home again

it's been a while since we've talked. sorry about that :) life post-mexico has been a whirlwind- engagement parties, family visits, cookouts, birthday parties, and wedding showers.

E V E R Y . S I N G L E . N I G H T.

regardless, of the hectic week we've been having, it's been absolutely wonderful. sean and i are living a "normal" life together!! if only for the week....

sean and i had a fabulous time in mexico, and escaped without swine flu!! i will dedicate another post to mexico soon.

early saturday morning, sean leaves for chattanooga and 2 months of intense surgical rotations. while i am going to miss him tremendously and i wish i could be there to support him and lend a helping hand when he needs it, i am also aware of the fact that it is a blessing for me to not have to witness the hell he's going to be put through. i just get to listen to the awesome stories.

there's your brief update on life in memphis. stay tuned for the details.

IT'S HERE.

no, not the abominable snowman. the moment of truth. sean is upstairs doing his "warm-up"... some random 'world' questions to get those brainy juices flowin'. he'll probably head out in 20 minutes or so. and then will be one step closer to M.D.!!

last night, i saw the manifestation of his nerves. nothing to bad, just some funny little things that i know are not in his normal routine :) he spent a couple minutes cleaning his earplugs (ew, i know) then proceeded to layout his clothes for the day. jeans and... what to wear, what to wear... he stood in the closet staring at his shirts for a good while, slowing scanning each row to figure out which shirt is going to be the shirt. he finally landed on a good one, a long-sleeved american eagle polo, and laid it by his jeans.

1. sean never lays his clothes out the night before.

2. when choosing an ensemble, sean is usually the most decisive person i know. i'm the one staring at the closet with desperation like someone stole my favorite outfit. so it was quite entertaining to see him so focused and determined.

3. the earplugs thing was just flat out FUNNY. the details make the man. :)

rachel and i are going for a run this morning, once we send the boys on their way. and then i'm going to make the surprise treat for sean- a reese's chocolate peanut butter cheesecake!! he doesn't know about this, and i hope it serves a wonderful surprise post-test. and i hope it don't screw it up. he's a cheesecake connoisseur and i've never made one. eeek. if it's fabulous i'll post the recipe- no doubt.

think happy thoughts

well, we're getting CLOSE!! on friday, sean takes step 1 of the us medical licensing exam. it's no secret that this test is a pretty big deal. i know it. he certainly knows it.

first thing's first: mad props go out to sean because he has maintained his signature calm & rational approach to this test. i feel as though he could easily be worrying himself sick- if it were me i'd most definitely be curled up in the corner in fetal position right about now. after our racquetball game today, he did admit that the nervousness is beginning to come out. completely normal, though. no nervousness is not a good thing.

sean has worked his ass off for the past two years, and kicked it into super-high gear for the last month and a half. i didn't know people could actually study as much and he and his friends do. he deserves every bit of good that comes his way.

so think happy thoughts on friday from 8am-4pm. well, actually, just go ahead and think happy thoughts starting NOW. gracias muchachos.

i wish i had a bunny...

... then zoe would have a playmate. happy easter :)

green porno

this may be a sad thing to admit, but i'm gonna go ahead and do it: my only previous familiarization with isabella rossellini was from "friends", when ross had her on his list on 5 celebrities he was allowed to sleep with. i could go on about that episode for another 10 minutes, but that's beside the point.

i was just watching "the soup" on E! and joel mchale informed me of ms. rossellini's newest project for the sundance channel... "green porno." i cannot even being to describe this by myself, so here is a description from the official website, as well as a link to the video page. WATCH THEM ALL. even though they're a bit awkward, they are pretty entertaining. they're only a couple minutes long a piece and who knows... maybe you'll learn something. and you can create your own "green porno name"... mine is Cory Cat. nice.

"The critically acclaimed series from Isabella Rossellini is back with a new batch of very short folms about the reproductive habits of marine animals. GREEN PORNO is scientifically accurate yet extremely entertaining."

(from www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno/)

videos: Sundance Channel: GREEN PORNO

saturday = pampering

new haircut and massage in the same day!? who can be that lucky???

