December... already?!

So I realize I've done a bit of slacking in the blogging world... not like most of you care but I can't believe I hadn't written anything in almost a month. Life has been pretty busy I can't lie but I have no idea where to begin on what has happened in the past month.

Went on a girl's weekend trip to Atlanta to visit Erin and Drew ... Drew graciously allowed 10 girls to invade his home. I don't think he had much choice because Erin moved to Drew's hometown after they got married and knew there would be some disgruntled girls if they weren't allowed to visit. Little did he know we would all come at once. Erin and Drew are expecting baby Blake at the end of January so we were all exciting to see Erin's baby bump and to have some girl time with our friend Lindsey who flew in from Tampa for the weekend as well.

Picture of all of us girl's at Atlantic Station in Atlanta

My friend Erin also had her baby shower this month, my camera has actually bitten the dust so I didn't get any pictures after the girl's weekend. But there was tons of good food and baby Blake got lots of things and will be such a well dressed little man. All of us can't wait for him to arrive.

I've been crafting some lately and I invited my friend Joy Beth over to make some ornaments with me, got this idea from Pinterest. I absolutely love vintage/aged looking things. I saw these DIY ornaments from old book paper and I fell in love. Here is the finished product.

Old pages from a book, mod podge, glitter and twine bow

Also this time of year allows me to have one of my favorite all time drinks- Eggnog. Even though I don't drink coffee I do imbibe occasionally on Starbuck's Eggnog Frapaccinos because they are so delicious and don't taste like coffee. They started making them mid November and I was so excited that they were finally out... I got a venti! 

I am ready for the holidays and I am starting to bring down all of the Christmas decorations in my parent's house. Christmas music is now a staple and is almost constantly on in the background. I am enjoying the start of this Advent season and I can't wait to celebrate the birth of Christ in a few weeks. 

+AMDG+

A Bacheloretting we will go!

So I've definitely been slacking in the blogging department but I am trying to catch up while I have the motivation. Last weekend of October we traveled to Helen, GA to celebrate Clare's last few weeks of being a Miss. This also happened to be the last weekend of Helen's Oktoberfest celebration. Helen is a quaint German town or atleast the town's architecture is reminiscent of German gingerbread looking buildings. Well the "we" as mentioned above includes Clare's bridesmaids and a friend or two. Altogether though we had a brigade of 11 girls. All of us pitched in and rented a cabin up in Helen, GA, which had a hot tub. I was all ears when I heard hot tub. After living in Lake Tahoe, I was spoiled because my ex, Ben, had a hot tub at his place and I would be in it all the time because the weather out there was always perfect for it.

So I'm writing this almost a month later and I'm somewhat forgetting the details but I drove up from Atlanta because I had a job interview earlier in the day and on my way up I decided to stop by a grocery store to pick up some beer... well after wandering around the grocery store in circles, it suddenly dawned on me that there were still "dry" counties in Georgia. So I asked a person who worked there and they confirmed my suspicion... they did not sell alcohol in that county and the next county that did sell it was my destination city and the prices are always jacked up in that town. So no beer for me. Only a few of the girls had made to Helen because several had to work on Friday and were driving up later. I arrived to a few of the girls having started drinking quite early and attempting to make dinner. The house was somewhat lacking in certain utensils so I ended up helping make pizza dough and rolling it out with a cucumber.
There was a house next door that was being rented as well and the girls told me that there was a bunch of guys throwing a halloween party and they said they were going to invite us over to later. Little did I know when I heard a knock on the door what I was going to see. i figured it was some of the girls arriving and when i said come in and then nothing happened i came to the door to find a very large baby outside the door... a man dressed as a baby. Since the girls had told me they had seen a guy dressed like a baby earlier I thought they were expecting him so I yelled to the girls that there was a big baby here, and the girls thought it was our friend who was pregnant at the door. I think they died out laughing after they heard me say that and then found a young man dressed as a baby at the door. That was the joke of the weekend.

We had a wonderful night once all the girls got in. I had made breakfast that morning... I saved some of the orange marmalade rolls I had made earlier in the month for this occasion and brought them up and reheated them and served mimosas for breakfast. Nothing like waking up on a crisp morning in the mountains to Mimosas... or atleast I think so.

