HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I should go ahead and warn you that this post will probably be one of my more lengthy posts...:)

First and foremost, Happy Thanksgiving! Ryan and I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of good food and getting to spend it with the people you love. We slept in and just enjoyed spending the day together. We had lunch on the island at Moody Gardens, which was delicious! Sadly, we didn't get to see any of our family for Thanksgiving, but it's okay because they're coming to visit in a week for my White Coat Ceremony! Here are a few pics...

Here we are in front of the pretty Christmas tree...

There were some awesome decorations made out of fruit! This parrot was made out of pineapple...

And what's Thanksgiving without a turkey?!

I thought this was pretty...and it was made out of ice! Except the flowers, those are real.

So that was Thanksgiving for us! A little non-traditional, especially for us, but it worked out. We definitely did NOT brave any Black Friday shopping. Partially because I just didn't want to, but also because I was almost finished with my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving anyways. Hopefully next year it will work out a little better and we can spend the holiday with our families.

So with a few days off school, last week was pretty light! We only had one assignment due and no tests or presentations...I didn't know what to do with myself! On Tuesday, we had an awesome pot-luck and got to just sit and enjoy great food and everyone's company. We work so hard and we're always busy, so it was nice to slow down for a little while and just enjoy it. That's really about it school-wise for last week! Now, we just have to get ready for White Coat ceremony on Friday and start preparing for finals. Yup, we are heading into Week 14 which means that Finals begin! Holy guacamole, is this really the light at the end of this semester's tunnel?! I'm keeping my fingers crossed and my nose in my books hoping that it's the good kind of light, and not the train coming to smack me kind of light.

I had a few realizations/accomplishments this week...

1. I can shower, dry my hair, fix my hair, do my make up, and be nicely dressed and ready to go in 45 minutes. :) That makes me happy.

2. I can walk on a 4-inch balance beam in 4-inch heels! That's talent right there...

3. I redeemed myself! So most of you probably know that I'm domestically challenged. I can build stuff, take something apart and put it back together, ride a horse, and get a 30 on a last-minute MCAT without having studied...but ask me to cook and I fall to pieces, hurt myself, and catch stuff on fire. So you may remember a little incident I had a while back where I got into an argument with a steak knife while trying to make pizza (Yes, you read that right. Pizza and steak knife...I was attempting to open a bottle of olive oil.), and the steak knife won against my hand so we got to make a fun trip to the ER. Well something got into me on Friday night and I decided to try this whole cooking thing again. Ryan was at work, and what we had decided on for dinner really didn't sound good. I knew he wouldn't be up to catering to my every whim when he got done working Black Friday, so I got creative! I made a spicy chicken alfredo pizza from scratch. Yup, I made the dough, made the alfredo sauce, and even cooked and cut up the chicken. All without incident! Well...kinda. I screwed up the pre-packaged pizza dough. I hadn't planned on making my own pizza dough, but I had no other option at that point. And through it all, I didn't manage to hurt myself or anyone else, catch anything on fire, or sound the smoke alarms! And the best part...it was actually edible!!! I must admit, I'm pretty proud of myself right about now. :)

Change of pace here...some of you may know Stefanie Limerick. She and I went to Concordia together and she's one of my best friends. She's also a strong source of inspiration in my life. She's strong, passionate, determined, hard-working, too smart for her own good, and like any good scientist, she's just a little bit crazy. Not to mention, she has the cutest kid in the whole wide world! We try to keep eachother driven, grounded, on the right track, and focused, but we can also share in each other's nerdy (but awesome!) accomplishments and enjoy these crazy roller-coaster lives we each lead. She helps me understand the things in life that just don't make sense and she helps me find my voice and my drive when I feel like they're gone. I don't know what I would do without this girl! As I near the end of the semester, she's been feeding me motivational lines, so I thought I'd share a few of them with you! This week's line: "Chance favors the prepared mind," by Louis Pasteur. It's perfect as I get into this last long-stretch of tests.

So now I get to spend the rest of the weekend enjoying the beautiful weather through my window while I start studying for finals and getting ready for company later this week.

