I finally have a minute to update!

Hello everyone! It's been forever. Sorry about that. I moved down to Carbondale for PA school on June 1st and life has been BANANAS since then. Barely any time to eat or sleep, much less run or write blog posts. Oh, and I'm hardly ever on facebook anymore, so I feel a little out of touch. I do want to say CONGRATS to my friend Tanya and Rey on their newest addition - little Jasper. And also, CONGRATS to Zuri and Bobby on their very recent engagement! I can't wait to see you all dressed up and married. I love you guys!

I just finished my 2nd week of classes and I'm already learning soooo much. It's completely overwhelming. Every time I think of all the information being covered I spaz a bit. Anyway, that's how most of us in the program feel. My roommate is a rockstar, so that makes things a lot better. We're both overachievers, so it works out nicely. We've got a group that stay on campus late (till like midnight and sometimes later) on most night working on our research and stuff. Our program is based on a self-directed learning module, so there's lots of research to be done. Lectures are going pretty well too. We've got our first simulated patient this Monday and I'm pretty freaking nervous about it. It'll be done as a group, so that's nice. I can't believe we already have midterms in 9 days. Aaaahhhhhhh!

Anyways, things are good. So glad I'm part of this program, cause I'm pretty sure I would just be miserable in a didactic program. Sitting through lecture for 8 hours a day would be HORRIBLE! Anyway, this is my first weekend home and it's been awesome seeing my boys. I was pretty wound up on Friday and I just feel much better after getting home to Mattoon last night. I'll be heading back south on the train tomorrow, but that's okay. I can do this. I'll be back home for July 4th weekend. That's only 2 weeks away.

Here are some pics that I've taken since I got to Carbondale. Enjoy and I hope everyone is loving life!! :)

Me getting coated by Dr. Smith

SIUC PA class of 2012!

Me & my awesome roomie, Arielle!

Me & my Mr. :)

Blue Sky winery in Carbondale. This was the weekend before classes started.

Walker's Bluff winery just north of Carbondale. Those are fake sheep... I totally felt cheated when I realized they weren't moving at all.

Schnebly Winery

So, last Friday while mom worked, Justin & I were able to keep her car. Our plan was to wake up and head to the Everglades. Justin had never been before and he was excited to walk around and check out the wildlife. When we finally made it out of the house, we were greeted by an overcast sky. I had gone running earlier that morning (5 miles) and it had cleared up a bit since then. Our thought was that the clouds might just pass - you can never tell in Miami. As we reached the Homestead exit it began to rain. We promptly spotted a brand new Red Lobster. Justin was VERY excited (shaking my head), so we decided to stop for lunch and wait out the rain.

After lunch the sky still looked ominous so we decided to skip the Everglades. Instead, we opted to drive out to Schnebly Winery in the Redlands. I had visited a few years back when the place was tiny and was undergoing a ton of construction. I'd heard from several people that it was now a beautiful place to visit - and I already knew I enjoyed their wine. So, off we went. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere and Justin was pretty surprised to see all of the space dedicated to agriculture. :)

All of Schnebly's wines are made from tropical fruit - no grapes used at all! This makes for some pretty interesting flavors. We did a tasting a of 5 wines each. I'm generally not a fan of avocado, but a friend mentioned their avocado wine in a blog post, so I figured I'd give it a try. I really enjoyed the Sweet Avocado wine and ended up buying a bottle. We sat on the back patio and sipped. What a beautiful place! We walked around and took it all in. I was really surprised to see how much it had all changed. Justin said that he wants our future porch to look like their place. Wishful thinking... :)

If you're looking for a beautiful place to relax and enjoy the ambiance, check it out. http://schneblywinery.ning.com/

I really like the label. It was designed by one of the guys who works at the winery.

Later this same night we met up with friends and stuffed our faces at the Miami Dade County Youth Fair. Yum!!