DoggieDr2B

Chase's First Christmas Tree!!

2010-12-06T18:57:00.001-08:00

Well....we definitely had an adventure this weekend!

Mom and Denise came into town for a visit, and we decided to go get a tree. A local lake wildlife area was allowing people to come cut down invasive Red Cedars for a small donation fee, so we decided to go do that! It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Here we are picking out our tree! It didn't look that big outside...

It was coooooooolllld out!

Cuttin' it down

What the heck are you guys doing????

Tiiiiiiimmburrrrrr!

Then we had to take the tree back to the car

Trying to stay warm!!

The nice volunteers helped us get the tree on our car

Ready to go!!

Everything was going so well...

Here is our tree on the side of the road

after it fell off the car (on the highway!!)

Here we are pulling it back to the car....it's still freezing out by the way!

Back on the car again

Time for some margaritas!

Chase wanted to try a lime...

...he wasn't so sure that he liked it!

We finally made it home with the tree,

and it was WAYYY too big for the front window!

So we put it on the other side of the living room,

thank god for vaulted ceilings!

The finished product!

Denise and Chase, too cute!

Once again, everything was going so well....

Apparently the tree was a bit too big.

We had a few casualties as far as ornaments go, and some injuries,

but nothing that can't be fixed with some superglue.

All in all, it was a really fun weekend, and I know we'll laugh about it more several years from now!! Currently, the tree is back up, and tethered to the railings by 3 strands of twine, so hopefully there will be no more tragedies!!

All work and no play...

2010-08-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

...means Mommy gets behind on the blog

I started back to work on the 2nd. It's been great, but I miss being home with my boy!!

Ron has 4 weeks of paternity leave, so he's been enjoying being off work and getting to spend some quality time with Chase! I know I've been behind, but here is pretty much the entire month of August!!! Enjoy!!

7/31/10

8/1/10

No Pictures Please....I'm sleeping!

8/2/10

Mommy's first day back at work =(

8/3/10

Daddy is teaching me how to channel surf already!

8/4/10

Daddy has also taught me how to stick my tongue out on command!

8/5/10

8/6/10

8/7/10

Daddy and I passed out...

8/8/10

Such a Happy Baby!

8/9/10

Workin' on the Afro

8/10/10

Laughing at the ceiling fan

8/11/10

8/12/10

I am definitely my Daddy's son, he sleeps like this too!

8/13/10

Sleeping on Mommy

8/14/10

In my new robe! So Cute!

8/15/10

Hangin' out with Aunt Brittany

8/16/10

"Put up your Dukes & Fight!!"

8/17/10

Puppy Kisses!

8/18/10

Waiting for the Nurse to call me in to get my shots...OUCH!

Back to Work =(

2010-07-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

I go back to work this Monday =(

I've had a great time being home, it's going to be so hard to go back!!

Ron is excited because he gets to stay home for the next 4 weeks on paternity leave.

We'll see if he's still excited after his first solo day with Chase =). It'll be a nice transition because I'll still be able to come home on my lunch breaks to see him.

After Ron goes back to work, Chase will be with Grandma Jane!

We had a wonderful visit with Ashley Link, Chase's godmother and my good friend.

Here's some more pictures!! He's getting so big!!

7/22/10

7/23/10

Happy and content sitting in my bouncy seat

7/24/10

Smiling at Auntie Ashley!!

All that smiling is exhausting!

7/25/10

Happy Baby!

7/26/10

Another family portrait

7/27/10

Hangin' with Auntie Ashley

Yay for kisses!!!

Dinner with Mommy & Daddy at PF Chang's

7/28/10

Go Royals!!

(Lord knows they need the luck!!)

7/29/10

We're apparently in the "nap" portion of this cycle...

although poop and nap sometimes overlap =)

7/30/10

All that Ice Cream made my tummy hurt!

2010-07-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I finally spent some time going through pictures today!

Here's the last couple of week's worth of pictures! Enjoy!

7/9/10

Sleepin' in my bouncy seat

7/10/10

Playing with Auntie Sharon at Peggy & Shaun's house

7/11/10

Hangin' out on Daddy's chest

7/12/10

Singing Happy Birthday to Grandma Jeanine

7/13/10

So sweet!

7/14/10

Wide awake first thing in the morning!!

7/15/10

Daddy caught me sleeping like this.

Managed to get my arm out of the swaddle!

Relaxing with Auntie Brittany at their house in St. Louis

7/16/10

Yay! I got to spend time with Grandma again this weekend!!

7/17/10

Dancin' with Mommy at Rachel & Jason's wedding

7/18/10

Ready for bed!!

7/19/10

I'm finally starting to fit into my car seat a bit better!

7/20/10

All snuggled up with Mommy in my new sling carrier

7/21/10

Makin' faces at Mommy with my fuzzy hair

Professional Pictures!!

2010-07-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...I'm behind!!

We do have pictures of all the days so far (I think...), but I've just been so busy I haven't had time to sort them and upload them! Chase had his first roadtrip to St. Louis for a wedding, and Mommy and Daddy were busy preparing for that all last week (I was a bridesmaid and Ron was an Usher). We had to have MASSIVE alterations done on my dress since the dress shop ordered me a HUGE size when I was pregnant, and we had to buy Ron a suit and have it fitted. It was a crazy week. But anyway, I still haven't sorted through those yet, but in the meantime I have some other pictures!!

We had professional pictures taken of Chase at 4 days old and were allowed to have the rights to 10 of the images, so here they are!! Pictures were taken by Sarah Maxey of

Sarah Maxey Photography

Our First Family Portrait

We have an innie!!

2010-07-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

My bellybutton fell out this week!! And it's an innie!! (no pictures of that, I just thought it was cute!) Grandma Gray and Great Grandma Betty just left yesterday, and we miss them already!!

Chase and I went to my work today and we weighed him on the kitty scale (don't worry, I put a blanket down first!!) He weighs 8lbs 1.5 oz already!!!! What a piggy!! He's getting so big, I need to get a measuring tape out, because I'm pretty sure he's grown taller as well. Most of his newborn stuff is still too big, but it seems that they're starting to fit better lengthwise.

Here's a few more pictures from the Grandmas' visit!

7/5/10

Grandma Betty bought me my first Cubs hat!!

It's huge right now, but I'll grow into it

The trip to the airport made me sleepy...

7/6/10

Soooooooo Big!!

Grandma brought her Cubs hat too!!

7/7/10

Happy 3rd Anniversary Mommy & Daddy.

I got you a present...it's in my diaper!

7/8/10

4 Generations in one room!!

In my 3rd outfit of the day...

Lots of Visitors!!!

2010-07-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

We have had a wonderful week of visitors!!

The visits started with our good friends Lisa & Scott, they came through KC on their way back from visiting family in Arizona.

They brought their two dogs, Wrigley and Charlie, and their baby girl Abby!! We had a great visit, here's a few pictures...

6/30/10

Visiting with Auntie Lisa

Abby with her awesome Cubs Bib

Bath Time!!

After Bath "fuzzy" hair

After they left, we had a couple of down days, and then Grandma Gray came into town on Friday. She is staying for a week (yay!!)

7/1/10

Waiting for the doctor to call me in!!

7/2/10

Thinking about fallin' asleep on Dad's shoulder

On Saturday, Grandma & Grandpa Jane had a party at their house so the Nelson family could meet Chase. It was a wonderful party and it was so nice to see the family!

7/3/10

Posing with my cousin and the new puppy Bella

(No, Mommy & Daddy didn't get a new puppy! She belongs to my great Aunt Vonda)

With Grandma at the party

Lookin' at Uncle Steffen

7/4/10

My first 4th of July!!!

I know we're missing a picture for the 29th...we failed to take one that day, but Aunt Peggy took a few when our friends were over visiting, I will post those when she sends them to me!!

All On Our Own

2010-06-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

Well, today is the first day we're on our own without Daddy or Grandma! So far so good, Chase is getting used to his bouncy seat, since that's the only way I can get anything done. He seems to like it for the most part, but likes it much better if I'm sitting there bouncing it for him.

We have an exciting week ahead of us, lots of visitors!! My good friend Lisa is coming with her husband Scott, their 10 month old Abby, and their two dogs, Charlie and Wrigley. It's definitely going to be a full house!! Then Grandma Gray and possibly Great Grandma Betty may be coming later this week, as well as Uncle Steffen.

