6 Random thoughts

1.I think I have started to make up for the last 4 years lack of sleep, I ain’t sayin’ I’m done but I think I can start to ease up.

2. I feel physically good, really good; I can take the long way around and enjoy it. I have energy to spare, which leads me to

3. I think I have finally got the hang of watering plants and I like it. I have developed a habit; whenever I get home from work I water my plants. Sometimes I do it on the way from the car to the house in my suit carrying my bag whatever damn thing I am lugging around. Nowhere in my life at the moment is there a more enjoyable yet tricky thing as container gardening on a mostly full sun very pale ass grey patio in Houston, TX, oh and did I mention it is the month that the devil vacations here for the warmth.

I have a motley crew, I mean a diverse array, of plants, actually some of them are mine and some I’m takin’ care of for Kelly. He has this almost 15 year old kumquat that is taller than me and tough as an Irish grandma.- thank you evolutionary process for that one. Anyway, there are a few hibiscus, an orange cosmo, some succulents,- hen and chick in a really cool hand made pot. The best part, at least to me, is that there is a trellis with vining moon flower by night with their huge leathery blossoms and luscious purple Grampa Ott morning glories by morning. (Thank you Bit aka Cath for introducing me to this variety) In this mix I also have 2 elephant ears in pots, Google those bitches. They have HUGE leaves, seriously you could make big girl Betti Page outfits out of them. They are in too small pots so their roots are climbing out the top, I love how it looks even though I know I am sacrificing leaf size for it. One is an almost black dusky green with burgundy veins and stalk, and the other is almost emerald green and a pale yellow green. They run a close second to the trellis.

So because I love this bit of garden I must water it. Historically I have been horrible at watering my plants. I mean to always-do-it-no-matter-what, I do. Somehow stuff comes up, extra hours at the second job, getting to see my friends, spending the night away on a lark.

Well, I have figured out the (obvious to more experienced container gardeners) secret, not only do the plants communicate clearly how often they need water, they are, mostly, a tiny bit forgiving, except for the succulents who are the Blessed Mother Theresa plants in the kindness they show my ways. Now I can look at them and know who needs water today NO-MATTER-WHAT, I have only had1 causality, a vine wild picked, it lasted about 8 months, not too bad. Fortunately the source vine is growing up my fence and I can try again.

4. Letting go and just being or I think it is alright to take a breath, do it with me now, in through the nose, as deep as you can, hold it for a second and now blow slow out your mouth with a relaxed jaw, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . touch wood, you know, just in case.

5. The illusion of control and why my ego won’t shut the fuck up already . . . geeze

6. Realizing the efficient well researched approach to releasing desire is in fact an illustration of desire. I think there is probably an ancient Buddhist story/parable about that somewhere.

Outside my window:

Today is a beautiful, if blazing hot, day.  Sun shining, big puffy white clouds and a nice breeze. 

I am thinking: 

How am I possibly going to squeeze in all of this information for my students in just 5 class days.We are almost at the end of the class and this is the week when all the wonderful discussions at the expense of the curricula come home to roost.  I am sure we will shoe horn it all in but I always break out in a cold sweat.  

I am also thinking about my last day teaching for a while being next Thursday 7/12/2012.  I start my new job on Friday 07/13/2012.  I am going to miss teaching so much.  I am excited about the new oportunity and the challenge of returning to the health care industry but my heart will be a little sad to leave what I love so much.  My plan is to look for opportunities to teach and I am sure that they will present themselves.

I am thankful for:

The time I have spent teaching.  I believe it is my purpose and vocation to be a teacher.  

From the kitchen:

This weekend I am making shrimp with Sriracha sauce and ginger. I love Sriracha aka cock sauce. 

I am wearing:

Black dress pants, a black silky shell, a black and white suit jacket, black nurse shoes, a silver necklace, silver rings and white pearl earrings.

I know your shocked that I am not in my usual uniform but today my students have their mock interviews and they have to dress as if they are on an actual interview, so I though the situation warranted a more appropriate outfit than scrubs from me.

