Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Short and Sweet
Today was blessedly normal. No freaky plumbing incidents. We both worked long shifts and crashed in front of the TV at the end of the day. In fact, it's probably very lucky that our last show had very loud credit music or I totally would have slept through today's blogging deadline...but I made it. Yay! (Insert white girl version of "peace out, y'all" here.) Goin' to be for real now. See you tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Just Call Me Mrs. Fix-It
So I had a kind of traumatic event this evening. I was being all grown-up and getting stuff done around the house when my kitchen sink backed up. I maintain it's because we've got some weird and temperamental plumbing around our garbage disposal. (And the fact that I accidentally overloaded it while trying to get rid of some nasty leftovers in our fridge has absolutely no bearing on the situation whatsoever.)
Anyway, after about 15 seconds of cursing and utter panic, I grabbed my phone to call my Dad and ask what I should do. He said I needed to fill up one side with water (which it had already done by itself--convenient) and plunge the side with the disposal while it was running. I thanked the Deckard for his home maintenance wisdom and ran to the bathroom to grab the only plunger in the house. (Note to self--it was okay this time because I've never had to use that plunger on the toilet--but I should definitely consider getting a separate plunger for the kitchen or risk forever being grossed out.)
It took me about 20 minutes of enthusiastic plunging (and mild cursing) before I got the disposal working again. (This is in part because I have a very short reach and must now stand even further away from the sink than I'm used to, and part because I had a hard time getting a good seal around the edge of the disposal--the plunger kept slipping in the nasty water. I'm going to have to wash my kitchen rug tonight.) And then it took another ten minutes of tweaking water settings while turning the disposal on and off before getting it to run smoothly.
I feel very proud of myself for not falling apart and calling Patrick to come home early to take care of it; but really I'm more impressed with the fact that I didn't vomit because it was awful...like dead body odor and unmentionable bodily fluid kind of awful...and somehow this pregnant lady kept it together. Heck, yes! (I'm trying to be good and not curse anymore tonight.)
Even better, I went on to make dinner after this incident despite being physically wiped out. (It was a lot more taxing to take care of the sink than I had anticipated. Particularly because I had put in a solid hour of constant running around and bending while doing housework before this happened.) However, my second wind is officially gone, and I am going to flop down somewhere soft after eating.
Addendum: Just went downstairs to switch over the laundry and discovered that I didn't actually fix the sink. I just moved the backlog to the basement drain and flooded our downstairs. Good feelings are totally gone. Patrick is the hero of the hour because he put on some old work boots and my cleaning gloves and went down to take care of my mess. He unclogged the drain, got rid of the flotsam that lingered behind, and is now disinfecting the floor with a strong ammonia cleaner. I literally cannot express enough gratitude for having this wonderful man in my life to rescue me from my own stupidity. And he was so much calmer than me while still being surrounded by the unspeakable smell coming from that drain...the man is truly amazing.
Anyway, after about 15 seconds of cursing and utter panic, I grabbed my phone to call my Dad and ask what I should do. He said I needed to fill up one side with water (which it had already done by itself--convenient) and plunge the side with the disposal while it was running. I thanked the Deckard for his home maintenance wisdom and ran to the bathroom to grab the only plunger in the house. (Note to self--it was okay this time because I've never had to use that plunger on the toilet--but I should definitely consider getting a separate plunger for the kitchen or risk forever being grossed out.)
It took me about 20 minutes of enthusiastic plunging (and mild cursing) before I got the disposal working again. (This is in part because I have a very short reach and must now stand even further away from the sink than I'm used to, and part because I had a hard time getting a good seal around the edge of the disposal--the plunger kept slipping in the nasty water. I'm going to have to wash my kitchen rug tonight.) And then it took another ten minutes of tweaking water settings while turning the disposal on and off before getting it to run smoothly.
I feel very proud of myself for not falling apart and calling Patrick to come home early to take care of it; but really I'm more impressed with the fact that I didn't vomit because it was awful...like dead body odor and unmentionable bodily fluid kind of awful...and somehow this pregnant lady kept it together. Heck, yes! (I'm trying to be good and not curse anymore tonight.)
Even better, I went on to make dinner after this incident despite being physically wiped out. (It was a lot more taxing to take care of the sink than I had anticipated. Particularly because I had put in a solid hour of constant running around and bending while doing housework before this happened.) However, my second wind is officially gone, and I am going to flop down somewhere soft after eating.
Addendum: Just went downstairs to switch over the laundry and discovered that I didn't actually fix the sink. I just moved the backlog to the basement drain and flooded our downstairs. Good feelings are totally gone. Patrick is the hero of the hour because he put on some old work boots and my cleaning gloves and went down to take care of my mess. He unclogged the drain, got rid of the flotsam that lingered behind, and is now disinfecting the floor with a strong ammonia cleaner. I literally cannot express enough gratitude for having this wonderful man in my life to rescue me from my own stupidity. And he was so much calmer than me while still being surrounded by the unspeakable smell coming from that drain...the man is truly amazing.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Struggling...
So, it seems February is the month in which I struggle with posting on the weekends. Okay. I can own that. Next month I'll do better. (Fingers crossed.)
Yesterday was good. I had another rough night's sleep--which meant I overslept--which meant we didn't make it to church because I wasn't up and ready to encourage Patrick to get moving. :) It happens sometimes. So instead I made a birthday cake (Torte, actually) for dinner at Dad's that evening. We all had a good time. Dad made turkey and mashed potatoes and Chrissy made green bean casserole and I devoured everything in my path! We then played a round of Dominion and fell into a turkey coma while watching the Oscars. It was an awesomely mellow evening. And Dad loved the socks I made him. :) I forgot to take a picture, but I'll put it on my to-do list.
Today was good. It would have been better if I weren't so hormonal during the evening...I'm making Pasta-Roni in a skillet as we speak because I don't have the emotional wherewithal to handle washing out a saucepan at the moment...But before that I had a good start. I got to hang out and knit with Chrissy--and Kaylee dropped by later--we all had fun avoiding our daily responsibilities for a few hours. But then it was time to go, and the responsibilities were still there, and...yeah.
Getting back to reality again was made even less appealing by the fact that our commute home was horrendously long. It's usually around 30 minutes, but tonight it took us almost 2 hours. And it was that packed-like-sardines kind of traffic, so Patrick's nerves were frazzled and my bladder almost exploded before we made it home to where he could unwind and I could finally pee.
And here's the part where I freely and fully admit that I have no intention of doing any of the tasks I originally had planned to do before going to bed tonight. Instead, I'm going to raid the fridge, take a bath, and then eat spoonfuls of Nutella while watching some sappy girl show so that I have some outward excuse for breaking down into ugly tears.
See you on the other side.
Yesterday was good. I had another rough night's sleep--which meant I overslept--which meant we didn't make it to church because I wasn't up and ready to encourage Patrick to get moving. :) It happens sometimes. So instead I made a birthday cake (Torte, actually) for dinner at Dad's that evening. We all had a good time. Dad made turkey and mashed potatoes and Chrissy made green bean casserole and I devoured everything in my path! We then played a round of Dominion and fell into a turkey coma while watching the Oscars. It was an awesomely mellow evening. And Dad loved the socks I made him. :) I forgot to take a picture, but I'll put it on my to-do list.
Today was good. It would have been better if I weren't so hormonal during the evening...I'm making Pasta-Roni in a skillet as we speak because I don't have the emotional wherewithal to handle washing out a saucepan at the moment...But before that I had a good start. I got to hang out and knit with Chrissy--and Kaylee dropped by later--we all had fun avoiding our daily responsibilities for a few hours. But then it was time to go, and the responsibilities were still there, and...yeah.
Getting back to reality again was made even less appealing by the fact that our commute home was horrendously long. It's usually around 30 minutes, but tonight it took us almost 2 hours. And it was that packed-like-sardines kind of traffic, so Patrick's nerves were frazzled and my bladder almost exploded before we made it home to where he could unwind and I could finally pee.
And here's the part where I freely and fully admit that I have no intention of doing any of the tasks I originally had planned to do before going to bed tonight. Instead, I'm going to raid the fridge, take a bath, and then eat spoonfuls of Nutella while watching some sappy girl show so that I have some outward excuse for breaking down into ugly tears.
