1. I got my flu shot today. WOOHOO!! I'm never sure if it works. I mean, who can really say. I'll probably still get the flu, but would it have been worse without the shot? I guess we'll never know. Maybe if I ever get cloned, we could experiment on my clone and see who would be worse off with or without the shot. Hmmmmm...
2. I think fall is officially here. The temps dropped down low enough for frost this morning. However, it is supposed to get up to 68 degrees by Friday. Is it any wonder that people are getting colds and sore throats? Not good to have such fluctuating temps like that. But I swear that I could smell cider in the air when I walked out to my car last night. YUM!
3. I'm craving peanut butter and chocolate lately. I've been fine for these 6 months on my diet without peanut butter, and now, all of a sudden, I'm dreaming of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Reese's Pieces, Butterfingers, Baby Ruths, Snickers, etc. Is this what my life has come to -- I'm now going to dream about foods I can't eat? HA! So sad. I'm on the hunt for some low-calorie, low-fat, delicious-tasting peanut butter. Any suggestions?
4. Remember how I was scheduled to go to Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin last weekend with my friend and co-worker, Heidi. Well, we had to cancel our trip for this year, but our friend Barb sent us a link so we could view her husband Lee, the master pumpkin carver, do his magic on a local Wisconsin morning show. The man is a genius! He has made pumpkin carving an art. I love it.
So, Heidi, can we try to make it next year? Pretty please??
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Are You Pondering What I Am Pondering?
Lots of pondering going on in my head right now...
1. How did I manage to get sunburned in 60-degree weather? I'm still a bit red from my weekend in Missouri. Now, I know I'm a fair-headed child, but really now, should a person get a sunburn in October? Seriously! It seems odd. It's not severe. There won't be any nasty skin peeling or anything like that, but I actually got a slight sunburn along with a few more freckles. Hmmmmm...I don't get it. Maybe I should have worn a hat, but then again, have you seen me in a hat before? It's not a pretty sight. Hats are just all wrong for me.
2. How did the loss of 4 pounds over the last couple of weeks suddenly cause my new jeans to be so big on me? It's just 4 pounds. Not 40...just 4 more. Now, I realize 4 pounds is 16 quarter pounders, but come on, my jeans almost fell off while I was walking around the Mizzou campus last weekend. I'm thinking of going shopping for a belt now, and I don't even like belts. But it does seem rather important for one to keep their jeans snuggly around their waist while in public. AHEM!
3. Am I a freak? That's a rhetorical question, people. No need to feel compelled to answer. I asked my doctor this question last week, and he declared with a laugh that I should think of myself more as unusual or unique rather than a freak. I think he might have just been being nice. He's a charmer like that.
OK, I never said I was pondering anything severely brilliant here...it's just odds and ends floating around in my head. HA!
1. How did I manage to get sunburned in 60-degree weather? I'm still a bit red from my weekend in Missouri. Now, I know I'm a fair-headed child, but really now, should a person get a sunburn in October? Seriously! It seems odd. It's not severe. There won't be any nasty skin peeling or anything like that, but I actually got a slight sunburn along with a few more freckles. Hmmmmm...I don't get it. Maybe I should have worn a hat, but then again, have you seen me in a hat before? It's not a pretty sight. Hats are just all wrong for me.
2. How did the loss of 4 pounds over the last couple of weeks suddenly cause my new jeans to be so big on me? It's just 4 pounds. Not 40...just 4 more. Now, I realize 4 pounds is 16 quarter pounders, but come on, my jeans almost fell off while I was walking around the Mizzou campus last weekend. I'm thinking of going shopping for a belt now, and I don't even like belts. But it does seem rather important for one to keep their jeans snuggly around their waist while in public. AHEM!
3. Am I a freak? That's a rhetorical question, people. No need to feel compelled to answer. I asked my doctor this question last week, and he declared with a laugh that I should think of myself more as unusual or unique rather than a freak. I think he might have just been being nice. He's a charmer like that.