I am creating:

Considering all the onions I ate last night, methane

I am going:

To take the drive to my new job during rush hour so I know how horribly early I will need to wake up to make it on time to work.  I am thinking it will probably take me about an hour to go 23 miles.  Viva la traffic, oye!

I am reading:

"The Princess of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs

I am hoping:

That I will find a way to continue teaching even though I have to leave it for a while in order to pay off my student loans. 

I am hearing:

My students taking a test and the big air handlers keeping us nice and cool.

Around the house:

My back door broke, well it actually is the strike plate for the lock.  The wood rotted away under the strike plate and this weekend I have to figure out how to fix it.  Until then I am using the dead bolt to keep the door shut which is a pain in the ass.

One of my favorite things:

Recently I am grooving on buying inexpensive work suits from ebay and thrift shops then taking them to the tailor's and having her do the textile magic she commands.  The best part is when I try them on post tailoring and they fit like they were made for me and look like I spent $300 bucks on a suit when the reality is I got the suit for 12 bucks and the tailoring cost 60.  I love my tailor.   

A few plans for the rest of the week:

The usual happily mundane weekend stuff, laundry, cooking, clean the house, play with the dogs, do partial water changes on my fish tanks, nap, read, watch a movie, have lunch with a friend.  I love that boring stuff!

Words I am pondering:

"Dreaming is the private myth.  Myth is the public dream." Joseph Campbell

Here is a picture I am sharing:

This is my dog, Tuesday, the American Eskimo

I am a member of the Houston Zoo.  This is a wonderful thing because it means every day is free zoo day for me.  Anyway, I was there, admiring the animals from virtually all over the world, some extremely rare, some brought here for breeding programs at great expense and difficulty.  My personal favorite is the misnamed giant elephant shrew (which is not giant, not an elephant nor a shrew) pictured above and of course elephants, which are actually elephants and rather giant about it.  The thing that I find hilarious is that generally across the board the kids were more excited about the squirrels, rabbits and pigeons roaming the zoo than any of the arduously obtained captive wildlife.  Ahh kids

Outside my window it is dark and warm, low 80s with a nice breeze from the ocean.

I am thinking about friends and how much I desperately miss them. The phone is nice, so is texting and email but I NEED their bodies. To hug and lean, to touch and smell, to breathe their air and be in the same physical place as they are. I so miss them. Here in Houston my friend finding has been rather sparse. Oh I meet people but between my awful schedule and my general asociality with just a smidge widge of misanthrope, well, you can guess that they finding kindred is not very easy.

 I am thankful for my friend family far flung though they may be. From the smallest child to the oldest geezer they are all dear dear dear to me. I am so thankful for their patience with my odd solitary ways and my sporadic engagement of them. For their willingness to converse on a wide and sometimes shockingly diverse range of topics with me, for their ongoing belief in me and love. I am so grateful for them.



From the kitchen, I made low carb/gluten free blueberry muffins that were rockin' good. Here is the recipe, adapted from here.

Grace's Blueberry Muffins

12 ounces cream cheese, soft
5 eggs
2/3 cup Splenda, sugar substitute
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups Whole Almond Meal
1 cup unprocessed wheat bran (Use oat bran if you are gluten intolerant)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Zest from one lemon, or 1/2 t of lemon extract (which is what I had on hand)
1 ½ cups blueberry, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Plop muffin liners in a 12-cup muffin pan. Put cream cheese and two eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat with a flat beater until smooth and fluffy. Add the other eggs one at a time, beating briefly after each. On slow speed, stir in the rest of the ingredients except the blueberries. When mixture is well blended, stir in the blueberries.

Fill each muffin pan almost to the top. (The muffins will rise only slightly.) Bake muffins for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. These muffins freeze very well. Thaw at room temperature. Each muffin has 5.6 carbs and 8.5 grams of protein.


I am wearing navy blue scrubs and running shoes. It was a sit down kind of day so no need for the old nurse clogs.

I am creating carbon dioxide

 I am going to Dallas in a couple weeks to take my last certification test for a while. When I pass I will be a certified auditor. Until I go I am going to be a studying fool.

