Watch out, Chicago...

I will be boarding a plane bound for Chicago in just a few hours and couldn't be more excited!  Brian and I are meeting in the Windy City to spend President's Day weekend with my sister and her husband, who recently returned to Chicago after spending a few years in Denver and Dallas.  Even in the dead of winter, I love that crazy town.  Our plans for the weekend include:

The 2012 Chicago Auto Show
Dinner at Katie and Lee's favorite Chicago pizza joint, Pequods
And a wee bit o' Shopping

Ah, I love a good weekend away, especially when it's shared with my favorite people.  Happy President's Day weekend, everyone!

I'm back. Again.

I have no excuse for not posting for, like, a billion years.  Well, I have some excuses.  For example, I've been busy doing the following:

Helping Adam say goodbye to our classroom following our last Nurse Anesthesia School lecture

Traveling to Boston for the AANA Annual Meeting where I:

Addressed other SRNAs

Dressed up like a Mad Scientist (along with my fellow members of the AANA Education Committee) for the College Bowl, where my classmate, Anne Marie Sommerville, was on the winning team!

Participated in a 5K with my classmates

Passed my Student Representative duties on to the very capable Emma Bachelder (a Baptist SRNA herself!)

and quenched my thirst alongside my grad school buddies:

I then...

Graduated from Nurse Anesthesia School:

Where I was honored to receive the Chal Maree Award

Passed the board exam (!!) and moved to great state of:

Got hitched to the love of my  life:

Moved back to the even GREATER state of:

Began work as a full-fledged CRNA complete with amazingly gorgeous staff photo

Tried out for the Carolina Roller Girls roller derby team

And enjoyed TWO Christmases: The first with Brian's family and the other with my family, who we hosted at our house in NC.  It was totes fun.

So that's where I've been.  Life is pretty crazy right now with work, travelling to see Brian, and roller derby practice (I'm not joking about that last one... it's pretty intense) but I'll do my best to blog more consistently.  Thanks for sticking with me, folks. 

Happy Mother's Day!

My sissy, Katie, and I with our mom and Uncle Joe following

soccer camp at the Air Force Academy in the summer of 1996.

Thanks for being such a fantastic (and fashionable) mom.  I Love you!

This video reminds me so much of my relationship with my brother growing up, it's scary.  Except instead of "Who you finna try?" it was "Hangin' tough!"

God, I'm so white.

 [Via Dooce]

Happy Birthday, Deet Dee!

I'd like to take a moment to wish a happy 32nd birthday to my wiser and OLDER sister, Katie.  If we lived in the same city, I would do something awesome for her birthday like announce it on the local radio station or paint the words "Happy Birthday" on an old sheet and hang it off of a busy overpass like we did when we were kids.*  But Katie lives in Dallas and I live in Winston-Salem, so this silly blog shout-out will have to do.

Love you sissy!

* Note: I will be visiting Katie on her birthday but given that I'm unfamiliar with her city of residence (What is the "cool" radio station?  Will I get thrown in jail for decorating an overpass?  Why did Netflix increase their rates?  So many questions!!) I feel that my mere presence is gift enough.  My sister is so lucky to have me!

Into The Wild

My younger brother has always had a love of animals - and they him.  I swear, whenever he walks into a room it's like Ceasar Millan just showed up or something.  Which is why I wasn't surprised that I found these two videos through him:

Put a dress on this bear and you'd think it was my best friend,
Christen, after a few drinks at a wedding reception...

Oh, and speaking of animals, I caught wind of this video online and can't wait to annoy the heck out of Bubbles with this trick.  That is, if I can fit a balloon underneath her dangling pannus (that's medical speak for "belly").

 

You thought I was done?  Silly, silly you.  I wasn't going to leave without showing you my new obsession.  Brain, take note: I want a baby lamb.

[Dog commercial and dancing bear from my bro, Colin]

[Balloon Cat from Petunia Face]
[Lamb video from La Vie]

Back to the Grind

I just returned from a fabulous and fun-filled week long vacation in which I jetted off to Hermosa Beach, California to visit one of my best friends, followed by a trip to Dallas to hang out with my sister and her hubster.  Photos are below.  But first, a little music to set the mood:

While in California, I rode my bike on the Strand (the boardwalk), layed on the beach, went to a Bar Method fitness class, waddled around for the next 24 hours as a result of said Bar Method class, ate great food, and enjoyed a fun night at a local comedy club.  Not too shabby for 4 days of leisure!

My ride.

