Winter Ball 2010

Saturday night was the Medical School Winter Ball, also known more fondly as "Med School Prom" by the medical students. I spent the afternoon trying to figure out what to wear. Money is tight and I didn't want to have to buy anything. I tried on all my dresses and couldn't decide what to wear. When Drew came home from the hospital and told me he wanted to wear his khaki suit, it helped me decide on this dress:

I have to apologize for the picture quality as I brought my old camera. Considering there was going to be drinking and dancing, I didn't think bringing my Nikon was a good idea! And although there was some great music played, Drew and I didn't dance to one single song. Although I normally love to dance, we were so busy talking and catching up with everyone we never even made it to the dance floor. It was sooo nice to catch up with all of Drew's med school friends. Here are some more photos from the night.
Below are some gorgeous soon to be doctors with Dr. Constance, the Dean of Student Affairs
Some of Drew's closest friends
The fabulous favors!
The Class of 2010. I can hardly believe these crazy kids are going to be caring for patients as doctors in six months!
A ladies picture

And an action series (the beginning of the somersault......)
And the successful landing

And last but not least, one more picture of my medical student and me.

The night was wonderful, but I must say it was hard not to get too sentimental as I realized it was our last med school prom. I can hardly believe we are starting to begin the "end" of this portion of our journey. This is the first of many "lasts" in the upcoming months.

Fabulous and Exhausting weekend

We had a wooonderful weekend! Friday night I spent laying around trying to rest up and fight off my lingering cold. Saturday I went in to work in the morning and then tried on just about every dress in my closet trying to get ready for the Winter Ball. We had a blast and I hope to post pictures tomorrow. And then today we went to church, ran some errands, tried to tidy up around the house and then headed to a super bowl party. It was a great weekend of catching up with Drew's medical school friends - we've been really out of the loop with our busy schedules. I'm exhausted and need to get some rest to be ready for another busy Monday at work, but hopefully I have pictures and details about winter ball posted tomorrow night. Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

First of all, I just wanted to say thank you for all the encouraging comments! Sometimes I need to hear those things from other people to help me believe that they are true. Like I said, it is truly a battle because I do know that everything will be just fine, I just struggle with the lack of control and all the unknown. Posting my feelings was theraputic and Tuesday and Wednesday were much better days. I also think that tums may be my new best friend.

I noticed this week that our apartment has been particularly organized and the running of our household has been so much smoother. It wasn't until I noticed this that I realized that it might have something to do with the fact that I've actually be home, the past two weekends. I had been on the road every weekend since October, and Drew hasn't been home a full weekend since July! It's amazing how much smoother the week can go when you have the weekend to do laundry, dishes, tidy up and organize. We've been used to getting home around 7:00 p.m. most nights and then having dinner and then trying to pack/unpack, do laundry, dishes and the household chores at night. And most of the time we are behind on these chores so we just can't manage to catch up! So it has been unusually nice to just be able to get ready for work or make a meal without having to do a load of laundry or clean the sink full of dishes first. I am already looking forward to another weekend home, and having Drew home for at least part of it.

Speaking of staying home on weekends we are somewhat on a travel boycott. Well at least I am. Drew has still had interviews so he hasn't been able to stay home. The poor guy is so used to staying on aerobeds, guest beds or hotel beds! Needless to say we are trying to cut down on travel and visiting friends and family for the next few months, just so that we relax at bit. To give you an idea we put 24,000 miles on my car last year. And I only live six miles from work and its less than 3 miles to Walmart! We travelled a lot in 2009 both for interviews and also to see family and friends. Its hard because my family in particular isn't the best with coming to visit. Which means that if I want to see them, we have to drive up north. It also doesn't help that almost all of our family and friends are located in the same area. Which means that we usually try to pack in visits to several different people in one weekend. And while it is so much fun to see everyone, it gets exhausting. And the sad part is I still don't see everyone I'd like to nearly as much as I'd like too! But ultimately, I realize that we are truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives that we wish we could see more.

I don't know how long I'll be able to avoid traveling, just because its hard to pass up opportunities to see the people I love, but for now, I am enjoying the time at home!

I have really been enjoying playing with my new camera. With Drew being gone I have found that photography can be a fun hobby. I've taken my camera with me on a few walks and have had a fun time.
Here are a few photos from Lake Springfield....

