kapachino

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  • why i wish i could have stayed home today

    Getting out of bed this morning around 4:30 a.m. was beyond hard. It was dark and stormy outside, and both of our dogs, scared, were pushed up next to our legs. David was softly snoring next to me. Our bed has never felt more comfortable.

    But I dragged myself out, and was even able to leave the house on time; I was so proud of myself! It was steadily raining, but as I exited the freeway to make the turn into the park and ride, I realized that this was no ordinary April shower. All the cars pulled over to the side of the road with their lights blinking was the first thing to clue me in. When I got to the intersection to turn left under the freeway, I saw a car that had attempted to pass the high water, and failed. It was halfway under. Because I am so smart, I decided to opt out of that route, and I did a U-turn at the next light instead.

    I made it to the park and ride only ten minutes late, but then I spent 15 minutes waiting for the bus only to find out that NONE of them had showed up, not even the earliest. I was not about to wait around indefinitely (cancer doesn’t get flooded in, people, my patients need me!), so I got back in my truck. I had to take a veeeeery roundabout route to get back onto the freeway, because high water was all over the place. The rest of the journey wasn’t bad, just a little slow. I was late to report, which throws me off, but I got everything sorted out.

    Soon enough, I got an email from David telling me that my sister-in-law is in labor! As if I needed another reason to wish I wasn’t at work. Between work and church the next two days, I don’t know how I’m going to make it to the hospital – but I must! Scott and Vanessa aren’t just our siblings (in-law), they are two of our best friends.

    I just hope the medical center doesn’t flood, stranding me here!

  • Snapshots of the Weekend

    Me: So tell me about the NFL draft, I need to know this now!

    David: (Blah blah Texans blah blah Cushing blah blah defensive end etc. etc. etc.)

    Me: Hmm. You’re lucky that I already have a working knowledge of football.

    David: Okay, what’s a cornerback?

    Me: They are the people that mark the receivers.

    David: Um, first of all, there is no “marking” in football.

    Me: But isn’t that what they do? They cover the receivers?

    David: Yes, but it’s not called “marking.” I played and watched sports for 27 years and I never heard the word “mark” until I went to one of your indoor soccer games.

    Me: Huh.

    ***

    Barry (little bro): So there was chocolate fondue involved in one of your nursing classes?

    Me: Yeah, I was at this pain management workshop and the presenter brought out all these different fruits, marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate. She compared it all to pain medication and then told us to self-medicate. She also said that it was PRN.

    Barry: Stares blankly. Is that a nursing joke?

    Me: Yeah.

    Barry: Ahh, that’s good. I appreciate that.

  • I Need Painting Advice!

    Since I first laid eyes on our house, I loved it but I knew there were a few things we’d want to change to make it our own. One major thing is that the living room and breakfast room have wood paneling that make the space seem a lot darker than it is, especially since it matches the wood floors. I like THAT it is wood instead of drywall, because I think that once we paint over it the wood will add a lot of character. But the painting is the part I’m stuck at.

    I finally got a painter over here today for an estimate. David’s parents and his brother both used the same painting company for their houses so I figured it would be a good one to start with. First, let me show you what we want painted. Here are some pictures of the living room, breakfast room, and kitchen. (Please keep in mind that I haven’t done any decorating at all yet, and we have not received our new furniture either!)

    living room
    The living room

    living room2
    Another view of the living room

    breakfast room
    The breakfast room with a view into the utility room

    kitchen
    The kitchen

    Ideally I want to paint over all the wood, including the ceiling beams and cabinets. There are other rooms I’d like painted too, but we can do those ourselves. I thought that all this wood is the job for a professional.

    Here’s what the painter said: to paint over all the wood, including the ceiling, it would be $4475. When I heard that, I was so downhearted, and still am. We have only $2000 escrowed for paint, and can’t really afford to go over that right now. I knew it would be expensive, but I wasn’t counting on it being THAT expensive.

    So I’m wondering what our options are. It seems crazy for us to attempt the job ourselves, but is that possible? Is this a fair quote, or do you think we could get it done cheaper? I’m not giving up yet, because I know that painting would make a huge difference in our house. I welcome any advice at all!

  • #97. Buy Another Leash and Walk the Dogs Simultaneously

    I’ve let my dog Cleo get fat. There’s no getting around it; she’s gained a lot of weight since I got her a year and a half ago. This is what she looked like then:

    dscf1096

    And this is what she looks like now:

    dscf2094

    She’s a good couple inches rounder, and look at all that back fat! It’s embarrassing. Back then she could run 5 miles with me no problem, and now when I try to take her on a run she can barely make it around the neighborhood. (Full disclosure: I can’t run 5 miles anymore either.) I chalk this change up to two things: 1) I live with David now, and one of his favorite things is giving dogs treats. He does it frequently. 2) Eddie lives with us now, and somewhere along the way one of the leashes broke, so we can’t walk them at the same time and it’s too hard to walk them separately, and I know that’s a lame excuse but that’s what happened, OK?

    Honestly, it was the leash that was the main thing holding me back from walking them. So when I went to HEB the other day I picked one up, along with a couple of choke collars. Turns out I bought the wrong size collars, but I still walked them anyway!

    dogs-after-walk
    Tired girls after their walk.

    So this was an easy one to check off the list of goals, and now hopefully we can start taking lots more walks!

  • shoo fly

    The other day there was a fly buzzing around in our bathroom. My first reaction was to be annoyed and swat at it, but then I remembered the scene in The Hiding Place where Corrie is locked up in solitary confinement for weeks and comes to regard the ants in the cell as her friends. She was just grateful to have a living being nearby, no matter how diminuitive. So I started to think of the fly as my companion, and it made me less annoyed.

    Today, I saw the fly’s smushed body on the bathroom floor. I was sad. Just a few days ago he was happily buzzing around.

    When I told David this story he admitted to me that he was the one who killed the fly. He apologized to me, saying that he didn’t know he was killing my friend. I guess I forgive him.