Bombshell Blonde

Last weekend I got to have one of the most awesome, rejuvenating experences ever, and with some of the world's best girlfriends. We've been wanting to plan something fun as a "last harrah" before we all left school in North Chicago for our clinical sites around the country, and the ideas have been passed around for months.  ...until, that is, Kristy looked into doing a photoshoot, 50's "pinup" style. She'd signed up to win a one-night group photoshoot...and won! 5 of us (yours truly, included) got to have an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience in downtown Chicago with a professional team of makeup/hair artists and photographers... and until that night, i didn't realize how very, very much i needed to feel pretty again.

School and marriage has reaked havoc on my body, and my self-esteem. I know i'm a lucky woman. The chance to go to back to school, an amazing husband who cooks gormet food, and a curvy "volumptous" body gained from it all. But holy crap, am i depressed about it sometimes instead of grateful.  Not that i tell my hubby this. He's awesome. But we girls know that sometimes NO ONE can tell you that you're pretty; it's all about our own impressions of it, and how we feel in our own skin from day to day, and a lot of days i just feel fat and ugly, and depressed about it.  ...so i "eat my feelings" with a second cookie, of course. ;)

But last saturday? Fabulous. No other words can explain how amazing it was to feel like a real pinup model. Pictures have yet to come back, but a few of the girls brought cameras to document the event and get some fun before/after shots... and here are a few of my favorites (retouched by yours truly.) 

The inspiration...



Before shot... with my inspiration drink of choice



After hair/makeup/wardrobe.. and feeling fabulous!

Analyzing the anatomy clipboard... pinup style

LOL. Love it. Pinup meets Pathology!

...So grateful for the chance to do this. And to feel fabulous for a night with some of the best friends i've ever known. Every girl needs to feel beautiful,  get a chance to get out of the scrubs for a day, and channel their inner bombshell!







I can't really think of what to say in response to Osama Bin Laden's death...but here's a little of what's been said that i can agree with...

First, Gwen, a blog i follow that's every so much more intersting than mine. (Or at least more devoted to the craft of blogging, anyway.)
http://everythingilikecausescancer.blogspot.com/

But secondly, a more in-depth Godly view:
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/is-god-glad-osama-bin-ladens-dead

and then, this quote:
"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

But Mark Twain was able to put it into a single line:

Either way, i do know this: Celebrating the lives of  Godly men/women is so much more enriching than celebrating the death of one evil man. I think wasting one minute more even thinking of Osama--much less taking time out to celebrate this day--is a minute too much. To be completely forgotten after a few moments of reflection is more than he deserves.

I've decided to retire...

So, i've had this epiphany. i know i'm in grad school and all, aaaaaand i haven't had a job in almost a year, ...but i'm considering early retirement. Hanging out with my grandma has showed me that it's everything i'd hoped it would be and more. Since coming to Florida and staying at her house, we've gotten up when we wanted, eaten chocolate for breakfast, lounged around in our PJ's til mid-morning, done some shopping (fueled by lunches at Olive Garden,where we gorged ourselves on salad and breadsticks before entrees arrived), and retied to the house by 5pm for happy hour (wine and/or a glass of sherry). Oh, and later it's ice cream (before dinner, not after, because you want to have room for it in case dinner is too filling) in front of the big flat screen TV, watching anything fun that catches our fancy as long as it's not too sad or could be considered educational, before heading off to bed.

Scatter in some gossiping, a little time in the garden checking out the amazing things that have begun to blossom, the occasional "get together" across town, an art project or two (but nothing that has to be done if a nap attack suddenly strikes)... and yeahhh, that pretty much sums it up. And they want me to go back to the real world tomorrow?!? Pfff. I've tasted the good life, and i'm as good as ruined!

Unfortunately, my g'ma says that in order to make this happen sooner rather than later, i have to somehow:
1) Become independently wealthy, or
2) Marry rich and become a housewife (no kids, though, those totally ruin the plan), or
3) Get myself a magic genie, and make good use of those wishes.

None of which seem to be on my horizon. *sigh*


...though on the other hand, she also told me that the trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off. Which sounds an awful lot like work, to me. So maybe i'll stick with plan A for now, and just work in a few more "retirement weekends" every now and then to keep me going. Kudos, grandma, for your wisdom--on dessert and life.

Angry nights and Mournings

So i'm going to pretend it hasn't been forever since i've last posted, and do a quick catchup since last time:
Haven't lost weight at bootcamp, thanks to getting ill, including a sinus infection which set me back from working out a good two weeks. Oh well. Not the biggest worry... Right now, i'm actually in FLORIDA (land of warmth and sunshine), although the circumstances are less than ideal to say the least.

