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Monday, March 31, 2008

Insomnia or Insanity???

LOL hopefully it's not the latter. Ever since we've moved here, I've had trouble getting to sleep and I just can't quite put my finger on the reason. Our bed is comfy, I'm perfectly comfortable in this house, everything seems ok. I think my problem is that I think too much at night when I'm trying to sleep. I think about what I did that day, what I have to do tomorrow and all kinds of things. Maybe this is keeping me up? I lay awake for hours sometimes trying to sleep and mostly I don't get to sleep at night until after 1:00 am. *sigh* As a result, getting up in the morning is really hard and I usually end up oversleeping. This morning was the last straw, I slept through all 3 of my classes this morning, can you believe it? I was so upset and disappointed with myself. I guess I'm going to have to see a doc about getting on a sleep aid, to hold me over until then, I got some benadryl. I hope I can sleep tonight.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Grains of gratitude



1.I'm grateful that I made it through the first week of school after spring break and I'm that much closer to being done!

2.I'm glad that I made it through W being away for 3 days and I was responsible! I fed the cats when I was supposed to, made sure doors were locked/lights were on, you know the normal stuff people do that W usually does. LOL I'm really glad he's back.

3.Glad that I made it through the pharmacy Olympics which I regretfully signed up for. It went over an hour longer than it was supposed it and I had a whopper of a tension headache, but I'm just glad it's over.

4.Happy that Fred's pharmacy put on an awesome dinner at the Memphis zoo for us, it was nice to be able to socialize with friends and get a free dinner.

5.Lastly I'm grateful I made it out to the Kappa Psi formal last night, it was a blast and I was considering not going just because I didn't have a date. Well that's it for this week.

Kappa Psi formal

So last night was the Spring Kappa Psi formal and it was mucho fun, except that they ran out of alcohol after I had only had 2 drinks. It was fine though because I was driving home so I couldn't have a lot to drink anyway. Those 2 drinks were just enough to take off the edge. Anyway I spent most of the night dancing with my girlfriends and dancing partner Joseph. I'm also happy to report W came home today from his Chicago trip. He had a good time and he's sleeping peacefully on the couch next to me right now. Lastly I wanted to share some pics that I took of myself before the formal.
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me again
Self pic

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Crazy night at work

Last night I got to work at around 5 and didn't leave until midnight. It was crazy to say the least. Me and Matt worked about 6.5 hours straight making chemo for the kids. I LOVE making chemo, and it makes the time go by oh so fast. I feel really good about what I do. Matt is graduating in May and he's trying to decide if he wants to work at St. Jude as a pharmacist or go to Methodist hospital. I hope he stays at St. Jude, I'll miss him if he leaves! He's taught me so much. *sigh* But anyway I did get a nice surprise when I got to work, I thought I was supposed to work this weekend, but I don't work until next weekend! I was seriously happy to be able to sleep in this morning. I'm sure next weekend I'll be singing a different tune though. hehe. My little sister Janice is getting her hair cut and highlighted this morning and I so wish I could be there to see it. She LOVES getting her hair done at the beauty salon. After her hair is done my dad is taking her out to lunch so she's going to have a good day. My dad loves Janice so much, I think it's because of her that he decided to quit drinking and lose weight(he's hasn't had a drink in MONTHS and he's lost over 30 lbs so far!) Janice is definitely a happy girl and has my dad wrapped around her pinkie. It makes me happy to know she's happy, she deserves nothing less. Speaking of dad, he's turning 50 April 15 and were having a party in Missouri where most of his family lives on April 12. Me and W are going to make the 7 hour drive and I'm SOOOO excited to see everyone and especially my niece and nephew who are 3 and 5. I'm going to a formal for Kappa Psi tonight, I'm excited but I won't have a date as W is still in Chicago. I haven't gone to a function solo in a LONG time, but I think it'll still be fun. I wanted to share a few pictures because I think it makes blog entries mucho interesting. The first is of a church in St. Augustine, FL that I took on Christmas eve last year. I edited it a little bit. Can you believe I took this shot with a point and shoot camera? yep it was before I got my Canon 400D. The second pic is one I took of Madison jumping after a toy, don't you love the way her claws are outstretched and her mouth is open. Hehe she's crazy.
St. Augustine Church I
Madison in the air

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Walk on the wild side.......

