Too much coughing. March 26, 2009

It’s official.  I’m going to the doctor tomorrow.  I have an appointment and everything.  This will be the third time since we’ve been married that I’ve been sick enough to go to a doctor.  The first time, I chickened out of trying to find a doc and went to CareNow instead.  So-so experience.  The second time, I pulled up the list of doctors my insurance covered and called each one of them until I found one that could see me.  I left with samples, prescriptions, and the option of a chest X-ray if I wanted one (who ever wants one??).  He never really diagnosed me though… and I don’t know that the medicines helped much.  Again – so-so experience.  So tomorrow I am going to a doctor that I have actually heard of.  I have high hopes for more than a so-so experience.  I’ve got hi-i-igh hopes.  I’ve got hi-i-igh hopes…

 

This whole sick thing has been kind of weird.  I was fine last week… Saturday, Lance and I got up and worked in our flower beds, which made my throat kind of itchy, which I assumed to be allergies from a morning of being surrounded by the one giant allergen that I like to call my backyard.  We had a busy day, and I felt fine except for the itchiness.  Lance was still trying to battle back from having no voice earlier in the week all day Saturday, so I did a lot of talking, and he did a lot of nodding.  That’s not really that different from normal though, I guess.  Anyway, I woke up Sunday morning without any sound coming out of my mouth.  Like nothing.  After some violent coughing, I could talk – and I sounded like a man.  Pretty.  I still felt fine though.  Sunday was incredibly busy, and I had a solo to sing (yes, without a voice), so I downed 3 hot teas from Starbs loaded with lemon and honey and gave it my best.  After that, not even a squeak would come out of my mouth.  Anyway, I’ve had a hard time with my voice and an annoying cough all week, but things seem to be getting worse instead of better, which is the wrong direction, so I scheduled an appointment.  I’m kind of nervous about it because I really want it to be a good doctor experience… but I also want it to not take very long since I don’t have any paid time off from work yet.  I can be difficult to please.

 

I finished The Audacity of Hope.  I’m still processing/internalizing (like a good English major should), but I plan to share my opinion soon.  I bought CS Lewis collection, so I think that will be my next round of “light” reading.  Ha.  I’m excited about it though.  I enjoy my good friend Clive Staples, even if I progress slowly through his work.

 

Here’s hoping that the coughing will stop….

You Load Sixteen Tons… March 18, 2009

Oh my.  Eleven days since last blogging.  That is not so good.

 

On Saturday the 7^th, Lance and I rode with my parents up to OKC to see my sister do her Spring Sing thing.  It was such a fun trip.  I will have to post pictures soon… or you can just see them on facebook.  That might be easier.  Anyway, we had a great time, but we got home at like 11:00 that night… and it was Daylight Saving Time night, so we lost an hour anyway PLUS Lance had to lead singing.  So Sunday morning, we had church (with Lance leading singing and my teaching the 2-year-olds), LTC practices (yes, plural practices), and then I made Lance go to the grocery store with me because we had NO food.  It was a long day… and that is quite an understatement.  The rest of the week went by pretty normally… Saturday night we went with Erin and Marshall to watch the Stars play.  I have pictures of that too… still on the ol’ camcam.  I should take care of that…  We had a fantastic time with them though.  We had a funny/interesting story contest… Marshall won.  By a lot.  Sunday, Lance led singing again but this time he lost his voice entirely.  It’s taken several days, and it’s still not all the way back yet.  Again, multiple LTC practices on Sunday… plus going out to lunch with our young marrieds friends.  I love friend lunches.  Last night, I got outside and took the dog running (which was less fun since he ate his harness Valentine’s Day weekend) and just enjoyed the fabulous weather and being active… it was great!  I’m so excited about the warmer weather and longer days!  This promises to be another busy weekend:  Saturday, Lance and I are going to spend some time with some of my high school friends.  Some of them have never even met him, so I’m excited for them to meet him.  Sunday, I’m teaching the 2s, Lance is leading singing, I’m hostessing a baby shower, practicing with the Legacy Singers, singing a solo in the service thing, and having another LTC practice.  Whew.  It’s still 4 days away, and it makes me tired already.

