2 days early. It's probably sacreligious or something to say it on Good friday, but whatever. Hope everyone has a good holiday. I'll be doing lots of baking for my family dinner, and I'll try to take photos to show off next week. Happy Easter!

Blame it on the physics test, yeah, yeah...

So, my life this week has once again been taken over by physics. I've got my last test of the semester tomorrow (aside from the comprehensive final, which has a good chance of causing me to spontaneously combust...now there's some physics for ya!).

3 more weeks of school left!! (aside from the 3-week summer course I have to take during May; it's principles of accounting = can't be that hard).

I'm getting very antsy about Pharm school. I just want to know already. Everyone else I know has found out whether or not they're getting into their respective schools! Arrrrrgh! They're sending out letters around the end of the month...must practice patients........

Weekend in Review...

Friday: watched The Squid and The Whale
+ Saturday: hung out with Brooke and Trevor
+ Sunday: hung out with Jillian and watched Goodnight and Goodluck
= laid back weekend

So, obviously, nothing Earth shattering happened this weekend in Conway, but that's not the case elsewhere in the world...

A big congrats goes out to two of the craziest kids I know...Chandle and David...so exciting!!

St. Louis Trip continued...

My most favorite place that we visited was the City Museum. A description won't even begin to do it justice (the pictures don't either). Just know that it is way cool, and if you are ever in St. Louis you totally need to go.
The coolest room. Above the ceiling is the maze of tunnels. I bruised my shin climbing through them, but I didn't care cause it was so great to feel like a kid again.

Peter and Jillian in one of the exposed tunnels.

You had to climb up this tube to get into the ceiling tunnel system.

Me and Jillian in a cage.

The next few were taken in the "Enchanted Caves" area of the museum.

After climbing up through the caves we came to this scary area (see below) where you just kept climbing up and up. The museum is a work in progress, so we were not able to get to the top of these spiral staircases. When we got as high as we were allowed, you could either slide down the middle spiral or climb back down the other two. Jillian was the only one brave enough for the slide.

The rest of the time at the museum was spent outside on this insane maze of metal climbing stuff (imagine walking across a 10-inch wide plank of iron grating or crawling through a metal mesh tube 50 feet up from the ground...Scary to say the least, but such a rush and soooo much fun!). It was dark though, so I don't have any pictures of the cool outside area. Just know, that if you're in St. Louis, you must visit this place (preferably at night...they're open till 12AM).

Lou till you drop...

Oy! Getting home at 10pm on a Sunday and then starting back to school after seven days of spring break throws off your whole week. Needless to say, that is why I never got around to posting last week. The craziness of last week was definitely worth the fun we had on our St. Louis trip though. I took lots of pictures and since I haven't had many to post lately, don't hold it against me if I go overboard.

The Arch

Before we went in (it was cloudy, which was disappointing, but it ended up creating some cool shots I'll show later).

These are the scary "space capsule" cars you had to ride in to get to the top. Jillian (my yougest sister) got a little teary-eyed. I'll have to admit, I was a little freaked out too.

This is as close as I could get to the observation windows once we were at the top. I'm afraid of heights due to an incident on the playground that happened when I was really little.

These next few are just some cool shots of the arch itself. The last one is my favorite.

That's enough for today. To be continued.......

Guess What Happened Last Night...

St. Louis, Here I Come...

We leave tomorrow morning at 6AM (blahhh!). We have a vast itinerary, so expect lots of photos next week. Have a good weekend!

Hot Child In the City

Blue and I took a day trip to Hot Springs yesterday. We started off by taking the back roads to get there and stopped at one of our favorite hiking spots in the Quachita National Forest on highway 9. I made Mozart pose for a portrait:

Once we made it to the city, we drove the scenic road through the park and then parked and explored for several hours. We stopped off for some spring water too, of course. Because of the cold, blustery weather we really wanted to get in the hot springs, but we decided that the locals probably wouldn't be very happy about us splashing around in our birthday suits in the public park. We compromised and just stuck our hands in the water to warm up. We took the highway home and stopped off in LR for some yummy Italian food at Bene Vita.

Sigh....

This is the third day we've post-poned our spring break trip because of the rain...and it's still raining. Even if it quits today it's still gonna be too soggy out there for camping for a day or two (and we're running out of time b/c Blue's vaca from work ends Wednesday at 4PM). Super sigh! We might still trek to Memphis, and St. Louis this weekend is still on for sure. Poo on rain!

Happy St. Patty!

