I have been reading a blog and recently they did a post on the top 5 things everyone needs to make life a little easier. So I thought I would share mine. I have done a post on "my favorite things" before, but this one is a little different. These are things that I believe everyone should own.
There are so many things a girl needs.. am I right? Well I have made of a list of the top things I couldn't live without. Okay so maybe thats a little drastic, but I would really miss them. And let me clarify, these are not things I think every girl should have- because in that case I would be writing about a Kate Spade purse, Michael Kors Perfume and a good pair of heels (or boots- to keep with the fall season). So these are things I own that really do make my life easier. I have purchased them personally and will keep purchasing them- well until they some out with something bigger and better, because of course they will.
1. Erin Condren Life Planner
Okay, yes I have posted about this before, including in my favorite things post, but y'all thats how much I LOVE these planners! And yes, let me clarify... I know I know people are turning to technology for planners and thats is all great and wonderful. But call me old fashion, I still love a good paper planner. I love to write in it, color in it and make it my own! Okay, so I admit, some people would not think of this as a necessity of life, but yes, I do. First off, I am a very type A person. I like organization and I like to plan. This planner lets me do both. It's packed with tons of helpful pages and I use every bit of it. It even comes with stickers for every occasion and they are color coordinated. This may not make some of you as happy as it does me, but for my OCD, this is awesome. I am that person who write things out first on scratch paper, no matter what it is, before I put it on paper for good... yes this includes my grocery list. So if you have never purchased, or even looked at these planners, check them out! They are kids pricey for a planner, but for all that it offers, its worth every penny... to me (and I usually get an 50% off coupon every november). It even lets you customize your cover. This might be my favorite part. I love making things personal and Erin Condren lets you do just that. I have had 4 of these planners and I do not see myself without one anytime soon. I carry it with me everywhere and I mean everywhere.. Wal-mart, vacations, appts... you name it, I have it with me. Even Mitch doubles checks I have it before we leave the house. He knows I will feel lost without it.
2. Key Chain Pepper Spray
Okay this one is a must for me, always has been, always will me. I feel like you should always be prepared and aware of your surroundings all the time, especially as ladies. I understand people have pepper spray and things still happen, but in my mind, its better to have it and try to use it. Who knows, it may save your life. I keep mine on my key chain and take it everywhere with me. It even comes in this cute pink case- I got the pink because it matches the stuff on my key chain. I also take it off my keychain and take it with me when I run by myself. Some people may think this is drastic, but 1- you can never be too careful and 2- where we live now, its a must ha!
3. CrockPot Covers
This one may sound silly, but if you have used them before you completely get me. If you haven't, try them. I LOVE making meals in the crockpot, but I hate the cleanup. I don't know why, but I absolutely cannot stand cleaning up after a dinner in the crockpot. Our crockpot is white, so this helps with those nasty stains that are left behind as well. Funny story- You know when you get married, there is always that one gift you get multiples of... well ours was crockpots. We got FOUR. Now to this day I am still wondering why we decided to keep the one we did. I mean it is a nice crockpot, good size, works great, but its white. I hate having to clean it over and over and over and their are still stains. I am wanting to purchase a new black one, but I haven't convinced Mitch quite yet. Anyways, in the meantime of having this white crockpot, these crockpot covers have been the best thing since sliced bread. I know I may be a little behind on this one, but for the past few months we have been on cloud nine not having a huge mess to cleanup. They are worth it! *Just be careful when you're cutting the meat and don't cut through the bottom of the bag. This may or may not have been a personal experience.
4. Personalized Address Stamp
Are you sensing a theme with my necessities of life. Most of them help my ocd and this is another one. I like a good clean addressed envelope. It also makes life easier by not taking so much time writing out the return address. I probably need to preface, I love snail mail. Yes I still write letters, send birthday cards, etc. I have had three of these (one for each place we've lived) and they really do come in handy... especially during Christmas card season! In the past I have gone with the standard rectangle style, but of course cute letters/numbers. For our new house here in TN, I went with a round design and love it. Also, another thing to add about these stamps. My previous ones, I just ordered the stamp, and I had to go buy a ink pad. Not a big deal...right? Wrong! I mean its not the end of the world, but this year I got one that is self inking and it is so nice and quick! You can get there almost anywhere if you just google personalized address stamps. This year I got mine from SimplyStamps.com and it was very decently priced.
