The Final Countdown

Well, we done did it. After 4 years of blood, sweat, tears, and a few laughs as well - they let us graduate. Of course then they sent us right back to work, but the promise of an end is there. I have a diploma. We are almost grown up doctors now.

Which means I have 5 days of work left. Five. That is such a bizarre concept to me. This job has been virtually my entire life for four years, and now it is all boiled down to five days. Five. And they are going to go fast. Oh sure, there is PLENTY of working left in my future. A whole new job to start in August in fact. And let's not forget the money pit of a house that I have committed myself to and the goats . . . oh yes there will be plenty to do! Still . . . I'm just a bit frazzled by the change. Don't get me wrong - I am SUPER excited to be through this phase in my life. All the same, I am just a little scared about being a grown up. All of this schooling has meant that I was able to push that off for the longest time . . . now here it comes!

But I am going to finally finally have my very own house, I am going to get a WHOLE month off to relax and recover, Sophie is coming at the end of the month to play with me (hurray!), and I am planning on a trip sometime soon to meet baby Ryan, and baby John (aka the Colonel) will be joining us in the fall. There are so many things to look forward to! It's gonna be great, just wait and see . . .

Turtlewoman

"Vacation"

First of all, don't ever read your work e-mail while you are on vacation. It is a stupid, compulsive thing to do and it can pretty much only end in you feeling bad about something you should have done or shouldn't have done. So learn from my mistakes, and just leave your work e-mail alone when you are not there.

Next, here is what I have done on my vacation so far: 

- cleaned the barn (twice)

- sheared all 7 "big" angora goats

- trimmed hooves on all 17 goats (thats 68 hooves)

- helped clean up the yard (which still needs a ton of work . . . every day as the snow melts more, more crap appears in the yard to clean up)

- moved my mom's office back downstairs (it was upstairs in anticipation of Nana coming home and needing a place to sleep downstairs; now that Nana is never coming home the office can go back where it started)

- done the dishes/emptied the dishwasher about 10 times (my roommate will never believe this)

- done about 6 loads of laundry (I can't believe this)

- helped feed/water the animals and/or put them away pretty much every day

- helped cook dinner and/or clean it up most nights

- gone to the dump

- run errands around town for my mom's business

The funny thing is that I don't do any of that stuff in my own home right now (well, once in a while I do laundry . . . .), so it is really funny that I am spending my vacation doing it in someone else's home. 

But it isn't all work. Today I took a nap, started the malabrigo square, played a board game with my siblings. Yesterday I met my friend Sarah for lunch. Yum. Red Onion Pizza and mozzarella sticks. An old fave.

Tomorrow it is back to work. My brother and Sarah's dad Gary fixed the tractor, so tomorrow I plan to spend the whole day hauling poopy hay out of the front yard back into the woods. 

The great news is that it has been sunny every day, with temperatures ranging from 50-75. And here are no tourists around because it is mud season here in the hicks. So it is actually a pretty decent time to be here.

Okay, enough ranting for one night. I was laying in bed having an anxiety attack and needed to do something to work it out. Typing seemed like a good bet . . .

Good night!

Love,

Turtlewoman

A Change of Pace

Well, I am on vacation! A few days earlier than expected and not exactly what we had planned, but still . . . I am not at work. =-) So it still constitutes a change of pace. And the sun is shining and the goats and geese are marvelling at the disappearing snow (yes, there is still snow), and things are looking up.

Vacation started a bit early because my mom got appendicitis yesterday and needed a laparotomy. So now she is recovering in the hospital and my sister and I are hanging out with her. Right now is nap time . . . I was napping too but dad wanted me to wake up and fix the computer so here I am.

How about that modern technology? My dad can now comandeer my mom's computer over the network and watch her sleep in her hospital room from his camper in Phoenix. Times have certainly changed.

Well, maybe more posts about the rest of life later this week. Mom is doing well, just typical post-op recovery.

Love,
Turtlewoman

Best. News. Ever.

Sophie is coming.


Did you hear me?

