What I'm Doing Right Now

Enjoying a beautiful day (from my guest bedroom)

Smiling at my bird doorstop (that I snagged for $4)

Folding laundry (the bane of my existence)

Trying, unsuccessfully, to get pictures of my dogs (that's right, I said dogs)

Ah, there we go (poor guy is sick)

And the new one (who doesn't have a name yet!)

The Handyman Can

Strangely, ever since we moved in our closet floors have bugged me. No, driven me crazy. They were basic, chipped paint wood with nasty carpet extras thrown on top. Gross right? I thought we'd just put in new carpet, but when we helped Jen and Evan move into their home I got a great idea.

Cedar planks! They look good, smell good, and keep away moths! Kurt did such a fantastic job on them--they look professionally done! 

May 26th

Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.

Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.

The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly without you.

The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die without you.

Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.

Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.

The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry without you.

The moon glows, the river flows, but I die without you.

The world revives

Colors renew

But I know blue, only blue, lonely blue, within me blue

Without you.

Without you, the hand gropes, the ear hears, the pulse beats.

Without you, the eyes gaze, the legs walk, the lungs breathe.

The mind churns!

The heart yearns!

The tears dry, without you.

Life goes on, but I'm gone.

Cause I die, without you.


It's been a great three years.

Freedom

I got the best news yesterday.

No, I'm not pregnant.

I've made mention on here about the weight one of my meds made me gain.

25 pounds.

TWENTY FIVE FREAKING POUNDS.

In four months, might I add.

I've been struggling and struggling to lose it, but I've only managed 9 pounds so far.

I complained about it to my therapist, who suggested I just lose a total of 15 pounds (which puts me at 10 pounds over my pre-medication weight) and just maintain that.

I decided I could do it.

But it made me sad to think about the skirts and shorts that would never fit me again.

(And to think I'd never get down to that weight again.)

Well, I met with my doctor yesterday.

Who wasn't so alarmed about my weight gain

(she said I look fit and strong)

until I mentioned how much my fat percentage has increase.

She didn't like that at all.

And so, starting June 14th, I go off Zyprexa and start Saphris.

They're in the same drug class, but Saphris, while generally causing weight gain, only causes an average increase of 2 pounds per year.

As opposed to Zyprexa, which causes an average of 25 pounds.

There's no guarantee this med will work as well for me (mentally speaking) as Zyprexa,

but it's worth a shot.

Yesterday as I drove home,

I nearly cried from the relief I experienced.

It felt like Christmas.

A Visit From The In-Law

Kurt's mom and landlord/friend came to visit us this past weekend. We had a great, busy time! On Friday night, we made french toast and watched 2012 (which wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be). Oh yeah, and we went to Lowe's to get supplies for...

our garden! We planted a little 20' by 20' garden with roma tomatoes, cilantro, zucchini, butternut squash, eggplant, and green beans. It was hard work, but only took us 2.5 hours and we got a good work out in.

Action shot!

Shelley was the brains of the organization. She's a master gardener (literally.. she took a master gardening course at Thanksgiving Point).

The finished product. I'm really excited about this. I feel so self reliant!

Then we took them to my favorite, India Oven, gorged ourselves to sleepiness and took naps. After that we headed down to Colorado Springs to visit Garden of the Gods:

Pretty amazing huh? It was so pretty.

I love the way Shelley is looking at Kurt in this pic.

One of the guys who named it was named Malancthon Beach. True story. That's why I have the pic: evidence.

That guy on the left is Carlos, Shelley's friend/landlord.

After Garden of the Gods, we headed over to Manitou Springs (it was literally 2 minutes away), which is a super cute mining town right at the base of the mountains. We stopped and indulged in some cheese and chocolate fondue.

On Sunday morning we took Shelley and Carlos to Washington ('Wash') Park and walked around. It was a gorgeous day!

Come on, guys, at least look like you like each other.

Are my calves really that huge (in a bad way)? Agghhhhhh!

After church we visited Shelley's cousin up north of Denver, then came home and went to bed. It was fun having her here!

Bipolar T-Shirts

I was looking through my favorite funny website, Engrish.com, the other day when I came across these images.

I immediately thought to myself, "These are bipolar t-shirts!"

It made me laugh.

(I was having a good day, one where I could laugh at being bipolar.)

I hope it makes you laugh, too.

