Can I Get a High "5"?

Ever since 2011 began, I have come to realize that a big theme of 2011 for me will be the number "5".

2011 marks five years since I graduated from college--and everything that characterized my Spring Hill College experience.

Like the "destination unknown" parties, the formals, and the Mardi Gras Balls.









And the Habitat for Humanity spring break trips.





And the retreats.





And Thursday dollar margarita nights at Sabor a Mexico.





And just hanging out with friends.







And finally making that long-awaited walk down the Avenue of the Oaks to receive my nursing degree.



In a couple of months, I will return to Spring Hill for Homecoming on the Hill, during which the class of 2006 will celebrate our five-year reunion. I'm looking forward to being back on the campus I love with the friends that I miss dearly.



2011 also marks five years since I moved to Birmingham. It wasn't until my last semester of college that I began to even consider moving away from Mobile. The more I thought about it, the more I knew that if I didn't embark on this adventure at that particular point in my life, I probably never would. There are so many great people that I have met during my five years here in Birmingham.

Like my crazy co-workers.







And these awesome girls, Cate (a.k.a. "Booty"), Tara, and Jean. Technically I already knew Tara before I moved to Birmingham, but we've grown much closer since I moved up here.



And, of course, my four favorite kiddos--Piper, Henry, Rosemary, and Penelope--and their great parents, Heather and Gary. I'm Auntie Ann to them, but if you were to ask those sweet kids, I'm just their "Ain". They are too cute!





I am so thankful that I followed my heart all the way up to Birmingham five years ago, because I cannot imagine not having met any of these people. I think it is mostly because of these people that Birmingham has come to feel like "home" to me.

2011 also marks five years since I began my nursing career at UAB. Over the past five years, I have truly found my passion in neonatal nursing. While some days are harder than others, I can honestly say that I love my job. I enjoy providing care for premature and sick babies and developing strong, and sometimes lasting, relationships with their parents. There is no greater feeling than witnessing a baby's journey during his or her stay in the NICU all the way up until the moment that he or she is discharged home. And it is so satisfying to keep in touch with the parents of these babies after discharge and see those babies that I remember as being small and fragile grow into happy and healthy kids. I have grown and learned so much during my five years at UAB--not just nursing skills, but important life skills as well.

It really doesn't seem like it has been five years since I graduated from college, moved to Birmingham, and began my nursing career at UAB. But when I think back to my life five years ago, I realize that I have experienced a lifetime of learning and growing as I have ventured through the "real world" these past five years. I think I deserve a high "5"!

I'm Being Haunted...By a Cat.

When I was nine years old, I begged and begged my parents to let me have a dog. Being the smart people that they are, my parents knew that we did not have the time to devote to a dog, and that I was lying through my teeth when I told them that I would feed and care for the dog every single day. I must have been pretty insistent though, because my parents finally agreed to let me have a hamster (Sidenote: Ewww! I don't know what they were thinking! A hamster?! Ewww!). My mom took me to the pet store, and we left with a cute little furry...kitten! I'll never forget the look on my dad's face when we showed back up at the house with Tootsie...

Now, fast forward 17 years. As you may remember, Tootsie the cat met a tragic end a couple of months ago when she was hit by a car in my parents' garage--a car my mom just happened to be driving. It was an unfortunate accident, and I don't think my poor mother will ever recover from it. My mom immediately rushed Tootsie to the vet after the accident, but her injuries were far too severe and she was far too old (heck, she was freaking 17 years old!!) to take any drastic measures. My mom courageously stayed by Tootsie's side as she died peacefully.

Here is a picture of the late Tootsie:



Now, fast forward to the present time. The other night, I was putting some clothes in my dryer and heard a "Meow!" on the other side of the window by my laundry room. I cracked open the blinds, but it was dark outside and I didn't see anything. So I went into the living room, sat on the couch, and started watching TV. Pretty soon, I heard another "Meow!", this time coming from the other side of my living room window. A little bit later, I headed to my bedroom to turn in for the night, and...you guessed it...I heard a "Meow!" coming from the other side of my bedroom window. I felt as if I was being followed, but I shook it off and went to bed.

I woke up the next morning, opened the back door to let Colby outside, but found it a little strange that Colby expressed no interest in going outside. I looked out the door, and what I saw sent chills down my spine:



Yes, I'm being haunted. By a cat. A cat that looks eerily identical to the recently-deceased Tootsie. It's like a bad horror movie.

SNOW!!!! And Snow! And snow. and snow......

