Before and After: Hallway and New Glazing

Before....

...and After!

(As you can see it is a yummy milk chocolate color and it takes all of my self-restraint to keep from licking the walls as I walk by.)

Before Glazing...

...and After Glazing!



Ahhh... pictures of my hallway... so thrilling! I know this is why you all keep coming back for more.
Next week, stay tuned for pictures of my most current dryer lint!
And, (if you're lucky)... In Sepia!

Home is Where the Airport Isn't.

I'm finally home.

I got on a plane Monday afternoon but didn't step foot on Oklahoma soil until Tuesday afternoon. My flight was delayed from Reno and after a very condescending US Airways employee assured my mom and I that my connection in Pheonix would be fine, I limped onto the plane juggling a two year old, a carseat, a monster backpack, and an umbrella stroller. The flight went smooth, but I was worried about missing my connection in Phoenix. Chris was on the phone with US Airways the entire time I was in the air- trying to do all he could to make sure Ezra and I were on the connection flight. He arranged to have a car waiting at my gate when I got off the plane in Phoenix to whisk me away to my connection gate- which was very far away. We finally got to the gate and the plane I was meant to be on was sitting outside the huge window, but the door was closed and there were NO US Airways employees anywhere to be found. I watched helplessly as my plane eventually taxied onto the runway without me- fighting back tears and feeling completely alone.

8 more people rushed up to the gate after me and watched their plane leave without them, too. We made our way over to the customer service area and they tried to call back the plane. The lady then changed her mind and said she couldn't call back the plane because it was operated by another airline. (?!?!?!) Supposedly, the pilot knew that all of our connections were only minutes late, but decided to take off anyways. It was his call. Not only did he take off without 10 of his passengers, he took off early. I was at the gate 15 minutes before he was meant to take off, and they had already shut the door.

The 'customer service' people told us all that there were no more flights for the night and that we wouldn't be able to get on another plane until the following day. They shoved a meal voucher and a hotel voucher in my face and told me to arrange for my own shuttle. I felt crushed. Shakingly, I tried to manuever my way through the huge airport- Ezra still strapped into his carseat, me trying to carry him this way, an umbrella stroller hanging off of my wrist, tears running down my face. I just wanted to go home. See a friendly face. No one offered to help me. The man at the counter asked if I wanted my bags, and then chuckled while saying, "Oh, you probably couldn't carry them, could you? I'll send them to your final destination for you." I felt like punching him in the face but didn't have a hand free to do so.

I caught a shuttle to a Days Inn, where US Airways assured me there would be room service so that I could feed myself and my son before he went to bed. When I arrived, there was no room service. I called the resturaunt downstairs and tried to explain my situation, but the lady was so rude to me that I hung up and punched a pillow. Then I called the front desk- practically BEGGING for food because Ezra and I were hungry and there was a very long wait at the resturaunt downstairs and I couldn't go wait for an hour with a toddler who's bedtime was already an hour past. She was just as rude to me, so I slammed the phone down on her as well before I said something awful.

I called Chris and he tried to calm me down, and then he called the front desk himself. He talked to a man named George and before I knew it, George was knocking on my door- holding a menu in one hand and telling me that he was going to take care of us and make sure we got everything we needed. I burst into tears again and gratefully ordered some food while thanking him over and over again. He brought the food up really quickly, and Ezra and I ate and fell asleep around 10:30. We heart George.

We woke up at 5:00AM the next morning and had to catch a shuttle to the airport. I was told to get there EARLY because the lines at the Security Checkpoint get ridiculously long in the mornings at the Phoenix Airport. We caught the 5:30 shuttle and I clumsily made it through security- coming close to but ultimately avoiding a complete mental breakdown. Yay me! We had over 2 hours to kill once we got through the stressful part, so we wandered around the airport and ate Cinnabon and I got a yummy Starbucks. I had figured out a way to strap the carseat onto my already HEAVY backpack, leaving my hands free to push Ezra in his stroller. Besides a couple of sore and raw shoulders, this worked out wonderfully.

We caught our plane at 9:00 without any difficulty. We left a little bit late again because there was someone stuck on our plane waiting for a wheelchair so that they could get off. The man at the counter said the waiting time for available wheelchairs was ONE HOUR. I hate airports.

