Looking forward to....

....our upcoming vacation in December to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic!


For an entire week we will be staying here:

...and it's all-inclusive!

After our first semester living apart (Justin moving to another city for his first year of medical school, me sticking around for three more semesters of nursing school), I think this romantic, alone, study-free, school-free time away will be much needed.


SO EXCITED!!!


NPR

A random conversation

After returning from the farmer's market today...


Justin: Oh, look at you with your little basket! What did you get?
Me: Some herbs, strawberries....and OH MY GOSH! 
Justin: What??
Me: Okay, the kid who sold me these tomatoes....well, he was a dead-ringer for Peeta Mellark.
Justin: As in, the actor who plays Peeta in the movie or what you've imagined him to be in your head while reading?
Me: The actor. The actor from the movie. 
Justin: .....You wanted to kiss him, didn't you?
Me: --silence--
Justin: You didn't say anything! YOU WANTED TO KISS HIM, DIDN'T YOU?!
Me: No! I didn't want to kiss him...I mean, I just wanted to say, 'Has anyone ever told you how much you look like Peeta Mellark?'
Justin: You should have! That probably would have made his day!
Me: No, uh uh, the kid was like, 18...would have creeped. him. out. 


Oh, I love Peeta. And the farmer's market.


That is all.


NPR

Aaaaand we're back?

Well, so much for blogging.


Seriously.


I'm terrible with this thing! I can't seem to stay consistent or keep up with this as I get busier, most notably during the school year. Considering the spring semester has been over for at least three weeks now, I really don't have any excuse for why I haven't returned other than that I've been relishing in my free time and indulging in other desires...


...cooking, baking, exercising, sewing, cleaning, organizing....just to name a few of those things.... 


So, here I am. 
Again.
Trying to write.
Again.
Trying to keep up and updating to keep up with life.
Again.


Let's dive right in, shall we? 


Lately...


- I was incredibly stubborn and refused to go to the eye doctor regarding blurriness and impaired vision in my right eye. After a couple of weeks of complaints, Justin finally got so fed up with said stubbornness that he drove me to go to Urgent Care the Saturday before exams week, where I was diagnosed with corneal kerititis. Justin documented the whole ordeal quite well, which you can read about here. I had to push back all of my exams, which resulted in taking all four in one day = so ridiculously stressful. Lesson learned: TAKE OUT YOUR CONTACTS AT THE END OF EVERY DAY AND DON'T LEAVE THEM IN LONGER THAN EIGHT HOURS AT A TIME. Period. Done. I refuse to go through that ever again!


- The Saturday after finals week ended I co-hosted a baby shower for my dear friend Jamie at our church. It was so nice to celebrate the little nugget of a guy who will be making his appearance in just over a month now! Since I'm still learning how to operate my camera (another summer item on the to-do list), I'm  more than slightly ashamed of the quality of the few photos I managed to capture so I think I'll be refraining from posting any of those...


- Working at a retail store downtown when a certain annual festival is going on is hectic....very hectic. I don't recommend it...especially when you're super duper OCD very organized and anything out of order drives you completely bonkers. I'm fairly certain my customer service skills just plummeted that week due my blood pressure skyrocketing through the roof as people rifled through hangers and racks and stacks of clothing. Sheesh. Good thing I'm not going into the retail industry permanently and rather into a field where attention to detail and having your ducks in a row is basically a necessity.


