tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630755396768235122024-03-13T13:20:03.639-05:00Nuttier than a FruitcakeFruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.comBlogger153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-4029280615102605542011-06-29T09:07:00.000-05:002011-06-29T09:07:36.497-05:00Grammar Maven<div style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I was sent this in an email, and I couldn't quit laughing. Therefore, I'm having to share it myself. </div><div style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Fellow red-pen wielders, this is for you.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><center style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Caveat emptor.<br />
Carpe diem.<br />
O si villi, si ergo, fortibus es in ero.<br />
Et tu, brute.</b><br />
<h2>HOW TO WRITE GOOD</h2><br />
<h3>by Frank L. Visco</h3></center><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules: </span><ol style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><li> Avoid alliteration. Always. </li>
<li> Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. </li>
<li> Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.) </li>
<li> Employ the vernacular. </li>
<li> Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. </li>
<li> Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary. </li>
<li> It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. </li>
<li> Contractions aren't necessary. </li>
<li> Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. </li>
<li> One should never generalize. </li>
<li> Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." </li>
<li> Comparisons are as bad as cliches. </li>
<li> Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous. </li>
<li> Profanity sucks. </li>
<li> Be more or less specific. </li>
<li> Understatement is always best. </li>
<li> Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. </li>
<li> One-word sentences? Eliminate. </li>
<li> Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. </li>
<li> The passive voice is to be avoided. </li>
<li> Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. </li>
<li> Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed. </li>
<li>Who needs rhetorical questions? </li>
</ol><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">How to Write Good, Part II</span></b></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">William Safire</span></b></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </div><ol start="1" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><li>Parenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas. </li>
<li>It behooves you to avoid archaic expressions. </li>
<li>Avoid archaeic spellings too. </li>
<li>Don't repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before. </li>
<li>Don't use commas, that, are not, necessary. </li>
<li>Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively. </li>
<li>Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice. </li>
<li>Subject and verb always has to agree. </li>
<li>Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct. </li>
<li>Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers. </li>
<li>Don't repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before. </li>
<li>Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed. </li>
<li>Don't never use no double negatives. </li>
<li>Poofread carefully to see if you any words out. </li>
<li>Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them. </li>
</ol><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><ol start="16" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><li>Eschew obfuscation. </li>
<li>No sentence fragments. </li>
<li>Don't indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions. </li>
<li>A writer must not shift your point of view. </li>
<li>Don't overuse exclamation marks!! </li>
<li>Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents. </li>
<li>Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. </li>
<li>If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. </li>
<li>Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. </li>
<li> Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. </li>
<li>Always pick on the correct idiom. </li>
<li>The adverb always follows the verb. </li>
<li>Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. </li>
<li>If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing. </li>
<li>And always be sure to finish what </li>
</ol><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-13456017203781914432011-06-28T17:50:00.002-05:002011-06-28T17:50:57.027-05:00..........<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hurry up.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">and wait.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hurry up.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">and wait.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">That's what the weeks after nursing school feel like. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Just saying.</span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-9659015155594369542011-06-11T07:35:00.000-05:002011-06-11T07:35:57.978-05:00C. Dub, RN!!!!! :-)<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">NCLEX.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I came.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I took.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I conquered.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And now, after 2 incredibly trying years, I have my nursing license! </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The last two years, beginning with exactly one week after our wedding until this past Thursday, June 9, 2011, has been an upside-down whirlwind of emotions. Studying until the wee hours of the morning, making friends with coffee, making friends with the staff of the local gas station that sold really, really big soda fountain drinks. Psychotically checking online to see if grades had posted. Cheering on your classmates. Heart breaking when a classmate was left behind. Realizing at some point that you could hold an intelligent conversation with another nurse and not sound like a nursing student. Hating the HESI. Realizing that you've passed the HESI. Hating the HESI. Realizing that the friends that you've made in the last two years are people that you are proud of, are proud to call classmates and friends, and are people that would have your back one day if you meet again as colleagues. Standing together at pinning. Proud as peacocks in our caps and gowns...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And now, I'm done. It's a surreal feeling, waking up one morning and realizing that, no--I'm not going back to class in the fall. I don't have to read a Saunders book, or open a Lewis book. I don't have to have a backache from carrying my pharmacology book. It's....over. There is no last hurdle to clear...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To my friends nationwide who are waiting to take NCLEX, or to some random person who may stumble across this blog who is getting ready for NCLEX...here are my thoughts:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1. I don't care how prepared or unprepared you are when you walk into the testing, you feel like a moron when you leave. The test is designed to make you feel dumber and dumber :-) (Oh, how to walk with a cane? Then a question about thallasemia? Then a drug I have never heard of? Yep, I failed it).<br />
<br />
2. The actual process of checking in at the facility is incredibly unnerving, even under the very best of circumstances. Being fingerprinted, palm-scanned, photographed, and then having to physically empty your pockets makes you feel like a criminal, and not being prepared for it can really, really rattle your nerves. The staff were incredibly nice, but even so, it's incredibly daunting right before you sit down for the exam.<br />
<br />
3. The 10-minute tutorial, which everyone is required to sit through, is invaluable time. We already know how to answer the alternate-format questions. That 10 minutes gives you a chance to get acclimated, say a prayer, calm yourself down, etc. Use it.<br />
