Wine a bit why don't you?

I got the inspiration for this blog post surprisingly from my new job.  I have now officially worked as a licensed pharmacist for a full week (and survived it!). Every time friends or family ask me how my job is going, I find myself saying repeatedly that I love everything about it...except the whiny customers....


 Not like the whiny customers were really a huge surprise to me.  After 7 years of experience in retail pharmacy, you kind of get used to the fact that more than 50% of your patients are either 1) sick and grumpy or 2) high maintenance and whiny.  The other approximately 50% or less of your patients (the kind, patient, and understanding ones) are actually the ones that make your job as a pharmacist very rewarding and worthwhile.  Such is true of any job in the healthcare OR retail field really .  Mine just happens to be both.  Nonetheless, I LOVE my job.  And there is nothing I experience at work that involves negative customers that I can't treat with a glass of wine when I get home.  So I'm all set.

So I found myself saying in my head a lot this past week when dealing with annoying customers "Why don't you whine a little more?"  And then I thought to myself "well actually keep whining", because then I can justify a glass of wine after work when I get home.


Not that there is really any shortage of wine at our place...

The above built in wine rack probably looks familiar from a previous blog post, but now it is actually 100% full (a fringe benefit of my hubby finally moving down to Charlotte and bringing the rest of our wine collection down with him).  And it has a very appropriate sign under it - we do however LOVE entertaining and sharing our wine with friends :)




In fact, he brought so much that the overflow had to be stored in the bottom section of our bar shelf....





While we were unpacking all of our things that arrived from Michigan,  we were reminiscing about trips we have been on and memories we've made together, especially all the wineries we have been to.  Wine tasting is our absolute favorite hobby to do together and is at the top of our list of common interests we have.  We now even belong to TWO wine clubs - Cooper Vineyards and Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery, both of which are located in Virginia and have phenomenal wine!


The rest of this post is just a compilation of photos in no particular order from some of the wineries we have been to together and an explanation for the amount of wine bottles we have!

 Afton Mountain Vineyard, Charlottesville, VA

Cardinal Point Winery, Charlottesville, VA

 A friend's private wine tasting of wine he made, Michigan

 Rup relaxing at Raylen Winery, Mocksville, NC

Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery, Sonoma, CA

 Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery, Sonoma, CA 

 Adobe Road Winery, Sonoma, CA

Island Winery, Hilton Head, SC

 Horton Vineyard, Charlottesville, VA

Veritas Winery, Charlottesville, VA

 Sutter Home Winery, Napa Valley, CA

Virginia Wine Expo 2011, Richmond, VA

 Virginia Wine Expo 2010, Richmond, VA

 Chateau Chantal, Traverse City, MI

Two Lads Winery, Traverse City, MI

Bowers Harbor, Traverse City, MI

 Left Foot Charley Winery, Traverse City, MI

 L. Mawby Vineyards, Traverse City, MI

  L. Mawby Vineyards, Traverse City, MI

Good Harbor Vineyards, Traverse City, MI

 Bel Lago Vineyards, Traverse City, MI

 Williamsburg Winery, Williamsburg, VA (Our FIRST winery together!)

 Jefferson Vineyards, Charlottesville, VA

 Virginia Food & Wine Festival, 2009, Richmond, VA

 Robert Mondavi Winery, Napa Valley, CA

 Castillo de Amoroso, Napa Valley, CA

Trinchero Winery, Napa Valley, CA

 Kendall Jackson Winery, Sonoma, CA

Sterling Vineyards, Napa Valley, CA

 Sterling Vineyards, Napa Valley, CA

Sterling Vineyards, Napa Valley, CA

Whitehall Lanes Winery, Napa Valley, CA

Grgich Hills Organic Winery, Napa Valley, CA




We are so excited to continue to explore our love for wine in the beautiful state of North Carolina at all the wineries it has to offer :)

First Day of Work - Part II

Today was my second first day of work in Charlotte, not to make it confusing.  I already blogged about my first day of work in Charlotte - that was as a Grad Intern (an unlicensed pharmacist working under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist).   Today was the real deal, my first day of work as a fully licensed pharmacist!  So here is the obligatory first day of work photo taken by my hubby...

