Stress-free Weekend

Hi everyone! Happy happy Monday! I hope everyone is as blessed as me on this holiday and was able to stay home and just watch the snowfall. If you had to go somewhere during Snowmageddon… I hope you made it there and arrived home safely. I personally stayed home for the whole day today… soaked in the tub… and did a little studying.

So let me share with you a little about my weekend! I go on a retreat three times a year. It has been canceled for the past two years due to Covid. They started it back up again this year. So I just attended the spring Jacksons Mill round up. It’s held at the Jacksons Mill 4H camp in West Virginia. The camp is now owned by West Virginia University.

It was an amazing weekend filled with speakers, fellowship, spirituality and love. 

When there’s downtime from speakers and activities we go on little shopping trips in the West Virginia area. We have different little local stores we got to and buy jams and jellies, canned beets and tonics, sometimes we even get knickknacks and homemade pickles.

We always go to this store below… They have all kinds of really fun country knickknacks and gifts for people. When we stopped this time we heard that the owner is closing the store for good. I guess they’ve lost a lot of money due to Covid. They have this giant Sasquatch out in front of the store. The store owner said he was purchased and he will be moved to his new location in March. So this will be our final visit to the store and no more pictures of Sasquatch… Here’s our final couple pictures …

These two people are my absolute heart and soul! They are the most amazing friends on the planet and I feel so blessed to have them in my life. We normally all see each other every time we go to the mill. In case you don’t know I’m the one in the Steelers jacket.


Another thing we do every time we’re at the mill is go to the Jane Lew truckstop. They have a restaurant there that has this painting on the wall. The painting is of the Civil War. You can see the blue side and the gray side. The meaning of signed by what we think is a local artist Charlotte Gerstack. We eat here every time we’re here and we get a picture in front of Jesus. As you can see in the picture below Laura is pointing to Jesus. Right in the middle of the fighting there is a man in all white with sandals. He’s holding a gun and fighting right along with both the blue and gray man. Has to be Jesus right? This is a bone of contention for everyone except me… I know it is Jesus. I just don’t know why he is holding a gun.


And here’s a close-up… Jesus, right?


I received a few check-in‘s from my cat sitter. She came twice a day to take care of the food and shots for Nermal. He did so great for her - here’s a screen capture of some of her texting… 

So she texted me each time she came and said he was great with the shots every time. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful cat sitter! She definitely loves my cats (and my home) like they’re her own.

They have lots and lots of photo albums from all the years gone by at the Mill. One of the committee members is always in charge of walking around and getting pictures of most of the people in attendance. We have been attending 3x a year for about 24 years now. I found these great old pictures. This one is from about 20 years ago. I am using these to inspire my diet… Lol! I was so thin and young!



I really love this old picture below… It was the three of us that I told you hang out together plus a gentleman named Vaughn. Vaughn passed away last year and he is so missed! The guy smiling in the back row is another guy we see all the time at the mill. Vaughn brought everyone so much laughter and joy. Love you Vaughn!


After that weekend of so much relaxation… I came home hearing about a snowstorm that was on the way to Pittsburgh. We made it home before any snow fell and I hunkered down to get ready to watch my Steelers beat the Chiefs. As you all know that did not happen… The Steelers are out of the playoffs. We lost to the Chiefs… Actually they killed us! But it seems like we might have a shot because of this guy… TJ Watt! He was amazing! The rest of the team just sucked- ha!


And here’s the snow when I woke up. I think we may be got 6 inches? Like I said I’m super blessed because I didn’t have to go anywhere and I hope everyone else stayed safe as well!


The absolute best decision we’ve made in this condo building is the assigned parking spaces. Soon as it finished snowing I went out and shoveled my space and shoveled the hump that the snow plow makes behind the cars. I have a nice, clean, reserved spot just for me! Yay! Every year before this I would shovel a spot, leave and someone would take my spot. Finally, last winter I ended up shoveling the whole freaking parking lot. But I’m happy to report… I only have to shovel my spot now.


I also made a big pot of homemade chili. It was wonderful to watch the snowfall and eat chili. I had it for dinner last night and lunch today. I’m now heating a bowl for dinner today. I think I’m going to freeze the rest of it because how many days in a row and how many meals in a row can you eat chili? Ha ha


And finally… I’m going to spend the rest of my evening prepping for my first class tomorrow. On Tuesdays I have Nur210 -Nursing Leadership and Management principles. We have some videos to watch and some reading to do. Then later in the week on Thursday I will have my first clinical for maternity. We will be working on Thursday from 2 PM to midnight at a hospital in the Pittsburgh area. I’m super excited for this first maternity clinical- I will let you know how it goes!!!


I hope everyone had A great weekend and has an even better week!

Update: thanks again for all your supportive and encouraging comments on my dosage calculation test. The retest is on Monday January 24th and I will let you know how it goes immediately after. Thanks again for all the love and support!!!

Do you get sick of food you cook and have to freeze it before you can finish it? How much snow did you get? We’re you off work or school today?

