Having lived in Columbus for about 5 years now, I can safely say that this city is the absolute WORST, out of all the other cities I've lived in, at maintaining its electrical grid in good, working order. OK, so maybe Kumasi was worse, but Columbus comes pretty close.
Some of you may remember when Columbus got the remnants of Hurricane Ike a few years ago. I was still single and living with my good friend K at the time. Our power went out for about a week. We did end up getting power back in one half of one outlet, but it really wasn't good for much. It was a trying time. We ate out a lot.
Well, a few days before the 4th of July this year, we had a huge windstorm sweep through the area. Specifically, it was a derecho which is a wind storm made up of straight-line winds that travels over huge geographical area. This one went from the Chicago area all the way to the East Coast. Straight-line winds are the same kind of winds that took off our chimney/roof in the Peach Palace back in the day, for those of you former Peach-palace Pretties who follow this blog. Basically what straight-line winds do, from what I can gather, is tear up a bunch of stuff in random ways and in random places.
For example, there were TONS of trees knocked down all over the city. But the trees weren't up-rooted, they were sheared off right at the base where the trunk meets the grass. Crazy! And the destruction was really random, too. Trees would be knocked over in one yard, but not in the one right next to it. One neighbor's roof would be ripped off, but not the next. Crazy. Power lines were down everywhere, roofs were blown off, and billboards looked like mangled heaps of metal. It was dastardly!
Any way, because Columbus has an extremely poor electrical grid to begin with (our power goes out and comes back on immediately at least twice a week in a normal week), this derecho did a number on the city. There were people without power for up to two-weeks. One-million people in Ohio lost power, and President Obama declared Ohio a Federal Disaster area. The winds got up to 85 mph! It was really neat and scary to watch from the safety of our home while it was happening, but it was really scary. I've never seen wind and rain blow that hard, except on TV when they are covering hurricanes! Oh, and did I mention it happened at the very hottest time of the year? The temperature hit 100+ degrees for multiple days in a row while half the city was without power. Awesome.
It happened in the evening right as the sun was going down, so we really didn't see the extent of the damage until the next morning. It was insane! Ben went ventured out to see if he could help any of our neighbors clean up. He met another guy from our ward doing the same thing, and they wandered around the neighborhood for awhile, helping whoever they could clear their yards and get the bigger tree limbs out of the streets.
At first we didn't lose power and as a result, several of our friends who had lost power and live nearby ended up staying with us or coming to our house to spend the day in the A/C and cook meals. We took on an entire refrigerator's worth of another family's food. They had just gone shopping and stocked up on so many things and we couldn't bear to let them lose it all, especially since they are on a student budget right now!
But, after about 3 days of having power, we suddenly lost ours. It was AWFUL! The friends who were staying with us took their food and left to go to another friend's house who still had power, but we tried to tough it out in our own home the first night. When we lost power, I put tin foil up in all the windows in our house, because that's what they suggest you do to try to keep the sun from heating up your home. It was hilarious, and looked like we were crazy people, but I was determined to keep my house from heating up! It worked for awhile, but that night was horrible. I didn't sleep at all, and by the next morning I was going a little crazy from the heat. I couldn't think straight and was starting to feel slightly delirious and very desperate. I begged Ben to get me out of there! So, we ended up at a friend's house to spend the night too!
Church even got cancelled that week because there was no power and the building had water damage from a leak in the roof caused by the derecho. This is my second power-outage disaster in Columbus, and it really made me see what areas we were prepared in (like powerless cooking, water storage) and what areas we weren't (like keeping cool in the heat). I can't even imagine living through a disaster like the tornadoes in Joplin or Hurricane Katrina. I feel like Columbus becomes a war-zone when we had these comparably small disasters, I can't even imagine what it would be like if the situation was worse!
Any way, we all survived the heat. The power ended up coming back on, and going back to it's normal 2-3 times a week 2-second outages, which I'll take over a 6 day outage any day!
It was an eye-opener for sure. Ben and I will be purchasing a generator as soon as we can afford one. And, we are so grateful to be members of the church. It really is an instant safety net.
Oh, and apparently that particular derecho was so cool that it gets its own Wikipedia page, here.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Stuff Since Vacation
We have been busy bees these last few months!
I've taken on a few more piano students, and currently have 4, and I just got a call from a mom needing lessons for her two daughters, so if our schedules match up that will be 6! I also pawned 2 other students off on a friend of mine, because they were a little more advanced than I'm comfortable teaching and they had crazy schedules that I just couldn't deal with. I am really enjoying teaching! We're going to try to have a little class/group lesson in October for Halloween where the kids can practice playing in front of each other (in a non-scary, non-recital setting) and we'll probably make a Halloween craft or something fun, too. I did this when I was a kid taking lessons, and I really enjoyed them. I've run the idea past a few of my students and they've all been excited about it, so hopefully it will be OK.
I've been working REALLY hard to get my A1C lower, which you can ready all about here. I try not to make this blog too diabetes-heavy, but it's a part of my life, so sometimes it creeps in here.
Church stuff has been awesome and SUPER crazy all at the same time. I finally got released from being an Activity Days leader, which now leaves me with only TWO callings instead of THREE. It is nice, let me tell you. I loved that calling, and had a blast with those chillins, but I was definitely getting burnt out! And Ben is now the Executive Secretary in our ward, which means we are both somehow a lot more busy, so it was just too much! And because we live in a college town and because it's August, that means we've been helping people move in or out about twice a week lately!
Our ward also had a Luau! Our dear friends, The C-Family, pretty much put on the whole thing. The husband is Polynesian and grew up in Hawaii, so he is pretty adept at throwing luaus! Ben and I were involved in several aspects of it, the most exciting of which was that we were both in a dance number! I did a slow hula (you can see what it is supposed to look like, here) with some of the other relief society sisters, and Ben did the Haka with a bunch of the Elder's, the bishopric, and a few little boys. And somehow they managed to convince the Bishop to let them do it with their faces painted and no shirts! Also, our little Activity Days girls did a faster tahitian dance (you can see what that one is supposed to look like here) that they had been working on for MONTHS, and they were so cute! It was awesome. I'll try to get some footage of it to post here, I know someone recorded it. This was probably one of the best ward activities I've ever been to. There were 250 people that came, and the gym was decorated amazingly, there was SO MUCH authentic Hawaiian food, and entertainment. Above all, so many people in the ward were involved in so many different parts of putting this thing on, from food prep, to decorating, to being part of the entertainment, that it was very unifying for our ward, which is something our ward desperately needs right now.
