GRE

I took the GRE today and did MUCH better than expected. I could not stop smiling as I walked out of the testing center. I was very happy with my score considering how little I studied. Thanks to good friends for all the well-wishes! Glad it is over and DONE!

Melissa : GRE

You : This Post

:)

Fort Worth

I drove to Fort Worth today to take a chemo class

What a charming city-

sparkle lights everywhere and cobblestone roads!

My Mini car fit right in downtown

Had a wonderful run along the river

after a long drive alone...

I sure missed Katie and Tara as I drove

But I am loving this lovely Texas fall weather

and this beautiful Texas city!

Batwoman

Sometimes I live an exciting life. Last Monday was just one of those days. Monday morning I arrived at work and was notified that we couldn't have any kids in the clinic until 10 am because there was a bat trapped in the clinic (it was discovered when it flew in to my boss's head when she arrived at work at 5:30 am that day). One of the doctors was super excited at the idea of catching a bat so when it came out he chased it around the clinic with a huge bed sheet. He did not catch it. So animal control was in the clinic for about 3 hours and then said that they had taken care of it so we would not have any more problems with the bat. Phew! Skip ahead 3 hours...

I am chatting with this little 6 year-old boy while he is getting blood. All of a sudden there is a scream and the other nurse I am working with runs away screaming "BAT!!!! I'M CALLING ANIMAL CONTROL! FIND A NET!!!". So this bat swoops in to the room and is flying around the room. This little boy is tethered to an IV pole and the bat is circling his head. I grab a paper "pillow case" off of a pillow and try to encourage the bat to fly away from him. The bat flies in to the huge glass window just feet away from my patient and falls down stunned. I don't know what got in to me, but I was fearless. Just as the bat reared its head and hissed (or whatever bats do) at me, I grabbed him with my hands. Yep. Trapped a bat with my hands!! This from the girl who squeals at the sight of spiders. I threw him in the paper pillowcase and then in the garbage can. I calmly walked away from my little patient and then when out of his sight I threw the bat upside down in an empty room. I notified my boss to call the animal control people and to not let anyone turn over the garbage can or go in the room. Then I washed my hands and went back to my patient. He looked up at me and said, "Hey remember that time when you caught that bat?" I thought, yes. Yes I do. I won't soon forget that. We did some crafts that afternoon and when he left he said, "I really liked when you caught that bat Melissa. That was cool." He gave me a hug and a high 5 and was off.

Animal patrol arrived and needed to talk with "the woman that apprehended the bat." These people were wearing huge boots, had leather gloves and long tongs to grab the bat with. They wrote my story down, asking for EXACT times in a little notebook that I am pretty sure was from the Dollar Store. Very official. Nice job catching the bat on the first try folks.

In case you were wondering, I was gentle enough that the bat was still alive and well when animal control arrived. Too bad he will probably be killed to be tested for rabies. I am now known as "bat-woman" or "bat-girl" at work. And... the doctor who wanted to catch the bat was quite upset that, as another nurse put it, I had stolen his thunder.

For your enjoyment I have posted pictures of what the bats that live in Austin look like...

This was the face that looked up at me and hissed. Eeehhhh.....

This is what was flying around the clinic

Happy Halloween!

-Batwoman

Fall Food

Last week I made Sunday dinner again.

Butternut Squash Soup, spinach and Craisin Salad

and Pumpkin Cookies. Yum

Thanks for the pics Ivy!

Ivy's pictures make everything look wonderful...

Recipe below YUM!

One onion (a big white one) chopped.

Used cooking spray to saute onion in a big pot

Cut the butternut squash in half, and after scooping out the insides put it in a baking dish with about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom. Cooked it at 450 for about 20 minutes (basically until soft enough that I could scrape it off of the skin). For this group I used the two squashes.

Cut the squash in to chunks and threw them in a blender with chicken broth to help blend it

dumped the mixture in to the pot

Added cumin, dash of nutmeg, salt, ground pepper and tumeric- all to taste.

Added half package of fat free cream cheese, though this prob wasnt necessary. Then had fat-free greek plain yogurt (i think this is the best!).

Ingredients:

5-6 cups chicken broth (2.5-3 cans)

Butternut squash

onion

cumin

tumeric

salt

pepper

nutmeg

may add cream cheese, yogurt

I found already cubed butternut squash at Whole Foods this week... what a timesaver!

