For those of you who may be wondering, I thought I should update you on my weird allergic reactions.
We never did figure out what I was allergic to. During the week after I last blogged, several days would go by symptom free, and then I would get a slight case of hives (usually on my legs) that only lasted for about 30 min. This happened about three times, but it was minor enough that I decided not to take any medicine. I wanted to see if they would go away on their own.
And they did! Hooray! I've now been symptom free for over a week, and I'm fairly confident that it will stay that way.
So I guess whatever it was finally got out of my system. Weird. At least it gave me something interesting to blog about.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Happy Pi Day!
For those of you who didn't know, Saturday was Pi Day. And no, I did not misspell Pi. March 14th is 3/14, the first three digits of pi (3.14159...). Because it fell on a Saturday this year, I got to celebrate it twice: once with my students on Friday, and then again with Jeff on Saturday.
On Friday I put together a short hands-on activity for my students to explore pi. I brought in several round objects (like a container of salt and a soup can), and they had to measure the circumference and diameter of each object and then compute the ratio of circumference/diameter. For those of you who didn't know or may have forgotten, this is the definition of pi. I think it's really cool that you always get the same number when you divide a circle's circumference by it's diameter, no matter how big or small the circle is. Of course, the girls didn't always get 3.14, but we discussed how this was due to our inaccurate measuring tools (string and rulers).
The girls had a lot of fun with the activity. They were really energetic and competitive, because those who finished first got to eat first. Earlier that week, I took a poll for which kinds of pies the girls would like me to buy, and then I went and bought them on Friday afternoon, right before our activity. They were sitting out on the counter as an incentive for them to do the activity. It was a hit.
On Saturday Jeff and I made a banana cream pie. I had some graham crackers in the cupboard, so I decided to make a graham cracker crust rather than buy one. It was pretty easy. I've included the recipe at the end of the blog if anyone would like to use it.
I used a special pi pan that a former math teacher gave me as a wedding gift:
Here's Jeff crushing up the graham crackers:
Here's me pressing the crust into the pan:
And here's me pouring the banana pudding into the crust:
Funny story: the first time Jeff and I tried to make banana cream pie (I think it was for pi day last year, actually), we added the normal amount of milk to the pudding mixture. We missed the instructions on the box that tell you to decrease the amount of milk when you're using it for pie filling. The result wasn't banana cream pie - it was more like banana cream glop. Thankfully, we learned from our mistake and didn't repeat it this year.
Recipe for Graham Cracker Crust
1 2/3 c. crushed graham crackers (7-8 full size crackers)
1/4 c. sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted
Combine ingredients and press into a 9 inch pie pan. If you are making a pudding pie, you don't need to bake it. If you are making a pie that you bake, you would bake it beforehand, but I didn't write down that part of the directions because I didn't need it - sorry. (You can Google it.)
On Friday I put together a short hands-on activity for my students to explore pi. I brought in several round objects (like a container of salt and a soup can), and they had to measure the circumference and diameter of each object and then compute the ratio of circumference/diameter. For those of you who didn't know or may have forgotten, this is the definition of pi. I think it's really cool that you always get the same number when you divide a circle's circumference by it's diameter, no matter how big or small the circle is. Of course, the girls didn't always get 3.14, but we discussed how this was due to our inaccurate measuring tools (string and rulers).
The girls had a lot of fun with the activity. They were really energetic and competitive, because those who finished first got to eat first. Earlier that week, I took a poll for which kinds of pies the girls would like me to buy, and then I went and bought them on Friday afternoon, right before our activity. They were sitting out on the counter as an incentive for them to do the activity. It was a hit.
On Saturday Jeff and I made a banana cream pie. I had some graham crackers in the cupboard, so I decided to make a graham cracker crust rather than buy one. It was pretty easy. I've included the recipe at the end of the blog if anyone would like to use it.
