Two accomplishments last weekend. First, we found that passports. We discovered they were missing back in February when Mike needed to copy his for employment records at his new job. I thought they were hidden in the armoir. Mike thought they were hidden in one of two other locations. They weren't in any of the three. We both remembered a conversation about where to put them. I remember not like Mike's idea and him not liking mine. So we could remember all that. However, we couldn't remember where they finally ended up after we got home from Mexico last summer. At random points we would search places in the house looking for them with no luck. This weekend I went to pull a shirt off the closet shelf that I had put there because the strap needed to be sewn back on and I thought I could do it at my grandmother's. When I pulled the shirt a travel bag fell down and the thud seemed pretty heavy for an empty bag. There were our passports! Along with other miscellaneous things from our Mexico trip. Right after we got back from Mexico we were busy with details for a friend's wedding and then out-of-town friends stayed with us that same weekend. We're guessing that even though we had the conversation about where to keep the passports that we ended up just putting the bag on the shelf in a rush to clean up without actually putting them away. Glad to have them again though. It's very difficult to flee the country on short notice without them.
The other exciting thing was that we got the clean title to the Camry. It's all paid off and now it's all ours. We're really excited to not have a car payment anymore. When we bought the car a year and half ago we had really good interest rates on our savings account and got a really low interest rate on the car loan. So it made more sense to have the loan. Then the economy changed and the rates on our CD savings went down. We decided to hurry up and get the loan paid off until Mike got news that IBM was going to lay him off. So the car loan got paid off a little later than planned. But now it's done and we're really excited to be rid of it. Yippe.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Pet therapy
Mike and I had a really nice visit to see DG this weekend. We would have liked to stay longer with her and had originally planned to go up on Memorial Day weekend so we could. But that was when I thought Memorial Day weekend was this weekend rather than last weekend. And we couldn't go on Memorial Day weekend. Instead we drove up after work on Friday and came back Sunday morning. So it ended up being shorter than I wanted. We did get to have dinner with the twins and Ed though and it was great to see them. Earlier Ed had been sick enough that people were worried he might not get better, but by the time we came to visit he was looking about as well as he usually looks. I was very happy to see that and glad he's decided to stick around a while longer.
We took Apollo with us again this weekend. DG's really not a fan of dogs or pets, but she tolerates Apollo and will let us bring him. We decided that it was time for him to start earning his keep while he was there though. Since he's such a friendly, cuddly, and usually well-behaved dog, we offered to take him around the facility for some unofficial "pet therapy". DG thought this was a great idea and wanted to come along too. We took him down to meet some of her friends in the assisted living/nursing care wing. He sat and let several people pet him and gave them kisses and was, as always, very happy to meet everyone. Since he's not a licensed pet therapy dog he couldn't go into the memory care unit. So we just saw a few people. We also went over and saw one of DG's friends in the independent living apartments who had to give up her own dog a while ago. So he got to make quite a few new friends. And his "parents" were very pleased that he behaved himself so well and enjoyed all the compliments we got on how handsome he is.
In my mind I had ideas of Apollo sitting for a long time with someone while they petted him and how that would make them feel better. And I was actually a little disappointed that each visit was fairly brief, no more than about 5 minutes. After we got back to the apartment though one of DG's friends called to thank us for thinking to bring the dog to her and taking the time from our day to come see her. It made me think that perhaps part of what helps people who benefit from pet therapy is not just the dog, but also the fact that someone thought they were important enough to think about, schedule time for, pack up the dog, and come visit. Although everyone liked meeting Apollo what I heard frequently was gratitude that we even thought about them and took the time to come by. It actually makes me sad that they're alone so much that us bringing our dog by would matter that much to them. It certainly made me glad to do it. It was a good reminder for me of how a really small effort, just to remember someone and make them feel important, can have such a huge impact on someone's day. I really would like to get Apollo licensed as a pet therapy dog. He's a cuddly dog and would enjoy it. Unfortunately there's a bunch of classes you have to get through and we've never even had time to take Apollo to basic obedience training. Even though we won't be able to bring the dog, I do think Mike and I need to make more time to visit some of the local places around us. It wouldn't take much of our time and it would mean a lot to people who feel the world is starting to forget about them. It also reminds me that Mike needs to call his grandmother.
