Christmas 2008

Grandma Jean (Jason's grandmother)
Jason doing the Heisman pose

Eden (my niece), helping to make the stuffing
Chris and Jake, Dynelle and Jessica, Kari and Emma (Jason's family)
Back (L to R): Haley, Avadelle (Brent's wife), me, Ashley (Scott's wife), Jill (my cousin), Carrie (Alan's girlfriend), Alan (my brother - green shirt), Matt (my cousin), MacKenzie (Stacey's daughter), Stacey (my cousin)

Front (L to R): Brent (my cousin), Jason, Scott (my cousin), Grant (my brother)
Haley (Brent and Avadelle's little girl - Brent is my cousin)
Mom and Chuck
Jason and I
Dad and I
L to R: Lauren, Nancy (my stepmom), Danielle (my stepsister), and Mecca (Nancy's niece)


This Christmas involved a whirlwind trek across the great state of Oklahoma! We started out by heading to Enid on Tuesday. That night, I was able to visit with my good friends Emily and Lata. Lata is getting married in April, so we got to hear all about her wedding plans. I also got to try on my bridesmaid's outfit...an Indian Sari. It was soo beautiful! I am excited for her wedding! On Christmas Eve, we went to my grandparents house in Waukomis, Oklahoma. This is a little town just south of Enid. We had a fantastic lunch and then opened gifts. I was also able to see my step-sister, Danielle, and Nancy's niece, Mecca. Everyone had a great time, and we received some neat gifts...including a movie theater popcorn maker! (Jason is super excited for movie nights!) Later that afternoon, we went to my mom's house in Enid. We opened gifts with her and my stepdad, Chuck. It was nice to spend time with immediate family and Alan's girlfriend, Carrie, before the party began. Yes, my mom throws an incredible Christmas Eve party for all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins (and now their kids!). We always have a great time, especially playing Dirty Santa! This year, we took the opportunity to snap a pic with all of my cousins, their spouses, and the kids. This is a rare picture, folks!

On Christmas morning, we headed down to Norman to spend Christmas Day with Jason's family. There was a house full of people, but we had such a fun time! (Jason, of course, entertained us all!) We even got to see some of the extended family which was great. That evening, we headed over to Jason's aunt and uncle's house for Christmas dinner. On Friday, we started out to catch some post-Christmas sales, but quickly headed back to the house (everywhere was so busy!) Friday night, we came back to Irving. On Saturday (yesterday), Jason's mom came down to Texas so that she could spend some extra time with us (Jason and I, Heather, Chuck, and Eden). It was nice to have some one-on-one time with her since Christmas day was so busy.

Jason and I are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We loved the opportunity to see everyone over the holidays.

Meow-y Christmas!!!

Hope you all have a Meow-y Christmas and a Happy Mew Year!!!! Love, Mia and Caesar

P.S. Check out Mia's new flower "necklace." Isn't she stylin' this holiday season?

TTUHSC Christmas Party 2008

It's that time of the year again...lots of Christmas parties! Last Friday was the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Pharmacy party for the Dallas/Ft. Worth faculty, staff, and residents. One of the profs, Dr. Amie Blaszczyk, graciously volunteered to host this event, and we all enjoyed her beautiful home! The best part was the fully catered appetizers and dinner from Central Market and dessert from La Duni Bakery (I had the Panque de Limon cake with raspberry sauce....so good!). Almost all of the residents attended, and the faculty were impressed with the resident turnout! (hey...we wouldn't miss a free meal!) We spent the evening visiting with everyone and had a great time. I can't believe that Christmas is almost here!

Michael W. Smith and the DSO

What better way to celebrate the Christmas season than go to a Christmas concert!? Two weeks ago, we went to see Michael W. Smith perform with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. We decided to get the "cheap" tickets and ended up sitting in the Choral Terrace. This was the the area right above the stage. We had a fantastic view of the entire orchestra and close-up views of the performers. Michael W. Smith was not the only exciting part of the show...remember Melinda Doolittle? She was an amazing singer on American Idol Season 6 and was just as amazing in person! Since we had such a great view of the singers, Jason noticed something familiar about one of the backup singers. After a few more glances, he said, "That's George Huff!" He was also on American Idol! (Season 3) They were soooo friendly to the entire audience and you could definitely tell that they had a strong faith in Jesus Christ. In the second half of the show, George Huff sang a solo performance of "O Holy Night." It gave me goosebumps!!! One of my favorite parts of the concert was when they turned the lights up and asked the entire audience to join in on "Oh Come All Ye Faithful." If you ever have the chance to see any of these singers, or the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, I highly recommend it!

