Back ...

Good evening!

We are back from Dallas/Greenville area - and had a fabulous Christmas. We're happy and warm in our house- doing laundry (which includes some new Dallas Cowboy apparel) and watching the Cowboy game. We ordered some pizza and I'm sucking down some virgin eggnog. YUM!

We had a great Christmas and hope you all did as well ... the New Year is always a time of cleaning and organzing (both at work and home) for me. I have been making lists and donation piles here at home ... and filing and organizing at work. It's such a great time to do that ... fresh start and all!

Conrad got me a KITCHENAID MIXER which I have wanted FOREVER. I am about to order the Kitchenaid recipe book from Amazon, which will tell me all the ways I am able to use it. He also got me a pearl necklace with matching bracelet and earrings ... Conrad got a spotting scope and a cigar store indian (3 feet tall) from me. Those were our big presents to each other.

On some sad news, a family that Conrad and his family know were killed Christmas Eve driving in the surprise ice/snow storm in Dallas that day. They hit a patch of black ice and hit two other cars head on. The man was a band director that knew Conrad's dad ... his wife was driving and died on the operating table ... and then her mother, who was 92, was with them and killed instantly. It was a very sad thing ... and made everyone pretty reflective this Christmas. So keep them in your prayers, if you will.

Here is to a quiet, relaxing, clean, organized New Year!

Kah

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post before we get busy with family and Christmas and phone calls and all that ... to say Merry Christmas to you all! I feel very blessed this year ... Conrad and I will have completed the first "calendar year" of marriage and our dog is happy and healthy ... along with all our friends and family ... Amy is getting better and she'll be back here in January for one last round of treatment.

Please have a happy and safe Christmas. I'll be back to tell you all the fun cool stuff we got. (wicked laugh) .... and yes, I know it's not what it's all about, but it sure is fun !!!!

Kah

I am MAD at the library

If ya know me, you know my "thing" is reading. I love it ... I could do it all day everyday. I frequently scarf my lunch at my desk and then run outside to sit in my car and read.

The Harris County Library is one of the best I have encountered... and MY branch is awesome. We have a DRIVE THROUGH! I go online, reserve my books, and they email me when they come in. I simply drive up, give them my card and they give me my books. Like ... a free McDonald's!

Yesterday on the way home from work I thought well- let me swing by there and pick up my four books I have holding. I didn't feel like getting up this morning and going. Thank goodness I did !!!! So I swung by there at 5:40 (20 minutes before closing) and saw all these signs that said "Library closed, Book return open" ... so I hurried to the drive through and the lady was there. I hurriedly asked if the library was closed and she said no, not until 6 - so I got my 4 books and I parked the car and RAN into the libary.

They are closed until JANUARY 4th !!!! I mean WHAT?!

They are redoing the entire electrical system over the holidays ... I was shocked. no email, no notificiation, no nothing ... so I ran to the shelves and grabbed 5 or 6 more books ... and checked them out. Fuming all the while! That is like THREE weeks they will be closed.

So I got home and when I got here, my mom had sent our Christmas presents. I opened the box to unpack it and there, were about 6 books she had packed. Oh GLORY I might make it after all. Thanks Mom !!!!!

... and we do have other branches. Not as close to my house and not with a drive thru. I have to find some way to tough it out throught the holidays - or I can take up a new hobby to slow my reading down ... like ... drinking.

Kah

Do It Yourself Wreath

My friend Sherry liked those ornament wreaths that have been floating around blogland ... her colors are red and silver and she collects frogs. I happened to run into a frog in a Santa hat ornament at Hobby Lobby ... so I made her a wreath.

SUPER SUPER easy- you need a glue gun, wire hanger and ornaments. The only thing you MUST do is use the glue gun to make sure the little tops stay on the oranaments. Then thread them on the hanger you have opened up ... fill it up as much as you want- close it up and there you go.

Here is the one I made her. It looks crooked in the pic, but it's not. I was taking the pic at an angle. Click on the picture to make it larger.

