Time to bite the bullet...

..and the dreaded day has arrived...

I have come to that daily fight with the scale where I don't want to admit the sad truth that it is telling me.... Not that I need the scale to tell me what my ill-fitting (or non-fitting) pants have already let me know...

Something needs to change....

I don't like to say I'm going to diet...and being in medical school I know that dieting isn't the solution...Lifestyle change to a healthier way is what needs to happen.. More veggies, more fish, less red meat, less Coke Zero ( I know how will i EVER survive?!?!?!) and more (GASP) exercising!!!  This isn't just about the weight, however, my weight isn't even that bad...just more than I am used to... What is more important is that we have been learning about the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle...and its not a bright future I have currently.. changing things now will lead to a better future.

Now the food changes will be hard, but since my husband perfers to eat healthy..I know he will be helpful. The harder part is going to be the exercising...It's not that I don't like to exercise (which I don't), but I really have a hard time finding the time!

My day:
Wake up...Dog has to be to daycare at 7 (No earlier)..class starts at 8:15...class ends around noon...and then I study/ have afternoon class till I pick the dog up..Come home cook, clean, study...   I just need to find a place in my routine for the exercise (and maybe a pedicure...haha)

Any Advice??

My New Motto!!! (Found at Pintrest)

Here's to fitting in my "skinny" Jeans
<3 A

Getting back to it....with food

So..I know its been a while..and I promise to do better but being a newly wed and a second year medical student has been a bit overwhelming....

I have been trying to hard to learn diseases, drugs, immune system function, and ethics while still providing the husband with food and clean laundry. He too has been busy with school...learning the teeth and ...well whatever else he is learning to be a dentist!! (lol...Don't tell him I said that!)...

Life has taken over ...but I think we finally have gotten a routine down...

Dinner- switch every night who cooks it... (yes ladies..I hooked a man who can cook and isn't afraid to), Laundry is mine, trash is his, I deal with kitty litter, he feeds the animals in the morning....Dishes is our only point of contention because we both hate them.  But all in all it works well...

Anywho I want to share with you a reciepe that I cooked the other night that was totally fabulous and totally easy (i.e. I had a lot of studying to do!) The husband loved it and I hope you do too!

Veal Parm

What you need:

Veal Cutlets (thin sliced or flatten with a meat mallet)

eggs

breadcrumbs

a tomato based sauce

cheese (mozzarella or your choice..white cheese is best)

salt 

pepper

basil

onion powder

garlic powder

pasta (like angel hair pasta)

What to do:

Take your cutlets and dip them in your egg (make sure the egg yolks are broken and that there is an even consistancy).. then cover them in the breadcrumbs (this is best if you have the breadcrumbs on a plate and dip them in them...use your hands to make sure they are completely covered...the more breadcrumbs you get on there the crispier your veal will be).

Add salt and pepper to your cutlets to your liking

fry in a skillet on medium heat (in oil..preferentially olive oil).. for approximentally 4 minutes per side.

In a baking dish that is greased add your sauce, salt, pepper, basil, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste... when the cutlets are done frying add those to this mixture...make sure to spread them evenly throughout the pan. 

Add cheese on top of the cutlets and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (or until cheese is completely melted)

serve with pasta of your choice!

Hope you enjoy!

Here's to the busy life!
<3 A

Rain or Shine kinda life!

A month or so ago one of my girlfriends, P, called with a brilliant idea...

HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH CONCERT!!

     So...last night was the big night...I had originally bought my dear husband a ticket however he has a final on Monday so he couldn't come... So concert attendees included myself, parents, my girlfriends J,P, and B and then P and B's mom and stepdad. The day had some scattered storms during the afternoon, but it seemed to have cleared up a bit by the time we were leaving for the concert...
Now...my mother recently broke her butt...literally her coccyx...so when we determined our seats were metal stadium bleachers...she wasn't to thrilled...but we got a round of drinks and chatted..the opening band came on and we continued to drink and enjoy ourselves in the sunshine...oh by the way..concert was at an outdoor venue..

