Three months since I've blogged - holy cow!
Seasons are finally changing down here in Miami. We had one of the hottest Octobers on record. Almost every day was above 90. The cool off has started and it feels beautiful. Traffic is worse now that the snow birds are in town, but that also means my geriatric and low vision clinic has gotten busier!
Only 8 months until the end of residency. I definitely have a countdown going on my phone. Tired of not making much moolah. Still happy with my decision to do it, though. Technically a third of the way through, so my schedule changed yesterday. I now follow a retinal specialist on Mondays and Neuro-Ophthalmologist on Wednesdays. I no longer have a Monday that I start to dread as soon as Tuesday comes around. Certainly makes me a happy camper!
Brian's PhD proposal went splendidly last month. Everything was approved - full speed ahead! They seemed to be very impressed with him. Looks like he'll definitely be finished with that PhD in 4 years total! Way to go, honey!!!
Barley and Hops are loving life. Barley is having some knee issues and we've had to take her to the vet once a week for Adequan injections in hopes of avoiding surgery. She runs like mad on our slippery laminate floors and she gained close to 3 pounds after we got the puppy. We didn't realize it until it had happened. That's a ton of weight in a small dog! So now she's also on a reduced calorie diet in hopes of getting back to a regular weight. We're hoping these shots and weight loss succeed without surgery. We can't take her on walks anymore. That really bums us all out.
Gluten free eating is going... but not going super well. I find that I become increasingly more sensitive to gluten. Each little exposure or contamination seems to bother me longer and worse than the last. I now get bad asthma when I eat gluten. Brian explained it this way. The gluten causes me to have a leaky gut. What that means is that any toxin I eat can go straight to my blood stream through my intestines, getting anywhere in my body that it wants. I'm tired of spending my days horizontal on a couch feeling like crap. It's hard to be the annoying person at a restaurant, so we don't really go out to eat much. I even eat gluten free at Pei Wei, but the soy sauce in the air makes my stomach hurt. UGH - I feel like I can't win! Thank goodness for Whole Foods. Need to learn to be more of a gourmet chef so that I can actually enjoy eating again. Brian continues to be such a support. Except when he's drinking an orders the most delicious looking pizza I've ever seen.... I salivated so much I had to go to the other room for fear that I might actually eat a slice. Some of my residency friends have invited me to Thanksgiving. It's my first gluten free Thanksgiving (although there will be lots of gluten in the kitchen, just not in my food). I thank those friends in advance for putting up with my experimental cooking and strict rules about what utensils can be put where. I've met several other people with celiac / severe gluten intolerance the last few months. It's always nice to find someone to commiserate with and share ideas about G-free foods. What bums me out is that none of the ones I have met have as bad of a reaction as I do. They're able to "cheat"! So I've been pretty bummed out lately, to say the least. I'm tired of feeling tired and tired of being miserable. So I went out and bought myself some new clothes (with stretch in case of accidental glutenation), jewelery, make-up, and I'm finally wearing my hair down again. It feels good. (=
Tonight we're going to a Miami Heat game. We've got VIP tickets again. Park with the players and enter with the rich and famous. We're definitely looking forward to it!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
July and August
Holy moly - what an absence in my blogging! I blame several factors. Life in general has been really busy. Our computer typically sits in the 2nd bedroom, and I feel like I'm going off to a cave by myself so I try to avoid it. I spend far too much time on my iPhone, which means less time on the computer. But blogging brings me joy, so I'm back at it!
It's been a crazy different life the last few months. I took and passed the Florida boards. Received my official license in the mail just yesterday! Feels like a bit of freedom - I'm tired of needing my charts double checked and co-signed every time I see a patient! Residency is going wonderfully. I love my schedule and I learn more in one day than I did in a month while I was in school! I really enjoy everyone I work with - especially the other residents. I'm already sad that this is only lasting a year. However, I can't wait to say goodbye to the crappy pay. That's the downfall of a residency.
My grandpa passed away suddenly in July, and I was unable to return home. I've never felt so far away. That was really difficult. It was nice to recall lots of memories of grandpa. He was a stinker! Quiet and observant on the outside, but he was a real prankster and jokster. He taught me that goshdarnit, you don't put any sauce on a good steak! I never forgot that, but sometimes I sneak some A1. Just a little. He had my brother take a sniff of some homemade horseradish from the refrigerator. Jacob took such a huge inhale that he nearly (or completely) threw up! Grandpa giggled. Mom and Grandma weren't so happy. Into my 20s, he continued to tease me about having zits. Got a huge one the week he passed - thanks Gramps! He lived a very full life and he is surely missed. I'm proud of my family and the way they've been handling everything - love you all!