Here's a few more pictures from the last few days.

Oh, and Chase's professional pictures should be coming in the next week or so, but there's some teaser pictures on the photographer's blog, check it out!!: www.sarahmaxeyphotoblog.com

6/26/10: Hangin' with Momma

Lots of kisses!!

6/27/10: Watchin' World Cup with Daddy again

6/28/10: Playin' on the Activity Mat

Lookin' at myself in the mirror

Grandpa's in Town!!

2010-06-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

My Dad came into town on Wednesday afternoon, a long bike ride through the rain storms and sweltering Missouri heat to visit his grandbaby!! We finally got the air fixed that afternoon, thank goodness, it was pretty miserable!!

Here's a few more pictures:

Day 9: Stop using the bright flash Daddy!!!

Day 10: Hangin' with Grandpa

Day 11: Enjoying some Tummy Time on the Playmat

Gettin' Hot in Here

2010-06-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

We are officially without air conditioning, and you can imagine how well that is going over. We noticed yesterday afternoon that it was hot upstairs, and sure enough, the thermostat was reading 81 (it was set at 70), as the afternoon progressed it went from 81 to 88, and we couldn't get anyone to come out to fix it. Thankfully we have someone scheduled at 1pm today, hopefully it will be an easy and quick fix. It was a rough night, poor Chase was warm and crabby. Mommy and Daddy were tired, warm, and frustrated, but all is well this morning.

Here's a few more pictures from the last few days:

I know I already posted a Father's Day picture, but this one was too cute...

Daddy and Chase "watching" World Cup together.

This one is also from Father's Day, but the first picture of Grandma and Chase

Day 7: So Happy & Content

Day 8: Keepin' Cool in the sweltering heat with no A/C

Day 6- Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Well, Chase is doing fantastic. Ron and I are wondering what we did in a past life to deserve such a good baby. He is sleeping well, eating well, and is just so stinkin' cute I can't stand it!

Ron has taken it upon himself to try and take at least 1 picture of Chase each day for the first year. Of course that's easier in the beginning when all we're doing is sitting at home oogling over him, but we'll see how it goes as the year progresses. I plan to post the pictures on here so

everyone else can watch him grow! So far day 1 and day 3 are in my last post, so I'll add a few more to catch up!

Day 2

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6- Happy Father's Day Daddy!

He's Here!!!

2010-06-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

Chase William Nelson was born on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 2:52pm

He weighs 6lbs 13oz and measured 20.5"

We came home from the hospital today, the dogs are still trying to figure out what's going on, but we are all doing well.

Here's a few pictures!

Put Me Back In!!!!

Tiny Peanut =)

Playin' with Daddy

Ready to go Home!!

31 and a HALF Weeks

2010-04-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

I've found in one distinct way, pregnancy is a lot like being a toddler. When asked how old they are, the enthusiastic toddler will tell one they are three and a HALF, not three. It's very important that people are aware of that extra half. At some point, that half becomes less important. Well I've found myself answering the "how far along are you" question in the same manner. Once I hit Wednesday of every week, when asked, I'm always quick to reply with the week, and a HALF. Either that or "I'll be 32 weeks on Saturday". I feel a bit childish replying like that, but dammit, that half of a week is important!! So I'm officially 31 and a half weeks today, and will be 32 weeks on Saturday....if anyone was wondering. =)

31 Weeks!

2010-04-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely...31 weeks, only 8-ish weeks to go!

I traveled to St. Louis this past weekend for my college roommate Rachel's bachelorette party. We did a behind the scenes tour of the penguins and sea lions at the St. Louis Zoo, it was awesome!

Here's a picture of me, the baby (at 31 weeks) , and Benny the sea lion!

We had so much fun and it was great to catch up with the old roomies even though I'm now sportin' some pretty awesome cankles after walking around all day yesterday. =)

We also got confirmation that this little one is in fact a boy! My old roommate Katie is an OBGYN resident in St. Louis and she took us to her hospital and we got to play with the ultrasound! It was amazing, he's gettin' big (estimated to be almost 4 lbs by his measurements), but he was very active, practicing breathing, and lots of movements! And of course he was nice enough to give us a shot of the "the goods". I have pictures, but they're pretty fuzzy and I think would be even worse scanned in, so you'll just have to take my word for it!

We also have made some progress in the baby's room, the furniture is now here and assembled! Still no mattress for the crib yet, but we'll get there eventually!!

The Dresser

(please excuse the mess on top of it)

The Crib

I also bought some fabric and supplies this week to make a crib skirt out of the same material the curtains are made of, and I'm going to use the leftover fabric to make a baby blanket .

(Don't worry, I'm getting help from a friend at work...I'm well aware that I'm not capable of performing EITHER of these tasks on my own!!)

I'll be sure to post pictures as more progress is made! Right now the room isn't arranged how we'd like because we still have a bed in there to use for guests that come to visit after the baby is born (since the baby won't be using it for a couple of months after he's born, we figured we might as well keep the bed in there). So once the bed comes out, things will be rearranged.

Thanks for all the continued love and support! I can't wait to see everyone at the upcoming showers!!

Belly Pic 25 Weeks

2010-03-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

Here we are at 25 weeks!!

Also, I added a link to our list of baby names up at the top right of the blog.

Feel Free to vote on your favorites!!

Baby Nursery!!!

2010-02-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

We finally finished painting the nursery!!! It was an interesting process, and I have to give props to Ron, although he loves a challenge, I'm not sure he knew what he was getting himself into when we started!!! It turned out great and we're so happy we (he) put the extra effort in. =)

We started experimenting with a few colors and patterns to start:

Then I found these great curtains that matched what I was looking for perfectly, so then the challenge of finding matching paint began...

After fiddling around with the number of stripes and variations, we finally settled on this pattern and got to work!

The Finished Product:

A closer look at the curtains next to the paint:

We also decided to re-do the closet, it was originally just one shelf up high with a bar underneath it. Figured this might work a bit better with all the baby stuff.

Inside look at the closet:

Now we just need to add some finishing touches! We've picked furniture out, just have to go get it some time! I also bought some extra curtain material and a friend at work is going to help me make a crib skirt out of it. Besides that, we have a few things we're going to put on the walls , and that's probably it! I'll post more pictures as the nursery progresses!

My Growing Belly!

2010-02-09T17:36:00.000-08:00

Per Request...here are a few belly pictures. Sorry the flash is covering my face...but everyone wants to see the belly anyway, so that's okay. =)

15 weeks:

22 weeks:

Baby Boy Nelson!!!

2010-01-31T06:22:00.001-08:00

Well apparently I suck at updating....Never did get around to posting those trip pictures did I??

Hopefully I will make up for that though with today's pictures!! We had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and we're having a baby boy!! So exciting. No names picked out yet. We have a few options, but we're keeping the final name choice a secret until he comes!!

Here's a few pictures from the ultrasound, I have video, but I think it's too big to upload on here, I'll check though!!

Side Profile

It's A Boy!

(The arrow is supposedly pointing to a tiny penis...looks like squiggly gray lines to me!)

We have been busy registering and planning the nursery, it's been so exciting!! I will be posting more pictures as the process goes along (I promise this time!!), we'll also use the blog to post pictures and videos and such once the baby is born!!!

We're Home!

2009-05-27T21:29:00.001-07:00

We made it home safe and sound.

We're anxiously awaiting closing on our house tomorrow!! I will load some more pictures of our trip sometime later this week!!

Cross your fingers that everything goes smoothly tomorrow!

I Kissed A Dolphin

2009-05-24T19:45:00.001-07:00

And I liked it!!

We're In Mexico!!!!!

2009-05-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

We're having an awesome time here!!!

No swine flu yet =)

Here's a few pictures!

The Beach View!

At the Pool!!

I'll post more later!!

Onward and Upward

2009-05-06T05:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the pictures of the clinic, for some reason the slideshow doesn't want to play, but if you click "View all images" it should take you to the album so you can look!

After lots of reasearch trying to find Mexico Alternatives, we've decided that we're probably just going to stick it out and go. Everything else is much more expensive at this point, and the hype from swine flu appears to be dying down.

Of course if things get worse we will just cancel, we still have insurance for that, so we're just going ot wait it out and see.

