marching out

March is just about over, so it’s time again to reflect on what this month hath brungest unto me.

* I finished The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory. A mostly biographical account of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. This was kind of a roller coaster sort of book ~ parts of it were really interesting, and then it would nosedive into an unbelievable yawn-fest. But I was determined to finish it and am glad that I did.

* After The Constant Princess, I segued right into The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. I’m about ¾ of the way thru it (Jane Seymour just died) and I’m hoping to finish it by the time school starts back up on Monday.

* I caulked bathtub. (It’s actually this adhesive molding type stuff.)

* Vic & I visited the holocaust museum, something we’ve wanted to do since we moved here almost 4 years ago.

* We purchased a new swing for the patio. I’m still on the lookout for a reclining type of patio chair, too. I found a great set at Kmart, but I really don’t want to pay $300+ for it. I’m sure once I stop looking, I’ll find the perfect chair.

* Vic weeded the small garden that runs along our driveway. Little signs of Spring are already springing forth! When we first moved in, we planted literally 100s of tulip bulbs ~ the squirrels must’ve been watching, because exactly 3 blossomed. We’ve since planted daffodils and some other stuff and are looking forward to a colorful April. (We made sure the squirrels were out of town when we planted this time!)

* This month brought the sad passing of Nate, our eldest kitty. We think the loss of both Shannon and Nate has taken a small toll on some of the remaining kids. Caleb, for one, has been overly clingy for the last month or so. Any time I sit down, he dives into my lap and makes a little cubbyhole for himself between my legs. It’s actually kind of cute, but it makes us wonder what he’s been up to. He's really a great boy, but he has a tendency to get himself into trouble quite a bit.

* I started exercising again on the treadmill. Nothing too strenuous, but something is better than nothing. I’m hoping I can keep up with it once school/hospital rounds start back up next week.

I’m already looking forward to April ~ warm days, flowers budding, baseball season, and one month closer to graduating!

on my mind

Thought #1
Our computer was running a little sluggish, so I took her in for a checkup last Wednesday. I just got her back today!! Talk about separation anxiety! Vic & I were really lost without our lifeline to the internet. I attempted (at least twice!) to post something to my blog and found myself sneaking longing looks at my naked-ish desk. Needless to say, the bluebirds are again twittering happy tunes around my head and all is right in Caseyland.

Thought #2
I have two new obsessions. Not the “camp out in your bushes stalker” type of obsessions; mine are more the “I think this is really cool and I can’t get enough of it” obsessions. They are my recent book, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and Rachel Maddow.

The book is great great great! I give it 5 thumbs up! This is such an interesting and engrossing book that I find it really difficult to put down. (This is my excuse for not painting yet.)

And Rachel Maddow is just cool. She’s got a mostly political show on MSNBC that I accidentally stumbled upon a couple of weeks ago that I just can’t put down. She delivers political stories in a smart, funny way that makes them easier for me to understand. And she’s got a great smile. She’s definitely not the snappiest dresser, but her smile and the weird way she contorts her face when making fun of Bush or Cheney more than makes up for her wardrobe deformities. I find myself gravitating toward her every night at 9:00 pm to find out just how little I know about our government. I call her Rache. I have no idea what she calls me.

how a plan comes together...at my house

So it’s been almost 4 years since we’ve moved into this house and we’ve painted every room but 3: the laundry room which is really dinky and shouldn’t count, the craft room which nobody but me ever goes in, and our bedroom. The bedroom takes up the whole upstairs and is paneled half way up. What this means is that we will have to apply liberal amounts of Kilz before we can even start painting the walls. But this really needs to be done, so we got semi-serious about it this week.

Friday~Vic & I decide that this week would be the perfect time to paint the bedroom because I’ll be off for the next 2 weeks. That’s it ~ nothing else is discussed about the project from hell.

Saturday~We finally decide on a color for the room. Makes no difference that we’ve had swatches of colors taped to the bedroom walls for about the last 6 months. So we set off to Home Depot to buy us some Sugared Peach. Of course we get sidetracked along the way and end up purchasing a new swing for the patio and do a little grocery shopping on the way to Vic’s mom’s house for dinner and a rousing game of dominoes.

