Blog Makeover

I want one... :)

I have been doing a little bit of research about who I want to makeover my blog...

or

or

are currently the top runners....

any other suggestions!?

Update: Just to clear up some feedback about this post... I did not contact any of the above designers before posting this... these were just some top choices... I went with Jessica because she regularly visits and comments on my blog so I felt as though she understood more about what my blog was "all about". I would have been lucky to have any of the designers do my blog.

Woop Woop

Who knew that someone could find support online?!

Thanks to Lindsay from Another Day in Paradise for already becoming one of my favorite blog friends. Also props to her for doing her first giveaway.

Click the above picture for a link to her blog so you can enter to win!!! :) These beanies are too cute... and I think one would look great on one of my super sweet nieces

First picture is of Emily Elizabeth and second picture is of Elizabeth Jean... Elizabeth was born with down's syndrome and you can read about her through a link to her parent's blog HERE.

Another fun giveaway comes from Jane from In the waiting line's blog. She is giving away this as a celebration of her 100th post on her blog:

How adorable?! I love picnics... this would be a great addition!! You can also click the above picture for a link to her blog.

Best of luck to everyone who enters!!

Spring has Sprung

Gracie in one of her MANY spring dresses

When life hands you lemons....

throw the lemons back and demand chocolate!!!!

Well, I got a letter yesterday in the mail saying, "amy, we hate you and don't want you at our nursing school". Ok, it didn't really say that... but that is all I got out of it. Believe it or not, I am actually ok with it. This is a school that apparently only accepts 9 people each semester. Although it was my top pick, I really kind of expected a rejection letter. So, I am ok. Life is not over. I still have several schools I have not heard back from.

I knew before opening the letter it was a rejection letter. The envelope was just way too tiny. My sweet hubby also must have known that it was a rejection letter as he had a dirty martini waiting for me when I came home from work. He also bought me this:

He thought it was a nice touch for the wine bottle to be mostly pink since it is my favorite color. The chocolate cake speaks for itself but I thought the name was funny: double layer chocolate fantasy cake.

He also had dinner prepared for me




Lamb chops and lobster ravioli... yum.

Apparently he was expecting me to be much more upset than I was... I was really touched that he tried so hard to make me feel better. I also explained not to EVER buy a cake that big again because making me 10,000lbs heavier will not make me happy either.

Everyone say a quick prayer that this is the only rejection letter I recieve. Otherwise, this entire cake may be gone very soon!

Just for fun...

Found this on Cooler Ranch or Nacho Cheese. I thought it looked like fun... you should do it too!

Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyworld/Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo. (in my car... does that count?)
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. (well as far as they would let me go...which isnt the top)
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (Money doesn't buy happiness)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted. (I'm going to say caricatures count, who paints these days?)
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (and Vegas)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Got flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp .
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person .
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.

What's in a name?

Everything, according to Lauren Nicole

I am so excited about ordering one of her super cute badge reels to use at work

She also has a ton of giveaways.... visit her blog HERE to see what she is giving away this week!!

the GOOD and the SCARY

Lets start this off with some prayer requests.

As I have mentioned before, Jonah, son of Matt and Patrice Williams, needs our prayers. Their first child, Gabe, was stillborn at 37 weeks. Their second child, Jonah, was born with a rare skin disorder on February 27th, 2009. He has been fighting for his life at Brenner's Childrens Hospital ever since. I pray that he will soon be able to go home with his parents and that they continue to have strength during this trying time.

I also want to send a request for prayers for Stellan. I have just started to follow MckMama's blog so I am kind of playing catch up with all the background of this sweet child. I do know that he was diagnosed with a very serious heart condition in utereo. Today he went into V-Tach which is a very serious and potentially deadly heart rhythm. He has turned a corner today and has come out of V-Tach but is by no means out of the woods. Please pray for him and his family that he will also be able to come home soon.

I pray that both of these children live LONG, LONG lives. I also pray that they realize one day how many people have prayed for them and what an inspiration they are to others.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

And onto a more lighthearted subject:

I am happy to announce I have my first official follower: Lindsay's Another Day in Paradise. She has a delightfully fun blog and is also a lover of McDonald's sweet tea (haha, right Lindsay?). She also has three beautiful little girls that she loves to photograph and blog about. Thanks for the add Lindsay!

