I Got You Something Really Nice For Christmas.....

...Buuuut....I don't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet.



Hah.

Like When a Python Swallows Too Much....

...and has to spit it back out.



The straight-legged pair was just a little too snug for him. Perhaps the flare-legged pair would have been a better choice of hiding places.

I Am Surrounded By Poo.

I have been so busy lately that I haven't typed up a real blog post in foooooorever. Today is my day off; my apartment is clean, my laundry is in the washer, my errands are run, my lunch date with Deirdre is over....FINALLY some time to blog!

Here's a recap of my life for the last month or so...poo, work, poo, poo, lunch with Deirdre, Halloween, poo, old men wanting to know when I am getting married, poo, date, poo, sleep, work, poo, New Moon, cold, poo, sleep, coffee with Deirdre, spending Thanksgiving at work, poo, getting Joyce royally drunk for her 21st bday, sleep, poo, date, poo, work, work, work, poo, poo, "sampling" music from Limewire, poo, date, getting into PA school, poo, giving my entire paycheck to my apartment complex for rent, poo and sleep. Oh yeah, and poo.

This is not a description of how my digestive system is working. It is, in fact, my entire job. I am constantly surrounded by poo.....I don't know what they are feeding those old people, but daaaaaang, I wish they would stop.

In more detail, and not about the poo:

Thanksgiving was okay...I got to see the fam for about an hour. I had to be to work by three, so my coworkers and I all brought a dish to pass and had our own little feast. It was nice, but not quite the same. I love the way holidays bring the whole family together and I feel a little jipped this year. Besides, I had to deal with poo before and after my meal....not so appetizing.

I am officially in PA school. I paid my 1250 dollars to hold my seat, but I am still having a hard time believing I am actually in the program....I keep expecting them to call and say it was a mistake.

The day after Thanksgiving, Joyce and Diana came over to my apartment to celebrate Joyce's 21st bday. Many drinks were consumed, gaucamole was made/consumed, dancing occurred...all before the bar. We walked to the bar, slightly buzzed and walked home more than slightly drunk. In between those points, much alcohol was consumed (FOR FREE) and much silliness occurred. We made lots of new friends, including the bar tenders and a nice gentleman who paid for about 50 dollars in free drinks.....I think it was the birthday girl sash Joyce was sporting....everybody loves a sash....and tipsy, giggling girls. We made it back to the apartment alive without much stumbling or weaving and proceded to snack ourselves into sleep. Bare hands may or may not have been dipped into the guacamole and im pretty sure the frozen pizza was not cooked all the way. I woke up feeling like a truck ran me over in my bed, but the birthday girl was perky and headache free. Good times.

Loves

Free Birthday Drink!

Little lovin' for the Birthday Sash

Shots!

Giggles

I have been dating quite a bit the last few weeks....I was trying the whole "date lots of people just for fun" thing. I'm bad at it. I don't like multiple dates...I can't remember who said what and I prefer to give more attention and time to someone who will return the favor. I guess I am a relationship person. Anywhooo, I have been seeing the same guy since Halloween; his name is Chris. We met at a party, and hung out all evening. He asked me out on a date the next day, and we have been spending a lot of time together since...well, a lot is relative...I don't have much time off from work. I like him though, a lot....I like where things are going and a new love interest is always exciting.

Wooooooooooooooooooork. That about covers the rest of my time. I work a crazy schedule...not a lot of time off and weird hours. I like my job, but it makes seeing family and friends a little difficult. I am missing the important people in my life, but hey, at least my rent is getting paid.

Mmmmmk. We're all caught up....except for one final poo-related note. I was foolish enough to think I would be safe from poo on my day off...WRONG. Indy jumped up in my lap, and I thought, "Awww, he missed me!" Yup, missed me so much, he smeared poo on my jeans and jumped down. How sweet, a giant kitty version of "screw you. Leave me here for days while you are off at work and stuff....take this!"

I am constantly surrounded by poo...I'm afraid people are going to be able to smell me coming.

Drum Roll Please.....

Found in my email inbox today....

Dear Michelle:
Congratulations! We are pleased to recommend you to the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies for admission into the Physician Assistant Program, Class of 2012, at Central Michigan University. The program promises to be challenging, rigorous and rewarding.


We look forward to working with you as a future graduate student and colleague. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.


