Arriving back in Auckland was odd. I kept having memories play across my mind and I felt like a rolling mixture of happiness, exhaustion, and bittersweet melancholy as certain things would trigger reminders. A billboard advertisement. The familiar accent. The style of the houses and size of the yards. We flew for 15 1/2 hours… Read More Auckland
It was about 2 years ago – when I was fully stuck into grad school and wondering if there would be an end in sight – that I found myself sitting across from Chris, looking up from my notes, and saying, “I want to go back to New Zealand. I want to plan on it.… Read More Return to New Zealand
This weekend we went to Busch Gardens’ member preview day. Joe and Jack had been looking forward to it for weeks. We knew that it would take a bit of time to get into the park. Opening day is always crazy. Even though we live less than 5 miles from the park entrance, it still… Read More Busch Gardens 2019
Yesterday marked the end of Daylight Savings Time. We took the morning pretty gently, not waking up till 8am (which was 7am the day before) and greeting the day with waffles and lots of tea (or coffee, in Chris’ case). Because it was a somewhat odd day with different hours, we decided to skip Sunday… Read More Springing Forward
We’re about halfway through February, but yes, I’m just now getting around to posting about our January 2019. It was a pretty uneventful month with a few minor eventful things. I tried accupunture for the first time, both as a recipient and as a practitioner: I tried out our new Instant Pot and my new… Read More January 2019
Our neighborhood was not exempt from Hurricane Michael, although it was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit us last week. My parents had driven up that Thursday for an extended weekend visit and they arrived just in time to get drenched. We woke up the next morning to find that one… Read More Storms and Visitors
October has rolled around in Williamsburg, but with temperatures in the 80s, it certainly hasn’t felt like it. I’m ready for cool weather, indoor fires, changing leaves, and warm cups of tea. Of course, I already drink warm cups of tea regardless of the weather, so I guess that last one doesn’t really count. I… Read More Fall
I was in Washington, D.C. last week for my school’s required on-campus clinicals. From Monday – Thursday night, I was attending lectures, demonstrating my skills as a practitioner, performing assessments, learning in-office procedures and suturing, and generally stuffing my head with knowledge. It was a great, albeit stressful, couple of days where I was able… Read More D.C.
The word ‘advent’ means “coming”. In this season of the year, we focus on the meaning of the coming of the Son of God into the world. And the spirit of our celebration should be the spirit in which he came. And the spirit of that coming is summed up in Luke 19:10: “The Son… Read More Advent
Now that I’m done with clinic for the semester, I have a little extra time to catch up on everything that didn’t get done around the house when I was so busy do fun stuff, like watch a movie, read books, and do some cooking or baking. Yesterday, I decided to make pancakes for the freezer.… Read More Stealing Pancakes
What a great Thanksgiving weekend. We celebrated here at home in the afternoon and that evening, I went to the hospice house while Chris and the boys had dessert with neighbors. We’ve had boatloads of turkey leftovers, some of which have already been transformed into turkey salad sandwiches, turkey broth, and turkey tetrazzini. The next… Read More Post-Thanksgiving and Pre-Christmas
Thankful for these two turkeys. This photo was taken on the dock of our neighborhood (another thing for which I’m thankful).
Fall is, without doubt, one of my most favorite seasons. I love that the hot, tropical-feeling summers are over (along with the weeding, the mosquitos, the constant checking for ticks) and that the season for fires and jackets and crunching leaves is starting. This is one of the reasons why I love living in Virginia. … Read More Fall ‘n All
One is faced with several issues when a blog has been dormant for awhile. The first issue, for me, is how to explain what I’ve been doing and why I went silent. I really don’t know how to solve that issue without some lengthy – and frankly boring – post. So I’m going to ignore… Read More Enough for a start
One of my earliest memories of dating Chris is of the two of us making a meal together. During the process, I set out some fish and asked him to “smother” them in butter. We were just getting to know one another (12 1/2 years later and there’s still a lot to learn!) and I… Read More Simple and Decadent Banana Pudding
Making the decision to go back to school for my nurse practitioner (NP) degree wasn’t an easy one. My plan had always been to work as a nurse for a year or two, then go to grad school part-time while working full- or part-time and having my employer pay for part or all of the… Read More Nurse Practitioner School – Making the Decision
August has been a full month. It was rewarding for me to have some time between semesters to relax, see family, spend time with friends, and do nothing. Joe has enjoyed going to summer camp and we’ve taken a family trip to Washington, DC as well as a trip with me and the boys to… Read More August 2018
Two weeks ago, our oldest child turned 6 years old. I know that everyone says “time flies”, but I truly didn’t realize how swiftly time zooms by until I had children. Suddenly, I found myself measuring the days and years based on my child and how he’s grown. And children grow fast. They acquire language… Read More Happy Birthday, Joe
My mother used to say “it’s hard to grow up”. This was typically after one of her children had bonked their head or fallen down or had experienced a consequence for some undesirable behavior. I’ve found myself saying it to our boys, too, and usually under similar circumstances: learning how to ride a bicycle and… Read More It’s hard to grow up.
I’ve thought about updating this blog several times over the last 2 years. Obviously, I didn’t. When, after several months of thinking I put thought to action and attempted to log in, I found that I couldn’t. After several sessions with the hosting service’s support desk, we finally ironed out the problem, and access was… Read More 2 Years
