i love 4th year!

After 3 somewhat brutal years of medical school, I am loving 4th year!  No tests and lots more free time have given me the luxury of actually getting to do some things that I enjoy.  Here are just a few things I'm loving about 4th year so far:

• Getting to read FOR FUN.  After 3 years of reading mostly notes and medical books it's nice to read some fiction.  The next book on my list is Eat, Pray, Love, which my sisters and brother-in-law got me for my birthday.  
• Doing some crafty things that I never had time to do before.  My latest venture has been card making, which is fun and also saves me some money at Hallmark.  I found a bunch of rubber stamps and ink on sale for $1 each at Michaels and have been stamping and card making ever since.  I'm hoping to have time to do some more crafting, especially as the holidays approach.  If anyone has great, DIY Christmas gift ideas let me know!
• Guilty-pleasure TV watching and internet surfing.  My favorites as of late have been Family Feud on Facebook, the always popular (with me at least) People.com, and watching lots of TV and movies on Netflix.
• Actually getting to spend time with my husband :) LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!  He even took me on a surprise lunch date today.  It's been nice to use some of my breaks and free time for impromptu coffee dates, runs or just time at home together.  I know that next year is going to be busy so it's nice that we have this time together before the craziness ensues.  

Here's hoping the rest of the year is as enjoyable as it is right now!

the big 2-9

It's officially the last year of my twenties. I turned the 29 about a week ago, just one year away from the big 3-0. I'm not sure what my 29th year will hold, but I know it will be a year of transition with me finishing school and starting residency, Jamie likely quitting his job and going back to school and the possibility of us relocating. If I've learned anything, it's that there is no way of predicting how a year will turn out, no matter how many plans you have. I'm excited to see what God has in store for the year ahead.

I was inspired by Ashley's blog to make a list of 29 things I want to do in my 29th year. Here they are:

1. get in great shape before I turn 30
2. be a better wife and show more unconditional respect for my husband
3. finish the Warrior Dash without keeling over
4. go on vacation somewhere besides Jamaica (although I love Jamaica)
5. grow out my hair (at least for a while)
6. be more grateful for all I've been blessed with
7. get professional pics taken with my hubby that aren't wedding pics (especially since we never had engagement pictures taken)
8. be a more consistent journaler (especially since I got 6 journals for my birthday), and hopefully blogger ;)
9. cultivate a passion for God's Word that I have been lacking lately and be more consistent in reading and studying the Bible
10. make an effort to build transparent, authentic community and relationships
11. get back to my crafty roots and spend more time doing creative things
12. get better at using my camera and the external flash Jamie bought me
13. become more financially responsible
14. attempt to actually enjoy cooking (aside from making desserts) and learn more healthy recipes
15. get a Mac (so ready to get rid of my crappy laptop)
16. get some cute winter clothes (my winter wardrobe has been lacking since my Houston days)
17. drink more water (and less diet soda)
18. read more books for fun
19. go to the shooting range again
20. go skiing
21. go camping with my hubby
22. start a photo journal
23. eat healthier
24. be more intentional about making sure people in my life know that I love them
25. complain less, encourage more
26. run a half-marathon
27. get my house more organized and less cluttered
28. live generously, in the knowledge that everything I have is God's anyway
29. finish (or at least start...ha) making my t-shirt quilt that i cut the pieces out for probably at least 5-6 years ago

We'll see how accomplishing that list goes for me. I'll try to keep you guys updated, especially in light of #8 ;).