 I am reading "Rinkitink in Oz: Wherein is Recorded the Perilous Quest of Prince Inga of Pingaree and King Rinkitink in the Magical Isles that Lie Beyond the Borderland of Oz" by L. Frank Baum

 I am hoping to find a new job that will still allow me to teach AND make enough money to pay my student loans and pay out of pocket for my masters, soon after I finish my certification gauntlet.

 I am hearing pages turning, the air handler handling air, traffic going by outside, a lecture going on down the hall, very peaceful.

 Around the house I got a carpet a few weeks ago. I have had just wood floors in my living room since I moved here 4 years ago. My friend Phil gave me a piece of carpet for my living room and now my toes happily dig into the pile while I read in my big comfy chair.

 One of my favorite things I really love to eat avocado with lime and salt.

A few plans for the rest of the week nothing exciting, just studying

 Words I am pondering "Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause." M. Gandhi

 Here is a picture I am sharing Taken at a dinosaur bone and foot print site near Dallas:

Random, Obscure Post #501

I really wish I could talk about the things that are going on for me in a straightforward manner.
Unfortunately, since I want to remain attached to my employer, I cannot.
What I can say is that I will be glad to break through this barrier that I have been hurtling toward for the last several years. I am about to sit for a couple of national certifications that I have had to earn the privilege of sitting for via an expensive, protracted, slog through education. Now that I have achieved the prerequisites all I have to do is pass the exams, it sounds so simple. I am somewhat of an anxious test taker. (Although, oddly enough, I enjoy filling out
Scantron forms, weird, I know) One of the tests has an 80% failure rate for
first time takers; the other has a 60% failure rate. Of course I want to pass both of them on the first try. Why you ask, why put myself through this? Well, because I really can’t afford to cough up the $800 to take the tests a second time. Therefore, 28 days out, I am kicked into high study mode. My weekends are filled with thick texts, federal guidelines and sundry state and national level laws as well as an amorphous thing called “best practices”. At this point I just want to sneak away and raise Norwegian Fjord horses and perhaps some ducks and
chickens.

This, by the way, is a Norwegian Fjord horse. They are draft ponies and can haul my luxurious self around without issue.

Also here is a picture of a chicken and a duck, just for the duck of it, heh.

On other things: It is frustrating when an organization, a government or an individual makes a grave error in policy or plan and the collapse unfurls in a fiery slow motion woe. If only they were not so stiff necked and prideful so as to refuse to see the consequence of the choice or action. So frustrating and saddening when one loves it or them and cannot do a damn thing to stop the
unraveling.

On a positive note, I got a beautiful hibiscus for my yard and all my tiny little seedlings are doing quite well. The rubber snake is keeping the birds and squirrels away and this will mean flowers later on.

Other positive news: Still living indoors, still have climate control, still have people I love deeply, still have a sweet houndie to keep me company. My live is full and pleasurable.

I am learning how to bake with alternative flours (which would be a great name for a band, btw).
Almond flour and coconut flour are really good and make fantastic baked goods. When I have a recipe that turns out great that I really like I will post it.

-Tah for now dolls

Lazy borrowing

A to Z

This is borrowed from Ellen, because I, to quote Ellen "will do anything to avoid the thinking required to do a "real" post."

A. Age: 44

B. Bed size: Queen. Here is where there is an advantage to being short. I can fit on the bed either horizontally or vertically.

C. Chore that you hate: Dishes, ugh can't stand it. Seriously I would rather clean up poo than do dishes.

D. Dogs: Lily the American Bulldog and Tuesday the American Eskimo.

E. Essential start to your day: I must have tea and I really need some quiet time to sip said tea and wake up.

F. Favorite color: Deep purple, moss green or navy blue

G. Gold or silver: Silver

H. Height: 5'2"ish.

I. Instruments that you play: Violin, viola, cello, mandolin, piano. I have not played anything but piano in a long time and am not sure I still can play the stringed instruments. My piano playing is consistantly and uniformly pathetic but it works to pick out notes for pieces I am singing.

