I remember being in college, every loved to post about their last first day of school. It's probably not true with the amount of grad school happening, but it is still fun to say. That's why I write this post title with a grain of salt. Ross has begun his final year of medical school.
But then you also have residency.
and fellowship.
But at least it is his last first day of his final year of paying tuition. So I will take that.
Now he's starting his 4th and final year of school before his earns his MD. You can tell I can't care less cos this picture is all awful and blurry looking.
Just kidding of course. He's so close. I will take this time commemorate how far we have come:
How hard he has worked, forged in the flames of Hell adversity.
And everything he has to look forward to:
And how good he makes scrubs look:
Before we know it he will be applying for residency.
Have I explained on the blog before about how Ross and I never take a vacation together?
Okay, well NEVER is not exactly accurate. But it does seem that my employment and his school are forever at odds.
I came back from my super epic New York trip and everyone was asking, "How did you and Ross like New York?!"
Cos yeeeaaaah, we didn't do that together. We also didn't do this, this, nor any of this. But I'm not here to provide you a comprehensive list of all the stuff I do by myself. That's what this blog is for. Instead I just want to feel happy that Ross finally gets a turn to take a little break. He is officially done with his 3rd year of medical school, he has his Step 2 CK out of the way and he is all but ready to apply to residency. He still has a way to go but you learn to celebrate the small victories.
I kicked him outta the house and told him to use what we have left on those beautiful airline vouchers to visit family and friends in Utah. Our motto, as I am pretty sure I have well documented on the blog, is "If you have the time- find the money."
With 4th year and then intern year of residency and so on, you can't count on ever having time. And the money- well after awhile you stop worrying about having so little- so you just find a way.
He's off on an adventure and I am back at work, or sweltering at home in these warm temps. While he is gone I've been doing a complete bedroom over-haul.
Operation: Organization and Donation.
I have to do this while he is gone so I have enough time and space to make a mess and find a solution. On the right you can see that no matter how hard you try there will always be that pile of stuff leftover. That pile of stuff that you're just not quite sure what to do with.
I am proud to say I donated a bunch^ of stuff and threw away even more. It feels good!
My good friend Mary recently started residency at a nearby hospital. She invited me over for dinner so I made a simple dessert. I brought the leftovers to work and people were beside themselves. Really I think it was just nice to have a pick-me-up now that every one is coming back to work after summer break.
In other cooking endeavors, I thought I would make a special treat for Ross's return from Utah and eventual start of a school/ hospital work again.
I present: Brownie-crust Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake!
It is possible that I went a little over-board with the decorations on the top. Like homemade whipped cream!?
I made a Frankenstein recipe combing and piecing together three different recipes.
It involved a brownie crust, topped with a layer of fudge. Next a peanut butter cream cheese cool whip layer, then some Reeses cups and brownie. After that more of the cream cheese mixture, probably more peanut butter cups, a fudge topping then all the decorations.
It was delicious. It sounds kinda hard but it wasn't at all. Except for the brownie part it was no-bake too!
California summers are perfectly forgettable. Because sometimes its just a haze of trying to stay cool. If you are stubborn enough- it's still not hot enough to outright give up and blast the AC all day. So you just sorta stew in fan air. Redlands has the added "bonus" of being more humid than the desert so you don't quite get that super dry hot air like out in Palmdale.
Recently it's been hotter in Redlands than Palmdale. I am re-evaluating everything I know. Even my resilient little rose bush is all fried up. You can see the leave just curled up and fell off. Toasty.
But it also means you always have clear blue skies. I love the views in Redlands. Mountains and palm trees.
Remember Christmas in September? When Christmas comes early it's assumed to be a happy thing. When Halloween comes early, it's a scary thing.
A really
scary
terrifying
frightening
thing.
It looks like this:
Horrifying right?
I just dropped a bunch of cash on what I like to call "capital investment." For some time I've been toying with the idea of opening an Etsy shop. My Etsy evolution started like this:
1) Oh cool idea.
2) Wait, you can sell THAT for that?!
3) Other people telling me, "You could do that!"
4) To me telling me, "I could do that!"
To 5) never actually doing that. But I gave it really a lot of thought.
When I saw that Joann's had a huge yarn clearance, I gave it a little more thought. It would be a relatively small investment compared to what I had previously anticipated. And I thought it was time to take the final leap and make a commitment that would push me to start something.
Now I am sitting here in a living full of yarn wondering what I have done. It's this calmness between
"What have I done?" and "What's next?" I'm just staring at my crochet hooks. Hoping to have a Fantasia moment where I suddenly have 20 products to list.
Because right now I think it's just called hoarding.
In other news, Ross comes home from Utah on Saturday and I'm just so sure this is what he is going to say when he sees what I've done.
In the meantime, Ryan believes in me, and that is all I need.
I've pretty much been hemming and hawing about hemming my work pants. I find amazing deals and they fit great- except the length. I always find myself with pools of pants leg around my ankle.
Eventually I press and pin them up- but then they pile up. Yep. Three pairs that needed hemming.
