Cleaning is Expensive

Sunday morning I was overcome with an intense need to scrub the kitchen sink, hand scrub the entire kitchen floor, and finish all the laundry.  We have a VERY busy afternoon/evening scheduled, so I needed to move quickly because GOD FORBID any of these super important tasks not be completed.  The world may have come to an end.

Can we say nesting?

I got up, put on my robe, threw my phone in my robe pocket and headed downstairs to eat and start the mad dash to finish my very rational to-do list.

After breakfast, I tackled the sink first (which made the least sense later when I realized that I poured dirty floor water down my recently cleaned sink).  A little Comet, a little elbow grease, and the sink looked like new.  I had however, gotten Comet ALL OVER the front of my robe.

Thank goodness I was doing laundry, I thought to myself.  I'll just throw it in the last load.

Cue 2 hours later... I had cleaned the sink, scrubbed the floor, gotten all the laundry through the wash, folded and put away half of it, cleaned out some kitchen cupboards, one bathroom cabinet, and cleaned off all the kitchen counter tops (I also showered, but that's a minor detail).  It was time to dash out the door.  We wouldn't be home for like 9 hours, so I needed to make sure I had everything I needed.

Where did I put my phone?

Oh crap...  I never checked my robe pocket.  My robe, which was in the washing machine.  About to begin the final spin.  We stopped the cycle and waited (impatiently) for the water to drain so the door would open, knowing that we needed to head out the door.

Please please PLEASE don't let my phone be in there.

Phil and I pull out the sopping wet items from the washer including my phone.  My barely 6 months old iPhone 5.

I was livid.  How could I have done that?  I ALWAYS put my phone in my robe pocket, I should have known better.  How much were they going to charge me for a new phone?  We have been so good about saving money, I really don't want to blow all of it on a new phone.  How am I going to handle not having a phone?  What if someone calls me?

We shoved the phone in a bag of rice, hopped in the car, and sped off for our very busy Sunday afternoon/evening.

I was so mad at myself.  Phil spent pretty much the next several hours trying to calm me down.  It wasn't just the money or the inconvenience, it was the hormones.  And then the spousal guilt.  If the roles had been reversed, I would have been pissed at him and here he was comforting me and not mad at me at all.  It was another example of how wonderful of a man I married and how much growing I need to do as a wife and person.

When we finally got home at 9 Sunday evening, I had calmed down a little, but the hormones kept on pumping.  I'm not sure I ever really calmed down.  And at that point, it had nothing to do with my phone and EVERYTHING to do with how wonderful my husband was.

Phil did some research, told me it wouldn't be as expensive as I originally thought to get it fixed, told me he would take care of it first thing the next morning, got me some cookies and milk, and put me to bed.  He didn't know I stayed up another 2 hours, oscillating between exhaustion and then crying over the kind, thoughtful, and amazing man who loves me.

So here's what I learned from my expensive sink cleaning experience:
1.  My husband is even more amazing than I give him credit for.
2.  I'll never put my phone in the washing machine again.
3.  My husband is the better spouse, and I need to work harder to be better for him.
4.  Pregnancy hormones can be a real B*$#h.

At least my sink looks really good.

*Truth be told, I kind of think this would have happened eventually to me anyway.  If not now, it would have been in like 4 months when I have a newborn and am doing laundry every single day, half asleep.  At least this way, I didn't lose any pictures of my baby (just some of Cotton) and Phil had the time and energy to deal with it for me.  Now I feel like I'm more likely to NOT do it again.

5 Days and A Smart Husband

After my desperate plea to just be able to throw in the towel on my novel the other day, I decided to just buck up.  I had just a little over a week left.  And if I took the wonderful advice you guys all gave me and just focused on doing a little more at a time, it was possible for me to still finish on time and not lose my sanity.

So I am buckling down... 5 days left.  I have to be done on Friday night by midnight.  And currently, I have 11,321 words left.  It kind of feels like a lot, but not really when I think about the fact that I have already written 38,679.

