Real Conversations

Real Conversation # 1

Patient's Mother:  Um, yeah, my son had his finger poked for a blood test this morning while he was in your office and he's felt sick and thrown up twice since then.  Is that normal?

Me:  Well ... no, that's not normal.  Is your son very upset about having had his finger poked?

PM:  Yeah, he was pretty upset and crying a lot.

Me:  I'd guess that he's probably fixating on the finger poke.  Or maybe it's purely coincidental and he is coming down with a stomach virus.

PM:  Oh.  So what do I do?



Real Conversation # 2

Concerned Grandmother:  If someone plays with an infant, say 7 or 8 months old, by dangling them by their ankles, can it cause brain damage?

Me:  I suppose it could.  I definitely wouldn't recommend doing that.

CG:  What could happen?

Me:  Well, there could be brain damage.  Or maybe stress fractures in the baby's legs or spine.  The spinal cord in infants isn't developed enough to handle lots of stress like that.

CG:  So how would you know if there was damage?

Me:  You might not know.  It would take x-rays to show fractures.  And if there was brain damage you wouldn't know until it's too late.

CG:  So what should I say to the people who might be doing this?

Me:  Uh, tell them not to do it?

So Happy

It's Christmas.  Paul is here.  The tree is beautiful.  There is music.  We had hot and sweet chicken wings last night.  We also had wassail.  Yum.  That's what Christmas tastes like -- wassail.  We watched Christmas movies and laughed a lot.  We're going to exchange gifts in a little bit.

Right now I am making French Silk pie with a new pie crust that I'm really excited about.  We're going to Jenn and Caleb's in a couple of hours and we'll have appetizers that I made/am making and Christmas dinner that they're roasting, cooking and baking.   Jonathan and Lance will be there, too.  And then some friends will join us for the evening.

It's a good day.  Happy Christmas, everyone!

Enjoy the View

This is what I see every time I go into or out of work.  Isn't it lovely?

I Just Love It ...

... when a crappy day turns into a good day.  Good people tend to have that effect.  I like having good people around.  Good people make me smile more than is normal.  And, for me, that is saying something.

A-S-S-U-M-E

Remember my post about bumper stickers last year?  I made some assumptions about people that may or may not have been correct.  Well, I saw a vehicle the other day and made another assumption, one that I'm sure is correct.  I wish I'd been able to take a photo because this would have been one fantastic photo.  Unfortunately, the driver was there and I didn't want to draw attention to myself so I'll just have to use my words.

It was a large pick up truck -- the kind that makes one wonder whether the owner might be trying to compensate for something.  *ahem*  The license plate read 'GITRDUN'  and these were attached to the trailer hitch.  (Be sure to scroll down to get the full effect.)

Yeah. I couldn't make this up if I tried.  Well, actually I could; I have a pretty vivid imagination.  But that's beside the point.  The point is that this guy thinks a certain way about life and wants everyone to know it.  Or wants everyone to think he thinks a certain way about life.

You know that saying about assuming making an ass of you and an ass of me?  When it comes to my assumption about this driver, he's the only one that's an ass.  I'm certain of that.

Girls' Night on the Town

Jenn and I went out with our group of girlfriends on Saturday evening.  We had a fantastic time.  We laughed, talked, ate, drank and basically enjoyed downtown Denver.

We had dinner at Tamayo.  That is a delicious place.  I had sopa de tortilla garnished with avocado, cilantro and tortilla strips with just the perfect hint of spice.  It was fabulous.  Then I had quesadillas surtidas made with queso oaxaca, roasted poblano chiles, tomatillo salsa and garnished with crema fresca.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven or some other equivalent.  And the wine ... oh, the wine.  It was a Spanish Tempranillo that was just divine.  Divine wine.  Some photos for your drooling pleasure:

 Sorry, it was so yummy that I had several bites before I thought to take a picture.

Jennifer had grilled mahi mahi with huitlacoche sauce and potato-poblano puree.  I have to go back sometime and order that fish.  I had a couple of bites and it was amazing.  The sauce had so many different flavors -- slightly spicy, tangy, sweet and peppery all at once.  Oh man, my mouth is watering.

After dinner we walked a few blocks to the theatre district and saw Girls Only.  What an entertaining show!  It was part play, part variety show and part improv with a little home video and some puppets thrown in.  It was all about girl stuff, from childhood diaries to bras to pantyhose to tampons to purses to hormones.  It was in a small theatre and the actresses did a lot of interacting with the audience.  We laughed so much!  (And there was more wine, although not as good as the Tempranillo.)

I think our next Girls' Night will be a game night or something resembling a game night.  Our last game night evolved into a laughing, talking night.  Do you see a theme here?

Just to be Clear ...

They aren't sulfur drugs.  They're sulfa drugs.  Totally different things.  Just sayin' ...

It's Christmas!

The tree.  So pretty!

My favorite ornament, given to me by a friend and co-worker in Texas 2 years ago.

 

Our miniature stockings.  I don't remember which stocking belongs to which person.  Oops.

My favorite Christmas candle holder.  It fits a tea light and Santa's eyes light up.  It doesn't photograph well in the dark, though.  Bummer.

My Best Idea Yet

I decided recently to allow the kids to earn extra computer time by doing chores.  For each minute of work, they get a minute of computer time.  Also, they can have computer time taken away in 5 minute increments for certain infractions -- this is more effective than time outs now that they are older.  And I've been rewarding cooperation with 5 extra minutes of computer time here and there. So far it's working out excellently.

