Not much news

Well, as predicted, I don't have anything too interesting to write about, but a few little updates:

1- Last weekend I got up super early and went garage sale-ing. It was kind of exhilarating and I got some great stuff! I came home with about as much as I could cram into my car--a small green dresser (for towels and linens), a cool metal wine rack, a side/end table with magazine racks, and also a large bookshelf that didn't fit in the car but had to be delivered. The best part about all of this? I paid less than $20. TOTAL. Garage Sales are awesome!

2- Wednesday night I cooked dinner for mom and dad at my house. There was a minor incident involving some burnt cheese and copious amounts of smoke, but the good news is, my smoke detector does indeed work! I made potatoe and parmesean encrusted tilapia and it was pretty darn tasty! I am looking forward to hosting more dinner parties in the future!

3- Last night we had a torrential rain storm- I think it was between 3 &4 inches in a very short time! My coworker got caught in his car in a flash flood, totaling the vehicle, but he's ok, thank goodness. I stayed up long enough to determine that the gutters on my house are pretty much useless, to feel lighting quite possibly strike the lightning rod on top of my roof (or at least somewhere WAY too close for comfort) and to notice that the roof was leaking once again. This time it was over the sink so I didn't really care and went back to sleep. Notified the landlords, so maybe I'll be getting a new roof sometime soon!

That's all for now...more later!

Not much

Not a lot happening here, just waiting for my job to start. The good news is, that after grand total of 4 mice, I haven't seen any (dead or alive) since last Wednesday. The last to commit suicide didn't go down without a fight! He bled all over my floor first, and I found him with his little feet sticking out from under my stove. Not cool. Bad news: after a particularly powerful rain today, there appears to be a puddle in the utility room. A bucket has been placed and the landlords have been notified. It is only a steady drip at the moment. Clayton (the man who fixes things) says they knew about the leak, but thought it had been fixed...so he's gonna come over tomorrow to fix it. He said something about how it probably was just a shingle that got knocked loose in the storm. I'm not so sure. There are some bulging ceiling tiles that would suggest there is more than one shingle loose. We'll see. Don't expect to see much more from me for a while, my life is pretty BORING for now.

Little Ward- the world traveler

Today we drove to St. Louis, and put Emily on a plane to Africa. How did my little sister get so brave? It was hard to see her go, but I am so excited for her! She's gonna have amazing adventures and we'll see her in December. Four months is not that long, right?

Houston, we have a PROBLEM

This morning, I discovered that my house had a visitor while I was sleeping. A four legged, beady eyed, grey, squeaky visitor. That's right folks, I had a mouse (or more likely, mice). The clues have been evident for days, but didn't really add up until I found the droppings this morning. It started with a pan of brownies, covered with tin foil on my stove. A few times this week, I came into the kitchen to find that the tin foil was peeled back a bit in the corner. Blindly, I thought nothing of it, replaced the tin foil, and continued about my day. A few times when I have been sitting in the living room watching tv at night I've heard a strange noise come from the kithcne or utility room. I just figured it was a new place, and I don't know it's noises yet. And a few weeks ago, when I was over here one night painting my bedroom, I heard a strange chewing/scratching noise coming from the ceiling. I freaked out a little, but convinced myself it was just a squirrel on my roof eating a walnut. I never heard any more chewing, so I forgot about it. This morning, the tinfoil was peeled back, and there were droppings on my stove. I spent the rest of the time I was supossed to be using to get ready for church wandering the house, searching for other evidence. After church, I came home, and set four traps. Tonight when I got home, DEAD MOUSE. SICK. I put on a glove and threw it in the trash, screaming to mom on the phone the whole time! I also set poison bait all over, so if he has any friends, hopefully they will all DIE! I do not want any mice around my new beautiful couch!

A place to sit!

Saturday I bought (well, technically Mom and Dad bought, but I WILL pay them back this time!) the most beautiful couch in the world! Yay! Mom and I spotted it about 3 days ago, and I fell in love instantly. It was slightly out of my price plan, and I didn't really think there was much hope. There were some...perfectly nice couches for much cheaper, but they all came in one color-beige, or brown. BORING! All of the "pretty" couches were more pricey, so I was pretty sure I was stuck with a boring brown. Then I took Dad and Bethany with me to go look at (and possibly purchase) one of the basic models when next thing I know, I have convinced Dad, and we are laying down the plastic for my beauty! Oh and did I mention it's PLUM (deep purple) ?! GORGEOUS!!! We rented a truck from Mernards (who knew you could do that?), and dad and the furniture guys loaded it up. Easy. Getting it in the house however, was an entirely different story! After multiple attempts with rotating and turning it to every concievable angle, it looked pretty bad for me and my plum couch. Through valiant efforts by my parents, sister, and I, the screen door and all for feet on the couch were removed. It squeezed in, with less than a centimeter to spare! It is all set up now and looks great! And now people have somewhere to sit when I have them over! Yay!!! And I have somewhere to lounge while I blog!
Tada!!! (The chaise is removable, so that wasn't the issue with the fit) Perfect, no?

EMPLOYMENT!!!

I got the call yesterday morning-I have a job! Yay! It will be a staff nurse postion on the OB Floor at Carle Foundation Hospital, in Urbana. I will start in Post-Partum and newborn nursery, eventually rotating to antepartum and labor and delivery when needed. It is pretty much a dream postion, and since Carle is a level 3 perinatal center (the highest level you can get), they require their staff nurses to have a lot of extra training and certifications, which will make me extremely employable to anywhere else! I don't start until September 21, and even then, it's two weeks of orientation before I get to actually be a nurse, but it's SO EXCITING!!! It is a night postion, and some call is required, so I'm not sure what kind of social life I will have, but I guess that is expected at first. In the mean time, I can buy a couch now since I will be making good money in the months (and year) following September!

Moved In!

Mom, Dad, and Emily helped me move on Friday. It was a lot of work-who knew I had so much crap in such a tiny apartment?! I can't thank them enough for all of the back breaking work! Apparently there are pictures of that adventure, so I'll get those posted soon enough. I have spent the past two days getting all settled in, and despite the lack of living room furniture, it looks pretty good. I think this house thing is gonna be kinda fun! Speaking of fun, Mom and Dad thoroughly enjoyed watching me mow my first lawn...which was very painful and torturous for me! Mom snapped pictures on her camera phone, which will NOT be appearing anytime soon! Still waiting to hear from Carle about the job...hopefully this week. In the meantime, here are some lovely pictures of my new place for your enjoyment:
Front door, complete with cute flowers (Thanks Mom & Dad!!!)


New purple bedroom! Yay!

Lighter, Brighter, Living room, ignore the awkward lack of furniture...















Green Office, ignore the boxes...






Bathroom, notice the cabinet, which, much to mom's chagrin was purple, and HAD to be painted immediately, which ended up being a huge fiasco, but in the end, the tan looks just fine!


Anyway, that's all for now, but stay tuned for news about the job!