Zoo!

Gourd-eous

This gourd is doing better than all the others...It has dried up or been attacked by dad with the lawnmower. Lol...Although I noticed something has been nibbling at it's leaves.

I'm really tired this week. I've put in 41.33 hours this week and I have to work tomorrow as well. I hope Dr. LaVergne realizes I'm working overtime. I'll probably get 6 hours time and half this week. whoops. But the main vet assistant needed some time off so I filled in. I'm glad they trust me with so much responsibility. I'm definitely ready for vacation though. Gah...I really need to finish working on my vet application. I really don't want to save it all for the beginning of the school year. I think the next section I want to finish is the animal exp section. It might take a while...

1 gourd down.

Not a good day for my gourd plants

Today was obviously not a good day in the life of my gourd plants. As you can see from the pictures...Plants 1 and 2 desicated. No bueno. Plant 1 was 8cm last night. Poor thing. Plant 3 is still just a seedling...I'm hoping it will spout soon...It has roots already. Plant 4 I am proud to say is doing well. Lol...I'm glad at least one is doing well. Aunt Kim said you just plug them in the ground, water them every once in awhile, and leave them alone. Well I guess that work for a cooler area. Hmm, maybe next time I'll try to give them an adjustment period before such a rude awakening to Arkansas heat. Poor things. Maybe their roots are still alive. I'll water them for a couple of days to see. I accidentally broke off plant 5's leaves while planting it. I'm hoping it will be ok anyway. Plant 6 is a seed I just plugged in the ground. Wouldn't it be cool if plants 1 and 2 looked good as new in the morning? I can hope, right?


In other news...today was a fairly good day at work. I worked very hard cleaning the clinic since we had no appointments. AND Dr. LaVergne hired an assistant for me. How cool is that! Today was a perfectly good day for getting out on time, but unfortunately the kennels weren't ready...Bleh...I had my part completely finished, but I had to go pick up some slack. Oh well. I'll train my "assistant" to work hard and get everything done on time so we all can get out on time. I'm sure the two of us together can get things done to get out on time. >-)

Pretty things

Pretty flowers outside ^_^

My Gourd Garden (To be...)

Grow! Grow! Grow! I planted 6 seeds/seedlings. I hope they all grow and produce lots of gourds :D

More Gourd Seedlings

My Little Gourd Seedlings

Grow little seedlings! I thought I planted 1 seedling in each cupcake holder...Somehow I must have planted 2 in one. So 6 in all. 5 out six grew. Hehe, of course the only one that didn't grow was the one of two seeds that Aunt Kim gave me for the Martin house gourd. I'm going to retry it with the last seed... All the others grew though! The fifth seedling has roots but hasn't surfaced yet ^_^ I planted them today! Grow little guy! Stretch up to the clouds!! I think this one is the biggest. I decided to plant most of them away from a fence...because I want them to have flat bottoms for vases/ baskets etc.

Doe Run Inn

We all stayed here for 1 night...Mom and Dad stayed for 3 nights. It's a 200 year old inn. All the floors are all crooked and creaky... I don't think there's a right angle in the place ^_^

Fun times

Recent Journey

I can't seem to get Picassa to upload pictures + blog anymore. Finicky thing. Blogger work it out!!! Anyway...pictures later...if we're lucky

My family, Chase, and I returned from KY on Monday. I have to say it was a very nice trip. Relations aren't always the best with my mom's side so we were all a bit worried how things were going to turn out, but I don't think things could have gone smoother. Thank the Lord! Chase, George, and I spent the night at Aunt Kim's house for the first 2 nights. Aunt Kim is so sweet and hospitable.

On the drive there, we stopped at Fort Donalson (I think that's the name...). It had some pretty neat earthworks, but I think the best part about this place was seeing the eagle's nest with 3 baby eagles in it.

We arrived pretty late to Aunt Kim's...so I crashed pretty much right after that.
The next day was Grandpa's party. Fun! It went very smoothly. His scrapbook was a big success. I was happy Chase was able to meet my grandparents. Lol...that night, Kim told me all about decorating gourds and gave me 3 to decorate. I still need to sand them and wash them up a bit, but I can't wait to get to work on them. I think I might plant some.