OK, I never said I was pondering anything severely brilliant here...it's just odds and ends floating around in my head. HA!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Rocks Will Rise Up
Tonight I was feeling a bit tired and just wanted to stay home from Bible study. But at 6 PM, I headed out to the car, CD in hand and started on my drive to Plainfield anyway. I listened to "In Christ Alone: New Hymns of Prayer & Worship" by Margaret Becker, Marie Brennan and Joanne Hogg. My sister gave me this CD a couple of years ago, and I am only now discovering the depth of the lyrics and enjoying the songs.
Now most of you know, I grew up in a rather strict, fundamentalist Christian home. Church was very serious, and our worship followed suit. There was no raising of holy hands to heaven, no moving or swaying to the rhythm, no tapping of toes or clapping to the beat. Worship was solemn and serene.
I love hymns. I always will, but as an adult, I have really come to love praise songs and contemporary worship as well. And lately, I've been fighting the compulsion to get a bit more physical with my worship. My legs have suddenly started to move on their own, and I've caught myself more than once clasping my hands in front of me to prevent me from raising them high. WHY?
Tonight we read Luke 19:37-40 about how Jesus said that if the disciples failed to praise him the rocks would rise up and do it. And suddenly, I knew the scripture where the song "Hear All Creation" on my CD came from, and I knew without a doubt that I was meant to be at Bible study tonight. I needed to hear that reference.
Now most of you know, I grew up in a rather strict, fundamentalist Christian home. Church was very serious, and our worship followed suit. There was no raising of holy hands to heaven, no moving or swaying to the rhythm, no tapping of toes or clapping to the beat. Worship was solemn and serene.
I love hymns. I always will, but as an adult, I have really come to love praise songs and contemporary worship as well. And lately, I've been fighting the compulsion to get a bit more physical with my worship. My legs have suddenly started to move on their own, and I've caught myself more than once clasping my hands in front of me to prevent me from raising them high. WHY?
Tonight we read Luke 19:37-40 about how Jesus said that if the disciples failed to praise him the rocks would rise up and do it. And suddenly, I knew the scripture where the song "Hear All Creation" on my CD came from, and I knew without a doubt that I was meant to be at Bible study tonight. I needed to hear that reference.
Hear all creation lift its voiceLORD, please teach me to worship with my whole being. To bow and surrender to YOUR will alone. Remind me that worship is not about those around me...it's about YOU and only YOU!!
Hear mountains sing and the rivers rejoice
For the name of Jesus
For His name
And we His people saved by grace
We bow our hearts and we bring our praise
To the sweet redeemer
For His name
So with everything we are
And everything we have
We pour out our offerings
And if ever we should fail
The rocks will rise up
And crown Him the King of kings
He mends our hearts, He keeps our ways
He lights our nights and He leads our days
All for His glory
For His name
There's nothing greater than to be His
To bring Him glory and to fully live
For the name of Jesus
For His name
Missouri Photo Shoot
OK, so I got a bit carried away with photos on my recent trip to Missouri. It was bound to happen. I had a new toy, and I wanted to experiment, you know. So, I pulled together some of my favorites and am ready to share them now. I know it's a lot...but I am only posting less than half of the actual photos taken. So, it could be worse, don't forget that. HA!
All in all, I love my new camera. I'm still just using the point and shoot settings because I figured I needed to start in easy. I love the 15x optical zoom. I also took along my old camera on my trip and took well over 100 shots with it as well. I can sure tell the difference. Can you?
All in all, I love my new camera. I'm still just using the point and shoot settings because I figured I needed to start in easy. I love the 15x optical zoom. I also took along my old camera on my trip and took well over 100 shots with it as well. I can sure tell the difference. Can you?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Weekends Reshuffled!
My third-in-a-row Girls-Only Weekend got canceled for this coming weekend, and so I will be staying in-town. I'm sad that we had to reschedule and miss the pumpkin festival this year [sigh!], but in a way, I'm glad to have a weekend at home, too. I don't know what trouble I'll get into yet, but it is bound to happen.
