Change- it's pretty constant, huh?

If you haven't already heard, I FINALLY found out that I passed my licensing exam. Yippee!! I was really starting to think I had failed. Such a great feeling to know that part of my life is completely done with now (i.e. school, studying and such). While that stressor is gone, I still have a few more up ahead.

We're moving to Florence. Like, next week. I took the job offer from my last clinical rotation at Carolinas hospital and Ethan will be going back to his job at Imperial. I have to make a trip up there on Thursday for pre-employment paperwork and will also be looking around for a house. I really hope I find something that day so we won't have to worry about where we'll be moving all of our junk. I start work on August 1, so we're in a bit of a time crunch!

I hate packing. I feel like we just got settled in here in Summerville and now we have to tear it all down and start all over again. I love this apartment complex and I will surely miss the pool. But I'm trying very hard to look at this in a positive way. I am excited that Ethan will have a few days off work to relax and okay, more importantly, help me with packing. ;) We hope we'll be able to do a few things around Charleston that we enjoy (while spending as little money as possible) before we're in Flo city and land locked. Yes. Land locked. I've had the beach readily available to me for the past 14 months, this isn't going to be an easy transition.

But once we're all settled in a new place and have fallen into a new routine with our jobs, then there will be more time to really kick the wedding planning into gear. I have my dress, my bridesmaids know their dresses, the colors are chosen annnnd that's about it. We have a general idea of venues, but nothing is planned. I know I have 8 months, but I feel like that's nothing.

Anyway, bottom line- Yay! I have a big girl job. Mixed feelings on the move. Wedding will be here before we know it!

Please tell me...

Tell me how in the world I have been in school studying this physical therapy mess for a year and then I turn around to study for my licensing exam and I feel like I've forgotten EVERYthing?? I better know my stuff because people's LIVES are in my hands. Say someone had a doppler study for a DVT this morning and the results aren't back yet? You better believe I'm not touching them till they're in the clear. It's dang scary! There is such a huge range of information and it's all so specific. For example-

What's rearfoot valgus? Oh, just an eversion of the calcaneus with a neutral subtalar joint. What is an anticholinergic prescribed for? Parkinson's disease, to decrease tremors. If you want to relieve symptoms of chronic trochanteric bursitis using ultrasound, what settings would you use? Probably a frequency of 1 MHz on continuous mode. A patient is exhibiting a Trendelenburg gait- what muscles are weak? The abductors- gluteus medius and minimus of course!

You get the picture.

Less than a week away from exam day. Pray for me please and thank you!

I Cooked!

Ethan is so good to me. He works until 8 and still comes home and makes us dinner. (While I have been doing what? Napping, laying out by the pool, watching t.v. and reading? You bet.) I decided that I should step up my game and cook him dinner for a change. So last night I made this meal:

I don't think it looks half bad! Now, I could lie to you and tell you that everything was just peachy and delicious and worked without a hitch, but that's not exactly the case.

The mashed potatoes were from a box, so I can't take credit for that. The green beans I make all the time, so I've basically gotten them down to perfection. (Think Outback- garlic salt and butter.) The mac & cheese I'd never made before, but holy moly. Delish. Ethan refused to even take a bite because he's a weirdo and hates the dish. I still don't understand how I'm marrying someone who can't stand such a southern classic. Just kidding.

Now let's talk about the fried chicken. I've never made fried chicken. I don't think I've even been around while someone was making fried chicken. But I had the guts to try it out anyway. So I soaked the chicken in milk for two hours. Seasoned the flour just right. Poured the oil in the pan and turned on the stove. At this point I was feeling pretty confident about it all. I put the first few pieces in- got popped by hot oil a few times. Took it out and placed it on a plate and thought "well this is just too easy". So I put the next few pieces in and the oil popped and fizzed a lot more furiously the second time. The batter was immediately turning black and I realized that apparently medium heat is too high. The smoke got thicker and the vent was not helping. The smoke alarm went off. Yeah. It did. I dropped the pan into the sink. (No, I didn't turn the water on. I AM smarter than that.) I opened the sliding door to the patio and it was still just as cloudy as ever. Luckily fanning the smoke detector a few times made it shut up. I walked back to the kitchen and just frowned. Of course, right then Ethan walks in the door and fans it open and closed a few times. I said "I tried". He said nothing, but with a smirk on his face, went to go get the fan out of the bedroom so help ventilate the place.

He was nice about it all and said that it looked really good and decided he still wanted to eat it. Too bad the middle was still a bit pink in some of the pieces. So after a couple of minutes in the microwave and a load of ketchup later, the chicken was deemed edible. I was still pouty, but E insisted that it was still a good meal. If only he would have eaten the mac & cheese... ;)

It will be a while before I gather the courage up to do THAT again.

Oh, hello there little blogsy...

Seeing as how it has been almost one year since I have written anything, I imagine I have a little bit of updating to do.

