Hey There Hi There Ho There!

Well well well....been a long time stranger :) So this semester has taken over my life and I have had zero time to do anything fun. But here is a little life update for ya!

So I started a new job....I know! Took me long enough to find one! I am a clinic assistant/intake specialist at the Community Psychological Service (the mental health clinic on campus). And I am loving it. Everyone I work with is super awesome and the job isn't too bad. I only have 2 weeks left of class and then its finals week. I can't wait to not have to worry about writing research papers or studying for an entire month! I have done pretty decent in my grad level biology courses. Yeah me! Oh and all these immunology-based courses have inspired me to not only get my MD but also pursue my Masters in Public Health. I am fascinated by diseases and epidemiology so it only seems natural. Plus it will be beneficial for me in the long run.Another exciting event is Sophia's 3rd birthday is TOMORROW! Yeah!! I can't believe she is already 3. My little princess :) I am currently working hard to get everything ready for her party on Saturday. But let me tell ya, it is breaking the bank having a little one with a birthday in the beginning of December and then Christmas a couple weeks later. I am definitely struggling. Plus I still have to pay off the rest of my school balance for this semester before I can even think about registering for next semester. So my stress level is up to outer space right about now. Ugh. But I am trying to stay positive and keep my head up and hopefully things will work out. But anywho, I need to scoot off to bed. I will try not to stay away so long this time :)

 So a few months ago, a friend of mine introduced me to the band NEEDTOBREATHE and I highly recommend giving them a listen. They have some amazing songs and one of my favorite quotes currently comes from their song "What You've Done to Me" -
"She was the picture of a Midwest sweetheart
Wrapped in a grace to make a good man come apart"
Love it! Anyway so I came across another one of their songs that I wanted to share. It is called "More Time" and it was actually featured in the movie PS I Love You. But they wrote it for their family because they were on the road so much and away from their family. With the possibility of med school looming in the near future and the lack of time that I will have for Sophia and my family, this song definitely touches me.

"I promised you the world again
Everything within my hands
All the riches one could dream
They will come from me

I hoped that you could understand
That this is not what I had planned
Please don’t worry now
It will turn around

Cause I need more time
Just a few more months and we’ll be fine
So say what’s on your mind
Cause I can’t figure out just what’s inside

I hoped that you could understand
That this is not what I had planned
Please don’t worry now
It will turn around

Cause I need more time
Just a few more months and we’ll be fine
So say what’s on your mind
Cause I can’t figure out just what’s inside
So say alright
Cause I know we can make it if we try
Cause I need more time
Just a few more months and we’ll be fine

We’re off to new lands
So hold on to my hands
It’s gonna be alright
It’s a whole lot brighter
So stand by the fire
It’s gonna be alright
Yeah, the road gets harder
But it’s not much farther
It’s gonna be alright
You know that it ain’t easy
Please believe me
It’s gonna be alright

Please don’t worry now
It will turn around

Cause I need more time
Just a few more months and we’ll be fine
So say what’s on your mind
Cause I can’t figure out just what’s inside
So say alright
Cause I know we can make it if we try
Cause I need more time
Just a few more months and we’ll be fine"

Its so hot that 2 trees are fighting over a dog....

Okay so the title for this post came from the always enjoyable morning crew over at Fox2 News. Now I am not against hot weather. In fact I love summer time and temperatures in the high 80's/low 90's. What I do not enjoy are temperatures in the high 90's that also like to dip into the 100's and high percent humidity. I don't know about you, but I for one enjoy being able to breathe when I walk out the door. So needless to say, I have been unable to go for my and Sophia's daily stroller walk/jog and I hate working out indoors (I get way to bored and unmotivated). So I am blaming you Mother Nature if my pants feel a little tighter this week (and not the pizza I ate for dinner or that ice cream I had for dessert the other night ;) )

So that was my little insane rant for the day....now on to my little life update: I have a job interview on Friday at Wash U School of Medicine! Woohoo! Its for a Public Health Research Tech position and the study topic is a huge interest of mine (lifestyle effects on prostate cancer....okay maybe not the prostate part but still :) ) Luckily I happened to check my actual UMSL email account and not just rely on my phone to deliver it to me because in my junk folder was an email from the project coordinator wanting to meet with me. For some reason UMSL believes all emails sent to my account from Wash U are spam...weird. So fingers crossed I ace the interview and get the job cuz I need it! Oh and next week is a super exciting event....the NKOTBSB Concert....yes that's right, two of the best boy bands from my childhood performing together! My life is now complete :) I can't wait to rock out to "Hangin' Tough" and "I Want It That Way" hehe!


