New Hobbies

I have always wished I could be more creative and artsy. Over the past month or two I have been spending a lot of time on my new favorite website, Pinterest. I really love it because it has no many ideas for things from crafts to recipes. It is amazing! Naturally I am drawn to the recipe ones with cute cupcakes, cookies, and cakes, but in an effort to eat healthier I have tried to resist the urge to get in the kitchen and try them. So, I have decided to try some craft ideas which are much less fattening! I started with something fairly easy and inexpensive, and I am so happy about how it turned out! It was so fun to make! Here is the finished project:



My second new hobby is spending time on my new iphone! I have been putting off getting one for a couple of years now, but I finally decided to jump in when my blackberry started to fall apart, literally. I got it in the mail last Friday and I am sad to say I can no longer make fun of Peter for how much time he spends playing on the crazy thing! It is so smart and I am amazed at the new voice technology and million other capabilities. Just hope I don't drop it! :)



Hope everyone has a great week!

Everyone needs a laugh sometimes....

Top ten reasons to become a nurse:

1) Pays better then fast food, though the hours aren't as good.
2) Fashionable shoes and sexy uniforms.
3) Needles: "Tis better to give than receive"
4) Reassure your patients that all bleeding stops...eventually.
5) Expose yourself to rare, exciting and new diseases.
6) Interesting aromas.
7) Courteous and infallible doctors who always leave clear orders in perfectly legible
handwriting.
8) Do enough charting to navigate around the world.
9) Celebrate all the holidays with your friends- at work.
10) Take comfort that most of your patients survive no matter what you do to them.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Monkeying Around

A couple of weekends ago Peter and I went to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. It was beautiful! It was so very hot that day, but it was worth it. It was so nice to go down to New Orleans for the day and spend some time together. I sure do love having all of my weekends off!



It was so hot that most of the animals were sleeping in the shade.


I loved the gorilla! He was so big!

This little guy was our favorite. I think he was putting on a show for us!

A Day In The Life.....

I went to the grocery store Sunday and bought a half gallon of milk along with several other bags of groceries. Peter and I unloaded the trunk of my car and put the groceries in their places. On Monday night, Peter was planning to drink a glass of milk but could not find it in the refrigerator. We quickly concluded that I forgot the bag at the store or the milk had spent an entire day in the trunk of my car in the blistering heat of Baton Rouge. For those of you who do not live in south Louisiana, it gets ridiculously hot during a day at the end of May. Peter ran out to the car and returned with the milk in hand. So, I quickly said, I'll give you five bucks if you smell that." Without missing a beat, he responds "I'll do it for a 2 hour back massage." Of course, I did not accept because I knew I would be the one to clean up the vomit and give him a 2 hour back massage! Boys are so gross!

Movie Review

I first read this book a couple of years ago and loved it! I kept thinking as I was reading that they should make a movie of it. So, when I saw the trailer for the movie a couple of weeks ago, I was super excited. I read the book again last week so it would be fresh on my mind when I saw the movie. I like to pick out differences between the book and movie. I completely understand it is impossible to include all of the book's details in a movie, but I am always a tad disappointed in some of the changes.
Peter and I went to the theatre today to see the much anticipated movie (anticipated by me, not Peter), and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it! There were a couple of big changes in the story line, but most of the good parts in the book remained intact! So, both the book and movie get two thumbs up from me, whatever that is worth!
This week I am looking forward to starting Emily Giffin's new book The Heart of the Matter. Peter gave it to me for my birthday and I can't wait to get started on it. Something Borrowed was the first of her novels and this one is her fifth. I have read all of them in between and have really enjoyed them all, so I hope this one will be just as entertaining. I will let you know how it turns out. In the meantime, go to the movies and see Something Borrowed!

A Beautiful April

It is hard to believe April has already come and gone! Time has really been flying by! Peter is finishing up his first year of graduate school and I am wrapping up two months of my new job. I am so proud of Peter for doing so well in his first year. He even made the LSU home page (http://www.lsu.edu/departments/gold/2011/05/cxc.shtml). I am sad to say that I have turned another year older. I had an absolutely amazing birthday, though! My wonderful husband continues to amaze me with how sweet he is to me. I am so blessed to have such a fantastic spouse!
Mr. Ken and Mrs. Julia came for a visit a couple of weekends ago. We had a great visit. They brought me a delicious chocolate birthday cake! We always enjoy spending time with them, no matter how long or short the visit. We are looking forward to seeing them again in a couple of weeks!
Last weekend we were able to go to Natchez for Easter. All of our family was together for the first time since Thanksgiving! It was great! Uncle Greg, Aunt Katie, and Katie Beth were able to be there too! It was great to take part in family Easter traditions we have had for so long.

Happy Birthday

My wonderful daddy celebrated a birthday last friday! Peter and I were able to take a quick trip down to Natchez to surprise him on Friday. We had a wonderful homemade dinner with dad, mom, and my grandparents. It was so good to see them, even if it was for less than 24 hours! Happy birthday, daddy! Thank you for being the best dad a girl could ask for!



Mom, Laura, Brandon, Rachel, and Peter and I gave daddy an ipad2 for his birthday! I think he was surprised!

Inspiration

Wow.......it has been a very long time since I have posted! Recently my younger sister, Rachel, started a blog (rayholloway.blogspot.com) and she inspired me to keep up with ours again. So, here is my second shot at keeping up our blog!

A lot has happened in our lives over the past two years! I am not going to attempt to summarize everything, so I will just fast-track to what is going on now. Last August, Peter and I sold our house in Madison and moved to Baton Rouge. Peter is in the process of getting his Masters of Landscape Architecture degree at LSU. I am so proud of him for all of the hard work he is doing in school. Last semester he had a 4.0 GPA, and I am sure he will be so embarrassed that I shared that! He will graduate in May 2012, so we are almost half-way there! He was awarded with an assistantship, which means he is a research assistant to one of his professors. He is a very busy boy!
I spent last semester traveling back and forth to Jackson to continue my job at UMC. It was very hard to stay away from Pete for long periods of time, but we did it so I could be vested in the state retirement system. We hope it will be worth it when we are older. February 2 was my last day at UMC. I was so very sad to leave all of my friends and the sweet babies in the NICU, but I am happy to be down in Baton Rouge with Peter full time. I just accepted a position in the day surgery center at Our Lady of the Lake hospital, and my first day is Monday. That's right, I have had an entire month off work and it has been fabulous! It makes me rethink my occupation; I should have been a teacher!
As for Molly, she is still chasing balls and squirrels, trying to get used to apartment living! She is sleeping soundly on the couch beside me dreaming of yellow tennis balls now. Here are several pictures from the last two years.


In August 2009, Peter and I went to Savannah, GA for a little vacation. It was beautiful!


In March 2010, we lost our sweet Pappaw Hammack to cancer. He was such a wonderful grandfather and we miss him so very much! Peter and I are so blessed to have amazing grandparents.


Peter's brother, Zack, got married to Laura on April 24, 2010. We love our new wonderful sister-in-law!


Rachel graduated high school May 2010, and she is at Mississippi State now! We are so proud of her!



In June, Mom, Rachel, Laura and I went to Destin for a few days! It was so much fun! We were just a tad sunburned!


In July, one of my very best friends got married! It was a beautiful wedding!



Our first home was so good to us!


Mardi Gras in Fairhope last weekend!


These sweet nephews of ours are growing like crazy!


Last, but not least, just because we are in Baton Rouge and Peter is a LSU student it does NOT mean we are LSU fans! Go Mississippi State!