- Justin and I celebrated our third anniversary this past weekend! It's amazing how quickly the years go by! We started off the celebrations by taking the day off on Friday and heading to the beach and acting like tourists, riding the chain ferry across the river and walking through the quaint town of Saugatuck in and out of various shops. The next day, Justin drove us down to good ol' Ohio to visit a particular outlet mall that housed a certain brand of purses that I just happen to be quite fond of...where Justin, being the fantastic and utterly amazing husband that he is, allowed me to choose one to take home! Considering the fact that the third anniversary's traditional gift is leather, this choice of a gift was quite appropriate and made me one extremely happy wife. He also surprised me with the purchase of two new dresses and a pair of earrings, making me feel all the more spoiled! This was followed by a trip to the Bose store, leading to the early-birthday-gifting for the husband of a pair of a noise-canceling headphones to aid in his med school studies starting in the fall. We drove to a city an hour away (since the FOUR hotels in the outlet mall's city was completely booked) and stayed the night at a hotel that was oh-so-conveniently located just a mile down the road from an IKEA (another store whose website I happen to stalk and dream up decorating ideas about on occasion). We made more than a few purchases the next day to outfit our apartment and returned home late that night. Tomorrow we will have a low-key celebration of homemade breakfast and a relaxed morning, perhaps going through our wedding photos and reminiscing our big day from just three years ago...I love you, Justin! Thanks for a memorable and wonderful last three years - here's to many more to come!!!


Until next time (which who knows when that will be...hopefully sooner rather than later!)...


NPR

A smattering...

Apologies for the lack of posting! This semester actually has really been keeping me busy with so much going on ....whiiiiich is probably even more reason why I should be regularly updating...aaaand therefore you can disregard my previous post where I mentioned having time to breathe (it's barely there, I swear!)...

So, a short updated post in photo-form:

Twilight hairbrushes.
Found in the Best Buy sale section when we went to pick out our new flat screen television earlier in February.
...because every girl wants to style her hair after Rob Pattinson...

This is how our dog regularly sleeps.
In front of the front door, head shoved up against the shoe crate.
Comfy, eh?
(and she looks really happy to see me, too)

Valentine's Day!
I had to work but Justin surprised me by giving me an hour-long massage on our rose-petal-covered bed. He also fed me chocolates during the massage and gave me more roses (see above photo) afterward. 
What a guy!

So I went to go visit my best friend who's a teacher and lives smack dab in the middle of the state. She and her boyfriend (pictured) took me to this somewhat-janky local restaurant that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. He ordered this nasty thing called a "hot beef" or something vague like that. 
His expression says it all.
This is the only picture I got of my weekend visit.
That is sad. 

Aaaand finally, our nearly five year old dog has stopped caring about being obedient while we're away and has chosen to rifle through the trash TWICE now in search of leftovers and various scraps. 
Ugh.

This week I start my first round of clinicals for nursing. I'm scared and nervous and excited and apprehensive and feeling so not prepared to start this all at the same time... Wish me luck!

NPR

...mmm....doughnuts....

I just finished eating dinner about a half hour ago and turned to Justin and said, "Ooooh, I want a doughnut right now. That sounds sooo good, doesn't it?"

So what does the man do? 

Gets up from the table, heads toward the shoe rack, and states, "I am going to go get you a doughnut."

What.

Best. husband. EVER.

This whole readily-willing-to-get-up-to-fetch-me-the-foods-of-my-hankerings thing makes for at least one good thing to look forward to one day when I have a little bun in the oven...

Update: He brought home EIGHT of 'em so we "can have a nice breakfast tomorrow."

Observe:

Yes.

NPR

Slow Cooker Spectacular!

So as I previously mentioned, I've been hoping to add a bit more variety to the blog...hence, I've decided to add a new theme: slow cooker recipes! Due to Justin's and my more than slightly abnormal schedules, eating dinner together has become a luxury for which we have become very grateful when we get the chance. During our first year of marriage (...when I didn't have a job...), I had lots of time to experiment with food and ease into the job of preparing meals for us. I look back fondly on those times when I would spend literally HOURS preparing and experimenting with various elaborate recipes. Sadly, since returning to school, I haven't had as much time to dedicate to making meals, so things have gotten more basic around here (think sandwiches, casseroles, and oh so many Crockpot creations).

However, I when I stumbled upon this recipe, I jumped at the chance to attempt making such an elegant main course, Crockpot-style. For the heck of it (and with the excuse of sort-of-not-really-but-really-yeah celebrate Valentine's Day), I also threw this creation on the menu with the intention of healthifying (yup, that's a word) the entree up with some easy steamed green beans and plain baked potatoes. 

