Lame-O

I've thought of at least one thing to blog about almost everyday this week, and when I sat down to the computer just now during this short study break I had the intention of telling you about them, but because my brain is drowning in drug names, I've got nothing. And!! I have to work tonight and tomorrow morning, so poo. I'm in a doo-doo mood, so I better just get back to studying. This blog sucks. It may be my worst ever. I'll do better next time.

P-2

It's official. I'm now a second year p-student. I had my first day of class yesterday, and let me tell you, I'm already feelin' the pressure. I expected it though, so I'm sailing along so far.

It was a momentous event this past weekend when I packed up all my materials from last school year and put them into storage (only to be resurrected in two years when I have to start studying for the NABPLEX (National Association of Boards of Pharmacy Licensing Examination)). Here's what went into (and in some cases rapidly decided to hide deep in the recesses of) my brain this past year:

It was kind of fun going through it all and realizing that I had survived. One down!, three to go.

In other (more embarassing) news, you won't believe what I did to myself...again!....at work last Thur. Yes. You guessed it. I stuck another finger. This time it was my middle finger. Luckily the needle did not go all the way through, but it was just as painful none the less. Is this supposed to be some sort of sign that I'm not meant to be a pharmacist? Is it some sort of omen or just me being clumsy? Either way I felt like a doofus. If you're curious to see there's a picture below...If not, don't scroll down.

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This Old House

Well, I've been waiting to show you the new kitchen because I was hoping to find some time to get the tile backsplash installed, but, alas, I've got five days before p-school resumes and I just don't think it's gonna happen between now and then, so just pretend you can't see the remain lovely fruit wallpaper that is still present.

Here's the before:


And the after:I also just finished a couple paintings I've been working on for the living room that I'm very happy with and some new sconces to finish out the wall (didn't make those though, they're store bought). This is the one room in the house that is almost "complete"....just some new drapes, a new loveseat, and a new TV remain. (Too bad I don't have a money tree in the backyard.)

The Great Homeland

Turns out I picked the perfect time to leave the south this past week...right when the August heat wave decides to show. I left this past Sat. for a last minute trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin to visit my families lake home (Mom's side), see my Dad, and do some good ole' shopping at the Mall of America. What a blast! My sister has all the photos on her camera, so I'll have to show you those later.

The lake was nice and peaceful and I got to spend lots of time with my twin 18-month old cousins. They're adorable and they even know sign language...genius! What a fantastic idea....teach your babies, who can't speak properly yet, a way to communicate with you. I'm surprised more people don't do it. I'm definitely filing that one away on the to do list.

The mall was a complete shop-a-thon experience. We spent a solid twelve hours shopping on Wed. We barely fit all our purchases in our luggage. It was intense. I also saw The Bourne Ultimatum with my dad while we were visiting. If you're a Bourne fan, you won't be dissappointed. I recommend it for sure.

At least it hasn't been a month this time

Good news:


My brother flew in from Germany last night safe and sound. Don't have many trip details or pics yet because he'd been up for over 36 hours traveling. We're hanging out tonight though and I can't wait.

Bad news:


The kitchen is not finished, so that means I don't have any pics to show you. All of the painting is done, but the hinges for all of the cabinet doors don't fit properly by like a MILLIMETER (that's me yelling my frustration out). We're off today to go try and find some that will work, so until then I'll show the lovely discovery of the original cabinet finish I found when I pulled down the so very attractive fruit wallpaper. MMmmm. Seventies fugliness.




Good news:

Miss Elizabeth was just accepted into her school psychology graduate program. They only except a handful of people. Congratulation to her! Also, Miss Chandle returns to the U.S. in only a few short days. We wish you safe and speedy travel.

Bad news:

I accidentally stabbed a 16-gauge needle (that's big for a hypodermic needle...think the diameter of a piece of cooked spaghetti ) through the my thumb the other day at work. Umm, yeah. It hurt really baldly. Luckily I was working with a concentrated antibiotic solution right before it happened, so the wound stayed nice and germ free. It was pretty gross though. It happend when I was putting the cap back on the needle so that I could remove it because we have to show the pharmacists the syringe we used after we've made the IV's (when you use needles on actual patients you obviously don't do this because of the danger bodily fluids). I felt that I had missed the cap and gone straight through my thumb before I had time to stop it. The worst part was having to remove it...though the bleeding was pretty bad too. No. I take that back. The worst part was having to finish the rest of the day with a very painful thumb that I had to continue to use to draw up syringes. Yeah, I didn't stop bleeding till I got home later that afternoon because of all the pushing and pulling that I kept doing on the wound. Have a look if your curious:

Good News:

I finished HP yesterday. Loved it! Totally the best of the seven. I'll leave it at that for any who haven't made it to the end yet.

