Burgers & bunnies

This is my layout for our "F" restaurant: Five Guys. They had good burgers.

This weekend, I don't have a patient in the hospital so I pretty much get the weekend off :) Hooray. My only responsibility this morning was walking the greyhounds. So I get the two ladies I'm responsible for leashed up and head out on our morning walk. The bunnies were out in full force...Once I reached the halfway mark, one particularly stupid bunny refused to move as the dogs stared, ready to pounce. Before I could tighten the slack in the leash the bunny decided it should indeed hop off - initiating the chase. Of course in proper comic book fashion, I was left hanging on the end of the leash as I belly flopped onto the grass after my shins came to a rapid stop at the 2 foot retaining wall the dogs jumped over. I never let go of the leashes... *Greyhound Fail* I dusted myself off and the 3 of us headed back toward the vet school. About halfway back, I realized my phone was missing...so I grumpily trudged back to the aforementioned retaining wall, retrieved my phone, and then walked the hounds back to their runs. I'm definitely feeling a bit achy after this escapade.


Peace and love, y'all

Cicadas and Radioactive poo

This is a year of the cicada so the trees are just crawling with them! So I whipped out my zoom lens and tried to snap some shots...occasionally pausing to flail and hit at my hair. Speaking of hair...I got a wild hair and had mine cut short again :) I like it short.

Right now I'm on my oncology rotation and I love it. I know it really sounds quite depressing dealing with cancer on a daily basis...but only the most dedicated of owners come here and only really awesome animals get chemo and radiation. One funny thing that happened involved one of the dogs recieving a radioactive chemical to help treat his cancer. Well the poor fellow isn't allowed outside for 48 hours while the radioactive thingy decays, so he was put on wood shavings for his visit. On his final day, we had to given him a bath. We were decked out in plastic jump suits, face masks, hair nets, double gloved, and double plastic boots..and wearing a bright yellow apron. The bath went well, but as soon as I set him on the ground...he POOPED. So I had to call the head hauncho to find out how to dispose of the poop. Basically I just put it in a trash bin radioactive material and taped off the area with orange plastic. It was such a funny situation. Luckily nobody got any radiation :)


Today was glorious! I woke up late, trudged over to the oven and threw some cinnamon roles in, walked the dogs while they were cooking, and returned to a nice cup of joe w/ cinnamon rolls to share with my husband. Then I went to a BeautiControl party for fask masks, mini manicure and peticures :) After that I was feeling like shopping - so I headed off ot the mall and got a hair cut and my eyebrows done. HOORAY for being out of the dungeon and HOORAY for free weekends. I only had to go in for 1 hour to walk 3 dogs. So... my smile has returned in full force! Sorry for the whiny posts earlier.


Peace and Love, y'all

Life, Death, and the Veterinarian

Today euthanasia has been heavy on my mind. I've heard people tell me they could never be a veterinarian because they could never euthanize an animal. Euthanasia is tough...and I hold back tears every time, but I truly believe it's the best option in some cases. After all, when you have an animal who is suffering...who won't even get up to eat or drink because of the pain... how can you prolong its suffering especially if you believe its disease process is terminal? It breaks my heart to leave an animal to suffer just for the sake of prolonging its life.


Anyway.... I'll move on to more cheerful Saturday ramblings. It doesn't feel like Saturday. I was at school for most of the morning, did on paper work for a couple of hours while intermittently napping, and now I'm contemplating cleaning my disaster of an apartment. I have to say I'm ready for Wednesday to get here when I start a new block. I haven't cooked a real dinner in weeks and any sense of nutrition has died... Today I ate three donuts...the first because I was hungry, the second because it was different from the first, and the third because I was sad to be stuck at school (and depressed about one of my cases). They were quite tasty :) Then I had a bowl of cereal, two egg rolls, and a bowl of strawberries for my dinner/lunch.

Plans for the week:
-CLEAN the house!!!!
- Study for Surgery exam
-Study for anesthesia exam
-finish loads of paper work regarding my current patients
-Sunday: 8am-8pm work Equine ICU
-Monday: on call
-Tuesday: Work ICU until 12:30am
-Wednesday: 6:00 care for current patients and transfer to new students. 7:30am Orientation of Oncology! NEW BLOCK!!! And the good news is Oncology patients usually go HOME, and so I MIGHT get a weekend off! HOORAY! I <3 sleep.

