Oh hi world....

Sorry that I've been slacking in the posts department. Wedding invitations have taken over all of my free time... and I'm not happy about it! I had no idea that it was going to be such a project. I've been working on them religiously for the past 2 weeks and I'm finally starting to feel like I'm making a dent. Thankfully, Connor was able to help me tonight with assembling. His schedule has been pretty manageable lately. I assume it's because spring break is quickly approaching!

I'm so excited to actually have a fiance next week that I can look at directly into the eyes and not at his side profile as he stares into a computer screen.  We have lots of painting planned for next week and I can't wait to get started. Our bedroom and bathroom are going to look completely different once we're done. Painting made such a difference in our kitchen, so I'm excited to keep it going! :) It makes the home feel much more cozy.

Last weekend, Connor marched in the NYC parade while it was snowing pretty heavily. It was so bizarre to watch on television. (I have yet to go to the parade! One of these days I will make it there.)For the past few years, the weather has been pretty lovely for the St. Paddy's Day parade, so it was a little strange. I have to say I am so ready to push Winter aside and welcome in Spring time! I'm so sick of wearing the same sweaters and Ugg boots! Really, my fashion creativity has reached an all time low. I need some warm weather inspiration!

On Sunday, our new "hometown" had a parade for St. Patrick's Day. It was so much fun, despite the frigid weather. Connor and many of his classmates shaved their heads for St. Baldrick's. It was pretty funny to watch. Even though he wasn't marching in the parade, Connor dressed up and brought his bagpipes and played some tunes. It was a good, busy weekend!

I hope all of you had a great St. Patrick's Day filled with lots of bagpipes and delicious food! I will update you guys on our painting mission very soon! :)

Love,
Mandy

Feeling the Luck o' the Irish

Hello everyone! I feel like it has been FOREVER since I've written on here. I'm having serious withdrawals. I'm sorry that I've been blog slacking. Life has been pretty busy lately. I have so much wedding stuff to finish...ahem, like a gajillion invitations that stare back at me from my coffee table every time I sit on my couch. And a letter from my DJ telling me to fill out song selection forms, like NOW. I keep telling myself that it will get done somehow! My mom is coming to visit this weekend, so I'm hoping she can help.

Sticking with tradition, Connor will be marching in the NYC St. Patrick's Day parade this Saturday. It's one of his favorite times of the year (second I think to Summer). He's such a talented bagpiper, so it's a treat to see him play with such enthusiasm. Yesterday, we went to Connor's hometown parade, which he marched in with his band of pipers. It was lots of fun. I took a video of them playing. After the parade, we went to a party at Connor's aunt's house and ate good food and saw lots of family and friends. The weather was perfect! Not a cloud in the sky. It was such a fun day.

Today I had a demo lesson for a potential job for the next three months. I think it went really well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I did my best and I feel that there was nothing else I would've done differently. So with that being said, whatever is meant to be will be! I'm lucky that I already have a job to fall  back on. BUT, this would just be a great step up. We shall see what happens! I find out next week, so I'll be thinking about it until then. AH. Also, I'm very grateful that my amazing future momma in law, sis in law, and brother in law helped me prepare. I'm so lucky that I'm expanding my family with such incredible people! I'm such a lucky girl. I really can't believe how lucky I am sometimes. I think someone upstairs really has my back! ;)

After our whirlwind of a weekend, Connor and I came home to prepare for a hectic Monday. He had DPC and had only completed one learning issue! :O Unheard of! But he managed to get everything done between last night, early this morning, and in between OMM and DPC. Kudos to him. He's such a hard worker. I called him while I was having a printer failure meltdown and he tried his best to help me all while seriously catching up on a ton of work. Best. Boy. Ever.

He's still working on the same case. Right now, he's completing his learning issue on the pathology of osteomyelitis. I had to ask him to spell it about 4 times. Yikes. Embarrassing. I'm normally a great speller! The "e" threw me off. Wanna know what osteomyelitis is? Well, you probably already know that it's related to the bone and it has something to do with inflammation. Basically, it's a bone infection. Connor said the patient had reccurent UTIs and that caused bacteria to be in the blood. Then she clumsily banged her knee against the table and the bacteria went to her injured knee. WHAT!? Yeah,  I don't know. It's like an episode of House in here.There are these crazy scenarios that you have to piece together, but without the pill-addicted, arrogant doctor in here to solve them. Just Connor in his cute, yellow, med-school hoodie and dopey me on the couch in my fluffy socks trying to catch up on all the medical lingo thrown in my direction. It's fun! I think many years from now, we will miss these kooky nights. :P

I hope everyone has a great, easy week. Stay dry! I think lots of rain is headed our way! :( BLAGH.