Merry Christmas!
KAH

Decisions

I made a copy of my test results and sent them to Doc # 1 with a letter. Saying shame shame on YOU ... and I am NOT coming back.

Well, if you know me or read this blog you know that finding a new house or building a new house has been tormenting us. This is not our dream house or even one step down from our dream house ... but we are so much alike in that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset. There's nothing WRONG with this house, why leave it? Why spend more money? What if the economy never gets better? What if we can't sell this one, and on and on ...

So I made a list the other day of 10 things we could do here that would make ME more comfortable and I feel like ALL of them would have to be done anyway to sell this house ...

and I made a list of furniture I either wanted or wanted to get rid of to make things more livable here ... cause really we need SPACE. Better closets, less bulky furniture ...

I presented my list to Conrad over Thanksgiving weekend. This weekend he finished two thing on the list already. He replaced our old toilet seats which had the paint worn off them (don't even ask ... ) and he tore out one closet and made it MUCH more useful with cubbies, etc ... it already freed up SO much room. He even agreed to my furniture requests.

He is a good husband and he listens to me and what I want/need. I am so lucky in that regard! Very selffless - that one.

So we agreed to do these things in this year coming up of 2010, we will find a builder we like. I think we like Westin. By this time next year we'll pick out a floorplan and start building ... this house will be better shape, we will be in great shape $ wise (I hope) and we'll be emotional prepared. Westin takes exisiting floorplans and let's you move things around and take thing outs ... it's a non-custom, custom house if that makes sense.

I LOVE this plan of ours!

Kah

NOT Pre-Diabetic

New doctor finally sent my test results.

I had three tests: glucose, insulin and then one I can't pronouce but is basically a two week AVERAGE of your blood sugar. I fasted for these tests. By the time my blood was drawn, I had been fasting for 15 hours. I'd say the tests are very accurate.

Yeah - NOT Diabetic, NOT Pre-Diabetic, NOT even insulin resistant - not ANYTHING, perfectly healthy - well within the ranges they like to see. For instance if the range for Healthy on the glucose the expected range is 65-100 : I had an 82.

On the insulin, expected range is 6-27 : I came in at 8.

I mean 8! I wasn't even BORDERLINE. Not even anywhere near where there should be concern. That first doctor is SO irresponsible! I am making a copy of my blood results and sending them to him along with a letter. I had my follow up Byetta appt with him on Wednesday - but as you know, I never took the Byetta - and so when they called to confirm my appt I told them I wasn't coming. They asked if I would like to reschedule I said no, and I'll send him a letter to tell him why. To say I am shaking with rage at doc #1 would be an understatement. I KNEW he hadn't tested me and I knew in my heart I was ok. What a dillweed.

I am so glad I checked ...

I told Conrad well - this is good news. Diabetes is nothing to mess with. So I am healthy - not even under any sort of "watch" ... but this also means I'm fluffy cause of ME. I think the thyroid thing helps with the fluffiness but mostly it's me - time to buy a treadmill!

Kah

I LOVE MY HUSBAND

On Saturday I went to see New Moon - (LOVED it) - and when I got back Conrad said he needed to get some shopping done and left. I didn't think a thing of it.


I've had a rough couple of days - and he could NOT have known those days were going to be coming ... but he sure planned this right!


When I walked in the house tonight, LOOK what was waiting on me.

OH. MY. GAH.

I am in Lurve ... and so grateful. He is so good to me. Boy did I luck out! Not cause he bought me something ... I'm not like that ... but because he has listened to me over the past few months when I said I thought our dryer may be eating our towels ... and because he snuck off when I wasn't looking and bought us the exact ones we had been talking about for TWO YEARS but I felt were WAY too expensive (thank you Black Friday sales!!! ) and because he had them delivered while I was at work and never said anything for the past four days.

I had NO idea - it was SUCH a thoughtful surprise. I am love.

... with the washer and dryer (LOL) and Conrad too!

Kah