First Kill of the Season

Yesterday marked the opening day of deer season this year. It's bow season first, so Ben was in the woods bright and early yesterday on the hunt for "the BIG ONE." He didn't see anything, but neither did anyone else, so that made him feel better. He went again this afternoon and came home very excited because he had shot something. He shot a poor, cute raccoon. I know they are destructive, but they are so cute on TV. Of course he wanted a picture. So, being the good wife that I am, I took a few even though it was dark outside and I couldn't see anything on my camera. Luckily, they turned out ok. Ben was very pleased that his bow was "destructive" and "on target." I'm such a good wife...

My Favorite Things

I decided to post a few of my favorite things. It's always nice to find out things that other people like and use often, so I thought I would let you in on some of my secrets....

My first favorite thing is Newman's Own Pineapple salsa. I can eat a whole jar at a time because it's so good. If you like the pineapple salsa at Baja Burrito, you will love this! I found out yesterday when I was reading about Paul Newman's death that he donates all the profits from his Newman's Own line to charity making me like it even more.

Next, is my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. When they say this thing gets rid of tough stains, they mean it! I use it all over my house to get rid of smudges on the walls, fingerprints on the white appliances, and basically anything that needs a good scrubbing. I promise it will get out anything!

Ok, these Fiber One bars are my absolute favorites! If you know me at all, you know I love these things. The girls at work make so much fun of me because I eat one every morning and afternoon for my snacks. They have 35% of your daily fiber needs, so if you have problems doing you know what, you may want to pick you up some. Be warned though...if you're not used to eating a lot of fiber you may want to stick close to home the first day you eat one! :)

Because I spent 5 years working for a Dermatologist, I get asked the same question all the time..."what can I do to make my skin look better?" Below is one of your answers. I use MD Forte glycolic cream III on my face every night. It has glycolic acid in it which is a mild skin resurfacer. It works over time to resurface and repair your skin. It can reverse mild sun damage and keep pores from clogging. I've worked my way up to the 30% cream and can really tell a difference in my skin. I've been using it for several years and plan to use it for many years to come. It's also one of the few things you can use when you're pregnant.

If you have dogs that shed, you need this vacuum! The Bissel Healthy Home is a lifesaver in my house. It has such powerful suction that I get a workout each time I use it on my rugs. It also has a great hand held brush that I use on my furniture to get rid of the pug hair. My rugs and furniture look brand new when I get done. It's bagless too, so I can dump all the pug hair right into the trash can.

I hope you've enjoyed my first edition of "My Favorite Things." As I get more, I'll let you know. you can let me know some of your favorite things too...

Beggars!

Whenever there is food in our house, you can bet there will be three, four-legged beggars right under you. I trip over them all the time when I'm in the kitchen. Our dogs do not get table food or any people food (at least from me), so they really shouldn't be such awful beggars. Buster's hearing is going a little, but he can still hear the refrigerator door open from the other side of the house. He also can hear you open a cheese wrapper. But if you yell his name right beside him, he doesn't flinch. Funny huh? I decided to take a couple of shots of what it's like to eat in our den with the dogs in the room. Ben is eating Cheese Nips and he has three other pairs of eyes carefully watching him for any crumbs. Belle is on the left, Hoover in the middle, and Buster on the right. Hoover is very composed and well mannered, but the pugs just can't stand it. Ben is a lot less patient than me. He can't stand them staring at him!

A close up view...

This is what it looks like in the morning when I leave for work. They are so sad when I leave. I've started putting all the dogs in the same room. Belle used to get in her cage, but I feel so bad when I'm gone for 13 hours. All three cuddle in the chair right next to the door. Belle usually sleeps right on top of Hoover. It's funny how Belle is so reluctant to go in the room with the other dogs. She's so used to her cage that I have to pull her out from under the table so I can pick her up and put her in the office with the other dogs. They sure are creatures of habit.

Another Shower for Leslie

Today, Leslie's sister Elizabeth, Leslie's aunt, and Mrs. Howard (Lindsey's mom), and Mrs. Felts (Kyle's mom) hosted a bridal shower for Leslie at Elizabeth's house. It was a very nice shower. It was great to meet some of Leslie's friends and family I had yet to meet. She got more great gifts. The hostesses made some yummy food! I definitely went back for seconds. Below is a pic of the food table.

