So Handy

So, we've talked a few times on this blog about all the good household items I've acquired over the years: pink tools, electric screwdriver, first-aid supplies, super glue, and lots of misc. kitchen stuff. However, despite all these helpful items, I have somehow made it to 32 without this item:

A carpet shampooer. After some thorough research on amazon and a recommendation from a prior roommate, I am the new owner of a Little Green Machine. And I Love it. (Side note: I went to Wal-mart for this purchase. I pretty much never shop at Wal-mart, but one of my resolutions is to try to be a money maker and not a money spender, so I thought my frugality should start with this purchase. I just got on Target's website, though, and I may have only saved $1. Oh well. My card got declined there (at Wal-mart), which made me laugh. It was on fraud alert. hahaha. That's what you get for detouring out of your routine.)
So I got that, and some screws and zip ties at Home Depot. (more on that later.)
As soon as I walked in the door, I set to scrubbing up 9 little spots in my entry way that had been driving me crazy for about 6 months. And it worked awesome. And over the next few days, I cleaned my couches. Now, I've had my couches for about 8 years. They have been scotch-guarded and spot cleaned, but never deep cleaned because I can never bring myself to pay a hundred or so dollars to have someone clean them. It took hours and hours, but they look brighter and fluffier, and, well, so much cleaner.

And then, I had to attend to the pig. See, for over a year now, I've wanted a light-up Christmas pig. Last year they were all sold out. But this year I got one at Big Lots in November. I was so excited. But even though the idea was amazing, the design was flawed. And all its parts (like its legs and head) kept falling off. And unfortunately, this Christmas was the only Christmas of my life I didn't decorate at home. Chalk it up to being busy or distracted or to being in Idaho for 9 days, I didn't so much as buy a Christmas tree. Or attend to my pig. But last week, after a little time and 17 zip ties later, Gunther the Christmas Pig was ready to ring in the New Year! He looks amazing.

Gunther The New Year's/Christmas Pig

And for my last little handywomen feat, this is my new shaving cream. BTW, Target Soy shaving cream is by far the best I've ever used (and I've tried a lot). Unfortunately, when I opened up this bottle, the cap had fallen off and it wouldn't work. So I busted out my leopard duct tape, and it's worked like a dream ever since. whoo-hoo!

p.s. If you're wondering from my last post what a headliner is, it's the fabric on the ceiling of your car. And mine started to fall off right above the driver's seat, which was HORRIBLE to me, as it might actually be a sign that my car is 12 years old. So, after consulting with Brad, I peeled the molding back, peeled the edge of the fabric back until I could see the space inside and sprayed it full of spray adhesive. Then I took a ruler and smoothed the fabric back in place. It's not perfect, but it's close. And the Altima gets to live another day!

"Holy Crap I'm Single"

This is the lovely phase that went through my head this morning when I opened my eyes. After hours-ful of crazy dreams, it was the stark reality that awakened me.
Yes, it was my own doing. Yes, we spent the last year trying our hearts out.
Until mine wore out.
And gave up a little.
The first few days were my usual post-break-up productive days.
Months of junk mail was finally attended to.
My shower curtain is bleached fluffy white.
I was doing ok. Well, even.
And then there were the sudden bouts of crying.
For miscellaneous reasons.
Including hormones. And friends. And love.
And then there was a little arguing. With a little trying.
And then there was this morning.
Where the little bit of fear that lives in each of us tried to yell at me and ask
what on earth was I thinking.
And I told it I had to.
But this will take a bit of adjusting. That I may not have planned for all too well.
I mean, do we plan for single? Why would we do such a thing?
First, we think of crazy plans. Like moving, painting, buying.
And then, we think, "It's time to get settled. This may last awhile."
He was quite charming.
This is no time for replacement.
This is time for adjustment.
And I think of the people who I cannot mirror in this situation.
I cannot be like them,
But I can still be me. Maybe even a little bit more than before.
And I take a deep breath. And keep breathing. And start trusting.
Again.

(That was yesterday. Today I saw a therapist to make sure I'm not crazy who I'm quite certain will actually be no help at all. Because, I, of course, actually think I'm quite sane and grounded. But I did get to take the inkblot test and I think that was worth every penny. ;-) I also fixed my headliner with spray adhesive and a ruler and am remarkably impressed with the results.)