Things are going well with the house. We're just trying to get some things together for the mortgage company, and the sellers have agreed to fix the few minor things we asked for after the inspection! Meanwhile we're packing away in our tiny apartment. Unfortunately the elevator is broken, so I'm really crossing my fingers that it's fixed by the time we move!

It's just about a week until I see everyone for graduation! I'm so exicited, and can't wait!!

Happy Travels!

My Work!

2009-04-29T15:10:00.001-07:00

Well it's been a while but I thought I would update everyone on my job! It's going great, and I finally remembered to bring my camera with me to work one day and take some pictures of the clinic for everyone to see. So here ya go!

Lots Going On Around Here!

2009-04-29T15:07:00.001-07:00

Other Exciting things....
Sigh....Mexico is off. We are just too nervous about
1) Getting Swine Flu, or
2) Going down and getting stuck down there if they close the border!!
Right now we are considering alternative locations with our travel agent. We thankfully have trip insurance, and that fee is transferrable if we book another trip with the same agent, so that's the plan for now. I will let everyone know once we decide what we're doing!

And the most exciting news of all....Our house passed inspections with flying colors!!! There were a few VERY minor things that we're going to ask the sellers to fix, but overall the inspector was incredibly impressed with the house. It's 12 years old and he said it wasn't inspecting like a 12 year old house AT ALL. So that was great. On to the next step! Oh, and we got a chance to take some more pictures yesterday, so here they are!

Yay!

2009-04-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

They accepted our offer!!

On to the next step....

Right now our closing date is set for May 28th (which is interesting because we get back from Mexico on the 27th, but oh well!). So we have a bit of time, but for now we'll just be doing a lot of packing!

We'll keep you updated!

That was Quick!

2009-04-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't believe it, but everyone kept telling me "When you find your house, you'll know it"

They were right!!

We found a house today and we've already filled out the paperwork to put in an offer first thing Monday morning. We're offering the asking price, so I'm really hoping they accept it!!

Please keep your fingers crossed for us, and I will post again as soon as I know anything!

Here's some pictures we took today:

Back to the drawing board....

2009-04-18T04:10:00.000-07:00

Well, we didn't get the house. We put a bid in, and they countered, barely coming down at all from their asking price. So we decided to sit on it for a bit, figuring in this market that we'd be able to go back in the month and bid again. Well we got news a few days ago that someone else came in and bid the magic number. It's still pending, but we're not holding our breath. On to bigger and better houses!!

We start the search again tomorrow....oy....

Wish us luck!

Possible House!!

2009-04-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

Ron and I have been house hunting like mad people lately. We've looked at a TON of houses, and finally found one that we think we're going to put an offer on. We're not quite sure yet, but pretty close! We went to look at it again yesterday and I got some pictures of the place!

I have a job!!!

2009-03-10T22:59:00.000-07:00

I finally have a job!!!!

I actually had three offers from clinics, but I had been holding out for my first choice in a job. They finally called me on Monday with their decision and it was me!!!

I'm so excited. It's a one doctor practice, and I will be the 2nd doctor. The current doctor is the owner (with her husband), and they are the nicest people you will ever meet. I really think she and I will work very well together and I can't wait to start!!

I actually don't have much time to wait. I will be going in later this week for contract negotiations, and then I start on Monday next week!

In case you are wondering, the clinic is in Lees Summit, MO. A suburb of KC, just southeast of the city limits. It's a very nice town, and Ron and I are planning to move there as soon as we find a house!! So it's on with the house search!

If you want to see the clinic, it's Green Summit Animal Clinic. The website is www.greensummitanimalclinic.com

Thank you so much everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate all of the support! I will keep you all updated on the house search!!

Still No Word...

2009-03-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Since I have really no word on the job front yet, I thought I would post a few recipes Ron and I have enjoyed in the last couple of months!

The first recipe was originally from Teressa, my mom's friend.

My mom made it for Christmas and it was such a hit that I tried it for a few New Year's parties as well.

Avacado Pomegranate Salsa

Ingredients:

2 cups Clementine sections (cut each section in half or thirds)- about 6

1 cup pomegranete seeds- about 1

1 1/3 cups peeled and diced avocado- about 2
3 tbl fresh lime juice (I didn't use fresh...it turned out just fine!)

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro

2 tbls honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Directions :
1. Combine avocado and lime juice in bowl, toss gently to coat
2. Add remaining ingrediants- toss gently to combine

3. Chill

Serve with chips- makes about 3 cups of salsa

Finished Product:

The other recipe is our new favorite recipe! It's from cooking light and we've had it twice in the last month.

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. ground red pepper

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (I used regular chicken thighs with skin and bones, probably not as healthy, but they tasted fine and they were on sale!)

Cooking spray

6 TBSP honey

2 tsp. cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat Broiler

2. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Add chicken to bowl and toss to coat.

4. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.

5. Broil Chicken 5 minutes on each side.

6. Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well.

7. Remove chicken from oven and brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken.

8. Broil 1 minute, and turn chicken over.

9. Brush opposite side with remaining honey mixture and broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

Finished Product:

Enjoy!

I hope to have some feedback this week about jobs so stay tuned!

26.2 Miles On the Beach!

2009-02-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

We just got back from a 5 day trip to Myrtle Beach, SC where Ron ran his second marathon!

We drove there with 2 other couples, friends of ours from Columbia. The boys all ran the marathon, and we were spectators.

We left on Wednesday evening and spent the night somewhere in Tennessee, and finally arrived in Myrtle Beach. We were so tired of driving, but were completely rejuvenated when we saw our room!! We stayed at a resort right on the beach, and had a fantastic room with an excellent view!

We had a HUGE suite! The marathon scored some really nice discounts at the hotel so we were able to spread out quite nicely in the three-bedrooms and two bathrooms. =)

On Friday we toured around town a bit, and went to the Beach!! It was cold, but absolutely beautiful!!

The Before picture....

Friday was Bryan's birthday, so we went to a Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse for dinner, it was fabulous! Then off to bed early so the boys could toss and turn all night, nervous about the run.

All marathons start early, and this one was no exception. The gun went off at 6:30am, so we were up at 5:00am to get ready and make our way to the start line.

I had to put this picture in...Bryan was so proud of his nipple band-aids. =)

The start line!

There were a ton of roads blocked off throghout the town, so it was hard for us to get around, but we did catch up with the boys in a few different spots.

Mile 5-6....feelin' pretty good....

Mile 11-12...still feelin' okay....

Mile 20...Feelin' like they've been hit by a semi,

and are now being dragged the remaining 6.2 miles

THE FINISH!!!

Kyle finished in 5:07, Ron in 5:29, and Bryan in 5:46.

The After Picture...

It's all worth it for the medal! =)

After the marathon, we packed up the car, and started the long journey home. Of course we stopped on Saturday for a romantic Valentine's day dinner at Pizza Hut! We finally arrived home on Sunday night around 11pm and crashed!

Back to work and job searching this week. I will keep everyone updated on that process!

I PASSED!!

2009-01-31T20:55:00.000-08:00

I got my boards scores in the mail today and I passed!!

Ron and I went to dinner and a movie to celebrate, it was a wonderful evening.

Thanks to everyone for the encouraging words, even though you had confidence that I passed, it's still nice for peace of mind to officially get the word. =)

I know, I know...

2009-01-21T13:31:00.000-08:00

It's been forever since I posted, there's a lot that's been going on here in KC!

Ron and I spent a wonderful Christmas in Chicago with family and friends. It was nice to be home for the first time in a YEAR! I didn't take many pictures, but here's a few...

Ron teasing the dogs

The pups on Christmas Morning!

And as usual, Dutchie opening his can of dog food

We had a great time with family on Chrstmas Day, we even got Grandma to try Guitar Hero!

Unfortunately a week went by really fast, and it was time for us to come back to KC.

Even more unfortunate for us, these were the conditions we had to drive in...

Which were fine, just wet and foggy. But about 3 hours into the drive, they turned from wet and foggy, to icy.

After almost sliding off the road several times, we made it safely to a hotel in the area (Thanks Mom & Dad for the GPS we got for Christmas, it was worth every penny when we were stuck on the highway and needed to book a hotel ASAP).

Ryno and Sam Adjusted quite well to the hotel room...

