March 15-21

This week was finally the long-awaited national board exams. On Monday, Lezlie and I decided to briefly review and then treat ourselves to a manicure and pedicure to relax before the test. Tuesday and Wednesday I took the board exam with four sessions, 8:30-12 and 1:30-5 each day. The test was hard, but I think I passed (won’t find out until May) and it’s finally over. We celebrated what was left of Spring Break by meeting our friends from UNI, Jeff & Amy Muller and Mike & Maria Anderson in Las Vegas for a mini-vacation! It was all of our first times in Vegas, and we managed to fit a lot of fun into four days. We played blackjack, went to a dinner show, relaxed by the pool, ate at a buffet, got margaritas and took lots of pictures! We had a ton of fun and even managed to meet up with our friends Shane & Shaybree Goshon who were nearby in Arizona and came into Vegas for the night on Friday. While the Mullers and Andersons left Sunday morning to head back to Iowa, Nick and I didn’t leave until 11 pm on Sunday, so we had the day to ourselves to have some last minute fun.

March 8-14

Because national board exams for optometry are next week, I didn’t have any classes this week. Instead, Lezlie Jones and I went to the main library on campus every day (where we saw many other optometry students) and studied for 7-9 hours. We took a break for lunch (usually junk food), and managed to survive with coffee, diet Pepsi and candy to get us through. I tried to relax a little bit each night, but with the test coming up fast, it’s pretty stressful. A great surprise was getting a care package with study supplies and snacks in the mail from my parents. While I was studying, Nick found us a place to live in Miami and it seems great! We will be living in Miami November 2010-May 2011, and I can’t wait. We have a one bedroom apartment for a whopping $1085 per month! Miami certainly will be more expensive to live, but it should be an adventure. Since I was busy, Nick went to Illinois with his boss to help him repair a rental property he owns on Sunday, and I think he had a good time.

March 1-7

This week I really started to feel the pressure of the upcoming board exams in two weeks. But unfortunately I still had to deal with regular schoolwork, including two tests. Needless to say this week was full of studying. I was excited to get a fancy new coffee-maker, a single cup Keurig brewer this week. The coffee will definitely help me with the studying! Another exciting purchase was a new pair of flip-flops on sale for $5. It was finally warm enough to wear them as I went to the library to study. Despite my stress level, the dogs managed to find plenty of time to relax and nap on their regular schedule.

Catching up...

I haven't been very good about keeping up on our blog, but starting January 1st I have been keeping a sort of scrapbooking journal where I write our events of the week and add pictures too. I'm going to go back and upload those pages here so you can keep up with Nick and I that way. You should be able to click on the images to see them larger and I will copy the journaling here as well. Hope you enjoy!

All the supplies used to make the digital scrapbook pages are from ScrapGirls.com. If you want specific information about them, just let me know.

February 22-28

This week was the beginning of my marathon study sessions for the upcoming National Board Exams Part 1 for optometry school. The exam is March 16-17th, and this week I started the goal of studying every day until the exams. Monday afternoon I had to go grocery shopping at Kroger to stock up on basics. We try to eat relatively healthy, but we also don’t have a lot of time, so we do a lot of one-pan dinners and microwave meals for lunches. So my shopping list frequently includes fruits, veggies, snacks, and lots of things from the freezer section. Tuesday was my usual clinic day, but since the schedule was really light, I spent a lot of time studying for the Low Vision exam I had on Wednesday. The studying continued Tuesday night, and the exam went well on Wednesday. Wednesday night I went to a guest speaker for the Private Practice Club, where they served Fazoli’s lasagna for dinner. After studying boards on Thursday and Friday afternoons, I decided to take a break from studying with Nick to go out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse with Candice Olund, Thai Yue, Josh and Lezlie Jones. I was excited to order one of their famous Bloomin’ Onions for an appetizer. After dinner we went to the movie “Cop Out” with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. It was funny, but not one of my favorites. Saturday and Sunday Lezlie and I decided to leave our apartments and go to the main Herman B. Wells Library to study. Armed with gummi bears and diet Pepsi, we managed to make quite a bit of progress studying. Nick spent the weekend relaxing and playing video games with Josh. On Sunday, they went to the movie “The Crazies,” which was set in Iowa. Another exciting happening of the week was hearing about the renovations my parents are doing at their house. They have knocked down a wall to expand the living room, ripped out the carpet and ordered new, and repainted all the walls. Mom’s been sending me pictures to keep me updated on the progress, and I can’t wait to see it in person when we visit this summer.