Also, I am so excited that I have raised (so far) $200 for the 2009 MS Walk in Charlotte, NC. My original goal was $100 and have since raised that goal to $300. I am going to try my hardest to raise this money. I have a personal interest in raising the money as my best guy friend, Jonathan, has MS and I am walking in support of him. If you want to view my page (or help by donating) please click here: MS WALK

Last but not least, I am going to leave you with a hillarious spoof of the movie Twilight. I borrowed this from Ambles' Confessions of a Weirdo blog. I love the movie and the books and thought I wouldn't enjoy a spoof, but I was wrong. Watch this... I promise you will love it!

I did it!

After MANY, MANY, MANY failed attempts, I finally created my very own button!! I need to give photo credit to Kim Shouse at Fusion Fotografix for taking this picture of me on my wedding day. I think it is an appropriate picture for my page since that day I did indeed "just add walter".

I am sure you noticed that "just add walter" is a pun on the phrase "just add water". This blog name shows several things about us:

1: it shows that I am a cook-in-training to say the very least. Most of the things I attempt to cook do indeed have the recipe "just add water".
2: a breakdown of the name shows, "just" is short for my husband, justin; "add" were my initials before I got married; "walter" is my married last name.

personally, I think the name was pretty clever of me. I thought about it for a long time before creating a blog because I wanted the perfect blog name. In my opinion, I think I found it.

I would love if you would post my button to your site

<a href="http://justaddwalter.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv107/gldnwfugirl/th_justaddwalter.jpg" /></a>

Also, any comments or helpful blog tips would be great!!

I might be a redneck if....

Ok, normally I am not one to consider myself a redneck. However, this weekend I definitely dipped into the southern culture a little more than usual.

The weekend started off by going out Coyote Joes.

The night started off innocently enough by playing pool... but soon people were riding on the bull, doing shots, and attempting to go learn to line dance out on the dance floor.

Saturday, J got a wild hair that he would like to have an inflatable TV to be able to blow up and watch movies on in the backyard...? So we went to hhgregg and then to bestbuy in see how much something like this would cost. In the midst of shopping we were invited to grill out with some good friends. We bought the projector (but not the blow-up screen) and headed over to our friends house. There we proceeded to play some cornhole (which we lost), and then set up the projector to watch Gone in 60 Seconds on their garage door while grilling out.

you can see our little shadows watching the movie on the garage door

Yep, we are officially turning into rednecks... ;)

Seriously?...Seriously?...

1st "official" week as a CNA is OVER :)

Let me just say, I thought after the 1st day of working 13 hours straight that I was officially going to die. I felt as though I had ran a marathon. My feet hurt, my back hurt... well EVERYTHING pretty much hurt. And to make things worse, I didn't really understand when to take breaks or anything like that so I pretty much was STARVING by the time I got home and probably caused a bladder infection due to the fact that I didn't go to the restroom the entire day! I really wasn't sure I would even be able to get out of bed Wednesday morning to make it to work for my second day.

Day two was a little better. I was told when I could take my lunch break, I found the bathroom, and I started to understand what the heck I was doing... FINALLY. The day was a little bit busier than day one but since I was starting to get into the groove of things, it actually seemed better to me. I still was absolutely exhausted after another 13 hour work day and pretty much went to bed as soon as I got home.

Day three was the last day of the work week for me. I am going to LOVE LOVE LOVE this work schedule situation. Basically you work almost 40 hours in 3 days and then you get to have 4 days off. Well, this may not always be the case... but at least for the next month it will be. This last day of the work week was insane. By the time 6:30pm rolled around, I started thinking the like the little engine that could, "I think I can, I think I can" was all that was going through my head. When the girl who has been training me told me to walk down the hall to get something from the supply closet, I told her that if I didn't make it back in 10 minutes I had probably passed out and she better come find me. She laughed. I was serious. I wasn't sure if my feet were even still moving. When I was finally able to clock out that night I got into my car and headed out of the parking garage. I stopped at a stop light right outside the garage and started thinking, "wow, I can barely see through my windshield". Right about this time, I also realized the reason I couldn't see through my windshield was because it was RAINING. Yes, I was really so tired that I could no longer process rain. Once again, I passed out as soon as I got home.

Today was great. Day one of my 4 day weekend. I spent the whole day doing absolutely nothing. I caught up on all the trashy TV from the week, hung out with fur baby, and didn't get out of my PJs until about 4:30pm. It was fabulous. Justin took me out to a great dinner at Chimas and then we came home to watch Wake get kicked out the big dance (that part wasn't so great). I am definitely looking forward to my next 3 days off although I am guessing they will be a little more productive than today was.

