Baby Shower Treats

This past weekend there was a baby shower for one of our pharmacists at work who is having a baby boy. SO of course I volunteered to make some yummy sweat treats for the occasion. I decided to make chocolate dipped pretzels, bellybuttons, and oreo truffle pops. I was very pleased with how all the things turned out in addition to no complaints from the those in attendance at the shower.

The pretzels were very quick and easy to make and merely just involved melting the chocolate (I used almond bark) and dipping the pretzel in it and sprinkling sprinkled and allowing it to set.

The next tasty treat I made was the bellybuttons. These are just as equally quick and easy to do. The first thing you want to do is to preheat your oven to 275 F. Next, you need to lay out all the pretzels you want on the cookie sheet pan and then add the Hershey Hugs on top (I also made these with Rolo candy and the caramel inside turned out to be a favorite among my friends as well). After the oven is preheated you pop these in the oven for about 3 minutes. You are looking for the Hugs to get a slumped and droopy appearance. After this time you will remove the cookie sheet from the oven and start placing the M&Ms of your choice on top. I chose to use all blue colored M&Ms since she is having a baby boy!

I found these cute colored pails at Target for $1!!

Last but certainly not least (since it was my favorite treat made) are the Oreo Truffle Pops. A friend of mine introduced me to oreo truffles about a month ago and they are AmAzInG!! I was blog surfing during class one day during my free time and saw where some lady had make these cute cake pops on sticks and thought they would be awesome using the oreo truffles. However, this treat is not as quick as the previous two treats and requires a little prep time as well.


First you will need to let the cream cheese sit out for a while to give it time to soften so it will blend more easily with the oreos. Next you will need to crush an entire pack of oreos (or my Walmart Brand Twist and Shouts) very finely. Once the cream cheese is spreadable you can mix all of those ingredients together.

Next, You will need to form the oreos into balls. Once they are in "ball" shapes you can place them in the refrigerator. I let mine stay overnight because I wanted them to be good and hard for when I was going to be dipping them.

The next morning, I took out the oreo balls and was ready to start dipping. First I poured a small amount of candy melts into a microwavable bowl and follows the directions on the package, microwaving in 15 second intervals. Next, I retrieved a lollipop stick and stuck it inside the ball and then proceeded to dip it in the blue colored vanilla coating. Make sure to twirl the pop around to get any excess coating off so that you will not get clumps. Next I added sprinkles to the coating before it could dry and then viola, an oreo truffle pop!

I made a little make-shift pop holder so that my pops could harden while I finished making the rest. All I did was punch tiny holes into the top of a shoe box lid and set that across a cake pan and it did the trick.

I hope that Baby Andrew enjoyed his shower and treats just as much as I did!

What?!?! Spreak Break is Over?

OH NO.....SOMEONE TELL ME I AM DREAMING......SPRING BREAK IS OVER??????

Indeed it is true, the week away from school, the week of sleeping in, the week of laying in my pajamas all day, the week of no studying, and the week of being at home and eating all of their groceries spending quality time with the family is over.

In the cessation of that blissful week of Spring Break, marks the 1st week of 6 in the countdown to the end of my first year of Pharmacy School!! So once again my life will be filled with crazy CVS customers working at CVS, studying all the time, getting up early, not getting to wear my pajamas all day with little to no free time!

However, instead of focusing on reality, I have decided I will prolong it a little longer with a recap of my Spring Break...

It all started with 4 hours of driving down to NC and trying to keep my sanity stay alive because all the 18 wheelers who decided they were either going to try to merge in my lane while I was still in it, or decide to drive beside another 18 wheeler going the same speed for 10 miles. Nonetheless, I succeeded in staying alive, although I left a little of my sanity on I-81. The next day I started my 2 day stay in Chapel Hill with Brunch with my former roomies +Laura's fiance and Amber. Elmo's was our brunch destination of choice and although we had to wait forever to be seated and may have giving the hostess dirty looks when she called a party of 5 before us I could not complain about the food it was yum yum de-lish!

Believe it or not, this is one of the only pictures of all of the roommates together the others were for our Christmas card from last year(see below)...and this is definitely a frame worthy shot! (Thanks Parker!)

Next I headed off to the Carolina Baseball game Double Header with my friend Jamie before heading off to the UNC vs DUKE game in the Dean Dome!! That was such an exciting game and it felt soooooo good to be back in the Dean Dome again to watch my Tarheels play!

We also had a Roxboro Reunion on Franklin Street

After getting about 2 and 1/2 hours of sleep that night Amanda and I had to wake up for church. Playing with children is not as much fun with only 2.5 hours of sleep but I absolutely loved seeing the pastor's kids which I also babysat.