5 DAYS, 6 RED BULLS, AND 3 TESTS LATER...

Well, this week was pretty rough and I questioned if I was going to make it. For those of you that really know me, you know I'm not big on drinking caffeinated drinks. Whether it's soda or coffee or otherwise, I'd usually just rather have water. So the fact that I had 6 Red Bulls in 5 days says something pretty significant about how little sleep I was getting! We had a test Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so we never really caught a break. Plus, our hardest test was on Friday, so even getting through one or two tests, we still had the big one looming. The good news is that I made it! I could have done better on the first test...I just made one or two really ignorant mistakes. If it hadn't been for that, it would have been my highest test grade yet in that class. The second test went very well, and the third test...well, I was pleased. It's hard to believe, but that wrapped up Week 12! This week (Week 13) will be short because of Thanksgiving. And our professors must really love us because they didn't schedule any tests for this week! Yay! As a treat to myself for doing well this past week, I treated myself on Saturday. My body didn't know what to think. I slept in, went for a run, actually got ready, and went shopping! I'm a shopping machine-I knocked out nearly all of our Christmas shopping in like 3 hours! Then Ryan and I went out to dinner together and went to look at new laptops for me because mine is a bit on the fritz. But hey, it's made it for 6 1/2 years! I'd definitely say I got my money's worth with this one, but seeing as the battery only lasts like 45 minutes now and the charger has to be positioned very precisely in order to work...I think it's about that time now. Not to mention that it takes like 5 minutes to boot up or open any applications. So in short, it was a rough week, but it was also a good, productive week and now I can rest a little before finals start up in less than 2 weeks. Woooo Saaaa....I'm a happy little student :)

LAUREN GOES TO CLINIC

I made it through Week 11! This week was mainly spent working on small assignments, studying for a Clin Med exam (which I didn't do too shabby on...), and preparing for my last taping-a complete medical interview. Rachel, Melanie, and I also decided to brave it and go to St Vincent's Clinic on Thursday and start seeing patients. I know that's exactly what we are here learning to do, but it's so intimidating! Thank goodness we had some experienced PA and Med students on hand to help show us the ropes. We each got to see 2 patients that evening. I can't even begin to put into words how rewarding it was. I've been through 11 weeks of some of the fastest learning I've ever been put through, I've been sleep deprived, and I've felt like a failure because I've made B's on tests, taken out more money on student loans than I thought was possible, and had some groundbreaking experiences in this short timeframe, but those 4 hours where I finally got to put it all to use and make a real difference in someone's life...priceless. I'm bombarded day in and day out with new material and was getting to the point where I was wondering if I was even absorbing any of it any longer. My motivation was starting to slip because I'm studying more than I've ever had to (or wanted to...) but I still am not getting the grades I'm used to getting. It seemed like a never ending battle to absorb it all, and it's only going to get tougher in these last few weeks. But going to clinic and putting it all to use made me realize a few things. First, I know SO much more than I thought I did! I was explaining stuff to 3rd and 4th year med students...there's a sense of pride and satisfaction that comes with that. But also, I really do know this stuff well if I can teach it to someone else. Second, it all becomes worth the while. I came here to learn how to diagnose and treat patients...spending days on end buried in textbooks, highlighters, and tests is not exactly the love of my life, but I saw that my hard work translated into being more equipped to diagnose and properly treat these real patients. Third, these people TRUST me! I put on my white coat, and they will believe what I tell them, so I HAVE to keep up with the books and material to make sure that what I'm saying is accurate and true. If they trust me, it's my duty to continue to give them good reason to trust me and to provide the best care that I can. And the last thing I learned at StV's...I CAN DO THIS! It totally renewed my confidence and restored some of my drive. We ended the night at the PA fundraiser at SKY bar and sushi, where we had an awesome turnout! But it is funny how you don't recognize people as well when they actually do their hair and makeup and get ready...haha! People also brought friends and significant others, so we all went through this period of confusion of "excuse me...I don't recognize you...you aren't in our class." It was funny, but we had a great time and it was a success! Then Friday, Ryan drove all the way to meet me and a few friends for lunch. Isn't he the best! But I'm afraid we may have scared him a little bit. He's used to my craziness and I'm used to the normal crazy at school, but I'm sure he's not used to my, Rachel's, and Lindsay's crazy all rolled up in one. We were actually pretty well-behaved, I thought. Eh, he'll get used to it. So ya, that was jam-packed Week 11! If I can make it through Week 12 with 3 big tests, I can finally rest just a little for Thanksgiving before finals start. Yall please keep praying for me!

