Thursday Thirteen 12/20/07

Thirteen Christmas gifts I have loved, one I still love, and another that helped foster a love that I still have.


1. I loved these when I was a kid. Even when they were my brother's present I still loved to play with them.

2. Come on, who doesn't love a slinky.

3. A doll that was almost as much work as a real baby.

4. A suitable home for any well dressed Barbie. None of my Barbies could wear shoes because our cat thought Barbie was his chew toy. BTW, Barbie was having an affair with my brother's G.I. Joe.

5. I loved LiteBrite, but it was how I first discovered that I was a bit anal retentive. I had to keep the pegs organized.

6. I think we always had an Etchasketch in the house. I think Mom may still have one for the grandkids.

7. Colorforms were so much fun. They fostered the imagination. Hummm, wonder what I might need one of those for.

8. Why did we love these. They didn't do anything and were really that cute. But we just had to have them.

9. I had Rainbow Brite blankets and toys.




10. I used to sneak and play with my older sister's. Then one year, after I had lost all the parts from the old ones, I got one of my own.

11. I put some many miles on my bike, I am surprised the wheels didn't fall off. As active as I was when I was a kid, I can not figure out why I was a cubby kid.

12. One magical Christmas morning I found this under the tree. It has been all downhill since then. What? I mean all uphill since then. This might be worst, best present I ever got.

13. My husband gave me this for Christmas the year I graduated from nursing school. He put in on layaway months earlier. He actually got it from the jewlery store that is in the movie The Rainmaker.

Thursday Thirteen December 6, 2007

Everyone knows that one of the best things about Christmas is eating. There are certain things that my family only make or buy at Christmas time. They always bring that feeling to mind if I happen to sneak them in some other time.

1. Peppermint. I used to get a huge candycane every year. My brother and I would eat peppermint until the first of Feburary. I still think of Christmas when I eat peppermint.

2. Sugar Cookies. I only make them once a year with my nephews and neice. All iced by hand some of them looking quite inedible.

3. Maple glazed Ham. Ok. We make this more than once a year, but it is still pretty special.

4. Fudge. This is truly a diabetic coma waiting to happen. It just melts in your mouth. You might swear that you are only going to have one piece, but I can never stop, can you?



5. Rum Balls. The best part is knowing the rum isn't cooked out and watching my teetotalling aunt go back for seconds or thirds.



6. Eggnog. I wouldn't drink it any other time of year, but at Christmas it just fits.



7. Fruitcake. Not that crap that has been recycled and regifted for years, but fresh fruitcake.



8. Hot Chocolate. Made with half and half, real chocolate, and marshmellows. Raises my cholesterol just thinking about it.



9. Pecan Crisps. My grandmother's recipe. These melt in your mouth too. Rich, buttery, and covered in powdered sugar.



10. Buckeyes. Peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate.



11. White chocolate covered pretzels. Sweet and salty. Ummm, good.



12. Ribbon candy. Really it doesn't even taste that good. But it sure is festive and I only every see it at Christmas.



13. Gingerbread. Just a little nibble off the gingerbread house. Christmas isn't complete without it.

Thursday Thirteen 11/29/07

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas everywhere I go...

They are starting to air Christmas movies, so here are 13 of my favorites. One website list Die Hard as a Christmas movie. I can't really see that, so I left it off even though I love Bruce Willis. I will probably treat myself today and buy the most recent installation of John McClane


1.

Reading the passage about Christ's birth gets me every time. I am surprised that they can still get away with airing it on network TV.

2.
For every misfit out there in this world. There is a place where you belong.

3.
There are so many versions of this story. I have always like the George C. Scott version. But honestly, my next favorite is Scrooged with Bill Murray.

4.
My favorite part of this movie is listening to Lauren Bacall and Thora Birch sing "Baby, It's Cold Outside." It is almost impossible to believe that this sweet, innocent child is the actress from "The Hole."

5.

The original. Never the recent version with Jim Carey. I love Boris Karloff's voice.

6.
Come on, who doesn't think this is funny.

7.
Ralphie is one of my favorites, and I don't care how many times they air this every year. I watch it almost everytime I can.

8.

Warm and fuzzy childhood memories.

9.
Only the first one. It is funny. But the sequel, what kind of parents could lose the kid twice.

10.
I have always loved this movie. The world is a better place with each of us in it.

11.
Another fond childhood memory. I have it on DVD, might have to watch it today.

12.
This movie has Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in it. Bing sings "White Christmas." I always dream of a white Christmas and some years even here in Tennessee I get it.