Sunday~We totally ignore the bedroom, the swatches, and the rollers, and are both very careful not to utter anything that may even sound like the word “paint” for the entire day. Instead of going to Home Depot, we take a trip to the holocaust museum and to Applebee’s.

Monday~Okay, enough is enough! We take inventory of items we have/need and get serious (sort of). We go to The Depot and buy Kilz and a few rollers, and then I haul everything up to the bedroom, fully intending on at least taping a drop cloth down or something. Instead, I clean out my dresser junk drawer. (Doesn’t everyone have a dresser junk drawer?)

Today~I’m starting to think that paneling and putrid white isn’t such a bad color combination after all.

the weekend

This past weekend, Vic & I finally made it out to America's first free standing holocaust museum, located just 20 minutes from our house. We've been wanting to stop by to spend an afternoon there since we moved here almost 4 years ago, but this was the first time we actually made it out there. As you can imagine, it was very sobering, and educational.

We also bought a new patio swing for our old patio. It was on sale and very comfy, so we couldn't resist. Only thing is, it needs to be assembled. So I'll pick a nice sunny afternoon when Vic is in a direction-taking mood and we'll put it together then. For right now it's safe in its box in our garage.

Other than visiting with Vic's mom for most of Saturday afternoon, our weekend was spent mostly catching up on stuff we DVR'd over the past week. It was nice sleeping in this morning and knowing I don't have to be anywhere for the next two weeks. I do have a few projects planned for around the house, though, to keep me busy. And some homework I have to have completed before our first day back in class ~ it just never ends!

boinging & squishing

Spring 09
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265

Happy Spring! Our daffodils are starting to “boing” out of the chilly ground ‘neath our Flower Gnome’s feet! We’ve had some wonderful weather this week (although today is a bit chilly). People at work insist that we’ve got at least one more snow left in us, though. I refuse to believe it! Speaking of work, I scrubbed in on a laparoscopic cholecystectomy today. (Fancy medical name for gallbladder removal.) Lap choles are fairly common, but for some reason I spent my first 9 weeks at the hospital having done exactly none of them. And then this week I had two! I know, it’s not very exciting for you, but I was mildly geeked about it. The gallbladder is actually very squishy. I try to touch as many organs as I can so I can get a better idea of what they’re actually like. I also touched a labia today ~ not really a big deal though; I’ve touched those before.

I’m now officially on Spring break from school and this means no more work for two glorious weeks. Yea!! I actually have a short list of things I want to get done on my time off, but I’m not going to share them just yet ~ don’t want to jinx myself, ya know. I’ll let you know how it all turns out. Wish me luck!

"that's nice"

I work with a really nice girl (let’s call her Renae) at the hospital. Today Renae came into work all giddy with the news that her boyfriend of 7 months proposed to her last night. Now, Renae isn’t normally a giddy person (even at age 23), so I was very happy for her when I saw her this morning ~ not because she’s getting married, but because she was happy. If she had come in all giddy about a new pair of socks she bought, I would have been just as happy for her.

I just can’t seem to share in the happiness of someone’s wedding plans knowing that I am denied that same right under the antiquated laws of our government. This is the United States of America in the year 2009 for god’s sake! We’re not in the jungles of Iraq back in the 1700s! I just can’t believe that I am still being discriminated against because I made the unfortunate mistake to “choose” to fall in love with someone of the same sex.

Really, what is the moral majority afraid of? That I (age 43) and my partner (age 47) are going to start procreating willy-nilly and have, oh let’s say 14 kids, that we’ll force welfare to pay for? Or perhaps that we’ll have homosexual relations with other people’s kids when we all go on overnight boy scout camping trips or when we’re alone in the altar boy room at church? Or perhaps it’s just the fact that Vickie and I have been in a committed, monogamous relationship for the past 11 years that scares them.

This is just insane!

