ROSS RAMBLINGS...

Painting the House

2011-09-12T10:44:00.000-05:00

After we bought our new house back in February, Andrew and I had been debating for quite some time whether or not to paint the exterior of our house, which is part brick and part siding. Here's a before pic:

BEFORE

We never really disliked anything about the "before" look, but we were really looking for a fresh, new, updated look. We had been spotting some remodeled houses that had newly painted brick, and really liked the look of it. But we were scared. Painting the brick is so permanent. Once you put any paint on, you had to go for it.

So we went crazy and did it. I decided to test out 2 colors I had narrowed it down to. Both were a kind of khaki color, with just a hint of green. One was "Fenland" from Sherwin Williams and the other was "Heath" by Martha Stewart. I believe the siding color was "Grecian Ivory" by Sherwin Williams and the color for the shutters and the gutters was "Urbane Bronze" by Sherwin Williams. With the first brush stroke of paint, I absolutely loved it. I knew we had made the right decision to paint it, we just had to choose the perfect color. We ended up choosing "Fenland" but it was a close one.

At the beginning of June, Andrew and I took a quick little vaca down to Destin with our friends, Jeffrey and Mary Melinda, so that we could go to the MS Dental Association conference and get some CE and some sun. We opted to have the house painted while we were gone. I think I was partly crazy for doing that, but Andrew's parents live down the street and popped in everyday to oversee it and update us on the progress. When we got back, we had a brand new house!!

AFTER

I spy an Izzy girl...do you?

While the colors don't show up quite right in the pictures, you get the idea. Hope y'all like the change as much as we do!

From Bachelorettes to Brides

2011-08-19T14:51:00.000-05:00

Andrew and I attended several weddings this spring and summer. I also had some very fun bachelorette parties to go to, too!

My High School Friend: Jocelyn ~ now, Mrs. Dill!

We had her bachelorette party in Nashville and the theme was a "Boot-Scootin' Bachelorette Bash." Her wedding was April 2, and was so sweet and chic at "The South" in Jackson. It was so Jocelyn.

cute Nico & Lala bachelorette basket

pretty in pink

My Sorority Sister: Amy ~ now Mrs. Burns!

We had Amy's bachelorette party in New Orleans with a "Bourbon Bachelorette" theme. It was perfect with a balcony overlooking Bourbon Street. Her wedding was June 18 in Savannah, TN and at Pickwick Lake. It felt like a getaway for Andrew and me! It was lots of fun with lots of friends!

fun on bourbon!

getting ready to walk down the aisle...

fun college friends!

the mister and me

My Dental School Friend: Jenny ~ now, Dr. Shutt!

Unfortunately I didn't get to go to Jenny's bachelorette party in Memphis, but Andrew and I both got to be a part of her wedding. We both read together during the ceremony. Jenny and Spence got married July 23 in Senatobia. We had so much fun catching up with everyone. All of my pictures are on my camera, instead of my phone, so here are some pics of me with them a few weeks before the big day.

Senior Awards Banquet at the end of dental school...miss these girls!

out eating crawfish with the cute couple

My Oldest Friend: Anna ~ now, Mrs. Jeffries!

Anna is my first friend ever. We don't even really know how long we've been friends, but it's at least since 4 or 5 years old. I can't even put in to words how much it means to still have a friend from that long ago. Anna's bachelorette party was over the 4th of July weekend at Orange Beach. We had a "Red, White, and Blue Bachelorette Bash" theme. It was so cute and unique. The night we went "out," the bride-to-be wore white and the rest of us wore red and blue. Her wedding was on July 30 in downtown Memphis. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The groom cried. I cried. Then we partied hard at the reception at the Cadre Building, complete with Elvis sunglasses for all.

red, white, and blue!

a break from the dance floor

the elvis shades made the night

{Evan Baines Photography}
How amazing is this?? Check out more of her pretty pics on her
photographer's blog.

Andrew and I split a room with Carley and Bobby at the Peabody. It was a big weekend for all 3 couples because us Rosses were celebrating our 2 year anniversary {August 1st}, the Reas were celebrating their 1 year anniversary {July 31st}, and the Jeffries were officially inducted into our "anniversary club." We are taking nominees for the next couple to join our club...who will get married on July 29, 2012??

Recap

2011-08-19T11:59:00.000-05:00

Wow. So, it's been a while, huh? I thought it might be time to catch y'all up on the Rosses. This will be a little summary of some of what we've been up to in the past few months. I will try to break up the pictures into a few different posts.

RECAP:

Andrew moved to Oxford in January and opened up his own private practice dental clinic. I am so proud of him!! It has taken a lot of hard work and a lot of prayers! I, however, was still in Jackson until May, trying to finish up school and graduate. In between that time, I traveled to Oxford every weekend to work with Andrew on Saturdays at the clinic.

In February, we bought a house! It was my brother-and-sister-in-laws' house and we love it. We painted the outside of the house (pictures to come), and it totally freshened things up a bit. We are now tackling on some inside painting jobs. We don't have to or even need to change anything in the house, we're just doing a few small things to make it more our own.

Speaking of the house, there are several reasons for my blogging hiatus. The top two are: I was trying to GRADUATE and we didn't have internet or cable at our house from February to middle of July.

In May, my sister and I graduated ON THE SAME DAY. Talk about some chaos. I graduated in Jackson at 10:00 and she graduated in Memphis at 1:30. We had all come to terms with the high probability that we would miss each others graduations and that my parents would have to split up. My smarty-pants mom was able to "hood" me so she stayed with me (and so did Andrew, of course), while my dad and Kelly's godparents went to Memphis. I got special permission to keep my cap and gown a little longer, so when my graduation ended we booked it to the car. I didn't even pick up my diploma! BUT it was all worth it because we MADE IT to see Kelly walk :-) Her nursing school class was one of the last ones at the UT graduation so we got there just in time. I am sooooo proud of her. She graduated with her masters in nursing and CNL (clinical nurse leadership) certification. It was the 1st class of this new nursing program and the 100th class of UT Health Sciences. Here are a few pics:

so proud of her!

I was so glad we were able to take pictures together in our gear!

Sweet Husband! Now we're the Doctors Ross :-)

Right after graduation, I moved up to Oxford to finally LIVE with my HUSBAND!! Oh happy day!! For most of June, I worked on unpacking our house and settling in....and still have a ways to go. I also helped Andrew out by working on and off at his clinic.

I started working at my new JOB in July :-) I am working for a community health clinic in Batesville and loving it. The administration/main site is in Clarksdale, so I travel there about 1-2 times a month. I am the only dentist at the Batesville dental clinic, which is a part of a larger medical clinic. I love that I get to work hand-in-hand with 2 internal medicine physicians and 2 nurse practioners. I also get to go to a lot of the schools and put on health fairs. There is something different every day and I love being out in the community and the schools.

Another big event happened in July...SAM!! Andrew and I are very excited to be and aunt and uncle to this sweet little baby. Samuel Perkins Ross was born on July 4th :-) We are having so much fun loving on him! Here's all of his info:

is this not the cutest door sign you've ever seen?

Hope this catches y'all up on us. I'm sure I'm leaving out a ton of obvious and important things, but I'll post more!

39 years!

2011-04-08T13:36:00.000-05:00

Today, April 8, is my parents' 39th wedding anniversary!!


Tom & Shirley...aren't they cute?

My parent's are still happily married 39 years later. They have set such a great example for Andrew and I for marriage and life in general. We are so grateful to celebrate this special day for them! I love you both!

Dining Room Dilemma

2011-04-07T20:35:00.000-05:00

Big news - we bought some new bedroom furniture! We found a set that we both really like, and we are really excited to upgrade to a king!! I know this sounds ridiculous but the master bedroom is really big, and only a king looks remotely the right size in there. At least, that's what I convinced Andrew of :-)

So that leaves the living room and dining room as our two other rooms that need the most work. We are contemplating a sectional in the living room, again, kind of because of the size and layout. I never have really liked sectionals, but we found one we like, so now we have to measure it out to see how it will fit.

The main dilemma we're having is with the dining room. We don't have any furniture for this room. I can't decide whether to have more of a china cabinet type piece of furniture or something more along the lines of a sideboard/buffet type piece. My parent's have both, a sideboard/buffet and china cabinet, and Andrew's parent's have 2 china cabinets. I'm not sure that we have room for 2 big pieces of furniture, so I can't decide which way to go if I can only fit one. I like the sideboard/buffet idea because I can put lamps, frames, decorate, and even serve food on it. I like the china cabinet idea because I can display our china and crystal.

If you have a dining room, what kind of furniture do you have? What are you're pros and cons for each? Any help or advice is appreciated!

Prayer Request

2011-04-04T21:10:00.000-05:00

Please take some time out of your busy day to pray for the family of sweet little baby Baker. I know I've asked for you to pray for him before, but he and his family need our prayers now more than ever! You can read his story here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bakertroxler

Passed!

2011-03-21T18:16:00.000-05:00

I passed my board exam! whew - what a relief!! Only a few more things until I graduate :-) Mostly just finishing up patient procedures and several presentations to give, some in front of the whole school and some in front of a panel of faculty members - either way, I'm not looking forward to any of those!

I had a fun week working with Andrew in Oxford. We tried to fit a little furniture shopping in, but no luck. We moved our breakfast table and chairs and the coffee table in. We also assembled the master bedroom bed and the guest bedroom bed and moved two dressers in. Andrew's closet is full of his clothes and the master bed is made-up and ready to sleep in. I just wish I was up there to enjoy it with him!

I also can't wait for my little nephew, Sam, to arrive! Only about 15 more weeks, I think. I went into Belk to buy a gift for our friend Jennifer's baby shower, and ended up getting FOUR outfits for little Sam. I couldn't resist...I know it'll probably just keep getting worse from here. Darcy is doing great - please keep praying for a healthy baby!

Spring Break

2011-03-16T08:58:00.000-05:00

This is my LAST Spring Break ever!! Hard to believe, but it's exciting, too, because that means I'll be working in the real world before long!

I seem to be getting worse and worse at this blogging thing. I feel like every post is about why I haven't blogged lately. If you've been reading my blog, you know my life's ~~a little~~ a lot chaotic right now. I can barely manage to respond to an email most days, much less think up a blog post. I will keep y'all updated on things as they happen, though, no worries!

I've been working with Andrew this week. I love getting to see the clinic run and getting a good glimpse of the "real" world. Plus I love getting to see my husband EVERY single day!! I don't get that very often.

I came home to Jackson yesterday to work on my Grand Rounds presentation. As part of my graduation requirements, I'll have to give a presentation in front of the WHOLE school, students and faculty members. My turn is in 2 weeks! eek! I've decided to do my presentation on Sickle Cell Disease in Pediatric Patients and about the dental considerations when treating these patients. I'm sure y'all aren't very interested in my research, haha!, but maybe you are interested in what I've been up to lately - and this is it!

Yesterday, I went to Sickle Cell Clinic day at the Children's Cancer Clinic (part of Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital). It was so great to get to talk to all of the physicians, nurses, patients, and parents. I loved every second of it and learned a lot of stuff that I'll be able to use in my presentation.

Both of my parents get to interact with these sickle cell kids a good bit, so that sparked my interest in this. My mom works with them from the pharmacy side of things, and my dad works with them by doing ultrasounds of their brains to see if they are at risk for stroke. Yes, stroke...did you know KIDS can have STROKES? Sadly, most people aren't aware that children can have strokes and usually they are misdiagnosed as the child just being "late" or slower to develop instead of addressing the stroke as the cause.

On a happier note, we have been trying to look at some furniture for our new house. I am really excited but it's hard to make all of these decisions! I won't buy this kind of stuff for a really long time, if ever again. I just want to pick the right things. Also, trying to find time for us BOTH to go look at furniture is difficult. We are trying to make good use of our time together this week, but most stores close by 6:00 or they are out of town. Hopefully we'll have some luck soon!

Here's a picture of our new house:

I'm heading back up to Oxford today and hope to get some more moving/unpacking accomplished this week. The goal is to be staying/sleeping there by the end of the week. We'll be working again this Saturday, and then get to go to a baby shower for our sweet friends, Michael and Jennifer, and their little baby boy on the way :-)

Prayers

2011-02-24T22:52:00.000-06:00

I have a few big prayer requests for you:

I know I've mentioned several times that Andrew's family is from Egypt. He and his brother were born there, but his parents moved their family to America when Andrew was a baby. They made this move for a lot of reasons, but especially for a better life for their two boys. We live in a country that Christians can worship freely without fear of persecution...it convicts me every time I think about how much we take that for granted. Stop and think about it.

The rest of the Ross family still lives in Egypt. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ross come from big families, and everyone seems to be doing ok so far. Please pray for them as this is a very uncertain time that lies ahead. Obviously now this has become a world-wide issue, but please don't forget to pray for Egypt and our family there!

Remember when Lydia was born early in December? Well her little cousin, Baker was born early, too. You can read more about Baker's story on my friend's blog here, and you can read his momma's updates on Caring Bridge here. This little guy is in need of some prayers - I know our God can work some awesome miracles!!

And on a selfish note...I have my clinical licensing/board exam next Friday, March 4th. I am not nervous about the procedures at all. We have to do 2 different types of fillings and one cleaning. I'm just nervous about finding one more patient and then having all three of my patients actually show up, show up on time and qualify. If they don't show up or don't qualify, then I fail and have to wait until June to take it again. I'm just feeling very overwhelmed by the pressure of it all.

Blog Award!

2011-02-24T22:32:00.000-06:00

Marley gave me a blog award!

Here are 7 facts about me:

I love to paint. Sadly, I don't get to do it much, if ever, anymore. I think I probably got my love of art from my mom's side of the family. My uncle is an artist who paints with Mississippi clay, and my aunt did a little bit of everything! I have very fond memories with my Aunt Bobbie sitting around the kitchen table with all kinds of little "projects." I am also seriously jealous of my friend Anna's artistic ability. She inspires me to keep on practicing! Hopefully one day I'll have a craft room...
I keep finding gray hairs. Eeek! I know that redheads go gray sooner, but this has got to stop! I found one front and center this morning! I refuse to believe that if you pull it, two more will grow back in its place. I keep finding some on Izzy, too, so we have pity parties together.
I love my dog. Seriously, it's probably too much. She's so sweeeeeeeet. I'm telling y'all, she's so cuddly and sweet. She's so spoiled, I honestly worry about our children one day.
I have a MAJOR sweet-tooth. I'm a sucker for baked goods. I don't think I've ever turned down a brownie in my life. I love all things sweet, though...candy, chocolate, cookies, cakes, ice cream. Mmmmmm. Good thing I married a dentist, right?
I don't have "favorites"...as in a favorite food, a favorite color, etc. I can narrow it down, but can't commit to just one. BUT one exception to that rule, is that my favorite "flavor" (I guess that's what you'd call it?) is hands-down CARAMEL. Anything caramel flavored...sign me up!
I can't tell you the last time I exercised. Well ok, at the beginning of December, I got on the treadmill and only 5 minutes into it, I remembered I had bunco that night, so immediately hopped off. HA! I also don't know the last time I went to the grocery store...maybe September or October?! Or the last time I cooked dinner?! THANKS to my wonderful parents and in-laws :-)
We are HOMEOWNERS again!! We're still semi-nomads, but we OWN a home! We hope to move some this weekend and then gradually from there on out. Considering all of our belongings are scattered across 3 locations, it might take a while. Oh and we have no furniture to fill that house. I so look forward to taking our time picking out pieces together for our house. I don't want it to be all matchy-matchy. I also can't wait for visitors!! For the last 4 years (since I graduated from college) I have always been a houseguest in Oxford...no more!! Stay tuned for pictures.

My One Word

2011-01-30T20:27:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite ways to start the day is to listen to K-LOVE on the radio. For the last few weeks I've been hearing them talk about choosing one word to set the tone for this new year. Forget the resolutions that we know know we'll never do or keep. Let's just keep it simple. One word. You can read more about the My One Word project here.

The hard part is choosing JUST ONE word. I had a lot of words that I want to be a part of my year this year. Open, Wait, Surrender, Deeper, etc. But I finally chose MY one word. It just felt like the right one.

Engaged.

