kapachino

Category: personal

  • Wii Came, Wii Saw, Wii Ate Cupcakes

    Forgive me the title. I couldn’t resist.

    I’ve mentioned before that I’m a brand enthusiast & ambassador for Nintendo through Brand About Town, and this weekend they helped me host a party for some of my friends and family to celebrate the new Netflix streaming for Wii. Did you know that you can instantly stream thousands of Netflix movies through your Wii with only a disc, that they send you for free? Well you can, and seriously, do it. It rocks.

    Do you know what else rocks? Being a Nintendo enthusiast. Since I agreed to host this party (I know, it was a HUGE imposition) a super fun package showed up in the mail. Popcorn, candy (everything except the Junior Mints made it through the heat; RIP Junior Mints), a bunch of Wii points cards to use and give away, a subscription to Netflix, and a Flip video camera to record the event were all included. So thanks to them, my friends now think I’m way cooler than I actually am.

    Once everyone showed up we feasted on Los Cucos, our favorite local Tex-Mex joint.

    Tons more food than we could eat

    And then there was the delicious, delicious candy. I think I ate all the Raisinettes myself. I’m really not kidding.

    What's a movie without candy?

    If that wasn’t enough, my friend Maggie brought over cupcakes from Sprinkles. You can tell we enjoy our food over here.

    Chocolate marshmallow, please

    Eventually I tore everyone away from the grub and started the gaming. First we went with Dr. Mario, which I chose based purely on nostalgia, since I spent so many of my formative years playing it. Then we moved on to TV Show King 2, which is a fun game show trivia game that everyone could play. Some of us might have gotten a bit competitive, and some of us might have named their character “Nugget.”

    If we only had more chairs!
    Characters: Nugget, Mango, Feedbag, Kapachino.
    Even Cleo wanted to play!

    After all the gaming excitement we went to the Netflix website and chose the perfect movie: Raising Arizona. Most people are surprised to learn that our dog Eddie is a girl, but her name is short for Edwina, and this movie contains her namesake. We’re big Coen brothers fans around here.

    All too soon, the night was over. But the fun is only beginning! (Nice cliché, am I right?) First of all, check out the video I made of the party. I am pretty proud that I did it all by myself. Be warned that a lot of attention is paid to the cupcakes.

    And since I have this awesome video camera now, be prepared for lots more future video randomness. You’re welcome.

    Guess what else? I totally have an extra Nintendo points card to give away. Good for the Wii or DSi, it has 2000 points which can get you 2-3 games, depending on how you budget. There are two ways to enter: leave a comment on this post, or tweet about the giveaway making sure to mention me (@kapachino) so I know you entered, or post a link to your tweet in your comment. I’ll draw for a winner on Friday night!

    Oh, and y’all? Video games are totally not just for geeks.

  • We Survived Our First Camping Trip

    Back in January, my husband David received a bunch of awesome camping gear for his birthday. We originally intended the gear to get its first use in the spring when the weather was nice, but then a bunch of terrible things happened to me and I was kind of a wreck for a few months. We had invited some of our siblings along, and this past weekend was the soonest we could get the trip together. Ninety-five degree weather? Who cares! We were going camping.

    Cleo wanted to come along, but I had to tell her no.

    The Prius was a champ, and we packed her full. Probably overpacked, but we were like first-time parents worrying about every possible little thing. You can never have too many towels or batteries! we said to each other. Turns out that yes, you can. But it didn’t matter.

    We chose a shady little spot just a few steps away from the bathrooms and the lake. Prime.

    We set up camp and then got busy relaxing.

    We played games and cards.

    We went on a guided nature hike.

    We saw a crazy flying thing.

    We cooked yummy food, like my classic hobo meal. Tip: when you’re going to be cooking your meal which is wrapped in foil on the coals of a fire, make sure you a) choose a sturdy brand of foil, and b) double wrap it.

    And there were s’mores, of course. I don’t even like graham crackers or marshmallows particularly, but there’s something about a s’more that is irresistible, wouldn’t you agree?

    We read, we talked, we swam (at least I did), and of course enjoyed the company. David’s brother Scott, his wife Vanessa, and even my nephew Lucas came along.

    He was a little trooper.

    My brother David and his girlfriend Maggie came too. Maggie can go ahead and be my personal chef as far as I’m concerned. The food she made for us was practically gourmet.

    We survived the heat by staying mostly in the shade, and we made it through the night thanks to some fans we brought along. I don’t think any of us would choose to go camping again in the Texas summer, but it was worth it.

    Just watch, one day we’ll either buy an RV and travel the country, or go hard core and hike the Appalachian Trail. Either way, it all started here.

  • how my day off turned out

    It all started with coffee. Coffee and breakfast, but mostly coffee.

