kapachino

Category: personal

  • Ten On Tuesday: The College Edition

    I’m jumping back in with Ten on Tuesday hosted by Chelsea this week, because the questions are all about college and I loved my college and the whole experience.

    I do have two degrees from two different schools, but my nursing school experience was nontraditional so I won’t be talking about that here.

    1. Where did you go to college?
    I went to Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas. It had about 500 students in a town of 3000 surrounded by farmland. We literally ran around the entire town during some soccer conditioning practices.

    David’s first visit to Tabor last year.

    2. What did you study?
    I majored in Christian ministry and philosophy. I originally wanted to work at a Christian camp, but my education was actually geared toward leading youth groups in churches. I now consider nursing my ministry, and I help lead our church youth group as a volunteer.

    The whole philosophy thing was just for fun. I had a great professor and it was a pretty small load of hours.

    3. Was college really all that it was cracked up to be?
    Definitely. I chose the perfect school, and I thrived. You’d think that a place that small and that different from what I’m used to would be boring, but I made the best friends and got really involved in activities (soccer, choir, band, leading a local church youth group, intramural sports, even drama). I also learned so much and I know I’m a better person because of the classes and professors at Tabor. I consider it my life degree.

    4. How far were you from home?
    I just mapped it, and it’s 675 miles. It took about eleven hours driving.

    I feel like I know every inch of this drive, and all its variations.

    5. Did you have the same roommate all four years?
    No; the first semester I was paired with another soccer player, Katie, and although we had some good times we didn’t work as roommates at all. She was the kind of person who would ask you a question and then walk away while you were in the middle of answering her.

    We went our separate ways, and I moved in with a friend I’d made named Sara. She and I lived together the first semester of sophomore year too, until she went to pharmacy school. I got one semester in my own room, then junior year I lived in a house with three good friends and roomed with my best friend Becca. That was the best year.

    Me with my housemates from junior year.

    First semester senior year I lived with a friend named Iva in a room meant for one person. We had fun, but she moved home second semester and I was again alone.

    6. Where did you order food from at 2am?
    I never ordered food, but we did have some late night McDonald’s runs. That was until the McDonald’s went out of business (can you imagine a place where a McDonald’s actually goes out of business??)

    7. Did you date in college or were you tied down?
    I had a pattern: I dated a different guy at the beginning of every year but we were always broken up by Christmas, and not by my choice. I learned a lot about heartbreak in college.

    8. Funniest drunk college moment?
    I’ve actually never been drunk. Tabor required us to sign a lifestyle contract (it was a Christian school) and I followed it for the most part.

    9. Did you make it to class on time?
    I always made it, but I didn’t always stay awake. It was interesting to look back at the notes I took from morning classes, because you could tell right where I nodded off.

    10. What was your favorite class in college?
    My absolute favorite was a class on the life and writings of C.S. Lewis. In second place is a class on the Book of John, which was incidentally the hardest class I took.

    I’ve been back for Tabor’s homecoming every single year since I graduated; that’s how much I loved it. Some of my best friends live up there, and now my former pastor is the president of the school. Unfortunately an ex of mine who I met in college (we started dating long distance after I graduated) began borderline harassing me after we broke up – all the way until last year when I had to threaten him with getting a lawyer. I’m kind of scared to go back now because it’s a small enough place that I might bump into him and how awkward would that be?

  • my first chemical peel & microdermabrasion

    During my two weeks off I got pretty used to not wearing makeup. When you’re in the hospital for three days and then don’t leave the house for the next week there’s really no need for it. Through this I discovered something very important about myself: I hate putting on makeup. For that matter, I hate blow-drying my hair and styling it too, but that’s a topic for a different day.

    I’m at the point in my life where I want to minimize things that don’t make me happy, and I’m making a big push for a simpler lifestyle. Now, I’m not willing to go completely bare-faced in public, but I decided to take steps that might allow me to one day do just that.