First and foremost I'd like to lament that W left today to go on his annual "man trip" with some of his buddies from his Sigma Chi fraternity. *sniff sniff* He'll only be gone until Sunday so I'm pretty much being a big baby, but I've never slept in our house alone before so I'm skeered. LOL but I'll live. Fred's pharmacy hosted an event tonight called "walk on the wild side" at the Memphis zoo for pharmacy students. I debated going since I have an exam tomorrow, but I'm really glad I did. It was lots of fun, they provided us with a Mexican themed dinner, plus we got to see a sea lion show and I also saw the polar bears, an armadillo, a barn owl, and some sort of python. We also got goodie bags and door prizes were given away, sadly I didn't win anything. Unfortunately I'm suffering from a severe tension headache right now as I type, and my extra strength Excedrin has yet to work. I'm also a tad bit disappointed that I have to work tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday(I only work every 3rd weekend so I really shouldn't complain). I love my job, but it's still work. Well best get to studying.

Meezer Pleaser

Siamese

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

W might rejoin the Army

The Army Reserves Nursing corps is offering RNs a $30,000 sign on bonus(well $10,000/year for 3 years) and $50,000 in student loan repayments which would totally pay off W's loans, we'd still have mine to pay off, but having his out of the way would be a huge relief. Also when he starts Nurse Anesthetist school, they'll pay him $1900/month for living expenses. That would pay all our monthly bills and we'd have some left over and W wouldn't have to work. Also it wouldn't be active duty either, he'd be in the reserves. He'd only have to work 1 weekend per month and 2 weeks per year. Also he'd owe them 1 year of service for every 6 months he's in Anesthetist school, so I think he said he'd owe 6 or 8 years. We'd also get to use Tricare insurance which is better than the school health insurance we use now(which isn't necessarily bad, just kind of pricey), and we'd have access to the commissary and PX where all the merchandise is tax free. The major con is obviously the chance of deployment, but we don't even know for sure that he would get deployed, especially if we elect a democratic president(I'm hopeful), but people deal with spouses being deployed on a daily basis, so I think I could handle it(I'm sure it'll be a different story if I get put in that situation, but I'm trying to be optimistic). W also said he'd enter in as a 2nd lieutenant(he'll have a bachelor's in nursing) and when he graduates anesthetist school, he'd be some sort of officer(he'd have a doctorate). All in all I think this would be a great opportunity for us. The extra money would be phenomenal as well as the other perks that come with it. What do ya'll think?
PS-I forgot to mention W already served 4 years active duty AND has been deployed to Iraq before so I'd be a piece of cake for him.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I'm learning how to photo edit!

Here's my first attempt at using a blur overlay to create a "dreamy" appearance. I'm really starting to learn this stuff. The last one doesn't have a blur overlay, I just enhanced the coloring.



Sunday, March 23, 2008

My face is mad at me

but I'm not sure what I did to make it so mad. Let me start with a little background information. I've ALWAYS had mild to moderate acne since I became a teenager, when I was 16 my mom got some proactiv for me and it worked great, until I moved out and couldn't afford it anymore. Anything else I've tried that comes from walmart DOESN'T WORK. I thought the Olay cleanser I was using was going to work, but sadly I started to get those painful under the skin cystic pimples about 2 months after starting it. I guess I should also mention that I started a new brand of birth control pills, and I think that may be what's causing so much turmoil on and in my face. I was getting multiple cystic pimples everyday, well those have pretty much stopped (knock on wood), but now I've got hundreds(I'm not exaggerating) of whiteheads on my face. For those that don't know, whiteheads are like blackheads, but they're closed so you can't really squeeze them and they take FOREVER to heal. Another thing, I've NEVER had acne on my cheeks, only on my forehead and chin area, well the other morning I woke up to find tons of little red bumps all over my cheeks. I'm not exactly sure what they are, but in that moment I realized I have to do something, I can't go out in public like this!! I've made the decision to order Proactiv since it's the only thing that seems to work. It was pricey, but if you order it off ebay, it's a little cheaper than ordering off the website. So while I'm waiting for it to some, I dug up an almost empty bottle of the cleanser and the toner and lotion that I had left over from when I used to use it. I was excited because I didn't know I had it. I started using it today, and I plan on going to the walk in clinic at school tomorrow morning and pleading with them to change my birth control prescription. It's unfortunate too since I was having no other side effects. *sigh* Well that's about it, I feel so much better after writing about all this.