It took a bit for 11 girls to get ready but we packed sack lunches and then headed into downtown Helen, GA for some shopping. One of the girls spotted an old timey photo place and we all decided to have our pictures taken in saloon girl and cowboy outfits. It was so much fun getting dressed up and the pictures turned out great. Such good memories. I think most of us were worn out by the end of this and we all came back to the cabin to take a nap and to freshen up before going out for Clare's night on the town. We had a fun time at the Troll Tavern in Helen and crashed not too long after getting back to the cabin. We all ended up going to mass in Cleveland, GA on Sunday morning and then I started my drive back home. The rest of the girls ended up going to the Cabbage Patch doll museum/hospital which was not far down the road from the church. So that pretty much concluded the weekend, I am so excited for Clare to be getting married and I can't believe now it's only 1.5 weeks away.

Out shopping in Helen, GA

Me rolling out some dough with a cucumber, the beer is mine too

All of the girls outside the Troll Tavern, complete with tiaras

Amy and I with her prize for winning the bachelorette game... clue is that I'm wearing it and it does have feet!

Pumpkin Eaters

Fall is really my favorite season of all time! What is there not to love about bonfires, college football, crisp cool air, leaves changing colors, scarves, chunky sweaters, boots, spiced drinks, and of course pumpkin carving! After coming back from visiting my brother and sister-in-law in NYC I had a girls night with Joy and Melissa. We made caramel apples, girly drinks, and carved pumpkins! I can't believe I hadn't carved a pumpkin until I was in college and now I feel so deprived if I don't get to do one every year. Each of our pumpkins really captured our personalities, even when none of them were faces!

Joy Beth doing some carving

Melissa with her Pumpkin- "Look at my horse, its amazingggg!" 

(sorry for poor quality picture my camera is about to bite the dust)

Me and my Pumpkin- no greater love with lower case "l" than for Dr. Pepper

Awesomeness that is my Pumpkin... be jealous at my mad skills

Our pumpkins all lit for the night!

(From right to left: Joy's, mine, and Melissa's)

Enjoy Fall before it starts getting too cold! +AMDG+

Back from an Empire state of mind

I had gone to visit my brother, sister in law, and my niece for 5 days starting last Wednesday. They live in Brooklyn, NY and as much as people would like to say you went to NYC... I really didn't go into the city at all until I was on my way back to the airport. I have been to NYC quite a few times and the nostalgia has somewhat worn off, also when you're broke it keeps you from traveling anywhere with lots of clothing stores! I stayed in Brooklyn for the majority of the trip, and still there is plenty to do. It is also harder for my brother and sister in law to tote their 14 month old daughter around NYC, especially when it starts to coincide with her nap times. We went to the park, a few times actually, went out to brunch, hung around the house and made some delicious dishes. I also had the opportunity to meet up with my friend, Gali, who was in the US visiting from Israel. I met her on study abroad in Italy during my undergraduate degree at GCSU. We went and ate at a wonderful French restaurant, Moutarde, that is featured in Julie & Julia.

no I didn't take this picture but I only brought a card home from the restaurant, I

was enjoying the place too much to take pictures.

And then we went and walked around Prospect park in Brooklyn before parting ways, I really need to go visit her in Israel. I love having friends from other countries! It means I always have places to go visit!

Picture of us in front of Columbus circle in Brooklyn

We opted for the old camera timer instead of finding a person

Never know when someone will run off with your camera!

I had a great time spending time with my brother and sister in law, we cooked a lot of different things- potato skins, my aunt nogc ahn's infamous egg rolls, and an awesome blossom. Don't worry pictures will follow after I'm done writing. I really do love the area they live in, Brooklyn is a great neighborhood and a nice alternative to Manhattan. I considered looking for jobs there but I don't know if this southern girl is ready for the big city yet. What I do know is that I love going to visit and it makes it so much more enjoyable since I have family there. My brother and sister-in-law are actually moving to a new apartment 2 blocks from where they are living now which will give them more, much needed, space with their growing family. So blessed to be able to visit them while I am still job searching, until next time... I'll be having my Georgia State of Mind.

Emma and I sharing lunch at the park in their Neighborhood

Playing at the park

Having a great time on the carousel in Prospect park

My sister in law, Maddy, Emma and I at the wigwam replica

My brother Joel, his wife Maddy, and Emma- beautiful family

Me frying up some eggrolls! Before I burned myself with the hot grease...