My Uncle Dave passed away this time last week, when my Aunt finally had the courage to pull the plug, and say her goodbyes. He'd gone downhill rapidly in the past month or so, although he'd been fighting Stage IV colon cancer for over two years. I say that, but really, the number is more like 5 years.. he just didn't tell anyone prior to that. Which is really the tragedy of it all. I work in Pathology. I spend hours each day in school right now, learning about the staging of cancers, the patterns of disease, the ultimate demise of the human body, and how it we wage war against it at every step. And time and time again, i'm awestruck by how many people IGNORE warning signs altogether, and prefer to live in complete and utter denial, usually fueled by fear. Prevention can be easy, at least with good insurance... but that's not really the issue.  Even when people have insurance, and the ability to go for checkups and look into issues when they are sick, so often they don't bother to go at all, or YEARS after they notice something is wrong. Or they neglect to take their medication as prescribed when they know it is the key to keeping the sickness at bay. ...and for so many reasons. We want to be healthy, we want doctors to have "magical cures" but so often people are so outright neglectful of their own health, and then pissed that they can't be made whole again. I mean the disconnect is stunning when you think about it.
My Uncle hid his illness until he absolutely couldn't any longer, and he was taken to the hospital for seemingly "benign" reasons (a hernia issue, i believe was what he claimed), but he had to know by then that things were far worse than he wanted to believe or let on. And even after the diagnosis, he lived like there were a million tomorrows around the corner. He didn't even prepare a will, and he lived for two years after being initially diagnosed. Even in the face of returning to the hospital to have surgery for a metastasis in his brain, he allowed his wife to think that things were better than they were, and (i'm sure) believed these things himself.
And his story is not uncommon. In Pathology, we get the tiniest biopsies for preventative care, and the most horrific, grotesque, unbelievable specimens you can possibly imagine from doctor's offices and hospitals where you just know the person was more afraid of the treatment or diagnosis than whatever the pain or lesion happened to inflict, so they just let things go. But it's so SENSELESS, and it makes me so angry, and upset and... ultimately, saddened.
I'm mourning the passing of my uncle, and grieving with my family over his death, but i'm also genuinely pissed off that he could be so stupid and neglectful in a way that ultimately affected his family more than it affected him. To ignore pain and blood and whatever signs/symptoms he may have had in favor of living a lie is not bravery. It is cowardice. Not filling out a will, or preparing for your death so that you leave a plan for your wife to carry on without you is not courageous. It is stupid, and the effects are long lasting.
Now my grandparents bare the bulk of the responsibility to help their daughter-in-law, who was left devastated both by my uncle's death, and his reckless way of living his last few years on earth. How unfair is THAT!?
... So anyway, i'm in Florida. And not in Illinois (where it's snowing as i type this). And I'm trying to be a comforter and a maintain a mournful air about it all, but I am not alone in thinking that some tragedies are not merely sad because of the devastation caused, but by the realization that so much of the damage could have been prevented.

HOUSE FOR SALE!

Why haven't people bought our house yet?! it's awesome. And we had good weather all weekend, PERFECT for stoppin' by and checking out the world's most adorable house, and not a single person stopped by. *sigh*

Perhaps i was spoiled by the 28day run from "on the market" to "sold" with the last house.

But...but.. this house is cooler. And we need it sold more despirately. Like, yesterday.

So, come on, people. Start linin' up around the block to take a look, already! I feel like i need to do one of those awful hometown commercials, complete with the awful jingle and bad acting. ...maybe i can convice the husband that this is a good plan, and way better than using ReMaxx. It's probably a terrible idea, but dang it. Necessity is the mother of invention...(or is it the mother of insanity?)

It would say "One time only weekend blowout sale!" Or: "AWESOME HOUSE, CRAZY LOW PRICE! " And there would be a circus theme with balloons, and a big blowup gorilla on the roof like they have at car dealerships. (why do they have those anyway?!?)

Truth be told, i'm not terribly worried yet. It hasn't been on the market long at all. And i have faith that it will sell in time enough for us to move to Houston before my internship starts. But one wonders if a little creativity wouldn't hurt...

OWCH.

So sore from "workout bootcamp" that the only thing left that i can do without pain is typing. I'm sure they'll find a way to work my fingers out next session or something, though... Some weird form of finger pushups while suspended from a torture appratus or something. (no, seriously they have one. It looks like this:)

Do you see that thing?! It looks like a jungle gym gone wrong. All i will be able to do is cry on the floor, making sure not to sob openly lest my ab muscles constrict slightly and cause another wave of pain.

However, i'm proud that i've survived almost a full week of this torture. I'd better look like Jillian Michaels by the end of this, or i'm gonna be pissed.

Working Title

 I'm such a blogging slacker! And there isn't even anyone to disappoint if i don't post, but i feel as though i should...

This last semester of my 1st grad school year is killer. My husband just texted me to set up a date night for friday... and even though i said "yes, of course!" and i'm excited that he would even do such a thing, in the back of my mind i'm feeling guilty for taking the night off already. LOL. Pathetic. But, in my defense, I'm already having to scramble to get caught up. I have quizzes/exams/projects/papers and extra credit due that i'm behind on already, and it's only the 2nd week.
...though if i got a grade in facebooking, i'd probably be able to pull of an A with very little effort. Meh. Let's not talk about my defensive arguments i've already got lined up in case anyone else ever points that out, shall we?

i also started a new workout regime. It goes beyond saying "you know, i'd like to get rid of the 15lbs i've found since moving to Chicago...so i'll lose it the way i put it on: slowly." OH, no. It involves daily workouts (or at least 5 a week), including cardio for 45min and some minor weightlifting. Given that i'm bored VEEEEEEERY easily, i've had to switch it up a lot. Eliptical, running (while reading power point slides from lecture that morning if i'm feeling extra awesome that day), a little row machine action, some Zumba DVDs with classmates, ..and the latest: a bootcamp class. 
Becoming healthy is gonna kill me.