Be mine?

Ahhh.... Valentine's day. A day to eat loads of boxed chocolates and a day for people to post pictures of flower bouquets, jewelry and delicious dinners on Facebook. Oh, and a day to show how much you care about those you love. :)

I actually don't care much for Valentine's day (apart from the yummy chocolates and red velvet cupcakes) because I feel it's too commercialized and superficial. If you love someone, you shouldn't need a holiday to show them with overpriced chocolates and flowers that make single people cringe.  It should be a day to celebrate love for everyone, not just for those who are in relationships.  Sure, I may have liked it more if I wasn't 3500 miles away from Jake, but even when we are together, it's not something I go out of my way to celebrate.  Random days of love are much more special!

Even though I was the Valentines Day Grinch, I had a great day yesterday. The day started with another PAIN FREE run with Dennis the speed demon. I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch, but I think I might be on the mend. PT is working wonders and I've been religious about my stretching, ab work, and leg exercises. I've run 4 days in the last week, and had no issues whatsoever. :) :) This makes for a happy, happy Brittany.

Best feeling ever.

My favorite run in Cali along the 101.

Stunning.

That's right, just for runners!

Wahoo!  I've missed my little Garmin companion

Yesterday also was the first day I felt more confident in the OR and got positive feedback from the surgeon. Finally!

The day ended with a wonderful girls night with my favorites Cali girls. Carrie is amazing and made homemade (garlic free!) pasta sauce so that girl who is allergic to everything (aka me) could participate in eating homemade pizzas. That, coupled with girl talk, tons of laughs, and desserts to die for, made it a great day.

Best idea ever!

Flat Bread deliciousness.  

Love this girl.

Such a fun night! (P.S. the girl in the black shirt is due on SUNDAY!  Crazy!)

The only thing missing was, of course, my Valentine. Luckily in just 11 weeks we will be able to start a life of love-filled days. Jake, you are my forever Valentine and I love you more than you'd love eating Tacos every day for the rest of your life. And then some.

True Story!

Three.

T minus 3 months until this girl is a PA-C. (Actually 2.75 months now!)

Can you believe that? Three months from last Monday and I will be walking across the stage at Stanford School of Medicine to become a PA! It's starting to become more and more real that I have very little time left in my California adventure. It's very bittersweet to think about leaving this crazy life I've learned to love. But you know what I love more? My life with my amazing husband who is waiting to, as he says, "carry me over the threshold" at our home in Alaska. It will be hard to leave the sun, sand, running races, and wonderful friends I've made. But I'm not gonna lie, there are some amazing people in Alaska that I've missed having in my life.

Alaska? Get ready. I'm coming home soon. (And by ready, I mean, "Please make this the sunniest, most beautiful summer you've ever provided to the frozen, pale Alaskans who endure your winters.")

You may be wondering why I've been MIA for the past two weeks. I'm back in my surgery rotation after the paperwork "hiccup" at the hospital. That means I'm back to 4am wake up calls, 15 hour surgery days, and being on call on weekends and during the night.  Yes, I do miss sleeping past 4:30am.  And yes, I am exhausted.  But aside from the sleep deprivation and insane pressure/stress of being a surgical assist, I love being in the OR! Tuesday I got to assist the surgeon on 8 surgeries, and most other days it's been anywhere from 3-6 surgeries. There is nothing cooler than sticking your hand in a persons abdomen, helping remove a spleen from a person's body, and suturing an incision to make it as "scarless" as possible.  Plus, surgeons are always hungry and have a room full of free snacks, coffee, and tea that are replenished all day and night. And believe me, when you have an constant adrenaline rush as a new surgical assistant, you need sustenance.

Mid-Morning Snacks

Coffee, Tea, Lattes, and Hot Cocoa.
Please note that surgeons are sloppy and don't know how to throw things away.

I've surved the 1st two weeks out of the longest 4 week rotation of my life.  In the next two weeks, you will likely find me doing one of the following:

- surgery
- packing for my move to San Fran
- studying for boards
- more surgery
- studying for finals
- studying for practicum
- more surgery
- attempting to stay injury free and train for Boston Marathon...

Can I please have 10 extra hours in my day?  I ask one thing of you: please sleep at least 7 hours a night for me because that will be about 3 more than I'll be getting each night. Thanks!