Hey.
How are you?
Do not adjust your monitor.
Your eyes are not playing tricks on you.
It’s me.
I’m writing.
And I actually hit publish this time.
Go buy a lottery ticket. (No, don’t buy a lottery ticket, it’s a scam)
So hi. I’m still here. Lurking in the background, peeking over your shoulder, breathing heavily into your ear.
I’m still alive.
Want proof? *sigh* FINE.
This is me and Kevin on our last cruise, this past September. That was our 9th cruise together. (Kevin just got back from his 10th, without me. There is SO MUCH to catch up on!)
We is cute. I know. It’s too much to handle. I’ll give you a moment to absorb the cuteness.
Where did we leave off? What was the last thing I blogged about? …….. Oh yeah, my new car.
It’s … good. I miss my Vibe. My Vibe was the best car I’ve ever had. But this Buick Encore is not bad. It’s a small SUV and I’m a bit disappointed by the smallness. I’m used to having so much room in my Vibe. If OBummer, (also known as Obama), hadn’t come along and messed stuff up so that Pontiac went out of business, I would have TOTALLY bought a newer Vibe, but alas, Democrats happened and that option was taken from me.
*Cue offensive feeling*
I don’t sugar coat it, folks. I’m certainly not a Democrat and I’m no longer a Republican, (what a bunch of pussies), so I guess you could call me a Libertarian. (Don’t tread on me, get out of my bedroom, MY MONEY, back off). So, OF COURSE, this blog will be slanted toward that arena. If you’re easily offended, or can’t swallow the truth, then I’d suggest leaving, now. Cause I don’t mince words and I don’t apologize for my opinions though I do try and stay fair and objective because I’m not a sheeple; I have a brain, I’m not afraid to use it.
Anyhoo …
I’ve put a whopping 4200 miles on my car now. I bought it in February, (March?). I don’t drive much. I don’t really have many places that I drive to. I literally live two miles from the hospital and I’m at the hospital most of the time, so … the Blue Book value on my car will always be clean, I’m predicting.
It’s a BEAUTIFUL Sunday afternoon. It’s a pleasant 50 degrees and I’m trying to talk myself into editing baby shower pictures that I took this past Thursday.
Don’t get excited. Our boys are still single. I’m not a grandma and don’t really think I’ll ever be a grandma, to be perfectly honest. It was a dual baby shower for two nurses that I work with. One is my (new) boss, and the other one is the God send nurse that replaced the CRAP nurse I was forced to work closely with for TWO LONG YEARS.
This new nurse is AWESOME. She is a perfect fit for our dysfunctional and totally OCD team. We had her a few weeks before she told us she was pregnant. Not gonna lie, I was pretty annoyed because DUDE, you just started with us and now you’re going to be on maternity leave for 10 long weeks which means I will have to do two jobs and be the contact person for my doctor and PA until you get back. Because it’s all about me, you see. But to be fair, our nurse, let’s call her T, did tell all of us in her interview that she wanted to have another baby; she just wasn’t prepared to get pregnant quite this fast. But you know, babies have their own time tables.
So, after the shock wore off, we started planning a baby shower. And by “we”, I mean, my freaking awesome PA. This PA’s motto is “GO BIG OR GO HOME.” She never, ever does anything half ass. Whether that’s doing her job or planning a party, she has a way of going above and beyond and making individuals feel very special. It’s a LOT of work for her, but she seems to enjoy it and I know other people enjoy the fruits of her labors.
Coincidentally, another nurse, someone who got promoted to nurse manager, also got pregnant at the same time – they are actually about 5 weeks apart, so naturally, we decided to combine the parties.
It was a GREAT PARTY, again, largely thanks to our PA. (We had the party at her house). Nearly every single person in our clinic showed up, even the doctor I work for. I think that says a lot about our clinic – we have such a great group of people.
I was the photographer. Don’t be impressed, I’m really not that great of a photographer. I simply point and shoot. BOOM. I present my photography skills. And I love taking pictures … I just hate going through them afterwards. I know that sounds weird but I think I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed with the results. If I don’t go through them, then I can go on tricking myself into believing that they will turn out good.
Welcome to my head.
But I need to go through them, people at work are asking about them so I will bite the bullet, open the files and hope my little point/shoot Canon did it’s job.
