Hotel Smith

Well I feel like I have been running an Inn or actually more like a B&B the past couple weeks. Brittany is doing a 3 week internship at a pharmacy in Dewitt so she is staying with us during this time. It is so fun to have britt around, not that Daniel is boring, but he leaves the house at 5:30 or 6 every morning and doesnt get home till 8:30 or later because this is their busy time...so having someone to talk to besides my precious pup max is wonderful! last weekend my mama, dad, aunt rhonda, kelsey, and emma grace all came and spent the weekend at our house! It was so much fun! Daniel took Kelsey out and taught her to drive the tractor, and she loved it! The weekend was so great and I was super sad when everyone had to leave but I knew I had more guests coming...The fam left Sunday morning and then Monday my sister and Holly came down to spend the night with me and Britt! Another fabulous night, we had margaritas and fajitas! YUM! With all of these guests in and out I have been cooking lots and lots and cleaning lots and lots, hence me feeling as though I am running a B&B! I love it though, and I am for sure sad that this week is Britts last.

Well I am really liking my new job but I am not happy about this whole "working" thing in general. It is definately cramping my usual summer style. Shockingly I have not even been to the lake yet...partly due to working and partly due to being married to a farmer. This has just been such a different summer for me because usually I have been to the lake 4-5 times already at this point and it is KILLING me! Speaking of work, its about that time so I guess I'll head that way...

Attitude Adjustment...

Well it is safe to say that this 3 day weekend spoiled me. Friday when I got off work, Daniel picked me up and we headed straight to LR for my little sisters graduation. We were supposed to come back Friday night but it ended up raining so we were able to stay at my parents which was wonderful because my mimi and uncle david and the bradley crew were all coming over after graduation and I was so sad that I was going to have to leave. We had a blast! Saturday morning I have to say I was a little selfish...we left my parents around 10:30 to head back so D could get to work. I was so disappointed because it was Memorial Day weekend and I had Monday off so I just wanted to get to do somehting fun and enjoy the long weekend, but being married to a farmer means that in the summertime, if there is no rain, our plans involve staying at home because D will be working around the clock. Although I have been dating Daniel for 4 years and knew exactly what I was signing up for when I became a farmers wife, it is still really hard for me to get used to not getting to up and go to the lake every weekend or even spend the weekend in LR with the fam. I can do those things without him of course but I like when he is around :) Saturday as we were driving back, in the rain might I add, we realized that D would not be working the rest of the day so we could have just stayed in LR. I was frustrated and sad and found myself being kind of immature about it. It is not Daniels fault at all, and it is something I have to learn to deal with. I decided I needed an attitude adjustment. We got home and both took a nap, then woke up and decided to go ride around and shoot out pistols. We went to My sister in laws saturday night for steaks and played with the kiddos. It turned out to be a GREAT saturday night. Sunday we went to church and sunday afternoon was a repeat of Saturday afternoon. Sitting here today thinking about going to work tomorrow, all I can think about is how wonderful and relaxing my weekend with my husband was and that I don't want it to end...I'd say the attitude adjustment did wonders for this weekend :)

Pistols

Well today is my birthday. My family has always celebrated birthdays somewhat largely, I mean we open presents in the morning (before school or work) and then have cake and the birthday persons meal of choice. This year is not only my first birthday as a married woman, but my first birthday to ever spend with Daniel, insane huh? This is the 5th birthday I have had since we have been dating, but my birthday is at a very unfortunate time for farmers...right in the middle of planting. Daniel is not as in to birthdays, he always says "its just another day" when I bug him about not liking his birthday. Party Pooper.

Anyway, I have the sweetest husband ever. He woke me up with pancakes (my favorite breakfast food ever) and while we ate breakfast I opened my present, which was a new PISTOL!! I was so pumped! We have both been wanting to get one for quite a while but we had decided we would probably buy them at the end of the summer. Surprise! Daniel bought us our pistols early and surprised me!! He also baked me a cake, yellow with chocolate icing, which is my fav kind. Tonight he is fixing me my all time favorite meal ever: steak, cheesy potatoe casserole, and rolls. I am such a happy camper.

D has gone above and beyond to make my birthday special for me because not only is it our first together, but he knows that birthdays have always been big in my family, plus he knows how much I miss my family ALL THE TIME. He is such a sweetheart, although when I was loading the dishwasher this morning he said "dont do that, today is your birthday! wait a couple years and this will wear off and then you can do it...", sweet huh? Haha!

