R3

Advice.

There are times in my life when I get crazy ideas in my head. I rationalize situations, most of the time, and I lay out pros and cons. Some may call me impulsive and I don't think I would disagree. I sometimes make decisions that might seem out of the ordinary, but they always make sense in my head. Here's a quick recap: I moved to NC to go to college, I got a cat, I moved to Chicago to go to grad-school, I moved to Florida in the middle of a school year, I got a dog, I took a job in a nursing home when I swore it was something I would never do, I moved to Raleigh, etc. And then there is the list of items that I have bought with minimal planning before hand: cat, camera, laptop, plane tickets, iPod, dog just to name a few. While I admit that some of these decisions were less than thoroughly thought out, I can assure that I always made to sure to ask someone for advice for each and every instance mentioned. Today was no different. I had a great idea, and I needed advice. I called my sisters, and my parents, asked Josh, and called Laura. I got mixed reviews. I needed someone to tell me the truth. Someone who understands me. I picked up the phone, dialed my sisters number, and talked to Daniel. Daniel is three years old and one of the smartest people I know.


My sister: If you have thought it through, which it sounds like you have, I can't really say much.

Me: I know, but I need someone to just tell me "yes or no".

Daniel: I want to talk to my AUNT!

Me: Ask him.

My sister: Ask who? Daniel?

Me: Yes.

My sister: Daniel, do you think Aunt Chelle Chelle should get a new puppy?

Daniel: Um....Yeah. She needs one.






That was all I needed. Welcome to the family, Brooks.

Halloween Party.

No, Josh is not wearing a clock around his neck to pleasantly remind the party-goers that we get to change the clocks back an hour tonight and gain an extra hour of sleep. He is dressed as none other than Flavor Flav. Most of you should recognize him from his show, Flavor of Love, a "Bachelor" type reality gig (take away roses, insert clocks) where girls date Flav to compete for his gold teeth and true love. I must say the costume was a hit and I couldn't look at him all night without laughing. Other costumes included Fabio, a Ghostbuster, a cat, K-Fed and Brittany, a potato, and much more. We had a great time and only heard "Flava Flaaav" shouted about 39 times.

Game Five. World Series.

Oh well. It was fun to watch the Tigers play and sad to see them lose the World Series but I'm over it.

Commentator: The Cardinals win the World Series!!!!!!!

Josh: Sorry they lost.

Me: Eh, its ok. Detroit is Hockeytown anyway.

Josh: I think you've lost your spot on the bandwagon.

Me: Go Wings!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Game Four. World Series.

A Christmas box containing authentic Tigers shirts arrived in the mail today. What this means:

1. They don't sell Halloween packaging in Michigan.
2. The Tigers might win tonight since I will be wearing authentic Tigers gear instead of the homemade outfit which seemed to be bad luck.

The Tigers lost game four tonight. What this means:

1. They might not be selling authentic Tigers gear for long in Michigan.
2. I will watch game 5 naked.

Game 3. World Series.

I don't really want to talk about it. You can see for yourself.


Meanwhile, I had a CT of my sinuses done today. That was a first for me. I have had a wide variety of medical procedures done but this was my first CT scan. It was sort of a let down to be honest. I was in and out in 15 minutes and I didn't even get to see the pictures when I was done. That would have made perfect blog material. Instead, I am forced to display evidence that I wasted my evening watching the Cardinals play baseball, which I didn't want to talk about in the first place. Go Tigers.

Monday Nights.

After indulging all day in the candy bowl at work, I'm generally exhausted Monday nights when I get home. Maybe it's the time of year, or maybe I develop some sort of candy coma, either way, when I get home I'm tired! Tonight I fell asleep exceptionally early, even for a Monday. On a good day I can make it to halftime of the football game, I missed kickoff tonight. I didn't even make it to the bonus round of wheel of fortune. I woke up in the living room at around midnight to blog, brush my teeth and go back to bed. Happy Monday, here's to tomorrow.

Game Two. World Series.

On account of the loss last night, I thought maybe I should find something different to wear for game two. Obviously I own no authentic Tigers gear (yet), but being from Detroit I figured there had to be something in the house that could be deemed appropriate, something that says "detroit" on it or even "michigan", something. While in the closet looking for something to represent my homeland I looked up on the wall to find this. Strange, I thought, since no one in this house is from St. Louis, has family in St. Louis, or even claims to like St. Louis. I removed that hat from its hook among 19 other hats. The tigers won game two tonight. Mom, we might need a hat, too.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2006 (technical difficulties)



Game One. World Series.

Usually homemade is better. Apple pie, cookies, sweet tea, the list goes on. That list may or may not include team apparel. Medical tape, orange sharpie, oversized navy mock turtleneck and orange scrub pants complete the recipe for my Tigers uniform tonight. Game one didn't go as planned. Mom is sending Tigers shirts straight from Detroit on Monday. They can't get here soon enough.

To Do.

Neal: We need to do the dishes this weekend.

Great observation. Other things we need to do this weekend include~
Sleep in
Laundry
Vacuum
Watch game 1 of World Series (Go Tigers!)
Take out the trash
Find alternative means of hydration after giving up pop
Bathe Palmer
Pick out a pumpkin for me to not carve
Go grocery shopping
Put oil in my car
Watch the Panthers game
Buy dishwasher soap

Guts.

It's mid-October. It's about the time to visit a pumpkin patch and find a special pumpkin that catches your eye to take home only to destroy it with a carving knife in an honest attempt to display your creativity. My childhood memory of carving pumpkins is very vivid. It went like this.

