Karla Neese: Loving Life in Oklahoma » General

I Am A Marilyn

Karla — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 15:40:53 +0000

This is a fun little quiz I found thanks to Alison at BrocanteHome. It’s pretty amazing how accurately it pins my personality. No wonder I’ve always felt an drawn to Norma Jean!

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz…

You Are a Marilyn!

You are a Marilyn — “I am affectionate and skeptical.”

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

* Be direct and clear
* Listen to me carefully
* Don’t judge me for my anxiety
* Work things through with me
* Reassure me that everything is OK between us
* Laugh and make jokes with me
* Gently push me toward new experiences
* Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn

* being committed and faithful to family and friends
* being responsible and hardworking
* being compassionate toward others
* having intellect and wit
* being a nonconformist
* confronting danger bravely
* being direct and assertive

What’s Hard About Being a Marilyn

* the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
* procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
* fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
* exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
* wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
* being too critical of myself when I haven’t lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often

* are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
* are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
* form a team of “us against them” with a best friend or parent
* look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
* are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents

* are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
* are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
* worry more than most that their children will get hurt
* sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Ho Ho Ho, It’s Back To Work I Go

Karla — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:38:41 +0000

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas! We did. Brad and I took all week off (meaning we only lost 3 days of work since both our places of employment were closed Thursday and Friday). We drove up to visit Brad’s family, because his brother’s family was up visiting from Texas. He taught us how to make Tamales from scratch. They were DELICIOUS!! It was a good time of fellowship and family fun as well.

On Tuesday we came back home and settled back in to our own routine. We all got new Christmas jammies to wear on Christmas Eve and then opened gifts on Christmas morning. I got some wonderful gifts including two homemade necklaces from Ashley (one is milk and cookies the other is a pot of hot cocoa pouring cocoa into a mug), some personalized hot pink Sharpies from Sarah (they say Property of Karla Neese and have hearts on them - too cute!) and then a fabulously generous gift card to Sephora from Brad. Makeup heaven here I come!! The girls got gifts they’d been wanting and Brad got a new car yesterday. We got him a Hyundai Santa Fe, and boy is it nice!! We didn’t trade any vehicles in, because over the Christmas holiday Sarah went and passed her written driving test and is now the proud owner of an Oklahoma Learner’s Permit. She didn’t miss a single question on the test. Even though she won’t be driving until June, this being the end of the year and the end of a month, we took a chance on getting a good deal. We did our homework, visited several dealerships, drove several prospective vehicles and ended up getting a great deal on the vehicle we got. Even though the new car is Brad’s, I am moving up in the world too, as now I get to drive the Honda Odyssey that is only 5 years old (the Accord that will become Sarah’s is almost 10 years old but still runs like a gem). Thankfully, we just paid off the van so we still only have one car payment.

Tomorrow it’s back to work and back to the routines of life, hopefully one that can be easily improved with a few healthy changes. I had my cholesterol levels retested the week before last and sadly my levels have gotten worse instead of better. I had been on a statin drug for almost 2 months but went off of it at my doctor’s suggestion due to tremendous joint pain and muscle twitching that I developed as a side effect. It stopped about a week after I stopped the medication. In addition to lowering my cholesterol, three out of the four of us in our family need to lose weight and get healthier anyway. I’m reading a few books and we are trying to make the transition as healthily as possible, but I know it will be a hard battle to fight for all of us.

Well, I’ve only a few minutes here. I need to get ready for bed and get myself ready for tomorrow. I hope you are all doing well. For those of you who’d like to chat with me via Yahoo, AIM or MSN Messenger, please email me and let me know your chat name. I just figured out how to get chat features on my iPhone, so I’m hoping to keep better contact with people on occasion rather than letting months go by between conversations.

Much love!

I Miss You

Karla — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:56:06 +0000

I miss you - my blogging friends. I miss reading your blogs, chatting with you on IM, emailing nonsense back and forth and feeling your presence in my life.

I miss you - my daily blogging duties. Some days I miss writing every day. I miss Five Friday Favorites and tidbits about things in my life. Yet at the same time, it feels good to be rid of that “duty” of writing every day.

I miss you - my long hair. Why did I ever feel the need to cut you off and throw you away? I shouldn’t have been so daring and rebellious. I should have stuck to my new hairstyle and been happy, rather than being antsy and willing to shed you in a moment of beauty-inspired weakness.

I miss you - teacups and teapots and all things lovely. I haven’t taken the time lately to sit and just sip a pot of tea.

With work taking so much of my time, attention and energy, I’ve neglected so many areas of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I really like my job. I don’t have any intentions of quitting, but getting used to being back in the real workforce has taken me longer to get used to than I expected. Priorities are having to be re-defined. Leisure is at a premium these days.