February 15-21

Monday morning we woke up to a bunch of snow and it continued throughout the day and by Tuesday morning we had 10 inches of snow! What a contrast to the mild 60 degree afternoons in Mexico last week! As a kind of a “welcome back” to Bloomington, I also had two tests this week. The first was Monday night, so after class on Monday morning I crammed for the exam. It went okay, but not as well as I would have liked. Tuesday someone worked my morning clinic shift, so I hung out with Nick at home because Monday and Tuesday were his days off. After clinic Tuesday night we ordered Domino’s pizza with Lezlie in celebration of Fat Tuesday. Because of my two tests, I spent a lot of time studying, and Herky decided to keep me company under the desk by my feet. Thursday night was the second test of the week, and I celebrated by catching up on American Idol on DVR. Friday after class I met Nick, Josh & Lezlie for lunch at Arby’s, and then I had a hair appointment to dye my hair dark. It is a big change, but I love the color! Saturday was the annual optometry school dinner and dance, the EyeBall! It was a lot of fun to get dressed up and spend the night with my optometry friends. Sunday was kind of a lazy day as usual, but Nick decided to get a start on priming the walls in our apartment. We have to have them all primed back to a white color before we move out in April.

February 8-14

I was in Guanajuato, Mexico for the majority of this week with VOSH offering free eye exams and glasses to those in need. Even though this was my third time helping on the mission, I am always amazed at how little healthcare these people have access to, and how grateful they are for what we can provide. The days are long, the work is hard, but it is so worth it when the people give a heartfelt “Gracias.” In the evenings we had a few hours to go into town for dinner before waking up and starting again. Thursday night was the usual banquet thrown by the government and it was a fun time again this year. Friday I spent the day wandering the city and shopping a bit. And before I knew it, it was Saturday and time to head home! Nick said he kept pretty busy with work while I was gone. He also hung out with his friend Jordan Peura (who’s girlfriend Amanda LaPlante was also on the trip) and new friend Anthony Martin (boyfriend of Sunni Stewart who was in Mexico). Unfortunately he developed a painful blister on his foot that wouldn’t allow him to wear his leg, so he had to take a few sick days from work on Thursday and Friday. He did manage to make it to Indianapolis on crutches to go to a car show with Josh on Friday. Saturday and Sunday Nick returned to work and got along pretty well. Saturday night he met me at the airport with a bouquet of white tulips for Valentine’s Day. Sunday I spent the day recovering, unpacking and studying a bit while Nick worked, and then we decided to make dinner for Valentine’s Day. We made proscuitto and monterrey jack stuffed chicken breasts with three cheese tortellini with cream sauce. It turned out really yummy! Nick also gave me a gift certificate for a massage, and I slacked a little on my gift, but I did get him some Mexican chocolates.

February 1-7

This week was the full of last minute preparations for the VOSH trip to Mexico. In addition to packing for myself, I had many things to do for the group. As President, I worked with the other council members to plan and lead an informational meeting Tuesday night. We also sorted and divided supplies that we would need for the mission. There were almost 3,000 pairs of glasses, and 60 gallon ziploc bags full of drops and medications that we would need to pack in our luggage to take to the clinic in Mexico. I also found a chiropractor in Bloomington that I liked to help me out with some neck stiffness I had been having trouble with. Meanwhile, Nick made plans with friends to host a Superbowl party at our house while I was gone. Mid-week Nick and I took a break to cuddle with our pups on the couch and watch a movie. As the trip drew closer, we realized that the weather would be less than ideal on Saturday when I was scheduled to fly out of Indianapolis. I made the decision to get a hotel room Friday night along with fellow VOSH members Candice Olund and Kathryn Mar Jip. Nick and Candice’s boyfriend Thai drove us to the hotel Friday night, and the roads were already starting to become snow-covered and slick. Saturday morning my flight left at 6:20 am and I was glad we hadn’t drove to the airport that morning because windy conditions and 4-6 inches of snow made for poor road conditions. I managed to make it to all of my flight connections, despite having a schedule through Chicago and Dallas before landing in Leon, Mexico. Saturday afternoon we set up the clinic in Silao and then checked into our hotel in Guanajuato and went out for dinner. Sunday morning was the start of our five day campaign that would have us seeing 2,800 patients and providing glasses to nearly all of them. We did manage to see Sunday’s patients quickly enough to head to downtown Guanajuato and watch the Superbowl at a bar in Spanish. Unfortunately the Colts lost to the Saints, but I had a good time in Mexico, and Nick’s Superbowl party at our house in Bloomington was a big success with a good group of friends and lots of food.