Absorbed. Captivated. Involved. Interested. Immersed. Go all in. Betrothed. Committed. Guaranteed. Fascinated. Enthralled. Busy with. Bound to. Participate. Present.

I desire to be more engaged with my Lord, my husband, my family, my friends, and even strangers. I chose this word because if two people are engaged, they are in-sync, in-love, completely obsessed with each other, busy making plans for a future together, committed to each other, involved in each other's day-to-day lives, un-guarded, vulnerable, open to what lies ahead, and excited, fascinated by spending time together. The results of being engaged should be two committed people bound together, inseparable. That's how I long to be with the Lord and with the people around me.

Taking a deeper look at my life and relationships right now, I feel like I have one very deep relationship with my husband, a pretty-deep relationship with my Savior and parents, and a sort of surface-level relationship with a lot of other people. Obviously that's completely out of order and not fair to any of the relationships that I have.

I want to have my relationship with Jesus back at the #1 spot, where He belongs, and that means being fully engaged in my daily time with Him. Not just checking it off my to-do list because I feel like it's something I am supposed to do - but craving it so badly that I know I won't be able to make it through the day without it. I want to be engaged, immersed, and absorbed in the Word. When you're engaged, you're glowing, and it's all you can talk about. He's already captivated by me, enthralled with me, committed to me, interested in me, in-love with me...

"The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:11

Even though I have an awesome relationship with my husband, there's always room for improvement. I want to be present for him, a better listener, and more involved spiritually together. I want to always be engaged to him, bound to him, committed to him. I've always said I never want us to stop "dating" but I guess I also never want us to stop being "engaged" to each other and with each other. I look forward to growing even more.

I want to be engaged in my relationships with friends and family. More involved in their lives, a better listener. I want to go deeper with them, past the surface. Learning more about them, but allowing them to learn more about me by letting guards down and opening up more. I want to be present in their lives, too. You have to be a friend to have a friend, right?

So I hope you'll participate with this challenge to choose just one word to set the tone for your year, too. The process itself of choosing just one word is worth it alone.

What's your one word?

Catching Up

2011-01-24T22:04:00.000-06:00

Wow...where did January go? Sorry I've been gone so long, but I've got a lot of catching-up to do!!

First off with some fun big news...

No, I'm not pregnant and not trying. BUT my sister-in-law IS pregnant :-)))) and we just found out last week that its a BOY!!!! I am beyond excited and can't wait to be Aunt Alison! I believe Uncle Andrew already has baseball practices planned and Daddy Peter notified us that Ole Miss already has a quarterback committed for the 2029 season...so get ready!

In other news, Andrew and I were ON the news: the Memphis news, THE Weather Channel, and the Jackson news. Thanks to the big snowstorm that came through 2 weeks ago, we got a few moments of fame. Neither one of us was prepared at all to talk so we kind of fumbled our way through it and have no idea what we said or why, but it was fun! and so was all of that snow!! Oxford got NINE inches of snow. and boy did it stay put. for days.

I was snowed-in in Oxford when I was supposed to be back for my first week of school. Not the worst place to be snowed-in, but also not the best way to start back the new year at school :-(

So back to why I was in Oxford in the first place...lots of reasons. I was there for 3 weeks straight, actually. We went up the day after Christmas to do our "Ross Christmas" with Andrew's family. Then we spent the rest of the time putting the finishing touches on Andrew's new dental clinic! Ross Family Dental Clinic opened on January 3rd!!

It has been a whirlwind experience - challenging, stressful, rewarding, fun, overwhelming, exciting...you get the idea. Starting our own business has been a great experience for us and we've grown so much in our marriage the last few months especially. I cannot even express how proud I am of Andrew and what a HARD, hard worker he is. He has wanted to do this for as long as I have known him, and he has worked soooo hard on a road with lots of ups and downs to be able to make this dream a reality. We still have a long way to go, but we have started.

Now you're probably trying to figure a few things out. Where do we live? Good question. We are still nomads but not for too much longer. Right now, I live with my parents in Jackson during the week, and Andrew lives with his parents in Oxford during the week. Most weekends, I drive to Oxford, but with so many weekend events happening in Jackson, Andrew comes down to Jackson a lot, too.

We are buying a new house in FOUR weeks!!! I am so excited!! It's actually my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's house. They are building a new [amazing] house, so we are doing a little switch-a-roo and buying their current house. It is a dream house to me and definitely a house we can grow into instead of out of. I love this house and can't wait to show you more when the time comes.

Now do you understand why I haven't had a chance to type all of this out and blog lately?!

We call it "organized chaos" and remind ourselves that this is only a "season" and hope we'll soon be under one roof and settled soon :-)

Christmas Time!

2010-12-28T21:39:00.001-06:00

I guess I'm a little behind on the Christmas post, but we have had such a great time visiting with both of our families :-) We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the Hogan family and then we drove up early Sunday for church with the Ross family and have been in Oxford since!! I missed a ton of snow in Oxford on Christmas Day (they had a WHITE Christmas!!!) but luckily it was still snowing on Sunday when we arrived.

Santa came and was good to us all, but more importantly Jesus came and has blessed us immensely. I never in my wildest dreams imagined my life would be as chaotic as it is now, but we are truly blessed beyond measure. I long for the day when we can settle back down again, but I'm trying to enjoy this "season" of life we are in now.

Here is a picture of the Christmas card I made this year. I only sent a few because we were extremely last minute sending them, but now you can all see it here! I decided to send them as postcards, which saved almost half on postage and hopefully made them a little unique.

We are working on New Year's Eve plans, but will likely be in Oxford...Anyone have any fun plans??

Oh Happy Day!

2010-12-19T23:01:00.000-06:00

Today, December 19th, has been a special day for the last few years...

ONE year ago today, our two good friends, Megan & Patrick got married!

Mrs. Werner and me

Happy Anniversary to the Werners!!

I'd also like to wish our good friends, Sarah & Joe Ulmer, a happy FOURTH anniversary from the 16th :-)

Mrs. Ulmer with the now Mrs. Blanchette and Mrs. Ross :-)

Today was also a very special day TWO years ago...Andrew asked me to be his wife!! I can still remember every detail so vividly. He put so much thought and love in to the proposal and entire evening - it was so special. You can read about our proposal here.

I love him so much and love reminiscing about that night 2 years ago!

Little Lydia

2010-12-12T16:51:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone has had a great weekend! It has been an eventful one for us, but I am thankful we fit everything in.

Our friends, the McCormicks, had their baby on Friday. The baby wasn't due until January 19th, so we were all surprised 6 weeks early! The momma developed early signs of toxemia, so the doc decided to take the baby early. We didn't know the gender of the baby, so it was fun to find out - it's a GIRL!! Her name is Lydia, and she weighs 3lbs, 11oz. I got the privilege to scrub in and visit her, and she may be teeny tiny but she is perfect!! Please keep momma and baby in your prayers...they both need 'em! We hope they are both well enough for their new little family to be together and at home for Christmas.

I also had a wedding shower and an engagement party to attend this weekend, and both were really fun! I loved catching up with friends from high school and from college that I haven't seen in what seems like forever.

I forgot to post about this last weekend, but I did the "Jingle Bell Jog" last weekend. It's a 5k walk/run to support the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital (we are big supporters!) and there was a great turnout! It was fun to see fellow racers in their festive outfits, too.

After the race, I made my way over to the Mississippi Children's Museum for their Grand Opening. It went off without a hitch and was really fun, too.

If you have children or nieces/nephews...you NEED to take them. YOU will have so much fun, too. I need to find some children to take :-) It is seriously so much fun for kids of any age. You can read more about it here.

Hope y'all are having a fun weekend!!

Real or Fake?

2010-12-08T22:54:00.000-06:00

In keeping with the holiday spirit, I was just wondering about what everyone's tradition is with Christmas trees.

Do you decorate a fresh-cut or "real" Christmas tree? Or do you decorate an artificial or "fake" Christmas tree?

Growing up, I've always [I repeat, always] had a real, fresh-cut Christmas tree. When Kelly and I were younger, my parents took us out to a tree farm. We'd ride on "santa's sleigh," aka a hay-ride out to the trees, pick the best one out there, chop it down, and wait for Santa's sleigh to come back and pick us up. So much fun. I loved it. Since then, we've usually picked out a tree somewhere in town that is donating part of the proceeds to charity. Still lots of fun. Nothing beats it in my mind.

Andrew has never had a "real" tree, only the "fake" tree. Which is just not the same. I will admit, the clean-up and no-watering is nice, but the where's the smell?? [Also, I will admit that they are less likely to fall over and crash and break all of your pretty/dainty ornaments like what happened this weekend at my parents!]

When we got married, he already had a hand-me-down Christmas tree, so I decided it would be ok for us to use it last year. I quickly learned why it's a hand-me-down. (a) it is absolutely enormous...as in wide, not tall and (b) you have to stick practically every branch in individually. It swallowed our living room whole. Ah, newlywed bliss.

This year we are nomads, so we have no tree of our own. Therefore, the battle of the Christmas tree will continue until next year...

What kind of tree to you have??

Santa Claws

2010-12-04T19:19:00.000-06:00

Izzy turned 2 on Wednesday! Guess that means she's a teenager in dog years. We got her a new toy at Petsmart :-) Surprisingly she hasn't shredded it yet.

I went back to Petsmart today to have her picture made with "Santa Claws." She was such a little nervous Nellie, but she was so cute! We surprised Andrew with her new pic today for a fun little Christmas happy.

My parents took us to the Chris Tomlin "Glory in the Highest" Christmas Tour on Thursday night and it was nothing short of AMAZING. The concert was held at Pinelake, and when the tickets went on sale they sold out FAST, so the tour kindly offered to do ANOTHER concert on Friday night and those tickets sold out, too! Christie Nockels performed with Chris Tomlin, and Louie Giglio gave a short but incredible message in the middle, "The 12 Words of Christmas." It seems to be a yearly thing that they are doing, so if you ever have the chance to go - DO! It will put you in such a Christ-centered Christmas mood. Highly recommended!

Now looking forward to picking out a Christmas tree tomorrow, helping mom decorate around the house, and then Carols by Candlelight :-) All fun little Christmas happenings!

Tonight is the "Claus Ball" for UMC students, so we'll be getting dolled up and heading to the MS Museum of Art.

Merry Christmas!!!

Thanksgiving!

2010-11-28T22:56:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! and now...Merry Christmas!!

Andrew and I left Wednesday to head up to Oxford for Thanksgiving and the weekend. Thursday we got to take another tour of Peter and Darcy's house that's being built - and wow it is coming along fast and looks sooo great! We watched a little of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (I dream of going one day!!) and a little of the Dog Show. Random, I know, haha! Then my parents came into town and we all [Andrew, me, Peter, Darcy, my parents + Kelly, and Andrew's parents] had a big Thanksgiving day lunch at Andrew's parents' house. There was a lot of food, a lot of laughing, and well, even more laughing!

Friday, Andrew and I went with Andrew's parents and Peter over to Tupelo for a few Black Friday deals. We didn't go early at the crack of dawn or anything, but we did snag a few good finds. Friday night, we went to the Powerhouse in Oxford for a wedding reception. The couple got married in Scotland (how cool?!) and had their reception back in town.

Andrew, Kent, Trey...Trey's sister, Holly, was the bride.

looking frumpy, but it was freezing that night!

Andrew and I had a lot of fun catching up with some of his good friends from growing up that we don't to see all that often with Kent being in Pennsylvania and Trey in New Orleans.

Saturday was a fun day with friends and family in the Grove! I finally got to see several friends I had missed at the last few games, and really loved catching up with them!!


love my sweet engaged friend, Anna


Hogan family :-)


another fun engaged friend, Jocelyn, at our tent!

The game was obviously not as much fun as hanging out in the Grove beforehand was. It started out a good game, then it sucked, then we thought we had a chance, but we should totally have known better than that...

Mom and I found some cute gloves at Stein Mart the other day, called "spirit fingers." They are just your typically knit gloves but have pom-poms on the fingers...perfect for cheering on our team!

Mom and Kelly at the game...with "spirit fingers"

There's always next year...right?

Christmas Stocking Tutorial

2010-11-22T21:39:00.000-06:00

Last year, right before Christmas, we realized Izzy did not have a stocking. Tragedy, I know. Plus I wanted to have a stocking for Andrew and myself (and Izzy) for our own house.

Side Note: Since I didn't do a "just wondering" post last week, I'll add it to this post...

Do you "do" stockings at Christmas? If so, what's in a typical stocking? Is it a few simple stocking stuffers and little "happies" or is it filled to the brim with smaller-sized "big" gifts?

We always hang stockings at my parents' house. Their mantle is very "hole-y" now thanks to all the nail holes we've added. These days there are 8 stockings up there!

after Santa loaded 'em up last year!

Dad, Andrew, Me, Izzy, Lucy, Kelly, Grandma, and Mom...whew!

As you can see, Santa loads these stockings up, but there's a lot of candy, and random things like socks (?) and calendars and so on.

Andrew's parents don't do stockings, but they hand out ridiculously huge bags of candy to everyone after the present-opening. Yum!!

Ok, on to the tutorial...

Mom and I made several new stockings in a hurry last year. They were SO easy to make. I've seen so many cute stockings on blogs, websites, magazines, etc. this year that I already want to make a new set, take my time, and embellish them a little more :-) But then again, I don't have my own house for Christmas this year...so maybe next year!

We made our stockings out of felt, so they were very inexpensive, too. These are a great idea if you want new Christmas decor, but have a small budget. You can use any type of cute fabric for these. I've seen lots of fun patterns and even burlap used this year.

We used red and white felt and had some red and white polka-dot ribbon on hand for some trim. Using two layers of material, draw an outline of the shape of stocking you want to make. [If you are using a pattern or a material with a front side and back side, place the two front sides together on the inside, so that you draw on the back side/outside.] We used a very basic and traditional outline. [also, don't stress if your shape isn't perfect, you can perfect it as you go] Our stockings were roughly 18" long, to give you an idea of size.

Then sew along the outline, leaving the top open.

Then fold the next color of felt (white in this case) in half. This will be the "turned over" part of the stocking. Ours was 4 1/2" wide.

Then wrap it around the stocking and cut it.

Once you have the white flap piece cut, then sew the ends together so that it'll be a circle or loop.

flip the red stocking part, to where the true-outside is on the outside, and the seam is on the inside. Place the white flap piece on the inside of the red stocking piece and line it up at the top, and pin the two pieces in place. Note that the folded edge of the white piece is further down in there.

Now, sew along the top edge, kinda on the inside...

If you pull the white flap all of the way out, it should look like this (before you fold the flap down):

Congrats! The stocking is made! Now time to give it some flair. Flip the whole thing inside-out again.

We used ribbon for trim. Pin the ribbon along the folded edge of the white flap piece. and sew in place.

Turn it back to where the whole thing is right-side-out. Now create a little hanger loop. We just used the same ribbon, but you can use cord or twine, or really anything! Cut a small piece and hand stitch in place.

Ta-da!! Mine was complete at this point, but like I said, feel free to embellish or add as much or as little flair as you'd like.

We had ours monogrammed, too - which made it super cute!! I already want to make some more :-)

What's your family's tradition with stockings??

To continue with the Christmas spirit, Mom and I are packing up boxes of Christmas goodies to send overseas to our troops! If you have a chance - take some time to do the same. The post office sells boxes specifically for sending to the military overseas, and it's a flat rate, so you can pack it FULL! It doesn't have to be anything big or fancy, just send something :-)

Just Wondering...

2010-11-11T08:51:00.000-06:00

I promise, I'll try to do better about actually posting on Wednesday, but let's just roll with it...

Now that I'm FINISHED with studying for the board exam, I'm trying to figure out Christmas decorations, plans, and gifts. We are on an extremely frugal budget this year, so I'm trying to plan ahead and use a little creativity!

This week, I was just wondering...

Do you draw names for gift-giving in your family at Christmas time? Or do you buy a gift for everyone?

Growing up, my mom's family always drew names for the entire family. Let me remind you that she's the youngest of 9 and everyone has a lots of kids and grandkids (except for her, of course!). I always thought it was a fun idea. We don't really do it any more - I think it just kept growing too big! We also did the whole draw names thing with some close family friends, too.

