Never Turn Down a Challenge That’s Not Harmful

I had a little laugh when Dawn from The Moiderer (as in talker not murderer) tagged me with the Kreativ blogger meme. I laughed because she tagged me in order to see how I would fit this meme into a “lesson”.

I guess she was either trying to make it really hard on me or she didn’t realize that this is the second time I have been tagged with this meme. I thought I did a good job the first time around, and I have been racking my brain for another 7 interesting facts about myself.

But like the title of today’s lesson, never turn down a challenge that is not harmful. So since this one is in good fun, my hubby helped me out and this is what we have come up with. Not quite as interesting as the first list but still…..

1. I can shape my tongue into a flower.

2. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and an Associate’s Degree in Nursing.

Nursing School Graduation

3. In 7th and 8th Grade I was on my school’s basketball team basketball. I was famous for my 2 handed over my head foul shots. (Not a pretty sight)

4. I have finished each of the Harry Potter Books in less than a day and I have reread each of them dozens (if not more) times.

5. When I’m upset at my kids, for some reason I end up yelling at them in Hebrew. Go figure because English is my mother tongue. I guess I want to make sure my kids understand me really well. I also find it hard to have a medical conversation in English. But that is understandable because most of my nursing career has been in Hebrew.

6. I have done rappelling down a 50 meter drop from the top of a cave. How embarrassing is it that fifty 11 and 12-year-old kids did it with less dramatics than I did? For my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah we took fifty of her friends on a field trip and rappelling. (Yes, we were insane to have voluntarily have done that!)

7. When I was 18 I smashed up my boyfriend’s black sports car while he was in the car with me. He saw the other car coming and tried to get me to stop the car but my reflexes were just not very fast. Then when I heard the police sirens coming I tried to run away and leave him there on his own. But guess what? He still proposed less than a year later and married me anyways. It does kind of explain though why unless he is unconscious he does not let me drive while he is in the car. (BTW-I have a picture of him and beloved car before the wreck, but am too tired to go searching for it now. Maybe I will add it later.)

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So now that I have proven myself up to the challenge, I now have to tag seven other bloggers. I think that is the hardest part.

The rules are as follows:

1.Copy the award to your blog.
2.Insert a link to the person who nominated you.
3.Share seven things about yourself that you haven’t told us before.
4.Nominate seven other bloggers for the award.
5.Link to their blogs.
6.Tell the nominees about their award

I tag: (all bloggers who are new to me)

*Amanda at I am a mommy
*Mommy Needs Coffee
*I Know I Need To Stop Talking
*Alice at Alice’s Adventures In Blogland
*Siany-Sian at Musings of the Siany Sian
*Miss McFarley at *McFarley Makes A Mess *
*JK at WEST OF THE PENNINES

Images:

GUTTER BALL
Peter Shanks | Flickr Creative Commons

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There Is Always A Way To Put A New Twist On Something

I love being tagged with awards and memes by other bloggers. It gives you a chance to get to know other bloggers and for them to get to know you. It also at times gives you something to write about when you are struggling to find a light hearted topic, or sometimes any topic.

The way I write my blog, I have a theme. I try to blog about a lesson in life each day. Sometimes fitting memes into “a lesson” can be challenging.

I have done a tenth photo meme and I still have another one to do. I have done a 7 things you don’t know about me meme, and I have done the Happy 101 list of 10 things that make me happy twice. The first time I wrote about unexpected happiness and the second time I wrote about there being happiness in every day.

When I was tagged for the third time with the Happy 101 ten things that make you happy meme by Potential Mummy B at My Baby Adventure, I chuckled to myself. I wondered if I would be clever enough to come up with a new take and a new lesson on something I have done twice before.

I have risen to the challenge and I have decided to write about ten things I am happy I don’t have to do. How is that for creative?

So here is my list:

1. I have no more pampers/diapers to change. Sure I still have my little daughter’s cute little tushy to wipe, but no more smelly diapers.

(Photo courtesy of Miss O’Crazy)
(Unless of course you count the ones I change on adults in the ER. Hmmm, maybe I should qualify that and say I am happy to have no more baby diapers to change.)

2. I don’t have to find things to do with my free time to keep me from being bored. That’s because I have no free time. I have my family, my house, my job and now blogging. No, I definately do not have to find things to occupy my time.

3. I don’t have to iron with an iron that barely gets out the wrinkles. I have an amazing big humungous steam iron and when I iron it goes really fast. Unless of course I have two weeks worth of ironing piled up because I have been blogging…

4. I don’t have to work full time. Or I should say I don’t have to work full time in a paying job. I am thankful to be able to have the luxury of only working part time.

5. I don’t have to do all the housework on my own. My kids are big enough to help out and sometimes they even do a better job than me. My hubby is a great help as well.

6. I don’t have to fight my kids for computer time. Thanks to my amazing hubby, I finally have my own mac laptop. I am quite sure that he is regretting buying me one since I have been linked at the hip with it since I got it and definitely since I discovered blogging.
(Photo courtesy of Spike)

7. I don’t have to think twice about picking up the phone and calling my sisters overseas. Or at least as far as cost I don’t. Them being 10 hours behind me can be a bit tricky if I don’t want to wake them in middle of the night or at the crack of dawn. I remember when the cost of these overseas phone calls were prohibitive and did cause you to think twice or at least keep your calls short.

8. I don’t have to go to parent/teachers meetings. Well I don’t know if it is true that I don’t have to but I don’t go because my husband goes instead of me because I really do not like going. So let’s just pretend that I don’t have to go.

9. I don’t HAVE to go to school. If I chose to go back to school to learn something it will be because I want to. I do feel bad for my kids sometimes when they are struggling with subjects that they really will never use.

10. It’s okay if I don’t have a number 10 for this list, because I can’t think of anything else. So I am happy that I don’t have to have a number 10 if I don’t want to.

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And now in blogging tradition I tag the following bloggers with the Happy 101 award and send them on their mission to find a list of ten things that make them happy. And if perchance they have done it before, they have creative license to change it around.

* Paula at Battling On
* Annette at Mammakerr
* Claire at The Life of a Twenty Something Mum
* Tara at Sticky Fingers
* Julia at What Will Julia Do Next
* The redhead at Deer Baby
* Snaffle’s Mummy at Snaffles Mummy
* Vicki at Vegemitevix (Because I would like to see how she manages to come up with another list when she only managed one on the list she just did. LOL-with friends like me who needs enemies?)

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Take The Time To Hear, See and Feel Life

How often do we take a minute or two to pause and really hear, see and feel life. Life is constantly happening around us, to us and with us.

(Photo courtesy of Meg Wills)

I was tagged by Dymphna at Me Plus Three and Mr. C to let you know what I hear, see and feel in a mere minute or two of my life. That made me really pause and think. There are so many levels of things happening in our lives at every minute.

Yesterday I chose to take a minute or two hearing, seeing and feeling at work in the ER.

This is what I wrote during those few minutes:

I hear the cry for attention persistent coughing of a patient who has been through much suffering in her 36 years.

(Photo courtesy of Ky Olsen)

I feel distressed that I have no patience to give her the attention she craves. I feel even worse when I realize she is blind and must be scared and feel alone.

I feel distracted by all the things that are waiting for me to do at home after my shift.

I see the heartfelt smile from an intern happy to see me upon arriving for his shift. I have been patient and nice to him in the past.

(Photo courtesy of Fabio)

It makes me feel good that someone was happy to see me.

I feel sad that these days my job does not fulfill me and I have a feeling of unrest.

I feel strengthened that my decision to have notified my boss that I am looking for a new position is correct.

I hear the steady beeping of a heart monitor, and I feel the anxiety of the patient in the midst of a heart attack who is attached to it. I see the fear and sweat on his face.

I hear the worry in my co-worker’s voice in regard to yet another medical problem of hers. I see how unsure she is of what to do. I feel her unrest.

I feel strengthened in my resolve to find my life’s calling, because I hear my heart’s yearning and I see a bright and happy future.

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And as I was typing this up I hear my husband making frustrated comments at the amount of time I have spent this evening on the computer. I see him leave the room to go to bed. I feel sad that I have let him down again.

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There Is Happiness In Every Day: Just Look For It

(Photo courtesy of Joe Shlabotnik)

Every day no matter how stressful or hard brings happiness with it. You just need to look out for it and learn to recognize it everyday things. You need to learn to let simple moments infuse the happiness into your day.

This is the second time I have been tagged with the Happy 101 Award. The award means that I have to make a list of ten things that make me happy. Last time, I was tagged for this meme by Heather at Notes from Lapland and I wrote a list of ten things that make me happy in general.

This time because I am not in the greatest of moods (don’t worry nothing important or life changing) in response to the tag by Entropy Girl I have decided to focus on finding 10 things that make me happy today right now. (Besides being tagged of course.)

So here is my list:

1. Hearing my husband’s voice when he called me on his way to work. His voice can generally make me smile.

2. Having a job. Even though like I have mentioned before I am not fully satisfied where I am, I am still happy and grateful to have a job and an income. (5 kids is not cheap!) Having a job is not something I take for granted in this time of recession.

3. The rain today.

(Photo courtesy of John Morgan)

I live in a country that is plagued by drought. So what if it rained right after my husband and youngest son worked so hard and cleaned all the windows in the house so thoroughly? Or right after my eldest son had the car washed? I do feel bad that my husband got caught in the rain when he took my youngest to the nursery, but still the rain is a blessing.

4. My health. Sure it may not be 100% perfect, but there is nothing like working with ill people to make you appreciate your health.

5. My writing.

(Photo courtesy of Karin Dalziel)
The simple act of writing and blogging has given me a lot of joy. It has made me reach deeper into myself and it has taught me to persevere. I have only been blogging for a bit over a month, but have enjoyed it thoroughly and have learned a lot. Writing is something you can do anywhere, when you have a few minutes or a lapse at work like I did today.