(Beach House)

I have learned that taking pictures of people (kids in particular) is much more difficult.

Here are a few photos from my "photo shoot" with Kaiden...

Gotta love those blue eyes!

And here are some photos of my handsome nephews .....

And last but not least, my beautiful Goddaughter, Olivia...

Chew toy?

That leaf was not as tasty as it appeared!

Anyways, I am really loving my new toy but I have a lot to learn as far as photographing people/kids. But thank goodness I have lots of beautiful kiddos in my life to capture (and hopefully help me become a better photographer)!

My weekend in Pictures

Saturday morning my Mom and I headed over to my Aunts house where I got to see my cousins and their two little cuties. (Here is Sophie).

And I got to meet baby Connor for the first time!
Then we picked Drew up from the train. And headed to my hometown favorite, "The Freeze" so that Drew could get a well deserved cotton candy blizzard
Drew and I then took a nap (he was on call the night before). And we headed out to a late dinner with my wonderful parents. I also figured out how to use the timer on my camera, which allowed for this picture to be taken....

On Sunday our friends (Elizabeth and the Craigens) came over. Here is a picture of my beautiful Goddaughter (just after she had fallen asleep in my arms!)

It was a wonderful weekend filled with just a few of my favorite people!

Life is good!

Last Hoo-rah!

Last Wednesday Drew and I went to the Cardinals game with two of our good medical school friends Andrea and Ryan.

It was our last end of summer "event" due to the fact that Drew will be gone the months of August, September and October for away-rotations. It was a great night and a great last summer outing together!

I'm not looking forward to fall or winter weather, but the summer just won't be the same without Drew!

Another fun and busy weekend

This past weekend Drew's cousin got married. A few weeks ago I offered to help with the odds and ends on the day of (kind of like a day-of coordinator). I was hoping that I could give the bride some peace of mind and help things move smoothly on her big day. (I figured I know how to help since I have been married and have been in quite a few weddings so I know what things need to get done). So on Thursday night when we were at the rehearsal I introduced myself to the church coordinator and told her I would be helping out and asked if there was anything I could do. Her response was "Oh your the wedding coordinator, great! Just follow me around and I'll tell you what you have to do." I tried to explain that I was just a friend helping out, but for some reason from then on I was dubbed as the wedding coordinator. It was quite funny actually. Some of the bride's family and friends really thought I was a wedding coordinator! (People were asking me if it was my job, and asking whether or not I was available for hire). Although it was a very busy day, I had lots of fun being part of the action! The beautiful bride

Mr. and Mrs.

Saturday was a day of recovery - we lounged around at the newlywed's house and ate leftover wedding cake before heading to my parents house that night.

Sunday morning Drew and I woke up early for another big event - Olivia's Baptism! (Olivia is one of my best friend's -since elementary school- baby girl.) I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but I was asked (and am honored) to be one of Olivia's sponsors/Godmother.

Olivia - wearing the same dress her Mommy was baptised in!

Afterwards we went to Olivia's Grandparent's for a lovely luncheon and enjoyed the Crystal Lake Independance Day parade.

Livie and I at the Parade

Unfortunately I didn't get much sleep this weekend and am totally and completely exhausted. So I'll be trying to get to bed early this week!

We have a visitor tonight...

Isn't he cute? I think he looks like a cabbage patch kid. He is staying the night tonight while his Mommy gets some rest. She is a single mother for another month until her husband gets home from Afghanistan. Okay, I have to get back to snuggling this cutie!

Fun weekend

This weekend was a lot of play and very little productiveness. On Friday I went out on the town to celebrate my friend Shannon’s thirtieth birthday. Although we’ve lived in Springfield for over a year and a half and I had yet to go out downtown. I found out that Springfield actually has quite the nightlife. We went to several bars each of which were unique and entertaining. I had more than my share of shots and martinis and definitely had a good time! Shannon is also the mother to a one-month-old incredibly adorable baby boy and her husband is currently serving in Afghanistan. Drew spent the night babysitting and hanging out with Shannon's little guy. This was the sight we came home to…
Drew and I stayed the night so that we (and I mean Drew) could get up with the baby during the night so that Shannon could actually sleep after a night of drinking. How great is my husband?
Saturday morning we headed to Peoria for a wedding of Drew’s college friend. It was another beautiful and fun wedding, and we spent another evening dancing the night away.
Then today we got to go to my favorite place ever… the Ice Cream Shack! It is a little place, kind of in the ghetto of Peoria, but it the best soft serve ice cream and blizzard combinations (smores, banana cookie, strawberry shortcake and more). I absolutely LOVE soft serve ice cream! When I went to school in Peoria I seriously went there multiple times a week even though it was at the complete opposite side of town as campus. And although I am a bit embarrassed to admit it, I often bought two treats... one for now and one to freeze for later!Today I was able to enjoy one of my favorites – a strawberry shortcake wizard! Mmmm!
Also, I know I haven't posted much on medical school lately I just haven't gotten around to it - I want to post about loans during residency and about the residency match process. So hopefully I can get to those this week.

