Sunday, August 29, 2010

a candle in gelato

I cannot put into words how incredible my twenty sixth birthday was, but I will try. Oh, will I try.

Friday morning saw me tearfully clutching the score sheet of my CEN exam, searching and (finally) finding the word "congratulations" at the bottom of the page, punctuated not by an exclamation (which I think would have been more appropriate), but by a period. Just a "no big deal, we knew you'd pass" itty bitty dot at the end of the word. And just like that, the weight was lifted -- the anxiety that had been sitting heavy on my shoulders for the past few weeks, with all of the hours spent studying cranial nerves and AV blocks, the multiple trips to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Starbucks, melting away at the assurance that, come Monday, I will have three more letters tacked on to my nametag, assuring the world that yes, I am certified in emergency nursing.

Immediately from the testing center, I met up with Jimmy for a quick lunch (out of all the restaurants at our disposal on a Friday afternoon, nothing sounded quite as delicious as Chick Fil A), I ended up perusing the racks at Nordstrom in search of a cute dress for that evening's upcoming celebratory happy hour, which I found along with a few other unnecessary0but-necessary purchases. I got my eyebrows threaded, and visited my birthday present at the apple store, got my car washed (and a free wash for next time), and headed home to get ready for the celebration.

And Friday night found us siting in the back corner of the patio at Trudy's relishing in cold drinks and good company. Later, we made a game-time decision to continue the night at Highball for bowling and (later) karaoke. It was an amazing night full of ridiculous laughs, wonderful friends, and pure, unblemished relief.












And when I got home on Friday night, I found these on the counter:




He picked each of the flowers out himself. *Swoon*

Saturday morning, Jimmy and I slept in and woke up slowly before heading to Magnolia Cafe, anticipating long wait times and stifling heat. We were pleasantly surprised by the results of the cool front that had moved in over the past few days, and that we secured a table in less than twenty minutes. French toast, a buttermilk cherry pancake, and the Texas Benedict (eggs benedict with sausage and biscuits instead of the standard ham and english muffin? Smothered in chipotle hollandaise? Accompanied by homefries and strawberries? For that, a resounding and mouth-watering enthusiastic nod of the head) served as the fuel that would power us through the rest of the amazing day.

We headed up north to the outlets (buying two new pairs of sunglasses to replace my absolute favorite pair that recently snapped in half) and to IKEA, where we threw elbows in attempts to make it to the Home Office section. After much debate, we braved the check-out with a brand new seventy-eight inch long white desk to go along one wall of the West Wing. And my some miracle, we fit all seventy-eight inches of it into Jimmy's Honda Accord and I promised Jimmy that I would never again make him come to IKEA on a Saturday.

And then, the baby. Some girls on their twenty-sixth birthday dream of a bouncing little bundle of giggles and smiles little tiny onesies. Me? Not so much. After hours of labor (literally, working...in order to pay for the freakin' thing) and discussing name options (Jimmy, of course, wants to name it "Kevin Garnett"), we brought home the newest member of our family, a beautiful, functional, uploads-pictures-like-you-wouldn't-believe twenty-seven-inch iMac names Maela.

And the festivities reached their pinnacle at The Duchman Family Winery and Trattoria Lisina in Driftwood. We sampled amazing wines and incredible food, topping the evening off with honey lavender/cinnamon/hazelnut gelato with a candle.
















I know you're not supposed to tell what you wished for, or it won't come true, but I'm also not very superstitious, so although it sounds lame and incredibly cliche, I wished to always feel as full of joy as I did in that moment, celebrating the advancement of my mid-twenties surrounded by people I absolutely adore.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

carrying this torch


In three days, I will test for my board certification in emergency nursing. I have been putting this test off for three years, and I have finally plunked down the money and set the date for the day before my twenty-sixth birthday. That way, I will (hopefully) start off the second quarter of my (hopefully) hundred years with a few extra letters on my name tag and the weight of finally quitting the excuses and taking it will be over, once and for all. Hopefully.