Nowadays, we buy gifts for everyone in the Hogan family and Ross family. We're still pretty small - only about 10 people (parents, us kids, my grandmother). Whenever there are children involved, I think it'd be cute for them to draw names amongst themselves.

I'm trying to plan ahead for gifts this year, maybe even some creative home-made gifts, too. I'm hoping if I think things through a little more and start buying/making now, I can prevent pricey impulse buying at the last minute.

Do you have creative ideas for gift giving and/or gift buying?

On another note...Happy Veteran's Day!! Please say a prayer for and/or a thank you to someone who has served our country. Several of my family members and close friends are veterans, and I am so proud of them and so very thankful for them. Please say a special prayer for our good friend, Russ, who is a marine in Afghanistan right now. This is his second tour of duty (first in Iraq). We have other close friends who have come back home and are about to go back again, too. Pray that they will continue to have positive attitudes and know just how thankful we are for them!

Finally Finished!

2010-11-09T17:01:00.000-06:00

After lots of studying and 2 days of testing, my board exam is finally over!! I don't believe the day has finally come (I think, and hope!) that I've just taken my *last* test for the past 21 years. I still have a few class projects to do, and I'll still have to tackle my clinical boards in March....but I consider this a MAJOR hurdle I finally jumped over, and I am so relieved. Whew!

Well I put a lot of things on hold, so here's a few pictures of the few things we've been up to lately (besides studying, of course!)...

My little Pumpkin for Halloween

"Do I have to keep taking pictures??"

tired of modeling her pumpkin shirt...

Izzy's new cousin - MOE!!

I'm in love. He's so adorable. and fluffy!

at the Ole Miss/Auburn Game

I made Mom's cheeseball into a pumpkin! [found the idea on someone's blog, but can't remember where, if you do, send me the link!]

at the "Random Rebels" tent :-)

fun friends in the grove!

glad I got to see Lindsey before the game!


watching the 3-D show (?) at halftime

The Oxford trip was a good little break before the exam...glad it's over now!

Snoozing...

2010-11-02T19:49:00.001-05:00

Well I did get a few responses last week, so I'll keep "Just Wondering..." Wednesday going. I was bored the other day and actually wrote a little list of questions to ask for the next few weeks. And then my computer freaked out on me completely out of the blue. Apparently the fan was broken among other things, which included the MOTHERBOARD. awesome. So that conveniently saved list along with every other document and picture, etc, are in computer heaven. May they rest in peace, amen. So I can't remember some of the "good"questions I wanted to ask, even though I "wrote" them down.

This week I was just wondering...

Do you make your bed EVERY day? Do you really make it with shams and throw pillows and all, or do just pull up the covers and fluff your pillow? Also, do you wake up when your alarm clock goes off? or do you always press snooze?

For me, I try my best to make our bed most days, but only half-way make it. That means the covers are straightened and pulled up and pillows are fluffed and 2 shams, but not all the pillows and sometimes not the shams. I actually have been campaigning to try to talk Andrew into making the bed as one of his chores. He doesn't have many, so I'm trying to convince him this should be one :-)

As for the alarm clock, that has changed drastically in the last few years. I used to wake up in that split second of silence that you can sometimes hear right before the alarm goes off, then immediately roll out of bed and go on with my jolly self. Not so much any more. It's a few rounds of snoozing and 2 alarm clocks later that I drag myself out of bed. I wish I could go back to the old way. I felt more productive. and jollier. (is that a word?)

I know it's a random question, but I'm trying to do this week's post without my "list" and it was the first thing that popped into my head since I'm staring at the bed while I sit on the couch in our room, and I needed to do it quickly before I get caught blogging and get in big trouble....This time next week I'll be FINISHED with my board exam!!

[Disclaimer] Yes, I do know that it's Tuesday, not Wednesday...just wanted to post while I had the chance :-)

Guest Bedrooms

2010-10-29T11:07:00.000-05:00

It's tour-time again! I skipped last week because we don't have any babies and therefore, no baby rooms :-)

At our old house, we had 2 guest bedrooms. We had a 3 bedroom house but it was just the two of us, so lots of extra room for guests to come visit! If you read my blog, you've probably already seen both, because they were both "re-do" projects. I redecorated and rearranged both rooms this year and both had to have been less than $50 if that much. You can read all about the office-bedroom here, and the real guest bedroom here. They were both fun projects. I knew we'd be moving fairly soon, so they didn't get much stuff back on their walls and not everything was ideally to my "taste" but they got the job done! They made the house more homey and I hope they made guests feel more welcome and more at-home, too! Our guests were usually Peter and Darcy (b-i-l and s-i-l) and occasionally one of Andrew's friends who needed a place to stay during the week when they had business meetings in Jackson the next day.

Here are pictures of both rooms:

the real guest bedroom

the office/guest bedroom

Thanks for touring! Remember to leave a comment on the "Just Wondering..." post below!

Just Wondering...

2010-10-27T15:15:00.000-05:00

I feel like my blog has been lacking a little lately [I do have my board exam in 12 days...what am I even doing on here??], so I was trying to think of something new to do. I read a few blogs that shoot out a weekly "getting to know you" type of question. I'd like to start it but I need YOUR help - it'll only be worthwhile if you comment and answer the questions with me. OR you can all leave a comment telling me this is a stupid idea if you think so! :-) So without further adieu...

so I was just wondering...

· Do you decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving? Or do you decorate during Thanksgiving? Or do you decorate whenever you get around to it?

Christmas is less than 60 days away! I always prefer to wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas. Living in Mississippi, we don't have much of a true "fall" season, so I like to leave the fall decorations out as long as I can. That way, I'm in the fall-mood whether or not it feels like fall outside. Growing up, my family was more of the "decorate whenever you get around to it" group. I remember we often went to pick out a tree on or around my birthday - December 15. I realized that's only 10 days before Christmas!! Nowadays I like to decorate shortly after Thanksgiving, to maximize the Christmas magic! Many people decorate the-day-after-Thanksgiving. We don't do it, but I like that idea. Usually most of the family is together and can participate in the decorating and get in the Christmas spirit. Maybe we'll do that one day. You may remember last year I gave in to some early decorating. Hubs made me do it. This time every year, he begs to put the tree up. He is hands-down the jolliest person at Christmas time. Love him!

so I was just wondering, what do YOU do?

Weekend Fun

2010-10-19T18:06:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was awesome, relaxing, and MUCH needed. Last week I was doing a rotation for school at a community health clinic in Canton. I enjoyed being away from the school for a week and got a good bit of studying in, too, which was also much-needed. We went to Oxford on Friday and had a get-together with our Sunday School class at Nagoya. The food was delicious and it was fun hanging out with some of our Oxford friends.

Saturday we ran errands and stuff all day and ate dinner with Darcy and Mrs. Ross at Papitos (Dr. Ross is in Kazakhstan again). Then we went out to our friends' cabin to hang out and watch the Ole Miss-Alabama game, which of course didn't end so well, but we had fun seeing everyone!

Sunday we headed to Memphis and enjoyed brunch at Majestic Grill. By pure chance, I ran into my best friend Anna and her fiance Blake there! I hardly ever get to see Anna and Blake so it made my day to run into them. After the.most.amazing.brunch.ever. we walked over to the Orpheum Theater to see WICKED!! It was such a good show!! I was a little worried that it wouldn't live up to all the hype I've heard about it over the years - but it was better that I even expected.

After the show, we went over to my sister's to see her NEW house in Midtown. It is SO cute!! She always decorates things so well, so of course it looked like such a fun place to live. We ate dinner at Soul Fish and it, too, was delicious!

I take my board exam on Nov. 8 and 9, which is only 19 days and 16 hours away, but who's counting?!?! Please pray that I pass it and only have to go through this misery this one time.

Sorry for a boring post, but I thought I should throw it a little something besides the show-us-your-life posts on Fridays :-) Our life is complete chaos right now, but we remind ourselves that this is only a "season" and things should settle back down soon (I hope!).

Office/Study Room

2010-10-15T07:45:00.000-05:00

Kelly's touring home offices this week!

I posted this room not too long ago as one of my re-do rooms. It's a guest bedroom and office. We've called it lots of different names...the study, the office, the back room, and "the library" (we think that sounds the fanciest).

looking in from the door

I love this desk - it was my homework desk growing up. Unfortunately all these years later I am STILL doing homework at it :-( but Andrew also uses it to pay bills and do his "stuff" there, too. I'm sure you've spotted the skull already...that's Harry. Andrew thinks it'd be cool to have in our dental office one day. Next to Harry is an autographed picture of Eli Manning and some sort of famous baseball players that I'm of course supposed to know who they are. There's also a bride and groom Mickey and Minnie from our honeymoon up there.

looking towards the door, from the window

We did have a little futon thing in here before, but wanted to put a real bed in when we got the house ready to sell. Ironically it made the room a lot bigger. Izzy's little bed doesn't belong there, and I'm really not sure how it got there for this picture, but whatev, it's cute! Of course it bugs me there's no headboard, but this was only temporary. I also LOVE my Walter Anderson "A" print that Peter and Darcy got me for Christmas one year!!

Hope you like my office/study/back room/library...whatever the room is!

A Halloween Treat

2010-10-10T21:31:00.000-05:00

That sweet husband of mine surprised me this past week with tickets to WICKED!

I couldn't possibly be more excited about it!! I have been wanting to see it for a looooong time now, and so this was such a fun surprise. We are going to see it in Memphis this upcoming weekend with Peter and Darcy. I think it'll be even more fun seeing it right before Halloween. It'll be a great little weekend trip because we'll also get to visit with my sister, Kelly, and see her new house in Midtown :-)

Kitchen Time

2010-10-09T22:36:00.000-05:00

Kelly's touring kitchens this week, so here's mine (at my old house...still weird to say!).

looking from the laundry room/pantry area

abnormally clean countertops..

I took a lot of pictures around the house before we moved, so these aren't quite as accurate as our normal "lived-in" life in that kitchen.

Way before we were married, or even engaged, Andrew and I painted the kitchen the two-tone blues and added the chair rail around the perimeter. It was our first big "project" on the house :-)

My Almost Dining Room

2010-10-03T00:12:00.000-05:00

I'm still continuing to do Kelly's link-up for the Show Us Your Life series on homes, even though I've moved out of "my" home. I'll just show my old house (already sounds so weird to say that!!).

We are all moved in at my parents' house. Funny, I actually feel like I have more space here :-) Andrew and I will be wandering nomads for the next few months (between my parents and his parents), but we are blessed! We may live a crazy and chaotic and exhausting life right now, but I try view it as a "season" of life and enjoy it for what it is.

So here is my "almost" dining room. I say that because we didn't have a formal dining room space at that house, just a lil' eat-in kitchen. We used the table and chairs set that I had in my apartment before I got married.

view from standing in the kitchen

all set!

Our "everyday" place setting :-)

No frills, but I like it. Sorry I'm a little behind on the posting...better late than never!

Moving Monday!

2010-09-25T22:02:00.000-05:00

We put our house up for sale on a whim at the beginning/middle of August, and we were under contract 26 days and 3 showings later. Since then we've been just going through all the pre-closing stuff like inspection, appraisal, etc. We have the official closing this Thursday, so we have been packing up in order to make our move this Monday.

So where are we going? We are moving into my mom and dad's house for now. We'll have the whole second floor to ourselves, which is practically the size of our little house. [thanks, mom and dad!]

To be honest, I didn't really think it would sell so fast, but I am relieved. I just want to be "settled" again so I can prepare for my upcoming national board exam (boooo). I'm a mix of emotions about the whole move: excited (to start a new chapter), sad (to leave our first home), relieved (that it sold so fast), and stressed (about packing and moving an entire house)!

And since I'll be in school Monday, I've left it ALL up to my husband and my dad. HAVE I LOST MY MIND?!?! Absolutely. Positively. I had nightmares about unpacking all of this stuff about 6-8 months later and not knowing what box anything was in...so I gave Andrew extensive directions on packing. My main request was that he write on the outside of the box everything that was inside the box. Check. Some of the boxes have essays on the outside. At least he listened :-)

Last time my dad and Andrew were involved in a move without my presence (moving my sister to Memphis), it included Andrew on top of the moving truck at one point while dad was maneuvering/driving around a sharp curve. Please pray there are no shenanigans like that this time. Please.

My Master Bedroom

2010-09-24T11:09:00.000-05:00

This week at Kelly's Korner, the "Show Us Your Life" theme is the Master Bedroom. So here's a peak into mine!

The pictures are a few months old so there have been a few updates, but you'll get the idea...

view from the door when you walk in

another view from the door in, looking towards the door to the deck

view from the closet door/deck door


just another view...

Some of my favorite things:

old furniture - all of our furniture is from our childhood
the picture above the bed is needlepoint my great-grandmother from France made
door to the deck - Andrew [handy-man husband that he is] and a friend took out the window that was originally in its place, put the door in, and built an awesome 16x16 deck off the master bedroom [it'll be included in the "backyards" post to come]. We love having this extra space off of our room :-)

I know it's a little plain, but we recently painted the walls a few months ago, and we decided not to put too much up on the walls because we know our time in this house was limited. Thanks for taking a look!

My Living Room

2010-09-17T23:44:00.000-05:00

Kelly's Korner is starting up the "Show Us Your Life" series again, so I decided to join up this time.

This week's theme is the Living Room, so here's a peek at mine!

It's ~~itty bitty~~ cozy, so 1 pic does the trick! I need to learn to take better pictures of rooms. We have beautiful dark stained floors, but this picture doesn't show them at all :-( and our rug is actually pretty small. ha.

I loathe corner fireplaces (unless you have a snazzy flatscreen mounted above, which we obviously do not). Corner fireplaces make it so frustrating to arrange a room around, especially a room with two very short walls and 2 doors. I've probably tried a bajillion (yes, a bajillion) different ways to arrange, and just gave up. The new coffee table did help make the space feel more spacious. I just remember the Nester's motto: It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

These are a few of my favorite things...

the pottery pieces we've collected and received as gifts :-) especially our McCarty lamp...i love that thing. Is it bad to love a lamp?
my drapes. the first drapes/curtains i've ever bought/purchased. My mom and I always sew them. but these beauties were on $8 clearance at Wal-Mart. You just can't buy the fabric for that cheap.
the new coffee table. that my husband built. with his own two hands!
the "twig" table, as I call it. in the bottom of the picture to the left of the couch. it's such a quirky little piece, i like it. since my photography skills of this room are far from stellar, here's a pic:

Hope you liked the lil' sneak peak inside!

First Game and Grove Time

2010-09-12T18:38:00.000-05:00

I meant to write this post all week long, but it's better late than never!

Andrew and I love all things Ole Miss, and there is nothing better than Fall...football, friends, grove, and good food :-) The first game of the season was last week, and even though it wasn't the best game ever considering the awful loss to Jacksonville State, we had the best time seeing family and friends and getting away for the weekend.

decked out in Ole Miss gear...

my parents [my mom knows almost as many ole miss sports stats as Peter...maybe more?]

sweet seeester

THE most spirited boys

wife friends

Luckily Ole Miss pulled out a WIN this weekend against Tulane. The game was at the Super Dome in New Orleans, and from all reports I've heard, New Orleans became the "new" Oxford as it was invaded with Rebel fans. Wish we were there!! I'm not gonna lie, I did thoroughly enjoy watching the game on my couch in my PJs while I snuggled with Izzy.

Looking forward to more games!!

The Blanchettes!

2010-09-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we had a blast in Oxford (best place in the world) for Ali and Rich's Wedding. Ali was a college roommate and sorority sister of mine. These two are such a fun and perfect couple. I was so glad to see all of our college friends in Oxford all together, and I also had fun seeing Ali's Arkansas friends that I've met over the years. Friday night, Andrew and I made it just in time for the rehearsal dinner at the Oxford Conference Center.

reunited! the boys had a picture taken before I did. {Ulmer, Ross, Werner}

Finally our turn for a picture! Love me some Sarah :-)

Saturday, we had errands all around town but one fun one included picking up my anniversary ring/band! We also had church directory pictures which was quite an entertaining experience to say the least. Then I hung out with the boys before the wedding while the other wives were getting ready at the church. The wedding was at Paris-Yates on campus at Ole Miss. It was picture-perfect! Ashlie, Ali's middle sister, just had a baby earlier in the week so she wasn't able to make the wedding, but they had her on Skype on the front row so it was just like being there in person :-) After the wedding, the bridal party rode the Double Decker bus to the Square for the reception at the Lyric Theater.

everyone all aboard!


pretty bridesmaids!