And now I leave you with a picture from my Scaiefe Scaiefe's bday extravaganza at the Winery...

And So the Journey Begins....Again...

So yesterday I began my wonderful task of researching anything and everything for med school admissions. I am pretty sure I spent about 10+ hours on the Student Doctor Network (SDN) forums reading random postings. Mind you I have a year until I apply (for the second time, sigh...) for med school but I am very much more optimistic this time around. I will actually have a science GPA this time around and several more semesters making the Dean's List (whoo!). And I am hoping to get a professor I have had for 4 classes in the past 2 semesters (and at least 1 more next semester, and possibly another one the following semester) to write me a rec letter. He knows me pretty well and I have done stellar in his courses (which is not an easy task to do). The one thing I am not looking forward to is studying for the dreaded MCAT again. I did fine the last time I did it but I want to increase my score so I can be more competitive. And I think having BioChem, Genetics, Micro, and Cell Bio under my belt will help me achieve that goal. :)

Aside from lurking on the SDN forums, I also spent a couple hours looking up local doctors offices trying to find potential shadowing opportunities. I always feel so weird shadowing people but it is an important thing to do.

Aside from preparing for the med school application process, I am also still on the job hunt. I interviewed at BJC Behavioral Health 2 weeks ago and shadowed a current employee there last week. She told me that it is a good sign that I was offered the opportunity to pre-hire shadow because that means I must have aced the interview and not a lot of people get to shadow. But I have yet to hear anything from them about the position. UGH! I also got a call from Saint Louis University this past week about a psychometrist position I applied for. This is actually something I would love to do because I am weird and love psych assessments and evals. Don't ask because I don't even understand it myself. The woman I talked to said she was going to go back over the applications she had and would be contacting people for interviews. So fingers crossed I get a call from her again! It just gets so frustrating not having a job and being broke. Luckily I have an amazing mom who is willing to help me pay my bills while I am unemployed but it still sucks. I'm a very independent person so I hate having to depend on other people for things that I am used to doing myself. I just hope I find something soon so I can pay my school bills and don't have to drop my classes for the fall :/ It gets tough trying to keep my hopes and mood up during times like this but I have to do my best and believe that there is something out there that is right for me at this point in my life.

Anywho, that is my little rant/update/whining for today. On a funny note, Sophia and I were hanging out outside when she came up to me and I noticed something in her hair. On closer inspection I discovered a cicada in her hair. YIKES! It was a dead one and I knocked it off with my notebook. When I showed it to her, she screamed "AH a big bug!" After that she wanted to go inside and wanted nothing to do with the backyard for the moment. She is such a girl haha. But that was my first and only (knock on wood) sighting of a cicada this year. We haven't even heard them at all this year so it was quite a shock to find one in my princess's hair!

This is American Idol....

So its been a while since I've updated this thing. Actually I attempted to do an update last week but due to my lack of sleep and some computer issues, it did not happen. I saved the post to finish later so who knows maybe it'll post at a later date :) Anywho, so last week I got the awesome opportunity to work as a production assistant for the American Idol auditions in St Louis. I was supposed to work two days (Sunday and Tuesday) but on Sunday Mother Nature decided to send hurricane weather to the midwest and there was no way I was driving to St Louis in that weather. So I only got to work one day but it was the most important: Audition Day!

My call time was for 4 in the morning (OUCH!) but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. When I got to Scottrade and met my bosses, I was given my first task: put ice in Ryan Seacrest's dressing room cooler and make sure his room was Seacrest-worthy. After that I was sent outside to work the crowd. I almost lost my voice trying to get the crowd amped up enough for the opening shot and I am pretty certain I lost 10 pounds running up and down the line in the heat. I was the not so smart kid that decided to wear jeans ugh! I did make some new friends in line though and I hope they made it through to the judges audition. They were these kids from Indiana and they were all in Glee club together. They were my line buddies and kept me entertained during my time outside. Around 8 am we got the call on our headsets that Seacrest was on his way out and when I told my part of the crowd that, they went from sleepless zombies to party animals. Everyone was cheering and jumping up and down. Amazing what one little man can do. And he is little. I walked past him on my way back from escorting a contestant to the overflow line and I was shocked at how short he actually was. And super tan too.

