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:

Thanksgiving Potluck

Tonight, Jason and I hosted a potluck Thanksgiving dinner for the residents at our apartment. Unfortunately, we had a small crowd due to illness and schedule mishaps. We had plenty of food though! One of the residents, LaTonya, prepared the turkey..a 20-lb one! It was super tasty, but we had a lot left over. Jason was a sweetheart and took LaTonya a plate of the food because she wasn't able to make it. Young, another resident who is from Korea, brought a Korean dessert. It is a traditional Korean food that is eaten during Thanksgiving. Katie brougt a salad with homemade vinegrette dressing, and Anesia brought the always-loved green bean casserole. I prepared the appetizers and made a pumpkin souffle. Brittan gave me the recipe just yesterday, and I already tried it out! It was definitely a big hit! I have always loved Thanksgiving food. Good thing, because I have at least 2 more dinners to go!

Alzheimer's Memory Walk

Last Saturday, Jason and I participated in the Alzheimer's Association's Annual Memory Walk. Texas Tech School of Pharmacy has a team every year, and this year we wanted to partipate. Not only is it a great fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association, it is also held at the Dallas Zoo! By partipating in the walk, we were able to get free admission into the zoo and see all of the animals. For some reason, I had really been "craving" a trip to the zoo lately. I think it's because I haven't been in forever, and I have such good memories of the zoo when I was younger. Before everyone started the walk, the Texas Tech group got together for a pic. I'm not sure if you can tell from the pic, but it was super cold and windy!! During our walk around the zoo, we were able to see lots of the animals! The walk took place in the morning, so the animals were out and about. My favorites were the mini penquins...

the giraffes...(you can't see, but there are 2 more inside of the building that were peeking out while we were standing there)...

...and the elephant. She was one talented creature! The trainer would blow his whistle and she would turn around, sit down, put her foot on the fence, lift up her trunk, etc. The trainer would feed her fruit as a reward.

My final favorite animal was this cute little otter! He looked soooo familiar!!! I just can't figure out where I've seen him before! ;-)

Overall, we had a great time supporting Alzheimer's Disease and visiting the animals! My next zoo trip will have to be to the Ft. Worth zoo. I've heard it's even better!

I've been tagged!

My friend, Larissa, tagged me on her blog! So here are the rules: I have to tell 7 random things about myself and then tag 7 friends. Let's see...

1) I love the oldies! - Growing up, my mom and dad taught me and my brothers to appreciate the music that they loved when they were younger. My friends and I used to make up dances to songs like "Splish, Splash" and "Peggy Sue." To this day, I know the words to tons of songs, and I love the "American Graffiti" soundtrack!

2) I collect smashed pennies - You know, the smashed pennies that you can get from machines at tourist attractions? At first, I would get them when I was younger because they were a souvenir that cost only 51 cents. Now that I have quite a few, I try to get one at every memorable place I visit.

3) I won $1000 in elementary school - When I was in 5th grade, I entered the "Tylenol: Hot Ideas For School" essay contest. My idea was to turn our school courtyard into a mock rain forest, complete with trees, animals, waterfalls, and other vegetation. I'm not sure that I thought about the climate difference between places like Costa Rica and Enid, Oklahoma, but someone up at Tylenol must have liked my idea. I won $1,000 for myself and $1,000 for my Monroe Elementary school. That was a lot of money back then! (it still is!)

4) I am the shortest out of my siblings - Yes, that's right! At 6'00" I remain the shortest out of my siblings! I have two brothers who both tower over 6 feet, a step-sister that's ~6'1" or 6'2" and a step-brother that's over 6 feet. My step-siblings and I don't even share the same parents!! Watch out for us...we're one giant clan!!

5) I got to see George Bush (the first one) up close and personal - In 6th grade, our elementary school had a news program called "KWN: Kid Witness News." Since my hometown of Enid, Oklahoma was home to Vance Air Force Base, President Bush flew in for some event (I don't even remember). Anyway, me and another boy in my class were "stationed" at the Air Force Base to film the President's arrival and report info to the student body. I didn't get to meet him or shake his hand, but here's something interesting....I wrote him a letter on my pink stationary to tell him that I had the same type of dog as his dog "Millie." (English Springer Spaniel) Anyway, I gave the letter to one of the secret service men and asked if he would deliver it to the president. About a month or two later, I received a personal letter from George Bush himself, with an 8x10 photograph of Millie. What a special treat!

