The Nursician

Chicks

2011-11-13T16:31:00.001-06:00

Remember when I wrote this post?

Well guess what, the eggs hatched...a couple of weeks ago (oops, a little behind am I).

Mama and her little babies only stayed for about a day, and then they left us. We have seen them once since then and Mama still had many little chicks following behind her!

Happy Birthday

2011-11-01T19:29:00.006-05:00

On October 19th Scott celebrated his 27th birthday! Wow, 3 years from 30!

I LOVE birthdays and always have so much fun celebrating Scott's. He doesn't quite share my enthusiasm, but humors me.

We continued his birthday tradition with dinner at Taco Bell. I think every year since we have been married he has asked to have dinner at Taco Bell on his birthday. I always slightly cringe, but by the time we get there I'm ready for my soft tacos. Here is the birthday boy with the enormous amount of Taco Bell we ordered. He threw me a curve ball this year and asked to take the food home instead of eating it there.

After we dined on America's best Mexican fast food we enjoyed some cake.

Yes, my friends that is the world's most incredible Batman cake. For some reason there has been a lot of Batman talk in our household so it seemed appropriate to get the birthday boy his very own Batman cake. I loved how it turned out and Scott has loved playing with the cake topper toy. Batman has had many rides on the kitchen counter thus far. After cake Kennedy and I gave him his gifts and we called it a day.

However, the birthday celebrations continued into the weekend when my parents came for a visit. They took us to Texas De Brazil where we stuffed ourselves and enjoyed more cake!

My mom and Paul gave Scott a remote control helicopter that has already been flown and crashed more times than I can count.

I think it's safe to say the birthday boy enjoyed his special day! Thank you to everyone who called, sent cards, gifts, and endless facebook messages! He felt very loved!

Middle School

2011-10-09T16:32:00.002-05:00

A year or two after we graduated from high school we got the bright idea to work in the middle school department at our then church. We both jumped in head first and signed up for year long commitments to lead guys and girls small groups on Wednesdays nights. We had some of our best friends doing this with us so we thought it would be great.

We were wrong. Or rather, I was wrong.

Working with middle schoolers in not my calling. After a month I'd figured out it was going to be a very, very long year filled with 13 year old teen angst that I didn't have the slightest knowledge about how to deal with. Truth be told, not only did I not know how to deal with it, I really did not care. Really, in my heart of hearts I did not care - my heart was not it in at all. There was almost nothing I looked forward to when it came to Wednesday nights, but I had made the commitment so I stuck to it.

On the other hand, Scott was having a blast. The boys he taught really liked him, possibly because there was more goofing off than things like reviewing the lesson or anything remotely constructive. But you know what, those boys came back to church week after week because they loved Scott's "class." On some nights Scott would combine his class with other classes that were led by his friend and cousin. When those 3 classes were combined you heard nothing but laughter throughout the entire department. Those middle school boys LOVED those 3 leaders.

You know who did NOT love those 3 leaders? The older, stuffy, grumpy, no fun having directors of the department. One night after class the directors asked to speak to Scott, his friend, and cousin and fired them from their teaching positions. Apparently they weren't being "Godly enough examples to work with the youth." Not true.

Those directors had always been the ones to take the fun away. They were the ones who's cabin you pleaded with God to not put you in at camp, and as soon as camp was over with you pleaded with God to not let either of them be your Sunday School teacher. Yep, that kind.

As soon as Scott and company were fired we all laughed about it, but we were also kind of ticked off because we knew the kids really loved them. We said from that moment on we were done working in middle school forever. I moved to working in the nursery and Scott to the orchestra. I've never looked back to that year or missed it, except to kid Scott about being fired from church. I've also said "I will never work in middle school again..." Never say never.

Well, ask me where we've been at 8:45am the past two Sunday mornings. The middle school department at our new church. A friend of ours mentioned there were NO male workers in middle school during the 9am service. I told her the story I just wrote about above and she responded with "we NEED Scott, and you." Oh boy. So we went for the first time last week and she was right, Scott was the only male leader there. And you know what, those kids loved him. All last week I thought "yeah, this is still not for me," but I went again this week because one of the female leaders was out of town and they needed me. The entire time this morning I thought "yeah, this is still not for me" and as soon as it ended I walked right over to the kids place and signed up to work with the newborns - 5 year olds during that time.

However, Scott thoroughly enjoyed his morning of building card towers out of Uno cards with his middle school boys and plans to stay right there. He is in for the long haul and I can tell he really already enjoys the few boys that come to his class (well, really table). So, I'll be working in the nursery and Scott will be back shaping the minds of youth one Uno card tower and joke at a time (don't worry parents, he'll keep it PG).

Mama

2011-10-06T18:29:00.000-05:00

One night, back before this past Easter, Scott and I were working in the yard. I was working on weeding and cleaning up the flower bed that is in the front ledge of our house. Back in the bushes I saw what I thought was a dead area of branches so I grabbed it to clean it out. It wasn't branches, it was the back of the duck.

A mama duck.

A mama duck who was sitting on her rather large nest of eggs. She was not happy with me and ruffled her feathers, but she never left the nest. I ran and got Scott to show him what I had accidentally found. We named her Mama and awaited the hatching of her eggs.

The eggs hatched a couple of weeks later and the yard was temporarily filled with little, yellow chicks. They quickly left and Mama went with them.

A couple of months later Mama came back and laid her second nest of eggs. Again, after a while they hatched and left.

Well, guess what? A couple of weeks ago we found Mama in her same little corner of our ledge sitting on her third nest! The nest is packed with eggs! We are waiting for them to hatch and again fill the yard with little duckies.

We can't believe she keeps coming back, but we are glad she feels safe there. We check on her every single day and she's almost aways there.

Here is Mama and nest. Hopefully, I will be able to get some pictures of the chicks when they hatch!

See! I thought I was grabbing dead branches, it's so hard to tell a duck is there!

Her corner of the ledge, you can barely tell she is there!

Church

2011-09-26T18:32:00.000-05:00

After almost 2 years of a painful church hunt I am so happy to share that we have found our church. To this very minute I associate much of my dislike of living in south Florida with the torture that finding a decent church has been. The hunt was awful. We had never not gone to church, and not going for almost 2 years was rough. We felt isolated and discouraged and it showed. I still don't like south Florida or living here, but our new church and our small group are helping to give me a peace about being here.

I admittedly love going to church for the social aspects. No, that is not the reason I love going to church, but the fellowship is like no other. I love the fellowship, especially being around other women who are in the same stage of life as me. It's encouraging. Truth be told, I need to be around friends, that's the type of person I am. I am a social person and when I'm not around other people I feel like I'm going crazy and shutting down, or something like that. You know what I mean? Our small group has been a welcomed breath of fresh air!

The services are ok. They are very modern and praise and worship based. They don't sing any hymns and I would deem some of the praise and worship leader's clothing "inappropriate for church," but that could also be my strong southern Baptist roots coming out. We like the pastor, but he's no
James McDonald or Homer Lindsay. The sermons aren't always as deep as we're used to hearing, but we also know we've been privileged to sit under some pretty amazing preachers before. Basically, the services are ok, but we love our small group.

We love our small group, they have become our friends. We meet each Sunday morning after the service and I look forward to it all week. Most of them have kids which I find to be hilarious because we were once so adamant about "NOT joining a small group with kids!" Well, the harsh reality is that when you're pushing 30 and don't have kids you're in the minority, so we had to get over those feelings pretty quickly. Though, we love those kids and wouldn't have it any other way. We love having them come when they have colds and can't go to nursery, it just seems right! The interesting thing is that most couples in the group aren't from this area so they don't have family here. This has created what I feel like is an unspoken bond. We all understand we need each other and we can all share the woes of living in south Florida together. We get what it means to miss home and truly understand how finally finding a group of friends to depend on and grow with feels. God knew we needed this group. It's great.

Bottom line, we are so thankful to be a part of this church.

A Concert

2011-09-24T19:24:00.001-05:00

Last night was Scott's first school concert of the semester at UM. The guest artist was Dave Holland. I am so glad I went because Scott was featured a lot and really played great, as he always does. The concert was streamed live online and some of our family members were even able to watch!

Here are some pictures:

The man on bass is Dave Holland.

Scott had some trouble with his trumpet during the concert. Several times he had to "work" on it and kept making faces as he did so. I felt bad for him, but it did make me laugh.

I have been going to Scott's concerts since we were in the 6th grade (we went to middle school, high school, and undergrad together at the same schools). His talent, though I admittedly cannot fully comprehend it, never ceases to amaze me. After last night's performance so many people approached not only Scott, but also me just to say how truly talented he is!

All Caught Up

2011-09-19T17:52:00.000-05:00

For the first time in what seems like forever, I am all caught up on my posts! Whew. All those vacation posts took so much time, but I can't bring myself to leave out any details. At least I managed to post about Scott's first day of school before it was a month late.

Now I feel like I have nothing to write about. Scott's school and gig schedules are about to explode so I'm just enjoying the calm before the storm. Though, when things are busy the time passes faster and before we know it the holidays will be here. I know I say this about every season, but can you believe it's already fall?

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I'll leave you with this adorable picture taken during our last trip to Jacksonville. We were able to see our friends Jordan and Vic and meet their brand new precious baby.

Doesn't Scotty look so happy with a baby in his arms? :)

First Day of School

2011-09-18T18:21:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 was Scott's last first day of school as a student. Yes, he still has spring semester and technically will have a first day of school then, but I always think of the fall start date as the true "first day."

I have been counting down the ~~days~~ years for his last first day. The end of his college career finally seems close. He has been in college for 9 years (4 year Bachelor program, 2 year Master program, 3 year Doctorate program) and is 1.5 semesters away from his Doctorate degree! He will graduate in May, May cannot come soon enough. I am positive I will be more excited and will be more relived than him when he walks across the stage and gets his last diploma that will officially make him Dr. Dickinson.

Here are some pictures from his last first day. He was not thrilled about having his picture taken, but there was no way we were not going to capture this monumental occasion - it's been a long time coming.

Notice his pencils, he was ready.

New York 2011 Day 5

2011-09-17T12:59:00.004-05:00

The last day of our trip was, well, a bit of a disaster. All we had planned for the day was a quick trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We had both previously been to the Statue of Liberty, but neither of us had been to Ellis Island. I was determined to get to Ellis Island just to be able to say "we've been there."

I'll spare you the details, but I got tripped walking up the subway stairs and fell a little. It was not fun and my leg was hurt, not badly, but it did hurt to walk and there was a little swelling. This was only a sign of the bad things to come later.

We did make it to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, but it really was not enjoyable by that point. Sad, I know. After our last look at NYC we packed our bags and caught a taxi to the airport.

We got to the airport a little before 6pm for our 9pm flight. When we checked in our flight had already been delayed by 30 minutes. No big deal, but then it continued to be delayed again and again. Mind you, these delays were not due to weather, but apparently due to undisclosed reasons that our airline, Spirit, would not share with us.

Yes, Spirit. We flew Spirit. Two words: NEVER AGAIN.

We finally boarded the plane around 11:30pm. We taxied to the runway where we sat until 1am. At that time the pilot spoke and said there were some "mechanical issues" and we were going back to the gate to have the plane looked at. When we arrived back at the gate the pilot spoke again and said "flight cancelled." He did not give a reason for cancelling the flight and the plane was never looked at for the alleged "mechanical issues."

The flight attendants told us to go to the Spirit check-in counter for further instructions. So, all of the almost 200 very ticked off Spirit passengers went to the Spirit counter where we waited and waited and waited and waited for a Spirit representative to surface. After about 1 hour of waiting, a useless Spirit representative showed up (about 2:30am by this point) and told us Spirit would NOT be rebooking or flight and would NOT be providing a hotel - Spirit would be doing NOTHING about the flight they cancelled.

This is when things started to take a turn for the worse.

People started yelling! One lady finally stepped out in front of the crowd and yelled loud enough that the crowd fell silent. This lady, the wife of an attorney, began quoting some law and went on and on about how Spirit could NOT say they were not going to help us. Not a single person said a word the entire time this lady spoke and when she finished the crowd cheered! It was like a scene from a movie when a group of strangers come together for a common cause and work together to make something happen!

After that lady spoke more people began to step forward and speak, and after each person finished the crowd would cheer. This only lasted civilly for about 10 minutes and then a riot began to breakout as things became heated and the crowd began to rush the Spirit counter. Let me remind you that there was still only 1 Spirit representative at this point and he was still saying Spirit would not be helping us.

When the riot began to happen the NYPD showed up. It was a nightmare and awesome all at the same time! The NYPD began working their way into the crowd and confronting the really hysterical people. Scott and I can now say we've been in a NYC riot.

When the NYPD calmed things back down Spirit, now with 2 representatives, said they would be rebooking our flight....on Saturday! As I'm sure you can imagine, the crowd, went nuts again. Spirit then said "ok, we can rebook as soon as Thursday and we will not be providing hotels or food vouchers." Nope, not good either. I really thought some of the people on the flight were going to punch the Spirit people.

Spirit held true to their statement that they would not be rebooking until Thursday for several hours. Scott and I were in disbelief and helpless. Staying stranded in an airport for 4 days was not an option, we had to get home and back to work. We had no computer and the entire airport was shutdown, so we did not have the option to try and rebook on another airline. At this point, some time between 3-4am, I called my mom and woke her up. I told her what happened and she began looking online to book us a new flight. She found us another flight with Southwest and booked it.

After we knew we had another flight and a way home we felt better, but we weren't done fighting Spirit yet. We stood with all the other passengers at the Spirit counter until 7:30am when the morning Spirit staff came on. We had been standing there since 1:30am and it was now 7:30. Do the math, 6 HOURS!

When the morning staff came on they told us to "move to the side" so they could check-in the morning passengers. NOPE. We barricaded the Spirit desk and told them they could help us FIRST. For the most part they did. At first they told us they would only be rebooking flights to West Palm Beach and would not be providing transportation to Ft. Lauderdale, which is where the flight was supposed to go. Again, not an option. I finally got some Spirit lady's attention and she magically found two seats on a flight to Ft. Lauderdale, but it was at 7pm that night. She said that was the "best she could do" (liar), but we took the seats and got out of the crowd.

By the way, the Spirit representatives told us that the reason the flight was cancelled was "the pilot had logged too many hours and waited until 1:30am to address the problem and Spirit did not want to bring in a new crew at that time." Whatever. Jerks.

We then went and slept in the airport for the rest of the day. By the time we finally flew out we had been at the airport for almost 27 hours. It was a nightmare, a complete nightmare.

I have been trying to get a refund for all of our troubles for the past month. I am still dealing with Spirit and I'm not quitting until I get something in return. Spirit's way of dealing with customers is simply to NOT deal with them. SPIRIT IS AWFUL! Do not fly Spirit!

If you're wondering, we got a full refund for the Southwest flight we booked. Southwest, who has great customer service, lets you cancel for a full refund if you cancel within 24 hours of booking. Good thing to know if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

Also, if you're wondering, we had to pay for luggage on the other airline Spirit booked us on and for food for time the time we were stranded. Airport living is not cheap. I am requesting Spirit compensate those fees as well.

