The Fast-Approaching New Year

     As 2010 is coming to a close, I have found myself thinking about everything that has happened in the past year and what may be in 2011. This year has been a busy one, and Evan and I have seen many blessings. We got to see many of our family and friends with trips to Philadephia and to San Diego. We finished another year of residency and school (Evan's second in Residency and my third in Dental School). We celebrated our marriage and took a great honeymoon. And, we temporarily moved Evan to Asheville for his 5 month rotation.
     While all of these events are exciting, we have even more to look forward to in 2011. The sound of the words "two thousand and eleven" bring music to my ears because I will finally graduate from dental school!! It is bittersweet because while I am anxious to being my professional life, I will miss seeing my dear friends everyday. It is thoughts of the new year that have made me realize I need to set some new goals for myself as one chapter of my life is coming to an end and another is beginning (kind of a big deal because I've never known anything other than school). I thought I would use this as an opportunity to write in words some of my goals for 2011 (I don't like saying "resolutions" because that sounds a little too proper and forceful. The word "goal" makes things sound more doable to me.)

List:
1. organize our home in Chapel Hill...they should probably put me on TLC because of UNC SOD paper hoarding :-)
2. Be a better friend....reach out and plan more social events with all the girls I love
3. Find a big girl J-O-B....we have two sets of student loans and I'm eager to get out there and work!
4. Volunteer somewhere I feel passionate about...I'm hoping some sort of equestrian facility where I can help with theraputic riding
5. Be a better wife...I'm not sure how specific this is, but just make a greater effort to see things from his perspective
6. Make an effort every week to see my family...I need to focus on this because in 2012 we will probably not be in NC any longer :(
7. Most importantly give thanks to God for my many blessings at least once a day


I think that is a pretty lofty set of goals for 2011 and some that can roll over into 2012. I am a work in progress and know that all of these goals take time. As the saying goes "Rome wasn't built in a day."



HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

I'm new at blogging

     I've been feeling like if I could write down my daily activities in life, like a journal, I would feel more connected to the world. Facebook is great and all, but it's only a snapshot of who I am. I thought that Christmas break would be a good time to start a blog because I  have more free time.
     So, here's what's up today. I'm happily married to Evan, aka Pokey. And while we are new at this marriage thing and separated by miles for the next several months, I'm exceptionally blessed to have him. He is currently in Asheville as part of his residency and so I enjoy visiting him every chance we can get.  So far, during our stay in Asheville, we've obtained a season pass to the beautiful Biltmore, explored nature, gotten to know some good eats, and learned quickly that we need to live on a smaller budget due to our growing gas bill.

    We are exceptionally excited for our first Christmas together, and Evan has officially decorated the "tree." Before I got here yesterday, he bought some LED lights from Walmart and adorned the palm in our apartment. We also decided that it won't feel like Christmas unless we bake some holiday cookies, so that's on the agenda tonight. Hopefully they will turn out something like this...

    I just learned tonight that Evan always made these with his mom at this time of year. Hopefully, ours will turn out as good as mom Chalk's cookies. We are so thankful at this time of year and at this stage in our lives (poor and in school) to have two sets of loving families. We will travel to Wake Forest to see my family at Christmas Eve so that we can feel like we're kids again. We'll all get pjs on Christmas Eve (which we will all wear), probably read Jesus' birth from the Bible (at my urging), climb into bed and wait for Santa to arrive. It will be even more special since Evan is now officially part of the family. Then, on Christmas morning, we will eat chocolate croissants from the Chalks so we can feel like they are there too.  I'm dreaming of these croissants (and apparently my sister is too because my mom has already had to remind her that she can't have any until we get there). Here they are...I'm drooling...

Well, now that I've looked at that, it's time to cook some yummy dinner. It's one of my favorite times of day when Evan cooks with me. I'll have to write about our cooking adventures later....