After a few tries, anyway.
And........success!!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Big sticks.
I'm not sure what it is about big sticks that draw little kids and dogs. Maybe they just don't realize that the stick is SO big, or maybe they feel the need to prove they can pick them up.
After a few tries, anyway.
And........success!!
After a few tries, anyway.
And........success!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Anticipaaaaaaa............
.......... What, did you think I was actually gonna finish the word?
So here I am (im)patiently waiting to hear about my acceptance or lack thereof into the nursing program at my local college. And my college keeps screwing with me in terms of mail that isn't what I want it to be!! First came the little blue card-bearing envelope that, when ripped open on the way in from the mailbox, turned out to be an invitation to a reception for students with good grades. Then came the letter (in an actual white envelope so it was much more promising) that just told me to see my adviser so I can register for summer and fall classes, but that those people that ARE in the nursing program will register in July at a mandatory meeting for the fall nursing classes.
Then, today, another envelope. Another shred-job on the way back across the road. AND???
I could see, above the fold, that the first line started off with "We are pleased to inform you...." Oh, oh, is this IT?!?! Then, it continued: "...that you have completed the first step in applying for the nursing program - you have been accepted into Centralia College. Congratulations!" Wha??? I am already IN this college!! *SIGH*
So the bottom line is that I still don't know, and according to this latest piece of misdirecting mail I may not know until July. UGH!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
In Memoriam
A long time ago, before I ever really wanted to have a ferret, I decided that the perfect name for one would be Vin Wiesel. Yes, I do like cheesy Vin Diesel movies (XXX being my favorite, go ahead, point and laugh - I don't mind.) Then one day I went to the local pet/fish store and I met THE Vin Wiesel. A tiny, fluffy, baby albino ferret. My Vinnie.
When we brought Vinnie home we didn't even have a cage. We got one from a cousin of mine within the week, and Vinnie had his own home. Vinnie inspired ferret envy in many of our friends. Contrary to the horror stories that so many people have of previous ferret encounters, Vinnie didn't stink, didn't bite, didn't spray noxious fumes a la Pepe le Pew. He was bred by Marshall Ferret, a company specializing in pets, and he came neutered and de-scented. He had the ear tattoos to prove it! (I can't seem to find a good picture of ANY ferrets tattooed ear but if I come across one, I'll add it later.)
Somehow, our ferret family ended up growing. We actively sought out another ferret (ended up buying two ferrets and two cages for a really good price, and arranged to sell one of them to a friend before we even picked them up.) Thus came Kate Weaslet. Hey, we already had one movie star, why not go for broke! Then we kept getting given ferrets that people who didn't research ferrets as pets decided weren't cat-like enough for them. There's a reason ferrets are described as perpetual stubborn two-year-olds! They don't cuddle and aren't going to sit still for even a nano-second unless they are sleeping. Which they do a LOT. Like 20 hours a day a lot. So they're pretty much either comatose or whirling dervishes, not a lot in between.
After Katie (who was our stereo-typical thief ferret, hid everything under the dresser or in the drawers and the cats became pretty much toyless after her arrival) we ended up with Nibbles, then Wiggy, then for a short time we had Bandit, but Bandit and Vinnie didn't get along so she found another home. When I came back from Kansas in 2006 we had a new ferret family member awaiting us, and we ended up naming him Lil Mack. Lil Mack became Big Mack (which sounded far too much like a hamburger, so was only called Mack.) Now we had a gangster theme going - Vinnie, Mack, and our cat's name was Frankie. Because ferrets don't live enormously long lives, and some of our friends came to us in not the best health, we had only our two gangsters for a short time. Then yet another unprepared person gave us yet another ferret so we were back to the three amigos.
By this time, Vinnie was a veritable senior citizen. He was just about 6 years old and, according to the books I had, ferrets only live between 5 and 7 years. Since this seemed to fit the rest of our ferrets ages, I was somewhat surprised when Mack suddenly became quite ill and declined rapidly because honestly I had been prepared for Vinnie to be the next one to go. Down to two ferrets again, we (OK, I) was hoping that didn't mean that another person would join the now completely non-existent fad of ferret owning only to find out that it wasn't for them.
A couple of weeks ago, my Vinnie started to go down hill. The ferret that taught my son not to be afraid of him, that suffered being fetched against his will when all he wanted to do was explore the living room, wasn't long for this world. Last Thursday, we said goodbye to Vinnie and told him that if he was ready it was OK to move on. And with his passing, the joy has gone out of ferret ownership for me, now, too. I'll be finding another home for Zook (who is, actually, one of those nasty, smelly, un-neutered ferrets of people's nightmares, though he is NOT mean at all - he suffers the fetching too.)
