Some favorite slogans and quotes

"When you call me that, smile."

"He's two, but I'm two three."
"You three-faced triple crosser."

"I child-proofed my house, but they still keep getting in."

"Girls are from the dark side, and exist solely to make boys lives difficult and give them a reason to rely on God." Fr. Moss

"When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!"

"I brought you into this world and I can take you out!" (an enraged parent)

"The Soprano, she's a big...ah...well, she carries alot of weight through the Opera. She's about 4 and a half feet tall, lying down. And she comes in from the left side of the stage in a single pile."

"It isn't my fault! I didn't want to be a monster! The gods willed it!"

"You want hair, marry a monkey."

"He's the only man I know who was born at the bottom and went down in the world."

Well, it is one week into summer break from school. I am finding that jobs are rather evasive little imps, and everything I seem to apply for just sort of disintigrates, or turns out un-get-at-able for one reason or another. I'm hopefull of two, at least.

Break began in a wirl. I lost my powercord to my computer enroute to the Homeland, and it has not yet turned up. I'm hoping it didn't come out at one rest stop or another. That weekend, two of my brothers and my father went off on a boy scout campout in Wakefield. They went to Jamestown (which, by the way, is celebrating it's 400th aniversary!) and had a first rate experience, but all we got to hear about were the knives on display, the latrine, and the racoons at night. Boys are great for details, I'm findin'. =) I started a job hunt, from which I have not rested until today. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. However, I think I've found an in.

It is quite funny to be "free" when one's family is still engaged in attempting to finish the school year. One thing is for sure, that if I will not do Seton with my children. I don't wish them to have as difficult a teenage life as I did, but of course most of that was just my own fault aside from Seton. If I hadn't read so many books, I'd have had an easier life. It is quite a wonderful thing to be free with school. I've reread three of my favorite books (Letzenstein Chronicles by Meriol Trevor) already, and am starting a fourth, more serious book.

I broke my camera in the last week of classes, and have continued to put off doing much in the way of talking with the company to see if they will rectify the situation for me, since I only had it for a few months.

As I was driving home the other day with several of the natives in the car, there was an elderly, heavyset lady walking down the road somewhat unsteadily with her fists planted very firmly on her hips. "You know what she's doing Naomi? That Lady's holding herself together!" How the heck am I supposed to keep them in line if they are so funny. I was not blessed with wit, but they seem to have got my share.

Snapshots of my Family

My little sister was doing the laudry with my father one summer evening in the garage. She looked out the door and saw several of our elderly neighbors walking down the road. She turned to my father and said, "Daddy, do you know what that is?" "Well, that's a bunch of our elderly neighbors going for a walk," replied the serious patriarch. The witty gleam infected her eye (it does this periodically, you see). "No, Dad. That's the Antiques Roadshow!" (my poor father was then faced with the familiar scenario of trying to correct his disrespectful child while attempting to check his own laughter.)

My macho little brother (11 years old) walks up to my sister Deborah and says, "Deborah, I'm a man." She responds with a characteristic, "Um...I think you're mistaken. You're a boy, not a man." "I am too a man!" "You are too immature, selfish, small, and irresponsible to be a man..." she proceeds to enlighten the young rascal. He puffs out his chest and responds: "Yeah, well, I'm more of a man than you'll ever be!" Deborah laughs in his face "You're sure right about that, bud!"

Joseph stood up when he had finished his dinner one day and very graciously asked my father, "May I pweeez be exacuted?"

Our little philosopher, Daniel, walked up to my mother one day in his 2nd year and informed my mother, with the serious look of an intellectual behind his batting eyelashes, that "Boys make noise, Mom."

Daniel was running around in the commons area at church when he was three. My parents don't let us do this, so my father scooped him up under one arm, with his head sticking out back and his behind out front. The enraged boy flailed and cried out, "Unhand me!" (this is the point where my father glares at us and says "who taught him that!).

The Human Heart

Although you may not have been able to tell until right now, I am a Nursing Student, and this will be a nursing post, cheifly about heart function and murmers =). I'm not going to explain in depth how the thing works, but the basic idea is that blood comes into the heart from the Superior and Inferior vena cavea, which join and empty into the right atrium. From the right atrium, the unoxygenated blood is pumped into the left ventrical (which, incidentally, covers most of the front of the heart) and out into the pulmonary artery which travels to the lungs. The oxygenated blood travels back to the heart via the pulmonary vein and into the Left Atrium, from there to the left ventricle, and is then pumped into the aotra. The diagragm below is a little on the crummy side (I don't like the aspect ratios) but I couldn't find a better one. Besides, it's labeled =).

There are numerous heart dysrhythmias and dysfunctions, but I'm going to focus only the actual dysfunctions and such and not the conditions they are typical of.
A normal heart sounds sort of like saying "lub dub (pause) lub Dub, etc." Lub is the first heart sound and is termed S1. Dub is the second heart sound and is termed S2.

The first heart sound is denoted as S1, and is caused by the closure of the atrioventricular valves. A split milli-second after their closure, the semilunar valves (those going from the ventricle into the pulmonary artery and the aorta) open and blood rushes out of both chambers. Meanwhile, the atria are filling from the vena cava and the pulmonary vein. The period of atrial filling/ventricular emptying is the period known as systole, the space between the first and second heart sound.