       So then it was time..they began to set the stage for Hootie to come on...and then it started to drizzle...and the since we live in the south...it began to pour...lighting and thunder included.... And if you have never experienced a South Carolina thunderstorm...they come super quick..and aren miserable...

     Well..the venue put on a twenty minute delay..being that the tickets said rain or shine. (ie. They weren't giving out refunds). And they evacuated the metal bleachers...and basically had Everyone move down a section...so..we sat in poring rain..getting soaked and freezing for an hour..but hey at least we were gonna have good seats..(ps. Most sane people took cover..but no..we didn't!) Then..after all our waiting we got word...CONCERT CANCELED! SO we left...but..then..it wasn't canceled!! So we made our way back through hundreds of people...and somehow even managed to talk our way back to the awesome seats....I am still not sure how we pulled that off...

     The concert was amazing...it rained(but lightly and no thunder or lightning) for the first hour or so of the concert...but I didn't even notice...awesome songs...they even did some of Darius' new country stuff..and my girlfriends and I danced and sang the night away( though the lady in front of us might not have enjoyed it too much..)

And that's how we made the best of a night that we could have let the rain ruin...

     Here's to summer coming to a close, to good friends, good times, and good attitudes...

Please...if you ever have the chance to just dance in the rain..and truly not care...do it it's things like that, like concerts in thunderstorms, that will be remembered forever...

So..here's to making memories
<3 A

The Wedding of the Century...well at least from my Point of View!!

I married my best friend on June 4th! 

      It was the most wonderful day, I couldn't have asked for anything to go better than it did! The weather was perfect, the ceremony went flawlessly (well except for my dad stepping on my train..but that was actually pretty funny)...and the reception was a blast. It was great to see friends I had not seen for a while, and of course amazing to get married!

I wish I could share this day with everyone...but the best I can do is share some of the photos...These photos show some of the finished products of the DIY projects I have blogged about before as well as some pictures from the wedding!! I was also lucky enough to have a photographer friend....and she did a trash the dress session for me..FREE of Charge!!..and It turned out AWESOME!!

My wedding was truly the happiest day of my life! I hope you enjoy the pictures!!

Cake Description Chalkboard I Painted

The Test Tube wedding Favors

Quilt Table for my "wishes quilt"

One of the squares from my quilt!!

Bouquet Charm I ordered off ETSY..the husband had a matching one on his boutonniere!

the wedding!!

the Ring pillow my mother made!!

Ribbon Wands!

Personalized Embroidered Koozies my mother made!! -I painted the boxes!1

Pinwheels for the kids

the Pinwheel garden displays!

Birdcage card holder I painted and decorated (banner from ETSY)

Trash the Dress Session!!

My Happily Ever After!!

So here's to my together-forever kinda love!
<3 A

I'm BACK!

Hello!
So here's the update..

I am now a MRS. not a Ms. (and the wedding was FABULOUS!)
I have completed a month rotation at a Community health center.
I have adopted a stray kitten I found on the brink of death in my parents garage..her name is Copper.
I have had the BUSIEST summer of my entire life!
I start school back in two weeks..

Over the next few blogs I intend to expand on some of the happening of these past few months...but overall I have been VERY HAPPY...but I am glad to finally have time to come back to the blogging world!

Here's to starting again!!
<3 A

Temporary lack of blog....

Due to wedding plans....and lack of time.....I will be blogging sparsely!! So sorry!! Post June 4th I will be back full force!!  I hope to try and do a few in the meantime!!

<3 A

Summer approaches...planning begins!

Right now, as I start this blog, it is officially less than 3 days till my summer vacation begins....

Summer.

Image from we <3 it

SUMMER...such a wonderful word!! such a wonderful time!!

