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Katiebell

"As Seen on TV"

I had a fairly nice Holiday. 


Actually that is a complete lie.  I did not enjoy my Christmas Day at all. I had patients who were literally Psychotic.  Carolers came, at the typical worst moment.   I was unable to eat my lunch until it was very very cold, and I put waaay too much butter in my potato casserole.  Who knew one could have too much butter? I had an argument with a Physician who is a jerk, and also sort of had some issues with the Charge RN who is not exactly a princess either. 
THe day after Christmas I had a Migraine, and ended up at the Urgent care with intractable vomiting.  Yuck.  The Urgent care though, did make me feel much better with Imitrex .  Thank goodness I dont get the bad headaches all that often.

Now back to my Nice holiday.  The whole holiday season was alright.  I enjoyed the Music on the radio and all the hustle and bustle.  I received some gifts this year that were definitely from Info-mercials.  Now,  I never order anything off an infomercial or even off of QVC etc.  I have been tempted on occasion, so I was keen to try both of these items.

    The first one I received was from my Secret Santa at work.  It was a "counter Cook"  Kitchen chopper.  A very very small, food processor.  I looked it up on the Internet and couldn't find the brand name.....
This is from Black and Decker but very similar to the chopper I received.  I had seen this sort of thing advertised on television and I really wanted to try it because it looked great.  So....How does it work?  Well.  I think the small size is great, but it is very very difficult to use.  All of the pieces lock in tight so that there is no risk of chopping off fingers.  I appreciate this safety feature, but I would appreciate not having to be the hulk to snap and unsnap the pieces!  But, how does it chop?
Well, I've used it for onions.  It does chop ok, but it tends to not just dice up the veggies, it tends to pulverize them.  
I'm going to keep using it, but I am glad I got it as a gift.  If looking for a small ktichen counter chopper...I'd go for something a little more high end, still very reasonably priced....
this one.
It is Cuisinart,  It holds a little more with 4 cups, and has the two settings, chop and grind.   It's about 39.00 via the internet. 

So, as far as being as perfect as the TV commercials led me to believe, this was a huge let down!  But still a useful item.

The Second "As Seen on TV" Item I received was from  my Mom.  It is a "fur glove"  
We see this on television as a great grooming aid for furry animals.  It usually shows a large amount of fur coming off the dog or even a long haired cat.  Since Teulu is not exactly a fan of being groomed,  and he does have a fair bit of hair...I was intrigued.
Does it do the trick?   Alas No,  I found he really enjoyed being petted with or without the glove, but the glove seemed to pick up about 6 hairs, mostly it seems due to static electricity.  
Instead of the glove, I recommend  a regular steel toothed comb.  On the up side, Teulu really rather loves to play with the glove as a toy!

So as far as "As seen on TV"  I'm not really a total fan.  So far the products I got don't really live up to the full promises... but....they were gifts.  I find after this I'm rather less tempted by the Infomercials!!!!!

4 comments Tags: christmas, gifts, chopper, infomercials, as seen on tv
JingleBell

Greetings from Budapest

  I am now waitiing for my photos to transfer,it takes so long,writing a blog to wish everyone merry chrsitmas and happy new year,2 more days to 2010,new year new resolution.Wish everyone a better 2010!!!

2 comments
ch

sleepless night...

Almost 3 in the morning, but i still can't get into sleep.. :(

and keep listening to the 'Bad Romance' :l

 

We’re sorry, but there seems to be a problem with this video and it cannot be displayed.
Lady Gaga Bad Romance Piano Cover

Talked to tso today, i am so glad that you are doing very good and very well:) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

You are still tso.. lol, good luck, all the best to you :)

1 comment
ZoeY

z* down atm.

i felt so mang chang about everything today. if i continue being short tempered & wanting everything my way im so

sure that im gonna die at the age of 30. goosfraba...*chants repeatedly to ownself to prevent artery from bursting*

maybe because i wasnt breathing well and having a sorethroat plus needing to repeat directions multiple times pisses

me off.

serves me right for wanting to have a party. i will never learn. i will always want something & then regret for doing it.

my bloody nature just wont abandon me.

rest now. another one tomorrow.

merry xmas. love. xoxo

1 comment
Team Vox

Happy Holidays!

6acardVOX
6acardVOX
5 comments
Happy Holidays to you, your family, friends and neighbors from all of us at Vox.
See you in 2010!
9 comments Tags: vox, happy holidays
ch

Home Alone 4th?? 5th??...

Today, i am home alone again, with Alvin going back to Malaysia for the celebration of his granny's 90th birthday and some other events, while Siew Jing on another winter trip with her BF:) So, here i am again, take care of the house by myself, sigh, started to miss you guys already, take care where ever you are, enjoy your holiday :)

Just a day before Siew Jing and Phui Lim leaving for their trip, Jonathan was here to celebrate 冬至(The Winter Solstice) with us. Such a nice dinner he made for us:)

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And today is Christmas...Merry Christmas!

