Weekend

I should totally be studying now...I'm not, clearly! I had a fantastic weekend. On Friday I went to the botanical gardens--I had a great time. I was there by myself, just wandering and taking pictures. There was a wedding that was scheduled to take place there at 4:30--it was hot as hell. Just one more reason not to get married during football season. I mean I was in shorts and a tank top and I felt like I was melting. I would have been so upset if I was supposed to get married and felt like my face was going to melt off. Anyways, here are some pictures from there.









Then Friday night Phillip and I went to get his hair cut and we were both hungry so we headed to Qdoba--after we ate we wandered around the outlet mall for a while. I found two tank tops, aqua and red. Then we went to a crapload of stores trying to find Phillip a new pair of jeans. He is incredibly hard to find jeans for because he has is so tall but then he has big thighs. Generally if we find jeans that fit his legs they are usually too big on his waist and if it fits his waist it usually is super tight on this thighs. Anyways, we found a pair, we found them at Ralph Lauren--mind you the outlet store price was $60 but we were more than happy to pay it at that point. Then when we were leaving we were walking past Nine West and I asked if we could go in, he reluctantly agreed--then, being the love that he is, he bought me an awesome pair of 3 and a half inch heels...the man knows how to please his woman. :) Thanks honey.

Saturday we had to get up early to head to his sister's house, we had to be there by 9:45 to get some pictures taken as a family. It was really nice, his Dad was in a fantastic mood because he got a full nights sleep uninterrupted which is really rare for him. For pictures it was Phillip's parents, his sister Jessica, her husband Doug, Jessica's son Zach, Phillip, me, his sister Alisha and her loser, opps I mean boyfriend Mike. Anyways, we took pictures of all of us together, then as individual couples, and then I had Phillip ask to have a picture of just him, his parents and his sisters. I wanted to make sure that their last set of family pictures didn't have this loser in them. Phillip's mom was thankful for that. :) We hung out at Jessica's for a while before heading at 2:45, once we got home, I had to iron some shirts and we loaded up, us and the dogs and headed to Bradenton Beach for our engagement pictures. It was an awesome experience. Our photographer was amazing, if her pictures turn out half as good as her personality then we will be incredibly lucky. Anyways, of course I will post them when I get them. That was our weekend--Phillip had to work today...Boo. I came home early and got here at 11, was supposed to study, I didn't. Whoops.

Anyways, we will end with an awesome picture of my baby boy. :)

School!

Oh school...I forgot how tedious and challenging you are! So far this week we have studied Emergency Effectiveness (Codes), Intro to ICU, Safety in Meds, Cardiovascular Disease and then the big daunting lecture, Dysrhythmias! We had a four and a half hour on dysrhythmias, do you have no idea how freaking hard that is?!? It's like woah overwhelming, now I just have to figure out how to study all these dysrhythmias. Oh, and mind you that was just the first three days, today we had a meds math lab, a meds lab, a central line lab and an insulin lab--tomorrow we learn to start IVs. Ack!

Oh yeah, and in my spare time I also am taking a statistics class. :) I already have done the first three chapters and took the first quiz, I am waiting to get my grade back for that. I don't think he is going to grade them until Sunday since that is the final day to turn them in. Hopefully I got an A!

Tomorrow after my venipuncture lab we are heading to Orlando--I have to swing back to the house and pick up the dogs, then Super has an appointment to get her nails done, then I have to take the dogs to a bakery in Haile and they will each get a couple of gourmet cookies. Lucky babies, after they get cookies we are getting on the highway, I will then drop the kids off at Phillip's and head to the botanical garden. I want to try to do photography a bit more often, I miss it, it is my stress release. After a brief round of photos Phillip will come home and we are heading to dinner and the outlet mall--Phillip still has nothing to wear for pictures on Saturday, great...just great! :)

I will try to post pictures from the gardens tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

Dr. Pepper

This is from my Dr. Pepper obsessed love Shanna--she is a fellow nursing student and completely understands what the roller coasters of nursing school is about!

I am supposed to post 5 obsessions I have!

1. Prince Phillip, he's my love! I am always texting him (even during lecture...whoops!). He's my lobster, if anyone watches Friends you get that. :)

2. Roman Noodle, oh my little Roman Noodle. He is my baby, I can say "where's Mama's baby?" He will come running from anywhere in the house. He's my chuch!

3. Nursing/science--I know that is totally geeky but it's true. I'll start talking to my lobster (lol! I crack myself up) about whatever and he'll say "Science Talk with Meghan!" Yeah, so he doesn't enjoy it as much as I do, but he is pretty tolerant and will listen for a while before he tunes me out.

