Double Helix

We're hanging at the cabin today.  Mexican Train Dominoes last night was a hit and snowshoeing today was fantastic.  I think Dave and I won the double helix snowshoe configuration contest on the lake but when we tried to judge the results from the second floor window we couldn't see anything in the late afternoon light.  Now everybody is doing their own thing.  Reading.  Knitting.  Studying.  Trying to remove a computer virus.  I should be finalizing my syllabus for the first day of class Tuesday, but I did learn recently that it's Thursday today and not Friday as I had thought.  Great news.  It made my day.

Gleek

This blogging competition hasn't gone very well for me.  But I would like to share that I've really gotten into Glee over the last week.  I was able to watch the last five episodes on Hulu today and I'll be able to watch the first 8 episodes when it's my turn to check it out of the public library.  I'm number 22 on the request list.  So that will be in about a year or so.  Looking forward to it.

Merry Christmas

It's been a great holiday so far.  Cassie unexpectedly arrived yesterday and this was a treat.  We expected her in the sense that we used some frequent flyer miles at the last minute to get her here so she wouldn't have to spend Christmas alone, but she was unexpected in the sense that I didn't know she'd be coming when I woke up.  Really, the best gift.

It was the best gift, that is, until I opened up my package from Santa.  He decided to give me a new Mac laptop which I surely did not deserve but will enjoy very much nonetheless.  He was probably tired of listening to me talk about how much I wanted a Mac computer.

Looking forward to more holiday cheer today.  We're heading over to Dave's parents house as soon as he finishes shoveling.  Again.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

And I Did The Laundry

I'm definitely in the holiday mode.  Which means I've done very little in the name of productivity today.  I did finish updating my iTunes library and read the December issue of Real Simple.  Otherwise, I'm just gearing up for this winter storm that's a comin'. We'll all have to shovel more than once, I'm sure.  In that regard, getting some rest today was probably a good idea.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to talk Dave into playing a game with me later, but he'll probably insist on working out or something active like that.  Marriage can be hard on days like this. 

Associate of the Month

Is it ironic that we parked in the open Kohls' "Associate of the Month" parking spot and then later told the woman in front of us in the check-out line that she had to move back seven people to the end of the line because she had cut in and we live in a society and there are rules? 

Maybe irony isn't the right word. 

Hypocritical?  Yeah.  That's probably better. 

The Rug Makes All the Difference

We cleaned the basement this weekend and the whole process was unbelievably satisfying.  So satisfying, in fact, that I'm sad that we're done.  We organized a lot of crap and vacuumed up a lot of dust, but most importantly, we created a little area for my sewing projects.  I have a machine now, so some day I'll have projects.  Here's what the area looks like:

You can't see the space heater in this photo, but it's nearby.  And I'll probably wear gloves and a hat when the projects begin. 

I'm so in love with this space, I can't even begin to tell you. 
 

A Drop O' the Creature

The other night Dave decided to start a blog.  I can't really understand or explain this phenomenon since Dave has shown only the slightest interest in my blog or any blog over the years.  But somehow he was inspired and has already written more in the last 24 hours than I have in . . .well . . .weeks.  So check it out.  He's anticipating world-wide readership and a few comments will really make his day.  He'll be checking for comments every hour if the last three hours offer any indication of frequency.

That's some pig. He's terrific. He's radiant. Well, he's clean anyway.

We celebrated our six-month anniversary on Sunday by using a wedding present gift-card to a lovely restaurant.  I had Top Chef's Kevin in mind when I ordered the pork belly as my entrée.  He always made it look so good.  I'm sure there are those out there who love a good pork belly (including my husband who finished mine), but it was a little fatty for me.  "What did you expect?"  Dave asked.  "It's a pig's belly."  And then he demonstrated by rocking his arms, swaying like a pig, and saying something about Wilbur.  All in all, a memorable night.

In the Spirit

Dave has had a rather harrowing week at work.  I thought this picture of a ski hill made out of frosting might cheer him up.  I mean, come on.  Look at it.

"She was all of these things and of something more..."

We read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for book club last night, and I really loved it.  It's considered a classic in certain circles, and I was pleased to finally read it.  Even though the conversation shifted away from the book several times, I kept trying to bring it back with comments like, "I really hated Francie's writing teacher, Ms. Garnder," or "It made me really sad when Francie couldn't finish high school."  Deep stuff.  I didn't want to let go of the reading experience and thought it might help to keep talking.  I loved the book so much, in fact, that I hardly minded when a fellow book clubber joked that my vote didn't really count for the next book because I probably wouldn't read it anyway because reading two books in a row would be quite unusual for me.  Ouch.  Let's all remember, shall we, that I read last month's book too.

