Why I love Esquire

Borrowed from my absolute favorite magazine. If you know me you'll know why.

"It's possible, of course, that forty-seven is the best age for a woman because it's the best age for a man. A man has gotten over the habit of looking endlessly forward, at forty-seven, and he's not yet in the habit of looking endlessly behind; he doesn't even look around , at forty seven, and so he can finally see right in front of him, where stands a forty-seven year-old woman.
If he has known her a long time, he might be tempted to describe her in terms of what has survived from the girl he knew- the sting of emotion that starts, always , in her nose and restores, instantly, the freshness of her face and the color of her eyes; the shimmer of her skin, which is so white since she's forsworn the sun that it can light his way in a very dark room; the miracle of her smell, which is the breath of renewal, and so also can light way; the amazing erotic architecture of her back, with its archipelago of beauty marks unchanged from the moment he first beheld them, almost as if they'd gone untouched.
But that's giving her , and the wonder of her age, short shrift. Better to describe her in terms of what has flourished, in the woman she's become: the frankness, the sexiness, the humor, the urgency, the knowledge, the gusty play of throatiness and girlishness in her voice. Better still to state a simple fact: that she, at forty-seven, has a wondrous ass; that if you're an assman, there's no end to the ass of a forty-seven-year-old woman. You have settled on her ass; you can't keep your hands off her, or it; her forty-seven-year-old ass is where your forty-seven-year-old hands go, and stay.
And so that's it: You stay, and she stays with you. She is wondrous, at forty-seven, because she does not represent anything like the vain hope of wish fulfillment. No: At forty-seven, she is a wish, your wish, fulfilled."

Amen. How can you not love a magazine that produces such brilliance? Possibly I'm a tad biased,,forty-seven is oh so close ya know. Too close. But,,life is not bad and if I have that to look forward to,,,I can't complain.

Work,,I can complain about this right? Sucks. Big time. Unsafe sucks. Overwhelming sucks. ICU is a relief if you can even imagine that. Yeah,,that's me saying that. I'd rather be in ICU with the two vent patients that are trying so hard to NOT live than out on the floor with 8 or 9 patients in the same shape. 8 or 9 patients. Think about that. Twelve hours with 8 patients. Boggles my mind. Exhausts my brain. Wears my almost 47-year-old ass OUT.

Ok,,now on to fun stuff. I'm in absolute love with Snow Patrol. Where have they been? Where have I been? So very good. If you get a chance find em and listen.

This is my one day off this week so I'm gonna run make the most of it. Laundry, yard, house, errands,,,so much fun I can hardly stand it.

Oh yeah,, I think Maggie and Preston are Maggie and Preston again,,and my heart is happy. I love my Preston.

Listening to: Run by Snow Patrol
Reading: State regs on work place safety and Safe Harbor for nurses

The Civilization of Maxwell Bright

Last night Greg and I went to one of the Austin Film Festival premiers,,The Civilization of Maxwell Bright. Amazing movie. I cried. Greg cried. We both were tempted to lick the screen when Patrick Warburton showed up naked larger than life in front of us. A grand story. Sad but sweet. Somewhat like Sweet November,,but better somehow. Raw. Coarse. Incredibly intimate. Did I mention that Patrick Warburton is just plain edible? Lawd Have MERCY. Go see it.
After the movie we hit the town for some boy watching and dancing. Nothing good to look at. Lots of good tunes to dance to. A pleasant evening.
Life is confusing right now. Work is difficult. Bordering on unsafe difficult. To stay and ride it out knowing that it will change,,or to run away,,a choice. Change is the one constant there. Do I really want to work without Fred and Paula and BJ and Bonnie and Elke? We'll see.
The Horns are kickin tail. Number 1. Way high up there on the polls. All the way way high up there on the polls. A nice place for them. After the Tech game last weekend I'm almost convinced we really are that good. Can this be The Year?

