RachelJahner's Xanga

Ohhhh the horror!

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:05:52 GMT

On Wednesday evening, I was rounding up some laundry to do a load of jeans. Dallas' work jeans were included in this load. I consider myself quite the on-the-ball laundry-doer, and made sure to check pockets for miscellaneous items that might have caused laundry interference - e.g. kleenex, electrical parts (Dallas), money, etc. I managed to find an entire roll of unopened electrical tape in one of Dallas' pockets, and thought I was good to go. In went the load, and I went back upstairs.

On Thursday morning, as Dallas was leaving for work, he asked if I had seen his cell phone. Now, I know that he always keeps it in his pockets of his work pants, and instantly thought to myself, "no, I couldn't have!? I mean, I managed to find the tape...how could I have missed the cell phone?" I ran downstairs to check the load, as I hadn't moved it to the dryer yet. I removed all the pants, and there, at the bottom of the washing machine, was Dallas' cell phone.

My ears started burning and I felt like I wanted to cry. I wasn't sure how Dallas would react to my mistake, and was trying to determine how to break the news to him. To my relief, he laughed. He thought it was funny and kind of ridiculous, but was not angry! Hurrah! I'm thankful for such a gracious husband.

As I have told this story a few times over the last day, I have repeatedly been asked, "well, did he put his pants in the hamper that way?" and the answer to that is no, he didn't, they had just been hanging by the back door and he was in the shower when I started the load.

Miracle of all miracles: we got up this morning and he tried to turn his phone on, and IT WORKED. Seriously, this is just such a silly thing to have happen. What is even somewhat more remarkable about this is that he has had his phone for almost 2 years, and it didn't hold a charge well before my shenanigans, so it will be interesting to see how it performs today.

My advice to you all when doing laundry: check the pockets! Repeatedly, if necessary! Hopefully this story will make you laugh, just as it made Dallas laugh. I just shook my head. At myself.

Mixed Nuts

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 01:09:35 GMT

I have a confession to make. I do not like Brazil nuts. Or hazelnuts. This is difficult, because I quite enjoy purchasing the "royal nut mix" from the bulk section of the grocery store. Along with the detested Brazil and hazelnuts, it also includes cashews, pecans, and almonds, all of which I quite enjoy. I find nuts in general to be a healthy (in small quantities) snack, provide some protein and "good" fat. As I have been eating the royal nut mix, I have been at a loss as to what to do with the Brazil and hazelnuts that are inevitably left in the container after I have finished off the rest of the nuts. For awhile I was storing them in a separate little container, thinking that I might put them in baking...but that became a silly idea when I realized that I don't like them! So, I scrapped that idea. I have not purchased the royal nut mix due to my nut guilt...wasting food and all. Any brilliant suggestions as to what to do with the Brazil and hazelnuts?

On a slightly different matter: I'm sorry it's been so long. I have been feeling not so much like blogging lately, and I can't make any promises that this will be a regular occurrence, but hey, add my blog to your google reader again and you might get lucky!

Ode to Rebecca

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 03:23:33 GMT

This post is for Rebecca Shulba. She is a dear friend of mine, and just finished her 2nd year of teaching elementary school - she is incredible because she has done 3-grade split classes both years! Rebecca is a great encourager and loves to read blogs, and I know she's been wanting an update from me. I know I've let you all down, but I feel as though I owe this post to Bec especially! The above picture was taken on May 19 of this year, at the wedding of our friends Alyssa and James. It was a great day, and Rebecca was a fabulous bridesmaid. She had a great updo and looked HOT in the dress she was wearing. Sorry guys, she's married too! Hee. We had lots of fun hanging out in the same city again for a few days, and I'm looking forward to when Rebecca and her great husband Tim (see below...that handsome chap is Mr. Shulba) come to Edmonton to visit this summer.

The above picture was taken last July, at the wedding of our dear friends Laura and Conor - another fun day back in BC. As you can all see, Rebecca is a fantastically good looking individual - if you knew her, you'd love her just as much as I do. HI BEC!

April already?

