First post of 2013: Operations!

Kelly: No, we are all fine. Not THOSE kinds of operations! Anyway, today has been a day full of operations, as I just posted on my facebook. This morning started out with Operation Temporary Cat Refugee.  Good friends of ours who live in the apartment building next to us found themselves infestered with roaches!!! We got a call last night asking if we could house their 3 cats and bunny for a few hours while the exterminators sprayed. They chilled out in our bedroom, played in the closet and watched ER with me. It was a good morning. The reason we kept them separated is because Wiley is SUPER alpha male and gets very angry and upset in the presence of other cats. So he was completely oblivious to their appearances while Yoda caught a glimpse of little Aurora (not pictured). She was a bit curious for the day.

2/4 refugees for the morning :] 

Then Holly wanted to rearrange our bedroom. So after the kitties left we turned into Operation Rearrange ALL THE THINGS!!! Tomorrow I will be Operation Ow I Hurt Like Crap because I didn't wear my wrist brace. Tendonitis really sucks sometimes. But the wrist pain actually goes away if I wear my brace for a few days. All will be well in due time :] So after we watched Jeopardy, Holly decided to go check on the kitties again to make sure they were ok. About 10 mins. later, she pokes her head in the door. Mischief (orange kitty pictured) got out! We still don't know how he did!!!! But he did. So we spent 20 minutes trying to chase him down. I eventually grabbed our kitty carrier (he loved it earlier today) and he took the bait. I wouldn't have minded chasing him down, except he thought it was funny and it was FREEZING COLD outside! I could almost here him taunting us. But he is safe and sound back at home. So that was today. A grand day. And now Yoda is asleep on my lap. All is well.

Holly: In addition to the newly-developed Operation Big Screen Bilbo Baggins/Martin Freeman/OMGeezers For The Third Time On Sunday, my current operation is Operation Holly Hopefully Has A New Job So She Can Work And Not Die of Boredom And Stir-Craziness Because Old Navy Is.........aksdjhfkajsldhfa...anyway.

Basically what's going down is I am scheduled for 2 days this upcoming week (Thursday and Friday).  Those two days will be my last.  Yes, I'm quitting.  I'm not going into details, but the basic jist of it is it's not worth the gas money and time for so few hours (I work for 10 hours those 2 days, and I've only worked one other shift).  By the way, I have not made that public yet so I would appreciate it if this was kept on the down low...other than you fine people the only other person I have told about this is my mom.  I know you all won't say anything, but just wanted to be up front.  Plus, I have been offered another job (hopefully...we're still working the kinks out).  It will cut my commute time from 35 minutes to about 5, which is a HUGE blessing.  I can't really say much else (really...I can't), but please pray/send good vibes/do whatever you do.

About all to report here.  Go be nice to some people.  And chase some kitties.  And if you haven't seen The Hobbit yet, I pity you.

EtOh....wait?

Kelly: About a week ago, Holly and I were having a talk about...alcohol. What is it about it that attracts people to it? As you all know, we are a year over the legal age in US. I've drank alcohol since I've turned 21  less than a dozen times. Now I'm not trying to brag, but moderation for me is just a preference. When I was in Scotland, my roommates would either go out to clubs/pubs or have alcohol in our apartment. I was a bit shell shocked at first (I refer to such part of the kitchen as "the corner") because in Berea it's a dry campus. You would not believe how many people asked me "how do you survive?" The smart butt in me wanted to say well I'm alive now. But in all honesty being in a dry campus doesn't even phase me.

Ok, now back to moderation. I think that drinking alcohol should be for social events in MODERATION, not a contest or spectator sport. And someone PLEASE explain to me what the deal is with turning 21 and boozing? That just doesn't sound fun to me. At all. It seems in today's culture that's the default thing to do when someone crosses the hump. I think that's why I loved my 21st birthday so much. We were all sober and had the best time. A friend of ours was going to bring a bit of booze but we politely declined and said that at our 21st birthday that wasn't going to happen. Now I'm not totally 100% against alcohol, however I am against drinking just to get drunk and completely losing control. Mostly because me knowing me I am a person that has to be in control. At all times. Now...having said that, Friday night my parents were here and we went to O'Charley's. And yes, I had a margarita. It was quite tasty, but I was in a controlled environment with people that I trust.

This brings me to my last point. A while ago in Sunday School we did a series called "Guardrails" by Andy Stanley. Long story short, but as a Christian I have established a set of guardrails for myself; and yes one of them involves alcohol. Ironically this study was done shortly after I got back from Scotland. While I was there, there were a few situations where I wanted to "fit in" with my roommates. And that would have involved doing things/drinking things I normally don't. But I didn't. I realize now that one of my guardrails is simply avoiding situations in which I might lose control. And I don't regret it. At all. Now if you get something out of this, it's just maybe I don't understand. I really don't understand the point of getting completely out of control with yourself...just to drink and "have fun." I'm serious...WHAT is the appeal?

