kapachino

Author: Kathleen

  • Currently

    Time // 4:35 p.m.
    Place // at home in the recliner.
    Eating // trail mix.
    Drinking // water.
    Watching // nothing.
    Reading // Divergent by Veronica Roth.
    Wanting // to pay off our cars and free up some cash flow.
    Thinking // about Meredith’s upcoming first birthday party.
    Creating // a mini book of birth encouragement for a friend.
    Hoping // we all get over our colds soon.
    Needing // to get caught up on Project Life.
    Anticipating // getting started on refinishing some furniture with my dad.

    ***

    I love Saturdays. And Saturdays with coffee are amazing. I’ve been going going going since 6:30 a.m. – done all the laundry, attacked my toilet with a pumice stone (whoa), did dishes, swept the floors, went for a run, showered & shaved, painted my toenails, saw a movie (Blue Like Jazz) with a friend, ordered some pictures, paid bills, picked up our pool tags, read some blogs, and now we’re getting ready to go to dinner with David’s family. The best part is that I don’t have to go to work tomorrow, so with all the chores done I can really relax or get some extra work done!

    Lately I’m so torn with wanting to buy stuff for our house to make it pretty and wanting to save every extra penny to pay off debt. But I realized that there is a way to make a house look pretty on a tight budget, and I’ll just have to put a little extra work into it. My dad is going to teach me to refinish furniture which will open up a whole new world of options for me. I have my eye on some cheap but cute accessories from IKEA. And deep cleaning makes a huge difference too.

    I’m ready to get started. :)

  • On Giving Up Coffee, and Taking It Up Again

    Image from jessicaNdesign’s Etsy shop. And now I need these spoons.

    So I gave up coffee for Lent, and it was beyond difficult, and now I’m drinking it again, and things are again fantastic. That is the short version. Now for the full story:

    I used to hate coffee. I thought it was too bitter and I just couldn’t get it down. I didn’t really have a need for extra caffeine for a long time, and I was proud of that. Water and good sleeping habits saw me through.

    Then I became a nurse. My shift began at 6:45 a.m. and I was having to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to get there on time. I still drank lots of water and went to bed super early, but even though I was a morning person, I wasn’t THAT much of a morning person. The main thing that caused me to seek “help” was the fact that I was routinely falling asleep while driving to work, followed by a complete lack of energy for the first half of my shift.

    It was my dad who encouraged me to try coffee. I continued to refuse, because ew, until things got desperate. I started with the free stuff they had at work, dumping in the cream and sugar. I forced it down and noticed an immediate effect. It was magical!

    Over time I branched out. The first step was to get my own brewer at home so I could have my cup when I first woke up. I discovered that the free stuff at work was actually crap. At this point I still didn’t like coffee, but I didn’t hate it either. It was tolerable. But I kept drinking it, and after awhile I noticed that I looked forward to it. Sometimes the thought of it was enough to get me out of bed in the morning, or even into bed at night.

    By the time I graduated to French Press I was a full-blown coffee lover. I had the equivalent of two cups every morning and then I was good to go for the rest of the day. This is how it went until I got pregnant, when I somehow managed to quit (or only have an occasional cup) until my third trimester when I took it up again. I don’t even remember how I got through that, but probably it had something to do with the fact that my stomach was very sensitive and coffee irritated it more, along with the motivating factor of the health of my baby.

    This year I decided to give up coffee for Lent out of solidarity with my husband, who was giving up sodas. I did no weaning beforehand, and the first few days were seriously miserable. Pounding headaches, sleepy all the time, no energy, and just an all around feeling of hopelessness. I had obsessive thoughts about it – I’m not exaggerating. I took Excedrin, then had to wean off that. I found out just how dependent on the substance I had become.

    I drank coffee on Sundays because it’s the traditional feast day during Lent, and every Monday I had to “come off” it again. By the end of the 40 days I had gotten somewhat used to the lack of caffeine – no more headaches, not quite as tired, feeling more like my normal self – but I never once told myself that I was giving it up for good.

    Yeah, I don’t really like being so dependent on something, and I’m sure I might be a little bit “healthier” without coffee, but I don’t think it’s really that bad for me and I know for SURE that I am a better person when I drink it. This week I have had so much energy! I am going above and beyond at work again. I’m way more on top of things which I believe is safer and nicer for my patients. Then when I come home I still have energy to devote to my family. I am happier, more optimistic, and more productive.

    I fully admit that I am addicted to coffee. But you know what? I don’t care. It’s worth it.

  • Egg Hunt and Other Easter Things

    Am I supposed to be looking for something?

    Because I’ve got this leaf here so really I’m all set.

    Although…these things are bright and shiny. I could get behind that.

    But what am I supposed to DO with them, Lucca?

    Ohh…there’s something inside. Well whatever Cameron has, I obviously want it. You can tell by my grabby little hand, look of intense focus, and tongue that is about to come out of my mouth.

