Spring Break!

Savannah

M and I went to Savannah for a night/day before heading to Amelia Island. We fell in love with this city. It's oozing of Southern charm with beautiful houses and friendly inhabitants.... and most importantly Paula Deen.

Paula's restaurant. The Lady and Sons. Incredible.

Full.


Amelia Island

Fortunately for us, the weather was a balmy 60 degrees almost all week.

The elderly gentleman who took this picture told us he wasn't a very good picture taker. He's not a liar either.

We were pretty pumped about the puzzle we got from Wal-mart.

Day 1

Day 2... and then the excitement dwindled. Matthew left to go back home, and we completely lost interest. There was no more headway after this pic.. Woops.


St. Augustine



Castillo De San Marcos

The St. Augustine old jail.


Friday... the weather finally looked like this. 74 degrees.


Don't worry he had his spf 50 on :)

I on the other hand did not... woops


Smith Putt-Putt golf tournament. I won- 5 big ones. (after Dad)


The House... Look at the beautiful sunny sky on the day we left.



This is for my parents. "Hey, there's a frog back there."

Already looking forward to Spring Break 2K11...oh wait, I don't get one anymore. Devastating.

Matthew T Hardison, PhD

Notify the press! We have big news! HE PASSED! 3 1/2 years in the making, and it is now finally over. My husband is done and never has to study for anything ever AGAIN, and I'm insanely jealous.

I'm glad it's over so I can have my normal husband back. He has been abnormally quiet the last couple of days, and if you know Matthew you understand that this is very uncharacteristic for him...downright scary really.

I walked into the den yesterday afternoon and Matthew said, "I don't know what's going on, I feel like I can't catch my breath." I somewhat gently explained, "It's called STRESS!, I know you don't have to experience this very often, but that's what it is..." Cause you see, I'm a pro at anxiety, I have been having trouble breathing since I was 10... apparently elementary school was a very stressful time for me.

Matthew did an excellent job today. Ed, his mentor, couldn't have been more proud and said that Matthew was about as close to perfection a grad student could possibly be. He nailed every question they asked..basically he was a research rock star.

So from now on, we expect any mail addressed to 417 Oaks Drive to say Dr. and Mrs. Matthew Hardison. :) jk. That's a little pretentious.

About to start..

At the catered reception afterwards. We had Cocina Superior...delicioso!

Look who showed up! J didn't think he'd be able to make it. And yes, my sis-in-law is 26 weeks pregnant. Doesn't she look great!

Super proud parents. Couldn't have gotten everything done and ready for today without them!

Ed and Shawn.

Delicious homemade Derby pies David and Sandra and Grandma Eva made!

And of course our BFF Geoff was there.

Thank you to everyone for your never ending support and prayers. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

LAMEcation- Not Really

What is the point of being at the beach in 60 degree weather? Last time I checked, you can't get a tan at the beach wearing sweatpants and a hoodie! In all seriousness, I'm extremely thankful to be able to be on vacation with the 'rents and little Matthew this week, big Matthew left this morning :( but I don't think I'm asking too much to get a little fun in the sun. Whatever happened to warm weather in Florida during March? I guess I will just chalk it up to global warming. ha

We have been completely worthless ALL week. I do not think I have gotten up before 9:30, which is late for me, while my dad hasn't gotten up before 10, must be nice to be able to drink loads of coffee a day at 52 and still be able to sleep in late. I will say that we have taken a morning bike ride every morning (I know, cheesy/corny/family fun), and I did get up this morning to fix homemade cinammon rolls, not Pillsbury, they were legit.

I am completely enjoying being lazy. And I'm sure I would enjoy it even more if I weren't having to study at night after everyone else goes to bed. LAME. I cannot wait to be done with school... Whoever said continuing your education was a good idea was also LAME.

Speaking of continuing education. Remember that time my husband is receiving his terminal degree on MONDAY!? I cannot believe it is almost here. M is back at home now studying up for his defense on Monday. This makes the 3rd time I have seen him stressed since we've been married. I know he will do great, but prayers would be appreciated as the big day approaches!

