Grad School Week 1

Week 1 is under way and going great. My first day was a lot of registration, orientation and waiting. We had to be on campus at the registrar's office at 8 am to sign a form. Then at 10 we had a school orientation. After lunch we broke up into our programs for orientation with our actual professors. Today, we had to be fingerprinted and had id's made. At 11, our first class began. Of course there was the syllabus overview and questions followed, but other than that, it was a pretty relaxed day. I am trying to savor my days of no reading, studying, and projects for as long as I can. I know they will be very short lived and are already very numbered. Tomorrow is my long day; 8-12 then 1-4. I am excited to get into the material! I may not feel so excited tomorrow, but we will see.

Happy Memorial Day

My grandfather retired from the Air National Guard. My cousin just enlisted in the Army. My brother-in-law is just finishing up tech school for the Air Force. My grandmother's husband was in the Navy. I hope that we all remember the reason for this three day weekend. It is not just an excuse for the banks to be closed. It is a remembrance of all those who have fought and died for us so that we may live in ignorant bliss as we walk where we want, live where we want, eat what we want, buy what we want, and live spoiled lives. I am so proud to be an American. Not because we always do the right thing, but because our servicemen and women choose to serve the millions of unknown Americans everyday and we almost never think of them. Today I would like to say thank you to all of those who are in the recruiter's office, waiting for boot camp, in basic training, in tech school, on active duty, in the hands of military hospitals, veterans, retired military, and those who have passed away giving up their lives for their countrymen. Thank you.

Back in the South At Last!

I am in Mississippi now. I left Reno, NV following my grandmother and her husband in an RV on Sunday morning. I arrived in MS Wednesday evening. It was a long drive, but every mile I drove, it was just another mile away from my love. But, I love the South. The only thing that would have made my day any better today would to have had my sweetheart by my side all day! Today I was very respectfully complemented by a complete stranger walking on campus who told me that my dress looked very good on me! A girl in Target talked out loud about not being able to find the kind of deodorant she wanted and we carried on a conversation about how a particular brand will have different styles of items depending on which store you go to. This is just one reason I love the South so much. Everyone, no matter where you are, is friendly and will talk to you. In the area of California I was, most people would have just as easily run over you with their buggy in Target than say hello. Today a receptionist in one part of the hospital helped me find another part of the hospital while smiling and she did not seemed to be bothered or too busy to help me. When I drive down the road, the trees are all taller than me and everything is so green. I love it here. I wish Trae was here too. And of course The Bella!

I Don't Want to be Without Him. Ever.

Trae and I spent our last full day together yesterday. It was glorious and at the same time, very very sad. I'm so ready to be out of California, but I don't want to leave without him. We didn't do anything yesterday except watch movies. It was a very typical of a day off for him, but also one of our favorite things to do together. We haven't talked about me leaving yet. No comments, no missing you already talks, no mention of it whatsoever. That is how we handle it I guess. The longer we wait to say anything about it, the longer it will be till it happens. I am very emotional today. I know we will be fine but we still don't like it and it is difficult to walk away. You would think that every time we have to go through this it would get easier. Well it does and it doesn't. The more times we experience it, the better we become at dealing with it. We know how to make it through each day now, we don't have to figure out how to handle being alone, we already know how to. I simply don't think about how long it has been since I have seen him or how long it will be until I see him again, I just know that I will talk to him that day and we will text non-stop. One day at a time is all I can handle thinking about. My mom does a good job at trying to keep me busy also. Trae plays a lot of golf with some friends out here and he and Bella go to the river a lot. There are also a few families we have befriended that have Trae over for dinner a few nights a week when I am gone. I know that helps him a lot. But on the other hand, we like it less and less and can only handle shorter spans of time apart than the previous trip. The very first time we had to be apart was during my internship my senior year of college. I was in Mississippi for 3 1/2 months and only saw him once. The longest amount of time we have ever been without seeing each other was about 12 weeks. The last time we were apart, and we finally got back to each other, Trae said he would never do it again. Yet, here we are getting ready to do it all over again, not knowing when we will even be able to be together on a daily basis. You do what you have to do, but in our case, we hate it. He says he doesn't do good without me. And I am just a mess without him. It seems to be getting more and more difficult.
I will begin packing all my things today. When I leave, there will be no sign I was even here. Since I will not be coming back out here, I need to take everything back with me. I know that the next 7 weeks will be a lot easier on me than on him. While I will be staying with my family when I get back to Mississippi, he will only have The Bella to come home to. I know I will at least be tolerable when I get to MS, but knowing that he is here by himself makes it harder also. He has to do it all by himself and I hate that. It is not fair to him to have to face this by himself every time. I don't know if I would be any good at all if I lived by myself while we are apart. I have always lived with my family so I don't know how it feels to face it everyday all alone. I know that being with somebody is the most important factor in keeping me focused and pushing forward. I pray that God will be ever present while I am gone.