Next stop: Dallas, Texas.  I had the chance to meet all of my sister's coworkers and, later, played on their baseball team, the Bernstein Brewsers.  We narrowly lost the game, but had a great time... and I had three base hits!  Go me!  I also had lunch with my boyfriends parents, who live in the Dallas area.  Oh, and did I mention that my sister and I also had a spa day?  Tough life, I tell ya.

Play ball!

Katie's bruise, acquired while playing catcher.  It looks a lot worse

in the photo than it did in person if that tells you anything.

Team pic!

But that's not all!  I found out on Tuesday that my boyfriend would be arriving home a few months early from his deployment to Iraq.  He was home by Saturday (!!) so I made a quick stop in Tennessee that afternoon before flying home to North Carolina on Sunday.  Not a bad way to end an already spectacular week, if I do say so myself!

Overall, my trip was great.  It was both fun and relaxing and, while I had a great time, I'm excited to be home and ready to become a SENIOR.  (Just under) one year down, (just over) one to go


* Yes, I posted this exact content, word-for-word, on my anesthesia school blog.  (Because I can, that's why!)

Happy Birthday to Me!

I turned the big 3-0 at 7:28 this morning.  Strangely enough, I don't mind being 30.  In fact, I'm kind of looking forward to my 30s.  I've found each year to be a little bit better than the last, so if that trend continues I'm going to have some major smile lines to deal with by the time I'm 40.  I guess I'd better befriend a dermatologist, STAT!

To start my 30s off right, I took a vacation day, meaning that I will remain unchained to the operating room for an entire 24 hour period.  Plus, my parents are driving to We-Say (Brain's new short-hand for "Winston-Salem") to hang out.  Read: Free dinners at nice restaurants!

Wait, 30 isn't too old to mooch dinners off of your parents, is it?!

Mommy Dearest

This post is dedicated to my darling mother, Peggy.  Or "The Pegster", as she is now known.  (Note: she is also called "Josephine" or "Josie" by my younger brother, who christened her with the random moniker in the 8th grade after she told him that he was too young to be calling his mother by her first name like my sister, myself, and our high school friends had begun to do at the time.  Classic!)

While home in Virginia over the Thanksgiving holiday, I convinced my mother to watch the first 4 episodes of the television show "Glee" with me.  (I'd already seen the entire first season, but knew she would love it and was more than willing to watch it again.)  Fast forward a few weeks to my trip home for Christmas.  Do you think we watched football?  No.  The Pegster had effectively commandeered the television set to ensure that everyone watched "Glee".  And they were going to like it, gosh darn it!  I love my mom.

Anyhoo, one of the episodes features "mashups", which is when two or more songs are seamlessly combined to form one big awesome version.  Well, I immediately thought of Glee when I heard some of the mashups created by DJ Earworm.  for the past three years, he's created a mashup of Billboard's top 25 songs for that year.  The following is the mashup he created for 2009:

[Click here for DJ Earworm's 2008 and 2007 mashups]

I'm also a big fan of his Tom Petty/Beyonce mashup:

The only thing missing is a dance number performed by Mr. Schu... swoon!

What To Do When A Tornado Strikes

When I was a kid, my family moved around a lot. One of the many places we called home was Papillion, Nebraska. From the ages of 6-8, I spent my time tromping through the cornfield behind our house, playing little league soccer with my best friend, Jacqueline (with our fathers as coaches), and trying to convince my mother that paying $40 for a pair of stonewashed Guess jeans was not a "waste of money".

The most memorable experience from my time spent in Nebraska, however, was the weekend my Uncle Joe came to town. As the youngest of my mother's 4 siblings, he was always the wild one of the bunch and a perennial extended-family favorite as he consistently allowed encouraged us to do things that our parents forbade. Which is why my siblings (older sister, Katie, and younger brother, Colin) and I were amazed that our mom and dad trusted him enough to babysit for a night while in town.

(L-R) My mom, Joe, Katie, my head, some girl,

some other slightly shorter girl, Colin, & my dad

A storm was brewing that night and it wasn't long before the radio deejays were warning their listeners of an impending tornado and encouraging everyone to seek shelter. So Joe took the three of us to the basement, battery-operated boombox in hand, and joined in as we entertained ourselves with school yard games. It took about two hours before Katie, Colin, and I remembered that we were siblings and therefore not supposed to enjoy each others' company and began to complain of boredom. That and hunger. Joe, always the responsible adult, insisted that we remain downstairs, saying "kids, never EVER leave the basement during a tornado... UNLESS IT'S TO ORDER PIZZA!!!", at which point he bounded up the stairs to retrieve the delivery pizza he'd previously ordered in secret.