Thank you all for being so kind and understanding. I’ll try to pop in more often and will try and start adding some blog reading to my time regularly. I’ll also be re-growing my hair out because I really do miss it being long.

Hope things are going well for you all! Until next time…

I Am Autumn (An Original Poem by Karla)

Karla — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:15:50 +0000

I am Autumn.

I am brisk, cool mornings, pleasant days and chilly nights.

I am scented with the smells of wood and leaves, pumpkins and spice, soup and cornbread.

I am clothed in warm colors and the mist of early morning fog is my veil.

I am a beacon, a symbol, a sign that nature’s winter respite is near.

I am calm; telling everyone to slow down, huddle in close together, and enjoy the beauty of nature.

I am football and turkey and families gathering to give thanks.

I am awe-inspiring and beautiful.

I am but one sign of God’s handiwork.

I am Autumn.

**This morning as I drove to work and saw the edges of leaves turning yellow and saw the mist hanging over one of the tall buildings near work, I was reminded at how much I love Autumn. Actually, Autumn is our family’s favorite season. It is the season that brings memories of romance for Brad and I. It causes Sarah to get much too giddy at the idea of sweaters and soup and football and all things comforting and warm.

National One-Hit Wonder Day

Karla — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:39:51 +0000

Today is National One-Hit Wonder Day. I thought I’d share my favorite one-hit wonder. The video is “great” and I suppose there is a two-fold reason why I like this song so much. First, I won a bet concerning who sings this song. Years ago Brad and I were listening to the song and I said I thought Devo sang it. He thought I was wrong. I won. That doesn’t happen very often.

Second, Devo is just so odd that you can’t help but like them. It’s a silliness that is just infectious I suppose. So without further ado, enjoy my favorite one-hit wonder!

Well, Bless My Heart!

Karla — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:57:22 +0000

I paid a visit to my doctor’s office yesterday for a follow-up appointment to go over the results of my heart scan and discuss a possible treatment plan for my high cholesterol levels.

My heart scan came back as zero. At first I wasn’t sure if that meant I simply don’t have a heart anymore or what (just kidding). The doctor said a zero is the best you can have. He said that the heart scans are 90% accurate most of the time but there are a rare few people who have plaque build-up that hasn’t calcified yet. He didn’t think that was the case with me, so that’s good.

Because my LDL (lousy) and C-Reactive Protein numbers are high and my HDL (good) are too low, he is putting me on cholesterol medicine. I’m starting out with the generic version of the statin drug Pravachol. The doctor was very good about going over potential health risks and side effects. I’ll go back in December to get my cholesterol re-tested and when I do, they’ll also check my liver enzymes to ensure that no damage is being done to my liver from the medication. The doctor acted like this would not necessarily be a long term thing, but just something to bring my levels down to a healthy range and then try to maintain them with a healthier lifestyle.

He did say one of the side effects could be memory loss. I told him that my memory is so faulty these days that I’m not sure I would notice a difference at all.

So that’s the update. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me and sent encouraging words my way. I appreciate you beyond words.

A Wrinkle In Time or An Update and A Song

Karla — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:48:13 +0000

For all those who have left such kind wishes and promises of prayer, thank you. I still don’t know the results of my heart scan, but I hope to find out tomorrow at my follow-up doctor appointment. I am fairly certain he will put me on some type of cholesterol medication as my C-Reactive Protein is rather high and my cholesterol is elevated, although not as bad as originally thought. My total cholesterol is 266, my LDL and triglycerides are in the 150-200 range and my HDL is low at only around 50. I will let you all know what I find out tomorrow.

And now onto something a bit happier. Sarah came in just a little while ago and said that our Pug Sam inspired her to write a new song, to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It goes like this:

Wrinkle, wrinkle on the skin

Underneath my Puggy’s chin

And all over his little face

Patterns his body like a maze.

Wrinkle, wrinkle on the skin,

Underneath my Puggy’s chin.

Scan For Life Forms, Mr. Data!

Karla — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:35:08 +0000

You will probably recall that my last post included information about my cholesterol level. After getting my cholesterol tested at a clinic and finding out that it’s WAY too high (314), I made an appointment with my primary care physician. He took a blood test as well and after reviewing the clinic numbers has had me schedule myself for a heart scan. I go in next Wednesday, September 11. Once my doctor has the results of the bloodwork and the heart scan we’ll see where we go from there. If the numbers are moderately bad, he’s going to likely schedule me for an exercise stress test. If they are okay, we’ll just watch it and try to lower the cholesterol. At this point, I don’t know if I’ll be put on meds or just use diet and exercise to try and bring things into a healthier level.