I used a special pi pan that a former math teacher gave me as a wedding gift:
Here's Jeff crushing up the graham crackers:
Here's me pressing the crust into the pan:
And here's me pouring the banana pudding into the crust:
Funny story: the first time Jeff and I tried to make banana cream pie (I think it was for pi day last year, actually), we added the normal amount of milk to the pudding mixture. We missed the instructions on the box that tell you to decrease the amount of milk when you're using it for pie filling. The result wasn't banana cream pie - it was more like banana cream glop. Thankfully, we learned from our mistake and didn't repeat it this year.
Recipe for Graham Cracker Crust
1 2/3 c. crushed graham crackers (7-8 full size crackers)
1/4 c. sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted
Combine ingredients and press into a 9 inch pie pan. If you are making a pudding pie, you don't need to bake it. If you are making a pie that you bake, you would bake it beforehand, but I didn't write down that part of the directions because I didn't need it - sorry. (You can Google it.)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Mysterious Allergic Reaction
For those of you who don't know, this is the second time in my entire life that I've had an allergic reaction. The first time was back when I was 12 or so, and it remains a mystery (I had swelling and a rash for an hour or two for several evenings in a row, and we never did discover the cause).
Well, it seems I'm never to know what is ailing me. This second bout of allergies was much worse than the first. It started off two weeks ago, on Tuesday. At first I just had some minor itching, and I just thought my skin was dry, but I broke out in full-blown hives that evening. Jeff was kind enough to go to the store and buy me some Benadryl cream, which helped to relieve the itching.
When I woke up the next morning with slightly swollen hands and minor hives, I decided to go ahead and go to work. Well, my feet ended up swelling up shortly after I got to work, which made walking pretty painful. Fortunately, our girls were going on a field trip that day, so I was able to stay back and off of my feet. I'm so grateful that my feet swelled up early - if I'd gone on the field trip, I would have been miserable!
As it was, I suffered with my swollen feet (and a funny "old woman" shuffle to match) for another two days. That was definately the worst symptom I had.
When I woke up with swollen lips on Thursday in addition to my other symptoms, I decided to stay home from work and go see a doctor. The visit wasn't very helpful - they took a blood sample (which didn't tell us anything) and gave me something a little stronger than Benadryl. I discovered that antihistamines really do make you sleepy. It was weird to sleep for several extra hours when I felt fine, except for the itching and swelling.
I was feeling ok enough to go to work on Friday. It was a teacher work day, so I was able to stay off my feet again, which was nice.
I continued to suffer with my hives over the weekend (mostly in the evenings), until I finally went to the store on Monday and got some Zyrtec. I took some Monday night and was able to enjoy a symptom-free night of slumber. When Tuesday and Wednesday passed with no hives, I was beginning to feel that it was finally behind me, since Zyrtec is supposed to last for 24 hours.
But, alas, the mystery continued. On Wednesday evening the hives came back, so I took another pill. I was fine on Thursday and Friday, and again hoped that I was ok, but then - like clockwork - I started getting itchy again on Friday evening.
So, if this pattern continues, my hives may come back tonight. I wish they would just GO AWAY!!! Or, I wish that we could figure out what was causing them.
For those of you that are wondering, Jeff and I have been racking our brains trying to figure out the source of my allergies. We haven't used new soap, detergent, shampoo, lotion, etc. recently. I also haven't eaten any unusual foods. Over that first weekend we did about 6 loads of laundry and changed our air filter (in case I had developed a dust allergy - and it needed to be changed anyway). We've come up with theories ranging from me being allergic to Jeff (since I had the worst symptoms at night) to hormones to my library book (maybe there was a mysterious substance on it?). Let me tell you, we've thought of practically everything, except what it is, of course.
If my hives do come back tonight, I'm going to call my doctor tomorrow and see if I could take some kind of test to determine what I'm allergic to. So let's just hope they don't come back and I can chalk up this experience to another mysterious allergic reaction that hopefully won't resurface for another decade or two.
