MUST WIN!

Check out how cute this is! My Aunt Keke made it as part of a give-a-way on her blog, Cherrykingdom.blogspot.com 

 The give-a-way is a 14 day extravaganza with more prizes added daily! The goal is to help my sister Olivia win scholarship money for college by having people vote for an essay that she wrote. All you have to do to win this beautiful prize pkg is visit Olivia's blog:

http://livinthemomentphotography.blogspot.com/

Read and follow the instructions in Olivia's 100th post. Which are:

Like Olivia's essay on facebook

Leave Olivia a comment on her 100th post telling her you voted for her.

Become a "Liv in the Moment" follower

Mention the give away on your blog.

That's it! Good luck, and keep checking cherrykingdom.blogspot.com everyday to see what new goodies have been added!

Phlebotomy

Yesterday was my first venipuncture! Hurray!

I am currently in a program that will train and certify me to work as a phlebotomist. I thought this would be a good thing to do while I am waiting for my nursing program to start and while I am in the program. Next week is my last week of classes but I still have a little ways to go. I need to get 25 successful venipunctures(using my own volunteers), go on an internship and sit for my national licensing exam. I am feeling a little bit intimidated. 25 draws seems like a lot to complete, but the only way to get the ball rolling is to start.

My teacher surprised us by letting us draw on our classmates yesterday after lecture. I was feeling a little bit nervous, but for the most part OK. I put on my lab coat, said a quick prayer, then walked up and started "doing my thing". I avoided making simple errors, my voice was steady and my hands weren't shaking to bad. I needed my professor to check the vein I picked because my volunteer had really deep veins that were hard to locate. She approved of the vein I had picked and so I prepped my needle.

I was doing fine, the needle went in quite smoothly, and I hit the vein. Everything was going great. Then I realized that there was a needle in this woman's arm and I had just put it there. I didn't lose it but I looked down and my knees were shaking like crazy! My volunteer noticing the change started saying things like "You are doing great! It doesn't hurt at all. Nope doesn't hurt you are doing a wonderful job..." which helped immensely! I finished up my draw, thanked my volunteer, found a seat and took a DEEP breath.

My Professor came over later and told me that I should be very proud of myself. My technique was perfect, except I needed to steady my hands a bit, and she said that it was a very difficult vein even for an advanced phlebotomist and that I had done well. She also said that it was funny to watch because as soon as I put the needle in my knees started shaking so much that I looked like a baby duck trying to learn to swim!

Thinking of Megan

Poptarts....

If I ate nothing but Poptarts, uncooked Ramen noodles, Coke, and Sobe strawberry daiquiri drinks for the rest of my life I wouldn't be sad....

Friday Night Dinner:Chicken Cordon Bleu!

I am learning to cook.

I have been wanting to learn how to cook for awhile now but after a few miserable attempts (Lets just say curdled mushroom soup that tasted like dirt.... YUCK! Poor Ryan still ate it =) ) I was feeling pretty discouraged. However as part of my New Years Resolution (more on that later) I am picking up my apron and trying again.

Friday nights are my cooking nights and this weeks recipe is Chicken Cordon Bleu from myrecipes.com, with brussel sprouts from "The Joy of Cooking" and mashed potatoes.

Emily and Stacy did all of the grocery shopping for me so that I could get started right when I got home from work. Thanks girls!

The recipe told me to pound the chicken with a rolling pin.... It sounded pretty scary but was actually REALLY fun. I might have over pounded it a bit....

Unfortunately my timing isn't the greatest so the mashed potatoes didn't make it but the chicken and brussel sprouts were done right on time!

Mmmmmm.... YUM!

Daddy said the brussel sprouts were the best he had ever tasted! The chicken was great and we even had some sparkling cider and chocolate cake pops for dessert! Yum!

 So my first Friday night cooking attempt was a success! Hurray! I might be single this Valentines day, but with a recipe like this I don't think I will be for long!

"Gentttttttttttleman..."



Colorado....

 Here are some pictures from my trip to Colorado last week. I was originally only going to be able to stay for a short visit but thanks to a massive snowstorm back home I ended up being able to stay much longer! Hurray!

We had a great time visiting Estes Park, hanging out, playing wii, taking the kids to playclass, and visiting Toast...

I had so much fun sorting old baby clothes and "shootin' the shit" with Louise for a couple of hours. We talked and laughed and ooed and ahhed over all of our old favorite outfits. We were so loud that Ryan had thought we were playing wii in the basement!

I also enjoyed the surprise party that Ryan and I threw for Louise. We said we were going "shoe shopping" but really we went out and bought cake, balloons, flowers and presents. We came home hid all of the surprises, helped put the boys to bed and started cooking dinner.

I wasn't quite sure how we were going to set up the party in such a way as to surprise Louise but when a baby started crying Ryan saw his opportunity. "Hey Louise whay don't you go get that boy?" Ryan said. Louise was tired and asked if he would please do it, to which he firmly refused. Louise and I were both pretty surprised by his reaction. Then I realized what he was doing and quickly turned my back so Louise wouldn't see me hiding a giggle. Louise didn't pick up on anything and so upset, went upstairs to check on the boy. We sprang into action in her absence, got everything set and when Louise came down stairs she was so surprised! It was wonderful!

 

Boys are very cute and getting SO big. When they came and picked me up at the airport I greeted the boys with a "Hello Babies!" they smiled and giggled at me and stuck out their fingers for me to kiss them. I also love the way that they shout CAR! CAR! BEEP BEEP! Whenever they see something with wheels. 

 

Ryan and Louise have such a wonderful family and are such great parents. I love them all so much and can't wait to come out for my next visit.