one broke down bish

// I’m not even 26 and I am broken

// yesterday I signed in as a patient @ my workplace (I didn’t really think that through)

// the nurse practitioner said I may have a kidney stone or a lot of gas – would need to do more tests to find out

// tonight I went to the other location of my work closer to my house and had an x-ray, then the nurse practitioner decided I needed

:: 3 tubes of blood drawn

:: 3 abdomen x rays taken

:: made me drink a GI cocktail

:: scheduled a gallbladder ultrasound

:: lectured me on how long I’ve been on my birth control

// I am broke down and I’m not even 30. wtf!

completion of our 2013 garden//

husband & I have been working our plot of garden all summer.

around march/april we tilled the garden, added 8 bags of manure then tilled twice more

in may after mother’s day we got our plant on: white sweet corn – 3 rows // peppers – 2 1/2 rows (green, banana, jalapeno, habanero) // tomatoes – 1/2 row (beef steak, tommy toe, roma) // cucumbers – 2 plans // squash & zucchini – 6 plants

 

let me tell you that the manure must have made a difference because daaaang this year’s crop was cray! we tried our hand at canning in a hot water bath this year and it’s really not that difficult just a bit time consuming. we blanched tomatoes then diced and canned them. we made homemade salsa with our tomatoes and peppers, we froze our corn and other peppers, we chopped and blanched the squash and zucchini then froze in vacuum seal bags

our deep freezer is stuffed full! cannot wait to make some yummy casseroles and soups and stews this winter time and to add our canned tomatoes to spaghetti sauce

we’ve canned our last batch of pickled jalapenos and banana peppers Sunday night and although we loved our garden we are more than happen to have our evenings back for working inside the house – cannot wait until next growing season!

my soul twin//

so husband was gone from Wednesday-Sunday to Bristol for the Nascar Race

he got the idea to borrow my parent’s RV and spend 5 days in a campground with his boss (who also happens to be his best friend), his boss’ father, & boss’ child. oh whata trip.

and what happens while husband is gone? LO comes out to play. this included a stop at the liquor store (twice) for a couple of bottles of wine/sushi by myself once and with my bffer once/and lots and lots and lots of Netflix.

I have found my soul twin. Jess. Weirdo extraordinaire. New Girl.

I had 5 days alone which extended me the ability to finish 19 episodes of New Girl. 2 episodes of Lie to Me. and plenty of Gulianna & Bill.

“Hey girl, whatcha doin’? Hey girl, where are ya goin? Who’s that girl? Who’s that girl? It’s Jess!”

+ plenty of Pinteresting.

 

 

 

 

 

high five for friday

 

1. new boots – ready for fall!

2. Max after waking up from our afternoon nap

3. Bagel w/ nutella & banana  - delish!

4. nail polish collection – need more options. ha!

5. learning to drive this thing with husband has been an adventure – let’s go camping!

 

Linking up over at Lauren Elizabeth for some high five for friday. everyone ready for the weekend??

 

Dining Room Inspiration

So the house husband & I are about to buy (which we currently live in, ha!) has 2 living rooms. a den and a living room. whatever that means. for us being two people who love to entertain, our small eat-in kitchen just isn’t cutting it. so… I told husband we should turn our long & skinny awkwardly shaped living room into a formal dining room and make the den our family room. perfecto!

enter my {pinterest} dining room board

I saw these plans from Ana White.com and I just knew our dining room needed to center around a long, sturdy farmhouse table… built by us! how cool would it be to be sitting around the table years from now with our kids and know that the table they do their homework on, or we have family meals at was built by hand by us! I’ve got to do it.

above is a rough picture of what I’d like for our table. I’d love it to seat at least 8 comfortably preferably with a darker stain. I also would love to fill in the seems to make the top look like one solid piece of wood.

I hope to paint our walls a light greyish-blue

a large dresser painted white to go under our window – this could be used to hold kitchen gadgets and serving dishes

I love metallic accents so the sunburst mirror and prints above would fit perfectly

Large letters of L&J on the wall in the same stain as the table to tie it in together

and of course the fire place in there will need some décor so enter the lantern/candle mixture for the bottom of the fireplace with the mantel to be decorated per season

finally, I love the rustic but simple centerpiece of wood and candles for the table.

 

if anyone has any simple, clean, and rustic design ideas feel free to shoot ‘em at me!

 

the day I realized my mom was a person

so please tell me I’m not the only one here who feels (or felt) like their parent(s) were parents & that’s it.

I don’t know why the concept of them being actual people eluded me so, but it wasn’t something I could grasp until about a month ago.