I definitely feel refreshed and good about my time away. Sure, I came back to a couple of new piles on my desk, more new projects with my name written all over them, a new attorney assigned to my desk (YIKES! that makes 4 for those of you keeping track), BUT, it's all good. Because I just came off an awesome 4-day trip to Missouri. I got to spend lots of time with Becky, one of my favorite people in the world. I got to sight-see in St. Louis, was introduced to more Mizzou alumni, learned a bit more about the Ozarks, rediscovered my love for hills and dips, found out about the tons of colleges in Rolla, fell in love with the Jefferson City Capitol building, etc.
So right about now, I'm still rather high from my travel adventure, which makes my first day back in the office a good day in my book...
Thank you, LORD!
I definitely feel refreshed and good about my time away. Sure, I came back to a couple of new piles on my desk, more new projects with my name written all over them, a new attorney assigned to my desk (YIKES! that makes 4 for those of you keeping track), BUT, it's all good. Because I just came off an awesome 4-day trip to Missouri. I got to spend lots of time with Becky, one of my favorite people in the world. I got to sight-see in St. Louis, was introduced to more Mizzou alumni, learned a bit more about the Ozarks, rediscovered my love for hills and dips, found out about the tons of colleges in Rolla, fell in love with the Jefferson City Capitol building, etc.
So right about now, I'm still rather high from my travel adventure, which makes my first day back in the office a good day in my book...
Thank you, LORD!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Girls Weekend Number 2
I got back late this afternoon from my whirlwind trip to Missouri. Over 520 photos later and lots of hours in the car, I am back home, doing laundry and relaxing before going back to work tomorrow. WOW! We did have a blast!
FRIDAY: My friend Becky and I drove to St. Louis in the afternoon, toured the St. Louis Museum of Art, walked down to the Grand Basin and then headed to dinner before driving another couple of hours to Becky's parents home in Rolla. I immediately liked her Mom and Dad. They made me laugh. Maybe I'm crazy, too?!
SATURDAY: Becky and I went to Columbia and met up with her 2 college guy pals for some lunch at Cracker Barrel. Becky's friend Thad had 3 of his 5 kids with him, and while the other adults caught up on life over the last few years, "Aunt Mel" found it much easier to bond with the kids. Timothy (8), Benjamin (6), and Matthew (5) were lots of fun. We played the peg game and then started making up our own games with the pegs as well.
After lunch, we all drove over to the University of Missouri Columbia (aka Mizzou) for a tour of the campus. The "boys" gave me my own tour as we lagged a bit behind the other adults. All drainage grates became "dungeons," the student center was a "castle," etc. I don't know that there ever has been quite another tour to match it. It was in a word magical.
On our afternoon drive back to Rolla, Becky and I stopped in Jefferson City to walk around the capitol building and take lots of photos. You know me and my love of architecture. It was awesome! I really enjoyed capturing some of the fine details of the building. Love those columns!
SUNDAY: After church, we celebrated Becky's bday with a cookout. We had some awesome barbecue burgers and chicken. There was also a special segment that Becky and I hosted in the kitchen called "Cooking with Becky and Mel," where we got put in charge of the macaroni salad and got a bit creative since neither of us had ever made the salad on our own. AHEM! But it turned out rather tasty in the end.
We took a drive into Rolla after lunch and walked the lake trail at Lion's Park. It was a breezy but pretty day. We spent the rest of the afternoon working on a puzzle in the basement and then played Bible Trivia after dinner. It was a fun relaxing day.
MONDAY: In the morning, we all headed back to St. Louis and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. We toured the large fabulous gardens courtesy of Henry Shaw. Becky enjoyed the enormous rose garden, I fell back in love with dahlias, and her parents started planning their backyard renovations in style. There were special sculptures on display throughout the gardens. I found them rather disturbing, but I think you'll understand why once you see the photos.
