On April 9, I drove from Novi, MI to my parents' house to stay while I was in town for work. (It feels weird to say that it's my parents' house, not my house, but I guess it's kind of true.) It was so nice to be at home- it's not every day that you have someone else offer to make you dinner or do your laundry when you're an adult. [Note: We have this joke in my family that comes from a line in the movie Ghostbusters. When they are on the top of the building with Gozer, she asks Ray if he is a god, and he says no, to which she replies, "Then you must die!" He and the rest of his crew and almost flung off the building by lightening out of her fingers. Winston then tells him, "Ray, the next time someone asks you if you are a god, say yes!" So, long short somewhat shortened, if someone asks you something e.g. do you need money?, say yes!]
Click here to see the clip from the movie (it's towards the end)
Other great quotes from this movie that are often referenced by my family include:
-Where do these stairs go? They go up!
-Does this pole still work?
-We can stay there tonight! You know, try it out!
-I collect spores, molds, and fungus.
-Ray has gone bye-bye, Egon... what've you got left?
-Whoa! Nice shootin', Tex!
We had gorgeous weather, which allowed for my Mom and I to take Izzie on lots of walks. It was the perfect time of year for spotting wildflowers- we saw purple, white, and yellow violets! I can't remember the last time I saw white violets, and I don't ever recall having seen yellow violets, except in pictures. Izzie is so funny- whenever I'm home and I put on my tennis shoes, she thinks I am going to take her for a walk! My Dad takes her for a walk every Saturday and Sunday morning in Cool Creek Park, a small park near our house that has trails through a wooded area. I love that spoiled dog.
I taught four classes the following week with Susan, a pharmacist from Ohio. She has been giving immunizations for 5 years now, so her field experience was very valuable and added a great deal to our presentation. Since she had more practical knowledge, we split up the day, and I took the clinical section, which is basically the first few hours or so. I talk about all of the infectious, vaccine-preventable diseases that the pharmacists already reviewed in their self-study prior to coming to class. It's a miracle I haven't had anyone fall asleep on me. I try to keep things interactive, and by that, I mean I pass around a sign-up sheet (pretending like I need it) that I then use to call on the pharmacists to read questions (I'm so sneaky!).
Monday's class was in Bloomington, home of Indiana University. I haven't really spent any time in Bloomington, except for the grad orientation meeting several years ago at Lake Monroe. Nick went to school at IU (absolutely loved it) and often raves about how wonderful Bloomington is. I'm looking forward to getting a personal tour someday. We had class on Tuesday and Wednesday at a company office in Indianapolis, which is where I saw many people that I previously worked with while I was in Indy.
Wednesday night I ate dinner with my pharmacy supervisor, Amy, at P.F. Chang's. I worked for her as an intern for five years before graduating from pharmacy school and will be working in her district when I move back to Indy this July. We spent a lot of time catching up, then talking details about my transition from RI to IN. I found out that I am going to be a pharmacy manager when I move back! I couldn't be more excited about having a home pharmacy, developing a team, and getting to know my patients, one thing I've definitely missed this year. (I only work in the pharmacy one day per week, so it's hard to become really close to any of the customers unless they come in every Thursday or Friday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.) Amy is a wonderful mentor, and I feel so lucky to be able to move back to her district. Indy is full of what I call "my people"--after working in the same area for a while, I've been able to get to know other professionals and develop a support network. (I also have also developed a support network in RI, all of whom I will miss dearly.)
On Wednesday night, I drove to South Bend in preparation for a class early Thursday morning. I'm glad that I chose to drive up the night before. If I didn't, I would have had to get up before 5 a.m.! Let's face it, I'm much more of a night owl than an early bird (although that is slowly changing- I've gone down from 4 alarms to only 3! I'm sure my neighbors hate me, but let them. If I told you what it was like living next to my new neighbors, let's just say that you wouldn't feel so sorry for them.).
I had a blast working with Susie- I was sad to see her go back to Ohio! Susie is high-energy, flexible, and always up for an adventure, all the things you want in a traveling work partner. Even though we were busy, we did have time to talk a lot about work, family, pharmacy, etc. She has a condo on Sanibel Island and if I ever have the chance, I'm going down there to visit. (Nick's parents and grandparents also have condos on Sanibel- sounds like the place to be!)
