Second Week of Medical School Down

At the outset, I'll share some spiritual musings as of late. Per suggestion, I read a talk called "Children" by Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is an excellent and sensitive talk about families.

The point that stuck out to me the most was that "we believe in families, and we believe in children." I don't understand why, through the years it has become so much less popular to have families and children. How can regeneration possibly be a descending trend? Elder Anderson cites this Christian blog post quoting,

"[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood ... Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get ... Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for." 

I hope I can overcome myself and put this goal at the top of my list someday. I share this because I find a lot of the advice I've been the recipient of about marriage and family discouraging and this article and the blog were illuminating for me. I'm positive there will still be nay-sayers, but mark my words, I am looking forward to being a mom someday, while I fully expect challenges and difficulties beyond my wildest imagination. People told me marriage would be worth putting off and would generally limit me, but well, it hasn't.

As a matter of fact, so far it has really prodded my progression as a person all around. I think marriage has highlighted a lot of my personal issues and I've had to face them head on and change for the better. For me, I truly don't think that would happen on my own, even if I was finding myself in the Alps, or being single and obnoxious for several more years, or getting another degree or something else people feel are pre-requisites for settling down. The bottom line is that when it's right, it's right. It's a very personal matter and that should be respected.

I guess I feel impassioned about this because it is really easy to listen to those voices. I know they are trying to be helpful and many populations would feel the advice to be wise and good. I tend to be easily persuaded, but family is central to God's plan of happiness. I also found this point really helpful: Adam and Eve did not have their children in the Garden of Eden.

So, yeah.

Last week was nice. Here are some of the things that happened:

 Jeff had Taco Bell for the first time in his life. He answered a question correctly and his professor offered him Taco Bell as a reward.

Husband rating: 5/10

Jeff has already made 900+ flashcards. He has been really busy, however, we've been able to spend a lot of time together. He has his first exam in a week, so I suspect he'll be the busiest he's been so far. 

Jeff has been dissecting HUMANS. That is still so weird to me. I've never seen a cadaver, but I have certainly smelled one, if you know what I'm saying. It's not that bad...Just a little creepy. 

Here's a peek at some of our meals this week:

We really love Slab Pizza in Provo. For those not acquainted with Slab, it's a fantastic pizza place with a pretty bizarre menu. Our two favorites are Buffalo Wing and Chicken Enchilada. Since we can't go to Slab, I fashioned two copycat recipes. They turned out pretty delicious, if I may say so myself. I ended up making five pizzas this week. Yes, five. It's easy and a great way to feed a lot of people--like me and Jeff, haha.

Click for recipe :)

Click for recipe :)

As for projects, I stained this and a wooden crate. I got this mirror from Jeff's cousin Hannah right before she was going to take it to the D.I. Thank you! I sanded it down, wiped it off and gave it one lazy coat of Rust-oleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Kona (this is the same stain I used on my deer head project. I wanted a distressed look and I like it just like this. It's pretty and very dark. 

We have a free gym nearby, so I have been swimming and lifting. Yay! It feels good to be settled. Also, there are like six girls that are all are wives of students and/or recent move-ins from Provo. We have spent time together swimming, hanging out, watching movies, and generally supporting each other. :)

Disclaimer: If it sounds like I am doing nothing all day, that is a little bit true. My job doesn't begin for about a week and a half. I am doing some part-time nannying though. That, by the way, is awesome and I love it.

I've been thinking about how incredible the human body is lately. Jeff comes home and tells me that he held lungs in his hands or handled a human heart. He is having some remarkable experiences, for sure. This sums up some of my thoughts in that regard:

I Love my Life

Let's just get it out there; I really have a great life. I love my husband who is so patient and loving. He is the stars and the moon. I have grown so much by living with him. He has really shaped me into a better person.

Here are some other things I love that make my life so fabulous:

Jesus Christ and his church

Singing

Kid History (and other YouTube gold)

Kristen Wiig

My brother and sister

Great parents

Grandparents

Bryan/College Station

Ice cream

Buy this print!

Photography and Videography

Nice neighbors

Disney movies

Bebe animals

Friendship

Candy

Homemade bread

Music

Camping and hiking

Harry Potter

Netflix

Healthy smoothies

Blue Bell ice cream

Dance

Trampolines

Modern medicine

Books

Pinterest...oh, how I love Pinterest

Craigslist

Learning new skills

Blogging

Exercise

There are just so many good things on this planet. I have barely scratched the surface today. 

I'm going to only say positive things today, so there.

Go out and have a great day!

