Friday, December 23, 2011

up, up and away we go

my super amazing hubby gave me the very best Christmas gift EVER! wednesday he sent me a text asking what we were doing on thursday? i said nothin' - then he said i was wrong that we were having lunch with my momma. SAY WHAT?!? long story short, he surprised me with a trip to oregon to spend the holiday with my family! i had less than 24 hours to prepare to head out of state. everything fell perfectly in to place though - we seriously are blessed with some amazing friends! the best part of it all was telling my mom. she's not ordinarily an emotional person, but i swear i detected a hint of a tear when she found out we'd be all together for Christmas!

now, it's time to get real friends... i love traveling but i hate flying. like really, really hate. nuggie was about as good as i ever could have hoped for. it's me that has the issues. first off, i get anxious - so my stomach goes to knots. and by knots, i mean grumbles of gas and the distinct possibility that i'll need to make an urgent trip to the ladies room. awesome. you know how easy it is to use a plane's potty. is there anything grosser than a "lavatory"? and who calls it a lavatory? we all know what it is. and don't even get me started on changing a poopie diaper in one of those washing-machine-sized spaces. and sitting on the damn thing. could they possibly give you any less space? and why is that i'm ALWAYS and i repeat, ALWAYS stuck behind the joker who wants to recline his seat as far back as humanly possible. then there i am with my wiggly toddler trying to keep her from grabbing at the selfish jack-wads perfectly quaffed hair. but i'm sorta thinking, go ahead sweetie, kick the frap out of that guys chair and pull off his ridiculous sweater tied around his neck. but that's not very polite and i don't really want to teach nuggie to be a little jerk, but golly do i want to smack that man. ok, let's move on. then there's how super awesome i always look. i am so NOT one of those girls with the perfect make-up and stylish clothes, even under the best circumstances, so putting me on a cramped, stuffy plan doesn't help things. when you fly with a little one (at least our little one) we must get the first flight out. so we were up at 3:30am. yeah, that's right - AM! did i put on make-up - NO. did i put on a cute outfit - NO. my hair went in a ponytail and my trusty yoga pants went on. so you stand in line at security, take off your coat, take off your shoes, rush to put everything back on. you sit on the plan in the dry air and cramped seat. you've got a bouncy toddler rubbing cracker crumbs, snot and milk all over your face, shirt and pants. your hair gets pulled all wonky like. your eyes get red, your lips get chapped. you deal with adjusting to time changes, lack of sleep, lack of anything healthy to eat or drink. and then you get to your destination. and i think as i stand at baggage claim waiting for my cheapo luggage to cycle around on the conveyor belt (and don't you sorta want to jump on it and ride it around??) hoping the suitcases are still in one piece and oh yea, that they actually came to our destination with us at all. and i start looking around. and they're there. the cute girls. the ones that have their boots with heals on and their perfect hair and their smudge-free makeup and not a bit of baby goo on them anywhere. and i think - i've got to do better. but how? HOW???? how do they do it? i can hardly get my act together when i've got two feet on the ground - flying just drives everything right off to H-E-Double-Hocky-sticks-fashion-town.

thank God that we're typically flying off to see family, who has to love me no.matter.what :-)

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

update, update, read all about it...

i was reminded today (while out to lunch with two dear, sweet former co-workers) that i haven't blogged in a little minute. and it's true! i've been bloggy MIA. i know you all are just foaming at the mouth (is that the saying??) to get the scoop on what i've been up to and i'm lazy, so here's a list (you know how i love a good list!)

first and foremost - i freakin' passed my first semester of nursing school! how is this possible??? and i passed with pretty good grades. i have to admit, i'm proud. this has been the hardest 4 1/2 months of my life. like mental breakdown, wondering what the hell i got myself into sort of months. but i kept going and stayed diligent and said a few prayers that a little miracle would happen and it did! so fundamentals, pharm and my first clinical experience are behind me. now it's on to ob/peds and something called trends? another clinical experience and then i'll have kicked the first year in the ass! woo!

so here i am on Christmas break. i haven't found myself with three weeks off from school in a LONG time. i've been going pretty much non-stop since last january. what to do, what to do?

1. make and eat about ten tons of cookies... i found these delightful little treats on pinterest called peppermint snowballs. they ARE little bits of wintery heaven.

2. clean! you guys know me, i can't pass up a chance to clean the frap out of something. so far i've sorted through all nuggie's clothes and pulled out all the stuff that's too small. i re-organized the only two cuboards we have in our kitchen that hold all our bakeware and pans and such. it's amazing how everything fits so nice and neat in there :-) i've washed ALL the laundery (still attempting to put it all away). AND i cleaned the ollie-cat nose prints off all the windows. still ahead is the pantry, the laundry room and the linen closet.

3. i put together my brand new school bag! i ordered one of those super fun Thirty-One bags. I LOVE it! so many pockets! so many opportunities for organization! is this pathetic? don't answer that...

4. bought a ham! for christmas dinner - duh.

5. started reading the hunger games. i'm totally sucked in! this is part of the reason i haven't blogged the last few days. i've just about finished the first one. now that harry potter is capoot and twilight is just about done, this will fill the void of book-to-movie love that i have.

6. caught up on my DVR list. this is important i tell ya.

well, i guess that's about it. only a few more days till christmas! i'll have to blog about that another time... this is gettin' long and i've got to finish the hunger games.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

dr. oz - you be crazy

dr. oz - WHY??? why do you insist on getting up on your nationally syndicated tv show and telling the american public that we're all going to have cancer and we're all going to be dead if we don't watch him... he's telling everyone right now that if they drink more than 2 sodas a week you will get pancreatic cancer... say what? we all know soda is something you should probably avoid, but c'mon - 2 a week will give you cancer?!?

this guy is a fear monger. he loves to tell us we're all about to die. dr. oz - shut your yap.

since i'm on the topic of death and sickness - i'm sure i just subtracted about 3 years off of my life by indulging in the super yum yum amazing paula deen peach cobbler i made for class a couple of days ago. it's got a whole stick of butter in it! and it's to die for. so so so yummy! i've actually been working out this week too, so i hope they cancel each other out!

finals are next week. just three 100 question exams stand between me and holiday cheer! i'm so ready to make plates of pretty treats for our friends and to wrap up nuggie's gifts and to finish some decorating. the holidays are so much fun now that we've got a little one scampering around. i can NOT wait till next year - i think nugget will be old enough to get "elf on the shelf" and i've been pinning all sorts of fun ideas for the fun little tradition. i think my fav so far is when the elf toilet papers the christmas tree!

bub's 30th bday is coming up - next friday. if you know him - tell him how old he is ;-) we're having a fabulous joint party next month since i'll soon be 30 myself. it's gonna be 80's themed (since the 80's brought you the wonder of bub and myself :-) - so i need to hit up goodwill and find a great outfit to wear. i'm thinking an off the shoulder sweatshirt with some tights and for sure crimped hair!

oh lordy, now dr. oz is telling us all we have brain cancer if you have a headache. seriously - someone stop this man.

