ZOOOOOOOM!

These past few weeks seem to have flown by!  That is by no means a complaint either :)  I finished up classes and took my finals, all A's for my first semester!!  Last Saturday was very busy and lots of fun.  In the morning, my church here did a Christmas Brunch where homeless and less fortunate families and people come into the church, get their picture made, have a hot brunch, get some supplies (laundry detergent, soap, socks, food, etc), and pick up their picture.  I was part of the candid camera team and got some great shots!  We served over 700 people that morning!! 

That afternoon, the lab ladies met up at Becca's house to have a gingerbread house making party!  I had never done that before, nor had many of the ladies.  It was so much fun and everyone had a blast!  My house turned out pretty cute and is currently in my kitchen filling it with sweet gingerbread and icing smells :)  We had a snow storm and I got Monday off, which was absolutely amazing.  It snowed about 2 inches!!  Asher and I spent the entire day relaxing, snuggling, reading, watching tv, etc.  He was a very happy kitty :) 

This morning I am on a 2 hour delay because we have ice on the roads.  That's why I have time to write this :) OH!  So Justin is on his cowabunga trip right now, which he is enjoying.  They've toured dairy and beef farms, a buffalo farm, and are currently in Kentucky.  They went to a horse therapeutic center yesterday and got to see Keenland track in the snow :)  He comes home tomorrow (providing the weather cooperates).  I wasn't supposed to see him until Christmas Eve eve in Marion, but yesterday driving back from the slaughterhouse an idea popped into my head, which I passed to him via text and which is now the plan!  He (again, providing weather cooperates) is going to drive to Granite Falls to spend the weekend with us (me, my parents, my grandparents) for Christmas.  On Sunday when I drive back to Knoxville, he's coming with me to stay here a few days.  He will get to meet Asher, see the lab, meet my friends, see Essau, and hang out with me until we head to Marion for Christmas!  We are both really excited and I am especially excited to have him here!  It'll be neat to show him around now that I know the area and am comfortable in my surroundings.  We will head to Raleigh the day after Christmas and I'll spend that next week there!!   

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday season, a blessed Christmas, and a wonderful New Year!  It's hard to believe it's almost 2011!  Stay safe traveling and I hope to see lots of friends when I'm in town!

Here are pictures of the gingerbread party and a few new ones of Asher

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, I got to fly home to Raleigh since I had just driven two days prior.  The Knoxville airport is small, but very nice.  I got through security quickly and anxiously waited an hour and a half to start boarding the plane to Atlanta.  In Atlanta, I grabbed Quiznos and ate it as I journeyed to my terminal (on the other end of the airport).  I also got a quick swirl cup from TCBY before boarding :)  Mom and Dad picked me up in Raleigh and took me home!!


Thanksgiving morning I went up to the barn and rode Ivan bareback for 30 minutes at the walk since his foot was sore from a bruise.  It was great to be back on him and nice to be at the barn.  The rest of the day was spent helping mom cook Thanksgiving dinner.  Justin came over shortly after lunch after feeding and milking at the dairy.  Thanksgiving dinner was amazing, as always.  We enjoyed delicious food and family and friends!  Two new recipes that I shared were a peanut butter pie and a new sweet potato casserole (both recipes from Brooke).  They were a big hit :) 


Friday Justin and I went back to the dairy because he had to put some hay out using the bobcat.  We met Margie, Mark, and Gillian Bowles for lunch at North Hills Club (where our reception will be).  It was delicious!  Justin and I love their family to death and we enjoyed catching up!  After lunch, Lauren (the events manager) showed us the ballroom and a few photo albums of pictures from weddings there.  It got me all excited again about our wedding :)  That evening, Justin and I went to my parents house for leftovers.  Again...delicious. 


Saturday morning I went and got my hair cut at Bobby Jo's new place.  She has been cutting my mom's hair for over 20 years and since Rita (she's been cutting my hair since I was born) was not in, I had Bobby Jo give me a trim.  Justin and I then went to the barn where I rode Ivan again at the walk for 30 minutes.  We cleaned up, had lunch, and went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 with mom, dad, and Tim.  It was awesome!!  After the movie, Justin, mom, dad, and I walked over to Lynnwood Grill which is next to the theater and had dinner. 