So when it seemed like the conversation in every room I entered today was about Renae’s wedding, the ring, the honeymoon, how happy her mom is, blah blah blah ~ I just smiled, said “that’s nice,” and then left the room to go watch body parts being removed thru someone’s belly button instead.

sunshine & tears

Nate
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265

Today was a bright and sunshiney day ~ something of an anomaly for SE Michigan at this time of year. Trees are budding and birds are twittering more and more each day. The one cloud hanging over our sunny winter day is the sad passing of Vickie’s beloved Nate. Nate was 23years old. Today he was welcomed into his new home by Shannon, Sashi, Tori, and Katy ~ all who have been waiting patiently for his arrival. We knew the time to say "good bye" was near, but it's still hard. Nate was a good boy, and at 23, he could sometimes be an ornery old man! He’ll be missed by his moms, brothers, and sisters.

a day of winkies

Usually my day is filled with a variety of surgeries from all across the surgical spectrum. Not so today. Today I had 3 cystoscopies. For those of you unfamiliar with what a cysto is, it amounts to shoving a camera up your hoo-ha or winkie (depending on if you are a girl or a boy) and either looking at "stuff" or removing stones or implanting something to cure incontinence or some other thing. It also involves shooting x-rays or fluoroscopies or laser, which means I have to wear a lead vest and thyroid shield and possibly laser-protective eyewear. And at the end, I get to dump out copious amounts of pee-pee. I've seen more shriveldy naked penises in the last 8 weeks than any self-respecting lesbian should ever see in her lifetime. At least now when I see one in the movies I'll have something to compare it to.

two more weeks

For some reason, this past week really seemed to drag at work. I thought Friday would literally never get here ~ we'd just skip right to Monday again! And now it's Sunday morning already! Geez. The entire weekend is going to be rainy and dreary, and spent studying for a test tomorrow and maybe catching up on some DVR stuff we taped. I really can't wait for Summer weather to get here.

Two more weeks and the semester will be over ~ for two weeks. Looking back on the first few weeks, I know I know more than I did back then, but sometimes I feel like I may never get it all by the time graduation rolls around in June. I want to be a great scrub, not a mediocre one. I try to absorb as much as I can, try to retain as much as I can, and just try as hard as I can. I think it'll all be okay, but right now it's very frustrating not knowing it all.

The plan for my two-week vacation is to paint the bedroom and/or the craft room. I hate painting and absolutely suck at it, but it needs to be done. We've lived here almost four years and those are the only two rooms we haven't painted yet, so I think it's about time. Also, my friend from Pensacola is not going to be able to visit, so I'll have the extra time to do the painting thing slowly and maybe even start studying for my June certification exam.

my day

Today at work (if you can call forced labor for no money work) I assisted on a total hip replacement for one patient and a total knee replacement for another patient. The pictures below show the prostheses for both procedures. What the pictures don't show is the buckets of blood splattered all over me and the OR floor. It was cool!

stuff & things

Stuff I did in February:

* I started a new book, The Constant Princess. It's about the life of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. I think it's mostly true with a little bit of fiction thrown in here and there. Unfortunately, I've only been able to read about the first 50 pages so far. Back in the non-school days, it would take me 2 or 3 days to read a book ~ now it takes me 2 or 3 months!
* The Reese's peanut butter Easter eggs came out and I've eaten an Easter basketful of them already! Salmonella be damned!
* I've had more blood splashed on me in the last 4 weeks than I have in my entire life. And none of it has been mine!
* I helped to save lives one instrument at a time.

Things I'm doing now:
* Finishing up my final two school projects.
* Replacing icky bathroom towels with new, fuzzy ones.
* Hanging blinds in the craft room. A craft room I recently tidied up, by the way!
* Wishing I had an IPod. It seems like lately the radio music sucks. It's not an especially big deal right now, though, because work is only 5 minutes from the house. Maybe I'll get one as a graduation present in June (hint hint).
* Babysitting Vic's mom's friend's dog, Christy. She's about the size of one of our cats and just as squeaky.