Hello Faithful Readers!

My apologies, but this month’s blog post may be a bit of a disappointment. To be completely honest, I have absolutely no photos to share or funny stories to tell because I have just been so incredibly busy with school this month and haven’t done much of anything other than hang out around the house and study! That said, I’m really not complaining because I have always liked school and the challenge of learning something new, but, let me just say, this semester has been a DOOZY! I am taking both chemistry and biology and, considering I have never, EVER taken a chemistry class and have only taken the non-major version of biology (a/k/a environmental biology), my classes are going really, really well and, much to my surprise, I am really, REALLY enjoying chemistry and all those crazy formulas and even that insane math! Biology, on the other hand, has been more of a struggle, but I just passed my mid-term exams with flying colors! Whoo-hoo! I got an A+ on each exam, including biology!!! Medical school, here I come!

Anyhoo! Even though I’ve been studying my butt off, I have also made a conscious effort to make (and take) time for myself and squeeze in a bit of fun! Dan and I have celebrated a birthday with friends in Santa Fe, gone to the Cars 2 movie premier with an adorably cute four-year old, and helped plant a beautiful little flower garden at Dan's parents' house. We also had a fajita fry with my parents and helped them do a little turtle wrangling in their back yard. Yes, turtle wrangling! My parents have already found 10 baby turtles this year!!! My friend Amy and I have also been getting together at least once a week for “girl time” and we’ve just recently inducted a new member to our all girl club - Amy’s exuberant, eight-year old daughter Katie! In addition to redecorating their entire living room, the three of us have made pretty little foam flowers and painted sun catchers, whipped up two or more pitchers of homemade root beer and one batch of homemade vanilla ice cream, roasted several ginormous marshmallows on the fire bowl in the backyard, and played a ton of board games, as well as a bit of We Cheer, Party Pigs, and Raving Rabbids on the Wii. The three of us have also managed to sneak in a couple of shopping trips, a very tasty lunch or two, and a quick trip to the swimming pool! Fun, fun, fun! Thank you, Katie, for being such a good friend, for sharing your Mom with me this summer, and for finding the absolutely most perfect breakfast tray for the ottoman! You have such a good eye and excellent taste! You are also an awesome starfish! Thank you for inviting me to see your end-of-the-year play, “Go Fish,” at your school this year. You and your class did a great job!