Not Having It!

Here is an update on how are dogs are liking the feeders ...

Spoiled Rotten

For the last few years I've always taunted my mom about purchasing automatic dog feeders for their golden retrievers.

With me working 12 hour shifts it's hard to make sure that my sweet dogs are getting fed twice a day. So, I recently splurged on some automatic pet feeders that are on their way in the mail as we speak :)

I'll let you know how they work! Here's a picture of them ...


They each carry 10 lbs of food which will mean that I MIGHT have to refill them once every other week :)

Happy Belated Birthdays Kiwi (June) and Mango (February)!!!

Early Birthday Gift to Myself!

Aren't those the best gifts!? My 26th birthday is a week from tomorrow and I finally decided to splurge and get me one of these



iPod Touch - 32g 3rd Generation
7,000 songs
40 hours of video
Faster performance
Earphones with Remote and Mic
Along with Many other Features :)

I had struggled with this decision for a long time (since I've never owned an MP3 player of any sort) about whether to suck it up and do the iPhone or the iPod Touch and the decision ultimately came down to that I don't want to pay an extra $15-30 a month. The iPod Touch does EVERYTHING except phone calls, pictures/videos, and text messages (which my current cell phone does very well without any extra fees a month). A few of our friends have the iPod Touch and love them, so I can't wait to get mine :)

So, Happy Early 26th Birthday to ME!!!

Light at the end of the tunnel!

I'm finally headed to day shift, yahoo! I can't wait to have enough energy to work out regularly, work at the salon more often, and spend time with family and friends when they are awake! An answer to my prayers :)

Happy Anniversary

We just celebrated our one year anniversary (5/23/10) this weekend in Helen, Georgia (a little over an hour away) in a beautiful cabin. We saw Anna Ruby Falls, went tubing down the Chattahoochee, played mini golf, and explored the small city of Helen. Please enjoy a few of our favorite pictures from the trip ....

Our Cabin - Bella Vista


Enjoying the Back Porch


Miniature Golf


Hot tub with a waterfall in our bedroom, need I say more? :)


Getting ready to leave


One last hike to Anna Ruby Falls


Melting Pot 5/23/2010

Man, how this year has flown by!

My New Love

So, I think I'm in LOVE ...

With IKEA, ha ha (got you worried, didn't I?)

I totally forgot how much I love that place .. here are the most recent purchases that we have added to our home ...

Hemnes - 3 Drawer Dresser $149

Hemnes - Nightstand x 2 $59.99 Each

Antonius Closet Storage - ~$40 Each (each drawer and stand purchased separately)
(We got two units that are 6 drawers tall, without the casters)

$29.99 for a set of two

Of course, I forgot to mention that all the furniture has to be assembled. It didn't bother me too much, but I'm pretty sure my neighbors didn't appreciate my hammering at 1 am, ha ha! I was motivated, and couldn't stop :) I'll post pictures of our new, organized place as soon as I get everything in it's place!

Next time you're in the Atlanta area, make sure to stop by IKEA .. or if you want to keep your money in your bank account .. maybe you shouldn't? Happy shopping!

Thirty-One

I decided to become a consultant for a company called Thirty-One. They do in-home parties for embroidered goodies like lunch bags, purses, totes, towels, makeup bags, backpacks, etc. I think the Christian company mission is fabulous ...


I'm excited about sharing these cute new products with my friends and family. They are reasonably priced, and we all know that I like to keep myself busy with random side jobs .. so this will suffice for now :)

Please check out the catalogs if you are interested http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/catalog.htm .. I am not going to pay for the personal website monthly fee, so contact me directly for any orders or parties!

RIP Sugar

Our family golden retriever, Sugar, passed away on her 10th birthday, 03/30/2010, while being rushed to the emergency animal clinic. She had pericardial effusion (fluid in the sac surrounding her heart). Soo happy she could enjoy her new, baby sister (Cupcake) for the last couple weeks of her life. I will miss you, Sugar! God, thank you for allowing me to enjoy your creation through Sugar. Please take care of her up there :)

Sugar (dog) and Cupcake (puppy) 03/2010

Off Orientation

I don't know whether to be nervous,


or to be excited .. I'm glad to be finally on my own .. but I hope I don't screw anything up too bad. Tonight is the first night of three in a row for me. So, stay tuned to see how it goes :)

Working on the night train ..

Sorry I haven't updated in a while... For the last few months I've been trying to adjust to night shift at the hospital, working at the salon, finishing moving, and celebrating grandma's 92nd birthday up in Young Harris, GA.

