googie

one week down

one week down and i've cut all caffeine and have been finishing off my 2 liter bottle of water each day and i feel so much less tired. i guess i really am a big wuss with caffeine and i was getting the mid-day slump from the itty amount of coffee and/or diet coke i have during the first part of the day.

fatigue

I feel like I'm tired all the time. Patrick pulled me onto the caffeine wagon and I started having a teeny tiny sip of coffee in the morning. Then the teeny tiny cup became a half cup and then I started needing a few sips of diet coke in the afternoon and then a bit more until now I feel like I need a whole diet coke mid-day to get me through. I have never been big into caffeine. Never needed it and was thankful I could get though my day without needing a pick-me-up.
But not now.
I feel like I'm exhausted all the time. I get a full night's sleep and I still am sleepy by 3:00. I don't like this feeling because by the time I get to pick up Piper I'm pooped and just want to drag myself to the couch to veg.
I take a multi-vitamin, eat well and get plenty of sleep. I'm going to start drinking more water (I use to drink SO much water, but I've gotten off that good habit) and maybe try eating more red meat.

Any suggestions?

afternoon walk

the wait...

I submitted my nursing school application to Florida State College of Jacksonville (formerly Florida Community College of Jacksonville, fyi) on October 1 and was told I should expect to know something within 6-8 weeks from that date. They admit 120 students and the Dean of Nursing (who seems to be a gigantic beyotch) informed me that they receive over 600 applicants. They accept on a point system, meaning that they total up selected points for my pre-requisite nursing courses, add them to my score from the Nursing School Aptitude Exam and stick that number on a piece of paper with my social security number and the first 120 with the highest score get in. Yes, I have good grades and a good Nursing School Aptitude Exam score, but the things is is that so does everyone else and I applied a semester early to the program. You can still apply while you are enrolled in Microbiology, but if you do then the points for that class (a 4 credit class) won't count towards your overall points. So I am a possible 16 points (4 credit course x 4 points for an A = 16 points) lower than all the other competitive applicants. So my chances of getting into FSCJ are really pretty low for this semester. IF I don't get in I will reapply in February and will start the process all over, but hopefully by that time I will be much more competitive with all of my points being factored in. I am working on a Plan B - I've registered for another chemistry course (CHM 2045) for next semester that I will need as a pre-req for the RN-MSN bridge program at University of North Florida, and I'm registered for the pre-req to the EMT program at FSCJ. I'm thinking about registering for a spanish class too.

I submit my application to Jacksonville University's nursing program December 1, but it is a private school that is so freaking expensive ($30K for the accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program...a 16 month program!!) and also competitive.

And I submit my application to University of North Florida in early January but they are so bleeping competitive - only accept 23 students A YEAR - and I don't even meet their GPA requirement. It's basically pointless, but I figure I have to apply anyways because otherwise I would never know.

So for the past year I've been sorta embarrassed about the community college thing. Thinking what a joke it is, and how I already have a "real" college degree and am perhaps a little smarter than everyone else and how surely I will get into UNF or JU. Well, it turns out that humble pie is pretty crappy to eat because reality has hit that everyone and their sister is applying to nursing school and all these other applicants are all pretty damn smart with great grades and holy crap I might not get into nursing school at ALL and when it all comes down to it I would be GRATEFUL to get into a community college's nursing program now.

warms my heart

sweet pup

Samford likes to stick around in Piper's room after we've put her to bed. He knows our family schedule so well. When it's bathtime he'll pile into the tiny guest bath with us and lie on the tile floor and watch Piper in the bathtub. She'll toss him plastic balls out of the tub and he'll effortlessly catch them in his mouth and run off to the living room to devour them. After she's toweled off she's go running down the hall with her little naked buns jiggling yelling "sammmmfeeerd" and then he'll follow us into her bedroom for the night-night ritual. After we read her books and zip her up in her sleep sack he'll find his little spot on the floor and lay in her room for about an hour or so.
I like to think he's watching out for her; making sure she goes to bed safely and peacefully.

sca-cwoo!

Behold. The world's most adorable scarecrow!