Hooray! Just Married!!


on the Square


cute husband :-)


cute sister :-)


cute couple :-)

Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Blanchette!!!

Handy-man Husband does it again!

2010-09-02T17:31:00.000-05:00

I am so impressed! He made these awesome new outdoor chairs for our front porch + a matching table from scraps.

I'm in love with the chairs and my husband.

We like the adirondack chair look, but I feel like I'm always too low on the ground and it's hard to get out off. These chairs were the perfect variation. Normal seat height, but similar look. Here are the plans...check 'em out. We are obsessed with the Knock-Off Wood website - see the button over on the right side bar. Our next house will be FILLED with handmade and custom-made furniture - just wait and see! Andrew has really enjoyed having little projects to work on while I'm doing school stuff (scheduling patients, figuring out how to graduate, studying, etc). I can't wait to be FINISHED with school so I can partake in the building fun.

Week in Food

2010-08-13T09:28:00.000-05:00

I wish I had a more exciting week of activities to tell you about, but really it's been filled with a lot of housework. chores, if you will. However, I have been trying some new recipes lately, so I thought I'd do a food review of the week.

Andrew's acid reflux has been rearing its ugly head lately, so we've been trying to cut out any acidic/spicy foods, which are his favorites but also cause problems. So it's back to the "drawing board" for me, which means whipping out the cookbooks and finding some new stuff to try.

Monday - Tilapia with veggies and a cucumber/tomato salad. I cook my tilapia the way my dad always does it - quick, simple, easy, and delicious. Spread the fillets out and drizzle 'em with olive oil and then sprinkle with Tony's seasoning. Broil for about 7-ish minutes on each side. So good!

Tuesday - Apricot Chicken with rice and a spinach salad. The apricot chicken was a new crock pot recipe from Anybody Can Cook In A Crockpot! that I've mentioned before. This is the best recipe so far that I've tried from this book - and they've all been good! This one is ridiculously easy with zero prep. The sauce creates kind of a glaze and it was sooo good, especially served over rice. The recipe is down below...

Wednesday - Fettuccine alla Carbonara with garlic bread and spinach salad with Ross tomatoes and fresh-cut watermelon. We had my parents over for dinner this night and so I branched out and tried something a little "fancier" haha. For some reason I have always been a little intimidated by making my own sauces, like a cream sauce or something, from scratch. I can always find a way to mess it up! This recipe was REALLY easy and it turned out so good and felt a little "gourmet" for us - haha. The recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens' New Cookbook: Bridal Edition (got it as a wedding gift). The recipe is down below...

Thursday - Chicken Crescent Roll-Ups with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Always good - a tried-and-true favorite!! Have you tried this one yet? I posted about it waaay back, but you really do need to try this one. seriously.

Friday - I'll be honest...haven't gotten this far!

APRICOT CHICKEN

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (i only used 4)
2 cups of apricot preserves (i just emptied the jar, who wants to measure?)
2 tablespoons of mustard
3 teaspoons of worcestershire sauce (reading the recipe as i'm typing this i just realized i made it with 3 tablespoons instead and it was delish)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

spray the crockpot with cooking spray and place the chicken in
combine the other ingredients in a bowl and mix together
spoon the mixture over the chicken and then cover
cook for 8 hrs on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH

FETTUCCINE ALLA CARBONARA

Ingredients:

6 slices of bacon cut into 1-inch pieces (i used 8, more is better!)
6 ounces of fettuccine
1 beaten egg
1 cup of half-and-half, light cream, or milk (half-and half - do it!)
1 tablespoons of butter or margarine
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of snipped fresh parsley (just realized i omitted this)
[not included in the recipe, but I added cut asparagus spears to my recipe]

Directions:

cook the bacon until crisp, drain
cook pasta according to the package, drain, keep warm
meanwhile, for the sauce: in a saucepan combine the egg, half-and-half, and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture just coats a metal spoon (about 6 min); do not boil. [this is where i threw my cut-up asparagus spears in and warmed 'em up] Immediately pour sauce over pasta; stir gently to coat.
add cooked bacon, parmesan cheese, and parsely; stir gently to combine. Serve immediately.

This was sooo easy - don't be intimidated by it at all. it was also quick - less than 30 min start to finish!

So we've been trying to do better about planning our meals out before we go to the grocery store, so we don't just buy a bunch of crap to fill our pantry and fridge and then still have "nothing" to eat. I've been trying two different methods out.

One is where I plan about 2-3 weeks of meals out, still including a night out with my parents, or a pizza night, not every night is a cook-a-full-meal night. I just fill out a "schedule" I guess you can call it on a calendar. This way I can thaw out meat ahead of time, or even cook stuff ahead of time, etc. I don't come home, open the fridge, and just stare, hoping to create something. This worked okay but we got off-schedule pretty easily so some ingredients weren't used in-time and spoiled or we just weren't "in the mood" for something that night, etc.

The other way we've been trying is where I still plan about 2-3 weeks of meals out, but I just write a list called "what's for dinner?" and stick it to the fridge. It lists all the recipes/meals we can make that we have the ingredients for. No worries, this is not all fancy. It still includes fish sticks and mac-n-cheese as a viable option! This option gives us a little more flexibility in case our mood changes or we have a last minute dinner out with friends, etc. But sometimes, the meat's not thawed out or something's not ready.

Anyway, we're still trying to find a good "method." I know it probably sounds crazy to plan it out like this or that it takes too much time, but in reality, it SAVES me time. I make one big trip to the grocery store, I don't buy useless stuff, I don't waste as much money, I cook (i.e. not heating up a pizza) more often, and it generally doesn't take nearly as long to make dinner, because I don't have to "think" something up.

PLEASE tell me what works for you! Do you plan your meals out and how? Thanks!

Weddings Lately

2010-08-09T15:04:00.000-05:00

Andrew and I have had fun celebrating some weddings lately!

My friend Carley got married to Bobby, and we are so happy for the Doctors Rea! Their wedding was at St. Peter's in Oxford and the reception was at Off Square Books - soooo much fun!!

High School Friends with the Bride

Me and cute hubby :-) please excuse the sweatiness. it was so hot!

The Herzogs - showing us how it's done.

FUN bride and groom!!

Andrew's friends, Amber and Johnny, got married, too! Their wedding was at Brandon First United Methodist and the reception was at River Hills. Amber is a dental hygienist and they gave toothbrushes as favors :-)

at the reception with our friends, Alan and Kimsey!

Happy Wedding Season! We are counting down to the next one - Ali's - at the end of August!!

Wishful Thinking...

2010-08-06T14:28:00.000-05:00

First of all, I WISH I was on the way to my friend Ali's bachelorette party in Hot Springs, AR right now. School still manages to get in the way! I can't wait to celebrate with everyone at her wedding in just a few weeks :-)

Second of all, I WISH I could have one of these new Silhouette machines. I read about how fantastic they are on the Infarrantly Creative blog and have fallen in love. Go check 'em out. If you really know me, you know I'm obsessed with these sorts of things. I love paper, fonts, labels, crafts, cards, you name it.

If I would be so lucky as to win a Silhouette machine, then I would WISH for a room like this to put it in and begin all of my craftiness. I dream of a room like this...all to myself, filled with potential "projects." Really the only requirement is a dowel for wrapping paper and ribbon. Seriously, that's a must, right? Well maybe just WISHFUL THINKING!!

Office Room Redo

2010-08-06T10:39:00.000-05:00

Finally snapped some pictures of the other guest room, which we mainly use as an office/study room. We re-did this room for FREE. At least I really can't think of anything we spent money on.

We already had the paint in the garage from before I even knew Andrew, so I count that as free. Plus it's been painted for about a year, but nothing else has been done to the room. The paint is called "French Pastry" and I think it shows up more yellow in the pictures than in the room.

There used to be a teeny cot-sized futon in here, but we luckily snagged this twin bed from my parents' house. It's actually the trundle bed to a daybed - but don't tell! Originally I wanted to make the bed a daybed because I felt like that was more "fitting" for an office type of room, but then that meant either buying new bedding and bedskirt OR way too much effort in making the existing bedding work for a daybed. Plus I only have one sham. AND the whole point was to re-do this room for free. So it's a regular bed. boring. but free :-) It also really bugs me that I don't have a headboard or at least a painting/picture up there. I argue with myself over that one. We've been trying to actually take-down all the bajillion things we have on the walls in this house, so I might just leave it plain-jane even though it still annoys me.

If you EVER saw this room before, you will appreciate that this is a HUGE difference. But if you didn't see it before, hopefully you still think it's pretty cute for being FREE!

Wedding Flashback

2010-08-04T10:34:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my FAVORITE pictures from my AMAZING photographer, Karla Pound. If you stalk me on Facebook, you've already seen 'em, sorry!

Love this: the whole church during the ceremony!


The Ross guys: Andrew with his Dad and brother

right before the storm came!


Just married!

My parents' cake topper from their 1972 wedding

Love this one! It poured down rain our wedding day!

Ceremony time!

Honorary Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids

In front of the Fairview Inn where we had the reception

Getting ready!

Love him :-)

Dancing the night away!

ready to get the show on the road!

with the Fairview all pretty at night!

ONE YEAR!!

2010-08-04T10:04:00.001-05:00

Time has been FLYING by! Andrew and I just celebrated our FIRST anniversary on August 1, and we couldn't be happier. I have no idea where the last year has gone, but we have had so much fun together and have grown so much closer. I thought we had decided a few months back that we weren't going to make anniversaries a big "gifting" type of occasion, but more sentimental. We did get some big gifts this year, but mostly sentimental. You only have ONE first anniversary, right?

ALL Andrew wanted (and by that I mean puppy-eyed begging...) was a MITER SAW. Yes. A saw. I mean how romantic and sentimental can you get?? I gave in. He's been so "into" building things nowadays, so I knew just how excited he would be. We went to Lowe's and I said go have fun :-) It was like a kid in a candy store!

^ Look how happy he is! ^

All set-up and ready to go!

^ A little sneak-preview of the latest "project" ^

I am really excited about my gift, too! We had to order it, so I don't actually have it yet. I wanted a new band to wear with my wedding band. My engagement ring is a solitaire with a diamond band, and my wedding band is a solid white gold band. I love my simple band, but I have trouble wearing my engagement ring at school sometimes, with constantly pulling gloves on and off, etc. So I plan to wear my new band along with my wedding band whenever I cant' wear my engagement ring. Probably sounds ridiculously silly, but I will show you what I mean when I get it!

I couldn't stand just getting Andrew a SAW for his gift, because I really wanted our anniversary gifts to be a little more sentimental. I know his saw can be considered sentimental because before I know it, I will have a house FULL of new furniture, all hand-built by my wonderful husband and we will reminisce about how he got that saw on our first anniversary....but I still couldn't stand it.

You know that list of gifts for each anniversary year? it's like a theme or something? probably not, because I guess it's kind of old-school, but I LOVE the idea of having a theme for the anniversary gift each year.

1 - Paper
2 - Cotton
3 - Leather
4 - Fruit/Flowers
5 - Wood
6 - Candy/Iron
7 - Wool/Cooper
8 - Bronze/Pottery
9 - Pottery/Willow
10 - Tin/Aluminum
11 - Steel
12 - Silk/Linen
13 - Lace
14 - Ivory
15 - Crystal
20 - China
....of course they're pretty awesome from 25+ like diamonds and emeralds and all that goodness!

I'm not sure what to think about year six - candy or iron? good thing I have some time to plan before that one. I also think it's funny that year TEN is TIN! easy to remember :-)

Year one is PAPER. At first I was a little disappointed. How fun can paper be? womp womp. Then I started thinking about all the things you could do: tickets to a concert, tickets for a trip, love letters, etc. All of those are on paper, right? Just using a little creativity. THEN I came up with a marvelous idea, if I may say so myself: artwork or a painting of something special. I asked best friend since Kindergarten, Anna, to do a watercolor of the church we got married in. SHE IS AWESOME!! Look at this masterpiece:

Andrew had NOOOOO idea. Which is pretty impressive because we have NEVER, ever been able to keep a secret/surprise/gift from each other. One of us just always gets it out of the other one or we just spill it. So it was REALLY fun to have an actual surprise.

If you're still reading and if you've had you're first anniversary, did you eat your wedding cake? Did you freeze yours? I love hearing these stories! There are the most hilarious and ridiculous "methods" to preserving this frozen block of cake to eat a year later and 90% of the time it's disgusting! haha! Our cake lady offered us a few options: add an extra layer to the cake to save and freeze, just bake an extra layer but not add it to the cake and freeze it, OR to bake a FRESH new cake a year later. We totally opted for #3! We did our date night last night since we were out of town this past weekend. We had an awesome dinner at Bravo! and came home to eat our AMAZING cake!

We cut it all "officially" and everything! haha! We only cut one slice because we were so full. Don't worry, I totally ate a full slice with my coffee this morning. Breakfast of champions.

2 Top Recipes

2010-07-26T17:51:00.000-05:00

My friend, Kerri, asked me for this recipe, so I thought I'd go ahead and pass it along to everyone. Sorry I have no picture, whenever I make it, we always dig right into it and gobble it all up. I must brag on my sweet husband...last time we had this he made it all by himself!!

Spinach-Stuffed Jumbo Shells:

1 box frozen chopped spinach
20 jumbo pasta shells (comes out to be about 1/2 box)
2 eggs
2 cups ricotta cheese
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese (just enough to sprinkle on top, can also just use more of the parm)

Preheat to 350. Cook the frozen spinach for 5 minutes and drain well. Squeeze out all excess moisture. (I dab with paper towels then scoop the spinach into a ziploc bag, snip the corner of the bag and then squeeze more of the water out.) Cook the pasta shells as directed on the box (be sure not to overcook). While the shells are cooking, mix up the stuffing. Beat 2 eggs and combine with the ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese. In a 9x13 backing dish, spread a small amount of spaghetti sauce on the bottom. After the shells cook, drain, and then stuff the shells with the spinach stuffing. Arrange the stuffed shells in the baking dish and then cover with the remainder of the spaghetti sauce. Top the shells with mozzarella cheese (or parm) and bake for 45 minutes.

The recipe and the next one are from my Made in the Shade cookbook that I've mentioned before. Awesome goodness type of recipes.

I'm making one of Andrew's favorites, Pizza Casserole tonight. He's loves the other one, but he's obsessed with this one.

Pizza Casserole:

1 lb of ground beef or turkey
1 pkg of taco seasoning (yes, trust me...)
1 can of tomato sauce
1 cup of swiss cheese*
1 cup of american cheese**
pepperoni slices
2 cans of crescent rolls

*I just use 2 cups of mozzarella cheese most of the time.

Preheat to 350. Brown the ground beef/turkey, drain, then spread in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the meat. Let this sit for 5 minutes. Then top with the can of tomato sauce and 2 cups of cheese (whatever you choose). Next, layer the pepperoni slices over the cheese, placed so they don't touch. Then layer the crescent rolls over the top. (I usually wait til this last step to pull the cans out of the fridge so they don't get too tacky. I also just keep them in their "sheets" instead of separating the little triangles.) Bake until the crescent rolls are golden brown.

Mmmmm. I just got excited writing about it. So good. Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!!

Mmmm Good

2010-07-25T14:29:00.000-05:00

Pure bliss. An Italian Creme cupcake from Gigi's. I am so in love! I honestly have no idea how my friend Jocelyn works there and stays so skinny. Props to her!

I got this beauty yesterday with my mom while we were out running errands with our friends Jayne and Kelsey. Jayne is my mom's best friend from pharmacy school at Ole Miss and her daughter, Kelsey, is getting ready to go off to college at Delta State. We went all out shopping for bedding and dorm room necessities and accessories! So much fun and we all reminisced about dorm life and college days :-)

I wish I had some crazy-fun weekend to tell you about, but it's been pretty laid back and nice. I cleaned house (womp womp) mostly, but did get around to hanging up some pictures around the house, moving around some furniture, and hanging up my new shower curtain that my mom MADE me.