Friday, December 2, 2011

product junkie

i am a product junkie. hair products to be specific. you'd never guess it, huh? i know, my general hairstyle these days is letting it air dry and throwing it in a pony tail. if i get REALLY ambitious i might use a couple of bobby pins (living on the edge, huh???) but put my booty in a salon chair and i'll buy anything. seriously. it's a problem. here's what happens. a professional does my hair and for one shining evening it looks pretty. and i love it. and i think, if ONLY i had those goops and serums and magical hair concoctions, i too could reenact what the stylist did and have a pretty, well quaffed 'do. but then i get home and i get scared and my hair NEVER looks like it did the night before and i'm forced to add the overpriced hair product to my basket of other WAY overpriced hair goo and life goes on, one messy ponytail at a time.

tonight was no exception. i went in for a trim. my first since nuggie was about 6 months old.... so like 7 months ago. pitiful. what sort of an excuse for a woman am i??? it's just that a good cut is expensive and you can't take a baby to your appointment so you need a sitter or a hubby to be home (any hubby will do really :-)

and so to have money AND a sitter is like waiting for the 37 moons of jupiter to align. i've probably lamented at some point the other hair issue i'm having and that is - its freakin' turned curly on me. but only in a few places. its betrayed me. i had the loveliest, straightest hair for forever. and then i had a baby. and as if my body wasn't deformed enough, the patron saint of bad hair days decided to get a good jab in there too and jacked my hair all up.

so when sweet sarah beth at salon ya ya worked her magic tonight and said, hey, how about i show you how to style it curly, i said YES. do it! curly hair is like a secret club. all you curly hair-ers know whats up, but the rest of us uninitiated are left to travel the rough tides of curly hair maintenance all alone. so she did it. and it looked pretty. i had curls all over. happy, soft ones. and i too could achieve this look if only i had those two (or three or four) hair products.

and that's how i walked out tonight - with two new hair products and a diffuser (b/c not only does curly hair require extra goops, you also need extra tools) we don't have money for all this jazz. but i had to do it. i HAD to. don't you want me to look pretty world? bub was sweet and amazing enough to treat me to the hair cut and to a fancy schmancy flat iron. i'm ready hair - bring on your curls, your frizz, your waves in just the back that look so dumb - i'm prepared! i've got the tools and i will prevail! (cue dramatic braveheart soundtrack)

mama is gettin' her groove back. one hair appointment at a time ;-)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

thankful thursday (a little early)

happy thanksgiving everyone! how can it be the end of november already? this year has literally flown by!

we have so much to be thankful for... i don't want to miss that in the hustle of our day to day schedules. we get so consumed with all the things we have to do and all the worries and stress that are part of it all that i think all the blessings we have can be easily overlooked.

i am so thankful for an amazing hubby who loves and adores me. and loves and adores our baby girl. we are both spoiled ladies :-) he works his booty off to provide for us. he's letting me chase my dreams right now! i get to be a stay at home momma and a full-time student and he supports it all 100% halving our family income was one of the scariest things ever, but he never doubted. i'm thankful for all the little things he does for us. he knows me better than anyone else in this whole wide world and he knows when i just need to escape the house to go the grocery store alone or to help with the babes so i can study. i am thankful for my bub.

i am thankful for our amazing daughter! it's hard to remember what life was like without her. she is such a little joy! our sweet baby girl is full of happiness and sweetness and love. she's curious and determined and smart. i'm so lucky to be her momma. i can't wait to see what the months and years ahead of her will hold. it is a true privilage to be able to raise her.

i am thankful for a safe, warm home. it's not big or fancy or even all that quiet (silly highway!) but it's ours and it's cozy and generally always smells lovely :-)

i am thankful for two cars that run. two paid off cars! so one of them is OLD and sorta worn, ok, alot worn. but they both run and get us where we need to go.

i am thankful for good health. we are blessed beyond anything we could hope for or deserve in this department. i am thankful that bub, nugg and i are all healthy as can be.

i am thankful for God's provision in our finances. as is the case for many these days, money is tight. it doesn't make sense that our bills all get paid each month, but they do. and it's been that way since i quit working over a year ago. God is good to us! i hope we can be good stewards of what we've been so graciously given.

i am thankful for family! i'm so lucky to have so many awesome people that i call mom, sis, uncle, aunt, father-in-law, cousins... all of them. they're supportive and loving and i cherish them all!

i am so thankful for friends. they are our family here in nashville. we are so blessed by you all! life would be impossible without the amazing people we get to call our friends. it's impossible to do this baby-raising thing alone - we are surrounded by support and love.

i am thankful for our church. it's massive and it's been a little hard to get connected, but it's a great place with amazing teachers and we are lucky to be part of such an amazing congregation.

and on a silly note...
i am thankful for pinterest, fat-free vanilla steamers, "pharm phlash" study cards, my awesome classmates who help me out when my brain is fuzzy from being up with the babes all night, a sweet kitty who might claw everyone else, but loves me :-) mental health drugs and modern family.

gobble gobble my loves!

Monday, November 21, 2011

one last day

only one more day of class and then i'm off for the rest of the week! woohoo!!! we have a conference tomorrow and since i presented at the last one, i got to make snacks for this one. i made about 75 mini blueberry muffins. what is it about a mini muffin (or mini anything for that matter?) that is just so stinkin' awesome?!?

we're having a quiet little turkey day here at home this year, just the three of us. i plan to make a mini meal. the menu i came up with is as follows: a turkey breast (i've got an ina garten recipe!), green bean casserole (bub's fav), sweet potatoes with the marshmallows on top (an emeril recipe), cranberry sauce, rolls, pumpkin pie and pecan pie. yummo! i'd love to make the paula dean corn casserole that i love so much, BUT since it has like two sticks of butter and a pound of cheddar cheese in it and we have no one to help us enjoy it, i best just leave it off the menu. or else you'll read my next blog about the time i OD'd on corn casserole.

nuggie is changing by the second it seems. she's walking pretty well all around the house now. she's even got the hang of stepping over things like the little ledge from the baby gate. she's saying more, though i doubt anyone would understand her but bub and i. she says, "all done", "mine", "bye bye", "mama", "dada", and she's starting to try to repeat everything we say - it's precious :-) lately she's obsessed with putting things into other things (did i already blog about this???) for instance today she carried around a plastic jar and smooshed her socks in to it and even put the lid back on. yesterday i found a fork and a chunk of bread in one of the living room end tables. she's such a sweet little weirdy :-)

christmas cards are on their way!!! i just placed my shutterfly order. i can't wait to send them out! the holidays are going to be so much fun this year. we're planning to take nuggie to see santa for the first time. i can't decide if we should do the mall thing? cheekwood is have a deal - $10 a family gets you kid friendly activities, cookies and a pic with santa. seems like a good deal?? i'm new to the world of santa visits. any advice?

i STILL haven't seen breaking dawn - BUT sweet bub has planned a date night for us on wednesday to go see it. i can't wait!

well that's about all for now :-) happy monday loves!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

LIST!

my brain is mush - again - seems to be the theme. it's list time!

- we were all sick this week. again. for real. i've now had TWO awful sinus infections in the past two months. nuggie is on like her fifty gajillionith cold and bub actually even got sick this week too. we were a pitiful pack. say a little prayer that nuggie gets to feeling all better soon, she's particularly pitiful as she's not allow to partake of fabulous little things like nyquil and nettie pots.

- holy frippin' frap and a half - i managed to pull off a B on my pharm test today. after the week we all had, this is no small miracle. i'll take it though! because you know what... i'm working my ass off. i've never in my life been so busy, but so in love with something! being a mommy/wife/house manager/full time student is hard, but i love it and i'm glad the hard work is paying off. (now if i could just fit it some gym time, hmmmm)

- a dear friend and i are having a zombie-thon saturday. oh yes, it's true and you're jealous... nothing but zombies ALL DAY LONG! sweet friend even mentioned getting raspberry syrup so we can have "bloody" waffles :-)

- nuggie is being dedicated at our church this sunday. we go to a massive church. i hope she doesn't get up on stage and totally melt down. though, she probably will, b/c that's our nuggie and that's why we love her :-)

- bub and i are going to see demetri martin tomorrow night. i got him tickets for our anniversary last month AND we're using a groupon to get sushi. well, bub will get the sushi. i will sit quietly and hold in my vomit, b/c raw fish is for flipper, not humans. but whatev - he likes it, i'll suck it up and win wife of the year.

- men, what's the deal with this "no shave november"??? my sweet handsome hubby now looks like he should be "acting" in some adult film. creeper 'stache to the max. make it stop. please.

- ATT, your cable sucks, like for real. like makes me wish for comcast again. IT'S THAT BAD. that is all.

- ok, i best hit the hay, nuggie will be up before i know it.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

sugar - you're a cheaty b

so, so, so... sugar. you little devil you. i'm in a sluggish state tonight b/c i fell for the sweet wicked treat.

i went most of last week stuffing apples in my face whenever i had a sugar craving. then yesterday i had the itch to bake something - so i made chocolate chip cookies. the best i've ever made mind you... so how could i eat just one, or two, or 9? ugh - i am so sick now! i feel like i'm in a fog, my belly is full of ick and my blood sugar is swinging in all sorts of interesting directions. oh sugar - you evil temptress!

in non-sugar related news... did you see walking dead tonight?!? why on earth is there a barn full of walkers? when will they find sophia? is hershal gonna go all bad ass on the group and kick 'em off his land? i need answers people - STAT!

i'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of next week. i basically have it all off. we have class mon and a conference tues, but no tests, no clinicals - nada! soooo - what will i do with my few days off?

in no particular order i plan to...

