So Much FALL Crafting...So Little Time

So, while it is still 90 degrees outside- It is officially FALL in my house!  It wasn't really my fault.  I happened to go into Bath and Body Works and they had all the fall scents out.  Of course I HAD to buy some (ok most of them!).  Then when I got home and plugged in the new leaves and pumpkin scented wall flowers and used the hazelnut hand soap my house (and me!) smelled like fall but still looked summery.  What's a girl to do but redecorate for fall?  I started by FINALLY updating my seasonal board.  At first I had trouble making it appear fall-like and not Thanksgiving-y (I realize I am early for fall but I do know its too early for Thanksgiving decorations!!!) I settled on this.  I think it looks pretty fall-y.   

P.S. HEREis the link I used to make the board incase anyone is interested.

Next I started decorating the mantel.  Lucky me- Hobby Lobby had 50% off flowers!  I have always loved the silver pitcher but hadn't found a use for it yet.  I think it looks awesome as a vase! Plus for Chris and my anniversary a really awesome friend bought us  the colorful hanging candles! Although kind of hard to see in the picture-it looks amazing on the mantel.  

My final crafting project was a new WREATH!  I love wreaths!!!  There is something about coming home to a front door that looks warm and inviting with a wreath that makes me smile every time! I think this wreath is perfect for summer transitioning into fall! The fall colors combined with the flowers just seems right.  

This is just to show you how deep my love for wreaths really goes!

Some Assistance Needed

So I'm not usually one to post biblical references (The way I figure it if you wanted to know my religious philosophy- you'd ask me), but these last few weeks have been especially trying hence the needed assistance.  It all started when clinics hit the gas and I found myself smack dab in the middle of a particularly busy time with rotations that have higher time expectations.  Add to that a fear driven desire to study for my boards and you get a lot of stress.  With all the stress at school, one would hope that stress levels in another aspect of life would decrease but unfortunately that didn't happen.  Chris has been traveling a lot and dealing with his own work related stresses.  Together we were just trying to survive until things slowed down (aka I have an off block and he gets to take a few days off of work!).  

Even though life hasn't really hit the brakes for Chris and I, I found a few bible verses that helped me to focus on handling the things that I cannot change and fixing the ones that I can change.   Two verses stuck out in my mind.  Matthew 6:34 talking about handling worry one day at a time and 1 Peter 4:8 realizing love is more important than the everyday stresses really struck a chord.  Yes, I realize there are two images of Matthew 6:34 but I could not pick one! (I am a sucker for puppies and I love the rose version too.) 

 

I don't know if either of these will be helpful to anyone else but they have managed to bring me some peace and assistance in dealing with how hectic life has gotten in the last month.  Hopefully with my time off and off campus rotation I will get a break from the fast paced clinic world and recharge my batteries before diving back in for the last half of my clinical year (P.S. YES I AM HALF WAY DONE!!!)

therefore don't forget to 

Sweet Corn!

A few weeks ago ( I am pretty sure it was at least a week ago but when your life is super hectic time flys, days pass and who really can keep track of them?), Chris and I went to the Urbana Sweet Corn Festival.  It was a blast!  Sometimes it is nice to just chill out -even if it is just for an evening.

 Chris and I are HORRIBLE at taking pictures- we never think to do it.  So to try to rectify that situation we each had to take 5 pictures throughout the evening.  ( You may wish we just decided to stick with having no pictures because we are not very good photographers).

Are you starting to see why we couldn't make a career with our photography skills?

We started by perusing all the food options.  There were so many kinds of BBQ and grilled foods!  Once we finally settled on food, Chris was so excited about his he couldn't wait to eat it-which explains why he burnt his tongue.  The above right is a photograph of my brilliant husband who burnt his tongue on his chili so bad that he had to go buy ice cream to cool it off.  His tongue hurt so bad he wouldn't even share the ice cream!!!! (Or at least thats the story he told me!)

We met up with Jenna and Jesse!  It was really great sitting, people watching and listening to the music.  There were a few different bands who played country music.  I really loved Kaelyn Green (spelling? How do you spell Kaelyn when it is used as a boy name?) a country artist out of Nashville.  He sang some of my favorite country songs.  

When we got home, I was working on a blanket that I am crocheting.  Apparently I bored Elsie to death because she fell asleep on my yarn!

Chinese Valentine's Day

August 13th was my birthday and Chris and my 3rd year anniversary!  I also was informed that this year August 13th was the Chinese Valentine's Day!  Lucky coincidence!

While I feel like our anniversary is a much bigger accomplishment than surviving yet another year- I freaking LOVE birthdays!   It was an awesome day!  I made cupcakes for school like a 3rd grader and brought them in to share (but you cannot possibly understand how much I love birthdays- It doesn't have to be my own birthday-I love other people's birthdays! And I wanted to share the fun!).  I liked being at school on my birthday- Everyone said happy birthday :)   When I went home Chris and I exchanged gifts.  I got him an arm band to hold his phone while we go running and a hand exercise thing (he asked for it otherwise I'd still probably not know it existed) for while he drives.  I also found some really cool looking DVD workouts for us to try.  He got me 2 new necklaces and a pair of earrings (pictures to come!!!).  He also found a used Wii and got Wii fit, Wii fit plus and mario.  I LOVE THE WII!!!  (last night I found Kung fu Wii fit- needless to say I stayed up late last night!!!)