We had lunch in the cafe and then headed to Forest Park. We stopped at Turtle Park for some awesome photos. I have a thing for turtles...not sure why, but I do, and so we took lots of fun photos of the turtle playground and then headed to the zoo.
I love the fact that the St. Louis Zoo is FREE. It's awesome! I got to see lots of live turtles, enjoyed watching a snoozing 33-foot Burmese python, wanted to cuddle a polar bear, felt sorry for the caged big cats, chuckled again at the caymans and how they don't move for hours at a time, and thoroughly had a wonderful day! We had dinner in the city and then headed back to Rolla for the night.
TUESDAY: Becky and I headed back to Indianapolis. It was a nice day for a drive.
I'm a bit tired, but it really was a wonderful weekend. I needed to get-away and recoup for a bit before the start of the busy holiday season ahead, and my idea of a good vacation is seeing new places and learning new stuff rather than just hanging out at the beach or something like that. I relax and unwind better with discovery and enjoying new places, and that's what Missouri got me the last 4 days. Thanks for an awesome weekend, Becky! Your parents were great hosts, and the whole weekend package was just what the doctor ordered. I'm ready to go back again...just say the word. Hee hee!
P.S. I'll post a link to the photos soon...
FRIDAY: My friend Becky and I drove to St. Louis in the afternoon, toured the St. Louis Museum of Art, walked down to the Grand Basin and then headed to dinner before driving another couple of hours to Becky's parents home in Rolla. I immediately liked her Mom and Dad. They made me laugh. Maybe I'm crazy, too?!
SATURDAY: Becky and I went to Columbia and met up with her 2 college guy pals for some lunch at Cracker Barrel. Becky's friend Thad had 3 of his 5 kids with him, and while the other adults caught up on life over the last few years, "Aunt Mel" found it much easier to bond with the kids. Timothy (8), Benjamin (6), and Matthew (5) were lots of fun. We played the peg game and then started making up our own games with the pegs as well.
After lunch, we all drove over to the University of Missouri Columbia (aka Mizzou) for a tour of the campus. The "boys" gave me my own tour as we lagged a bit behind the other adults. All drainage grates became "dungeons," the student center was a "castle," etc. I don't know that there ever has been quite another tour to match it. It was in a word magical.
On our afternoon drive back to Rolla, Becky and I stopped in Jefferson City to walk around the capitol building and take lots of photos. You know me and my love of architecture. It was awesome! I really enjoyed capturing some of the fine details of the building. Love those columns!
SUNDAY: After church, we celebrated Becky's bday with a cookout. We had some awesome barbecue burgers and chicken. There was also a special segment that Becky and I hosted in the kitchen called "Cooking with Becky and Mel," where we got put in charge of the macaroni salad and got a bit creative since neither of us had ever made the salad on our own. AHEM! But it turned out rather tasty in the end.
We took a drive into Rolla after lunch and walked the lake trail at Lion's Park. It was a breezy but pretty day. We spent the rest of the afternoon working on a puzzle in the basement and then played Bible Trivia after dinner. It was a fun relaxing day.
MONDAY: In the morning, we all headed back to St. Louis and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. We toured the large fabulous gardens courtesy of Henry Shaw. Becky enjoyed the enormous rose garden, I fell back in love with dahlias, and her parents started planning their backyard renovations in style. There were special sculptures on display throughout the gardens. I found them rather disturbing, but I think you'll understand why once you see the photos.
We had lunch in the cafe and then headed to Forest Park. We stopped at Turtle Park for some awesome photos. I have a thing for turtles...not sure why, but I do, and so we took lots of fun photos of the turtle playground and then headed to the zoo.
I love the fact that the St. Louis Zoo is FREE. It's awesome! I got to see lots of live turtles, enjoyed watching a snoozing 33-foot Burmese python, wanted to cuddle a polar bear, felt sorry for the caged big cats, chuckled again at the caymans and how they don't move for hours at a time, and thoroughly had a wonderful day! We had dinner in the city and then headed back to Rolla for the night.
