4 CHRISTMASES

We had 4 Christmases this year.  It was fantastic!

Christmas #1:  Me, David, and Ethan had our family Christmas at home in St. Louis on the evening of Dec. 20 (my last final was over at noon). We had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans for our Christmas dinner.  After dinner we exchanged gifts.  I found out that none of us sticked to the Christmas budget like we'd planned, but it all worked out.  We had a wonderful time.

 

 

Christmas #2:  We had Christmas at my parents house on Christmas Day at noon.  We exchanged gifts as soon as everyone was present.  All I asked for was a new pair of shoes and some socks, but my parents always give me so much more than I could ever imagine.  My brother and his girlfriend gave us a nice gift card that was very much appreciated.  The dogs all received gifts and had a great time with their new treats and toys.

I made Jambalaya for our Christmas lunch since we'd be having our big meal on Saturday when more family was in town. My dad loves jambalaya and has only had it a few times in his life.  He was super happy that I made this dish for him.  He went on and on about how good it was.  I wish I was able to cook for him more often.  

Christmas #3:  We went to David's parents house on Christmas at 5pm.  We had a traditional turkey dinner that was phenomenal.  My mother in-law cooked a turkey since my brother in-law, Chris, was in Saudi Arabia during Thanksgiving.  He came back to the States just a couple of weeks ago.  I also made his favorite rolls just for the occasion.  After dinner and dessert, we had a fun gift exchange. David's parents gave us a ticket package for the Cardinals Baseball games.  We're so excited!

Christmas #4:  My Grandma came to Edmond to see me and the rest of the family.  I haven't seen her since my graduate recital in July 2007.  It has been way too long.  If you know me, you know that I love my grandma very much.  She was even my maid of honor at my wedding.  I have learned so much from her over the years and treasure every moment I have with her.  My Aunt Mellodie and Aunt Linda also came with her.  I haven't seen them in ages!  All of us ate, visited, and enjoyed each other's company.  It was excellent!

HOPE ALL OF YOU HAD A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

HOPE YOU HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Remembering...

This is David on the blog machine today...

This same week, two years ago, I graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and no plans for the future.  Yes, I had applied to several medical schools but the rejection letters were piling up.  I had all but given up on attending medical school in the fall.  If not medical school, what could I possibly due with myself?  I walked away from a career in finance to chase this crazy dream, committed two-and-a-half years to the obsession, while I watched the debt stockpile grow and the stable career slip away.  Was it possible that I had failed?  I graduated summa cum laude from college and scored in the top two-percentile on the Medical College Admissions Test.  I was destined for a top medical school, right? RIGHT?  Wrong.  My own state school with its lax admissions wouldn't even take me.  I watched and cried as classmates I tutored and mentored received their acceptance letters.

I was devastated.  How could I have sacrificed so much, worked so hard, invested so much of myself and failed so completely.  I don't think my days have ever been so dark and my nights so long as they were then.  My purpose, meaning and entire world view had been rocked to the very core.  I had nowhere to go from here.  I was stranded.

Well, this story has a happy ending, obviously.  I'm now in my second year at SLU School of Medicine.  It is abundantly clear now, that my "pre-med advisor" had written an unsavory "letter of recommendation."  Why?  I do not know.  She didn't even know me.  SLU accepted me because I carefully crafted my application to be free of the aforementioned letter.

Let me tell you the moral to the story  Yes, I worked very hard while I was a pre-med.  Very hard.  I made sure I had perfect grades and a covetous MCAT score, but it wasn't enough.  I'm not being cynical when I say that sometimes it doesn't matter how hard you work in life. Sometimes you have to play the game.  You have to use your head.  Know the right people and work the right angles.  Work smarter, not harder.  It makes me feel all dirty inside saying these things because it is completely contrary to my independent, diligent, self-help philosophy, but I'm afraid it's absolutely true.

Sometimes, you just have to play the game

David

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Our little boy is 2 years old today. 

 This makes him an adult in the dog world.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ETHAN!

St. Louis Christmas

We've been in St. Louis for over a year and a half now.  It's awesome here and we really love the city. I took this picture of us in downtown St. Louis the other day. I would have loved to hire a professional photographer, but that wouldn't have been a very smart financial decision for a couple of students. Thank goodness for tripods and self timers on cameras.  They sure do come in handy!

The white building you see is an old Courthouse.  In the background is the famous arch.  They call it the Gateway to the West.

We wore our Cardinals apparel because David's parents gave us a large ticket package to their games.  So, we'll be going to a lot of Cardinals baseball games between April and September. We are so excited and very thankful.  Thanks Tim and Donna!

I've been reflecting a bit today.  It was one year ago this weekend that I graduated with my Master of Music degree from the University of Central Oklahoma.  I remember getting my hair done the day before I was supposed to walk, then my brother called me and told me that my graduation had just been cancelled due to the weather forecast.  There was already snow and ice and it was only supposed to get worse.  I was extremely saddened and decided that since I wasn't going to have any good graduation pics, I may as well go crazy.  I had my hair stylist, Tina, make my hair a dark red.  It was so fun!  

I didn't walk at graduation for my bachelors degree. I had no desire to then, but I really wanted to for my Masters.  I thought it would give me some closure and I wouldn't ever go back to school. Little did I know that I'd be back in school within a few months.  The funny thing is, I'm not even pursuing music or education this time.  I'm just working on some prereq's and trying to get a lot of science classes completed.  Maybe third time's the charm?!