6) I laid a wreath on the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" - In 8th grade, I participated in a student trip to Washington, D.C. I was one of 4 students who were chosen to participate in the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was quite an honor, and there were tons of visitors there to watch.

7) I got to march in the Rose Parade - When OU went to the Rose Bowl in 2003, I was in the Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band. As part of the band, I got to march in the Rose Parade...a 5 1/2 mile-long parade! That's a long time when you're marching in step and playing your instrument! The Rose Bowl and Rose Parade are known for showcasing bands. It's one...if not the only...football game in which the entire band halftime show is televised. Who was the Grand Marshall that year? The beloved Mr. Fred Rogers from "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood." I grew up watching this TV show, along with Sesame Street, so it was so special to see him up close and personal.

Well, if you've made it this far, you've learned a few new things about me! I am going to tag Megan, Emily, Amy, Abby, Leah, Melody, and Amanda. What are some interesting facts about you????

Ankle update

I went to the orthopedic doctor on Wednesday and he confirmed that I didn't suffer a fracture! yay!! He said that my ankle looked really bad, but it didn't feel loose when he moved it. That hopefully means that I didn't tear any tendons or ligaments. He did say that it was okay to bear weight on my foot, so I went to work on Thursday and Friday. Although I moved pretty slow, I wasn't in much pain. The swelling has gone down, but it is still a little swollen. I am supposed to go back for a follow-up appointment on November 19th. Hopefully it will be much better by then. I am actually starting to miss going on walks and to my aerobics class. (crazy...i know!) Thanks to everyone for all of the well-wishes!

Last night...

Well, last night was eventful...unexpected, but eventful. Around 9:30pm, Jason went to the gym..as he usually does every evening. I watched TV for a bit and then went to my computer to check my e-mail. About 10:00, the computer and all of the lights go off. I thought that they would immediately flicker back on, but after about a minute, I realized they might not. Since these things rarely happen, I, of course, was not prepared. I knew where one flashlight was, but of course the batteries were dead. I felt my way around the apartment until I found a lighter. I lit some candles so I could actually see! Nonetheless, I was upset that the power was off and started looking for my cell phone so I could call the apt complex office and let them know that the power was off. After a few minutes of looking in the most "popular" locations for my phone, I realized that it might be in my car. I should have just left it there and waited...


...but I didn't. I went outside and realized that the was no power in the entire complex. It was extremely dark because there were no porch lights or parking lot lights. I usually park right in front of our unit, so I did have far to go. I felt my way down the first step, then approached the next set of steps. Since I go up and down these steps multiple times a day, you would think that I knew how many there were. Anyway, I quickly felt my way down three steps and then it happened...there was a 4th step, my ankle rolled off of the step, and I hear a "snap!" At first, I was just in shock because it happened so fast. Then I started worrying because this was the same ankle that I had broken in 8th grade while I was roller blading. Back then, I ended up having to have surgery, be hospitalized for 2 days, and be on homebound from school for 6 weeks. I was freaking out...I couldn't handle this right now!! I looked around, but didn't see or hear anyone outside. I hobbled to my car, got my phone, and made it back into my apartment.

Since I knew that Jason was at the gym and didn't have his phone, I called my dad. He knew what happened the first time and had to calm me down. He recommended that I call the gym and get ahold of Jason. That sounds easy, but it's much harder when there is no light or power available. I couldn't look up the number on the computer and I didn't have a phone book. I called information, but it was automatic and it kept giving me the wrong gym location. I decided to call my brother, Alan, but he didn't answer. Then, I called my other brother, Grant, and he was able to look up the gym number on his iPhone.

