Wondering

. . . if I really need to be on the dose of Kapidex that I am , because I went off it for a week and a half and didn't have that many problems. (Kapidex 60mg is the medication that controls how much acid my stomach produces, because I have too much and then I get ouchy tummy). I am so happy that I was okay without it! I only took two Prilosec and one Prevacid over the week and a half to control acid, but I was fine until I ate a huge garlicky dinner. Then my tummy laughed at me for thinking I could eat that much garlic without feeling icky. So I picked up my Kapidex today and I think I will take it every other day and see how that goes. I suspect it will go fabulously.

Happy

. . . because Mom and Dad called us from Alaska! For two and a half weeks all we had for communication was a few emails so it was exciting to hear their voices again. They are having a wonderful time on their 26 day trip from Beijing to Alaska.

We're doing well here too, bar a few arguments and if you ignore the mess. ^_- And the mess even isn't that bad--it's not any worse than it ever gets with Mom and Dad here, and we all recognize that we will spend a while cleaning before they arrive this Saturday night. It's been nice being in charge but I miss my padres.

Suspicions

I suspect that if I invented something to track down missing remotes I would become rich. Because this morning I tore the living room apart looking for our TV remote and came *this* close to texting Troy and demanding to know where he had hidden it. And then I found it lying innocently under a blanket. Figures.

Frustrated

. . . because I recently bought twelve new fish (actually I was given some babies for free!) and I've lost three already because my pH went wonky, and now since they are stressed from the bad water conditions I have two more that look like they are suffering from velvet. I just bought a Neutral Controller that will keep the pH at 7.0 and I've treated for the infections, so I hope that it works quickly.

Proud

. . . because I fixed the toilet! Me! Our toilet hasn't worked right since we had our bathroom remodeled and Troy and I haven't been able to use it for weeks because we were lazy and didn't want to fix it and I finally rolled up my metaphorical sleeves and dove in. Whee!

I also deep cleaned Mom and Dad's bathroom and my own! They're soooo beautiful and sparkly. No one is allowed to use them ever again.

Prom 2010

My brothers just had their senior prom. I feel too young to have them almost graduated from high school! Next thing you know I'll be fretting about wrinkles and age spots.

Here's Quentin with his buddies David and Tony, all looking very handsome in their tuxedos. We won't go into how long it took Quentin and I to stand in line to pick up his tux; suffice it to say that I nearly went bald from pulling out my hair in frustration. (We were late for dinner for the foreign exchange program.)


Quentin went with a girl we didn't know from another high school, Sarah. Aren't they cute?!


Troy. Ah, Troy. When he went out to rent a tux (for free, his friend works there) he called me and asked, "What do you think about a tuxedo with a tailcoat and top hat?"

I must say, he pulls it off. Here he is with his date, Anna.


I think that they are quite adorable. Also? I want a top hat.


Three of their friends (including Troy) wore the tailcoats in black, and three wore them in white. They pretended to be mortal enemies; the VonMonocles and the VonPocketwatches.


Both boys had lots of fun and had funny stories to tell. (Apparently someone brought a blow up doll dressed up and it was tossed around the dance floor!) They danced and talked and ate chocolate strawberries. (I'm sure there was more food, but that's the important one right there.)

I'm kind of nostalgic for my proms now! Off to search out my old prom dress. ^_^

Freedom . . .

. . . is having my mom's credit card while she and dad are on their 23 day long cruise from China to Alaska. Unfortunately I'm too terrified of my mom to use it for anything besides groceries. The downside to having a credit card since my parents are on the other side of the world is that all of a sudden I'm veeeery aware of exactly how fast the grass grows and thus needs to be mowed, how annoying it is to have to shepherd two eighteen-year-old, and how much mess three people can make in the house. The upside is I'm in chaaaaarge! Wheee!

Helping Mom Pack

. . . is exhausting work. His arm is flung out in protest. (On mom's new silk skirt.)

Does that match? Katie says yes, Oz says sleeeepy.

Oz wishes my mom and dad an awesome trip, reminds them to bring him some fish treats, and is now going to take a nap on this convenient pile of folded clothes.

Love you!

Resolved

Just turned down a cruise to Europe in favor of getting two AS degrees and being able to afford a couch for our future apartment. Currently in shock. Wondering if I made the right choice. Minutes after hanging up the phone with my aunt to tell her no, thank you, I had a screechy conversation with my mom and Quentin and Troy in which I questioned every part of that decision. Still feeling screechy and like I might pull out my hair.

New Katie Slogan:

I'd rather be in Rome.

Conflicted

Imagine coming home and discovering that you have been invited on a cruise to Europe. The cruise itself is paid for, you just have to pay half of the airfare, and you'd be going with people that you know and love. Sounds too good to pass up, right?

Gah, I don't know.

My aunt and her family have an extra bed in their cabin that I could take, which is so awesome. I've cruised with them a bunch before and always have a great time. And it's EUROPE! We'd be stopping in Gibraltar, Alicante, Barcelona, Marseille, Florence, and Rome, and spending four days in Rome after the cruise before flying home. I am dying to go.

BUT. (Always a but. Stupid buts.) I'm saving up to move out with Nick. We already feel poor, and I've stopped spending my money, and I'm plotting ways to make more money over the summer. This trip I would be paying about 450 for airfare, a hundred or two for souvenirs, and god knows how much for trip excursions. I figure I'm looking at about a thousand dollars, which is about three months rent. (EEK!) (Nick seconds this EEK, but in a more manly way.)

Everything else is totally working out--my work is so understanding (I think my supervisor would go instead of me if she could ^_^), my yoga instructor says I can just do some extra work on my own to make up for the missed classes, and my online classes I could do on the ship.

I did wake up this morning and suddenly remember that I have to take a microbiology final exam for my Incomplete in microbiology from last semester (when I was sick with IBS/nervous stomach/anxiety and fell behind) and that I would be missing that test. So I wouldn't get my AS degrees that I was planning on getting come May. (Come to think of it, I think I'd miss the whole stage walking/accepting my degrees altogether if I go. Jeez.)

I am conflicted. I want to go so, so bad. It's just really bad timing. I don't know what I'm going to do, and I have to decide by tonight.