Things not to do today

Top 5, in order of least importance to most:

5. Do not make out in broad daylight in the parking lot of your apartment if you are in your early to mid 30's.
4. Do not let brain mets be an excuse for your relative or loved one to behave atrociously to health care workers. DO apologize on their behalf.
3. Do not spend all your time indoors. Make sure to spend a little time outside. Collect some freckles.
2. Do not forget to reach out to those around you. You will be surprised at how one kind thought or action turns into another.
1. Do not forget to send kind words, thoughts, and/or prayers to The Hokie Nation.

P.P.S.

In other news, I have now missed not one, but two weeks of Private Practice to pursue the pleasures of the real word.

However, I must say, the ethical dilemmas of Private Practice are real. The End.

I am lame. I know. I never write anymore. My excuse is that I have a life outside of this box we all call "computer." However, this is not the case. The Best Man sits for hours on end each evening at his box and I at mine. I really could write. I'm lazy.

So that's it. I'm lazy. And lame.

The Best Man's Brother's Best and Only Girl wrote this post tonight which prompted me to write.

I have much to say regarding her post, however I thought I best save that for another day.

However, I will say I do believe Erikson would say this is a case of Identity versus Role Confusion. Obviously, The Best Man's Brother's Best and Only Girl has her identity creatively constructed via any art medium she chooses, however is frustrated with those losers who are struggling over lower life stages such as industry versus inferiority.

Okay, so I was a psych major in undergrad, what's it to you. Oh yeah, and I forgot I wasn't going to talk about that.

What I am going to talk about (and yes, I do realize that I should never begin any sort of writing with any kind of potential with any stating "what I'm going to talk about is...", but I just did, so oh well) is wedding planning.

We now have an officiant and catering quotes. And (heaven forbid, but this is really the best thing of all) most importantly A CAKE! So, I've been preaching to all my SC friends down yonder how great my favourite local grocery store cake is for the past 1.5 years. They have their own variety of grocery store cake which they rant about. What is the best part of a cake, I ask you? THE ICING. I mean obviously, the icing makes the cake. The icing down here is horrendous. Terrible, I tell you. These people make this their wedding cake? Really? With nasty icing like that?

Oh, I digress. So, anyway, I had pretty much signed the deal in my head and heart that I was going to get my cake from the local grocer. On a whim, The Best Man and I went to local pastry shop and did a cake tasting before we went to the grocer for our official must be made in pen and ink appointment. Turns out not only was the local pastry shop cheaper, but the almond flavor (the only flavor of any importance in my opinion) was much more palatable.

So, needless to say, we have officially booked THE CAKE. And an officiant. And hopefully we can soon say we've booked some food and some hotel rooms for ourselves and guests, however I do hope these last two will lessen their bills before we commit.

Well, that is all. Well, that and bekind to your fellow artist, for you never know whom will be painting a life like picture of you.

P.s. Now I want to paint. Or at least make pretty jewelry. . . mmm wedding jewels...

Charlotte, NC

They say Greenville, SC is "close to everything and next to nothing." The Best Man and I have been seeing a lot of the "nothing," so we ventured up to a close by "everything" which happened to be Charlotte, NC.

We saw a Ben Folds concert on Friday night, which was a perfect way to start off our laid back weekend. Hysterical! Chatroulette is the way concerts are heading. At least I hope so.

The two of us spent the rest of the weekend wandering around, eating, drinking, seeing. Normally, I feel the need to plan every minute of time in a new city. Besides the concert, the only other plan we had was getting margaritas at Cabo Fish Taco. The rest of the time we poked into art galleries, boutiques and bars.

It was so nice to have a slow pace without plans. I may have to change the way I vacation! Perfect trip. Now, unfortunately, back to reality!

A Serious Discussion

As I was driving home from work today I realized I needed to have a serious discussion with The Best Man. I was bringing home two boxes of Girl Scout cookies- the best ever- Thin Mints and Tagalongs!-and knowing our love of sweets knew this could pose a problem.

Ice cream is his go to sweet, however he will quickly gooble up candies, chocolates (that he's bought for me), and cookies. I love cakes and cookies and icecream all equally. I show no sweet preference over another, you know unless one has a lot more chocolate than the other, then I'm distracted enough to show favouritism.

So, I did what any smart girl would do when backed into a corner. I hid the box of Tagalongs.

I walked up to the apartment thinking if there was any way to compromise. I mean, come on, these are GIRL SCOUT COOKIES. This is serious stuff here. So, out of the goodness of my heart I decide we can each have one sleeve from each box (Tagalongs will stay hidden until Thin Mints are demonlished).

I am going to marry this guy, so I had to take drastic measures and share.

Then I came inside with a serious face asking to sit down and talk.

I'm sure The Best Man thought another one of my patients had passed away (we've sadly not been saving many lives here these days it seems). Then I asked what his favourite Girl Scout cookies where.

"Somoas." He has bought two boxes that have yet to arrive.

Coconut!? So, no bargaining here. He'd get his two boxes and I'd have to share mine or have mine demolished while I was at work saving lives and all that jazz.

I then revealed my box of thin mints and was very thankful to find that he doesn't care for them much.

SCORE!

They are safe!

"What about tagalongs?"

"Eh."

DOUBLE SCORE!

Looks like all the anxiety was for nothing. I just hope he realizes what a sacrafice I was willing to make. I mean, really, SHARING Girl Scout cookies. That's big time.

Ps. Tagalongs are now called Peanut Butter Patties, but that's a whole 'nother story.

This Weekend

I know the rest of you don't want to hear that four letter "s" word again anytime soon. No, not that one, the one that ends in a "w."

We had our first s**w fall down here last night and the town was in a frenzy trying to prepare for the 3 to 4 inches we got. I was so excited because we've only had one weekend of ice. No real s**w until yesterday! Wahoo! Well, the sun is brightly shining today, so most of it is already gone. Sadly, I did not get to play in it. But nevertheless, it was still exciting.

Today is The Southern Belle's birthday. She is one of my closest friends at work. She keeps me sane and she lets me rant and rave to my hearts content. The Southern Belle is a SC native. She is classy and smart. And today is her birthday! We are going to celebrate by dinner at a nice restaurant prior to going to her favourite Irish pub. We will see where the night takes us from there.

Tomorrow the two of us are going to see "Valentine's Day." Cheesy? Yes. Necessary? Another yes.

Here's to a fun girls weekend! It's always nice to have good girl friends around when you need them!

Bittersweet silence

The past two days I've gotten to work in the units. As in intensive care and cardiac care. Read: really sick people. In these two days, I've felt more useful treating those 3 patients than I have in a long, long time.

I've decided I like treating non verbal patients. I make them laugh. Really, it's a stitch. They can't tell me I'm being corny, silly or dumb, so I talk and talk. There really is no stopping me when I get going. Then they laugh and I like to pretend it's because they think I'm funny. In reality, it's just because it takes too much effort to mouth "you're ridiculous."

The best is when I'm co-treating with Shorty, a COTA, and we banter back and forth until we make the patient smile. Now, that's some funny stuff. The best is when I make fun of how short she is. That gets 'em every time.

Bring on the lines, leads, and vents! It's on, I'm bringing back purpose to my job and knocking out debility one treatment (and smile) at a time!

In other news, I'm not drinking soda. I normally don't drink a lot of the stuff anyway, but sometimes I get on a roll and then crave the sticky, sweet stuff. I haven't had a Coke or another soda at all this month. All 5 days of it. Pretty good, huh? Now, the hard part is going to be not having a rum and coke the next time I go out. I don't like beer...so I guess I'll be drinking a lot o' wine!