I really wanted to make Piper's costume this year. I came up with great ideas that all centered around the black tutu I made her - bumble bee, kitty cat, witch and then 80s rocker chick (think Madonna) sporting leggings, a tutu, and a bunch of necklaces. Then I realized that I have zero time to sew a costume and hit the thrift stores for pieces to go with it. It was starting to sorta stress me out and that was bugging me even more. I want to enjoy holidays, but I get so caught up in trying to home make something super crafty that the activity itself starts to lose its fun because I'm too busy stressing over it.

So this morning the universe gave me a pardon. I was dropping Piper off at school and one of the teachers casually asked me what Piper was going to be for Friday's Fall Festival at school and I said I was still trying to piece something together. She held up the most adorable scarecrow costume and said that a mom had just dropped it off saying that it was too big for her daughter and that anyone was welcome to it. Voila! Adorable Halloween costume, done!

People, SHE LOVES THIS COSTUME. She wore it all afternoon when we got home. Then wanted to put it back on in preparation for Emily (the babysitter) who was coming over. We stood on the sidewalk and waited for Emily and my little scarecrow waved proudly at all the passing cars. When Emily walked up she went running for her saying "Emmammeeee! I sca-cwoo!" I went on to my pottery class and Emily said that Piper wore the costume while running around the park, showing it off to all the folks letting their dogs play. She took it off to eat dinner, but then wanted it back on when we walked Emily home. And to top it all off, she is now tucked in her little crib sound asleep clutching the scarecrow costume like it's a teddy bear.

Wow.

look what i made!

A tutu! It took me about 10 minutes and it looks so freaking cute. It was so easy and quick and looks really professional (toot toot!). At first Pip didn't like it and then she warmed up to it and then she was running and twirling and screaming through the park this evening showing it off to all the dog-folks who were letting their dogs play.

I really did not think I would be the type of Mom to dress my daughter in stuff like tutu's and pink dresses and stuff...but it is so hard not to when they look so cute!

face

My friend Kadie gave me a chemical peel today!!! She is a rep for a dermatological skin care line and needed to practice before giving them on some of her clients. Yes, she has done them before at her training sessions, but she wanted to lay out all the products and pretend like I am a client and do the whole schpeal. I can't wait to see if I notice a difference in my skin in the next few days. The whole process was really easy and no big whoop. She cleaned my face with a wash, a toner, then wiped my whole face down with rubbing alcohol (!), then put petroleum jelly in my nose, eyelids and lips then painted on the chemical peel. It stayed on for 5 minutes and itched/tingled like a mofo, then she wiped it all off, and coated my face with a neutralizing moisturizer and told me to stay out of the sun for 24 hours.

To get real results she said I need to get a peel done every 2 weeks for 3 months. Too bad those aren't free too.

Patrick and I had a great date night tonight. He leaves on Monday for SEVEN weeks in Pensacola for work. Needless to say we are both NOT happy about it but we are trying to be positive and not dwell on it too much.

Did I tell you guys that I got free tickets to Elmo Live? It...blew...Piper's...mind.

She was that child who was dancing in the aisle...

..twirling around...

...clapping, crawling on the floor because she could not contain her excitement.

When it ended she clapped for about 5 minutes and then signed and said "more...more..more!" the whole way to the car. It was so special and sweet getting to see her so excited over something. I can't wait to get her a ticket to the next event like that so that Patrick can take her and have a little Daddy, Daughter day.

popsicle

She has finally mastered the art of eating a popsicle without biting into it. She kept biting into the popsicle and then pulling away in horror and confusion as the sweet, sugary wonderful taste sent a shock of cold up and down her front teeth. We've been telling her "lick it, don't bite it" (woah, That's what she said!) and she has finally figured it out.

afternoon with mommy

She is such a big girl now. She wants to walk beside me, instead of being carried. wah.

sweet

i just saw this quote and had to write it down so i wouldn't forget it:

Fall in love,
stay in love,
and it will decide everything.

I love encouraging (and short) quotes. Do you have a favorite quote/saying?

thursday

Piper woke up with a fever this morning. She had one when she went to bed, but we were hoping she would have slept it off, but alas she didn't. We have a fun wedding coming up this weekend and we are dropping her off overnight with our friends Carol and Greg, so I kept her home for the day with me so she could get plenty of naptime and get over the fever so she won't jink our weekend plans.
We ended up having such a fun day together. After Patrick left for work I got her dressed and we went and bought a really nice (new) baby potty from a chick off of craigslist.