Grains of gratitude

I skipped my grains of gratitude post last week because I was in Clarksville and I sort of forget. So I'm doing this weeks for 2 weeks worth.

1.Grateful I've been on spring break since last weekend. I needed a break more than you can imagine, I was seriously burned out on school, unfortunately I think the break came a couple of weeks too late LOL. It was so nice being off and being able to lay around though.

2.I'm really happy I got to go to Clarksville to visit my family. It was a good visit.

3.Grateful I got to get my hair done while I was in Clarksville. There's a place called "It's a hair thing", and it doesn't look like much from the outside, and I don't think they do ANY advertising, BUT the prices are super-reasonable and the results are fantastic. My hair always looks great when I leave, and I have really hard hair to highlight and style. If your in the Clarksville area, check them out, they're on Dover Rd.

4.When I got back home, me and W went to Old Time Pottery and I got a few things for the house! I was really excited. Getting new things for the house always motivates me to clean it. :)

5.Grateful I got my cat project done. It turned out pretty good, and I found the perfect frame for the pictures. I'm starting a new photography project pretty soon, so we'll see how that goes.

6.I found a Digital photography school thing online for free, and I'm learning lots of stuff about my camera.

That's all I can think of right now! Happy Easter Everyone!!

Friday, March 21, 2008

MMMMMM spaghetti!

I'm getting ready to make spaghetti. What's so exciting about this you may ask? Well W doesn't like it NEARLY as much as I do. I could eat it every few days, but he only wants it every couple of weeks, so I was pretty happy when he agreed to eat it tonight. He is so spoiled isn't he?

World Down Syndrome Day!



Today is world Down syndrome day, March 21 was chosen because it is the 3rd month which represents the 3 copies of the 21st chromosome and of course the 21st day represents that chromosome. I would most definitely say my life has been changed for the better having a sister with Down syndrome. I grew up knowing that all kids are different and never took a second look if I saw someone who was different. I also think I'm a really sensitive person because of my sweet little sister. I consider myself blessed.

This is an old pic from 1987 of me and Janice. Wasn't she adorable!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Back in Memphis

I got back home yesterday at around 8:00 pm. I wasn't planning on leaving Clarksville until this morning, but I got a little too homesick and decided to leave early. I did have a great time in Clarksville, though. I got to see my parents and of course Janice and my parents' dogs, Precious, Willie BoJangles, Lulu, and the fat cat, Kit kat. Me and Kelly got to hang out and have a good time doing what we love best, shopping and eating. All in all it was a good trip, but I was ready to get back home. I lied awake last night listening to the rhythmic breathing of W next to me and realized how lucky I am. Life is good right now. Today we went grocery shopping and to Old time pottery(I Love old time pottery!) I'm planning on going on a picture taking outing tomorrow if the weather is good. In the short few days I was gone, things started to get a little greener around here. Kind of exciting. Spring is here!




Monday, March 17, 2008

I'm in Clarksville

So I'm in Clarksville, the place where I had my coming of age. I lived in this house from the ages of 12 to 23. Since my dad retired from the army when I was 12, Clarksville was the longest I've ever stayed in one place, so when people ask me where I'm from, I can confidently say Clarksville. I could never say I was from anywhere when I was younger. I had an uneventful drive up here, 3.5 hours of boredom. I did see a funeral procession on the interstate, strange eh? Me and my cousin/sister Kelly went to a friend of ours house to help her with her 9 year old daughter's birthday slumber party. It was a spa party complete with facials and nail paintings for all 6 9 year olds. I enjoyed a day out of my regular life full of studying and working to paint a little girl's nails and I beamed at her delight at looking beautiful. I also got up to date on my Hannah Montana knowledge. Then yesterday we ate lunch with my dad and Janice at the Chinese buffet and me and Kelly went shopping afterwards till we were so tired we had to retreat back to the house. I've been spending quality time with Janice, she just keeps taking my hand and holding it to her face and kissing it. LOL I think she's happy to see me, and I her. I bought her some Transformer bubble bath, she seemed rather pleased with it. Today I'm just hanging out at my parents' house, Kelly had her first day of class in the LPN program and won't be home until later. I'm dreadfully missing W, and can't wait to see him on Wednesday, why is the lonesomeness so much worse at night? I think we're going to eat Mexican food as a family tonight so that should be fun, well that's all for now.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Everything is normal....almost

