Just RK

When cleaning the basement boxes, sometimes the true gems come to the surface. Thank you, 1993, you were delightful. In a ridiculous kind of way.

I’m watching House Hunters International on DVR while I veg a little and fold laundry.  This episode is filmed in Singapore. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but I am a big fan of Singapore.  I did an internship there after college (17 years ago!! What??) and have always wanted to go back.  It was *such* an amazing place.  The most beautiful, CLEANEST, and hottest place I’ve ever been.  I met some of the most wonderful people there. I had the worst sunburn there, also. The equator can do that. But Sentosa was worth it. One of the shots of the couple doing the house shopping is of them trying the “chicken rice.”  It’s not chicken AND rice, just chicken rice . The caption people got it wrong. (Kinlee insists—and has for a couple years—that she *always* be able to read along with every show. Non-negotiable. But since she’s a 4th-grade-level-reading 3-year-old, I won’t argue with her methods, no sir.)  Yum… chicken rice was my favorite go-to meal...

Dentist appointment. Good, painless care. Reasonable cost even with private pay bill. Walked away with the "perfect teeth" label. Makes this mouth happy. Ok, I wasn’t going to post this, (I posted just the above blip, but now I’m changing my mind…adding the following self-deprecation. ) but I can’t resist telling on my silly self.  Plus, this is such a real look at how ridiculous I can be.  I stood for like EVER trying to get a proper shot of my teeth when I got home…  But they all went silly and blurry and self portraits are hard! I just wanted to share two of the outtakes…. How can a person look a bit clueless and confused when that same person is the only one who knows what’s happening at that moment????  Huh? And this is classic… M behind me enjoying (or being annoyed by) my goofy attempts at teeth-picture getting, accompanied by my goofy face.  Classic me. And him. There ya go, your dose of goofy for...

It’s become kind of a weird little thing… the members comments on my hair when I’m working.  I find it beyond strange that so many people even notice my hair on a given evening.   But they do. When I wear my hair down—which I do NOT like to do—it is like I dressed for prom or something.  Men, women, teens, little kids… they all have to stop to tell me how much they like when I wear my hair down.  Every time.  It just makes me shake my head. Here’s a snap at work that someone took one night that it was supposedly “smokin’.” But today, as I whipped up a 3-minute ‘do this morning that kind of slowly unraveled through the day, by the time I got to work at 5pm, it was nothing I thought was all that celebration-worthy, but the rush of the afternoon didn’t really allow for adjustments.  I was apparently wrong.  Adjustments were not needed. The hubs mentioned before I left home that he liked it, which is rare, so that was nice.  Then w...

Due to recent events that will not be explained further--and don’t worry, the details are boring and you’re not missing anything super dramatic—I’m going to repost a part of a post I did over a year ago about how we refer to Down syndrome in many different ways. This particular part isn’t about DS at all, but instead about our family names. In our family, names are a big deal. My husband’s name, though I generally refer to him as M in writing and sometimes in person, is Muncher. Yes, that’s his name. He’ll be happy to show you his driver’s license if you don’t believe him. I have two daughters, Nebraska Larae and Kinlee Carene. Not the most common names ever, we’re aware. Usually they are known as Braska and KiKi. In blog land, I’m known as RK, and many people in my face-to-face life call me that as well. My name is Randa (pronounced ran-duh, not ron-duh) Kay, usually used with a hyphen—Randa-Kay—because I’m not a fan of Randa by itself. (Long story, not one that the blog will be carr...

We’re hanging at the in-laws’ place, as usual, watching the Bears beat the Seahawks. (Wishful thinking…they’re currently behind by 10.) I’ve received some pretty cool birthday cards, some homemade, all very thoughtful. One even had a panda mermaid hand-drawn by Shay. Did YOU get a panda mermaid on YOUR birthday card? I didn’t think so! I received a generous gift card that I promised I’d spend on myself…the inability to generally do so is apparently a flaw of mine. And one-of-these-days-sister-in-law Cheryl made me a lovely carrot cake with some scrumptious frosting! I’ve been back on the super strict diet for a few days, with success, but it’s my birthday, for heaven’s sake, so I had cake! (See what the cake says? Happy Birthday RK . And some of you think I'm just being coy online by using initials... ) Here’s to another year, hopefully my best yet!

