New Countertops

We had new granite countertops installed today. It was so exciting. I can't wait to post pictures, but I'm just to lazy right now :) They will be up soon. There are still some things lingering, so they're not quite ready to reveal yet. For one, the undermounted sink is not looking quite right. In fact, Brett is going to have them come back out to the house soon to look at the seal. Also, the part of the backsplash tile is looking a little ragged. They actually managed to salvage the existing tile, so that was nice. However, the granite doesn't match up exactly where the old countertops sat, so there are some gaps in places.

These are all very minor things that will be worked out easily. However, the sink thing is worrying me a little...we are having a Halloween party on Friday and I NEED MY SINK!!! We have to wait 24 hours before we can use it. And, I'm sure if they come out and fix it, I'll have to wait another 24 hours...JOY! Hopefully we'll have water by Friday. That's my hope, anyway!

~Adrian~

I know I did it to myself...

ahhh...I think I've diagnosed myself with Midterm Madness. I'm a little more than half way through my first semester of grad school. Things are going well, but I have to admit I'm ready for the semester to be over. One of my least favorite topics EVER is politics. In the past, I have avoided the subject at all costs. But, it's impossible to do so when you're enrolled in a class entitled "Policy and Ethics in Nursing Practice."

We have to participate in weekly online discussions and must reply to our classmates' posts as well. We've written two papers and there is one more to go...all three about health care reform and all three taking different stances such as I am in debate class or something.

To make matters worse, current health care reform debates make things even more in-depth in the class. Of course, at the graduate level, you're expected to form your own opinion and explain it. So many times, I've just wanted to say..."I DON'T REALLY CARE!!!!!!" But, of course I act interested and just push through it.

But, I guess that's what learning is all about, so I'm not really complaining, just venting! I know I did it to myself and in the end, I will be much more informed because I'm pushing myself to explore uncharted territory. I just wish I could have a week off from these discussion boards, New York Times, Washington Post and research articles...no such luck until December.

I love school :)

U2 Concert

I bought these tickets back in March I think...so we've been waiting for a LONG time. I thought about just passing, but then Brett and I had this conversation about how we would probably kick ourselves later if we passed up this opportunity. So, we purchased 3 $30 tickets (third one originally for my co-worker Amy). I also purchased their most recent album because I always like to know the songs at the concert. We found out that the Black Eyed Peas were opening for U2. I wasn't really excited about this at first, but warmed up to the idea over the summer as I heard "Tonight's gonna be a good night..." at least 243 times...and loved it.

I usually listen to my iPod in the car on shuffle. As the concert neared, I realized I didn't really know any of U2's new songs because I constantly skipped over them. I felt kinda bad, but knew they had A LOT of old songs to enjoy, so I didn't stress too much.

The only "bad" thing about the concert was that it was (a) in Norman about 45 minutes away, and (b) it was on Sunday night. A few weeks before the concert, my co-worker Amy changed her plans and sold her ticket to April, another friend from work, so she came down with Brett and I. We left the house around 4:30 and decided to eat dinner in Norman. We were planning on just catching a quick meal at Freeb!rds, but after walking at least 2 miles through campus and some swampy grass, we realized that 60,000 people were coming to the concert and things were a bit busy...especially Freeb!rds.
We found a little Mexican restaurant that was only serving nachos...fine by me. We grabbed an unattended outdoor table and sucked down two margaritas each and a BUNCH of nachos. It was about 7:00 by then and we headed to the stadium along with everyone else within about 50 miles of Norman, OK. You could see the infamous "claw" stage hovering over the stadium...it was massive!!! Miserably full of yummy Mexican food, we found our seats...59 rows up and basically behind the stage (hence the $30 price tag). However, we did have a great view of the stage as a whole...it's a lot to take in!
The Black Eyed Peas were WAY better than I expected. I knew a lot more of their songs than I thought, which is always good. Fergie even sang "Big Girls Don't Cry" and I screamed out into the crowd, "I LOVE THE HILLS!!!" I thought it was funny...Brett rolled his eyes. April and I had a great time dancing to the B.E.P.s
There was about 30-45 minutes between them and U2. I definitely loved the concert, don't get me wrong. However, from where we were sitting, it was more like a "show" than a concert. I would compare it to Cirque du Soleil...with a really good, live, sun glass-wearing lead singer/idol. Bono never missed a beat and he has an incredible voice. They were really entertaining. The stage was monstrous and had a ring around the middle that even the guitarists could walk around. There were also two bridges over the crowd that moved periodically. However, the most impressive thing to me was the stage itself and the amazing light show. It was every color of the rainbow throughout the night.

I have to admit, they did sing a lot of their new songs that I'm not familiar with, but I still enjoyed. My favorites of the night, however, were probably "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." I was really bummed that they didn't play "The Sweetest Thing." But, they redeemed themselves with "Mysterious Ways" and "Vertigo" as well as "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Overall, it was a great night...we went to sleep around 1:00...and went to work Monday morning. All definitely worth it!

Catchin' Up

Since August, things have been pretty hectic in my life! But, I'm getting into a routine now and figuring out how to juggle full-time work & full-time graduate school as well as trying to have some fun in between. But, I miss blogging...it's such a fun way to keep in touch with the people who mean the most to me! So, I'll play a little catch-up:

August 20-25: Las Vegas with Brett's mom and step-dad. We stayed with them in their timeshare just like last year and had so much fun relaxing, gambling and walking around town. We didn't go to any shows or eat any fancy meals, but it was fun to just chill and do whatever we wanted. Highlights:

26th Birthday at Dick's Last Resort

(kind of embarassed about the hat, but that's what you get for eating there)

Hanging out on the Strip:

70's theme for the summer on Fremont Street:

Charro!

The day we got back to OKC was my first day of graduate school. I'm doing an online program through the University of Oklahoma. I should be done next December and will have my Master's in Nursing Education! So, not much happened for about a month...lol.

September 7 - OSU vs. Houston

We were invited to the game by Brett's boss, Malone Mitchell, who just so happened to donate over $50 million to OSU last year. So, his suite is pretty sweet:

September 25-27, I was in Scottsdale, AZ for a conference with Boston Scientific (a pacemaker company). We stayed at the swanky and chic W Hotel. Highlights:

A room I could NEVER afford:

There's nothing like a Saturday morning pig heart dissection!!!

The 2nd floor of the W is a bar...until 2 a.m. Instead of being kept up by the noise, April and I just joined them (made for a LONG conference on Sunday and a LONG plane ride home):

October 3 was the Kings of Leon concert:

OK...I think we're all caught up now! I guess I've done a little more than I thought!

~Adrian~

New Blog

Now that I'm not Boot Campin' it anymore, I've decided to start a new blog about our lives in general. I'm sure I'll be sporadic with my postings and will probably be boring most of the time (with intermittent excitement). But, I guess that's what our lives are all about! Can't wait to catch up!!