Mom would buy the pumkins (usually at the grocery store) and the number of pumpkins she bought varied every year depending on how "cool" my sisters were that particular year and if they were going to be a part of the famiy pumpkin carving activity. I was always excited to carve my pumpkin and I would internally stress for days about what I was going to do on my pumpkin. The night would come for the activity to take place. Dad would tell us to get the stuff ready. Mom and I would work together like we were on a scavanger hunt, finding the exact objects needed. The scavenger hunt list: 8-10 sheets of old macomb daily, 2-3 big silver spoons (this number again dependent on my sisters' participation or lack there of), the special pumpkin carving knife, the even more special big green pumpkin guts bowl, and some sort of writing utensil always found in the cabinet under the phone. Once the items were gathered, I could finally begin to carve my pumpkin.

Me: Dad, can you cut the top off for me?

Dad cuts off top to reveal pumkin guts. Pumpkin gut smell fills the air. I begin to get nauseous.

Dad: Go aheah, Short, clean it out.

Me: Um, what if you guys do it, I dont really like the smell.

Sister(if they are there): Plug your nose! You're the one that wanted to do this.

I plug my nose and stick my hand in the pumpkin guts. I almost throw up.

Me: Mom, I can't. I HATE the way it feels!!

Mom and Dad clean out the pumpkin and fill big green bowl with pumkin guts. Once pumpkin is clean Mom takes big green bowl away because I am spoiled and she knows its making me sick.

Dad: Ok, short, its all yours. Draw your design on the pumpkin and I will help you cut it out.

I sit there for a few minutes with writing utensil in hand, maybe scribble on the sports section of the Macomb Daily that is covering the table, and eventually look up at mom with the look.

Me: Mom, could you draw the face on my pumpkin? I'm don't know what to draw.

Mom: Shorty, this is your pumpkin. You are supposed to be doing this.

Mom takes utensil and draws a perfect face on my pumpkin, admiring it afterwards but still saying...

Mom: How does that look? I didnt do anything special that you couldnt have done.

Me: Thanks Mom! Dad, where's the knife? I'm ready to cut!

Dad: You know you can't cut by yourself. Let me see the pumpkin.

Dad cuts out the drawing that mom drew on the pumpkin they cleaned out.

Me: I love it! I think this year's might be my best pumpkin yet!

Today Josh bought Palmer his own stuffed pumpkin at Petco. Looks like Palmer didn't mind goin after the guts at all.

Double Trouble.

Today I had a long overdue dinner with my cousin/bestfriend/former roommate. Amy and I have always had a special relationship and I truly consider her my bestfriend. Amy and I grew up spending summers together and we managed to become affectionatley known as "double trouble". We fulfilled a childhood dream by going to the same college and living together as roommates. Since she graduated we have lived in different states, until our recent returns to North Carolina. We now live about an hour apart and are able to see each other on a fairly regular basis. I fully intended to take a fabulous picture of the two of us drinking our well deserved glass of wine while eating our salad and breadsticks tonight, but my memory card was mysteriously missing from my camera. So I did the next best thing. I took a picture of our favorite picture. This picture was taken a long time ago, but not a lot has changed. I would still do anything for Amy, including, but not limited to, sporting matching outfits, wearing short pants even when its not fashionable and holding her hand to let her know I will always stand by her side. Dinner and converstation were fantastic and we plan to do it again very soon.

The little things.

My job as a speech therapist finds me doing things on a daily basis that must be listed in fine print on the job description. I never knew I would be leading arm exercises, pushing wheelchairs behind people who never thought they would walk again, putting 60 cents into a pop machine for someone who can't do it on their own (knowing that drinking that soda might be the highlight of their day), singing songs I didn't realize I even knew the words to and various other tasks not listed under "speech-language and/or swallowing." Today I found myself making earrings out of what were most certainly the tiniest beads in the world. We sat for about 45 minutes making small talk while discussing different designs and colors that would make the best combination for a beautiful set of earrings. We came up with two designs and by using mini-pliers and mini-cutters we accomplished our goal. At the end of the session I told the resident that the earring were hers. The smile that came next was priceless. A simple reminder that its always a good idea to read the fine print because it truly is the little things in life that make all the difference.

Mondays.

I am a part of a "rehab team" at work. This team that I spend 40 hours a week (that's a lie, more like 35) with is made up of 6 women, including myself. {OT, PTA1, PTA2, COTA, Tech, and SLP (me)}We all have our own duties, schedules, patients, etc. so we spend a good part of our day running around getting work done. I think we would all agree that our jobs can get stressful at times and we have found an effective way to cope. The candy bowl. The candy bowl is found in the top drawer of PTA1's desk and holds all the secrets of stress releif. You will find chocolate, for obvious reasons, and laffy taffy because we really do laugh at the jokes (except for OT who actually tries to "solve" the jokes, which might be the funniest thing you have ever seen) and starburst for COTA because she doesn't like the laffy taffy but sometimes you just don't want chocolate. We all gather around the candy bowl at various times during the day and discuss (vent) the situations of the day. You can tell when it is an especially stressful day by the amount of candy left in the bowl at the end of the day. Less candy equals more stress. Mondays are the biggest candy bowl day. This picture was taken this morning after filling the bowl up for the week. It will need to be refilled tomorrow due to the fact that it is the day after Monday.

This is my puppy, Palmer. This picture was taken when he was about 3 months old. That was in March. Wow how things have changed since then. This blog will be a good way for people to stay in touch, and not miss out when things change.