That my friends, is how we ended our trip. We are still not able to laugh about it, but will say we had a great time in New York up until we got stuck in the airport.

New York 2011 Day 4

2011-09-15T20:29:00.004-05:00

We woke up to a rainy New York the 4th day of our trip. As unpleasant as walking in the rain can be, we really did not mind because the rain helped cool things down. New York in August can be brutally warm.

Carrie, Scott, and I (Brandt had to work) started the day off with a yummy brunch. I cannot remember the name of the restaurant we ate at, but I do remember it was in Brooklyn and it was good (Carrie, if you're reading, remind me of the name of the place). After we ate Scott and I went to 34th Street to do some shopping! I really only wanted to go to H&M, but it's always fun to at least go in and out other stores as well!

When we ended our afternoon of shopping we went back to the apartment to meet up with Carrie and Brandt for dinner. We ate at a great Mexican place that served "crack" sauce and Scott was obsessed with it. So obsessed that he even asked me to mention it in my blog. After dinner Scott and I made our way to the Lincoln Center.

We went to Dizzy's Club located in Lincoln Center to hear a jazz group Scott wanted to see/hear. Again, I don't know the name of the people who played, but I did stay awake the entire time.

Dizzy's is a beautiful venue, complete with part of New York's skyline as the backdrop. It really was a picturesque night: Jazz, Lincoln Center, New York's famous skyline lit up in the night sky. You get the idea.

The best part of going to Dizzy's was that we were able to meet up with our friend Jeremy.

Jeremy and Scott met at UNF when we were all getting our bachelor degrees. They were great friends and Jeremy was even one of Scott's groomsmen in our wedding. As life happened, we moved to Chicago and Jeremy moved to New York so we had not seen him in years. We were both excited to see him, but I know Scott was really excited to catch up with his friend.

When the music ended at Dizzy's we all went to the second jazz club of the night, Smoke.

At Smoke we met up with some more friends from our undergrad years, Ryan and Pam. Scott, Jeremy, and Ryan all played together in Jazz Ensemble 1 at UNF. And guess what? They all got to play together that night at Smoke! It was a great night and Scott was thrilled to play at Smoke.

Apparently there was a famous musician (nope, don't know his name either) there and he was very complimentary of Scott's playing! The whole night was wonderful. Seeing old friends is always a lot of fun and of course I was very proud of Scott making his New York debut!

New York 2011 Day 3

2011-09-11T15:01:00.000-05:00

We spent the third day of our trip with our personal tour guides, Carrie and Brandt. They had a few things they wanted us to do and I'm so glad they did!

We started the day off with donuts from Dough. Oh my word, the donuts were amazing, and large. We shared one and were full.

After eating half of our day's needed calories we went to a little flea market type place in Brooklyn. I love these types of things! We all walked around and looked at the little booths. Had we not been traveling by plane I am sure I would have found something to buy, but since nothing I saw would have fit in my suitcase or carry on I left empty handed. After spending some time shopping it was time for lunch so we ate lunch at the market and then hopped on the train to Grand Central Station.

Neither Scott or I had been to Grand Central so it was nice to see it and check it off our "we've been there!" list.

We took some pictures and then walked to the High Line. Click the link to read about the High Line. We walked the whole thing and took some pictures along the way.

Next, we walked through the Chelsea Market. All of this took several hours and by the time we finished our tour of this area it was time for us to head back to their apartment. Scott and I had tickets to see Silence! The Musical and wanted to change and freshen up before we went to that, so back to the apartment we went.

Silence! The Musical is an off-Broadway musical based on the movie Silence of the Lambs. It was hilarious, and that's coming from someone who hasn't even seen Silence of the Lambs. My mom was the person who told suggested we see it, and we are so glad she did! We were not able to get tickets together, so we were on separate rows. I sat directly behind Scott, who was sitting on the very front row, and I promise in the 9 years we have been together I have never seen or heard him laugh so hard. I would love to see it again!

After the play Scott was hungry so we called Carrie to see if they had already eaten dinner. They had, but suggested we go to a place called Artichoke Pizza that was only a few blocks from the theatre. Listen, this place was so good! Besides the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder, we both agree this is best pizza we have ever had! We ordered 3 pieces of pizza to share and it was amazing!!!!!

We happily ate our pizza as we made our way back to Carrie and Brandt's where we enjoyed another night of playing the Wii!

New York 2011 Day 2

2011-09-08T18:41:00.004-05:00

We started our second day in NYC with a delicious lunch at Carnegie Deli. We shared a corn beef sandwhich and for dessert had a piece of strawberry cheesecake. I was in heaven.

Some of my favorite memories from my New York trips growing up revolve around Carnegie Deli. When we would go to New York with my Grandmommy we always stayed in a hotel one block away from the deli. On some mornings mom would send me to get cheesecake for breakfast and her, Grandmommy and I would sit on the hotel bed and watch tv while we ate our cheesecake. It was great!!

After our amazing lunch we walked a few blocks down to Times Square. I don't care how many times you go there, you always need to take a Times Square picture!

We did not spend much time there because we had a tour booked at the NBC Studios.

Our tour was one of the only touristy things we did. Neither Scott or I had done this before and we thought it would be fun. We were really hoping we would get to see the 30 Rock set, but we didn't. Though, we did get to see the MSNBC studio, Dr. Oz's studio, and the Saturday Night Live set. We really only cared for the SNL set, but it was interesting to see the others as well. On the tour one of the NBC pages kept asking fun fact type questions about Alec Baldwin and for some reason I knew all the answers. The page finally turned to me and said "WHY did you know all of this?" and truth be told, I don't know. Maybe my true calling is to work for NBC?

Scott waiting for the tour to start.

Kenneth the Page's outfit from 30 Rock.

When the tour ended it was later in the afternoon so we walked over to Rockefeller Plaza for a picture

and then up to Central Park. We spent a couple of hours enjoying the beautiful park. Oh, I think I could sit in Central Park for hours on end. That afternoon there was a nice breeze, the sun was shining, children were laughing, birds were chirping. You get the idea? :)

Eventually Carrie called and we set up plans with her and Brandt for dinner. We met them near their offices and all rode the train to dinner. We ate at a great place called The Meatball Shop. Click the link to read about it and see the restaurant (since I didn't take a picture). We loved the food! If we hadn't had our very own tour guides we probably never would have found the place. Go there, if you're ever in NYC.

After dinner we went on a little tour of Brooklyn, including the Brooklyn Brewery (again, sorry no picture), and then we went back to their apartment and played the Wii!

Another great day in the big apple!

New York 2011 Day 1

2011-09-06T18:29:00.001-05:00

Early on the morning of Thursday, August 11, 2011 Scott and I hopped on a plane and flew to New York. We booked this trip back in January and had been looking forward to it all year! We went to see my best friend, Carrie, and of course spend several days in New York.

Carrie and her boyfriend, Brandt, were very nice and let us stay with them while we were there. I grew up going to New York a lot (I have no idea how many times I've been there...a LOT) and Scott had been there several times himself so we did not really have a ton planned. We had both already done most of the big tourist attractions so we did not plan our time around those, but rather just meandered our way around the city as we wanted!

When we landed at Laguardia early that morning we took a cab straight to Carrie and Brandt's apartment. After we freshened up a little we got a quick bite to eat and started our day! Carrie's apartment is in Brooklyn so she suggested we walk around in Brooklyn and then take the ferry over to Manhattan. This was such a great idea because neither Scott or I had spent much time in Brooklyn before then so we were able to see the area and taking the ferry provided a great view of the Brooklyn bridge and the Manhattan skyline.

Once in Manhattan we walked around the Financial District and then over to Ground Zero. I have been to Ground Zero several times since 9/11 and have watched the progress of the site. Still, it seems just like a huge hole in the ground, in spite of the fact that so much work has been done over last 10 years. Seriously, has it been 10 years? I'm honestly still in disbelief and shock.

After walking around those areas we headed to Chinatown where I did not take any pictures. We walked around and made a few Chinatown purchases and then we had lunch! Our sweet and sour chicken was delicious, our stomachs were full, and we were ready for more Manhattan!

We took the train towards midtown/30 Rock area. We stopped for some pictures outside Radio City Music Hall

and then we had our first celebrity sighting outside of 30 Rock. As we were walking by we noticed a crowd with security guards, and the next thing we knew a black car pulled up and out came Emma Stone. She was going into 30 Rock to do publicity for her new movie The Help.

Next we sat and peopled watched at Rockefeller Plaza for a little while and then we made our way over to Broadway to see Daniel Radcliffe (AKA Harry Potter) in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. The show was phenomenal! I have been fortunate enough to see many, many Broadway shows and this one just might be my favorite. And it didn't hurt that Harry Potter was singing and dancing right before my very eyes!!!! Carrie and Brandt joined us for the show and WE ALL LOVED IT! Scott and I both say we would love to see it again and again!! I have been listening to the soundtrack non-stop!

After the show all four of us went to dinner at The Shake Shack. While we were there I somehow managed to get cheese in my hair. Awesome, I know...and they all enjoyed laughing.

THEN, after dinner Scott and I went to Birdland for a 11:30 performance by some jazz artist that I no longer know the name of. In all honesty, I never knew the guy's name - because I slept through the whole thing. I know, pathetic. But if you know me, then you know 11:30 is past my Grandma-like bedtime and jazz isn't always my thing. I went solely out of love for my jazz musician husband and I have no shame in saying so. The only bad thing was that we were on the front row and Scott kept having to wake me up because my head was bobbing. Ooops.

When the show ended we took the train back to Brooklyn and went to bed! What a great day!

PS: Did I mention that our flight was at 5:10am that morning so we had been up since about 2:30am? Who could blame me for falling asleep at Birdland?!?

NYC

2011-08-30T20:48:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! Here is a preview of my upcoming post(s)! I will be recapping our fabulous trip to New York!

Until then, here is a Tuesday fun fact: I learned today that someone found my blog by googling "naked Chinese torture." How random is that?

An August Wedding

2011-08-27T16:31:00.009-05:00

The first Saturday in August we took a little day trip for a wedding. Our friend August, also known as Augie, was marrying his beautiful bride, Ali, and we were so excited to share in their big day!

Augie and Scott are friends from the University of Miami and met in their DMA (Doctorate of Musical Arts) program. Augie has been a great (and fun!) friend to have here in Miami and we will miss him now that he has moved to New York.

The wedding was in Melbourne, Florida and was about a 3 hour drive there and back. We got there in just enough time to grab a bite to eat and change clothes...in a Panera restroom. Classy, I know.

The ceremony was beautiful! Augie arranged some of the music and had some of our friends play and take part in the ceremony so that was special.

After the ceremony we headed to the reception which was held in a beachfront hotel. The ocean provided a beautiful background for their pictures and the cocktail hour, but it was also very hot! The cocktail "hour" ran a little longer than expected and by the time it was over everyone was drenched in sweat! To make things a little worse, the hotel was having air conditioning problems and the A/C had been broken throughout the day. The reception room was warm to say the least. Though, we all went with it and still had a blast!
The picture below is us at the end of the cocktail hour. Yikes! Did I mention it was HOT?
When we moved inside the reception kicked into high gear and the party started. The bride and groom shared their first dance followed by the first surprise for the bride - a trumpet serenade from her new husband.

The second surprise came from the bride's father. For the father-daughter dance Ali's dad edited the song they chose to dance to and when the song started it wasn't what Ali was expecting to hear, but instead was her singing as a little girl. It was really, really sweet and a tearjerker for Ali and her dad. After a few minutes of Ali sweetly singing as a little girl the song faded into the song they had originally chosen. So sweet!

The rest of night was awesome! I keep telling Scott we missed out not being Italian because the Italian's know how to party! The past two weddings we have been to have been big, Italian weddings and the receptions have been incredibly fun!

After dinner and some speeches, the bride and groom cut their cake and then we danced, danced, and danced!

We were absolutely wilted by the time we were able to get a picture with the happy couple, but I want to remember it so here ya go!

Best wishes Augie and Ali!

Chicago 2011: Day 5

2011-08-06T10:24:00.003-05:00

Tuesday, July 5, 2011 was the last day of our trip. We were sad and did not want to leave.

We had an evening flight home which meant we could enjoy most of the day in the city. We started our final day by riding the train over to the DePaul/Lincoln Park area. We were shocked when we got off the train at the Fullerton stop, the stop we used ALL the time when we lived there, because the construction was finished and it was gorgeous. We both gasped when we walked down the train platform stairs and saw the new area. Of course, they finished the renovation after we left :)

We walked around DePaul and into the School of Music.
Scott wanted to see if he could find anyone he knew, but since it was summer the place was pretty empty. We picked up some cupcakes from Swirlz (yes, another place I loved when we lived there...notice a theme for this trip yet?) and took them to Oz Park where we sat on a bench and enjoyed them. They were delicious! We loved people watching in Oz Park. We would frequently walk Kennedy there and he was always bad so we laughed and said it was nice to be there without him.

After Oz Park we took the train back to Michigan Avenue to get something I saw the day before. While we were there we walked into Saks Fifth Avenue just for the heck of it. We somehow ended up in the "Fur Lounge" where I got a text from my mom that read "Casey Anthony not guilty." You guys, in the middle of the ritzy Michigan Avenue Saks Fur Lounge I yelled "Scott, she's not guilty" and all those ritzy ladies looked at me liked I was crazy. Needless to say we left right then.

By that time we needed to head to the airport. We went back to the hotel and picked up our luggage. We took the train to the airport, boarded our plane, and came home. I was so sad to return to Miami. Chicago feels so much more like home than Miami does and I did not want to come back! Though, Miami is home for now and I guess we really did need to return.

As you can tell, we had a perfect trip and cannot wait for our next visit!

Chicago 2011: Day 4

2011-08-03T18:03:00.007-05:00

Our fourth day in Chicago was great. We slept late and then set out on our first mission of the day: Find the new Chick-Fil-A.

Let me explain. We have friends who own a Chick-Fil-A near our house. When we told them we were going to Chicago they asked us to find the Chicago store and take pictures of it. The Chick-Fil-A is about two blocks west of Michigan Avenue and is a big deal for Chick-Fil-A and Chicago right now. The store is beautiful and very high tech.

I'm jealous Chick-Fil-A is in Chicago now because I missed it so much when we lived there.

After we snapped a few pictures we walked over to Michigan Avenue for the day's main objective - shopping! I had warned Scott that I was going to go shopping and I didn't want to hear a word about it. Of course, he didn't mind and even picked up a few things for himself. We both had a lot of fun shopping and winding our way around downtown. Going on a trip is always nice, but I think it's even better when you know your way around and know where to find pretty streets like this one.

We finally decided we were hungry and had a late lunch at Portillo's, another one of our favorite Chicago places. Scott ordered his beloved Italian beef sandwich

and I ordered a Chicago dog sans peppers.

