Bloop!

Happy Tuesday World!

Well...the only writing that I'm doing these days is in my journal...that should give you a pretty good clue as to my state of mind. 

I've been looking for things to make me laugh, and I just happened to stumble upon the following clip. It brings back wonderful memories of watching Fresh Prince with my cousins...and Will Smith is tooo funny. Click on the play icon and then click on Watch on YouTube. Enjoy!

Not a Race

Today, I performed good niece/cousin duty by taking my cousin to her orthodontics appointment this morning. As I was sitting there, swinging my foot back and forth to the christian music playing over the office speakers, a picture of a tree with a very long message underneath it, caught my eye.

Because I pretty much love the spoken and written word, it should go without saying that of course, I LOVE quotes...I mean seriously...I've only had my iPhone for about 3 weeks and I already have 4 quotes apps....Anyway...as I read this quote I hastily dug my phone out of my purse and began typing it into the note taking app.

This...is what it said...

Life is not a race--but indeed a journey. Work hard. Be choosy. Say "thank you", "I love you", and "great job!" to someone each day. Go to church. Take time for prayer. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. Let your handshake mean more than a pen and paper. Love your life and what you've been given. It's not accidental. Search for purpose and do it as best you can. Dreaming does matter, it allows you to become that which you aspire to be. Laugh often. Appreciate the little things in life and enjoy them. Some of the best things really are free. Do not worry, less wrinkles are more becoming. Forgive--it frees the soul. Take time for yourself. Plan for longevity. Recognize the special people you've been blessed to know. Live for today. Enjoy the moment. 

~Bonnie Mohr

Take a moment...and think about that.

Boom Shakalaka

Is this weather kickin' anyone else's booty?


80 degrees in March...iNsANiTy!


The fact that about 2 weeks ago we had terrible tornadoes, followed by 3 1/2 inches of snow, followed by weather that climbed rapidly to the  70's and 80's, compounded by the fact that we are in the Ohio Valley...well...no wonder we're all sick. 


As I lay in bed, fighting off the sinus headache and allergy induced sore throat and stuffy nose, I found this little video really cheers me up....Teehee....

Death by Cleaning

I was nearly killed today...by a house.


Every other Friday, as a part of my nanny job, I also take on the role of house cleaner. Mrs. A is off on Fridays, so she handles all of my normal daily responsibilities with the kids  while I clean. 


The house is absolutely beautiful. It has a basement, a ground level floor, and an upstairs. The upstairs level has 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a laundry room, and a bonus room. All of these rooms are separated by a hallway that has a wood floor that is as wide as my bedroom in my apartment. The first floor contains a formal living room, formal dining room, family room, kitchen, breakfast nook, bathroom, and enclosed sun room, all complete with wood floors (except for the sun room). The basement is fully finished, has a mini bar, bathroom, family room, game room, and office. 


In short...the house is HUGE. 


Of course, since I'm there everyday, I knew how big it was...but the word HUGE took on a whole new meaning as I cleaned my way around the house.


I started at 9 this morning and didn't finish until 2:15. And I didn't even clean the basement.


When I finally got into my car to leave, I glanced at myself in the rear view mirror and then chuckled...my face was glistening with sweat and my hair was going in very odd directions....lol...I reached into the back seat to grab my purse when I discovered OOoow! I  apparently used some muscles that I haven't used in a while. 


I may be half dead and unable to move but hey...the house looks great and I made some pretty decent money...c'est la vie! 

Just Breathe

Today was absolutely glorious outside! When I left the house for work around 11 this morning, it was already a comfortable 63 degrees and the temperature wasn't going to do anything but keep climbing. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and sun was nearly blinding in it's brilliance.

This time of year..minus the rain...is one of my favorites. Many people are surprised when they find out that my favorite seasons are spring and fall. I explain that I like them because everything is "in between". In the spring, the weather is finally starting to warm up and in the fall, it has begun to cool down without getting down right cold. 


I really don't know which one I like better. I like spring because everything is so green and starting to come alive again. The daffodils poke their sunny little heads above the ground, Robins are flitting everywhere, and the frogs are croaking up a  storm in the evenings. 


*Sigh* I love it. 


