Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I used to make felt woven hearts (the photo above is an example of one made with paper, not felt) and fill them with little notes/chocolates/whatnot and give them out to pretty much anyone.
Wanted to say thanks to all of my friends and family who support me; unfortunately I have not posted anything this month other than the ramblings of the E.R. because I have still been sick which is very frustrating. Have been to my specialist and the regular doctor plus need to get in sometime this week to have more blood drawn and tested for who-knows-what.
For everyone whose blogs I am actively following thank you for providing distraction on the rare days I have signed into the computer - I have not even been able to play my [two] pointless facebook games to keep me distracted....
Enough of bothersome stuff - today is a day that I like because it reminds me of Christmas time - it is another opportunity to offer thanks for the people I know (or have yet to meet) in my life, and a time to look for the positive things in life!
I have my ten-year high school reunion coming up in March and have been finding old classmates on facebook which has been fun... I have been able to spend time especially with my youngest cousin (over five months old now!)... My best friend and her husband sent tons of photos of my godson and his twin sister showing their antics during this new year (very much appreciated since they live in France - but they will be back in CA this summer!!!)... I am not in the hospital and am able to live through other people's lives when mine is sliding downhill which helps me to dig in and climb back up to health : )
Also - how could I forget to mention this?? - my neighbors had their first child, a baby girl, at 3:33am on February 13th in a home birth and the family of three (five if you include their two dogs) are all happy and healthy, plus they want me to spend a few days a week with the new baby! Did I mention enough how much I love children?
Alright, wrapping this up because I'm heading out to buy my books for the spring semester (another child development course - turns out I have two left before being able to complete my second degree - and an online women health course for fun) and then am planning to watch tv after a lovely home cooked dinner.
Hope everyone smiles about something today, and thanks again to all of you who help lift my spirits even when you don't know it!
Home for about two hours now, but today turned out to be insanely frustrating instead of the relaxing Saturday I was hoping for. Thankfully a family friend and his buddy were willing to drive me to the E.R. - I of course was quite concerned and freaked out because I have never been told I was not allowed to drive myself - not to mention the cost of an ambulance...
(Warning - if you ate a good meal, wait to read this post, and I'm sorry for the detail!)
Pulling to explain - I had tried an over the counter medicine for the first time, and apparently my body really disliked it. I woke up just after 2am to rush to the bathroom where I threw up and had diarrhea. I then put my pj's in the washer, cleaned the bathroom, and collapsed on my bed immediately falling asleep. End of story, right? Nope. I called the number on the side of the box after I woke up and the lady said throwing up was very abnormal and I needed to contact my doctor immediately. Since I had slept until about noon then talked to her, Kaiser was closed and I had to talk with an after hours nurse.
The after hours people put me on hold - after an HOUR of listening and waiting I was given the option to hang up and they would "save my place in line." Another hour and a half went by, then the phone rang. I started to describe what had happened, but with my past medical stuff and the projectile vomit (apparently orange is a serious concern as a vomit color?? I have not thrown up in over five years so I have no clue about that), the after-hours advice nurse insisted that I shouldn't drive myself but I should show up ASAP (taking no more than three hours to arrive, and to call for a taxi or an ambulance if I couldn't find a ride).
First of all, if it was so urgent why did they put me on hold/not call me back for two and a half hours? Secondly I am so thankful that I had a family friend jump on the opportunity to help me when I needed it - they rushed and less than ten minutes later I had a ride waiting outside my door. Traffic getting to the hospital, but within minutes of arriving I had been checking in and passed over a half-full waiting room, given my hospital gown, and was laying on a gurney waiting for my second-ever IV. (I really hate needles, and IVs scare the hell out of me - most of the time I faint when I have to get my blood drawn).
Those five minutes were the most relaxing of the entire time if that's possible. "My" room was needed, so I was put in the hall "just for five or ten minutes" - which turned out to be the entire duration of my afternoon/evening in the E.R. So fun! Lots of boring stuff went on, I read a bit of another book, and finally hours later the doctor dropped by to say my blood work had come back, everything was fine. A few minutes later the nurse came by to take out my IV and I asked what exactly my diagnosis was - "you are nauseous"... WERE THEY KIDDING?? Five hours and all they could say was I was nauseous and to call/come back if I threw up again??