I proceed to call the gym and realize that my phone is about to die! Since there was no power, I couldn't plug it in! I called the gym and they put me on hold for about 5 minutes while they paged Jason. When the woman came back on the line, she said "I'm sorry ma'am, he's not here." I knew that he was there, so I described what he was wearing. After another 5 minutes of being on hold, my hubby's familiar voice came on the phone. He could tell that I was extremely upset and said he was on his way home.

In the meantime, my dad and brothers were calling back and my phone died. I had to hobble out to my car to plug in my phone to my car charger (still no power in the apt). After about 15 minutes, Jason was home and was super worried! He could tell that I was scared to death and in pain. Since my dad recommended that I go to the ER (in case it was broken), we headed to Jason's old workplace "Las Colinas Medical Center." They got me in pretty quickly and x-rayed my foot. I was sooo worried about the results, but THANKFULLY the doctor said that he didn't see a fracture and that it was a severe sprain. (As a sidenote, I could see the screws from my previous injury on the x-ray...crazy!) They wrapped my ankle in an ACE bandage, gave me an air cast, crutches, and my discharge instructions. They told me that I had to keep it elevated and keep ice on it until the swelling subsided. (Let me tell you...my foot was swollen! It looked like a latex glove that somebody blew up with air!)

So today, I spent most of the day on the couch. My ankle is still very swollen and starting to bruise. I'm sure that the bruising will get worse because I had a huge hematoma right after the injury. In the afternoon, I decided to venture out and vote. I forgot how much I DISLIKE crutches. They are sooo awkward and difficult. Everyone at the polling place was nice though. They made me sit down and they brought me my ballot. If you ever want special treatment, you can borrow my crutches! :)

Summary of the story??

1) Know where your flashlights are and keep new batteries in them
2) Take your time walking around in the dark
3) Know where your phonebook is
4) Know how to get ahold of your spouse at all times in case of emergency
5) Keep your cell phone charged

In case you're interested...I snapped a pic of my foot while I was lying on the couch today. It will probably get worse, but you can definitely see the bruising and swelling.

Please pray for a fast recovery! I didn't go to work today, but I know that it will be hard to get around the hospital with a gimpy leg!

Dallas Symphony Orchestera

Last night, instead of dressing up in costumes and going to a Halloween party, we went to the symphony! I know...kind of a strange way to spend Halloween night, but I just couldn't pass up this show! The orchestra performed "The Magical Music of Walt Disney." It was great because I haven't been to a band/orchestra concert since I was in the OU symphony band...that was a long time ago! (2003, I think!) They played songs from Aladdin, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Tarzan, Hercules, Mary Poppins, Mulan, The Rescuers Down Under, and a Disney Classics Suite (with songs like Mickey Mouse March, Zippity Doo Dah, and You Can Fly). It brought back a lot of childhood memories, that's for sure! They also had a huge screen on the stage and played slient clips from the various movies while the respective songs were played. I have to say, it made me miss playing my oboe. There were quite a few oboe solos, and several English Horn solos. All of the musicians were fabulous. Even Jason had a good time! He is already planning our next trip to see the "Christmas Pops" show. I can't believe that Christmas is less than 2 months away! This year has flown by!

Jennifer's Baby Shower

Maddyn Marie Gunter is almost here! She is due at the end of November, and today we had the opportunity to shower her momma, Jennifer, with items for her baby GIRL! Jennifer already has two sons, so she was so excited to find out that she and her husband are expecting a little girl. The shower was so much fun, and the hostesses did a fantastic job with the food, games, and decorations! Brittany, one of the hostesses, made an adorable lamb cake and baby buggy fruit bowl. She also had a festive home with lots of cute decorations. My favorite idea was the paint color samples cards that were decorating the tables. Jennifer has been having a hard time deciding on the best shade of pink for Maddyn's room, so Brittany came up with this creative idea to help her out! Brittany also made an adorable picture frame with some of the paint color samples. The picture is above...notice the names of all of the colors...aren't they appropriate??!! Anne, the other hostess, lead a great game! We all had 1 minute to reach in the box and try to identify the baby objects with our hands. Then we had to go in the other room and write down as many items as we could remember. It was so much fun! Lissy, one of Jennifer's closest friends from Louisiana, recently returned from a trip to Africa. She is a photographer and artist, and gave Jennifer a very special gift. When Lissy returned from Africa, she gave Jennifer a handstitched quilt with animal print. This inspired Jennifer to decorate Maddyn's nursery in black and white (with some pink, of course :) Today, Lissy's gift was 5 pictures she took of safari animals in Africa. She framed them all with black, white, and pink so they would coordinate with the baby's room. They were so neat! I am looking forward to meeting little Maddyn!

