The song currently stuck in my head.....

I blame it on my husband.  We were in the car and I remarked how crazy (or crazier) people seemed to be driving and he launches into...

I don't care if it rains or freezes,
'long as I got my Plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car...

This leads me to believe that you really do have to worry about the people with the Jesus stickers on thier cars because they don't care what happens...they know they've been Saved.

With the wonders of the internet, I go look up the lyrics and got a really good laugh.  There are too many verses to copy here but I recommend reading some of them for a good laugh.  That and I'm sure there's been some poetic license taken, I was laughing.  Whats better than a good laugh to brighten someone's day....

This lead me to find a song I thought was a joke, but no, its real!  Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goalposts of Life.  Bobby Bare, you can find him on Youtube.  Now not nearly as funny as the above, there are people out there in football land that would take this to heart.

And, speaking of football land- I learned an interesting and useless fact today.  The Oklahoma Sooners...what's a Sooner I ask?  A sooner came about because those in Oklahoma jumped the gun and left the starting line early during the land rush and therefore got there "sooner"  and leading to thier deragatory nickname "dirt burglars".  This was also good for a laugh.  Now why does thier fight song only have two words? 


Enough running on for tonight...to be continued...

The Demolition

MMUUUUauauahahahahhaha.....Demolition.  Husband was out of town and my job?  Demolition.....

Off comes the backsplash...up comes the countertop...smash goes the ugly a** cabinet.  YES.  There is something to be said for contributing to the natural law of all things heading towards chaos.  Oh yea, and never you mind that little hole in the drywall.  It'll be behind the new cabinet. 

Then up comes the linoleum. Ugly ugly ugly.  Only 2 layers...thank you!  And thank you for the small multi tool for scraping up the superglued spots.  Anyone want to pull up lino...just call me.  The kitchen Lino is coming up next.

Next comes down the 40ish year old shower surround.  Well built and no match for the saws-all.  just remember, fiberglass and hot showers afterwords don't go well together.

And my last tip...Waste Management makes these dumpster bags that you can fill up and they'll come pick it up.  This is if you do not need an actual dumpster.

The Coat Closet

Oh my.  Thats all I have to say.  I still cannot believe we had that many coats crammed in that closet.  A pile 3 feet high and four feet long.  I was like, yea...get rid of this one, this one, that one...oh wait, we're moving somewhere it snows.  Dern.  Well, I must say the closet looks gooooood.  And...I was able to hang an organizer for small stuff like dog leashes and scarves, stuff like that.  I almost impress myself!

And then there comes a story....A few months back, we decided to plant a Japanese maple in our interior planter/atrium.  We dug a big hole, dropped in a nice specimen and admired our work.  Now this is back when we trusted our dogs and could leave them unattended in the house.  I get a picture on my phone and I cant tell what it is because of the mess.  I deemed it "The Day Fletcher Dug to China" or a new chapter in the that favorite book, The Diggingest Dog Part 2.  There was a 2 foot deep hole with the poor treat at a serious lean.  The mud and river rock was strewn, I kid you not, 10 feet in every direction.  There was mud 5 foot up on the wall.  Its a miracle he didn't shatter the glass door in back given the number of rocks.

So here it is April and I'm in cleaning mode, emptying out the closet and what the hell do I find?....dried mud.  In the closet, in the railing for the door, behind a couple boxes.  Oh, and a few rocks to go along with it.  And....the maple didn't survive.  D*#% dogs.  Needless to say, the boys are now in crates when we leave them in the house and the area now looks beautiful.  Is there such a thing as canine terrible twos?????

The Closet

Yesterday I finished going through my entire closet.  Cleaned.  Pulled out stuff for donation.  Reorganized.  Took the entire day.  Can you say dusty?  dusty.  Very good.

Enough said.

A day in the life of ...me...

All the paperwork is delivered.  It is now very real that we will be moving.  WOW.  Husband out of town helping nephew move back to Nebraska.  I can't believe how much I have gotten done around the house the last couple days.  I made myself a list and checking things off.  2 hours flew by whilst I was buried in my closet.  Holy cow, I haven't worn that shirt in years.....and Off in goes into the donation pile.  YAY.  2 more closets to go LOL (not my clothes).  Nothing like a move to get you to realize how much crap you own and really don't need!  Did I mention how dusty my closet is?  eeww.  Just another reason to get rid of stuff...dust collectors.