The flight back to OKC was uneventful, except that Ezra now has the most insane and angry diaper rash I've ever seen due to so much sitting around in soiled diapers. The antibiotics he's on make him a virtual watery-poo factory. I only had a few diapers in my backpack and wasn't prepared for an overnight stay. So, now he's miserable and uncomfortable and I blame US Air. When we finally landed, Chris was there at the gate waiting for me with a sign that said "My Hero". I love this man.

Ezra fell asleep on the way home and after we got him into his bed he slept all afternoon without making a peep. The house was immaculate and Chris had painted the hallway and glazed the living room while I was gone. It looks AMAZING. He had a tray of food waiting for me and some chilled pink lemonade as well. He had set up the entire bathroom for a 'Luxury Bath Experience' (complete with a Bathtime mix on the iPod and a foot rub), and let's just say the bedroom was quite saucy with candles and flower petals and presents and chocolate and champagne everywhere I looked. Rowr! We lounged around all afternoon and got reaquainted (mmmm...) and talked for hours and I felt the stress of the whole traveling/being away from home/sick baby experience melting away by the second. A day that started out horribly turned into one of the most enjoyable days of my life. He made me my favorite food for dinner (yummy Chicken Wonton Salad) and we talked for hours and sipped champagne in bed after he put Ezra down for the night.

All I know is that this amazing and refreshing time with my hubby has singlehandedly made these difficult past three weeks completely worth it. I love you, Hunky Monkey.


The Luxury Bath Experience.

Romance.

The little things...

Pieces of California.

It's good to be home.

What's Outside the Window.

I went shopping with my mom today and finally found a pair of big, funky glasses that didn't make me look like I was trying too hard to be a big, funky glasses wearin' type of girl. I know you all know what I'm talking about. I love them and they only cost me four quarters.

meow!


Ezra is slowly getting back to good- he's still all green goopyfied but he seems to be feeling a lot better on the whole. We fly out from Reno on Monday.

The wedding that I am missing is today. That's all I have to say about that. (*sniff*cry*whine*blabberbloobleeblah*)

I was feeling restless last night and wanted to go meet my brother Jaxon for a drink but ended up wandering around in Walmart until I just drove home again. Then I felt like doing something crazy like pulling over to the side of the road and just laying on top of the car and watching the stars for awhile and breathing in the night air, but I settled for cracking opening the car's sun roof while I drove along instead. I feel like so often I have these bursts and pangs and calls to life but I'm too scared or lazy to act on them and if I do that for too long then my whole life will slip away without me ever taking the time to run and dance and twirl in the fresh air outside of my box of routine and comfort.

As I got closer to my parent's house I turned on my brights and kept my eye out for deer by the side of the road because there are always deer by the side of the road out here. And as I drove I realized that if I had seen deer I would have thought of them as hazardous driving obstacles before I'd have thought of them as amazing animals that had more right to be in the woods than the asphalt road I was driving on did.

I don't really know what I'm talking about here. Just thoughts. All I know is there's a surfacey kind of life that I don't want to fall into. It's a struggle everyday to live beyond it, beneath it, through it... but living on a deeper level is the only life I want. It's the only life that will really satisfy.

Stuck.

Remember how I thought I was getting on a plane today? MWA HAHAHAHAHHAHA. (that just may be the laughter that closely precedes a nervous breakdown.)

I attempted to take Ezra to Urgent Care yesterday just to get him all checked out before we got on an airplane. You know, just to be sure. He was still on his antibiotics from his recent double eye infection, so part of me was wary to take him in because I thought they would just throw more antibiotics at him and send us on our way with a hefty bill. When we arrived at the clinic, I did not have my Insurance Card for some reason and there was an hour and a half wait. It was Ezra's nap time, so we decided to just go back home and put him down for his nap. He seemed to be feeling fine except for a runny nose. By the time we'd reached home, I'd pretty much made up my mind to just get on the plane tomorrow and plan on getting Ezra in to his doctor in Oklahoma when we got home.

Later that day, I was out attempting to have some much needed 'alone time' when I got a call from my sister-in-law. Her mother-in-law is a pediatrician (Dr. Robin), and she heard that we'd tried to take Ezra to Urgent Care earlier in the day. Dr. Robin was amazingly kind and offered to DRIVE UP TO MY PARENT'S HOUSE that very evening to check Ezra out for us. Since I was already in town and far away from my parent's house and Ezra, I hesitated. I didn't know what I should do. So, I called my mom and told her about Dr. Robin's offer, and my (VERY WISE) mother told me that we needed to take advantage of the offer if it was being made so generously.

