Happy Halloween!

{via}

I hope everyone has a safe Halloween filled with lots of candy! Since TJ has to work till 7:30 tonight, I'm heading over to my parents' for dinner {my mom's chili!} and to help them pass candy out to the kiddos in their neighborhood. I'm sure I'll be sneaking some candy from their stash too! Have a great night!

Happy Halloween!

DIY Fall Wreath

I have been meaning to make a fall wreath for the last month or so, and I finally got around to it this past weekend. I blame my tardiness on the fact that I couldn't find my hot glue gun, and I just got a replacement this weekend. {I know, super lame excuse, but whatever.}

Anyways, I have had a grapevine wreath and stems of artificial mums sitting in a bag for awhile, and I'm happy to say that they're now put together on our front door.

After taking all the flowers off the stems, I arranged them around the wreath. Unfortunately, they didn't go around the whole wreath like I had envisioned, so I had to make another quick trip to Micheal's. Since there fall stuff is now replaced with Christmas stuff, I was lucky to find a couple stems of fairly similar flowers on sale. {I couldn't find any more of the original mums I had bought.}

I also found a pre-made pumpkin bow that I thought would help fill in the empty space nicely. {I still haven't mastered the art of making bows...I usually just ask my mom to make them.}

Overall, I think it turned out nicely, and I'm pretty happy with it. Thankfully, it will still have a few weeks to hang before my Christmas decorations make their appearance!!!

Happy Halloween Eve!

Saturday Morning Scene

Reasons why today is already shaping up to be a great day:

- I got to sleep in without setting an alarm. After over 8 hours of sleep, I woke up to bright sunlight coming through our windows.
- I got a couple morning snuggles with the hubs before he had to get up for work. :)
- I'm very much looking forward to date night tonight. We made reservatons for Bonefish Grill...ready for some Bang Bang Shrimp and Chilean sea bass! {Yes, I always get the same thing. It's so good!}
- Right now, I have a little bit of time to relax with my cereal and coffee before football game #2 of the weekend. It's the little things!!

Have a great Saturday!

A Little Blog Break

The last week kind of turned into a little blog vacation...it wasn't intentional, it just kind of happened. Life has been a wee bit crazy lately. I got a little footballed {it's a new word, go with it} out last weekend after having the first high school sectional game last Friday, a college game I had to cover on Saturday, and then, of course, we went to the Colts game on Sunday. I was completely beat by the time we got home from church and dinner with our family on Sunday night, and since then, I haven't really had the energy or inspiration to write. Although this upcoming weekend is shaping up to be another busy one, I'm hoping I'll have at least a little time to get a couple posts scheduled for next week. I'll try my best!

I hope you have a wonderful Thursday! It's going to be in the mid-upper 70s today, and I'm so excited that I have this afternoon as "admin" time! In other words, I plan on going for a run with my dad this afternoon and hopefully get some studying done later!

me and my dad at the Thanksgiving Day race, 2010

Have a great day and weekend!

Guest Posting!

Hey y'all! Just wanted to let you know that I am over on Tiffany's blog talking all about our wedding for her Wedding Wednesday series! She's a former Hoosier who now lives in California...go show her some love!

Hope you're having a great week so far!

10 Day YOU Challenge {one picture}

First of all, I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for your sweet comments on last Thursday's post. You all really made my day. When I started writing it, I wasn't sure if I should post it or not, but I'm glad I did. It amazes me how much support I get from you guys...thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

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Wow! I cannot believe it's the last week of the YOU Challenge! For this week, we have to choose ONE picture of ourselves. I have a lot of pictures on my computer, and after thinking about it, I decided to go with a picture from our wedding day.

I love this picture because it was still early in the day on our big day, but things were starting to feel real after getting my hair and makeup done. I had my best friends and family around me, the weather was beautiful, and I was going to be marrying my best friend in a matter of hours. Whenever I look at this picture, all I think is pure joy. That's why I love it.

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If you want to read my past posts, you can find them here:

My nine loves

My eight fears

My seven wants

My six places

My five foods

My four books
My three films
My two songs

Have a great Tuesday!!!

Something to Make You Laugh this Morning

Good morning! Monday already?!?? Can we just rewind to yesterday so I can get more work done around the house?

No? Bummer...

Anyways, I wanted to share a couple videos with you this morning. I saw them both on Friday, and they are too good not post on here. Hopefully they will make your Monday morning a little bit brighter!

