kapachino

Blog

  • Second Surgery Observations

    I’m happy to report that my husband no longer has avascular necrosis! After a successful second hip replacement on Thursday he is on the mend and hopefully on his way to a better, pain-free life.

    Our experience this time around was much different than the last. We didn’t have near as many visitors and much less attention from the hospital staff. We aren’t having meals provided for us, but we didn’t ask. We knew what to expect this time so we have done some things differently making for an easier transition, and I’m only taking one week off work.

    David had better pain control this time once the first several hours post-op passed, and he didn’t have the persistent fevers like before, so we were ready to leave the hospital on Saturday. That morning they took his catheter out, so before they could release us he had to prove to them that he could pee on his own. He told me, “Hey, if you have to pee, go in the urinal.” Of course as a nurse I staunchly refused such trickery. But then later I caught him holding cold water underneath his tongue right before they came to take his vital signs. When I questioned him he said he didn’t want them to keep him there needlessly if he had a fever.

    I married a sneaky patient, but at least we got to come home early!

  • Product Review: Avalon Vitamin C Cleansing Gel

    I go on a lot of quests when it comes to finding the perfect product, and I can really only focus on one thing at a time. My first order of business is finding the perfect face wash. Here are my criteria:

    • All-natural
    • Gentle enough to use to remove eye makeup
    • Not crazy expensive
    • Smells good
    • Doesn’t make me break out
    • Good packaging (you’ll see why this is important)

    I want to find the cheapest product I can find that meets all my criteria, so I’m starting out looking at stores like Target, where I picked up this cleansing gel made by Avalon Organics.

    At first I thought I had achieved my goal on the first try. This product is only $9.99, it’s completely organic, doesn’t burn my eyes and takes off makeup, smells like oranges (which I like), and after months I didn’t notice any unusual reaction from my skin. (However, this is for normal to oily skin so if you tend toward dry skin this probably won’t help as it doesn’t really have any moisturizing properties.)

    Sadly, there is one thing that is causing me to continue my quest:

    This is what it looks like after continuous use. I really liked the pump style of packaging, but after a few uses I noticed it leaking ever so slightly. For awhile I wiped it off, but it got to be tedious and messy. Now I just let it go and use it only in the shower.

    If you don’t mind dealing with a little mess, this is a great organic face wash. I know it might be a fluke, but I don’t want to take my chances. Call me an idealist, but I think I can find something with everything I’m looking for.

    Updated: I bought this again later on and have never had a leaking problem since. Therefore I am 100% satisfied with it!

    ***

    Disclosure: I bought this with my own money and no one asked me to write this. I’m just sharing for the good of humanity, or for the two of you who might actually care.

  • When I Feel Like Creating

    I feel like I’ve been in some sort of trance this week, on autopilot. The days have just been lulling by, and I haven’t done much besides work, eat, sleep, watch TV, and read.

    Yesterday I got let off work early, so I came home with an entire evening to do whatever I wanted since I hadn’t planned on being there. I thought about cleaning, or starting on a project around the house, but in the end my exhaustion won me over again and David and I collapsed on the couch with Chinese food.

    Even though I haven’t done much about it, for the past few days I’ve felt the urge to create. This is not to be confused with being creative, because I am nothing of the sort. I don’t ever come up with ideas on my own. No, I’ve just had the desire to make something with my own two hands. So this weekend I’m going to try to wake up out of my trance, and these are some ideas I had:

    Cook something. I’m embarrassed to admit how long it’s been since I’ve done this. I am not a cook and don’t pretend to be one, although I’d like to one day get to the point where it’s no longer a stressful activity. However, when I have the time and there’s no pressure, I find putting together a meal quite satisfying.

    Work on the front room of the house. I love this room, but I never spend time there. It has a grand piano and a wall covered in bookshelves. I would love to add a cozy place to sit and read, but am not sure how. It also needs some decorating, and I’m sure I could find some things around the house to spruce it up.

    Break out my clarinet. I played this lovely instrument for ten years until I dropped out of band halfway through college, but that was more due to the inconvenience of practice times than distaste for playing. My favorite band Over the Rhine features a clarinet solo in their song “Desperate For Love” and ever since I heard it I wanted to learn how to play that part.

    Compile favorite quotes & inspiration photos. The other day I was reading Holly’s post about making a graphic sign for your wall and I got to thinking, what quote would I choose if I were to make one of these? That led me to thinking about all my favorite quotes, from books, songs, plays, movies, etc. and how I’d like to have them all written down somewhere to read through. It also got me thinking about what I want to put on my own walls and what I want my house to look like, for that matter.

    The usual hobbies, cross-stitching and card-making. I joined a Stampin’ Up club so I’ve recently become the owner of an idea book & catalog for putting together cards and it has me wanting to break out all my neglected supplies. And of course my cross-stitching project isn’t going to finish itself!

