Friday, July 31, 2009

Like Mother, Like Daughter

As I've grown older I've found I am more and more likely my mother. Scarily like my mother. When I was younger people would say, "You look like your mom...." I'd always cringe. Now, I accept these comments as compliments. I'm thankful to look like my mom and inherit many of her traits. I'm also thankful for the wonderful relationship we have. Growing up she was always my Mother. Now she's not only my Mother, but a best friend.

Thank you for sharing your birthday with me, and thank you for your love mommy. I love you tttttthhhhhhiiiiiiiiissssss much!!!! =)



Thursday, July 30, 2009

Oxalate

When I had my first kidney stone back in March I was ready to do whatever I needed to do to prevent another stone formation. At the time the doctor told me to be patient. Although these problems tend to be genetic it could have been a freak occurrence. He said we'd address diet change if another stone formed.

So, that's where I am now. 4 months later with 2 more stones. Call me crazy, but I think it's time to address my diet....changing it to low in oxalate. Not surprisingly, looking at my daily intake I'm seriously high in oxalate. I have a pretty set diet....meaning I eat the same thing almost daily. (Yes, I don't adventure through foods like most people. I enjoy what I enjoy, but ultimately food isn't my thing and would be ecstatic if I could go through life without dealing with deciding what to eat and actually going through the motions of eating.....but that's another post for another time). I have milk with Ovaltine for breakfast - milk is low whereas Ovaltine is high in oxalate. Lunch usually is cheese and an apple - cheese is ok, apple is high, unless peeled. My snacks and dinner vary. If you have calcium oxalate issues you should avoid Vitamin C supplementation - I was taking a vitamin C supplementation daily. Soy is high in oxalate. My diet isn't loaded with soy, but it's present.

Gah! So yeah, I think it's time to make some adjustments. It's not going to call for me giving up being a vegetarian (according to my research), just making some changes. However, before I make further changes I thought it'd be a good idea to ask my doctor. I've put in a call to my doctor and am hoping to hear back soon. Wishful thinking? Dunno. I have yet to be offered an examination, so I also asked if I should come in for an exam. Maybe an exam is uncalled for, but basically I've been diagnosed with a stone through testing and have yet to hear from my actual doctor. It's not that I don't trust the nurses in his office. I just think it's easy to have things overlooked when the communication is going through multiple individuals....oftentimes not even the same individuals.

And it's not so much that I'm worried about having the stone. Yeah, it's painful, it's been 3 weeks, I'm worried that I'll need to have "surgery" at the beginning of the year AFTER my deductible resets, and I want it to pass, but at this point I want to be proactive in preventing future stone formation. Basically I'm looking for professional guidance and advice. As expected, I've ventured into the Internet to do my research and have compiled a ton of information. I consider myself a realistic person who can decipher fact vs. crap and come to a consensus, but once again, I'm looking for the reassurance that I'm doing the right thing.

For instance, everyone says, "drink cranberry juice." Sounds like an excellent idea. However, cranberries (or any berry for that matter) are high in oxalate. So if I'm trying to prevent calcium oxalate stones, but drinking cranberry juice that can encourage formation of stones, it defeats the purpose....right? Well, it depends on what you read.

Guess I'm in a conundrum. If anything, at least I've learned a few things from this experience. One thing, if you're not an advocate for yourself, no one will be, and you're screwed.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Drink, Drink, Drink

Last week I broke down and had a CT scan performed. My discomfort wasn't getting any better on the antibiotics and I figured it was time to take the next step. Yesterday I received the results. It looks like I have 2 more stones present. At this time they are a "passable size" per the doctor's office. As expected I was unable to get straight answers. Like, "How long should this go on before we need to intervene?" I was just told to continue with "lots and lots of fluids." Unfortunately this has been going on for almost 3 weeks now. The pain is still present and has not moved. I'm going to continue my fluids and if I have no further progress by next week I'll have to make another call. Something I never found out was the size of my last stone. Which leads me to my next question. I've now had 3 stones in 4 months. The doctor said that I shouldn't worry about my diet after the first stone because it could be a one time deal. Obviously that's not the case. I'd really like to address this issue but am unsure what to do at this time. This "problem" I have was inherited, however there our ways that I can encourage stone formation...or inhibit too. The only changes I've seen within the past year was my change to becoming a vegetarian and running. I've looked real deep at both of those changes and honestly don't think they have been that big of changes that should have caused these problems. True, I no longer eat meat, but I didn't eat much meat before. I was lucky to have meat once a day, if that, before. Soy can cause problems, but I don't really eat much soy. As for my running, I've actually decreased my running distance. So I dunno.