Other exciting news- I finally signed the lease for my new apartment! It is the first apartment I posted pictures of on my blog- click here to see them (it's the first apartment). My Mom and I went downtown on Friday afternoon so that I could sign the lease and show her the apartment. (She took a few hours of vacation to spend some time with me, isn't that nice?) She really liked the apartment- although not necessary, it's never a bad thing to have a Mom's seal of approval. After the apartment, we did a bit of shopping at Circle Center before driving back to Carmel.
Friday night, our family friends, Jim and Linda, were in town, and the entire family went out to dinner with them at Barcelona Tapas. I first discovered this restaurant through my brother, and I haven't been able to get enough of it since! I recommended it to Susie while she was in town, and she raved about it the whole next day. My favorite is their baked goat cheese with marinara sauce and warm garlic bread.
On Saturday, I met Nick's family for lunch at Clay Terrace. Andrew, his nephew, was given the release to be in public (he was born prematurely and had precautions about being in public due to the potential for catching RSV, which can be very serious for babies with underdeveloped lungs), so it was nice to see him out and about. After lunch, I headed down to Lisa's house in Speedway. There are very few places where I feel just as "at home" as I do at my own home, and Lisa's house and her parents' house (two different places) are definitely on the list. It's hard to believe I've been going there since the fall of 2003! (We met our freshman year in college at Purdue.)
Saturday afternoon Lisa took me to the Twist 'n Pup, a new local (you guessed it) hot dog and ice cream place. They have lots more than just those two items, but since those are their namesake, Lisa and I both tried hot dogs and butterscotch-dipped vanilla cones (amazing!!). Later that day, Junie came over, and we traded stories. Since I had been raving about Barcelona Tapas and neither of them had been there, the three of us went there for dinner with Lisa's brother, Sam. (Just as good the second night! My new favorite: the caramel and supposedly strawberry churros!).
Sunday morning was spent going to church with Lisa, followed by quick visits with her dad and mom. I had an early afternoon flight, so I went back to the airport after lunch. It was definitely a busy trip, but I was energized by the idea of moving back home in less than 3 months.
I didn't do a very good job taking pictures (Sorry Julie, Lisa, and June!), but here are a few I took around by parents' house.
We had gorgeous weather, which allowed for my Mom and I to take Izzie on lots of walks. It was the perfect time of year for spotting wildflowers- we saw purple, white, and yellow violets! I can't remember the last time I saw white violets, and I don't ever recall having seen yellow violets, except in pictures. Izzie is so funny- whenever I'm home and I put on my tennis shoes, she thinks I am going to take her for a walk! My Dad takes her for a walk every Saturday and Sunday morning in Cool Creek Park, a small park near our house that has trails through a wooded area. I love that spoiled dog.
I taught four classes the following week with Susan, a pharmacist from Ohio. She has been giving immunizations for 5 years now, so her field experience was very valuable and added a great deal to our presentation. Since she had more practical knowledge, we split up the day, and I took the clinical section, which is basically the first few hours or so. I talk about all of the infectious, vaccine-preventable diseases that the pharmacists already reviewed in their self-study prior to coming to class. It's a miracle I haven't had anyone fall asleep on me. I try to keep things interactive, and by that, I mean I pass around a sign-up sheet (pretending like I need it) that I then use to call on the pharmacists to read questions (I'm so sneaky!).
Monday's class was in Bloomington, home of Indiana University. I haven't really spent any time in Bloomington, except for the grad orientation meeting several years ago at Lake Monroe. Nick went to school at IU (absolutely loved it) and often raves about how wonderful Bloomington is. I'm looking forward to getting a personal tour someday. We had class on Tuesday and Wednesday at a company office in Indianapolis, which is where I saw many people that I previously worked with while I was in Indy.