We took Apollo with us again this weekend. DG's really not a fan of dogs or pets, but she tolerates Apollo and will let us bring him. We decided that it was time for him to start earning his keep while he was there though. Since he's such a friendly, cuddly, and usually well-behaved dog, we offered to take him around the facility for some unofficial "pet therapy". DG thought this was a great idea and wanted to come along too. We took him down to meet some of her friends in the assisted living/nursing care wing. He sat and let several people pet him and gave them kisses and was, as always, very happy to meet everyone. Since he's not a licensed pet therapy dog he couldn't go into the memory care unit. So we just saw a few people. We also went over and saw one of DG's friends in the independent living apartments who had to give up her own dog a while ago. So he got to make quite a few new friends. And his "parents" were very pleased that he behaved himself so well and enjoyed all the compliments we got on how handsome he is.
In my mind I had ideas of Apollo sitting for a long time with someone while they petted him and how that would make them feel better. And I was actually a little disappointed that each visit was fairly brief, no more than about 5 minutes. After we got back to the apartment though one of DG's friends called to thank us for thinking to bring the dog to her and taking the time from our day to come see her. It made me think that perhaps part of what helps people who benefit from pet therapy is not just the dog, but also the fact that someone thought they were important enough to think about, schedule time for, pack up the dog, and come visit. Although everyone liked meeting Apollo what I heard frequently was gratitude that we even thought about them and took the time to come by. It actually makes me sad that they're alone so much that us bringing our dog by would matter that much to them. It certainly made me glad to do it. It was a good reminder for me of how a really small effort, just to remember someone and make them feel important, can have such a huge impact on someone's day. I really would like to get Apollo licensed as a pet therapy dog. He's a cuddly dog and would enjoy it. Unfortunately there's a bunch of classes you have to get through and we've never even had time to take Apollo to basic obedience training. Even though we won't be able to bring the dog, I do think Mike and I need to make more time to visit some of the local places around us. It wouldn't take much of our time and it would mean a lot to people who feel the world is starting to forget about them. It also reminds me that Mike needs to call his grandmother.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Randomness
The problem with staying up late to write is that I get very tired and random thoughts start arriving in my head that are not relate to child disclosure, secrecy, lying or delinquency. I'm acutally quite random on a regular basis. It's just that during the day I can tell the random thoughts to my husband and get them out of my head. Except he's asleep right now. I can't imagine why. It's only 1:30 in the morning. So here are my random thoughts. They're mostly related to Apollo because he decided to stay up with me.
- Apollo decided to eat his dinner at 1 this morning. It's a good thing for him that I'm still up writing or he'd be sitting in his crate a hungry dog.
- We have a large couch. I sit in the center with the laptop on my lap. I put the papers I'm using to one side and the other is empty. Why does Apollo always jump up on the side that has the papers? I'll move them for him and then a little while later he'll jump up on the side that I moved the papers to.
- Why does Apollo eat his hair when we brush him? All the pieces of hair that decorate my floor during the week he ignores. As soon as we start brushing him out and it's in large clumps he wants to eat it. We can't imagine that it taste good and it's not like he's starving. That dog gets plenty to eat.
- I've had several late nights in the last few weeks and have noticed a difference between now and college. In college late nights were always accompanied by large quantities of diet coke. Late nights now usually mean a diet coke in the evening and just water the rest of the night. I would have thought as I got older I would need even more diet coke to keep me going. Maybe I'm just old enough now to know that staying up late and gallons of diet coke are both unhealthy and so limit it to just one.
- In college and with grad classes there are deadlines to have your work done and turned in. The problem now is that I don't really truly have deadlines. Instead I make self-imposed deadlines so that I actually get work done. Hence the reason for being up late writing. The problem with not having a real deadline though is that it means I can keep working on something even after my self-made deadline. That's a serious problem for a perfectionist who never feels that something is good enough. I miss having deadlines that force me to give something up and move on. However, after a full week solid of writing and two very late nights I'm beginning to think that sleep deprivation may beat out the perfectionist and force me to call it quits. I'll come back for revisions after my adviser has looked at it.