Our friend, K, came to visit too! She was only here for a few short hours, but it was SO good to see her, even if we did have to share her with other people. (K! Next time, come visit and don't tell anyone else you're coming, mwa ha ha ha!)
So, all the summer craziness is starting to wind down (Oh, wait! That reminds me that I need to post about "The Great Summer Blackout of 2012".....another day maybe). We're gearing up for fall & winter, and looking forward to it! Hope all of you are doing well!
I've taken on a few more piano students, and currently have 4, and I just got a call from a mom needing lessons for her two daughters, so if our schedules match up that will be 6! I also pawned 2 other students off on a friend of mine, because they were a little more advanced than I'm comfortable teaching and they had crazy schedules that I just couldn't deal with. I am really enjoying teaching! We're going to try to have a little class/group lesson in October for Halloween where the kids can practice playing in front of each other (in a non-scary, non-recital setting) and we'll probably make a Halloween craft or something fun, too. I did this when I was a kid taking lessons, and I really enjoyed them. I've run the idea past a few of my students and they've all been excited about it, so hopefully it will be OK.
I've been working REALLY hard to get my A1C lower, which you can ready all about here. I try not to make this blog too diabetes-heavy, but it's a part of my life, so sometimes it creeps in here.
Church stuff has been awesome and SUPER crazy all at the same time. I finally got released from being an Activity Days leader, which now leaves me with only TWO callings instead of THREE. It is nice, let me tell you. I loved that calling, and had a blast with those chillins, but I was definitely getting burnt out! And Ben is now the Executive Secretary in our ward, which means we are both somehow a lot more busy, so it was just too much! And because we live in a college town and because it's August, that means we've been helping people move in or out about twice a week lately!
Our ward also had a Luau! Our dear friends, The C-Family, pretty much put on the whole thing. The husband is Polynesian and grew up in Hawaii, so he is pretty adept at throwing luaus! Ben and I were involved in several aspects of it, the most exciting of which was that we were both in a dance number! I did a slow hula (you can see what it is supposed to look like, here) with some of the other relief society sisters, and Ben did the Haka with a bunch of the Elder's, the bishopric, and a few little boys. And somehow they managed to convince the Bishop to let them do it with their faces painted and no shirts! Also, our little Activity Days girls did a faster tahitian dance (you can see what that one is supposed to look like here) that they had been working on for MONTHS, and they were so cute! It was awesome. I'll try to get some footage of it to post here, I know someone recorded it. This was probably one of the best ward activities I've ever been to. There were 250 people that came, and the gym was decorated amazingly, there was SO MUCH authentic Hawaiian food, and entertainment. Above all, so many people in the ward were involved in so many different parts of putting this thing on, from food prep, to decorating, to being part of the entertainment, that it was very unifying for our ward, which is something our ward desperately needs right now.
Our friend, K, came to visit too! She was only here for a few short hours, but it was SO good to see her, even if we did have to share her with other people. (K! Next time, come visit and don't tell anyone else you're coming, mwa ha ha ha!)
So, all the summer craziness is starting to wind down (Oh, wait! That reminds me that I need to post about "The Great Summer Blackout of 2012".....another day maybe). We're gearing up for fall & winter, and looking forward to it! Hope all of you are doing well!
A very late "Vacation: Part 2"
Sheesh, I can't believe I've neglected to write about the rest of our vacation for this long. There's simply no excuse other than I'm easily distracted by shiny objects, reddit, another nerdy shoulder injury that makes it hard to type with my right hand, and an extremely busy couple of months. But still!
So,Vacation Part Two! Here we go! The rest of our vacation was awesome. After leaving our beloved K (sniff sniff) in Our Nation's Capital, we headed down to Ben's family's homestead of High Point, NC via Raleigh, NC. Ben has an old college buddy that lives in Raleigh with his wife, and we met them for dinner so Ben and he could catch up and so we could get the skinny on what it's like to live in the Raleigh/Durham area. We got into Raleigh a few hours before we were supposed to meet up with Ben's friend, so we took the time to drive around a little bit. Mostly, we were trying to find a shoe store because our feet hurt so bad from walking the day before that we each needed to buy some new flip flops to give our tender near-blisters some airing out. We were successful! Also, we realized that it was SUPER easy to get around Raleigh, and that we could basically get from one part of the city to another in about 15 minutes, so it's a lot like Columbus in that sense. I always tell people that everything in Columbus is about 20 minutes from everything else, and it's usually true!
We met Ben's friends for dinner, and they were very nice! And they told us how much they enjoy living in the Raleigh area (they actually live in Carey, I think). They said it's nice because it's close to the beach, close to the mountains, and close to D.C! We had a delightful sup with them, and then left to go to Ben's parents'.
While at Ben's family's house we did a lot of just hanging out, but we did take one day to drive back to the Raleigh/Durham/Research Triangle area with Ben's mom to help us check it out even more. We drove around Durham, which was kind of nice, but reminded me a little too much of Oberlin only bigger. We also drove around the Research Triangle, learned all about the difference between "the Triangle" and "Research Triangle Park" , drove around Carey and the temple, and just had a nice time. We're a fan of the area for sure. I think it would definitely be a great place to live.
Ok, I'm sure we did some other fun stuff, but it's been so long since we actually went, that I can't even remember! Blerg!
I was going to update some more about what has happened in life SINCE vacation, but this post is too long, so I'll write it in another one.