See you on the other side.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Made It
I didn't accomplish much today. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning with some serious back and side pain that didn't go away for several hours. The good part of that scenario is that I wanted to focus on something besides the pain--so I finished my dad's birthday present by 9:00 am. Hot diggity!
The bad part of the scenario was that my rhythm was totally thrown off and I went back to bed around 11:00 am and didn't get up again until 6:30 pm. (Well, that's not quite true. I had my doorbell rung three separate times today by teenage boys all wanting to shovel my driveway for money...which would be nice, but I don't have the cash to spare. I got really annoyed by the time the last kid showed up around five, and admittedly was kind of brusque with him. He was about sixteen and wanted $15. I was in a flannel nightgown, clutching my side from trying to move quick enough to answer the door, with my fabulous bed head, looking like death warmed over while trying to keep my cat from escaping into the snow storm. His opening line was, "I'll shovel your walk for fifteen bucks." Not even a "hello"? Really? My response was, "Do I look like I've got fifteen bucks on me at the moment?" He answered with a brilliant Keanu Reeves impersonation of, "Uhh...not really." To which I replied, "Well, better luck elsewhere." And then I shut the door. I know it was rude, but I can't seem to care.)
Anyway, the point of this post is that while I was having an off day I still got two important things made: Dinner and Dad's birthday gift. (Insert the white girl version of "Holla!" here.)
The bad part of the scenario was that my rhythm was totally thrown off and I went back to bed around 11:00 am and didn't get up again until 6:30 pm. (Well, that's not quite true. I had my doorbell rung three separate times today by teenage boys all wanting to shovel my driveway for money...which would be nice, but I don't have the cash to spare. I got really annoyed by the time the last kid showed up around five, and admittedly was kind of brusque with him. He was about sixteen and wanted $15. I was in a flannel nightgown, clutching my side from trying to move quick enough to answer the door, with my fabulous bed head, looking like death warmed over while trying to keep my cat from escaping into the snow storm. His opening line was, "I'll shovel your walk for fifteen bucks." Not even a "hello"? Really? My response was, "Do I look like I've got fifteen bucks on me at the moment?" He answered with a brilliant Keanu Reeves impersonation of, "Uhh...not really." To which I replied, "Well, better luck elsewhere." And then I shut the door. I know it was rude, but I can't seem to care.)
Anyway, the point of this post is that while I was having an off day I still got two important things made: Dinner and Dad's birthday gift. (Insert the white girl version of "Holla!" here.)
 |
| Ta da! Wrapped and everything...just like I said! (Please excuse the blurry cell phone pic.) |
Friday, February 22, 2013
My Dad, the Not-Quite President
Today is my Dad's mumble mumble Birthday!
When I was little, I would always confuse my Dad's birthday with Presidents' Day because they fell so close together. A few years, I think the days even coincided...at least all the sales would be during his birthday weekend, and I thought it was awesome how everyone was celebrating his special day.
To me, he may as well have been the leader of the free world--because he is just that awesome. :)
However, you'd think after a lifetime of mentally associating my Dad with Presidents' Day, that I would remember to start making his birthday gift before then. Apparently not. I did almost finish it at work today--but we got slammed during After Hours so I'll have to finish it up tomorrow. (I can feel that I'm going to fall asleep pretty soon after finishing this post.) Still, my conscience is assuaged by the fact that we won't be getting together to celebrate as a family until Sunday, and I'll for sure be finished by then. (Wrapping and all!)
Until then, here's to the man who supported and raised me, and who still saves my bacon from time to time--life wouldn't be as fun without him--My Dad!
When I was little, I would always confuse my Dad's birthday with Presidents' Day because they fell so close together. A few years, I think the days even coincided...at least all the sales would be during his birthday weekend, and I thought it was awesome how everyone was celebrating his special day.
To me, he may as well have been the leader of the free world--because he is just that awesome. :)
However, you'd think after a lifetime of mentally associating my Dad with Presidents' Day, that I would remember to start making his birthday gift before then. Apparently not. I did almost finish it at work today--but we got slammed during After Hours so I'll have to finish it up tomorrow. (I can feel that I'm going to fall asleep pretty soon after finishing this post.) Still, my conscience is assuaged by the fact that we won't be getting together to celebrate as a family until Sunday, and I'll for sure be finished by then. (Wrapping and all!)
Until then, here's to the man who supported and raised me, and who still saves my bacon from time to time--life wouldn't be as fun without him--My Dad!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Worn Out and Scarred for Life
I got off work an hour late today...I. Am. Beat. I was also working in a busy clinic that I haven't been to in awhile, so I wasn't as...efficient...in using the space. That is to say, I kept running into the edge of the table with my belly because I kept forgetting that this table isn't as low as the one I'm accustomed to. I hope I didn't bruise the baby or anything...I also had one really weird patient encounter today.
I was taking a rather plain, middle-aged lady back for a routine chest x-ray and I gave her a gown and asked her to remove all her clothing and jewelry from the waist up, and to put the gown on so it opened in the back. She did. I took her from the changing area to the exam room and asked her to stand facing the board on the wall while I went to get a cassette. She did...in a manner of speaking.
Now, it takes me about ten seconds to walk to my protected workstation, grab an imaging plate, and come back; in that time she removed her gown--for no reason--and revealed the fact that she went overboard on my instructions. The only thing protecting me from irreversible mental trauma was the fact that she at least kept her tighty-whiteys on.
I gasped and said, "Aren't you cold?! Why did you remove the gown?"
She calmly glanced at me then said, "Oh I remember the last time I had mammogram. I know how these things go."
At this point, I felt a small surge of pity for whoever her mammo tech was, as I was trying very hard not to stare at the words "Juicy" and "Oh Baby" tattooed across her sagging breasts...Not to mention a collection of tattoos on her hips and low back that had been stretched out till they were no longer readily discernible...
I felt myself staring and quickly said, "This isn't a mammogram, this is just a chest x-ray. You can stay clothed! We just don't want to have necklaces or buttons covering up anything important..."
She just shrugged and said, "Oh well, it's nothing you haven't seen before." And then she pressed her naked body up against the board and while telling me to hurry up because her boobs were cold.
I don't think there are adequate words to describe my level of shock and irritation. Just because I work in the medical field and have seen naked bodies (usually while they are heavily sedated and being prepped for surgery...), does not mean that I want to be thrust into situations where patients feel like being exhibitionists for the heck of it--particularly the ones who look like they've been ridden hard and put away wet. If I don't ask to look at it, don't show me, people!
However, I was flustered into speechlessness and decided the best thing I could do was to get through the exam as quickly as possible. I usually do touch patients on the shoulders or back, to guide them into proper positioning, but there was no way I was going to do that with her. For one thing, she had ticked me off. For another, I could tell she hadn't showered in a while and she had a cloud of stale cigarette smoke odor surrounding her. I pride myself on taking textbook quality x-rays, but I pretty much just winged this one and was lucky enough to get it on the first try.
Once I was sure the pictures were okay, I hustled her butt out of the room (once she had covered it, so she wouldn't frightened the children in the waiting room) and then drenched everything she had touched in Lysol. (And as soon as I'm done with this post I'm going to take a long, hot shower in an attempt to feel clean again.)
Now, I feel like I am a fairly non-judgmental person...I do sometimes see patients that I want to smack upside the head and tell them how stupid they've been, but I never do. And I don't treat them any less professionally than patients who I get along really well with--however, I do know that I was kind of terse with this lady. I wasn't uncivil. But I wasn't pleasant. And I'm frustrated because I feel like this whole encounter has undermined my confidence in dealing with certain types of patients...I dunno. Is this all just in my head? Or is this something I should work on?
Oh well, I'm too tired to expend the energy thinking about it. Time to shower, then fall into bed.
I was taking a rather plain, middle-aged lady back for a routine chest x-ray and I gave her a gown and asked her to remove all her clothing and jewelry from the waist up, and to put the gown on so it opened in the back. She did. I took her from the changing area to the exam room and asked her to stand facing the board on the wall while I went to get a cassette. She did...in a manner of speaking.
Now, it takes me about ten seconds to walk to my protected workstation, grab an imaging plate, and come back; in that time she removed her gown--for no reason--and revealed the fact that she went overboard on my instructions. The only thing protecting me from irreversible mental trauma was the fact that she at least kept her tighty-whiteys on.
I gasped and said, "Aren't you cold?! Why did you remove the gown?"
She calmly glanced at me then said, "Oh I remember the last time I had mammogram. I know how these things go."
