A Few of My Favorite Things

If Oprah gets to choose what her favorite things are, I decided I should be allowed to too.   Here are some reviews of my favorite things.

1. The Baskin Robbins Birthday Club - It really means it's your birthday when you receive a coupon for a free scoop of ice cream from Baskin Robbins. Do you have any idea how much a free scoop usually costs??   I definitely went in for my free scoop of ice cream two weeks ago and while the lady there kind of gave me a dirty look because all I did was get my free scoop, I loved every minute of it.  I've been a member of this club since I was a kid. What's better than free stuff?? Of course! Free ice cream!   I'm also a member of the Coldstone Birthday Club, but unfortunately did not get to redeem my coupon this year. I'll rave about it next year.

2.  The Aerosole Soul Mate - On my search to find shoes for my wedding day, I came across these and was ecstatic and sure that it was through divine intervention that I found my "soulmate" during my pre-wedding season.  If you know me, I am picky about shoes and will not sacrifice my comfort for vanity.   Unfortunately, I didn't ended up wearing these for the wedding because I was told I needed taller shoes, however, I've been wearing these for almost a year.  If you're like me and can't wear heels gracefully, you have got to get a pair of these shoes.  They match with about everything...which might be why I find myself wearing them everywhere, to church, to work, on errands...and believe me they're comfortable!

3. Old Tomatoes Recipe - Too weak to throw my old tomatoes away and fascinated by this simple recipe, I tried it out and boy it was a winner.  Way to revive wrinkled tomatoes right? You will do more than revive them!  This recipe which I randomly found on someone's blog tastes like bruschetta and is super easy to make.   Teamed with a fresh baguette, it can be quite a treat. Don't forget to use the mini Cuisinart, which makes things easier.  The mini Cuisinart is probably the most used kitchen appliance in our household. If you're planning to get married soon, add this one to your registry. There's really no need for a juicemaker, a George Foreman Grill, or a waffle maker.  A Cuisinart, however, you need that
http://figsandwigs.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/what-to-do-with-old-tomatoes/

The Most Unique and Best Bday Gifts

I believe that a birthday can often seem like an ordinary day with some glitter or sprinkles added to it.    How true I've found this to be today and this past weekend. Here I am documenting my 27th big day.  It's an ordinary week, a typical Tuesday, yet I don't want to forget the glitter and sprinkles that I've seen so far.  I've gotten some pretty darn good birthday gifts this week.  Let's start the list... (pictures are included)


1. This weekend I missed my sweet husband for about a day and flew to Boston to party and celebrate a good friend's wedding.  It was a blast, and although I was planning on doing a lot of work, I ended up doing only an hour of it the entire weekend. PRAISE THE LORD.  No wonder why it was so much fun.=)

2. A good out fit. I recycled a hand-me down spring dress (which by the way, someone said looked like a kid's dress) and then spiced it up with the Michelle Obama signature move - a belt.  I'd say good outfits made out of hand me downs should be considered one of Oprah's favorite things. It sure is one of mine!(left)
3. While in Boston for the wedding, I lived the luxurious life by getting to sleep in Marriott's beds. The pillows and bed were really comfy.
4. My Canon PowerShot A520 (which I got as a gift 5 years ago) took some fantastic pictures this weekend (should I go into business?)
5. My professor emailed me my grade for my Epi class yesterday and commented that "You totally rocked the exam!".  Those were her words EXACTLY.  Considering my A from this exam was worth a whopping 30% of my grade, I was pretty ecstatic.
6. I was wished a happy birthday one second after I opened my eyes this morning. My first bday being married=).
7. Got a LOOOONG distance birthday wish from my sista in Singapore!
8. After meeting with my advisor this morning about a proposal I thought would have to be over 20 pages longer, she told me everything was fine and that what I did not have to write 20 more pages in two days. Relief!
9.  Got a parking ticket for parking illegally at UMCP this morning.  Of course=).  When I opened it up, it said, "Warning only" and charged me $0. On it, it wrote that it was a "friendly ticket". I love friendly tickets. 
10. I enjoyed a birthday lunch with my three super fun and funny niece and nephews, my sister, my grandparents, and my momma.  Cupcakes, ice cream, dimsum, and family.  What a good combination.  At the wedding this weekend, the pastor said that he has observed that those that seem to live the happiest lives are those who have a lot of family (at least that's what I heard). How true this is and how blessed and happy I am.  Below is a picture of me, my newest nephew, and my grandma who loves the smell of babies, especially her great grand.

 

Yahoo!

Yahoo!! I am done with my last course and exam of my MPH program.  Everyone, please cheer with me!  Of course, I have so much more to complete in the next day, in the next week, and this month, and of course I have one more semester left, but little victories people, we're celebrating the little things.  And here we go...

1. Epi exam today, was worried for myself, but NOW OVER. Interestingly, I woke up thinking about nondifferential misclassification and bias and all these epi terms. Studying the night before DOES help!

2. My professor brought some quality candy to get us through our 3 hour exam... I mean 2 hours and 30 mins.  

3. I let go of exercising this week and today am not running.  No guilt.

4. My neighborhood friend came over to chill the other day.Nice break from the studying.

5. I yelled in my car today because I was so happy my exam was OVER.  It can feel a little weird, but quite freeing. =)Empty the mind.

6. Tax refunds. Right for our new corvette.

7. Received my free scoop coupon from the baskin robbins birthday club....been a member for how many years?? They should crown me.

Wish me luck over the next week.  Growing up is tough!

Dinosaurs Attacking

I went to volunteer in Kev's class last Friday.  When these kids write about flowers, they title their writing "Flowers". When another wrote about hurricanes, her title was "Hurricanes".  So I tried to teach them to think of interesting titles, ones that would draw people in to want to read their writing.

I told one of Kevin's least focused students to think of an interesting title and so, he changed his title from "Dinosaurs" to "Dinosaurs Attacking".  Brilliant!