jamaica me crazy

While most people spend Memorial Day at cookouts and other similar get-togethers, we spent ours in airports and on airplanes -- making our way to Jamaica for vacation :).  Other than the delays we experienced trying to get there, the rest of the trip was wonderful.  The weather was somewhat overcast and rainy at times but it was still nice to get away and relax at the beach. 

Unlike our three previous trips to Jamaica, we brought some friends along this time.  I wasn't sure how vacationing with another couple was going to be since Jamie and I had only been on vacation alone in the past, but we had a blast! It was a blessing to get to spend that time with Kent and Sarah right before our move.  Here are some pics from the trip:

God was so good to us and we got a HUGE blessing in the fact that somehow we got a room upgrade.  This is a picture of our room with our private pool and hot tub. 

Jamie & I at dinner at Gordon's on the Pier

Kent & Sarah at Gordon's

This is what happens when you leave your camera at the table when you go to the bathroom

Amazing rainbow after a day of thunderstorms

All four of us before dinner one night

Amazing sunset

Me with my co-winner of the Michael Jackson dance contest!

I'm thankful that we were able to take some vacation time before the craziness of intern year starts!

we're not in kansas anymore

Well, we never were in Kansas, but we're not in West Virginia anymore.  We have officially moved to Charleston, SC.  We have been here for about a week now and we are slowly settling in.  Most of our unpacking is done, but we definitely still have some organizing and decorating to do.  I will post pictures when the house is a little more put together. 

We have been enjoying our fenced in back yard (and so have the dogs), as well as exploring the surrounding area.  There is a park really close to our house that we have been running, biking and walking the dogs in.  We haven't made it to the beach or downtown yet, but I'm sure we will in the near future. 

More updates coming soon including a recap of our Jamaica trip :)

it's official

I am officially Tara Rickard, M.D., Pharm.D.!!!  It still doesn't feel real yet, although I'm sure reality will hit quickly when July rolls around. 

Graduation weekend was wonderful.  I am so blessed to have wonderful family and friends and was so thankful that they took the time to celebrate with me.  Several friends even came in from out of town to surprise me!  God has put some amazing people in my life and I know that medical school wouldn't have been possible without them and without Him. 

Hope you enjoy the pictorial summary below :)

Me being hooded

 

 The whole family together

My hubby wearing my ridiculous graduation hat

 

 The Browns! They came in from Georgia to surprise me :)

Beautiful Lisa who started driving at 3:30am from D.C. to surprise me

 

 Kyle, another surprise visitor from D.C.

 Group pic :)

My wonderful husband.  Definitely couldn't have done med school without him

 

Mary losing miserably at Quelf

Quelf is a hilarious game. That's all I have to say :)

 

 

 

 

 And a few pictures from the Dance Central battle...so much fun!

Yes, I'm doing the cabbage patch ;)

these are a few of my favorite things...

I should add a disclaimer to that title.  These are a few of my favorite things...lately.  Just thought I would share!

• Cee Lo Green's song,  Forget You -- I just cannot get this song out of my head lately! It's so catchy.  Although I will say that I was appalled when I found out what the unedited version of the song was called.  But the edited version is a fun workout or drive with the windows down song for summer.  The link above is my friend Chris Cendana's cover of the song (edited version for the record).  He's a great artist as well so enjoy!

• Speaking of Cee Lo Green, I am so far really loving the show The Voice.  I'm not an American Idol fan, so I wasn't sure how I would feel about another singing contest show but I was intrigued by the fact that they wouldn't be able to see the contestants while they sang, so I watched the first episode.  I like that people who don't look like your typical pop stars or American Idol contestants have a chance on the show simply based on their talent (don't get me wrong though, there are a lot of attractive contestants as well).  Guess I'll keep tuning in after one of my other fav shows, The Biggest Loser, to see if the goodness continues. 

• This shirt! I got it when we were in Charleston at the Gap Outlet and I love it.  I am a huge Saved by the Bell fan so when I saw it I had to get it.  They also had a New Kids on the Block and  a Michael Jackson Thriller shirt and I wanted them all, but I restrained myself.