It was great to see everyone at church on Sunday.  I got to see a lot of my friends and got a warm welcome from everyone.  Jeannie (my maid of honor) and her fiance met us for lunch afterwards at Carolina Cafe and Bakery where I had my favorite lemon poppyseed muffin along with some awesome loaded potato soup.  It was great catching up with her and hearing all about her upcoming wedding next Fall.  Now she'll be my matron of honor :)


Leaving Sunday was not fun.  At all.  Of course it was sad to leave Justin, to leave my parents, and to leave my home, but it was not helped at all by the fact that I was flying alone and that I knew no one would be there waiting for me when I got into Knoxville.  The flight to Atlanta went smoothly.  I grabbed Qdoba and headed to my gate to eat it.  The plane we were to board had just come in internationally, so they had to do a security sweep and clean it.  That took a very long time and we ended up boarding about 45 minutes later than normal.  I got into Knoxville late and then was delayed further by a baggage jam...Finally I made it home to find an attention-starved kitty and my quiet little apartment. 


This past week has been fine.  Classes ended Tuesday and I had a final exam on Friday.  I have one more next Thursday and then this semester will be officially over as far as classes go.  I'm trying to stay busy, going to the slaughterhouse, making media, reading articles, and trying to stay focused.  As the holidays grow nearer, I'm getting more and more excited about seeing family again.  Although it won't be for nearly as long as I would like, it will be very nice to be around the ones I love for Christmas and to bring in the new year. 

A Wonderful Wedding Weekend

I had the privilege to be a bridesmaid in my friend Jessica Smith's wedding this past weekend (now Jessica Smith Harris).  I got to spend Friday  night at my grandparents' house, which was very nice.  I also stopped through Raleigh on my way to Nashville, NC on Saturday.  I surprised my Mom for a few minutes at the barn, loved on Ivan for a few minutes, then had lunch with Justin.  It was so weird to be in Raleigh and not feel like I had a place there.  I know I have a room at my parents' house, but it was strange being there when my "home" isn't there.  Anyway, lunch was awesome and far too short.

I arrived in Nashville about an hour before the rehearsal at Jessica's house.  We went over to Rose Hill where the wedding was to be held and had a nice rehearsal, followed by a delicious dinner.  Jessica gave all the girls some jewelry that a friend of hers had made that matched the colors of her wedding.  She also gave us matching pajamas to wear the next day before we got dressed for the wedding.  Everyone was pretty tired that evening and we went to bed a bit early.

Sunday morning, we all got up and headed over to Rose Hill.  We stayed there all day getting ready, doing our hair and make up, and taking pictures before the ceremony started at 3:00.  There was way too much delicious food around and we all ate pretty much the whole morning.  Muffins, brownies, biscuits, cake, mixed nuts, fruit...yeah we ate too much!  The ceremony was absolutely beautiful, with adorable, personal touches everywhere!  The reception was a lot of fun and Jessica and Jason rode away on a huge John Deere tractor.  It was so cute! 

It was so awesome to be in a wedding.  Firstly, I felt so honored to be a part of such a special day.  Secondly, it was really neat to see the behind-the-scenes of a wedding; how things work, what all has to get done, etc.  I'm getting some good research done so I'll be ready for mine! :)  This wedding has seriously pumped me up about our wedding and I have all these ideas now along with tons of excitement. 

I drove back to Granite Falls Sunday night and finished the drive to Knoxville Monday morning.  After a long day and a great night's sleep, it is Tuesday and I'm feeling pretty good.  Tomorrow I fly HOME and then I get to spend the rest of the week/end with family, fiance, friends, food and Ivan (poor guy, doesn't start with an F).  This semester is almost over and I am so thankful that time really does fly.  It'll be June 2012 before you know it :)

Busy, busy, busy

This past week was extremely busy.  I don't recall being that busy ever in my life or if I have, it has been a very long time.  I spent most of my time during the days in the lab, continuing my learning of techniques that I will be using for my project as well as making media.  We did go out to lunch on Thursday for Dr. Edwards's birthday, which was a nice break.  I rode Essau bareback on Monday and have not ridden him since.  The days were just so cram packed and when I was finished in the lab, it was pitch black outside and all I wanted to do was go home.  He has been fine though, going out in a pasture behind the barn and doesn't seem to mind that I haven't worked him much this week. 

I am not sure what all I will get into this week.  The Animal Science department is having their annual Thanksgiving lunch on Wednesday so that will be a fun time!  I am going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding on Sunday the 21st in Nashville, NC.  I am driving to Granite Falls Friday night, driving to Raleigh Saturday morning to stop and have lunch with Justin, then heading to Nashville.  The wedding is at 3:00 PM on Sunday and I will be driving back to Granite Falls that night.  I will then wake up early and drive back to Knoxville in time for class Monday morning.  I then have three days of class and fly HOME on Wednesday evening.  I am looking forward to seeing my family, Justin, my horse, and all of my people!  I can't wait and hope that this next week flies by so I can get home ASAP!  Justin has all of his final exams before Thanksgiving, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  It is a very stressful time for the vet students as they have 7 finals in 7 days!  EEK!  Oh, I get my longhorns back next week in time to drive to Raleigh.  I'm so excited to see them and get them home so I can work on finishing them up over break.  Yay!

