The Newmans

Match Day

2012-05-24T00:39:00.000-05:00

I will officially be doing my residency in Pediatrics here at UMC in Jackson! I mean, okay, that's old news by now, but the month of April was hell on earth, and blogging was definitely on the back burner. Brushing my teeth twice a day and not killing anyone was pretty much the best I could do.

Since my graduation is in 2 days, I thought it was time for a Match Day post. For those of you who don't know what Match Day is, let me explain. As fourth year medical students, we apply in the fall to residency programs all over the country. Some or all of these programs may offer you interviews. So you spend much of November, December, and January driving and flying all over the place. The different programs wine and dine you the night before, then you suffer through a 6 to 8 hour interview. No, that was not a typo. In February, you make a "rank list," which means you rank these programs in order from your first choice to your last choice. This caused me to be emotionally unstable for about 2 weeks. It was a hard decision, to say the least. Meanwhile, the programs rank everyone they interviewed in order of their preference as well. Then a computer somewhere "matches" people and programs. I'd say it's somewhere between the NFL draft and sorority bid day. On March 16, Match Day, we all gathered in an auditorium with our families and friends, and we were called on stage one at a time. We were given a piece of paper with our match on it. So we walked to a microphone and announced what specialty we'd be doing and where we'd be going for residency. Right there in front of God and everybody. It was kind of terrifying, but I'm so excited to be staying at UMC! It was what I wanted :)

Blurry, but excited after reading my match.

Putting my pin on the map.

So happy for everyone!

UMC School of Medicine Class of 2012. I'm going to miss these folks so much!

So glad that my family was there!

I am so excited to start this next chapter! (Ok, I'm really just excited to get a paycheck, let's be honest. It's about damn time.)

Early

2012-05-11T13:02:00.000-05:00

The last 2 years have caused me to redefine my personal concept of the term "early." Before medical school (specifically before the 3rd and 4th years), "early" meant waking up before noon. Sometimes I hated my tough job as a lifeguard in high school because the pool opened at ten o'clock in the freaking morning.

I've never been a morning person. My dad thinks it's funny that I chose a profession that requires being at work ridiculously early. My mama says I am the only child on the planet that would ask, "Can I sleep just five more minutes?" on Christmas mornings. In general, I don't like to speak to anyone for at least 30 minutes after I wake up.

Anyway, as I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed at 11:00 this morning (because medical school is OVER!!!), I was just thinking about how happy I am to wake up after the sun has come up for a month and a half. Do you ever watch the sunrise? It's beautiful. I probably could count on one hand (even if I was missing a finger or two) how many times I'd watched it before med school. It is now common scenery in my life. I'd like to say that I'd rather be enjoying it whilst sitting on my back porch with a cup of coffee, a blanket, and my husband, but let's be honest: if I was at home with enough time to hang out and drink coffee, I'd be asleep in my bed instead. So, medical school forces me against my will to see the sunrise everyday. It's a perk. A silver lining to having my alarm go off every morning at a time that I consider to still be night.

During my 30-minute commute to the hospital, the following thoughts usually cross my mind almost every morning:
1. If I could just sleep until 7:00, I'd be so happy...
2. Why on God's green earth do we live 30 minutes from the hospital???
3. I'm quitting school. Sleep > education.
4. If God wanted people to be awake, not to mention productive, at such an hour, He would make the sun rise earlier. This is unnatural.

Let us focus on #1. See that? I've found myself "just" wanting to sleep until 7. Four years ago, I'd have been irritated beyond belief if I had to wake up at 7. Now I long for it.

"Early"--redefined.

And cheers to sleeping late for the next month!

Totally unrelated picture:

Birthday bash

2012-04-14T20:44:00.000-05:00

Matt doesn't get very excited about his birthday. He doesn't even really eat cake. (I know what you're thinking- what kind of freak did I marry??? Who doesn't eat cake?!) But he always tries so hard to make my birthday special. A couple of years ago, he threw me a surprise party. One year he drove the thirty minutes from his house to mine at midnight to give me my presents.

This year, he decided to have a party at our house. It was one of the most fun nights I've had in a long time! A ton of our friends came over, and we ate and drank until I could hardly breathe. Matt and our friend Nolan manned the grill all night. They cooked deer meat, duck, sausage, and hamburgers. Nolan is a carnivore. Matt thinks duck is borderline exotic, considering I pretty much cook chicken 6 nights a week. They marinated mushrooms, stuffed them with cream cheese and jalapenos, wrapped them in bacon, and put them on the grill--their signature appetizer. Matt got me an ice cream cake and ice cream cookies from Coldstone. Not to mention all the chips and dip and I consumed. And Lyssa made amaretto freezes. I might have gained 10 pounds in 6 hours.

Most of the afternoon and night was spent around the fire outside, but a dance party did take place to a Jay-Z Pandora station at one point.

Hayes "Dryer Sheet" Baker. Keepin' those skeeters away.

Real housewives of Madison County.

This happened totally against my will.

Med school crew.

Twins. And the only LSU fan we tolerate on a regular basis :)

It was such a fun night with all of my favorite people! Thanks to my favorite husband for always making sure March 31 is a wonderful day. 25 was my favorite year so far- Matt and I got engaged, had a summer full of parties and showers, we got married, Alabama won the National Championship (and we got to go!), and I matched into residency. I can't wait to see what my 26th year brings!

Happy birthday, Oscar Bob!

2012-04-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

The Bobster's birthday was last month. He's three years old!! I can hardly believe it. It just seems like yesterday that Matt showed up at my house with a 1.2-pound ball of black fuzz that I didn't want to love, but I did. I told him not to bring the little guy. I was a first-year medical student. I had no time to train a puppy, and besides that, boy dogs pee on everything. That's annoying. Per usual, Matt didn't listen. There he was in my driveway with a dog the size of a hamster. It was love at first sight. He's such a smart, funny little guy. I'm glad I kept him.

