Eeek!

I went ahead and did it - I finally received my Authorization to Test (ATT), and I scheduled myself to take the NCLEX on June 13th. I am so nervous!!! But, I'm excited about getting it over with, and also glad to finally have target date to hopefully motivate me to get busy with the self review and studying between now and then. Oh, my...

In other news, I am planning to post something of a "year in review" series to reflect on our first year of marriage. Look for that soon, assuming anyone is around to actually read this. (Insert unsure/hopeful smile here).

First Anniversary!

Happy one year anniversary to my baby! It has been a fabulous adventure, and we're just getting started. :-) Thanks so much for everything you do, everything you are, and everything else.

I Love You.

More on Flickr.

The Return of the Mojito

Mmm. This summer drink has been a long time coming, but it is finally back in my orbit. And, deliciously so! This batch is even more special than the last since the mint leaves are home grown - planted by my hands, nurtured by J's diligent watering, and fed by the sunlight of our front porch.

The recipe:

2 parts rum
1.5 parts lime juice
10 mint leaves
1.5 teaspoons fine sugar
soda water

Put mint leaves and sugar in the bottom of a highball glass. Using your muddler, muddle that stuff until it's a paste. Add a bit of soda to clean your muddler and loosen up the mint paste. Add lime, rum, and ice. Top off with soda water and stir to combine. Yum.
Thanks to J for the photo and the yummy drink that I am enjoying as I type. All this and more on a beautiful one-year anniversary weekend. :-)

Sweet Humpback Whales

In a developing story that tugs at the strings of my heart and my GreenPeace roots, I am full of hope that the stranded mother and baby whale will safely migrate out of the polluted fresh water shipping channel to make a smooth return to their natural salt-water habitat. And soon!

Please read more here and here.

Cool find today, thanks to Energy Times magazine, which is a super cool subscription I've been getting for about a year now, courtesy of the yummy Smoothie King in Destin, FL.

Oh, to be on the beach right now...
swoon.

Yay! As part of the Class of 2007, I graduated from Macon State's College of Nursing on May 11th, 2007. The weekend was one wonderful blur of fun and good news, from my pinning ceremony to finding out we got the beautiful big white house that holds the kitchen of our dreams!
Life is good.

Red Eye Rant

Well, unfortunately this cruddy hole in the wall doesn't have its own website, so I cannot directly point my finger at it as I expose all it's shortcomings. Last night, J and I ended up there as a close to our evening(s) out, and it was a mistake from the start.

We were greeted at the top of the stairs by a couple of scruffy looking, middle-aged bouncers who were checking IDs at the door, which is an unusual site around here as most of the age determination is done by eyeball, as far as I know. Still, against our best judgment we proceeded down the stairs and quickly learned why the guard dogs were at the door as we descended into a sea of lame kiddos who probably should never have made it through had the dudes been doing their jobs. After D was turned away (a first) which threw the bachelor party we bumped in to way off track, we found it a difficult task alone in getting up to the bar, and nearly impossible still to place a drink order due to all the sidestepping, lanky 20-something males with low self-esteem and cigarette breath looking to get lucky in a pond of sad options. After obtaining our dinky beers in plastic cups (niiice), we returned to the patio just in time to see the people who were waiting on us ascending the stairs to depart. As we attempted to follow them, disgusting guard dog #2 put his paws on the top of my cup (yes, where my lips go) and tried to toss it in the trash can, rather than bothering to tell me that we could not take drinks with us, treating me as if I was one of the sloshing losers that littered the patio downstairs, which I was obviously not even close to being one of. However, J and I proceeded to drink our beers together while making conversation about how glad we were to be long past the stage in life where this dumpster with a bar would even approach any type of fun, and remarking on how fortunate we were to have found each other and be happily ever after.

So, the sticky wakeup call may have had a positive ring to it in considering those shared words and hand-in-hand departure from the dumpster with a bar, but that was the one bright spot of the entirely negative experience at The Red Eye Tavern. If you still choose to support this establishment (um, I guess you could call it one) then remember you've been warned, and don't venture too close anytime approaching midnight unless you are underage with low to no standards. The end.

We Got the House!!! :-)

Week # 1 Post Nursing School

Wow. I am so enjoying my time off between the end of classes and my upcoming graduation on Friday, May 11th. I feel like I've already accomplished so much, and still managed to sleep in and relax more than not.

Over the weekend I enjoyed a lovely shopping day with mom that we planned ages ago when I was still burdened with exams, clinicals, and case study papers. I found the PERFECT dress for graduation night, and a sweet little black dress for any black dress occasion. I also tried on my hat & tassel just for fun. :-)

Tomorrow I will begin trading my stock of winter clothes for my summer clothes, and transitioning a slice of my wardrobe to my parents' house in preparation for our up & coming move. Pretty much the first sign of packing around here, but I want to disturb the look of the house as little as possible until after the graduation party we're hosting. Lots to be done, but still plenty of time and energy on board!

Dinosaur Comics Rule

You know you wanna click it.

Especially this old one. :-)

YAY!

Two finals down and one to go!

Graduation is so close I can smell it. :-)

Underground!