2nd Annual Christmas Cookie Party

Anyone hungry for Christmas cookies?? If so, I have a huge supply! Today, we had our 2nd Annual Christmas Cookie party. I decided to do it last year with some of my co-residents. It was so much fun, we decided to do it again! Last year, everyone brought their dough and baked the cookies at my place. It was fun, but the kitchen (and oven) got a little crowded. This year, everyone brought the cookies already baked...much better! We had a great variety of cookies including chocolate Andes mint cookies, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, and gingerbread cookies. I made Mexican Wedding Cakes (kind of like Sandies covered in powdered sugar). I also had a large supply of sugar cookies, ready for decorating! We had a great time trying to determine what the shapes were supposed to be. :) I also thought it would be fun to have a "Christmas craft." We made marbleized ornaments. They turned out pretty darn good! I am looking forward to next year's party. Maybe we'll have a house by then (with a much larger kitchen).






Wasn't baby Eme adorable in her Christmas dress??

ASHP Orlando 2008

This year marked my 4th ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) Midyear Clinical Meeting. This is a big event for pharmacists all over the country, and it is the primary place for recruitment to pharmacy residency programs. This year, it was in sunny Orlando, FL. Although I didn't get a chance to go to Disney World, the Disney "feel" infiltrated the entire town...including the airport. My co-resident, Anesia, and I had a chance to meet Snow White while we were waiting to board the plane :).
During the 5-day period that I was at the meeting, I attended several CE (continuing education) programs. Not only did they provide education, but more importantly, they provided free meals!!
Katie Hazlewood (one of my fellow OU College of Pharmacy grads) is the Critical Care resident with me at the Dallas VA. It was so nice to see a familiar face when I started this program.
The above pic shows (from L to R): Nicole Russell (last year's Ambulatory Care resident), Krystal Edwards (my program director), me, and Shane Greene (one of my primary Am Care preceptors).
Another great thing about this event is that I am able to catch up with some of my friends from pharmacy school. (L to R) Teresa Nguyen, Katie Hazlewood, me, Jamie Smith, and Craig Trusley. We all graduated from OU College of Pharmacy Class of 2007--Boomer Sooner!!

I don't have a pic with her, but I was also able to see and catch up with one of my co-residents from last year, Janine. It was sooo great to see her! Also, another one of my co-residents from last year, Phil, was at the convention. I briefly saw him, but will have to make a trip down to San Antonio to visit with him a little more! :) He was busy interviewing for jobs!

I'm not sure if this will be my last trip to Midyear or not...my years of school and residency have almost come to an end! :) (finally!)

Women's Christmas Dinner

This year, I was able to attend the Women's Christmas Dinner at Irving Bible Church. I have been a part of the women's bible study over the past year, and this is a huge event that they do every year. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend last year because the dinner was held during the same week I was in Las Vegas for a pharmacy convention. Several of my good friends from bible study (Leah, Amy, Susan, and Robin) were in charge of organizing this dinner for probably ~1,000 women! They did such a wonderful job! Women have the ability to "host" a table, and then they are in charge of decorating the table for the dinner. I couldn't believe how BEAUTIFUL the tables were! Several of the tables had a theme (i.e. toys, western, etc.) and others displayed very creative ideas. I volunteered as a greeter for the dinner so I arrived early and had a chance to tour the tables. After a yummy, catered dinner, all of the women went to the auditorium for a variety show. The show featured talented women from Irving Bible Church that sang, played piano, performed a comedy act, and much more. I had such a great time! If I can go next year, I hope to bring lots of friends and family along! Here are pics of some of the tables: