weekend replay : surprise date

I mentioned last week that I had a little something up my sleeve for our Parent's Night Out the church was providing.  Generally, we take those opportunities to see a movie, but this time there wasn't anything we just had to see in the theater.  So since it is my goal to do some exploring outside of our normal spots in this still kinda-new-to-us city, I got to planning.  

Thanks to Lyndsey for the inspiration.  I don't think I have ever mentioned to her that we used to enjoy playing disc golf together when we first got married, but for whatever reason, she said, "you guys could go disc golfing since we have so many courses around here..."  Um. What?  

When we lived in Owensboro for undergrad, Kyle took up disc golf, and it was my kind of pace so I got into it as well.  They had 2 really great courses within 5 miles of our school/apartment so it was a great thing to do on our time off.  Then we moved to Louisville.  And the courses were about 30 min- an hour away.  I think Kyle played twice during his first year of Med-School and his discs have sat in the car ever since.  So I never even thought about it when we moved down here.  We have 3 courses within 15 minutes of our house.  Two of them are tucked back off of roads we frequent weekly.  (jaw drop.)

Kyle was on call Friday night so he slept until almost 3pm on Saturday.  I already had hidden his bag of discs in the back of my car and we loaded up as soon as he got ready.  We dropped Myles off at 4:00 and then I drove from the church to the 9 hole disc golf course nearby.  He was surprised!  We were both terrible at it, but it felt good to be outside together again!  With courses so nearby I think we might have our new family activity for Kyle's weekends off this spring.  I think Myles would enjoy "hiking" the courses with us if we don't try to get out there and think we could do a whole round.

Next it was time for dinner.  I have been wanting to go up to Traveler's Rest, a small community slightly north of us, for a while, and really really wanting to visit the Tandem Creperie & Coffeehouse.  This place was only another 15 minutes from where we were and worth the drive.

I didn't know to expect just a walk in and order type of place.  I sort of thought it was more of a sit-down restaurant.  It caught me off guard, but wasn't unwelcome.  It was just more of the coffeeshop feel.  

We each ordered a savory crepe.  Kyle got the Lumberjack which was the breakfast one with egg bacon and cheese topped with a little maple syrup.  I ordered the chicken and mushroom special.  They were both really good.

The real star though was the sweet crepe that we ordered next for dessert, and my Counter Culture cappuccino.  We both agreed to get the Tiramisu crepe and it did not disappoint.  

We aren't sure if we would ever drive up there for dinner at Tandem again.  Everything has eggs in it so its not Myles friendly.  However, we agreed that we would love to go back for dessert, especially to share the experience with family.  I have my eye on the blueberry cream crepe or banana nut for next time.  Kyle would love to try the key lime.  I think Kyle's only complaint was the drink selection.  They only serve coffee, hot tea, or water to drink or a handcrafted soda.  Kyle only drinks soda or sweet tea with his meals so he wasn't super happy with his options since he doesn't drink coffee.  He got the handcrafted pomegranate soda but it just wasn't his thing.

It was a fantastic date which only took 2.5 hours to complete.  So I drug him to Old Navy to have some toddler-less browsing time and scored a pretty cute dress with his help.  It was exactly what we needed.  We really had some great conversations and got to enjoy each other, something sitting in a movie theater just doesn't allow.  

thank me later

I used to bake something for the residents once a month... 

But then I had a baby. (that's the excuse for everything isn't it?) 

I really want to start doing that again... And so my idea has been this big plan for weeks. And this weekend I saw my plan through. In all it's glory. Because Kyle was on call this weekend (oh how I hate it!) So I decided to conquer the evil day of loneliness with sugar.

Bourbon smoked sugar.

You're welcome world.

So... not going to lie... When my Aunt Jules gave me this jar of Woodford Reserve bourbon smoked sugar in my bag of Kentucky Proud goodies, I was like... Cool. What am I going to do with it?

Well friends, while I was rifling through one of my junk cabinets and saw the jar a year later, it dawned on me.

Snickerdoodles.