Yep. That's it. Got my discharge papers, was given a cup of orange juice with potassium powder in it (apparently the only thing they found was that my potassium levels were just a *tiny* bit low so they figured it wouldn't hurt to give me some before sending me home) - and I very, very luckily had my ride waiting for me to drive me home to take care of my dog who was feeling very abandoned. I am tired and can't believe I let the after-hours person convince me to go to the E.R. (after I had only thrown up around 2 in the morning, nothing after that!) and give them a lovely $50 co-pay. Thank God I have insurance - I am going to bed now and hopefully shall fall asleep the minute I hit the pillow and just sleep for hours and hours.
Not trying to complain, just can't believe the stress of what was to be a simple day - and then having the doctors decide there was nothing wrong - why did I go again? Oh, right, I didn't want it to be something worse like the after-hours nurse implied. So very, very tired right now :/ Anyone willing to give me a hug or a back massage? Even a kind phone call would help...
::HUGS:: Off to bed - sweet dreams world!
Since the computer is being bothersome I am spending as little time on it as possible (yesterday and today at least, hopefully tomorrow I should have time to look at it properly)! Decided to attach my high school senior portrait (class of 2001) because this March is the ten-year-reunion gathering. Tempus Fugit!! Lovely gentle rain today, as a random side note!!
"When I was five years old, my parents always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy.' They told me I didn't understand the assignment and I told them they didn't understand life."
I do not know who wrote this, nor when I first read it, but it follows my life and thought process very well. [Although I am not sure this is the exact quote I read, but it is close enough]. So I have decided that today I am going to ramble a bit about being happy living life. I have believed from the time I was very young that being happy was the most important thing growing up. I understand that people can see "being happy" from different points of view, but for me being happy centers around family, nature, and an overall positive spirit.
Family and friends are quite important, not only because of the support they can offer you, but because of the support we can offer in return. Trying to be a good person, offering help, not deliberately hurting people, volunteering -- these are all positive things. I also think that having a family of my own one day will make me happy, but who knows -- perhaps being happy includes everything mentioned above (and either more or less!) but not being married.
At this point in my life I do not see how I would be completely happy without the love of my life being a part of my life, for me to support him and for him to be there to support me -- but life has gone on for so many people who say they are happy... And I know that I have had brilliantly wonderful happy moments/times in my life without being married. So perhaps this year I should step back from the idea that I have in my head that includes a husband (and child/ren) and focus more on myself and creating happy moments for others.
Not sure where my ramblings are going, have lost my train of thought for the moment, so I shall end this blog for now. I do hope that today everyone remembers something/some point in time that made them happy, and smiles at least once!
Starting off with an update to my list of books I have read in 2011 - four more to add to the list. Two follow the train of historical fiction set in England and the other two veer from that path into my "random assorted books" section. The first two: Mademoiselle Boleyn" by Robin Maxwell and "The King's Confidante" by Jean Plaidy; the second two: "Waiter Rant" by Steve Dublanica and "Mr. Darcy's Little Sister" by C. Allyn Pierson. Not sure at the moment if I shall be continuing with historical fiction (I only have one or two more books before I move into Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth - which would be a large step forward from the "older" England)... I might stick to my "random assorted books" though.
Alright, getting back to the point for this particular blog, family. Specifically I have been in the mood to write about all of the lovely babies that have become a part of our lives over the past two years! There must have been something in the water because when I try to compute the amount of babies that have arrived in relationships that previously had zero children - let me try and start with the youngest and work my way up (apologies in advance for being off by a few weeks for some of these, they all seemed to appear at the same time!)...
four (and a half)-month-old girl
six-month-old girl
nine-month-old twins (a boy and a girl)
ten-month-old boy
13-month-old girl (Have not met her, and rarely hear about her, so am VERY fuzzy about her age; I know she is between 11 and 15 months old)
16-month-old boy
17-month-old twins (a boy and a girl)
19-month-old girl
...Then the jump to a seven-year-old cousin, then another jump up to a 15-year-old cousin, followed by a third jump up to a 20-year-old cousin. So in the past 20 years there had been very few babies around, then in the last year and a half basically there are babies popping up like beautiful angelic flowers in our lives! I love little kids; spent the past two summers co-running a preschool summer camp and the past two semesters helping in an infant/toddler classroom then a toddler classroom. (I received my B.A. with honors in 2006, but since then have slowly been working on a child development certification/degree at a local community college while working).