<3 Mandy

lovelovelove

Here are some cute pictures I found on Pinterest that made me think of my handsome med student! Maybe some of you ladies will like them too! :)

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Hello to New Beginnings

Hello, hello! Happy end of weekend everyone! ...I know. I'm crazy saying that. There is never anything happy about the end of a weekend, but I'm trying to be optimistic! :/

I have so much to write about, I don't know where to begin. First, let me begin with saying that I accomplished my goal of trying a new recipe. I made Chicken Francese with couscous and broccolini and it was a success! It was so delicious, juicy and lemony. It was quite easy to make too! It will definitely become part of our routine meals around here.

Okay, so Connor had his second clinical day on Friday and it went well again, of course. The whole time he was gone, I got comfy on the couch with a glass of wine, and enjoyed Friday Bride Day on TLC. There were plenty of Say Yes to the Dress episodes and Four Weddings to keep me entertained, which was nice because it made the time go by pretty quickly! And I was truly so exhausted from the week, it was so nice to just be still, decompress, and not think about anything. I almost fell asleep by 5:30, but I forced myself to keep my eyes open. I refuse to be that lame on a Friday night!

On Saturday, my future sis-in-law Mallory went shopping for a bridal gown! It was so much fun seeing her try on a bunch of pretty dresses. And everything looked so pretty, so it was so hard to choose! But in the end, she totally fell in love with a gorgeous dress, so it was a wonderful time. I was grateful to be a part of it! I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Especially since I'm such a wedding freak right now. It's like wedding obsessed at an all-time high. Yikes! God only knows what my life will become when it's all over! ...Most likely more HGTV! :O

Another beautiful gal in my life who found a dress on Saturday is my momma bear! I was so happy that we finally found something that she loves and felt beautiful in. (I think she looks beautiful in everything; however, she's much more fussy.) We ordered it in a beautiful steely purple color that looks gorgeous. I can't wait to see it on her again when it comes in the right color and the alterations are all done.

Can you believe I have even more news to tell you? Well, this won't be really big news for some of you that aren't familiar with my current vehicle. BUT for those of you who are familiar: today I SOLD MY CAR! WOOOOOOOOOO!! That car has gotten me very far...like very far, but it was time for it to go. I am so ready to be cruising around in a new, spiffy car with the windows down (weather permitting). Seriously though, it was so past due. Goodbye Toyota Matrix! See ya again never! :D

Love ending on such a high note! Hope everyone has a great start to their week,
<3 Mandy

Bring on the Fashion Police!

Fashion Police is starting in just a few minutes!! YAY. This is my favorite part about awards season. I'm very excited to recap all the beautiful (and not so beautiful) dresses from last night at the Oscar's. Jennifer Hudson's performance is extremely memorable for me, and was one of my favorite moments from the show. Her voice is incredible and she looked absolutely stunning! I'm also so happy for Jennifer Lawrence for winning Best Supporting Actress. She's so talented and down to earth AND only 22! Good for her! Unfortunately I fell asleep before I got to see Adele. Grr. I need to youtube it! Oh and Catherine Zeta Jones totally lip synced! Hated that! What a blah thing to do at the Oscar's...

Last Friday Connor had his first clinical practicum night with his "preceptor (aka cooperating doc). I heard nothing but wonderful things and am so relieved that C found a wonderful doctor role model who will be helpful to him.The only bad news is I lose my BFF on Friday night until 8ish! :( But that's just the life of the med school soon-to-be wife! It will only become more and MORE hectic than I can even imagine. So for now, I will just enjoy the fact that I still get to spend plenty of time with him. As soon as he got back we watched a movie, so it really was a nice way to end such a long and exhausting week.

On Saturday night, Connor and I went on a double date with one of his friends from school. We got delicious Greek food! I tried a falafel wrap for the first time and I loved it! Glad to have added a new food to my palette.

I've been kind of slacking with making new dinners, so I'm really going to try to make something different this week and post about it! :D That's my goal for the week.

