Day 133

2 hour plane followed by 8.5 hour plane. A stay in a grungy hotel. An 8.5 hour bus ride. Check into an awesome hotel. Eat pollo a la plancha because all I have eaten is granola bars the past 24 hours. Off to the pyramids of the incas tomorrow!! Just wanted to let everyone know we made it safe.

Day 132

I am off!! Yesterday was a whirlwind of errands and packing/unpacking because it was my last day of clinicals. I am so lucky to have had the experience I had and I had wonderful instructors and coworkers who helped me learn along the way.  Maybe an orthopedic career is in my future?

Well I will not have a real computer for a week or so. Phone updates without pictures will have to suffice because I am headed to Peru!!!! I am a excited for this new adventure because I have been waiting for it for a long time.  Here's to safe travels and an adventure with good friends. :)

Day 127

Well! Last week there was so much happening! I took pictures and had a plan to post my pictures...and then a derecha storm hit and the power went out for a few days and life got hectic. The power is now back (Sunday), so I am going to list some of the things that happened this past week...pictures will follow as soon as I have more time on the internet...


Wednesday I gave my big presentation to the whole department on blood clots. It was a success and I only had one question..which I was able to answer. The only feedback I got was "slow down" but patients were coming in and the meeting itself went over a bit..so I was trying to save time. My bigger success was bringing my pretzel/hershey kiss/rolo/m&m bites. They were gone..including the container.

Wednesday Braxton and I also used up a Groupon to Dennis Vineyards in Albemarle. The wine was FABULOUS. We sat outside and drank some cherry wine with some complimentary dark chocolate. It was a great way to celebrate a belated anniversary and my almost-end to my visit in his hometown.

Thursday - the storm that left the city in darkness. Literally nobody but the hospital had power. There were power lines and trees down everywhere. It was probably the closest to a tornado I've seen in a LONG time.

Saturday was Braxton's gradma's 97th birthday! She was so beautiful in her little blue dress and is so happy at her new independent living apartments.

And today was Father's Day. Happy Father's Day Dad! I hope it was relaxing and your man cave looks great!

Day 120

Another weekend that flew-by fast! Only one more free weekend before my hiatus to Peru (yay!) but I assure you I will have many pictures to follow. Here is an abbreviated list of my weekend festivities:
1. Activities! Tennis, Bike Riding, Jogging, Walking...phew, I am exhausted!
2. Lunch with one of my best friends, Elissa! It is always like picking up where we just left off... I miss my girlfriends!
3. Seeing my baby brother! I am so proud of everything he is doing and his new-found dedication to his academia. Hat's off to you, bro.
4. Mother-daughter day at Gregory Winery - This was my mother's day gift which was so much fun! We got to go to a wine tasting, lunch, a free glass of wine, winery tour, and mini-makeovers from Mary Kay. It was so much fun to get out and catch up, because I don't get as much time alone with my mom as I would like. Anyways, we learned a lot about wine-making and found a cute get-away not too far from Durham.

Day 117

So! This week has had it's ups and it's down. I have had some good work-outs and some rainy work outs. Work itself is long, but I am really learning a lot! This week I learned how to do dry needling on myself. This technique is kind of like acupuncture but it uses longer needles because it actually penetrates the muscle. It works out trigger points and causes the muscle to spasm and relax. I was given the opportunity to try it on myself, NOT A PATIENT, and ran with it! It didn't hurt when it went in, but it did feel sensitive when it hit a knot in the muscle. I am only a little sore, but the muscle belly is nice and smooth now. I learn something new every day!

And this is sterling...trying to fit into a shoebox. He is too fluffy.

Day 113

Oh Boy! This weekend was so much fun! I can't believe I reached my milestone: 5 miles, 49 minutes 39 seconds, 19 out of 91 in my age group, top 30% of finishers overall. It was a great weekend and very inspirational to do more. It was great to see my grandparents and mom and have them cheering us on! It was nice to know that you had support out there cheering you on. After the race we went to Busch Gardens and visited Colonial Williamsburg. Overall, it was a fun-packed weekend and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

 We did it!

 Now time for Busch Gardens!

Hot and tired after a fun and packed day of training!