In an attempt to get as much writing done as possible, I decided I am cutting out all things extra this week and spending a little extra time on the couch and at the coffeeshop, staring at the computer screen, typing away.  I had roped Phil into going with me to the coffeeshop yesterday morning when he told me that he didn't really want to go.  Instead, he showed me the list of things he wanted to do around the house.  And it was a LONG list.

Then, since he is learning the ropes of this whole having a pregnant wife thing, he asked me if it was ok that he stay home and get those things done.

Oh smart man... Of course it is.

So I headed to the coffeeshop and he stayed home with the dogs to whip the house into shape so we could decorate for Christmas tonight after I got home.  I managed to bust out over 3,600 words in just under three hours.  If I can keep this up, I will finish the 50,000 words by Friday night.  I am not sure my story will be done, but I will have 50,000 words.

And Phil managed to get A TON of stuff done while I was gone, so we were able to get the house totally decorated.

There's a little more than the picture shows: some details on the bookcase, garland on the stairs, candles, etc.  But so far, I like it.  I'm not too willing to put a lot more effort into decorating, since we won't even be home for Christmas this year.  But thanks to Phil, it was a pretty painless process.

He is super smart.

5 days.  11,321 words left.

Grateful

A short and incomplete list of things I am grateful for today:

-  A job that I get better and better at each day.  On the job training... gotta love it.

-  A husband who stands in the kitchen and talks to me while I cook.  Sometimes, he'll provide the background music.

Lately he has been working a little later, so I don't get my dinner-makin' music.  But that's ok.  Even though he knows it is ok for him to work a little later, he always asks me if it is ok first.  Making me feel included.  :)

-  This little guy.



Only about 9 more "sleeps" until you are mine little man!


-  This good girl.

I'm sure everyone says this about their own dog, but she really is the BEST dog.  Not that she doesn't have her moments, but she is such a good girl.  She will be such a great big sister.
-  Iced Tea.

Made fresh every afternoon.  With 1 packet of Truvia.  Antioxidants can be so refreshing!  :)

-  Thyroid hormones.  Walgreen's apparently ran out of my Cytomel and were going to give me a partial refill.  It made me a little nervous.  And then a doctor told me that one of the reasons they might have run out is because doctors and some pshyciatrists are starting to prescribe small doses of Cytomel to help make their patients feel better (without actual thyroid reasons).  That made me mad.  Luckily (for everyone) Walgreen's was able to totally refill my prescription the next day.  Or I would have lost it.


There are so many more things to add to this list, but I think this will do for now.


*Please pray for Rachel.  She is having her full thyroidectomy I think RIGHT NOW.  I'm glad that I can provide her with support and a little information about thyroid cancer, the same way Grace did for me.  It's invaluable to talk to someone who has gone through exactly what you did.

So that's another thing I am grateful for.  See... I told you the list wasn't done.


Here's a couple more:

-  I'm grateful that my thyroid cancer treatment is OVER!  Hopefully I never have to deal with cancer again.

-  And I'm grateful for you guys!  Your comments yesterday were wonderful and super supportive.  Plus they were very interesting to read.  I really liked hearing your opinions and I felt like we had a nice little forum going.  :)

In Sickness and In Health

"I take you to be my wife/husband, and these things I promise you: I will be faithful to you and honest with you; I will respect, trust, help, and care for you; I will share my life with you; I will forgive you as we have been forgiven; and I will try with you better to understand ourselves, the world, and God; through the best and worst of what is to come, and as long as we live."

These are the vows we used at our wedding. 

Not your traditional wedding vows, but still we weren't super creative and write our own.  And even though they don't says specifically, "in sickness and in health," I am pretty sure it is wrapped up in "through the best and worst of what is to come."  Because sickness definitely falls into the "worst" category.  And most of the time, health is taken for granted even though it falls into the "best" category.


It is easy to love someone when things are happening the way you planned. The true test is how you love someone when life throws your plans out the window.


Since our wedding day, we have more than had to live our vows.  In addition to normal adjustments that have to happen when you start sharing your life with someone, we were hit with a serious family illness (Phil's dad's liver cancer), owning a business during a horrible economy, grad school, infertility, and then thyroid cancer. 