A Celestial View aka A Breathtaking New Year's

It is sometimes hard to explain how glorious the randomness of life is. For example, some mornings you go to work having no idea what to do for New Year's, and the next day you find yourself in Flagstaff watching a pinecone drop and eating amazing sushi. And then another friend who's been MIA for months happens to be there as well.

And then maybe the next day you spend your Sabbath a little bit differently than you will the rest of the year. Because you hunt down a Catholic cathedral and debate if lighting a candle would be sacreligious 'cause you mostly want to do it 'cause they do on movies and you never have, but you opt against it out of principle. Instead, you hunt down an energy vortex and stand on a mountain in Tree Pose because it's your favorite and makes you feel almost tall.

And then you get back in the car and your best friend tells you that he just spoke with the pilot doing biplane tours at the airport and that if Skylar and I can get him in the plane he can fly. And of course, that's what you go do. So everyone gets settled and you prepare yourself for a roller coaster ride and instead it feels like you are sailing in the sky. It's the most beautfiul scenery you've ever seen and a take-off and landing so smooth you barely know they happened. And, yes, the plane was designed in 1926 and is the cutest cherry red 278 horsepower machine you've ever seen. And, of course, now you want one. Someday.

Skylar the Magnificent and Pilot the Magnificent

My Favorite

The Seven Ridges no one sees. There's one 8-mile dirt road that leads to them.

So cute! And so excited

For now, you'll be content with the coolest, most peaceful, most incredible New Year's ever.

Here's to 2012!!

A Carbiener Christmas

So, yes, I brought Jonmark home for the holidays. Really?! Was I supposed to leave him here alone?! Was I supposed to be alone? No, of course not. Christmas is meant to be spent together, and that we did. I had 9 days off from work, and therefore, he did, too. (Except that we spent many long nights putting together his work presentation. Actually, he did. I usually fell asleep. But I was there for moral support.) Anyways, so Christmas vacation was awesome. And sometimes kinda boring. But rarely.

You see, it could also be known as our family's Gimp Little Christmas. You know there's Jonmark' s wheelchair, and then, our friend Kevin thought he broke his ankle, my dad was recovering from knee surgery, and my mom stepped off a ladder and fell on her back on their stairs (inside). She laid on her back on the couch most of the time. I fetched a lot of things for people :-) But I was really grateful for my legs! Jonmark and I made a super-quick run to Boise to meet and eat with Jessica & Nate. We ate at a new fancy restaurant called "Fork"  and basically just caught up on each other's lives. It was so good to see them again. We also went to the Boise co-op where we bought my favorite cookies. And Jonmark fell in love with Cloverleaf Creamery's Chocolate Milk.

This is the Milk

It is pretty much insane. It was so fun to show Jonmark basically the whole state of Idaho, which he had never seen. And it always feels good to be back in Boise. And home. Of course :-)
My birthday was the most low-key of my life, I think. Jonmark gave me a digital frame with all the awesome pics of us over the last year. My parents got me two little leather tape measures I had asked for for measuring mommy tummies, and, um, that was that. I couldn't really decide on a cake that sounded good, so we didn't do one. Next year- I'm making some decisions early. :-) A birthday doesn't happen without a cake. Let's be real.

The rest of the day was crazy. We all pitched in to make the dinner, which we never really had done before. Now, all my mother's children are actually very good cooks, but unless we are asked to help out at home, we're usually not too good at it. Unless my mom sits on the couch. Then Candice gets the ball rolling, and we all get assignments and start going to it. Dad fried a delicious turkey, Candice made stuffing and mashed potatoes, I made sweet potato casserole, and Brad made Sis. Matheson's caramel chocolate cheesecake. mmm...mmm... (And someone made some corn and some canned green beans somewhere along the way....). Oh, and Candice made awesome rolls. (And the next day I did, too. Yup. Me. I finally learned. :-) )

The Rolls that Christin made. 

