Letter Texturing

I had this R and needed to add a little something to it. So, I searched my craft box and found this hemp and a hot glue gun. I simply wrapped the letter in the hemp string and hot glued as I went. Any other letter may have been easier than an R. I still have not finished the very bottom but think it will be okay for now. Try it out on your special letter!

"Christmas in My Mouth"

Do you ever have NO idea what to cook and just end up making things up as you go? Well, we had some friends over and I just began cooking to see what I came up with. After our meal, Tyson kindly complimented the cook saying that it tasted like "Christmas in his mouth" and "all of the lights were lit!" How sweet and so funny. Anyways, I made this tomato, mushroom baked chicken with a tomato cream sauce pasta and potato/carrot veggies. Also served with a garden salad and fruit salad. 

Sweet, salty, savory. Delicious.

 

I was most pleased with the tomato cream sauce. I can't even tell you how I made it because I just kept adding things until it tasted right. Ended up looking kinda funky in color but tasting great!

 

Chocolate Fondue with Angel food cake,  marshmallows, & apples for Dessert! 

My fav spot to relax : ) 

Bed Saga

We finally have a bed! This has been the most frustrating customer service/business issue I have ever dealt with.  Here's the story:  

Before our wedding, Andrew and I went bed shopping and purchased a bed to be delivered to our place right after we returned from our honeymoon. This sounded perfect, even though the situation seemed uncomfortable in the manner in which they tried to sell us the mattress so quickly and get our money.  Well.... For the following 5 weeks, the bed delivery has been pushed back an additional week with "courtesy calls" notifying us that it will JUST be ONE more week....... Try JUST 5 more weeks! So, for this interim time, we have been switching back and forth between the futon in our living room and foam mats on the floor in our bedroom. Neither are the most comfortable for consecutive nights of sleep. Especially when I need to sleep during the day for my nights on at work. Each week, we are reassured by the salesmen that the bed will indeed be delivered the following weekend.

We finally had enough when we got the same "courtesy call" this week. Andrew canceled the order, bought a bed from another company, and I came home from work this morning to this gorgeous bed all made for me to jump right in! So lovely!

Whew! So glad to finally have a bed. Trust and patience are not always virtues... We should have canceled weeks ago....  My recommendation for bed shopping is to steer clear of Mattress World. 

Futon

 

Foam mats on floor

All things considered, I find myself feeling bad for being so upset about not having a bed to sleep in for 5 weeks while millions of people never have a bed to sleep in at night. So, all in all, I need to put things into perspective and I am grateful to just have a roof over my head. However, the business-woman in me just cannot get over how terrible of customer service we experienced from the very beginning.

Looking forward to better nights sleep in our cozy bed!

Job

With each day, my job is feeling more like home and where I am supposed to be.  I'm slowly learning the tricks of working 12hr night shifts and flip-flopping back & forth to days for classes and training.  I am slowly learning how to better organize my time.  Most important and exciting is that for the most part, for the first time in my life, my work life and personal life are separate and I LOVE it.  I don't have to take work home with me (most of the time) and when I'm at home, I don't think about work.  It is fabulous and so freeing.  After catching up on sleep, I can come home and cook, bake, take a long walk, spend time with Andrew, meet up with friends, read... simply enjoy life.  Though there is so much to still catch up on since this whole whirlwind began, I am so thankful to have finally reached this point in my life and I am trying to enjoy every minute of it. 

 

This is my Residency cohort of nurses

As I am caring for patients and working with new professionals, I am trying to keep this verse in mind:

 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."

Romans 12:9-10

Anatomy & Health Tip #1

 

[Leonardo Da Vinci's Anatomical Sketches] 

One of my favorite artists of all time is Da Vinci. Not for his typical work that most people have seen, but for his incredible intelligence and interest in the human body. It is truly fascinating to look through his sketches of the bones, the circulatory system, musculature, and my favorite: the fetus and the anatomical childbirth process. Sorry if this is past some people's comfort level... or grosses you out.

I framed these sketches for Andrew and put them up in his office as he is beginning his in-depth anatomy class and cadaver lab this week. Wasn't sure if he was going to like them, but he does! :) I like to call it Doctor Art.

I attended an RN OB (Obstetrics) focused seminar the past two days for work and learned SO much. I will try to focus some blog posts about helpful (& tasteful) information for the woman before, during, and after pregnancy.

Pre-Pregnancy Basic Health Tip #1 

• Months before you are trying to get pregnant, be sure to start takings prenatal vitamins each day! This is essential to giving your baby the best start possible. As 50% or more of pregnancies are unplanned, if you are of childbearing age and have even the slightest chance of becoming pregnant, it is not a bad idea to start taking prenatals right away.  They are inexpensive ($4) and over the counter and contain essential vitamins and minerals for your health and your future baby's health. Pick some up today! (Mayo Clinic, Medline Plus, CDC).