When we finished our lunch we went to the hotel to drop off our bags, but we ended up staying there a while because we got hooked watching the coverage of the Casey Anthony trial.

I'm not going to lie, I became a little obsessed with watching the trial and even roped Scott into being interested. The entire trip we watched the coverage whenever we could.

Eventually it was time for dinner so we went to Weber Grill and shared a yummy meal. We then walked a little ways down Michigan Avenue towards Millennium Park and happened upon more live music at the Pritzker Pavilion.

We listened for a little while and then walked to the shore of Lake Michigan for fireworks. I guess I should mention it was the 4th of July!

After the fireworks we walked to Buckingham Fountain to see it lit up at night.

The fountain was under renovation when we moved so we never saw the final product. Plus, a coworker of mine, who also used to live in Chicago, asked me to go to the fountain and "report back" about how it looked.

We ended the night with a walk back through Millennium Park and down Michigan Avenue to our hotel.

Yet another perfect day in the windy city!

Chicago 2011: Day 3

2011-07-31T16:37:00.016-05:00

The third day of our trip we woke up and headed straight to the Taste of Chicago.

You can read about the Taste here. We went to the Taste a few years ago and had a lot of fun so we were really looking forward to going back.

As soon as we got there we bought our tickets and started tasting.
We got the taste sized portion of everything we tried. That way we could have a couple bites of each item, but still leave plenty of room for all the tasting we had ahead of us. Scott took a picture of everything we ate and because we love food I will now share every single one of those pictures with you:

After the Taste we took our time walking around the gardens at Millennium Park,

through Pritzker Pavilion

and even stopped to take a bean picture.

I mean, how can you go to Chicago and not take a bean picture. We really had a great time. We weren't on any schedule or in a rush! We eventually ended up getting some sandwiches (I know! More food!) to go from Potbellys and went to Pritzker Pavilion for the July 4th Grant Park Symphony concert.

Listen, one of my MOST favorite things to do in the entire world is sit on a blanket on the lawn of Prizker Pavilion, with a picnic meal, in the evening when the weather is starting to cool down, with the skyline as my view, and listen to the music. There is nothing like it and shame on any Chicagoan who takes that for granted...because trust me, you'll miss it if you ever move from there. We would go to the concerts in the Park all the time when we lived in Chicago and I miss those nights so much. I don't know what it is but when I sit there I always think "it doesn't get much better than this."

Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. While we were sitting there we flipped through the Millennium Park guide book and guess who we found a picture of...Scott! How funny is that? The page we found him on was an advertisement for DePaul! We both thought it was kind of cool!

When the concert ended we went back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes (jeans and long sleeves = July night in downtown Chicago) and then we went for a night walk down Michigan Avenue. We ended up sharing a milkshake from Ghirardelli (another thing we used to always do) and then sat outside the old Chicago Water Tower and people watched for a while!

The entire day made us both miss the city so much!

Chicago 2011: Days 1 and 2

2011-07-09T10:20:00.017-05:00

Since the minute we moved out of Chicago we have wanted to go right back, together. Scott and I have both visited the windy city since we moved from there just over two years ago, but unfortunately we had to go at separate times. We had been dying to go back and had been waiting on an "excuse" to go. This past spring our "excuse" came in the form of a wedding invitation. Our wonderful and talented friends, Mike and Laura, were going to get married in Chicago and of course we had to be there!

Scott and Mike met while getting their Masters at DePaul. They became fast and great friends. We say Mike is a true friend for life because he helped us move not once, but twice! The friend who helps you move is a friend forever! We were also excited about this wedding because we were there at the very beginning of Mike and Laura's relationship...and I mean the very beginning - as in she had a boyfriend but Mike thought she was pretty so he would sit in a certain spot at school just to watch her walk by - beginning. Mike pursued Laura like no other and it was a pleasure to watch him finally marry his very own Laura Elizabeth!

We flew in very early the morning of Friday, July 1. Our Chicago Becca picked us up from the airport and took us to her and Andy's apartment (where we also stayed Friday night) so we could get ready for the wedding. Andy and Becca live in the suburbs not far from where the wedding festivities took place so it was all considerably convenient for us. Plus, they let us use one of their cars for the day (they got major BFF points for that one).

The wedding was at 2:30 in the afternoon and was a traditional Catholic wedding complete with mass. We knew it was going to be long, but it was really long and we were starving by the time it was over. Though, the ceremony was absolutely beautiful with some of the most gorgeous music I have ever heard at a wedding. Mike plays the guitar and Laura is an opera singer and it was evident they spent a great deal of time incorporating their passions of music into their marriage ceremony.
Here are some pictures from the ceremony:

After the ceremony we got a quick snack and then waited out "the Catholic gap" in a Starbucks until the 6:30pm reception.

The reception began with a cocktail hour where you were greeted by the bride and groom and their parents. I loved this because everyone was able to talk with Mike and Laura before the actual reception. They took their time meeting and greeting and taking pictures. This allowed them to actually be able to eat their meal, enjoy each other and their reception with being interrupted. Scott and I sat and watched them while they ate their dinner and they were just in their own little world taking in their wedding, and NO ONE interrupted them. If I could do my wedding over again I would definitely start the reception that way so we could have enjoyed it more and not be torn between taking it all in and talking to everyone. Oh well.

The dinner was a delicious several course meal followed by cake, coffee, and a dessert bar and a night full of dancing. We tore up the dance floor with absolutely no shame because we knew very little people there. It was a blast and one of the happiest weddings I've ever been to! Let me just say that the Catholics know how to party much better than the Baptists. We danced and danced until I looked at Scott and said "I'm about to fall over." We had been up since 3am to catch our flight and it was about 11pm with no end to the reception in sight so we called it a night.

Here are some reception pictures:

I was in love with the back of her dress! Gorgeous bustle!

We started Saturday with coffee and breakfast served by Becca, then we all headed downtown for a fun day in the city! Our first stop was the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Scott and I used to love going to the zoo (it's free!) so we really wanted to go back for old times sake. The four of us had a great time walking around, but man was it hot! Saturday was the hottest day of the entire trip and of course the day we chose for the zoo. We still had fun!

I really wanted a snow cone and was very happy about it!
After the zoo we checked into our hotel and hung out there to cool off and freshen up. Next on the agenda was the Body Worlds exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Check out details about Body Worlds here. It was incredible. Body Worlds was something I really wanted to do and I think everyone else enjoyed themselves too.
We went to a special after hours tour of the exhibit so the entire museum was closed except for the Body Worlds galleries. This was awesome because there were very little people there so it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. The galleries were across the museum from each other so we were joking it was like a Night At The Museum as the four of us walked all alone in this huge place from gallery to gallery. It was a good time, but in a way also kind of creepy considering we were in an almost empty, gigantic building currently full of dead bodies!

Here is Scott, our very own modern dancer, taking advantage of the empty museum space for a little photo shoot.
Quick story: When we lived in Chicago we went to the Museum of Science and Industry with our friends Chris and Christiana. During that particular visit we took this gem of a picture.
To this very day Scott still thinks this picture is the most hilarious thing so naturally he asked if we could try to recreate it. Here you go:
After the museum we headed to dinner at our favorite Chicago place, the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder. Scott was in heaven, he loves this place so much. As usual, the wait was long but none of us cared because we were able to visit - an Everding/Dickinson conversation never disappoints. I'm pretty sure the four of us could talk for an absurd amount of time if given the opportunity.

Eventually we were seated and ordered our traditional Pizza and Oven Grinder meal. When the food came Becca asked Scott what his level of wonderment was and he said "childlike." We all stuffed ourselves and ended the night with a picture.

It was a wonderful Chicago day with our favorite Chicago people.

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A DASOTA Graduation

2011-06-26T15:44:00.013-05:00

On Tuesday, June 7, 2011, Scott's younger brother, Daniel, graduated from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (DASTOA or DA). We drove to Jacksonville for the big occasion.

Myself, Scott, his older brother Chris, and now Daniel all attended and graduated from DA. DA will always be special to us. It's the place where Scott and I really met and started dating. We had a blast at DA and say frequently that we would go back to high school.

I know, you probably think we're crazy for wanting to go back to high school, but unless you've attended DA you can't possibly understand. We loved high school! DA was such a unique place to be and it was just a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we have recently learned that "our DA" isn't what it used to be and that makes me so sad to hear. I hope things shape up to reflect the DA I know and loved.

Daniel is so happy to be done with high school and is on to bigger and better things in college. We are so proud of him and can't wait to see what his future holds.

Here are some pictures from graduation night:

Just for fun, here are some pictures from mine and Scott's high school graduation:

This last picture really made me realize how much time has passed since high school. ALL of us are married, one already has a baby, and two others have babies on the way! Time is flying, but we are all very blessed!

Hi I'm Laura and I'm the next Bachelorette

2011-06-23T19:50:00.006-05:00

A few days ago I was telling a friend of mine about my secret life goal: to be the next Bachelorette. Seriously, (if I wasn't married) I would LOVE to be the Bachelorette. I would be so good at it.

I am tempted to call Chris Harrison and tell him my idea about how to make the next season of the Bachelorette "the most DRAMATIC season ever." You see, the guys wouldn't know I was married and they would all fight for my love and then at the final rose ceremony there would be a dramatic twist of fate and I would reveal that I am actually married.

DRAMATIC.

That is my new life goal.

Anyways, as I was passionately telling my friend about my high life goals and aspirations she stopped me mid sentence and said "Laura, you should write a blog."

You see, this friend of mine has no clue that I have this blog. Well, considering the fact that I really haven't kept up with the blog for over a year most people don't know I have a blog, or at least even remember I have a blog.

Back to my friend - She continued to say "you are so funny, you should write a blog and I will read it everyday just because you wrote it." I don't mean to toot my own horn (I leave the horn tooting to Scott), but I'm not the dullest blog on the block. I have my funny moments.

Why did the chicken cross the road???

Ok, Ok, Ok, I won't go there.

Again, back to my friend - Her comment really struck a cord with me. I didn't tell her about my blog, but it really made me think about the ole' Nursician. I miss my time here. I have had several people tell me I should start writing again, but my biggest encouragement has been Scott. He has often told me I should pick up where I left off and get this thing going again.

ANDYOUKNOWWHAT???? I think I am going to! I am going to try my best to bring The Nursician back to life. Are you guys ready for that? Can you handle it? I mean, I'm going to need a way to document my life's journey to becoming the next Bachelorette!

So, my friends, welcome back. And if we haven't met yet, my name is Laura (AKA the next Bachelorette) and these are my Bachelorette head shots:

A Wedding Weekend

2011-04-18T12:18:00.012-05:00

This past Saturday one of my very best friends, Lauren, got married. Lauren and I have been wonderful friends since the day we met in Sunday school in 6th grade. She has been a sweet friend over all these years and it was a honor to be a part of her wedding and stand next to her as she married her groom.

The wedding festivities began Friday morning with the Bridal Luncheon. Lauren's aunt hosted the luncheon at Epping Forest. Everything from the food, to the beautiful waterfront view, to the company was perfect. Almost all the bridesmaids knew each other somehow so it was nice to spend that time together.

All the ladies at the luncheon

Lauren and her bridesmaids

The luncheon was followed by the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The wedding ceremony and reception were held at The Ribault Club. Like Epping Forest, The Ribault Club is another beautiful venue with breathtaking views and scenery. The Ribault Club could not have been a better place for Lauren and Brandon to get married as it was the very first place they saw one another, the place where Brandon proposed, and now the place where they were married.

Lauren and Brandon had a great bridal party. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and had just the right amount of humor to slightly fluster the wedding coordinator, yet a level seriousness to make sure Lauren and Brandon had the wedding they wanted. The occasion was just a lot of fun!

The rehearsal dinner was held at a pavilion at Hanna Park. The dinner was a low country boil and it was delicious. Lauren warned us that we would be peeling shrimp at her rehearsal dinner and that was fine with me because I LOVE shrimp. After the dinner Lauren and Brandon introduced the entire bridal party and then we danced!

Saturday was, of course, the big day. Everything was absolutely gorgeous. The weathermen were predicting rain, but it didn't rain at all. It was very windy, but the wind helped to cool down the heat. Can't ask for better than that! I'll let the pictures share the details from the day.

A personal favorite part of this wedding was that Scott and I were able to see a lot of people we do not get to see very often. We saw our most favorite and loved Helton family (John was busy when this was taken)...
...and many friends and parents of our friends that we grew up with.

We had a wonderful weekend! Thank you Lauren and Brandon for allowing us to be a part of your wedding day!

New Year, New Rules

2011-01-07T19:52:00.003-06:00

I finally did it. I made my blog private. This is something I had been fighting myself on doing for a while now. A lot of you have asked why I did this and asked me to write about it. Now that it's "just us," I'll be a little more honest than I may have been with a public blog.

1. I like having a blog, but I do not like people (that I know) taking information off of my blog and using it talk about Scott and me. You may have noticed that I did not blog very much in 2010. As the year passed by I heard several times (from trusted sources) "...so and so said he/she read < > on your blog and he/she was pretty much gossiping about you..." You get the idea.

Listen, I fully understand I was posting information for anyone to read on the internet and 100% take responsibility in doing that. I was also very cautious in what I posted. Trust me, in no way, shape, or form did I write about anything from my personal life that Scott or I felt was inappropriate to be shared. Still, it is not fun to hear that people are saying things about you, even if the topic is insignificant. I began to fear people I know in real life reading my blog instead of all the crazy people out there. That is not a great place to be when all I want to do is document things for Scott and I to remember.

2. I ended 2010 pretty upset due to the words and actions of some family members. I will not share those details here, but I can honestly say I have never had my feelings hurt so badly by people, and it hurts even worse when your own blood is the source of it all. Words were said and things were done that I may never have an answer as to "why." At this point in time those family member have made it clear they only have ill intentions when it comes to Scott and I so we feel it is currently inappropriate for them to know what is happening with us. We are not excommunicating these people from our lives, that isn't what is best, but until trust is rebuilt and I feel safe again this is how things are going to be. Prayer and time heal all wounds.

3. On a lighter and happier note...Scott and I are anticipating great things and big changes in the next 1-2 years. Or sooner, or later, we don't know. However, we DO know everything will happen in God's perfect timing and we fully put our trust in Him. As things begin to happen, such as new jobs and we haven't told our current jobs yet (JUST AN EXAMPLE), we feel it will be best to certainly keep those topics quiet and not blasted on the world wide web. Again, you get the idea. Sometimes you just need a little privacy.

So friends, that is why I made my blog private. If you are wondering, no, I did not give access to everyone who asked for it. That being said, please respect Scott and me as you read what I write here. I feel I am starting 2011 off more carefully and admittedly with a "wall-up" when it comes to blogging, but it is something I enjoy and I don't want to stop.

I am hopeful and looking forward to a better 2011.

Happy New Year.

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-18T09:31:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas

2010-12-05T12:35:00.011-06:00

Whoa! It's December 5th! Time is flying! We had a busy November and so far December.