We got back on the road the next day and made it home safe and sound just in time for me to start a month long preceptorship at Blue Springs Animal Hospital.

I've been working there for almost a month now, and it's a fantastic hospital with great people. I was working there for a couple of reason, but mostly because they had an opening for an associate veterinarian and I was hoping to get the spot. However, last week they informed me that they are going to hire one of my classmates instead. So it's back to the drawing board for me. I have a few interviews this week, but I really have no idea where I want to work at this point. I'll keep everyone updated though!

Ron has been training for his second marathon which he runs on Valentine's Day in Myrtle Beach. Luckily it's been a fairly mild January for us here, so he's been able to run outside for training. We're planning on driving out there with our friends Bryan and Sue (Bryan is running the marathon with Ron).

Things have been going very well for Ron at work. He has been promoted, and his team has been nominated for a company-wide award, so lots of good things going on there. He also started classes again this winter to continue pursuing his MBA.

As soon as I figure out what I'm doing job-wise, we will start looking for houses, so we'll keep everyone updated on that. Hopefully you are all doing well!!

Christmas Cookies!!

2008-12-16T08:24:00.000-08:00

Ron's Mom Jane hosted a wonderful cookie party this past Sunday. There were a lot of people, and a TON of cookies!!

The day after boards were finished, our friend Peggy took the day off work and came over for a "Cookies and Dawson's Creek Marathon" Day. It was fantastic! All we did all day was bake cookies and watch predictable, teen drama television, what better way to celebrate being done with vet school?!!?

Peggy made Cake Balls. One of the easiest, most ingenious recipes I've ever seen.

Cake Balls

Ingredients:

1 Box of store-bought cake mix if your choice

1 tub of icing of your choice (Preferrably something that goes well with your choice of cake)

1 Package of Almond Bark (again, your choice on variety)

Instructions:

1. Bake the cake according to instructions on the box, in whatever pan is handy.

2. Let the cake cool for 30-45minutes

3. Smash the cake into crumbs in a big bowl, and mix with the entire tub of icing.

4. Roll the cake/icing mixture into 0.5-1" balls and place on a cookie sheet (it helps if you line the cookie sheet with wax/parchment paper.

5. Put cake balls in the freezer for 15-20 minutes

6. Melt the Almond Bark in a bowl while the cake balls are freezing

7. Roll the cake balls in the melted Almond bark and place on the cookie sheet again to harden.

Finished Product:

That's it! They're fantastic, take my word for it! They were voted "Best cookie" at our cookie party if that says anything. The combo we liked the best was red velvet cake, with cream cheese icing, and white chocolate Almond Bark.

I made Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. Very easy recipe and they're very yummy.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2c Sugar

1/2c Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

1/2c Butter Softened

1/2c Creamy Peanut Butter

1 Egg

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 1/4c All-purpose Flour

3/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1- 13oz Package of Miniature Peanut Butter Cups, Unwrapped

Directions:

1. Heat Oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

2.Combine Sugar, Brown Sugar, Butter, and Peanut Butter in a large bowl. Beat at Medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place each ball into prepared mini muffin cup. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned.

4. Remove from oven; press peanut butter cup into center of each cookie. Cool 30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely.

(Makes 4 dozen)

Finished product:

I also made some Eggnog Cheesecake Bars, and homemade Eggnog Ice Cream, but I will put those in another post. Enjoy!

It's all over but the cryin'....

2008-12-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

Well, it's over!

I took my exam on Tuesday. Lots of people have been asking what the exam is like. It's all computerized, so you have to sit in a room with a bunch of other people with cameras and mirrors and such all over you. I practically got strip searched prior to going in to make sure I wasn't bringing cheat sheets or anything in with me, and they give you a dry erase board, marker, and eraser for notes. The exam itself is 6 sections of 60 questions each, over everything from cows, to sheep to dogs/cats, birds, turtles, and even business questions. The maximum amount of time allowed for the whole thing is 7.5 hours, it took me about 6.5. That's a long time to be sitting at a computer using your brain!

Needless to say, I was completely fried when I finished, and I really have no clue how I did. There are lots of questions that are "trial" questions, and they don't count, so it's hard to really try and figure out how you did. Once everyone is finished taking the exam (The testing window ends December 13), they will go through everything and decide who passed and who didn't, and we'll get something in the mail in Late January/early February. So until then, I'm just going to enjoy life!

Speaking of which....I now have the daunting task of cleaning the apartment/unpacking. Since I moved in last week and had no time to do so, the apartment is just a huge mess right now, and I really have no idea where we're going to put everything, but we'll figure it out somehow I suppose!

I decided today that if I was going to attempt to clean anything, that I should probably try and remove the one thing that makes the MOST mess in the place. DOG HAIR!

So here is my attempt....

2 Hairy Dogs (well actually, it's really just Sam that's the big problem, but Ryno wanted to be in the picture too).

PLUS

A wonderful Piece of equipment (Furminator)

EQUALS

A large amount of hair that's in my garbage, and not on my carpets! Holy Crap!

(Yes, that can was empty before we started!).

1 more day

2008-12-08T08:07:00.001-08:00

Apparantly Sam and Ryno think that my studying is as boring as I do...

Almost There!!

2008-12-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

Everyone keeps calling to ask me how much I'm enjoying being free!!!

Well unfortunately I'm not free until Tuesday (the 9th), when I take National Boards.

Since I came home on Wednesday night, I have pretty much been spending about 18 hours a day studying. It sucks but I think I'm ready, and I still have a day and a half! Hopefully things will go well, otherwise I'll have to spend some time studying again in April! (when the test is offered again). Anyway, I thought I would update everyone!

It's been wonderful being here with Ron, a bit surreal that I don't have to pack my car up anytime soon and go back to Columbia. =)

Back to studying, I'll update next week with pictures from my post-boards celebration!

I Made It!!!

2008-12-04T12:57:00.000-08:00

I finished school on Tuesday this week, and drove to KC on Wednesday! Our apartment is a mess now with all of my crap (see pictures below), but I'm here!!! It feels so great to finally be able to live together and attempt to be a normal couple.

The apartment will just have to remain a mess for the next few days because I am spending 95% of my time studying for national boards which I take on Tuesday the 9th. Then I'm free to do anything I want for the rest of the month!!

The Mess I've created:

In the Kitchen....

And in the Hallway...

In celebration of me finishing I got some GORGEOUS flowers from my Mom and my Aunt Carmen (or Caaahmen as we call her). I am taking a short study break to take some pictures to show you all.

On another note...for those of you in the Chicagoland area, we will be home for Christmas this year. We plan on leaving KC on Saturday the 20th, and we will be there for a week. (We're driving with both the dogs...should be interesting!) Hope to see you!

Drumroll Please...

2008-11-23T21:16:00.001-08:00

Ron and I went shopping today and bought milk!!

Now usually I don't get too excited about milk, but I told you all that I would document the moment when milk expired AFTER I'm done with vet school and it's finally here!!

The expiration date is actually the day I take national boards which is a bit scary too, but that just means I'm closer to being completely, 100% done! Yay!

For your viewing pleasure:

9 days and counting!!

Happy Birthday To Us!

2008-10-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

So I've been incredibly busy lately, I started writing this post about 3 weeks ago, and well here we are, I'm just getting around to finishing it. But good news is I'm only about 30 days from being finished with school!!!! Bad news is it's going to be a hell of a 30 days. I like surgery so far, I've seen a lot of cool cases, but it's definitely time consuming.

Ron and I both Celebrated our birthdays last month. His was on the 12th, and mine on the 16th. Yes, you read that correctly, Ron will ALWAYS be older than me by 4 whole days!!

On Ron's birthday, our friends Bryan and Sue took us to the City Museum in St. Louis (here's a link for those interested: http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp)

Basically it's a 7-story building that was renovated and turned into a Ginormous Jungle Gym. It was so much fun!! We ran, climbed, slid, jumped, crawled, and good god did we sweat! It made me feel like a kid again (that was of course until the next day when I couldn't walk and my body was covered in bruises). Despite the bruises, we still had a great time. Here's a few pictures I took that day.

We can't take Bryan anywhere...he always causes trouble!

We're thinking about buying this charming home...what do you think?

Ron just hangin' out.

All that work just to come back down...