5. Mini Steamer
Last but definitely not least, the mini steamer. This probably should've been number one. It really is one of those items I couldn't live without. You are probably wondering how I discover this. Let me tell you. Well about 2 years ago, I was watching TV... some sort of talk show and this guy was on there talking about necessities for traveling and for some reason out of all the things he said, the mini steamer stuck with me. I still to this day don't know why- but I went out bought one-best decision ever. Probably because I hate ironing- like never ever do it! I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond for cheap and it has saved my life. I use it not only when we travel because it is so nice and small to travel with but I use it almost everyday! Its quick, easy and actually works really good. I was skeptical on how well it would work and let me tell you, I am impressed. Another plus- Mitch even uses it, all the time. He never irons, don't know if he knows how- but with this he gets it out and uses it when he feels he needs to. Less work for me :)
So this may of been a little different, but I thought it would give you a break on our exciting life we live here in TN. I also thought it was a fun post for me and I hope you enjoy it and maybe even purchase one of these- you wont be disappointed!
Until next time~
Monday, September 29, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Happy 1st Day of FALL!
HAPPY 1ST DAY OF FALL!!! I had to share a few pics because I still love our engagements so much and it always reminds me of the beginning of fall. I remember trying to plan out when we were going to take these pics and we had to keep pushing them back and back and back. I remember feeling like we were never going to get to take them ha! Our photographer was so wonderful about capturing my vision for these pics and that I wanted it to be in the fall with lots of leaves. I didn't want a lot of green grass- I wanted the ground to be covered in leaves! She told me over and over again, it just hits and its different every year, there is a day when the leaves change colors and the leaves begin to fall and thats the day we will take the pics. We ended up waiting about 3 weeks from when we scheduled them so we could capture the "fall" look! She was so smart and I think they came out wonderful!
Okay, so I know fall officially started last night at 9:29pm, but today is the first full day and oh it makes me so excited!! I love love love this time of year and I am so excited for all the fun things that some along with this season!
We had a loooonng week last week. Mitch had another one of his A&P tests yesterday, so all last week was dedicated to studying..like all of it! But his multiple 10 hour days paid off- he got a 97!! He is working so hard in this program and I love seeing him learn about stuff he loves and succeed.
Here are some highlights from last week....
One of our good friends made us a homemade pecan pie, and may I add it was Pioneer Woman! We both love pecan pie, but Mitch really loves it. It was so good! I was a little excited to cut into it- I may have cut straight through the pan ha!
I am still continuing my tulsa run training. Man, I have to admit, I have never actually 100% trained for a race. I have ran the tulsa run so many times, and even a half marathon, but sticking to a training schedule has been my weak area. I usually skip anything under 4 miles because in my mind- I can already do that and its not hard for me. Well I found a training schedule for the Tulsa run and I actually have 100% stuck to it and oh my gosh.... it amazes me how much better you feel and how much easier it really does make it. I am on week 4 and haven't missed a run, even the shorter ones, and I just can't tell you how much easier it is making my long runs. I'm loving every bit of actually going out to run and looking forward to it because it is feeling so good. My first week, was rough, but I am back into it and sticking to this schedule is wonderful! It has changed my whole view of my runs and what is actually short vs long. Yesterday, I went out and ran 4.7 miles and did it at my fastest pace yet and it seemed like a short little run. I have a 7.5 this weekend but I am actually looking forward to it. I have done 6.3 and since I am keeping with my schedule, the 7.5 doesn't even seem hard to me anymore. Its crazy how much my perspective has changed. So after all that ramble- I am so happy I am sticking too it and I don't think I could ever stray from a schedule again!
On a similar note to running- another exciting thing that happened this week was I purchased a Fitbit. I have several friends that have them, but honestly haven't really paid much attention to them or what they do because I have the Polar Watch. I have a good friend, that ravs about hers and so I looked into it and immediately wanted one! Literally, got in the car and drove to Target to purchase one of these amazing things (thank goodness for gift cards)! Now like I mentioned I do have the Polar Watch and I love it, but I don't love that you have to have the heart rate monitor band on for it to work. I mean I love love love the watch itself and they way it looks and I have just been using it as only a watch for about 6 months. At first I was really good at it, but then I got lazy and never would put the heart rate band on when I would workout. So I still recommend the watch, its a great "sporty" watch but now I have added a Fitbit to my collection! I wear it with my watch because it doesn't have a watch feature. I could sit here and tell you everything it does and how motivating it is, but you probably already know or if you want to know you can look it up. But I highly recommend it, and let me just say, I LOVE the feature of setting alarms in the morning or reminder alarms throughout the day and it just vibrates on your wrist, no sound or anything. I'm also in love with the teal color!
Oh and what would a post from me be if I didn't talk about food?! Sunday, we tried a bbq place called Exit 87 BBQ. Mitch found it online about a week ago and hasn't stopped talking about he wants to try it. We thought sunday after church would be a good time. Now that we live in BBQ country, he is always looking for little hole in the wall places, bc if their here, they are probably extremely good! We have good bbq in OK- okay maybe not. We have chains, and yes they are good, but not if you have had real memphis bbq before. Now we always talk about how tulsa has ZERO bbq places and we are going to get spoiled here. Anyways, it is a small little trailer off of exit 87- bet you couldn't of guessed that? It is super cheap and some of the best bbq I have ever had. We ended up having some friends over, so we got the super family pack. It came with 2 1/2 lbs of pulled pork (best ever), 4 sides, buns, and two types of sauces. We all four ate on it (and let me remind you Mitch eats a lot), and then mitch and I ate on it for 2 more days! And let me mention all that food was only $20! They also have picnic tables outside and you can get a pulled pork sandwich and side for $5. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a new sunday lunch spot!
And thats about all thats going on around here! The month of October is my absolute favorite month and we have so many fun trips and things planned! I hope y'all have a great first day of fall. We are celebrating by spending this beautiful day outside and tonight grilling out!
Friday, September 19, 2014
Summer Stir Fry
I mentioned I have several recipes we have made and I want to share one of our favorites! It is soooo easy and actually pretty good for you. The only thing that takes anytime at all is cutting up all the fresh veggies! It is a pioneer woman recipe, so you know its good!
Summer Stir Fry
The first thing I do is chop up all the veggies, because you add them at different times, and this way they are all ready when you need them. I will sometimes do it during the afternoon when I have some down time and just put them all in separate containers, so when its time to make dinner-I have already done all the prep and it is a quick healthy dinner!
The first thing you do is sautee the garlic in some butter- I don't use all the butter it calls for and instead use some olive oil. Makes it a little better for you :)
Next you sautee the shrimp, just until they are brown, they go back in later so they don't have to be all the way cooked. The recipe tells you to leave the tails on, so I leave them on during this first step but then while they are cooling and when I do the next couple steps, I take them off so I don't have to do it later. I know its a presentation thing, but I don't want to worry about it when I am ready to eat.
After you sautee the garlic and shrimp, you remove them and then add the first veggie-zucchini. Cook for a few min then push it all to the side and add the next veggie.
I used corn next- you can really use any veggies you want. Repeat this process again until you are down with adding all the veggies. I used grape tomatoes next.
Let all that cooke for a few minutes, then add the shrimp back in and warm it all.
Isn't it so pretty and colorful!?! I just love this dish and it is super easy to throw together. We always plan our meals our for the week on either Saturday or Sunday and then buy everything we need to the week. If i know I a going to make this, I will get my veggies from the farmers market. I just love how fresh everything is!
I hope you try this and enjoy it as much as we do!
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Fall is here!!!!
Well this has been a little bit of a rough week here in the Frank household. We have had two trips to the vet and a trip to the doctor for me. But on a good note- FALL IS HERE!! Okay well not technically, but oh my isn't this weather wonderful?!? I have been wearing sweats all weekend and keeping all the windows open!! I don't know what it is about this time of year, but it makes me so giddy!! So the title of this post has no real relevance with anything I'm writing about- I'm just ecstatic about this time of year!!!! So... here is how our week went...
Monday morning, I woke up to find Bella's eye all goopy. It wasn't really bad I just cleaned it out and went on with the day. I notice that as the day went on, I had to keep cleaning it out. We have a friend here that was telling me the same thing happened to her dog about a week ago and it ended up just being allergies. We have been taking them out on the woodsy trails and we have heard moving to a new area, especially in an area like this with the Mississippi so close and bugs being so bad, that dogs allergies will most likely act up. Well when I went to bed that night I didn't really think anything of it, but when we woke up Tuesday, her eye was swollen shut because of all that yellowish goop. Mitch and I both tried and tried to get her eye open and finally after lots of trying and leaving a warm moist cloth on her eye, it opened. But- the goop never stopped. It was crazy and awful, so I found a vet and got her in. We were there for hours and come to find out she had something in her eye that caused a pretty bad infection. She is on antibiotics and eye drops and it is def starting to look better! We also made the trip to the vet because she was due for about everything under the sun. Y'all she had blood work after blood work, shots and exams you will appreciate me not telling you about. So she has been resting the past few days and today was the first day she actually started to feel better.