Have a lovely Friday!

Good news and good news.

So, I had the doctors appointment yesterday and I was fantastically given a clean bill of health! Yay! It's a huge weight off my shoulders. Without given too much info., it was, in a nutshell, a cancer scare. All of the imaging and tests that they ran came back negative, though. What a relief!

To celebrate I took a little shopping trip to the new Fresh Market in west LR. If you haven't been you should definitely go. It was my third time there and it is still as exciting as the first. Maybe it's just cause I'm a foodie, but I still think most people can find something new and fun there. It is a little pricey, so don't go there expecting to do your normal grocery shopping, but it's definitely worth a trip to buy stuff for a special dinner (and the also have a bulk candy bar!!! Yes, I have a serious sweet tooth. I'm not too proud to admit it.). I picked up a wild caught sashimi grade tuna steak that I season with ginger and lemon and pan-seared for a minute on each side. Along with it we had a lightly dressed ceasar salad (because heavily dressed ceasars are just pretentious and obnoxious...in my humble opinion) and I also picked up an excellent loaf of ciabatta that we dipped in some olive oil (like at Macaroni grill). To accompany the fish I had a glass of my new favorite wine: Oroya. It's billed as a sushi wine. A japanese company makes it from Spanish grapes and I love it. If you like summery white wines that aren't too sweet or too dry, try it. We picked it up at Colonial the other day. To finish off the meal I whipped up a milk chocolate mousse and threw on some fresh organic raspberries from the market. What a meal! It was the perfect way to celebrate.

In other news: The kitchen remodel is in full effect. I'm gonna have to work my tush off to get all the painting done this weekend (the tile back-splash is gonna have to wait), but I hope to have pictures for you next week.

Anyone doing anything fun this weekend?

Okay, okay. I get the hint.

Yeah, so I was shocked when Chandle pointed out that it has almost been a month since I posted anything! I don't think I've ever gone that long. I could blame it on a list of things, but I won't cause that would ultimately be boring conversation, so I'll just say that I'll try to get back into the swing of things from here on out.

Umm, has anyone noticed that I only have five weeks of summer vacation left????? I hadn't until just now and it kind of freaks me out. I'm not ready to go back to school yet, people. I feel like I just left. I think it's more of an anxiety issue because last semester was really hard and I amost didn't make it in one class. I'll just have to keep reminding myself that I made it through the first year, so I can make it through the second year too.

What have I been up to lately you may be wondering? Mainly work. Okay, almost completely, exclusively work. I won't lie. I've been working a lot more than I expected too, but I like my job and the people I work with, so aside from taking over the majority of my summer, it's been a good experience. We've been doing lots of out-doorsy stuff on the weekends over the past couple weeks and I've managed to take a few photos. Have a look see.

Almost four weeks ago we met up with some old buddies from the UCA under-grad. days for a weekend of camping and floating on the Buffalo river. Funnily enough this is the only pic I took while there.

Artistic genius I say. I did manage, however, to acquire a lovely little sunburn...one of the worst in my life. It even blistered and then became this grotesque peeling, itchy nightmare. Here's phase one and phase two of it. (P.S. Hold your lunch.)

The next weekend I attended Brooke and Trev's house warming party, which was lovely. Brooke made lots of delicious food and I'm sure we turned up the heat in their new dwelling. Then it was off to the Little Red River to meet up with my sisters Katie and Ashley (in visiting from Denver) and Step-Dad for the day to do some trout fishing. I would have had a great picture of me holding an enormous trout that I caught but as my step-dad was handing it to me it flopped itself right out of the boat. Alas!

This past weekend Blue and I went back to camp at the Buffalo with my sister Katie and her boyfriend who was visiting from Colorado. We had great weather, especially for sleeping cause it cooled down at night up there. Katie and Andy went kayaking the next day and Blue and I moved on over to Sylamore creek for some swimming and fishing and fun....And! I took pictures there.

Our lovely little camp site right on the water.

Mo's camp site:

This is my new favorite picture of us:

So, there you have it...the last four weeks of my life in a nutshell. I have a lot of new garden photos too, but I'll save those for another day. I've also had a very strong remodeling itch that needs to be scratched, and I've got a nice four days in a row off coming up next week so look forward to some pictures of a snazzy new kitchen in the new future.

Also, I have a doctors appointment next week on Thursday that has me a little stressed because it's concerning a medical thing that could potentially be bad. I know I'm being vague, but I don't want to go into detail just in case it turns out to be nothing...but just in case it doesn't it would mean a lot to me if you crossed your fingers for me that day. Love you guys.