I said SOPHIE IS COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, it's true! And we are going to have an awesome time when she gets here. And yes, I pretty much screamed out loud at work when I found out. Work is pretty used to me acting crazy, so barely anyone noticed. But this has definitely made my February (and she's not even coming until July). =-)

Okay people, look alive, we have some planning to do! But I am thinking that one possibility (and this of course depends on what Sophie, Bart, and Lila want to do while they are here) would be to have a road trip to TKE on the way to a sleep over BBQ party at camp on Orr's Island. I'm thinking Caitlin, Garth, Chesley, Peter, and short ones might all wish to participate in such an affair . . . and maybe others. Who's with me?

Can you feel me smiling? I don't think I've been this happy since I left Peru . . .

And for those of you that read this and don't know who Sophie is . . . I'm not sure that's even possible . . . but just in case . . . Sophie is my soul sister. She is Dutch so she lives in the Netherlands with her family. But she went to college with me here. Since neither one of us gets to cross the pond all that often, it is super special that she is coming to the US. I think this will be the first time in something like 5 or more years??

So sing it from the rooftops! And get ready to party - Big Green Style.

Love,
Turtlewoman

It's Official . . .

http://www.stmarysmaine.com/

(I have a job.)

Penguin Playland!

Last weekend was GREAT! I finally finished knitting Will's penguin:

I think he turned out really pretty well. It was a pretty easy knit. The hardest part was sewing the pieces together. Then I felted him (took 3 cycles in the washer), dried and shaped him, stuffed him, and needle felted the eyes. Then I took him with me to Boston for the annual winter gathering of the Power Science Girls (PSG's) and associates. Will thought he was pretty cool for a few minutes, gave him a nice hug, and then quickly abandoned him for a paper bag and two boxes of tea. I wasn't offended since I recognize this as perfectly normal 16 month old behavior. It got a hug, so that is pretty much the Will Seal of Approval. We took Will and Baby D to see the Penguins at the Boston Aquarium. Baby D slept through most of it, but Will had a great time. Here he is in the gift shop at the end, surrounded by penguins - doesn't he look happy?

Well you might actually say he looks pretty serious, but hey, he is trying to figure out how to get his parents to buy him that styling penguin roller suitcase/backpack (or he is trying to figure out which one of those penguins is the attack penguin - see sign). All it took was him to walk the full length of the store pulling the suitcase and smiling. They were sold. And we won't tell anyone this, but if they hadn't bought it for him I think I probably would have. I just couldn't resist. :-)

At the end of the excursion, Baby D woke up and was in excellent spirits. I even caught a smile on the camera!

Okay, well, Debbie is smiling anyway. Dylan was smiling about two seconds before this (and again about two seconds after), but he really likes to play the serious card for the camera. Trust me, he was happy. Well rested, well fed, and happy!

We spent the rest of the weekend gabbing about life, babies, work, fun, the Patriots (go Pats!), college memories, job propositions, and anything and everything else under the sun. We played Apples to Apples (I didn't even come close to winning). Then Megan, Paul, and I headed up to the farm Sunday for a few nights. We played with the baby goats, watched movies, did some knitting (I finished another pair of mittens) and generally had a good time.

Now it is back to work as usual. I was really depressed the first morning back. I even practically started crying. But now that I have delivered a few babies I am back in the swing of it and happy again. I am probably going to sign a job contract this week and that is VERY exciting. I am starting to think ahead to house buying, moving, living with my cat again, and starting a new job/life. It is a little scary and overwhelming, but incredibly fun and exciting too. I will have to keep you all posted.

Love,

Turtlewoman

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I am working today, but this has given me yet another chance to put things into perspective. At first I was really sad to be away from my family today. Don't get me wrong, I love and miss my family and I am still sad . . . but then I went up to see one of my patients. Her kids are opening their stockings in a hospital room because she is too sick to go home. And this will almost definitely be her last Christmas with them, so they are actually grateful even though their Christmas is far from ideal. And as much as I miss my family today, at least I know they are all home with each other, safe, sound, and relatively healthy.

So as you enjoy your day, stop and take a minute to say thanks for all the blessings in your life.

I am giving thanks today for all of you!

Love,
Turtlewoman