- watch all the stuff i've been dvr'ing for weeks now. i've got dirty soap, once upon a time, parenthood, new girl and some other goodies to catch up on.
- clean my house. the good deep cleanings have been non-existent since classes started. i try to do one little project a day, but i'd love do a good spic and span sorta job
- go see breaking dawn. don't judge.
- call friends. if they'll still have me. i've ignored everyone for the past few months. i'd love to chat with my long lost dears.
- sleep. we'll see if nuggie allows this - but if she's asleep, i WILL be asleep too!

hope you all had a most wonderful weekend!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

your treats are just tricks

hello. my name is babbling brooke and i have a problem. i'm totally and completely addicted to sugar. it's sorta gross. like i'm for real addicted. one night a couple of weeks ago bub was working late and i had half a box of vanilla wafers for dinner. a few days ago our sweetest sweet neighbor brought over a plate of warm, homemade spicy cookies with pumpkin fabulousness icing and the whole batch was gone by morning. if i get up in the middle of the night to make a bottle for nuggie i literally MUST eat a graham cracker. i for real have a problem.

so, i'm quitting. cold turkey. no sugar at all starting tomorrow. none. zip. zilch. what's the big deal you say? well, it's all i crave. i'm gonna go nutty. it'll be tough. but maybe this will help me drop a few pounds? or get some energy back in my life? can't hurt i guess? so if you see me the next couple of days and i look like one of these cookie zombies - quietly back away and don't you dare eat your halloween candy in front of me.

speaking of zombies. a show that i was utterly repulsed by when bub first starting watching it has turned in to a new favorite. THE WALKING DEAD! if only their zombies looked like cute little ginger bread zombie men like in the pic... but they don't! they're bloody and gory and SOOO gross - and i LOVE it! well, mostly. i still shield my eyes a little when major gore is going down. if you're not watching it - please do. i need some friends to chat with about it. my sweet neighbor friend and i will be holding a zombie-thon in the very near future - please join us if you like :-)

Thursday, November 3, 2011

just checkin' in

whew - it's been a minute since i blogged. life as usual is crazy...

we took a little trip out to oregon to visit the fam. it was lovely as always! nuggie was sick most of the time and teething, but we had grammy and auntie there to help. nuggie also has really taken a liking to her sweet uncle :-) they shooed bub and i off for a date night at this amazing place with a wonderful view of the city. it was glorious! we had a yummy dinner and drinks and talked. a much needed night with my hubby. another day mom, sis and i went out shopping and they totally spoiled me! i've been wearing some pretty scuzzy duds since i'm a chunky monkey now and i don't fit in to any of my old clothes. but that's silly. i am who i am and this old body of mine is a bit heavier, but it's because of our sweet nuggie! i wouldn't trade a few jean sizes for that sweet baby angel of ours... so why do i beat myself up about being heavier all the time? so momma and sis got me a few new clothes that fit and oh what a difference it makes! i'll always be hoping to lose the weight and i'm gonna keep working on it as i can, but a pair of pants that really fit can make the world a better place!

nuggie is walking now! sorta! she takes a few wonky steps back and forth around the living room. it's amazing!!! and she's getting her top two teeth now. my sweet baby is growing up too fast!

school is going ok. we're getting close to winding down for the semester. i'm hanging in there. clinicals are going great and it looks like i will pass and go on to the next semester - ole!

it's november! i want to do some fun fallish crafts - any ideas??? maybe a new wreath? maybe i'll plant some mums?? i LOVE this time of year!!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

as if...

oh as if life could get ANY more hectic!?! well friends, it sure has. clinicals started this week. i had a patient! a real live patient to care for. i did real nursey stuff! it was awesome, but good golly it keeps me busy. monday i have class like normal, then i head to the hospital to pick up my patient info and then commences the hours of paperwork to prepare. then tuesday we show up at the hospital at 6:15 A-freaking-M!!! and do our thing. do more paperwork. show up again on wednesday bright and early, do more paperwork, turn it in. thursday is class which i've not even thought about since the week before since clinicals have consumed my last three days. fri/sat/sun are filled to max with cramming in all my studying. i thought i had no time before, UH, yeah, now i have even less time. but it's all good! many have gone before me and survived - i'll get through this too!! i'm sorry sweet friends if i'm ignoring you, trust me, it's not intentional at all.

in less hectic news - i've got an interview for a nurse extern position! not like i need one more thing to cram into my schedule - but some experience would be amazing and a little $$$ wouldn't hurt things either!

alright - that's all i got for now!
xoxo

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

pee and lists and clinicals - OH MY

hiya. i've just about survived another week. hoping i make it just a few more days!

a few things i think you all should know.

1. i got nuggie pee on me. what's the big deal you may be asking yourself?? well, i scooped her up from her crib about 2 min before it was to time to drop her off with the sitter and you know how you wring out a wet towel or something? yea, when i scooped her up the pee pee squished out and ran all down my leg. nice. a whole new way to get baby pee on me. how'd her diaper even get that full anyhow?!? i think she's got a mini water cooler stuffed away in that crib of hers.

2. we had a lovely little workshop at school this week about finding joy. how many times have i heard that? about a jillion. but maybe there is something there? something more than just feeling happy... like deciding to live a joyful life no matter the craziness life is throwing your way. i'm still sorta mulling this all over, but she suggested we dream out our very best version of life - i'm gonna think on this some more... what would my perfect life look like?

3. i'm seriously obsessing over pinterest.. really. who knew such a fabulous little site existed! so far i have found about a gazillion crafty holiday snacks to make... wish i could just make little foodies all day long. i've ALSO picked the most super fun 30th bday theme for bub and i. a totally 80's celebration! so it's not the most original idea ever, BUT seeing as how both bub and i were born in that fabulous decade i thought it would fit! so pinterest has helped me gather all sorts of totally tubular ideas for our big soiree!

4. i had orientation for clinicals today. i'm gonna be on an orthopedic floor and our instructor is amazing! she's seriously the sweetest person. so much anxiety has been lifted away! we also had our head-to-toe checkoffs and i passed that too. whew! i feel like i can breath a little!

happy wednesday lovelies!

Monday, October 10, 2011

One Year Old!


how is it possible that we celebrated nuggie's 1st birthday this past saturday?? how is my little babes so grown already?!? this year went by WAY too fast! 

 so while she doesn't technically turn 1 till the 15th, we had a little tiny party for her this weekend b/c i've got to be out of town for her actual birthday :-( but she's little bitty - all she cares about is that she got to eat cake!


here's nugg's snacky table. lots of kid friendly nibbles - animal crackers, grapes and mini vanilla wafers. and of course CUPCAKES!!



 my happy baby :-)




 i didn't get a great pic of her tutu... but she had a "tutu cute" party! and i must give a shoutout to shannon who helped with the AMAZING invites and the sweet bow nuggie is wearing!



 she loved her cupcake. although, all she really ate was the frosting. she just kept squishing her hand in it and then licking it off :-)


mommy and daddy splurged and bought her a fisher-price incrediblock. she LOVES it! she's so into sorting and hiding things in other things that when i saw this i knew i had to get it for her. i know it was a little pricey, but we don't really buy her much. she's received almost all her toys, clothes, nursery stuff, basically everything as gifts or hand me downs, so it was fun to buy her a present.

my sweet, darling daughter. we love her sooo much and more each day. she is the absolute most precious gift from God. it has been the most challenging and amazing year and i so look forward to many more to come.

xoxoxo

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

i'm drowning!!! (ok, not really)

i've got a doozy of a sinus infection... frap my luck. i was sitting in lecture this morning and could hardly hear our instructer, my ears are so full of crud. so i hustled my hiney down to the walgreens walk in clinic and got checked out and there ya go. infected sinus (sini??) the NP i saw said i should try a netti pot. i've avoided those tiny tea pots like the plague. who wants to dump water in one nostril only to have it drip out the other? but since i now have the plague and can no longer run from it, i caved and bought one. i thought about waiting till bub came home, just to you know, sorta supervise or save me when i would inevitably inhale the water and become the first drowning victim to actually not die in water. but i thought, nuggie is with me, she'll save me and do i even really want bub to see me doing this to my nose? so i prepped the pot and poured! and it is a little tea pot of heaven. if you have a cold/allergies/sinus issues i highly recommend using one. it's like a soothing little shower for your nostrils. i'm feeling better all ready!!!