As for now I'll drink, drink, drink. David has already warned me that he's about to strap his Camelbak to my back. I'll pass on that. Bottoms up!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The Happy Room

We were able to finish up the Animal Room aka The Happy Room this past weekend. Whew. What a relief. I think it was our biggest undertaking since buying our house. We are VERY pleased with the results. The color is just what we had pictured. On Sunday night we moved Elwood and Herbie into their new room. Since we removed the wall of cabinets we've been on the lookout for some sort of cabinetry/storage/buffet to put in the room. Something we could put the terrariums on. I'd like something that fit into the room (simple, not ornate, possibly modern looking) and would even love to reuse or refinish an item. Not to mention, I don't want to spend a huge amount. Sita was so gracious to donate an old apothecary/canning table for Elwood...exactly what fit the bill. We're still on the lookout for a storage space and something to put Herbie on. In the meantime he's on the hope chest/coffee table that's already filled with items from the wall cabinet.

I attempted to take photos but they do not do the room or color justice. It's not as bright/vivid in the pictures. And given the size of the room it's hard to get good photograph angles. But, I tried my best.

First, when we moved in, this is what the room looked like. Paneling, carpeting, 70's curtains/lighting, and plywood wall cabinets. Between then and now we painted the cabinets but ultimately decided they needed to go.

Now, after the renovation.....Carpeting gone and hardwood floors refinished (done in 2006), plaster gone, drywall installed, new curtains, and track lighting installed.



Saturday, July 18, 2009

Primed

Just another update on the progess of the Animal Room. David and Alpa got the crown molding up yesterday afternoon....

Last night we cleaned and scrubbed the room, working to have some order in our house. We also placed foam caulk rope in gaps and proceeded to caulk the entire room.

This morning our bodies decided to rise on their own at 6:45am. We took advantage of our time and primed the entire room....ceiling included.

Time to take a break to let it dry and take another trip to the store to get more supplies. I swear anytime we do a home improvement project we find the hardware store is our second home.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Cipro Spells Relief

Alright, I don't have relief....yet. But, my awesome family doctor got me in within an hour of my phone call this morning. He rocks. Not only did he get me in, but he listened to what I said, did a quickie test to verify an infection was present, gave me a prescription, and I was on my way. I've already taken my first dose. If it is just an infection I should have relief with the next 24 hours. If not, then further tests will need to be run. Unfortunately even if it is just an infection given my history, these issues will more than likely continue throughout my life. Not something to look forward to, but it is what it is. Counting down the hours of medication absorption.....

Pain And Nausea

Last Thursday I started to have abdominal pain and nausea. I thought to myself, "oh boy. here we go again. another stone." It wasn't the intense pain I had last time but it was the dull constant pain that had presented itself before the last stone. I started pounded down fluids to no avail. I have the ability to perform radiographs, so I did so on myself. I didn't see anything. Come Monday I still had pain and nausea. I made a call to my urologist and they sent an order for a KUB (kidney, ureter, bladder) radiograph....basically what I already did. Although I knew it would come up negative, I went through the actions. I promptly left work and had the radiograph performed. I was told my doctor would get back to me as soon as he saw the radiograph and that it was being sent to him immediately. I was patient. There was no call Monday. No call Tuesday. Wednesday comes and I make a call only to hear, "Oh, your doctor is out of the office for another week and a half." You're kidding, right? So I ask if someone else can look at the radiograph. They say, "sure" and they'll have someone call me. No call Wednesday. No call Thursday. I call Thursday afternoon, and am on hold for forever, then someone comes back to the line and says, "It's negative. They'd recommend a cat scan now." Once again, following their recommendation, I tell them I'm open to time and date, but would prefer morning if at all possible. They say they'll call me back. In the meantime I run a urinalysis on myself. Sure enough there's bacteria present. Not to mention my pH is sky high....could be because I'm a vegetarian. Wouldn't it be smart to start with a basic urinalysis before exposing myself to a cat scan's radiographs and cost? They call me back and leave a message saying a cat scan isn't available until the end of next week. Right. I give them a call this morning and basically say, "I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I really don't know if a cat scan is the appropriate direction right now. Can't we start with a urinalysis?" I went on to explain that I have the ability and have done one myself and gave my results. I also stated that I have a culture and sensitivity running on it as well. They still stand by the thought that a cat scan should be run. But they can put it past the other doctor on MONDAY. So what they're telling me is, even if I have a cat scan (which can't be done until next week anyway) I'm still going to be sitting through the weekend with this abdominal pain and nausea. I've had pain/nausea for over a week and I have yet to talk to an actual doctor or even have an exam offered. In the meantime I believe I have a kidney infection that continues to fester. I have put in a call to my family doctor, but unfortunately I have a feeling this issue will not be addressed anytime soon. Frustration has set in.

