In Celebration of Grandma Phyllis

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

We had a beautiful service today to celebrate the life of Scott's Grandma Phyllis. Sitting in the church, you could feel the love of family and friends radiating from the pews. One thing that was said about Grandma was that "she was the cornerstone of the family, the glue holding them all together." Although she's left this earthly world, her strength and values have been passed down through the generations. As her granddaughter-in-law, I am very honored to be a part of this family and I look forward to passing on these values to our future children.

The following is a photostory we made in celebration of Grandma Phyllis' life.



I encourage everyone to take time to enjoy your loved ones and spend time with one another. I promise there will be a day when you're so glad you did.

Love, 

   Lacie & Scott 

The Home She Built

On the first beautiful sunny day of June, God called home another angel ~ Scott's Grandma Phyllis. The following poem was written by Dale Ferguson, one of Grandma Phyllis' son-in-laws, in celebration of the woman she was and the legacy she left behind. 

The Home She Built

Before the Depression

Of brick and of stone

A house would be built

But not yet a home

A child, a daughter

A husband, then baby

In so many ways

The house was the lady

The house grew stronger

For the sisters and brothers

From the love and compassion

The shelter of mother

Treasures were hidden

In a family she raised

For all their grand children

The legacy she made

And in the end

She was never alone

But her final request

Was “Take me home.”

And in that house,

With family around

She departed this world

Without a sound

The house is now silent

But there’s stories in those walls

They’re kept with her family

And they echo down halls

They’re told when they gather

They’re felt when they pray

They’re shown in their actions

With people each day

They all have their houses

And homes to build

But the foundations they set

Were already filled

She’s still the structure

And they’re never alone

She’s now up there waiting

Until they all come Home

Blinded by the Light

I am more than happy to say that I'm finally in the LAST WEEK of my clinical rotations!  There is light at the end of the tunnel and it's glorious =)! I will finish my last rotation in family medicine this week and begin to really study for the ever dreaded board exam!

I have spent the last 17 weeks training in family practice (with a 'mini' rotation in Pain Management).  Overall, it's been a wonderful experience! I had the privilege of working with five really great physicians who are not only excellent clinicians, but also very kind and compassionate people.

Many people think that primary care providers deal mostly with colds, ear infections, physicals, etc. I was also under that impression, until I spent some time in their shoes! Especially in rural primary care, you can see anything from a simple cold and diabetes to new onset chest pain and chain saw lacerations! Literally, I saw a patient last week that cut his foot when the chain saw slipped off the wood, cutting right through his shoe. The best part was when he came back to have his stitches out and he was still wearing the shoe because the cut-out made it more comfortable =)! Hehehe... And just this week, we've gotten reports on patients with Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (a not-so-common condition involving a gastrin secreting tumor) and mesenteric ischemia (a blockage in the vessels that supply the gut)! Whoa! Whoever said that primary care was boring was so wrong! 

I have loved getting to know the patients, seeing many of them two and three times. Hearing their stories of love, happiness, struggle and sorrow has been a humbling experience for me. It's amazing to hear what some people have been through who live right in my backyard. One of the patients was crushed by a tractor-trailer and had to have his hip reconstructed [as you could imagine] and replaced 4 different times, ultimately leaving him with one leg about 9 inches shorter than the other and a 9 inch platform on every shoe. After all he's been through, he told me that "he's just thankful to have both legs and to be able to walk." Just this past week, I met the cutest elderly British woman who was a World War II bride. We were doing a procedure on her with lidocaine and the doctor said, "you will feel a little pinch and then the burn of the lidocaine" and the patient says [with an adorable angry accent], "you better not lie to me!" hahaha... You gotta love the geriatric population! While it has been challenging to learn the wide variety of problems that present in family medicine, getting to know the patients has been more than rewarding. I will not be practicing in primary care to start my career, but I have a feeling that I will end up there someday =)!


In other great news, I'm excited to share that I have accepted an offer for my first job! In the fall, I will be finally getting paid working as a Physician Assistant in the Emergency Department! And... Congratulations to three of my best PA friends who have also recently secured their first jobs! We finally made it =)!

The Harrisburg Crew - When we really didn't know what we were doing in our white coats! My how far we've all come! =)

Officially my last post as Physician Assistant Student!
     ~ Lacie
  

More Than a Nutshell ~ A Blogging Explosion!