I love that second one because not only does it make you laugh, but I love my Volkwagen! :)

Happy Monday!

Reflections: One Year Later

I've thought about writing this post for a few weeks now, and I feel like there's no better time than now to do it. Bear with me, this is a serious one...

It's hard to believe, but it's been almost a year since I first found out I was pregnant. That means that it's also been almost a year since I found out that I was miscarrying. Going through a miscarriage was one of the hardest things I've ever experienced. The feeling of loss was something that I've never known, and never want to have to experience again. 

Over the past year, I've had many days where I've been frustrated and angry about what happened. There are so many time that I've asked myself {and God}, why me???

It wasn't until a couple months ago that I truly started to accept it. I realized that God really does know what he is doing. I think this revelation came to me as I rushing from training rooms to football games and trying to study at the same time. During some of those busy days, I wondered how I would be handling my busy schedule with a baby-in-tow {I would have been due at the end of June}. I realized that it would have added so much stress to an already crazy schedule. Now, I know that we would have found a way to work everything out, but I really just think that it was all part of God's plan. It's allowing me to fully focus on becoming the best sports medicine doctor I can be, because that is my job right now. And I think surviving a miscarriage will just make me appreciate the miracle of pregnancy and life all the more when it does happen for real.

It's been a daily struggle to just give it all to God, but I know that it's best. The last year has been a long road, and I'm glad to finally coming to peace with it all. Trust me, it hasn't been easy.

And, yes, I truly believe that the best is yet to come.

10 Day YOU Challenge {two songs}

Wednesday already?!?? I wanted to link up with Tiffany and Lauren yesterday, but I have been really busy the last couple of nights working on a presentation I had to do today. Thankfully, it's over, and it went well! Anyways, this week's challenge is two songs. There are so many songs I love, but these are two that I love and only bring good memories to mind...

{one}
"Ants Marching" by the Dave Matthews Band

You may remember me sharing here that my high school friends and I are BIG DMB fans. I have been to so many of their concerts {I lost count a while ago}, and whenever I hear this song, I am instantly at our local concert venue, beer in hand, with some of the best friends a girl could ask for. PERFECTION.

{two}

"Born to Be My Baby" by Bon Jovi

You were born to be my baby
And baby, I was made to be your man

We got something to believe in
Even if we don't know where we stand
Only God would know the reasons
But I bet he must have had a plan
Cause you were born to be my baby
And baby, I was made to be your man

TJ and I love listening to Bon Jovi, and we like going to his concerts even more {we've seen him 4 times together in the last 7 years}. I didn't know this song of his until TJ and I started dating in the summer of 2005, but now I love it. I wouldn't say that it's our song, but hearing it definitely takes me back to our early dating days and how much fun we had getting to know each other. Wow, that seems like so long ago... :)

{check this video out for some seriously funny hair!}

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If you want to read my past posts, you can find them below:

My nine loves

My eight fears

My seven wants

My six places

My five foods

My four books
My three films

Next week is the last week...ONE picture of me!

Have a great night!

And the Winner is.....

{drumroll please}

Entry #122....Meghan! She won with her entry of blogging about the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meghan is actually a real life friend of mine. We grew up in the same town, went to the same high school, then went to med school together and endured residency together too! She just had a super sweet baby girl, Brynn, one month ago! Go stop by her blog and say hi {and check out her little cutie}!

our residency white coat ceremony, June 2009...that's Meghan and me on the far left!

Congratulations Meghan! I will be emailing/texting you soon!!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

A Day in the Life {Why I Want to be a Doctor}

I have been thinking about doing a "Day in the Life" series for awhile, and I'm finally getting around to writing it. I know some of you have been through it, are currently going through it, or have endured my journey along with me, but I feel like so many people have no idea what the whole journey to being a doctor involves, so I thought I would share my experience with all of you. 

Now, before I get into the nitty gritty of med school, residency, and fellowship life, I want to go back to the beginning and tell you why I wanted to be a doctor in the first place. I think a lot of people have dreams of being a doctor from a young age. For me, it wasn't until high school that I really started thinking about it. I was actually thinking about physical therapy for awhile, but then I decided to go for medicine. In my college application essay, I talked about how I wanted to be a doctor for a professional dance company. Now, I realize that this sounds like a pretty lofty goal, but to me, it was the perfect way to unite my two passions in life: medicine and dance. 

