Overheard at the hospital

Doc 1: Hey, did you get a new jacket?

Doc 2: Yeah! Do you remember this brand?

1: I think so.

2: I got it at ____, it is about 20 years old, but the down is still good. I love it.

1: Cool, what a deal.

Did anyone else catch that? A doctor buying a used jacket? And bragging about it publicly? I like this hospital.

Stylen

Due the recent fall of almost a foot of horrid white stuff in the last week, I have implemented some changes in my life. 1) I have been making my husband drive me to work. 2) I have bought a pair of snow boots as you can see here.



Please note the little tag saying that they are good to -25 degrees F. Staying true to my love of pink and love of what is on sale, we have these results. I am sure that Mr. M is secretly horrified although he would never admit to it. They don't look quite so pink when I am wearing them with jeans covering them.

I love them!

Every Wish Fulfilled

I am one step closer to checking off all those things I want to do before I die. I am so close to being a complete woman. I am now the proud owner of of a Krups 12 pump espresso machine.

As if you needed any more incentive to come see me! It is our joint early Christmas present to ourselves. It's stainless steal plates sit glistening on my counter. Milk is frothed perfectly. Espresso is not bitter or weak. (And clean up is a snap!) Life is good.

Good, except for the 4 fresh inches of snow sitting outside my door. I measured it with a ruler, so it really is 4 inches. On the other hand I have started sewing more, a nice indoor activity.

Turkey Update

Disclaimer: I was informed by my father that he has fixed several whole birds during my lifetime including once when we lived in California and I was about 11 years old. Sorry, Dad, I didn't remember. End of disclaimer.

Several people have asked how the turkey went. Great, and here is the story. First I go with T to the store to help pick out the bird. Turns out that Costco only has one type of turkey. Very LARGE. The smallest one we could find was 20 pounds. So we bought that one. Having been vastly relieved and heartened by this post of T&B, I figured that we could cook it. I looked up various cooking times and temps and gave them all to Miss T. She stuck the turkey in a bag, cooked for several hours and it turned out perfect. Except that we had 19 pounds of turkey left over.

The day before I worked a 12 hour shift, went shopping and cooked until midnight. I made a sweet potato dish related to my mothers with a few changes thrown in. A green bean casserole with a LOT more then 1/8 of a teaspoon of pepper, I also threw in some crushed red pepper. Last, but not least, was my attempt at homemade cranberry sauce which my husband has forebade me to ever make again. The sauce overflowed and it took him an hour to clean the range. The next morning I whipped up some whipped cream with whipping cream, vanilla syrup and cinnamon. And props to my husband for making an apple pie from scratch (even the crust) with a crumb topping.

I used my white tablecloth and napkins that dear Shelly gave me. I then passed out for several hours after dinner on someone else's couch.

What the Turkey

So it looks like I am kind of in charge of a turkey this year. As in cooking a whole turkey. Uh-hu. See my family always did the turkey breast thing, because who wants to eat the neck or the dark meat anyway? There were only 7 people who came to Thanksgiving, so we didn't need a huge amount of meat. But now there is going to be a group of about 13 people who don't have family up here in Montana and they expect a real turkey. One with inside parts and the whole shabang. So does anyone have any ideas about cooking a turkey? I have my trusty Betty Crocker, but it's not like I could do a run through practice trial on a 10 lb turkey. So the first time has to be perfect. (Or at least good enough).

Joy to the WORLD

It's that time of year again when they start playing Christmas music the day after Halloween. When there is a picture of Santa everywhere you go and people think that really tacky anything looks great. ( I mean who ever thought that these are decorative?) But in all truth, I really like Christmas. I love putting up the tree and and setting up an electric train to go around it. I love all the candles that I get to burn. Who doesn't enjoy making gingerbread men with you college roommates or decorating an Aggie tree? Christmas cards are a great chance to catch up with old friends who don't read your blog. And it is fun to be able to pick out a special gift for each person in your family.

Speaking of which, if you are like me and a horrible gift giver and the thought of trying to figure out what you little brother would like who has twice as much money as you makes you break out in a sweat, I have a wonderful solution.