That night, we did the nativity scene at my parent's house, instead of my Nana's. My mom had made most of the costumes, but Brad & Brea had done the last of the sewing after mom's fall. It took a lot of trust for her to let them do it, but it shouldn't have. They did awesome (p.s. parents, I need a picture of that. I was busy being an angel.)

Afterwards, we gathered everyone together and read "The Polar Express," which almost made me cry just like it always does.  And then all the adult-kids went downstairs to wrap presents and watch elf. Now, the problem with having 3 adult children and 3 adult significant others and 1 adult Christmas guest and 3 small children is that we buy stuff. Sometimes too much. Wrapping took forever. We wrapped while people were told to turn around and look the other way. We ended up with this living room:

I wouldn't say that this much unwrapping made for a better Christmas, but it did make for a lot of chaos and some very excited children and quite a few smiles and surprises. It was crazy, but it was so fun. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Perri Marie

Walking her Turtle Balloon

It appears that if I would like to stop getting "why are you still a dork?" text messages from my dad at 7am, I will have to start blogging about the awesomeness that was my Christmas holiday. As I went through the pictures, I couldn't help but be a little drawn to the ones that have a certain 22 month old in them. She has the best "cheese!!" face in the whole world, as you will see. Behold, little Perri Marie:

Trying to Sneak into the Wheelchair

Eating

Sitting in the doll bed made by a little elf named my dad

Thanksgiving!! (I am such a dork)

 

I'm a dork because I can't believe I almost didn't blog all this.
So this picture isn't actually of Thanksgiving or that weekend. It's from Jonmark's birthday weekend, which was the weekend before. It happens to be my favorite picture of us ever and makes me smile all the time. This is us at True Food Kitchen where once again I was a horrible blogger and didn't take pictures of all our excellent food because I was too excited to eat it. I had amazing sea bass with brussel sprouts and purple potatoes. Jonmark had Salmon with Quinoa. Our desserts were organic non-dairy chocolate pudding (amazing) and ginger lemongrass frozen yogurt (yum!) It's such a fun and healthy fancy place to eat, and it was so fun to celebrate. (And isn't that shirt great of his- yep, that was a birthday present.) :-)

These other pictures, however, are of Thanksgiving weekend. On actual Thanksgiving Day, we hung out at Jonmark's sisters house and watched the Cowboys win and A&M lose. :-( We were there until Midnight when I decided it was time to go shopping. Unfortunately, I don't work nights anymore so my energy level was not what it was when I rocked it in 2009. Nor did I really need anything. BUT! I ended up with a 2" memory foam topper for my bed that was 70% off and it is incredible. I've been sleeping like a baby since I got it. (Not that I ever had trouble sleeping before....) But somewhere between an exhausted Jonmark trying to wheel through the crowd and me traversing the entire mall with a humungous box, I thought, "This is ridiculous. I'm buying everything online from now on." Oh, and Friday and Monday I totally did. But yes, it makes me feel kind of old.
Friday was errand/clean house/sleep/grocery shop day/oil change day/get a great deal on tires at Sears/online shop day.
And Saturday we headed to California. See, Jonmark grew up in Lake Elsinore, which is about an hour away from L.A. And his friend had a car part we needed to pick up nearby. So off we drove!

His friends were so sweet and we stayed and talked to them for a couple hours, and then realized we were only about 30 minutes away from his hometown so we were off again! Lake Elsinore is kind of a crazy little town. There is definitely a lot of character, and, according to Jonmark, a lot of people never leave. Is it the classiest town I've ever been to? Um, no. But in driving around I realized what an awesome place it would be to grow up. There are so many hills and trees and "adventure spots" that it was no question why Jonmark grew to love bikes and dirt bikes and pretty much any other adventure. And I loved the lake. Which was beautiful.
We then did a short little drive over to Temecula, which is a very quaint and a little more "snobby" of a town. (With, of course, better restaurants.) We ate at a place called Texas Lil's, which used to let you cook your own steak, but now, does not. Which we were totally disappointed about, but dinner was good anyways. We then drove around the cute little downtown and stopped in front of a picturesque little fire station to take a picture for Tate (my nephew), where I got pulled over for the 7th time with Jonmark. No, I did not get a ticket. I just had to politely tell the officer that, yes, I planned on driving away if the fire trucks got a call and yes, I was watching closely for other cars that might actually decide to drive down that tiny street. Ridiculous.
Later, we met up from some of his friends from back-in-the-day. It was awesome, to say the least. We met them in a little bar called "The Hideaway," while random people came up to hug him and grill him on his teenage years. (Picking out the Mormons in The Hideaway was about the easiest thing ever. Just find the 2 people wearing some sort of white in a sea of black and neck tattoes.) We listened to a fun little punk band and then headed back to Beaumont to the first friends' house.

