kapachino

Category: personal

  • recovering from the weekend

    So I played a soccer game this past weekend for the first time in a year. I’ve basically only been running regularly the past few weeks. Our team was two players short, so I had to play the whole game. It was definitely well into the 90’s. You can imagine how that felt.

    (For the record, we still won.)

    I went nonstop for the rest of the weekend, giving in to an urge to clean my house from top to bottom. And because I have the best parents and parents-in-law in the world, they came over and painted and cleaned and did chores without me even asking.

    Quick! I need a party to host!

    Although I expected to sleep exceptionally well after such a weekend, I tossed and turned – maybe due to the extreme soreness in every muscle of my body. And then there was work today which, although not strenuous, was still work.

    Basically, I’m tired.

    All I want to do is lie around and read. And sleep, if it will come. See you soon, when I recover?

  • Currently In June

    Current Book(s): After my ADD last month where I was reading five books at once, I decided that I’m going to restrict myself to one at a time from now on. Right now I’m in the middle of The Well at the World’s End Vol. 1 by William Morris, one of the first novels in the fantasy genre, and one which influenced both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

    Current Playlist: Since I’m back to running a few times a week I thought I’d share some of my favorite running songs.

    • Christy Nockels – “Marvelous Light”
    • Katie Herzig – “Hologram”
    • Matt Redman – “You Never Let Go”
    • Third Eye Blind – “Wounded” and “Semi-Charmed Life”
    • Coheed and Cambria – “A Favor House Atlantic” and “Blood Red Summer”
    • Jimmy Eat World – “Bleed American”
    • The Killers – “Mr. Brightside”
    • ‘N Sync – “Pop”
    • Queen – “Don’t Stop Me Now”
    • Scissor Sisters – “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’”

    Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: I was racking my brain trying to think of one, and then I realized that I’m sitting in my husband’s recliner in my pajamas watching my third episode of Gossip Girl. So there you go.

    Current Drink: I don’t drink this plain, but chocolate soy milk is perfect in coffee.

    Current Food: I discovered dark chocolate covered acai berries. Upside: they are delicious and full of antioxidants. Downside: way too easy to overeat!

    Current Favorite Show: Not really into anything right now except The Bachelorette. It’s just plain entertaining.

    Current Wishlist: We’re buying a dining room table from Chelsea this weekend, and we’ll need some chairs. Also curtains, shelving, and wall art, obviously:

    Current Needs: We really need to get Oliver fixed. Seriously. Need. Seriously.

    Current Triumphs: Last weekend we were so understaffed at work that I had six patients, was in charge, and had multiple chemos to give. I was so proud of myself that I got it all done on time and without having a breakdown. Also, I consider it a triumph that my manager asked me to work 16 hours yesterday and I said no.

    Current Bane(s) of my Existence: The oppressive summer heat has come, making it difficult to run or walk the dogs at any time other than the hour after or the hour before sunrise.

    Current Celebrity Crush: Y’all know I love soccer, right? And the World Cup is starting this month, only the greatest sporting event ever (in my opinion). So I only thought it fitting to feature some gems on the U.S. Men’s team.

    First up, Carlos Bocanegra, defender, 31 years old:

    Benny Failhaber, midfielder, 25 years old:

    And although he barely didn’t make the national team’s final roster, Brian Ching is still the hometown hero of the Houston Dynamo:

    See? Soccer’s not so bad, is it?

    Current Indulgence: Buying that dining room table even though we didn’t plan for the purchase. It was just too perfect for us to pass up.

    Current Blessing(s): A clean house and air conditioning. CAN I GET AN AMEN.

    Current Outfit: I’m wearing some Gap Body sleep shorts and a ribbed tank top. So comf.

    Current Excitement: The front half of our house is coming together, and my in-laws planted some flowers in our backyard. I have this weekend off, which I always look forward to, and in two weeks David and I are going camping with some of our siblings. I’m excited about that, but also hoping it won’t be a complete disaster!

    Current Link:I spent some time yesterday signing up for free samples from this website. In 6-8 weeks I’ll be getting a bunch of random stuff in the mail.

    Happy June!

    ***

    Images: ♥ ♥

  • Elsewhere: Featured Career

    I was happy to be interviewed by Amber at Girl with the Red Hair for her Monday Meeting Featured Career. I know I had no idea what being a nurse was really like until I decided to become one, and you might not either. Go visit her blog today and read about the ups and downs of nursing, a typical shift, and why it’s not exactly like Grey’s Anatomy. And if you’re interested in stories, check out my nursing thread!

