Ready...set...craziness!!!

Holy catscans. HOLY catscans. This next month and a half are going to be craaaaazy.

We're moving. Yes. FINALLY. THANK THE STARS!!! HALLELUJAH!!! HOOORAY!!! WAHOOO!!!

So, in August...we're moving to WA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Friends, I'm SO excited!!!! I'm pretty antsy and anxious to get there. San Angelo has been fun and we've made the most of it...but I am SO ready to bust out of here. So now the hunt for a house and a job, and the (DREADED) packing begins. BUT HAPPY DAY!!! SEASONS! WATER! A COASTLINE NOT TOO FAR! HOOOOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of coastline...over Memorial Day weekend we headed to Galveston, TX. It was a blast. We toured the harbor, saw dolphins, toured an old ship, ate TONS of seafood, did touristy stuff, went to the beach, and ate more and more and more seafood. It was a wonderful vacation and it was delightful to see the ocean again. And the seafood...goodness gracious I could live off of shrimp for the rest of my life. So, we brought 3 pounds back home with us! 

Then, two weekends ago I headed to Tucson to see one of my best friends get married! 

It was fabulous and so fast! Everything was wonderful! I was honored to be asked to do Clary's flowers for her. Oh my goodness it was A BLAST!!!!!!!!!!! I love floral design!!

And it was SO fun to see lots of old friends! 

AND, in exciting news, beginning August 4th, I will be going full-time at the flower shop until we move (which sadly, may not be very long). We're still waiting on final dates of when we have to leave San Angelo and report to Spokane. Regardless, I'm delighted! I'm hoping to find a floral design/flower shop job in Spokane to continue to learn and develop my skills. I love it so! 

We'll be heading to Dallas for the Fourth and I can't wait! Then in a couple of weeks I'll be visiting one of my other best friends, Amy, in Myrtle Beach. I'm wicked excited to see Amy and the beach again, and we've already made plans of what we're going to do (most have to do with food! Ha!)! 

And, I again can't tell you enough how excited I am to get to Washington. I've already have made plans to see Seattle (never been), Portland and the Oregon coast, northern California, and have made lists of places to see in Spokane, places to eat, and things I'd like to do. Spokane I can't wait to see you!!!!!!!!!!! If you have suggestions of places to see, things to do, etc., please do share!

So, on to house hunting, job searching, and...packing....we go! 

Holy blogging slacker

Bad Gabe, bad! Bad blogger. 

In my defense...wedding planning does take a bit of time. And I'm studying for a huge exam. Just sayin'. But holy catscans I haven't blogged since June. Geez Louise. Where did the time go?? Prepare for another picture overload.

July. Mark came to New England. I have only be waiting for this for forever. Finally I got to show him my turf, my heaven on earth, my happy place!!!!!

Scotty slept with me during my visit. It was sweet to cuddle with this furball again. I miss him. 

 Now try as I might, friends, I just cannot plan a leisurely visit to New England. It's impossible. I love this place too much and there is FAR too much to see and experience. I tried to go easy on Mark, but alas, I failed. I surely tired him out! But there was many a good time had by all. 

Directly from the airport I took him to one of my favorite eateries on the coast: Petey's. This is one of my family's favorite seafood places. It's also one of the first places when went out to eat when we moved to New England. It's all about the tuna melts. Mark got crab cakes and wished he would have gotten a tuna melt with me. Told ya...

Mark went on his first (debatable...does the BART count? I saw no but DR says yes)train ride into my favorite city ever, my beloved Boston

 

Naturally we had to see as much of the city as possible. From Mass Ave and Fenway to Copley Square, Boston Commons, Beacon Hill, Government Center,Quincy Market, and the North End. He saw it all. Too briefly, but he saw it.

I personally have never taken the Fenway Tour, and being that we are both avid baseball fans, I thought it would be a blast to experience it together. Oh it was!!! I love Fenway. And I love Mark. So it was grand! 

A very happy Mark. I love this picture. 

Also you should know, and of course this would happen to me, it was one of the hottest days of the summer on the day we went to Boston. Ah well. It didn't stop us! 

 

And since I've only been talking up Regina's since we met, we had to go. It was deeeelicious! 

And, of course, he had to have a fresh lobstah. He did well! Very little coaching needed. 

We also went candlepin bowling with the family. I think this is mostly a northeast/New England thing, as I've never seen it anywhere else.

My darling friend Becca came over for cookies, meet and greets with Mark, and to chat. It's always a delight to be with Becca!

And then the horrid day came where Mark had to leave. So afterward, my mom and I sought out Shake Shack and indulged. 

FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to go back!

