oh, google...

What will they think of next?

Just when I think Google has invented everything worth inventing (examples: ...Google...; various hoaxes & "easter eggs"; my all-time-favorite Google Analytics; the best-substitute-for-AIM IMing, G-chat), they have to go invent something even better.

Ask yourself: Self, if you were couch-bound for one zillion days in a row, stuck in your house out in the middle of nowhere, far from friends and other entertainment, what would you want Google to invent?

If your answer is: a free door-to-door pedicure service (with massage chair), then you would be right...so hopefully Google will get right on that. 

But the next best thing would have to be Google Hangouts.

Basically, Google Hangouts is a video-chatroom where up to 9 (invited) people can simultaneously video chat. And wear ridiculous "costumes." Which may or may not be ridiculously entertaining. So if you were wondering what amazing ladies such as myself (bottom right: pirate hat, 'stache, and monocle), Amanda (center and top: scuba mask, crown), and Allison (bottom left: Cat in the Hat-hat, scuba mask) do in the evenings to pass the time...well then, now you know. Google is so smart, it even switches who is in the top picture based on who is talking at the moment. I tell you, they think of everything. (Except Google, if you're listening...please make more costumes and props! We ran out of new combinations after only a few hours...you can definitely do better.)

And now you have extra confirmation about how awesomely exciting my life is. As though there were any doubt.

 

the money tree

So yall know I'm a big gardener. Betcha didn't know I have a MONEY TREE in my backyard!

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I know, I know...you're rightfully jealous. It is super awesome and convenient to have such a useful piece of nature back there these days. Especially this summer, since there's been no end of pricey-yet-totally-unexciting purchases that require me to grab a handful of cash off the tree to pay up.

We kicked off the summer (literally!! It was the first day of summer!) with some pricey (at the time) refrigerator repairs and replacing all of the food that had been in it. Oh young, stupid Erika-of-1.5-months-ago...how foolish you were, thinking that was so stressful and tragic. If only your crystal ball were working properly and you could see into the future...

Then we move into July and August, which were slap full of visits to the RE in Atlanta (each trip which includes 2-4 hours of driving/gas, at least $6 in parking deck fees, usually a meal out, and co-pays...not to mention missed work), culminating in an exciting and expensive surgery last week! I had to pre-pay a nice chunk of change up front (before surgery), and now get to sit back and excitedly wait as the rest of the bills roll in. Bet I'm gonna have to go harvest the money tree at least a few times to pay off all this fun...

Now we can't forget the one-and-only FUN thing our money tree got us this summer: a vacation in Mexico.

  I find myself overwhelmingly thankful that we actually paid for this trip at the time we booked it, in April. Had I known everything else we'd be paying for this summer, we never would have gone except that we'd already paid for it. And God knows we needed that trip.

Then we had our intermittent money-sucker of the summer: our AC. After three visits from the repairman in four weeks (woulda been 3 weeks except we were out of the country that 3rd week)...we found out we'd need to replace our entire HVAC system. THE WHOLE THING. Because the next thing that needs to be fixed will cost 1/3 the amount of just replacing the whole thing...and he can already look at it and see the things that are going to break next/soon...and it's the original HVAC (even though our house is only 9 years old) and apparently pretty crappy and probably would have to be replaced in the next few years anyway...and anyway, since we have that money tree and all, we're like "whatev! Of course we want to drop a freakin bundle of cash on the most boring-but-necessary thing ever!!!"

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So tomorrow I'll have a new HVAC system and significantly less liquid assets leaves on my tree. Hooray?

Trying to stay positive and be thankful that at least we have a money tree been Dave Ramsey-adherents/fiscally responsible adults and can afford all of these horribly unexciting and expensive things. But THIS IS IT! Any more stupid money-suckers and we're going to be dipping into the sacred Baby Fund, which is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.

But I just keep thinking: If I knew I was gonna have to spend $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ this summer (haha, possibly exaggerating the number of dollar signs there, but THAT'S WHAT IT FEELS LIKE), how would I have preferred to spend it?

On about three more weeks in Mexico. Hands down.

 
And possibly on a mani-pedi for today. Because laying here, staring at my feet and toes all day...I realize I could really use it. And it would feel awesome.

But since I can't get that, I guess I'll just work on planting some more money trees. And by "planting," of course I mean "making Matt plant," because this stomach is in no shape for bending or digging just yet.

