Before & After

Well, I've mentioned the bathroom overhaul we did a couple weeks ago...now it's time for the big reveal! The photos are sort of crummy, but it's really hard to get a good photo of a bathroom! We painted the vanity a dark chocolate brown, put a frame around the mirror, updated the light fixture above the sink, got new towels/rugs, and painted the bathroom a light blue-green. Love it!

California Dreamin'

Last Friday, our family took off on a California adventure! The national PA conference was held in San Diego this year, and we decided to make a family vacation of the trip, since the city offered so many family-friendly activities. We're so glad we did! Emmy did well on the all day travels out west, and coped well with the time changes. We did a lot of walking along the harbor, looking at boats and marine life. We enjoyed a trolley tour around the city, which helped us narrow down where we wanted to visit in the few days we were there. If you've never been to San Diego, it is quite lovely in May...weather in the mid-60's, sunny and no humidity. Perfect! It was a little chilly for swimming, but Keith and Emmy tried it twice...she didn't care that her little lips were turning blue! We spent Monday morning at the Zoo, which we all really enjoyed. They just opened a brand new elephant exhibit the weekend before, and it was something to see. We got there just in time to see a zookeeper giving an elephant a pedicure, much to the delight of our 2 year old. All she talks about now is the "elephant getting his toenails clipped". We also took a Seal Tour around the harbor, and just happened to cruise next to a pod of wild dolphins....very cool! It was a great family trip...and the conference wasn't bad either!

A New Direction

Well, I've been quiet around here for a while, as I've been waiting to see if I could share some exciting news. I found out recently that I will join the faculty at the Duke Physician Assistant Program in July. I'm terribly excited, since this is where I did my training, and I've been teaching for them for the past several years. I will be a Clinical Coordinator, which means I will mainly focus on the second (clinical) year of the program, where the students go out into the local communities to do their rotations. The first year of PA school is classroom learning, the second year is hands-on learning...much like the typical first and third years of med school. I will also do some lecturing and small group instruction of first year students, and be involved in much of the behind the scenes work that keeps the program running. I told my current boss I was leaving this week, and have hopefully found someone to take my place in my current clinic. It's been a strange couple of weeks, as things have literally fallen into place. Divine intervention or dumb luck, I can't be sure.

Keith and I are both at the tail ends of head colds, and Emmy is keeping us entertained. We are planning a trip to a zoo in the near future, and she is terribly excited to see the "go-lillas". She is obsessed with boo-boo's these days, and always has at least 2 bandaids on her appendages. Daddy got a scrape on his leg, and she diligently placed a Hello Kitty bandaid on his hairy leg. This went on for days, and he's got a nice bald patch now. She kisses his boo-boo to make it feel better, which it surely does. She looked at my face this morning, as I was putting her in the carseat, and told me I had a boo-boo on my face. I was a little perplexed, and she pointed to a pimple and told me to put a bandaid on that. Hmmm...an interesting alternative to concealer.

Hope you all have a great holiday weekend!

What to do with Strawberries?

Well, I had a slew of strawberries after our 2nd outing to the berry patch yesterday. I decided to try my hand at making some jam. After some research, I realized that "freezer jam" was the way to go for me. I made a batch that came out to about 4 cups. I divided it into 1 cup containers, and put 3 in the freezer. They will be good for up to a year. One container went into the fridge, where I imagine we will be trying it out on toast this weekend. Hopefully, it turns out okay!

Emmy and I both caught a cold this weekend...ugh. She seems to be bouncing back, but I'm miserable. Being able to breathe out of your nose is highly desirable and totally taken for granted! Em's been doing a ton of coughing, so we brought out the nebulizer machine, especially at bedtime. It helps a lot. I'm not liking that this is the third time this Spring we've had to break it out for her. Am hoping this is just a 2 year old thing, and will not be an issue each Spring.

Emmy is coming up with some hilarious stuff lately. I was laying on the couch yesterday, and she brought out her baby doll blankies, and proceeded to Shhhhsh me, cover me up, and tell me to "sleep tight, Mama, time for a rest". Sounds like a good idea to me! She also has a tendency to shush me in the car, when I'm singing. Hmmmm....

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Well, we had a fun-filled weekend here! Keith's birthday was Wednesday, and we went out to dinner at an Asian fusion restaurant called Peony in Durham. Totally one of those places that is a surprise when you walk in! It's in a little strip mall, but the interior dining area is very nice, and the food was fabulous. Emmy tried her first sushi, but preferred the sesame chicken! Friday was my birthday, and my Mom came to town! She stayed Friday through today, we we had a great visit with her. I kept Emmy home from school Monday & Tuesday, and took those two days off work myself. Friday night, we all went out to Kanki, a Japanese steakhouse for dinner. Very tasty, and always entertaining. Keith, Mom and I went to the Durham Performing Arts Center Saturday evening to see a live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. My family has been listening to his stories of Lake Wobegon for more than 20 years, and it was so wonderful to get to see his show live, and his creative genius at work on stage. He's all business when the "ON AIR" sign is lit, but when it goes off, he really loosens up and interacts with the crowd. Sunday, we made french toast for breakfast, visited the local park, and had free Mother's Day ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. I hosted a stamping class on Saturday afternoon, and Mom always likes to join in that when she's in town. My stamping ladies love Mom, and there's always lots of laughing all around. By Monday, Em and I came down with another cold...grrr. I think this is #4 for both of us this spring! It was rainy and cold outside, so it was a good day for napping and resting up. Today, the sun came out, and it was a beautiful mid-60's day here...perfect for another excursion to the local strawberry patch. Em was and old pro by now, and filled up her bucket, albeit with semi-red berries. I've got a batch of freezer jam on the counter setting, and multiple bags of strawberries in the freezer for future smoothies & yogurt pops. Mom and Jim leave in the morning to head back north to Indiana. It's always so good to have parents & grandparents here for a visit. Emmy truly loved having her Grammy stay for several days, and Mom is probably exhausted from keeping up with an energetic 2 year old.

We have a winner!

Thanks to all who entered my 10,000 visit celebration give away! I drew the winner tonight, and am happy to say that Carla Pullum from sunny California is our winner! Carla, please email me with your mailing address, and I'll get your prizes out this week. (Mom, just remember, you get to see Garrison Keillor with me this weekend....that's YOUR prize!)

Strawberry Patch

This week, on my way home from work, I saw a sign that strawberries were ready at a local patch. I began talking up the idea with Emmy to go pick some berries. She had no idea what I was talking about, as she didn't know strawberries came from anywhere but the grocery store in a plastic container. Needless to say, she got an education this morning! It didn't take her long to figure out that the strawberry patch is the place to be on a warm May morning. We had perfect weather for picking our berries...overcast, but warm. There were scads of people out picking, but it was such a large patch that we had the row to ourselves. We only picked for about 20 minutes, but got plenty of berries. Em sampled as we went along our row, and was a juicy, red mess in no time. Hopefully, we'll hit this patch again when Mom visits next weekend!