My mom, Katie, myself, & Joe after Katie and I

completed a week-long soccer camp at the US Air

Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado

I remember being so in awe of my insanely cool, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants uncle. I promised myself that if I was ever to babysit my future nieces and nephews during a terrible storm, I too would order pizza. A promise which holds true to this day.

Joe, hard at work!

To the disbelief of us all, Joe was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in late August. He fought a brave fight, but finally succumbed to the disease just a few months later on November 3, 2009. My mom was such a rock for Joe during his illness. She flew to Arizona, where she spent months caring for Joe and showing him support. I am so proud of and grateful for her willingness to endure such a physically and emotionally draining process.

Joe, Jaden, and my mom

My sister and I, both in grad school and thus broke in both time and money, made the decision to visit Joe in September. We knew that, by doing so, we would be unable to attend his funeral in the event that his treatments were unsuccessful. While I wish that I could be in Wisconsin today with my mom, dad, and brother for the funeral, I know that I made the right decision. Spending time with Joe and his 5 year-old son, Jaden, for a mere 24 hours was such a treat and something that I will always remember.

Jaden's a light weight!

Katie, Joe & myself while visiting Joe in the hospital

Thanks for being a great dad, son, brother, and uncle, Joe. You will be missed!

My grandma, myself, & Joe in Appleton, Wisconsin

Happy Veterans Day!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank some of my favorite US Veterans for their service to our country.  My dad (Terry, A.K.A. "Big T."), grandfathers (Bob and Clem), uncles (Steve, John, & Mike), cousin (Jason), and the father (Joel) of my absolute favorite active-duty military member (Brain).  Thank you for the sacrifices made by both you and your families in the name of duty, honor, and country!  As my friend, Dave, would say, "preash"!

Have you thanked a Vet today?

In the meantime, check out these amazing old military formation photos:

 

[Information on images may be found here]

Fan Mail!

I would like to give a big PMK shout out to my girls Becki and Jennifer, who sent my sister a link to the site Texts From Last Night* with me and this blog in mind! You have no idea what the admiration of two foxy, intelligent women with an impeccable sense of humor (they do read my blog, after all) means to me.

The result of my Google search for "Becki and Jennifer".
See? I told you my readers were foxy!

Let me put it in perspective: My mom doesn't even read my blog anymore. That's right, MY OWN MOTHER. She blames this unfortunate situation on the fact that she's "just really busy right now." She's also at a college football game at the moment - cheering against my Alma mater, I might add - so, yeah.

This got me thinking. Maybe Becki and Jennifer would like to be my new mothers? Think about it, ladies: You could claim an extra dependent on your tax returns. Plus, I do chores and and I rarely wet the bed!


Tempting, right?

* Word on the street is that Adam Sandler's production company, Happy Madison, is slated to produce a television show based on the Texts From Last Night website. Look at me, I'm like a frigging Hollywood Insider for crying out loud!

[Click on the photo for source information]

Mom, Today is September 19th... Do you know where your son is?

Today is Talk Like A Pirate Day and I'd like to dedicate this grand holiday to my brother... For obvious reasons.

He's me'yarvelous!

I, for one, think it's high time we set aside 24 hours a year to celebrate the fine art of pirate speak. Why should pirates be celebrated, you ask? Because without them, I might feel bad about my excessive use of Aqua Net brand hair spray from 1985-1992.


So whether you buckle your swash or swash your buckler, you should all do this.

[Click on graph for source information]

Animation Celebration

Growing up, my brother had a thing for stop motion animation. He and his buddies would spend hours upon hours working with clay to produce 2 minute long Gumby-esque war films. They were great, and amazingly creative. I immediately thought of him and his childhood directorial dreams when I stumbled across this video:

The bride and groom are lucky I didn't catch wind of this masterpiece prior to the date of their nuptials, or they may have had one smitten wedding crasher on their hands.

[Video given away by its father, mother, and Cup of Jo]

See no evil. Speak no evil. Hear... Oh wait, scratch that.

On my recent trip home to NoVa (that's Northern Virgina, for those not in the know), I had the opportunity to see my little kid brother who lives and works in the area. Now, let me give you a little background on The Boomeister. Back when we were teens, it seemed that my brother was doing one very specific thing when he and I weren't busy punching/biting/kicking/wrestling each other over the rules governing our basement floor hockey tournaments. That thing? Listening to this monstrosity of a song on repeat for what felt like the entirety of my formative years. Which explains a lot.