5 Wrong Ways to Move

Hey everybody!

Now that I've got the solid update taken care of, I thought I would share something that has been on my mind:

I have moved somewhere around 20 times... Really. I went to 16 schools between kindergarten and high school. I also moved three times in college (and four times this summer if you count sheer box moving from place to place). Sheesh! I have only met a handful of people who have moved as often, and yes, all of them have military ties of some sort. I don't.

I just graduated and so many of my closest friends are heading off in different directions. I figure it's timely to share some of the lessons I've learned along the way. :)

#1. Make new friends and ignore the ones you had before moving

This one maybe only applies to me, as I developed habits of letting go early on. I imagine most people that have been in one or two places their whole life might not struggle with this as much as I have.

There are plenty of people in this world that I still regard as a best friend, although I have not seen or talked to them in years. I've only just learned that most of these people do not feel the same way about me anymore. I guess consistency is a major friendship thing. In my experience I've noticed that a lot of people will say that they will stay in contact with you... and then they won't. That's okay. Kind of. Life goes on and it turns out it's kind of hard to keep up long-distance friendships.

Perhaps a good option in the first place would be to set realistic goals. Leaving friends is pretty difficult for me, but you both find that the Earth still spins after moving. Maybe agree up front to contact each other, say, once a month, instead of once a week. It may sound insensitive to some, but it's better (in my opinion) than forgetting about each other and feeling guilty. That is not good. Be flexible and considerate of each other's lives. I don't get offended if someone forgets about me and I hope they do the same in return.

#2. Wallow in self-pity and lament your relocation to new associates

This one is embarrassing, haha. Granted, I think the last time I did this I was in eighth grade, but still. It's still a little tempting each time I move. I remember being at a ward Christmas party, sitting on Santa's lap (what? Why?) and saying, in front of two or three new friends, "Santa, I just want my old home and friends back." Oh my goodness. So dramatic. I can sympathize with pre-pubescent Claire, but still. I had new friends! They were really nice (Missoula peeps, if you read my blog, haha)!

Here's how I would--and do--handle my feelings now: "Wow, you guys are so cool! Thanks for letting me tag along with you [even though I am obviously caught in the throes of a middle-school crises]." I would be the realest kind of upbeat, because, guess what; you can find good, like-minded people pretty much anywhere if you adopt a healthy perspective. 

#3. Impress the people around with your razzle dazzle and make them want to hang out with you

This one comes from Dale Carnegie's [daughter], How to Win Friends and Influence People [for Teen Girls], which my loving parents bought for me in eighth grade, haha.

The concept here is that you will make friend's more easily by becoming genuinely interested in others than by trying to make others interested in you. Seriously. This one is easy to miss for me sometimes. I move in like an excited chihuahua and want to shout, "Hi! I'm Claire! I sing and dance and watch me put my foot on the back of my head!! Also, I'm sooo nice!" There is really no need to do this. At all. This totally rubs some people the wrong way anyway.

Here's a better approach: "Your name is what? You are from where? Oh, I've heard of that place! Don't they have ______? Cool (only say it if you mean it)!" Really, people like to be liked. Disclaimer: just be real! The more you let someone else open up, the more you may find you have in common with that person. Smile and be polite. Read social cues, like a glance at a watch or breaking eye contact with you. Just be a chill, personable little person and you will get along just fine!

#4. Listen "intently" to what others say to you and then dump the information a nano-second later

This one is a biggie for me. I am pretty detail-oriented and I remember names really well. I think this came from so many moves. It takes dedication. I've totally been there. I'll ask, "Oh, what's your name?" and as they are telling me, I am thinking about how pretty their earrings are or something and miss the name entirely. Then I'm locked in and have no other option than to find their name out secretly later or ask for it again. Note: there is no problem forgetting someone's name, especially when you are new and memorizing everybody's names; however, when you remember somebody's name (where they're from, which school they went to, etc.) that signals to them that you cared enough to log it away in your brain! That's great! Again, people like to feel interesting to others.

Here's how I remember names. I just concentrate on it as they tell me. If it's something not as "sticky" for me, sometimes I'll repeat it back or use it in a following sentence, like, "Thanks for sitting by me, Becky." Sometimes if I lose the memory of the person saying their name, I'll retain the memory of me saying their name. Also, if the name is tricky or hard to pronounce for me, I'll try to connect to something I do know. I'll tell myself, 'that sounds like ______, but with and "N."'

