Greg, Amelia & Gwyneth

Monday, July 6, 2009

Fabulous Fourth

The 4th of July was a 4 day event this year. There is no denying that Chicago is an awesome city in the summer. Greg had Thursday and Friday off so went to the Tast of Chicago and RibFest. Basically our entire weekend revolved around food, and that was okay by me!

We did a little eating....

and a little playing....

and then we ate some more....

Happy 4th of July!

Friday, July 3, 2009

If a tree falls in your backyard....

....does it make a sound?

Apparently not. I was in the kitchen washing dishes, no more than 20 feet away, and I didn't hear a thing.

It wasn't actually the entire tree, but it was a 40 ft branch and it nearly fell on our house!

Unfortunately, this one central branch falling was enough to through off the "balance" of the tree. Meaning we are at great risk for other branches falling directly onto our house....not good. We talked to an arborist (aka tree doctor) and were informed that the ENTIRE tree will have to come down. I am actually very upset about the situation.

Our poor lopsided tree will be coming down shortly. But we will be planting TWO new trees to replace it :)

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Milwaukee

Last week I traveled to Wisconsin for a 3 day review class meant to prepare me for the FNP board certification exam. On Wednesday afternoon I drove 2.5 hours from Chicago to Milwaukee so I could be up bright and early Thursday morning for class that STARTED at 7:30am! This is pretty early for me considering the earliest I get up these days is around 8am, when I drag myself out of bed and barely make it to yoga by 8:30.
There were over 100 people attending the seminar and I was shocked to see several other young new nurse practitioners just like myself! Most of the women I went to school with had all worked as nurses for several years and then decided to go back to school, very few under the age of 30. But this was not the case in Milwaukee, I met plenty of women in their 20's crazy!
Anyway, the class was very intense 8 hours of lecture and review questions all day every day...yuck! I missed Greg TERRIBLY. It was the first time we'd been apart since the wedding and I did not enjoy it.
I've determined I definitely do not like traveling alone, it is lonely, go figure. Wisconsin is an okay place, a little weird with all the strange city names like Waukesha, Waunakee, Kewaskum, and my all time favorite Oconomowoc. Ha! I would maybe consider going back, but not for another review seminar, and next time I'd bring Greg of course!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Waiting...

The process of becoming and licensed and certified Family Nurse Practitioner is long and tedious!!! I am starting to go a little crazy. The first step obviously is graduating. Done, check, no problem. It's everything after graduation that takes FOREVER. I sent in my application to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) literally the day after I graduated, along with my transcripts and all other supporting documents. The ANCC has to review my application, confirm that I am not a psychopath, and then they will give me permission to take the certification exam and a "window to test" . Then I can schedule the exam any time in the next 90 days. Well it's been a month and I haven't heard anything about a test date! To make matters worse, I can't get a state nurse practitioner license until I have scheduled the exam. That is the only reason I am sitting on my butt and not at work right now!!!

I just called the ANCC to see what the heck is taking so long and they told me they had not received my transcripts. IMPOSSIBLE! I even got a confirmation from U of A that they had been delivered. Then I finally put two and two together. My last name was throwing everyone off. My transcripts say PIRASTEHFAR and my application says POLHEBER! I included my marriage license with my application so they could see I really was the same person but apparently they hadn't figured it out! So frustrating! I just got off the phone with a very rude woman but she promised to make a note in my file. It sounds like I might be able to have a "window to test" by next week...but I don't want to get my hopes too high. Once I get my window I can schedule the exam, drive to Springfield and get a state license, and hopefully start my job (after completing massive amounts of paperwork required by my employer). Boooo!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Back to reality

We got back from Costa Rica about 2 weeks and we're slowly trying to get our life back in order. It is great to be home! Living out of our suitcases for nearly 3 weeks was pretty exhausting! I really missed our dogs, being able to do laundry, sleeping in our bed, and just laying on the couch doing nothing.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like we've just been vegging out since we got home. We've actually been very productive trying to conquer all our home renovation projects. Some of the major improvements include the installation of 3 new ceiling fans, demolition of the nasty tile around our fireplace, a new cornice board for the bedroom (hand made by ME), assembly of a new dining room table, installation of cabinetry in our mud room and laundry room for extra storage, LOTS and LOTS of yard work (primarily tree trimming and weed killing), and I've been making an effort to frame some our millions of wedding pictures.

Actually, we've been incredibly busy. I think Greg and I have trouble relaxing.

Aren't the new fans beautiful!?! I love them! I put one up but Greg had to do the other two, they are pretty heavy.

I made a cornice board for our bedroom out of a bedskirt. It was the only way to make it match our duvet cover (below). Now I just need to find some nice flowy white drapes. I promise to posta full bedroom shot once I get the whole room put together...it's just not quite ready yet :)