Sunday, March 02, 2008

In Like a Lion

It is super windy today and it reminded me of a proverb we always learned as a child. If the weather in March came in like a lion, it would go out like a lamb. Nathan was hoping to get the garden started today, but the wind really is too dangerous. Huge branches are flying off our 20 year old cottonwood trees, the ripe grapefruit and oranges are being blown off the tree, the lawn chairs are blowing all over, my poor avocado tree is holding on for dear life. The fence in the back of the yard had one board fly off, then two and now is working on the rest of the fence. I'm looking forward to calm weather at the end of March.

Here are some random thoughts from today:

Nutella and fresh strawberries are yummy on waffles.

The outtakes for Rush Hour 3 are more funny than the movie itself. Just my opinion.

The Discovery channel sucks you in and doesn't let you go easily.

Friday, February 08, 2008

I can't think of a title

I had a cute patient the last couple of days. She had been in a lot a few years ago when she was first diagnosed and sadly she's back in and we're trying to figure out some things. She is adorable and so talkative. It took her the first day to learn my name and then the next day she wouldn't stop saying my name. Everytime I walked in she smiled and said "hi Angi" She would come to the door with her IV pole and say down the hallway "hi Angi" So, it should have been no surprise when I was chitchatting with her mom and her mom asked if I had kids. I told her I was pregnant and our conversation changed to all things pregnancy as it usually does these days. My little patient asked what we were going to name the baby if it's a girl. I told her what our ideas are (they change frequently) then she said "How about L....." (I don't want to say her real name) I would love to take care of her everyday, but I hope things go well for her over the weekend and that she won't be in the hospital when I go back on Monday.

Friday, January 11, 2008

The 8s of 2008

I realize I have not posted in forever so, Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year...but that's so 2007, now onto 2008.

I am so glad that 2008 is here! Just think in the next few weeks, we will finally know who will ACTUALLY be running for president. I have to say I am not a political person, but after hearing about it for over a year now, how can I not be consumed with politics?

Here are 8 things I think about the primaries:

1. If I hear a candidate say the word "change" one more time...I'm going to be super annoyed.
2. Just because Huckabee was a former Baptist minister and I am a Christian (and a Baptist) I am not a bad Christian if I don't vote for him.
3. I can't get over this feeling I have that while Obama is a "nice guy" and a great speaker, I'm not convinced that we need a nice guy for our next president. I feel like it is not Obama's time. He's young and could run again at any time and then maybe it would be his time.
4. I'm not a women's lib kind of gal, but I'm not opposed to Hillary (or a woman) being our next president.
5. I think Americans have been putting too much emphasis lately on being patriotic and being selfish as a country, focusing on ourselves, when really, there has never been a more important time to look outward and realize that the rest of the world has just as much influence on us as we do on them.
6. John McCain...I can't think of anything to say about him and that's not good for me since he's been campaigning one way or another for 8 years.
7. John Edwards, I like him for the most part. Every time I look at him I think "lawyer" and I get turned off.
8. Ron Paul...I don't know much about him, but I know that when I drive down the freeway, there is always a sign that says "Ron Paul Revolution"

Now...onto a more personal note, while the election might be the biggest thing of 2008 for some people. Things are about to change for us (I am not a candidate, so I can say that word) The even more exciting thing about 2008 for me and Nathan is that I'm pregnant!! We're obviously super excited. I'm due 8-8-08 (which I really like saying) We're working on a website for the baby. We had an appointment this week. It was so exciting to see the little heart beat and we could see the teeny little arms and legs moving. Super exciting and thank you to those who kept our big secret until now.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Kudos for Amazon.com

This is what Christmas is all about. I have had a saga going since trying to order a gift for my sister through Amazon.com. The first time I ordered it, I accidently sent it to my house instead of to my mom's since we have Amazon prime and get free 2-day shipping. So, when it arrived, I returned it and reordered. It was a good thing I "accidently" sent it here because the color was ALL wrong. My sister would have hated the color.

This morning my mom said the gift had been delivered, but was left by the wrong door and the dog devoured it and the gift was destroyed. I thought "what else could happen with this gift!" It wasn't meant to be. My mom called the shipping company and they were going to put in a customer complaint.