I will post pics from our trip when I get home... most likely after the defense and all of its' post-activities. Hope you're having a great week! Most likely not as good as mine :)

Oh.. I almost forgot.. Congrats to my Cats for being SEC champs! What an INCREDIBLE game.

Hollywood Crushes

I'm not a big movie person.. at least compared to my husband, who is a movie know-it-all...It can be quite annoying, really. But I was reminded on Sunday night after watching The Academy Awards that there are a few actors/actresses that I LOVE. So here is my short list.

Meryl Streep


This woman is fabulous. I absolute love everything about her. Who knew that she was educated at Yale? And she has been married to the same man since 1978. She was magnificent in Mamma Mia and Julie and Julia (2 of her most recent flicks). And well, I guess if you've been nominated for an Oscar 16 TIMES... as Stanley Tucci so eloquently said, "she is simply the best".
On a side note, if I could look like that at age 60... I will be a happy camper.

Steve Martin

What can I say?? He's magnificently funny. He was in one of my all-time favorite movies Father of the Bride. He's all around goofy like my own father. And he made graying early acceptable for men in their 30's! But my favorite part... he is a stand-out bluegrass musician. He is a solid banjo player, and there is simply nothing more attractive than a funny guy with musical talent (my husband ;)

on a side note... when we have kids, they are definitely playing a cool instrument like the banjo. No offense Mom and Dad, I'm still somewhat grateful for the 10 YEARS of suffering through piano lessons :)




Tom Hanks


I know I'm stealing my hubby's all-time favorite actor. But he cannot have him all to himself. There is not a single movie Tom Hanks is in that I dislike (minus Joe vs. the Volcano). He is just a stand-up, charming guy who happens to be one of the highest grossing movie actors of all time. I'm convinced there is not a single role he could not play, and he's funny! Every time he interviews on late night shows, he's hilarious...funnier than Dave and Jay (which isn't hard considering anyone is funnier than Jay).

That about sums it up. We are leaving for Savannah/Amelia Island tonight! So, don't expect a blog from me anytime soon. I'm on a BREAK!

K Town Down

It was finally our turn to return the visit made by our besties for my birthday last Sept and visit Heather and Russ in Knoxille! M and I were looking forward to it all week... and if Russ' many phone calls over the course of the week were any indication about his excitement; he was super pumped. Not sure about what exactly, either about us coming, or just having an extra two people to play in his rock band.. the game.

We left early Friday afternoon after Matthew stole away from work. Who knew that Knoxville was not that far of a drive from here? Never having been to the sprawling metropolis of k-town, I was intrigued as to what this college town would bring, and I'll have to say, after being highly skeptical (snotty), I was super impressed! Simply take the University of Tennessee out of Knoxville, and you've got one fun town!

Heather and Russ took us to a great local burger joint on Friday night that was fantastic. Good company is only made better with greasy, fatty food. We basically ended up back at their apartment hanging out for the night and laughing for a good 20 minutes about Matthew falling over Russ in the middle of the floor (you had to have been there). I literally do not remember the last time I laughed that hard.

You just never can tell with these two.

Saturday, Heather had to work... boo. We slept in, grabbed breakfast and lazied it up all afternoon waiting on Heather to get off work. This would be the point where I would have talked about how awesome it was to be in Knoxville to watch our Cats defeat the ugly orange. But alas, that was not in the cards for our weekend. So, we will simply pretend it didn't happen and move on.

Remember that time Bruce Pearl's ex-wife opened up this shop...

Saturday evening we went downtown to Market Square to eat and shop in some boutiques there on the Square. Matthew and I even found our gifts for his boss for the defense coming up.. One more thing checked off the "to do list"! We ate at a local pizza joint called the Tomato Head and then headed back to their apartment to call it a night ( not really, we stayed up until 1). On a side note... Heather and I ran into not one but 2 people we went to high school with! Crazy! They both went to UT, but neither of them live there now. How weird is it that we were all there over 1 weekend?