    This will be my last summer... One last Ho-Rah before adulthood officially starts and summer becomes just another season where I'm in school or work... that is until little ones come along (Far, Far in the future)..at which time it becomes a time where you pay someone/have family entertain your child why you are still working...and maybe a trip or two throughout the season...for the kids of course...

But for now...Summer is freedom! Summer is sun! Summer is friends! Summer is....ahhhh!!  

ME! (A few summers ago....)

     My fiance' is in school this summer though, getting his anatomy on....(he gets next summer off while I have the boards and start rounds)...so I am trying to determine my summer plans... the Wedding is of course summer plan number one... but post wedding (with no honeymoon in sight because of said summer school for the future dentist....) its going to be my little adventure...

   Disney with the girlfriends is on the list!! I love Disney, I love roller-coasters, I love everything about amusement parks.....well except the prices..but hey...its my LAST SUMMER.. Oh..and we are making a stop at Harry Potter World... We grew up with Harry Potter, showing my age here..but I was eight when I started reading Harry Potter...and as a twenty three year old...I still love it!! Driving with my girls, crashing in cheap hotels, eating food that's bad for you... What a dream! (The only bad thing is now...thanks to medical school, every time I eat anything bad for me I think about the path its taking and what reactions are going on in my body to turn this delicious morsel into more fat stored in those ever so lovely spots my body has chosen......)

But...back to the plan...

   The beach, regularly, is on the agenda as well....probably with my girlfriends!!! Going out dancing, reading books, drinking margaritas, sleeping in, trips to the dog park with Tungsten, o the things I will do!! 

  Visiting my family.... and his....playing with our niece...who is absolutely adorable. I feel like I have missed soo much with her this year because I have been stuck in the library my head in a book ... O the things I will do!!

   But alas, summer is not all for fun... I will spend the better part of the weekdays of July (after the fourth of course)..working in a rural health clinic..further my education and bettering my resume for residency....not to mention helping people.....

 But hey I still get most of May, all of June, some of July, and most of August FREE...so I am NOT complaining...

Here's to SUMMER,

to the salt in your hair, the sand on your feet,  the drink in your hand, and the sun on your skin.....

<3 A

Mornings...or the black abyss of my day!

FACT: I am not a morning person...

FACT: I am a night owl...which causes further problems with the first fact

FACT: I would never get out of my house EVER without my fiance' and his constant nagging!

FACT: I have chosen a profession/course of study which mandates that early mornings are mandatory

Tungsten Sleeping in one morning

Things I dislike in the morning....

• Coffee... its disgusting...really cant Caffeine taste like unicorns and rainbows!!
• Morning people... love em later...but nothings worse than a chipper person in the morning when your not
• Breakfast....makes me sick to my stomach
• Light... bring on the sun shades...even in the house
• Having to do things like my hair and makeup
• Traffic... I  am a firm believer that jobs should stagger when they start..does EVERYONE need to be there at 8:00 am?? really??
• Walking my dog... not because I don't love him...but we have a pick up after your pets rule here at the condo..and its kinda gross....

  Summary...I'm pretty much one of those don't mess with me till at least 10:30 a.m....

This is defiantly going to be a problem in the near future...

here's to trying (eeek) to be a morning person?!?!?!?!
<3 A

Graduation Time...and Fond Memories

Its graduation season, and no one can deny that... 

     Both high school and college kids are in full celebration mode, happy to have a chapter of their lives closing and looking forward to the future. Some know what lies ahead of them, some have no idea....However, for this one day all that matters is crossing the stage, throwing the hat, getting that diploma....


     It's truly a strange time for me..because 1 year ago I was graduating from college. I was that kid thrilled to be completing a WONDERFUL time of my life! I loved college, I loved every moment of it, but graduation was the culmination of everything I had accomplished in the past four years... and graduation also meant my future was here...you see I already knew I would be attending medical school in the fall....and I was already engaged...so to me graduation meant my life was going to really start...I was...well...I was going to be a "big girl"...