Which reminds me that I still need to take pictures of the study/office/guest room redo so I can show off the changes! Consider it officially on the to-do list....

Brace yourselves...

2010-07-14T21:05:00.001-05:00

I got braces today! Yes, I'm relieving elementary school and junior high days.

One of my classmates put braces on my top teeth this morning, so I'm excited to see how they will look when my ortho treatment is finished.
I'm already starting to feel it working...

Here is a "before" picture:

and here is an "after" picture:

I was a little (and let's be honest, still am a little) self-conscious at first but I talked myself into it a little more, reminding myself I AM in dental school, remember. And if my 70 year old patient can rock the braces, so can I.

And then I remembered all my friends' weddings coming up...

Go ahead...I know what you're thinking, "metal-mouth," right?!

Sweet Surprise

2010-07-11T13:58:00.000-05:00

Sweet Andrew surprised me with these last week:

A much better surprise than what I found right outside of my car door when I pulled in the garage:

WHAT is this thing? I'm guessing a spider since it has 8 legs, but what a weird body...creepy

July 4th Weekend

2010-07-11T13:35:00.000-05:00

I know I'm about a week behind on all of my posts, but I'm working on it, I promise!

We spent last weekend in Oxford. We celebrated Peter's 30th Birthday (twice) and 4th of July. Friday when we got in, we ate at Papitos, the usual but always good! Saturday we ate at Proud Larry's and it was a good treat, too. As much as we are in Oxford, we hardly ever go to or eat on the Square it seems, so it was nice! Sunday for the 4th, we went to church and the preacher asked everyone who was born in the US to raise their hand and then asked everyone who was not born in the US to raise their hand, and it was really special to see my husband and in-laws raise their hands. They were all born in Egypt, but have all become American citizens which is really neat. We ate a delicious dinner at Darcy and Peter's that night and then went to watch the fireworks at the baseball field - always a good show!

Darcy's amazing trifle :-)

Enjoying the fireworks:

Thankfully, I had Monday off. I spent the entire day cleaning the house and doing "chores" haha. BUT, I also did another FREE room-redo in the back bedroom which we've been using as an office/study. So stay tuned...

Sun & Sand

2010-07-05T20:50:00.001-05:00

My mom and dad took us all to Orange Beach the weekend before last, and even though the oil had beat us there, it was still a LOT of fun! The sand on the majority of the beach was still pristine white. Right up next to the water, it was brown from the oil, but from our chairs, it still looked pretty :)

I guess my feelings go both ways - I still think it is very worthwhile to head down there and go to the beach and support all of those people down there and still enjoy yourself and enjoy the beach, but it is also very sad to see the oil and although I know there are a lot of people working hard and around the clock, a lot of it seems inefficient.

Some of the skimmer boats with boom:

Work crews on the beach nearby but not in the way of still enjoying the beach:

Still enjoying the break from everything!

Two of a kind...

It was Andrew's first time to Orange Beach so it was fun showing him around, too! We used to go to Gulf Shores every year, so it was fun to be back in the area.

This past weekend we, celebrated Peter's 30th birthday and 4th of July in Oxford, so I'll post on it soon...

Handy-man Husband

2010-07-01T18:41:00.000-05:00

I am supposed to be studying for my test tomorrow. [Seriously? I still have tests?!] However, I have to take some time away from studying [or time before I study] to BRAG on how awesome my husband is at building little projects for me us and our house!

His latest project was a new coffee table for our ~~tiny~~ cozy little living room. The first/previous coffee table we had is still our fav, but it's just too big for our space. After hours and multiple attempts at re-arranging to make the space better, we decided a new and smaller coffee table would be best. Of course we didn't really want to break the bank or budget for one either....so....Andrew built one! I think it cost about $50 total. And, it's just what we needed!

I wish I had a before picture and some "during" pictures. Sorry :-( but here it is the final product:

He built it and I stained it! It was a fun project for both of us!

It has a hinged top so you can hide the remotes and coasters inside. It will even fit a laptop computer. I didn't have anything to hold the top up, so ignore my foot...

We're thinking of getting some baskets for underneath...what do you think? plain or baskets?

I was so impressed with his handy-man skills!

Sorry the postings have been sooo scarce lately. And I'm sorry if I haven't participated in any of your tags - I promise it's nothing personal - I just have been so unbelievably busy lately! I promise I will try to do better :-)

Some upcoming posts: Hogan family beach trip last weekend and Fourth of July in Oxford this weekend.

My brother in law turned 30 today!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PETER!!!

Peru 2010

2010-06-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

I made it back on June 5th, and it has been such a whirlwind since. My apologies for just now posting. And no, I did not see Van der Sloot while we where there. Thankfully!
Since I kind of gave you the run down on the trip before I left, I figured I'll just show and tell about some of my favorite pictures!

This is a view of the Pacific Ocean from Lima:

This is a picture of the center of town in Trujillo, where we spent most of the week:

A poinsettia TREE in the yard of one of the missionary families:

Typical houses at one of our clinic sites, with the mountain we climbed one day in the background:

A typical day's set up. Just in the middle of the street in one of the neighborhoods:

One of the best new tricks I learned! Charm those little girls with some fingernail-painting!

The Plaza d'Armas (?) at night - in the middle of Trujillo:

While I DID eat a lot of new and interesting things, I did not eat this amazing meringue - but I was so impressed by it, it deserved a picture! Seriously, how good does that look?

At the BEACH!! This was on the last day when I attempted surfing - HA! I probably would have been better off in one of these boats from pre-incan times...

Group shot of the dental team on the beach. The perfect ending to a perfect trip!

P.S. How adorable is my teacher standing on the front row with me and Patrice? She rocks. Just thought you should know.

New "delicacies" I tried:

goat
rabbit
beef heart
beef stomach
Pisco Sours - my new favorite drink! I guess it's kind of like a lemon-y margarita?

I'm sure this is TMI for most of you, but it's just too funny not to share. Every day presented a new challenge for going to the bathroom. Fortunately I didn't have any GI issues, but WHERE I went to the bathroom is the funny part. Most days we set up in the middle of the street in a very poor neighborhood, so the only real option was to find a willing person to let you into their home. Top bathroom adventures definitely included peeing in a hole in the ground in someone's backyard with a tethered pig next to me and then another day peeing next to a makeshift toilet with a guinea pig pen next to me...I guess it's all in a day's work!

This trip really was an awesome experience - to go with a few of my classmates and an awesome teacher to another country and practice everything we've learned and keep on learning some more!

I can't WAIT to go on more trips like this - hopefully my husband will be able to come next time!

Where I'm headed

2010-05-26T09:02:00.000-05:00

I leave Friday for my next trip to Peru. I am really excited! Except I haven't started packing...ew. It's on the to-do list for today and tomorrow - it has to be!

This time around we're flying into Lima on Friday, then taking a domestic flight to Trujillo on Saturday. Sunday we'll go to church and get settled in. Monday - Thursday we'll leave each day from Trujillo and go to an outlying town to do exams, extractions, etc. Friday I think we're going to the beach, maybe? We're on the Pacific Ocean, which I think is pretty cool. And then I think we fly back to Lima later on Friday and then board our plane at 11:30 that night to head back to the states :) to arrive back Saturday.

Here's a picture of Pomabamba where I was last time, up in the mountains:

Here's Trujillo, where we'll be this time, on the Pacific Ocean:

This one kinda shows the relationship of all three cities:

Peru runs right under the equator, so technically it's winter there. It's bordered by Ecuador up top and Chile down below. I think it's supposed to be really nice weather while we're there - something like 60s-70s in the day and 50s at night.

I'm sad my awesome dentist husband won't be able to make this trip - he has to work :-( so he'll be home with Izzy. I just keep telling myself we have a lifetime to do trips like this! We have been on one mission trip together - to Piedras Negras, Mexico. It was in 2008 right before I went to Peru the first time. I love the country of Peru, and I can't wait for him to see it one day, too!

Here's a few pictures of us from our Mexico mission trip:

I can't wait to post about the trip!

Peru 2008

2010-05-24T15:24:00.002-05:00

My trip to Peru was pre-blog time, so in honor of my upcoming trip – FRIDAY – I thought I'd post some of my favorite pictures from the last trip.

I went to Peru on a medical/dental mission trip in June of 2008 with First Baptist Church of Jackson. We had about 30 of us on the trip and I only knew 2 people before I left! We gave worm medicine, medical exams, gave eye glasses, extracted teeth, and had Sunday school! We flew into Lima (THE biggest city I've ever been to!) and then it took us 2 full days of driving to get to our "base" town. On that drive, we drove through a dessert and over a snow-capped mountain range in one day. Our base town was Pomabamba which is in the middle of nowhere in the Andes mountains. We drove and hiked for about 2-4 hours each morning to a village where we set up shop and got to work. We worked until it was dark, and then set up camp to spend the night. Every few days, we'd make our way back to Pomabamba for a bath at the town bathhouse in a concrete tub with hot spring water. It was definitely "roughing it" but it was such an awesome experience, too! One I would never trade! We were there for about a week and a half and I could have stayed much longer!

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Driving through the desert.

heading towards the Andes

the most beautiful lake in the middle of the mountains...the picture does NOT do justice!!

where we're headed next...

at the top @ 16,000 feet...and the road we just drove up!

at work :)

Waking up the next morning after camping out at the base of a glacier. Also pretty cool to see the sun rise and the moon at the same time!

I LOVE all of the colors they wear AND the hats!!

My favorite little patient - how cute is she?!

My next mission trip will be MUCH different from this one, since we'll be in a totally different part of the country. I'm really excited about the group I'm going with. Since this was a quick trip down memory lane, my next post will be about my upcoming trip...

better late than never?

2010-05-20T10:33:00.000-05:00

I apologize from the month-and-a-half-long hiatus from the blog. School and life just caught up to me!

Today is the last day of my D3 year...which somehow sneaked up on me. This year has flown by. Now there's only 372 more days until I am a D.M.D. and the latest "Dr. Ross." Let the countdown begin!

My graduation isn't the only big thing happening 372 days from today. My little sis' Kelly graduates from nursing school THE. SAME. DAY. She's graduating from UT-Memphis at the Fed-Ex Forum at 1:30 the same day I'll be graduating from UMC at the Coliseum at 10:00. Geez Louise. We'll obviously have to divide the parents up, but not sure how that will work.

What have we been up to lately? We've made several trips to Oxford, which probably doesn't surprise any of you. Some of those trips included the Red & Blue Spring Football Game, Ali & Richard's Shower, the Double Decker Festival, Mother's Day, etc. And all of them were a blast, of course.

We've also been busy with some projects around the house. Basically just some furniture re-arranging/removing. Trying to de-clutter the house. We made a few changes in the breakfast area, took out the baker's rack, lowered the light, etc. We worked on our deck, putting new furniture out there and hanging up shades. We made Izzy a "fancy" bed. Yes, I know, we're ridiculous. It cost < $10 because we used scrap wood and fabric from wal-mart. We "framed" our basic bathroom mirrors to make 'em look more spiffy. [What a super easy and super cheap project!] The project we're working on now is the study room. We took the futon out and are taking out one of the bookshelves. Then we're taking the big table out of there (even though it's an awesome study table) and replacing it with the desk in our bedroom (because we have too much furniture in our bedroom). Then we're going to put a twin bed in the study to replace the futon, but we're making it a daybed so it'll be more couchy-officey. All we've done so far is take out the futon and some knick-knacks so it'll be a while before I can show some pictures (i.e. we actually have to do work.)

Here are some pictures of our other progress:

Izzy's Bed. Complete with a bedskirt and blanket. I know...ridiculous, right?

Our deck! We love this "addition" off of our master bedroom. I spy Izzy girl...

Framed up guest bathroom mirror. We did the same thing in the master bathroom, too.

and this isn't really a new project, but it's Izzy's new favorite toy. Dora the Explorer! How funny? We caught all these stuffed animals and toys at Mardi Gras, and she found them the other day and pulled every. single. one. of them out all over the house!

So that's what we've been up to...nothing crazy but all fun!

Karate Master

2010-04-11T14:11:00.000-05:00

I thought the title might catch your attention! I received the “Master of Karate and Friendship Award” from my friend, Lindsey. I met Lindsey through my friend Megan Werner, but I knew her husband through Campus Crusade long before that. Lindsey is so much fun, and we love us some Ole Miss Rebels!

Here are the rules for the award:

1. List 6 things you are a master in.

2. Pass it on to 6 bloggers you think are masters at friendship and make blogging awesome.

P.S. I have no idea who came up with the name for this award - but it sure is funny!

I'm a MASTER at...

Painting a room WITHOUT using painter's tape. I've actually recently reached the master "status" for this because I used to be a huge proponent of the painter's tape. However, I realized that I was not only a master at taping a room off, but also painting those tough edges without tape. If you ask me, it's much more efficient to be a master at the last one...
Losing things. This may come as a shock to many of you who still manage to think I'm really organized (which I'm not). I've lost gift cards, (that's like throwing away money!) shoes, earrings, etc. My latest loss is my keys. Not good.
Fonts. I love anything and everything to do with a font. Seriously, it's like a secret obsession of mine. I love handwriting in new fonts (remember my calligraphy attempt for my wedding invitations?) and especially downloading new fonts on the computer. Remember to save things as a PDF if you use a new font so it won't revert back to an "arial" or "times new roman" when you are depending on it. Picking out my wedding invitations was sooo hard for me because there were WAY too many font choices! haha. I can still remember rambling off things like "do you think the serif or sans serif one?" I think I was the store's worst nightmare customer. Sorry!
Researching make-believe trips. If you spit out the name of a place you'd like to go visit, I'll spend the next few hours, days, etc. obsessing over hotels, things to do, weather, good deals, etc. I'll practically plan the entire thing out. And then, it hits me, "What am I doing?" This is a make-believe trip...and reality sets in!
Color-Coding, Labeling, Spreadsheets, Charts, and Maps. I know I mentioned in #2 that I am not organized, but I can organize very well when I so choose / go neurotic. As a joke one year, I said that I wanted a label-maker for Christmas, and lo and behold, Santa delivered one! Needless to say, it was love at first ~~sight~~ label. 99% of the time, I truly am very unorganized, but once in a blue moon, my type-A personality gets the best of me. I can remember way too many times when I made a chart for studying, but I spent so much time making the chart that I never even had the time to use it or review it. Of course the chart was ~~likely~~ most definitely color-coded and in Excel. I also have a new semi-obsession with Google Maps - creating different routes, marking certain "stops" or landmarks along the way, color-coding different routes...see, here comes type-A again. [I asked my lovely husband what he thought I was a "master" at, and these are the things he came up with! haha!]
To-Do Lists. Who knows how many I have going at one time. Mental ones, written ones, school ones, grocery ones, errand ones, cleaning ones....Do they ever get checked off? NO. I just write a new one. Probably not a very efficient system. I just usually feel much more accomplished if I write a list, whether any of it gets done or not. :)

Whew. I'm now passing this torch on to....

Catherine @ Two Dogs and a Dream
Sarah Denley @ In the Warm Hold of Your Loving Arms
Lane @ The Baxters
Rachel @ La Bella Vida
Mary Melinda @ The Littles
Amber @ Our World as the Wrights

What I'm looking forward to

2010-03-15T08:13:00.001-05:00

Here are a few things I'm looking forward to:

Dental School Graduation: 1 year, 2 months, 12 days
1-year Wedding Anniversary: 4 months, 17 days
Summer Weddings: May-August
Double Decker Festival: 1 month, 9 days
Peru Mission Trip: 2 months, 13 days
Easter Sunday: 20 days
New Dancing with the Stars: 7 days
St. Patty's Day Parade: 5 days
2010 Census: who knows? any day now?
Spring Break: NOW! [I think this might be my 20th spring break?!

Have you been counting down to something exciting?

Shake Your Tailfeather!

2010-03-03T08:41:00.001-06:00

I'm a little behind on my posting - sorry! I had a crazy week last week and an even crazier week this week!! Somehow in all of this busy-ness, I managed to take some time to have a little fun with my friend Sarah and her sister Rebecca. We went to a painting class at Easely Amused and had so much fun. The painting we did was called "Shake Your Tailfeather" and was a cute lil' peacock!