I Know You See Me

My morning runs are varied this year. What it comes down to is my varied schedule, my body feeling like poo from some unknown abdominal discomfort, and me not worried about every little thing I put in my mouth and thinking what I have to do to burn it off. I make it out, when I make it out, and run how long I want to run. With that being said, I'm still out running in the morn quite regularly. Enough to see people, and some of the same people, on my runs. I'm not expecting to form some sort of camaraderie with them or anything, however I'm not the type to ignore someone that is several feet from me. Especially if it's a quiet morning without anyone/anything going on around you. I say a simple, "good morning." But, 9.9 times out of 10 I get nothin' from people I pass. I kid you not. They totally ignore me. Sometimes they make eye contact, sometimes they don't. It flabbergasts me. Don't act like you don't see me as I run toward you in my bright hot pink running tank. And don't act like you don't hear me, because surely I'm loud enough.
I will admit, I'm a morning person. I'd prefer to get up at the buttcrack of dawn for the serenity, than be a night owl. I've been know to get up 2 or more hours before having to be at school/work, just so I can clean, read, and get things in order for the day. I understand not everyone is this way....however, even if you're not a morning person I think you can manage a simple "good morning." Heck, a "mornin'." is fine.

On that note....Good Mornin' Ya'll! Have an excellent Friday!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Tape, Mud, Sand....

Quick update on the "animal room." Everything was taped and mud placed on Monday, sanded Tuesday, more mud Wednesday, and sanded/cleaned today. Tomorrow we're on to the crown molding. It's not going to be an easy task, but we're going to "cheat" by using corners instead of mitering. We hope to prime at least the ceiling and possibly walls on Saturday. Gotta keep moving.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Gone Baby Gone

At the end of last summer David brought up the possibility of not purchasing Madden (the football video game). He figured he wasn't really into it and maybe it might be time to move on. In the end he decided to get it for one more year. David doesn't have an obsession with video games. He usually buys a game a year....that being Madden. But, he'll play it year 'round. David doesn't play all day long. He'd play a game or so a day. Playing XBox was always his outlet to chill. Well, the release for Madden is rolling around and he brought up the idea of retiring his XBox once again. Since he said it last year, I didn't think much of it. I just said, "Make sure you truly want to get rid of it, because we will not replace it once it's gone." He thought about it for several days and made the final decision last night. He decided that it was the end of an era and unplugged his XBox and sent it to a new home. I think I was more "sad" than he was. But if he's ready to move on, so am I.

Monday, July 13, 2009

I Love You Just The Way You Are

Today David and I have been married for 7 years.

Most people don’t know our story…..

We met my freshman year in high school. Being involved in band we had passed by each other the entire summer. In addition, he was a percussionist, as was my sister Andrea. For some reason he started making himself more and more present around me and my friends. None of us thought much of it. As the end of the summer drew near I was having a small get together at my house. Somehow he got my best friend’s number and made a call basically inviting himself over. At that point we all figured he was gunning for my best friend. Little did I know that he was just using her to get information on me. Soon after we began speaking more and started to date. Our first date was to Sports City. Unfortunately he had already promised to take someone else to homecoming. I respected his decision to keep his promise and I went stag. We continued dating through the winter season, until things started to unravel. We found we both wanted different things at the time and were also immature. I broke up with him and kept my distance. We both dated different people and moved on with our lives.

