We went to the brewery for a tour today SO COOL!

Christmas Survey

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper unless I'm really desperate, I like to make it pretty

2. Real or Artificial tree? right now... fake, but I love real trees, cept that I'm allergic :) and the needles suck to clean up

3. When do you put up the tree? haha before Thanksgiving!! I love coming home to Christmas decorations, it just seems to put you in a good mood no matter what your day has been like

4. When do you take the tree down? usually before the new year

5. Do you like eggnog? yup :)

6. Favorite gift received as a child? hmmm... i always enjoyed the clothes, and my digital camera is definately one of my favorites, I have so many memories preserved because of it

7. Hardest person to buy for? rich :) actually I've managed to find unique gifts so far

8. Easiest person to buy for ? my brother or nephews

9. Do you have a nativity scene? yep a metal one, it's actually pretty cool

10. Do you mail or email Christmas cards? this year I actually made cards, but have yet to mail them :)

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? nothing I can really think of... the worst Christmas was in 2003 though...

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? christmas vacation, christmas story or the grinch

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I at least start to think about what I'm going to get in November, but actually getting them dpends on when I have money :)

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think I have

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? cookies!

16. Lights on the tree? I like white, cause I like uniform colors, I also like when people use uniform colors on their houses I think it looks r3ally cool

17. Favorite Christmas songs? my absolute favorite is emmanuel by amy grant, also carol of the bells by anyone - I love that song, or sleigh ride because we played it in band

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? stay close to home, don't really travel far, usually within 50 miles

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? dasher, dancer, prancer, vixen, comet, cupid, donner, blitzen, rudolph

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? i have a star on my tree, but I love angels too

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We have a large family gathering for Christmas Eve and exchange a few gifts there, but the one’s from Santa aren’t opened until Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? the traffic...

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? my favorite colors are red and gold and almost all of my stuff is in the color theme

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? doesn't matter to me

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? doesn't matter as long as I get to go home, and I'm healthy and so is my family

Me: by google.com

1: Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search
*Jessi needs a comment from someone who loves her.
(hehe)

2: Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search:
*Jessi looks sweet and innocent.
(that's me :)

3: Type in "[your name] does" in Google search:
*Jessi does indeed rise like the Phoenix from the ashes
(sweet!)

4: Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search:
*Jessi hates all things macho, but loves academics and the fine arts.
(what's funny about this one was it's about jessie from saved by the bell :))

5: Type in "[your name] goes to" in Google search:
*Jessi Goes To North America
(I just liked it cause it has my whole name in it)

6: Type in "[your name] loves" in Google search:
* jessi (loves someone).
(i'm sure you already know who! :D)

7: Type in "[your name] eats" in Google search:
* Jessi eats chocolate sprinkles on her ice cream 6% of the time and caramel. syrup 20% of the time, and never has them both at the same time,
(a clip from a word problem :)

8: Type in "[your name] has" in Google search:
*Jessi has a type of paranormal strength
(told ya! ;)

9: Type in "[your name] died" in Google Search:
*Jessi died her hair dark brown, she is smokin hot!
(not as morbid as the rest)

10: Type in "[your name] will" in Google search:
*Jessi will be hidden
(cause i'm sneaky sneaky :)

11: Type in "[your name] {your choice}" in Google search:
*Jessi wants all the attention for herself and doesn't want to share the spotlight
(this totally sounds like me :)

Update

Rich's friend went back to the Dr. and now they think the baby's in a position where she might be able to carry it! She's going to go to another Dr. to get a second opionion but at least there's some hope!

One of Rich's friends just found out his girlfriend was pregnant. They've been together for years and already have one kid so they were happy about it.

But they found out yesterday that it is either an ectopic pregnancy (which means that the egg implanted in the fallopian tube and not the uterus) or a cyst. Either way she'll probably have to have surgery. If she is pregnant they will have to abort, because an ectopic pregnancy cannot be carried to term without killing the mother. There is not room for the baby to grow and it would rupture the tube.

Just thought we could send up a prayer, even though they had just found out they were both excited and had been wanting to have another kid.

Thanksgiving

I meant to put this up yesterday, but I forgot.

Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of Grandpa North's death. I can't believe it's been so long already. I was only 10 at the time, but it was my first funeral of someone that I knew well and I remember it pretty well. I actually remember the night he died more vividly, because I knew... I don't know how but I did. We went bowling that night with some of our cousins and I just felt so sick to my stomach and when we got back we found out he had passed away. I had the same feeling the days Grandma North and Grandma Robey died...

