Wednesday, August 26, 2009

14.4

Yesterday was the anticipated blood donation day that I had been preparing myself for after the last attempt.
Preparing myself as in eating beans, spinach, oatmeal, peanut butter, drinking juice and taking an iron supplement. I can and will say this much right now; I'm ready to give my digestive system a rest!

Make a long story short, the necessary hemoglobin levels for females are 12.1- 15.1 and I tested at 14.4!!

HUGE improvement!

12 minutes and 9 seconds later I was down a pint of blood, feeling a little woozy but so happy!
Average donation time? 7- 10 minutes. Again, goes to show I am everything but average!

I'll still continue to keep up with my iron enriched foods and supplements along with drinking juice to help with absorption because I plan on going back in 56 days.

Monday, August 24, 2009

crazy-hectic

So much has happened since the last time I blogged I don’t even know where to start. So I’ll try to recap the best I can.

My best friend, Amanda, of 9 years is moving. To Massachusetts. That is an easy 5 hour drive from here. Yea, I’m sure this topic will be a future blog post. This is sudden, she didn’t give much warning.

Remember those concert tickets I received for Christmas? Well FINALLY! The time came to see Sugarland and Matt Nathanson perform. What a show! Amazing!!
Amanda and I took a weekend road trip to New Hampshire for the concert. The experience and memories will be with us forever.

On our way back home we stopped to meet fellow bloggers, Badass Geek and his wife The Boss. It was really nice to meet up with them for part of the afternoon. It’s refreshing to meet people whom you don’t have to explain what a “blog” is or why you do it. We had things to talk about since we already had some background information about each other; I mean we tell the world already about our lives. I hope to meet up with them again in the future, they’re a great couple.

My Dad figured out how to text message. To watch him show me his new phone, which takes pictures, was absolutely adorable, then to receive a text message from him several hours later was even better. This is amazing progress for the man who says, “he’s getting old.” He’s 55 today. Happy birthday Dad!

The American Red Cross called me, I’m going to try to donate blood tomorrow and hope that this doesn’t happen again. I’ve been trying to eat foods with lots of iron and drinking juice with calcium at the same time to help with absorption. Blood supplies are always low during summer months.

I had to make a phone call to the financial aid office about my award package which means school is too damn close, as in next week. Not excited. At all.

Boy Child starts school next week. I haven’t started school shopping for him yet because he won’t stop growing. He’s crazy tall for his age and I’m not buying clothes for 2 different sized kids when I only have one child.

I cannot wait for him to go back to school! His mind is turning to mush! Boy Child and his neighbor friend are constantly bickering and my house is literally an army battle field; toys everywhere! During the school year both kids are so busy during the week they don’t see each other often and on weekends mine is off visiting his dad. Looking forward to having routine, structure and at least some of my sanity back!

I received some blogging awards that I need to desperately catch up on. If it wasn’t for the last minute I wouldn’t get anything done.

I just recently started cruising etsy. Love it! I’m trying to find my Mom a piece of jewelry, just because.

I witnessed a car accident in front of The Compound yesterday. Helping the accident victims and waiting for those sirens just brought on a whole different feeling within me. I’m glad everybody is ok, especially the children.

Things have been crazy hectic but I really wouldn’t want it any other way. I hope everyone else is doing great. So tell me, anything crazy and hectic going on in your world?

Thursday, August 20, 2009

it annoys me when

... my neighbor's cigarette smoke makes my home stink!

Its 90something degrees out! I want my windows open so I can enjoy the few short weeks we're having of summer.
You know because it only rained the entire months of June AND July!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

sights and sounds

There's just something about them. They're bright. They're loud. They're bold.

Either way; they still bother me.


I don't hear dispatch over the scanner before I see and hear those sirens anymore.


You're not there to call me and tell me what's going on in our small town.


I don't know what type of call you're about to be faced with.


I worry. Still.


I hope you're ok. I just want you to be ok.

