Upside Down Garden

Last fall we talked about planting a garden this spring and it never really happened. Other things seemed to get in the way somehow.  We've still been wanting fresh vegetables of some kind, but haven't wanted to go to the effort of tilling up a patch of land so late in the season.  Scott found the idea for an upside down garden while perusing the internet and we've decided to try it.  We have an old swing set frame in our back yard that we've been wondering what to do with since we moved here and now we have found the PERFECT use for it!  Today we went and bought our little starter plants and potting soil and then Scott drilled a 2" hole in the bottom of each bucket and planted them.  Now we'll just be watering them and hoping for the best.

Our Jalapeño Pepper, Cherri Tomato, Yellow Pepper, & Grape Tomato plants

Wedding Season

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Nathan King!

May 14th, 2010

Our friend's, Nate and Lauren, were married on Friday evening this weekend in Baton Rouge.  Scott went to undergrad at OSU with them, so we were able to see a few of our Oklahoma friends there as well!  Lauren's family is from Lafayette, so we were really excited the wedding was close enough that we could make it with Scott's work schedule.  It was so great to be able to see everyone.  Scott had his 30hr call day for the weekend starting Saturday morning at 6am though, so he was exhausted yesterday afternoon when he finally got home.

The wedding was beautiful - they had the ceremony at St. Joseph Cathedral and then the reception was at the Louisiana State Museum.  Lauren and her bridesmaids were gorgeous.  Plus, there was lots of good Louisiana food, an open bar, and dancing (more like sweating) the night away outside with a great band.  We had a blast. 

All the OSU kids with the Groom's Cake

Happy to see the Willards

I witnessed my first "Cake Pull", a tradition the girls down here in Louisiana do that baffled us girls from up north (i.e. myself and the Oklahoma ladies) at first until someone explained it to us.  All the girls from the wedding party, or whoever else the bride chooses, pull a special surprise charm out from under the cake by a ribbon - a baby carriage, rings, keys, a horseshoe, etc - which signify various fortunes.  Kind of like catching the bouquet means you'll be the next to be married.  In further battering people with questions about it, I found out that lots of the girls make special charm bracelets or necklaces with all the pulls they get from weddings.  All very exciting things for me to learn, considering I love discovering new things about Louisiana whenever I get the chance.  

The girls ready to pull their charms out 

More School

I've applied to Graduate School.  The last few forms were mailed in this morning, so no turning back now!  I've applied to two distance learning programs to get my Masters degree and become a Certified Nurse Midwife.  There are no Midwifery programs anywhere near New Orleans, so distance learning it has to be.  That makes me a little nervous, but I'm sure I'll adjust. The programs both start in the fall and would take two and a half years to complete.  Now that there is the real potential for failure and being turned down, I'm feeling a little nervous and doubtful.  Scott has been super helpful and supportive all along the way and pushed me to go for this though my times of mostly irrational hesitation.  We've prayed about it and everything seems to be pointing to now as the best time for me to get more education if I'm going to do it.  No babies yet (I honestly do not know how some moms are full time students!  Good for you!) and Scott still has three years of residency so there shouldn't be any big moves or huge transitions (hopefully!).  By starting in the fall I would finish right before he does.  That way we will both be taking our boards and moving on with life around the same time together.  
If you think of us, please say a little prayer that everything will work out as it should.  Thanks!

Music Mania

Scott and I experienced Jazz Festival this weekend!  We were able to go on Saturday with some of our friends and had a blast.  We saw quite a few local bands - some of our favorites included Galactic and Trombone Shorty.  The featured band of the night was Pearl Jam and they were great - however, rock stars do not age so well.

The skies threatened rain all day, but it never did pour down which was great!  It was really windy though, which posed a few problems with my dress a couple times, and we crunched on grit now and then.

Scott's energy levels are definitely on the rise.  I couldn't believe how long he lasted on Saturday!  He started his ICU rotation, which will undoubtedly be his roughest rotation this year.  So, he was up at 4:50am to be to the hospital by 5:30am to round on patients.  He was home by 12:30 and we headed right out to Jazz Fest after lunch.  After playing around out there all day, we grabbed dinner with some friends and then ended the night with our currently favorite band, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, who were playing at the Republic.  Their opening band didn't start until after 11pm!  We were both tired, but when Edward and the band came out after midnight we didn't notice anymore.  We danced and sang our hearts out with Shane and Sofia and had a blast!  Tim Robbins was even up in the VIP section dancing away and we saw Eddie Vedder (the lead singer from Pearl Jam) too! It was one of the best concerts we have EVER been to!  We got home after 2:30am, at which point Scott had been up and going for almost 22hrs.  He was such a trooper!!!!