Umm, thanks?
07 Monday Apr 2014
Posted Regular Life
in07 Monday Apr 2014
Posted Regular Life
in17 Monday Mar 2014
Posted Regular Life
inTags
I love having a friend whose house I can walk to!
24 Friday Jan 2014
Posted Regular Life
inTags
Blizzard, Fredericksburg, New England, Richmond, Richmond Public Schools, Snow, Snow Days, VADOT, Weather
Tuesday night we got actual snow, not the dusting of last Thursday. It was about three inches and started around 4 p.m. There has been no school all week, since Tuesday was preemptively cancelled.
So four days off for three inches of snow. As a native New Englander, I can only roll my eyes.
I know Fredericksburg was notoriously bad at clearing snow, but I thought the state capital would have more resources since the DOT is right here. Apparently not.
16 Thursday Jan 2014
13 Sunday Oct 2013
Posted Regular Life
inTags
That is all.
03 Thursday Oct 2013
Posted Regular Life
inYou may be wondering why it’s 90 degrees out in October. Well, it’s because last week I thought, “You know, it’s the end of September and getting a little chilly, so I’ll pack away all the shorts.”
Unfortunately, I pulled the shorts out again today. Therefore, the forecast now says a cold front will be moving through late this weekend.
Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.
Sincerely,
Kate
21 Wednesday Aug 2013
Posted Practical Concerns, Regular Life
inTags
9/11, Broad Street, Church Hill, Crime, Decisions, Forest Hill, Gunshots, Maps, MCV, Police, Richmond, Richmond Police Department, Student Doctor Forum, VCU, Westover Hills, Where to Live
I was hesitant when The Husband got accepted into MCV. My only experience with Richmond was in the early 2000s when Richmond was always in the news for murders and once we picked up a friend from the VCU dorms and it was really sketchy.
Richmond has turned around quite a bit in the past 10 years. There’s been a lot of cleaning up and revitalization and while you still wouldn’t want to live in some parts,* it’s a lot better than it was.
If you click on the link above (what the heck, here it is again) you’ll see the map/neighborhood description we consulted before deciding where to live. We chose the Westover Hills/Forest Hill area. We looked at the crime map and didn’t see anything worrying.
So, this is a roundabout way of saying that the gunshots outside our house last night were a bit surprising. Six or so rapid pops. After the first I thought, “shit, another tree hit the house,” but then there were more pops.
Police were called and came quickly, but as far as we can tell nothing was hit, so I don’t think anything will come of it. There’s simply nothing to go on.
* Like Church Hill north of Broad Street. Don’t live there! Our friend lives there and he got mugged earlier this summer. I don’t like to victim-blame, but really. Don’t live north of Broad.
31 Wednesday Jul 2013
Posted Med School, Practical Concerns, Regular Life
inTags
Alone, Anniversary, Attachment Parenting, Babysitting, BMF, Breaks, Budgeting, Coffee Shop, College, Confederacy, COT, Crunchy, Errands, Evangelicals, Exams, Facebook, Family, Fellow Med Students, Friends, Jesus, Library, Lonely, M1, M2, Me Time, Med School, MOPS, Museums, Natural Disasters, New Hampshire, Outsider Status, Parks, Real Estate, Richmond, Single Parenthood, Storytime, Summer, Tax Refund, Weather, Weekend
Yesterday marked one year in Richmond. I’ve liked it more than I thought I would. There’s a lot more stuff (parks, libraries, museums, funky shops, etc.) close by than there is in New Hampshire. We’ve met some nice people and reconnected with others from college.
Still, I miss things like snow and mountains and not-I-want-to-die-heat-and-humidity (doing better than last summer though). I miss our friends.
I still feel like a bit of an outsider. Mention on your Facebook that you think modern military bases shouldn’t be named after Confederate generals and you hear about it from a parent at the park. I don’t think I fit in with the other stay-at-home parents here. It seems there are two groups: the MOPS type (too Jesus-y*) and the organic, all-natural, attachment parenting type (too crunchy). Staying at home didn’t seem so political in New Hampshire. Maybe I just didn’t get out enough. I don’t know. I have found a BMF (Best Mom Friend, not to be confused with BAMF) who is neither so we go to the coffee shop together once a week after storytime at the library.
Medical school is both easier and harder than I thought it would be. I don’t get breaks until The Husband gets breaks, so I feel like a single parent at times. Weekends are not guaranteed. Often Saturdays become another weekday in terms of schedule. The Husband leaves for the library or school that morning (usually an hour or two later than real weekdays) and then I see him again around dinnertime. Sundays can be the same, although not as often. He’s pretty burned out by then.
Most of our friends are fellow med students, so potential babysitters are busy at the same time I’d want them the most. Not many errands get done the week before a test. This summer–well, the two weeks after COT and before classes–I worked hard to get a little “me” time in. I hope it can continue a little bit into the school year now that we have a year’s perspective on scheduling demands, but we’ll see.
The New Hampshire house is back on the market. I don’t have faith it will sell, so it will probably be rented out again. I hope people like moving in October. No? Bummer.
Our savings account is about the same as last year, so that’s good. We did have a big tax refund thanks(?) to a drastically reduced salary for the second half of the 2012, but we also had a tree hit the house, so I’m not sure where exactly that puts us in terms of successful budgeting.
In the past year, The Baby has become The Toddler. He has gradually dropped from two long naps a day to one not-so-long nap (hence the reduced frequency of blog posts). He’s very mellow and easy-going, but fiercely independent. He’s not into talking very much and would rather observe people and situations than participate. So, pretty much the same personality as last year, except for the independence. It’s hard to know if it was always there but we couldn’t tell because he wasn’t as mobile. His interests include tractors, planes, trucks, and cars. This has manifested into very distinct preferences for which shirts he wears. If he can see into the drawer, he wants the clothing with the motor vehicle on it.
The Husband has been back at school for 2.5 weeks and has had his first test already, so we’re 26% done!
*And seems to prey on vulnerabilities to covertly evangelize. Not cool, MOPS!
24 Sunday Mar 2013
Posted Regular Life
inTags
14 Thursday Mar 2013
Posted Regular Life
inTags
Creepy, Ewww, Grocery Shopping, Open Letters, Random, Richmond
Dear Random Man who showed up in my driveway:
No, I do not want to buy “awesome meat and seafood” out of your beat-up van.
Thanks for never coming back,
Kate
(Last post for the next half-hour, I swear!)