These Days

I haven't posted in a while, so I figured I would give an update on what's going on... Richard and I finish up our last rotation for the 2010 year this week! We are both working at one of the hospitals in Montgomery, so it has been nice to be able to ride together to work. It has been a good rotation for both of us, but we are definitely ready for some time off. We can't wait to be able to spend some time with family and friends during the holidays! Richard and I have been training for the Mercedes Half Marathon in Birmingham in February. We are currently on Week 4 of training and so far, so good! The most we have ran so far is five miles, which we tackled last Saturday! We ran this afternoon and it was only 35 degrees, which was pretty cold! I will keep you posted on how training is going. Richard had his platform on December 2nd and he is very excited to have that presentation behind him. He did a great job! Richard is dying to go camping, so hopefully we can squeeze that in over the break. We have lots of plans for Christmas break, but it is going to be a great time! MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR! (just in case I don't have a chance to make another post before then!)

Fun Filled Weekend

This past weekend, we were so excited to get to have some out-of-town company! Our good friends from Tuscaloosa came to visit us. We are so lucky to have such great friends!! They recently had a new addition to their family...Baby Coleman! It was so good to be able to catch up with them and to get to see Coleman for the first time in person. He is absolutely adorable!!

He is already building up those muscles!!

We were able to go out to eat on Friday and then watch the SEC Championship game on Saturday! Even though we didn't get to go to the game, we were still able to watch it in Auburn and then we got to roll Toomer's Corner afterwards! It has been such an exciting season watching the Tigers!

Us rollin' Toomer's Corner with lots of other Auburn fans!! WAR EAGLE!!!

Playin' in the Rain

I thought that this picture was too cute not to share. These are two of Richard's little cousins on Thanksgiving Day. They are precious!

Turkey Toss 2010

Yes, it was an actual turkey toss where they threw frozen turkeys. Is that redneck or what? Rick and Bubba host an annual Turkey Toss and this year it happened to be at the Academy Sporting Goods store in Montgomery, which is on our way to our rotation in Montgomery. We got up a little early and stopped by to see what this Turkey Toss was all about. There were people of all ages trying to throw turkeys as far as they could. I wanted to enter the High Heels division, but the line was too long for us to stand in and still make it to work on time. We enjoyed laughing at the attempts that were made. Even though we weren't able to throw a turkey, we were able to get a few pictures with some of the crew. We got a picture of the infamous Lou Holtz impersonator. If you haven't heard him on the Rick and Bubba Show, he is hilarious! We were also able to get a picture with Rick and Bubba themselves.

Mom's Surprise 50th Birthday Party

November 18th was my Mom's 50th birthday! We decided to surprise her with a party at my aunt and uncle's house this past Saturday night. There were several changes in plans and lots of little fibs that were told during the past couple of weeks, but I think that we really p

ulled it of and surprised my mom. She walked in the door thinking that only a few people would be there, but was surprised to see a house full of people all there for her and her special day. There was tons of food, delicious cake, great gifts and lots of laughs. Mom has always been the one to do things for other people, so this was our turn to do something special for her. She deserved a wonderful party with family and friends.

This was Mom's face when she walked in the door and realized that this was a surprise party!

Opening all her gifts!!

Really cute napkins!

Delicious Peanut Butter Cake! It was so incredibly good!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to Richard! Friday was Richard's 27th birthday! His sister sent him a text message that said, "Happy Birthday Ya Old Man!" I went to Gigi's Cupcakes in Auburn and got some cupcakes for his birthday (which were delicious!!) He had the day off from rotations, so he was able to relax a little bit. I had to work, but I told him that I would take him out to eat for his birthday. I had done a little planning and when we got to Logan's to eat, a group of our friends were there for his birthday. He was surprised and glad to see everyone! Saturday was the Auburn versus Georgia game and I think that the win just added to the celebration! Overall, I think he had a great birthday weekend! I am so lucky to be able to celebrate birthdays with such a wonderful husband and I can't wait to celebrate many, many more!

Gigi's Cupcakes: Caramel Sugar Mama, White Midnight Magic, Wedding Cake, Lemon Dream Supreme

6 Months From Today...

6 months from today, we will be graduating!!!!!! It is crazy to think about, but it is almost here! In some ways, it seems like we have been in school forever, and in other ways, its seems like it has flown by. We have put in so many countless hours of late night studying and cramming for tests and trying to learn as much as we could. In just 6 months, we will be walking across the stage receiving our Doctor of Pharmacy degrees! Now, we just have to figure who we are going to work for and when we are going to live!