Next. The Redheads (Amy and Gabe) had a long overdue day trip. We went to Charleston to get gelato, hit up Whole Foods and Trader Joes. 

I've come to the conclusion that gelato and homemade New England ice cream are my favorite treats in the world. Don't faint when I say...I'm a little over froyo. Now that it's "the thing" and there's a blasted fro yo shop every 2 miles, I'm kind of over it. It's good. I still eat it. But the magic is gone. But put hazelnut and chocolate gelato near me and watch out...

Amy and I stopped and had a splendid light lunch at a place called Five Loaves. Quaint and yummy. 

 My loot from the trip. Carbs. Bread, cheese, pasta, cookies, and a dessert. Yup, sounds about right!

I just had to share this because my heart melted and I almost teared up one Sunday morning, when during church Heath and Emma sent this to me. What an adorable pup. I miss him but I'm so happy that he is happy in New England with HEmma. 

Yesterday I was walking to yoga and I bubble with pure happiness when I saw this! I am SO very ready FALL. SO READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm done with summer. Yes. I am. Summer and I do not see eye to eye. It's too hot and humid. I crave cool temps, sweaters, hot chocolate, fall colors, leaves, and that smell, you what I am talking about? The smell of fall. Oh gosh I love it. Now it's not as pronounced here in SC...but I manage. Lots of Gilmore Girls, cups of Ghirardelli hot chocolate, and crunching every leaf I can! 

Today.

Here's the deal. I am not a retail shopper. I don't have the stamina. Shopping is a work out in and of itself, mentally and physically, and sometimes emotionally. All that walking, sorting through clothes, every designer/brand fits differently, trying them on, being horrified/discouraged and sometimes pleased, carrying bags, over and over and over. Gosh it's exhausting. I prefer to go in with an item in mind, find it or don't, and be gone. In and out. Plus. You know what, I don't know what happened, if the amount of cotton/rayon/polyester/silk available on the planet is in short supply but all of the clothes these days are SEE THROUGH. Excuse me. First of all, I don't feel the need to have everyone see my bra. Trash was never in style and I don't intend to encourage it. Yeah I went there. *scowl* Second, I HATE layering. I HATE wearing camisoles under shirts. It's bulky and uncomfortable and annoying. Either I have to tuck it in or keep pulling and adjusting. NO! No. I want a shirt that requires just that, itself. When did upscale stores start selling clothes as cheaply made as Forever 21? NOT. A. FAN. I was so angry today. I found tons of cute shirts, only to pick it up and realize I could see my hand. Through the back. And then the price was $58. Ridiculous. 

BUT. I did have a shopping success. I had reached the end of my shopping stamina and decided I'd pop into Belk real quick and then leave. Seeing nothing good clothing wise, I headed over to the shoe section, which was a MAD HOUSE. Back up. When I went home in June, my mom had these cute wedges that were SUPER comfortable. I found them online...and they were ridiculously priced. Well never mind that. I was so sad. Well. In Belk, I immediately recognized the style of several pairs of wedges sitting on the clearance table. Could it be?!??? So I scurried closer and to my delight, the wedges were there!!! The price said $40, so I greedily snatched them up, marched over to the cashier and bought them. The final price? $26. HA! SUCCESS! I WIN! Cute shoes and for a fraction of the price. Man, I love a good bargain. And goodness they are so comfortable. 

 

And (my original intention for going to the mall in the first place) I bought a Yankee Candle. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you I lamented over which candle to buy for about 15 minutes. The fall candles are my faaaaavorite (shocker). They didn't have the Pear Spice one (yet??) so I was trying to choose between 2 or 3. But you know, after you sniff 8 candles about 3 dozen times, they all begin to smell the same. Thank goodness for coffee beans. I finally decided on this one, and it's yummmy!  

And now I want to bake something. I really am craving banana bread but I only have on banana right now and that really won't do. Drats. Time to thumb through my cookbooks. YAY!

It's Friday.

I'm warning you now, this post might be all over the place. 

I got a new laptop! Finally! My other laptop served me well for 8 years. I'm kind of a sentimental goob and I feel like a traitor with my new laptop...but I'm also excited to be movin' on up in the technology world. I mean who evens uses Windows XP anymore? I joke (because I still do at work). Plus, this pup has a webcam which means I can skype my friends!!!!! YAY!!!!