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

The most effective US Military torture tactic known to date:
This song. On repeat.

So I was reticent to accept my brother's offer to ride in his new Nissan Altima Coupe, knowing that doing so meant spending the next quarter-hour of my life re-subjected to his choice in music. But instead of K-Ci and JoJo's auditory punishment, I was introduced to the jamtastic Keller Williams, a musician known for creating music by looping the sounds of his various instruments on top of one another.

I think I owe my brother an apology for assuming the worst when it came to his iPod playlist. And he'll get that apology. Just as soon as I get mine for what shall forever be referred to as "The K-Ci and JoJo Incident of Death".

Happy Father's Day, Big T!

One of the 3 UNC sporting events that Big T attended in a 36

hour period while visiting me in Chapel Thrill. I'm

pretty sure it was the best weekend of his life.

I would like to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to the best dad to ever set (his size 18) foot on this green and blue sphere we call Earth. By saying this I realize that every single one of you will proceed to mentally argue your case as to why your dad bests my dad at the game of fatherhood. Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news on this gorgeous Sunday morning but, unless we are somehow paternally related, you can go ahead and give that brain of yours a breather because you're fighting a losing battle. If you were expecting a more tangible argument in support of my case, try this one on for size: My dad can beat up your dad.

You be scurred, son!

And, as you can see, my dad also makes for a pretty great pillow when need be.

He's like an angel. A sweet, sweet angel that can no

longer ground me or force me to earn my allowance.

Thanks, Big T... you're the best dad this girl could ask for!

Sincerely,

Your Favorite Child

Summer Lovin'

People love summer. I don't know if it is the longer days, the sounds of shit kickers playing in the streets at dusk, or the near constant excuse to eat ice cream, but they do. Personally, I think our love of summer stems from our grade school days, when warmer temperatures meant that, for 3 straight months, we weren't going to be forced to sit next to that kid who snacked on glue and boogers for 8 hours a day. Back then, summer was synonymous with freedom. And regardless of the fact that summer breaks don't exist in the "real world", months 6, 7, and 8 still somehow elicit the same sense of freedom they did in the past. It's like nature's very own version of Pavlovian Conditioning or something.

Well people, prepare to have your world rocked: I don't like summer. That's right. Summer and I? Not pals.

Growing up as a child in a military family, summertime often meant leaving the house and friends I had finally grown comfortable with and starting anew in another part of the country, which oddly enough, often featured distinctly different weather patterns than the place before it. Even during those summers when my family would stay put, there was always something scheduled to take place in the fall that I just couldn't wait to see or do.

In the summer of 1998, that "thing" was college and, my God, the start of freshman year simply couldn't come soon enough. Not only was I devastated from my high school boyfriend's recent move to Kansas, but somehow, during the week that lapsed between prom and graduation, I suddenly became much too mature to even consider attending any silly high school house parties. Fortunately, I had an ally in my sister, Deet Dee, who is a grade year ahead of me and had therefore just returned from her first year at college. Her feelings were a virtual carbon copy of my own and it didn't take long for us to agree that the last place either of us wanted to sit, wasting the next three months of our young adult lives, was in the less-than-happening* town of O'Fallon, Illinois.

Enter Ace of Base. Though best known for their 1994 smash hit "The Sign", this Swedish musical group recaptured hearts of teens everywhere after releasing their killer** remake of Bananarama's ditty, "Cruel Summer". Because that's what the summer of 1998 was. Cruel. Looking back, it was also very carefree, but for argument's sake, let's just stick with cruel.

Fast forward to the present: Brain's deployment schedule is such that he will be out of the country every January through July for the next however-many-years, making Ace of Base's lyrical masterpiece my summer mantra once more.

* I love hanging out in O'Fallon with my high school friends now. Kids are stupid, and I was no exception.

** Don't even pretend that this is not a completely apt description of this song.

Brotherly Love

Parents: Do NOT let this man babysit your spawn...

My sister (hi Deet Dee!) recently celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary to Mr. Ree. Now don't get me wrong, I've always liked my now brother-in-law. However, I was recently made aware of his unintentional use of the term "shit kickers" - in lieu of "ankle biters" - when referencing children and now I think I like him even more. No wait, I take that back. I DEFINITELY like him more.

Welcome to the family, Mr. Ree.