    ***

    It was a fun Easter weekend. Busy, because David had extended family in town – aunt and uncle, cousins, and their little boy Lucca – so we had a lot of gatherings planned. Plus I had to spend some time with my own family too, in addition to doing some baking and the regular weekend chores. But I love our families, the chores got done, and the baked goods were yummy. And Meredith was obviously adorable. So it was good.

    It was also strange, because we still don’t have a “home church.” We decided to go to church with my parents, and it was kind of surreal to be a visitor on Easter Sunday at such a big place. I felt like one of the masses after so many years of being intimately connected to a group that was like a second family.

    Another thing is that on Saturday David’s grandpa fractured his hip. He was playing mini golf with the great-grandchildren and fell off one of the little bridges and hit hard. It wasn’t bad, and the surgery only took fifteen minutes and three pins, and he’s in otherwise good health, but he’s 87 years old and has dementia so the recovery might be tough. Right now he’s in the hospital and not complying very well. So prayers for that are appreciated – especially for his wife and David’s mom who are his primary caretakers.

    Anyway, it’s back to the grind now, but it seems a much easier grind now that I have my daily coffee back. :)

  • Happy Friday

    Today is Good Friday, and I am very happy! Here are some things:

    1. I’m off work. Always a good time!

    2. Only two more days until I can drink coffee/eat chocolate as I please again.

    3. Yesterday David voluntarily suggested that we should think of something special to do as a family today since we’re all home. Even though I’m drawing a blank on what that should be, it’s still really sweet.

    4. He also wrote me a two page love note that I got to read when I woke up.

    5. Then there’s this:

    6. She crawls now! Witness:

    7. I had to restrain myself just now from posting at least two more videos.

    8. I’m currently sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery watching Meredith pull out all her toys and stuffed animals all over the place, and learning exactly what needs to be baby proofed in this room.

    9. Also just finished week 2 of Ease into 5k. I feel great, and Meredith is getting more used to the jogging stroller.

    10. It’s about time for lunch. My stomach says so.

    11. Which makes me remember that I’m responsible for dessert for Easter dinner. I’m thinking one chocolate thing (duh) and one not. Hmmm.

    12.  David has some extended family in town for the weekend so we are booked up with gatherings. They all involve food, so this is good.

    13. Easter is coming! Meredith is going to find all of the eggs with chocolate inside.

  • project life 2012 : weeks 8 – 9

    I got kind of behind last week and ended up finishing week 8 and putting together week 9 all in one sitting. It still turned out great and there was really no stress involved.

    Week 8

    I got the layout done and most of the pictures put in quickly and added just a little bit of journaling. One reason that it took me so long to finish is because I’ve been having problems with our printer. It’s not completely broken, but using it is a two-person job and way too much of a hassle. So I had to wait until I could make it to my parents’ house to get that stuff done.

    Meredith turned 8 months old that week, so I put in a picture from her monthly photoshoot and a shortened version of her monthly blog post. I thought it was cute how she was lugging around that 3-pound weight, so I included that picture, and we had one little flower in our wild backyard so I put it in too. I also joined a local co-op and took a picture of my first purchase (I only got a few things because I wasn’t sure how the process would go).

    I thought this quote from Harry Potter was appropriate for my life that week because I was struggling mentally with all of the things that I wanted to do and be. I was getting caught up in trying to change things instead of enjoying what I had. I’m not saying making plans is bad, because I did that and it was helpful. But I was actually grateful when Meredith got sick and I was forced to relax and just cuddle.

    So I wrote a little bit about her sickness. There is also the card I made, me wearing my new shoes, my friend Lauren (it was her birthday!) with Meredith, first bluebonnet sighting, and my running shoes to commemorate my first run in over a year.

    I wanted a spot to record more in-depth how I was feeling, so I just wrote on some paper I liked and folded it over and clipped it to some cardstock.

    Week 9

    I didn’t take many photos this week so I had to get a little creative, and as it turned out I think this might be my favorite spread yet.

    I chose this quote because I began to take charge of all the little areas I had let slip away from me and I made a lot of progress and noticed a huge difference in my mental state. I don’t always find quotes that match up perfectly with what’s going on, but it’s nice when it happens.

    The “we” paper is clipped from a West Elm catalogue, and I took those photos of my new haircut on my phone and made the collage with the Diptic app.

    By the way the labels I mostly use are from Paper Source. I love them. Another way I label, like on the picture of Meredith crawling(!) is punch out a circle from cardstock, draw around the edge with a colored pen, cut it in half, and staple or tape it to the photo.

    And that picture of Cleo cuddling with Meredith – oh my gosh. They love each other and it’s adorable.

    The paper I taped the picture of the clouds to is actually one of these grid Post-it notes. I just cover the sticky part on the back with paper. The “Hello, spring” lettering is from the Madewell catalogue.

    I included my friend’s business card because she’s selling essential oils and I went to an informational meeting about them at her house. (Super excited about investing in them to use for health purposes.) The paper I stapled it to is from the blank Smash pad. Most of the Smash products are great to use in Project Life.

    Then there’s a picture of a card I made at craft club, my list of the week’s activities, and the “wonderful takes work” was a free download from Elise. I knew when I saw it that I would include it because the sentiment was perfect for this week.