riddle me this

Here's a riddle/life experience that I had happen to me today.

In a patient's room, I bent over... and i swear, it was an accident.. .My bottom became noticeably wet.. I walked, a little embarrassed, with my shirt pulled down and tried to keep my back side away from people to avoid them noticing. But in the end... my pants were cleaner than before. What happened?

Answer?
Think about it a little more.
...
truth: I bent over. This caused my butt to activate the sensor on the automatic hand sanitizer... and you thought I actually peed my pants - GROSS!

puzzled

I am thankful for being able to be entertained by puzzles while listening to my Johnny Cash station on pandora. It's a good life, especially when you add some apple pie to the picture.

I also would like to make a shout out to my dead cat Buster... Last time this puzzle was put together was about 15 years ago, which was when Buster was around to eat these small, cardboard pieces.. I'm not even sure why cardboard would be a taste-treat.. Either way, numerous puzzle pieces are missing in action. Buster, you're a bad kitty!!! But seriously, sorry for dressing you up like a baby doll... And putting a diaper on you... And launching you across the room...I'm sorry I took you away from that centipede (but geesh, you didn't have to bite my chin so hard either). Im sorry i put you on a leash and didn't understand you don't enjoy a walk in the park as much as I did... And I apologize for tying things to your tail. And the whole 'bundle baby' fiasco ...

I'm beginning to understand Buster's mindset for eating the puzzle pieces.

dear deer

Dear Deer,
Please look before you cross the street.
Thank you,
Society

Last fall, Kate and I were going to her mom's house on the outskirts of Sioux Falls. We were only going about 25mph, and out of the darkness, pranced a deer... who awkwardly ran into the drivers side of Kate's honda element. Thanks to dear Mr. Deer, Kate had the pleasure of getting herself and her two kids in and out of the car from the passenger side for about a month :)

Ollie is picking up on words very quickly. Last fall, he LOVED saying 'cop car... cop car!', maybe an inspiration from his Policeman-uncle Ryan. We called the police department to report the incident, so about 15 minutes later, Kate was brought back to a police car in order to file the report. Meanwhile, Ollie was getting anxious in the car, so what do I do?! I unbuckle him and we get out of the car to see "mom's in the cop car!" :) one of my favorite moments.

Moral of the Story: Watch for deer on that road... so I do, and a couple weeks ago, I noticed a couple deer on the side of the road by some trees. I slowed down to watch them, then I honked at them... they seemed to ignore me.. therefore I got defensive and a little offended so I laid on the horn. Success! They went into the trees. - At this point, I see a man and his dog on the top of the hill walking towards me.. probably wondering why the world I was honking at him like a crazy lady. I smiled as I drove by. Silly deer.

the man of the hour

Guess who turned 2 today? Ollie! I love this little man. He's the source of a lot of my smiles and laughs. He even cuddled with me the other night before his bedtime - it melted my heart. Watch out ladies, he's pretty smooth! In his spare time, Ollie likes to 'weep' (sweep) ,'acuum' (vacuum), and feed his 4 month old brother cookies. Plus, he's got sweet dance moves!!
Happy Birthday Ollie!

.. let stand for 45 minutes ...then boil

Well, I did it. I broke the record for worlds longest time to make egg salad. I accomplished this by 'boiling' the eggs for 30 minutes on the wrong burner. After realizing that the wrong burner was on, I shut the front burner off and proceeded to move the pot over to the front burner... Notice the next issue? I didn't notice for another 15 minutes. Obnoxious, I know! While waiting for the eggs to boil... 65 minutes... I was able to perfect my, now gourmet, egg salad by adding finely chopped onions, celery, and olives, plus a splash of olive juice. I even had time to chill that mixture before the eggs were done - imagine that! So that's my EGGcellent story of the day. Hoping that next time won't take as long but in all actuality, I'd rather just have my mom make my egg salad.

where you invest your love, you invest your life.

Keep your heart in order to give it away. Find something you love and that you can work towards. Invest your time; work hard to make someone's day. Stand up for the weak. Give your heart. Show someone how important they are, even if you have no idea who they are.

For lent, I want to find something/someone/some place that could use some help/new ideas/a warm smile. I've done some googling and talking to some local folk in order to decide what/who/where. I'm so indecisive, I can't choose!