Overall, it was a great weekend spent in company with 2 of our favorite people in the entire world. We are so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends, and I know we will be friends with Heather and Russ for a long time to come. I look at it as my own little version of my parents' Grady and Jeannie... Bring on some family vacations!

Sneak Peak

As you all know, Matthew is defending his dissertation in just a few short weeks. He spends most nights on the computer typing away at the kitchen table. Which is ok, because most nights I'm studying as well, except one night when I gave him my pouty lipped guilt face and used the old, "I feel like I haven't gotten to spend any time with you." Which is passive aggressive for, "I'm really ready to watch the Olympics, let's hurry it up". :)

So, to give you all a little teaser for his big debut. Here is the first paragraph of his paper... I don't even know if I'm allowed to do this. Oh well.... I don't think my own husband would sue me for copyright issues.

Neutrophilic Inflammation

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), or neutrophils, play an important role in the body’s innate immune system’s response to invading pathogens. PMNs originate in the bone marrow and traffic through the blood until such time as they are recruited to a site of infection or inflammation in the tissues. (1) A family of molecules called chemokines are responsible for neutrophil migration of out the blood stream into the periphery. (2) There are several sub-groups of chemokines, but neutrophil specific chemokines are glutamate-leucine-arginine positive CXC chemokines (ELR+CXC). Interleukin-8 (IL-8) or CXCL8, growth related oncogene (GRO) – α (CXCL1), GRO-β (CXCL2), and GRO–γ (CXCL3) are the primary chemokines in humans. In mice they are cytokine induced neutrophil chemoattractant (KC) and macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP2) (3, 4). In humans these ELR+CXC chemokines bind to CXC receptors 1 and 2 (CXCR1 and CXCR1), although there is only CXCR2 in mice. (5) Neutrophils follow a concentration gradient of these chemokines from the circulation into the tissues at sites of inflammation. (6) The CXC receptors are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), they signal rearrangement of the cytoskeleton via a Gβγ subunit. CXCR activation leads to polymerization of the actin-myosin network in a subcellular localization with actin-myosin depolymerization away from the site of receptor ligation, leading to directional movement of the cell. (7) Upon reaching the tissue the PMNs release their anti-microbial enzymes through a process of degranulation, and can perform an oxidative burst, both of which are mechanisms by which the cells phagocytose and destroy the invading pathogen. (1, 8, 9)

This is hilarious to me... considering that I understand about 10-15% of the whole thing.

Neutrophil- ok, I know this. I look those up on my patient's lab work every week. Who knew that polymorphonuclear leukocytes was another name for neutrophil? You learn something new everyday.

Chemokines- I only know that from vaguely knowing what M's research is about

Mice- I know that one!

Actin-myosin- Remember this from Exercise Physiology

Enzyme- If I didn't know this, I should consider a change in profession

Anti-microbial- hand gel, right?!

And that about sums it up. What's even more hilarious is Matthew likes to ask me to proof read his papers after Ed has looked over them. Just to see if I can catch anything... REALLY? Fortunately for him, my Lipscomb High School education prepared me for this... I am a grammar maniac. Give me any sentence, and I will diagram it for you in a matter of seconds. Now having said this, please don't reread my blog to catch me for grammar mistakes (Heather). I don't proof-read when I write for fun!

Back to the dissertation... Thankfully for Matthew, I could pick a comma splice out of a 2,000 lb haystack (which would equal a ton, right?). My hubby loves him a good run-on sentence. Unfortunately for Matthew, I understand hardly anything. Which sort of defeats the purpose.

And just to make sure that I'm not plagiarizing. Here is my reference. :)

Hardison, M.T.,(2010). A Dual Protease Inhibitor/Receptor Antagonist with Therapeutic Implcations in Chronic Inflammatory Lung Disease. Journal- TBD.