Appreciation of Absolute Awesomeness

Katie sent me this and I am consumed with its awesomeness and accuracy in how I feel every month.
something probably only a woman would appreciate

Music: "Alejandro" - Lady Gaga

Quote of the Day

"If you're going through hell, keep going..." - Winston Churchill

This seem rather appropriate to how I am feeling right now.  Well at least the Hell part.  Damn you H1N1!  >:(  I just wish there was this magical "Get Better" button you could push.  But then if it existed I doctors and nurses would not be necessary and I would not have a future career.  Hmmmmm.  Patience is a virtue, and one that I often do not have with myself.  And now some Adam Lambert to cheer myself up!

Music: "If I had You" - Adam Lambert

Attack of the flying pigs. >:(

Well hell.  I have the extreme dubious pleasure of having H1N1.  I feel like I have been run over by a mack truck.  Twice.  I am constantly cycling between sweating and being really freakin' cold!  And I am out of work for at least five days.  :/  I went to an urgent care clinic this morning and had the nasal swab test, which hurts btw!  The results were positive, and the NP said that I was the clinic's first confirmed case this season.  Oh joy.  Do I get a prize?  I always get so mad when I am sick.  It feels like my body is betraying me.  In addition, I have no idea by whom/where I was infected!  Grrrrrrrr.  >:(

Since I have basically nothing to do for the next five days, I need to come up with things to occupy myself with in between bouts of napping.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Apparently, according to the newspaper I am the first adult with a confirmed case in the county! WTF!!!!!!! I want a sticker or something.

Music: "Her Diamonds" - Rob Thomas

Quote of the Day

"Happiness is a journey, not a destination.  For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.  At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. this perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness.  Happiness is the way.  So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one. " - Souza

For a long time, I have been asking myself, when is real life going to start?  When will I be able to be independent?  Why am I not where I had envisioned myself almost ten years after high school?  Why does life keep throwing what feels like the Grand Canyon in my path?  Hurdles that see to be insurmountable.  Today I took a step towards owning my future and where I want to be in life.  I just need to keep reminding myself that I need to keep moving forward even if it is just one step.

Music: "Breath" - Breaking Benjamin

A Step Forward and an Explosion of Cuteness

Today I took another step towards a goal in my 30 before 30 list.  My item of graduating nursing school.  I have decided to apply to St Joseph's College of Nursing.  This decision was a long time in coming.  I was not happy with the program at OCC.  It was all self directed and I do not learn well like that.  I need lecture in addition to reading and note taking, and I need to have due dates set for me.  I am not good at following through with self set time tables.  This is a bit of self-knowledge that is good to have.  For the longest time I have not been excited or really into the nursing program, which is a sharp difference from when I began.  This step forward has reawakened my enthusiasm and I feel happy and positive about nursing again. 

The home at Cleveland has a cat named Hannah, who belonged to Anna.  When Anna passed away at the end of August, Hannah seemed adrift and desperate for affection.  Lately she has grown very attached to Mike.  She even lets him hold her in his arms!  Hannah is generally reluctant about this.  Here is a picture of Mike and Hannah at dinner tonight.

Music: "Someday" - Nickelback

Quote of the Day

"There is no use trying," said Alice; "one can't believe impossible things." "I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "when I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - Lewis Carroll




My mother loves the idea of six impossible things before breakfast.  There was a period of time where she would try to come up with six impossible things each day.  I am unfortunately much too practical to make this endeavor.  Mom often tells me that I need more whimsy in my life.  Something to work on, I suppose.


Music: "Love Story" - Taylor Swift





Bah, late again.  This is the quote of Tuesday. :P

Adventures in Wonderland and being a fangirl

Every month at the Cleveland Rd home, we have a house celebration.  I am in charge of party planning, and have decided to spice up our soirees.  We now have themed parties!  September was a Pirate Party.  October had a masquerade in honor of Halloween.  This month the theme is Alice in Wonderland!  We are having a tea party and dressing up like characters from the book/movies.  I am super excited about putting this idea into reality.  Many ideas regarding decorating and costumes are swimming inside my mind.

Next week the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes to theaters!  Needless to say, I have been excited about this for weeks.  I have been a Harry Potter fan since before it was released in the United States.  For those of you who know me well, in addition to being a Harry Potter fan, I am a rabid Alan Rickman fangirl.  The voice, the hands, the entirety of the man himself!  I am bouncing in my chair just think about him.  I just find everything about the man incredibly attractive.  So, I am eagerly awaiting his performance as Professor Snape.  A group of us are going to a midnight showing, and Jenn is also an Alan Rickman fan.  I will have someone with me who appreciates the delectableness!

