kapachino

Category: me

  • My Self-Conscious Friday

    I used to hate driving to work, but now that I’ve started making coffee at home and drinking it before the drive, I’m coming to enjoy the 40 minutes to myself (probably because I no longer fear that I will fall asleep and die). I was sleepy when I woke up this morning, but that made the coffee taste even better. I got in my car with my mug in hand and my favorite U2 song queued up, “Stuck In A Moment”. I was just coming back to work from two days off and looking forward to the weekend off too. I was ready for it to be a good day.

    But since I don’t have a travel mug, I immediately dribbled some coffee on my cute pink scrubs. It was only a little bit, and it’s not blatantly noticeable, but it still makes me self-conscious. No big deal, I thought. No one will notice.

    I got to work a tad late, and took my seat in the conference room where we listen to report. My mentor said hello and then looked at my hands with a confused expression. After report she approached me and said, “So what’s with the nail polish? Is it black?”

    “No, it’s purple,” I replied. I want to say that I rarely–and I mean almost NEVER–paint my nails. I don’t like dealing with the polish chipping off, which it seems to do after only a few days. When I do paint my nails, it’s either clear or a light, neutral color. But all day yesterday I had the urge to try a dark color. I had some deep purple lying around left over from friend’s wedding. Finally I gave in, and it’s been weirding me out ever since. I kind of like it, but it’s totally not ME. I thought about taking it off, but I wanted to try and be bold and branch out a little anyway.

    “I’ve gotta say, it looks really unprofessional,” said my mentor, and then she patted me on the shoulder and walked away. I flushed. I know a lot of people wouldn’t agree, but she’s probably right. Technically we’re allowed to wear polish if it’s intact, but it’s a harbor for germs if it starts chipping. Also, I really respect my mentor and want to please her. I tried to wipe it off with alcohol swabs, but that didn’t work. I’ll just remove it tonight.

    So after I obsessed about the nail polish a little bit, I moved on and was just going about my business. Out of nowhere one of my coworkers said to me, “Kathleen it looks like you’re gaining some weight! What’s going on there?”

    I flushed again. “I haven’t gained weight, it must be the pink scrubs I have on today.”

    “But I noticed it the other day in the teal color too. I mean it doesn’t look BAD, I’m just used to you being really skinny.”

    I mean, come ON. Don’t you think women should know to never say that to another woman, even if it’s true? And for the record, I HAVEN’T gained weight. I checked. I’ve actually been eating a bit healthier lately, and exercising more regularly. Maybe my fat is just rearranging itself, I don’t know.

    I think I have a fairly healthy view of myself, so I’m not distraught over these petty comments. But one after another, they don’t help improve my day. At this point, I’m just ready for 7 p.m. to get here so I can go home and be hugged by my husband.

  • Can’t Live Without

    What can’t you live without, even when money is tight? What’s most important to you?

    I’ve heard it said that you can tell what’s most important to you by looking at how you spend your money. In the past, I haven’t wanted to believe that because I was ashamed at all the frivolous things I paid money for, but I think it’s probably pretty accurate.

    These days if you look at our bank account you’ll see that most of our money goes to our mortgage, other household bills, and food. I guess that’s the part of growing up that isn’t too fun. But even so, I think these expenses say something about us. We didn’t have to buy a house, but it was important enough to us to have a place to call our own, to settle down, and to have a yard for our dogs to play in. We don’t have to pay for cable and internet, but it’s our link to the world. We don’t have to give money to our church, but we believe that God gave us everything we have anyway, and our church is our family. It couldn’t support itself without the giving of its members.

    Apart from those things, there is very little that I won’t deprive myself of in the name of saving money, especially now that we’ve started our new budget. But the following are the few things that I find myself purchasing no matter what, even now.

    lc_chicken_carbonara

    Lean Cuisines for lunch. I realize that these are relatively expensive to bring to work every day for lunch compared to bringing leftovers or making a sandwich. But I can’t tell you how much I love them, and the ease of just throwing one in my bag in the morning is a big draw.

    netflix_logo_1

    Netflix. First of all, we don’t really go to movies anymore. $9 a pop? No thank you. Netflix is more expensive than using Redbox, but we do it for the selection. It’s our compromise. Right now we’re watching through some of our favorite TV shows that we missed the first time around.

    books1227416451

    The occasional new book. I’m a big fan of the library, and I’m also a member of Paperbackswap.com and Bookmooch.com, so I rarely have to buy books I want to read. But sometimes our book club chooses a book that is either insanely popular or brand new, and then I have to bite the bullet. If I can’t find it used, I go to Barnes & Noble because I still have a membership there.

    Of course, what I really can’t live without can’t be bought with money. Love of family and friends, hope for a future, and a purpose for my life are some of those things. If I had those things, I could live on the street scrounging for food and make it through.

    What about you? What can’t you live without?

    ***

    This post is a part of 20SB’s Blog Carnival: Can’t Live Without, and Alice.com is awarding prizes to lucky bloggers and readers!

  • Ten On Tuesday

    rr10tuesdayMy friend Chelsea (I can totally call her my friend now because we had dinner together once!) has started a weekly feature called “Ten On Tuesday” where she comes up with ten random questions and answers them. I haven’t had the time to participate for the last two weeks, but today I made it a point to because the questions are always interesting.

    1. What are you going to be for Halloween?
    In all likelihood, I won’t dress up at all. I work that day, as well as the day before and after, so I don’t plan to be going anywhere. I think I may have only dressed up for Halloween twice in my entire life. Boring, I know.

    2. Have you ever been on television?
    Racking my brain, and no, I don’t believe I have. Not even on the local channel for high school sports.

