The Holidays

Well, I have no excuses....other than work and prepping for our first Christmas in the cabin (actually, our first time hosting Christmas EVER).  The shopping/crafting/wrapping has been done for about a week or so.  But work has been busy and stressful.  The tree skirt looks great, the presents are sitting and waiting, and the Xmas Crackers are tempting me daily to pull and POP! one.  :)

Tomorrow I make an early run to (the dreaded) Wal-Mart for a few necessities and lots of food for the weekend.  We are having a Winter Solstice Party (aka End of the Mayan Calendar Party) Friday night.  Then Saturday is brunch then an 'early' Christmas Eve Party.  Lots of fun food, prizes and crafts/fun things to do.  The Xmas Fairy has been busy...

Lon has assembled a fantastic bunch of holiday movies to run with or without sound while we play and celebrate.  For example, on my two days off last week we watched the Christmas classic, Gremlins.  Yes...think hard, it WAS a Christmas movie.  Billy got Gizmo for his Christmas present and all hell breaks loose after the midnight snacks and late night swim at the Y.  We also have such favorites as Elf, White Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Year Without a Santa Claus, The Santa Clause, Fred Claus, Scrooged, and E.T....just to name a few.

Besides, we have Pandora for excellent mixes of Christmas music (I highly recommend creating a Jack Johnson Holiday station...most chill and excellent) and some fun mix CDs from years past.  Thank you, Kris, for one of my faves...The Girls Do Christmas.  Best take home party gift ever!  :)

After my Wal-Mart run, I come back home to prep some goodies (Vegetarian Sausage Balls) for our work Holiday Party, clean the house for weekend company, go to said party, prep weekend party fixins and find time to relax during my first off day this week...ha!

I am very much looking forward to hosting our first Christmas, but wish I hadn't had to work right up until the day before.  Such is life.  And it will all get done and I'll have so much fun once everyone is here.  It's really been so nice NOT to stress about the holidays and only have to stress about work.  Oh yeah, and the gray squirrels that have apparently taken up residence between our ceiling and roof (we have no attic...they had to have eaten a path out of the insulation.)  But have no fear, we have someone coming tomorrow afternoon to rid us of the rodents and hopefully patch up their entryway!  If we had an attic, I wouldn't be as surprised, but our ceiling is directly under the roof...crazy.  The life of a log cabin owner...we learn new things everyday.

Anyway, sorry for taking so long to post.  I do have pics to post, but the phone-to-laptop cable is downstairs and I am upstairs...maybe after the holidays I'll have time to post more frequently...and maybe I'll have a new phone-to-laptop cable.  :D

Hope you all have a Happy Christmas, Merry Hanukkah, Blessed Kwanzaa and a Freakin' Awesome New Year!!!

Halloween 2012

Yes, I know...that was two weeks ago.  But I got to do 'gory' for the first time...too fun!  Here's my unzipped Christmas elf.  What do you think???

Note the pointy ears, too!

The blood looked really good when it was shiny, but it kept drying.  Guess that's good for keeping it off my clothes, huh?

Check out the crazy boots Mom found for me at the thrift store!

Sorry for the delay in getting these posted.  Had a blast at a friend's Halloween party and the 'zipper' was a big hit!  Also, helped Mom with her Halloween party the weekend before, but my outfit at her party was much more tame...hard to really call it a costume.  Check it out:

Yeah...we were hippies.  :)  Our original costumes of garden gnomes were way too hot for the warm AL October evening.  

Thanksgiving is next week already (I'm working...yay.)  And before you know it Christmas will be here!  Been working on my crafties (decor and gifts).  Pinterest has been a HUGE help.  Til next time...

Pinterest Weekend---NOT fail! :)

Since I had several days off this past week (7 to be exact!), Mom came up to hang out and play.  We had quite the Pinterest weekend.  If you don't know what Pinterest.com is, check it out.  It's fun.  You can get sucked in, but you'll find all kinds of cool projects, recipes, ideas, etc.  We had several projects on the agenda to try and we tried them all...and they were AWESOME!!!  I'm pretty worn out from the weekend, so I'll post our pics and links to the appropriate Pinterest page.  Let me know what you think!

Crayon Art  

Prep

 1/2 way done

 My finished masterpiece...so much fun!

 Piece I made for Mom

 Mom's first one (with genuine Chattanooga wood!)