As time continued on we became friends again. We started to hang out more often and once again David made his presence known. Again, little did I know what he had on his mind. I remember my soon to be SIL saying, “David’s such a good guy….” I didn’t think much of it. At one point David passed me a note. Basically it stated his feelings. I carried that note in my coat pocket for months. I remember in the beginning of my junior year, sitting at the OSU Skull Session with Andrea and mom. I started rummaging through my pockets and sure enough there was the note. For some odd reason I let them read it. Both of their reactions were, “Well, what did you say?!” Of course I had never said anything and just let it lie. They said, “You need to give him a chance.” I knew in my heart I need to, but at that time I wasn’t ready for that. Fast forward several months….David and I were hanging out and I brought up the question of, “What if…..” Soon after that evening David made his move. Although I was expecting it, it totally caught me off guard. Was I ready to start into a relationship with him again? I took a few days to digest the thought and finally made my decision that yes, I was ready to take that step.

Recently David’s mom asked me, “When did you know he was the one? That you were going to marry him?” It took me a few moments to think about that. And I must admit that there was never an “aha moment.” Ultimately when I made the choice to start a relationship with him again I knew deep in my heart that that was it. I had given him up once (and think that it was still necessary), however I wasn’t going to let him go again…..ever.

So how and why did we get married so young? Fast-forward 2 years. We were already engaged and it was inevitable that we were going to get married. True, we hadn’t planned to make it official for another 2 years or so. In a nutshell, David was to get honorably discharged from the military due to health issues and I received a call saying that all of our planning (moving to Columbus, putting a bid on a house, etc) was going to halt because he wasn’t getting out. What?! (Come to find out a year or so later that the paperwork never left his superior’s desk…another LONG story for another day). So we were at a crossroads. What were we going to do? There was no way we wanted to continue our long distance relationship. Once again, we knew we were going to get married, so it was only natural to take the next step.

Of course there were individuals that were out there that disagreed with our choice. Included in that group were my parents. I remember walking downstairs after getting off the phone with David to tell them, “Guess what? We’re getting married.” Unfortunately it wasn’t the most enjoyable experience. In the end they supported our decision and said, “Well, if you’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right…..dress, wedding, and all, even if it is small.” I’m appreciative of my parents support. Then and now I do understand where they were originally coming from. I’ve seen failed young marriages. Add on that, failed military marriages. There’s no doubt that we had the numbers stacked against of. I knew in my heart we were different, but there was no way to portray that. Every young couple thinks they’re different and states that they are…that they’re ready and mature enough to get married. We were thankful for the bridal shower that my aunts threw for us, but I could only imagine what my extended family thought. I think the lack of recognition of our actual wedding from several extended family members gave us the hint of what they thought. But we didn’t let that affect us. Once again, we knew in our hearts where we were and where we were going.

We had a very small wedding, but something that was special to us. Soon after we made the move to New Orleans and made a life for ourselves.

Fast-forward again, 7 years. How have we made it? I don’t think there’s a straight answer to this question. I do know that we’ve evolved as individuals and as a couple. Thankfully our evolution has been together and not on different wavelengths. As with before, our relationship is still different than many couples out there. I’m not saying that it is better or worse than others’, but that difference works for us. We’ve never had a full-blown fight/argument and also find that most times we’re content just being in each other’s presence. No words needed…whether it be on a run, in the car, or just hanging at home. David’s the yin to my yang, as I am to his.

Happy 7th Anniversary David.

Gotcha!

Today is Spencer’s one-year “gotcha” anniversary. Yep, it’s crazy to think that we’ve had him for a year. I’ll admit, he and I butted heads for about the first 6 months, but I think it’s safe to say we’re all settled in. As with anything you add to your life, I can’t imagine our lives without him now. Happy Gotcha Day Spencer! Hugs and love to you!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Super Herb!

Wanted to give you a quick update on Herbie. He's doing wonderful! With the added heat light, misting his habitat more, providing a different water source, and trying different foods, we think he's come around. As with Elwood, his personality is starting to show and boy, can that herbivore eat! We've been so happy with his progress, as we were horribly worried about the guy.

