Category: personal

Currently In February

Current Book(s): Just finished my book club book a few days ago and the next meeting isn’t until next week, so I picked up The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl off my “unread” shelf. My husband also got me The Wonder Spot by Michelle Bank to listen to while I drive. I like it so far, although it’s read by the author which I don’t think is a good idea. Her voice really annoys me.

Current Playlist: I finally went through all of my recovered files from when my hard drive crashed, and it’s like I have a whole new music library now. I discovered some classics that I forgot I had such as Ace of Base, ‘N Sync, and Queen’s greatest hits.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Every season I tell myself that I’m not going to watch The Bachelor again, but every season I find myself watching it. Ah, well.

Current Drink: I think this is the most boring category for me since not only am I a teetotaler (I think that’s a fun way of putting it) but I also dislike most sodas. Pretty much the only things I ever find myself drinking are water and coffee. If that changes I’ll let you know.

Current Food: After an unplanned break from cooking during the holidays, I’m back on it. This week I’ve made PW’s chicken spaghetti and this ham & potato soup. Both are amazing, and I have tons of leftovers!

Current Favorite Show: Not The Bachelor. Definitely not that.

Current Wishlist: I moved my wishlist to Wishpot. Among the things I’d like the most are: sport headphones, a tea kettle, a Kindle, Over the Rhine’s Live From Nowhere Vol. 4, a custom made address stamp, and new pet tags for my dogs.

Current Needs: New running shoes since I’ve had mine for over two years. A case for my iPhone since I seem to drop it all the time. My wisdom teeth removed. A NEW CAR, preferably this one, which is still my dream:

Current Triumphs: I’m proud that I got our cash budget going again this month. I’m proud that I made a meal plan at the beginning of this week and I’m sticking to it. And I’m proud that my meals have turned out delicious so far.

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: I think I’ve whined quite enough about the annoyances of my truck, but I don’t care. Unless you have experienced it yourself, you have no idea how difficult it is to drive a vehicle without power steering. I approach parking lots now with the fear and trembling that should only be reserved for The Lord. Thankfully, my husband has finally convinced me that it’s time to put Bubba to rest and purchase a new/used car for me. It may or may not be happening this weekend.

Current Celebrity Crush: My crushes don’t change as often as every month. I’m still on the Robert Downey, Jr. kick, and of course Derek Webb is always my #1 crush.

Current Indulgence: Too many to count. Birthday week, remember?

Current Blessing(s): My God, my husband, my family, my friends, my dogs, my job, my house, my church–I’ve got it pretty good, I’d say.

Current Outfit: As I’m writing this (Tuesday afternoon) I’m wearing a sweater, jeans, and slippers. I wish I would have taken a picture on Sunday when I looked cute, but you’ll have to settle for this, my boring sweater:

Current Excitement: My birthday, the prospect of getting a new car, and that my blog is being redesigned and should hopefully be ready to launch soon. All three things make me so happy.

Current Mood: Apart from the random pangs of sadness I get due to situations beyond my control, I am feeling very, very, content. And full.

Current Link: AllRecipes is the best website for recipes. If you haven’t checked it out, you need to.

Happy February!

February 3, 2010
Ten On Tuesday: Some God Talk

1. What is your favorite travel destination spot?
Beaches, fun activities, and history are what gets me. My favorite vacation ever was to Kauai, Hawaii for our honeymoon, but the fact that it was my honeymoon probably elevates it to that level. A close second would be to Athens, Greece and the islands.

2. Cats vs. Dogs.
Dogs by far, although I do like cats and wish we could get one. Unfortunately Cleo would probably eat it. But I think I really only like cats that cuddle and have personality like dogs do, and that kind of cat is rare.

3. Do you believe in fate?
No. See question 9.

4. Do you believe in karma?
No again. See question 9.

5. Everyone has a unique laugh. Do you like yours?
I’ve never thought about it before. I think my laugh is fairly normal. I don’t laugh whenever I think something is funny, though. Sometimes I just smile a little and say, “That’s funny.” And I mean it.