second, totally unrelated topic. i somehow ended up on the mailing list for this crazy catalog that sells like kids and parents matching clothes. it's some weirdo european thing i guess cause all the sizes are in weirdo formations. they also happen to sell matchy matchy pj's for like EVERYONE in the whole family.

this is the best pic i could find... it does not do the wonderfulness of this idea justice. i'm already seeing it now - christmas morning, like 2024 - nuggie will be like 14 and i'll insist that the WHOLE fam wears their matching pajamas. oh yes - it will be grand :-p

Friday, September 30, 2011

oh what a week...

it is a wonderful friday! the sun is shining and there is a lovely breeze. every window in the house is open wide! after the week we've had around here it's nice to hear the birds and feel the sweet, fresh air.

nuggie got her first big, bad, ugly sickness. she was so quiet last saturday, just sort of out of it and not her normal, happy little self. late that night she woke up with a fever and a bit of a cough, the next night she woke up with a much higher fever and even worse cough. she's been a sicky sickerson all week. i took her to the dr on monday, they said it was just a nasty bug. wednesday night she seemed to be having trouble breathing so back to the dr she went and the poor little nuggie has bronchiolitis :-( they tried an albuterol treatment on her, but it didn't help. so we've just been trying to keep her comfy and resting and hydrated. she is pitiful.

during all the sick nuggie sadness - school kicked my ass. we had a fundamentals test monday, which i did fine on since i had studied all weekend before nuggie really got too sick. but thursday we had a pharm test, a math for meds test and a our skills checkoff on catheters. and i totally failed that pharm test. i can't let this happen again. i went from an A to a C with one bad test grade. it's so hard though - nuggie and bub are my world. they come first. my baby was sick and she needed me - so pharm went to the back burner. but, school is a priority too. it's so hard to find that balance. bub tried to convince me to leave several evenings to go study, but i just couldn't leave my little love. but now i'm stuck - i've dug myself a deep hole and i've got to get out of it.

we are all tired and worn out and now i'm sick too :-( so we're gonna sleep a lot this weekend and relax (but not TOO much, still gotta study) and start fresh on monday. we have a coupon for le peep, so i think we'll take nuggie over there tomorrow morning for breakfast and then go on a nice long walk in the park... that sounds like the perfect remedy for the week we've all had.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

watcha lookin' at???

i gotta join in on the fall tv blogging fun! i keep reading others blogs - what they're watching, what they love and i'd like to toss my two cents in as well!!

since school has taken over my brain and we're lucky enough to have a DVR now, i'm not exactly sure what night every show is on (bub handles the DVR'ing) and i'm just too lazy to go googling right now. but you guys are smart - you know where to find these...

my favs:
 - parenthood. i haven't always loved this show, but it has sucked me in for whatever reason. i'm not 100% sold on it just yet, but you know, i like it...

- my new, total fav is the New Girl! oh. my. goodness. i haven't laughed that much at a tv show in a long, long time. i really hope it sticks around! zoey d. is fabulous!!!

- and since i was watching the New Girl last week i stuck around and watched Raising Hope. so funny too! i need to catch up on last season i think - it was so cute and funny.

- i'm also of course loyal to modern family and the office. modern family was amazing last week! the office, eh... i gotta say, it isn't the same without boss michael, but we've watched forever, i gotta stick it out.

- and bub really enjoys happy endings, so we watch that one too!

i have to say i had some hopes for that new one, whitney - but ugh, such a disappointment and WAY too much audience laughing. who even does that anymore???

ok and sorta not related, but sorta it is - am i the only 20'something (i can say that for a few more months!!) who watches days of our lives? i have watched since about 8th grade and still i love it. if you are a days fan too, will you please step forward and announce yourself? i need someone to gab with about it, b/c bub really doesn't want to hear about rafe and sami and dario and melanie and the saga of their lives in salem!!



Sunday, September 25, 2011

let go and let God

i knew that nuggie would eventually come down with a bug or a nasty cold or something - but being in the middle of it now is still really making it hard to be a calm, collected mommy. my sweet babes is sick :-( she woke up early this morning with a fever and a nasty cough. she's had a fever all day. her little eyes are red and sad looking. it completely breaks my heart and is making me a neurotic, crazy mess - more than usual that is :-) i wonder - does she need to go to the ER? should i sleep in her room tonight so i can check her little forehead every 30 minutes to see if she's burning up? do i leave her in jammies or let her run around in just a D? is she too hot, to cold? does she need ice water? you read the books, you ask all your mommy friends and STILL having your first child being really sick for the first time makes you doubt and question everything.

add to this that i have a fundamentals test tomorrow, two tests and a skill checkoff (those lovely catheters) on thursday. oh and for some awful reason, though all my grades are the same and nothing has changed, my total grade for class went from a B to an F when i check it online? i emailed my adviser, but that's on my mind. i know it's got to be an error, but what the FRAP.

i also feel like i'm being an awful friend these days. neglecting friendships and the people i love. the house is a wreck. dinner is going to be done SO stinking late tonight. i have no time to work out. my sweet hubby is getting ignored :-(  EVERYTHING is out of my control right now.

and still - God is there. i had a dream last night, and let me say, i'm not normally the, "God told me something in a dream." sorta girl. but last night i had this very specific dream and God was saying to me, let go and let God. like, let it all go, He's in control, it's all going to be ok. and so, though it feels like my little bitty world is fraying at the seams right now, i'm going to try to just give it all to Him and rest in that.

i would add though that if you're the praying sort, would you say a little prayer for our sweet baby girl, who's real name is indeed NOT nuggie :-) but rosalie. she could use a little healing and a good night of sleep.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

a little bit of this and a little bit of that


well we survived the warrior dash and here are the pics to prove it! please note that the sports bra i'm wearing was a lovely shade of blue before the race began. i was MUDDY! for those who don't know - the warrior dash is a 5k obstacle course. holy moly - it was so hard. but i finished it and had a blast. i highly encourage anyone who has the chance to do one to do just that, DO IT! you'll get to climb through a junk yard of cars, leap over fire, swim through a mud pit and scramble over all sorts of walls in many shapes and sizes.


sweet baby nugget is having a good week. she's such a sweet, happy baby girl. just a few more weeks till she's a whole year old. how is this possible??? i can't wait to share some of the things we have in store for her party. i bought a half gallon of organic milk to start mixing in with her formula. how is she about to stop taking bottles? this year has gone way too fast.

school is going well. i think i've found my groove - for now anyhow. we had our skills checkoff this week, so we were tested on our ability to preform things like blood pressure and apical pulse. today we learned to do catheters. well, sorta. we didn't have actual people to practice on, i mean, would YOU want to be the poor soul that lets a group of mini-nurses practice catheters on them?!? i think not. so this is a skill we'll get to work on when we start clinicials. without providing TMI - my stay in the hospital after nugget was born may or may not have involved one of the above mentioned procedures and it may or may not have been more painful than when nugget actually entered the world. i want to learn to do this skill well so i can hopefully not make another poor woman go through needless pain.

well i best get back to studying. this is all there is to life these days - nuggie, bub and school. done.

Friday, September 16, 2011

warrior dash

well by this time tomorrow i will have completed and hopefully survived my first ever warrior dash. i am SO not prepared for this. it's a 5k obstacle course and i haven't run since my last 5k. but it will be fun :-) and afterwards we get turkey legs and beer, so uh, what could be better!

hope everyone is doing wonderfully! i survived another week of school. it's wearing me out, but i'm still loving it.

all the little plants in my garden have sprouted - i hope it all grows and grows! does anyone know how to grow strawberries? i want to plant some and i believe they need to be started in the fall, but i'm not sure if i do seeds or plants or in a pot or in the ground... anybody have experience with the fruity yums??

soooo - this is what i'll be up to on saturday...

