While the cat's away........

......the husband will revert to his bachelor ways.

Once upon a time this was our beautiful master bedroom.

In his defense he has had one of the busiest semesters anyone can imagine, or maybe you can't imagine how busy he was. I am just glad he survived, and now he can start cleaning and laundering and folding.

Day 1 -- not Nicaragua

To make it short (b/c I am tired and it has been a VERY long day).....

Left STL 10:55, scheduled to land in Atlanta at 1:45.

30 min delay leaving STL, approached ATL and there was a big storm so we circled around waiting. We still were not allowed to land and our plane didn't have enough fuel to keep circling while waiting to land. This plane only had 3 seats per row and at 5'6 I was close to hitting my head on the ceiling.

Landed in Chattanooga, TN to get fuel. Stayed on the tarmac for nearly 1.5 hours waiting to get approval to land in ATL. They told us it looked like we weren't going to get approval anytime soon and then all of the sudden there was a break in the storm so we took off for ATL.

My connecting flight was to leave ATL at 3pm, stop in Miami (where the rest of the group was at) and the same plane would continue onto Nicaragua. I landed in ATL at about 5:15.....my 3:00 flight was delayed til 7pm. However, they decided to get a new plane from Miami to Nicaragua and not wait for my flight from ATL to arrive. Now I am booked on the 11:05am flight to Nicaragua tomorrow morning. The previously 3pm, now 7:00 flight from ATL didn't board until 8 and didn't take off until 8:30.

During my wait in ATL Brian got me a motel close to the airport in Miami. I went to go get my luggage and realized it was tagged for Nicaragua so I wouldn't be getting it in Miami. So with my backpack (which luckily I had packed w/ an extra outfit but no bathroom things) I caught the La Quinta shuttle. And here I am sitting in my dbl bed at the La Quinta listening to a roaring plane take off about every 30 min.....its pretty loud. But at least they have FREE Wifi and some sort of breakfast in the morning.

Here's to a better tomorrow, hopefully getting to Nicaragua in one flight and my luggage meeting me there!! Fingers crossed!

Want To Help??

A fundraising campaign has been initiated for our Nicaragua trip. If you want help, here is the link.

Giving the Gift of Sight - Nicaragua

I will be going to Nicaragua on a Gift of Sight Trip from Sept 21-Oct 3rd. Memebers of the team have created a blog for out trip. If you would like to follow our trip you can visit the blog.

Want to feel better about yourself?

You think your relatives are embarrassing......

http://peopleofwalmart.com/

Visiting St. Louis

It is a little weird to be a visitor in my own home, but that's what happened this weekend. Since I have been doing my externships in KC I have only been home to St. Louis 3 weekends this summer. This weekend Gary & Jayne also came to St. Louis so I hitched a ride with them. We got there Friday night, said our hellos, and went to bed soon after.

Brian had some activities planned for us on Saturday so we woke up early (well, early for a weekend) and headed to the Botanical Gardens. The following are some pictures from our visit.

Looking sweet and innocent

Pretty flower

Rainforest flower

Strangers reunited

Gary & Jayne

After the Botanical Garden we went and had lunch at Blueberry Hill in the Loop. Brian made dinner reservations for us a a new restaurant Eleven Eleven in south St. Louis so after some much needed afternoon naps we headed back out for dinner. For dessert we went to a Chocolate Bar. Between our group we tried 3 different flavored chocolate martinis (macaroon, chocolate and nutty--they were pretty good but a little heavy on the vodka) and had some brownie and ice cream dessert.

Sunday we grilled hamburgers for lunch before departing westward. Unfortunately, we had to leave Brian to hold down the fort and of course to resume his studying.

The weather could not have been better for us. It was in the 70s and sunny and absolutely wonderful. We ate outside for every single meal and it was perfect. A nice relaxing weekend.....I am just sad it is over already!

