Busy busy busy

Apparently I'm only capable of blogging in lists these days.  Here's the second half of my first semester of med school in a very abbreviated fashion.  My biggest failure of late is my lack of photography.  When I stop studying and hang out with my friends or family, I've just been enjoying it so much I haven't slowed down to take pictures.  I need to work on that.

(1)  Football.  Auburn had some unexpected success.  I have only attended the AU-Georgia and AU-UA games since graduating... so I have pretty high standards for my future Auburn games.  I also made a couple of trips to T-town to see more (more: as, in additional to Auburn) high-quality football.

Best double-daters around.

Toomers isn't the same without the trees.

(2)  Wedding planning.  Still not my forte.  But we've had engagement pictures (aka Christmas shopping), picked out bridesmaid dresses, ordered my dress, addressed save the dates.  Keeps me on my toes.

(3)  Fun times in Volker Hall and Lister Hill Library.  

Fundamentals 2 really gave me a run for my money.  Who REALLY thought it was a good idea to teach bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites in the TWO weeks before Christmas break?

(4) Family time/ graduation.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas and Charles's graduation, I've gotten to hang out with my fam and my future fam a lot.  :)  Oh and Charles graduated.  He starts "real life" (aka full-time employment) in a couple of weeks.

Joyful.

Lately I am grateful for 14+ hours spent in the car because it means we spent a sunny Thanksgiving with family,

the craziness of Black Friday because it means the shooting range was empty,

the temperatures dropping because it's an excuse for hot cocoa and extra marshmallows,

 endless amounts of packing because it means we are moving closer to friends and family,

 crowded restaurants because it means a lunch date while exploring new places, 

waiting in line 4 hours because it means we experienced the greatest iron bowl in history,

thorns in my pants because it means we won and jumped through bushes to storm the field,

 and the man who destroyed Toomer's trees because it proves tradition never dies.

California, here we come. War Eagle. 

It's been a while.

Sometimes I wish life would just slow down, but then I realized it's not going to (except for last weekend when we set the clocks back. That was awesome.) so I guess I just need to catch up with life. 

Here's my attempt at catching up on the last few months (brace yourself for LOTS of pictures)

We soaked up the last bits of summer by watching the sun set over the lake,

 I read this book which quickly became one of my favorites,

 I frequently felt like I was in the Valley of Ashes and Dr. T.J. Eckleburg was watching me on my long commute (name that book),

 We ventured up to Memphis for a wedding and got to spend time with sweet family,

watched sunlight through the window beam on our new kitchen table,

,

 went to the Arkansas state fair,

 had lunch with Caroline during my brief stop in Alabama (new favorite brunch spot in Bham!)

took photos of this girl for my jewelry line (check it out here)

 Went on a road trip to the beach,

 where my mom locked us out of the house (looks like she's broken into places a time or two),

and we didn't want to leave the beautiful October beach.

Back in Arkansas, it decided to turn cold. We crashed a local college and went to a Dave Barnes concert, 

 I got this lovely card in the mail (so much excitement!!),

 went to a pumpkin patch where I wanted this baby pumpkin (why is everything always cuter in miniature form?)

 and succeeded in the muddy maze with this guy.

 Then we headed up to Fayetteville on the most beautiful drive,

where the boys decided to ride a hog,

 and the Tigers decided to beat the hogs!

 We were so thankful to have sweet friends stay with us for the weekend. 

Life in the natural state is always an adventure!

Fall Break Life

Hi there, world.  This week was fall break -- 9 wonderful school-free days.   Unfortunately, I am not very rested but very caught-up on socialization and perhaps more importantly all things wedding related.  Here's my last month in a list.

(1)  Concerts on concerts on concerts.  

Green River Ordinance on October 5th with Tyler and Charles.  Joshua Radin and Matt Nathanson with Charles on October 15th.  Dave Barnes with Madison and Kelsey on October 22nd.  Sometimes I think I keep Workplay in business.  I also should point out I skipped the Ben Rector concert on October 16th, but seeing as I had a final that week I decided concerts 2 days in a row wouldn't be a wise decision.  Maybe next time.  I've really been slacking with my photography (zero pics of me and my friends - sad), so here's to iPhone photos.

Andrew Ripp

GRO

(2)  Wedding. 

 

First of all, if you got a homemade invitation in a homemade envelope from Hogwarts, you're invited to be my bridesmaid!  My budget appreciated my resourcefulness as the infamous craft box from sophomore year of college delivered on craft materials.  I only paid for the postage.  Square envelopes do cost extra money to mail, and the post office cashier smirked them and asked if I made them.  Yes, yes I did.  For better or for worse, this is officially the end of my DIY wedding stage.  Definitely not my thing.

I also found bridesmaids dresses, spent about 6 hours attempting to register, finding a wedding coordinator, and a few other things.

Charles quite at home among Christmas decorations at Macy's

(3)  Family reunion in Dadeville.

This unfortunately overlapped with the Auburn A&M game, and I was limited to a small, fuzzy TV.  It also limited my interaction with family.  Still, good times were had.

picturesque fireplace at Uncle Donny's little house 

(4)  Hiking.

(5)  Fun times in Ttown. 

The weather was PERFECT.  And I got good quality time with some of my friends I don't get to see very much!  

(6)  Other random stuff.  Like spending 5 hours at the Honda dealership and shopping for clothes and cleaning and organizing everything that went to shambles during school.

Here's to Fun 2 (my next module)!

Random Update

I would update the blog more often, but my life has become comfortably boring.  Here are a few noteworthy events/ observations.

(1)  Chick-fil-a kickoff game in Atlanta.

Charles caught a cow.

And my ring looked extra-sparkly under the dome lights.

Which brings me to my next notable update....

(2)  Wedding planning.  So far we have a venue, photographer, caterer, baker (cake), and florist.  If anyone would like to pick my dress, bridesmaids dresses, bridesmaids, guest list (w/ addresses), registry items, or videographer, please let me know -- you will make my fall break (1 month away!) much less busy!

(3)  Alex forgot to specifically mention in her labor day post that WE GOT TO HANG OUT.  Good, good times.

(4)  Mama and Daddy took me and Charles to see Jersey Boys as my early birthday present.  That's a crazy event for a school night!

(5)  The upgrade to i0S 7.  I love all things Apple; I'm obsessed.

(6)  School is turning me into a "runner."  At least for now.  I study 100% better on days I allow time to clear my head.  I wouldn't really say I like it, but it's definitely becoming a staple.

(7)  I've been having weird dreams.  And craving hotdogs.  (not at the same time)

(8)  I really miss going outside and biking to class.  (Although I am thankful I don't have to bike to UAB!)

(9)  I am always cold.  Today I wore socks, shoes, jeans, a flannel shirt and covered up with a blanket in class.

(10)  Southerners talk really slowly.  I've been watching lectures on 2x speed to study, and the southern lecturers sound normal -- the others sound like chipmunks.