The Middle Child

Cake Wrecks

2011-07-02T09:13:00.001-04:00

I found this blog the other day and have been spending wayyyy too much time there...it's hilarious!

Check it out.

Julia's 6!

2011-07-01T21:52:00.000-04:00

Remember this peanut?

Well, she's 6 years old today. I know, it's insane.

She's the coolest 6-year-old I know.

Happy Birthday Julia. I hope this year is your best one yet!

Baby!

2011-06-21T07:52:00.002-04:00

Clark Joseph Garvey was born yesterday evening. He's perfect. I'll post pictures as soon as I get some quality time with him and take them :)

Summer!

2011-06-15T20:33:00.002-04:00

Maeve graduated from Pre-K last week. Julia graduates from Kindergarten tomorrow. While both of those things make me feel like time is going too fast, they also mean:

SUMMER IS HERE!

I've always loved summer - probably because I've been a student for the past 25 years and summer meant no school. However, in the past few years I've realized that, in Buffalo, summer is short, and every warm, sunny moment must be soaked up and used wisely.

In order to maximize my summer fun, I've made a list of all the things I want to do this summer.

My Summer To-Do List (in no particular order):

Walk the break wall. I've wanted to do this for years, and I'm determined to do it this summer.
Go to the Drive-In. There are a million movies I want to see (Judy Moody, Mr. Popper's Penguins, X-Men, Green Lantern, Cars 2, Kung-Fu Panda 2)
Go Camping. Somewhere near real bathrooms, because I can't pee in the woods.
Get Married.
Have a wedding.
Go to the zoo. I haven't been all year.
Go to the aquarium. I haven't been since I was about 8.
Get a new niece or nephew.
Spend an entire day in my backyard playing with the dogs, sitting in the sun, drinking beer.
Go to a Bisons game. Preferably a Friday one, for the fireworks.
Shakespeare in the Park.
Walk somewhere to get ice cream. Soft vanilla with rainbow sprinkles.
Ride my bike. Maybe to get ice cream.
Italian Fest, Taste of Buffalo, Grease-pole festival.
Eat at the Hatch and walk along the water.
Eat at restaurants I've never been to.
Sit on patio's and have dinner/drinks.
Go to the Navy Boats.
Thursday in the Square.
Wash my car - inside and out.

What am I missing?

2011-06-09T21:42:00.002-04:00

Mike posted a Fantasy Baby league for their new baby. I have my guesses:

1. Gender.

I guess boy.

2. Date of Birth.

I'll say June 15. No reason, it's just the first date that came to mind.

3. Time of birth.

I'm gonna say 11:09. PM.

4. Weight at Birth?

7 lbs 1 oz.

5. First drink Lisa asks for after labor?

If it were me it'd be a diet coke. But I'm guessing she'll want something more grown up...champagne?

6. First thing you realize you forgot to pack?

It won't be anything like your DS or your phone or iPad. Let's guess your toothbrush.

7. Length of time after birth before you name the baby.

Well, you have a lot to live up to with Addie's middle name. However, I think there's a limit to how long they will let you call your baby "Baby Boy Garvey" before they make you write that on the birth certificate (it does have a nice ring to it...) Let's say you'll decide first name within an hour, middle name in 2 days.

Good Buddy

2011-06-05T17:25:00.006-04:00

Amy and I got married in Canada yesterday. It was fast - we were in Canada for about 20 minutes, total. We went to a little place called Two Hearts Chapel and stood in front of a white curtain while we repeated the vows given to us by the woman who worked there. After the "wedding" we went to my parents house where the whole family came and we had an awesome steak dinner. And some of us (me, really) had a lot of alcohol.

A little background - when I get drunk I like to shower. I'll sit in the shower until the hot water runs out, then wait a bit before I get back in to sit under the water some more. I feel like maybe I'm getting rehydrated by osmosis, but really it just feels good.

So last night I got into the shower in the basement of my parents house and sat under the hot water. It started getting colder so I picked up a bottle of shampoo that was next to me on the ground and used it to hit the handle over and make the water hotter. I did this a few times before I got out. Then I went back to bed.

A couple hours later I woke up and decided to shower again. This time I knew I should actually use soap and shampoo and get clean, so after a few minutes of sitting I picked up the bottle of shampoo. It said oatmeal and aloe shampoo & conditioner, which sounded nice. I poured a big handful and soaped up my hair. As I was washing my hair I looked at the bottle of shampoo, called Good Buddy, and thought, "that's an odd name," but continued lathering it into my hair. Then I rinsed and picked up the bottle to use it to push the handle over for more hot water when I said, in smaller print, something about a shiny coat...

I washed my hair with dog shampoo.

Because I couldn't figure out that a shampoo called "good buddy" is for dogs. And to make it worse, this is what it looked like:

Yep, a fire hydrant.

But at least my hair is nice and shiny.

Thankful

2010-11-23T19:33:00.002-05:00

Someone I know posted in their facebook status one thing that were thankful for that started with each letter of the alphabet. I thought I'd try.

Air.

Blogs.

Computers.

Dad.

E-mail.

Friends/family.

Godchildren.

House (the one I live in, not the doctor on TV)

Iphone.

Jacuzzi's.

Karats.

Love.

Mom.

Nieces and Nephews.

Oogenesis.

Padlocks.

Quadratic equation.

RNA

Siblings.

TV.

Underwear.

Vaccinations.

Water.

X-rays.

Yahoo.

Zoo.

New Blog

2009-12-10T10:46:00.002-05:00

It's been over a year since I've updated, but lately there's been something pulling me back to my blog. I'm not sure why, since I wasn't really great with updating it before I completely stopped, but I think I'm gonna start writing again. Of course, it could be due to exams and the fact that I haven't wanted to study, but my last exam is in 4 hours, and after that I'll have plenty of time to update and not worry about school work.

I've also been thinking that maybe it's time for a new blog...I mean, so much has happened in the past year...like...um...well, stuff. So do I start a new blog, or do I just restart this one and pretend that it's new? I think that's what I'll end up doing. I do love the Middle Child.

School is done early this year. I'm excited about that, especially since I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping and all my inside decorations are up, so all I have to do for the next few weeks is to enjoy Christmas. And I plan on enjoying it a lot. Tonight I'm going to start wrapping presents, which I actually enjoy, although I'm not great at it (compared to some people in the family, who probably should have been born as elves because they're SO good at wrapping presents...) Next week I'm helping Julia make gingerbread houses and then helping her class decorate them. I've been looking forward to that for weeks. And then there's the actual Christmas holiday. So far my plans have changed daily, but right now I'm thinking mom and dad's on the 24th, Esther and John's for brunch on the 25th, dinner at mom and dad's on the 25th, then I'll stay over and get up early on the 26th so dad and I can start the big family Christmas dinner.

Election Stuff

2008-11-04T09:11:00.004-05:00

Sunday I was studying and heard the dogs go crazy. That normally means one of a few things -either there's someone at the door, there's someone breaking in, or nothing at all. In this case someone had rung our doorbell. Amy was downstairs so I let her get it. A little while later I went downstairs and she said that 2 ten-year-old girls had come to the door and asked if she was going to vote. She said yes, so they threw a piece of paper at her and said, "Good, here's a free flyer!" then ran away. Here's their flyer:

This morning on WYRK the stupid morning guys were talking about who they were voting for and why (McCain because they like guns and don't like abortion...they actually said this, and then said that taxes and national security have been issues since the Boston Tea Party and we should stop worrying about them and focus on the real issues...), and then said that according to their pole on their website, McCain was ahead 70-something percent to 20-something percent. Um, you think? Who the hell do they think listens to them, therefore votes on their website? It makes me happy that Obama has 20-something percent on their website! Of course, I, too, was listening to them...again...this morning.

Political Rant

2008-10-31T10:29:00.003-04:00

Ok, so, I listen to the country station every morning while I get ready for school. And it's the only station that's programmed in my kitchen, so unless I have a movie on, I listen to it while I cook or do dishes or whatever. Normally it's not too bad, but, near election time it drives me INSANE. Seriously. The morning guys are SO...ignorant. And stupid. And pushing their points on the public.

Now, I know some democrats who are stupid and ignorant and don't know what they're talking about, and try to push their points on people even by lying about the "other side." And I know some republicans who are pretty smart and can argue their points pretty well (even if they're wrong.)

Here's my issue with the morning guys from WYRK. They complain, incessantly, that Obama is a socialist and wants to give money away to everyone by raising taxes (which, by the way, I don't think is true...I do believe that being a Christian means you should want to help people, even if it means giving them money you may have when they need it...and pro-life shouldn't end once the baby is born, but that's a whole 'nother post.) They talk about how everyone should have to work for their money, and that's the American Dream - hard work to get rich. Fine.

This morning, they announced that Exxon Mobil made something crazy like $14.3 billion in the last 3 months. Now, if you're going to follow their "work hard get rich" ranting, then you should be happy for them, right? Maybe jealous, but happy. NO! THEY WEREN'T! They complained about price gouging and how everyone should be profiting from the sale of any oil, be it oil from American soil or not. SERIOUSLY?!?!? So, they want Exxon to be...say...taxed, maybe? And that money could be...uh...spread around to those who didn't make as much, and need money to eat and live? Hm...what a great idea...too bad no one's ever thought of that before...

C is for...

2008-10-16T10:38:00.004-04:00

So, I'm a "non-traditional student." That's what Canisius calls me. Because of this I get my grades sent to me occationally throughout the semester so everyone can be assured that I'm not failing. They do this for Freshman and athletes, too. Anyway, I got my progress report on Monday. I'M PASSING PHYSICS! Seriously. And not with a D. I have NEVER been so happy with a C in my whole life.

Happy Fall!