Those first friends, Jeremy & Marci, you see, were having a belated Thanksgiving 'cause Jeremy is a cop and had to work on real Thanksgiving. So we went to Target and bought some toothbrushes and I bought some ELF makeup (which is super-duper cheap and I was so proud. Jonmark was less impressed that I thought we needed so much stuff for one night. Anyways, now it's in my gym bag so I can use it all the time.)
So the next day we sat around and ate an incredible Thanksgiving meal and talked about life in Cali as a teenager. Jeremy was actually there for Jonmark's accident so I made him tell me all the details of what he saw. Jeremy was actually the person who loaded up Jonmark's dirtbike into the truck after his accident. (yeah, it almost made me cry a little bit.) So after tons of talking and chilling and eating, we finally got back in the car and drove home.
And basically, it was an awesome weekend that I absolutely loved.

Ripped.

I've been working out lately. Like a lot. It all happened when Bridget alerted me to this picture:

This is our friend who lives in Utah (I think. Ok- so really, we're not that close, but I do know her.) after getting all ripped doing Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer. Which of course made me look it up.
This is it: LiveFit Trainer. So far I've done these workouts for about 3 weeks- and have eaten a ton of protein and veggies. Most nights after work, Jonmark and I will meet at the gym and do our workouts together.Some days, I don't think it's made a huge difference, but really, it has. Jonmark always tells me I'm looking so strong and that my back looks totally ripped at the gym. And even Vanie says she can tell a difference. Now, I'm no Jamie Eason yet (even though we are now facebook friends :-)), but I've never worked out quite like this before, and I love that I know what workout I'm doing every single day. And she changes things up so I don't get bored, and every month is a little harder than the last. I'm really excited to do the whole thing. I still need to take my own before and after pictures, but evenings after dinner are not the best time to take them I've decided, even though that's usually when a spare photographer is available. Anyways, it's been fun. And I'll post a picture eventually when I'm done and all crazy ripped. whoo-hoo!

p.s. My favorite part of this so far has been this conversation with Bridget. I had done the leg workout for the first time when I had a 2 hour lunch and had been whining and crying about how much my legs hurt for about 3 days. Bridget called. I told her I was doing this workout.
"Have you done the legs?" she said.
"Yep."
"Can you walk?"
"Um, nope."
"I did it last week. In the morning, I stood up next to my bed and then fell on the ground."
heeeheee. yeah, it's kinda hard. But it's getting easier.

Glendale Glitters

On Saturday, Jonmark and I took a little detour over to Glendale (which is really only like a 15 minute detour from his house) to "Glendale Glitters." Basically it's just downtown all lit up with games and booths and some really terrible dancing (terrible as in well, at least it gives these people a healthy habit). We just kind of strolled around, drank hot chocolate, and watched Home Alone on a screen outside. I, of course, had to confuse the whole concession stand when I asked to have a hot dog cut up in a bowl of chili and cheese instead of a bun. It ended up being the most expensive chili cheese hot dog ever, but it was absolutely delicious. AND!! I had my first caramel apple. I mean, I think I've had one before- maybe at someone's house or something, but I've never bought one at something like this where they are all lined up looking all beautiful and delicious. Jonmark and I shared a beautiful green one with pecans. And it was delicious. And mostly I was super impressed that it didn't even start to fall off the stick. And it kind of was the start to Christmas-time (and now, I really need to decorate...)

What Happens When You Leave Me Alone...

