The ABCs of Gratefulness

I saw this on a friend's blog and I thought that it would be a fun experiment. She didn't do it by letter, but just for fun I thought I'd try it.

So...I'm grateful for...

A. Apples
B. Bicycles
C. Comics
D. Dancing (and my Dad)
E. Earrings
F. Family and Friendships
G. Grandparents
H. Hamsters
I. Ice Cream
J. my Job
K. Knitting
L. Libraries
M. My Mom
N. New Notebooks
O. Oranges
P. Pants
Q. Quilts
R. Radio: NPR to be exact
S. Spencer
T. Thanksgiving day food
U. Umbrellas
V. Video Chats
W. Walking to work
X. Xylophones
Y. Yarn
Z. Zoos

New Moon

I saw "New Moon" this weekend with my friend Jessica. It was pretty blah. No chemistry, too much dramatic talking, and weird camera pans around people's faces while they were talking. Also, melancholy Bella is not all that different from happy Bella. As I remember from the book, this was also kind of true, but seriously there should have been some notable difference. I liken it to my first experience with Harry Potter movies. The first was absolutely terrible in terms of acting ability (and a few other things, too--but I digress). Harry was just about as excited for his birthday cake as he was to die by the hand of Quirll/Voldermort. Same with Bella. She was just as excited to be loved by Edward as she was to be lost.

Side note: until now I've thought the whole Edward vs. Jacob thing pretty lame. If it were up to me, I'd have Bella leave them both, go to college, get her PhD in weird-ology and then fall in love, but since the author seemed bent on her picking one, I never really picked aside. The movie, however has changed my mind: Jacob all the way! Have you seen his abs? Arms? Etc? Holy cow! And then Edward takes of his shirt and you recoil in fear. Pasty white, untoned, hairy teenage vampires should not get the girl. Especially when you calculate the cold factor in. I am perpetually chilly and Jacob would be like dating an electric blanket. And then there's the whole controlling, abusive, I'll die without you aspect to the relationship. Seriously! Now what were the reasons for picking Edward again?

PS: If I ever have teenage daughters, they aren't seeing this movie/reading the books. I don't want them thinking that that's what real love looks like.

Rotations and Recent Happenings

Well, it's officially mid-November and we're well on our way through 3rd year. Year 3 brought the transition from book work to clinical rotations which was a welcome change for both Spencer and me. Spencer likes it better because it's more like being a real doctor, and I like it because he actually has to go in and is really busy now which makes me fee like less of slave. :) Already he has learned so much and he is getting good reports from his teachers. They think he's pretty awesome and I've got to admit, so do I. He's gone from anesthesia to family practice, then neurology to psych, and now he will finish the calendar year in ob/gyn. He will finish off 3rd year with peds, medicine, and surgery before embarking on the 4th and final year of medical school with a whole new round of rotations. Phew! I get tired just thinking about it. One thing about it that I don't like though, is the crazy hours he keeps. Right now he is going in around 5am and getting done close to 7pm. Grrr....

I am also on track to graduate from my master's program. After this semester, I will only have 9 credits left to take and I signed up to take 6 of them next semester. Right now I am taking "Justice and Health Care" which has been especially interesting considering the health care debate going on in Washington right now (though I do have to admit, I'm pretty sick of it).

BeautiControl also fills my life, though not as much as I would like it to. I seem to have over-committed myself to too many things and I often have a hard time making the time to fit it in. It's hard to be motivated when you work 8+ hours a day, then still have to do school work, make dinner, clean the house, take care of Spencer, try to work out, and then sit down and do business. However, I have noticed a marked improvement in my sales/marketing abilities over last year and I always do well when I actually do spas rather than open houses or vendor fairs. I also hear there is a new leadership program coming up next year which will make it even easier to succeed. I am super excited about it for myself and for all the people I can share it with.

In other news: I'm now 25 years old. It seems hard to believe that I've live 1/4 of a century, but I have and I'm happy to have done it. I hope to live at least 2 more, but I'm not sure if I really want to make it to 100. I think living into about my 80s much like Grandma did would be just fine with me. I had an awesome birthday. I woke up feeling kind of down because I thought that everyone forgot me, but then at work they gave me a card and lots of people went out of their way to tell me happy birthday. Spencer was especially loving and my mom flew in to hang out for the weekend. I took Friday off and we went to Sheboygan Falls, WI to one of my favorite places to eat: The Bread and Bean Eatery. We also stopped in Magpie's Cottage, a yarn store and got a plethora of yarn and books to keep me knitting like crazy. We rounded out the weekend with a trip to Costco, Holy Hill, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and Penzey's Spices. We also stopped at a harvest stand along the side of the road and got apples, apple cider, Carmel apples, and honey. Needless to say, my pantry, fridge, and chest freezer are now full. Thanks mom! It was great to have you and I wish you could have stayed longer. It would have been so nice if Melissa, Rachel, and Dad could have come as well. Maybe next time!

Next on the horizon: Thanksgiving in Wisconsin followed by Christmas with the Russells in Utah!