Wedding day details...

So, I am a terrible blogger... I do what I can though. The last time I wrote, Tyler and I were packing our things and heading back up to Oregon to live for a year. It's 9 months later (almost) and he's still there! He's sort of moving between my parents house and his. There was some talk of us getting our own place up there, but we're just saving too much money and our future is too uncertain. I'm confidant we can live anywhere as long as we're together though...

That being said, we aren't together now. I am currently living in student housing in Fresno, California... Fresno isn't that bad, but I find myself wish I knew spanish every day. Scott and Aspen will be here later today, we all have rotations here, but honestly I can't wait to leave. For some reason this particular separation has been very tough on us, especially me. I think it's because I was home for 7 wonderful weeks and I got to get used to my normal routine again. I'll be going back to Phoenix for a month after this rotation and I think that will be a bit easier. I know more people, and will be staying with friends and not strangers.

I know I really shouldn't complain. Tyler and I are not together for 7 weeks... I know military couples who are apart for 100 times that long. Perspective is an important thing, and I'm glad that I have friends to remind me it could be a lot worse. :)

Other important things... Ty and I got married! :) I would love to say that it was a perfect day, and it almost was.... I'm glad it wasn't though, because the little stories we have to tell make the day ours. I'll start at the beginning.....

The night before the wedding my mom and I thought it would be a great idea to spend the night downtown at the Heathman. The wedding reception was downtown and we were planning to take pictures in the park blocks the next morning (like 1 block away) so the location was perfect. Plus, it's where Tyler and I were staying the night of our wedding. We needed a big room because it was going to be where all the bridesmaids and I were going to get ready, so we stayed in the honeymoon suite (the room Tyler and I would be in the next night). Of course, being the good dog mom that I am, I wanted Bella to be in some of the earlier photos in the day, so I brought her along. Here starts the good stuff...

The night before the wedding was great. The girls came over, we got nails painted and discussed tomorrows details. Abby stayed in the hotel with my mom and I and when we all woke up the next morning boy did we have a surprise!

Bella had gotten sick in the middle of the night and we woke to find her cowering behind the couch. She had diarrhea and the room smelled terrible.... I took her outside and my poor mom had to figure out what to do with the liquid poo that sat under the chair in the main room of this hotel suite.... At this time I was outside with boo, and she was doing that thing where dogs assume the poo position for like 10 min but nothing comes out... I felt so bad for her... I took her back up and called Ty... He came downtown and we tried to find an emergency vet that would take her. Nothing downtown would, so Tyler had to drop me back off at the hotel and drive to St. Helens to take her to the vet there. They were able to board her, and it turns out she had what they call "garbage gut".... Lovely... Needless to say, there are no wedding day pictures with Bella, but she was taken care of during our wedding day...

After all this, I needed a drink... So when the girls got there, it was time for mimosas!

Tyler and I were a little bummed that we had gotten to see each other before we were supposed to, but we were still so excited. I was really nervous walking up to him in the park blocks for the first time, but I was so happy that I would get to spend the rest of the day with him (not to mention the rest of my life). Nothing went wrong with this part... It was absolutely perfect.

Now it was time for bridal party photos and some family shots. This took a long time, but was really fun!

We headed to the church shortly after that... I have to tell you, that was the weirdest feeling... I was so nervous to walk down the aisle... I also don't know what it is that the bride has to leave last... I was left all alone back there with just my dad... Who was a hot mess by the way....

Some thing really sweet about my dad on the day of my wedding.... While we were in the park blocks taking photos, he refused to look at me. He didn't want to see me until we got to the church. So in all the family pictures before the wedding, my dad was not looking at me... It was really sweet and I think when he saw me for the first time in the brides room at the grotto it was worth the wait for both of us...

The church looked beautiful... The ceremony was almost perfect... The priest pronounced us married in the middle of the ceremony and not the end... Our first kiss was then, in the middle of the ceremony and not the end, catching our photographer off guard... She wasn't able to turn the flash on in time, so at the end of the ceremony we got the priest back up there and did a few make up first kisses... :)

This is the real thing... Surprise!

Leaving the church as man and wife!

Back for the re-do

Ty and I couldn't be happier at this point! We got in the classic car (this was a portion of the wedding planning I let Ty take care of) and went to the reception at the Portland Art Museum... These are just a few pictures from the reception... 

