Huzzah!

I found a wedding dress! Let me go ahead and shout that from the rooftops. I FOUND A WEDDING DRESS! Even better than that, I went out and tried it on and looked fabulous in it and BOUGHT A WEDDING DRESS! And headpiece and veil and all the crap that I swore I'd just make myself, but looked so adorable with the dress that I could NOT SAY NO.

It has gold accents. Gold! I never thought I'd be wearing anything gold... but it's smashing. I hope that nobody notices the small row of pink beads in my wrap, because if they think I'm ripping those rows out to get back to them, they're effing insane. I will head over to AC Moore tomorrow and get some goldish beads instead, though. Heh.

Playing Tourist

My aunt and uncle are in town this week. I got to play tour guide with them on Monday and Tuesday, which was quite a bit of fun. I don't normally hit the outlets or do much on that end of town (mostly because it's so congested and touristy). We found some nice bargains at the outlets (I found the most fabulous pair of birkis at the QVC outlet that had to come home with me).

Most amusing part of Monday: The waitress at the Olive Garden walks up to the table "Oh, you two must be mother and daughter!" Heh. I do look a lot more like my aunt that my mom, and my cousin and I could pass as sisters. (Actually, on occasion, we've managed to pass as each other- Her neighbor thought I was her at a funeral, and her own daughter wanted to know "Mama, which one is you?" in a picture of the two of us.)
I didn't get any good pictures, but Odie should be sending me one of all of us, which will be nice.

We had our "Kool aid" session today for work, where we were told how to be nice to each other and our patients (which I still maintain, either you know how to be nice, or you don't). Parts of it were interesting, and it was nice to hear about some of the things my coworkers like to do outside of work (It's too busy to socialize AT work, and I would just as soon keep to myself). There was crying (not by me), and other typical crap, but it wasn't horrible. It was, however, a waste of a perfectly good day off.

Oh well, I could use the money for vacation. Less than 2 weeks till I go back to NC where we got engaged. Waterfalls, trees, knitting, and a ginormous stack of books await me and the hammock chair. I cannot wait. I can smell the pine needles and early morning dew already.

Don't Dick with Diabetes

Take care of yo' kids boys and girls. I am not talkin' about your offspring, though you should take care of them too. I'm talking about your kidneys. And I'm talkin' about diabetes. Micro and macrovascular changes that happen with diabetes suck, and they're really sucky when you ignore your doctor's recommendations that you, you know... take insulin and manage your sugars and shit.

And I know, it sucks to be a badass dood, tryin' to be all manly an' shit, wielding an accucheck machine and tellin' your boyz that "shit, I can't have another 40, I gotz to keep my sugars low." But now, after one too many bouts with DKA, and generally not taking care of your ass, you're in renal failure, oh, and you're blind. Your homies LOVE visitin' you at dialysis. Just wait till they start describin' all the hot chicks for ya.

Dumbass.

Sadder still, this dood's barely older than me. IF he would have taken care of shit in the beginning, or his parents (who miraculously are concerned NOW) would have smacked him upside the head with a glucometer when he was younger, he might not be in this mess...

Domestic Goddessdom

REJOICE!

The end of the semester has come! Sanity once again reigns! Now that I completed my "Finish my final, now go do a ginormous stretch for the other clerk at work." I earned 5 days of uninterrupted bliss. And what did I do?

Well, before the semester officially ended, I prematurely did my "4th semester on the deans list" boogie and got myself a treat- namely a new digital camera, which I am quite pleased with. I actually cleaned the apartment some, went shopping with my ass-kicking mother (who gifted me an excellent overnighter bag, which was on mad clearance, and is pink and quilted and adorable).

While out and about I managed to get back to work on my Wedding Aeolian, which is a bit scary, because now I'm getting cold feet about THE dress, and want to see some more things (of course, if I change dresses, will the aeolian match? Will I be forced to stab myself in the eyes with my knitting needles, thus rendering any matching questions moot?)



(Imagine that for a crapload more rows... imagine ripping that out and starting over again. Been there. Done that.)

I also picked up some charm squares to make a cute 30s print tote (because there are few things in life I like more than tote bags, and one of them is 30's reproduction fabrics). (Taadaa!)






I'm also trying to decide if it's too early (and presumptive) to just buy this kit and knit it for any future children I have because it's just so fecking CUTE. (I only know one person who is "with child" and I don't know if she'd appreciate a hand-knit sweater set.) (I'd probably make the blue- hedge my bets, because if it's a girl, she can still wear an adorable blue set.)


Oh, and I also found 6 (count 'em, SIX!) Ngaio Marsh books at the used bookstore- I'm a truly happy camper. :)

Spring is in the air...

And with that comes local strawberries. Soon enough I'll get to make my favorite salad, adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

Spring Strawberry Salad

1 bag baby spinach
1 container small fresh strawberries
1 container blueberries (not frozen)
slivered almonds to taste
1 bunch basil taken off the stems
your favorite homemade balsamic dressing with a buttload of fresh pepper cracked into it.

Toss all the ingredients together except the dressing- strawberries should be halved or quartered... pass dressing at the table, and enjoy. (Yes, basil goes in like leaves- you may chop in half, but don't chiffonade.)


In other news, classes are coming to an end. My last clinical day was yesterday, and my last lecture is tomorrow. I have exams aplenty for the next two weeks, then I AM DONE for the summer... YAY!