Christmas Stories

Some of my favorite childhood memories are of my mom reading Christmas books to me.  My all time favorites are ones my mom got from her aunt when she was young.  The first is called "The Cajun Night Before Christmas" and the second is a pre-qual called "Gaston, the Green Nosed Alligator."  My mom was the best at reading in a deep Cajun accent.  It was fun to break out the books again this year and hear her read them aloud to me and my now adult sisters and cousins.  We all laughed and poked fun as we snuggled on the couch with our presents.  What a great tradition.  

"Merry Christmas to all, 'till I saw you some 'mo!"

McCulley Family Visit!

Ronnie's family came for an early Christmas celebration the weekend before Christmas.  The time was extra special because Ronnie's sister brought her to adorable children ages two years and two WEEKS.  I was so excited to meet our new nephew and snuggle with him as well as play with our now babbling niece.  Our puppies were especially interested in the children too.  They did great with them and only wished to follow the toddler around and give her kisses (she wasn't too sure about that).  Some of the highlight from their visit included, playing a new game called Logo Party, eating at an authentic Honduran restaurant, attempting to play darts, and watching movies.  It was so great to see everyone and extra special to celebrate Christmas together.  

Zombie Apocalypse Package!

Okay, this is for the zombie lovers out there. I am NOT a zombie lover but my husband and my friends are, so I get dragged into the saga. With the help of Pinterest, my friend Kim and I put together this rockin' apocalypse package for our friend in honor of the new season of Walking Dead. I should also add that husband was quite jealous of the gift.

It included: a zombie bowl, walking dead toy, zombie key covers, gross candy, zombie style army men, syringe pens, bloody hand gel clings, refrigerator cover, zombie snacks, zombie hunting license, paracord, flashlight, and a nerf gun (not pictured). We packaged it in a painted box stuffed with biohazard bags we snagged from work.

Minion Surprise

We didn't do anything big for Ronnie's birthday this year.  I guess that is just part of getting older.  The other part is practical gifts.  Ronnie's birthday present was redoing the upstairs man cave (see earlier post), so we really didn't even do many presents.  I wanted to do a little something silly and special for him though.  So while my dad and sister kept Ronnie occupied at a movie, Mom helped me put together a little minion surprise party.  We came home to it after going out for dinner.  He loved it. 

Happy Birthday, Love! You are my world.  Thanks for making me smile.  xo

Minion cupcakes!

Minions

Unicorn Fluff

What is a party without bananas?

Cookie robots

El Macho's Salsa and Chips

Balloons!

My handsome man and very excited pup

Even Boomer joined in!  Cori loves him. ;)

Med Tech.  Clinical Laboratory Scientist.  Not many people know what we do and fewer still know how we do it.  We are the ones that are unseen and often forgotten, but we play a vital role in patient care, diagnosis, and treatment.  In fact, over 70% of a patients diagnosis comes from us!  From blood smears and differentials to electrolytes and hormone levels, and wound cultures to transfusions.  We do it all.  

I love my job and take great pride in my skills and my coworkers.  

This was my first year as a real Med Tech and therefore a "real" participant in Lab week.  [SIDE NOTE: I've been out of school for a year and been working at Eskenazi for over 9 months!!!  WHAT???]  It was a week full of fun (and treats!) that made the days seem to fly by.  We had pizza one day and Olive Garden another day, then of course leftovers for a couple of days.  We had contests like "match the pet to the tech" and a cookie bake off and of course prizes.  All in all, it was a fun week celebrating our careers and the way we care for patients.  

Sulley and his Snow Spots

While the rest of the midwest is enjoying the "warm" weather (barely above freezing), Sulley seems to still be mourning the lack of snow.  He has spent all winter going outside in it and is willing to play a bit while Boomer and Mia try their hardest to avoid going out altogether   The snow has melted in the last few days and Sulley seems completely confused about where to do his "business" outside.  The poor thing doesn't seem to know what to do without a pile of snow to pee on.  As the patches of snow grew smaller and smaller, he diligently hunted them down in the far corners of the yard when he had to go.  Now, with no snow at all, he wonders aimlessly for a bit before reluctantly settling for soggy grass.  I think he will be the only one excited when the next polar vortex hits tonight and tomorrow.  ;)

This was on one of our -45 degree days when all the dogs had trouble with cold feet.  We passed the boots around all day.  

Happy Pancakes

We had a very happy dinner tonight. These smiley little gingerbread pancakes made us smile too. :D

Fuzzy, Fuzzy, Cute, Cute

Am I an awful person for dressing my dog up in a multitude of clothing? Is it worth the humiliation of being "that kind of person?" You decide.

Disclaimer: Little Mia Bell was not harmed in the making of this post. In fact, she adored the attention as well as the clothing.
Disclaimer #2: Neither Ronnie nor I am responsible for the purchasing of most of the outfits... okay... we did buy most, BUT NOT ALL!
Side note: If you have not seen the fuzzy, fuzzy, cute, cute video and have no idea to what I am referencing, click HERE

The Dash

Mia gets these bursts of energy every so often.  It is a lot of fun to watch.  I especially like her smile at the end.  *So happy*

Spying on Mia

Just not meant to be....

