Random thoughts on a Saturday when I should be doing something more productive, like clean my house or work on my primary lesson.

Billy was lounging on the bed after work the other day, and I sat down next to him.

Me: Is that blood? (Pointing to some streaks and drips on the side of his scrub pants.)

Billy: Oh. Yeah. (He didn't move a muscle to change.)

The joys of having a surgeon for a husband. 

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I was making my grocery list last week as I planned my week's worth of meals. One soup recipe required two cans of black beans, so I wrote two cans of black beans on my list. "Wait!" I thought. And then it hit me. We are moving in less than 6 months. I have to take inventory of everything and use up as much as I can. No more replenishing the stock of black beans in the pantry. No more buying lots of butter the next time I see a sale. I need to use up what I have.

I know we've only been here 6 months, but the whole food storage mentality plus 4 children who devour any food in sight cause me to keep a well stocked pantry. I totally stocked up once we moved here.

And then I thought about how I don't like thinking this way. I mean, sure it's the responsible thing to do. We don't want to waste the food we've bought. (Or move a ton of it either. We need the space for other stuff.) Who knows better than us how much student debt we have and how good we should be with our  money considering the end of Billy's training is still 18 months away. But thinking in terms of "use it up and not restock" is a signal that our time here in West Virginia is coming to an end. It is a quirky little place, but it has its charm too. Some people have been super friendly and kind to us. And the kids are starting to feel a bit settled. 

I feel like we just did this. This using-up-what-we-have-and-decluttering-for-a-move. Oh wait! We did.

At least we don't have to sell a house this time. :)

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Back in October we found a good number of lady bugs in the girls' bedroom. About 10-12 ladybugs were by the window and on the floor; happily walking around and minding their own business. We all thought it was kind of funny how they randomly appeared out of the blue one day.

(Have I mentioned what dawned on me the other day?! In Houston we saw roaches inside and toads and geckos outside. Here we find ladybugs inside, and squirrels and bunnies outside. Talk about a stark contrast.)

Fast forward to today, where we had to vacuum the girls' room because there were so many dead ladybugs on the floor it was just silly. For some reason, the mass influx of ladybugs has never stopped. Indeed, it seems to be getting worse. At first we only found them in the girls' room. Then we saw some in the toy room. Now we're finding them everywhere. Even downstairs, in the kitchen and the bathroom. I feel bad, but I'm starting to not like ladybugs anymore because I'm constantly finding another dead one on the floor somewhere.(They're aren't a bright red either, so they blend in PERFECTLY with the old hardwood floor we have here.)

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I was talking with friends the other day and they mentioned how some people were just starting graduate school. Then one friend asked, "Do you remember that first day of dental school?" Oh yeah, I remember that first day. I can clearly remember leaving the elementary school classroom I was prepping for the upcoming school year to drive across Vegas to attend Billy's white coat ceremony. It was the end of August 2002. I can't believe it was so long ago. We have learned and changed so much since then. And had four kids. Yep. I also remember all the other first days in his training since then. No wonder his hair has receded (a little) and mine's changing color... :)

But life is always good to us. Always good in the end.