Christmas Time

Richard and I really enjoyed being able to see our family this Christmas. We were very fortunate to have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off from work! We are truly blessed with such wonderful families!!

Here are some pictures...

I got Richard some Legos for his stocking and he had to build it right then!! Such a big kid at heart!

Christmas Eve at my Mom and Dad's house opening presents!!

My dad and brother all decked out in their hunting gear!!

Our tradition that started four years ago continued this year with a rice crispy house! We thought it turned out really good (and it tasted good too!!).

Richard's mom is taking care of some puppies and I fell in love!!! And I think Richard did too!!

Peppermint Bark

I tried this new recipe for Peppermint Bark and it turned out great! It is super easy and very festive for the holidays! I got the recipe online at Joy of Baking, but I modified the recipe a little.

Peppermint Bark

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces semi sweet chocolate (I used 12 ounces)
• 6 ounces white chocolate (I used 12 ounces of almond bark)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup crushed candy canes (about 6 is plenty)

Directions:

• Line the bottom of a baking pan with aluminum foil and smooth the wrinkles out. (I used a 9 x 13)
• Melt the semi sweet chocolate in a microwavable glass bowl. Stir often
  so that it doesn't burn.
• Pour the melted semi sweet chocolate into the baking pan with the aluminum foil and spread over the entire pan.
• Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or until the chocolate is set.
• Melt the almond bark in the microwave and pour over the semi sweet chocolate.
• Sprinkle crushed candy canes over the top.
• Place back in refrigerator for another 30 minutes or so.
• Break into bite sized pieces and enjoy!!!

I found these great little tins at Hobby Lobby for half off, so they were a great deal and super cute!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Goodies

Yesterday I was able to make some Christmas goodies with my mom and sister-in-law and her younger sister. Although we had quite a mess at one point (maybe even two points), we were able to make lots of wonderful goodies!! We made: Peanut Butter Balls, Martha Washington Balls, Orange Balls, Cheese Balls, Sausage Balls, White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Peanut Butter Cookies with White Chocolate, White Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sticks, Santa Cookies and Chex Mix. Needless to say, we were busy all day long, but we had a blast. Here are a few pictures.

I can't wait for Christmas!!!

Cake Mix Cookies

I wanted to share this recipe for some delicious cookies that I got from my aunt. They are quick and easy to make and taste great too!!

Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 Butter recipe boxed cake mix
• 1/2 cup self rising flour
• 2/3 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 6-8 ounces of chocolate chips or peanut butter chips

Directions:

• Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
• Scoop out onto greased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes.

ENJOY!!

These would also be a perfect cookie to leave for Santa on Christmas night!!

Still Here

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are still here! I have been a complete slacker when it comes to blogging. We have been working a good bit lately and enjoying our days off when they come around. We got to spend Thanksgiving with our families which was wonderful. I attempted to make my first pumpkin pie and it actually turned out quite well! Friday after Thanksgiving, I was able to put up our Christmas tree and a few other decorations. I can't believe that tomorrow it will be December! I promise that I will be more dedicated to blogging in December!

Baby Cooper Marshall

My cousin, Clay, and his wife, Kimberly (whom I have know since I was little), recently had their little boy. Cooper Marshall was born on Saturday night. We got to visit them at the hospital today. I absolutely loved holding him! I really think that I could have held him all day long and just stared at him. He makes my heart melt! We are so excited and happy for them!!!

Camping and Carving

Richard and I recently had a few days off together this week, so we took advantage of our time and the beautiful weather that we have been having.

We decided to go camping at Tannehill State Park. If you know Richard, you know that he was incredibly excited about the camping trip. We were able to set up our campsite and then do alittle hiking around the park. I was able to get some really pretty pictures of the changing leaves.

When we got back from hiking we had some daylight left, so we set up both of our hammocks. We roasted hot dogs and s'mores for dinner! It was a little chilly when we woke up the next morning, but we got the fire started again and made breakfast. We made sausage in a cast-iron skillet and biscuits on a stick. It was actually really tasty!

We were also able to carve our pumpkins this week! We both hand sketched our pumpkins and I think that they turned out pretty good! Happy Halloween!

Santa Fe Soup

I wanted to share this recipe because it is one of our favorites, it's delicious and it's super easy! With the weather getting a little bit cooler, this is a perfect meal with lots of leftovers.

Santa Fe Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 cans white shoepeg corn
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can diced or stewed tomatoes
• 2 packages Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
• 2 packages Taco seasoning
• 2 lbs ground beef (browned) or chicken (cooked)
• 2 cups water

Directions:

• You literally throw everything into your crockpot and let it simmer for about 2 hours, and your done!
• Serve with chips, shredded cheese and sour cream.