Weather...

Today is supposed to be my first day training at the Stuttgart clinic. After a few weeks I will start at my clinic in Dewitt. If anyone knows me very well they know that I am ridiculously afraid of storms. It starts thundering and lightening and I tense up big time, even shake sometimes. I can't sleep in storms. Naturally, the night before my first day at work it stormed like crazy. I didn't sleep well AT ALL. I woke up early, got ready, and headed to Stuttgart which is about 50 minutes away. As I was driving throught Stuttgart, I noticed that it looked like another tornado had swept through town...there were trees down and uprooted everywhere, powerlines down, traffic lights out, and everywhere. Needless to say I arrived just in time to be told to turn around and go home because the clinic had no power...of course. Oh well, it turned out ok because I had lots of laundry to do but I was still a little disappointed because I hate "first days" and I was just really ready to get mine over with!

So my little sister is graduating high school this month. Her last day of school is Friday, its insane. I can't believe she is already to this point. I remember doing all this not so long ago, and I remember feeling so old. Now that I am looking at her, I feel like she is way too young to go to college. I get so nervous about all the things that could happen to her! I've been there, I know how the parties and boys and fraternity houses can be and I don't think I want her to experience it yet! Haha!

On a lighter note, the sun is out for who knows how long and I am going to try to enjoy it for the few minutes it decides to shine...

This looked fun!

ABC's of you
A - Age: 22, 23 in may! movin on up!
B - Bed size: queen unfortunately...i would love a king though, d is a large man
C - Chore you hate: dusting
D - Dogs or cats: DOGS!!
E - Essential start your day item: brushing my teeth
F - Favorite color: green
G - Gold or Silver: i prefer yellow gold but i love both
H - Height: 5'5
I - Instruments you play: air fiddle
J - Job title: RN
K - Kids: not yet!
L - Loud or quiet: depends on the mood... :)
M - Mom's name: Roxie
N - Nicknames: Hal, Hay, Hal dog, H, Roger (thats what d calls me...)
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: yes, stupid appendicitis. had to miss the auburn game my sophomore year. still not real happy about it
P - Pet Peeve: people sticking their dishes in the sink without rinsing them off first. the food dries and gets hard to clean off. it takes like 2 seconds
Q - Quote from a movie: "i wont think about that today, ill think about that tomorrow" -Gone with the Wind, my fav of all times :)
R - Right or left handed: right
S - Siblings: 1 little sis
T - Time you wake up: 6 somethin if i'm goin to work, otherwise usually around 7 or 8
U- Underwear: like what kind? i have to admit, i wear Hanes all the time...
V - Vegetable you dislike: i don't think there are any
W - Ways you run late: i dont run late unless the person i am with is late...sadly i have an obsession with being on time
X - X-rays you've had: whole body...at different times though
Y - Yummy food you make: i'd like to think all the food i make is yummy, but one of my favs would probably be homemade french fries! i just love love love homemade french fries!
Z - Zoo favorites- the snakes! i love to see snakes if there is GLASS BETWEEN US! otherwise ill pass. I also love the bears and alligators!

Just another day on the tractor...

I spent the morning riding the tractor with Daniel. We were just chuggin along, listening to the radio, doing the usual and I turned around to glance out the back window and this is what I saw...

Actually when I first saw the snake, he was not this close, but I didnt take any pictures then. I watched the snake for a good 30 minutes as he inched his way closer and closer to the cab of the tractor, and eventually tried to crawl up the glass (which turned out to be too slippery for the little sucker). After about 15 minutes of watching him right up agaisnt the glass (thank the Lord for the glass), he got a little brave and was hanging his head out over the large back tire...he then got caught in the tire and flung off of the tractor, where he quickly slithered away. When I saw quickly, I mean very quickly because this snake is a Blue Racer and they are very fast.

This is my last week of not working so I guess I am trying to spend as much time with Daniel as possible. They are getting to the very busy season. He wakes up around 5:15 and usually doesnt get home at night until after 8 or 8:30. Whew, long days for Daniel. As far as work goes, I am kind of torn. While part of me is ready to go back to work, part of me just keeps thinking that I am not going to get this kind of time and freedom anymore, and that stinks. Yes, I have gotten a little bored every now and then, but I LOVE having time to clean the house, do laundry, and whisk away to Little Rock to see my fam whenever I want, not to mention I love getting to ride with Daniel on pretty days :)

Now I must get back to that cleaning and laundry thing...

