Settling in.

So far we are liking New York. We are learning the area and checking things out. We ran into a street fair in Sleepy Hollow today. Somehow, we seem to find one of those wherever we go. More pictures to come when we actually start doing stuff.

Birthday Cake

I love when my parents visit for my Birthday because that means that we get a Cakery cake. Grandmother came up with the idea for this one and I thought it was really cute. I just realized though that it looks like I'm about to smack him with the golf club! Ok, so they don't have their own website, but I linked directions anyway in case anyone wants the best Birthday cake ever!

Will's Birthday

I had to work on William's Birthday so some of our friends from here were nice enough to take him out for some fun. We found some really great friends here.

Roy, Will, and Ken (aka - golfing buddies)

Denise, Carlie, and Pam (other travel nurses that I work with)

Philadelphia

We took a day trip to Philadelphia too while my parents were here.

You can't go to Philly without having a cheesesteak.

The Liberty Bell

Independence hall

The actual room where the declaration of independence was signed.

Rehoboth Beach

We took my parents into Rehoboth too. It's the more popular tourist beach around here and it was BUSY that day.

Don't know if you can tell from here, but the beach umbrellas stretched as far as you could see in this direction and it was just as bad the other way.

Atlantic City

So, I know I'm way behind again. Here are the rest of the pictures from my parents' visit. Our Atlantic city trip was kinda short, but we had fun walking on the boardwalk (and gambling a little).

Mom, Dad and I on the boardwalk

Me and my Hubby

ARRGH! It's the pirates!

This really cool ship was docked at the ferry terminal, so we checked it out while waiting for the ferry.

The Ferry

When my parents were here, we took the ferry from Lewes to Cape May, NJ. It was a pretty day, but we didn't see the dolphins.

The Ferry

Mom and Dad on the Ferry

Catch up day!

I'm off for three days and have decided to catch up on my blogging. So get ready for new pictures and updates. Oh yeah, and we're definately going to Mt. Kisco now (see previous post). I've signed the contract and everything.

Where We're going next!

Just got off the phone with my recruiter. It looks like we will be going to Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco, NY. From their website and their Nurse manager, it seems to be a great place, so I am really excited about it. I wanted to be a little closer to the city, but in the end, I chickened out because I really don't think a nurse-patient ratio of 1 to 8 or 1 to 10 can ever be safe, no matter how stable the patients are. It looks like we will probably be housed in Tarrytown, NY which is about 15 miles away. Not sure about any of this yet, but wanted to show you all what I've been looking at. Any opinions?

Happy Early Birthday!

This is what William got for his Birthday. It started as just a driver ... then he needed a new bag ... then the salesman talked him into new irons ... then the putter was such a good deal that we had to get it too. So here is his Birthday present. A complete set of golf clubs. I got just a putter, but I already liked the clubs that I had.

I can cook!

After reading the pioneer woman's website, I have been inspired to start cooking things that don't come out of boxes. My latest experiment ... biscuits and sausage gravy. Of course, I cooked them for dinner, not breakfast because I am not a morning person, but I still thought they turned out well. I took a picture so you could all salivate over them too. And the sliced tomatoes ... just because we're good Southerners.

Don't you just love the 1970's Corelle plates.

OK, we're really not that attached to our cellphones, we do eat without them. It just happened to make it into the picture.

More pictures

I must be bored! This many posts in one day! I just wanted to show you our surf fishing tag. I was talking about it in an earlier post, but I just think that it is so cute. They are on the front of all the cars here, so now we look like locals driving around with it. It's important to fit in you know!

Tiny TV

So this is my husband's beef about the housing here (besides the antique furniture which is uncomfortable and comes with constant reminders from me to use a coaster). The TV is tiny. I really thought he was over-reacting at first, but lately I've found myself squinting to be able to see the letters on Wheel-of-Fortune or read the final Jeopardy question, so I guess I have to admit too, that it really is small. Notice the Jenga game and the books for a size comparison, then realize that it is in a rather large room, so the couch is about 12 feet away. I know, very unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but just wanted to share (in case anyone actually reads our blog).

P.S. The DVD player doesn't even work, so we've been watching movies on the laptop.

Banana Tree

When we moved into our housing, this was in our sunroom. A nice decoration, but kinda big for a houseplant and it was looking really sad (wish I had a before picture). Well, when we moved it outside, we kinda broke the leaves and it looked like it was going to fall over, so we leaned it against the fence to die. Then, we noticed this little sprout (like the one in the middle) and we decided this thing might stand a chance after all. William cut off the dead leaves and it now has 2 huge leaves again, with a 3rd one just barely out. He also put it in a bigger pot a couple of days ago and I think it is much happier. Doesn't it look happy? Oh, yeah, some birds built a nest in that square pot too, but I haven't seen them in a week or 2. We must have scared them off.

Jackson

Many of you got my e-mail about my nephew Jackson who got burned in a bonfire on Saturday before the 4th. He has his own site, but I wanted to share some pictures that my parents took of him on Sunday when they visited. He's having surgery today, skin grafts to his thigh and arm. It's a shame he needs that nasty feeding tube, but burn patients need all the protien they can get so they're having to supplement him.

