Scrap Afghan

I got the great idea to use up all my leftover yarn from Hooked on Needles. The stitch is a woven stitch and is so simple and quick!  This is all the yarn I had in greens and browns, and I almost wish I had more. I have some red and purple yarn, but haven't decided if I want to add it to this afghan, or start a second scrapghan.  Decisions, decisions.

Flowers

I wanted to share the beautiful surprise that Brad gave me earlier this week.  Aren't they pretty?  They actually came shortly after we heard the sellers accepted our offer.  He didn't buy them to celebrate, but they arrived just in time!

Workouts?

As you may have noticed this blog has been void of workouts as of late.  It started out as me taking  some time off over spring break. I actually started back up the following week, but then I felt the pressure of my exams and began cramming every minute of studying in that I could, and passed on my workouts.  On top of this "slacking," my foot has been bothering me for the past three weeks.  It hurt so bad that it kept me awake one night.  The Dr. said it was just inflammation, so I took this week off as well. Now that my foot feels better I am hoping to start working out again Sunday night, but we are having a birthday party that afternoon, so my workout depends on when we get home and how long we have company.  I really need to get back on track.

My name is Tricia, and I am a slacker.

We Bought a House!

Things have been a little crazy lately, or at least that is what it's felt like!  I had two exams and two quizzes this week so I have been busy preparing for them.  On top of that, we have been trying to buy a house.  We wanted to buy a couple of lots that were in town and have a modular home put on them, but that was turning into a huge hassle and was going to be a little more expensive than what we wanted.  We had already looked through all of the listings that were available, but we didn't see anything we liked and were just about ready to give up and wait till fall when some new houses came on the market. We were still pretty bummed out about the whole modular thing, but we decided to go look at a house in Arlington, a small town 15 miles west of where we live now.  As soon as I stepped into the house I knew I liked it.  It is a three bedroom two bath 2150 sqft home with two pretty good sized living/family rooms, an unfinished basement, an attached garage and a 30 x 40 unattached shop.  The back yard has some really nice landscaping and even has a patio.  The previous owners had made a few updates to the home, but it still needs a lot!  One room has red shag carpeting and the other has blue shag! The master bedroom, living and family rooms and the kitchen all have new flooring.  The kitchen isn't huge, but it has an island, which I love! and comes with all the appliances.  The basement needs a lot of work, but there is definitely potential in this house.  We talked about it for quite awhile and put in an offer last weekend and negotiated a bit, and found out on Tuesday that they accepted our offer!  I didn't say anything until now because I didn't want to jinx anything.  We have an inspection on Monday, and if everything goes well we will close on the 8th of May!!  This means I have to fit in a lot of packing somewhere in my busy schedule! 

I will take some pictures on Monday so you can see what lies in store for us. We are planning to remodel the bedrooms as soon as we move in.  Right now the master bedroom is not attached to the second bathroom, so Brad wants to tear down the wall between the master bedroom and the second bedroom and make the MB larger and incorporate the bathroom.  The second bedroom will then be shifted over into the third bedroom, and the third bedroom will be shifted into the living room.  It's going to take some time to do, but it will be worth it in the end.  I'm so excited to have a home we can call ours! 

Sigh of Relief

Since making the decision to only apply to PA school, I have felt sooo much better about everything.  I don't feel as stressed about this summer - buying a house, taking a CNA course all while trying to study for the MCAT.  I'm even getting excited about this upcoming application season, even though I have a slim chance of getting in.  I know it sounds weird, but I don't know as much about the application process as I do the med school process, so it will be a GREAT learning experience and I'm hoping I can at least get an interview.

My Stats:
Overall GPA - 3.69
sGPA - 3.89
Patient Care Work  Experience = big fat 0! hours (CNA course this summer)
Miscellaneous  experience - tons of shadowing, 3 years volunteering at Hospice, volunteering with Salvation Army, 2 years as a Wellness Champion, and my various work experience.  

I don't think my app is too shabby, just need to get that patient care experience and ace an interview and I think I'll be good. 

Soul Searching and Final Decision

Ever since I found out I didn't get into KU I have been debating about applying to PA school.  I eventually decided that I would go ahead and apply to both programs, and hopefully get into KU.  The reasoning for applying to PA as well was if I didn't get into KU, I would then focus my efforts on PA school. Well, after a lot of debating and agonizing, I have decided to pursue PA school over medical school. I know that I am very close to getting an acceptance to medical school, but if I had both offers on the table and had to choose one today, I would choose PA school.  It is two years versus SEVEN at a fraction of the cost and I will be able to do the same things a doctor does, with a few exceptions.  The initials behind my name are not the reasons I am going into medicine, so really, the decision wasn't a hard one after all. Plus, being a PA-C will actually allow me more freedom in the area and field I want to practice, and I will still make a very decent living. If my circumstances were a little different - if I was younger or single, then I would stick with the medical school track, but I have a family and that changes things.  It limits the schools I can apply to and most importantly, I want to be able to take vacations and spend time with them sooner, rather than later. I don't feel as if I'm "settling" on a career because I will still be practicing medicine and I know I will love it.  I am a little sad I won't be "Dr. White," but the name isn't important, it just sounds cool.  :o) I feel as if a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.  I am at peace with my decision. 


Now I get to go home and burn sell my MCAT review books.