Kites, corndogs, tornadoes in a veterinary hospital...and hope

Credits are of course in my Sweet Shoppe Gallery.


This has been a rather challenging block for Chase and I. He's working on a paper, and I'm stuck working with ill-fated, 1200lb animals with hard hooves. I love my primary patient (most of the time), but I'm ready to get to a block where I'm working with dogs and cats again. I'm tired of the on-call and late night ICU shifts...colics and broken legs...and the poop. ANYWAY...enough whing... how about something fun!

A friend and I recently went kite flying just for the sheer fun of it. We had a blast and it brought a bit of joy back into my step. Kites will always be a sign of hope for me now. This last Christmas, Chase prayed to see a sign that everything was going to work out alright in the form of a kite. What did we see on the way to the hospital, but a bright red kite caught in a tree! So that's what I think of when I see a kite. On another note, I prayed for corndogs and mac and cheese for lunch at the Zou yesterday (since I was feeling really stressed with the day). Sure enough, we had just that as the daily special. I know those two examples sound perfectly silly, but when specific (albeit silly) prayers are answered so specifically...I can't help but smile and thank God for the many blessings he's poured out on our lives. Even if Chase and I have some struggles coming up in the future (with careers and whatnot), I know God will see us through.


Today was surreal. I performed anesthesia for an elective procedure on horse this morning...went straight into the hall to take shelter immediately after the fellow was recovered and in his stall. The tornado sirens were on full alarm. What happens at a veterinary teaching hospital during a tornado? Well all 100 students + current clients + patients who are able + clinicians pile into the basement level hall and take cover. It was a zoo! There were students with their precious patients in their arms and nervous looking clients everywhere as clicians tried to finish their examinations in the hall! Luckily no tornado touched down in Columbia, and all animals made it safely back to their crates. As soon as that was over, I rushed in to perform anesthesia on an emergency colic. What a day! I just got home to eat two egg rolls, pile my soiled scrubs into the washer, and take a shower! And the whole crazy cycle will start anew tomorrow morning.

Please pray for Chase as he struggles with his pHD.



Peace and love, y'all. Stay safe with the stormy weather!

The Joy of Nature

These pictures are from last weekend. It was a beautiful trip and I'm enjoying revisiting the pictures. Today I'm feeling a bit run down from all the ICU and on call shifts. I'm so dang tired. I feel like this is the first night off I've had in awhile, and I just can't bring myself to study. Hopefully I'll sneak through rounds tomorrow... I'm on call tomorrow...working ICU on Wednesday until 12:30am...and then I'm on call EVERY FREAKING DAY of the weekend...Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Talk about drawing the short straw... Anyway, the moral of the story is...I'm done with this block emotionally.. BLEH. So ready for the next thing.


Anyway, I wish I had more time to enjoy the beautiful spring, but I'll take what I can get! Enjoy these pictures.... peace and love, y'all

Countdown to graduation (or at least I think what time it will be)....11months, 25 days, 16 hours, and 10 minutes.

Sneaky Chase and Katie

These are both for "big sis"

Chase and I went hiking today, and we came upon a curvy stretch of trail that ran through tall grass. So we made our best sneaky faces and took pictures!

I'm currently on the graveyard shift in Equine ICU. Yay for late nights/early mornings......yup...y a y.

A layout!

I made a layout that I'm really fond of! I entered it into a CT contest. Haha, I doubt I'll make it, but winning the 10 gift card (drawn at random) would be AWESOME! If by some miracle I do end up on her CT, the requirement is 1 layout a week. I think I could do that. It might be really difficult during my surgery block...but that's not for weeks. And besides...you have to have a little fun!

This is a picture of all the little ribbons I left for Chase listing 100 reasons why I love him. Some of them are quite silly ^_^ Credits are over at Sweet Shoppe...and DST.

Ugh...too bad I have school tomorrow. I have ICU duty until 12:30 am tomorrow. It's going to be a long night! Next Saturday I have the 8pm to 8am shift...another long night! Yucko...yuck..yuck. I can't wait to get out of school. I'm never working an overnight shift! And I'm never going on call again! Unless...of course...I'm paid very well for it....VERY WELL.


Oh...well time for bed.

Saturday W/ Good Inentions

Today I'm on call. Of course I've got my fingers crossed all horses in our service area stay happy and healthy this weekend. Equine is going much better now. I finally got a patient of my own and I'm much more motivated to learn about equines now. I love working with clients and caring for MY patients, but babysitting someone else's patient is less motivating. My clincian said I was doing really well writing SOAPs. SOAPs are annoying to write, but so important! They are what protects you in the even of a lawsuit, and allows another doctor resume the same quality of care if you get transferred off the case. VERY important.