Something I always have to remind myself and whoever else is... Give something up or take something on in order to see and understand God's love a little more. Don't get it confused with a new years resolution. Don't give up food/pop because it's a healthier choice. Last time I checked, Jesus didn't die for my health and fitness- its a little more than that :) I want to do something to remind me of His sacrifice; to remind me of His love.

I'm blessed to have my faith.

old stomping ground

The two hours it takes to get to Fargo/Moorhead from Watertown seems to take longer the more that I am away. Maybe it's because my radio/cd player is out of order... No matter how many times I hit or kick the dashboard It still won't work- weird right? Either way, no tunes to draw out my bad singing. No distractions. Gives me a time to reflect. Analyze. Just me and my thoughts on the prairie of south and north dakota ... Ok let's be real, I was bored 15 miles out of watertown.

I went to the cmu at MSUM today. I didn't even get out of my car before I had my first reunion. I told a few people that I was going to be there, but there were two reasons that I wanted to go to the cmu right away. 1) randomly run into friends, like old times 2) eat chicken strips, just like old times. I am in love with being back on campus. I'm blessed there are still amazing people on campus or else the chicken strips wouldn't be quite as enjoyable.

Dragon for life.

little blessings

There are two young gentlemen in my life right now. One named Ollie and the other named Augie aka baby cheerio, who I was lucky enough to meet within the hour of his arrival 4 months ago. Unfortunately, Augie is sick and is at the hospital.. Poor little guy! I'm blessed to have him, his older brother, his mom, and his grandmother in my life. I wish I was able to do more to make him feel better. Luckily for him, he is blessed to be at a wonderful hospital... With amazing radiology students.

Fact: I am in Watertown for the night. Chitchatting with the family is always a highlight - just got done spending quality time with my cousin Amanda. I love her lots and lots.

tidbits of my wednesday smiles

I lied: A couple days ago my plan was to pack 100% for the weekend. This was to prevent the morning rush to get ready plus go through my closet to pick out 3 days of stuff in 30 seconds.. I've done this too many times. One time I ended up with ONE very accessorized outfit... and nothing else for the rest of the weekend... and then another time, I had 3 pairs of sweatpants, no shirts... just sweatpants. I'll learn one of these times.

Hearing Loss: I love catching up with old friends. It's always exciting to hear what's new and then also reminisce. Julia and I had a little deja vu on our hearing issues.
E: did I tell you that I got *hives* in december?
Julia : What?!?
E: yeah, for a whole week. They even sent me home from clinicals because I looked so bad.
Julia: {expressions of shock}
E: yep, ended up going to acute care, i seemed to stump the doctors, but they did some blood work, came back to be something bacterial
-----TIME OUT.. this is where Julia realized she had misheard me. Reread the conversation and replace *hives* with *high* --- we got a kick out of it :)

Random Act: I had someone at the hospital let me know she is praying for me. Thank you, stranger!

Rock the Hawk: While trying out the mohawk this week, I walked by a group of nuns. I instantly felt rebellious with such a differing look from the habit that they were sporting. Then I remembered that Jesus is probably diggin my look, especially if I'm behaving myself. I proceeded to wave and smile at the nuns.

hearts

Heart to Heart: Opening your heart to talk to another can be difficult, but on the other hand, it can be refreshing. Open your heart to a friend, Be free. Don't hide. Be honest. Don't lie. Be you.
Follow your heart: I'm doing my darndest, but where is it going??? Just trust.
From the heart: I am blessed that I am loved, everyday.
         From man to dog to God.

hahahappy monday!!

The good case of the Monday's: It's been brought to my attention numerous times that I have a variety of laughs. Some even have names, i.e. the old man, which sounds more like a wheezing attack. Some are worthy of being made fun of, i.e. the cackle... the extreme inhale... but I have to say, no matter which laugh, 99% of my laughs are genuine. (I do have a sympathy laugh that I have to break out from time to time). I love a good laugh. I love that a laugh will brighten the mood. I love that it's contagious.