Walls Are Up

Throughout this past week David and Alpa have been working on our drywall. Today all of the drywall will be up. Woot! We have walls again!! Sometime this week they'll start taping, etc. As expected, this isn't something that's going to be done within a weekend. Given both David and Alpa's schedules, they've been trying to get some done here and there. I'm thankful for any and all progress. As we speak they're still putting up the final pieces, but I snuck in the room to get a few shots.....

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Reminiscing Through Organization

I know that Dad already posted something about this but I had my own "whoa" moment just a few days ago.

As with the past 6 or so months, we've been digging through our house cleaning out. I consider myself quite clean and organized, but there's always room for more organization. This past week I started going through my CD's, placing them in a book that's actually in one piece, and not falling apart.

First off, I can't believe how many CD's I have. I really don't have that many considering David has books upon books of CD's. But even still, it's hard to look at the quantity when now I just take something that's smaller than my palm and everything that's in the book fits in it. Weird. I take my iPod with me everyday, listening to all the songs, and don't think much about it. But when you see them side by side.....I had to take few moments to wrap my brain around it.

Another thing....the type/genre of CD's I have. I'm still a huge soundtrack fan as I was then, but some of my CD choices.....they were interesting. None of them are bad, but once again, it's just something that dates itself, the time, and even me.

Thinking about it, I just sit here and shake my head with a multitude of emotions including, but not limited to, amazement, surprise, disbelief. It's just crazy how things change and evolve. When you're a kid adults tell you, "Things change" and you think, "Yeah, yeah....." It's inevitable, you know it's going to happen, but when it actually does.....Whoa.

Changing the subject, yet staying on the subject.......
Looking at the CD's brought back memories. Good and bad. It's cool to listen to a song or see a CD and have it take you back to a different time. Not only that, but a specific moment in time. For instance this song below.

Although some of my CD's don't fit my style today, it was still refreshing to take a step back in time. And for those that I still enjoy, my iPod library just got a little bigger.

I remember driving over the Crescent City Connection bridge in New Orleans, heading to work, listening to this:

YouTube won't let me embed, but you can watch the video here.

The lyrics:
Sometimes I shave my legs and sometimes I don't
Sometimes I comb my hair and sometimes I won't
Depend on how the wind blows I might even paint my toes
It really just depends on whatever feels good in my soul

I'm not the average girl from your and I ain't built like a supermodel
But, I learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen

I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be India Aria

When I look in the mirror the only one there is me
Every freckle on my face is where it's supposed to be
And I know our creator didn't make no mistakes on me
My feet, my thighs, my lips, my eyes
I'm lovin' what I see

I'm not the average girl from your video and I ain't built like a supermodel
But, I learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen

I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be India Aria

Am I less of a lady If I don't wear pantyhose?
My momma says a Lady ain't what she wears but, what she knows
But, I've drawn a conclusion, it's all and illusion confusions the name of the game
A misconception, a vast deception
Something's gotta change

Don't be offended this is all my opinion ain't nothing that I'm sayin law
This is a true confession of a life learned lesson I was sent here to share wit ya'll
So get in where you fit in go on and shine
Clear your mind, nows the time
Put your salt on the shelf
Go head and love yourself
Cuz everything's gonna be all right

I'm not the average girl from your video and I ain't built like a supermodel
But, I learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen

I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be India Aria

Keep your fancy drinks and your expensive minks
I don't need that to have a good time
Keep your expensive car and your Caviar
All I need is my guitar
Keep your Cristal and your pistol
I'd rather have a pretty piece of Crystal
Don't need your silicone I prefer my own
What God gave me is just fine

I'm not the average girl from your video and I ain't built like a supermodel
But, I learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen

I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be India Arie

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Eat

A russian tortoise eating isn't all that exciting. However, if he's been on a hunger strike it's very exciting. For some reason we've only seen Herbie eat once since we've acquired him. We knew that he may not eat that often, but he needs to eat some! In addition, he seemed in a funk yesterday. We worked on his habitat and I gave him a bath this morning in hopes of stimulating him. When I left for work I left food with him. When David got home his food was gone. David gave him more and he went to town. Whew. He had his vet tech mama quite worried. Not to mention daddy too. =( David even had went to the store to get a new lightbulb and asked the manager for assistance. They offered to trade him in. We'd get a different tortoise and Herbie would go to a special vet to be seen. As with Lily we didn't want to give up on him. At the same time we don't want a dead tortoise either. We've done our research and am trying to supply him with the best habitat we can. Only time will tell, but hopefully he continues on adjusting to his new environment.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Froggy Mornings

