Life is in one of those weird "slowly fast" stages where days seem like they will never end, but then you realize that the summer is more than half over and you have to go back to school soon, and you wonder where all the time went... yeah, one of those. Natalie is studying like crazy, and I am working like crazy, and there hasn't been a whole lot in between.

I finally got the house (or at least the downstairs) put back together from our trip to California 2 weeks ago, and added to my list of manly accomplishments: I fixed our dryer! Bwahaha! It started making an awful noise about 2 weeks ago, so I took it all apart and fixed it! The belt had come off the track, and it only took me 2 and a half hours of kicking and cursing at the dryer to figure it out!

Natalie has her next big Anatomy test tomorrow, which marks the halfway point in her awfully awful Anatomy class. Not only has she been studying for this test basically every waking minute, she got sick sometime last week and hasn't been able to get rid of the bug. Turns out you still have to go to class and take the test even when you aren't feeling well. Not very nice if you ask me!

FUNNEST WEEKEND

This weekend we went to San Diego for the Burk Family Reunion with my mother-in-law!! It was so much fun!!

Beach!! Camping!! Family!! Car Rides!! Mountain Biking!! My Husband!! Sunburned Bald Heads, back of my knees!! Tide Pools!! Screaming children!! Fireworks over the lake!! Getting lost!! Following Larry (my step-father-in-law)!! Flat tires!! and Hardly any STUDYING!!

All those combined just made up the best weekend.

I SURVIVED MY FIRST ANATOMY EXAM

I took my first test today!! I survived! I have been studying like crazy. This test was actually quite ridiculous. The amount of information we were required to know was enormous. Not even to talk about the fact that the test started at 6:30AM (Cruel and unusual punishment) and didn't end until 9:50! That is the longest test ever....................... and for all of you that know me well! I am not a morning person!

PS (I was going to post these awful pictures of me studying in my cool, new study room, with my office chair(I put together, all by myself), but unfortunately my computer is not cooperating! Sorry!)

***Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you'll land among the stars ***

So I finished my first week of PA school last week!! It wasn't too bad, in fact you could argue that it the same as any regular college. Except my summer classes add up to a total of 19 credits. I am expected to study ALL the time, and I don't get to choose what time I take my classes.... Oh, and its tons and tons of information in a really short amount of time. It's like taking college and squashing into the shortest period of time possible. Fun right!?!

Its actually been really exciting getting started. I've met some awesome people in my class. I am so excited to have people that share the same values and are experiencing the same things. They are all just so awesome, I am going to have a *BLAST* getting to know them better and working with them on a daily basis!

Thanks for everyone's support (especially my wonderful husband who's working right now!) getting me to this point!

It's the End of the World as We Know It

As of Monday, my wife will practically disappear. That's right, the first day of PA school is upon us!

So not only is Natalie going to be gone all the time studying, but I actually have to go back to work! Natalie has been earning all the money for us while I went to school for the last year, and since she's going to be studying her little heart out, I have to go back to work. We've been able to take the last few weeks off to spend time together (which has been so nice) but the vacation is officially over as of Monday morning at 9:00. Except I don't have to go to work until Tuesday, but a vacation is not much of a vacation if you're by yourself.

We're trying to save money like everyone else (which is pretty much a forgone conclusion when you're spending $40,000 a year on tuition and books, but every little bit helps, right?), and we decided we're going to spend more time cooking at home instead of eating out. I have (re)discovered that I really enjoy cooking. I have been getting online a lot lately to look for recipes and fun things to cook. I really want to get a barbecue grill for our postage stamp backyard, but I'm having trouble convincing Natalie that it's a good idea (what do you mean we are spending more money than we make, since when does that ever stop anybody? Haven't you heard we're in a recession; we're supposed to go out and buy stuff, that's what being a good American means these days! ... strangely these arguments aren't working). Barbecue or no barbecue, we have cooked every meal this week, with the exception of one totally justifiable lunch at Olive Garden with my mom and sister (Olive Garden soup + salad = little piece of heaven).

I am going on two more business trips this month; I am going to Boston in 2 weeks, and New Jersey the week after. Unfortunately, we may have seen the end of trips where Natalie gets to come along, unless we have some amazingly improbable coincidence where Natalie doesn't have to study for 3 days and I get a trip somewhere interesting. So mostly I just bring home pictures and souvenirs (which is a rather paltry substitute, but at least it's something).

Funny Moments in Life

dallas and i decided to have grilled cheese sandwiches with whole chili for lunch today!! unfortunately we forgot that dallas is unable to bite through things. things most of us wouldn't even think about. for instance, he can't bite through a slice of lettuce or a pickle on a hamburger. his front teeth don't meet together no matter what he does

so he grabbed his grilled cheese and chili and took a bite. out came the entire chili and most of the melted cheese:) to fix the problem i had to cut his sandwich up in little pieces. (at least he didn't ask me to cut the crust off:))