Best Job Ever!

I love my job! I submit to you that I have the BEST job ever! I get to spend time playing with wonderful children and teenagers every day while helping them fight cancer and other life-changing illnesses. I get to color and do art projects, play dolls, play board games and keep up on my nursing skills. Plus... I got to catch a bat. Will post on that soon... I am so blessed to have this wonderful opportunity in my life!!!

Find of the week

This made me laugh out loud at Walgreens.

Are they serious?

I ask you this... why does a dog need a Snuggie?

Along the same lines...

why does anyone?

Spin Class

Wednesdays are happy days because they are spin class days with Ivy. Thanks for being my motivation to go to spin Ivy! I always feel so much better after a great spin class!

Matt

This is my brother Matt. He is one of the funniest guys I know!

He is also super smart, lots of fun, and a truly excellent man.

We always have tons of fun together and love to laugh!

He broke his leg playing soccer this weekend.

What a bummer! He is also one of the most active people I know.

Today he had surgery number 6 for his life.

That definitely deserves a blog post.

Love you Matt. Feel well soon!!!

Frankenstein Brownies

My two brothers in need of a package? Dinner guests? October? Yep- definitely calls for Frankenstein brownies. I think I had more fun making them then people did eating them...

I love Autumn!

I love October! I am going to miss the changing of the leaves, the first frost and the cool crisp air that comes with October in Utah. One of my favorite things is driving around with my windows down, my heater on and the music loud. But I will enjoy wearing flip flops and taking walks and not having to de-ice my car now that I live in Texas. What I most enjoy about October is that it marks the beginning of all of the great holidays! Today I started my Halloween craftiness by making some fun dinner items...

Here is the process by which you make oranges in to Jack-O-Lanterns with Salad:

Choose lovely oranges (I bought orange/tangerine hybrids because they are a richer orange)

Cut off the top of the orange:

Scoop out the middle with a knife and spoon (save the inside for your salad or whatever else)

Carve like a pumpkin (the skin is softer so be gentle)

Fill with salad and serve! Yummy and fun!

The salad I served was spinach, craisins, orange slices, parmesan cheese with fat-free poppyseed dressing.

Finding Old Friends

Today I did my semi-annual deep cleaning of my apartment. The treasure that I found this year: my collection of mix CD's from high school and college. WOW! So many dear bands that I have not listened to for years as this music never made it to my iPod. Sad, but true... here are some of the long-lost friends that I have once again rediscovered:

Vertical Horizon

Five for Fighting

Switchfoot

Pretty much every one-hit wonder Pop group ever known including gems such as LFO, BoyZone, A*Teens, and of course the classics like Britney, 98 Degrees, Mandy Moore, Backstreet Boys, N'Sync... Sigh.

Welcome back! So many memories, so many dreams, so much drama. Thanks for sharing those long, angst-filled years with me.

That's sort of like "thanks"

I often hear some interesting things at my job. My current favorite quote comes from a recent patient of mine. In his week-plus stay he became quite notorious around the unit for his not-so-pleasant manner. I was doing some charting the other day when I started to hear his voice resonate through the hall. Then I hear "NOT ON YOUR LIFE YOU IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!" For some reason, this just made me laugh out loud. This was the young man's way of saying, "I am not excited to have physical therapy. I would like to decline the opportunity you are giving me to become ambulatory once more." I have continued to laugh out loud about this as it has come to mind- including yesterday while running at the gym. Sometimes I am amazed at the way parents let their children speak... as well as the phrases kids pick up.

  Today while working (not as his nurse) he was discharged. I gave him a big smile and said "You did a great job while you were here- good luck!" His reply: "I'm gonna torch this place."

Yep. You are welcome. :)

Fingerprinting

  Today I had the distinct pleasure of heading to the fingerprinting institution here in Austin. I had turned in my fingerprints weeks ago to get my Texas nursing license but according to the people that did them "the transmission didn't go through- our bad." So I got to spend the morning getting fingerprinted. Not as easy of a process as I thought it would be...

  First I went to the location near work. There I waited on the phone for 40 minutes only to be told that they could not do my prints electronically this second time and that I had to do them on a card. I was then informed that I would have to drive to South Austin (about 25 minutes away without traffic) to the other location that does cards. After sitting in traffic for 40 minutes I arrived. The woman there informed me that I was late. Well yes, I am lady. I drove from your other location (where you knew I was coming from) all the way down here during rush hour! But thanks for pointing that out. 