At this point, I felt a small surge of pity for whoever her mammo tech was, as I was trying very hard not to stare at the words "Juicy" and "Oh Baby" tattooed across her sagging breasts...Not to mention a collection of tattoos on her hips and low back that had been stretched out till they were no longer readily discernible...
I felt myself staring and quickly said, "This isn't a mammogram, this is just a chest x-ray. You can stay clothed! We just don't want to have necklaces or buttons covering up anything important..."
She just shrugged and said, "Oh well, it's nothing you haven't seen before." And then she pressed her naked body up against the board and while telling me to hurry up because her boobs were cold.
I don't think there are adequate words to describe my level of shock and irritation. Just because I work in the medical field and have seen naked bodies (usually while they are heavily sedated and being prepped for surgery...), does not mean that I want to be thrust into situations where patients feel like being exhibitionists for the heck of it--particularly the ones who look like they've been ridden hard and put away wet. If I don't ask to look at it, don't show me, people!
However, I was flustered into speechlessness and decided the best thing I could do was to get through the exam as quickly as possible. I usually do touch patients on the shoulders or back, to guide them into proper positioning, but there was no way I was going to do that with her. For one thing, she had ticked me off. For another, I could tell she hadn't showered in a while and she had a cloud of stale cigarette smoke odor surrounding her. I pride myself on taking textbook quality x-rays, but I pretty much just winged this one and was lucky enough to get it on the first try.
Once I was sure the pictures were okay, I hustled her butt out of the room (once she had covered it, so she wouldn't frightened the children in the waiting room) and then drenched everything she had touched in Lysol. (And as soon as I'm done with this post I'm going to take a long, hot shower in an attempt to feel clean again.)
Now, I feel like I am a fairly non-judgmental person...I do sometimes see patients that I want to smack upside the head and tell them how stupid they've been, but I never do. And I don't treat them any less professionally than patients who I get along really well with--however, I do know that I was kind of terse with this lady. I wasn't uncivil. But I wasn't pleasant. And I'm frustrated because I feel like this whole encounter has undermined my confidence in dealing with certain types of patients...I dunno. Is this all just in my head? Or is this something I should work on?
Oh well, I'm too tired to expend the energy thinking about it. Time to shower, then fall into bed.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Bump Update!
It was back to the daily grind today for me. I will be working back to back 12 hour shifts for next couple of days, which can be both a good and a "meh" kind of thing...Good in the fact that I like having the ability to earn money. And good if I happen to get another humorous (I almost wrote humerus...not the same) patient story; but "meh" on days like today when nothing of much interest happens. That makes it hard for me to find something to talk about here...
So, due to the blah-ness of my workday, I have decided to turn this post into a pregnancy update:
This is me at 25 weeks. Don't I look dashing in my scrub bottoms and long-sleeved tee? (Technically I think I can also include this as one of those "What I Wore Wednesday" photos...check me out, being all trendy!)
And here is our sweet girl! (These were actually taken about a week ago, but it's much harder to get pictures of her at the moment, so I'm trying to make them last between "photo shoots.") And yes, just in case you were wondering, she is sucking on her big toe in the bottom picture. I've got a little gymnast in there!
So, due to the blah-ness of my workday, I have decided to turn this post into a pregnancy update:
This is me at 25 weeks. Don't I look dashing in my scrub bottoms and long-sleeved tee? (Technically I think I can also include this as one of those "What I Wore Wednesday" photos...check me out, being all trendy!)
And here is our sweet girl! (These were actually taken about a week ago, but it's much harder to get pictures of her at the moment, so I'm trying to make them last between "photo shoots.") And yes, just in case you were wondering, she is sucking on her big toe in the bottom picture. I've got a little gymnast in there!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Random Reflections on Days Well-Spent: In Which I Ponder Unseen Nudity and Zombified Food
I would like to start out with a quick apology for my blogging absence these last two days. I would also like to say it was due to some sort of interesting extenuating circumstance, but that wouldn't be true. Sunday was just a mellow day--we went to church, visited family, then came home to relax. (And since Patrick got to the computer first and pretty much stayed there until I went to bed, I don't think I can realistically be blamed for lacking the motivation to get back out of bed to blog before falling asleep...)
Monday was also mellow. Well, for me...Patrick had to work a long day, but I pretty much just stayed in my pajamas. (And the only reason I was in pajamas is because I wanted the windows open for the great lighting while I worked on a project. Otherwise I would have remained in my "natural state" and thus given my neighbors quite a shock...Also, just to clarify, I am not one of those people who enjoys walking around in the buff for the heck of it; but I have discovered that my previously "comfy" clothes are no longer so comfy with my expanding waistline and have accordingly adapted my habits--namely putting the heat up a few more degrees and keeping a robe handy.) My only exercise for the day consisted of moving from the bed to the couch so I could watch a BBC show while knitting--and then I really only left the couch for food or bathroom breaks during the day.
So...yeah. That was what you missed...
Today was much more eventful. Not only was it my sister's birthday (Again, Happy Birthday, Chrissy!), but my friend Kaylee was up for the day and we got to hang out. (Which was really nice for me, because Patrick had to work another long shift today.) We had originally planned on going to a movie matinee or something, but by the time we actually got up and moving (neither of us are morning people) we would have had to leave right away to make it on time...and I found myself in dire straits laundry-wise. (I would have been without pants...a fairly crucial ensemble piece, I think you'll agree...) So we were delayed for about an hour and a half while we waited for my pants to make it all the way through a laundry cycle...
Due to my wardrobe faux pas, we opted instead to spend the afternoon wandering around some of the fun, artisan-type shops on 25th street before heading down to celebrate Chrissy's birthday. We found a place called "The Queen Bee: Chocolatery, Giftery, Bookery" which had some really cool stuff and lots of vintage type toys and candy. Then Kaylee--being a total sweetheart--treated us to lunch at The Athenian, which is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on the same street that serves (you guessed it) Greek food. It was totally yummy. Plus, I got to unravel (Ha! knitting humor...) a little of my inner Yarn Harlot as I continued working on yesterday's project while waiting for our food to arrive. I noticed the waitress giving me a little bit of a "look" when I pulled my knitting out of my bag, but I was in a higher, woollier, plane of existence and decided not to notice.
The fun continued on through the evening as we drove down to Chrissy's to play a few games of Dominion--in which Kaylee thoroughly trounced us (probably because she cheated...I just have to figure out how)-- before heading out to dinner. (I have been so totally spoiled on the food front today...Thank you to all my generous benefactors! I and my unborn child appreciate your largess!)
Dinner was great. We were all packed together in a corner booth at Applebee's and the conversation was as hilarious as I could ever hope for. I wish I could type it down for you verbatim, but my memory just isn't cooperating tonight and I don't want to run the risk of ruining the highlights by not accurately remembering exactly why they were so funny...One thing I do recall very clearly is that Lila must not have filled up on her mac-n-cheese, because as we were walking out to the car she totally came up behind me and bit me on the butt. No joke, people! I felt her sharp little teeth try to nibble on my hindquarters and was thoroughly disconcerted and bewildered...I mean, sure, we're family and will sometimes tease each other with a pinch on the butt, but I will be the first to admit that the last thought entering my head when looking at some one's rear end is: "I wonder what that tastes like?"
She just giggled and tried to chase me around while making "om nom nom nom" sounds like some sort of deranged Ms. Pac-Man. Chrissy had to hold her back so that I could make an escape with my hands covering my backside. (I felt like a walking pepto commercial...) So, I guess the moral of this story is don't have the mac-n-cheese at Applebee's. Y'know, just in case it's infected with some sort of zombie version of MSG...
Curse the Walking Dead! I never had to worry about undead pasta products before!
Monday was also mellow. Well, for me...Patrick had to work a long day, but I pretty much just stayed in my pajamas. (And the only reason I was in pajamas is because I wanted the windows open for the great lighting while I worked on a project. Otherwise I would have remained in my "natural state" and thus given my neighbors quite a shock...Also, just to clarify, I am not one of those people who enjoys walking around in the buff for the heck of it; but I have discovered that my previously "comfy" clothes are no longer so comfy with my expanding waistline and have accordingly adapted my habits--namely putting the heat up a few more degrees and keeping a robe handy.) My only exercise for the day consisted of moving from the bed to the couch so I could watch a BBC show while knitting--and then I really only left the couch for food or bathroom breaks during the day.