Music: "The Four Yorkshiremen" - Alan Rickman, Eddie Izzard, Harry Enfield and Vic Reeves

Quote of the Day

"I have no special talent.  I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

Being passionately curious is an inspiring way to live and approach the world.  This is a way of thinking that I want.  To always be asking questions and wondering about the nature of the world around me.  I will admit that often I think this is too much effort, or I just really do not want to know the answer.  They say ignorance is bliss, but I am not sure that I agree.

Music: "Closer to the Edge" - 30 Seconds to Mars

Adventures in Rocky Horror, goodbyes and being anal retentive

I have completed my first item on my 30 before 30 list!  On Halloween at 12 AM, I went to a showing of Rocky Horror.  My friend, Jeff, took me to the performance that was near his hometown of Olyphant, PA, which is close to Scranton.  The show was in an old movie theater and was sold out!  Jeff and I both went in costume.  I was dressed as a goth with a black and purple wig, bite me t-shirt, fishnets and black skirt.  Jeff went as the opening credits, with his face painted black and bright red lipstick.  We brought props that are used and thrown during the movie such as newspaper, rice and toast.  I had so much fun!  I have always loved the movie and wanted to see it in the theater for years.  Being with people who are even more enthusiastic that me was such a blast.  By the end I had rice and confetti everywhere, in addition to being hit in the back of the head by a very hard piece of toast!  Thank you Jeff for being such an awesome friend and sharing this experience with me. :D

This morning, I drove Emmy to the train station for her return to school.  Emily leaving is always bittersweet for me.  I love that she is happy and learning skills for a career that she adores, but I just wish it was closer.  :P  Emily and I have always gone to school together and lived together until recently.  It is still weird and somewhat lonely not to live with her.  I know logically that this would happen eventually, but a small part of me wishes we would live in at least the same town forever.  I do not know if this is a twin thing or just a best friend thing, but it is a lonely feeling that I then feel guilty about.  Bah.

I had the day off today, and planned to spend my free time cleaning and reorganizing my room.  I have lately become very invested in organizing and culling my belongings.  It is so satisfying to had a neat and organized space to live in.  Up until a few weeks ago, I did not even have the energy to think about cleaning.  My room had been in a constant state of chaos for months on end.  This was very frustrating.  I am anal retentive and enjoy order.  For example, the only part of my room that I had been able to organize was my DVD collection.  I have a rather vast number of DVDs that are organized in alphabetical order in sections of movies, box sets and TV shows.  I am enthusiastic about maintaining the neatness that currently exists and continuing to sort through all of my stuff.

Music: In honor of crossing of an item - "Sweet Transvestite" - Tim Curry

Quote of the Day

"Make yourself proud." - Peter W. Smith

This is short and to the point.  The quote is a reminder to myself that I need to strive to achieve goals and do things that are in my agenda.  I need to stop trying to please everyone all the time.  This gets to be exhausting and overwhelming.  It is never possible to make everyone happy or accomplish all they want.  I just set myself up for failure.  I need to be proud of myself and what I accomplish even if no one notices or affirms my actions.   This is a lot harder than it seems.  It shall be a work in progress.

Music: Beautiful - Elvis Costello
Publish Post

Sunday Musings and Culinary Delights

Today I watched CBS Sunday Morning.  I had not done this in years.  When Emily and I were younger we used to watch this every week with our mom.  It was such a nostalgia moment for me.  I had forgotten how well done it is and how much I enjoyed the show.  I am not a fan of morning TV shows in general, but I may have to start getting up earlier on Sundays and making this a part of my routine.

My twin, Emily, is home for the weekend.  She is away studying at the CIA to become a chef.  It is always so wonderful to have her home.  For one, she is my favorite person in the entire world.  And secondly, she always cooks when home! ;)  Today we had a brunch that Emmy planned and prepared.  It was absolutely lovely!  The menu consisted of oatmeal waffles, orange cranberry muffins, apricot mustard glazed sausage with rosemary, breakfast pizza and mimosas.  Needless to say, I ate way too much food!  Gathering together with friends over food is one of my favorite activities.

Music: Bach's Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould