AFTER 

Quote of the week

"If you find yourself headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns" -somewhere between Logansport and S. Bend along Hwy 31

I found this one particularly appealing as I'm really starting to miss the California liberal stoplight and 4-way stop U-turn lanes.

Quote of the week

"Stop in for a faith lift"

-This is the first in the series: "church quotes". Chosen from church signs around the Michiana area

Maggie wants to come outside too! 

Maggie with her favorite toy Alien 

Cars and neighbors

Yesterday we started the process of buying a new car. For those of you who know me well know that the husband and I have been sharing a Saturn (no power steering or power anything) for the last 6 years and I've never bought a car (except the $1 dad charged for the Honda Civic...what a great car!). We bit the bullet and are going to buy a Toyota Prius. We don't know what color yet, we just said anything but Black (they had two black ones on the lot yesterday). Will send pictures when we get it!

p.s. Went out for a walk last night with hubby and Maggs. Met Norma and heard about her cat Molly. Norma lives down the road..so we really aren't neighbors, but it was nice to have someone talk to us on a walk....don't get much of that in California.

You know you're back in the midwest (red state) when....

....there are restaurants with names like:
"Between the Buns"
"Macadoos: sausage, gravy, and biscuit outlet" (this place is about the size of our old condo)

....Many Jesus signs
...gun stores and tobacco discount stores every other block.

More keen observations to come....

The D. O. G.

If you go to the Pet Refuge website and scroll down to 'Maggie' you'll see what we did last night! We took Maggie back to her old 'home' and she got to visit with all the folks there. She definitely remembered everyone! It was cool. We also got a picture of her puppies...and heard that someone has a video of her giving birth to the puppies! I'm not sure whether or not I want to see that video! But, we made it official and have adopted Maggs (otherwise known as Mag-a-roo).

The Diane Rehm Show

Heard interesting discussions today on the Diane Rehm show while driving the pooch back and forth from the vet (all clear, by the way!) and thought that both Hobbled Runner and S might be interested in the 11:00 discussion with Richard Louv and his book "Last Child in the Woods" (You should be able to listen to it with Real Player or some such thing soon) They are doing their part by sending the niece to Girl Scout camp where, I hear, she is the only one smart enough to be sporting hiking boots for tromping through the woods. I believe there is some discussion about the Scouts in this book...many Scout groups have found that there is little to no interest in the outdoor camping and hiking activities anymore.

Perhaps the bro would be interested in the 10:00am discussion on Energy???

On a much lighter noter. I also saw this link to a festival in Idaho dedicated to last year's movie Napoleon Dynamite. A totally hilarious movie, by the way, which competes well with some of my favorite comedy classics like 'Airplane', 'Caddyshack', Blues Brothers, and any of the 'Vacation' movies with Chevy Chase.

OK---after all that...I better get off the computer and get outside and enjoy the summer!

It's raining cats and dogs

Have you ever tried to introduce a somewhat cranky aging cat to a puppy-like dog who is bigger and faster? The past two weeks have been consumed with keeping EL GATO safe from EL PERO (is my spanish even close?) We now have a baby gate up in the hallway raised up enough so the cat can squeeze through but the dog cant' We also have half the house closed off for the dog and the other for the cat. The dog is good 90% of the time when we put them in the same room, but did chase the cat once (we went a little too quickly in the introductions initially) and now whenever we try to introduce them again (all the while keeping the dog sitting and feeding her treats) the cats hair rises up off her back and she makes a horrible hissing sound. If only her previous owners had left her front claws in then she might have a fighting chance to tell Maggie who should be boss. I'm thinking that one good swipe across the nose with cat claws might make Mags think twice about chasing that speedy little grey thing. Do they sell 'false claws' or do claw inplants?????????????

70's food

Been caught up in the move for the last month so I haven't blogged much....getting settled into life here in Indiana. Thought of a good blog topic, though. I make fun of the husband for some of the types of foods he likes....for example he loves things like coleslaw and potato salad. I joke that these foods are 'so 70's'. So, I thought I would come up with a list of top 70's foods. Hope you send in your thoughts.

Here goes:
10)mandarin oranges
9)meatloaf
8)lemon meringue pie
7)jolly ranchers
6)cheese whiz
5)potato salad
4)cole slaw
3)jello
2)fruit cocktail
1)fruit cocktail jello salad!

Family Tradition?