I know it's been quite a while since I've posted anything. A lot has happened since back in July, but I just haven't had time to make any updates and honestly... I'm really good at procrastinating, but not so good at catching up. All of these points should have been their own post, but I realllllly want to start blogging the present! Warning ~ you're about to experience a blogging explosion!  

1.  Finished R3 - Emergency Medicine

My ER rotation consisted of 6 weeks of 12 hour night shifts. The ER is challenging and exciting because you never know what's coming through those doors. The PA's at my ER location were responsible for running the Express Care center as well as working in the main ER. As the patients are triaged, they get placed on the board and the PA's and Doctors take their pick. The function of the PA was usually to care for the less acute patients while the doctor managed any critical cases. I'm a hands on person, so my favorite part was sewing up lacerations - fingers, faces, arms, legs, you name it... someone probably cut it. It wasn't a glorious task, but satisfying non-the-less! I also had the opportunity to be involved in the trauma alerts which was also very exciting and terrifying! My first trauma was an elderly man who fell from a tree stand and layed in the woods for 8 hours. While the PA held his lower leg, I got to reset the poor man's nasty [protruding bone] ankle fracture. Overall ~ such a great experience!          

My dislikes of the ER were the long, night shifts (in which I had to sleep all the daylight hours away) and the frequent flyers [drug seekers]. I could definitely do without either of those. 

      

2.  Finished R4 - Pediatrics 

I was sheltered and fed by the Ventre family for this rotation ~ and they were amazing hosts =)!

The first few days of this rotation were quite challenging and I gained a new respect for Pediatricians! I consider[ed] myself to be pretty good with kids. However, that all goes out the window when you have to put your otoscope (that tomahawk looking thing) into their ears and gag them with a wooden stick (unflavored). The newborns and infants were my favorite group - little movement, no talking, and for the most part no crying. The hardest part about this age (especially when sick) is reassuring the parents. Parents... people... go to the doctor for an antibiotic. No one is thrilled to hear that they just need to take the Tylenol they already have in their cupboard at home and wait it out.    

The 2-4 year old group was my biggest challenge! It wasn't uncommon to open the door and have a child screaming just at the site of me... not a good start. Time to pull out the tricks! Drawing faces on tongue depressors, tongue depressor puppets, filling their hands with tongue depressors... Hahaha! Come on... I didn't have much to work with. The worst part was when the tricks didn't work and I had to resort to plan B - the me/parent/grandparent hold down. I hated to do it and in the beginning I pulled the "I won't force it now, you know... since the doctor is going to check him/her too." And then... one day my preceptor said to me "who is responsible for examining this child and making a diagnosis?" Ugh... "I am," I said. Then she says, "you must do what it takes to complete the exam." From then on, I did what it took and even received several compliments from parents (and a few hugs from kiddos!) <--- which made it all worth it!  

3.  Anniversary Trip to the Finger Lakes

Scott and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary in October! We both love the beauty of fall, especially during prime leaf peeping season. 

We started our trip in Corning, NY at the glass museum and then headed to Watkin's Glen to hike the park.

 

Then we did our own wine tour of Lake Seneca! We started off stopping very frequently - like every 5 miles - but quickly realized we wouldn't be legal to drive the rest of the trip at that rate. 

 

We stayed the night at a really cute bed & breakfast called The Chapman House in Geneva, NY. We hadn't made a reservation, so we were lucky to find such a great place that would allow us to stay one night - and with Ellie too! The owners were so nice and made a delicious Egg's Benedict breakfast! 

Can't you just picture Scott bathing in this old, claw-foot tub? Haha... Just kidding! There was also a walk-in shower at the other end.  

One of our favorites was Three Bothers Winery. There were 3 Wineries and a Brewery on the same property and each had their own theme. Bagg Dare was a Cajun Bayou theme ~ too funny not to love! 

 

Ellie loved the trip too! She's such a great traveler and loved all the stops/hikes/meeting new people! 

We clearly had a great time ~ and will be drinking a lot of wine over the next year...

4.  Gettysburg Day Trip

It's been such a long time since I've been to Gettysburg and it was another fall trip that was on my bucket list. And Scott loves history, especially local history, so he was definitely up for a battlefield tour! We also talked my parents in to joining us...

 Of course you can't visit Gettysburg without a little reenactment...