- My wonderful husband thinks I've been working really hard this week and wanted to be sweet so he bought me flowers today. They're pretty and bright yellow. Looking at them helps wake me up when I'm tired at 2 in the morning.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Vineyard
I remember standing in a breezeway at Trinity my first year looking at a flier announcing a band named Jackopierce was playing it's last concert ever at the White Rabbit and wondering who Jackopierce was. Sadly I didn't go see them but the following year my roommate Deborah moved in and put Jackopierce's signature star up all over the wall and started playing their music (she owened every CD) and after that I was hooked. I loved their sound and their style. They're the CDs that even though I may put them away for a few months, I always pull them back out. I was disappointed that they had broken up and I wasn't going to get to see them perform and they wouldn't be putting out any new music.
Every year Richardson puts on a music festival called WildFlower. It's the whole weekend and a number of different big acts come in as well as the opportunity for smaller, local bands to get some publicity. It's always a lot of fun and really inexpensive. Mike and I go at least one night with my parents. This year we pulled up the lineup to see which night we wanted to go and there on Friday night's lineup was Jackopierce - back together, performing, and with new music. So on Friday night Mike and I got to watch Jackopierce perform for over an hour. They played a lot of their old favorites and some new stuff. I enjoyed their new songs enough to buy the new CD. In fact I've had the chorous of one of their new songs stuck in my head all weekend. And of course, they finished with Vineyard. It was a great time and a great show.
Every year Richardson puts on a music festival called WildFlower. It's the whole weekend and a number of different big acts come in as well as the opportunity for smaller, local bands to get some publicity. It's always a lot of fun and really inexpensive. Mike and I go at least one night with my parents. This year we pulled up the lineup to see which night we wanted to go and there on Friday night's lineup was Jackopierce - back together, performing, and with new music. So on Friday night Mike and I got to watch Jackopierce perform for over an hour. They played a lot of their old favorites and some new stuff. I enjoyed their new songs enough to buy the new CD. In fact I've had the chorous of one of their new songs stuck in my head all weekend. And of course, they finished with Vineyard. It was a great time and a great show.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Diaper cake instructions
I modified the instructions I found online and have done it a little different each time. If you google "how to make a diaper cake" lot of different examples and ideas come up. I think they make great centerpieces at the baby shower. And I have the cake stand that we purchased for our wedding cake still and it's a great size to put the diaper cakes on. It helps elevate it a little so if you have a cake stand then you may want to use it. • 60 diapers (depends on how big you make it) I use the swaddlers brand and used size 1 for the girl's cake and size 2 for the boy's. I think I prefer working with size 2. Just as warning. It takes a little while to roll the diapers so you may want to do it while you're doing something else, like the mandatory annual FERPA on-line certification that UTD requires or driving to Houston at 10:00 at night after the Spurs/Mavs game, or whatever you have going on. • 6 extra large rubber bands The number of diapers are all kind of guide and will change based on the size diaper you use and the size bottles you use, etc. Don't stick too close to them. Just do what seems best for your cake. I also like a fuller looking cake so I always try to stuff one more diaper in each ring after it seems full. For the first tier, you will need about 35 newborn or stage 1 diapers. Unfold 17 of them and, one at a time, roll them up tight, starting from where diaper folds over (bottom) and rolling up to the top. The tighter the better. Place a rubber band around the center after you roll each diaper up to hold it tight. These are the inner diapers for the cake. I rolled mine so that the diaper's design didn't show, but that's just my preference Next, form a 2nd ring with the remaining 11-12 diapers by placing them around the 1st ring of diapers. Complete it by placing a large rubberband around the 2nd ring. Do the third and final ring in the same way using about 18 - 20 diapers. Make sure that when you're through all the rubberbands are situated so that you can hide them with ribbon. To do that I try to keep my rubberbands close to the center. The second tier is similar, only instead of 3 rings, you will only make 2 rings of diapers. Just like the 1st tier, the inside ring will need about 5-6 diapers. Part of the 8-oz bottle will be sticking out of the 1st tier, so place your 5-6 diapers around it to form the 1st ring of the 2nd tier. The 2nd ring will need 11-12 diapers. It is probably easiest to assemble the final tier on a table and then place it on the rest of the cake after it is assembled. So, take a 4-oz bottle and place it on the table. Then take 5-6 diapers and roll them up like before. Then place them around the 4 -oz baby bottle and together with the rubberband. Take the top tier and place it on