Located the Digital Camera

This may be the best tree we've gotten so far.  I still don't have a stocking to hang on the mantel, but a Smartwool sock will do.  Maybe I'll wrap a few presents today.  All of this snow has me in the mood.  Or I could tackle that work-related to-do list.  Tough call.

To the Extreme

I've always had this really bad habit of picking on the pimples on my face.  I know.  Gross.  But it is what it is.  Last night, though, Dave went into great detail about having to drain fluid from people's faces when they've overdone the picking and acquired MRSA.  MRSA on the face, that is.  This may just be enough information to kick the habit.  No.  Let me rephrase.  It IS enough information to kick the habit.

From the Cyber Cafe

Greetings from Albustinky, everyone!  That's what the flight attendant called Albuquerque on my flight here from Denver on Tuesday.  I don't quite get it yet, but I'm sure there's a little joke in there somewhere.  Very little. 

I'm gone again on another trip.  The conference I'm attending is fantastic, though, and I've been able to catch up with good pals, Whitney and Angela.  Whitney's lived in ABQ for a while now, and Ang flew down so we could have a reunion.  How great is that?  We've laughed and cried a lot already, so everything is going as expected. 

Looking forward to heading home tomorrow, though.  Missing my husband and my pillow. 

Except I Forgot to Blog

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving in Montana.  The whole family was able to make it even though Andrew had to skip out on a group project in Canada to be there. Obviously a smart choice on his part. We ate the requisite amount of food on Thursday and over the weekend, which left us all feeling totally sastisfied and a little sick.  We did hike two local mountains to make up for it, and even mama doc made it to the top on the second one. We played a new game, Mexican Train Dominoes, for at least three hours each day. I was glad to win the first time, but made a poorer showing in the following rounds.  I was so happy to be relaxing and enjoying family that I was actually a very good sport when losing.

As you can see, the holiday was remarkable all around. 

Still a Little Itchy

After lying in bed for about 5 minutes last night, I started to have a strange sensation that I might be having an allergic reaction to something. I was right. They came on slowly, but I had hives.  All over my back, arms, neck.  Really itchy.  Even in my ears.

You might think that having a husband who is a doctor is useful in a moment like this. He was only interested in sleeping, though, and I had to make a lot of scratching and whimpering noises just to get his attention.  When I finally woke him with a loud DAVE, he didn't even want to see my hives.  I was shocked.  Then, I had to suggest my own treatment -- Benadryl and a shower.  A flat "fine" was all I got.

When discussing the incident this morning, it seemed that I had really inconvenienced Dave by waking him with something so trivial.  "But my body was on fire!" I exclaimed.  "And you didn't even try to help!"

His reply: "Taking the shower was a bad idea.  It just triggers the body's histamine blah, blah, blah, and makes everything worse."

Huh.  Wish I had known that the night before.  He was right.  The shower really put me over the edge, but I managed to lie there quietly burning up until the Benadryl kicked in because I really wanted to believe that I had handled this medical emergency myself.

Warming Up

I'm going to try not to be all meta-cognitive about the blogging, but let me just say, it's really hard.  I've been working on today's post for at least 20 minutes.  I had a pretty solid entry about a student in my class who is ALWAYS on his laptop, but then I decided not to post it in case my blog is easy to find.  So, that's lame.  And now I have to leave for the day.  There's probably some necessary warming up going on here since it's been a while.  I promise not to blog about the blogging after this. 

 

The Contest

I've been shamed into this contest, and I'm already losing.  The premise is that KC, Lee, and I will each blog every day until 2010.  And comment.  I just learned about that comment part this morning.  I like a good competition, and even though I've already technically lost, I think that I can make up for missing a blog post and comment yesterday with flashiness.  FLASHINESS.  There.

So, stay tuned daily.  This is going to be excellent.  Best blog ever.  (KC assures me it's all in the attitude).

Weekend Update

The school year is off to a good, busy start so far. I am juggling four different obligations -- teaching, observing student teachers, and gathering data for two projects, my own and one I've been a part of for a couple of years. I'm enjoying each obligation, but finding time to just sit, think, and write has been a challenge. Hopping here and there each day is bearable due to the new vehicle we purchased over the summer. I didn't know I could love automatic windows and a cd player so much.

Married life is as amazing as I hoped it would be. Sure, we argue every night about who gets to use the bathroom sink first, but if Dave keeps making squash soup and baking apple pies on the weekends, I could stand to forfeit my corner of the bathroom until he's done.

Here's a long-overdue shot of the rockingest wedding band in all of history.