5.  Finished R5 - Internal Medicine

I think I learned the most [textbook information] on this rotation, but if I had to rate it... it would have been my least favorite so far. We had lecture/teaching sessions several times a day through the Penn State Hershey program, so I definitely learned a ton in that regard. I was located at the VA and I just didn't enjoy caring for the particular diseases that I saw day after day - COPD, pneumonia, cellulitis/diabetic complications, alcohol withdrawal, etc. I also put in some long hours at this rotation. I would go in early (6:30ish) to round on my patients individually and start my notes, and then after my other team members did the same we would discuss the patients and then round as a team. The afternoons consisted of finishing notes, lectures, and taking new admissions on our "on call" days. So I would typically head home around 5 or 7 depending on the day... which left me just enough time to eat and cram in some school work before bed. It wasn't a bad rotation - it just lacked excitement and personal interest. I'm sure my dislike for the rotation also had a lot to do with my impatience and readiness to finally move home! 

6.  I moved back home [finally]!

It was a loooooong 7 months... filled with enough anxiety, nerves, awkward moments, and stress to kill a herd of elephants! I was really going strong at the beginning, but towards the end... it was pure survival -- light at the end of the tunnel mode. Lucky for me, I have a great group of friends going through the same thing which helped to keep me going. And my support from home couldn't have been any better! Lots of encouragement from family, especially from my parents and Scott's parents. Scott and Ellie held down the house very well -- and spent countless hours listening about my days and sometimes just sitting on the other end of the phone. There's something to be said about just living in the same house ~ you don't even need to talk all the time, just being there is enough. Needless to say, I'm so grateful to be home for the remainder of my rotations and I look forward to starting a semi-normal life! =) 

Despite the overwhelmingly stressful aspect, it has also been a very humbling experience. I've surprised myself so far with how much I know, and I've also realized the amount that I have left to learn. It truly is a life-long learning career. Hmmmm... who signed me up for this?! It will all be worth it in the end....   

Next Up... 

3 month Family Practice Rotation --> Graduation in May --> National Certification Exam -->
Real Life

~ Lacie

General Surgery

I've had a wonderful experience in my surgery rotation so far and have been very fortunate to work with yet another group of amazing people! Everyone has been so welcoming, patient (even though I'm sure they're swearing at me in their head...Ha), and willing to teach me anything. While I would have never imagined myself doing surgery before this, I can honestly say that I've really enjoyed my time here and will be disappointed to leave! I have a feeling that I'm going to love so many specialties and have a hard time deciding when all this is said and done with!

There are a several things I've had the pleasure of doing in surgery... making incisions, retracting, holding the lap cameras, suctioning, cyst excision, wound closure, and a few others. As a student, it's a lot of "hold this" and "look here", but scrubbing in and being part of a surgery is so exciting! Being able to see the internal anatomy and getting to feel it with your own hands is absolutely AMAZING! One of my favorites is to see bowel peristalsis during an open abdominal surgery ~ so cool! The human body never ceases to amaze me! My first suturing experience was rather interesting, as I had to stitch up my preceptor's hand after a slip with the scalpel. Of all the times he could have cut his hand for the first time... of course I had to be there =)! His hand still seems to be functioning, so I guess that counts as a success?!

Most of being a student is trying to NOT look like a complete idiot, a daily goal of mine in which some days I succeed and others I do not! Ha... There have been so many times when I've thought "I wonder if I look as stupid as I feel" ~ which I've come to find out is a general consensus among many of my classmates. Throughout PA school, you basically lose every part of yourself in an attempt to become a (somewhat... Ha) competent medical provider in two years. During this time, we give up our normal lives and devote everything to our studies... we no longer eat or exercise like we should, little time for family/friends, we're mentally broken and numb to every ridiculous assignment (i.e. read 80 pages and only 2/18 quiz questions is actually from the reading), stress becomes the norm, sleep is a reward, and not mention the level of irritation you develop against the rest of the world. Thank goodness for supportive families and PA friends to suffer alongside! =) I have been blessed with a wonderful support system and amazing experiences so far... almost 2 rotations down, 5 more to go!  

In an attempt to maintain my sanity, I try to find time for laughter! If you don't work in medicine or haven't been a student of medicine, you may not find these quite as funny... When I need a good laugh, I visit this site and typically laugh until I cry! Enjoy...

whatshouldwecallmedschool:

HOLDING RETRACTORS

WHEN A PROFESSOR TELLS US TO HAVE FUN OVER THE WEEKEND...

