kapachino

Author: Kathleen

  • Currently In July

    Even though I didn’t get a long weekend, I had a great two days off including sleeping in, World Cup, frozen yogurt, seeing Eclipse, a night on the town eating at a delicious Italian restaurant and seeing Wicked for the second time with David, an emotional last church service before we change buildings, cleaning house,  grilling with friends & family, my return to yoga, and an early bedtime. What’s not to love?

    Bring it on, July!

    Current Book(s): The main book I’m reading right now is The Well at the World’s End Vol. II, but yesterday my husband brought home a book called The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell. I’m not counting it as one of my 50 books for 2010 because I skipped most of the background info and am only skimming the 30-day training plan. So far it’s teaching me a lot about how to communicate with our pups, and there are some easy things we can do to start training them. (Although David is already regretting giving me the book because it means he can’t give Eddie bones whenever she wants.)

    Current Playlist: My brother got me the soundtracks to In the Heights and Wonderland, and my friend Lauren got me The Punch Brothers’ newest release “Antifogmatic.” These three, along with the Wicked soundtrack, have been on repeat in my car.

    Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Not showering on my days off. Does anyone else regard showering as a huge chore?

    Current Color: Loving sunny yellow. I don’t have anything in that color, but I enjoy it whenever I see it!

    Current Drink: Iced coffee. Why didn’t I think of making my own at home before this? The reasons I love it are threefold: 1) I can make a big batch and keep it in the fridge, which cuts down on time getting ready in the morning, 2) when it’s 85 degrees already when I wake up, I’m not really craving a hot drink, and 3) it’s delicious!

    Current Food: Lots and lots of cereal, but what else is new?

    Current Favorite Show: My youngest brother is a TV aficionado, and he’s made it his goal to watch everything that’s good. He makes me feel like I’m missing out on a whole lot, but the truth is I just don’t have the time. Right now I’m still just watching Gossip Girl from Netflix and The Bachelorette.

    Current Wishlist: Let’s get superficial, shall we? I want a subscription to House Beautiful, a dock with speakers for my iPhone, a pair of Toms shoes, some pretty necklaces, a few summer dresses, Rosetta Stone for Spanish, to want to cook, & to actually be interested in photography.

    Current Needs: An organic face wash that I can use on my eyes that doesn’t make me break out, a case for my phone, for the refinance on our house to go through, & motivation to exercise.

    Current Triumphs: Oh goodness. Let’s see. I’ve started a Bible reading plan that has me reading ten chapters a day, and I’m two days into it. I know it’s premature to consider this a triumph, but at least I started, right?

    Current Bane(s) of my Existence: The process of refinancing our house. Don’t even get me started!

    Current Celebrity Crush: I know USA is out of the World Cup, but I just think Clint Dempsey is so cute. Maybe because he reminds me a bit of my husband. :)

    Current Indulgence: Sleeping in till at least 9 a.m. on my days off, grazing on M&M’s all day long, and not making any plans besides lounging around.

    Current Blessing(s): I have a great job working for an amazing company that still gives out annual performance-based raises. I just got mine, and it was the maximum possible. :)

    Current Outfit: Rolled up striped pajama pants & a stretchy tank from Gap.

    Current Excitement: At the end of the month we have a two week vacation planned to the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina! We’ll be staying in a cabin in the mountains with David’s family, hiking up Mt. Mitchell, whitewater rafting, visiting the Biltmore Mansion, taking a ride on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, and as a bonus stopping in Nashville to see friends and in Columbia, SC to visit my aunt & uncle. I can hardly wait!

    Current Link: Lately I’ve been desperate for new music, which is why I was so excited to discover Stereomood. Just click on what mood you’re in, and a playlist pops up. I’ve been listening to “Asleep On My Feet” while I write this (since that’s what my dogs are doing), and it’s been the perfect ambient background music.

    Happy July!

    * * *

  • Giveaway Winner!

    If you feel like watching a lame video to prove that I didn’t rig the winner of the Nintendo points card (even though I still totally could’ve rigged it), here you go:

    And if you don’t feel like watching it, I’ll just tell you: CW won! Yay CW!

    And now, I’m going to bed.

  • friday things: from the week

    I’ll be choosing the winner of the Nintendo points card tonight when I get home from work. My family requested that I video the drawing, so I suppose I will give in and do so. I warned you there would be random videos from now on. Check back later to see if you won!

    ***

    This week has not been my favorite. My mood has echoed the weather, which has looked like this:

    This is not to say that I dislike the rain (although I’m not saying I like the rain either), but coincidentally this weather has matched up perfectly with my periodic hormonal imbalance. I haven’t had any energy at all, and no motivation to get anything done. I’ve been working most of the week, but on my sole day off I did nothing but read and play games on the Wii all day long. I’m slowly gaining my happiness back, and the awesome weekend I have planned is probably part of that.

