Unemployment. It kinda rocks.

Friday was my last day of gainful employment. It was kind of fun.

 

For starters, this is what I walked into on my last day of work:

 

 

Yeah. I almost started crying.

 

Then, my co-worker Sarah brought the most wonderful thing in the world in.

 

 

 

No. Those are not yellow roses. Those are CUPCAKES. Cupcakes that LOOK like FLOWERS.

 

I think it's a great way to eat sugar and flour and butter and more sugar. People just glancing by think it's a houseplant, when in all honesty there's a gaping hole in the backside where you devoured three of the cupcakes...but no one can see.

 

Gluttony in secret. That's the best kind.

 

Then my boss surprised me with a going-away party that afternoon. Know what that means?

 

More cake.

 

 

Notice the cake with the paw-prints on it? It's nice to work with people who know you so well.

 

Or should I say, put up with my dog obsession and kindly humor me to my face.

 

I was really looking forward to this week being my "slothful-do-nothing-but-stay-in-pajamas-and-eat-cake" week before starting nursing school. There were plenty of leftovers, but I felt guilty hording all the desserts. I gave one cake to our EMT's before I left and the other cake went to our neighbors so I wouldn't be too gluttonous.

 

I kept the cupcakes and had them for breakfast though. Someone had to do it.

 

M wanted me to rest this week. Rest, relax and get ready for the stressfullness that will be nursing classes 8am - 4pm Monday through Friday for the next year, not including clinical hours and study time. And dealing with St. Louis traffic, which is quite different than my one-stoplight town I'm currently used to.

 

So here's what actually happened.

 

Monday. I stayed in my PJ's until 9am, then realized I was bored out of my mind. I ended up going into town to get some stuff done, cleaned (some of) the house and then started packing. Ran three miles with Stefanie. Unpacked then repacked, getting nervous that I'm going to forget something.

 

Tuesday. Ran two miles, then got ready to go to our first round of District games out in Hartville. Had multiple anxiety attacks since we were down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning. About died when we hit a homerun then got another run in to tie the game. We ended up winning 4-3 in extra innings, after which I felt like I had run seventeen marathons back-to-back. I get way to emotionally involved in this stuff.

 

I came home after the game to mow since our weather forecast is less-than-favorable for the next couple days. Since we'd gotten buckets of rain the week before, lets just say it's been awhile since we've mowed. The dogs were getting lost in the yard.

 

Thankfully, our neighbors offered to let me use their zero-turn riding mower rather than painfully watch me struggle with our push-mower through the jungle.

 

I. Want. One.

 

Anyone have $3000 laying around so we can invest in an awesome riding mower? That thing was FUN. Sure, I almost ran into a tree and our yard is completely mowed in squiggly lines, but hey. The entire yard was mowed and done in THIRTY MINUTES. It takes me two days with the push mower!! It went so fast that it was comparable to riding a go-cart around the yard. I think I actually let out a whooo hooo!! a couple times.

 

Then I officially turned into a townie.

 

Driving the mower down the street in front of God and everybody to return it to it's rightful owners is a feat that everyone should experience at least once in their life.  

 

 

I'm so country.

 

Country with my khaki capri pants and flip flops and giant sparkly sunglasses. That's appropriate mowing attire, isn't it?

 

Wednesday. I went back into town to finalize our baseball fundraiser cookbook (post on that coming soon), had lunch with a friend and then we went to Lowe's for an hour to look at plants. I hate that I haven't planted my tomatoes this year, but I just didn't feel that planting them and then leaving them would be such a good idea. I don't think that M would want to (ah-hem, remember to) take care of them while I'm gone, since he absolutely hates tomatoes. He would probably watch them die in glee.

 

Strawberry plants, he would love. Tomatoes, definitely not.

 

Needless to say, this week hasn't been completely restful. But that's ok. Things are getting done around the house, and today is a perfect gloomy-rainy-stay-inside-and-read day.

 

And now I want cake.

 

With all this free time on my hands (for three more days) I think I might try to make this tomorrow. Chocolate = calcium. And that's good for you.

 

Trust me on this. I'll be a nurse in a year.