I’m like:

WHEN MY PRECEPTOR SENDS ME HOME EARLY FOR THE DAY

I’m like:

WHEN A NON-MED FRIEND OR FAMILY ASKS ME TO HANG OUT DURING SURGERY ROTATION

I’m just like:

(the original video for this little clip is even more amusing... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh7UgAprdpM&feature=related) 



CHECKING OUT THE WAITING ROOM AT THE DERM CLINIC
(frankly, I think this applies to most waiting rooms... LOL)

TRYING TO SCRUB OUT OF MY SURGICAL GEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME

I was like:

Bahahahaha.... I could go on forever ~ love that website! 2 weeks left and next up is Emergency Medicine...

~ Lacie

6 Weeks of Dermatology... Complete!

Where has the time gone?! I finished my first rotation in Dermatology last week and while I have not enjoyed being 4 hours from my home and loved ones, I LOVED Derm!

The staff at Hermitage Dermatology were amazing! Everyone was very welcoming and willing teach me whatever they could. I honestly dreaded moving so far from home, but everyone there made it a wonderful, worthwhile experience. Thank you! 

Most people believe that Dermatology is a boring specialty and that all you do is look at rashes. I can't lie... there were a lot of rashes!  But to our patients, that rash was keeping them from living the life they wanted. Imagine if your skin was constantly itchy and burning, and then imagine what that must feel like on a day like today (97 degrees here in Hermitage!). If you've ever had an itch like this, you know that it can drive you crazy! Not only is it irritating and painful, but some of these conditions can be unsightly and keep people from wearing comfortable clothing or even going out in public. The treatments these patients receive are life changing, and to me... that's not boring at all! Not everyone was a first time fix, but I loved seeing smiling patients come back in for their follow-up! 

In addition to the common "rashes" such as contact dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and acne, I also saw rarer conditions of Pemphigus Vulgaris (a blistering disorder) and Lupus. And then there was a lot of fungus, some scabies (eeee!) and sooooo many more... but I would bore you with a huge list of medical mumbo-jumbo and the teacher in me would feel the need to explain everything... ha! Needless to say I went home daily thinking I had a new skin condition and with the feeling of "itch"! lol... 

I also saw a lot of cosmetics throughout my rotation, including Botox injections and fillers. Who knew that a bottle of Botox in your armpits could keep you from sweating like a madwoman?! Sign me up =)!

The days moved quickly and it was a nice mixture of medical conditions, cosmetics, and procedures. Anyways... I survived the first rotation and added Dermatology to my list of possible specialties =).

Next up is General Surgery and somehow, I was lucky enough to have this rotation in Hermitage as well... Stay tuned to see how that goes and hopefully I can snag a few pictures of wound care to share... just kidding! I really spared you the gross details of some Derm procedures (like the cyst I&D)! haha

After my mom spent 1/2 a day in my baking apartment, she bought me another air conditioner... so I plan to stay cool this weekend. Thanks mom!! You're a life saver, as always!

Stay cool everyone!

~ Lacie

"Carp"e Diem

Here's a peek into our Sunday adventure! We started our drive with no plans, other than to find the carp. Then we made a few other stops and found the most adorable winery! Scott and I always talk about owning our own business one day, but we have too many ideas... cupcake boutique, outdoor adventure store, cafe, and now... a winery! I'll let you know if we ever take the leap! =)   

Linesville, PA - The Spillway

This is really something everyone needs to see! Haha... The Carp are so close together they flop all over each other trying to get food thrown by observers. The geese and ducks line up behind the Carp in hopes of catching a crumb or two!  

Purple Martin House near the Spillway

Linesville Fish Hatchery 

Lago Winery

Scott and I love to stop at wineries on our adventures, and Lago is the neatest winery we've been too so far! The brick oven is located in what used to be an old silo and there is seating inside and on a deck off the back of the barn. What a neat atmosphere!

And finally... 

We ended our Journey with a tour of the 444 Flags in Hermitage, PA and Bruster's Ice Cream! 

The 444 Flags were originally flown in honor of the American Hostages that were held in Iran between 1979 and 1981, and they continue to fly today as a symbol of American hope and pride. I drive past this every day on the way to my rotation site and finally stopped to see it!  

Chocolate Coconut Almond... Yum! 