These challenges have brought out the worst in me at times.  I am not the bright, funny, and confident woman my husband met and fell in love with.  I am struck, more often than not, with feelings of inadequacy, sadness, and fear that my husband will wake up and realize he could do better.


But he hasn't.  And I don't think he will.  I know those are feelings that I have, and they are not the feelings he has.  Because he is living his vows too.  He is helping me through things.  He is taking care of me like he promised he would.  And he is doing a great job.


On Valentine's Day this year, I will have my second surgery.  And Phil and I will continue to live out our vows.  Not just in cards and flowers, but in actions.  He will sit with me as I waffle between crying in fear and waiting for the surgery to be over (again).  He will wake up every 4 hours to make sure I get my pain medication.  He will kiss me and comfort me and take care of me.  Just like he promised.


Knowing he will take care of me during the "worst" times is the best Valentine's gift I could ask for.  Because that means I know he will be there and celebrate with me when the "best" comes our way.



You might be married to an engineer if...

You might be married to an engineer if...

1) Your birthday gifts are wrapped as follows:

 

Used old plans for wrapping paper and the packaging from a package of paper to make the bow. All from the recycling bin. This may be how I wrap all of our Christmas presents.

Eat THAT carbon footprint!!

And then I drove to Corvallis to have dinner with Phil...

I guess we will call it a draw, Earth.

Bad Wife

Lately I have felt like a bad wife.  Like a really bad wife.  I haven't really cooked much.  I haven't really cleaned much.  Usually this wouldn't be that big of a deal, because Phil is excellent at picking up the slack.  But right now, he is knee-deep in lab work.  So hopefully this week I can muster up the energy/motivation and fix my sucky-ness.

According to 1955 standards, I am absoultely horrible.  I think I fail on every single item listed except for "Be happy to see him."  I am always happy to see him.  Or at least most of the time.  :)  Like at least 99.2% of the time.  ALL of the time when he brings me a Pumpkin Spice Latte, like he did on Saturday. (Good move, baby)

{Source}

Thank goodness I live in the 21st century.

BORDER-line boring

This last Friday night, Phil and I decided to head to BORDERS to see if we could find any good books for a discounted price.  We both have Kindles, but if you can get a book for 70-80% off, it is hard to say no.  We knew the selection would be slim, but it can't hurt to look.  So with very few expectations, here is what we came away with:

6 books for Phil

6 books for me

1 CD (that I was totally going to buy anyway)

The best part:

It is kind of hard to see, but that says the TOTAL is $59, and we SAVED $198.

It was a successful outing.

Then we went to a movie.  My kind of date night.

Red Cross Match Making

I have multiple cousins in college right now and all of them are at Oregon State (GO BEAVERS!). Two of them are about to graduate and another is in a serious relationship but the youngest one, Lindsay, is about to start her sophomore year of college. Being her older cousin and having made (several) bad judgement calls during my undergraduate days, I decided to bestow upon her a little dating advice. And believe me... I learned the HARD way.

I have a theory about a really good place to pick up a date.

BLOOD DRIVES

Think about it for a second... If you pick up someone after they have donated blood, you are almost certainly guaranteed a few things:

1) The person hasn't had sex for money/drugs.

2) They don't share needles or have sex with someone who shares needles.

3) They haven't violated any monkeys.

4) They haven't been exposed to malaria.

5) They are relatively healthy.

6) They do not currently have a temperature.

7) They can handle a little pain and aren't all that squeamish around needles and/or blood.


These may not seem like very important things, but can serve as a decent screening tool for potential dates. Let me make something clear here, I am not passing judgement. (Ok honestly for some of the items I have mentioned, I am definitely passing judgement. Can't help it). And when it comes to my cousins, I want nothing but the best. :)

Now... you need to make sure they aren't just giving blood and then calling that number on the back of the sheet telling them to not use their blood. So look for someone who has donated before. Perhaps they have earned their gallon pin. Of course if they are WEARING their gallon pin, that is kind of weird.

So cousins of mine... it might be a good idea to at least volunteer in the snack section for the upcoming Civil War Blood Drive.