So...yeah. That was what you missed...
Today was much more eventful. Not only was it my sister's birthday (Again, Happy Birthday, Chrissy!), but my friend Kaylee was up for the day and we got to hang out. (Which was really nice for me, because Patrick had to work another long shift today.) We had originally planned on going to a movie matinee or something, but by the time we actually got up and moving (neither of us are morning people) we would have had to leave right away to make it on time...and I found myself in dire straits laundry-wise. (I would have been without pants...a fairly crucial ensemble piece, I think you'll agree...) So we were delayed for about an hour and a half while we waited for my pants to make it all the way through a laundry cycle...
Due to my wardrobe faux pas, we opted instead to spend the afternoon wandering around some of the fun, artisan-type shops on 25th street before heading down to celebrate Chrissy's birthday. We found a place called "The Queen Bee: Chocolatery, Giftery, Bookery" which had some really cool stuff and lots of vintage type toys and candy. Then Kaylee--being a total sweetheart--treated us to lunch at The Athenian, which is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on the same street that serves (you guessed it) Greek food. It was totally yummy. Plus, I got to unravel (Ha! knitting humor...) a little of my inner Yarn Harlot as I continued working on yesterday's project while waiting for our food to arrive. I noticed the waitress giving me a little bit of a "look" when I pulled my knitting out of my bag, but I was in a higher, woollier, plane of existence and decided not to notice.
The fun continued on through the evening as we drove down to Chrissy's to play a few games of Dominion--in which Kaylee thoroughly trounced us (probably because she cheated...I just have to figure out how)-- before heading out to dinner. (I have been so totally spoiled on the food front today...Thank you to all my generous benefactors! I and my unborn child appreciate your largess!)
Dinner was great. We were all packed together in a corner booth at Applebee's and the conversation was as hilarious as I could ever hope for. I wish I could type it down for you verbatim, but my memory just isn't cooperating tonight and I don't want to run the risk of ruining the highlights by not accurately remembering exactly why they were so funny...One thing I do recall very clearly is that Lila must not have filled up on her mac-n-cheese, because as we were walking out to the car she totally came up behind me and bit me on the butt. No joke, people! I felt her sharp little teeth try to nibble on my hindquarters and was thoroughly disconcerted and bewildered...I mean, sure, we're family and will sometimes tease each other with a pinch on the butt, but I will be the first to admit that the last thought entering my head when looking at some one's rear end is: "I wonder what that tastes like?"
She just giggled and tried to chase me around while making "om nom nom nom" sounds like some sort of deranged Ms. Pac-Man. Chrissy had to hold her back so that I could make an escape with my hands covering my backside. (I felt like a walking pepto commercial...) So, I guess the moral of this story is don't have the mac-n-cheese at Applebee's. Y'know, just in case it's infected with some sort of zombie version of MSG...
Curse the Walking Dead! I never had to worry about undead pasta products before!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
It Takes Two...
Some days I am reminded how glad I am to be part of a "team."
I've been kind of slacking on my de-cluttering goal for this February. (I'm really working on trying to get the house ready for the baby's arrival. Which necessitates some major rearranging...which can't happen until I clear out all the superfluous items we've collected over the years...which I haven't been doing very much of...) So today I woke up with a little fire lit under my butt--determined that I was going to make some major headway this weekend.
You can imagine my surprise when, after asking what I was getting dressed all the way down to my lace-up shoes for this morning, Patrick volunteered to help me out. (My inner jaw dropped and I did a mental "Woot! Woot!") With his help, we finally took down the Christmas decorations (don't judge me), completely cleaned the entire upstairs (ahh...), and made a little bit of progress down in the basement (which is by far the scariest room we have to tackle).
It's amazing what a big difference a little bit of help makes. I especially have to give him props for his willing attitude--it feels so nice to be able to simply ask for help and not feel like I have to beg or nag for it.
And as if accomplishing a big chunk of household tasks wasn't enough to make today great, I totally got spoiled tonight. Patrick pulled out the big guns and swept me off my (slightly swollen) feet by giving me a homemade "spa night." He drew me a bath, massaged me with lotion...the man even helped me shave my legs, which are becoming harder to see and reach.
All in all, I'd say he's earned a great big gold star today. He's definitely the MVP for this team!
I've been kind of slacking on my de-cluttering goal for this February. (I'm really working on trying to get the house ready for the baby's arrival. Which necessitates some major rearranging...which can't happen until I clear out all the superfluous items we've collected over the years...which I haven't been doing very much of...) So today I woke up with a little fire lit under my butt--determined that I was going to make some major headway this weekend.
You can imagine my surprise when, after asking what I was getting dressed all the way down to my lace-up shoes for this morning, Patrick volunteered to help me out. (My inner jaw dropped and I did a mental "Woot! Woot!") With his help, we finally took down the Christmas decorations (don't judge me), completely cleaned the entire upstairs (ahh...), and made a little bit of progress down in the basement (which is by far the scariest room we have to tackle).
It's amazing what a big difference a little bit of help makes. I especially have to give him props for his willing attitude--it feels so nice to be able to simply ask for help and not feel like I have to beg or nag for it.
And as if accomplishing a big chunk of household tasks wasn't enough to make today great, I totally got spoiled tonight. Patrick pulled out the big guns and swept me off my (slightly swollen) feet by giving me a homemade "spa night." He drew me a bath, massaged me with lotion...the man even helped me shave my legs, which are becoming harder to see and reach.
All in all, I'd say he's earned a great big gold star today. He's definitely the MVP for this team!
Friday, February 15, 2013
Defining "Activities"
This was a conversation I had today:
Me: Hi, are you Mr. So-and-so?
Patient: Yes.
Me: My name is Caitlin and I'll be doing your x-rays today. The nurse's notes say that you're having some shoulder pain. Is that correct?
Patient: Yes.
Me: What happened?
Patient: I hurt it last night and I heard it make a really loud popping sound and now I can't really move it.
Me: Okay, well I'm sorry to hear that. How did you injure it?
Patient: (Slight pause) I hurt it.
Me: (Another slight pause as I try to reform the question, thinking maybe he didn't understand.) Yes, I'm sorry--but how did it get hurt?
Patient: (Averting his eyes) Well, it was last night.
Me: Um, okay. How did it happen?
(Awkward silence as the patient won't look at me and I can't tell if there is something wrong with him or if it's just a communication barrier...)
Patient: Well...it was last night...y'know...and I was doing "activities."
Me: What kind of activity was it? (Thinking that he was referring to some type of sport, since that's how most people get shoulder injuries.)
Patient: (Becomes non-responsive again)
Me: The reason why I ask is because oftentimes the mechanism of injury will give the doctor a better idea of what to look for in your shoulder...They'll focus on different areas if you fell, versus if you were lifting something heavy, for instance...
Patient: (Now starting to sweat after my reference to heavy lifting, he barely manages to mumble out the following:) Well, it was...um...a....nocturnal activity?...'Cause y'know...it was yesterday...Valentines...
At this point it finally dawned on me what kind of activity he was referring to and--aside from feeling monumentally stupid and slow on the up-take--I decided to spare us both further embarrassment by not asking for any more details and quickly carrying on with the exam. He was visibly relieved. At least, he was...right up until the moment when I ushered him back out to the hallway where his wife was waiting.
She looked up and giggled when she saw him. Then she very sweetly inquired (with a twinkle in her eye), "So, did you tell her what happened? Because you still have to talk to the doctor--the nurse just came by to say they'd need some more information about what kind of injury you sustained." That poor guy just turned beet red and walked away while his wife lagged behind to thank me. I tried to keep a good poker face, but I don't think I succeeded--she totally winked before walking away.
I know my straight face slipped when I saw her catch up to him.(Not a couple I would have pictured...) And then I had an even harder time explaining to the receptionists who sit next to me, why it was I was giggling and taking so long to type up the notes on this patient...It took me a while to find a suitably medical phrase for "activities" and "wink, wink."
Me: Hi, are you Mr. So-and-so?
Patient: Yes.
Me: My name is Caitlin and I'll be doing your x-rays today. The nurse's notes say that you're having some shoulder pain. Is that correct?
Patient: Yes.
Me: What happened?
Patient: I hurt it last night and I heard it make a really loud popping sound and now I can't really move it.
Me: Okay, well I'm sorry to hear that. How did you injure it?