But on a happier note I am so excited about the North family Thanksgiving! The last time I can remember so many of us getting together was Grandma North's funeral... ummm 11 years ago? It will be great to see almost everyone again. Can't wait!

Quotes

So I was just looking through one of the many catelogs I've gotten in the last week :) and found some interesting quotes I thought I'd share:

"Enjoy the little things in life for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things"

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul" Dickinson

"Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling likethe dickens underneath" Michale Caine

"When I was your age, pluto was a planet" :)

"vocatvs atque non vocatvs deus aderit"
"Bidden or not bidden, God is present"

PINK FLOYD!!

Friday was the Pink Floyd concert at the Fabulous Fox :) It was awesome! They played the entire version of the Wall, which was longer than I realized. And some of the visual effects they used were amazing, I just wished they would have had more. During the helicopter part of the song they had all the spot lights come together so that it looked like a search light, and then they all stopped suddenly when the song said "Hey you! Yeah you!" It was awesome. Then the second half of the show they had lazer lights going. And I got a glow-stick from somebody in the crowd, which is always fun.

Saturday Rich had a bonfire for his bday. It was pretty fun. April even got to come out, and we played some beer pong :)

*UPDATE*

Here's a few pics Rich took today. They got the fire under control. Fire trucks came from all over. It didn't get any houses and nobody got hurt. It actually cleared the underbrush from the woods so it was probably kind of healthy for the woods. It'll probably be really pretty next spring.

Woods on fire!!

Rich just called and told me the woods behind his house are on fire! There are 5 fire trucks out there and they're trying to rake to get the fire out of the woods. Rich's Dad said there's probably a dozen acres already on fire and they're just trying to keep it from spreading. His Dad has been keeping the fire from the shed with a hose... pretty crazy! I'll probably update this weekend with pictures.

Halloween fun

Halloween proved to be a very interesting weekend :) On Friday Rich and I went and got pumpkins to carve because I had these awesome patterns where you put a pumpkin inside of another pumpkin. We got the pumpkins and had everything set up outside since it was such a nice day. I let Rich go first since we only had one knife out there to carve the lid. And all of a sudden he gasped... and started running for the house. All I saw was blood. I followed him inside and he ran some cold water over it and there was lots of blood coming out, so I knew it was pretty deep. Then I got a rag so he could put some pressure on it. Then I noticed Rich's face was really pale, and he said he just needed to sit down and he needed something cold, so I just got him a cold rag. We then decided to go to the hospital to get it checked out. So I got him out to my car, slowly he had to sit down a few times. I dropped him off at the door and went and parked the car. By the time I got inside and through security Rich was already in triage. They were giving me trouble cause they thought I had mace in my purse. I told him I had no idea what was in there, cause I really didn't. Turned out the canister he saw was my inhaler so he let me through.

They wrapped Rich's finger and gave him some tylenol. Found out what happened. They said he was the only one this year who had cut themselves carving pumpkins :) he loved to hear that. Then we had to wait in the waiting room for a little while. We finally got a room and the nurse checked him out and cleaned out the cut. He said he'd need a tetanus shot and probably stitches but that they might be able to glue it. Then it took forever for the doctor to come look at it, and she said she was going to give him stitches, so she left to get stuff ready. Then the nurse came back in and said they decided to just glue it because it wasn't on a "bendy" part of his finger and that the glue should be ok. So then we had to wait for the doctor to come back and glue it shut. Rich said we should have just gone to Target and gotten some superglue. Before the doctor came back some kid came in and asked if he wanted to be part of a medical study. Basically they offer him federally funded follow-up care (because he told them he didn't have a primary physician) and they call to see if they were more likely to go to their follow-up appointment if it was free. I, in the meantime, stole Rich's blanket because I was freezing. Turns out I had a fever which is why I was still shivering while I was wrapped in the blanket.

After they finally came and glued his finger and got his paperwork done I had just enough time to take a shower and head to work.

Friday was my first day at Target. I didn't feel good since I had a fever. And it was such a long day anyway since we had to go to the hospital. I really just didn't want to be there. I did like everyone I've worked with so far. There's a girl from Silex so we know a lot of the same people since we hung out with the Silex basketball team a little in high school. There's also a guy from Kenya who is also a STLCOP student.