My New Hobby

Recently, I decided that I wanted to try making earrings (which I love!). One day while I was out and about, I stopped by Michaels' to take a look at their earring making supplies. Needless to say, I was completely overwhelmed. There were so many beads and tools that I didn't really know where to start. I left the store a little disappointed, but when I got home, I started checking out different websites that explained how to make simple earrings. I made a list of the tools and supplies that I needed and headed back to the store. I will say that it took me over 2 hours to make my first pair, but I have gotten a little bit faster since then. I love being able to pick out different color beads and put them together to make these earrings. It is a new hobby that I have come to enjoy. I have made about fourteen pairs so far. Here are a few pictures of some of them.

Crafty Fall Wreath

So, I have been wanting to make things lately, so this is my new fall wreath! I got the idea off of another blog that I read.

I started out with a pool noodle which I duct taped together (with Richard's help!).

Then I wrapped the noodle with some inexpensive fabric to hide the bright yellow color.

I used a scrap-booking hole punch and scrap-booking paper to make the circles. I choose to use red, yellow, orange and brown so that I would be very fallish. After punching out all the circles, I used the eraser end of a pencil to form the circles. I applied the circles to the wreath using a small dab of hot glue.

And this is the finished product!! I thought it turned out great! It took some time, but well worth it!!

HAPPY FALL!!!

Richard's Adventure - The Sequel

I didn't expect to be posting a sequel to Richard's Adventure, but here it is.... Thursday afternoon, Richard complained of not feeling well and had a slight fever late Thursday night. Friday morning when we got up, he was still feeling bad and had a fever of 101.4. We got a little concerned that there might be some type of complication from his appendectomy earlier this month. Richard called his surgeon and explained what was going on and he recommended that he be brought to the hospital for a CT scan to see if there was an abscess or leak in his intestines. We made the drive to Troy and had the CT scan done and everything was clear, nothing on the CT scan. His doctor ordered some blood work, a flu test and a strep test to rule those out. After a couple of hours, we found out that Richard's white blood cell count was extremely elevated and that he was going to be admitted back to the hospital. At this point, they had ruled out the flu and strep, but didn't know if it was his gallbladder or an infection called C.diff. After being admitted to the hospital and having an ultrasound done, they were able to rule out his gallbladder and decided that it was a gut infection caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile. They started him on IV antibiotics and fluids to get him re-hydrated and to bring his fever down. Luckily, the antibiotics started working and we were able to get Richard discharged from the hospital and are now home recovering. He will be on a course of antibiotics for the next ten days and we are crossing our fingers that everything will be back to normal by then! We really and truly appreciate all the thoughts are prayers for Richard through this rough patch!!

Balsamic Pork Chops

Richard and I both love trying new recipes and this is one of our recent favorites. It is quick and easy and tastes great!!

Balsamic Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 1 (6.2 0z) box quick cooking long-grain and wild rice mix
• 3 TBSP all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 6 boneless pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick)
• 2 TBSP butter or margarine
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 (14 oz ) can chicken broth
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:

• Cook rice according to package directions and keep warm.
• Combine flour, rosemary, salt and pepper. Dredge pork chops in mixture.
• Melt butter and olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat; add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add pork chops and cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove pork chops from skillet.
• Add broth and vinegar, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Cook for 6 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Add pork chops and cook 5 minutes or until done. Serve over rice.

We used dried rosemary instead of fresh rosemary and we used garlic powder instead of garlic cloves. We also had balsamic vinaigrette dressing in the fridge, so we used that instead of balsamic vinegar.

We had lima beans and a Sister Schubert roll to go along with the pork chops. It made a wonderful dinner!!

Recipe complements of Southern Living Quick and Easy Weeknight Meals.

Richard's Adventure

Last Friday was an unusual day, that we were not expecting, to say the least! Richard and I got up that morning and were getting ready for work, as usual, when Richard complained that his stomach was hurting. We just assumed that it was something that he had eaten and finished getting ready and went to work. That afternoon, I got a phone call from Richard saying that he was in so much pain that he was leaving work. And to make a long story short, he ended up having emergency surgery to have his appendix taken out at the hospital in Troy!! After a couple of days in the hospital, lots of IV antibiotics and pain medications, he was discharged to come home on Sunday. He has a total of 13 staples in his stomach, which will be removed on Monday. He is getting better and better each day! We were very fortunate to have had a wonderful doctor and great nurses that took good care of him while at the hospital. We are so thankful for all the thoughts and prayers that went up for Richard!

