Merry Christmas!

Hard to believe that it is already the day after Christmas!! And I must say, Santa was very generous this year! Got lots of fun stuff to take with me to Grenada, and all are small and light weight, so they will perfect to pack! I really can't believe how quickly time is passing... ah, 9 days until I leave and live in a different country than my family!! Starting to feel a little homesick before I even leave :(

We are currently enjoying a day after Christmas lazy day.  We went out to breakfast with Mama and Papa Leo, and now Nick is playing video games (modern warfare 3 of course) and I am lounging and blogging. Neither of us have voices, so we also have lots and lots of hot tea and honey :) This is what we get for running around in the snow Thursday night, but what do you expect when we haven't had any snow yet this winter?! Bring on the snooooowww! 

I really should be packing though. It is time to make some major moves on that and get a big chunk done... I can only put it off for so much longer.

Things still left to do: 

-finish emptying out bedroom

-box up winter clothes

-pack up summer clothes I plan to take with me

-box up summer clothes that isn't going to Grenada

-wash blankets then pack the 2 that are [hopefully] coming to Grenada and box up the rest

-buy makeup/toilet trees/sunscreen/lotion/etc. 

-clean bathroom

-empty closet

-take boxes of school stuff down to basement

-find suitcases and start strategically packing

-spend time with family as much as possibleeee

-and probably a million things I am forgetting, gah.

Grades for Term 1//Master's Graduation

It has been SO nice having Nick home for the past week, we've been more or less inseparable- and I love it!! We've been spending a lot of time with family and friends, trying to soak up as much of home  as we can before we leave in just under 2 weeks!!!!


First off, an update on how Nick finished off his first term of medical school.... he did great!!!! Seriously, I could not be more proud of him and am so happy to see his countless hours of studying pay off.  He finished the semester with 2 A's and 2 B+'s!!! He was also the Term 1 Class Representative for both Surgery Club and the Emergency Medicine Club, and will be the Surgery Club Secretary and the Emergency Med Vice President for Term 2. So, in typical Nick fashion, he is taking SGU by the horns and pretty much running the place :) It is amazing to see how much he has learned and accomplished in just 1 term!

As for me, I am officially a Master's Graduate from the University of Michigan!! Yay!! Decided to attend the Social Work Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, and am really happy that I did.  The ceremony was really nice and it was a nice celebration of all that I have accomplished over the past 16 months.  I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I am 100% officially done with school though! Seriously, it is weird!! I keep feeling like I should be reading, or writing some paper whenever I am out shopping or just lounging around with Nick, but then I realize, NOPE that ship has sailed!! Donezo! Still waiting on final grades, but very excited to be done :) If I let myself think about it too much though I start to feel overwhelmed at my new label of "unemployed adult." Shesh, being a grown up is stressful ;) Just kidding...

Besides that life has literally consisted of sleeping in, eating (so much eating!!!!), making Christmas cookies, playing video games, and watching movies. Rough life right? The rough part has been the packing. Ugh, I despise packing. It highlights the fact that I have way too much crap and clutter, and now I am paying for it because I am forced to go through it all! Reason #18984979 why I will never be a hoarder or pack rat. I hate excess, random, annoying, never-used, stuff! Rant over. It is coming along though. Maggie is being a super trooper and not complaining that I am making the entire apartment more messy in my attempt to organize/pack.  I promise, I really am packing stuff up and throwing bags and bags of stuff away! Packing is also a bit hard because it infringes on my ability to deny that moving is quickly approaching.  Not that I am not very excited about the new adventures in Grenada... but I am going to miss home, and family, and friends.  And I know that at some point I need to face it head-on and let myself be sad about it. But right now, I'd rather just push ahead, enjoy the holidays, and soak up as much family time as I can before leaving!!

Okay, I've officially procrastinated packing/cleaning out my jeep for way too long just to write this post, so off I go... Here are some pictures from Nick's fun times after finals/my graduation pictures/ enjoying being home for the holidays :)

Enjoying a beverage with friends at the cliff after finals

Nick and Marty picking up Dr. Brahim one night after finals?? No idea why haha

Waterskiing in Grenada... How gorgeous eh??

Making Christmas cookies! They were so yummy!!!

So lucky to have such a wonderful family/support system :) 

With da family

Daddio and I- He's dressed appropriately in his UofM coat! :) 

With my boo boo!

Close up, he's so handsome!

With my mama! 