Still haven't heard from nursing school... I am anxiously waiting so be sure to say a little prayer for me :)

OOOOhh.. and on another note, I have had over 200 hits on my blog since I started it February 28th, 2009. I appreciate all of you who are reading my ramblings and hope you are finding them somewhat amusing. Feedback would be great! :)

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This week I am not shamelessly BEGGING people for their money to support the MS walk in Charlotte, NC.

ok, really I am begging... please join my team by clicking the above picture!!


Another thing I did not do was to start some spring cleaning and completely give up... who would do that? And how in the world did I/We accumulate so much stuff?!

I also did not take a long nap with sweet little fur baby after giving up the spring cleaning. That would just be lazy.

I did not stare out of my window at approximately 2pm until the mailman came only to be disappointed there was no mail for me AGAIN. I am not anxiously awaiting to hear from nursing school this week and have not been so stressed that I broke out in hives last week.

What have you not done?!

On my honor...

This past week my nephew, Carter, graduated from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. I am very excited for him even though this makes me feel extremely old. I can't believe he is already 10 years old and on his way to middle school next year. I am so glad he has taken such an active role in Boy Scouts. Some of my best guy friends, including my husband, are Eagle Scouts. This is the highest rank of Boy Scouts and takes a lot of time and dedication to achieve this honor. Below you will see some pictures of some great guys and some great Eagle Scouts ending with my nephew at his Boy Scout ceremony:

In order: Justin, Ed, Rob, Travis, Adam
and last but not least... Carter:

I am proud to know all of these men and feel blessed to have all of them in my life!

Working hard for the money

Well week 1 of the new job is OVER :) Well technically it has been over for a couple of days but I haven't had a ton of time to post about it... and if you want to get really technical, I guess I really haven't "officially" started yet since the first week was just orientation.

Things are good so far. I have already met a lot of really super nice people and learned a lot about the unit I am going to be on. On day #2 we were talking about "Codes". I am sure everyone has heard of "Code Blue" via some sort of movie or TV show. However, there are about 10 other codes you need to remember while working in a hospital. Well about a hour after we went over these codes, the lights started flashing and there was an announcement of a "Code Red" on the 8th floor. Of course all the really bad codes came to my mind and I start thinking frantically, "Ahh... does that mean a bomb, shooter, hazardous materials, child abduction?!?!?! what is it!?! then I remember it is just a fire drill... silly Amy!" I guess I still have a lot to learn.

My schedule is kind of crazy right now. I will only be working 36 hours a week to begin with because I am shadowing someone for my first month and that is what they work. The fun thing is that I am shadowing a nurse named AMY... what a great name. I am sure she won't be nearly as happy about this as I am. I have already come up with nicknames for us and everything. She will probably think I am a weirdo. So anyway, basically I will start off working 3 days a week for 12 hours/day. I am kind of a fan as that means I have 4 days off a week... which also means I have a ton of free time right now (never a bad thing). However, I will need help filling the time... any ideas?!

Apparently my first pay day is next week. I am super excited about that. I am going to celebrate by buying a cup of chai tea at starbucks :) mmmmmmm... I love chai tea! :)

On another note, this weekend started off really crappy with Wake losing in the ACC tournament but has greatly improved by a night of grilling out with Jonathan and Katie on Friday, brunching on Saturday with Jeanne and dinner at home on Saturday with J and G. Now I am off to watch the ACC Championship with Rob and Emily (I haven't seen them since they got married in December... we are way overdue for a visit), then dinner with a bunch of friends to discuss the MS Walk in May (more to come on that...). Happy weekend everyone!

Climb every mountain...

Ok, so we actually didn't climb any mountains (or even go hiking for that matter), but we were IN the mountains over the weekend... that kind of counts, right!?

Asheville was a ton of fun. The weather was beautiful, the drive was not very long (I am a really bad car rider), and the company was great! We left CLT on Friday around 6pm which means we didn't get to Asheville until about 8:30.
We checked in really quick and then headed downtown for some food. We ended up eating at this cute little place called "Table". Our waiter was great. He told us about how sometimes the cooks get so drunk they can't cook and have to shut down the restaurant for the night... how bizarre is that?! Only in Asheville. We also saw some really cute signs showing how "green" Asheville is:

(Just incase you can't read them... the first one says: Please be gentle on our old pipes and save a tree....be cautious of how much toilet paper you use. Second one says: For hybrid vehicles only. Third one says: Please turn off lights to conserve energy. Thank you. )

Saturday started off great. Justin booked us a couples massage and facial at Illusions for 9am which means we didn't get to sleep in but it was definitely worth it. It relaxed us so much that we barely made it through lunch and shopping before we had to go back to the hotel and take an afternoon siesta. That night we ate at Vincenzos, which had some wonderful italian food. Dinner was followed by a little bit of bar hopping before we called it a night.