Well, it seems I'm never to know what is ailing me. This second bout of allergies was much worse than the first. It started off two weeks ago, on Tuesday. At first I just had some minor itching, and I just thought my skin was dry, but I broke out in full-blown hives that evening. Jeff was kind enough to go to the store and buy me some Benadryl cream, which helped to relieve the itching.
When I woke up the next morning with slightly swollen hands and minor hives, I decided to go ahead and go to work. Well, my feet ended up swelling up shortly after I got to work, which made walking pretty painful. Fortunately, our girls were going on a field trip that day, so I was able to stay back and off of my feet. I'm so grateful that my feet swelled up early - if I'd gone on the field trip, I would have been miserable!
As it was, I suffered with my swollen feet (and a funny "old woman" shuffle to match) for another two days. That was definately the worst symptom I had.
When I woke up with swollen lips on Thursday in addition to my other symptoms, I decided to stay home from work and go see a doctor. The visit wasn't very helpful - they took a blood sample (which didn't tell us anything) and gave me something a little stronger than Benadryl. I discovered that antihistamines really do make you sleepy. It was weird to sleep for several extra hours when I felt fine, except for the itching and swelling.
I was feeling ok enough to go to work on Friday. It was a teacher work day, so I was able to stay off my feet again, which was nice.
I continued to suffer with my hives over the weekend (mostly in the evenings), until I finally went to the store on Monday and got some Zyrtec. I took some Monday night and was able to enjoy a symptom-free night of slumber. When Tuesday and Wednesday passed with no hives, I was beginning to feel that it was finally behind me, since Zyrtec is supposed to last for 24 hours.
But, alas, the mystery continued. On Wednesday evening the hives came back, so I took another pill. I was fine on Thursday and Friday, and again hoped that I was ok, but then - like clockwork - I started getting itchy again on Friday evening.
So, if this pattern continues, my hives may come back tonight. I wish they would just GO AWAY!!! Or, I wish that we could figure out what was causing them.
For those of you that are wondering, Jeff and I have been racking our brains trying to figure out the source of my allergies. We haven't used new soap, detergent, shampoo, lotion, etc. recently. I also haven't eaten any unusual foods. Over that first weekend we did about 6 loads of laundry and changed our air filter (in case I had developed a dust allergy - and it needed to be changed anyway). We've come up with theories ranging from me being allergic to Jeff (since I had the worst symptoms at night) to hormones to my library book (maybe there was a mysterious substance on it?). Let me tell you, we've thought of practically everything, except what it is, of course.
If my hives do come back tonight, I'm going to call my doctor tomorrow and see if I could take some kind of test to determine what I'm allergic to. So let's just hope they don't come back and I can chalk up this experience to another mysterious allergic reaction that hopefully won't resurface for another decade or two.
What I do...
So most of you who read this may already know what I do for a living, but for those of you who don't and those of you who do I thought I would show you a bit of what I do for work. I have a very fun job. I get to invent stuff and create stuff that people use in the hospital and homecare markets. I work for a company called Maxtec. It is a company that's biggest selling products are oxygen sensors and analyzers. They are used in hospitals and in home care. They also have a variety of industrial applications including scuba and nitrogen tire filling. (Air is about 20.9% oxygen and the rest is nitrogen and trace amounts of other gases, so by knowing the oxygen in the air you can know how much nitrogen is in the air.) So here a few pictures of our oxygen analyzer products.
One of my first projects at Maxtec was helping with the documentation and implementing a new product onto our manufacturing floor. This product is called the MaxVenturi. It is designed to draw in air in the room (filtered) using a stream of oxygen. This product delivers a high flow of gas to the patient and the amount of oxygen can be increased as needed. This device is particularly useful in old hospitals where medical grade air is not provided in the hospital. From what I have heard, there are lots of hospitals outside the US that don't have piped air in their hospital.