And Friday afternoon will find me in a (hopefully) celebratory mood, drinking a margarita and eating chips-with-green-salsa-and-ranch at Trudy's with good friends, gearing up for a Saturday of furnishing the West Wing (our guest bedroom -- not named after the political location, but instead from the catch-all location of forgotten-but-still-important items on Beauty and the Beast) and (hopefully) purchasing our soon-to-be brand-new iMac. Yes, the next time I post, I will (hopefully) be sitting at our new desk on our new computer.

You know when you say a word so many times that it sounds foreign, and you're convinced that it has no meaning? That's a little how I'm feeling with the word "hopefully" right now.

For my birthday, my wonderful parents bought me a sewing machine. The idea came after working on my Carnival costume with my mom during a weekend home, when she decided that at twenty-five-soon-to-be-twenty-six, I needed the means to make my own projects -- costumes and curtains and pillows and whatnot. I couldn't have agreed more, and now my basic-but-with-a-few-fancy-frills sewing machine is sitting on our kitchen table, soon to be moved to the new desk in the West Wing.

My amazing Aunt Beth took me under her wing this summer at the lake and taught me some basics of sewing and quilting, and our dining room is now the staging area for Quilting Project Number One. It seems to be coming along, though we'll see what happens when I go to put it all together. That grand experiment will coming soon, after this test is over and done with.

My friend and former co-worker, Meljan, graciously took me on a photo walk around Austin's very own South Congress last week (when I should have been studying, yes, I know) to work on shooting with my prime lens. He made a earth-shattering discovery about why some of my low-light pictures turn out blurry (no follow through! I should know this from basketball. Oh wait...), and we had a great time wandering around amongst the kitsch and the funkiness and the particular culture that is South Austin.

So, here's to birthdays and milestones and certifications and breakthroughs and general arts and crafts and Austin and to the bison and sweet potato shepard's pie I made earlier this afternoon that's baking off in the oven.

And to an evening of studying like you wouldn't believe.





My very first bobbin!


All coming together














Saturday, August 14, 2010

hands in the air

I cannot stop listening to "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. It's embarrassing. In a month, I'm going to look at this post and shudder, both because it's a terrible song and the fact that I'm sure to hear it somewhere between seventy-five and one-hundred-thousand times between now and then on the radio.

I'm back.

Sadly, July is over, and with that comes the end of vacation. Minnesota was wonderful and Trout Lake was splendid, and now it's back to the grind of twelve hour shifts and figuring out what to make for dinner.

There are not enough words to describe Trout Lake. Anyone coming in from the outside would be appalled at the rusticity of it all -- chipmunks in the cabin, toilets on a slant, sand everywhere -- but there is such a comfort in knowing that every year, very little changes. Spending two weeks with quite possibly the most wonderful family on the face of the earth (even though we do tend to drive each other nuts once in awhile, but then again, doesn't every family?) becomes even more important as the years go on. There is no telling where we will all be at this time next summer, so we must relish every single moment together.

As hard as it was to leave the lake, there is somewhat a relief to return home to a routine. I always feel that when I come home from vacation that I will be a changed person, but I always end up quietly sliding back into old habits and known comforts -- relaxing on the couch, watching Jersey Shore (this has got to be the trashiest and most incriminating post yet), going to Crossfit, meeting friends for happy hour, coming home from work to a husband who loves me.

But I do miss The Lake.

When we come to TLC, we overtake TLC




Hanging out at Maple






Mis Padres


The Triple-Decker Hilda Burger -- instantly nap-inducing


Rawr!


This is only a small portion of the brats grilled to perfection this year


Sneakin' a taste


Waiting for brats!




Snack Bar deliciousness




The Streff Kids


Baby Liam


Baby Mason




"Diapering"














Only 337 days until Trout Lake 2011!