You can totally use the following pick-up line (not you, Lindsay, because you shouldn't be paying for a first date):

"You look like you could use some more food. Let's go to dinner."

OR

"Today you saved 3 lives. The least I can do is take you to a movie."

{Image Source}

I totally had a first date at the blood drive once (sophomore year).

I did not meet Phil at a blood drive. But I am pretty sure, "Have you donated blood?" was definitely a question I asked on one of our first dates.

I think I am onto something here.

Welcome to Denver

So get this...

Phil left after Tegan's wedding to attend a conference in Denver.  After I pick him up from the airport last night (minus any squirrel deaths), he tells me this story:

Phil decided to take the bus from the airport to a stop near his hotel.  He gets off and crosses the pedestrian bridge that leads to his hotel and another hotel next to his, The Knights Hotel.  As Phil is walking towards the lobby entrance to his hotel, he notices a cop car in front of the Knights Hotel.  The cop is out of the car and there is a lump of something on the ground in front of him.

"Interesting," Phil thinks to himself.

Then Phil takes a closer look... The lump on the ground is a person.  And the cop has his gun drawn... pointing at the person on the ground.

"That's unusual," is Phil's next thought.

Then, two police cars, sirens blaring speed to the Knights Hotel, coming to a screeching stop.  The officer from the first car jumps out of his car, gun drawn running to the other officer yelling things.  The second officer runs around to the back of his car and opens his trunk.

The second officer turns to Phil, "What are you doing?  Get the hell out of here!" as he pulls a semi-automatic assault weapon out of the trunk of his car.

Phil, who is trying to just walk into the lobby of his hotel, decides to book it around the back side of the hotel to find the back entrance.  Obviously, something pretty serious is going on at the Knights Hotel.

As Phil walks around his hotel, he sees that the Knights Hotel is completely surrounding by Police and Police vehicles.

Phil gets inside.  Goes to his room (which was a whole saga in and of itself.  Let's just say, Phil thoroughly checked the bed for bed bugs and stains if you catch my drift), and locks every dead bolt available.  At this point, Phil decided he was going to limit his time at the hotel.

The next day, Phil learns that there had been a domestic assault at the Knights Hotel.  A passerby (I think) saw this assault taking place and tried to stop it.  The person doing the assaulting had a gun, turned to the person trying to stop it and shot him.  Also, the murderer fled the scene in a white suburban (OJ Style as I like to call it).  Phil isn't sure they have caught him yet.

That is what Phil walked upon when he got to his hotel.  The Police were responding to a murder.

My husbands hotel was next to a murder scene.

He decided to not tell me this until after he got home.  Probably a good choice.

I have decided he is NEVER leaving me again.

P.S - Today at least 2 of my facebook friends mentioned they are going to Denver.  Weird.  Be careful!

I like Peanut M&Ms

Phil and I were in bed last night... reading (like I would post about anything else.  Come on people, my mother reads this sometimes).  Phil is currently reading a book written by a comedian.  The comedian was for some reason describing the three parts of a woman's cycle:

1.  The "Are you really crying at that television show?" phase.

2.  The "No you are not fat and you have plenty of clothes in the closet you can wear" phase.

3.  The "Just throw a bag of peanut M&Ms at her and run" phase.

(I may have paraphrased a little.  I can't remember the verbage exactly.)

Naturally after Phil told me this, I immediately asked him if I was that bad.  Poor guy... walked right into that one.

Phil's reply:  "Well you definitely do the first two occasionally."

NOTE:  I have sobbed like a baby during Project Runway before.  Not because someone was being eliminated or anything.  But because the contestants were being mean to each other and that really bothered me at the moment.  Hormones anyone?

Phil continued (and this part kind of surprised me): "But at no time have I felt the need to treat you like a bear."

Not me!

Well that is good to know.  :)


Love, Mrs. Janney

Lunchtime Conversations

Here is a real conversation (verbatim) Phil and I had today at lunch.  Enjoy...


Me:  I bit my lip again.

Phil:  oh no.

Me: My canine tooth keeps catching my lip.

Phil:  lame.

Me:  Maybe I am becoming a vampire.