Soooo, my mom and dad drove little Ezra down to Dr. Robin's house and got there around 8:00PM or so. Dr. Robin took one look into my poor son's ears and gasped. BOTH of his ears are incredibly infected, and his throat/tonsils are really swollen and have some gunk on them as well.

Recap: I, in my infinite supply of 'gut motherly instincts', was only hours away from putting my baby boy on an airplane while he had a nasty nasty DOUBLE EAR INFECTION.

The dilemma: Do my sick son and I hitch a ride back to Oklahoma in order to make it to the Saturday wedding that I am meant to be singing at on time? That would mean someone in my family would have to spend 4 days driving just so that I could be there.

We tried to book flights for Saturday morning, hoping that Ezra would be well enough to fly by then and I could still make it in time for the wedding, but all the flights sold out due to some annoying college phenomenon known as "Spring Break". Tickets are extremely expensive and hard to come by. The soonest I can fly out is Monday, and at a much higher price than my original ticket had been sold for.

I am stressed out and under a lot of pressure to make a decision. I feel like I'm dangling at the end of a rope and the slightest breeze could take me out. At this point in time, I am more concerned about Ezra getting better than anything else. So, the plan is that I fly out on Monday with Ezra and I just have to miss the wedding. The thought of missing this wedding is too much for me to think about right now, as it turns me into a blubbering, crying mess.

For those of you that believe in prayer, shoot some our way if you think of it.

And the BLECH Continues.

Ezra has been throwing up every evening for three days now and (oh yeah!) I now have an abscessed molar.

We are meant to get on a plane and fly back home in the next two days, but he is really congested and my ears are plugged up and the dentist wouldn't open up my tooth to drain away the throbbing pressure because he said that hollowing a tooth right before you get on an airplane is like asking someone to pull off all of your fingernails for you. In slow motion. Ok, maybe he didn't say that, but it was something along those lines. So- more antibiotics for me! And some Hydrocodone for the pain! And someone please kill me now!

Is there a big, cosmic sign on my back that says 'Kick me'? I feel like there is. It was probably stuck on there after I had those mean thoughts towards that lady in the grocery store that was on one of those motorized cart thingys. She almost ran into me when I was getting my milk because she couldn't quite steer it well, and I thought in my head how annoying it was that I almost got ran over in the milk isle and then immediately felt terrible for being so harsh towards a woman who wasn't even well enough to walk through a store like I could.

Perhaps I deserve to clean up yarf from the crevices of my parent's new car after Ezra had decided to hold it in all day until the very moment I'd buckled him into his car seat... Perhaps I deserve to feel pain in my face that caused me to have sweet dreams of pulling a tooth out of my head with rusty pliers while dancing around in a green, grassy meadow...

I dunno. All I know is that I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I am glad to be in Reno, though. Something about having mommy near by is a comfort to me and my lack of knowing-what-to-do-when-kid-is-sick skills. My momma's got answers. And experience. And a carpet shampoo-er for the messy times. These are all very good things.

Reno, on the other hand, has changed a bit since I've lived here. The traffic is much more congested. Oh, and I don't remember being creepily stared at so often by creepy creep dudes in their creepy creep cars through their creepy creep rear-view mirrors. I find myself wanting to yell, "Hey, Reno! Your pervy side is showing!" while I sink slowly behind the dash of the car.

The weather has been beautiful here, though. It was a record shattering 78 degrees today. People keep saying that it's too early to plant anything yet because they are sure there will be another cold snap before Spring officially arrives. I'm not too sure, however, because Chris' grandpa Bill bought a new snow blower on sale the other day, and he's now thoroughly convinced that because he finally broke down and made such a purchase, it will NEVER SNOW HERE AGAIN.

A strong argument, if I do say so myself.

The Girl Scout Cookie from Heaven.

I woke up feeling better today and was able to TASTE my first morsel of food in weeks. Luckily for me, it was a Carmel delight GirlScout Cookie that awakened my tastebuds from their long slumber. Praise Jesus for cookies at 8:00 in the morning.

The time in Reno so far has been great and so relaxing and maybe just what the doctor ordered. I went out for coffee last night with my sister in-law while my parents watched Ezra for me and I was able to relax and converse without having to ask my toddler to stop hugging the trashcan or trying to get him to drink the juice he begged me for just moments earlier. This afternoon, Chris' parents are going to take him and I am going to wander. Get lost in the city I know better than any other. Stumble upon a shop or a park and spend some time getting reaquainted with myself. I imagine it will go something like:

"hello, self. how have you been? You are weary, yes? Weary of illness and weary of living life without a step-by-step guide? Please do not worry yourself, self. Step-by-step guides lead to boxes and you're much more of a freedom-to-roam kindof gal. Let tomorrow worry about itself. Trust, faith, leap. Trust, faith, leap. Always a net to catch you or a fall to teach you."

