We had a snowy weekend around here. I was on the schedule to work at the hospital Thursday, Friday and Saturday but the floor that I work on ended up closing over the holiday break (I guess there aren't a lot of people, doctors or patients, that schedule surgeries the week of Christmas). They needed help on the 4th floor, Oncology, on Saturday. It wasn't too bad. To tell you the truth, I already feel like I've had to many days with nothing to do...

I got a new camera today. Dang those internet rumors about the killer sales at Circut City.
Just checking out all the new settings and everything. Isn't my dog pathetic?
I hope everyone had a happy Christmas, I know we did.

SNOW!

I made a special trip to Target for this movie today. Initially I made a video of myself singing the song along with some really awesome accompanying hand gestures but trust me when I say you will enjoy this much more. Or maybe this video is just slightly less embarrassing. Also, did you know that you can watch every song from White Christmas on youtube - I totally could have saved my $15!

This is Christmas to me. We've been watching a lot of movies on the floor in front of the tv lately. I have finals this week and I am not stressed out at all. I love the end of the semester when things start winding down and deadlines come and go. Right now I'm sitting in the kitchen; it's clean. I'm looking out the window at the Christmas lights on my house. I'm about to go over some notes and then I'll climb into my bed. It's freshly made with my clean flannel Christmas sheets. I sound pretty calm for someone that hasn't done any Christmas shopping, don't I. I love the end of the semester.

I went to Cost Plus today for my wrapping paper. I like the paper there. I like the paper at Pier One better but Russell was with me and when shopping with Russell it's best to get things done in as few stops as possible. Just trust me on this one. Plus I decided today that if there was only one store that I could shop at for the rest of my life, Cost Plus would be it. Yes, I love it that much.

So anyway, I have these hanging basket hooks in my second bedroom. Inside. Weird, right? I've been trying to think of something cool to do with them (because I'm afraid that if I attempt to pull them out the ceiling will cave in) and I totally found the answer at my most favorite store today. How cool are these lanterns? Someday. They will be mine. Oh yes, they will be mine.

I have nothing to say.

I've been on a mission, for some time now, to find a way to produce the perfect sugar crusted blueberry muffin top. Today I think I took a major step in the right direction. I bought a little scoop of turbinado sugar from the excellent bulk section at my grocery store. It's still not perfect but it's getting really close. I think I'm going to start mixing sugars now. Everyone puts butter on their blueberry muffins right?

I tried to make this cake from Bon Appetit as a thank you for my neighbor who kept an eye on Otis while we were out of town and it went terribly, horribly wrong. So bad. The white chocolate cream layer refused to whip up and eventually I opted to leave it out. When I started assembling the cake, without the extra layer, it was sliding all over the place. It was a total disaster. My kitchen wasn't that big of a mess when I made Thanksgiving dinner. Yikes.

I made my Mom's family clam chowder recipe this week but that deserves its own post - mostly because I have pictures.

This is what happens to me during holiday times. Just today I was hoping that I won't have to work on Saturday so I can make those caramels I made a couple years ago. Hoping that I won't have to work/thinking of ways to get out of it - same thing, right?

I thought of my Dad today when, on my way out the door, I grabbed a Coke Zero from the fridge and put it in my coat pocket.

We've taken care of the leaves in the front. The back? We've yet to tackle. 

I asked Russell why he raked all the leaves in to one big pile (in case it's been a while since you had to pick up leaves, bigger piles are harder). He shrugged and laughed at me. He just thought it would be funny. This picture doesn't do the pile justice. It's a big pile. You better believe I'll be looking for every excuse to avoid that chore. Car wash? I have to have one today. 

I wore my cap and mask home...

Today was crazy. Insane. Awesome. 

I went out to Caldwell, about 30 miles outside Boise, to check out their OR and day surgery unit. At first I was doing boring vital signs checks but then I got to do real things that nurses do. I started a couple IVs and I went with two patients in to the OR and I watched their surgeries. A bilateral mastectomy and a radical prostatectomy. Holy crap. I just keep saying in my head over and over again. How the heck am I going to figure out what kind of nurse I want to be if everything I get to try is totally awesome? I think I am supposed to have hated at least one thing by now. I can't even count how many nurses asked if I'd eaten breakfast. I guess they have a lot of students pass out - bad news. There was a CRNA in my prostatectomy that was totally quizzing me on all the drugs, what would you give if this happened. He was really smart. So that was fun. 