For the record, he doesn't pee on everything.

For his birthday, we had Gigi's cupcakes. I mean, let's be honest. I'm all about any excuse to eat a good cupcake. I gave about 1/3 of a Wedding Cake (vanilla with buttercream icing and edible pearls) to Oscar Bob and another 1/3 of it to Grayce. They flipped out. They never, ever, ever get table food. Ever. When I threw away the cupcake liners, Grayce stood in front of the trash cabinet and whined for almost an hour. Matt and I split a Midnight Chocolate Chip one and a Raspberry Limeade one. They were delicious!

Please pretend not to notice the junk on my table. Thanks.

Post-cupcake food coma.

I would say something along the lines of "Hallelujah! Tomorrow's Friday!" but Friday doesn't mean much to me these days. But I hope YOU have a fabulous weekend. 18 more days, and I never have to see the inside of a VA hospital again. Amen.

Easter... or not.

2012-04-10T21:06:00.000-05:00

Sorry to burst your bubble, but this post won't be including lovely, colorful pictures of Easter baskets and the Sunday lunch spread. Unfortunately, the only semblance of an Easter celebration I had took place in my heart. No Easter eggs, no family dinner, no church. Just some quality time at the VA. This was the first Easter Sunday in my life that I didn't go to church. It felt odd. Things like that are probably the biggest downside to being a physician. Sick folks don't suddenly get well just because it's a holiday.

I spent the first half of my very early Sunday morning being irritated that I had to work on such an important day. Then, as we rounded on our patients, I realized that I wasn't the only one stuck in that hospital. Several of our patients were lying alone in their hospital rooms. It made me sad. So count your blessings, people. It could always be worse. How lucky am I to serve a risen Savior who is just as present in the VA hospital as he is inside a sanctuary!

Laura, the other M4 providing quality healthcare to our nation's finest veterans this month, made us a little Easter treat. Cinnabunnies. Haha. It was delicious, and I ate it for lunch.

I did get home in time for the last 3 hours of the Masters. I was really worried that I would miss that. What a relief.

Hope you had a happy Easter!

"The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.' Now I have told you." Matthew 28: 5-7

Goodbye, #16

2012-03-05T21:33:00.000-06:00

I will be 26 years old on March 31. I really thought that I was going to make it through life without any of this wisdom tooth extraction business. I thought wrong.

Wednesday I will be saying goodbye to my top left third molar. #16, according to the lady who scheduled my appointment. It makes me nauseated thinking about it.

Since I can't stand getting my teeth cleaned, I didn't think it would be possible for me to sit in a regular dentist's office and have them rip my tooth from the depths of my gums with only lidocaine without having a panic attack or vomiting or at the very least, running away. So I will be choosing option 2. Option 2 involves anesthesia. I just assume not be aware of all the drilling and grinding and yanking and whatever else is going to happen. I just can't bear to be conscious for this whole, awful process.

I won't miss #16. I hate it for its very existence. Good riddance.

So, your prayers are welcomed. Your horror stories of dry sockets and broken jaws are not.

Brunch & some weird mail

2012-03-03T22:37:00.000-06:00

Today turned out better than yesterday. I slept late this morning, and then I met my friend Lucy for brunch at Julep. It was fabulous. It lasted 3 hours. We both had the most delicious catfish tacos, portobello fries, and Bloody Marys--which were two-for-one, so we had 2. It was the obvious thing to do. Lucy is one of my best friends from home, and we don't get to see each other as often as I'd like since she lives in Alabama. Which explains why we had a 3 hour brunch. Good food, good company. Julep is one of my favorite Jackson restaurants. If you've never been, you should go. Get the chicken.

We saw this couple get engaged. The girl screamed a lot. I got the impression she didn't see it coming. Congrats, unknown couple!

We didn't take any pictures of ourselves today, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to throw this one (circa 6th grade) out into the world wide web. You're welcome, Luie.

14 years later, opposite sides of a college rivalry, 2 weddings, 1 baby, and a 6 hour drive between us, and I still cherish our friendship so much. Childhood friendships are the best. They're the people that get you. The people that loved you even when you wore braces and tube socks. What? It was the late 90s. You know you wore them too. Don't hate.

Another rather exciting happening occurred yesterday. I found this in the mail. It's a wedding invitation. Please note the first line. Ahhhhh!!!! That's freakin weird, y'all. T-minus 2 months and 22 days until it's official.

Matt and I have been married 6 months today! It's gone by so fast, and it's been so good. I think I'll keep him.

A less than ideal Friday

2012-03-03T00:56:00.000-06:00

Today was not the best of days.

I started an anesthesia rotation today, so I had to wake up at the crack of dawn, which was particularly rough since I spent the 29 glorious days of February waking up no earlier than 8:00. Most days 9:00. So I spent my whole day being sleepy and cold. I mean you could've hung meat in the operating rooms today. And for the record, I hate being cold. I also stepped in poop today. Human poop. In the OR.

The pollen is so bad you can see it on the roads. It is ridiculous. My nose hurts from blowing it, I want to claw my eyeballs out, and if I sneeze one more time I may develop a hernia.

I had anxiety all day that my husband, who was in Huntsville, was going to be blown away by a tornado.

I got in two arguments with Oscar Bob's hairdresser. Aka, the Petsmart Grooming Salon. Whom we will not be using anymore.

And now, this stupid storm has evidently torpedoed our Direct TV dish, and it looks like I won't be seeing the ending to the Law and Order: SVU episode I was enjoying. Stupid Direct TV.

I did not go to the grocery store today because I hate the grocery store, and I just couldn't do it. However, let us all remember that there are consequences for our choices. In this instance, choice=skip grocery store [again]. Consequence=eating half a jar of pickles for dinner. I'm honestly not sure if that's a peak or a valley in this day that I've had.

And did I mention that I have to have my one and only wisdom tooth pulled? Let me tell you how pumped I am about that... Never mind. Talking about it makes me nauseated. Just pray for me. And my tooth. Thanks.