Last night the husband announced that since no one signed up for Saturday frisbee, we could watch the NFL draft! He was quite guiddy about this. When I didn't show equal enthusiasm he said: "But we watched it last year, it's a family tradition". Help! For those interested I suppose you could go to NFL.com

Dogs and more dogs

I'm distracted these days with the upcoming move, finishing school, selling this condo, and trying to figure out what job I'll end up with or if I'll be able to get one at all! One of the things I'm psyched about, of course, is that we are going to be able to get a dog! I've been 'obsessed' with checking the local pet foster organizations. Check them out: Petsconnect and Pet Refuge. They both seem really good. I've already noted about a dozen dogs I want to meet. There is even one cat that I like...check out Lancer on petsconnect...look at his extra pictures and look at him with the pound puppies (Dewdrops puppies) in the extra photos. He seems pretty darn cool for a cat....like he really thinks he's a dog or something.

The Garage....

Yeah, so the husband is back from S. Bland and he shows me the inspection packet. He wanted me to see the pictures of the house (all with a nice snow covering) and the square footage breakdown. The most interesting aspect of all this is that the garage is 780 sq. feet. THAT'S BIGGER THAN OUR CONDO!!!!!!!!!! I told Chris that we were going to have to start out living in the garage and slowly expand into the rest of the house...just so it's not such a shock to our system!

It's Official!!!

It's official!!! The husband and I are now double homeowners on one income!!! We have our beach home and our river home....ha ha....Guess there is no turning back. I even went so far as to purchase a job interview suit today. It was relatively painless...as my friend Elizabeth (the expert shopping b*(^)%h...as I call her) came with me and directed the process. It took all of about 15 minutes and since I had two gift cards it only cost me about $60 out of my own pocket. Guess I better start getting to work trying to set up job interviews in order to make use out of the suit!!!

The Job Search

I'm REALLY enjoying my temporary retirement...one could get used to this very fast. But alas, I must begin the arduous task of a long-distance job search. I found a posting for an NP job in S. Bland...but became a little worried when I read the following at the end of the job description:

>>>>WORKING CONDITIONS

>>>>1. Works in a clinic environment requiring physical exertion, frequent changes in job demands, certain undesirable patient care activities, and exposure to biohazards.

>>>>2. Consequence of errors in performance may result in patient injury or death.


Ack! "certain undesirable patient care activities" and "errors in performance may result in patient injury or death" Nothing like laying it out to you straight!!!

I'm reading a book

I've been inspired to read a book (not a textbook). It's one of those books that EVERYONE ELSE read when they were about 12, but for some reason I didn't (probably because I grew up in the suburbs). They are now making a movie about it which is due out at the end of April. Since we have three dog-eared copies of it at home, I thought I better try to read it before going to see the movie!

Look-a-likes?

Just spent the weekend with the 'rents out near Joshua Tree. Spent the night at this old hotel spa. Very strange place,but interesting. About 8 different pools/hot tubs of different temps. Good place to relax at sunset when the air was cool or when it was raining on Saturday. Happened to be in one hottub when a young lad, about 12 years old, asks me if I know of Elissa Steamer. I said no. He said, oh, you look like her. She's a professional skateboarder. He then proceeded to quiz me on all the skateboarders. I only knew one, Tony Hawk. Oh well. I don't think I look anything like her, but she's got a pretty cool bio, so I'll take it as a compliment.

A daring escape

I'm skipping out of work today! I did GET up to go to work and even got the husband to drive me INTO work and I even WENT to work and even brought in my contribution to the potluck (Trader Joe's cheesecake) I arrived at work and they tell me I'm being floated (evil word!!!) to the OTHER hospital! Now, that's a problem! Needless to say, this was not going to happen! No one had informed me of this 'floating' thing (though they claim they left a message on my machine....they didn't), I had no transportation, looked pale as a ghost (was a awake off and on last night, and don't think I could deal with an unfamiliar unit today). With the backing of my colleagues we came up with a plan for my escape. I, of course, had to call the husband back to come get me (I made sure to give him enough time to get his coffee and made sure to bring him a piece of the cheesecake) and I took off out the front door. I get home and check my email. My friend sends me the link to this article about an 82-year-old woman who refuses to leave the hospital. IS SHE CRAZY? I'm outta there so fast even when they give me a paycheck!

Sunshine

I worked with a traveler last weekend named Sunshine. We were all ready to hate her....with a name like that. Of course she's nice and smart and all that...so we don't hate her.

I know everyone hates it when I brag about the weather here....but today is one of those days where the sun is so warm and perfect it just makes you slow down to soak it up...even in the grocery store parking lot. Saw some blossoms coming out on the plum tree just outside our door. Got some Quinoa cakes at the store and Soy Chai Latte...a way to treat myself this lazy feeling Friday. Quinoa Cakes? What is that....well....I'll tell you....Quinoa is a grain with a "light nutty flavor. Higher in protein than other grains. It expands to 4 times its volume when cooked. Good in salads, stuffing, in enchiladas." There you go. I should be doing school work of course...but I don't really feel like it. I think I need to go outside.