Let me just say (as if I need another reason to go vegetarian), underneath all that breast tissue? Just like a flank steak. Exactly. 

I hate those bell stamps. They are really no fun at all. My post office has this automated scale and stamp machine. You can go 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and you can use your debit card. This thing is the epitome of convenience. But you can only get those dumb bell stamps. 

I hate those stamps so much that I would rather go to my post office from the hours of 9-4 Monday through Friday and wait. In the line. Why is there always a line? Because dumb people like me hate those bell stamps? I don't know. 

Do I hate the bell stamps? Or do I just love the other stamps? I think it might be because some of the bell stamps on the sheet don't have the wavy edges on all 4 sides. I'm a crazy person, aren't I? Whatever. You just read an entire post about stamps... 

I made pickles this week. They are good. Real good. I told a friend at school about them and promised to share. That was before I tasted them. That jar was hard to part with. I'll think about bringing some home with me.

I had to turn on the heat today. I draw the line when the temp inside the house gets down to the 50's. We had our first frost last night and they are already talking about "snow in the upper elevations." The good? I turned on the heat and my house smells like Christmas now. That makes me a Las Vegan still, doesn't it?

So, mostly I like the fall when the weather starts changing but there is one thing I don't like about it. I hate it when the toilet seat is freezing cold in the mornings. It is a rude awakening, that's for sure.

Moving on.

I am writing a paper on issues related to contemporary childbirth and I was wondering if anyone wanted to volunteer to answer a few questions for me. What I mean to say is, does anyone want to volunteer now to avoid that uncomfortable phone call where I ask and you feel like you can't say no? (I just like to keep it real.) I'll let you read the paper when I'm done...

I am the laziest blogger ever. I just brought my laptop in to the kitchen and took a picture of this zucchini cobbler with photo booth. Getting out the camera, taking the picture, uploading it from the camera to the computer? WAY too much work. 

Okay so, we've got more zucchini than we know what to do with and we are officially sick of zucchini bread. Solution? Zucchini cobbler. I followed some of the advice in the comments (do you ever pay attention to those?) and removed all the seeds and I swear, it tasted just like apple cobbler. Just like it. With ice cream on top? Insane. 

Another thing. Did anyone else see this? A man jumps in to the ocean to punch a shark after it practically swallows his dog (and he's not even a very cute dog, maybe that's like saying someone's kid isn't cute, everyone thinks their own kid is cute). He actually saves his dog. 

I was thinking another thing. My frequent (probably inappropriate) use of parenthesis really says a lot about me, doesn't it? It is seriously hard for me to stick to a train of thought...  

It is slightly colder in my house right now than it is outside. But I will NOT turn the heat on yet.

I took care of a guy named Barry today. He kept saying, "thanks for being good to Barry" and "you be good to Barry and Barry will be good to you." Now I can't stop singing When You're Good To Mama from Chicago...

This is the best Panda Express fortune I've ever gotten.
If you haven't seen Nacho Libre, go watch it. Now.

I ran a 5K this morning. It was sponsored by the hospital that I work at and it was cheap so I did it. I've never run in a race before. Can I just say, it is seriously motivating when you run past someone (who cares if they happen to be walking). It hasn't rained in Boise in I don't know how long. It's been a while okay. Guess what happened this morning. Not just sprinkles, it was raining. And cold. I still didn't hate it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting back into bed.

We're at home. 
Watching the BSU game.
Eating sweeties.

I love the fall.

I have a lot to tell you about school this semester but I have even more actual school stuff to work on so it might be a few more days before I can tell you all about it.

Otis manged to push through the screen door on our porch a while ago. So last week I went about reinforcing the screen but I forgot to latch it when I was finished. Russell heard a weird scratching sound and checked the front porch. It was Otis. We don't know how long he was gone or which neighbors he terrorized or how many times he was almost hit by a car. No idea.

