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.

DAY 4:

I had to work a little bit today so Bride took the truck and had her own adventure. Well, she went to the bookstore but I think it was sort of like an adventure. When I got home we went downtown and bought some delicious bread for our dinner and then we opted for a little bike ride. This is the foot bridge we have to cross to get from our house across the river to the Greenbelt.

We went all the way down to the park to swing on the swings and while we were there, we saw the most adorable puppy. The boy on the swing next to us said it was his and gave us permission to pet her. Which we did.

That night we opted for Ladies Night at Les Bois Sports park. Bride and Russ both did a little betting but I'm pretty sure I'm forming a moral objection to horse racing. I'll get back to you on that...

This horse's name is Mr Salty Jones. How do they name race horses?

DAY 3:

Bride slept in until so late today. I'm not letting her do that again. At least she won't be able to say I never let her sleep in, that would be a lie because I let her today. Like I said, Bride slept in today and while she did so, I bought a sweet raft and oars for our river floating excursion.

After, we went to the Winget's to hang out. We swam at the pool for a while and then we went back up to the house, had dinner, played missionary tag, made more Muddy Buddies, played Catch Phrase, had a dance party and ate strawberry shortcake. All good things.

We came home and blew up the raft, you know, to check it out. Oh, and also to lay in it.

When can I wake her up?

DAY 2: 

It was Sunday so, you know, nothing too too exciting. I asked Bride to describe church in one word: annoying was all she could say. Ah, the joys of Primary. It wasn't all bad though. One of the girls in my class raised her hand and asked, "Can I give your sister a hug?" 

We napped and ate watermelon and Muddy Buddies. 

We watched Cloverfield on the projector, promptly became motion sick and went to bed. 

DAY 1:
I remember to grab my camera on the way out the door but forget to bring it into the airport to document the arrival. Next best thing - getting buckled in immediately following the arrival.

Otis is thoroughly excited about sharing his bed with Bride.

After a quick trip to the fruit stand, Boise State, the Saturday market, McU's Sporting Goods, and the grocery store, we all took a nap.

We opted for a baseball game tonight. It was the 7th inning stretch before I realized I was rooting for the wrong team...

We had Casanova pizza for dinner last night. Holy crap. Can you see those chunks of garlic? The Comet: tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil leaves, sliced tomatoes, pepperoni and extra garlic. SO good. So good.

Now let me tell you about the tree on our house. Saturday night was very windy. I was at work. The tree in our front yard blew over in the wind and landed on the roof. It knocked the top of our chimney loose but at least it didn't fall totally off, that might have caused some damage. Poor Russell was up on the roof with a hand saw cutting all the small branches off but the trunk of this thing is huge! We're going to have to rent a chainsaw.

Bride will be here Saturday and I plan on thoroughly documenting the happenings of our days (as if you weren't all DYING to come visit me in Boise already). So, you have that to look forward to.

It's totally summer now, isn't it?

This might be a problem...

This song is so catchy! I keep singing I don't give a hoot about what you think. Rivers' mustache though...

Remember when I was telling you guys about the book group? How I wanted to read a book that some other members didn't want to read? How I picked that book anyway? Well, we meet this Thursday (as in tomorrow) and guess who has to work. If you guessed me, you're a genius. We are rescheduling but I think it's only because the girl who put the book group together doesn't want to lead this discussion. Yikes.

My thermostat is broken and a couple nights ago I think the AC was on all night long (hello power bill) and I woke up to a brisk 64 degrees. It's hard enough to get out of bed at 4:30 in the morning. What a bummer.

I bought a new sprinkler and I'm hoping that we'll be able to water all of the lawn at once without moving the sprinkler twenty times. Wish me luck, will you?

I have decided since my trip to Vegas that the most accurate way to capture the true happenings of the day is to give your camera to the closest 6 year old. After you delete the random photographic evidence of the pictures hanging on the walls and the baskets on the table, you have painted a pretty complete picture. I could not stop laughing when I went through these.

Don't let me forget to tell you about the Cherry Festival in Emmett, ID. That was some good people watching, I tell you what.

We had so much fun in Las Vegas. I counted the times that Russell said, "it's SO hot" and I'll give a prize to whoever guesses closest. I'm just joking, I didn't count but if I had a prize to give, it would go to whoever guessed highest. I have a few pictures to post - Isabel took them for me. A vacation is fun but who are we kidding, we're just putting off all the work until we get home - I have so much crap to do.