World Vision is a great charity that puts out a gift catalog each year. Have you ever watched the evening news and wondered what you can do? Here is a great way to help the world. There are categories such as: animals, clean water, health care, education, food, and others. Last year I gave my family the gift of a share of a medical clinic in Africa and hope for a girl rescued from the sex trade. My old roommate Betsy always gets me a share of a yurt.

World Vision is a Christian charity, that helps people all over the world regardless of religion or race. One of the things I really appreciate about them is that they attempt to get at the root of poverty and not just give a handout. Here is their main page: www.worldvision.org .
Take a look around and see what they are about. And maybe remember what some of all this Christmas hoopla is about.

Success!

I walk in the room and hand patient her iron pill that she has been taking 3 times a day for a least a week.

She stares strangely at the pill as if she has never seen it before and asks what it is even though I have told her what it is every time I give it to her.

Patient: I have heard that to much iron can be bad for you.

Me: To much of anything is bad for you.

Patient: Well, that is a good point.

Patient takes the pill.

Please don't

when meeting someone for the first time tell them that they need to get on the kid train.

Story follows: Hubby and I meet a married man with several children today at church. We politely converse for some minutes and then he inquires if we have any children. Mr. M kindly points out that we have not been married that long, only about 9 months. At which point he says, "Well, that's long enough!" My personal theory on the matter is, once you have kids, you can't give them back. So enjoy the time without them while you can.

Story from several months ago:

23 year old mother of 2: So do you have any kids?

Me: No, we have only been married about 6 months.

(At this point, I am thinking that we can talk about something else)

23 yomo2: So are you going to have kids soon?

Me: Umm, well no, we want to pay off some debt first and be married for a couple of years.

End of conversation. Nothing else is said! There is more to me then my ovaries! I swear! Please be my friend!

Hug me!

An observation about Montana. I have noticed that in church, married couples don't touch each other. They don't hold hands, men don't put their arms around their wives during the service. It's like they are sitting beside each other because they have to. They don't really even talk to each other.

The church I grew up in was not full of PDA. I don't think anyone would ever accuse them of that. Far from it. But you would see husband put their arms around their wives and married couples hold hands. Now that I think about it, dating couples didn't hold hands at church. It was seen as very serious. Not that they didn't hold hands other places, just not at church. I always got the impression that most married couples at church liked each other and enjoyed each others company. Hence one of the reasons that they were married.

Well, I thought that perhaps it is a Southern thing, but when we went to Ohio and visited Lonnie's church, the married couples acted like they liked each other. There were hugs and interaction.

So I am befuddled. I am not saying that people should be making out in the back row, but you married this person and I think that it's OK to show that you like them. My husband and I talk to each other at church and sometimes he puts his arm around me. The pastor made a comment about it once, but I didn't think anything about it until I started watching more couples at church and how they interact. Any thoughts out there?

I'm back (from Ohio)

Mr. M and I went off to Ohio for a week to see his family and various friends. One small problem was that the weather forecast said 50's. Try the the 30's for real. It was warmer in Montana. And I did not bring 30's kind of clothes, I brought 50's kind. But hey, we got an shopping trip out of it.

I got to see the house that "I" own. Mr. M bought this house about 5 years before we got married. There are renters in the house now. Every time I refer to his house, I get this strange look and am told, "MY house? It's OUR house." OK, fair enough, but I can't say that I have ever felt any possession of it. The house is nice, the bedrooms are a bit on the small side, and most of the carpet is left over from a bad case of the 70's. But it has some good sized living areas and a huge yard. I don't know that I feel any more ownership of it, but at least I know what it looks like.

Also I got to spend the whole week sleeping on a hide-a-bed in the living room. A little lack of privacy, but not to bad. One morning I awoke from a Law and Order type dream, convinced that I should go to law school. I then thought about Jess and T&B and quickly moved on with other things in my life.

I never thought I would say this, but I was so tired of eating out by the time we came home. I mean I like to eat out, but not for every meal. Of course we were trying to see someone with almost every meal, but I just don't digest that fast. By the time we got home all I wanted to eat was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I have been eating oatmeal and fruit since getting back. Please, something not caked in grease!

On the drive back from the airport 4 hours away, we got ourselves in a snowstorm and of course I was driving. I don't like snow, I don't like ice, I don't like sliding on the road. But we got back OK.