Vin Wiesel
January 2003-April 2010
When we brought Vinnie home we didn't even have a cage. We got one from a cousin of mine within the week, and Vinnie had his own home. Vinnie inspired ferret envy in many of our friends. Contrary to the horror stories that so many people have of previous ferret encounters, Vinnie didn't stink, didn't bite, didn't spray noxious fumes a la Pepe le Pew. He was bred by Marshall Ferret, a company specializing in pets, and he came neutered and de-scented. He had the ear tattoos to prove it! (I can't seem to find a good picture of ANY ferrets tattooed ear but if I come across one, I'll add it later.)
Somehow, our ferret family ended up growing. We actively sought out another ferret (ended up buying two ferrets and two cages for a really good price, and arranged to sell one of them to a friend before we even picked them up.) Thus came Kate Weaslet. Hey, we already had one movie star, why not go for broke! Then we kept getting given ferrets that people who didn't research ferrets as pets decided weren't cat-like enough for them. There's a reason ferrets are described as perpetual stubborn two-year-olds! They don't cuddle and aren't going to sit still for even a nano-second unless they are sleeping. Which they do a LOT. Like 20 hours a day a lot. So they're pretty much either comatose or whirling dervishes, not a lot in between.
After Katie (who was our stereo-typical thief ferret, hid everything under the dresser or in the drawers and the cats became pretty much toyless after her arrival) we ended up with Nibbles, then Wiggy, then for a short time we had Bandit, but Bandit and Vinnie didn't get along so she found another home. When I came back from Kansas in 2006 we had a new ferret family member awaiting us, and we ended up naming him Lil Mack. Lil Mack became Big Mack (which sounded far too much like a hamburger, so was only called Mack.) Now we had a gangster theme going - Vinnie, Mack, and our cat's name was Frankie. Because ferrets don't live enormously long lives, and some of our friends came to us in not the best health, we had only our two gangsters for a short time. Then yet another unprepared person gave us yet another ferret so we were back to the three amigos.
By this time, Vinnie was a veritable senior citizen. He was just about 6 years old and, according to the books I had, ferrets only live between 5 and 7 years. Since this seemed to fit the rest of our ferrets ages, I was somewhat surprised when Mack suddenly became quite ill and declined rapidly because honestly I had been prepared for Vinnie to be the next one to go. Down to two ferrets again, we (OK, I) was hoping that didn't mean that another person would join the now completely non-existent fad of ferret owning only to find out that it wasn't for them.
A couple of weeks ago, my Vinnie started to go down hill. The ferret that taught my son not to be afraid of him, that suffered being fetched against his will when all he wanted to do was explore the living room, wasn't long for this world. Last Thursday, we said goodbye to Vinnie and told him that if he was ready it was OK to move on. And with his passing, the joy has gone out of ferret ownership for me, now, too. I'll be finding another home for Zook (who is, actually, one of those nasty, smelly, un-neutered ferrets of people's nightmares, though he is NOT mean at all - he suffers the fetching too.)
Vin WieselJanuary 2003-April 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
I have a certification!
It's fairly common knowledge (at least, among those that know me - not so much worldwide) that I'm currently in school, completing the prerequisites for the Registered Nurse program at Centralia College and (im)patiently waiting to be notified of my status for starting that program this fall. Today I took one step closer to it - I completed and PASSED my Nursing Assistant - Certified evaluation!
This (horribly nerve-wracking) exam starts with a written test in the morning, and a practical skills test after that. I wasn't worried as much about the written exam because the final exam in my NA-C class was actually an old state exam - at least I knew what kind of questions to expect. No, the part that was getting to me was the skills test. Even though my instructor for the class prepared us well I was afraid that I would forget some important part of a skill and fail. Like someone would come along and stamp my forehead in red ink - FAIL. It didn't help that I was one of the last pair of people to go and the examiner told us to be sure not to break the chain - everyone else today had passed! No pressure, though, right?
Every skill set starts with hand washing, so I knew I was safe for at least one. Then there are 4 others selected out of the handbook that was the NA-C form of a Bible - each one designed to quickly show the evaluator that you can care for people's daily needs without endagering them or yourself. Oh, and did I mention that it's timed?? As if it wasn't bad enough to have a complete stranger hover over you while you try to remember things (should I have gloves on to feed someone? No, that would be kinda gross.... Wasn't the cup supposed to have a straw in it? Should I go looking for a straw or would that be a silly waste of time?) But then the clock is staring down at you saying (or so it seems) hurry, hurry! You don't have time to look and see how much time you have left, but hurry!! The 25 minutes that you're alloted suddenly seems to speed by and leave you thinking, did I give them back their call light and remember to lower the bed? There's also the little voice in the back of your mind:
Nothing helpful at all on that channel.
But even though I was nervous the entire (something less than) 25 minutes, I apparently didn't do anything that would be life-threatening to my partner or any long-term-care residents I might encounter in my career. We don't get to see anything about our skill evaluation, but the fax came back not with a big red (or any other color) FAIL in the corner, but with a big black PASS!! And I'm proud to have the letters NA-C after my name, my first official label in my trek to RN.