So after spending about 3 hours outside with the crowd, the assistant production manager Blue (who is super awesome by the way!) called me back to the Production Office (PO) and informed me that my new duty was going to be the office PA. Yep that's right, I got the cushy position of sitting on my butt in the air conditioning watching television while checking in/out headsets and handling receipt reimbursements. Okay well it wasn't that simple because the production manager Brian kept having me do random things like refill water in the coolers and pack up stuff in the office but I was happy to do it cuz I was getting bored just sitting around. I am definitely one of those people that could never work at a desk job for the rest of my life. I am far to active and my brain needs to be exercised as much as my body. At around 3, Seacrest had left the building and I was given the task of breaking down his dressing room. Blue did make me laugh at this point because everything in Ryan's room has to be sealed when he gets it. So as we were pulling things from his room, Blue realized the big ol' bottle of mouthwash she got him was opened but only a little sip was gone from it. She was like, "Brian, what should we do with this? Sell it on EBay?" So pretty much this big bottle of perfectly good mouthwash was now going to waste. Oy! That's Hollywood for ya though, I guess. The rest of my day was pretty uneventful though we did get a lot of entertainment from the headset convos and descriptions of "interesting" contestants. One PA asked where they should send the losers. The reply he got was "Send the non-winners to such and such" To this he replied "But where do we send the losers?" I think the entire PO busted out laughing to that one. And we found out that a contestant (a non-winning one) spit on a security guard on their way out....stay classy St Louis! My day finally came to an end at 7 pm....yes that's right, I was going strong from 4 am to 7 pm and I could have kept going if I wanted to. In my eyes, this was just preparation for when I'm a doctor working 72 hour shifts (WHOO!) I'm not gonna lie though, once I sat down and started relaxing, my body felt like it was going to break in half....probably from all the packing and moving of boxes Brian had me doing.

 My favorite part of the whole experience.....being in Seacrest's presence? No. Meeting AI producers? Nope. Being in on all the Idol secrets? Close but Nada. The AMAZING and FREE food catered to us? You betcha! Any one that knows me knows I love me some good (and free) food. Every meal we got was like a four course meal and delicious. I still dream about that food....yum!

So there ya have it. My wonderful time as a production assistant for the IDOL. Hopefully in September I will get to work the job again for the Judges Auditions....FINGERS CROSSED!

Great News!

So a couple days ago when I was getting Sophia ready for bed, I could not, for the life of me, find her binky/pacifier (or didi as she calls it). Thankfully she was able to fall asleep without it (Thank you daycare for wearing her out!) Now I have been battling this didi situation for a good year now. She doesn't use it during the day; only at night when she is trying to go to sleep. I tried various ways to get her to stop using it....I even cut the tip off in an effort to make it less desirable to her. But none of my attempts worked. Now didi is actually gone...where to I have no idea. Sophia does ask me randomly for it or she will tell me she can't find her dee. But so far we are going 5 days strong without using didi and hopefully that habit is FINALLY broken!!

Next task to tackle is either potty training or sleeping in her own bed (she is a little addicted to me and loves my bed...and I am a pushover when it comes to my princess :) )

Oh Spring Break Where Did You Go??

So today is the last day of my glorious Spring Break....where did the time go? While it wasn't the most exciting Spring Break ever, it was definitely needed. And I did get to go to Opening Day for the Cardinals and have a blast! Of course my oldest sister Jenny caused us to run late (as always!) We had planned on leaving the house around 1230 and getting to downtown STL by 1...well we didn't leave the house until 2ish and by the time we got downtown we decided we had better get in line to get in the stadium. So we missed the parade and then we missed the Opening Day revelry inside the stadium cuz we were trying to find our section. But we still had fun even though Franklin screwed up Carp's lead and caused us to lose! Argh! But its all good cuz they won today and avoided the first sweep of the season! Whew!

The Fox kids and Sophia in our Cardinals gear!!

