JAMAICA!!!

These pics are definitely overdue, but I promised to post them! We had such a great time in Jamaica with our friends, Amber and Kurtis. Amber was a high school friend, and we were college roommates for 5 years!! Amazingly, we are still the best of friends and love to spend time together. This July marked Jason and I's 3-year anniversary and Amber and Kurtis' 5-year anniversary. They went to "Couples Swept Away" in Jamaica for their honeymoon, and wanted to celebrate their marriage milestone with a return trip! Luckily, they decided that it would be more fun with friends, so they invited us along!

Enjoy the pics! You may want to start at the bottom and work your way backwards. For some reason, I can't figure out how to reverse the order of how Blogger uploads these.

20) We had such a great time!! Thanks Amber and Kurtis for inviting us!!

19) It was a lot of fun...the water was freezing at first, but we adjusted! There were underwater tunnels we swam through, and "natural jacuzzis."

18) Mayfield Falls...this is a view of one of the many small waterfalls. We hiked/swam up the whole thing

17) At Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville in the Jamaica airport. See my hat on the floor? US Customs took it from me when we got back :(

16) He was a friendy guy! :)

15) Jason befriending the bartender at the "Captain's Reception"

14) Sign at the front of our resort, "Couples Swept Away" in Negril, Jamaica

13) Ready for yet another meal!

12) Beautiful beach at our resort

11) Jason with the ladies on Lobster Night

10) I saw this little guy on our way to dinner one night!

9) See the slide? We went down it into the ocean....scary, but FUN!!!

8) View of our resort from the Catamaran

7) Jason in the ocean after going down the slide from the second level of the catamaran!

6) Our friends, Amber and Kurtis, on the Catamaran Cruise

5) Jason and I on the Catamaran Cruise

4) Our room was in a building like this

3) Of course, we had to get a drink...the swirly drink is my Pina Colada...yum!

2) Once we arrived at the resort, there was champagne and cool towels ready for us! :)

1) At the "Couples Resorts" lounge in the Jamaica airport...waiting for our shuttle

Starting the Home Search Process

Today was a big day...we started looking at homes with our realtor! We really would have preferred to move directly into a house in Wichita (after moving from Dallas), but we didn't really have time during my residency to check out the neighborhoods, best parts of town, etc. We decided to get a 6-month lease on an apartment, but as soon as we were moved in, I was ready to be in a house. Apartment living is great from the "no maintenance" viewpoint, but it is not good from the "space" viewpoint. We have several items in a storage unit right now, so I am thinking of various items on a daily basis that I would like to use, but they are locked up in a unit about 5 miles away. Anyway, one of my new co-workers and her husband just bought a home here, and the had great things to say about their realtor. Once we met her, we really thought she would be a good resourse and she had a fun personality. We have decided that we want to purchase a home in Northeast Wichita or Andover, a small suburb just east of Wichita. Andover is known for having excellent school districts (not a concern now, but might be in the future) and the biggest YMCA in the United States! (here is their website...check out the waterpark!) The good thing about NE Wichita is that EVERYTHING is so close and convenient!

Tonight, we looked at 3 houses in Andover. One was really nice, one was moderate, and one is a "no!" I can tell already that this is going to be a stressful process. There is so much to think about and so many pros/cons to weigh. I guess I just need to be patient. I was hoping to find the perfect home tonight (since we liked the homes online), but they are so different in person. Oh well, we'll just keep praying and I know that God will make the best option available at the right time.

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your path."

Update!

I promise to do my "Jamaica" post soon, but for now, just a little update on our "Buying our First Home" venture. Last week, we met with a mortgage lender and were pre-qualified for our loan. Then, we met with our realtor to go over the "process," and discussed what kinds of things we might want in a home. We will probably start seriously looking at homes in a few weeks, so that should be exciting! On another note, I start my new job at the Wichita VA on Monday, and Jason is getting his school situation worked out. It's nice to finally get settled!