And then on to my story. So I mentioned in my previous post that I have been having ear issues and I was going to the ENT. Well it wasn't a pleasent experience. Long story short, they couldn't get the wax out of my ear with flushing or by scraping it out, so they used this loud, awful, cold, did I mention loud, suction machine. Y'all it was awful! The worst part was because of the pressure and cold temperature going in my ear, it made me so dizzy and when I say dizzy, I mean I was blacking out, feeling like I was going to vomit and didn't know where I was. It took me about 30 minutes to feel semi normal again and lets just pray I do not have to go back anytime soon!
Other than that, our week has been good. I pre-ordered my iPhone and will get it sometime in October. I have never pre ordered before, because I know it can take a while. But since the closest apple store is in Memphis, I figured it would be so much less stressful if I just ordered it and waited for it to come to me. I am in no hurry to get it, so this was the best option for me. Now I say I'm in no hurry, but I am excited. I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for apple make a bigger iPhone. Yes I know most people think its weird, but I love the big one!(I get crap about it all the time) I have been giving my upgrades to Mitch over the past two years so I could wait and get the iPhone whenever it decides to be larger ha! So needless to say, I am looking forward to October :)
Friday is usually a pretty lazy day in our household. Mitch gets done with class thursday and we always celebrate he made it through the week with a trip to Dairy Queen. By Friday he is usually drained and needs a little break from school. So if he doesn't have a test or anything, he usually does very little school work on Fridays. We went to Red Robin friday night for dinner, we had a gift card, and Mitch loves that they have endless root beer floats. I listened to the Jenks/Union game and unfortunately it didn't go our way. I still supported all the way here in TN with my new jenks shirt!
Another project we did this weekend was turn our extra room into a study room. Its kind of a long story, but Mitch has a study group with 2 other guys he has formed and it is going really well. They all joined together because they are all married and also all on the same page with school. They first had a little bigger group and it just wasn't working well. You know it gets when too many people get together to study and it ends up being unproductive. So Mitch and these other 2 guys broke off from the group and started their own thing, which like I said is going so well. Well I had a feeling this would happen, they had been studying in the nursing building, which according to Mitch, has awesome study rooms-tvs, projectors, white boards, etc. Well when others started to figure out how good these guys were doing in the class and how productive and consistent their study sessions were going, people stared to walk in and join their group. Now Mitch is not one to usually say no to people in this situation, but it was getting less productive and they weren't getting much out of it. So he asked if him and these other 2 guys could use our extra room. Of course I was so excited to make this into a second guest room, but he obviously needs it more. And after this first year I don't think they will use it. So we put a table, tv and white board in there and it has been going well.
Saturday, we got up and made our weekly trip to the farmers market. Mitch got his amish donut and I got a glass of goats chocolate milk and it was sooooo good. I am a huge chocolate milk fan but I try not to drink it very much because it is so bad for you. We also had been eying this amish bread and we finally decided to get a loaf. It is a huge loaf, but we make sandwiches a lot and I love to make homemade croutons and with this Rosemary bread they will be so good!!
Saturday afternoon, Mitch had the guys over to study and I went shopping with the girls. We went to a couple of cute boutiques (nothing I could afford) but it was fun to get out. That evening we went out with 4 other couples for mexican food. It is hard being away from home, but we are making some great friendships here and it is making this move fun. I keep telling Mitch, I like this town a little more everyday.
So minus the bad start to our week, we ended it pretty well. And plus both of our teams won yesterday! Go Pokes and Woo Pig Sooie!!!
Since I am still looking for a job, I have lots more time to blog and I love that I am getting to document our first few weeks here. I found a few fun blog ideas I'm going to try and do this week. And yes and promised I am going to a post dedicated just to recipes. We have made some really good meals and I want to share!
