Staycation

On April 19, Ryan finished his last day of clinic.  We are so excited! He never has to work for free again! (We hope).  His classmates are spread all across the country and need time to travel so last week was his week off.  We debated going somewhere (Cayman Islands, Orlando, New Orleans, DC) and ended up deciding to have a "staycation" for multiple reasons.  First, trips cost money and that is something we wanted to save.  Second, none of our friends could go with.  Third, we wanted to spend time with our friends.  We ended up eating out every night and had the quality time with our friends that we wanted.

Monday we took family pictures (I am so excited to see them!) and then went out to a local pizza place for dinner with the photographer who is my friend, her husband and another couple from church.

Tuesday we saw a matinee movie of 42 (which is amazing) and to the Carolina Hurricanes NHL game with classmates Ashley and Ross and his girlfriend, Meghan.  The game went into overtime and then into a shootout. AND they won! I've missed hockey.  I haven't been to a game since I was in college. (Which, crazy thought, I graduated 3 years ago now. Where did the time go??)

Wednesday we ended up (planned) in the middle of nowhere North Carolina to a hidden gem called Merchants Millpond.  We again went with Ross and Ashley.  It was a three hour drive but totally worth it! I felt like we were in the everglades in Florida (or what I imagine them to be).  The weather was a perfect, sunny 80 degrees. I could not have asked for a better afternoon! And to top it all off, we finished the day off strong with dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.

 

Thursday was our third day in a row with Ross and Ashley.  

Meghan joined us once again and we went to a Durham Bulls minor-league baseball game.

Friday was another happy day as some of our best friends from NE, Rob and Melissa, came to town for Melissa's cousin's wedding. Saturday was the wedding and her family was sweet enough to invite us as well to allow us more time with Rob and Melissa. It was another gorgeous NC day - absolutely perfect for a Southern wedding full of boots, burlap, and baby's breath.

 

 The ending to the night was perfect as we picked up Domino's Pizza, Dr. Pepper and played some Monopoly Deal and 7 Wonders (our new game obsession) on the king size bed in their hotel room.  And talk about friendship, all four of us then slept in the same bed.  And slept well (for the most part).  Did we say that we love them?

Sunday was just as exciting as the rest of the week.  Maile and I planned a farewell BBQ because most of us from church are graduating this year and moving on.  The weather unfortunately was not as beautiful as it was earlier in the week, but we made due.  Umbrellas saved the hot dogs and a fire helped keep us warm.

I'm still trying to play with and figure out my camera settings so I'm bummed that this picture isn't totally in focus.  

Oh well, it's finally a picture of most of our NC friends!

Our "staycation" was better than almost any other vacation we could have planned.  

I think we are going to miss this place more than we think! The weather at least...

Muddy Puppy

Sometimes when we let Ryno out unsupervised, he runs in the mud and we are prepared with towel in hand.  

And sometimes it's not muddy at all outside yet he comes back looking like this:

We have a suspicion that Ryno went for a dip in the neighbor's pond. 
He sure does look like he had fun.

Sometimes my boys spoon without me while they wait for me to come to bed.

 

Obsessed

I used to read a lot as a child and I loved it. I would get totally immersed in a book. I learned it from my mom, she has always been a reader. But then high school happened and then college and I read maybe 10 (maybe... That's stretching it) books of my own accord in those almost 10 years.

Since then I've read a few books here and there and each time I'm reminded how much I love to read. But I love it so much that it takes over my life. Any minute I can, I am reading. As I was reading "heaven is here" by stephanie nielson (of nienie dialogues) I was reading it on my lunch break, after work in the sunshine and while Ryan was watching basketball. It's not a difficult read but I still finished it in about 3 days while working as well. The problem is that my home life suffers. I have a sink full of dishes, only half the grocery shopping done and a muddy puppy all requiring my attention now. I really need to find a balance.

Okay, okay...

I guess it's time for an update.  I just couldn't bring myself to sit down at the computer for the past two weeks.

Reason 1: We had the entire house to ourselves while the family upstairs was gone for Spring Break.  That meant I got windows - and lots of them!  Real sunlight shining in through beautiful, glorious, large windows. (We live in a basement, remember?).

Reason 2: Spring is here.  Today is actually already too hot for me (80's) but last week was divine.

So you see my predicament in not wanting to be down in the basement staring at our computer.

Due to the delay, the update will now be quick and concise.  I don't have time for details.  I have sunshine and a book awaiting me outside.