Remind me to post the The Esquire stuff.
Back to the chores at hand for now. Sigh.

Reading: you must be kidding,,like I have time to READ?
Listening to: Beloved One by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals

Mangled Marshmallow

Go ahead and say " Awwwww". Work this weekend sucked. That is quite likely the understatement of the century. It was wicked. I was almost an hour late leaving Sunday night because two of my patients were hellbent on dying and I couldn't even get out of their rooms long enough to give report and run away. Wanted to run to the car but didn't have the energy. Finally made it home and was greeted by one hysterical Beast. He was spinning in circles racing back and forth and barking like,,well,,,like a dog. Dropped my nursing stuff on the kitchen table and followed him to see what new exciting thing he had to show me. It was Marshmallow. Stuck in the dining room chair. Little arm pinned in one of the wicker curves. I don't have a clue how long kitty had been stuck there but I got him loose and started my checkup. Left front leg was limp and cold and swollen. Couldn't bear weight on it. Didn't make any attempt to try and move it. Didn't even cry when I manipulated it. Not good. I rubbed it and held him for close to an hour while Beast kept watch and provided the occasional nose nudge and Beastly kiss to the little white puffball. Finally some circulation returned and Marshmallow started trying to move around. The leg just hung there. Obviously the shoulder was out of place. This is where it gets fun. Not knowing kitty anatomy at all but being able to recognize a dislocated shoulder I spent the next hour comparing good side to bad side and through manipulation got the shoulder back in place. Whew. He could walk and bear some weight on it and could at least move it around. He held it up when he walked which was much better than having the whole leg dragging. Still something wrong but better than when I found him. Vet was closed on Sunday so Monday morning Marshmallow and I made the trek to see Dr. Naylor. Luckily no broken bones. Shoulder is perfectly in place. A separation at the growth plate on the humerus. Marshmallow is now splinted in electric green from tip of tiny toes to shoulder. He pushes his cast in front of him like a cane. The other kitties are fascinated. Beast is very attentive. I'm the proud owner of a very expensive white puffball.

45-12

Let me repeat that,,,FORTY FREAKIN FIVE TO TWELVE. Isn't it beautiful? Granted I would have been happy with a 3-2 last minute fieldgoal to win,,but that score is just about perfect. Not so many points that it was a tacky win yet it sends a very clear message. The Horns kicked some crimson butt on Saturday then they turned around and marched the other direction and kicked some cream butt and then they turned to the sideline and just flat kicked some Sooner Ass. It was a thing of beauty and long long overdue. I still think Bob Stoops is The God of All That is Football. I still think Mack Brown is way overpaid to make a whole lot of very poor decisions but on this particular day the voodoo gods and goddesses that were displaced when Katrina roared through New Orleans saw fit to conjure a glorious win for the Longhorns and I for one will take it. A win in Dallas is a win in Dallas and this one was delicious.

On the home front things are things. Work is getting back to being overwhelming. I need some extended time off. Maggie is spinning in Senioritis circles. When she slows down she crashes into BoyBlindness that sends her reeling back into the circles. We could both use a long winters nap. Mallory is still fighting the demons in San Antonio. Winning for the most part because she is Mallory and that is what she does,,but I really can't wait to get a piece of this particular demon. Really really can't wait. I should take Big Mikey AND the legal fiends with me. Wouldn't that be fun?

Right now the estrogen level in the house is bordering on lethal. At last count there were six females making T Shirts for Homecoming. Thank God I made chocolate chip cookies. Thank God Steve and Nik are coming. Most of all,,Thank God there is an upstairs for me to run to.

