Please join some of my friends in

doing the happy dance for me.

I just received a letter stating that I have passed my Comprehensive Exam!

Woohoo!!!

Now this is what a "get-away" should look like! Our few days of quality time together were awesome. I am not usually a beach girl, because I am perpetually pale and don't get excited about swimming, but this trip has made me a convert. I could lazily read on my chaise lounge with an umbrella over my head forever with the ocean as my background music. The sound of the waves kinda made the rest of the world fade away. We splurged for the best key lime pie I have had in my life as well as room service breaskfast on our balcony. The day that we left, we took a two hour walk on the beach and collected sea shells. We helped a starfish and a crab get back into the water after the receding tide left them stranded on the beach too. It was so perfect it borders on cheesy. Aah! I wish I had the money of Paris Hilton so that I could take trips like this more often.

About Me

Aaahhh!!! The stress level in my life is slowly receding and I can definitely breath easier these days. I have caught up on homework and have come to realize that I only have a month left in my master's program. Of course that hinges on my passing the Comps as well as my current classes, but I have faith in myself.

My husband actually has four days in a row off so some quality R & R is planned. The forecast for the week is sunny in the 60s and 70s, so we are going to head toward the coast for an overnight getaway. There will be no swimming in the ocean, however a walk on the beach to gather shells as well as some quality seafood are on the agenda. I am looking forward to it.

Before we leave, I am feeling inclined to play along with my friend and fellow blogger Nicole's snippet of "about me" material. So, here are a few things about me.

Three Names You Go By:
1.) Christina
2.) Christy
3.) Chris
(I have no preference for which of these three
people call me.)

Three Things That Scare You:
1.) Stupid drivers
2.) The potential death of friends and family
3.) Walking down bleacher steps

Three of Your Everyday Essentials:
1.) Caffeine, particularly coffee
2.) A shower
3.) Sugar laden food (I have a horrible sweet tooth.)

Three Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1.) Dark blue 'wife beater style' tank top
2.) Dark blue zip-up hoodie
3.) White socks

Two Truths and a Lie:
1.) I once walked for over 20 straight hours in order to raise money for charity.
2.) I once drove my car through the rear wall of my parents' garage.
3.) I once won money by betting on the TV show Survivor.

Three of Your Favorite Hobbies:
1. Reading
2. Learning about and trying new things
(like gardening, home improvement, health)
3. Organizing things around the house

Three things you want to do right now:
1.) Take a real vacation (at least a week)
2.) Hang out with my far away friends
3.) Eat

Three Things You Want to Do Before You Die:
1.) Make a real difference in someone's life
2.) Finish my "to do" list (it's long and includes things like...go on an African Safari, visit Alaska, see the pyramids, be fluent in a foreign language, etc.)
3.) Be truly happy with who I am

Three Ways that you are Stereotypically a Girl/Guy:
1.) I love wearing skirts.
2.) I enjoy being pampered.
3.) I can spend all day shopping.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!

(and happy birthday Sister-in-Law!)

I just sent in my FINISHED comprehensive exam and now I am off to play. My sister and mom are here for a visit and we are heading downtown.

Yeah!!!!

Happy Day!!!!

Comps are done!!!!

Cha, Cha, Cha Chia

I am so excited! My Chias are growing! Yes, I own a Chia, but not a Chia pet. It's a Chia herb garden. My mom got it for me for my birthday. Yes, I actually requested this gift after seeing it on television.

I can not even begin to explain how proud I am that I am actually growing something. This plant growing thing is a really big deal to me. See, I've never done it before. I use to buy herb plants in the commissary and they would live for a month or two and then die. And, I made many attempts to kill my houseplants while in Germany. However, they continued to live until we moved and it was a very sad day when I gave them away. But, I have never planted anything from seed. Grandma always planted the garden and I would help pick when she didn't just show up at our front door with a basket full of veggies and fruit.

During the first few weeks back in January or February (I can't remember exactly), I wasn't so sure about it. I had to grow the plants from seed and the directions talked about germination. I had no idea what plant germination was supposed to look like. I was seeing these 'things' that looked like either mini puss balls or fish eggs depending on the pot I was peering into. But, I kept watering and now, voila, I have green plants. Not quite herbs that are usable, but they definitely have potential. The basil leaves actually look like mini basil leaves to me. So, my fingers are crossed that the little plants will continue to grow and flourish and provide me with lots of yummy fresh herbs. I should have cilantro, basil, dill, and parsley.

If all goes well and they live, I think I will buy a giant pot and a lemon tree next.

So Long My Friend

I have been flipping away through books and typing like crazy the past couple of days. The test is going pretty well right now. I am overjoyed. I did get get a break yesterday because as predicted, the washing machine is kuput and we had to buy a new one.