2008-09-24T15:57:00.004-04:00

I was so looking forward to school 'cause I figured I'd have all this extra time while I was "studying" in the library when I could update my blog. It turns out that in order to pass physics, organic chemistry, and cell bio you need to use at least 30 hours a day studying. Now, I'm not good at physics, but, I'm pretty sure that there are only 24 hours in a day, therefore studying for 30 hours would be breaking some sort of law of physics.

Anyway, I did get to see Addie and Maeve last week for an hour or so. How cute are they?

Summer Time

2008-06-17T09:09:00.004-04:00

I think in the week since I decided not to take classes this summer I've seen more of my family than I did the entire last semester. It's been great.

My plan for the rest of the summer? I'll be the pool with Miles and Julia.

And...done

2008-06-09T07:46:00.006-04:00

So, summer classes? suck. And I've always thought it's better to quit while you can get a W than follow through and get an F, so, I'm done with physics. I have to go get all the paperwork done (have the prof sign the withdrawl forms and whatnot) tomorrow, but, since I'm not there right now, and don't plan on going back, I'm pretending it's all over.

I am so very happy with this decision to not go to physics anymore this summer. Addie supports my decision whole-heartedly, which is good. Family support is always important.

I'm already really enjoying my new summer freedom...I spent the weekend at Keuka Lake, which looked like this:

And now I plan on spending the rest of my summer with my family and catching up on blogs I haven't read since April.

Physics has started.

2008-05-19T18:45:00.001-04:00

You know what's worse than taking physics? Taking physics during the summer. And you know what's worse than taking physics during the summer? Taking physics during the summer at 8:30 am, four days a week.

Dora has the right idea....

But, I got some great birthday presents to get me through the next 10 weeks. This is what Mike, Lisa, Maeve, and Addie got me:

That's enough sunflower seeds to get me through at least the first semester!

And you know what goes great with sunflower seeds? Slushies.

Hours

2008-05-01T10:05:00.003-04:00

LOOK! an update!

I have a week off coming up. In exactly 171 hours I'll start my last exam of the semester, and then I have 10 days off. That's 240 hours. Well, probably 9 days, (216 hours), because there's a final paper that I keep saying I'll start soon but haven't so I'll probably do it after my last exam, but, my last exam will be over in less that 174 hours. That doesn't sound like so long, does it? Well, it is, if you're talking about going without sleep.

I have stories to post...I'm sure I do. Addie was baptized, good TV is back on (and my DVR is loving it,) Amy's birthday is tomorrow and mine is in 12 days (288 hours!), but due to that lack of sleep thing that accompanies the end of the semester for anyone who hasn't yet been accepted to the grad school of their choice, I can't remember anything (which, really, is not a good way to take an exam...)

So, I'm off to study for my first final, which is in 4 hours. I finally figured out the first problem on the practice test I've been working on for the past 24 hours, so, there's some hope I'll do OK.

Niagara Falls

2008-04-12T18:42:00.002-04:00

It was cold in Buffalo today. It was even colder in Niagara Falls.

I know, because I was there. Yes, really.

All that stuff that looks like rocks? It's ice and snow.

Not only was I there, I went through Cave of the Winds. Well, through the part that was open and not covered with tons of ice. Really, just the gorge. Still, freezing. But I was allowed, because my heart and lungs are healthy.

I was not, however, allowed to climb over the railings.

Good thing that sign is there.

Awooka

2008-04-08T11:06:00.001-04:00

People who find The Middle Child through keyword search normally find it by searching some version of "golf leafs golf" and coming up with this. Occationally I get homing hippogriffs or Free Rice (which was mentioned in quite a few posts...) Today someone in Switzerland found my blog by searching "Awooka."

Addie, you're famous!

Oh, Coldstone, How I Love Thee

2008-04-03T21:28:00.001-04:00

When I was living in NYC I had friends all over the city. Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Brooklyn, Astoria, Roosevelt Island, West Village...most of us went to school together between SoHo and Chinatown. We'd leave school around 3 and scatter around the city to our various (unpaid) internships before we went back to our homes. On weekends we'd try to find a central location to meet for drinks, food, a movie, or some other way to spend our money together, but the best place we found? Was Coldstone in Time Square. It was easy for all of us to get there, the ice cream was cheaper than drinks, there was no hangover the next morning (although the slushy brain freeze could be vicious), and most importantly the ice cream was amazing.

When I left NYC, I was very sad to be leaving for many reasons (the roommate I was leaving, fresh direct, my friends, ect,) but I was REALLY sad to be leaving Coldstone. I promised I'd be back soon. When I got back to Buffalo I found out there was a Coldstone being built here! It was a miracle!

Tonight the Buffalo Coldstone sponsored the Boys and Girls club. We went to support Mary. And get ice cream. It was wonderful. And it made me happy to be alive. Really. What could be better than sharing Coldstone ice cream with Julia?

***

***Ok, yeah, the picture? She's not eating ice cream. But I didn't take pictures tonight...I was too...well, busy eating my ice cream. But Julia did have chocolate ice cream, and her smile was at least this big.

Break

2008-03-28T09:40:00.001-04:00

It's Spring Break! Well, it's almost over. Today's the last day. Most of the week has been great, spent like this:

Today, hopefully, will be no different.

Nana is SO funny!

2008-03-21T13:00:00.001-04:00

Summer of '84

2008-03-17T20:00:00.003-04:00

In the summer of 1984 my Dad graduated from dental school and the family moved from Jackson, MS to Buffalo.

The Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles

Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space.

Vanessa Williams became the first African American to be crowned Miss America, and was de-crowned when nude pictures of her showed up in "Penthouse."

The Space Shuttle Discover took off for its maiden voyage.

And my brothers only had one shirt between them:

In one year

2008-03-14T16:20:00.003-04:00

On year ago I was in the middle of a posting craze...2 posts in one day!
One was ago Miles and Julia and the other was about ordering chinese food. In the past year Miles was born, Julia says a lot more now, and I still order chinese food from the same place. But I go get it now. They take too long to deliver.

In a year I'll have been accepted to UB (hopefully) and finishing my last undergrad class (again...) And, of course, I'll be finishing up my last post for BufBloPoFlo '09.

You Probably Won't Like These Shows

2008-03-13T17:19:00.004-04:00

Aw, Mary prayed for me and now I'm far far away from my chem exam. Well, far enough away. The professors told us that this is exam was the hardest one I'll take in the 2 semesters of general chemistry, including the final exam in May that's some national thing and cumulative of both semesters. It really did suck. And now I am so tired, and I just want to take a nap, but whenever I close my eyes all I see is OH- and H+ and they're haunting me!

Anyway, TV I can't wait to see (in alphabetical order, according to what channel they're on because I'm just going down the list on each station website to try and remember what I was doing six months ago before the writer's strike forced me to start watching stuff like...well, like reruns of these:)

Chuck - Chuck (the character) reminds me of Mike. This seems like a show he would would write about how he would want his life, minus, of course, the chance of being forced to leave forever.

ER - It's nowhere near as good as when George Clooney was on it, but, it's a good show to watch while I'm falling to sleep on Thursday nights. It may, however, get bumped by Eli Stone.

Heroes - Last season kinda sucked, but I have faith, because the first season was so good.

Law and Order: SVU - Ok, I like all of them, but this is my favorite. And I've seen all of the reruns. It's time for new ones

Lipstick Jungle - I keep watching thinking it'll get really good...we'll see.

Eli Stone - I LOVE this show. I watched the first one because I like the George Michael song that was in it, and now I'm hooked.

Grey's Anatomy - no explanation needed.

Notes from the Underbelly - I don't think new ones are going to be mad. So sad.

Womens Murder Club - Based on the books by James Patterson. I've been reading the books as soon as they come out forever. The show, eh, not great, but I'm easily amused.

CSI - Miami and Vegas, not NY.

Without A Trace - I like to DVR this, and then watch it later while I'm napping. It's a good napping show, because you can normally figure it out right away, sleep for an hour, then wake up and see if you were right!

Talk to you later.

2008-03-12T20:21:00.003-04:00

I don't think there's much people don't know about me, but this is a good topic. I'll have to update on it sometime. But not right now, because I'm in the library studing for chem. My exam is tomorrow. Pray for me.

Interview

2008-03-11T12:21:00.003-04:00

1. What is your favorite word? What is your least favorite word?

Hm...this is tough.

My favorite word changes by the minute. Really, anything that's coming out of my mouth is my favorite word. I like to hear myself talk :) Currently I enjoy the words "class is canceled."

My least favorite words....well, there are a few, but I don't want to type them. They make me mad and feel sick.

2. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? What turns you off?

A clean room turns me on creatively. A clean kitchen (with full cabinets, cupboards, and refridgerator) makes me want to bake. A clean office makes me want to study (or blog...)

Dirty rooms don't necessarily turn me off creatively. Broken crayons do.

3. What sound or noise do you love? What sound or noise do you hate?

I love the sound of my phone ringing (because someone I love is calling me, not the BAC or someone I don't want to talk to), my nieces and nephew excited to see me, crickets at night in the summer, and the HSBC arena if it's packed and the Sabres are winning.

For hate? I hate the sound that wet shoes make when they squeek. Especially in a quiet hallway when you're about to walk into a packed classroom, the sound of the hygenist scraping my teeth, and my alarm clock since I somehow changed the station and now it just blares static into my ear very early in the morning.

4. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? What profession would you not like to do?

I am attempting to be a dentist, does that count? Another profession I think I would like someday is a restaurant reviewer. Wouldn't that be fun?

A profession I definitely do not want? I do not want to work at the DMV or as a professor. They seem miserable. Or Chuck E. Cheese. I wouldn't want that place to lose it's magic.

5. What is your favorite curse word?

Fuck fuckity fuck fuck.

6. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Wow, that was impressive.

2008-03-10T20:43:00.002-04:00

My fish is dying. He's a chocolate albino sucker fish or something, and we've only had him for 2 weeks or so. He's never been very good at keeping the tank clean (or maybe the goldfish are just too much for him,) but it's still sad. He's flopping around the bottom of the tank and the goldfish are attacking him.