I find quite a few cool things by browsing Blogger's featured "best of" blogs. This latest find is a grand exception in that it is not only cool, but one of my absolute favorite spins on a favorite mode of transportation in the world. If you haven't already figured it out, that's the Tube. Swoon.
Check this out!

For J

Now why do you think good ol' Norman Mailer's photo is next to an article about American Idol's odd but infamous star, Sanjaya? Interesting little combination to say the least. (Enlarge image for best results) Thanks for the humor, Google News. :-)

Busy day: Took my last regular exam, and went out with a bang. Yay! Celebrated with friends and classmates Sarah & Mary Lou by picking up our caps & gowns, purchasing our Nightingale Lamps for our pinning ceremony, enjoying a lovely lunch at Ruby Tuesday, and some browsing for graduation dresses. So much fun. But the exams didn't stop there - I completed the medication test to begin my orientation as an RN at MCCG, aced it, and contacted my new floor's director to let her know I was ready to transfer as soon as they'll have me. Shouldn't be long now at all...only two exams, a quiz, and Boards separate me from becoming a registered nurse. Though these last days are stressful ones, my friend Martha said it best: THINK RN! And that's what I'm doing. But not tonight - I am wiped out, and ready to spend some time with TiVo before I fall asleep. 'Night!

The Countdown is On

Believe it or Not:
Our One Year Anniversary
is only one month away!

(Photo by J.G.)

Photo by Phillip.
Taken during Cocktail Hour at our place.

Yay - Spring is Here Again!

Today was gorgeous, and we were thankful for the lovely 70-something evening we had, which contributed a wonderfully successful hosting of the weekly Cocktail Hour! Many thanks to all who came. We had a blast and were happy to see that everyone else did, too. Now, if this perfect weather would just stick around for good...

Oh, and just a couple of weeks now until graduation! YIPEE.

I Think the House Hunt Never Ends

So, yeah. The house hunting process is a bad, bad game sometimes. Disappointment/Heartbreak # 1: Check.

Found the most perfect condo ever.ever.ever and it's gone. Some jerk(s) bought it hours ago. After it sat on the market for nearly two years, no less. Amazing. And so, so wrong. I feel like kicking down our for sale sign now...I am no longer sure if I want to go and where if I do.

VDUB Central Rocks!

As the proud owner of a little red Beetle, I am interested in all things Volkswagen. So, when my beloved bug began having the "hiccups" over the past couple of months, I knew I had to take care of it so that my darling hubby would not keep pestering me to get rid of it. I agree with him that a car as young as mine(it's only a 2003 model with just over 60,000 miles on it) should not have as many problems as it keeps popping up with, but I also know that my car is special in a sentimental way, it's adorable and worthy of my adoration, it's a shiny happy shade of red, and it's paid for in full. So, I did some research and found a local place that specializes in VWs and VWs only. Turns out this place is something of a family practice, with the father's expertise spanning 40+ years. The son runs the local shop, and is quite the car whiz himself. Hopefully we have fixed the problem, and he did it in a very professional, honest, and cost-effective way. I am quite pleased, and always happy to support a local rather than a corporation such as the only other local option, Butler Volkswagen. I wish I knew more VW drivers than I do, so I could send more business to VW Central - I am certainly telling all the ones I do know! I was very happy to find this knowledgeable guy & his company, and today was a good day, even if it required me to shell out $110 of my hard-earned little nurse extern cash. I hope it made my baby Beetle happy. For a long, long time. Amen.

For Sale, Baby!

Well, we've finally gone and done it.

Yes, friends, 849 Laurel Avenue is officially up for sale. Autumn and I decided to try selling it buy owner. A realtor (why is my spell checker telling me that realtor is supposed to be spelled with a capital "R"? Bah!) who is trying to sell a house we like on Beverly Place, came over last week, ostensibly to chat with us about our options. Well, those options were about how we could buy her house, not about how could sell ours. In fact, were half-way through a cursory tour before I realized she really had no interest in even seeing our house.

Maybe I'm just being a cynic? Perhaps. However, she seemed to have as much interest in helping us sell our house as George Bush has in helping Katrina victims from New Orleans. Weird.

Yet, it seems to me that is she wanted us to sign a contract for Beverly contingent upon us selling Laurel, she would offer a bit of help. She changed her tune yesterday: she offered to come over to talk with us about how to make our house ready to show. Maybe she realized her mistake.

Anyhow: if you know of anyone who is in the market, send 'em our way.

tags technorati : house for sale macon georgia real estate

Test-Driving BMWs for Cancer Research

What combination could be better? For the second year, we attended the BMW Ultimate Drive for a Cure, to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation by trying out the beautiful machines of our choice. This year we drove a snazzy little 5-series & a sweet 7-series, which was like a mansion on wheels. Wow...I think I have a retirement goal already, and I haven't quite graduated from college yet. :-) We really enjoy this event, and looked forward to it since the last. Fortunately, this year we received invitations and were able to pre-register, which made the process even more enjoyable and smooth. There were a few other sponsors involved as well, with The Republic of Tea's offerings sounding especially yummy.