kapachino

Tag: pets

  • Friday Things: To Focus On

    Now that I’ve pretty much gotten settled into my new routine, I took stock of my life and decided that there are a few things that I need to focus on in the immediate future, and here they are.

    Study for (and pass!) the OCN exam.

    This is a priority. I take the oncology certification test on November 30, and I really need to pass. First of all, I’m taking the day off work for it, and I will be SO embarrassed if I come back the next day having failed. But mostly, it cost $265 to apply to take, and another $250 for a review course. If I pass, I get reimbursed. That’s a big incentive.

    Get Cleo back in shape.

    My favorite pup has become a fatty. Recently I saw this picture of her from a few years back:

    And this is her now (oh the shame):

    So I’ll be upping the amount of walks and trips to the dog park and switching to “healthy weight” food. Poor girl can’t help it that she has a terrible metabolism.

    Prepare for Christmas!

    I’d like to go into December with a good handle on all things Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday, and I don’t want it to be stressful. These are some things I want to get done sooner rather than later:

    • Finalize my wish list
    • Figure out what to give my family and search for deals
    • Have a complete list of names & addresses for people to send cards, and make significant progress on getting them out
    • Learn to make apple cider
    • Make an advent calendar (this will involve some very simple sewing but I am kind of petrified)
    • Put up a tree and decorate!

    What are you focusing on these days?

  • 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.

  • friday things: from the week

    I’ll be choosing the winner of the Nintendo points card tonight when I get home from work. My family requested that I video the drawing, so I suppose I will give in and do so. I warned you there would be random videos from now on. Check back later to see if you won!

    ***

    This week has not been my favorite. My mood has echoed the weather, which has looked like this:

    This is not to say that I dislike the rain (although I’m not saying I like the rain either), but coincidentally this weather has matched up perfectly with my periodic hormonal imbalance. I haven’t had any energy at all, and no motivation to get anything done. I’ve been working most of the week, but on my sole day off I did nothing but read and play games on the Wii all day long. I’m slowly gaining my happiness back, and the awesome weekend I have planned is probably part of that.

    ***

    My husband has lately taken to calling my dog Cleo “sickly.” I don’t like that term because it implies that she’s a needy invalid with a short life expectancy. I keep telling him she just has a sensitive stomach! But seriously, her gagging and vomiting all over the house is getting a bit old. You know how dogs chew grass to make themselves throw up? Cleo did that the other day, except with our carpet. I’m not even joking, she swallowed a melon-sized wad of carpet and then regurgitated it. First of all, I’m just glad she didn’t choke to death. Second, what the heck? Third, anyone have recommendations for carpet or carpet installers?

    (For those of you that may be worried about Cleo’s health, I am too. But not overly. I am pretty sure it has to do with a new food we tried with her. So for now we’re changing to a healthier kind, limiting her treats, and eliminating people food altogether. Hopefully it solves the problem.)

    ***

    Last week I finally gave in and exchanged my bus pass to a parking pass for work. This was my first full week driving every day, and I can say for sure that I have a problem on my hands. Every day on my way home, I become overwhelmingly drowsy. It’s a 40-minute drive in the heat of the afternoon after I’ve worked all day, and I have SUCH a hard time staying awake. I’ve tried calling David, slapping myself, rolling down the windows, and most recently I’ve resorted to listening to pop stations on the radio. This was surprisingly effective, until yesterday when I heard that terrible “California Gurls” song two times within five minutes. That song makes me want to dig out my own eardrums with a screwdriver, and the fact that “gurls” is spelled with a “u”? Don’t even get me started. All that to say, I’m currently on the hunt for songs to add to my “Don’t Die In A Fiery Car Crash” playlist.

    ***

    On the off chance that there is someone reading this who enjoys soccer and the World Cup, here is a really funny & insightful article that my dad sent me: “Soccer is ready to capture our attention.”

    And if you, like me, enjoyed the Twilight books back when you read them once a long time ago, but are kind of sick of the whole thing by now, although you still want to see the movies because why not, and now you get more enjoyment out of making fun of the series than anything else, here is a link for you. A dude reads the books and blogs his thoughts chapter by chapter. Why couldn’t I have written this? Blogging Twilight.

  • 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.