4. Photography...I <3 class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">dslr!) I think my favorite thing to take pictures of is kids and pets; however, I have taken some pretty cool pictures of still life which is really hard for me. Taking my photo classes at school opened up a completely different view through the lens. I started taking structured photography classes back in 2001 and have taken quite a few since then. I took 3 film classes before I started digital work--I miss the dark room though. At least digital is sooo much less expensive.

5. I am obsessed with being organized, it drives Phillip nuts! I never just wing things, I always have things scheduled. I like structure...I don't think there is anything wrong with this. I think being super organized is what keeps me successful--organization is here to stay! ;)

I tag anyone who hasn't done this award yet--I love all you guys!!

Here are some of my still life pictures:

Today is...

Sunday, August 23, which means tomorrow is...my first day back at school! There is so much to get ready, I have butterflies in my belly just thinking about it. Right now I am at the boys house because Shelley went to Orlando last night for a bridal shower and Bill had an ENT conference in WPB--I should be here until late morning she said yesterday; however, I am afraid she'll end of being late because of traffic. You have to understand, we live in a college town-tomorrow is the first day of school and Gainesville has 90,000 students returning to school, about 70,000 of them are college students, which in turn=a crap ton of traffic heading up the GVille the day before classes begin.

Anyways, I just served up a kick butt breakfast to Coop my morning bird of green eggs! Yum! Last night our bedtime story was Green Eggs and Ham. Cooper has been having a tough time lately, we aren't sure if he hasn't been sleeping well or something, but even though he has been a little Satan to everyone yesterday he was fantastic to me. Last night after I put him to bed, he had to come outside to let me know that tomorrow he is going to give me a present. He is my boy, so as much as everyone thinks he has been so terrible, which, don't get me wrong he's been rotten, he was wonderful for me--fingers crossed he stays fab today also.

I haven't really formulated a plan for the rest of today, the baby and Robbie are still asleep, so obviously, I'll have to feed the little buggers but then what? Who knows? Maybe...just maybe, if it is nice out I might take them to the botanical gardens. I would love to have some nice pictures of them, so maybe, just maybe, that's what we'll do. :)

As for when I get home today...I have so much to do, it's almost daunting, but a nap sounds wonderful. Last night Roman woke me up around 0220 because he had a seizure and he kept me up until sometime after 0300 and then the little baby was up talking until sometime like 0330. I don't ever go in to see him, if I do it just stirs him up and makes him want to get up more--so I left him and he finally after about an hour he went back to sleep. Anyways, I digressed, when I get home today I have so much to do, 2 loads of laundry to fold, a good amount of laundry to hang in the closet, straighten up my bathroom, dishes...ack! Can someone please come over and be my maid? I hate cleaning, and on top of all that I also have cat boxes to do today, yuck!

Well once I am done being domestic, I then have to get ready to go to school! I have decided to go green this year, which means no more printing...I probably single handily killed 20 trees last year to print all my lecture material and my syllabi, etc. Not this year. I am downloading everything to the Mac and taking the Mac to school. I found an online program where I can write on PDF files and from what I can see I can make it work even if the internet is iffy at school. Anyways, I am going to download all the material we need for the first day of school and then tomorrow morning before I leave open up firefox with the items uploaded to the PDF writer. We'll see how this goes, I'll get back to you all on it at the end of the week. It might be too tough to study off the computer but it can't hurt to try. Also, I need to pack everything tonight because Meghan and I have decided to meet at 0745 at school to claim our seats. We are a bit territorial about our seats and since the bridge students are merging with our class then we need to be careful that they don't take our seats or it's on! Yay school...not!

That's all I've got for now, oh wait! Ashley over at Let Go, Laughing gave me a bunch of blog awards, here they are:




For these, I have been told I have to list seven things I love...this shouldn't be too hard, right?

1. I love skirts and dresses, flowy ones particularly. I am wearing a cute skirt and a cute dress for our engagement pictures on Saturday (that is if she let's me change into three outfits because I also want to wear jeans and a black shirt for one set).

2. I love animals, love love love animals. I personally have two dogs, Super Sadie and Roman Noodle and five cats, Moses, Maximus, Kiwi, Revol and Gibby. I wouldn't have it any other way they= <3. I also love other animals, almost all animals at that, I try not to wear them, definitely never eat them, and also try to project them the best I can.

3. I love my fiance, I'm getting married and I am so freaking excited. T-minus 475 days until we are husband and wife. Phillip is my better half and although we can pick on each other and do a great job at getting under one another's skin I absolutely adore him. I cannot wait to spend forever with him.