6. Having my little girl call for me at 5:45 in the morning to wipe her little tushy on the toilet. Okay, so technically she was calling my husband, but that is also a cause for joy no? Better (for me that is) that she wants her daddy in the middle of the night.
So back to my daughter’s little tushy. I was already up getting ready for work (because otherwise that wake up call would have made my cranky not happy list). She was so cute and adorable. I am also happy she has been toilet trained since age 2. She has saved us a lot of money.

7. Classical or cool music cellphone ringtones. I love hearing an unexpected tune start playing from a co-worker or patient’s cellphone. The upbeat tempos just give an unexpected beat to your day and a momentary change of atmosphere.

8. Hospital Food. Yes, I am weird, but I love the food served at my hospital. From the time I get to work I wait patiently for lunch so I can eat. Or maybe it’s just the novelty of eating a meal I don’t have to cook.

9. My cellphone being quiet today. It’s nice every once in a while to have a quiet non ringing day.

10. Today’s morning shift being slow for the first few hours and only 8 hours long. Not 8 1/2 like evening shift or 9 hours like night shift. It was even slow enough that I was able to write all this at work.

So next time you are having a less than happy day, think hard and I am sure you will be able to think of at least 10 things that make you happy. If I was able to do that today, anyone can.

When have you been able to find happy in an ordinary day?

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I am passing this award on to:

*Nicola at Some Mothers Do Ave Em
*Ed at Little m Long a
*Josie at Sleep is for the Weak
*Dawn at The Moiderer
*Nickie at Typecast
*Trish at Mum’s Gone To.
*Jen at Autism, The King and I
*Mrs. Mad at The Mad House
*Karin at Cafe Bebe
*Sue at Smiffy’s Blog

And anyone who would like this award, I am awarding it to you as well. Please come and take it.

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Sometimes Kids Don't Need To Know The Whole Truth

As parents sometimes we just want to shield our kids from some painful truths that they don’t have to know. I am not saying to lie to them. I am just saying they don’t need to know the whole truth.

A case in point is little N and the goldfish that was hoisted unwittingly and unwanted upon us from her nursery.

To say that I am not a fan of pets is an understatement. Even so, I am not a completely evil mom so once many years ago, after my kids begged pitifully I broke down and we bought a bowl with goldfish. Let me just say that the poor fish did not survive too long.

Since then no pets have graced our household unless you count the occasional ants, spiders and the one huge scorpion. (The scorpion is a frightening early morning tale for another day.)

Honestly, why do my kids need a pet anyways? We only have a million neighbors with dogs. All of whom really like to bark and poo, mostly on my lawn it would seem.

So imagine my dismay when one morning my husband comes home from bringing little N to the nursery holding a plastic bag filled with water and in it a goldfish.

“What the heck is that?” I asked.
“It’s a goldfish, can’t you see?” He answered.

“Yeeeesss. I know it is a goldfish, but what exactly am I supposed to be doing with it?”
“You need to find a bowl for it.”

“Uh Uh! I don’t think so!”
“Well N’s nursery teacher wouldn’t let me refuse it. Seems they had given them out yesterday and N forgot hers.”

“Thank goodness she forgot yesterday but what am I supposed to do with it now?”
“I guess you are going to have to find a bowl.”

And with that Hubby hurried off to work with too much of a smirk on his face and left me to deal with the poor goldfish.

I was already breaking into a sweat worrying how disappointed N was going to be when the goldfish went missing if I got rid of it. And if I managed to keep it alive till she got home, where the heck was I going to get a bowl from?

Then suddenly I had a genius idea. I have friends who live a few blocks away and they have a goldfish pond in their backyard. Why not free the goldfish and let it live with others of its own kind. In nature!

I exchanged a few quick text messages with our friend who agreed to offer our fish a new home although he was not sure whether the fish would be an addition to their pond or dinner for the other bigger goldfish. That nagged at my conscience for about 2 seconds. It was short lived because I consoled myself saying better that the fish should serve some purpose rather than just get flushed down the toilet in a few days from now.

So I waited until little N got home from nursery. I got her all excited about going over to my friend’s house and bringing her fish to their pond. And we went with her clutching the little bag with the fish. She helped me put plop ease the fish into the pond. Thankfully at that point it was already getting dark so we never did learn the fate of Mr. Goldfish.

Just as well really, because sometimes kids just don’t need to know the whole truth. There is plenty of time in life for that. Better that when we are over at our friends’ house and N peers into the pond that she thinks her fish got so big. I like to think the same as well.

Have you ever kept the whole truth from your kids?

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This post was my response to a meme tag by Vicki at Vegemitevix. Take the tenth photo in your pictures’ folder and write about the photo’s story. (The photo of N with the bag full of goldfish). So although the photo is grainy because it was a download from my cell, it still thankfully had a story to tell. Thanks Vicki for tagging me and inspiring this post.

Now I would like to tag:

*Lori at Lwayswright’s Weblog

*Nappy Valley Girl

*Rachel At Really Rachel

*Not Such A Yummy Mummy (BTW-I disagree with her on that title. She is Yummy!)

*Not Drowning, Mothering

*Naomi At Organic Motherhood With Cool Whip

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