 Thanks for listening to my pity party. Let me know if you have any awesome MAKE BIG MONEY WHILE LAYING ON A COUCH schemes...or if you happen to know the winning lotto numbers. I'm all ears!

when the olympics get old...

It's sad but true: after 4 days of nonstop couch-sitting and Olympics-watching, I'm starting to tune it out a little. Don't get me wrong-- it's still on all the time. But I mostly just glance up on occasion, or if I see people all up in arms on Facebook/Twitter about something or the other, I'll rewind and try to find it. But it's background noise (except for the particular events I'm actually looking forward to, which for the record do not include water polo or any other long, extended team sports (such as soccer, team volleyball, etc.)). Instead, I'm making progress through my large stack o' books. And blogs and other Internet-reading.

Yesterday I knocked out A Stolen Life.

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It was raw and tragic, as you would probably have guessed. Also disturbing and sad. I then spent the rest of the night Googling everything I could find about the situation and the fate of Jaycee's kidnappers.

Today I opted for a more upbeat memoir (look at me, diversifying my fiction with all these memoirs!): Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

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Personally, I loved this one. I think the most important thing to remember (and the thing most people seem to MISS when they're criticizing this book/slamming the author) is that the author wrote it as a memoir-- not a parenting book, how-to guide, or treatise on why "Chinese moms" (which she explains in the beginning, is an umbrella term she uses to describe mothers of many different cultures and ethnicities who adhere to this type of parenting style, and does not describe many actually-Chinese mothers who do not adhere to this style) are doing it right and everyone else is doing it wrong. It's simply her story about her own experiences being raised as the daughter of Chinese immigrants and raising her own half-Chinese daughters. I found it to be brutally honest (pretty sure I'd never have the balls to admit to most of the stuff she 'fessed up to saying/doing), humorous, and refreshing...and despite the fact that I DEFINITELY was not raised by a Tiger Mom and DEFINITELY do not think I'll be one myself, I feel like she raised some really good points about Western parenting that I will have to think over one day if I ever find myself raising kids of my own. All in all, a great read, and something good to think over as I watch the Chinese dominate the gold medals in the Olympics!

Lastly, my friend Bren posted this last night and it was something I really needed to hear/read: Be Still. I am always finding myself being so thankful for this community of bloggers that encourage and inspire me and remind me of Truth when I constantly forget it. 

On the health front...to be honest, I felt a lot better yesterday than I do today. Boo. But I'm surviving, and at least I have a lot of books and friends (to G-chat, FB-chat, and text with) to keep me entertained. I spent the first half of the day regretting that I'd let Matt go back to work...but once I got lost in a good book, I wasn't nearly as miserable (plus I totally forgot about eating lunch-- which has never, ever happened to me before, I DO NOT MISS MEALS-- which saved me the inconvenience of having to prepare my own food. Now I'm just waiting for him to get home to fix me some dinner...). 

Well, I think I'm going to be super ambitious and go check the mail. It takes me about two hours to walk the 50 yards out there, so...that should fill out the rest of my afternoon nicely! Have a good evening!

life on the couch

I hope your Monday is off to a fabulous start. As for me, after sleeping in (woke up every few hours, but more or less sleeping) til almost 11, and having my husband cook and bring me breakfast on the couch, I'm now sipping my coffee and settled in for another long day (week) of Olympic-watching. 

Who says I don't have a full schedule this week?

Today I am also attempting to wean off of the Toradol and Percocet (prescription painkillers), so we'll see how that goes.

Lest you find yourself overwhelmed with jealousy at my current lifestyle of leisure, let me inform you that my cup of coffee is laced with a full dose of Miralax. So...yeah. :)

 So remember how I had surgery on Friday? (hahahahaha, like I would let you forget) Well, hopefully you also read my friend Amanda's blog, and in that case, you would know that yesterday SHE had her egg retrieval for her first IVF cycle yesterday. And because she is my #1 fan/stalker and wants to be just like me in every way, she decided to COPY ME and take a picture JUST LIKE the one I took in the hospital on Friday. And then she made a collage thing. And it made me crack up because we totally look like twinsies!! I bet that if we were hospital roommates, the nurses would not be able to tell us apart...and they would mix up our embryos or something cray-cray...okay, so that wouldn't be great, but I bet it WOULD make us famous!

Amanda-top; me-bottom

 Annnd...that's about all I have today. Hopefully something exciting and blog-worthy will happen today, otherwise I just may have to share the REALLY GROSS internal pictures from surgery. Yall thought that cyst looked nasty? You ain't seen NOTHIN' yet!!