Sunday, September 11, 2011

nerds the werd...

 i told you i got a silly thrill out of balancing all of nuggie's bottle bits on her teeny tiny bottle rack... here you go - proof of it :o)


 and here ya go... some pics of my cutie pie. i was going through the memory card and found a few of my favs and wanted to share. i love her so much!





we had such a lovely weekend. the weather was great and we spent some good time outside. i'm most excited about our back deck. bub built a lovely deck for us right after we moved in, but we just never used it. we wanted to create a safe place for nuggie to play outside (not alone or anything, just free of ouchies and in some shade)... so we moved off the huge, UGLY patio table we never used and brought up the sweet little porch swing that wasn't being used either and we brought up a little cafe table and now we have a lovely little area for her to play in and some comfy seating for us! i really want to find an outdoor rug to lay down so she won't get splinters on her knees crawling around. anyone know where i might find a very inexpensive one?? 

hope everyone had a wonderful weekend as well... back to studying i go.


Thursday, September 8, 2011

clean as a bean...

hey friends.

well i survived another week of classes. we had a pharm test and a fundamentals test this week. both are done and i find myself with some extremely rare free time tonight - ole!

i've scrapped the "tutu cute" bday party theme for nugg's 1st bday. i LOVE it, but after some searching, it seems it's near impossible to find cute (NOT CHEESY) ballet themed birthday party supplies. and guys, i have zero time to track down the one cute ballerina themed birthday party invitation on Etsy. so i'm gonna hit up hobby lobby soon and see what i can come up with.

nuggie is sick with her first awful cold. she's had the sniffles a few times, but this is her first snotty nosed gross gross cold. my poor babe :-( we're off to see her pediatrician in the morning just to make sure she hasn't developed an ear infection.

remember that time i said i wanted to fit into my old pants by the time clinicals start (in October)?? yeah, that's so not happening. boo to me and this pudge that will NEVER go away. guys i'm trying. i REALLY am. here - i'll give you a sample of what happens and why i can't fit in a workout ever anymore. here's yesterday:

5:30 AM - my alarm goes off. i want to get up early so i can get a workout in.

5:45 - coo, coo, babble, babble...SURPRISE... nuggie is up and ready for the day. F. there goes my morning chance. i feed her and get her back down in her crib long enough for me to hop in the shower and get ready.

7:30 - off to school.

12:15 - done with school for the day.

12:30 - pick up nugg from the sitter's... find out she's sick. that runny nose was really a nasty cold. she didn't nap, she didn't eat, she didn't do anything but fuss. poor babers :-(

1-5 - entertain babes. thinking i still had a chance to squeeze a workout in while she napped in the afternoon i hold out hope. uh oh - stink pot decides she won't nap AT ALL today. there goes that. i fix dinner, feed her, bub gets home and i fly out the door off the panera to cram for my pharm test.

9:30 - home, tired and frazzled. i study some more and hit the hay.

today was pretty much the same. only i had class longer so that ate up my nuggie cuddle time. no afternoon nap - no working out. oh and i had an unexpected long lunch break today, so bub and i squished in a lunch date and had 5 guys. SOOOO yummy - but uh, not helping my pants cause.

perhaps it is time to resign myself to the fact that the "new" me is just 20 pounds heavier. hey, at least then i could just go out and buy some bigger pants and stop fussing!!

Monday, September 5, 2011

what do you say?

i thought this was cute and totally stole it from this chicky's blog. i'd love some comments kiddos. what do YOU call some of these things??

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
tp-ing

What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
pill bug

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
soda

What do you call gym shoes?
tennis shoes

What do you say to address a group of people?
hey guys

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
daddy long legs

What do you call your grandparents?
granny

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
shopping cart


What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
uhhh... i don't call it anything, but i do look for a rainbow


What is the thing you use to change the TV channel?
remote

it's funny how people have different names for the same things. when i lived up north soda was "pop" and when i moved down here i about peed on myself when i heard someone call a shopping cart a "buggy"

:-)

Friday, September 2, 2011

sound off...

it has been a crazy week (i say that alot, huh?). i'm learning, however slowly, to adjust to doing the single hardest thing i have ever done in my whole life - EVER. nursing school is going to kill me, for real... ok, maybe i'm being dramatic. it just FEELS like it's going to kill me. and before it does that it will take away any bit of a social life i had, as well as the precious little sleep i've barely been getting and it will also impede on my crazy cleaning habits. i want to say to my instructors - you want us to read how much?!? don't you know i have things to do :-)

anyhow, i'm in a venting mood. so here ya go. you've been warned.

1. i can't stand it when parents tell me that their two year old is going to "school". when i was little i think my parents called that daycare or perhaps a mother's day out. all these hoity toity parents want to feel better about what they're really doing - sending your kid off to daycare. news flash - there is nothing wrong with daycare. and there is nothing wrong with needing a little break from your lovely babes.

2. i can not watch reruns of talk shows. if they're talking about something that happened in february like it is happening today i get all itchy and uncomfy. so in the summer i can't watch: regis and kelly, conan, the view, ellen... you get the idea.

3. i get a very satisfying sense of accomplishment when i can balance all of nuggie's bottle bits and parts on her drying rack. she uses the dr. brown's bottles that come with like six peices and when i slack b/c i have to read 8 gajillion pages of pharmacology and somehow retain it and there are like 12 bottles stacked up to be washed it turns into a very sad little game for me. can i stack up all the freshly washed parts on her tiny bottle rack and keep them there while i push it to its little resting place??? i don't know! what will happen? it gets me every time.

4. i can't walk around barefoot. i must have on flip flops or socks. if i'm walking somewhere and even a tiny bit of something sticks to my foot i have to stop and get it off. we have a cat. kitty litter is an infinetly mupltipling reality for us. i swear, i could sweep the floor 6 times a day and STILL there is kitty litter. so i say, eff that. where a flip flop. save some sanity.

ok. re-reading this. i may have a problem or two. whatev. it's my blog and i'll whine if i want to :-p


Wednesday, August 31, 2011

hello friends...

how on earth is it the last day of august??? september starts tomorrow which means nugg's bday is only 7 weeks away! how is my baby going to be one year old? zip your lips now all you who like to remind me that i'm totally neurotic - i get it, i know this about myself... BUT, i'm stressing over her 1st party. do i have a pink flower party? do i have a tutu cute birthday party? my cousin sent me a little article about a "tutu cute" party and everything was ballerina themed. LOVED it! and then we got a care package from pita and it had a little pink tutu and ballerina leotard in it. how perfect is that?!?  i know she won't remember her first party, but oh goodness - i want it to be wonderful!

school is moving along. and that's an understatement. we're like shooting through at warp speed. we have our first exams next week. first tests are always nerve wracking. you don't know what to expect, what to focus your study time on and since we must get a 78% overall in the class, there is little room for major errors. oh Lord give my brain the ability to retain a whole lot of info!

the garden is doing well... no little sprouts or anything yet. we're watering it plenty and watching each day for a change :-) i'm afraid this dumb heat is going to fry the little greenies. why on earth is it in the upper 90's still?!? i so need to be running again, we have the warrior dash in like 17 days, but when it's so so hot i can't bring myself to run, especially now that i only have time to go in the evenings.

and in an effort to save some $$$ we switched cable providers. long story short, completely canceling the cable is not an option for us right now, so we found a great deal with AT&T. and whatever, i'll admit it, i love me some tv. i do. nuggie and i are home alone alot and it's nice to have it on. we're totally spoiled with the new package - we have ... DVR!!! holy flat screens! this is going to be amazing when my fav shows start up again next month. i can DVR, study and watch later! and no more forcing bub to watch 19 kids and counting with me. i can record it and watch the jumbo family madness all alone if i like!