January 25-31

This week was pretty uneventful. I started Monday off by doing our laundry. Since we do not have our own washer and dryer, laundry is always a big pain. I usually procrastinate until we have at least 6-8 loads, and then I have to haul it all up to the community laundry facility across the parking lot. It is $1.25 per load to wash and another $1.25 to dry. Then I have to fold it and haul it all back to our townhouse. The dogs love to lay on the back of the couch in the window and watch me make the trek back and forth over and over...Monday was also the start of a few snowy days. We actually got several inches of snow by Tuesday morning. Tuesday was my usual day in clinic, and Tuesday night I went to a free dinner sponsored by one of the national optical chains in an attempt to get us interested in working commercial optometry. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were also pretty basic days, and I filled my time not in class with preparations for the upcoming VOSH trip to Mexico. Friday afternoon I did manage to squeeze in some time for fun with Josh and Lezlie Jones. We ate lunch at Panera and then we saw the movie, “Precious.” It received many awards, and I can see why because it was a very emotional movie. Friday night Nick and I continued the fun and went bowling with Candice Olund, Thai Yue, Josh & Lezlie Jones. It was cosmic bowling and we had a great time. Saturday and Sunday were Nick’s scheduled weekend days to work at Woodbridge, and I covered a clinic shift for a friend on Saturday morning. Saturday and Sunday nights were pretty lazy days for us, we didn’t really venture out much, but we got caught up on cleaning, shows on the DVR, and a bit of scrapbooking and homework for me, and made some soup and grilled cheese for dinner.

January 18-24

Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and in honor of the holiday, VOSH

(Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity) and the Salvation Army partnered to sponsor MLK Donate an Eye Exam event. The event was held at the west side optometry clinic (CECC) and it was staffed by volunteer students and doctors from the optometry school. We were able to provide 52 people with free eye exams and glasses, and lunch was donated by McAlister’s. Tuesday was the start of my regular school week, but Nick enjoyed another day off since he had worked Sunday. Tuesday night we went to Bucceto’s for a fundraiser dinner to benefit VOSH. Wednesday was our friend, Sylvia Mishoulam’s birthday, so after a day of class and work, Nick and I went to O’Charley’s for dinner to celebrate. There was a big group there for Sylvia’s birthday - about 24 altogether! Thursday Nick got a clean bill of health from the dentist, and I had a long day of classes that went until 9 pm. Friday after my morning classes I met Nick at Steak n’ Shake for lunch. Friday night we went to Josh and Lezlie Jones’ apartment for dinner with Candice Olund and Thai Yue. It seemed like it had been a long time since we had hung out together and that’s exactly what we did. We ate roast, drank some wine, watched a few old home movies, and caught up on each other’s lives. Saturday morning Nick and I slept in and then ran errands. We decided that Steak n’ Shake was so good the day before that we went back again for lunch! I ended up getting a new pair of comfy tennis shoes - Reebok EasyTones. Then we decided to clean up our apartment and watched the movie, “The Perfect Getaway.” Sunday I volunteered to sit as a patient for a 2nd year optometry student to practice, and then I had to supervise practice time for 1st year clinical science lab. Nick invited our friend, Adam Cmejla over to watch the Colts football game and grill brats while I was gone.