Guess I'm Getting Old

On Thursdays, I, along with some good family and friends from VF, (sister Makenzie, sister-in-law Laura, Amber, Sarah and Kate) have been playing in a volleyball league in Lawrence. It's a competitive league so the serves and spikes both come pretty hard. This last Thursday I was having a rough night; i.e. I sucked really bad. It seemed as though the serves were extra hard that night too (no excuse for crappy passing, but maybe for the excessive bruising). I was shanking passes (or "bumps") left and right and became the number one target for the opposing servers. We played a double header so I got to suck it up for two consecutive matches.

I have been playing volleyball since the 4th grade and I have NEVER had bruises like these!! This pic was taken on Saturday evening. They started out black and blue on Friday, but after playing a sand tournament on Saturday they got kind of reddish-brown. I think they were actually darker in person than what this picture shows and much more noticeable--you can't miss them if you try.

So why did I bruise like this this time and never before? The consensus seems to be because I am getting old. I was thinking maybe a vitamin deficiency or something, but when I got to work and saw my first patient (a nurse) and was explaining my awful looking arms and how I have never bruised like this before she kindly suggested it's because I am getting older. Some co-workers echoed this same theory. Yippee :( I am still holding out for some nutritional cause.

Rotation #2

I just started my 2nd rotation and am again at a private group practice. I am now at Eye Associates with locations in Overland Park (which is where I am going), Shawnee, Olathe and Leawood. They have six doctors that rotate between the four offices. Day 1 I started by watching a few exams, but was seeing patients on my own (just checking in at the end with the doctor) the first day. I really enjoy being able to work with so many different doctors and see all the different ways to practice.

In the books...

Day 1 at my first externship (at Advanced Eyecare Blue Springs/Raytown) is in the books.  Everything went just fine--whew!!!  They told me it was a slower than typical day, but that allowed us a lot more time to review the office operations.  I watched Dr. Wilson do the first few exams and in the afternoon I had a more active role.  These real life exams are quite different (and much quicker) than the 2 hour torture fest we put our patients through at the school.  

On to day two....

We're Separated (not in marriage, just living arrangements temporarily)

I have moved to Olathe and Brian is still in St. Louis.  My lovely sister Makenzie is allowing me to live with her,in her apartment in Olathe, while I am on my rotations in Kansas City.  I have 3 different rotations in Kansas City from May through December.  I start my first one on Monday at 8:00am in Blue Springs (which is not close to Olathe, but that's the price I'll pay for free housing).

Brian will remain in St. Louis continuing to work full time and taking classes 2 to 3 nights a week for his MBA.  

Redbox Rocks!

I....WE LOVE REDBOX!!

$1.00 per movie!  Online reservations! AWESOME!

Yes, we still have Netflix, but only because I am trying to finish the "Sex and the City" series.  Once I am done with that we will be 100% Redbox.   If we had a new Tivo and could use the instant watch feature then Netflix would be more appealing, but we don't....so redbox wins!

Summer Days

I am very excited for warm weather and sunny days as we approach the summer.  I am tired of all the clouds, cold temps and crazy winds.

BUT there is one thing about summer I HATE more than anything and I swear they come earlier and earlier....I mean we have not been able to put together two consecutive warm sunny days.....I haven't even worn shorts yet......I haven't been able to sit out in the sun reading a magazine while catching some rays......can't I just enjoy some warm weather first??.......I HATE JUNE BUGS!!!   

When the sun goes down it is time for me to go indoors because I HATE those nasty little things! 

It is May 4th, cut me some slack!

Virginia Wedding

Our high school friend, Travis Boyd, got married last weekend in Virginia-where his new bride, Karen, is from.   Travis lived in Harrisonburg, VA while working as an accountant at the Cargill plant and met Karen during that time.  They now live in Wichita, Travis still works for Cargill. 

 

We left early Friday morning, had a layover in Atlanta and flew into Richmond, VA.  Harrisonburg is about an hour and a half drive from Richmond.  We rented a car (brand new Nissan Maxima-it was sweet) and drove to Harrisonburg and arrived just in time to change and get to the rehearsal dinner. 

