Category: me

  • Birthday Week Begins

    Much to my husband’s chagrin, I insist on celebrating my birthday for an entire week every year. The first couple of times he thought it was cute, but when I reminded him of it this year he said, “You’re still doing that??” Yes, yes I am. And it started yesterday. The boy’s not stupid though; he presented me with these first thing this morning:

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    Pretty flowers make me happy.

    So the basics of birthday week are that I get to indulge in whatever I want all week long without feeling guilty, and I get to choose whatever activities I want for the week and David must comply. Genius, right? I know I’ll probably gain about ten pounds, but it’s so worth it. My actual birthday is on Friday, and there will be a wild party at my parents’ house. A wild party that will end by 9 p.m. and involves only my family and zero alcohol, but wild nonetheless.

    Happy Monday, and happy birthday week to me. :)

  • Sincerely Yours

    writing-a-letter

    Dear Bubba the Truck,

    Our relationship started out rocky, me being forced to learn to drive your standard transmission at a young age. Since that time, I have been a devoted master to you for nine years. But now you are slowly driving me insane. Do me a favor and dig deep down in your vehicular soul and find the strength to restore your power steering. Because if I’m not worth that to you, it just might be time to say goodbye.

    With a heavy heart,
    She of the Seventeen-Point Turn

    ***

    Dear Wedding Photographer,

    I adore you and your photos, I truly do. But it’s been 15 months since our wedding, and still not even a word about when I can expect my album to be ready. All I want is an ETA, is that too much to ask? I’ve tried emailing you, Facebooking you, and even DM-ing you. Please give me the courtesy of a response, because if not, I will be forced to – gasp – CALL you, and we don’t want to resort to desperate measures, do we?

    Sincerely,
    A Slightly Frustrated Client

    ***

    Dear Eddie and Cleo,

    Can you please learn to sweep up and vacuum your own dog hair? Or better yet, STOP SHEDDING. And Cleo, you only thought you could get away with chewing that windowsill while I was in the next room.

    Love,
    Mama

    P.S. You make me so happy I can hardly contain myself sometimes.

    ***

    Dear Major Non-Profit Hospital For Which I Work,

    I seem to remember in one of my orientation classes hearing the phrase, “We will never run out of money.” If that’s the case, how about increasing our staffing budget? Pretty please? Six patients is a little much for one person during the day shift, especially when there are no nurse’s aides.

    Yours truly,
    A Devoted Employee

    ***

    Dear Ovaries,

    What’s your deal? Seriously.

    Fondly,
    The Rest Of The Body

    ***

    I like writing letters, real or fake, so I’m making this my new weekly feature. More randomness to come!

  • Year In Review: 2009

    happy_new_year_fireworks

    Well, here it is: the last day of another year. Before I launch into my plans for 2010, I want to remember 2009. I got most of my huge life changes out of the way in 2008, and this year has been mostly one of settling in. Still, a lot more happened than I would have thought.

    January: I went to Angel Fire, NM with a couple of friends for the fifth time. We moved into our new house. My husband was recovering from his first hip surgery. I precepted a new hire at work for the first time.

    February: I turned 27. That’s enough for one month, right?

    March: I joined paperbackswap.com, which completely revolutionized my book reading. We had a giant leak in our attic pipes. David had a second hip surgery.

    April: I was informed that I was finalist for the best new nurse award. I didn’t win, but it was an honor. I started my list of 101 goals in 1001 days. I was involved in an intensive calling campaign at church. I changed my blog design to what you see now. I became an aunt for the first time when Lucas was born.

    May: I decided to train for a triathlon. We had our living room painted and had to live with David’s parents for a week. My hard drive crashed, I freaked out, and spent $100 on recovery software to retrieve some of my files. David went on a business trip to Nashville and I missed him. A lot.

    June: The locks and handles to my truck broke, ushering in a new era of annoyance. My house-sitting days came to an end when our good friends Bridget and Dave moved away. I became a charge nurse, against my will. I was a camp nurse for a week.

    July: I was floated to another unit at work for the first time. Then our unit flooded and we were at half capacity for a week. Our home air conditioner broke, but we finally got a few rooms in our house looking decent. David and I had our pastor’s kids come spend the night. I decided to delay my triathlon training.

    August: I started making an effort to improve my cooking and try new things. I finally got tapped in to the blogging community of girls my age, in my stage of life. I “graduated” from my hospital’s new nurse residency program. David and I went to Austin to spend the weekend with two of my best friends and former roommates.

    September: I got my hair cut and colored. I rode in the Tour de Pink. I started a new work schedule which gives me an additional day off.

    October: David and I celebrated our first anniversary in San Antonio, where I met a penguin. The very next weekend we visited my best friend in Wichita and attended one of my college’s homecomings. I attended SchipulCon and finally met Lauren and Chelsea.  Our dog Eddie hurt her leg.

