DIY...thanks Pinterest!

Ok, let's face it.  I am not "crafty" or "artistic."  I think with the left side of my brain.  I have no imagination.  And i certainly don't come up with great ideas on my own.

However, Pinterest.com has been a lifesaver over the past 10 months.  I can't remember exactly when i was introduced to it (or who introduced it to me) but now i have lots of ideas for recipes, clothes, wedding decorations (haha), newborn pictures (hehe), and DIY projects.

Remember my oyster shell mirror?  You can go back and read my blog here.  I was kinda crafty then.  Didn't use pinterest,but i did get the idea from the internet.  

Unfortunately I consider the mirror a minor fail in the DIY project arena.  

The mirror is too large.  Too heavy.   And while amazing and stunningly beautiful, not what i was expecting.

 So when someone on pinterest repinned how to store your jewelry with a hanging jewelry organizer,

 i knew i had to make one.  I mean, who better than me to:

1) get organized

2) show off my jewelry

3) attempt to be crafty

:)

So i had two 12x12 inch mirrors left over from my mirror project.  

And i bought shadow boxes to frame them in (yea Target!).  

Then i ALSO found on Pinterest how to make copy-cat distressed mirrors, similar to ones from Anthropologie (that cost 100-200 dollars there!!!)

Go HERE for the link.

After distressing my mirrors, gluing a pretty back to show through the mirror, and putting it all in the frame, and THEN screwing in hooks around the edges.....

......tada!

Close up....

(i put old sheet music behind the frame for it to show through....but you can use fabric, wall paper, etc)

Both of them....

Aren't they so cool!?!?!?!
I feel so organized and it is a great decoration for the bare walls of my bedroom.
<3

Oh- and if you want to help me out- please buy my bar that i need to get rid of within the next 2 weeks.
Go HERE for more details.
:)

Buy my bar!! PLEASE!!!!!

Ok, i realize this isn't the best way to advertise, but i need to sell my bar....and yes, i have a bar in my house.

Purchased at Baharri Imports in 2010 for $3000. 

It had been used previously in a restaurant/bar in Columbia and then was sold to the store, and then to us!

It is 3 parts, the servery area (counter), the backbar with storage and mirrors, and then a top overhanging piece that holds glasses.
***There are some scratches on the counter area since it was used in a restaurant.


I hate to part with it but need the money (yep...gotta pay my lawyer for helping me part with my ex).

This is one of the things in my life i can bear to part with.

Willing to part with it for $1500
You will need a moving company to aid in moving of the 3 pieces. 

It is VERY heavy and will not be able to be moved without a moving service!!

Will include 3 bar chairs with the bar (also bought from Barharri Imports at $100/piece)!

Additional info:
Bar total height: 7 feet
Counter height: 3 feet tall, 6.5 feet long

Weight: A LOT!

How long have you been here??

For the past three months i did research and A LOT of studying....but now i am back working on the wards and ICU.

I have been at MUSC for 10 years.  I started Medical School in 2003 and that is 4 years, then 3 years for Internal Medicine Residency, and THEN i decided that i loved the ICU and Pulmonary issues, so i decided to do a fellowship....and i am in my 3rd year of Pulmonary Fellowship.  I have been here forever! 

 

It isn't a bad thing because I love MUSC and the programs i am in.  And i have met some really wonderful people and have learned a lot.  But i have been here for a loooong time......and it is not just me that thinks that.
Since i am back roaming the halls of the hospital, i am running into people i have worked with over the years.  I hope they remember me bc i am nice or funny....and not because i was the intern that slept through my pages while on call (yep- i totally did that).
This is what i have heard just over the past week.
"Aren't you an attending yet?"
"When will you graduate?"
"You are still here?  I thought you would be done by now."

Well, in 10 months i will graduate.  To do what?.......  I don't know.  But possibilities are endless and i think my future is very exciting!

Well, i am off to bed.  I will say good morning tp everyone (but goodnight for me since i was on call last night).
Have a wonderful weekend!

Who says you can't go back?

Well, it is that time again.  School is back in session for Charleston, SC!  The days of Taylor sleeping until 12 or 1 pm are over.  The days (or nights) of her staying up late on her computer "just watching movies" are over.  The days of her saying "i'm bored" are over....oh wait, nevermind.

