What's up.....

Here is what's up with us right now........

- Today was David's last day of his surgery rotation. Thank, God!

- Tomorrow David studies for his Surgery Shelf Exam.

- David takes the Shelf Exam on Friday.

- I get David all to myself for the entire weekend. We're gonna check out some events going on here in St. Louis and spend some time relaxing together. I'm super excited!

- David starts Pediatrics on Monday. Oh, geez! Please pray for him! ; )

I'm hoping to receive calls about sub jobs any day now. I've also been cruising the internet trying to find a job. There are a couple of possibilities. I'll send my resume out soon.

Ethan has been doing great. The boy eats like a champ! I recently introduced sweet potatoes to him and he's in love. They're now his favorite treats!

David and I finally had a date night tonight. It's been a really long time since we've had a date. Part of it was because I was out of town for so long. Plus, we can't seem to stretch these Med School loans far enough to pay for anything beyond our required living expenses.

Anyways, back to a more positive note..... We ordered Chinese take-out and watched several episodes of Big Bang Theory. If you haven't seen that show, please treat yourself. It's hilarious!!! Our dinner was amazing. I had some delicious egg drop soup, while David had steamed dumplings and chicken lo mein. Yum!!! We kept it reasonably cheap. It was less than 12 bucks and he even has leftovers. Oh, yeah!

Well, that's what we've been up to lately.

What have you been up to lately????

I'm back!

I returned home to STL late Sunday evening. My return flight was so much better than the flight getting out to OKC. I also met a wonderful lady and we talked the entire time. She's in the same boat I was in just a couple of years ago. Our conversation really brought back some memories. Her husband took a job in OKC and she's traveling back and forth until they can sell their house in STL. I suggested some restaurants and things to do in OK. There is definitely no comparison between OKC and STL when it comes to things to do, but I think she'll grow to like OKC. I did ask her what she thought of the people and she said that everyone has been so nice. That's what I like to hear! She is also a teacher, but doesn't currently have a teaching job since she's traveling between cities. I told her I took off my first year in STL to get settled, explore, and figure stuff out. She thought that was a good idea and is considering doing the same thing. We exchanged emails so I'll be talking to her again soon. We both believe we were meant to sit next to each other on that plane. Funny how things work out like that sometimes.

Back to my trip..... It was fabulous! I spent time with some friends and family. My best friend, Jordon, was already back home in Vermont, so I didn't get to see her this time. Since I didn't get to see her on my birthday, she left a gift for me with her parents. I got together with her mom (who is absolutely awesome!) while I was in town and she gave me the gifts from Jordon. She got me a Scentsy warmer and some scents. I've secretly been wanting one of those, but I couldn't justify spending the money. I was so shocked and excited! She really picked out a gorgeous one. It's black and white! I love it!!! I'll have to take some pics soon. Jordon also gave me some apple pomegranate bath stuff. It smells wonderful! I'm so thankful to have such a thoughtful best friend. Of course, I love Jordon to pieces whether there are gifts involved or not. I'm most thankful for our friendship!

I spent time with Shalah while I was in town too. I love that girl! We actually met through Jordon a few years back. We had a great time goofing around and catching up. Shalah is one of those people I want to take with me everywhere. She's an absolute sweetheart! Her husband, James, is pretty awesome and so are their daughters. Shalah is in nursing school right now and her schedule is about to get really crazy. I'm so glad we were able to get together.

I met up with a few other people and got even more gifts. I was completely surprised! Are my friends amazing or what?!?!?!!!

I talked to my favorite bro-in-law and we really wanted to get together, but his work schedule didn't work out in our favor this time. He's a military man and got called in for a secret job the evening we were going to get together. I completely understand, but I'm kinda sad. He was going to introduce me to his girlfriend that night. She's in college and majoring in elementary education. Chris thinks I'll really like her and I think so too. I guess I'll have to wait until Christmas.

I spent time with my parents on the weekends. I went shopping with my mom 2 Saturdays in a row. We are so dangerous together! Of course, I didn't have any money to spend, but she treated me to a few wonderful things. We both had pedicures. It was fantastic! I wish I could get them more often, but we can't stretch these Med School loans that far. lol! We shopped, shopped, and shopped until I basically dropped. It was exhausting, but worth every moment.

We talked about the rehearsal dinner that my parents are in charge of next June. We brainstormed about all sorts of ideas. I actually need to make some phone calls this week to get some price quotes and stuff. I love planning events!

I saw my brother and his fiance a few times while I was in town. That's always fun. I also received their "Save the date" magnet. It's pretty cute! One of the pics I took of them is on the magnet. I'll have to take a pic and post it on here soon.

Anyways, my trip was pretty action packed. There was rarely a dull moment. I did keep up with my workouts and good eating habits. That can be tricky on trips, but I did it! I had lots and lots of salads, sugar-free sno cones, and sugar-free popsicles. Yum!