 Mom's masterpiece

 Garage sale trays painted with chalkboard paint

 Hemp Angels (for Xmas treats)

 Funky mushroom lamp I found a garage sale (painted the base) and another crayon piece I did (my first one).

 Yard Art (leaves from our yard), but we used spray paint, not acrylic.

Piece Mom made for us!

 The only 'fail'...turned out okay (Lon likes it), but the glue gun is shot and most of the crayon didn't even come out of the tip, but dripped from the back!  I call it Christmas Chaos.

 The weather turned cooler this weekend and we had the doors and windows open. The screened porch was our art studio and Lon burned our very 1st campfire in our fire pit....the shot's a bit blurry, but I LOVE IT!

Pics (aka Goal #3)

Here are just a few pics of random things I've taken over the past month or so.  Just to update...

Shroomy in his new home and my new succulent garden.  Still needs mulch/rocks.

Sunny day view of pond and water lily.  

First home brew I got to try and a cool Russell Wright pitcher sent to us by Paul for no other reason than he likes us, I guess.  :)  Thanks, Paul!

Shroomy in all his glory.  How cool is a mushroom gnome???

Awesome retro mushroom containers I found at a garage sale...$10 for the set!  Since I don't really use flour or sugar, I'm not sure what I'm going to put in these (craft supplies???), but I couldn't let them get away!

Three Generations (me, Dee Dee and Mom) 7/27/12.  I really like how colorful we are...hair and clothes!  :)

A night to remember...

Wow...I know it's been a while since I had a good post, but...well...life happens. The Pinning Ceremony was fantastic! I received a bonus prize I certainly was not expecting. Had a great night with all my 'Mom's'...awesome. (Friday night before Mother's Day and all...) Here's a pic from dinner at The Terminal. Superb restaurant, very cool atmosphere, excellent brewpub!
Thank you all for coming to celebrate with me!!!

Love it!

I have the coolest niece ever...this is what she got her Aunt Rachel for graduation. And she's only four years old. She rocks. Period. :D

1. Trying to be artistic with our cool asparagus fern.
2. The tie dye sucker with the cool peace sign in all it's glory.
This is what she picked out for me....LOVE IT!!! Thanks, Addison!!!

Cutest Xmas Pic!

Okay...here's my fave Christmas pic taken this year...this is my brand new niece, Ava. And yes, Aunt Rachel did make her that awesome onesie! :) She wouldn't let go of my fingers....

And here's another sweet one...She's a cutie, isn't she?

20 days and a wake up!

Bear with me...don't know how much I'll be updating in the next three weeks. I have Test #4 tomorrow at 0730, Test #5 on Mon, Dec 6th and the comprehensive final on Mon, Dec 13th. I also have three online tests to do in between. Add that to working three days this holiday weekend (plus my regular days) and I'm not going to have a lot of time outside of studying for much else. I did my studying for tomorrow's test and have put those notes away. Wish me luck...
Lon's decided to spend his Thanksgiving day making dinner for us (I get home at 1530). Have I mentioned...I have the best husband EVER! :)
Guess that's it for now...better start thinking about sleepy time. If I don't update before then...Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
I'm so thankful for my best bud/husband, my friends, my family, a job, a roof over our heads, cars that run, food on the table, and a smile on my face. :D

Welcome Lil' Jack!

Jackson Crash Cardenas joined the rest of the Cardenas clan on Monday, October 11th @ 1156 am PST. He weighed in at 7lbs 13 oz and is 20.25" long. Mommy and baby are doing great and he is ADORABLE! Not sure what he thinks about the camera in his face, but he'll get used to it...he IS Christine's son! :)
Congratulations to Tony, Christine and big brother, Greyson!

The newest Harley has arrived!

Isn't she sweet? (Even if she is wearing the 'wrong' colors. :P ) Ava Reese Harley arrived yesterday afternoon around 1330 weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz and is 20.5" long. Both mommy and baby are doing great! Here's a pic of the fam...Charlotte, Ava, Jason and Addison (who I hear was more interested in opening Ava's gifts and eating cupcakes than checking out her new sister....3 year olds, what are you gonna do with 'em?)
Congrats, you guys!
Next in line...Jackson Crash Cardenas...come on down! I know your mommy is VERY ready to meet you. :)

Yep. I did it. Woo Hoo! :) First test down...four more to go and a final. Eight short months til the NCLEX!!!!

