1/3 life crisis

This morning I found myself in the midst of a full blown "1/3 life crisis" (that's what I'm calling the meltdown that happens between a quarter life crisis and a mid-life crisis).  I won't go into all the details, but the question it left me with was this: As Christians, how much grace do we have for lifestyles that don't look like our own?

Now I'm not talking about people living sinful lifestyles - grace vs. accountability in that situation is another topic for another day.  My question is how we look at and treat other Christians whose choices don't line up with our own decisions or expectations.  Choices like singleness vs. marriage, whether to have kids and how many to have, women working or staying at home, homeschooling vs. public school, etc (the list could go on and on).  Often we turn our own ideas of what life should be into a mandate for others.  We turn into the Pharisees.  We make up our own additions to God's commands and require that others live up to them.  We may not blatantly judge and disgrace others like the Pharisees did but in our own way we treat them differently enough to know they don't fit in with the "Christian expectation."

One of the most beautiful things about our Savior is how He could relate to people in every stage of life and make them feel special and loved.  I pray that I have the same grace for others, although I know that I am by no means perfect.   I just hope I'm never the impetus for someone else's "1/3 life crisis."

house tour

I've been promising this for a while, so here it is.....a tour of our new home in Charleston via pictures.  We are renting this house and were so blessed to find a place we like so much with a great family as landlords.  Hold tight, this is going to involve a lot of pictures and probably not that many words, but hope you enjoy the "tour."

This is probably my favorite wall of the house, so we'll start here.  This is our photo wall which is part of a room that serves as the dining room (see below)/this area.

Dining room with part of the kitchen to the left.  Please excuse the pile of stuff under the window.  That is our "get rid of" pile.

Another view of the dining room table.  Still trying to figure out what to do with this wall if anyone has any suggestions ;)

Our kitchen.  Much smaller than our kitchen in Morgantown so we're trying to find some creative storage options.  This area is definitely still a work in progress.

This is what I like to call our "multipurpose room."  It currently serves as a workout room/office/hangout area with fireplace and couches.  Eventually going to try to figure out a way to make this room flow/work better but it is what it is for now.

Another view of our "multipurpose room" looking toward the fireplace and back door.  Schroder couldn't help but get in this one.

View of our front door and entry area.

Living room

Another view of the living room, looking into the "multipurpose room"

One last view of the living room.

Guest room #1, which Schroder has apparently claimed as "his" room.

Guest room #2.  Please excuse Jamie's surf board and surf gear on the bed.

Our room

My shoe/clothes/jewelry storage area.  Trying to adjust to a smaller closet by using some different storage ideas.  Any other suggestions are welcome and appreciated.  We hope to get a chest of drawers to replace this plastic drawer situation when we find one cheap and have some extra money.

View of our room, looking into our bathroom.

Our screened in back porch.  Such a fun place to hang out, especially when we turn on those string lights overhead.

Our HUGE fenced in backyard (yep, it goes all the way back to that tree line).  This is definitely the dogs' favorite part of this house and we are enjoying it as well (minus the mosquitoes).

The house is definitely still a work in progress, especially when it comes to decorating, but hope you enjoyed the pictorial tour!  We love having visitors (hint, hint) ;)

welcome my hubby to the blogging world

I promise when life slows down I will post some pictures of our new house and somewhat of an update.  Until then, Jamie has started a blog where you can read about what's been going on with us.  Enjoy!

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!