Here ya go.

I am finally able to show you the cross stitch projects I have been working on! They have been done for almost 2 months now, but I haven't been able to show anything because they are Christmas gifts for my SIL. I was able to "give" them to her when we were in Stanwood for Erik's brother's wedding, but I took them home with me because I want to get them framed for her... or at least do something with them. They are so immensely creased because they have been folded up in a little bag since I bought the materials three months ago. I will have them dry-cleaned and framed and then they will look great!

DKDS and TJPS are our nephews initials. I really wish I could wait until they were officially framed and everything because these photos are awful, but that could take months so you'll just have to use your imagination!

Diego Kinder Dune

Truen Jules Pumpkin

Do Yourself a Favor...

Buy a bra that fits!

I went to a grandma store to get properly sized. I have been giving in to ill-fitting bras for my entire life and Erik finally convinced me to take care of the ladies. I ended up having to cough up more money than I would have liked because of my unusual size, but let me tell you how wonderful it is! It is bliss! Do yourselves a favor and go to the specialists. They know what they are doing.

I wasn't sure I believed the grandma's so I went to Victoria's Secret when I was in the states. Let me tell you, they did not know what they were talking about! They sized me up four cup sizes smaller and the bra did NOT fit at all. They were trying to sell me a bra they had rather than a bra that fit. It was ridiculous.

Since I've been wearing my new bra my shoulders and back hurt less because it fits properly around my ribcage and gives me support. Think of it as a pack. You want the pack cinched around your waist rather than hanging off your shoulders. Same goes with a bra, my friends. Support those ladies.

Furthermore,

• My boobs look better (that's what Erik tells me)
• I don't have muffin tops
• I have lost my uni-boob

Erik is now forcing me to admit the fact that I have never bought myself a bra. Ever. I have only worn my sister's old bras.... after she wore them for years prior. And, I still wear my very first sports bras. They are 100% cotton and 100% stretched out. I have resorted to wearing all four of them when I do anything active.

Wearing these bras was fine before my breasts developed sag-ability*, which has been roughly the past six years. It became especially awful when the bras themselves were forced to function above maximum capacity.

Moral of the story: Go get properly sized and buy a bra that fits. It will change your life.

* Sag-ability: adjective;
a. The recognition that previous youthful structural integrity has been compromised
b. When careful observance tells you that gravity is not only winning the battle but is also laughing at you.
c. When the normal migratory pattern is disrupted causing a consistent southerly passage

Justin

While in Stanwood, I received a call from my sister in Kelowna. She started the conversation by saying, "Are you alone and sitting down?" followed by "Before I tell you this, I want you to know that everything is OK." Neither helped. I was in tears before she even finished the statement "Justin was in a motorcycle accident."

Justin was in a motorcycle accident in Langley on August 5. I don't really know what happened, because he doesn't remember anything, but he couldn't have been going too fast because

1. he was in a basketball jersey with a backpack on and he has hardly any road rash.
2. he's not dead

He was combative at the scene so the paramedics suspected a brain injury. Because of this he was airlifted to the #1 trauma unit at Royal Columbian in New Westminster. My parents were at the Royal Columbian being prepared for the worst. When Justin's CT Scan came back it showed only a minor bleed in his brain. My family visited Justin in ICU and he was kept there overnight. They extubated him in the wee hours of the morning as he was breathing fine on his own - it is my understanding that the intubation was mainly to keep his airway open.

He had surgery on the 6th for a broken left arm. He broke both his radius and his ulna clean in half, but aside from that he just hurt his foot. His whole body is obviously sore, but he is doing very well. Justin was transfered to a surgical floor post-operatively. He stayed in the hospital until Saturday and then Erik, Mom and I took him home.

(sorry for the massive amount of photos)

This was an article in some paper.

What my parents saw when they entered ICU. I have seen many people in this position, but they have always been strangers. It is much different when it is your family. This was almost deja vu of Jonathan's accident five years ago.

This broke my heart. Gentle Ben was very worried about Justin.

The x-ray of his left arm. Ouch. He doesn't even have a cast. It is just wrapped in a very thin gauze. Amazing.

Justin's transportation to the hospital. He likes to brag about his $5000 ride. What a turd.

Pumped to have peed.