Yesterday was Rich's birthday and I got him a puzzle box, like the one's my dad has. I've always thought they were cool and I knew he would like one. This is what it looks like and it has 27 steps to open it.

Also just wanted to share my picture of the squirrels eating the pumpkins I had in the backyard. We just left them there when we went to the hospital, and the squirrels took the lid off Rich's and starting eating the seeds. :) The pic is small but I took it with my phone... by the time I got my real camara the squirrel was gone.

Outside

I finally got some Duraflame logs and got to use my firepit! I love bonfires!

Rich's tattoo

Here's a pic of Rich's tatoo! finally! Susan is his sister who passed away from Cystic Fibrosis.

A little of everything... etcetera etcetera etcetera

So I had my orientation last night... who knew it took 5 hours to explain how to clean up spills, and what to do if you see someone stealing, etcetera etcetera etcetera. And in the meantime, I hadn't had dinner because I had to come straight from school, and the room was freezing!

Melisa told me her orientation for Target only took 2 hours, so I thought I'd have time last night to study for my test tomorrow so I wasn't too worried about it. But I didn't get home until 10 and I still had an assignment I had to do for another class so I didn't get to study at all. Oh well, two of my classes teach a lot of the same material and I did well on that test so I think I'll be ok.

We had a Party-Lite party on Sunday which turned out pretty good. It was the first time Sara got to see our house, which was exciting. And I finally got my room clean again, by moving all my extra stuff downstairs. I still need to go through a lot of it to give to Mom but I don't currently have time to worry about it. So it's back in storage. Oh well.

I bought pumpkins to carve when we all went to the pumpkin patch and I bought a book with patterns to carve. Well... the book still hasn't come in, so I was waiting to do my pumpkin. In the meantime the squirrels are eating my pumpkin. I decided to try to put the cover from my new fire pit (which I still haven't used, but Aunt Linda lent us her folding chairs so we can sit out there) over the pumpkins. I didn't figure it would stop the squirrels, but I figured they'd just go underneath it. No, no... they ate through the cover, and there is now a hole that goes all the way into the pumpkin... maybe I'll just leave it as is and put that on the porch. Scary something's eating it! haha

To be continued.. now :)

To continue my story of the lake, the weekend was action packed! Like I mentioned before, Rich and I got our tattoos Saturday. His uncle also rented a pontoon boat that morning. While we were out we got pulled over by the State Water Patrol. We had people sitting in the two seats in the front, apparently you're not allowed to do that while the boat is moving. And there was a 12 year-old driving the boat at the time :O She looked like she felt pretty guilty, lol. So then he had us check for all the safety stuff, and we didn't have all of that either. This is not up to the rental company to make sure everything is there, it's up to the renter... how dumb is that? Someone who probably knows nothing about boating... (or they'd probably have their own boat...) Oh well, they only gave him a written warning, but the guy made his uncle get into his boat out in the middle of the lake and the two boats were rocking all over the place...

Sunday we just drove back home. Nothing too exciting, caught up on some sleep, because we were up late all weekend.

Monday was when Amber, Melisa and I went to Hermann to visit the wineries. It was a lot of fun, and the weather ended up being ok after it rained a little. We walked around and visited some of the little shops down by the river. It was awesome to tour the cellars and of the course the wine tasting was nice too! There was one, Oakglenn, that was up on a hill and overlooked the river! It was beautiful with all the leaves changing! Next time we'll definately have to stay down there!

The lake was a blast! We ended up going down Thursday night, after Rich got off work. So we didn't even leave until about 11. We got there around 1, and stayed with Rich's cousin. They were only supposed to have a one bedroom, but the heat was broken so they got upgraded to a suite. The bathroom was awesome! It had a jacuzzi tub, and even a tv, lol. I went to bed while they stayed up for a few more hours.