Well, Jon and Kate Plus 8 is on. I'm gonna go watch that instead of the dying fish. And then maybe study for my chem exam...

Why I live in Buffalo, and Love It*

2008-03-09T17:42:00.016-04:00

*in no particular order

Music for Mike

2008-03-08T23:05:00.003-05:00

Mike,

The music I like most are the cds you make for me. Remember when you made those? Yeah, they're awesome. I don't think you'd really like the rest of the music I listen to (although, at least it's not Spice Girls.) I would use my iPod to make a playlist for you, but it was stolen. So, instead, I'll tell you this: use Pandora and make yourself a nice station. And then tell me about the music, because I always like the music you listen to.

Oh, but I did hear this recently and it made me think of you. Amy thinks you'll like it too.

wallet

2008-03-07T18:35:00.002-05:00

Hm...what's in my wallet that's not in yours? Well, my license, my credit card, my CPR card, my library card...Cecilina Garbey's wegmans card (I have no idea who she is, but they sent the card to mom and dad's house, and it was closest to my name.) Nothing exciting. In my old wallet I found pictures taken at Frizzys in their photo booth, a little Einstein sticker (no, not Little Einsteins, a sticker of Albert Einstein that is small...) that Esther gave me before I took my summer school math exam, my U of T ID, my FCI ID, and my UB ID.

What's been in there the longest never having been used? The sticker. I considered once putting it somewhere. I don't remember where - maybe somewhere in Ethyl? But I do remember that I decided I'd rather save it. It makes me smile when I see it.

Stat Counter

2008-03-06T09:25:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update because I'm in the chemistry library at school and should be studying for my chemistry exam next week. Instead, I was playing with Stat counter. Mike helped me set up and account and now I can see where all of you come to The Middle Child from! Apparently, only 4 or so "random" people found my blog through google yesterday, but one of them kinda fit in with the day's post. The seach was "child's broken toe." And then they spent over and hour on my blog. Now, I don't have kids, but I was there when Amy broke her toe. From what I remember of the time, the last thing I had time to do was spend an hour playing on line.

I don't have a picture to go alone with this page of the instruction manual, but, use your imagination, ok?

Instructions:
BABY BROKEN TOE
Yes:
Ice it, call the doctor, give them tylenol, maybe a beer to calm them down.
No:
Don't spend an hour online reading my blog! No matter how funny it may be! Your kid has a broken toe!

Oh, and, yes, I have to agree with some people that the nose picking one probably isn't really a bad thing. I mean, babies can't pick their own noses, you have to do it for them, right?

And, Scott, I don't see what wrong with containing a kid like that...I mean, the picture does show that the crate has a water bottle and a place for a food bowl...

Instruction Book to Parenting

2008-03-05T13:03:00.034-05:00

Mike's subject for the day is to "teach society something." Well, I had a whole blog planned on how to drive, and then when Canisius didn't cancel classes this morning I thought up another one about why school should close when my car is covered with ice, but then I found this, and I think it's important that people know how to take care of their babies. So, here it is...

obligatory post.

2008-03-04T21:29:00.005-05:00

So, even though the topic for the day is who would play me in a movie, I can't decide and need more time to think about that.

Instead I'm going to go to bed. This post totally counts towards BufBloPoFo, but since it's lame maybe I'll post twice tomorrow.

Good Things

2008-03-03T13:16:00.003-05:00

Good things about today:

I remembered shampoo before conditioner (which means I showered this morning!)
it was beautiful all day, and I got to sit next to a window while I studied
Amy did laundry yesterday so I got to wear my favorite sabres sweatshirt
the season premier of Little People Big World is on! So I have to go watch it. I hope your day was great too!

Best Present

2008-03-02T15:22:00.003-05:00

I didn't follow Mike's suggestion of writing about the beginnings of my blog yesterday, mostly because I don't know why I started a blog. I know I started it sometime after I moved back from NYC and before I moved out of Mom and Dad's house, but that's about all I remember, and to write anything else I'd have to go read my archives, which seems like a lot of work.

Ok, I read my archives, and they are completely useless...I have no idea why I started a blog.

Anyway, I can tell you about the best present I ever got. Actually, it was more like the best Christmas ever. It was the Christmas of 1996 (I think.) I was a freshman in high school and slightly obsessed with the Sabres, more particularly Dominik Hasek.

Dec. 23rd Dad, Esther, Mary and I went to see the Sabres play the Bruins at the Aud. Esther and Mary were sitting together across the ice from me and Dad, so we walked separate ways and as Dad and I were walking to our seats I mentioned how much I wanted a Hasek jersey (I'm nothing if not subtle.) Dad told me that he couldn't get me one right then, but maybe after Christmas once they pay off all of the presents they had gotten us he'd look into it.

I really thought I was getting a jersey. It was all I wanted that year. I was a little disappointed, to say the least. I even remember telling Esther later that I wasn't getting a jersey. She said she knew what I was getting and it wasn't a jersey, but it was pretty cool.

Christmas morning (after finding Rae, another great present) we all went to our piles of presents. After everyone got to theirs, I walked to the one that was left. There was a hockey stick leaning up against it, so I thought maybe it was supposed to be Louis' pile. I mean, I didn't play hockey. But it was a goalie stick. And he didn't play goalie. I picked it up and it was greasy, obviously used. I was so confused...why would I get a used goalie stick for Christmas? I looked up, still totally confused, and then it hit me...it was a game used Hasek stick! I didn't even want to open the rest of my presents. But I did. I got the book A Day in the Life of the NHL, a signed Hasek lithograph, some other stuff I don't remember (stuff that was not Hasek related...and probably underwear), and then, at the bottom of my pile, was my signed Hasek jersey.

***DISCLAIMER*** Mike -- Although this was MY best Christmas, I don't think Lisa wants a Hasek jersey or stick for her birthday.

Day 1

2008-03-01T19:45:00.002-05:00

HAPPY BufBloPoFo! I'm assuming you all know what's going on, since all 4 of you who read my blog are also participating, or at least also read Mike's blog.

Anyway, I have a funny story. Yesterday Amy and I went to Blockbuster. It was after work on a Friday so there were quite a few people in there looking at the movies, and about 5 people working behind the counter. We picked out our movies and were standing in line behind a couple with their little boy. He was probably about 4 or 5. He was jumping around, hopping on one foot, picking up all of the popcorn packages and candy and everything that was surrounding us standing in line. You know, like little kids do. Then they walked around the curve in the line and he hopped over to the movies for sale and started picked each one up and moving it to a new spot. He wasn't bothering anyone so his parents were just letting him do his thing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him pick up a movie and study the cover for a few seconds before he turned around and yelled, loud enough for the whole store to hear, "MOM! I READ THIS ONE! IT SAYS JACKASS! IT SAYS JACKASS MOM! I CAN READ IT!" The mom laughed out loud (as did the rest of the store) and told the kid not to say that word, and read something else.

Peek-A-Boo!

2008-02-20T12:28:00.008-05:00

So close, yet so far away

2008-02-05T09:23:00.000-05:00

The other day I realized that I only need to take 2 more classes before I can start dental school. Organic Chemistry and Physics (and we all know how much I LOVE physics...) Chem is up there right now, too, but I haven't had the time to post about it.

Anyway, I just have to take these 2 classes. One I can take over the summer (May 19 to July 24), then the other I can take next year. I also have to take the DATs next year. And get my application in to UB Dental School. The deadline for that is Jan 1, so I figure it has to be in sometime in November. So next fall I'll take a kaplan course and the first semester of one of the courses I need, then in November I'll take the DATs and apply to dental school.

I'm kinda excited to be done with undergrad, again. Although I do have to say that, as far as the actual school part goes, Canisius has been my favorite. And I've had a lot of experience. :)

I'm also a little nervous. In order to raise my GPA I need to get really good grades (like, A's) in the 3 classes I'm taking this semester and the 2 I still I have take. All but one of them has a lab, and I'm not worried about well in the labs, but how will I do well in physics without Scott in Buffalo to get me through it?

2008-02-03T12:02:00.000-05:00

Look at how beautiful my goddaughter is:

Bck to your regularly scheduled updates....soon.

2008-01-29T22:01:00.000-05:00

Wow, remember when I used to write on this thing?

No?

Oh, maybe I was never really the regular updater that I imagined myself to be.

Anyway, now that school is going again, maybe I'll update more regularly soon.

But not right now. Right now I need to go do some homework...and find some sunflower seeds. I'm almost out.

I Love My Family

2008-01-02T14:36:00.000-05:00

I loved the Ice Bowl, too, but I hate the Penguins and Sidney Crosby.

Quick update

2007-12-31T20:05:00.000-05:00

Wow, this break has been crazy. Christmas with Amy's Dad and Stepmom, Christmas with Amy's Mom, Stepdad, brother, sister-in -law, and nephews, and Christmas Eve with my family, Christmas morning with Esther and her family, then on the 26th Christmas dinner with my family. Between all of those celebrations I've had to play with my presents (I've played with my tupperware, used my pots and pans, made 3 loaves of bread in my bread machine, and played with my nintendo DS A LOT...I dreamt about Zelda last night...)

Tonight I have big New Years Eve plans of sitting on my couch, watching John and Kate Plus 8, and having a few beers before I go to bed at 12:01 so I can get some sleep before I start tailgating for the Ice Bowl tomorrow! I cannot wait for this game. The Sabres better win...but, even if they don't, I'll have pictures. Which I'll upload sometime this week, along with some Christmas pictures!