Wednesday night I ate dinner with my pharmacy supervisor, Amy, at P.F. Chang's. I worked for her as an intern for five years before graduating from pharmacy school and will be working in her district when I move back to Indy this July. We spent a lot of time catching up, then talking details about my transition from RI to IN. I found out that I am going to be a pharmacy manager when I move back! I couldn't be more excited about having a home pharmacy, developing a team, and getting to know my patients, one thing I've definitely missed this year. (I only work in the pharmacy one day per week, so it's hard to become really close to any of the customers unless they come in every Thursday or Friday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.) Amy is a wonderful mentor, and I feel so lucky to be able to move back to her district. Indy is full of what I call "my people"--after working in the same area for a while, I've been able to get to know other professionals and develop a support network. (I also have also developed a support network in RI, all of whom I will miss dearly.)
On Wednesday night, I drove to South Bend in preparation for a class early Thursday morning. I'm glad that I chose to drive up the night before. If I didn't, I would have had to get up before 5 a.m.! Let's face it, I'm much more of a night owl than an early bird (although that is slowly changing- I've gone down from 4 alarms to only 3! I'm sure my neighbors hate me, but let them. If I told you what it was like living next to my new neighbors, let's just say that you wouldn't feel so sorry for them.).
I had a blast working with Susie- I was sad to see her go back to Ohio! Susie is high-energy, flexible, and always up for an adventure, all the things you want in a traveling work partner. Even though we were busy, we did have time to talk a lot about work, family, pharmacy, etc. She has a condo on Sanibel Island and if I ever have the chance, I'm going down there to visit. (Nick's parents and grandparents also have condos on Sanibel- sounds like the place to be!)
Other exciting news- I finally signed the lease for my new apartment! It is the first apartment I posted pictures of on my blog- click here to see them (it's the first apartment). My Mom and I went downtown on Friday afternoon so that I could sign the lease and show her the apartment. (She took a few hours of vacation to spend some time with me, isn't that nice?) She really liked the apartment- although not necessary, it's never a bad thing to have a Mom's seal of approval. After the apartment, we did a bit of shopping at Circle Center before driving back to Carmel.
Friday night, our family friends, Jim and Linda, were in town, and the entire family went out to dinner with them at Barcelona Tapas. I first discovered this restaurant through my brother, and I haven't been able to get enough of it since! I recommended it to Susie while she was in town, and she raved about it the whole next day. My favorite is their baked goat cheese with marinara sauce and warm garlic bread.
On Saturday, I met Nick's family for lunch at Clay Terrace. Andrew, his nephew, was given the release to be in public (he was born prematurely and had precautions about being in public due to the potential for catching RSV, which can be very serious for babies with underdeveloped lungs), so it was nice to see him out and about. After lunch, I headed down to Lisa's house in Speedway. There are very few places where I feel just as "at home" as I do at my own home, and Lisa's house and her parents' house (two different places) are definitely on the list. It's hard to believe I've been going there since the fall of 2003! (We met our freshman year in college at Purdue.)
Saturday afternoon Lisa took me to the Twist 'n Pup, a new local (you guessed it) hot dog and ice cream place. They have lots more than just those two items, but since those are their namesake, Lisa and I both tried hot dogs and butterscotch-dipped vanilla cones (amazing!!). Later that day, Junie came over, and we traded stories. Since I had been raving about Barcelona Tapas and neither of them had been there, the three of us went there for dinner with Lisa's brother, Sam. (Just as good the second night! My new favorite: the caramel and supposedly strawberry churros!).
Sunday morning was spent going to church with Lisa, followed by quick visits with her dad and mom. I had an early afternoon flight, so I went back to the airport after lunch. It was definitely a busy trip, but I was energized by the idea of moving back home in less than 3 months.
I didn't do a very good job taking pictures (Sorry Julie, Lisa, and June!), but here are a few I took around by parents' house.
These daffodils are lilacs are from my parents' backyard. I wish I could arrange flowers half as well as my Mom can.
I loved the crab apple blossoms in the spring. It looks like snow when the petals are blown down by the wind.
I was trying to take pictures of Izzie- I think she must have heard something when I was taking this picture. After this she got distracted and decided that she'd rather lick my camera than have her picture taken.
Izzie sleeping on her designated part of the couch.
Mr. Rocky! I can hardly believe he will be 19 years old this October. I've got lots to say about him, but I'll save that for another blog post.
It was great to be at home for a week! A little pampering, plus time with family and friends goes a long way. If I didn't get to see you when I was home, I'm sorry! Not much longer, and you won't be able to get rid of me!