ME.

sean gave me a massage for my birthday, and i have yet to use it. so i'm heading over to massage envy on saturday for one whole hour of complete and total bliss.

but before that, i'm getting my hair cut. i'm going to a new salon, since my regular place is too expensive for this economic time. so i'm taking a little leap of faith and going to a new place and new person. which is kind of a big deal for me, since i get a little protective about who cuts my hair.

i cannot wait to get pampered!! eeek! I LOVE IT.

gettin' back out there

i got a break in the unemployment storm this weekend. while i was in knoxville, i got a call from a firm i had contacted a couple of weeks ago. the owner was the one who called me and expressed an interest in having me do some contract work. SO yesterday i went in for the first day of work!! i basically worked during the afternoon, on some schematic design for a local renovation project.

there were a few challenges that came with the job:

1. this place is much smaller than LRK. as in, they have 2 full-time employees. i'm used to all the ambient noise in LRK's office. even on the quiet days, there was some noise. not at the new place. it is veeeeery quiet. it's not necessarily a bad thing, will just take some getting used to.

2. LRK had "custom" key-commands for AutoCAD. and because that's the only place i ever used CAD, that's all i've ever known. now i have to get used to the out-of-the-box commands, as well as the random custom settings that were setup by the person who usually uses the computer i was using. along the same lines, the layer system is obviously completely different. i won't go into detail, but those of you who know what i'm referring to probably understand my frustration.

3. i miss my LRK friends :( enough said.

but the positives are great... the office is literally a 2-minute drive from my house. i guess i could walk, but come on... let's be realistic. the people there seem very nice, and the boss was impressed with my initiative to take AND PASS the leed exam. he's studying for his right now. and above all else, it's some money, experience, resume booster, and possible connection for future employment.

so it took me almost 8 weeks to find a little work. hopefully it will last :)

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN

TWWWWOOOO WEEEEEEKS

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

decision '09

OK.

having no job has forced me to get creative in my daily activities and thoughts. here's what i came up with today:

1. i am not completely sure that i want my hair as long as it is right now. especially because the summer is fast approaching, i am leaning towards getting a little chop chop. nothing too drastic, still below my shoulders, but not as heavy and hot as my current 'do. to illustrate...

2. i think i will need a hat for the beach. mexico AND FLORIDA (that's right!! family vacation has been added to the agenda... it deserves, and will get, it's own blog post... so stay tuned). for the next two and a half weeks, i will be on the lookout for the perfect beachy hat. loves it!

photog wannabe

rachel and i took a little tour of downtown memphis this evening, and i took some pictures to donate to the drury university beaux arts ball and art auction. here's the outcome... hopefully some people will be willing to shell out a few bucks for these photos.

totes-ma-gotes

oh what a glorious weekend!! i tend to forget how much fun my college friends are when i'm stuck in memphrica. just as i expected, we had a fabulous time. the weekend was filled with eating, talking, drinking, lounging, laughing, hugging, and reminiscing. and i loved every minute of it. i always have such a great time that i don't even mind the 5 hour drive each way.

more than anything, i think my trip up there always reminds me of how precious friendships are, and how even 2 years time and 300 miles distance can't weaken the ones that mean the most to you. if anything, it makes the reunions that much more enjoyable.

i love y'all.

gearing up for a girls' weekend!!

i'm super-duper excited for my weekend trip!! i'm driving up to springfield, mo tomorrow for a girls' weekend, and a wedding thrown in there somewhere :) one thing i always love about going back to spfd is that it always has a bit of a "college reunion" feel to it. several of my very close college friends are still in town working, so i get to see them. i think we may take in a movie, definitely some sushi, lots of wine, and girl talk. ooo it's been too long and i'm so excited! oh, and how could i forget the "woody p. snowmonster" at andy's frozen custard??? i would SO blow my diet for that delicious dish. in fact, i plan on it. here are just a few of the things i'm looking forward to:

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU GIRLS!!