I think it's safe to say that we've kidnapped Elwood =/ I can't help it. I fell in love with the little bugger. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I'd have a reptile and/or amphibian in our house. Not to mention, actually have them grow on me and care for them as much as I do. It's just crazy. I'm even purchasing, caring for, and feeding crickets to Elwood. It's been years since I hunted crickets as a kid. Thankfully they have all of these creative setups to avoid contact with the crickets. Even so, dealing with the crickets doesn't bother me. I just find it funny. He's so neat and has such a personality. Of course most people will call me crazy for saying/thinking that, but it's true.

As time goes on Elwood's becoming more and more comfortable and settling into a schedule. He's nocturnal so he comes out at night, I spend time with him, and then he'll still be out when we rise in the morning. About a week ago I was vacuuming in the morning and I heard a noise. I stopped and found that the noise was Elwood croaking. Cool! David had already left for work, but I told him about it. He has made the noise since, but David has never been able to hear it. I've only heard him do it while I vacuum and in the morning hours. This morning I thought I could make him croak for David so I grabbed the vacuum in hopes of motivating him. He proved me wrong and no noise was made. After David left I started to actually clean with the vacuum and there he went croaking away. I thought, "Aha! I'll catch it on camera." So I grabbed the camera, started recording, and started to vacuum. Nada sound. After 3 takes it was a no go. I'm started to feel like the guy in "One Froggy Evening." with Michigan J. Frog. He'll only perform for me. Don't know if that's a good thing or not. Maybe I should feel special.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Our Own 1812 Overture

When we purchased our house there was a buttload of carpet and paneling....not really our style. It's overwhelming to think of what you need/want to do. It helps to look back to see what you have done.

~Carpet torn up in all but 1 room - only 1 of those rooms still needs the floor re-done. It's not something I'm looking forward to undertaking due to space, dust, and cost.

~Carpet's been torn up on the stairs and repainted them.

~Kitchen cabinets have been redone.

~Living room and dining room has been painted.

~Stairs/hallway walls have been painted.

~"David's room" has been painted and our bedroom has been painted.

~Made a Willy Wonka door to access an attic from inside and "refinished" the attic.

~Outside of garage painted.

~Downstairs bedroom painted and added new light fixture.

~Siding/insulation applied.

~2 new doors installed along with 2 screen doors.

Even with all that's done, being homeowners, there's always more to do. You get to a point where your "can do" attitude and budget reaches it's limit. We took a year hiatus from us doing manual work (we had the siding done professionally). The downstairs bedroom that we call the "animal room" has been a work in progress for over a year. We had torn down the paneling and refinished the closet for a "litter box" room. But unfortunately the walls were FUBAR. (Google it). We had huge holes and cracks in the plaster. We researched patching and even skim coating. Ultimately it came down to it not able to be repaired and drywall it is. We'd love to hire a professional but the budget doesn't allow for that....not that it allows for any improvements at this time. Thankfully Alpa knows the basics of drywall.

So....we decided to drywall.....BUT the plaster and lathe has to come down first. We were trying to decided what to do yesterday. Originally we were going to drive out of town. But instead on a whim, we decided to take that down last night...you know, use the money we would've spent and put it towards our project. Real....smart....move.

First off....the dust. We knew it'd be dusty and prepared accordingly. Blocked off the door, wore hats, gloves, masks, and safety goggles. We even got it down to science climbing in and out of the window to reduce tracking in the house. But geez. I couldn't see David a couple feet from me. I couldn't help but think 9-11. Yeah, morbid I know, but it put it into perspective. Then, nails. Yeah, being smart I wore crocs. (sense the sarcasm?) Ultimately it was a good choice. They aren't ruined like David's shoes, and I was easily able to wash off my feet. But, those nails are wicked and puncture right through croc rubber. I had a few close calls and one a bit too close, but there was no blood and my tetanus shot is all up to date. (No worries Mama Jan!)

As always we've found that David and I work well as a team. We don't say much. Just a few expletives here and there when plaster came a tumblin' and decided to hit up in the head.