Homecoming

Yesterday, Auburn had their Homecoming game against Tennessee Chattanooga. Richard's parents, Richard and Marie, and his sister, Taylor, and her boyfriend, Chase, were able to make a little trip to Auburn for the game. We bared the very cold weather and wind and went to the watch the Tigers. We were able to see Tiger Walk as we were making our way toward the stadium. They were able to experience the eagle flying before the game and the band's performance. None of us could feel our toes, but we still had a good time. We watched the Alabama game that afternoon and had warm chili dogs and fries for dinner. The perfect food to warm us up after freezing at the game! It was a good day and we were so glad to get to see them!

Auburn vs. Ole Miss Game

Our trip to Oxford for the Auburn vs. Ole Miss game last weekend was a great trip! We left very early Saturday morning and made the five hour drive over to Oxford. We caravaned with lots of Auburn fans flying their flags and sporting their AU magnets on the side of their vehicles. When we arrived on the campus in Oxford we were surprised to see more Auburn fans than Ole Miss fans. However, we soon found out that all the Ole Miss fans tailgate in a central location which they call "The Grove". It was a pretty impressive site to see a sea of blue, red and white tents all bundled together. We went to a local restaurant called Abners. An Ole Miss fan that was in front of us in line turned around and said, "I think that y'all might have us out-numbered!". While we were eating, we also noticed that Braves player and former Auburn baseball player, Tim Hudson, was eating with some friends and family as well. After eating, we got to see Tiger Walk

and then went into the stadium. The game was very interesting in the beginning and the Auburn fans were as loud as ever. By about half time, the Ole Miss fans started to trickle out of the stadium, and by the fourth quarter, there were probably more Auburn fans inside the stadium than Ole Miss fans.

We stayed until the very end and thought that they might ever turn the lights out on us. The players and coaches all ran to our end-zone and celebrated with us. All in all, it was a great experience!! Here are some pictures from the trip!

Oxford Bound

We are headed to Oxford in the morning for the Auburn vs. Ole Miss game! We are so excited about getting to go with a great group of friends! We hope that our Auburn Tigers can pull out a win tomorrow! The weather has changed so much in the past day and it is going to be a cold one tomorrow night in Oxford! I am sure that there will be pictures to come from the game! WAR EAGLE!!!

Pumpkin Carving

Richard and I were able to carve pumpkins with some of our good friends the other night. We all carved pumpkins together last year and decided to carry on the tradition. We all diligently worked for what seemed like forever and this is what we ended up with.

Richard carved the Headless Horseman, I carved the AU symbol (I thought it was appropriate since we are #1 in the BCS right now!!), Rebecca carved the "Trick or Treat" and Jon carved the dragon.

On the Plains

So far, this season has been the most exciting football season yet! It seems like it gets louder and louder with each game inside Jordan Hare Stadium! Almost every game has kept us on the edge of our bleacher until the very end. We are so impressed with our Auburn Tigers! We hope that they can keep up the great work as we go on the road to Ole Miss next week! I am very excited about the game, because this will be my first away game to attend! There is a big group of us that are all making the trip to Oxford. It's great to be and AUBURN TIGER!!! WAR EAGLE!!!

Finally!!

I can now say that I have completed my platform!! I gave my platform presentation today at Baptist South in Montgomery. For those of you that don't know what that means, I will explain. It is a HUGE presentation that all fourth year students have to do. You have to research a topic and come up with a clinical question and provide a recommendation for the future. The title of my platform was: "Intensive Versus Conventional Glucose Control for ICU Patients". It was an interesting topic and I learned a lot from it. I worked on this presentation for what seemed like forever! Now I just have to wait for my grade! It is a huge weight lifted off my shoulders to have this completed!

Shout Out

Things have been incredibly busy these past couple of weeks! Richard and I both had presentations today and I have my platform next Wednesday, so things have been a little stressful! I just wanted to give a quick shout out to a couple of my very creative friends!

First, this is an adorable Auburn picture frame that my friend Ashley Miller made me for my birthday at the beginning of September! I haven't put a picture in it yet, because I am waiting on a really good one that is frame worthy!

Second, this is some Auburn jewelry that my friend Jessica Mayer made especially for me. She recently started selling jewelry on her website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlemissys Check it out! I contacted her and she made me this awesome necklace and bracelet. I can't wait to wear them!!

As most of you know, I love anything that is Auburn, so these were perfect and I just wanted to let everyone know what creative friends I have!! WAR EAGLE!!!

WAR EAGLE!!!!!

First of all... WOW, what a game!!! The Auburn vs. Clemson game yesterday on the plains is one of those games that I will never forget. Although we had a rough start, the game had a very happy ending. I don't think that I have ever heard Jordan-Hare Stadium quite that loud! Everyone was cheering as loud as they could. After the win, a bunch of us joined in on one of Auburn's oldest traditions, by rolling Toomer's Corner. Here are some pictures from tailgating and after the game.