So,Vacation Part Two! Here we go! The rest of our vacation was awesome. After leaving our beloved K (sniff sniff) in Our Nation's Capital, we headed down to Ben's family's homestead of High Point, NC via Raleigh, NC. Ben has an old college buddy that lives in Raleigh with his wife, and we met them for dinner so Ben and he could catch up and so we could get the skinny on what it's like to live in the Raleigh/Durham area. We got into Raleigh a few hours before we were supposed to meet up with Ben's friend, so we took the time to drive around a little bit. Mostly, we were trying to find a shoe store because our feet hurt so bad from walking the day before that we each needed to buy some new flip flops to give our tender near-blisters some airing out. We were successful! Also, we realized that it was SUPER easy to get around Raleigh, and that we could basically get from one part of the city to another in about 15 minutes, so it's a lot like Columbus in that sense. I always tell people that everything in Columbus is about 20 minutes from everything else, and it's usually true!
We met Ben's friends for dinner, and they were very nice! And they told us how much they enjoy living in the Raleigh area (they actually live in Carey, I think). They said it's nice because it's close to the beach, close to the mountains, and close to D.C! We had a delightful sup with them, and then left to go to Ben's parents'.
While at Ben's family's house we did a lot of just hanging out, but we did take one day to drive back to the Raleigh/Durham/Research Triangle area with Ben's mom to help us check it out even more. We drove around Durham, which was kind of nice, but reminded me a little too much of Oberlin only bigger. We also drove around the Research Triangle, learned all about the difference between "the Triangle" and "Research Triangle Park" , drove around Carey and the temple, and just had a nice time. We're a fan of the area for sure. I think it would definitely be a great place to live.
Ok, I'm sure we did some other fun stuff, but it's been so long since we actually went, that I can't even remember! Blerg!
I was going to update some more about what has happened in life SINCE vacation, but this post is too long, so I'll write it in another one.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Vacation: Part 1
We went on vacation!
Well, sort of. We considered it a working vacation. See, Ben & I have had the desire to get out of Columbus lately (and by lately, I really mean for the past 3 years). We like Columbus a lot, it has a lot to offer, but we don't really see ourselves becoming lifers here and it's just time to move on.
So, we're starting the process of trying to figure out where we'd like to "settle down." Ben's skill set is such that we can pretty much pick the general area we want to live and then work at trying to get him a job wherever that is, which is pretty nice. So, we've decided to start our location search. We started with a trip to Our Nation's Capital, Washington D.C. And we followed that up with an excursion to the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area of North Carolina.
Our Nation's Capital was amazing! Our good friend K has recently moved there and really enjoys it and since K is so awesome, we figured if she likes D.C., then we probably would too! And we did!
We pulled into Our Nation's Capital around 3pm, just before rush hour traffic got really bad. We checked into our hotel and then K got off work and came to meet us. Then (and this was probably the highlight of the trip) we went to CAFE RIO for dinner! That's right, folks. The D.C. area is now home to 3 Cafe Rios! So yummy. It was everything I remembered and more!
The next day, while K was at work, Ben & I took the Metro into the city and spent the day going to as many museums as we could! We ended up seeing the Natural History Museum, the National Gallery (West), the Air & Space Museum, and the American History Museum.
On the recommendation of Ben's brother & cousin, we also walked all the way up Capitol Hill to eat lunch at a little burger place that is just on the other side of the Capitol Building, called The Good Stuff Eatery. Good stuff indeed!
We also saw the back side of the White House, including the new vegetable gardens that The First Lady has put in. Very cool!
Then, K got off work and came to meet us to tour the memorials. We saw the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. K does not care for Jefferson much, so we skipped that one, which we were just fine with because by that time we were so tired from walking so much that we could barely walk and we were chafing in places that no one should ever have to chafe.
After that long day, K took us to Chinatown to eat at this place called Chop't. It wasn't Chinese food, but it was super tasty, and I wish they would expand them to lots of places all over the country.
Other highlights of the trip to Our Nation's Capital included: a sighting of a blue jay stealing a peanut from a squirrel on The Mall, watching the latest episode of Sherlock with K at her swank apartment in Alexandria, seeing what I was pretty sure was a covert government spy get off the Metro at the Pentagon stop (don't pick up the newspaper he left on his seat!), learning how to correctly use the words 'captial' vs. 'capitol,' accidentally parking K's car in front of two people making out in their car in a busy and well lit parking lot and they didn't stop even though we were obviously parked there and watching them for quite some time! (p.s. we weren't watching them to be creepy, we just had to stay in our car because it was super rainy outside and we were trying to finish eating our frozen yogurt. Don't worry, after a while we moved to another parking space.)
Any way, the trip was awesome, the weather was perfect, the company was fabulous, and we'd go back again in a heart beat! Stay tuned for Part Deux of our D.C./North Carolina adventure!
Well, sort of. We considered it a working vacation. See, Ben & I have had the desire to get out of Columbus lately (and by lately, I really mean for the past 3 years). We like Columbus a lot, it has a lot to offer, but we don't really see ourselves becoming lifers here and it's just time to move on.
So, we're starting the process of trying to figure out where we'd like to "settle down." Ben's skill set is such that we can pretty much pick the general area we want to live and then work at trying to get him a job wherever that is, which is pretty nice. So, we've decided to start our location search. We started with a trip to Our Nation's Capital, Washington D.C. And we followed that up with an excursion to the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area of North Carolina.
OUR NATION'S CAPITAL
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| Carper Family in front of the Washington Monument |
We pulled into Our Nation's Capital around 3pm, just before rush hour traffic got really bad. We checked into our hotel and then K got off work and came to meet us. Then (and this was probably the highlight of the trip) we went to CAFE RIO for dinner! That's right, folks. The D.C. area is now home to 3 Cafe Rios! So yummy. It was everything I remembered and more!
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| Erin doing her T-Rex impression. Tiny Arms! |
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| The Rotunda at the National Gallery |
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| The Capitol Building |
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| The Obama Home |
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| The First Lady's Kitchen Garden |
Then, K got off work and came to meet us to tour the memorials. We saw the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. K does not care for Jefferson much, so we skipped that one, which we were just fine with because by that time we were so tired from walking so much that we could barely walk and we were chafing in places that no one should ever have to chafe.
