Graduation... what???

A happy Thanksgiving to all. I am thankful for a family who provides me with unconditional, everlasting love, and laughter to go along with it... as an added bonus :) BTK was not able to join us for the festivities, and he was missed. I especially missed him cause he is my better half and a day with my family is just not complete without him there. I must confess to all of you, in a very sappy manner, that I love him dearly... and although I know that he gets "a little" overwhelmed in a room full of forty "or so" relatives, I'd still rather have him by my side while surrounded by noisy Italians, endless food, and a gallons of red than not there at all. I am thankful that I have a husband that supports my decision to spend the holiday with my family even though he hung back to rest. I swear, I'm not a bad person... he really was okay with it. Now, all of that has passed and we are on to the next issue. MY TEN YEAR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION...... TONIGHT!!!! I must put on a happy face and confident, positive demeanor and pretend that I wouldn't rather be anywhere else... for a few hours anyway. I have mixed feelings about going. I do keep in touch with a handful of friends from high school and I am really looking forward to seeing them. BUT, it just so happens that I have a touch of anxiety about seeing those that have been absent from my life since the day we wore caps and gowns. What do I say to these people?? And what will they say to me?? I have to work the door, which means that I may have to hand out name tags... maybe... which means that I am under pressure to recognize everyone that comes in! Ugh! And what do I say to them?! I get anxiety just running into someone in the grocery store... who I see weekly... How am I going to "get over myself" enough to formulate intelligent sentences/conversation starters (that don't include "what do you do for a living?") with these people who I haven't seen in ten years? Any suggestions??

Clean Slate

Ever want that? A clean slate?


Nothing like starting fresh.


How many times have you crumbled the paper and thrown it into the trash, cause you knew you could grab a crisp, uninked page to start over with?


Or while practicing a presentation, or one act play, or dance routine to the famed song Aquarius in front of your hubby or bff or crowd of stuffed animals... you miss a factoid, or a line, or a step and you say, "wait, wait... let me start over... from the beginning..."



That is what I want... with our home... cause it is an unorganized, chaotic, dog hair littered MESS!!!

I want a big crane-like apparatus to come and lift our home from where it sleeps and I want it taken to a special place where it can be set down and then a giant vacuum will be put through one of the windows and it will suck any debris, grime, dirt, dog hair and filth from every surface and corner. Then, a gentle magic wind will be blown through in order to carefully shift everything back into place. And finally, the Queen of "everything clean" in this world will do a walk through and with her wand (cause she will have a wand) she will tap everything shiny and sparkling clean...
AND THEN... the crane will place our home back where it belongs and it will be just as we started (except way better) and I will promise with all my heart to keep up with the housework and never let it get outta hand again. Ever!

It's so outta hand! Ahhhh!!!

Time is ticking away...

Bowing out of NaBloPoMo... Fo :)

No, I didn't actually throw up... but I felt like I needed to. I believe that is anxiety telling me she's with me, cause lately that is the feeling I have when I'm anxious. I don't actually carry out the action though because I detest throwing up.

MNT stands for Medical Nutrition Therapy. It is the class that is so detrimental to my success as a dietitian, mainly because it weighs quite heavily on my internship application. The exam I took on Thursday was a doozy. I may or may not keep you posted on how well I did. It all depends on how well I did. :)

I've obviously failed at my attempt to NaBloPoMo, seeing as how I have NOT posted everyday in November. In my defense, I'm nearing the end of a very hectic semester. Hectic not only because of my classes, but also due to my husband being ill, my work schedule, and my dogs still living with us... oh, and the fact that my housekeeper hasn't shown up in over a month! Oh wait... I am the housekeeper.... shit!

I don't even have time to be posting right now!

I have a presentation to give tomorrow on Urea Cycle Disorders in MNT. Have I started it yet? No. Will I start it soon? Yes, as soon as I finish this post.

Have a happy day:)

No Title

I just took the BIG MNT exam and I feel like throwing up.

That is all I have today.

My Neighbor

My neighbor is from Croatia and she visited there just recently. Her youngest sister is at her end with cancer and so she went to see her one last time. I saw Donka (that is her name) for the first time since she came back just the other day. She was on her riding lawn mower moving around the yard and she saw me approach and so she stopped and shut off the mower to say hello. We hugged and I asked her how her trip went. That is when she started to cry. She cried really hard and said how sad she is and how hard it is and that she misses her sister and it's just so sad. She just kept crying and so I kept hugging her and telling her how sorry I am for her. And I truly am so sorry that she is so far away from her family and it must be so heart wrenching to know that it may indeed have been the last time she will have seen her sister. So sad.