I'm back to blogging!

After nearly one month since my last post, I am back! It has been really hectic over the past 2 months since I was finishing up residency, we went to Jamaica, and we moved to Kansas. Now that we're settled in our new apartment in Wichita, KS, I figured I would start blogging again. Here are a few pics of our apartment. We plan to live here about 5-6 months while we start looking for a house! I am excited, but a little scared, about the entire home-buying process. Any advice from you home owners?

Residency Graduation - 6/18/09

My residency director, Krystal Edwards, presenting me with my certificate.

The Vice Chair of Residencies, Sara Brouse, presenting me with a plaque for acting as the Chief Resident in DFW/Abilene for the 2008-2009 year.

TTUHSC School of Pharmacy DFW Ambulatory Care Faculty

Katie Hazlewood, and I. We graduated from OUHSC School of Pharmacy together, and we were fortunate enough to be able to spend another year together as co-residents. I wouldn't have made it through the year without her support!

The whole DFW clan! (Front L to R: Young Ran Lee, Abimbola Farinde, Katie Hazlewood, Monique Lopes-Serrao, Anesia Zeller, Saguna Patel; Back L to R: Lauren Snodgrass, Gary Jean, Katura Thomas, Alison O'Brien; Samuel Evang not pictured).

Contratulations everyone!! Best of luck to all of you!!

Audrey's 1st Birthday!

What a fun weekend in Tulsa!!! Jason and I were able to head up to Oklahoma this weekend to help Audrey celebrate her 1st birthday! Audrey is the daughter of our great friends, Amber and Kurtis, so we definitely couldn't miss it. The birthday girl looked adorable in her little pink and green tutu! She wasn't too sure about it at first, but then it didn't seem to bother her. She had lots of guests, including many family and friends. Her mama and daddy did a WONDERFUL job planning the party! Everyone visited while Kurtis and the boys worked the grill. After a yummy lunch of hamburgers, hotdogs, and sides, we watched as Audrey opened all of her gifts (with help from mommy). She received so many awesome toys and clothes from her thoughtful guests! After gifts, it was time for cake! Since her party theme was "Cupcakes," she enjoyed a birthday cupcake! (well....maybe just the icing, the cake part ended up on the grass :) We all had such a good time, and all of the kids had fun playing in the little pool and swinging at the pinata. I can't believe she's already one!! Time flies!

"Texas" Pics

Before leaving the great state of Texas and moving to Wichita, Jason and I took the opportunity to capture some memories with a photo session. Desiree' with Double Take Photographers was so much fun and did a great job! We took pics at the Las Colinas Canal (about 1 minute from where we live) and in a "Texas-sized" field. Here is a sampling of our pics. Enjoy!

National Lipid Association Meeting: Miami, FL

This weekend is the National Lipid Association Annual Scientific Sessions. As part of my residency program, I am required to present my research poster at a national meeting. Since my topic involves lipids, this meeting was a perfect fit! I was considered a "Young Investigator," since I have not been in practice for >5 years. Although it was lonely to be in Miami by myself, I tried to make the best of it. The meeting was at the Fontainebleau Resort which has been recently entirely renovated. A guy at the hotel told me it was the site of the opening scene from the James Bond movie, Goldfinger. My hotel was much cheaper than the $250/night Fontainbleau...it was called Ocean Spray. It was much smaller and the room was cute. It was only about a 10 minute walk from the meeting, and the beach was right across the street. Speaking of the beach, you think that I would've been more prepared by packing "beach" attire! Nope! Luckily, I brought a pair of capri's and some flip flops in addition to my business attire, so at least I wasn't out on the beach in my suit! Unfortunately, I also forgot to bring sunscreen, so I had to hide under a beach umbrella to prevent myself from frying in the sun. Anyway, I am leaving Miami this evening, but I have to check out of my hotel at noon. I guess I will spend the afternoon relaxing on the beach and enjoying the view of the beautiful Atlantic ocean! Darn! :)