Pie is a great thing.

I'm still busy working most of my summer days away, but I've got a four day in a row break that I'm really looking forward too coming up next week. We're planning on taking a float trip over that span of time with some old friends from college, which promises to be a much needed retreat from work/city life/etc. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the weather holds out.

My sister Ashley is coming to visit for several days later next week too, which will be lots of fun. It'll be just us four girls with no brother to contend with (since he's off sowing his wild oats in Germany). Lots of girly time ahead (and hopefully some picture to boot).


I went out with the fam last night for dinner and a movie to celebrate Father's day. We saw Waitress at Market Street. I highly recommend it. It was along the same lines as Little Miss Sunshine, well, maybe a little but different, but funny and touching and thoughtful none the less. Go see it if you can. I may be biased because of the fact that the main character was a pie baker, but I still think the average joe will consider it just as good. Here's the trailer if you're interested.

I am alive. (You may have been wondering.)

I've been pulling forty hours in the pharmacy, which wouldn't be bad except for the fact that my shifts switch back and forth from day shift to night shift which makes may general alertness when I'm not at work suffer, so, yeah, that's my excuse for not blogging in forever. I only work thirty two hours this week and they've just hired another p-student, so that should help lighten the load shortly too.

Okay. Now lets play catch up.

Bon Reise mein Bruder.

My younger brother Peter left last Sunday for a ten weeks stay in Germany. I'm so jealous, but also so excited for him. He's over there attending a university to further his knowledge of the language (it's one of his majors). He's gonna have a blast. There's nothing like going to Europe for the first time. To top it all off, he's staying in a renovated castle that is part of the university's campus. How cool is that?

Garden City.

The garden has come alive with some serious ferocity. Here's what we've got to show off this week:

Broccoli-Wokoli.

Zuchinni. Not my favorite, but still fun to grow. We had a summer squash the other day too. Now those I like!

Tomatoes galore! Seriously. We have a million. Those of you who know me know that I don't eat these guys (not raw anyway, with salsa being an exception), but Blue loves them.

Are white lillies finally bloomed and they are gorgeous!

We have zinnias coming out are wahoo, which is a good thing because they make great cut flowers to bring inside.

Ta-DAAAA! Take a look at my first gladiolas that have bloomed. We've got forty seven more bulbs left to go, so I'm sure you'll see more of these in the near future.

This is what the flower spike looked like when it first appeared. How cool is it that that turns into the flowers above? I love it!

Hey! I thought I was supposed to be on vacation.

Yeah, so I've been working in the pharmacy a lot lately. I'm not really complaining cause I still like it, I'm learning a lot, and I'm making some much needed money to pay my bills over the summer (cause you don't get happy little student loan excess aid checks during summer break). I've trained for the day shift over the past couple days and then this Saturday I'll be training at the Sherwood branch. Training is not that fun, so I'll be glad when that is over but happy that I'll have a few more options when it comes to what shifts I can work.

We didn't really do anything festive this past holiday weekend. I worked Friday night and then early Monday morning so that didn't leave a whole lot of time for camping or anything like that. We didn't go to Riverfest either. I did, however, hang out with my siblings quite a bit. My sister Katie just moved here from Denver. She's starting nursing school at UAMS. It's nice to have her here. I'm sure you all will get to meet her soon.

Okay. I'm feeling rambly and boring. I'll post more later.

Floral Awareness

Here's an updated photo of the progress we've made in our backyard:

Ha! I wish. This is actually Drummond Castle in Scotland....not my backyard, but we do have some new flowers blooming. See below. Now all I need is for the gladiolas to do there thing and then I'll be really pleased.

The lilies are starting to bloom. We've only had yellow and orange so far. I'm hoping for some red and white soon.

This is tigridia. They are my first bulbs to bloom (other than the tulips, but I cheated with those cause I bought them after they had already sprouted). Aren't they cool? They remind me of orchids.

You are getting very sleepy.....

Blue planted some zinnias from seed in his veggie gardens to attract the bees, and they've already begun to bloom. He has a knack for growing things from seeds (that I do not...none of the seeds I planted grew).

Our gardenia bushes (that came with the house) are blooming too. They smell amazing!

Finally, this snazzy little desert plant (can't remember the name) that I've carried around with me for two years now is still putting out flowers. The plant itself looks pretty dead, but if it is still giving us a show I guess it might make it another year.

I've died and gone to blog heaven.

Now that I've got free time on my hands to putz around the internet, I've stumbled upon the most fabulous blog ever! I'm kicking myself for not thinking of doing it first. Get your taste buds ready and go check out The Cupcake Blog. Scroll on down to the 3rd recipe: S'mores cupcakes. Oh Yeah, I'm definitely gonna make those...and I'll be willing to share.