** random side note ** i googled "crazy august" just to see if i could find a fun pic for this blog and THIS pic of michele bachmann came up. seems pretty appropriate? look at those crazy eyes :-p

Sunday, August 28, 2011

garden time!

my sweet pita (aka momma) knew how badly i wanted to plant a little garden and she ordered for a us a little raised bed garden kit!!! and it finally arrived on saturday! here it is as it arrived right off the fed ex truck. the delivery guy looked at me like i was nuts when he dropped it off. i think he thought i bought a box of bricks or something. that thing was HEAVY!



 bub was busy doing his own saturday project - ghetto rigging the corolla so it would have an auxillary port - which i am most impressed to say he did it! we can now listen to our ipods in the car anytime we like! but back to garden business... nuggie and i set about assembling the garden bed. she supervised like a champ :-)



i used a drill for the first time in my life to put this bad boy together!



after i got it assembled... oh wait, wait - i must also give a shout out to miss k for her help! she strolled over and was most useful in the construction and especially the mallet swinging. thanks lady!!!
ok so yes, after i/we/all of us got it put together, bub, nugg, gramps and i loaded in to our two tiny cars and hit up home depot for soil. we purchased 48 bags of soil and a bag of sand. then we dumped and poured and filled the bed with dirt!




i watered it to a soak twice yesterday and again this morning and then this afternoon i planted! a few of my starts from inside survived, so i planted those. the two wire cages have peas planted all around them so they can have something to crawl up. the corners have herbs - rosemary, oregano, parsley and sage. i also planted chives, green onions, swiss chard, mustard greens, broccoli, cauliflower,cabbage, two types of lettuce and carrots. i'm a little concerned that this awful hot weather we're still having may fry them, but i'll be sure to water them well every morning and night. 


and there you have it! my first attempt at a garden. it is so much fun to play in the dirt. it also felt very peaceful and relaxing, a much needed respite from the stress of school i am sure!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

100th post... PANTS!!!

holy moley, me oh my! it's the 100th post on my new and improved blog. hey hey, ho ho, that other blog had to go.

so what does one write about on her 100th blog post??? well, you guys know me - i'm gonna lament my fat patootie. so in 6 weeks we start clinicals at school, which means one day a week we must travel to our clinical site to get our patient info and whatnot. we also must dress professionally. back in the day i had a grown up, fancy pants (ha ha, i said pants again :-) job that required me to dress nicely. meaning i wore something other than yoga pants. i know, it's hard to believe, but i DID at one point dress like a nice young lass. anyhow, i need to fit back into those pants. we gots no monies to be buying new pants. and so in the next 6 weeks i need to drop down a solid pant size so i can fit back in to them. can i do it??? i think so! i need to just write REALLY big all over the house "PANTS". that way when i'm tempted to eat something i shouldn't or to sleep in and not go running, i'll be reminded - don't be a fatty. be a fitty! get back into those pants!


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

quick and to the point...

oh. my. goodness. this week has been nuts and i've only had two days of class so far. oh what an adjustment it is! i've been so spoiled the last month to just sleep till the babes awakes and do little things around the house when she napped. now i'm up much earlier than i'm used to, zooming around to get myself and little bit ready to go, scoot off to class, zoom home, hang out with her, do a few little chores, cook dinner, feed bub and nugg, bath nuggie, bed for nuggie, STUDY, sleep. repeat. repeat. repeat. i see the next two years of my life laid out before me! but it's so exciting! we've not really gotten in to too much just yet in class, to know what i'll be learning in the near future is overwhelming but also so awesome. i've got my super organized school bag, joined a study group and plan to stay on top of my assignments. i think i can do this as long as i don't get behind! we also got our official ID badges, ordered our super sexy white scrubs (think super hot and attractive elastic... oh yea, that's right!) and i've got a lab coat with my name right on it coming too!

what else??? it's been a minute since i updated. izzy the dog is gone. it was a tough decision, but we had real concerns she might be aggressive to nuggie and that's a chance i will not take. she's gone on to a better situation and i know we did what was best for her and for us.

so did anyone feel that east coast earthquake? i am terrified of them. i mean, out of my brain, put me in a padded cell sort of freak about them. we lived in northern CA for about six years and during that time we experienced a number of them as well as one really, REALLY big one. ever since then i have feared them like no other. i know it's unlikely we'll have one here in the south, but yesterday didn't make me feel a lot better!

well, that's about it for now. i promise to blog more, just trying to get into my new groove :-)

Friday, August 19, 2011

a little slice of heaven

this week has been amazing :-) i wish all weeks were this wonderful. it's my last week before school starts - i can NOT believe that on tuesday i'll officially be a real nursing student - who would have ever seen that one coming???

so this week... it has been so busy, but full of good things. last weekend we had two birthday parties, the 5k and our first day of volunteering in our church's learning center - AKA the nursery! monday i had the pleasure of visiting with a sweet friend that i rarely get to see. her hubby is overseas serving our country and so nuggie and i took her and her sweet kiddos dinner. wednesday i party planned with the lovely miss kaila while our bambinos played together. nuggie is really getting "grabby" like wanting to pinch your lips or pull another baby's hair or, uhhh, rip the fur off an innocent little puppy. i worried she'd attack baby h - how do you teach a 10 month old the word GENTLE?? the rest of week has been full of errands, chores and lots of playing! nuggie is growing by leaps and bounds and while i know she didn't really get it, we had our first tea party yesterday :-) this week has been so much fun! we've taken walks and pulled every toy out of her toy boxes. nuggie learned how to open her bottom dresser drawer and had a ball pulling all the clothes out of it. she's such a little ham. we took a trip shopping to get a few school supplies and she had a blast riding around in the cart as usual. she'll be going to a babysitter regularly once classes start, so we also stocked up on a little stash of snacks, sippy cups, diapers and formula to go with her.

as excited as i am about this week, i mean, it's been so stress-free and full of joy spending all this time with my sweet baby girl, i'm starting to get sad about leaving her so much. she'll be in the very best of care when i'm gone. she'll be close to home and playing with other little girls. and her sitter couldn't be a sweeter woman, BUT there's still a little twinge of sadness about leaving her. i've had the great privilege of being with her almost full-time since the day she was born. classes so far have just been part-time, but now i'll be gone four days a week. i'm afraid i'm going to miss something. what if she takes her first step and i'm not there? what if she says her first word and i'm sitting in a lecture? how do working mama's do this? 

today we're going to lunch with bub. we've got a going away party saturday night for our amazing friends who are starting a new adventure. they will be dearly missed, but we'll be celebrating them!! grandpa is visiting - we haven't seen him in month - he won't believe how big nuggie has gotten! and i'm making home made fish sticks - that's right, i'm just that cool :-P i've tried to tackle a few organization projects around the house that i've put off, but wanted to get done before life gets crazy. one of them was creating a recipe binder. i've got so many recipes scribbled on scratch paper or torn out of magazines. i totally and completely stole this idea from the amazing miss k (shout out to her, what, what!) but i took an old 3 ring binder i had and found a box of sheet protectors when i was cleaning out the desk and got all the recipes put away. some i need to type out - so i'm still working on that - but it allowed me to toss a huge pile of unused recipe cards and cooking magazines that were piling up around the kitchen. all that to say - i found a recipe for HEALTHY, home made fish sticks. i am a sucker for uh, comfort foods i guess you could say? mac n' cheese, hot dogs, fish sticks, tater tots - i love them all. but i do not love what they do to my rear end - so we'll give these healthy options a whirl :-)

ok, i've rambled enough. happy friday friends!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

hoosier daddy

so last night i blogged about the good and bad and love and hate i have for my current home. i wanted to share the love and brag on my real home tonight.

my fam moved back and forth a number of times between northern indiana and northern california. i was born in indiana though and went to school from grades 6-12 there, so it's where i'm from if you ask me. the majority of our family is still up there and so we find ourselves up that way at least a couple of times a year.

i adore our little corner of the midwest. you may say it's flat - i say you can see more of the sunsets and sunrises. i love that there's such a small town feel. it's the sort of place you could sleep with your doors unlocked. i love the lakes and the dark night skies that let you see millions of stars. i miss real big snow storms and also with that, the fact that life goes on even if 4 inches of snow has fallen.

home is where i learned to drive, took the SAT, had my first crush, spent so many summers laying in the sun, discovered the Lord, took piano lessons (and guitar and saxophone), stalked Jars of Clay, got my first buzz on a pack of Mike's Hard Lemon aid, enjoyed the holidays snuggled up with family, voted in my first presidential election, adopted my sweet tilly dog, joined 4H, became class president, and a cheerleader, and an office aid, and a baseball/basketball manager, and yearbook, and worship team manager, and band geek, and choir geek (yeah, i was a little overly involved back then)...