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 17:25:11 GMT

I can't believe that it's April already. I really should be studying, and not posting on my xanga, but what the heck, I'm going for it. The last couple of weeks have been spent writing papers and preparing for the end of classes. Crazy to think they're over! I have 3 exams this week, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and Thursday afternoon. So close to being done! Next weekend I have one final assignment to finish for a class (it's not due till Monday the 23rd), and then...freedom! Relatively speaking, I guess, because I'm actually taking 2 (maybe 3) classes this summer. But, I won't be in a classroom every day, as one of the classes is self-directed study, and the other is a block in July for 6 days.

What a year it has been, but I will reflect more on that later...I've got studying to do! Hope all is well, more later!

It's that time of year again.

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:26:09 GMT

Hi, my name is Rachel and I'm addicted to facebook. Well, maybe 'addicted' is a bit strong, but the pull is definitely there. I'm trying (quite unsuccessfully it seems) not to ignore my xanga, so here is a post for your reading pleasure. Since I last posted, Dallas' recovery has come along quite nicely. He got his staples and stitches removed about a week after his surgery and this Wednesday his arch bars (surgical braces...make for sweet grills) removed. He is eagerly anticipating this last step, because the arch bars are uncomfortable and make eating and talking somewhat difficult.

The week after Dallas' surgery was a bit hectic, but a highlight was having Rebecca come to visit!!!! Wahoo! It was fun to hang out with her, Alyssa, and Jenny. Although her visit was only 2 weeks ago, it seems like a bit of an eternity! This is the time of year when school goes off the hook, all the final assignments/projects/papers/presentations due, and final exams in 2 weeks time! My last final is due 3 weeks from today...freedom is so close I can almost taste it! For all you students out there...do you ever wonder at this time of year, "how am I ever going to finish it all?" Ahh, we're in the same boat, and yes, we will! Ok, I think I'm sounding like a motivational speaker again. Nuts to that.

On another Dallas note - because he is still off work, our friend Russell loaned Dallas his Wii. Now he will be able to spend his days on facebook and throwing plungers at cows/bowling/golfing on the Wii. Good times.

Oh, and are you on facebook? Add me as a friend! Ha.

Dallas' Surgery

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 02:58:34 GMT

Hi All. Sorry about the extended absence...have thought much about writing, but then felt like I didn't have much to say. The last couple of days have been busy though. I'll bring you up to speed.

As some (most?) of you may know, when Dallas was living in Indonesia a few years ago he was in a motor cycle accident and taken to Singapore for treatment. Residual pain resulted in further consultations here in Canada with the decision made for some reconstruction to be done on the right side of his jaw (TMJ). The surgery happened yesterday. We were at the Royal Alexandra Hospital by 6am (!!), and his surgery began around 8am. The Dr. told us there would be a possibility of doing a bone &/or dermal graft from his right hip area (not the technical term, but you get the idea), but they wouldn't know if it was necessary until he was on the table. From what we know right now (haven't talked to the Dr. yet - he was only in to see Dallas this morning at 7am, before I got there), they had to take the bone, and Dallas thinks the dermis too. The donor site (hip) is causing him more pain than the jaw, which we were warned about. Sounds like the surgery was a success.

Where are we now? Dallas is recovering well - he is such a trooper! He was pretty groggy yesterday after the surgery, but that was to be expected. The nurse who has been caring for him the majority of the time is outstanding - thanks Carrie! (I know she won't read the blog...but...well, she's just great). I seriously love nurses!(LIZ!) They do fabulous work, and work so hard. Anyhow, so yesterday Dallas had a PCA Morphine (where he could press his "Jeopardy button" and administer the pain meds himself), but today he is on to taking his pain meds orallly, which is good for the transition home. The good news is, he comes home tomorrow! We think it will be helpful for him to be in his own bed, where it's quiet, and he's not being woken up every few hours to have his vital signs checked.

That's all for now. It's been an emotionally and physically exhausting couple of days. Even though I knew it would be tough to see Dallas in pain, etc, I wasn't quite prepared for how emotional I would get. Oh well. Anyhow, love to you all. Thanks for listening.

my love.

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 01:46:57 GMT

my everest.

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 14:43:02 GMT

It's now been over 9 months since Dallas and I got married. For starters, that's just a little wild - time is flying by. Along with our wedding came a plethora of gifts, which we were very thankful for, and now I am in the midst of writing the thank you cards. I really meant to have them done much much sooner. As in before I went back to school last fall, but that just didn't happen. Oops. Now I'm working through them slowly but surely. I had done a bunch at Christmas, and then because I was curious, before I started writing some more yesterday I counted how many I had left to write - still 55!!!! I had already done 30+, so I was surprised by this number a bit.