I apologize for all that complaining. I guess my day could've been worse. I mean, I'm alive currently, so that's on the positive side I suppose.

There were a few highlights. I changed my sheets, which always makes me feel a little better about life in general. I had an hour and a half-long conversation with my BFF, Sandidge. I also found out that another one of my best friends, Lucy, is coming into town this weekend, and I'm super pumped about our lunch date tomorrow! It is such a rare occasion these days since we live in different states. And despite my encounters with the groomer, Oscar Bob did finally get his haircut.

Before:

After:

That is all. It is late. And I have to wake up before noon tomorrow due to aforementioned lunch date. Goodnight!

Better late than never.

2012-03-01T21:59:00.001-06:00

It is March.

This is a Christmas post.

Yes, I'm just getting around to it.

We kicked off the Christmas season with a little par-tay.

See those brownies? They were delicious. Grayce thought so too. She ate approximately 12 of them, along with approximately 10 chocolate meringues (with chocolate chips). Matt and I spent the later part of the evening in the driveway attempting to induce vomiting in our 75-lb weimaraner by shoving hydrogen peroxide down her throat (before you call PETA, that was per the vet's suggestion). Did I mention it was raining? It was. Heavily, in fact.

Canton Flea Market find last year.

My friend Laura attended our party, despite the fact that she'd given birth to this sweet girl THREE DAYS earlier. She's a ninja. And she was tiny and gorgeous. 3 days post-partum. Ridiculous. I'm glad I got to host Mary Frances' first ever Christmas party!

I made home made hot chocolate for several people to go along with their Christmas gifts. Pinterest-inspired, of course. I was so proud. I made some more recently- for myself.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with Matt's family in Alabama. This little guy was so excited about his new toy! Don't I look pretty? Pretty rough, that is.

Grayce was excited about her Christmas goodies, too.

Then we went to Hattiesburg Christmas afternoon to spent the night with my family. (We did Christmas with my dad the week before because he was working a 24-hr shift on Christmas Eve. And I did not take a single picture. Busy livin' it up, I reckon.) Anyway, this guy was sleepy. And having a bad ear-hair day.

Just trying to get a nap in. Not going so well.

I truly don't know what's going on in this picture.

Kitchen photo-shoot.

The most hot-chocolate-drinkingest man I've ever met.

Moving on to the living room photo shoot.

Family pic.

Happy birthday, Mama!

Christmas at Mamaw and Pap's. That's Christmas #4, if you're keeping count.

Just in case you need a little extra light...

Cousins.

Now that Christmas in March is over, let us move on to New Year's Eve in March.

Happy twenty-twelve, y'all. It's 1/6 over already!

big blog plans

2012-02-23T23:17:00.000-06:00

I had big plans for my blog this year. I wanted to post more often. I want to be able to look back at it and remember things that I would likely otherwise forget. Like a diary, I suppose. I used to write in a diary because I was obsessed with Anne Frank. I know... that's weird. I was like 9. Only I would read Anne Frank as a nine-year-old. Anyway, that's neither here nor there.

I started the new year out so well! Then February was a big blog fail. Oh well. I've been busy. Deep cleaning my house and taking naps and reading ethics books. I have the weirdest life, I know. I'm taking a medical ethics class right now, which is fabulous because:

1. It involves no weekends.

2. It involves no call.

3. We average 4-5 hours a day, which means I have a boatload of time to do things like pretend I'm a Madison housewife and eat at Keifers with my friends for lunch.

Anyway. There's not really much of a point to this blog.

I leave you with my recent Instagram photos.

Home sweet delta home.

Valentine's day surprise! He was so proud of himself. Not only did he put them in a vase, but he also put flower food and lukewarm water in said vase. Why? Because he read the how-to-care-for-your-flowers tag. If that's not love, I don't know what is. Also, he evidently bought the baby's breath separately and "arranged" it himself. See why I married that boy? He loves me.

Our V-day consisted of pajamas, tenderloin, twice-baked potatoes that went terribly wrong, wine, and watching everything we've DVR'ed in the past 2 weeks. It was perfect.

What can I say? The boy loves oranges. Excessively. And ferrero rochers.

Fast-forward to the present. I mean it was 76 degrees today. At 7:00 PM. In February. Maybe I'll lay out tomorrow. Right after my pedicure. Because I have the day off! I'm really loving my life right now.

Hope you have a fabulous Friday!

Resolve.

2012-01-06T20:09:00.000-06:00

'Tis that time again. Time to make New Year's resolutions. Next month it will be time to forget them. But for now, while we're basking in the fresh newness of twenty-twelve and pretending we're all gonna diet and exercise and look like Eva Longoria by July, I think I'll hop on the bandwagon. So here are my goals, people. In no specific order.

1. Become a doctor. Watch out. (Sorry. I can't help myself.)
2. Survive as an intern. (By that I mean don't kill anyone.)
3. Watch less TV.
4. Go to bed earlier.
5. Learn more photography--and use it.
6. Blog more (with said photographs). This is a repeat from last year. Obviously a 2011 resolution failure.
7. Take my Christmas tree down before Easter.
8. Pray more. Some days, I get in the bed, close my eyes, begin to pray, and I realize that it's the first time I've prayed all day. Jesus tells us to "pray without ceasing." So I should strive to do that. Obviously.
9. Cook new things more often. (But I won't say "eat healthier" because I love cheese too much.)

And finally, here it is. The cliche:

10. EXERCISE. I want to be one of those people who LOVES to exercise. These people who make me feel like a slothful waste of living flesh. You know the ones. The ones who are constantly posting about their "runs" on their Facebook statuses. I hate them. I want to be them. It's a little internal battle I'm having. I hate exercise. I have a fierce aversion to it. Ideally, I'd like to think I'd run a half-marathon this year. Buuuuut that ain't gonna happen.

So let's be realistic: I will strive to take the stairs.

...I'll let you know how that goes.

