bullet time!

So, I realize we never posted the blogs for the last 2 days of our vacation, but really, who wants to read about end-of-vacation blues? Anyway...

I feel like bullet-point writing tonight in a not-at-all chronological order. And to spice it up, I think I'll add an occasional picture if it helps with the topic. And... Commence!

• Colleen came to visit us. This made me happy for many reasons, not the least of which was that we baked a ridiculously splendid pie. Peach pie, to be exact. I suppose if I'm honest, Colleen actually did all of the baking. She did the majority of the shopping, the preparing, the mixing, the rolling, and the tasting. She even did 100% of the removing of inappropriate ingredients. (I still don't see why that one tiny piece of peach wasn't allowed in the dough/crust bowl. I guess it's one of those things that falls under the "Life's unfair" category.) I did all washing, peeling, and chopping of the peaches (and it turns out that nearly 10 pounds of peaches is only 1 pie worth of peaches), and I got to pour unmeasured (my favorite kind of pouring) spices into the bowl of chopped peaches. So, I suppose the "Colleen and I baked a pie!" would be more appropriately described as "Colleen baked a pie using my food-processor-less kitchen!" I don't care though, it was an awesome pie. As soon as it was cooked and cooled, we ate the pie and played Phase 10 (a game that Colleen valiantly dominated against all odds).
  
  
  
  
  I like Colleen. I am afraid to think of what will happen if she goes to work in South Korea and comes back more asian than I have ever managed to be. Perhaps she will be able to steal a cute little korean baby for me (you know, just in case my kids come out too white). Or perhaps she will teach me to become more korean! Oh the possibilities...
• My cousin got married at the beginning of the month. The wedding was up in Stroudsburg, PA, which was a really pretty area, and only a few hours away from here. My family, of course, came up for the wedding, so Jason and I got to hang out with Jarred and Tamara for a day at Dorney Park. It was a lot of fun. The weather was pretty much perfect and we spent the entire day at the park without suffering any negative consequences (unlike spending all day in the middle of summer at Six Flags in Texas...). We rode nearly every ride that looked either 1) exciting, 2) dizzying, or 3) not that fun, but most definitely nauseating. Luckily, we all got a bit queasy at the same time, so no one had to seem like a wuss. I think Jarred was a bit apprehensive about how much "adventure" Jason could tolerate. Not surprisingly, Jason fared admirably. However, it turns out that Jarred's and Tamara's "adventurous" spirits can be easily quenched by 1) the loading/unloading of the Ferris Wheel and 2) the suggestion of riding the "swings." 
  
  
  
  
  I believe the left picture accurately captures Tamara's true feelings about Ferris Wheels, and the one on the right is an equally accurate representation of Jarred overcompensating for his uneasiness (which was definitively confirmed by the puddle of sweat in his shoes after stepping off this frightening ride). Lesson learned? Don't rock the gondola. Anyway, it was a lot of fun hanging out with them. :)
  
• While we were on vacation and had access to live television (Sidenote: It was nice to find out that having regular television actually held very little appeal to me... I guess Netflix is able to sufficiently satisfy all of my staring-at-a-screen desires. Hooray.), we watched a couple episodes of a show called Cats 101 on Animal Planet. On one of the episodes, they introduced a breed of cat known as a Ragamuffin. Oh.My. As soon as we saw the cat, we just knew that Puma was part Ragamuffin. Ok, so I guess we can't know anything for sure since we adopted him from a shelter, but I would bet anything that he has a good bit of Ragamuffin somewhere in his lineage. To make my point, I shall use further indented bullet points. (Clever, no?)
• Traits/Characteristics that indicate Puma's Ragamuffin Pedigree:
• Kitten-like until four years of age.
• Incessantly vocal.
• Medium-length coat that increases in length toward the stomach.
• Longer fur around the neck and face, creating the appearance of a "ruff."
• Fully furred tail, similar in look to a plume.
• Large, round paws with tufts between and beneath the paws.
• The appearance of a wispy frill on the hindquarters. (I think "fluffy pantaloons" would also be an accurate description.)
• Tends to "grumble."
• Likes to fetch toys.
I could go on, but my bullet points might get out of hand. I don't care that there's no way to prove he's part Ragamuffin. He not only has spot on physical characteristics but his personality fits perfectly. There are more than enough similarities to convince even my logical side. I officially declare Puma part Ragamuffin!

• Today I tackled an 8 minute long endoscopy report. Is it terrible that I found it rather entertaining? Today was also the day of a 13:26 minute long report. However, despite the audio quality being infuriating (imagine someone dictating with the recorder in their back pocket, while they're in a wind tunnel, while breathing heavily into a stethoscope), the doctor spoke in complete sentences and didn't stumble over herself. Such a relief. I am slowly making my way through this last section of miserable reports. I'm so lucky to have Jason. He's beyond encouraging and makes me laugh. Sometimes on a particularly frustrating report, I'll ask him to come listen to the file so we can have a good laugh. He's so good for me. :) Anyway, despite the increasing frequency of frustrating moments (read: hours), I can't help but still enjoy myself. I have a good life.

Ok, so I think that's the end of my bullet pointing. It's late and I think it's time to call it a day. Feel free to chew on this* until our next blog:

*(if only you could hear my squeals upon viewing this photo)