<3Mandy

Is it Friday yet?

Holy cow, I am exhausted! This week has really taken its toll on me. I'm really looking forward to the weekend. I might never take off my pajamas and leave bed. Although, I really shouldn't do that because I've sadly fallen out of my gym routine. I've just been so busy lately with work and wedding planning. And when I come home, I can only find just enough energy to make dinner, clean up, and lay on the couch. :/ Okay, I feel guilty! Hopefully these delicious, peanut butter cup cookies I just baked and indulged in eating will be enough motivation to get on a treadmill. Connor was in love with them. Not only did he profess his love for the cookies aloud, but his persistent lip smacking was a good hint that he was really enjoying them. There is nothing more that I can ask for. I love filling his belly with yummy goodies, and hearing how much he enjoyed it. One of my many pleasures in life!

This has been a crazy teaching week. I was in the high school for 2 days and one day in Kindergarten. It was a huge shift to say the least! Kindergarten left me feeling like I had just been dragged by a semi-truck for ten miles. I probably couldn't even tell you my first name within the first ten minutes of getting home. It was...chaos. Yelling, sneezing, shoe-tying, paper-cutting, coloring chaos. Thankfully I lived to tell the tale.

Connor took a neuro exam on Monday and will be starting clinic this Friday. I know he will be wonderful and his doctor will love him! For the past couple of days, he was studying the GI tract and all that fun stuff, so we were having lots of vibrant conversations about... poop. Hope I didn't offend anyone! I think living with a med student makes one lose sense of what is appropriate content for everyday conversation. I have been completely desensitized (as will you should you continue to read this blog for the next six years!) But anyway, he's moved on but still focusing on the digestive system. He's currently doing his learning issue on the esophagus and stomach. Maybe I'll learn some new and gross to share with you in the upcoming days! ;)

Oh and I went veil shopping last week and it was MAGICAL. I can barely put it into words. When I first found my wedding dress, I had only been engaged for a few weeks. But putting it on again last weekend made me realize how real this all is and how I will be marrying my soulmate in just four months! I can't believe how quickly it's approaching. Last Sunday I went with Connor to pick out his tux for the wedding. It's all surreal, but very exciting. I also finally received my invitations and I can't wait to send them out. They are beautiful and perfect.

Hope everyone has a great end to their week!
<3 Mandy

Working with mannequins!?

I hope everyone has been getting back to normalcy after the crazy snow storm this past weekend. Friday was completely wacky! I live 8 minutes away from my school, but it took me 20 minutes to get home. And all of the students were just not in the mood to be in class, and I couldn't blame them! Having a full school day while a full blown snow storm was going on outside really wasn't easy. But once I got home, Connor and I opened a bottle of wine, ate dinner, baked brownies and watched The Woman in Black. Very spooky movie! It was a perfect Friday to be snowed in! :D All weekend, I curled up on the couch and worked on wedding invitations (which have been officially ordered!). 138 days until wedding day!

Today has been very strange for me! All day long I've had this weird feeling of restlessness mixed with moments of serious fatigue! It was so hard to teach through two periods of science back to back. I felt like a little kid or one of my students who just didn't want to be in class. Maybe it was too much caffeine because by fourth period I was exhausted. Last night I spent almost 2 HOURS planning for the rest of the week and I think it took its toll the next morning.

Connor had ICC today. BUT his patient wasn't a...human... as he/she normally would be. Today he only worked with a mannequin and to learn how to intubate the patient. It was important to get it down the trachea and into the lungs,  and to avoid missing the correct "hole" and filling the tummy with air. SCARY! I'm not sure how these med school students can deal with the pressure! Even working on a mannequin would make me completely frantic. I guess you just have to be born with the right disposition to be able to handle it. I would crumble...sadly. Luckily teaching gives me all the excitement I need!

Soon, he'll be working with a robot patient. Connor has been really looking forward to it. And so am I! I want to know what it will be like! Sounds so futuristic and cool. Oh and Connor completed his 2nd content exam on Monday! There are 6 of those big and annoying exams, so we're almost halfway there!

This weekend, I'm going shopping for my veil and I can't waaaaiiiiiit! I hear it might snow again and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't be bad enough to ruin the weekend. I've been really looking forward to this for almost a month now! I'm staying optimistic about it. :)

<3Mandy