Fencing, Week 7 of 8!

Things are winding down for this session. Can't believe I have one week left! I'm moving on to intermediate and start that session May 20. I've been pricing out dry and electric gear but I want to wait for at least one session with James and intermediate to see if this is something I still want to casually persue.

I've gotten pretty buddy-buddy with Clint, a first-time fencer. He's 32 about about my size so it makes fencing easier. We have way too much fun together and will usually open fence each other after class. Patrick said that fencing is a gentleman's sport.

Then we got a hold of it. There is more name calling and taunting that come from both of us. We've sort of made it into the Happy Gilmore of fencing. He's going to move on to intermediate with me, and I'm very happy to have someone I know go up with me. I need all the confidence I can get!!

Last night during our match, Alex has the (un)fortunate luck to score our match. I have't seen him shake his head this much in some time! There were a couple of times that Clint was, shall we say, off target. He gave me a couple of glancing blows "below the belt" if you follow me. So I countered with my own. It wasn't intentional and it wasn't a direct hit, but he did respect me afterwards.

Weekend Wrap-up!

Caption Contest Winner! This week goes to Ace with his, "Borat visits the North Pole during the summer!"
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Friday night I went to Open Fencing. There was James (soon-to-be fencing coach), Chris (intermediate fencer) and Paris (first-time beginner in my class). James smoked me as usual. In fact he scored a couple of times and I didn't feel it. Ninja!

Chris is a southpaw which is always interesting to fence. He beat me 5-4 the first time. The second time I beat him 5-4. After our second match, James says to Chris, "She got you with her height."

"Yeah, and she IMPALED me!"

James looked at me, "And YOU are an atomic BOMB! You put everything you have into your attacks." I don't think he meant this as a compliment, however. He went on to say I need to work on backing off.

"James, there is nothing subtle about me. This is what I do. I'll try to learn to back off."

In pretty much everything I've ever done in my life I do so with great force and energy. This, inevitably, results in me fizzling out due to frustration. I think age has tempered this, but I'm still very gung-ho about things.

I told James that he would have the honor of my presence next session, to which he replied, "Well, that should be interesting."

"That wasn't quite the vote of confidence I was hoping for."

I've been considering getting my own dry gear, but I'm going to wait until one or two sessions with James to see if I stick with it. I'd like to join the USFA to compete in sanctioned events with a team from Nebraska. I don't really know how far I'll go with this. I do enjoy this sport immensely.

Saturday was a gray, cool, drizzly day after it was 90 on Friday. Never got above 45. I did three loads of laundry Friday so that really cleared up the weekend. I think I only went to the store.

Sunday was church and it was rainy. Lots of storms that moved through that gave us nearly 1.5" of some much-needed rain. Still cool, however. Steve was downstairs watching TV, the girls were in bed, so I stretched out on the couch and napped for an hour.

I never nap.

I need to be incredibly tired in order to nap as there's always so much to do during the weekend. But it was rainy outside and most of the domestic crap was done. It felt really nice!

Caption Contest!!

Another gorgeous day in Omaha to report - unseasonably warm temps over the last few days, then cooler and rainy over the weekend.

Don't know what's on tap for the weekend. Guess I'll know when it happens, right?

So here is this week's installment for the contest. Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!!

NOT YET!!!

I dropped the girls off at daycare this morning like I usually do. There's a boy in Mallory's group, Anthony. He's about 2-3 months younger that her. Here of late she runs up to him and give him a hug. Nothing alarming about that.

Today, she gave him his morning hug. I was talking with his mom who works there and then looked down to him and Mallory to find them kissing.

Not just kissing but OPEN MOUTH KISSING!!!!

"MALLORY!! Cut that out!"

She stopped, turned around and looked me, pouted, and walked off.

Something as innocent as salad dressing...

....turned into a discussion about sex between Steve and Jenna.

I was pouring a new bottle of ranch into the squeeze bottle we currently use. It started off slow as not to make a mess. About midway through I was able to have the two rims touching as the dressing is pouring out.

Steve: "Look, Jenna! The bottles are mating!"

Jenna: "What's 'mating'?"

I shoot Steve "the look.

"Steve: "Mating is when two bottles love each other and touch each other."

Jenna: "Ewwww......"

Steve: "And sometimes, one bottle puts its goo into another bottle."

By this time I'm beet red, trying very hard not to laugh and to not make a mess. Then a big glob of dressing comes out and it runs over the top.

Steve: "Yep, sometimes that happens, too."

I put my head down on the counter to laugh. Then I took my finger and tried to clean off the ranch that was running down the bottle. Jenna hopped up on the chair next to me and asked excitedly, "Can I lick your finger??"

"NO!!! GO AWAY!!!!"

Weekend Wrap-up!

Not a whole lot to report this weekend, outside of the usual domestic crap. Steve and I had a date night Friday and could only make it until 2030 as we didn't really know what else to do. How pathetic is that?!?!