                  

•  Reading for fun! I've been fortunate to have some extra time now that I am done with school to read some books I enjoy. 

I just finished this book. I got it #1 because it was about knitting and #2 because it was on sale at Barnes and Noble.  It was really good although surprisingly not as lighthearted as I had imagined.

I also recently read this book and can't wait to see the movie! I hope it does the book justice.  Of course, Reece Witherspoon is always one of my favorite things so I don't think it can be bad.

•     Bird designs.  I don't know why, but lately I have gotten into the bird craze.  One of my friends got me a bird necklace for my birthday (see the pic at left) and I loved it.  Since then I have found myself collecting other bird items, like this throw pillow:  

 

 

 

Okay, enough of my favorite things for now.  Hope you get a chance to enjoy some of your favorite things this week!

getting crafty

Things have been tight for us financially lately, mostly due to some unexpected expenses that all hit us at once as well as the expense of selling our house and moving.  So when gift giving (and usually money spending) occasions come up, my new motto is "when money gets tight, I get crafty." ;)  I actually love making gifts for other people.  I think it adds a personal touch and it's lots of fun.  Hopefully, people enjoy receiving my handmade gifts as much as I enjoy making them.  Last night, I made this purse for a friend's birthday: 

You can find the pattern here if you are interested in making your own.  I made a few modifications to the original pattern, including making it bigger.  I'm the type of person who carries pretty much everything in my purse so tiny purses just don't work for me, but the original pattern size does make a cute clutch. 

Does anyone else out there like to make gifts? If so, what are your favorite handmade gift ideas?

Happy crafting!

Update on some of the 29 at 29

Just a brief update on a few of the 29 @ 29 (I won't bore you with the whole list again until the big 3-0).

#5 - grow out my hair
Totally loving this one! My hair is probably the longest it's been since my freshman year of high school.  My favorite part has been playing with styling my hair and finding that it will do things I thought it would never do (think it was mostly styling error on my part in the past).  I even figured out how to "curl" my hair with a straightener so that it looks more wavy and less fro-like than my previous curling attempts (see pic below).

#11 - get back to my crafty roots and spend more time doing creative things
My latest crafting hobby/obsession has been knitting.  My first knitting project kind of turned into a disaster which I ended up unraveling most of, but now I am back on the knitting train and working on a scarf.  You can see my tiny bit of progress below.

#15 - get a Mac
If you can't tell the above picture was taken with photo booth on my brand new Macbook Pro! My parents bought it for me as a graduation gift and I absolutely LOVE it.  I'm so thankful for my parents' generosity and the blessing of having a functional (and awesome) computer.

Last one friends, I promise....
#20- go skiing
I did it! This winter I went skiing for the first time in 10+ years and it was a blast! I went with Jamie and our friends Kent and Sarah.  We had a great time.  Definitely thankful that I got to take advantage of the opportunity this winter since we won't be living nearly as close to snow in the next three years.

Happy Easter

So I'm going to just ignore the fact that I have been a blogging slacker for the past 4-ish months and pick up like I never left off.  I apologize for my long absence...

I will start by saying Happy Easter everyone (and by everyone I mean the probably one person that still might read this).  I have to admit that Easter kind of snuck up on me this year.  Between finishing up school, trying to sell our house and finding a place to live in Charleston (SC for those of you who don't know that I will be doing my residency there), I haven't spend as much time as I would have liked reflecting on Easter and all that we have to celebrate.

But I have to say that it was so refreshing and renewing to my soul just to spend Easter morning worshipping and fellowshipping with our church family.  I am truly thankful for the Christian community that God has allowed us to be a part of in Morgantown.  I couldn't help but think this morning how much I am going to miss it.  I certainly haven't gotten to know everyone in our church as well as I would have liked but I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a group of Christians who show such genuine care and love.  It's amazing how having Jesus in common can bridge so many other differences.

I hope your Easter was blessed and that you were able to spend time reflecting on and rejoicing in our risen Savior!