When I grow up...

In my continuing effort to highlight some of the outstanding Blogs, todays is truly a blessing and provides folks with some insight on just how wonderful they can be.  ... I want to have a following and ability to provide a blog just like this ...

The Pioneer Woman ( http://thepioneerwoman.com ) is simply a wonderful, professional and enjoyable site to visit, and I sincerely encourage all to visit.  Her 'photo assignments' are breath-taking - take a look at the Food Photos: The Finalist ( http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2011/01/food-photos-the-finalists/ ).  This is just one excellent sample of Ree's site.  Enjoy!!

Find Something Beautiful

Lisa Beamer on Good Morning America - If you remember, she's the wife of Todd Beamer who said 'Let's Roll!' and helped take down the plane over Pennsylvania that was heading for Washington, DC back on 9/11.

She said it's the little things that she misses most about Todd, such as hearing the garage door open as he came home, and her children running to meet him. She's now the Mom of a beautiful little girl, Mary.

Lisa recalled this story:

"I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack.  About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students.  As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there.

With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, ' Class is over, I would like to share with all of you, a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important.  Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves.  None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end.  It can be taken away at any moment.

Perhaps this is the power's way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day.  Her eyes, beginning to water, she went on, 'So I would like you all to make me a promise.  From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice.

It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.  Please look for these things, and cherish them.  For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life.  The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy.  The things we often take for granted.

The class was completely quiet.  We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently.  That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester.  Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.

Textbooks and Stethoscopes: The Pilot By Sunny Hon

I think by now, us students have realized that the nursing profession isn’t what primetime programming depicts our destined futures to be.  Minus the cross-generational sharp wits and the mandatory dramas of workplace love triangles, what you have left is scrub-wearing professionals who work very hard to get the sick and the injured back to functional health.  Contrary to belief, nursing has nothing to do with the treatment diseases or ailments.  We don’t look at patient charts to help with diagnosing illnesses.  What we do is treat the human responses to the multitude of ailments that hinder one’s ability to care for oneself.  Along with dispensing medications as prescribed by physicians, our primary tools of the trade are perhaps washcloths and patience.  The running joke around the water cooler has been “this wasn’t in the nursing brochure.” (I don’t think I’ve yet to stand around with a bunch of doctors, all of us with stethoscopes around our necks, laughing.)  Nonetheless, our collective hunches agree that what we have embarked on is a career of great importance.  

Sunny is a full-time nursing student who's is going to get into "layman" details about the ailments he comes across in clinical and discuss some nursing issues for the male student point of view.

We hope that you find these articles useful, informative and interesting.  Please feel free to ask questions and submit your comments.  Thank you!

Simple Act of Kindness

This story has made the rounds via email over the past couple years and found its way into my in box this week.  As in the previous times, I read it a couple times and said a silent thank you for receiving it once again.  It reminds me once again, just how important it is to help others. The significance is clear, simple act of kindness impact others lives, sometimes they save lives as in this heart warming story. 

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.   His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books.  I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?  He must really be a nerd.'

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.  As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.

They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms, and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.  His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him...  He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.  My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.  As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks.' They really should get lives.  


He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!'  There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. 

As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before... He said he had gone to private school before now.  I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.  I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes.

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! He just laughed and handed me half the books...

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends... When we were seniors, we began to think about college.  Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.  I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem... He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship... Kyle was valedictorian of our class.  I teased him all the time about being a nerd... 

He had to prepare a speech for graduation.  I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great.

He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.  He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech.  So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you’ll be great!'

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. 'Thanks,' he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began ‘Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.  

I am going to tell you a story.' I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.  He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

'Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable....’  I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.  Never underestimate the power of your actions...
 

With one small gesture, you can change a person’s life.

For better or for worse....

God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.

Incredible! Feeding the Eagles!

January of 2011, the weather stayed so cold in St. Louis, Missouri and Alton, Illinois that the bald eagles were cruising over houses in hopes of a quick meal.  They could not access fish that were at the bottom of the river and had gathered together.


Some kind souls decided to feed the eagles so the would survive the cold spell.  they gathered fish and started feeding the group of eagles huddled on the shore.  The photos below show what happened. 

A beautiful morning feeding the eagles, Jan. 2011

Once the fish were thrown, the eagles did not seem to
fear the good Samaritans and word spread fast!

Eagles vying for the fish.

No zoom lens used here!  The photographer was this close. 

Here are the men who were feeding them.

As you know, it was not long ago that the American Bald Eagle was an endangered species.

Roads of the World

1. A drive through the woods



2. Lovely two lane road in the fall



3. Driving in the wide open

4. Exciting drive for the brave

5. Beautiful - where is my Mini?

Which one is your favorite?

What are your Favorite Snacks?

Good Tuesday morning fellow readers and thanks for stoping by for todays post.  Healthy Habit # 9 Snack the Healthy Way.  A quick search on Google resulted in ~57.5 million hits of this subject, more than I could review in a couple weeks =).

Doctors, Nutritionist, Dietitians and healthcare professionals recommend three meals a day with a healthy snack mid-morning and afternoon.  This helps us for over eating and helps control hunger pains through out the day and to maintain a good energy level throughout the day.

Missing a meal or meals, generally due to some sort of medical procedure/test plays havoc with my body and requires extra attention to avoid over eating the next meal or two.  My diet is also impacted during those periods as I take medications before and after breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

We would love to hear from you on your healthy snack ideas and when you (and your family) do your snacks.  In a couple weeks, we will provide the results of your comments and share our findings.

Wishing you a wonderful day and looking forward to  your healthy snack comments.