This seriously was not at all difficult.

It took probably 20 minutes max, and that was only because Justin came home from running errands right in the middle of me mixing stuff....and was talking to me....and I have great difficulty multi-tasking in the kitchen so I there were many pauses and re-thinking what I had just done throughout the process.

Thus was my attempt at creating a nearly-completely-slow-cooker-prepared meal...

Why, hello there.

Much to the behest of my husband, here I am writing a blog post. 

Confession: I am a terrible keeper of memories. 

Justin and I have had at least 9874525374 conversations in the past few months regarding this here little blog o' mine - mostly him reminding me that many years from now, when I want to remember what was going on at this point in my life, I will smack myself in the rear for not documenting things. 

And he's right.

Right now I'm married. 

Have been for nearly three years (!). 

My husband went back to college for pre-requisites for medical school.

He already has been accepted into the incoming class of a particular school for fall 2012 (yay!). 

I'm also in college. 

Again.

However, I've traded my Spanish literature textbooks for stethoscopes and scrubs in pursuit of a future in nursing.

I also worked for nearly two years at the local hospital as a receptionist, navigating my way into the world of healthcare and all that it involves, only to end up back at my alma mater in search of earning a BSN. 

That job ended this past January, when I literally could not fit in enough hours of the day to keep working that job along with a full-time academic schedule.

So, I started working at a retail store downtown...and I love it.

We also happen to live downtown in a loft - and it. is. AWESOME (I share this feeling with Justin on a nearly daily basis).

Justin and I have weekly "donut dates," during which we walk to a local coffee shop / bakery / restaurant, order coffee and a baked good / breakfast food, do a little devotions, and catch up with each other. 

Sometimes we also walk our dog down the streets of downtown late at night when nobody else is around.

Due to my schedule and lack of extra time to cook, my beloved 6qt Crockpot has become one of my greatest material possessions. 

That's just the general idea of life these days. Sadly, I've really missed out on documenting the little memories that are too soon forgotten because I haven't been keeping up on this blog. I know I've written several times about making theme posts, writing on a more regular basis, etc. but I haven't followed through. 

Final exams

However, the music of this lady, this guy and this movie have been keeping me company as I chug along. 


Freedom = Thursday


Bring it, finals. 


NPR

another good reminder

"Do not spoil what you have today by desiring what you have not. Remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."
- Epicurus


NPR

sympathetic nervous system series....or not

Remember when I said I would do a post each month about things that make me happy? You know, right before I went on a two-month sabbatical to re-configure my whole life because nursing school stuff was setting up camp in all the boxes and lines of my planner?

Yeah, so much for that...

Well, here is the second installment of what I've now dubbed the sympathetic nervous system series!

Just kidding.

Did you get it?

It was a joke, okay?

Sympathetic nervous system = fight or flight = adrenaline rush....anyone?

Gimme-a-break-'cause-I'm-in-school-right-now-and-all-I-can-focus-on-is-physiology-stuff-because-it's-kicking-me. in. the. rear.

10 things that put a smile on my face

1. Living close enough to campus that I can ride my bike to class and get to the science center in two minutes flat

2. My 6 qt CrockPot

3. Justin's and my weekly doughnut dates that involve some devotional time along with a good cup o' joe, a baked good of some sort and/or a mammoth-sized breakfast entree

4. The $0.41 pumpkin spice lattes at work

5. Going on runs without obligation nor any pressure to look at my Nike watch every five minutes

6. The fact that the appropriate time to start listening to Christmas music and decorating for the holiday season (AND CHRISTMAS BREAK) is getting closer...and closer...and closer...

7. Re-reading Justin's account of his near death experience - SO funny! To clarify, no harm was done to Justin or the deer.

8. The 20-minute dance party that Justin and I had last night (this morning?) at 1:30am to the Tron and Fight Club soundtracks

9. Getting to know some pretty incredible and amazing fellow student nurses so far this semester

10. Having all of my weekends free from work once again!

What's bringing you joy and smiles these days?