Christmas Eve

2007-12-24T08:41:00.000-05:00

Today is my favorite day of the year. Well, this year both May 31st and December 18th were pretty great too, but in an average year, Christmas Eve is always pretty high on my list of favorite days. I'm done with my shopping, everything is wrapped, and now it's just family, food, and fun. Even though I've already celebrated Christmas twice, and I won't get my presents from Santa until the 26th (he leaves them at mom and dad's house for me, still, so I'll get them when I go there for our Christmas Dinner), I'm just as excited. My inner child, who is really happy with this new arrangement where I get 5 Christmas celebrations each year, can't wait for tonight's party. It's really hard to be grown up when all you want to do is dance around your house and sing to Christmas songs. Which, I suppose, I could do, but then Amy would think I was crazy and probably leave me, and I'd be back to just 2 Christmas celebrations (the Christmas Eve party and our family dinner.) So, instead, I'll get all the stuff we need together to go out to mom and dad's for the party, find something to wear to church, and maybe take a shower. That seems like something a grown up would do.

Adelaide Celia

2007-12-20T21:33:00.000-05:00

Addie is home! I went to see her this afternoon and Mike showed me this. I was really surprised. And honored. And at first, not sure if they meant to use my name. Or, close to my name. But they did! And I'm going to be Addie's Godmother! I'm so , seriously, and I can't really put it into words yet how I feel. But I will.

Until then, enjoy this: now that I have 4 nieces and nephews, I can make the cutest elves.

AWOOKA IS HERE!

2007-12-18T20:33:00.000-05:00

Mike and Lisa had a baby! Adelaide Garvey (middle name to be revealed at a later date), 6 lbs 5 oz, born around 6 pm tonight.

Everyone is healthy and, of course, very very happy.

DONE

2007-12-13T19:43:00.000-05:00

I'm done! YAY! Over 4 weeks of family, food, friends, DVR'd TV (from the last few weeks when I was busy studying), working with Dad (which I really am excited about), sleep (which I'm also very excited about, but not quite as much as being back in the office), and just generally being on break. I am so happy! But, right now, I am also so exhausted. Today was Chemistry. After the first test in the class I had an F. On the second exam I got a C. On the third I got a B. I had a possibility of getting a B+ in the class if I did well on the exam, since one of my class exam grades would be replaced with my final exam grade (and there are quizzes and homework added in there.) So I studied a lot. A lot more than I have ever studied for an exam. And I knew how to do all of the long answer problems, and I knew all of the material for the short answer questions.

I was really nervous. I hadn't been worried about my other exams. I very rarely get worried about exams. I stress, and I study, but once I get in there, I take it and I'm done. As the minutes tick away closer to exam time I don't get scared or shake, my stomach doesn't get upset. But I really wanted to do well on this exam. I wanted to do better than my professor expected. I woke up nervous. And it got worse the closer to exam time it got. My hands were shaking, I felt sick, I wanted to cry...it was not fun.

And I got in there, and I was so tired, and so sick of chemistry, and my head hurt, and my back hurt from bending over in those stupid little desks, and I just didn't care for a second. I just wanted to go home. I couldn't remember how to get the density of until cells, or the percent yield of Hydrogen gas from an equation. Things I had done 8 million times just this morning!

But I did it, and I finished, and I think I did OK. Probably not better than my professor expected, but, not worse, either. And really? I'm OK with that.

The worst part

2007-12-11T10:52:00.000-05:00

My house is a mess. More specifically, my office is a mess. Studying generates a lot of papers.
For Anatomy I have 2 finals (lab and lecture.) Each final is 85 questions, and the questions are taken from the exams and quizzes we've had throughout the semester. Which means that I have 10 quizzes (at an average of 4 pages each) and 5 exams (at an average of 8 pages each) plus 2 packages of 3X5 cards. For Bio I had 10 quizzes (3 pages each) plus 17 internet quizzes, 30 pages of outlines I made from my notes and the book, 4 scan-tron sheets from the exams taken during the semester, 4 or 5 packages of 3X5 cards, and about 40 pages of loose-leaf paper to write stuff down on, do problems on, etc. while I was re-taking quizzes. I'm getting ready to start studing for Chem. I feel bad just throwing out all of this stuff from the exams i've already taken, but, really, I don't want to look at it anymore. And I don't want to take the time to separate it all into piles (Bio vs. Anatomy, quizzes vs. exams vs. outlines, etc.) So instead of doing anything with any of it, I take it all out of my bag, and pile everything up on the futon in my office. The futon is a fire hazard right now.

On a totally unrelated note, you know the iPhone? How everybody who has one loves it? Well, I love mine, I do, even though I'm on my THIRD ONE! Seriously. The first one I got was great until the space bad on the text messaging stopped working. That's kinda important. So I took it into the Apple Store and they said that, although they had never actually seen it, this was possible (obviously) because the phone is run on an operating system just like a computer is, so if the operating system stops working right, the phone stops working right. They gave me a brand new phone and I left. Well, notexactly like that...I had to go home first, empty my pictures and contacts on the Amy's computer (because at the time I didn't have a computer,) then go back to the mall and get the new phone. Then with the new phone I had to re-set up my voicemail, email, favorite places, etc.

Yesterday my study partner asked to use my phone, so I gave it to her. After a minute she asked how to dial the zero. So I said press it. But it didn't work. And I couldn't get it to work. So after my exam I emptied my phone onto my computer, and then went to the Apple store. I told them that this was already my second phone, and the guy was amazed. He had only seen this problem once (uh, yeah, that was me...) and never heard of anyone having the bad luck of having thier bad phone being replaced with a bad phone. So I have a new phone, with a new, updated system. At least Apple is good about just giving me new phones.

Thank you Esther!!!

2007-12-08T16:40:00.000-05:00

After Wegmans last night I went to Esther's house. Look what she made me:

The perfect study package!!! It also included a pomagranate, but I left that at home. Once I finished my Starbucks Peppermint Mocha this morning, I had the breakfast of champions, which I'm sure will help me in my studying for today:

My Own Personal NaBloPoMo...

2007-12-08T09:03:00.001-05:00

I think exam period is better for blogging than NaBloPoMo...you know...that thing where people try to post every day in November? Really, all you need in order for me to post every day is to put me in the library for extended hours surrounded by books that, while I find them interesting on an intellectual level, I'd rather be watching Pysch and Monk that I have DVR'd from last night...and this way I can at least think about how much I'd rather be watching Psych and Monk.

Anyway, I'm not in the library. I'm outside the library. Because it is 9:05 am, and the library doesn't open until 10:00 am. Why doesn't the library open until 10? Probably because this is COLLEGE. And in the real world: college edition, people went out last night. There was a happy hour that started at 9 pm! At 9 pm I was going home. It was late. I was asleep by 9:30! Which is why I had to DVR Monk and Psych, and why I'm up now, ready to study. In my day, we didn't have bars that were open until 4 am, and we got up early to study, and we walked through snow and ice and wind to get to the library! (Haha, that's partly true...the bars in Canada are only open until 2, and we didn't have fun tunnels to walk through, to get to different buildings from the one you were in, so if you went to the library, you did walk through snow and ice and wind...but I don't know anyone who actually did go to the library...)

Ok, anyway, last night I went to Wegmans, which is normally a nice experience. I was out of one of my prescriptions, and had called in the refill on Wednesday. I knew there'd be a problem calling it in, because there weren't any refills left on the bottle, but my doctor prescribes me 2 drugs, A and B. I ran out of B a long time (like 2 weeks) ago, so she send in refills for both A and B. Now I wanted A refilled, so I call Wegmans and can only get the automated thing, which says I don't have any refills, they'll call my dr., come in Friday it should be ready. So I went in yesterday to get it. Nope, nothing filled for me. So I explain the above to the guy, who looks at me like I have to heads and says, "I don't get it." Then he looks at the computer and and says, "Oh, yeah, your doctor did fax us a refill for A two weeks ago, and on Wed. Do you want one of thoes filled?" I said yes. He said it would be 1/2 an hour. I said I didn't want to wait, but I'd be back when they opened this morning. This is our conversations after that:

Me:What time do you open tomorrow?
Him: well, I get here at 8, so probably about 9 or 9:30.
Me: Um, Ok...Oh, there's a sign. You open at 8:30. I'll be here at 8:30. I'll pick it up then. Can you have it ready by then?
Him: Yep. Which one do you want?
Me: Drug A
Him: But there are two precription refills for it.
Me: Are they exactly the same?
Him: let's see...2 weeks ago it was for this much this many times a day, Wednesday was...yep, exactly the same!
Me: then I don't care.
Him: So I can fill either one?
Me: Yes, as long as it's ready for me to get at 8:30 tomorrow morning.
Him: You don't care if I fill the one from 2 weeks ago or the one from Wednesday?
Me: No, they're the exact same thing...
Him: Ok, let's see...how do I do this...
Me:

But it was. I went in this morning and the guy was there and he said "Oh! You were here last night! But I don't remember your name." So I told him, got my drugs, paid, and left. As I was pulling out of Wegmans, I realized I had also called in a refill for something from another doctor that DID have refills left, but, since I can also get it OTC, I figured I'd let it slide.

One Down, 3 to Go

2007-12-07T09:11:00.001-05:00

YAY! LAST DAY OF CLASSES...well, for this semester...only 14 semesters to go (not counting those summer semesters...or residency, because I don't think they have semesters...they have rotations, according to the TV I watch.)

I had my first final exam last night. Anatomy and Physiology Lab. I was all ready for it to last all three hours. It started at 6. At 6:10 I finished question 85 and went back to look for any questions I missed or skipped over because I wasn't sure. There was 1. It was a fill in the blank.

"A heart rate of over 100 bpm is ______."

So I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out a word for "heart beating too fast." See! Free rice DID come in useful! I went through the Latin - hypercircsomething....no. Then through all the diseases I remembered from people when I worked with dad - allergy to penicillin? Nope. Finally, after spending more time on this question than on the rest of this test, I wrote:

"normal, if you're exercising."

It's true, right? Besides, since the exam is only out of 80 and there were 85 questions I can get 5 wrong and still get a 100%.

Studying...

