Blog Anniversary

  It's been a year and one day since I started my little blog and though it's been quiet around here recently, I hope to get out of the blogging slump and add some more excitement to it in the next few weeks!
  I tried to start back running last week and I don't know if I didn't stretch enough or what, but I diagnosed myself with Achilles tendonitis and tried to rest my left leg for a bit so I can run the Peachtree on July 4th since Patrick decided to sign me up. (Well, I guess I'm "signed up" but may or may not get selected for a spot, so only time and luck will tell.) I confirmed my diagnosis with my dad and he told me to walk for the next two weeks and rest it. I've been trying to RICE my left leg this week, but yesterday my ankle started really bothering me. I might have to go to my PCP on Monday if things are still feeling weird with it. Pat says it looks swollen and that I probably compensated for my tendonitis and sprained my ankle. Awesome. I can still walk on it, so I'm just taking some Advil and "not doing it again". We shall see how that turns out next week. Good thing I can wear whatever shoes I want to work! Tennis shoes with support, here I come!!
  I've signed up the Wrigster for agility classes starting on Thursday. I'm sure it will be an interesting experience. Supposedly, if he and I are good and train for a year, we might be able to compete. I'm hoping he will be very attentive and responsive, but I'm a little worried since he is always very interested in other dogs at puppy class. I'll keep you updated that for sure.
  On another note, I  would really appreciate it if someone would buy me one of these:

I mean, petite lap giraffes? YES, please!! I'm still trying to figure out if this is a hoax or not. Please let me know what you think. Go here to check it out for yourself.

Best $8 I've Ever Spent

When Patrick and I dropped by City Dog Market a few weeks ago, we picked up a hip bone for Wrigley and he has been working on it for the last two hours. Awesome!! Yes, a little messy as he is shredding the bone everywhere but he is occupied! Hooray!

Welcome, spring!!

Ah, the first sights of spring finally in the backyard!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

O.R.

  So this week has been a new adventure for me at work as I started in the operating room. It's been fun so far and I'm really excited to start learning about everything, but I'm still going to be getting used to working 40 hours a week (normal, I know, but not for floor nurses as a full week is 36 hours). These two books are my new best friends:
 
  Oh so much fun!! My dad asked me if I knew all my instruments (to scrub in with the doctor on the case or to count with the scrub) and the answer is nope, not yet. It's a little overwhelming how much there is to know and you never really know what you will have, but I'm excited. I'm working with one other new nurse in my program and it's very nice to know someone else because otherwise, I know I'd be lost.
  On another note, today has been beautiful but still a little chilly. I'm thankful to see the sun again though because I hate that rainy weather. Sunday I planted three new azaleas in the front yard where our other ones died last year and I am hoping they will grow nicely. (I guess the rain was nice as I didn't have to water them yesterday.) Pat and I picked out the salmon color ones and I hope that they bloom nicely. I also bought some seeds for zinnias, but I am not sure where I will plant them yet. I think I need to start them inside first from the seeds and then transplant them once they grow a bit, but as quite the novice gardener, I really have no idea. I'm trying to find out where the best "full sun" is in my yard before I plant them. I almost bought another hydrangea, but stopped myself before I got too crazy. I absolutely adore blue hydrangeas and I've nursed the two in the front yard back to health and have kept the one my realtor gave me alive for almost two years now, but I think they like morning sun better and the back yard gets all of that. I was told before I plant anything in the back yard, I must wait until we make a new deck, tear out the hot tub, yada, yada, yada. (Love you, P!)
  Sunday, Pat and I also went to City Dog Market because the little porker is quite overweight (doesn't help that his mama is very sporadic in walking him) at 37 pounds. Whoops! So we are trying to slim him down by exercise and changing his food. If you live near City Dog Market and own a dog, you should definitely go have a look! While we were there, a guy was starting to bathe his corgi who did NOT want to walk up the stairs to the bath. It was hilarious. They really are the most stubborn little creatures, but I just love them so! It was all I could do not to harass the man about his dog. The staff members are very helpful (I guess one guy has been studying dog food for the last five years and so he guided us on the best type for the Wrigster--hopefully, it will help those pounds shed off) and they carry a lot of great items. P went crazy in that store and I had to tell him to put items back because Wrigley really doesn't need that many toys. It was quite amusing. I told him when we have kids, he will go crazy over sports stuff and play things with them as I will want to buy lots of clothes!
  Anyways, I've got to go read some more Alexander to prepare for tomorrow.

New duvet

I bought this new duvet cover for Wrigley from Kelly before opensky closed their store. I cannot wait to use it!! I think it is so cute! My phone didn't do the color justice but its a Kelly green with white. I love it!

