Lorin's Baby Shower

Lorin's having a little girl soon! So, of course, we had to help her get ready to welcome little Mary Anita into the world! We had such a great time at Lorin's baby shower, and I had a lot of fun preparing for it. I made a few yummy treats and got all sorts of crafty. :) The shower was a luau theme sprinkled with pink items throughout.

We played some fun games including naming baby animals, guessing how big around the mommy was (it was really funny to see how much everyone over-shot that!), and a different twist on Bingo! Lorin got lots of really cute baby clothes and other fun things. I learned a lot about baby stuff from this experience. When I first went into the baby stuff store, it was so overwhelming! I didn't know where things were or mostly where to begin looking for them. It's a whole other world in there filled with practical, cute, and terrifying things. Overall, a super fun experience and shower!

Only 8 weeks left to go until there's a new tiny Lorin running around out there! Can't wait to meet her soon!!

Big Kid PT

It's a little weird being a Big Kid PT! I love being able to see patients on my own and documenting and then moving onto the next one instead of waiting around for my CI to check off on everything I say and do. I'm all independent and stuff. My work environment is great, too. Everyone is willing to help so when I have a question I don't feel embarrassed to ask or follow up about something. (That was an issue I had with one of my CIs. Didn't make for a very comfortable relationship.) I'm getting to do some wound care, too! Very happy about that. They have a very good and thorough mentoring process here, so I'll be "orienting" for another couple of weeks. And I get my first paycheck on Friday! Woo-hoo!! Very excited about life lately.

Here's a picture of the beginnings of my desk decor:

~ Dr. Mrs. Q

Kate's Bridal Shower

In the middle of study time, I took a few days'  break to help throw my sis-in-love her bridal shower! Kate's getting married August 27! So close!! And so exciting!!! She was so encouraging and happy and supportive throughout my wedding planning process and I'm so glad to be able to do the same for her. She definitely deserves it! :)

Kate's shower was princess themed! So fitting for her! Before the shower, we met at her house for some girlie time. Kate was so sweet to surprise us with a few gifts! We then hopped in the car and drove over to Lookaway Hall in North Augusta to get all set up.

The Shower was so much fun! We played some really fun games including a Disney princess trivia game and the TP wedding dress game, in which I got to be the other bride! (We were both the brides in this game at my shower! ha!) The food was so good that I got seconds!! Also extra yummy: the lemon-flavored cupcakes I made! Kate got lots and lots of really great gifts--she later said it felt like Christmas! :) It was such a great day filled with so much joy. I had a lot of fun planning it and being crafty and working on an event to honor her. I'm so excited that I got to be a part of it and am SO looking forward to every moment leading up to her big day! 5 weeks to go!!!!!!

Study, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

Boy am I glad I never have to do that again!! Probably the most bittersweet month of my life. I finally get to spend time with Tim and be married to him and enjoy being a newlywed, but instead I had to study. I'm not saying I was entirely productive all day every day, but it takes me so long to really learn something rather than just memorize it that I spent a LOT of time staring at books. So depressing. And all I wanted to do was play with my husband. :(

Voltron was my study buddy. He kept me company all day. Of course he was usually napping or trying (occasionally successfully) to distract me so I would play with him. I was very glad to have someone to interact with. It got really really lonely being by myself all day everyday.




I also rarely left the bedroom. It was so infrequent, in fact, that I started being a bit of a hoarder on my night stand. Snacks, pens, highlighters, beverages, Tylenol, you name it. Tim kept coming by and trying to organize it but I knew there was no point. He even joked that I needed a night table rather than a night stand for all my clutter.




And boy did my husband know how to keep me appropriately fueled! :)




And then it was time for the test. My awesome sis-in-love, Colleen, and her awesome husband were my hosts while I was in Columbia for the test. They fed me, talked to me, and left me alone when I needed it. So glad to has spent that night with them! After a few pep talks and words of encouragement from family and friends, it was bedtime.

The morning of the test, I was so nervous that I got sick. Twice. Never done that before and hope to never do it again. Then I tested. Then I did everything I could think of and made sure I always had someone with me or on the phone to talk to to keep my mind off of it. Tim and I went on a date that night. He even took me to see a chick flick! We saw "Something Borrowed." ( Very funny, btw!!)

That night, I couldn't sleep. So I read a book instead. My favorite romance author had released a book during my study time and I (obviously) hadn't had time to read it yet. I stayed up reading until 6, slept until 7, then woke up and checked the website over and over and over at least once per minute until they posted my fate at 7:30.





THEN, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep! I was on cloud 9. And it was a great day. Great great great. :) I even posted on Julia Quinn's website about it and she congratulated me! I crashed that night. Slept like a baby.



And last week I got my license in the mail!

Started work this week! More to come on that later!

Honeymooners

The day after the wedding we headed down to Port Canaveral for our honeymoon cruise! We went on the Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas to the Bahamas. We really enjoyed it! We made stops at Coco Cay and Nassau and spent the rest of the time at sea.

While on the ship, we spent our time sleeping in, eating, going for walks, reading, and napping. And I spent some time in the sun, while Tim hid indoors. :) A hard life, right? The food was great! We definitely took advantage of the room service, too. Tim kept making fun of me because I ate many times throughout the day... I had lost so much weight before the wedding from stress that I just told him I was making up for everything I hadn't eaten in the last month. The Captain's Dinner night, we got all dressed up (Tim even got in a suit!) and had a wonderful French meal! I don't remember all the specifics, but I do remember the dessert: a DElicious chocolate souffle!

