What's On My Mind

I have a few things that are just circling my mind lately. Silly things (and, well, some that are not so silly to me), some exciting things, some that are pointless, etc... This is just what is going on with me right now. I am a worrier - I obsess over things - I drive my family crazy sometimes - and I try really hard not to take it all too seriously. Right now I am obsessing over:

1. A Pierce family vacation that is happening in approximately 3 months! It is super exciting because Ben, Lynette, Jeff, and I have a hard time coordinating schedules and planning a vaca together - this year it worked out!! We will be flying into Atlantis. Staying  aboard this beauty...

And spending a week island hopping down to our favorite little spot in the Bahamas known as Green Turtle Cay. 

2. I am dying to sell our home. We have several showings a week and it is wearing me out. Would someone just buy it already?!

3. On a similar note to #2, I am worrying about where we should move next. Suburb or city? I grew up in Collierville (a great suburb of Memphis) but I love East Memphis. I cannot decide. I feel like it is such a huge decision because we plan to stay in this next house for a long time, and this move will more than likely determine where we raise a family. East Memphis has adorable houses built in the 50's that are full of character. Collierville has lovely houses (with pools) and 2-3x the square footage as E. Memphis homes. Such a tough decision. Jeff's says we don't have to worry about it until our house is under contract. I guess he is right.

4. I have the greatest family ever. I love being from a large Italian family. How many times can I say that, right? But I really love them. We just had another cousin dinner and it was great! I love them all!

5. I don't want to have my appendix out. Period. Last month when I had appendicitis my doctor chose to treat with antibiotics and take the appendix out at a later date. This gave me the opportunity to have a laprascopic surgery instead of a huge abdominal surgery. Which I am grateful for. But now I feel fine and don't really want to go back to the hospital for surgery. And here are my reasons: financially, time off of work (that could interfere with my plans for that great vacation I talked about in #1), just having surgery and being in the hospital again, and most importantly it will postpone our fertility treatments (this is really my big reason). So, that is why I don't want the surgery. I'm going to discuss with my MD at my next appointment. 

Okay, so that is about it. I am totally consumed with mostly #1, #2/3, and #5. I know I need to refocus and just roll with it. Trust me, I am trying!

And the birthday celebration continues...

To continue on with my 26th birthday celebration Jeff and I flew down to Tampa last Thursday. We met up with our best friends Sarah and Dylan for a long weekend. (Sarah and Dylan live in NWA and we don't get to see them enough). 

It didn't take long for the party to get started with this crowd. Right after dinner (which was my favorite, Pipo's cuban pork with yellow rice and black beans) we jumped into the hot tub! And even though the pool was freezing we ended up in there as well. We had a great night but headed to bed a tad early so we could get ready for our departure time in the AM.

Friday morning, my actual birthday, we headed over to the marina to jump aboard my dad and Ms. Chris' boat for a little cruise to Egmont Key. This was my first time on Mayone IV - and it was more fun than I even imagined. 

After a 4 hour cruise to Egmont we anchored and jumped on the dingy to ride over to the island. Egmont is a beautiful island that exists as a bird sanctuary for a large part of the year. We played on the beach for a while and took advantage of a few pic ops. 

The crew...

Here's the dingy and the boat in the background - I did not like riding in that little thing (especially with 6 people on board) but it got us safely to where we wanted to go.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset over Egmont with appetizers and happy hour.

Our lovely hosts.

We ended the evening with a steak dinner under the stars and a little birthday party, for moi!

After spending the night on the hook, we headed off to St. Petersburg. I loved St. Pete. Seriously. We strolled around Saturday market and even hugged a few folks that were out celebrating some hug fest they were having, ha! We ended our afternoon walk with lunch at Parkshore Grille.

That night we had a tapas dinner with champagne sangria, so good! And made our way back to the boat for an after party. We left the Vinoy marina early enough on Sunday to get Jeff and I back to Tampa for our flight. 

Like I said in my post yesterday, if the last two weekends are any reflection of how my 26th year will be then I am feeling very optimistic! 

I definitely have some parents that love me quite a lot. Thanks Mom, Wesley, Dad, and Ms. Chris for 2 awesome birthday weekends that were way too much above and beyond. And thanks for all that came and celebrated with!

Hello 26

I turned 26 last Friday. It isn't my favorite age (24 or 25 sounds a tad better to me), but my 26th year has started out so well that I guess I have high hopes. I seriously have had the best two weekends in the history of ever!