This weekend I got all three pairs hemmed. It was such a momentous occasion, I felt it should go under the "I made dis" tag. But it won't, because it shouldn't.
But really I just thought that was a clever title.
I hope that title got your attention because "Solvang with Mom, Dad, Cassie, and Calvin" is kinda boring.
The tots adorbs newlywed Cass and Cal were in California this weekend. And whether the aebleskiver pan was calling their name, or just a little adventure, I don't know. But squished in the back seat of my parent's sedan we were on our way to Solvang (see my brief mention here). To be quite honest, I think we were hoping for some cooler, breezier temperatures closer to the coast as well.
It was bright and sunny and a great day to hang out. Mom has always wanted to eat in Solvang, to see how aebleskiver straight from the source (well, so to speak) taste. We ate at the Red Viking, in a bit of an awkward squished table next to some annoying foodies from LA (well, they thought they were foodies- really they just ate food and were snobby). The food was honestly disappointing, and we all agreed that Dad's aebleskiver are the best there are (now I sound like the snob!).
We walked around a bit. I found an aebleskiver cookbook for dad, if he decides he wants to get fancy. We of course had to walk by in famous wooden shoe. Our family always had to take a picture by the shoe, Cass being the youngest would always sit in the shoe. She's just a little too big now but you still gotta get that pic!
Mom and dad bought us some pastries to share. I love this picture- how do you begin to get at something of that creamy magnitude?!
I had to make sure to snag a few of these while I was there. I haven't been able to find raspberry danish dessert anywhere else (okay, okay, if I got desperate I could turn to the internet).
I almost closed off this post without mentioning the flying porta-potty! Well we were on our way to Solvang when we see a helicopter over the beach with a long rope-type cord hauling something. We were all mystified wondering what was happening and if everyone was okay. Then when we drove past we looked behind us to see the Unidentified helicopter-aided-Flying Object was... a porta potty. Definitely was not expecting to see that at the end of the line.
To break up the longish drive home we stopped at Refugio beach. The ranger at the pay station was super awkward and asked my dad, "Will I be charging you the $7 fee or $8 fee?" Luckily my dad was totally on it and politely joked with the ranger that, yes, he just might make the senior citizen discount. Everyone else in the car was totally lost. Like you really have to be that awkward over a $1 difference? Pretty sure my dad would've given it to you had you just asked.
The campground at the beach was teeming with unkempt urchin children running wild, RVs, trailers, and tents. We had the right idea though and walked straight through to the beach.
Always a good time for some photo ops. I love this picture. My mom hates pictures so you have to sucker her into them while she is in her happy place.
Today I decided to figure out how to make those cool little tabs at the top of the text box and below the header. So I did. And it provided me with a nice little walk down Grenada Memory Lane.
I am always surprised by how powerful those emotions can come back. Seeing pictures of our first home there makes me feel excited and anxious. Many of the pictures bring back memories saturated in sun but cooled by the bright hues of turquoise waters. Other memories remind me of darker days of hopelessness and despair.
The last semester there was such a blur of working two jobs and counting days til I left. I didn't blog nearly as much as I should have- considering all the adventures and emotions I experienced. But it is fun too, because at this point those memories rest safely in my head. There for only me.
When my friend blogged about her memories of Grenada, having left a few months ago, she was so eloquent. It filled my mind with all the good memories of Grenada and I knew for sure it was time for a post. I started looking back at pictures and my heart yearned for the lazy days. The days of walking to the beach to watch the sunset over the bay. Laying in the warm sun and swimming in the sea. I think of how lucky I was. I am humbled and awed by my experiences.
Then I slap myself and remember how hard it was too.
It's like celebrating your Nobel Peace Prize and forgetting the pain and frustration that went in to achieving it. And I'm conflicted. Should I feel joy and awe? Or bitterness and sadness?
But I remember that I can do both! Life isn't 365 Days of adventures at a time. Life is hard. But it can be good. And I wasn't lucky, I am lucky. I could want so much more. But right now I don't.
Facebook reminded me that this was 3 years ago today. No better way to celebrate than by paying $491 for a partial PTAL for residency applications!
Definition: side ef·fect noun: a secondary, typically undesirable effect of a drug or medical treatment (or medical school)
And as with many drugs, the side effects are many and varied. I am sure I am not alone. So this post is for all of you who think my life is a glamorous one. Take a long hard look folks, and ask yourself:
"DO I WANT THIS LIFE FOR MYSELF?!?"
Side effects may include:
1) Difficulty growing up- One thing that comes from perpetually being in school is that everyone is growing up besides you. I'm 25 years old and I don't own a car. Well, technically I own OUR car. But I share the car. All your friends are buying houses and you're still too busy hearing your neighbor's cat whine and inhaling your other neighbor's secondhand pot smoke to think about a luxury like a house. ... or maybe even real furniture.
2) Uncontrollable Schedule Movements- You don't understand it. How do people take a WHOLE DAY with their husband? How did he get a day off? Did he win a Nobel Peace Prize? OMG. Please tell me you won the lottery! How else could people work AND plan. Tell me your life secrets!