I had never really paid much attention to washers until now. My husband brought the machine into our marriage and prior to that I had always used a laundry mat or my parents. Holy heck at all of the options on washing machines and some of them are SO expensive! If I am going to pay $1,000 for a washing machine it better sort the clothes for me and then put them in the dryer itself.

Some of the decisions were easy ones. Price for instance, I was not willing to pay more than $600 and my budget really liked the look of the ones for $300. When it came to features, that was where I had to use some brain cells. There were so many dials and buttons and so much writing on some machines, it was difficult to compare. So, I started with the easy stuff.

It seems as if front load washers are all the rage these days because they are stackable. Thankfully, I used one of these bad boys for the four years in Germany. I could cross them off the list right away. I know from experience that if you forget that 'important' item that is hanging on the back of the door, there is no capability to toss it in once the load has been started. And as far as the stacking is concerned, most houses are already set up with laundry areas that accommodate the side-by-side version. It is side-by-side all the way for me.

We were in a bit of a time crunch so we only looked at two stores after taking a look at Consumer Reports before leaving home. Best Buy . . . not helpful at all. A couple of guys stood around and yapped about their weekend instead of offering to help us. So, we tried to find the models that CR recommended, but had no luck. We wrote down information on the models that we decided we liked and headed to Sears.

Sears sales guy was great. We had already narrowed our selection down to two because after looking at all of the gizmos and gadgets we knew what we wanted and what didn't really matter. The $300 models were far too limited on their options, but we didn't have to bump the high end of our range either. We were discussing Sears v. Best Buy because at this point in time all of the salespeople were busy. Delivery cost v. price v. what we recalled about the machines at Best Buy when here came the sales guy. I asked one simple question . . . what is the difference that makes one machine worth $50 more than the other? Man, did we get an earfull! In summary, most of the price was in the motor and we went with the more expensive one due to the fact that I have lots of delicates, hate hand washing and it alledgedly provides a more delicate, delicate cycle. Plus, they had a rebate so delivery will be free, they set the new one up, and haul the old one away. I couldn't be happier with the experience and it will be delivered on Friday.

Here's what I want to pass on from this experience. Do a little research before making a purchase. Know what you want so that you aren't sold on a bunch of features that you really don't need. It makes the process a whole lot easier. Yes, we could have taken more time and compared prices elsewhere, and maybe saved a few more dollars. But, when my husband has one day off of work in a two week time period, I have better things to do than run all over town looking at washing machines simply to save 20 bucks.

Organization

Yes, today is full of little stories from my Wal-Mart trip. This one is regarding layout. Maybe it is just this particular store that I go to, but the layout drives me crazy. There are bath poofs in the soap area and the make-up area and the middle of the isle. Not all of the shower gels are together. They have the brand name/soap like ones (think Dove, Oil of Olay, Dial) all together and then the fruity scented and spa like washes by the make-up. What sense does this make? If I were looking for something other than Dove to lather up with, it would be nice to have it all in the same isle.

Then there are the office supplies. There is this random isle in the center of the store with what I think might be extra stock - office supplies, tote boxes, plastic cups - there is no rhyme or reason to it. It's not clearance or particularly seasonal. It's just weird.

One day, I was looking for hand-held blender. Ours had died in the middle of my making frosting so it was an emergency trip. I found them in two different isles and neither selection was with the stand mixers. Then, there were display models that I couldn't find in a box and boxes that weren't on display. Come on, organization people!

There just seems to be random crap everywhere and it drives me crazy. The Wal-Mart in my hometown was incredibly easy to navigate. I could be in and out within minutes. Here, it takes 45 minutes minimum and is anything other than convenient. Now they are presently building a Super Center in my little hometown that is scheduled to open in the spring. I hope that it's better organized than the one here or I feel sorry for its patrons.

Tampon Oddities

A couple funny things about tampons. They were on my "to-buy" list today, so I took a few minutes to gander at the available varieties. Did you know, that 'junior size' Tampax brand only come in the multi-packs. You can't buy them in a box by themselves. You can buy an individual box of regular or super or even super plus, but not junior. I find this odd. Or, maybe they just aren't available at Wal-Mart. Let me know if you see a box somewhere. I'm curious.

Here's another thing that is odd and a bit annoying to me. So, I settled on Security brand. I know, probably too much information, but hey, too bad, it's like talking about shampoo, so who cares. Anyhow, I bought a multi-pack with different absorbencies. When I opened the box to put them away, it was actually two separate boxes inside. What a waste of cardboard! I could have easily picked up two separate boxes on my own, I was trying to conserve cupboard space. Tampax doesn't do this. Their one box is neatly sectioned off into three individual sections. The sensible thing to do in my opinion. The Security guy in charge of packaging should be fired for wasting company money.

A Trip to Wal-Mart

I stopped by Wal-Mart today to pick up some tortilla chips that they had on sale. The chips were even cheaper than what the add said. It made me happy to save the money. But, I was also disappointed because they were out of pretty much everything else that I shop specifically at Wal-Mart for.