J. Job title: Professor/Educator/Trainer and in my spare time massuse.

K. Kids: None.

L. Live: Suburb of Houston, TX

M. Mother's name: Nicky was my grandma who raised me and Penny is my biological mother.

N. Nicknames: In highschool -Spike.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Cholecystectomy, & fractured pelvis (not at the same time).

P. Pet peeves: Coworkers who behave in an unprofessional way; the use of "axed" instead of "asked", "lieberry" instead of "library"; rudeness

Q. Quote from a movie: "A witch, a witch, she's a witch, she turned me into a newt. . . I got better" Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1974.

R. Relaxation:Painting, long rambling walks in the woods with my dog, napping, reading

S: Siblings: 4 brothers and 1 sister

T: Travel favorite: Small towns in Italy, in the US the drive between Detroit, MI and South Bend, IN US-12. This drive ambles through tiny towns and vast cornfields, beautiful.

U. Underwear: 100% natural fiber if I can find it.

V. Vegetable(s) you hate: Lima beans, why do people eat those dry nasty things?

W. What makes you run late: My students and trying to do one more thing before I get out the door.

X. X-rays you've had: Teeth, pelvis and hip, ribs, chest, shoulder, c-spine.

Y. Yummy food that you make: I make a pretty wicked flourless cake and my fried chicken is pretty good too.

Z. Zoo animal: My favorite is the elephant, although I prefer it were not in a traditional zoo. I am also quite fond of giraffes, wildebeasts and large predators

Outside my window:

It is rainy today, it has been off and on for about 2 weeks. After the drought of the spring and summer I (and the birds and plants in my garden) am welcoming the rain.

I am thinking:

Lately I am thinking about how I can improve my teaching abilities. I have been teaching for about 4 years and am feeling relatively confident. I think I need to improve some of my technique and branch out in the learning styles I am good at working toward.

I am thankful for:

Lately I have been especially thankful for the back up that I have in my life. My car croaked and needs some repairs (that I don't have money for at the moment), my very good friend is letting me use her 'extra' car so I can save up for the repair.

From the kitchen:

This weekend I am making hot wings from a new recipe I got off the tabasco website.

I am going to go all out with home made blue cheese dressing, celery and a good beer. Yum!

I am wearing:

A smart navy blue light wool jacket and matching trousers, both tailored, of course. A crisp white shirt. Navy blue trouser socks and navy blue Sanita nurse clogs. Oh wait, it is navy blue SCRUBS not a tailored suit, sorry, I was momentairly confused.

I am creating:

A body of knowledge for my upcoming national certifcation exam. I mean I know all the stuff but I need to make it easily accessible to my brain. Those formulae are gonna take me out if I am not careful.

I am going:

This weekend I am going to nap

I am reading:

"Anne of the Island" by Montgomery. I am rereading the entire Anne of Green Gables series because I have not read it since I was around 10. It is so good!

I am hoping:

To find a future job that allows me to both continue teaching AND live indoors.

I am hearing:

My students doing their keyboarding and the rain tapping on the very large windows of my classroom intersperced with the occasional rolling thunder. -Bliss

Around the house:

I just got a new chair on Craig's List. It is a chair and a half and fits me perfectly. As an added bonus it was only 30 bucks and looks good with my furnature.

One of my favorite things:

Sitting in my chair with my legs tossed over the arm, reading and drinking tea. (I fit perfectly in the chair crosswise)

A few plans for the rest of the week:

-Review my lesson plans for my next class in 2 weeks

-Plan for a big grocery shop. I haven't had the money in about a month and am out of everything but don't really have the money to repalce with I need. This should be interesting, perhaps dumpster diving at Whole Foods will be in order, heh. (I just saw a documentary on this, whole foods has the best, freshest dumpster produce)

-Study for my test

-Go to court Thurs to fight a traffic ticket.

Words I am pondering:

"Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you into something a little different from what was before" CS Lewis

Here is a picture I am sharing:

This is me petting the dinosaur at the fossil rim state park in TX