Columbus Day Weekend

This past weekend was so much fun! Since I work for the federal government, I was fortunate enough to have Columbus Day off! I don't think I ever really thought much about Columbus Day when I was younger, but now that I get off from work for a day, it's wonderful! Since we had a long weekend, our friends Amber, Kurtis, and baby Audrey came to visit. We had a weekend packed full of activities! On Saturday, we dressed up in our OU attire and rooted for the Oklahoma Sooners! Unfortunately, this just wasn't their year to win, but it was still a great game.


Even baby Audrey wore her red and white!
After the OU/TX game, we all traveled up to Flower Mound to watch our niece play soccer. It was a lot of fun to watch the girls play...and they won! Go Speedy Cats!!
On Sunday, we headed to the Texas State Fair. This is a huge fair, and we definitely got our daily exercise in with all of the walking. Don't worry though, we made up for the walking by eating fried foods. I had a Corny Dog (of course), tried the fried pickles, and sampled the "Fire and Ice." This was an innovative creation that involved fried pineapples, frozen strawberries, and whipped cream. I know, it sounds pretty crazy, but it sure was tasty! Although I was curious, I didn't get the chance to try the "Chicken-Fried Bacon." This was the winner of the "Best Taste" award at the fair this year. Oh well...I guess my arteries will remain cleaner for just a little longer now! :)

On Monday, Amber, Audrey, and I went to the Dallas Arboretum for "Autumn at the Arboretum." I generally go there every Spring, but I hadn't ever been in the Fall. The grounds were absolutely beautiful!! There were tons of pumpkins, mums, gourds, and.......STROLLERS! I have never seen such a HUGE number of strollers in my life! I'm pretty sure that every mom in the entire Dallas/Ft. Worth area brought their kids to the Arboretum on Monday to take pictures. They literally needed traffic signals! Although Amber and I had a lot of fun, Audrey was not too impressed with the pumpkin pics we wanted to take. She cooperated for a while, but then decided that being propped up against a pumpkin was not very comfortable. Luckily, after a snack and a small nap, we were able to catch a few of the happier moments. The pic above (with her huge smile) is one of my favs!

Well, although the long weekend is over, I have lots of great memories! Audrey is growing up so fast! Hopefully we will be able to get together with our friends again soon!

BOOMER SOONER!

Tomorrow is the big game: #1 OKLAHOMA SOONERS vs. #5 TEXAS LONGHORNS

Jason's score prediction:
OU 49 TX 26

Lauren's score prediction:
OU 27 TX 21

It should be a great game!

GO SOONERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo Website

Hey everyone! I decided to create a Shutterfly website, so that I can have an online archive of all of my photos. I will continue to add my favorite pics to my blog entries, but in case you're interested in seeing ALL of the pics I take for a certain event, I can let you know the website. Just leave a comment to let me know you're interested and I can sent you the URL.

No more computer

Well, the hard drive on my trusty desktop Dell finally crashed. My computer has been acting funny for the last several weeks and running really slow. This morning, I heard a funny noise in my office. When I went in there, I realized it was coming from my computer. The screensaver was still showing on the monitor, but it wouldn't let me click on anything. When I tried to restart the computer, it couldn't find the hard drive! I certainly didn't remove it! The worst part is that I may have lost some pics on there. Luckily I upload most of my pics to Shutterfly, but I was a little behind. The IT person at Texas Tech tried to "rescue" my files, but it was too late. MAKE SURE TO BACK EVERYTHING UP ON A REGULAR BASIS!!! I read somewhere that hard drives are either "dead" or "dying." It is just a matter of time before any hard drive will crash!! Now we have to decide whether or not to get a new computer. For now....Jason will have to share his laptop! :)