AND NOW ONTO THE FOOD!!!! (sorry these are not "light" foods)

Potato Skins with Bacon and Onion

My Aunt Nogc Ahn's Eggrolls

Awesome Blossom

Hope you enjoyed all the pictures! +AMDG+

Great Green Gobs

I've been out of commission for the past few days due to Bronchitis. It had been coming on slowly for 3 days or so but started out with a horrendous sore throat, even though I had my tonsils out when I was 8 I thought or a moment that I finally was getting pay back for 17 strep free years. Thankfully this ended up not being the case. Being a medical professional I was staring into the back of my throat constantly looking for signs of strep, and at first it looked quite streppish. For you non medical people, there is usually white stuff or spots on the back on your mouth or on your tonsils. I won't get into any more detail. I started losing my voice tuesday and I have the first semblance of a voice today. There was a lot of rasping and deep voiced talking for the past days and numerous cracks mid sentence. I stayed in bed from wednesday til saturday, and saturday I got brave... more likely cabin fever, and went to run a few errands around town.

I ended up getting my PA diploma framed at Michaels and then I went to Lowes to get some paint. Why would this girl get paint when she's sick you may ask? I guess for me nothing makes me feel better than turning something ugly into something beautiful. I have been working on repurposing my grandmothers old dresser and I had it totally sanded down but since it was raining earlier last week I couldn't paint it and then I fell ill, so now as the perfect day to get things done. Plus dad was home and I could enlist his help for using the Wagner power sprayer for this project! Pictures to come, I have to add another coat of paint to the top of the dresser (since it will get the most wear and tear) and then give the dresser a clear coat of polyurethane for some extra durability and a shine. ;) I am also going to do a super sweet lace detail on the drawer fronts and I found some really awesome cabinet knobs online that I am waiting to come in so I can finish giving the dresser a makeover. I love being crafty. Ideas for this dresser were inspired by this lady on Pinterest.

So during all of this my dad is trying to paint all of the sliding leuvre doors to the closets as well. So we were both covered in paint by the evening. Dad finished up painting the doors today, its hard to paint in all the slats with a paint brush so my dad is getting a lot of use out of this past year's Christmas present. I was originally supposed to go to Alabama this weekend to visit two girl friends that I had met out in Reno/Tahoe. They have relocated to the South for the time being and were throwing a birthday/house warming party. Well I am very sorry I missed it but I was in no condition to go. Sometimes it sucks to do what is best for you, I will have to remember that when I am treating patients because I'll be telling them they have to do what is best for them in the long run.

I also learned how to use my mom's sewing machine last night... my mother and I completed a pillow but we sewed half of it by hand. I saw a cute idea on Pinterest for making a pillow from old cable knit sweaters. I had a sweater that I just didnt' wear anymore and if this lets you know how long I've had it, I wore it for my HS Senior portraits. Do the math. Since I am a petite person the size of clothing I have doesn't yield hardly enough material to make a pillow but I made it work. I'll post a picture when I've fully finished it. I know I'm promising so many pictures, guess my next few blogs will have lots of pictures instead of words. Anyways I leave for NYC in 2 days so there is lots to do before I leave. I guess there will be pictures to come for that entry as well upon my return. Buona notte!

+AMDG+

Shower time!

Well life has been going a mile a minute lately but hey, that's what I live for. I had the great honor of hosting my cousin, Clare's, first bridal shower this past weekend. Clare and I have been friends from the very start, we used to live on the same street as each other before we both were 2. Then our friendship continued as we started the same school together and we went kindergarten through 12th grade together and graduated from the same school. We went to different colleges where we met new friends, but no matter how much time elapsed it was always as if not a day had gone by. I am very honored to be a bridesmaid in her wedding on December 10, 2011. Clare is marrying a wonderful gentleman named Ben, for many of you who know me... Ben is not a name I want to have repeated often, but I love who they are individually and who they have become together. I admire their faith and trust in God's plan for them and how both Clare and Ben were open to the many changes God had in store for them.

Here is a lovely picture of Clare and Ben after he was received into the Catholic Church!