School starts today, so I'm basically expecting phone calls to sub at any time. The teachers were told not to take off during the first week, but I'm ready either way.

I'm not finished yet, but I've been going through my clothes and getting rid of things that don't fit. I have clothes in several smaller sizes in the other closet and in storage bins under the bed. I've actually lost so much weight that I completely missed out on wearing some of my smaller sizes. I'm enjoying my new (but old) wardrobe!!! I do have plenty of clothes to get me by for now and for the next few months (I think), but I may be going to the thrift stores around Christmas time.

Does anyone know of a consignment store in STL that buys plus-size clothing? I seriously have thousands of dollars in clothes. I know I wouldn't get much, but any amount would help.

Anyways, that's what I've been up to lately. Hope all is well with all of you!

Where do I begin?

It's been pretty crazy around here lately. I'm not even sure where to begin. I guess I'll fill in a few blanks since my last post on July 21.

On July 21st, Starbucks was running a "free pastry with any drink purchase" promotion. I treated myself to a tall decaf nonfat latte and picked out a pastry for David to enjoy later. It was a nice perk to my purchase.

On the 22nd, I met up with a friend and her 2 kids to see the movie "Hotel for Dogs" for FREE! A nearby theater has summer kid movie specials. So, I enjoyed a cute movie with some good company.

I went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens on the 24th with some of the other Med Wives. One friend knew that it was a FREE day on Friday because they were celebrating Henry Shaw's 209th Birthday. If you want to know more about Henry Shaw, try Googling him.

I was invited by a friend and then I invited 2 other friends. We all had a great time and the weather was wonderful.

David and I splurged BIG TIME on the 25th. I'm not just talking about the money, but also the calories. Whew! We went to Texas Roadhouse for an early dinner. Since I knew that was going to be our last night out for at least a month, I decided to get the Sirloin Beef Tips, complete with mashed potatoes, brown gravy, sauteed mushrooms, and a salad. I only ate 1/3 of my plate, but it was so good! I haven't had a meal like that in 1 1/2 months. I won't be doing it again anytime soon either. It was a nice treat!

David put in 70 hours at the hospital last week during his transplant surgery rotation and didn't even set foot in the OR once. I guess that's pretty normal. They have a lot of follow-up work and stuff. I sure hope his schedule lightens up soon. I want my husband back!

We went to the Cardinals vs Dodgers game last night. It started an hour earlier than what our tickets stated, but we still made it in time. I took some bottled diet soda, sandwiches, watermelon, popcorn, and some rice krispy treats for us. Yes, I splurged again, but everything was portioned out and that was the first real food I'd eaten all day. We stayed at the game until about 8pm and then headed home so he could finish working on a presentation for the Chief of Surgery. Hopefully that went well today.

I met with a friend for lunch today. She is also a Med Wife and we talked and talked about Med School. It's so nice to have someone to relate to through all of this. I'll get to see my friend again on Thursday when she gives me a ride to the airport.

Yes, I'm going out of town again. I just hate leaving my boys behind, but this is my last chance to go home before school/work starts for me. It's going to be a long trip this time. I've completely stocked our freezer and fridge with meals for David so he will only have to microwave stuff. I know he's going to miss coming home to a freshly prepared hot meal and I'll miss being able to do that for him. Things will resume back to normal as soon as I get back in town. I know I'll miss cooking, especially for David.

I'm still losing weight, which is a good thing. I often feel as if the pounds are dripping off like the condensation on a cold drink, or like wax on a candle. So, as of now I'm a bunch down, but I have bunches more to go. I'm hoping to come back from my trip down at least 10 more pounds. We'll see if that happens. Wish me luck!

This may be my last post for a while. I'm guessing I won't post while I'm out of town. We'll see.

Be blessed!

PS. Please PRAY for Me, Everyone I come in contact with on my trip, David, and a doggy prayer for Ethan. Thanks!

Transplant

I dropped David off at the hospital at 5:15am yesterday. That was the first day of his Transplant rotation. He seems to be liking it so far, but it's still early to tell. David finished up at about 5pm yesterday. That's super early compared to the schedule he's been pulling. It was so nice to have him home early. We're hoping he can get out of there at 5pm today too. We shall see if that happens. = )

I met a couple of friends for breakfast at FirstWatch on Sunday. I had an egg-white omelette and fruit. It was really tasty! After breakfast one of the girls had to get to a Cardinals game, but the other two of us went to the Galleria. The only thing I purchased was some vitamins from GNC. With all of the extreme dieting and working out I've been doing, I decided I needed to be on some supplements (I just finished the rest of my Gummi Vites - now I'm on the big girl vitamins again..... they're HUGE). I have a history of my hair thinning and falling out when I diet this hard. So, I'm trying to do everything I can to prevent that from happening this time.