 

NPR



as of late

What have I done since I last posted?

Oh, what a complex question.

First and foremost, a HUGE ENORMOUS GARGANTUAN CONGRATULATIONS to my husband on his acceptance into medical school! Talk about a sigh of relief for us and our future... It was such a big weight off our shoulders to finally and officially know that by this time next year he will for sure be a first year medical student. Although this may not be where he ends up going, it's still such a relief to have an option at all. He found out last night when we were both at work. When he called me after receiving the good news from the dean of admissions himself, it took all I had inside of me not to start screaming my head off and sobbing tears of utter joy right there in the very public, extreme echo-inducing lobby at my desk - though I did find out that my mother-in-law screamed enough for the two of us combined and then some when she got the news in the privacy of her own home.

Second, I successfully finished my first (and possibly last...) marathon! I say last not because the race itself deterred me from considering doing another, but rather the intense amount of training that went into preparing for the big event. While the whole experience on the actual day was incredibly fun, challenging, encouraging, motivating and positive, I'm not sure I can mentally deal with the preparation aspect again anytime soon. I told Justin maybe I'd do Chicago or something big in the future, like when I'm done popping out offspring and have fallen into a mid-life crisis of some sort...or maybe just once I'm done with nursing school. Anyway, I accomplished my goal: to finish. And finish I did after four hours and seven minutes of running with about a 9:30 minute/mile pace! That day it was like I was walking on clouds. The few days following, on the other hand, were like I had never walked in my life - hilarious to see, I'm sure, NOT so hilarious to experience. Knees buckling, with a gait like I'd just gotten off riding a horse for days on end....not a pretty sight.

Speaking of nursing school, that is what has mostly taken up my time since I last posted! While my nightly routine of bursting into tears from the overwhelming stress taking over my entire life finally subsided after the first month of the semester, that's not to say I haven't had a few freakouts here and there since then. Between going to lectures and lab every day, studying for exams, doing homework, attending study sessions, working on projects/assignments outside of class and going to field placement PLUS working three 8-hour shifts every week, it's no wonder I find myself either dreaming of my work phone's ringtone and everything seeming to take place in our school's science center. Yeah, I'm a nerd!

Justin's schedule hasn't been too friendly with him, either, as evidenced by this. I will say those doughnut dates truly are the BEST - I highly recommend them to any couple whether or not your lives are so hectic that you only see your spouse for a few minutes at best each day. We'll have to see if we can keep those up come med school...

So I'm hoping to come back to this a little more regularly than I have been the past couple of months. Regularly meaning at least more than one post in two months. After all, how else am I going to remember in the future what life was like now if I don't have anything to look back on? Wasn't that the whole point of starting this blog in the first place? Yes, I need to get back at this.

It's time get back to chasing some peonies.

NPR

just a quickie

I hate to say it, but blogging is going to be just about the last thing on my list of what I have to do for at least the next few months. School began last week and already I've broken down crying from all the stress of presentations, quizzes, homework and studying that is rapidly piling up and filling in the spaces of my planner. I know that earlier I wrote about doing posts regarding moving, our new apartment, backpacking and other summer events, but it looks like I will just not be getting to that. Never did I imagine that I would be as busy just with classes as I find myself now.

It'll be worth all this hard work in the end...right?

So, who knows when the next post will come. Maybe once I feel settled and into a schedule of things, I can get my blogging booty back in gear. There is so much I'd love to write about! However, we'll just have to wait and see.

Until next time...

 NPR

this post is not exciting

Yesterday I hoped to write a huge long post outlining the past few weeks, chock-full [ ...chockfull? Chockful? Chock full? Spelling, anyone? ] of photos and whatnot, but alas, I felt totally uninspired and devoid of motivation after a slightly irking incident involving UPS and my textbooks [ which turned out to be my own fault after all - cue tears of embarassment and shame... ].

So here's my little update to say that I'm still alive.