Then we headed over to my favorite thrift store...appropriately named The Thrift Store. Seriously, this place is amazing. It is huuuuuuge and has everything you could ever want. Outdoor furniture, TONS of kids stuff, great clothes, shoes, plastic bags for $2 filled with random, but well-organized stuff like a bag full of streamers/party plates/party cups/napkins, another bag full of outdoor string lights, another bag full of stuffed animals. 9 times out of 10 if I go in there specifically looking for something I'll find it. Today I went in for the sole purpose of kids outdoor toys. And whamo, I found it. I got a little push truck that makes obnoxious noises that Pip can ride or push around. Some sort of play front door thing where she can walk through a tiny front door and push the doorbell and play with the mailbox (it's hard to explain) and a mandatory child toy - the play car:

My total came to $16 and it was 3 big ticket items. Sweet. We headed out of there and went downtown and met Patrick for lunch. We sat in Hemming Plaza with all the homeless people and had a sweet little family picnic.

After lunch Piper and I headed home, she went down for a long nap while I studied at the kitchen table. She woke up around 3:45 and was SO freaking cute and funny. I took a ton of videos of her wandering around the house talking and being just funny and toddlerish. We went outside and she played with the new thrift store finds while I got to weed the garden, check on my newly sprouting beets, carrots, collards and lettuce. I've been dying to get out in the yard more, but it's really hard to with my little shadow following me around and digging in the dirt minutes after I planted seeds, or wanting me to pick her up when my hands are in the bottom of the compost pile. Hence the frantic search for outside kid play toys.

Patrick came home around 5:30 and we headed up to Piper's school for their open house night. We chatted with the teachers and talked about how she's doing ("She's great! So outgoing, social and very very chatty!"), then we loaded back in the car, stopped at the Chinese restaurant for an order of Orange Chicken. Came home, did the dinner-bath-book-bedtime ritual with Piper and then ate our Orange Chicken over a quick episode of Jeopardy and now we are both sitting at the kitchen table studying. I have a microbiology quiz that I have to take online by Sunday, but since we are leaving on Saturday to head down to the beach for the night for a wedding, I need to take it tomorrow.

In other big news. I got my period today. Tada! It only took 19+ months. I forgot how annoying/crampy they are.

(non)cream of asparagus soup

MAKE THIS TONIGHT. It was fantastic and got two thumbs up from Patrick.

Cream of Asparagus Soup
1 pat of butter
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and coarsely chopped
a big splash of whole milk
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in a heavy cooking pot. Add onions and chopped celery; saute until tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in flour, mixing well. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Do not burn, or let it go lumpy. Add water, chicken broth, and chicken soup base; stir until smooth. Bring to a boil. Add diced potatoes and chopped asparagus. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Puree soup in a food processor or blender in batches. Return to pot.
Stir in half and half cream, soy sauce, and black and white pepper. Bring soup just to boil. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot.
*I added some homemade crotons and a piece of crumbled bacon on top. YUM.

song for the kidlets

We use to listen to this song all the time when we were in St. Thomas. I think Patrick and I loved it way more than Piper.