Part of the reason I've been so busy lately is that I'm taking Part 1 of my clinical board exam this Saturday. ALL day Saturday. We have to do 2 root canals and 3 crown/bridge preps so it's a full day. Blegh. Please say a prayer that everything goes well!!

Super Southwestern Chicken!

2010-02-21T18:39:00.000-06:00

You've GOT to try this new and SUPER-easy chicken recipe! It is delish. I'm all about some crock-pot recipes that you only have to throw everything in the pot in the morning and come home to a yummy meal. My sister gave me this cookbook for Christmas, and I'm loving it. It's got excellent recipes (just my style...) plus it has devotions on every other page.

Southwestern Chicken

Ingredients:

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (*we only used 2)
1 can of chunky tomatoes
1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can of mexi-corn (drained)
1 tablespoon of chili powder

Directions:

Mix the cans + chili powder together
Pour the mix over the chicken in the crock-pot
Cook 4 hours on High or 8 hours on Low

We only made ours with 2 chicken breasts because we are weird about eating leftover meat, but it actually turned out great because the extra cooked veggies were excellent served over the rice I cooked to go with it.

Super quick, super easy, super GOOD!

What we've been up to...

2010-02-20T16:56:00.003-06:00

Last Friday 2/12, we had LOTS of snow. I think we had about 4-5 inches at our house...and it was beautiful!! Andrew and I both had a snow day from school/work, so it was nice to have the day together. I wasn't sure how Izzy would react to the snow, but she absolutely LOVED it. We had to keep bringing her in and take off her "clothes." She had on a little doggy t-shirt and jacket to keep her warm, but the snow kept making her soaking wet. She'd come in, warm up, and then sit by the door and WHINE to get out again.

Here are some pictures of the snow:

Our backyard

Izzy LOVES snow!

Andrew and Izzy

Izzy warming up by the fire - her new favorite spot!

Our house

After the blizzard died down, later that afternoon, we packed up and headed down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras weekend. We stayed with the Sellers and had an absolute blast! It was Andrew's first trip to NOLA and his first Mardi Gras - he ate it up!

Friday night at the Muses parade

On Canal Street about to head to the French Quarter

all of the girls on the trip

us, with the newlyweds - the Werners!

Andrew's now a Mardi Gras pro.

This is in front of the Seller's house on Canal Street - a perfect spot for watching the Endymion parade!

Megan and I ready for more beads!

already ready for next year!

A Little Treat

2010-02-12T11:29:00.000-06:00

I figured out what to cook for our Valentine's dinner last night…CHINESE! Haha! I know it might sound random, and it is.

I had a recipe for "Hot and Sour Chicken" that I've been wanting to try, plus we have some Egg Drop Soup mix we've been wanting to try. So I figured, why not? The only trouble I've had with the chicken recipe is finding the "Knorr Hot and Sour Soup Mix" at the grocery store. I checked Wal-Mart with no luck, and before I headed to Kroger, I googled it so I'd know exactly what the package looked like and could hopefully find it.

Well, what do you know?? I found the Knorr website and was delighted to find out that February 14 is not only Valentine's Day, but also Chinese New Year this year! PERFECT! So we're celebrating both tonight – ha!

[side note:] while investigating the soup mix, it's no longer listed on the knorr website, so I took a risk and went to Kroger anyway. I got lucky! The same brand – Sun Bird – that made the Egg Drop Soup mix we already had makes a Hot and Sour Soup mix, too. Look in the oriental section, not the soup section.

Menu:

Hot and Sour Chicken

Stir-Fry Vegetables and Noodles

Egg Drop Soup

Hot and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (…I only used 4)
1 can of chicken broth
1 hot and sour soup mix

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in the Crock-pot
Cook for 8 hours on low / 4 hours on high

I wish I had some really exciting or creative recipes for the stir-fry veggies and noodles or the egg drop soup, but sadly no. I used Kroger-brand frozen bag of "stir-fry vegetables and noodles," but I did add in some extra oriental seasoning. The egg drop soup mix was really simple and easy, too. You will need an egg for the soup and some soy-sauce for seasoning everything.

The verdict? Awesome! I can't even begin to tell you how good that chicken smells…

Getting Excited!

2010-02-11T08:47:00.000-06:00

We have lots to look forward to in the next few hours and days...

Apparently we are in a Winter Storm Warning. It's supposed to snow started after sunset today and then all day tomorrow. South of I-20 may even get up to 6 inches! (I'll believe it when I see it, though.) We'll probably only get around 2-3 inches, if we're lucky, since we're just a hair north of I-20. I'll take whatever I can get!

Tonight, Andrew and I are going to have a little Valentine's dinner at home. I can't wait! Although, I still need to figure out what to cook...

Tomorrow we're packing up and heading down to New Orleans for a big-time MARDI GRAS celebration! We really can not wait! I LOVE going to Mardi Gras with my friend Megan, and I'm excited that Andrew will get to join in on the fun this year. We'll get to see lots of friends that we don't get to see all that often, too. Andrew has never been to New Orleans, much less on Mardi Gras weekend, much less after the first-ever Saints Super Bowl WIN!! Needless to say, I'm sure he's in for a good time :-)

Here's some of my favorite pictures of Mardi Gras' past...

P.S. The bedroom painting project is not quite finished. 3 out of 4 walls painted. 1 wall to go plus the bathroom....hoping to be super productive today!

Bedroom/Bathroom Redo

2010-02-07T13:44:00.002-06:00

Here's a few pictures from when we recently painted and fixed-up our guest bedroom/bathroom. We love our little house, and even though we'll move when I graduate, we've enjoyed making it our own. We've really tried hard not to spend a lot of money since it'll all be relatively temporary. One thing that we've done that helps make things seem new is to use something from one room and give it a new use in another room. For example, we found some new curtains for our living room on clearance, and then used our old living room curtains in the guest bedroom - good as new!

[totally just realized that I misspelled "aisle" as "isle" in the picture - oops! but too lazy to re-edit! haha - forgive me.]

This week I'm working on painting our master bedroom/bathroom. I'll keep you updated :-)

Enjoy your Sunday - GEAUX SAINTS!!!

Chicken Crescent Roll-Ups

2010-02-06T09:50:00.000-06:00

I made this recipe the other night, and it was a BIG hit. It's one of my mom's recipes, and it is so simple and easy and cheap. Andrew talks non-stop about it, too. Ha! You probably have almost all of the ingredients in your pantry/fridge.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup cooked and cubed chicken
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of milk
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of crescent rolls (8 count)

Directions:

Mix the 1 1/2 cup of chicken an 1/2 of the cup of cheese in a bowl. (I used my hands to mix it and mush it all together.)
Roll out and separate the crescent rolls. In each triangle, place 2 tablespoons of the chicken/cheese mix, and roll it up in the crescent roll. Once you have all 8 rolled up, place them along the bottom of a lightly greased casserole dish.
Pour the 1 cup of milk over the roll-ups. Spoon out the cream of chicken soup (undiluted) on top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top.
Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Enjoy this deliciousness! Your husband or roommate or anyone will love this! Or else there's more for you!! It also keeps well for leftovers to take to lunch the next day :-) I didn't take a picture because we were so busy gobbling it down.

L.Y.L.A.S.

2010-02-01T21:16:00.000-06:00

Love Ya Like A Sister! Yeah, I'm bringing it back. For a special occasion, though....

I have 2 more very special birthdays to celebrate!!

First, a shout-out to my amazing sister-in-law, Darcy. Even though I'm a little behind posting this, I still wanted to write about how awesome she is. She celebrated her birthday on January 25 :-) I never imagined I would have such a great SIL. She is such a smart, strong, classy lady and has accepted me and befriended me since day one, which is priceless to me. I have always been able to talk to her and relate to her, and she is always there to listen and give her advice and opinion. She has the perfect southern recipes and knows all the answers to my etiquette and entertaining questions. She has a great sense of style for fashion and decorating. She was my matron of honor and that was really special to me, to have my two "sisters" standing up there with me on my wedding day. I feel like the lucky one, and I definitely look up to her. I don't think she reads my blog, but I sure hope she knows how much I love her and appreciate her :-)

My little sister Kelly's birthday is TODAY - February 1st!! When Kelly was born, I ONLY referred to her as "MY baby Kelly." My parents swore up and down that I'd call her that until the day I'd die. Don't know when the title faded, but she'll always be my baby Kelly. We are night and day but I couldn't love her more. We've had a history of a love-hate relationship through the years, but I've always really loved her. I'd be lying if I didn't say we are still learning so much about each other and how to love each other more and accept our differences, but that's part of why I love our relationship - we are NOT perfect, but we ARE sisters. Kelly is SO creative - I always try to steal her ideas. I pray for her and her future husband every single day. I know everyone probably think if you have a sister, she's a shoe-in for the maid of honor roll in your wedding, but I honestly chose Kelly to be mine. I love her sooooo much and hope she never ever forgets that.

3rd Answers

2010-01-20T14:56:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had repetitive dreams, and if so what do you think it means?

I have no idea! I have never been able to remember any of my dreams. I know that I do dream, but whenever I wake up I can't remember what they were about, much less if they are repetitive. I wish I could remember all of my crazy dreams!

On a side note, we successfully finished painting and "fixin' up" our guest bedroom and bathroom. They look awesome! We chose a pale sage/celery type of green for the paint color. It's Valspar "Lyndhurst Spring Eve," and it was perfect! I'll have to admit that I did have a momentary freak-out when I sampled the color on the wall and started painting the trim, because I really liked the color but thought it might be too much color. Not so. Once it was all dry - it was much more toned-down and was just right.

We've already painted our Study/extra bedroom - "French Pastry". So then came the hard part...picking out a color for our master bedroom/bathroom. We really wanted to do a brown/beige color. Just enough oomph of color for us, but neutral enough for whenever we sell our house. Boy was this a dilemma. It was the first time I made use of those sample cans of paint. Browns are so hard to pick because of the undertones, some are pinkish, some are yellowish, some are grayish. I just wanted plain. The first color we tried out was "Cincinnati Hotel Carl Tan," and I almost didn't even buy the sample can because I just knew it was going to be way too light. WRONG. We liked it for us, but felt it was a little too brown for resale, so we went with "Warm Buff" instead and it was PERFECT!! Not to boring beige but not overdone either. We haven't painted it yet, but went ahead and took full advantage of the sale at Lowe's this MLK weekend. They had $5 rebates on each can of paint! So we saved $15 on paint this weekend :-) y'all know I love a good deal!

2nd Answers

2010-01-17T19:31:00.002-06:00

What motivates you? You are a very driven girl who gets a lot done at school, stays organized, etc. What keeps you going?

You might be shocked to find out that I'm much more of a procrastinator than you think. It really bothers me. I honestly go through phases or cycles of productivity and procrastination. For example, last weekend I sat on my butt and did nothing all weekend, while in just one day so far this weekend, I've cleaned out our guest bedroom, taken down the bed, moved the mattress and box-spring, and taped off and painted the guest bedroom and guest bathroom. It's usually one extreme or the other!! I guess what keeps me going is that I make LOTS of LISTS. To-do lists, project lists, grocery lists, cleaning lists, school requirements lists…you get the idea. As far as staying organized, that varies. My calendar/planner is just stuffed with papers and sticky notes, so it's not doing so well on the organization right now (I should put this on the "to-do list…). But I do love a good Excel spreadsheet. That's how I kept up with wedding addresses, my school requirements, etc. I also own a label maker – are you surprised? Ha!

As far as motivation goes for dental school, my main motivation is FINISH! I try to remind myself that every day that I am there is one more day down to graduation. While I'm there, I run around non-stop (usually). I just try to fit as much as I can in one day. I figure that if I'm there every day, and I'm working hard every day, then when it comes down to the end, hopefully they'll be a little more understanding if I'm lacking in something (requirement-wise).

I'd be lying if I didn't say that Andrew is a HUGE motivation. I'm very fortunate to have someone that's "been there, done that," but he knows just how to encourage me. I'm motivated to work hard at school and at home because I know just how hard he is working at his job every day. He always tells me, "your job is to finish school." I know he's made a lot of changes in his life-plans since he's met me and married me. He never imagined he'd (a) be married right now, (b) still be living in Jackson, and (c) be working at a public health clinic. We both love where we are in our life right now and the changes that brought us both here, and we're excited about our next phase, too, which is why we are working sooo hard right now.

Whenever I feel like I'm not being very productive, I read Proverbs 31. That lady is incredible. She encourages me to be a better student, wife, homemaker, Christian, business woman, crafter, teacher, philanthropist, cook, and so much more. However, it is important to remember that her strength and dignity do not come from her amazing achievements, but as a result of her reverence for God. Obviously I'll never be able to imitate her in every way, but she does inspire me to make the most of every day and to work hard and do my best!

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

How do you feel about opening a practice with Andrew? Do you plan to work 5 days a week, 3 days, or something else?

I am so excited about this! I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to work with my husband one day. I feel that we have the perfect relationship for this. It is frustrating, though, that many people seem to believe spouses working together is the perfect solution for disaster. I think everyone's relationship is vastly different. I can think of many couples that this arrangement wouldn't work for, but I can think of many others that have proven it can work wonderfully. We've never thought otherwise.

I definitely plan on working full-time, 5 days a week, until we start having children. I don't see myself ever being strictly a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, but really more of a combination of both. I have some ideas on how that might work, but I'm sure it'll take a few different arrangements until I find the perfect one. My ideal day would be to be able to take the kids to school, go in to work, and then leave early enough in the afternoon to be able to pick them up. Maybe an 8:00-2:00 day or something like that. We'll just have to wait and see how that works out. I mean, let's not get ahead of ourselves, that's going to be a while…

Do you think you'll miss Jackson when you move?

Yes and no. I'll miss it in the sense of it's where I grew up, went to elementary school through high school, went to dental school, met my husband, had my first (and only) solo-apartment, and so on. But I have so many fond memories in Oxford, too, and I so look forward to moving there, starting a business, and raising a family. My parents plan on retiring one day in Oxford, and my sister Kelly will likely stay in Memphis for a little while after nursing school, so there's really not much left for us here in Jackson. The only family we have here are 1 set of cousins. I'll miss some of the people in Jackson, but I won't be missing the crime and the pot-holes! Ha!

That's all of the questions that I've received so far, so keep 'em coming...

1st Answers

2010-01-16T21:19:00.001-06:00

Are you and Andrew planning a trip to Egypt anytime soon?

Yes! While we're not actively planning one, we're crossing our fingers that we'll be able to go in 2011. At first we were hoping to go after I graduate, so around May/June. The more we got to thinking about it with the Ross', we're beginning to think Christmas-time 2011-2012 will actually be best. The summers are sooo hot, even though they are dry. The winter is still really pleasantly warm and always sunny! Plus it would be less time off from work and all that grown-up stuff we have to consider now. Andrew's parents are going this spring, and I am sooo looking forward to our turn. We really want them to make the trip with us since they would obviously make wonderful guides! Haha! I can't even imagine soaking up all of the history there. Seeing the caves where the holy family lived during their exile, seeing the pyramids, seeing the Nile River, Alexandria, Cairo, Assuit, where the Ross' grew up and lived, and of course riding a camel. I absolutely love history and can't wait to make some, too, while we're there! His parents still have a house there, which is perfect. Although in Egypt there's not many houses like we have here, more like "flats" or apartment-style living. His uncle even has a house on the Nile River in Alexandria – um, that sounds like perfect paradise to me! Not only do I look forward to seeing all these sites and places, I also look forward to meeting his family. My family took a similar trip to France with my grandmother in 2000. We went for 2 weeks, stayed in my great-aunt Monique's country estate, and met lots of family, and really got to experience local life. It was one of the most special trips I've ever taken, and I see this one to Egypt being like that. Can't wait!!

When do y'all want to have kids? How many?

Not sure when we'll try for kids, but probably not for a while, just based on where we are in life right now. I'd really like to finish school first and get settled in Oxford and start working. So maybe another 3 years? Of course, we'd be more than excited to welcome any surprises along the way. That's life! We've reached a compromise on how many kids. I want more than 2 – I just always felt like that was boring and wanted another sibling. I always thought 4 would be nice, but Andrew only wants 2, haha, so we've compromised on 3. If I could pick, which I know I have no say in, I'd pick boy, boy, girl.