  I was then informed that I needed to walk these cards to the Board of Nursing myself. That mean a trip to the middle of downtown Austin. Sigh. Well, 1/4 tank of gas later my fingerprints are now where they need to be. Let's hope I pass the background check ;)

  Oh yeah... and when I finally arrived at work I discovered in my haste to get fingerprinted I had forgotten to wear certain item of underclothing specific to women. Sigh... What a day!

The Best Blessings!

I am so lucky to have the BEST friends in the world! Dinner tonight with Ivy and Katie, going to Cali with Jana and getting to play with Tarren for 4 days, seeing Desiree at work every time I work m-f.... Heavenly Father sure has blessed me with such special, amazing and beautiful women in my life. He knows I couldn't get through this time in life without some BIG blessings and He sure has provided them. I love you girls! Thanks for making my life so happy!!!!! My heart if full!

One Month!!

In one month- August 19th!- I will be sipping strawberry Daiquiris on the beach in Playa Del Carmen. Thanks for being such a great friend and agreeing to go with me Katie! I am so EXCITED! Pictures to come...

My Austin Girls

This is a picture of some of my favorite Austin women as we celebrate at Mellow Mushroom right by UT's campus to celebrate the beautiful Katie Romney's Birthday! YEA KATIE! (Sorry this post is so late!)

The other week I went to the movies with Flor. We saw Up! What a beautiful movie! It is everything a movie should be... and more. One of the highlights for me were the sweet glasses we got to wear for the 3-D part. I liked them so much I used them while checking my messages...

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!

I feel an immense sense of relief! 

All Creatures of our God and King...

Wildlife seems to be all around me here now that I live in Austin. Saw the huge snake the other night. Frequently see toads and rabbits on walks. The other night this little critter was in my apartment. I had to capture and release it myself as Bella the dog was not interested in doing the job for me.

A Ginormous Snake!

Saw this beauty on my way home tonight from taking Bella for a walk. Still gives me the willies just thinking about it! Not a fan of snakes.... thank heavens I live on 3rd floor!

The Austin Symphony

Friday night was my first real night on the town in Austin. Ivy and I planned a night out to the Austin Symphony. We went to a great little place for dinner called "Galaxy Diner." Fabulous dessert! Thanks Ivy! We then went to the beautiful Long Center right downtown for an incredible performance. The Featured Performance was by the lovely Miss Sarah Chang who played a Bruch Concerto in a fabulous shining silver dress. I was thoroughly satisfied as were all the lovely old ladies from the local retirement center who were at the performance in their best dress!

I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Weiner!

The other night while walking Bella the dog with Ivy and Melanie, we came across this little treasure parked at the apartment complex next to ours. How Exciting!! 

The New Elders

Today the new Elders arrived in our area. I was signed-up to feed the Sister Missionaries, but instead I got to feed the Elders. Ivy and Andrew Wahr came over as well to be "chaperones." I had to get a picture so Elder Mikey-Hon could see that I am taking care of the missionaries in his honor! MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP!!!!!!

First Post, First Sunday

Now that I have moved away from the beautiful city of Salt Lake, I have decided to start a blog so that my family and friends who wish can know what is going on. Thanks for the suggestion Marg. This will most likely not be the most interesting blog as I have no husband to brag about or growing fetus to write about. But if my experiences here are anything like those in my life so far, I am sure I will meet some really interesting characters in no time at all. 

Today was my first day at the new Singles' ward here in Austin. I love the feeling of the ward here. I felt very welcome and people actually went out of their way to introduce themselves to me. My bishop gave an amazing testimony and I already know that he is a man of God. I learned so much and my heart was very touched by his strong testimony. Of course there are the usual singles' ward people but you find those everywhere. I know this is where I am supposed to be and that it will be a great experience. 

After church the RS Pres, Kristin, came up and invited me to dinner with some people to celebrate a guy in the ward's birthday. I was so blown away that someone would be so friendly to a total stranger and be so willing to include me so quickly. It really made my week. I went to the party and Ivy had made the most delicious pizza and met some new people. I am slowly learning to overcome my awkwardness in new social situations and Austin is proving to be a good place for me to practice. It was a great night and I am so happy that I have met some great people here so far. Tomorrow... orientation at the hospital.