Still at Moccasin Bend Mental Hospital and still enjoying the experience. My coloring books and crayons were a hit last week, but my client said he couldn't see well...so tomorrow I'm taking Play Doh! I can't wait...it's been years since I've played with the stuff.

Did you know patient care can be fun, too??? :D

The Race for the Cure is this Sunday and our team consists of 41 members! Great turnout...Elke (the other co-captain) and I will be wearing quite fashionable tie-dye t's for the walk. Lon liked my Hippies for Nippies idea, but I knew that team name wouldn't fly for the college. ha, ha, ha!

Babies, babies, everywhere! My little brother's second baby (another girl) is due in a few weeks; Christine (my good friend from our Navy days) has her second baby (another boy) due at the same time! And I just found out a few weeks ago, someone else I know is preggers...they're everywhere! :) Congrats to all you guys!!!

Time for some well deserved R&C time on the ole' PS3. Catch ya on the flip side...

Summer is officially over...

...as far as I'm concerned and I couldn't be happier. Well, I guess I could, but who couldn't once in a while. BUT...we've actually been able to turn the AC off and open the windows and doors! FINALLY! We did have to turn the air back on for a bit tonight, but at least the mornings are cooling off nicely. School starts Monday and I'm ready...very ready to get this ball rolling and done with. Nine months til the NCLEX! (RN Licensing Exam)
Lon is currently working on an exciting project and I'll let you know when it's a go. Good stuff, good stuff....And Paul is coming next weekend for a visit! Yippee!!! I love my little brothers and can't wait for Railer to come hang out with us! Hopefully we'll be able to head his way and check out NY before too long. I've never been to the NE (or the NW) and would love to see both.
Guess that's it for now. Just so happy the 100-degree weather has broken I don't know what else to say. Happy Friday!

Flexibility is key

They tell us that in nursing school. Be flexible. Both figuratively and literally. Healthcare workers are the #1 group at risk for back injuries. And in the medical field, things are ALWAYS changing. Just like in 'real life.'

Pretty good chance (like definitely) we will not be attending The 16th Annual Southern Brewer's Fest this year...awwww, too bad. But there's something even better happening the next weekend!!!! My Lil' Bweeze (Lon's younger brother) Paul is coming to visit us!!! Woo Hoo! :) We can't wait to see him!

Less than four weeks til the first day of class...and when I find out the dates of my Psych rotation. Looking forward to it and nervous about it. Should be interesting and educational!

Time to get ready for work...again. Happy Tuesday!

Goodbye Facebook!

Well, my rollercoaster relationship with the infamous Facebook is coming to an end. It's been fun at times, got back in touch with some 'blasts from the past,' wasted WAY too many hours on a myriad of mindless, but enjoyable games, and learned how many people are out there that I have absolutely NOTHING in common with (other than a school or a bloodline). Needless to say, FB has run its course with me. All done. I'll be deleting that account this weekend. After that I should have more time to blog. Which I really enjoy...especially with a glass of wine or a pint of IPA in hand. Oh yeah, and I'll have more time for studying, too...guess I should be working on that now. Need to review the last year in anticipation for a crazy 3rd semester.

The summer so far...let's see...Mary (my MIL) came to visit us for a little over a week. It was a whirlwind vaca for all of us, but so much fun! We introduced her to our fave places around Chattanooga, played some super fun Buzz Quiz (PS3) and card games (Oh Shit is still the best!), had some good food and tasty adult beverages (of course). Oh! And we introduced her to our all-time favorite live entertainer, Eddie Pontiac! She was instantly smitten...and didn't want to leave El Meson. She and I sang and swayed to every song. (Lon just watched and laughed at us.) She had so much fun we went back the next weekend so she could enjoy his music and antics one more time before she left. Love her! Can't wait til her next visit (hint, hint Mary...October is great down here...)

Been working quite a bit since she left for MI. Time to start organizing last year's notes and start prepping for next year. If all goes as it should, this time next year I'll be a practicing, licensed RN. Crazy, huh? Then only two years til we can start traveling. We have been doing a bunch of research on travel nursing and full time RV living. We're having a hard time finding blogs or forums with truly negative feedback about either of these. Sounds absolutely PERFECT for us! So...that's our three-year plan. For now. Life is funny and has a way of changing plans for you...we'll see. Either way, hopefully in three years I'll be blogging from the open road and a new locale every few months.