Speaking of work. I get to do monthly nutrition chats/activities with my acute rehab floor and this week it was on diabetes. I didn't really plan anything fancy (aka no treats...) because a) I didn't have a lot of time to prepare and b) we have a turnover of patients so when I set the date and topic, I really had no idea how many diabetic patients I would have and what their cognition would be like (we do get traumatic brain injuries, stroke patients, and their cognition can sometimes be a little shaky when they are with us. But don't worry! When they leave they are on the blissful road to a bright recovery (usually...)). Anyway. It went surprisingly well. I was happy. Then I was charting on a patient and Dr. W strolled in and told me to walk down to the solarium and I asked why and he said the cutest kid in the world was visiting. His 4-year old popped in with Dr. W! So I practically skipped down the hall and there he was playing with this car toy thing. I'm not even going to explain it. We started playing together and became buddies. He gave me a (very good) high five. After about 10 minutes I told him I had to go back to work and he said very nonchalantly, "No. You stay here and play with me." How do you say no to that? Well, I certainly didn't and we continued to play, which really consisted of him telling me what to do and me obeying. He is sooooooo cute!!!!

I set a goal as part of my attempts to be healthy to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night. Epic failure. I think about 4 times this week I have gotten ~5 hours. No dice. I have got to work on that. In fact, I came home from work and plopped on the couch to finish a book when I feel asleep for about 45 minutes and almost missed yoga. I almost didn't go to yoga even because I've felt so crummy but I told myself I would feel even worse sitting on the couch for the rest of the evening. I'm glad I went. 

So I've spent my evening planning on what kind of sauce I am going to make for the homemade gnocchi I'm making this weekend--Sunday I've decided--while transferring all my music from my old computer to my new one. PAINFULLY. LONG. PROCESS. I have something like *cough* 12GB *cough* of music so it's taking a while. Anyway, back to a sauce. I'm going to keep it simple and that's all I will say. 

And let's see. Yup I think that's it. EXCEPT. I got a little unexpected package in the mail (my favorite) yesterday with this in it...

Love it.
I have named him Louie. 

I hugged him and buried my nose in it and smelled home. 

And New England. I can't wait for June.

I'm exhausted so now I am going to bed.

Whatta Day!

Today was great. I slept in and then had a lazy morning reading in bed. Then I had a lunch date with my dear friend Lisa. We went to Bubba's Love Shack in Murrells Inlet right on the water. It was awesome. Yummy food (shrimp...mm! Mmm! Mmm!), fun company, and a great view. (I forgot my camera, thank you Google!)

             

After lunch we walked the marsh walk and we saw all sorts of wonderful wildlife: egrets, peacocks, huge pelicans, seagulls (eh, not that exciting), oysters (I've been forewarned of the dangers of walking on oyster beds!), and loons. It was really neat. Lisa told me of a ton of cool places to check out and told me some really cool fun facts. Did you know they have oyster recycling places here? They recycle the oyster shells so that the oysters don't have to make their own shells. COOL HUH!???! I thought so! And there's a legit pier in Garden City that I have determined I am going to walk on when it gets warmer. It actually feels like winter now. Bummer. Good times though!!!

Then. I had decided I was going to see "The Vow" but I was running a tad late to the movie theatre, which is in Market Commons, so I decided I would go to the next showing at 4:50 and would walk around and probably end up in Barnes and Noble reading. Well, I went into Banana Republic and actually found some shirts that didn't look cheap and fit really nicely! My first Banana Republic purchase! I even found a snazzy purple shirt to wear when I go out on the town. I debated if I should buy it though because when do I actually ever "go out on the town?" I don't. Not yet anyway. So I texted Clary to get her input if I should get it and she assured me I should (the price alone was a steal!) and that when she came to visit and when I visit Tucson we'll put the snazzy shirt to use. Excellent! THEN, I wondered into Anthropologie, just because, and found these:

More bowls!!! Ice cream bowls and more cereal bowls!

Cute aren't they?

Don't they look cool with my dishes? 

Next I'm going to get some blue ones. 

But you know, if you're going to have ice cream bowls, you should probably have ice cream right? I thought so. So, I went into the grocery store and then I stumbled upon a baguette (YUM! Did I mention that I could live off of bread alone? I could.) and strawberries for a steal-of-a-price. 

And then I wondered over the ice cream section and low and behold they had my favorite Ben and Jerry's ice cream: Phish Food. I almost bought it but, I just wasn't feeling ice cream. I know! Weird right?????? I don't know what's wrong with me but I just didn't want ice cream. Instead, I decided I was going to try a recipe I found on Pinterest: chewy, dried strawberries in the oven. All you do is cut them in halves or quarters, pop 'em in the oven at 210 degrees and bake them for 3 hours. 

So, we'll see how it goes when they come out of the oven. Only t-minus 2 hours and 15 minutes to go! Oh, "The Vow" was cute. Not my favorite, but cute.