Do you have any names picked out for future children?

Nope. I think about it every so often, but have no definite ones. I love family names, so I'd love to use Andrew's great-grandfather's name, Samuel, but we'll see. I change my mind on everything all the time! As of now, we're planning on keeping the tradition of using his name as the boys' middle names. For girls, I have no idea. Sorry I don't have anything great to share on this question!

Keep the questions coming :-) and feel free to introduce yourself and ask a question if you're new to the blog, too!

Calling All Questions

2010-01-13T22:31:00.002-06:00

Can you tell I'm bored?

I'm officially opening the floor to any and all questions you may want to ask me or are wondering about me. I'll be embarrassed if no one asks anything, so feel free! My friends Sarah Denley and Rachel have done this in the past, and I thought it was so interesting and fun. Plus it gives me new "material" to write about. Just leave a comment with your questions!

Side Note: I can't believe I haven't "announced" this on the blog (ha!)…but I'm super-pumped about my our Valentine's gift to each other: Jersey Boys at the Orpheum in Memphis!! We're jealous of all the shows that Peter & Darcy always get to see, so we're really excited to go to one with them this time! Counting down to January 31!!

Random Fact: Andrew and I still haven't known each other for 2 years yet, but we've been married for almost 6 months. That just hit me the other day.

Remember to ask away!

Read My Mind.

2010-01-11T22:11:00.000-06:00

Seriously. Someone literally just read my mind.

I was just about to write a new post about my new "project." I always have a project going. Correction: 10+ projects. ha! I came up with my latest one a while back, but this weekend, I was actually motivated to do it. Just ask my mom - I gave her an earful all about it.

The project? I'm starting 2 new binders. Whoa - hold your horses. And not for school. One binder will be my "Decorating/Design" book, and the other will be my "Gift/Craft" book. I love interior design and decorating. How many times have you flipped through a Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Anthropologie, Martha Stewart Living, (you get the idea...) magazine/catalog and thought to yourself, "I love that room!" or piece of furniture, or paint color, or whatever?? I do all the time. The problem is that I either make a mental note (which never works) or stack the magazine under the coffee table to be forgotten and then subsequently thrown away 6 months later. Then...when I actually want to redo a room or piece of furniture, whatever, I am clueless.

Solution: cut out my inspiration ideas and file them by room in pretty, clear sheet protectors in my pretty new decorating/design book! Perfect!

This same idea goes for my craft/gift binder. I am constantly coming across great little gift ideas that are perfect for friends, neighbors, and little "happies." Of course, whenever I need a quick/cute/simple gift idea, I'm once again clueless. I also love little crafty projects, so I'm going to file these things in this binder, too. I'm thinking I'll organize this binder by season/holiday...what do you think??

Anyway...the weird thing is that I honestly planned on writing about this today or tomorrow (before I forgot!), and I found this post TODAY!! FABULOUS! Someone must have read my mind!! They even give you a PDF of pretty labels to print out for your organizing...who could ask for more? [Remember I love labels. So much so that Santa brought me a label-maker for Christmas one year!] Their idea is to organize into file folders, but I can assure you that I do. not. file. Shocker - I know. The label-making, organizing freak can't bring herself to file. I like my binder idea, personally.

Hope this inspires you, too!! Binder or files, whatever floats your boat!

Oh and if you want to make a really simple Family Tree, with just your grandparents, parents, and your family, check out this on Martha Stewart's website. You can download a super-cute pdf for a tree and the labels. Here's the tree and the labels.

Other "projects" I have going...

Most are projects around the house. I made a list of our rooms and what needs to be done in each room - from cleaning to fixin'-up. That way, whenever we do have time to work on a project, we'll know right where to start.

I feel productive already, just from writing about it! ha!

The Big 2-7!

2010-01-11T09:56:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday, Andrew!! Today's his 27th birthday. I keep reminding him how old he's getting...

Reasons I love him:

He's an amazing husband.
He's my best friend.
He loves Jesus.
He's hilarious.
He's super cute.
He comes from a wonderful family and background.
He's such a hard worker.
He provides for our family.
He's smart and creative.
He puts up with me :-)

Happy Birthday!!

At least it wasn't MS for once

2010-01-10T13:07:00.000-06:00

Really, Alabama?

I found out this morning that the BCS trophy is now on display at 2 local Wal-mart stores in Tuscaloosa. Read the story here. I think it's hilarious and shows off true Alabama "class."

I'm just glad it wasn't us for once. Thanks, Alabama!

Also found out that they are erecting a statue of Nick Saban now. As if his ego wasn't big enough already. Apparently the Alabama rule is that you get a statue if you win a national championship. I guess the 1/2 million dollars bonus wasn't enough.

Ok, one more Alabama headliner for you...probably the best yet.

The Texas Motor Speedway and the Talledega Superspeedway had a little bet going over the BCS game. The deal was that the loser would fly the other one's flag for a week. But the best line out of the whole story:

"Also, Talladega will receive a shipment of Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse beef brisket."

That was really sweet of Texas to throw in the brisket, too, don't you think??

Ok, one more...

There's an "underground" singer/songwriter out there, Carter Hamric. Maybe you've heard of him, but I haven't. He just recently recorded a song creatively titled, Roll Tide Roll. It became a big hit this December. His next song to-be-released?? It's called Facebook Her. This kid's a genius.

Alright, enough ragging on Alabama.

I need to go finish this weekend's project: Taking down and packing up the Christmas decorations. Ugh. I'm sure most of you did this weeks ago, but I am lazy. I actually keep mine up through January 7th, which is Christmas Day in Egypt. [If you're interested, that link has in-depth info on Christmas in Egypt based on the Coptic Church (a Christian church in a very predominately Muslim country)]. So I use it as an excuse to allow myself to keep everything out until then!

2010 Resolutions

2010-01-04T22:00:00.001-06:00

Some are serious but more are silly. I've honestly never made real resolutions. They've been things like "exercise more" (which is still on the list...I think it's a rule or something that it must be included in resolutions). This year I tried to pick realistic goals. The hubs and I made some together, too.

1. Learn to love lipstick. I've never been one to wear lipstick. I've always loved the idea of it, but with my ~~red~~ auburn hair, it is SO difficult to pick a good color!! what a crisis! I've already started on this new habit...so far so good. I started with some drugstore finds, and just bought one at Sephora for a Christmas happy (even though it's more of a gloss).

2. Cook more. Cook better. Andrew and I eat at home a lot, but we don't cook nearly as much as we'd both like to and actually enjoy doing. Eating at home is different than cooking at home. We've done really well with eating at home to keep with in our budget. I even make both of our lunches each day :-) BUT we are going to try to have less frozen, more fresh food. More vegies and more fruit. Summer is sooo nice because Dr. Ross grows ~~a little~~ a lot of everything you can imagine! We both love to cook, too, which is also nice. Andrew is quite the chef. He makes up all of his mouth-watering creations...I am a recipe-follower. We make a good team. We've already been off to a good start. Last night we had fancy chicken breasts and a fancy salad, thanks to Andrew. Tonight I came home to fresh salmon, green beans, carrots, and potato wedges. He's sooo sweet to cook!

3. Study the New Testament. Andrew and I are going to study the New Testament together this year. Start to finish. We've both read it several times, but we want to read it together now :-) and really study it and take our time in it. I feel like so many times I've rushed through quiet times just to check 'em off the list. We both felt like this was a very do-able goal without being on a time-table or checklist, because that's not what it's about anyway. We've also had a good start to this goal, too - we started over breakfast and coffee this morning.
[Side Note:] I'm in a girls Bible study at Dental school with 2 precious teachers that lead it. One of them gave us this book for a little Christmas happy. I'm in love with it! It was on sale at Lifeway for $5...and if it is - go get it! It is written like Jesus is talking to you. Just a short and sweet note from Him everyday - and of course it's always JUST what you needed to hear that day.

4. Exercise More. Shouldn't be hard considering I do nothing now. Anything will be an improvement. Seriously. I just need to go on a walk. or something. In past resolutions, I've said I'm going to run a half marathon. And I'd still love to do that, but let's be realistic. Let me be clear that I am not exercising to lose weight - I just want that energy and I really want to tone/firm up - I just want to be healthy. I feel so much better all around when I workout. Plus I also want Izzy to get good on her leash - she still freaks out a little at first. Here are the problems with this resolution: it's too cold and it's too dark to go outside, but we have zero room inside for a piece of workout equipment or for a video workout. YET, despite these problems, I have started a little "strength" routine. I put two little 2lb-weights on my nightstand and I've been doing a few rounds of arm exercises before I go to bed. You gotta start somewhere, right?

5. Take out my contacts every day. Wear my glasses more often. I've always struggled with this. Silly, I know, but I really am going to do this! I've been blind all my life and I hate waking up and not being able to see. Since Lasik surgery is not a legit option due to budget constraints (this is my dream one day!), I must do better about this. Again, so far, so good. I've been successful since Dec. 30!

I'm sure I have more that I've already forgotten. It's like my perpetual to-do list.

I'm such a nerd.

2010-01-02T00:02:00.000-06:00

I'm sure that doesn't come as a surprise to most of you! Dr. Ross and I have started a little "project" - the Ross Family tree. I'm also doing one with my parents for the Hogan Family tree. Let me tell you we have some LARGE families! My mother is 1 of 9. Dr. Ross is 1 of 6 boys. Mrs. Ross is 1 of 6. Grandfather Hogan is 1 of 10....the list goes on and on!

I wanted to do this because both families have such rich histories. Plus I wanted to see all of these names I hear rambled off all the time in writing! Both families have some very interesting names, too :-)

The furthest I was able to go back to [so far] was on Grandmother Hogan's side. We went back to her grandparents! This is the French family. For those of you that haven't had the pleasure of meeting my grandmother, Georgette, you are missing out. She is a hoot. [My other grandparents passed away before I was born, and the same goes for all of Andrew's grandparents - so she is very special to both of us.] Georgette Louise Marinette Loques is from Provence, France. She met my grandfather, Elroy Dallas Hogan during WWII when he was stationed in Marseille, France with the US Air Force. She's the epitome of a war bride. My middle name Monique is her sister. I think it has a better ring to it than Georgette. [but...during all of this "research" we found out there is a Georgette somewhere on the Ross side, too!] My dad's middle name Baptistin is her father's name. My grandfather Elroy's grandfather came to America from Ireland...so that's where the Irish comes in. My maternal grandmother Amelia's grandmother is a Native American...but we can't figure out how to spell her name (ha!). And Amelia is my sister's middle name.

On Andrew's side of things, I loved hearing everyone's names. Andrew and Peter were both born in Egypt, and both of his parents' families are from Egypt and all still live there. The "naming" tradition in Egypt is for the boys to have their father's first name as their middle name. For example, Andrew Samir Ross and Peter Samir Ross' father is Samir (Anis) Ross, and Samir's father is Anis (Samuel) Ross...and you get the idea. So it's easy to figure out who belongs to whom. Another new fact is that when girls marry, they don't change their name. Also, all of their family names are Christian names (very different from the Muslim names), but some are "English" versions of the name, and others are the "Arabic" versions of the name. Andrew's parents are Samir Anis Ross and Mervat Hakim Gergis. His grandparents are Anis Samuel Ross + Linda Ewada Shehata and Hakim Gergis + Celia Abass.

I can't wait to take a trip to Egypt. The Ross' are going in March and I am soooo jealous. We hope to go whenver I graduate [1 year, 4 months, 19 days remaining, but who's counting?]. In fact our conversation over dinner tonight revolved around riding camels. Seriously. Neither one of Andrew's parents have ever ridden one - Mrs. Ross says she's too scared! It's also funny to think that they've never seen a lot of the "touristy" things in Egypt. They were comparing it to the fact that I've never been to California, never seen the Grand Canyon or Mount Rushmore, and so on but I've lived in the US my entire life. So there's still a lot of things they want to see in Egypt, too. Plus they still have a house there, which is another perk! And an uncle with a house right outside of Alexandria overlooking the Nile River. Yes.

Now I've successfully bored you out of your mind...I apologize!

Cute Cousins

2010-01-01T12:33:00.000-06:00

My adorable cousins in Florida win the award for the most hilarious Christmas tradition. Each year they make a new video of singing Christmas songs. Here's this year's video - it's a traditional Silent Night and then followed up with a Rudolph rap....too cute!!

Our Christmas Card

2009-12-28T14:28:00.001-06:00

Here's a copy of our Christmas card that I made this year:

I did these on my computer just like I did our Save-the-Date for our wedding. I still have a few to mail out. Oops. At least they say "happy new year" on them, right?

Not quite as planned, but still great!

2009-12-28T13:29:00.000-06:00

We had an "eventful" Christmas this year, you could say. It started off wonderfully...

Tuesday Andrew and I celebrated our Christmas. We exchanged presents and then had dinner at CHAR. yum! I received a beautiful smokey topaz and diamond ring (matches the necklace he gave me for my birthday the week before!). I gave Andrew a new leather study Bible and a robe and photo calendar. I give him a photo calender every year, even though this is only our second Christmas, haha! I gave him the Bible because he didn't have a study one, and because I wanted to give him something special and sentimental for our first Christmas. I still need to write on the inside, though, so I need to come up with something creative for that. I must say, my husband is quite the gift giver - always surprising me and always out-doing me!

Wednesday, Peter & Darcy, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, came through Jackson to spend the night with us on their way to the coast to spend time with Darcy's family. We met up for dinner and then enjoyed hanging out at our house afterward. I love Peter and Darcy. I really couldn't ask for more from in-laws. They are so much fun and are so welcoming.

Fast-forward until 1:45 am Thursday morning, when I started throwing-up every 30 minutes on. the. dot. Yep, the stomach bug had arrived on Christmas Eve morning. Our plan was to get up, pack for all 4 days, and go over to my parents' house Christmas Eve morning, hang out all day, and spend the night over there. Needless to say, this plan did not work. My 30 minute intervals eventually morphed into 1 hour intervals and then finally stopped around 1 pm. I was so tired and worn out and still feeling sick. Thankfully, I had my sweet husband taking wonderful care of me! He also packed our entire car. And by that I mean, his entire Tahoe was full, the only seats being the front 2. We finally got over to my parents around 2:30, and I immediately assumed my position for the next 8 hours on their couch. At my parents' house, we always have our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, so I was sad I missed out on that.

BUT, I did feel much better Christmas morning! I really, truly love spending the night at my parents' house Christmas Eve and waking up there Christmas morning. We had a blast opening presents and stockings and laughing a lot. The Hogan family also always goes to see a movie on Christmas Day after lunch and present-opening. This year we saw "Did you hear about the Morgans?" and it was so cute! Afterward we packed back up and headed to Oxford.

I love going to Oxford during Christmas, too. I feel like I got let in on a little secret world because all of the students are gone, and it's just simple and beautiful and quiet and slow. That's the Oxford I love, and that's why I can't wait to live there soon! We had Christmas dinner at the Ross' on Christmas night and just had fun hanging out with Andrew's parents. They are such a sweet couple and are so loving - I am so lucky to have them as my in-laws!

Peter and Darcy were still on the coast, so Saturday we headed over to Tupelo for a little shopping and being lazy at the house. My favorite.

After I finally started eating a little better on Saturday, I woke up with PINK-EYE on Sunday. Seriously? I felt like I was falling apart! haha! Of course, I wasn't really thinking straight when I was packing on Thursday (thanks to the stomach bug) and conveniently left my glasses at home. I had to spend the rest of the day with only one contact in. ugh. Peter and Darcy came in around lunchtime, so we ate and started opening Round 2 of presents! It was so much fun! We were sad to leave!

Now after the stomach bug and pink eye, I can't help but wonder what's next?!?

Does anyone have New Year's Eve plans??