Guess that's it for now...plan to update at least a few times a month, but you know what happens to plans...
'So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.' - WW

Four days and a wake up...

...and then I'll take my final! Been a great 1st year. Difficult at times, but always very interesting. On my surgery observation day I was able to observe a bilateral total knee replacement. Bone flying, tissue burning (cauterization), hammers, saws, drills...LOVED IT! Then I saw a ureter stent placement for a patient with a HUGE kidney stone in her ureter. Took like 5 minutes total...amazing. Really enjoyed surgery...just another route I may want to travel as an RN.
My super sweet mother-in-law, Mary, is coming to visit us next Friday and she's staying for 10 days! We can't wait!!! Last time we saw her was bittersweet (good to see her, but heartbreaking reason), but this time is all for fun. We are so looking forward to showing her our city and enjoying her company. And I'll be out of school so we can play every day! I do have to work one day while she's here, but I'm sure she and Lon will enjoy some mother-son time without me. :)
Liberty Shiraz has been opened! And it is tasty...mmmmmmm. It's a very light Shiraz with a little buttery taste and a slight dryness, but a clean finish. It's not the berry-heavy, big mouth feel we're used to with our favorite Australian Shiraz styles, but it's great for spring/summer. We didn't plan it that way, but we're glad it's not heavier. Perfect for a picnic...slightly chilled served with cheeses, crusty bread, olives and some fresh fruit. My mouth is watering already. Maybe we'll have to do that while Mary's here...Once we (finally) get the labels made and on the bottles, I'll post some pics.
Can't believe it's already almost May. Lon told me nursing school would fly by and it sort of is...I've heard horror stories about 3rd semester, so I'll be glad when I've completed and passed it in December. 1/5 of the previous class failed 3rd semester...so it's no picnic apparently. I'll enjoy my time away this summer, but will have to be vigilant in keeping up my skills/meds/studying prior to the fall. Just think...in only one short year I'll be graduating, getting ready to take the NCLEX and get my RN license. Wow. Exciting and intimidating...but I'm loving my classes and clinicals so I think I may have finally found my calling. It only took me 35 years. :)
Til next time, as my good friend Willy has said many times, 'If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it.'

It's my BIRTHDAY WEEK!

Lon introduced me to the 'Birthday Week' concept many years ago and I still think it's a great idea. You have a whole week to do a lot of fun stuff, a little fun stuff or fun stuff here and there. That way, if you have to work on your birthday or it rains or plans change, you have 6 more days to make up for it! We kicked off my birthday week last Thursday. I picked last Thursday because we have plans to finish it off this Thursday (even though my 'real' birthday is Wednesday). Technically, that's a week and one day, but well...I think I deserve it. I also work every Friday, so I couldn't start last Friday to finish this Thursday, well, you get the idea. After I got home from class Lon took me to one of our fave places downtown, The Mushroom (most of you probably know it as Mellow Mushroom, but we nickname most places we like). Split a yummy toasted hoagie, drank some seriously tasty beer and did our weekly crossword puzzle. (We're going to make a great retired couple, don't you think?) For some reason, we thought it would then be a good idea to head over to a not-so-great Mexican place only because they have a rooftop bar that overlooks the TN River. Of course, if you only order margaritas and queso, they can't screw it up too bad. They really should have people of some type of Hispanic heritage working there...they'd do much better! Just ask El Meson (THE best Mexican restaurant in Chatt!) Anyway, got a table on the rooftop, ordered a pitcher and basked in the sun. Fantastic start to a great week!
For Easter we had a super yummy breakfast (at home) and then went hiking on Moccasin Bend. Got a little muddy, but it was fun to explore a new trail. Afterwards, we went 'house hunting' (really just fantasizing). Watched 'Where the Wild Things Are'. Kind of disappointing. Cute enough, but not one we'll want to watch again. Been let down by several of our Netflix choices lately. The Hangover, Couples Retreat, Four Christmases...all let downs. They weren't bad enough to turn off, just none that we wholeheartedly recommend. Tonight we have Juno. We'll see...
The big finale for my birthday is....drum roll, please...another movie! But not just any movie, a Tim Burton movie...with Johnny Depp. Two of my faves! Yep, we're risking everything and venturing out to the theater (please wish us luck!) We have a new theater downtown (first LEED certified in the country...something to do with being 'green'). It has a VIP theater (with adult bevvies, real food and electric recliners) that comes with a VIP price tag. We will NOT be going to that theater (even though I think it would be cool...the tickets alone are $15-20!) Instead we're going to a matinee (hoping most people have already seen it) on a Thursday (hoping most people are at work/school) to HOPEFULLY enjoy the 3D Alice in Wonderland experience without cell phones, people talking and kicking the backs of our seats. I'll let you know how that goes.
Right now, the windows and doors are open, a nice cool breeze is blowing in, the sun is shining and it's getting up to a record-breaking 90 degrees today! Don't know where this summer weather gets off showing it's sweaty head in April, but we'll have our 60's back by this weekend. Silly summer...just can't wait for June. But it must, it really must. I NEED my Spring! And to think last year it SNOWED on my birthday! I remember...we were at The Dog (Hair of the Dog Pub, that is). This officially starts our 3rd year in Chattanooga...and we still love it! I don't know that Lon and I have lived anywhere (together) for more than two! Crazy...
Guess that's enough for today...hope it's beautiful where you are. :)