<br />
4. Knowing the classifications of drugs, and knowing specific endings ("lols," statins, etc) is INVALUABLE. Also knowing the specific drugs that have very weird and very specific instructions (MAOI=no tyramine, etc) is also invaluable.<br />
<br />
5. The "Nursing Made Incredibly Easy" and the "Pharmacology Made Incredibly Easy" helped tremendously. I had 6 or 7 endocrine questions that I was able to remember because of the book/pictures/mnemonic devices. You can't go back and re-read your med-surg, ob, fundamentals and psych books, but you can re-read the Incredibly Easy books. <br />
<br />
6. I didn't feel that the HESI and NCLEX were comparable at all. HESI was more fact/knowledge-based, whereas NCLEX was far more about being able to think through a question and critically think about the answers. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Now it's time to get a big girl job with a big girl paycheck. :-) </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-60557093119315407482011-02-15T14:59:00.000-06:002011-02-15T14:59:24.710-06:00Day 13 Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A letter to someone...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Thank you. Thank you for what you did, because I am such a stronger person, such a more realistic person. I have bigger goals--much bigger than I could have ever dreamed. I realized that I have a person inside of myself that is capable of doing a lot more and overcoming a lot more than I ever thought possible. I learned the meaning of self-love, the meaning of self-respect, and the value of true friendship. I learned to appreciate my own strengths and weaknesses and that relying on others sometimes is ok. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At the end of the day, I learned things about myself that I would--quite possibly--have never learned. I lost everything, but I gained everything and then some.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs29/f/2008/045/7/8/Domestic_Violence_PSA_by_Radia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs29/f/2008/045/7/8/Domestic_Violence_PSA_by_Radia.jpg" width="494" /></a></div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-49287569400144023162011-02-05T20:45:00.000-06:002011-02-05T20:45:30.835-06:00Spice it up<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I haven't given up on the blogging challenge. It's just...it's just gonna take a few more than 30 days to complete!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Between nursing school, nursing school, and nursing school, I have no life. None. Add getting one helluva cold to the mix and you get the idea.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So I thought I'd share something, since I know a lot of fellow friends who suffer from allergies, sinus problems, and the like.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Y'all know I lurrrrve my neti pot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SIl46YOSYD4/TEhDZm3-GVI/AAAAAAAAAkU/7eiW5EBvYYo/s1600/istock_photo_of_neti_pot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SIl46YOSYD4/TEhDZm3-GVI/AAAAAAAAAkU/7eiW5EBvYYo/s320/istock_photo_of_neti_pot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> You know, the little teapot-looking-thing that they sell on the cold and flu aisle at Walgreens?</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've been an avid user for nearly 2 years, and I've seen a definite decrease in the number of sinus issues I've had to deal with. As a matter of fact, this is the first time in quite a while that I've had a serious case of the can't-breathe-at-all.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tried and true wasn't cutting it. Neither was anything else I tried, including, but not limited to: Theraflu, Nyquil, Afrin, Benadryl, Flonase...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Cue the souped-up neti...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With cayenne.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zy8n7B9SGnU/THwHSqNG86I/AAAAAAAAAGI/_A-270lfjNE/s1600/cayenne+pepper2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zy8n7B9SGnU/THwHSqNG86I/AAAAAAAAAGI/_A-270lfjNE/s320/cayenne+pepper2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Cayenne pepper, y'all. A little dab'll do ya, but lordy, it WORKED. For the first time in 3.5 days, I'm breathing. Breathing through my nose and happy as a clam!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Mix the normal saline solution you normally use (sea salt, baking soda, and water), and add 2 shakes of cayenne. Strain through a paper towel to make sure you're not getting pepper flakes up your nose. Neti away as usual. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Check with your doctor if you've got something funky going on. Please and thank you.</span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-36711557689970384752011-01-30T10:41:00.000-06:002011-01-30T10:41:38.417-06:00Day 12 Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Put your ipod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that play...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1. Amos Lee--Southern Girl</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/slUIDNUnbO4" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2. Miranda Lambert-Gunpowder and Lead</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(0, 0, 0); height: 272px; width: 440px;"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="playerVars=showStats=yes|autoPlay=no|videoTitle=Miranda Lambert - Gunpowder & Lead (Official Music Video)" height="272" name="Metacafe_sy-1490258215" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/sy-1490258215/miranda_lambert_gunpowder_lead_official_music_video.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="440" wmode="transparent"></embed></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://www.metacafe.com/watch/sy-1490258215/miranda_lambert_gunpowder_lead_official_music_video/">Miranda Lambert - Gunpowder & Lead (Official Music Video)</a>. Watch more top selected videos about: <a href="http://www.metacafe.com/topics/Miranda_Lambert/" title="Miranda_Lambert">Miranda Lambert</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3. Michael Franti and Spearhead--Hello, Bonjour</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KlHzRir7K3g" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4. Bloodhound Gang--Bad Touch</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xat1GVnl8-k" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">5. Avett Brothers--Pretty Girl from Chile</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rtZufH79rw0" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="480"></iframe> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">6. Staind--Zoe Jane</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mOuLvuzQqeo" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">7. Barbara Blue--Drunken Angel</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">8. Van Morrison--Tupelo Honey</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wxVFgFDage0" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">9. OAR--Night Shift</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7XsOU_KDUM8" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">10.Glee Cast--Somebody to Love</span><br />
<object height="270" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xaogl5?width=&theme=none&foreground=%23F7FFFD&highlight=%23FFC300&background=%23171D1B&start=&animatedTitle=&iframe=0&additionalInfos=0&autoPlay=0&hideInfos=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xaogl5?width=&theme=none&foreground=%23F7FFFD&highlight=%23FFC300&background=%23171D1B&start=&animatedTitle=&iframe=0&additionalInfos=0&autoPlay=0&hideInfos=0" width="480" height="270" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object><br />
<b><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaogl5_glee-somebody-to-love_creation">Glee! Somebody to love</a></b><br />
<i>Uploaded by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/Fatanaes">Fatanaes</a>. - <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/us/channel/creation" target="_self">Watch original web videos.</a></i>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-66983218258819437242011-01-29T13:43:00.000-06:002011-01-29T13:43:41.441-06:00Day 11 Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I took a brief hiatus from blogging because life turned upside down (again...) and school has me trying to remember what my own name is. However, some well-intentioned friends held me accountable and encouraged me to continue.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So I'm back with Day 11 of the blogging challenge--a picture of something I don't like. There are a lot of things I don't like, and I lot of snarky comments I could choose to say or post, but I will refrain. Barely. However, I will say this:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shirtoid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/allergic-to-stupid-people.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shirtoid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/allergic-to-stupid-people.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Enough said. I have enough going on right now that stupid people don't even hit my radar screen.</span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-65974232018545580222011-01-04T21:40:00.000-06:002011-01-04T21:40:37.959-06:00Day 10 Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A story about a past relationship.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I find that almost 6 years later, it is far easier to talk about, far easier to write about. But the words I wrote less than a year later still ring true to me, and I don't think I could say it any better today than I could years ago. I have changed--certainly, who doesn't in 6 years? </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I've found the kind of love with my husband that some people never are lucky enough to find. I've found friends who pulled me out of some of the darkest moments of my life. I've found people willing to stand up for me when I wasn't able to stand up for myself. The following was written in 2006, and you know, my prince did come. Not on a shining stallion, but rather in a truck covered with mud and all manner of hunting gear stashed under the seat and a penchant for the Grateful Dead and hair that sometimes looks like Einstein might have been his stylist and who enjoys my sincere love of all weird foods and wines and who loves to read and explore new things and who doesn't wear jewels but rather duck calls on a lanyard. My prince did come, down a rutted dirt driveway 2 hours late for our first date, and you know? I wouldn't have it any other way, because I know--I know--how much he loves me and <u>respects me</u>. <i>And I him</i>. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If one person reading this can help someone else, or help themselves, I have succeeded.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The following is the same as it was written several years ago:</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="blacktextnb10"><span> <br />
They say that you cannot truly begin to help yourself until you hit complete rock bottom--August 14th, 2005 represent the absolute rock bottom for me. And a slow climb it has been, yet one that has forever changed me and given me a new appreciation for life, kindness, beauty and happiness. When all else was broken, I thank God every day that I was able to keep a mostly sunny disposition and not let the circumstances make me bitter and angry. Each sunrise, each sunset, each small child, each rainstorm, each rainbow--things that may have gone unnoticed before--all are reasons to thank God for the gift of life and the love of family and friends.<br />
<br />
I can't count how many times people told me, "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." And as sick of hearing it as I became, it is unfailingly true. I find, a year later, that I have become less trusting, less open. Yet I also find that I have more self-confidence, a strength and inner peace that I didn't have before. Strength is born of adversity.<br />
<br />
I lost myself. <br />
<br />
I found myself. <br />
<br />
I am, for the first time in my life, completely at peace with myself. I am happy with me. I now know that someday I will find the deep and meaningful fairy tale romance that I've wanted all of my life. And I refuse to settle for anything less. Yes, I have fun. Yes, I laugh. And yes, someday my prince will come. I don't know what form he will take, and I don't know what his name will be, but someday. Someday. <br />
<br />
The bruises have faded, the scars have all but vanished. But my heart will never forget. My heart will never forget what happened that night. I still find myself having to fight not to flinch when a man raises his hand, even if it's to give a high-five. I struggle not to cringe at hugs. But every day is a new day. Every day is another chance at life, another chance to touch someone else's heart. Another chance to say thank you to everyone who has been so amazing over the last year.<br />
<br />
I urge anyone who reads this to educate yourself against domestic violence. Know the signs. Be aware. I never thought it would happen to me. You never think that you'll be "that girl." You never think that the person you love can turn against you. But it happens every day, and most women aren't nearly as lucky as I am. Volunteer, donate your time and money to your local domestic violence centers, and know the signs. You may save the life of your sister, friend, mother, classmate, cousin, neighbor. It happens in every walk of life, in every ethnicity, in every economic bracket, in every neighborhood, in every culture. Don't think that it won't happen to you or to someone you love. Ignorance is a death sentence.<br />
<br />
Today, I'm not afraid to be who I am. I'm silly, I'm clumsy, I'm goofy, I'm a bookworm, I'm a music nut, I'm a dreamer, I'm a wisher, I'm a little kid at heart, I'm a hopeless romantic, I'm halfway retarded, I'm not always the brightest crayon in the box. But most of all, I'm me, and that's something I'm comfortable with. <br />
<br />
This poem was on the back of Mr. Threadgill's door when I was in high school, and it's one of my favorites. Find peace.<br />
<br />
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,<br />
and remember what peace there may be in silence.<br />
As far as possible without surrender<br />
be on good terms with all persons.<br />
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;<br />
and listen to others,<br />
even the dull and the ignorant;<br />
they too have their story. <br />
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,<br />
they are vexations to the spirit.<br />
If you compare yourself with others,<br />
you may become vain and bitter;<br />
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.<br />
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. <br />
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;<br />
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.<br />
Exercise caution in your business affairs;<br />
for the world is full of trickery.<br />
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;<br />
many persons strive for high ideals;<br />
and everywhere life is full of heroism. <br />
Be yourself.<br />
Especially, do not feign affection.<br />
Neither be cynical about love;<br />
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment<br />
it is as perennial as the grass. <br />
Take kindly the counsel of the years,<br />
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.<br />
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.<br />
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.<br />
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.<br />
Beyond a wholesome discipline,<br />
be gentle with yourself. <br />
You are a child of the universe,<br />
no less than the trees and the stars;<br />
you have a right to be here.<br />
And whether or not it is clear to you,<br />
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. <br />
Therefore be at peace with God,<br />
whatever you conceive Him to be,<br />
and whatever your labors and aspirations,<br />
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. <br />
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,<br />
it is still a beautiful world.<br />
Be cheerful.<br />
Strive to be happy. <br />
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.</span></span></span></span></div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-32772083356217892762010-12-30T19:02:00.000-06:002010-12-30T19:02:26.645-06:00Day 09 Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Something I'm proud of.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">That's easy:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://nsubooks.bncollege.com/wcsstore/ExtendedSitesCatalogAssetStore/929_92905_99_606771_NI/images/FULLIMAGE_167853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://nsubooks.bncollege.com/wcsstore/ExtendedSitesCatalogAssetStore/929_92905_99_606771_NI/images/FULLIMAGE_167853.jpg" width="280" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And in 4ish months, with a little bit of luck, I can add this one:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.diplomaframe.com/images/full/156191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://www.diplomaframe.com/images/full/156191.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-40084548747740106252010-12-25T10:24:00.001-06:002010-12-25T10:26:07.541-06:00Silent Night<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I hope you and yours have a blessed, peaceful, wonderful and safe Christmas weekend. To my wonderful family--I love you. Thank you. To Joe Joe--we miss you every single day. Luther, Lamont and LuLu were in the tree for you and your sugar booger saved you a piece of chocolate. To my friends-you are amazing. To the Auburn Tiger Nation--WAR EAGLE! <br />
<br />
Here's to you, friends and family. <br />
<br />
Merry Christmas</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc02.deviantart.net/images2/i/2003/51/e/6/Christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://fc02.deviantart.net/images2/i/2003/51/e/6/Christmas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-43085493667466978942010-12-24T08:58:00.000-06:002010-12-24T08:58:00.079-06:00Merry Christmas!<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm taking a 3 day hiatus from blogging since we'll be out of town and will have no internet service. </div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Merry Christmas!! </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs39/i/2008/351/b/8/christmas_ball_by_yyelsel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs39/i/2008/351/b/8/christmas_ball_by_yyelsel.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-26704905129006726012010-12-23T09:31:00.000-06:002010-12-23T09:31:53.012-06:00Day 08 Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm sick, which makes me cranky, which therefore means this is going to be short, sweet and to the point. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 days before Christmas and you want to know my short term goals??</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Survive.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Pure and simple.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Between raising a three-year-old, being broke, being in school, and the ridiculous amounts of family politicking that accompany the holiday season, survival is the only thing on my mind.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Longer-term than that--there are exactly 143 days from today's date (including weekends, holidays, and days we don't have classes) until May 14th, which to me is a HUGE date, because...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">GRADUATION. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Cannot get here fast enough. Granted, I still have to take (and pass!) the NCLEX, but knowing that the school part is almost behind me is definitely a light at the end of the of the tunnel.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://magnificentvista.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://magnificentvista.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-66323928984083226142010-12-22T08:55:00.000-06:002010-12-22T08:55:24.416-06:00Day 07 Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The person or thing that has had the biggest impact on my life.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I was convinced that this was going to be a person-so many amazing people have had impacts on my life, in both positive and negative ways. Everything that I am and my views about the world are shaped by the people I have come into contact with...I believe that it's true that we are all balls of clay that are molded by the circumstances of our lives.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But I realized that:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1. I couldn't narrow it down to one person who has the biggest impact and</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2. I wouldn't be in contact with half of the people that have had impacts if it weren't for one thing.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.idealaunch.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/internet-marketing-strategy-traffic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="http://www.idealaunch.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/internet-marketing-strategy-traffic1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The internet. Between blogging, social networking, and the vast array of...STUFF, the internet has completely changed the way we interact, the way we learn, and the way that we view the world around us. My generation, and all of the generations to follow, have never known life without it. I was in college when Facebook began, and I wouldn't remember how to write a paper without Google Scholar...kidding.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.seopher.com/images/internet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.seopher.com/images/internet.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We get the news faster, we are more globally savvy (as a whole), and sites like </span><a href="http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">People of Walmart</a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Awkward Family Photos</a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> give us something to laugh at. Whole companies freak out when the server is down, and it makes headlines when sites like Facebook are not working. Like it or not, the internet has shaped our world and the way we feel about the people and things in it.</span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-64786179885949551012010-12-21T09:24:00.001-06:002010-12-21T09:25:42.072-06:00Day 06 Blogging Challenge...oh, to be a bookworm<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So today is supposed to be about a hobby I have.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Reading isn't a hobby. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Reading is a passion.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs9/i/2006/073/7/2/_Books_by_funkeymunkey17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs9/i/2006/073/7/2/_Books_by_funkeymunkey17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Old books. New books. Electronic books. All books. I could go on and on about books...but instead I thought I would list my top books--there are so, so many books, and so so many genres that I could literally list books all day long...these are in no particular order, just great, great books.