After my exam this morning I picked up my blood test results from the health center. Everything was in normal range (just as I suspected) except my triglycerides(NOT what I expected). They were 193 and normal is 0-149. I'm not overweight but my eating habits are not so great. I'm not worried I just need to start eating better and exercise, easier said then done. I'm going next week to get the echocardiogram done and that'll be the end of my medical stuff, LOL I'm not used to all this. On a positive note, I'm going to Clarksville on Saturday!! Our last day before spring break is Friday, and I'd leave that day, but I have to work so I'm leaving Saturday and probably coming back Wednesday unless I miss W so badly that I have to come back sooner. Any idea on how NOT to miss your husband so much? Anytime I'm away from him for even 1 night I get this really sad homesick feeling. Anyway it'll be great to see my family and I'm getting my hair done while I'm up there. Yay! I need a new do badly!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

lump update

Ok so I went to the student health center today and when Bill Cosby...er I mean the doctor (LOL he looked JUST LIKE Bill Cosby) came in he felt around on my little nodule and didn't seem the least bit concerned(just as I expected). He commented that I've probably had that bump for 10 years and it's common, etc. He pretty much just told me to watch it(as I suspected), but at least I can rest easier now. On the other hand I told him about the heart palpitations I've been having, and that caught his attention. I think he must be interested in the heart, because he talked at length about mitral valve prolapses and other things. I told him these palpitations have been going on for years and he thought it was funny I came in for that little bump right away, but waited YEARS to get my heart checked LOL. He listened to my heart, then listened to my heart with me laying down, then listened with me laying on my side and he heard nothing out of the ordinary, of course I knew he wouldn't since no one ever has before. Some heart issues can't be heard though, so he ordered a complete blood workup to rule out some other problem, then he'll send me for an EKG. I'm not worried since my mom has a mitral valve prolapse, there is no treatment and it usually creates no problems for the person, you just simply need to take antibiotics prophylatically before invasive procedures to prevent endocarditis. Not a biggie. It's an inherited condition, so if I have anything, it's probably that. He also said something about a 24 monitor to determine what sort of palpitations are occurring, but with my luck I won't have any palpitations during that 24 hours since they don't occur everyday. Well I'll get my lab results back tomorrow and will probably get scheduled for my EKG. I'll keep this site updated.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

lumps and bumps

Friday evening I just happened to be touching the side of my head and I felt a small lump under my skin. It's located right in front of the top of my ear and it's about the size of a pea, and hard to the touch, but not painful. Of course I freaked out, with everything going through my head including cancer. I think it could be 1 of 2 things. I think it's either a swollen parotid lymph node or a subcutaneous cyst. Of course I have no idea. But if it is a swollen lymph node, then why is it swollen? I am not sick(that I know of), so then the freaking out begins all over again as things like lymphoma go through my head(no pun intended). I wish I knew what it was, so I think I may get it checked out tomorrow. It is very small, and I don't want to be one of those people that goes to the doctor for everything, I like to self-treat if at all possible. But what if it is something serious?

Grains of Gratitude

I almost forgot to post my grains of gratitude for this week, it's been a long hard weekend at work and I'm exhausted.

1.I'm grateful that this is my last week before spring break. I REALLY need a break from school for a while.

2.Grateful that I had a productive weekend at work and learned lots of stuff!

3.Grateful I made a 90% on my Med Chem test(although I don't think I was as lucky with my pharmacology test).

4.Grateful for an awesome husband that decided to clean the house while I was at work yesterday.

Friday, March 7, 2008

It's a blizzard!

Ok it's officially snowing what seems to be a mix of snow AND ice, not quite as soft as snow, but not wet and yucky. Also as my luck would have it, the college closed at 2:00 pm! *sigh* my exam was at 11:00 am.

Rats!