Just hanging out. I had to try hard to keep it together when I walked into his room. I didn't see him until two days after the accident when his surgery was done and he was fine (he has nothing but a broken arm!), but it was still very emotional for me. As much as I hate that this happened, as a nursing student I think it is a valuable experience for me. It is good to be on the other side of things - the uncertain side that has no control. The side that has a history, a relationship and an immense amount of love. I hope I can be a more compassionate nurse because of it.

a little history

August 11, 1952 - My father immigrated to Canada with his family.

August 11, 2009 - Erik became a permanent resident of Canada.


Coincidence? I think so, but it's a pretty fun coincidence.

Couldn't Resist

I'm currently writing a paper for my philosophy class, but I couldn't resist posting this picture. I chuckle every time I look at it. This is Erik with his siblings.

Birthday Party

In Stanwood we got to celebrate Diego and Kyla's birthdays. We had a potluck with the aunts and uncles and, of course, had cake!

Diego with his train cake.

Diego and Kyla blowing out the candles.

Wrestling with Uncle Brent and Joey.

Truen.

My father-in-law playing with little T.

Having fun in the pool on the deck. Truen loved "jumping" over the side. He would wind up for a giant leap and then gently step over one foot at a time. It was pretty cute.

Diego enjoying himself.

Just being sweet.

Andrenda's Wedding - August 1, 2009

Erik's brother, Andrew, married Brenda on August 1. It was a beautiful wedding in Erik's parent's backyard. The weather was just splendid! It was cloudy and cool early in the morning, but the clouds burned just in time for their 11:ooam ceremony. It was a wonderful day!

T-baby ready for the day.

Diego snapping a picture of his Grandpa and Uncle Andrew just before Brenda walks down the aisle.

The Happy Couple.

Andrew and Brenda with G+G O.

The Olson's getting organized.

A nice family picture.

BLS, SKOS, DKDS, TJPS. The Solderholms.

Somebody trusted Erik to man the barbecue.

And sweet little Truen.

This was the first time I had ever been with Erik's entire immediate family as neither Blaine nor Brent were able to make it to our wedding. It was a lot of fun to be with the entire crew.

That Stupid Car

The past week and a half has been crazy. I'll dedicate a couple different posts to different events so this doesn't get too lengthy.

Thursday night Erik and I left for Stanwood. We were actually going to Sedro Wooley to stay at Erik's brothers house for the night. As usual, I fell asleep pretty much as soon as we crossed the bridge leaving Kelowna. My little nap was interrupted about an hour and a half later when Erik said, "Hey Ash, I think you'd better wake up."

Uh oh.

Car troubles. Typical. We can't seem to go anywhere without something happening to our car. I used to pray that our car wouldn't break down on road trips. I now pray that when our car does break down, it won't cost too much to fix it.

We were through merrit and now sat sitting on the road because our car overheated. A kind tow-truck driver pulled over and asked if we needed help. We did. He hooked us up and we were towed to hope for free (thank you BCAA). The truck driver turned out to be the previous mayor of Hope and he knew some people that we knew from CBC which at least gave us something to talk about on the long drive to Hope.

Here Erik is trying to figure out what is wrong.

In Hope, we refilled our anti-freeze and then continued on our way. Within five minutes we overheated again. Thus began the long drive to Surrey. We would drive for five minutes and then stop for 5-10 minutes so our car could cool down... All the way to Surrey.

Waiting for the car to cool down.

In Surrey, my parents lent us their car so we could make it to Sedro Wooley that night. They were going to bring our car home to be fixed.

Fast forward a week.

Erik and I were back in Surrey only to find that the mechanic didn't in fact fix our car. He replaced some tubing and thought he had fixed the problem when he hadn't. So we had to bring our car back and had a new radiator put in. AND we found out that there is over $2000 in parts that need to be replaced in the next little while. And that just covers the cost of the parts.

We bought our car for $2000 and have now put over $2500 into it in the past 10 months. I don't feel like "investing" any more into it. Needless to say, Erik and I are in the market for a new car.

Unprepared

I'm going on holiday tomorrow and I am entirely unprepared. I have so much to do before we leave.

Shucks.

Summer School

I'm just going to come right out and say it,

Summer School Sucks.

I am taking a philosophy course called Biomedical Ethics. It is an interesting course, but let's be honest, sitting in a classroom when it is 35 degrees out is not fun. Not only do I have to sit in class, but I have to do homework too! Although 35 degree weather is lovely, it isn't conducive to reading articles and trying to understand them. In my experience, the beach and homework don't work well together.