So I found a Snickerdoodle recipe with good reviews and tweaked it a bit. And I dubbed the results Kentucky Snickerdoodles.  So here's how to make them:

Kentucky Snickerdoodles
adapted from Trisha Yearwood's Snickerdoodles

Wet mix
1 stick butter. Room temp
1/2 C Crisco
2 eggs. Room temp
1 C sugar
1/2 C light brown sugar

Dry mix
2 3/4 C All Purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

The good stuff
3 Tbsp plain sugar
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

A small separate bowl of bourbon smoked sugar.

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• In a large bowl, beat the wet ingredients until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. 
• Gradually mix the dry mix into the wet.
• I like to line my cookie sheet with parchment paper. No mess to clean up and never a stuck cookie to scrape off.
• Now for the important part. Make the cookie dough balls. I use a cookie dough scoop. It's about a tablespoon.  Dip one side in the bourbon smoked sugar and then roll the whole thing in the cinn/sugar mix. Place dough 2 inches apart with bourbon sugar side up.
• Bake for 9 minutes.  (They will look all puffy and not quite done like my 2nd photo but will shrink down like my 3rd)
• Let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 3-4 dozen soft, amazingly chewy cookies.

These would be just as delicious without the bourbon smoked sugar.  It isn't a necessity but it does add just a little something special. Mostly an extra crunch that could be achieved with much cheaper turbinado sugar.  But then you couldn't say you were all fancy and used bourbon smoked sugar like me.  

weekend replay

Not much for a weekend replay... Kyle was on night float this weekend, but now is back to his normal day schedule.  I made a few more mental plans for projects this weekend, and got a few more thank you notes written.  I also managed to send Kyle to work with some cupcakes on Saturday.

The highlight of my weekend was working on this thing.  Look around... a lot changed over the weekend.  I tried cleaning things up a bit.  Made my writing space larger so my photos can be loaded in a larger size when I want them to be.  There are now pages found up above here to take the place of the jumbled mess that used to be the right side...with additional information.  There will be pics of the cats eventually...when I can catch the two of them together on something other than the brown couch that one of them blends into.  All in all...it is a work in progress but I feel pretty good about it so far.  

So what do you think?  Any and all criticism/comments welcome on the new layout.  Any advice?  Something you would like to see?

Thanks to Anne-inresidence for her amateur blogging tips, I mostly used parts 1 (the basics) and 2 (helpful resources) to get me through some rough spots.  I also relied heavily on SomethingSwanky for her incredible how-to on designing your own background using PicMonkey.  

a golden weekend (weekend replay)

This past weekend was Kyle's first days off in 19 days.  He is a trooper.  We both needed some time together really bad.  

Friday he texted me and asked "want to do something fun tonight?".

Yes please.

He offered no suggestion... so I made plans.  He got home and we ate dinner together, and then headed to the east end of town with the idea being to go play mini golf.  We haven't played in a really long time... and usually its his idea.

But first... since we were on that side of town... I wanted to take advantage of being over at Off Broadway Shoes... because I wanted/needed some new tennis shoes!  I knew as soon as I got out of the car... we probably wouldn't be going to play mini golf.  I just felt really crappy.  I toughed it out to browse the shoes but then I told Kyle we just needed to go home.  So we grabbed Blizzards and watched a movie on the couch instead.  

I was really bummed... I really really really needed time away from the couch.  That is really all we do... but what else is there when he gets home 2 hours before he needs to be in bed and has been at work the past 15 hours?

Saturday I asked him to get out of bed around 8:00 so we could have some breakfast together before I met Aly at the Indie Craft Parade downtown.  And he did!  

The craft show was pretty great.  Some affordable things mixed with some really high end items.  I walked away with a gift for a friend and two paper items to eventually hang in the house.  And to top it off... I ran into our Realtor Margie!  First time we have seen each other since we closed on the house!  

I got home around noon, Kyle and I ate some lunch, and then he was ready to get out of the house.  So we headed back to the east end and went straight to Frankie's Fun Park for that mini golf.  It was the hottest part of the day... and there was very little shade.  It was borderline miserable for my pregnant self but we did manage to have a lot of fun!  And he beat me by a lot.