TUESDAY: Becky and I headed back to Indianapolis. It was a nice day for a drive.
I'm a bit tired, but it really was a wonderful weekend. I needed to get-away and recoup for a bit before the start of the busy holiday season ahead, and my idea of a good vacation is seeing new places and learning new stuff rather than just hanging out at the beach or something like that. I relax and unwind better with discovery and enjoying new places, and that's what Missouri got me the last 4 days. Thanks for an awesome weekend, Becky! Your parents were great hosts, and the whole weekend package was just what the doctor ordered. I'm ready to go back again...just say the word. Hee hee!
P.S. I'll post a link to the photos soon...
Friday, October 17, 2008
Meet Me in St. Louis
I've always wanted to say that, and now I have. Hey, you know what? I've never seen that movie/musical all the way through. Interesting!
I'm leaving for Missouri in a couple of hours with my friend Becky, and I'm giddy with excitement. I've got a serious photo bug to cure, and I'm stir crazy for some much-needed vacation time away from the office. This is Becky's birthday weekend trip, and I'm sure we'll have a blast. She and I always have lots of laughs together.
1. St. Louis: We're going to spend some time in one of my favorite cities. I can't wait to tour the SLAM (better known as the St. Louis Museum of Art) again, meander through the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and stroll with the animals at the St. Louis Zoo. I love Forest Park with a passion, and I hope we can finally find that turtle playground thing. Pretty please?? Let it happen. I love turtles.
Sadly, we're passing up on the opportunity to eat at the Cunetto House of Pasta and gobble wildly on their scrumptious dishes this trip. [sigh!] We're both watching our caloric intake right now, but I'll sure we'll find other ways to splurge.
2. Rolla: I'm pretty sure I've never been to Rolla, MO, but Rolla, watch out 'cause here I come. Becky's parents recently moved to Rolla from Kokomo, IN, and so we'll be staying with her family there. I'm looking forward to getting to know her parents better. She keeps warning me that her family is crazy. "No, Mel, you don't understand. They really ARE!" So, I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into here, but I can identify with crazy. HA!
3. Columbia: We're going back to Becky's alma mater, the University of Missouri Columbia, to visit some of her Mizzou friends. It should be interesting to meet people from Becky's college days. Oh the delicious stories I hope to share when I get back...
I am armed with 2 digital cameras now, and so I will be taking photos like a mad woman. WOOHOO!! My new camera's 4GB memory card says that I have over 2,500 shots to take on it yet, and that is with one of the higher pixel settings. I opted to go with that medium high range because I have yet to need a 16 x 20 reprint. HA! Let's see if I can handle such a volume range of photo-taking-opportunities this weekend. Will it be enough memory for a 4.5 day trip? Stay tuned.
WOOHOO!! Well, I'm outta here until Wednesday. Have a great weekend, all!
I'm leaving for Missouri in a couple of hours with my friend Becky, and I'm giddy with excitement. I've got a serious photo bug to cure, and I'm stir crazy for some much-needed vacation time away from the office. This is Becky's birthday weekend trip, and I'm sure we'll have a blast. She and I always have lots of laughs together.
1. St. Louis: We're going to spend some time in one of my favorite cities. I can't wait to tour the SLAM (better known as the St. Louis Museum of Art) again, meander through the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and stroll with the animals at the St. Louis Zoo. I love Forest Park with a passion, and I hope we can finally find that turtle playground thing. Pretty please?? Let it happen. I love turtles.
Sadly, we're passing up on the opportunity to eat at the Cunetto House of Pasta and gobble wildly on their scrumptious dishes this trip. [sigh!] We're both watching our caloric intake right now, but I'll sure we'll find other ways to splurge.