And when she was done crying, she looked at me and seemed to remember something and told me to wait. She went inside for a couple of minutes and when she returned she had goodies in her hand... for me! She said (in her broken English) that she brought me candy from Croatia, special for me:)

And this is a picture of the candy:)

And it some of the most delicious candy I've ever eaten:)


And I love that it came all the way from her home:)

Donka is a blessing to us. Her generosity is unmatched by anyone I've ever known. She is constantly giving us her homemade pastries, pickled hot peppers, and the best German potato salad I've ever had. We pick from her garden from spring through fall almost everyday. And if she hasn't seen me pick for a couple of days, she leaves a basket of fresh produce on our doorstep just in case.

She is a wonderful, good natured woman and I truly hope that the years to come will bring us closer together:)

If you believe in prayer, and you do indeed pray... keep her in mind. She could use a little extra during this difficult time.

Me and BTK

Indy snuck a picture of us this morning as we rolled outta bed. Ben loves the morning time. He always keeps a glass of water on the nightstand with a cucumber slice in it for the morning. And I always pin a flower on his tux-resembling pajamas. If we look this good in the morning, imagine how we'd clean up if we went to a wedding:)

My Brain On Drugs

Hey, you know that commercial from back in the day with the egg in the frying pan symbolizing your "brain on drugs"???

Well, that is what happened to me this weekend... except not from drugs. FROM STUDYING!!

I have a serious exam this Tuesday over six chapters, 25 slide presentations, and a speech/language pathology presentation. I've been studying ALL friggin' weekend and feel as if I've gotten NOWHERE.

My brain is fried.

Mush.

Like... if it were in a frying pan right this minute, you could salt it and pepper it and eat it.

I digress.

Mint

I do love mint. I ought to purchase myself a lovely, fresh mint plant.

I love that the Christmas season brings mint chocolate candies, such as Mint M&M's.

I find the taste of Mint Chocolate Baileys irresistible.

My lip balm is mint flavored (I say "flavored" b/c it doubles as a breath freshener).

I fill our home with the scent of mint by Yankee Candles year long.

I wonder if there is a mint air freshener made for cars... anyone know?

I love me a mojito w/ loads of fresh mint in the summertime:)

Erin just introduced me to a mint tea at Starbucks that I need to purchase.

Oh, how I do love mint:)

Ahhh! I missed a day!

Sorry folks. I didn't post yesterday. If it makes you feel better, I'll post today what I would've posted yesterday. What? That doesn't make you feel better? Tough shit.

I was our classroom superhero yesterday:)

I'll begin by saying that I can be a bit sarcastic from time to time. I try to keep it at bay, but every once in a while it rears its ugly head.

Some background: We have had one exam to date in my MNT class. MNT stands for Medical Nutrition Therapy. Did you catch the "Medical" part there? Yep, that means it is a difficult class... think "medical school". So, in this class we are each allowed a little reference book (mini notebook) in which to put various lab values and formulas, and we can use these little books on our exam. Before our first exam the instructor told us that the questions on our exam will come directly from the questions on the study guides she gave us, the format being short answer.

A couple of girls decided to cheat on the first exam. They wrote the answers to the study guide questions in their reference books. Then they decided to tell people about it:) That makes me smile because it makes them idiots. Idiots for cheating and idiots for telling everyone:)

The first exam didn't go well for most of us, but the instructor announced that she couldn't set a curve cause a couple people did really well, so the material was obviously learnable. Well, that really pissed people off and everyone thought someone should turn these two cheaters in so that they don't get away with what they've done...

No one turned them in cause we have no proof of what they'd done, but the instructor did get word that something was amiss. Still, there has still been quite a bit of chatter about these two "cheaters" and what they got away with.

Have I mentioned that our grade in this class has everything to do with our success as a Dietitian? It does.

SO. We have another exam on Tuesday and yesterday, as class was coming to a close, our instructor asked us if we had any questions about the upcoming exam and the material on it. Everyone was silent, and then I raised my hand. And then I stood up (who stands up anymore for questions??!).

I stood there and asked (in a slow sarcastic tone), "I'm wondering if it would be alright if we wrote all the answers to the study guide questions in our reference books?" And she looked at me quizzically and there was silence from the class and she said, "No, no, no Rene'... that is not alright". And I said, "OH! okay... I'm just not sure everyone in here is clear on that." And I heard some chuckles from my classmates and so I went on, "So, would that be considered cheating if someone did that?" And she nodded her head and said, "I see you're making a point Rene'. Class, I will walk around during the exam and check your reference books if I have to."

And that was that. And a couple of girls that I've never even spoken to before approached me and told me they loved me for it. And my friends thought it was "awesome". And so I was a hero for a day. And I felt really good about it.

Night And Day

Last night I felt like the universe was going to swallow me whole. It felt like it was slowly suffocating me and it wasn't letting up. I turned in with Ben just after nine. I felt like a new person this morning and was pleasantly surprised that the universe decided to let me live another day.

