Unit 2 Completed!!

Hello friends!!

It's been a while, but I've got good news. I've successfully completed Unit 2 of phase I of PA school! What a relief. Only 3 more units in phase I. It feels like forever, but it's really just 8 more months on campus in Carbondale. Thank the good lord!

Testing ended on Wednesday afternoon (3 long days of testing). We celebrated a birthday and the end of finals that night, and then partook of some retail therapy all day Thursday, before heading home for a week off. I am currently reading a book that has NOTHING to do with school and also watching all kinds of movies. Life is wonderful again. :) Here are some pics of Wednesday night's fun.

Fujiyama Japanese Steak House in Carbondale. Our grill guy rocked. He threw chicken at me and I caught it in my mouth (on the second try!)

Can you see the Mickey in my rice? I'm corny. I know. It must be really obvious, cause the cook definitely noticed!

Pretty PA ladies :)

Drunken roomies. This was at the Blue Martin - a really cute martini bar in Carbondale. Loved this place. Really tasty drinks.

After this we went next door to the gay bar named Traz (I think this is the name) and danced like crazy people until after 1am. It was pretty fantastic. There was even karaoke!

Shenanigans

Last weekend was my friend Amanda's 27th bday and we finally had an opportunity to take a break from studying and CELEBRATE. And boy, did we! Justin came down to visit so that made the weekend even more spectacular. Enjoy some pics. :)

Amanda (the birthday girl!!) and I. Hope you had a great birthday, lady!!

Kari, Emily, Natalie

Brie, Kassie, Amanda, and I

The old married couples :) Us with Homer & Kassie

So happy to see my love.

I LOVE this face. Best roomie ever. seriously.

Can you tell we're a little intoxicated?!?!

Not sure what we were singing, but I'm sure it was glorious. It always is.

This just makes me laugh... :)

Seriously though. Not sure if I've mentioned how lucky I am to have such a fantastic roommate, so I'll do it now. Arielle keeps me sane. I cry (out of frustration with school) about once a week, but she makes me laugh it off. She always knows when I need a kick in the ass, and I really appreciate it. We've already become great friends, and I'm just really thankful. Arielle, you ROCK! Love you!

p.s. Am I the only person who knows what a mongoose is?!?! (this one's for you, Arielle!)

Mongooses live in southern Asia, Africa, and southern Europe, as well as some Caribbean and Hawaiian islands, where they are an introduced species. There are more than thirty species, ranging from 1–4 feet in length.The mongoose has a similar appearance to the weasel, despite not being closely related. Their long sleek bodies and short fur fit them for similar ecological niches. They live in similar climates and both burrow underground. Like weasels, mongooses have short legs and tails.

Fourth of July Weekend

I had a FANTASTIC Fourth of July weekend! It was great to be home with my boys and even better to have a nice, loooong weekend. I was able to get some school work done and had some fun too.

On Friday night we met up for dinner with some of Justin's work buddies. Got to hear lots of funny stories. On Saturday I slept in, which was glorious in and of itself! Then we went for a walk with Lucien, saw ECLIPSE, I did some school work, then we BBQ-ed with friends, chatted with my neighbor, made some delicious brownies, and did more school work till late. On Sunday I slept in again (happy sigh), did school work, rescued my friend's little boy from a pair of handcuffs and got to chit-chat and catch up. :) Then we BBQ-ed with Amie Jo and her awesome family! I love hanging with them - it's like being surrounded by my own crazy family :) Then more hanging out with friends! On Monday morning I actually RAN! It was my first run in a little more than 2 weeks and boy, am I sore! I took Lucien with me and he was dying after half a mile. We went 2.2 miles.

After that we loaded Lucien in the car and went out to Lake Mattoon to hang out with some running buddies - Jaymie and Randy!!! It was soooo great to see them. There was another black lab running around and fetching sticks out of the water. Lucien is really afraid of water - has NEVER liked it at all. After about an hour of coaxing, we finally got him to walk into the lake with us. It was little by little, but after a while he was actually in chest-deep! I was so proud of him. He would have never even wanted to get in if it wasn't for the other lab (Charlie) making it look like so much fun. I had my camera and was taking pictures. Sure enough, as I was trying to hand it off to Justin (to avoid dropping it), I dropped it right into the lake. BOO. So, Jill took these pics with her camera phone. They'll have to do for now. Hopefully my camera will work once it dries out. :)

me, Randy, Justin, and Lucien

After this, Jaymie and Randy took us on a tour of lake in their boat. It was a gorgeous day and I could not think of a better way to spend it than with friends on the lake. Thanks to everyone who made this weekend so much fun!!

A huge hug and kiss to my incredible Justin. Thank you so much for getting the house ready for me and for being so incredibly supportive and encouraging while I'm on this crazy journey. I love you more than you know.

Home, sweet home!!

Yay! for loooooong weekends. Arielle and I rode the train home last night and it was pretty interesting. Lots of crazies on a completely packed ride. We used the time to work on school stuff... are you at all surprised by this?!?! :)

Arielle and I on the Hogwarts Express to Effingham - home of the...?!?!?!

I slept in with my boys this morning and it was GLORIOUS! I've got some work to do this weekend, but I'm definitely looking forward to doing some normal people stuff like watching Eclipse (I can't wait to see it!), hitting the pool, and enjoying some BBQs. Very excited.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you all the GREAT news: I had midterms this Monday. I found out Thursday that I passed all of my exams!!! :) WOOOHOOOO. It was totally intense and I'm so glad they went well. Unit one finals are in just 4 weeks. Crazy.

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy all of this sunshine. Have a GREAT day and a FANTASTIC July 4th!!!

Leaky Faucet

My nose feels like a leaky faucet. I've got a head cold that is being persistent. Tomorrow is my 27th birthday and I was hoping to feel better by then, but it's looking like a no go. Oh well, what can you do?

It's been a while since I posted. I was out of town in Carbondale, IL last week from Thursday to Sunday. I spent some time with some of the lovely ladies who will be my classmates for the next two years of PA school. We did some running around and got lots of school stuff accomplished. Got my school ID, turned in immunization records, financial aid forms, turned in more health records, etc. Then we played for the rest of the weekend. We went to a "surprise" party. (For those of you who don't know, this is just like a Passion party), hit a Cardinals game in St. Louis (where we were privileged enough to see a grand slam!), went to a class picnic and just hung out. It was a great weekend. I have a feeling I'm going to make some wonderful friendships in the next two years.

Anyway, I've spent most of the last few days on the couch covered in blankets, so I haven't uploaded my pictures yet. But when I do, I'll be sure to post them. :) I hope everyone is having a GREAT week. I'm off to run 7 miles - hopefully my nose doesn't drip the whole time. Ugh.

P.S. This may sound super dorky, but I ordered my stethoscope online yesterday!!! It was so exciting. And for my birthday, my mom sent my white coat and my sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff)! I feel like it's all starting to come together. :)