Our apartment isn't quite completely organized yet, but at least we only have about two or three more boxes to unpack and put away! And then despite slipping on a hill two miles from the end [ and straining / spraining my wrist in the process ], I survived the backpacking trip up north. I also managed to successfully stand up in my friend's wedding even on less than six hours of sleep and feeling more than slightly lightheaded and quite warm at least twice during the ceremony.

Boom.
There.
Update: done.
Just kidding.

I'll get pictures and a more detailed post up later this week. Justin and Josh are way ahead in the game with their fancy shmancy [ but not negative Nancy! That was dumb. Sorry. ] edited photos and lengthy posts, but I will catch up! Advanced apologies for repeats, though.

NPR

P.S. On a random note, everyone needs to go out and read Tina Fey's book, Bossypants [ click the link for the NY Times review ], right now. Seriously. Once you get past all the swear words [ 'cause there are lots in there ], it's absolutely hilarious. I finished it in a day and a half. Read it. You won't regret it.

I like to move it move it

Ay caray.

The past five days have been a whirlwind of activity. I silently cry on the inside every time I look at another box I realize I haven't unpacked yet. Why can't they just empty themselves while I sit in the corner, curled up reading and sipping lemonade in the coolness of our [ hallelujah! ]  air-conditioned space? But alas, I'm slowly but surely working through them.

It should also be noted that we won't have internet at the new place for another week or so at least, so I've resorted to uh, how do I say it? Using the free, unlocked resources I have when I have them... I won't say anything more than that [ though if you know my schedule you may catch my drift ]. This is the reason for my lack of photos of the new place, though we do have lots to share. Justin did this awesome job setting up the camera to take a picture every 30 [ ? ] seconds when we tackled the kitchen / entrance area and then once again as he set up the entertainment center in the living room. He compiled the photos to create a video of our progress and will most likely be posting it soon! He also took pictures of the whole place, each individual room, before we started moving things in, so hopefully we'll be getting those up for people to see soon as well. I'll also be doing a post about how the whole move went, so hang tight for that, too!

NPR

Madness, I tell you...

The lack of posts has a reason: life is C-R-A-Z-Y as of late.

For one thing, we're moving.

Again.

Justin and I realized that this will be our fourth living space in the span of two years. That's right - by the time we settle into our new abode, we will have lived in FOUR different places since tying the knot in 2009.

That is four times of packing boxes, crossing our fingers that nothing gets damaged in said boxes, breaking down furniture [ or not...because it's sooo not worth it to attempt to reconstruct those IKEA pieces sans the original instructions...], loading / unloading U-Hauls, re-assembling non-IKEA furniture, unpacking those mountains of boxes, figuring out how to best organize new spaces and places, and waiting for weeks until our new home actually feels like home.

However, this time we're doing things a little differently.

We always knew that at some point we'd have to do a major purge of our possessions since we've been planning on paring way down once Justin heads to med school. However, we didn't expect that to happen until at least next summer, so now we're scrambling to purge unnecessary items. Due to renting an actual house, we've I've gotten into this nasty habit of -ahem- acquiring [ and creating ] more items than we I maybe should have. Some vintage Ball jars to use as vases? Sure, I'll take four. Perhaps a decorative wall hanging? I'll craft some and then also take one for free from my mom! This has resulted in a few too many items than we actually need and I'm feeling just a bit overwhelmed at the sight of them as I mentally pack items into imaginary boxes.

"Please chase a peony, love"

I'm going to make a confession: I don't always do the greatest job of looking on the bright side. I realize this isn't the most ridiculous thing in the world since there are a lot of people who tend to be self-proclaimed "realists" [ c'mon, in all honesty that's just an excuse to be a negative Nancy ] and don't always consider the glass half full. However, a huge part of my motivation to revamp this blog was to change the name to Chasing Peonies, which was actually a metaphor for me to lean more towards optimism on a daily basis.

