Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Associate of the Month


This morning around 9am my phone rang and "Trillium" showed up on the caller id. "Uh oh," I thought, as I always do when work calls. It ended up being my supervisor calling to tell me that yesterday, at the all-associate meeting, it was announced that Yours Truly is the July Associate of the Month! I am so thrilled about this!

Today was the all-resident monthly meeting, and I was able to sneak away to accept my honor at the meeting. The Director said some nice things about me, and I was able to say a few words of thanks.

July also marks my one-year anniversary with the company. Very big personal milestone for me.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Farmers' markets and summer fun

My, my, my what a busy 10 days it has been. Ryan and I have been using our new coffee pot everyday. We also dehydrated some bananas, kiwi, and blueberries in our dehydrator. The bananas and kiwi came out pretty good, but we over did the blueberries a little. Better luck next time.

I started my "Preceptorship" through school. I am following a nurse in a Hospice company while she goes out on her visits, meetings, etc. So far all of the nurses and patients have been very pleasant. I have a feeling though, that by the end of the quarter I might see a person who is actively dying. I've really never had that experience before.

I've been working quite a bit, and this week I started my little volunteer project at work. Every Thursday I am going to go into Trillium for an hour or so to paint nails. Yesterday I did about 7 residents and 5 of them picked the same color! It was fun, and I think it brightened their day. I also think I need to get more mauve polish.

My birthday was yesterday also. Ryan was kinda bummed that I picked up a shift at work last night and we couldn't hang out, but we were able to get some Chipotle for dinner and enjoy that together.

I received so many birthday cards and messages - It all made me so happy.

When I walked into work last night at 7, my friend and co-worker Miranda had our little office break room decorated for my birthday with some beautiful desserts. I was so touched that she set that up for me. I was tired, coming in to work after already working that morning, and kinda down about not spending the evening with Ryan, so when I walked in and saw what Miranda did I just felt so loved and so happy! It was a really great surprise. Miranda is really a great nurse and person.




Well I've been pretty bogged down with work, hospice, and school this week, so hopefully next week will be a little smoother. Til next time!

Oh...one more thing! Our honeymoon tickets are booked! We will be flying into Hanoi on 12/10, and coming back on 12/31!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Once upon a shower...

Where do I begin?

On Friday Ryan, myself, and my friend and bridesmaid Stef drove up to Youngstown for the shower. Friday night Stef, my cousin Kaleigh (another bridesmaid) and I went to the salon that will be doing my hair and makeup for a trial run. Everything came out PERFECT! Stef took a lot of pictures, but I can't post them because I don't want Ryan to have any idea what I will look like on the wedding day. I absolutely loved both my hair and my makeup.

Saturday was my bridal shower. I've been looking forward to it all summer. It was a great afternoon. We celebrated with my mom, grandparents, my future mother-in-law, my bridesmaids, and some family members that I don't see nearly enough.

My mom did a wonderful job getting everything set up with help from my grandparents and aunts. My cousins helped with set up and helped with the favors. During the shower we had a "Chinese auction," and gave out beautiful gift baskets my mom put together, as well as a hand painted apron, an art print, and a handmade bracelet.

We ate some great food and I opened so many wonderful gifts. Ryan came at the (very) end of the shower and met some of the guests and helped tear down/load gifts/eat dessert.

The Moms :)
Welcoming guests:
New coffee pot:
New dehydrator:
Stef, my mom, and I ran over to the seamstress' house so she could start fitting my dress.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Hot in...

So hot in herre (anyone picking up the Nelly reference?). Well, we're in the middle of a heat wave here in Columbus, it has been in the mid 90s the past couple days. To get some color without any damage, I've taken to running out to the pool, laying for 10 minutes on my stomach, 10 minutes on my back, and then running back inside. So far it seems to be working. I haven't burned at all, but I also don't feel much more tan.

Ryan spent most of last weekend at the Red River Gorge (again!) with his Dad and Brother-in-law. They stayed at the hostel that Ryan and I originally stayed at last year. From what Ryan tells me they all had a great time.

Unfortunately, the camera was left in his Dad's bag which is now in Cleveland, so I wont have it back til Saturday to post any pictures.

Right now I am drinking my coffee from a "First Watch" mug. Ryan's Mom sent along a little gift for us with his dad. Inside we found a First Watch gift card, a mug, some red pepper garlic sauce, and a really neat bracelet. Thanks Nancy and Terry!

While Ryan was gone I mostly worked and went to the gym a couple times. I also started a "Soul Journal." I've found it pretty therapeutic so far, and if I do say so myself, its looking pretty cool.

Saturday night, when Ryan got back, we went over to my best friend Angela's condo for a cookout and fireworks. It was a lot of fun, she and her boyfriend made Schmidt's sausage and chicken, and her boyfriend made Bald Eagle cookies out of Oreo's, marshmallows, and coconut flakes. They were complete with cashew beaks!

On Monday Ryan and I did some geocaching in the area. We only ended up finding one of 3, but it was a fun one, involving the cement corn statues in Dublin. We then went to the mall to see if any sales were still going on from the 4th. Ryan found a couple polo shirts. We also went up to Polaris, where I found a bachelorette party outfit. We finished the day with Noodle's and Co. for dinner and Rita's Blendinis for dessert!

Yesterday I went to school to get my schedule for this quarter only to find that no, the schedules aren't ready yet. Of course they aren't.

Last night I started making a necklace for my new outfit, and it's about done. I like it! I'll add a pic when I get the camera back.

My Bridal Shower is Saturday and I am so excited!!! I'm looking forward to a great lunch with family and friends, some fun games, good pictures, and good food. Word on the street is that there will be a chocolate fountain!

EDIT: Here are the pictures from the Red!