Until next time~
Monday morning, I woke up to find Bella's eye all goopy. It wasn't really bad I just cleaned it out and went on with the day. I notice that as the day went on, I had to keep cleaning it out. We have a friend here that was telling me the same thing happened to her dog about a week ago and it ended up just being allergies. We have been taking them out on the woodsy trails and we have heard moving to a new area, especially in an area like this with the Mississippi so close and bugs being so bad, that dogs allergies will most likely act up. Well when I went to bed that night I didn't really think anything of it, but when we woke up Tuesday, her eye was swollen shut because of all that yellowish goop. Mitch and I both tried and tried to get her eye open and finally after lots of trying and leaving a warm moist cloth on her eye, it opened. But- the goop never stopped. It was crazy and awful, so I found a vet and got her in. We were there for hours and come to find out she had something in her eye that caused a pretty bad infection. She is on antibiotics and eye drops and it is def starting to look better! We also made the trip to the vet because she was due for about everything under the sun. Y'all she had blood work after blood work, shots and exams you will appreciate me not telling you about. So she has been resting the past few days and today was the first day she actually started to feel better.
And then on to my story. So I mentioned in my previous post that I have been having ear issues and I was going to the ENT. Well it wasn't a pleasent experience. Long story short, they couldn't get the wax out of my ear with flushing or by scraping it out, so they used this loud, awful, cold, did I mention loud, suction machine. Y'all it was awful! The worst part was because of the pressure and cold temperature going in my ear, it made me so dizzy and when I say dizzy, I mean I was blacking out, feeling like I was going to vomit and didn't know where I was. It took me about 30 minutes to feel semi normal again and lets just pray I do not have to go back anytime soon!
Other than that, our week has been good. I pre-ordered my iPhone and will get it sometime in October. I have never pre ordered before, because I know it can take a while. But since the closest apple store is in Memphis, I figured it would be so much less stressful if I just ordered it and waited for it to come to me. I am in no hurry to get it, so this was the best option for me. Now I say I'm in no hurry, but I am excited. I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for apple make a bigger iPhone. Yes I know most people think its weird, but I love the big one!(I get crap about it all the time) I have been giving my upgrades to Mitch over the past two years so I could wait and get the iPhone whenever it decides to be larger ha! So needless to say, I am looking forward to October :)
Friday is usually a pretty lazy day in our household. Mitch gets done with class thursday and we always celebrate he made it through the week with a trip to Dairy Queen. By Friday he is usually drained and needs a little break from school. So if he doesn't have a test or anything, he usually does very little school work on Fridays. We went to Red Robin friday night for dinner, we had a gift card, and Mitch loves that they have endless root beer floats. I listened to the Jenks/Union game and unfortunately it didn't go our way. I still supported all the way here in TN with my new jenks shirt!
Another project we did this weekend was turn our extra room into a study room. Its kind of a long story, but Mitch has a study group with 2 other guys he has formed and it is going really well. They all joined together because they are all married and also all on the same page with school. They first had a little bigger group and it just wasn't working well. You know it gets when too many people get together to study and it ends up being unproductive. So Mitch and these other 2 guys broke off from the group and started their own thing, which like I said is going so well. Well I had a feeling this would happen, they had been studying in the nursing building, which according to Mitch, has awesome study rooms-tvs, projectors, white boards, etc. Well when others started to figure out how good these guys were doing in the class and how productive and consistent their study sessions were going, people stared to walk in and join their group. Now Mitch is not one to usually say no to people in this situation, but it was getting less productive and they weren't getting much out of it. So he asked if him and these other 2 guys could use our extra room. Of course I was so excited to make this into a second guest room, but he obviously needs it more. And after this first year I don't think they will use it. So we put a table, tv and white board in there and it has been going well.
Saturday, we got up and made our weekly trip to the farmers market. Mitch got his amish donut and I got a glass of goats chocolate milk and it was sooooo good. I am a huge chocolate milk fan but I try not to drink it very much because it is so bad for you. We also had been eying this amish bread and we finally decided to get a loaf. It is a huge loaf, but we make sandwiches a lot and I love to make homemade croutons and with this Rosemary bread they will be so good!!
Saturday afternoon, Mitch had the guys over to study and I went shopping with the girls. We went to a couple of cute boutiques (nothing I could afford) but it was fun to get out. That evening we went out with 4 other couples for mexican food. It is hard being away from home, but we are making some great friendships here and it is making this move fun. I keep telling Mitch, I like this town a little more everyday.
| I wore this scarf to dinner (during the TN game) and everyone thought I was a TN fan :( |
So minus the bad start to our week, we ended it pretty well. And plus both of our teams won yesterday! Go Pokes and Woo Pig Sooie!!!
