Festivus and Thanksgiving... It's the holiday season!

Our holiday ugly sweater party (Festivus) was a great success!  Everyone said they had a good time, and one person's hair caught on fire, which I think indicates the party was a hit!

It was a much bigger turn out than we anticipated!  I definitely think we are gonna make this an annual thing...

And the ugly sweater competition was HILARIOUS! 

Eric was the winner! He won $1,000,000 (in the form of a chocolate bar...)

Thanksgiving was a really good time too!  We had great food (as usual).  Everyone in my family really knows how to cook! 

And my mom, sister and I carried our our new tradition of spectating the crazies at Walmart at the start of Black Friday.  It was super claustrophobic in the humungous store.  I got a crock-pot for $3, so that was a win!

Oh, I almost forgot! I purchased my first DSLR camera over the Thanksgiving break!  I got a great deal on Amazon on the Canon Rebel XS.  I can't wait for it to be delivered!  I sent it to my parents' house (I do not trust Oak Park people THAT much) so I will have to wait to get my hands on it.  Luckily, I still am borrowing my dad's Nikon in the meantime.

Well, it's time to buckle down for finals... right when I just got into the holiday spirit!  Oh well, I'm not too worried about my exams.

Photography Excursion

So lately I have been really wanting to get a nice camera.  I am super tired of the "point and shoot" cameras; their quality sucks and they are not very reliable.  I decided to save up for my first grown-up camera (still not sure which one to get yet).  I am considering the Canon Rebel XS or the Nikon 3100 depending on how much money I save up.  Anyway, my dad was kind enough to let me borrow his Nikon D80 until I save up for my own big-girl camera!

I decided to take out the D80 for a little stroll today, a photography excursion, if you will....  Now, please keep in mind, I have no experience in photography, so if you hate my pictures, well... I warned ya!

Zoey wasn't very excited about the excursion... maybe it's because she wasn't allowed to come

I started out in my own backyard...

And realized I had a whole "surprise harvest" waiting for me!

I thought my veggies were done for the year, but these were a great surprise!

My Deck

 The rest of these are just a collection of the trees in my neighborhood.  I told you I love fall! 

 Made a friend on the way....

 And when I got home, this little guy was waiting on my house!

The Honeymoon Ain't Over Yet!

I survived Red October! :)

I can't believe it's already November!  Fall is my favorite time of year, and I am really enjoying a REAL fall this year.  The leaves are red and orange, the air is crisp... its such a great feeling!

I bet you thought only 5-year-olds liked playing in the leaves....

Which brings me to the point of this post:  I still love medical school.  There are days when I get a bit stressed when lots of things are going on at once, but at the end of the day, I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here.  How many people get the chance to truly say they are doing something they absolutely love?!  Every day I have to pinch myself and ask "Am I really here? I have been waiting for this so long!"... I am still in the "honeymoon phase" I guess, but after a pretty intense, LONG block, I think that is a good sign.  I know I belong here.

Speaking of Block 1, we are almost done!  I can't believe how much we have learned this block, yet how much more we have to learn.  Its such a weird feeling to feel like I have a lot more under my belt, yet to still feel extremely useless in a clinical setting.  That's okay though, the upperclassmen say that will go away with time (a lot of time)....