Sincerely yours,


Ahmad Hakemi, MD
Program Director


Clint Fitzpatrick
Admissions & Enrollment Management

Time is Running Out....

As I lean down to help a patient stand up from his recliner....

Elderly Man: Oooooo....you're looking pretty good!
Me: Well, thank you.
EM: You married?
Me: No.
EM: Why not?
Me: Haven't found one good enough yet, and besides I'm too busy; I have school yet to finish.
EM: Oh. How old are you?
Me: 22.
EM: 22?!? Oh my. You need to stop being so picky about your men and settle down. You're getting awfully old....don't have much time left to find a man.

You'll Be Warm Either Way....

Posted on the sign outside a gas station:

"We now have liquor.


Not Soup."


Yay liquor license! Now, quit asking for soup!.....

Serena Williams, Carmen SanDiego and Medusa All Walk Into a Bar...

Cream of the Crop

Dear Match.com,

I would like to thank you for sending me some quality individuals over the last few days with your "people you match" tool. I am pretty sure I asked to be matched with people under the age of 27, but that 62 year old you sent me sure was a dish. Today's match has to be the cream of the crop and I am so flattered that you thought of me. Highlights of this individual's profile include a really compelling argument of why I should date him, "because i have a alot trouble finding somebody to go out with me. i never date no body yet," and things that we both could enjoy, "i do go out shopping at big super walmart." I am so excited to see where this budding relationship is going to go, but if it doesn't work out, keep sending me these supreme matches, okay? Thanks so much for your help!

With all my love and gratitude,
Chelle

Adventures in Elder Care

Elderly Male Patient: You look just like my brother.
Me: Your brother??
EMP: Yeah. Don't worry, he was very pretty.

Gee...thanks.

Buddies From the Beginning

Before and After

We have several large trees in our front yard...maples and oaks. We had one large oak that was hanging over the corner of the house and cement pad in front of the garage; it was constantly dropping limbs and painful little acorns, and slowly wrecking the roof of the house. Mom and Dad finally decided to have the sucker removed, so last week, on Tuesday, I headed home to help them clean up after it was cut down. It was quite a show!

The Before Pics:

Getting Started:

Almost Finished:

All Done and Cleaned Up:

These guys were quick! They took down the whole tree and chipped the branches in about an hour. We spent the next hour or two raking up the residual leaves and carting away the mess। Dad is excited about all the wood he will get out of the trunk (shown in the background of the above photo). Mom had 3 yards of black dirt brought in this weekend to fill in the hole; the yard wasn't too marred up and by next summer, you won't even be able to tell there was a giant tree standing there!

Think You're Having a Bad Day?

I bet his is worse....

I have had a horrible headache all afternoon, so I decided to take a bubble bath to see if I could relax a little bit. I was reading my book and watching Indy bat at the mounds of bubbles; he was so cute...scooping up bubbles on his paw and then shaking them off. He shook a little too hard on the last scoop, and managed to throw his balance off and throw himself into the tub. He's clean, but he's not happy about it.

No Sven...Cheesy Potato Soup, A Purse and Some Whiskers Instead.

I went to the spa for my massage this afternoon....GLORIOUS! I love it. There was no hunky Swedish man named Sven, but there was a lovely woman named Shapel who did wonders for my sore muscles. She is a massage therapist and very good at her job...I left feeling like my limbs were ten feet longer than usual and was ready for a nap.

Before I went to the spa, Dad came over for lunch. I made chicken salad sandwiches and cheesy potato soup....Holy flippin yummy.

Cheesy Tater Soup
1 bag frozen, southern style diced potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
Onion
Velveta Cheese

Place potatoes in crockpot and pour in broth. Add milk until potaoes are covered. Add soup and sour cream, mixing well. Add diced onion to own liking (i like lots, 1/4 to 1/2 cup). Turn crockpot to high and let simmer until hot....add small pieces of Velveta, again to own liking, and stir until melted. Top with crumbled bacon and green onions and serve hot.

After lunch, I got a call from my apartment manager....Indy won "cutest pet" in our complex's pet photo contest! Woo! $25 off my next month's rent....Here's the winning shot:

This evening, Mom and I headed into town for a little bonding...ie shopping. We headed to Kohl's where we found a perfect rug for my front door...needed something bigger now that wet shoe weather has arrived.

 I also FINALLY found a new purse....I love it!

