Kirkland's, Marshall's, and the Maxx

Yesterday, after spending the whole morning cleaning, I went out for a mini-'shopping' trip. I wasn't actually shopping for anything, but just thought I would share some of the things that I came across.

 I found this tunic at Marshall's for only $16.99, compared to this tunic at BCBG online for $248! Though it's a little too short on me to be a dress, I think it would look cute as a dress if you have shorter legs, or even with leggings! The graphic design was pretty and the tie at the waist makes this very figure-flattering!

I found these lovely pink and green party napkins at TJ Maxx. If I had a reason to buy them, I would have! The picture doesn't do the colors justice. Approximately $7 for both packs.

Now that my final exams are over, I can go back to being obsessed with the Royal Wedding! I found these two magazines at Target yesterday, opting out of Us and a couple of others that were filled with Hollywood news that I honestly don't care about.

This lovely blue dresser was at Kirkland's on sale yesterday. Not as wide as a normal dresser, so it would be great as a hall table or in any room, really! Again, the picture doesn't do the color justice.

I am now finished with my first year of pharmacy school. I don't think it has hit me yet, even though I am home and don't have anything at all to study for the first time since last August! The year flew by so quickly and it's hard to believe that this first year is complete. My first rotation begins next Monday at an outpatient hospital pharmacy. The rotation that all first-year pharmacy students at my college of pharmacy complete after their first completed year is a community pharmacy rotation. Many of my classmates will be doing rotations at grocery stores, chain pharmacies, and independent pharmacies. I can't wait to get started and hopefully apply a lot of the things that I have learned over this past year!

Have you ever had your nails done by an electrical engineer?

I have! I'll get to that later...

Though the most challenging week of the semester is about to begin, I feel refreshed after spending a weekend at home with my family!

I hurriedly left school on Friday after bombing a final and headed straight home to see mom and dad. The traffic was awful for about half of the drive and it rained almost the entire day. After a longer-than-normal ride, I arrived home to my mom and dad's welcoming arms! I spent most of Friday evening studying and preparing for one of my finals this week while watching TV with mom and dad. We watched an improv show (Improv-a-ganza?) with Drew Carey and some of the cast from Whose Line is it Anyway?, one of our family's favorite shows. We laughed so hard while watching it! Check it out on the game show channel if you get a chance.

On Saturday, my dad had to play Easter Bunny at church, so what did my mother and I do? No, we did not go sit on the bunny's lap. We went for mother/daughter mani/pedi time! It was so relaxing and fun, and I convinced my mom, a classy lady who always likes to stay neutral or dark red in her polish colors, to do a brighter red to welcome the spring and warm weather. I went with a bright pink to match my Easter dress. Our manicurists (two men) were rather chatty, and we learned that the salon was a big family business and that they all were from Vietnam. I discovered that my guy graduated from Clemson 10 years ago and now lives and works full time as an electrical engineer in a nearby city. He comes home on the weekends to work at the salon since it's his family's business. What a change from Friday to Saturday?! Electrical engineer by day, manicurist by weekend. He did do a most wonderful job. I guess engineers pay attention to detail, even when it comes to painting nails!

Mom and I then headed to our favorite spot, TJ Maxx. We were there for nearly 2 hours. We made our usual turn about the store - finding clothes, trying on clothes, finding shoes, trying on shoes, and then on to our favorite part - home decor! We went up and down every aisle (twice on some). They had quite a few finds on the clearance aisles. We found several beautiful plates and glasses and pitchers at very low prices! Since I'm moving to a new apartment soon, we were also perusing for potential new decorations, and got some ideas of things to use. I also got some ideas of things to add to my shopping list, things that I will need in my new apartment! We always find so many neat things in the Maxx, especially when we put our heads together!

We headed over to Lowe's after that to pick up dad's birthday present. He wants a stoop or deck or something of that sort for his shop, so mom and I made our best attempts to pick out the necessary materials for him at Lowe's. Hopefully he will not be angry that he has to assemble his own birthday present! 

We then headed home and made tacos and ate with dad. After eating, we headed to my aunt and uncle's house since my cousin and his wife and daughter were visiting from Cincinnati. We don't get to see them often since they have moved up north, but we are thankful that we were able to spend time with them last night. We helped my 2-year-old cousin dye easter eggs and it was quite amusing! After a while we started drawing on them and mixing them in different colors. After playing and coloring and tickling parties with my little sweet cousin, we headed back home. I did some more studying and watched some great HGTV shows and then we all went to sleep.

On Sunday, we went to church together and heard a GREAT sermon. The pastor made an analogy about how the 'stone' in front of Jesus tomb wasn't limiting to him and that he was able to get out of the tomb without depending on someone ("man") to move it for him, and that as Christians, we have 'stones' or obstacles in our lives that seem impossible to us. But God is capable of handling our seemingly impossible obstacles for us and that we can live confidently knowing that God will help us to get through those challenges! It was very empowering.

After service, mom, dad, and I went to my grandmother's for our traditional easter lunch. My other baby cousin kept us laughing the whole time and thought that everyone at the kids table was a different superhero. Somehow, I was designated as catwoman?! We then took him outside and hid easter eggs for him and had a blast watching him look for them and find them!

After a long afternoon, I went home and had a short nap and said goodbyes to mom, dad, and boyfriend. It is always so tough to leave home, and I cry every single time, but I am so thankful for my family, even if they are a few hours away from me, and for the support that they provide for me.

I am so thankful for a blessed Easter, with my family and my boyfriend, and for another chance to recognize and celebrate the sacrifice that the Lord made for me.

Decisions

1. I need to do more community service.
2. I need to stop online shopping instead of studying.
3. I need to stop getting sunburned, even though it is unintentional. 
4. I need a job.
5. I need to stop procrastinating.
6. I need to learn to not be so hard on myself. 
7. I need to do really well on my test and final this week. 
8. I need to hear that just because I don't do well 100% of the time on every single thing in school that it is okay and that one day I can still be a great pharmacist.

It's been a while!

It's amazing the things that you want to do instead of studying, like re-vamping a blog you haven't used since January!

Favorite quotes from The Alchemist

"The world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that's where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are."

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

"Every second of the search is an encounter with God," the boy told his heart. "When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has become luminous, because I've known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I've discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve."

Verses on my mind today

“When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid." 
(The Message also says - "God's my strong champion." - I love that!)
Psalm 118:5-6

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength."
Isaiah 30:15

"This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you."
2 Timothy 1:6

Book Review: Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl

I bought this book one day this semester during retail therapy. It was on one of the center displays at Barnes and Noble, and the cover is what really caught my eye! I saw the duck boots and the heels and thought it looked like something I would like. I read the back and was sold!

This book is a true story about a woman and her family who move from the suburbs of New Jersey to the sticks in Virginia to live on a farm. If you have ever lived in the sticks or been or worked on a farm, you will relate to and understand this book. She has a tough time changing from her Manolo's and pencil skirts to overalls and mud boots, and the 'city girl stuck in a farm girl's body' makes for interesting reading! I found her writing style very entertaining. She formerly worked as a marketing director for Family Circle magazine, so her writing is witty and a bit sarcastic at times, which I loved.

If you are looking for a book with a defined plot, this may not be the best choice. To me, it was more of a memoir than a novel with a plot. Each chapter details a different story or experience that the author has, and I laughed my way through most of them. If you're looking for something light-hearted and funny, pick this one up and give it a try. She has a sequel of sorts scheduled to be released in 2011.

I give the book an A! Has anyone else read it?