I like my Dr.

So I went to the Dr. yesterday to look at my nose and declare that it looked infected. I already knew that, and by then it had started to crust over and look suspiciously like impetigo. He prescribed and antibiotic ointment, and oral antibiotics in case it gets worse. It's getting better, smaller and it itches like hell today, which is a good sign that it is healing. I looked for an image of impetigo to put up here, but everything I found was really making me want to barf, including Amy Winehouse with her face covered by it - ick. Oh, and the PA asked if it was a botched nose piercing. So either I look like I'm trying to recapture my youth, OR I do look as young as I feel.

I also ended up with blood pressure medicine, as my blood pressure has been elevated for a while now. I was chalking it up to stress (of potential job loss, potential foreclosure, The Dude not working, having two small kids, a major car accident and associated hospital stays and paperwork stresses). But I have yet to actually DO anything to help alleviate those stresses. I often say that I need to meditate, do Tai Chi, Yoga, hike, ride my bike, get in better shape, eat better, but was not particularly motivated to do so. Guess what? I'm motivated now! The thought of having to take meds for the rest of my life, starting now bothers me. So I am having a fresh fruit smoothie as I type. This is my breakfast/brunch and contains a frozen banana, some frozen raspberries and blueberries, apple juice and soy milk. Oh, and no more snacking on pretzels dipped in Port Wine Cheddar Spread either - I'm checking sodium levels on all that shit now! No lie, I am a salt-a-holic. The Dude has often stated that we should just put in a salt lick. And I'm going hiking with the dog to get some killer Photos for this week's challenges too! I will not go silently into the abyss, I'm fighting this shit tooth an nail! I also told my Dr. that I was going to see if my acupuncturist had anything for high blood pressure - he actually said ok, but see me in 3 months if you decide to take the meds or not. He's a cool guy!

Monday Morning Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend was a bit busy, but not too bad. Had an afternoon Baseball game on Saturday, and the Baseball pictures and Hit-a-thon on Sunday afternoon. I did manage to do all of the laundry and really clean the house which makes me feel much better this morning. I also planned a birthday dinner for my mom, here at my house. And I grilled a tri tip. Yes me. The vegetarian. It was medium rare and juicy too. See what watching the food network can do? I also made potato salad, grilled asparagus (thanks to sis for bringing and marinating), my famous guacamole and strawberry shortcake for dessert. I'm beat, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to watch the final two episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race. Holy crap, now that's some good TV! I swear I need to go to a good drag show and soon! Now, who will come with me? Do I hear crickets? Oh, come on now!

Very well. On to a new subject. I have an infection on my nose. It started as a zit, then grew to a purple bulb, spawning four more zits, and now? now it has taken over half my face. OK, not half, but I do have a fairly sizable nose, and it's taken over a good portion of the lower left side of that. I did the neosporin and a band aid for today because I really didn't want to get the look from people at the kids school. As it was, they all asked what was up with the band aid. Except for my friend and esthetician who said if it was worse than when she saw me on Saturday, then I needed to go to a Dr. I made the appointment for Tuesday morning, and I've no doubt it will be painful as all hell. And if Lou is reading this, keep breathing, it absolutely does NOT look like your nose did. And I will call you and let you know what the Doc has to say about it. Or send an IM. Anywhooooo, Of course being the freckly mess I am, I did have the stray thought about skin cancer, but quickly banished the thought, deep sixed it, and said a few affirmations for my continued good health. I mean, who wants a snap on nose ala Michael Jackson or Stevie Nicks? And who on earth would be able to blend the freckles to match on a prosthesis? I'd have to let the kids have a go with sharpies!

Oh, and BTW - the annual mammogram came back clear (yeah me!) with a mom and 2 aunts who have survived, my chances are genetically what they are. I'd like to think that the veg thing, and the seeming lack of unhealthy vices will keep me free from the dreaded disease. Sure I could lose weight and exercise more, and so I continue to battle my self control and my desires.

Now I have the fur butt cat bitching at me to go to bed, and so I go!

Sunday Stills - Landscapes

Today's Sunday Stills Challenge is about Landscapes. I love this topic, as I almost always prefer this to shooting anything else. I shot a couple in my yard, but I'm going to use one from the archives because I appreciate the vastness of open spaces.

What I noticed when looking for Landscape photos, is that I actually shoot more Seascapes:

And Skyscapes:

Happy Sunday all!

My Town Shoot Out - Graveyards

Well, this week I made it, on time even. Earlier today I found out that one of the bloggers I follow has cancer, and it bums me out. I know he'll be ok and his path will be his, but still I wish there was more I could do. He is also a participant in the My Town Shoot Out Challenge, so send your good vibes his way!