Ramblings. Yes, I do ramble quite often!! Okay, so although there have been many new babies, I have been invited to spend time with the four and a half-month-old the most (every Wednesday since she was born, except for maybe four days scattered in here and there); quite a bit of time with the nine-month-old twins and the 19-month old girl; also have been invited to spend time with the six-month-old girl (unfortunately I have been an ungrateful cousin and spent time with her only at family gatherings so far)... Oh, and I have spend some time around the 10-month-old boy as well. Wow, that took much longer than I realized to figure out ages and type this all out! I wonder if it will make sense when read...perhaps not. Hmmm....
I also wanted to mention that across the street there is a young couple expecting their first child in about five weeks, and they want me to come by and help a few days a week, so I am looking forward to having that opportunity as well : ) Yesterday I spent several hours with my four and a half-month-old cousin, and although I love her to pieces, she makes me want to spend time with more babies!!
Anyone have a 0-5 year old child, live in Southern California, and have an interest in inviting an experienced babysitter/mothers helper/CPR and First Aid certified individual over to visit? I love working/playing with little kids, and as everyone with children (or who work with young children) knows, spending time with children is pretty much the next best thing to "laughter is the best medicine" in life : ) ...More randomness from me, but I have been thinking about taking an au pair/live-in nanny position, perhaps a travel one - last month marked ten years for me being an employee for Recreation and Parks, much of that time spent in the camping division/child care... I have my passport and am a bit tired of feeling like I am always in the same place [not true, but it feels that way sometimes unfortunately]...
I don't know. Am feeling a bit off recently. More reading and more time with children! I hope everyone is doing well, especially those who have asked for prayers (or who I know need them and I am praying for anyway - too many family/extended family/friends have become quite ill the past two months, many requiring surgery, including the 10-month-old boy)... Prayers and positive vibes and hope being sent to all who need it ::HUGS::
*Edit - I feel this post is quite rambling but I am not in the proper mindset to re-write it and make it more clear at the moment. Perhaps later?
Yay! Apparently I have people reading my rather random, very rambling blog because Nathalie has tagged me in her "The Versatile Blogger" post! (This is the first time I have ever written a blog, so although I was able to save the image, I am not sure I have created the correct link to her post - let me know if there are problems/if anyone has questions for me please??) Continuing with ramblings now...
Here are the rules for the award:
Tell your readers ten things about yourself that you might not have divulged before, and pass the award on to seven new people at blogs that are fairly new to you.
So 10 things about myself that I haven't divulged before:
1) I decided to title my blog "Rose Rambling" because (obviously!) I ramble; including "Rose" as part of the title was also an obvious choice for me though. I spent several summers as a camp counselor/junior camp counselor and we were able to pick our own "Nature Names" instead of using our "regular" first names. I rarely react to someone calling out the name Rose now, but every now and then I still turn my head, especially if it is a child calling.
2) My profile photo for this blog was taken mid-summer 2010, the day that I donated my hair for the second time to Locks For Love (a great program that takes donated hair and creates wigs for those who have had cancer). My first time I donated almost exactly 12" of hair; however, this past summer I was able to donate just over 15" of hair! Not only did it feel great to donate to a great cause, but I also got a fun summer haircut and my shower time was drastically shortened!
3) When I was younger (roughly ages 0-8 years) my family and I would visit friends in Mexico, or they would come to visit us, every single summer. So thanks to my family [and family friends] I am able to speak Spanish - although I have not been practicing anywhere near as often as I should! I think my communication ability has unfortunately dropped to simple conversational skills, but I do still understand much more Spanish than I am able to speak.