...moments before showing up at this fine establishment...

...which will surely become my second home here in Charlotte (whether I like it or not).  

For those of you wondering how it went, all I have to say is that I SURVIVED!!! And I only stayed 15 minutes after closing! (And I only called my lifeline down the road from me aka - Lindsay, best pharmacist trainer ever - 2 times!)  I'd say thats a good first day.  It took me probably negative 30 seconds to realize that I was actually in charge of everyone's medications, I no longer had that other pharmacist checking after me.  It was a scary feeling but I got used to it very quickly and was surprisingly very comfortable!  I'll be ready for day 2 tomorrow after a glass of wine & movie on the couch with my hubby tonight.  Some things still stay the same after becoming a grown up :)


PS. The highlight of my day was definitely when my hubby dropped by to visit me with a bouquet of flowers - I am so lucky to have him!  I can't wait to be there for him in the same way when he starts his first day of work as an attending next Sunday! 

A Week of Celebrations!

So much has been going on this week that I have felt extremely overwhelmed at times, but I know this is all supposed to be happening so the overwhelming feeling is for the best.  

Saturday, June 30th

I took my MPJE (NC Pharmacy Law Exam) in the morning and walked out thinking and hoping that that was the last pharmacy related exam I'd ever have to take in my entire life, it was a feeling of exhilaration to say the least.  Some poolside celebrations with my girlfirends were definitely in order :)

Sunday, July 1st

There are no photos for this day sadly but it was by far THE BEST day of the week.  I spent the afternoon shopping with Melissa recovering from the day before and as much as I LOVE shopping, Concord Mills Outlet Mall was not the best part of the week.  Rup had left Michigan that morning and had planned to drive down to North Carolina over the course of 2 days to give himself plenty of rest and time on his way down here.  He had updated me several times along his route and even told me where & when he had "stopped" for the evening.  I bought most of his nonsense since I was not expecting to see him until the next morning and had stayed pretty distracted with shopping.  After I had finally settled in for the evening I heard some loud abrupt knocking on the door which honestly startled me.  Rup also happened to be on the phone with me at the same time this knocking is occurring just telling me about the hotel he has checked into, the dinner he had, blah blah blah.  I open the door and there was my hubby standing in front of me with a huge smile on his face and the phone still in his hand.  That was one of the happiest moments of my life :)  Three years of long distance and several plane tickets later we are finally together and words cannot express how exciting that is for both of us!

Monday, July 2nd

We bought a small home office set & some balcony furniture, pictures to come soon after we are somewhat settled in.

Tuesday, July 3rd

Now this was a HUGE day for us for so many reasons.  

1. We met on this day 3 years ago - July 3, 2009! I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I was meant to meet Rup on this day 3 years ago even if I didn't know at the time (or maybe I did...) that he was going to be my soulmate & best friend.
2. The movers delivered ALL of our things from Rup's place in Michigan.  Box after box after box after box after box after okay you get the point.  There was stuff EVERYWHERE.  Yay for finally living together in the same place!
3. In the midst of all the moving chaos, I found out I passed the MPJE!!!!!!!  This meant two things: I never have to take another pharmacy exam ever again AND I am a legit pharmacist!!!!  All of the hard work I put into my education has finally paid off and I can say that I not only can see the light at the end of the tunnel but have made it thru the entire tunnel :) As soon as the movers were done unloading and left, my hubby & I dropped everything and he took me out to celebrate at my favorite establishment within walking distance of our place - On the Border Mexican Grill.  I was so happy he was here to celebrate this accomplishment with me since I had really missed him last week when I found out I had passed the NAPLEX. 