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| WWII Memorial |
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| The Lincoln Memorial |
After that long day, K took us to Chinatown to eat at this place called Chop't. It wasn't Chinese food, but it was super tasty, and I wish they would expand them to lots of places all over the country.
Other highlights of the trip to Our Nation's Capital included: a sighting of a blue jay stealing a peanut from a squirrel on The Mall, watching the latest episode of Sherlock with K at her swank apartment in Alexandria, seeing what I was pretty sure was a covert government spy get off the Metro at the Pentagon stop (don't pick up the newspaper he left on his seat!), learning how to correctly use the words 'captial' vs. 'capitol,' accidentally parking K's car in front of two people making out in their car in a busy and well lit parking lot and they didn't stop even though we were obviously parked there and watching them for quite some time! (p.s. we weren't watching them to be creepy, we just had to stay in our car because it was super rainy outside and we were trying to finish eating our frozen yogurt. Don't worry, after a while we moved to another parking space.)
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| What would've been an awesome picture if the reflecting pool had been full. |
Any way, the trip was awesome, the weather was perfect, the company was fabulous, and we'd go back again in a heart beat! Stay tuned for Part Deux of our D.C./North Carolina adventure!
Monday, April 30, 2012
On the Art of Saying "No"
I can't believe it took me 30 years to figure out that the way the Church keeps people out of trouble is to keep them so busy they don't have time to get into trouble! Fact!
What is the opposite of magnifying your calling? Because that is what we need to start doing up in here. We have been so busy, we've barely had time to breathe, and something has just got to give. Luckily, we have a nice trip out of town planned in a few weeks, after which we plan on dropping off the face of the planet for awhile.
We had this great Sunday school lesson last Sunday during which one of the members of our stake high-council made the comment that while we are supposed to wear ourselves out in the service of God, it's all about balance, and what wears one person out might be a lot more or a lot less than what wears another person out, and that we shouldn't judge ourselves or others about what that "wearing out" limit might be. He speaks the truth!
My limit has been met, people, and it's time to start saying "No!" (I wish I could say things like "No, get your own stinking life together!" or "No, you are too emotionally needy and that's why no one wants to be your friend!" or "No, I won't teach your class at the last second because you didn't bother to find someone to do it before even though you knew you were going out of town three months ago" or "No, I will not play for you so you can sing some crappy Sally DeFord piece" or "No, I will not baby-sit your kids because it is making me not want to have kids of my own" or "No, I don't want to go to another girls night, because I actually like spending time with my husband and don't want to sit around listening to you complain about yours or complain about how awful it is to be a mom." ---you get the idea. I will just have to stick to a plain "No, sorry, I've already got plans.")
Oh, and one more thing. It is super manipulative to call someone up and say "Hey, what are you doing this afternoon?" or "Hey what are you doing next Thursday?" or "Hey what are you doing _____"? If you want or need something, just ask. Don't tease me into thinking you're going to want to do something fun, when you really just want to find out if I'm free to _____(Fill in the blank)____ for you.
Okay, rant over. All I'm saying is that sometimes "No" isn't such a bad word, and I plan to use it a lot more often in the near future.
What is the opposite of magnifying your calling? Because that is what we need to start doing up in here. We have been so busy, we've barely had time to breathe, and something has just got to give. Luckily, we have a nice trip out of town planned in a few weeks, after which we plan on dropping off the face of the planet for awhile.
We had this great Sunday school lesson last Sunday during which one of the members of our stake high-council made the comment that while we are supposed to wear ourselves out in the service of God, it's all about balance, and what wears one person out might be a lot more or a lot less than what wears another person out, and that we shouldn't judge ourselves or others about what that "wearing out" limit might be. He speaks the truth!
My limit has been met, people, and it's time to start saying "No!" (I wish I could say things like "No, get your own stinking life together!" or "No, you are too emotionally needy and that's why no one wants to be your friend!" or "No, I won't teach your class at the last second because you didn't bother to find someone to do it before even though you knew you were going out of town three months ago" or "No, I will not play for you so you can sing some crappy Sally DeFord piece" or "No, I will not baby-sit your kids because it is making me not want to have kids of my own" or "No, I don't want to go to another girls night, because I actually like spending time with my husband and don't want to sit around listening to you complain about yours or complain about how awful it is to be a mom." ---you get the idea. I will just have to stick to a plain "No, sorry, I've already got plans.")
Oh, and one more thing. It is super manipulative to call someone up and say "Hey, what are you doing this afternoon?" or "Hey what are you doing next Thursday?" or "Hey what are you doing _____"? If you want or need something, just ask. Don't tease me into thinking you're going to want to do something fun, when you really just want to find out if I'm free to _____(Fill in the blank)____ for you.
Okay, rant over. All I'm saying is that sometimes "No" isn't such a bad word, and I plan to use it a lot more often in the near future.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Observations
Just some observations on this, the 29th day of March, the year of our Lord two-thousand and ten:
1. I watched people go in and out of a tanning salon today. Today was ridiculously beautiful, sunny and warm. Something is wrong with this picture. Why would you pay for sunshine when you can get it for free?
2. The serious lack of sidewalks that comes with living in the middle of the city drives me bonkers. Especially in the spring/summer when I want to go for a nice walk without the threat of being killed by traffic while walking on the side of the road. Also, I hate having to drive somewhere just to go for a walk. It seems counter-productive and offends my snooty eco-sensibilities. Just another way that growing up in "Stars Hollow" has ruined me forever.
3. If I lived in England, the NHS would pay for my insulin. The NHS has lots of problems, but not having to pay for something that everyone else's body makes is very attractive to me. Also, being able to participate semi-fairly in a health care system/market is also something that makes the NHS very appealing to me. I've started doing some more research into health care in other English-speaking countries. We're a little worried in the Carper household about how we'll possibly be able to care for ourselves during retirement, especially since I have the 'betes. Seeing as the current Medicare system is pretty inadequate for taking care of a Type 1, and it only seems like it will get worse in the future, I don't really feel like we can count on that. So, we're exploring other avenues of getting insurance when we're old. Of course, emigration seems like the most viable option, right? ;)
Semi-related aside: When President Obama got elected, I remember reading on some girl's blog that she wept & prayed for America because she was afraid of what kind of country we'd become that we would elect such an "evil" president, and she was worried about what her boys would have to deal with in the future. I mocked her. Last night I literally prayed that Heavenly Father would soften the heart of just one more Supreme Court judge so that in June they would rule that the individual mandate didn't violate the constitutionally given powers of congress. I wonder if that girl would mock me now?