I find my thoughts are jumbled as of late. Polar opposites locked up in the same brain space. The desire to have another child soon is growing less and less, while the ads for the minivans on TV are strangely more and more appealing.

Hell in a Handbasket.

Hello, dear Interent. The following is an incoherent rambling of woe-is-me's.

The day of Cameron's wedding, I woke up feeling really nauseous. I had already not been feeling well for a few days before that, but this puking sensation was new. And exciting! (NOT.) After yarfing a couple of times, I struggled to get dressed up all fancy and get Ezra and I to the wedding on time. Ezra's eye was goopy and swollen shut for the most part, and my dress wouldn't stay zipped as I scoured the farmland where the wedding was held for convineint places to puke where I could still keep an eye on my monster-eyed son. Chris had been very busy doing wedding things (as a groomsman, you know...) and I was pretty much on my own trying to care for my sick and fussy son while feeling like death warmed-up myself.

Thank God for Flo and her hubby Josh who saw that I was not doing well (i.e. crying my face off in the back row), and they graciously took Ezra and entertained him for me during the ceremony while I tried not to pass out and vomit. Flo, you are a lifesaver. Thank you thank you thank you.

Needless to say, Ezra and I left early and when we got back to the house we were staying at, I tried to preoccupy him with movies so that I could SLEEP. But for the first time in the history of his existence, movies just weren't going to cut it. Many hours of trying to care for a toddler while being sick ensued...

The next day, Chris was busy again leading worship at a church North of town. He came home around noon to check on us, and found us not doing very well. He called and said he would not be able to make it back up North for the night service, and whisked Ezra and I off to Urgent Care. We made it to the clinic with no time to spare (they closed at 4:00). The doctor was very kind and good at keeping Ezra entertained while he checked out his eyes.

Turns out, I have bronchitis and Ezra has a double eye infection.

We were both put on antibiotics. The nausea I was (am) having is caused by my lungs being swollen and causing waves of burning chest pains just under my breastbone. The burning pains are what cause me to feel sick.

So, we made a quick, last minute decision to drive Ezra and I up to Reno so that I could spend a few days recovering at my parent's house while Chris drove back to Oklahoma. I had to be back in OKC by Saturday because I am singing in another friend's wedding that day. We bought two one-way tickets for Ezra and I to fly back to Oklahoma a week after I got up to Reno, and we hopped in the car at 9:30 PM and left San Luis Obispo for the trek up to Nevada. The trip is 6 hours, and Ezra was having lots of difficulty sleeping in the car. He was thrashing around a lot, and that is when I lifted up his sleeve and saw that he was covered in HIVES. We didn't know if it was from the detergent we'd used at our friend's house in SLO, or that maybe he'd gotten bit by sand fleas while he rolled around in the sand at the beach, or if it was his medication that was causing the outbreak. We're still not really sure.

My antibiotics don't seem to be doing much, which leads me to believe that I may have the viral form of bronchitis- the one you just have to 'ride out'. How long is this 'ride'? I want off.

We arrived in reno at 4:30AM on Monday, and Chris just left this morning to drive back to Oklahoma by himself. He woke up this morning and said he didn't feel well, and as I watched the car pull out of the driveway I felt really sad. I don't like being away from my husband. I don't like being sick. I don't like Ezra having hives. And I don't like flying with a toddler by myself. I just want to be well again. I want to be able to taste food and smell when Ezra has a poopy diaper. (Yes, I would even welcome the smell of poo!) I want to get all the snot out of my head and be back to normal. I want to snuggle with Chris under the blankets.

So, dear internet, I am sorry I am not rainbows and sunshine today. I hope you all are doing better than we are this week.

Sincerely,
The Pukey Snotty Goopy Hivey Clarks.

The Land of Green Hills.