So Taylor started 10th grade today.  10th grade!  I was in 10th grade when i met Taylor's father (who was my 1st serious boyfriend for all of high school).  In 10th grade i was able to drive to school and I remember taking my mom's white mini-van to pick up my friend Mary Ellen and we would hang out at the mall on weekends and skip church on sundays by leaving sunday school and sitting in the car listening to music (sorry mom).
Where has the time gone?  So many things have changed!  Somewhere between then and now, i had a kid (kinda hard to miss), finished college, med school, and residency, and now am in year 3 of 3 of fellowship (!!!).  And my little girl is in high school, is thinking about colleges, her future career (not going to be a doctor) and is growing up in front of my eyes.

What has NOT changed is this:

The blue machine.

The 1993 Volvo 850 that my parents bought in 1996 and that most of the Lamberts drove.  I had it for 12th grade, i think Paul (my brother) drove it for a year or two, and then i got it back for my 2nd-4th years of college, and then my 1st 2 years of med school.  When the air conditioning died in 2005, i stopped driving it.  I mean, hello!  I live in Charleston.  It is sooo hot here.  And i bought my SUV that i have now. But never fear, the blue machine was still used.  It did sit more times than not in my parent's garage, but it did take infrequent trips around town.
When i realized that Taylor would be starting school this week, and more than that, could DRIVE to school (and to tutoring and baby-sitting jobs after school), i started crunching numbers.  Unfortunately with my financial situation (lots-o-bills), there was no way we could get a 2nd car for her to drive.  :(

Luckily my mom was nice enough to dust off the blue machine, charged the battery, and ta-da!  It was sitting at my house yesterday, being cleaned and vacuumed (thank you!!), ready for Taylor to drive to school today.  And i thought that was what was going to happen- until we realized the air conditioning didn't work and really?  Should a teenager (who thinks looks are sooo important right now) drive a car to school that has no AC in August in Charleston?  I think not.  Actually, if i was in her shoes, i would not be a happy camper. Sooo..... I have a 5-7 minute drive to work and i leave early enough that the sun isn't even up yet.....and even though Tay said she wouldn't mind driving the volvo and she could just "sweat" on the way home after the car had been sitting in the parking lot of her school all day, I decided i would drive it.  So i fired up the blue machine this morning and drove it in to work......just like old times.

Now i will admit that i am quite use to my SUV (and love it) and driving the volvo makes me laugh because i something that use to be so familiar just isn't anymore.  The car that i would drive up and down I-95 between Duke and Charleston to see my family, and Duke and Charlottesville so that Taylor could see her dad, doesn't feel like my car.  It is awkward driving it.  I feel LOW and very close to the road.  And it makes noises after you get above 40 mph.  And when you go over bumps on the road, you really feel it.  And let's just face it- its boxy physique isn't attractive.  And the ceiling is being held up with staples.  And the AC doesn't work (you already know that), but the radio doesn't work either.  And neither does the clock.  But the odometer does- 193k miles.  WOW!

Although i do have other options to get to work, i have a feeling i will be driving the blue machine much more than Tay will (at least during school days).  And i don't see my financial situation changing anytime soon (remember the lots-o-bills?  lawyers, IRS, and credit cards, oh my!), so the blue machine and i are going to have to get re-acquainted.... which isn't such a bad thing.  Who says you can't go back?

Happy Hump day!
:)

Prayers.....(and presents)

Monday is done.  Thank the Lord!

This is my thought for test.....

I really really appreciate all the prayers, love and support I have received from my family and friends over the past few months and especially on the big day.  It was so wonderful to get emails, texts, and calls, letting me know that the people i love the most are thinking about me and praying for me.
A-mazing.

And here are the beautiful flowers my daughter gave me to say "congrats."  So sweet!
:)

And then this beautiful little dress came in the mail FROM TAYLOR.  Little sneaky girl has a debt card (we got it when she went over to Europe) and bought this Everly dress, as another "congrats" present.
Eeek!
I had "pinned" it a few weeks ago bc i loved it so....but i am currently trying to get out of debt....so no beautiful clothes for me.  I love that she is on Pinterest so that she can get present ideas for me.  :)
Love it!!

AND I was lucky enough to get to have after test drinks with my friend, Jen, in Cola.  She was amazing and  surprised me with a big bag of all the things i love- diet dew, sour patch kids, sour gummy worms, a beautiful wine glass and a bottle of wine.  WHOOO HOOOO!  What a great way to end test day!