As far as school goes, Richard is working at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery for this rotation. He is learning more and more about hospital pharmacy and what he likes and doesn't like. I am working at Copeland Care Clinic in Montgomery and in Auburn. This clinic serves patients with HIV. It has been an eye opening experience so far. I am working really hard, but I am learning so much! I am also working on finishing up my platform, which is a huge presentation that I have to do on October 6th.

Auburn Football

I just wanted to post a quick picture from last Saturday's game. We had a blast tailgating with our wonderful friends and enjoyed getting to see some great friends that we hadn't seen in a while!! We are excited to see how Auburn does against Mississippi State tomorrow night! WAR EAGLE!!!!!

YAY!!

Only one more day until MY BIRTHDAY and only two more days until AUBURN FOOTBALL!! I am a little excited; can you tell??

A Little of This and A Little of That

This past weekend Richard and I were able to go home to spend some time with our families! We went to eat at Ezell's Catfish Cabin in Bessemer with my parents on Friday night. The summer before we started pharmacy school I worked at an Ezell's restaurant in Pelham, so this brought back some memories. They brought us out a huge basket of hush puppies and a bowl full of coleslaw. Then came our catfish, tilapia and seafood plater. We ate until we were stuffed and still had a ton of food to take home!

On Saturday we headed to Gallant. We got to spend some time with my Granny and Grandad, my Dad's parents, which was nice. They always have stories to tell! That afternoon we went to my aunt and uncle's house to celebrate my Grandmother's 70th birthday! (She would kill me if she knew I put her age on here, because you wouldn't think she was 70!) Then that night the girls went to Ashley's Lingerie Shower which was a blast. Daniel and Ashley's wedding will be here before we know it! It was so much fun getting so spend time with everyone.

On Sunday morning we got to spend some time with Richard's parents and sister. Richard's mom cooked these little sausage won ton things that were delicious! We enjoyed just sitting around talking to them and playing with all the animals.

This is our last week of this rotation block. Richard is excited that he won't have to drive quite as far this next block. Me on the other hand, I am not really ready to have to start waking up and getting dressed in the mornings! I have really enjoyed my time off this block and I have gotten a lot accomplished! We are looking forward to this weekend since Friday is my birthday and Saturday is the start of Auburn Football! WAR EAGLE!!!

Inspiration!

This morning while I was eating breakfast and looking on the internet, I came across this amazing video. This video is of a seven year old girl who sings for the Lord. She lost her mother a year ago to ovarian cancer. She says that she loved to hear her mother sing and wants to sing to be an inspiration for others. She has done several interviews and says that her advice is to "follow your dreams". God has given her an amazing talent! If this doesn't give you some inspiration, I don't know what will!! Enjoy!

Our Little Friends

We have two little squirrels that have become regulars on our front porch. Every afternoon when I open the front door, within five minutes they are waiting to be fed. One day Richard told me that one of the squirrels actually came up and put it's little hands on the glass door and acted like he was looking inside. I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes, but it is very true. Richard started feeding them little pieces of bread and now they want to be fed everyday. They are really close to eating out of our hands. Here are some pictures that I took this afternoon!

Apple Crisp With Vanilla Ice Cream

I have been trying to cook more since I am off this block. We recenlty went to eat dinner with some of our friends and everyone was going to come over to our house afterwards for dessert! Dessert is by far my favorite part of any meal!!! I literally could live off of sweets!! I decided to serve Apple Crisp With Vanilla Ice Cream. It is a very easy dessert to make and it went over really well with everyone!


Here is the recipe: 3-4 Granny Smith Apples
1 box of butter cake mix
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 stick of butter


Peel and slice up the apples and cover the bottom of an 8x8 backing dish. Mix together the powder from the cake mix, the sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples. Cut up the stick of butter and place the slices on the top of the mixture. Cook at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

The Wreath

I decided that our front door really needed some sort of decoration, so I decided that I wanted to try and make a wreath. I had never made a wreath before, but I figured that I should give it a try and see what happened. I went to Hobby Lobby and was able to get all the materials for 50% off! I took a plain grapevine wreath and added the orange and yellow berries and then added the orange and yellow flowers. This is what I ended up with! I feel like it is very fall and Auburn-ish, which I love!!

