Life's a Beach!

I'm lounging on the beach, looking spectacular in my blue and white tankini. I bask in the sun while sipping a fruity umbrella drink; the colorful lei around my neck emitting a heady floral scent. The rhythmic waves lulling me almost to sleep.

Ahh, this is the life!

Having an imagination is such a wonderful thing. In reality, I'm sitting in my apartment watching as it snows once again. Doing my best to create a summer like atmosphere to ward of the winter blahs. I'll take the lamp shade off the lamp for the sun, slip my swim suit over my long johns, add the plastic leis and some tropical music and there you go. A beach vacation!

Its been another rough week. Work had me driving all over half the state to take pictures for the staff directory. I'm behind with my normal work because of it, and that's stressing me out a little. For some odd reason all of our patients are in funky moods. Showing up at the wrong time for appointments and then being upset because they have to wait while we scramble to work them in. The weather's crappy again. It's either snowing , raining, or freezing rain. And, I'm still fighting off that stupid ear infections and headaches.

I went to the dentist yesterday and guess what...I have another cavity. Which makes me angry! It would be different if I wasn't obsessive about taking care of my teeth. But, because I have Celiac disease the enamel is breaking down and causing cavities. I haven't been able to get a decent night's sleep for about a week now. I fall asleep just fine, but wake up every couple hours or so. I'm hoping to rest up this weekend to recharge the batteries. My favorite hockey team has lost 10 of their last 11 games. And I can only blame the refs for about 3 of those losses.

The week wasn't a total loss though. Even with all the new snow (2-4 new inches today,) the temperatures are starting to warm up. I think we made it up to the 30's today. Spring is just around the corner, I can feel it. Although I'm behind with stuff at work, I'm not that behind. It could be worse. The roads were relatively clear the days that I had to travel to take the pictures for the directory. And, I found an address for the friend I was looking for. Not sure if he still lives there, but its a start at least.

The brightest spot of the week came courtesy of my 2 year old niece, Leah. In my family, we say that a particular family member is our "favorite." It doesn't mean that we favor them over than the others, its just a way of saying I love you. Well, my brother told Leah that she was his favorite and she responded by saying "Jo Jo my favorite." Bill then said, "But, you're my favorite, Leah." (Hoping that she would tell him that "Daddy is her favorite..") To which she repeated. "Jo Jo my favorite." Can we say warm fuzzy feelings!

She is so so so smart. You just never know what she's going to say. When my brother walked into the room she was in, she said "I like hockey." Bill asked her what she said, and she responded with, "Hockey, I like hockey" and proceeded to point to his shirt which had a picture of Steve Yzerman on it. That's my girl! 2 years old and already a Wings fan!

Well gang, I've almost written a book here tonight. I think I will go slip on my swim suit and wear it while I exercise. I haven't lost quite enough weight to be comfortable wearing the tankii in public, so it will be great incentive to keep up the exercising until it fits just right. Then I'm off to bed where I hope to get at least a solid 4 hours of sleep. Have a great weekend. See ya next time!

~Joelle "Refhater"

Mike Griffin....WHERE ARE YOU?

Here it is everyone, Blog #100! Onwards and upwards we go from here.

I'm looking for a friend of mine that I've lost contact with for the last couple years. His name is Mike Griffin. Last time I talked with him, he was in California. At the time he was working as a Sergeant with the L.A.P.D. We met at a party back in 2001. We got busy with our own lives and lost contact with each other. It's been at least 2 years since I talked with him. So if anyone sees/talks to Mike, let him know I'm looking for him.

Well, it's Wednesday. Halfway though the week. Yeah! Thankfully, the weather forecasts were wrong and we didn't get as much snow as they predicted. (Yeah again!) It was colder than crap, but at least no snow. Apparently, the big storm is now coming tomorrow. Spring is coming, but not soon enough.

Today I spent the majority of the day in the car. As I previously mentioned, my boss volunteered me to take pictures of the staff at our various sites for a Rehab directory. I drove out to Gladwin, took pictures of 8 people. Hopped into the car, drove to Harrison and took 1 persons picture. Got back into the car and ended up in Houghton Lake for one final person. Roughly 142 miles round trip for 10 pictures. BAH! And that was after putting in 5 hours at my office. Tomorrow I'll trek out to Mt. Pleasant to get their pictures. Ending the day with a dentist appointment. (fun, fun, fun!)

Its funny to watch the people prepare for their picture. Several of them had their hair and makeup specially done just for these pictures. Some even had me take multiple pictures... Some with the name badge on, some with it off, and an extra couple just in case the first 4 didn't look good. Remember that these pictures are for a staff directory, only for use within the hospital system.

Well gang not much of a #100 blog, but that's all for tonight. It's been a long day and I'm gonna go exercise and then crash for the night. I'll talk at ya'll later.

The clock is ticking...

Tomorrow is the NHL trade deadline. There's rumors galore, but not alot of action so far. Who knows what will happen as the clock clicks down to 3 PM? I expect a flurry of action to happen at the last minute. I don't expect my favorite team to do much, but I'm sure they'll make some sort of move.

This last weekend was fun. My mom won an Eagle award from the local chamber of commerce. The whole family got "gussied up" and went to the ceremony. (My sister unfortunately was unable to attend.) Mom and I splurged and went to get our hair and makeup done and for once my hair cooperated and actually looked decent. I was so proud of mom! She worked very hard and earned every minute of her moment in the sun.

Today was a surprisingly good day at work. I got almost everything I needed to get done done and even managed to figure out how I'm going to take all of the staff photos that my boss volunteered me to take for the office website. The plan all hinges on the road conditions as we're in for yet another week of snow and freezing rain, but if all goes as planned I'll have 90% of the pictures done this week. And, my boss approved some over time and mileage.

Sorry, not much to talk about today. I'm tired as all get out, but happy. I don't have any real plans for the upcoming , so I'm going to totally relax and do absolutely nothing unless something fun comes onto the radar. I hope you all have a good night. I've got to exercise and then turn back into a pumpkin.