    Enter Groupon. Y’all know about Groupon, right? For those of you that don’t, let me share the good news: just sign up and they’ll email you a deal a day for your city. But be careful, it’s addicting. Anyway, recently the deal for Houston was $40 for $85 worth of skin care services at Body Envy. Since I’d always wanted to try microdermabrasion I figured I might as well get it for cheap!

    Last week I went in for a free consultation, and I talked with the esthetician about what the best treatment for my skin would be. Usually microdermabrasion is done in a package of once a month for 6 months, but since I’m cheap I only wanted a single session. So the esthetician recommended that I get a mild chemical peel on top of the microdermabrasion, which would penetrate deeper and give me more bang for my buck. Great idea! I thought.

    Two days later I was back for my treatment. She cleaned my face twice, then came the microderm. She used a little machine to remove the very surface layer of skin. It stung a little in places, like near my ear and under my eyes, but it goes fast. When that was done she applied a prep for the chemical peel, and that burned like crazy. I had to fan myself and practice deep breathing techniques, but the worst soon passed. The peel itself (lactic acid) wasn’t as bad as the prep, but it wasn’t a walk in the park, either. She left it there for three minutes or so, then wiped it off with a warm towel and applied a neutralizer. After the whole thing, she put on some lotion and powdered sunscreen, gave me some samples, and taught me what to do at home for the next week.

    Right away my face looked mildly puffy, but it subsided after a couple hours.

    Not too bad, right? I was warned that because of the combination treatment that I might have a few little scratches on my face, but the next day I woke up to discover this:

    For several days I looked like I had an unfortunate run-in with an angry cat. This is pretty much what I looked like when I returned to work, and I got a lot of questions. Mostly, “What happened to your face?” but there were also some assumptions like, “Did you fall?” and “Did your husband beat you?” Just kidding, that’s just David’s paranoia. ;)

    It’s been almost a week, and although I can still feel a few rough spots the worst of it is gone.

    Supposedly I’ll see the most improvement in my skin after a month or so. I can already tell that it looks clearer and more even than before, and I’m hopeful that it will decrease my need for makeup. Even though it wasn’t the most pleasant process, I really recommend it. One day I’d love to do a deeper peel, but it’ll have to be at a time that I can stay at home for a couple of weeks, because I don’t want to go in public looking like I have a disease.

    As far as makeup I wear currently, I’ll put on a touch of concealer if I have a blemish, Colorescience Sunforgettable powdered sunscreen spf 30, Bare Minerals powdered foundation spf 15, a little Nars Madly blush if I’m going out, and mascara (currently Maybelline Lash Stilleto, but it changes). I’m on the hunt for an all-natural blush and mascara. I ditched eyeliner and eye shadow because that was the most annoying part for me, but right now I don’t ever see myself giving up mascara.

    Here I am today, ready to head to work:

    From this picture I see that I’ll have to work on those eye wrinkles (getting old!) and I could probably use some lip gloss!

    Now your turn. Have you had experience with microderm or chemical peels? What do you think about reducing the amount of beauty products and makeup you use? Any recommendations you’d like to share?

  • an important week: some thoughts

    In about thirty minutes I’m going to make my epic return to work, and I wanted to take a second to get a few thoughts down before I go.

    ***

    One. After not working for awhile I’m wondering, will I remember how to do this? Will I remember how to manage my time, how to do all my skills, will I remember to do all the little pieces of charting that we’re required to do? I’m also wondering, how will people react to me today? After my two weeks off not only did I get a chemical peel that is still in the stages of healing (I know there will be some funny looks), but I’ve also decided to start wearing a lot less makeup.

    Two. Tomorrow I go in for an ultrasound to determine whether my follicles are ready, whatever that means. I have resisted the urge to Google the hell out of IUI’s because I don’t want to obsess over it, but it’s still hard to keep calm and think about other things. If all goes well I’ll be inseminated by the end of the week and in two weeks I could know for sure that I’m pregnant. That’s a weird thought. In two weeks the whole thing could have failed and I’ll have to deal with that disappointment. That’s a sad thought.