Leslie got a very pretty monogrammed apron and oven mitt.
Nanny gave Leslie a very nice rabbit dish. BIG mistake with mom sitting right there.
A pic of the hostesses: Mrs. Howard, Mrs. Felts, Leslie, Elizabeth, Leslie's aunt
Me, Leslie, and Elizabeth

The other big story of the day is the gas situation. There is no gas to be found in Nashville. Ben and I are both on empty. It makes me so mad that people have panicked and gone and filled up all of their cars and mowers. If people would just get the gas they need and not freak out about it, then I don't think it would be such a big deal. The other counties aren't having the same problem we are having. Murfreesboro has gas. Kyle got some today when he went to work. Hopefully we'll find some gas soon. I don't know that work will accept the excuse of not having enough gas to actually get to work on Monday! If anyone knows where there is gas, please let me know.

Ben's Manroom

Ben's "manroom" is finally finished! He is so excited. The carpet was not installed until Sunday, but it got done. We were not too happy with Lowe's when they pushed back the installation AGAIN. The first two pictures are of the room before the carpet. You really don't get the entire idea since we had already removed the faux brown brick indoor/outdoor carpet. I wish everyone could have seen it. It was hideous. The black on the floor is the foam backing from the green indoor/outdoor carpet that was beneath the brick. I don't know what the old owners were thinking. They were foreign if that helps. You can tell in the 2nd pic that the stairs were pretty messed up. They look so much better now.


The next two pics are of the room after the carpet was installed and after Ben had moved all the furniture back to its normal place. Yes, that is a boar's head on the wall in the bottom pic. His name is Earl. I don't mind Earl. He gives the room character. Ben's hoping to add another deer head to the wall this winter. He began scouting many months ago...

I'm so glad the room is finally finished. We've had all the contents of the room in our laundry area for a couple of months while we waited on the carpet to come in. Word to the wise...don't move your furniture til you have confirmed that the carpet will be in when they say it will. Who knew they had trouble getting materials to actually make the carpet?! Feel free to stop by and see us anytime!

Chiggers!!

What is this very ugly and disturbing creature? It's a chigger, and I was bitten my hundreds of them on Sunday when I went with Ben to change out a deer camera he had set up in the woods. I woke up about 2am on Tuesday morning with hard, red bumps all over my body but mostly below the waist. I could not stop scratching. I had to call out from work the next day because I was so miserable and I looked like I had chicken pox. Below is a picture of what my feet look like (not my foot but a pic I found online). Ben came home last night and found me clawing myself and called Dr. Pardue so I could get some medicine. He gave me a steroid pack and I'm better today, but I still have more bites. They can keep coming up to 48 hours later....yay. I've taken to using Ben's bristle brush to scratch my skin b/c it feels so good. Don't tell my mom, she was on me all day yesterday about scratching. I urge everyone to wear bug spray when you're going to be in the grass. I don't wish this misery on anyone!

On another note, today was my second nursing lab at Belmont. The students learned how to insert Foley catheters. I remember learning the same thing and worrying about it so much. They did the same thing. The students have to watch videos online before they come to lab to learn their skills. So, as I was watching the video on how to insert a catheter (so I could answer any questions they may have about the video), I kept waiting for them to switch to mannequin view for the actually insertion of the catheter. But, to my horror and shock, they use real people now!! Who in their right mind would volunteer to have a catheter inserted into their bladder and then have someone video the entire thing?! Absolutely crazy. I'm still in shock.
The lab went really well. I love the group of students I have. They are a lot of fun and really care about what they are doing. It makes me feel good that I can share my experiences with them.

Our basement carpet is going in tomorrow so I'll post before and after pictures once it's done. Ben's really excited to get his "man room" back.

Grandmom's B'day

After Leslie's shower, we went to Uncle Greg and Cinde's house in Franklin for dinner for Grandmom's B'day. We had BBQ from BB's. It was very good! It was so much fun being with this side of the family since I usually only see them once or twice a year. My cousins Brian and Monica, and Renee and Rodney, have the most precious kids. Brian and Monica are parents to Riley, Jordan, and Brianna. Renee and Rodney have Mason and Bailey. Rodney couldn't make it because he had to do work in the yard! They all swam in the new pool and had a great time. They will all be back for Clay and Leslie's wedding November 8!