It's a great raspberry color with LOTS of space. Indy gave it his stamp of approval.

Finally, I noticed tonight how prominent Indy's Sensei whiskers have become...

"If you can take the tuna-flavored cat treat from my paw...."

"To Do" List of Today

1. Clean apartment
2. Make cheesy potato soup (recipe to come later)
3. Lunch with Dad
4, 5, 6. (big job...been a while) Shave my legs so as to not scare away my masseuse
7. Swedish Massage (hope it is a hunky man named Sven and not a hunky woman named Ulga)
8. Home
9. Mother/Daughter Date downtown

Busy day.....lots to look forward to!

Someone Has Been Drinking the Liquid Paper Again.....

As stated in a Match.com profile of what this male is looking for in a mate....

"also like to have a good time rather than a work alcoholic."

I don't like a heavy drinker either....could this be a match made in heaven?

You Really Should Get a Pair of Wooly Boot Socks. Trust Me.

It's been raining. All. Day. Long. I'm not upset by this...not at all. I really enjoy the gray rainy days here cuddled up with Indy. I wore my pajamas all afternoon, sipped hot tea, watched Disney movies and roamed my apartment in my wooly boot socks.

I also baked pumpkin seeds this afternoon.

Rolled them in a little olive oil, covered them in seasoning salt and baked them at 400 degrees until crunchy and golden brown. Yummy, yummy.

Yesterday, I went home in the afternoon to help Mom by doing some yard work. I started by weeding and planting her daffodil bed. I finished, and nearly killed my sorry self, by weeding and raking her shrub border as a surprise for when she arrived home. It didn't look that big at the beginning, but caught in a picker bush 4 feet from where I started, made it seem miles long. However, I kept at it and finished before she arrived. She was so happy she thanked me by giving me a gift card for a local spa here in town.
I have been going back and forth about whether I wanted a full mani/pedi, or a Swedish massage. After more waffling and the advice that I can't rub my own back, I chose the massage. Woo! I made an appointment for Thursday afternoon; it will be my first massage. I'm nervous, but I'm so sore from the lawn work and the hard workout I did yesterday evening that I am really looking forward to it too.

Because I can do my own mani/pedi, that's how I spent the last couple hours. I removed the peeling, eight layer thick red polish from my toes and soaked them in a hot foot bath with Avon foot soak.

It felt sooooo good. I also soaked my hands in warm water and then did cuticle treatments and filing on both my fingers and toes. I finally did coats of polish: shell pink for my toes and clear for my fingers. They look and feel so much better!

I would just like to say, I probably wouldn't have had the problem of keeping my cat out of my foot bath at the spa, but I am still glad I chose the massage.

Covert Kitty

Sweets and Treats

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins...I love pumpkins! Mom and I went to a fall festival on Saturday....the rain held, the place was packed, and there were pumpkins everywhere! We checked out all the vendors, bought some goodies and just enjoyed the fall party atmosphere. Before we left, I bought a couple smaller sized pumpkins to experiment with later.


After we left the festival, we headed back to my apartment for lunch. I had made chicken salad the night before and put it in the fridge so the flavors would blend. I cut thick slices of Italian bread and toasted them under the broiler of the oven. When they were golden brown, I removed them and filled them with the salad and a crunchy piece of romaine lettuce. Holy yummy....and with Mom's homemade applesauce on the side...DIVINE. I meant to take a picture, but we were hungry, the sandwiches smelled delish and I just plain forgot. I can't help you with Mama's applesauce, but here is the chicken salad recipe...

Chicken Salad:
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3/4 cup light Miracle Whip
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tbs very finely diced sweet onion
3/4 cup red seedless grapes, cut in halves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour, preferably over-night.

After lunch, we headed out to see a movie...Love Happens. It was cute...I hard a hard time seperating the male lead from his previous role as Two-Face from the new Batman movie, but all in all, I really liked it. Mom drove me back to my apartment and she headed home. It was a lovely mother-daughter bonding day!
Later that night, I went into super-baker mode....I cut the two pumpkins I bought earlier into quarters after I removed all the goop from inside. I placed them on cookie sheets and roasted them in the oven. After they cooked completely through, I removed the pieces from the sheets, cut the meat from the skin, and pureed the meat in the blender....viola! Fresh pumpkin puree! I used the fresh pumpkin to make pumpkin walnut raisin bread...lots of it. I made two loaves and a large bundt cake of the bread; I took a loaf to Mom and Dad, one to Grandma and Grandpa, and left the bundt cake at home. It's so good and I love knowing I made it all from scratch.

