I FOUND ONE!

WooHoo!

I've been super busy since getting back from our weekend at the lake... AND Rome :) After spending all afternoon on Tuesday submitting applications and taking surveys for a job at St. Vincents, I GOT ONE! I will be working in the pharmacy at the hospital in Birmingham - which I'm super pumped about! I absolutely LOVE this hospital and have always wanted to be a part of the wonderful hospital family that has for so long taken such good care of me and my family. Me and my brother and sister were brought home from this marvelous place along with all THREE of my nephews. And although I'm sure there are other places in this world just as worthy of my praises as St. Vincents is, I could not be more excited about getting my foot in the door here!

SO... I just wanted to say "THANK YOU" to my sister for helping me find a job and for all the sweet prayers that were said in order for me to find something for the summer. I hope to learn a lot and continue my pursuit of greatness in the medical field... and at St. Vincents! I go Friday for orientation and then I start working on Monday!

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{As for my trip down there today to take care of a little "housekeeping" business - paperwork, testing, etc - It ended up being one doozie of a day. I got the paperwork handled with NO problems, except for the fact that I had put my social security card in a safe place at school making it IMPOSSIBLE for me to take it with me today. BUT... because of my wonderful partner in crime :) Dave managed to email a color copy to the office that they happily accepted! YAY! After paperwork I was directed to an "occupational" lab type place that obviously deals with getting people set for hire, workman's comp, etc. Well, I go in thinking I'll be out in 15 minutes or so. BOY OH BOY was I wrong! An hour later or so, I was called back only to find out that I was not only getting to pee into a cup, but a TB skin test AND... blood had to be DRAWN. Now, I understand that to most of you reading, this should've been something I am ok with - going into the nursing field and all. NEW FLASH: I am NOT ok with having MY blood drawn! But, also contrary to popular belief, and actual happenings of times past, I did not cry or faint! I did however make sure the guy knew I was a "hard stick". That DID NOT, however, keep him from sticking me TWICE. I was not happy about this and so, took it upon myself to find a good vein the second time around to MAKE SURE there would be no third stick. Sure enough, I had found a good one! Trying to be a big girl - which doesn't usually happen when getting blood drawn - I leaned my head back and started praying, trying to keep myself from crying. The TB skin test was next and he - the RN - made quite the little bleb under my skin and OUT the door I went! I happily found my mom and sister waiting for me in the car to release the stress and lightheadedness I had managed to conjure up from my not so "quick" office visit. Lets just hope its smooth sailing from here on out!}

A Day of Shopping

Dave and I met each other at the Galleria yesterday (Saturday) to hang out and catch up. I've been home a week and a half now and we thought it was time for a little date - little did I know he was actually going to be a GOOD shopping buddy! YES, surprise, surprise! We shopped ALL DAY and he never once pouted or strategically planned to buy a cookie cake so that we would have to leave the mall (oh what a story that one is).

In the midst of this wonderful outing, we both found/bought some really cool things. MY favorite was the fabulous buy I ended up getting on some linen pants, while I was most excited about Dave finally buying a pair of loafers. Now, to the casual individual this may seem like such a small and pointless thing to become excited over, but for me... I was beside myself. For at least two years now I have been trying to get this boy to invest in some type of shoe he can wear when flip flops aren't quite appropriate but dress shoes are completely over-kill. And the day FINALLY came :) I could not believe my eyes when I simply suggested the stop into the Clarks store and we came out with a pair of nice, dark brown loafers! {NOW, everyone just keep your fingers crossed that he actually wears them before they dry-rot and he LOVES them!}

After having Chic-Fil-A for lunch and spending at least an hour in Brookstone playing with toys and being massaged by the four thousand dollar chairs {HA! lost your breath, too didn't ya?}, we had to swing back by the Great American Cookie counter for Dave to close the chapter of his shopping trip with a double doozie cookie - just as Sandye used to do for him as a child.

Before leaving the Galleria to meet some friends at the Cheesecake Factory for a little mingling and an afternoon snack (for me at least, Dave already had his cookie), we decided when we got out to the parking that we would take a picture of our successful shopping trip! We were so proud. So, I, per usual, dug my camera out of my "Mary Poppins" bag and propped it up on the toolbox of Dave's truck. In the process, Dave had placed his double doozie cookie on the tailgate so that we could be goofy for a split second and take a picture. {This is the point in which I would usually post a picture, BUT... I've missed placed my cord, so NO picture} Neither of the pictures we took turned out remotely ok, but we laughed, said our temporary good-bye's and got in our separate cars heading towards the Summit. As soon as were pulling into the parking lot to meet our friends, Dave calls. "You'll never guess what just happened..." Well, with me being the eternal worrier that I am, I immediately started thinking the worst. But before I could start spitting out scenarios, he jumps in with, "I laid my cookie on the tailgate and drove off without getting it. My double doozie's in the parking deck." You would've thought something BAD had actually happened - or at least I did before I heard "COOKIE".

To say the least, Saturday was filled with lots of laughs and good times. From returns to cool finds, it was a shopping adventure I know I won't forget any time soon!

YAY for Family Dinner Night!

I'm so excited that we all got to meet tonight at The Cheesecake Factory for dinner!

Wonderful Company + Good Food = A FABULOUS TIME!

After all the stories and a LOT of laughs, the night only seemed to solidify how great the people are that encompass my life.

My Momma and Daddy are my rock. To them, I owe EVERYTHING I am. Every day I realize more and more how lucky I am to have been brought up by two of the most thoughtful and loving people I know. Thank you for all you do... Thank you for making me, ME! To the moon and the stars and back!

Sandye and Mike have taken me in as one of their own, and that means the world! It's been an absolute pleasure these last three years. You guys are great!

Ninnie... WOW! What an amazing lady. There are not enough good things to say about you. Thanks for always treating me like one of the kids!

I love you ALL and hope there's many more dinners to come.

--Loren

Weekend

So its almost a week after our big day. Loren told me the wrong ring size way back when so it is about 1/2 size to big. We have to go get that fixed sometime next week after her finals are over. Finals have taken over her life this week and mine. I came home after work yesterday to find that Loren had taken over my apt. Loren and all of her notebooks had taken over my lazy boy. I had to either sit on the couch and be quiet or go to my room and shut the door. Today was the same deal. No tv in the living room. I sure hope all of this studying pays off. Loren's mom also came to town today to help her pack up her room for the summer. We have a long weekend of no fun at all ahead. Luke is gone to the beach for the weekend and Loren has to STUDY!!!!! At least we have the race to watch on tv in the living room. Too bad Loren has to study or she could sit and watch it with me :-)