Oh! and I refuse to apologize for feeling this way. It's still there anytime I see and hear them.

It's just that powerful.

I'm only human.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

what beautiful eyes you have

Dear Members of the Male Species:*
Sunglasses are important, often vital when it comes to protecting our precious eyes.
Other times sunglasses are merely just a fashion statement.
When the time comes to purchase these spectacles it is best to know which size and shape would best fit the size and shape of your head.

So let me help, here's a quick run down for you:**

oval face: almost any style work for an oval face. Experiment with the latest looks, such as wraparounds or shields. Square shaped frames with gently rounded edges and higher temples look good on an oval face.
frame suggestions: any frame shape

round face: frames should make the face appear longer and thinner. In general, look for frames equal to or slightly wider than the broadest part of the face. Minimize the curves and add definition with soft, angular, rectangular style or double brow styles. Higher temples will create a longer profile. Sunglasses with brow bars also pull the eye upward, making the face appear longer.
frame suggestions: wider frames with angular/rectangular styles

diamond shape: this face shape has wide or high cheek bones with a narrow forehead and chin. Oval sunglasses will soften the contour of the face, although softly curved square frames will work as well. Make sure the styles are no wider than the top of the cheekbones.
frame suggestions: oval, square, rimless

square face: this face shape consists of a strong jawline, a broad forehead and wide cheekbones. Reduce the angles with soft, curvy styles that will give the face some definitions such as cat-eye styles. The classic ovals also work well for this face shape.
frame suggestions: oval, round, cat eyes

oblong face: widen and shorten the face with sun glass styles that do not extend beyond the widest part of the face. Round or square shapes will look great on this face. Frames with short horizontal and long vertical lines also work. Decorative or contrasting temple add width to the face.
frame suggestions: round, square

triangle shape: this face has a narrow jaw and a wide forehead. Soften the lower portion of the face by accenting the eye area. Styles such as cat-eyes should angle outward at the top corner and be wide enough to balance the jawline. You can also try the metal frames with rimless bottoms.
frame suggestions: frames with a straight top line, cat eyes

When you do decide to shop for these, please make sure you bring a member of the female species to help offer you a lot little guidance. Remember, if she's not the one looking at you, the rest of the world is.

Oh... and one last thing.
Color.
That's very important too.
Never wear white sunglasses. Everything about it is wrong.

Unless of course, you're...

{photo}


Nope. Still looks horrid!


(some members of the female species could benefit from this)*
**source**

Sunday, August 2, 2009

3... no make it a 4 bean salad

I'm sure you've all seen and/or heard about the classic 3 bean salad; kidney beans, garbanzo beans (chic peas), and green beans.
Last night I decided to experiment and mix things up according to my liking along with my need for more iron and protein in my diet.
Let me say this: Yummilicious! Hot Damn!

So... I thought I'd share with you. Especially if you love and appreciate the mixture of these beans and ingredients like I do.

3...no make it a 4 bean salad!

1 can (16oz) garbanzo beans (chic peas)
1 can (15.5oz) dark red kidney beans
1 can (15.5oz) black beans
1 can (15.5oz) cannellini or great northern beans (I used great northern)
(drain and carefully rinse beans)


1 cup (total) red, yellow, orange and green peppers diced up small (I used more- I love peppers)


Dressing:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar (I used a little more, wasn't an exact 1/3 cup measurement)
1/4 tsp minced garlic (or more!)
1/4 tsp black pepper

Combine beans with the diced peppers in a large bowl.

(so pretty in my cobalt blue bowl!)

In a separate bowl whisk olive oil, vinegar, sugar, garlic and black pepper well.

Pour the dressing into the bean and pepper mixture and carefully combine.
Cover and refrigerate.


I let mine set over night. I'm sure a few hours would do just fine because when I taste tested this right after it was delicious! Give the sugar time to work its magic with the vinegar though!



Bon Appetit!!