13.
The original version. I love this movie. Santa is real.

Thursday Thirteen 11/01/07

Thirteen thing I love about November...

1. I was born in November.

2. It is finally cool enough to turn off the airconditioning most of the time.

3. Thanksgiving Dinner.

4. Friday Night Football (Go Falcons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

5. My friend Rachel shares my birthday.

6. Leftover Halloween candy.

7. Here in the south the leaves are finally starting to change colors.

8. Backyard bonfires and a glass of wine.

9. It is time to start my Christmas shopping.

10. I love the smell of frost in the air.

11. I can justify a cup of hot chocolate.

12. It is cold enough to wear sweaters, of which I have dozens.

13. Christmas is only 7 weeks away.

My Shoes Match...

OK. That seems like the most inane comment, but my shoes haven't matched for the last five weeks. They haven't matched one another, that is. Left-gray, white, and melon NewBalance. Right-first horribly awkward walking boot and then post-op shoe, brace, and the toe of my socks hanging out. I haven't worn sandals or dress shoes in five weeks. Instead of my footwear saying "F*&k me" they have said "I'm f*&ked up."

Woohoo, the orthopedic released me. He said I was healing wonderfully. I am supposed to avoid high impact sports like running and racquetball. I nearly busted out laughing when he said that. I don't think it will be a problem.

So, last light we went out for Chinese food, and I got to wear a pair of shoes. I was afraid I was going to wear the left out before I ever wore the right shoe again. Fortunately that was not the case.

So the moral of the story is get drunk. Because if I had been I would have tripped, rolled around on the ground, gotten up quickly, looked around to make sure no one saw me, and been fine. But no, I had to go and be sober at a bachelorette party.

Thursday Thirteen 10/25/07

Thinking about both Halloween and my upcoming birthday, this weeks Thursday Thirteen is 13 candies I remember from my childhood...

1. I bought these with the 50 cents my uncle would give me when we stayed at his house.

2. This was another favorite purchase with those 2 quarters.


3.This might always be one of my favorite candies. It is fat free after all.

4. My Halloween stash always had several of these. My big sis hated them so I got hers too.


5. I have had my mouth stuck shut from these too many times to mention.

6. My Granny always had Sour Balls at her house.


7.My brother and I fought over PixyStix so many times. We always wanted the same colors.

8.I think I got Pez and a Pez dispenser every year for Christmas from the time I was 4 to 12.

9. I remember daring my cousin to drink a cola after eating Pop Rocks. We all knew it could make our stomachs explode ;-), but we all did it anyway.

10. Movie theater candy, watching ET on one screen while my older sister and Dad watched The Karate Kid. There was a time in my life when Ralph Macchio was considered too violent for me.

11.Oh my God I loved these. You can still order them online. :Gets out credit card: What they were fun.

12. My mother always had these in the car when we would take a road trip. Other people remember playing those travel games, looking for plates from all states, playing I Spy. We ate from almost the moment the car left the driveway.

13. I still eat these. The grape and rootbeer flavors are my favorite.

What is your favorite candy memory?

Thursday Thirteen 10/18/07

Today's Thursday Thirteen.

Thirteen places I have lived.

1. Akron, OH. (This is where I was born.)

2. Ravenna, OH. (We had a Rootstown address, Mogadore phone number, and lived in Ravenna.)

3. Elora, TN. (Moved to be near my Mother's family when I was 7)

4. Flintville, TN. (Mom and Dad built a house here when I was 11)

5. Knoxville, TN. (3 years at the University of Tennessee)

6. Cleveland, TN. (2 additional years at Lee University. I left with a BS and 2 minors)

7. Fayetteville, TN. (Back home near my family)

8. Athens, AL. (Was too close to the family.)

9. Huntsville, AL. (Was too far from work.)

10. Southhaven, MS. (Husband was transferred.)

11. Memphis, TN. (I went back to nursing school. We lived in an apartment cuz we were broke.)

12. Horn Lake, MS. (My house. God, I loved that place we put in a pool. It was beautiful.)

13. Nashville, TN. (My Dad is old, sick. And I had to be closer, so we moved again.)

Tagged.

So Crystal got tagged and couldn't think of eight people who haven't already been tagged. I haven't. So I figured I would help her out.