1. I watched people go in and out of a tanning salon today. Today was ridiculously beautiful, sunny and warm. Something is wrong with this picture. Why would you pay for sunshine when you can get it for free?
2. The serious lack of sidewalks that comes with living in the middle of the city drives me bonkers. Especially in the spring/summer when I want to go for a nice walk without the threat of being killed by traffic while walking on the side of the road. Also, I hate having to drive somewhere just to go for a walk. It seems counter-productive and offends my snooty eco-sensibilities. Just another way that growing up in "Stars Hollow" has ruined me forever.
3. If I lived in England, the NHS would pay for my insulin. The NHS has lots of problems, but not having to pay for something that everyone else's body makes is very attractive to me. Also, being able to participate semi-fairly in a health care system/market is also something that makes the NHS very appealing to me. I've started doing some more research into health care in other English-speaking countries. We're a little worried in the Carper household about how we'll possibly be able to care for ourselves during retirement, especially since I have the 'betes. Seeing as the current Medicare system is pretty inadequate for taking care of a Type 1, and it only seems like it will get worse in the future, I don't really feel like we can count on that. So, we're exploring other avenues of getting insurance when we're old. Of course, emigration seems like the most viable option, right? ;)
Semi-related aside: When President Obama got elected, I remember reading on some girl's blog that she wept & prayed for America because she was afraid of what kind of country we'd become that we would elect such an "evil" president, and she was worried about what her boys would have to deal with in the future. I mocked her. Last night I literally prayed that Heavenly Father would soften the heart of just one more Supreme Court judge so that in June they would rule that the individual mandate didn't violate the constitutionally given powers of congress. I wonder if that girl would mock me now?
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Glory be!
How is it March already? We have been BUSY here in the the Carper household! For some reason, February turned out to be the absolute busiest month! Sheesh. Not a minute to breathe (literally, because we were both sick for a lot of February, too!), but this week we've finally had a few slower days. We even went on a spontaneous date on Friday night! We went out to run an errand, and Ben surprised me by saying "let's catch a movie!" We saw "We Bought A Zoo." I loved it!
In other news: We survived the deadly tornado outbreak of March 2012! We were right in the line of the nasty storms, but just north enough in Ohio to not get a tornado, just some thunderstorms and wind, and it actually wasn't that bad. Parts of Ohio got some bad damage and tornadoes, but it wasn't as bad as other places, thank goodness!
More Ohio News: The Chardon school shooting was a sooooo incredibly sad. I grew up not that far away from Chardon, and it is just such a crazy thing that these kinds of things happen! I distinctly remember the day the Columbine shooting happened (we watched it on Channel 1, and then followed it on the news the rest of the day when I was in high school), and thought that it was the craziest thing that could ever happen. I can't believe how many times that horror has been repeated in schools since then.
Some More Ohio News: We're having an outbreak of the Norovirus. Not me, personally, but central-Ohio. It's basically a nasty stomach virus (the one that you always hear people get on cruise ships a lot) but it's particularly bad because the virus can survive on surfaces from 2-10 days! Also, you still shed the virus in your feces for 3 days after you recover (yes, I just said "feces" in my blog), so you are still contagious after you are back at work and stuff. Anyway, I don't know anyone who's been sick yet, and we've been really good at hand washing in Carper-dom and we're super anti-social so I don't anticipate us getting it, but oh how I love me a good epidemic! That's just how I roll.
Even More Ohio News: Oh, Super Tuesday. How I loathe thee. Seriously, one reason (among many) to NOT move to Ohio is that it is a swing state. Although, being a registered democrat currently has its advantages, because I haven't been getting all the phone calls urging me to vote for Mitt or Rick or Newt or Ron. Thank goodness! I wish people at church would quit acting like Mitt is God, though. Also, I think they all assume that Mormon=Republican. I think I might need to "come out of the closet" as a democrat to my ward at some point, just to get people talking. Maybe during testimony meeting, wherein I get up and announce how I "know social welfare programs are true" and how I'm "so grateful for comprehensive sex education in schools"? Just for shock value? Don't worry, I'll restrain myself. But if I hear Brother____ say that "universal health care is Satan's plan" one more time (to an investigator, no less!), I might just have to speak up.
Erin News: I switched from atenolol to treat my SVT to something called Bystolic (nebivolol). It's a newer beta blocker, and is supposed to be a little less harsh in the side-effect arena, because it doesn't penetrate the blood-brain barrier as easy (or something). So far, I think it's been great. Atenolol gave me headaches, and made me soooooo exhausted, but this new drug seems to be pretty good. It doesn't seem to keep my heart rate quite as low as atenolol, but it does seem to tackle the "I-think-I'm-having-a-heart-attack-but-actually-these-feelings-aren't-really-dangerous" symptoms of SVT better. So, thus far it's a win-win. I haven't had to actually buy it yet though (my GP just gave me a month of samples), so we'll see how much of a win it is when I actually have to pay for it. Hopefully it won't be too expensive.
More Erin News: I've discovered a promising new GF baking blog, The Art of Gluten-Free Baking. I've made the faux oreos (faux-reos, anyone?) and they were really good. I'm planning on baking my way through this blog. Mmmm, it looks so good! I'm making her buttermilk biscuits and her thin mints next. And then maybe her pop-tarts. Yum. I'll let you know how it goes.
And, that's the latest.
In other news: We survived the deadly tornado outbreak of March 2012! We were right in the line of the nasty storms, but just north enough in Ohio to not get a tornado, just some thunderstorms and wind, and it actually wasn't that bad. Parts of Ohio got some bad damage and tornadoes, but it wasn't as bad as other places, thank goodness!