In the meantime, I’ll go to my Trekkie appointment and get scanned. I’ll be sure to let you all know what I find out.

Brad’s off to Vegas tomorrow for PhotoShop World. I think he’s excited. I’m jealous and glad I’m not going all at the same time. I’ll definitely miss him, that’s for sure. After 16 years of marriage it just feels like life isn’t right when we’re not together. But I’ll survive. He’ll be back on Saturday.

Hope you all are doing great!

Stayin’ Alive

Karla — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:17:51 +0000

I’m still alive, although today I feel as if I’m on the verge of knowing what it’s like not to be. I had my cholesterol levels tested at a clinic yesterday after church. It was very very high. Enough to really scare me. I know you want to know, so here are the numbers: overall cholesterols was 314. HDL (good) level was only 30. LDL (bad) was way up at 244. My triglycerides are at 200. Very very bad.

I have a lot of people in my family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, my dad, who have had or do have heart problems and stroke issues. I’ve made an appointment to see my primary care physician and will be going in on Monday of next week to talk about how serious this is or isn’t. The nurse practitioner that drew my blood and tested it said that if it wasn’t for the fact that I have really good blood pressure (115/87 which is right on track for me) and that most of my family history is not early aged heart problems, I have the potential to have a heart attack by 40. Boy, that’ll stop you in your tracks.

Have you had your cholesterol tested? There are usually several places around that do free screenings throughout the year. I was lucky enough to get a postcard in the mail. It came just as I was thinking about having it done. And being free, it’s really what got me in.

Get tested! I’ll keep you all updated on what I find out from the doctor next week. In the meantime, I’m doing what I should have been doing for a long time which is gettings some exercise, reading about living healthier, planning and eating healthier meals and learning to deal with stress. It’s only been one day, but the idea of it all has sobered me enough that I’m determined to lower my cholesterol, drop a few pounds and hopefully feel better.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Karla — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 23:00:27 +0000

You all probably thought I’d dropped off the planet, didn’t you? Hooray for those of you are glad I didn’t. Sorry to disappoint for those of you who wish I had. Seriously, the past two weeks have been quite challenging, stressful and downright energy-zapping. The sales rep I work for has been on vacation for two weeks and I’ve been handling all his clients by myself when he normally has me to assist him. And of course, just as Murphy would predict, all of the strange and “this won’t happen until I get back” clients came out of the woodwork, on top of a HUGE project that spanned the entire two weeks and just about had us all in tears at one point. Thankfully our manager/owner stepped in when he realized that project was just too much for me (I think the tears and crying clued him in). Needless to say, there hasn’t been any mental energy left to blog these past couple of weeks and I’m so far behind on reading blogs that I have no idea what anyone is up to. Hopefully I can get back to that starting tomorrow. So as a way to say thanks for not forgetting me, I’m stealing this meme that Brad stole from Brit-Gal Sarah.

Sport: Football
Game: Tri-Bond
Color: Cabbage Rose Pink
Movie: The Sound of Music
Broadway/West End Musical I have seen: Wicked
Song: Can’t decide, but I know it’s bound to be by Bon Jovi
American city I have visited: Virginia Beach, VA
Foreign city I have visited: Cozumel, Mexico (I haven’t ventured out much)
Book: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Children’s Book: Nancy Drew Series or Little House on the Prairie Series
Classic television show: Little House on the Prairie
Recent TV Show: Boston Legal
Actor: Denzel Washington
Actress: Susan Sarandon
Food: Chocolate
Dessert: My homemade New York Cheesecake
Chain Restaurant: Cheeseburger in Paradise
Local Restaurant: Red Rock Canyon Grill
Car: Silver Mercedes or Lexus Sport Convertible
Condiment: Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Kitchen Appliance: Oven
Home Appliance: HDTV
Food Network show: Barefoot Contessa
Male Songwriter: Bon Jovi
Female Songwriter: Not sure
Holiday: Thanksgiving
Disney character: The crab from Little Mermaid
Flower: Rose
Alcoholic drink: Hurricane Bob from Cheeseburger in Paradise
Non-Alcoholic drink: Vanilla Coke from Sonic
Animated movie: Finding Nemo
Television network miniseries: John Adams
Season: Fall
Male vocalist: Jon Bon Jovi
Female vocalist: Pink
Day of the week: Saturday
Household Chore: Laundry, except for ironing
Ice Cream: Chocolate Almond
Candy: Minstrels from England
Quotation: Behind all this, some great happiness is hiding. -Yehuda Amichai