A little over a week ago, Birmingham was all a buzz with the news that the city would be getting snow. So much snow, in fact, that many people began to refer to the storm that was to come our way as "The Blizzard of 2011". Everyone ran to the grocery store and stocked up on bread and milk. Yeah...I don't really get it either, but apparently it's just what us Southerners do when the word "snow" appears in the 10-day weather forecast. Being from the Gulf Coast, the frenzy reminded me a lot of the frenzy that occurs before a hurricane makes landfall. Colby and I got ourselves prepared for the snow storm, and by the time the snow started on Sunday afternoon, we were totally hunkered down. Actually, Colby heard about the snow several days beforehand, so he had been hunkered down for a while.



The temperature on Sunday was right at the freezing mark, so what fell from the sky Sunday afternoon and evening alternated between sleet and snow. When I went to bed Sunday night, nothing much had accumulated. But I expected to wake up on Monday morning to a beautiful winter wonderland. After all, you can't have a blizzard without snow, right?! So when I woke up on Monday morning, I ran outside to the backyard and this is what I saw:



No snow. Only ice. Apparently I live far enough south of Birmingham that I didn't get any of the snow that the rest of Birmingham got. Ice just isn't as cool as snow, but I took some pictures of it anyway.

















Basically the most disappointing blizzard ever.

The thing about ice, as I now know, is that it makes for difficult--if not impossible--travel. On Monday, the entire city of Birmingham was basically shut down because all of the roads were covered in ice. Of course, the hospitals were up and running. But I lucked out last week because I was doing a bit of a different job at the hospital that was not considered "essential". Never have I been so happy to be considered "non-essential"! Some of my co-workers were not so lucky and ended up being snowed in at the hospital for 3 days. They have all been nominated for CCN Impressive Persons of the Century!

So anyway, Monday was a Snow Day for me. By Monday afternoon, after being stuck in the house for a full 24 hours, Colby and I developed a severe case of cabin fever.



To combat this cabin fever, I bundled myself and Colby up and we took a walk around the neighborhood. I say that we took a "walk", but really it was a "slide" through the neighborhood. That's another thing I've learned about ice--it's incredibly hard to walk on. But by some miracle, Colby and I both managed to keep our feet on the ground the whole time.

On Tuesday, I decided that the icy roads would not stop me from getting out of the house and going to work. As soon as I felt that it was somewhat safe to be on the road, I left my house for the first time in 2 days. I don't remember a whole lot from that drive because I was so focused on the road, but I do seem to recall having a tight grip on the steering wheel the whole time, and white knuckles. The drive wasn't too bad, but I had no clue what to expect. The drive home that evening proved to be a bit more of a challenge, as both of the ways that I know how to get home from work were closed because the roads were still covered in ice. Fortunately, I found my way home and made it there safely.

The rest of the week, the high temperatures were in the 30s, and the lows went down to the teens. Thus, the ice stuck around for a while. In addition, Tuesday and Wednesday brought some additional short periods of snow and ice. Four days in a row of snow and ice...crazy!! Life went on and people went back to work despite the icy roads, but the week was definitely a far cry from normal. Finally, this weekend the temps got back above the 30s, and most of the ice has melted. Life is finally getting back to normal...

One of my friends posted this picture on Facebook last week, and I think it is a pretty accurate description of this past week:

Christmas is Over...

I always get a little depressed when I take down my Christmas decorations because every year it seems like Christmas comes and goes so quickly. This year, I decided I would make taking the Christmas decorations down a little more fun by making a blog post about a certain Christmas tradition in my family.

Every year, my mom buys my brother and I special Christmas tree ornaments. She started doing this the Christmas before we were born, and has continued it every year since. Every Christmas when we were kids, my mom would make us stand next to the Christmas tree holding that year's ornament. At the time, it was a painful experience (especially during those dreadful teenage years). But looking back now, it is one of my fondest Christmas memories. Some years the ornaments serve as a reflection of a big event that occurred during the year. Other years, my mom just found an ornament that she liked and bought it. I don't know if this was her original plan all along, but once my brother and I moved out of our parents' house and into our own places, my mom passed along each of our ornaments to us. Thus, I currently have 27 Christmas ornaments of my own--pretty much enough to decorate a whole tree! Here are some pictures of some of my most favorite ornaments through the years (I'm not going to bore you with all 27!):

1983 Ornament

(The Christmas before I was born)

(If you can't read what's written on the bottom of the ornament, it says "We were expecting baby #2")


1984 Ornament

(My First Christmas)

1989 Ornament

1999 Ornament

2003 Ornament

(The year my parents went on their first cruise)

2009 Ornaments

(2009 was a big year--my first cruise AND my first house--so there are two ornaments for this year)

2010 Ornament

Even Colby is getting his own ornaments!

My 2010 Christmas Tree