I called Amazon to see what they could do, thinking "what do I have to lose?"

I was so excited because I was expecting to explain the situation and have them say "sorry, there's nothing we can do, it wasn't our fault they left it outside and that a dog got to it" Instead...they gladly offered to reorder the gift (free of charge) and send it out again using 1-day shipping! The gift will be there tomorrow and I didn't need to ask for any of that. They just offered. I was able to be my timid, nice self and didn't need to muster up the courage to get upset with someone over the phone.

I do have to say, the delivery guy must have been trying to prove that they deliver anywhere, anytime, because he walked through 4 feet of fresh, undisturbed snow up to my parent's front door (that they NEVER use in the winter) instead of placing it next to the basement door that is right where the truck would have parked and is completely cleared away. Obviously the most used door at the house.

So, for all your last minute Christmas shopping, I recommend Amazon.com.

It's so exciting to have an example of kindness this time of year when things tend to get crazy, frantic and insane. The operator showed me Christ's unfailing love and grace and probably didn't even know.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for a husband that loves to cook, especially cook Thanksgiving dinner. He has perfected at least 2 different kinds of turkeys. You can find our "Ultimate Thanksgiving" menu at techkitchen.com The dressing is great. It is cooked in the crockpot all day freeing up the coveted space in the oven. The turkey is always brined. Mashed potatoes are sometimes chunky and sometimes creamy, just depends on who is making them. Green bean casserole is a must. This year we are trying Alton Brown's (from the food network) recipe for making the green bean casserole by frying our own onions and making our own cream sauce with real mushrooms. That's exciting!

I worry for Thanksgiving sometimes. It seems to get dwarfed as a holiday by Halloween and Christmas, which seems to be starting earlier and earlier every year. Don't get me wrong. I love Christmas just as much, but while society has perverted Christmas by taking attention away from the true meaning of the holiday, Thanksgiving has maintained its meaning of being thankful for the founders of the country and thankful for those in our lives whom we love and care about. A time to count our blessings.

It is for that reason I write this entry. Not to talk about food, or complain about the commercialization of Christmas, (I'll save that for another entry) It is to let all who read my blog know that I am thankful for each and everyone of you. Thankful that by caring about the little and big things that are important to me, you therefore care about me.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Shutters!!

Wow! Has it really been nearly a month since I've blogged? How lame am I? A big thing happened this weekend. After 2 years of being in this house and having tacky looking window coverings, we finally had shutters put on a few of our key windows.



This is the dining room. The window is HUGE! I love that I can open the blinds and get lots of sunshine without feeling like everyone can see in, since the window is in the front of the house. I will take a picture of the rest of the room once we finish it. We still need to hang things on the walls, but we need to put our baseboards in first. Then I will post more pictures of the room.



This is the mushroom room. This one is on the side of the house, but it is the one window that the sun beats down on ALL DAY LONG! Even today when it was probably only about 70 degrees outside, when I felt the shutter it still felt warm. Imagine how much that shutter is going to keep the room cooler in the summer. Take note of the red phone on the dresser in this room. Nathan got the phone for free, painted it red and bought a red cord. All under $10. We call it the batman phone.



This one is in the guest room. This window is also in the front of the house.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Fire Season

The 16 or so fires that are burning all around us right now are a reminder of how there isn't a fall season here. It's replaced with Fire season. All this week temperatures are supposed to be in the 90s. Sunday, when the Santa Ana winds were blowing like crazy, everyone knew fire would be a problem.

For any of you wondering, we are surrounded by fires, but we ourselves are not near any danger. The Malibu fires are WAY North of us. (a few hours away) There is a fire along the toll roads we take into Orange County. (about 40 minutes away) There is a fire up in the mountains where we spent some time last weekend. The most devastating and astounding fire is in the San Diego area which is about an hour away. There are multiple fires there and when you look at a map of where all the fires are, San Diego is surrounded. We have friends down there that are safe for now, but have housed some relatives that were evacuated. The only thing that affects us is the extremely poor air quality from all the smoke. A lot of people have decided to leave the area completely and go to Las Vegas or Arizona for the week. Please keep everyone in your prayers.