More Ohio News: The Chardon school shooting was a sooooo incredibly sad. I grew up not that far away from Chardon, and it is just such a crazy thing that these kinds of things happen! I distinctly remember the day the Columbine shooting happened (we watched it on Channel 1, and then followed it on the news the rest of the day when I was in high school), and thought that it was the craziest thing that could ever happen. I can't believe how many times that horror has been repeated in schools since then.
Some More Ohio News: We're having an outbreak of the Norovirus. Not me, personally, but central-Ohio. It's basically a nasty stomach virus (the one that you always hear people get on cruise ships a lot) but it's particularly bad because the virus can survive on surfaces from 2-10 days! Also, you still shed the virus in your feces for 3 days after you recover (yes, I just said "feces" in my blog), so you are still contagious after you are back at work and stuff. Anyway, I don't know anyone who's been sick yet, and we've been really good at hand washing in Carper-dom and we're super anti-social so I don't anticipate us getting it, but oh how I love me a good epidemic! That's just how I roll.
Even More Ohio News: Oh, Super Tuesday. How I loathe thee. Seriously, one reason (among many) to NOT move to Ohio is that it is a swing state. Although, being a registered democrat currently has its advantages, because I haven't been getting all the phone calls urging me to vote for Mitt or Rick or Newt or Ron. Thank goodness! I wish people at church would quit acting like Mitt is God, though. Also, I think they all assume that Mormon=Republican. I think I might need to "come out of the closet" as a democrat to my ward at some point, just to get people talking. Maybe during testimony meeting, wherein I get up and announce how I "know social welfare programs are true" and how I'm "so grateful for comprehensive sex education in schools"? Just for shock value? Don't worry, I'll restrain myself. But if I hear Brother____ say that "universal health care is Satan's plan" one more time (to an investigator, no less!), I might just have to speak up.
Erin News: I switched from atenolol to treat my SVT to something called Bystolic (nebivolol). It's a newer beta blocker, and is supposed to be a little less harsh in the side-effect arena, because it doesn't penetrate the blood-brain barrier as easy (or something). So far, I think it's been great. Atenolol gave me headaches, and made me soooooo exhausted, but this new drug seems to be pretty good. It doesn't seem to keep my heart rate quite as low as atenolol, but it does seem to tackle the "I-think-I'm-having-a-heart-attack-but-actually-these-feelings-aren't-really-dangerous" symptoms of SVT better. So, thus far it's a win-win. I haven't had to actually buy it yet though (my GP just gave me a month of samples), so we'll see how much of a win it is when I actually have to pay for it. Hopefully it won't be too expensive.
More Erin News: I've discovered a promising new GF baking blog, The Art of Gluten-Free Baking. I've made the faux oreos (faux-reos, anyone?) and they were really good. I'm planning on baking my way through this blog. Mmmm, it looks so good! I'm making her buttermilk biscuits and her thin mints next. And then maybe her pop-tarts. Yum. I'll let you know how it goes.
And, that's the latest.
Friday, February 3, 2012
My Nose, and other things.
Olfaction:
Is there such a thing as an over-sensitive nose? A super sensitive sniffer, if you will? I seem to be able to smell things that no one else can. When we had our two (yup, that's TWO) gas leaks, I smelled both of them first, before Ben could. One of the times, the repair person from the gas company said she was even surprised I could smell the leak, because she couldn't even smell it. The leak was definitely there, since her gas-detecting contraption thingy (that's the official term for it) said there was a leak, but apparently it wasn't very bad.
Also, I am constantly taking out our trash. I'm always complaining that "our house smells!" and emptying the trash can. I also am annoyed that our trash can seems to absorb the trash smells, and they never go away, even if I change the bag every day, let it sit outside overnight to air out, wash the thing out, etc. We've even recently replaced our trash can because the old one just got too smelly, and guess what? The new one already smells. I think the smells must permeate into the plastic. I've thought about buying a metal trash can to see if it is immune to smell permeability, but I just can't stomach spending $50+ on a metal trash can.
Stupid nose.
Portrait Painting: (This is long and probably boring, so feel free to skip it)
I've started portrait painting again! I'm working on a small test-portrait right now, and will probably do a few smaller ones before I start on something serious, just to help me get back into the swing of things. I'm surprised both how easily some things came back to me, and also by how much technique I've lost by not painting for so long! The color mixing and matching have come back really well, and I forgot how much I love painting skin tone! There are so many different colors that make up skin tone! What's kind of funny is that I've struggled a little bit with my highlighting (lights) but not my shading (darks). I know I have the tendency to not be bold enough with both of those, so I'll have to work on that a little bit more. The thing that surprised me the most, though, is how much of my actual brush technique I lost (I don't even know if that's the correct term for what I'm talking about, but that's what makes sense to me). I really struggled with figuring out which brush to use, and how to pull or push or smoosh it across the canvass to get the effect I wanted. I could feel in my hand what I wanted to do, but my brain couldn't get the brush to do it, or it couldn't remember which brush to use or which angle to use it at in order to get what it wanted. Does that even make sense? It used to be so effortless! I would just pick up the brush and paint! Maybe I'm over-thinking things now? Any way, I'm sure it will come back with time and practice!
Sleep:
Remember how I'm the world's worst sleeper? Well, two things were really helpful with that these last few weeks. First, when we had my dad's dog, he would herd us both to bed at a decent hour. He was warm and snuggly and I would be lulled right to sleep when he was lying in the bed with us. Also he made sure we got up at a decent hour too, by stirring and getting in and out of the covers. Brilliant, and totally cute. Second, I got that Wake-up Light. That things is pure bliss! I would seriously headline an infomercial for that thing, that is how much I love it. BUY ONE! Between that and the dog, my sleep habits were whipped into shape in about 2 weeks! My recent foray into the world of beta blockers has put a little snag in this, but mostly it just makes me want to sleep all_the_time, so it's not so bad. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon!.
And that's it. I'm off to empty the trash. :)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Week 1 on Atenolol.