I have a lot of my best nights, I think, when I'm by myself. I also, of course, have some of my worst nights then, too, but that would be another post. (Which likely will not be happening.)
Tonight, I cleaned my room and the kitchen like crazy (to the point where I found a new places for purses and vacuumed). I adjusted the temperature of our water heater so I no longer have to have lukewarm showers. I also changed out my shower curtain liner and hooks-that-have-always-been-terrible, and washed all my workout clothes. Yay! And took out the recycling. Tomorrow I need to call the apartment office and complain that we need another recycle bin. It is always, always full.
Tomorrow night is Jonmark's company's Christmas Party, and I offered to help make dip and peppers. The pepper recipe I found in SELF magazine. And again, I will love Fresh & Easy forever for actually making it easy to find peppadew peppers and cheap goat cheese. They are so delicious!

And lastly, well, before most of that, actually, because I've been starving for 2 days now- I made my first Juevos Rancheros. I don't think I've ever baked an egg before. And even though it kind of looks like it is surrounded by snot, it was completely delicious. (Should I be worried that the avocadoes that I bought TWO MONTHS AGO have shriveled a little but were actually not completely ripe when I sliced them tonight? It freaked me out. I ate them anyways.) I think this is breakfast tomorrow. Good-night!

I Miss Her

So once upon a time in Seattle,  I got a custom-engraved ring that I just thought was the coolest thing ever. And I lost it about 4 months later.
But now I constantly think about what I would have a new ring say. I've come up with several phrases over the years and have always thought about ordering another one.
However, I think they've gone up in price. And etsy now exists. I found a girl on here who will custom-make rings to say whatever you want. I was so excited when I found them and thought and thought about what they should say. And I finally decided on these.
The "Integrity" one is like my version of a "CTR" ring. It kind of makes me think about how true I am in the things I do all day.
The other one says, "A LITTLE BIT LIKE VERNA," who was my nana. Who was the best ever. She loved and was happy and served so many people. And sometimes I wear it because I want to be like her. And sometimes I wear it because I miss her. And I definitely wear it on every holiday. Because she loves them.

p.s. The girl who makes these goes by the name on etsy "monkeysalwayslook." If you use the code "monkey15" you can get 15% off. Love you guys! (And even if you don't necessarily order one, what would you have it say?)

Graphic

In response to my mom's somewhat appalled reaction to my prior post (or parts of it), I'm sorry if that was too much info. for some of you. I admit, it was graphic. But most of my job is. And really, it was pretty funny.

Yesterday.

This is me driving to work. I look tired because I am tired. Because I still haven't reconciled the fact that just because I don't have to be at work on Friday night doesn't mean I have to stay up all night. Especially when I work from 8 to 5 on Saturday. 

I look old in this picture because I am tired. And because my smile lines give away the fact that I am almost 32. 

Yesterday at work I saw 24 patients. That is a ton of people. It is the most I've ever seen. 

Yesterday at work I called the police to do a welfare check on the home of a very dirty, scared patient who was 18 and expecting her second child and sometimes sleeps outside. 

Yesterday at work I ordered about 5 labs that I'm not really sure about for a patient almost exactly my age who is having unexplained fatigue. And an STD panel. And gave her spironolactone for her skin. 

Yesterday I looked a women straight in the face and told her that having sex 1 time/week is not enough to make a baby when you are 38 years old. Especially if your husband sometimes gets too tired to ejaculate inside you. I made her this list: 

This is why my appointments take forever. And yes, I laughed a little. Mostly at myself. In the hallway. 

Yesterday I told a lady she had almost no testosterone and wrote my first prescription for testosterone candies. (Yes, it's a special pharmacy). And informed her that she was terribly anemic, could probably stand a blood transfusion, and to come back in a month after taking iron and if she wasn't any better that we would refer her to a hematologist. 

Yesterday Jonmark delivered these beautiful flowers to my work because we met a year ago yesterday.
And sometimes you just celebrate incredible relationships because they make life worth living. (And maybe he knew I wanted to send him something and maybe I had way too many patients to send a money tree to his office. Jonmark, this is what it would have looked like. Maybe soon. :-) )

Yesterday I had a patient that I had talked to about nutrition who told me she overeats when people tell her she needs to eat better come back and tell me she lost 8 pounds (and I'm hoping our scale wasn't wrong 'cause it might be). But she was so proud and I wrote her for Metformin, and she is feeling so much happier.
Yesterday, after 24 patients and a Red Bull, Jonmark and I went to Bobby's Jazz restaurant and had salmon with dill sauce, an incredible spinach salad, a porterhouse, and creme brulee. And kissed in the drizzling rain.
And Yesterday was an excellent day. 