First there are the Wal-Mart brand fruit punch packets for water bottles. Since I have a drinking problem, I sometimes get tired of plain water and like to spice things up with these handy-dandy little items. They are great! I usually make them in my 32 oz clear plastic tumblers, purchased at Wal-Mart for about $1.35 each instead of water bottles. I have a few left, but will be upset if I run out. Sure, I could buy the Crystal Light packets, but who wants to pay around $3.69 for what they can get for $1.79? So, my fingers are crossed that they will have more soon. (A side note, I know that I could buy the tub mix, and I do sometimes, but I am lazy and would rather not have to wash the pitcher.)

Then, there were the lemon cakes. I found a very tasty treat by mixing Cool Whip Free with frozen red raspberrys that have been thawed and then breaking a Weight Watchers lemon cake over it. Well, Wal-Mart had chocolate and carrot available, but were out of lemon. Crap, strike two! I bought Twinkies instead, not quite as good for me, but I know the husband will be happy.

I was having no luck. They don't carry olive oil Pam, no frozen cranberries, no low-fat Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies (which, I can not find anywhere in Fayetteville, if you care), and no square glass canisters. But, I got sale tortilla chips!

What's Next?

I just have to share a bit of craziness that I read about over my eggs this morning. It was out of Women's Health Magazine. If you are offended by items having to do with the female genitalia, you might want to stop reading now. Here's the blurb:

Leave it to a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon to find a way to spice up your sex life with collagen. G-spot amplification, called the G-Shot, is a collagen injection designed to enlarge the elusive G-spot, supposedly making it easier to find and stimulate. The $1,850 procedure is performed under local anesthesia and should be no more painful than a pinprick, says David Matlock, MD, director of the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute; it takes 15 minutes and lasts up to 4 months, making it a rather expensive way to achieve theBig O.

Okay, so there are a few things I would like to know:
1. Really? Is this necessary?
2. What crazy lady agreed to be the guinea pig for this experiment?
3. Who would pay $1,850 three times a year to have a needle stuck somewhere deep inside her hoo-hoo?
4. Wouldn't a few books and some practice be cheaper?
5. Is there something in the water in Hollywood that makes people insane?

Completely ridiculous!

A Crazy Week

I just realized that I haven't written in a week. I am simply feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. That along with feeling as if I am not being as productive as I would like to be. So, here's the out of the ordinary that has been going on.

Our internet service has been acting up. I finally called about it today and I guess there's something going on with the line. The guy on the phone used the analogy of a clogged drain. Someone is supposed to be here tomorrow afternoon to check everything out. "Yeah!" for Sprint's customer service, they were awesome.

Tricare (medical insurance) makes me crazy. Last week I went to have a prescription filled at the local Army hospital. Since I have never attempted this before, it was quite an experience. I had no idea what I was doing and I felt like an idiot. It involved taking a number and then talking with a lady who was about as friendly as the church lady and then waiting for my name to appear on a board and then waiting in line. It took over an hour in all. Nope, I didn't expect that! Good thing I brought a book. Then, I tried to make an appointment . . . well I did make an appointment, but navigating the system to do it was not so much fun. I am having a couple moles checked out in about three weeks (allegedly the earliest available appointment date). I hope they're not cancerous. Three weeks! Plus, I am guessing that I will be referred out because these babies are coming off if I have anything to do with it. They worry the hypochondriac in me.

The 'service engine soon' light came on in the car, so that had to be fixed. Almost $800 later, it's all good. Granted, that price did include some routine maintenance, but "ouch!" for my budget. Oh, I failed to mention that it was a half-day affair. Fun, fun.

As part of my never ending quest for beautiful skin, I did have a facial today. That was rather nice. Although I don't really find it all that relaxing, the cozy warm bad gave me time for a quick cat nap while I was masking. Tomorrow, it's more pampering time for me. I am getting a very overdue haircut and highlight. If I would have waited much longer I would have a ponytail holder mark permanently embedded in my hair. It needs to be done, but I don't feel that I should be taking the time.

Finally, the 'big test' is going. . . okay thus far. I lost one book that I used to own and am having several shipped in from various libraries so that I have enough sources. I am finding that the sources are the most difficult part of the whole ordeal. Seven are needed per question. It seems like a lot, but I guess that's the bases of informed research. Exactly why I will never be a researcher . . . I just don't care that much.

I hear the husband clicking away at the keypad on the phone which has just reminded me that I still need to make an appointment for our washer to be repaired before the floor under it rots. The part to fix it was suppose to be ordered two months ago, but the repairman never called back to say it was in. And, I have been accidentally forgetting to call him for that same time period. With my luck these days, we will be looking for a new washing machine this weekend.

On a definite up-side, the weather has been beautiful lately. It was in the 70s today and is suppose to hit 80 tomorrow. I am loving it! Life is crazy, but life is good!