Since I am still looking for a job, I have lots more time to blog and I love that I am getting to document our first few weeks here. I found a few fun blog ideas I'm going to try and do this week. And yes and promised I am going to a post dedicated just to recipes. We have made some really good meals and I want to share!
Until next time~
Monday, September 8, 2014
Weekend fun
Happy Monday from Tennessee! I know fall isn't officially here, but boy do I want it to be! We had a nice weekend and M even took some time off studying since he just took his test! It was so nice to have a weekend with him not worrying too much about studying.
Thursday, I mentioned his 5 hour long lab was cancelled, so he spend the day writing papers and studying so he would be able to watch the Green Bay game that evening. We made "football food" and had a great time watching the first Packers game of the season-even if it didn't go the way we wanted :(
Friday, we had several errands to get done and we had a nice surprise come up for that evening. Our good friends, Taylor and Jamie were passing through Memphis and since we aren't very far, and we LOVE to go to Memphis, we met them for dinner. We went to Rendezvous and had Ribs, of course.
I been to Memphis several times and I can probably count on one hand how many times we didn't eat at Rendezvous while we were there. It is just the best place to get bbq. Mitch and I were talking after dinner and now that we live here, we will have to branch out because there are so many other great places we want to try. Before we've always just been visiting and why would you not get bbq when your visiting Memphis? But anyways, dinner was good and we really enjoyed getting to catch up. After dinner, we did a quick walk down Beale St. and then headed back to Jackson. We went straight to some of our friends house to hang out. We have met several couples in this program, but we are hanging out with one couple a lot. And when I say a lot- I mean everyday ha! They have a black lab, also named Bella, and they LOVE to play together.
They are from Alabama and went to the University of Alabama-Ashley actually cheered for Alabama-so they are HUGE fans. Football season will be fun this year with them-even though I have no doubt they will destroy our Hogs.
Saturday, we got up and headed to the farmers market with Cory and Ashley. Downtown Jackson has a pretty neat farmers market.
They have so much stuff and we love spending our saturday mornings there. Mitch was depressed this trip because they have several food trucks, and one is an Amish donut truck and these donuts are HUGE!! Well he had been talking all week about getting one and they were gone this week! We ended up getting some churros from a cuban truck and they were surprisingly really good!!
After we left the farmers market, we had to go to walmart and get our groceries for the week. We had NOTHING at home. I have been cooking a lot and have some really good recipes to share, and hopefully I will have some more to share after this week. Speaking of meals- I got another letter from my sweet Hadley, and she included a recipe for her favorite meal. So I will be making it soon and hopefully sharing it as well.
While we were at walmart, we discovered Milo's famous sweet tea. Cory and Ashley have been telling us about it since they found out we love sweet tea and its big in Alabama. So we tried some and our hooked!
We also got some of our fall decorations out. I put out my fall wreath and of course our OSU flag! I also have been waiting for fall/football season to wear my orange monogramed hat! If you haven't noticed, live in this hat ha!
Also, on saturday afternoon, I made Bella some homemade dog treats. I have been wanting to do this for a while and I made cinnamon pumpkin flavored treats! I went and got a dog bone shaped cookie cutter and they didn't turn out very pretty, but I am guessing they are pretty tasty, Bella loves them!
Saturday night, Cory and Ashley came over and brought wings and we watched football. Cory is actually an Auburn fan, so we watched Auburn win! Sunday we tried a church for the second time and this time we went to the later, more contemporary service and really enjoyed it. There are still a few more we want to try, but we are liking what we have tried so far.
Sunday afternoon we cooked lunch and took a short nap. I so did not want to get up, but I am training for the Tulsa Run and my runs just have not been going well. This summer, I def haven't been running as often as I usually do, but I have been running. I guess I am really out of shape and I hope this training helps (and gets a little easier). I ran 5 yesterday and it was tough, I hope I don't regret signing up to run it. I run it every year and it is one of my favorite races ever. Its just long enough that its challenging and not everyone can do it, so it makes it feel like i've completed something challenging, but its not anything like training for a half. After I ran I went and met Mitch, Cory, Ashley and the Bellas at the trails and we went on another hilly 3 mile hike. I was exhausted when we got home! I took a shower, cooked dinner and went to bed!
