by the numbers...

1--number of times my nephew punched me in the leg last weekend, after i removed some dangerous article from his hands.

190--number of miles i put on my car driving for work last week

2--number of loads of laundry i did this week in the giant washer in our communal laundry room, for the bargain price of $4.00. woo hoo.

355--the number of dollars i spent on securing a home warranty policy, so that all my appliances would be covered for the first year i owned my home, only to find out this week that my washer and dryer are not included. i'm still doing some detective work, though...

52--the number of pages i have written in my book, so far.

14--number of times i've been to the hospital in the last ten days. i'm kind of over hospitals right now. i hate them, which i realize is a dumb thing for me to say, seeing as how going to hospitals is a big part of my job. i hate, hate, hate them. and i hate that i know how to get around in them, with some kind of sixth sense, know how to sweet talk nurses and doctors to get what a patient needs, without having a shirley mcclaine moment from "terms of endearment", how i ride in the staff elevators like i belong there, how i scope out parking spaces, how i try not to cry when i leave, because when i leave, i always wonder when i'll have to come back, and how things will be. i always feel like i need to take a bath when i leave the hospital, to wash the smell off me, to prove that i'm home, and i don't have to stay there. and then i feel like a real jerk. see--sometimes, most of the time, i'm really not as nice as people think i am.

12--number of laps i swam the other night. not enough, but better than none, i suppose. the pool, in my defense, was highly over chlorinated, and i'm pretty sure i don't have any nose hair left, at all.

4--number of pillows i absolutely have to have on my bed in order to sleep with any degree of certainty. i've tried it with three, and that's moderately ok. but for real, hard, restful, decent sleep, 4 is the magic number. and i have to have my down comforter. i can't stand having a top sheet on my bed, and unless the fitted sheet is deep pocketed, i can't use one. i also have to sleep with one foot sticking out of the covers, at all times, usually the right foot, because i sleep on my left side. i know, it's complicated, and you don't really even need to know this.

1--number of background checks my bestest friend has done on my new crush. good news--new crush is clean as a whistle. so glad, aren't you?

3--hours i spent ironing clothes after washing and drying things. i hate how completely thourough i have to be when i iron something. and i'm almost out of starch, which i find irritating because i bought the big can last time. that is one of those "adulthood" things that grabbed me, and just won't let go. i'm so picky about that, now. and i was the kid who lived in jeans and t-shirts until well into college. it's a little nuts. and i had to clean my room before i could actually sleep. and i suddenly hate having dirty dishes in the sink, or clean ones in the dishwasher. and it's driving me nuts that i haven't dusted my room in a week. who am i? where did the other me go? holy moly...

1--number of times i have been to starbucks this week. i know, supress your shock. i've been trying to be fiscally more responsible, so i've been drinking crappy church office coffee. it's hard, ya'll. the coffee is so bad here. it makes me sad, but it takes the sting out of the morning headache. and as long as i remember to bring milk from home, it's almost ok. and it's free. which makes it almost sweet, instead of thickish sludge, much like what one would dredge off the bottom of my beloved san antonio river. sick out.

2--number of vacation options i have researched. a lady need to take a trip, people! i'm thinking either another jaunt to the wilds of far west texas with kristen and laura jane, or a trip to vancouver with ryan. i wish i had the time and the moolah to do both, but that house payment wants to be made EVERY MONTH! geeze louise...

0--number of naps i have taken this week, even though these rainy afternoons make for perfect napping weather. however, bossman is out of the office for the week, so rachiepoo is busy keeping the ship afloat with our senior warden.

75,000--number of times a day i remind myself that i love my job, even though people i work with drive me nuts. i know i am here for a reason. and that reason is not so i can go crazy before i turn 30. i know that. i know that. i really think i know that.

mil besos--rmg