Those are just a few of the wonderful pictures Elle Zober took of our wonderful wedding day... It was such a fantastic day, I wish we could have the party all over again!

Well, I guess this is what happens when you don't write on your blog, one post is like 16 normal posts... lol... To sum things up after the wedding, Tyler and I couldn't' be happier... I love being married. Now if we could only buy a house and have some stability (soon..)...

Anyhow! There it is... I'll try to be a better blogger from now on, but lets be honest, it probably isn't going to happen... ;-)

They say you can't go home again...

Turns out you can.... Tyler and I will be moving back to Oregon and back in with my parents TOMORROW! I can't believe how quickly we got here. It really seems like I just started medical school, we just moved to Arizona, and we had not wedding date set. Things change so quickly. Tyler and I will be husband and wife in 107 short days, and tomorrow we will begin our drive back to our home state.

The move will most likely not be a permanent one, but with my grandparents getting older, we would both like to enjoy another year spending time with them. Not to mention the rest of the family and friends we left. I will spend most of the next year traveling from state to state doing audition rotations at different places, but Tyler will be in Oregon and that will be our home base for the next year or so. I will try to get a residency in Oregon, but it's going to be a pretty difficult thing to do. There are very few residency programs on the west coast and only 1 of them is in Oregon. Anyway, we'll see what I can do.

I think I've decided to be an OB/Gyn... There are many pros and cons to this decision and I'm still not entirely sure that it's the correct choice. That being said, I LOVED IT. I loved every second, of that rotation. Delivering babies is amazing, having only female patients is amazing, liability..... Not so amazing.... I'm still in the process of making my decision, so if ya'll have any suggestions feel free to lay um on me.

In other news, the wedding planning is coming along well. I wouldn't have been able to do this without my mom! She's been so amazing. She has called endless places, made a million appointments and made a ton of choices on her own. We also just got our engagement photos done. Our wedding photographer IS SO AMAZING. We met on a nasty day in Oregon during my Christmas break. It was sleeting, snowing, icing... EVIL DAY! She made great photos out of crap light and dangerous camera conditions. : ) Can't wait for the wedding photos!

Anyway, I guess that's all. I just thought it had been a LONG time since I wrote anything and there are some pretty awesome things happening. I'm going to miss my Arizona people SO MUCH, but Tyler and I are also very excited to be going home to Oregon. I'm pretty sure the first thing Ty is going to do is buy a fishing license. : )

Moving.... Again

I can't believe that boards are over, I'm happy about it, but is seems a little unreal. Studying sometimes for 16 hours a day is an experience I hope I never have to repeat. I just hope all that work pays off in about 5 weeks when I find out my scores.

Today, I move to Tucson for 4 weeks. My first rotation of third year in a ward based internal medicine rotation and I am pretty nervous about it. It's very exciting to be doing something new, something I've been working towards pretty much my entire life, but it doesn't keep me from getting a bit terrified. I get to do what I've always dreamed of, but I only know books at this point. People and practical application of my knowledge under pressure are completely new.

On a much more exciting note after I took my board exams I got to go home for 5 days. My mom and I did a TON of wedding planning and settled on a florist as well as mapped out the invitations (can't order them yet). We also looked at every ballroom big enough for the wedding in Portland. I think we've finally got it down to the places we'd like to have it at, but so far, nothing about planning the wedding has been easy... The dates for the wedding are pretty narrow simply because I can only be home for the month of May in 2011 (I'll also be rotating in Oregon in Feb, but it's not a good month for us to have the wedding), so the dates are restricted to either May 14th or the 21st. We would rather do it on the 21st so that I have another week to be in town to do fittings and last min things, but we can do the 14th if needed. Our biggest problem is this, the church has a hold on the 14th for someone else and the place for the reception has a hold on the 21st for another couple. We have to wait until Monday to find out if these couples are going to use those venues for their weddings, if so we'll either have to find another church or another place to hold the reception. :-/ I sincerely hope that one of the other couples has found another venue they like better. It would stink to have to start again for one venue or the other.

This is the reception venue. I think we're pretty sure about this part of it and will take whatever day they have and then try to find another church if The Grotto doesn't work out. http://vibranttable.zenfolio.com/p650412192/e1d74aca0

Now I just have to work on finding bridesmaid dresses for my million bridesmaids. :) So exciting!