The Real World

Lately, Richard and I have been working long hours and learning more about being retail pharmacists. Everyone told us that when we got out of school and into the "real world" that we would wish we were back in school....we do not think that this is true!! It is true that we have to work long hours and have a sporadic schedule right now, but we are enjoying our free time when we have it! It is a truly wonderful feeling to be able to come home after work and not have to open a book or start studying for a test. For the past eight years, especially the last four, we always had something to do for school, but now, we have a sense of freedom, which is wonderful!!

Last Name Picture Frame

So, I have been working on this project for quite some time now, but it's finally complete!!! I got the idea after seeing these frames with words like Faith, Love, Believe and other words spelled out in letters. I decided that I wanted to make our last name. I found several websites and stores that would let you buy photographs of letters that someone else had taken. I wanted to make this really special, so I decided that I would take all the pictures myself. To make it even more meaningful, I decided to take all the pictures in Auburn, where we met and spent so much time. It was a little more difficult than I thought, but after taking lots of pictures I finally got them like I wanted them. I had it framed and put together and here is the finished project! I love the way it turned out and this is something that we will have forever!!

My Kindle

Our anniversary was last month and Richard got me a Kindle! I am going to blame not blogging as much on my Kindle, but I love it! I was a little unsure how I would feel about reading on an electronic reader. I thought that I would really miss holding an actual book and being able to turn the pages, but I was wrong. I am a pretty slow reader, but I am already on my second book! The first book that I read was Sisterhood Everlasting. This is a book by Ann Brashares, who wrote the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which I read a long time ago. The four book series is about a set of friends and their journey through high school and college. Sisterhood Everlasting is a continuation of the series, but about ten years later, so the friends are now about to turn thirty. I remembered the characters as if I had read the series just last week. It was a good read! Now, I am on my second book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. When I was trying to decide which book to read next, I kept seeing this book everywhere, so I decided to give it a try. And the movie is coming out soon, so I will have to see it after I finish the book. So far, it has been a good book. I will have to let you know more of what I think after I finish it.

3 Years!!

It's hard to believe, but Richard and I have been married for three years today! Time has really flown by! I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband and best friend! I love him with all my heart and can't wait to spend many, more years with him! Here is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding!

Montgomery Biscuits

Richard and I recently went to a Montgomery Biscuits game with some friends. This was our first trip to see the Montgomery Biscuits, so we didn't really know what to expect. We had such a great time! The stadium is built around an old train station and the train tracks now run right beside the outfield. We got to sit on the first base line and were really close to the field. Enough though the Biscuits lost the game, we still had a great time. The fireworks after the game were really good too! We will definitely go back for another game some time soon!

Heaven is for Real

I just finished reading "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo. If you haven't read it, you should! This book tells the story of a little boy who experienced heaven. It will definitely make you stop and think!!

YAY!! We Both Passed!!

Richard and I found out yesterday that we both passed both the NAPLEX and the MPJE. The NAPLEX is the medicine portion of our state board test and the MPJE is the Alabama law portion of our state board test. We are so incredibly relieved about passing it the first time! No more studying for us!! We are one step closer to being licensed pharmacists in the state of Alabama!

Happy Fathers' Day!

Just wanted to make a quick post to say that Richard and I are incredibly thankful and grateful for our fathers and the impact that they have had on our lives. We love them dearly! Happy Father's Day! These pictures were taken at our wedding, almost three years ago, but I LOVE these pictures!

Happy Graduation Taylor and Chase

Congratulations to Taylor and Chase on their recent high school graduation! My sister-in-law and her boyfriend just graduated this past Thursday night. I know that they are both excited and glad to be done with high school. I know that they will both succeed in whatever they chose to do in the future!

We Graduated!

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011, was a good day! Richard and I graduated from pharmacy school and are officially done!! YAY!! We can't believe that we have actually graduated! We now have four Auburn diplomas hanging on our wall. We were so blessed to have our families with us on graduation day! Here are just a few of the pictures.

Richard and I at Toomer's corner!

Richard and I with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law! Love them!

Richard and I with his parents, his sister and her boyfriend! Love them too!

We are now Doctors of Pharmacy! Now we just have to pass our state boards and get licensed!!

So Much Going On

Graduation is one week from tomorrow!! We can't believe it! We have already started doing some training for work and things are going well so far. We are also in the process of selling our trailer in Auburn and moving to our new apartment. There will be lots of changes over the next few weeks, with graduation, a real job, studying for our board exams and moving to a new place! We are excited to start this new phase of our lives!! There will be pictures to come soon.

