RN, BSN, OCN...

That's my official new title as I passed my Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN) exam this a.m....wahooo!!!

I was so pleased to pass & so pleased to have it behind me!

Now's it's back to work on changing my credentials to RN, MSN, OCN...

beach bums...

Abbey & I headed to Carolina Beach yesterday for some fun in the sun!

It was a cloudy, breezy day, but nice regardless. However, with the cloudiness the water was cold to say the least. We dipped a few times, but not didn't get too wet! What we did get was too much sun...even with my careful every hour reapplications...boo! It's mostly on the backs of my legs where I apparently did not apply as much as I should have. I usually try to be so careful with my skin too.

Anyways...here are some more shots of our outing yesterday...

Abbey's nearly here...

We should be leaving in about 20 minutes to pick up Abbey at the airport. We're so looking forward to her visit.

So far, we have very few definitive plans, but we do have tickets to a Durham Bull's baseball game Thursday night. We chose Thursday as that is $1 hot dog & french fry night at the ball park. A great night to take in a game!

We will also probably see a movie and there will definitely be plenty of shopping to be had. I'd like to maybe pick some strawberries one day & depending on the weather do some more fun things outdoors.

We had a nice, uneventful weekend. I had to work today, but yesterday we cleaned out our shed & did a bit of yard work. I do wish I had taken before & after pictures of the shed clean-out. It was rather drastic!

Chris made dinner last night for us, corn on the cob (delicious!) & jambalaya (also delicious!). He can be quite the chef when he wants to be. We ate out on the deck with the tiki torches lit & enjoyed the nice weather. I love this time of year!

Off to pick up Abbey...

graduation weekend

Chris & I were at home in Conyers this weekend to attend Chris' brother, David's, graduation from Georgia Tech. Here's a picture of the 2 Tarr brothers...(notice that Chris shaved his beard of more than a year off!)We hadn't been home since Februrary so it was nice to be there again. We were able to see nearly all of both of our families & really enjoyed that.

While we were gone, the bud on the rose bush that Chris' grandmother, Boo Boo, gave us (I call it the Boo Boo rose) opened! Now we have this beautiful pink rose to enjoy...

Our foxglove has also started opening some of it's blooms. We do love our flowers!

Abbey comes in 6 days...I'm really looking forward to her hanging out with us for a week!

sweet baby cap...

Check out this precious little baby girl cap I knitted with the help of my Knifty Knitter & my patient teacher Cynthia.

I'm planning to give it to our friends Chad & Mandy who have a little girl who should be arriving this very month!


I've already started knitting cap #2 so more pictures to follow soon!

...how does your garden grow?...

Well, we'll find out in the next few months.

Chris & I planted our garden yesterday. Our gracious neighbors plow a row or 2 in their back garden space just for us. We're so blessed to have such great neighbors.

We planted these tomato and pepper plants we bought at the Famer's Market last weekend...

and seeds for green beans, squash, zuchinni, and cantaloupe.

In about 2 months we're planning on planting seeds for broccoli and spinach that would produce in the fall.

Our sweet neighbors also invited us over to pick fresh lettuce from their garden. We did & it was so beautiful that I had to take a picture (I take pictures of everything). The lettuce will be tasty on the hamburgers Chris is going to grill for us tonight!

Fresh vegetables...yummy!

More new things to share...

I have picked up a few new clothes here and there over the last couple of weeks. I don't usually buy myself clothes often but I guess I was in a splurging mood, not that I spent much because everything I got was either on sale or a great price to begin with.

They're so springy & summery looking...love it!

Here's the sun dress I bought yesterday. I wish you could see more of the detail on it but the material is precious. It's very simple but cute! I might just mention that I love Kohls!

My mom & I found this shirt last weekend at Macy's on one of our shopping excursions. I wore it out to dinner last weekend & totally love it! I've always loved to wear green.

I found these adorable sandals at Kohl's yesterday. They look great with my new dress!

And last, but not least, here's the new scrub top I bought at Wal-Mart of all places. I got a pair of matching green pants too. I love the pink & green color combination and they're soooo soft.