Sophia practicing her baseball run

So after the game we headed over to Paddy O's to check out their new patio and we immediately regretted going there. You could barely move in there it was so crowded and in the upstairs bar, they only had 4 bartenders working and I think they were the 4 slowest bartenders in the history of bartending. It was horrible! We finished up our drinks we waited half an hour for and headed over to Joe Bucks where it was way less crowded and way more fun! I should mention that my other sister Mindy (who drove us) left after the game due to her being prego and not wanting to be around us drunkies (but we knew this beforehand). So our buddy Genin (the big guy in the picture with Jenny and I) offered to drive the rest of us Fox kids back to Belleville so we could all party some more. So we headed to Margaritas (why I am not sure but it was lame!) and then headed to Big Daddy's. Overall it was quite a fun Opening Day and I can't wait until next year!

The next day, I took Sophia to see her first movie in a movie theater...we saw this movie....

It was really cute and Sophia did great during the movie! She only got antsy towards the last 5 minutes because she was ready to go bye bye.

I unfortunately got a huge headache during the movie and it has persisted until now...hopefully it will go away soon cuz I really don't want to deal with sitting in class with a headache...blah!

Yesterday and today were pretty laid back. We checked out our Target's new grocery section (LOVE IT!) and Sophia and I played at the park. Sophia made a new friend at the park, Lexie who is like 5 or 6 but she loved racing with Sophia down the slides.

Okay...welp the parents are BBQing and its about ready so that's all for now folks!

Spring Break....with temperatures in the 40's?!?

So it's been a while since my last blog post. Bad Cassie Bad! But I have been super busy with classes and job hunting. But finally Spring Break has arrived and it is very much needed! Now if only I was laying on a beach somewhere like this...

But unfortunately I am stuck here in good old Illinois where our weather is about as messed up as our state government is. But good news is that I had a job interview today at Washington University Medical School for a research patient assistant position. Fingers crossed I get a call back from the HR recruiter for a second interview. Until then, I guess it is back to applying like crazy and praying to the job fairies to bless me with something! It can be so frusterating at times though. All these countless hours spent filling out applications, submitting resumes, tweaking cover letters, browsing employment sites....and nothing to show for it, yet. Thankfully I have my momma to help me cover my bills until I find something, though I hate having to accept help. I have never been one to admit when I need assistance. I like to be very independent which often times comes back to bite me in my rear end. Oh well, when the right job comes along, I will get it, right?

On a different note, Thursday is Opening Day for the St. Louis Cardinals and I will be attending! So excited! It will be my first opening day game since I was a little kid. Ah the memories! And even better, all three of my siblings will be joining me for the game so loads of Fox Family Fun will ensue! And hopefully this season, Sophia will attend her first Cardinals game though she is already being groomed to be a Cards girl! I have her yelling "Yeah Yadi!" everytime our fave catcher comes to bat :)

Welp I guess it is back to the job hunt and enjoying the peace and quiet before Sophia gets home from daycare. Peace out y'all!



Funny Little Sophia Story...

So we were rewatching Thursday night's results show for American Idol (our fave show!) since my stepdad missed it due to bowling. And everytime someone we liked made it on and Sophia remembered, she would start clapping and saying yeah cuz that is what we did the first time watching it haha. Well then when it came time to announce the wild cards and they announced Stefano as making it as a wild card, we started clapping and saying "Yeah Stefano!" and Sophia started clapping and saying "Yeah Daddy!" We all started cracking up and my mom was like "Looks like Sophia wants Stefano to be her dad" and I said "Well if he wins American Idol, he can be your dad Sophia..." haha she is too cute! Even after I corrected her and told her that's not daddy, she was adament about calling him "Daddy". That little princess, I tell ya! Anywho, that's all I have for today! I'll write more later when I have more exciting things to write about besides studying : /

Toodles!

My life is now complete...

Charlie Sheen has joined Twitter! I discovered this yesterday and of course I started following him immediately. It was the greatest day since James Franco joined twitter which was the greatest day since I found out Kellie Pickler was following me. Now I have tigerblood hashtags and pure entertainment to look forward to. Thank you Charlie Sheen for keeping life so raw and magnificent.

More interesting stories courtesy of the Metrolink...