                        

Lastly, I had planned a surprise date for Rup a while back knowing that on July 3rd we would be celebrating the day we had met and Rup's arrival into Charlotte, little did I know that we'd also be celebrating me becoming a legit pharmacist!  I am a HUGE fan of the tv series The Bachelorette/The Bachelor and have no shame in admitting that!  This season especially has been so exciting because the first few weeks were filmed in bachelorette Emily's hometown of CHARLOTTE!  Emily took Ryan on their first date to Osso, her favorite restaurant in Charlotte and of course I looked it up immediately while watching that episode.  I discovered a bachelorette package the restaurant was doing as a promotion and snagged the opportunity immediately!  Not to mention, Osso is an Italian restaurant which is one of our favorite genres and was the first type of restaurant we went to together :)

The date involved a rose that I could give out during the date if I wanted ;)

 In addition to having some of the BEST Italian food we have ever had, the desserts at the end of our meal were phenomenal.  

       

The best part of the entire experience was that we got sit in the exact same seats as Emily & Ryan did during their date at Osso.  We received VIP service & a bottle of prosecco.  It was definitely one of the coolest dates we've been on and I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone in Charlotte!

Of course I asked Rup if he would accept the rose towards the end of the date and thankfully he accepted so he is safe at next week's rose ceremony ;) 

Wednesday, July 4th

See my previous blog post for this day's events if you're interested!

Thursday, July 5th

I officially became licensed!!!!!  For those of you not in the pharmacy world this means the NC Board of Pharmacy gave me a license number under which I can practice.  In one word, it means I'm OFFICIAL.   And let me tell you, they're not wasting anytime having me start.  TOMORROW is my first day as a real pharmacist. 

Friday, July 6th

That's today. Phew, told you it was an eventful week for me!  I have spent any and all of my free time this week unpacking & setting up our new apartment together and today was no different except that we went out to celebrate Melissa taking her MPJE today and never needing to study or take another pharmacy exam again.  It was a nice relaxing afternoon/evening and is just what I needed the day before my first solo shift as a pharmacist.  I am so sad that my week off has come to an end but I am excited to begin my career!

Wish me luck for my first SOLO shift as a pharmacist tomorrow and stay tuned to hear about how my first real day of work went!

Fun Filled Fourth :)

After telling everyone to have a fun filled 4th of July,  I decided to follow my own advice and do the same!

My friend Sherri & I spent the day preparing for our poolside celebrations by making some super fun themed treats for the group to enjoy.  These included some pinterest inspired creations:  1) white sangria & rum with blueberries, strawberries, and star shaped pineapple slices AND 2) an American flag fruit kabob platter with strawberries, bananas, and blueberries.  

 I really enjoyed having my hubby here with me finally to celebrate our first holiday together in Charlotte :) 

 The men -  Brad, Chris, & Rup - held down the grill!

 And the girls - Kandi, Sherri, Melissa, and I - watched them :) 

 We had such a great time just relaxing in & around the pool!

 After we'd had just enough sun, food, & relaxation, we made a last minute spur of the moment decision to go uptown to see the fireworks show.  We made it there in 15 minutes, pulled into the first parking garage we came across and somehow ended up having the best view possible!  Talk about spontaneity pulling thru for us! Here are some of the patriotic moments I captured: 

I am so excited to explore this summer and see what else this city has in store for us!

Happy 4th!

I am so excited about the 4th of July this year!!!  My hubby and I are finally together in a new city ready to start our lives together and we are spending this year's 4th poolside grilling with some of our good friends here in Charlotte.  There will hopefully be some pinterest inspired concoctions!  More to come on the celebrations later - this is turning out to be a week of celebrations which will require a separate blog post in itself.  

A special shout-out goes to my mom.  Every 4th of July is a very special day for her and our family because she immigrated to the USA to join my dad on July 4th 29 years ago!!!  I am so grateful that my parents decided to start a life here and am even more grateful for the absolutely wonderful life they have given me for the past 26 years.  They have taught me the value and product of hard work in leading by example and I can only hope to accomplishment half of what they have in my lifetime. 

I hope everyone has a safe and fun filled 4th!