I’m thinking about doing some podcasts and explaining all of the pictures I have to share with you. I’m SO far behind on sharing vacation pictures and various other things that the thought of typing all of the story behind these photos sort of exhausts me, so we’ll see. I’d like to blog more and I think doing podcasts might be easier than typing stuff. We’ll see. Don’t hold your breath.
To sort of summarize what is happening in my life:
1. Blake turned 25 yesterday. I mean … WHAT?!? One more year and he’ll have to think about buying his own health insurance. It’s sort of scary to think about considering our healthcare is SO messed up right now.
2. We finished our 9th cruise in September. (Already mentioned but worth repeating).
3. I am so happy to report that I’m working with a new, MORE IMPROVED nurse and my job is WAY better than it used to be. I am WAY less stressed. I like my job more, too.
4. Kevin, Roy and Blake just returned from a cruise. It was Roy’s first cruise and I’m quite certain, not his last. He’s already bugging Kevin about booking another one.
5. Yes. Roy still lives across the street in our rental house. It’s annoying, but it … works.
6. Brandon has been busy working on a map for a video game he’s been test playing. In fact, his map has gotten so much attention, the creator of the game has contacted him and has offered him money to test some stuff out. I just hope it’s legit and he’s not being scammed.
7. Now I wish I could get Blake interested in doing something for his future. He can’t work for Kevin forever. I lose sleep over this issue.
8. I can’t believe the political chaos this country is going through right now. People are so easily offended and I feel like up is down, and down is up. I’m afraid it will not get better though as the bible says it will only get worse. Brace for impact.
9. I am completely hooked on Sims 4. And now that the Dogs/Cats expansion pack is out, I’m OBSESSED. And get this, I don’t even like animals that much. *insert collective gasp*
10. My youngest nephew on my side of the family just got married and is getting ready to be a father. I’m hoping our two boys see this and recognize that life is literally passing them by. Getting old is scary enough, it’s really scary when you’re alone.
11. I’m a year older. I won’t say how old but I’m just past that half century mark. It’s so WEIRD getting older because I look at myself and feel like I’m 30 but other days my body feels every bit my age.
12. Kevin and Roy are renting shelves and now have a booth at an antiques’ shop. They both LOVE going to yard sales and finding great deals and I’m not opposed to that idea, but I AM opposed to buying junk just because it’s a good deal and then not having a place to put it. Now, they can buy junk and try and resell it for a profit. They’ve already made $50. Not a bad start!
13. The boys, Roy and my oldest nephew, (the boys are now living with him – did I mention the boys moved into a three-bedroom apartment and love their space so much more??) come over every Sunday night for dinners. Yes, it’s a free meal to them, but it’s nice to get together and see them. I always envisioned them doing this when they got out on their own. Hopefully, if/when they find significant others they still want to continue the “tradition.”
14. Thank God we are not hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year. We did it last year. We had a garage party. Yet another story I need to tell you.
15. Kevin’s parents sold their house and are now living in an RV full time. It’s been quite an adjustment and I think they are loving it so far. But winter is approaching and they are talking about driving to Texas for the winter. The problem? My father-in-law shouldn’t be driving at all, let alone an RV. Not sure how that is going to shake out.
16. Did I mention I like my job again?
17. Kevin is BLASTING his guitar right now. He’s been building amplifiers as a hobby and he’s testing one out right now. He’s in his office, which is a screened-in porch that he converted to his office, so the sliding glass door is closed but he’s being so loud, my ears are ringing. I hope the neighbors can’t hear him.
Time to go. I have a Baked Pasta in the oven, (see recipe below – my sister-in-law made it when Kevin had his motorcycle accident back in 2010 and we’ve been hooked ever since, the boys will end up taking the leftovers home) and the boys will be over soon for our Sunday night dinner.
Thanks for reading!
Baked Pasta
1 (16 oz) package of dry pasta (I use Penne)
1-2 lbs of ground chuck (less fat)
2 (28 oz) jars of spaghetti sauce
6 oz sliced provolone cheese
1 1/2 cups of sour cream
6 oz mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta 9 minutes in a large pot of salted water. Combine cooked meat and spaghetti sauce and simmer 15 mimnutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a lightly greased baking dish, place about one half of the pasta into the dish, top with a layer of provlone and mozzarella. Spread half of the spaghetti sauce mixture and layer all of the sour cream. Cover with remaining half of pasta, remaining half of provolone and mozzarella, and remaining half of sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Serve with garlic bread. YUM!
Write From Karen 