4) I have taken several semesters of American Sign Language (ASL) for fun, and although my lack of practice (again!) has caused me to lose my fluidity, I can still manage reasonably well when communicating with hard-of-hearing or Deaf individuals. I should start getting back into Deaf Culture, it was fun learning a new way to communicate.
5) I do not drink coffee (even though I do tend to enjoy the smell of it). I tend to drink tea (sometimes with sugar, never with milk) or hot chocolate when I am cold or feeling under the weather. As for "regular" drinks I usually stick to flat water or juice; occasionally soda or chocolate milkshakes find their way into the mix.
6) I really dislike scary/horror anything - books, movies, music, you name it. I turn into a huge scaredy-cat and I want to take this opportunity to blame part of my family (even though I love them all!) - especially my two older cousins and my mom - for this dislike. My cousins would hide then jump out at me/grab at me and my mom never liked anything scary/horror so growing up it was natural to follow her lead. This past Halloween was the first time I willingly attempted to watch a scary movie and to continue my honest streak, I had nightmares off and on for a couple of weeks.
7) I don't want to "waste" a number here by mentioning things that have come up in my previous blogs, so I am going to try and cram in the most important points into one number (hopefully I am not cheating too much)! I really love to read, spend time with family and friends, be in nature, and volunteer/work with kids.
8) One summer when I was in elementary school I won an award for bowling - but I think it was part of the six-week-long bowling camp my parents had put me in, it likely had nothing to do with my bowling abilities : ) I do enjoy going bowling when the opportunity presents itself though!
9) I decided to start a blog partially because I had never blogged before. I had bookmarked an old roommates blog a few years back and followed it that way; after I joined facebook I noticed more friends who had blogs. I have started to followed their blogs, their friends blogs, or other blogs that I find interesting for one reason or another. (For example, one blog I am following is an anonymous teacher who spent every single day of last school year eating, taking photos of, and commenting on the food in her cafeteria. The exact same food most of her students were forced to eat she secretly voluntarily ate and commented on - I found it quite interesting for various reasons). I hope that no one has found me to be unwelcome or bothersome by me choosing to follow them - I do hope that in return everyone feels more than welcome to read/follow my blog!
10) Save the best for last, right? Okay so my favorite thing that I have not shared yet? This past summer I became a godmother for the very first time! My best friend had twins in the spring (a girl and a boy) and I became the godmother to an adorable little boy! I miss the family so much right now because they do not live in the USA, but I am looking forward to them visiting California next summer! (So that might just be the best for me, but still. My blog, my ramblings, right? *grins*)
Okay, so Nathalie said I am to pass this award onto seven other people, but I don't have anyone following my blog officially so I am not quite sure how to pass it on. I am going to steal her words in lieu of knowing how to tag people, so... "If you're reading this though and would like to join in, please do! Leave a comment to let me know so that I can read it too."
Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Several years ago I went to the "new" J. Paul Getty Museum here in California. It was my first time at this museum and it had recently re-opened (hence me referring to it as "new"). I went with family, friends, and quite unfortunately a fever somewhere around 104 degrees. Yes, I know I should not have gone while sick, but I did not want to miss the opportunity. Having such a high temperature combined with other not-good feelings has left me with a very, very hazy memory of that day. I remember walking quite a bit, liking the shapes of the buildings along with some of the artwork, and really enjoying the garden and water features on the property.
At some point we must have viewed Winslow Homer's oil painting titled "Sunlight and Shadow" because I know I had never seen it before. I apparently expressed an interest in it (though I have no memory of this!) and secretly my parents purchased a poster copy of the painting which was given to me when I moved into my first college dorm room [several hours away from home]. I LOVE this painting. It reminds me of so many things - nature, relaxing, enjoying reading... The dress the lady has on is even a blue tone (and I love the color blue).
I could go on and on about this painting, but hopefully I shall successfully attach an image of it below so you can look at it, enjoy it, and learn a bit about me because I would love to be this lady and I often try to do what she does. I had a hammock for a while, but I love to lay back and look up at the leaves, at the sky... I love to read, and this image always reminds me of my family who are very important to me as well.
Anyway, enough ramblings for the moment, hopefully this image will make you smile, (or at least help you remember something that makes you relax). Have a wonderful week filled with sunshine!