Holly: Here's my stance on the issue.  I am not against alcohol.  Period.  I think it is a very enjoyable, social, and relaxing thing....when used responsibly.  If you want to go home after a long day of work and plop down on the couch with a glass of vino, go for it.  If you and some friends want to get together and shoot the breeze over a pitcher of margaritas, have fun.  But what I don't understand is what is so appealing about drinking to the point of blacking out, acting like a blubbering fool, and not remembering a single friggin' thing of what went on.  On more than one occasion I've had friends tell me "oh one night I'm just going to get totally s***-faced" and I just ask WHY????  Why do you want to risk harming yourself, others, your body, etc?? Not to mention just how quickly things can go south if you aren't in control.   Which you aren't, p.s.  And I'm with Kelly on this: if you are into that kind of thing and you want to tell me the appeal to it all, please feel free to do so.  You will be welcomed with unbiased ears.

Personally, I enjoy a ridiculously fruity margarita every now and then (much like the one I had on Friday).  At our apartment we'll have some Smirnoff ices in our fridge once in a while.  I think drinking in moderation is totally ok.  Not to brag, but I can count on one hand the number of times I've had a drink (an ENTIRE one) since being of legal age.  And I'm not saying this to be a stuck-up snob, saying "Oh, well she's too good for alcohol."  No.  That isn't it.  I'm just saying I've made a choice to moderation, which has kept me on track for choosing moderation in other food choices in my life (which must mean I'm doing something right: down 8 lbs since April,  w00t).  But anyway, next time you call me up and ask "Hey, let's go have dinner and I'll buy you a drink," just say when and where.  But if you call me up and say "Hey, let's just go totally lose our )*(^*%&^*&^*&^*^&#*&$^@ and get schnockered and what not", I'm going to have to politely decline.

Knee Socks and Beef Jerky

Holly: This blog post has absolutely no pertinent significance to life, the universe, and all its profound mysteries.  It has nothing to do with anything going on right now in our lives.  This is just merely a post about things that make us laugh. 

For me, since I'm a biology major, I have compiled a list of science terms that sound like (bad) band names.  Here goes.  Feel free to add more.  Enjoy:

*The Hydrophobic Effect (my personal favorite)
*The Michaelis-Menten Equation
*Central Dogma
*Topoisomerase
*Renin
*Lagging Strand
*The Genetic Code
*The Bohr Model
*Glusatory Pleasure
*Fluid Mosaic Model
*Competitive Inhibition
*NMR
*G-6-P
*Breaking Glycogen

Kelly: For me, today I was going through my Twitter account and looking at some of the tweets that I retweeted. Most of them are very humorous, but some are serious and actually thought-provoking. Listed below are some of my favorite "retweets."

Brad Sherwood: Herman Cain giving his endorsement to another candidate is like a restaurant that gets closed for health violations telling you where to eat. (sorry if I offend anyone...)

Colin Mochrie: Hosting the Oscar Meyer awards where everyone is a wiener. Thank you...thank you very much.

Colin again: Just won an Emmy for "Most Likely never to win an Emmy" Eat it Kardashians!!!

Jeff Davis: I just discovered a long-forgotten jar of pickled eggs in my fridge. I'm terrified. And intrigued

Brad Sherwood: Daily thought; the world will always be full of people & ideas you disagree with. Relax. Things will never be just 'your way.'

Brad again: Daily life choices: cruelty or kindness, exclusion or acceptance, selfishness or generosity, judgment or tolerance. #BeNicer

Michael W. Smith: Religion is boring. Life with God is an adventure!

and the best for last....

Lord Voldemort: FINALLY! There is a cure for stupid. It's called; shut the hell up.

TA-DA!!! Hope we all brightened your day with some laughs. We're plugged into our last week of classes, so we could use all the laughs we can get. Share your funny stuff with us if you want, or just divulge into ours! Thank you faithful readers! Cheers!!!

Random Post XYZ

Holly: Helllllllllllloooooooo everybody! *waves*  I hope that everyone is having a wonderful day/week/month/LIFE! :)

Things have been kind of insane lately.  To begin, I am sick.  Again.  With what, I'm not sure (doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon will hopefully shed some light on that), but it's either what I've been sick with for a while now, or something totally new.   Regardless, I began running a low-grade fever this afternoon and have been feeling craptastic since.  It must be bad because even when I went into work today to help out (I usually don't work on Wednesdays, but hey, labs don't prep themselves), my boss noticed I was off.  Definitely glad to notice others care about my well-being. 

But whatevs.  Life goes on.

