Friday, March 13, 2009

Blogger Friday!!

#1: My Spring Break plans include a lot of sleeping! I have been so exhausted the last month or so. Things have been pretty stressful in my life both in and out of work, so it is time for a break! The only actual "plans" I have include painting my bedroom, hallway and kitchen. I'm really looking forward to getting all of that done because I'm tired of staring at ugly green walls as I try to sleep. And really, there is nothing like the smell of freshly painted walls in your house, I think. The last weekend of Spring Break we are going to my parents' in Uvalde to visit and go to a wedding shower for a dear friend of mine from high school, so that will be nice. If I could do anything for Spring Break, I would take a really good group of friends to the beach in Hawaii or the French Riviera and lay on the sand all day and have a cabana boy bring us cold Diet Cokes while we read and relax. Oh, and it would definitely include a massage and spa day, too!


#2 Pick the month you were born:
January-------I kicked
February------I loved
March--------I karate chopped
April----------I licked
May----------I jumped on
June----------I smelled
July-----------I did the Macarena With
August--------I had lunch with
September----I danced with
October-------I sang to
November-----I yelled at
December-----I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a snowman
6-------a gangster
7-------my mobile phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbor
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19------ - a smurf
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an iPod
29-------a surfer
30-------a homeless guy
31-------a llama

What is the last number of the year you were born:
1--------- In my car
2 --------- On your car
3 ----------- In a hole
4 ----------- Under your bed
5 ----------- Riding a Motorcycle
6 --------- sliding down a hill
7 --------- in an elevator
8---------- at the dinner=2 0table
9 -------- In line at the bank
0 -------- in your bathroom

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:
White---------because I'm cool like that.
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink-----------because I'm NOT crazy.
Red-----------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want.
Green---------because I think I need some serious help.
Purple---------because I'm AWESOME!
Gray----------because Big Bird said to and he's my leader.
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars.
Orange--------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown---------because I can.
Other----------because I'm a Ninja!
None----------because I can't control myself!

Write down the sentence you made. Now, copy this entire thing, and go to your blog and post the instructions and your answer into it! I can't wait to see what you get stuck with...

My answer:
I LICKED MY NEIGHBOR IN LINE AT THE BANK BECAUSE I'M SEXY AND I DO WHAT I WANT.




#3:

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Human Interest Story: Octuplets Born!

Surviving Octuplets Born for Second Time Ever

Doctor: Eighth Baby Was a 'Tremendous Surprise'

By JESSICA RUTHERFORD and LEE FERRAN

Jan. 27, 2009 —

After she gave birth to seven babies, a California woman -- and the massive 46-person team of doctors that was assisting the birth -- thought she was done.

But one last baby, perhaps hiding behind the others, had other ideas.

When the baby popped out Monday at 10:48 a.m., the woman, whose name the hospital did not release, became the second ever to give birth to surviving octuplets -- six boys and two girls. The last baby came five minutes after the first was born, the LA Times reported.

"It was a shock, especially finding the eighth baby," Dr. Karen Maples of California's Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center said. "My eyes were wide."

The babies were born by Caesarean section nine weeks premature and ranged from 1 pound, 8 ounces to 3 pounds, 4 ounces. The woman was carrying 24 pounds of baby.

The hospital's delivery team, which was spread out in four delivery rooms, ran each baby from the mother into another room and then ran back for the next in a bizarre relay race that successfully brought eight new lives into the world.

Two of the babies had to be put on ventilators, but have since been taken off. Three still require minimal breathing assistance.

"The babies are doing actually very well," Dr. Mandhir Gupta told "Good Morning America." But Gupta said the hospital is still watching the babies closely for additional breathing problems.

According to Gupta, the mother plans to breast-feed the babies once they are big enough.

The babies reportedly are expected to stay in the hospital for around two months and the mother could be released in as little as a week.

From First to Last. & Wait, One More

"When the first baby came out, it was crying and kicking, which was very good," Gupta said. "That made the anxiety go away for all the team members."

The delivery team had been planning for a seven-baby birth for weeks.

But seven babies -- 28 arms and legs -- later, one more surprise was waiting: There was another baby yet to come.

When the team learned of the eighth baby, Maples said the mother asked, "Where was it, Dr. Maples? Where was it hiding?"

"The baby seemed to be quite high in the uterus, perhaps behind another baby," Maples told "GMA" today. "I said, 'There's one more baby here, are you ready?' The team was."

Maples said the team handled the surprise birth "without missing a beat."