School is over and done with. I graduated May 6- Cum Laude, I am very proud to say. It was tough. My life was practically consumed with nothing but studying, writing papers, finishing projects, working diligently through clinicals (or as I like to call it, working for free. Experience, exshmerience. Just kidding.) and countless sleepless nights. It was so hard to find time to

spare for much else (not to mention energy), so my time was spent with my class- my pseudo family for the year.

Although it was the hardest thing I have ever done, I loved it and am so happy to say that I made it! Luckily I had some insane support from my family and boyfriend. Well, fiancée now. But more on that later :)

I was fortunate enough to have two job offers before I even graduated- one of which I accepted. It's a secret for now, for reasons I can't exactly explain without giving too much away. All I am waiting on now is for the dreaded boards exam date to arrive- June 29. Once I find out the results and get my license (cross your fingers and your toes) then I'll be able to spill my secret.

Back to the whole fiancée thing.

Ethan proposed on May 16! Which is kind of perfect because I have always said I would not even think about getting married until I graduated college. Well, I thought plenty about it before then but at least the ring didn't come 'till after! If you're completely out of the loop, he and I have been together for a year (next month) but have had secret crushes on each other for years. About 8 years in fact. It's crazy how things eventually fall into place. Wedding planning is overwhelming, but definitely fun. March will be here before we know it!

I Need a Vacation

Obviously I have been terrible at blogging and I feel like this is the time where I should be doing it the most. I've been in Charleston for a little over a month and in school for 3 weeks. Before I say anything else about school, let me just say I love it. I really do. I have never enjoyed learning as much as I do right now. I think it has to do with the fact that I know I will be utilizing all of this information in my career - as opposed to the mindless work I feel like I have been exposed to for... oh I don't know, the past 14 years of my educational experience. I get so excited when the things I'm learning come together and make sense! So yes, I am positive that I love what I am doing. With that being said, I have never felt so drained as I do right now. Let me describe a typical day.

My alarm goes off at the offensive hour of 6 AM. (The first two weeks of school, you better believe I got up right then too! Now, it's more like 6:30...) I'm out the door by 7:20 and get to school at 7:45 (if not earlier). Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I have lecture. That means I sit in class until 3 PM taking notes, with a 30 minute lunch break at 11:15 (I am 98.7% positive I will have developed carpal tunnel by next May). Tuesdays and Thursdays I have lab until 2:15. I might stay late if my teachers are able to stay as well so that we can study a little more with the equipment and models. Typically I get home at about 3:45. I take a some time to check email and just relax with a blank mind and then it's back to work. I study and do homework until it's time to go to sleep. And that ranges anywhere from 11 PM - 4:30 AM (Yes. I stayed up studying until 4:30 one morning. Not the most pleasant of days, I assure you.) . And then I'm back at it all over again.

But I really do love it! It's just SO much information and SO much work and SO much studying. I'm doing well though. So far. I have room for improvement, but I'm realizing what adjustments I need to make in my prioritizing and such. It's kind of crazy that I've been at it for 3 weeks already... luckily, the time goes by relatively fast. It will be May 2011 before I know it and I'll stop and say, whoa, where did that time go? (That's my hope anyway, ha.) Hopefully the same will ring true for the next 2 weeks. They are crazy busy, packed with all sorts of major things- exams, papers, lab practicals... But then I have a week off! Still, it will be full of assignments due that following week, but at least I will have a chance to sit, breathe and SLEEP.

That's all for now.. off to start a paper, finish a PowerPoint, and study for a quiz.

p.s. I know I am neglecting all of my relationships and I promise I'm sorry for that. Talk to you in a year?

Home Sweet Home

I'm officially in Charleston for good. Or at least for the next year. I love it here, always have. I know this is where I belong, it makes me happy and I feel at home. But it still hasn't quite hit me that I'm not just visiting. I guess that realization will smack me in the face as soon as school starts (aka- Monday. yikes!). So I'm living with my BFFL for the next month until my other friend's lease runs up and I move in with her. It'll be so much better once I get situated and am not living out of bags. But as for now, I'm living the life I wish I always had- waking up without an alarm, laying by the pool or going to the beach and finally getting ready for the day around 5pm. Why can't I get paid for that? I think I do it pretty well...

oh, p.s.

lemme give a shout out to all you people out west. I'm so sorry it's snowing. That's the grossest thing I've ever heard. Just another reason why the South is where it's at!! haha :)

I Love My Mom

Happy Mother's Day to the best mom ever! She is one of my closest friends and confidants and I am so lucky to have her in my life. Her humor is tops, she motivates and inspires me daily, and I appreciate her unwavering love and understanding of me. It has been so fun working so close to her (even though I live with her)- when I move, I will definitely miss stopping by when bored and going to lunch together when we can. Thanks so much, Mom, for all that you do and all the sacrifices you make for me. I love you!!