The opposite of an update

And so it begins, that descent into finals week, or in my case finals weeks. Spring break is merely the calm before the storm and much needed fun and unstructured study time to prepare for the final sprint. I want so badly to finish well. This last week before spring break is a hot mess, covered up with two major tests and a practical so I'm afraid that there isn't much to report in my little corner of the world, unless of course, you are interested in the carotid sheath and triangles of the neck and other various aspects of the head and neck in copious detail. I'm sure you would much rather look at pictures that I took on my honeymoon in Key West. I know I would.

Spring Has Sprung

And it shows.

There are random daffodils springing up in the corners of our front yard, and I love it. The sun is shining and the air is getting warmer every day. I'm sure that the burst of pollen is not far behind. I've already begun to be a little sneazy, and soon I'll see the world through watery eyes. In spite of that, spring is still my favorite season. I love having fresh flowers on my windowsill. 

This weekend was a full one, and a lot of fun despite my first final being on Wednesday. The next few days will be inundated with studying and lab work, and after this weekend, I feel rested and ready for it. Last week and this week seem to be fairly relaxed, although another storm of tests and practicals is always on the horizon and of course the infamous finals week with 11 finals that is looming less than 6 weeks away.

Saturday was my favorite day of this week. It was a beautiful day outside so we got up and did some yard work to start the day. I use the term "we" loosely. Korey did most of the work while I helped him some and made cookies to take to my good friend Destiny's house for a cookout to celebrate her husband Jon's birthday. It was fun to meet some of their friends from home and some of Jon's family. His official birthday is today and although I'm sure he doesn't read this, happy 24th birthday, Jon! 

We left Destiny and Jon's house around 5 and headed home to get Korey some medicine for his sinus'. He's had a pestering sinus infection and all the yard work from the morning had caught up with him. Once he got some medicine in him and started to feel better, he told me that he had read about a hot air balloon glow in the Chronicle and wanted to see if we could find it since the article didn't say exactly where it was. Our friends Jimmy and Wendy joined us and we went on a scavenger hunt for hot air balloons. It took some driving around but Korey finally spotted the top of a hot air balloon along the tree line. 

We could have taken a tethered ride for a small fee, but we were content just to stand in front of them and watch other people go up and down. 

And when the sun set, the balloons started to glow.

It was amazing.

Savannah: A day in Georgia's first city

Finally, a break in the clouds of tests and practicals and studying, so Korey and I took our single day of partly cloudy sunshine and took a day trip to Savannah. Savannah is very special to us because that is where we got engaged. Technically the actual engagement happened on Tybee Island and of course there is not a single picture of it, which is fine by me since I was a complete lobster after about 30 minutes of sunshine and was not photographable anyway.

First stop was Uncle Bubba's for some lunch. Paula Dean's brother is in fact "uncle bubba" himself, so of course everything there is awesome. Korey loves their parmesan oysters and I love their fried pickles.

The view out back is pretty sweet too.

After lunch, we headed to Fort Pulaski. We had been to the fort before, but that was before we got our National Park Passports, and we couldn't get this close to a stamp and not have it stamped in its place. Besides, forts are cool.

And it was a beautiful drive out there. 

Can you imagine what it must have been like to be in the fort when it was attacked? Even more amazing to me is the range of the cannons that were attacking the fort from a ship on the river, because when you turn around in the direction of the river, this is what you see. 

We didn't really have a plan for the rest of the day so we tooled around the town and people watched. Wow there were a lot of people dressed up for St. Patrick's Day. 

I love old things. Old forts. Old junk. Old people. You name it and keep it for a hundred years and I'll love it. Just try me. Korey loves old stuff too so, we found a few antique shops all nestled together and went in and looked around.

The first one we went into was dedicated to furniture in a way that can only be described in a picture...and perhaps the caption, "don't forget to look at the chairs hanging down from the ceiling above the caution signs."

It even had a scary elevator shaft and elevator pulley system. There were 2 or 3 more antique stores with equally old stuff in them, but without all of the creepy chairs in the ceiling.

One nice antique store man even let me step precariously onto his balcony and take a picture. 

Then we headed down to River street where the fountains are already running green for St. Patty. I've heard that on St. Patty's Day they turn the river water green as well. 

The sun was setting so we headed off to eat dinner at the Pirates' House. 

As we were walking by this building (The Custom House) a guy looked up at me and then the building and yelled, "Yay! Go Congress!" It made me laugh at first, and then I was sad... What if he really thinks this is where congress meets? If only he had stopped to read the sign that was right next to him or the huge letters on the building that say, "Custom House". It would have also helped if he already knew where congress met, because he had learned it in a class. I'm not being snobby, people. He was old enough to know better. 