I DIDN'T KNOW THAT...

Ok, so remember my "I.AM.SO.TIRED" post? Did you know that it gets even worse!? I didn't, but now, I do. I couldn't believe that I seriously reached a new level of tired this week that I didn't even think was possible. And I've got this disgusting, eerie feeling that it only gets worse until December 10. The good news is that this was week 10 of 15, so I've made it 2/3 the way of the first semester, ya hoo! The bad news is that over the next 22 days of school, I have 13 exams. Seriously, I think they're trying to kill me or send me to the looney bin! And that doesn't count any other assignments, presentations, or the White Coat ceremony where all of my and Ryan's family will be in town. We have heard that if we can make it through this semester, next semester is better, and clinical rotations are after that. It's also good that all the professors seem to understand/expect that we have completely lost our marbles and are beyond sleep deprived. That doesn't mean that they make the exams any easier, but at least they can laugh with us when we show "our true colors." They took a poll this week and asked us questions like "Do you feel that your exam grade does not reflect the amount of time you dedicate to studying," "Do you feel like you've lost touch with family, friends, and the rest of the world," and "Do you feel overwhelmed?" I think we all said yes for just about every question. Then again, if I didn't feel this way, something would probably be wrong. If this didn't overwhelm me and push me to my limits, I'm not sure that would be a normal response. In other words, I've lost my marbles and I'm (temporarily) proud of it! Poor Ryan...yall need to say some serious prayers for that guy for putting up with all of this. And who needs sleep anyways? I can sleep through December, except Christmas. On that note, I'm going to go load up on some caffeine and study for my next exams.

FINALLY!

Ok, so remember when we moved here back in AUGUST and I promised to post pictures of our new digs? Well, now that it's November, I figured I'd finally make good on the promise. This is the smallest apartment we've ever had, but I think we've done pretty nicely with it. I still think that the hardwood floors, nice kitchen appliances, and trash pickup make up somewhat for the size. :) Needless to say, we're barely ever here so it's safe and fits our needs 100 percent. Plus, I finally got my palm tree!

Here's the bedroom. Hey Sue, does the bed set look familiar? She got it for us one year for Christmas. And the bed came from my mom. This way, we still have a bed with sheets set up for us when we come back to DFW to visit.

Here's my office/sunroom. This part worked out perfectly, and the fuzzy kids can nap on the couch right next to me as I study.
Another view of my office-see, I really do use it! Please take note of the awesome palm tree right outside my window. :) And yes, that's an exercise ball. I sit on it when I'm getting bored studying to help keep me awake. This is also the desk where I keep my stash of chocolate to bribe me to stay put.

Our tiny kitchen! Isn't it cute? For those of you that know me really well, this probably doesn't surprise you. What might surprise you is that we actually use it; I didn't use the cabinets and drawers for extra closet space. Also surprisingly, Ryan let me bring the knife set! He wasn't going to let me after my accident and ER visit in Austin, but he got tired of cooking and cutting meat with regular dinner knives.

Here's the living room-obviously. Couch + TV = Ryan happy.

This is the view when you walk in. It's cozy, huh? But it's where we call home until I find out where my rotations are next year. Then, we might just be on the move again. Hey, at least we've gotten rather efficient with this whole moving thing.

AS PROMISED

Here are some pics from Andrew and Kelly's rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and wedding day.
Me and Ryan at the wedding
One of the gorgeous centerpieces at the reception

Ryan being mean to Kelly as usual...she's such a sport for putting up with it! I promise, he didn't actually touch her hair. Those two fight like brother and sister!

Ryan and Andrew-aren't they handsome!

Fun lighting with their initials on the wall!

I like this picture because you can see how beautiful the back of Kelly's dress is.

Kelly with her Dad. Such a sweet picture!

And the lovely bride! Isn't she just gorgeous!

The girls after pictures before the ceremony started

Yes, one of the pinatas made it to the ceremony! Of course!

Me and Ryan at the rehearsal dinner

The girls at the rehearsal

And here are some of the boys...we're missing a few ushers, a groomsman, and the groom. Getting them all together and to pose nicely (no middle fingers, no funny faces, etc.) was like herding cats.

And the bride and groom with the officiant