something old, something new..

Something Old: Bowling! Brings back memories of cheese balls and smoky halls! I went with my volunteer group from the Dream Center. I learned a few tips from some of the "ahem" pro bowlers there (apparently the trick is to throw slowly and slightly crooked.. 20 some years of throwing hard and straight all for naught!) Something New: learning to swing dance! I always thought I had no rhythm and 2 left feet, but I actually had a ton of fun and have gone several times since then.

Something Normal: coffee with a couple of friends. Always nice to get together for a warm drink!

Something Blue: Go Aggies! I have a friend whose dad is the president of Utah State, and she invited me to enjoy the president's box for the game last weekend! She had heard that I have never been to a football game of any type before (not even pee-wee), and decided that had to change!

Touchdown!

I must say, I especially enjoyed the presidents box considering the weather we had that day (note very cold-looking loyal fans). It was quite enjoyable to be well-warmed with all the food and drink you want and a cushy seat instead of hard benches!

tis the season II

Halloween is always a huge event at Primary Children's hospital. Surprisingly, it's the most celebrated holiday of the year. I think the staff gets into it even more than the kids! Since part of my job consists of "normalizing" the hospital environment, we paly a big role in Halloween festivities. We usually help moniter a hospital party, help the kids create costumes, and then take the kids trick-or-treating around the hospital. This sounds fairly simple until you remember that some kids are bed-bound, which means we need to push them (and attaching IV poles) everywhere we go. It's no wonder halloween is so exhausting!
I personally am not a super-huge halloween celebrater, but I do dress up at the hospital, which is standard for the day. This year, I came up with the idea of Mr. Potato Head, with interchangeable parts stored in a flap in the back of my shirt. First interactive halloween costume I've ever had!

Funny comment recently heard at the hospital by a coworker~ She was working with a kid who recently had surgery, and had lost a tooth in the operating room. The child excitedly commented that the tooth fairy had still been able to pay a visit. Suddenly, he got a puzzled look on his face, and wondered aloud how the tooth fairy had figured out how to get into the operating area. A moment later, his face cleared, and he stated "ohh, she must have remembered to bring her GPS!"

Another notable event this week - I harvested my popcorn! I usually try at least one new crop each year, and popcorn was one of the ones I tried this year. Yes, popcorn is different from regular corn. There are several varieties that each taste slightly different. I opted for "carousal", a multi-color variety. I thought it sounded like fun! I don't know anybody else that has ever grown the crop, so I thought I'd be the first.

The cobs I harvested were very small, but perfect otherwise! I tried popping them in the microwave and it worked! It cracked me up, because some of the kernals popped right off the cob, and others stayed on. Therefore, I could eat some of the popcorn right off the cob, just like summer sweet corn! Below is a picture of my first experiment -I tried the smallest ear I could find first just in case I did it wrong.

tis the season III

Last week was a fairly full week for me. I spent the week "zoo-sitting" for a family in my church - 1 dog, 2 cats, a lizard, crickets to feed the lizard, fish, and a crab. I knew I was in for an interesting week when the family handed me a jar of ear plugs on my first day! Don't be hood-winked by the dog's innocent look in the picture above. She managed to run away twice and had a several house-training issues throughout the week. It's a good reminder for me that the reason I don't have a pet is largely because they are a lot of work!

Some friends and I decided to have a fall celebration to enjoy all the good parts of the season. We planned to make homemade soup in pumpkin shells, watch "Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin", put together various traditional fall goodies, and carve pumpkins. Here is a picture of my pumpkins before the event..

And here is a picture of my pumpkins after!

Yes, as you can see, we didn't get much done. In fact, we ended up ordering pizza instead of making soup, never got around to watching Charlie Brown, and didn't even get the pumpkins in the house. Once we sat down on the couch and started chatting, we never got anywhere else! To make up for the event, we tried it again a few days later. This time, we did get our pumpkins carved..

Aren't they cute? :)

To top it off, we had a midnight jump in the leaves! Yee-haw!

tis the season

There are a few things I really like about living in Utah. For one thing, I am STILL harvesting a few tomatoes -yes, in the last week of October! They still taste good, too!

I also enjoy the many rainbows I see around here. Storms here are generally a lot shorter than those in the midwest, so we get more rain/sun mixes, usually right above the mountains. This isn't a very strong one, but nice to see all the same!

Another notable occurance this week - the first real snow of the season! I actually really enjoy it - it makes me feel like Christmas is coming! I generally don't listen to Christmas music until the after Thanksgiving, but a make an exception on the first snow of the year! It also feels so nice to go home, cuddle in a blanket, and light some scented candles. I am glad I live somewhere that has four seasons.

Since I work in a Oncology clinic, I thought I'd look into becoming a bone marrow donor. Found out that it's really easy! All you have to do is go to http://www.dkmsamericas.org/ and sign up. They will send you a packet of Q-tips for you to swab your cheek. If you are found to be a match, you will be asked if you are still willing to have a bone marrow aspirate (you would most likely be asleep during the procedure and it would be no cost to you - a very simple procedure considering it could save a life and hardly any risk to you). So there's my plug - sign up! You could save someone's life!

I saw this video on someone else's blog, and thought it was a good reminder. I think I need to watch it every once in a while to remind myself of how silly my little complaints are. I confess that sometimes I am "that person". Who says there's nothing good on late night TV? (O wait, I think I've said that..) As an added benefit, you can be enterained by Conan's hair. I finally figured out what it reminds me of - it jiggles just like jello when he talks! :)

Check it out!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN0MpBQG3-E