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Poisonwood-Bible-Oprahs-Book-Club/dp/0060930535">The Poisonwood Bible</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Acheron-Dark-Hunter-Book-Sherrilyn-Kenyon/dp/B001W6RRDE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944194&sr=1-1">Acheron </a>(part of a series) </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Escape-Carolyn-Jessop/dp/0767927575/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292943802&sr=1-1">Escape (from Polygamy)</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outlander-Diana-Gabaldon/dp/0385319959/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292943853&sr=1-1">Outlander</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">5. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Winters-Night-Traveler-Everymans-Library/dp/0679420258/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292943889&sr=1-1">If On a Winter's Night a Traveler</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">6. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flew-Over-Cuckoos-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141181222/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292943936&sr=1-1">One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">7. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Waste-Land-Norton-Critical-Editions/dp/0393974995/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292943995&sr=1-1">The Waste Land</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">8. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brave-New-World-Aldous-Huxley/dp/0060850523/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944036&sr=1-1">Brave New World</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">9. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kite-Runner-Khaled-Hosseini/dp/1594480001/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944074&sr=1-1">The Kite Runner</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">10. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Pray-Love-Everything-Indonesia/dp/0143118420/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944105&sr=1-1">Eat. Pray. Love.</a> (way better than the movie. trust me)</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">11. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Middlesex-Novel-Oprahs-Book-Club/dp/0312427735/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944273&sr=1-1">Middlesex</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">12. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Other-Boleyn-Girl-Philippa-Gregory/dp/0743269837/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944369&sr=1-1">The Other Boleyn Girl</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">13. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Road-Penguin-Great-Books-Century/dp/0140283293/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944411&sr=1-1">On The Road</a> (Kerouac and I don't exactly get along-but still worth it)</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">14. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Count-Monte-Cristo-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140449264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292945008&sr=1-1">The Count of Monte Cristo</a> (probably one of my all-time favorites)</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">15. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Miserables-Modern-Library-Classics/dp/0812974263/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944519&sr=1-3">Les Miserables</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">16. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dubliners-James-Joyce/dp/1453637745/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944567&sr=1-1">Dubliners</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">17. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Help-Kathryn-Stockett/dp/0399155341/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1"> The Help</a> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">18. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clan-Cave-Bear-Earths-Children/dp/1444709852/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944871&sr=1-1">The Clan of the Cave Bear</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/204/5/f/Where_Books_Take_Me_by_MissUnfortunate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/204/5/f/Where_Books_Take_Me_by_MissUnfortunate.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Books can take you anywhere. Can make you be anything. Can help you see things in a different perspective.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And this is, no lie, what my table might look like at any given moment:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/175/6/4/ten_by_carolinexpaige.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/175/6/4/ten_by_carolinexpaige.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-227154640975978582010-12-20T09:11:00.000-06:002010-12-20T09:11:54.595-06:00Day 05 Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Oh, the places you will go...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I love to travel. I love getting lost in a new city and finding some hole in the wall restaurant or store, or discovering some off-the-beaten path pub or bookstore. I even like sitting in airports and on planes, because you never, ever know who you might see or meet. On one flight, this H-U-G-E man came rumbling down the aisle and sat next to me. Five minutes later, he's showing me pictures of his fights.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Fights.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The Huge Man was a professional wrestler. Like, Monday Night Raw professional wrestler.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And then there's the little old lady who chatter the whole flight, or the guy who falls asleep and drools the whole time, or the woman working on her "novel." </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> But I digress. Somewhere I've traveled.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've been all over the country. I've been all over the UK. I've been to Mexico.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But one place stands out for me. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kodakgallery.com/imaging-site/services/doc/4745:73975259410/jpeg/BG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.kodakgallery.com/imaging-site/services/doc/4745:73975259410/jpeg/BG" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">I loved Stonehenge. I loved the mystery, the unknown. I loved the raw open field with absolutely nothing around except the towering stones. I would go back in a heartbeat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-77053502085607430992010-12-19T09:40:00.002-06:002010-12-19T09:54:57.376-06:00Day 04 Blogging Challenge--the Soundtrack<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">15 songs that represent my life's soundtrack.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I've gotten up and walked away and come back to this a bajillionty times this morning. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Numbers 1 and 2 and 3 are easy.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1. Aslyn's-That's When I Love You.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I walked down the aisle to my husband with this song playing, and it will forever be a part of my soundtrack. I can't find the version that we used, but it was a little more acoustic and slow compared to this version.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LODnG8eE8ZE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LODnG8eE8ZE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2.Allman Brothers-Soulshine. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This is "our song."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lXbsq3C4LZM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lXbsq3C4LZM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3. Israel "IZ" Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole- Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Same as number 1 and 2.