3) Issues Making Plans- It's Sally's big 3-0 birthday bash and we throwing a huge party for her! I gave you a month and a half notice so you can come right?! Umm, he might be on-call because that's still two rotations away, buut he only needs to work one weekend, buut he might be on night float so maybe we could do lunch, buut maybe he will be getting off 24-hour call and he can sleep while I drive? People don't want to hear your long explanations.
4) Irritability surrounding EO and anit-vaxxers- Please get out of my face permanently.
5) Hopelessness. The 20-year Plan is the new 5-year Plan. Medicine is a long road. And no one gets it. 4 years undergrad, 4 years of school, 3 years residency and then 2-3 years fellowship. When you're starting 4th year and you remember this:
6) Fatigue. Me from the process, Ross from well, yeah- school. When you are that tired you can fall asleep anywhere any how.
The couch is literally two feet behind you.
Folks, those are the side-effects. Please consider seriously before starting on a path of being married to a med student. Or don't. But it will happen. And you will wish you had a real physician to consult.
As I embarked on writing this post, I soon realized that last Music Monday was actually a Barenaked Ladies song. Am I allowed to do two in a row?
Of course. I do what I want.
I picked out this song some time last week, making a mental note to write about it the following Monday. In my infinite wisdom, I really needed to re-listen to the song today.
"Odds Are" by Barenaked Ladies
Warning: Maybe like one swear.
Admittedly, I have lost touch with "BNL" over the years. But with every new album I have the opportunity to re-discover my love for their talent and superb music videos.
The music video for this song is awesome. It may take a few watches before you catch everything that is going on- aliens, meteors, stock market crash, UFOs, zombies, blazing earth, and frogs raining down from the sky. As with most songs by the band, the lyrics are witty and fun. Between the lyrics and the video, we are introduced to all those horrible awful things that could go wrong.
It is pretty humorous, my favorite part is the, "Volcano Erupts Baby Dinosaurs." And of course, the smiling news anchors despite delivering the worst news ever. But in the middle of all this the message is:
"The odds are that we will probably be alright."
I used to over-think things so much it was crazy. "But what if..." was my favorite phrase. I think being so young you have the world before you. You tend to have (1) ONE! set plan that you are determined to stick to despite one million terrifying trajectories.
But as you go through life and you experience those terrifying trajectories, you find life isn't quite what you had hoped... but you're still alright. And maybe things aren't as dramatic as we think.
Things. Will. Be. Okay. (A main theme on this blog) Because:
Remember when I was trying to make "BoWA" a thing? Yeah here it is again.
#1 Ice Cream Pebbles- Rainbow Sherbet. This is hands down my favorite ice cream. I bought on a crazy good sale, wondering how in the world a dry cereal could taste like my decadent favorite rainbow sherbet. I'm not a cereal person, and I'm a skeptic, so imagine my surprise when IT TASTES SO MUCH LIKE ICE CREAM! Time to go buy all the boxes in the whole world.
#2 The City of Redlands is a beautiful little city. After the Ross and I had at last year's summer concert series, we wanted to go more this year. Spoiler Alert: That didn't happen. We even ended up going to the same exact concert as last year. The Glen Miller Orchestra, but it was still a lovely time.
#3 Take about 5 minutes to truly mull this over and get back to me if you don't think it is outrageously 100% true.
The Official "Fun Vs. Effort" Graph of Pets
#4 Ross is famous for many things, one of which is his caramel corn recipe. I don't think we have attempted to make it since a botched (dang you humidity) attempt in Grenada. We fixed that. So much popcorn. Much tasty.
Finished product:
#5 "Straight Outta" filters are running rampant on social media. Most of them are annoying and lame, like "Straight Outta Provo." *eye roll* But this one made me laugh. My recent trip to NY really made me see how scary dry California is.
#6 I don't know why I feel an overwhelming need to share this, but it is definitely the cutest IT department ever.
#7 My best friend Kelli and I share a love for making (and receiving of course) care packages. It's just kinda our thing. Her care packages are always so perfectly timed. They always arrive right when I need them the most. Thanks! It is so perfect.
Me: My name is Kristen. And I have a craft supply addiction.
You: Hi Kristen!
Me: I have lots of craft stuff. Not always the craft stuff that gets made into crafts. But I want to change.
You: Thanks Kristen.
That's my problem. I have a hard time starting. I don't have a hard time envisioning and going to the craft store. Me and Michaels be like:
STOP WITH THE 40% OFF COUPONS (j/k please send more)!
As much as people joke about crafts being therapy, they really are. Creating is my rejuvenation. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel whole. It is an outlet. And I therefore need more of it. The good thing is, I have closets and drawers and tubs full of supplies. I decided I am going to try to be better about starting, working on, and finishing projects. Trying to highlight my creations once a week or so. I think that's not bad "homework."
My new segment shall be called "I Made Dis" Because of these meme.
Hopefully my projects will be more otterly adorable than not!