I don't mind the rainy days so much either in spring, as long as there aren't too many in a row. There's nothing quite like sitting in a chair by a window that's half open, and listening to the sound of the drops as they hit the ground and inhaling that fresh rain smell.


*Sigh* I still love it. 


Anyhow, this is a rather aimless post...but if it serves any purpose at all, I hope it reminds you to take a second glance at those daffodils...go sit out on your patio or porch at night and listen to the frogs and bugs...crack the window the next time it rains...and just...breath. 

Agonies

Hello Blog Land! Oh, I've missed you so!


This week has been absolutely INSANE!


It was my first official week at my new job as a nanny, my aunt had a major surgery, and on Wednesday I had a major allergic reaction.


Since, it's a very good place to start, I'll start at the very beginning. I LOVE my new job. I don't have to pick up the little girl until 11:45 each day from preschool, so I have plenty of time to get a few things done in the morning before heading out to Prospect to get her. An average day involves me picking up little T, taking her home to get lunch, taking her to get allergy shots, playing with her or putting her down for a nap, and then going to pick up her older brother, A, from school. We then start on homework, which usually last until their mom gets home. I'm home by 7:00 in the evening, with plenty of time to spare for more errands, homework, and a workout at the gym. It's pretty much the bomb-diggity. This past week, the grandmother was visiting. The family is Iranian and over the course of the week, I learned how to say hello, goodbye, what, and to count to 10 in Farsi(Persian). It's a very rich and beautiful culture.


So, on Wednesday, my Aunt Janel had the remainder of a sarcoma removed as well as a skin graft and reconstruction surgery performed. She was under the knife for about 5 hours. My Mom came down from Indy to transport her to the hospital as well as to be here for moral support. The good thing about my Mom's job is that as a Medical Transcriptionist who works from home, she can just pack up her computer and work anywhere where there is an Internet connection. Since my aunt will be off from work for 4 to 6 weeks, my Mom may be here almost as long taking care of her...that's fine by me! :-)


So, by Wednesday my week was going pretty well and I stopped in at my aunt's house to check on my cousins, just to make sure they weren't burning the house down. I was prepared to stay for a while and sat down at the table to eat. They offered me some chocolate Zucchini bread which was very interesting...I only ate half of the slice before I realized I didn't care for it too much. About 5 minutes later, I realized that my face was itching and it felt like it had swollen a bit. So I went into the bathroom to look in the mirror, and sure enough there were several bumpy places around my mouth. Hmmm. I didn't really think too much of it and just thought, "I'll go home and put some cortisone cream on it". By the time I got back into the kitchen from the bathroom, I was itching pretty much everywhere. I decided then and there that I had to go home and put some cream on my itchies. By the time I got home, I was itching in every conceivable place, and when I raised my shirt up I disovered that I was COVERED in hives. Yes covered. It looked like I had contracted leprosy, and the itching wasn't stopping. I took some benadryl and prayed for it to knock me out so that I wouldn't have to deal with the incessant urge to scratch. I woke up at 3 A.M. still scratching and still covered in hives. I took one more benadryl and went back to bed. I woke up again at 6:00 and realized that the benadryl didn't work, and that I should probably go to the Urgent Care center. I had to wait 2 hours for it to open. When I finally got in to see the doctor, I raised up my shirt and her eyes got as big as saucers and she said, "OOOH! What did you get in to?!" In short, we had no idea what it could have been. She explained to me that many times, the source of hives goes undetermined. She prescribed me Loratadine, Atarex, and a Prednisone dosepak....I started the meds on Thursday but I really didn't get any relief until Friday morning. Atarex is one of the strongest anti-histamines out there, so strong, that you're only supposed to take it at night. I took 2. I slept like a baby and when I woke up on Friday morning, my hives were gone! I was still a little itchy but, it was nowhere near as bad as before. Although the hives are gone, They have left red splotches in their wake. I look like someone beat me up.


But, I'm happy to announce that I am much better! I would not wish that experience on anyone. I felt like I was in hell, suffering the agonies of the damned. There must be a rung of hell that Dante forgot to mention in Inferno that institutes hives as a method of torment. Ha.


Anyway, that was my week in retrospect.


Oh! And we think that it might be the Zucchini bread that set the reaction off. Apparently the lady who made it, makes it completely from scratch and uses weird spices. That was the only thing that I ate that was out of the ordinary.