A favorite picture...

...of my favorite Boxer.
"Mouser"

Dreaming of sutures...

It's 11:52 PM and I'm on my blog.

I just got home from school (really),
although I really don't remember the drive... :/

I'm so so so tired.
I had this weird feeling that I
posted a strange picture on my blog.
I didn't.

I learned about eight different suture ties tonight in class,
including the interrupted cruciate suture pattern.
:)

I may or may not have also just purchased an expired
vet-med suture pack to practice my skills on bananas.
And when I say may or may not have,
I mean I did.

And I'm out. Night!

Home

...with really pretty clouds.

Big Buddy

This is my dad's dog, Pinner.
He likes water.
A lot.

The Evergreen State!

I forgot to mention something rad!

Flights booked...
hotel rooms reserved...
car rental confirmed...

WASHINGTON!
I'm comin' to see you!
Gotta go tour my new school
and find a place to live. :D

Yep.
About two months
and I'll be in
"The Evergreen State"!

With enough caffeine and weekend sleep...

It's Sunday evening, exactly 6:59 PM as I start this. I'm giving myself 15 minutes to update my blog. It's been so long, that I had to look at what I last posted. Here goes:

I finished up school a couple weeks ago, and started again this week. HA! I managed to get some pretty good grades considering how horrible last quarter was. I started Anesthesiology and Surgery this week...on Tuesday and Thursdays...from 5 PM to 11 PM. Yep. Six hours of lecture, two nights a week. Oy vey! I'm working on planning my classes and externship right now, and it's so close, I can taste it! Hopefully this quarter flies by. With enough caffeine and weekend sleep, I'm sure it will! :D

I had three weeks off in between quarters, which I spent being a maid of honor, moving, biking, and sleeping. It was quite lovely. :) My best friend's wedding went well. It was absolutely, insanely gorgeous! I'm so happy for her and it was so fun to spend time together, laughing and talking while she was here...just like old times. I also moved home. Yep. I'm 30-years old, and back home with my parents. Yeah! LOL! Good thing I love my parents more than anything and actually enjoy spending time with them. It's actually kind of nice to be home and be here with them before I move out of state. Oh and we go biking. My dad is like Lance Armstrong. It's a little annoying how in shape he is, but I've been out a few times with him and my mom on our bikes. Aside from my sore butt, I've enjoyed the rides.

Volunteering at the equine center has been super fabulous. I love all of the horses. Good thing I'm pursuing a career with animals! ;) Our local newspaper ran a story about some kids going to the center a couple weeks ago. My buddy, Skip, was prominently featured with the kids. He got groomed, lead around on some walks, and even came up to the gate to greet the kids. Skip actually used to be afraid of most humans in general, but especially loud people (read: little kids). The owner said it was insane how good he was. I guess there is someone really interested in adopting him. It makes me sad and happy at the same time. I will hate to see him go, but happy for him to get a good, loving home. From there, it'll be onto the next pony...one home at a time. :)

Last week my parents skipped town and left me in charge of the farm. Farm livin' is definitely the life for me...just not on top of full-time work and school. HAHA! It was more than a little crazy. So crazy that I managed to fracture my foot. Yep. I wrangle wild ponies on Saturdays, wrestle pit bulls at night, and I slip in a 2-inch hole on Wednesday and fracture my foot. DOH! I currently have a really pretty, big blue walking shoe right now that I get to rock for the next couple weeks. Oh man. I'm awesome. :}

Lola is currently in "farm dog training". She apparently loves me a lot because when I'm gone...she doesn't like to do anything. My dad is home most of the day, but she doesn't like to leave my room or even the porch step if she gets dragged outside. So he's taken it upon himself to get her out and get her dirty! HAHA! Have no doubt: she loves to play in the fields and splash around in the water when I'm out and about...just not so much when I'm gone. Hopefully she gets over it and hangs out with my dad a little more. :P

Well my fifteen minutes are up. I have a pile of homework sitting on my bed, waiting to be conquered.

Love to all... xoxoxAC

Sweet Peas = Summer

I took my last final last night. *insert GIANT sigh of relief here* I don't know how I did yet, but I feel like I passed. I hope I passed. Pleeeeease let me have passed! :} I'm so happy this quarter is over. It was hellacious and just no fun. I have Surgery & Anesthesiology next quarter - Tuesday & Thursday nights from 5 PM to 11 PM. Yeah, the schedule will be rough, but I'm looking forward to the classes. The best part? I have three (almost four) weeks off in between now and then! WOOHOOOOO!

Other than that, moving. Blah! I hate moving! Although while I was moving some stuff to my parents' place last night, I was informed that peas are on. PEAS! MMMM! Sitting by a fire pit eating sweet peas fresh out of the garden? I declare summer officially here. :)

Nope. Not dead.

Although, thanks for keeping tabs on me, ya'll. :) I have honestly been incredibly busy. So busy that this post will (hopefully) be quite to the point. Or at least as condensed as my ramblings can be! HA!

School:
Eh. This quarter has not been my favorite. It started out great, but quickly went down the drain. Hence, my not blogging a lot. I knew if I wrote about it, it'd be negative. To put it mildly, I've been through multiple teachers in BOTH classes, been on the verge of tears a couple times due to crappy grades (being taught one thing and tested on another), and contemplated dropping the classes to just pick up again next quarter. The good news is that I survived - my grades are up and I don't cry after every quiz now. LOL! Finals next week and I'll be done with craptacular quarter! WOOHOOOOO!!

