A Short Hiatus

Here I am, yet again, apologizing for not posting anything for quite some time. It's been nearly two months since I wrote last. This blog is always in the back of my mind, but I decided not to spend time on it the past couple of months. In the middle of this month is my upcoming National Board Exam. My classmates and I will be sitting for 14 hours over the course of 2 days, answering 500 questions about nearly everything we've learned so far in optometry school. This is Part 1 of 3 board exams we all have to complete (read, pass) to become optometrists.  I've been slowly working my way through material since December, so most of my extra time has been spent studying instead of blogging. I though it was a good idea to put it on the back-burner for a bit, then pick it up again after the big exam.

What's happened in the meantime, though?
I tried a local donut shop, Shipley's Donuts, with my friend Heather one day after class. Definitely worth the stop. (Of course, the first thing I mention is food.)

I survived having a classmate giving me various injections this semester. Once in the eye lid (subcutaneous), once between the tissues overlying the sclera (subconjunctival), in the arm (intramuscular), and one round of taking a little blood from my arm. Thankfully I chose a trusted friend as my partner, and no tears were shed. We both even made it out without subconjunctival hemorrhages!

          

We drove to the gulf for a weekend with friends, and had a great time checking out Mobile and the surrounding area. We ate a delicious seafood lunch on the water at a really cool restaurant built out of shipping containers. They also had an awesome outdoor area to sit and enjoy the view.

Unfortunately, on that same trip a deer ran into the side of my car. He did enough damage that we couldn't drive it back to Birmingham, and it was later marked as totaled. Thankfully Jesse's dad was willing to come rescue us from the middle-of-nowhere. Come to find out, the deer also put a dent in the top of the roof. Thankfully, none of us inside the car were harmed.

The hunt for a car began...and went on... and on.... Then finally we decided on a car. A new(er) white, Hyundai Sonata. I know, I know... the same kind of car. I secretly have made fun of people in the past getting a newer version of the same car, so you can do the same to me. But to our defense, the newer version is completely different from one I had, inside and out. Jesse hated my old car and would never, ever have bought it again. Honestly, we decided on a budget and looked at all the 4-door sedans within that price range. By the time Jesse and I each eliminated some, there were only a few options left. The 2011 Sonata is much improved upon from 2008. I had named the old Sonata "Sonya," and now the new Sonata "Sonya 2.0" since she has the 2.0Turbo engine. I was very sad when old Sonya was totaled, but Sonya 2.0 feels like an old friend already. :)

We've marked a couple more things off our Birmingham Bucket List.  We had lunch one day with Mike, Kelsey, and Addy at the Tip Top Grill which is on top of "our side of the mountain" and looked out over the neighboring Lover's Leap. I had dinner one night at Babalu's Tacos and Tapas while Matt & Heidi were visiting, which was fantastic! I wanted to eat everything off their menu, so Jesse and I will certainly return! So, yes, by bucket list I really mean restaurant check list...

We said an Alabama goodbye to our friends Hannah and Adam as they moved on to the next journey of life in Washington. We got to hang out with them on their last night in Birmingham, so I like to think they saved the best for last. ;)  We also got to help them pack the day of their move, but I didn't get a single photo of us together! Hannah recently finished school and passed her board exam to become a physician's assistant. That lady loves people, and I'm happy to see her living out her dream and caring for others.

Jesse inherited Hannah's fish tank that couldn't make the move, so he has spent quite a number of afternoons tending to it and getting his plants and a few new fish settled in.

Those are a few of the recent highlights! I'm signing off the blog for a few more weeks to focus on studying for boards. I'm accepting prayers for motivation, clarity, understanding, and maintained sanity until March 18th! Jesse too, as he puts up with me and my stress until then! After that, I'm looking forward to blogging regularly again.