Flew to Iowa for a short trip at the end of July. I made a surprise visit to baby Bella Hunerdosse's baby shower, and picked up our new baby - Hops! Hops has been a wonderful addition to our little family. She and Barley have become best friends. We have become professional pee and poop cleaner uppers. But now we leave Hops and Barley out while we go to work, and they do all their business on the potty pad - FINALLY! Hops watches Barley so closely and tries to imitate many of the things that she does. Including the bad habits! Barley seems to smile much more than she did before Hops, so I think they're both very happy. And for the record, I realize it may be weird to talk about my dogs like they're children and I'm okay with that. (=
Last weekend to took all 4 of us to West Palm Beach to meet some friends for the Dave Matthews Band concerts. Following some ticket confusion for Saturday's concert, we ended up in the 17th row. It was a fabulous weekend and we saw 2 amazing concerts. Definitely memorable - just wish Jo could've made it!
And in case you were wondering, YouTube added some really stupid classical music to the video of the pups below. But at least the video is still cute!
It's been a crazy different life the last few months. I took and passed the Florida boards. Received my official license in the mail just yesterday! Feels like a bit of freedom - I'm tired of needing my charts double checked and co-signed every time I see a patient! Residency is going wonderfully. I love my schedule and I learn more in one day than I did in a month while I was in school! I really enjoy everyone I work with - especially the other residents. I'm already sad that this is only lasting a year. However, I can't wait to say goodbye to the crappy pay. That's the downfall of a residency.
My grandpa passed away suddenly in July, and I was unable to return home. I've never felt so far away. That was really difficult. It was nice to recall lots of memories of grandpa. He was a stinker! Quiet and observant on the outside, but he was a real prankster and jokster. He taught me that goshdarnit, you don't put any sauce on a good steak! I never forgot that, but sometimes I sneak some A1. Just a little. He had my brother take a sniff of some homemade horseradish from the refrigerator. Jacob took such a huge inhale that he nearly (or completely) threw up! Grandpa giggled. Mom and Grandma weren't so happy. Into my 20s, he continued to tease me about having zits. Got a huge one the week he passed - thanks Gramps! He lived a very full life and he is surely missed. I'm proud of my family and the way they've been handling everything - love you all!
Flew to Iowa for a short trip at the end of July. I made a surprise visit to baby Bella Hunerdosse's baby shower, and picked up our new baby - Hops! Hops has been a wonderful addition to our little family. She and Barley have become best friends. We have become professional pee and poop cleaner uppers. But now we leave Hops and Barley out while we go to work, and they do all their business on the potty pad - FINALLY! Hops watches Barley so closely and tries to imitate many of the things that she does. Including the bad habits! Barley seems to smile much more than she did before Hops, so I think they're both very happy. And for the record, I realize it may be weird to talk about my dogs like they're children and I'm okay with that. (=
Last weekend to took all 4 of us to West Palm Beach to meet some friends for the Dave Matthews Band concerts. Following some ticket confusion for Saturday's concert, we ended up in the 17th row. It was a fabulous weekend and we saw 2 amazing concerts. Definitely memorable - just wish Jo could've made it!
And in case you were wondering, YouTube added some really stupid classical music to the video of the pups below. But at least the video is still cute!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Videos of our girls
Sorry for my absence from blogging. Maybe this video will make up for it until I get caught up. (=
This did have fun music along with it, but YouTube is cracking down on copyrighting. Stupid sue happy country - this was much cooler with the music!
This did have fun music along with it, but YouTube is cracking down on copyrighting. Stupid sue happy country - this was much cooler with the music!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
updated apartment photos
The place is finally starting to come together. We got a lot done in preparation for the 4th of July party we held. Still a lot of boxes to sort through, etc. But it feels great to live here! We love being home. We hope you all get to visit sometime!
Venting
Becoming licensed to practice optometry in the state of Florida is a gigantic headache. Reasons I hate the entire process:
1) It costs something like $2400 to take the test. No other state is this expensive.
2) Their webpage is a royal mess and it's difficult to figure anything out.
