Kansas City goodness

This post is a little belated since I got back from Kansas City late Saturday night. I was going to post on Sunday but then I was hanging out with my hubby all day. I worked on Monday and Tuesday (and it was a little crazy). Yesterday I was going to post, and then after spending most of the day shopping, I realized I should probably clean. I did buy three pairs of shoes at Target though. On sale. And they are super cute.

Anyway, our trip to Kansas was a success. We went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter, which was amazing. Caleb did make our group stand in line outside the theater starting at 7pm. It was really, really, really hot. I should have taken pictures of all the hilarious costumes people were wearing but I just wasn't in the mood. I was too dang hot. But the movie was seriously awesome. And they had butterbeer, which was super hilarious.

Butterscotch schnapps, cream soda, and a glow stick.

We spent the weekend hanging out with our families and celebrated Caleb's mom's birthday! We had a birthday cookout and spent the evening watching George do funny baby things. Because we are all obsessed with George.

Tell me this picture doesn't make you smile.

Caleb had to leave on Monday (boo work) and drove the whole 12 hours by himself. My husband is a rockstar. I got to stay for the rest of the week and spent lots of time hanging out with my family and friends. My parents celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary last Friday and we headed out to the Royals to brave the heat. We got some shady seats and loaded up on buck night goodies, so it was a good time.

27 years, people.

We also saw our all time favorite player, Johnny Damon. I like to call him Johnny D. And we cheered for him even though he was playing against the Royals and we love the Royals. Johnny D. played for the Wranglers (a previous Royals Double A team) when we lived in Wichita and we loved him. We have loved him throughout his major league career, long hair, and two wives.

Johnny D., you can totally get 3,000 hits. I believe in you.

Not only was it buck night, my parent's 27th anniversary, and Johnny D. day, it was also firework night.
I do love some good fireworks.

Saturday was my last day in Kansas. Kerry and I headed out to George's first birthday party. It was freaking hot. I am a committed aunt.

He is starting to walk!

It was so hot, the candy all melted. The kids didn't seem to mind though.

Layne, the other birthday boy, sucking melted gummy candy out of the package.

Birthday boy with his parents and super cute cake.

Kerry and I took some notes for our future children's bday parties as we sweated it out. (By future, I mean distant future.) So so cute! Check out Audrey and Jami's blogs here and here!

BFF pic (minus Cara! We love you Cara!)

I had a wonderful week but was so happy to get back to my hubby. I love Kansas City. And my man.

I hope you are having a wonderful week! This is my last day off before my work weekend so I'm trying to spend it getting some stuff done and not thinking about work! Happy Thursday!

I'm one of the crazy people...

We drove out to Kansas City last Wednesday night after both of us worked a full day. It works for us because one person sleeps while the other person drives, there's no traffic, it's cool outside, and it seems like the 12 hour trip goes very fast. Caleb drove first (sweet man) and I slept (kind of) till about 3:30 am when I woke up on the side of the road to Caleb peeing out in the bushes and telling me it was my turn. I drank a 5 hour energy shot (orange flavor=gross) and drove. Somewhere around 5:30am I stopped outside of St. Louis to refill on gas and energy. After filling up the car, I went in to the gas station and said hi to the nice attendant. I went to the bathroom where I noticed my hair was crazy and I still had eye makeup smeared all over my face. So I spent a few minutes cleaning up. Then I tiredly stumbled around the gas station looking for drinks. I heard a car horn blaring and after a few minutes realized it was my own, I had somehow hit the panic button. Caleb came in and asked if I was ok. I said yeah...of course. He said I had been gone for like 20 minutes. I finally picked some drinks and tiredly handed the wrong card to the attendant. A fly landed on my hand and I batted it off enthusiastically. The attendant didn't see the fly and looked at me weird and asked why I was waving my hand around. She looked glad when we left the store. I told Caleb, "I think that lady thought I was crazy." He said, "Well you kinda were."  Then I realized: I am one of the crazy people.