Occabob's resolution is to continue to be awesome.

Happy Birthday, Katherine!

2012-01-04T18:38:00.000-06:00

My sib is 24 today. I'm thankful for her. She's funny. And has cute clothes. That are, conveniently, my size.

At first, I didn't want her. I asked my Mama if she could take her back and get a brother instead. Sorry about that, Tate. Now I'm glad I have a sister. A brother might not let me borrow his purses. Kidding.

This was after I accepted her existence.

She turned out to be a boat load of fun, and she let me be bossy. It worked out well. And she tawked wike dis. She cawed me "Wah." It was entertaining.

Me: "Katie, say 'turkey.'"
Katie: "Tucky."
Me: "No. TuRRRRRkey."
Katie: "Tuuuuuuhhhh-key."
Me (laughing): "No. TuRRRRRkey."
Mom: "Laura, stop it."

Hahahaha! Happy birthday, Katie! I put naked pictures of you on the internet! Hahaha!

Ok. Too much.

Happy birthday, sista!

2011 review and wrap-up

2012-01-03T15:52:00.001-06:00

[I totally stole this idea from one of my best friend's sister's blog, Spoonful--my favorite blog to read (and my mother's favorite blog to read)! You can find it in my blog list down there. So here's your cred, Sarah Barry! Sorry I jacked your intellectual property.]

2011 was my favorite year so far! Matt and I got engaged, had tons of parties, I figured out what I'm doing with my life, cut people open, stitched people up, birthed some babies, got married, am finally satisfied with my mantle decor (after 3 years), and was completely, 100% free from clinical duties and studying for the entire month of December. Very few awful things happened, and nothing particularly tragic took place, which was a welcome change from 2010. Here's a look back.

Matt asked me to marry him.

We picked and visited our wedding venue. (Which, unfortunately, was much prettier back in February than in September.)

Oscar Bob turned 2. I turned 25. We didn't get dressed up for the occasion.

Most of March, April, and May were spent within the confines of the hospital. I spent my days (and half my nights) obsessing about all the varicose veins I was going to acquire from standing up over an operating table for hours and hours and hours at a time. I escaped and spent Easter with my family. I needed the 2-day break like I need oxygen.

The third set of baby birds hatched by our back door.

My Aunt Becky hosted our very first wedding shower! Margaritas were involved. So. Much. Fun.

I met Emeril Lagasse. He's such a nice fella.

We had more showers and parties. We're some lucky people with lots of folks that love us.

I became a wife. In an effort to make light of the monsoon happening on the day of our beach wedding, Matt sent one of the boys over to the girls' beach house with a bag of goodies--including this poncho. I laughed. 'Twas funny.

We spent our fall weekends in either Tuscaloosa or the backyard. Chewin' sticks and chasin' balls and whatnot.

I traveled for interviews.

We celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple.

It was a wonderful, wonderful year. I can't even begin to wrap my brain around the things that will be happening in 2012, but I'm so grateful, humbled, and excited!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T15:51:00.002-06:00

I hate black-eyed peas. Matter of fact, I hate peas in general. It's a texture thing. I have issues. In my proactive efforts to avoid bad luck, gray hair, the flu, or a local avalanche, I traditionally force myself to eat a spoonful of them on January 1. This year, however, I decided to be a good wife and whip up a fancy black-eyed pea recipe for the husband and I. I found a recipe for Hoppin' John from The Pioneer Woman's website. Here it is. You need to write it down. Now. And cook it tomorrow. (But please do not compare my food photography to PW's.)

I did change a few things. The grocery store had absolutely no green bell peppers. I still don't understand how a grocery store can be out of green bell peppers. I did understand why they were out of canned black-eyed peas, but bell peppers? So I used a red one. Not only was it delicious, it also added some color. I like my food colorful. Don't you? PW uses a white onion, and I used a purple one because I already had one in the fridge. (Again with the color perk.) I didn't have any white vinegar, so I didn't do that number. I also used bacon instead of a ham hock. Mostly because I don't know what the heck a ham hock is. PW uses cayenne pepper, but I, like any self-respecting Mississippi girl with a daddy who grew up in Louisiana, used Tony's. Duh.

I served it up over white rice with a side of chicken. The chicken was my back-up in case my Hoppin' John turned out to be a disaster. Fortunately, it turned out to be a raging success. I might even like black-eyed peas now. It was SO good, y'all! The rice kind of covered up the weird pea texture that I have those issues with, and the flavor was incredible. (How do you like those awesome TV trays? They're at least 20 years old.)

I didn't make any cabbage because, well, I don't have the slightest idea how to cook cabbage. And I don't really like it very much, and I just couldn't eat TWO things for dinner that I don't like. Even though it probably would've been okay because I DID like my peas! Oh well, this is the year I finally get a real job, so even if we don't end up wealthy, we'll end up better off than we are now. Hip-hip-hooray for TWO salaries!

In my family, we never put a coin in the peas, but I think I kinda want to start. I'm a sucker for a good tradition. In Matt's family, they always say that for every pea you eat, that's how many dollars you'll earn (or something like that), and one year he ate so many peas he got sick. Haha. I mean that's funny. We won't teach our kids that one.

Did you know that if you have leftover Hoppin' John, it's called Skippin' Jenny? I just learned that. I think it's funny. Hope you have lots of luck in twenty-twelve!

I forgot...

2012-01-01T15:49:00.002-06:00

...to post our Christmas card before Christmas. So I'm going to do it now anyway. Because I love it so much. Even though Christmas is over. And it's now officially 2012.

[Sorry it's a little blurry...] I hope you had (past tense) a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! And that you remembered what it was all about. Mine was fabulous. I'll blog about it soon. And about my new year's resolutions. Which will, per usual, turn out to be a joke. Maybe I'll write about it in complete sentences. Unlike this post.