We would have stayed longer but I had to get back to work and let me tell you, it was an interesting day. I had to go to the morgue and pick up a patient's baby. It was 19 weeks. I don't know what complications induced her labor but this is the third baby that the couple lost. They wanted to see him one more time before they were discharged. Like I said, it was an interesting day.

There is a woman in my ward that trims her fingernails in church on Sunday every week. I had the pleasure (sick) of sitting in front of her last week. She gets out her fingernail clippers and starts trimming and all I can think about is one of those fingernails getting in my hair, hitting me in the face, ricocheting off the pew in front of me and flying into my mouth (weirder things have happened). Now, I kept it together last time but I seriously doubt that I will be capable of keeping my mouth shut another time. Do I just avoid sitting near this person or should I send her an anonymous note? Where do you cut your fingernails?

There's this song. I am SO not saying what it is - that is how terribly embarrassing it is. I don't want to like it. I really do not want to like it. But it's so catchy. Dang you XM radio! Let me just say it belongs to a genre that I don't listen to (or as a rule like at all) but they play this song on "The Blend" which I regularly find myself listening to at work. It gets stuck in my head so bad. I hate it. I swear I do.

I've got a long road trip ahead of me. I've downloaded a bunch of Learn Spanish podcasts. Anyone have any other suggestions? Help me out, will you?

Long ago, before we ever got a dog and when we were not allowed to enter the house through the front door, a certain member of our family liked to get out of their work clothes as soon as they entered the laundry room through the garage door. I somehow have adopted a similar habit.

This semester in school, I overheard a teacher saying that she saw someone in hospital scrubs at the grocery store and it really grossed her out. I can't stop thinking about it. After work, I can't wait to get home and out of my scrubs. I can't shake this idea that they are so disgustingly dirty - especially since every day that I've worked, we've had someone on isolation for C. diff. You know, the diarrhea that is so bad it KILLS you! Look it up, I swear, you DIE from diarrhea.

I was completely and totally traumatized in middle school. I came to this realization this week, when, after 7 years not opening a locker, I got my new locker at work opened on the first try AND remembered my combo after just one day.

My new job is going really well. I don't really know why I was so worried about it. It seems like our patients are usually pretty nice and anxious to go home so they try to do as much as they can by themselves. On my first day, we got to go down and pick someone up from recovery - that never happens - and that was kind of fun. I also have had a bunch of patients on contact isolation which means every time I go into their room, I have to gown up and wear a mask and everything. I worked Thursday and Friday night and they trained me on the unit clerk's job. It's pretty boring but you do get to review and complete doctor's orders which is kind of fun. You also get to put charts together including operative notes. Did you know that if you have surgery and have something removed, they take pictures of it?

Why does the headline Clogged Toilet on Space Station No Laughing Matter make me laugh?

Also, the devil invented chores.

First day at my new gig today. The girl showing me around was so nice and really didn't make me do anything. I just followed her around. Talking to the patients is pretty easy for me - I like to talk. I feel a little like I'm not exactly sure what is appropriate and what isn't. Does that make any sense? I want to joke around with everyone.
I want to tell you all about the patients that we saw today - we started out with 6 and by the end of my shift we had 9 (two from the ER and one post-op) - but I'm pretty sure it's illegal. Let me just say, it's only day one and I am seriously thanking the Big Guy for my health...

Mom asked me what I was doing for the long weekend. I didn't know it was a long weekend until she said something. I went to a couple training classes this week for my new gig. I went up to my unit and talked to my boss and guess what - I start Monday. I am excited and a little bit nervous. No long weekend for me. We didn't have plans anyway (unless you consider "lay around" a plan). We have chores to do. I'm going to try to finish all my chores this afternoon because it feels so much better to sleep in on Saturday morning when you don't have all those stupid chores hanging over your head. Anyway, Russell thinks that we need to trim the bottom branches off this tree. I don't want to! Tell him these don't need to be trimmed, will you? Look how shady and lovely it looks under that tree! Don't you just want to have a picnic under there?

I had a class to go to yesterday for my new hospital job. I practiced doing fingersticks and fecal occult blood tests (and yes it absolutely is as gross as it sounds). I have another class this morning and then I have about 25 training things to watch online. Just a couple things first:

1. I made peanut butter squares and some chocolate mint cookies last week for the book group. I told Russell he should be eating them faster, you know, to get them out of the house. He said, "these? Are not my favorite treats." Apparently, according to Russell, it is completely unnecessary to try any new recipes.