the top on the first two layers. Now you can decorate your cake. At the minimum put ribbons around the center of the cake layers to cover the rubberbands. I cut the ribbon the length I need and the hot glue it where the tails overlap to make it stay without need to glue or pin anything to the diapers. I also use the hot glue gun to make and attach the bows. If you want it to be really frilly then you can tie small ribbons around the individual diapers on the outside of each layer. I only did this for the girl's cake. Finally you can decorate the cake with any accessories you might want to add. Add little baby items like Pacifiers, bottles, lotion, bibs, receiving blankets, miniature stuffed animals, baby towel, onesie, wash cloths, baby hygiene products, toys, etc. Place them between the folds of the diaper, tuck the larger items into the outer layer of ribbon. You can remove a diaper and fill in with something like a baby wash clothes or rolled clothes if you want. It's just up to you how much you want to decorate them. I usually end up buying more diapers and baby bottles than I need for the cake and just give any leftovers to the mom-to-be. The boy's cake
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Mother's Day Ponderings
I'm up way too late because I'm working on the final for what I hope to be my last every actual grad school class. After this I just have to finish the dissertation and go find a real job. So I'm procrastinating on this instead. Today was Mother's Day and it was a really wonderful day. Mike and I talked to both our grandmothers and are grateful that even though they've had some rough months that they're both healthy today. Mike talked to his mom for a long time. I know he cherishes each mother's day since her breast cancer recovery. And my family came over for lunch and a fun afternoon with peach bellini's (fresh from the tree) and the Wii. All of that was special but what struck me the most today actually happened at church this morning.
Two couples we know from church who struggled with infertility adopted in the past few months. One of them was given two beautiful girls and the other a very lively boy. I remember this time last year how painful it was especially for our friend who adopted the boy. She wanted so desperately to be a mother. Even though she knew that God was in control and that God had a plan and a reason, that didn't stop the pain and mother's day was especially hurtful. It has been so joyous to watch their excitement to learn that their baby was finally coming, to bring that baby home, and for all of us to love on them. I was thrilled that they got to celebrate this mother's day with crying babies, dirty diapers, and toys under foot. Our pastor asked the mothers to stand so that we could pray over them and I was so happy to pray for all my friends who were mothers, but especially these. (I would like to add that we have an incredible pastor who never forgets there are women out there who long to be mothers but can't and he is always very sensitive on mother's day. He's the first pastor I've known to remember the women with children and the women who are still waiting for theirs).
It made me think about how quickly life can change. When we're in a place that hurts and seems dark, sometimes it feels like God isn't there, isn't working, or isn't going to answer. But the truth is that he's always there, always working, and always answers. It just sometimes doesn't look like it to us or is maybe easier to see in hindsight. And that's something that I've clung to during difficult times in my life and that I know I'll rely on in future difficult times. I realized this morning that I should be clinging to that truth in good and difficult times - that God is all I need and that He always provides. I wish I did a good job of that but when I'm willing to be honest I can look back to dark moments and see how I completely relied on Him. Then I can look right now during happy times when my heart's desires have been answered and I've been blessed and I notice that I'm not clinging as hard. That bothers me. That same feeling of utmost need for Him should be there when I'm in need and when I'm full of blessings. So I took our time of rejoicing today as a reminder to keep my focus on what life is all about.
Two couples we know from church who struggled with infertility adopted in the past few months. One of them was given two beautiful girls and the other a very lively boy. I remember this time last year how painful it was especially for our friend who adopted the boy. She wanted so desperately to be a mother. Even though she knew that God was in control and that God had a plan and a reason, that didn't stop the pain and mother's day was especially hurtful. It has been so joyous to watch their excitement to learn that their baby was finally coming, to bring that baby home, and for all of us to love on them. I was thrilled that they got to celebrate this mother's day with crying babies, dirty diapers, and toys under foot. Our pastor asked the mothers to stand so that we could pray over them and I was so happy to pray for all my friends who were mothers, but especially these. (I would like to add that we have an incredible pastor who never forgets there are women out there who long to be mothers but can't and he is always very sensitive on mother's day. He's the first pastor I've known to remember the women with children and the women who are still waiting for theirs).