       I'm blessed with a sense of humor. I'm blessed with the love of laughter. It's not uncommon for me to judge the day based on how much I laughed. Today was a fantastic day. I laughed and laughed and laughed with my classmates... correcting papers has never been more fun in my life... I laughed with an old friend on the phone, I giggled while on facebook, and I will admit I chuckled at myself during zumba tonight... I'm pretty sure my classmate Sondra was laughing at me in zumba also.

I had a Happy Monday. I think tomorrow will be terrific as well. Taco Tuesday and then margaritas may have somewhat of a (huge) influence on how terrific it actually will be. 

Peace out, Monday. Bring it, Tuesday.

week/ends

Weekend: Technically, today is the end of the week. Tomorrow starts a new week: neat how that works right? Would I be exaggerating if i said i was anxiously waiting for the next weekend? nope. 
Agenda for the week: 
Monday: twiddle my thumbs.
Tuesday: 1/2 price margaritas.
Wednesday night: pack... everything.. I have this new habit of not completely packing, so I end up wearing the same thing for 3 days, wearing other people's clothes - thanks em and jos! or else mom takes me on a shopping trip to Target. thanks mom! BLESSED :) 
Thursday night: Hustling back home to eat supper with the family. 
Friday/Saturday: Fargo bound
Sunday: I'm hoping I won't have to twist Grandpa's arm too much for Sunday morning pancakes. 


Random fact #1: If I counted correctly, I'm already 22 weeks into the radiology internship. 
Random fact #2: I got really home sick for my dog today. I took a detoured way home after work, and I bet I saw 15 dogs having fun without me. But to keep this relevant, I'm so relieved that their owners are blessed enough to have a furry best friend. 
    (cooper and ike, if you're reading this... 4 more days until we can play, eat bedtime snacks and cuddle)

zoni pies and tats

2/11/12
Zoni Pies: Saturday's blessing consisted of trying Zoni Pies -- a taste treat introduced to me by a tech at the hospital. Thanks Erica. Sincerely, Erica. --- You know what's fun? Walking into patient's rooms and saying, "Hi, We're Erica from Xray" 


Tattoos: Had my first blind-babysitting gig tonight. Nonetheless, I was more impressed with the Dad's never-ending tattoos than intimidated of his never-ending muscles stacked on his biceps..holy, wow.. I consider myself lucky to have met his family, and that I didn't make him mad. 

let's be real.

Let's be real. I have blessings in my life that I need to be more thankful for. 
It's easy to be wrapped up in the thought of "I wish I had that... I would be happier if I was like this... 
I have an idea that If I start "counting my blessings" on a daily basis, I might find a new outlook on life, I might see something from a different perspective, and maybe I'll reorder some priorities. Or maybe this is just another excuse to be on my loyal 5-year-old macbook. <--blessing
So without further ado, I introduce to you:

My day-by-day, ongoing list of blessings: 

2/9/12 ...Blessed with Distractions: My Netflix has perfect timing and started working on my tv again. 
...Silence: I have a silly habit of ignoring my thoughts. I'm blessed to have silence in order to start listening to myself... because I'm pretty sure I have a lot to say to erica, mainly jokes, but maybe some important things too.
...Support: I have people in Rochester, Sioux Falls, Watertown, and Fargo that have proven to give me words of wisdom (w.o.w.) whether I think I need it or not. I think I need to start another note called, "W.O.W. from you to me" but for now, I'll leave you with my last w.o.w. of the day i received, "never take cold medicine with alcohol"


2/10/12
... Blessed with a giggle: My friend Kate has two kids that I'd be happy to kidnap any day: Ollie, who will turn 2 in a couple weeks, and Augie, who is 4 months today. Ollie and I had a haircut date: same time, same location, but not the same style. With or without a new haircut, Ollie has the courage to go up to any lady and make sure they notice him. Today, Kate and I had to laugh because Ollie was wining and dining with an elderly woman at the salon. He wanted to share her cup of coffee and was willing to share his butterscotch sucker.  
*Always remember, Sharing is caring!!! (but Ollie... please don't forget about "Stranger, Danger!")
... Family: I GOT TO EAT SUPPER WITH MY SISTER AND BROTHER-IN-LAW. blessed. 
... Warm: I cursed a little under my breath on my way to my car... but I shouldn't complain; I have heat. I will warm up tonight, some people can't say the same.