All of us are safe and sound here in San Luis Obispo- the roadtrip being rather uneventful besides that random upchuck Ezra so graciously saved for that McDonald's seat in Arizona. Ezra (once again) proved to be a more patient and less-obnoxious traveler than his mom: he vegged and watched movies and I counted minutes and mile markers in my head the whole way here until I felt myself slipping into madness not much unlike that of 'A Beautiful Mind'. The trip was completed in two days- each day we drove about 12 hours. That means we started driving at around 11:00 AM and didn't stop until 11:00 PM. Wow. Chris drove every inch of the way. And, yes, I did offer to drive, but it was usually a half-hearted offer that came just moments after we'd pulled out of the gas station and were back at cruising speed.

Sneaky, no?

Everyone knows that once a man reaches cruising speed on a roadtrip, it requires much more than a half-hearted offer of 'taking over the wheel' to convince him to slow again. It requires something more along the lines of the Armageddon, really. Luckily for me, Chris enjoys driving, while I (on the other hand) enjoy eating Pringles and Sour Gummi Worms while watching 'Monsters, Inc.' in the back seat of the car. What can I say? We were made for one another.

Oh, sidenote: I'm SICK AGAIN. Fever. Aches. Nausea. Stuffy Face. I'm so over this. Also: Ezra's right eye has been running green goo all day and was swollen halfway shut this evening before I put him down for bed after the rehearsal dinner. I just know it's going to be gooped shut in the morning (hey! just in time for all those amazing wedding pictures tomorrow!) and with eyelashes like his, it may be WEEKS, MONTHS! before we can untangle the mess again.

Other than that, all is well. I would post pictures, but I forgot my cable to download them to the laptop. That, and I also have not taken any pictures yet. hehe.

My friends here are amazing and there is no one like them in the whole universe. It's good and healing to be around their love.

Tomorrow's agenda:
-wake up
-shower (perhaps?)
-go to wedding
-boogie like there ain't no tomorrow.
-boogie some more
-then, much more boogieness.
-finally, sleep like rock. snore like bear.

Operation: Grow Hair! (an update!)

Operation: Grow Hair Update!




not too shaby considering I've only been officially growing it out since mid December! woo woo!

Fear of Vacuums, Fear of Flight.

In just a few short days, our little family will be packing up and driving to California for our friend Cameron's wedding. Chris has already got the route mapped out and the itinerary planned and the hotels booked for our stops along the way. I have contributed to the trip by spending too much time perusing cheap, used Disney DVDs on Amazon.com- but never committing to buy any of them.

I'm sure the trip will be fine, and Ezra will be a trooper the whole way again, but this time? We're doing all the driving in TWO DAYS instead of three like we did last time. That's about 12 hours of driving each day. Oh, and by the way, have I ever mentioned here that we have a child? A toddler child? A toddler child who likes being strapped into his car seat about as much as he likes vacuum cleaners?

Confession: I have only vacuumed my house a handful of times since we've moved in. Ezra seems to think that the vacuum cleaner is a loud villainous monster whose sole purpose in life is to eat off his toes. I tried to vacuum while he slept, but it woke him up. I tried to put up the baby gate and vacuum really quickly, but he cried so hard he turned purple. So... the only time to practically vacuum is when Ezra is with Chris somewhere, but- let's face it... the last thing I'm going to do with my alone time is VACUUM. I'd much rather spend that time soaking in the tub or watching 'The Emperor's New Groove'.



Anywho, we will be on the road starting this upcoming Tuesday. We'll be gone about a week total. I'm aware that this is a quick trip considering four of the days will be spent driving, but it's much cheaper than flying the three of us anywhere, and Chris really enjoys driving long distances, so there you go. Besides, Chris and I aren't the best flyers in the world. We kind of hate it. Maybe it was from that one flight into San Luis where there was a broken air seal or something on the cabin door which caused a high pitched squealing noise the entire way- and also caused the stewardess to look like she had all but resigned herself to death as she whispered frantically into the phone on the wall and jiggled the door from time to time. That was....um, relaxing.

Or maybe it was the flight into Reno recently that turned us off from air travel. The one where the turbulence was so bad that I was forced to squeeze Chris' arm and yell, "I need help! I need help! I need help!", while the lady on his opposite side was grabbing his other arm and begging him to "make it stop! make it stop! make it stop!!"

The second I stepped off that airplane, all I could think of doing was chugging a bottle of vodka and NEVER FLYING ANYWHERE EVER AGAIN.

So, yeah! We're driving! Because somehow two days of car discomfort is much more appealing than 3 hours of plane discomfort! At least in the car there won't be any panic-stricken stewardesses. Unless you count me, of course. I'll be the one blurting out frantic driving tips and nervously tapping my foot a million miles an hour under the dash.

My poor husband...