    ***

    My husband has lately taken to calling my dog Cleo “sickly.” I don’t like that term because it implies that she’s a needy invalid with a short life expectancy. I keep telling him she just has a sensitive stomach! But seriously, her gagging and vomiting all over the house is getting a bit old. You know how dogs chew grass to make themselves throw up? Cleo did that the other day, except with our carpet. I’m not even joking, she swallowed a melon-sized wad of carpet and then regurgitated it. First of all, I’m just glad she didn’t choke to death. Second, what the heck? Third, anyone have recommendations for carpet or carpet installers?

    (For those of you that may be worried about Cleo’s health, I am too. But not overly. I am pretty sure it has to do with a new food we tried with her. So for now we’re changing to a healthier kind, limiting her treats, and eliminating people food altogether. Hopefully it solves the problem.)

    ***

    Last week I finally gave in and exchanged my bus pass to a parking pass for work. This was my first full week driving every day, and I can say for sure that I have a problem on my hands. Every day on my way home, I become overwhelmingly drowsy. It’s a 40-minute drive in the heat of the afternoon after I’ve worked all day, and I have SUCH a hard time staying awake. I’ve tried calling David, slapping myself, rolling down the windows, and most recently I’ve resorted to listening to pop stations on the radio. This was surprisingly effective, until yesterday when I heard that terrible “California Gurls” song two times within five minutes. That song makes me want to dig out my own eardrums with a screwdriver, and the fact that “gurls” is spelled with a “u”? Don’t even get me started. All that to say, I’m currently on the hunt for songs to add to my “Don’t Die In A Fiery Car Crash” playlist.

    ***

    On the off chance that there is someone reading this who enjoys soccer and the World Cup, here is a really funny & insightful article that my dad sent me: “Soccer is ready to capture our attention.”

    And if you, like me, enjoyed the Twilight books back when you read them once a long time ago, but are kind of sick of the whole thing by now, although you still want to see the movies because why not, and now you get more enjoyment out of making fun of the series than anything else, here is a link for you. A dude reads the books and blogs his thoughts chapter by chapter. Why couldn’t I have written this? Blogging Twilight.

  • Resolution Update

    Half of 2010 is gone, just like that. I suppose I should stop being so surprised at the passing of time. That is, after all, what it does.

    I made some resolutions at the beginning of the year, and this is how they are progressing.

    Complete a triathlon – I haven’t done this yet, obviously. I am not sure that it will happen this year, although I haven’t given up hope. This is something that I really, really want to do, but is proving quite difficult due to the time commitment involved (and my crazy work schedule) and the extremely hot weather. I’ve been reinspired recently, so I’m going to attempt to make this happen in the fall.

    Read 50 books – I’m almost perfectly on pace with this one, with 22. See the list of what I’ve read so far here.

    Redesign my blog – My brother did this for me earlier in the year, and I am completely satisfied with it. There are always features that I’m playing with, but overall I love it.

    Follow the Weight Watchers plan for healthy eating – Okay, so I haven’t gone back to Weight Watchers, but it is still an option. I’ve totally fallen off the healthy eating bandwagon, and need to find a system that will work for both me and my husband. I don’t have weight to lose, but when I don’t eat right I feel gross. I’m not worried as much about calories as I am about eating clean, non-processed foods. I have also realized that for both my husband and I to be successful at this, that we need some kind of rewards system in place. Do any of you do something like that? Maybe not with eating, but with exercising or budgeting or anything else?

    Focus more on my husband – Well, you’ll have to ask him if I’ve achieved this! I have made an effort to turn down invitations in order to spend time with him, and I have tried not to  make as many plans myself unless they involve him. There are some other things I’d like to start doing more of though, like giving him random gifts and writing more love notes. Even though he’s probably going to read this and won’t be surprised, I hope it’ll still make him smile.

    Start working on the house – Okay! We finally have some progress in this area! The front two rooms are painted, curtains are hung, and now I just need some dining room chairs and decorations. Next project is the foyer, followed by a gutting of the half bathroom! Woo!

    How are you New Year’s Resolutions coming along?

  • Book Review: Fearless by Max Lucado

    Although I don’t consider myself chronically plagued by fear or anxiety, this year has been hard in ways that I never imagined, and I find myself experiencing a lack of the confidence I usually have in life. Despite this realization, I still wasn’t sure that Max Lucado’s newest book, Fearless, would apply to me, but when I burst into tears on page twenty-three, I knew I had some deep issues with fear.

    I don’t think it’s just me; I think everyone is afraid of something, especially during these precarious days. This book deconstructs some common fears one by one, such as fear of not mattering, of disappointing God, of worst-case scenarios, of what’s next, of not protecting your kids, and that God is not real, for a few examples. He then goes on to show how that fear is misguided and unnecessary, and gives advice and encouragement in how to overcome it.

    I had never read a book by Max Lucado before this one, and I can say that it was certainly inspiring and uplifting. It caused me to look at myself in a different way, and raised questions that might not have otherwise come to the surface, at least not without difficulty. The reason why I’m saying that I liked this book and I didn’t love it is that it struck me as somewhat brief. The chapters are short and easy to read, and because of that some depth is lacking. I think a workbook or study guide would be a helpful addition.

    Overall I definitely recommend it, if for no other reason than to help you take a fresh look at yourself and your fears.

    ***

    Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”