Sunday we went to the races. Ok...probably not the best thing to do in place of church... It was very fun. I didn't win any of my (very small...) bets. It was very fun to see the horses run though. After that we had a family picnic including grilled burgers and a game of frisbe :D

So overall a very nice weekend. Now I have to work. Haha...I really didn't need a job this summer, but I guess it's good to work. Work can be stressful, but overall I like it. ^_^ Dr. LaVergne is a good vet, and I can learn a lot from him. I just wish they had kept my original schedule - three 9am-1pm shifts per week (Tues-Wed-Thurs). That was perfect...but I guess I'll be ok with the evening shift as well. I'll get more hours this way. I think I'll still have time to craft and have fun as well ^_^ Well, Cheerio. I hope all is well with you.

Summary of recent events

Well here are the recent events...

Photo 1 - Mom's birthday...she's spoiled rotten... Dad got her a iPod nano for her b-day. She was shocked. Classic photo. ^_^

Photo 2 - I visited LSU. I liked it ^_^ Plus I think the person in charge of admissions will come speak to our pre-vet club...so that's 1 less meeting I have to plan next year.

Photo 3 - Picnic with Chase. :( I haven't heard from him all day! not cool... I guess he'll call at some point *sigh*

The Wonderful Adventures of Chase and Katie

First off, we spend the evening at Brook and Linda's. Happy Birthday Linda!

Alright! New movie!

The next day, Chase and I hit Pea Ridge. Hmmmmm....the skies are looking ominous.....Oh well...


Pea Ridge has bikes for visitors to use free of charge! So we go on 2 bikes and started on the 7 mile road tour...

As the clouds close in on use, Chase checks the map.... Will we make it?

Nope...It started pouring before we could reach the shelter. We're soaked to the bone...But at least we made it to the overlook shelter before the lightening started.
At around 4:30PM...I thought we should call the park's office to tell them we didn't run off with their bikes, and we'll be down to the visitor center as soon as the storm lets up. 1o minutes later, a park ranger pulls up in a pickup to rescue us! Hahaha! I've never had to be rescued from a park before. Fun times ^_^

In other news, I'm officially moved out of the dorm now and living on the floor of my apartment. Haha, none of my bedroom furniture is here yet. I made all As except for in Biochemistry... so that's good too. I was soo close to making all As this semester, but I'm relieved it was only in one class I didn't... I'll be going back to the Rock tomorrow...So until then...Cheerio!

Fin!

Well..the school year is finished. Grades have yet to be posted on ISIS...but I'm very hopeful that the only class I made less than an A in is Biochemistry. I feel fairly good about the rest of my classes. I'm positive I made an A in Thesis Proposal, Sheep Production, Parasitology, Ambassador Internship, and Animal Physiology. I've done really well so far in History and Horse Production..but I'm not sure how I did on the tests in those classes the week after Nannie died. I could have Bs in those as well, but I really hope not. I suppose I'm *slightly* obsessive over my grade...but anyway...Here's my analysis of potetial GPA scenarios. I currently have a 3.925 GPA...If I made 1 B this semester it drops to 3.909...2 - 3.878....3 - 3.848....If I make 3 Bs this semester it knocks me out of the running to graduate Summa Cum Laude...which would make me very sad. Any of the other scenarios I can still graduate Summa Cum Laude...as long as I take over 18 hours and make all A's, but considering I have 0 chemistry left and 0 math left...maybe I can manage. Ok...obsessing about GPA completed...sorry to whine.

