Haunted Pilgrim

How to turn your Thanksgiving decor into a Halloween decoration:

• Step 1: While deciding where to store the decor till a more appropriate time of year, set the item on a table.

• Step 2: If the table is too high for your little furry dog to hop up onto, make sure it is near a couch that he can easily climb and then able to reach said table.

• Step 3: Have your little furry dog sniff around on the table, where you also set his treats, so that when he goes for the treats, he knocks off the Thanksgiving decoration.

• Step 4: Make sure the pilgrim's head breaks off perfectly when it hits the floor.

• Step 5: Set the pilgrim out with his head at his feet. Voila! A headless haunted pilgrim just in time for Halloween!

The Father, Son, and the Holy GHOST!

October 25th, 2008
2 Halloween Parties
Lots of eats, lots of KIDS, lots of fun and cute costumes ;)

The first few photos are from a Halloween chili dinner at Rick and Samantha Kelly's house in Pburg, KY. (Side note: I used the spray wash-out hair color on Nick to give a nice antique look to the priest costume... little did I know that he would end up looking a bit "super natural" in all the pics. It's kind of what the Exorcist himself would look like if he got possessed.)

Jen was the cutest little criminal.
The nun took her aside to teach her some morals...

I dressed up as a bride this summer too, Hannah!

Mom and Dad, the blue-jean twins?
(I swear my dad's a smiley dude until you take his picture.)

The next few pics are from Beth's Halloween party. She's a great holiday decorator. Take for instance this dead body in the shower. GORGEOUS!

Beth's sweet little girl, Sophie, the peacock :)

Elizabeth as a cheerleader. How can you complain when you can fit into your little sis's high school uniform? LUCKY.

I never imagined "Joe the Plumber" would be as cute as Jenny.

The peacock got tired of her costume. Apparently her interest in birds has now turned to the less colorful variety, crows.

EVEN MORE Hallowen fun to be had this coming weekend :)

Lions and Tigers and Mammograms, Oh My!

It's Friday! YAY!
I have Fridays off! YAY YAY!
I've been in doctor appointments and tests since early this morning and unexpectedly had to go to the hospital where I'm working right now on one of my darned days off! BOO.

This post may provide just a little more information than you may ever want to know about me. WARNING: Stop now if you don't want to hear about my day with boobies and va-jay-jays.... I'm warning you.

SOoOoOoOoO, this was the plan for today: wake-up early, get to the doctor, get the yearly over with and go back to my puppy at home and perhaps get back to that thing I love so dearly - sleep.

But the universe had different plans. I went in for a pap smear (too much information?) and came out with appointments for a doppler sonogram on my leg, a mammogram and sonogram on my breasts. Yippee.

While in the appointment, she found a "mass" in my breast (probably just fibrocystic - not worrying about it right now), things I won't go into during the pap, and checked the leg I told her I had been having pain in and deemed it swollen. Her thoughts on the swollen leg, perhaps a clot (yikes!) or a popliteal cyst.

Here's the lucky part. I got all the little diagnostic procedures over with TODAY! I was originally told only my leg sonogram could get done and that the breasts would have to wait till mid-November (!).

BUT the nice people who work at Pikeville Medical Center, none of whom I had ever met before today, total strangers, went out of their way so that this little lady wouldn't have to find more time to come back in on two additional days.

So, onto the results.

The leg: I asked the technician when she was finished with the ultrasound if she saw anything. Her words, "We're not supposed to say anything, but if there was something there, we wouldn't let you leave here." Thinking that sounds pretty good. Though there is still no explanation for the pain and swelling for the past two weeks, but peace of mind has somewhat been restored in this area.

The breast: my first mammogram! Most people have to wait till their 40's for this exciting and titillating (hehe) experience, but lucky me at my 24 years of life!

Oh, sarcasm, how I abuse thee.


We'll be waiting for the mammogram results as well as those from the pap smear. Not worried, just happy to be able to take the precaution and gain even more peace of mind.

