Something Fun

Bikes are fun and so is this yellow and red wheel!

Something I Made

Turns out that I don't make a lot of things or at least none that are lasting or recognizable. So, here is a picture of the scrapbook that I made for Eric in a rushed evening before Eric was ambulanced off to Mayo Clinic in Rochester. "Ambulanced" is not a word. Too bad. I used it anyway.

Faceless Self-Portrait

Today, Tuesday, is a Faceless Self-Portrait. So, below are my glasses and the opposite of my face: the back of my head.

Something New

This is a vinyl tablecloth I purchased for my Grandma Rose. She used to have the "changing of the cloth" whenever the season or feeling dictated one occur. She never had the chance to use it and while cleaning out my grandparents' house this weekend, I came across this and decided I would use it in my home in her honor.

Technology

Technology. This one didn't thrill me but I found some! The circles are rewritable DVDs and the green is the LCD tv screen. Two technologies in one, but really in three! Since it was taken with a digital camera. Well, in four. I loaded the photos using a laptop. Wait, in five. This is all being posted on the Internet. Beat that Tiger Woods, a hole-in-five!

Childhood Memory

I have had this Bubblicious tin since I was a young girl. I have no idea where it came from or how to came to be in my possession. I also don't remember if it came full of gum or not. But now it contains a few very badly taken photos, some notes, and other scraps of memory that I don't recall. I have always loved this tin and the secrets I kept in it (something about having a crush on a boy named Ryan).

Someone I love

I love many people but I am choosing to post a photo of the person I love that I am currently with.... The Boy! Norris is also in the photo. This is an older picture because Eric wouldn't let me take a newer one. And because Norris in the photo, I had to find one with Oreo.

Favorite Color

I used to love purples and then green came into my life. Lime green, sage green, kelly green, but not hunter green. Leukemia brought orange to the list of favorite colors. As an adult, I finally came to like pinks, but not baby pinks. I'm not light pink kind of girl. I prefer bold pinks, with hints of purple. So, here are some things that have some of my favorite colors.

Clouds

This morning I didn't know if I'd be able to find any clouds. The sky was a clear blue but a few clouds showed up this afternoon. Wispy, trailing clouds covered the sky like doilies on tables. Here and there and sometimes see through.

Socks

Here is part of what I wore today. It's a standard outfit: jeans and white socks. I had already taken off my work shirt because I cooked dinner and ate. I change into my "house" shirts for cooking and eating. Otherwise, my "work" shirts become "house" shirts.

Self Portrait

Fellow blogger and very good friend, Artemis , dared me to take on a blogging challenge. It's a 30 challenge with the goal of taking a photograph of the specified item. I am doing two of the challenges in one day because I actually started this yesterday but was too sweaty to take the self portrait. :o )

M is for Menu

Hello,

It is I, Girl of Approval.  My topic is menus.  Why? Because menus have been a topic of conversation lately.  After a recent trip to to the dietitian, the idea of menu planning was discussed.   I find this idea mind boggling.  Deciding what to eat in advanced and multiple days, perhaps even weeks in advance? Terrifying.  I'm a fly by the seat of your pants kind of person; however, diabetes is not an impromptu disease.  It requires planning and scheduling. Blood sugars should be taken at certain times of the day, food should be eaten at the same time each day, carbohydrates should be counted and restricted, and being a floating butterfly sucking nectar at whichever random flower is encountered is not part of the Plan. 

I don't always want to eat certain foods and in certain combination, and am fussy.  Beyond fussy.  So, meal planning let alone menu planning.  Ugh.  We haven't yet tackled this issue.  Eric was part of that meeting with the dietitian and we both find this a difficult task.  However, he has been on my case to check my blood sugar, to take my shots, to take my medications, and that's a start.  But really, at what point do I have to move beyond the starting point?  I've been a diabetic since 2005 and it's not going to just go away overnight. My pancreas and cells are not going to magically make more insulin and use is more efficiently just by wishing.

Where does that leave me?  With a blank calendar, no meals planned, multiple cookbooks looked over, and no new recipes tried.  Some people have stage fright. I have recipe fright. What if that new meal is yucky? Then what? Eat the yucky food? No, I will not. But that's wasteful and expensive. Trying two new recipes a week seems like such a gamble. I think I'd rather play the penny slots, but I am actually gambling with my eyesight, feet, kidneys. 


Depressing. Not depressing is the beer cheese dip at JL Beers. This is fantastic and I could eat a vat of it.  The chips are also delicious and the burger was good.  I had the Humpty Dumpty. It has a fried egg on it and is fabulous!  We also ate the Blue Moose and I did not have chicken strips.  While this is a feat of self control, I did have chicken. Not sure I really overcame my chicken strip fetish with a chicken breast on a bun. It was also good if not a bit messy.  I had the sweet potato fries and they were some of the best I've had.  They came with an unidentifiable sauce which was white and appeared to have poppy seeds in it.  It was a bit sweet but not creamy. I would eat it again.  :o)

Neither of those meals was on the meal plan. 