Until now, I've had to beg, plead and bargain to get them to do simple things like clean their sink, dust, unload the dishwasher, put away clothes and vacuum.  And forget more distasteful things like cleaning the toilet, folding clothes and helping empty the trash -- those required direct supervision and included lots of whining.

But with this new system, they're practically begging to do housework.  And! -- they actually appreciate the effort it takes to do these things.  The other night, Solomon cleaned their sink and then realized he needed to brush his teeth and spit.  He decided to spit in the kitchen sink (I know, I know.  Baby steps!) rather than undo his work.  I pointed out that he could spit and rinse so he'll be doing that in the future.  But he recognized that it was work.  Miriam has, too.  She vacuumed the dining room on Friday afternoon.  That evening she admonished her brothers to eat carefully and not spill crumbs every where.

I can't believe I didn't do this before.

Suh-weet!

I wanted to check out podcasts of A Prairie Home Companion on iTunes and download them to have some cool stuff to listen to.  I was prepared to pay for them but when I looked them up I saw that The News from Lake Wobegone is free!  Free!  Can you believe it?

The iTunes store also suggested The Onion News, Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me and This American Life.  And they're all free, too!  I'm such an NPR dork.

Recent Smiles

This letter from Lance. He wrote it in August and hand-delivered it last week. It gave me several hearty chuckles and I've smiled many times, just thinking about it since then. Lance is beyond smart and possesses a sense of humor unrivaled by most people I know.  Also, Lance and I are a lot a like.  I like old-fashioned letters and Lance does, too.  In this letter he talks about some things that I've given a lot of thought to myself in recent months.  It was neat to know we were thinking about the same things at the same time.

This is the sleeve from my Election Day Starbucks last November. I stuck on my 'I Voted' sticker that night because they just seemed to belong together. It has been on my desk since then and I smile every time I see it.

This is a bulletin from my church in Texas.  It would be an understatement to say that I feel bittersweet looking at it.  I miss everyone and everything there so much; the energy, the atmosphere, the discussions, the plans.  It's unlike anything I've experienced any where else.  I'm happy and sad when I think about it.

My new wine cork collection.  That one on the top -- The Prisoner -- was especially good.  I like examining these corks.  Some have intricate artwork.  I like those the best. One might wonder why anyone would care what is on a wine bottle cork.  I don't.  I had the pleasure of meeting a few wine makers this summer.  They're interesting people and maybe a tiny bit insane.  Anyone who spends that much time with grapes has to be.  But they love those grapes.  They know them from start to finish. They create wines with those grapes and put immense effort into them.  It's understandable that the cork should reflect that effort and attention.

This little lady.  I don't even remember where I got her but I like her.  She sits on top of my jewelry box and most of the time I don't think about her.  But when I do, I smile and feel a bit better about life.

This is Samuel's latest artwork.  It's a Wild Thing.  My kids go to an incredible school.  The teachers really do give it their all.  The art teacher is teaching my kids about Klimt, O'Keefe, Van Gogh and who knows what else.  She incorporates all types of media into her lessons.  The kids have come home with ceramic projects that they saw through from a mound of wet clay to the kiln.  They know what pastels, watercolors and charcoal are -- all because of this teacher.  She fosters creativity and inspires originality.  I love her and I've barely met her. She and the artwork my children make with her make me smile.

So that's what I'm smiling about lately.  How about you?

The Fridge is too Cold

You know how I can tell? This egg is frozen. No kidding.

So ...

It's been a while.  I keep thinking of stuff I want to write here and then running out of time to write it.  When I do have the time to write, the stuff isn't as pressing and I decide not to do it.  Lame, huh?

We had Thanksgiving.  I didn't go to Arkansas.  I was kind of worried that it wouldn't feel like Thanksgiving without 40 people and 2 turkeys and 17 side dishes.  But we made do.  I had Paul and his son over.  Jonathan and Lance were here.  We also invited Paul's friend and her son because all their family is in Ohio and they couldn't travel there.  We had a really great day.  I made the turkey and it was fabulously delicious, if I do say so myself.

I drove to get the kids (again) last Sunday.  We saw a whole fleet of trucks from Midland.  It was cool.  The kids got all excited and I was a little nostalgic.  On that same trip, I saw two vehicles with license plate frames from car dealerships in Midland, too.

The Christmas tree is up.  We assembled it and strung the lights last night while watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Shrek the Halls on television.  We added ornaments this evening. 'Tis the season for hot chocolate, snow and debating Christmas/religion with Solomon.  Oh, boy.

Our office Christmas party is this Saturday evening.  I'm really looking forward to it.  It's just my second one but the last year was lots of fun and this year Paul is going with me.

Next weekend Jennifer and I are going out to dinner with girlfriends and to see a play.  We're excited.  The group of friends we're going with is so much fun.  They're witty, intelligent women and we all get along really well.

The weekend after that, I'll keep Jennifer and Caleb's boys while they go to Caleb's company party.  That will be fun.  I'm thinking that if it's not too cold, we might make up some hot chocolate and go walking around their neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.  I was just there tonight and there are lots of lights up already.

The day after that, I'll take the kids to meet Moises and they'll be gone for another 2 weeks.  I'll have Christmas here with Paul and Jennifer and Caleb and other assorted cool people.  And there'll be New Year's Eve and it will be 2010.  Man, time is flying!

So those are the plans for the rest of the month.  I'm looking forward to it all.  It's what the holidays should be: time with family and friends, food, fun and anticipation of the coming year.