During my trip home, I also got to see Janna and baby Alina, who is growing so quickly!! The next several days followed with me being completely lazy and lounging around the house in my pajamas since Mom and Kris had school and Dad was at work and I had the whole house to myself. However, I also came down with a sinus/headcold infection which was no fun and I felt terrible.

So the highlight of my trip home was definitely the beginning portion but nonetheless it was sooo good to be home and thus the countdown begins.

Giving Up Only To Gain

This past Wednesday marked the start of this year's season of Lent. For the next 40 days, we will be preparing our hearts and minds for Easter and the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through the years, the traditions surrounding Lent have changed and adapted and most individuals give up something that is important in their life. In doing so, one is able to give up something that may be in their way of a stronger relationship with God. Last year, I gave up naps for Lent and the 30 to 45 minutes that I would normally spend napping, I replaced with a devotional or reading from the Bible. Just as Jesus spent the 40 days in the desert in preparation, we spend 40 days in preparation as well. This year for Lent I have decided to give up Soda and Sweets. For those who know me well, know I have a sweet tooth and a Love/Hate relationship with Diet Coke. I absolutely LOVE everything about it and HATE when I do not have it! In giving up these two worldly items, I hope to find myself relying less on worldly possessions and focused more on my relationship with God and in addition turning to prayer when I may be faced with temptations to give in. In this season of Lent, I hope to have the same strength of Jesus when he refused every temptation in the desert.

So Diet Coke and Sweets I will bid you farewell until Easter!

Glitter Shoes

So the past few weeks have been a little crazy as my schedule has been a little overloaded with exams and obligations. However, one of the obligations that I have enjoyed has been with Kappa Psi. We have pledges this semester and I now have a little. For the first 2 weeks of pledging they did not know who their Bigs were and we had to give them gifts with clues as to who we were. Then last week we had a Big/Little Reveal where all the Bigs got their Littles a nice gift. Well, me loving crafts and such decided to go a little DIY with the gift I was going to give my little. So I began searching the web for ideas of what would be the perfect gift. Then I came across these glitter shoes and decided that it would be the perfect gift (and of course I would have to make me some as well) and so the crafting began......




Well what you will need :

* pair of flats (I suggest a canvas fabric since it will adhere better)
* mod podge
* glitter of your choice (I chose a rainbow mixture)

* sponge brush
* acrylic glaze spray

You will begin with coating a small portion of the shoe with the mod podge. Then you will add a good amount of glitter to the area in which the mod podge is located. Then you will tap the excess glitter off of the shoe. You will repeat this process until the entire shoe is covered.

I would allow the glitter and the mod podge solution to dry for at least 25 minutes and then you may repeat with another layer of glitter. I repeated this process for about 3 layers. Then I finished by spraying it with an acrylic glaze spray (do this in a well ventilated area as the smell is VERY strong)



Now you have a cute pair of shoes that will be sure to make your friends jealous :)

Happy Birthday!!!

Special shout out to one of my besties Laura Case as it is the last time she will celebrate her birthday as Laura Case because next year she will be Laura Morgan!!!!!

Happy Birthday!!!! Love you!!!

Blink

Sleep, eat, school, study, eat, work, a little less sleep, eat, school, study, eat, meetings, little less sleep, study, eat, school, study, work, study, sleep if I am lucky. Wash, rinse, and repeat. This has been my life for the past month as we have already hit the ground running. I am spending the majority of my time split between school, studying and work and sleeping tends to fall by the wayside at times. Although it has only a month, I feel like I have been back at school for at least an extra two weeks. 2 exams, 2 Pharmaceutics quizzes, 2 lab quizzes, 1 lab practical, and 1 class fundraiser later I am already on the look out for spring break. Right now I have to use my binoculars as it is in the distant future but I do see its faint silhouette. However, before I can even think about spring break I have 4 more exams, 3 more lab quizzes, 2 more Pharmaceutics quizzes standing in my way.

Just thinking about my schedule ahead got me a little overwhelmed and so I decided to take a study break because of course I have an exam on Monday and relieve some anxiety by surfing the web. One of my friends had told me of this stumbleupon site where you just click the button and it gives you a random webpage for which you can set your preferences. I have mine set to show quotes, music, and art. There were several neat things that popped up today but this image was definitely my favorite.