Peacock Proud

So quite a few months ago, I found a groupon to Carrie Curran art studios. The deal was, you go to a class for 2-3 hours and everyone paints the same painting while they tell you exactly how to do it. It seemed like a super-fun date idea, so I got it. And then let it expire. (It was kind of hard to match up exactly the painting I wanted to paint with the day I could. See here. ) But this Thursday, they were painting a peacock, and I really wanted to do it. I called and begged. They let me use my groupon. (Ok, I really didn't have to beg too much.)
Class started at 6:30, which I thought would be good since I got out of work about 5:00. But then it was 5:30. And usually, traffic isn't that bad going north at night, but maybe I just don't go THAT north. Because it was terrible. And I got lost and was 5 minutes late. I called Jonmark on the way there crying (not literally) that I was starving and to PLEASE bring me some food. You are actually supposed to bring your own food and drinks. Most people just bring wine.  Jonmark suggested we get pizza delivered to class. I told him he was a genius. (He was running late, too. We met there. We had to.)
So, class was so fun.
We were basically so impressed with ourselves even though I had to tell myself to not get anxious by the abstract-ness of the feathers at the bottom. Seriously. I was so scared to ruin it :-) And, for full disclosure, they did have us trace the top half of the peacock body with a stencil. Even though, really, we had a demo and I'm pretty sure I could have done it just fine (we used a little charcoal pencil).

Jonmark putting on the finishing touches

Intermission

Jonmark was the one person who refused to use the stencil. Which is why his peacock stands a little straighter and looks a little fatter than mine. And even though girl peacocks are really brown and boring, we like to say his is the boy peacock and mine is the girl. My mom and brother can really not believe I painted this. And all Jonmark and I want to do is go back and paint every painting there. (It was so much fun!) ....Good times, noodle salad. 

My finished product

Cute & Happy Halloween

So this Halloween was fabulous. On Friday, I asked Jonmark to take me to the haunted corn maze.  I had never been to ANY corn maze somehow and I didn't want to go another  halloween without one. I had planned to go dressed up, but I couldn't find my costume stuff at the store (and I worked Fri AND Sat). It was late when I got off, and basically Jonmark told me to hurry up and get my butt to Glendale before we missed it completely. :-) (Nicely, of course)
One thing I learned from this corn maze: If you are going to traverse it in a wheelchair, you'd better have some pretty solid wheels. Adventure wheels. Or a wheelbarrow. Unfortunately, we did not have either one of these. But the people who built the corn maze were super sweet and basically helped push him over all the divots and craziness. They were really worried about me not being scared enough. I was worried that I could do a better job pushing :-) It was kind of scary, though, and beautiful at the same time. Maybe it's the Idaho in me, but I think I could have slept pretty peacefully in the middle of all that corn.

Saturday I got off work all ready to buy costumes, but I was exhausted. We knew what we were going to be, but I was still short a purple dress, a long wig, and a crown. And a cool belt for Jonmark. I went to one store and found some cool shoe covers that looked like boots, but I couldn't find anything else. When I called Jonmark, he said, "Christin, go to sleep. You are going to be exhausted. Give me a list of what to get." Now. Trusting a boy to find your Rapunzel/Tangled costume is a very tricky situation that involves a little more trust than I usually have. But I had no choice. He was right. I was sooo tired. He told me to sleep until 5. He showed up at my house at 5:15 with a perfect purple dress, the perfect wig, and a sparkly little crown. He looked adorable in his vest and henley and boots and belt. He was the perfect Flynn Ryder. (We didn't think about how awesome a frying pan and a fake bruise would have been until later...maybe next year!) We made a quick stop at the Dollar Store for a plastic frog and to JoAnn's for velcro circles so I could stick him on my shoulder. Then we headed out to a fabulous dinner that we waited too long for, and to 2 parties. It was fun to dance and to see everyone's costume, and mostly fun to be dressed up together. Excellent halloween.