I used to be a bubble of flowers and butterflies, hopes and dreams. But somewhere along the way, for a myriad of reasons that need not be delved into, I transformed into a dark hole filled with nothing but shrewdness and negativity. While I've since come out of that [ thank goodness ] , a small part lingers and threatens to take over when I lose sight of what is so good and real in my life now. In fact, it probably comes out more than I realize, considering all too often Justin will encouragingly remind me to change my attitude with one simple phrase: "Please chase a peony, love."

fiery, incandescent & sweltry

Yes, I went to thesaurus.com and looked up synonyms for hot and chose my favorites to name this post. This is what happens when I don't have any schoolwork to be tackled as I sit at my desk at work [ because why yes, I do sit on my tush for eight hours each shift at a place of employment where my boss encourages me to "exercise my brain" and do homework...all the while getting paid... ]. Even as I bask in the climate-controlled heaven, the sun has now started to stream into the gigantor windows that make up 1/3 of my "cubicle" and I'm starting to doubt my decision to wear black.

I know I've mentioned a time or two about how very warm our house gets due to its lack of A/C, but I really had no idea what I was talking about then. In fact, I laugh at my past self, writing those posts. This week has been ridiculous, as anyone who isn't living under a rock and ventures outdoors would confirm. Last night, we reached a recordbreaking 89°F inside our home, no breeze from outside to be found. In fact, it got so bad that I was standing in the bathroom, innocently brushing my teeth, when [ advanced apologies for the sheer gross factor of the rest of this story ] I felt a drop sliding down on my leg. Yes, I was literally dripping sweat just from lifting an arm in attempt to do the simple act of brushing my teeth. Horrific. I still don't know how we managed to fall asleep. Aaaaand then this morning, I turned on the oven to do some baking and cooking, just because I was that crazy determined. How sad / ironic / funny...in the winter months, I moan and groan all the good long day about wearing three pairs of pants, two sweatshirts and four pairs of socks to bed to counter the looming threat of frostbite, just dreaming of warm and sunny days. Now, in the throes of summer, I want to just sell my soul for even a hint of cold air in the house...

"If you can see this, my invisibility cloak isn't working."

It's the end of an era, as people are saying.

Look how much they've changed!



[ Amy has a much better display of all things Harry Potter in her latest posts, my favorite being the age comparisons of key characters ]

Upon leaving work at about 9:05pm last night, I zipped right on over to the McDonald's to pick up two of their [ absolutely fantabulously delicious ] caramel mocha coffees for Justin and me with hopes that the caffeine would carry us well into the wee hours of the morning. After that, I rushed home to take out and feed the dog, change into comfy clothes [ which were not part of some sort of costume ], gather our candy and drinks for smuggling into the theater, triple-check that I had our will call ticket retrieval information and impatiently excitedly awaited Justin's arrival home. Around 9:48pm I heard his garage door open then in a flash at 9:57pm we were off. And here's a perk to living in a smaller city - we were in the movie theater's [ already jam-packed ] parking lot less than ten minutes later.

this and that and everything in between

Since deciding to go back to school as well as moving into our church's house, Justin and I have become more aware of our finances and how we can possibly live more simply. In this post, he actually wrote about our attempts at living a greener lifestyle, which also translates into a "budget-friendlier"  lifestyle. Along with this topic, over the past year I've been struggling to live more minimalistically and environmental-conscienciously [ try saying THOSE last five words fast 10X ]. Maybe it's being married and starting a new life with someone, maybe it's the fact that my money is not solely my own anymore, or maybe it's just me going through some changes - as I wrote in my "About Me" section, I'm learning to be content with less.

I'll be honest, sometimes it is really tough. With social networking grabbing me left and right via Facebook or all the blogs out there, it's difficult to not get turn into the green-eyed monster. So-and-so has the cutest clothes, why can't I just make over my wardrobe? So-and-so's house and its furnishings are so beautiful, why can't I have that, too? Oh, how I wish I could have X, Y and Z just like so-and-so. The list goes on, and before you know it, I'm feeling all down in the dumps when in reality, I'm surrounded by mounds of blessings, both physically and emotionally.