So, I've been on Atenolol (beta blocker for SVT) for about a week now and I have mixed reactions.
Things I don't like:
Things I don't like:
- It totally masks my low blood sugars, but I was aware that it could do that so I've been prepared for that. I've been wearing my CGM more and testing more to stay on top of that, but I've definitely tanked a few times before catching those lows! Crazy!
- It's given me a crazy bad headache for like 4 days, but it's not so bad that I can't function. And today I actually haven't gotten one, so maybe I'm adjusting?
- It makes me exhausted! But not all day long, so that's good. I was also informed that this might happen, but that after about 3 weeks, you kind of adjust to it.
- It doesn't seem to have really stopped my strange heart palpitations. The first few days were okay, but I've had a ton of them since then.
Things I like:
- It has definitely lowered my heart rate, and while I'm still having tons of palpitations/flutters/heavy heart beats/skipped beats, they don't seem as intense, if that makes any kind of sense.
- It makes it SOOOOOO much easier to work out! Before atenolol, my heart rate would sky rocket to like 175-180 bpm within the first 10 minutes of working out. I'd be out of breath, and ready to stop and the whole rest of the work out would be so labored. Now, it barely hits 140 and I feel like I can work out forever! It makes me wonder how long my heart rate has been high, because I've been feeling this while working out for years. My heart rate has always skyrocketed really fast (I always remember having a really high one in high school when we'd measure it in gym class), but I haven't had the weird palpitations, etc. until this year. Interesting. Any way, I just know that working out has been so much more fun this last week! Woot.
So, the verdict's still out. There are other beta blockers I can try if this one doesn't work or if the side effects are unbearable, so it's good to know that I can find something else if this one is not adequate.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
BOM, Star Trek, and the Best Husband Ever.
BOM
Our bishop gave our ward a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in the first 100 days of the year. Whew! That is a hard one for me, because I'm a slow reader, but I've actually been listening to most of it on the church web-site while I stretch out before and after I go to the gym, and it hasn't been so hard to keep up. I LOVE how plain the Book of Mormon is! I've been trying my hardest to get through the whole Old Testament (and taking my sweet time doing it) and it's taken up a lot of my scripture study concentration for awhile, and it's hard! I find the Book of Mormon so much easier to understand, and the doctrine so much clearer! I know a lot of that has to do with the fact that it was translated directly into my native tongue as opposed the Bible which has been translated into like 3 different languages before English. But, I also know that it has to do with the fact that so many of the truths the Bible has lost or is unclear about are made plain and easier to understand in the Book of Mormon. Love it!
Star Trek
Ben and I have been watching Star Trek: The Next Generation on Netflix over the past few weeks. I remember watching this when I was a kid and really liking it, and it's been fun (and hilarious) to revisit it! Seriously, I totally missed the fact that Commander Riker was a playa' when I was watching these as a kid. So funny! The first time I saw it was on my parent's little black-and-white TV. When we saw it on color for the first time, it was even better. And now, it's funny to look back and remember thinking "wow, wouldn't it be cool if we could have touch screen computers and video conferencing?" And now, we do! I've also been watching a few episodes of Star Trek: Voyager too. Mostly because the theme music is so dang awesome, but also because it's hilarious and entertaining. And, I officially know that I've entered into nerdom, because I had a Star Trek dream the other night. That's right, I was on the Enterprise in my dreams, folks. It's all down hill from here.
Best Husband Ever
Did I mention that Ben is the best husband ever? He woke me up this morning with breakfast in bed, just because! And it was the works, too. Eggs, cheese, gluten free toast with cream cheese, juice, water, my morning pills in a small cup, salt & pepper shakers, and even an Origami flower he made and put in a little vase, all on a tray. Just because! I'm the luckiest woman in the world!
Erin, out!
Our bishop gave our ward a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in the first 100 days of the year. Whew! That is a hard one for me, because I'm a slow reader, but I've actually been listening to most of it on the church web-site while I stretch out before and after I go to the gym, and it hasn't been so hard to keep up. I LOVE how plain the Book of Mormon is! I've been trying my hardest to get through the whole Old Testament (and taking my sweet time doing it) and it's taken up a lot of my scripture study concentration for awhile, and it's hard! I find the Book of Mormon so much easier to understand, and the doctrine so much clearer! I know a lot of that has to do with the fact that it was translated directly into my native tongue as opposed the Bible which has been translated into like 3 different languages before English. But, I also know that it has to do with the fact that so many of the truths the Bible has lost or is unclear about are made plain and easier to understand in the Book of Mormon. Love it!
Star Trek
Ben and I have been watching Star Trek: The Next Generation on Netflix over the past few weeks. I remember watching this when I was a kid and really liking it, and it's been fun (and hilarious) to revisit it! Seriously, I totally missed the fact that Commander Riker was a playa' when I was watching these as a kid. So funny! The first time I saw it was on my parent's little black-and-white TV. When we saw it on color for the first time, it was even better. And now, it's funny to look back and remember thinking "wow, wouldn't it be cool if we could have touch screen computers and video conferencing?" And now, we do! I've also been watching a few episodes of Star Trek: Voyager too. Mostly because the theme music is so dang awesome, but also because it's hilarious and entertaining. And, I officially know that I've entered into nerdom, because I had a Star Trek dream the other night. That's right, I was on the Enterprise in my dreams, folks. It's all down hill from here.
Best Husband Ever
Did I mention that Ben is the best husband ever? He woke me up this morning with breakfast in bed, just because! And it was the works, too. Eggs, cheese, gluten free toast with cream cheese, juice, water, my morning pills in a small cup, salt & pepper shakers, and even an Origami flower he made and put in a little vase, all on a tray. Just because! I'm the luckiest woman in the world!
Erin, out!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Throw another one on the pile, why not?
Hey friends. Sorry it's been awhile since I posted! I've been busy! But, I wanted to let you all know something important.