2007-12-06T09:26:00.000-05:00

My freerice.come addiction was becoming too much, so I'm in the chem library to study for a chem quiz that's later today. I figured that working here where there are fewer computers avaliable would force me to read the chapter and fill out my cheat-sheet (which is allowed.) Obviously, that hyopothesis failed miserably. But, really, what is science except for dissproving hypotheses all the time? At least, that's what I've learned in my labs...maybe I've been doing my labs wrong...

Anyway, I'm about to die I'm so tired. I was up way too late studying (seriously studying...I only played free rice for a little bit) for my anatomy lab final that's today. That would mean a lot of wasted effort put into this semester if I died of lack of sleep right before exams...Maybe I'll go get some coffee. And then read the chem chapter.

Mary -- yes, playing free rice does count as studying for the gre's. Not so much for chemistry, but I did count it as studying for anatomy because I used the Latin roots of the words to figure out what they mean, which is also how I figure out a lot of the anatomy vocab. It only works about 50% of the time...maybe because I don't know Latin.

2007-12-05T09:58:00.000-05:00

So, although I'm not as busy as Mary, I'm busy. So far this week I've had one exam (just a normal one...not a final one or anything), 1 quiz, and and 5 assignments due. It's only Wednesday. Tomorrow I have another quiz and a final exam (YAY! ONE CLASS DONE!), then one last assignment on Friday, then I'm done except for finals. Which, you know, should be a breeze.

I'm handling all this stress remarkable well, if you ask me. Wanna know how?
Free Rice. It's the best possible way to waste time EVER! I learn words I'll never use and forget about school for a while (well, hours, really), and starving people get grains of rice...Perfect!

2007-11-29T19:10:00.000-05:00

This was the first year Amy and I cut down a tree for our house. Last year we moved in in early December, so we just bought a tree from a nursery on Sheridan. We knew we needed a skinny tree, but we didn't really consider how tall it could be...apparently we should have:

It was OK, though. I figured we could just cut the top off with the big scissor things that trim trees...only we don't have any of those, so we used kitchen scissors (we as in Amy...me+sharp objects/high places = disaster)

Beautiful, right?

Until we tried to put the angel on...we decided it just looks like she's praying over all of your presents:

Dear Ethyl

2007-11-10T18:53:00.000-05:00

We've had some good times, we've had some bad times, and we've spent a lot of time with me sitting outside of you. But, you're old. And not safe. It's time to break up. I'll always hold a place for you in my heart, but you're being replaced. By this:

Amy and I went to the Ford place today to test drive some cars. I had narrowed it down to a few cars that I wanted, and of the ones I wanted the Escape was the one with the best lease deals. The CR-V, the car I really really wanted, isn't available for lease, apparently. And, really, the way I drive, no car will last longer than 3 years :)

So, we went to test drive. I woke up scared this morning. I was already thinking about driving a car that didn't belong to someone who has to love me unconditionally (or, at least love me.) I spent all day thinking about it. So I decided Amy could test drive it and tell me how she liked it. She didn't think that was such a good idea. But I made her pull out onto Southwestern Blvd. and into the Ambulatory Care Place, so I only had to take right hand turns in the un-paid-for-car that didn't belong to anyone who has to love me. It was still stressful. Because I had to park this car. But I did it, without hitting anything. Yay me!

Anyway, I went in and said yes, I want it, the cheapest one with 4WD and no I don't really care about a moon roof. But, those people at Ford...they can sell stuff.

I have a moon roof. I'm not sure how. Except it, apparently, is free. It was the satellite radio, (something that I'm already paying for, which is all hooked up in Ethyl,) that was the expensive part of that package. Don't ask me why they're packaged together, or how I ended up with said package, but, apparently, I did. Amy assures me it's OK, that she wants my Sirius anyway, so it all works out, even better actually because I get Sirius for free for 6 months in my new car now, so, whatever, but, I was confused.

Then, I wanted Pearl Black. I really liked the Pearl Black. Mostly because it's Pearl (which in my mind is white), but it's black (which in my mind is...uh...black.) I ended up with silver. I guess if you mix Pearl and Black together, you get silver, so it all works out, right? Side note here -- until very recently, I always thought that you decided on all of the stuff you wanted and they made your car, then you went and got it...I mean, that's why it took so long for you to pick it up, right? So, if I want pearl black and they don't have my package in pearl black, they just make it, right? No, apparently it doesn't work that way. I get silver, or I pay more. I got silver.

So, they asked if I had a car to trade in. I laughed (sorry Ethyl.) Kelley Blue Book said Ethyl was worth (being very, very generous...like, I lied and said she was in good condition) $800. I figured we'd get about $300, but, it'd be about a payment, so, great, right? The guy took it to get it appraised, came back and said, "it's worth more than I'd give you for it." Well, gee, thanks, I guess. Ethyl is worth $600 to Ford! Ridiculous! I should keep her! Or...not.

So after I got all of my packages worked out it was time to go to the credit woman. I was worried, honestly. I don't have a credit card. I don't have a mortgage. I pay a student loan, but that's it. I don't really have any credit. The last time I applied for any type of credit (a credit card) I wasn't approved because of a mortgage in 1992 or something, when I was 11. I was pretty sure Amy was going to have to co-sign. The credit woman was kind of amazed that I didn't have a credit card, but she took all of my information, took some blood, did a DNA test, checked my urine (ok, that may be a slight exaggeration...)...and I was approved almost immediately. Weird, huh?

The credit woman is also in charge of selling the warrenty-type packages. The first one she told us about I was like, "Uh, no, thanks." But then I listened to what she said. And to what Amy said. And it made sense. I mean, I need oil changes, right? Why not pay for them monthly? I'm sure there's other stuff in there too...like anything that goes wrong with the car other than if I run it into something...they fix it. And free windshield wipers and wiper fluid whenever I need it, and all of that stuff. So, I said OK. Then everything she said sounded good. Tire protection? Well, I have gotten a flat tire before. Road salt protection? Hey, I live in Buffalo! Acid rain protection? Of course! Haven't you seen An Inconvient Truth? Ok, so, I didn't actually get any of these packages (the crazy ones...I did get the wiper and fluid one...because I like clean windshields.) But I was tempted. Thank God for Amy...for so many reasons, but, today, for convincing me my new car won't melt in acid rain.

So, I leased it today. Well, I picked it out and test drove and whatnot today. I pick it up Monday. If, that is, I can find the title to Ethyl...

Miles

2007-10-27T17:41:00.000-04:00

I had dinner with Esther and Mary last night at Esther and John's house. It was great, and we hadn't all hung out together, just the three of us, in a long time.

I got there before everyone else so I had some time to play with Miles (my mom was watching him until I got there, he wasn't there alone...)

The best part of my time with Miles? After dinner we cuddled up under a blanket and I gave him a bottle. He had maybe two sips before this:

Isn't he perfect?

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-27T17:03:00.000-04:00

Well, almost. I (um, or Amy...)

carved our pumpkin!

Happy Fall!

2007-10-15T16:50:00.000-04:00

Amy's mom and stepdad grow pumpkins. Big pumpkins.

Julia got one too, but I didn't get pictures of her with it. Stay tuned for pictures of us carving it, though. She wants to use her tools.

2007-09-25T09:13:00.000-04:00

When I was little I used to love to sleep on the couch in our living room. So much, that if I went out there in the middle of the night and someone was already on the couch, like Louis, I'd hold his eyes open until he woke up and then I'd tell him mom said he had to go back to bed. Then I'd steal the couch from him.

However, there was one thing I hated about the couch:

Yes, this creepy skull was always sitting above our TV on the bookshelf with all of my dads books and surgery movies. It was my dad's from school and most of the time I could forget that it was there. But at night when it dark and I was alone on the couch, I swear it would come alive and try to kill me.

Now? It doesn't bother me. In fact, it's sitting in my house. My dad let me borrow it to learn the bones of the head for my anatomy class. I have it sitting right above all of my movies. I haven't really thought about it, until last weekend when the DirectTV guy came to switch our dish receiver.

He walked in and looked at our TV and said, "Nice TV." I said, "Yeah, thanks."

Then he looked at the skull and said, "Uh, is that real?" I had forgotten it was there, and said, "Oh, that?" I tried to explain it without looking like a homocial maniac. "It was my dad's." I realize now that that doesn't really sound great. "I mean, it's not actually my dad...he got it in school. He's a doctor. And now I'm in school. So he let me use is."

I don't think he heard anything after "It was my dad's." He decided to do all the outside work first, and commented a few times on how close the houses were. I hope this doesn't hurt our chances of getting service if we need it at a later date...

2007-08-27T18:42:00.000-04:00

Today was my first day of school. I think there was a pre-school that had a field trip to Canisius or something, 'cause there were a lot of really really young kids in my classes. And they all looked scared. And slightly hung-over.

Really, though, the freshman this year? Are little.

Mondays and Fridays are my short days. I only have 3 classes from 9:30 to 12:30. Tuesday I have class from 11:30 TO 8:45 with 2 half-hour breaks, Wednesday I have class from 9:30 to 12:30, then 2:30 to 5:30, and Thursday from 11:30 to 12:30, 1:00-2:30, and 6:00 to 8:45. It's going to be a busy semester.

Since today was pretty much the only day this week I'd have to get errands done, after class I stopped at Esther's house to play with Miles, then ran to the tailor to have some pants hemmed, and then to SuperCuts. I've needed a haircut for a long time, and right now, with 7 chapters to read and about 3 hours of calculus problems to do, seemed like a great time. While I was there a guy walked in to have his hair cut. He was basically bald, but had some hair around the sides and back of his head. He looked really familiar, but I couldn't place him, and I couldn't stare too long because the hair cutting woman kept moving my head to face away from him. The woman cutting my hair asked him his name and he said, "Steve." That's when I realized who he was:

I guess now that Cellino is back he can't afford more than $10 on a haircut...

For Christmas I want a car alarm...attached to a new car.