And after all the growing up together and now Clare is getting married! I knew this day would come but I didn't realize how much of a profound impact it would have on me. I am so excited for her and I'm probably going to cry my eyes out when I see her walk down the aisle. So anyways back to the shower I threw Clare. Well since I haven't started my job yet I have had ample amount of time to do some projects and to coordinate a shower, not that I haven't been busy but I have spare time. As many of you know I am somewhat of a Martha Stewart but I really have been more of a Paula Deen lately. I LOVE to cook and to feed other people. So I was excited to get to plan the menu for the shower, although it was a bit challenging because although it was a family shower, family along comprised over 50 people. I won't say thankfully that some family members couldn't make it but I was worried about how much seating we were going to have. We had about 40 people show up and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful! I wish I had gotten pictures of the back deck while it was decorated but I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off as it was. 

Here is a picture of the spread: top left: Red velvet cheesecake brownies, Carrot Cake, Sausage cheddar balls hiding next to the cake, then a basket of croissant rolls for putting chicken salad in. bottom left: veggie tray with chipotle ranch dressing, pickles, antipasta salad, fruit salad, and then chicken salad hiding in the corner.

The game I chose to play with the guests was called "Mustaches and Tiaras"... found this game off Pinterest (as soon as I find out how to tag Pinterest I'll do so!) Basically I asked each the bride and groom a set of the same questions, and they weren't about each other. So how the games works is that I read a question I asked the couple aloud and then I read one of their responses, then I had teams of two people who had to either hold up a mustache to their face to indicate it was a response that the groom had given or put the tiara up to their head to indicate the bride had said it. It was really funny to see all of these ladies with mustaches on. Since I was proctoring the game I didn't have time to take pictures but I know some of Clare's future in law's were snapping away. I did snag a picture or two after the game with my cousin.

 and now for a not so silly one

Clare had a mountain of gifts, and she will be even more excited once her and Ben find a place to live so she knows how much space she'll have and what colors she wants to decorate with. All in all I couldn't have had a better shower and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful friend and she truly is a pearl beyond price. Ben you are a very very blessed man, and I know she feels she the same way about you. Love ya'll!

+AMDG+

It's the little things

I just realized I haven't written in over a week; I have been busy and yet not busy. Hard to describe where I am at, but it involves a lot of waiting! I volunteered to help out with a Youth 2000 retreat 2 weekends ago and since then things have been going non stop. I accepted my first job last friday, it is just a PRN position but it will tide me over until I find a full time position. God has really blessed me because I wasn't too keen on interviewing for the position in the first place because it is for a Medical Weight Loss clinic but the Lord urged me to give the manager a call back and to set up an interview. I wanted a job working in a hospital or even a place that would be practicing more medicine than this job offered but I explained my situation to the manager and he understood completely how I felt but also said hey, here is your opportunity to get your foot in the door... get your license, get some experience, and get some connections. What did I have to lose? The staff has been more than helpful to me and surprisingly has guided me through the licensing process. I am glad some people know how this is supposed to go because the GA composite medical board hasn't been very helpful, besides telling me that all of the information is available online. I have signed all of my papers and they are sending in my stuff to get my PA license. SO EXCITED! So as soon as I have my temporary license I can start working!

I am still searching for a full time job in the area, but this doesn't put so much pressure on my search and allows me to pay some bills in the mean time. I am hosting my cousin/bestfriend's bridal shower this weekend at my house (aka the parents) and will have close to 50 ladies there! So I am going to have my hands full for the rest of the week getting things ready for that. I also have been busy with wedding plans for several of my brides, I will be in 3 weddings over the next 6 months. I am visiting my brother and sister in law in NYC Oct 19-24th. I am super excited as well because a friend of mine that lives in Israel will be the U.S. and in NYC during that time frame so I get to visit with her as well as my brother and sister in law! A little time away after studying for boards and all of this job hunting should do me some good.

There are so many things coming up that I'm looking forward to but I guess I will blog about them as they come along because you people could be reading for a very long time. I just know that I've really come to appreciate the little blessings I've received recently, sorry God for me being so prideful and no grateful for what I have. It is the little things that really have been keeping me going, little bits of light shed on my life allowing me to have hope and to stay positive about all the things God is doing in my life. Thank you Lord for the littlest things to the greatest, I don't deserve them but I am so glad you give them to me. Help me to have more grace to forgive, to heal and to love.

+AMDG+