In regards to these cards, some of you might be wondering, "Why isn't Dallas helping out?" Well, funny story. So we're trying to get the interior of our house painted. So far we've done one room (remember, the rainbows? I guess I still haven't posted those pics - my bad), and the next room is the entry way/living room/dining room. It's by far the biggest room of them all, but our house is an older bungalow so it's not huge. Anyhow, I quite dislike painting. I don't know what it is, it's just not my bag. Dallas knows this. We were discussing painting and I made a proposal to Dallas (quite out of the blue, really), that if he painted the whole room(s) by himself, I would write all the thank you cards. He said "sure," and then informed me he had already decided to paint the room by himself anyway! Oh shoot. I really dug myself into a deep hole there. I will persevere with this task though. I completed 14 cards yesterday which only leaves me with about 40 more to go. Wahoo!

On a different note: Dallas recently bought me an air popcorn popper! I don't know about you, but I've never been a fan of microwave popcorn. We never had it growing up, so I think I got spoiled by air popped popcorn. The micro stuff always tastes a bit fake to me (sorry Bec, I know you love the stuff!). I've made popcorn 5 or 6 times in the last week alone! It's also so much cheaper to pop your own. And the initial investment for the popper itself is only about $20 CDN, or less.

glorious reading week!

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 16:26:08 GMT

Is it just me or is this year flying by? It's already the middle of February! This month in particular always seems to pass in the blink of an eye. What a difference 3 days makes, eh? (as in, it's the shortest month of the year). I'm 6 weeks into the semester! Crazy! Thankfully, I am officially in "reading week." Yes, we don't dare call it "Spring Break," because to me there is nothing spring-y about temperatures hovering around 0 C with 2 feet of snow on the ground (hee hee...as I was typing 'snow' I accidentally ended the word with a 't' before correcting myself - can you imagine 2 feet of snot on the ground? ewwww).

What are my grand plans for this reading week, you might ask? Well...not much. Which is lovely. Today is my Saturday to be at shine. I'm loving the experience of working with students from the various health sciences faculties and serving the youth of inner city Edmonton. Dallas took off this morning to surf in the river down by Calgary. Yes, surfing in the river. What a guy. I'm happy that it keeps him happy to be down there with his surfing friends, until we can move somewhere that is more conducive to ocean surfing.

Given that this is reading week, I suppose I should do some reading. And writing. I have a midterm the Monday we return to classes and a big paper due later that week as well - time to get rolling. To top it all off, Dallas' surgery has gotten moved to March 14 - quite inconveniently the busiest time of the semester for me. This means I have to really get on top of stuff so that I can be a good nurse to him when he needs me there.

I'm also looking forward to having breakfast with the lovely Lauryl (my old roomate from Calgary) on Monday - reuniting with friends is always superb.

Ok, so this is off the subject of reading week...but do you ever think back "where was I last year on this day?" or however many years back you wish to consider? When February on the Prairies comes around, I often think back to the end of February of 2004 when I was getting ready to go to Australia and then on to Indo to visit Dallas. Oh, the memories. 10 months of working two jobs like a crazy lady were rewarded with 2 glorious months of freedom. Ahhhhh...

Are you listening to Regina Spektor? No? WHy the heck not? Explain.

down for the count.

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:01:48 GMT

This time I have a legitimate reason for my absenteeism - I was sick! Seriously. Oh geez, I hate being sick. I was surprised to have the winter break from school go by with no illness. If I remember correctly, every year I've been in uni I get sick over the holidays. This year was an exception, but I figured it was only a matter of time before it caught up with me. The timing of this cold or flu wasn't the only exception - the severity also caught me by surprise. I'm usually a trooper when I'm sick, I think I can go to work and function normally, etc. The majority of this past weekend for me, however, was spent in bed. Sleeping. No TV. No computer. No homework. No food. Ohh, it was painful. On the upside, I'm doing heaps better. In the vein of Ang's tribute to Valentine's Day, here's what I love right now:

I'm a first-timer with this, and I think I'm sold.

Oh, to sleep at night, and not wake myself up coughing.