I am not philosophically minded! That part of my brain has been sapped out of me due to the years I have spent in empirical study. It is a very challenging course for that very reason.

I only have 4 classes left thankfully. And 80% of my grade to hand in. In my last three classes I have two exams and a paper due. This will be the week I get back from the wedding in Stanwood. It will be a week of H-E-double hockey stick.

What is up

• Erik and I scored at a garage sale last weekend! We got a bike, a flour sifter, an applesauce maker thingy, a fisher price farm set, and some other little doodads. So great. We also found a little farm that we like and can buy produce from.

• I'd never had fresh beets until yesterday. I've had pickled beets, but never fresh ones. They are delicious! We made them in our oven with Olive Oil and salt and pepper and they were certainly tasty. I could see them becoming a favorite.

• My friends, Ali and Joel had a beautiful baby boy, Caden Theodore. I am so excited to see Ali in her role as a mother. She will do a wonderful job. I only wish I lived closer so I could make her meals and play with her sweet little babe. I cannot wait to meet him in a couple weeks!
  

• The fires are raging here in and around Kelowna. There are 2000 people evacuated and something like 22,000 who have evacuation warnings. One fire is 4000 hectares large. A smokey cloud is currently covering the entire city. I'm off to volunteer and provide meals for evacuees this afternoon.

• I hate going to school in the summer. I am taking a philosophy course and it is so hard to be motivated. I hope I am thankful I took it when all my classmates have an extra course in first semester. We'll see.

• I love having Erik home. It is great.

• Erik and I are going to his brother's wedding in Stanwood over the long weekend. Only immediately family are going to be at the ceremony. I am very excited for it. I still don't know what I'm going to wear, but that hardly matters. I can't wait to see the family again. Everyone will be there! Two of Erik's brother's (one's an in-law) were missing from our wedding last summer so it will be nice to see everyone all together again.

• I'm learning how to crochet. Trying to at least. Self-teaching isn't going so well. I'm going to have to call in recruits.
  

Loving it.

I love being married. I honestly just love it.

I didn't miss Erik too much while he was gone. I think it's because I intentionally kept myself busy so that the time would pass quicker. As soon as he came home I missed him incredibly! I was sad that we missed out on a month together. It made me wish he had never left. I know, I know. I sound ridiculous. It is so great having him home though - I forgot how great it was.

As I said, I love being married. Love it. Erik is a wonderful husband and I feel so blessed each and every day to have him in my life. I never pictured myself marrying anyone like Erik, but I am so glad I did. He is the best.

Full of Friends

The past couple days have been full of friends! It has been wonderful. I only wish Erik had been here to enjoy them with me.

First, Stewart and Charisa Reimer stopped by for lunch on their way to a cousin's wedding here in Kelowna. It was great to catch up with them even if it was only briefly. I was called in for a night shift the day before so I woke up about 30 minutes before they arrived at 1:00pm. I felt a bit out of sorts, but my sister had gone grocery shopping for me which was sweet of her. At least I had food to offer them.

Later that afternoon friends from church came for dinner. We ended up going to the beach to play bocce and then returned home for a great game of cranium. We were laughing so hard we were all crying. And it wasn't a little bit of crying, it was uncontrollable!

This is Trevor, Sam and Milena waiting for Jen to pick up the scruples game that she dropped all over the driveway. The fading light added an interesting twist to bocce.

And this, this is Sam laughing uncontrollably.

Finally, I hung out with my friend Kate yesterday. We went to a tea store in the afternoon and saw this tea called Tarry Lapsang Souchong. It smelled like a campfire and I could not imagine drinking it. The lady said that chefs regularly buy it to season their meat with. So, we bought a little sample size and that is exactly what we did. We made kabobs that were absolutely delicious!

Kate working on the mango.

We got to enjoy our meal out on the deck at Kate's house. It was a beautiful day! The wind was blowing and a thunderstorm was threatening to roll in but it was such a pleasant evening. We sat on the deck late into the night curled up in blankets and sipping on delicious tea. I loved it.