During my summer job after I graduated high school and the following summer after my freshman year of college, I worked at the breast care center at the hospital where I work now, doing a lot of filing and sending letters to women with their mammogram results, but also bringing patients back to get changed prior to getting their mammogram. However, my favorite part of the job was when I got to take patients who were having biopsies done from the office over to the surgery area in the hospital. The office was {at the time} connected to the main hospital, and I loved talking to these women in those few minutes that we had together. Many of them were nervous and scared, but I enjoyed talking to them and {hopefully} taking their mind off their upcoming surgery, even if only for a little bit.

It was during that first summer that I got that feeling. I still remember vividly that I was walking down the hallway outside the ER. It was around 7am, and I just thought to myself, I love this. This is what I want to do. I want to be a doctor.

From that moment on, I was all in. The pre-med courses in college were not easy, but I got through them, and {I think} aced every one. Sophomore and junior year brought a lot of additional studying for the MCAT {the medical school admissions test}, and then, of course, all the time to actually apply and interview for medical school. It was a long, exhausting, expensive road, but in January 2005, I found out that I was accepted to Indiana University School of Medicine. All my hard work up to that point paid off, and I was actually getting the opportunity to become a doctor. 

graduating from Tulane, Louisiana Superdome, May 2005

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Next up: A Day in the Life of a Medical Student {warning: it involves A LOT of studying!!!}

Blog Update!

So, instead of getting something done around the house or working on my presentation for next week, I just spent the last hour adding a new tab to my blog.

See that second from the right? Here you will find all of our travels, and hopefully it will only keep growing! Go check it out!

Have a wonderful rest of your Thursday! Cheers to it almost being the weekend!

Last Chance!

Hey y'all! Just wanted to let you know that it's your last chance to enter my giveaway today! Don't miss out on these fun fall finds!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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I also wanted to let you know about a couple more Giveaways going on...

The first is at TenJune. She posted it today, and it goes through October 31. Enter to win a $350 prize pack to Shutterfly! I would love this to get some canvas prints from our Europe trip and maybe a photo book too!

The second is over at The Blonde Ambitions for a piece of statement jewelry!

Go check them out now!!!

Fall Cleaning {Oh How Pinteresting}

So, if you've been reading for any length of time {really, anytime in the last month or two}, you know that I, along with everyone else in blogland, have been super excited about fall. You can read a little bit about that here and here. Well, some of the not-so-fun parts of fall are changing out the closets and the need for deep cleaning the house. When I was on Pinterest the other day, I found a few good links that may have inspired me to do some cleaning {this is kind of a rare occasion, mind you}, and I felt like sharing them with you today.

Maybe they'll inspire you too!

Source: buzzfeed.com via Emily on Pinterest

use wax paper on your faucet to keep it from getting hard water stains

Source: buzzfeed.com via Emily on Pinterest

make a solution of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 dawn detergent for an easy daily shower cleaner

Source: buzzfeed.com via Emily on Pinterest

microwave your sponge to get rid of all those nasty germs! {i really, really need to do this!}

Source: buzzfeed.com via Emily on Pinterest

make your sink shiny again!

Source: buzzfeed.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: buzzfeed.com via Emily on Pinterest

You can find these and even more cleaning secrets here!

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And just because I think this is really funny....

Source: someecards.com via Emily on Pinterest

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If you're stopping by from the linkup, or if you haven't entered yet,

check out my fabulous fall giveaway!

It ends on Friday!

Have a wonderful day!

10 Day YOU Challenge {three films}

Happy Tuesday! Time to link up with Tiffany and Lauren again! This week's challenge is three films. Now I have no idea how I can choose just three movies...there are so many good ones out there! Instead of thinking too hard about it, I decided to go with the first 3 ones that came to mind...

{one}
Forrest Gump

I don't know how anyone could not like this movie. Tom Hanks is amazing in it, Little Forrest is just adorable, and the music is incredible. It is a wonderful story, and I'd watch it any time. I'll cry everytime too...the scene where Forrest is talking to Jenny's grave always brings tears to my eyes.

{via}

{two}
Apollo 13

Okay, so Tom Hanks just happens to be the lead in this movie too. Yeah, I'm a fan. Apollo 13 came out when I was in my I want to be an astronaut phase, and I still remember going to see it in the theater. This is another movie I'll always watch if it happens to be on TV. I cry in this one too.

