Oahu - August 2011

It started like this...

him: I need a vacation.

me: I really wanna go to the beach.

So while I studied, he began scheming what we could do. We thought, let's keep it simple and get a quick getaway to California while I have 1 week off school in August. After looking into some things he says, "This is getting expensive enough, might as well just go to Hawaii again..." And that's how it happened.

We spent our honeymoon in Kaua'i 9 months ago and decided to try another island this time. We ended up on Waikiki beach in Oahu.

The beach from our hotel room:

Gorgeous sunsets:

Walks on the beach:

We tried zip-lining on our honeymoon (SO FUN!). This time we parasailed.

It was a beautiful view and the breeze felt great!

The driver had fun dunking us in the ocean a few times. Word to the wise... keep your mouth closed.

One of the reasons we ended up on the island of Oahu was because I thought it would be cool to visit the sites of Pearl Harbor. We visited the USS Arizona Memorial. Awesome experience. They show you a video about how it all went down on December 7th, 1941, then take you on a ferry over to the memorial. The memorial sits perpendicularly on top of the the sunken ship.

Huge wall inside the memorial with the names of all who died on the USS Arizona that day. There was a bench (just out of view in this pictures but would be to the left) that had a list of names of survivors who had later had their ashes buried there with their shipmates.

All in all we had a fun and relaxing trip. We spent every day on the beach, in the pool or both. And I'm really gonna miss my naps in the sun : )

Aloha!

rAnDoM

Been studying for finals... hours that I am able to stay concentrated are shortening and breaks are lengthening :- / But look at all the fun things I find on the internet :-)

Funny article about rompers. Laughed out loud at step 3. Oh and I totally did this at my wedding!

Love pinterest. Enough said.

Holding onto this quote I stole from a friend's blog:

Promise me you'll always remember: you're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. - Christopher Robin

Anatomy fact (from notes not internet): the nerve that allows you to taste passes through your ear on its way to the tongue. Maybe this is why food sounds good?? ;-)

Is it Thursday yet?

Just keep swimming.

10 more days, 3 exams, LOTS of studying, and a "patient encounter" till 10 days of freedom. Man I need this break.

Time to go master this...

Also, where have my friends gone? I miss them.

Oldies and studying

That pretty much sums up this weekend...

You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one.

I LOVE clouds. I don't know what it is but when they come out, I just want to take a picture. (I have lots of sky pictures on my phone... kinda pathetic. But they're so pretty!) Unfortunately, the time this most happens to me is when I am in the car. Most of my sky pics are taken from behind the wheel. And yes, I realize this is probably not the safest idea but what can you do. I spend a lot of time behind the wheel right now. I have put over 5,000 miles on my car since starting school in June! Needless to say I have plenty of pics to show for it...

Early morning clouds with sun peeking through. Soooo beautiful.

Love these bridges. I always think of Little Miss Sunshine:

Yummy drink after an exam. Oh wait that's not the sky... ;-)

Love these beautiful Arizona sunsets.

Time to start my morning of studying for reals now : )

Mawwiage is what bwings us togevvar

Being married is awesome. I loved dating Scott for 7 years but being husband and wife is even better : )

I have to give a huge shout out / thank you / I love you to my husband. Since going back to school, I haven't always been the funnest person to be around.... Most of the time, I am tired, stressed, and never home. And when I am home, I'm usually studying, getting ready for the next day, trying to keep up with laundry and other house duties, and cranky :-/ It was a rough adjustment for the first couple weeks of school and although I have gotten used to the schedule and control my stress/crankiness a little better... I still have my moments.

Thanks babe for putting up with, loving, and supporting me. Thank you for taking on some extra "chores" at home. Thank you for dealing with my 5am alarm clock and me getting ready every morning. It will all be worth it in a few short years. <3

And in case you are still confused about the title of this post... go here.

Moving Forward.

Isn't it funny how we constantly are looking forward to the next thing? The next event. The next test. The next best iPhone. I'm so guilty of this. I practically live in the future with how much I think about it. I love planning (and my calendar!).

Every so often, it hits me: I'm in PA school. What?!? How LONG have I been planning, studying, and working towards this goal. And now I'm there... here... in PA school. And it's already flying by. I just know I am going to blink and all of the sudden I'll be done. They keep telling us to enjoy these times because it will be over so quickly. Which is when we think, enjoy? How about try to survive? Ha! But as hard as this year will be, I'm going to try keep stress under control (on most days) and enjoy this journey. After all, it is my last time being a student.

This quote was read to our PA class at school and I found it very fitting:

"Embrace this right now life while it's dripping; while the flavors are excellently woesome. Take your bites with bravery and boldness since the learning and the growing are here in these times, these exact right nows. Capture these times. Hold and kiss them because it will soon be very different."

- Jill Scott (off a Starbucks cup)