Bryan climbing in the wire thingy.

On our way up!

Ron walked right over me!

Afterward we came home for some R&R, the pups were glad to see us!

Since Ron couldn't be with me on my acutal birthday, he sent me some beautiful flowers!

Since our birthdays, I've just been trying to survive. I finished equine without killing myself, and started Small Animal Surgery about 2 weeks ago. It's been extremely hectic, but I'm surviving. I take boards a week after I'm finished, and then I plan to do a whole lot of NOTHING! I have time off until after Christmas, so we plan on driving home for Christmas (we will be in town from the Saturday before, until the Saturday after...so put it on your calendars!).

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, and Hopefully I will be able to update more frequently in the future.

Roots, Blues, & BBQ

2008-10-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

Columbia had their 2nd annual Roots, Blues, & BBQ festival this weekend. I didn't go last year, but I had heard good things about it. And when I heard that Buddy Guy was going to be here this year, I called my Mom to let her know and she immediately started planning her trip down to visit.

Unfortunately I was on call Thursday night when she got here, so I got to spend all of 15 minutes with her before being called in, and I didn't get home until about 2:30am, so that stunk. But the rest of the weekend was a blast. Mom got to meet Sampson, and she, Ron and I all went out to dinner for mine and Ron's birthdays.

Here's a few pictures from the weekend!

One of the BBQ joints at the festival was called The Pirate Pig, and this was their sign.

I thought it was cute!

Mom and I waiting for Buddy Guy!

Sue came to join us, even though she had to go back to the hospital to take care of her cow!

Us and the pups! Our first family photo!!!

Hermann

2008-09-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

Ron and I just got back from a fun-filled weekend with friends in Hermann, MO. It's a small historic German town on the river. Our friends Bryan & Sue are from there, so we go every year and tour the wineries. It was loads of fun, with WAYYYYY too much wine!

This year we went to three different wineries, and a brewery.

The first winery we went to is my favorite, Adam Puchta.

http://www.adampuchtawine.com/

It's one of the smaller wineries, but I love their wine!! Their tastings are the best as well, in my opinion. They take more time to explain the different wines to you, and give you things like chocolate and wafers to eat with each wine. The guy serving us was actually an old friend of Bryan's from grade school, so that was fun. In case anyone is interested, our favorite wines from there are:

Adam's Choice- A semi-sweet white, similar to a reisling

Vignoles- Another semi-sweet white. Lots of wineries in Hermann have this type, but Puchta's always seems to be the best!

Hunter's Red- A semi-dry red, this is our FAVORITE! Ron loves this one.

Dry Rose- (it's supposed to be rose-ay, but I don't have one of those fancy asterick marker things on here!). It's a unique rose, because it's dry, not sweet. One of my favorites!

After emptying our wallets there....we proceeded on to the next winery, probably Missouri's most famous winery, Stone Hill.

http://www.stonehillwinery.com/

This one is a lot more commercialized, and they have decent wine as well.

We took a few pictures here just because there's some pretty scenery.

Here's a few of our favorite wines from here:

Chambourcin- Semi-dry red, one of our favorites!

Steinberg Red- a red and white wine mix, very tasty!

Golden Rhine- a semi-sweet White, sad thing is, we bought one of these and opened it on Saturday and I don't even really remember drinking it!

The last winery we visited was Hermannhoff winery. It's located right downtown on the main strip. I like this one a lot, but we got there close to closing time and all of the servers were a bit frazzled about a wedding reception happening that evening, so our tasting was not as informativeas usual. Oh well, at least we still got to taste!

http://www.hermannhof.com/

Here's a few of our favorites from here:

White Lady- a semi-dry white. I love this one! We can actually get this one at a lot of grocery and liquor stores in Missouri. Usually Stone Hill wines are the only ones you find regularly, so we drink this one fairly often at home.

Chambourcin- I can't decide if I like this one, or Stone Hill's better. They're both quite tasty!

Vidal Blanc- Dry white, similar to a Pinot Grigio.

Then we finally made a stop at Hermann's Brewery, Tin Mill.

http://www.tinmillbrewing.com/

My favorite beer there was the Seasonal, Oktoberfest. Ron really liked their Doppelbock, a dark beer (pictured below in the growler in Ron's hands). It was good too, all the boys seemed to really like that (exept Bryan, who hates beer, so that was no surprise!).

After leaving the brewery, we all went back to Sue's parents house and made brats on the grill. We traditionally all donate one bottle of wine to the "pot", and just start drinking. The nice thing is we all crash there, so no one has to drive. It always ends up being a crazy night. We definitely played drunken Mouse Trap, and drunken Wiffleball, always a fun time. There are some much more incriminating photos from later that night, but I will spare you all. =)

The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful for me, besides getting attacked by a rose bush (which was actually more like a rose twig....very tiny, but it got me good!). I'm now getting ready to go to bed early, some much needed sleep is awaiting!

A Big Milestone!!

2008-09-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

I went grocery shopping the other day, and bought some food (ya know, cuz that's what you buy at the grocery store). Anyway, I got home, and was putting away my food and realized that there are now items besides Twinkies that expire AFTER I'm done with school!!! I was very excited!

I haven't quite reached the moment when the milk expiration date is after 12/2/08, but it's coming! I'll be sure to take a picture to document the moment.

Ok, that' s all for now, you may resume your regularly scheduled net surfing.

-Christina

One More Thing...

2008-09-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

To continue adding to my list of things I've learned on Equine...

6. If a horse wants to get out of the stall, don't attempt to put your arm between them and the stall door, it doesn't turn out well. When you have 1200lbs of muscle operated by a brain the size of a lemon, you usually don't come out with the most intelligent decisions. I'm lucky the horse stopped, or I would be at the emergency room with a broken arm. For now, I just have a very sore, big lump that will likely turn into a nasty bruise. Awesome!

The Circus is in Town!!

2008-09-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus was here in Columbia today!!

Now, if you look at their schedule, you will see that they're actually having shows in Kansas City right now, but a few selected individuals paid the University of Missouri Vet School a visit today!

We had 2 performing horses and 2 performing dogs here at the hospital today. I got to work with Arthos, a Fresian Stallion. I wasn't able to get any pictures (as I didn't know that they were coming), but he kinda looked like this:

He was GORGEOUS! And very well behaved (at least for a stallion). It was pretty neat, we did a lot of tests on him (turns out he has a condition that prevents him from sweating, so his body temperature increases a lot when it's hot out or he exercises a lot). But we had to finish early because he had to be back in KC by tonight to perform! Apparantly he does the "liberty" routine, which basically means he doesn't have anyone riding him, and does all sorts of tricks with 3 other horses like waltzing, and walking on their back legs, weaving in and out with eachother, etc.

Since he practices in the air conditioning, and perfoms in the air conditioning, he can still perform his show with his condition. They just need to be careful where they keep him when they're not performing, and make sure he doesn't overheat from that or too much practice. They said that the animals all still travel by train, but the cars they travel in are specially made for each species, and the horses have it made...it's also air conditioned in there too! What a life!

I also got to speak with the traveling vet who came with them. She is a 2004 graduate of Missouri!! How cool would that job be?!?!? She likes it a lot, but like me, started out as a small animal vet wannabe, so she had to learn a lot about some new species!! (they have elephants, llamas, tigers, dogs, horses, goats, etc, etc). I guess you really never know where life will take you!

So it was a pretty neat day. The other horse was in because he was lame (limping), so the surgery service saw him. They also had 2 dogs, one was seeing our Orthopedic surgeons (the dog does handsprings in the show...geee, I wonder what could be wrong!!), and one has cataracts, so they saw our ophthalmology service. The cataract dog is having surgery tomorrow and will hopefully be able to see again! (The surgery for dogs is very similar to what we do in humans).

There's been some talk of some free tickets to see the show when they come back to St. Louis in November...we'll have to wait and see!! =)

The things I have learned...

2008-09-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

So today marked a whole 2 weeks that I have been on Equine (horse) medicine. And for someone who knew NOTHING about horses going in, I'm pretty impressed with myself! I haven't managed to get myself killed yet, which is pretty impressive seeing that I'm working with a 1200lb bundle of muscle operated by a brain the size of my fist.