I found out recently that I have been experiencing something called "supraventricular tachycardia" or "SVT." It's a very benign heart condition, that basically means your heart isn't wired properly, so you get these strange flutters, skips, palpitations, heavy beats or fast heart rate every once in a while. I was having all of those crazy symptoms, so my doctor did an EKG and then a 30-day cardiac event monitor, and we figured out what it was. Now I will just be taking a small, low-dose of a beta blocker, which will lower my heart rate, and it should clear it all up. The treatment is very safe, super cheap (!), and even protective of my heart, which will be good for me because any damage diabetes might be doing will possibly be mitigated by this now. And, it is possible that it will eventually go away all on its own and that I won't experience this forever. Any way, the bottom line is, it's not dangerous, and very treatable. (And now I can say "I got a condition!" in a thick Brooklyn Jewish accent).
I just wanted to let everyone know, because you're my friends/family and I don't believe in hiding stuff like this from people. Also, it's the easiest way to explain to a bunch of people at one time so I don't have to tell everyone individually while I"ll be popping another pill, or doing things a little differently.
And, how do I feel about this, you may ask? Well, to be honest, extremely relieved! Having diabetes for 18+ years, with few complications thus far, I'm kind of always waiting for the floor to drop out from under me. Heart disease is a known complication of diabetes, so you can see where I was going with this. Any way, we're just really grateful that it turned out to be not such a big deal! It's another thing to add to the medical pile I'm developing, but such is life. Everyone has their own challenges, right? I truly believe that a lot of our challenges are opportunities from God to grow and progress. I'm a fiercely independent soul and all of these medical conditions have helped me to learn to rely on others and especially my Heavenly Father.
So, there it is. I promise the next post won't be about something medical! (probably) :)
I found out recently that I have been experiencing something called "supraventricular tachycardia" or "SVT." It's a very benign heart condition, that basically means your heart isn't wired properly, so you get these strange flutters, skips, palpitations, heavy beats or fast heart rate every once in a while. I was having all of those crazy symptoms, so my doctor did an EKG and then a 30-day cardiac event monitor, and we figured out what it was. Now I will just be taking a small, low-dose of a beta blocker, which will lower my heart rate, and it should clear it all up. The treatment is very safe, super cheap (!), and even protective of my heart, which will be good for me because any damage diabetes might be doing will possibly be mitigated by this now. And, it is possible that it will eventually go away all on its own and that I won't experience this forever. Any way, the bottom line is, it's not dangerous, and very treatable. (And now I can say "I got a condition!" in a thick Brooklyn Jewish accent).
I just wanted to let everyone know, because you're my friends/family and I don't believe in hiding stuff like this from people. Also, it's the easiest way to explain to a bunch of people at one time so I don't have to tell everyone individually while I"ll be popping another pill, or doing things a little differently.
And, how do I feel about this, you may ask? Well, to be honest, extremely relieved! Having diabetes for 18+ years, with few complications thus far, I'm kind of always waiting for the floor to drop out from under me. Heart disease is a known complication of diabetes, so you can see where I was going with this. Any way, we're just really grateful that it turned out to be not such a big deal! It's another thing to add to the medical pile I'm developing, but such is life. Everyone has their own challenges, right? I truly believe that a lot of our challenges are opportunities from God to grow and progress. I'm a fiercely independent soul and all of these medical conditions have helped me to learn to rely on others and especially my Heavenly Father.
So, there it is. I promise the next post won't be about something medical! (probably) :)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
A List of Recent Things
1. We dog-sat my dad's dog over the Christmas holiday. He's an extremely nervous/neurotic Chihuahua-mix, who is a rescue dog several times over and has rescue-dog-type "issues". But, he is also probably the most cuddly and affectionate dog I've ever met, and is really good at playing and allows you to dress him up in cute doggy sweater vests. Win-win! Oh man, Ben & I are dog people. We would go out and buy a dog today if we were allowed to have one in our apartment. We had to get special permission from our landlord to dog-sit for 3 weeks. When we gave the dog back, we were (and are) really sad about it. REALLY sad. Sigh. Needless to say, we will own a dog sooner than later.
4. I'm getting 3 more piano students! That bumps me up to 4 students, total! That's almost enough to make them have a recital. Mwa ha ha ha!
2. I have recently purchased a Philips Wake-Up Light. Oh, glory be! This little contraption has changed my life. Seriously! If I had owned this thing when I was growing up in Ohio, I think my adolescence would have been a lot different (in a good way). In the winter, my body will absolutely not wake up on its own. Unless the sun is out, which only happens about once a week for a few hours if we're lucky, I can go to bed at 10pm and sleep until 10pm the next night if I didn't set an alarm. Seriously, my body will just not wake itself up unless it senses the sun. But, with my new light, I set it to go off at a certain time, and 30 minutes before, it starts gradually turning on, mimicking the rise of the sun. By the time the alarm is set, it has brightened the entire room, and I'm usually already awake! Brilliant! It definitely makes my mornings earlier, and a lot easier! Yessssss! Don't confuse it with a S.A.D lamp, it's not that kind of lamp, but it is amazing, nonetheless. I recommend it for anyone who lives in a place that gets little sun, especially in the winter.
3. I have also recently purchased an Artograph Tracer Projector. One of my goals for the year is to paint one portrait. I really like painting people, and I wanted to get back into it, but it's been a long time since I've painted people, and my ability to mimic facial proportions is not what it used to be. I used a projector in high school, and it was really helpful, and I thought it would help me build my painting confidence again, so I bought one for myself! This one looked a little basic compared to ones I've used in school, but those run in the thousands of dollar range, and I just don't have that kind of disposable income. But, I did have 50 bucks of Amazon money (thanks mom!), so I bought this one. Before I purchased it, I did a lot of research, read a lot of reviews and even tracked down a demonstration of it being used on youtube. It seemed like it would meet my needs. I don't need to project colors, just basic lines and positions of facial features, so I thought it would be good enough. It came in the mail today, and it is more than good enough! It projects very clearly, is easy to focus and enlarge, and the color projection is pretty crisp too! Well worth the $50 I didn't actually spend! I'm excited to start painting again!
4. I'm getting 3 more piano students! That bumps me up to 4 students, total! That's almost enough to make them have a recital. Mwa ha ha ha!
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