First Octuplet Birth

The first-known octuplets were born to Nkem Chukwu in Houston and they just celebrated their 10th birthday.

Chukwu is likely the only person on Earth who knows what the California woman endured.

"It wasn't easy," Chukwu told "GMA." "If I say it's easy, that means I'm lying. It wasn't easy."

One of Chukwu's babies died a week after birth, but the other seven are happy and healthy.

As far as raising the group, Chukwu had simple advice for the new mother.

"They should just have fun, sleep when they can, plan things around their children and get help," she said. "They need help. They need support."

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A long, long time ago, in a land not so strange or mysterious, lived a young girl who was always sad and felt very lonely.

Because of her sadness, she became unruly and was always in trouble; she had no friends.

Consequently, the more she stayed inside, in the dark, the more melancholy she became.

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the girl, we'll call her Emeline, found herself having to go outside of the house for the first time in months.

Emeline had one love in her world and it was books; she didn't care what kind they were, although her favorite were those that involved heroes and people falling in love.

For a long while, Emeline dreamed of meeting someone special, even if he was just a good friend, although secretly she wished for someone to love her.

Going back a bit, I want to tell you about why Emeline was so lonely and chose to spend her days vegetating inside

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

It's a Dog's World!!


My name is Maggie and I love lots of things in this world. My mom says I love food the most, but I'm not sure that's true. I mean, I do love me some food, and some treats, and pretty much anything I could possibly eat. But, I have another love that might take first place even over those things and that is SQUIRRELS!

When mom or dad lets me outside with my sister, the first thing we do is run to the trees and look up, just in case one of the little beasts is waiting there, unsuspecting. I almost caught one one day. I was outside playing with my little sister, running around the dog house, doing our usual thing, when all of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him...er, her...well, whatever it was. I took a sniff of the air, just to make sure it was the real thing and sure enough it was sitting in the grass about 10 paw lengths away from me, digging for one of those things it likes to eat, I guess. Anyway, I told Marlee (that's my little sister) to stay very quiet and still while I sneaked up on it. She did what she was told, and I started my stealthy attack. Slowly, one paw at a time, I crouched low to the ground like I've seen the cats on Animal Planet do before they pounce. I could taste the furry goodness and I was almost there when...

my lame little sister decided she couldn't handle the pressure and came barreling out ahead of me, scaring the delicious morsel up a tree and across the high wire, out of my reach. That was it! I had had it with her antics...she's always screwing everything up and getting me into trouble. She's skinny and I'm, well, I'm not, so she usually can outrun me, but not this time. I know her favorite route to escape; around the dog house, through the yard, and around the big storage shed where my dad keeps that loud thing that makes the grass go away and smell funny. So, instead of chasing her, I doubled back and waited for her to come around the bend.

When she turned the corner, there I was, ready to pounce. And boy, did I!! She didn't know what hit her. I must admit, she's a rascally little thing. She managed to slip out of my grip after a couple of bites to the neck and took off again, headed for the dog house once more. I ran as fast as my little sausage legs would take me, on her heels the whole time. As I turned the corner around the dog house, I could smell her just a few spaces away from me. I reached out a mouth as I took the next step when, "CRACK," and down I went.

I whined and whimpered, but mom and dad weren't home and so I had to wait. When they did get home and mom came to let us in the house, I guess she noticed I wasn't walking right, so she started doing the thing I hate most...messing with my paws! Even when they aren't hurting, I hate it when people touch my toes! Ew! I especially hate it when the lady who gives us a haircut does it. It's bad enough to have to get all wet, but then she starts putting her hands in places she has no business. Sheesh!

So, I heard my mom tell my dad she thought I had a sticker in my foot. She searched and searched and if I could use the words they do, I would have told her it wasn't a sticker. I would have told her it was broken. But I couldn't. So, about two days later, she took me to the lady she calls vet. I love her! She's the nicest human, besides my mom and dad, of course. She always gives me hugs and talks to me with the sweetest voice. She loves me and she never calls me fat...she says I'm happy and plump! I love visiting her and staying with the other dogs when mom and dad go out of town for the weekend. Marlee and I have a blast and I don't even mind the bath before we go home!

Anyway, vet said I had a broken toe after she took pictures on a big scary machine. The funny thing is, my little sister had a broken toe just a few weeks before. So, now mom is wondering just what in the world we do in the backyard while they are at work. If only she knew! Ha!

My toe is much better now, but I hope I never break it again!

I guess that's what I get for chasing squirrels and trying to beat up my little sister!