Happy New Year, people! Eat your peas and cabbage!

halls=decked

2011-12-22T00:43:00.000-06:00

We were going to go with a theme of simplicity this year for Christmas. However, my husband was not satisfied with mine and Katie's $15 Christmas tree. I mean, it was 5 feet tall--it just didn't have that many branches. It was Charlie Brown-esque. I liked it. Matt wanted a "real" tree. And by real, he meant fake but not anorexic. We both have serious allergies, I'm not really interested in sweeping pine needles, and I have this neurotic fear of house fires, so real trees just aren't our thing. Although I do have this dream of going into the forest and chopping down a real tree and hauling it home to decorate. Maybe one year we'll do that.

So this year, we went to Sam's with the intent of purchasing a 7 1/2-foot tree. Good, manageable size. Except that 7 1/2 foot tree looked wimpy next to the 9 foot tree. So we got the 9-foot tree. Total impulse purchase. We hope that if we move next year, we find a house with 10-foot ceilings. Maybe we should've thought that through a little more. We also didn't have enough ornaments to decorate this giant tree, so we put it in a corner and didn't decorate the back. Problem solved.

I love our growing collection of ornaments. Our tree growing up was never one of those pretty, store display-like trees with a matching color scheme and big flowing ribbons. Although my mother dreamed of a tree with white lights, gold and silver balls, and a big, beautiful white bow at the top, our tree had multicolored lights and a conglomeration of ornaments that Katie and I made or that we got in various places where we traveled. Our tree topper is the ugliest gold, plastic angel you've ever seen. It has no face. I used to hate it, but as I got older, I started to like it due to its ugliness. It's our tree topper. We can't change it now! Anyway, I like ornaments that are sentimental or that come from places I've been. It's like our Christmas tree gives people a little glimpse of who we are. Ok, that's cheesy, but I still like my random ornaments.

My cousin Heather gave me this ornament at a wedding shower back in the summer. Our first ornament!

From Carillon Beach--where we got married.

Matt and I got this one on our honeymoon in Mexico.

My mama got this ornament in Hawaii when she was pregnant with me. She gave it to me last year to put on my tree.

My cousin had these made before last Christmas. A little piece of Papaw will always be there with us on Christmas. (Katie and I called him Papaw, but everyone else called him Paw Paw. I have no idea why, but that's why the ornament says Paw Paw.) You can't really tell how pretty it is in this picture. The colors are beautiful.

This ornament came from The Mustard Seed--a Christian community/home for mentally challenged adults in Brandon (Jackson). They make all kinds of pottery, and the residents paint all of it. They sell it in a store, and all of the proceeds go toward running the home. It's a really incredible place, and I picked this particular ornament because it's [obviously] in the shape of my home state.

We had to have a Bama ornament. Duh.

Matt's mom made this ornament for us. It's our wedding program cut into strips and curled into little spirals. She put little charms on the top--a seashell and a starfish--since we got married at the beach. It's so neat!

Matt's mom also sent us this ornament.

Every single Christmas, my mom buys Katie and me an ornament that has the year incorporated into it. This was the one she sent us this year.

How much is that doggy in the window? (woof, woof)

I purchased these reindeer this year at Mistletoe, and I am super pumped about them, but I do feel like they're much prettier in person.

This is Pepe. He sings "Feliz Navidad" and dances around. My mom sent him to me in a little Christmas package when I was in college. He decorated my freshman dorm room and has been around ever since. I let him spice up Matt's office this year (Home office, that is--I'd never risk him being kidnapped at his actual office. I mean he's so awesome, it'd be asking for it.)

You know how I said earlier that I really want to go into the forest and chop down my own Christmas tree? Well, cutting down my own mistletoe is the next best thing, I suppose. It took a while to find some low enough that I could get to it, but I was pretty pumped that I got it from a tree and not at Lowe's. I don't know why that gives me such satisfaction, but it does.

I was also pretty proud of this bow. I'm not good at making bows, so this was a real accomplishment.

My mom gave me these old place mats last year. I can't remember the last time she used them, but this year she asked me, "Do you know what I did with those Santa place mats?" "Um, you gave them to me, Mom. Do I have to give them back?" Haha. Thankfully, she let me keep them. I've grown quite attached.

Rhonda is making so many contributions to my Christmas decor. She has a new, large, beautiful nativity scene that must have 20 pieces, so she gave me her old one. I was pretty excited. Y'all know I'm a sentimental gal, so I love it just because it's the one that was always displayed when we were growing up. But I also love it because it's just the necessities. Not that I don't love big, ornate, beautiful nativities, but sometimes at Christmas we need to focus on what it's all about: Jesus. So here we have Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and a little lamb--which I also love because my FAVORITE Christmas book is "The Crippled Lamb." If you've never read it, you should. Long story short: a little lamb gets left behind because he's crippled, and he ends up keeping baby Jesus warm in the stable.

I can't believe that this is mine and Matt's first Christmas together! (Well, married, I mean.) I'm so unbelievably blessed with an amazing family that loves Jesus and always focused on what Christmas is all about. I'm so lucky to have added such a wonderful man to our family, and I can't wait to spend all the Christmases for the rest of my life with him.

Merry Christmas, everyone! And don't forget what we're celebrating.

"For there is born to you this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

Blinkers

2011-12-16T13:55:00.000-06:00

I have to interrupt the jolliness of this season to ~~complain~~ educate. It's Christmastime. Traffic is a nightmare. Please do your part to keep road rage, accidents, and blood pressures to a minimum. Use your blinker, folks. For the love of Christmas. Use your freakin' blinker.

In most cars, your blinker handle is on the left side of your steering wheel. Push it down to turn left. Push it up before you turn right. It's so easy. You can even use your pinky without taking your left hand off the steering wheel! No excuses. Also, be sure to use your blinker when changing lanes while traveling on the interstate at speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour. The folks in emergency rooms will thank you.

Merry Christmas. Safe travels.