Pumpkin Walnut Raisin Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

Mix flour, salt, sugar, soda. In separate bowl, combine all other ingredients, except walnuts and raisins. Slowly pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring continually. Mix well. Add raisins and walnuts. Pour into greased pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Knife will come out clean from the center of the bread when done.
While waiting for the bread to bake, I also made sugar and spice pecans...they are very similar to the spiced almonds that you can get at ballgames. They are super easy to make and soooo addictive!

Sugar and Spice Pecans
1 large bag whole pecans
1 egg white
1 tbs water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbs cinnamon
1/2 tbs nutmeg
1/2 tbs cloves

Mix egg white and water. Pour over pecans and mix until all are moistened. Mix sugar and spices. Pour over pecans and mix well. Pour onto a cookie sheet and bake for thirty minutes at 300 degrees. Turn pecans every 10 minutes to crisp all sides.

I'm loving all these fall recipes and experimenting in my kitchen...unfortunately, I'm up to my eyeballs in sweets and treats. I can't eat all this stuff...my waistline is begging me not to. I could just stop making so much food, but where's the fun in that? Sweets and treats for everyone...get it outta my house!

Happy Fall!

Today was another crafty crap day...it didn't start that way, but it sure ended that way.

This morning I got up and went to have my second follow-up TB check...still no TB. I then picked up Greg and we headed to lunch at a local bar. The bar is famous for their burgers, but I had a pesto chicken sandwich...holy yummy. After lunch, I dropped Greg off at his office to catch up on a couple things, and then I drove to the coffee shop a few minutes away. I settled in with my hot tea and a crossword; Greg met me a little later and we worked on the puzzle together for a while. At two o'clock, he had to head out for his kickball game, and I had to go restock on my crafty stuff. I really just wanted to wander in JoAnn Fabrics for an hour, but I did also needed some paint.

I did my wandering, restocked, and headed home to get to work. I planned on making more cards, but I got started putting lace patterns on cardstock and things sort of just snowballed from there. I did make a couple more cards, but I also had an idea to paint and pattern a picture frame. I started with a small, basic silver frame that I have had for a while.

I panted the entire frame with a deep, metalic, bronze-colored paint.

After the first coat dried, I gave the frame a second, textured coat by tapping the paint onto the frame with the tips of the bristles.

While that coat dried, I placed a piece of lace onto a paper plate and covered it in a lighter, champagne-colored metalic paint.

I then draped the paint-laden lace over the frame and pressed down evenly across the entire surface.

When the frame completely dried, I cleaned the glass and added one of my favorite pictures from my trip to New York City. Viola! The frame looks like a mix of lace and snakeskin....muuuuuch better than the plain original.

After I finished this frame, I had the idea to do a set of frames for my living room. I had one blank wall.....very large....veeeeeeeeeery blank. Last year, I used a set of 4 plain, thin, silver frames in my old apartment; I had been keeping them in storage, unsure of what I wanted to do with them.

To begin, I did the same paint process as earlier...first a dark coat, then a texture coat, and finally a lighter lace coat.
While the frames dried, I used a cut a piece of lace and covered it in dark metalic brown paint.

I layed this lace over dark khaki-colored cardstock and pressed the lace evenly across the paper with napkins. I removed the lace and cut the cardstock to fit in the frames.

I then picked four of the leaves that I had dried previously; the leaves were similar in size, shape and color. I applied tacky glue evenly to the back of each leaf and pressed one on to each cardstock background.
I then placed the backgrounds and glass back into the frames and hung them on the wall. Viola...again!

After I cleaned up the mess from the painting projects, I found that I still had a LOT of dried leaves left. The colors were so beautiful, it seemed a shame not to display them in some way. I remembered that I also had decorative fish bowl in storage, so I dug it out and cleaned it. I placed some amber-colored glass beads in the bottom, and poured in the leaves.

I let them fall, haphazardly, so they were visible from all sides of the bowl. I love, love, love fall, so I really enjoy having a little of the beauty of the season inside.

Mom is coming to hang out with me tomorrow...we are going to a pumpkin patch festival and I am making lunch...can't wait!

Happy Fall Everybody!