hp

I have been in need of a new laptop for years. Seriously. The only one I had ever bought was almost 6 years old by the time I left Botswana, and stayed behind with a local friend there. So I got to the States with the plan to buy a new one ASAP, but then got an excellent offer from Mom. She was no longer in need of her 5-yr-old laptop and was willing to send it my way. And since it worked, and saved me hundreds, I gladly accepted! And it's served me well for over a year now...

But with grad school on the horizon, and the fact that my current one would freeze up if more than 2 programs were opened at once... it was time to make a move.

So I've been shopping... and shopping... and shopping some more. I'm that kind of shopper that will research and know everything about every little option before deciding on one. Plus, the idea of putting that big of a dent in our checking account makes me continually think along the lines of- do I reeeally need this??  But luckily, Leo stepped in while we were in California and gave me a deadline. Basically, he made the deal with me that if I hadn't bought something by this Tuesday, he was going out Wednesday and buying the first thing he found. I'm guessing he was getting sick of the "What do you think of this one??" questions.

So on Tuesday-- I went and invited this little guy into our family.

 

Awww... cute, right??  His name is hp.  (and that doesn't stand for Harry Potter.)

I tried to get the sales lady to sweeten the deal with a free external hard drive, or backpack, or wireless mouse, or something-- but no luck. I guess my market-developed negotiating skills have gotten rusty...

Slowly but surely, I'm copying, and backing up, and bringing files over from old to new. And so far, I'm really liking all the new bells & whistles. I guess it was time to upgrade from Windows XP, right?

 

California Girl.

Leo and I ventured west last week, and had a wonderful time exploring San Francisco & Yosemite National Park! It was the first time either of us had been to California, and even as we sat at our gate at DFW International, we were considering making it a one-way trip. They kept flashing the current temp in SF as 62 degrees. I honestly couldn't even fathom what that would feel like... We had packed jackets, but the idea of actually using them was hard to imagine.

But as we walked into the San Franciscan air, it was actually CHILLY. And we were in love.

We saw it all, ate it all, enjoyed it all.

We spent about 3 days total in the city and surrounding area, and I loved every second of it! It's definitely a city, with houses packed in super tight and very little green to be seen. But then suddenly, you'll turn a corner and there's a park! Or the bay! The little bursts of nature, the fact that so many people ride bikes/scooters/public transport, not to mention the SEAFOOD make this one of my favorite cities yet. SO. MUCH. FUN.

And then-- Just we were all amped up on bayside awesomeness, we grabbed a rental car and drove east-- to Yosemite!

I have always dreamed of visiting, and it did nothing but impress. I honestly have seen nothing like it in my life.

We got to break in some new camping gear, enjoy the absolutely breathtaking scenery, see some of the largest trees (and rocks!) on the planet... it was unbelievable. With only 2 days in the park, we definitely didn't see it all- but an excellent sampling for sure. And again- UNBELIEVABLE.

And it was nearly an injury-free trip! (keyword = nearly) On our last day in the park, I decided it would be a brilliant idea to try and cross a river using some deceivingly stable looking rocks. Well, they weren't so stable, and I ended up landing smack in the middle of the water- resulting in some extremely wet britches and a moderately scraped shin. Luckily, we had packed the first aid kit thinking "if we pack it, we definitely won't need it." But an antiseptic towelette and a few bandaids later, I was good as new!

As we boarded our flight to come home, I kept asking Leo: do we reeeeally have to go back?? And he assured me that yes, Keebler would die without us. *sigh* So we boarded, started out onto the runway... and the power died. Yep- all lights, air & music inside the plane suddenly went out. Everyone looked around, clearly trying to decide if we should be pulling an emergency slide, and that's when the captain came over the intercom. "Ladies & gentlemen, we seem to have lost auxillary power. No need to worry. We'll have it back up in no time and be on our way." Hello?? No need to worry? I think the guy in front of us said it best: "It's just electricity folks. Planes don't need that, right?" But the captain kept his promise and rebooted it asap, and it was an uneventful flight from that point on.

We were greeted yesterday by the hottest day in Dallas so far this year, and our sinuses are still trying to decide if they want to be on our side, but it is good to be home.

There are so, so many more pictures that can all be seen HERE.  --Except for the river dunk/scraped shin episode- which somehow went undocumented. Terribly sorry.