2007-08-16T20:48:00.000-04:00

Last night I went to the Chocolate Bar. A place that, due to its owners and issues I have with them from when I was a pastry chef, I swore I would never go to. But, Leah is in town and she was there along with Esther, Gina, Julie (I think this is her blog...I stole the link from Leah's blog...), and Mary (who still needs a blog of her own.) So, I gave up my petty boycott and Amy and I drove down to Chippewa.

Before we left I joked, "let's take my car...maybe someone will steal it and I can get a new one."

We parked on Elmwood just south of Chippewa. There were lots of cars on the street and we've parked there before. It was well lit and fairly well populated - and not by scary people, either...by normal-looking people. When we were getting out of the car I grabbed the portable part of my Sirius radio for some reason. I normally don't, but I put it in my purse.

After one of the best cocoa puff milkshakes I've ever had (ok, the ONLY cocoa puff milkshake I've ever had, but, really, it was awesome), and some really great conversation, we left.

My front passenger-side window was smashed. The stereo was gone (with my new Plain White T's cd in it.) My iPod was gone. The full can of diet coke that I had to drink on the drive home was gone (well, at least emptied onto my backseat.) Amy scraped the glass off the front seat and I called my dad. We decided there was no point in reporting it...I've had this happen before and it just takes time - waiting for the police to show up, waiting for them to do paper work, etc - and there's not much they can do. Amy and I spent the drive home telling each other that it could have been worse. We could have been in the car, they could have taken my Sirius attachment instead of just pulling it off so it needed to be re-attached, and stealing the remote control for it (really...they took the remote control for it, but no other part.) They could have taken my cds (although, as Esther pointed out, no one likes Melissa Ethridge anymore now than they did last year when all my stuff, except my cds, was taken out of my car.) They could have taken the whole car. I could have not just put the new cd into the cd player, and they could have taken the cd Mike made me (the sister mix) that I had been listening to up until just the other day. There are a million and two ways it could have been worse. Sitting on the glass stuck in the seat for the few minutes it took to get home wasn't so bad.

I spent today getting the window replaced, getting a new stereo installed, and cleaning out the car. I found the full can of diet coke, so I don't know what was poured on the backseat. Most likely one of the other cans of diet coke in the car, but, I sprayed a lot of lysol in there...just in case it's not diet coke...

Catching Up

2007-07-29T10:31:00.000-04:00

I've been so busy lately that I've missed blogging some really important things.

I missed Lou's birthday.

But we celebrated in NYC with dinner at Per Se with amazing food like oysters and caviar in tapioca, and wine from the year he was born (1983.) Definetly a Birthday Meal to remember. They did not, however, bring over all the waiters to clap and sing Happy Birthday to him when they brought out dessert. He did get a candle.

I also missed Dad's birthday.

I had a great post written in my head about how great it is to work with him, how much fun we had in NYC at our conference, ending with Happy Birthday, but, I never typed it out. I was having too much fun working with him instead. So, Happy Belated Birthday, Dad.

I didn't write about the ICAT conference in NYC that I went to. Dad and I were the only ones from the office to go. There were very few people there who weren't either doctors or sales reps of some sort. It was really cool to be there, at a conference, with Dad. I mean, we've gone to the Buffalo Convention, and to the one in San Deigo, but this time I got to go into the doctor lectures and sit with Dad, not he assistant lectures where they walk about taking impressions and sterilizing instruments. It was fun. And I learned so much.

And, I got to spend lots of time babysitting my nieces and nephew.

Despite how it looks in the pictures, we didn't actually spend the entire time we were with them on the couches...and I was reading to Julia right before that picture. Amy and Maeve? I think they were watching Jimmy Neutron.

Another Birthday!

2007-07-08T20:42:00.000-04:00

Dear Maeve,

Happy Birthday Monkey!

This past year has been wonderful, watching you grow from a tiny little thing

to a beautiful little girl who can bring a smile to anyone's face, just by looking at them!

I hope this year is your best year yet!

Love,

Aunt Cecilia

Two Years!

2007-07-01T12:20:00.000-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JULIA,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Happy In The Nursery!*

2007-06-30T22:55:00.000-04:00

Although Esther and John had alread known each other for a while, and I had already met him at least once, the first time I really remember him is when he got her tickets to see the Sabres play the Rangers...or maybe Phoenix...Or St. Louis. Wherever Gretzky was playing for at the time. Probably the Rangers. Anyway, I told her right then to marry him. I'm glad she listened to me.

Congratulations on six years of a wonderful marriage.

*Check Esther's for an explanation...

New Name

2007-06-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

Hi! I changed around the 'Bus (in case you didn't notice...) I was feeling a little...un-PC. And you know I'm nothing if not PC. I'm not in love with this template. Or name. I've thought about a few others, but nothing really fits all of my personalities, so, if you have any ideas, or if you know how to get a tie dye background on this thing, Please let me know. Oh, and just because they're beautiful:

Not Mone...

2007-06-02T10:17:00.000-04:00

It's Miles!!!

May 31, 2007 at 11:12 pm
8 lbs, 2 oz

Absolutely perfect.

I didn't know they liked American Idol so much...

2007-05-28T09:34:00.000-04:00

Before Julia was born I was sure she was a boy. I couldn't imagine a girl since all we had had born lately were boys. But as it got closer and closer to the day she was born I had dreams that she was a girl.

With this baby (let's call him Jesus -- the latino version, not the Son of God version -- for now), I wasn't positive. But as the pregnancy went on I became pretty sure it was a boy. I've stuck with that, just because Esther's pregnancy has been different that her pregnancy with Julia. But lately I've been having dreams that Jesus is a girl.

Most of them are just John saying, "It's a girl!" But the other night I had a crazy dream. In real life I had gotten up to go to the bathroom and realized that I had left my phone in my pants pocket, so I must have been worried about that, because in my dream I was sitting on my bed with Mary. I heard my phone vibrate signaling that I had a message, so I reached over to my table to get it, but next to it were Mike, Lisa, and Mary's (sidenote: Mary needs a blog) phones. I couldn't get the text message from John (sidenote: has a blog, but never writes on it), to open on my phone so all I could see was the part that was flashing on my screen. It said, " She went in." So I picked up Mike's phone. I could see the messages he and John were sending back and forth, and then hear their conversations (weird, I know, since I had his phone), and I heard Mike say, "You took her to the hospital?"
John said, "Yeah, she had the baby. It's a girl." I had to ask Mike to ask about the name, size, etc. John said the name was Mone.
Mike said, "You mean Mona?"
John said, "No, Mone. M-O-N-E. Like Simone, after Simon from American Idol."

Then I woke up. I'm kinda hoping Jesus is a boy.

Chicago

2007-05-27T10:40:00.000-04:00

I'm back from Chicago! Well, I've been back for about a week, but, I've been SO busy, that' I'm just updating now. And it's mostly going to be pictures.

We had a WONDERFUL time. The Cubs beat the White Soxs:

And we were there:

We spent a lot of time shopping, but I don't have any pictures of that. And we walked around the city, went to Navy Pier, but our camera battery was dead by then because before that we went to the aquarium. It was SO cool. I'm only going to post a few pictures because we have over 100, but we couldn't use our flash so a lot of them are only recongnizable by us...This is the REALLY BIG fish outside with his crazyman dancing partner.

This crab is much bigger than it looks like in the picture...it made me hungry.

Haha, the turtle were doin' it...we took a lot of pictures of that...

The dolphin show was amazing. It made me want to become a dolphin trainer. Until I remembered that they're swimming in all that dolphin poop and pee...

I think these frogs thought they were hiding...

There was a HUGE shark tank that was really cool, until I realized it was leaking...then I didn't like it so much.

There were a lot of other cool animals, too:

I'm leaving on a Jet plane

2007-05-17T07:44:00.000-04:00

I'm getting ready to leave for Chicago! Amy and I are going away for the weekend to see a Cubs vs Sox game and spend some time exploring the city (a city I've never been to, despite the fact that my FAVORITE OLDER BROTHER lived there for YEARS...) We'll be back Sunday afternoon. So, everyone put your life on hold until I get back, ok? Don't do anything exciting without me. Esther - I'm talking to you...hold that baby in until I get back!

To All The Mom's:

2007-05-13T10:03:00.000-04:00

Despite the fact that today is my 26th Birthday, and I am old, and I have to go to the DMV because the licence I got when I was 16 (or 22, whatever) no longer will work for me, I made you a card:

If only I could glue glitter and macaroni on the internet...

Happy Mother's Day! I love you all!

P.S. Mom, I expect you to save this artwork just like you saved all the rest of the stuff I made you when I was little.

Happy Birthday Amy!

2007-05-11T09:25:00.000-04:00

Uh...belatedly...

So, Amy's birthday was on May 2nd. I'm a bad friend and am just posting it. But I got her good presents, so it's OK. And we're not really celebrating until next weekend in Chicago (for a Cubs vs. White Sox game...I told you I got her good presents!) so this is really right on time!

Anyway, Happy Birthday, I hope you had great day and that this coming year is even better than last year.

P.S. Don't lose your creativity in your old age!

The Boys

2007-05-10T11:01:00.000-04:00

Today is Aidan and Noah's birthday. Tomorrow is Sam's. I had great plans for a post that would make Leah cry about how awesome her boys are, and how much I miss them, but, I'm in the middle of proving that you can die from the common cold, so, this maybe not be that post...

Instead, I'm going to say Happy Birthday to The Boys, I hope this year is the best year of your lives.

P.S.Happy Belated Birthday to Leah! !

P.P.S. I wanted to post a cute picture of the boys, but, I could only find 1 semi-recent one of all three of them that I hadn't just posted...and it was of the back of their heads while they watched TV when I was babysitting. Not a great commentary on my babysitting skills, huh? So go look at the pictures of them at the zoo.