It made me think about how quickly life can change. When we're in a place that hurts and seems dark, sometimes it feels like God isn't there, isn't working, or isn't going to answer. But the truth is that he's always there, always working, and always answers. It just sometimes doesn't look like it to us or is maybe easier to see in hindsight. And that's something that I've clung to during difficult times in my life and that I know I'll rely on in future difficult times. I realized this morning that I should be clinging to that truth in good and difficult times - that God is all I need and that He always provides. I wish I did a good job of that but when I'm willing to be honest I can look back to dark moments and see how I completely relied on Him. Then I can look right now during happy times when my heart's desires have been answered and I've been blessed and I notice that I'm not clinging as hard. That bothers me. That same feeling of utmost need for Him should be there when I'm in need and when I'm full of blessings. So I took our time of rejoicing today as a reminder to keep my focus on what life is all about.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Drunk people and baby shower pics
Drunk people should not be allowed to carry their own drinks. I came to that conclusion after Mike and I went to the Spurs-Mavs playoff game during round 1. That was part of our whirlwind weekend. Thursday night we went to the game. After the game we drove to Houston. Everyone worked on Friday. Damitra and I did baby shower things Friday night. Saturday morning Mike and I went to the wedding of one of his IBM friends. Mike dropped me off back at D & G's house on his way to the reception. Claire, Damitra, and I threw Elizabeth a wonderful baby shower. Then that evening we celebrated Damitra's birthday with some of her residency friends. Sunday Mike and I drove back home to Dallas to clean up for company we had visiting on Monday night.
Back to drunk people though. The couple with seats next to us arrived after the start of the second half and were already drunk. They sat down with a beer in each hand. Not too much later, the girl got up and left. I even mentioned to Mike as she climbed past us that she's already drunk so I hope she's not going for another drink. About 10 minutes later she toddled back up the stairs carrying two more beers. As she tried climbing past us, Mike tried to help her hold the beers since she was really unsteady. For all his efforts though she still ended up pouring beer down the back of my shirt. I tried cleaning up as best I could, but I ended up smelling like beer all the way to Houston. Thus I've decided that drunk people should not be allowed to carry their own drinks. They should have to blow in a little device to determine if they're sober enough to carry their own drink, and if they're not then they can't buy more. My friend Wes noted that drunk people would just send their sober friends to buy their beers and I'm fine with that. At least the sober person will get the beer to his drunk friends without spilling it down the back of my shirt. Now I just have to find someone to get my legislation passed. I'm sure it'll be a high priority in the midst of the economic crisis and the piggie flu. Right?
And just in case you're wondering, yes it did suck that the Spurs were blown out of the water the entire game and the drunk girl spilled her beer, but I got to spend time with my husband and he's happy that his team won, so overall it was a perfect date. Dates with Mike always are.
Here are some pics from the baby shower. More on that later. If you want to see them all then they're here.
The yummy cake.
The food.
The diaper cake I made.
The beautiful Mom-to-be...
Back to drunk people though. The couple with seats next to us arrived after the start of the second half and were already drunk. They sat down with a beer in each hand. Not too much later, the girl got up and left. I even mentioned to Mike as she climbed past us that she's already drunk so I hope she's not going for another drink. About 10 minutes later she toddled back up the stairs carrying two more beers. As she tried climbing past us, Mike tried to help her hold the beers since she was really unsteady. For all his efforts though she still ended up pouring beer down the back of my shirt. I tried cleaning up as best I could, but I ended up smelling like beer all the way to Houston. Thus I've decided that drunk people should not be allowed to carry their own drinks. They should have to blow in a little device to determine if they're sober enough to carry their own drink, and if they're not then they can't buy more. My friend Wes noted that drunk people would just send their sober friends to buy their beers and I'm fine with that. At least the sober person will get the beer to his drunk friends without spilling it down the back of my shirt. Now I just have to find someone to get my legislation passed. I'm sure it'll be a high priority in the midst of the economic crisis and the piggie flu. Right?
And just in case you're wondering, yes it did suck that the Spurs were blown out of the water the entire game and the drunk girl spilled her beer, but I got to spend time with my husband and he's happy that his team won, so overall it was a perfect date. Dates with Mike always are.
Here are some pics from the baby shower. More on that later. If you want to see them all then they're here.
The yummy cake.
The food.
The diaper cake I made.
The beautiful Mom-to-be...
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