As for my review on the mammogram - not bad! I've heard horror stories of squished painful experiences and I have no doubt it has been painful for many a woman, but maybe it's the small variety that can actually count ourselves lucky for once for not being as well-endowed as our sisters... maybe the big squishes, (thus extra pain), are for the big boobies.

During the whole experience I was actually taken back by how lucky we are to have these fabulous machines! We can get caught up in what we'd like to fix about the world - war, the housing slump, the stock market roller coaster, gas prices... BUT isn't it more fun to count our blessings? And today, my blessings were powerful with a support system I could ring up at anytime (Nick, Amanda Matney, Mom - love you all!), being lucky enough to have insurance, a doctor who cares and machines, that to me, work magic.
I would much appreciate it if you could say a little prayer for me. If anyone should be inclined to worry for me, (conceited to think anyone would?), DON'T do it! I'm not and I have every reason in the world to expect all will be well.

Onto enjoying my Friday. Now, about that nap...

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is life not more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life."
Matthew 6:25-27

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

The Abortion Question and the Future

When thinking of human life, I want to consider the people that die from the war, inadequate or no healthcare, or those forced to work miles underground in inadequate, unsafe working conditions in order to make the best life for their familes, some dieing instantly in accidents while others suffer from chronic conditions as a result. I think about the loss of lives into our prison system for crimes(as I see some of the work with children whose parents are in prison-- I learn more about how this is a form of a loss of life) and of course I think about abortion. My convictions don't allow me to vote based on a single issue of life. I have to consider each of these life issues when voting.

But if one issue could sway my vote, it would be this. Single issue voters have been called closed-minded, obtuse, or ignorant of the issues. "There are signs of fatigue among Christians on this issue. Some argue that the sanctity of life issue is simply one among many important issues. Without doubt, we are faced with many urgent and important issues. Nevertheless, every voter must come to terms with what issues matter most in the electoral decision. At some point, every voter is a potential "single issue" voter. Some issues simply eclipse others." - from the following article by Al Mohler.

Where do you take your stand? What issue swayed your vote? What was the final straw? Did you make your choice while watching the debate, drawn to the speaker you already supported and finding fault in every twitch and word the opposition spoke? Or are you listening to the issues, those debated orally and those shown over time in the two candidates' many speaking engagements and interviews? Where is your line drawn? I draw no judgement if your line is different from mine, respecting the great freedoms of our country. If you have the time and care about this issue in the least, please visit and read this wonderfully articulate and FACTUAL article by Albert Mohler.

An excerpt from this piece:

"In a recent essay, Professor Robert P. George of Princeton University makes the case that Sen. Obama is "the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to seek the office of President of the United States." Further: "He is the most extreme pro-abortion member of the United States Senate. Indeed, he is the most extreme pro-abortion legislator ever to serve in either house of the United States Congress"This is quite a claim, but Professor George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton, argues his case convincingly.

First:

For starters, he supports legislation that would repeal the Hyde Amendment, which protects pro-life citizens from having to pay for abortions that are not necessary to save the life of the mother and are not the result of rape or incest. The abortion industry laments that this longstanding federal law, according to the pro-abortion group NARAL, ''forces about half the women who would otherwise have abortions to carry unintended pregnancies to term and bear children against their wishes instead.'' In other words, a whole lot of people who are alive today would have been exterminated in utero were it not for the Hyde Amendment. Obama has promised to reverse the situation so that abortions that the industry complains are not happening (because the federal government is not subsidizing them) would happen.

Second:

He has promised that ''the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act'' (known as FOCA). This proposed legislation would create a federally guaranteed ''fundamental right'' to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, including, as Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia has noted in a statement condemning the proposed Act, ''a right to abort a fully developed child in the final weeks for undefined 'health' reasons.'' In essence, FOCA would abolish virtually every existing state and federal limitation on abortion, including parental consent and notification laws for minors, state and federal funding restrictions on abortion, and conscience protections for pro-life citizens working in the health-care industry-protections against being forced to participate in the practice of abortion or else lose their jobs. The pro-abortion National Organization for Women has proclaimed with approval that FOCA would ''sweep away hundreds of anti-abortion laws [and] policies.''

