AHHH RELIEF!!!

I just wanted to post a quick blog and let everybody know that I PASSED my boards!! I found out on Thursday and was sooo excited. I posted an update on Facebook, but then realized today that I hadn't updated my blog. It was pretty funny because to find out my scores I had to log in to a certain website and it would tell you your score. My heart was pounding when I was logging on, but the ultimate feeling of relief came when I looked and saw that one little word...PASSED! So, I proceeded to run upstairs screaming "I passed! I passed!" Tay was still in bed and I scared the crap out of him! So..that was pretty much the greatest feeling ever. I am finally DONE with school! It seems surreal, but we are so excited to start the next phase of our lives. Speaking of which...we have made a decision on where we are going to move. I will post about that a bit later when I have more time!

When I Grow Up........

So....these past couple of weeks have been a crazy mess consisting of a nauseating amount of travel going to my interviews, my graduation, and studying for my board exams. In 2 weeks, I have been off and on 14 airplanes and spent more hours than I care to count being bored out of my mind waiting at 5 different airports. Let me tell you a bit about my interviews so that all of you can help me decide what to do with my life when I "grow up" and get a real job:). My first interview was in Aberdeen, WA for a hospitalist position. It is right on the coast and is BEAUTIFUL. They are offering a killer salary and a lot of time off, but I would be working 12 hour shifts and it would be 7 days on and then 7 days off. That sounds like a crazy schedule, but they also offer 5 weeks of paid vacation per year. Next up was a family practice clinic near Lake Havasu, AZ. The doctor there was really nice and it qualified for student loan repayment, but the salary would be significantly lower. Then, I was off to Moses Lake, WA at a community health center which was set up really well. It also qualifies for student loan repayment, but the salary is quite a bit lower than the one in Aberdeen. Anyways, there are my options so far. We are still deciding and we haven't heard back from all of the places yet, so I will keep you posted as we find things out. Here are some pictures....
This is the view from the neighborhood we would live in in Aberdeen. It overlooks the harbor and it's so pretty!








Here's a shout out to all the Twilight lovers of the world!! We were driving down to the beach and saw this sign. I wasn't going to stop, but then I thought that I couldn't claim to be a true Twilight fan if I didn't take a picture of this!!





You've gotta love the beach! It was so pretty with the morning fog and the waves. There's something very therapeutic about the ocean. I love it!






So, on our last night in Washington, Tay and I went to the Pike Place Market in Seattle. It was sooo cool! I'd like to go back there and explore some more.






Now this one was the view from our hotel balcony in Lake Havasu. It was really pretty! Our hotel there was so cool. It had a ton of modern touches.






As you can tell, the further we got into interviews, the lazier we got with taking pictures. In fact, I didn't take any on my trip to Moses Lake, but it was a pretty area. So, there's the facts. If anybody has any suggestions or advice...feel free to share. We can use all of the help that we can get!

Now, on to the big graduation day. It was a really great day! The graduation ceremony was just for the PA students and it was in this gorgeous building. The ceremony was not too long and the speaker was hilarious. Then there was a catered reception following the ceremony. We had a limit of 10 people that we could invite to the ceremony, so afterwards, we had a little get-together at the park to celebrate with everybody. Thanks to all of my family and Tay's family. You guys spoil us soooo much and we really appreciate it! Love you guys. Here's some graduation pictures. Don't laugh at how ridiculous I look in that stupid cap! I really wonder if they want you to look like a complete idiot on the day of graduation. I mean.. come on!!!























So there's the scoop on us. Exciting times! I am getting ready to take my board exams next week. PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!!! I feel like I'm going to have a stroke pretty much every time I think about going in to take the test. Seriously, I HAVE to pass this test and I don't deal well with that kind of pressure. My anxiety level is outrageous! Taylor is probably ready to move out until I get this out of the way. But seriously, please pray for me. I'm going to need the Lords help more than I can say:). We love everybody and hope that all is well!