Tonight was one for the books. Ronnie and I have been in the process of buying a new car. We picked it out last Wednesday. We picked it out knowing that it was "on its way" to the dealer but may not make it there until morning. With the crisis in Japan, so few Honda's are coming to the dealers and we had to jump on the chance. We weren't terribly crushed as they gave us a nice rental for free.

But it did not come in the next day.
Instead, it had to be detoured because of the [almost] Hurricane in the Gulf. So it would be in by Friday or Saturday.

But it didn't.
Instead it was detoured via the rail system and would be possibly five more days.

But, much to our surprise, it came in this evening!
Ronnie and I hurried to the dealership to pick up our new red car.

But...
when we were just two minutes from the dealer, our salesman called with an odd tone in his voice. "I don't know how to say this, but...."
OUR CAR HIT A DEER.
A tech guy went to fill up the car before we signed the papers and on the way, HE HIT A DEER. The car was ruined and we could not purchase it. The only one.

The dealers were really apologetic and everyone was gathered around the computers looking for options, but truth be told, they did not know if or when they could get another red CRV.

They did however have two more that came in the with the shipment in a different color. So we went to look. I liked the "urban titanium" version quite well so we agreed to purchase it despite it being not quite as bold as I had hoped the red would be.

I'm sure we will be quite happy with our new purchase. Obviously, the red version was just not meant to be.

Mia's Baby Pool

Before you judge me for being "that girl who buys her dog a baby pool" hear me out... It is hot here. Upper 90s and over 100 lately. Mia loves to go outside but it's just so hot! Ronnie cant be in the sun a lot because of his burns and I would rather see it snow, so we figured a baby pool on the shady back porch would be a good solution.

Mia however, didn't quite know what to think...
She just kind of stared at the water a bit puzzled...Then wanted out...But she liked the toys...And most of all the towel...

*Sigh* Guess you cant win them all...

Busted

I have a confession. I had toast for dinner tonight. It could not be helped. There was NOTHING else to eat in my house. But before you judge me, know that I have now gone to the grocery and have replenished my food supply.
That is all.

Got Service?

On the way to the airport....

So I thought I would tell about what happened when Ronnie and I were on the way to the airport the other day (Sunday). Ronnie had spent five or six days with me during the RAD Graduation. After a very fun last week with the students and tearful goodbyes after church, Ronnie and I hopped in the car and left for the airport. Along the way, we got stuck with our little old Honda in a major traffic jam. As time slowly inched by the temperature gage on the poor little car quickly climbed. Soon the smell of burning rubber began to fill the air and I was forced to take the next exit into unfamiliar Atlanta territory. There was no gas station in site and we finally settled for a small, run down mini-mart off a beaten down road. Ronnie ran inside as I [courageously] waited outside with the car and valuables. Soon after he went in, A tall black man in clothes 10 sizes too big approached the car. I slowly reached one hand over to the key and the other to my cell phone. The man mumbled too himself and walked away. I breathed a sigh of relief as Ronnie ran outside to my rescue. The man mumbled away to Ronnie and tried to help him. Ronnie kindly explained that we needed no assistance and that we could handle the problem ourselves. The man left on his cell phone and slipped around the store corner. I began to beg Ronnie to close the hood so we could leave. He said he just needed another minute. Within minutes a car pulled up and the man ran to greet them. Some chattering could be heard across the lot as another man, this one much more scroungy than the first stepped out of the car and approached our little Honda. I gave Ronnie a demanding look and told him to close the hood, but before anything could be done, the two men were next to us. The second man, reached in his pocket and pulled out a small baggy filled with white pills. "How many boys you want?" he asked my dumbfounded boyfriend. "Excuse me???" Ronnie asked [in a shocked tone]. I gave Ronnie one look that said it all, and said it angrily, "GET IN THE CAR NOW." The two men stood there arguing about "You said he wanted some" and "I thought he did." I quickly sped away. What you cant tell from this writing is how much emotion was all in this 10 minute ordeal. There are no words.

End of story. well.... not really. but it gets better from there. Long story short Ronnie didn't make his stand by flights. He called me on his nearly dead cell phone to tell me (who was sitting in the airport lobby) that he made the flight, had to go, and he would call me from Chicago. "okay," I managed to stammer before he hung up. I slowly gathered my things and headed to the parking garage. So now I'm starting to feel sorry for myself, I mean, my boyfriend just left, I just said bye to all the students, and my roommates are soon leaving too. A tear makes it to my eye, but hasn't yet slid down my cheek when an arm wraps around my shoulder. I spin around to see *ta-da* my boyfriend (who I nearly hit. hard.)! So yea. We had another day. He made his flight on Monday morning. I do however blame Ronnie for any emotional unstable-ness I am now experiencing. What with all the "hello-goodbye-goodbye-oh hello again-goodbye"s. But it is worth it. I had a great time and we certainly made some memories.