Halloween 55

Halloween night, getting near,
My children are dressing,
Wanna hear?

Merlotte's Bar needs a waitress,
Let my daughter
Serve True Blood to the ageless.

The youngest one,  pretty in pink
A flamingo bird
Cute as a wink.

If they come to your house,
Please give them a treat
Don’t be cheap or a creepy louse.

For more Flash 55 go see G Man

These are pictures of some of the girls costume pieces and our decorations. I couldn't resist the flask of candy as Chemistry was my college major.

Last years Halloween poem

Wordless Wednesday

Enjoy a few fall pictures from my part of the world.

The The Impotence of Proofreading by Taylor Mali

My daughter played this youtube clip to me yesterday and I was crying with laughter. It is hysterical. I am a serial proofreader and still misspell words and mess up on grammar. This put it all in perspective.

 It  is called "slam poetry" . It is only 2 minutes so take time to listen and enjoy. [Does contain adult humor]

Random ........

Just some random thoughts......

My surgery was televised to 14 different countries..... very cool..

I went to the gym on Sunday for the first time in 7 days. I walked on the treadmill for 15 minutes.. felt good.

Enjoyed some nice Disaronno on my birthday.

I am finally understanding how to use my new BlackBerry Torch.

My family went to the The Sole Proprietor for lunch on Saturday. It never disappoints. I got to meet a twitter friend too, madamemenu. She is lovely.

I spent a relaxing day on the couch and watched the New England Patriots game. They won!!

No matter how often you go to Walmart/grocery store, always buy toilet paper. Then you never run out. It's not like it expires.

It was fun grossing my daughters out showing them the "wound" in my belly button from my surgery.

I hit the trifecta tonight. Clean sheets, clean pajamas and ...... freshly showered, such a refreshing way to go to sleep.

Some of this randomness I thought of as I went to bed and actually made notes in my BlackBerry...

Why is it that...Part 9

Why is it that.....

• I have an organ removed and I gain 5 pounds?
• my kids continue to surprise me, and it surprises me?
• even though my scale shows I am losing weight I don't see it?
• I crave sushi when I have no car?
• I can't have a fun job like a judge on a food show? yum
• the cats come in to sleep on the bed, and then want to leave....
• all the laundry is done and I can't find any clean socks.

That's all I've got today, what about you?

Follow up.... to Justifiable Homicide

My last Justifiable Homicide post I talked about my uterus. Well the uterus is no more and was removed this past Monday. The surgery went well and once the gas mask was placed over my face I have no recollection of the procedure...as it should be.

The only complication was that apparently I had a large uterus and it was adhered to my bladder and the doctor understood why I was having problems with it. The adhesions were due to the two c-sections I had to deliver my children. I will have to remind them all we go through to bring them into this world how much I love them and it was all worth it. This was somewhat expected but proved no challenge and there were no other "problems"

We live a bit over an hour from the hospital so the ride seemed very bumpy to my sensitive abdomen and after a sneezing attack when I got  home my belly button was bleeding a bit... daughter number two thought it looked gross and I have to agree. I called and the doctor said it was ok to change the dressing and all has been well since.

You may ask why the belly button was bleeding? It was laparoscopic [sp] surgery and most of the work was done through the belly button. Enough said and thanks to some pain medications I am doing well... the belly feels like I did about 1000 sit ups but each day it gets better.

I am looking forward now to a carefree life and all the money I will save not having to buy sanitary products.... now to get the daughters to buy their own.



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Nerves

I have nerves of steel,
And I often lie.
So I put on a smile
It helps me get by.

No matter how old,
It never gets easy.
I shiver, I shake,
My stomach gets queasy

Waiting's the hardest,
My mind starts to wander.
Back to my life.
It will be easier, I ponder?

A new day dawns,
Things are fresher.
Checked off one more thing
From life’s pressure.


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Four Square..... not the ball game

I have been using foursquare for awhile and having fun with it. It is a useless phone application where you "check in" to locations and get points and badges. Ultimately the goal is to become mayor of the various locations.

