buy me some peanuts and sunflower seeds

Jeff and I went to our nephew's baseball game a couple weeks ago and I got some cute pics of the kiddos and thought I would share. When Jonny got on base he'd look over to Jeff (instead of his coach) to see if he should steal or not and Jeff would yell over to him to go go go when it was a good time. (The pitching is really all over the place since they're just starting to learn.) I think he even stole home. When he caught a fly ball the first thing he did was look over to make sure we all saw his amazing play. The games are kinda funny cause a lot of the kids swing at every pitch and pick flowers in the outfield, but it's the experience that counts right?

Sofie sharing Grandma's sunflower seed addiction :)

While we're on the subject of baseball (which we are a lot), I think I should point out that I don't think it's a coincidence that after my post on bulldogs, the two teams in the College World Series Finals are the Fresno State Bulldogs and the Georgia Bulldogs. Not only that, but the games are being announced by Orel Hershiser whose nickname is "Bulldog" (probably because he didn't want his name to be Orel anymore). I think it's a sign that we should get one. p.s. Fresno State is the lowest seeded team EVER to make it to a national championship in any sport.

Love this

My new love of english bulldogs came from watching Rob & Big

and this video:

If we ever get a bulldog I'm teaching him/her how to skateboard.

Reading does the mind good

I’m a reader (it runs in the family). I always have a book around to read when I have some spare time. Recently when I made the comment that I don’t really have any hobbies, my loving husband mentioned that reading is a hobby of mine. (Insert sigh of relief--I have a hobby.) It's actually a rediscovered hobby since I've been out of school.

I love the library. In a world where pretty much nothing is free I love that you can go to the library, pick out a book (or like 10), swipe your library card (also free), and you are good to go. I also love that they have EVERYTHING you’ve ever wanted to read about. Awesome. When we made our trip to Costa Rica, we just checked out a couple guide books from the library, took them with us, and then returned them when we got back. Easy peasy.

Here some of the books that I’ve read recently:

Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl. This is a book found in the young adult section of the library. I read it in a matter of hours and love its message to be yourself, no matter how weird you are (because we all are), and to embrace others for their differences. Read it. There's a sequel too that I have on my list (Love, Stargirl).







Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. Some of the images in this book were extremely disturbing, so much so that I almost had to stop reading it without finishing it. I cried. Very simply, it's about complicated family/friend relationships and the Taliban taking over in Afghanistan. It's a powerful story, but I'm not quite sure I could stomach the movie although they've somehow managed to make it PG-13.

Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic. This is the first book in a series (I read it backwards cause that's the order I got it off the hold list at the library). This author is laugh-out-loud funny. Seriously. I've almost read all of her books because her stories make me laugh.

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. I actually read all of these near the beginning of the year because I'd heard so much about them (and the author is a BYU grad). I'm not usually into the whole vampire thing but I could not put these books down. The fourth comes out in August.






So if you have any book recommendations feel free to send them my way cause I'm always on the look out for a good book.

Ahem

Dearest doctors,

Why must you mumble? Do you not realize that someone has to try to decipher your mumbo-jumbo? I have no idea how to even try to look up a word that sounds like mmmfrremaaashhhooo. Is it really that difficult to speak clearly into your little Dictaphone? Is it? Because is makes life SO much easier for me when you do. So much.

Also, when you speak very quietly I cannot hear you. Isn’t the point of speaking into your little machine so that someone can HEAR what you are saying so that they can type it up for you? That’s what I thought.

Also, when you eat (or burp…no joke) while you are talking I cannot understand a word you are saying. Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full? Apparently not. I know you are busy, but have you ever tried to listen to one of your mouth-full-of-food reports? If you did, I bet you wouldn’t be able to understand a word. Well, neither can I.

Also, when the phone is ringing very LOUDLY in the background it makes it very difficult to hear what you are saying. Not that it really matters because you are probably eating your lunch, mumbling, or speaking very quietly to begin with.

Also, if you could learn how to pronounce the names of the instruments you use and the procedures that you perform, it would help me out a lot. You are the doctor and not me, right? Oh, and if you could use some grammar that makes sense that would be great too.

Thanks a bunch,
Your transcriptionist

When I started this course I thought (like many others I’m sure), how hard could it possibly be to type up what a doctor says? Well, let me tell you, it’s a lot harder than it sounds. First of all, there is the grammar (which I'm still working on and probably always will be), the abbreviations, and the medical terminology, such as the names of procedures (ie: esophagogastroduodenoscopy and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography), instruments, and drugs, to learn. I can get the hang of all of that. The hard part is trying to figure out the mumblings of the doctors. If I could figure out how to put a sound file in here I'd give you a sample because, trust me, you would be amazed.

I guess I should also say that they're not all bad. Some actually know how to speak clearly and enunciate. I'm amazed and relieved when they do.

Texas

On our way back to Salt Lake from Costa Rica we made a stop to check out Houston and the Dallas/Fort Worth area (thank you Lance and Ariel).

World Travelers

Costa Rica is the closest I've come to completing my quest to travel to all six continents. But wait, you ask, aren’t there seven? Technically, yes. But when you’re talking travel, let’s be realistic. I don’t count Antarctica because a) scientists are the only ones who really go there and b) I’m not a big fan of the cold so minus 100 degrees makes me want to get back into bed and turn the heater on as we speak (or as I write I guess). Anyway, I know Costa Rica doesn’t exactly count as South America, but it’s pretty dang close. Jeff also received his first stamp in his passport which is pretty awesome. Hopefully there will be many more stamps to come.

We had a great time hangin out at the beach, zipping through the trees, feeding the monkeys fruit loops, learning how to make Costa Rican rice and beans, and trying not to run over lizards in the road--or people for that matter. We were lucky enough to stay at Jeff’s uncle’s place where the builder of the house, Frank (aka Frank The Tank as we liked to call him), took us all around showing us the hot spots and leading us down the beach in our non four-wheel drive (luckily we didn't get stuck...thank you jeff) to get to the good beaches and snorkel spots.