Once I finally stopped playing Wii, Chris and I found a new (to us) restaurant in Champaign, Bacaro, that specializes in farm to table meals.  We opted for the tasting menu since it was a special occasion.  Seven courses of deliciousness!  All the food was incredible.  Chris and I both agreed our favorite part of the meal were the sauces.  Each dish had the most amazing sauce paired with it.  If I had to guess Chris' favorite was the paprika vinaigrette.  It was fabulous.  I tried to take pictures of the food but it was soo good that I got distracted and forgot.  Here are a few of the dishes.

We had so much fun!  I am so proud of us for surviving 3 years of vet school, travel and stress.  Here is hoping for 50 more years of happiness.

Don't forget-Keep Calm and Carry On

Round is a shape

An update on my fitness goals:

Rose's Graduation 2 months ago

As previously discussed, I have been trying to loose some weight. Although I agree round is a shape, it's not quite the shape I am going for.   The whole process was going great until clinics.  I quickly found that a love of stress eating and stressful clinical rotations make weight loss incredibly difficult.  I have been able to continue to running while on (most) rotations.  For my birthday Chris bought me a Wii fit (I was sooooo excited he had to kick me off so that I would go get ready for dinner the first night).  I have played games and exercised on it every day so far (pretty easy to do since it has only been 3 days).

At this point my goals have shifted from weight loss to toning.  I still would like to drop a few pounds but now my goal is to make my thighs look like Carrie Underwood's (anyone else jealous of her thighs?) and try to pretend like I actually have abs that work.
I found a few pictures to demonstrate my progress.  I think the weight loss in my face is the most obvious.  I dropped about 3 dress/pant sizes but I don't think that weight loss is as obvious as it is in other places.

Taken in 2011

Taken 7/11

White Coat Ceremony taken in March 2013

Now its time to set some new goals.  I want to continue to eat healthy, run the Neon Vibe 5K (yes-neon paint is involved), and continue to exercise regularly.  In the next 3 months, I want to hit my target weight, run an average of 4 miles three times a week and start to see muscle lines on my thighs and stomach.  We will have to see in 3 months if the pictures more clearly depict all the hard work.


I couldn't pick just one keep calm sign for this post.  Remember Keep Calm and Carry On

Ketchup :)

Since I have been horrible at blogging while on clinics its time to play catch up (or ketchup if you live in my sleep deprived vet school world).  We have finally made it to K block.  Block 11/26.  We are so close to being halfway done!   I have found that each of the rotations have taught me something new.  Some have taught me more about veterinary medicine and some have taught me life lessons.  Both types of lessons have been valuable but some were harder than others to learn.  Take Emergency medicine for example- you quickly master the art of making clay paws for owners with deceased pets.  You also learn how to deal with the sadness that comes along with euthanizing someones pet.  But enough about rotations.

I haven't had a ton of time for crafting but I did manage to make some new bows when Chris' family came to visit.  Ginny and I had a lot of fun picking out the supplies and crafting.  Good thing I have some great models to demonstrate the bows!

Since time has flown by and I still think it is June- I also forgot to post pictures from my sisters graduation.  I am so proud of her!   I still cannot believe that she is 22 and has graduated college- I mean just last week she was in high school!  We had a ton of fun visiting and getting to see more of Lawrence University.  

I am sure that there is more that I am missing but for now this is all.  As always-Keep Calm and Carry On.  

Keep Calm and Garden On

Over the last three years Chris and I have been trying to improve the appearance and curb appeal of our  house.  It took forever but I am finally happy with the flower beds in front of the house!  Instead of buying flowers from Meijer (like we normally do), this year we went to a nursery.  They had an awesome selection of unique plants.  

 This photo shows one of the yard art (that I'm pretty sure Chris hates:)), a hosta and one of the new dark purple plants.





Below are some more of our plant nursery finds.  I love the Martha Washington Geranium in the hanging basket.  The color is so amazing!  We also planted some impatiens to make the beds more colorful.

While our yard will never (ever ever) look as good as our neighbor, it is a definite improvement.  I think my favorite part was the time Chris and I spent together picking flowers and planting them!

This is my favorite yard decoration!!!  Took me 3 years to find one that I love and even longer to find a stand but I think it was totally worth it!

Since it was a three day weekend, I decided to splurge and bought the Kenny Chesney rum.  It was fabulous!!!!  We made rum and coke zeros.  I also made pina colada popsicles from this website!  They were amazing!!!!  There is nothing like drinking rum and coke and pretending you are on a Caribbean Island (if Kenny Chesney happened to appear it wouldn't suck:))