L is for Likes

Here is a brief list of things I love.

1. My family including genetic relations and acquired family
2. My friends
3. My puppies
4. Reading
5. House plan books
6. Sweets
7. Blankets
8. Learning
9. Glasses
10. Tables
11. Chairs
12. Funky lamps
13. Potable water
14. Electricity
15. Monkeys
16. The idea of sewing
17. Crossword puzzles
18. Movies
19. Dancing in the grocery store to the muzak.
20. Modern Family, Parent Hood, Mystery Diagnosis
21. Stand-up comedy
22. Books on CD
23. Insulin
24. Libraries
25. Sugar Free powdered drink mixes.

K is for acKKKKKK!

A new phrase has been added to the American lexicon and it should go away. We need to pretend it never happened. We need to drop this horrible and stupid sentence. Alas, I do not see this occurring but see it becoming more and more prolific. Soon, t-shirts and bumper sticks will annoy my senses at every turn. Literally.

The words that have driven me to write this post? It is what it is.

What the fuck is that? This is the least informational sentence ever. After reading it or hearing it, I know nothing other than the fact that I want to gouge out someone's eyes out or, more fitting my own ear drums.

When is this obnoxious phrase used? When a mere shrug would suffice, when a what can you do wisecrack would fit better, when someone has run out of words and refuses to look for them.

I cannot stand this addition to the American English language and hope it dies soon. I hope this phrase is experiencing high cholesterol, chest pains, shortness of breath, and no doctor can save it. Please let it die. Do not put it on life support. Do not do CPR. Just let this horrid uttering quickly slip away into that goodnight.

J for July

I am back. I cannot believe it is July. June passed slowly, each day seemed gray and rainy. July is showing to be hot and humid. However, time is now speeding by. So many things have happened, but yet not happened.

The wedding came and went, and my memories are already a blur. Good thing we have a video of it. The picture quality of the video is supposedly poor but the audio quality is good. For me, as in everything, it's the words that count.

We attended our first parade in our small town. I became excited about this outing and took pictures. What I'm going to do with picture of tractors and farm implements, I don't know.

We went to our first barbecue at the home of another resident of this small town. It was very fun. The burgers were excellent. It had been a long time since I had a charcoal grilled hamburger. I ate a single bite of a horrible, dog-food pressed into a burger shape earlier this summer and had been put-off by burger since. However, the smell on Saturday broke the spell.

My goal is to blog everyday for five days. So, here goes! :)

I is for Idea

My blood boils and freezes today. I am hot, then cold. My stomach churns, twirls, and loop-d-loops. Dizziness spreads from deep within my brain to my legs so the motion moves from my stomach to my head to my feet. My back muscles are sore from... nothing. My eyes are heavy with sleep and my thoughts are fuzzy. I feel as if I'm getting sick and I don't like it.

I used a computer program to see which author my writings are like, one entry came up with a young adult author, but a second sampling came up with Kurt Vonnegut. What a lovely compliment. I adore Vonnegut's irreverent and sassy writings. This second sampling made me want to return to the blogger I was of yore. So, this is my I for Idea. I am going to try. That's it. Just try.

I am listening to an awful book on CD in the car but it is making want to shoot archery again. I haven't done this since junior high gym class. I've never figured out why they give bows and arrows to teenagers. But they did and it was fun. The Boy looked into some archery lessons for me, but at the time our finances didn't allow for such extravagances. They still don't really, but I'm turning 30 soon and I feel like I need to get of my Things to Do in Life done.

I can't believe I'll be 30 in a few weeks. It seemed like a birthday that was so far away and yet here it is. 30 seems like I should have had some much done in life, but I have no real idea as what all those cool things are.

But here are my ideas for being 30

1. Read More
2. Do Archery
3. Be more adventurous in what I eat
4. Let loose when I am not at work
5. Pet my puppies more
6. Visit my parents more often
7. Take more bubble baths
8. Learn to sew
9. Go to the spa
10. Eat slower
11. Stop furrowing my brow
12. Take more pictures
13. Write more of anything
14. Try not to be annoyed when people at my office cough up a lung every two seconds
15. Take better care of my skin
16. Drink more wine
17. Continue baking
18. Walk the puppies more
19. Text my brother more
20. Work on having better posture
21. Floss more frequently
22. Stop clenching my jaw while I'm awake
23. Laugh more
24. Curse more
25. Watch more indepedent films
26. Watch more artsy films
27. Enjoy music more
28. Care
29. Love
30. Hope

H is for Hello

Well, Hello!