With all the recent storms and tornadoes, the people and families who have been affected are on our hearts and in our prayers.

Less Than One Month

Graduation is only 29 days away!!!! We can't believe that it is almost here! We have been waiting for what seems like FOREVER!!! We are super excited and can't wait for May 10th to get here!! YAY!!

Great Weather, Great Weekend

It has been such a good weekend! My cousin, Clay, and his wife, Kimberly, were in Auburn for the weekend. On Saturday, we were able to go eat Mexican food, which is our favorite, at El Dorados. After lunch, we made our way to Gigi's for some delicious cupcakes! Richard got Lemon Ice Box, I got Orange Dreamsicle, Kimberly got Summer Fun and Clay got White Midnight Magic.

We walked around Auburn's campus and snapped some pictures before heading to the baseball game. These were a few of my favorite pictures of the day!

Samford Hall!

Toomer's Corner!

Auburn was playing Vandy. The beginning of the game was really good, but ended up not turning out so well for Auburn, but we still had a good time.

I have also started a little project that I am still in the process of completing. I have seen a lot of these framed pictures that spell out words like Faith, Love and other inspirational words. I have also seen these done with people's last names. Our last name is rather long, but I am working on photographing different letters throughout Auburn to frame for our last name. This is my favorite photograph that I have taken and will be great for the beginning of our last name.

My Very Own Hammock

As you know, I got Richard a hammock for our Anniversary a while back. The last time we went camping, I ended up laying in his hammock for a while and loved it. The other day Richard found a hammock on sale at Academy and thought that it would be perfect for me to have my very own hammock. Since it was pretty rainy yesterday, we finally got to put both our hammocks up this afternoon. We have a tree in our backyard that is perfect for both of our hammocks. Here are some pictures!

YAY! for Richard!!

Today is Richard's last day of school EVER!! (and I am completely jealous!) During our last year, we all had a 5 week break. My break was in August and Richard's just happened to fall at the very end. He is currently working at a VA, which he has really enjoyed. He has one final presentation this afternoon and then he is DONE!!! I still have 5 more weeks, but hopefully they will go by pretty fast!

I Never Knew

I never knew that I would be this excited about a washer and dryer! I will explain... Richard and I recently found out that we got the apartment that we wanted in the Millbrook area. We knew that we were going to have to purchase a washer and dryer for our new place to live. My dad started looking and came across a great deal for us. Within a couple of hours, the deal was made and we are now the proud owners of a washer and dryer for our new place!!!

The Little Things

I have learned that it's the little things in life that can just make your day and put a smile on your face. Let me explain... I am currently on rotation in a clinic where we do wellness screenings. We check their cholesterol, blood glucose, blood pressure and body composition. All these results, with lots of numbers, print out for the patient. All these numbers can be overwhelming, especially if the patient doesn't know what the numbers mean. We go through each lab value and explain what it means and tell them what their goals should be. We do this for each patient that comes into our clinic. Today, I had a patient that came in for their screening and I explained all the information to them. This patient looked at me and said that he had never had anyone take the time to explain all these numbers to him. He said that he actually understood what the numbers meant after I was finished. He told me that he appreciated the time that I had taken to explain these results to him. He made my day!

Mercedes Half Marathon

We did it!! Richard and I can now say that we have completed a half marathon! And we did it in less than 2 hours! Sunday, February 13th, 2011

Richard: 1 hour 59 minutes 16 seconds

Michelle: 1 hour 59 minutes 19 seconds

We had the help and encouragement of my cousin's husband, Aaron. Aaron has run several marathons and was planning on running the Mercedes Marathon. He had an injury a couple of weeks before the race and had to change to running the half marathon instead of the full marathon, so he was able to run with us. We got up early on Sunday morning at about 5AM. We made the trip to Birmingham, where about 7,000 other runners were getting ready for the race. We lined up at the starting line, where I began to get very anxious! I had this anxious, excited feeling that is truly hard to explain. They shot the starting gun and we were off. We ran the first 5-6 miles at a faster pace than we were used to running due to the excitement. We got settled in and pushed through the rest of the race. When we reached mile 12, we realized that we might actually be able to finish this thing in less than 2 hours. At 12.5 miles, we stepped it up a notch and headed toward the finish line. Richard really stepped it up a notch and sprinted to the line. I couldn't let him beat me by too much, so I started sprinting too. My parents, my brother and his wife and Aaron's wife and kids were all waiting for us after the race. Overall, the race was a great experience and we are so proud of ourselves for sticking to the training schedule and getting through the race! Maybe there will be more to come in the future!!