A Week at Home

I'm officially back in Michigan and ready for 3rd year. I actually had my first day of orientation today (which I'll talk about later), but before I get to that...I need to blog about my fabulous week of "Summer Break"at home.

Since I took my boards after only 4.5 weeks, I was lucky to have 2 weeks of summer break. I know, I know - it sounds like nothing, but some of my classmates took boards a few days ago and only had 1 weekend of summer break. I would have gone crazy. The first week of my fabulous vacation I spent in Hawaii and Southern California, but the last week I headed up to NorCal to hang out with my friends and family in good ol' Elk Grove.

I got into the Sacramento airport late on Sunday night, but went straight to bed. It had been quite a long time since I have been home, so it felt great to sleep in my gigantic comfy bed.

The next day, my mom and I went to the SPCA. Both of my parents have been volunteering there for the last few months, so my mom wanted me to see where she was working. Well, I went... and I fell in love, with my new friend Carlos the guinea pig. He was just so sweet. After a few minutes, I knew that I wanted to adopt him. Sadly, my mom became my voice of reason and told me I needed to check 1) if I can take Carlos on the plane with me, and 2) if I can have guinea pigs in my new apartment. Unfortunately, Delta airlines have a strict policy and only allows you to "ship" a guinea pig. Clearly I was not going to ship a live creature, so I had to let Carlos go back into his cage at the SPCA :(

After leaving the SPCA, I got my hair done:

...and ate dinner at the most delicious restaurant in all of Elk Grove, Wasabi. It's a delicious Japanese steak house where they cook all the food right in front of you. Yum.

The next day, I went out to lunch with some of my very best friends. We went to this delicious Italian restaurant right next to Katie's workplace. After lunch, we decided to create our own "Take your friends to work day" and crash her day of work. This was the result:

The next day, my parents and I went out to the Sacramento/American Rivers to go boating for the day. Normally, Sam is the driver, while my mom and I sunbathe...but today, I got to drive the boat for the majority of the day! The boat maxes out at about 35-40 mph and I got it up to just about that high. I also did some donuts in the water to learn how to turn into waves. It was so fun. I am for sure getting a boat once I actually make a salary.

That night, the fam and I went to a Seafood buffet. We had to wait 1.5 hours, but it was so worth it. Crab legs, sushi, and many different types of shrimp. Delicious.

That weekend, S was able to rearrange his work schedule to get the whole weekend off! [Unfortunately, now he has to work for 14 days straight.] Since he was able to come up to Sacramento, we spent Saturday wine tasting with some of my very best friends. I had never been wine tasting, but it was something I have always wanted to do. I had such a great afternoon!

After we got done with wine tasting, Morgan and I had a double date with S and her boyfriend Nick at Chevys mexican restaurant! 

The waiter told us he took a "really good picture"
...this was it. Seriously? 

Sadly, my fabulous week at home eventually came to an end and I headed back to school. Thank goodness I have a whole week of orientation, because my brain is still on vacation. 

Had Myself a Very Merry Christmas

Christmas eve. My favorite day of the whole year! My family has a long-standing tradition of going to visit my Van Stavern family in Paradise, CA. We all look forward to this every year because its a time when all of my favorite family members all get together and catch up on what everyone has been up to for the past year...it is especially fun now that I am an "adult" and can watch all of the babies in the family open up their presents and smile with the thought of Santa coming in the morning. It is always a lot of fun and it always goes by way too fast! Some highlights via photos:

Blake, Bryce and Brett! 

Mom, me, Rebecca, Christina

Rebecca, Uncle Jim

Cousins: Kathryn, me, Christina, Skylar

Christmas morning, we always spend at our own house. We make orange cinnamon rolls, look at what Santa left us in our stockings and then open up presents. We then get ourselves ready, pack up the car, and head to Sam's family Christmas celebration in the Bay Area for Christmas lunch!

After catching up with the Bay Area family, we were on our way to our last Christmas celebration at S's house! I'm so happy that my parents and S's parents like eachother. I always have a good time (and laugh a lot) when they get together! A great end to this Christmas season, in deed! :)

<3 [First photo on my new iPad!]

I hope everyone else had a great Christmas also! 

Giving Thanks...

Today, was my third year celebrating Thanksgiving in East Lansing, Michigan. Thinking about how much I have accomplished and where my life has taken me even in these last 3 years gives me so much to be thankful for. So here are my top 10 things I am thankful for this year:

1) Family: Even though I don't get to see my parents as much as I would like to, I am so lucky and thankful for a mother that I can call at any moment, that I know would be willing to talk me through a problem, calm me down from school meltdowns, or simply talk to about the weather. I got so lucky to have the parents that I do and (although I don't always express it) am thankful for them everyday.

2) Sarath: This January, we will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary. Over these last 5 years, we have survived and grown together through many challenges that other couples never will have to face. From me leaving to study abroad across the world in Europe for 6 months, from S moving away across the country to Michigan for 2 years, and from simply having a relationship built of 2 medical students that have 0 free time, I am especially thankful that we have used all of these challenges to grow together and develop a relationship that is full of love. He encourages me everyday, he puts up with my med school meltdowns, he makes me laugh, and he makes me feel like I can accomplish anything I could ever set my mind to. So, today, and everyday, I am thankful for my wonderfully amazing boyfriend.

3) Friends: This is a huge category, because I have been so lucky in my life to be surrounded by such amazing people. Today, I am especially thankful for the friends I have had since high school, for the friends I made at UCLA, to the friends I have made studying abroad, and my medical school friends that have made Michigan feel like home. Even if I do not talk to you everyday or haven't talked to you in a year, I am thankful for the many wonderful people in my life that I consider to be my friend.

4) School: I am so thankful to have the privilege of having graduated from a great undergraduate university and for currently studying in medical school. I know there are many people in this world that have all of the capabilities of earning college and graduate degrees that never have the opportunity, I feel so fortunate that I have never had to worry about having access to education.

5) Home: I am thankful to have two homes: one in California where my parents live and one in Michigan that I have developed. I am thankful that I feel like Michigan is my second home after such a short period of time living here.

6) Travel: I have been so lucky with all of the places that I have fortunately had the opportunity to travel to. In the last 5 years, I have traveled all across the United States on a road trip with my parents and on a road trip down south with some med school friends and to Mexico a few times during college. I have traveled to Europe (Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Scotland, England, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, and France). I have traveled to Central America twice (Honduras) and South America (Peru). I know that I have seen more of the world than most people and even though I have a lot more traveling to do in my life, I am so thankful for every opportunity I do get to go to a new place.

7) Food: I am thankful to be able to afford food everyday. I am also thankful that I have developed a liking of cooking and have the ability to make yummy Thanksgiving dinners for the last few years.

8) Warmth: This one might sound silly, but I love being warm. So, I am thankful to have an apartment that I can afford and warm blankets that I can curl up with on a warm night. Its easy to forget these simple conveniences, but there are many people in this world who do not have these luxuries.

9) Success: I am thankful that I am two years in to my medical education and I am almost at a point in my life where I will consider myself "successful." I know this word has many definitions, but for me, I am proud to say that I will be a doctor by age 26. :)

10) Blogging: I am thankful for my blogger friends that originally inspired me to start a blog. I think it will be a great gift to be able to look back on all of these posts after a few years and have all of my time of medical school journaled.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!