany, with one of their oldest friends. I'm sure they had a great time. I got a text message from my boss yesterday around 4:30 saying something like this:

"were back. n chicago. any patients tomorrow? were very jet lagged." or something close to that.

I wrote back and informed him (for the 45th time) that I had cleared the schedule a long time ago and he was not expected back at work until the 13th. And I might have told him to chill, or something.

So, I'm pretty sure he's still going to be jet-lagged tomorrow...because you just don't recover that quickly from that many days of different time stuff. I tried to talk him into taking the rest of this week off, back when he was planning the trip, but he said his usual, "It'll be fine." And I think that his record of being right once he's uttered those words is pretty pathetic. He really should try to listen to me sometimes. Anyway, of course I stacked the schedule extra full for the rest of the month because he wanted to make up for the days he has been out (half the month.) And the week before he went out of town we saw like 20 patients who couldn't be charted on at all because of technical problems with the charting program here at work. They are leaving the records open until the 15th. That means that not only does he have to see a full day's patients on Th and Fri, but he also has to chart on 20 patients that he saw like 20 days ago. And I get to be the one to tell him all this. YAY!....................boo.

So, anyway, aside from still being sick...and the dread of clinic opening back up...things are going pretty good. We're having a coffee house tonight at CommUNITY group. That should be fun!!

Oh..and I just need to admit that I took my niece to see High School Musical 3 while I was in Alabama, and I JUST LOVED IT. I think I am really a 13 year old girl trapped in a 24 year old's body. :) OH, that troy. It should be illegal for someone so young to look so beautiful.

Gourd-jus fun!

We did pumpkin carving last night at our CommUNITY group. It was pretty stinkin fun...even though very few people showed up. I was suprised by the fact that not many showed, because they show for things like a mediocre dinner served by yours truly, but not pumpkin carving. Oh well, to each his own. Anyway, it was pretty fun. I painted instead of carving, mostly because I wasn't digging the pumpkin guts this year. yuck! And this is how mine turned out:

Ignore the mess surrounding the pumpkin...Everyone was still working. :)

Oooh! Scary!! He's frankenstein. And you know where I got the idea? I went into Microsoft Word and looked at the halloween clip art. They make all kinds of smileys that are halloween-related and since they're round it's easy to paint a pumpkin like one of the smileys. So that's what i did. I like his hair. It sort of looks like Eli Mattson, from America's Got Talent:
Photo taken from Eli Mattson's MySpace Page.

Doesn't the hair of my pumpkin kinda look like that, except Eli's is lighter? And might I add, Eli is just a beautiful man, isn't he? OK...moving on.

In other news...my feet really stink today. I am wearing these

OLD ballet type shoes and they stink to high heaven. If i arch my feet a certain way, or flip my foot out of my shoe even a little...a stench takes over! YUCK!!

Ok...that's all I have. I hope you're still awake after all this mediocre news! :)

Ok...I'll steal too. Random Things That Make Me Happy

In no particular order:

1. Flatirons Community Church
2. Chili or Taco Soup on a Cold Day.
3. My sister and her beautiful kids
4. the way your hair smells after a good shower.
5. a good meal
6. free things
7. Laughing
8. Movies and television
9. Crafts
10. the snow (as long as I don't have to drive in it).
11. the feeling of a full tank of gas
12. getting my hair done (cut or colored)
13. traveling
14. getting in my warm bed at the end of the day
15. our Community Group
16. wedding pictures
17. fall
18. Alabama Football
19. land-line phones
20. Westin Puppy
21. Sunsets
22. swimming
23. Sharpie Markers
24. Coffee with 2 sweet-n-lows and cream over ice
25. the way new white out works so GOOD.
26. flowers
27. learning new things
28. payday
29. a good joke
30. grilled cheese and tomato soup
31. Plays
32. the smell of a new car
33. Gulf Shores/Orange Beach
34. music
35. clic-stic pens, by BIC
36. Pushing Daisies, Grey's Anatomy, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance.
37. ice cream
38. feeling pretty (when it does happen)
39. Cooking
40. Water Slides/water roller coasters

Camping, Jobs, and Illness

So, on Saturday we went camping with our community group. Mostly? It was a disaster. I learned lots of things about myself though. Things like, I don't like to sleep on the ground, and I don't enjoy 32 degree nights when sleeping outdoors. I also learned that it's difficult to hold your poop for that many days. And that it's hard to change clothes in a tent. I learned that not taking a shower for 3 days does something to your confidence, and that roasted marshmellows are the best food on the planet. So, aside from my self-enlightening experience, i didn't sleep...i froze to death...i got a sinus infection which left me miserable for a good majority of the trip. I was so annoyed with some people's inconsiderate-ness that I was sure my head might explode. It rained. Mice got into our food storage and ate some of it. People fussed the whole time. I was very glad to go, and learn lots of things NOT to do if I ever go camping again...but I am not sure I've ever been so glad to be home!!!

Jules still hasn't heard from the interviews that went sooooooo great last week. It's a shame because she really deserves one of those jobs. :(

And, finally, the reason I haven't been writing is because I have been really sick. I got some stupid sinus infection while camping and it has knocked me on my behind. I had to take two days off work, and although I'm back at work today, I still don't feel 100%. So, that's why I haven't been writing. That's why I am not my normal upbeat self. I'll be back to normal as soon as I can get the 25 pounds of cotton balls out of my head and sinus cavities. :)