This happened yesterday...So not only did I miss my train home from class by one minute, but it was raining and super cold and I was drenched from head to toe. Not fun. But anywho, that is not the story that I was going to tell.
While I was waiting for the next train to come (a whole 12 minutes of waiting to be exact. Thank goodness UMSL splurged and put in heat lamps), this girl stands next to me...she doesn't say anything at first and then she starts talking about the horrible weather, cuz well it is horrible. Then she starts telling me how she bought a snow shovel for the first time this year and how she is going to Louisville this summer for her best friend's wedding...seriously her whole life story. I wish I could say this is the first time this has happened to me, but it is not. I guess I have one of those faces that people feel they can talk to and tell their entire lives to.
Anyway, so then she asks me what I'm studying and I tell her I'm pre-med, and she proceeds to tell me to beware of my male counterparts in med school cuz they are assholes. Okay, I say, understandable based on some of the pre-med guys I have encountered. Then she tells me to not even bother dating any of them cuz you never know how they will turn out after med school and that all the doctors she has dates have been jerks. My first thought is doctors, plural? How many doctors has this girl dated? But before I could ask that question, she found a new random person to chat up...very strange this girl.

So then the train finally comes and as I get on a notice a guy selling Snickers bars...I guess ya gotta give it to the guy. I mean he's trying to make a living even if it is by selling candy bars he bought by the box for more money than they are worth to hungry rail riders. He wasn't pushy with his selling technique either. He just walked by and asked politely if I'd like to buy a candy bar. Unfortunately for him, I do not buy candy bars from strange people on trains so he did not get my money. Perhaps if he employed the technique of selling them for an odd price like $1.38 then maybe he would have sold more. It has been proven that people are more likely to part with their money if the price is odd. Why do you think items are always listed as $x.99 and not just $x?

Well those were my two interesting encounters yesterday that brought a little light into my rainy day haha. Here's hoping for warmer days soon!

This cold is definitely getting in my way...

Alpha Chi Girls: Sara, Me, Raspy, and Maggie

So Friday night's Alpha Chi girls night out was a blast!! We started out at the Wine Tap in Belleville and then proceeded to Big Daddy's 618. There wasn't a lot of people out but we had fun. Raspy's dad joined us for the festivities as did Sara and Maggie's boyfriends. I ran into some old friends and made some new ones :) I can't wait for our next adventure! We decided that we are going to start doing Alpha Chi Girls Night In and we are each going to take turns making dinner and drinks for each other. Apparently our girls nights get a little expensive haha.

So after a fun Friday night, my weekend went drastically downhill :( I caught Sophia's cold, so now I am a sneezing, sniffling, coughing mess. And I had two tests to study for: Biochemistry and Microbiology. Studying for those normally is not fun, but trying to do it with a head cold is even worse. Ugh! But I somehow managed to remember almost everything for my Biochem test today (Fingers crossed for an A!) and now I am trying to motivate myself to study for Microbiology but it doesn't seem to be working out....hence why I am writing this entry haha.



Sophia and Jack playing in a fish tent on Friday



On another note, my job search is still continuing. I found out the other day that the research job I interviewed for at Wash U got moved to Florida :( So not cool! The lady emailed me letting me know that and apologizing for taking so long to get back to me. Oh well...guess I will keep applying. What really sucks is that I keep finding all these research positions I want to do but they are full time and I can only work part time right now. The one that really made me sad was one working with Alzheimer's research....ahhh my passion. But I was made aware of a summer research program this summer working in Alzheimer's research but they only take 6 undergrads. I am working on my application now so fingers crossed. It would be amazing to get to do something I love like that while prepping for med school!

Okay, I have procrastinated enough....time to start studying....Oh joy!

Okay Funny Story...

So yesterday I was on the metro (the train I ride into St Louis everyday to go to class) on my way to campus when this woman gets on the train. I guess the girl in the first seat had her bag next to her on the seat so the woman sat in the seat behind her. Then all of a sudden, this woman starts talking loudly about how you shouldn't put things on the seat next to you to prevent people from sitting with you. Mind you, nearly half the train had their bag sitting next to them (myself included haha) and the train wasn't even that full. So this woman continues to lecture this girl and then all of a sudden gives her her phone number and makes sure she puts it in her phone and tells her to call her. I guess she has a daughter her age and thought they would get along. Seriously....then the woman got off the train and the entire train burst into laughter. It was probably the most awkward 10 minutes on a train ever....well except for when the incredibly drunk older man kept switching seats and talking to everyone. So yeah....that was my wonderful character of St Louis story of the week haha.