So I thought I would enlighten you with some of my new knowledge so far:

1. When a client says they "mainlined" a drug...that means they gave in intravenously. Not really where that term came up, but I giggle everytime I hear it.

2. A "shod" horse means it has shoes. Before vet school I assumed that all horses wore shoes, but I'm very wrong on that. And not only is there just "shoes", it's like women...there's a whole damn closet to choose from!! This type of shoe does this, and this type does that, etc, etc.

3. I've now become an expert in the art of cleaning penile sheaths...yes, you read that correctly. I won't go into detail, let's just say it's not the most fun experience, but makes for a LOT of fun jokes on the way home in the truck!

4. I still have no FREAKING clue how to tell the difference between a Quarter horse, an Arabian, a Tennesee Walking Horse, etc. I'm doing good if I can get "horse". And don't even get me started on the colors. If the horse is brown, why can't we just say it's BROWN? No, no, it's "Chestnut". God forbid!!

5. Horse teeth are gross. Nuff said.

Okay, that is the extent of my knowledge for the day...I have 6 more weeks on equine so I'm sure I will have many more fun stories to share with you all!

A Weekend At The Lake...

2008-09-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

Every year, our friend Peggy get's access to her dad's lake house at the Lake of the Ozarks for the weekend after Labor Day. It's great because the lake isn't busy, and we always have a fun time. Well we spent this weekend there.....

oh wait...no WE didn't. Ron did.

I was stuck here in Columbia, on call, taking care of horses. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Although sucks for them, they are missing their token bartender for the weekend, haha! (Altough, somehow, I have a feeling that they still had NO problem getting drunk). =)

We also usually take one weekend in September/October and go to Hermann, MO. A small town just off the Missouri river, about 45 minutes from Columbia. Two of our good friends (Bryan & Sue) are from there, and it's a big Wine town. They have several wineries, and we usually spend the day going around tasting and buying lots of wine. Once we're done, we all take our wine back to Sue's parent's house and drink the night away! It's always a fun time.

I was supposed to be on call the day we're going to Hermann this year, but some kind soul was nice enough to switch with me! I'm eternally grateful! =) At least I'll get to do ONE fun thing this block!

Startling Realization...

2008-08-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about it the other day, and I realized that I only have 4 exams left in my Veterinary Education. FOUR!! Holy crap!!!

I started Equine today, which hasn't been too bad, besides the fact that I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about horses! But we have 2 exams on this block, and then I go to small animal surgery next where we have no exams. Then I have one REALLY BIG exam (national boards) which I will take sometime in early December, and state boards sometime in the spring. Then I'm done!

I didn't think I'd ever get to this point, but it's almost here!! 97 days and counting!

Other exciting news....My friend AJ (the pregnant one in the post below) had her baby today!! It's A GIRL!! Her name is Piper, and I'm not sure yet how much she weighed. But I'm so excited to see her! I'm stuck working Equine ICU tonight from 5pm-12:30am but I will definitely try to go see her tomorrow. Yay! =)

Ron on TV! (sorta..)

2008-08-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ron got a call from the CNBC TV show "On The Money" saying that they wanted to air a question he had submitted via email about our finances (ie- my student loan burden), and whether or not we should take on a mortgage. They called yesterday afternoon to record it, and it aired last night! I had no idea that it was a National TV show, I thought it was something local. We were at dinner last night, and a friend of mine called me and said "Did you know that Ron is on CNBC right now??".

He claims he didn't know when it would be airing...but I think that's just his modesty coming through! =)

Not to spoil it, but good news...they said we should go ahead with buying a house! Yay! We're planning to start looking in December, and will hopefully be in the house by May (when our lease is up).

Here's a link to the show: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=829736131
(and just FYI...since they pretty much put it all out there for the wide world, just wanted to let you know that the salary they label is our "estimated take home" after I get a job...not Ron's salary now! I wish!!).

Weekend in KC

2008-08-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

I took advantage of the fact that all the Therio clinicians were going to a conference Wed-Fri of this week, and I took a Senior Day on Friday. With permission, we are allowed to take 5 "senior days" on clinics, where we are dismissed from clinics (usually it has to be a good reason, ie- national board exam, interviews, conference, etc). I told them I was going to shadow at a dentistry clinic in KC for the day. So I left for KC on Thursday evening and spent Friday morning at the Kansas City Companion Animal Dentistry Center. It was neat to see their practice and I saw some neat things while I was there.

That afternoon I went to see my friend Kim's baby, McKenna. She was born 2 weeks ago, and is an absolute doll!! I wanted to take her home with me, but Kim frowned upon that! =)

Here's a picture of us!

The next day we met up with Nichole and Scott in the Kansas City River Market for some coffee and then we walked around a bit. Here's a few pictures from that...

These pups were playing in the park for a while, and then the guy just plopped them into the basket and wheeled them away, they were adorable!

Scott & Nichole at the Coffee shop.

Ron and I at the Coffee Shop

We walked around a bit after that, down to the river and a got a couple of neat shots of the scenery there.

On Sunday evening Ron and I attended the memorial for our friend's Tim and Rachael's (Tim was the officiant that married us) baby Aurora. They unfortunatly lost little Aurora full term. It was very devastating news for all of us, and we continue to pray for them and their family.

Ouch!!

2008-08-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

So I started the last leg of this block (it's a 6 week block, 2 weeks on Oncology, 2 on Ophthalmology, and 2 on Theriogenology). On Therio we do a lot of large animal reproduction stuff, and some small animal. Today we were sexing cow fetuses using an ultrasound probe in the rectum (yes, I went shoulder-deep in about 15 cows today, yay fun!). Well we were about 1/3 of the way done and there was a particularly feisty cow that didn't want to go into the chute. Our clinician was screaming for us to shut the gate, and I did it, but as I flung the latch, it pinched the thumb part of my palm REALLY BAD. I screamed and said a few chosen cursory words, but then I just wrapped it up with some paper towels and threw a glove over it. When we finished all the palpating (about 3 hours later), I finally took it off and my palm BLEW UP, it was so gross! (and not to mention incredibly painful!). So I decided to go to the doctor. He put a steristrip on it, and wrapped it up. He also gave me some good pain meds, which I plan to take in a few minutes and head to bed...

Here's a picture of the damage for your enjoyment!

Boring

2008-08-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated in a while simply because it's been kinda boring around here!

The last couple of weeks I've been able to spend time in KC for the weekend since the current rotation I'm on isn't very demanding (but don't worry...I won't have a life starting September 1st!).

My good friend Lisa (Bell...now Burger), and her husband Scott, and their two adorable puppies Charlie & Wrigley came through KC on their way to Arizona a few weeks ago. It was great to see them, even if it was only for a night! The puppies got along well with Ryno (Sam stayed with Grandma & Grandpa Nelson), and I took pictures, but somehow they vanished from my memory card.

Not sure what happened there, but I do have one picture of Ryno after they left... poor guy was exhausted!

Ron and I went to the Royals-White Sox game last weekend and sat in the "All You Can Eat" Seats. I had gotten the tickets for him for our anniversary. The tickets include all you can eat drinks (non-alcoholic), hot dogs, popcorn, nachos, and peanuts. We definitely took advantage of all of that and were STUFFED by the 7th inning. Somehow the Royals managed to pull out a win, although they tried really hard to lose in the 8th inning.

Here we are at the game:

The seats were shaded, which was nice because I think it was about a million degrees out that day! So at least we were out of the direct sunlight.

I also got a few shots of Ken Griffey Jr...too bad he didn't do the Sox any good!! He picked the wrong Chicago team to be on this year, Go CUBBIES!!

I also helped throw a baby shower for my friend AJ. She's due in September and is still in school with me (what a trooper!!) She was in there with the rest of us wrangling cows on our food animal rotation with that big ol' belly!

The momma-to-be:

Isn't the cake adorable?!?!?

Here's a better picture of it:

All in all it was a great shower, and a fun weekend.

Right now I'm currently finishing the Opthalmology portion of the rotation I'm on, and then I go on to Theriogenology next week. (That's reproduction....how fun it will be to play with semen and artificial insemination!).

At the end of this month I start Equine, and then Surgery, both of which are EXTREMELY busy and I will likely not have any time to even go to KC for a weekend. But then I'm done...I just keep telling myself "4 more months...4 more months..."

Love you all, hope all is going well!