Table re-do

2011-12-12T23:58:00.001-06:00

A couple of months ago, I had this brilliant idea that I would paint our breakfast table. Then I realized how hard it was going to be to sand all of the little details, the chair backs, etc. Then my friend Alison told me about Annie Sloan's chalk paint. No, I did not paint my breakfast table black so that Matt and I could color on it if dinner conversation was lacking. That's chalkBOARD paint. Relax. This is chalk paint. You get it in boutique-style paint shops (I didn't know these existed prior to this project), and the beauty of this stuff is that it doesn't require sanding!

It sounded like a fabulous idea. I just didn't realize how big that table was or how obnoxious it would be to paint the spindle pieces that make up the chair backs. I also forgot how busy I am. Between rotations, interviews, and the need for sleep, let's just say it took a while. I finished it last night, and I'm pretty pumped about it. I don't think the pictures really do it justice though.

Let's start with the before pictures. Do you see why I wanted to paint the table? I'm not so much an oak fan, but it was free. This was Matt's grandparent's table. We have it more because it was sentimental than because it was free, though. I told Matt that I'm 100% positive that if Mamaw could see this table now, she'd be wondering why she didn't discover Chateau Grey chalk paint years ago.

Please note that there are lions in the chairs. I just don't even have anything to say about that.

Whatcha think? Please disregard Grayce's kennel.

I painted it, waxed it, then put this dark wax on it that makes it look antiqued and distressed. The dark wax stays in the grooves of the wood. I like how it turned out!

And when I came home yesterday from Christmas shopping, this pretty orchid was in the kitchen. Chili was also in my crockpot. I have a fabulous husband, don't you think?

The table got a Christmas makeover, though.

I love poinsettias, but I have to put them where my dogs can't eat them. I mean, they don't usually eat plants, but I'm sure the second I put a poisonous one on the floor by the fireplace, The Big One will have it for a snack.

Anyway, I'm glad that the table is finally done. Matt's glad too because I wouldn't let him eat off of it for the past 2 months. (It wasn't waxed, so if you spilled anything, you couldn't wipe it off.) Time to retire the TV trays for a while! And by the way, mark my words--I will never paint another piece of furniture.

Lots to be thankful for

2011-11-24T00:44:00.000-06:00

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I have so much to be thankful for. With Thanksgiving upon us, I think I'll take a moment to count my blessings.

I am so thankful...

...that I was raised in a family who loves the Lord. That I was born to parents and grandparents who taught me by example to live for Christ. That I was brought up in church, that my parents prayed with me, and that they read the Bible to me.

...for my husband. I'm so thankful that he has been so supportive over the last three and a half years, that he was understanding when my life was not my own, and that he is ready and willing to pick up and move wherever I want/need to go for residency come next July. I don't know what I would have done without him. It's been tough, and he was always there to wrap his arms around me and make me laugh.

...for parents who have always supported me and encouraged me to chase my [very expensive] dream of becoming a doctor.

...for my mother. She has more faith and confidence in my abilities than I think I could ever have in myself. She always makes me feel like I can do anything. I'm also thankful that she let me paint my room every color I ever imagined, that she took me to Bookland once a week as a child, and that she never once missed a gymnastics meet, piano recital, basketball game, or drill team performance.

...that my dad has continued to put a roof over my head (at age 25...), that he taught me how to cook (which is particularly fortunate since cooking isn't a strength of my aforementioned wonderful husband), and that he indirectly kept me out of trouble via fear tactics. (Now I'm thankful!)

...for my sister and the friend she has become as we've gotten older. After all, she has the best clothes, the biggest selection of purses, the creative gene, and she always makes me laugh.

...for grandparents that have always been a huge part of my life. I could go on all day about them. I'm thankful for my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I'm so thankful to have such a huge, close family.

...that I have the kind of friends who buy me rain boots on my wedding day to cheer me up, who I know I can call in the middle of the night, who will spend hours on the phone with me because we live in different states, who send me good-luck messages before every test because they wrote my test schedule in their calendar, who have picked me up off the bathroom floor, and who know all of my flaws, yet they still stand beside me no matter what.

...and proud to be an American. I love this country and, I'm thankful that we can worship freely, our votes matter, and we can be anything we want to be. What a blessing we take for granted!

...that in 6 short months, I will have the privilege and honor of being a physician.

...for my Yorkie, Oscar Bob, and our Weimaraner, Grayce. They are so funny, and they really do bring joy to my heart.

...for Rotel dip.

...for weekends off and sleeping late. I'm more and more thankful for this, since it seems these weekends are increasingly few and far between.

...for central air and heat.

...for Shonda, my paid-for 2000 Honda Accord.

...for my favorite pair of jeans that I'm wearing right now.

...that I live in a place where it's reasonable to wear flip-flops and a tshirt until the end of November.

...for the Internet. Seriously.

...for diet coke, coffee, and the Kroger-brand crystal light that has an absurd amount of caffeine in it.

...for our fenced-in backyard.

...for my Canon Rebel T1i camera.

...for the soldiers and veterans who are or have served to protect our great country.

...for being raised by a family who grew our own vegetables and taught me how to pick, shell, shuck, and preserve them.

...for Mrs. Nesbitt, my third grade teacher who changed my life with books. Because of her, I love to read, and I love school.

...for Southern comfort food: mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, collard greens, fried okra, catfish, green beans wrapped in bacon, and hushpuppies.

...for dishwashers.

And lastly, for Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday. Hope yours is fabulous!

Honeymoonin' (Part 2)

2011-11-10T16:54:00.000-06:00

Matt and I l love nothing more than lying around doing nothing. It's disgusting how long I can lie on the couch without getting up (for any reason). However, for the best week of my life (thus far), we traded in the couch for some lounge chairs on the beach... And it was glorious. Waiters on the beach--the best idea EVER. Alejandro, our personal beach waiter, brought us drinks and nachos all. day. long.