My diet is going really well. I'm down 26lbs today..... which make me down 39lbs since the beginning of March. I think I've made a pretty good sized dent in my total goal. Woohoo! I'm still working out 60-90 minutes 6 days a week. And I still end up walking on my "day off". Working out isn't as much of a battle these days. I can actually say that I'm pretty close to being addicted. I never ever even imagined that such a thing would be possible with me. I was always the classical music girl who was anti-sports/anti-physical activity..... well, unless it was marching band. Ha!

"I'm married to the smartest man alive!" - Jenn

Yes, I quoted myself in the blog title. It's so true!

There's a little something I always say and I'm gonna say it again......

I DEFINITELY want our future kids to have

my MUSIC ability and

my husband's INTELLIGENCE/genius-ness.

(geniusness? my point exactly.)

= )

We found out David's Step 1 score today and it totally confirms the above comment. I'm extremely proud of him for doing so well! It's even more impressive that he only spent 2 WEEKS studying for this test. It just blows my mind.

Way To Go, David!!!

All-Star Game!

The MLB All-Star Game is going on in St. Louis right this moment. It's so exciting!

We don't have tickets and wouldn't have gone even if we did. David is working some crazy long hours in his neurosurgery rotation at the hospital and we don't have time, but it's all good.

I just wanted to make a post about this since it's probably a once in a lifetime for us. The fact that we're living in a city where the All-Star game is taking place is pretty awesome.

Ya gotta remember that we're from O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A and we only have minor league baseball. So this is a BIG DEAL!

I hope this will make for a half-way interesting story to tell our kids, grand-kids, etc.... someday.

GO CARDINALS!

On a side note, I started my newest extreme diet 1 month ago today and I'm down 21 lbs.! I'm pretty happy with that number. The journey continues.

Neurosurgery

One of David's classmates that's currently on the neurosurgery rotation with him posted a facebook status that caught my eye. Check it out.....

"I wonder if urologists pee and gastroenterologists eat, because neurosurgeons don't."

-Ms. R

David and I will be going to bed even earlier tonight. I'll be dropping him off at the hospital before 5am tomorrow. Fun, fun!

6am is sleeping in!

David officially started his 3rd year of Medical School on Monday. They started with Orientation that day. From what I can gather from David, it was more stressful than informative. Great.

I dropped him off at School the past couple of days so I could get some things done around town. The most important thing I took care of was our car tags. It's that time of year again, but luckily I was able to get a 2 year tag this time so I won't have to deal with it next summer. Yay!

David and I went to bed at 9pm last night. That's crazy early for us these days. We both got up sometime before 5 this morning and I dropped him off at the hospital at 5:45. Yea, we've both had that schedule at one time or another, but that was a LONG time ago. We've been living the lives of students and scheduling our classes as late as possible. I think most of his classes started at 9am this last year, so 6am is early!

I'm looking at the time right now and realizing that I dropped him off over 8 hours ago. I haven't heard from him all day. I don't know if I should go ahead and start laundry (in the apt. laundromat) or just sit by the phone. I'm wondering if they'll keep him for 12 hours on his first full day. Who knows?

David did mention that this was probably the latest (6am) that he'll ever get to report to his surgery rotation. He thinks it'll be more like 4am from here on out. That's kinda freaking me out because he usually doesn't even get to bed until about that time. Thank goodness for Ambien.

We officially have a new bedtime over here at our place. I'm thinking we'll be going to bed between 8 and 9 every evening during surgery rotation. He's currently in NEUROSURGERY and I'm not sure what comes next.

I've heard for the past 2 years that 3rd year is the absolute worst. I hear that I'll rarely see my husband and that he'll be running on "E" almost the entire time. I'm getting sad just thinking about all of this right now. Ugh! I'm definitely ready for school to start up so I can go back to teaching. It sure beats sitting around the house all day.

On a good note, I can say that I already got my work-out in for the day. I was at the gym at 6am and was on the elliptical for 65 minutes. It's nice to check that off my list so early in the day.

I'm hoping this year won't be as bad as so many people claim. I'm actually beginning to wonder if people say it's so hard because they've never had a real job before. Yea, that sounds crazy, but the majority of the Med Students graduated High School, attended Undergrad and graduated, and are now in Med School. Many of them haven't ever had a job of any kind. Most of them haven't had a career. Nothing's wrong with that, but I see how it could definitely change someone's perspective. Hopefully it won't be as difficult for us because we have been in the working field. We BOTH had careers and chose to leave them for this journey we're currently taking. Now, we just have to re-train ourselves for these long days.

I guess I better get my laundry started. I can't sit around and wait forever. It might be 6pm before I hear from him.

Happy Birthday, Hubby!!!