At work, I always think about all the crazy patients I have. Seriously, I take care of crazy people like all the time. Definitely more crazy people than normal people. And I think about how I must run into crazy people everywhere: Wal-Mart, the grocery store, the gas station, Chick-fil-a. And somehow they hold it together and don't look super crazy all the time. (Ok, sometimes they do.) But there are crazy people everywhere. And now I know that I am just one of them.

We are loving Kansas City, it's always good to be home. Caleb drove back by himself yesterday and I get to stay for the week. He is a rock star. And totally not crazy at all.

I love this pic I took with his phone as the sun was rising last Thursday morning.

I hope you are staying cool and enjoying summer! And if you live in the KC area, for goodness sake, go check out Trader Joe's. It's pure organic grocery store magic.

Summer food: make your tummy happy

I love Monday mornings after a long work weekend. It's so nice to sleep in and drink coffee and catch up on blog reading and watch Hoda and Kathie Lee. The work weekend wasn't too bad. It did include a lot of horrible, awful smells. I'll leave it at that. But we had a potluck yesterday with meatball subs and peanut butter pie and it was amazing.

So this morning I have a confession to make. I like to eat. (Shocker, I know.) And I like to cook. Probably my favorite time to cook is the summer because of all the fresh food. It feels like less work because you just take already delicious fresh foods and put them together to make something really yummy. So I have some pics and links to recipes to share!

1. Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Local grown strawberries from a stand on the side of the road: the best ever!

2. Frittata: apple chicken sausage, new potatoes, spinach, onion, parm cheese, and eggs

Happy breakfast to me

3. Margarita pizza: any pizza crust you like (but make it thin!), rub with olive oil and garlic, fresh mozzarella cheese, homegrown tomatoes, and fresh basil

Best summer dinner.

4. Watermelon margaritas

Made from the best watermelon I've had in a long time

(Note: I hate buying watermelons because it's such a gamble. How do you know what it will look like or taste like inside? This watermelon paid off big time.)


5. Peach cobbler: I made this a few weeks ago and Caleb didn't eat any of it. Then I came home from work one day and half of it was gone. He said it was one of the best things I've ever made. Score.

I made another one for 4th of July and ate the last bit of it for breakfast this morning. 

Good things I don't have pictures of:
1. Corn Chowder: so, so, so good. Who doesn't like fresh corn and bacon?
2. Spicy Pasta Salad: Caleb ate this for lunch for like a week and loved it
3. Zucchini Bread: I put in walnuts, cranberries, and chocolate chips. Good stuff.

And finally, a pic of my friend Stephanie with the best peach tea ever.

At this cute little cafe called The Courtyard. I'm pretty sure I drink at least a gallon of this tea when we go there.

And they have amazing food. Homemade strawberry dressing=perfection.

Ok, I'm out to try and be a little productive. We are headed for Kansas City on Wednesday night as soon as I get off of work! So excited for friends, family, and Harry Potter!

Why 4th of July in East Tennessee is so great...

Seriously people, the fourth of July is possibly my favorite holiday: blowing things up, eating food, enjoying summer, hanging out with friends and family. This year I continued my hot streak of never working on the 4th: major bonus points, America. And here in Tennessee, you can embrace your inner redneck. Which is why it is so great.

We started off our holiday weekend with some shooting. The guys brought all their guns out and shot them at targets and clay pigeons and loved every second of it. I even participated. And got a very lovely sunburn out of the experience. But don't worry, it only adds to the southern appeal.

We are obviously pros by now.

Sunday night we headed out to our friend Michael Durbin's homestead to shoot off a few fireworks. Once all the guys had compiled their loot, this is what it looked like.

Tonight's gonna be a good, good night.

We shot off fireworks from 9-midnight, non stop. We had all kinds of goodness going on and I'm actually kinda surprised no one got hurt. (There may have been a few minor mishaps, but don't you worry.)

