Happy Halloween!!!

*Hint: It follows your mouse.

2 girls, a car, & some sleep deprivation

In the pursuit of being a "good student" I've been successfully neglecting the rest of my life. I'm happy to say I think it has paid off as I've finally felt relief leaving an exam rather than the usual post-test anxiety. I'll tell you though that I thought it a cruel irony I was sitting up late 2 nights in a row studying the physical & psychological benefits of SLEEP

1. Body's time of repair
2. Time for consolidation of learned information
3. Dreams are of psychological and/or emotional importance

Hmmph.

I resolved to take the day off  (once I took my last exam...that I may or may not have nearly fallen asleep in. It was so hard to focus on all those printed words!!) The day got better when I told Jamie I'd help her with her car. Ya, 2 girls taking care of a car...we should've known. We met Donny at Auto Zone who told us it was the alternator, not the battery. Doug gave us a jump after we looked for an hour in the cold for the battery leads under my hood (for some reason Saturn thought it'd be fun to stick the actual battery in the trunk? Not funny.) The negative lead is nowhere to be found still, even after calling the dealership. We ended up taking her car to Dave at Japanese Autocare (that's a story for another day!) They are now fondly referred to as our 3D's & we secretly love them all.

Then we came home & watched The Holiday, which always makes me feel like it'd be a lovely idea to kiss the next man that knocks on my door...

My Ultimate Comfort Food

I had a long day. I came home after 8:00 famished. I looked in my cupboard for something delicious & incredibly low maintenance to top off my day. I spotted it. There at the top. My favorite cereal. But wait? Do I have a banana to go with it? Otherwise it's not worth it. I looked over my shoulder & saw with relief that 1 of the 4 bananas sitting on the counter was still cereal worthy (hasn't crossed over to the smoothie/bread side yet). Phew.

2 Original Shredded Wheat biscuits with 1 sliced banana drenched in milk.

I feel much better.

President Obama

President & 1st lady Obama came to The Oval last night. I went to watch/listen. It was my 1st time ever seeing a US President in person, a little surreal. A group headed over after Church & waited for 2 hours listening to all the Democratic propaganda...some amusing, some frustrating to me. I sat on the blanket, took a nap, got a back rub (it's a hard life, I know) & listened from below. Don't worry though, I definitely stood up when "The Eagle" arrived. There were a lot of "OH-IO"s shared & I clapped when he claimed that more than being called Democrats or Republicans we are proud to be called AMERICANS!

If I knew how to draw an arrow to point him out for you I would. But he & Michelle are on the far right by the podium, if you feel like playing an altered version of Where's Waldo? 

Angels among us

My friend, Jamie, saved a man's life last week. While out for an afternoon walk, enjoying a little sunshine while it's left, she crossed paths with an elderly man & had the distinct feeling that he was not ok. Instead of dismissing it, she paused & watched him on his path. I am so proud of her for not giving in to the temptation to walk away & reassure herself that he would be fine. Then, as she watched the disoriented man fall, she ran to him. She caught the attention of 2 road maintenance men who then saw him & ran to his aid as well. The 3 of them were able to care for him & get him safely home (a nearby nursing facility he'd escaped from).

I was so touched when she shared this experience with me, & I was so grateful to know her & call her my friend. I was reminded of the words of Elder Holland
  
But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with - here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind.

Jamie was this man's angel. I couldn't help but think of my own dear grandpa in his last days with dementia & how grateful I am to all those who loved & cared for him. My mom told me a story of a young man, maybe 12 years old?, who would sit by my grandpa every week in church. One week my mom & Auntie Lynne showed up & sat behind the 2 of them. Not knowing who these women were, the young man turned to them & asked if they wouldn't mind watching his friend while he stepped out to use the restroom. They said they'd love to. It was something so small, but knowing my grandpa was loved & watched over brought such peace. This man's family will likely never know about the service Jamie offered, but regardless they will always be grateful for a young woman who had the courage to follow her heart.

Just when you thought it didn't get any better than Flight of the Conchords

My friend sent me the link to this video & I laughed. It may have been due to the late hour I watched it combined with severe lack of sleep...but now you get to enjoy too. My friend's short message said, "Note that the pretty girls are the ones in the school of pharmacy." So, I ask you, Really...how could I resist? I'm a sucker for science humor.

*View original Flight of the Conchords here. My brother would be so proud.

Ace of Cakes

I am going to see Duff & Geoff LIVE.  

