For Sale!

After weeks of hard work getting this place ready, our house is officially on the market!!! There was a lot of painting, cleaning, organizing and decluttering to get to this point.

You can see our listing here.

And the hunt begins

Starting the job hunt. It's a slow process in the Optometry world. Optometrists in private practice rarely post job opportunities, which makes the jobs very hard to find when they are essentially a secret. We ARE returning to Kansas (or KC, MO)....that is a FACT. I have sent my "resume" (we actually use a CV, curriculum vitaes) to the local spectacle lab and a few contact lens representatives in the area. We are told these are some of the best people to talk to because they are constantly in contact with offices in their respective areas so they will know the first ones that will be looking to hire. I have also emailed all the Optometrists that I have met over the years back in KS letting them know what my plans are and asked if they know of anyone looking. Now I am at a bit of a lull, hoping to hear something...sooner than later. I have yet to hear of one private practice even looking to hire.

Next step, just start sending resumes to practices in the areas I am looking to go to hoping to catch someones attention. Also, I am going to a big regional conference in KC over Valentine's Day weekend where both the sales reps and numerous doctors will be. Hopefully, some networking will take place and I get a lead. Until then.....I wait.

It is ALL about connections.

HELP!! Next time you see your doctor ask if they are looking to hire, you never know, you might be the one to help me find my dream job!!

Two Down, One To Go!!!

I just received the results of my second set of National Boards which I took right after Thanksgiving....and I passed!!! So number one and two are done and over with one more remaining.

The third and last National Boards is scheduled for May 1-2...again keeping me in STL on Aubrey's birthday, but this will be the last time I have to miss her birthday b/c of school!

Part 3 is a clinical skills test that is comprised of multiple stations where we have to perform various clinical skills on a real patient while a preceptor evaluates us. This will be easier for two major reasons: 1. I have been actively working in the clinic for the last year so I am getting a lot of practice; and 2. They is an outline for every station so we know exactly what is expected of us and what they are looking for get our points. The only real downside is to have someone standing over your shoulder evaluating your every move, but I think I will survive.

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.