A Big Move and the Arctic

  Monday at 7am, I will start my new job as a nurse in the operating room. I am so excited to begin a new career in the operating room as this is what I have always wanted to do, but I am sad to be leaving my friends! I have been blessed over the last 2+ years to have great coworkers and on Thursday for my last day on the floor, they threw me a going away lunch. I felt very loved and all the food was so wonderful! We had pizza, meatballs, chicken wings, rotisserie chicken, chips, cookies, cake, and brownies. Taylor made me "Good luck, Emily" signs and hung them up on the lockers. My last week on the floor ended pretty well and I will definitely think of my friends when I'm down in the OR. I will be starting a residency program in the OR and it will be at least a 5 or 6 month program in which I will learn about all the different operating rooms. I think this week is mainly in the classroom and I will be starting with one other girl, but I am really excited. I am hoping that in a few years, I can apply to a First Assist program and hopefully, find a doctor whom I can work with for several years (or more!). 

(Terrible pictures, but this part said "Good")

  Besides finishing out this week with my lovely coworkers whom I will miss so much, I enjoyed being in an Arctic tundra. Wednesday night I got home from work and thought to myself that it was really chilly in my house. We usually keep the heat on 68 and I knew that it should have been warmer than what it was. I look at the thermostat and it is on 63. Ugh. Of course, Pat was out of town, so I was having to troubleshoot it myself. I think it was like 40 degrees outside since the cold weather had kicked in over the last few weeks or so. I could hear the heater trying to turn on as I adjusted the thermostat, but alas, no heat came out of the vents. I slept in sweats with my heating pad and was so glad that we did have hot water on Thursday morning as Wrigley and I warmed up with the hair dryer. I was able to get my AC guy to come out on Friday afternoon and boy, am I glad! Our house was 50 degrees Thursday night and Patrick and I bundled up and I even wore my earmuffs to sleep because I was so cold. I think one of the coils had burned out and it took my guy about 45 minutes or an hour to get everything fixed, but the heat turned back on!! I was so excited when the temperature in my house started to rise! I know Wrigley was excited as well since I had found him trying to lay on towels used to dry him off from the torrential rains and on the rug, anything to keep off the tiles or hardwoods. 

  Of course, today is beautiful and I think it's supposed to get up to 70 degrees so I won't really need the heat! But I am thankful that we have it fixed for now! Well, I'm off to enjoy my weekend! I hope you enjoy yours as well!

Breaded

  Recently, I have been in the mood to bake loaves of bread. I have made the go-to white bread, banana bread, and apple cinnamon bread. Unfortunately, the first loaf of white bread I made, I had to throw out because it never rose and was like a freakin' rock! UGH! I'm not sure if it was because I didn't have enough patience to let the yeast work its magic or if the temperature of the kitchen wasn't warm enough or if my yeast was just bad. Anyways, I bought a new jar of yeast and started over with my bread. I gave the yeast like half an hour to work and my bread rose very well!

Yes, look at the yeast go!

Dough

The finished product

  It's very nice when a loaf comes out well. Patrick loves this white bread and the only thing I have a problem with is that you have to eat it within a week or it will spoil. (Of course, this really is only a problem when I bake 4 loaves at once!)

  Try the recipe yourself!

Ingredients:

1 tsp quick acting or bread machine yeast

1 cup and tbsp hot water (115 degrees)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 and 3/4 cups bread flour (if sticky, add 1 tbsp extra at a time)

1/2 tsp salt

Melted butter, for drizzling over finished dough

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put all the water and yeast in a bowl and set aside. After a few minutes, add half of the sugar to speed up the yeast prep. Once the yeast starts to get frothy, add the rest of the sugar, oil, salt, and flour. Mix together until the dough cleans the side of the mixer. You can add more flour if the dough crawls up the hook.

Grease another bowl with vegetable oil, remove the dough, and place it in the oiled bowl. Coat with oil and then cover and place the dough in a warm place to rise for one hour.

After an hour, the dough should double in size. Form a ball and then roll out on a floured counter to remove the bubbles. Shape into a rectangle and place dough in a greased bread pan. You can drizzle with oil or butter and cover and rise for another hour.

Drizzle with melted butter and bake for 28 minutes. Cool on a rack and there you have it!

Recipe from http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/breads/white-bread-3/

New Look

Alright, so I'm trying a new simple template, but I can't figure out how to make my picture at the top smaller. I also wanted to incorporate a few pictures at the top, but I have no idea how to do that either. Any help would be appreciated! In other random news, I have 3 more shifts at my current job before I start my new one next week! Yippee! I can't wait!

I want this.