Another reason to love OSU. FREE events with my buckID. On Nov 1 I have 2 exams, so I felt that this would be the perfect way to wind down from the stress. I can't wait!! I hope there's free cake :)

10/10/10

This day already had the promise of being the coolest day of the year. BUT, it got even better when we found out it was also NATIONAL CAKE DECORATING DAY! So that's what we did. We decorated cupcakes & watched Mean Girls & had a ball. I love these girls!!

 

 Jamie going for it with BOTH hands!

Courtney's always the most focused 1 of the 3 of us

and for some reason I'm only content when sitting in a ball

 My witch! I was so proud of her! I know she looks like a smurf in a turban...

but humor me

the day also celebrated our 3 week anniversary of knowing each other!

Gertrude

She is 8 1/2 months old & we made her 2nd emergency room visit, though it counts as her 4th trauma. When I wouldn't play with her anymore yesterday afternoon, because silly me, I thought I should do some homework!, she went on a little scavenger hunt in the front room. This is what she found:

I'd had 1 piece previously, she took the rest. THE WHOLE PACKAGE. The trick with sugar-free gum is that it contains Xylitol, which just happens to be highly toxic to dogs. She ingested 23 pieces in record time. So we flew down to the emergency room & they were ready for us. The doc came & got her from me before I'd even started any of the paperwork! That made me nervous...

She's home safe & sound today, though she had to stay the night under their watchful eyes & care. All the staff loved my adorable girl, I think they were sad to see her leave...until she started making a racket in the waiting room barking at all the other dogs. Why won't her owner teach her some manners all ready?!

XYZ

eXamine Your Zipper

This is one mishap I feel really levels the playing field for all social classes, it can happen to anyone. It's happened to you, it's happened to me, & we've all snickered & pointed at a plethora of people caught unawares.

I was at a Career Fair last night, made a stop in the restroom, &  came out with my fly down. When I realized it, I giggled. It made the evening that much more exciting (& let's be honest, a Pharmacy Career Fair can use some excitement.)

But when do you tell someone what you've noticed, & when do you not? I stand on the ALWAYS TELL side, but having large groups of people around doesn't make for the best venue. It goes right along with letting someone know there's a booger hanging out of their nose or something green still in their teeth.

GO BUCKS!

I went to my 1st OSU football game last week. I've been to college football games before, but only at BYU. This was not the same. At all. It took me more than a 1/2 hour to get thru Security, & they had me running from 1 end of the stadium to the other. I felt like screaming, "It's a FOOTBALL game!" But then I thought if I said that, they really wouldn't let me in.

But I felt like a lucky girl when "the best damn band in land" (it's not cussing if I'm quoting) came & played right next to me! Like, not just in the aisles, I was surrounded. It was awesome.

I'm grateful for friends with extra tickets, sunny afternoons, & red t-shirts.

October is American Pharmacists Month

Who knew? My profession has a whole month dedicated to how awesome we are. Usually, in the past (& kinda still now I guess) I've felt like days are given to really important people who've done an incredible & very memorable service i.e. mothers, fathers, Martin Luther King Jr., veterans... & months are usually given out to those that really just need to feel better about themselves & so try to promote their causes (sorry if you find this politically incorrect, but I'm only incriminating myself here) i.e. women's history, vegan awareness, & just about every minority out there.

So to celebrate, we're supposed to put a new Pharmacy Fact in our Facebook status each day for the month of October. But you all know me, I'm not really that into Facebook status updates so instead I'm posting the link here & if you really care or are so bored that you'd rather read through this than do any of the other 27 things pressing for your time...please enjoy.

Know Your MEDICINE. Know Your PHARMACIST.

*For a complete list of some of the most ridiculous months click here. Highly entertaining.

Because my girl has no manners

Gertie broke her collar on our walk this morning. She took off running with her newfound freedom & I was left to look the idiot chasing her. Luckily, there were no cars as she fled from one grassy patch to another. I finally caught her because she had to pause to potty.

Now, she gets to sport the stylish body harness. I need to get a good doggy training book since I can't really afford obedience classes. And usually I just think she's too cute to discipline. So maybe what I need is a doggy OWNER training book.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Right. I will try to remember that as I look in my planner already full for the next week with at least 10 items I still need to check off from the last 2. After watching the 1st session of Conference, my favorite speaker was President Uchtdorf (I'll link his talk as soon as it's posted!) who talked about getting life down to the important things & basically sieving our days so that we are spending our time where we really want to, where it will make the greatest difference in our lives. One of my favorite things he said was that in families love is so often spelt T.I.M.E.