How many hours in a day?

This will be a short blog.... I wish I could make a few more hours appear every day. I miss hanging out with Tyler, talking to my mom, working out, laughing with friends.... I miss feeling human... I haven't put on makeup for weeks, worn jeans in months, or felt like going out to eat in well, lets see....... about 2 years now.... I guess I'm not being fair, it hasn't been all bad... There have been great moments, especially this year.

The first year of medical school was like, terror. Every Sunday and Wed night (exams are on Monday and most Thursdays of first year) I would get myself all worked up about some exam. We didn't take breaks to eat or chat (mostly). Second year, a lot of that changed. I don't think my study group has once decided it was a good idea to work through dinner. We watch a short 30 min show, or what ever is on... I think even just doing this was good for us. There were still many weeks where we thought we weren't going to make it (finals weeks are always a challenge... 5 to 6 exams in 5 days is never fun), but for the most part I'd have to say that second year has vastly outweighed first year in the way of sanity..... Until now....

We are preparing for boards. For those of you not part of the INSANE medical community, boards are impossible. At least right now they feel that way. I am aware that in just over a month they will be over and my life will regain the small piece of normalcy I was so proud of regaining in my second year.... But right now..... I feel like I will never leave this office... and that when I finally do escape to eat dinner, or go to bed, I feel guilty that I'm not studying. Saturday I sat here for 11 hours and 45 min before escaping. That is almost 12 full hours of sitting in one spot.... My body hurts..... From doing NOTHING!

Ok, enough complaining... I have it pretty good. I don't have to stop to cook, clean, do dishes, grocery shop, or take the dog out to pee... I have a wonderful Tyler, who is patient, understanding, selfless and just about all around amazing. I know I can't complain too much... At least part of the reason I'm complaining though, is that I never get to see him.. I see the Doctors in Training guy more than I see him.... It's awful... So while I sit in here, he makes sure I don't go without anything I might need. I am SO thankful.

We are planning the wedding again (well, we've set a date, no planning is actually happening until we get these pesky boards out of the way)!!!! The day is........ May 21, 2011. I have to say it's about time. We got engaged in August of 2007 and were supposed to tie the knot July 19th of 2008... School got in the way, and school almost got in the way this time too... Fortunately I was able to move a few things around and get what I want... A husband! :)

Well, I guess thats all.... This kind of turned into a little venting spree... I didn't mean for that to happen, but it is what it is.... I'll be happy June 15th when I am done with this stuff, can (hopefully if I pass the exam) put it all behind me, and enjoy some much needed time with my family and friends. Bella is in here because she makes me happy.... She's so darn cute

What an amazing past few days I've had! Vivian, Travis, and Amanda have come to Arizona for spring break. It just so happens that Vivian's family owns this amazing home in Scottsdale and we have spent the last few days back and forth spending tons of time with them. They arrived on Friday while I was in class last week. I was a little nervous about how it was all going to work out, because while it may be their spring break, I had one a few weeks ago and I'm in school now. I tried to warn them that I wouldn't be able to hang out all the time, but it looks like I lied. :)

Friday night Tyler and I packed up the car and headed out there. Bella was really excited when we got there and Louie (a dog belonging to one of Vivian's brothers Dental graduate friends) was there. They played for HOURS. It was wonderful to let her run off some of her energy (she has a ton) and we all had a great time watching them swim! We had awesome steak and shrimp serf and terf for dinner and cheesecake for dessert! We spent some time playing beer pong as well. It was a great evening.

Saturday I had to head back in to our place to get a few things done. I was pretty productive and we were headed back out to Scottsdale at around 5:00. Amanda arrived at about that time and by the time we got out to the house we only had to wait a little while to see her! We made some awesome burgers with guacamole, and baked beans. More beer pong was played as well as a little bit of Battle of the Sexes Cranium! The boys won, but only because we allowed the spelling of "Fonz". ;-P it was a close game, and a really great time! Tyler and I stayed up way too late and then Bella got sick in the middle of the night. I think she ended up drinking a little too much pool water, but by the middle of the day Sunday I think she was back to herself. :)

Sunday was another wonderful day. We bought tickets earlier in the week for everyone to go see the M's vs. the Cubbies in a spring training game. I was really excited because it was supposed to be a really nice day and it was almost like my two worlds (the one with the fab four, and the one with my medical school friends) could become one. It meant a lot to me that everyone came out and spent some time in the sun! During the game I started to panic a little (we had an exam on Monday morning, and as you can tell there wasn't a ton of studying happening) so afterwards Scotty, Aspen and I just went back to my house and got started (the exam went well I think)!