THE INTERVIEW

Ryan arrived in Omaha late on a Wednesday night.  Our wonderful friend, Kyle, picked him up and dropped him off at Tommy and Jayme's (who were so kind as to let him stay... again).  Lastly, a third friend, Rob and Melissa, had dropped off a car to let him use during his stay.  Can you say incredibly blessed? Seriously, this is why we're moving back to Omaha.  Three separate very generous friends had everything covered for Ryan's trip.  

(It also seems as though I lied.  You're going to get details because words are just flowing right now).

Ryan's biggest predicament was getting his suit out of the storage unit.  Thankfully, his tote of clothes was near the front and after it was obtained he had the task of ironing it to an acceptable level so as to appear presentable for his interview.  A few unwelcome rusty iron-water spits and a washer and dryer cycle later, it was 1:00 a.m. and Ryan was able to snooze a few hours before his big day.

At 8:30 a.m. Ryan drove to Creighton University to meet with their current residents.  He was elated to find that two of them had facial hair which immediately meant they were cool.  They had a grand old time chatting and touring the facility until Ryan's real interview with the big guns at 10:00 a.m.  I had given him a list of practice questions which he studied diligently on the plane and was therefore ready to rock.  There were multiple people sitting in on this interview - Creighton Faculty and representatives from their two partner clinics, Madonna Rehab in Lincoln and Makovicka PT in Omaha.  It was Ryan's job to "connect" with the site that he was most interested and hope that they liked him back and would select him as their Resident.  He said he gave the best interview he could give and that was all that we can ask for, right?

In fact, this was the first thing I heard from him all day:

 

But really, its Ryan.  Did we expect anything less? People love him.

That night was another great reminder of just what is waiting for us back in Omaha.  Ryan surrounded himself with a table full of friends, wings, and March Madness.  If I hadn't been here in NC with the pup, I'm not sure he would have come back.

Bright and early Friday morning, Ryan drove to Lincoln to tour the Madonna facility.  He LOVED it.  He just wished it weren't in Lincoln.  If he is placed there, he still has to be in Omaha at Creighton two days a week for class so there is a commute no matter where we were to live.  He was kind enough to stop by to see my parents where he finally heard from Makovicka PT that they wanted to meet with him again, as well.  He felt like an idiot when a guy named Joel walked into the interview and introduced himself.  Ryan said something to the effect of, "Oh, are you a PT here, too?" As soon as Joel started talking, Ryan had an embarrassing "DUH!" moment when he realized it was Joel MAKOVICKA - the OWNER.  He also happens to be an ex-Husker football player who played during their 1990's glory days and has multiple national championships to his name.  His massive stature and lunch of pure protein should have tipped Ryan off, but it all clicked just seconds too late.

All in all, Ryan really feels like everything went as well as it could. Like I said, he thinks Lincoln would be a great fit for him, but the commute will wear him down very quickly.  He says he'll have to think pretty hard about it if he's offered that position, but we both know that he'll take it.  Initially, he really wanted to be placed with Makovicka but he's not so sure anymore.  They have a very demanding schedule and it seems like they might have a preference towards students they've worked with already and know their skill level.  But who knows, Ryan's charm and facial hair may have sealed the deal.

So when do we find out? Ugh, that's the bad news.  The Creighton students who applied are in the Dominican Republic on a service trip and aren't scheduled to meet with the sites until May 6 and 7.  The deadline they gave was May 10. That's two days before graduation.  Let's all pray that it will make for a happy graduation weekend.

After all the interview stuff, I made Ryan fly back to me that night because we had signed up for "Color Me Rad" the next day.  It was 7,000+ people arranged in somewhat organized chaos.  We want to do at least one race together a year and this is my kind of race.  There was absolutely no timer and the majority of people were walking.  We did our best to jog the whole thing though, just to feel a little bit better about ourselves.  In the future, we want friends to come with! We tried this time, but we do understand that these type of races are expensive.  But save your pennies, it's worth it!

The Easter Bunny was white when it all started!

Sweenalicious and Wifey

Pictures of the pup

I know, I know. You all want updates on Ryan's interview and our day to day life, but I'm currently still in bed with my cute husband sleeping on his hand like children do when they pretend and my puppy at our feet, hoping we'll get up and let him play soon. So while I lay here and enjoy this moment, I'll let you enjoy some adorable puppy pics. Because its been awhile.

This is Boo, the slightly miniature version of Ryno. 

Post bath.  Pre haircut.

Hoping Dad will save him from the scary trimmers.

Velcro.

Giving Ryan "the paw of love"

ALWAYS on my fabric.  ALWAYS.

Cuddling up with me while Ryan was away.

Waiting to come inside after playing with his friends. He's the BEST.

Something scared him really badly while I was in the shower and he would not come out from under the chair.

