newbie on the OB block

note: from here on out, all typos and misspellings should be ignored & forgiven. i love updating and taking time to share things but proof reading...not so much :)

first day down and i'm still standing. my head has been spinning like a vortex for about oh all day but i'm good. just a lot of information to take in on one day.
Ok so it wasn't horrible, it was just orientation and lectures all day--the hardcore stuff comes next week. We got our schedules today, which by the way might as well be writtin in chinese bc it's going to take me forever to make heads and tails of it.

I have really great people on my assigned team for the next 7 weeks (clint, marjorie, supra, and svarit) so I'm really happy about that. Our team starts off next week on Gyn/Oncology. Which deals with all the gynecological cancers and from what i gather is a great deal of surgeries. Intensive, loooong surgeries (think up to 6-9 hours!) Lawd. what have i gotten myself into??? I've already gathered that being the lowest person on the totem pole....and i mean like the bedrock that lies waaaaaay deep to the totem pole....means you get really really CRAPPY hours! I'm pretty sure for the next two weeks i'll be arriving at the hospital sometime between 3-430 to see my patients because i have to see them before the intern, who has to see them before the residents, who have to see them before rounds, which have to occur before we get ready to go into the OR for those few hours of surgery, which could result in the end of the day falling anytime between 3pm-11pm (yea its pretty much up in the air at all times)

I'm going to try to start doing more posts, just a little shorter. Must go get a jump start completing UNIT 1-normal pregnancy in my ob/gyn textbook before thursday.

**For those of you interested in my cousins' progress with her chemo, you can read her caringbridge page at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/emilyjospage She's doing really well so keep up the prayers! **

she's baaaccck

Vacation is drawing to a close.

It was a much needed break and I'm a little disappointed (well, a lot actually) to see it go.

I had big goals for these 2 1/2 weeks, of which only a few were accomplished. For enstance, remember that whole "my first priority is my wedding pictures. they have to be finished!"??? Well so much for that. We called the photographer at the beginning of vacation and as of yesterday they still haven't put our album back up. I did work on our remaining 4x6 prints. Hmmm...so I picked out the ones that I like and now i just have to narrow them down from 202 to 85!!! That shouldn't be hard. (right.)

ahhh horrible pic of me but....look what i taught my lovely neice!



On a little lighter note, Sanibel was AMAZING! We had a great time. Sun, relaxing, drinks, shopping, visiting with family, and eating lots, and I do mean LOTS of yummy food. (clearly evident to me after stepping on the scale yesterday. boo.) Vacation is always great but then you gotta rough through all that laundry when you get home. I think we probably did around 12-14 loads. Over that. And i managed to organize my closet-shoes, bags, accessories, and all. I came to the conclusion that a great walk in closet in our next house will be of the utmost importance. Right up there with electricity and a roof :)

Had a great visit with aunt denise & gang! I almost forgot....this would be the night i'd ever experienced running over an Armadillo...thats right. In the ghettooo van :)

Tuesday I finally finished reading Jodi Picoults "19 Minutes" it was a good read. Slow start but it really opens your eyes to a very real problem. I think as we get older we forget how hard high school was. I feel like its not getting any easier either, if anything i'd say its much worse now. You couldn't pay me to go back. Maybe its because i feel closer to that "i feel like i just graduated" than i do to "i dont know what i'm gonna do when our kids get to high school" but, i remember the stupid thoughts that went through my head as a teenager, i remember how awful i was to other people and to my parents. Everyone goes through that rough stage in HS but nowadays its not just those stereotypical "loaners" that you have to worry about it's everyone really. Most importantly those that are right under your nose, no matter how much "privacy" they want, or how "fine" they are, i think the more face time the better. I wont go too in depth with this, but if you do have some free time i suggest reading it. It'll make you think that's for sure.

My official first week of ob/gyn starts next week and i'm not sure how i feel about it yet. I'm nervous of course but I guess i'm just not sure what to expect, and really another week or two of vacation wouldn't have hurt.