(Zoey, faster get well:)

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ZoeY

merry xmas

its christmas and im sick.

ive been bedridden for the past few days .

im suppose to throw a xmas dinner tomorrow but it has been canceled.

i dont dare to go to polyclinic fearing that they might quarantine me or some shit liddat.

argh.crap.

my roomie is stuffing the turkey. how fun. :/

merry xmas and happy new year.

2 comments
Katiebell

Pre-CHristmas Update.

 Nothing overly Earth Shattering.


I start my new job on January 25th.  I am not very excited.  I am trying to be.  At least 5 day shift nurses are leaving the Hospital I am leaving.  The Director really has not spoken to me about this, but he does have to do an exit interview.  I do hear he has to somehow answer for why everyone is leaving the department, while thats nice to know, it doesn't help my situation!
I *AM* excited to be leaving East.  It has been a great place to make friend and work, but over time, they have allowed the mix of experienced nurses to new nurses to become lopsided, and for some reason they have decided to promote some of the newest nurses to "managing" roles.  No one really knows why.  Well, someone knows why, but they aren't really telling.  

I'm not really excited about going to a unknown length of time for night shift. 
Nn4
Nn4
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Looking at the bright side:  I get a huge differential for working nights, so I will be making quite a bit more money.  I will be in a new environment, which hopefully will be a little more logical.  On occasion, doing the night thing has led to huge weight loss.  I've gained a few unintended pounds and have found it hard to work them off....so who knows.

and the brightest thing, I do have a job. 








                                                                                               My tendon, ankle thingy.  I just finished a prednisone pack on Monday.  My ankle is not completely healed up,but it does feel better.  I am able to tolerate walking for somewhat longer without major pain.  I'm encouraged by this.  I'm doing a lot of swimming (40-45 min daily) and am hoping that maybe by February I can start jogging a little.  I plan to actually use the Couch to 5K plan  as a way to get back into it.  It's a great plan for non runners to start running.  And by that time I'll be a true non runner!



Not being able to run has been very unusual.  I admit it has given me more time to socialize and indulge in my photography, and also to clean my home. 




Last weekend, I put up a small sign in the employee bathroom about dinner, then I put up an invite on Facebook, and wildly, 17 people showed up.  I had expected about 4.  It was really fun.


But I admit, I still rather miss running, so I am hopeful the ankle keeps improving.  It would also be nice to be able to walk for an hour with the dog without pain.






The Dog is doing great.

He seems to have received more CHristmas gifts than I did!
Here he is pictured with the peppermint scented Holiday "Lightbulb"  from LLBeans.  He loves it.  

He has continued to become a better behaved dog over the past few weeks. Maybe he knows about Santa.  Or maybe he is getting enough exercise.  I'm not sure.
I hope he will adjust to me being gone at night.  I have a feeling he won't care a bit either way, as long as he gets fed and walked periodically.



Family news: I finally convinced my Mom to agree to come to Florida for a Vacation!  I'm taking her to do some birding and photographing.  She is more talented than I am and can teach me some cool stuff!
Most importantly, I will get to spend some quality time with her doing something we both enjoy.  She isn't that old, but then again, she isn't that young either.  I'm trying to convince her to go to the Everglades, but she seems set on some smaller locations.  At any rate, I am really looking forward it! We'll be going the week before I start my new job!

I'm starting to think of New Year Resolutions.  But I'm not sure what they will be....

Hope you all have a nice Holiday.  I will be stuffing my face at work.















7 comments
Katiebell

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

This weekend, I spent a very chilly windy day at one small part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  It's about two hours from where I live.  I was a little worried that I might get there and find acres of just grass.   Not so!


The Refuge is incredible.  It is 140,000 acres sharing a boundary with the National Space Center.  It was originally set aside as a Buffer Zone for the Space Center in the 1950's. 
The terrain is not impressive, but the entire place is massive.


 Since that time It has been tinkered with in a variety of ways to make it more habitable for both wildlife and people.  I was really really impressed with the entire set up!   
DSC_2394
DSC_2394

Not only are there areas that are attractive to birds,it also contains an area of undeveloped beach which is popular with Loggerhead Turtles during breeding times, and the endangered West Indian Manatee.  There are several miles of hiking trails, as well as a Manatee observation area.  
In the winter the Wildlife Service allows the area to essentially "flood" the marsh areas.  The flooding allows 





for the growth of foods attractive to water birds and attracts many many water birds, big and small to the area.  During the other months, when birds are not hanging out so predominantly in warm, sunny Florida the waters are allowed to ebb and flow with the tides of the rivers, which I think reduces Mosquitos as well as is a more natural state I suppose for the area.
(Above is a Flock of Pelicans, on their way to Pelican Island another wildlife refuge adjacent to  Merritt Island).
What impressed me most is that a great deal of the wildlife is very accessible to people who are not huge hikers.  There is a 7 mile "wildlife observation drive"  which has been placed so that one actually can observe a ton of activity just from the road.  In fact, almost all of my photos were taken from the road.  I think sometimes that Wildlife areas are so lovely, but that many people don't even get a chance to get interested because if they cruise through by auto they see nothing, and think Booorrrrring  This drive would have gotten anyone excited about seeing more.  Not only that, but, access to this area is free!  It really is accessible to all who can physically arrive in Florida on the Space Coast.