(looks like a good time, huh? yeah, i know you're jealous.)

tis the season

so i've got a couple of weddings coming up... and i'm already thinking "what to wear?" i bought one dress at old navy a couple weeks ago,

and i'm trying to decide which dress to recycle from my closet for the other wedding. i'm leaning towards this one although i'm afraid that my lady curves don't agree with it as much as they did six years ago when i bought it. i suppose that i could use it for the may wedding, which would give me some extra time to trim some select areas :) yeah, that's probably a good plan. and some spanks.

anyway... so i bought this belt at New York & Company to add some definition to the dress. but the color is slightly off, and it just doesn't quite mesh well enough.

so then i thought maybe i should use a belt that would offset the dress, bring it down a notch... you know. eh. even i don't know.

any advice would be great. oh, and shoes. suggestions, please.

don't mess with madeline

ahh today was glorious. rachel and i took her dog madeline to overton park. they have this large open area that is legitimately dog friendly. people let their dogs off leashes and these dogs just miraculously wander around exploring but not really bothering anyone. it's amazing. poor little maddie is a little more of a, shall we say, free spirit. so she stayed on her leash. i think she had fun anyway.

as we left the park, a guy stopped us to ask about maddie and show us a picture of his dog. while he searched his phone for a picture, maddie most definitely charged him and head-butted him in the groin, sending him to his knees. my guess was that she didn't care much for his "f*#k you" belt (seriously). it was amazing and hilarious and after apologizing we left as soon as we could.

and THEN we perused the oak court mall, and found some fabulous shoes at payless.

and i got home to find my bathing suit had arrived from j.crew!! this was the BEST DAY EVER!!

OOO!! new items on Etsy

http://lifechanging.etsy.com

another present to myself

the new ipod shuffle just came out, so i will use this opportunity to get myself the "old" shuffle at the discounted price. a little slow on the uptake, i know, but it will be PERFECT for working out.

i love obama

so i got a $44 check from the government... and my weekly check was supposed to be, well, MORE than that... so i went to my local unemployment office to inquire about the check and i discover that this money is from president obama's stimulus package!! i don't know if this is a weekly check or not, but it makes me smile to know that my president is thinking about me :)

AND here's my order from j.crew!! i've finally purchased my bathing suits for this summer- YAY!

and for a little variety...

and for those of you thinking "so, uh, she's buying j.crew swimwear and collecting unemployment??"... i have two words for you:

GIFT CARDS.

i love it.

oh, and happy st. patrick's day...

... i hope you got to drink some good beer today. like this guy.

hello again!

well, i'm home from a fabulous weekend in nashville!! it was so nice to get out of the city for a bit and see some different sights. we ate A LOT (peter's sushi, pm, urban flats, fido, midtown cafe, marche... and if you can believe it, i feel like i am leaving something out) and went to all the fun little neighborhoods. i loved "living" the nashville life for a weekend, instead of having the tourist experience that i've had before there. thanks to rachel, her parents, and her friends for showing me such a wonderful time!!

now... because i ate so much, it's time to get back on the workout train (for the millionth time). when i woke up at 7:00 this morning was reaaaally foggy outside, but seemed to have subsided by the time i went to run. i drove to mud island for my run today, and as soon as i turned onto front street, i saw that fog was still blanketing the river, and entire memphis waterfront. the bridge across the mississippi was completely hidden. and it was 10:30!! on island drive, i couldn't see 50 feet in front of the car. once i parked, i took the following pic with my phone:

creepy, party of one?? seriously. i couldn't see the river, any other people, or even across the road... i felt like will smith in i am legend. minus the mutant human animals trying to eat me. and the multi-million dollar paycheck. ugh, if only. but i digress. by the time i finished my 3.5 mile run, it was sunny and clear. and i noticed that the river seemed to be getting higher... i hope it floods again, just like last year!! because it's so fascinating!! here's a pic from the same vantage point as the one above, but from last year's flooded river. and this is before it even got REALLY high!!

this has been a very random post, and for that i apologize.

gettin' outta town!!

i'm headed to nashville tomorrow morning with rachel... be back on monday! yay for long weekends!! well actually, lately i cannot distinguish between weekdays and weekends so... i guess just- YAY!

i'll wait to update you on the weekend until i get back. i'm taking SO MUCH STUFF (!?) that there's no reason for me to take my computer. but if you're curious about some of my weekend events, please see rachel's blog - 23 - where she has so graciously outlined our plans for food consumption. oooooweeeee i cannot wait!!

time to read my guidebook. goodnight!