Third:

Obama, unlike even many ''pro-choice'' legislators, opposed the ban on partial-birth abortions when he served in the Illinois legislature and condemned the Supreme Court decision that upheld legislation banning this heinous practice. He has referred to a baby conceived inadvertently by a young woman as a ''punishment'' that she should not endure. He has stated that women's equality requires access to abortion on demand. Appallingly, he wishes to strip federal funding from pro-life crisis pregnancy centers that provide alternatives to abortion for pregnant women in need. There is certainly nothing ''pro-choice'' about that.

In addition:

In an act of breathtaking injustice which the Obama campaign lied about until critics produced documentary proof of what he had done, as an Illinois state senator Obama opposed legislation to protect children who are born alive, either as a result of an abortionist's unsuccessful effort to kill them in the womb, or by the deliberate delivery of the baby prior to viability. This legislation would not have banned any abortions. Indeed, it included a specific provision ensuring that it did not affect abortion laws. (This is one of the points Obama and his campaign lied about until they were caught.) The federal version of the bill passed unanimously in the United States Senate, winning the support of such ardent advocates of legal abortion as John Kerry and Barbara Boxer. But Barack Obama opposed it and worked to defeat it. For him, a child marked for abortion gets no protection-even ordinary medical or comfort care-even if she is born alive and entirely separated from her mother. So Obama has favored protecting what is literally a form of infanticide."

More info on the Freedom of Choice Act

Obama on the "Born Alive" legislation, an article by Dr. Robert George


For heavens' sake, Vote Your Beliefs.

34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25: 34-40

Pharm School Halloween 2006

Just for the "heckovit", Halloween 2006. Another pharmacy school party, not quite as exciting as last year's, but still a total blast.

Amanda and her husband picked me up for the party and we thought to take a picture in my apartment before leaving. They were both pirates, me, a nun.

(I tried to make it a pregnant nun, but every pillow I put in there just looked like I was soon to give birth to SpongeBob SqarePants. Never could get the baby bump quite right.)

I believe this was our friend Ed... not really sure though.

Amanda again and Kim - the butterfly? fairy? Asian supermodel?
??? I'm not good at remembering who was in what mask 2 years ago ???
Nick and I have two Halloween parties to attend this Saturday. One at the preacher's house from my hometown congregation where my parents still attend. The next at a pharmacist's house from Pikeville Med Center.

Will I be pulling out the nun costume again because I never got around to finding/making/caring about a new costume? YES-SIR-REE... but with a twist. I may just have the priest to my nun this year - we'll see.

And maybe, JUST MAYBE, I could get the belly to work this go around. Though I doubt I could go through with it. I can just imagine myself showing up to the preacher's house, offensive costume in tow, and one of his 6 kids or some other kid, (blood sugar level soaring), asking what was I suppose to be?... why am I fat?... what's pregnant?... why can't a nun be pregnant?...
WHERE DO BABIES COME FROM?!?

I believe the nun will stay chaste once again this Halloween.

In a Nutshell

Tired, very tired, but happy. Not much to write about since we've just been laying around, (which has been fabulous), and catching up on our lack of energy.

I'm back at Pikeville Medical Center for my 4th rotation... only 4 more to go after this.

My family, (mom, dad, sis, BIL), all returned last week safe and sound from their 2 week trip to the mid-west. Suprisingly enough, they were almost more wowed by many of the other national parks they visited than the main event of the trip - the Grand Canyon. A pleasant surprise. We spent most of Saturday looking at the million pics my mom took and catching clips of the 5 hours of video tape they recorded. We finished the night with the new Indiana Jones movie... the older ones are much better.

Hendrix was 5 lbs 5 oz at the vet on Friday. He got his last booster shot, thank the Lord we won't be going through that anymore. Going to the vet was fine, time consuming, but fine. It was the next 48 hours that sucked while he was moody, non-cuddly, and yelped, rather screeched if you tried to touch him - he got very sore from the shots.