So as you can see, we had a great weekend! When life takes you 4 hours from home... find something fun to do!


Happiness is...  going on adventures with your best friend. <3

National Get Outdoors Day - June 9th, 2012

Buhl Park 5K

My first rotation is going well so far, but I'm beyond busy with assignments and research! However, I made a bucket list of things to do on each rotation and I plan to stick to it!

Bucket List...  #1.  "Run" The Buhl Park 5K

Even though I haven't had time to train, or excise in general, for the past 3 weeks... I still decided to run the 5K.  I didn't have time to run the course beforehand, but after a few visits to the park I concluded that it was flat. Ha, I was mistaken! My goal was just to finish without dying, so I'll consider it a success! =)  

In this first picture, I was telling Scott that as long as these "old" guys didn't beat my time I would be happy. Those "old" guys took off in the beginning and I never saw them again! haha! There was yummy ice cream waiting for me at the end, so I just had to keep my eye on the prize!

Scott and I had such a great weekend! I'll be sharing pictures from our other weekend adventures soon!


~ Lacie

A Time for Everything, and Everything in It's Time

As many of you know, life is not always full of happy moments. I had an experience this past week that I would consider to be one of my lowest points. 

I have been anxiously waiting for a few months now to get my rotation assignments for my last year of PA school. The hard part, or so I thought, would finally come to an end in May and I would start one of the most exciting experiences of my life. Soon, I will be right alongside Doctors and PAs, using all the knowledge I've been collecting for the past 5 years. I could not wait any longer to see where I would be!

An announcement was made that assignments were out! I scanned my list and quickly realized that out of 7 sites, I only recognized 2 and only 1 near home. I frantically typed a few into mapquest and my heart sank. I felt frozen for a few seconds, thinking that this could not possibly be my assignments. Listening to the chatter around the classroom, I began to realize that most people had several placements in which they could live with friends and family. I immediately felt a sadness come over me and anger quickly set in. Had they gotten confused on the information I gave them? I had given the coordinator all the places I had possible housing (which was many), but for some reason she thought it would be appropriate to place me all over the state - far, very far, from my husband and family: 2 1/2 to 4 hours to be exact. These placements would change everything about our life for the next 8 months.

It's different being married and going to school. I'm sure others would beg to differ and argue that they will miss their loved ones just as much, but it's not just about missing a loved one. A marriage is a lifelong commitment that you make to another person and happily married people will probably agree that something changes after you say your vows. It's not simply moving in together and continuing on with life. It's now a responsibility to be there for that person and share everything in life with them. I lived with Scott before we were married and after the wedding and everything settled down, it was different - a wonderful kind of different. It's hard to explain, but you'll know when you get there. So I knew that Scott would be equally as saddened when he found out the news.

It's been a few days since we found out and I wouldn't say that Scott or I have completely accepted it, but we're getting there. There is a lot to miss in 8 months, especially during our favorite times of the year (summer and fall). It's the little things that I will miss the most - gardening and landscaping together, eating dinners on our deck, having coffee on the porch by our pond, sleeping in on weekends with our little Ellie girl, etc. Emotionally, it's going to be a really tough 8 months for me. However, I'm not the type of person to crawl in a hole and be depressed the whole time I'm away. I'm starting a bucket list soon of all the things I want to do when I'm away - #1 being learn as much as I can. I threw myself out into the world during undergrad and experienced as much as I could. I thought I was ready to be home and to start settling into a routine life. Apparently God has other plans for me this year and I'm starting to feel some excitement again about what may lie ahead.

The day after my assignments came out, Scott and I both were given a message. My friend, Allison, brought in her devotional and said I needed to read the day's message, but I wasn't ready to hear it. She reminded me again at the end of the day.  Here is what it said...

Jesus Calling Devotional ~March 29th

Stop trying to work things out before their times have come.  Accept the limitations of living one day at a time.  When something comes to your attention, ask Me whether or not it is part of today’s agenda.  If it isn’t, release it into My care and go on about today’s duties.  When you follow this practice, there will be a beautiful simplicity about your life: a time for everything, and everything in its time.

A life lived close to Me is not complicated or cluttered.  When your focus is on My Presence, many things that once troubled you lose their power over you.  Thought the world around you is messy and confusing, remember that I have overcome the world.  I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have Peace.