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wZFkXQKCuBc?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wZFkXQKCuBc?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4. Bowling for Soup- 99 Biker Friends</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When I was going through a really, really, really dark period in my life, one of my best friends, who happens to be a biker friend, played this song for me, and it was kind of my mantra. I mean, who doesn't need 99 biker friends to go kick someone's ass?</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YyQiIdSm1lA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YyQiIdSm1lA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">5. Cherry Poppin' Daddies-Zoot Suit Riot</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This is just one of the more popular songs that's indicative of all swing/jive music. I love, love to dance and sometimes think I would have been better suited to having been born in the 20s.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1IqH3uliwJY?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1IqH3uliwJY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">6. Jesse Cook- Tango Flamenco</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Any flamenco music, really. How many can claim that they were on the flamenco dance team in high school? Yeah, I'm a dork. Yeah, I don't care. I loved it, and I still love flamenco guitar.<br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4M3qqyW6Ids?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4M3qqyW6Ids?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">7. Alanis Morrissette-ummm, really anything from the "Jagged Little Pill" album</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">How many angsty teenagers DIDN'T have this album when it came out?</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">8. Jimmy Buffett--Fruitcakes</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Do I need to say anything more? My nickname has been "Fruitcake" since I was 11.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wneCa_yIuzg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wneCa_yIuzg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">9. Jimmy Buffett--When the Coast is Clear</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am a Gulf Coast girl from the tip of my head to the polish on my toenails. I was devastated when the BP oil spill happened, and I was sitting on the beach listening to Jimmy Buffett when he played this song in Gulf Shores. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#ffffff" flashvars="file=ZpUGuf32qZVKhQ3V0v0y.flv&streamer=http://media.node1.server2.iviewtube.com/xmoov.php&image=http://www.iviewtube.com/uploads/thumbs/ZpUGuf32qZVKhQ3V0v0y.jpg&logo=http://www.iviewtube.com/image_s/playerlogo.png&link=http://www.iviewtube.com&target=_blank&skin=http://www.iviewtube.com/Snel.swf&autostart=false&fullscreen=true&stretching=fill" height="367" src="http://www.iviewtube.com/flvplayer.swf" width="450"></embed></div><b><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">10. The Proclaimers-500 Miles</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If there is ever a song more designed to get stuck in your head, this is it.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tbNlMtqrYS0?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tbNlMtqrYS0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">11. Michael Franti/Spearhead--Hello Bonjour</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The whole album is pretty politically charged, but the messages in nearly all of his songs are pretty powerful. Hello Bonjour is my favorite--why are we so intolerant of people who are different than we are?</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2vwq4fdugU4?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2vwq4fdugU4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">12. Nickel Creek-When You Come Back Down</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My mama and Joe dedicated this song to me when I graduated from high school. And I still believe with all my heart that Joe is and will forever be there for me, even though I can't see him here. He and my mama always supported my dreams, and they were my "solid ground" while I was flying high. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng5-VUDcjJ8&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng5-VUDcjJ8&feature=related</a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">13. Cowboy Mouth-Hurricane Party</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This was my absolute favorite Cowboy Mouth song before Hurricane Katrina ravaged their hometown, and they have done a lot to rebuild their city. And anyone who has every lived in a hurricane area, this song is so true--it means one things--a hurricane party! If you've never listened to Cowboy Mouth, check out some of their other songs as well.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pDVm5dVZ9aM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pDVm5dVZ9aM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 14. Weezer--Undone</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Straight back to 7th grade.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LHQqqM5sr7g?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LHQqqM5sr7g?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">15. Cheap Trick-I Want You to Want Me.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This song has cheered me up from many a miserable mood. It is the best down-in-the-dumps antidote known to man, especially when dancing to it with your favorite Mr. Fabulousness.</div><b><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IMG7b3LYaAM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IMG7b3LYaAM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></b><br />
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</b>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-19959414678076069142010-12-18T09:10:00.000-06:002010-12-18T09:10:40.413-06:00Day 03 Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A habit I wish I didn't have. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A habit I wish I didn't have.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This one is probably the easiest to answer, but it doesn't come without some close second-placers. I am a hopeless electronic junkie. I compulsively buy shoes. The concept of organization means nothing to me--I live in organized chaos. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But in the end, how could I choose anything other than the habit that is dangerous, expensive, and nasty?</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.freakingnews.com/pictures/30500/Cigarette-Advertising-30559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.freakingnews.com/pictures/30500/Cigarette-Advertising-30559.jpg" width="151" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/NicotineQueen/cigarette%20ads/camel_2000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/NicotineQueen/cigarette%20ads/camel_2000.jpg" width="148" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tvparty.com/bgifs20/1967-pallmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.tvparty.com/bgifs20/1967-pallmall.jpg" width="129" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">As if we didn't all know by now that these were a load of baloney. I hate it. I hate smelling like smoke. I hate actually smoking. I hate how much it costs. And I have every single intention of quitting in 2011. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Bank on it.</span></div>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-8149105787170632072010-12-17T08:39:00.001-06:002010-12-17T08:43:02.734-06:00Day 02 Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Today is supposed to be a photo of something I cannot live without. And I went through my head. Was is my handy dandy notebook (computer)? Was it my cell phone? Was it my camera? Was it my Kindle? And then I realized that everything that I was listing was an expensive electronic device. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So then I started to think a little more on a basic level. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sushi? </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Nursing textboooks? (no, I could really, really live without those...)</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">No, what I realized that in the end, it wasn't the stuff. It never was. This is what I couldn't live without:</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cdFRi_7Bbbw/TQt1ZWBV5mI/AAAAAAAABOU/ArR7kYKKodo/s1600/166330_528129353079_69800206_31122768_2583898_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cdFRi_7Bbbw/TQt1ZWBV5mI/AAAAAAAABOU/ArR7kYKKodo/s400/166330_528129353079_69800206_31122768_2583898_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The people that make up my world, my family and friends. That's the one thing I couldn't live without. They are my world, and without them, everything is....just stuff.</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I can live without the electronics, the gizmos, the gadgets. But these people are irreplaceable. Some are gone, to be seen again in Heaven. Some I don't talk to nearly enough. And some I didn't have recent pictures of. But my family and friends, that is the one thing I couldn't imagine life without.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Except maybe chapstick :-) </span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-36771378145007588782010-12-16T15:34:00.000-06:002010-12-16T15:34:44.598-06:00Freedom!...and Day 01 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I finally have a few minutes to myself. No class. No care plans. No case studies. Bliss.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A friend of mine challenged me to blog daily, and even though I couldn't find the site she recommended, I found one that challenged thirty continuous days of blogging. Sounds like fun to me!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself. <br />
Day 02- A picture of something you cannot live without. <br />
Day 03- A habit that you wish you didn’t have. <br />
Day 04- List 15 songs that represent your life’s soundtrack. <br />
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to. <br />
Day 06- A hobby you have. <br />
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you. <br />
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why. <br />
Day 09- Something/someone you’re proud of. <br />
Day 10- A story about a past relationship. <br />
Day 11- A picture of something you dislike. <br />
Day 12- A picture of your room & don’t cheat by cleaning it. Share a secret. <br />
Day 13- Write a letter telling someone something you could never tell them. <br />
Day 14- A picture of something you ate and 10 confessions. <br />
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle & share the first 10 songs that play. <br />
Day 16- Something you could live without. <br />
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why. <br />
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have. <br />
Day 19- Nicknames you have & how or why you have them. <br />
Day 20- If you had 3 wishes, what would they be. <br />
Day 21- Share a picture from your day. <br />
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else. <br />
Day 23- What is something you crave. <br />
Day 24- Share a story about your past that you are ashamed of. <br />
Day 25- What I would find in your bag. <br />
Day 26- Places you want to visit before you die. <br />
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge? <br />
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then? <br />
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned. <br />
Day 30- A picture of you today & 20 goals you want to accomplish.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So. Today is the first day. Without further ado, a picture of yours truly:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cdFRi_7Bbbw/ReimMzy3t4I/AAAAAAAAAGw/twmEOcBzJhk/s1600/DSCF3031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cdFRi_7Bbbw/TQqFtxe9a9I/AAAAAAAABOQ/_CczUKuGFCs/s1600/cait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cdFRi_7Bbbw/TQqFtxe9a9I/AAAAAAAABOQ/_CczUKuGFCs/s320/cait.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br />
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And fifteen interesting things about myself...<br />
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1. I am, and forever will be, a band dork. I loved being in the band in high school. My best friends were in the band with me, and some of my fondest memories from high school are from trips to games and competitions, not to mention "band camp."<br />
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2. I am a reader to the very core of who I am. I read cereal boxes, blogs, shampoo bottles, magazines. If it has words on it, I will read it. I have been to every country, even countries that don't even exist, within the pages of books. A child who doesn't know how to read is one of the most negligent things a parent can do to a child. It's an education, a mystery, an escape.<br />
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3. Life is unfair. Brutally so.<br />
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4. I believe in loving life for everything it is worth. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, and life is far too short to give two flying flips what someone else thinks about the kind of person you are. Quirky? Goofball? Weird? Yes, please.<br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">5. I am terrible at math. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">6. People will never cease to disappoint and disgust you. But people will also never cease to surprise you, either.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">7. I am a Taurimi. My birthday falls on the cusp of Taurus and Gemini, and though I don't put a lot of stock into horoscopes, I like to read both and pick the one I like better.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">8. Some of my very best friends are the ones that I never get to see. I sometimes think that we have such a strong friendship because we are never together, and the stressors of daily life don't take the same toll that they would if we lived in the same town and saw each other all the time.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">9. I think my mother is one of the strongest people I know.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">10. It is rare that I get angry. Even rarer that I hold a grudge for very long. But some of the events that have recently transpired have tarnished my faith in a lot of things, and I don't know that time or patience will heal those wounds.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">11. I wear a 7 on my right foot and an 8 on the left. Shoe shopping is a nightmare. I'm probably the one to blame if you can't find the mate to the shoe you're in love with at Target!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">12. I have a very strong dislike of cold weather. I was told that there is a town in Florida called "Frost Free." I think I need to live there. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">13. I'm a big, fat redneck at heart. I love to play in the mud, drive big trucks, make a mess, play in the woods. I'm just not quiet enough or cold-blooded enough to hunt. I can't sit still that long.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">14. My husband is my very best friend and champion. I consider myself to be one of the luckiest women on the planet.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">15. The glass is </span><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">ALWAYS</b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> half-full.