On November 17, 2010 Scott had his first of three Doctoral Recitals. These recitals are part of the requirements for his doctorate and his first one was wonderful! He worked so hard to prepare for it. The title of the recital was "TRIOS" and he arranged and/or wrote all the music. I literally did not see him for about a month, and when he was home he was constantly working!

The night of the recital could not have gone better and he was so pleased with everything! Scott parents, brother Daniel, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bud, my mom and Paul and came down for the big event. We were so happy so many people came just for one night. There was also a full house in the recital hall! It was so nice to see so many people come out to support Scott, the entire night was amazing! We are all SO proud of him! One down TWO to go! Here are some pictures from the performance:
After the recital we hosted a reception. My mom came down the day before to help me prepare, thanks mom! I enjoyed meeting so many of Scott's friends at the reception and it was nice to hear and see so many people give Scott compliments and speak so highly of his talent!

University of Miami colors, of course!

We put the moms to work serving and Aunt Debbie took pictures. Thank you all for your help!
Every time Scott or I look at this picture we crack up over Daniel. What are you doing?

Tim, Dag, Scott, and Konrad.
These are Scott's incredibly talented friends who played in the recital with him. They are all such nice and genuine guys, great friends to Scott.

The very next week was Thanksgiving! You might remember that I wrote a post after Christmas last year stating that we did not want to spend this entire holiday season traveling. We have been married for almost three years and we have traveled for almost every major holiday. Well, friends, we had had enough and decided this year we were staying in our own home for Thanksgiving and that is how it was going to be. We invited our families and some of Scott's friends from UM and said whoever who like to come may come, but on Thanksgiving day we were going to be in our own home. That's exactly what we did and we loved every minute of it. Scott and I cooked all the sides and fixings and my mom and Paul brought a turkey and a ham. The day ended up just being the four of us and we were happy with that. We didn't have to travel, take any time off of work, or rush from place to place. Aw, it was a nice change of pace.

Scott sporting his festive apron and Thanksgiving day weapon. I had two very cute Thanksgiving aprons for us each to wear but one of them was SO uncomfortable so Scott ended up wearing the next most appropriately themed apron. Hey, it is America's holiday after all!
To all my friends who haven't hosted a holiday yet let me just say that I started the day off with my hair done and in a holiday outfit, but halfway through it all I changed and pulled my hair back because it was SO HOT in that kitchen! Oh my gosh I sound like my grandmothers and my mom, but it is true!

Our feast! Mom said she was passing "the torch" onto me but I said no way! I had planned to use more of my serving ware but I couldn't bring myself to do it when it ended up being just the four of us, next year maybe!

As soon as Thanksgiving was over we moved right into Christmas. We got our tree and began decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving. We decided to tackle the outside decorations first and it was a nightmare! Before we put the lights on the roof we tested them all on the ground and everything was working perfectly (as they should have, those lights had only been used once before). Well, we got all the lights on the roof, in the bushes, and put up our cute other yard decorations, plugged it all in and it looked lovely....for about 2 minutes! It was so sad. Somewhere in the roof lights there was a shortage which cause one strand of lights to go dead and then subsequently other strands. We tried this and that and eventually ended up at Target buying a replacement strand.

Well, Scott got back on the ladder, hung the new strand, I plugged it in and it all looked lovely for about.....5 minutes! A different strand went out! LONG story short, it took us about 3 days and 72 trips to Target and Home Depot purchasing multiple new strands of lights and extension cords to fix the problem, but we did it! We now have all fully functioning lights and a couple more extension cords in use. Oh joy! The house looked so ghetto for those 3 days as we tried to figure the problem out. Half of the house was lit and half was dark. Somewhere in there Scott decided to test out different strands of lights so we had random extension cords hanging here and there, it was a mess!

When the outside was settled we moved onto the inside and the Christmas tree. Once again, all was going well until I was hanging the lights on the bottom of tree and broke a light with my knee which resulted in a cut, blood EVERYWHERE, and glass stuck up in my knee! We cannot win with the lights this year! Here is my cut, don't look if you get sick easily (this was AFTER I had cleaned my leg, and it still looked gross):

Scott took this picture once things calmed down and the glass was gone. But let me tell you, we both semi-freaked out because you could see the glass in my leg and it was bleeding very badly and I couldn't apply pressure because I didn't want to crush the glass. Scott immediately starting saying "We have to go to the ER, we have to go to the ER" and I kept saying "BE QUIET and let me think!!!" I told him I needed to get the glass out of my leg and the next thing I knew he had tweezers and was trying to pull it out himself. He had lost his mind!!!!!! I told him to give me the tweezers and let me do it myself. Mind you, this happened in the living room, and then I went into the bathroom first, but then decided I should go to the kitchen. Needless to say there was blood everywhere. When I finally calmed down and wiped enough blood away I pulled the glass out myself. Whew. Then I sat on the kitchen counter with my leg in the sink and flushed the cut out with the kitchen sprayer, classy, I know. As I was doing that the cut began to squirt blood and that blood went all over my face, clothes, kitchen. It was horrible! While I was doing that Scott was trying to piece the light back together to make sure it at least looked like all the pieces were there and NOT in my leg. Here is the light, most of the missing glass was in my leg.
Of course, while all of this was happening Christmas music was playing in the background, decorations were laying all over the house, half the tree was lit, etc. I have to say it again, what a mess! As I was pulling the glass out Bing Crosby was singing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and that was the LAST thing that was happening!

Finally, we were able to get the house decorated and we are once again having ourselves a Merry Christmas. Here's a (dark) picture of our cozy living room.
We volunteered last night at a Miami-Dade children's home called His House. We helped decorate the campus for Christmas and were able to see some of the kids. We took these adorable cupcakes for the kids.
His House is a non-profit Christian organization that reaches out to children in need. The campus houses children awaiting adoption, foster homes, temporary placement, and currently has houses dedicated to Haitian children who are earthquake survivors. The night ended in the chapel with all the volunteers and about 100 of the kids singing Christmas songs and praise and worship. It was such a nice way to really kick off Christmas in the right spirit!

Merry Christmas!

What? FREE?!?

2010-11-19T12:25:00.005-06:00

If you have not heard, Shuttferly is giving away 50 free Christmas cards! All you have to do is sign-up on their site here, and write a post about how wonderful the company is!

I have used Shutterfly several times in the past and have always been well pleased! When we went to Australia this past July I used Shutterfly to print almost 500 of the pictures we took. Those pictures are now in an album and the quality is beautiful! I am so excited to use Shutterfly for Christmas cards this year. The site has such a classy and creative selection of cards to chose from, there is really something for everyone!

Aren't these adorable? There are SO many to chose from, I didn't know where to start!

Not only does Shutterfly have the most adorable Christmas card selection, they also offer items for great Christmas gift ideas. AND, they have a wide variety of invitations for all occasions. Like I said, I don’t even know where to start but will be sure to browse their collection of invitations for my next event! Have fun shopping!!

Hey Hey The Gangs All Here

2010-11-18T18:13:00.003-06:00

They're backkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!

Harry, Ron, and Hermione we have missed you!

Scott and I cannot wait to see the movie!! How about you? Click here to see a post about our long lasting love of HP and gang!

The Race (AND REMEMBER TO VOTE)

2010-11-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

I won the race.

Work has been a horrible nightmare lately. Well, really not lately, but rather since March when Obama and his mess of an administration decided they were ready to start playing around with health care. As a result my company, a huge health plan, braced itself in the form of letting people go to free up some finances "just in case." Since March my once wonderful, amazing job has been horrible. Everyday for a couple of months I went to work wondering if I would be let go. Then, once so many people were let go and I was safe the workload became nuts. We thought it would get better but unfortunately it has only gotten worse. We are swamped and drowning in work due to the health plan trying to stay ahead of Obama and his craziness. In a way, Obama has currently completely RUINED my job. Yes, we blame him. Ugh, the man has made me cry. You hear that Obama, you and your decisions have made me cry, hope you're happy!

ANYWAYS, let me get off of my soapbox and get back to the race.

My coworkers and myself who survived the lay-offs are drowning in work...I really cannot say that enough, drowning. We've worked more (unpaid) overtime than any of us want to think about. We've tried to smile and stay positive and thankful that we still have jobs, but it has been wearing on us in a bad way.

We've tried to deal with the stress in many ways, including racing. Let me explain, my company really forces wellness activities. There's always something in the works for the employees to do to "improve their health." Lately, the big thing has been taking one or two breaks throughout the day and walking the stairs. We start on one side of the building and walk up the four flights of stairs and then across the building and down the flight of stairs on the other side of the building. People do this all day long. They get up, walk out, and come back a couple of minutes later and no one thinks anything of it. Some people go in pairs, some go alone.

Well, this past Friday my co-workers and I were at our breaking points. We HAD to do something other than work, even though we were at work. After we surveyed the building security and saw the B-team security guards were on duty we decided to take the stair walking to the next level and made a race out of it.

We broke up into teams, two people max on each team, and we timed how long it took each team to complete the course. My teammate and I, the only male in our department and not exactly my favorite person, decided to also make it a competition between us. Let me tell you, I flew. I completed the entire course in 1 minute and 40 seconds. A solid minute ahead of everyone else.

I won!

I know this sounds so stupid, but my office needed this. It distracted us and for a few minutes we enjoyed our jobs again.

Obama, get your act together and leave health care alone. And let me use this as a platform to remind everyone to get out there and VOTE on Tuesday. Tuesday could really change a lot of things and maybe, just maybe I could remember why I became a nurse and not despise anything having to do with health care again.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T14:55:00.002-05:00

Yes, yes, yes this is the same picture from last year, but I still LOVE it!

Happy Halloween!!

26

2010-10-19T00:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday Dear Scott
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

I hope 26 is your best year yet!! Love you!

October

2010-09-30T18:50:00.004-05:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

I am remembering my sweet Grandmommy who lost her battle to Breast Cancer in 2003.

Wear a pink ribbon in memory of the loved ones who lost their battles and in honor of the survivors.

He's here!!!!

2010-09-26T12:48:00.004-05:00

Ezra Mark Hutcheson
September 25, 2010
6 lbs 11 oz

18.5 inches longThe newest family member has arrived....3 weeks early!!! Mommy and baby are doing well!!!

Congratulations to my little brother Andrew and his wife Amber. I can't wait to meet the little guy!

THE DVR

2010-09-22T17:50:00.002-05:00

When fall starts to roll in the leaves change colors, the weather cools down, you set out scented candles and adorable decorations, and more importantly, you set the DVR.

I need not mention again that we watch a lot of TV. However, this would not be possible without our beloved DVR. I have no clue how we ever managed without one! I shudder simply thinking about missing an episode of one of our shows. How terrible!

With fall season premieres airing every night our DVR has been kicked into high gear. You can almost hear the thing humming. The DVR is booked solid with everything from Mad Men to Jersey Shore. Nothing but quality TV for us :)

Don't judge, you know you can't get enough of The Situation either.

Here's a glimpse into our DVR:

1. Dancing With The Stars. We've never watched this, and probably won't. We recorded it Monday night because we wanted to see how our man The Situation did on opening night. I didn't think it was that bad until David Hasselhoff appeared, then it became a downward spiral. We watched, we listened, and now it needs to be deleted and never recorded again.

2. Glee! No explanation needed! ** Side note: Doesn't Lea Michele look amazing, she's really toned up for season 2.

3. We also recorded the 2 pilots that aired after Glee. We haven't watched them yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing the one done by the same folks who did Arrested Development.

3A. Why did Arrested Development have to go away?

4. The Office. Our Office affection fluctuates. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes we turn the channel.

5. 30 Rock. I've said it once and I'll say it again, Tina Fey is my hero.

6. Jersey Shore. Quality television at it's finest.

7. ALL of "The Real Housewives" on Bravo. I am a dedicated Housewives fan. I watch all of them all the time - reruns - marathon - you name it!

8. Mad Men. You are missing a chapter out of your life if you don't watch Mad Men.

That is our main line-up and what is currently taking residence in our DVR. These are all shows that we will watch together. Though, I also have some shows that I record for "when Scott's not home." This precious, invaluable collection consists mainly of:

1. Rachel Zoe
2. Flipping Out
3. Pretty much anything and everything on Bravo.
4. Keeping Up With The Kardashians (sorry, can't help it)
5. Any reality show based on families with lots of kids (with the exception of Kate Gosselin, I can't stand her). I know, I know, I know, I'm a sucker!

There you have it. Jealous of our sophisticated TV standards?

So, what are you filling your DVR with?

Current Favorite

2010-09-20T19:20:00.002-05:00

Our current favorite treat is Dairy Queen. DQ hits the spot.

We tend to go through dessert kicks. Sometimes it's Rita's Italian Ice.
Sometimes it's a McFlurry.
Sometimes it's anything from Fresh Market.
Right now, it's the Queen.

We've gone about once a week for the past month. Our visit are always impromptu little dates and we love them. There's nothing better than a simple cream treat!

I'll order almost anything off the menu, but Scott is stuck on the cheesequake. He orders it every time, usually the caramel one.
How can you resist that?

What we've been up to

2010-09-19T14:10:00.003-05:00

It's been a long time since I sat down and took the time to document what we've been up to. One of my favorite things about the blog is the ability to flashback in the click of a button to read what was going on this time a year or two ago. So much can change in so little time and I love having a record of it all.

I'm going to use bullet points since there is so much to remember (and we all know I'm long-winded).

Our summer was fun. However, it wasn't as relaxing and calm as we had wished for. We had a ton of company, all overnight guests, and as much as we loved having our friends in our home it became extremely busy. Sometimes we had 2 different sets of company only days apart and we felt like we were running a bed and breakfast. We couldn't get the sheets and towels washed fast enough. Plus, I was (and am) incredibly busy with work and the juggle of having guests at home became challenging. Don't get me wrong, we had a blast (and would probably do it all over the exact same way) but next time we should think about trying pace ourselves more. Lesson learned!

Obviously, our summer highlight was Australia!

We've finished painting all the rooms in the house and finished hanging all new window treatments. Next will be replacing a sliding glass door with french doors and having all the carpet replaced with hardwood. We have great references for people to do both projects and plan to call them for estimates soon. Completing both projects has been a goal since day 1, and we will accomplish them with time!

I'm in a great workout routine and I'm loving it. My elliptical is my BFF. We've also been trying to ride our bikes more!

Scott started back to school about a month ago. This is the second year of the three year program, then he will be Dr. Dickinson! He is already insanely busy. We don't have many plans for this fall because he does not have any time!

We're visiting a church that we think we like. The class we want to attend doesn't resume until October so that will be the deal breaker. A lot of you have asked about our church search because I quit talking about i on the blog. Honestly, the process has been a nightmare. We've had one horrible church visit after the next and we've been looking for over a year...that's a lot of visits. With all that combined, I was getting annoyed with comments. Just being honest.

It doesn't feel like fall here (and it is never going to), but that doesn't mean it can't look like fall! I decorated this weekend and love it!