White Coat Ceremony

Per Medical School tradition, at the beginning of students' first year, they are supplied with their student-white-coats in an inspirational ceremony. Here are some photos below of the ceremony. Sorry for the blur... we were far away!

 

Reading the Oath of Geneva

 Sea of White coats

 

Proud Parents!

 Me and the Hubs!

Brother time.... Love it.

 

So proud of him and SO excited for him. Doesn't he look happy in all of these? 

 I'm headed to my 3rd night on at work... Looking forward to a day off tomorrow and trying out a new church!

Succulent Love

Wow, it sure seems like succulents are the plant to have right now. I have a few of them and am truly in love...... Why? Because they require very little care! I can't seem to keep other plants alive but am thus far having good luck with succulents. Look below for a few hinters when caring for these loving plants.

 

These are my babies. I have a couple more  as well, but both plants and their pots are from Ikea. Bring some easy to manage LIFE into your home and enjoy some succulents. 

Nearly every floral shop and many grocery shops (Trader Joes, Albertsons, etc.) carry them. Pick one up next time you're at the store!

 

• During "growing season" (spring into fall) most succulents should be watered once /week.
• Most succulents like heat and bright sunlight.
• Re-pot them as necessary. This will allow and encourage them to GROW
• During "dormant season" (late fall into early spring), most succulents require very little water. Just enough to keep their color looking appropriate. Let the soil completely dry between waterings. 
• For more info, check out the following helpful website, http://www.csssj.org/welcome_visitors/basic_culture.html

 Need a nice house warming gift? Give a succulent! Ikea sells them for relatively inexpensive and you can purchase classy pots there as well.

Anniversary Card Idea

Today marks one month of marriage to the love of my life. Woo hoo. Best month of my life so far. 

But, the reason I share this is because tonight, we get to open our 1 month aniversary card that our wedding guests made for us at the reception. The cards range from 1 month to 50 years. They are sealed for us to open on that year's anniversary. Our pastor and his wife gave us this idea and it is such a fabulous one! Looking forward to opening each one together and being reminded of our wedding day.  

Pass the idea along and enjoy!

 I purchased packs of plain white cards and envelopes from a craft store and stamped all of them on the inside and outside. Lastly, we wrote the anniversary year on the bottom and placed them on each table at our reception. The guests seemed to really get into it and it provided a neat activity to fill in any extra time.

Fun Day Monday

Fun-day Monday:

 After sending Andrew off and my morning workout, my day started off with a street car ride to a Starbucks in NW Portland. Spent some time writing some letters to friends and family and couldn't pass up the chance to eat my favorite Sbucks treat. CHONGA bagel. If you haven't tried it, you need to! The perfect lunch or breakfast or anything else you want it to be. Unfortunately, it's a few more calories than I'd like. That's why it is a treat!

I couldn't help but sneak a photo of these three ladies. Notice all of them are wearing navy and white striped shirts! I chuckled when I saw this and did my best to be sneaky while photographing them.

 

Stopped by a lovely floral shop (Sammy's flowers) and bought these pretty flowers for a special birthday mother of mine. Looking forward for a Portland adventure day with my sweet mom tomorrow. I also have a new dream hobby to someday maybe pursue. I want to take flower arranging classes! I found classes in Portland and will be keeping my eye out for one I can attend.

 

Caught the street car home just in time before it got busy for rush hour. 

 Then I met my dear friend Kaitlyn at an authentic Mexican Taqueria. From the atmosphere to the food, you truly feel like you are in Mexico when eating here. Their chips and guacamole are my favorite. I am going to attempt to make similar chips out of my homemade tortillas.  Por Que No? is definitely a place to try if you are in NE Portland.

 Couldn't resist getting some ice cream to end our evening.

See you tomorrow Mom! Looking forward to more adventures and a spontaneous day with you!

Medical School

Andrew's first day of med school begins today! I can hardly believe this time has finally come for him. I am extremely proud of him for all of his hard work and am simply overjoyed that he is following the passions God has given him.

He kicked off the start of the year with a BBQ meeting fellow classmates, followed by a couples meet & greet just down the street! We met some lovely couples that we're both looking forward to getting to know better over the next four years. 

First day of school photos are a must have! Hey there handsome hubby!

It will be a long and demanding next four years, but praise be to God for this opportunity and for God's provision. 

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 106:1

Tea Date

My Thursday morning started off wonderfully with a tea & pancake breakfast date on the roof with the hubby.  After morning devos, we enjoyed a walk around our neighborhood and soaked up the sunshine. What a blessing to have time to spend with Andrew before his schooling starts up (next week!). I had to head back to bed soon after to get sleep before my night shift...  Still working on adjusting to nights... But,  tea is a great start!

STASH Tea of choice-  Andrew:  Wild Raspberry Herbal Tea             Jenna: Moroccan Mint Green Tea    

Hope everyone is having a lovely start to their weekend!