Saturday morning the boys went out to shoot guns and ride four wheelers.  Brian had a blast, despite rolling a four wheeler while trying to do doughnuts on an incline and subsequently rolling or smashing his ankle (someone has been watching too much Nitro Circus on MTV).   I know NOTHING about guns (and that is OK with me!), but the boys sure were excited about shooting some of these things--I mean REALLY excited!

I think they paid $10 to shoot that thing!

Brian got to bring home the casing for show and tell.

I am not sure if he was more excited about the guns or our rental car....

Saturday afternoon we went to the wedding; Brian was a groomsman (the only other VF groomsman was Travis' brother).   Some other VFHS 2002 classmates made the trip to attending the wedding: Jordan (& fiance Sarah), Anton (& girlfriend Blaine), Sarah and Travis' cousin Dianna & husband who are expecting their first child in September (though you could not even tell she was pregnant despite being 5 months along...she's as tiny as ever).

Sunday we drove back to Richmond, got on a plane to Atlanta, had a layover in Atlanta and then flew back to STL and we were home at 11:15pm.  I am pretty sure we were in airports and on airplanes longer than we were actually in Virgina.  I really wish we could have stayed longer and made a mini-vacation out of it, but we both had school and work to get back to on Monday.

Congratulations Travis & Karen!!  

I PASSED!!

Scores from Boards Part 1 were posted today........I PASSED!!!  

What a relief!

Motivation Lost

Second semester 3rd year is ridiculous.....busy work, busy work, busy work.  I am not a fan of busy work to start off with, but now that I have lost ALL motivation it's even worse.  I just can't bring myself to write these endless papers and assignments.  It's not so much that the assignments have no value, but we really aren't getting a lot of clinical education and it's getting really old.  Luckily, only one month left, but that's one a month more than what I have the motivation for!

Its not only school.....its housework, eating well, exercising--all have been lost in the last few weeks.  Hopefully a few consecutive days of nice sunny spring weather can inspire me to get back on track! (Not sunny days interrupted by SNOW!)

D-O-N-E

14 hours and 500 questions later.....I am done with Boards (well for now anyway, we'll see about the score later).    Thank you all so much for the encouraging words and support!!  It was really uplifting whenever I started to stress.

The test was 2 days long, each day had 2 sessions with 125 multiple choice questions each and a 3.5 hour time limit.  It didn't take the whole time, I was usually out by 2 or 2.5 hours.  

The test consisted of just about everything we have learned in the last 2.5 years and maybe some stuff from undergrad.  Topics covered included: Geometric Optics, Physical Optics, Ocular Optics, Visual Perception, Systemic Physiology, Systemic Pharmacology, Ocular Pharmacology, Ocular Anatomy & Physiology, Ocular Motility, Binocular Vision, Biochemistry, Histology, Immunology.....sounds like fun huh?

The test was administered at every optometry school in the country at the same time.  It may be up to 6 weeks before we receive our results.  They go through the test and statistically analyze the questions and ultimately throw some of them out, and because of this we don't know exactly how many we have to get right to pass.   Should someone not pass....retake is in August and as many times after that until you pass (at $650 per try).

The test is difficult, it has been said you could study for two years straight and still not be totally prepared.  I am very glad it is done and over, but when I walked out after that last session I didn't feel as good as I thought I would.  I have no idea if I passed-NONE.  When the scores come out I don't know that I will be shocked one way or the other.  I am not alone in this, most everyone in the class has said the same thing....we have no idea if we passed.  In talking to some upperclassman who previously took the test they all said they had the same feeling when they finished and ultimately 90-something percent of them passed.    

Just to clear something up, this is my first of three National Boards.   I have to take Part 2 in December and Part 3 next May (2010).  Part 1 is considered the most difficult and if someone is going to struggle (and possibly not pass) with one of the parts it is Part 1.  To become and OD one must pass all 3 parts of the National Board, graduate from Optometry school, and get licensure in the state you plan to practice.  Kansas has its own State Board Exam which I will take after I graduate in July 2010.  Results for the state board exam are typically released in August, so the absolute earliest I could be actually practicing is August 2010.

Below is another picture of my beautiful flowers, this was the day I finished boards just before I went out with my classmates to celebrate!  (see my sunburn I got from sitting outside studying on March 16th)

What I'm gonna do when boards are over....

1. DRINK....our whole class is going out to celebrate (actually the whole Optometry school is invited) 

2. Catch up on my Tivo shows

3. Clean the house...this place has been neglected for quite sometime

4. March Madness....cheer on the Hawks (and against Mizzou and Duke)

5. SHOPPING....it has been SOOO long since I have been shopping--for anything.  Gap, JCPenney, Old Navy, Kohls.....they all kept sending me emails, ads, coupons and I had to say NO-until NOW!

6. Visit the Family!!....Relax at home, see the fam, remind Aubrey I am Whitney-not Makenzie, watch some Bball, and just hang out!

Love You Mom!

The BEAUTIFUL "good luck on Boards" flowers I received from Mom and Dad.  May not help me pass, but sure does make me smile every time I see them.  They make the house smelll good too.

Thank You!!

Frustrated

National Boards are just around the corner (Tuesday 17th & Wednesday 18th), and I have been studying for days on end.  As a result I, apparently, have negated parts of my brain - those parts typically used for day-to-day functions- in order to make room for boards information.  I commonly refer to this as "boards brain" (you know, like "pregnancy brain").  One such example occurred sometime while at school studying last week....

Yesterday I went to grab my ipod, however, it wasn't in its case in my purse as usual.  So I looked in my car, in my bookbag, living room, etc and it was nowhere to be found.  So I traced my steps and concluded the last place I had it was while studying at school.  Logically,  I searched the school, but it is G-O-N-E.  Whomever found it apparently does not have the good conscious to turn it into lost and found.  

I just keep hoping that it will just turn up around the house, but I have looked high and low around this place with no luck-so that is a long shot.  

As if constant studying and confusion wasn't bad enough, I just gave my ipod to someone (someone who doesn't deserve it since they just keep things that don't belong to them) too.  SOOO FRUSTRATING!!  Frustrated with myself too!  Yes when I am back home visiting I forget to pack things, but I don't LOSE things.   :(

Snow Days

Thanks to a fair amount of snow in a relatively short time...I have the day off from school, again.

Tuesday numerous schools in the STL area closed because of the weather that was supposed to come that day (ice/snow mix threats). I was scheduled to go to an elementary school that day for a vision screening, but since the elementary school was cancelled, I got the day off! My actual University was open on Tuesday so some of my classmates had to go in for clinic. The University ended up closing at 3pm-they always do that, wait until everyone is there and then cancel. Tuesday evening the snow really picked up. South STL got more than we did up north, but we still probably got around 5 inches-that's a total guess I haven't been outside. Due to how quickly it came down on Tuesday night (and southern parts also had ice with the snow), MODOT was expecting very poor travel conditions this morning. I think nearly every school in the city was shut down today, last night on the news they had over 600 school closings to report for the viewing area. UMSL, however, refuses to make their decision until 6am the morning of so I woke up, checked my email on my blackberry at 6:10am and saw that school was cancelled. (One more awesome thing about my blackberry, I can see if school or class is cancelled without even getting out of bed!)
It actually is quite sunny right now and it feels kind of silly to be home, but just because its sunny doesn't mean all the roads are travel-worthy. I am glad they called off school because I didn't want to face the hectic drive this morning with all of the horrible STL drivers. I wish I had some snow gear to go out and play....and someone to play with. Brian had to go to work, I think his building would have to collapse for him to miss work-what a good boy.

Making Progress On A New Us....

Update on our new healthy living....
It has been 3 weeks now that we have been trying to be more healthy and thus far I am really proud of us both-not to say we don't stray now and again. We each have been working out pretty routinely and been eating very healthy. I buy 1 pound containers of Spinach leaves so we eat a lot of salads-either as a side or just as a meal. I have been trying to keep fruits and veggies on hand too. I have discovered a love for green beans-fresh or frozen-they make a great snack. Last night we had baked sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of brown sugar; they are seriously like a meal and dessert all in one-I highly recommend it! According to some nutrition websites they are one of the best veggies to be eating!
My daily calorie intake is much improved as well. I am trying to be more aware of what I am putting in my body, both in regard to calories and nutritional value. I don't even know how many calories I would eat in a day, I wasn't really keeping track, but I would guess I have cut it by 500 or so on average. Just being aware can make a big difference, and hopefully I'll see it in my waistline too!
The first couple weeks I had cut down my pop consumption and increased the amount of water I was drinking, but that didn't last too long. Pop is one thing I just can't quit. I truly just crave the flavor, but I only drink diet so I guess that is a plus. Around Christmas every year my pop intake is the highest because I have just finished a week of finals-in which I live on pop while I study-and then I usually don't do any better over the holidays. The good news is I am not drinking that much anymore. I also used to take a diet Sunkist with me to school in the morning; now I try to have a bottle of water w/ Crystal Light on-the-go instead, and then just see if I can go the rest of the day without the pop.
I think both of us are already feeling a lot better. I know that I just feel better about myself for the healthy decisions I am making. Physically I know I am more toned which also is encouraging. We each have seen improvements in our exercise endurance too.

The Big Day....

I'm already married, not having a baby-let me repeat: NOT having a baby, not even close to graduating so then what could I possibly be talking about????.......THE OSCARS!! (of course)

Exactly one month from today it will be Oscar Sunday!! YIPPEE! The nominations were just announced, here are a few of my early opinions (because you know you are dying to here what they are):

Of those nominated in all categories, I have seen: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, In Bruges, Kung Fu Panda, Slumdog Millionaire & Wall-E (Oh and about 10 minutes of Wanted and it was so bad we turned it off-its up in the sound categories). So not nearly as many as I want to see, but a decent start.

Slumdog Millionaire & Benjamin Button are both VERY good and I almost have a hard time picking one for Best Picture, but I think if I had to, I would pick Slumdog Millionaire. (Remember my Thanksgiving post when I told you how good it was, I wasn't lying.)

There are still some movie I would REALLY like to see before the big day: Milk, Doubt, The Reader, and The Wrestler. If you have seen any of these, I would love to hear your opinions about it! I will be lucky if I make it to any one of the four so I'm looking for advice about which one it should be. (I'm really leaning towards Milk and The Wrestler.) We would also like to see Revolutionary Road at some point, but don't want to pay $20 to see something so depressing.

Both Kung Fu Panda & Wall-E are up for Animated Feature Film and I liked both of them a lot. Wall-E is also nominated for Original Screenplay! Kung Fu Panda was very entertaining probably a little more exciting for kiddos. Wall-E has a great story and I would probably have to give it my vote in the Animated category; however, I don't think it can pull off the upset for screenplay (let's face it, an animated movie in the screenplay category was a win in and of itself).

I am really glad The Dark Knight was recognized in as many categories as it was. I am having a hard time thinking of any other comic book movie that I liked, but this one is completely different than the rest. I also am pulling for Heath Ledger in the Supporting Actor category even though I am going to cry my eyes out (again) if he wins. (Did you see the Globes-so sad!) We are each big fans of his work, and he should have won for Brokeback Mountain!! (Philip Seymour Hoffman was pretty good as Capote though.)

I have not seen any of the performances in the Lead Actress race, but I all ready know who I do not want to win-Angelina. (I don't know about you, but she just rubs me the wrong way and I am sick of hearing about the two of them all the time. Not looking at him, just hearing about them-let's get that straight. Brad's pretty damned hot!) I like both Anne Hathaway quite a bit, but Kate Winslet is one of my very favorite actresses.

