The Nicest Compliment Ever

You know how I only cry when I'm happy?

Last Friday at work, one of my fellow attendings said this to me:

"Kara, you're the kind of person that will get all misty just when you overhear someone saying, 'warm chocolate chip cookies' or something like that..."

I just love that idea. 

:)

Let Me Call You Sweetheart...

Do you love Valentine's Day? I DO!

I love...

...closeup pictures of my roses with my new camera... 

...homemade chocolate lava cakes (aphrodisiac!!)...

...and hubby with roses, cookies, and a giant singing balloon!

 Tune: You're Still The One by Orleans...classic!

I also love watching other people get spoiled by their valentines! Here's my friend Susan, a lovely and talented dentist, enjoying her SINGING TELEGRAM!  This lovely couldn't have happened to a nicer lady, either. The quartet sang for everyone at the dental clinic. For a moment, all the busyness of the clinic came to a halt, and everyone enjoyed the beautiful a cappella music...it brought me to tears (I only cry when I'm happy)!  The quartet was nice enough to sing a few tunes in the waiting room for the kids after Susan's show. How nice.

On Sunday, Jeremy and I saw a showing of  "Sixteen Candles" at the Paramount Arts Theater in Ashland, Kentucky.  Ironically enough, another a cappella group, "the Ashland Singing Colonels" performed for the audience. Also super cool. They closed with "Barbara Ann" by the Beach Boys. Amazing. Such random acts of kindness by these talented singers!! 

The Dyson's Maiden Voyage

So among other things this cold, sicky, sleety weekend, Jeremy and I ventured out to spend the last of our wedding giftcards. While last weekend we made a trip to fabulous Crate & Barrel for the same reason, this weekend we found ourselves at the slightly less sophisticated but equally useful Lowe's, in South Point, Ohio. 

On the docket: One Dyson Vacuum

You know the Dyson vacuum guy from TV? Who schlepps his yellow, over-styled, Flowbee-esque vacuum with that sexy British accent: 

"Its the first vacuum that never looses suction. Evah."

Dreamy. So, as I have been jonesing for the Dyson for years now, and am finding myself in charge of a two-and-a-half story home with lots of carpeting, I felt perfectly justified in the purchase.

Jeremy? Not so much. Though I gave him fair warning ("This is an expensive vacuum, Jeremy...its like the Mercedes-Benz of vacuums..."), after looking at the hefty price tag, he felt the sudden need to take a load off on a nearby demo barstool. At least it wasn't a commode. 

Much to my delight and with only a sprinkle of sarcasm, darling hubby greenlighted the purchase anyway, and I spent Sunday lovingly vacuuming the whole house.  With a smile on my face. I even moved the dining room table chairs to get under the table and everything. What pleasure I take in menial tasks these days.

I think I need to get out more. 

A Tuesday Prayer.

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

Saint Francis of Assisi (Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone; 1181/1182 – October 3, 1226) was a Catholic deacon and the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans. He is known as the patron saint of animals, the environment, and one of the two patrons of Italy (with Catherine of Siena), and it is customary for Catholic churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on the feast day of October 4.

My Husband is Very Smart

I read in the paper on Sunday that Ohio received a 564-million dollar federal grant for new rail system. I'd read about this possibility over a year ago, and have been excited about it ever since. 

See, I love trains. It all started when my mom took little 7-year-old me on a train trip from the now-defunct Lima, Ohio, Amtrak station to Union Station, Chicago.  I'll never forget having an early morning donut, waiting for the train with my parents in the cold, and being sad as the train drove away with dad waving goodbye from the platform. 

Now we just get to say goodbye as we enter the security line. Not nearly as emotional.

Then, I'll never forget all the trains I've taken with my friend, Rusty, in Washington, DC. One night we rode the trains very late home, he in a tux and me in ball gown, from his ritzy Department of Defense Christmas party. We were running, running, running (in heels, no less), to catch a connecting train at the Metro Center, and I slid and busted my shin against the escalator stairs. It hurt, but with all the excitement, I didn't mind at all.

Then there was the time Jeremy and I caught the train from the Red Sox game back downtown with all the Boston locals--rowdy, spirited, and a maybe little too much like that one SNL skit with Jimmy Fallon and Rachel Dratch as Boston teen lovers. And I quote, 

Boston Local Guy (to Jeremy  me): Do you guys wanna be on TV tomorrow?

Jeremy (confused): Um, no, why?

Boston Local Guy: Because you're going to get interviewed by the news tonight about the murder you're about to see.  (As he begins to break up the fight between his buddy from his buddy's girlfriend)

Ahh trains...

So, Ohio received this big grant, and I'm pumped. There will be passenger rail connecting Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland. Alas, Ironton loses out again.  

I bring it up over Sunday coffee. And Jeremy says (in one breath) (I paraphrase):

"Kara, first of all, this is not free money. It has already come off the backs of taxpayers. Is this sustainable? Has anyone thought about that? Who is going to ride this train? Business people? How many people leave Columbus for Cleveland every day for a meeting? 10? 100? Who don't want to or have to drive for another reason? Even if you want to take the train, what if there is only one train departing for Cleveland at 7:30am, and your meeting is at 8? Its not like there will be a train every 7 minutes like in DC. And then, when no one takes the train, who will be left with this huge government entity and no sustainability? Almost every public train system in the US exists with government subsidy. It will never bring in enough funds to pay for itself."

Then he took a smug sip of his coffee. 

This brought up a memory of another point I learned on NPR awhile ago: The Final Destination Problem. How, without well-integrated busing or cab systems, do you get from the train station to your final destination? You may have to walk over a mile to the nearest bus stop, or take a cab that will add considerable costs to your $18 Cincinnati-to-Cleveland ticket. 

Hmm...okay, so now my excitement for Ohio trains is not chugging along so briskly. 

But if they added an Ironton stop...?