Happy 2010!

Good-bye 2009. We had some good times and some tough times. Lost some loved ones. Grew closer to some of those left behind. Lost a job I hated. Found a job I enjoy. Made some wine...some delicious wine! Started nursing school...still enjoying it. I learned a lot from you, 2009. I may not have liked you at times, but I got a lot of valuable experience and some great memories.

Hello 2010!!! Welcome! I'm excited that you're here. I know we may have our ups and downs, but I'm confident there will be more ups. We have a new batch of wine clarifying. I've started a new semester. Lon's finished up his required intern hours. The sun is shining. We still LOVE our city and look forward to getting out and meeting more of its people this year. Here's to a great start on an amazing year ahead!

Life is precious

It's amazing how quickly priorities can change. One minute making money and getting A's on tests are of utmost importance. The next minute they don't even matter when you find out a loved one is gravely ill. Your mind races, you feel guilty for trying to figure out how to take that exam and still travel to see them 'in time', you start to worry about money for the trip, but realize money is useless in getting back lost time. You realize just how precious life truly is. I am so thankful that Lon and I were able to go to MI and spend Thanksgiving with some of the most amazing people I know, my in-laws. Never in my life have I gotten so many hugs in such a short period of time! :) I am also grateful that we (thanks to my wonderful family) will be able to visit again before Christmas. Time, life and loved ones are so very precious. I hope you are surrounded by those you care for this holiday season. Appreciate every minute you have. The expression, 'Don't sweat the small stuff...it's all small stuff' is a truer statement than I ever thought. Grudges, petty frustrations, people who get on your nerves...wastes of time. Your time and energy are so much more important than that...spend it making good memories for the dark days that always seem to rear their ugly heads when you least expect them.
Hope you have a beautiful, happy holiday season filled with laughter, smiles, hugs and kisses surrounded by your favorite people. That's my plan.

Almost time

Well, Micro is over (I made an A!) and Nursing I starts in 3 short weeks. Still working full time hours at the hospital, but that will slow down a bit once classes start. I've bought all my books and supplies...guess I'm ready as I'll ever be! One really nice thing, though...looking through the syllabus for the 1st semester...the skill set: it's a lot of what I do now at work. Vital signs, ht/wt, I&O (input and output), pain scale, hand hygiene, EKG's, catheters...all good. The 'Remove fecal impaction digitally'...well, not really looking forward to that lab! But I guess taking care of patients means taking care of patients...whatever their needs, right? :) We've had a pretty quiet summer...work, school, work, school. Mary Beth got married last weekend...beautiful ceremony at Dad's house. Might be going to my 8th grade 'reunion' next weekend! ha, ha, ha...the lot of us were in 5th-8th grade together and now most of us are on Facebook. That should be entertaining.

Busy, busy, busy...

Sorry it's been a while, but since I'm updating from work on my lunch I think the title says it all. Between school, work, Farm Town (if you have FB, you may also be an addict) and having some fun, I haven't taken the time to update. All is well...tonight after work we're heading down to Oneonta because my lil' step-sis, Mary Beth, is getting married. Her shower is tomorrow. So since I couldn't make it down for Father's Day, I'll get a two-for-one visit! Our wine should be ready for bottling the middle of next week (super cool!) Just 6 more weeks of class, then I start Nursing courses on Aug 31. Can't believe the summer is 1/2 over already! That's it for now...gotta eat and get back to it. Happy Saturday!