Moving and Anniversary Fun!

2008-07-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

It was a long week, but we're finally moved into the new house!

Ron came into town last Thursday evening, and we had some friends over on Friday for the 4th. The old apartment is just outside of city limits, so Ron and our friend Bryan had a good time with tons of fireworks that evening. Unfortunately I had already packed the camera, so no pictures, you'll just have to trust me!

Saturday was the big moving day, I got up early to go milk a cow (we had a dairy cow in the hospital all weekend, so I had to go in and milk her 1-2 times a day), but got home just in time to start! All in all it was pretty smooth, we finished everything in less than 3 hours!! Of course there was still a lot of small things that needed to be moved, but all of the furniture was in, and it fit. (we have 4 couches between the 3 of us, and Ashlee and I have 2 full size beds in one room!)

Here's the new house:

And just to give you perspective, The vet school is JUST on the other side of this building.

This picture is taken from the front porch of our house. I'm super excited about not having to buy a parking pass for school next year, plus I'll be saving lots on gas!

Meet Daisy:

She is my new Rommate (Kerrie)'s cat. She's a wonderful pet, and has really held her own against the two dogs. Sam and Ryno still haven't quite figured out what to do with her yet. It's quite funny.

On Monday, Ron and I had our first anniversary (Yay!). Thanks everyone for the emails, calls, and cards!! The day started out with me having to go to school, which sucked, but I got out around 3, so not too bad. Ron and I packed up an overnight bag, and checked into our hotel room! Of course, I thought we were checking in, but Ron had already done that, and this is what was waiting for me when I walked in:

We had a wonderful dinner at CC's Broiler (a nice steakhouse in Columbia), and were thoroughly stuffed at the end of the night.

We did eat our anniversary cake, it was surprisingly still very good!
Here's what it looked like when we unwrapped it:

Not pretty, but still good!

The hotel room was nice, but of course I wasn't able to sleep in and fully enjoy it because I had to be at school at 8am the next morning! I did however still manage to take advantage of the awesome continental breakfast before heading out the door. Of course Ron took me to school and proceeded straight back to the hotel room to go back to sleep. No fair!

Ron took the entire week off work, so it was nice to have him here. We relaxed, and unpacked (and when I say we, I mean I unpacked while Ron played Wii). Nothing else too exciting. The weather has been gorgeous the last couple of days, we've actually had the air off and the windows open!

I have 2 more days left of Food Animal Medicine, and I start Oncology on Wednesday. One more down! 3 rotations to go!!! (Holy crap, that means boards is that much closer too!)

Moving and Graduation!

2008-06-30T22:22:00.001-07:00

Well, I haven't updated in a while. I've been incredibly busy with school, and PACKING!
My current roommate in Columbia (Ashlee) and I are moving to a house in Columbia (that just so happens to be RIGHT next to the vet school, yay!). We move on Saturday the 5th, so we've finally realized that if we don't start packing, we're not going to be able to enjoy the 4th! The motivation of yummy BBQ and beer is getting to me, so I've been a very busy girl!

I really didn't realize how much crap I've accumulated over the last 7 years of college, but I think I've filled at least 6 garbage bags, and I'm not even close to being finished yet! The plan is to move the majority of my things to Kansas City, and only the necessities to the new house. Since I'm moving everything to KC in December anyway, I might as well move most of it now.

And on a completely separate note....
Graduation is still a while away, but we tried to book hotel rooms last week, and a bunch of hotels are already full! So I guess it's not too early to start planning. Graduation will be May 15th at 1pm (yes, that is a Friday afternoon...apparantly the vet school isn't important enough to have a graduation slot on the ACTUAL weekend). Anyway, if you think you might be interested in coming, please let my mom know either by phone- 630-926-7391 or email (grayj11g@yahoo.com). She has booked a handful of hotels just in case for now, but if the event that we need more, we need to book them sooner than later, so think about it! I definitely don't expect the turnout I had for undergrad, but I just want everyone to know that all are welcome!

I'm Old...

2008-06-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

Apparantly I've gotten old. In the last week I've had 2 back injury problems, and it's killin' me!
I pulled some sort of muscle in my neck/back earlier this week and couldn't move my head for a good day or so. Then yesterday, I was doing dishes and all of a sudden felt a really sharp pain in my back (midway down, on the left). Immediately I was thinking that something was wrong internally because it wasn't a typical "muscle" pain, so Ron took me to urgent care and I was evaluated for suspicion of kidney stones and/or pneumonia. Well neither of those seemed to be likely after they examined me, so the doctor sent me home with some horse-sized pills (ibuprofen) and a muscle relaxer. Hopefully I'll feel better in a couple of days, but wrestling with cows and alpacas doesn't seem to be helping my cause. Oh well!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!!

Fun with Wii Fit

2008-06-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

Ron and I got "Wii Fit" a couple of weeks ago (for those who don't know, it's a new game for Wii, that has a balance board controller that you stand on to do arobics, yoga, balance games, and strength training). It's a lot of fun, but you really look quite funny while doing it...Have fun laughing at us!

Scott (a friend from undergrad who is a Law student and staying with me for a month while doing an internship in Jeff City), doing the hoola-hoop.

Ron and Scott playing Mario Kart (not Wii Fit, but still funny to see 2 grown men holding little plastic steering wheels).

More Hoola-hooping pictures:

Sue

Me

I actually have a video of Ron doing this too...lets see if this works:

Kickboxing

Yoga! I believe this is the "holy crap I'm not this flexible" pose.

Another One Bites The Dust!

2008-06-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well, if you've looked on the right side of the blog, you'll see a running log of my clinical rotations. I finished Pathology this week (THANK GOOOOOOOOD!!) No more cutting up dead, smelly animals! I'm now on Food Animal, so I deal with live, smelly animals. I guess not much of a change, but I'm having fun at least!

Today we sheared 3 llamas. That's right...Llamas! It was fun, until they started trying to kick us. They're like horses in that they can use all 4 legs to kick in all directions, plus they can bite, and as a bonus...they SPIT (with amazing accuracy)! It was a good time.

Yesterday I spent the majority of my day covered in cow poop, but I got to do a rectal palpation and feel a calf, that was kinda cool. The cow actually had the calf today, she's adorable!

So I meant to post these earlier in the week, but I was pretty busy with the exams I had Monday and Tuesday. We were brave and attempted to bathe Sampson this week because he's losing his winter coat right now and there's hair ALL OVER the apartment! It was quite an adventure, and we got some fun pictures, so here ya go!

In the tub...

Ryno stayed in his bed the entire time for fear that we were coming after him next. He finally came out once we were done!

Of course Sam got a treat for being such a good boy =)

Update: Ron's Grandma

2008-06-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

Grandma Betty had surgery on Sunday (surprisingly, since they originally said they wouldn't even attempt it until Tuesday), but she came through, and is doing well. She's in pain, and resting a lot, but at 96, she has a right to be a bit exhausted from this whole experience! Ron's mom Jane traveled to Vermont to keep her company, so that's good. Hopefully it will be uphill from here. We appreciate the thoughts and prayers!

Royals Game 5/31/08

2008-06-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

In appreciation for the work he did on a big project at work, Ron was given 2 of the American Century season tickets for the Royals game on Saturday. They were AWESOME seats. About 8 rows directly behind home plate! Although we had the net in the way, I still got some pretty good shots, AND...They FINALLY broke their 12 game losing streak!!! YAAAYY!!

Here's a few pictures from the game:

It was John Mayberry "Bobblehead" night. That's him interviewing with Fox Sports, and the bobblehead!

I thought this lady's had was funny.

Playing with the color features on the new camera

The Dugout

Hot Dog race!! Relish won...I was rooting for ketchup!

Slugger gettin' down with his bad self.

It was a gorgeous night!!

In the stands...

Royals Win!

Here's the Old hag who popped three...yes THREE beach balls. At Kauffman stadium people always bat around beach balls during the game (which occasionally get hit onto the field, but otherwise cause no interruption). Well this lady had apparantly hit her "fun quota" for the life, and everytime a ball got near her, she'd snatch it up and puncture it with her pen. One poor little kid even came over to ask for it back and got upset when he was told that it got popped. A bunch of people around the area were giving her crap, and she proceeded to point every single one of them out to security. Seriously lady....get a life!