Back to this tea store we went to. It was called Teaberry's Fine Teas. I absolutely LOVED it. It was beautiful and relaxed. We sat and smelled many different teas while the owner explained what was in them. She made us tea and chatted for a while. It was just wonderful to be able to spend an entire hour hanging out and learning about the tea industry. I can't wait to take Erik there when he gets home.

Speaking of Erik. He comes home tomorrow at midnight! Hip hip hoooray! I haven't seen him in just under a month. We got to talk this morning which was wonderful. I have certainly missed him. It is strange to think that we have so much catching up to do. I was thinking of what I have done since he left and there is quite a list. He said his little crew caught over 150,000 lbs of sockeye salmon though. That is great! Do you know what that means??? Paid tuition!

James Bond

I was at the post office yesterday mailing something to my parents. The young man helping me noticed I was wearing a wedding ring. The following conversation ensued:
"You married?"
"Yes, I am."
"If I were Bond, you'd be my kind of woman."

Knitting, Aprons, and Mice

Knitting
I mentioned that I learned how to knit a little while ago. This was my first little project. I made a "knitted dishcloth". It is supposed to be a square, and I stretched it out to look pretty good I think.Since making that first cloth I have been attempting to make more. I was five rows from finishing another one when I dropped two stitches accidentally and had no idea how to get them back. I tried to figure it out, but could not so I ended up dropping some more. I unraveled the entire dishcloth and started over. This is the one I am currently working on. Apron
And this beautiful thing is an apron I found for 50 cents at a garage sale. I think it is just beautiful! I love aprons and I now wear this one all the time! Love it.
Mice
There are mice downstairs at the recovery house I work at. I was writing in the office when this little mouse came scuttling along. One of the girls was sitting on the couch behind me and I was like, "umm... do we know there are mice running around this place?"
She looked at me and replied, "why do you think we have so many cats?"
I hate cats, but I think I will put up with them now that I know they have a purpose in the house. Even if they are sissy city cats... They are intimidating sissies.
Back to the mouse in the office.
The girl on the couch jumps up and starts chasing the mouse around. She ran around for a good 5 minutes before chasing the little guy in my direction. As I was asking her politely to make it go in the other direction, she stopped moving. She looked up at me and said, "You don't have to worry about that thing no more." ... "I don't?" With that she lifted her foot and there was a little convulsing mouse with the better part of it insides strewn across the floor.
I looked up in disgust, "Honestly?? You just chased a mouse and stepped on it? That is sick."
She laughed and said "You'll get used to it."
I think I'll take one of those dreadful cats with me whenever I go downstairs.

...

Erik called today.

From a boat.

From Alaska.

Three separate times.

And I missed them all.

I was just starting a new job at a recovery house. He wasn't supposed to call at all; he told me he wouldn't. I am now so disappointed that I missed his calls. I would love to be able to talk to him. I work a dayshift tomorrow at the hospital and then a night shift on Friday. Then I am back at the recovery house 6 hours after I get home from there. I am pumped to be working, but I am going to be exhausted. I start school on Monday too. At least time will fly by until Erik comes home.

Sewing

I received a refresher course in sewing last weekend. I once sewed a vest when I was very young. It was beautiful. The fabric was black with all these bright colorful stars outlined all over it. I wore that baby with pride. I have decided that I want to start sewing. Simple projects. I just want to be able to make basic gifts and be able to fix things around the house. I think sewing is a very practical skill to have.
My mom found a sewing machine that she is going to send to Mexico with my brother next time he goes, but she has given it to me to use until next March when that trip rolls around. She spent a good hour showing me how to put the thread in so that I can actually start a project. I have already forgotten this little skill, but I am sure a quick phone call home will fix that. I decided that I would stick to straight lines for the first little while. It has been a long while and I do not have a steady hand. I cannot program this machine to go slower like I could on my mom's sewing machine and I have a pretty heavy foot so I am often out of control!
I made two pillow cases on my first day of sewing. They are perfect. I honestly love them and I do not want to give them away, but I made them specifically as Christmas gifts. None of my lines are straight and I messed up so I had to made a parallel line on one of them.... definitely not straight. At one point I think my parallel lines cross over each other. I love it though. I love that it is imperfect because it shows me that I have so much to improve on. I am so proud of those two little pillow cases. I made them. I made them by myself and they are functional.
There is something about creating something for someone else. It fills me with such joy! I was frustrated and ready to quit at many different times, but I thought of the recipients of this gift and it relaxed me. I enjoyed thinking about them while I worked and it really made me feel connected to them. It was a wonderful experience. One that I highly recommend. Here's the finished product... already wrapped.

