Yep, that's me!

the closest I'll get to posting a photo of myself

Feeling rather fuzzy at the moment.  Much like me in the photo above.  Spent a long time on my feet and bent over patients.  At least I got off work knowing I left two more brand new moms feeling more comfortable breastfeeding their babies.  All I want to do for now is just get my own daughter in bed and probably my own head on the pillow.  

I'm starting to think the only way I'll make it through NaBloPoMo is to post photos on the days I work.  We'll see.  Tomorrow's post should be a bit more substantial and hopefully more interesting. 

 Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations.  I may not reach them but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and try to follow them. 

- Louisa May Alcott

 

People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.

                     -- Iris Murdoch

A Trip Down Memory Lane

a photo I took earlier this year of the top of a lauhala box (the wooden piece in the foreground is a turtle, btw)

As my response to the True Stories prompt #3 and also as a way to let my new readers learn a little about me, here's a few of my memories... 


I remember a time when I would wear multiple pairs of socks to match every color of my outfit. 
I remember sitting on top of the dog house at night singing Frank Sinatra songs with my cousin at the ripe old age of 10.
I remember the sweatshirt I was wearing when I had my first kiss.  It had Garfield jumping onto an ice cream sundae with the words "Go for it!" across the top. (subliminal message? hmmm....)
I remember daydreaming that my family members and I were the real heroes of Voltes V.
I remember getting whiplash after headbanging to Skid Row's Piece of Me.
I remember the good old days when I could sit and finish a novel in a day. 
I remember the a-ha! moment when I finally realized how the sperm got to the egg, thanks to accidentally seeing a scene from The Howling IV.  
I remember teaching my husband (then boyfriend) how to use MS-DOS.  (Did I mention he now works with computers?)
I remember when I couldn't leave the house without my can of Aqua Net.
I remember the surprise/amusement in Chris's voice when I was able to sing along with the Cure, then the Eagles, then Shai all in one sitting.  
I remember spending my days just walking through art museums in Chicago.
I remember the longest trip of my life -- drive from Baguio City to Manila, flight from Manila to Japan, transfer to L.A., then to Chicago, then to Charlotte, NC, to finally end in Charleston SC.  
I remember thinking I should never have kids.
I remember giggling all the way to the hospital when my water broke. (Those doggie training pads were handy!)
I remember the white knuckles of the man running my driving test as I parked the car at the DMV.  (I didn't get the nickname Mario for nothing! -- as in Andretti) 
I remember smiling like a fool and waving at customers while wearing The Hamburgler costume, forgetting that people couldn't actually see my face. 
I remember when I didn't know what a blog was.  


If only this extra post could count for another day in NaBloPoMo.

I can't believe I forgot to take a picture

I fell asleep.  I was going to stay up and finish the banner, but instead I fell asleep.  So much for the extra time to work on the project.  I just spent the morning gluing things on the burlap so that I could turn it in this morning.  I got so tied up with it, I forgot to take a picture!

The theme: "Scenes of Autumn"
The challenge: make a banner using the items provided and only the items provided.  We can use as much of the items or as few. 
Categories: Best Overall, Most Creative Use of Materials, Funniest, Best Representation of Autumn.

The items:
Autumn leaves  (plastic)                                                     
Yarn (red orange)
Straws  (yellow, green, orange)                                        
Tacky glue
Pipe Cleaners  (green, yellow)                                          
Paper Cups (aquarium design)
Colored Papers  (brown, orange, yellow, green)
Fabric (in photo above)             
Toilet Paper                                                                         
Foam Peanuts
Paper Plates (green, yellow, orange)                              
Plastic Forks (black, orange)                                            
Plastic Kinves (black, orange)
Burlap Banner Base
Strands of Beads (black, orange)                                    
Coffee Filter 
Dowel and jute for hanging

There were two of us in what should have been a team of four.  We knew most of the teams were going for actual autumn scenes-- pretty fall colors of leaves on trees, Thanksgiving related things like cornucopias.  We took a look at our bag and thought, WTF?  Pretty wasn't going to happen.  So...

Large paper plate + drinking straws+ pipe cleaners= scarecrow head
Paper plate + fabric = scarecrow hat
Fabric stuffed with toilet paper + straws sticking out= scarecrow body 
     (because scarecrows are made of straw, right?)
Paper cups + brown colored paper + plastic leaves on plastic stems= tree
Toilet paper= used to "T.P" the tree
Toilet paper + cups + black beads = mummy half unraveled
Foam peanuts= thought bubble around the tree tp'd with the mummy
Colored paper= lettering "Why Scarecrow had to trick-or-treat with 'Duddy' this year."

Get it?  "It's a joke, Son!" 

Until I get back to take a picture of it, I'll let your imagination run wild.  

The good news is...

one of the more creative pumpkins we saw while trick or treating

Despite a crazy day at work, I don't quite feel like the pic above. =)  Still, it's been exhausting and I wish I could just go straight to bed.  However, there's still a little work project to complete.  Luckily, it's supposed to be for fun and it has been a source of entertainment for the two of us who are working on it.  I only wish we had a little more time to flesh it out.  

my True Stories notebook

I typically don't like to scratch anything out when I'm writing in notebooks.  But since Shimelle's class has given me "permission" to do so, I've found it quite liberating.  I can't do anything with the cover though.  I love it just the way it is.  And since I'm too tired from work today and didn't want to fail NaBloPoMo on the first day, I thought I'd share a photo of my notebook.