Patient: (Slight pause) I hurt it.
Me: (Another slight pause as I try to reform the question, thinking maybe he didn't understand.) Yes, I'm sorry--but how did it get hurt?
Patient: (Averting his eyes) Well, it was last night.
Me: Um, okay. How did it happen?
(Awkward silence as the patient won't look at me and I can't tell if there is something wrong with him or if it's just a communication barrier...)
Patient: Well...it was last night...y'know...and I was doing "activities."
Me: What kind of activity was it? (Thinking that he was referring to some type of sport, since that's how most people get shoulder injuries.)
Patient: (Becomes non-responsive again)
Me: The reason why I ask is because oftentimes the mechanism of injury will give the doctor a better idea of what to look for in your shoulder...They'll focus on different areas if you fell, versus if you were lifting something heavy, for instance...
Patient: (Now starting to sweat after my reference to heavy lifting, he barely manages to mumble out the following:) Well, it was...um...a....nocturnal activity?...'Cause y'know...it was yesterday...Valentines...
At this point it finally dawned on me what kind of activity he was referring to and--aside from feeling monumentally stupid and slow on the up-take--I decided to spare us both further embarrassment by not asking for any more details and quickly carrying on with the exam. He was visibly relieved. At least, he was...right up until the moment when I ushered him back out to the hallway where his wife was waiting.
She looked up and giggled when she saw him. Then she very sweetly inquired (with a twinkle in her eye), "So, did you tell her what happened? Because you still have to talk to the doctor--the nurse just came by to say they'd need some more information about what kind of injury you sustained." That poor guy just turned beet red and walked away while his wife lagged behind to thank me. I tried to keep a good poker face, but I don't think I succeeded--she totally winked before walking away.
I know my straight face slipped when I saw her catch up to him.(Not a couple I would have pictured...) And then I had an even harder time explaining to the receptionists who sit next to me, why it was I was giggling and taking so long to type up the notes on this patient...It took me a while to find a suitably medical phrase for "activities" and "wink, wink."
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Happy Valentine's Day!
We celebrated Valentine's yesterday by treating ourselves to a movie. (We have to see late night movies because of our work schedules, and since we knew we'd be able to sleep in today, we thought it better to go last night.)
Patrick loves zombies and I love witty dialogue, so this was our "sweethearts" movie this year. I actually really enjoyed it. It wasn't gory or gruesome so much as off-beat and funny...very much "our kind of thing." I thought about blogging as soon as we got back from the show, but it was already midnight and would have counted as today anyway.
Today wasn't super-romantic in the traditional sense. Patch had to work, and it was pay day (meaning we pay other people all our money...I'm sure you're all familiar with the concept) which meant running errands and that sort of thing for me...Although, I did go back down to Centerville for the second time this week. I ran around with Chrissy and the kids and helped get things ready for Brian's birthday. (Happy Birthday, Brian!)
But before we got caught up in the flurry of activity during the day, we made a special trip to my office to get some pictures of the baby to share with you. We were able to capture another yawn/stretch of hers!
It's these times--when it feels like I'm suspended in a moment with my little family, just being present and not thinking or stressing about finances or anything else--that I feel the most relaxed and connected to Patrick. And it feels nice to remember, even if only in seemingly short-lived bursts, what a sweet and caring man he is; how much I appreciate all his hard work and sacrifice to provide for us; and what a good father he is going to make.
Happy Valentine's Day. I love you sweetheart. (Both my sweethearts!)
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
My Sleepy-Time Gal
We went to the doctor today for my 24 week check-up. Everything looks good. So far as we can tell, she should grow to be a perfectly average sized little munchkin--even though she's slightly on the small side at the moment (1 lb 4 oz). The next visit will be my glucose tolerance test. Ick. At least I don't have to think about it for another four weeks, right?
Our favorite moment (as always) was when we got to see her on the ultrasound. We watched her stretch out and take a big yawn...as though she was just starting to wake up for the day. It was a moment to melt hearts...I hope to drop by my office tomorrow so I can get a good picture to show you all. (The little ultrasounds in the doctor's room are super convenient and it's awesome we get to see her each visit--but the picture quality can't compare to the machines in my department.)
Our favorite moment (as always) was when we got to see her on the ultrasound. We watched her stretch out and take a big yawn...as though she was just starting to wake up for the day. It was a moment to melt hearts...I hope to drop by my office tomorrow so I can get a good picture to show you all. (The little ultrasounds in the doctor's room are super convenient and it's awesome we get to see her each visit--but the picture quality can't compare to the machines in my department.)
Monday, February 11, 2013
Mondays can be cool
I know everyone associates Mondays with that "daily grind" feeling, myself among them. But sometimes, Mondays can surprise you and turn out better than you expected. For example:
I ended up not having to work this Monday. Boo ya! (Another lady in my department just had a baby so we're all mixin' it up this week to cover her shifts.)
Patrick didn't have to work until later today so we got to spend the morning together. Plus, it was very entertaining watching him make pancakes. It's not often that he voluntarily cooks (and I believe last month's waffle post proves why) but when he does--he really goes for it. There was a near incident involving baking powder...in which he had to be reminded that there is a big difference between 3/4 cup and 3/4 teaspoon...but not to worry, the mistake was caught in time. (Although it would have been hilarious to watch his reaction, I didn't think it was practical to keep my silence and let him learn by experience this time. After all, we only have the one tin of baking powder and the man almost used the whole thing on a mistake!) *Sigh* I love that man. I just hope he doesn't inadvertently poison the children with boxed macaroni and cheese one day...
Other highlights of the day include lots of knitting time while watching a hilarious new TV show with my sister. (By the by, I officially reached 50 out of 384 "fluff puffs" today. Progress!) They also include the fact that I almost wet myself in her front yard...It was time to pick up the kids from school and her windshield was covered in snow, so--with her door open--she turned on the wipers and then squealed as a bunch of snow was dumped in her lap and car. She would hurry to brush all the snow of her and the seat only to be thwarted as the wipers made a return trip with more snow. This happened three times before she actually turned the wipers off and shut the door! Seriously folks, I may have pulled something because I was laughing so hard. It. Was. Awesome.
But the most exciting thing of all was the fact that Patrick was able to feel/see the baby move for the first time! For weeks now, I have eagerly been putting his hand on my stomach whenever I felt her become active in the hopes that he would be able to feel her too. We've both been slightly disappointed each time he couldn't; but in the wee hours of the morning today we finally struck gold! I wish I had gotten his face on camera...I've never seen him smile so big--it was like Christmas morning, a trip to Disneyland, and winning the lottery all rolled into one! He is already SO excited to be your daddy, baby girl!
I ended up not having to work this Monday. Boo ya! (Another lady in my department just had a baby so we're all mixin' it up this week to cover her shifts.)
Patrick didn't have to work until later today so we got to spend the morning together. Plus, it was very entertaining watching him make pancakes. It's not often that he voluntarily cooks (and I believe last month's waffle post proves why) but when he does--he really goes for it. There was a near incident involving baking powder...in which he had to be reminded that there is a big difference between 3/4 cup and 3/4 teaspoon...but not to worry, the mistake was caught in time. (Although it would have been hilarious to watch his reaction, I didn't think it was practical to keep my silence and let him learn by experience this time. After all, we only have the one tin of baking powder and the man almost used the whole thing on a mistake!) *Sigh* I love that man. I just hope he doesn't inadvertently poison the children with boxed macaroni and cheese one day...
Other highlights of the day include lots of knitting time while watching a hilarious new TV show with my sister. (By the by, I officially reached 50 out of 384 "fluff puffs" today. Progress!) They also include the fact that I almost wet myself in her front yard...It was time to pick up the kids from school and her windshield was covered in snow, so--with her door open--she turned on the wipers and then squealed as a bunch of snow was dumped in her lap and car. She would hurry to brush all the snow of her and the seat only to be thwarted as the wipers made a return trip with more snow. This happened three times before she actually turned the wipers off and shut the door! Seriously folks, I may have pulled something because I was laughing so hard. It. Was. Awesome.
But the most exciting thing of all was the fact that Patrick was able to feel/see the baby move for the first time! For weeks now, I have eagerly been putting his hand on my stomach whenever I felt her become active in the hopes that he would be able to feel her too. We've both been slightly disappointed each time he couldn't; but in the wee hours of the morning today we finally struck gold! I wish I had gotten his face on camera...I've never seen him smile so big--it was like Christmas morning, a trip to Disneyland, and winning the lottery all rolled into one! He is already SO excited to be your daddy, baby girl!