My bday celebration started off in Hot Springs, AR the weekend before my actual birthday. My mom, Wesley, Catherine, Alan, Alan's parents (who live in Hot Springs), and my in-laws all met up with us at the horse races. It has been a tradition ever since I turned 18 to spend my birthday at the horse track - it happens to be opening weekend as well which makes it even more fun. 

This year my momma found a beautiful house on Lake Hamilton to rent that could hold us all. We had a great time!! 

Here is our entire group...

I was so excited that Jeff's parents could make the trip - Hot Springs isn't too far of a trip for them so I thought it would be a perfect meeting spot. 

My mom planned the entire thing. I thought it was funny how she was still planning my birthday party at 26. We started on Saturday at the races - no big winners for this group unfortunately. After dinner we continued the party at the house. Jeff and Mike grilled filets and boiled some cajun shrimp, potatoes, and corn. Dinner was amazing to say the least.  

Poor Alan had to work the night before.... so he slept through the party, ha!!

Cindy brought me an authentic King Cake all the way from Louisiana. It was so good - pralines and cream cheese. Loved it! We finished the night with a lot of wine and a failed dance party (Cindy and I were the only participants). 

Only a few of us stuck around for the Sunday races. We had a more relaxed day at the track with a smaller crowd. Jeff and I were the big winners that day with a combine win of over $200. 

We really had the best time at the races this year!! I kind of thought of this party as the chance to celebrate my last week of 25, ha!

I will continue with the rest of the celebration tomorrow...

Apricot-Glazed Pork Chops

I made a new recipe last night - I'm trying to get out of our oh-so-boring grilled chicken with 2 veggies routine. Unfortunately when I try to get creative with dinner I end up cooking something yummy but very fattening. At the request of my husband I have been on the hunt for some healthier recipes. 

For example: instead of my extra cheesy shrimp and grits recipe (that calls for 8 oz of white cheddar cheese), I made a healthier version that only uses shrimp, grits, green onion, red peppers, and some hot sauce. Saved us many calories and still very good! 

Last night I felt a little fancy cooking this new pork chop recipe I found, but it was so easy and really took only 30 min. 

To start I microwaved 1/2 butter squash (cubed) in 1/4 c. of water - covered with vented plastic wrap for 8 min, stirring half way through. Watch out for the steam because it burns, trust me I am still feeling my burn today. 

While that was cooking I seasoned 3 pork chops with thyme, salt, and pepper. Then I pulled out my brand new Canon Rebel T3i (yay!) and tried to go all Pioneer Women with pics of my progress. 

After the squash had cooked I added 1 c. of couscous to the bowl and an extra 1 1/2 c. of water. Re-covered and microwaved again until the couscous had absorbed all the water and softened. 

I heated olive oil on med-high heat in my skillet and cooked my pork chops about 3 min on each side. Once those where browned on each side I added 1 small sliced red onion on top and cooked until soft. Once the onion is soft add in 2 tbsp of dijon mustard and 2 tbsp of apricot jam. Cook for 6 min. 

Serve the pork chops and onions over the butternut squash and couscous mixture. And enjoy!!

I love this recipe and it is now in my recipe book as a keeper.

By the way, I got this recipe and the healthier shrimp and grits recipe from Good Housekeeping (thank you Kelly for my subscription - I love it)!

De-Railed

Wow, where have I been?? Seriously, my 6 day hospital stay got me out of my routine for a while. I hate that feeling - so unorganized and so unproductive. But today I have been working on getting back on track and it feels good! 

I have been gone from the blog so long that I have been leaving out some serious events that have been happening here in Memphis. Like:

First thing first, at the beginning of December Alan proposed to Catherine!!

The Saturday that Alan proposed was the day of our Boldreghini family Christmas party. Catherine was so beyond angry at him for not being able to come to the party - he had lied to Catherine and told her he couldn't get off of work for the night. Little did she know that her future-in-laws had come in from out of town and were on their way with Alan to the party. We had some how gotten Catherine out on the back deck when Alan arrived and the family snuck him down to the basement. Alan climbed the spiral stairs to surprise Cat out on the back deck. She was shocked!! Alan proposed to Catherine while our entire family, including his parents, watched from the glass doors inside the house. So sweet!! 

Now we are in complete wedding planning mode and it is so much fun, of course!

The weekend after the Boldreghini family Christmas party Jeff and I packed up and headed to Dallas for the Beede family Christmas. We stayed with our sweet friends Shane and Abby. We had a great time with the family and of course loved celebrating the holidays with our beautiful nieces.

Once we got back from Dallas my appendicitis started acting up and before I knew it we were chilling in my much hated hospital room. Jeff and I celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the hospital. (I know this picture is absolutely terrible, but this was us on Christmas Eve. I was miserable!)