    Looking back on the past year...I have accomplished a great deal...but it really doesn't really seem like it has been that long...  Sitting around with my girlfriends the other day, we couldn't believe that it was already time for graduation again... it seems like just yesterday that the three of us walked across a different stage...the one to get our white coats...the sign of a student doctor....the start of medical school...

     This first year of medical school has gone fast and slow at the same time... each day, each week, each block seems to creep along...but I cannot believe that I only have four days left in the year...

     If graduation brings back such strong feelings for me, someone who only became an alum a year ago, I can only imagine what it must feel like for those 5, 10, 15 years out...those with children graduating, or even grandchildren graduating....

    Graduation is special time, but not just for the current graduates...but for all past graduates and for all those who have ever supported a graduate....


here's to the graduates....
heres's to the future.....
here's to the past.....
here's to now!

<3 A

Unique Wedding Favors...My Style!__ Another DIY project

  What does every bride want...

• A beautiful dress
• The perfect groom
• Great food
• To have a good time

and the list could go on... but if you look to the root of it all..

Every bride wants their day to be special, and to reflect the relationship they share with their betrothed

So, this brings me to my upcoming wedding. I, like every other bride, looked for cute options to make my day SPECIAL! I have talked about various things before that I have done to accomplish this; such as wedding wands, a card cage, and a pinwheel garden.

But this idea was actually the first one I thought of only weeks after we were engaged...so about 18 months ago...

Now backstory... I am a first year medical student and graduated from college last year with a degree in biology. My fiance' is starting dental school in June (2 days AFTER the wedding), and also graduated from college last year with a degree in biology (yeah...that's how we met!!)....
point being....we are big science nerds...but the cool kind!?!?!

So.. My FANTABULOUS wedding favor idea..... TEST TUBES!!!

I know what you thinking...how can test tubes fit into any wedding...unless you are having it in a laboratory... and though I do LOVE SCIENCE...I am not having my wedding in a lab...

So My Idea....
Order Test Tubes
Order Cork Stoppers
Order NERDS (the candy....because test tubes are nerdy...and we are too...cheesy I know!!!!!)
Order custom labels that are the wedding color with our names, date, and location of wedding.
and Get bows to put on top of cork somehow....

and that's what we did...

We Got the Nerds

We got 500 test tubes (I would go with plastic...the glass ones kept breaking when putting together..._)

We found bows to go on the top!

We started on em...

and they started coming together.....

My mother and her friends may have put the nerds in them....while drinking wine of course!!

I found baskets and of course put the "Wedding Ribbon" on them

And Chris' best friend help me design these labels!!

 

 

 

Test Tube project complete!!

I am beyond happy with my wedding favors, and I know my guests will say ... "That's soo Chris and Alex"..... Well that and the coozies they are getting!! Anywho..I am just glad that I am able to bring some personality into my wedding and just CANNOT wait!!

27 days and counting!

Here's to being yourself!!
<3 A

Adorable at ALL times

     So I know I said the test tubes were going to be my next post...but today I had new inspiration!! So they will come soon I promise...but this post is (of course) about my lovely pup Tungsten....

      Today was graduation at my Alma Mater...and my fiance' (Christopher) and his parents went to watch some of our best friends graduate. I stayed home.... there was a dual purpose to me staying home...
1) I got extra study time since my FINAL test as a FIRST YEAR medical student is THURSDAY!!! and 2) I got to stay and watch Tungsten.

So the sight in my living room included me sprawled out on my couch with piles of paper trying to relearn all of Cardiovascular block...ineffeciently I may say as i was blog surfing, facebooking, and even playing some Call of Duty ( my dirty little secret...I love to play certain video games with or without Christopher)...

Anywho and I look over and Tungsten is asleep with his two favorite stuffed animals!! It was absolutely adorable!

Seeing him laying there asleep made my day! Tungsten truly is a joy in my life, he shares so much love and has such life in him....

I love my dog...and I just wanted to share it (as if I haven't before)...Maybe a cute puppy cuddling with his favorite stuffed animals will make someone else's day too!!