Happy Mother's Day

Trae and I sent our moms flowers for Mother's Day. Since we are so far away from both of them, this was the best solution for us. We both love our moms so much. In honor of my mom, I would like to share a few reasons why I love her so much.
- She makes me laugh. Most of the time I am laughing at her because she does/says so many funny things on any given day.
- She is such a great sport about me giving her a hard time because of her funny moments.
- When I was little, laying my head in her lap, she would take some of my curls and brush them around and against my ear. At first she did it to give me a hard time and it bothered me. Now, it is one of the most relaxing sensations to me. I can get Trae to do it sometimes. I love it. Strange, I know!
- She had another child because I begged my parents for a sibling when I was young. At first I thought it was a mistake on my part, now my sister is one of my best friends.
- She taught me how to be a woman of character and faith; how to be an understanding sister, patient wife and efficient homemaker and loving future mother.
- She loves my Dad more than anything. I have been so blessed to watch their relationship only grow stronger as the years have passed.
- She is thoughtful; loving; selfless; not always graceful, but is always smiling; mindful of others' needs and feelings; and loves kids.
- She gives good hugs.
- She passed on her love of all things pumpkin.
So there is my mom. I love her so much. I wish I was there today to give her a hug. Happy Mother's Day Mumma! (LYABATS)

On another note, I made the best homemade biscuits today!! Recipe courtesy of Joy the Baker. You have to check out her blog. Delicious!

Party at My House!

Today Trae and I went to Costco to get ingredients for our Southern feast we are preparing for our party on Tuesday. On the menu is Jambalaya, corn bread, potato salad, collards, ham and black eyed pea fritters, and bourbon pecan pie! I am so excited. Everyone attending is from California so I hope we can prepare these delicious morsels in a way that will make our grandmothers proud and of course Paula Deen! Trae is very excited to share his Southern culture with all of our friends! Since our rental has only minimal adequate cookware, at best, for everyday cooking, we will have to borrow large cooking pots for this feast. Trae is on a 7 day off stretch. Which is really nice since I leave in 6 days.

31 Days of Giveaways

Over at Fantabulously Frugal, it is a veritable month-long giveaway spree. There are so many things she is giving away. Go check it out!

Driving Across Country

I have a plan! I start my trip back to Mississippi on May 16th. After much deliberation and plan changes, I finally have a date of departure for my drive across country. The original plan was for my sister to fly out on the 12th to ride with me all the way home. We would leave the next day and drive for 4 days till we made it. This plan allowed a few business days before the Memorial Day weekend to take care of anything school related before classes start. With the newest departure date, I will not have any such days, but this new plan works out best for all parties involved. Now, I will follow my grandmother and her husband who are driving by RV to MS for the holiday weekend. Trae does not want me to drive across the country by myself, rightfully so. So this new plan is great because it will be an easy drive but, it will not leave me any time to take care of business when I get there. But, I'm sure there will not be any business so pressing I can't take care of it the first week of school. I will miss driving with my sister, but there will always be other trips we can take together.

The Bella

I love her.

He Does It Anyway!

Lunch today is taco soup for Trae and everyone at the ER. Looked pretty good. Smelled pretty good too. I could not get an accurate taste however, because I burned my tongue this morning on my mocha. Oh well. I hope there is enough for Trae to bring home to me this evening. But if not, we have plans to grill out steaks again. The last steaks we grilled here were so good. Trae and I have an agreement that when out at a restaurant, I must always warn/remind him about ordering a steak for dinner. It never fails that when he orders a steak, he is disappointed and comments that we could have made a better steak at home, which is correct. But for some reason, he is always drawn to the meat and potato entrees at restaurants. As long as I remind him about his constant disappointment, he seems to be ok ordering it anyway. It makes me chuckle.
Random Monica Fact: I love donuts, but will never buy them for myself! (This has become a source of amusement at the ER. Sometimes, Dr's will bring donuts for the nurses in the am. I always enjoy one. Everyone jokes with Trae that he should text me that the donuts have arrived at the ER!)