I'm still alive, although maybe a little less shiny...

'cuz nursing school can be kind of a bitch. Yes, nursing school. A new incarntion for the musicgeek. Hopefully, by May of next year, I'll have an RN behind my name and can be takin' care of some business for all of you infirm out there.

I'm at the tail end of my first year of "nothing but nursing classes". One more year to go. The weeding out process is pretty continuous at my school. You pretty much have a brand new opportunity to crash and burn every 8 weeks when you get to this point. So far, I've made it through all the basic nursing and my first med/surg rotation. I'm in OB now, and I love, LOVE, LOVE it!!! Birthin' babies, and taking care of mommies and babies while they get to know one another is such a privilege. I also have the very best teacher possible, and that's just the icing on the cake that is OB.

On other fronts:

-kids are growing like crazy
-new black cat in the house named Jinx
-husband still putting up with me
-even in this economy, we're still sleeping indoors and eating regularly
-my man got elected president

There ya go. You're all caught up.

Yippeeeee!!!

Found this funny little tidbit via this blog. You'll have to check out the entire cat gallery. My favorite is the "I has a flavor" kitten. I've put words in many a cats mouth, but never quite came up with that one...

We're goin' to a show!!!

I just bought tickets to go see SPAMALOT!!! My lucky kids are even going, although they may have to do rock, paper, scissors to see who has to sell a kidney to help pay for the tickets...anyhoo, WE'RE GOING!!! Every time the commercial would come on for it, daughter the eldest would beg and plead to go. I can't wait til they get home from school today so we can tell them we've got tickets for Thursday.

I've loved Monty Python since I was a young kid trying to keep the antenna adjusted to get a clear picture on the remoteless TV. Times have changed, but my love for their humor hasn't. They are silly-smart, and that gets me every time.

Spam-Spam-Spam-Spam, Spa-a-a-a-m, wonderful Spam!!!

Just in case ya didn't know...

CARDS WIN!!!!!!!!

Another trip to the Art Museum

On Sunday, we all piled into the vehicle and headed over to the St. Louis Art Museum. We met our old next door neighbors to check out the exhibits and head out for a bite to eat afterward. We all agreed the way coolest thing we saw that day were two installations by an artist named Tara Donovan. She takes common, everyday objects and creates mind blowing art with them. Betcha can't guess what the hazy, cloudy wall above was created with...DRINKING STRAWS!!!!! As we walked from one side of the wall to the other, the effect was amazing.

Here is a straight on view close up.

The second installation was made from plastic cups. The above photo was from another museum, but it shows the scale of the work better than any from the SLAM. I have no earthly idea how many cups she used here, but the number had to be gi-normous. My friend Sherry wanted to nudge one of the ouside edge cups just a little to see what would happen, but there was plenty of museum security around to keep her from giving in to her inner moppet.

This is a close up view of the St. Louis installation.

Afterward, we headed to Fitz's to get a bite to eat. The kids drank enough root beer to float themselves home. We couldn't watch any bottling being done, because Sunday must be "swab the decks" day. They were cleaning when we got there, and were still going at it when we left 2 hours later. Kinda reassuring, that.

Hugs and kisses, y'all.

A little music always helps.

Worked on the house most of the day Friday. Queued up some CDs and hit random. I was in a bit of a mellow mood. The selections were as follows:

Plans - Death Cab For Cutie
A Rush of Blood to the Head - Coldplay
Taking the Long Way - Dixie Chicks
Airstreams & Satellites - Garrison Starr
Why Should the Fire Die? - Nickel Creek

I look really spiffy in my big wireless headphones vacuuming away. Anyone could come right in and carry the entire house off, as long as they stay out of my direct sightline. It sure does make cleaning a lot more enjoyable. I would have used my mp3 player, but don't have all of these CDs loaded into it yet. Maybe that should be my next project.

Am I the only one who has to use motivational music to get my butt in gear and shovel through the house? If you do the same thing, what kind of playlist motivates you? I'll admit that many times my muse is an obnoxious 80's dance mix, with one of the standouts being It's Raining Men.

Hallelujah!

Summer's winding down.

The days are getting shorter. The kids have posed for the obligatory first day of school photo with backpacks on at the front door. End of season allergies are kicking in.

It's been a very strange summer...oscillating between joy and despair. Loved ones have passed on, trips have been taken, family has come and gone in a whirlwind of suitcases and playing children, the kids have had a summer's worth of good night kisses and good morning hugs. Time passes and smoothes over some of the sharp edges just a little.

I'm ready for a change of seasons this year. I puttered around in the craft room with some clay and even bought a little yarn for a new project. The house seems all cluttery, and I'm working my way up to caring about it...baby steps, people, baby steps.

The photo above was taken on the Kaskaskia river just as the sun was setting. Those are my two little ducklings tubing behind the boat.