4. I love nursing, I cannot wait to be a nurse. I have 249 days until I graduate and then I have to sit for boards and then I'm a nurse...how scary! I plan on working in pediatric hem/onc once I graduate. Hopefully Prince Phillip and I will be living in a town with a peds hospital to make ti that much sweeter. I'll obviously work at whatever the biggest hospital in whatever town we live in that has peds, but a peds hospital is much preferred.

5. I love volleyball. I started playing volleyball when I was 11, played all through middle school, then high school as well as played club during my off season. When I went away to college I started to coach vball. I plan on, once I graduate, to start coaching club again. I loved coaching, I loved the girls. The last team I coached was a 13's national team in Jacksonville.

6. I love the beach. I was born less than a mile from the beach and grew up in South Florida, clearly frequenting the beach quite often. I try to travel there whenever I can, unfortunately in Gville I am 2 hours from the nearest beach, maybe when we move I'll get lucky enough to live closer to the beach.

7. I love Gainesville, I love everything, well almost everything about this town. I have lived here 5 years this month and although it took about a year and a half for me to like it here, I now love it. It will make me so sad when I have to leave after graduation, I've asked Prince Phillip to look at going to grad school for a couple of years after I graduate so that way we will be able to stay here, but he says that he doesn't want to go to school just to go to school. Fingers crossed, say a little prayer, that that changes. I would love to stay here! I have a house, I have friends and my boys here. I have a future job here at Shands, it could be wonderful. Clearly if Prince Phillip doesn't want to come back then I will have to leave and I'll do my best to make the best out of it; however, staying here would be fab! Oh yeah, this ties into loving GVille, I love the Gators! Less than 2 weeks until our season begins! Rock on!

Ok well I am passing this onto, Annie, Shanna, Katie, Adair, Becca, Elle, and Allison! Have fun girls. :)

Top Ten Thursday

I am joining Sara over at Domestically Challenged for her first Top Ten Thursday...she goes about giving out a topic and you have to write your top ten answers to the topic question. Today's topic question is, when not on blogger what are the other top ten websites you are visiting.

10. Ebay, usually just browsing--sometimes it proves fruitful and I find something rocking at a fantastic price!
9. Sun Sentinel, it is the local paper for Fort Lauderdale which is where I am from. For whatever reason, I still enjoy reading the articles about "home".
8. Gainesville Sun which is our local news paper. I check it every day, sometimes for a while, sometimes not!
7. Island Bliss weddings, it is a wedding coordinators website. They have the most inspirational pictures, she is able to create the most amazing wedding days.
6. Runner's World--I attempt to keep myself motivated to run.
5. Etsy, <3!
4. Project Wedding, I have so much fun on there. The other soon to be brides are fantastic and they have the most wonderful DIY projects.
3. Angel (our school's website for classes).
2. Gmail, chit chatting with friends and loves!
1. Facebook, I spend way too much time on here...it's kind of like an addiction.

Little boy Jayden

Hey there everyone! Last week when I was home my sister asked me to take pictures of her friend's one year old little boy. They are young parents and have never been able to afford professional pictures of their little angel and he is just the cutest thing! I just wanted to post a few of these pictures up.

Venue

We found our venue today...it is beautiful. It is called the Dove Creek Lodge in Key Largo, Fl. They do one wedding a weekend there and I sat with the GM of the hotel today, Jamie, who is fabulous and talked about this, that and the other! We got a lot out of the way in regards to the style I want, the food we'll probably have, the ceremony site, etc. The place is little there are 14 rooms/suites in total and we are fingers crossed going to try to rent the whole place. Hopefully our people will reserve a room there. I am going to sit down tomorrow and try to see if I can figure out who will and who will not stay there. I also think Prince Phillip and I will leave after the wedding and go to the Marriott or should we stay there again? I don't know, any suggestions are welcomed. You know, I just feel a little weird staying there on my wedding night with all our family and friends who clearly know what we'll be doing...TMI for them I think.

Tomorrow my Dad is going to call and secure our date with a deposit. I'm excited. My mom and I drove down there right after my optometrist appointment, had lunch at the place that caters the wedding and then checked out the place before we got back in the car to drive home. We drove 2 hours each way. It has been quite a long day--I'm exhausted.

In the morning, I leave my parents' house to head back to Orlando. I'll spend the night in Orlando and then Monday morning when Prince Phillip wakes up to head to work, I'll pack up the pups and head home. I can't wait to see my kitties, I miss them so much!

