Facial Hair

During Dave's hiatus from work he decided to forego shaving. . . (well except his leg, ha ha). He wanted to see how decent of a beard he could grow. This was a big deal to him I found out, for after we had visitors he would always comment on how no one noticed his awesome facial hair. . . all except one person. Thanks Janae, you totally boosted his ego!

So, he can't be a hairy pharmacist and the night before he went back to work he had to shave off his pride and joy. We decided to use this opportunity to see styling options for the future. . . Have a look:I don't know what is normal hair growth, but I think for two weeks he has a decent beard. He did trim it up twice so he'd look presentable. . . to who, I don't know.

The goatee was a long held staple, so this should look familiar to some of you. . . with or without the mustache.

You can tell he likes it, he was too busy looking at himself in the mirror to smile for the photo.

Once again pretty impressed with his look. Not a look that I'll endorse.

And this could be his head shot. Turn to the left.

The last bit, and now it is gone too. I think you can see that he isn't so happy with shaving off all his hard work (the only work he actually did for two weeks). Now he's back to his slightly scruffy self. . . and working again. His leg still is wrapped for another week or more, but he's hobbling along rather well.

Now all he needs is a haircut. . . ugh. More red hair for me to clean up.

For you, Luke

This is Nilla sticking her tongue out at us. . .Nilla has floppy ears, but sometimes she likes to wear them differently. That's what she is doing in this picture. . .
When Mocha gets excited and wants your attention she stands up on her hind legs and paws at the air. This usually happens when she wants to play ball and you're not paying attention to her.
Here is another photo of Mocha standing up. She has really good balance and can stay standing for an impressive amount of time.What do you think, Luke? Wouldn't you rather have a puppy than a baby sister?

Taxes

Yay, I finished our taxes this morning! Another thing checked off my list. . . and it seems Dave already has plans for the money, go figure.

A word that describes Valentine's Day and rhymes with cupid. . .

Dave and I never really celebrate this holiday, well if you can call it a holiday really. I get enough chocolate any other day of the year, however he did get me a book (before his convalescence) that fits with my attitude completely. . .Too funny. And it has some fun Un-Valentines in the back as an added treat. I love buying valentine cards and stupid things, and this book was one of those things that I purchased to pass on to my sister as well. I guess this holiday is good for something.

Happy Un-Valentine's Day to you all. Lots of love, from us!

Recuperating is hard

Dave had his last 'procedure' this morning. It was gross, more painful and intrusive than the first, but took less time to complete, go figure. He's still groggy from the medication, but otherwise it all went really well.

Last week they burned a vein in his thigh all the way to his knee. One incision, but pretty uncomfortable. Now that it was closed and he had some time to heal they took out the veins in his calf that had been compromised. That procedure is gross and I won't explain it here. It is called vein stripping, so let that guide your imagination.

Now he has nine more incisions and will get the stitches out next week. Until then he won't be walking, or standing, or sitting with his leg bent, much at all. This is what he has been and will continue to do. . .


Sleeping, reading. . . and of course eating, eating again, and video games. Man, recuperating is hard.

To answer some questions. . . He only had bad veins in one leg. It isn't harmful to remove those veins because they aren't working properly. They aren't of any use, except to cause pain and swelling, so no big loss. Blood flow has already and will be further redirected naturally to compensate for their less than usefulness. The doctor said that Dave should feel the positive benefits of being rid of them in a few days, but his leg will be black and blue.

We truly appreciate the love and concern from friends and family. Thanks to the Lotts for dinner the other night, and the Shermans for the delicious cookies. Dave appreciated the attention and also the get well card and letter from Mom. Thanks everyone. He is doing just fine, and totally soaking up the time he gets to be pampered.

Winter Wonderland?

It snowed. I hate snow. Or it hates me, I don't know which. Here is what our place looked like earlier this week, today you wouldn't know it however. . . (the universe is back in it's proper order, we have sunshine and it's getting warm. . . mmm)

This is where it started:


This followed immediately thereafter. In fact, we actually heard thunder during the snow:



Happy Winter!