Thanks for the memories...
(Note: This post disappeared in the middle of the night for some unknown reason. Hopefully it will stay put and not go on cybervacation again. It's meant to cover Feb. 9-10)
So, I missed blogging yesterday. (Again.) I have no defense. I simply forgot in the midst of a busy day and then fell asleep (again) before I realized that I hadn't met my "daily quota," so to speak.
Yesterday was a good day. My friend Stephanie is getting married next month and was having a bridal shower, so I was motivated to get up and dressed (with hair and make-up done, I might add!) and on my way fairly early on a Saturday. Even so, I only just made it on time...I suppose because I am my mother's daughter and had to stop on an errand on the way down...apparently I am genetically encoded to carry on the proud tradition of trying to wrap a present in the car on the way to the party. (For you super safety-conscious people out there, I do want to clarify that I wasn't actually wrapping the present while driving. I did wait until I arrived in her driveway to hurriedly put my gift bag together.)
It was so much fun to catch up with her and meet her soon-to-be-in-laws and friends. (Although I feel like I should apologize again for the rather embarrassing story I told as part of a "getting to know the bride and groom" game...I thought the point was to tell a funny story, and everyone else said really nice things--but not that funny--I hope I haven't made myself a reputation as the "inappropriate" friend...oh well. Too late!) I haven't seen her in a couple months and it was just what the doctor ordered. Her shower was also held at the Rocky Mountain Pizza Co.--buffet style. (Two enthusiastic thumbs up from the pregnant demographic!) I also got to meet her fiancé afterwards. He was able to quote from the TV show Community, so I decided he could be officially classified as "an awesome guy."
Later, when I got home, we were joined by Scott and Ana for some quality hang-out time. It made me laugh when both of them commented on how nice I looked. Apparently it's been awhile since they've seen me out of my "natural state." (Aka: scrubs/sweats with bed-head and no makeup.) Maybe I should try to take more trouble to look nice...then again, it's kind of funny to watch people's reactions...they're not quite sure whether it's impolite to be surprised at how nice I clean up. Either way, they were both very complimentary and I felt gratified.
All in all, it was good that I was kept busy yesterday, because it was the fourth anniversary of the day my mother passed away. I almost didn't realize it until I woke up this morning and remembered why I hadn't been looking forward to this particular weekend...
I fully admit that I had a bit of a pity party while I was stuck working a long shift today. I kept thinking about all the things I would have liked to talk to her about, especially now that I'm approaching motherhood myself. I felt sad and deprived that my children wouldn't get to meet her during this lifetime. But mostly, I just missed her.
I miss the way she would wake me up for school after her 5 am workout by climbing into my bed and shoving her icy cold hands up my back--always a rude awakening I might add--and then she would proceed to torture me by crooning, "Oh Caite! You're my little toaster-oven! You don't have to get up, you could just snuggle me for a while..." Yeah--I'd get up.
I miss the way she would trick me into getting my eyebrows plucked by luring me in with friendly conversation until I suddenly realized that I was cornered and she was coming at me with tweezers...
I miss the way she would listen to me when we talked.
I miss the way she would always remind me how to do something, even if it was a simple task that I had done a hundred times before.
I miss her reactions--how her excitement over your good news somehow made it that much more exciting!
I miss how much fun we had. I know I was the last child, and sometimes my family teases me about how easy I had it. They're probably right; but I still enjoy the fact that my mother really was my best friend. We had a lot of good times, and I wanted to end this post with a video clip I found the other day of us waltzing around the Grand Ballroom at the Opera House in Paris...but I don't have the software to pare down the video to just the clip. (And the majority of the other 40 or so minutes is footage of random people's legs, the sky, and flowers...because mom would always forget that the video camera was still on while she was walking around...Very few things were filmed on purpose--except for the the flowers--she never missed an opportunity to document gardens.)
So, I missed blogging yesterday. (Again.) I have no defense. I simply forgot in the midst of a busy day and then fell asleep (again) before I realized that I hadn't met my "daily quota," so to speak.
Yesterday was a good day. My friend Stephanie is getting married next month and was having a bridal shower, so I was motivated to get up and dressed (with hair and make-up done, I might add!) and on my way fairly early on a Saturday. Even so, I only just made it on time...I suppose because I am my mother's daughter and had to stop on an errand on the way down...apparently I am genetically encoded to carry on the proud tradition of trying to wrap a present in the car on the way to the party. (For you super safety-conscious people out there, I do want to clarify that I wasn't actually wrapping the present while driving. I did wait until I arrived in her driveway to hurriedly put my gift bag together.)
It was so much fun to catch up with her and meet her soon-to-be-in-laws and friends. (Although I feel like I should apologize again for the rather embarrassing story I told as part of a "getting to know the bride and groom" game...I thought the point was to tell a funny story, and everyone else said really nice things--but not that funny--I hope I haven't made myself a reputation as the "inappropriate" friend...oh well. Too late!) I haven't seen her in a couple months and it was just what the doctor ordered. Her shower was also held at the Rocky Mountain Pizza Co.--buffet style. (Two enthusiastic thumbs up from the pregnant demographic!) I also got to meet her fiancé afterwards. He was able to quote from the TV show Community, so I decided he could be officially classified as "an awesome guy."
Later, when I got home, we were joined by Scott and Ana for some quality hang-out time. It made me laugh when both of them commented on how nice I looked. Apparently it's been awhile since they've seen me out of my "natural state." (Aka: scrubs/sweats with bed-head and no makeup.) Maybe I should try to take more trouble to look nice...then again, it's kind of funny to watch people's reactions...they're not quite sure whether it's impolite to be surprised at how nice I clean up. Either way, they were both very complimentary and I felt gratified.
All in all, it was good that I was kept busy yesterday, because it was the fourth anniversary of the day my mother passed away. I almost didn't realize it until I woke up this morning and remembered why I hadn't been looking forward to this particular weekend...
I fully admit that I had a bit of a pity party while I was stuck working a long shift today. I kept thinking about all the things I would have liked to talk to her about, especially now that I'm approaching motherhood myself. I felt sad and deprived that my children wouldn't get to meet her during this lifetime. But mostly, I just missed her.
I miss the way she would wake me up for school after her 5 am workout by climbing into my bed and shoving her icy cold hands up my back--always a rude awakening I might add--and then she would proceed to torture me by crooning, "Oh Caite! You're my little toaster-oven! You don't have to get up, you could just snuggle me for a while..." Yeah--I'd get up.
I miss the way she would trick me into getting my eyebrows plucked by luring me in with friendly conversation until I suddenly realized that I was cornered and she was coming at me with tweezers...
I miss the way she would listen to me when we talked.
I miss the way she would always remind me how to do something, even if it was a simple task that I had done a hundred times before.
I miss her reactions--how her excitement over your good news somehow made it that much more exciting!
I miss how much fun we had. I know I was the last child, and sometimes my family teases me about how easy I had it. They're probably right; but I still enjoy the fact that my mother really was my best friend. We had a lot of good times, and I wanted to end this post with a video clip I found the other day of us waltzing around the Grand Ballroom at the Opera House in Paris...but I don't have the software to pare down the video to just the clip. (And the majority of the other 40 or so minutes is footage of random people's legs, the sky, and flowers...because mom would always forget that the video camera was still on while she was walking around...Very few things were filmed on purpose--except for the the flowers--she never missed an opportunity to document gardens.)
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| Mom in front of Monet's waterlily pond in Giverny 2006 |
Friday, February 8, 2013
Good Fortune
It was just another day in paradise for the States Family today. We both had to work...I knitted some more fluff puffs for the quilt...Nothing real exciting.
However, the provider who was working the After Hours shift at the clinic tonight was very kind and bought us all dinner. He picked Chinese food--which made the gesture even better! (This baby of mine loves Chinese food.) But the best part of the meal was the fortune I got in my cookie, because I absolutely know it'll come true!
However, the provider who was working the After Hours shift at the clinic tonight was very kind and bought us all dinner. He picked Chinese food--which made the gesture even better! (This baby of mine loves Chinese food.) But the best part of the meal was the fortune I got in my cookie, because I absolutely know it'll come true!
"Soon someone new coming into your
life will become a very good friend."