What's Going On Now

Just a little update on what's going on with us right now...
We are in our third rotation block out of a total of nine blocks. Each block is five weeks long. Richard is working for Unicare in Prattville, which is a company that manages medications for patients in several different nursing homes. He goes out with consultant pharmacists and looks at charts of patients in the nursing homes and makes recommendations for things that could be improved upon. He says that it is interesting and he is learning a lot about how to manage elderly patients' medications. Richard is also eagerly awaiting the arrival of Auburn Football! Only 27 more days!! Yes, he is counting down the days! WAR EAGLE!!

This is my vacation block, which means that I don't have to get dressed up and go anywhere for five weeks! They call it vacation, but I have plenty of work to do. I have a huge presentation called my platform that I will be giving on October 6th in Montgomery, so I am working on that while I am off of work. I am doing my best to try and cook lots of new receipes while I have a little extra time. We have tried a couple of receipes that have been good and a couple that haven't been quite so good! I am also trying to do some running and Taebo to get into shape. I am seriously thinking about training for the Mercedes Half-Marathon in Birmingham this February! I will keep you updated on how that is going!

My Online Purchase

I have to wear a name badge at work everyday, so I decided that I needed a colorful way to wear it. I had looked all over and finally found a website that made monogrammed badge reels. The website is SouthernSweetDimples.com. I ordered two of them and here they are! I ordered the orange polka dots with a navy M for Auburn, of course. I also ordered a floral print with a green M just for fun!

The Hammock

So, I was trying to decided what to get Richard for our 2 Year Anniversary. You might think that I would have a hard time trying to find something to get him, but actually it's harder to narrow it down to one thing on his list of wants. He is always throwing out ideas of things that he wants. I have learned that if I write down exactly what he wants when he says it, that by the time I get around to buying it, he has already forgotten that he mentioned it to me. So, when our anniversary was getting close, I had decided that I was going to order this hammock that he had been wanting and telling me all about. I got online with my debit card ready, only to find out that they were sold out of the navy/olive color combination that he wanted. I was completely bummed out! I checked back a couple of days later just to make sure that they were really sold out, and found out that they already had some more in stock. I was so excited until I started thinking about how I was going to have it shipped to us, but not let him see the package. With the help of some great friends, I decided that I would have it shipped to their house so that Richard wouldn't have a chance to see the package. Everything went great with the ordering and the shipping. When Richard opened his gift on our anniversary he was truly shocked that I had remembered the exact hammock and even the color that he wanted. He immediately took that hammock outside and tried to put it up on our backporch, which is not very large at all. Later on that week, we decided to take a stroll down to the lakes in our neighborhood and try out the hammock. It works great and didn't fall when we tried it out! He loves it and can't wait to go camping!!

Happy Anniversary!!

Yesterday was our Two Year Anniversary! I can't believe that we have been married for two years. It has been a wonderful experience thus far. We have learned so much more about each other. We have learned what issues to push and what issue to just let go. We have learned how to get through things together. It just doesn't seem like it has been two whole years since my Dad walked me down the isle to Richard and we said our vows to each other. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who loves me and makes me smile! I am so greatful that God put Richard in my life!! I am so thankful that I was able to marry my best friend! I can't wait to spend many more years together!

4th of July

Here are a couple of the pictures of the fireworks that we saw at the Auburn Fireworks Show on Sunday night. Thanks to Brandon and Cayla for letting us know about the show and letting us go with them! We ended up having great seats right beneath the fireworks! I love watching fireworks! They just amaze me!

Canoeing Excursion

Recently, Richard and I were able to go canoeing with my little brother and his fiance. My mom dropped us and the canoes off in Old Town Helena. We canoed down Buck Creek until we intersected with the Cahaba River. We started out at about 9:00 that morning and finished up at about 12:30 that afternoon. It was a fun little trip. Luckily, we didn't see any snakes! We saw a few turtles and we think that one was even trying to bite Richard. We had stopped at a rope swing and we were all in the water, when Richard said that he felt something tug on his swimsuit. You should have seen Jessy and I get back in those canoes! Just before we got to the end of our trip, the sky started to get a little dark and the thunder started to roll. By the time we got the canoes loaded up and in the truck, it had started raining. We barely missed it. We had such a good time and would love to do it again!

Rotations

Richard and I have completed our first rotation and have started on our second rotation! For my first rotation, I was at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery. I worked with some really great pharmacists and learned so much from them and the experience. The rotation definitely opened my eyes to an area of pharmacy that I had previously thought I did not want to do. There were several things that I really enjoyed about working in the hospital. Richard was at Lakeshore Pharmacy which is an independent pharmacy in Dadeville. He enjoyed his rotation and really like working with the people there. Today we started our second rotation and are excited to see how they go. One down, only seven more to go!!! One step closer to graduation next May!