One of my most recent projects, (and I would also say one of my favorite products) is called the SmartStack IV stand. In hospitals IV poles and equipment stands when not being used are kept in closets. Usually these closets get very full - sometimes so full that some hospitals will sacrifice hospital rooms/beds so that they have room for all the equipment. Well, the engineering team designed an IV pole that stacks like a shopping cart. The amount of space is saves is rediculous. We put 24 of our IV poles next to 24 regular IV poles and ours took 1/3 of the space! I mentioned in an earlier blog that I have a patent with my name on it - the SmartStack is that device. Below are some pictures showing how they fit together.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Valentine's Day fun and flops.
This was our first Valentines day as a married couple. The day began with me waking up early to write my sweet wife a love note only to see that she was awake when I went to place it on the kitchen table. I was hoping she might still be asleep so that I could make breakfast cake for her. But we had fun cooking it together and dancing in the kitchen. She then sequestered me to our bedroom while she put together love notes coupled with Hershey's Cookies and Cream Kisses all over the condo. I looked forward to reading her notes, so I quickly scarfed down the wonderful breakfast cake she and I made. Eating the food that fast gave me a stomach ache, but that went away shortly. We had a wonderful day just being together and not having to go out in the snow.
Christine was so sweet all day. She planned to make me quiche for dinner. She even had a tablecloth and candle for the table. Quiche is cooked in two stages - or at least this quiche is. She cooks a hashbrown crust, and then we put in the yummy quiche part. Christine was quietly cooking me dinner, when all of a sudden she screamed out in obvious pain. I quickly ran into the kitchen to see what the matter was. She had forgotten that the glass pan was hot from cooking the crust and had not put on the oven mitts. I felt so bad for her as she had been so nice to me all day and now she had burned the thumb, index and middle finger of both her hands. So I took care of the rest of the dinner preparation - setting the table and pulling the quiche out of the oven. So to make juice from lemons we saw an opportunity and I ended up feeding Christine for dinner.
So I served her some food, and then placed some on my plate. She then suggested that I move around to the side of the table so that I could help her out and eat too. So I got up and went to pick up the quiche. I remembered gloves - because 4 burned hands would not be fun. When I picked up the quiche I went to move the hot pad it was sitting on and the quiche became unbalanced in my left hand and down it went - all over the floor. I didn't know how to react - it was one of those moments where you want to laugh and cry at the same time. Fortunately, I had already served some of the quiche so we didn't lose it all and we still managed to have a great Valentines. Looking back we'll have a good laugh at the flops and remember the fun.
P.S. Christine's fingers are doing okay now. She has a few blisters on her thumbs and middle fingers.
P.P.S Ironically, I got Christine handwarmers for Valentine's day - because her hands are always cold and I thought I would give her warm hands when I couldn't be around. ( I also got her chocolates.)
Christine was so sweet all day. She planned to make me quiche for dinner. She even had a tablecloth and candle for the table. Quiche is cooked in two stages - or at least this quiche is. She cooks a hashbrown crust, and then we put in the yummy quiche part. Christine was quietly cooking me dinner, when all of a sudden she screamed out in obvious pain. I quickly ran into the kitchen to see what the matter was. She had forgotten that the glass pan was hot from cooking the crust and had not put on the oven mitts. I felt so bad for her as she had been so nice to me all day and now she had burned the thumb, index and middle finger of both her hands. So I took care of the rest of the dinner preparation - setting the table and pulling the quiche out of the oven. So to make juice from lemons we saw an opportunity and I ended up feeding Christine for dinner.
So I served her some food, and then placed some on my plate. She then suggested that I move around to the side of the table so that I could help her out and eat too. So I got up and went to pick up the quiche. I remembered gloves - because 4 burned hands would not be fun. When I picked up the quiche I went to move the hot pad it was sitting on and the quiche became unbalanced in my left hand and down it went - all over the floor. I didn't know how to react - it was one of those moments where you want to laugh and cry at the same time. Fortunately, I had already served some of the quiche so we didn't lose it all and we still managed to have a great Valentines. Looking back we'll have a good laugh at the flops and remember the fun.
