Cold, Dark and Snowy Alaska!

Has it really been two weeks since I've written?  It feels like just yesterday!  So much to update.

1.) Finals week - In two words? No fun. The week started off with a BANG with a wonderful 4 hour practice board exam. It made me realize just how much more I need to learn before taking the real thing in 5 months.  Luckily I didn't do too horribly, so in 5 months I should be ready to ROCK!

Aside from the classes and testing, I had a great time with my classmates.  It is so nice to be able to vent talk about all of the good, bad, and ugly that make going to PA school such a wild ride.  No one will ever understand it quite like my fellow PCAP'ers!  After our last final on Thursday, we had our second annual (and final :( ) Christmas Party.  Last year was "Ugly Christmas Sweater" theme, and this year was "Your Favorite Holiday" theme.  Unless there is a nation jeans & sweater day, I didn't quite get as creative this year.  But regardless, a great time (with Champagne!) was had by all :)

Cheers to officially being in our LAST quarter of PA School! 

Love my class!

Costume Contest Winners

Early morning hike in the San Carlos Hills!

Deer!

2.) HOME - I arrived home on Friday night into a cold, dark wintery wonderland.  12 days of negative degree weather, 4 hours of daylight, frosty trees, snowy roads, down coats, big fluffy scarves, and excuses to have hot cocoa every day. What's not to look forward to!!  Well... the negative degree weather and lack of daylight I could do without, but it truly does feel like Christmas now. As much as I love Palm Trees, they were not made to be decorated with Christmas lights.  :)

Baby, it's FREEZING outside.

Jake and I have been busy since the second I got home, but you'll be happy to know that I haven't opened a single textbook in 4 days.  Probably a record.  Instead, it's been Kaladi Brothers coffee stops 4x daily, dinner and drinks with friends, awesome workouts at the Alaska Club (local Gym), Christmas shopping, and doing my best to stay as warm as possible (although I feel like an Ice Cube all day every day).  Oh Alaska, how you never fail to freeze me. Jake had to work Saturday and yesterday, and will have to work quite a bit while I'm home, but it has given me time to catch up on girlfriend time and somehow finding Christmas presents for the man who is impossible to buy for. (Unless it's a lifetime supply of Tacos, guns, or fancy tools. All of which are not in a Grad Students budget.) Luckily in 9 days from now, Jake and I will be sitting on a plane heading to Mexico for a much needed vacation together!  Cannot wait.

Christmas Concert!

 Jake must like me or something. I think I have my work cut out for me.  

3.) Grandma Update - To fill you in if you weren't aware... My Grandma fell and fractured her hip when she was visiting me in San Diego last month.  She had a hip replacement and is staying in a care facility until she is strong enough to fly to Utah.  She was doing extremely well and progressing each day, but on Friday she was starting to have more pain and difficulty weightbearing. They took an x-ray and discovered she has a stress fracture below the new metal joint.  :(  So... prayers are needed once again! It looks like she probably won't be going home tomorrow, but they are going to see the Ortho Surgeon today so hopefully he will have some good news.  I know both she and my Dad are ready to go back to Utah!  My Mom will be flying back out there if they don't go home tomorrow.  I wish I could be there to relieve my Dad and support my Grandma!  Hopefully she will heal quickly and be back on the road to recovery in no time.

4.) Strep Throat Update - Wait, what?  So one thing you may not know about me is that I never get sick.  It has literally been 4.5 years since the last time I had a sore throat or cough.  I feel lucky that my immune system takes such good care of me. Apparently... I've been a little overworked and under-rested the past few weeks because my body decided to quit on me.  I find it amazing that could see 10+ sick patients a day with the flu, rhinovirus (common cold), strep, mono, scarlet fever, and every other imaginable sickness - all without ever getting sick.  But flying for 6 hours to AK and I come down with the worst case of strep I've ever had.  I can't understand it either.  So my throat feels like it's coated in broken glass, my ears feel as if they are going to explode, and if anyone gets near my lymph nodes in my neck... they will likely get high-fived in the face.  It's pretty awesome.  Hopefully I get better quickly, because every minute of the next 9 days are mapped out with fun Alaskan adventures that do not include lying in a bed and eating jello/ice chips.

Moose and Strep are not related,
except that he made me get off the cozy couch to see who was banging on the house! 

Hope all is well! I promise to not take 2 more weeks to write :)