Worldwide Readers

So I wanted to see what kind of visitors we get here at our blog, and it has been quite interesting.

No, I don't know who you are or anything, but I can tell where you are coming from and the list of countries that have somehow happened upon 'a piece of us' is quite interesting . . .






















































































































Crazy, right? Do you think you could name the countries from their flags? I'll give you the first one. . . United States!

Dave's six to 10 things. . .

This is a collaborative effort on Dave's behalf.

Interesting facts about Dave:

1. Voted sexiest legs his senior year in High School. You probably already know this though, he's pretty proud of it.

2. Dave stalked me in college (thanks Travis) until I figured out he was alive, and then he scared all the other boys away so he could date me. What a romantic!

3. He played Ultimate Frisbee in college and varsity tennis in high school. He's very good at both.

4. He wishes he could be a singer/songwriter, but it isn't his gift.

5. He wants to learn to fence. I think this stems from watching Princess Bride too many times.

6. My brother, Jared's, sharp elbow broke Dave's hand in two places while playing basketball and Dave continued to play because "the game wasn't over yet."

7. Dave was Valedictorian, in a graduating class of 350. And he likes to remind me that he got one point higher than me on his ACT exam (this fact is arguable).

8. I convinced him to read the Twilight series of books (it was part of a deal, so that I would read books of his choosing*), and besides the uber-girly stuff he really enjoyed them. *On a side note, he wanted me to point out that I haven't read the books he chose yet.

9. Dave likes to put feta cheese on pretty much anything, well maybe not anything, but sometimes it appears that way.

10. Dave can close one eye at a time. . . not like a wink. It's freaky looking and hard to explain, but just imagine seeing him with one eye closed without scrunching his face or squinting at all, and the other perfectly open. He can do it with either eye as well. They work separately from each other. Ooh, now I'm weirded out thinking about it. It is his stupid human trick.

And 11. He played the butler in the play Sound of Music, though I like to give him a hard time about playing one of the other singing parts.

I thought it was 6 things. . .

Tawni says that it is ten things that I'm supposed to tell about myself, but we'll see how far I can get. . .

1. I have to sit with my legs crossed underneath me in some fashion. I can't stand sitting with my feet on the floor like a normal person. This applies everywhere, in cars, desks, and it is one of the reasons that I hate wearing dresses. Church is painful, and I have to fight the urge. I've been this way as long as I can remember. And Dave recently pointed out that my sister, Kari, is the same way.

two. I love daisies! And when I get some they always go on my bedside table. They are just prettier there than anywhere else in my house. I love waking up to them.

3. I'm a collector of two things, and only two things, everything else is considered clutter and thrown out after it's usefulness has expired. Those things are children's books and art supplies. In my next house I'm going to need a library and a studio to accommodate this.

4. I've crashed a motorcycle and been injured in a four-wheeling incident. I've got large matching scars on each shin from those escapades (and they hurt when it gets too cold), but only one of them was my fault.

5. I was stumped after #4 so I had to ask Dave to give me more interesting facts, or just facts, about myself to complete this list.

6. I know how to weld. Well, I've learned how to do it and practiced doing it, but it still kinda freaks me out.

7. I lettered in High School. In the highly athletic sport of Debate. Do they even do the letter thing anymore?

8. Before I went to college I wanted to be a psychologist/lawyer/judge. . . and then I graduated in art.

nine. I don't remember going to 2nd grade at all. I don't think I did. I have no memories of it, but every other one I can recall.

10. I talk in my sleep, which made me dread slumber parties as a child, and which also gave my college roommate, Kirsten, enough info that she could have filled out this survey for me, but more embarrassingly, I'm sure.

And #11 for luck. I hate using the word 'good'. And I hate when people use it incorrectly. I'm no grammar Nazi, but that is one of my buttons. I know I probably have dangling participles all over, and I use 'dot dot dot' like no one else, but confusing good and well is just irritating!