Best Actor: I have only seen Brad in Benjamin Button and he was great, but I think both Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke are tough competition from everything I have heard. Thus, it is too early for me too call.

Shocker: I was surprised that Gran Torino was snubbed. Also, Kate Winslet was nominated in Best Actress category for her role in The Reader which is the performance she won the Globe for Supporting Actress, and her Globe win for Lead Actress in Revolutionary Road wasn't even nominated....confusing! (I read all of that somewhere-I am not THAT Oscar crazy....crazy enough to read about it, not to figure it out on my own.)

So you have 31 days in counting to do some homework! Or you can send me to the movies and I'll tell you all about it :) Enjoy.

4th Year Externship Rotations

In May I will officially be a fourth year optometry student which means that I will begin one entire year of externships - not to overlook my very important National Boards in March. Each of the 17 Colleges of Optometry have different externship requirements, none of which have a longer externship program than we do. We are very lucky to get so much clinical experience and we are told that UMSL graduates get a lot of complaints about their clinical skills. They always saw we have six 8-week rotations, which isn't entirely true-the two summer rotations are shorter, only 7 weeks long I believe.

A little background about our externship process....We are allowed to pick all six. The school has a list of over 300 different places to choose from that have had UMSL externs previously, or you can work to set one up on your own. In reality we only have freedom on 4 of the 6 because we are required to complete two rotations in St. Louis that are school affiliated. Also the rotations have to meet certain specialty requirements to ensure that we all get a variety of exposure. We are required to complete a binocular vision/pediatrics and contact lens rotation, both of which are satisfied by completing a rotation at the school, an ocular disease rotation, a multidisciplinary site (like a VA or hospital) and an elective. They do have some rotations in fun places like Hawaii and Australia, but you have to pay for your travel to get there. I chose to put mine in KC so I could start networking (plus there was a lot of competition for HI).

From what I have heard, at all the locations I have chosen I will be seeing my own patients as if I'm the doctor., but there will be a supervising doctor present for questions as well. There are some rotations where you do not get to see your own patients, but rather observe someone else-I tried to avoid those.

Here is my schedule

1. May 18 – June 27th
Advanced Eyecare (2 locations):
6708 Raytown Road
Raytown, MO 64133
&
1116 SW 40 Highway
Blue Springs, MO 64015

Drs. Rich Wilson, Lawrence Reed, Dana Krause, and Joshua Graf
Private group practice with two locations.
http://www.advanced-eyecare.net/home.htm

2. June 29th – August 15th

Eye Associates (4 locations):
Of Overland Park (69 Hwy & 119th)
10120 West 119th StreetOverland Park, KS 66213

Of Leawood (151st & Nall)
15069 Nall Ave Leawood, KS 66211

Of Olathe (135th & Blackbob)
15249 West 135th StreetOlathe, KS 66062

Of Shawnee (E of 435 @ Shawnee Mission Prkwy)
15951 West 65th StreetShawnee, KS 66217

Private Group Practice; don’t know if I will be a multiple locations or just OP office)
Drs. Vincent Pennipede, Mark Siefkes*, John Davis, Nicci Noyce*, Christina Bartimus, Jayme Fose, Andrea Beedles (*UMSL Grads)
http://www.eyeassociatesop.com/index.cfm

3. & 4. Aug 17th – Dec 18th

Kansas City VA Medical Center
4801 Linwood Blvd.
Kansas City, MO 64128

This location is actually a 16-week rotation. It is supposed to be the best rotation available at UMSL. In addition to the 3 UMSL externs, the KCVA also has a residency program through UMSL for 3 recent graduates.
Dr. Tim Harkins (whom I have heard from a number of current 4th years and recent graduates is what makes this rotation so good!)
http://www.kansascity.va.gov/

5. Jan 5th – Feb 27th 2010

UMSL variety site rotation

UMSL College of Optometry has 3 off campus clinics and also provides services at a number of community health centers, nursing homes and other community facilities. This rotation consists of a different location everyday and often times splitting the day between places. Additionally, the college has a converted RV that has two full exam lanes. They take this RV on-site to places such as schools to provide eye exams for kids who have failed their screenings or to other community events. (This week I went on this RV for the first time. We went to a school in south St. Louis and saw about 11 kids in a day’s time; some of which did need glasses, others did not.)

