Marion, IN

I know... Can you believe it? I am in this cute little town, living in a hospital room and eating cafeteria food for the next six weeks! I am tired, on call every 3rd day, a little lonely, but absolutely LOVING the surgeries. I have gotten to assist in a number of surgeries and am finding a new found love and appreciation for ENT/plastic surgery. It's really pretty amazing the things you can do with the skin and body. Definitely grateful I live here in the hospital because I don't have to commute each day and can instead spend my saved time either in surgery or studying.... or sleeping. Those seem to be my three options. I have managed to get a nice run in every day so far, though, right along a pretty river with all the colorful trees. Today might be a walking day since I am pretty pooped. I will be able to go home for Thanksgiving day, which is nice, and then the next weekend I come home! And that will be my half-way mark through all my rotations!!! Crazy to think that's it! I feel like it's flying right by, but each day seems to move so slowly. Thankfully surgery is all hands-on for the most part, and I have excellent teachers who really seem to enjoy explaining what they are doing. I am sure Alan is Loving the hotel bed he gets to stretch out in while I am gone, meanwhile I have yet to get a good night's rest in this midget sized hospital bed (yes, literally a hospital bed...) and if I don't get some good sleep tonight, I may just die.... Dramatic?! I will post some pics from the last couple months, and maybe I will be able to sneak a shot or two of myself while I'm here, and you can just fantasize about how hot I am in my mask and gown.... hahah. MIss you!!!

Our friends, Kyle and Aubrey came for a visit. We hit up all the sites, and even went to the cutest pumpkin patch/hayride/pig races/petting zoo. Sooo fun. And little Brock was the talk of the town with his adorable pumpkin outfit and hat!

I know... He is too cute. I took hundreds of pics of their cute little family. I will have to post some of those later.

Alan fell off the Sears Tower/Willis Tower. I will miss him so.

Project House

I was inspired in the last few weeks with desires to fix up our little home and make it feel more organized and spacious. We had been struggling to decide whether or not to move into an actual 3 br house that seemed so perfect for us and was just a little bit more expensive than our 1 and 1/2 bedroom apt now. For some reason, it just didn't feel right, and we feel good about deciding not to do it. HOWever -- it left me antsy for more space and more of a 'home' feel to our apartment, and I set to work. I am tackling one room at a time, and first off was our room. I only took pics of the closet, and it may not look like much, but trust me--It feels like a HUGE improvement.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I built the cubbies and drawers all by myself. Purses hang on a hook I built onto the drawer side. The drawers have all accessories ie, belts, hats, gloves, and scarves....

Moved all my coats from the front coat closet and then I even added a second rack lower than the top for extra hanging space!

Cutely lined baskets for all sweatshirts, etc and a shoe rack below the shirts. I was going to put a pant rack there, but found those hangers that let you hang like 6 pairs at once instead. Much cheaper.

Last move is to go through all the hundreds of t-shirts Alan owns and get rid of all the ones he never wears. I swear the boy collects t-shirts, yet insists on wearing his favorite 4....

I am feeling empowered. I even started on the closet in our den, and hung curtains in the rooms, as well as re-did some of our kitchen. I have been trying to make the most of my free time to do this all. ANyhow--as a reward, look what my sugar bought me!:

AAAAh!!! I have literally wanted my red kitchenaid mixer since I was 16 yrs old and we could not have gotten a better deal on this Ever! I am in love with it.... the only thing is I am thinking I would prefer the 5 qt Artisan with the tilt head rather than this 6 qt with a lift. It seems like the lift would be a little more of a pain when there is lots of dough in it--having to remove the attachment before getting the bowl out. Suggestions? Obviously I am in love one way or another--I think it comes down to preference. But I don't know what I prefer. We do have some time for me to decide, but I am leaning towards the tilt. Can you believe how spoiled I am?! Now what am I going to start dreaming for?

Sunday Funday

Alan was just down in Houston Sun -Wed for his dad's wedding, got back and left again on Saturday morning for a trip with the youth to Kirtland, OH.... I have been feeling a little bit like a single gal again...Kinda fun! Well, I have been getting lots done, including re-inventing our closet and study, and listening to lots and lots of Christmas music while he isn't hear to scold me:) I was just looking through some pics and decided to play rewind for just a bit and post some old pics.... They're random, but fun.

found the old nintendo!