    Not wanting to wake up any earlier than necessary, I skipped the shower and makeup, threw on some clothes, and harnessed Oliver. Thinking he was getting a walk, he helpfully pointed me in the direction of his leash.

    We arrived at the clinic at 7 a.m. and it opens at 8:30 a.m. We had secured our spot in line, but the following hour and a half was less than pleasant. That length of time in an enclosed space with a 93-pound dog (we found out later that’s how much he weighs), especially one who is naturally anxious and in a situation where he can easily see other cats and dogs through the window, never is.

    I tried to walk him around the parking lot once, but he peed on the storefront. Then I walked him behind the storefront and he peed on my foot. I decided I’d bear with him in the car.

    After an eternity, an eternity in which I somehow managed to read a few chapters of my book, they called his name and I left him there. It was kind of sad, actually. Kind of.

    I drove straight home and began tackling the front room, recently painted, which looked like this:

    After three hours of work, it now looks like this:

    You might be wondering, “What did she do in those three hours? Take a nap?” But what you don’t see is that the piano was splattered with miniature dots of paint all over and required much scrubbing. And you don’t realize the breadth of the joy that I received in organizing our books according to my own personal system.

    The bookshelf isn’t complete, though, and I didn’t even move the piano back in place because the floor still needs to be scrubbed. But this room has come a long way, and I’m proud.

    Soon it was time to head out to my acupuncture appointment. Who doesn’t love getting stuck with tiny needles?

    After that 20 minute nap, I met my pastor at Starbucks to discuss some things about the church we’re planting, specifically website & social media ideas. I had forgotten to eat lunch, so I ate a blueberry muffin to take the edge off so I could make it to dinner.

    I made a quick stop at the grocery store, then swung by to pick up Oliver. He was amazingly calm. I know that he was drugged up, but I still delighted in just one day and one night of calmness.

    At home again it was time to tackle my inbox, as well as do some chores like gathering paperwork for our home refinance, making dinner (grilled cheese sandwiches), and cleaning up a bit.

    Once that was all done, David and I settled in to watch The Bachelorette. For the record, I turned on the Tonys first but David practically BEGGED me to watch The Bachelorette. Looks like I’ll be watching the Tonys by myself later this week.

    A little after 9 p.m. my body demanded to be put to bed, so that’s what I did. And it was good.

  • what are days off for but to work?

    Here is a snapshot of my calendar for the month.

    Everything written down is some sort of engagement that I have planned, and the red numbers in the bottom right-hand corners are my work hours. There is one blissfully blank day next Tuesday, but that’s it. For some reason June has outdone itself.

    On Friday David and I are going camping for the weekend with some of our siblings (an excursion that quite possibly could end in disaster), and since I worked this weekend I haven’t had much time to prepare. If you scrutinize the fuzzy picture of my calendar, you will notice that I work twelve hours on Tuesday, eight hours on Wednesday followed by three hours of leading youth group, and another twelve hours on Thursday. That leaves tomorrow, Monday, as my sole day off before the trip.

    And what have I decided to leave myself to do on that day off? Oh, nothing ambitious. Just:

    • Finally get Oliver fixed/his shots/heartworm pills
    • Buy Father’s Day gifts
    • Acupuncture
    • Meet with my pastor to discuss working with the church’s website & social media
    • Watch the Tonys on DVR
    • Clean & put the front room back together
    • Gather documents needed to refinance the house
    • Procure additional camping supplies

    My day off isn’t looking too restful, especially since Oliver and I need to be at the clinic by 7 a.m. It’s a first come first served place, so even arriving that early doesn’t ensure us a spot, although I have high hopes. I’m not looking forward to shelling out the $300 cash for everything he needs done (it all costs more than double because of his large size), but I can’t tell you how excited I am to get this surgery over with. I’ve been whispering sweet nothings in Oliver’s ear all day long, things like, “Enjoy your last day as a man!” and “You’re about to be turned into a eunuch!”

    I think he’s excited too.

  • The Secret To A Successful Marriage

    I was checking on one of my patients, a sweet eighty-year-old lady, and was about to leave the room when she caught my hand.

    Her: Are you married? Let me see your ring. (Looks at ring.) Ooh, that’s so pretty! How long have you been married?

    Me: About a year and a half.

    Her: Aww, I bet he’s a good one.

    Me: Yep. I love him.

    Her: I think that’s so great. I’ve been married for sixty years now, and I still love mine. Of course when you get older it’s different. It was really hard when we found out that I had cancer, but you have to go somehow! My husband and I dealt with it and then he told me we’d just be together till the end. I told him we’d better be! He’d look like a dog if he divorced me now. And then he said he guessed it would make his widower possibilities pretty bleak.

    Me: I’m glad you can keep a sense of humor about it!

    Her: Well, you have to.