Hugs everyone -stay safe out there!!!!

Big Bens Final Home Game

So guys… I got to tell you Monday night was pretty exciting for me and a whole lot of other people here in Pittsburgh. We’ve had the same quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for over 15 years now. He’s pretty amazing and he’s went a whole lot of games for us. Well Monday night was to be his last game here in Pittsburgh at the stadium. Fingers crossed we will make the playoffs at all but even if we do he will never play another home game here in Pittsburgh. Needless to say we were pretty psyched for the game. I went down with my sister my brother-in-law and my nephew. 

The entire crowd was so fired up! I honestly have never seen the stadium so for this entire year. There’s always empty seats but this game there was very few. The crowd was also so so electric! Here’s a picture of the guy that was sitting in front of us… He was a riot! He said he owns a Restaurant in Braddock, PA. But I’m not sure if that’s true or if that was the beer talking. Lol! Ben Roethlisberger is number seven… As you can see he shaved a tribute to the quarterback in his chest hair… Lol! I have to add… It was 20° out that night… Super cold!


Here’s a little selfie of my sister and I. Together we really get into the games and have such a blast screaming and yelling during the game! We probably get into it way more than we should ha ha!


We won the game and kicked the Browns butts. (No disrespect to the Browns fans out there) This was a picture I stole from the news. This is after the game. I’ve never seen a football game where the crowd stuck around after it was over. We won the game and the crowd stayed for at least 20 minutes and watched Ben walk around and highfive the crowd in the stadium. His eyes were full of tears… It had to be super emotional for him.


There he is… The amazing quarterback that he has been for the past 15 years. I hope he enjoys his retirement as I’m sure they will give him some kind of announcing role in the Steelers establishment. He really is a great guy and all I can say is thank you Ben!


Thank you Ben!!!

Steelers win!!!

We attended the second to the last Steeler game of the season this past Sunday. It was Steelers vs Titans.  I found these amazing fake lashes at Target of all places for three dollars!!!! Sooo awesome!!!!

My family meets before the game and I had a very early lunch at Southern Tier Brewery right near the stadium. Below is myself, my parents, sister, niece and brother in law. 


This is my niece posing with Steeley McBeam…


And this is my sister and brother-in-law posing with their favorite player!!! Some of us are ready to see him retire but these two are his biggest fans!!!!


I will leave you with a video of my very favorite part of the game!!!! I absolutely LOVE the Steelers and when you are at the games, the feeling is electric!!! The best moment is when they play renegade!!! The stands go crazy and the terrible towels fly!!!!

Watch HERE

Checking in from Nursing School

Hi all you very cherished old friends in blog land!!!! I have been popping onto Blogger to keep up with you all as I crash in bed every night! You guys continue to relax me and I love hearing how everyone is. My appologies for not commenting because I am always so exhausted it is all I can do to scroll through and keep up!!! 

 I am writing a check in post again after another 5 months reprieve filled with Nursing School....studying, zoom and in person labs, in person clinicals at Pittsburgh Hospitals and a whole lot of tests!!!!!!! Right now I have an A in 130 Clinical, B in 130 Lecture, A in 130 Lab, A in 140 Pharmacology, and an A in Developmental Psychchology. This is all four weeks before finals so that could all change soon - HA HA HA!! School, for me, was such a great decision! It is awesome and I love every second!!! 

Cudos to all you nurses out there - I had NO idea how much work it is and how much perseverance it requires!! I can not wait to be an RN!! 

 Since I have not posted for few months I am going to give you a summary photo dump of how things are going when I am not in school, clinical or studying. I wish I could post more school pictures and things but it is against policy to take any pictures at clinical or school which makes total sense!! I will fill you in on my non-existant social life instead!! HA HA! 

 So, first off my parents (78 years years young) decided to get a puppy!!! I still think my little sister was the one that convinced them to get her but they swear that it was their idea! She is adorable!! Her name is Gracie and as you will see from the pictures she grew up fast and is the love of everyone that meets her - especially my nieces and nephew!!! The ifrst picture is the day she came with my Mom and Dad and the rest are the kid with her. LOVE LOVE

In May of 2021 my niece (and Godchild) made her confirmation and I was a super proud Aunt to be able to be her confirmation sponsor!!!

We did a family vacation to the beach with my sisters this year again. Stone Harbor wee missed you and we were soo happy to be back in July as a family! I went parasailing with my niece, we had family pics on the beach and watched the fireworks on the beach!!! I LOVE Stone Harbor, NJ!

Here are a few random niece and nephew pics...my nephew hated soccer and sister kept signing him up so he was soo excited when she finally DID NOT sign up ...we got him a retirement balloon and card!! HA HA! The last picture is my niece with my one and only great niece!!!!! She is adorable!!!

I attended the Harry Styles concert with my sister, niece and her friend here in Pitsburgh. It was a great concert and I was super excited to have company stay over at my house!!! I appreciated the invite so much and loved the music!!