I finished planting the grass in the driveway today.  My back and the mosquitos made it a no-go last evening.  I might have finished but it was nice to have neighbors drop by to say hi.  Its been a very beautiful couple of days and I just couldn't stay inside.  I like this EZ grass stuff.  Step one- pull weeds.  Step two- drop on ground.   Step three- water until turns dark brown.  Done.  Stuff even tells you when it needs to be watered because it turns lighter brown as it dries.  Its funny too cause it Puffs up when you get it wet.  (Anyone remember HR Puff-n-Stuff?) 

On the agenda for tomorrow?  The coat closet.  I was about ready to throw a few in the donation pile when I realized we are moving to a place where it snows.  Guess I should rethink the sweater thing too.  Also...I am to foray into the demolition of the guest bathroom.  Emptied out today.  Towel racks down.  Tomorrow- water off and disconnect of sink.  Light fixture and maybe a whack or two at the cabinets... mmuuuaahahahahahha    

The Job

update.....after a long job search and alot of miles it looks like I have a job!!!  YAY.  After a couple hiccups, I have been offered a job in Baltimore, MD.  It is a place I'd like to work and am currently madly filling out applications and paperwork.  All thats left is gettiing my Maryland license and being credentialed by the hospital.  Hopefully this won't take too long.  Its all very exciting! 

The Fortune Cookie

Bento Box for lunch today with my hubby.  It was a nice relaxing lunch outside on the patio.  Got to talk about planning our near future.  Near the end of lunch, Todd slides half of our one fortune cookie over to me with the fortune sticking out.  I pull it out and it says "Your hard work is about to pay off".  Now I know its just a cookie.  I know we all make fun of fortunes by adding "in bed" at the end.  All kidding aside, this fortune is particularly appropriate to our current position in life.  Med School and Residency have been a long 8 years.  I am ready to get to work and I'm sure Todd and I both are ready to move on.

Sweet cookie, sweet guy, he saved the fortune for me.  Could I ask for more?

The TV

I have this fascination with how things are made.  I found this show "How its Made" on the science channel.  The groovy music is cool and while pleasing in tone, the narrator can be really boring.  Its funny that the narrator really isn't noticeable because you're sucked in by the manafacturing of everyday items.  Dishwashers are the current item.  Horsehoes, dishwashers, graphite fly rods, and pizza.  These would be whats covered in this episode.  That is the other thing I love about this show, the topics are completely and totally random and have nothing to do with each other.  Ok, now that I've exposed my inner nerd......

My current favorite TV shows..... Fairly Legal, Royal Pains, Shit My Dad Says (great book too), CSI (the original), and Southland.  I love the music to Southland, its the instrumental version of Dulce Pontes' "Cançao do Mar"  You can find it on the web.  While looking this up, I also learned that the theme song to Captain Kangaroo was called "Puffin' Billy"  (amazing what fat fingering the keyboard will find you).  Capt'n Roo aside, the DVR is a wonderful thing.

And, if I haven't recommeded it yet, you have to see the movie "Despicable Me" .  I need me some Minions.....

The Dinner

A while ago I get this bright idea to make dinner.  Not just dinner, but Butternut Squash Ravioli.  It is one of my favorite dishes when I eat out, delectable, delicious, smooth and savory.  Me, not being much of a cook but able to follow a recipe, began looking.  There are many varieties of this particular dish.  Doesn't seen too tough either.  So, make pasta? riiiiiiiight.  I think in the future this is something I will attempt but not this time.  So the best substitute is wonton wrappers...ok.  Not exactly pasta but this willl work. 