I'm finally getting around to that deep spring cleaning. Chase vacuumed and dusted while I put away all the miscellaneous out-of-place items that accumulated over the week. I'm still struggling to keep up with housework. Oh well. Yesterday I gave Ruby a bath, and today both dogs got their heartworm preventative. Guilty confession: I think I averaged giving it every other month this last year. BAD vet-to-be! BAD!! What's worse is drug reps provide it for free. No excuses for me! I'll check them for heartworms after graduation. When I do graduate, how crappy would it be if my first heartworm positive patients were my own two lovely dogs! Please be better about giving it to your own dogs! Heartworm disease can be life threatening...and it's very expensive to treat.

So as long as I don't get called in... here are my plans for this weekend!

-Vacuum CHECK
-dust CHECK
-shampoo the carpets and get dog-vomit stains up. - CHECK
-Swaps to make ATCs for: Baliwood Brides and French Maids - 1/2 CHECK
-conquer the guest bedroom (I've just kept the door closed and ignored its existance since I got back from TX) - CHECK
-put away all dishes - CHECK
-cook dinner (hopefully it will turn out better than yesterday's margarita salmon dinner...) -CHECK (frozen pizza was indeed better than the salmon)


I suppose it's time to turn off Extreme Makeover Home Edition and get going! You know...as they are revealing the bedrooms, I can't help but thinking the children will grow out of these heavily themed rooms very quickly. Maybe they should make their rooms a little bit more growable... Children aren't going to want to live in a pirate ship forever. But it's awesome for now ^_^

Peace and love, y'all.

Diversions in the Sunshine

I had such great intentions today for spring cleaning. Indeed I did accomplish some of my to do list: fixing my head light, mailing a letter, planting the flowers... Most of my day was spent with Chase enjoying the spring (spending time with the hubby is more important than cleaning anyway). We went to our favorite birding haunt: Eagle Bluffs. Here are some pictures from our adventure:

This was my favorite photo of the day: a solitary sandpiper we saw as we were driving out of the park.

Everything is starting to turn green.

Recent Layouts, Saturday Plans, and Spring Cleaning!

I've been steadily working on some scrapbooking layouts (trying to earn my 40% off coupon at Sweet Shoppe). It's doesn't look like I'm going to make it again.... OH WELL! Credits for these are in my Sweet Shoppe gallery if you're curious what I used to make them ^_^

It's a lazy Saturday morning...I'm watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, drinking a cup of coffee, and messing around on the internet during commercials. The dogs are literally snoring peacefully.

I don't plan on sitting on my rear all day though. I watched a youtube video on how to replace a headlight light bulb, and I intend to accomplish that feat later today. Surely a budding veterinarian can change a light bulb... It can't be more difficult than surgery right? Right...

-finish picking up house
-vacuum
-shampoo carpets
-plant seeds
-change light bulb in headlight
-record spending in spending journal (i'm way behind...)
-finish shredding monstrous stack of junk mail
-study some Equine medicine
-mail a long overdue art recipe for someone
- Art time!!! (if there's time after all that...)


Peace and Love, y'all

Passover Seder

Chase and I hosted a Passover Seder today. This is a Jewish tradition meant to celebrate Passover and teach children about the Lord and the great things He has done. Each year Jewish families spend the week before this cleaning and removing all the yeast (a symbol of sin) products from their homes. For Christians, this is a time to remove the "leaven" from your life - confess and repent.

⁷ Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8, New International Version, ©2011)

What's the leaven in my life now? I'd have to say it's a bad attitude (which is really a lack of faith in God's goodness). So some cleaning of the leaven needs to occur in that area of my life now.

Jesus celebrated this meal with His disciples. So tonight we too ate the matzah (unleavened bread - 3 for each figure of the Godhead), karpas (parsley dipped in salt water - the tears of the Israelite slaves in Egypt and the drowning of the Egyptians), maror ( the bitter herb - bitter life of the Israelites in Egypt), Kharoset (sweet apple-honey-nut mixture - remember the sweetness of the hope of redemption), and the 4 cups of wine (or grapejuice). Hopefully we were all reminded of the Lord's great kindness through his sacrifice on the cross, and inspired to remove the leaven from our lives!



