I'm going to be an Oliver

Wednesday April 3rd was a regular ole Wednesday. I woke up late so I had to pull my hair up in a bun and didn't really put on much makeup. I put on school clothes that I didn't put much thought into and went to class. Dr. Helms said she needed to record out facilitation for facilitator training, a valid excuse. We went through a full 3 hours of facilitation learning all about Hospital Acquired Pneumonia. Just as we were about to wrap everything up, Dr. Helms said they were trying something new where they bring in someone from another team to go over a Learning Issue that another team is having issues with. In walks Joshua. My first thought was why in the world did he not tell me he was doing a presentation for my group?! He said Dr. Helms asked him to come in and give a presentation via Powerpoint. He pulled up the presentation and at this point I still have no idea what is going on. I am still thinking he is about to teach us about the BUN:SCr ratio or something completely school related.
Then he starts his presentation and I finally understand...
He talked about how we met in high school (including hilarious pictures of Joshua with long purple hair!) and how I was such a good student in food and parenting. He moved on to how we reconnected when we both came to Auburn and started having classes together (he even included exact classes in the presentation). He talked about the one semester we were lab partners and thats where we started "talking". Then he talked about our first "date"...you know, that one where he woke me up from a nap on the couch, hair messed up, jeans and a t-shirt, to go on a double date with his roommate and his girlfriend who were dressed up. I came home and told my roommates "I think I just went on a date."  He detailed every little bit of our relationship. It was so thought out and you could tell he put so much work into it! Then he started talking about the important step of asking my parent's permission. Instead of just asking my parents, he also got them to make a video giving their blessing (This is where I start to lose it). Then his parents made a video too because their permission is just as important (more crying). Then to top off all of that sweetness, he got my 2 best friends, Melissa and Stacie to make a video too!

Then he said now there's just one more person to ask...

I stood up, he took my hand, said some stuff that I don't remember because I was bawling my eyes out, and got down on one knee.
Of course I said YES! (followed by an oh my goodness! when I saw the ring).
He put the most amazing ring I have ever seen on my finger and then we got to celebrate!

Pictures DO NOT do it justice. It is way too shiny and gorgeous for me to focus on anything!
It was literally the most thoughtful, sincere, sweet, personal, romantic, most amazing proposal I could have ever dreamed of. I cannot believe I get to MARRY the sweet guy who did it all for me. I love you Joshua!

P.S. Its all on video so if you want to take the 20 minutes to watch it feel free! (it doesn't include his actual slides but I will hopefully have that soon!)

Here's how:

Click this LINK
username: hsoppharmd
password: pharmacy
Click on the link for 2012-2013 P3 on the lefthand side under Video LibraryIn that list click on the link for IP Sessions (8)Click on the first one in the list that has April 3rd date on it. You will have to fast forward to about 2:55:25 when it starts (unless you want to learn all about Hospital Aquired Pneumonia! Ha!) And it goes from there! It is about 20 minutes long!

Valentine's

Every year, Valentine's Day comes at a time when we have a million things going on at school. We usually just go to dinner or something pretty simple. Our anniversary is on the 24th so we usually over-celebrate then. This year it was flip-flopped. We have finals week the entire week after our anniversary so we decided to celebrate V-Day. Josh made plans and I tried to pick out presents. He took me to the restaurant that we went to on our very first Valentine's 4 years ago, Chef Lee's. Then we went to see Safe Haven. It was so great and incredibly thoughtful (brownie points to Joshua!). My favorite part however, came before that. He was so excited about his present to me that I got excited and begged to do presents on Tuesday. I got him a couple of little things and some amazon gift cards to buy a new lens for his camera. 

I thought I had done pretty good...until he gave me my present. 

He got me one of these babies.

It is a Nikon 1 and I have been wanting one basically since I saw Ashton Kutcher advertise for it. It is insanely out of my price range (because I am a cheapskate) so I just gave up on it and was looking for something else. Imagine my surprise when I opened a gift and saw that! Not only did he get me the camera but he got me a bigger lens too (additional dollars I wouldn't have spent myself). I was so shocked and a little embarrassed! After all, I got him gift cards remember? Then I started looking for a camera bag because I am so nervous to get one little scratch on this beauty. Everything I found was either cute and $150 or it was a plain ol' boring camera bag. 

If you know me, you already know that my next thought was "I can make one myself". 

I bought this purse at Target with a gift card.

Then I bought a camera bag insert from Etsy. It looks just like this one but I got it in Teal. It fits snug inside the purse so its a cute little camera bag! I like my $20 price much more than a $150 and I got to pick my cute purse too!

Then I went a little overboard and bought this fancy neck strap because who doesn't love chevron and bows?!

I already knew Joshua was incredibly sweet and thoughtful, but this was just over the top. I am one lucky girl with an amazing man and now an amazing camera. 