Baylor, baby!

In case you missed the excitement on facebook, I got some rather large news last week-- I have been accepted into the Baylor Family Nurse Practitioner program! :-D

I applied way back in March, and was put on the waiting list. But I tried not to take it too personally because they take only 24 students a year and give priority to the full-timers. (I'm going part-time.) BUT I was #1 on the waiting list. So I prayed and prayed for several months that someone would either get knocked up or suddenly get transferred to Canada... and apparently it worked! I got the email on Tuesday, and I just so happened to be at work. So all of my colleagues got to "enjoy" my FREAKOUT. There was screaming, dancing, bursting into multiple musical numbers... it was awesome. Baylor was my absolute #1 choice, and I am so, SO excited to go! The more I learn about the program, the more positive I am that it was made specifically for me. It centers around international & missionary nursing. And there's a course somewhere close to the end of the program where I can go on a humanitarian trip (probably to Africa!) and get clinical credit!! Clinical credit for something I'd do for fun anyway?? Yes, please.

I am a bit nervous about a few changes-- namely the mountain of debt we'll be in by the end of it and the lack of free time throughout the program. But I have no doubt that Leo & I can handle it.

Not sure what'll come next in our "life plan"- but this is a pretty great 1st step!

A Cranky Holiday.

Last night at exactly 2:57am Leo & I woke up to the sound of a siren. At first, it sounded a bit like car alarm, but as I glanced out the window, I also noticed a strobe light- which was a little concerning. So we went out to investigate and discovered two things: 1) the source of the disturbance was a fire alarm on the outside of the next building over and 2) we were the only ones who seemed to care. I had no idea there even were external fire alarms on these buildings, and I've definitely never heard one go off! And seriously, not even one other person was looking out a window or outside in their PJ's like us. We could hear sirens all around us, but it seemed like they couldn't get in the gate- which wasn't exactly a big deal because there wasn't an actual fire. No flames, no smoke-- just a super annoying alarm.

So we went back upstairs and I called the after hours maintenance number. I just wanted to make sure someone knew what was happening over here. And the maintenance guy confirmed what I suspected: the alarm was malfunctioning, and they were trying to get the fire department inside to fix it. And they took their sweet time. We sat there, lying in bed, listening to the alarm for nearly 3 HOURS. I glanced at the clock as it finally shut off-- at 5:32am. ...and I said a little thank you to God that I didn't have to work today.

And while I fought it the whole time, that nocturnal disturbance and severe lack of sleep has made me one cranky girl today. We had a pretty decent afternoon, and after determining that making it to any firework shows would be out of the question-- they all start at 9:30pm, and we both have to get up super early tomorrow-- we decided on going to see the new Transformers instead.

We got there, found our seats, watched a couple of previews and finally got the feature presentation- and that's when I discovered an issue. The little girl behind me. Apparently her parents had thought it was a brilliant idea to bring their 3-year-old to see Transformers. And she was, of course, bored out of her mind (and scared senseless at times) and chose to voice her frustration by repeatedly kicking her chair/ mumbling loudly/ throwing her candy/ making me CRAZY. The movie was actually surprisingly funny, and pretty darn entertaining, but that little girl made the whole 2.5 hours miserable. The parents did NOTHING to stop her and didnt seem to notice whatsoever. But us and the people around us did. Everyone kept turning, several people said stuff, and the second time I was hit in the head with flying candy, I even turned around and couldn't help but exclaim: "Seriously?!" It was unbelievable. I only wished I had candy to throw back. (at her parents)

I get that you want to have family time. I'm all about family time. But hey- instead of spending $10 each for tickets, why not stay home, pop in a family-friendly DVD and let her throw candy from the comfort of her own sofa?? Or better yet- get a freakin' babysitter.

They're lucky they ran out of the theater the second the credits started to roll...


Happy Birthday, America! I hope to celebrate this evening by getting at least 8 hours of sleep. 

Now that's better.

I never liked the old design of this place... so I updated! Green and brown with little leaves and a touch of orange?? I feel much more at home now.   :)

Still tweaking & adding here and there- but just wanted to brag about the fact that I now know how to open a zip file. Yeah, that's right-- A ZIP file.