Work:
My brother mentioned the other day that I only call him cuz I'm bored at work...which is why I haven't been calling him so much lately. :} Work is extremely busy. We're hiring new sales people right now and because I have some cosmic wisdom or something, I've been put in charge of training them. It's definitely a compliment, but holy crow! Trying to spend 4-6 hours with someone every day on top of keeping up on my job...ARGH! I've worked more over-time in the last month than I have in the entire four years I've been here. Oh and we have another new person starting next Monday. Greeeat.

Volunteering:
I'm still volunteering on the weekends at the equine center (EC). I love it. I'm working with two horses right now - Skip & Samara. Skip is a short, copper-colored Quarter Horse. His owner apparently used to beat him with 2 X 4's so he's naturally very weary and nervous around humans. Side note: I bet you can imagine what I'd like to do with a couple of 2 X 4's to his ex-bastard-of-an-owner... Anyways, nobody used to be able to catch Skip, but he let's me walk right up to him for some reason. So, Skip and I have become working buddies. I do a lot of groundwork with him and he keeps me on my toes. :] Samara is a big, gray Arabian mare. She was found in a field, tangled in a mess of barbwire, looking hungry and disheveled. Her owner was no where to be found, so she's at the EC now. She's not quite as damaged as Skip, but still needs a lot of work. I spend a lot of time doing groundwork with her too, during which time she thinks it's fun to test my nerves and patience. LOL! I've only been working with them both for a couple weeks, but they've come so far, so fast. So much so that the barn manager gave me keys to the facility and pretty much begs that I come both Saturday and Sunday (and more). It's hard to say no which of course kills my weekends, but it's great to be out working in the weather with horses again. I forgot how much I missed them. :)

Life:
Oy. I'm working on moving my stuff home right now - I have to be moved by the end of the month. I've been moving a little bit at a time, but it's hard because I really don't have a ton of free time right now. I foresee an exhausting weekend of trying to get everything finished up in my near future! LOL! My bestie friend is getting married next weekend. It's going to be a gorgeous event that I get to be the maid of honor for! :D I've got a few days of pedicures, manicures, spray tans and pink dresses coming up! HAHA! I'm really excited for her - and the wedding! I've been lucky enough to get a sneak peak of everything by way of photo shoots, rehearsals, taste-testing, etc. so yeah - it's gonna ROCK! What else? I got a new bike! WOOT! I ride it every chance I get when I'm out at my parents' house. Pretty soon...I shall ride it EVERY DAY!

Lola:
I saved the best for last. :) Lola had a rough spot about two weeks ago. I guess she started feeling the effects of my crazy schedule because she started chewing stuff up! Some of which she threw up in my truck! :/ For about two weeks, I came home to heels missing off of shoes, bra clasps ripped off my favorite bra, straps and buckles chewed off my brand new messenger bag... Ay-yi-yi! It was really frustrating there for a bit, but I realized it wasn't her fault. We spent some much needed "A.C. & Lola-time" together and she seems to be doing better. Yay for that. Love my little sidekick.

So that's that. A super-long post, but kind of condensed? Maybe? Eh. I guess it could be longer. HAHA! :}

Here's to hoping I survive the next two weeks - finals, new hire, moving, and wedding. I might be posting from a hospital bed next time... ;)

Loves!
xoxoxAC

S'mores trump blogging!

So I had good intentions of updating my blog background and posting a new update yesterday. Yeah. That obviously didn't happen. Instead, I set up my new background, helped my mom set up her new blog, did laundry, then prepared for s'mores with the visiting family (mmm...s'mores). It was quite a lovely day.

I'll update this later this week. Maybe with pictures. Maybe. :)

Fly

So I was informed by my grandma and a couple friends that I never really explained the Washington thing in my previous post. As one friend put it so eloquently in a text: "What the hell is this bomb?!" My apologies to everyone! Here's the poop scoop:

After I finish up my classes, I'm required to do an externship in a hospital or clinic in order to graduate. It should last about three months, but could go a little longer, as I'm required to complete a specific number of hours. Last year my program director approached me about a fantastical opportunity in Washington: an externship in an extremely advanced equine facility (for privacy's sake, I'm not going to reveal the name and location on here). I've been working hard since then to maintain my grades, get recommendations, and pretty much jump through hoops. In my meeting this week, I was informed my jumping paid off, as I've been accepted to go! I still need to go through the application formalities, but yes, I will more than likely be moving to Washington next year!

I don't know how long I'll be gone. I honestly hope to get hired on there or somewhere just as advanced. As my teacher put it, "You know you want the cool cases!" LOL! She was right. I want to go far with this. I want to learn and be amazed and challenged in every way possible. If that means packing up and moving across the country, then let's go!

Yes, I'm excited and scared as hell! I've lived in the same place my whole life, with my family no further than a 20-minute drive away. But, if my cute friends like Adrien and Sara Lizbeth, or my lovely cousins Syd and Angie can do it and prosper, then dangit I'm gonna try! To quote a song lyric from Miranda Lambert (yep...going there again!):

"I guess if you don't jump, you'll never know if you can fly!"

Jumping. :)