I love cars.  They’ve been a hobby of mine since before I could drive.  Not like I work on them, but I like the pretty ones, I like the powerful ones, and I like to drive GOOD cars.  I really enjoy driving just for the experience when it’s a well-handling machine with spunky engine. But I’m practical, too.  And especially in the last 2 years, I’m also painfully frugal, out of necessity, mostly.  This creates a problem… Last year we opted/needed to get out of debt, and the only debt we had besides our house was the cars.  Two nice cars. Cars we loved.  I mean, we REALLY liked our cars. We were thankful for them, liked driving them, knew they were going to start when we turned the key and would get us where we were going in comfort and style.  They were “middle of the road” type cars in reality, but to us, they were perfect and we seriously loved our cars, though we NEVER forgot to be thankful for them every day. Used to be mine… ...

Curious. Snoop. Nosey. Maybe so. I admit that I like to know how people live. What they do. Where they go. Just normal stuff through the day. I’m curious about these things. Not like in a creepy kind of way, but I’m a people watcher. I like public places partially for the ability to just observe people. I’m the one who always checks out the background of other bloggers’ pictures, just trying to get a peek at their house, or their office. I’m just curious like that. It makes me feel like I know a person better to know a bit about their house. So to start off what I hope will be a little string of posts… ahem, hint hint …I’ll share where we live. Along with a bit of commentary of some interesting (?) things that I only noticed when I looked at the pictures after I uploaded them. **Remember, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.** Here’s our house. All 800ish square feet of the main floor. 3 bedrooms, 1 bath. Kitchen, living room. That’s it. There is a partially finis...

*I love iced tea. But I like it really weak. Light, I call it. I don’t like a strong or bitter tea. Maybe it’s more like a lightly tea-flavored water, with a splash of lemon and Splenda. When I get tea in a restaurant, that initial glass will make me several glasses because I’m constantly just adding water (which I also order for my little habit) to make it right. *Most of the time if I'm in a restaurant, I get water. But if I get lemon wedge or two with it, I can squeeze it into the water, add a little sprinkle of sweetener and I'm good to go with a nice (again...light) lemonade. Yum! *Speaking of drinks/tea, my favorite summer drink is a lightly sweetened decaf mint tea. In 6 cups of water, I toss 2 regular decaf tea bags and 2 decaf mint tea bags (sometimes mint green tea, sometimes just peppermint tea). I microwave it 8 minutes (thank you Betty and Jessica…from years ago!) add Splenda while it’s hot, then pour it in the pitcher over lots of ice and fill with cold water...

I’ve never been on a vacation with my husband. We’ve been on trips and they’ve been good trips, usually visiting family in other states, but we’ve never gone anywhere just for fun. I love audio books. I have them on my phone all the time. I’m on book 23 of “The Cat Who…” series by Lillian Jackson Braun. Light murder mystery, a little quirky, nice to have in my ears while I’m working around the house. One day, I’d like to be able to make one dinner that will feed all of us. Instead of making 4 meals like I do now.  It’s exhausting. Some days it is only 3 if Kinlee eats chicken and veggies with me. My dreams of how I would like my life to be are so simple compared to many others I hear.  I don’t need frills. I don’t need massages. I don’t need brand new cars. I’d love a comfortable budget for groceries, a car that runs without warning lights, the ability to go out with friends for lunch occasionally, and savings enough to ride out the little storms that arise....

Because I don’t have the energy to get up and do much of anything besides wiping noses or refilling Kinlee’s cup now that lunch is done and over, I figure I’ll throw some things up here that I’ve thought of lately and wondered if anyone knew*. (read: and/or cared about) I really wish I could develop a better schedule for my days. I function better, at least more efficiently, when I have a clear structure. Somehow the girls don’t seem to want to help. I’m waiting to hear back from the YMCA about our financial assistance application.  We have asked to have a discount on the membership, and I included a nice letter, with pictures even, explaining our “extenuating circumstances” that they asked for. Specifically the expense of Braska’s formula now that we’re no longer on WIC. $1300/month.  Anyone wanna add that to their budget?  I didn’t think so. I don’t like to talk about WIC.  I felt uncomfortable every single time I checked out. We used it. It served a p...