I Wish the Warm Sun Would Stay...

So this week we have been spoiled with wonderful Spring/Early Summer like weather. Yesterday the temps were in the 70's and it was AMAZING! But unfortunately the warmth is not here to stay. Back to 30's/40's next week....BOO!

I just hope it stays warm enough for our Alpha Chi Girls Night tonight in the BelleVegas....a nice night sitting on the patio at the Wine Tap would be perfect! A girls night out is definitely needed after I spent all week studying for my Biochem and Microbiology tests I have on Monday and Tuesday.....so not looking forward to those.

I'll post all about the fun that happens tonight tomorrow, but for now its off to bake some cookies with Sophia for her to take to Aunt Mindy's for their sleepover!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy v-day y'all! Last night, my mom, Sophia, and I hit up Target to pick up some Valentine's cards for Sophia to take to daycare today for her pizza party and my goodness it was a madhouse! Shelves were wrecked and people were in every aisle...way to be, procrastinators!

Anywho...I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's day....mine will be spent in class and then off to a tutoring job...then maybe snuggling with my little princess and watching a random Disney movie....

I think I need an intervention....

The first step is admitting you have a problem...and I am addicted to the Food Network. I watch it for hours on end and stalk out the Food Network website for all the tasty recipes. Okay so maybe it isn't a real problem and my tastebuds love me when I try out the recipes but I figured I should admit my addiction to the world anyway!

On a side note, I have been sneezing non-stop all morning which can only mean one thing....spring weather is on its way! My nose is like my own personal groundhog. But besides the sneezing, I am very excited for a bit of warm weather. I am tired of all the snow we have had, though Sophia does love playing in it. Every morning she sees the snow and asks, "Mommy, Mommy, snow?"

But enough with the cold weather! I am ready to get to run outside, take Sophia to the park, relax in the warmth of the sun, and eventually head to the lake for boating fun! But that last one will be a couple months...

Hey There! Hi There! Ho There!

So I decided to try my hand at this whole blogging thing but who knows how it will go. So a little bit about me....my name is Cassie and I live in Belleville, IL. Since I am a poor college student (story of my life), I live at home but I'm fine with it for now. Better than getting myself into even more debt, right? I'm 25 and the mom to one cute little princess, Sophia.

After a couple years in college, switching colleges, and changing majors a couple times, I finally graduated with my Bachelor's in Psychology. However, that is not the end of my college journey. After my best friend since kindergarten, Kurt, passed away my junior year of college, I decided that I needed to do some soul searching and decide what I really wanted to do with my life and what was going to make me happy. Life is too short, I've learned, so might as well take some chances and be happy with your life. That soul searching took me to Orlando, FL for a semester working for the Big Mouse, aka Mickey and Disney World. I came home wanting to be a doctor instead of an advertising guru and realizing my college home of Cape G was not the place to do that. So I decided to stay home in Belleville (much to the dislike of my SEMO and Alpha Chi friends) and go to school in St Louis. So why is my school career still continuing? Welp, I am concentrating on improving my Science GPA and overall GPA (due to some hiccups in life) in preparation for applying to med school. See...I really am going to be a student for life haha.

Enough about the school life though, on to my real life. Like I said I live at home with my amazing parents, my perfect daughter, my brother, and a crazy dog and crazier cat. Sophia is 2 and I am currently planning a vacay to Disney World for her 3rd birthday....I'm pretty sure I am more excited about it than she is but mainly cuz she has no idea what Disney World is! But more about that vacay later....

Back to ME! So I am a pretty happy person and I love to have fun and enjoy to laugh. I love to paint and draw though a lack of time has put quite the damper on that hobby :( and I have quite the shopping problem...though since becoming a mom, it has moved from buying things for myself to buying things for the little one. Her closet is insane!

So there ya go....a brief intro to moi! I am sure you will learn more about the wonderfullness (and not so wonderfullness) of my life....hopefully it isn't too boring!