    3. Do you have a toilet paper preference?
    Yes. I always buy Quilted Northern double rolls. I think it’s because that’s what my parents always bought. Also, the paper needs to go over the top of the roll, not down the back.

    4. When you’re pregnant, will you find out the sex of the baby? Why or why not?
    Yes, I think so. I’m a planner and I think I’ll need some time to adjust.

    5. What are three items that every kitchen must have?
    Other than large appliances, I’d say a saucepan, a baking dish, and some basic utensils. You could make a lot of meals with those three things, I think. (What I’d like to know: what are your favorite kitchen gadgets? Christmas is coming up and I NEED TO KNOW!)

    6. Do you enjoy Christmas shopping?
    Yes, I do. I love the holidays and when I’m in the mood I like going out into the bustling crowds. I like having specific things in mind to shop for, and I feel accomplished when I find them. Also, ever since 9th grade my dad and I have taken a whole day and shopped together, just the two of us. It’s become very special to us, and something I look forward to every year.

    7. What is your go-to recipe? (The thing you cook more than anything else because it’s easy and mindless.) Please share the recipe.
    I think this is one of, if not THE first thing I learned to cook, and was the first meal I cooked for David when we were dating. So good.

    Enchilada Casserole
    1 pound lean ground beef
    1 cup chopped onion
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    2 (10 oz) cans enchilada sauce
    2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
    10 (6 in) tortillas
    1 (16 oz) can refried beans

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    2. Cook beef, onion, garlic until beef is browned; drain.
    3. Stir in beans and enchilada sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook 5-6 minutes.
    4. Layer tortillas, beef/bean mixture, and cheese in a 13×9 dish.
    5. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes.
    6. Remove cover; bake 5 minutes.

    8. Do you sleep on your back, belly, or side?
    Never ever on my belly. I usually lie on my back to decompress, turn to my side to fall asleep, and then I wake up on my back again.

    9. How do you feel about Tom Cruise?
    Well, I think he’s kind of crazy. Definitely lost and misguided. But I do like a lot of his movies.

    10. What books are in your “books to read” stack?
    I’m trying to read all of the books I own but haven’t read yet. You can see my list here (as well as other books I’ve read), or I’ll list them for you:

    • The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood by David Simon (Got this one as a gift from my best friend years ago, because she did voluntary service in a similar neighborhood for a year)
    • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Supposed to read with a friend, but don’t know if that’s going to happen)
    • Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (I have the complete works)
    • Emma by Jane Austen
    • Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
    • Lady Susan by Jane Austen
    • The Professor by Charlotte Bronte (I also have the complete works of the Bronte sisters)
    • Villette by Charlotte Bronte
    • The Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart
    • The Host by Stephenie Meyer (actually on loan from Maggie, she says I will like it)
    • Inferno by Dante Alighieri
    • Magical Thinking: True Stories by Augusten Burroughs (bought really cheap because I heard it was the best of his books)
    • Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
    • The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
    • Moby Dick by Herman Melville (I’m big on reading classics if you can’t tell)
    • The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl (loved The Dante Club by the same author and this one seems similar)
    • Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
    • The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

    Okay…that is a lot of books! I need to get on that, especially since I’m trying to finish them all (plus some others) for my 101 goals.

  • Fifteen Hours Down, One To Go

    I had every intention of writing something captivating today, but instead I’m working a surprise 16-hour shift. I’m still sick (barely, annoyingly), experiencing other body pains, and half of today was spent with The Student. I have a bit longer to go in this never-ending day, so I decided to take a break and give you this:

    Flickr Exercise of the Soul

    The rules: Type your answer to each question into Flickr search. Using only the first page, pick an image. Copy and paste the urls into Mosaic Maker. The result: ONE SOUL.

    mosaic

    1. What is your first name? KATHLEEN (This is a picture of a place in Ireland that I’ve been. My name is Irish.)
    2. What is your favorite food? CEREAL
    3. What high school did you go to? MAYDE CREEK HIGH SCHOOL (And I was actually in marching band, so this photo kind of works.)
    4. What is your favorite color? SAGE GREEN (For the moment.)
    5. Who is your celebrity crush? DEREK WEBB
    6. What is your favorite drink? ICE WATER
    7. What is your dream vacation? KAUAI
    8. What is your favorite dessert? BLUE BELL DUTCH CHOCOLATE
    9. What do you want to do when you grow up? PRACTITIONER OF NURSING
    10. Who/what do you love most in life? HUSBAND (Who wishes more than anything for a pet monkey.)
    11. Choose one word that describes you? CALM
    12. What is your Flickr name? KAPACHINO (Look, another monkey! Apparently this is the “kapachino monkey” that I didn’t know existed.)

    ***

    I’m off work tomorrow, I have no plans, and after this eternal day it is going to be phenomenally amazing. I hope your Friday is just a portion as fantastic as mine.

  • Car Dreams

    Last Saturday my mom asked to borrow my truck for a couple of hours. I’ve managed to stretch that into five days and counting. I’m not in ANY hurry to get it back. As much affection as I have for Bubba, he’s kind of driving me crazy right now.

    This is what went through my head when I got my mom’s car: Wow this is so awesome, I can just open the door and get in and out! Ooh, power windows! Cruise control! POWER STEERING THAT WORKS! Whoa, better watch my speed, it’s easy to let an automatic get away from me. Such a relief not to have to keep an eye on the temperature gauge. It’s so easy to turn and park!!!

    I’m ready for a new car. I want this:

    prius

    But my truck really isn’t worth much at all, so every month I drive it is a car payment saved.

    Sometimes being frugal really sucks.