Love and Peace, y'all

Equine Medicine Day 1: The Pink Boots Retire

The horsey case load at school is very small at the moment. I have to admit that I find relief in the slow pace. Horses are just not my thing. Sure they are beautiful creatures to watch, but I'd prefer them to be someone else's problem. They are just too dangerous for my taste. Ways to die on equine rotation include but are not limited to: kicked by hind limbs, trampled by front limbs, bitten, squished by collapsing horse, squished by kicked in door, hit by projectile sent into motion by horse, squished against wall by neurologic horse...like I said...not my cup of tea. I had to retire the pink boots for this block...I used them through food animal and pathology, but the pink color is unacceptable for this one. So I was asked to wear a more conservative color in the future. Despite my disinclination toward horse medicine and lack of cheerfully pink boots, I'm putting on my smiley face and putting forth my best effort. 6 weeks will go by quickly!

Who I want to be in the future

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. "

Proverbs 31: 10-31

That passage has been on my mind a lot lately as I prepare to finish up my academic career and enter the work force. Chase and I (and numerous other people) have been praying about our future jobs...Where will they be? Where should I start looking? The challenge is there is an abundance of veterinarians and a scarcity of veterinary jobs in the area around Columbia. However, Chase is unlikely to finish his degree by May 2012, and doesn't know where he will find a job after that. So I don't know where I should look for a job. My last 6 weeks of school ended up being a break, so I'm done in less than a year. This weekend, a LR vet reiterated that I have job in his clinic if I want it..and he would help me find a job anywhere in Arkansas. An answered prayer? We've talked about going ahead to LR and working while Chase finishes up his degree, but we would both be sad to spend so much time apart. I am confident it will all work out for the best in the end, but there are a lot of uncertainties regarding the future now.

I had a wonderful time visiting my family! Thank you!


Peace and Love, y'all

Layouts of my Texas Adventures

Credits are over at the Sweet Shoppe gallery.

We never did find poor Bumper a home!

Our original quest for bluebonnets failed, but we found some on the way to Dallas (when we weren't really looking).



I may eventually fix the title on this page. I was too tired to do a real title. It's easy to just type it!

My Fabulous Family

We completed our "lightning tour" of Dallas over the weekend - visiting Frank and Louise at their new house. What a blessing my family is to me! It's been such a joy staying in Texas and visiting my family.

Houston Rotation

Papa have ventured to Texas to visit our Houston family. We stayed at the lake house for a weekend, and then I started a preceptorship. Hopefully I'm doing well.



I still make my dad take the fish off the hook for me.

Papa has been enjoying himself :)

All the little notes I left for Chase when I left for my Houston rotation :)

Lazy Days Off

My game for Cardiology "Shunts and Ladders" - a trivia game regarding Patent Ductus Arteriosus

Irish Tea Cake :)

This is corn. But I thought it was oddly beautiful.

Chase and I went birding, and I made him set up the tripod for a picture of us. The scenery was just too pretty.



The snow is pouring down today. Juncos, goldfinches, house finches, and occasionally a red breasted nut hatch are hopping around our deck, pecking at the seeds Chase put out for them.

Thursday I leave for my "Texas Rotation," and leave poor Chase to fend for himself in the snow.


Plan for the day:
-Get oil changed in car
-clean the apartment (it's acutally already clean...but there's always something to clean)
-avoid looking at the adoptable children websites (because there's nothing I can do right now, and it makes me cry)
-cook dinner
-master the scone (attempt #2)
-read more books
-update my resume and print for upcoming trip...
-Read bible and pray (especially for Japan)
-stare at the birds while drinking coffee...
-work on my secret plan
-work on digital scrapbook
-Inventory the kitchen (ugh...so much food we don't use/remember buying)


^_^

The Half-Dead Duck

I finished my cardiology block last week. As I walked away from the vet school on the last day of that block, I had a sense of satisfaction in knowing that I put in my best effort. There's nothing like the satisfaction of doing a job well done. I loved the clinician we worked with, and I loved my classmates. I also loved my clients (but I always love my clients). Dr. Fine said I should consider doing an internship (the step before doing a residency to specialize). I thought about it, but I really just want to be a regular veterinarian. I want regular hours and regular clients. :) I'm not sure I even want to own my own practice. If you do an internship without going through a residency, "they" say you loose $50,000 just because of the lack of a substantial salary and the fact that your loans are accruing interest. You're better off just taking a cut in pay for the first year at your first job in exchange for mentorship. So my clinical experience so far has been A, B, A, A :) I was a mediocre student in the class room, but it's really important to me to be exceptional in clinics. After all, I want to be a darn good vet (even if I only want to work part time in someone else's clinic).