6. March 1 – May 8th 2010

UMSL Clinic
Binocular Vision/Pediatrics & Contact Lens rotation at the clinic on campus


In addition to the above rotations, I have some other places to go as well and will be missing some days at my scheduled rotations. June 22-24th I will be in Washington D.C. for the Congressional Advocacy Conference. If I am able to get the extra days off, I will stay for Optometry’s Meeting is the 25th-28th. I am on an AOA sponsored student committee for the Congressional Conference for which I get a travel grant to attend both of these meetings in D.C.!
From Sept 21- Oct 3 I will be traveling to Nicaragua for a Gift of Sight trip. Gift of Sight is a program sponsored by Luxottica (a company that makes the lenses for glasses) that sends students, employees and volunteers to locations that are in need to provide vision care. http://www.onesight.org/ At this time I don’t know much more about the trip.

Lastly (at this time anyway), the entire 4th year class has to travel back to St. Louis on October 12-16th for a week long practice management course at the school. At the end of the week is when we have our Eyeball, our formal dinner/dance to honor the 4th years….and I’ll be one of those being honored this time‼ PARTY‼ (It will also be nice to be in my home with Brian for a week since I will have been in KC since May!)

So there you have it a rather lengthy look at my last year of school.

A New Elliptical for the New Year

For Christmas, Brian and I decided to ask for one big present....an elliptical (Schwinn 460 to be exact). We decided as busy as we both are with school, that we would benefit from having some exercise equipment in the house instead of having a gym membership that doesn't get used. So it is our intent to actually use this thing and not just use it as a clothesline-as the bench press sometimes is.

This is what it looked like when we got it out of the box

It actually wasn't too bad to put together, 1.5 hours later it was ready to go!

My first workout

Brian giving it a test run

For the New Year we would like to start being more healthy. We are going to try and get regular exercises, be more aware of what types of foods we are eating and become more conscious about getting the necessary nutrition from our food. Overall, I don't believe we eat that poorly as compared to the general public. However we definitely do not eat a balanced diet and that needs to change! We have been doing pretty well the last week, but the real challenge is to stick with it once school resumes and life gets a little more hectic.

Christmas Photo Album (Highlights)

This year we had 6 separate family Christmas celebrations to attend in just 4 days. It kept us busy during our time back in Kansas, but we can't complain about having so many family members around to spend time with. Our only complaint is when we get home and try to put on our pre-holiday clothing that is just a bit more snug than it was before. Next year I'm asking Santa for self-control!!
Brian had about a weeks worth of vacation time he had saved for Christmas so we were able to be back in Kansas from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day. We got to spend time with each of our parents, both our niece and nephew, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparent and even friends! Usually we have great intentions of seeing all of these people, but often can't fit it all in during our short trips back; however, this time we managed to do it all and see everyone!
I am sad Christmas is over, but we have a lot to look forward to in the New Year. And of course tons of pictures to look back on. Here are a few of the highlights....(only of my side, we have mandatory picture time at our functions)

Aubrey on Christmas Eve in her festive PJs

Mom & Dad (Dad is actually smiling)

Mom, Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Katy

(they "accidentally" were color coordinated)

The Whole Clan


Brian & Aub on Christmas Eve

Dad playing w/ Aubrey on Christmas

We requested a day to spend with Aubrey so she stayed home with our fine babysitting services instead of going to daycare. It was a long day, but fun!

Playing Guitar

Little Pink Riding Hood?

Practicing their cheerleading stunts

Me & Aub

Stylin' (w/ pretzel in mouth)