I think I shall now refer to my baby bump as "my built-in buddy." Can't wait to meet you, baby girl!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Does this count as a "fluff" piece in the context of a news broadcast?
Sorry I missed blogging yesterday. Nothing major happened, circumstances were just not in my favor. Patrick had had a very stressful encounter with a patient at the pharmacy and wanted to "detox" when he got home from work. He has a show that he can only watch on the computer, so I went into the bedroom to knit for a while (fully intending to blog after he was done)...and, well, the next thing I remember it was morning. So yeah; you didn't miss much. (Especially because it was a twelve hour day yesterday for me so I just knitted between x-rays...Man, my life gets so exciting sometimes there doesn't seem to be a way to contain it!)
After watching the cat try to sneak off a puff or two into some hard-to-reach-into corner behind the sofa I think I might have to make him a couple stuffed with catnip or something so that he'll leave mine alone...After all, I need to make about 384 of these bad boys and I don't want to be perpetually counting my stash to make sure I haven't been cat burgled...
As far as today goes, it wasn't bad or good. It just was. I spent the morning at my dad's doing our taxes. (Grown-up stuff blows.) Once that was done I died a little inside I ate some M&Ms and continued my work on yesterday's knitting project while hanging out with Chrissy and Lila--who were also hanging out at dad's while their house is being painted. Having a chill day with family definitely trumps taxes.
I've been wanting to show you all what it is I'm working on currently; so, Istole borrowed Patrick's phone so I could post some pictures of it. (Because apparently my camera still isn't on speaking terms with our computer. It feels like all my electronics are in high school cliques...)
I've been wanting to show you all what it is I'm working on currently; so, I
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| Here is the beginning of my project that will one day turn into: |
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| The Beekeeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits (Won't this look so adorable in our future nursery?!) |
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| This is Baxter trying to claim the pile of "Fluff Puffs" (as they were named by Lila this afternoon) for his new bed. I don't think so, Scooter... |
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Momentum
You know how when you roll something down a hill it starts out slowly and then gains momentum until it's practically unstoppable until it runs out of steam? Like sledding, or ice-blocking...
I think that's a perfect analogy for my day. It started out on a high note and then things just went downhill from there...*sigh* I'm trying not to be pessimistic or overly hormonal; but I have to admit, I'm just not in a good mood tonight and I don't want to spew my negativity into the cyber-verse--so I think I'm going to stop while I'm ahead and try to have a better attitude tomorrow.
I think that's a perfect analogy for my day. It started out on a high note and then things just went downhill from there...*sigh* I'm trying not to be pessimistic or overly hormonal; but I have to admit, I'm just not in a good mood tonight and I don't want to spew my negativity into the cyber-verse--so I think I'm going to stop while I'm ahead and try to have a better attitude tomorrow.
Monday, February 4, 2013
My Epic Catch-Up in Three Parts
Alrighty, everyone! As promised, here is the run-down on my weekend:
(DISCLAIMER: Patrick says it's somewhere between a short story and a novella--so, pretty long. I hope you have lots of free time...and if not, no hard feelings!)
Still, even after waiting for everyone to get dressed and arrive, plus a pit stop for a quick breakfast and to fill up the car with gas, we were on our way only thirty minutes later than planned. (Not too shabby, if you ask me!) Our first stop was Ikea. Chrissy had to price out some closet organizing stuff for their remodel and I was pricing out stuff for the nursery. Kaylee was window shopping for the heck of it. :) (That's something that we share in common that absolutely baffles Patrick. Oh well, it's part of my feminine mystique I suppose.)
That store is awesomely huge, and we had only canvased the upstairs portions before we stopped and had a quick lunch in their cafeteria. Swedish meatballs for all! After we had revived our blood sugar levels we were ready for some more shopping in the downstairs "marketplace" area. This is one of my favorite places to wander around and I bought several small items, because, really--how could you not? However, we did discover that I am abysmally clumsy in handling shopping carts now that I'm not as aware of how much space I take up...I totally ripped the plastic front halfway off one of the shelves with the cart and just decided to run away and hide--leaving Chrissy and Kaylee to damage control--thinking that way no one would know it was me. Neither one of which proved to true. Chrissy was equally as quick to loudly point out that "It was too your fault!" and several people across the aisle watched me hide, thus incurring some not-so-subtle snickering. The point being: the whole incident was emotionally scarring and I don't want to talk about it anymore...
After Ikea we drove to the Home Fabrics store in Salt Lake. (We almost didn't make it because Chrissy almost broke my car...but that's a whole different story that I promised I wouldn't tell...tee hee!) I am totally in lurve with this place! I have been planning on slip-covering a heinously ugly, yet super comfortable, chair that Patrick bought back in high school to go in the nursery. I was intending to just look around and price things out, but I found some perfect fabric for $5/yard in the clearance section. Similar fabric at Joann's runs between $12-$20/yard! I dare anyone to tell me that I should have risked passing that deal up...I'm so excited to get started on this project! It's motivating me to get all this other crap around the house done so that I can have room to work on it.
Chrissy had to go home after the fabric store--she had to go toilet shopping with Brian--not as fun, methinks. But Kaylee and I continued up to Ogden and checked out a couple different antique/consignment shops that I've been wanting to visit but never had the time. They had a lot of fun things...not what I was looking for at this moment in time...but I'll definitely keep them in mind in the future when I have some smaller home-decorating projects on my plate.
We decided we were pretty exhausted after all the walking around we had done today, so we agreed to meet up at my house to just hang out for the rest of the evening. She went to pick up her boyfriend, Josh, who brought cupcakes--thus ensuring his spot on my "Most Favorite People Ever!" list. We all just kind of crashed on the sofa and watched a couple of stand-up comedians and chatted over dinner until late into the night. I love those kind of evenings! All in all--a pretty awesome day. :)
I also really enjoyed our Sunday School lesson. The brother who teaches it also teaches professionally--either at a high school or college, not sure which--and he gives a lot of historical perspective to the scriptures that I find fascinating. He just has an ability to approach the topic of the lesson from a very different and more engaging perspective than I have been used to. (I give him two enthusiastic thumbs up.)
And before testimony meeting, we had a baby blessing. We have a few families in our ward from Tonga and New Zealand (and some other islands that I can't remember at the moment) and I love it when they have to speak or bear their testimony because so much of their culture and heritage is tied into how they do things. For example, the baby girl being blessed was from one of these families, so she and her parents were decked out in these traditional skirts/belts of woven grass. And when her father bore his testimony, he started and finished with "Aloha!" It's so fun to see aspects of a culture that's different from mine and what I'm used to.
So, after the church block, Patrick and I rushed home to get the soup and chili started for the Superbowl party at his brother Scott's house later that afternoon. I have to hand it to Patch, he really stepped up and helped me out without my asking (so sexy!), and there was no way things would have been ready in time if it weren't for his help...He did the dishes from the night before and chopped up the vegetables so that I could focus on just cooking. And, happily, both the cheese soup and chili turned out delicious. (I almost spilled the soup on the drive down to their house though...I might need a bigger crockpot...)
Sadly, as soon as I sat down, I turned into a useless blob. I slept through most of the Superbowl--I caught enough to know that Patrick was bitterly disappointed by the outcome--and I barely made it to the bedroom door before I fell into bed and didn't move again until morning...Once again, Patch stepped it up and took care of putting the food away and rinsing out the pots for me. (It's really too bad I was so tired...he's just so hot when he does housework!) Apparently he even finished my blog post for me--things did get pretty hazy at that point--although, I would like to say that I do not blame everything on the baby. Just the things she causes me to do. :)
(DISCLAIMER: Patrick says it's somewhere between a short story and a novella--so, pretty long. I hope you have lots of free time...and if not, no hard feelings!)
Part 1: Saturday
Chrissy and I had planned an epic "girls day" (aka: running errands without children in tow) that was going to take us all over the Wasatch Front. The night before my friend Kaylee called and asked if she could go along--and I'm a firm believer in "the more the merrier" with this kind of thing. We had all planned a fairly early start, considering that none of us are morning people--particularly on the weekends, but some of us still got a bit of a sleepy start...*cough cough Chrissy and Kaylee cough*Still, even after waiting for everyone to get dressed and arrive, plus a pit stop for a quick breakfast and to fill up the car with gas, we were on our way only thirty minutes later than planned. (Not too shabby, if you ask me!) Our first stop was Ikea. Chrissy had to price out some closet organizing stuff for their remodel and I was pricing out stuff for the nursery. Kaylee was window shopping for the heck of it. :) (That's something that we share in common that absolutely baffles Patrick. Oh well, it's part of my feminine mystique I suppose.)