 

I’m enjoying teaching the 2s.  I’ve always worked with the tiny tots at church, and I haven’t worked with any age other than youth group (well, and my own age group) since we’ve been at Legacy.  I am not by any means the perfect teacher or whatever, but I believe God gave me a heart for kiddos.  They talk to me in random places – even when they don’t know me.  It’s weird.  I tried to tell Lance about it when we start dating, and I think he thought I was weird… but now he knows it’s true.  Case in point – on the DART on the way back from a Stars game, a little boy taps me on the shoulder and says, “Ma’am, do you know when people will start getting off this train?”  I told him that I did not know, but that hopefully they would soon.  He nodded solemnly, and I tried to stifle my laughter.  I mean – really?  A train full of people, and he went for me.  Anyway, I’m just saying.  God made me this way, and I love being around the tots.  Just two more weeks of the story of Noah and then we can move on… J

 

Lance’s elders’ meeting for tomorrow night got postponed, so we have an extra night of hangout time this week!  Hooray!  Maybe we will actually start on our yard this week… J

 

Oh, I have also taken up trying to memorize the Psalms again.  I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

 

Another progress update – I am like 40 pages from the end of Pres. Obama’s book.  Once I finish, I will share my overall view of it.  It’s been an interesting journey… and it’s weird to read this right as like every financial institution in the country wet its pants.  I will share soon… and sorry for the slow reading.  I only read it at lunch when People and Us Weekly are taken.  That’s sad probably.

 

 

Oh, and the song “Sixteen Tons” has been in my head since it was on Big Bang Theory last night.  I sang that in high school.  I had no good title for this little bloggie, so it gets to be the song that’s rattling around in my head.  I can sing it for you if you’d like…

Shotgun Update March 7, 2009

Life seems to be continually flying past at a break-neck speed that leaves me constantly tired, behind, and a little bit confused.  I must not be the only one… many of my friends’ blogging tendencies have become increasingly sporadic, so I’m sure they’re racing around at the same pace.

 

So lately…

 

We actually had a pretty relaxing weekend last weekend… and on Saturday evening, we went to Erin ’s engagement party, which was so exciting.  I was so happy to be there and see her ring and meet her fiancé (crazy!).  I should probably start trying to get skinny again… I have to wear a bridesmaid’s dress in just three months…  But seriously, Erin has been like another sister to me.  We were so close in college, never had any roommate drama, chased a mouse in our apartment, complained about our jobs at UP, sang harmony while we did dishes, skipped around the campus, annoyed Lance with stupid voices… and we also cried together and prayed together and went to church and chapel together.  I am so happy to see her so happy.  Well, she’ll be happy until her ENORMOUS ring gives her carpal tunnels. J  Most of the week was pretty normal… normal stuff going on.  Last night, Melissa and I met for coffee and talked at Starbucks for like 3 hours.  It was super fun except that the Starbs employees are apparently ghetto in Keller.  They kept vacuuming things and screaming and other various and sundry annoyances.  I mean, really?

 

Oh, I have not yet written about True Love Waits.  I shall do that now.

 

The retreat was really great except that my allergies were terrible terrible all weekend long.  Like – I carried a box of Puffs around with me.  (I told you I deserved Puffs indeed.)  It’s just miserable to be out in the woods not sleeping much and trying to have energy when you feel ewie Louie.  I remember, however, that my prayer was that GOD would do something and that I would just be a vessel – a clay pot… and I think the Lord allowed me to be physically humbled so that I would know that it was not by my own might or power that I was doing anything.  Any and all glory definitely belongs to him.

 

One of the things that struck me most about the group of kids we took on the retreat was how very many of them have already been through a lot at a young age – losing a parent, parents’ divorce, blended families, etc.  I looked around the room one night and just felt this ache in my heart.  All the junior highers we took were 12 to 14 years old… and their young hearts have already felt so much pain.  Statistics are one thing; seeing a group full of kids that actually represent those statistics is something else entirely.  It’s a good thing we belong to the God of all comfort and peace!

 

If you want to read more about the retreat itself, you can read Lance’s blog.

 

Oh – Trevor and Chris:  The kids were doing the awkward turtle, and I took it upon myself to teach them the awkward antlers.  I know.  Fabulous.

 

We are also beginning to work on our yard.  Lance has been working really hard these past few days to try to kill the ninja weeds that we have, and a few weeks ago, he and I spent several hours outside trimming back some of our shrubs and trees that had gotten a little OTT.  We are planning to uproot all of the shrubs in our yard and basically start all over pretty soon (like in the next couple of weeks).  I am simultaneously excited and nervous about that.  Neither Lance nor I particularly enjoys spending time weeding and watering and digging and planting… so we tend to plant things and then kill them because we don’t want to invest the necessary time to keep them alive.  I do not want to do that this time, so I am going to have to force myself to enjoy the whole earthy thing.  I have been researching partial/full shade plants since we have a pretty good size tree in our yard that prevents our landscaping from receiving much direct light… now I have to go compare prices, I guess.  Maybe I will at least be disciplined enough to take before and after pictures.  That always helps my motivation.  We shall see.  I really want more color in front of our house.  Our whole house is beige.  Our brick is beige.  Garage door?  Beige.  Siding?  Beige.  Trim?  Beige.  Granted, they are different SHADES of beige… but beige nonetheless.  Now I’ve typed “beige” too much and I keep spelling it wrong.  Anyway, moral of the story is I want color.

 

Now how is THAT for a shotgun update?