It's a God thing...

Wow, sometimes things happen that just really open your eyes and remind you that there is a higher power. I have been so stressed since I started working in LR back in January, trying to figure out the best thing for Daniel and myself. I prayed like crazy and finally found the courage to quit the job I loved so much and look for something closer to home. Trying to find a job closer to home has been difficult...if I work in a hospital I will have to work every other weekend, which sucks. Before I ever decided to work at UAMS I had always wanted to work in a small town clinic, so naturally my next thought in job hunting was finding a clinic to work at. A lot of clinics don't have benefits, so that makes it a little tougher. I applied at the Stuttgart clinic associated with Baptist Hospital because it is the closest clinic to home (45 minutes). While being partially excited that an option was finally available, I was still stressing about the 45 min drive twice a day. A couple days ago the HR woman called to let me know I could have the job but that an opening in Dewitt (15 minutes) had just come available! I was so pumped! But she told me that it would be offered to the current employees first and that one in Stuttgart had been interested...buzz kill. I have prayed and prayed the past few months for God to guide me and let me know the best place for me to be. Today the woman called and told me the other nurse no longer wanted the position and that I could have it! The way everything has panned out, some might say I am extremely "lucky", I however consider myself extremely "blessed". I know exactly how all this happened and it was done by the Good Lord. I love when I see or experience a situation that just really makes me think, "It's a God thing..."

Mischievous Max

It has definately been one of those days. I had to go to Stuttgart today for a couple nursing interviews so I told my mother in law I would pick up her tax returns. I left home at 11:30 this morning, picked up the tax returns, and went to my first interview. After spending an hour in the first one and an hour in the second one, I so did not want to go for my big Wal-Mart run but I bit the bullet and went. On my way home I realized I forgot a couple groceries so I had to stop at the grocery store in Dewitt. After getting home and unloading the groceries I went to Daniels parents to drop off their stuff. Max was in the car with me. When I got out I left the keys in the car as always (there is no need to remove the keys down here) and took the stuff inside. Iwas so ready to just get home and sit down because I HATE wearing heels and I had them on alllll day. Little did I know, Mr. Max had locked the doors...AHHHH!! I couldn't decide whether to cry or laugh at the situation. Thanks to my trusty husband and his skills, we jarred the door and unlocked it. Max was rescued! I tell you what, it has definatley been a long day. The highlight though was that I got to talk to/catch up with one of my best friends Caroline who now lives in Nashville. Ok so I am now about to put my feet up in the recliner...over and out

Procrastinating...

I think I am getting the hang of this thing now, thanks to me dear friend Rebekah! When I asked her how to do the blog, she said "Oh my gosh, are you pregnant!?!" Apparently people start these a lot when they get pregnant! I however, am not pregnant, just starting one because I was bored and thought it looked like the thing to do! I am sitting here procrastinating on all the clothes I have folded in the den that need to be put up...its funny how you can NEVER have ALL the laundry done. Drives me insane.

Easter this year was wonderful. We had a big time on Saturday afternoon/night with all of Daniels family. The kiddos are just so stinkin cute, they keep us all laughing all the time! Sunday morning we got up early, got ready, and drove to LR to meet my parents and sis at church and then had Easter lunch with all of my side of the family. It really was a great day minus all the rain and thunder and minor flooding we drove though headed back to Tichnor. Here are a few pics!

Update on farm living...

Well since this seems to be the new thing, I thought I would give it a try. Sadly it has taken me 2 days to figure this out and I still don't really know what I am doing! So an update on mine and D's life...

1. It's getting to be that time of year where farming is getting busy, therefore my life now depends on the weather, exciting huh?

2.I just quit my job that I LOVED in the NICU at UAMS because being away from my new husband 4 days a week was just not worth it, so now I am jobless (scary huh?) and looking for something closer to home so I can actually feel married

3. We just got a new combine on the farm and I am probably way more excited about it than I should be, but I honestly can't wait to learn to drive it (its totally different than the old one)!!

4. My 8 lb dog Max LOVES living on the farm, I'm telling you, he runs around like crazy out here and I am terrified he is going to be bitten by a snake and I won't know what to do, the nearest vet is like 40 minutes away...

5. Since I am a "housewife" for the time being, I am doing laundry 24/7 and I actually have time to work on our house which is still not complete but I was hardly here the first few months. Being a housewife is definatley harder than I thought, I am actually ready to get a new job!

well that is it for now because the satellite man is here...