Happy Summer!

I totally forgot yesterday's Solstice, and henceforth, the first day of summer!

This week also brings Girls' Weekend in Madison. I'm so excited! It's going to be intimidating for anyone meeting us--10 or so ladies all under 5'5" :) Grandma Z is even coming!! I'm just sad that all the girls aren't going to be there [we'll miss you Casey and Hannah]. We're going to do all the fun Madison things: Olbrich Gardens, the Farmer's Market, ice cream at the Union, State Street, brunch, hopefully a pontoon boat ride, and of course, hearing Fedora at The Hody Bar on Saturday night!

peace and love,

m

beautiful weekend

I was so happy to have Mom visit this weekend. It's always good to see family, and I love havingthem in Milwaukee. Mom came Friday night, during the thunderstorms. When I came out of work, I expected to find a message in my voicemail that she was hiding in a ditch somewhere on I-43, but fortunately, the tornado was south of Milwaukee in Kenosha. We braved the downpour and went out for Friday fish fry...I've been craving one for a couple of weeks now! The beer batter was crispy, slightly sweet, and perfectly artery-clogging :)

On Saturday, we slathered on the SPF 55 sunscreen and walked to the Lakefront Festival of Arts, where we spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon checking out all the talented artists who were showcasing their work. I really liked the concept behind the piece called One by Matthew Adelman. It is a singular work of art made of 1 million tiny squares. There were, of course, many artists whose art was beyond two laypersons' understanding--like the paintings of 2 chili peppers on a porch swing--but it was a lot of fun. Mom found the perfect picture for Uncle Jim's birthday present.

After getting some much needed food [and gelato--pink grapefruit and mixed berry, yum], we walked down to Lakeshore State Park and listened to the polka music from Polish

Fest as we hiked the loop trail. We headed back home by way of Veterans Park to check out the millions of dollars sitting in the marina. Some of those boats are huge--and they all make my Dad's rowboat look like a toy!

Back at home, we took turns taking cat naps while the other one showered off the layers of sunscreen and sand, and then headed to the mall for some quick interior decorating shopping...instead, we both walked away with pairs of shoes! Haha, like mother, like daughter! We also got Eric some nice clothes for his birthday. We're going to turn him into a respectable young man yet :)

Mom left around 7:30 pm, and I spent the rest of the evening watching August Rush and reading Pride and Prejudice. I enjoyed the movie. It has lovely music in it, and I've been a Freddie Highmore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers fan since Finding Neverland and Bend it Like Beckham, respectively.

Today I am just relaxing and doing some decorating around the apartment. And perhaps taking a nap...just as soon as I finish this :)

peace and love,

m

toygers

So I had never heard of such a things as a "toyger" until today when one of my anesthesiologists was excitedly talking about the new cat he's getting this weekend. He is getting a toyger--a completely domestic cat that has been bred to look like a miniature tiger. I have to agree that they are absolutely adorable, and am kind of crushing on said anesthesiologist because he was so excited about his new kitten that is "so cute!" <--his words...okay, yes, I'm partially partial to guys who get excited about the sweetie pie things in life ;) But the other part of me is sad because there are SO MANY good kittycats waiting to be adopted at the Humane Society, and there are all these people paying thousands of dollars for designer cats. I wouldn't give up Mr. Tux for any designer cat, no matter how adorable that cat is. Besides, Mr. Tux thinks he's a lion, and we all know that's what matters :)

In other news, not much. Cute boy at work is still cute boy at work. Work is still work. I've had a couple of earlier starts this past week, including today. I'm going in early tomorrow to do a big GYN oncology case too. I tell ya, these people should erect monuments in my honor. I can't tell you how many times I've saved their butts by coming in early, staying late, doing neuro and ortho cases, coming in even when I'm not on call, and so on. When the economy rebounds and the hiring freezes are unfroze and I leave, they are going to miss me!

Mama Z is visiting tomorrow and Saturday. We're probably going to the art festival. Maybe Polish Fest for beer :) But since Mama Z is visiting, that means I have to do dishes, and since I'm working early tomorrow, I have no other time to do those dishes except for now...so adios!

peace and love,

m

i sat here trying to think of a title...

^^but that's all I came up with. It will have to do!

Today was beautiful out and it finally felt like June is supposed to--but it's not going to stay this warm. What is going on, weather? Can we please stick with one weather pattern for more than 24 hours? You're going hot-cold-rainy-frosty-and back again, and it's really wreaking havoc on my internal thermostat. I don't know whether to sleep with the window open, or if I need to bring extra blankets in! And really, it's June. I should be able to put away the sweaters without a second thought!

I have a confession. I have been bitten and sucked in by the vampire bug [ohhhhhhh, snap, that's 2 vampire puns in one!]. True Blood on HBO. I blame my 2nd shift coworkers! But don't fret, I will never, ever, ever read Twilight. I prefer strong heroines!

[Isn't that a strange word, heroine? I always thought it was...how one little "e" makes a nasty drug into a strong, brave woman.]

Along with my slightly embarrassing infatuation with True Blood, I have also discovered how much I like Kings of Leon. This is, obviously, much easier to admit to than liking a vampire show :)

Time for bed. They moved me up to the 9-5:30 shift tomorrow. I still don't get why they can't get it through their thick skulls that losing nurses means you have to hire new ones if you want to run the same number of rooms. GAH! And to think, our CEO makes over 2 million dollars a year. I should run the place.

peace and love,

m

to the brink of insanity, and back

Work nearly drove me off the cliff this week. It has been pushing and pushing me for the past 2.5 weeks and just about succeeded on Thursday. I very nearly called in a sick day for yesterday after an awful Tuesday-Thursday, but I didn't. Catholic guilt, I suppose. I am in a much better mood now, back to my happy self :)

And since I am back to my happy self, I'm going to share some things that make me even happier :)

-Just now, outside my apartment, a girl on rollerblades being pulled by her dog. Hahaha!!
-Tux chasing a string.
-Sailboats on Lake Michigan. Lots and lots of them.
-Chai tea.
-[hopefully] not being called in. Of course, now that I wrote it...
-Seeing the rainbow flags flying with the Wisconsin and US flags down at the Pridefest grounds. It gives me the hope that we're going to move past [again] having 2nd-class citizens.
-This boy at work... :) It's like a goddamn schoolgirl crush.
-Girls' Weekend in T minus 13 days!

peace and love,
m

harrumph.

Well, I didn't win the lottery yesterday [but that would have been pretty difficult, as I didn't buy a ticket]. Nor did I even get to see the cute guy at work. So now I'm wondering, what was so lucky and memorable about it? It seemed like a pretty standard day at work...however, I'll look at it this way: I got to eat lunch. My patient made it through a tough surgery. My surgeon was pretty chill the entire time. I guess those are all pretty lucky things :)

Today is my Mama's birthday! No telling how old she is though. I'm a good daughter! A lot of my dear friends have birthdays this week--yesterday was Jenn, today is Mom and Katie, tomorrow is Jeanette. Happy happy! Mmm, cake :)

I have to get out and take some new pictures. For now though, you'll have to be satisfied with this one of sleepy, hungover Eric, and Mr. Tux finding a comfy place to rest from Easter!

peace and love,
m

i can live with that

I didn't feel like cooking tonight so I ordered Chinese...mmm, chicken fried rice! The fortune cookie said: "Tomorrow will be lucky and memorable for you."

peace and love,
m