Mom & I were talking about her funeral arrangements (she and dad have pre-paid in hopes to make it a bit easier once they do pass) so of course I want to know her wishes so I don’t screw up. she happened to mention where their plots are located and that she only wants a graveside service, no wake/viewing. I’m not sure about other areas of the country but in east Tennessee we normally have a wake/viewing then service directly following, then burial the next day.

well the fact that mom was wanting a burial only with graveside services made me really question myself. (ha! we’re talking about her dying years and years and years down the road but all I can think of is myself???) she said “I have my close friends and family and that’s all that I want there.” Makes sense to me.

But then I start thinking.. I have all kinds of the hopes, ambitions, dreams… my mom was 25 once. she had hopes, ambitions, and dreams. is the way her life turned out the way she had hoped or planned? I can’t imagine my life when I’m my mom’s age. I hope I know how it’ll turn out but we honestly don’t know what will happen.

but all of this to say that my mom is a real person, not just a mom.

 

this. is. crazy.

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Weekend Recap

let’s recap this shiz…

Friday husband & I went to the local race track for the last race of the season. As we sat there minding our own business a possum came running up the hill to where we were sitting and ran right in the middle of a group of girls to our right. Screams could be heard over the loud rumble of the race cars below. it was hilarious to say the least. they all jumped into their chairs and held on to each other. wonderful entertainment!

Saturday we spent most of the day driving dad’s RV trying to get the hang of it. driving isn’t really the issues. It’s backing and turning that can be a bit nerve wracking but I think husband and I have the hang of it and dad said we looked like pros so we are ready to head out into the wild blue yonder.. or to the nearest camp ground to do a little camping Laura style. and by that I mean air conditioning, queen sized bed, indoor shower and full kitchen. we finished our day up with some grocery shopping and working on vegetables we got out of the garden – vacuum sealing them to freeze.

Sunday Funday. We were up early to eat breakfast then get on our working clothes. Down to the garden we went to dig up and remove move of the dead or non-producing plants. Cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, squash, zucchini and green peppers are finished for the season. We still have banana peppers, jalapenos, and habaneros still producing so we made some pickled jalapenos and got those canned. Then it’s time for our favorite day of television. We love Mountain Men and Ice Road Truckers and Keeping Up With the Kardashians and tonight begins the Great Food Truck Race. Love it!

 

How was your weekend? I’m excited to get to work tomorrow to rest a bit!

 

136 days until Christmas

and yet this afternoon I spent over 2 hours working on Christmas gifts.

you see, I’m a planner. and a budgeter. and in 2013 alone I’ve recently gained 3 new nieces and a sister-in-law which gives me 4 more people we need to squeeze into our Christmas budget.

I’m one of those that doesn’t give gifts just to give them. I want to give something I know the person will love, that has meaning, that was made by me or that will bring memories of our special relationship when they see/use these gifts.

that brings me to Christmas 2013. 2013 has been the year of the kitchen for me. I’ve stretched my culinary muscles so much this year and have been able to invite family and friends over to enjoy in the food I’ve put so much time and energy and love into preparing. This sparked an idea of husband and I writing our own cookbook of our favorite recipes we’ve tried and loved since being married. ones we’ve made memories with. I absolutely cannot wait until it’s finished and we can submit for printing.

We are using Blurb to pull the cookbook together. I’ve used their services before to create a photo book for my dad from my sister and I and the quality is amazing, pricing is stellar, and their downloadable program takes you step by step to create the perfect book. And of course the more you order the cheaper it is. That brings me to Christmas! We will order a minimum of 6 and give one to each of our sets of parents, my brother in law and sister in law, my sister, and of course keep one for us, plus a few to a few friends I know loves cooking and easy recipes. We will see how this works out and maybe they’ll even be an electronic version to purchase here once everything is said and done. We’ll see!!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

So I don’t like to put a lot of details about my work life out for everyone to read because 1)privacy for patients & staff & 2)as much as I love my job, I’d rather talk about my family, food, travels, my cat, and other stuff that takes up the extra time that I don’t spend at work.

but

there have been some changes at work consisting of one supervisor leaving to move into a different role within the organization leaving her position open – I will be interviewing for her position next week. it’s the same job I am currently doing in the same service line, but is in the newest clinic we’ve opened and instead of a 30-40 minute drive from my home would be a 5-7 minute drive.

so wish me luck! I’d really love the opportunity to run another clinic and learn to deal with the different dynamics that other team members and physicians will bring. hopefully this will be my chance. I really feel like this is where God wants me to be – it will be a place I can grow in my professional career along with surrounding myself with some of the most Christian-minded young adults I’ve ever met. I really think I need that in my life right now.