Eight Random Bits of Trivia About Me.

1. I have known one of my best friends for over 21 years. Deanna, our friendship is now legally allowed to drink.

2. I am named after a character on Dark Shadows.

3. I have 4 sister and 2 brothers, 6 neices and 8 nephews. I became a great aunt 3 years ago.

4. I have no children of my own. Except my furbaby, Sophie.

5. I typed the index of our yearbook my junior year of highschool, earning me the editor's job my senior year.

6. I married my first date.

7. I once warmed my hands with human blood. (Imagine that however you like. I might explain later.)

8. I can pick up things with my toes. I won a game picking up marbles out of a wading pool filled with water when I was a kid.


I have to agree with Crystal this has pretty much run it's course for the time being. I can't think of anyone else to tag.

Thursday Thirteen 10/11/07

I love Halloween it might be my favorite holiday. So in honor of Halloween my Thursday Thirteen is 13 things I have been for Halloween.

1. Wonder Woman.

2. Muffit (The alien robot pet from Battlestar Galactica. This was back in the day of plastic suits and hard plastic masks.)

3. Princess Leia (Mom did my hair with the buns over my ears and everything.)

4. A hippie.

5. A gypsy.

6. Pirate

7. Witch

8. Devil

9. Zombie

10. Crewman from Startrek:TNG

11. Evil Fairy

12. An Accident Victim on Prom Night. (This was really an excuse to get one more wear out of a formal dress.)

13. Vampire (My perennial favorite. I have been a vampire many times. I done elaborate gothic gowns and black leather minis. You name it.

Having a hard time this year. I may still be in the boot at Halloween. It is distintly limiting my footwear options. My husband has already bought a hippie costumes. We almost never match. The best year I went as a vamp in the gothic gown. He wore his labcoat a carried a tray of bloodtubes and tourniquets. We were both "bloodsuckers."

The Perils of the Nightshift

Today is serving as a reminder for me of how out of sync my life is with the rest of the world.

As some of you might know I work nights. I have for the last 5 years. I personally love it. I have always been a night person. I sleep just fine during the day(blackout liners and dark drapes.) But here it is 9:30 am on Monday morning. My work week is over. I am about to head to bed. I don't go back 'til Friday evening.

The big problem is that my NEW washer is on the fritz. When can the repairman come out? This afternoon between 1-5pm. That is like having someone come to your house between 3-7 am. I have to leave my ringer on today. Which I never do. Because at some point in my prime sleeping time a repairman from Sears is coming to my house.

Other odd things about night shift: For me it is still Sunday. I got up and went to work on Sunday and it will remain Sunday "til I sleep. I say goodmorning to people at 7pm and goodnight at 7am. I have been known to go to a bar at 7:30 in the morning. Some may ask what kinda of bar is open at 7 am? Not a good one, let me tell you. There is nothing more obscene than walking out of a dark, cave-like dive bar after drinking off a bad, bad night in emgerency medicine than to have the bright noon time sun hit you square in the face. We have looked like vampires from B movies covering our eyes and cowering away from the blinding rays.

Goodthings about nightshift. I get paid more to do the same work and the bosses are not there to look over your shoulder. When I grocery shop at 2 am, I am the only one in the store. The internet is always open. People don't call and interrupt me writing at 3 am on my days off.

This just a skewed, sleep deprived glimpse into my life.

Thursday Thirteen 9/27/07

My foot has officially been broken for a week now. This is just 13 fairly random observations.

1. A week off of work is a lot more fun when you are not drugged most of the time.

2. I am a danger to myself and others while using crutches.

3. A walking boot is just as awkward as it looks.

4. According to my Orthopedic doctor it is actually against the law for me to drive with the boot on. (For the record, I will wear my post-op shoe while driving.)

5. My toes are ugly and I can't hide them with shoes.

6. My husband's solution for everything seems to be throw drugs at it. I think the dog might have stepped on my foot last night. I just remember waking up crying in pain. He puts 2 pain pills in my hand with a glass of water. I don't think I moved for several hours.

7. He says that I have been talking in my sleep.

8. Well, goody, he has been doing it for years and drugs have nothing to do with it.

9. Almost everyone has asked me if I was drunk.

10. If I had been drunk, I would not have hurt myself.

11. I haven't gotten anything done this week. The drugs make me sleepy.

12. Stairs are a bitch when you have a broken foot.

13. I can sleep any time any place. As a matter of fact I dozed off between 12 and 13.

My Clumsiness...