So, what can I tell you about the letter "H"?

Well, in my life it represents Home. I have two homes. My parents' house, which is the place I grew up in and then my home with Eric. At one time, Hurley lived in my house but now she lives with my parents and she is so happy. Hurley is a smart dog who knows she's got it good.

I never thought somewhere other than my parents' house would be home. But it happened. Norris, Oreo, and Eric are my home.

H also stands for Hot Dogs. There is a specific brand of hot dog that I love and I can only find it in my hometown. Where I work and live does not have these declisious red monstrosities. I've been told hot dogs should not turn the bun red, but really it should. So, my parents get the giant 50 pack for me each year and my need for this hot dog is sated. I merely peek into freezer and spot the individual services I have placed the hot dogs into and know that this is home.

H means Hurry. The wedding is in May and I feel like I have to hurry and get so much stuff done. Need to get the invitations printed, get the guest list finalized, get The Boy's ring, get my undergarments, get my dress altered, find shoes, figure out the flowers, and the list go on. But it's supposed to be a fun wedding and in the end all that matters is that I marry Eric and everyone celebrates with us.

H is for Hello and See You Later.

G is for Going

Well, where did I go?

I went to my first ever live-football game. It was a high school game in a tiny town but it wasn't a bad time. I don't know if I'll go to another one, but we'll see. It was chilly that night, with hats, mittens, and coats required. But then the biting wind was stick nipping at noses.

The Boy and I went to Duluth, MN for a weekend getaway to celebrate our four years together. On Halloween we hit that four year mark. I don't know where the time has gone. However, I do know that we mark time with "before Leukemia" and "After Leukemia." It's strange to have some a division in time like that. But we had a great time in Duluth.

We went to a micro-brewery, talked, ate, listened to some live music, and enjoyed beer. Well, The Boy drank beer (a tasting, they call it) and I smelled it. I smell the beer like people do with wine. I hate the taste, but I can understand the subtle hints they are going for...

The musician was incredible. He had such range and was fantastic on guitar. We went on a tour of the brewery and learned how they make micro-brew. It was interesting. We also went to see the lift bridge, but did not get to see it rise up and allow a ship to pass over. We went to the aquarium and saw some fishies. :) Eric saw his first otter and was entertained by what I called "a wet puppy with a big tail." The stingrays were awesome. We also had breakfast in a revolving restaurant that gave us a great view of the city our first morning there.

We enjoyed some amazing food while we were there. Nothing we ate was disgusting, which is not the case when we have gone to Rochester, MN. It was also great to go on a trip for no reason other than for us to enjoy ourselves. No doctor appointments. It was a first.

All in all, highly recommended place to vacation and we would like to go back.

F is for Firsts

Hello out there in cyberspace!

Today is a list kind of day.

So, here are a lists of firsts...

1. I have already had my first cold of the season.
2. I finally used a rug I bought in June.
3. If all goes like planned, I will be attending my first football game and auction (as a buyer not a seller) this week.
4. My first car was a 1986 Chevy Celebrity sedan.
5. My first kiss was with Will W. 0n my bed in my apartment in Fargo (the blue apartments).
6. I planted my first hens and chicks in my flower bed. We'll see if I can make them grow.
7. In the back yard, I dug up all the tulips and threw them away. I can't stand how the things look after they bloom. All ragedy. This will be my first tulip free yard.
8. I slept on our futon in the spare room with it folded all the way out for the first time while I was sick.
9. We opened one of our basement windows for the first time since we have lived in this house.
10. I met someone who does not like Mexican food. I mean, I know people who don't like spicy Mexican food, but to dislike Mexican as a whole... that was a first.

E is for Easy

So many things aren't easy in life. It ain't easy being green. It's not easy being this beautiful. But you know what is easy? Eating pie. That's actually how the well-worn phrase "Easy as pie" goes. It's "As easy as eating pie." Because making pie- is hard. Hell, even the frozen ones can turn out poorly.

Today, I easily upset the lawn mower by mowing over a metal pole and getting green fluffy stuff stuck around the blade. I easily ate two grilled cheese sandwiches and two delicious green pickles.

I do not easily type on this keyboard. At work I have an ergonomic keyboard, but at home it's just a regular one. And you know, I've never see an ergo keyboard at a garage sale. Never! They are expensive otherwise. I need a new computer. This one has seen better days but it saw me through some of the hardest academic days I've seen. So, thank you computer. :o)

This is a random post if I never saw one. Speaking of phrases that people get wrong, I hate the whole "I could care less" phenomena that is happening these days. Don't you realize that this means you do care somewhat? It's I couldn't or could not care less. This means you do not care at all and there is no possible way to care less. Get it right people. It's easy.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.