But then I shake my head, remind myself of those blessings and I realize how much I truly have to be thankful for. Along with that, I remind myself how much joy I get out of doing some of those things that are considered "simpler" or not very extravagant. They actually really are just better for me because they bring me a sense of peace, being okay with the littler or more basic of things.

Copycat: Awkward & Awesome

I've been a silent [ read: non-commenting ] follower of The Daybook for quite a while now. The author, Sydney, is super cute and super fashionable and gives me outfit inspirations for when I have to work, which is pretty much the only time I ever wear put-together outfits...well, that plus church. That's right - for all of you that see me every other Saturday and on my days off, no, I do not just wear old high school / college t-shirts and Nike running shorts paired with my oh-so-stylish flip-flops... I am capable of looking like a respectable person of society with clothes intended for occasions other than exercising and housework.

Anyway, Sydney also does this comical thing of posting "Awkward and Awesome" situations that happen to her on a weekly basis and then shares them each Thursday. Every time I read them, I think to myself, "Does anything that weird / interesting / sweet-awesome-fantastic happen to me that consistently?" Usually the answer is no. However, this past week I noted a few things out of the ordinary, so I just had to share...

Awkward

1) Taking our trash out. Now, I know you're all thinking that this is just an everyday, no-brainer chore where you just walk the can down the street and leave it to be picked up on a weekly basis blah blah blah. But let me inform you of this: living in the church's house and having to walk [ or drive if we're exceptionally wasteful that day ] across the entirety of the parking lot in order to fling the bag(s) into the giant dumpster conveniently located next to the nursing home [ the church's next door neighbor ] staff's preferred smoking location generates a few confused / judgmental / entertained / just-plain-weird looks.

2) Having to literally yell to the hard of hearing elderly (wo)man if (s)he needs a wheelchair in the already echo-inducing-at-the-sound-of-a-whisper lobby from my desk. This also generates several confused / judgmental / entertained / just-plain-weird looks.

3) The temperature of our house during these summer days, which hovers around 80-85 degrees by mid-afternoon. Stepping out of the shower and sweating just from toweling off is not pleasant.

4) Playing phone tag with the sales rep from Crowne Motors regarding my gas cap replacement. Not nearly as amusing as it is with a friend. "Hi, this is Nicole, guess I missed you! -awkward pause- Just calling you back about that gas cap, he he... -awkward pause- Soooo call me back when you get the chance. Bye!"

5) Getting home after a full day at work only to discover the second button on your blouse has been undone for who knows how long. Thankfully you wore a tank underneath but yikers!

Awesome

1) Five weekends off in a row!!! Working every other weekend sure is a drag, but with switching shifts around and using PTO wisely, I can enjoy part of June and nearly every weekend during the month of July NOT sitting a desk, hating the world and wishing I were anywhere but there.

2) How I spent my day yesterday = successful 6 mile run to jumpstart the day + trip to the pet store with my little family + laundry drying on the line outside + lying in the sun with my little pupper + a Speedway Coke slurpee + short but sweet meet-up with my mom-in-law + cooking up a storm with Friends in the background [ as always ] + falling asleep with the fans strategically placed by my sweet husband to allow for the maximum amount of airflow through the room as possible

3) Biking to work today with minimal amount of sweat upon arrival - much better than when drops were literally running down my leg...

4) Having my hours reinstated at work - as much as I don't particularly enjoy what I do, I enjoy the money that generates as a result of it to pay our bills.

5) The fact that only nine more days stand between me, Sarah and the lovely, completely live voice of Josh Groban! The past two times we've attended his concerts they've involved singing onstage with him as part his backup choir and having him hold Sarah's hand as he serenaded her. We can only imagine what this next concert has in store for us...

6) The weather predictions for this weekend - Saturday: sunny, 0% chance precipitation, 87 degrees = beach; Sunday: 30% chance of storms = good excuse to stay inside snuggling, baking and watching movies

NPR