It made me stop and reflect on my life for a moment and made me analyze my priorities in life. Yes I am here for pharmacy school to become an integral part of a profession that means so much to me......
.......However, if I am not happy while doing it what is its worth? If I do not think positively, how can others around me be positive? If I do not work hard what is the value of my work? If I do not build my faith, how will my principles, morals, and beliefs stand alone with nothing to support them? If I spend my life worrying, I have missed out on life in itself and give strength to my fears and apprehensions.

Life is so short and every day is a blessing! I want to live a life I can be proud of and when I reach that golden old age I do not want any regrets following behind me. I am really inspired by Revive's "Blink" song and will leave you with the verses from the chorus:

It happens in a blink, it happens in a flash
It happens in the time it took to look back
I try to hold on tight, but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life?

The Time has Come the Walrus Said...

To talk of many things; Of pills and pharm calc, and empathy, of anatomy and other pharmacy things!

Winter Break is officially over, as the start of my second semester of my first year of pharmacy school begins tomorrow. WOW, one semester down and 7.5 more to go. I now have snapped back to reality after being at home for almost an entire month. This was the longest period of time that I had spent at my parents house at one time in well over a year and a half. This was quite an adjustment for me in the beginning because I had been so used to living on my own and being in control of situations that I had to transition back into the role of living with my parents again. While I was home on break, I had hoped to read some books for fun since at school I do not get a chance to read much of anything outside of my class powerpoint slides. So I took home my new Lauren Conrad book, "Sugar and Spice" in addition to several Nicholas Sparks thinking that I would of course read all four of the books that I took home and would have an excuse to go to Barnes & Noble and buy a new book....Well, think again I read a whopping 0 books while home, not even turning the first page. Oh well, instead I worked (aka made lots of $$ to save up so I don't have to work as much this semester), visited with family and of course friends. Over break I also got to meet a very extra special little Miss Alina. She is the beautiful daughter of my lovely friend Janna and is one adorable baby girl. I went to see her at the beginning of the break and she was so tiny and I also got the privilege of seeing her again before I had to leave and in those few short weeks in between visits she was much more alert and it made me think of how much she will have changed before I will get to see her again!!! Don't grow too much--- but do grow enough to fit into your UNC onesie I got you ---Go Heels!!

So as this new semester is about to get started I should probably start it off right by being well rested for my first day of classes!!

Welcome 2011

Okay, so I know I win the award for the worst blog poster in this century, but every time I seemed to have a little bit of time to sit and write something, I of course would get distracted by something else (aka would rather take a nap instead). But, hey this is a new year so maybe I will add blogging more to my list of new years resolutions.

Reflection on 2010

WoW...2010 was a year full of lots of change and exciting events!!

* In May 2010, I graduated college... COLLEGE.. COLLEGE?? One milestone crossed off my list already, with a psychology degree under my belt. When I started at UNC in Fall 2007, I thought I had so much time before me and graduating was not even a thought in my horizon. Well, those three years flew by so quickly and made me truly realize how quickly life can pass us by.

* At the end of May I turned 21!!! Yay!! Although, I dont really know what I will be looking forward to when I turn 22 except for becoming another year older.

* This year in August, I also began pharmacy school, in a different state that is 4 hours from home.... Wow, can you say What a Change! I left my comfort zone of Chapel Hill (45 mins from home) and moved to a small town not really knowing anyone. Through this experience, I have become a much stronger individual and really more independent.

* This year has also been a more difficult one for my family with the progression of my grandpa's Alzheimer's Disease. After the first of the year, it became apparent that my nanny would no longer be able to care for him and the family had to make the difficult decision of placing him in an assisted living facility. This has been one of the hardest things I have ever experienced since all of my grandparents are living because in a sense I haven't lost him physically, I have lost him mentally and emotionally because he no longer remembers me or who I am.

As 2010 has now ended, there are several things that I hope for in the year 2011

2011 Resolutions

1. Strengthen my faith -- I would like to continue to develop my relationship with Christ by reading my Bible more and leaning more on Him in the difficult times and praying more often.

2. Become a healthier me! -- Although this is easier said than done on a college students budget, I hope to exercise at least 3 days a week and monitor more what I put in my body ---eating more leafy greens and a little less Ramen noodles :)

3. Let myself love -- let down my guards a little to let people get close.

4. Keeping focused and accepting things as they are -- Staying focused to do my very best in school and accepting things as they come

5. Cook More -- In 2011 I will eat out less (especially less fast-food) and opt to stay in and cook more

I feel if I add anything else to my list, I will only be doomed for failure, so I think that 5 resolutions for 2011 will suffice. In addition, I think by posting my resolutions I will be held more accountable and will be more likely to stick to them. So out with the old and in with the new....Goodbye 2010 and Welcome 2011