Work for me has been icky. Obama and his version of healthcare reform need to be flushed down the toilet. He's making my job all wacky and he needs to stop. I'd be happy to speak with him about this in person, I have some wonderful ideas. Seriously, I do. I've been a floor nurse. I've been a Quality Improvement RN for a very prestigious hospital, and now I'm a Clinical Advisor RN in Quality Management for a healthplan. I've seen a lot of sides of healthcare firsthand, unlike some of Obama's advisors. Feel free to let him know that.

Kennedy had a seizure 2 weeks ago. It was his first one in 2.5 years. Scared us to death, but he seems to be doing ok. He is the dog with 9 lives.

My brother and sister-in-law's baby is due in a few weeks. Yeah, I know, I've never mentioned this before...Surprise! We're going to be an aunt and uncle. The baby is a boy and I just know they are going to name him Laura.

We've both been really "homesick" for Chicago lately. We talk about it all the time.

The new Harry Potter movie comes out in November. Time to get excited!

My current favorite cook book is Cooking Light.

We got ourselves a Sams membership. We believe in buying in bulk, much more cost effective!

There is a delightful little farmers market down the street. It is our new favorite place!

The bare walls in our house are starting to drive my crazy. I don't know what to do with them! I second guess all my ideas and when I don't I too cheap to make anything happen! Help!

Our shows start back this week!! Have I mentioned we started watching Mad Men! LOVE IT! Don Draper is so handsome!

I think that's enough mindless brain dumping for now. If this was too boring for you, click here.

When Lightning Strikes

2010-09-12T15:54:00.006-05:00

When we got home from work this past Friday afternoon we realized the internet wasn't working. After a few tries of this and that, Scott walked to the modem and router and noticed that neither of them were on, in spite of the fact that they were both plugged in.

He unplugged, replugged, reset, etc until it was determined they were fried. After some more researching he discovered that a few outlets in the house were also fried as well.

While we were gone a huge storm blew threw and unfortunately our house/ground/something connected to our house was hit by lightning. Fortunately, we only had minor damages. We were/are frustrated, but majorly counting our blessings as well.

We spent Friday night and ALL day Saturday on the phone with Comcast and Linkysis trying to reestablish an internet connection. We actually went to a Comcast center and exchanged our modem in person. When we got the new modem home we spent almost 3 hours trying to get it to work, only to discover it was broken as well.

Have I ever mentioned how much I despise Comcast? Well, I do.

Scott went back to the Comcast center, stood in another line, and got what became the 3rd Comcast modem to enter our home in a 24 hour time period. As soon as we plugged that modem in we had internet access, however, we spent the rest of the day on the phone with Linkysis trying to set up our new router. After hours, and hours, and hours we had it all repaired.

I have to say, although it took our entire Friday night and Saturday, we are proud that we fixed this problem on our own. It may not sound like a huge accomplishment, but trust me it was. The way in which the damage occurred created an enormous problem which led to an enormous amount of time and thought to correct it.

As for the outlets, we still have a couple that are not working. Scott and Paul had a few conversations about possible ways to fix them, but nothing has worked yet. Paul is going to look at them the next time he is here, until then we have some creative extension cord work happening in our house right now. We have them hidden under and behind furniture and one even wrapped around a doorway, you gotta do what you gotta do.

The adventures of home ownership. Rewarding, but sometimes a huge pain in the rear!

The Coupon Grinch

2010-09-01T19:36:00.003-05:00

Watching our savings grow is like a game for me. I love the challenge of working out a budget and trying to stick to it. My eyes light up when we transfer money into our savings - I feel like we've won! Plus, budgeting and saving are essential and just plain smart (but that's a post for another time).

To kick my savings game up a notch I decided to try couponing, again. I tried couponing a couple of years back and quit because it frustrated the ever loving life out of me. I hate grocery shopping, much less trying to match what I need with a coupon. Well, I've recently felt that I should at least try once more.

Last week I totally psyched myself up about getting a Sunday paper and coupon clipping my little heart out! So, after church (yes, we just might have found a church...yet another post for another time) we picked up the Sunday paper and I was thrilled with all that I found. I clipped, and I cut, and I organized my prized coupons until I was content. Then, I made my Target list around my coupons and with much anticipation entered Target armed and ready to get some sweet deals!

I was serious about this. I spent a great deal of time reading the fine print to make sure I was getting the correct products, there was no stopping me!

Or so I thought.

When I arrived at the register the cashier rang up my items and then I handed her my delightful stack of coupons. The woman turned into the coupon grinch. She protested and fought with me about every single coupon. I fought right back. Except for one coupon, she would not honor anything and by the end of it all I had half of my bags unloaded and told her to take it all off my bill (mind you, the coupons were all standard manufacturers coupons, nothing odd). I was beyond ticked.

After I made it all the way out to the car I realized she hadn't taken one item off my bill that I asked her to remove.

Oh I don't think so.

I marched my sad coupon self back inside and up to customer service. The person who rounded the corner to assist me was the coupon grinch herself, ugh! I (calmly) explained she had not removed all the items for which she would not honor the coupons for and I wanted my money back, rightfully so! She refunded my money and during the process of doing so began to give me an attitude about using coupons and people who use coupons.

Once again, oh I don't think so.

I think she regretted her attitude because it led to me giving her a lecture of a lifetime about how "People who clip coupons take a lot of time to do so, and then it takes longer to shop..." and I went on and on and on and ended with saying something about "...how the Target corporation needs to accept coupons or have an across the board rule that they simply don't take them at all so I don't waste one more second of my precious time in their stores..!"

Coupon grinch looked at me like I was crazy, and I probably did come across crazy. I didn't care, and still don't!

When the entire fiasco came to an end I only ended up saving $1.00.

$1.00! ONE LOUSY STINKIN' DOLLAR.

Totally not worth it! I'm trying to pump myself up to get another Sunday paper and try again. I just don't know if I can do it. Maybe I should go to Wal-Mart instead.

The coupon grinch crushed my coupon dreams!

**I had all intentions of including pictures with this post. However, I gave my leftover coupons to ladies at work and used the remaining newspaper to kill a roach, just keeping it real!**

Sydney/ Los Angeles/ Miami Day 8

2010-08-29T12:28:00.006-05:00

The finale to the Sydney posts.

We spent our last few hours in Sydney preparing to return home. We did not have much time to do anything other than pack up, check out, and get to the airport on time. Our flight flew out of Sydney right before 2PM on Monday, July 12, 2010.

Everything (arriving at the airport, checking in, security, and customs) went very smoothly. At that point we were anxious to get on the plane so we could have the 15 hour flight behind us.

Bye bye Sydney!

Oh my word. The flight was a nightmare. We were trapped on a plane with a bunch of crazies, and that's putting it nicely.

Scott had the aisle seat, I was in the middle, and Mr. Weirdo was on my other side in the window seat. That joker asked us to get up 3 times before the plane even took off. Then, he lost his ear buds which he insisted required us to get up again...and again...and again. Then he needed to use the restroom. Then he needed to walk around. And on and on and on. He wouldn't stay in he seat and his whole appearance and attitude gave off a Silence of The Lambs vibe which freaked me out.

Next, the girl sitting in front of Scott was celebrating her 22nd birthday by getting drunk. She got so drunk she passed out with a drink in her hand which spilled ALL OVER Scott's backpack (and of course everything inside his backpack). Everything was soaked, but the worst part was it all smelled like nasty liquor. It was horrible.

When the spill happened I asked some flight attendants for help (meaning I ratted out the drunk girl and nicely said someone needed to help her get her act together). A female flight attendant attended to the girl and couple others helped us try to clean Scott's things. No such luck - that smell wasn't going anywhere!

Of course, this all happened somewhere between time zones over the Pacific and it was dark outside and people were sleeping. So, naturally, as many lights were turned on so we could all see to clean the mess up people were grunting and giving us evil looks for disturbing them. Oh I wanted to scream! We were trapped with Mr. Weirdo and a drunken girl!

After a miserable, yet memorable, 15 hours we landed in LA around 10:30AM, still on Monday, July 12, 2010. We left Sydney at 2PM on July 12 and landed in LA at 10:30AM on July 12. July 12 became the longest day ever!

We were supposed to have had a 5 hour layover in LA. However, there were mechanical problems with the plane so we had unwelcomed delays. We were in LAX forever...with Scott's stinky backpack in tow. I know people sitting around us could smell it!

Scott sleeping in LAX - the very last picture taken on the trip.

Finally, we had a working plane and we left for Miami.

We landed in Miami right before midnight on July 12. It was still July 12, how was that possible - I was so confused! Unfortunately, when we got home we were wide awake and couldn't fall asleep until 6AM the next morning. Since we fell asleep at 6AM we ended up sleeping all day!

Darn jet lag. It was bad.

This sleeping pattern continued for a couple of days (luckily I requested some extra days off of work), but eventually our clocks worked themselves out and we got back to normal. Back to life, back to reality.

We had such a wonderful trip! I'd go back to Sydney any day!

The End.

Sydney Day 7

2010-08-22T18:32:00.012-05:00

Our 7th, and final full day, in Sydney was nice and relaxing. We only had one thing left to do and that was to visit Bondi Beach.
That's all we did.

To get there and back we took the bus and just sat back and enjoyed the ride. We weren't in any rush, and of course it was raining, so we didn't mind that the route had (what seemed like) 53 stops each way!
When we arrived we stopped to get cappuccino (Laura) and gelato (Scott). Then with our treats in hand we walked along the shore.
It really was a pretty beach, but with a very hippie vibe. Part of that vibe came from themes of the graffiti on the walls.

We even walked in the sand just to be able to say that we did.
For dinner we ate at what became one our favorite Sydney places, Pie Face.
If anyone is by chance familiar with Pie face I am sure they are laughing that this was our favorite. The place is by no means extravagant...it isn't even a sit down restaurant - there are no seats. The location we always went to was on the side of a convenient store, but it was delicious and hit the spot for a reasonable price!

I haven't really mentioned that Sydney was incredibly expensive, mainly the food. The costs of meals was ridiculous, and I mean breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Nothing was reasonable, except for Pie Face and the occasional stop at McDonald's

Back to Pie Face. The menu consisted of individual sized meat pies of various flavors, individual dessert pies, soups and sandwiches.
I think we tried every meat pie they had to offer and we loved them! Plus, each pie had a cute "face" on them, hence the name Pie Face!
After our last dinner at our beloved Pie Face we began packing our bags for our long trip home!

Only one Sydney post remaining!

Sydney Day 6

2010-08-21T08:54:00.009-05:00

We began our 6th day in Sydney with a delicious breakfast out an outside cafe in Hyde Park.
The weather was perfect to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful park atmosphere. I think we could have sat there people watching all day.
After breakfast we had a nice walk around the park. Being that is was sunny for one of the first times all week the park was very crowded and everyone seemed thrilled to be outside without umbrellas enjoying their morning walks.
We ended our walk at this cathedral.
We actually went inside and sat through the last 10 minutes of the mass that was being held. When mass ended we took a self guided tour around the inside. Picture taking was not allowed inside so I only have pictures of the outside, but I can assure you the inside was beautiful.
Later in the day we attended The Trumpet Summit for the conference. I have since renamed the Trumpet Summit as The Torture Summit because the whole thing was a long, painful experience.

The Trumpet Summit is the finale of the conference. Everyone gathers in a recital hall and they recognize guests of honor, present awards, talk about upcoming conferences, and in between all of that there is trumpet playing.

Literally, trumpet playing. NO accompaniment of any sorts - ONLY trumpets. Massive, unnecessary amounts of people playing trumpets.

Horrible. Awful.

I couldn't stand it or believe it. I tried to behave but when a song was played where large, balding, middle aged men hit their mouthpieces with the palm of their hands for "effect" I gave up! I looked around me to see if anyone was actually enjoying the ridiculousness happening on stage and every person seemed amazed, except for Scott who was rolling his eyes and giving me a threatening look to keep my act together and to stop loudly whispering "SERIOUSLY? IS THIS FOR REAL?"

When the song ended I looked at Scott and said "I can't take this anymore, I'll meet you in the lobby later." And then I walked out. Yes, I did. Say what you wanna say, but when Scott met me in the lobby 2 HOURS LATER he was jealous of my early exit. He was actually shaking his head because he said the final performance consisted of at least 100 people playing a song together as loud and as high as they could and his ears wouldn't stop ringing.

I knew what I was doing when I left early. HA!

When the Torture Summit ended we had dinner, did a little shopping, and called it a day!

Sydney Day 5

2010-08-17T20:59:00.000-05:00

The 5th day of the trip was 100% the highlight of the trip. I know I previously mentioned the Opera House may have been the highlight, but on second thought the entire 5th day wins!

Before we left for Sydney we asked for ideas about what to do while we were there. Every person who shared ideas with us mentioned visiting the Blue Mountains. Then, when we arrived in Sydney we asked our hotel concierge for Sydney must-sees and he too mentioned the Blue Mountains. Not only did he mention the Blue Mountains, but he recommended a tour group and told us we couldn't go wrong with the company. We took his advice and I think we will be forever thankful that we did...that's how great the day was!!!

The company consisted of a young husband and wife who started their own tour group about 8 months ago. They do the same tour 7 days a week as long as there are customers. The day begins bright and early with the wife personally greeting you in your hotel lobby and then she takes you to the 12 seater Mercedes Benz tour "bus" waiting on you right outside your hotel. That's service!

On our particular day there was only one other couple on the tour with us, and they didn't talk at all, so we really felt like we had our very own persons tour guides for the entire day. I can't tell you how amazing this was! It was first class service all the way!!

Once you board the Benz they begin the almost 2 hour drive to the mountains. Along the way they give you a brief history of the Blue Mountains, share a video, point out important scenery along the route, and then tell you to sit back and enjoy the beautiful view! The first stop was for breakfast at a local cafe in the mountains. We had scones and breakfast teas. I so wish I had taken a picture of the meal because it was to die for...I wish I could eat the exact same thing for breakfast every day of my life.

After that we headed to a trail which we walked down and ended up at this:
This waterfall was insanely gorgeous and my picture does it no justice. It is literally in the middle of the mountains and is breathtaking when you finish the trail and find it! Here are some more pictures of sights we saw on our walk:

I love this picture because it is not black and white, that's truly how dreary the day was and how high up we were in the mountains. The tree is an Eucalyptus tree. Fun fact: The Blue Mountains are called "blue" because the dewy mist formed by the Eucalyptus tree's leaves creates a blueish haze. It is really an amazing sight.

After this particular trail our guides took us to a little town in the mountains for sightseeing and shopping. We were only there for about 40 minutes, and I did not take any pictures, but the area was gorgeous. The shopping area had the most adorable little shops and they were so much fun to walk around! One of the stores was an antique shop and I so wanted some of the serving pieces but I could just imagine the nightmare it would have been to bring the pieces safely back home so I left them there :(

The next stop was the Blue Mountains.
Our guides dropped us off and told us to go and enjoy the scenery. We had no idea what they meant by that until we made our way to the lookout area and found "the view." Amazing!