Saturday Jen and I ran some errands that finished off with buying her flower girl shows for an up-coming wedding in a mere four weeks. Whaddaya think???Sunday? Went to church, then out to IHOP with some friends. Put the girls down for a nap, I dug up and moved a plum tree - not as impressive as it sounds. The tree is only about 3-4' tall. I moved it from it's over-winter spot of the last 1.5 years, which is the South side of the shed, to the front side yard. After I dug the hole and stuck the tree in the hole I started to loosen the dirt from the new sod we seeded last fall. I'm happy to report that the roots are about 3" long already, so hopefully, this seed blend will work nicely!

I tilled up the veggie garden Friday and planted carrots, mesclin, snowpeas, and red onion. Soon I will plant tomatoes and corn, then in July the pumpkins will be planted.

The weather looks GREAT this week - sunny and 70s. Helloooooooooooooo, Spring!

Caption Contest!!

I've been fairly busy out in the yard this week. Managed to scrub the hot tub and put it away until October, get my fountain back up and running, hang three praying mantis egg cases, till the vegetable garden and plant carrots, lettuce, and snow peas. But more importantly, our Hawaiian Sun Chairs are hanging!!1!! WOOT!!

Not much planned this weekend. That's about all I know! Here is this week's edition of the contest. Have a good weekend and I'll see you on Monday!!

Reflections

As I walked through ICU looking for potential subjects to enroll in my various studies I saw a new patient that was in for a head bleed. But when I peeked in his room I saw that it was more than just a head bleed.

There was active bleeding from the top of his head. His nose and mouth were packed with gauze bandages. He was already trached.

His nurse is a friend of mine and I asked what really brought him in.

"Self-inflicted gun shot."

Sure enough, there, under his chin, was the entry wound of his suicide attempt.

Once again I was faced with the haunting thought of my dad and the demons these two men shared. The demons that drove them to the thought that this was the only way to end their pain. Family be damned.

I still don't understand the pain and desperation they felt. I still don't want to know. I don't want to ever be that low.

I said a prayer for him as I stifled back the tears. I truly believe I felt God's presence with me, standing next to me as I tried to unsuccessfully sort this out.

Weekend Wrap-up!!

Caption Contest! This week we have a NEW winner in our midst. This week goes to to Kim with her, "This is the only way to spare you from my bad breath!"
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Lessee if I can get back into the swing of things this week. I've beena round, just haven't wanted to post anything. And I visit, but I lurk, so I'm not ignoring your spaces, either!

We were in DSM over the weekend. Steve took a half-day Friday while I was off completely with the girls - the joys of working at a Jesuit institution. Steve, however, get a floating holiday for Arbor Day! WTF?!?! Anywho....

I got nuthin......see? I need to get my mojo workin' again.....

Caption Contest

I've been around, just not in the blogging mood this week. Maybe things will interest me again.....

In the meantime, here is this week's installment for the contest! Have a great and blessed Easter and I'll (hopefully) see you Monday!

Caption Contest!!

It's Friday and we'll be under a winter storm watch starting tomorrow through Sunday!! Models predict anywhere from 4-12". YIPPEE!! Whatever.....

So I present this photo for this week's installment. Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!!

Stuff

Not much to report outside of the girls' physicals on Monday. They both checked out just fine. Jenna had three shots and a finger stick and Mallory just had one shot; her last until Kindergarten!

Being in daycare the kids had a constant runny nose and cough. Just as they're get over the current illness another one lurked in the corner. Mallory was running a bit of a low-grade fever Monday and her cheeks were bright red. Her doc took one look at her, noticed the splothes on her legs and fine rash on her torso and says, "It looks like she has parvo."

"Huh-WHUH?!?!?! Parvo? Serious? I thought that was a dog virus." So i scanned Wikipedia and found this. Oh, and she has an ear infection. Even with tubes. Go figure.

Yesterday was one of those hectic crazy days at work where you're busy but your efforts are all for naught. I thought I had finally enrolled someone in one of my pneumonia studies that hasn't seen any action since June. Got the patient enrolled and I get study labs. Two of the Pulmonary fellows are in her room and one sees that her BP is low and he and the nurse discuss what kind of hypotension drugs she's on.

This caught my attention as prolonged hypotention medications is exclusionary. However, I didn't find this medication in the e-chart so I had no idea she was on it. I asked the nurse if she had charted this medication; no. I called the medical monitor to verify that she had to be taken out of the study even though it looked like she was low on fluids, thus contributing to her hypotention. Regardless I had to take her out. I was annoyed that the nurse hadn't charted her medications for 5 hours.

So I DCd her from the study, called family back and notified them of the situation. I spend a good chunk of yesterday getting this patient enrolled and it was all for naught.

So I had fencing class last night and I really needed the class to work off my frustrations of the day. I came home sweaty and tired, but feeling better in my head. Though in the coming days I will have a whole new group of bruises to sport!