someday i want to move back and have a little house on a lake and landscape the place like none other. i want to take nuggie to the festival of the trees. i want her to go to a real county fair, i want her to see amish buggies traveling along with cars, i want her to be able to go to the public pool with her friends and be safe as can be.

i will always have a soft spot in my heart for my little patch of indiana. this is the first summer we've not made it up for a visit and it makes me very sad. i'll always be a hoosier :-)


Monday, August 15, 2011

how things change...

it was this week TEN years ago that i made the move from IN to TN. how can it be? how has it been that long already? i've never lived anywhere for ten years. not ever. but if someone asks, i still say i'm from indiana. that's where i was born and where most of my family lives. but maybe it's time to start owning nashville as my "home"? i don't know. it's home. but it won't ever be where i'm "from".

nashville and i have a love/hate relationship. there are some days that i swear i'm leaving this town the first chance we get. it's a dirty, occasionally dangerous, icky city. i hate that nashville has some very backwards thinking people running the government. i can't stand the lack of recycling and the amount of litter and gross trash and dumping of LARGE items that seems to be tolerated. and it really bugs me that you can't find good public transportation, a clean dairy queen or sidewalks ANYWHERE!

but.... it's home. we have zero family in town. no one wanted to join us here. so we made our own. we have a circle of absolutely amazing friends. and while we don't get to see each other as often as i hope or like, we are all here for each other no matter what. over the years they've helped us move into apartments and our house, they were there for us when my dad was sick, when i was pregnant, when i lost my job, when we were low on money. for birthdays, bachelorette parties, graduations, births, weddings and 5ks - our sweet friends have been there. we've settled into a great church and while it's HUGE and a little overwhelming at times, we've created an amazing church family. there are times over the last 5 years i know we wouldn't have made it through without their love and support.

i also love that though nashville is a big city, it's really small. you can't go anywhere without running into someone you know. and there's one degree of seperation from you and anyone else you run in to - really. for instance at a friend's bday dinner a couple of weeks ago we ran in to my sweet college roomie's little brother. we chatted and then he went on his way. birthday girl leaned in and said how do you know him? and i told her and turns out that they will often play trivia together. who knew? and this sorta thing happens all the time. it makes a big city feel a little smaller. and at times more akward. b/c for real - you WILL run in to everyone at some point.

some other little things i love - we're smack in the middle of everything. in less than a days drive you can be at the ocean or mountains or at a major league baseball game. i love the seasons. we for sure have all four of them. i love that so many places around town have special memories or silly ones or even sad ones - but the last ten years have carried me all over this city.

ten years ago i was a 19 year old girl. i moved to nashville to go to college and it ended up i met my husband, bought our first home, lost a parent, stayed cancer free, became a mommy, served jury duty, went to countless shows, ran a race, marched for dimes, voiced a few commercials for the radio, witnessed flugtag, watched the city recover from floods and tornadoes, made life-long friends, bought a car, stood behind nicole kidman and keith urban in a bookstore, endured the great locust invasion of 2011, watched the events of 9/11 in a tiny dorm room, loved sweet bub when he lost his brother and learned to lay ceramic tiles.

we don't know if we'll stay here forever. nashville i hate you some times - but i love you more.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

run, run, run

guys - i did it! i ran my first official race! i survived and i finished it and i can't wait to do another! it was slow - it took me just under 38 min to complete - but i DID it! now we're trying to find another one to do maybe in november or late october? i need something to work towards. for now i'm setting my sights on the warrior dash next month. it's a 5k as well, but has you running through fire and climbing things and going through mud.

after our tomato run this morning we hauled booty home, showered and headed down to church to do our nursery worker orientation. since we're taking a break from being part of a community group this year, we still wanted to serve and stay involved, so we are volunteering with the kiddos. i have to admit, i'm not looking forward to having to be at the church by 7:45 every sunday morning - but, it will be awesome to serve and we're hanging out with the newly walking age group. that'll be fun :-)

then tonight i had a little 30th bday shindig for the sweetest sweet miss ELM. it's crazy to think that we'll be attending many 30th parties this year. you go through life phases - wedding showers, baby showers, graduations, births... this year will be the year of the 30th birthday celebration. bub and i both turn 30 this winter within just a few weeks of each other. i really want to plan something fabulous, but well, cheap... i'm having a hard time with this. any ideas??? 30 is such a milestone. you're finally done being a 20-something. it's like you're finally a for real adult. you need to have a memorable celebration!

it's been a busy day, so i'm gonna snuggle up in the bed. goodnight lovelies!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

florida - the not so sunny state

well we're back from vacation. not sure we'll be taking another family vaycay any time soon and i'm not sure we'll ever head back to florida.

"up, up and away we go - flying on an airplane!" this was our little ditty we sang to nuggie. she did amazing. we had an easy, direct flight from nashville to ft. lauderdale and an empty seat b/t her papa and me and our little baby was a perfect travel buddy :-)


our first morning we got up and hit the beach. our hotel was sandwiched right between to very nice hotels who had private beach access. ours had a scrawny little patch of sand that was open to the public. it was dirty and littered and not alot of fun. it was also so humid that several times i tried to take pics the camera lens just fogged up. but i'm not fussing about that - it IS august in the south.


i think our beach trip was a little premature for the nugg. she didn't get that you can't drink salt water. the poor little thing snorted it several times and had red eyes and a runny nose :-( so i sat with her on the beach while daddy did some ocean exploring. she then proceeded to try to eat the sand. try keeping a very mobile 10 month old out of the sand... yeah, not so much. so we headed back to the hotel room. and it started to rain.

and rain.

and rain.

it rained the whole time we were there.

no sunny florida tan for me. not even a hint of color. nada. nothing.


so we went out to eat. alot. what else do you do? my favorite meal of the whole trip? the last one we had in the ft. lauderdale airport. i'm not even kidding. you want yummy sea food? you're in florida, right? that would be a no go. every place we went to stunk.  we tried a funky sports bar sorta place - icky bar food. middle eastern food - sounded fun and different... ick too. though they did have THE BEST hummus i've ever had. cuban food that was all the rave, supposedly - lukewarm, fried and the place was filled with flies. not to mention we were the only ones there, soooo the crazy owner talked our ears off about his wife loosing cheese. funny, but not worth the $$$ we spent on it. we wanted the best seafood. we asked several people and the concierge and went where they sent us. we got so-so meals and a HUGE tab.

this was our bar food night. ick. but we did get to sit on a nice patio and nuggie really enjoyed people watching.


these sounded so yummy - fried s'mores! diets aren't allowed to be packed when on vacation! so i left mine at home. these were not as good as they looked. i'd take fair food any day over this. ick.


our hotel was pretty nice. not at all what their website implied. i'm being very careful to not snap a pic of the huge, noisy highway that went right by our "quiet balcony" nugg loved being able to climb all around a big space without baby gates though. and the bed was heavenly! she also loved our huge floor to ceiling windows. and since we had a sleeping baby in our room we were all in bed by about 8pm every night. we DID get alot of sleep and that was a huge blessing!


eating. again. bub tried a huge bowl of seafood. i think the bowl looked more like a metal helmet. 


my little dinner buddy :-) that girl thinks straws are gifts from heaven!



we managed to dodge the rain drops for about 20 minutes and took sweet pea down to the pool. she LOVED it! they had a fabulous little shallow area that she could sit in and splash. she also loved going all around the pool with her papa. too bad we didn't get to go more.



not the best pic - but she was so tickled to be in that water!

we tried to go down to the keys one day - to sorta re-visit our honeymoon destination. florida drivers are worse then nashville drivers in the rain. after two hours of driving south and still not getting through miami (they had EVERY road torn up) we were all tired, frustrated and hungry - so we turned around and went back to the hotel. everywhere we went was so dirty and littered. and our flight home was a nightmare. our flight got canceled b/c of a storm. so we ended up stuck at the airport for 7 hours. then when we finally got home we found out our luggage was MIA. they couldn't tell us where our pack n play, CAR SEAT or three suitcases were. thankfully they had a car seat we could borrow. and really, we were at least heading home. but nuggie didn't have any of her night night lovies, we didn't have our toothbrushes or cell phone chargers. i mean, minor inconveniences really, but just the shriveled cherry on the top of a very sour trip.

sorry to be a grump - but i had to vent. this trip was awful! nuggie was a bright spot. she was such a trooper. she slept pretty well and was so happy. she's such a sweet pea :-)

now we're home - woot! our 5k is on saturday and we have orientation for nursery duty at church too. we're so excited to start that new adventure!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

picture, picture...