It has been a pretty constant 68˚ in my house the last week or so. No AC. The windows are open. I think summer might be over for Boise. I'm in the market for a couple new sweaters.

Russell deemed these potato skins (Sunday dinner) restaurant quality...

Hello, first day of school. (Do I look nervous?)

Check out my scrubs. I look totally legit, don't I? They are going to let me touch people this semester. Real people. They're even going to let me give meds. One day I have to go to a flu clinic and give shots all day. At the end of the semester I follow a patient through an operation. Admission, pre-op, procedure, post-op, recovery. Everything. I hope it's a cool operation and not something dumb like eye surgery (boring).

Picture #2: Third semester books. Insane, huh? When I went to the bookstore, they put my books in a box. Bag? Not going to cut it. You should have seen me trying to get from the bookstore to my car without losing anything. Silly.

Yay, back to school!

How come I can't wink?
(There was an actual point to this exercise, besides giving me something to blog about.)

I think we figured it out. We have two fruit trees on either side of the big tree in the front (the same one that fell on top of the house). One tree is a prune tree (I just threw up a little in my mouth) and the other, the one I took pictures of, green plums. Green plums! Oh, the possibilities! Seriously, help me think of the possibilities.

Just picked up my last book from the bookstore. The LAST used copy. It took some pretty serious restraint to keep from doing a little dance in that isle. The rest of my books, ordered online, will be here tomorrow. I inserted my divider tabs into my notebook. I am so ready for school to start. I have decided not to buy a parking permit for this semester. Ask me how that's going when it starts getting rainy right around Octoberish.

So, this tree in my yard. Something is growing on it. Some kind of fruit, I think. It kind of looks like a tiny green plum. What the heck is it? I don't know but I won't be chopping the tree down until I find out...

I'm putting together a good mix for Great Harvest. We start early in the morning so it has to be pretty upbeat. Help me out, will you? The theme is HOT. (Get it? You know, because the oven is hot...) 

You may have seen or perhaps just noticed in previously posted pictures that our garage is a bit scary (that may be an understatement). We used to have these crazy thorny jumbles of bushes lining one side of it. It was just like the part on Sleeping Beauty when Maleficent makes those thorny bushes grow really fast so that Prince Phillip can't get to Princess Aurora (did I remember all those names or did I have to look them up? I'll never tell). Anyway, winter rolled around and they all dried up and then it started to get nice outside and I found the perfect opportunity to get rid of all those nasty, thorny bushes. And I did just that.

Well, well, well, the end of the summer rolls around and do you know what that means? Apparently it means that it's time for those nasty, crazy, thorny bushes to start producing blackberries. Yes, I completely dug up who knows how many years of blackberry bushes. Wiped them right off our property. At least there are plenty of those messy, ugly, mean looking bushes on our neighbor's side of the alley. We went over last week and again tonight and we just whipped up 6 delicious looking cans of blackberry jam. I wonder how many jars I could have had. Do you think I should share a can with the neighbor we stole the berries from or is that just weird?


Our zucchini plants are massive this year. Ridiculous. So big that Russell is having trouble harvesting (did I just say harvesting?) the veggies at the appropriate time. This ginormous zucchini (and me pretending it's a telephone) is the result.

How would you like a recap? It's been a couple days, hasn't it? Two things I'm thinking about:

1. Camping. Russell achieved step 1 - admitting he has a problem. We drove for a long time on some crappy forest service roads and passed up some pretty good spots. He just can't get over that feeling that just around the corner is the most perfect, most highly prized camping spot ever to be discovered. When I say a long time, I'm talking 4 and a half hours, people. Forest service roads aka dirt paths, more like 4 wheeler trails. Anyway, we found a spot, built a fire, ate tin foil dinners and made s'mores. I don't know how you guys are thinking but as far as I'm concerned, that is exactly what camping is about. Fire. Dinner. S'mores. I thought I managed to snap a picture of dirty Otis before my camera batteries bit the dust but no such luck. Bummer.