LK's photoshoot on the beach. Oh what a crazy 30 minutes that was :) think i got some really cute pictures though and they're on snapfish already.

I'm trying really hard to work on my pictures but there are a lot of them so it may take awhile. I did get erin and joe's rehearsal dinner pics posted to a group room on snapfish and pics of LK on the beach so if you want to see those shoot me an email and i can send you an invite to join the group room and you can view pics posted in there from now on. Coming soon: Erin&Joe's wedding & Miranda&Doug's wedding

♥ e

I'm a SURVIVOR!

YAY!!!!! I made it! My boards are FINALLY OVER! Please don't ask me how I did though because honestly, i have no idea. That test is so random and everyone gets a different version so I guess its partly the luck of the draw, and if you know the material then you know it if not well.....then i guess you pay $450 to take it again ha! I will get my scores in approximately 4-6 weeks and I'm gonna try to not think about it until then :)

I did want to say a HUGE HUGE HUGE THANK YOU!!!
To everyone for the prayers, flowers, and good luck presents. I really really needed your support and I can not thank you enough for being there for me. I'm so glad its finally done with and I can have my life back, atleast for 2 weeks. And cross my heart, as God and the blogging world as my witness I WILL finish my wedding pictures this week--before my 2 YEAR anniversary---can you believe it... already?????!!!
[Uh if anyone has any suggestions for an anniversary gift for a guy who has everything that'd be greatly appreciated, i need some help!]

Keep checkin' in cause you know I'm gonna be posting a LOT of pictures over the next week, I am definitly getting caught up on my picture of the day site...oh yea i'm still shootin! And don't forget to check out Designs by Erin--which I'm contemplating changing the name of cause I'm not crazy about it--but i've already posted a handful of new items on there. Please give me suggestions on the site so I can make it better and let me know if you are interested in any of items or want me to make you something specific....
I got a whole two weeks to bead people COME ON!!! :D
I'll check in later this weekend! Missed you guys :)

MUCH ♥

tomorrow's the big day.....holy hannah

So today is it. My last day to study. I've been up since about 730 doing questions online, and looking at high yield images in my "first aid for boards" book. I'm probably going to do questions until about 5 tonight, look through a high yield buzz word list, and try to relax. Bedtime will hopefully be around 10ish. If not---hello nyquil.

All the recommendations for board study say not to study on the last day but to relax and if you have to, only look over a few things.....do the people that write these things know who they are talking to??@!!! Come ON! We're all type A ConTrOL FrEaKS! Go ALL of today without studying??? Are you kidding me....as I write this i feel like information i've crammed in over the past 5 weeks is leaking out my ear :*( thats no good.

So tomorrow is my test and then finally, I am a free woman. Please don't get offended if I don't answer phone calls tomorrow after I'm done, or call anyone. Frankly, I'm probably gonna be wore the heck out after 8 hours of testing. And I'm probably going to be *pissed* (yup i said it, i know....but its probably true!) about how poorly i did. ARGGGHH!!! I already hate this test and I havent even taken it yet. (stay calm, stay calm, stay calm....)

So....better get back to those questions. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE say a few prayers for me tomorrow. even just one if ya can. com'mon i pray for you guys all the time :) a few suggestions: confidence, ability to relax, stay focused, read slowly and attentively, trust my instincts, not to be too nervous, to remember everything i've spent so much time learning/relearning, that i dont break down in tears in the middle of the exam, the ability to reason well, and if not, the ability to be a good guesser, and for all of my hard work to pay off!!

Until tomorrow ..... my stomach is in knots, the bathroom is my new best friend, my heart keeps racing, i'm trying not to cry, and forcing myself to avoid a nap. maybe i'll go bead something. lol. hey + sign....still got my sense of humor...I believe that's a "mature defense mechanism for stress" as stated in my review book under the behavior sciences section.......

wish me luck. ♥



ps. a fellow student who has also been studying for boards, lost her father about a week ago and i just found out, so if you can please pray for her too-her name is heather.