Another Shameless Plug

I have listed about half of my jewelry in my etsy shop (karenelisam, if you want to search for it). I'll be listing more over the next couple of days. Take a look, and enjoy browsing others' shops, too. (Subliminal messages: Look... spend... enjoy... buy... buy... buy!) Interestingly, this burst of entrepreneurial fever happens to have occurred on the same day I purchased textbooks for next semester. Seven of them. Kudos to Amazon for having the lowest prices overall, and kudos to future jewelry shoppers for feeding my education habit.

Environmental Consciousness for the Underachiever, part 2

In an earlier post, I talked about walking places nearby, like the grocery store, the parks, the pediatrician's office, the pharmacy, and the bakery (where the almond croissants are to die for... or at least, to walk a mile for). An update on that train of thought: how much can I fit in the bottom of Ethan's strollerwhen grocery shopping? $40.00 worth of groceries, apparently. Today's trip was the most I've fit so far:

2 gallons of milk
1 box of Texas toast
1 can of olive oil Pam
1 box of rotini pasta
2 lb. block of Mozzarella cheese
1 avocado
4 bananas
1.5 pounds ground beef
1 loaf of bread
3 packages of yeast
2 cans of spaghetti sauce
1 bag of chocolate chips
36 corn tortillas
1 dust pan

What I didn't do for the environment: tell the cashier to skip bags entirely. I forgot to say anything because I was having too much fun watching Ethan flirt with her and with another nearby baby.

Back Home...

and grateful for indoor plumbing, air conditioning, my own car, and my own family. So I did okay without the first three, and missed the last until I got home. Ethan showed he's glad to have me back by patting my shoulder repeatedly and saying "MA-ma!" in his sweetest voice. I'm enjoying the time off in between last semester and the summer session by trying to simultaneously accomplish a lot of little things and do nothing at all. We'll see how this experiment goes. And no OCONUS annual training next year.

Sometimes I Feel Like This, Too...

courtesy of xkcd

Ethan's First Picnic

New Jewelry for a Cause : )

Mom and I are planning to sell some things at a crafts fair in May, so I've been busy making jewelry. I hope to sell at least 2-3 pieces, but if I don't, I can just consider the entry fee a donation, since it's to support Children's Miracle Network.

Conversation Between Matt and Me About Nurses

Matt: "I can always spot a group of nurses from like a mile away."
Me: "What do you mean? In a restaurant or what?"
Matt: "Yeah."
Me: "The scrubs probably give them away."
Matt: "No, not the scrubs."
Me: "Okay, the stethoscopes."
Matt: "Nope."
Me: "What then?"
Matt: "Um, their... demeanor."
Me: "So... by demeanor, do you mean attitude?"
Matt: "You could say that. Yeah."
Me: "So, you're saying nurses have attitude?"
Matt: "Yep. You can always hear their opinion even when you're not part of their group."
Me: "This is hilarious. I'm going to put that quote on my facebook. No, I'm going to blog this."
Matt, as I walk toward the computer, "You could also say, 'Nurses are really sweet until you cross them.'"
Me: "Now YOU'VE crossed the line."

Things that Made Me Smile Today

Our azaleas


Ladybug at a neighbor's


Casey's old craftsman house
When I first moved to Tyler, Casey and Sarah Jane lived there. Then Casey and Alyssa. Then, finally, Casey and Travis. Other people I know lived there before, but I always think of it as Casey's.


Lizard on a fence post


Ethan on the playground

The Unboxing

My aunt sent me a box of things from my grandmother. Tomorrow, it will have been two years since Abuela died, and although my aunt set up a memorial website where we could post about her, and my sister-in-law wrote a lovely tribute, I haven't been able to write anything yet. I'm not sure I can, still.



The box contained old pictures and letters to my grandparents from my father, scraps Abuela had saved from when we made my wedding dress, and an empty bottle of her Chanel perfume. It smells like her.



I cried looking through the pictures and reading the letters. I'm not sure why. Maybe because Matt and Ethan never got to meet her, and maybe because she never got to meet then. Maybe because I never knew my father as an adult, and he never saw the person I've become. Maybe because I had a happy childhood.

Why Crude is up to $110 a Barrel

This is Matt at work. And yes, that is oil all over the ground. I'm just glad it's not all over my carpets. Something... "blew up," I believe is the technical term he used tonight. Babe, I appreciate your hard and sometimes frustrating work for us!