I don't know that I'll be participating in any Irish debauchery, but, hey, the day is still young. You never know what might arise.

Well, It looks like I decided to go on spring break a little early in blogger land...

It's just been one of those weeks where its the same old, same old. With my real spring break in mind and looking out my window at this poopy weather and thinking of the poopy weather they are predicting for the next four days...I'm wishing I was here:

I've decided that this summer I want to spend an optimum amount of time in the sun, sand, water, etc. Anyone with me? We need to plan a fun trip...nothing extravagent, just a relaxing summer get-away with a big group of friends (and really do it, not just say we will).

No Mozart, You Can't Sleep with Me!

Uggghhh! When are these gigantisaurus storms at 3 and 4 in the morning going to end?? They are totally messing up my sleep pattern. It doesn't help that Mozart is terrified of bad weather. I woke up the other morning during that first bad storm with his front paws up on the bed attempting to climb in without waking me up. Obviously, he was not successful. Last night (or should I say early morning) he came in hyper-ventilating and wouldn't calm down without a twenty minute petting session. My heart goes out to the guy, but I wish he'd realize that when you're inside the thunder and lighting can't get you.

Anyways, other than the above, the weekend was good. On Friday we had a Jake party when I inadvertently rented two movies starring him (Gyllenhaal that is). We saw Proof and Jarhead...both good. On Saturday I worked, did homework, and made it to LR late in the day to see my family for a while. Then I met up with Kristen and Kat at the Rose for some girl time. It was fun. Sunday was spent on school work. I've totally got next week's spring break in my sights! (Unfortunately the weatherman is saying that it is going to rain on all four days that Blue and I have planned for our mini-vaca. We'll have to see what happens. Stupid weatherman!)

Blurbs

-I'm so glad I finally made it to Survivor night last night. I felt like I was five years old again with all of the delicious kid food that everyone brought. Alas, no Survivor for three weeks though. Poo on basketball!

-I'm finally approaching a state of low stress. I took my physics test yesterday (I don't know that I did well, but, hey, at least its over with. I only have to make a C in the class.). I only have a calculus test separating me from the sweet freedom of spring break!

-My little brother that I love so much flies in from St. Louis today and we'll be home all week on his spring break. I <3 my little bro!

-Speaking of spring break...the results are in. We had our hearts set on Savannah at first. Then we decided it was too far and too expensive for us right now. Then we started planning on going to both eastern Tennessee and Asheville, NC. Blue's been to both of those places though already. Now we're talking about going to a few places around AR that neither of us has been to like the Cossatot river, Eureeka Springs, etc. We'll also make a trip to Memphis somewhere in the mix. Nothing is set in stone at this point though, and, knowing Blue, he'll change his mind last minute and we'll end up in Savannah after all.

-Blue and I are thinking of coming to LR for the day on Saturday and in turn might be up for some hanging out that evening. Yea! I'm so glad the weekend is here!

Spring Break, where are you????

I am fervently longing for spring break. I've got two fabulouso trips in the works. The more definite trip will consist of my mother, sister, me, and Peter's girlfriend flying up to St. Louis for the weekend to visit Peter at Wash U. It will include lots of sight-seeing and shopping. The other trip, which is still under development, is a road trip with Blue and Mo. We're planning on stopping in Memphis and then heading to one of three locations for the remainder of the journey. Help us decide where to go:

Savannah, Georgia (gorgeous, but far away)













Asheville, North Carolina (a little closer, but involves mountainous driving)













Fall Creek Falls National Park in Tennessee (the closest, but may be the least exciting though exciting none the less)

Where should we go on our spring break road trip?
	Savannah, Georgia
	Asheville, North Carolina
	Fall Creek Falls National Park in Tennessee
	Other...leave suggestion in comments
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Physics is Trying to Kill Me! (and other weekend adventures)

This past weekend went by way too fast. The main event was having my baby sister Jillian (she's 15 now, but we all still consider her the baby of the family) spend the night at my house on Saturday. She's been begging me for months and I finally caved. She and Blue and I went out to dinner and then rented The Brothers Grimm (not so good) and Parenthood (one of my favorite movies from the late '80's). Other than that I spent the weekend getting a lot of stuff done so that I have nothing to distract me from the three remaining days I have to study before my second physics test coming up on Thursday.