This week is all about our home town graveyards. There is only one in Dublin, and it is behind Old St. Raymond's Church (which was a part of the Churches a few weeks ago). I have photographed many cemeteries, and I find them to be generally very peaceful places. They can sometimes be kind of spooky, and sometimes very sad but overall, I find them a great place to wander around.

Here is the sign at the official entrance:

The Historical Marker for the cemetery:

A shot of the back of St. Raymond's:

Some picnic tables along the creek, with a view of the graves:

One of the older and repaired headstones:

I think this is a lovely plot with the flagstone walkway and bench in the shade of a tree:

There are quite a few very large, very old trees that provide a mostly shady environment:

I found the difference in ground cover selection to be interesting:

I am fascinated by this iron cross and have taken several photos of it. In fact, every time I am here, I take a shot of it.

The founding families each have these carved wooden signs at their family plots. The signs detail the family origin and involvement in Dublin's history. I thought a slideshow would be a good way to show them to you:

As the majority of the founders were of Irish origin, I had this song going through my head the whole time:

I also wanted to include a few shots that were published in a book that included photos of National Cemeteries, and essays from famous Americans. I took these photos of Golden Gate National Cemetery and San Francisco National Cemetery. The profits from the book go toward scholarships for children of Veterans injured and killed in battle.

Tableau Tuesday #2 and Weekend Wrap Up

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

This was another busy weekend. Opening day for little league was Saturday, with the ceremony at 11:45, and the Youngest's first game at 3:30. I had an appointment to get my lip waxed at 10:00, and shot photos for about an hour. Between opening ceremony and the game I went grocery shopping, while The Dude took The Boys to lunch. The first game of the season found the Youngest on the bench. They only played one inning before torrential downpour and hail caused the game to be called. We also had dinner with friends, and I felt like I was intruding on their family dinner. I still feel bad, as I had not realized that we would be the only ones not a part of their family. It was a dinner to welcome their oldest son back on Spring break from the Naval Academy. During appetizers, The Dude and I had a fight, which had been building up for about a week. I said something horribly disrespectful, and he flew off the handle. We didn't talk the rest of the night.

Sunday, I finished the laundry, and did NOTHING else. I needed some down time. Oh, and by nothing I mean, I cleaned the kitchen and dicked around on the Internet, and watched "Hanna Montana" and "The Suite Life On Deck", and took the boys out scooter riding. But I normally would have done all of that, vacuumed, mopped, cleaned the bathrooms, the playroom/office and the boys room, and done some work on the yard, so really it was far more relaxing than normal.

Sunday Stills - Lines

Today's Sunday Stills Challenge is Lines. I had a couple of ideas early on in the week, and I think I'll use them, along with a last minute idea that came to me this morning.

The first two images were taken at the pole farm, where I learned how to climb a telephone pole.
This image is a fence and shadow in my neighborhood.

This image is a line of Irish dancers performing at a fundraiser. They are from McBride's School of Irish Dance, and I've seen many of their performances.

This final image is from Sacred Ground: America's Military Cemeteries. It's one of my shots that did not make it into the book.

My Town Shoot Out - Update!

I live in Dublin. This is a bedroom community with no defined downtown, so there is a boatload of homes to select from. There are the bungalows, and the McMansions, and none are all that interesting. I could not get even remotely excited about shooting a bunch of track homes, and 2 million dollar houses that are packed on top of one another. I don't even think we have so much as a trailer park! The oldest houses are 40 years or so, and all seem to look alike. I think I should have just gotten out and driven around, but I seriously was running the kids all over all week! hmmm - looking forward to next week and the graveyards, but I'm a bit sick in the head that way!

Update!

This image is of a typical bungalow near my home, and similar to my home in floor plan. I like this house because it sits across the street from the High School, and is a really bright shade of blue, while the surrounding homes are far more subtle.

This home is another bungalow in another area of town - on a bit of a hill and in a bit of a higher price range.This is a view from the higher priced houses on my end of town, and below it, one of the homes in that neighborhood. My town stretches out to the right of what you can see below.
This is one of the apartment complexes in my town. I lived here in the early 90's in a one bedroom unit. I always liked the "lakes" that brought waterfowl to visit during migration.

A newer condominium/apartment complex, in a redeveloped area that used to be an underused parking lot.
Below is part of an adult community (which is for residents over the age of 50. There are single detached homes, an apartment complex, and the garden condos you see here.