    Three. Somewhere in between working, doctor’s visits, and taking care of my husband and dogs, I intend to keep running despite the heat. I’ve decided to keep playing soccer this fall, and I’m tired of being out of shape. I also miss yoga, so I’d like to start back up with that this week. (See, I have to make decisions regardless of what happens with the IUI. I can’t not play soccer because I think I’ll be pregnant by then; that’s just asking for failure.)

    ***

    My thirty minutes are nearly up. Here’s hoping my first day of work goes well, and that I can stay awake till the end of my shift.

  • staycation wrap-up

    My forced staycation is coming to an end. I go back to work on Monday for the 3-11 p.m. shift, and I have mixed feelings. Part of me is ready to become a productive member of society again, but the other part is reluctant to give up all the extra time I’ve found myself with.

    The first week I was off work wasn’t vacation at all; it was hospital and recovery. But David has made huge improvements since then and he doesn’t need much help from me at all anymore. This past week I can accurately call a staycation, and here are some things that I did:

    Slept late and lounged in bed

    Now when I wake up at 4 a.m. it’s because my dogs want attention, not because my alarm is going off. But most of the time I wake up happily around 8 a.m. and get ready for the day slowly.

    Hit the road running despite the heat

    Even though some days I can’t bear to set foot outside more than I have to because of the sweltering heat, I have managed to start the C25k program again and complete the first two weeks. I figure if I’m going to eat an entire 11 oz bag of Raisinettes in two days I’ve gotta do something to counteract those calories!

    Took up a new/old hobby

    One day this week I was suddenly seized with the desire to cross stitch. I used to do it when I was young, but it’s been fifteen years at least. I went and raided my mom’s craft room, came away with some supplies, and am slowly working through a completely cheesy design. It’s a great hobby, perfect to do while watching mindless TV shows like 30 Rock, which is another new show I’ve picked up on thanks to Netflix instant streaming. Now I just need to find some designs I actually like.

    Read and journaled

    Of course, what’s a vacation if not time to read? I finished two books and am working on my third. I’ve also been doing some journaling and reflecting. There has been a lot of down time and I’ve been doing some thinking, mostly about the kind of life I want to live and how to make that happen. A break like this has given me time to decide what is worth spending time and effort on, and I’m sure you’ll become aware of these thoughts in the coming weeks as I write them down.

    Overall, the past two weeks were exactly what David and I needed. This surgery has been a long time coming for him, and it will solve so many problems. We got to have a lot of togetherness, as you can imagine, and it’s brought us closer than ever. I feel rested, rejuvenated, and ready to go forward with work & life.

  • Houston’s Orange Show

    I love Houston, and from time to time I like to do research on it like a tourist to see what new places I can find to explore. One thing that kept coming up was an institution called The Orange Show (<–check out the website, my brother’s company designed it). They call themselves a center for visionary art, and they’re most famous for holding the annual art car parade. But there are a couple other attractions they have stewardship of, the Beer Can House and the Orange Show Monument, that I have always wanted to see.

    I decided that this past weekend was the perfect time for a visit, so I dragged my youngest brother along and we made our mini pilgrimage to pay homage to folk art of Houston.

    This house is covered with 50,000 beer cans, all of which were consumed. There are also 20,000 marbles embedded in the concrete surrounding it. This whole thing was done by the man who owned the house, just for fun. I don’t know how his wife let him get away with it.

    Apparently it did lower their energy bills, so there’s that.

    ***

    And then there’s the monument from which the Orange Show gets its name. This was also built by a man on a whim, simply because he loved oranges and wanted to share his love with others.

    It looks like a small amusement park, but really it’s just in a regular residential neighborhood taking up one plot of land.

    I’m telling you, the guy just really loved oranges. There were sayings like this all over the place.

    His plan for the show was to have an organ playing while a tap dancer sang about health and nutrition. But sadly, his dream was never realized since he died 8 months after the monument was completed.

    I feel like a better Houstonian now that I’ve visited these landmarks! If you live in the area, they’re worth a quick visit. :)