    November: I participated in and completed NaBloPoMo. I decided I want to eventually become a nurse practitioner. I attended a lovely women’s retreat at my church. I worked on Thanksgiving, but got to come home to a delicious meal at my parents’ house.

    December: There was a lot of preparing for Christmas. I worked a lot. And of course, Christmas itself.

    It was my first full year to be married and living in my own home – that alone made it an exceptional year. I’m happy with it, and at the same time I’m ready for new beginnings. I think that’s a good way to feel. :) Happy new year, friends!

  • Sing, Sing, Sing

    Some of you have mentioned that you’d like to hear me sing, so to make that happen I wrangled my brother into recording this video with me. I find his expression hilarious throughout the entire thing. First of all, he is The Silent Man. Secondly, check out his overgrown mustache/weekend beard combo. And finally, you can tell by his eyes that he is super distracted. That might be because I made him do this during the fourth quarter of the Texans game, which was on mute right in front of us.

    Anyway, this song is called “White Horse” and it’s by my favorite band, Over the Rhine. I don’t do it nearly as well as they do, but I sure enjoy singing it. The guitar is kind of soft, but we’re not exactly operating with top quality recording equipment here. If you like what you hear, please tell me so! If you don’t like it, please don’t tell me–I am a delicate flower.

    Merry Christmas week!

    White Horse Cover from Kathleen Forbes on Vimeo.

  • Ten (Or Fifteen) On Tuesday

    rr10tuesday

    Today’s Ten on Tuesday is really Fifteen on Tuesday. That’s cool, I’m flexible. I can adapt.

    1. If you could change anything about your physical appearance, what would it be?
    I don’t like to dwell on this kind of thing too much, but I have to say that I would love to have killer legs. Especially calves, like those of a ballet dancer. I don’t think it’s in the cards for me ever to have legs like that.

    2. Is there a habit in others that you find annoying?
    Smoking is the biggest one. Mainly I’m just passionate about helping people quit because of how terrible it is. But I also can’t stand to be around smoke.

    3. What is your favorite recipe using ground beef?
    Enchilada casserole. Yum!

    4. What was your favorite book as a kid?
    Matilda by Roald Dahl. I read it so many times I can’t count. I think it’s the reason I love to read so much. Matilda was only 4 years old and she was reading more than I do now! I wanted to be like her.

    5. Did you work as a teenager and if so, where?
    My parents wouldn’t let me work for most of high school because I was in too many extracurricular activities and they wanted me to do well in school, too. But eventually I convinced them to let me get a job. (Foreshadowing: this was a terrible idea.) When I was a junior the huge Katy Mills Mall opened up nearby, and I got hired at the restaurant Johnny Rockets. I did not thrive in this environment, and let me tell you why: a) ridiculous uniforms, b) mandatory dancing to certain jukebox songs, c) rude coworkers, and d) improper training. After 4 months I couldn’t take it anymore, not even to go in and give notice or pick up my paycheck. I pulled an Office Space and just stopped going. They called me for awhile, but eventually gave up and mailed me my money. The only positive thing I have to say about this job was that it introduced me to the song “Chicago: My Kind of Town” by Frank Sinatra.

    6. Did you work while in college and if so, where?
    Every summer I worked at a Christian camp. During the year I cleaned a couple buildings on campus. I also got paid a pittance to lead the junior high youth group of a local church.

    7. When you go to sleep do you like total darkness or semi? When you go to sleep do you need quiet or is some noise ok?
    I like it very dark and quiet, but since I got married I’ve learned to adjust to a bit of light and noise down the hallway, since I can’t force my husband to go to sleep at the insanely early hour that I do.

    8. When doing laundry, fabric softener or not?
    Not in the washer, but I like to use the sheets in the dryer. I notice that they decrease static electricity immensely.

    9. Open toed or closed toed shoes?
    Sandals are my favorite, but I also like some comfy boots. It just depends on the weather.

    10. Would you rather be blind or deaf?
    Well, I think I’d have to give up a lot more if I went blind. Going deaf I’d miss my husband’s sexy voice and music, but mostly I’d miss being able to hear myself sing. (Does that sound narcissistic? Ah, well.) Still, I’d rather make those sacrifices.

    11. Dangle or stud earrings?
    I am a stud-wearer. I have maybe two pairs of decent dangly earrings, and whenever I put them on I think I look funny.

    12. Bottled water or tap?
    I am particular about what kind of bottled water I’ll drink. Some of them have weird aftertastes. Usually tap water suits me just fine.

    13. What do you put on pancakes?
    Butter and syrup.

    14. On a long trip would you rather drive or fly?
    Fly. I’m not a huge fan of driving, and I usually want to maximize the amount of time I have at my destination.

    15. Do you prefer classic old movies or new?
    Probably new. I like all the visual stuff they can do with movies now. I am easily impressed. Although I must say that since I’ve begun watching all the old Best Pictures, I have discovered some real gems from early on.

    Whew, those 15 questions took it out of me. I need a nap now.