I am happy to report that even after the company overnight, that cat that lived under the bed for over a year is still doing amazing! She is out and about all day and running and playing and even dropping a few pounds!!! She looks more comfortable each day...as you can see in the picture below!!! HA HA! All the cats are actually doing great!! They just lay around all day in the trees while mommy studies!! HA

Speaking of company, now that Steeler FOOTBALL season is here....I have company every home game and I love it!!! The family has attended every home game this year and we are having a great time!!!! I think it is my Mom's favorite thing to be in that stadium enjoying the electric atmosphere! We love Heinz Field and the Steelers!!

This is the sweetest picture I have seen lately...my best friend (the one that lived I Kauai that I went to visit) has recently moved back to Seattle. She had her baby girl yesterday!!!! Her name is Daniela Raquel!! So her daughter Nena is big sis!!!! She and baby are doing great and I am so happy for their family! Maybe after nursing school and NCLEX I can get a visit in!!!

I will leave you with a picture of me and my very best nursing school friend Shawne. We were in all our classes together last semester and this is a lovely photo in the parking garage before clinical!!! She is so supportive and such a great person!!!! I wish I could introduce you to everyone in school because it is a great group of people (young and old) helping and motivating each other to get through and succeed!!! Everyone just wants to see everyone succeed! It is truly awesome!!!

I hope you all have a fantastic day and I promise to do my best to geive more frequent updates!!! And picture dumps!!! HA HA!!! Love you all lots...thanks for the undying support and motivation!!!! You guys are all soooo awesome!!!!

Steelers vs Colts

Happy Wednesday ya'll!!!

Thank you all for weighing in on my latest dilemma...I swear it is ALWAYS something.

Sunday I had the pleasure of attending the Steelers game (we played the Colts) with my friend from work Kathy! I was such a great day for a game!!!! Chilly but no rain or snow in the forecast!!!

We met up with my sister for lunch near the stadium.  She came with her husband, my nephew Matthew and his girlfriend. We decided to try out  a new place for lunch called Southern Tier Brewery. We put or names on the wait list and they said 1/2 hour. We waited 45 minutes and then started getting a little angry.  After another 15 minutes we were finally seated.  The problem is that it is so close to the stadium that people eat and then sit and drink beer until the game start so it took forever. But...finally we were seated.  They have a very limited menu on game day - about 20 items total including food, salads and appetizers. The food was just okay so I don't think we will go here again. Not worth that long wait and they really need to estimate the waiting time better even if it is a game day!

Here we are walking up to our seats...I love that huge Steeler logo banner!

And, of course, the selfie in the seats! Kathy is a great friend and I have so much fun with her!!!

Here is what we do at Heinz Field every game. Before the coin toss they spread out a huge terrible towel as they announce the players!!! It is so cool to watch and you can put your name in a raffle to be selected to be one of the people holding the towel on the field - I have never won :-(

This is the BEST part of the hone games in my eyes!!!! When the defense needs charged up, once a game, they play renegade!!! Everyone sings along and waves their terrible towels!! It is so fun and such high energy!!! LOVE IT!!!

So, in the end, we won!!! It came down to the last few minutes and everyone around us was saying it was over but I kept saying "anything can happen" and it did!  Here is the last 6 minutes summary...

"Steelers settling for another field goal to make the score 26-24 with 6:36 left in regulation.

Both team exchanged punts before the Colts got the football back with 2:28 left in regulation trailing by two points and only one timeout remaining. On 3rd down Hoyer threw deep, and although it looked like the pass wasn’t catchable, defensive pass interference was the call giving Indianapolis the first down and great field position.

With a 43-yard field and 1:11 left in the game, the Colts missed the field goal to give the Steelers a 26-24 win.

The win moves the Steelers’ record to 4-4, and their third straight win."

All in all it was a great game!!! Thank you to Kathy for taking me along!!

Don't you love a good game? Who do you cheer for?

Steelers Home Opener

Before my parents left on Great Race weekend; they stuck around for the Steelers Home Openers Game with my sister and myself. The game was on Monday Night Football so it worked out very well!

Here we are pre-game...we always have lunch or dinner before games around the stadium somewhere.

We walked from lunch to the stadium and as we were passing the Sirius booth, outside of the stadium, Coach Cowher came to be interviewed. I LOVE HIM!!! He is our old coach and a great guy in general!!!

My sister was so excited she asked me to get a picture of her head with him in the background. We were soooo close!! How cute is she?!?!

I saw someone walking around the stadium with this jersey...I now know EXACTLY what I am going to do to my Antonio Brown jersey!! HA HA! PERFECT!

We had a flyover by the blimp on home opener night....actually, it just kept circling. It was pretty cool!

Here is a family selfie...

And lots and lots of fireworks... they were awesome!

More fireworks!!!

Another shot of the fireworks...I love Heinz Field - on game days it is electric in there!

We lost the game that night but it was still a pretty awesome night! So much fun!!! And the more time with my family the better!!!!!

Hope you all have a fantastic day!!!

Do you like football games?? College or National? When was the last time you spent with your family?