    On the job at the hospital!

  • 101 in 1001: Editing the List

    I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the state of my life, and how I’m going to become the person I want to be. That’s one of the reason I created my list of 101 goals, to help me achieve that. I’m 397 days into it, and although the list has been a huge motivator I have also realized that some of the goals I originally set down either don’t fit with me anymore or don’t fit in to the next couple of years. They had actually been hanging over my head until I had the epiphany that this is MY list, and I can change it if I want to. It’s not there to make me feel guilty.

    After these 1001 days are up, I’m going to work on my life list, and I’ll probably take on smaller challenges in the future too. In the meantime, here are the changes I’m making to my current list.

    #18. Learn how to style my hair –> Transition to all-natural personal care products. Honestly, I’m not that into hair. I’m so awkward when I try to blow-dry using a round brush that it actually angers me. I decided I don’t care if I never know how to fix my hair in any special way; it’ll look nice enough straightened and left down. But staying in the category of beauty, I am very interested in transitioning to organic products whenever possible.

    #22. Make a habit of paying extra principle on the mortgage each month –> Refinance the house. Paying extra principle on our mortgage was an idea we got from David’s uncle, and is probably a good idea if we were positive we’d be staying in our house until we pay it off. Since we can’t be sure of that, it’s not really the best idea. Instead we need to refinance to get a lower interest rate, which will really help out with our cash flow.

    #42. Learn conversational Spanish –> Take another class from Leisure Learning Unlimited. Learning Spanish is definitely a life list thing. It’s important to me, but I don’t know how long it’ll take. Instead I just want to take another random class (hiking? photography? cooking?), and who knows what’ll turn out to be my next favorite hobby.

    #54. Drive down the California coast –> Take a vacation with only my husband for at least a week. The California coast trip will be going on my life list. It’s just too expensive to try and pull off during this time of our lives when we’re still starting out.

    #60. Get the house painted –> Paint the entire front half of the house. Our house basically has a front half and a back half, and when we bought it the entire thing needed to be repainted: trim, doors, ceilings, everything. Since we’re doing it ourselves, it’s quite a chore and going very slowly. If I can finish the front half for now, I’ll be happy.

    #63. Plant flowers in the backyard –> Plant something. Our backyard is a constant source of shame for me, as our dogs have really messed it up. I try to keep it tidy, but for the foreseeable future my focus is going to be on the inside of the house, and not the outside. Once I get the inside fixed up and can focus some attention on learning how to garden (and deal with the dogs) I’ll plant some flowers or vegetables. Right now I’d like to start slow, maybe an indoor herb garden.

    #67. Build a pretty and well-organized home office –> Set up a fully-functional and decorated dining room. The office project sounds fun, and will need to be done eventually, but what I really need first is a place to have people over for meals. Our tiny breakfast table isn’t cutting it.

    #101. Beat Mario Galaxy on Wii –> Expand my vocabulary by 100 words. When we got a new Wii I lost all the progress I had made on this video game, and I was pretty far. I don’t have it in me to start from scratch, though I will play occasionally because it’s fun. But when it comes down to it, I won’t ever care all that much if I beat the game or not. Learning new words, on the other hand, is fun AND something to be proud of.

    ***

    I’m really happy about my updated list. It’s more reflective of my life right now, much more achievable, and I’m looking forward to completing every single item!

  • Au Naturel

    Although I’m a naturally optimistic and positive person, every once in awhile I have days where life gets the best of me and I feel utterly lost. During those times it seems like nothing helps, no good advice makes me feel better, no plan of action gives me hope, I am falling slowly into an abyss that is void of all happiness & chocolate.

    Today is one of those days.

    What’s gotten me down right now is health issues and financial strains, and for some reason this leads to the conclusion that I will never be the person I want to be. Don’t ask me how I made the jump in my mind from an increase in property taxes to my utter failure as a human being, but it happened. It’s taking me all the effort in the world to get back.

    I wasn’t going to post today because I knew I was probably incapable of being positive. But then I read that today is bloggers without makeup day, and I thought how fitting. I had to force myself to shower, let alone put on makeup or do my hair. So I’m writing to let you know that this is me. I struggle and I hurt and I get completely irrational and depressed.

    But at least I bounce back.

    Searching for that smile,

    K.