After I shooed my husband out of the kitchen....twice, this was easier than I thought.  Once the squash is cooked, the filling took no time at all to put together, and I took the liberty to season to taste.  The assembly of the ravioli took the longest.  I would think with a sheet of fresh pasta this might go a bit faster.  Dropping them into the water and a quick boil- 4 minutes.  The best part....Sage butter sauce.  Simply butter, fresh sage leaves, salt and pepper (which I forgot...too excited).  The sage leaves turn out nice and crispy and boy are they good.  And who doesn't love melted butter?!  Husband dutifully cleaned his plate and said Yum, next time more butter!

So, its not that I can't cook, I just don't.  Maybe this will change.  And I have another idea.........

No Dates Forgotten...

You know, my keys, important dates.......Yes! Important dates~  Today's post should be...The Anniversary!  Todd and I were married Feb 24th! yay!  It seems as if the older I get, the faster time passes.  I have always heard that from my elders....now I truly believe it.  Someone was asking me recently about my time in Hawaii and I was like oh yea, it was great....HOLY COW....that was 14 years ago!!!!  HOLY CRAP!!!!  The best part of this story is as I am filling out my licensure application, they want to know what I have been doing since high school.  High School???  I called and asked if they wanted to know EVERYTHING????  She says, yep and if you leave any time gaps we'll return your app and ask you what you were doing.  I laughed.  She laughed.  I graduated in 1987.  She says....just do your best.  LOL.  I do the math in my head... 1987...thats 24 years ago.  24 years....its almost a lifetime.  Its the time I went to high school and college and moved to Hawaii to figure out what to do with my life, then get my shit together... 24 years.  WOW.

I guess we all go through this.  In no way am I having a midlife crisis (I'm not old enough), but its really interesting to dig into the archeology that is my life.  Going back and listing all those items over the last 24 years was very interesting and brought up alot of things I haven't thought about in years.  My advice, try it sometime.  We all thought high school was the prime of life, I say no, now is.  I know I am entering the workplace at a later age, albeit entering for the second time.  This second career of mine, its the right one and it took me long enough to get here. 

And yes honey, I love you and will remember our anniversary :)

Notes in Random.

Its amazing how much you can get done when you make a list and have to look at it and think about it.  Being motivated to make a list helped me to be motivated to do the list...YAY!

On another note, watching the news....what the heck is up with people in Ceres?  One truck hits 5 girls yesterday-killing one and sent others to the hospital.  And today?....2 kids get hit one thier way to school!!!  HAYSOOS!  What the hell?  The sheriff in the news story says Ceres is #5 iin pedestrian injuries.  Seems they have a habit of this happening.  Its tragic.  Hopefully people learn something from this.

Mom back from Samoa.  She put her toes in the sand and said hello to the ocean for me.  Very sweet of her.  Which makes me think that I really need to be living near water.  I think my husband is up for that too.  We both seem to be water people.

As I am typing this, the great bug hunter is stalking the wild domestic mosquito across the ceiling.  I've heard of prey drive but this is just plain funny.  Its a good thing he has not decided to dive across my lap for the bug on the wall next to me.  I swear his back legs are coiled springs.  I watched him jump straight up in the air from standing and get a good 2 feet of clearance.  Squirrel- the great motivator, who knew?  Tired tired dogs tonight.

Suuuuuuper? bowl

Traditionally a game I really am ambivalent about and usually not a very good game.  Today, given the history of the Pittsburg quarterback I felt compelled to root for Green Bay.  That and they seem to be just a bunch of nice guys.  Doesn't hurt that Aaron Rogers is from right here in Northern California.  So I crushed cans during most of the first half, came in and watched the second half.  Turned out to be a pretty good game, imagine that.  Packers win!  Now, football is done till next year.

Walking the Dogs

3 Dogs, 3 Leashes, 2 people.  This really shouldn't be complicated but somehow it gets to be that way.  I blame it all on Logan.  Ducky and Fletcher walk nicely and straightly.  Logan, ADD that he is, takes the length of the leash and goes from one side to the other to the full length.  Back and Forth.  Zig and Zag.  Ok so he failed the collar walking, failed the pinch collar walking.  He gets it, he learns it and promptly forgets everything.  arrrrgh.  Now in a harness, works better on him backwards....I don't know where to begin.....But!  He almost pays attention now.  Been working with him and he no longer pulls my shoulder out of socket.  YAY.  Can't be mad...he's just sooooo happy!  Argh, the big dork.  Did I mention I love his exhuberance?