I wannabe known. I wannabe wanted. I wannabe heard. I wannabe liked. I wannabe a great mom. I wannabe a cherished wife. I wannabe a good example. I wannabe a true reflection of Christ’s love, mercy, and justice. I wannabe effective in my encouragement. I wannabe genuine in my generosity. I wannabe liberal with my loyalty. I wannabe positive in my purpose. I wannabe funny. I wannabe firm. I wannabe friendly. I wannabe forthright. I wannabe helpful. I wannabe convincing. I wannabe motivating. I wannabe desired. I wannabe devoted. I wannabe determined. I wannabe better. I wannabe improving. I wannabe growing. I wannabe hopeful. I wannabe thoughtful. I wannabe fanciful. I wannabe more.

I found out the old quiz made you sign up to participate and that's not cool. Here is a new and improved version. Sorry, Jessie, you'll have to take it again. :) Are you an RKologist or have you dreamed of being one? Take the quiz to find out! RKology Quiz

I'm not usually one to do these things for lack of time, but this one caught my attention. Those of you who know me well can probably guess what my favorite part is... You Are a Crossword Puzzle You are well read, and you have a good head for remembering facts. You are a wordsmith. You have a way with words, and you're very literate. You are a mysterious person who enjoys dropping little clues every now and then. What Kind of Puzzle Are You?

Ok, here's the next batch of "things about me" per the tag from Mrs. Wibbs. I know you've all been waiting with bated breath . 1. I love Mexican food. But then again you know that if you read Braska's blog . Enchiladas, chicken fajitas, guacamole, GOOD salsa....I never get tired of it. Long live El Toro!! 2. If I have the choice between emailing someone and calling them, I'll almost always email. But my problem is that I assume that everyone is on their computers 18 hours a day like I am. And I don't understand why I don't have a response in 15 minutes! 3. I am not a fan of shopping....not for groceries or for clothes. I used to enjoy both somewhat, but now it is a hassle. I put off trips to the store for food way too often. And clothes....grrrr. That's all I have to say about that. 4. It is not unusual for me to go 3 or 4 days without leaving the house or even getting dressed. I'm great at getting out of the shower and just putting on the nex...

Some of you know how I feel about participating in forwards or email chains or whatever...I'm a party pooper and I never participate. But since some of my oh so dear friends sent me one today, and they put me in the "friends who will respond" category, I did oblige this once, so as not to disappoint... So since I had to go to the trouble of filling it out, I thought it might be a good post, in case I don't come up with anything better. If you're looking for blogging fodder, feel free to take your own shot at it... Four things about me that you may or may not have known, in no particular order. Four jobs I have had in my life: 1. Wendy’s, Madisonville, KY 2. Special ed teacher, Salem, MO 3. Patient accounts supervisor, Urbana, IL 4. Practice Manager, St. Joseph, IL Four movies I have watched more than once: 1. What About Bob 2. The Matrix 3. Runaway Bride 4. Sneakers Four places I have lived: 1. Irving, TX 2. Hot Springs, AR 3. St. Louis, MO 4. Wayne City, IL Fo...

So this topic was suggested, and I like to have an idea to go with, but I'm not very good at telling things about me... so we'll see what comes from the brain with no advance thought. Should be mildly interesting maybe. Some of these may be listed somewhere before, I can't really remember. 1. I'm the oldest of 6 kids, the youngest being 22 years younger than me. She turned 5 on my wedding day. Our ages now (at the end of this year) 34, 31, 27, 18, 16, 12. 2. At one time, before I was married, I gave private voice and piano lessons, worked with community choirs, and taught music theory. 3. I met my husband online before it was popular to do so. (Story forthcoming, hopefully.) 4. I got married when I was 27. 5. I currently live in Illinois, and this is the 3rd time in my life I've lived in this state. 6. I swore that I would not have toys all over "the good living room" when I was planning for life after delivery. 7. I owe about a zillion apologies to all th...