I still managed to end up dragging him back to the shoe store... where he picked out my new shoes :).  I'm sort of in love with them.  He also was drug to Babies-R-Us to take back a few duplicates from the shower.

THEN he wanted to eat out.  We were headed to a chinese bistro when he found a Korean BBQ place with great reviews.  A little hole in the wall connected to a gas station.  It was DELICIOUS.

He gave me all of Saturday.  So I gave him all of Sunday.  We rushed home after church and he watched football... with the added treat of the Titans winning!

It was a fantastic date day on Saturday.  It was so good to just have fun with him all afternoon and not worry about cleaning anything or working on any projects.  This weekend I was reminded how blessed I am to have the husband that I do.  He may not be around much, but he is really trying hard to BE there with me when he is.

Today I am linking up with my friend Beth Ann over at My Life More Abundant. 

weekend replay : good man

This weekend replay (and Medical Monday!) is dedicated to my husband.  The hard working surgical intern who spends more time at work than any human should.  Dealing with crap no one should have to deal with (he is currently on his Peds rotation).  But he loves it.  He is settling into his new life, our new life, and he is a trooper.  I say this because the man gets 4 days off per month.  His program does "golden weekends" so this translates to 2 precious weekends off per month.  Which is great during a normal month but this month has 5 weekends... so not so great for him.  And I just filled this weekend with stuff I wanted to do.  And he was amazing.

activity 1

image source

Ok ok the first activity for the weekend was something he has been begging to do for weeks now... and it just kept not happening... partly because of circumstances... partly because there was nothing out that I was ok with watching... We went to see The Wolverine in 3D.  And it was awesome.  We have always enjoyed the X-men movies and this one did not disappoint.

activity 2

I tempted him out of bed Saturday morning with breakfast and then threw him in a car to go to Fisher's Orchard to do a pick-your-own peach activity.  Sure I could have bought the same peaches at a roadside stand a little closer to home for a slight upcharge... but I really wanted to go!  And he was very helpful.  He could reach the good ones higher up than I could :).  We picked a peck (about 12 pounds of deliciousness) for $10.  Today these gems will hopefully be canned in some form or fashion.

activity 3

image source

Once we had peaches, it wasn't quite lunch time (I had promised him Mexican food) so we made a not quite quick trip to The Home Depot.  He did need some safety glasses for work, and I had lots of loose ends to buy for various projects. Still didn't get everything I needed but I really need to finish some projects before I keep buying for projects I don't have time for yet.  He never complained once.

activity 4

image source

Still Saturday... I sent him off to get his hair cut before he mowed the lawn and lo-and-behold, he shows up with a surprise cherry limeade for me.  This is a big deal people.  This is a rarity.  He is a sweet man, but this trip was out of his way.  Made. My. Day.  I might have thanked him with a steak dinner from our grill.  And an evening to relax.

activity 5

After church on Sunday, we went with some friends out for burgers and a milkshake and then took a nice walk around Falls Park.  We had fun but he was ready to head home.  

This was the last thing I had planned for the weekend.  He needed to get some reading done at home and I had a few things I wanted to get done as well.  The rest of our evening was spent vegging out on the couch catching up on Supernatural.  I'm so grateful for Kyle and how he pretty much never complained this weekend.  It meant a lot to me to get to do all of these things with him.  It was a busy weekend, but it has prepped me for an even busier week.  Lots of projects to work on now!  

It is the first Monday of the month so that means its Medical Monday!  And this isn't a normal one either... its the one year anniversary of them so there is a giveaway going on!  So if thats how you found me, welcome to my blog, hope you have enjoyed it.  :)

checking in

It has been a while since I posted.  First my parents came in and we were ridiculously busy with working on the house (more on that eventually).  Then Thursday afternoon we got the call that Kyle's grandmother passed away.

So we had to cut the weekend with my parents short and fly in to KY for a funeral.  Thankful that we had already moved plans with friends to the next weekend, and that Kyle already had this past weekend off work so he really only needed to request one extra day off for travel. Even more thankful that his program was extremely understanding and immediately told him to do whatever he needed to do and just make sure to come back home safe.  (Have I mentioned lately how much I love his program?)