O My......I can only image when I have kids...

So here's to dogs being cute!!
and it making your day once in a while!!
<3 A

Wedding Favors...Child Style!!

       In the midst of my studies last block, I discovered Etsy. This was both a good and bad discovery as I ABSOLUTELY love Etsy, and I was shopping rather than studying! I could spend HOURS (and still can) just looking at all the beautiful things people can make. As usual, in my shopping fits, I bought a few things...
      Well I of course have wedding fever as one month from today I will make the transition from Miss. to Mrs. So most of my Etsy shopping revolved around my wedding. Now, I already had my wedding favors which are candy filled test tubes (I'll write about these next...they are AMAZING ...well at least in my opinion.). So I couldn't justify buying any of the beautiful favors on the website. However, I did buy this lovely cards sign, to hand on the birdhouse I turned into a little project (add pain, ribbons, and such) to have a card cage.

        I also bought some bouquet charms with our initials to add a little rustic touch to my walk down the isle.

       But my favorite purchase were my pinwheels. Now, they were smaller than I thought they were, but thats entirely my fault for not reading descriptions or being able to tell lengths....I mean I was just excited because they were gorgeous. So I ordered 24. 12 of them were pink floral, and 12 of them were brown and white.

     When they came in I realized I had to find a FABULOUS way to display them at the reception...I mean they are darling and I know the kids will love them...That's where Mama dearest comes in. We put our heads together...and this is what we came up with.......
 
               A GARDEN OF PINWHEELS!!!!!


We bought floral foam, artificial vines, moss, and used the "official" wedding ribbon that can be found on just about anything we have touched (even the birdhouse) and TA-DA!!!  Garden!!

      I am so happy with the outcome, and my mother is pretty pleased as well. They will look super cute on the favor table next to the test tubes, and I am happy that there will be something there to entertain the children.

Here's to my next DIY adventure!!
<3 A

A study of Parkinson's disease brings Medicine to life......For me

     Last week concluded my final "real" block for my first year of medical school. (By that I mean that I am now in a "Synthesis" block...which hopefully should be pretty straight forward). I am glad to have what I believe to be the most difficult block of the year behind me, but I am thankful for the lessons I learned during it.
     You see, last block was the head and neck/cognition block. During this block we learned a great deal of interesting information about how the brain works and communicates with the body, how the body relays information to the brain, and of course a bunch of tedious information about the exact path neurons from specific body parts take to go to their destination.

    In this vast amount of information, we also learned about numerous disorders and diseases including, but not limited to; Meniere's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Of all the diseases I have learned about this past year the one that has affected me the most is Parkinson's disease. Why??   My grandfather died in 2004 from complications due to Parkinson's disease.
 
   So what is Parkinson's disease....it is a hypo-kinetic brain disorder characterized by tremors and difficulty with walking, movement and coordination. Parkinson's is often associated with some form of dementia as well. Parkinson's affects both men and women, usually in their mid to late 50's, and there has been a genetic correlation found in some cases.

    My grandfather was one of the most amazing people I ever knew. He was loving, funny, smart, and caring. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's when I was really young, and in the beginning I didn't notice the slight changes that started. The unilateral tremor, the slight memory loss, the trouble starting to walk, etc. As I got older I did, however, start to notice. I noticed that he couldn't feed himself without making a mess, he couldn't go for a walk, or any of the other things that he used to be able to do. It was really hard to watch him degenerate over the years, especially mentally. Towards the end he couldn't remember the names of any family, where he was, or what was going on. Parkinson's is truly a terrible disease, and having experienced it first hand I feel I have more insight than most of my classmates. I know each classmate of mine probably has a similar story with a different disease, and I believe that experiences like these will make us all better doctors.
      Learning the ins and outs of the disease that took my grandfather was hard, but I can only hope that this understanding about Parkinson's brought by science will help to one day cure this horrid disease.


<3 A