2. I had a very weird dream last night. Bride was pregnant and I went over and was trying to get the baby to move around and he pushed his face against her stomach and was talking to me. Freaky! Where the heck did that come from?

Men's Wearhouse commercial: Corsage (2008)

I love commercials. There, I said it - man, it feels good to get that off my chest! Okay, okay, I'm not talking about those dang used car dealership commercials that make you want to simultaneously gouge out your eyes with a fork and stick a q-tip so far in your ear you can't hear anymore. I'm talking about the ones that make you laugh. Russell thinks it would be a good idea to regularly post a commercial that makes me laugh so we can see if it makes you guys laugh too, you know, to see if I'm weird or not. So, here it is - edition 1: commercials that make me laugh...

It is supposed to be 92˚ tomorrow. Almost 20˚ warmer than it was yesterday. I hate it when I don't have time to adjust. It's going to feel so hot now. On the bright side, it might leave us a little better prepared for the upcoming Vegas trip. I volunteered to help do blood glucose testing and blood pressure checks at the health fair in Weiser this weekend but is it right to go to a health fair when you are sick? Give me an out, will you? I would really rather be laying out in the yard...

I am starting to get sick. Wanna know how I know? It's not the ridiculously sore throat and all the unproductive coughing. I got in bed at 5 and woke up just before 8 (pm) and asked Russell why he wasn't at work. His response? "That Benadryl messed you up." I could really use some rainbow sherbet right about now - the kind with pink and orange and green but I won't eat the green. Because I'm sick and I can. Also I'm a grown up so I can.

Sara, the girl that started the book group, called me last night. One of the other girls (one of five) doesn't want to read The Lovely Bones, my pick for next month. See, the first month I went to book group, Sara asked me if I had any book to suggest. I told her in front of the group that I was considering Lovely Bones but I wasn't sure. She gave a couple reasons why she thought it may not be a good one - she's read it before. It's been a couple months since then and it seems as though we've been reading the same type of book for a while - pretty much love stories. I'm so ready to change it up. The other girl remembered what Sara said and doesn't want to read the book. It's being totally misrepresented here! Anyway, the question(s): do I pick another book or do I stick with Lovely Bones? Do I try to talk the girl in to reading it? Should I bring it up at church today or should I just wait until the group meets up on Thursday? What do you think?

My house smells like old ketchup and maple syrup...

A bit of an interesting afternoon...

Work was awesome, even though I have to leave at 7 for an hour so Russ can get to work and "A" can get to school - it was still really good. Smooth. I like that kind of day.

I grabbed my sweatshirt and my keys and I noticed that the little ball on the end of my keychain (the one that was my grandma's) was missing along with the spare key for the neighbor's house. Crap. I didn't hear anything fall so I figured I could start looking in the car. I get out to the car and no problem, the key, the keychain all found. Sweet. I get in and turn the key. Click, click, click. Crap again. My car didn't start! A couple of guys just finishing lunch heard the clicking and came to help me push start (I love having a standard transmission). Got home fine and the car started up later no problem. Okaaay. So, I'm thinking I better call Russ to let him know about the car. Another problem. Where the heck is my phone? My cell phone. The only phone I have. Why don't I have a house phone, again? Where is it? I know I had it when I came home this morning. I looked EVERYWHERE. I'm not kidding (I'm really good at finding things, maybe because I am always losing things, whatever). I got on the computer and asked Patrick to call me - no long distance. I tried to send myself a text - maybe I would hear it ring. No luck. Finally, after I seriously almost started crying (that's a big deal for me) I went and asked our neighbor if I could use his phone. I called Russell. He took both phones to work by accident. One in his pocket, one in his hand.

All that in about an hour and a half. Do you think "A" will be into taking a nap after school? Yeah, I didn't think so.

I don't want to jinx it or anything but, man, this kid is so easy! He's one of those cannot ever break the rules kind of a kid. He sat down to do his homework last night and I have to sign off on it every day. Well, he finished and I signed, he looked and I thought he was going to have a breakdown. He said I was supposed to sign his Mom's name. Please, please, he says, just scribble that out and sign my Mom's name. We're talking head in his hands, elbows on the table - this kid was stressed! It was funny but I felt bad for him at the same time, you know? I sent a note to school today...