May Goals

Yay! It's May! That means I'll be in Charleston at the end of this month! I'm so excited to see my family and hit the beach. I miss Charleston so much, it's crazy. And don't even get me started on my family! :)
So my goals for May are:
-Only go to Sonic once a week
-Every nice, sunny day, ride my bike to work and back
-Eat very healthy and if we go out to eat, make healthy eating choices
-Read my scriptures every day
-Say more meaningful prayers

Quick Trip

I went to Utah this last weekend as an end of the semester hoorah! to visit my family. (To my friends in Utah, don't be offended please! It was a family trip only.) It was so nice to be with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins again. I'm very close with that side of my family and not spending any significant time with them in almost two years as been really hard. I realized while there how much I love Utah. I really, really do. It's so beautiful, with the mountains practically on top of you, and being with family can't be beat. We ate way too much (that's pretty much how my family rolls), went to soccer games, laid on the soft grass in grandma's front yard and looked at clouds and played I Spy (with my cousins) and generally had a great time. It was a short two days but very worth it!!
I took some pictures of the amazing views from my grandma's house. The pictures just don't them justice.

Spring Cleaning Countdown

This saturday, if all goes well, I shall unleash my cleaning fury upon my house.
Dirt, scurry!
Germs, hide!
Scum, be gone!

Here's my list, not for you, but for me when I forget. ;)
-Thoroughly wash all windows. As in, take them out and hose them down.
-Take down blinds and hose them down as well
-Sweep/mop behind oven and fridge
-Move furniture and vacuum where they sit
-Edge my carpets
-Wipe down baseboards
-Wash shower curtains
-Fill in holes in walls and touch up the paint
-Scrub kitchen and bathroo cabinets
-Clean oven

Charleston!

My friend and old coworker, Sarah, sent me this picture on facebook the other day via Design Sponge. 

I thought it was a print and if it was, I would've ordered it right away.

Sadly, it doesn't appear to be.

Le sigh.

But I still love it!!

Also, I've started a new blog: Bakin' Fool. 

To document and collect all of my favorite recipes.

That brings my (current) blog count up to 5.

Also, don't pay attention to the time stamp on this post.

It's wrong.

I swear.

Twitch.

New Haircut!

Yes, I know what you're thinking: Kristina we freaking don't care about your haircuts.

You're also thinking: Holy crap, you get a new haircut every 6 months.

I am pretty ADD with my hair. I would've kept my old length and cut (which I LOVED) but remember when Kurt hinted he wanted me to grow my hair out?

Well, I decided a few weeks ago that I needed to put some layers in. So I did. Here's a pic. The end.

Suburban Warrior

Kurt's been one busy yard ... worker ... man. Last week, he went out and bought 6 fruit trees! We now have two cherry, two apple, and two pear trees. All for $10 each! Here's a pic of one of them, but they all look pretty much the same:

Then Saturday morning I woke to the sounds of Kurt's and James's voices floating in my window. When I ventured outside, I saw:

Kurt HIGH in our huge front yard tree and

James belaying him. They'd been pruning the tree all morning (well, for an hour so far). I went to my writer's conference (which was awesome!) then got back around one to see:

A whole freaking lot of branches in our front yard! We basically look white trash right now, as we contemplate how to dispose of them. But they weren't done yet, oh no. They then decided to tackle the monster:

That big ole branch on the left Kurt is setting the ladder beside. I got to direct traffic, Kurt got to chain saw, and James got to ... do something. And then it came down!

Timber!

Umm, I love this pic of Swift.

'Nuff said.

Ta Da! April Goals!

And now, ladies and gents, I present to you:

April Goals!

March kinda crawled, but the first nine days of April have rushed by.

My head is swimming.

On a side note, I've recently discovered dahlias.

Can you say gorgeous?

I'm going to plant them in my pot on my front stoop.

Ok ok, now I present to you April Goals:

-Not overnight my last assignment of the semester

-Continue keeping the house clean

-Continue to lose weight

-Find joy in everyday, little things

-Go to Sonic only twice a week! Ok, maybe three times. ;)

-Definitely NOT go to Sonic twice in one day.

Unless it's a really bad day.

-Try not to have bad days ^_^

Don't It Feel Like Sunshine After All?

"People who have experienced great sorrow can still experience joy."

I recently wrote that in the first chapter of my new book.

(Yes, I'm now writing two books.)

Now that I'm hypomanic, I'm perpetually happy.

It's a good thing.

Here are a few things that made my day today:

-two ladies complimenting me on my necklace

-listening to Coldplay

-amazing weather

-my adorable puppy Swift

-knowing a back way to my house, avoiding traffic

-seeing flowers at Sam's Club

-my lithium prescription is only $10

-finishing a delightful Shannon Hale novel, Book of a Thousand Days

-sunshine

-switching out winter clothes for summer

Life is amazing.

Don't you agree?