    Hopefully I’ll find myself doing one or more of these things in the coming weeks. But first, I need to clean my house because I’m one of those people that can’t go to sleep if there are dishes in the sink or clothes on the floor. No way will I be able to let myself play around if the floor is still coated in dog hair. :)

  • what i did on saturday

    0400 – My alarm goes off to wake me up for work. Press snooze and roll over.

    0405 – I get a phone call from work saying our census has dropped to 10 patients and would I like to stay home today? I think that I should probably go to work to save up my time for David’s surgery, but I am physically incapable of refusing at that hour. I agree to stay home.

    0408 – I suddenly realize my entire GI tract is churning. I can’t sleep. Spend the next two hours in the bathroom with fluid (and other things) coming out both ends.

    0615 – I finally can lie down in bed again without having to jump right back up. Fall asleep.

    1030 – David comes in to check on me and I realize I should get up. I hug a blanket around me and walk out to the living room. My stomach is still off and my head hurts. I sit on the couch and talk to David while Oliver tries to sit in my lap and eat my hands.

    1100 – I make a bowl of oatmeal because I need to eat to take another dose of metformin (aka the evil cause of my gastrointestinal difficulties). I stare at it for awhile. I get two bites down, and swallow two Excedrin since I can’t tolerate coffee. The metformin is not happening yet.

    1130 – Screw this, I get back in bed.

    1200 – I remember I have prescription anti-nausea meds! Total score. I consider taking Phenergan which might put me to sleep for awhile, a not unappealing prospect, but settle on Zofran since it’s stronger. Get back in bed.

    1240 – I catch up on my Words With Friends games.

    1245 – I do some Bible reading.

    1300 – I get out of bed, eat my cold oatmeal, and return some emails.

    1345 – Begrudgingly take my metformin.

    1350 – Settle in to watch The Young Victoria and cross stitch.

    1540 – Movie ends, and praise God I feel like eating something! Applesauce, tortilla chips, and hummus.

    1550 – Put on Arrested Development season 1, disc 1. Didn’t know Michael Cera was in this. Huh. He bothers me.

    1830 – Visit from my mom. I realize I am still in my pajamas, haven’t showered, and don’t intend to. Oh, well.

    1845 – Disc 1 of Arrested Development ends. I relinquish control of the TV and David puts on the Texans game. I watch it with him even though it’s only the preseason because I am the ultimate in lazy.

    1945 – I can’t put off eating anymore. A bowl of cereal it is, and I go ahead and take my second metformin. Hoping the nausea stays away so I can make it to work tomorrow.

    2115 – Have an intense text conversation with a coworker about one of our patients and our chances of getting called off work again.

    2130 – I’ve had enough of football, so I brush my teeth, get in bed with Cleo, and read some of Gilead.

    2200 – My stomach has been churning for a little while, so I take another Zofran, turn out the lights, and try to sleep. I am successful.

  • Friday Things: Making Me Happy

    My all-time favorite book is The Lord of the Rings, and it’s been a deep sadness of mine that David doesn’t share my love. He’s never shown any interest in reading the book, and according to him he “suffered” through the first movie when it came out in the theater.

    But it’s been a month since he’s had to be home from work, and he recently got it into his head that he’d watch the top 50 movies from imdb.com. Guess what? All three of the LOTR movies are on there. And since I already own them, he started watching them at home all by himself. I was so proud!

    The best part is, he actually likes them now. He uses subtitles so he can keep track of all the names and places and he doesn’t mind them being so long since he’s in the comfort of his own home and can pause anytime he wants to. He even started reading The Hobbit! And yesterday he took a trip to Half Price Books and came back with The Children of Húrin, the only book about Middle Earth that I haven’t read because it was published after Tolkien’s death.

    I know it took a lot for him not to buy anything for himself, but he saw this and had to get it for me. He’s the sweetest. :)

    ***

    I’ve been making more progress on my hopelessly antiquated cross stitch project. It’s not my style at all, but it was free & still so much fun to see it come together. Working on it in front of a movie has become my new favorite way to unwind, and I’ve already found some projects I want to take on after this one is complete. Some of them are: Sherlock Holmes silhouette, birdhouse tree, hidden lily, and so many things from this Etsy shop.

    ***

    It’s true that our pups aren’t always a source of happiness, like when I’m trying to sleep in and they decide to use my bed as a wrestling ring, or when we’re trying to relax and they won’t stop pawing at us, or when we’re watching a movie and someone walks by outside and they flip out like it’s the most! exciting! thing! ever! but gosh, I love them so much that I can’t imagine life without them.

    Every cuddle, every lick, the way Oliver lies upside down all twisted, the way Eddie tilts her head to one side, how when Cleo gets excited her whole body wags, I can’t get enough of any of it. Our house may be covered in a thin layer of fur, and we may not always get the peace and quiet we think we want, but it’s so worth it.

    ***

    All pictures taken on the Hipstamatic app from my iPhone.