On Monday(after suffering minor hearing loss from all the guns and fireworks and smelling like delicious smoke mixed with bug spray) we headed to a pig roast. I don't know what kind of horrible blogger I am but I do not have a picture of the pig being roasted. But it was kinda windy and spitting outside so I left the camera in the car and just stared in awe at the pig on the smoker. I didn't eat any of it. Its head was still on there. Just sayin'.

After the pig roast, we headed back from some quality Kingsport celebrating with our friends Stephanie, Logan, Tess, and Nate. Kingsport really does it up right, our street is lined with food vendors and bouncy houses and they set up a stage and have lots of bands come and serenade the Kingsportians. (One band was called the Westbound Rangers. Quality.) We got our fill of funnel cakes, kettle corn, hot dogs, and lemonade. Then we took the par-tay out on our rooftop to watch fireworks. Which was actually pretty cool because you could see all the other cities fireworks shows from up there. Gorgeous.

Nice fireworks photos thanks to Caleb

We ended the night with some sparklers in the alley, because that's how we do it.

Perfect 4th of July weekend! Channeling our inner redneck and the American spirit. Perfect.

I look tense on the roof because standing that close to the edge makes me nauseated.

This is how I prefer to remember Tennessee: smelling funnel cakes, getting a perfect view of a fireworks show, and cuddling up to my honey.

Baby Jax

These pics are a few days late, as baby Jax was born on June 20th.  He is a good sized little guy, weighing in at almost 9lbs when he was born!

Look at his sweet peach fuzz and round little cheeks!

Sorry those photos needed some serious editing. I am not good with the backlight. But holding a brand new bambino is the best! Look at Caleb's sweet smile...awww.

With his dad, Ben

Look at them! Crystal is a total rock star for sure. Those wee little ones make my womb ache. But then I took them some food after their first night at home. And my womb stopped aching after I heard about the long night.

In other, not important news, I had a good work weekend. My patients were adorable. Except for this one guy who drove me nuts. He was still adorable, just crazy. He finally zonked out for a few hours on Sunday afternoon and then woke up crazier then ever. This is how our convo went down at 6:30pm:

Patient: "I need to go meet my brother outside for a cigarette."
Me: "Nope, you can't go outside, you are too sick. Plus, your brother was here this morning and knows you can't go out to meet him."
Patient.: "You can't keep me locked up in here. I'm going to put my clothes on and go smoke a cigarette."
Me: "You have two options: sit in your chair or lay in your bed."
Patient: "I'm leaving to smoke a cigarette."
Me: "Listen. I am the boss and you are not. If you go out to smoke a cigarette with your oxygen on, you will blow up and die. If you go to smoke a cigarette without your oxygen on, you will probably die before you get outside because of lack of oxygen. I don't want you to die tonight because I want to go home soon."
Patient: mean glare


I love nursing. It is so full of hilarious things that other people cannot picture happening.

Now I'm off to do my wifely duty of folding laundry and making dinner...Happy Monday!

Twenty Five

Happy birthday to me! I had a Reece's Cup cupcake from Babycakes this afternoon. Also I bought five other cupcakes that do not contain peanuts so that I can share with my hub. But let me tell you, that is a freaking good cupcake.

Today marks 25 years of life and 1 year of working for Mountain States Health Alliance. One year ago today I was celebrating by sitting through orientation with people I had never met. And then I came home and unpacked our apartment that we had just moved into. And I didn't see Caleb because he was working night shift. This year is much better. We celebrated on Saturday night with friends and had a blast!

We went to Stir Fry and ate lots and lots of sushi and crab rangoon. So so so yummy.

I could eat sushi every day.

As we all know, Caleb hates smiling for pictures so this is as good as it got.

And a super lovely group photo. You are welcome, friends.

Yliana and Joe brought their sweet baby girl, who eats with chopsticks like a pro.

After Stir Fry, we decided to go to the Cowboy Cafe and Saloon. Which is exactly as awesome as it sounds. It's within walking distance from our apartment and in a year we haven't gone there. It was time. (Photos courtesy of Emily Robertson.)

There was country music, beer, small children, mullets, and more. Just like a good saloon should have. My hubby decided to really class up the joint by challenging everyone to arm wrestling matches.