Today is back to reality. I loved having so many fun things planned this weekend with Mitch and now its back to him getting up at 6 every morning, studying and leaving for class. I am still waiting and trying to figure out what I want to do about a job. I could use some prayers on that, as I'm still bummed about not being able to teach. Also, I am having to go to an Ear specialist on Wednesday morning. Most of you know, but I have been having awful ear issuer for about a year now and it has just gotten so bad. So I'm praying they can figure something out.
Until next time~
Thursday, I mentioned his 5 hour long lab was cancelled, so he spend the day writing papers and studying so he would be able to watch the Green Bay game that evening. We made "football food" and had a great time watching the first Packers game of the season-even if it didn't go the way we wanted :(
Friday, we had several errands to get done and we had a nice surprise come up for that evening. Our good friends, Taylor and Jamie were passing through Memphis and since we aren't very far, and we LOVE to go to Memphis, we met them for dinner. We went to Rendezvous and had Ribs, of course.
I been to Memphis several times and I can probably count on one hand how many times we didn't eat at Rendezvous while we were there. It is just the best place to get bbq. Mitch and I were talking after dinner and now that we live here, we will have to branch out because there are so many other great places we want to try. Before we've always just been visiting and why would you not get bbq when your visiting Memphis? But anyways, dinner was good and we really enjoyed getting to catch up. After dinner, we did a quick walk down Beale St. and then headed back to Jackson. We went straight to some of our friends house to hang out. We have met several couples in this program, but we are hanging out with one couple a lot. And when I say a lot- I mean everyday ha! They have a black lab, also named Bella, and they LOVE to play together.
They are from Alabama and went to the University of Alabama-Ashley actually cheered for Alabama-so they are HUGE fans. Football season will be fun this year with them-even though I have no doubt they will destroy our Hogs.
Saturday, we got up and headed to the farmers market with Cory and Ashley. Downtown Jackson has a pretty neat farmers market.
They have so much stuff and we love spending our saturday mornings there. Mitch was depressed this trip because they have several food trucks, and one is an Amish donut truck and these donuts are HUGE!! Well he had been talking all week about getting one and they were gone this week! We ended up getting some churros from a cuban truck and they were surprisingly really good!!
After we left the farmers market, we had to go to walmart and get our groceries for the week. We had NOTHING at home. I have been cooking a lot and have some really good recipes to share, and hopefully I will have some more to share after this week. Speaking of meals- I got another letter from my sweet Hadley, and she included a recipe for her favorite meal. So I will be making it soon and hopefully sharing it as well.
While we were at walmart, we discovered Milo's famous sweet tea. Cory and Ashley have been telling us about it since they found out we love sweet tea and its big in Alabama. So we tried some and our hooked!
We also got some of our fall decorations out. I put out my fall wreath and of course our OSU flag! I also have been waiting for fall/football season to wear my orange monogramed hat! If you haven't noticed, live in this hat ha!
Saturday night, Cory and Ashley came over and brought wings and we watched football. Cory is actually an Auburn fan, so we watched Auburn win! Sunday we tried a church for the second time and this time we went to the later, more contemporary service and really enjoyed it. There are still a few more we want to try, but we are liking what we have tried so far.
Sunday afternoon we cooked lunch and took a short nap. I so did not want to get up, but I am training for the Tulsa Run and my runs just have not been going well. This summer, I def haven't been running as often as I usually do, but I have been running. I guess I am really out of shape and I hope this training helps (and gets a little easier). I ran 5 yesterday and it was tough, I hope I don't regret signing up to run it. I run it every year and it is one of my favorite races ever. Its just long enough that its challenging and not everyone can do it, so it makes it feel like i've completed something challenging, but its not anything like training for a half. After I ran I went and met Mitch, Cory, Ashley and the Bellas at the trails and we went on another hilly 3 mile hike. I was exhausted when we got home! I took a shower, cooked dinner and went to bed!
Today is back to reality. I loved having so many fun things planned this weekend with Mitch and now its back to him getting up at 6 every morning, studying and leaving for class. I am still waiting and trying to figure out what I want to do about a job. I could use some prayers on that, as I'm still bummed about not being able to teach. Also, I am having to go to an Ear specialist on Wednesday morning. Most of you know, but I have been having awful ear issuer for about a year now and it has just gotten so bad. So I'm praying they can figure something out.
