Since moving to Massachusetts, I’ve picked up on some of the local names for things.  I already knew about some of them, but not all.  Here’s my brief guide to understanding Massachusetts words: Bubbler = Water/Drinking FountainCarriage = Shopping CartElastics = Rubber BandsJohnnies = Patient/Hospital Gowns I’m sure that there’s more out there that I’ll… Read More Learning the Language

Another day of orientation, another day of wishing I could prop my eyelids open with toothpicks. The good news is that we finished early. We have a schedule that we are supposed to go by, but each speaker that comes in talks for around 5-10 minutes over their allotted time, resulting in the scheduling being… Read More Still Surviving Orientation

I need a new camera. Our current digital camera is a Kodak EasyShare CX7430. We’ve had it for almost 4 years. It worked well for about a year and a half, then the batteries started to do weird things. It came with Kodak rechargeables, and when those wore out, I bought some more rechargeables directly… Read More I Need a New Camera

I went to the library a few days back to drop off some books. Since we decided not to get cable, when we do watch TV it’s either a movie, mini-series, or TV season on DVD. I was looking at the library’s DVDs, didn’t see much that was interesting, then saw Season I of House,… Read More House, M.D.

I had to write about the new online shop for Pumpkin Petunia’s stationary and prints. I read her blog on a pretty regular basis, so naturally I was so excited to see that she was going to start offering some of her cute designs for sale! She’s got some adorable prints, both standard and customized.… Read More Silhouettes for Sale

We don’t have cable (by choice), mostly because we hardly ever watch TV. When we did have cable included with our rent (in Indiana), I found that we watched it too often. We’d end up lounging on the couch in the evenings, not really talking to each other, just watching. Neither of us liked that.… Read More Penelope

While in Columbia for the oh-so-sad but much enjoyed South Carolina vs. GA game, the family decided to order in from California Dreaming the night before the game. We were thinking of eating out, but after driving to Green’s for some pre-game refreshments (a few bottles of Moet + Chandon Nectar Imperial and a case… Read More Michigan Salad

I found out today that I passed NCLEX (state boards for nursing)! Yay!!! What a relief – now, I can really enjoy my long weekend visiting family and going to the Univ. of South Carolina vs. GA game 🙂 Woo hoo!

Such a cute picture of my little niece, Carrie, sitting on her mama’s front porch in Iowa.

I’ve decided that for my next trip to Boston, I’m going to need to bring along a little helper: The Garmin nuvi 880. Boston may be a beautiful, fascinating city, but it’s hard to appreciate it when you are looking around, cursing the engineers who are in charge of those city streets and the darn… Read More For my next trip to Boston

“People ask me if my dog is a vicious beast, and I tell them, ‘No, but I’ve still got one in the house, and she growls at me from time to time…” Chris, commenting on my grumbling about which movie we were going to watch tonight 🙂 Love you, Honey!

I love to travel. Love, love, love, to travel! As a child, my family vacations revolved around camping, “roughing it” in tents, and taking long drives to get there. Imagine going tent camping with 14 people in a 15-passenger van, and you’ll begin to get an idea of what I’m talking about… In college, I… Read More Vacationing

My kitchen window has been almost continuously open since moving here. Usually, it is only closed if I’m out of the house or at night. I recently bought some columnar basil from the local farmer’s market to add to my cooking, and it sits right there on the sill, looking as happy as an herb… Read More My Kitchen Window

Hi Everyone! I hope that you had a great Labor Day weekend. Chris and I spent most of it doing work, but we were able to do a couple of fun things… 1. On Friday, we went to LongHorn Steakhouse. I had never been there before, and in the past really have not liked steakhouse… Read More Labor Day Weekend Wrap-Up

A few days ago I got my “Martha Stewart Living” magazine in the mail. In this particular issue, there was an offer for 15% off an entire order at The Company Store (offer code: martha98). Then, this morning I get an email informing me of a new sale at The Company Store as well as… Read More The Company Store

I love my husband, but sometimes we joke that he is a living version of the absent-minded professor. It’s not that he’s forgetful on purpose, he just gets so absorbed in other thoughts that he doesn’t always pay attention to what was said, what he’s doing, or where he’s going! I offer the following example:… Read More My Very Own Absent-Minded Professor 🙂

I read this story today on MSN, and thought it was pretty neat. I guess that this guy can afford to have LASIK now, if he wants!

You may remember that about 2 months ago I bought a cookbook – “Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey”, by Jill O’Connor. I have really wanted to try something from this cookbook but I haven’t had the time, what with moving, looking for a job, and studying for the NCLEX. A few days ago I decided that… Read More Finally!

I have Jerry Seinfeld’s “I’m Telling You for the Last Time…” on DVD, and it is hilarious. In honor of the Olympics, I had to post this clip, which is the best I could find on youtube. The actual DVD is even funnier 🙂 I love the “alpine snipers” and the “involuntary luge” bit. Enjoy!

Today is my sister’s birthday! She lives far away in Iowa, so I don’t get to see her or her family too often, and that makes me sad 🙁 Still, we talk a lot on the phone and stay very close. The picture below was taken at one of Shelly’s bridal showers. Even though I… Read More Happy Birthday