I am glad we made it in for the funeral (thanks to some family members).  It was great to celebrate her life and see some family again.  I feel pretty exhausted though from the past week so I'm taking it easy and slowly painting the baby room this week.

Despite cutting things short, we got a TON done while my parents were here.

• laundry room cabinet replaced
• laundry hookups and outlets moved
• folding table installed
• coffee bar completed
• baby room cleaned out
• main gutter problems fixed
• display frames built for baby room
• trees trimmed
• yard mowed and weed-eated
• fan replaced in living room
• light installed in spare bedroom
• blind installed on last window in living room
• flag hung on front of house

Yeah... we were busy.  I hope my parents feel like they got to have a little fun while they were here.  We didn't completely plan on getting all of that done.  I promise to slowly get some updated pictures up so you all can see the changes.

In the meantime, I finally started a hobby that I had been hoping to begin now that I have a ton of time on my hands.  Bread making.  Last week I tried my hand at french bread (that needs to be tried again...it wasn't that great), and dinner rolls (AMAZING).  Last night I made a loaf of some Country Crust Bread, a recipe that my friend Amy had recommended on her blog a while back.  (Thanks Amy).  I hope to never buy bread again.  This stuff was awesome.

mouth watering yet?  

weekend replay : exploring

Friday was a heavenly day.  I got up early, made an unsuccessful trip to a yard sale (who puts on Craigslist that there are vintage toys but only has fishing equipment?) followed by a very successful trip to a local coffee shop in the town up the road.  (The highway close to our house is long...and there are 3 small towns in quick succession along it).  I had been meaning to try Fix espresso down the street, but because of the yard sale being up the street, I found a different one.  So I grabbed my library book on gardening and my notebook and ordered a latte with roasted marshmallow syrup at Stomping Grounds.

Down the road was a nice fabric store where a nice older woman directed me around the corner to a really cool little antique shop.  I'm thinking about returning for this... maybe it could be a unique display shelf for the baby room?

Antiquing was followed by a trip to Lowe's.  Because I really hate my front door and needed paint samples.  

Kyle got home around 6:30 that evening and we just enjoyed each other's company. Caught up on some shows, and went to bed at the same time for the first time in weeks. 

So that he doesn't get too much off his sleep schedule on his weekend off, we went to bed about 10 and up by 7:30 (so he still "slept in" (more sleep than normal), but without the sleeping the day away part).  And we were at Target across town by 9 to start the registering process.  Thats right.  Kyle's first day off and I drug him to the baby aisles.  Thought it would be quick and simple... done by noon.  HA!  Target was quick and easy, then we hit Babies-R-Us.  And had to take a lunch break (at Del's Twisted Kitchen... SO GOOD).  And then spent another 2 hours at Babies-R-Us.  Poor Kyle.  It wasn't my fault though... we were both caught up on the stroller/car seat decision.  I think we took all of them off the shelf and collapsed and snapped and adjusted... and still never completely picked anything.  Eventually we just had to call it a day.  At least we got some snazzy "freebies" and coupons out of it.

However, I can't just let things rest.  I obsess.  So I let Kyle have some time to do some online gaming with my brother, and I went back to Target.  And browsed.  And walked.  And didn't really add much of anything to our list.

Sunday was pancakes and church and Mexican food at Corona's and groceries and enjoying Kyle's last day off for 12 days.  

It was a full weekend, and despite extremely crappy weather on both days, I think it was a good weekend.  Today, my aunt and grandmother are en route to visit for several days.  Hopefully there will be a little productivity around the house and I can squeeze out some of my aunt's luck for finding amazing deals on cool old stuff while they are here.  

Medical Monday : and so it begins

I completely meant to write a real post specifically for this Medical Monday...  However we were a bit busy the past several days.  Mostly just enjoying each other's company, soaking in the last moments of life before residency.

There were some moments of normalcy... Kyle mowed the lawn for me this weekend, we bought tile for the coffee bar at Home Depot...  but the rest of time was spent either relaxing or getting to know the other residents.

I must say, with each event that passed over the past few days, our desire to be here, for him to be in this program has just been more and more confirmed as the right thing.  So how about a list?