Good news! I sold back 2 books today and got about $85. Wonderful! $2 has already been spend on a candy bar and a cappucino. Shopping anyone? I need to buy 3 presents...one for Mother's day, 1 for mi hermanito's b-day, and 1 for Grandpa Burt's Birthday... I figure I'll spend it on gifts...Unfortunately I have no idea what each of those people want. Haha..I'll figure something out. Hmm..maybe the Great Burt Project (which is a mystery...bum bum bum) will be his gift. I just gotta get on the ball working on it. Hmm...shall I recruite Megann to help? If I have any leftover money...I'll probably buy Chase dinner when he comes up to see me etc. I still have one more thing I want to buy him too...harumm harummm. I want to go shopping now...but I think I'll goof off for the remainder of the day!! NO MORE SCHOOL!! NO MORE SCHOOl! 3 out of 8 years of college etc. finished!!! Only 5 more to go... >-)

Cheerio and goodluck on wrapping up the school year etc. Have good days at work! <3

End of the School Year...Pre-furniture pictures

So Megann and I finally have our apartment. ^_^ It's a college student's standard apartment featuring all hand-me-down furniture, a tiny kitchen, and funky floor plan and cabinetry. But we like it. I wish I was going to live in it right away as well so we could get it arranged in a way happy to the both of us, but I'm sure we'll be fine when I move in next August. We thoroughly cleaned all the cabinets and drawers, lined them, swept and mopped, and did *lots* of unpacking and moving furniture...etc. The linoleum is a bit old, but the carpet is brand new! It'll feel pretty good when it's all arranged etc. I still plan of cleaning the couch...hmmm..

How does one clean a couch? Some spray and scrub thing? Maybe Uncle Bo will bring down the steam cleaner... harrrumm...
I think I'm just going to transfer most of my bedroom stuff from home to the apartment bedroom. Red and white...New bedroom color scheme I think. Random^_^ I wonder what Mom will fill my old room with?

Our little Kitchen - It's funny...all the cabinets seem to open opposite of what they should.

View from the entry.


My bathroom

Big BUTT-ed dog!
And now a message from Mr. Bailey. Steak!!! He's got his eyes glued to the grill.

In other news...I have a 4-6 page essay to write tonight, but yet I'm updating my blog. Also, I miss Chase, but I'll get to see him on Wednesday!
I'm almost finished with school for this year! Man, do I look forward to summer break!!!! Whoa! I just have the one test in history left and then I'm finished for the year. Hopefully, I managed all A's in everything except for biochemistry. *hopes* I really want to keep the GPA above 3.9...maybe I'm being to hard on myself. Oh well... *Considers working on paper* mmm...I really don't want to do this paper...bleh. The paper is part of my history test tomorrow... The test will have 4 parts: a map part, 2 essays, and an essay on the books that can be written before hand if we so please. I figure it would be a good idea to do it ahead of time...it will be challenging enough fitting the two other "well thought out" essays and the map part in less than 2 hours. I'M GOING TO REMEMBER WISCONSIN THIS TIME! Maybe I'll watch an episode of Mai Hime and then start the paper...That sounds like a good plan. Too bad I can't watch it *while* working on my paper. Or maybe I should make Mai-Hime a reward for doing good work...Positive reinforcement for a good behavior. katie-training. Or not...someone should squirt me with a water gun when I stop working on the paper...or rather until I start. Or not...

Cheerio! Goodluck on all finals, papers, driving, school-stinking events etc. I should really do something other than babble now..

Did I mention I miss Chase and want to see him ASAP? Because I do...

Last Day of class completed

I've officially finished my last day of class for this semester! So far I know I have As in parasitology, Animal Physiology II, Honors Thesis Proposal, Sheep Production, and in the Ambassador Internship. I hope I got an A in Horse Production...History and Biochemisty are still in the air. Tomorrow is Dead Day...wonderful. I'm going to sleep in!! And do a good bit of studying! I need to rework all my biochem problem sets...and Write an outline to 3 essays. I think that's manageable. On Sunday, I have to write an essay. I feel like I can handle this!

Biochem final is at 7:30 AM on Saturday (bleh..who schedules exams on Saturdays... :P )
History is on Monday at the reasonable time of 12:30 until 2:30...

Then I'm FREE until May 12...when I have to work at graduation. BUT I'm free to do whatever I want until then ^_^ Party? Or catch up on all the scrapping? *shrugs* Ah....Free time

Feeling bettter - The Good and the bad

.... Credits

Life is starting to feel manageable again. Dr. Kumar was very helpful when I went for help on the homework set. I also learned that he rounds a 89.1% up to a 90%. Wonderful! I need a 92% on the final to get an A. He said that the final will only consist of problems similar to what was on the problem sets and will have about 10 points of bonus. *Maybe* I'll be able to weasel through with an A... So that was encouraging. Horse production and history are really the only 2 I'm unsure about. It's too late to change anything about horse prod. now, but I think I'm ok in that class. The last test in history is worth over %42 of our grade...but I think that will be ok too. So...everything is manageable school wise.