So what have I been doing with my free time? Well...I've been reading books, cleaning the apartment, taking the dogs on walks, sleeping, cooking, playing the Wii, and watching anime :)


Book:
The Hidden Art of Homemaking - Edith Schaeffer
This little gem of a book discusses simple ways to make where you live a home. As children of God, we all have creativity. No matter where we live, our lives will be enriched if we take the time to incorporate this creativity in our every day lives. It's a book that's best read in small doses and ruminating over the passages. Mrs. Schaeffer has helped me to change my attitude about the little apartment where we live. I've been lusting after a "real home" but I need to be content with the many blessings I already have. Let me share an excerpt that pierced my heart and nailed my bad attitude at its root.

It makes an enormous difference if someone creates an environment for you to live in. One person sleeps half the day, gets up looking like a half-dead duck, drags around with eyelids scarcely open, slurping coffee and leaving a mess all over the newly polished sink, leaves the bed unmade and a week of clothing in a heap or the bed, heaves a sigh and moans about what a drag life is, then prepares to sit and philosophize while you work. What is the effect of this on you? Surely, you begin to feel tired, discouraged, irritated,frustrated and hopeless. Your own energy begins to ebb away. You decide to put off the rush of getting your article written. After all, you might as well go out for a walk. And so one wasted, ugly life infects another.

A second person gets up when the alarm goes off, or soon after,puts water on for the tea or coffee and helps to get breakfast, takes a bath and dresses so cheerily that you feel the sun must be shining and have to look again to realize the sky is still gray, makes his bed and clears things up so that you feel the urge to get to work soon, tidies the living room so that it looks better than it had been left the night before, and talks with an awareness and enthusiasm that gives you inspiration for your article and you feel there will be no doubt about getting it finished in time. Both have pitched into work before the hope-for starting time, feeling a surge of accomplishment and energy that seems to multiply the time instead of wasting it.

I really want to be the second person and not the half dead duck.

Other books:
-God, Greed, and Money - for YP Sunday School.
-The Millionaire Next Door - because I need to learn how to manage my finances...

Anime:
Clannad and Clannad Afterstory
I watched this series from start to finish. It's an endearing slice of life tale about a shy, sickly high school girl and a pessimistic, self labeled "delinquent" who develop an unexpected friendship. The theme is family - the ups the downs, broken hearts, pain and loss, and forgiveness. The first series is a pretty typical high school anime, but the second season is an absolute tear jerker as the two main characters graduate and start life as a married couple. It's not the best anime I've seen, but it was a good one.

Well...I guess I have to go be person number 2 now and combat the half-dead duck that I am now :)

Peace and love, y'all!


Ps - Chase informs my blog is ridiculously slow to load b/c of all the huge pictures. So I'm going to *try* to remember to shrink them first from now on.

A Recipe Card, economics, and job hunting

Here's a recipe card I made for someone at ATCsforALL :)


We're starting a new book in YP Sunday school called Money, Greed, and God. This last Sunday was the very first day of the study and was merely an introduction to what we'd be discussing. We spent the first 30 minutes discussing how economics affects every aspect of your life: where you live, what you eat, when/if you have kids, all relationships, how much free time you have, EVERYTHING! So I left the class feeling remarkably depressed and worried about the future. The main worry on my mind now is finding a job where Chase is...ie close to Mizzou. The simple truth is...there are no veterinary jobs here...or even within 2 hours of hear. So it seems like my only option will be to move away and leave Chase here to finish up his doctorate...and then post doc. Having a distance engagement was no fun...and I can only imagine what a distance marriage will be like. And of course, my troubled mind wonders if Chase wants to work here forever..will we never be able to live and work in the same city again? With 120 new graduate veterinarians coming from Mizzou a year, it seems unlikely that a job will ever be open for me here. My loan repayment will be nearly 2K a month to pay off my student loans in 10 years...not working is NOT an option for me. I know these things tend to work out in the end, but it's hard to think about right now. I know I just need to focus on the task at hand, and do my best to develop into the veterinarian I want to be. It's so easy to let worries of the future drown out the joy of today.

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34