So without Further Ado, let me show you all what a real Anhinga, snake bird, should look like!
Anhingas are a little unusual.  Once they get wet, they really have to dry their wings, so it's pretty easy to get this photo.  I think thousands of amateurs like myself have this photo!  It's so dramatic, but frankly, unless you really really purposely disturb this bird, it is not going too far until those wings dry up!
I can't help but share two photos, I couldn't decide which I liked better.
It was a very very windy day, making things rather chilly and sometimes blowing me around as I tried to hold the camera steady, you can see the feathers of this Great Blue Heron being upswept by the wind.

By far the most exciting thing I saw all day was the field of Roseate Spoonbills.  I knew of the bird, but had never seen it.
A lot of Florida tourists mistake these odd looking birds for Flamingos.  But, as Flamingo Dancer will tell you, a Flamingo has longer legs and a dark blackish heavy bill. Like the Flamingo, the Roseate Spoonbill gets it's pink color from the foods it eats. The Spoonbill mostly eats crustaceans.  The algae that the crustaceans eat gives the birds their wild pink coloration.
They use their shovel like Bill to sweep from side to side...there are actually odd little sensors in their bills allowing them to sense their dinner.
They are really funny looking birds, who are extra social, and seem to spend most of their time in huge groups, unlike the Great Egret , which can be seen all over Florida, usually alone.

The Spoonbills are so social, they will even hang out with any other wading birds.  They aren;t judgemental about others not being quite so pink and pretty!
 I caught these Ibises flaying out of a group of Spoonbills.

The White Ibis birds are very common in Florida, and hang out at pretty much every retention pond in my area.  I loved seeing them in a more natural atmosphere.  They are easily known by the very obvious curved beak.

Most of the birds pictured here  (with the exception I think of the Pelicans)  were at one time threatened or endangered due to Hat fashions of the Victorian Era.


Thankfully, these hats have gone 
rather out of fashion....and the birds have subsequently recovered. 

 All of the birds pictured here are considered "LC" or of the least concern these days.

And I am quite pleased to not have to wear such hats 
to stay in fashion!















So,  thanks to changes in fashion and sensibilities, we now have flocks and flocks of these impressive birds to challenge my photography skills.

I love this photo, If you look at it carefully, you will notice the bird, which was flying oddly solo, has the oddest little tilt to it's head.  This tilt made me laugh, it gives the image of an aviator trying to navigate.  

Most of the time, however, the Roseate Spoonbill in flight appears more graceful than the above photo.

This is the same spoonbill, with its head in a less cocked position.  As you can see, they really are very very pink,
but they are clearly not Flamingos!


As I said, I was really really impressed with the area of the Wildlife preserve I visited.  I was a bit concerned that I was going to prepare my camera, make a long drive, and find that the wildlife, being wildlife, would have retreated to areas that can't be accessed by humans, either on foot or in a vehicle!  Instead, most of the photos were taken right off of the "wildlife viewing drive".  The Drive is seven miles of gravel road, with 14 or so stops that are marked.  At several of the stops are short 1-2 mile looping trails that allow people to get out deeper into the habitat.  At stop nine (where the Spoonbill in flight pics were taken) is a 5 mile loop with an awesome observation deck).  I walked the 5 mile loop.  While the loop was fun...there were so many mosquitos, I actually eventually wanted to rip off my pants (which were being bitten through) and roll in the scratchy grass.  

I would really recommend this to anyone who has even a passing interest in birds and wildlife.  It's free, so you won't feel like you wasted a ton of cash on a short visit.  I regret that I didn't have binoculars!!!
And on that note.....
I'll share the view I had, as the light started to go.

I hope you enjoyed the photos!  (I'm a little overly proud of myself...)



5 comments Tags: hiking, florida, heron, ibis, roseate spoonbill, merritt island national wil...
JingleBell

Solister winter dinner with Jon

  I am right now waiting for Mr.P.L.Lee,we are going back to made 'tang yuan"Jon-the chef going to cook us superb dinner,looking forward to all the yummy food.According to him Solister winter is something greater than Chinese new year,never know this before until i know him.
  So many partying going around recently.Resolution for 2010???I guess i would be same as last year becoming slimmer,become smarter,this is the final year,i wish i could pause the time,so i can be smarter and slimmer,at the same time knowing that how much time is given,it would be the same too.This year got another mission,i wanna be a great girlfriend.What is the definition of it?I don't know what is that definition of it.I will try to make every minute worth spending and memorable!!
  Alvin is away,of course missing him.The house is kind of quiet,luckily Jon and PL is around!!!

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