I cried.

Delightful Facts About Dachshunds

My family, well my mom and my sister Joanna, are pretty obsessed with dachshunds. I think it stems from the fact that my Grandma had a few of them growing up so I think that is when my mom fell in love with them. Below is a picture Joanna sent me of Gretchen, staring out the window from her room, ready at a moment's notice to defend against Yann, the neighbor who I am sure harbors a dark secret. :)

Dachshund Facts (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachshunds)

The name Dachshund is German and literally means "badger dog," from (der) Dachs "badger" and (der) Hund "dog".

The breed was developed to scent, chase, and hunt badgers and other hole-dwelling animals.

Dachshunds have many nicknames in the US. Some of these nicknames are: hot dog, wiener dog, sausage dog, and doxie.

Dachshunds come in two sizes: standard and miniature.

Dachshunds come in three coat types: smooth, long, and wire.

H. L. Mencken said that "A dachshund is a half-dog high and a dog-and-a-half long."

Dachshunds can be extremely loyal and loving, as well as extremely loud.

According to the American Kennel Club�s breed standards, "the dachshund is clever, lively and courageous to the point of rashness, persevering in above and below ground work, with all the senses well-developed.�

Dachshunds are notoriously hard to house train.

Elizabeth's on a Saturday

Joanna and I went to Elizabeth's house on Saturday to see if she had gotten any bigger overnight. Heh heh. Just kidding. I let my nieces Natalie and Ella play with the camera on my phone and these are the pictures they took. They actually turned out well. Except the one with Joanna, Elizabeth, and I on the couch- why am I the ONLY smiling?!?! Bwahahaha.

Just One of Those Days

When a Tree Falls

Every morning, Monday through Friday, my Big Ben Sunbeam alarm clock begins to blink at 4:15 am. As I race to turn my fan off before the oscillation hits me, I listen for the wind. And the rain. This week has been incredibly and insanely windy. 60 mph gusts shake the house and threaten to flip my car when I drive past the cows at the dairy farm. Luckily I have the five miles to the Astoria pool memorized and I rarely pass anyone else on the road. Today was no exception. It was not quite as windy as it had been so I knew I was going to be able to run later; just had to get through the test I had in pathophysiology/pharmacology. After my dutiful hour of studying on the elliptical at the pool, I retraced my steps home. I was cruising down Williamsport (the one mile hill that winds through tall trees, thick bushes, and the WOW (Western Oregon Waste) site. I hadn't even made it halfway down when I saw flashing red and blue lights up ahead through the trees. Wow, I thought. They were out early (many people go 40 mph on Williamsport when it's only a 25 mph zone; lotsa tickets). As I crawled to a stop in my car, I realized the dark blue SVU that had Astoria Police in small white letters on the bumper was parked in the middle of the road. Um what? And then I saw it. An enormous fir/pine/some kind of confirous tree had fallen across the road, completely blocking it. Apparently it had just happened because there was only one police car there and the road wasn't even closed yet. I turned my car around and did a little detour back home. But that tree must have JUST fallen. What if it had fallen on me? Or I had run into it? Gulp. Yeah I was driving fast (but cautiously) the rest of the way home, watching the rest of the trees and power lines carefully.

Their new album is excellent. My favorite song is Get Me Right- both the regular and acoustic version.

The Ultimate Goal

Starting IV's is the ultimate skill to learn in nursing school. My clinical instructor prefaced the lab by saying that she has been doing this for thirty years (she is really good) but it took her about ten years to get it down. I was nervous. The fake arm trial went okay, but boy does that thing bleed. A lot. It looked like a massacre when I finally got the dang thing in. Then there were four of us in the class who decided to try putting one in. On each other. So today after lab, we all headed to Louisa's house. Haley successfully put one in my arm (my veins stick out but she did a fantastic job anyway). Then another person tried. The alcohol swab wrappers started to pile up. Finally my turn came. Poor Louisa let me stick her sooo many times but she wouldn't let me give up until I got one. :) Her antecubital vein proved to be my best bet and success was mine. :)