</span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-32528917174281716252010-08-04T17:07:00.000-05:002010-08-04T17:07:40.026-05:00shamefully loved<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After reading <a href="http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/08/04/55-saveur-editor-in-chief-james-oseland/?hpt=C2">this article</a> this morning, I had to compile my own list of foods that I shamefully admit that i lurrrrve. There are some foods that, no matter how bad I know they are for me or how many ingredients I'll never be able to pronounce, they still sing their siren songs from the aisles of the grocery store or the drive-thru line...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1. Ketchup-flavored Pringles. Once a limited edition and now freely available on the grocery shelves, my friends cringe when I pull them out. But to a ketchup-loving fiend, these are the gods of the cylindrical cans...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 2. Fried bologna. Maybe it's a southern thing. I don't know.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 3. Cherry 7UP. It's a Shirley Temple in a can. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4. McD's Big Mac and fries. I know. One of these alone can cause heart failure, death in minutes, pimples, a massive weight gain, a diabetic coma, etc. But it's what's calling my name when I see the golden arches...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">5. Banana-flavored moon pies. Growing up in the south, especially in parts of the south that celebrate Mardi Gras, I have always loved moon pies. Even if they're a weird shade of yellow and sometimes get crushed in the street before making it into your loot bag, they still taste amazing, especially after you zap them in the microwave and pair it with some vanilla ice cream...</span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-21155129513754893822010-07-27T09:15:00.003-05:002010-07-27T18:06:20.570-05:00MULLETMy husband and I stalk mullets. Actually, we score points for mullet sightings (as well as fanny packs, but that's a different kettle of fish). And I scored the motherload with this sighting...it doesn't really count, because I didn't take the picture, but it's still one of the best fem-mullets I've seen in weeks.<br />
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<a href="http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/?p=15591">Crane Gang</a><br />
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(did i mention that I also love the People of Walmart site?)Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-21068878192020019082010-07-26T12:28:00.000-05:002010-07-26T12:28:53.653-05:00it's not trash!<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am a certified pack rat. I should have an episode on "Hoarders" about me. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Not kidding.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Not even a little. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My husband and I are in the process of trying to do the "big purge." You know, where you go through the mass quantities of crap that you've accumulated since you moved out of your parent's home...me 10 years ago, him nearly 20. In doing said "big purge," I have discovered a few things:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1. I need an AA program for shoe addictions.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2. I have more "gadgets" than one person should be allowed to have</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3. My husband needs an AA program for hunting/fishing gear</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4. Sometimes being a sentimental freak pays off. Like finding the scrapbook I made in high school.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">5. I should not be allowed to go to yard sales.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">6. Books that sucked the first time around should be discarded because..you know..they still suck the second time around.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">7. We could run our own costume shop from the closet. Wanna be Jack Sparrow? The Good Witch? a Pregnant Priest? We've got you covered.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">8. Boas? Yeah, they multiply.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Someone please come over with a bobcat/bulldozer/dump truck and HELP ME!! I have an inability to be rational about getting rid of things like bundt pans (i have 3), cassette players (how else am i going to play the NKOTB tapes and the random mix tapes from middle school??), prom/anchor ball dresses (like I'm ever going to be a size 4 again), stilettos (who am i kidding? I don't wear shoes that don't inspire comfort...hellloooooo, Dr. Scholl's...), vacuum cleaners (why do I have 4?), tupperware (i will never, ever, ever have this many leftovers), crockpots (i have 2), and assorted other items. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Not to mention I keep losing the dogs. </span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-11750393016309564592010-06-29T16:04:00.001-05:002010-06-29T18:34:31.667-05:00stoopid night class and summer boredom<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Who in the world dreamed up the concept of night classes? While I understand that some people can't go to school during the day, and night classes work as part of their schedules, i have ZERO motivation to go to class at 6 pm. I'm supposed to be at home in my old-lady recliner at 6 pm watching Jeopardy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The good news? By this time next year, I'll be d-o-n-e with nursing school and d-o-n-e with school, period. At least for the time being. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On the plus side, I have read more in the last 3 weeks than i have ever read. Most recently, all of <a href="http://pamie.com/">Pamie's</a> books. "Going in Circles" is a great, easy, true-to-life read. Lurved it. And made me want to join <a href="http://www.mobilerollerderby.com/">roller derby</a> even more. But that has to wait until after nursing school, since apparently care plans are more important than giant hematomas from busting your ass.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Jimmy Buffett. Next week. Happy me. Even if the reason he's playing here is a shitty-ass reason--the oil spill is depressing, to say the least. Being the hardest hit county so far is definitely taking its emotional toll.</span><br />
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</span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-2113788200984153752010-05-19T19:47:00.000-05:002010-05-19T19:47:12.093-05:00...<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">one day at a time, one step at a time. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">JTB, I love you and I'm proud to be your daughter. I'm proud of the legacy you left behind with me and with your "sugar booger." I may have a few screws loose, but I came by it honestly and am proud to be stubborn, pig-headed, a dreamer, a lone wolf, a dream catcher, a reader, a grammar Nazi, and a few other choice descriptors. I'm proud that you challenged me to find my own way, and that way may still yet lead to a law degree.....after nursing school. I'm proud of these blue eyes, so much like yours. And I'm proud that you taught me to be stronger than the people that try to drag you down to their level. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I miss you every single day.</span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163075539676823512.post-50307990822683733462010-03-25T19:42:00.001-05:002010-03-25T19:50:41.686-05:00the sun sets<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On March 10, 2010, I lost one of the best men I have ever known.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Exactly one month to the day from his surgery, my dad lost his battle with liver cancer. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Words can never, ever adequately convey what we're going through. </span>Fruitcakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144391406476536405noreply@blogger.com1