Just real quick...

Russell is a total pushover. Bedtime is 8:30 - "A" finishes his homework at 7:35 and asks if we can watch a movie. Russell, after checking movie length and determining that it will indeed run past bedtime, concludes movie time is a go.

Pushover.

It's (almost) official. My second semester in the nursing program at BSU is over and I would have to get zeros on my last two assignments not to get all A's. They've made some pretty big changes in the program all in an effort to ultimately get rid of the AS option but it's good news for me. They have shortened the program - only 5 semesters left! I'm thinking about doing something in Public Health, maybe rural or frontier nursing. Did you know that frontier nursing still exists?

Maybe I'm the last person to find this: Passive-Aggressive notes. Hilarious.

Today was just the worst day in Primary. There is a new boy in my class - he's not really new, this is just the first week I've seen him. I thought a couple of the other kids were bad. I was wrong. Angels, those other kids, angels. He was on the ground, back on the floor, holding his legs up so that his knees were right beside his face. I told him to get in his seat. He said no. Straight up NO. I started to get a pretty good hold on him toward the end of class (or maybe I was just getting better at ignoring him) when he started muttering "keep the commandments, keep the commandments, keep the commandments" over and over and over. What the heck am I going to do with this kid?

So, our neighbor is staying over beginning tomorrow afternoon. I think he'll be pretty low maintenance. He saw me in church today and said, "know what tomorrow is?" and his Mom said that on Friday morning he said that he wished it was Monday already. Plus he's really cute and you know I'm a sucker for the cute ones.

What's new, what's new. Hmmm. Not really much.
I have one week of one class left this semester. The last assignment is a paper about a journal article that I've already written the draft of so it's pretty much done.
Let me tell you about this journal article. There is a school in Virginia that makes their nursing students wear an "adult disposable incontinence product" and sit in a wheelchair for 6 hours. Wait. It gets better. They are required to wet themselves and remain wet for the last thirty minutes. If you want to graduate, you have to do it. They say that the reason is to "engender empathy for disabled patients with urinary incontinence."
Another nursing school I am glad I'm not attending...

Last night I tried to finish up my final for one of my classes. I had to do a head to toe assessment on someone. Russell volunteered. Well, I volunteered him. He says I do that a lot. Anyway, I stayed up a little tiny bit later than usual to try to get it done and I slept so terribly! I kept thinking over and over, "awake, alert & oriented to person, place & time." Better than that dream I had after I watched Narnia that Russell just reminded me about. He thinks it's really funny when I am barely awake and try to describe my weirdo dreams. Bride & I used to do it to each other all the time. Is this post going nowhere fast or what? Maybe not fast enough, huh?

I went to Cost Plus (I have a 25% off coupon, e-mail me if you want to use it too) and Target today. I got some DP and M&Ms (and new mascara!) - I am so ready for all the good shows tonight. I've opted to watch The Office and 30 Rock tonight and watch Grey's Anatomy online later. I think I've made the right choice. We had Chicken Club Salad for dinner tonight. I like it a lot (I said that with the Forest Gump voice, so you know.)

Today was a dang good day. Let me tell you about it. I didn't have to get up until about 9 and I stayed in bed and watched The Hills. I got up and felt motivated to clean up a little bit. I actually got a lot cleaned up and then I took a bath. I don't know what it is about The Hills, it makes me want to do my hair. Anyway, I talked to my sister for a little while really about nothing and that was nice. Our phone call was interrupted by another. I got the job that I interviewed for as a Nurse Apprentice. Could not be a sweeter setup, let me tell you. I start that in a month. Okay, then I went to school. It was our last lab, optional but not really. We practiced IVs and injections. I know you guys think I'm a total weirdo but it was fun! When we started, I was a little nervous about Jolie giving me an injection, can you tell?

This is me giving Jolie an intradermal injection.










This is me inserting my first IV catheter. I got it on the first try and yes, behind me is a toilet seat with a bucket under it.

I feel like I start every post off with an excuse. Yeah, yeah. Every one is busy, right? Okay. Great. I can skip that part from now on.

I got my letter from the State Board of Nursing so I am officially allowed to get a job as a "Nurse Apprentice." I am excited and I have a bunch of interviews coming up. Wish me luck as far as that goes.