Physics might just do me in this semester. Why do they even call it physics? It's just a another word for math class. I did not do so well on my first test and I'm having difficulty feeling confident that I'll do well on this second one. It's not that I don't have a good professor. She's totally cool, and she's interested in trying to teach so that we can learn the material. She's not some professor riding the high horse of his Phd whose only interested in impressing the class with his vast knowledge of physics at the cost of everyone's final grade in the class. The problem is that UCA has reduced the semester by two weeks over the past couple years, yet everyone is still trying to teach the same amount of material. Fast paced physics class plus trying to learn Organic chem. two and stay current with what's going on in calculus class = bad combination. Sorry for the rambling. I got to get it out somehow.

Maybe I'll try using this answer on my test.

WHAT is that SMELL?

Oh yeah, it's the stinky Bradford Pear trees. I love Spring, but I'm not able to love it to the fullest extent because of these horrible trees. They smell like rotten cat parts. For those of you who went to UCA, you probably remember that they have them all over campus. That means that I get to smell them at least twice a day. Alas! I'll just have to enjoy the beautiful weather and sunny skies with a clothes pin on my nose.

Just what I needed...

Blue has been battling a cold over the past couple days. Lo and behold, I awoke this morning sounding like a combination between B. Arthur (from Golden Girls) and Darth Vader. My throat is dry and scratchy and my voice is almost non-existent. To top it off my head feels like its floating 2 feet above my body. I just hope I can muster enough brain power to finish studying for my Organic test tomorrow. It's gonna be a beast!
On a side note I found this funny site that makes stuffed microbes. It's called giantmicrobes.com. Ha! Check some of them out below. (And yes, that kid has a mullet...I do not.)

Cough

Bad BreathDust MiteEbola

Sweet Relief!

Yahoo! My pharmacy school application is finally complete. I mailed in my personal essay yesterday, the last item remaining. I've double checked to make sure my letters of reference have been received, I had a decent interview, my numbers are above average, and I sent in the stupid application fee. It's now in the hands of the selection committee. They don't send out letters until the last week in April, so it's gonna be a while before I hear anything. Keep your fingers crossed!

Weekend in Review...

I, miraculously, managed to have somewhat of a relaxing weekend. It was much needed.

-On Friday and Saturday I just did usual weekend stuff: running errands, cleaning, studying for the impending Organic test on Thur., and vegging out. Blue and I rented two movies: Thumbsucker, and Lord of War. Thumbsucker is an idependent film with Vince Vaughn and Tilda Swinton among others. It's your typical coming of age story...good, but nothing amazing. I've yet to finish Lord of War (Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto), but so far it's been your typical guys with guns movie.

-On Sunday I drove the stretch to LR to see the fam. Jillian and I later met up with Blue (he was in town to help his dad move) and went out to dinner at Buffalo Grill. We ran into Eliz, Katie, and Christy there. Eliz invited me over to watch Grey's Anatomy, which was a nice way to round out the day. Oh, Meredith, why do you keep giving women such a bad name?

Lost, but Not Gone Forever...

Yeah, so I've sucked at posting this week. School has been killer! It stinks too because there were a million things to blog about in my life this week. I have two classes today, and then I plan on recuperating over the weekend (as much as one can recuperate when you have a organic chem. test coming up next week, BLahhh!). I should be back in the swing of things on Monday.

What a Rip Off! (And I'm Glad I Didn't Die in the Elevator)

So much for the massive winter storm that the weater people (I mean weather liars) warned us about all last week. Having an ice crust on your roof and lawn does not constitute pandimonium. Aside from the lack of fun stuff to play in outside, I have enjoyed the bitterly cold temperatures.

The UAMS interview went well on Friday, though I almost died in the elevator on my way there. When I pressed the up button, the service elevator was the first to open, so I got in along with two other women. We dropped one of the women off on the 3rd floor and began our way up to the 6th floor. About 2 seconds after the doors closed, the elevator started shaking violently and moving up, up, down, up, down, up, up, down in a very life threatening manner. The other woman and I looked at each other with restrained smiles that said "Oh my god, I'm freaking out in here but I can't show it because there is a stranger standing next to me!" Needless to say, this shaky elevator behavior continued for about a full minute, which doesn't sound long, but when your picturing yourself plummeting to the ground in a giant heep of twisted metal carnage, it feels like forever. Luckily the doors all of a sudden opened, and the other lady and myself almost pushed each other over trying to get out of that horrendous elevator car. What a way to calm the nerves before an interview!

Sweet Mother, It's Cold Outside...

