For Kelly

I apologize for being away so long.  Life has gotten in the way, and I've had no time to write.

First, my grandmother was hospitalized last week.  Back pain, chest pain, and overall pain.  In the end, she'll be fine - but she's been in and out of the hospital for the last eight days now, and it's very draining... and as the only medically trained person in the family, I get all of the medical questions - what's this drug do, what are the side effects, how should she do this, etc. etc. etc.  One word.  OYE.

THEN, to make things in life even more chaotic and depressing, my best friend, Kelly, shipped off to the U.S. Air Force on Monday.  So the weekend was spent hanging out with her, talking, and helping her pack and throw away things because her family isn't all that great and would just toss it all without her.  Needless to say, Monday was not a happy day...

It's been an odd week, actually.  Not too many of my real friends know that Kelly and I are as close as we are.  So while I am feeling extremely lonely and abandoned, I can't just go up to someone else and start talking about it.  I would get strange(er) looks, questions I don't want to answer, and honestly, it's none of their business - just accept that she liked me more.  Or at least I like to think so.

But as lonely as I might be feeling now, I also have this immense sense of pride in her, too.  Kelly is bravely doing what so few are willing to do anymore - she is dedicating the next few years of her life to protecting our government, our safety, and our freedom.  She is making a sacrifice for all of us, even though most Americans don't have the slightest sense of patriotism anymore.  It's all about the personal benefit.  But not Kelly.  She's something special.

So to honor her, here are a few of my favorite pictures of her...

  

This is actually a very "typical" Kelly pose! haha


Thank you, Kelly, and to all of our service men and women.  I am proud to call you a friend, and cannot wait to see you again!  God bless, be safe, and know that we all love you.

Heros

Heroes. We all have them. Admit it, you know you do.

Some are the cape-wearing type, some are the realistic, mom-and-dad type. But not mine. I’ve got to be different…

My hero is goofy. My hero is a klutz. My hero can dirty the cleanest kitchen in seconds. And my hero loves his job…

My hero is none other than the Swedish Chef, of Muppets Show fame.  Ok, so maybe he's not really a look-up-to type hero, but he's aweful fun to watch.

How can you not love him? Talking to pumpkins.

Fighting with lobsters.

Creating culinary works of art with reckless abandon.

Inventing creative ways to utilize new tools.

And come on, who doesn’t love singing produce?!

*  *  *  *  *

So who (or what) is your hero?

(Source:  all images, except squirrel, which came in an email...)

Things on my mind

Things on my mind…

1. I want a house, but for different reasons than most. I want a house so I can have a kitchen that is mine, that doesn’t have a washer and dryer in it. I want a house so I can have a dog. I want a house so I can host a BBQ party. I want a house so I have a place to do all my hobbies. I want a house so I have a lawn to mow. I want a house so I have a place to feel at home.

2. I follow too many blogs and podcasts. My Google Reader hasn’t been empty in over a year now, and I always seem to be playing catch-up. I’ll read all of one blog, then move to the next, and by the time I get to the end, the beginning is full again. Same with my iTunes. There’s not enough time in the week for me to listen to all the weekly podcasts that I am subscribed to. Fortunately, they span a good range of topics, and if that topic doesn’t entertain me at the moment, I just let it sit until it does.

3. Words with Friends is too addictive. I’ve just been playing random opponents, but I have about five games going on right now. It has become the Angry Birds replacement…

4. I hate that my sister lives on the other side of the country. And while I’d like to admit that it’s 100% because I love and miss her, if I am completely honest, I would admit that I’ve grown used to her living thousands of miles away… the true reason is that I miss my niece. I don’t want to be that silent relative that she only sees at Christmas. I had too many of them growing up, and unfortunately, I feel like I missed out on that “close family bond” that other kids had.


Sweat Vittoria, at one month old.  How can I not miss this?!

5. I waste a lot of food… but not a lot of money. See, it’s cheaper to buy a bag of apples and let one or two go bad than it is to buy individual apples. So while I don’t always like that I am throwing out food, I know that I am saving money in doing so. This is another area where I wish I had a house – I could compost all of those foods… but I don’t think my apartment-neighbors would appreciate me composting on my balcony.

6. I am addicted to Twitter . Whenever I have to go an extended amount of time (oh, anything past an hour or so…) I start wondering what everyone is doing. Just another product of our detached society.

7. There’s a certain young lady who I am crazy about – but who has no interest in me. Considering we’ve never truly me and she already hates me, seems I should just find someone else to dote on.

8. I really need to decide what I want to be when I grow up… err, when I get older. While there are parts of me that enjoy being an architect, it doesn’t hold the satisfaction that it once did. Being a medic has been a wonderful experience, and every night I work, I go to bed knowing I have made the difference in somebody’s life. But I’m not sure if that’s what I want to do, day in and day out. I have contemplated going to culinary school, but let’s be honest, I can’t afford it and going back to school in my mid-thirties scares the living crap out of me. So I have no clue what I want to be when I get older…

9. I’d really like to make this blog more than it is… but for the life of me, I don’t know where to take it. Right now, I seem to just ramble a lot, but it’s hard for me to cook much in my tiny cluttered apartment. And again, knowing that nobody reads it makes it less enticing to put much effort into it. <shrug> We’ll see.

10. My parents are on their way out to see me right now. It’s become a tradition that every year, they come out to visit me and we go to the Maryland Wine Festival. All of Maryland’s wineries set up big circus tents, and one you pay the admission and get your tasting glass, you get to walk around and taste all of the different wines. Live music, carnival-style food, and lots of wine… so long as the weather holds, it makes for a good day.

Ok, off to read another cookbook…

Ramblings

After spending the entire night on the medic unit at a police standoff, I came home early this morning, called my boss to let her know I wasn't coming in, and crawled into bed.  Seven hours later, I awoke like a zombie... so please excuse me if this doesn't make sense.

I've been giving a lot of thought about the future the past few weeks.  After attending the CIA Open House, meeting my beautiful niece for the first time, and trying to balance out my life on a daily basis.  And let me tell you - my life NEEDS some balance!

I'm still not really sure what the future holds... I know I want to attend the CIA, but I'm not sure if I want it for me, or if I want it for a career.  I have a habit of wanting to obtain all of the classes, certifications and tools of the trade for a certain hobby, but once I have all of that, I get bored and move on to something else... obviously, I cannot quit my job, take out boo-ko-loans and start life over for a mere hobby.  See my dilemma?!

I'm not sure where I am going with this, but then again, since I have no followers, I'm not sure it even matters.  But I feel better now that I've gotten it out there...

San Francisco

San Francisco was wonderful!  And while I could waste your time with some pointless words about the things I saw (which you could read about in any travel book...), I think I will just let my camera speak for me...

Vittoria and Uncle Jason - the reason for the entire trip.