2. Rolla: I'm pretty sure I've never been to Rolla, MO, but Rolla, watch out 'cause here I come. Becky's parents recently moved to Rolla from Kokomo, IN, and so we'll be staying with her family there. I'm looking forward to getting to know her parents better. She keeps warning me that her family is crazy. "No, Mel, you don't understand. They really ARE!" So, I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into here, but I can identify with crazy. HA!
3. Columbia: We're going back to Becky's alma mater, the University of Missouri Columbia, to visit some of her Mizzou friends. It should be interesting to meet people from Becky's college days. Oh the delicious stories I hope to share when I get back...
I am armed with 2 digital cameras now, and so I will be taking photos like a mad woman. WOOHOO!! My new camera's 4GB memory card says that I have over 2,500 shots to take on it yet, and that is with one of the higher pixel settings. I opted to go with that medium high range because I have yet to need a 16 x 20 reprint. HA! Let's see if I can handle such a volume range of photo-taking-opportunities this weekend. Will it be enough memory for a 4.5 day trip? Stay tuned.
WOOHOO!! Well, I'm outta here until Wednesday. Have a great weekend, all!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Girls Weekend Number 1
My first of 3 girls-only-weekends in a row went blissfully well. My friend Lisa came from Cincinnati for a visit, and my sister Barbara came from Kokomo for the weekend, too. We had dinner together with Barbara's whole family in Carmel on Friday night, and then the girls went off on their own for the rest of the weekend. We hit our first Goodwill store Friday evening. 
On Saturday, we got a bit of a late start, but we still managed to get lots of consignment and secondhand shopping done during the day. I think Lisa and Barbara especially purchased some cool finds. I did get a couple of things, but secondhand shopping is a hit or miss thing sometimes. I don't always find lots for myself, but I enjoy getting out anyway. It was a fun day, and hey, we got some WW exercise points for all that walking we did! HA!
Lisa had to head home on Saturday evening, but Barbara was able to stay another night and go to church with me on Sunday morning. We caught up with some friends for a few minutes after church and then headed out to Ted's Montana Grill for some lunch, before heading up to Peru for a friend's baby shower. 
Jean's shower was a lot of fun! I am always nervous about shower games. How am I going to have to make a fool of myself this time? But these shower games were really fun, and I enjoyed myself. It was also great to see Jean again and reconnect with some other friends, too! 
After the shower, my brother-in-law and I headed to the Best Buy in Kokomo to look at digital cameras. I did buy a new camera (see my last post) after all. Then I had dinner with my sister and her family and then headed back home to Indy. Yeah, it was a fabulous weekend.
Thank you, LORD! I needed that.
Strike a Pose
I have a new weapon of choice. I bought a new digital camera yesterday! Can I get a big WOOHOO please?? Thanks! I've been researching cameras for a couple of months now. I needed to upgrade before my trip to England next May, but I wasn't sure how far to go. I nearly went with a DSLR [Nikon D40], but then I decided I wasn't quite ready to take that plunge. Call me chicken, but I'm just not ready for that yet.
Instead, I went with a new Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H50, which was still a hard choice to make. I had several digital favorites to choose from. I particularly love Nikon cameras, but the one Nikon I had my eye on got some seriously harsh reviews, and I was torn what to do! No camera is perfect, but the fact that the camera is rated as sluggish doesn't sound like a good thing. So since, I have been using an older Sony Cyber-Shot model for a couple of years, and I've been rather happy with it, I chose to do a SERIOUS Sony model upgrade, and I think it was the right choice for me.
I'm sitting here at work just dying to go home and take that camera out for a spin! I need to visit the IMA gardens this week and experiment with shots and lighting. I can't wait to play with the 15x optical zoom. I'm giddy with excitement actually. It doesn't take much for me to get all excited. After all, I'm such a kid at heart, and photography winds me up on most days anyways, but I'm overly excited today!
So...consider yourself warned!! I'll probably have my camera with me next time we meet. I'll probably smile sweetly and say as charmingly as I can muster: "Can I take your picture? Pretty please??" Hee hee!! Come on. You know you don't really mind. Just strike a pose already.