{via}

{three}
The Hangover

Alright, so I'm changing it up a bit with my third choice. This movie cracks me up. Plain and simple. TJ and I noticed it was on TV the other night, so of course we had to watch some of it. Hilarious.

{via}

Rumor is, there's another one coming out in May 2013!

~~~~~

This link-up has been a lot of fun, and I can't believe there are only two weeks left! If you want to read my past posts, you can find them below:

My nine loves

My eight fears

My seven wants

My six places

My five foods

My four books

~~~~~

If you're stopping by from the linkup, or if you haven't entered yet, check out my fabulous fall giveaway!
It ends on Friday!

Europe: Day 7 {A French Wedding}

So, I clearly haven't gotten any better at posting our recaps more frequently...my last one was back on September 10. Oops. Well, I only have 2 or 3 left after this one, so I should be done by the end of October. Hopefully. ;)

Anyways, if you're new around here, my family went on a 10 day European vacation this past summer. We went to London, Paris, and Normandy, and it was amazing. As much as I loved Paris {and CAN'T WAIT to go back}, Normandy was my favorite part of the trip. Like I shared in this post about our first day in Normandy, the whole reason for planning our trip was for the wedding of our family friend. She got married on Saturday, June 30, and it was a wedding unlike any I've ever been to. 

We took advantage of Saturday morning and slept in a little before getting ready for the wedding. It was so nice to sleep in till 10am or so, especially since we had been going nonstop for the previous 6 days. We woke up to a hustling and bustling town...the main street in Trouville sur mer was full of people going to market and eating at the many cafes. We decided to just enjoy the view from our apartment.

The ceremony was held at the town hall which was just a few blocks' walk from our apartment. I wasn't sure what it would be like {I've never even been to a courthouse ceremony here in the States}, but I was surprised to learn that about half of French weddings occur at the Town Hall and half at a church. All the guests were welcomed into the room, and Marion walked down the aisle with her dad to a round of applause and cheers from all their friends and family.

I had a glimpse of Marion from my seat before she walked in...she was stunning!

from L-R: Marion and Ben {the bride and groom}, Perrine, and Robin {Marion's sister and brother}

You may kiss the bride!

showering them with love and confetti :)

Marie {Marion's mom} looked so elegant in her hat!

Marion beaming

After the ceremony, we walked along the beach with the bride and groom and their family while they got some of their pictures taken. It started to sprinkle a bit, but thankfully, they had bought a bunch of umbrellas for us to use.

We had an hour or so break after they finished with pictures and before the cocktail hour started back at their house. It was nice to relax a bit before a long night of eating and dancing!

my dad, brother, TJ, and me during cocktail hour

my parents

my mom with Marion and her grandmother...we hadn't seen her in many, many years, and it was so wonderful to see her!

After cocktail hour was over {it lasted 2-3 hours!}, we sat down to a delicious four course French dinner. The cheese and salad course {after the entree, before dessert} was amazing. The servers came around and gave each person a serving of salad, then another server came by with a cheese plate with at least 5 kinds of cheese. You pointed to which ones you wanted, and they cut off a big slice for you! Oh, and you can't forget about the endless amounts of French bread to eat with the cheese! Yum!

Why can't a salad and cheese course be standard in the States??

everything was in both French and English...I loved it!

placecard

table setting...look at all those glasses! we used every one too!

Mother and father of the bride....Love them!

time to cut the cake!

Now, since we didn't start dinner until after 9 o'clock, it was well past 11 by the time we finished! At that hour, most American weddings are wrapping up, but in France, the party was just getting started! We made our way back into the house where the DJ was all set up and put on our dancing shoes. Let me just say: I have never seen so much dancing for so long at ANY wedding I've ever been to. Some of the grandparents we there until 1 or 2 in the morning! I was so impressed!

Marion and Ben's first dance

Everyone was dancing with everyone else, the wine and liquor were flowing freely, and we danced and partied till the wee hour of 4 am! The bride and groom were still going strong then too! We were getting tired at that point, so we headed home. We found out the next day that the party wrapped up around 4:30, so we didn't miss too much. :)

Needless to say, it was the most fun I've ever had at a wedding {except for my own, of course}, and I hope that we get invited to the other kids' weddings too! It was a blast!

Next up: the post-wedding brunch! {a.k.a. A picture-perfect day in Normandy!}