On Coco Cay we went snorkeling! It was a little overcast, and the water was freezing!! But we still had fun and saw lots of pretty fish and coral. And then we layed out on the beach... by that I mean I layed out and Tim covered himself in towels. Ha. ;) We had lunch and headed back to the ship.

On Nassau we took a Forts and Pirates tour. We rode on a bus and got a tour of the island as we drove to visit two forts and then a pirate museum. It was really neat! And I got a fan for my collection. We learned a lot and had fun at the pirate museum. It was kinda like walking through the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disney.

Driving through Nassau was interesting.... Parts of it reminded me of driving through PR. It was kinda crazy seeing how some people live there, though. Especially the public water pumps and out houses. But other parts were so beautiful! The views were so great, the water so clear, the flowers and blooming trees... Beautiful!!

It was an amazing vacation. And an amazing honeymoon. Favorite part: getting to spend every minute of it with my sweet, wonderful, brand new husband! :)

A Charmed Life

Okay, okay. Cheesy title, I know but I couldn't help it. I thought my bracelet would be a good way to give an overview of the way my life has developed over the last few months. I got my Pandora bracelet a few months before the wedding, and have gotten a charm for each of the big happenings in my life.

Wedding: My first charm was given to me by my long time friend, Sarah. It represents the month of May, which is our wedding month! She gave it to me at my lingerie shower in lieu of lingerie, so it was definitely a surprise. I love it! And I think of her and everything leading up to the wedding every time I look at it. <3! 






Graduation: My second charm was a graduation present to myself: a graduation cap! I bought it the Monday before the wedding right after my sister got home. When I look at it I remember my classmates and all the ups and downs we shared together to get through the last 3 years. Definitely an accomplishment worth noting!





Married life: My third charm is my newlywed charm. It's fun and happy- how can purple butterflies be otherwise? Tim and I went to the mall to pick it out the week after we got back from our honeymoon. It reminds me of our honeymoon and everything since! Being able to spend all day together every day after so much craziness, and really for the first time ever, was and has been amazing. I've loved every minute of it and I just get more and more excited to continue to do so forever! I definitely smile every time I look at it.





Family: My fourth charm was a surprise gift from my cousin, Gema. She was such a blessing to have around before and during the wedding. We've always been close and even when we haven't talked in a couple of months or seen each other in years we always pick up like we have never been apart. She's like my sister. So it meant so much to get that from her. When I see it I think of not just her but all my girlfriends and how much fun we have and how sisterhood is shared between us. Love you girls! --you know who you are!! :)




PT!: My newest charm was a gift from my husband. I picked out a charm when I started studying for the boards that was going to be my reward for passing. It's called "The Journey" which I thought was really fitting. One day, after I had my first big test stress freak-out, Tim came home for work with it in hand. He said that he knew I would pass it anyway so there was no reason to wait to get it. I really have the best husband ever. He has been by me, supported me, held me together, and believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. I literally couldn't have made it through that journey without him by my side. And that's what I think of when I look at it- how lucky I am to have him in my life to go on our journey together.


A little out of order, but the honeymoon post will follow soon!

Reception

After taking some pictures with family and the bridal party, we entered the reception to celebrate the night away! Our first dance was to "The Way You Look Tonight." Tim and I had been taking dance lessons for months learning a foxtrot to this song. It's a good thing that we practiced so much, because we were definitely on autopilot on the dance floor! It was beautiful. And wonderful.

Afterwards, came the Father-Daughter dance to "What a Wonderful World" and the Mother-Son dance to "In My Life." We also had a couples dance to "God Only Knows." Everyone enjoyed dancing all night! We made sure there was a good mix of "American" music as well as Latin music. The most memorable dances/songs to me were "Thriller" - complete with a knife-fight scene with some of the groomsmen, "Cha cha slide," "We Are Family," and "Shout!" :)

My dad, Maid and Matron of Honor, and Tim's 3 Best Men made speeches. They were amazing. Crying was involved in at least 2/3 of them. Hearing the words of our best friends and family... It was a surreal and wonderful moment. I truly feel blessed to have them in our lives. And honored that they were a part of our wedding. Love you all!!!

We cut the cake, drank champagne, tossed the garter and bouquet, and danced some more! Tim and I also worked on some salsa dancing in our dance lessons, so you know my mom was going to get her dance with Tim! I loved seeing everyone and talking and hugging and laughing and everything! I loved that so many people were there to support us. As the night wound down, we started to say our goodbyes. Hugging and thanking our family and friends, I felt so thankful and grateful to each of them. Having everyone there really made the night that much more special. We danced the last dance to "I'll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts (yes, the "Friends" theme song!) and then Tim and I were on our way through a cloud of bubbles!

We spent our wedding night at the Partridge Inn, where the first order of business was eating the great food that we didn't get to eat at the reception and washed it down with more champagne as we talked about our magical day. We told each other what we did, pictures we took, people we spoke to, and everything that made our day the perfect wedding. It really was the perfect day. Even the little things that didn't go as planned just gave it that "us" touch with how we handled them. I loved every minute of it.

I got to watch our wedding video a couple of days ago. It was so great seeing it! As I watched it, I relived it. I even noticed mannerisms that I don't remember doing. It was so exciting seeing and hearing us say our vows to each other. It was a magical, happy, exciting, perfect, perfect, perfect day.