• the first day of orientation, the entire group had a program-led moment of prayer.  Not just the typical generic religious moment... they said "Jesus" and everything.  
• Kyle noticed another staff member walking around with a badge that said "I will pray with you if you ask" (or something to that effect).
• the upper level residents are all GOOD friends.
• the attendings hang out in their spare time, and were all very welcoming at the get together last week.
• doctors take each other home when someone is too tired to make it alone.
• every time Kyle took a tour of a different area of the hospital, everyone... and I mean everyone... has sincerely expressed their desire to help the new interns in any way possible.
• (as mentioned before) the hospital orientation leader was fine with Kyle leaving in the middle of the day to be with me for the ultrasound last week.
• the other interns are awesome.  They are all REALLY excited for the "first baby of the group".  And want to get me a puppy since Kyle won't let me (lol :-P)

So the first day of residency... the day I have been so nervous about... how'd it go?  

For him, it began at 3am (in the hospital about 3:45).  Was somewhat uneventful but good.  He checked out around 5pm and was home before 6pm in time for dinner.  So his 14 hour day wasn't bad, and we had enough time to eat and catch up on a few shows before his 8:30pm bedtime.

For me, though I had difficulty falling back to sleep after he got up, sleeping through the first 4 hours of his first day (I got up around 8) really made the day feel like a normal business day.  I got some chores done, ran some errands and relaxed a bit.  I survived.

I hope everyone else had a pretty good first day whether you are a new PGY1, or beginning your final year of residency.

No matter what, we can all celebrate another successful Medical Monday!

weekend replay : under construction

Move in went smoothly, we happened to move in on a perfectly "cool" South Carolina day, plenty of sunshine and breezes, we have all of the furniture placed, satellite and internet hooked up, a few boxes unpacked, and my raised gardens built and planted.


But I'm still not ready to share the goods :)

We have a lot left to do... and while there is some order to life now, there is still a lot to figure out!  So stay tuned for some photos of the house with our stuff in it after we have everything unpacked room by room. 

There have been a few hiccups along the way this weekend, but many victories and I am in recovery mode.  This pregnant lady feels like she has barely slept in a week... because I haven't.  So bear with me and my lack of posting.

weekend replay : last weekend

It wasn't a super exciting weekend but it was pretty good.  We did a few chores, played some games, I laid out, Kyle got a few modules done for the hospital and a few hours in at the volleyball court.  We had big plans to spend Saturday evening at the zoo... picnic packed and everything, to arrive to find out they closed early for a special event.

We spent (probably) our last Sunday at our church.  We had our favorite Louisville pizza afterward (Bearnos).  I packed up all of our winter clothes into big plastic storage tubs.

We watched the season finale of Game of Thrones, and the season premier of Falling Skys.  We caught a few movies on HBO, and went to the movies to see Now You See Me (go see it).  Movies and TV are our thing (for now).

And now begins our last week (we hope...Kyle's for sure), in Louisville.  Maybe if I stay up all night I will sleep through the worst of the stress tomorrow while waiting to hear what our closing date is going to be.  No, I will be in bed soon... I'm a morning person no matter what time I go to sleep.

Only thing I know for sure:  we are moving our stuff out of this apartment this week.  

Whether its into a small truck to go 3 miles to my aunt's garage or a big truck 7 hours to South Carolina is yet to be seen.   

One day at a time.
 

weekend replay : going aways

It was a very busy weekend for us!

Friday I left work later than expected... found out we would be having the apartment shown to potential renters the next morning... So rushed home and cleaned for an hour before we went to our next going away party at Four Pegs with some friends from church at 7pm.  It was also our 5 year anniversary and was a pretty fun night of celebrating.

Got home around 11pm.

Fell asleep shortly before midnight.

Woke up around 6:30, got up a bit later, and started the finishing touches on cleaning the apartment.

Hit up the Farmers Market with the bestie, followed by some omelet making back at her house.

Grocery and home around 1pm to start cooking for our next event.

A second going away party/pot luck at my boss's house.  Our lab is losing me and a Postdoc to residency within the next few weeks!

