Thanksgiving Placecards

We are hosting Thanksgiving for my family at my parent's house this year.  I am so excited for some yummy food and getting to see all of my family!  This has also brought out some craftiness in me.   More to come....  Here are the placecards I made from scrapbook paper, cardstock, and buttons.  So Easy and CUTE!

 Here are mine and my mom's placecards.

The Thomas Family

All 12 for Thanksgiving Dinner!!!

I am so thankful for my family...HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

2 Happy Crabs

Rebecca and I are ARTISTS!!! 

There is this great new place in Wilmington called Wine & Design.  They have a different painting every night and we chose to paint CRABS!  (Which we were later told was an advanced painting).  They teach you step by step how to paint.  You bring your own wine and a snack.  We chose some classy Pinot Grigio, sushi, and edamame which was totally a great decision.

Here is this the website if you would like to UNCORK YOUR CREATIVITY!

http://paintpartiesstudios.com/wilmington/

Weenie's New Friend

Sophie just made a new friend, my roommate's new kitty, Zimmerman.  Just wanted to share a few pics of their new found friendship.  :)

Nappers :)

Best Friends in the Making!!

Clean Mud Recipe

I am currently completing a Fieldwork in the school system.  I have 6 back to back Sensory Awareness groups one day a week at an elementary school.  We have been working on the sense of TOUCH and I wanted to make clean mud which I learned about from my roommate Rebecca.  Ofcourse, I did not write down the recipe from the first time we used it during our research so I had to GOOGLE the recipe.  There were so many different ways to make this recipe, but this way works WONDERFULLY!

Sorry for the mirror image.  I took this with my webcam.

FULL RECIPE

• 6 Rolls of toilet paper
• 2 bars of Ivory Soap (Grated)
• 1.5 Cups of Borax
• Water (Add one cup at a time) Do not make too watery. 
• REMEMBER- You can always add water, but you can't easily take it away!!!

Optional- Food coloring (make sure you add this to water not just mixture = BIG MESS!) And/OR Glitter  

The mixture I made is 1/3rd of the Full recipe.  I added buttons into the mixture to create a tactile discrimintation activity.  Bonus- This smells oh so good and makes your hands super soft!!!

 
I am glad this is on my blog now so I won't have to spend a lot of time researching recipes for the next time I want to make some CLEAN MUD!!! ENJOY!

It's Fall Already?

Speaking of Fall, I've 'fallen' off of the Blog bandwagon yet again!  (I love puns!)

Summer flew by!  It was filled with good times with friends and family, sunbathing, and ofcourse, clinical fieldwork at New Hanover Regional Hospital in Inpatient Rehab. My little sister started college at Lees-McRae in August which is located in beautiful Banner Elk, NC. She has not been able to come home because she is on the volleyball team.  Finally, at the end of October, Chris and I got to go up to visit her.  Here are some pictures of the beautiful Fall foliage from our trip.  ENJOY!

View From Grandfather Mountain :)

5,280 Feet (= 1 mile) Above Sea Level

Mile-High Swinging Bridge on top of Grandfather Mountain!  Notice how many people were on the bridge... completely ignoring the 40 person limit.  

   

Laura took us to Elk River Falls, after first taking us to a very nice subdivision called Elk Falls. 

I was so happy to see my sister after 3 months a quarter of a year!!! 

It was a perfect Autumn day with beautiful views!

I absolutely love North Carolina mountains in the Fall, but give me a sandy beach any day of the year! (Preferably in warmer months).  BUT most importantly, I was so glad to see my sister and do some exploring! 

Weiner in the National News

Thanks to Sharon Thomas and Rep. Anthony Weiner for inspiration.

Weenie Rider

...So on Easter my mother purchased a mildly embarassing present for Sophie.  Check this out!

Click here for more information on this lovely product!


This is a car seat for doggies and looks slightly ridiculous.  I can only imagine what people are thinking when I drive by with my weenie sitting up high in the passenger seat.  I decided to document this for all of you to enjoy.  The following pictures go from the earliest to the latest experiences riding in the 'car seat'. 









First day in the car seat.  Not so sure about this thing yet!

GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!!

OH Goodness... I GIVE UP!!!

 Starting to get comfy in this thing! 

No actually, looks like she's getting real comfortable in her car seat!

Just chillin' in my car seat!

Hey!  Where we going??? 

Sophie: Grandma, Thanks so much for my car seat!! I love it and I am safe while traveling all over NC!!  :)

UPDATE!!!!! Here is a pic of Sophie using her life jacket riding in a canoe down THE FEAR!  (Cape Fear River)

Beach Bum

Whoa!  I know, I know... I was really into this blogging thing and then I totally fell off of the WAGON! BUT cut me some slack because my life has been wonderfully hectic the past couple of weeks MONTH!!  I can't believe that much time has gone by! In the past month, I have...

• Finished my coursework for my Master's Degree (Still have 6 months of clinical fieldwork)
• Presented my research at our Departmental Research Symposium
• Moved out of Greenville leaving behind 6 years of memories, my BF, and several other important people
• Moved to Wilmington with one of my really fun classmates, Rebecca!!

We live right near Historic Downtown Wilmington and we are only a 10-15 minute drive from Wrightsville Beach!

Isn't is gorgeous?   I am so excited about fun in the sun (with a 40-hour work week thrown into the mix).... YUCK! 

Well more to come soon!   I promise I won't leave you hanging for another month!!  :)

Stoop Kid

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!!

Could it be true?  I have completed my last 'real' final exam of my graduate career!!  This is a BIG deal as it puts me one step closer to moving to Wilmington.  Though I have been nothing but excited, with the big move less than 2 weeks away, I am starting to get cold feet.  Greenville has been my home for the last 6 years (1/4 of my life).  I'm a little afraid to leave my nice comfy stoop.  Also, considering the fact that I will be doing clinical fieldwork for the next 6 months, I am getting worried about being POOR (or poorer than I already am) and STINKY just like Stoop Kid.  I can probably take care of the stinky part, but I will definitely be poor.  Oh, I can't wait to make real money! 

Even though I am experiencing cold feet, Sophie is fully prepared for coastal living in her new life jacket! Doesn't she look thrilled?

We got this little number at PetSmart.  I did alot of research for this purchase because, as you may notice, weenies are an odd size and shape.  Most life jackets looked like they would be too short for her long body, but this one fits nicely.  I did go a size up from the recommended weight because of her ample chest and long weenie body. It fits her perfectly and she is ready to go boating!!

I am officially a 'blogger'.  I must admit that I have never understood the idea of blogging.  What do these people have to talk about and why do they think that others actually care?

...This blog is the result of my lifetime struggle with a serious condition called PROCRASTINATION.  I need to be studying and/or packing...recently I have been reminded by my mother that I need to do my taxes.  Are these due soon? Apparently so. 
     I am infamous for doing 'strange' things when I am supposed to be studying.  My dear roommates in undergrad still discuss the night that they walked in on me after I had taken my colored markers and proceeded to tattoo my arms, belly, and legs.  On another occasion, they found me typing a paper while donning gloves, crazy hair, and numerous other random accessories. SHOUTOUT to my FISHY!! 
     As a graduate student, I have matured a great deal.  My 'strangeness' has turned into the creation of a blog.  I guess that isn't really that strange after all. 

I am going to get back to studying, but first I am going to enjoy my classy, mature dinner.   Please be jealous.