I arose at 5am. Sounds early, doesn't it? Well, it just so happens that my body's clock is always on time and seeing as I went to bed so early, it counted the hours and still gave me almost eight hours of sleep. I felt very rested and content.

And I still feel content. I took some time for studying, running with Chuck, and bathing the dogs and myself (separately, of course) and it is only 8:35am. I still have the entire day ahead of me to do with whatever I want.

The dogs fought last night and since then Indy's knee has really been bothering him. Must've done something to it in the scuffle. He hasn't used that leg at all since... just hopping around on his newly fixed leg (the one he had surgery on about three months ago). Poor guy. He's been limping for a while now, but the incident with Chuck last night must've twisted it or strained it more. We would schedule him right in for surgery, but we have to take him to Ohio for that which means time off work and school and with the holidays coming, we've already plans for weekends away. We might have to wait until Christmas to get the little guy fixed. We'll be in Ohio for Christmas anyway, so it won't mean an extra trip. I wish we could get him some crutches or a wheelchair or something to make him more comfortable in the meantime.

It is my goal to have Indy fixed up and back into a slow jog by next summer. That would really be great. We should be able to make that happen.

It is Wednesday (hump day), which means after today we'll be in the home stretch for the weekend!

Happy Hump Day:)

Everything Around Her Is A Silver Pool Of Light

A friend and I were sharing recently the idea that everyone has "A Story", a reason for why they are who they are. A Past. A History. We were humoring over whose "story" we would want to know and whose we might already know, just by looking at them. Since our discussion, I've begun to see people, even random strangers, in a new light. They are somehow bigger, and though they may not have impacted me, I know they must've impacted the world in some unusual way at some point in time. Suddenly for me, everyone has this secret identity within them that only they might know.

We aren't made of glass, or cellophane for that matter, so no one can really see through anyone else to simply know how they were treated as a child... or what they were fed... or whether they played with other kids on the playground or by themselves.

It just seems that ever since we briefly discussed this, I've seen people as having an identity rather than just being. Each person is suddenly living, rather than just existing. And I wonder, why don't we get to know each other just a little better? Why don't we ask about each other's story's? Do we forget that the person sitting across from us has lived and loved and cried and these things have essentially created and shaped who they are?

It dawned on me that even my closest friends and family have a story that I probably don't know to its' fullest. I don't know cause I've never asked. And they've never shared. And no one ever thought twice about it.

And I must be clear that I do believe that each story holds sadness, but also greatness. And it is our duty to know both if we are to want it shared.

My friend also, on a separate encounter, shared the following excerpt with me:

It is every one's duty to pray to God for their friends. And for all their friends, whether they are numerous or few. To make a habit of it may be to impose considerable demands upon time and memory, but it is not merely worthwhile, it is a matter of supreme importance. If you've only a handful of friends, it won't take long, and if you're one of the lucky ones, with more friends than you can remember all at once, card-index them. Pray for them in installments, but pray for them. Nobody knows what they may be doing if they pray for a friend tonight. Hugh Redwood, God in the Shadows

Everyone has a story. And though you may think you know your friends and everything going on in their life, you don't. And chances are there are some things that will never be shared, good and bad. I do believe that we can all do each other some good by praying for the good of those stories in order for them to continue raveling and unraveling as time allows. And if you are one who does not pray, you should at least consider them in deep thought, and I can guaruntee that you will indeed be prayed for still.

A Favorite Wine

BTK and I are involved with a small group who explores wines from different regions. This past Saturday night, we enjoyed California "Big Reds". Seven courses paired with seven different wines from that region. I was especially pleased to partake b/c I have, once again, fallen in love with red wine. I attribute my love to my Italian roots and the fact that when "the family" gets together, there are many jugs of red on the table. Once I was of age, it took a couple of years before I wasn't hung over on Christmas morning from the celebration on Christmas Eve, where it wasn't uncommon to end with a dozen empty liters of the staple drink.

Until I met my husband, I only had eyes for red. Now I love both, depending on the mood, the food, and the season.

The purpose of this post is to introduce you to a favorite of mine. While at a party downtown, my girlfriend Erin chose this for us to enjoy, and at $9 a glass she wisely put it on an unsuspecting patrons tab...

I Didn't Get The Memo

Daylight savings today.

Someone could've told me that before I went to church an hour early. That would've been nice.

All In A Day's Listens

I studied in my favorite spot today: in the window at the local caffienated watering hole named JP's. It is my fave spot b/c I can people watch and they can, in return, watch me (it's only fair). It is a tall counter at the window with three chairs at it and as long as I am there, no one sits next to me (cause I spread all of my belongings on the chairs and counter, leaving no room for another warm body). Today though, someone imposed on my area. Apparently the coffee shop filled and there weren't any other seats. It was a mom and daughter who said they wouldn't be there long. Being the kind, friendly being that I am, I said, "no worries" and moved all my shit out of their way.