P.S. Christine's fingers are doing okay now. She has a few blisters on her thumbs and middle fingers.
P.P.S Ironically, I got Christine handwarmers for Valentine's day - because her hands are always cold and I thought I would give her warm hands when I couldn't be around. ( I also got her chocolates.)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Happy Birthday to Me!!!
I thought I should probably tell about my birthday, which was on this past Sunday, January 25th. I turned 24 years old - only one more year til my "golden birthday"!
It was a good birthday. When I was a kid, I didn't really like having a birthday on Sunday, but this year I quite enjoyed it.
For my birthday, I decided to ask for a few food items that I enjoy but don't usually buy due to the cost. I'm trying to get away from owning more "stuff" that just fills up my house and then I don't know what to do with it, so I figured that food was pretty practical. But one thing I can't get enough of is books. I had given Jeff and my sister Suzanne a list of books that I would like to own someday, and I got several from my list (so the specific books I got were still a surprise). I LOVE having shelves and shelves filled with my favorite books. I read them over and over and over... I also decided that I want to pick up the hobby of cross-stitching, so I got a few things to help me get started, like needles, thread, and patterns.
It was a wonderful day from beginning to end. I had the opportunity to sing in Sacrament Meeting, which I enjoy doing (even though my legs were shaking the whole time). I sang an arrangement of Lead, Kindly Light and I Need Thee Every Hour that Jeff and I put together, while Jeff accompanied me on the piano.
The only slight damper on the day was the arrival of snow. I am NOT a fan of snow, and it was an uninvited guest on my special day. Fortunately, the roads didn't turn out to be too bad, so we were still able to make it to my parent's house for my birthday dinner. Yay!
It was a good birthday. When I was a kid, I didn't really like having a birthday on Sunday, but this year I quite enjoyed it.
For my birthday, I decided to ask for a few food items that I enjoy but don't usually buy due to the cost. I'm trying to get away from owning more "stuff" that just fills up my house and then I don't know what to do with it, so I figured that food was pretty practical. But one thing I can't get enough of is books. I had given Jeff and my sister Suzanne a list of books that I would like to own someday, and I got several from my list (so the specific books I got were still a surprise). I LOVE having shelves and shelves filled with my favorite books. I read them over and over and over... I also decided that I want to pick up the hobby of cross-stitching, so I got a few things to help me get started, like needles, thread, and patterns.
It was a wonderful day from beginning to end. I had the opportunity to sing in Sacrament Meeting, which I enjoy doing (even though my legs were shaking the whole time). I sang an arrangement of Lead, Kindly Light and I Need Thee Every Hour that Jeff and I put together, while Jeff accompanied me on the piano.
The only slight damper on the day was the arrival of snow. I am NOT a fan of snow, and it was an uninvited guest on my special day. Fortunately, the roads didn't turn out to be too bad, so we were still able to make it to my parent's house for my birthday dinner. Yay!
Jury Duty
Well, this past week I was selected for jury duty. A few months ago I got a questionnaire in the mail, which I filled out and sent in. I just didn't know when I would be asked to come in. Then on Tuesday I got a letter in the mail letting me know that I needed to report to the courthouse on Friday. So I prepared substitute plans, asked our Special Ed teacher to cover for me, and I was ready - if not eager - to go.
It was my first time, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Of course, I've seen lots of court scenes in tv shows and movies, but I figured it would be a little different.
The letter instructed us to show up at the courthouse at 8:00 a.m., but I arrived a little early (having come straight from dropping Jeff off at work at 7:30), only to find that...it was locked. So there were several prospective jurors waiting around in the cold until they let us in. Fortunately, I brought a book to read, so I wasn't bored.
After being let inside, we waited in line to check in, just giving our names so they could mark off that we were there. I was surprised that they didn't ask for ID - anyone could have shown up and claimed to be me. We then waited some more, during which time I chatted a little with those sitting near me and graded some papers.