Friday we went to the strip and just walked around. First we played putt-putt with some of Rich's family (I won! :). We also happened upon the local homecoming parade. Then we went shopping at the Relic Shack and found some pharmacy stuff, including a mortar and pestle that we got really cheap on accident... the tag on it said 4.25 and the pestle said 5.95. Which is awesome because a lot of the stuff they had was expensive. Well the girl only ended up charging us for one, I guess she figured they were a set. Well then we got it home and saw a sticker on the back that said 133.95! We felt bad, we really didn't realize that was on there until we got back. Then we stopped at a little hole in the wall pizza place called Alley Cat's. There were only two tables and the bar. The pizza was really good too. Then Rich's cousin convinced him to just look around at the tattoo parlor next door. Rich was just curious, because he really didn't want one, but we ended up checking it out. I found one that I really liked. I had been wanting something with a music note, for my love of music. And then Rich found this awesome cross that he wanted to get in memory of his sister. He went back and forth trying to decide if he really wanted it or not. He loved the cross, and knew it was something that he would never regret since it was for his sister. For a little while he was worried about the money, but he knew he really wanted it. So he decided he was going to get it, and I was going to get the one I found but it was too late to get them both done so we decided to wait until Saturday. So we went Saturday afternoon and got them done at the same time and they both turned out awesome! I'll eventually post a picture of Rich's, I didn't have my camera at the time... but here's a picture of mine.

I had more, but it got deleted... so I'll post later. Tonight I'm tired and ready for bed since I have to go back to school tomorrow!

Exams

So I got 3 b's and 1 a on the four exams that I had in the last couple of weeks. whoo hoo!

This weekend I'm going to the Lake of the Ozarks with Rich's family. I'm excited! It will be a good time. Then Monday Amber, Melisa and I are going to Herman to the wineries. It's fall break so we wanted to do something with just the girls.

So I have a busy weekend ahead, but lots of good times! So I need to charge my camera so I can have lots of good pictures!

Issues?

So I got a call from the pharmacy manager today, and she told me there were some issues with my hire. First I won't be able to do orientation until the 19th, which actually works out better for me because I still have to quit Dierbergs. But then she told me that they've cut back her dept hours and she won't be able to give me as many hours as she had hoped. So she said I'd only be working weekends (including Fridays since I don't have classes). Which I don't really mind, because that gives me more time during the week to get school stuff done as well as clean around the house so poor Andi doesn't have to do it all. But I really don't want to be working every weekend, but if those are the only hours I can get... I still want to get a decent paycheck. So now the decision comes down to - is it really worth it? Should I leave the great job I have to work somewhere I'll be the low man on the totem pole and have to work the crappy hours? Hopefully that's not how it would end up, but how can I know for sure? I just hope that once my availability opens up some more next semester and during Christmas break I'll get some decent hours.

I think I'm still gonna go for it. The pharmacy manager seems to be a pretty understanding person. I could tell from the call (and the fact that she called me herself this time) that she felt bad, and that it was out of her control. She said she wanted to give me more hours, and that she felt I would be a great addition to their team. But that she was really in a bind with the people who already work there and the available hours she's been given from those above her.

Finally :)

I got the job!

I just have to go in on Monday morning to get the official offer!!! YAY! Then I need to buy some clothes for work, lol. I have no plain red shirts, they all have Cardinals on them! :)

Also a side-note: Rachel's having surgery today, so pray for a speedy recovery!

Target

The interview went pretty well... nothing at all like I expected but it wasn't bad. The lady who interviewed me first was really nice, and then the pharmacy manager interviewed me. I like her a lot, she seems like she would be an awesome boss, which is good cause Tom was awesome too. I'll miss him and everyone else at Dierbergs. I haven't heard anything yet but she's supposed to call me sometime this week.

New job! :) maybe ;)

So I have been thinking of where I want to work when I graduate. I've also been thinking about where I want to live. I'd love to live somewhere far away before I have kids, and can still do whatever I want :) So I would really like to live in North Carolina! Hello Rachel, eventually! lol I've visited there twice and I love it. And Rich did too, so that's a plus! So I've been thinking about going for a national chain so I can move without problems.

So I've been looking at Target as an option. Melisa knew about this, and since she works there she had her boss pass along my name to the stores in St. Louis. Nothing happened for awhile, but last week Melisa told me that the Target by me just lost a tech and needed someone quickly. So I went up there and talked to the pharmacy manager, told her who I was, and from how it sounds I have the job if I want it.

I told my boss Sunday that I might be leaving. and got his opinion on Target. Monday I turned in my application at Target, and then yesterday I got a call for an interview. So I have an interview tomorrow... I'm nervous but it's only because I havn't been on an interview in about 3 years I think.

