How time flys!

Oh goodness it's been so long since I've wrote on here.

We've been slammed!! Between my boards, traveling to see friends and family, moving, starting a new chapter in med school..... it's been pull-your-hair-out sorts of crazy.

......But most of all it's been FuN!!!!

So here's our little update...

After my boards we drove overnight to see these crazy guys for some good ol' fashion fun at the Atlantic City DMB Caravan.

I wish this picture did it justice for just how dusty it was!

 After we got back, we got everything ready to move! 

I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. However, we had one more trip to go! 

This time for some boating and sunshine @ Barkley. 

But before we knew it ....we were back and loading the truck up to move in.

She was a BIG one! 

Who knew we had so much CRAP? 

I had to come to the realization that my "one day I may use this" thinking was not realistic... so we sorted through the needs/wants/replacements/donate.

Luckily my parents drove into help! 

(Funny how they timed it JUST right as we unloaded the LAST piece of the truck!). 

Then the boys took all our "donate" to goodwill. Not without causing trouble first though.....

The sign ended up with a minor leg amputation.

(and Michael says I'm the bad driver!)

We laughed soooo hard about this!

My parents helped us settle in to this new house we called a home, and then before we knew it we were off to VA for Mrs. Slagle's birthday & Hippchen's move in party! 

Where did the summer go?!?! 

My goodness, the next thing I know I'm looking at our new Pottery Barn wall calendar and having to change it from Sept. to Oct.!!!

I need someone to press the slow motion button so I can catch my breath, adjust, regroup!

Stir Crazy and missing my sticks...

 

ONLY 1 MORE DAY!!!

Can you believe it? I can't. Then we get to start a whole new countdown to boards.... YIKES. One step at a time right? 

The weather was such a wonderful surprise today, too!!!

Wishing I could be playing 18 right now with Michael, my parents and of course Kristine, Brooke, Helen, Tory & Roger... :). We never did follow the rules on the proper number of players per group- why start now? 

Oh nostalgia....

        (I think we should get a trophy for surviving this many tests in such a short time)

ALMOST THERE!!!!

Little pick me ups....

Dragging today...

We are all desperate for sleep! At one point I wanted to be exactly like this kid. Carpet might burn, but tile, sure, just pull me around. People of Walmart always makes me laugh. Clearly, my motivation seemed to have disappeared after 3 today. I'm hoping it will show back up tomorrow after a little rest!!!

I must say a big thanks to Michael for putting up with me this past weekend (and upcoming week). Even sweet enough to get me flowers!! Tulips are one of my favorites! 

I also did a little online shopping for a few more of my favorite things. They are coming in little-by-little. Don't you just love getting packages? :) I also LOVE LOVE LOVE Amazon for their student 2-day free shipping. Makes my life so- much easier. 

My favorite candle was the first thing to show up at my door: 

The Kathina scent always perks me up. I also use their laundry detergent in this scent! It is worth the little bit more $ because it lasts quite a long time (both the scent and the amount) and can fill the room with it's fragrance.  

The other thing I ordered was Dinni's spicy shrimp sauce! 

Tomorrow night my goal is to recreate Bonefish's Bang Bang Shrimp. We will see how close the recipe is.... YUMMM already can't wait!

The daily routine I already do not miss....

6:00 AM: my alarm goes off. I hit snooze.

6:30 AM: I wonder how much I can cut out of my morning routine, so that I can stay in bed. I fall back asleep.

7:30 AM: I wake up to Michael leaving. Shit, I am running late.

8:30 AM: I run out the door and forget my keys, or my wallet, or something else. I go back upstairs, at least once to search. I spend 15 min searching and realize I am not going to make the 9 o'clock class.

9:15 AM: I manage to make it to school. Stop at Starbucks and grab something to hopefully pull myself together.

10:00 AM: I am sitting in class trying to figure out how much I've missed. I start listening to the lecture. I realize how sleepy I am. I debate putting my head down and going back to sleep. I decide this is not a good option as there are roughly 25 people in class and it would easily be noticed. I realize the lecturer is already on page 3. I wonder if I'm not going to pay attention why I even bothered coming. I figure I will try again at the 11:00 lecture and opt to check the news instead. 