Did I mention I'm ready to come home?

qPCR RT RNA KSOM...it's an abbreviation sort of week!

Well this week has flown by, but it's been a great one!  I have been incredibly busy, but not in a rushed, overwhelmed way.  I have been spending a lot of time reading about the theory behind all of the biotechnology that I will be using for my research project (qPCR, RT, RNA isolation).  While it is difficult to understand some of it without actually doing the process, it has been very helpful for understanding the reasoning behind why it's done, how it's done, and which parts are most critical.  I have also been getting some more training in media making, RNA isolation, and did my first qPCR run today.  Brooke is an incredible teacher and she explained the process so well!  I made KSOM, an extremely important media that the embryos live in, today by myself (with Brooke watching).  As long as the pH checks out tomorrow (at 24 hours), then I should be cleared to make it on my own.  Check! 

I have been learning all of the information about adipose collection and RNA isolation because tomorrow while I am at the slaughter house collecting ovaries for Kim, I will also be collecting a few fat samples in order to practice next week.  I am really looking forward to this as it will be the first time I isolate RNA by myself.  I will be doing a LOT of this in my project, so it is a great feeling knowing I am learning something that will directly affect my project! 

Essau has been doing well, but I haven't had the time to ride him a lot lately.  He doesn't seem to mind at all.  I rode him on Tuesday and he did really well.  Today he got de-wormed and was surprisingly good for it.  I really like that Quest Gel!  It isn't messy at all!  It's so nice to get the de-wormer all in his mouth and none on me!  It is supposed to be pretty cold the next few days and nights (lows in upper 20s/lower 30s and tomorrow's high is 45!!) so he has on a warm blankie :) 

Asher is also doing well.  He got de-clawed last Thursday and came home on Saturday.  His surgery went well and he is healing super fast!  We had to do 5 days of shredded paper in the litter box (yick) and he finishes up his antibiotics tomorrow.  He will most definitely appreciate that! 

It's hard to believe this semester is winding down.  I have two more full weeks of class, then the week with Thanksgiving break, then 2 days of class after the break.  After that, it's two exams and this semester is over!  I am really, really excited about coming home for the first time since I've been here.  I can't wait to see all of my friends and family, ride Ivan, and spend 4 whole days with Justin!!  I just hope that I will have the strength and courage to come back to Tennessee!  I actually get to come to NC the weekend before Thanksgiving because I am in a good friend's wedding as a bridesmaid.  She is getting married in Nashville, NC (yes it's a real place) on Sunday the 21st.  Since I have to come back to TN Sunday PM and go back to Raleigh on Wednesday, I decided to fly home for Thanksgiving so I didn't have to make two 6+ hour trips in 4 days.  This will also give me more time at home since I won't have to take 6 hours out of the day for driving each direction. 

A few for the prayer list:
* Justin is sick with a double ear infection and sinus infection
* My great aunt Nina has pneumonia
* NCSU vet students have their finals all before Thanksgiving

Crazy Week

What a crazy week it has been!  I am not sure I have been that busy for that many days in a row in a long time.  This week has consisted of lots of media-making, studying, ovary slicing/oocyte searching, meetings, classes, and lab time.  I felt like a chicken with its head cut off most of the week!  Tuesday was really cool.  The 420 class I TA went to one of UT's research farms in Crossville, TN for the day to pregnancy check cows.  We met early and ate at Cracker Barrel that morning.  I was just talking to a girl and picked up the little peg game.  I normally leave about 5 pegs (ig-nor-a-moose).  I wasn't really thinking and just played the game while carrying on a conversation and low and behold, I left ONE PEG!  That has never happened and I decided right there that it was going to be a good day (I also had pecan pancakes on the way, which was extremely exciting).  It was a long day once we got to the farm and started preg checking.  We did not stop until about 3:00 PM and then ate at a Mexican restaurant called Cancun.  It was really fun to palpate so many cows and to feel so many babies!  When they're this far along (4-6 months), you can bounce them like a basketball.  It feels like a water balloon with something inside and it's so neat to feel a fetus!  

Asher got de-clawed on Thursday and I am going to pick him up today.  The doctor said he was doing great and seemed happy.  Hopefully he won't pull any stitches out once he gets home.  I have the apartment vacuumed and ready for him so he does not get anything between his toes.  He also has pretty shredded paper in his litter box from my paper shredder.  

An update on the horns.  Jessy went to the slaughterhouse Monday and brought back a BIG set of horns for me!  Yay!  I took them to the taxidermist that evening and should have them in time to take them home at Thanksgiving so we can sand and polish them!  The set from before looks great and I am so excited to see them both finished! 

