October 2009 from Karen Sams on Vimeo.
Tag Archives: Life
Baby monster mash
Our trip home to Indiana for Halloween was crazy. There were 15 of us in one house, including five kids under the age of 6 hopped up on too much candy. The weekend also included the following:
- A trip to Chicago with my dad to see Bob Dylan in concert. (!!!)
- My mom hit a deer in her brand new car. Everyone was okay. The car and the deer, however, were not.
- Most of us were infected with the worst virus EVER at some point during the weekend.
Despite all the craziness, it was an unbelievably great time filled with family, laughs, kids, candy, and way too much food. Click the picture below for some photos.
WARNING: This slideshow contains dangerous levels of cute. Proceed with caution.
I must have done something right
Yesterday was rough. I floated in and out of consciousness for most of the day, delirious with high fever. I spent a painful half hour in the waiting room at Urgent Care desperately wishing I could lie down on the floor, or lie down anywhere for that matter, as sitting up was just too taxing.
I struggled to fill out the new patient forms, and I know I would have cursed myself for never getting around to finding a primary care physician if I’d had enough energy to think of anything but keeping myself upright.
Tony took the forms from me, filled them out, helped me get to the exam room once my name was finally called, and took care of payment when my appointment was over. He drove me home, made a bed for me on the couch, and left to fill my prescriptions.
He woke me gently every 4 to 6 hours to give me my medicine. He called my boss to let him know that I wouldn’t be in for the next couple days. He made me toast and chicken broth to make sure I was eating something. He kept my glass full to make sure I was getting enough fluids.
When he went to bed, he left my cell phone on the coffee table and told me his would be on in the room just 30 feet away. “If you need anything at all, and you’re not feeling well enough to get up, just call in case I can’t hear you.” It seems ridiculous now that my fever has broken, but at the time, I probably was too sick to walk to the next room or even call loudly enough for him to hear me.
My dog, who usually sleeps soundly on the cushion next to our bed, kept silent vigil at my side through the night. He spent most of the day at my feet, and slept on the end of the couch beside me all through the night.
The day was foggy with fever and illness, but one thing remained incredibly clear through it all: I am so so lucky to have a husband who cares for me so much and so well. Yesterday was rough, but I don’t know how I would have gotten through it without my little family.
Are you up for a challenge?
It happens every few months or so. I get restless. I start feeling unfulfilled and bored. I want some excitement, something new, but I don’t really know what that something might be.
We all get in a rut sometimes. The question is, what do you do about it? Do you complain? Wallow in unhappiness? Or do you try something new? Take on a challenge and see where it takes you?
I’m constantly challenging myself to try new things and explore new interests. Most of them don’t stick. A lot of them end up being unfinished projects or even unstarted projects. But you’ll never discover new interests if you don’t challenge yourself with new things.
Quilting, photography, this blog … all of my hobbies started out with a trial run. And it’s time for me to take on yet another challenge.
This year, I’ll be participating in National Novel Writing Month. I will write a 50,000 word novel between November 1 and November 30. I already have an idea and a rough plot outline.
The purpose isn’t to write a great piece of literature. In fact, it’s likely that the finished project will be total crap. It will be rushed, unedited, and hastily written. But it will be a novel, and it will force me to write creatively every day for a month.
I haven’t written fiction since junior high, so I’m looking forward to this new challenge. At the end of the month, I may decide that I’m better off sticking with nonfiction for the rest of my life. Or I may discover a new passion for fiction. Who knows where this new challenge will lead me, but that’s part of the fun of it.
I’m going to try very hard not to let this new project interfere with my writing here, but the fact is, I might be a little pressed for time in the coming month. If I miss a day here or there, you’ll know why.
So how about you? Is there something you’ve always wanted to try? Are you hungry for a new challenge? Have you always wanted to run a marathon or make a scrapbook? There’s no better time than now to make it happen. Let’s make November the month of new beginnings!
Photo by olivander
Misty mountain hop
This weekend, Tony and I were in Asheville, NC. We took a walk downtown and spent Sunday hiking at Chimney Rock State Park. We finally got to see some of the fall color we’ve been missing, it was breathtaking and absolutely everything we hoped it would be, and I took a ton of pictures.