Busy Memorial Day Weekend

So surprise, it was another very busy weekend of traveling! Friday we made the trip back to my parents place in Crystal Lake. With the holiday traffic and cops running radar everywhere we went the speed limit and made it back in four hours. Thank goodness we left in the afternoon because the ride was long. We got there in time to take a bike ride around the lake and then have dinner with my parents.
Saturday we had an early lunch with my J-Pops, it was great to see them. The kids were pretty quiet but it was still good to see their smiling faces. It was also particularly wonderful to see Jilly-bean (see prayer requests) doing so well. The little angel suffers from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. And while she is a little fighter and does her best to keep up with the other kids, sometimes the disease still drags her down. One of the most noticeable symptoms are her swollen knees and joints. Due to a modification in her meds little Jilly's joints were noticeably smaller - it was wonderful to see such a visible difference; just a little miracle in her progress. I can only hope that continued to prayers will allow her to one day grow out of her JRA.
Saturday evening we headed to Lake Zurich for my law school friend's wedding. It was beautiful, Pam was a stunning bride, I got to see Celia and Joe, and Drew and I did quite a bit of drinking and dancing. It was a pretty fun group considering we crammed twenty people in hotel's van by piling in and sitting on laps. (The newlyweds below).
Sunday morning Drew and I headed back to CL so that I could head to St. Charles for my cousin's baby shower. She is expecting little Connor Jacob in July. I had lots of fun holding and playing with my all of my cousin's little babies. (Below is Jacob)
Then once again Sunday morning Drew and I got in car to take my Mom to airport and then headed to Marseilles to spend the day with Drew's parents. After lunch we took his Grandma home by driving through Streator and also stopping at his Grandpa's grave (he was a WWII veteran) on the way. Then finally, we made it home to Springfield last night.
Although busy it was definitely a great weekend. And even though I don't enjoy all the traveling and driving I am still very thankful that we have so many wonderful people in our lives.

Baby fever

This weekend was another baby shower, this time for one of my best friends from elementary school (who also happens to be married to one of my best friends from college - I introduced them). Me and one of her other best friends and her mother hosted the shower, but living so far away I felt like I wasn't able to help much with the planning... so I demanded that I be in charge of making desserts. With the help of my Mom we were able to make quite the dessert spread. I think my favorite were the chocolate covered strawberries...

The decor was beautiful (but I can take no credit for it)

I made the usual baby shower pacifier candies....

And I had a lot of fun making this diaper cake (it was the first one I've made but I may make a how-to post next time I make one)

And my friend got lots of presents - she is all ready - all she needs now is little Olivia!
While I was at the shower Drew was at an informational meeting about Northwestern's residency program - I'll try and about that post tomorrow.

Busy weekend

We had a pretty busy weekend and unfortunately I didn't get much done around the apartment. Saturday morning I went to work and D went on his last long run before the half-marathon next weekend. By the time I got back from work in the afternoon I had to throw a cake in the oven and change - then we headed over to some friends house to "watch the game" even though I didn't watch any of the game. But I had a great time catching up with Drew's med school friends. When we got home shortly after 9 - we vegged on the couch and passed out! This morning we got up early for mass, and headed straight to Davenport.

We got to spend the afternoon with Abbie, Conrad and new (1-month-0ld) Campbell Grace!

She is beautiful and it was heaven holding her.

We did get home here tonight at six; but at that point I didn't get much done around here. And while I was a total dork and went to bed around 10 both Friday and Saturday, I am glad I did because I didn't get my usually weekend naps! With that being said I am going to get ready for bed and spend some quality quiet time with the husband before heading to bed.