COUSINS!!!  


 on monday we had a little visit with bub's nieces and nephews. they were passing through town on their way home and  so nuggie got to meet all SIX of them at once! nuggie and her little cousin aiden are just over a week apart in age - it was so fun to see them together! i wish i had thought to get a pic of all the kiddos together. we're hoping to visit them in savannah sometime soon, so i'll be sure to get some good ones then. oh it was a short visit, but so sweet!

whew - have we had a DAY! this morning i had an appt with my endocrinologist and while we got to see her very quickly (hurray!), we had to wait for an HOUR to get in to the lab (boo). sweet nuggie was such a trooper, but when the nurse in the lab kept us waiting another twenty minutes b/c she couldn't find my vein, nugg had had enough and let her know. i don't blame her. if it was acceptable for an adult to throw a temper tantrum, i would have at that point as well. while in the waiting room i also had a crotchety old women exclaim in the most sour and nasty of tones - "THAT child is fat!" to my sweet nugg. i wanted to punch her. then another man said, oh you have her ears pierced already? and i said no, looking at nugg sort of questioningly, quickly realizing he meant her skin tag. what?!? i want to keep her in a bubble and never, ever let her out. people are mean.

after that we headed home for a bit. nugg took a short nap and it was seriously 105 degrees today, so we went to walmart to walk up and down the air conditioned aisles. then we headed home... only to discover i had left my phone somewhere.

oh holy mother of all electronics!!! i rushed over to our sweet neighbor's house and asked to use her phone - called bub - told him what had happened and then hauled booty over to wally world. and low and behold - there it was - sitting all alone in the shopping cart i had used 30 minutes before. i am one lucky lady. bub had reported it lost, just in case, so it wouldn't work when i did get my hands on it. so i tried to use a pay phone - A PAY PHONE! i didn't even have change to use the dumb thing, so i went old school and tried to make a collect call to bub to let him know i'd found it and could he turn it back on. did. you. know... it now costs $9.95 to make a freakin' collect call?!? i yelled into the phone - DON'T ACCEPT! and hung it up. who knew???


after the phone nonsense i went with our super sweet neighbor (as mentioned above :-) to buy seeds!!! i'm planting a winter garden - holy moley! i am so so so excited. and would you believe i got all these seeds for $1.20???? well, sweet heather treated me to them - BUT - that's all they cost! so i stocked up on seeds for my spring garden too. we're putting in a raised bed next to the house and i'm gonna go all green thumbs on it! 

so now the nugg is tucked in for the night - wearing her big girl jammies by the way. my baby is growing too fast :-( and i'm sitting here quietly, enjoying a nice iced peach tea. what a day - but what a day full of blessings! i can't believe no one took my phone, i can't believe that i'll be able to plant a whole giant garden for pretty much nothing, i can't believe my once colicky, screamy baby is now such a joy to travel around with - i love that little girl so much!  

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

lose ends...

everything is coming together for school in the fall. i FINALLY got the last titer results i needed today (only took almost 2 months of fighting with the doctor's office!) my financial aid officially went through. i've got all the books i need and i passed micro (just in case you hadn't heard yet :-) yesterday i took my CPR class and passed that too. now it's just to enjoy the next couple of weeks till classes start. i'm so excited i can hardly stand it! after we get back from vacation i'll stock up on school supplies :-) i don't really need much, but there's nothing like starting a new semester with a few new pens and folders.

speaking of vacation - not too much longer till we leave! we're keeping our fingers crossed that tropical storm emily will avoid southern florida in the near future. it's so hot here right now, it's sort of funny to be heading to another hot place. but we'll be near the ocean - we can dip our toes in the water!

i am so ready for autumn. it is my absolute favorite season. i love everything about it. cooler temps, snuggly cardigans and sweaters, picking apples, naps while bub watches football, yummy soups. i'm watching barefoot contessa right now and she's making a butternut squash soup - ooh, i want to make it! but who wants to eat a fall soup like that when it's 103 degrees outside? oh fall - hurry up and get here!

here are a couple of pics from nuggie's 9 month photos we took last weekend. it was so miserably hot. we were all crabby and sweaty - bleck! our sweet photographer, allison, is pregnant and she didn't complain once. she's amazing!! seriously guys, you know you need some pics taken - she's your lady!


Saturday, July 30, 2011

RIP Lilo (the fish)






i mentioned that a couple of weeks ago we added two more critters to our brood. sadly, we've already lost one... our sucker fish - lindsay lohan went off to the toilet bowl in the sky this afternoon. but our fat goldfish frank is going strong. he's a fabulous little fish with one black eye and one white eye. nuggie likes to say good morning and good night each day to him. sweet little frank :-)

class. is. done. well - for three weeks anyhow. i passed microbiology and with a B - woot!!! college the first time around yielded a less then stellar GPA. it's great to be doing it now with a different attitude. i could kick my self for being such a slacker in the past. oh, it was SO hard to find time to study and to go to class when you've got a boyfriend and a hate for the hours of 4-10 am. oh what i wouldn't give to have that schedule again :-) hindsight really is 20/20!

so the next weeks have a few fun things in store. first, we leave for a little mini vacation to florida. this will be my first real trip there. we honeymooned in the keys, but other than that i've yet to explore anywhere in the pan handle state. we have zero plans other than to sleep and eat and go to the beach. it will be our first family vacation. guess we'll need to take nuggie to the zoo or a museum or something family vacation-y :-) then i've got the 5k - not sure i'm going to be able to run the WHOLE thing, but i will run most of it, that is for sure. guess i shouldn't have picked the hottest part of summer to start my training. it's been so hard to get moving when it's 80something at 6am. i'm up to running almost two miles though - woot! and we do still have two weeks. so we'll see :-)

nuggie had her 9 month photos taken by the amazing and talented miss allison wicker today. if you live in the middle tn/southern ky area and are looking for an AUHMAZING photographer - please look her up!!! i'll pass along her info if you like :-) i'll be sure to post some pics when we get them. i think we got some really fun ones today!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

just one of those weeks...


i opened up the drawer in our kitchen tonight and look at what happened!?! yep - it's just been one of those weeks. and... it's only tuesday. well, it won't do anyone any good to dwell on it i guess - though i'd love to rant about the fact that it's really stinking hard being a mommy some days, especially with an obnoxious dog, puking cat, teething baby, husband out of town and finals to study for... but no one wants to hear that either... one thing i do need to get off my chest - ooorrrr maybe get off my flabby ass - this baby weight! i heard tonight that if you've not lost the weight by the time babes is 9 months old, you're not likely to lose it. please someone tell me this isn't true. if i could go back in time and un-eat all those waffle fries and cartons of cake batter ice cream that i stuffed in my face when nuggie was just a bun in the oven - trust me, i would. i'm getting so frustrated! i'm running now - you know, not miles and miles, but 3 times a week and then trying to do yoga one day and weights one day. it's not the most amazing workout plan on earth - but it's something. and i'm trying so hard to eat well. again, i don't always do super awesome - but i've really cut back on sweets and fatty foods. and NOTHING. not one single pound lost. i'm still sitting at about 17 pounds over my pre-preggo weight. i'm so sick of not fitting in to anything. i've got a closet full of size 6 pants and medium tops and i'm still living in a chunky monkey world. maybe i should just give up and get some bigger clothes? but i don't want to do that! i'm at my wits end. ideas anyone? i need QUICK, healthy, snack and meals ideas. i think maybe this is where i'm going wrong? i am eating better, but not great i guess. and maybe little tricks for sneaking in exercise or something? i'm feeling very sorry for myself tonight. it's taking everything in me to not run towards the sugar cereal and stuff it all in my mouth right now. HELP!