That store is awesomely huge, and we had only canvased the upstairs portions before we stopped and had a quick lunch in their cafeteria. Swedish meatballs for all! After we had revived our blood sugar levels we were ready for some more shopping in the downstairs "marketplace" area. This is one of my favorite places to wander around and I bought several small items, because, really--how could you not? However, we did discover that I am abysmally clumsy in handling shopping carts now that I'm not as aware of how much space I take up...I totally ripped the plastic front halfway off one of the shelves with the cart and just decided to run away and hide--leaving Chrissy and Kaylee to damage control--thinking that way no one would know it was me. Neither one of which proved to true. Chrissy was equally as quick to loudly point out that "It was too your fault!" and several people across the aisle watched me hide, thus incurring some not-so-subtle snickering. The point being: the whole incident was emotionally scarring and I don't want to talk about it anymore...
After Ikea we drove to the Home Fabrics store in Salt Lake. (We almost didn't make it because Chrissy almost broke my car...but that's a whole different story that I promised I wouldn't tell...tee hee!) I am totally in lurve with this place! I have been planning on slip-covering a heinously ugly, yet super comfortable, chair that Patrick bought back in high school to go in the nursery. I was intending to just look around and price things out, but I found some perfect fabric for $5/yard in the clearance section. Similar fabric at Joann's runs between $12-$20/yard! I dare anyone to tell me that I should have risked passing that deal up...I'm so excited to get started on this project! It's motivating me to get all this other crap around the house done so that I can have room to work on it.
Chrissy had to go home after the fabric store--she had to go toilet shopping with Brian--not as fun, methinks. But Kaylee and I continued up to Ogden and checked out a couple different antique/consignment shops that I've been wanting to visit but never had the time. They had a lot of fun things...not what I was looking for at this moment in time...but I'll definitely keep them in mind in the future when I have some smaller home-decorating projects on my plate.
We decided we were pretty exhausted after all the walking around we had done today, so we agreed to meet up at my house to just hang out for the rest of the evening. She went to pick up her boyfriend, Josh, who brought cupcakes--thus ensuring his spot on my "Most Favorite People Ever!" list. We all just kind of crashed on the sofa and watched a couple of stand-up comedians and chatted over dinner until late into the night. I love those kind of evenings! All in all--a pretty awesome day. :)
Part 2: Sunday
We have early morning church and almost overslept the alarm. However, my bladder is turning into an alarm clock of its own accord, so we were only a few minutes late for the first class. I really enjoyed the Relief Society lesson. It was on "cultivating an attitude of self-reliance" and I really appreciated the focus they put on the "attitude" part of it. In some ways, it reminded me of several talks I had with my mother when I was a teen--and those memories always brighten my day.I also really enjoyed our Sunday School lesson. The brother who teaches it also teaches professionally--either at a high school or college, not sure which--and he gives a lot of historical perspective to the scriptures that I find fascinating. He just has an ability to approach the topic of the lesson from a very different and more engaging perspective than I have been used to. (I give him two enthusiastic thumbs up.)
And before testimony meeting, we had a baby blessing. We have a few families in our ward from Tonga and New Zealand (and some other islands that I can't remember at the moment) and I love it when they have to speak or bear their testimony because so much of their culture and heritage is tied into how they do things. For example, the baby girl being blessed was from one of these families, so she and her parents were decked out in these traditional skirts/belts of woven grass. And when her father bore his testimony, he started and finished with "Aloha!" It's so fun to see aspects of a culture that's different from mine and what I'm used to.
So, after the church block, Patrick and I rushed home to get the soup and chili started for the Superbowl party at his brother Scott's house later that afternoon. I have to hand it to Patch, he really stepped up and helped me out without my asking (so sexy!), and there was no way things would have been ready in time if it weren't for his help...He did the dishes from the night before and chopped up the vegetables so that I could focus on just cooking. And, happily, both the cheese soup and chili turned out delicious. (I almost spilled the soup on the drive down to their house though...I might need a bigger crockpot...)
Sadly, as soon as I sat down, I turned into a useless blob. I slept through most of the Superbowl--I caught enough to know that Patrick was bitterly disappointed by the outcome--and I barely made it to the bedroom door before I fell into bed and didn't move again until morning...Once again, Patch stepped it up and took care of putting the food away and rinsing out the pots for me. (It's really too bad I was so tired...he's just so hot when he does housework!) Apparently he even finished my blog post for me--things did get pretty hazy at that point--although, I would like to say that I do not blame everything on the baby. Just the things she causes me to do. :)
Part 3: Today
I only had to work until five so I was able to get some of the stuff on my scary-long "Prepare the House for Baby" list done in addition to the daily routine I've been working on establishing. Super empowering. Baby steps, y'all. I'm becoming a big believer in baby steps!Sunday, February 3, 2013
Too Tired...Again!
Okay, so I know I was going to catch you up on Saturday's happenings today...but, that's not gonna happen just yet...yeah...
We just had another pretty busy day today and I am feeling totally wiped out. I snored through most of the Superbowl--despite children running around on soda pop highs and choruses of "boo" and "oh yeah!" from my brothers-in-law--and it's taken me the better part of twenty minutes just to string this many words together into sentences
This is now Patrick typing. Caite has become unable to form actual words. She mostly just groans, therefore I have taken over so she can go to bed. I'm sure that she will blame this all on Lucy. I don't think that is fair but there is no point in arguing with a pregnant woman who controls what you eat. Anyways I love my wife and am now going to be with her!
We just had another pretty busy day today and I am feeling totally wiped out. I snored through most of the Superbowl--despite children running around on soda pop highs and choruses of "boo" and "oh yeah!" from my brothers-in-law--and it's taken me the better part of twenty minutes just to string this many words together into sentences
This is now Patrick typing. Caite has become unable to form actual words. She mostly just groans, therefore I have taken over so she can go to bed. I'm sure that she will blame this all on Lucy. I don't think that is fair but there is no point in arguing with a pregnant woman who controls what you eat. Anyways I love my wife and am now going to be with her!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
To Be Continued...
Today was totally awesome. And very busy. Plus we had a super fun evening with friends...
But the upshot of this is that it is now very late and I'm tired and don't have it in me to write a post sufficiently long enough to cover all the highlights of the day. So I will catch you up tomorrow after I get some sleep. G'night!
But the upshot of this is that it is now very late and I'm tired and don't have it in me to write a post sufficiently long enough to cover all the highlights of the day. So I will catch you up tomorrow after I get some sleep. G'night!
Friday, February 1, 2013
Sweets for the Sweet
I snacked on a lot of sweet things while I was working today...strawberries, bananas, oreos, two fun-size candy bars I found in the bottom of my purse, a piece of someone's birthday cake...there's probably more that I can't remember at the moment, but the point is that I had a pretty sugar-laden day.
And I apparently gave my baby a sugar-rush. (I have a memory of Chrissy telling me about the first time Jake had a taste of Mountain Dew and proceeded to run through the Layton Hills Mall while shouting "I'm running! Look at me! I'm running!" It felt like the baby was doing that--but in place.) She was totally doing flips or something for about an hour this afternoon! And at first it made me laugh...but after a few minutes it just felt like she was tap-dancing on my bladder and I had to pee...
I think I will have to watch my sugar intake as we near Valentine's Day. Either that or only eat chocolate when I have easy access to a bathroom. (My apologies if that was T.M.I.)
And I apparently gave my baby a sugar-rush. (I have a memory of Chrissy telling me about the first time Jake had a taste of Mountain Dew and proceeded to run through the Layton Hills Mall while shouting "I'm running! Look at me! I'm running!" It felt like the baby was doing that--but in place.) She was totally doing flips or something for about an hour this afternoon! And at first it made me laugh...but after a few minutes it just felt like she was tap-dancing on my bladder and I had to pee...
I think I will have to watch my sugar intake as we near Valentine's Day. Either that or only eat chocolate when I have easy access to a bathroom. (My apologies if that was T.M.I.)
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| I know where everybody keeps their stash of chocolate in the office...one Doctor even has a Jelly-Bean vending machine that I have no problem encouraging him to refill frequently. |
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