how to (cheaply) entertain your dog for hours...

Take a kong, fill the small end with peanut butter and rubber band a piece of saran wrap over that end.  Turn it over and wedge a treat in the big end, fill with water, and freeze.

I now have a dog happily trying to chip the ice out of her kong!

fun with photoshop

Given that I've had six days off this week, I've had a lot of time to think about a lot of things.  While poking around on the internet I discovered a lot of awesome photographs that a lot of normal people took with a lot of normal (or slightly better than normal) digital cameras.  I wanted to know why my photos never look like theirs.  My trusty tiny Canon digital camera takes really good photos...but all the photos I looked at were better.  John's awesome new camera takes really really good photos...but all the photos I looked at were better.  After doing some more internet digging and digital experimentation...I discovered it wasn't me, or my camera, or John's camera...the secret is making a few (four at the most) simple adjustments in Photoshop.  Five extra minutes of my time makes my photos look amazing!  Here are a few samples:

Original:

Edited:

Orignal:

Edited:

Edit #2:

A look back at 2009

2009 was a successful year (although not quite as successful as hers: http://dooce.com/2009/12/30/2009-photos). I finished school, became an RN, and got a real job.

Here's my 2009, in pictures (minus anything related to school or work):

2009 in Pictures from Martha Rosenstein on Vimeo.

The song is "Around the Bend" by Asteroids Galaxy Tour
Most of the pictures are mine...although I stole a few off the internet...if they're yours...thanks!!

oh what a tangled social web we weave

I don't know if this comes from living in Alaska or if it's because I've spent most of my life in one place or what. But I found out today that I (unknowingly) fraternized with the ex-girlfriend of a very close friend's (now) husband.

Now, we females have an unspoken code where we despise ex-girlfriends of boyfriends/fiances/husbands (past or present) of our friends. Same goes for the ex-boyfriends/fiances/husbands of friends...we hate them too. Which makes life more difficult when people start dating people they've already dated who we hate by default. It's a hard-won appeal to "the committee" to get those in good favor again.

Anyway...said friend tells me a story about husband's ex being at an event they attended over the weekend. Friend describes said ex to me...and a situation where friend's husband's sister was forced to work with said ex while ex was doing a rotation for med school through said husband's sister's unit. As friend is describes husband's ex...I say, "wait...I know her! I spent a whole evening with her!" Turns out an ex of mine was really good friends with her (friend's husband and my ex were roommates at one point...which is how friend's husband's ex knows my ex...which is a connection I knew about...thank goodness because at this point I doubt I could have handled it otherwise). Not to mention the fact that I saw friend's husband's ex on the same unit as friend's husband's sister works on while I was doing my rotation through there for nursing school. She (friend's husband's ex) did not recognize me and I chose not to bring our connection to light..thank goodness, that might have made things more complicated when I found out that I had to hate her by default.

Did you get all that? There will be a test later.