On S2, the sound is caused by the closure of the semilunar valves (the tricuspid and aortic). This begins the period of diastole. Shortly after their closure, the atrioventricular valves open, and the ventricles are filled as the blood is pumped into them from the atria. The valves shut and S1 begins all over again.

In children and young adults, an S3 sound may be heard during diastole, shortly after S2. It is caused by a rapid deceleration of the column of blood against the ventricular wall. In older adults, it usually indicates a pathological change in ventricular compliance. When auscultated with a stethoscope, it sounds like "Kentucky."

An S4 sound is not often heard in normal adults, and marks atrial contraction. It comes right before the S1 sound, and also indicates a pathological change in ventricular contraction. It sounds as if one were saying "Tennessee."

Normally, S1 and S2 are a single sound, but they may be split due to the two valves which are supposed to be closing on that sound not closing together. A split S2, in my experience anyhow, is rather common and usually not pathological (that is, not a case for worry). It often occurs in healthy young adults on inspiration (breathing in) and goes away on expiration (as my sister said, everything goes away when you die, doesn't it ;-P). S1 spilt is an earlier mitral sound and a later tricuspid sound, with the mitral being lounder. This is heard best at the lower the lower left sternal boarder (for those of you who care ;-)), does not vary with respiration, and is often pathological.

Heart murmurs (my old freinds) are caused either by stenosis--a sluggish opening of a valve (blood is flowing through before the valve is completely open, causing turbulance)--or by regurgitation, with blood flowing back into the chamber it has just exited because the valve closed slowly/incompltely. Murmurs, however, are extremely interesting and must have their own post, at a later date.

More of Victor Borge

One of my favorite clips, and he speaks a summary of Mozart's "Magic Flute" and it is hysterical! The next one is another favorite. In case you don't get the example: "A sentence such as 'I ate a tenderloin with my fork' would be "I nine an elevenderloin with my fivek.'" ;-)

Sometimes I really don't know what to do with myselve, especially like right now.

I feel purposeless, though I know I have a purpose.

I feel meaningless, though I know that there is really meaning in my life and my faith.

I feel lonely and unlovable, though people tell me that I am loved.

I feel ugly and defiled

I am tired, zapped, I look as if I had been drop kicked, rolled down a hill and into a lake, and then forced to march back home 5 miles away in less than 2 hours. I am sleep deprived, malnurished, unreflective, and I don't know myself or my life or anything. I'm a mess, for sure. The only way I could look/feel worse is if I had the plague or some other such illness, and a roomate that hated me, and a dead family...

yes, despite all my focus on me, I forget that I am fulfilling God's will in my life today, and that I've received so many wonderful graces, I couldn't begin to count them.

I heard a short time ago that the thing that stops love is resentment. Perhaps I just need to forgive myself and get on with life.

Besides, there are so many souls who need my prayers and help. My godfather, Don Varella, died this morning. May he rest in peace.

Mother Theresa on Humility and Service

(from my concepts and practices of Nursing class on Spiritual Care)

Are we truly humble? When we refuse to judge and criticize others. When we foster kindly thoughts toward others. When we rejoice in the good others accomplish for Jesus. When we find an excuse for the failures of others. When we are happy and cheerful with the poor, the sick, and the dying. When we have joy in the hour of humiliation. Then we are truly humble after the heart of Jesus.

Serve God joyfully. Let there be no sadness in your life: the only true sorrow is sin.

As you grow, you have still to learn. I'm still learning though I am fifty-three years in the convent. I am learning from you. We have to learn from each other. Jesus took a little child and put him in front of the apostles. Love begins here. That little kindness, care, compassion, that is the hidden treasure, the growth in holiness. We know here it is, let us go for it!

People all over the world offer Mary, our mother, beautiful gifts and cover her altar with flowers. We have no material gifts to offer her but let us give her flowers or kindness, the flower of a welcoming smile. On the beautiful fest day, let us crown her with the fragrant flowers of love, gentleness, meekness, and humility toward one another.

Self-knowledge puts us on our knees and it is very necessary for love. For knowledge of God produces love, and knowledge of self produces humility. Self knowledge is a very important thing in our lives. As St. Augustine says, "Fill yourselves first, and then only will you be able to give yourselves to others."

There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. It is a danger if we forget to whom we are doing it. This is where the respect and love and devotion come in, that we give it and do it to God, to Christ and that is why we do it as beautifully as possible. The beautiful experience that we have by serving, we must pass on to people who have not had it. It is one of the great rewards of our work.

We have absolutely no difficulty regarding having to work in countries with many faiths. We treat all people as children of God. They are our brothers and sisters. We show great respect o them. Our work is to encourage these people, Christians as well as non-Christians, to do works of love. Every work of love done with a full heart brings people closer to God.

Obits: Our Beloved Doughboy

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy passed away yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma from repeated pokes in the belly.

Doughboy was sent on in a lightly greased cookie sheet. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. They piled the grave site high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions. Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, who had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.


The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

If this made you smile for even a brief moment, please rise to the occasion and take time to pass it on and share your smile with someone else that may be having a crumby day and kneads it.