I Can Fly

2007-04-26T11:40:00.000-04:00

You know in Peter Pan how Peter teaches Wendy, Michael, and John how to fly by telling them to find their happiest memory? Well, when we were little we (we as in me, Louis, Mary, and some of our cousins) would try to fly by thinking about things that make little kids happy, like a world made entirely of candy, or having Christmas every day. We never flew. I think it's because I never had the right "happy thought." I found it yesterday.

My new happy thought? The way Julia looked at me and smiled, then buried her head in her blankets and laughed when I went to get her out of her bed after her nap yesterday. Remembering that can make me fly.

The zoo

2007-04-21T10:10:00.000-04:00

Thursday morning after class I got Amy up, bathed, and into the car with the promise of food from the zoo. She was excited because Sam, Aidan, and Noah were in town and she wanted to see them, so it wasn't hard to convince her that what her post-op foot needed was to be walked on across the poop-covered* zoo ground.

We got there just as Esther and Leah were getting ready to take the kids into the gorilla house. It was a great gorilla day. I took Julia out of the stroller and held her up to the glass window. All the sudden a gorilla jumped up to sit right on the other side of the window and scared the crap out of me. I almost dropped Julia but managed, instead, to squeeze her really tight. She thought it was cool and put her hands up on the glass. The gorilla put his hands up against hers on the other side. Then she kissed the glass and the gorilla kissed her back. It was so cool. Of course, the kids loved that, but the best part of the zoo, to them, was the playground.

There's some sort of cement statue thing (the boys were calling it a walrus, but now that I look at the pictures I think it may be an elephant), and Sam, Aidan, and Noah were sitting quietly on it, until I tried to take a picture.

Maybe if we add Julia, we'll get a good picture of all of them:

So, there may not be a perfect picture according to a real photographer, but look at how much fun the kids are having! That makes them pretty good pictures, doesn't it?

**I just imagine it as poop-covered...with all those animals,how could it not be?? But, I did eat my cheeseburger even after I dropped part of the bun on the floor, so I'm sure Amy will be fine.

Golf Leafs Golf, Part II

2007-04-21T10:02:00.000-04:00

Maybe the Leafs can call up their friends from the Islanders and they can all golf together...

**Thanks to Esther for the picture!

GOLF LEAFS GOLF

2007-04-13T21:51:00.000-04:00

When I was in college (the first time) I was the only Sabres fan on my floor...a floor full of Leafs fans. It was hard. So, at some point during the year, my roommate wrote GO LEAFS GO on our dry erase board on our door. I added an L and an F to both GO's so it said "GOLF LEAFS GOLF." It started an all out war. Every dry erase board on the floor had GO LEAFS GO on it, until I could fix it and add the L and F.

At that point, my hatred for the leafs was merely a normal hatred felt by any Buffalo fan. I mean, I hated them with all my heart and soul, but what Sabres fan doesn't?

Somehow, this season, I ended up going to a few of the Sabres/Leafs games in Buffalo. The Sabres won two and lost one, but it doesn't matter because we made the playoffs and they didn't ("we" as in the Sabres...I contributed quite a lot.) Each game made me hate the leafs more and more, though. All because of their fans. I'm very sorry to all of my Canadian friends, but, Leaf fans suck.

Which is why I LOVE this picture:

Haha, it makes me laugh and fills my heart with joy, mostly because I know it will piss off the fans.

YAY!!!

2007-04-02T19:34:00.000-04:00

So, one of the very best parts of my new house is its proximity to O and the yummiest sushi in Buffalo. When I stopped to pick up some dinner tonight, look what I saw:

Now if I can just convince them to open up for breakfast...

Maeve

2007-03-29T12:15:00.000-04:00

I'm babysitting Maeve today! She was very happy when I walked in, and even happier when I mashed up some bananas for her. She did not, however, like when I stopped shoveling the banana into her mouth to take a picture.

This is her saying, "Aunt Ceil, stop with the pics and put that banana right here."

Right now? She's asleep. And I'm jealous. I didn't think she'd sleep since she slept all morning with Aunt Mary, but, as soon as I started to read to her from my anatomy book, she passed right out.

Also, look how much she's grown:

Maeve the day she came home from the hospital...

Maeve last month.

Maybe I should get a nanny...or some restraints.

2007-03-28T22:18:00.000-04:00

So, you know what it's like to be in a house with a toddler? I'm assuming you do. Sometimes, that's how I feel with Amy. Only she's a very smart toddler. But...she. does. not. sit. still. EVER.

Remember her broken toe? Common sense says you should not move too much on a bone in your foot that is broken. But Amy likes to move. She likes to take out the garbage and do the dishes and the laundry and clean the garage and feed the dogs (Ok, maybe she doesn't like to do those things, but she also doesn't like to wait for me to do them...). She's just incapable of sitting and doing nothing (a skill I have perfected, by the way.)

So, my point is, she has to have surgery now because her toe hasn't healed (not necessarily because she didn't stay still for three weeks like the doctor told her to), and after the surgery she has to stay off of her foot for 10 days. For real this time.

How do you keep a toddler (or Amy) still for 10 days? Does anyone have any Dora or Diego movies I can borrow?

Marshmallows.

2007-03-23T17:32:00.000-04:00

Oh My...Leah made marshmallows with her three little boys. She is my hero.

Wanna know what I remember from marshmallow day at FCI? Sitting in the bathroom. Crying. Because I can't make marshmallows. And I was working with a grown-up (ish) boy, who also wanted to make marshmallows (he did not end up crying in the bathroom, though.)

Seriously. All of my attempts turned into a soupy, sticky, mess. Gross.

And I burned myself in the process.

Hopefully oral surgery will be better to me.

Great Picture

2007-03-19T22:22:00.000-04:00

Quite possibly the best picture ever:

Yes, it's a little blurry, but it was taken at the Green Tie Dinner...everything was a little blurry.

200

2007-03-17T13:39:00.000-04:00

This is my 200th post.

Fortune Cookies

2007-03-14T13:47:00.000-04:00

So every week Amy and I get little bags with neighborhood circulars, coupons, and menus slipped into the handle of our front door. Because we technically live in North Buffalo, but right on the border with Kenmore, we get packages from both communities. The first few weeks I was so excited! Mail! Not addressed to Amy! I'd go through the bag, read everything in it, and then throw it all out. Eventually I skipped the reading part and just threw it all out on my way into the house.

But last week I opened one and saw that we had gotten a menu for a Chinese food place. Since we don't have a chinese food place yet, I kept the menu and we decided to try it out on Sautrday. So I called them.

Chinese food man: Tin tin Kitchen
Me: Hi do you deliver?
CFM: Where to?
Me: My house (I actually gave them my address...)
CFM: Call back in half an hour and we will. *hangs up.*

So I called back, and was told they were technically delivering, but it would be over an hour. Fine, bring me some food.

It was good. I'd definitely order from them again. Amy finished before I did and opened her cookie. Her fortune was something about how great her life is or whatever. Mine?

"You are about to become $8.95 poorer. ($6.95 if you had the buffet)"

Yesterday after seeing Shakira we went out for lunch. Chinese food. It was wonderful. And my fortune was a little less of a glimps into my future, and more of a warning, as they sometimes are.

"Don't spit into the wind."

Those fortune cookie people are so smart.

2007-03-14T11:58:00.000-04:00

So, I've been trying to figure out how to write this post since about noon yesterday...almost 24 hours.

Check this out.

I SAW him yesterday. Esther let me, Louis, Mary, and my Mom go into the room with her for her ultrasound. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen. The pictures don't really do it justice. Shakira (my new nickname for my nephew, because his hips can move...) is perfect. I saw (and heard) his heart beat. I saw his belly, and his arms, legs, hands, and feet. I saw his brain, his beautiful face, and then he moved and I SAW RIGHT UP HIS NOSE! His precious precious nose.

I can't explain what it was like. My eyes got teary seeing him, and I can't wait to meet him outside of his mommy, but this short little introduction is something I'll never forget. I could have watched him all day.

Then, to make my day even better, we had sushi for dinner at Esther and John's house. Julia didn't actually eat the sushi, but she did say "rainbow roll," "love roll," and "kiss me I'm Irish."

She's too cute.

2007-03-10T22:54:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week Lisa called me and asked if I could go swimming with Maeve on Saturday (today.) She had to work but Maeve loves her swimming class, so I met Mike at the YMCA this morning and took Maeve into the pool. I have to say that I was nervous. For a few reasons, really (in no particular order:) (1) I wasn't sure if my bathing suit would fit (it did, barely.) (2.) I was nervous about getting Maeve into her swimmy diaper and bathing suit in a locker room the size of my bathroom. (3.) I was worried I'd drop her while we were swimming. I mean, really...she's a wiggly baby who gets slippery when she's wet.

Well, I met Mike at the Y and as we were walking in we passed Mary getting Julia out of the car. So we all went in together, and Mary and I took the girls into the locker room and got them changed. It wasn't as hard as I had imagined, and we were changed with time to play some peek-a-boo before class started.

We had a great time. The hardest part of the day? After class when the moms and kids from our class were also trying to get into dry clothes and about 800 people using the gym decided to come get changed too...I had to balance Maeve on the bench to put a dry diaper on her, and then finish getting her changed on my lap, while I was still wearing a wet bathing suit. But it was worth it. She was so much fun in the pool! She loved floating on her back to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and kicking her legs and splashing with Julia. And I didn't drop her once!

Broken Toe Pictorial

2007-03-07T20:15:00.000-05:00

Sunday night Amy broke her toe.

This is what it looked like when I finally got her to calm down a little bit and tell me what was wrong. It's hard to tell, but it's already bruising, and, yes, the top part is definitely bent at an unnatural angle.

So we went to the ER, where they took x-rays, made us wait, and wait, and wait, then said, "It's not broken, we'll let you go home."

So we waited and waited and waited and Amy got a script for what is basically Aleve, and we went home.