2. Hygiene. I cannot wash my hair ever other day, so just go ahead and forget about every three days (as suggested by my color girl). I have decided instead to quit blow drying. As one problem is solved another presents itself. I can't go out with wet hair - that looks terrible - so either I have to shower at night or wake up early enough for my hair to air dry. I have been faced with some pretty tough decisions these days, haven't I?

I can't stop thinking about a little old lady that I met at work a couple weeks ago. The first time I went into her room there were quite a few family members visiting. Everyone seemed pretty upbeat, cheery even - including the patient. When I went in the second time she was alone. I asked if everyone had gone home and she said yes. She said she was glad because seeing them made her tired. She said that she didn't want anyone to worry so she didn't let them see how tired she really was. I keep thinking about her - maybe because I felt a little sad for her, I don't know. She was really pleasant, she only stayed overnight and then went back home. I just can't stop thinking about her.

Quick side note: Could I possibly be getting attached to a turtle?

Meet Mrs. T. She'll be hanging out around the Dukes for the month of August. I tried to get a video of Otis and Mrs. T meeting but it seems that every single rechargeable battery in my house is dead. Just my luck. Well, just your luck I guess - it was hilarious - the meeting.

This week is going to be awesome. I only have to work two nights and we are camping this weekend. Russell wants to scout out a possible hunting area for the fall and I'm all for it. And so is Otis. He loves getting out into the wild. Don't worry, I'll get those batteries all charged up.

Wish me luck on my 90 day eval at the hospital!

Twizzlers for breakfast, anyone?

I have grape tomatoes in the garden this year. I've only tried a couple so far but man they are so good. And Russ doesn't like grape tomatoes so they're all mine (insert evil laugh here)!

We are also growing corn. Is that weird? I think it's a little weird but I don't care. The stalks are as tall as I am now. Someday I think I'll have a whole field of corn.

I went to Target today and bought a bag of Twizzlers even though I know that Russell doesn't like them which means I will be eating the entire bag by myself. I am sick.

I have to work this weekend but next weekend I'm off the hook and I am totally planning a camping trip. I don't really like planning this kind of thing - we sort of like the fly by the seat method - but I'm afraid that if I don't plan it, we won't do it.

I love those lines that you can see when you first mow the lawn. I need to invent a way to make those lines stay for a long time.

I think you should all know that we will be having a funeral procession tonight for the remaining Affordable Gates t-shirts still a part of Russell's wardrobe. About 7 o'clock tonight if you wouldn't mind observing a moment of silence...

When I go to work and it's slow on my floor they don't send me home. They send me to another floor to "sit". Sometimes it's because a patient is combative or is trying to get up. Most of the time it means that there is a patient that has pulled out a line and they want you to watch and make sure they don't do it again. Sit. And watch. AKA bore you to tears, death, whatever. I usually don't mind doing it too much, I always have a book in my bag just in case. I saw one girl that I work with cry one night because she had to go sit. Anyway, it seems like I always have a good story to tell after I go sit - that's what's up with the lengthy explanation.

Tonight I sat with an old guy on the oncology floor. He pulled out his NG tube last night when he woke up a little bit confused. Since last night, though, they removed all his lines except his IV. He didn't need a sitter. Let me tell you a couple things about the night:

• They had been trying to get him up to the shower all day and two of the times his nurse came in and again when his family dropped in, he yelled at me, "no, you cannot get in the shower with me."

• I told him I was reading Rebecca and he said that they made it into a movie a long time ago and it was a good one. I asked him if he knew what Netflix was and I told him I planned on putting it in my queue. He went on to explain that he owned a video store in Parma and Netflix didn't pay taxes (?) or help the local economy and it just was not worth it to rent through them. Let me just say, it's a good thing they didn't come in to take his blood pressure right then. I think I could have gotten fired...

He didn't need a sitter but I'm glad they didn't cancel me because I totally had fun hanging out with him. At the end of the night, before he rolled over to go to sleep, he told me I was great company. I'll take it.

Russell suggested that I do a contest to see who can guess at what store we found this luchador mask and this totally awesome bag that I most definitely bought.

