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. 

high in the sky

My job does have its perks, such as having the best "office view" possible. This allows me to witness firsthand [ in my opinion ] one of the most amazing medical opportunities we have to save lives:

Aero Med is pretty sweet.

If I could get over my motion sickness, I could totally see myself pursuing that as a viable career option for at least a couple of years...

NPR

Oops...I did it...again...

Too much on the title? Sorry about that. I'm just a sucker for Britney, that's all. I blame my parents, who bought me tickets for Christmas when I was like, 9 years old. All that I can remember of that strange event was Brit swaying to and fro atop a raft thing that floated above the crowds. Oh, and the fact that LFO was the opening band - "I like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch, I'd take her if I had one wish, but she's been gone since that summa, since that summa..." Such fine, creative musical artists, eh?

Brit and the boys of LFO...keeping it classy since the inception of cheesy 90's pop stars and preppy boy bands...

Anyway, back to the reason for the title.

So at some point last month, a co-worker [ fellow receptionist ] put in her two weeks notice, resulting in a hustle and bustle to cover her shifts until a replacement could be found. On one of my days off, I got a call about filling in an early Monday morning shift in mid-June. To be noted, the early shift starts at 5:30am as opposed to my usual 2nd shift that starts at 12:30pm.  Meaning, I would have to get up at 4:15am in order to shower, do something acceptable with my hair, dress myself as appropriately as one can pre-sunrise, smear any semblance of makeup on my face and operate a vehicle in order to make it for clock-in on time. Sounds fun, right? Well, with it being summer and out of school [ aka plenty of extra time on my hands ] and wanting to make some extra moolah, I accepted the challenge.

So you can imagine my surprise as I stumble into the office, much-needed coffee in hand, and am immediately greeted by the replacement. I knew we had found a replacement, but what someone failed to inform me was that the replacement had been given ALL of the previous co-worker's shifts, including the ones that were others were asked to cover just in case a replacement was not found by that time. Bottom line: I was not scheduled to be at work at 5:30am today. Once again, I showed up on a day when my name was not on the schedule.

This time around, however, I stayed. The replacement graciously let me take the shift, arguing that I'm a student in need of all the extra hours I can get. In my embarassment / post-slumber stupor / caffeine-deprived state, I thanked her and made my way to my desk.

Schedule mishaps, that's just my prerogative.

NPR

everybody sweat now + I can't live without my planner

With temperatures reaching 90°outside today along with 70% humidity [ and therefore close to about 85° inside our non-air-conditioned house ], I think it's safe to say that summer has officially arrived in Michigan.

  

This little guy has been getting a workout this past week...yet even our drinks are sweating bullets.

Poor pupper...trying to stay cool and relaxed in our sauna of a home...

 Pre-commute to work, though still quite flushed 

While riding my bike to work in said sweltering heat and humidity, I couldn't help but think how much I was looking forward to sitting on my bum all day at my desk, basking in the free A/C. By the time I arrived, not only was I a hot sticky mess, but sweat was literally dripping down my legs [ I know, that is so attractive ]. Walking through the automatic double doors, I was greeted with the sweet rush of refreshingly cold and heavenly bite of moving cool air. Oh, how I looked forward to cooling off and then freezing my bum off for the next seven hours... 

My hopes were dashed after about 15 minutes of confusion and finally coming to the realization that I was not scheduled to work today. I had agreed to switch shifts with a co-worker and instead of working my normal Tuesday, I'm doing an off day later this week. The only reason I forgot all about the switch was because I didn't write it down in my planner - those of you who know me are well aware that this is very uncharacteristic of me, considering I write EVERYTHING down and ALWAYS have my planner with me. You know what, though? I blame it on the heat. 

So back outside I went, into the outdoor oven, onto my baking bicycle and rode my sad little self back home, where I promptly stripped down out of my now-soaked work clothes and into a swimsuit. A half hour and 34987321093874 steps up and down stairs and sand dunes later, I could be found lying by the breezy lake. 

In conclusion, even without the free air controlled climate, my day turned out alright if I do say so. 

NPR