A last little tip on remembering names: I find that attaching someone's name to physical attributes is good, but only if it's something permanent; I.e., tall, brown eyes, cute nose. I say this because if you remember somebody for their mint jeans and top knot, you might run into that person at the gym, and have no idea who that person is. It's just more practical to commit more lasting characteristics to memory, in my experience.

#5. Figure there's no place like home and watch "Parks and Rec" all day. 

This has two implications:

     (1) Staying at your new home all day is bad news, and
     (2) Assuming no place could possibly as good (or better) than your last place

Guess what, I have loved everywhere I have lived. I really mean that. Every situation seems to have ups and downs. Take Texas for example, it is full of great food and friends and fun... and somebody got in our car last week. Strange. So very strange, indeed.

Bonus: #6. Lose yourself out there

Okay, so each move presents a blank slate. I've arrived in Texas pretty much as myself, but if I wanted to I could introduce myself as Clefairy, a tight-rope-walking vegan. This sounds like a far cry, but I've been Clarissa, the no-meat-eating triathlete before. It's a great time to leave the past behind you. Maybe you use to cry a lot in your last place and you'd like to give that up. Maybe you were a bully. Maybe you weren't as close to God as you would like to be. Moving is a great time to restructure some of those things because there is no one to say, "You don't do that."

While this is great, it is important to stay true to yourself. For me, I know the things I want to keep the most consistent throughout my whole life is that I am clean, I love my husband, and I am trying to be like Jesus. With this in mind, I am looking for new friends who will support me in those decisions. I know that I become a lot like the people I spend the most time with.

Well, I hope this hasn't come across as too preachy. I like learning from others' experiences and figure someone might benefit from what I have to say, too.

If you know anyone who is moving, restarting, or could in some other way benefit from reading this, please share it!

If you have any tips you could add, please comment below. I'd love to interact with you and find out what has helped you (I did just move, you know?)!

I hope you have a great day!

Update/First Week of Med School!

Dear everyone,

Thank you so much for all the love and support you have shown Jeff and me in the past couple weeks! We have felt so secure in our new surroundings thanks to all the encouraging and helpful comments, texts, and phone calls.

Here is first, an explanation of why I haven't posted recently and second, a little update on our lives (or some good news after this post...oy vey).

An explanation:

Jeff and I have been reasonably busy lately. Jeff is starting his second week of medical school today! Here's a cute, but sad story to illustrate what that looks like so far (Jeff allegedly doesn't remember this); Jeff typically falls asleep much faster than I do, so just as I start drifting off to sleep, Jeff bolts upright as says, "I'm stressed out about med school!" He then fell back asleep. I have no words.

Real-life [almost] doctor man!

Maybe this is why he feels that way:

Jeff wakes up around 6 AM (not new) and does his routine he's done since I met him. He leaves for school around 8:15 AM. He finishes lecture/lab sometime between noon and five depending on the day (although he stays on campus until about 5 PM to study almost every day) and then he comes home, where he studies until 10:00 or 10:30 PM.

Jeff has mentioned that he covers much more material in medical school than he did at BYU. It seems that he has already covered a semester's-worth of material in a week, people.

The hardest part seems to be that the students don't know what exactly will be covered in the exams, so they are memorizing everything. Jeff has also mentioned that medical school is a little less organized than BYU was. Thank goodness for the student Facebook group that has saved a number of hides as other students have sent out due dates as they are uncovered in the lack of syllabi... yikes.

Notwithstanding Jeff's workload and dedicated study habits, we still hang out for about an hour and a half every day. :) Man, he's the best.

Here's what I have done all day:

• Moved all of our things in (keep reading to find out what that means, exactly)
• Organized our belongings
• Bought this couch (look familiar? Craigslist)
• Hung out with these people; I.e., made friends (I have made quite a few friends, but haven't taken pictures of them, haha)

• A bunch of stuff Jeff would be doing if he were here
• Cleaned a lot
• Painted this

Jeff loves deer. I consider it a patronus. Win win. ;)

• Celebrated this

Made it me-self, words and all.

Blimey, 'Arry!

• Updated my blog 
• Implemented this life hack

• Exercised
• Picked this up off the side of the road (project pending)

• Fed the missionaries
• Fraternized with other med student families (in church, in Jeff's study groups, and in the Married to Medical School group)
• Tried plenty of great restaurants (C&J's barbecue [Claire & Jeff?], Fuego's, Grub Burger, Hullabaloo...)
• Exhausted my GPS
• And cooked these

Click on image for recipe :)

Click on image for recipe :)

Oh! I also got a job. I will be working at the A&M preschool! I am so excited, but I don't start until the end of August so if you need me, I'll be watching Netflix (just kidding).