Appearantly, my nearest and dearest friends and family think that I am clumsy. Now I have never thought I was the most graceful person in the world, but I tend to hurt myself in the stupidest ways possible.

I still have scars from tripping and falling down at a Halloween party last year. People still ask me what happened to my knees.

Thursday night I was at a bachelorette party for a friend. While walking back to one of my friend's apartment, I stumbled, but did not fall. And broke my foot. I hoped, I prayed that it wasn't broken, but I finally went to the ER to get it x-rayed. The ER I work at, I might add. So they sent me home barely able to walk that night. I missed a week's worth of work. I only work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights anyway.

Today the orthopedic put me in a walking boot. Yeah, I am not stumbling around my house with crutches anymore. Seriously, my life was in danger with those things.

I am actually excited about getting to go back to work. There is really only so much staring at the walls that I can stand. The dang foot has hurt so much that I have been drugged most of the time. So I haven't gotten any writing done. Well I could have gotten some done but it would not have made any sense at all.

Thursday Thirteen 9/20/2007

Tonight I am going to be going out with a friend for what I hope is her last night on the town as a single woman. Maybe I am crazy for still believing in true love, but I hope this is her one and only marriage. I hope this truly is a forever kind of love for her. With that said I am looking back on my life. This Thursday Thirteen is thirteen reasons I am glad I am married to my wonderful husband. (I can say this here. He never reads my blog. So his head won’t swell after that announcement)

1. He loves me even when I don’t love myself.

2. There is always someone there at the end of a bad day. Sometimes to hold me and tell me that it will be better tomorrow. Sometimes to point out that it could have been worse. But in the end all I really need is him to be there.

3. I don’t have to shave my legs if I don’t want to.

4. He moves heavy things (like boxes of books) and only complains a little.

5. He thinks that I am the smartest woman he knows.

6. The thought of having to date scares the living crap out of me.

7. He gets excited about buying a new washer and dryer. He isn’t excited about needing new ones, just about picking out new appliances (Weird, I know.)

8. My husband always has some comment that makes me laugh my ass off. Never in over 14 years have I ever been bored. Annoyed maybe but never ever bored.

9. He has always done his best to be a good provider. I know that sounds old fashioned, but I have a very strong work ethic. He shares it. He would say that he just likes money, but I know better.

10. He loves my mother.

11. He likes to give me things. I insist that these gifts aren’t necessary or are too extravagant. But now that I think about it, I have never refused any of them.

12. He knows where all my spots are...

13. Almost all married people sigh wistfully when they remember the excitement of falling in love. Everything is shiny and new. And that feeling is great, but no one wants to think about the rest. The fear and insecurity that also comes with new love. Does he really love me? I’ll take a steady man that loves me day in and day out any day.


Here we are last.

This was taken last year on my birthday. My gift tickets to the CMA Awards show. They are outrageously expensive. The year before a 7 night cruise to the Caribbean. This year he wants to get me a new laptop. He said something about pink Alienware. Yep, I am pretty sure I love him.

Thursday Thirteen 9/13/07

Since it is Fall Premier time. Here are 13 shows I am setting my DVR for:

In no particular order

1.Back to You. I love Kelsey Grammer. He is a TV news anchor instead of a radio therapist.

2. Torchwood. A secret goverment agency that know aliens exists.

3. NCIS. Goverment CSI. There is nothing about this show that I don't like.

4. Moonlight. Vampire fighting crime. All good things.

5. Kitchen Nightmares. I love Gordon Ramsey. This is man has no problem telling people exactly what he f-ing thinks.

6. Jericho. Post apocalyptic Kansas. Conspiracies. And Skeet Ulrich.

7. How I Met Your Mother. The only comedy. I just need to know who Ted marries.

8. ER. I have watched this so long it is a habit at this point. I have loved and hated so many characters.

9. CSI:NY . Crimes in NY. The amazing thing is that crimes in NY get solved.

10. CSI:Miami. Same thing, but more skin.

11. Bones. Again this is a near perfect show. Besides we all know how I feel about Seeley Boothe.

12. Blood Ties. Again Vampires solving crimes. Anyone else detecting a pattern here.

13. Heroes. Mutants saving the world. They have saved the Cheeleader and the World, now what? I guess the world will always need saving.