A Comprehensive List of Things I Love About Fall

Because everyone needs a list detailing the season that they love. Also, the photos below are NOT mine. If you'd like to know where they're from (aside from Google) just email me.

1. Pumpkin spice lattes. That includes ones made by Starbucks and those made at home by Coffeemate
   
   
   
   

1. Boots. I collect boots. Now I can wear then without looking like a freak.

   

   Yes, I want these

2. Decorating for fall. Soon my entire downstairs will be decorated with autumn colors including the mantle...especially the mantle
   
3. Pumpkin spice candles. It smells better than cat litter.
   
4. Halloween. Not so much the trick-or-treating but the decorating and the candy. I especially enjoy shopping for Halloween decorations.
   
5. Pumpkin spice Oreos. Yeah, you read that correctly.
   
6. ABC Family 13 Nights of Halloween. Don't judge, I love Hocus Pocus.
   
7. Apple Cider. Spiked or not, specially warm, it's good stuff.
   
8. Gourds. This weekend I plan on going to a local farm and buying many. And by many I mean enough that it take several trips by myself to get them from the car to the house and then several hours to decide how to arrange them.
   
9. Pumpkin-cranberry bread. It's the only seasonal thing I can bake and I didn't make any last year. WTH???
   
10. Carving pumpkins. Alister and I aren't masters at it but we can come up with some good pukey pumpkins.
    
11. Pumpkin pie. Yum.
    
12. The weather. I can wear jeans! And boots! And scarves! Oh my!
13. My dogs no longer hate going out. In other words it's cool enough for them to enjoy a walk without overeating, and lie in the sun without panting to death.
14. The leaves changing. They're more beautiful up in the mountains but any glimmers of gold and orange make me happy.
    
15. Camping/hiking. The mountains of NC are perfect for this.
    

I hope everyone is enjoying fall as much as I am!

RNIA, Wardrobes, & Cheesecake Factory

eating/drinking: starbucks blonde coffee with caramel macchiato creamer and a piece of toast (i think i've ibuprofen-ed myself into an ulcer or something)

feeling: manageably frazzled. i'm trying to catch up on pharm and patho before my tests next week, and while i love pharm, i do not love patho. also, i'm pretty sure online programs punish us for not going to class every day by assigning ridiculous amounts of paper and group work. unacceptable

listening: to cupcake wars, stetson moaning and pacing (he's getting senile and vocal), baer snoring and smacking

watching: not watching anything, just using food network as background noise while i read

reading: pharm. fascinating (i love drugs) but there's so much reading for one test

loving: that i'm almost off of these nutball meds and i'm way less emotional, that my sister/bil/nephew seem to be settling in well, that we turned the leased honda in early and saved money, that as of yesterday i have ~5 new outfits i can wear to work or in general and not look like i'm dressing below my age

disliking: that my kidney still hurts. i mean, seriously? i go back next mon at which time i'm sure he'll suggest more surgery. i will be asking for a referral to a wakemed md though b/c my insurance clearly doesn't approve of my using any other hospitals in raleigh

thinking: i need to read. study. stop avoiding

hoping: that my pets know how much i love them and appreciate them despite my frustrations with them sometimes. that my kidney stops hurting soon. that ab and i can come to an agreement on the tahoe

wishing: it were december 2016. then i'd be done with school, taking my certification exam, getting on with my career, and hopefully planning my muffin/cupcake/coffee shop on the side

Yesterday my mom and I hit up Belk's and I ended up with a lot of new outfits for work (and life) plus another pair of boots and a cute little pair of slip-ons. My funds are severely limited while I'm in school but a new wardrobe that fits and doesn't include shirts with the word "Bitch" on them seemed to be a good choice and a reasonable thing to spend money on. Afterwards we went to Cheesecake Factory, split some appetizers and a slice of cheesecake, and enjoyed a mojito (her) and some red sangria (me). I promptly came home and fell asleep while reading pharm, and then spent the rest of the evening playing catch up.

Today I have plans to finish all my pharm readings, take all of my quizzes, and then head over to my sister/aunt's apartment this evening to say hi and return some things to my parents. Tomorrow will be spent catching up on patho and dragging Indy to the vet for repeat blood work, and then this weekend is the first time I work my job 7a-7p Saturday and Sunday. I have high hopes that I'll have some free time to read, but with our hospital being in gridlock (no new patients) for most of the week that may not happen!

New gray boots

Slip-ons

Yumminess

Updates & All

It's been a busy week, mainly because I've been working every day while still managing to cook, exercise the pets, run, and get my required 8-9 hours of sleep a night. Yes, I require that much; if I get less my eyes get red, my face swollen, and I trip over my own feet.

So here goes- my updates in bullets:

• Work actually went smoothly- I don't have any patient stories but it's because I honestly can't remember any. After a while, they all start to blend together.
• I have not managed to study for the GRE but that's not surprising considering I'm a master procrastinator.
• I don't think I want to go to grad school - quite yet. Mainly because I really have no clue what I want to do (other than knowing that I don't want to be a nurse forever) and I don't need more student loan debt for something I'm not passionate about. Which leads me to...
• I've started looking into other RN jobs to apply for in the new year. My contract is up March 1 and I'd like to try something else...something that doesn't require paging doctors that never respond for orders, trying not to spill bedpans, and sucking copious amounts of mucus out of a stranger's mouth.
• I've got an idea for a new blog- one that will simultaneously fulfill a New Year's Resolution and make me a better person (or at least look like one)- and no, it has nothing to do with looks!
• I got new boots. That's right- rain/snow boots. My husband has turned me into a North Face whore (I never used to buy NF- too expensive) and now I'm in love with pretty much everything they make. I will be taking these to Seattle next week:

• As mentioned previously, I get to spend some time with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew next week (this also means I get a break from work...double awesome)
• I'm up to 3.2 miles of running; not every time but I can manage it...which is good because the costume 5K is next week (stay tuned for the absurd candy my sister managed to get me to agree to dress up as)
• I purchased a Living Social deal for a box of fresh produce from a local delivery company, DoorStep Produce and it was well worth it. I chose the Fruit & Salad box and ended up with a hearty serving of fresh turnip greens, pears, apples, onions, tomatoes, green/red/orange peppers, cucumbers, squash, and zucchini.
• This evening I wanted to finish up the veggies from above mentioned salad box so I cut up the onions, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and peppers, coated them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and had AB toss them on the grill. I also cooked some 3 cheese tortellini with Ragu sauce and it made for a filling dinner (followed by the fabulous Apples & Pears Foster).