I was listening to my ipod, but they spoke loud enough that I could hear them over my music. The exchange that took place in the short time they were next to me made me smile. Keep in mind the daughter was staring out the window the entire time and used a monotone, disinterested voice and the mother seemed all hopped up on somethin'. It went something like this:

Mom: "Okay, here's the deal. The classes around here just aren't good enough, so I'm going to call around to find a foreign exchange student at Hope to maybe sit with you once a week so you can actually practice the language in conversation. What do you think?"

10 year old daughter: "yeah. okay."

Mom: "So, how 'bout French? You could really excel and the thing is, once you learn one language it'll be easier to pick up another one. But you can do any language you want... German, French, how 'bout Italian?"

10 year old daughter: "no. how 'bout Spanish? i could probably use it more than those other ones."

Mom: "oooh, yeah... good. And then you could come here to JP's every week and I'll drop you off and give you money to get a drink and you could practice? How does that sound?"

10 year old daughter: "yeah, fine."

Mom: "Okay! Great!"

And then they sat in silence until the little girl finished her bagel and then they were gone.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I was ten, my mom and I NEVER went to a coffee shop together to sort out which language I'd start learning...
No. Instead we were outside in the backyard with my bro and sisters and my father and we were all playing basketball and I was probably laughing so hard I'd nearly wet my pants! That is what I was doing at the age of ten... Nearly wetting my pants. And it was FABulous:)

Keepin' It In The Family

One post everyday this month. I will try to keep it interesting and when I've nothing better to say, I'll introduce you to a "favorite" of mine.

Today is about the family who helped shape me. Mom, Dad, Jeff, Meg, and Col...

My Mom is the heart and soul of our family. She makes me feel like she has put every ounce of her energy and love into me, but I know that is not true b/c she must've saved some for my siblings and my father. She worries about me, checks in on me, and would fix every problem I've ever come across IN MY ENTIRE LIFE if she had the power to do so. She is the funniest woman I've ever met... ever. She is the reason for laughter when we are together. Anytime I've ever called her crying, she always wants to drive the 2.5 hours it would take to get to me just to give me a hug. She is beautiful and radiant and I love her with all my heart. And I am her favorite child.

My father stands the test of time. He has moved our family forward and is my teacher. He is sturdy, yet compassionate. I get my patience from this man and look to him for answers, cause he has them all. He listens and thinks things through before responding. Where there is a will, there is a way... he can make anything happen. I admire his work ethic and his sense of responsibility. He is logical and practical. He loves all of his children, but loves my mother even more and caters to her time and time again. He is a man of good fortune. And I do believe that I am his favorite.

My brother Jeff is my calm. He makes everything easier when they are at their worst. His voice is enough to put me at ease. He has been a best friend to me since we were young and shared bunk beds. He loves life and tries to squeeze every last ounce of pleasure from it. He is honest, trustworthy, and careful.

Meagan is a pursuer. She is determined, motivated, and smart. She knows how to work hard and play hard. She is fun! Never a dull moment when she is in the room. Her change of expression or voice puts me to tears every time:) She is beauty defined. She is not afraid to go for what she wants and is always successful at achieving it.

Colleen is selfless. She puts everyone first. She is kind, patient, and understanding. She has quick wit and a fabulous sense of humor! Though she may seem fragile, she is strong and willful. She can brighten any ones day with her smile, charm, and positivity.

I love my family dearly and would do anything for any of them (probably). I considered including a blurp about my hubby on this, but I do believe he deserves his very own post.

Until tomorrow....

NaBloPoMo-Fo

I added the "-Fo" to the end of that. I know... totally inappropriate. What is even worse is that I've recently directed attention from far away family and friends toward my blog, and in the last two posts I've used "rated R" material. Bad, very bad. Or maybe you didn't catch it, in which case it isn't there at all.

NaBloPoMo is short for one post everyday in November. Yep, that's right folks (pronounced foal-ks), you get somethin' new from me every day for an entire month!!

That means more thinkin' by me and more readin' by you. In the end, we'll all have exercised our brain muscles more than we would've, on account of me:)

And today is Nov. 1st!

Some fellow bloggers are putting themes to the thirty days such as "what i'm thankful for" or they might use a different letter of the alphabet each day to describe themselves. Hmm. I don't believe that mine will follow a theme. I will have to tap into the creative side of the gray matter that is my brain and come up with something new each day. THAT in itself is a challenge for me! Creativity is not my gig... but I'm gonna try.

Today's is a wash cause it's just explainin' what's gonna happen on Mise En Place for a while.

Stay with me and we'll ride this one out together, and I'll try to make it short and sweet cause I know y'all don't have much time to be checkin' in everyday. I may still entertain following a theme, so post your ideas if you have them.

See you tomorrow!