They then had us watch a pretty cheesy video about jury duty. The music was really bad, and the dialog wasn't much better. It was about what to expect when serving on a jury, which is fine, but it also had a lot of statements from past jurors about what an honor it was to serve, and how interested they were in the case, etc.
I decided that I wouldn't mind serving, if it was just for one day. But I kind of wondered what the case would be about, and what it would be like to serve on a jury.
After the video, they called us in to the court room one by one, seating us randomly throughout the room. We had to pass through a metal detector and let a guard briefly search our belongings. I ended up being the very last juror called in, so I was seated in the back.
One of the first things I noticed was that the defense and prosecuting sides sat so they were facing us, with their backs to the judge. I thought it was weird. But now that I look back on it, they probably sit that way during jury selection, and face the "regular way" during the trial.
The judge had everyone stand and introduce themselves by saying where they worked, where their spouse works, and where their adult children (if they had any) worked. She then proceeded to ask us a series of questions, where we would raise our hands if our answer was yes, and then she'd call on us individually to explain our answers.
Through the types of questions she asked, I learned that it was a DUI case. In response to one of her questions, I let them know that I'm morally opposed to drinking and driving. I think that was the nail in the coffin that sealed my fate - I was not selected to serve. (Only 4 were selected to serve on the jury - that's another thing I didn't expect.)
OH DARN! ;)
Well, for my 2 1/2 hours at the courthouse, I got $18.50 and an interesting story to tell.
I'd like to think that I still could have been impartial and ruled fairly. But another part of me wonders if I would have judged unfairly if I had learned that the defendent had drunk and then driven, even if it was below the legal limit. Guess I'll never know.
It was my first time, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Of course, I've seen lots of court scenes in tv shows and movies, but I figured it would be a little different.
The letter instructed us to show up at the courthouse at 8:00 a.m., but I arrived a little early (having come straight from dropping Jeff off at work at 7:30), only to find that...it was locked. So there were several prospective jurors waiting around in the cold until they let us in. Fortunately, I brought a book to read, so I wasn't bored.
After being let inside, we waited in line to check in, just giving our names so they could mark off that we were there. I was surprised that they didn't ask for ID - anyone could have shown up and claimed to be me. We then waited some more, during which time I chatted a little with those sitting near me and graded some papers.
They then had us watch a pretty cheesy video about jury duty. The music was really bad, and the dialog wasn't much better. It was about what to expect when serving on a jury, which is fine, but it also had a lot of statements from past jurors about what an honor it was to serve, and how interested they were in the case, etc.
I decided that I wouldn't mind serving, if it was just for one day. But I kind of wondered what the case would be about, and what it would be like to serve on a jury.
After the video, they called us in to the court room one by one, seating us randomly throughout the room. We had to pass through a metal detector and let a guard briefly search our belongings. I ended up being the very last juror called in, so I was seated in the back.
One of the first things I noticed was that the defense and prosecuting sides sat so they were facing us, with their backs to the judge. I thought it was weird. But now that I look back on it, they probably sit that way during jury selection, and face the "regular way" during the trial.
The judge had everyone stand and introduce themselves by saying where they worked, where their spouse works, and where their adult children (if they had any) worked. She then proceeded to ask us a series of questions, where we would raise our hands if our answer was yes, and then she'd call on us individually to explain our answers.
Through the types of questions she asked, I learned that it was a DUI case. In response to one of her questions, I let them know that I'm morally opposed to drinking and driving. I think that was the nail in the coffin that sealed my fate - I was not selected to serve. (Only 4 were selected to serve on the jury - that's another thing I didn't expect.)
OH DARN! ;)
Well, for my 2 1/2 hours at the courthouse, I got $18.50 and an interesting story to tell.
I'd like to think that I still could have been impartial and ruled fairly. But another part of me wonders if I would have judged unfairly if I had learned that the defendent had drunk and then driven, even if it was below the legal limit. Guess I'll never know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)