Instead, I went with a new Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H50, which was still a hard choice to make. I had several digital favorites to choose from. I particularly love Nikon cameras, but the one Nikon I had my eye on got some seriously harsh reviews, and I was torn what to do! No camera is perfect, but the fact that the camera is rated as sluggish doesn't sound like a good thing. So since, I have been using an older Sony Cyber-Shot model for a couple of years, and I've been rather happy with it, I chose to do a SERIOUS Sony model upgrade, and I think it was the right choice for me.
I'm sitting here at work just dying to go home and take that camera out for a spin! I need to visit the IMA gardens this week and experiment with shots and lighting. I can't wait to play with the 15x optical zoom. I'm giddy with excitement actually. It doesn't take much for me to get all excited. After all, I'm such a kid at heart, and photography winds me up on most days anyways, but I'm overly excited today!
So...consider yourself warned!! I'll probably have my camera with me next time we meet. I'll probably smile sweetly and say as charmingly as I can muster: "Can I take your picture? Pretty please??" Hee hee!! Come on. You know you don't really mind. Just strike a pose already.
How to Perform a Tracheotomy
I love the interesting conversations that swirl around the office first thing in the morning. Today, Carl’s survival calendar gave how-to instructions for a tracheotomy. He left them on my desk to tackle first thing. I read the directions squeamishly, and then honestly confessed to both of my attorneys that I didn't think I could do it. They were very disappointed to hear that I would not be able to administer this life-saving technique, but I just don’t know if I could make that first incision. YIKES!!
One of them said: You mean, you’d just let me die?
Me: Ommmm...no, I’d run for help and find someone else to do it. I just don’t think I have it in me to cut open someone's neck.
Him: I don't like hearing that.
Me: Well, maybe it’s a good thing we are having this conversation then. At least you know ahead of time that I can’t do it.
Then we started talking about whether or not a person could do it to themselves. I said I’d hold a mirror up so that Carl could see to make his own incision, and then we realized that he’d probably be unconscious, and that could pose some problems for this self-surgical procedure. Hmmmm...
OK, so maybe I could do it if I had to, but I certainly wouldn’t like it. It’s not like CPR. I doubt they have practice dummies that I can rehearse this on. OOPS! You just cut a major artery! Your patient has 2 minutes to live. See, there’s a reason that I didn’t go to medical school or become a nurse.
So what about you--could you do this procedure to save a life?
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
One of them said: You mean, you’d just let me die?
Me: Ommmm...no, I’d run for help and find someone else to do it. I just don’t think I have it in me to cut open someone's neck.
Him: I don't like hearing that.
Me: Well, maybe it’s a good thing we are having this conversation then. At least you know ahead of time that I can’t do it.
Then we started talking about whether or not a person could do it to themselves. I said I’d hold a mirror up so that Carl could see to make his own incision, and then we realized that he’d probably be unconscious, and that could pose some problems for this self-surgical procedure. Hmmmm...
OK, so maybe I could do it if I had to, but I certainly wouldn’t like it. It’s not like CPR. I doubt they have practice dummies that I can rehearse this on. OOPS! You just cut a major artery! Your patient has 2 minutes to live. See, there’s a reason that I didn’t go to medical school or become a nurse.
So what about you--could you do this procedure to save a life?
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
1. Find the person’s Adam’s apple (thyroid cartilage). Move your finger about one inch down the neck until you feel another bulge, the cricoid cartilage. The indentation between the two is the cricothyroid membrane, where the incision will be made.
2. Using a razor blade or knife, make a horizontal incision about half an inch across and half an inch deep.
3. Pinch the incision open or place your finger inside the slit to open it.
4. Insert a tube in the incision, roughly between ½ and 1 inch deep.
5. Breathe into the tube with two quick breaths. Pause five seconds, then give one breath every five seconds. You will see the chest rise and the person should regain consciousness if you have performed the procedure correctly.
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