6. Is love really all you need?
What everyone really needs is God, whether they realize it or not. His love is all you need. It’s the only thing that brings a true, lasting hope, and what is life without hope?

7. What’s your take on the whole 2012 scare?
Never heard of it. Is that what that one movie is about?

8. If you won a million dollars and had to give it all away, who would you give it to? (Family and friends not included.)
Partly to the organization Compassion, through which we sponsor two children, and partly to the organization Merge Ministries, which is a team of missionaries from our church’s denomination (Evangelical Covenant) who I have done several trips with. Both stand for what I believe in, do excellent work, and put as much of their resources as possible into actually achieving that work.

9. Do you believe in God/religion/the power of prayer?
I consider my primary identity to be a Christian and daughter of God. It’s more important to me than being a wife, a nurse, or any of my other roles. So if you know one thing about me, know that. I won’t say that I believe in “religion,” because what I have isn’t that; it’s a relationship with a living God, and yes I believe that He hears my prayers. I don’t always understand how prayer works or what it does, but it’s the way that I commune with God and it changes me. As for fate and karma, I don’t think they are compatible with God, who is all-powerful and thoroughly good. I believe that He is working out everything according to a perfect plan, and I trust Him implicitly.

10. What New Year’s Resolution do you always make but never keep?
I usually keep my resolutions, and I never make the same one each year. Go me.

February 2, 2010
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:

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. :)

February 1, 2010
Sincerely Yours

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!

January 22, 2010
ah, saturday

Let me just tell you how much I loved today. A LOT.

Any good day off starts with sleeping in, which I did. Then, after some lazing around, David and I decided to cash in on a Cracker Barrel gift card he got for his birthday. Although we’ve been trying to eat healthier this year, we give ourselves one meal a week where we eat what we want. This was DEFINITELY the meal. My love for breakfast food is deep and true, only surpassed by my love for dark chocolate, Blue Bell ice cream, and my Tempur Pedic mattress. And living beings, of course. Anyway, David and I basically ordered one of everything.

Not pictured: the hash brown casserole, French toast, and sausage that we also shared.

We somehow rolled ourselves out to our car when we finished and drove over to Lowe’s. My plan was just to price some blinds for our breakfast room and living room, but David convinced me to just buy them now. I had anxiety about spending the money, but since we’ve been living without privacy for a year now I figured it was worth it.

On the way home we stopped to see our nephew Lucas, where I got to experience this adorableness:

Their cat just crawled on to my back and made herself comfortable while I was playing with Lucas. That never happens to me with cats! I was so excited!

Back at home we set to work installing our new blinds, with the help of our talented and gracious fathers. Conversations with my dad can always be interesting. He is blunt and honest in an endearing sort of way, which makes me nervous at times.

Dad: One thing I’m looking forward to when I get older is being able to tell everyone exactly what I think.

Me: But Dad, you kind of already do that.

Dad: I’m not even close.

Me: (eyes widen in terror)

Amidst such riveting conversation we got the blinds installed and I cannot even believe what a difference they make. The rooms actually look finished now. I keep looking at them. Here is what the breakfast area looked like when we bought the house:

And here it is now, pretty much finished:

And here are the new blinds in the living room:

I’m in love. We had to get them specially cut, and Lowe’s did it perfectly right there while we waited. Eventually I’m thinking some different curtains would be nice for the living room, along with some sort of curtains for the breakfast room, but I am happy with this for now.

After the satisfying completion of that task, I set about making bruschetta to bring to a baby shower tomorrow. I’ve never made it before, and used this recipe. I had to double it, and the mixture turned out looking like this before chilling in the refrigerator overnight:

Can anyone tell me, does this look right? Because I’m not so sure.

I am now ensconced on the couch with my two dogs, watching Ewan McGregor attempt to do a very poor Italian accent in Angels & Demons. Saturdays like these don’t happen very often for us, so I enjoy them to the fullest when they do. It’s been a great day.

January 16, 2010