30 by 30...

Due to the fact that I am nearing the end of my education this year and have gone through quite a few changes in the last few years, I've decided that it's time to revamp my idea of where my life is heading and why.  You know the whole question, where do you see yourself in five years?  Well I am deciding to focus on the journey, instead of the destination, by answering what I would like to DO in the next five-ish years.  I'll be 26 in about 3 months, to give some perspective.  So... here is my list of thirty things (in no specific order of importance) that I would LIKE to accomplish by the age of 30!

1. See the Nutcracker Ballet in New York City 
2. Graduate with a doctorate in Occupational Therapy
3. Go on a vacation with my mom
4. Go to an NFL or college bowl game
5. Visit California, go to a wine tasting at a vineyard, and put my toes in the Pacific ocean.
6. Celebrate a birthday in Las Vegas!
7. Get my dog to like my cats (this would make my life a lot easier)
8. Live with my husband finally!
9. Buy a house, preferably a yellow one.
10. Have a porch...  and a porch swing :)
11. Go on a road trip to a place I've never been.
12. Publish something.
13. Visit North Carolina 
14. Learn to drive a tractor so I can feel like I'm caught up to my 3-year-old nephew.
15. Be a better swimmer (so I can snorkel without freaking out)
16. Develop a coveted recipe, or maybe more than one!
17. Find a job that I love to go to every day
18. Learn to do my dishes right away, no matter how much I hate it...
19. Visit Louisiana and New Orleans!  Maybe go to Mardi Gras... :)
20. Do an over the top surprise for my husband.
21. Meet up with my friends from OT school at conference after we graduate.
22. Go to a Cubs baseball game at Wrigley field.
23. Start a family... :)
24. Go on a camping trip with my husband and no cell phones for at least a whole weekend. 
25. Change a life
26. See Hairspray the musical for the first time and Wicked for the second.
27. Read 100 books, just for fun (This might happen waaay before 30, but we'll see)
28. Host a holiday with both my family and the in-laws. :)
29. Teach/coach dance or cheerleading again.
30. Go back to Mexico with my husband and some friends!

Obviously some of the things on this list are easier to accomplish than others and plans may change depending on where I am with work and finances.  But... at the very least it was fun to think of some things that would be really meaningful to me.  :)

18 weeks...

So 18 weeks might seem like a long time, but in comparison to say... 2 1/2 years... it's not.  16 weeks from now I'll be starting at Madonna for my summer fieldwork, and about 2 weeks after that Clint will be coming to stay with me for the summer.  And in August I'll be moving back to Overton with him.  So, in 18 more weeks this long distance relationship stuff will officially be over! Yay!

I have been at Creighton about 2 /1/2 years now, and that whole time Clint and I have been living about 3 hours apart, seeing each other every other weekend on average.  4 weeks is about the longest we've been apart, which doesn't happen very often.  For many, living apart when you are married seems crazy (I've heard more than enough opinions on the topic).  Others say we have the perfect set up.  And while it sucks, the times when we are together make it worth any wait.  I could not be more excited for our future together.

I fully intend to enjoy the next 18 weeks at school and starting my pediatrics rotation.  But I needed to share my excitement and say... Let the countdown begin! :)

Stress!

So, our  last semester of school just started and let's just say I've been a bit of a mess to say the least.  We have so much going on already with data collection, research papers, labs, etc. that I am feeling completely unorganized.  To top all this off, I made a New Year's resolution that I was really going to do all of the readings this semester, not what just seemed interesting.  So... I'm regretting that one a little bit.

While this does all stress me out, I am also excited because we are getting so close to going on rotations.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I'll finally be doing what I've been dreaming of doing my whole life.  And getting so close to finally making some money.  This time next year I might have a job!  I should anyway.  I was talking with a friend today and she gave me a reminder not to wait to be happy until you graduate or have a job.  The perfect situation may never come up.   She's so wise.   So... this is my reminder to myself to chill out, enjoy my last semester with some of my best friends, and remember what all of this is going towards... :)

Honeymoon!

I wanted to do a short post because I really want to start keeping up with this blog instead of just pretending it will write itself.  So here it is! 

Clint and I went on our honeymoon to Riviera Maya in Mexico, south of Cancun, and it was beautiful!  Seriously the best six days of my life.  We went ziplining, repelling into a cave, swam in a cenote, snorkeled, rode through the jungle in a big truck, saw Mayan ruins at Tulum, visited a Mayan village and ate authentic food, and waded into the ocean (we didn't know to bring out swimsuits).  And we ate a ton of food!  We also got to go to a huge new year's celebration, complete with circus performers.  So awesome!  Our resort was a buffet for breakfast and lunch, and you needed to order like four courses at dinner.  It was fantastic!  We also got to lay by the pool or by the ocean and had drinks delivered to us.  I am now a huge fan of Pina Coladas. Yum :)

I so want to go back again.  Six days with Clint without any interruptions or things we absolutely had to do was wonderful.  I highly recommend it!