Again, the pictures do it no justice! I just cannot put into words how incredible it was to stand in this beautiful place, to hear the waterfalls, to feel the cold wind on our faces, to feel like we were getting lost in the fog, to be so high up we almost became short of breath...to think we'll probably never be there again so we tried so hard to soak it all in as best we could. We will never forget that moment.
We were instructed to meet our guides on the other side of the mountain. To get there we had to take this:

You can really tell how incredibly foggy the day was in these pictures.

The ride was so much fun, and much faster than you would think. We kept running from side to side to make sure we didn't miss any of the views. Here are some pictures we took during the ride.
This entire day we were like kids in a candy store. We were giddy about all the things we were seeing and being fortunate to experience. I think we both simply felt blessed.

When we arrived on the other side our guides met us and took us directly to Katoomba Falls, AKA the steepest railway in the world.
We rode the railway and it pretty much does go directly straight down! Here we are on the way down, sorry it's blurry but we were moving after all:
At the end of the railway you had the option to do a trail walk through the mountains or go directly to the gift shop. We, of course, opted for the trail so our guide walked with us for a little ways and pointed out important sights and fun facts about the mountain wildlife.

One thing she spoke a lot about was this formation of rocks called The Three Sisters.
Click here to read about the story of the The Three Sisters.

Eventually our guide told us we could keep walking on our own and she we meet us later at the Benz. We had a blast winding our way through the mountains! When we headed back to the bus we noticed a large Chinese tour group thoroughly enjoying something they were all gathered around. When the group parted we saw the cause of all the commotion:
Statutes of naked women (supposedly the "three sisters"). They were all about these naked ladies. They were posing with them, fondling them, staring them down. It was hilarious!!!!

Next we went to a place called Wentworth Falls.
The falls were gorgeous and the lookout provided for some great pictures.
We were not there very long, but our guides said it was a place we simply needed to see! Things like that were a huge advantage to taking such a small and private tour. Our guides were able to take us to small, secluded places that you can't take large groups to!

When we were back in the Benz our guides told us it was time for lunch and they took us to eat at the oldest restaurant of the town we were in. For each meal our guides always called ahead and the food was always waiting on us when we arrived! We had a delicious lunch and then we had another 2 hour ride back towards Sydney to what would become our favorite part of the day!

Our last stop was a place called Featherdale Wildlife Park. GO! GET ON A PLANE NOW AND GO!
The park is basically one large petting zoo full of native Australian animals. Our eyes almost popped out of our heads when the first kangaroo hopped up to us!
We had the time our of lives feeding and petting all of the animals! Each animal had the softest fur and were ALL very friendly. I wanted to bring them all home with me!

Holding koalas is illegal in Australia. You can only pose for pictures with them and pet them.

Sadly, our time at the wildlife park had to come to an end, which also meant our time with our guides was over. We didn't want it to end at all! We had the best day with the sweetest guides - it was amazing. To end the tour we took a ferry back into city and the boat docked at Circular Quay. It was a picturesque ending (arriving via boat at sunset) to a perfect day!

We are still talking about how much we loved every aspect of our tour. If you're ever in Sydney look up our guides and tell them Scott and Laura from Miami sent you!

I'm Working On It

2010-08-15T18:16:00.000-05:00

I'm working on the Sydney posts, I promise.

They are coming, it's all a work in progress.

Don't give up on me :)

Happy Birthday Kennedy

2010-08-01T18:16:00.006-05:00

**An interruption in the Sydney posts to celebrate Kennedy's 5th birthday**

This past Friday, July, 30, 2010, our precious Kennedy turned 5! He is growing up so quickly!! Scott, being the great dad that he is, planned a party for Kennedy complete with cupcakes, hats, and gifts for Ken.

Party preparation

To make the celebration that much better, my friend from nursing school, Glinda, and her husband CJ were here for the weekend so we had guests for the big event. Kennedy was so happy they were here for his special day (he thinks they came just for him)!

We all put on hats and let Kennedy blow out his candle! As you can tell from the pictures he could barely handle all the attention.
Then we let him eat his cupcake! He loved it!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Kennedy!!!!

Many thanks to Glinda for being the photographer!

Sydney Day 4

2010-08-01T16:00:00.001-05:00

I do not have one single picture from the fourth day of our trip. Can you believe it?

This particular day was very calm. We began the day by trying to walk to Hyde Park, but the rain started about halfway there and started pelting us harder and harder. We really wanted to be able to have a nice walk around the park we so decided to call off our plans for another time.

We did not want go anywhere that required us being far away from the hotel because Scott had his competition later in the day. With the persistent rainy weather we decided it was best to stay at the hotel all day, that way Scott to go back and forth to the conference center to practice as he needed.

At 5:30 in the afternoon Scott played in the competition. He did SO well and I was/am so proud of him!!!! His teacher from UM was there and told me he was also extremely proud of Scott!! The process was so nerve racking, for both of us (haha). I just don't like judges and that sort of thing. One dumb piano competition ended my piano career because I basically hyperventilated when it was my turn to play and everything went downhill from there. Watching Scott go through this whole thing wasn't any easier.

I was so happy when it was over!!

And that was our day.

Sydney Day 3

2010-07-29T19:29:00.015-05:00

Our third day in Sydney began with a walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens.
The gardens cover a huge area of land and are simply gorgeous.
Even though it is currently winter in Australia there were still many plants with beautiful blooms. My only wish would have been to see the gardens in warmer weather with everything in bloom!
We had a lot of fun winding our way around and taking pictures.
Then, of course, the rain started and wouldn't let up so we left. I went back to the hotel and Scott went to his rehearsal at the conference.

When Scott finished his rehearsal we took a taxi to Sydney's Olympic Park. The whole trip Park was basically poor planning on my part. I thought it was a lot closer than it actually was so we ended up with a hefty cab fare when we could have taken the train! Then, when we arrived we realized all the venues were considerably far apart which wasn't exactly what I had in mind for our walking tour.

The main thing I wanted to see was the Aquatic Center so we had the taxi drop us off there.
Scott and I vividly remember watching Michael Phelps win all of his gold metals during the Sydney games so it was great to actually sit in the stands and see were all those moments took place!
I was surprised by how small the Aquatic Center was in real life. It just seemed so much bigger on TV when you only saw portions of it at a time.
Next we walked a little further into the Olympic Village in search of the Olympic cauldron, which has been turned into a fountain.
The land surrounding the cauldron houses several others venues that were built for the Olympics and used for various events. The outdoor stadium is now used for Sydney's rugby team and the day we were there was the day of rugby's equivalent to the Superbowl so the place was packed!
We didn't stay very long and then we braved the train back to Circular Quay. Scott and I agreed the train ride was the most confusing thing ever! I lost track of how many times we changed trains and platforms but we never got lost!!

Scott reading the map on the train

When we arrived back downtown we decided to go to the Sydney Tower.
The Sydney Tower was probably the most touristy thing we did our entire trip, but I felt like we had to go. I mean, we've been to the Empire State Building, the Sears Tower, etc. so we needed to add the Sydney Tower to the list.

When we walked into the base of the tower we saw nothing but plywood walls and exposed wires hanging from the missing ceiling. We were both a little stunned and second guessed our sanity in voluntarily going to the top of the tallest building in Sydney when it appeared to be in such bad condition, but we were assured by the staff everything was ok and they were remolding. So, up we went!

As I'm sure you can imagine, the tower was nothing but one long elevator ride and then a circular (enclosed) observation deck overlooking the city. We were there right at sunset which was beautiful! We enjoyed walking around and seeing the entire city from above...always a grand sight!
We ended our day with a fantastic Italian dinner back at The Rocks. Italian food is my absolute favorite and this particular meal was amazing! Yum!

Late that night Scott went to a jam session and I stayed behind so I didn't crash his party(ha!).

Day 4 coming soon!

Sydney Day 2

2010-07-23T16:25:00.014-05:00

We began the second day of our trip by checking into the ITG Conference. The conference was held in the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, which was conveniently located one block from our hotel. Our hotel could not have been in a better place for us and we loved that! We were literally one-two blocks away from everything we needed to be near.

Inside the conference center.

We checked into the conference and got our badges and books. Scott found it hilarious that I actually had a badge and was really going to an all-trumpet conference. I had to swallow my pride and try not to roll my eyes as we walked around the conference center. It was TOO MUCH (for me)! Just imagine trumpets everywhere! People playing trumpets everywhere! Trumpet gadgets everywhere! The sights and sounds were just overwhelming!

Once we settled everything at the conference and confirmed where Scott had to be and when
we headed to an area called Circular Quay (also only a couple blocks from the hotel).

Circular Quay is a popular spot because it is right between the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House and is home to all the ferries, water taxis, tour boats,etc entering that area of downtown. We needed to be there to catch out boat for our aboriginal tour.

I have not mentioned yet that Scott's trumpet teacher from UM and his wife also attended the conference. They had e-mailed Scott to say they were going to take this particular tour and asked us to join them if we wanted to. Of course we did!

The tour consisted of the tour group taking a ride in "Sydney's oldest wooden boat"
to an island named Clark Island. The tour guide had such a strong accent that I thought he was saying Clock Island, and then Crock Island. It was not until we arrived at the place and saw this sign
that I realized he was saying Clark.

The tour guide, a true Australian aboriginal, gave us a tour of the island. We are 99% sure most of what he said was false! Everything he spoke about always had 5 uses and no matter what it was (a plant, rock, water, people, etc) it could always be used to kill someone but at the same time could save someone from death. Yeah, I don't think so. We eventually fell to the back of the tour so we could take in some of the pretty sights on our own.
The tour ended with our guide changing into his aboriginal outfit, complete with body paint, and then he danced around and sang his aboriginal music.
He also played his didgeridoo . He spent a solid 30 minutes playing the didgeridoo, all one note of it!
Then he brought out his friend and they sang and danced around together.

It was interesting to say the least and I was just praying those little cloth like diapers did not fall off as they pranced around! When the aboriginal concert ended we loaded the boat and docked back at Circular Quay.

The best part of the boat ride was the view of the city. The weather was actually clear during that time so I was able to take some pictures without having to juggle an umbrella, the baby, and the camera.

Just kidding. There's no baby. Just wanted to see if you're paying attention.

Bridge climbers! You can pay $200 and take a tour that climbs across the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (No thanks!)

After the tour Scott had some events to attend at the conference so I went back to the hotel where I took a long nap and then read my book (isn't that what vacation is all about?). I'm not exactly sure what Scott attended at the conference, but I am willing to bet you 1 billion dollars that it involved a trumpet.
Later that evening we had a nice dinner in Circular Quay followed by dessert at a different restaurant. We were out pretty late so the area was almost empty which was so nice! When we finished dessert we walked around and took some pictures of the city at night!

Stay tuned for day 3!

Sydney Day 1

2010-07-18T16:33:00.011-05:00

**These posts are going to be very long with lots of pictures. I'm trying to be as brief as I can without leaving out too many details, but it is hard because I took almost 600 pictures. Here it goes!**

The day before we left for Sydney (Friday, July 2) Scott's parents, with Daniel in tow, drove down to Miami to A.) Take us to the airport on Saturday and B.) Pick-up Kennedy and take him back to Jacksonville for Mom and Paul to keep while we were away (Translation: We did not have to pay for a kennel for two weeks). It was really nice to have some extra hands here while we rushed around to get out the door and to the airport on time!

We began our traveling by flying out of MIA on Saturday, July 3. We had a direct flight to LAX. Once we arrived in LAX we had a 5 hour layover which was nice because we had to switch airlines which meant exiting the airport, checking into the next airline, clearing security again, etc. We really needed as much time as we could to not risk missing our international connection flight. We flew out of LAX with a direct flight to Sydney at 10:30PM (LA time) on Saturday, July 3. We arrived in Sydney on Monday, July 5 at 6:10AM after over 20 hours of flying and well over 24 hours of traveling. We totally skipped the 4th of July somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.

We arrived in Sydney right on time and we were well rested because we thankfully slept almost the entire 14-15 hour flight. As smooth as could be we cleared customs, exchanged our currency, picked up our bags, and then took a taxi to our hotel.
*Quick customs story: You know when you go through customs you have to fill out those forms which include writing down your occupation? Of course, I wrote RN. As we were going through customs one of the Australian customs officers asked me what RN meant. I explained it meant Registered Nurse and he started laughing. Then he explained to me that in Australia RN means Royal Neighbor, ha!

This is me outside our hotel, the Sir Stamford of Circular Quay

Our hotel lobby. It was gorgeous, especially the chandelier below!

Ok, so we took a taxi to our hotel were we checked in and found out our room was ready early so we were able to shower and change into our winter clothes. After that we went in search of food!

We ate our first meal (yummy open melts!)
in an area called The Rocks.

It is one of the oldest areas of Sydney and is incredibly charming. The streets were practically empty as it was the start of the work week and was raining (you will notice a theme of rain and umbrellas in our pictures because it rained every single day). We just loved this area and ate there several more times throughout our time in Sydney.

After we ate we headed straight to the Opera House and purchased our tour tickets. We had some time to kill so we took pictures of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House while we waited.
The tour of the Opera House was one of the highlights of our trip, and possibly my favorite thing. I cannot even begin to put into words how incredible the Opera House is and my pictures do it NO justice. The place is amazing.

The picture of the stage is actually the main stage, meaning the most historic stage, in the Opera House. You are only allowed to take pictures if there are no staff members present. A man was working on the stage and walked off for only seconds and our tour guide yelled for us to hurry to take a picture. I did hurry and that is why it is blurry. Though, I wasn't fast enough because you can see that man on the right side of the stage, oops! The picture of Scott standing on the purple carpet is outside the main stage (the Opera House has 4 or 5 stages). Purple is considered a bad luck color in theatres and our tour guide told us some performers, including Luciano Pavaortti, have refused to enter the theatre if it meant walking across the purple carpet and had to find alternate ways to get to the stage. The very last picture is a close up of the tiles. The roof of the Opera House, known as the sails, is made up of over 1 million tiles, amazing. Depending on the time of day, the tiles look like different colors from the sunlight. I could go on and on and on talking about all the things we learned!

Obviously, our tour guide was overly knowledgeable about the Opera House and presented every detail in a fascinating way that left you only wanting to hear more. The Opera House has such a rich history not only for Sydney, but also now as one of the world's most famous places. We are both so glad we are now able to say "we've been there!"

When the tour ended we made our way to the Sydney Aquarium.
You can really tell Sydney recently hosted an event like the Olympics because the city has signs everywhere making it very easy to navigate your way around, and the signs are beautiful (not tacky or touristy). It was simple to find our way from destination to destination. The entire city is also very walkable and also has a FREE bus that runs the entire city route. The walking and the free bus are incredible features because we really did not have to pay to get around. Needless to say, we quickly found ourselves at the aquarium.