"Oh, you want to dry your dishes here? Too bad."

Totally normal.

That was a bad idea.

Ugh, I feel awful right now. 

For two reasons I decided to ignore the doctor's orders not to exercise.

1. Ryan and I have a 5k "Color Me Rad" race next weekend

2. I just feel gross. I don't think I've gained weight, it's just shifted and I feel soft.

and a bonus 3. The weather is too good to resist and we now have sun until 7 p.m.

I got home from work, charged our completely dead GPS watch for 5 minutes, and charged my phone which was down to 30%, changed, grabbed the pup and headed out the door.  Our neighbor told us about some trails near the house so I quickly googled them and went out the door.

The trailhead and parking was only 5 minutes away which is awesome because I miss having a trail that I could enter right from our apartment complex.

Ryno was whining and itching to go while I got the watch set up and tried the Map My Run app for the first time while also running Pandora for music.  (I was trying to download Songza but it wouldn't work.  My friend recommended it and I love it!) And remember how my phone was only at 30%? I really hoped it would last.

Online I saw a 2.5 mile loop and I thought that's all the trail was.  Then I started running and there were forks in the road.  A lot of them.  I didn't know where to go, so I just made decisions as I went.  No one else was on the trail to ask.  I was fairly confident in my decisions until about 2 miles in.  I looked down at my phone (THANK GOODNESS I was using Map My Run. I'm pretty sure that was divine inspiration) and could see that I was not heading back to where I started.  So I turned around and tried another turn that seemed to take me in the general direction I needed.

Shortly afterwards, Ryan called me on his drive home and I had to confess I was lost.  The trails go around a little airport and I was now on the complete other side from where I started.  It was going to be at least another 2 miles in either direction for me to get back to the car.  I decided to stick by the fence surrounding the airport because it looked like it would at least hit a main road.  Well, although people had obviously run along there, it wasn't really a path.  And there were plenty of fallen and overgrown trees cutting my arms and legs as I pushed through.  I got to where I thought I should turn to go to the road and it didn't look like an option.  I called Ryan again this time slightly panicked and asked him to say a quick prayer (or two or three) that I would be able to find my way before dark and before my phone died (it was now at 17%).

I stuck with my gut feeling and headed toward the road.  I had to climb down a rocky path to get to the road, but I made it.  Then I had to run along a busy street with no side walk (thank you, NC) and a dog who was being a total butt and not wanting to run on my left side where he would be away from the road and safe.  Minus the few times I had to stop to find my way, adrenaline kept me running (and by running I mean 10 minute mile pace) the entire way.  

Four miles, a few scrapes, and some puppy vomit later, I made it back to the car.

Ryan made me a delicious healthy salad for dinner and when he went off to play basketball tonight I ate way too many gummy bears.  Now I'm just plain exhausted and my tummy hurts.

Perhaps I should go back to not exercising.

P.S. I very quickly just spewed out this story without rereading it and like I said, I'm exhausted so I apologize if it does not make sense or if there or errors.  But I don't really apologize because I don't really care.

I get these crazy ideas.

Working at a craft store is a brilliant and terrible idea all at the same time.  

Stuff goes on sale, I get big ideas, I buy it and it sits.  

You don't want to know how much craft stuff I have boxed up in our storage unit.  

Or how much I'm starting to collect here.  

I have enough snuggle flannel to make at least half a dozen receiving blankets.  

With 60% off and adorable dinosaur prints, how could I say no?  

Also purchased was enough flannel to make a new "sleep" blanket as the Lukes call it.  

These blankets are the BEST.  

They are called sleep blankets because it is almost a guarantee that if the blanket is on top of you, you will fall asleep.

In case you forgot, this is why I need a new sleep blanket:

 

And this is what the new material will be: 

 

It was hard to find something that was gender neutral, and I know this isn't, but it's adorable!

And finally, my newest insane endeavor.  We are selling our home decor fabric samples for $2 each.  They are about 16" square and some absolutely beautiful fabrics! I first found just a few of each of the greens, blues, pinks and greys and thought they were beautiful together.  So I kept gathering and got a crazy idea.  I'm going to make a quilt out of them.  

And not just a quilt, a queen size-new bedspread-quilt.

 

 Oh, they're soooo pretty! And they have different textures which makes them way more fun than just cottons. 
I got to thinking last night and came up with this design:

 

Then I was thinking about it more today and I think I'm going to turn it into a duvet cover instead of a quilt.  But, I'm also considering other pattern options.  I chose that pattern when I had quilt in mind.  Now that I'm thinking duvet cover, my ideas are expanding.  Oh the possibilities, it's going to be gorgeous!