On a nice note, the little one is 96% potty trained. That is, he either goes outside or goes to the puppy pad. I say 96% because every now and then, he puts only his front paws on the pad and his aim just barely misses the edge. At least he gets the point.

I just brought home some bells tonight from Karen and will be tying them around the front door knob. We'll teach him to ring them to go out and hopefully get rid of most the potty pads. I'm thinking he'll catch on fast judging by the other things we've taught him, but let's not jinx ourselves...

And Nick? Well, Nick is Nick. Should I tell you his weight as well? Or maybe put a percentage on his aim? I better not get myself in trouble. I've been trying to get him to pen a post, maybe if I did bad-mouth him a bit, he's be forced to post and defend himself... somehow I don't think that's the point of the whole blog documenting our new beginning, but sometimes I get lost trying to get to the point. A great example of me being my mother's child, even more so, both grandmothers' granddaughter. All of us ladies are a bit windy when it comes to shooting the breeze. So back to the point.... what were talking about again?

Sunday was 3 big old months being married. What a milestone ;) Truly, it seems so much has happened, many lessons learned so far, many many many lessons to still learn. I think we may be growing up.

Naaawww, probably not.

Bring On the Halloween Spirit

Not sure what year this was, but my older sister, Melissa's costume (on the left) should date this Halloween pic a bit. She looks a little like a Madonna wannabe and I'm "Little Red Riding Hood" (a costume, I believe, I wore on several different Halloweens).

Melissa, a vampire of course. Me, one creepy looking cabbage patch doll?
Master carvers from such a young age... Actually, I'm sure we weren't even creative enough to carve our names on these pumpkins, but whoever did it (I'm guessing Dad), it wasn't your best work ;) Where was that OCD artistic personality when this was going on?! (They say "Missie" and "Steffie"... names which make us both cringe if we hear.)

Have a great Wednesday, the work week is halfway over!

Pharm School Halloween 2007

Once upon a loooooong, long time ago, way back in 2007, four princesses decided they would go to the pharmacy school's Halloween Ball as the always dazzling and sprightly entertaining, Spice Girls. There was a Posh Spice (Amber), Ginger Spice (Stephanie), Baby Spice (Amanda), and a Sporty Spice (Kalina).

The four princesses dined on a Halloween cake in honor of Kalina's birthday before jetting off to the pre-party party prior to the Halloween Ball. Ginger Spice was willing as always to wield the knife she carries in her shoe (to fight off dragons) and served the cake.

The pre-party was a magical affair where all the freaks and geeks of the large town of Grundy, VA gathered to show off their costumes. There were goblins and grimlins, fairies and ogers, demons and angels, even an Oompa Loompa showed up to share in the magic that is Halloween. The four princesses were struck with a lucky twist of fate when they found their final missing member of the Spice Girls, Scary Spice.
Given that Scary Spice was a rather large man, (Audi), he was indeed scary and fit in perfectly into the group as the 5th princess. The group was complete and could now astound the crowds that would arrive from near and far at the the Halloween Ball.
The princesses' pals from 'Captain Planet' arrived forthright to safely escort all to the party.

With all the members in place, the group began spreading their message of "Girl Power" throughout the wide-eyed crowds of adorers and super fans.

Though princess Stephanie's fiance arrived without a costume (and was deemed booorrrr-innnggg), he slayed a fairy for her wings to finally become the backwards male fairy we all already knew and loved him for since birth.

The Ball was deemed a success and fun was had by all. The princesses were carried home by angels to sleep in their beds of heaven sent pillowy clouds and dreamt of what costume they would don for next Halloween Ball...

The End.

My Savior, My Strength

I woke-up yesterday morning with a to-do list in my head, focused on my challenges for the day and a real determination that I would NOT enjoy my Friday. My attitude could not have stunk anymore. In an effort to put off what I was not looking forward to, I checked out the blogs I normally read (or stalk), hoping for updates and stories that would take me away from my mundane life for a few moments before I absolutely had to get back to it. LOW AND BEHOLD, I found just that; EXCEPT that I found reason to get back to my very blessed and (embarrassingly) very easy, delightful, trouble-free, charmed life.