Our engagement pictures are in two weeks and I am super excited about them. I still have no decided on any outfits to wear, any suggestions are always welcomed. I am a bit worried about using this photographer just because she is so dreamy in her images, but I did send her an email to let her know what I like and what I don't so I am sure she'll be able to work it. If not, I figure we will re-shoot a session and then if we like them secure them for the wedding date.

Here are a couple of pictures for you:

This one is of a potential for the ceremony set up, I am not sure since that is set up for 100 how it would look for 50...too naked? What do you think.

This pic is of the high topped tables set up on the pool deck for the cocktail hour:

Yay for health insurance!

I had a pretty eventful day. Roman and I actually got a full nights sleep...at normal people hours. I haven't been on a normal clock, I've been falling asleep somewhere between 0200-0300 and waking up somewhere between 1100-1200. This is so unlike me, I am usually asleep by 2200 (10pm, trying to get back on the 24 hr clock for school) and wake up by 0800 maybe 0830 on a crazy late day. Last night we were asleep by 2330 and woke up around 0615. Flipping my schedule now is a great plan so when school starts in a week and a half it wont be like a swift kick to the gut.

Anyways, I then went to two different doctors visits. My first doctor was my dermatologist. I have really bad psoriasis, I have it all over my scalp (and had it for years before we figured out what it was), on my left knee there is a plaque and in both my ears. Well I am currently on the strongest topical drug available, so in a last ditch attempt before immunosuppressants we decided to keep me on one of the drugs I am on but alternate it daily with a different drug. We are trying to stop my from being immune to the drug. Basically, if this doesn't work with then I am having to go on to an immunosuppressant subq injection. I am not sure I really want to go on this, being on an immunosuppressant while in nursing school scares me a little...um a lot! We are around so much nastiness day in and day out the last thing I need is some cold that lands my bum on the bench. We aren't allowed to miss clinical days, if we miss more then 2 we have to repeat the semester--no thanks! Anyways, fingers, toes and prayers crossed that this rotating medication schedule works.

After that doctor, I grabbed a quick bagel, there is nothing better than a Jewish bagel--unfortunately there aren't a lot of Jewish people in Gainesville. Now before anyone goes taking offense to this, there is non intended, I myself am half Jewish and I just know, for a fact that Jewish bagel places are better than non Jewish bagel places.

Then...I had a gyno appointment. Ick! I hate going, mind you, I love my ARNP that I see, I just hate going. I honestly think pap smears hurt, maybe I'm a baby but I do. The whole scraping of the lining of my uterus is not cool by me. We also had a little chit chat about suppressing my monthly cycle, this has been something I have done probably for the last 2 or 3 or 4 years. Every now and a then I will have someone say to me that isn't good for you--I say yes, they ask how can it possibly not hurt you and honestly I never really had a good answer, so we talked about why. :) When you are on birth control and take your placebo pills, you are tricking your body, there is no period actually happening, it is actually only estrogen withdrawal. So, birth control keeps your uterus thin, and a thin uterus is a healthy uterus, and I think bleeding monthly for nothing is silly, so suppress on!

I have more, but this post is already long so I will save the rest for tomorrow. :)

I don't(s)...

I don't think my sleep schedule is super screwed up, Monday night I went to be between 0200-0300 and didn't wake up until noon on Tuesday--I am in some trouble when it comes to school in a week and a half.

I don't worry about whether Prince Phillip will always be there for me, it is so nice to have that confidence in someone.

I don't like hunting, it makes me so sad. I just don't understand the possible fun someone can get from chasing a helpless innocent animal and then shooting it. :(

I don't classify myself as a dog or cat person, I am both. I think growing up I would have definitely said dog (it is fairly easy to pick dogs when you never had cats), but now since I have both I adore my kitties and my puppies!

I don't think next semester is going to be easy, actually I think it is going to be terrible. I am scared out of my mind about the nine exams, two finals, OB rotation and intensive care rotation (not to mention our normal clinical rotation)!

I don't cook, sometimes I want to--I think it is part of being a good wife, but I just don't enjoy it!

Head over to Jenna's Journey to participate in I Don't Wednesdays!

Monograms!

I played with colors for a while trying to decide what colors we want to use for our wedding--well I decided! I made a bunch of monograms with a ton of different color combinations. I love the midnight blue and hot pink together, it just didn't work for a beach wedding. Anyways, after a long google chat with Prince Phillip about colors (I'm sure he was thrilled--if he wasn't I had no idea. He did a great job of being sweet and helping) here they are:





Let me know which ones you do and don't like. :)