We had mixed feelings about the aquarium. It was in an area of Sydney called Darling Harbour which reminded us of Navy Pier in Chicago. Basically, it felt too much of a tourist attraction for us, but it is a go-to place in Sydney so we had to make a stop.
The aquarium itself seemed a little old and outdated. However, it had a huge shark tank which was pretty interesting to walk through.
Our time at the aquarium was rather short and then we walked to Sydney's Chinatown for dinner.
Scott, who has to been China and many other Chinatowns around the US, said it was the most authentic Chinatown yet. All I cared about was finding some good food, and we did!
We ate a delicious dinner outside and the atmosphere was just so nice, I loved it!

What a day! We did all of that after over a days worth of traveling and we were dead tired by about 7PM. We went back to the hotel and fell fast asleep to be well rested for the next day's adventures!

We're Back

2010-07-14T14:22:00.005-05:00

We are home! Our trip to Sydney was absolutely incredible!! I plan to do a post for each day of our trip, but that will take me a while to get around to. We have some serious jet-lag and cannot get our clocks right just yet. I have posted some pictures below to show you some of the amazing things we were able to do. This was truly an once in a lifetime trip and we had a blast!

Work Hard Play Hard

2010-06-16T18:52:00.009-05:00

The past two days have been absolutely wonderful. My best friend, Carrie, was in town and we spent all the time we could together. Carrie and her boyfriend, Brandt, have been visiting from New York and spent the past week in Jacksonville for her little brother's graduation from DASOTA. Then they drove down the Florida coast visiting friends along the way and ended their trip in Miami with us.

I was so excited when I found out she was coming and was even more excited when I found out I was able to take off of work to spend time with her!

The only thing Carrie and Brandt had on their Miami agenda was to visit a parking garage in South Beach. Click the link to read more about the garage, because it isn't just any old garage and it wasn't designed by any old person. The same person/people (I don't know) designed the Bird's Nest for the China Olympic games and now they have a parking garage in South Beach, who knew.

Carrie and I in South Beach

Inside the garage

Scott and I near the top of the garage with Miami in the background.

After we explored the garage we walked around the shops at South Beach and then ended up at the beach where we people watched for a little while. Lets just say we were wearing more clothes then anyone else around. We all looked like nuns compared to our surroundings, we were very entertained.

After our sightseeing adventure we drove around to a few spots Carrie and Brandt wanted to see and then we ended the night with yummy Cuban food at Versailles .

We spent today like this:

We had talked about spending today in our pool and Carrie took our potential plans very seriously. This morning she walked out of the bedroom with her bathing suit on and said it was time for the pool, so to the pool we went. It was such a beautiful day and for the first time in a while the weather did not feel suffocatingly hot. I think we all four thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Those feet in the air are Scott's. He did an amazing trick of flying through the pink tube that Brandt would hold in the air for him, hence Brandt's arm still sticking in the air.
We even constructed an in-the-pool-slip-and-slide. Genius. We had a great time!

After our time in the pool we had lunch
and then sadly they had to leave to fly back to New York for work tomorrow.

Like I said, work hard play hard.

Boys Will Be Boys

2010-06-14T19:39:00.005-05:00

Welcome to my world:
Three types of rash creams and one epi pen. The rash creams belong to Scott and the epi pen belongs to Kennedy. All of these have entered our home within the past three weeks, which means the past three weeks have been filled with emergency vet and Dr. visits.

Long story(s) short, Kennedy has developed an allergy to an unidentified insect and has been attacked twice by said unidentified insect. The second attack/bite/sting (we don't even know) almost took his little life and he wound up at the vet with no less than three IVs of medication to bring him back to life. We wound up with the bill. Since then we have kept a close watch on him and, knock on wood, all has been fine. We have been applying bug spray to him, giving him PRN Benadryl, and keeping our new epi pen on guard. Never a dull moment with our JFK.

Then there's Scott and his new allergy to a completely unidentified something. About a month ago a couple of spots appeared on his sides, didn't bother him but didn't go away either. Well, almost two weeks ago the spots began multiplying and multiplying to the point that he agreed to go to the Dr. since nothing OTC was working. The Dr. diagnosed him with "Unspecified Dermatitis" as he has NO symptoms other than physical appearance: NO itching, irritation, just small, flat, red spots that have stayed 100% localized to his sides. They have not spread, they do not bother him, it is so weird. Thankfully, the Dr. prescribed a steroid cream that is working. Rash be gone!

I thought we were on the mend until this happened yesterday:
Broken toe, check! (It looks much worse in person)

I bet you're wondering how this happened: Simple, Scott ran into the wall. I feel like Scott and Kennedy have an agreement to keep getting sick/hurt to keep me on my toes.

Scott has been keeping his foot elevated and applying ice off and on to help with the swelling. Great. And we're traveling soon and will be having three sets of company before then.

I told them I am sending them back to Chicago together.

As I type this my two little invalids are enjoying themselves:

Never a dull moment around here!

This Weekend

2010-06-04T19:53:00.004-05:00

This weekend we have decided to use our generous tax return from the great state of Illinois
and give this room
some much needed TLC.

I think I might also give myself some TLC in the form of relaxing in the pool in this bad boy.
Whatever you do this weekend, I hope you have a great time.

Summer Vacation

2010-05-31T18:57:00.003-05:00

I mentioned a while back that Scott and I will be taking a big trip this summer. Unfortunately, the excitement of the trip took a backseat to work these past few months. Once we booked our flights, hotel, and visas I filed everything away and have not thought much about it. Well, today I did a little math and the trip is quickly coming up so I want to share with you where we are going.
AUSTRALIA! We are so excited! Scott is a finalist in the International Trumpet Guild jazz trumpet competition, which just happens to be in Sydney this year!
I am beside myself excited! However, I have never traveled internationally like this before so I am also a little nervous (mainly the 25 hours worth of flying to get there)! What do I take?? Our summer in the states is winter in Australia so that alone threw me for a packing loop, but all will be ok! Any advice on international travel? Scott has done a lot of international traveling but for the most part those trips have been with schools and they were 100% planned for him, so this is totally different.

We have a few things in mind that we want to do while we are there and we have talked with our hotel's concierge about tours that will be available. We will be attending the conference and of course the competition, but will also have plenty of time to ourselves.

We simply cannot wait. I have already started making my packing lists and Scott bought our outlet and voltage converter this weekend.

Bon voyage!

Mary Kay Is A Mean Girl

2010-05-26T16:32:00.015-05:00

One morning, right after I moved to Chicago and started my job at Northwestern, I stopped by Starbucks for some coffee and a quick glance at the Tribune on my way to work. At this point I had only been living in Chicago for a few months and had yet to make any friends. I was still adjusting to my new life, but was becoming anxious to make some friends of my own because hanging out with Scott's band friends was getting old (real fast).

As I walked out of Starbucks and into the chilling winter wind I was stopped by a girl who wanted to compliment me on my scarf and ask me where I purchased it (New York, China Town, about 8 years ago...sorry sister, there's no way you'll be getting one too). This was the first time in months that I had spoken with a girl, my age, face-to-face LIVE and in person. I was so excited and started thinking it was fate. This was my new Chicago BFF and what a great story we would be able to tell about how we met: "It was a cold Chicago morning and we ran into each other outside Starbucks on our way to work downtown..." Perfect, right? We stayed and talked for a while and we did have several things in common. As we started to leave she asked me to have dinner with her and a few of her "closest girlfriends" the very next night. I immediately said yes because I knew Scott had a gig and wouldn't be home and there was no way I was turning down an opportunity for some socialization. Then, she handed me her card so I could "have her numbers."

It was a Mary Kay business card.

She quickly saw the hesitation in my face and said something along the lines of "...it's just something I do on the side...see you tomorrow night, girl" and we turned and walked away.

I am not a Mary Kay person. I am not a Pampered Chef person. If you have a "party" at your house where you will serve mediocre appetizers and then do a lame presentation while all the girls drink watered-downed punch I will NOT come. I will NOT buy anything. I am NOT interested - DO NOT even offer to send me a catalog since I wasn't able to make it. I can't stand that type of stuff and somehow find it almost insulting.

The next day came and I was a little nervous about dinner, but I was so desperate for some friends that I felt like I had to be there. This was my God-send opportunity for some friends of my own. Plus, I thought I could always leave early if I was not having a good time.

The meeting place was a hotel right across the river from my office building so it was a quick walk to get there after work. So I walked to the hotel and followed the directions I was given to meet her once inside: The elevators on the left, to the 3rd floor, turn right, walk PAST THE RESTAURANT (should have been my clue), and then go through the double doors. As I approached the double doors I heard this terrible club-like music and could see flashing strobe lights in between the cracks in the doors.

Darn it. I had been Mary Kay-ed scammed!!!!!!!!

I peeked inside just to make sure I wasn't in the wrong place and unfortunately I was not. I tried to close the door and back out quickly, but I had been spotted by the vultures and before I knew it all these crazy women were attacking me with hugs, and fake nails, and faces with WAY too much make-up all the while screaming "OMG! GIRL, SO GLAD YOU COULD MAKE IT! OMG! OMG! OMG!"

I had never seen these people in my life.

It was a complete nightmare.

I tried to escape but I couldn't get out. I was trapped in make-up hell. They would run up and close the doors when you tried to leave and then spray you with a perfume as a distraction.

Once the OMGS! calmed down, I looked around the room, complete with a CATWALK mind you, and could not find the girl who had invited me. I asked where she was and was told she "wasn't able to make it." Oh the nerve! I was so mad and upset with myself for even going! I ended up sitting through a horrible presentation and then I left without being stopped and harassed with perfume at the door.

The girl who invited me and then stood me up had the guts to call me the next day. When I asked her where she was she told me she was out-of-town on an out-of-state trip. How rude of her! When we talked outside of Starbucks I, of course, told her I was new to the city and had not met anyone yet,etc and even knowing that she had the nerve to take advantage of me and throw me into the lions den of tacky acrylic nails that is the Mary Kay party. AND THEN TO NOT EVEN SHOW UP!

I told her to never ever call me again!

That my friends, sparked my Mary Kay hatred.

Those stupid pink cars! Get out of my way and get a REAL JOB!

Fast forward a couple of years.

This past Mother's Day weekend mom and Paul came down for a visit. The restaurant we went to for dinner one night was having a "Mother's Day Drawing" so mom entered and she won!! Not only did she win, but she won the grand prize: A spa day for her and her "closest girlfriends."

Sound familiar? Now it does to me.

Since mom doesn't live in the winning area, she gave the grand prize to me. This lady called me and took about 45 minutes of my precious time yelling "OMG! OMG! YOU WON! YOU WON! YOU WON!" She was completely obnoxious and spoke very little about the details of the spa day.

I should've know!

This lady told me she was going to send me an e-mail with all of the details. Weeks went by and no e-mail or follow-up phone call came.

Well, this morning mom called the restaurant to find out what happened to her/my grand prize spa day. The restaurant put mom in touch with the spa day crazy lady and as mom spoke with her she mentioned Mary Kay.

GASP! The horror!

Mom called and told me she had a feeling the spa day was not a spa day but instead a get-tortured-by-Mary Kay-day, but the spa lady said she would be sending an e-mail with more details and perhaps there would be no Mary Kay involvement.

Yeah, well, I got my e-mail from the MARY KAY REPRESENTATIVE who will be throwing my spa day party.

Here's the real kicker. The e-mail was an actual invitation for a Mary Kay party and has ME listed as the host and says the party will be held at "Laura D's house" on Saturday night, June 12 and includes half of my real address.

Honestly, I could have said bad words as I read that e-mail! The e-mail that included my full name and most of my address and I have NO CLUE who in the world it was sent to!

I am furious. Mom is furious. We will both be making calls to Mary Kay corporate. Mary Kay has crossed a line. This is the second time I have been lied to by Mary Kay and now I feel like there is an invasion of privacy issue at hand due to the e-mail.

Don't get me started about how I will react if someone actually shows up at my house on Saturday, June 12!

Point of my story, Mary Kay is a mean girl!

I'm Completely Obsessed

2010-04-27T20:13:00.002-05:00

My Random Thoughts

2010-04-20T18:50:00.006-05:00

I honestly have nothing to write about.

I started a post yesterday and deleted it because it was going nowhere, much like this one. As I type this Scott is teaching a trumpet lesson so I really don't have much to do.

Work is still crazy, school is still busy for Scott, and my back still hurts. For those of you wondering, my chest x-ray came back fine so the MD thinks I have a pinched nerve...and this beast hurts, badly. I think I am making it worse lifting 3 inch charts 8 hours a day 5 days a week during my audits.

Can I tell you how funny it is to listen to Scott teach his lessons. One minute I'm listening to a student play Mary Had a Little Lamb and then the next minute I'm listening to Scott ask questions such as "...have you ever tried double tonguing..." Whatever that means, but it makes me laugh.

In the midst of these horrid schedules we have been keeping we have managed to slip in some minor home improvements. Scott is currently working on putting in new outlets, light switches, and all new outlet and switch plates throughout the house. New little additions like that make SUCH a difference. I went to Home Depot during Scott's Monday night lesson and bought two new light fixtures for our hallway ceilings that Scott and Paul will install in a few weeks when Mom and Paul visit for my bday.

Oh yeah, my bday is coming up and Scotty is going to get me an elliptical! I am SO excited. I have really missed the elliptical because it is so great for my bummed legs. I have tried to pick up running again since we moved here by my legs can't handle it and I'm not getting the results I want from simply walking. I have already picked out the elliptical and cannot wait to get it. We are going to put it in our back room which we have been using as an office, so now it will be the "office-exercise room!"

Oh big news! I went to a new eye doctor this past Saturday and I LOVED her. I mean, I think I'm obsessed with this lady. In the past I have always gone to doc-in-the-box eye docs like at Pearl Vision and such. I've never been thrilled with them, but I usually only go once a year so I suck it up and deal with it. Well, I thought it was finally time to go to a more serious eye doctor since my vision is technically legally blind without correction. This lady was amazing. She looked at my prescription, looked at my eyes, had me "read" the eye chart (which means I sat there and fidgeted and said "....umm, it looks like an O, but could be a Q or a lower case a...") and then she turned to me and said "your vision is a handicap." Ya'll I had tears in my eyes, REAL tears. My vision is something that really bothers me because I am BLIND without glasses/contacts and it kills me. FINALLY, hearing a doctor say that she understood how I canNOT see a thing really meant a lot to me. She said she knew from my prescription that I literally cannot see a darn thing. I hate the fact that when I take out my contacts that the world disappears; I can't read my alarm clock in the mornings, I can't see anything up or down, left or right when I have my glasses on, I am blind. After talking with her she said the phrase I have been waiting to hear since I started wearing glasses at 11: You are a great candidate for Lasik. Oh I had tears. I was so happy. Happy someone understood the level of severity of my vision, HAPPY to hear that I can FINALLY have Lasik. Of course I am not running out to have lasers shot into my eyes, but just knowing that it is at least an option now is a sigh of relief!

Ok, I think this has been boring and random enough for both of us. I am going to make a quick run to The Fresh Market while Scott finishes teaching. I think we need a treat to eat during American Idol and Glee!

Have a great Wednesday!