Listening to: Bring Him Home
Reading: Briefs from Greg on three potential cases

Smish,,,,

Odd Life at its best

Mallory came home this weekend to attend The Opera. The Opera. She took Maggie with her. Think about this for just a minute. Mallory and Maggie AT THE OPERA. By choice. No extra credit. No parental force. No cute boy with tickets. They went to sit for three hours listening to glorious music in Italian with each other. I stand in awe. Amazed. Part of me wants to say "Max out the credit cards for surely the end of the world is at hand". Part of me wants to gloat and hint at superior parenting. I'll just continue to be amazed and enjoy it.
I woke Mallory up this morning with The Eyes of Texas at full wall rattling volume. It's Game Day. Texas vs OU. Hot dogs and beer. Cool crisp fall weather. Football. Can the Horns reverse the curse? Will The God of All That is Football pull another crimson and cream miracle out of his magic cap? We shall see.
Maggie is taking the SAT this morning. How can she be old enough to take the SAT? What the heck happened to my littlest girl? This growing up stuff is just going way too fast. I need more options.
Party at Freds tonite. Wonder if he's recovered from our night out on the town Thursday? Hope so. Game time. Must go play.

Listening to: The Eyes of Texas
Reading: Dallas Morning News Sports Section

Hook 'em Horns

Life with a Gremlin

Work was hellish this past weekend. Hellish I say. By the end of the third day I was on my 7th different patient assignment. Vents, trachs, wounds, psych patients,,,with each new challenging admission my assignment changed. "Let Martha take that one,,she can handle it". My brain still hurts just thinking about it. Funny thing is, they were right. I can handle it. Why is it that some of us are equipped to deal with lifes difficulties better than others? Suppose I'll never know. When Sunday evening finally rolled around I was ready to run screaming from the hospital and dive straight into the bed. Or under the bed. Hot bath and the remote control and I was gonna play mama bear and hibernate for a bit. My Gremlin had a slightly different plan for my night. My Gremlin being the demonic ulcer that resides in my gut. Wicked creature. Something had apparently tweaked him into a major fit and he unleashed hell on me at 2am Monday morning. By 6am I was just about ready to wake Maggie and have her drive me to the ER. They have drugs and doctors in the ER. Possibly they would call in a gastric priest and exorcise this demon Gremlin. Six zantac and a handful of tums chased by a swig of mylanta kicked in about that time and blessed sleep took over. I spent virtually the entire day in bed enjoying a semi cotton brained pain free nap. All the kitties came to check on me and decided a sleeping mom was a good thing to snuggle with. I didn't disagree. Maggie roused me from the haze around 5 and we made the very necessary trek to the grocery store. Came home and cooked potato soup,,about as bland a food source as I could think of,,soaked in a hot bubble bath ,,and crawled back into the bed for a wonderful pain free night of sleep. Life looks pretty darn good this morning. Extensive list of chores,,yard work,,,errands,,and back to work tomorrow for more super duper wheeee fun. This weekend is THE GAME. Are you ready?

Listening to: Michael Ball
Reading: THE INDICTMENT OF TOM DELAY!!!!!!

It's Game Day!!

Ice down the beer. Clear the house of throwable objects. Dig out the burnt orange and white. It's Game Day!! Six and one half hours from now we kick off. Texas plays Missouri. ABC at 11. Sooners play Kansas,,FSS at 6. Tailgating starts,,ummm,,now. I'll be at work,,of course. In the Longhorn scrubs. Convincing some lucky patient that they really are a Horns fan and the game is a must see event. Really. Football is therapeutic. Really. What can I say? It's Game Day and the Horns are playing and the Sooners are playing and it's almost coolish outside,,and,,,stand up and sing,,,The Eyes of Texas. Belt out Boomer Sooner. It's Game Day!! Go hug a Longhorn. Kiss a Sooner. Fall has arrived and brought football with it.

Hook 'em

Did I mention I'm near crazed from lack of sleep, work was insane yesterday and that was the good part of the day, I fell asleep without eating and woke up because my blood sugar was crashing and now I'm operating on no sleep with a sugar buzz and I have to go back in and do it all again? Wheeeee fun. It's Game Day!

Texas Fight,,,Texas Fight,,,,,