The Pirates' House is a part of one of the oldest buildings in Savannah and is supposed to be haunted by several ghosts. We didn't experience anything untoward during our dinner. The food was great and there was a free tour led by an irish pirate guide who took us around and told us interesting facts and showed us the tunnel where people supposedly were shanghaied. 

While we were eating dinner and touring with pirates, night fell on Savannah. 

It was beautiful. I did my best to capture it with my camera sans tripod.

and then it started to rain, so we packed up and headed home.

Heart open, mouth closed

So the stressful part of this week is over and in reflection, it has been a tough week. I find myself a little disheartened about things I've said and done and my attitude in general.

When I play back so many moments in my head I realize that I have sounded bitter and crass and disgruntled in general. I apologize if you have had to witness any of the aforementioned sins. It is not fun to be around a person who seems unhappy all the time. In my defense, I have been severely lacking in sleep, exercise, and quality time with Korey and alone time. It is so much harder to stay positive, to stay patient, and to control my tongue when I am under stress, but that is no excuse. I came across a Bible verse from James that says that if a person thinks that he is religious but can't control his tongue, he is fooling himself. That person's religion is worthless. It really convicted me. I have not been controlling my tongue and I don't want my religion to be worthless, so I guess I had better start. I hope everyone that reads this knows that I am not a perfect person by any means. I am not always kind. I am not always loving, or fun to be around, or easy going. In fact, I am pretty sure my loving husband would probably describe me as the complete opposite of easy going, which in all honesty is probably why I was drawn to dentistry. I am a round character, not a flat one. I have tragic flaws. I struggle to try to be like Christ and sometimes I struggle because I'm not trying to be like Christ at all. Ultimately, I am thankful for grace and mercy and forgiveness, but I hope and plan to do better and to be better. I want to speak less and listen more, to do more and watch less, to be joyful in difficult times rather than bitter.

Happy Birthday to me!

I did it.

and it really did help. I think it just helps relieve some of the pressure to remind myself why I came here in the first place. It's not about making a certain grade. It's about learning information that will help me take care of patients. It's not about competition and being better or smarter than the people in my class. It's about doing the very best that I can regardless of how well everyone else does and making friends so that I can have people to collaborate with on difficult cases and to have people to share my life with who will understand the pressures and stresses of this profession. It's not about having fun all the time while I'm here. It's about being a living sacrifice so that I can learn the skills I need to help other people. Of course, I can't forget my best friend. I can't forget about Korey. It can't always be about my life and my school and my needs. I need balance in my life.

So last week wasn't very balanced. It was mostly work and very little play...and very little sleep...and very little patience. It happens. It was just one of those weeks and I hate that it was. Last weekend was swallowed up by studying except for a short break for a birthday cookout that Korey planned for me.  The cookout was so much fun and a much needed study break. Two of our friends from home, Adam and Erika, came to the cookout and stayed the night with us, so it was even more special because I got to spend some time with them. 

Monday was my actual birthday (I turned 27 in case anyone was wondering) and about 10 hours of it was either spent studying or taking a test. I won't say that I wasn't disappointed that I didn't really get to relax more on my birthday, but as I scroll back up, I realize that the "to celebrate my birthday" sign is most certainly missing. I will say that after those 10 very difficult and trying hours were over, I came home to a very loving man and a very special birthday present. Korey had bought me the camera of my dreams. Overall it was a very blessed birthday and I am so thankful for everyone who wished me happiness and loved on me. I am a very lucky girl, and it was a tough week for everyone, so the thoughtfulness meant even more to me. We all had so many other things to do.  

 The camera Korey bought me was the Nikon D90, and it came with a kit 35-105mm zoom lens. I love it. I wish it could take pictures of itself. Such a sweet surprise. So friday, after the next test day of doom was over, and the sun came out and started shining down on me,  I was tempted to go home and take a nap. Instead, I forced myself to get out into the sunshine and I'm so glad I did! Korey took me to the Rapids Pavillion to take pictures of the canal and river with my new camera and then we went to the fresh market and bought bruschetta and random sodas and dessert. 

 

I love this man.

Even when he refuses to let me take his picture.

This sign cracks me up.

After that first sign, who would even THINK of swimming?

Lisa, I hope someone still loves you.

Michelle and Edgar, I hope you made it past '98.

Claire, I'm glad you weren't here anymore. I would have felt awkward asking you to move so I could take this picture. 

Be strong!
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;
We have hard work to do and loads to lift;
Shun not the struggle, face it, ’tis God’s gift.

Be strong!

Say not the days are evil—who’s to blame?
And fold the hands and acquiesce—O shame!
Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God’s Name.

Be strong!

It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day, how long;
Faint not, fight on! Tomorrow comes the song.
Be strong!

And on that note, it's time to get back to studying. I've got a huge midterm and a practical this week. 26 days until Spring Break.