Front Row: Mason, Bailey, Brianna, Riley, and Jordan

Back Row: Renee, Brian, Monica, Me, and Ben

Grandmom with her kids! Uncle Greg, Dad, Aunt Marian, and Uncle Mike

The girls in the pool!

Jordan and me.

Brianna and me.

It was such a great weekend. On Sunday, Ben and I took Belle to the park for a walk. She was so tired when we got home, she passed out. It was a nice, quiet evening after that...

Wedding Shower for Leslie

This past weekend was full of family time! On Saturday, Aunt Kim and Janene hosted a wedding shower for Leslie, my brother's fiance. It was at Aunt Kim's beautiful new house. Betty Dean prepared the food. It was fabulous, of course. Leslie received all kinds of useful things, including her 13 peiece Calphalon set from her grandmother. She was very suprised! Both the Ezell and Robinson sides of our family were at the shower making it even more special. The crew from Atlanta made the drive up for the shower and Grandmom's B'day. Leslie got to meet all the different family members. There's no way she'll remember all those names. Ben still has a lot of trouble with the huge Ezell side. Below are some pics from the shower.

Leslie's pile of gifts!

A view of the delicious food!
Leslie with her grandmother, Nanny, and Grandmom

Dog Pics

I decided to post a few pics of the dogs so you can see why I'm so obsessed. Sometimes they are so cute I can't stand it.

The first is of Hoover and Buster in a tender moment in the chair. They love each other and Buster has to sleep cuddled up to something or someone.

This pic is of Belle being super cute sleeping on the couch. She's curled up tight.

Another pic of Belle when she was a bit younger.

Me, Belle, and Buster chillin on the couch.

Hoover jumped into the trunk of my car one time when I was leaving on vacation. She saw the suitcases and didn't want me to leave! It took a lot of force to get her out of the trunk.

Now you see why I love them so much! They are so stinkin cute!

First Blog Ever!

So here I am setting up my first-ever blog. I have no reason to set up a blog, but thought it would be fun. I don't have a lot of spare time in between working full-time as an RN at Baptist on the Oncology floor and working on my Master's degree in Nursing Education. Since I'm getting my degree online, I'm on the computer way too much and thought blogging would be fun.

My husband, Ben, is an EMT with First Call Ambulance service. We have been married for 2 1/2 years but have known each other most of our lives. Ben and my brothers grew up together. Ben loves to hunt, fish, and do anything outdoors. He is obsessed with Harry Potter and has read a few of the books three times. He was very mad when the next movie was pushed back until next summer. I think it's funny.

I am the mom to three dogs who run my life. My husband, Ben, loves the dogs most of the time. Buster is 11 and is my "little man" "Bubba" and "love muffin." I have many more nicknames but won't bore you with those. Buster loves to anything that involves eating and sleeping and being around his mommy. He is slightly neurotic and won't let me out of his sight. Belle is 2 and is my "monkey" and "crazy person." She has a motorized tongue and will lick anything, and I mean anything. A few of her favorites are Hoover's ears, Hoover' mouth, the carpet, the couch, her paws, the air...you get the picture. She is nuts and I love it. She's very entertaining. Hoover, my mutt, is around 7 (not sure how old she was when we found her as a puppy) and is the perfect dog. Sorry pugs. She is my "Hoovs doovs." Hoover knows exactly what you are saying to her and does exactly as she is told. No formal training. I think mutts just "know." She tolerates Belle better than I could ever imagine since Belle uses Hoover as her personal jungle gym. I am always entertained when I am home with the dogs, I call them "bubs" most of the time.

In my spare time, I love to work around the house. We have done quite a bit to our Crieve Hall ranch and are not done. I have painted every room in this house, redone the kitchen, redone the lanscaping and front porch, put in a new HVAC, put in a new garage door and opener, new doors, new light fixtures everywhere, etc. It needed a lot of work. I'm waiting on new carpet for the downstairs at the moment. Hopefully it will be installed next week. After that, I'm on the hunt for new interior doors for the upstairs. We have those ugly vented doors right now, and I hate telling people to turn on the fan when they go to the bathroom so others can't hear them pee (or worse!)! So, I'm always doing something to the house. Ben is very tired of it. Luckily for him, I'm pretty self-sufficient.

That's probably enough for now! Don't want you to learn to much on the first day! More to come as I am teaching a weekly nursing skills lab at Belmont this fall and will surely have some funny stories about the baby nursing students! Bye Bye for now....