And this little beauty also came in the mail too.
<3 it!
I'm a lucky girl.

Well, tomorrow is back to the grind- AKA starting the MSICU for 2 weeks.
I have to keep on telling myself that it is a good thing to go back to work...and actually do work instead of study all the time....you know, if you don't use it, you lose it!
:)

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Tuesday things

I'm still busy but i am going to share some thoughts...

1) My motto for this week.......

2) and sometimes you need to stop playing the victim and make things happen the way YOU want it to.  I'm tired of being bullied. 

 3) This doesn't even need any caption.....

4) True.  We all don't wear our hearts on our sleeves like i do.  Or use a blog (again, like i do) to vent frustration or to blab about issues.  Some people suffer in silence.  Some people place bandaids on their bullet holes.  Be kind to those you interact with every day.

5) Thank you Proverbs for reminding me that i should not fear the future.

6) Amen.
And prayers will be appreciated on Monday morning at 8 am.
:)

7) A handwritten note (on a hand).
I <3 u.
Plain and simple.
Honest.
Unconditional. 
Endless.

Happy Tuesday.  Hope everyone has a good week.  Now back to work!

Tweet. Tweet.

Do you follow me on Twitter?  I didn't think so.  It is ok.....i forgot i had a twitter account too.

So...... long ago (2 years ago) when i was a 3rd year resident, my chief resident, Clay Shamblin, roasted the CRAP out of me at our end of the year roast for some (if not all) of my facebook posts.  Ok yes, i was oversharing.  I mean, who really cares about my vajazzling?  Or my need for beef jerky and Diet Mt Dew at the VA before ICU rounds?  I know, i know.....i shouldn't have put that stuff out there.  But i did.  And it provided excellent fuel for the roast.  Everyone laughed.  I had to laugh (it was pretty funny).  But who is going to laugh last?  Me!  Because now, Clay is my co-fellow and we still have one year together where i can plot to make an amazing roast about him.  Hehehehehe (that is my evil laugh.....Clay better watch out).

Anyway, i digress.

I started "tweeting" in place of Facebook because i figured less people would read it and i could say whatever i wanted to.  Well, it turns out that my life just wasn't interesting enough to tweet about day in and day out.  Or maybe life got too busy.  Anyway, now my twitter is just random pictures of tiberius or the pool, or funny retweets from friends or quotes about love.

This morning i stumbled across this and this .  Thank you twitter!
Both links are Jimmy Kimmel videos from his TV show.  Apparently he has gotten some of his guests to read mean tweets about themselves.....and it is hysterical.  I might have laughed out loud in the library.
And i *might* have watched both videos.  3 times each.
 Hehehe.

My thought for today:

Happy Friday!  TGIF!

A new month

Ahhh.  August 1st.
What happened to July?  Wait, what happened IN July?  Looking back at my posts....not much.  3 posts in July.  WEAK.  Sorry y'all.  I've been busy, preoccupied, and again, busy.

So busy i had to drive 1132 miles (round trip) to the Capital for 5 days of learning.
I did get to stay here (thanks mom and dad) ....better late than never.

And yeah, this is real.   It says $4.69 for regular.  Yep.

And this sums up my week in class.  Lol.

But lucky for me, after the class ended, I was able to go to the Arlington National Cemetery to visit one of my patients.  He (and his family) actually had a huge impact on me (and Taylor believe it or not) and i wanted to let him know that.

And apparently i was missed while i was gone.  :)

Oh- and while i was in our nation's capital, about 700 miles south was my daughter and her BFF, her father and his wife, and his wife's family spending the week at the beach.  LUCKY!!
Here is Taylor and Suzzzzzzzzz....
...ummm...i think Suz is wearing MY bathingsuit!

And Taylor and James (her brother)
(yea for smiling with her teeth!!!)

And Taylor and Suzzzzzz and James.
ps- James likes blondes...he loved Suzanne.  :)

Oh- and as soon as we got home, Taylor had a babysitting job!
I mean, she has to pay for gas to drive to school this year (eeek!) so she is FOR HIRE!  Spread the word!
Here is adorable baby D.  We played, ate goldfish and applesauce, and helped him climb the stairs while his dad kite-boarded (don't you love all the things we have at our fingertips in SC?!?!)

Now it is August 1st.
12 days until THE BIG ONE.
Taylor starts 10th grade (eeek) in 3 weeks.

WHERE DID THE SUMMER GO???