3) The test is notoriously difficult to pass. They apparently like it that way. I guess it's a method to keep older optometrists from retiring down here in an already O.D. saturated state. The pass rate used to be only 10%. Thankfully it has risen dramatically since then.
4) Even if you pass the test, your license doesn't come in until August or September. Which means you can't get paid to be an optometrist until then - and we graduated in MAY!!! Thank goodness for residency... (even though the pay is crap - at least I don't have to wait until September to get paid!)
5) Registration materials packet was supposed to arrive 30 days prior to the date of the first exam. The three exams started June 27th and last until approximately July 18th. I HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED MY PACKET!!!!!!!!
6) They misspelled my last name. Perhaps part of the reason I have not yet received my packet. "HunDerdosse". GRRR!!!! Despite the crapload of paperwork they have indicating the proper spelling of my last name, they can't get it right. Considering that this is much more than signing up for a mailing list, this should've been triple checked! For goodness sakes, this is a license to practice medicine!! I emailed them to let them know they misspelled my last name. They emailed me to tell me their records are correct. Bullhonkey!!
7) Because they misspelled my last name, I had a difficult time registering to take 2 of the examinations at prometrics centers. As spots filled up, locations filled up, I waited, and waited... After all, they tell us NOT to register until we receive our packet. But even though I knew how to register, I couldn't because they misspelled my name!!! I was clever enough to suspect this was a problem - and upon guessing the improper spelling, was able to sign into the prometric site and sign up for the examinations.
8) When I signed up at prometric - I had to pay another $150 to take the stupid tests!!! WTF?!?!!!!!!!
9) I just found out today that they misspelled my old address, as well. "THeasure Dr" instead of "Treasure Dr". So out there in the mail world, my registration packet is trying to get to my OLD address with the WRONG last name and WRONG street.
10) Last year the center that administers the test malfunctioned and after taking the test, finding out they passed it - some people had to re-take it because they lost their answers!! This year I've already heard tell of people showing up to tests that have been delayed 2 hrs due to technical difficulties. That's so awesome. Can't wait to see what happens to me on test day.
I better pass this bleeping thing... back to studying.
1) It costs something like $2400 to take the test. No other state is this expensive.
2) Their webpage is a royal mess and it's difficult to figure anything out.
3) The test is notoriously difficult to pass. They apparently like it that way. I guess it's a method to keep older optometrists from retiring down here in an already O.D. saturated state. The pass rate used to be only 10%. Thankfully it has risen dramatically since then.
4) Even if you pass the test, your license doesn't come in until August or September. Which means you can't get paid to be an optometrist until then - and we graduated in MAY!!! Thank goodness for residency... (even though the pay is crap - at least I don't have to wait until September to get paid!)
5) Registration materials packet was supposed to arrive 30 days prior to the date of the first exam. The three exams started June 27th and last until approximately July 18th. I HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED MY PACKET!!!!!!!!
6) They misspelled my last name. Perhaps part of the reason I have not yet received my packet. "HunDerdosse". GRRR!!!! Despite the crapload of paperwork they have indicating the proper spelling of my last name, they can't get it right. Considering that this is much more than signing up for a mailing list, this should've been triple checked! For goodness sakes, this is a license to practice medicine!! I emailed them to let them know they misspelled my last name. They emailed me to tell me their records are correct. Bullhonkey!!
7) Because they misspelled my last name, I had a difficult time registering to take 2 of the examinations at prometrics centers. As spots filled up, locations filled up, I waited, and waited... After all, they tell us NOT to register until we receive our packet. But even though I knew how to register, I couldn't because they misspelled my name!!! I was clever enough to suspect this was a problem - and upon guessing the improper spelling, was able to sign into the prometric site and sign up for the examinations.
8) When I signed up at prometric - I had to pay another $150 to take the stupid tests!!! WTF?!?!!!!!!!
9) I just found out today that they misspelled my old address, as well. "THeasure Dr" instead of "Treasure Dr". So out there in the mail world, my registration packet is trying to get to my OLD address with the WRONG last name and WRONG street.
10) Last year the center that administers the test malfunctioned and after taking the test, finding out they passed it - some people had to re-take it because they lost their answers!! This year I've already heard tell of people showing up to tests that have been delayed 2 hrs due to technical difficulties. That's so awesome. Can't wait to see what happens to me on test day.
I better pass this bleeping thing... back to studying.
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