I’ll let you know how it goes!

Just take the plunge

What would happen if you sold all of your disposable belongings (furniture, home, books, etc.), picked up and just moved. just took the plunge to follow whatever adventure life throws at you?

if I wasn’t someone to had to have stability and everything planned down to the hour, I would love to do this. Just husband and I. Get a job in a far away town, pack up and move. Not ever looking back. I mean what would stop us? We don’t have children. Yes we have family here but we could always fly back or skype or phone call. It’s not like we see them every day anyways.

I wish I could be more spontaneous but my pour heart just can’t take the unknown. There isn’t enough medication in the world to keep me from having the biggest panic attack of my life if we decided to up and change our whole world. It’s something nice to think about though.

 

no title.

>Watching Hoarders: Buried Alive makes me have a panic attack
>If I could get rid of all of my clothes & start over, I have so many new ideas of how I’d create my own style. Seen here on my style board

            

>If I could sell all of my belongings and just move anywhere with husband and Max, I think I would choose right outside of Washington D.C. close to the Metro line or Montgomery, OH outside of Cincinnati or Atlanta – I love small towns right outside of larger cities.

>I would love to figure out a way to sit and read all of my favorite books all day long and get paid for it. And for that matter, I’d love to also craft, cook, and decorate.

>I am the opposite of a hoarder. If it’s not needed or cluttering the home, we either throw it away, donate it or sell it ASAP.

>I want to lighten up our home’s décor. we used to gravitate toward dark woods, black, deep red – now I’m all: white, light, cream, light gray, tan, light blue please.

>I have officially switched from summer nails of pink and coral to fall deep reds and black. c’mon fall!

that’s all.

Reasons… I cannot wait for fall

-Pumpkin Spice Lattes

-Cinnamon & Clove Candles

-Sweaters & boots

-No mosquitos

-No picking vegetables

-All of my favorite recipes are hot soups, stews, hearty dishes that call for cooler weather

-I can do a multitude of things that consist of me being or going outside without having sweat dripping off my top lip and on the backside of my neck

-Bonfires & s’mores (to me this is a fall thing not summer)

-Beautiful BEAUTIFUL fall leaves and foliage – I do live in close proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains & Blue Ridge Parkway

-This is my first fall semester I haven’t had to go back to school in 19 1/2 years. K-12 +4 Years Undergrad + 2 1/2 Years Graduate School

-Snuggling under lots of blankets instead of using the heat. Hello romantic. Hello cheap power bill.

-The smell of the crisp fall air.

-Haunted corn mazes & hay rides

high five for friday

1 – I might have went overboard on coffee creamer. Food City was having a sale!

2 – I Love Lucy. “I can’t help it. Eating is my hobby.”

3 – Nuff said.

4 – Pals Sudden Service. Delicious.

5 – Little Maxy. Love him.

Recipe Round-Up

Recipes found from around the web that will be making an appearance in our family’s kitchen in the next few weeks (click pictures to be redirected to each recipe):

Chicken w/ Feta Cheese Sauce via Garnish With Lemon
this looks so delicious and like it took a lot of time but is such a quick meal for after a late night at work

Kate’s Meat Lasagna via The Small Things Blog
we’ve made this before and it was a crowd pleaser. even for husband who isn’t a big pasta fan.

Rattle Snake Bites via Taste of Home
perfect for this weekend with slightly cooler weather when we want something yummy to snack on for movie night

Dutch Apple Pie via Brown Eyed Baker
I felt the need to make a duth apple pie after eating a less than amazing version from a fast food restaurant (mistake #1)

So as you can see, I’m starting to get in the fall mood and cannot wait until pumpkin spiced lattes and scarves and boots starting making regular appearances in my life.

Reasons To *not* blog::

-Pretty Little Liars Season 3 is on Netflix – must. finish. entire. season. in. three. days.
-My cat loves to snuggle
-Vegetables need to be picked – and canned. and water bathed. and put away.
-Laundry needs to be done – I’m one to only do laundry when we’re out of underwear. That would be tonight.
-Meals need to be planned for the next 2 weeks – because I am a super grocery shopper menu planner
-Makeup needs to be played with – bought the newest Covergirl BB Cream. I. Am. Obsessed. I wear it under my foundation and it is like glue.
-Mosquito bites need to be scratched – why can’t I remember to spray some bug repellent before going outside. why??
-And finally… because it has looked so beautiful, such mild weather, no clouds, amazing weather and I cannot sit inside for one. more. minute.

I raised the blinds in my office so I could see the beautiful weather – love the sunshine!