Cute Boys... I can't believe how big Jacob is now!

The night we got engaged...

Before we both got so old!

These were from a Polynesian night the ward put on. The EQ danced and did an awesome job. It was really pretty entertaining.

Pull Me There

Nothing really new going on, but I thought I would post a picture of an incredible statue I found in the city that pretty much sums up my feelings at the end of this rotation:

I am the little girl at the end....

Ahhh...I wonder what it will be like when I graduate, pass boards, and finally get to be back in charge of my own life.... Or does that really ever happen? hmmm...

Busy Busy

It's been a pretty rough rotation for me, and I am so tired most days that I feel like I could collapse. The rotation site itself is over an hour drive one way for me, and don't worry, I only work 6 days a week! Saturdays is an hour earlier than normal, so I have to get up extra early those days. That being said, Alan and I don't see too much of each other, so one morning I thought I would take a picture of myself and lay it down where I usually sleep for him to wake up to.... This is what happened:

My thought now is: Who wouldn't want to wake up to THAT each morning?! hahaha--Needless to say, I did Not print that out for him. Wouldn't want to scare him first thing.:)

Other than that, I finally finished my project from a year and a half ago....Thought you'd like to see the final creation. It is now hanging on the wall in

stead of sitting on the floor. Be proud of me. It only took Forever! But these days, it's a miracle I get anything done at all!

Camping, Carnivals, and Cake

I won't bore you with too many details, but the 2nd year of PA school is probably even harder than the 1st! However, It is definitely a LOT more enjoyable. I am in my second rotation, and have not really had much chance to keep up with blogging since it is summer, and I am trying to enjoy as much of it as I can... Here's what we've been up to:

Downtown Downers Grove had an awesome Carnival. We gave ourselves a little budget and then Went Wild! We rode all the fun rides and met up with some friends for a little funnel cake and ice cream. So much fun!

ALAN'S BIRTHDAY BASH!

My pride and joy creation. We had a "quarter century" party... Get it?

7/11 Slushies and Cake=Awesome Sugar High...

CAMPING FOR THE FOURTH:

We went camping this year during probably the hottest weekend all summer.... It was awful and so very fun at the same time. Because of the heat, Arielle definitely had the greatest idea ever bringing the waterguns. We had a blast!

I love his expressions. Can you believe he isn't even a year old in this picture and probably ate more than any of us?!

I love this little girl so much!

Birthday Bash

Alan Really outdid himself this year for my birthday. We had soo much fun! He took me on a party cruise ship from Navy Pier, and we enjoyed some dinner and dancing, and then watched an absolutely gorgeous fireworks show from out on the lake. It was a blast! I've never seen such an incredible show. Even DisneyWorld couldn't compare! The deal came with two drink tickets each, and then you had to pay for any additional drinks after that. Well, Alan went and asked for a Shirley Temple and because the guy found that so hilarious, we had endless drinks comin' at us all night! All the virgin drinks we could handle... It was a little humorous to watch everyone else drinking away. They probably thought either we could handle our liquor well, or we were really boring drunks. Who knew?!:) We had a blast! I am in love with this city and I really could stay here forever! At least that's how I feel on a carefree Saturday strolling down along the river in perfect 70 degree weather!

SURPRISE PARTAY!!!!!

Next year, when we move into the city, we're gonna go kayaking every Saturday morning! Just like our new friends...

Just before the fireworks around 10pm...

I guess we can just be grateful that the guy who took our picture even got our faces in it!

2 years married, and Loving Every Minute!

Good Morning Greaseball! Alan decorated our front room with balloons and streamers on Monday morning, my Real birthday and first day back at school...When I woke up and walked out, I walked right into a giant balloon that said "Congrats!"

Super good friend, Camille came and celebrated my birthday with us at the oh so fabulous Red Lobster. What can I say? I'm a simple gal with simple needs:)

I sure lucked out with this one. He is so very good to me, and I had the greatest birthday Ever! Even if I am getting old. ... er.