January 11-17

Monday of this week was the last time I will ever have a “first day of classes,” which was really exciting for me. My schedule is pretty busy this year, and the one I’ve included here doesn’t even have any meetings or other random things that come up throughout the week. This semester I am working at the west side optometry clinic (CECC), which is a change from working at the on-campus clinic (AECC) I worked at last semester. AECC is much newer, but the patients at CECC are much more interesting. In addition to my regular class and clinic schedule, we also had a VOSH (Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity) meeting on Tuesday night. I am president of the organization and we are busy preparing for our upcoming trip to Guanajuato, Mexico in February. Wednesday night I had a group meeting, but I was fortunate to get out of class early Thursday night so I could spend a little time with Nick Thursday evening. Friday night Nick and I went to La Torre mexican restaurant and then bowling at Classic Lanes to celebrate Nick’s co-worker Megan’s birthday. (Nick is pictured with her youngest son, Evan). Amanda and Jordan joined us for bowling and Nick had the high score of 221 on our lane (my 189 didn’t have a chance)! Saturday and Sunday I took advantage of a relaxing weekend, spending the majority of my time in my “usual spot” studying for Boards. Nick relaxed with me on Saturday, and we ended the night with some frozen yogurt and ice cream from Jiffy Treet. Nick had to work Sunday afternoon, but he will appreciate having an extra day off next week in exchange. Sunday afternoon it got up to 45 degrees, so I took advantage and took the dogs for a walk. After Nick got off work, his friends Dan and Dave came over and we grilled burgers and brats and watched the Cowboys football game. Unfortunately, they are out of the playoffs after getting beat by the Vikings.

January 4-10

This week was overall pretty relaxing. It was the last week of my break before starting Spring semester classes. Monday and Tuesday were the last two days of my KMK Boards Review class. After class was over on Tuesday, I celebrated by going to the mall with my good friend Lezlie Jones. We took advantage of a sale at our favorite store, The Limited, and got some new clothes. Tuesday night the Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Orange Bowl 24-14. Nick’s friends Dan and Dave came over to watch the game and I made tacos for dinner. Wednesday I had a hair appointment at Hair International with my favorite stylist, Melissa. I decided to take the leap and dye my hair darker! I love it so much that I think I will go even darker next time. Wednesday night I went to the Weight Watchers meeting - time to start back up eating healthier after the holidays! Thursday morning we woke up to a couple inches of snow and it continued to snow all day. The weather really wasn’t that bad by Iowa standards, but lots of schools were closed and the roads weren’t great. I managed to make it across town to get an allergy shot and then meet Nick for lunch at the mall. The dogs loved playing outside in the snow - they like to eat it and roll around and make snow angels. Friday through Sunday I doggy-sat for an optometry classmate, Tim Hobbs and his wife Jessica. They have a Great Dane, Stryder; Australian Cattle Dog, Rory; and a Shiba Inu, Chula. Luckily, the dogs stayed at their house and I just had to go over and let them out and feed them throughout the day. Five dogs in our townhouse would have been a bit overwhelming! I took advantage of my last few days of freedom over the weekend to clean, do laundry, run errands and go grocery shopping at Kroger. Friday night we watched the computer animated movie, “9.” Nick had to work the weekend, but we took advantage of our time together in the evenings. Saturday night Dan and Dave came over again, this time to watch the Dallas Cowboys win in the wild card playoff game. Sunday night Nick and I went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then saw the movie, “Avatar” in the theater. Overall it was a productive and fun week before classes start back up.

January 1-3

After welcoming in the New Year with a get-together at our townhouse with food, friends, and Wii fun, Nick and I headed to bed around 2 am on the 1st. We spent the day 1st relaxing, I scrapped and Nick watched football. For dinner we went ate pork roast made by Josh & Lezlie Jones. We ended the night with the movie, “500 Days of Summer.” On the 2nd, I started my KMK Optometry Boards Review class which will run from January 2-5 at the optometry school. The days were long (8 hours of lecture), but I learned a lot and feel more prepared to study for boards (which will be March 16 & 17). During our hour-long lunch break we went to two of my favorite Bloomington restaurants. Saturday we went to Buffa Louie’s, a restaurant just off Kirkwood famous for wings and chicken sandwiches. Sunday we had Mother Bear’s pizza, a IU campus favorite on 3rd street.