The Life-Saving Brew

I worried enough about Dave's fish allergy during our first day in Ireland that I actually managed to convince him to stop by a pharmacy and pick up some epi just in case. This was a miraculous feat as he typically brushes off any suggestion of precaution with a snide comment like, "How have I managed to live 32 years without you?"

Of course, Dave never had any trouble with the fish on our trip (unless you count that sea kelp rash), but he did have an incident involving chicken at the Poet's Corner Pub in Ennis. We tell this story a bit differently, and I'll do my best to capture both versions here.

My version: Dave was having the steak. I was having the chicken. I offered Dave a bite of my chicken, cut a modestly sized piece, and placed it on his plate.

Dave took the chicken into his mouth, and almost immediately, he stopped chewing, put everything down onto the table, and looked at me. "Are you choking?" I asked. He nodded. "Are you breathing?" I asked. He nodded. "Do you need the Heimlich?" I asked. He shook his head. Confused by these somewhat contradictory responses, I did nothing.

Then, Dave started to make the most amazing, horrendous, and LOUD noise I have ever heard. Hhhhhcccchhhhhmmmm. Hhhhhcccchhhhhmmmm. HHHHHCCCCHHHHHMMMM.

I looked around. Despite the incredible volume of this noise, no one seemed interested in the goings-on at our table.

After about 30 seconds and much hullabaloo, the chicken came out into Dave's hands. Relieved and still a little scratchy, he took a drink of his Guinness.

Dave's version: I was having the steak. Jessie was having the chicken. Jessie offered me a bite of her chicken, cut a moderately sized piece, and shoved it in my mouth where I was already working on a bite of steak.

I didn't know what to do with all of that food in my mouth, and when I tried to swallow it, I immediately choked. Jessie looked at me. "Are you choking?" she asked. I nodded. "Are you breathing?" she asked. I nodded. "Do you need the Heimlich?" she asked. I shook my head, imagining how well that would go.

Then, quietly and discreetly, I made an attempt to eject the chicken.

Ahem. Ahem.

Nothing. So, remembering how the bubbles fall in a pint of Guinness, something I had been studying each night in Ireland with multiple pints, I took a drink of my brew. The liquid worked it's way past the obstruction, and as the bubbles worked their way down, they pushed the chicken out of my throat and into my napkin.

I looked around. The people cheered and clapped their hands.

And that was how Guinness saved my life.


***

Whenever we tell this story (every time Dave orders a Guinness), listeners tend to believe Dave's version. "Really? Wow? I can't believe you were able to drink while choking?"

It does make for a better story. That, I admit. And I realize, too, that people just want to believe in something these days. And what better than a Guinness?

Love in the Time of Allergies

Here's the spot in Ireland where I told Dave that we should really hold hands and walk on the beach seeing as it was our honeymoon and all. He humored me and then broke out in a rash later in the day from all of the sea kelp in the water. Just the kind of sacrifice I'll be expecting for the rest of our marriage.

The Knot

Married life is good so far. We started it with a trip to Ireland, so how could it be bad?

This is the day-old donkey that I wanted to bring home with me. It was hard to get a good pic of him because his momma made sure she stood between us. That's just good parenting.

I'll post more pics in the days to come.

Blog-worthy

Maybe I was inspired to blog today because I ran into good pal, KC, at Cupcake or maybe it's that something so ridiculous just happened that there's really no other outlet.

You see, I just peed on my pants. Not in my pants. On them. Allow me to explain.

a) The bathrooms here at Cupcake are co-ed and some schmuck decided to leave the seat up. Thank you very much.

b) I had several cups of water and was getting so much done that I waited a bit too long to use the facilities.

c) I had to dance around a bit while undoing my button-up pants, and so once free, I began to release immediately upon contact with the toilet. Obviously.

d) I came into contact with the cruddy rim of the toilet (see letter "a" above), and startled, jumped up while other things gave loose (see letter "c" above).

It all happened very fast. And yes, the evidence of this incident is quite visible from the rear. And so...

e) I am going home now.

The Living

Hey, remember me? I just finished my written exams and think I might once again join the land of the living. Hard to say for sure, but it feels like it could happen.

Break's Over

Have I mentioned yet how much I'm dreading my prelims and that I'm pretty burnt out from grad school? Almost daily I imagine myself in some other job with some other schedule and some other work load. Usually that imaging keeps me from starting and finishing the work I should be doing. Today I'm thinking about being a treasure hunter and I'm going to start by finding the Winter Carnival Medallion. I have some ideas about its location, but the people on the medallion discussion board don't seem to agree with me. That's fine, suckers. I'll find it first.