I really  missed my family so much this year. It was my first year ever to not spend Christmas in Pickwick, but I did skype in and get to see all of the Pierce's and my Grandpa, the Beer Bitch, (if you need to catch up on what the beer bitch is then read this post from a couple of years ago, it explains). Skype was so bitter sweet because I was so happy to see my family but it made me so sad that I was not there. Unfortunately Christmas just didn't seem like Christmas this year - but that means that next year can only be better, right?

I was so glad to be out of the hospital, be feeling better, and celebrating the new year with my sweet husband on New Years Eve. I cannot wait to see what 2012 brings us!!

So that's a little bit of what has been going on. Now I am just getting back into the working world, settling back into our normal routine at home, and preparing for a few planned trips this month to celebrate my upcoming birthday. So glad to be feeling healthy and back to normal!

A Non-Traditional Christmas

This year Christmas is a little different for us, to say the least, ha! Instead of being at my momma's for Christmas Day or in Pickwick tonight on Christmas Eve with the Pierce family ... we are in the hospital. Sad, I know. I am in here for a ruptured appendix. 

It all started early in the week. I was having bad abdominal pain - but being the health care worker that I am I just brushed it off for a few days. Finally on Wednesday afternoon the pain was so severe that I knew something was just not right. Jeff and my mom took me the ER that afternoon and we have been here ever since. 

I was suffering from appendicitis and sometime before I came into the hospital my appendix ruptured. I have not had an appendectomy yet - we are going this newer route with antibiotic treatment for several days and the surgery in a few months. I am really glad that we are going to postpone surgery because if I had surgery now the surgery would be very invasive, difficult, and leave me with a large scar down my stomach. Waiting until all of this ruptured business is cleaned up gives the doctors the opportunity to go in and perform a quick and easy laparoscopic appendectomy (with just 3 tiny incisions).   

So that's where we are... in the hospital... on Christmas Eve.

My family and friends and co-workers have been beyond amazing! I am so thankful for all of them. I feel like almost everyone I work with has come and seen me this week. After meeting them, my family keeps commenting how wonderful my unit is and how lucky I am to work with such great people (but I already knew that)! My family has come up and celebrated Christmas with me (Dad and Ms. Chris with Ben and Lynette yesterday and Mom and Wesley today). 

And can I just say how thankful I am for my sweet, sweet husband. He has surprised with how over-and-beyond caring he has been for me this week. He has stayed with me every night (and practically all day too), he does just about anything I ask, he has been so thoughtful and has truly made this difficult week bearable. I just love him with all of my heart. I am officially nominating him for Best Husband While Wife is in the Hospital Award. Thank you so much, Jeffrey, you are too good to me. 

Just because I am in the hospital doesn't mean I am lacking in any holiday decor. My family has really made sure that I still felt like it was Christmas!! Wesley brought me a Christmas tree and Catherine and Mom decorated with lights and girly decorations. I have lighted garland that sits on my window seal. And Christmas throws for my bed. I love it!

Plus, I have had many beautiful flowers deliveries. Several of the staff on this unit have come in just to see my room. It's just that pretty and Christmas-sy!

This is definitely not where I would choose to be today or tomorrow (or ever, really), but I am thankful for such wonderful nurses and doctors that are taking good care of me. I am thankful for recovering as well as I have been. I am praying for continued improvement and a discharge date very soon. 

Merry Christmas!

My Grandmother

My Grandma Pierce, my dad's mother, passed away several years ago (right after I turned 2). She has always held a special place in my heart and ever since I can remember I have always felt a close connection to her. She was a beautiful woman and I miss having her as a part of my life dearly. 

I have never had many of her things - to have as a part of her memory - maybe a few pieces of costume jewelry that my grandfather gave me as a teenager. Well, a few years ago my dad gave me something to cherish. In 2008, just before my wedding, my dad gave me my grandmother's wedding ring as a gift. Talk about something to cherish!! I now wear her wedding band every day of my life. I love it. I knew that I didn't have much of hers but that ring was more than enough. It is precious to me. 

Well, the other weekend I got another item of my Grandmother's... I was able to bring home her hope chest. Her chest was at the lake house (actually sitting outside in the storage room for years). It was kind of falling apart and really dirty, but I knew that it would be a very meaningful addition to my home. 

It is home with me now and after several coats of furniture polish it is looking pretty good!

It is now sitting at the end of our bed. I will one day restore it completely. But for now I am loving it! It makes me happy to have just another piece of my Grandma Pierce close to me. Warms my heart!