Phil:  I don't think so.

Me:  It is pretty unlikely.  I will admit that.

Phil:  Although you are pale.

Me:  Exactly.

Phil:  I don't think you're becoming a vampire.

Me:  Like I said... not real likely.

Phil:  Good.

Me:  But watch out just in case.

Phil:  I'll take my chances.

Me:  Ok.  You've been warned.

Phil:  Ok.


Sometimes, we have really deep and meaningful conversation.  That's a good look into our marraige.


Love, Mrs. Janney

1 Year Anniversary

[WARNING: Sappy, Sentimental Post]

I will confess, I actually wrote this post a few days ago.  Obviously I am not spending my anniversary on the internet.  I am spending it with MY HUSBAND.  :)  If things work out the way we have it planned, we will be in Portland having breakfast or on our way north when this posts.

I will recap after we get back.

I honestly can't believe our wedding was a year ago.  In a way, it feels like it was just yesterday.  But in a lot of other ways, it feels like we have been married for longer than a year.

Our wedding day was perfect.  Even though I was crazy nervous/anxious and we were so busy we couldn't fully enjoy it, I know the day went off without a hitch.  The weather even cooperated.  The entire week before the wedding, it rained like crazy.  But on our wedding day, it was mid to low 70's and sunny.  It was wonderful because people were able to hang out on the deck of the winery at the reception and enjoy the view.

This past year has been full of craziness:

- Baby Shower
- Painting the duplex
- Watching Braxton be born
- Phil's Prelims
- Ed's Liver Cancer
- The PE Exam
- Thanksgiving in Georgia
- Christmas in Virginia
- Karla's Wedding in Boston
- Phil's Parents Visiting
- Getting ready for Tegan's Wedding/Wedding Festivities
- Owning a business in a horrible economy

And many more I can't think of at the moment.  Through all of that, the one thing that never been difficult is being married to Phil.  I honestly think he is a saint.  I am not easy to put up with, I realize this.  He not only puts up with me, but loves me and supports me in every crazy idea I come up with.

This year has been the most challenging year of my young life.  We have faced challenges together I didn't think we would have to face for a LONG time.  And I know there are many more challenges in store for us.  But I can't think of a better person to face those challenges with.

I love you, Phil!  Thank you for asking me to marry you.  Happy Anniversary!!  I hope you life your paper gift.

Love, Mrs. Janney

PS - Sorry for the mushy post.  At least I warned you :)

PUSH

On a morning when I just wasn't feeling super chipper (feeling a little tired, with a headache, and a little blue), my morning commute was only furthering my downward mood. Since the radio station I like to listen to plays a total of 4 songs which consist of early 90's pop music, Katy Perry, and Nickelback, I tend to listen to my iPod on my way into work. I wasn't in the best mood, so finding a song to listen to was a challenge.

I didn't sleep well last night thanks to a dog barking constantly...

I woke up LATE with a headache...

I had to sit through a light twice...

I got stopped by a train...

And then the perfect song came on.

"Push" by Sarah McLachlan

Every time I look at you the world just melts away

All my troubles all my fears dissolve in your affections

You've seen my at my weakest but you take me as I am

And when I fall you offer me a softer place to land

You stay the course you hold the line you keep it all together

You're the one true thing I know I can believe in

You're all the things that I desire, you save me, you complete me

You're the one true thing I know I can believe

I get mad so easy but you give me room to breathe

No matter what I say or do 'cause you're too good to fight about it

Even when I have to push just to see how far you'll go

You won't stoop down to battle but you never turn to go

Your love is just the antidote when nothing else will cure me

There are times I can't decide when I can't tell up from down

You make me feel less crazy when otherwise I'd drown

But you pick me up and brush me off and tell me I'm ok

Somtimes that's just what we need to get us through the day

I heard this song and remembered just how blessed I am to have such a wonderful and understanding husband. He really does take me the way I am and he puts up with so much of my craziness that I am starting to think he is part Saint.

I am glad God chose a stressful and blue morning to remind me to be thankful for the amazing man he brought into my life.

Love, Mrs. Janney