It felt like spring was just around the corner and all of a sudden they are screaming, "SNOW" again on the news. I'm pretty tired of it - mostly because I am so psyched to get started on our garden. Russell has been working on the things he can. He made this path out of a bunch of broken chunks of concrete he found. Isn't it cool? We're planting around the outside and in the middle. Russell caught Otis a couple mornings ago laying on his side in the pile of dirt.

We took a little drive out to Nampa to get some manure for the garden and the yard. An entire truckload. Isn't it so weird that we grow our food, that we are going to eat, in another animal's poop? I can't think about that too much.

We bought another raspberry bush; these ones are Fall Gold, yellow raspberries. They are going to make the prettiest fruit tarts this summer. We also got a Huckleberry bush. Russ really wanted that one.

We're having Chicken Potpie for dinner tonight and I'm posting a recipe for Lettuce Wraps later on...

I went to the mall this weekend. I haven't been to the mall since... I seriously don't remember. When did I buy that Smooth & Seal? Whenever that was. A long time ago. Anyway, I went this weekend. Can I tell you something? I love Banana Republic. And I love buying dresses. I think I would rather wear a dress than any other outfit. I tried this dress on. Even though it was $120. On sale. A bit over my budget. I tried it on anyway. I even went so far as to think about what kind of shoes I would buy to go with it. I even went to Macy's to see if I could find the shoes. I did. I had a dream about them last night...

It was so insanely nice outside today. It's about time. It got up to 70 and Russ and I went and played a little tennis. It was really fun even though when we got to the courts we found that the strings on one of the two rackets I have were broken. We played anyway and it was fun. I let Russell use the good racket and I used the broken one and I still beat him but don't tell that I told you (and don't ask how much longer I've been playing).
We made it to Edwards Greenhouse today as well and we picked out all of our seeds. This year we're growing carrots, radishes, zucchini, green onions, green beans, and cucumbers from seeds. Next month or so we'll get all of our tomatoes and peppers. We bought another black raspberry bush and this one is already 2 years old so we should get some berries. I seriously can't wait. Have you ever had so many berries that you just couldn't eat anymore? I have not. Ever.
I've also decided that I need another dog and I know what kind I want.

Could you say no to a puppy this cute? If you could, you may be dead inside.

Guess what! I just got a sweet new gig for next Fall as a Peer Advisor in the Nursing Department! If you say that only nerds/dorks/weirdos/some other variation that implies something similar get those jobs, I'm going to punch you. I should probably stop threatening you guys, shouldn't I? Okay, I'll be very sad and you all know how I deal with sadness (I punch things). Anyway, I registered for classes and I'm super psyched. I can hardly wait for summer to be over. (P.S. That was a joke.)

Not a whole whole lot going on around here. Just a couple things I've been thinking about:

- Why is everyone so afraid of bacteria? It's not bad. Your body is FULL of it. It's not bad!

- Why does it seem like crappy ovens follow me around? Maybe I need to quit baking. We made this pound cake (which is totally a keeper recipe) and it was supposed to bake 70-90 minutes. Mine baked 55 and it was still over baked! Whatever.

- I started looking for a summer job last week. I'm actually excited. I've really been in the mood to shop lately so a few extra bucks will be nice.

- The eight year olds are going to be a challenge. I am not going to be able to get away with copying a little picture for them to color every week. Also, I can't forget to remove ALL the extra chairs before class starts.

- April is going to be insane. It's the end of the semester and there is a butt load of crap going on. It's okay, though. I've already made a big calendar for the month so I know what's up. Also, how is it April already?

- Since I just said "butt load of crap" (is butt load one word?) I thought of Nacho Libre which apparently I'm going to have to buy again because it skips, like, a lot.

- All the good shows are back on this week and I am so psyched! Also, have you watched that show Miss Guided? It is totally funny. Chris Parnell is in it. It will make you laugh. Unless you are dead inside.

Wednesday is a good day. I love school ONLY days. It is still a little chilly (a bit more than just sweatshirt weather) but I opted to ride my bike. It doesn't look that chilly in the picture, huh? Please ignore that scary garage.

In my skills class today we did NG tubes. In the past, they required students to insert the tubes into other students. They discontinued that practice (at my school at least). A nasogastric tube goes into the nose, down the esophagus and into the stomach. Even though I only inserted the tube into a manikin, it was still a pretty good lab. My teacher said that she worked somewhere once where the NG tube was in a patient's lung and they didn't check to make sure that it was placed correctly and they fed the guy. Into his lung. I bet that didn't feel good.