Left there completely miserable.  Because I've started to get a baby bump!!! And I had squeezed myself into my nice jeans for the past few hours.... we left their house right before 8pm and headed straight to the mall for some maternity clothes.  The idea of which already had me in a tizzy... I just really don't want to deal with this yet.  And it just didn't get any better because:

Louisville's JCPenney's DOESN'T HAVE A MATERNITY SECTION.

Louisville's Dillards DOESN'T HAVE A MATERNITY SECTION.

KOHLS has a PITIFUL MATERNITY SECTION.

After an hour of running around, finally ended up at Target and bought the BeBand so I can just keep wearing my normal pants for a while longer... because the bump is obviously not going to fill out maternity pants yet.  I was maybe a little bit traumatized by the experience.

Sunday was a perfect day.  Perfect weather.  Church was good.  Met up with my brother for some lunch at our favorite Asian place (YangKee Noodle), talked Kyle into buying some new shorts at Old Navy, where he made me pick out a maternity shirt to finish off his gift card, and then headed to my aunt's backyard for some alone time in the sun with a book.  I made it home before Kyle (he went to play volleyball with my bro), and got some more alone time with my current game of choice (Skyrim).  Dinner of homemade chilidogs while watching Trouble With The Curve (highly recommend!).  Ended the night with a shocking episode of Game of Thrones and it was a fantastic Sunday. (Though that episode about made me mad enough to stop watching...not really...but come on!!!)

And today is Medical Monday!  What a great way to start off my last week at work!  (My last day is Wed!)  Looking forward to reading what is going on with the rest of the medical life community today! I hope all of you moving are having an easier time of it than us!

weekend replay : a long one

Just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who stopped by for Medical Monday this past week.  I loved getting comments from you all.  I also apologize for not participating more in your posts... it was a rough week.

It was a bittersweet weekend.  An extra long one actually.  So this will be an extra long post. 

My weekend started Wednesday afternoon. 

Tuesday night Kyle's grandfather passed away.  It was something we were expecting for a while and somewhat of a blessing.  He was really not doing well the last week of his life and was relieved of his suffering.  The visitation was scheduled 4 hours away in TN for Thursday night and the funeral Friday morning at 11am.  This posed a unique issue.  

It was also graduation weekend.  For my husband and brother.  Not only graduation, but Friday afternoon at 2pm was also my brother's commissioning service into the US Air Force.  In Louisville.  Not something I wanted to miss (neither did Kyle) but he needed to decide what he would rather us do. It was his grandfather after all.  (A man I greatly respected and loved.)

So Wednesday afternoon I left work early to make sure we had everything finished before we went out of town... Mother's Day presents... errands to run... because it was about to be a whirlwind.

We left Thursday morning and went straight to TN.  We were able to spend a few hours with Kyle's family before the visitation.  Before we went to the funeral home, my mother in law mentioned my brother's commissioning service and that we were both going to miss it.  I commented that Kyle still hadn't decided what to do.  So she decided right then for us.  We should attend the visitation... we would see everyone there, get to talk and hear stories of Vernon's life, and then we should make it back to Louisville.  It's what Kyle's grandfather would have wanted us to do.  Thank you for making that decision for us.  

Our favorite picture of him from his 80th birthday party last summer.

The visitation was tough.  But we learned some cool stuff about this man.  Everyone he came in contact with in his 80 years was touched by him.  He was such a lovable man.  And he had the greatest laugh.  Also, like most military men, (he served in the Navy), he had a nickname.  Jason.  Makes no sense.  No one that we talked to knows why it was his nickname.  But there was a picture of him with his buddies and all of their caps had their nicknames painted on.  His real name was Vernon Myles Hartley.  Jason.  Interesting.  He volunteered at a lot of community projects.  At the hospital.  Touching lives everywhere.  He loved baseball and hard work.  He loved his shed in the backyard and obsessively fixed anything that was broken. He mowed the little old ladies' lawns in his area.  Above all, he loved the Lord and his family.  I'm glad he was my husband's grandfather.  And I'm glad I was welcomed into the family by him almost 7 years ago.  