Strawberry Picking

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I was home in Surrey this past week. I came down because Erik had to make his yearly trip to Alaska to go commercial fishing for three weeks.

It was busy at home. I learned how to knit, sew, and can strawberry jam. I helped my brother, Anthony, with the Amazing Race he puts on for his youth group. I went to my nephews kindergarten graduation and my nieces grade 8 grad. We went to my grandparent's house for a Father's Day barbecue on Tuesday. I saw Alicia who I haven't seen since August. And I spent an entire day home alone cooking and baking. It was great.

I went strawberry picking with Alicia, my niece Kaitlyn, and some of my little cousins. we picked over 90lbs. of strawberries in under 2 hours. It rained on us a couple times, but my cousins were troopers. When I got home I went to work washing and freezing some and then also making strawberry jam with some. We didn't actually do the whole "canning" thing with them. My aunt said that she just pours 2 Tbsp of vinegar on top of the jam once it has cooled off completely and then screws the top on. She doesn't even leave the vinegar on. She uses the same 2 Tbsps of vinegar for all of her jam jars. I'm a bit nervous about this, but we'll see how it goes.

Picking in Progress

Finally finished!

Portabello Burger

Delicious!

If you like mushrooms then you HAVE to have a portabello burger! Grill the mushroom as you would a burger and then fix it with whatever you like. We had ours with basil butter, Diana's bbq sauce, caramelized onions, tomato, lettuce, and provolone cheese. With home-made fries on the side.

Delicious!

=)

Things I am loving right now are:

• Trying new recipes
  
• Eating outside
• Baking bread
• Hanging out with Erik
• Our herb garden
  

A Beaver

Erik and I went on a walk last night, as we often do. We ended up at the lake so we sat on a bench and enjoyed the peacefulness of it all. It was about 9:15 when we got there so it was pretty dark, but it was absolutely beautiful.

I saw something swimming in the lake right near the shore, in the dark it looked like a log gliding sideways. We were trying to figure out what it was as we watched is swimming closer to us. It stopped right in front of us (we were sitting about 40 ft from the water) and waddled onto the shore. We couldn't tell what it was because it was facing us, but I assumed it was a beaver, though I wasn't certain. It was munching on a tree branch that had fallen near the lake. When it had its fill of that it ventured up the shore, closer to us. By this time we had seen its tail and determined that it was, in fact, a beaver. It was beautiful to watch. Really. I was mesmerized. I felt joyful. When it was about 25 ft away from us it stopped abruptly and darted back to the lake and away... with four highschool/college girls in pursuit!!!

UGH! I was so frustrated!! What silly little girls! They had been sitting further down the beach and had just noticed the beaver. I was so disappointed. As they left the beach one of them said, "I guess we probably shouldn't have chased it away." You think?!?!

I never though I would see a beaver at the lake. I didn't even know there were beavers near Okanagan Lake. I don't know much about beavers at all actually. It was a neat experience none-the-less, and one I would love to have again.

Minus the annoying girls.

Italian Parmesan Bread

I have been contemplating putting up this recipe. I wasn't going to, but it is just too good to keep to myself. I made this bread four or five days ago and it is still soft and moist and delicious! Maybe I'm bad with bread, but my homemade bread is usually dry by now. It is from my Simply in Season cookbook.

Italian Parmesan Bread

2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp active dry yeast
Combine in mixing bowl, stirring until dissolved.

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1/2 cup butter (melted) or oil
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp onion flakes or 2 tsps onion powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
Add and mix well.

1 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated).
Add with enough additional flour to make a soft dough (I needed almost 3/4 of a cup in the end).
Knead for 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Place in greased bowl, turn to grease both sides, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise 1 hour.
Divide in half and divide each half into thirds.
Roll into 15 inch ropes. Braid loosely into two braids and tuck ends under.
Place on greased baking sheets, cover, and let rise for 30 minutes.
(Instead of braids you can make it into three loaves).
Bake in preheated oven at 350F until golden brown, 35 minutes.

And that, my friends, is all. Delicious.