Sunday we headed to Winston to pick up Gracie from my parents and then back to Charlotte. It was a GREAT weekend!!
TODAY was the 1st day of my new job at Presby. Actually this week is just orientation so I haven't really started working yet... but it still kind of counts. We got to see this really funny video that is on youtube that you should definitely check out: Soapacabana.

I think I was delirious from sitting still for 8+ hours at that point and thought this was the funniest thing I had ever seen. Take home message: WASHING HANDS SAVES LIVES.

That's about all for now.... Hope everyone has a great week!!

Busy Season is OVER!!

Thank God, busy season is over!! My poor husband has worked for the past 45+ days straight. The last few weeks he has worked until almost midnight every night (and sometimes later than that). Monday was the official last day of busy season which means that yesterday J. had his first full day off of work since the Holidays.

We slept in super late and then had a late lunch at the Olive Garden. This was followed by trips to Best Buy and IKEA, and ending the night by eating Sushi and watching karaoke at the Fox. It was a great day! I have almost forgotten what it was like to spend a whole day with him. We had some much needed QT together!

Today its back to work for J. but we are planning a last minute trip "somewhere" for the weekend. So at least I have something to look forward to. We are trying to decide between the mountains and the beach. The weather is supposed to be great this weekend which is why we were considering the beach (even though we obviously can't get in the water). I think its fun to go to the beach in the winter time. Of course, the mountains are always fun... so who knows... we'll keep you updated on the decision.

Also, I mentioned on Monday about this "fit test" thing I am supposed to have before I start work (on the 9th, ACK!!). Since I failed the first one because of drinking a HUGE sweet tea before going in, I had to reschedule it for this morning. Well I'm not sure if it was the nerves or the fact that I was feeling a little bit sick this morning but once again my heart was totally going beserk.. I checked my pulse about a hundred times and it was as fast as lightning. I called the RN and explained I would like to reschedule, if possible, for tomorrow. So my new appt is at 10am tomorrow. I will be drinking lots of fluids tonight and in the morning. Also probably having some sort of an aromatherapy candlelit bubble bath tonight to relax. So say a little prayer for me that my heart rate is normal and anxiety does not cause me to fail this test tomorrow! I promise I am not a basketcase... obviously this whole job situation is just totally stressing me out and I am putting an extreme amount of pressure on myself! BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT... easy enough right!?!

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.



Last week I definitely did not "pretend to clean the house" by stuffing things in one of the guest bedrooms closets since my in-laws were coming.

I am sure I did not fail my "fit test" for work because I had a HUGE sweet tea from McDonalds before going in and they thought I had a heart condition because my heart was beating so fast (before I even started the test) from all the sugar. This also did not result in me having to go to my regular doctor the next day to get a note from him stating that I do not have a heart condition, I am able to work, and that I just need to stop drinking sweet tea (yes, he really did put that on my note). That would just be silly if that happened....

And I'm positive I did not spend countless hours watching trashy tv over the weekend including "G's to Gents", "Rock of Love", "For the Love of Ray J", etc. I mean who actually watches those shows?

I definitely did not laugh at my poor little dog as she ran outside this morning like she always does and slipped on the ice and fell flat on her face.

Nope, Not ME!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

I heart snow... and as I mentioned earlier, Gracie does not! here are some pictures of her NOT enjoying the snow...
Here she is before heading out... all decked out in her jacket, scarf and hat.

And here she is NOT enjoying herself outside. She basically just stood there until I picked her up and brought her inside. She is so spoiled.

On another note, I am so OVER busy season. Poor Justin not only had to work all weekend long.... he is currently snowed in AT WORK... on a SUNDAY!?! How ridiculous is that? Luckily, busy season will be over Monday (at midnight) so I won't have to worry about that for another year.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and if you are out in the snow tonight or tomorrow, BE CAREFUL!

Snow Day?

I have lived in North Carolina my entire life and I still do not understand our weather. Seems like I was just wearing short sleeves (with no jacket) and now they are saying we are getting somewhere before 4-8 inches of snow tonight (and maybe more than that?!). WHAT?! I play along and go to the grocery store like everyone else and buy all sorts of stuff to stock up. After all of that, it probably won't even snow at all.

Gracie is praying for no snow. She hates to go out in it. She has several cute winter coats and I always make her go out and "play" in it so I can take some pictures. She just sits there and looks at me as if she hates me. Then we go inside and I wrap her in a big blanket and cuddle with her and all is forgiven!

As for me.... LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!!!!