Until next time~
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Labor Day Weekend
Well we have been in TN for a whole month now! Crazy how time flies! I feel like we are finally getting into a good routine and that is helping a lot. Mitch is well into his classes and tough is an understatement. I have never seen him work so hard for anything and it is so encouraging to see him learning about something he loves. Here is a little recap from our labor day weekend and what we've been up too.
Last week, we had been going back and forth on whether we were going to go back home for Labor day weekend. Mitch had his first HUGE Anatomy and Physiology test (more on that in a little) Tuesday, and he has a really wonderful study group with three guys that I did not want him to miss out on, especially the weekend before the test. But we found out the other guys in the group were either going home also or having parents come here to visit. So they decided they would take friday-sunday off from studying with the group and just focus individually then get back together monday before the test. So then that made our decision to go ahead and go home. I kept telling Mitch we didn't have to go, but he kept telling me, he is going to be studying all day, so he would rather me be at home with family while he is so busy.
So we headed out after his class thursday and went to AR first. It cuts off about an hour and a half of our drive and since we already weren't getting in until around 1am, we figured that would be best. We got up early friday morning, made a stop at our favorite coffee shop, Kennedy, and headed to Tulsa.
When we got there we went straight to get Mitch some new dress clothes and suits. He has several anesthesia conferences he has to attend and has to be dressed nice. He has once church clothes, but they were all form high school ha, so he was really due for some new dress clothes. We spent FOREVER in Jos. A. Bank, but they were having their big labor day sale and he got 2 new suits, 3 new blazers and several dress shirts and dress pants. So he is set for a while :)
That evening, we went out with my parents and it was so nice to be back in Tulsa! We went to eat at this Chinese place on brookside called Mings- if you like Chinese and haven't been there, its a must! I got pad thai and it was probably the best I have ever had. We walked round brookside and made our way to downtown for dessert at Mods-best crepes and gelato around! It was the perfect evening!
Saturday, Mitch got up at 6 and started studying again. I went and ran errands with my parents and they we cooked all afternoon to get ready for the AR AND OSU games. Mitch finally took a break around dinner and watched the osu game. He studied for about 9 hours straight that day. This is why I wanted to come home ha! I am getting use to him studying all the time, but it was nice to be back home with family while he is so busy.
Sunday we went to church and then headed back to AR to spend the evening there. It was so nice to get to see everyone and catch up. We didn't get to spend a lot of time in AR this trip, but we are hoping to go back there in the near future.
Monday we got up and headed out about 4:30am!! I hate getting up that early, but we we make it back by 11:30 its worth it. Mitch had a study group starting at noon and they studied all afternoon and finally came home for dinner around 6-then back to more studying. Y'all I am not use to this amount of studying, but I am so glad he is working so hard. This program is so intense, but he is loving it and so excited about what he is learning.
Tuesday, he got up and I bet you couldn't guess-he studied some more. He went in to take his test at 1pm and found out yesterday he got an 85! He was hoping for an A, especially for the amount of time he spent on it, but he was okay with that grade, on his first test. Long story, but there was a lot of controversy and politics with some of the questions, Mitch felt like some of the questions were unfair, but overall now he knows what to do different. He was happy with his grade, but it is still very stressful because in all his classes he has to maintain a B or he gets probation then kicked out of the program. I am sure its extremely stressful, but I have no doubt he is going to excel in this program!
Yesterday, he took a break from studying and we went exploring. We have head there are really nice hiking and walking trails around, and we have been wanting to find them. There are some that are right across from the university and we went there yesterday. It was so wonderful and we just loved it. It was all woods and shaded and Bella was in heaven! We will def be going back-probaly daily ha!
I have said before that we had our house set up and decorated from day 3 of living here ha! But the one thing I have been putting off is unpacking all my china and crystal and putting it in the hutch. Well with all the down time I have- not having a job yet and M studying all the time- I spend one morning finally getting that done.
| "before" |
| "After" |
Today, M just found out his 5 hour class got canceled due to the prof being sick. He is one excited guy because now he can get his studying and work in before the PACKERS play tonight!!! We are both very excited football is back, but he is just beyond happy to watch Green Bay. I meant to get a picture of him before he left this morning for his study group, but he is decked out in his packers gear and of course has his Clay Matthews jersey on :)
Fall is right around the corner, even though these awful temperatures are keeping me from thinking that is true. But we are suppose to see a pretty drastic cool down this next week and that will be so wonderful. I already have all my fall candles and soaps out, and now all we need is a little cool, crisp air! I LOVE fall, if you can't tell :)
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