Random tangent of happy news: next semester I might be TAing for a fun class! Stay tuned!! I'm really pumped about it!!!!! :D

Insanity bout numero dos: The previous week had me running about all like a chicken with its head cut off because of a lesson plan for my senior seminar class.  Stress, angst, stress, angst, stress, angst, stress, angst, ya know! One week and several communication issues later, the lesson plan was presented on  Monday and all went well! :)

Insanity bout number three: This evening, as I was in my shoebox dorm trying to recuperate from WHATEVER has me feeling so crappy, I received an email from Academic Services, (kindly) telling me that my current incomplete grade from when I went abroad this summer must be resolved by the end of finals or I will receive an F in place.

Ok...I'm sorry.........WHAT??!!?


I have turned in EVERYTHING I was supposed to (by "everything", I mean a one-page report of my experience that was due in freaking September!).  AAAHHH RAGE FRUSTRATION WHYDOESNOBODYCOMMUNICATE?!?!?!?!? @#$%^&*()(*&^%^t&*&^%^&*!@#$%^&%$#@


I know that blogging/ranting will not fix anything, but it is still very, very frustrating.  That's all.

I'm going to finish my tea, check my temp again, then probably go to bed.  Yes, I know it's before 10.  But I'm using the sick card.  Adios! xx

Kelly: All of these problems can be fixed with one thing...COMMUNICATION!!!!!!!!!! Ok, that's it. Seriously, it's not like I'm asking for a lot here. It's just....incredibly frustrating because...how are we supposed to know? NOBODY TALKS. I just feel like all this work for my abroad credit is going for nothing. because they already scraped my active learning experience (ALE) because they PUT ON MY SCHEDULUE a class that I look LAST YEAR that was NOT LISTED for the ALE requirement for LAST YEAR when I registered for it!!

Do you understand my frustration? Ok, now that we're all on the same page.

I don't want to talk about this anymore. I just want the proper people to do their jobs so that us hard-working students don't get screwed over. In the meantime, I will pull all the strings, take time out of my super incredibly busy schedule to deal with this. When did seemingly simple processes become so darn complicated. Can I have a cookie?

VICTORY!!!

Old picture from last year. Love it because it fits today's theme :] 

Kelly: "But the hard times will come. And we'll keep moving on. We're moving up.
Life, hope, trust, faith, pride, love lust, Keep moving on. 
Laugh, cry, live, die. 
Make the best with what you're given. This ain't dyin; this is livin." -Good Charlotte, "Moving On."

I serve a mighty God! I really do. Everyday of my life I do not deserve His love, mercy and grace. Earlier this week, I think in the previous blog post, I mentioned a big test that I HAD to pass in order to continue on with my nursing education. I won't go into the gorry details, because you can just read the previous post in order to know what the criteria and stipulations were. Took it the first time on Monday, missed 6. Took it the second time on Wednesday, missed 4.

This brought me to last night. I went to bed at 11:30, but didn't fall asleep till about an hour later. I sat awake, thinking and praying about the future, because I honestly did not know what I was going to do. After listening to Michael W. Smiths "This is Your Time" and saying a final prayer, I finally went to sleep. The pressure was on; I even had a conversation with Holly earlier and was trying to talk myself out of everything. I had made plans and done research on other alternatives for a new major. Got up this morning and had a lonnnnnng conversation with God again. I asked Him to remove my fears, doubts, worries, insecurities and all the bad thoughts, because all that can be left are good and positive ones. I sat down with the test in front of me and just said to myself "I know what I'm doing. I am capable."

Give or take 45 minutes later, and I finished. Pacing and pacing, found a friend of mine, gave her a hug, hopped around a bit, then..."Kelly." Then, "you missed 3. Fix one, and you'll pass." CRAP!!!!!!! Sitting back down in the chair, I furiously searched for the 3 I missed. Luckily, they were the easier questions, which means i DO know what I'm doing. The question: "Toparol given 150 mg ER daily." Hmmm...I thought...ER can mean two things. Enteric Route, which was what I had, but what else could it mean? What else does it mean? Think, dummy think. Then...EXTENDED RELEASE. I wrote it in all caps and turned it back in. And that was it. I was gone, realizing after I left the building I left my cup of coffee on the table. Oops.

Ran, well, walked rapidly to the Science Building, met up with Holly and her roomie, danced in the hallway, ran outside, danced outside, turned a cartwheel on the Fairchild lawn, hopped around some more. Holly's roomie bought me a soda from Berea Coffee and Tea (BC&T for the new readers that may come along). So it's official; I am competent in Nursing math and am MOVING ON with the program! Granted I still have to turn in my extension to stay longer and finish such degree, but I can do this! I CAN DO IT.

"What a mighty God we serve.
What a mighty God we serve. 
Angels bow before Him
Heaven and Earth adore Him
What a mighty God we serve."

Holly: Don't have much to contribute to this, except I will elaborate on the celabratory happy dance that partook after my class this morning.  It definitely turned some heads!!!! XD

But, nevertheless, a major obstacle has been conquered in the Korb realm and life is resuming on a happy scale for today! God is good, better than we can comprehend!  I hope that some of you readers can get a taste of the indescribable joy that we feel! :)

blessings!