And Amy's toe hurt more and more. And got bigger and bigger. And by Monday night she was miserable. So she called her podiatrist and got an appointment for this morning.

We went and waited and waited in the waiting room. And finally they called us back and looked at Amy's foot.

Her toe is still crooked, swollen, and bruising, so, they took more x-rays. So we waited and waited for the x-rays to be developed. And when they were, the doctor said, "See this little piece of bone in your toe joint? It shouldn't be there." Well, not in those words, but, close.

So now Amy has better drugs, a taped up toe, and a funny little shoe.

Cute, huh? She has to wear it for 3 weeks. And then she'll go back in for more x-rays and if the bone hasn't fused, she needs to have surgery. So if you see her, DON'T STEP ON HER FOOT!

***Yes, that's a picture of Julia on the floor behind Amy's foot in the last picture. As soon as she's allowed to play with tools again and hang pictures, it will be back on the wall.

I'm still a grown up...I was saving it for Mary.

2007-03-04T11:25:00.000-05:00

Last week after work one day I went to Wal Mart. I needed Q Tips, but I forgot them, and all I actually bought was a flower pot and potting soil. See, a few months ago I was making this pasta dish (Mary's favorite pasta, as I call it), and I needed basil. The only basil Wegmans had was a potted plant. So I bought it, ripped off most of the leaves, and used them. Then I figured I'd try to get it to grow more, so I put it on my window sill and watered it. It worked! And it got so big that it needed a new pot! So I got home with the new pot and soil and replanted it. Now I'm waiting to see if it's going to live. Moving is one of the most stressful things to go through, you know...

Anyway, last night at dinner I was telling everyone about my basil plant (who does not have a name yet...I'm waiting to see if it lives before I really get attached), and complimenting myself on how grown up I must be to keep a plant alive. I'd just like everyone to know that I'm not really that grown up (or maybe I'm grown up, just not clean?)...this morning while looking for something in the fridge I pulled open one of the drawers and it had this brownish liquid covering the bottom. The worst part? I wasn't sure if it was from some old mushrooms, part of an eggplant, or an onion. I figured out it was the mushrooms, but I threw them all out. Then I decided I needed to clean the fridge. While I was doing that, I found a tupperware of something I couldn't quite identify...When I opened it all I could smell was mold.

It was the pasta dish.

That I made at least a month and a half ago.

I'd guess even longer, maybe, but our fridge isn't that old.

I just put the top back on and put it back...Maybe Mary will still want it.

100,000

2007-03-03T20:24:00.000-05:00

A month or so ago Amy took my car to get an oil change. Sweet of her, right? She also got me new windshield wipers, which I LOVE, but, that's a different story (or not...that's pretty much the story.) The point of this is that the little sticker they put on to remind me when to bring the car back had the mileage of 1003--something or other. In the hundred-thousand miles. I was SO excited. I get excited when I see the last two numbers on the odometer change at the same time, so, all of them? I COULD NOT WAIT! It was a long wait. This past week I've taken the long way everywhere. Last night I got home from work and my odometer said 099997. I went out to meet friends right down the street and when I got there, it said 099998. When I got home it looked like this:

I know, right?? Just give me the 099999! But no. So today we were on our way to Mom and Dad's. Amy was driving and stopped in the middle of our street so I could get this picture:

We had to stop at Target first, but Target is less than a mile away, so it wasn't until the middle of Elmwood near Hertle (where Amy was good enough to stop, again,) that we (Amy) got this picture:

My little car...all grown up.

Speaking of grown up, look at this:

I think she's ready for her own cell phone.

Maybe I should sell it?

2007-03-01T20:55:00.000-05:00

My blog is worth $1,693.62.
How much is your blog worth?

2007-02-26T10:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning (Sunday) I woke up to Amy whispering "You DO NOT want to go downstairs."

My first thought was, "no, I want to go back to sleep. Leave me alone." (I'm not a morning person.)

My second thought was, "Why? What did you do?"

It turns out she didn't do anything. But our furnace was broken and blowing cold air into the house. The temp was down to about 59. That's cold. So Amy called the first heating place in the yellow pages, who told her they didn't have the right part (um, really? 'cause we're not sure what's even wrong with the thing yet...) The second place came and told us what was wrong. Something was broken. We could fix it, but the part would be $800. To fix it we would need to replace another part, too, which would be $300. Add on labor and you may as well buy a new one. They gave us a deal on the new one, didn't charge us for the Sunday visit, and promised to be at our house "first thing" Monday morning. They actually came second thing Monday morning, but since they went to a church first where pipes had frozen and burst on a daycare center, I won't hold it against them. They're my new favorite heating/cooling people. Reimers, I think, is their name. I'm saving to get air conditioning just because I want them to come visit again.

Mall Girls

2007-02-25T20:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to the mall with some of my favorite people in the world:

I don't really have a story to tell...just these great pictures.

Deuce

2007-02-17T17:50:00.000-05:00

Check out the coolest pictures of my nephew*.

*the "nephew" part is unconfirmed...and if it is my niece, I'm sincerely sorry, but I'm pretty sure he's a boy.

Toby's First Year, in Pictures.

2007-02-13T20:38:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow (Valentine's Day!) is Toby's Birthday! He'll be 1 year old! This is the first picture I saw of him...I fell in love immediately and knew I HAD to have him.

He flew into Buffalo from Montana...or Michigan...or somewhere a few days later:

After that picture we sent him to boarding school and when he came back he was fully grown:

Ok, we didn't really send him away, he just grew so fast I don't have any pictures of him between tiny baby and fully grown. Mary's still his favorite, besides me, though:

2007-02-03T21:18:00.000-05:00

I got this picture from Esther this afternoon:

I know, she's so damn cute it's almost hard to be jealous.

Almost...

because when I got that picture, I was outside...

shoveling...

for the 3rd time today...

in snow that looked like this:

2007-01-31T09:02:00.000-05:00

With Mom in Hawaii, I got to babysit Maeve yesterday!

She was not too excited about the rice cereal and applesauce breakfast, but all-in-all we had a great day that ended with cuddling on the couch for a short nap before her mommy got home. It was heavenly. I get to play with her again tomorrow, and I'll remember my camera, so I can post more pictures then.

2007-01-19T18:58:00.000-05:00

I'm taking an anatomy class. It's very interesting, and I'm enjoying it. I thought I was a little ahead of the class, though, when the prof held up an x-ray of someones head and described what an x-ray was. Then he asked if anyone had ever seen a CAT scan or MRI. I said I had, and told him about the scanner at Dad's office. He was very excited that I had seen CAT scans before and asked all about them. Then he went back to the x-ray and asked if anyone could see anything wrong with it. It was a side view of the person, and the only thing I could see wrong was that their wisdom tooth was way up in their sinus, so that's what I said. The prof frowned, looked back at the screen, and said, "Well, maybe, but I was referring to the fact that the top of his skull is missing..."

That wisdom tooth, though, is really going to cause him problems...

One Word

2007-01-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

Katie posted this on myspace. I'm doing it here. With my words, of course.

You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.
Not as easy as you might think.
1. Where is your cell phone?
table
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend?
Chair
3 Your Hair?
head...
4. Your mother?
wonderful
5. Your father?
Amazing
6. Your favorite thing?
cuddling
7. Your dream last night?
scary
8. Your favorite drink?
diet
9. Your dream car?
new
10. The room you are in?
livingroom
11. Your ex?
Friendly
12. Your fear?
sad
13. What do you want to be in 10 years?
here
14. Who did you hang out with last night?
Amy
16. Muffins?
Please!
17. One of your wish list items.
muffins
19. The last thing you did?
myspace
20. What are you wearing?
nothing :)
21. Your tv?
Big
22. Your pet?
sleeping
23. Your computer?
working
24. Your life?
Wonderful
25. Your mood?
Good
27. What are you thinking about right now?
twenty-six?
28. Your car?
Old
29. Your work?
awesome
30. Your summer?
Busy
31. Your relationship status?
perfect
32. Your favorite color:
green
33. When is the last time you laughed?
now
34. Last time you cried?
yesterday
35. School?
hard

Damn you, Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

2007-01-14T20:51:00.000-05:00

Amy and I went to Mom and Dad's house for dinner tonight. We had both saved enough points for the wonderful dinner of smoked turkey breast, squash, and salad (maybe not enough for the wine I drank, the bacon I picked on, or the pistachios I ate while watching mom cook, but, that's what the flex points are for, right?). Anyway, basically out of points for the day, we came home in time for the Simpson, Family Guy, American Dad, etc. BUT NONE OF THOSE SHOWS ARE ON! 24 is. So our choices (despite having 8000 channels) were Bush on 60 Minutes, football, an episode of Monk we've seen a few times, or Extreme Makeover Home Edition. We went with Extreme Makeover. It made me cry. A lot. And crying makes me want to eat. A lot. So we made popcorn. And I ate a lot of it. Then I was over-salted and wanted something sweet. So i ate oreo's. I don't think I've lost any weight this week. I blame Ty Pennington.

2007-01-10T22:15:00.000-05:00

I know I said I was going to post pictures of the new rooms to compare with the old ones, but, that means I'd have to take pictures of the painted rooms, upload said pictures onto the desktop, then onto snapfish, then save them to the desktop of my laptop so I can put them on my blog from there...because I don't like to write on The Shortbus at the desk. I'm much more creative on the couch. So I'll get to it.

Until I do, I'll entertain you all with stories of WeightWatchers. I joined last week. Or re-joined. I had been a member a few years ago. It was much easier to lose weight then, since I also has gall bladder-itis and tended to vomit after I ate. Since I had my gall bladder removed I no longer puke, but I've gained a lot of weight. This past week, though? I lost 1.8 lbs.

Today when we went to get weighed in, the woman made Amy put her sweatshirt on the scale. Did you know sweatshirts weigh 1.2 lbs? I think I'll go to W.W. nekkid next week.

2007-01-09T19:36:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!