We made it back to Kyle's parent's house at about 11pm CT.  We got up at 6:30am the next morning, left the house by 8am and made it to Louisville at 12:30pm ET.  Changed clothes and quickly made it to my brother's commissioning service.  

from our sibling shoot.  more pics to come in a few days.

He had no idea we had decided to come.  I was able to surprise him with a kiss on the cheek.  My little brother's hard work over the past 5 years, the many lessons learned, the close calls with grades, the late nights of working harder than almost every cadet in his detachment, finally paid off.  After a terrible Keynote speaker (who never made a point in his 45 minute speech), an oath, many gifts, some video slide shows; my brother and 3 other young men accepted their positions as 2nd Lieutenants in the US Air Force.  My brother to eventually be a logistics officer in Japan, another to join the security forces in North Dakota, the 3rd to pilot training in Mississippi, and the 4th to join combat systems in Florida. 

Being sworn in by a good family friend and mentor.

Friday night was ended by a big party at a local restaurant across the river.  It had a beautiful night view of the Louisville skyline.  Many of my brother's friends showed up and the out of town guests that came from across the country to celebrate with us.  

 

My brother decided not to walk in his graduation Saturday morning.  He didn't really care to (they don't get individually recognized, there are so many people) especially after the 2.5 hour commissioning ceremony we had all just been there for.  So we slept in a bit, grabbed some lunch and waited for Kyle's parents to make it up here for his graduation that afternoon.  My husband is now officially a doctor.  It has been a long road getting here, but a long road that now feels like happened in a heartbeat.  Congratulations to all the students who are about to begin their Residency journeys.

3 weeks to our moving date and the beginning of a whole new adventure.

weekend replay : while the hubby's away

Kyle went home on Saturday morning to be with his grandpa.  His grandparents have been moved into his parent's home and his grandfather is going downhill fast.  I'm glad that he is done with his rotations and just waiting for graduation so that he can spend as much time there as he can.  

So what did I do this weekend?  Friday night we went and saw Oblivion.  It was fantastic.  Kyle was a little disappointed in the ending but I loved the whole movie.  

Saturday, Kyle left and I relaxed on the couch.  I eventually left the apartment and hit up World Market for the deal they were having (buy1get1free Italian Soda) and happened to run across my favorite chinese candy a coworker brings me from her trips home.  Score!

Saturday night was the main event.  My bestie Hannah is a cop and worked some special security this past week... and was able to land us some GREAT tickets to the show in town.   A night at the Barnum and Bailey circus!!!  Four adult women went to the circus.  Surrounded by tiny kids and their parents, we had a blast!  It was both Hannah and I's first real circus experience.  While a bit hokey at times, it was so much fun!  We definitely got into the show and held our breaths a lot during the acrobatics!  I wish I had thought to take my good camera but I assumed it wouldn't be allowed.. I was wrong and had to just deal with the camera on my phone.  I did manage to get one great shot of the elephants!

Sunday was a pretty normal day.  Woke up early, went to church at 11 with my brother, and convinced him to fight downtown parking issues to go to Chipotle with me.  Louisville just got its first Chipotle about a month ago or so and I have been dying to go!  We had planned to end the day at the park, but the weather just didn't cooperate.  So instead I did a few chores and hit up the grocery.  

It was a pretty great weekend.  I miss Kyle but I handle him being gone pretty well.  I've gotten used to it after the various month long trips for his Air Force duties the past few years.  I'm so happy he is with his grandfather now.  A part of me felt like I was with them yesterday.  When his parents were in last weekend my mother-in-law mentioned reading his favorite Psalm to him the week before and told me it was Psalm 22.  Whadya know but our sermon yesterday was over the same Psalm.  Such a great chapter, I was glad to get to hear it at that time.  The chapter begins as many (all) of us have felt at some point in time or another, completely broken, crying out to God for help because sometimes it just feels like He is gone.  But it ends in such happy realization that He has heard our cries in suffering.  He is faithful to his people.  He has conquered it all.  

verse of the day: Psalm 22

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
¹⁵ My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹ But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him    

    but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
    before those who fear you^[f] I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—
    may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord
    and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,
    declaring to a people yet unborn:
    He has done it!