This (horribly nerve-wracking) exam starts with a written test in the morning, and a practical skills test after that. I wasn't worried as much about the written exam because the final exam in my NA-C class was actually an old state exam - at least I knew what kind of questions to expect. No, the part that was getting to me was the skills test. Even though my instructor for the class prepared us well I was afraid that I would forget some important part of a skill and fail. Like someone would come along and stamp my forehead in red ink - FAIL. It didn't help that I was one of the last pair of people to go and the examiner told us to be sure not to break the chain - everyone else today had passed! No pressure, though, right?
Every skill set starts with hand washing, so I knew I was safe for at least one. Then there are 4 others selected out of the handbook that was the NA-C form of a Bible - each one designed to quickly show the evaluator that you can care for people's daily needs without endagering them or yourself. Oh, and did I mention that it's timed?? As if it wasn't bad enough to have a complete stranger hover over you while you try to remember things (should I have gloves on to feed someone? No, that would be kinda gross.... Wasn't the cup supposed to have a straw in it? Should I go looking for a straw or would that be a silly waste of time?) But then the clock is staring down at you saying (or so it seems) hurry, hurry! You don't have time to look and see how much time you have left, but hurry!! The 25 minutes that you're alloted suddenly seems to speed by and leave you thinking, did I give them back their call light and remember to lower the bed? There's also the little voice in the back of your mind:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Nothing helpful at all on that channel.
But even though I was nervous the entire (something less than) 25 minutes, I apparently didn't do anything that would be life-threatening to my partner or any long-term-care residents I might encounter in my career. We don't get to see anything about our skill evaluation, but the fax came back not with a big red (or any other color) FAIL in the corner, but with a big black PASS!! And I'm proud to have the letters NA-C after my name, my first official label in my trek to RN.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The monster on TOP of the bed!
Watch out! What you think is just a pile of blankets and pillows could actually turn out to be a Great Lurking Toddler-otomus! These creatures are characterized by their love of chicken nuggets and Otter Pops, as well as their ability to blend with their surroundings....
If you stay still and watch carefully, eventually the Toddler-otomus will be overcome by curiosity and peek out of it's protective camouflage.
Sometimes, the Toddler-otomus can be lured out of it's nest with food.
Note the teeth! This could mean that the creature is about to attack!
With the careful use of camera flash, the Great Lurking Toddler-otomus is confused and you can then use snacks to further deter him from pouncing!
Ladies and gentlemen, BEHOLD the Great Lurking Toddler-otomus!
(I'd like to give thanks to Zach for playing the part of the Great Lurking Toddler-otomus.)
Out, out, OUT!
My kids have a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse pop-up play tent. The other day Zach wanted it out, but shortly after it went up he abandoned it for other pursuits. Alexis took it over with a covert mission, so when Zach went back in she was sitting in the corner. I tried to take a picture of them in it but the mesh "window" simply reflected back the flash, and without the flash you could barely see through it anyway. By then, Lexi had decided to give up and let her brother occupy Fort Mickey so I wanted to get a shot of her coming out.
Looks like it wasn't a voluntary exit! Funny thing was, I didn't even realize he had pushed her until I looked at the camera! Don't worry, she didn't really mind it.
Looks like it wasn't a voluntary exit! Funny thing was, I didn't even realize he had pushed her until I looked at the camera! Don't worry, she didn't really mind it.
A dragon says....
....ROAR!!!!
As many of you know, Zach isn't speaking much right now. Oh, he makes a LOT of noise, yaks up a storm in fact, and will use an occasional word or two when his frantic body language isn't enough to spur us into the action that he desires. But active conversation just isn't something he's that interested in right now. One thing I can count on right now, though, is the answer to the question, "what does a dragon say?"
I've wanted to start a blog for a while, both to capture the memories that we make each day and to keep our far-flung family in the loop. I've also been inspired by friends great blogs, replete with fantastic images. So bear with me while I learn how to use the site and I promise some picture-infused posts soon! And if any of you have some tips for me (ahem, Bec and Ang) I'm all ears!
As many of you know, Zach isn't speaking much right now. Oh, he makes a LOT of noise, yaks up a storm in fact, and will use an occasional word or two when his frantic body language isn't enough to spur us into the action that he desires. But active conversation just isn't something he's that interested in right now. One thing I can count on right now, though, is the answer to the question, "what does a dragon say?"
I've wanted to start a blog for a while, both to capture the memories that we make each day and to keep our far-flung family in the loop. I've also been inspired by friends great blogs, replete with fantastic images. So bear with me while I learn how to use the site and I promise some picture-infused posts soon! And if any of you have some tips for me (ahem, Bec and Ang) I'm all ears!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