After a couple of days of doing nothing (and loving it), we decided to do a little exploring around Mexico. I somehow convinced my new husband to ride horses through the jungle and on the beach. My sweet city boy (well, when you compare Huntsville to Greenville, he seems like a "city boy" to me!) had never ridden a horse. I can't imagine. He was nervous (but brave). I guess if you haven't grown up around horses and have never ridden one, a thousand-pound animal may be a bit intimidating. His knuckles were white from the death grip he had on the saddle, but by the end of it he was practically a cowboy.

Cowboy up. Look how relaxed! He may kill me for this.

Just FYI, horses are very afraid of camels. Just in case you ever find yourself on horseback in the presence of a camel or two. (Hey, it happened to us.) Move away from the camel. Quickly.

This was my second horse, by the way. My first one bucked me. Awesome. I almost peed my pants. Do you like my sweet honeymoon hat my sister gave me? My BFF, Sandidge, told me I looked like Diane Lane. I'll take that as a compliment. Notice that I'm almost not even in the picture. Subtle, yes, but the a-hole, egocentric, anti-female man from upstate New York took this picture. He hates women. He would not speak to me. He chatted Matt's head off. I made a game into trying to get him to look me in the face. No dice.

Sometimes we would come back to our room and champagne would just have magically appeared on our table. I really dig the all-inclusive thing. Cheers!

The third night, we ate at the Italian restaurant. FAVORITE. By far. We ate there twice. Let me just tell you that this girl gained 7 lbs during my 7 day honeymoon. Now let me tell you why: we ate FOUR meals a day! Who does that? I don't even eat 3 whole meals a day at home! We ate breakfast in bed everyday, then first lunch around noon, then second lunch around 3:30ish, then dinner around 9pm! And with the latter 2 meals, we always ordered both appetizers AND dessert. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my metabolism. I probably should've gained 20 lbs. Geez. So anyway, back to this phenomenal dessert. This vanilla ice cream with frozen strawberries... Well, this was not your typical vanilla ice cream. It was the best thing I've ever eaten. It came from Heaven. I'm drooling just thinking about it. Mexican vanilla ice cream. Two months later, Matt and I still talk about it. Often. We're going back. Just for the vanilla ice cream.

Runner-up chocolate thing.

Day four, we went to Tulum--some Mayan ruins. So cool!

Honeymoon solo-shot. Haha.

He becomes my husband and apparently feels this new obligation to carry my crap. (Well, it was our crap, technically.) I'm not complaining. How cute is he carrying that beach bag? He wouldn't let me carry it. I like marriage.

Iguanas. Everywhere. Welcome to Mexico.

More to come, people. So many pictures, so little time.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T18:31:00.000-05:00

Our halloween wasn't too thrilling. There were no costumes this year. I had great plans to put out mums and pumpkins by our front door. I didn't get around to it. Last night, Matt watched Monday Night Football while I painted our breakfast table (and ate candy). Grayce drove us crazy barking, and Oscar Bob tried to escape via the front door every single time we opened it for a trick-or-treater.

The most exciting part of our night was the arrival of my mother-in-law with our new mattress!! She runs several hotels in Huntsville, and she ordered us a Hilton bedding package. It. is. fabulous. It's pillow-topped on both sides, and you kind of sink into it. Just in time for my 2 months off! I have full intentions of sleeping late every single day.

You know you're old if you spend Halloween painting a table, and the most exciting thing that's happened all ~~day~~ ~~week~~ month is getting a new mattress.

Oscar Bobby and Grayce got some new halloween toys. Miraculously, neither one of them has been de-stuffed [yet].

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Guilty dogs

2011-10-27T21:38:00.000-05:00

I bought a few more towels the other day, and when I got home, I dropped the bag in the kitchen floor and sprinted to the bathroom. I returned to the kitchen to get my towels out of the floor, and this is what I found.

That face... Have you ever seen anything cuter? The answer is no. You haven't. He obviously thought he was going to be in trouble for snuggling up inside the bag with my new towels. That's his "I did something bad" look. Even if I was mad at him (which I wasn't because I was going to wash the towels before we used them anyway), I couldn't have stayed mad at that face.

I sometimes wonder how I'm going to love my children more than my Oscar Bob.

In other news, Grayce (all 80 lbs of her) jumped on our bed a couple of days ago and broke it. Seriously. My side of the bed, too. Matt "fixed" it, so I'm just waiting for the frame to give out in the middle of the night and cause me to have a heart attack. I wish I would've taken a picture of the whole fiasco, but I didn't.

God bless her. It's in those Weimaraner genes to be a terror. I love her though. I'd love her a lot more if she'd stay off my bed and quit getting into the garbage. She's currently licking the coffee table. Why, you ask? Because that's what she does. Why not?

Honeymoonin' (Part 1)

2011-10-25T22:47:00.000-05:00

I've changed my mind. I'm dropping out of medical school, and Matt and I are going to live in a tent on the beach in the Mayan Riviera.

After our wedding, we spent two nights in the cutest little beach house ever. We had intended on relaxing on the beach Sunday before our flight to Mexico left early Monday morning. However, due to the inclement weather (to say the least), we camped out in the beach house and watched NFL. Not exactly what I'd had in mind, but it was relaxing. The storm settled down enough Sunday afternoon for us to drive to the nearest Domino's. (Seriously. Apparently married life is exactly the same as our pre-married life.) I stayed in the car (again... inclement weather), but Matt told the Domino's guy that we had just gotten married, so he threw in a couple of free chocolate lava cakes. Highlight of my day.

Of course, Tropical Storm Lee peaced out about the time we were getting ready to leave, so I got a few pictures around the house.

I imagined having a late-morning breakfast and coffee in this cute gazebo outside our house. Too bad that was left to my imagination only, since Tropical Storm Lee rained all over that parade. Literally.

Welcome to Mexico!! (Notice the sunshine.)

Our resort! So beautiful. Ahh... Can I go back??

Our room..