Jackson with his older brother Judson

OK, so I know this one is blurry, but I just think he is so precious with those little house shoes! That's my OLDest brother David blowing bubbles for him. He and his wife Jeannine were visiting from Louisiana. Notice how I put OLD in caps. David will turn 50 in September and I don't intend to let him forget it!

I am addicted ...

to the pioneer woman's website. If you haven't been there, you should. It's like an online cooking show with funny tidbits and great photography in between. I picked it up off of my friend's blog and I've been reading it non-stop. Plus, she gives away prizes sometimes. So check it out, just 'cause it's fun.

Ripley's Museum

We went down to Ocean City, MD a couple of weeks ago and went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. Just a few pictures of the random things we saw there.

A Vampire Killing Kit

This picture is made entirely from human hair,

this one is lint,

(No, I'm wrong...it's cobwebs!)

and last but not least ... toast

A little bit bored.

I'm blogging today, because I'm stuck inside on such a beautiful day and I'm going to go stir crazy. Somehow, I got an infection in two of my toes (probably a bug bite). I went to the urgent care this morning because I couldn't put it off any longer and it was getting worse every day. I got a shot of antibiotics and 10 days worth to take by mouth and was instructed to stay home and prop my foot up for the next 2 days. Hopefully it will be better by Friday so I won't have to miss work. I kinda want to post a picture of my gross foot, but I won't in case someone has a weak stomach. If anyone else is home bored, call me! By the way, if any of you nurses have ever given IM Rocephin and wondered how bad it is, yes, it does hurt. Very bad. Even with lidocaine.

We actually did have pictures

I forgot that my Husband actually did take some pictures of our new place the day we moved in. I like it because it is really bright and open, I just wish there wasn't so much antique furniture.

Living Room & Sun Room

Sun Room

Front entrance. We decided it was best to hide the transvestite mermaid. He was a little scary.

The back deck

Our room (oops, didn't see my elbow in this picture)

Delaware

Bad person that I am, I have no pictures to share with you yet. However, I will try to describe.

OK, so Lewes, Delaware was the first city in the state of Delaware (Probably because it sits out on the point between the Ocean and the bay). See the map here. Also, Delaware was the first state to ratify the constitution, so they get the claim of being the first state. So, the slogan around here is the first city in the first state. William and I are thinking, so they've been around awhile, plenty of time to figure stuff out. However, in many ways it is more backward than South Georgia. For instance, there are only 3 counties in the entire state. They even have South Georgia-type thunderstorms and we've had a heat advisory all week (over 90 degrees for about 4 days now).

I obviously didn't fully realize what I was getting into when I moved here. I imagined a snobbish, Cape Cod type atmosphere. One trip to Wal-Mart proved me VERY wrong! It is a tourist area, but not in the way I expected. Also, most of the tourists are just down the beach in Rehoboth, not right here in Lewes. I was sadly mistaken as I thought that all rednecks lived in the south, but nope, they have their own special brand of redneck here.

Luckily, we have met some really nice people too. William went to the local par-3 golf course on our second day here to check the prices and ended up with a job. He has been helping clean up the course from the afore-mentioned thunderstorms. Every time it rains, we just laugh and say, "job security" for him. But I digress. Mark and Barbara, who hired him at the course, have invited us out to the beach with them several times to go surf fishing (more about that later). Mark also owns a deep sea boat that he has taken William out on and his parents live on a nearby lake and have given him free use of their john-boat. He is in heaven as you might imagine!

So, more about surf fishing. You have to buy a special permit for your truck and you are required to have 4-wheel drive, but you can actually drive out onto the beach at Cape Henlopen State park. Now, when you are on the beach, you must be "actively involved in surf fishing" which basically means you have to have all the gear and bait with you and actually have a pole in the water. However, it is a basically a good excuse to sit afound on the beach all day, cook out and play horseshoes. They go every week and we have been with them twice, so we are now the proud owners of a surf fishing tag for our truck.

I know this isn't as good as pictures, but I wanted to fill you all in on our lives. I'll get you pictures ASAP, but if you really can't wait for pictures, just plan a visit. We have 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths and will be here until Labor Day. It would be the cheapest beach vacation ever, plus we would love to see friends and family. It's about a 12 hour drive from Georgia, or you can fly into Baltimore or Philadelphia (about an hour and a half away) and we'll come get you. Hope to see you soon!

Oh yeah, you can also check out my hospital here. It has one of the only remaining Diploma program nursing schools in the US still attached to the hospital. I know this doesn't mean much to many of you, but the nurses will find it funny. I really didn't think there were any of them left.

Hirshhorn Gallery & Sculpture Garden

Just a few examples of the things we saw at the gallery. Sorry I don't know who any of the artists are. We just wandered around the four floors for about 4 hours enjoying the art. The place was huge, besides the 2 sculpture gardens outside.

Don't really know what it was supposed to be, but it reminded us of the Death Star!

Postal Museum

Now that we're finally settled in Delaware, I thought I would catch up on our last 2 adventures in Virginia, the National Postal Museum and the Hirshhorn art gallery. We don't have many pictures from inside the gallery, because many of the coolest exhibits were video, not still art.

An early RFD truck.

Funny looking mail truck.

Mailboxes from around the World.

Arlington Cemetery

The tomb of the unknown soldier.

Changing of the guard.

View of DC from the top of Arlington Cemetery.