It’s late, and I’m exhausted, so just click through the photo for more photos, k? :)
Life through the lens
Now that we know our time here is finite, I’ve been slowing down to appreciate the beauty around me a lot more. As much as I complain about the heat and humidity in North Carolina and as much as I miss fall in the Midwest, there is a lot of natural beauty in this part of the country. But it’s not just North Carolina that we’ll be leaving behind when we move.
The next chapter in our lives will be as parents and home owners. I’ll (hopefully) be a work at home mom. Tony will be working full time. Our time as a family of two is limited, and I want to appreciate every second of it. I also want to see as much of North Carolina as I can before we pick up and move on.
I’ve discovered a new passion for photography, and it has allowed me to slow down and cherish more of these beautiful moments.
In the coming months we’ll be traveling a little more, photographing a little more, and taking the time to prepare ourselves for the most important job title we’ll ever hold: parents.
We’ll also be cherishing every moment of this time of our lives. I know that someday we’ll look back on this time together and realize just how precious it was. I want to appreciate it now even though I’m so excited about what’s next.
How do you remind yourself to slow down and live in the now?
Another change in plans, but this time it’s good news!
I’ve been pretty open about my struggles with homesickness. Last week, we had a change of plans that will bring us home sooner than we planned.
Last spring we decided to stay in North Carolina until December 2010 so that Tony could pursue a high school teaching license in addition to his master’s degree. A problem with his scheduling brought on by some crummy advice from the education school has made it impossible for him to finish his high school teaching certification any sooner than May 2011 now. So we have made the decision for him to drop the high school teaching certification so we can move in May 2010. That means we’re moving back to Indiana in as soon as 7 months!
This is a big change of plans. We thought we had 15 whole months before we’d be picking up and moving again, but this means we’ll have to start making plans now. How does this change our financial plans? Well, luckily, not a lot.
Tony will finish his master’s degree in May 2010. At that point, he will stop receiving his monthly teaching stipend. Student teaching is a full time job, so he wouldn’t have been able to work while finishing the licensure program. That means we would have had to live on my salary alone. It would have been extremely tight for 8 months. We may have been able to get through it without spending any of our savings, but I doubt we could have saved much money between May and December 2010.
Now that we’re moving early, Tony will be able to find a full time job right away. I may decide to find a job, too, so that we’ll be able to save more for a new house in Indiana.
Right now, we’re hoping we’ll be able to move in the beginning of May, and then we’ll celebrate our new start with our trip to Europe. If it works out that way, the move could take as much as $1,000 off the cost of our trip to Europe. We’ll save $400 on kennel costs by leaving Howie with family, and we’ll also save $200-$600 on air fare because it’s so much cheaper to fly out of Chicago.
The only problem is that the lease on our apartment won’t end until July. I’m hoping we’ll have some options for early termination, but if not, we may have to stay for the extra two months so I can continue working and pay the rent without dipping into our savings.
As far as long term plans go, Tony has decided to continue his education so he’ll be qualified to teach at the university level. Except this time, he’ll be attending school part-time while working full-time so that we can start a family.
This is all very exciting for us. We can’t wait to move back to the Midwest, closer to our families, and begin the next chapter of our lives. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on our moving plans!
Photo by thetruthabout
It’s my birthday, too, yeah
On Saturday, I celebrated my 25th birthday. I have one word to describe how I feel after this weekend: lucky.
We took a short trip to the beautiful town of Chapel Hill, NC on Saturday to hunt for used vinyl. I had about $25 to spend as well as a $50 gift card from my co-workers for dinner.
I was nervous to bring Howie along, but last week he had surgery to remove a benign lump from his neck. The surgery was minor and he’s recovering well, but he has staples in his neck from his incision, so we didn’t want to leave him at a boarding facility.
He was thrilled to come along, of course, and it ended up working out wonderfully. All of the record stores that we browsed were happy to allow Howie to come in with us, and we had dinner on the patio at a dog-friendly restaurant. They even brought Howie a dish of ice water.
Having him with us was a little inconvenient at times, but I’m glad I was able to celebrate my birthday with my whole family, including our perfect little dog.
We found 7 albums from our list and stayed within our $25 budget, and the restaurant was so affordable that we were able to order two beers without going over budget. Overall, it was one of the greatest birthdays on record, all thanks to my incredible little family. :)
Click here for more images from our adventure.
September 2009 in pictures
September 2009 from Karen Sams on Vimeo.