Not only did I awaken to a snowless, cold, somber morning, I think I bombed my pharmacology exam I just took. Why oh why could it not have snowed? Then I'd have a few days left to ponder over the mess of antibiotics, antifungals, and drugs to cure your worms, oh the injustice.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

The Maury show today

Ok, I confess, I'm addicted to the Maury show when they have paternity tests. I'm not sure why. Today a woman was on the show, and she revealed the secret to her fiance that their 2.5 year old son may not be his because she had cheated on him 1 time. Their son just happened to have Down Syndrome. This man had been a wonderful father ever since the baby was born and really wanted to be the father. When they brought out the results, the test showed that he WAS the father! That man was sooooooo happy, he jumped up and down and cried and it was very heart warming. Then they brought the little boy out and he saw the audience clapping and he started clapping and laughing and smiling, it was THE CUTEST thing I've seen in a LONG time. Seriously I got a little teary-eyed. I'm happy they had this on the show, because maybe when people see this, they'll think to themselves that babies with T21 ARE wanted and loved just like any other typical child.

New Celly for the Hubby

W's phone finally went Ku-put today. How sad you may think, but he's had that darn phone since 2003!! FIVE years! LOL I was on him all the time about how ugly, out of style, not cool, etc it was and I finally got my way and he got a new one (only because he had to). It's of the flip variety, with a camera *gasp* I never thought I'd see the day. It's still not as cool as mine which boasts a camera, AND an MP3 player for my own personal listening pleasure. Yeah my phone rocks my socks off.



This is what his phone looked like (haha just kidding!)



It looked more like this, may ol' faithful rest in peace.

Winter weather advisory

I love the term "Winter weather". What does that entail? Ice? Snow? Sleet? Extreme cold temps? Shelby Co. is under one of these advisories but I'm not buying it. I went to the dry cleaners today in a mere light cotton cardigan and the weather was rather mild, and yet our county is lit up in white on the TV screen. *sigh* I'll believe it when I see it.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Photography projects

My interest in photography has greatly expanded in these past few months. I LOVE taking photographs, I just feel so good when I'm looking through that lens capturing life's moments. I put a little ad on craigslist looking for someone to take bridal photos of, for free of course, and someone emailed me back. It looks like I'll be taking some bridal pictures as soon as the weather gets a little nicer and things get a little greener. I'm both excited and scared at the same time. I've always wanted to do this, but I'm so afraid of not getting any good shots. I don't think that will happen, but what if it does? I'm just going to have to put my fears aside, because I HAVE to be comfortable around people I don't know. I think after the first session, it will get a little easier and things will come more naturally. I'm also worried about getting the lighting right, that makes a HUGE difference. I'm a big fan of natural lighting and that's mostly what I used, but I wonder if I need something else? Well I'll be doing lots of research before the time comes. I can't wait!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Siamese if you please.



It snowed today.......

and yesterday it was in the 70s! My body isn't taking the false alarm very well either. She was certain that when I went outside without a coat on yesterday that spring was coming, but then today I had to bundle up with my winter coat, and it snowed so hard I needed an umbrella. This sucks to put it plain and simple. I want some warm weather or at least some consistent weather. I hate not knowing what to wear every morning without going outside. I love Tennessee, but this weather is driving me nuts!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Grains of Gratitude

This week was pretty uneventful, but I ALWAYS try to think of at least a few things to be grateful for, it put life into perspective.
1.Grateful that my patient presentation on Wednesday went ok, I knew almost all the questions I was asked.
2.I'm really grateful that I got to celebrate a good friend's birthday with other friends, and eat great food.
3.Grateful me and W got our taxes done and we're getting a refund!
4.Grateful I've been with W for 9 whole months, and we got to celebrate at Old Venice Pizza Co.
5.Grateful I got to have a little me time yesterday to take pictures at Memorial park and the National cemetery, taking pictures is so therapeutic for me. I love it.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Photos cont'd







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More visually stimulating photos


Did some more cemetery visiting today, Memorial park is more of a modern cemetery with flat tombstones and lots of gardens and fountains, not my cup of tea, I prefer older rustic looking cemeteries, BUT I found two little goldfish in one of the fountains AND a Canadian goose just walking around enjoying the sunshine. If that's not cool than I don't know what is. I then revisited the National Cemetery, this time without W so I could take my time, and got some good shots. Me and W then went to dinner at Old Venice Pizza Co. Good stuff.

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9 months!

Me and W have been married 9 months today! I can't believe it's been that long wow.



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