Winter Girl

I've fallen in love with the California winter.  Blue skies and mild temperatures.  Occasional cloudy days and rain when you just want to snuggle under a blanket next to the fire with a good book.  Snow capped mountains and green hills.  It's positively fantastic.  I'm a winter girl now.  Forget the hazy blue skies, brown hills and mountians, and oven-like temperatures of August.  That being said, throw me into 3 feet of snow and the freezing temperatures of a Michigan winter, and I will deny any positive feelings toward winter at all.  But I'm not from Michigan anymore and after living in California for more than 10 years, I think I can call California my home.

Redlands is Rockin!

Redlands has been rocking lately.  Quite literally.  After 3 small earthquakes today, not to mention the 3 or 4 other ones in the last 2 weeks, it leaves one wondering what's to come.  Are these precursors to something bigger?  Hopefully, the earth is just getting the bigger one out in small amounts.  I'm trying to take comfort in the fact that the original structures of my house were built in the 1920s.  It had to have withstood a big earthquake or two in the past, right?  Bad foundation and all....

Flowers?

My blog is named for a couple of things I love.  But have I ever put either flowers or flip flops on this blog?  I'm not positive but I don't think so.

I"m a girl and I love flowers.  That may be a little generic, but it's true.  The other thing that's true is that I love to take pictures of flowers.  My wonderful man gave me a beautiful bouquet of tulips for Valentines Day.  Quite fitting, not only because I love flowers, but also because I'm Dutch.  And now, I'm in heaven. I have flowers, I have a camera, and I just got a brand new macro lens for my camera.  Here are the results of my first pics.

Needs a little work, but the potential is definitely there... More flowers to come...

My Mind is Rebelling

This year, I have been unable to get the new year into my head.  Every time I write the date, I write '09.  I was suddenly blown away to realize that New Year's Eve 1989 was now over 20 years ago.  Doesn't it seem like just yesterday that I was babysitting (yes, that was my exciting '89 New Year's Eve) for the DeMann's.  20 years?  Yikes!

As I advance in years, past my ripe old age of 33, it gets harder and harder to comprehend that I'm not 23 anymore.  I don't feel like 33.  And when I was young, 33 sounded absolutely ancient.  My profession doesn't make this any easier.  I am meerly 1 1/2 years away from being considered "Elderly."  Yes, all you women out there, if you deliver at 35 years old or more, we use terms like "Elderly Primigravida or Multigravida" and "Advanced Maternal Age" for you.  This is not helping my complex right now.  Fortunately, I have these lovely patients that ask me things like: "Are you old enough to do this?" and "You look like you're 18." or "How old are you anyway?"  I blushingly have to respond that I'm older than they think, but thank them profusely anyway.  Thanks to my patients for keeping me feeling young.  You are good for my bruised ego.