Exciting Times

Yep....it's already that time! Here's a copy of my graduation announcement for those of you that didn't get one in the mail. Let's be honest, I was WAY too cheap to send one to everybody because I'm a poor college student! But I really do want to thank everybody for the support that you have given me during the past 2 years. I have been blessed with such an amazing family and family-in-law! I couldn't imagine finishing PA school without all of their help. Taylor has been an amazingly supportive husband through it all. I have not been an easy person to live with...constantly stressed out and gone for weeks at a time on rotations. This journey has been such a roller coaster ride for me! It has been one stressful thing after the next, but now that it's coming to an end, I can say that it was worth it. Now comes the hard part. You know....finding a job, passing my boards, etc. I am seriously going to need to be admitted to a mental hospital with all of my anxiety! My poor husband is probably ready to lock me in a closet and throw away the key!
So, Taylor and I leave for our first interview in Washington on Thursday, then it's off to Arizona on Monday for another one. It's going to be pretty busy, but we're excited to move on to the next phase of our lives! So, that's what's been going on with us. Hope everybody is doing well!

Crying Kids and CrossFit

Well...I think the title of this blog speaks for itself. For the past 5 weeks, I have been living in Twin Falls doing my Pediatrics rotation. When I rotate in Twin Falls, Kathleen takes one for the team and lets me live with her. So, as I'm getting ready start my rotation, Kathleen keeps mentioning this new class she's taking at the gym called CrossFit. I was really wanting to switch my work out routine up a little, so I decided to try it out for the 5 weeks that I would be there. I went into this whole thing knowing that it was going to be pretty HARD CORE because even Kathleen said that it was crazy hard and she's in really good shape. So...needless to say I was scared. CrossFit is a really high intensity strength and endurance work out. It only lasts about 20-40 minutes, but don't let that fool you. The objective is to work out smarter, not longer. So, we show up the first day and I look at the board telling us what we are supposed to do. It consisted of 100 jumping pull-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, and 100 squats. That, of course, doesn't count the running we have to do before and after the work out. Oh, and did I mention that this is all timed? It took a couple of days, but I WAS HOOKED! It is such a different way of working out. I found myself achieving things that I never thought that I could before. The trainer that teaches the class is pretty hilarious. On a particularly hard day, we were doing "wall balls" (trust me...you don't want to know what they are!) outside in 85 degree weather and we were all feeling a little sick. One of the guys in the class started puking in the bushes and the trainer went over there to see if he was okay...or so I thought. The trainer looked at him and said "either puke harder or go finish your set!" He's pretty hard core! That was the same day that he walked up to me when I was dead tired and taking a rest in the middle of my squats and said "Okay Sunshine. It better be passing out or puking time." Anyway, call me crazy but I love it now! I'm so sad that I won't be able to do it anymore. I tried to do it twice a day and I really felt a difference in my overall strength and endurance. Kathleen is pretty crazy though, because she would show up at 5:00am and go to an hour of spinning and THEN go to CrossFit. I don't know how she does it!

So...it was 6:00am, we have no make-up on and we're sweaty from just getting our butts kicked. Don't judge us for looking so bad!!

This pull-up bar was the cause of A LOT of pain over those 5 weeks!

Here's the trainer. Don't let that innocent look on his face fool you!





Okay. Enough about the gym. My pediatrics rotation was a lot of fun, but I'm pretty sure that it took 10 years off of my hearing because of all of the yelling that took place in such small exam rooms. And I got pretty sick because every time I had to examine a sick kid, they decided to get me back and cough in my face. Parents should tell their kids that sharing is only a good thing with food and toys! I was in the clinic for most of the time, but I ended up in the NICU and on the OB floor for the last week. That was a good experience and I learned a lot. I start my Psychiatry rotation now. LAST one!!
On a VERY HAPPY NOTE...I graduate on July 31st! I am so excited! I'd be more excited if I had a job, but that will come with time I hope! Kathleen took my pictures and made my graduation announcement up for me. Again, she's SUPERWOMAN and I'm quite convinced that it's not fair for one person to be so talented in that many areas! She's pretty amazing! I've been so blessed to have her in my life. Talk about marrying into a good family!