So wish me luck... everything's moving so quickly!

my bday and more

My birthday was good. Well I didn't actually do anything on my bday... I had school and then I had to work. But I had the whole weekend off so I got to spend it at home. Friday Rich and I stayed the night at one of his friends' house in Moscow Mills. That was fun, but we got over there pretty late, and I was already tired. Then Saturday, Rich took me to get my car windows tinted (which looks awesome!). And we went bowling with his cousin in St. Charles. Then we met Melisa, Frank, Andi and Mateo at Ameristar. None of us won anything though... Then we went to Rich's friend Kadin's house for a bonfire that got rained out. On Sunday we had Mom's side of the family out for my bday party. I got lots of cute jewelry!

Tonight I think I"m gonna head up to Strassenbash with Leah... I haven't seen her in so long! Gave her a great big hug when I saw her this afternoon at the shop. I miss her, I'm glad she lives closer now, even though I feel bad that she had to move somewhere again where she doesn't know anybody. Tomorrow April graduates from Sanford Brown for her Medical Assistant degree! I can't believe she graduated before me, but I'm unbelievably proud of her for going back to school. I can't imagine going to school being a single mom. And the poor girl has to work all the time on top of that. And she did exceptionally well at school, either a 4.0 or something very close to it!

CONGRATS APRIL!!!!

Interview cont...

So the interview (of course) wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be! :) It was this cute little old man, and I remembered everything to ask, and my questions were easier than I expected.

Plus we had free ice cream at school today!

Interview...

I'm really nervous about tomorrow morning... I have to interview a "patient". It's for school but it's supposed to be similar to a doctor's office, and the patients are paid by the school for us to practice. I really shouldn't be that nervous I guess, it's not really for a grade, just to practice, but they do record it to review with you later so you can see what went wrong. I'm just afraid I'll forget something, or run out of time, or whatever. It's just much easier to counsel when you know you aren't being scrutinized.

Lots and lots of books

In case you were ever curious as to how a pharmacy student's bookshelf might look..................

I finally got one so I thought I'd share! Only the top shelf has enjoyable books :)

Also Mom and Dad got me a mortar and pestle when they were in Arkansas! I was looking for one since I've been collecting pharmacy stuff, I didn't have one yet.

Just in case you were worried.... I passed my calculations exam! :) whoo hoo

Labor Day Weekend

Mom and Dad stayed in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in a log cabin for their 30th anniversary (which is actually today). This meant that I had Adam all weekend. I went home Friday morning after my calculations exam. Which, by the way, went well but I still don't know the results. I sat around with Mom at the shop until Adam got off school, and then Mom and Dad were in a rush to get out of there, because it was about a 5 hour drive.

Adam and I had lunch/dinner with Rich when he was on his break, then we took Dad's truck to my old apartment to move everything left out of my old apartment. It took 2 trips to get everything out of the storage unit, Adam helped with 1 and 1/2 :) Then I loaded up everything left upstairs that was supposed to go to Mom and brought it home.

Saturday I had to work, but I got off early because we were really slow... I met everyone else at Aunt Linda's for their end of the summer/back to school swim party. Rich came up after he got off work (and had a nap, cause he was crabby :) and Anthony asked if he could stay with us. So, Andi, Julie, Rich, me, Adam and Anthony all stayed at the apartment. Which was interesting :) Anthony woke up at like 6:30 and played video games all morning. I unpacked and such and took a short nap. I went to the old apartment for the finishing touches, cleaned out the sinks and bathtub got the little bit that was left behind the other night when I was too tired to grab any more, and finally turned in my keys! I'll never have to go there again! :)

Yesterday Adam, Anthony and I went to Cahokia Mounds because I promised Adam I would take him this summer. Every year since I left for my first year of college we've done something with just the two of us. We've gone to the Arch, the City Museum, Meramac Caverns and I think we might have missed one year. They had fun though I think. There was a guy outside who was flint-napping (making knives and arrowheads) which was interesting. And we climbed Monk's Mound, which is 10 stories tall, and 154 steps. There were several people who were using the steps to exercise. The boys liked that you could see the Arch from the top, even though it's almost 10 miles from St. Louis. Then I took them home. And I was very tired this morning for school....

The old and new apartments :)

Some pics of the old apartment one last time before I painted.




Some pics of the new apartment!
Don't mind the mess... I'm still in the process of unpacking. Oh and that's our fish Perry! :) (after Joe Perry)