Our Wedding Day

It was on July 12th, 2008. It is day that neither of us will ever forget! There had been so many preparations for this one day! I wouldn't have been able to plan our wedding without the help of so many people, especially my Mom. I had six wonderful bridesmaids and Richard had six of his best friends as his groomsmen. We also had my cousins as the flowergirl and ringbearer! They were absolutely adorable and did a great job. The bridesmaids wore a tea-length shimmering tan dress with a V-back and dark brown sash. Richard and the groomsmen wore brown tuxedos with tan vests and ties. My dress was candlelight with an ivory waist. It had sparkles along the bust line and buttons that went all the way down the back of the dress and the train. I hadn't even picked this dress out to try on, but my Mom asked me to try it on and I fell in love with it! The flowers in the wedding were a mixture of yellow, pink and orange. There were lilies, gerber daisies, carnations and roses. They turned out even prettier than I had imagined. The ceremony was done by my cousin's husband, who did an amazing job. We couldn't have asked a better person to do the wedding. We got married in a little country church in Gallant, Alabama called Bethlehem Baptist Church. It is the church that I grew up in and the church that my parents got married in too. Richard's Mom wanted to see his face when he saw me for the first time and I wanted to take pictures before the wedding, so we compromised. Before we took pictures, my Dad actually walked me down the isle to see Richard for the first time that day. He cried, like he said he would, and then we got to spend a few minutes alone together before we started with the pictures. It rained so hard that morning and around lunch time, but when it came time for pictures and the ceremony, it actually cooled off and was absolutely gorgeous! After the ceremony, we had our reception and got to see everyone. We left that night and went to Ross Bridge in Hoover to spend the night. Richard's parents had gotten us a very nice room for the night. The next morning we got up very early and went to the Birmingham airport to leave for our honeymoon! It all happened very quickly, but is a day that will always be very special to both of us!!

My Dad's Birthday

Today is my Dad's birthday! I am so thankful to have such a wonderful dad who has always been there for me! He has taught me so much over the years! I just wanted to say that I hope he has a wonderful day! Sorry that we couldn't be there with him today, but we will see him next weekend!

This picture was taken in December when we all went on a camping trip up at The Lodge in Gallant. And that is my brother's dog Jake in the picture too!

Hydrangeas

These gorgeous, fresh flowers are compliments of our neighbors' hydrangea bush. They aren't here this summer, so I figured that someone needed to enjoy them!

Beach Trip May 2010

We were so lucky to get to go to the beach with a big group of our friends! We mentioned that we should all get together and go to the beach during our two week break between finals and the start of our rotations. Within one week of mentioning it to everyone, one of our friends had us a place booked in Seacrest Beach, which is close to Panama City Beach. As the trip got closer, we were very worried about the oil situation and how it would affect our trip. When we got down to the beach, the water was crystal clear and the weather was perfect! We had such a good time hanging out with everyone before we all started our rotations. We are incredibly blessed to have such great friends!!

The Proposal

It was on July 11th, 2007. I was working at Ezell's, which is a catfish restaurant back home in Birmingham. Every night when I got off of work I would call my mom and let her know that I was on my way to the house. After I called her, I would call Richard and talk to him until I got home. Richard's dad had a minor surgery done earlier that day and was spending the night at the hospital. Richard told me that he was staying at home with his sister and was waiting on his mom to call back with an update on his dad. He told me that if she called while we were on the phone that he was going to have to call me back. I was telling him all about my afternoon and night at work and about all the customers that had come in that day. I talked to him for about 15 minutes and about the time that I pulled into the driveway at my house, he told me that his mom was calling and he would call me right back. I told him that it was fine, to take his time. I walked into the house and started talking to my mom about work and how much money I had made that night. Every night we had to mop the floors before leaving work, so often times my shoes and pants legs would be soaked. I started taking off my shoes and rolling up my jeans so that they wouldn't get the carpet dirty. My mom told me that I had to come outside and look at what my brother had done to the front yard. Knowing my brother, I didn't think a thing about it and proceeded out the front door. When I opened the door there was a HUGE box with a bow on the front porch with my name on it! It didn't take me long to figure out what was going on, but I was so surprised! I lifted the lid on the box and Richard was dressed in his suit and tie, down on one knee and holding a gorgeous ring!! He was sweating to death because he had been in the box for a little while and it was the middle of the summer! He got out of the box, got down on one knee again and asked me to marry him! He said something to the effect of, "I love you with all my heart and want to spend the rest of my life with you! Will you marry me?" Of course, I said YES!! My brother was out in the front yard with the video camera, so he got it all on tape! After I got over the shock, we started calling everyone we knew!