Investigating

Lately I have been feeling the need to be creative, resourceful and motivated. I always talk about wanting to change how I live and "go green", but I don't feel as though I am really making an effort to do so. I don't "look outside the box". I always make an excuse like "when I'm done with nursing" or "when I have kids" or "when I have energy". The thing is, I would much rather start changing how I live NOW so that I can focus on implementing what I have learned when I'm done school or have kids. I would rather do the work now and start the change so that I can continue rather than start my journey when life gets even more busy. I realize that it is a process and that it won't change in an instant (although I would much rather it did) so I just have to take baby steps.

This "Going Green" bandwagon that I am more than willing to jump on has been frustrating and rewarding. It's difficult to always be conscious of what you are doing, what you are wasting, what you can recycle, and what you can somehow reuse.

Green Practices already implemented:

• Canvas and cloth grocery bags
• Walking to the grocery store
• Stainless Steel water bottle (Purica Steel from Nature's Fare)
• Glass containers for left-overs (both sets on sale)
• Eco-friendly cleaning products (Shawna, do you know if your homemade laundry detergent works in a high efficiency front loading washer?)
• Run the washing machine on cold
• We recycle everything possible
• Growing our own Herbs :Greek Oregano, Sweet Marjoram, Lemon Basil and Rosemary
• We use our local library (currently reading Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood)
• Erik rides the scooter to work
• Simply in Season Cookbook - We need to use this more, but we love it!

Things I want to do when we have our own home:

• Compost - My sister hates the idea and we live with her right now so that's a no go.
• Garden - Vegetables, Herbs, Grains, Fruit

New things we are trying/going to try:

• Buying Local Food
• Buying Organic Food
• Using Whole Grains in meals (Does anyone have recipes or ways of doing this?)
• Eating less meat (this is going to be tough as I LOVE meat)

The main thing am focusing on right now is buying local foods. I needed to do some prep work with summer being just around the corner so I did some investigating yesterday. In the past, all my attempts to find "Local Produce - Kelowna" came up with stores selling local foods. Although they are all great stores (Nature's Fare, Paul's Produce etc.), I am interested in making a connection with the actual farmers. I want to learn more about the process of growing the food and, let's face it, I want to remove the middle man.
As I said, all previous attempts were in vain, but I finally found an excellent website. If you're living in BC and want to find out which farms are certified organic go to this website. Please. It is awesome. I found farms all within a half hour of where I live that sell many of the things I am interested in buying!

Some of the organic produce I am most excited for are:

• Raspberries
• Tomatoes (I wish we were growing our own)
• Mushrooms
• Carrots
• Onion
• Corn
• Potatoes
• Beets
• Vanilla Beans
• Beans
• Cucumber
• Asparagus
• and seeds for when we have our own garden!

And we have some local, but not organic:

• Grapefruit
• Oranges
• Honey

I also found an organic whole grain distributor... I need to look into this more as I have no idea what to do with whole grains, but we'll see. They are from Saskatchewan, but their prices seem reasonable and shipping and handling wasn't too bad. I'll keep you posted.

I. Am. Pumped.

My First Injection

I gave my first injection on my second day of clinical in September. Nothing big, just a subcutaneous heparin in a patient's arm. He was an elderly man and we technically weren't supposed to be doing injections yet because we hadn't had our lab on it, but I had one patient and he had no medications other than this 0900 heparin. I quickly read up on what I was supposed to do and as I walked into the room three of my classmates asked if they could come in a watch. I was shaking because I was so nervous, but I needed to maintain my cool exterior so I said, "sure, come on in". I feigned a confidence I did not have and approached my poor unsuspecting patient (who obviously did not know it was my first injection). I cleaned off a little section of his arm with an alcohol swab and took a deep breath to try to calm my shaking hand. My instructor gave me the permissive nod and I picked up my little needle and pinched the little section of fat together. Let's be honest, I had no idea what I was doing. The way I darted that needle into him you would have thought I was trying to inject a brick wall. I shot that little thing in. Evidently I didn't need quite that much force. The needle was tiny and the fat cells are quite receptive. The patient was none the wiser and said he didn't feel a thing when I confessed that it was my first injection.

Needless to say I am much better at it now.

lookin fine with his pony

His ponytail that is. I honestly kinda like it.
Both of these were from our first date. The second one here is a picture that Erik begged me to take. It's actually called Black Angus but Erik prefers this alternate name. We did have some delicious steak there.