Check out my guns.

I actually felt a little ridiculous because I knew every single word to every single song. Thank you, Kansas upbringing. One guy even did "Elvira," a song that my dad did a rousing rendition of at a talent show one time. We decided to close out the night with a duet of Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman." If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Emily and I belting it.  Our husbands are now shaking their heads in embarrassment. 

It was a great night and I am so thankful for such good friends to celebrate with!

Caleb got me a Kinect for the Xbox and the game Dance Central, so we have been dancing it up in here. That game is a little addictive.  We stayed in on Sunday and alternated eating Zaxby's, watching Big Bang Theory, and dancing. Good weekend. I love my husband.

I was reading in Matthew this morning and came across this wonderful verse: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8). I love this reminder that all I need to do is look for him, and God will be right there. He will give me whatever I need and more. I am so blessed with a sweet husband, a wonderful job, and a supportive family. I don't know where I'll be on my birthday next year, but I can be sure that God will be there too!

Twenty five feels kinda old, btw. It's like I am fully committed to the 20's.

Monday Lists

It's storming like crazy this morning. Perfect for sleeping in, drinking tea, and not going anywhere. I'm trying to knock a few things off my to do list (laundry, laundry, more laundry. How two people make so much laundry is beyond me). So this is a blog post of lists. I'm in the middle of a five day off stretch which makes me forget all that is work and nursing. I love it.

1, On Friday, I had lunch and a mani/pedi with Crystal, the wife of Caleb's boss Ben. She is having a baby TODAY and needed an outing before she is trapped inside with an infant and a two year old for the rest of the summer. I took my camera along to snap some pictures of her in her final pregnant days but she was pretty miserable so I spared her. Check out this post from Christmas, she looked pregnant six months ago! We walked around the mall and people looked at her with pitying expressions. Ah, the beauty that is the final days of pregnancy.

I do love red nails.

2. We went out on Crystal and Benny's boat on Friday night. Because that is where a 10-month-pregnant woman should be: on a boat.

Cash looking sweet.

Caleb and I got to wake board some more and we are getting better. Caleb looks like a stud out there.

Hot.

Really, we just love being out on the water. Our new motto: always have a friend with a boat.

3. Caleb had to work on Saturday, which was sad. But I went to the farmer's market and got a ton of good stuff. This inspired a farmer's market dinner menu for the week. I hate wasting food but it's hard to get the best out of produce with only two people. My loot: peaches, nectarines, corn, tomatoes, basil, carrots, zucchini, squash, white onions, red onions, and potatoes.

Farmer's Market Menu

Monday: Corn Chowder, bruschetta

Tuesday: Margarita pizza

Wednesday: Burgers, potato salad, roasted veggies

Thursday: Stuffed Zucchini

Friday: Pasta Salad (for all the leftovers)

Yum. I love the farmer's market.

4. Then I took myself on a shopping trip to the mall in Johnson City. Reason #871 why June birthdays are the best: everything goes on sale in mid to late June. Also, everyone sends you birthday coupons. So you get tons of stuff for cheap-o! Just because I love a good bargain, here is my list of purchases and savings. Because you know you care about sweet deals.

From Bath and Body Works:
Lay it on Thick hand cream (the best hand lotion ever made), a large three wick candle, a medium candle in a tin, a medium aromatherapy candle, and some foaming hand soap. Original price: $56.50. Sale price:  $26.37+$2.50 tax= $28.87. Amount saved: $27.63. Cha-ching.

From Express:
Two Express favorite tee's: originally $24.90 each, on sale for $10, with $15 birthday discount+tax= $5.48. Amount saved: $44.32

From Aerie:
Five bras, seven pairs of undies, one cami: Original price: $250.50. Sale-20% birthday discount+tax=$92.16

Total spent: $126.51. Total saved: $230.29. Seriously awesome.

Ok, I'm off to bask in productivity, listen to Adele, and play Dance Central. Check back tomorrow for a birthday post! And have a great Monday.