 

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." ~Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: ~John 16:33

When I came home, I told Scott that I think God sent me a message today that it's going to be ok. He looked at me and said "Hunny, I was sent a message today too!" The PSSAs are finally over, so Scott has been showing the kids some science documentaries. This one was about a man raising wild turkeys from eggs and having them imprint on him in the wild for a year. The man said that he learned an import lesson over that year - "Stop worrying about the past and what's to come in the future. Enjoy the moments of the day and be happy in the present."

All I can say is - thank you God, for showing your presence in my life in a time when I need you the most. There will be times when you might think he's not listening to the cries of your heart, but he is. Wait on the Lord and he will be there when you need him. 


So here's the line up... please feel free to comment on things I might want to do in these areas. I think I have Philly covered, but I'm still up for suggestions =)! 

Hermitage, PA (near the Ohio border) - Dermatology

Hermitage, PA - Surgery

Altoona, PA - Emergency

Kingston, PA - Pediatrics

Philly - Internal Med

Newport - Family Med

Life's moments are not always happy, but happiness is having people you love there to support you during difficult times. In these next two months before I leave, I plan to really enjoy my time with family, hug a little longer, and love a little stronger. Something I now realize I should have been doing all along...

 "It's going to be ok" flowers from my mom. She's the best <3

Thanks for reading!

~ Lacie

Fun with Casey

How to entertain a 2 year old - for a few minutes anyway! 

Growing a Pansy from a Ceramic Egg
(I found this at Lowes)

Step 1:  Lick the egg for good luck! Hehehe... This is not technically a reflex, but I think most people would agree how natural it is for little kids to put everything in their mouth =). Good thing the dirt was only on the inside at this point. 

Step 2:  Crack it open with a spoon

Step 3:  Clean up the mess! This wasn't included in the original directions... Casey knows the word mess and she reeeeeally thought this part was funny!  


Step 4:  Add a little water... with the help of Nana of course.

Step 5:  Place it in the sun and wait for it to grow!

Enjoy the last few days of March!

~ Lacie 

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Happiness is... cooking and baking! I haven't had a lot of time since I started PA school, but I'm on a wonderful spring break now and have been enjoying doing some things that I love! 

We had some yummy blueberries from Butcher's Farm Market that needed to be used - so I did a search for blueberry recipes and found Tyler Florence's Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars! I followed the recipe as it was written, but there were a few things I was unsure of. Of course I used lots of Pampered Chef tools (for those of you who don't know, I'm a consultant) and they really did the trick =)! I LOVE having a tool for everything!

 The crust was a simple graham cracker crust with a little cinnamon and sugar added in...

This beautiful, warm weather makes me so hungry for fruit! It's still early, but I can't wait to get some fresh, local fruit. The recipe called for two lemons zested and juiced. What does that mean?!? I like to know measurements, so here is what I came up with: 1 tbs of lemon zest and 1/4 cup of lemon juice =). The bars were a little tangy, but I liked it! If you like something a little sweeter, you could try adding a little more sugar or less lemon to the batter.

Then, I washed and dried 1 cup of blueberries (someone ate the other 1/2 cup for breakfast) and scattered them on top. 

The recipe called for a dusting of powered sugar, but I forgot... oops! I choose not to line my pan with parchment paper, but afterwards I kinda wished that I did. I think they might have cut a little nicer. Either way, they were yummy! They might even make the list for an Easter dessert! 

You can find the full recipe here. Happy baking! 

Lacie

Spring... Please hurry!

Spring is right around the corner and we at the Sanderson household cannot wait! I got out of class early a few days last week and started our Spring cleaning and decorating! Here's a peek of last week... 

This glass candle holder was a housewarming gift from the Ventre's this past winter and I updated it to an Easter look... 

Pretty tulips to brighten the house... 

Ellie went to the groomer last week and got pretty pink bows in her hair. This was right before she came down with hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. I was up all night with a very sick puppy - so scary and not a pretty site! Fortunately, she's almost back to herself!   

We also took a walk at the park last week. This might be where Ellie picked up the "bug" that made her so sick. How cute is she in her PSU sweatshirt?!

I found some time to make a Pinterest recipe - Pasta Pie. It was very yummy, but a little more time consuming than just tossing it all together in a bowl. I used store bought spaghetti sauce instead of making my own, but I'm sure it would be good either way. 

We're really looking forward to having warm weather again this week and hopefully we'll be seeing green soon! 

Lacie