Some other random tidbits.  I carved a pumpkin last night.  It was not as good as mine last year, but I like it.  I am hoping to have trick-or-treaters tomorrow to eat this candy I bought!  Essau is doing well.  Poor guy didn't get to see me all week because I was so busy!  I saw him yesterday though and he was content :)  I have an exam Monday which I will be studying for this weekend, but next week should be a bit less hectic, thankfully!  I am getting very excited about coming home for Thanksgiving and the next 3.5 weeks can't come by quick enough!

Much Needed Update

Wow, it's been 2 weeks without an update!  Last weekend was the Mountain Mystery Weekend with Justin.  I drove to the address he gave me Friday afternoon, which was in Sylva, NC.  I had never heard of or been to Sylva, so it was a surprise to me even when I knew where I was going.  The drive there was beautiful!  Once I got off 40, the road took me through gorgeous mountains, winding around the beautiful Fall colors.  I pulled up to the address and found Justin standing by a cute little cabin back off the road a bit.  The cabin was SUPER cute.  It was very cozy, quiet, and peaceful.  There was no tv or internet, which made for a very relaxing weekend.  We ventured out Friday night to find dinner and ended up eating at Subway, haha. 

Saturday, we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a little while, stopping at a few overlooks to take pictures.  We then decided to drive about an hour away to Highlands, NC.  Justin had been there this summer while working with USDA in western NC and said it was a cute little town.  On our way up there, we stopped at Dry Falls which is a waterfall that you can walk under.  I took lots of pictures there (until my 18-55mm lens stopped auto-focusing).  We made it up to Highlands by way of some extremely windy and narrow roads that drop off straight down on the other side.  It took us a while to find somewhere to park, but we finally did and found a great little deli to have lunch.  Our chicken salad sandwiches were phenomenal (his on sourdough and mine on pumpernickel).  We then indulged in some ice cream (strawberry for him and butter pecan for me, of course).  We walked around and looked in a few shops, then headed back to the cabin.  Once there, we took a little hike around the property and then just relaxed the rest of the afternoon.  We watched Mrs. Doubtfire on his laptop since he was bringing it along with another DVD to me that I had left at his apartment months ago.  Since it was really cold that night, he built us a really nice fire! 

Sunday we got up, packed, checked out of the cabin and headed to Waffle House for breakfast.  I had been craving pancakes, but the waffle was just as good!  We then drove to Asheville to spend the day at Biltmore House.  I had been about 8 years ago so it was nice to see it again!  We took the usual tour through the house and then did a specialty tour at 12 noon on the roof.  We learned all about the construction of the house and had a completely different view of the property from the roof!  Justin really enjoyed it, especially learning that every single slate shingle (haha say that one 5 times fast) was hand-tied onto the roof in two places.  That's some serious labor! 

We ate lunch at a cafe near the stables area (chicken florentine pizza) and then had some ice cream.  Cookie dough for him, and you guessed it...butter pecan for me.  The ice cream was better here than in Highlands, but the waffle cone in Highlands beat Biltmore's hands down :)  Justin and I then toured the basement level of the house (kitchen, pool, bowling alley, laundry, servants quarters) and the gardens.  It was a great day with absolutely beautiful weather.  The entire weekend was perfect weather actually. 

It was extremely difficult for both of us to part again after such an amazing escape.  We both felt like we could forget the world for a few days and just enjoy each other's company.  That made leaving him really, really hard.  I had a little meltdown that evening and the next day.  Talk about pouring emotions...these were flowing like the Nile!  I feel MUCH better now, but of course still miss him every day.

Now for some exciting news.  I had a meeting today with Dr. Edwards and now have a direction and a plan for my project!  I cannot discuss it in detail with the general public, but just know that it is novel, exciting, and has me ready to get going.  I will be learning a lot of molecular techniques such as RNA isolation, RT (reverse transcription), building primers, and qPCR.  A lot of this will be learned in Dr. Voy's lab, so it'll be cool to work in another lab in conjunction with the one I'm in now.  I feel like I finally have some clarity and a direction.  I was struggling with feeling unfulfilled and like I did not have a reason for learning all of these things in the lab, except to just learn them.  Now, I have lots to learn and realize that everything I've been learning will help me greatly not only with my time in grad school, but with just expanding my "tool belt", as Dr. Edwards calls it, for when I finish grad school and head out into the world.  It is amazing how perfect God's timing is.  Just when I was crying out, questioning my being here, and struggling the most, He gives me clarity and gets me excited about heading somewhere.  I appreciate all of the continuous support from Justin, my family, and all of my wonderful friends through my crazy emotional moments.  I hope you know I will always reciprocate that support when any of you need it! 

Here are the pictures from my weekend if you care to take a look