TV Addiction

So....I'm the first one to admit that I have many bad habits. For example, I bite my nails when I'm nervous, I nag my poor husband until he goes crazy, I'm a control freak, etc, etc. However, one of my major weaknesses is getting too addicted to TV series. I love The Biggest Loser, Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy, and pretty much anything on HGTV. Don't get me wrong...I do have a life and am not always able to sit down and watch all of them on the night that they air, but hey, that's what my DVR is for. So, I record everything and can watch it without the comercials. It's pretty fabulous. I just have to blog about the Grey's Anatomy season finale that was on tonight. WOW! I always love Grey's, but the past few weeks have really been AMAZING! I seriously can't believe all that has happened. The elevator proposal made me cry and almost turn a cartwheel because Derek and Meredith are FINALLY on the same page. Then, last week I cried so hard during Izzy and Alex's wedding that I thought my eyeballs were going to fall out. And this week, the drama got even better! I swear, I am going to be sooooo mad if two of the original characters die! I don't know how many of you watch Grey's, but it is what I like to call GREAT TV! One minute you're laughing and the next you're crying. I LOVE IT! Sorry, but I had to talk about the finale with somebody because Tay isn't really into it. Thanks for listening to the rantings of an addict!!!

YEAH!!!!

So...I just wanted to drop a quick note and let everybody know that I PASSED my first set of boards! I am so excited! I also got done with my 26 page typed portfolio! I can't even count how many times in the past few weeks that I have wanted to throw up just THINKING about all of my deadlines, but now they are all done! Now, I'm heading back to Twin Falls to live with Kathleen, Kent, and the girls. I am so excited for that. I love Kathleen and I am so glad that she has found such a great guy to be her new husband. My rotation in Twin is in Pediatrics. I think that it will be a lot of fun because I love working with kids. Taylor is getting ready to start school here in a couple of months. I'm so blessed to have such a patient husband. He has been so supportive and amazing through these last 2 years, and I love him so much for that. And besides, it's pretty hard not to love somebody that HOT!!!

Update

I can't believe how incredibly bad I am at updating our blog! And, I'm quite possibly the biggest hypocrite in the world because I love to read all of the blogs to keep updated on what's going on with everybody, but it apparently takes me 4 months to update my blog. Pretty pathetic! Speaking of pathetic.....My life is so boring and mundane that one of the most exciting things that has happened lately is the purchase of a new blender. However, in the blender's defense, it's not just ANY blender....It's the SUPER BLENDER. For all of the people in the world that love healthy foods and fresh ingredients, this is the blender for you! It's a VitaMix blender. When our blender broke, we were looking pretty hard for a new one because we use ours about 4-5 times a day for our protein shakes. So, we were wandering around our favorite store (aka Costco), and there was a guy there giving a demonstration on these blenders. It was pretty incredible! You can make your own FRESH fruit and vegetable juice using JUST the fruits and veggies. You don't even have to add any water or anything! Don't think that the coolness stops there! You can make your own low calorie sorbets and ice creams, soups, breads, batters, dips, dressings, etc. Yep, that's right! You heard me say soup. This blender will boil water in 3-4 minutes! So you put all of your fresh soup ingredients in and let it run while it heats the soup and preserves all of the nutrients in the produce. For the sorbets, I have been using fresh fruit, ice and Splenda. Very healthy and very delicious! You can also grind your own wheat into flour. The possibilities are endless!!! I really LOVE IT! Man, I should get paid for all of this advertising!

Okay...enough about the blender! I have been busy with my rotations. Since the last time I posted an update, I have finished my Emergency Medicine, Dermatology and Inpatient rotations. I really love my rotations. I absolutely love all of the hands on experience and patient interaction. I also had to give my Master's presentation last month which is a big research project and presentation in front of a bunch of graduate committee members. I was soooo nervous, especially when they were grilling me with questions for over an hour, but I passed and am so relieved to be done with that. Just one step closer to graduation! So, I am about a week away from taking my first set of written Board Exams. I'm pretty stressed out because if I don't pass them, then I get kicked out of my program basically and there's 7 years of college down the drain. But NO PRESSURE right??? I will also be leaving for my next rotation in a couple of weeks. It is in Twin Falls so I will be going back to live with Kathleen for another 5 weeks. She is so sweet to let me live with her while I rotate there. I have also started applying and looking for jobs, so if anybody hears of any PA jobs, let me know! I won't even know what to do with an actual paycheck after paying to work so hard for so long!
Taylor is still working for the Sherriff's department, but not for long! He got registered for all of his classes to start in the Fall. I am so excited because he has put off his education to support us while I finish up and now he gets to work on his degree. He's such a good, supportive husband. How many men do you know that are not only smokin' hot, but supportive of their wife's dreams and aspirations as well? He's one of a kind!