And these are a couple of cute monkeys the people in front of us carried in with them.

They're adorable!

Ron's Grandma Betty

2008-05-29T19:00:00.001-07:00

Ironically, Ron and I both have a Grandma Betty, makes it easier, huh?

Anyway, Ron's grandma broke her hip on Monday morning. She is 96, and had to be transported to a hospital in Burlington, VT in order to be considered for surgery (the first hospital she went to wouldn't do it). As of now, they've taken her off all her meds in preparation for surgery (she was on blood thinners, so they need to wait a few days before attempting surgery). Tuesday is the earliest they would consider doing it, so if you all wouldn't mind saying a little prayer, we would really appreciate it.

Sooooooooo Busy

2008-05-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a little crazy around here. I'm nearing the end of my pathology block (FINALLY), and we have a TON of exams/presentations, etc. From last Friday to next Tuesday, I will have had six exams, 2 presentations, and 2 take-home exams. CRAZINESS!

I have lots to update about, just no time, so hopefully next week I'll update more.

In the meantime, I feel awful that I didn't get happy wishes out to 3 very important people, so here ya go!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! Love ya both!

Happy Birthday Shannon! I am a horrible cousin, I didn't even call you, let alone send you a card...I promise I'll make it up to you, hope you had a great day!

Love you all!

Taco Soup

2008-05-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

I decided to make some Taco Soup last night for dinner. This is one of my favorite recipes, given to me by my friend Sue. It's very simple, and the longest part of it is the time it takes for the meat to thaw.

Ingredients:

1-16oz. Can Whole Kernel Corn, undrained

1-16oz. Can Diced Tomatoes, undrained

1-16oz. Can Kidney/Black Beans (your choice), undrained

1-8oz. Can Tomato Sauce

1 Packet Taco Seasoning

1/4 Cup Chopped Onion

2lb ground meat of your choice (I usually use Turkey)

Some Ingredients I used....gotta love the Wal-mart Great Value!

Directions:
1. Brown meat and onion in a skillet, drain.

2. Combine all ingredients (including browned meat and onions) in a kettle and bring to a boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Spoon into bowls and top with your choice of cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips/corn chips, etc.

Congratulations Vince & Gretchen!!

2008-05-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

Ron and I traveled to West Lafayette, IN this weekend for my cousin Vince's wedding. They got married at a church in town, and had their reception at the Purdue Memorial Union.

It was a great wedding, we had a ton of fun.

It was very nice to see my family for the first time since Christmas!

I did end up getting a new camera on Thursday last week with my winnings. I did a lot of experimenting with it this weekend at the wedding, so here's some of the highlights!

The Church

Vince & Gretchen during the Ceremony

The Flowergirl Making Herself Comfortable

The Grand Exit

On their way to the Reception

Larry & Christine havin' some fun before introductions

Uncle George & Cahhhh-men

The Shisslers!!

That's it Gretchen, you're one of us now! HaHa!

The Beautiful Cake

Cake Cutting:
Very Nice Shot Gretchen!

The Newlyweds Dancing

After the wedding we all went to Harry's, a local bar near the reception hall. Ginger and I decided it would be a great idea to do tequila shots...still not sure why anyone EVER thinks that's a good idea, but we did!

All in all, an awesome weekend, went by way too fast!
To see the rest of my pictures from the wedding, go to this website: http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j170/Lila1016/Vince%20and%20Gretchen/

You can right click on them and download any of them if you'd like.

I won!!

2008-05-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

We had our honors banquet tonight, where they give tons of scholarships and awards away to students, faculty, and staff. I usually go for the free meal, and hopes of winning something (which I never do...).
Well I actually won something tonight! Unfortunately it wasn't because of anything I did (even though I was president of the student AVMA, but apparantly that's not enough "leadership"). My name was randomly drawn from a bag of names for a $500 scholarship (ironically sponsored by the organization I used to be president of). I'm excited! I've been wanting a new camera for a while, so I think I'm going to use the money to get one, I can't wait!!

I also treated myself to a manicure and pedicure. I haven't gotten one since the wedding last year, and it was very nice =)

Pups

2008-05-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

Well, as some of you know, we took in a dog around Thanksgiving of last year as a "foster". He belonged to a friend's sister, and she needed to find him a new home. It was a pretty desperate situation, so we decided to take him temporarily and try to find him a home. Well we did find him a home...ours!

After several months of sending out emails and trying to convince people to take him, we finally decided to just keep him. At that point we were too attached, and he gets along really well with Ryno. His name is Sampson, we call him Sam for short. I finally got Ron to agree to officially keep him after we spent money to neuter him and do a gastropexy (surgery where they sew his stomach wall to the right side of his abdomen to prevent it from bloating and flipping 360 degrees).

Here's a Picture of Sam and Ryno. They were sitting so very patiently saying;
"Please Mom, can we help you wrap the gifts for the baby shower, PLEEEESE?? We really want to play with the tube of wrapping paper!"

The "Contest"

2008-05-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

If any of you have seen my husband lately, you will notice that he looks....different. He has this "thing" growing on his face that reminds me of Chandler on "Friends" when he tried to imitate Richard by growing a mustache. Anyway, this is a result of Ron and the other men on his team at work trying to do some male bonding, so they created "Mustache May". Apparently I'm not the only wife protesting, so they're going to end it on Friday (thank god!). But for your enjoyment, and Ron's embarrassment, I've included a picture. =)

Can you tell how excited he is to be having his picture taken??

Shopping and Whiskey Balls

2008-05-10T07:34:00.001-07:00

I went to a shower today for 2 friends of mine that I met on the knot.com, way back in my wedding planning days (seems so long ago now!). I know, I know, it sounds silly to say I have "friends" from the internet, but it's true! I've known them (yes, in real life), for about 2 years now. There's a group of about 25 of us that became really close because most of us were planning weddings in the spring/summer 07, and these people become your security blanket in wedding planning. They're the ones that you go cry to when your dress shop burns down (yes, that actually happened to me), and you bitch to when your fiance is making you upset, etc. They understand, and that's how we all formed such a great bond. It's hard to understand, but I read this article the other day that sums it up PERFECTLY: http://tinyurl.com/3ho8m6

Well now we're all old married hags, and starting to have babies (just to clarify...THEY are having babies...not me....yet).

I was in charge of the big "group gift" from about 8 of us for both of these girls, so Ron and I had our first adventure in Babies R Us last night. It was quite interesting, I can only imagine what it will be like when we register there. I was very confused and basically had an associate attached at my hip to figure out where everything was. We ended up shopping for three people, off three different registries, which made the checkout interesting, but we made it!

I also decided to try a new recipe for this shindig, so I thought I would include it on here. I got the recipe from one of the technicians at school, she made it once for a food day and it was

0-so-yummy!!

Whiskey Balls

Ingredients:

Meatballs (2lb)- You can use frozen or make your own.

1 Medium sized bottle of ketchup (I used a 24oz bottle)
1 cup Brown Sugar
2/3 cup Whiskey

Here's what I used:

Directions:

1. Put meatballs in a crockpot/slow cooker

2. Combine Whiskey, Brown Sugar, and Ketchup in separate bowl

3. Pour mixture over meatballs making sure the meatballs are completely covered.

4. Cook on Low overnight (6-8 hours).

Finished Product:

5. You can freeze or refrigerate them, and then just heat them back up wherever you need them.

Note: When I got up in the morning, the ones on the bottom were a little burned, so it might be a better idea to cook these during the day when you can stir them every few hours, or just get up once in the middle of the night to give them a quick stir. I honestly think they would really only need about 6 hours in the cooker to be done.

It's Official

2008-05-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

So I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while now. I have so many friends and family members that are long distance, and it's so hard to keep up with them. So I figured this would be a good way for them to see what's up with Ron and I.

This is going to be my attempt at doing a life/food blog. I imagine once I finish school the food blog will become much better, but I do make the occasional meal once in a while, so it should be interesting. I plan to start adding pictures whenever I dig my camera out of the depths of my room (or I convince Ron to buy a new one), but don't hold your breath on it!

Exciting news from today....
I'm officially a 4th year veterinary student!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!! I'm almost there!
I decided today was the official day because our email profile at school changed from "professional year 3" to "professional year 4", and what's more official than the school email, right??