07/03/1982

was a GREAT day!

My husband, David, was born that day!

We celebrated his birthday here in St. Louis again this year. We went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse on Thursday night. Neither one of us really enjoy fighting the crowds on Friday nights, so that's why we did the birthday dinner celebration a little early. We both had steaks and they were amazing..... as usual!

Today we had his birthday lunch at Blueberry Hill. It's a really fun place to eat here in St. Louis. I had the chef salad and David had the chili dog. You'd think that was enough, but I insisted that the birthday boy have some dessert. We walked across the street to check out FroYo. It's a lot like the Orange Tree that's back home in Edmond, OK. It's pretty good, but we still like Orange Tree better. David put together a scrumptious looking creation and I made a very small dish just for taste.

After grabbing lunch and dessert, we headed on over to the New Balance store. I've been telling David for months that he needed to go get fitted for shoes at one of the New Balance stores. We spent quite a bit of time in Famous Footwear yesterday and he didn't find anything. So, he finally gave in to my idea. I love it when I'm right. = )

He found THE pair of shoes. David isn't one to spend more than 40 bucks on shoes, so I had to do some convincing, but I won. He is now the proud owner of high-end New Balance shoes. Hopefully his feet will be happy during his surgery rotation.

After our big purchase we went to Whole Foods for David to pick out his birthday dessert. I traditionally bake him a cake from scratch, but we didn't think that was the best plan this year. He'd be the only one eating dessert and the oven would heat up the apartment too much. I despise store bought cakes, but Whole Foods actually makes great cakes. I kinda feel like a lousy wife for slacking off on my baking, but he didn't seem to mind too much. It just worked out better this way. David picked out a beautiful berry cake. I think he ate over half of it.... all by himself! He loves sweets!

After dessert, David opened his gifts. He received a card and money from my Parents and a card and money from my Grandma. Not too shabby! All I had for him were a few new ties. He'll be needing them for his clinical rotations this year. I'm looking forward to seeing him in dress clothes again. Woohoo! I know my gift sounds pretty lame, but he did recently get an iPhone. I don't think he's hurting too bad. LOL!

Anyways, it was a great day for the both of us. We had a lot of fun. I still owe him one more birthday gift..... I told him I'd see a movie with him in the theater. That's not something I normally do. Seeing a movie 1-2 times in the theater per year is enough for me. So, this is a big treat for him. Guess we'll be seeing "The Hangover" tomorrow. YAY!

Here are some pics from our day of celebrating.....

Very similar to Orange Tree

David was excited about his FroYo

David's creation

My small portion of their sugar-free FroYo (just to try)

A hamburger cake at Whole Foods

David wanted it, but it would take him days to finish.

Ethan waiting patiently for a taste of dessert

David's Birthday Cake!

He must have enjoyed the cake.

A funny card from my parents.....

....SO TRUE! ha ha

We let Ethan lick David's plate for a few seconds. = )

Oh my goodness! Only 2 days of summer vacation remain for David!

He starts his 3rd year of Medical School

on Monday.

Yikes!

What happened to June?

I can't believe June is over and it's now July. This summer is going by too quickly!!!

David and I drove back to St. Louis on Sunday. I had a doctor check-up the next morning and everything went fine.

David's Dad, Tim, flew in to St. Louis on Tuesday morning. We've been hanging out and having fun ever since he arrived. On Tuesday afternoon we had lunch at Imo's (salad for me) and then went to Grant's Farm. They were super busy and we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was great fun!

The long line just to get in Grant's Farm

David and Tim had sushi for dinner and then went to the Cardinals game. Sadly, the Cardinals didn't win, but David and Tim had a great time anyway.

Today, we went to get donuts at the World's Fair Donut shop (none for me) and then went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. We ended up having even better weather than yesterday. It was amazing! The gardens were as breathtaking as usual. David experimented with his new iPhone and took some pics (okay, I actually stole his iPhone and took most of these).

Take a look.....

We were pretty hungry after seeing the Garden's, so we went to Bar Louie to grab a bite to eat. David and Tim both had sandwiches and fries. I had a side of steamed veggies. They were delish! We then ventured out to the Anheuser-Busch factory for a tour. I think this was my 3rd tour and David's 7th. It's pretty neat.

We returned home to relaxed for a bit and then David took his Dad to try out Culvers. There wasn't anything there I could eat, so I just stayed home. I called in some chinese food (I ordered the healthy stuff) and they picked it up on their way back home.

I'm sure you've noticed that I've made little comments about food in this post. Well, it's that time again. I'm on another diet/lifestyle change/whatever you want to call it. I'm just over 2 weeks in and I've lost 15lbs. I'm exercising like a crazy woman and being very restrictive with my food intake. I'll try to post my plan on here soon.

That's what we've been up to this week. Fun, fun!