today

Today I was just off. All day. I woke up tired and groggy, went through my morning routine of getting dressed, helping Pip and Patrick get out the door and then I followed out last at 8:15am. I grabbed my backpack, my purse, my lunch bag, rain jacket, sweatshirt and cell phone and locked the bottom lock as I closed the door. The minute I heard the door shut I realized I didn't have my keys in my hand and had just (for the first time ever) locked myself out of my own house. I started peeling all the bags off my shoulders and grabbed my phone and immediately called Patrick to turn around and come back and unlock the door for me. As the phone was ringing I looked down in my hand and buried under like 4 straps of bags was my friggin keys. What? That is so not like me.
By now it was raining so I hauled butt down the street and ran to class. It was about 8:23am at this point and as I got into the science building it suddenly hit me. MY FREAKING CLASS STARTED AT 8AM. I've never, ever, ever, ever been late (or missed!) a class since I've been back at school. And to make it worse, this was my Microbiology hybrid course - where attendance is mandatory and each day you miss is 5% off of your final grade...and tardies count as a 1/2 absence. I ran down the hall and into my class where everyone was busy at the microscopes and my professor gave me the stink eye and provided NO direction as to what the class was working on. Some bitch had taken my seat, which also meant she was working with my lab partner. So I had to squeeze and shove my way into the last seat which was in the dead center of the class room, then I had to search for an available microscope, unclaimed slides and then look around and try and figure out what the hell we were working on. Let me add that this is the last pre-req that most people are taking for the nursing program and about 99% of people in my class have already applied to nursing school and are waiting for their results. So it is very terse and awkwardly competitive between everyone. Since I'm getting a rep for being a good student (toot toot toot!) NO ONE would help me out and let me know what was going on. I felt so frustrated and mad and annoyed and embarrassed. I started working on a section in our lab manual and after about 15 minutes my butt hole professor came up and told me I was working on a section that I wasn't assigned. Eventually I got on the right track and actually caught up with the rest of the class, but the whole situation really frustrated me and started the morning off on a crappy note.
At the end of the class I headed to the library and after searching around I couldn't find any empty study rooms. So I went up to the science department and found a spot in this empty room that they use to store Anatomy equipment, but also allow students to study in. So I stayed in there for a bit and then looked at my watch and realized it was 12:45 and time to get Piper. By the time I was in my car it was 1:00 and I hightailed it to Piper's school (which is less than a mile away) and was just about to pull into the parking lot when something felt really wrong. I looked at the clock in my car...1:07pm. Is that right? Wait, what time do I pick up Piper? I was so confused, that I had to call Patrick and ask him - do I pick up Piper at 1:00 or 2:00? 2:00!!! What the heck is wrong with me today? I left an entire hour early to pick her up. I ended up turning around and running a few errands before going back an hour later.
On top of all of that, our babysitter had to cancel for tonight because of food poisoning so Patrick and I had to cancel our date night. My hair looks horrible and there's nothing I can do about it except for grow it out. My face is splotchy and I have this weird rash that won't go away on it and I've gained back all the weight I lost from when I was nursing Piper and it really is ticking me off.

Whew, that felt good to get off my chest.

My evening did get so much better though. Patrick surprised me by coming home early, bringing me beautiful, happy stargazer lilies and taking Piper and I out to Five Guys for burgers. schmoopie!

Underdog

Another song that's been in my head for a few days.

in my head...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g4ekwTd6Ig

Sue Anne played this song for me over the weekend and well...I love me some broadway music. What can I say, I like Celine Dion, ABBA, Broadway musicals, and other lame music.
While we are on the subject of cheesy music and Celine Dion, here's my FAVORITE song by her. I realize by now I've already lost Lisa and Julie and Patrick are right behind her, but I know at least Christa will click on this link below. The cheese factor is at a inexplicable level on this video and the chinese guy's hair is..is...just huge. But this song is so good!



So does anyone have any good music they want to recommend?

Michigan

We had such an awesome time in Michigan over the weekend. Major sister bonding, GREATWONDERFULSOHAPPY news from Christa, fun food, trips to the Bell kegerator for nice beer, sitting around chatting over tea with sisters, getting some quality time in with the Bell girls, staying up late watching Entourage, making fun of Jason for falling asleep during movies that he suggests we all stay up and watch, doing makeup, long walks around Ann Arbor, rearranging furniture, decorating suggestions, checking out the loads and loads of incredible fruit/vegetables at the farmers market, eating real concord grapes, getting a quick taste of Fall weather and having really sweet family time.
We got home late last night and I've been feeling so nostalgic all day today. I so wish I lived closer to my sisters. Could I live in California? What would that feel like? Life is so short and all that really matters is family and friends and I want to be as close as possible to all my special people.
I upload a *&%#% ton of pictures from the weekend. Scroll down to see a gazillion of them. Seriously there are a ton, you might have to click to the next page to see all of them.
p.s. - I got a 91% on my chemistry test. Booyah!

#1 and #2

 

maddie

 

sisters!!!

 

little sisters

 

cutie little #3

 

 

framer!

 

my sweet pip

 

what happens when you fall asleep first

 

j-man

 

sweet little megan

 

meredith

 

madison

 

wannie