So the bad news. Within the last year, one of George's Friend's mothers was diagnosed with cancer. Her condition has steadily declined since then, and she was hospitalized this week because 1 of her lungs collapsed. She has a son George's age and a daughter who is a year older than me. It's just so sad. So, those of you who pray, please keep this family in your prayers. I hope that the mother is completely healed.

Tired Kid

I have to say I am one worn out kid - emotionally and physically. My Nannie died last Friday morning. It wasn't unexpected, but we'll all miss her so much. I'm relieved that she's no longer suffering...

Sooo Friday night I drove down to LR...The next morning, George and I picked up Denton and Selina from the airport and drove to Crossett. Haha, I don't think I've seen so many desserts in one weekend! In addition to flowers, plants, lunch meat trays, there were a bunch of desserts! Apparently the church thinks we all need to be fattened up! We had 2 cheesecakes, pound cake, chocolate cake with marshemallow icing, tea cake cookies, chocolate chip cookies, 2 boxes hersey's cookies, egg pie (?),....I haven't even gotten to the stuff at the church! Saturday evening was the visitation at the nursing home. It was decorated soooo pretty - flowers wall to wall! We set up old pictures of her and part of her bird figurine collection around the room. Nannie herself looked so peaceful. They had her dressed in a beautiful blue dress that she had really liked. Mom said that right before she died, Uncle Frank got on the phone and after Pa had arrived the most peaceful look came over her face, and she passed on. She was like a mother to all of us, and I will treasure the memories I have of her. I know she's in the arms of the Almighty now.

The church has been tremendously supportive. Over a period of 2 days, they fed us potluck meals 3 times! I know they must be just as exhausted as I am. Also, Chase came to the funeral with me, and I was very grateful for his support. I just wish he could have met my family for the first time under happier circumstances. The funeral itself was yesterday. It went fairly well as far as funerals go. We laughed and cried while remembering a great woman. We left Cooter around 9 last night and got home around 11:30...So tired! Mom and Dad's community group completely surprised us... they cleaned our house, did all our laundry, and mowed the lawn! lol...Mom and Dad had been in Crossett for about 4 days leaving George at home. So it was converted into quite a mess! It's kinda embarrassing, but I guess the church understands the circumstances of our house being such a mess! I got home and it was like little elves came silently in the night and put everything away. Haha! It was very kind of them! They're also going to bring dinner for the folks back at the Rock tonight. I wish I didn't have school this week..but anyway......I fell asleep around 12:30AM last night in time to wake up at 5:30 to be able to get to UA for my first class... I have 2 tests today, and I didn't study an hour for either of them. eep...That's stressful....I really wanted a high A on the biochemistry test, but I might have to simply settle for a B. I have no idea how I did on it...I just know I sorta fumbled through all of it this morning... I guess if I make a B in the class, it's not the end of the world ^_^

Random

Well...blogger *finally* let me switch to beta! So maybe I won't have as many issues updating my blog now. I proceeded with the plan to print some pages...they should get here next week. I can't wait to see how they turned out!

Anyway, life is standard busy. As usual, I should be pouring my soul out over a set of parasitology notes, but I just don't feel like it right now. I can only handle so many worms, fleas, ticks, mints, and all their little friends before I feel like they're actually eating my brain. I really should study some more before Chase gets here...

Speaking of which, Chase is coming up so we can catch the meteor shower ^_^ Hooray!

Other news...I've really been thinking about the tradegedy at VT. I can't imagine the grief and the pain the campus must be going through. I feel so sorry for the gunman's family too. It's really shaken up college communities all over the U.S. I know ours is quite a bit rattled by it. Such sorrow and horror in the world....

Maybe I should print them?

 

Easter

This is what we did for Nannie's nursing home room...There were already nails up so we bought some cork boards and decorated them ^_^