Mr. and Mrs. Werner

2009-12-21T19:22:00.000-06:00

This weekend we had a blast at Megan McKibben & Patrick Werner's wedding! Thursday I headed over to Birmingham to begin the festivities with Megan, Ali, Erin, Megan Sellers, and Susan. We had lots to celebrate at dinner Thursday night: Megan & Patrick's wedding, Ali's engagement, Sarah's anniversary, and my birthday :-)

Friday we had the bridesmaids luncheon at the cutest little tea room, and then we had the Rehearsal dinner at Vulcan Park. It was so much fun - barbeque and cowboy boots. Plus, Megan's mom's band played! This venue was perfect and overlooked the entire city, all lit-up at night.

Saturday, was the wedding, obviously. M & P got married at Trinity Methodist, which is amazingly beautiful, especially at Christmastime.

Here is a pick with the stunning bride. Her wedding dress color was called something like champagne ivory rum, which sounds DELICIOUS to me! haha

She is the best friend a girl could ever ask for. She's the best listener, always understands and knows exactly what I'm talking about, and can always make me laugh. I am so incredibly happy for her and her new husband, whose birthday is TODAY - Happy Birthday, Patrick!!

I wish I had more pictures to share, but the bulk of the pics are on my dad's camera. Guess that'll be a good project when we are hanging out over there this week.

Also. I made (yes, hand-made) stockings for my [new] family this year: me, Andrew, and Izzy. With ~~some~~ a lot of guidance from my mom, I did it! They turned out sooo cute, and of course I made a very easy "tutorial" for all of you, but of course the pictures are again on my dad's camera and I have yet to obtain them. I guess it'll be a little late to make them this year, but I'll try to post it anyway.

I've been in a mad rush to write my wedding thank-you notes because I'm including our Christmas card inside, too! Send me your address if you want a Christmas card, too :-)

Christmas, Corndogs, and Snow

2009-12-08T12:14:00.005-06:00

I finally took some pictures of our Christmas tree! I'm sure you've been holding your breath in anticipation…

But first, I came across a few other pictures I wanted to share.

I know it was a few weeks ago, but here are some pics from the Ole Miss-LSU game.

Here's Andrew and me:

The Ross' + Jeffrey:

The Hogan Family at the game:

One of the most hilarious Ole Miss fans:

Now here's one of my Izzy girl. She wanted to go to school with me the other day, so she hoped in one of my bags! [Andrew put her in there, of course.]

Here's Izzy checking out the snow from last Friday…"Mom, my feet are COLD. How much longer do I have to stand here for you to take my picture??"

Now here she is in her finest form…she thinks she rules our house.

And here's proof that she does. Hanging out with her daddy, watching football while I studied:

OK so, here's the grand finale of today's parade of pictures. Drum roll, please…

OUR FIRST TREE!!

[Side Note #1] I have always had a real tree, but Andrew already had this lovely (yet, massive) tree. Our deal was that we'd use it for this year and next year (our last Christmas' in this house *tear*), and then we could start getting real trees whenever we are in our next house.

[Side Note #2] I am mostly a fan of white lights on Christmas trees. I just like the white ones. BUT with that being said, I also really love a fat frazier fir with multi-colored lights and all handmade/super-random ornaments. One day I want to have a "proper" Christmas tree in the living room and a "fun" tree in the kitchen or den or whatever. So, needless to say - my tree obviously does not fall into either category, I know. Want to know my secret?? I wrapped the entire tree in white lights (3 or 4 strands). Then I found these awesome (If I may say so myself) colored lights that are ONLY red/purple-pink/gold, so they add a "warm glow" without the blue and green lights. SO...then wrap 1-2 strands of the "warm" colored lights throughout the tree. Now, you have a very "blended" look and the best of both worlds!! I love this idea/look so I hope you do, too.

[Side Note #3] Yes, we do have a topper. A star, I think. We just haven't come across it yet! haha.

Here are some of my our favorite ornaments.

This one is from our Honeymoon @ Disney World!!

This is the first one I've given Andrew. My friend Sarah gave me the idea for this new "ornament tradition." She surprises her husband, Joe, with a new one each year. It has Andrew and me and Izzy (of course) on there since it is "Our first Christmas" for all 3 of us!

Here are some close-ups from other random parts of the tree:

And here's our mantle…

I also have lots of Christmas decorations spread throughout the house, too. It's safe to say we're obsessed. Here's my new reindeer that I got at Mistletoe this year (along with our engagement pic! … can you believe that was almost a YEAR ago?!?).

And last but not least, here's the two of us before we went to the UMC Claus Ball.

I have my LAST final tomorrow!! woo hoo! We have a written test at 8, and then a "lab" test right afterward, which consists of doing periodontal surgeries on PIG jaws!!

Are we there yet?

2009-12-05T18:48:00.000-06:00

I am soooo unbelievably ready for a break in school. Last week, I had a test on Monday and a final on Friday. This coming up week, I've got a final on Monday and a final on Wednesday. I just keep reminding myself to take it one day at a time and just get to Wednesday. I won't be finished with school, but I'll be finished with class and exams until the 18th.

To make matters worse, I'm having to miss one of my bestie's bachelorette party! The party is in Nashville, one of my favorite places. Megan is getting married December 19 - one year exactly from when we got engaged! The special thing is Megan and Patrick got engaged the very next night!! It has been so special and fun to go through an engagement with a best friend. Andrew and I can't wait for them to tie the knot in Birmingham in TWO weeks!

It really does suck to be in my TWENTIETH year of school (kindergarden to now). I'm so glad I'm not doing a residency - I don't think I could bear to surpass my 21-year-limit of schooling. I'm going to draw the line.

Last night we had a UMC Christmas Party, the Claus Ball. It was at the MS Museum of Art downtown and was so much fun! Plus, it snowed!! Which is a rareity in MS, especially in December.

Still on the to-do list: download and post pictures of our Christmas tree and pictures from last night. Stay tuned!

Honestly Alison

2009-12-03T15:44:00.002-06:00

My friend, Sarah Denley, gave me a blog award, "Honest Scrap." I love the idea! She and I went to high school together, and I've known her husband and his family all my life it seems like. They are such a fun, young couple, with a super-cute little girl! I am so impressed by her honesty in parenting and love reading her blog.

Rules for the award:

1. Must thank the person who gave you the award and list their blog and link it.

2. Share "10 Honest things" about yourself.

3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.

4. Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

My 10 Honest Things:

I have never ever been more honest with anyone than my husband, Andrew. I married my best friend in the whole wide world. We made a pact from the very beginning of our relationship that we would always be honest, no matter how hard it would sometimes be. We were totally cliché and fell in love at first sight. We met in February of 2008, officially started dating in March 2008, got engaged in December 2008, and married August 2009. Whew!
I am obsessed with our dog, Izzy. I'm pretty sure it's unhealthy. She's a solid black rat terrier, so she's unique in her own! She's such a snuggler and sleeps right between us at night. Andrew bought her for my Valentine's present last year, and she just had her birthday – Dec. 1! She's also the ONLY grandchild on both sides of the family, so it's safe to say they spoil her, too.
I have a love-hate relationship with dental school. I honestly have never been more frustrated or challenged in my life, but I love working with patients and being in the clinic. I am trying to absorb and learn as much as I can, check off all these requirements, and treat my patients' overall health. I have a wide range of patients: young, old, poor, rich, sane, crazy… but it's safe to say I never have a boring day.
I love my (potential) job and "almost" being a dentist. I really love the field of dentistry and am excited to see how it takes me through life. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with my husband (also a dentist) and to be able to raise a family. I am so fortunate that I will have the opportunity to work because I want to and not because I have to. Once we start a family, I'd ideally like to work a 9-2 day or something like that so I could take the kids to school and pick them up. I'm greedy and want the best of both worlds – a working momma and a stay-at-home momma!
I can't wait to see what our kids will look like! Haha! They'll be ½ Egyptian, 1/8 French, and 1/32 Irish. What a combo!! I love our families' rich heritages. My grandmother and grandfather met on Christmas Eve during WW2 when he was in the US Air Force stationed in southern France, where my grandmother is from. Andrew was born in Egypt, and he and his parents moved to the US when he was a baby. I want our house to be surrounded by different languages – my Grandmother and I can speak French, Andrew can speak Arabic (and a little Spanish), and my father-in-law can speak Arabic and Russian (and I'm pretty sure some other ones, too!).
I am a HUGE procrastinator. Now, I know this may come as a shock to many of you, but I really am. As in right now, I supposed to be in the library studying since my patients' cancelled for this afternoon, but instead I'm blogging. Typical. It has been very hard to study at home since we've been married.
I have no idea what size I am – in anything! Shoes, pants, dresses, tops, t-shirt, bras – you name it, no idea. I can give you a "range" but no definite size. I know some people find it frustrating when trying to shop for me, but hey, so do I! I absolutely love shoes, but hate shoe shopping because I can never find shoes small enough (i.e. ranging from 5.0-6.5).
I wish I could do college all over again, I loved it so much!! But this (hypothetical) time around, I would have more fun and not worry as much. Andrew and I both went to Ole Miss (2 years apart), but we never met until dental school, even though we have several mutual friends. I always wonder how many times we walked past each other in the Circle going to and from class, never knowing that was the man I would marry. Part of me wishes we did know each other in college and could have gone to games together, date parties, swaps, and so on. But the Lord had it all planned out, and He knew we probably weren't ready to meet each other at that time. I'm thankful we don't have a complicated history, no break-ups, no drama. Still would've been fun though :-)
Ok so this is more of a confession, but I haven't written any thank-you notes since our wedding. I am such an awful person!! It really has nothing to do with #6, but more with #3. I have no free time, and now the task is so completely overwhelming! I feel guilty for not writing them yet. It is definitely my "Christmas project." Along with officially moving all of my crap out of my parents' house.
I really need to work-out. I'm really not concerned with my weight (even though my favorite pair of jeans don't zip right now), but I really feel like I need to get that "healthy energy" back and my endurance. Somehow I've convinced myself that walking to and from the stadium parking lot to school every day is a "workout." Not true, except for when I'm running really late and have to book it. But at least I don't take the shuttle, right? The problem is I just can't wake up any earlier than I already do. In fact, the alarm time has been creeping back later and later every day. When I get home, I'm completely exhausted and it's DARK outside. A lot of times my solution is to just put on my workout clothes, and quite often, just the act of putting on workout clothes makes me feel better, like I've accomplished something even though all I did was change my clothes (and not workout). Andrew's friend Frazier always called me out on this… "Did you work out? Or just pretend?"

I am passing the award on to:
Amber
Elizabeth
Jocelyn
Marci
Mary Margaret
Jillian

I don't know if they'll all do it, but sure will be fun to see the results!

I gave in.

2009-11-18T10:25:00.002-06:00

Andrew has been dying to put up our Christmas tree, really since before Halloween. I said no, of course. I am a firm believer in waiting until after Thanksgiving, even if it's the day after. I finally gave in though and let him pull the tree out. He was so excited that he even put on Christmas carols, but me, being the scrooge that I am, said that the tree was enough, Christmas carols were simply crossing the line. Naturally he resorted to old school rap songs instead. I think it's going to be a new tradition in our house. We got hungry and didn't finish decorating, so we just have a naked tree for now. I'll post a pic whenever we get around to actually decorating it!

We are both obsessed with Christmas, so it's very exciting to spend our first Christmas together. P.S. don't forget it's Izzy's first Christmas, too. And...her birthday is coming up :-) Dec. 1st.

On another note, I simply have the best husband ever. He knew I had a hard day yesterday and had to stay as school late to finish up some lab work. When I came home, he had dinner ready and out on the table, along with a fresh bouquet of roses arranged perfectly in our pretty McCarty pitcher. And he had Izzy in a sweater (so freakin' cute). That was the icing on the cake! I love him.

Halloween and Chimichangas

2009-11-04T18:14:00.003-06:00

If you've already stalked us on Facebook, then you already know. But if you haven't, I thought I'd show you some pictures from Halloween! Andrew was "Where's Waldo," I was Dorothy from The Wizzard of Oz, and Izzy was Toto :-)

Family Pic:

Dorothy & Toto:
He's obsessed.
Funny for the Day: We bought ourselves an early Christmas present - a chiminea. It looks perfect on our new deck outside! Andrew either doesn't like calling it a chiminea or can't remember the name for it so he lovingly calls it our "chimichanga" (which is his favorite Mexican dish of all times).

Doctor-Patient Relationship

2009-10-30T10:52:00.002-05:00

Andrew lured me to his office on Wednesday. I thought I was going to look at a new puppy that could potentially join our family. When he couldn't get in touch with the lady with the puppy [a good thing because we decided not to get the puppy], he said, "hey, while you're here let me just take a quick x-ray of your wisdom tooth." Now, I've been wanting him to take one of my wisdom teeth out, but I just didn't expect so soon! So, he took the x-ray, and then decided to go ahead and do it that day! Yikes! The good thing was I didn't have any time to worry and freak out about it. He was soooo good! It definitely gave me such a great new perspective on what my patients are feeling. But I was up and going the next day just fine! He's such a great dentist!!

Wish List

2009-10-28T08:49:00.002-05:00

Now's the time when everyone starts asking you what you want for Christmas. Since Andrew and I just got married in August, I feel like we have more that everything that we could need or want. Especially in the kitchen department. [Finally got a Kitchenaid mixer!!] Andrew and I are having a hard time thinking of stuff that we want. Of course, I'm always game for some new clothes, but we hardly have any room for necessities in our closet now, so (a) we don't have room more more clothes and (b) it's hard to ask for clothes unless you pick them out with the "buyer" there and then there's no surprise. I want a Shark steam mop [haha!] but Andrew says I can't ask for that for Christmas. I'd also like Snow White on DVD, but that's about as far as I've gotten with my wish list.

Another problem is that my birthday is December 15, and Andrew's birthday is January 11. Two weeks before and after Christmas. So we need more ideas. [Side Note: Christmas in Egypt is Jan 7th, so technically we both have Christmas birthdays...and it's ok to leave your tree up that long because it's Christmas somewhere!] Plus we do Christmas in Jackson and Christmas in Oxford, so we try to give each other 2 presents, one to open each place.

Speaking of the Christmas tree. We almost put our tree up the other night. I am a firm believer that trees shouldn't go up until after Thanksgiving, but for sure after Halloween. Andrew put up a hard fight, though, so we went ahead and rearranged the living room in preparation, but told him he'd have to wait on the tree. Also, "our" tree [i.e. Andrew's tree] is way too big for our ceilings/house etc. I think it looks hilarious. I have always grown up with a real Christmas tree, but I figured we could get 2 more years of use out of this one while we're still in this house. Then we're going to transition to real trees. We are both seriously in love with Christmas-time.

Sorry for all the rambling today, but the real question comes down to what in the world are YOU asking for Christmas?

Disclaimer: I know Christmas is not all about gifts. But when I told that to Mrs. Ross, she said "Well, when I was your age, I loved gifts, so I'm going to buy you gifts, so what do you want?" haha...love that lady!!

We're no longer together.

2009-10-23T09:05:00.007-05:00

...For Halloween, that is. We've been racking our brains for Halloween costume ideas. I think I've only purchased a costume maybe once or twice in my life. I'm all about homemade. [Thanks, mom!] However this year presented a few problems for making homemade costumes: (a) no time and (b) no creativity.

So, Andrew and I met at Party City yesterday on the way home from work/school. There is literally a wall of costumes...way too many. Of course, the first ten or so we picked out were out of stock. What a quandry! We finally decided it was okay if we didn't have a "couple" costume - hence, why we're not "together" this year for Halloween.

You'll have to wait for the final results on our costume picks... I'll give you a hint, though. They are both classic characters, involve red, white, and blue, and mine involves Izzy, too! I guess that's technically three hints, so consider it your lucky day.

We're headed to Oxford this weekend for the Ole Miss-Arkansas game! We are both looking forward to seeing lots of friends and family. We'll be missing Dr. Ross, though, considering he's all the way in Kazakhstan. I'm am so impressed with my father-in-law. He's teaching a 40 hour course in 10 days over there!! You may be thinking, (a) is this a real place? or (b) where in the world is that? so here's a little I found out about it.

9th largest country in the world
largest "land-locked" country in the world
borders Russia and China (and some other places I've never heard of before, namely, some more "stan" countries)
very diverse terrain: flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. (yes, I'll agree, pretty diverse....and I'll bet you haven't heard of a steppe or a taiga since elementary school!)