That's all for the moment.

Things to share...

Here are some things I missed out on sharing when our camera was out of working order...

The 'T' hanging on our front door that I so dearly love...

The lamp on my desk in the office...
My newest tote bag...

Our basil that's growing like crazy (I wish my oregano looked this good)...
More to share coming later!

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day!

Since we moved to Durham nearly 3 years ago, we have been involved in the county's recycling program. It's been so easy since we moved into our house as we have our own recycling bins and just put them on the street for pick-up each week. We can recycle nearly all of our plastics, cardboards, glass and tin cans. It makes us feel like that one small piece at the time we are helping our environment.

About 3 months ago, we took another step towards "going green" and bought recycled cloth bags to take grocery shopping. I leave them in my trunk and every time I go to the grocery store or run in Target or Wal-Mart they go with me. I was appaled to learn that more that 500 billion plastic bags are used each year!!! Anything I can do to decrease that # is important to me!

What can you do to help our environment???

1 down...

I just finished the final for my last class this semester...

Seven credits and one semester down...

A break from classes until May 17th!

Molten chocolate cakes

I made these molten chocolate cakes Friday night for dessert. They were such a hit & only took about 30 minutes total to prep & cook! I'll definitely make them again.

Here's the recipe.. and you can check out other great similar easy recipes at the Kraft Foods' website!

4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Butter four 3/4-cup custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place on baking sheet.
MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Blend in eggs and egg yolks with wire whisk. Stir in flour. Divide batter among prepared custard cups.
BAKE 13 to 14 min. or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 min. Carefully run small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Serve immediately, topped with whipped topping.

lazy Sunday...

I love to hear it rain...

We had been out tossing a frisbee in the backyard this afternoon & it started to rain. By the time we made it inside it was pouring. Chris let up the windows in the living room and we just listened to it rain...sometimes I love a rainy afternoon.

We really enjoyed our visit with mom & dad this weekend. It was very laid back but we got out a bit and saw quite a few things. I cooked Friday night & the rest of our meals we ate on the go, with the exception of breakfast & we had these delicious berry cheesecake muffins I made!

We picked up some great things at the Farmer's Market Saturday morning. Chris & I got fresh green beans, okra, & strawberries and we bought bell pepper and tomato plants to plant in our garden hopefully next week. I'll have to take some pictures of them later! We also hit up a few antique stores since my parents enjoy "antiquing". I have been on a quest for antique hardcover books and ended up finding one so that was fun.

Last night we actually ended up at Carolina Brewery for dinner & it was so delicious! Oddly enough my dad said he wanted to see Horton Hears a Whoo so we went to the movies after dinner & what a cute movie it was! They came to church with us at U.B.C. and then headed home. We were sad for them to go, as always, but so enjoyed their visit with us!

My parents brought us the set of wingback chairs we bought from my uncle's friend. They're in our den at the moment, but aren't in position so when they are I'll take some pictures of our newest furniture.

Off to find some dinner for us...

Company's coming...

My mom & dad are on their way to see us right now. We're so excited to have them visit us again.

While they're here I think we're going to visit the Sarah P. Duke Gardens and hit up the Farmer's Market in Raleigh. Strawberries and sweet potatoes are in season now...2 of my favorites! We'll probably cruise around Brightleaf Square too.

I made some mixed berry cheesecake muffins to share while my parents are here. They turned out looking pretty good, so I'll have to take a shot of them to post later.

Chris & I wanted to cook dinner for them one night and go out to dinner with them another night that they're here. I think we'll head out to dinner tomorrow night. With the help of some of my fine-food-loving friends I've selected a few places Chris & I have never been to but are supposedly great. We'll let them decide between Squid's, 411 West, or maybe Pop's. Who knows!

I better get going for now...I have an appointment for a hair cut at Aveda at 0930.

more edited shots

More shots edited with the help of Picnik...love it!

Sadie...the edited version

My friend Hollie told me about this great website called Picnik where you can edit your pictures for FREE! They have great features & I had some fun playing with my favorite picture of Sadie. Here it is 3 different ways.