And I LOVE IT! I just got back from a walk up to school to turn in some homework since I won't be in class today because of my interview, and it was so refreshing. There's nothing quite like a brisk slap in the face from cold winter air (REAL winter air, not this fake stuff we've been having up until now). I've definitely got my fingers crossed for some fun winter weather this weekend. Don't worry, I've also got my fingers crossed that those of you who are traveling will make it to and from where you are going. Stay safe and enjoy the weather everybody!!!

Do You Speak Chewbacca?

I'm not a Stars Wars fanatic by any means, but I came across this and it made me laugh (more than once). Check out Chewy's blog.

The Big Day!

My UAMS Pharmacy School applicant interview is on Friday at 1PM. Luckily, I'm really not that stressed about it. Maybe I just haven't had time to get stressed about it because of the craziness of this semester of school. Anyhoo, I went out and bought myself a brand new suit yesterday for the occasion. I didn't really need a new suit. I have plenty left over from my old job at Stephens, but they are all black (probably because I hated my job) and I wanted something with a little more personality. Unfortunately I could not afford the $1,000 Ellen Tracy suit from Neiman's pictured to your right, but the one I bought looks very similar. It's just a little darker brown. I'm all set now except for the questions that they said they will be expecting me to ask. I have a few in mind, but probably need to have more on hand in case they really want me to ask a lot. Any ideas??

Happy V-day!

Blue and I don't celebrate (It's just not his style and I'm one of the cynics who thinks it was develop as an ingenious marketing tool by Hallmark, Tipton & Hurst, and all the chocolate makers of the world.), but Happy Valentines to all of you who do!

Those were the days...

This was the weekend of Jillian's first formal dance. I went home to LR on Saturday to help her get ready. I think she turned out pretty well. She looks too old to be my little sister! My brother was in town too. He actually went to the same dance as Jillian because his girlfriend is a year younger than him and still in highschool, so he was her date. It makes me nostalgic for the days of dressing up in formal attire and going out in a big group. Sometimes being old just stinks!

Weekend plans...

Lots to do this weekend, but hopefully it will be less stressful now that my two big tests are over with.

Friday-homework, housecleaning, and baking a cake. Yea! My little brother flies in today! He's coming in to town to visit his girlfriend and were gonna have one final celebration on Saturday for my birthday (that's what the cake is for).

Saturday-work in the AM, then I'm heading to LR to get Jillian ready for her winter formal. Hopefully I'll also get to do some hanging out that evening.

Sunday-homework, homework, homework, and hopefully a little more housecleaning.

Have a good weekend!

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit...

I was making my internet rounds this morning, which includes checking the recipes of the day at allrecipes.com (ordinary people submit recipes and the site catalogs them). I came across a recipe titled Sour Weiner Gravy. It sounded so weird that I had to check it out. It consists of onions, water, salt and pepper, crushed gingersnap cookies, vinegar, and sliced hot dogs. You cook all the ingredients until the cookies dissolve and it gets thick. Then it said to serve it over mashed potatoes. Sick to the max! What is wrong with these people?

Busy weekend

-Friday's highlight was my birthday dinner at Ferneau. The meal was quite exceptional. We started with the crab cake and ahi sashimi appetizers followed by the smoked trout salad with meyer lemon and maytag blue cheese vinaigrette (my favorite item of the evening). Then I chose the Colorado rack of lamb with spinach gratin for my entree and we finished with a chocolate mousse. Everything had great flavor. I will say that the accoustics are quite bad there, though. We had to yell at each other from across the table in order to converse. That is never fun.

-Saturday consisted of studying, studying and more studying; wishing I was at the Faded Rose; and then back to studying. Sorry I never made it to L-town guys (and thanks for the invite E).

-More studying on Sunday and then a trip to my family's house in LR and a quick stop at Brooke's superbowl party where she shared some delicious superbowl food, and then, you guessed it, more studying.

I have a physics and an organic test this week, so you may not hear much out of me. We'll just have to see. Hopefully once I get these two beasts over with, life will be a little less crazy.

Bring on the Weekend!

Man, this has been a busy week. I'm hoping things will settle down a little over the weekend. We've got dinner with the fam at Ferneau to celebrate my b-day. I'm so looking forward to it. I've looked at the menu and already know what I'm gonna order. I'll tell you all about it on Monday. Other than that, I've got work on Saturday morning and a healthy serving of homework, lab reports, studying, etc. to round things out and then the super bowl party on Sunday. Anyone know of anything fun going on tonight (Friday)? We might be up for some hanging out after dinner. Party on Wayne...Party on Garth!