This made me a little giddy :)

So when we got to our room, there was a sign on it that said "Happy Anniversary." I laughed, and I told Matt, "Happy 2 day anniversary!" Our personal concierge was quite distraught over the fact that our banner didn't say "Honeymooners." I told him to please not lose sleep over our door banner. It was really okay. It was changed the next morning. Haha. Poor Roberto. Stressed out over door banners.

Honing my self-timer skills before we headed out to dinner our first night there.

One of the 8 restaurants. We ate in this one by the pool our first night.

Kobe beef. D-lish.

Breakfast in bed... Livin' the dream, folks.

Beach time!

The water was beautiful and clear, and there were white angelfish swimming everywhere. The fish kind of freaked me out at first. (Confession: I am afraid of fish. Really, really afraid of fish. Go ahead, laugh.) Once I realized that they weren't going to bite me, I was okay with them. Well, mostly okay anyway.

Blue skies. In sharp contrast to West Florida.

This picture doesn't do the beach justice. The sand was almost white and so silky and soft, and the water was a turquoise blue. One of the largest coral reefs in the world is right off the coast, so the reef breaks all the big waves. There were barely any waves at all.

The second night, we ate at a Japanese place, and it was one of our favorites. Apparently, I'm the village idiot because I didn't know that rubbing Buddha's belly was good luck. Between rubbing his belly and all the rain on our wedding day, we're pretty set for some good luck, and I think I'd like to cash in on that good luck on March 16!! (Matt was a little too enthusiastic about rubbing the giant Buddha belly if you ask me...)

Me not knowing to rub Buddha's belly...

Educated on the benefits of patting the golden abdomen...

Oh, [sigh]. Writing this post makes me want to go on a permanent vacation. Not that Jackson, Mississippi isn't smothered in luxury, but I do prefer a place with an ocean view.

To be continued.

A follow-up on my green thumbs

2011-10-20T20:49:00.000-05:00

Green thumbs? Not this girl. I really tried. I had a couple of plants, and tried so hard to keep them alive. (Click HERE for part 1 of this story.) My prayer plant lasted a few months, and then it began to deteriorate. I watered less, I watered more. I moved it to another room where the sunlight hit it in the morning instead of the afternoon. I loved that plant and its green patent-leather-looking leaves with purple undersides.

However, no one told me that "root rot" existed until it was too late. Root rot? Who has ever heard of root rot? To quote Wikipedia, "it is usually lethal, and there is no effective treatment." No one told me to take it out of that basket thing where it could drain. My uncle did tell me not to overwater it, but when it started to die, I thought maybe I didn't water enough. Wrong. I watered too much, and it couldn't drain, and my roots were rotting, so I hastened the plant's death by watering more. Not watering my dying plant was just too counterintuitive for my black thumbs, and I couldn't resist the urge to water. Ahh! So I drowned the prayer plant. RIP.

That gerbera daisy only lasted one season, but I don't think they're the kind of plant that lasts for years. As if I really know. That's what I'm telling myself anyway.

However, my aloe plant LIVES ON! Not only has it survived, it has multiplied! I need to get a bigger pot. So this post was not actually intended as an obituary to my plants, but to share the excitement of using my aloe plant.

Recently, I was cooking dinner, and I took a pot out of the oven. I set it on the stove, and I left the kitchen for a minute. I returned. Apparently the oven mitts lying next to my fresh-out-of-the-oven pot did not serve as an adequate reminder that the pot was fresh-out-of-the-oven hot. I grabbed the lid with my bare hand. I'm glad my mother wasn't in the room. I lost my religion for a second.

I remembered my aloe plant. I broke a piece of it off and held the gooey goodness to my finger. I wasn't impressed, so I put it in the freezer for a minute. Ice cold gooey aloe. From my very own plant! It was a little silver lining in having burned flesh. It almost made me feel better. My finger pain went from a 9 to an 8. Maybe a 7.5. I felt like Laura Ingalls Wilder. Anytime I do anything remotely self-sufficient (which is not often), I think of Laura Ingalls Wilder. As a child, I wanted to be her. Including living in a dugout by a creek. But that's beside the point. I grew something and used it!

Anyway, I got a little thrill out of using my aloe plant. It lives. It has purpose. If you get burned, you know who to call.

And just because you read this ridiculously long post about my plants, dead and alive, you certainly deserve something a little more amusing.

Tomorrow's Friday! Hallelujah!

The list

2011-10-13T23:47:00.001-05:00

When I pack for anything, I make a detailed list of what I need before I start packing. Then I usually call my mom, read it to her, and ask her what I forgot. (Hi, I'm 25 years old, and I can't pack without my mother's help... so what?) I check things off as I physically put them in the suitcase. Then I pack the list itself so that I can make sure that I come home with everything that I took. I do this whether I'm going somewhere for 2 days or 2 months. I am the least obsessive-compulsive type person you will ever meet, and the only reason I go through this ritual is because it is necessary. I'm a terrible packer. Too many times I've gone to the beach without a bathing suit or to camp without a hairbrush. I don't know what my problem is. I can remember minute factoids about obscure diseases, but I can't always remember to pack my toothbrush.

After we got home from our wedding and honeymoon, I found a list that Matt had made before the wedding. I think it's hilarious. The simplicity of his list bewilders me. What is the point of such a list? "Travel?" What? See, under "Wednesday," I would have written "shorts, flip-flops, tshirt, sunglasses, white shorts and blue halter top to wear for dinner, light brown sandals, pillow/blanket for car, car charger for phone....." You get the point. He writes, "travel." Then Friday is also funny. Just in case he would forget that Friday night was our rehearsal dinner, he wrote that down. However, the best part of the list is Saturday's section. It perfectly illustrates who Matt Newman is. He doesn't write "wedding." (I guess he decided he could remember that on his own.) He does write down that he needs to bring an Alabama polo to wear that morning while watching the game with his buddies. Typical.

Of note, turns out the Sunday "swim" was a bust. Something about a tropical storm...

PS: I did not marry Matt for his spelling abilities. His math skills are much better.