The Secret to life is...........

The secret of life accordiing to my Onion Horoscope:

Although the secrets of heaven and earth are denied to you, the secret of pancakes turns out to be the use of sour cream.

The Foster

Not much history on this little gal.  She's somewhere around 5 yrs old, has congenital spinal dysplasia, also known as Hoppers as that's how she gets around, got her from a lady at a reptile rescue who rescued her from another rescue....needless to say her history is a little spotty.  She moved in, found a corner of the couch and laid claim to it, and keeps those rambunctious boys in their place.  She apparently has now decided I'm OK to hang out with especially when I'm in the kitchen.  She spends her days outside with Fletcher in the never ending Dog vs. Squirrel game.

Pictures to come....

The "Broken" Dog

We agreed to take in a 7 month old puppy for rehab after major reconstructive orthopedic surgery and no one had any idea what his prognosis was.  Logan was hit by a car at 5 months and the family did not take care of him.  He was taken to a vet once but when told what he would need they took him home.  The neighbors tired of hearing the puppy cry and called the humane society.  The vet also intervened.  Oakland animal shelter's "Friends" foundation paid for his surgery and Weim rescue agreed to provide his rehab and find him a home.

The dog that "might not walk" arrived to us already standing and taught himself to use the dog door within a couple weeks.  He progressed rapidly and while not a fan of water therapy got stronger every day.  Our pack took him in and taught him how to be a dog and at the same time we never treated him as "special".  The result is the happy go lucky crazy Logan that we all love.  He is the happiest, friendliest dog either of us has ever met.  He just wants to say hi and play with everyone.  He was voted Rescue Dog of the Year 2009 and got to be Mr. July in the Weim calendar.

He is now almost 3 years old and rough-houses with brother Fletcher every day.  He's grown into quite the handsome young dog.  His Before and After pics are below.

The Rescue Dog

This is why we work with Dog Rescue.  If you have met our dear Fletcher, the top picture is him the day he was brought in, beaten up and sad.  He had been tied to a fence and attacked by a pack of dogs.  He had cuts all over, a ruptured ear canal and a severed achilles tendon.  He was slated to be euthanized but was referred to Weimaraner rescue who took him in.  Those that know him know he's one of the sweetest loving dogs ever.  His wounds are healed and he has found his forever home with us.  Below is his now picture.  Fletcher has been with us just over a year, and you would never guess what he's been through.  The leg is repaired and the scars have faded.

The Job

Ok so even for doctors the job search is not so easy.  5 years ago jobs were aplenty, now one offer for part time is good.  So the search expands and what-do-you-know, I now have interviews and someone wants me! YAY.  In truth up to now I have had several productive interviews so the prospects are looking up.  How is it the search for a job is so wrenching, exciting, stressful and even sometimes enjoyable?  As for the stress, I really sympathize/empathize with those doing this long term and I wish the best for all of the many many seekers.

I am enjoying having some time off.  I'm getting to enjoy chores I used to wish I had time for.  Is it weird to enjoy chores? 

As for the movie from my last post....the movie is A Christmas Story.  Needless to say there are many many timeless lines from this movie.

Name the Movie:

"Palmolive has a nice piquant after dinner flavor, but Life Buoy....yech..."

NAME THE MOVIE, win a prize.....

My Horoscope....

Nothing like a Horoscope to bring you down to earth....

You've always been afraid of someone washing your mouth out with soap, but that was before you learned they made a special mouth-soap in the form of a minty paste.

Compliments of the Onion.  Love The Onion btw.
to earth....

Begin Connecting

This is just a place to bemuse on ideas, thoughts, occurences.  I am just a 40-something, looking for a job and might have one, have dogs and a great husband who make my life a little more interesting everyday.  Feel free to contribute if you like.  I know we are special but not necessarily in a unique situation.  I only know that when we find and idea or people with the same ideas or same situations we all feel a little more connected.  When we feel more connected, we feel more real.  What could be better than that?