DIY Hair Ties

I heard about Emi Jay hair ties which are the ones that don't crease your hair. My hair creases if I even look at a ponytail holder so I was completely intrigued. I bought some that were like 3 for $10 or something ridiculous but I thought if it worked it may be worth it. I am pretty hard on my hair ties so these 3 didn't last long. I was faced with a decision: pay an insane amount for 3 little hair ties or make my own. I decided to look to Pinterest for some options and I struck gold! I made like 50 of my own for $10 (much better deal I think!)

DIY Hair Ties

Materials:

• stretch elastic (I purchased mine here) **They have a million colors so have fun choosing!
• Each yard makes about 6 hair ties

Instructions:

• Measure elastic equivalent to wrap around the circumference of your wrist, leaving an extra inch on each side
•  Cut the elastic (a sharp scissor is best to avoid fray; cut on a slight angle)
• Hold the two ends of the elastic together and wrap them around one finger. Pull the two ends through the loop. (do not pull on the edges of the elastic or it will fray)
• Enjoy your cheap cheap hair ties!

Have fun making your own and saving some dollars!

Potato Soup

I made a batch of my favorite potato soup the other day and I said something about it on Facebook and has a ton of people ask me how to make it so here it is!

Potato Soup
Potatoes  (5 lb bag with 3-5 removed)
Potato flakes (I use 1 little pouch of whatever is cheapest)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick butter
2 large cans evaporated milk
1 can chicken broth
16 oz velveeta
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Bacon pieces
Shredded cheddar cheese
Green Onions

Peel potatoes and cut into small cubes (the smaller the quicker it takes to boil them). Place in a large pot, cover with water and add the seasonings (no specifics just toss some in). Boil until done but not too mushy. In a separate pot, melt butter and add flour. Whisk together over low-medium heat until smooth. Add evaporated milk and stir until it thickens (about 2-3 minutes). Slice velveeta and add a couple of slices at a time (*only do a couple at a time and make sure you keep stirring! It is easy to burn this step!). Pour some water out of the potatoes until slightly covered. Add the chicken broth. Add the other pot's mixture and stir. Add the bacon pieces and ~1 cup of cheese. Stir in the potato flakes to desired thickness. Top with cheese and green onions and enjoy!

Easy Peasy! This recipe makes A LOT of the soup so you may want to half it. It reheats well so if you like leftovers this is a good recipe to eat a couple of times!

breaking point

We are officially done with our P3 fall semester! We had our finals week the week before Thanksgiving Break and then we had to come back to take our OSCEs (clinical exam) today. Towards the end of the semester, I hit a point (a dangerous point) where i didn't care what my grades were, I didn't care to study, I didn't want to do anything (see how that can be dangerous?!). I was so burnt out on everything school related that I was emotionally done come finals time. Our semester is split into 2 "Phases". Phase 1 ended mid-semester and we had finals then. I did really well in Phase I. I ended the phase with an 89.2 and no they did not round me up at all. That is a whole other story. When Phase II started, I did not do too well. I did worse on my quizzes, I did more work throughout the week, and I didn't really understand a lot of the more detailed topics. Working like a dog in Phase I to still get a B and feeling defeated because, despite studying, I was doing worse only made me even less motivated. I took my finals after barely studying and then had to work Friday night until 11pm after staying up all night Thursday night studying to take a 3-hour final. Needless to say, I was on the verge of a complete breakdown. I might have been borderline depressed (after studying I think I met the criteria). I slept for long periods and still woke up tired. I barely talked to anyone. I literally needed a break or I was going to go insane.

And then Thanksgiving break came.

The past week was exactly what I needed to be normal again. Slowly but surely I was getting back to being myself. I got to see my entire family. I got to go back to my old high school where I first met Joshua to watch my brother play basketball. I got to sit and laugh with my friends for hours. I got to go black friday shopping. I got to hang out with my parents. I didn't see anyone that I didn't want to. It. Was. Incredible. It was exactly what I need

I came back, took my OSCE, and now I am officially on Christmas Break! Hallelujah! Now I keep spending all of my money on christmas presents. This is going to be the best 6 weeks ever!

Day 9-11

Day 11: Today I am thankful for all of the veterans. At our football game yesterday they had all of the veterans stand and I got a little emotional. It is incredibly awesome what those men and women put on the line so that I can have freedom. Sometimes we forget exactly how great of a sacrifice that so many people have offered up for our country. They defend what I take for granted. I will forever be thankful for them.

Day 10: I am thankful that Alabama lost. Sorry to all of my Bama friends but I am glad someone finally knocked you off your high horse. I know Auburn is really terrible and we will more than likely still lose to Alabama this year (reason #1 that I sold my tickets) but I find a tad bit of joy for this football season in the fact that I do not have to hear any National Championship junk from some people for just a little bit. No doubt Bama is insanely good but hearing Jordan Hare Stadium erupt when they showed the final score of the Bama Texas A&M game up on the scoreboard might be just a little bit better :)

Day 9: I am thankful that Joshua records Duck Dynasty and re-watches them with me every Friday night because I do not have time to watch them on Wednesday. It is one of the funniest shows I know of. It is good, clean, family fun.

Day 8

Today I am thankful that one week from right now I will be studying for the last night until January. One more week of this semester to go!