A Wedding, a Hurt Back, and a Birthday

2010-04-06T18:43:00.009-05:00

Easter weekend we were in Jacksonville for Michael and Katrina's wedding! Here are some pictures from the wedding weekend.

The festivities began Friday morning with Katrina's bridal brunch. Mom and I hosted the brunch at The Brick in Riverside. It was delicious!
The bridal brunch was followed that evening with the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.
Saturday was the big day! Here are just a few pictures from the wedding. The picture below cracks me up! Katrina looks THRILLED about having her dress bustled and Michael looks terribly confused!

It was a nice but busy weekend and we headed back home after church and Easter brunch with the family.

When we arrived home my back started hurting - then progressed to feeling like I had a mass in my right upper back - then I had shortness of breath and it hurt to take a deep breath - then that pain turned into a burning sensation and I could NOT get comfortable to save my life. I finally scheduled a doctors appointment and went last Friday morning. The doctor suspected a pinched nerve and prescribed a muscle relaxer which has worked miracles, but also knocks me out cold (I took it Friday night at 9 and didn't wake up until after 11:30 Saturday morning) so I cannot take it during the day which leaves me hurting. Today I felt the best I have in a week and I think I did too much moving around and now I am hurting/burning again. I had a chest x-ray this morning just to make sure this is nothing more serious. Hopefully with time this will clear up because I have been miserable and because of my crazy work schedule I cannot take off work right now.

To help me feel better Scott has been keeping the house filled with fresh flowers to brighten my days just a little bit! I had great intentions of taking pictures of all the flowers he has brought home but that just hasn't happened so imagine gorgeous roses, tulips, and hydrangeas.

To end this post, I'd like to wish my mom a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!!

Overtime

2010-03-30T20:06:00.002-05:00

Hi friends!

No, I have not abandoned the blog, I am simply too busy with work to keep up with posting right now.

I am working a crazy amount of overtime due what I call "audit season" because of HEDIS - going in early, staying late, working a little more when I get home at night, putting in some extra hours on the weekends. I am trying not to complain because in the midst of a horrible economy and many layoffs I have an amazing job that I love, but man I am tired. Scott told me the other night that I looked like a zombie. Perfect.

This only lasts for a couple of months so please excuse my absence during this time. I asked Scott if he wanted full control of the blog and he hasn't declined yet, he just has not had time himself.

I hope you are all doing well and have a very Happy Easter!! Summer is almost here and I am so excited for many reasons, but mostly because we will be taking "a trip of a lifetime" to a place that requires passports and visas (more on that later).

Have a wonderful week and weekend.

Love,
Laura

March 17

2010-03-17T00:00:00.001-05:00

OMG

2010-03-01T22:19:00.000-06:00

SERIOUSLY????????????????

The Fresh Market

2010-03-01T19:13:00.006-06:00

This past Friday night I introduced Scott to the wonder that is The Fresh Market.

Have you ever been? If so, do you love it as much as I do?

The Fresh Market has been a family favorite for years. At times my Grandmommy would make an event out of going there. I vividly remember walking into her house on certain days after school to find her fully dressed in one of her little preppy dresses complete with a fresh face of makeup and all dolled up with jewelry. I would ask her where she had been, thinking it must have been one of her luncheon days, but she would simply say "Fresh Market." Like I said, it was an event for her and back then I did not understand why, but now that I cook and have my own home it all makes sense. Oh how I would love to walk around Fresh Market with her again! Hang on, let me wipe my tear (seriously).

It's just a special place with a refreshing mix of ordinary and unique items. The combination of fresh flowers, calming music, beautifully packaged goodies, and the delicious coffee samples are just enough to distract me from whatever may be going on and the next thing I know I've spent 40 minutes at the meat counter studying all the exquisite cuts of meat, never buying anything (that's what Grandmommy was for) but always looking. Then I move on to the pastries, then the cheese and olive bar, and then I walk aisle by aisle looking for something new that I haven't seen before. I guess you could say going has now become an event for me which is why I have resisted going in the store that sits on the corner one block from my house for the past 7 months. That's right, I have not gone in The Fresh Market conveniently located down the block the entire time we have lived in our house...until last Thursday.

I knew having a store so closely located was nothing short of dangerous and time consuming so I said "NO" to the temptation. Well, last Thursday we had dinner with new friends and I did not want to show up on their doorstep empty handed as they insisted we not bring anything for the meal. I knew I could not go any longer and went to The Fresh Market in search of some fresh flowers or a little potted plant to take to our hosts.

When I walked through the doors I could not help but sigh, smile, and think "hello, old friend." I quickly found the most adorable little pot of Gerber Daisy's (for a steal might I add) and then I had to walk around the store. I did not have much time, but it was such a sweet reunion and I knew I could no longer neglect the place ever again.

That is why I returned the very next day, Friday night, with Scott in tow. That is why we left with all of this:
Garlic Bread, Mexican Mix, a slice of Cappuccino Cheese Cake, Cinnamon rolls, salsa and chips, and Easter gummies. I know, what a selection!

Scott fell head-over-heels for the place. My heart melted as I walked behind watching him as he looked at all the delicious things. He loved, loved, loved The Fresh Market and I know we will be returning. Scott and I will admit to being food snobs and The Fresh Market lets us dream a little and treat ourselves to finer delicacies that we might not elsewhere purchase.

I cannot wait to spend more time there, even if all I do is stare at the $100 giant pork loin and ponder all the ways I could cook it.

Dog Shampoo

2010-02-27T12:43:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we took a little trip to PetSmart in search of some "special" shampoo for Kennedy. He has been licking and scratching a little more than usual so we wanted a new shampoo to try and help those issues.

As we browsed the shampoo aisle a PetSmart lady asked what we were looking for and after talking with her she suggested this brand of shampoo:
She recommended the "Oatmeal Soothing Shampoo" and it is a little bottle of heaven!

You guys, the dog has NEVER smelled so good! You have to do yourself a favor and bathe your dog with this stuff. He smelled completely clean without one single stench of dog. His fur even looked and felt like a show dog. His excessive licking/scratching is still a little much, but at least he smells wonderful.

Best dog shampoo ever!

Small Group Good and Bad

2010-02-24T20:07:00.002-06:00

This past Sunday we visited a small group. We were ideally looking for a group near us consisting of young married couples who wanted to focus on something other than love, marriage, newlywed-ish stuff. Scott and I are now going on 4 years of being in classes or groups focusing specifically on those kinds of topics and we are ready for a break. The Bible is a BIG book with obviously much to offer and we're more than ready to study something other than Proverbs or Song of Solomon. Get my point?

Well, the problem of finding a group continued and the best thing we could find was a group rather far from us that meets at an odd time with people mostly 5-10 years older than us studying (wait for it) "Love and Respect." Ugh! This was pretty much our only option in spite of the fact it represented almost everything we were not looking for. However, we agreed to do the study because it is only an 8 week commitment and then we are free to continue with the group or leave and find another group.

So, Sunday was the first meeting and it was awkward. It was obvious the group is made up of a circle of friends and they made it known we were messing up their BFF vibe they had going on. Don't get me wrong, they were nice but at the same time it was crystal clear that we did not "click." I was bummed during the whole thing and really wanted to leave (and never go back). Scott wasn't thrilled either, but he's better at "thinking it could always be worse" than I am.

When it came time to leave we ended up walking out at the same time as another couple and we began to talk with them. We quickly discovered we live less than 10 minutes from each other, they are only a little bit older than us (the husband is only 1 year older than Scott), and they have NO KIDS (all the other couples have kids and that cramps our style, ha)! They told us they've only met with this group 5-6 times because it is the only known younger couples group. The wife then said they have been praying that God would bring a couple near them to start a group with.

Wow.

It took everything in me not to jump up and down saying "well here we are!!!" They more or less said they've enjoyed the current group for whatever it's been able to offer but are ready to move on. We were/are elated. We are all going to finish this current study since we already committed to doing so and then we are going to start a group in one of our homes and one of us will lead it (or vice versa). We are even going to have dinner with them tomorrow night!

We thought we were getting ourselves into something we didn't want only to learn we were going to find exactly what we had in mind! We are excited about the opportunities ahead of us and cannot wait to see what God brings our way!

10 Things

2010-02-16T17:51:00.005-06:00

Sorry, I fell off the blogging bandwagon the past couple of weeks.

At work I have been working on a corporate project that pretty much left me brain dead by the time I made it home, and when you are brain dead blogging is not going to happen. Luckily, I turned the project in (early!!) on Monday so now I am regaining some of my sanity and desire to do things other than sitting around thinking "What if I do this wrong? What is my boss doesn't like it?" Paranoid? Me? NO WAY!

The past couple of weeks are basically a blur and I cannot think of anything major to report, so I guess I will fill you in on some small happenings:

1. Our sprinkler system (I KNOW, this is already exciting) is still broken and starting to stress us. (FYI - Our house decided it wanted to start falling apart during the almost month and a half we spent away from it during the holidays. I guess it missed us and wanted us to suffer upon return, which is why:

A: Family, we love you all, but if you want to see us next holiday season something has got to give. We suggest you spend Thanksgiving with us and then we will come up for Christmas! We are never ever putting ourselves through that amount of holiday traveling ever again, we are still paying for that time away from our own house up till this second (literally, Scott's messing with the sprinklers as I type).

B: We have no plans to visit Jacksonville (besides 2 already planned trips for weddings) for a while. Jacksonville = Neglected house = NOT HAPPENING. There, I feel better.

2. We finally had our piano tuned and Scott is in heaven! I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to him play and I know my Grandmommy would be thrilled to know her piano is being cared for and put to great use! We LOVE having it in our home.

3. I am loving my new bike. We ride as much as we can and doing so is so nice and fun!

4. Kennedy is determined to share at least one of our pillows during the night. He creeps up to the head of the bed while we sleep and usually one of us wakes up with his head in our face (which means whoever doesn't have his head has his rear end...can we say Good Morning!)

5. Our church hunt has continued to be a horrible experience. So bad in fact, we reached a moment of desperation and sent one final "Help Us!" email to this church. Guess What? THEY RESPONDED, and we are visiting our very first small group this Sunday. Hopefully it goes well because finally finding a church and getting involved (AKA getting friends) will be such a relief!

6. We are obsessed with The Bachelor. Don't get me started on Vienna, she looks like a man and needs to go away! What in the world is Jake thinking? We are Team Tenley all the way!

7. Winter Olympics? Yes, please! I am filling the DVR with all the events and we try to at least watch some highlights when we get home from work.

8. American Idol? Yes, pretty please with a cherry on top! Enough said!

9. Do any of you lovely readers know of any good seafood restaurants near/around the Miami area? I'm going to die if I don't get some fried shrimp in my belly and soon!

10. Scott "toured" South Florida with Michael Feinstein this weekend! Pretty cool!

Have a wonderful night, hopefully filled with the Olympics and American Idol!!

February 14

2010-02-14T17:44:00.000-06:00

Bike and Basketball

2010-02-01T20:40:00.003-06:00

Rumor has it many of you, even those in Jacksonville, are chilly and stuck inside. Well, not down here in south Florida! The weather is nice and warm and we are enjoying it!

Since we moved I have not rejoined a gym. We can be outside year round so I have decided I will take advantage of that! So, this weekend we bought two new things:

Scott already had a bike and now we can bike ride together. I really enjoy walking, but Scott does not. However, he loves to ride bikes so I am excited we can do something that we both enjoy. Our house 'came' with a basketball hoop and now we have a basketball! We played a game of PIG and I lost! I know most of you cannot believe that!

We love our neighborhood and are thrilled about our upcoming outdoors bike adventures!

The Saga Continues

2010-01-27T20:37:00.003-06:00

The past two Sundays we have visited two different churches. These two churches, along with a third which we plan to visit this coming Sunday, were made known to us by a pastor from First Baptist Church of Jacksonville. Each of these churches are members of the Southern Baptist Convention, and knowing that made us a little bit hesitant, but at the same time we were hopeful.

To be completely truthful, we have thoroughly enjoyed NOT attending a Baptist church. The short time we attended Harvest in Chicago we both realized how much there is outside of the good ole' Southern Baptist Church. It is hard to put into words exactly what I am trying to say (especially without sounding like I am Baptist bashing), but for those of you who have attended a Baptist church and then attended a non-denominational church you know and understand exactly what I am trying to say. To be even more truthful, Scott and I have both said that if we ever move back to Jacksonville we are not sure if we would attend FBC Jax.

GASP!

Well, get over it! After being under another pastor we realized that somethings crammed down our throats at FBC Jax just might have been more Baptist than Biblical. I am not going to go into those details here, but once again, for those of you who have been there and done that, you know exactly what I mean!

Back to the point of this post - The first church we visited was FBC of Ft. Lauderdale. When we walked in and saw the main sanctuary we each took a deep breath and glared at each other because the place was a spitting image of the Ruth Lindsay Auditorium (one of the sancturaries at the church we grew up in). We were not thrilled and basically said "we're already here so we might as well stay." Oh my word, the choir and orchestra were almost identical to FBC Jax (little smaller), all the way down to the badly color coordinated outfits of the praise team. The music in the Baptist church is something neither of us have missed much so the visit at that point was considerably mediocre. However, the pastor surprised us and we actually both kind of liked him. All and all, the visit wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. And you know what, I even filled out ALL of the visitor's packet and we have yet to be contacted. SHAMEFUL!

Then, this past Sunday we visited the second church on the list and the whole visit was borderline disaster. First of all, we drove around for 30 extra minutes trying to find the place. We could NOT find it to save our lives. The place was no where to be found and we eventually gave up and decided to go back home. As fate would have it, we passed the church on our way to the interstate.

We were now late to the service.

We walked up to the church and found the doors labeled "auditorium" and opened those doors.

I don't know about you, but EVERY church I have ever been in has had a foyer and THEN the main sanctuary.

YEAH, not this one.

Scott opened those doors and as he did the entire church turned and looked at us, the late visitors. It was a one-room church with only about 300 in attendance and obviously had no foyer. It was awful. When the doors opened I was fixing my hair with one hand, was searching for my phone in my purse with my other hand, we were talking about how we couldn't even find the place....and then, almost like it was in slow motion, the doors opened and we let in the outside light, the wind, and every single head turned one by one in our direction. TERRIBLE.

We found our seats, sat down, and tried not to look at each other because we knew doing so would cause us to laugh. The preaching wasn't good and the music wasn't any better. Towards the end I leaned over to Scott and said "...we had more people at our wedding then there are members of this church..." He replied "yeah, this is NOT for us, let's get out of here as fast as we can..." and we did! As we walked/ran to the car Scott said he couldn't believe the church was even allowed to be in the Southern Baptist Convention, and I agreed.

So, the saga continues. The church hunt is becoming more depressing with each visit. We're still churchless, we're still friendless, and now we're out of places to visit.

Great :(

We did pass a mosque, a synagogue, and a Hindu center on the way home....

Just kidding, maybe ;)

CHECK THIS OUT!

2010-01-21T20:01:00.001-06:00

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