Hangin out with Al and Nat

Liat Airlines Fail

Sooooooo instead being on my way home from the airport after picking up my wonderful boyfriend, I am sitting on my couch watching tv and finishing up my paper/cleaning my apartment. Why you ask? Well, unfortunately, Nick's trip home included a flight on Liat airlines.  I haven't been able to get the full story yet, but what I do know is that Nick was supposed to leave Grenada around 6:30am this morning.  At 10-11:00 am I spoke with him and he had still not left Grenada. Apparently, lovely Liat airlines just felt like being many hours late. And on top of being late, there was no explanation or assistance in helping any of the passengers out... so frustrating!! Nick did eventually get out of Grenada though, but missed his connecting flight in Barbados.. and didn't end up leaving Barbados until like 4:30pm... which meant he didn't get into Miami until about 7:30pm and at which point he needed to bust his booty to go through customs, recheck in, and board a plane to Dallas.  He should land in Dallas around 11:30-12:00 tonight.

So all of that being said, my poor Nicholas will not be in Detroit until tomorrow.  Poor guy, he just wants to come home!!! It's been a long day for him, full of annoyances and lots of travel.

Oye, can't wait to squeeze him extra when he finally makes it home tomorrow!!!

And what is the lesson in all of this? Always book flights to and from Grenada early enough so that you can get American Airlines all the way. Liat airlines sucks and will screw you over more often than not. Trust me... er, trust Nick, he'd tell ya it's worth a couple extra bucks to know that you have a more reliable airline.  But if you want to end up stranded in a random Caribbean airport or to have your luggage end up God only knows where... Liat airlines is the airliner for you!!! ;)

Term 1 COMPLETE-- check!!!!

Drum roll please!!!! Term 1 of medical school has successfully been completed!!!! I can hardly even believe it! Nicholas will be home in less than 24 hours... I could scream I am literally that excited!!

Life has been absolutely crazy over the past month or so and my blog has been very neglected, so  here is a quick overview of what's been going on/ a time of what is to come in the next month!

-Nick kicked major medical school butt. Seriously, did anyone expect anything less? The guy has literally lived in dry lab! He through everything- including the kitchen sink, at these finals!! I am so proud of him and so impressed by his dedication and perseverance.  He amazes me every day! But anyway, he finished with 2 A-'s and 2 B+'s and I could not be more proud!!

- My last week of classes was last week. I repeat... my last week of classes ever was last week!!!!! Ah!! I.am.so.excited!!! What a whirl wind this past 16 months has been. For as crazy as graduate school has been, it is a huge accomplishment to officially say I am done. It feels good and I am ecstatic.  My family talked me into walking in my graduation ceremony this weekend. While I don't think I would have regretted not walking... I am glad I am. It is a huge accomplishment, and I am proud.  It has not been an easy 16 months. It has been really hard on so many levels, and I am glad that my family gets to celebrate this accomplishment with me.

- I completed my internship at the Children's Hospital of Michigan.  Words cannot describe how hard leaving that place was for me on Friday.  I miss those kids and their families already.  I would normally be waking up and heading in to work in the morning and my heart is aching knowing that I will not be there with/for them tomorrow.  Several of the kiddos were not doing that well last week either and that made it even more challenging to leave.  But I feel so unbelievably blessed to have been able to spend the past year there and to have been given the opportunity to work with such unbelievable children and their families.  I have never met more amazing little fighters in my whole life. My last day was filled with so many hugs, a few tears, and lots of smiles and laughs. One of my patients made an extra visit to the hospital just to say goodbye to me, and with the hospital being the last place in the world any of them would want to be on their day off, I was unbelievably touched. Not to mention, I had been bummed that I would not get to say goodbye to her.  She gave me the most beautiful necklace, that says "Always Friends, Now and Forever" and I will cherish it always. Another one of my girls, who has been so sick, was able to read a book with me and play with me a little bit for the first time in several days.  It was the best gift I could have been given. Each of them is eternally engraved in my hearts and I pray that they each get/remain healthy and go onto to live long and healthy lives. They're fighters, and braver than anyone else I know, even at as young as 2 years old <3

-Tomorrowwwww I pick Nick up from the airport. Tomorrow. TOMORROW. Tomorrow!!!!! Less than 24 hours... eeeee ahhhh!!! I have butterflies, and can barely contain myself. I am not even sure I will be able to sleep tonight because I am literally that freakin' excited! :)

-The big move to Grenada is in 23 days. Well pretty much 22 days now. Holy Freaking Cow. Typing that just gave me major anxiety. So much to do. So many people to see. So much family quality time to be had. If time wants to slow down just a tiny bit for the holiday season, that would be wonderful. I'll take long, slow days, to just enjoy my Nicholas being home and to spend time with family and friends. Maybe I'll send a letter to Santa and see if he can work on that!

Ah, well, it is late, and I need to finish up paper tomorrow, do about 12 loads of laundry, clean my apt, and clean out my car, before picking Nick up tomorrow night... soooo on that note, this girl needs to hit the hay! More later on holiday festivities and packing!