Mooooom, Margarita was mean to me! I don't want to play with her anymore.

Let's just say I won't be drinking margaritas for a looooong time. I'll spare you the unpleasant details because there are much better things to talk about like how great Chandle's going away party was. She's on her way to Nepal today to make a difference in the world cause that's just how great she is. We love you Chandle! Keep yourself safe and come home ASAP.


Now onto the photos from the party:


MMMmmm. Cake.


















Kimmy P. and Virginia were in town, which added to the fun. It was like a college reunion of sorts (minus Brooke, of course, who couldn't make it).











We even had an arm wrestling contest. Yes, I lost.












I'll wrap things up with my favorite photo series of the evening:

Yea! We're happy. This is fun!

Hmmmm. Maybe this wasn't the best idea we've ever had.

Kim says it all.

I Got My Hair Cut and My Life Back and It Feels GREAT!!!

Woohoo! School is OV-ER! I can't even begin to tell you what a neurotic mess I've been the past seven days. There were tears shed and naughty words spoken, but I survived.....And I'm ready for some FUN!!! I'm gonna keep it short today cause I gotta go play outside in the gorgeous weather, but I have the feeling I'll be blogging on a much more regular basis now'a'days so you'll hear from me again soon.

Those WERE the days!

• I'd trade my current school tasks for busy work any day. Oh, what it would be like to be able to once again study for tests the night before you take them and make A's with such little effort. Those days are long gone. Now I start studying at least four days before a test, which averages out to about 20 hours of studying. Craziness! I'm so close, yet the end of the semester still feels so far away.

• Needless to say, I spent the majority of the weekend with my nose in the books. I did make it out on Sat. night to celebrate Miss Chandle's b-day. It was so much fun to go bowling. I hadn't done it in forever. Good idea Chandle!

• Well, I've got a med chem test on Tuesday and then finals begin on Friday, so you may not hear much from me for the next 1.5 weeks. May the force be with me cause I'm gonna need it (in at least one class anyway). See you on the other side.

Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy Birthday...

To Kat!!

Today is Your day. Have an excellent one!

I wanna wish a happily dappily birthday to...

Miss Chandle Fantastico Devor!

In the Home Stretch

Ahhhhhh!

I'm way stressed, but I'm also way excited. I've only got ten days of school left, but in the next 6 days (weekdays) I have 3 regular exams left and then a study day (yes, only one) and then 4 days of final exams. Talk about sticking it to us! I've only have one class in which I don't have the grade I want right now as opposed to 3 classes last semester, so I'm a little better off than I was back then but still feeling the pressure. Serenity Now!!

Did I mention how excited I am to be out of school? I. Can't. Wait.!!!! This is going to be a summer of fun for sure. Bring it on.

Fun Fact: Did you know that when an average person coughs the force of the air coming out of their lungs is around 600 mph? That's some speed!

Third times a Charm

I completed my third night last night of working in the hospital pharmacy...and I liked it! I'm becoming a TPN pro. (TPN = total parenteral nutrition...think big IV bag full of carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins used for people who can't eat the regular way). It is my favorite thing that I get to do. I'm also feeling more comfortable with a lot of the other IVs I get to make (there are alot!). One thing that still leaves me a little anxious is the delivery that I have to make each shift at 6PM. This involves dropping off drugs/IVs all over the hospital in the med rooms of each unit. It's not hard. I just can't seem to learn my way around the hospital. It's like one of those mazes that they put mice in in laboratories. I'd better get it straight soon, though, because after two more wednesdays there throwing caution to the wind and having me cover the shift all by my lonesome (no more working with my trainer). Ahhh!

Now for some COMY:

We have growth! Here are some before and after shots to give you an overview:

Before:

And Now:

We've picked our first vegetable: radishes! (I ate the one that is in the photo just now and it was delicious. Nice and spicy!) And we have some peas that will be ready soon too. And, and!! the clematis has it's first bloom! So exciting. Check it out:

17 Days and Counting...

Oooooh, I can't explain to you how ready I am for summer. I'm looking forward to being able to deep clean the house, spend more time working in the yard, do some house projects that have been sitting around for months, cook more often, excercise more regularly, organize things, etc. All in good time.

It was a crazy weekend to follow a crazy week and I've got another test tomorrow to boot. I'm just taking it one day at a time now until the end of the school year and like I said above, only 17 days left.

On a more festive note I'd like to wish a happy b-day to Brooke. Welcome to the "now we're officially old" club.

Happy Birthday!