 It's fun, although I don't know anyone in my area that uses foursquare so there is no "competition".......until now. My daughters now have smart phones that allow them to use the foursquare app.  Now they are both trying to "steal" my mayoral locations. I "own" Planet Fitness and Home Base. My oldest is now on a mission to steal them from me. Starbucks will always be mine. :-)

Both daughters have created their own names for home base. The oldest calls home, TARDIS landing pad, and the youngest has named home, Pokemon Stadium. No brainer here what interests each of them.

The battle is on, if they insist on stealing my crowns it goes both ways. *rubs hands together*

I have a foursquare badge on my side bar >>>> so join up and join the fun. If you do join foursquare or are already using it.. look for me and let's be friends.  I am Laura of Worcester Massachusetts. My avatar is my blog logo...a martini glass of course.

Thanks Adam of Throwing Quarters for introducing me to foursquare... and speaking of Adam he is posting a great blog tomorrow about his experiences being bullied. I have seen the video and it is a great listen.. I insist you go read/watch it.

On a different note, I am off having surgery as you read this so some good vibes would be appreciated.  See you all soon.

Flashback Friday

Deb of   web savvy mom  has a great meme each week called Flashback Friday. I have only joined in a couple times but it is a lot of fun.

Monday will be my 30th wedding anniversary... yep 30th. It is hard to believe but true. Sometimes it feels like forever and sometimes it seems like we just got married yesterday. I won't say it has all been roses but it has been an adventure. We have two beautiful daughters, one is 21 and a senior in college...faint, and the other is 16 and a junior in high school.

I still haven't got my scanner fixed so please forgive the pictures of pictures.. They are from our wedding. We look so young....... and thin. Love the glasses.

Now go visit Deb at Web Savvy Mom

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Five stars or Four stars ????

As most of you know I love music and don't know how I would function without my ipod [or the like]. It is essential for the gym, the car [what radio?] and work, grocery shopping, etc. One of it's features is it allows you rate songs from one star to five stars. I get confused how to rate some songs....I know sounds stupid silly and it's my ipod so what does it really matter? It doesn't I just wanted some opinions on the matter and who better to ask than you all.

Anyway..... some songs are a no brainer, they will be 5 stars regardless, Rewind, Stereophonics or Someday, Rob Thomas, and some will be much less. [Why are they on my ipod? Some were put on before I knew they sucked and some are there because I have all of an artists library and it seems they should be there.] The ones I am having "trouble" with are those that fall in between. They aren't all time favorites but they are favorites of a particular artist. Do they get five stars or four stars?

An example would be Loser by Beck. I love this song, it is my favorite Beck song but would never make my top 10 list. Soooo is it five or four stars??? 

Another example could be Teenage Millionaire, Robbie Williams, one star at the most, yet South of the Border, Robbie Williams gets five stars on both lists.....

Now I'm not asking you to rate my songs, because it is all subjective what each person likes but how would you manage you own songs if rating them?

Give me Mr. Wipple any day

I am sure most of you have seen the tv ads for Charmin toilet paper. Well I find them tasteless and totally without any class. The use of bears makes me think of the joke "does a bear shit in the woods?" Sure they do and they use Charmin because it doesn't leave residue on their butts.... give me a break.



I personally have never had "pieces left over"....



Apparently not only baby bears have a problem with leftovers.....

Give me Mr. Wipple any day  ... RIP

What ads do you hate?

As Seen on TV.....Pasta Boat

On the elipitical machines at the gym one is a captive audience when watching tv. There are 10 different tvs to choose from but depending on the machine you are on depends on which you can see. Got that? Most of the time I listen to my ipod and read the subtitles on what ever tv is in front of me, unless Family Feud is on [my guilty pleasure].

On weekends there are a lot of infomercials to enjoy watch. This past Saturday my daughter and I watched [read] one on the Pasta Boat. I had seen it before but never really paid attention. Neither of us realized the other was watching and when we got off the elipticals we both said we wanted a Pasta Bowl.

