Rock 'n' Roll in Washington D.C.

Last weekend we flew to Washington D.C to visit Poodle.

(Oh yeah, and run 13.1 miles with 30,000 of my closest friends)

First stop was the "Expo" where we justified our paying $100 per person to run 26.2/13.1 miles by stashing away free samples of Gu Chomps, Power bars, and packs of Gu.

Maintaining tradition, we took pictures of the clothing we were to wear the next day. 

(although I changed my mind and wore something else)

 The weather prediction was temperatures in the 30's and rain throughout the race.  Luckily, they were wrong.  Although the temperatures were brisk, (in the 30-40 range) and we stood in the cold for 2 hours waiting for the race to start, there was little to no rain.  Perfect weather for a great race.

Dad brought his Garmin, as did Poodle.  They both clocked the race as 27 miles for the marathon and 13.5 for the half.

Which makes Poodle's 3 hr 55 min even MORE impressive!

Note the great quality (ignoring the alignment) of the only photo I didn't have to pay for.

The quality of the others that I paid $79.00 to download was abysmal.

After the race we ate gobbled up calories at some great restaurants in D. C. and enjoyed being with Poodle!

Thanks for a great weekend!

At the office

Good news:  I finally got an I-pad to use when I see patients.  I can access the patient's file and check the previous weight, prescriptions and notes.

Bad news:  I'm not quite proficient, as noted in a recent conversation with a young patient (6 yr old)

Me:  "Let me check and see what antibiotic I prescribed for you at your last visit."

Patient:  (after watching me fumble with the i-pad for several minutes)  "You're not very good at that."

Me:  "Nope, I'm sure not."

Patient:  "Want me to help?"

Me:  "I'd better do it myself."

Patient: " Well that's going to take a long time.

I think I need practice.

Valentine's Day

I came home Valentine's Day and this is what I found in my kitchen:

My sweetie had sent  messengers to deliver chocolate and flowers.
Although I loved the presents, the best treat was seeing these sweet grandkids!
Totally made my day!
Thanks, Graytop!

The Black Eye Story

Since Cindy asked so nicely . . . I guess it's time.

So on Christmas Eve Poodle (Brittany) and I decided to make a quick trip to Anthropologie to buy a  replacement gift for one of the stocking stuffers I had broken.  We were chatting and laughing and, as usual I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings. (yeah, shocking!)  I backed out of the driveway my usual way, head out the window keeping my eye on the edge of the driveway so I didn't drive onto the neighbor's lawn (well sometimes that happens.)   Since we were in a hurry, I backed out quite swiftly, right into the car of our cleaning ladies, who had parked in our driveway.  My head slammed against the window, and I was a realized IT HAPPENED AGAIN!  Dang!

I jumped out of the car to assess the damage.
Brittany:  "mom, you're bleeding."
Me:  "Yes, I know, but I"m fine."
Brittany:  "Mom, are you sure you're OK.  You don't look OK."
Me:  "Yes, I'm sure.
We ran into the house to tell the cleaning ladies.
They took one look at me and screamed "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!  You're bleeding!!! (in spanish)
Me:  I hit your car.  I'm so sorry (in spanish)
Them:  "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!  You're bleeding.  We're so sorry!  We're so sorry.
Me:  It wasn't your fault, it was my fault entirely.
Them:  "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!  We're so sorry!

Conversation continued like that for a few minutes.
Mike came in and assured them we would pay for all of the damages.  I grabbed a bag of ice, paper towel,  changed my bloody shirt, and we took off again.  Luckily, I didn't really look into the mirror until later.  I probably would've stayed home.

Interestingly, people in the store looked at me funny, but nobody said a thing.  (My eye was huge by this time and I looked horrible)  The cashier politely pretended I was a normal person.

I got home and Mike had cleaned up all of the blood, washed my clothes, and taken care of the car. Yeah, he's awesome.  And pretty accustomed to these things.  Unfortunately.

Getting old

Today  I came home from work after a long day and my darn garage door opener wasn't working.
Turns out it was working, I was just in the wrong driveway.
I quickly backed my car out of my neighbor's driveway and into my own, where my garage was wide open.
Whew!  I thought I was losing it.
Maybe I do need to wear my glasses.

Happy birthday Mabel

What a cutie!

Thank You

So Ashley sent me a thank you note recently that read something like this:

Dear mom:
Thank you so much for the great presents you gave Landon and I for Christmas.  We loved them.  But MOST of ALL, thank for the black eye story.  My colleagues LOVED it!

Love, Ashley

I didn't find it quite as amusing.

New Year's Resolutions:

I have just one . . .

NO MORE ACCIDENTS!

That may not seem like a very lofty goal to some, but for me . . it may be a challenge.

Christmas 2012

Christmas was great this year!

Along with the Houstonians, we had visits from Poodle, Ashley and Landon.

We opened stockings . . .

 presents . . .

 and Bethany LOVED her stocking stuffer!

 We had plenty of sister time

 and fun.

 Asher and Violet were so excited about their Dream Lights.  Hope they didn't keep them up all night. he he

I LOVE being a grandma.
We missed the Funks, though!  Carrie put on quite a feast for their friends, and they kept up the Reed caroling tradition and took treats to the hospital for those on call.  You're the best, Bex!

Charlie is One!

Continuing to catch up . . .

Charlie celebrated his first birthday December 19.

We took him to Bernie's Burger Bus, which we found on the U of H campus.

He loved it!  Seriously, great burgers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!

The Bounce House

Atley and Asher didn't get to attend the Nutcracker, so we had a bounce party instead.

 Asher loved it!

 Atley is super independent, and wasn't intimidated by anything.

We had tons of fun, as you can see!

Re-do Photo shoot

Given the fact that I was not completely satisfied with the photography we paid for, we did another photo shoot.  Shady did a great job capturing Ashley's personality and beauty.  I decided to try a few on my own.  I know I'm not a good photographer, but I couldn't resist.

Poodle was a great help, as was Violet (well maybe not)

 I like this one a lot -

 and this one  -

but this one is my personal favorite!  Captures her personality so well!

 and this shows her natural beauty -

Princess Ashley and her carriage  -

 Sisters!

It was sure a fun day!  Thanks Shady, Poodle and Fernash!

The Nutcracker

 Our annual Nutcracker outing was lots of fun!  Leah and Violet joined us this year and did great!  Mabel and Annie seemed enchanted.  The dancing was especially good this year.  I love girl parties!