10:45 AM: JCREW sends me a 45% off coupon and free shipping. I delete it. 5 minutes later they send me another one. I wander onto the site and calculate what I can cut out to get a new dress. I send Megan and Julie a text. We all decide it would be irresponsible not to save the money since it is that much off. 

12:00 PM: Everyone is leaving class and I have no idea what I did for the last two hours. All I know is it wasn't lecture related.

12:30 PM I eat lunch and make a game plan for my study schedule for the afternoon.

1:00 PM- 4:30 PM: I manage 15 facebook checks, and reading all the stories on CNN.com and aol.com mostly for the second time. I make it through half a packet. CRAP. I decide I am being unproductive and should go home.

5:30 PM: I walk the dog and make dinner. Next thing I know...

7:00 PM: I wonder where my day has gone. I think about going to bed. I opt to finish the note packet. I start to read and get sidetracked by the word "fatigue." I have fatigue. Is it fatigue or weakness? I decide it is just fatigue. I wonder if I have all these diseases (most include fatigue as a symptom). I decide testicular cancer is probably not in the differential. I wonder if other med students think these things every time they see the word "fatigue." I decide I am probably not alone and I am thankful mine is just Med School and lack of sleep.

8:45 PM: I realize I've only read half a paragraph. CRAP. I decide I should go to bed, but I need to shower.

9:30 PM: I am too lazy to blow dry my hair. I just want to sleep. Michael and I share our day. 

10:30 PM: Michael's asleep. I can't fall asleep, so I play bejewelled. 

11:15 PM: My joints begin to ache and I can't get comfortable. I wonder if I have lupus- it's expanded to fatigue and muscle aches. No, I don't have lupus, I am just tired and sore from all the sitting. I realize I should have taken an Advil PM an hour ago instead of playing bejewelled. Since I plan on getting up at 6 AM, I realize that I cannot take one now. CRAP. I think about all I need to get done tomorrow since I didn't do it today. I panic. I check my alarm and vow that I am going to be better tomorrow. 

12:00 AM: I am asleep. 

Next day: Repeat.

A little help from the furminator

 It's a rough life.... 

As I was sitting in bed flipping back and forth between ICM and Pharmacology. I noticed the small black hairs had begun to take over my notes, and the sheets, and my clothing. 

It's funny how these little hairs came about. Originally Michael and I had decided on the weimaraner breed.  Hypoallergenic, don't shed- this is how I found Miss Spirit. 

She was featured on the Adopt Love website listed as Lab/weimaraner mix. While I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world- the only thing that she even resembles weimaraner by is her facial features and  her loyalty. 

Most of the time her shedding doesn't bother me. Michael and I try to keep a pretty clean house by vacuuming, washing and dusting things on a weekly basis (okay sometimes it's every other). My favorites are the days I'm flipping through my notes in class and I find the tiny straight hairs stuck between pages- a reminder that she is waiting for me to come home. 

Our bed sits literally on the ground, so it was a battle we chose to lose with her. Plus, for as much as she LOVES to cuddle (and so do I), a rule of her not being allowed on the bed would have never lasted. Needless to say, I am CONSTANTLY lint rolling. 

 As she stared out the window at the storms I noticed those little hairs were compiled into a small army screaming "clean me, clean me." I couldn't take it anymore (and wanted a diversion from studying) so I got out one of my favorite purchases- the Furminator. While they are favored for long haired dogs, they still work on short haired ones! With a few quick swipes we had a neatly little piled ball of fur on the ground- and just to make sure I didn't miss any of the little hairs- I lint rolled her. Yes, I lint roll my dog. Do not judge me. 

 It was a small battle won, but hey at this point I will take what I can get.

3 down 3 to go...

pro·cras·ti·na·tion
the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time .

As "the fear" builds in all of us

Try not to worry!!! I am sure you know more than you think you do!!! 

(at least this is what I keep telling myself)

so just a little reminder for the rest of the week

Hope you had a happy  "I need a nap, please don't make me study anymore, what is verapamil, yes my patient has both acidosis and alkalosis- don't ask questions- i don't understand it either" Monday!!!

...Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore...

Anyone else up all night from the storms?!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good thunderstorm, but boy Mother nature 

was roaring last night...and AGAIN this morning.

I was really hoping I'd wake up in the land of Oz.

It was a rough time getting out of bed. We were all wanting to be especially lazy...

one of us in particular....

Pleasssseeeeee... JUST ANOTHER HOUR? 

Michael and I each received Easter baskets this year, too! 

I love the 5 minutes of going back to kid mode to rip through the candy. 

YUM... both our parents are super awesome & thoughtful!!! 

Time to get back to studying-

I have a feeling its going to be a 2+ cup of tea day

and also require a lot of patience....

These are a few of my favorite things

...Med School...

The place where all type A personalities come together and the people who tell you they are type B are simply lying

I am pretty sure, single-handedly, med students keep office supply stores in business.

In the last WEEK, I have manged to go through 2 reems of paper, an assortment of highlighters, all my favorite colors in my triplus fineliner pins,  and 2 cartridges of black ink.

Its hard to believe we've finished our last classes.

 I feel safe knowing all of my classmates are well versed in the translocations and CD markers of lymphomas. We may still not have any idea how to do a differential, but don't worry folks, most of us can tell you the most random assortment of facts on the Human Body.

In honor of my survival, I'd like to share with you what I have learned from roughly 100,000 in tuition:

1) You know a whole lot about nothing important, and probably all the important stuff you know nothing about. 

2) Always keep a bottle of wine handy. You'll thank yourself later.

3) Actin is orange if you colored it correctly in histology

4) triplus fineliner pens in the 0.3 mm size in the 20 assortment pack are an excellent investment. They will allow you to write in the tiny spaces on the page for you to take notes, and they tend not to bleed through. 

 They also have a very nice stand

5) Buy highlighters in bulk. It will save you money in the long run. 

6)  Even the 5" binders will not hold all of your pathology notes. Just don't even try.

7) C does not = MD

8) Class time is very convenient for online shopping and checking every day for great deals saves you lots of money!

9) 5 hour energy drinks will make you feel like you got hit by a train @ hour 6

10) The people who design lockers are not very intelligent because they are not large enough for a book bag.

11) Humor is necessary for survival 

12) No matter how many textbooks you can quote to show the test question has multiple answers, you will almost always still be wrong.

13)  Save enough in your loans or personal funds to take vacations everytime you get the chance. It will do wonders for your sanity. 

Back to studying... good luck in the next 2 weeks to all my sleep deprived and caffeine ridden classmates!

The start of something new

Hello all. Bear with me as I begin writing.

A little about me:

I chose the title because it simply fits the lifestyle I find myself living.

 However, I think that you will find the title fits all of us. At some point we all are torn apart and put back together, and we all contain a world full of secrets. I could fill this page with gossip, but it would mean nothing to most of you. Some secrets I will share with you, but most I won't, so don't get your hopes too high. When I interviewed for Medical School, I got the cliche question of the "best word that describes me."

You will find that of all things, I am loyal.

 
A little about today:
This morning was a wet nose on a rainy day kind of morning. Above is my dog. She's rescued, and the best impulse decision I ever made. Her nickname is "my little money pit," simply because that's what she is. 

 100% worth it, though. 

Woke up with one of those horrid headaches. The lovely combo type: allergies, caffeine withdrawal, migraine, and of course don't forget the tension headache. No school for me- only excedrin, advil, coca cola, warm showers and a heating-microwavable-neck-thingy-ma-bobs.

I wouldn't have survived Pharmacology this morning. It's 4 hours of massive amounts of drugs that I can't pronounce. Mostly I end up memorizing the first letter and the last syllabus. Honestly, we need a class on how to say half of these names.
(reassuring, right?)..

Unlike you we don't get the lovely names like Prozac or Priolsec, we get words that if we could learn how to say, let alone spell, we'd be national scrabble champs. But don't you worry, I'm still in medical school, which means the patients I deal with are paid actors and people who volunteer for pelvic exams. No, seriously....

Well, onward with the day. Time to grind through this headache and accomplish something school related...