Long story short, one blog told her story of accomplishing many things while listening to her local (Dothan, Alabama) sister in Christ teach a ladies' bible study. I took her advice and listened to this lady while I accomplished my to-do list and was completely and utterly restored, thankful, happy to even have my chores, and shamed that I took this day for granted. Should you want to feel better about your own life and encouraged to do better as well, it's an easy and entertaining listen.

Her name is Amy Edge and you can download her lessons for FREE on her blog or even at iTunes (again, for FREE) and put them on your iPod or MP3 player and listen as you take a walk, clean, drive, WHATEVER. If you search her name on iTunes, she's about sixth on the list of search results. She has seven lessons, each around 30 minutes each. She's EXTREMELY funny, down to earth, and totally NOT self-righteous (which I have little tolerance for those who are - yuck). She made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes and I've only made it through 3 lessons so far! I really enjoyed it and I know it brought me closer to my Lord and closer to being the person I truly wish to be. I do come from a different faith than Amy, and while I'm sure she and I have some different beliefs, I've yet to hear anything in her lessons that I disagreed with in the least. She's also a fantastic writer and her blog has a few good reads as well - though she's such a great speaker I'd rather her read them to me, that, and I'm too lazy to read.

"This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." PSALMS 118:24.

Happy Birthday, Bob-a-lou!

Tonight we're heading out to celebrate Bob's birthday. His actual B-day was yesterday, the 9th, but since he was out of town, we're all getting together tonight to Celebrate with a little Mexican food and hopefully, a big old sugar rush due to some very yummy cake. Bob is definately the best father-in-law that I've ever had (hehe) and honestly, a stand-up guy who goes out of his way almost daily for us, always has something nice to say, and is also the KING of the grill. (I think I owe much of my happy little tire around my mid-section to this man!) I guess this is a tad late but...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOB!

I HOPE IT WAS A SWEET ONE!

Wimsatt-Davis Wedding Weekend

Congratulations Jamie and Adam!

Married October 4th, 2008

Owensboro, KY

The happy couple at the rehearsal dinner on Friday night. The next 3 married couples consist of Georgetown baseball players and Georgetown Sigma Kappa sorority sisters. The chemistry of the couplings should be studied; there are more out there too!

Dustin and Suzanne.

How sweet is this candle with their wedding invitation inside?

Saturday morning, getting suited up to be the most handsome groomsman ever. The tux shop's signature is to accessorize every tux with suspenders... they didn't end up wearing them but I think kinda grew on me =)

The best man, Daniel, and he girlfriend, Emma.

Daniel always has to break out his "C-walk" on the dance floor... crazy white boy.

Nick and I completely engulfed Nancy in this pic. SORRY Nans! (OH YEAH, more useless trivia: Nancy and her hubby are ALSO another baseball/Sigma coupling.)
The BEAUTIFUL couple. I wish I had gotten more photos of them...
All the Georgetown baseball alumni at the wedding.
Afterwards, the bridal party and dates were hanging around waiting for the limos to come back for us and we decided to help the family with some of the things that needed to be packed up. Can you tell just how much help all of us actually were...Chase and Dustin. Also college baseball teammates of Nick's. It was probably one of the wackiest team of characters to play the game. Case in point:
We were attempting to pick up the classrooms where the bridesmaids and groomsmen got dressed and hung out. Too much goofing off was going on and someone stole my camera and took pictures of me shaming them into working with a cardboard children's craft cross. What Would Jesus Do? He would CLEAN UP.
Jeff (groomsmen, policeman and OF COURSE a former teammate) and Kristen, his girlfriend.
Settling down finally. (Can you spot Emma and Suzanne pretending to throw/catch the bouquet?)
Dustin again with his flowers. You might wonder about his orientation after the picture with Chase and the calla lily and then this one again... but that's his wife's arm beside him encouraging his love of flowers =)

More chaos ensued afterwards when we ALL stayed at the same hotel. There was no hope for those poor people who just wanted to sleep that night. Good fun with good friends, who could ask for more?