He suggested that the prize be a luchador mask but I don't think anyone will get the answer or really wants that anyway (except maybe Dylan).

Isn't Russell a good sport? He even pursed his lips just like Ramses.

So, what do you think? You want to take a guess?

I just got home from the hospital job and I have to go to the bakery job in the morning. What the heck am I doing up so late? My name is Caitlin and I'm addicted to Google Reader. 

We went to the Snake River Stampede tonight and I thought it was going to be a very long night but it was totally fun. I don't like the calf roping - those poor little guys - but everything else was totally entertaining. And you know they get in to it around these parts. I'm telling you guys, someday I'm going to have a horse. And a cow too. 

I've recently heard rumors of a Lunn Family Christmas talent show. I know what I'll be performing but I'm not telling because I don't want anyone to steal it.

Russell and Ryan went fishing this morning. I could get up and get some things done but Otis is begging me to stay in bed.

It's not that I like running. In fact, I would say quite the opposite. It just that when you are on your lunch break, running whatever errand is requiring you to leave the office, it's a little hard not to envy that jerk running down the street in the middle of the day without a care in the world. 

Yesterday, I so was that jerk. Usually the night before a day off I will tell myself to get up and run in the morning. But that temptation to sleep in is just too strong and when I wake up, I tell myself it's too hot to go. Well, yesterday I actually checked the weather - it was 70˚. No excuses. Out I went. Running down the big hill that is Americana Blvd, wind in my hair, cars zooming by, drivers undoubtedly uttering jealous thoughts to themselves under their breath. 

Anyway, Bride headed back to LV on day 9. The house looked like a total wreck by then. Yesterday all I did was clean up (and run). Today I'm going down to tackle the basement and finish up the last bit of laundry. I think Ryan is coming up in a couple days so in the immortal words of Wayne & Garth, party on. 

DAY 8:

You know when you go on a trip and there are a bunch of things you'd like to do and you can feel the trip winding to a close? We were feeling that big time by day 8.

5:00 am - wake up, get on our suits, drive to Lowman, find Skinnydipper Hot Springs, also check out the Middle Fork of the Payette River

7:30 am - get back in the car, drive over to Emmett to pick cherries

10:30 am - Russell gets a craving for Squeezers, the closest thing he can get to Fatburger around here

By this time, around noon, we were wasted but we couldn't stop there. It's day 8! We got home and decided to float the Boise River again. Finally we came home and opted for a short nap - man, did that feel good.

That night we went to Lock, Stock and Barrel for dinner. Bride and I both had a filet and Russ had his ribeye. It was seriously delicious. Thank you, Gramps!

DAY 7:

The 4th of July. I had to work. I went to Country Donuts and got Bride's favorite. Raised chocolate covered with sprinkles. It is a good one.

We went to famous (Idaho famous) sandwich place that we hadn't tried yet. Bride was laughing about the plywood picnic tables and benches inside.

While I was at work Bride hung out at the Winget's because it's always a party over there...

DAY 6:

I had to work this morning. Bummer. After work we had lunch. Bride yelled at me because I put her roast beef on the wrong bread. Then we took our neighbor, Andrew, to Roaring Springs.

It was pretty fun. This ride was my favorite. You can see it from the highway and it looks so scary. Andrew kept telling us he was going to throw up.

Russell grilled us up some burgers and we watched Fear Itself (what the heck) and I made brownies.

A good day.

DAY 5:

Mid-morning (not morning) Bride and I headed downtown to walk around and check out the shops. Really, we were waiting for Russ to get out of work so we could float the Boise River!

The first time I went, I went without Russ. I won't make that mistake again. He totally steered us into every fast part and it was so fun.

This was the first fast part we went over. Doesn't Bride look like she's having fun?

This was the first bridge we went under. Right after this there was a kid hiding up in a tree and he totally squawked (like a bird) and scared us so bad. It was pretty funny. I totally thought we were about to get attacked by a giant bird.



We took this one after Bride spotted a buck on the riverbank and I told her she should be Russell's new lookout.

We went to Aladdin for some Egyptian food for dinner.


Bride had the Oozy chicken. I thought that was a funny name.