Yesterday (Monday) we took Scotty and Aspen to see the Scottsdale house. We had more burgers (best burger I've ever had), and had a great time in the pool playing pool beer pong (pretty difficult if you ask me!). I think they had a great time, I know I did. Tyler was so wonderful, he had to work this morning (at 4:00 am!), but still stayed up to drive me home and make sure I had a great time. I honestly don't know what I'd do without him, he's a life saver. :)

Today and tonight I have to spend some time in front of my computer. Back to the batcave for me! I just can't believe what a perfect time it was for them to come and visit! I'm so glad I got to have a mini vaca with 2 of my favorite ladies (we've missed you TONS AND TONS Abby!) and Scotty & Aspen got to bond a bit with my girls. I'm glad everyone got along and I can't wait to go to Vegas (my bachelorette party will be in Vegas, these girls are pretty much my wedding party!).

Boards are fast approaching, so I better get to work! Here are some pictures of our adventures! :)

WEDDING!!!

So this has to be quick because I have to go back to school, but I just found out that Tyler and I might be able to start planning our wedding! Its possible that I might be back in Oregon for 2 months early in 2011 and if all goes as planned that means that we would be setting a wedding date for late April 2011! I am so excited I couldn't help but share the news. Nothing is 100% yet (we have another lottery to decide what "tracks" we end up in. This decides what order we do our rotations next year... You know, month 1 Internal medicine, month 2 cardiology and so on), but if I get the track I've listed as my number one choice everything will be set. :) If not, there is still a chance that I can move some things around and still make it work, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Anyway, I guess that's all for now. I just wanted to share the good news!

Just a few thoughts

Well, it's January. January is a love/hate kind of month for me. I love it because my birthday is January 23rd, but I hate it for the same reason. :) I've found that as I get older birthdays become less and less important. This one seems to be exceptionally less important because of the birthday "gifts" I've requested. Don't get me wrong, my family (especially my mom) went WAY overboard with Christmas (as she usually does), and Tyler also got me more than I asked for, but I can't help but feel a little sad that my birthday has been robbed this year. From my parents I'm getting a USMLE test question bank. That will also be my gift from my grandparents. While it is extremely useful, it's not fun. Its interesting how little fun seems to matter when you grow up. I'll also be taking a Pharmacology exam 2 days afterwards, so I'm sure I'll spend a huge chunk of the day studying away! ;-/

I was also thinking earlier today about how I used to think of medicine. The human body was such a wonder to me, something totally beautiful. Now, I don't even have time to think of it that way. There are some days I wonder how a baby can be born without some sort of birth defect and yet it happens everyday... I have memorized more about the body than I would have thought possible and I'm not even done yet. I've been tested sometimes 5 days a week on things that I've memorized. Frankly is absolutely exhausting! It makes me wonder how much of this knowledge it's possible to retain. I wouldn't go so far as to say I've fallen out of love with medicine, I still can't picture myself doing anything else, but I do find myself wondering if people knew what it was like, I mean REALLY knew, would they do it? No wonder there is a shortage of doctors out there.

I guess I'm just sort of venting a little, isn't that what blogs are for? lol. I'm feeling a lot of pressure right now. Board exams are in 6 short months and I'm having some trouble with my stomach again. I wish someone could tell me whats wrong and how to fix it. The dichotomy is interesting, studying to be a doctor and frustrated with future colleagues because they can't seem to fix me. I don't even want a quick fix, I just want an answer. If someone could just tell me what to stop eating, I would do it. I'm feeling pretty well tonight, great by yesterdays standards, but I hardly ate anything all day. I just don't know how long the good feeling will last or how long I can survive on white rice and plain pasta with roasted veggies.

Well Ty is in watching Golden Girls with our little pooch. I guess I should get in there and get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel even better than I did today!