Monday Night Football

Ben and I were very fortunate to be in attendance of the Titans/Colts game last night. I always ask for the tickets to the Colts game b/c I love Peyton Manning. We (really Dad) have great seats on the 40 yard line, 5 rows from the field. We sit with a bunch of our Ezell family, so it makes for a fun game. Last night's game was great! I was so glad we went. It was a little chilly, but that's football weather. They gave out light blue t-shirts to everyone as we entered the game so we could have a "code blue" in the stands for Monday Night Football. I already had on light blue, so I didn't wear mine. I was especially glad to have my new camera at the game last night b/c I got some great pics. I've posted some below. Way to go Titans! 7-0!

T-Rac driving out on his cart with sparklers as the Titans are introduced.

Titans on offense

Colts on offense. Peyton is in the middle of the three guys on the left.

Bye Bye Twenties!

This past weekend I said goodbye to my twenties. I turned the big 3-0 on Friday the 24th. It's definitely bittersweet. I think my 30's will be fun and enlightening, but you're just not "young" anymore. I'll make it. My sweet husband sent me flowers at work on Thursday. I was very surprised, and the girls at work thought he had done something wrong until they found out it was my birthday. Then they thought he was super sweet. He also have me a new digital camera which I badly needed. I think I said "I love this camera" a 100 times this past weekend. It's a Sony Cybershot with 10.1 mega pixels! It's very nice, and it's red too. You'll be seeing a lot better quality pics on here now.
Friday night, we went to Toyama at Nipper's Corner for dinner. Clay, Leslie, Amy, Aimee, Russ, Curry, and Jake ate dinner with us. It was a lot of fun. I was happy to celebrate my birthday with good friends. After dinner, Clay and Leslie had us back at their house for cake and ice cream. My mom and dad met us there with a homemade strawberry cake, my favorite! Will and Drennon stopped by after the MBA game.

My pretty flowers Ben sent me at work.

At Toyama for B'day dinner

Amy, Aimee, Clay, and Leslie

Flamin' onion!

My pretty sushi

Birthday cheesecake from Toyama

Blowing out my 30th candles on my strawberry cake

Me turning 30 just means the boys are only 1 year away from it!

Me and Drennon

On Saturday night, we went to Mom and Dad's for birthday dinner. Nothing like your mom cooking you birthday dinner. We had fillets, twice baked potatoes, green beans, frozen fruit salad, rolls, and ice cream with homemade chocolate sauce. Those of you who have had my mom's chocolate sauce know it's amazing! My parents gave me a Wii, which I have been wanting for some time. I can't wait to get Rock Band and have everyone over. Drennon has already named our band "Wives with Attitude." I think that's very fitting.

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special. It truly was a year to remember!

I want to dedicate this post to my faithful readers, Amy and Aimee!!

Mr. & Mrs. Kyle Felts!

This past weekend was such a fun weekend! Kyle Felts and Lindsey Howard were married on Saturday at St. Paul's Church in Green Hills which was followed by a reception at Traveler's Rest. The wedding was beautiful and very sweet. Lindsey was gorgeous and Kyle was his handsome self. Kyle's dad, Larry, officiated. The reception was so much fun with a great band, great food, and fun photo booth! We all had a great time dancing and taking pictures in the photo booth. Kyle and Lindsey will have a lot of fun going through the scrapbook of pictures. They are such a wonderful couple and absolutely perfect for each other. We wish them a lifetime of happiness! Can't wait to see you when you get back!

Kyle and Lindsey hit the dance floor



All 22 Groomsmen sing with the band!



Mrs. Kyle Felts showing her moves

The ALMOST (3 weeks to go) Mr. and Mrs. Clay Robinson

Lindsey and me

Ben couldn't resist picking up the bride!

Yes, that's a mohawk! If you look closely, you'll see K+L on the side of her head!

Zach Watson doing what he does best!

Ben and me

The happy couple getting ready to go on their honeymoon. There was water all over the floor so Lindsey had to hold her dress up. It was beautiful by the way.

Simulation Conference

Most of you know that I am helping teach a weekly nursing skills lab at Belmont, and I am completing my Master's in Nursing Education. Right now, I am really pumped about anything that has to do with nursing education. I want to know about everything and pick everyone's brains. Yesterday and today I attended the first annual simulation conference at Belmont for all the nursing schools in TN. You may ask...what is simulation? Simulation has just begun being used recently. I did not have it when I was in nursing school. It's amazing what can be done these days. Basically, you have an interactive manikin that can simulate any medical situation you want. It's so neat. These manikins respond to human touch, so the student gets points for palpating pulses when needed, applying oxygen, listening to breath sounds, etc. The manikins at Belmont are run by an instructor behind a one way mirror while the students respond (hopefully) to the cues given to them by the manikin. Many skeptics of simulation argue that simulation cannot be used to replace clinicals in the hospital. Of course they can't substitute for human interaction, but when you have a true simulation like the one I participated in today, you see that they are so real. I actually got anxious during the simulation even though I was playing the doctor. The patient was moaning and groaning, a (fake) family member was becoming hysterical demanding pain medicine for her husband and the nurse was to call the doctor for orders, all while using SBAR communication (don't ask), remaining calm, monitoring vital signs, starting a heparin drip...you get the picture. It's amazing. Did I mention that they video you so they can go over what you did well and what you could do better? You can see why I got a little anxious. You totally get into it. Students get really upset when the manikin dies, but it's a safe environment where no one gets hurt. Wouldn't you want a nurse to kill a manikin instead of a patient? I also got to see the manikin that can actually give birth! Way cool. Real nursing students did the simulation with an instructor prompting them and one moaning and screaming that the baby was coming. It was so real. The students actually measure dilation and have to coach the manikin through birth.
Can you tell I'm excited about my future career? I can't wait to teach full-time and influence new nurses.

Neat Freaks Beware!

Last week I was bragging on my Bissel Healthy Home vacuum, and this week I decided to show you just how awesome it really is. I would show you how much hair I vacuum up, but some of you may decide never to come to my house again if you saw it! If I could sell pug hair, I'd be filthy rich! Please know that the rest of my house does not look like the rug below. This rug is in the room where all three dogs sleep. Therefore, it is subject to mounds and mounds of pug hair. So, look at the picture and see if you can tell which side has been vacuumed? Not a single pug hair on the right side! Pretty impressive. I love this vacuum! Granted, this type of clean only lasts for a few minutes until one of the dogs sees that I have cleaned and then goes into the room and either shakes themselves violently or rubs their back all over the rug. Gotta love them.

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!