crappy, cranky, christmas cold

Well, dang, worked the morning but had to reschedule afternoon patients because this is me:



I don't feel too bad, but as the morning progressed, my voice really became, shall we say, not operational. Hopefully with rest and perhaps a massive infusion of chicken soup, I can work tomorrow.

stuff in the attic

One of the goals Hubby and I had this year was to sort through the stuff in the attic above the garage. There were boxes we had stuck away when we moved into this house 16 years ago -- and hadn't looked at since. So yesterday I lit a candle and slowly climbed the stairs...



Actually, Ned Nickerson just turned on the light. And so far we've found some old treasures -- like my high school and college yearbooks. Yay! I had been worried they were lost!

This picture was found loose in some old papers. It was taken during my freshman (or perhaps sophomore?) year of college by my erstwhile boyfriend. (I think that's an inorganic chem lab book, so that would make it freshman year.) Anyway, I'm in his dorm room and am wearing his sweater and cap. The point of that was... ? Dunno. But here I am:



I look... um... well, the adjective escapes me.

aug 20 -- it's my birthday!

Woohoo! And you're invited to my bloggie b-day party. As you can see, I had Presbyterian Gal bake me a cake. (I was hoping she'd write me a birthday poem, but I didn't win her dang contest. Sigh.)



Anyway, have a piece of cake!

10 random things

I was tagged by Mags for 10 random things. So here goes!

1. My favorite way to exercise is to ride my bike, because it allows me to sit on my keester while doing so.

2. In high school, I was able to walk on my hands. I haven't attempted this in a l-o-n-g time.

3. My first car was a buttercup yellow '67 Camaro, which I sold when we moved from Colorado to Washington.

4. I love using the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope to check for retinal holes and tears, but since it is worn on the head it makes me have bad hair days.

5. I am currently reading Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes. It's pretty darn good.

6. I believe creamed peas should be illegal. I cannot emphasize this enough.

7. I am sorry that Stephen Colbert dropped out of the presidential race. He had a good shot at my vote.

8. I skiied Big Sky Resort Montana the first month it was open (Dec '73) with some high school friends. We wore jeans instead of ski pants and got very, very cold. I drove the yellow Camaro to get there.

9. I have never taken Amtrak but think it would be fun to go on a train trip.

10. Unfortunately my last experience with church can be summed up this way. But I'm open to possibility.

I'm not sure who has been tagged... But how 'bout Presbyterian Gal, mompriest, Jiff, and HotCup ??

better late than never.... "four things"

I was tagged by by PS some time ago for "Four Things". At long last, here are my answers!

Four jobs I've held:
After graduating from college then optometry school, I've only had one job -- optometrist! So I'll list my college summer jobs to round out the list of four:
* Directory Assistance Operator -- wow, that job really dates me since it has been obsolete for years! After saying "Directory. What city?", we'd look up the phone numbers in big honkin' phone books.
* State of Montana Water Quality Lab technician -- I don't miss how the sulfuric acid ate holes through my jeans. It taught me to major in biology instead of chemistry.
* State of Montana "Hydrologic Engineer" -- This was a DREAM summer job. A co-worker and I got to travel around the Bozeman, MT area (in a state vehicle) measuring and calculating the water flow in streams and irrigation ditches. This meant wading in cool streams on warm summer days with our equipment and enjoying some incredibly beautiful 'off the beaten path' Montana scenery.

Four films I could watch over and over:
* The Trip to Bountiful
* A River Runs Through It
* The Philadelphia Story (1940)
* Field of Dreams

Four places I've lived:
* Germany (for the first 6 weeks of my life -- ah, vivid memories; good times!)
* a small town in North Dakota
* Helena, Montana
* Loveland, Colorado


Four favorite foods:
* Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
* Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
* Knepfla (German dish)
* Grilled Trout

Four websites I visit every day:
* USA Today (it's my homepage)
* Google (to look things up)
* Revgal blogs (this should count for more than one)

Four favorite colors:
* royal blue
* golden yellow
* sky blue
* buttercup yellow
(yeah, I sorta like blue and yellow)

Four places I would love to be right now: (Can I take family?)
* Austria/Germany
* The Big Apple: New York City (specifically Broadway Theatre District)
* The Mini Apple: Minneapolis (with side trip to the Dakotas)
* Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park


Four names I love but would/could not use for my children:
Dang, I can only think of two:
* Chauncy
* Snagglepuss

So there you go! I won't tag anybody else since I think this has made the rounds... But consider yourself tagged if you would like to do it!

update

Wow, things have been hectic lately!

* Last weekend I left a huge carbon footprint traveling hither and yon. I won't bore Bloggerville with all the details, but part of the travels involved attending a wedding in which Offspring #1 was a bridesmaid. Offspring #1 caught the bouquet... Does that mean something? I think it means the bride has good aim (even though her eyes were closed). :)

* I spent ALL Monday evening playing 'computer fix-it person' with our desktop computer which had become intolerably glitchy. Woo hoo -- it seems to be behaving again so we don't have to call Will the computer guy to come over to the tune of $100 an hour.

* Work has been craaaazy busy this week. And today somebody was really cranky about our magazine selection in the waiting room. Hmm...

* Tomorrow Hubby and I head to Portland for continuing education. Lots of classes through the weekend. My rear end is sore just thinking about it.

* I was tagged for a meme by PS and STILL haven't done that... Will anybody care by the time I get to it? (Don't answer that.)

* I'm sure it's just because I'm tired at the moment, but I find this picture (and website in general) riotously funny:

hippo birdie time

Yep, it's my birthday today! Last year I turned forty-ten, so this year I'm forty-ten-plus-one. Geez, it's getting increasingly complicated mathematically to stay in my 40's! :)

That's a picture of me taken 'a few' years ago. I always did enjoy a good book.