It was off to WalMart after the gym and straight to the "As Seen on TV" aisle. There in all it's glory was the Pasta Boat. Not quite the bargain as on tv [2 for $10] but for $9.86 or so I bought one.

So far I am pleased with its performance. I have steamed brocoli and yellow beans, in the microwave, with great results. [the red "rack" shown in the picture is used for steaming] Neither were over or under cooked. I did read the instructions on suggested cooking times.

Last night I used the Boat to cook some pasta. I used the suggested time in the booklet and in 16  minutes I had nice al dente pasta. What drew me to the Pasta Boat in the first place was that you didn't have to wait for the water to boil before you added the pasta. [I am prone to start the water and then forget and come back to find a burnt pan] I filled it with water to the recommended level, added two servings of spaghetti [handles serve as guides to how much a serving is] and voila. Surprisingly the pasta didn't clump together either, another plus. The cover also serves as a strainer. Saves me digging out another thing to clean.

whole wheat pasta with sauce, meatballs and fresh mozzarella cheese

If this Pasta Boat can get me to cook there must be something to it! I plan on eating a lot more steamed veggies as well, which can only be good.

PS. I was not asked to do this review.... I just wanted to share my cool new discovery.

Have you ever bought an item you've seen in an infomercial? Did it live up/or down to its expectations? 

Justifiable Homicide Tuesday....

Although this is Justifiable Homicide Tuesday, this is good news. I am getting my uterus removed. *insert happy face* Sure having surgery is a risk, one I don't look forward to in fact, but the after party effects are going to be amazing.

I have been dealing with nasty periods for years and after two ablations and drug therapies I am having a hysterectomy. My doctor referred me to a surgeon in Boston who's speciality is minimally invasive gynecological surgery. I will be having a supracervical laparoscopic hysterectomy. This surgery, barring any complications will allow me to go home the day of surgery and have an easier recovery time. If all goes well I should be back to normal myself in two weeks.

As indicated in the procedure, I should be going home with a cervix and both of my ovaries. Of course if the doctor doesn't like how they look, out they come too. There is no reason to expect any problems.

In telling friends about my upcoming surgery it is funny the different reactions I get. Woman who still have theirs and periods are jealous happy for me knowing how I have "suffered" with mine. Those that have had hysterectomies tell me it is the best thing they ever did. Please let me be one of those woman.

The surgery is scheduled for my 30th Anniversary....I suppose I could have scheduled it for another day but they asked if I wanted to be the patient they used for a live telecast. There is a Havard Medical School conference on minimally invasive surgery and they will be televising several surgeries live and I will be the lap hysterectomy. I'll be asleep so why not, besides with a live audience, I figure I'll have the best care possible. Not that I was concerned about my care, the surgeon is very experienced, but how many people do you know with a potentially famous uterus.  [PS there will be no head shots and no names used]

Wish me luck and let's hope this is the last of uterus topics on Justifiable Homicide Tuesdays.

Sunday Rerun-The NIght Shift

I haven't posted a Sunday Rerun in awhile and considering Friday's 55 theme I thought I would share the second post ever on my blog.  [Thursday July 31, 2008]

 

 The Night Shift

They called from the OR,
We need this blood STAT.
Can you get it to us,
In two seconds flat?

Are you crazy
Is what I want to say.
It is not possible,
No how, no way.

We're working on it,
As fast as we can.
You could've called ahead,
Even tried to plan.

The patient is bleeding,
The doctor tells me.
No shit is my thought,
This is the blood bank, can't you see.

More platelets and blood,
And some FFPs
What else can there be,
Please no cryos to unfreeze.

My shifts finally over,
To the next shift the news.
Now I'll stagger on home,
For a well deserved snooze.


You didn't this was going to be all serious I hope. :)

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Privacy..... in 55

I wish I could talk about work. There are some VERY funny stories, amazingly so. It is surprising what people will do that gets them to the ER.


Some very sad stories, like last night, but there is always hope.


The best are the rewarding stories and luckily there are enough to make it rewarding.


For more Friday 55 see g-man

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