Now that life is starting to settle down for us, of course I have to throw in a wrench and start back to school this summer. So I'm going to be a slave to school until I have N.P. behind my name (nurse practitioner for all you non-medical people out there).

David and I are both enjoying our jobs, but I do have to say that not seeing him at all when I work night shift really puts a damper on things. He works 9-5 and I work 7p - 7:30a so most days we don't even see each other for five minutes :( Oh well, it's the sacrifices that we have to do to make that money!

Drum Roll Please!

I've made my decision on where I'm going to work :) I accepted the med/surg nights position at Northside -Forsyth in Cumming, GA.

It's located about 25 miles north of the main Atlanta campus ...

Now we just need to figure out a place to live that's convenient to everything :) David and I are currently considering Sandy Springs again so he can easily get to school, but we can also hike up to Cumming (for my job) and Roswell (for his job). We shall see! As usual, we will keep you updated!

It feels so great to finally have a plan! Now, I just need my GA nursing license to post online so that I can start orientation in January :)

Still Trying to Decide

So, I mailed off all of my GA board of nursing paperwork to get my RN license in GA. I found out on Thursday that it can take 5 weeks to get licensure, so even though I have not heard from Shelby about the L&D position, I figured it can't hurt to go ahead and get my license since we eventually want to move back anyways.

I have officially decided to make Wednesday (12/23/09) my cut off date in making my decision about what job to take. If Shelby has not communicated with me about the job by then, then I'm accepting Northside's offer! I really don't understand how Shelby thinks they can get away with having me wait almost a month to hear back about if I got the job or not. That's ridiculous. I mean, if they want me, then they wouldn't be taking their sweet time.

I hope I'm making the right decision :( God, please guide and bless the manager at Shelby and myself in this process ...

Decisions Decisions

Below is the predicament that I am currently in .. I have copy/pasted a few emails that were sent/received today about my job hunt...


Sent 9:37 AM to Shawn (nurse manager) from Me

Hey Shawn,

I hope you had a great weekend! Quick question, I was wondering if you have made your decision for your nights position(s)? I was offered a med-surg position over the weekend and I really do NOT want to accept their offer if you are going to offer me a position to work with your floor. I believe I have a week or two to respond to that job offer, is there any way you will be making your decision by then? Sorry to bother. Have a great week!

Brooke

-----

Received 12:20 PM from Shawn to Me

I am still conducting interviews so I can not promise I will have a decision in time for you to make your decision. I encourage you to evaluate what is best for you at this time. Because Women’s is a specialty area, my decisions are often long thought out due to past experiences. I do appreciate your eagerness and interest in working in the Women’s Center here at Shelby. Your impression from the interview process enables you to remain an applicant of consideration but again I have not reached a decision to date.

Thank you,

Shawn Yarbrough, R.N.

-----

Sent 12:41 PM from Me to Shawn

Shawn,

Thank you for such a quick response :)

I do need to tell that other offer by this Friday, but I will ask them to give me more time. I will wait however long that it is necessary for you to make your decision. I would rather work with you all than anywhere else, so however long I need to wait, I will wait :) Best of luck in the rest of your interviews!

Brooke

So the decision that I have to make is ... if I have not heard anything from Shelby (labor and delivery nights in Birmingham) by Friday, and I'm supposed to let Northside (med-surg nights in Atlanta) know by Friday .. what should I do? I'm considering accepting the offer in Atlanta, but what if I'm offered the L&D position a week after I tell Northside that I will accept their offer? I wish I could predict the future ...

Interview Central

I went on an interview last week for a Birmingham area hospital for Labor and Delivery Nights (my DREAM job, not shift though). I have another interview tomorrow at an Atlanta area hospital for Med/Surg Days (my DREAM shift, not job). I hope I get a job offer SOON!!! Hoping to post some amazing news next week :)

Our First Thanksgiving

This year we decided to spend our first Thanksgiving together as a married couple in Birmingham. Our niece was born last week, so we used last weekend for our vacation time. I (Brooke) had to work at Brookwood on Thanksgiving, but at least I got time and a half! We decided to celebrate today (Friday) instead :) The picture above is my first attempt at cooking a turkey on my own so I wanted to document it with a picture. It actually turned out really yummy! I made stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes (from scratch), gravy (from scratch), and green bean casserole.

The only thing that would have made it better would have been being with family, but maybe next year! We can't wait to see everyone for Christmas. I guess that means we need to put up our decorations this weekend. Man, this year is flying by! Hope you all have a wonderful night!