The demolition started out as fun. I kept thinking Extreme Home Makeover and, "Ha! I'm punching holes in a wall with a hammer. This is cool." That lasts able the first half hour. After that your forearms start to ache and you got the taste of plaster in your mouth, and can't see in front of you. Being the smart one, I took pain medication before heading into the war zone.

It was one of those things we didn't really think through....like where we'd put all the shit we'd pulled off the wall. We did some quick thinking and brainstorming. Alpa has a truck so we borrowed that and started throwing stuff out of the window into the bed of the truck. Unfortunately it's not real shovelable, meaning it all had to be tossed out by hand. Back to the drawing board again, we came up with filling buckets first, then throwing them out the window. It helped a bit. We got most everything cleaned up but the floor and called it a night.

BUT, that wasn't the end. Having been going in and out of the window we didn't know what we'd see on the other side of the door. Well, it wasn't horrible. But there was definitely a dusting in the rest of our downstairs. Excellent! So, here we are buck naked at 2am, dusting and mopping our house. Honestly, we were tired, but couldn't help but laugh. By 2:30am we were in bed.

Upon waking we looked at each other and said, "Do you feel that?" It's the weirdest feeling, but it still felt like we were covered from head to toe in dust. And my hair.....not only did I got to bed with wet hair, but also that funk. Whoa. Think Robert Pattinson. Unfortunately I can't make it look so hot.

I went downstairs to clean up the floor in the room. That was a pretty big job in itself. That's when Alpa came to replace me. The guys made their game plan for today. Unfortunately or fortunately I'm not in on the game plan. They've hit a few roadblocks but are moving right along. Additional 2X4's had to be placed along with insulation. But even before that we found additional lathe had to be removed. The plan is to get the drywall tomorrow and continue on. We're not sure when this will end and really I'm ok with that. I don't have an issue with this being an unfinished project. Remember it's looked like crap for over a year. My issue is the dust. If it's contained to that room, I'm cool with it.

So, we missed the fireworks, but needless to say we were making our own 1812 Overture explosions. Not as pretty, but that's ok. Won't be the first fireworks we've missed, or the last, I'm sure.

I'll leave you with some pictures mid-progress.




Saturday, July 04, 2009

Purple

I'm not one to take the quizzes on Facebook, but I found this one intriguing. A friend took it and it was right on. I figured I'd give it a try.

What Color Suits Your Personality

You are purple! You are probably an emotional, deep person. You tend to be a mix of red and blue - passionate and a dreamer. Your life is probably a bit of a rollercoaster, but you wouldn't have it any other way. You love the drama! You love easily, laugh easily, cry easily, hate easily, and are probably a bit emotional all around. Not to say that you're "emo" or anything, you are just more emotionally inclined than most. You can be strong and determined...and more than a little hard headed. Intelligence may come easily to you, or maybe you're just very determined. Either way, you probably do well in most things (whether it be due to natural talent or hard work). You can be a total perfectionist. You love your friends sooo much. You probably have many acquaintances, but few real friends. Once you find those real friends, however, you devote yourself to them completely. You are also very courageous and loyal, and you aren't afraid to take risks. You're not always so deep and emotional, however. Sometimes, you love to just kick back and have a good time with your buddies. You, in a nutshell: Emotional, deep, loving, determined, hard working, adventurous, loyal, dramatic, passionate, dreamer. PURPLE! .

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Decision

I'm pretty sure I've made it known that David and I do not want any children of our own. This is something that we decided about 2 years ago. Over that time our decision was solidified through our own day to day life experiences. It's not that we don't like children, we just feel it's not for us and that it's not our calling. These past few months we have met and spoken with several doctors in regards to our views to see what our options are. After speaking with them and doing our own personal research we have come to a final decision on the action we'll take to make our choice permanent. I'm sure our choice to make this permanent may catch some individuals off guard as we are younger in age. However, given that we have been together for 10 years and married nearly 7 of those 10 years, we are definite in our decision. We have also spoken to both sets of parents and they are more than accepting of our decision. Of course we are the ones to make the final decision, but having the support of your parents is appreciative. We're ready to take this step and will do so within the next month. We are also looking forward to the peace of mind it will give us.