An Update: 

So, about  my last post. I think some folks are probably wondering what in the freak happened in the end, haha. Let me tell you: 

Jeff and I moved into the stinky apartment. I got sick, blah, blah, blah, we went to a hotel for three or four days (management refunded us, bless their hearts. Seriously). They told us that a unit two doors down from us would be available until the beginning of August. They told us we could live there until something else became available--dismal, but better. In the meantime, we moved our things over to the new apartment, washed a bazillion loads of laundry trying to get the cigarette smell out, met with an apartment locator and school attorney, and prayed that everything would work out. 

Further, we talked to our manager, regional manager, and corporate manager about breaking {annihilating} our lease. We got things in writing, we took plenty of pictures, and then they called us telling us that two larger and smoke-free apartments were available. They happened to be the floor plan we were kind of expecting (sans granite countertops, which apparently never existed--we don't care). We moved for the third time that week into a different building, and guess what. It is pretty, darn cute! 

Some people might be wondering why we didn't keep fighting to end our leasing agreement ("They were dishonest with you," "It was a bait and switch,""Why would you want to stay there?"). To that I would say that it really is nice. We live in a beautiful, green, quiet area with nice neighbors (and two other Mormon, married, med-school couples in our complex); the management proved that they were happy to accommodate us when we had issues (arguably personal preferences, even); we have free water, cable, internet, and a full gym; and we like the apartment itself (I will post a tour once we have pictures on the walls). 

By the way, none of our belongings smell like smoke! If you want to know how to get cigarette smoke out of furniture, here is a resource. We used cornstarch and baking soda to "deep clean" our mattress. It was way easy and totally effective.

A final word on Southern charm and hospitality: PEOPLE HERE ARE SO DANG NICE, Y'ALL! Really! I can't believe how friendly they are! AAAAND THEY REALLY DO SAY HOWDY!! I really love Texas. I love my apartment. I love the people. I love all the Texas-shaped things, haha. I love the food and the campus and everything. 

I feel right at home. 

Again, thank you for all the help. We know so many good people.

YOU ROCK!!!

Mistakes

Only ten-or-so posts in and I'm composing a serious one--oh boy. But really, please read this. Please help us or just learn from our silly, but consequence-provoking experience today.

I am living in Bryan, TX. As a matter of fact I have lived here for a little over a day. While I really like Texas so far, it has been a bit of a ride. Read on.

After a reasonably pleasant 20-or-so-hour drive across the country we arrived at our apartment complex office. Eager to see our apartment in person for the first time, we naively filled out our leasing agreement and paid our first and last month's rent. The thought never occurred to us to scope out our new home before signing... can you see where this is going? Despite decent reviews, we were not prepared for what was yet to come:

After pulling up the moving van to the curb in what actually turned out to be a flash flood, I had a feeling to lower my expectations spectacularly. We swung the door open to meet a ceiling fan swinging threateningly off it's axil, a pungent wall of cigarette fumes, and a floor plan--to our great surprise--we had never even seen before. That's right, a different apartment, free of the granite countertops, black cabinets, spacious bedroom, and walk in closets that lured us away from other reasonable apartments.

This is all sort of embarrassing to admit, really. We just had no idea.

I actually said, "Well, this is kind of a let-down." Never had it crossed my mind that the apartment might have allowed smoking. Neither had it occurred to me that we could be mislead by pictures and reviews (I can tell if someone used a wide-angle lens in their pictures so I thought we were good). I was just totally naive. We stuck it out for a while, but eventually cracked, "Jeff, someone pooped in our toilet; I know because there are skid marks (haha)," "Claire, this is a totally different apartment than they told us we were getting," etc. Panic mildly washed over us, but not completely because we figured, hey, we have lived here for, what, three hours? Of course the management will rectify these issues and we'll be out before we know it.

We headed over to the office and mustered up the courage to mention the stinky smoke, which had made me totally sick. They were kind enough to send a guy over to take care of it... Except that he just told us, "This stuff makes it smell good." and sprayed what seemed like super Febreeze into our air conditioning unit. Three hours later, the apartment smelled exactly the same. This time I got massive headache and a sick-y stomach. Cool.

Amidst this, Jeff and I decided firmly that this place didn't meet our needs at all and that we really couldn't live in the odor (which really is pretty intense; our clothing totally smells like it. In fact, it simply seems as though someone is smoking right in our living room relentlessly. We took our concerns and four reasons for wanting to leave to the management. They were:

1. Cigarette smoke
2. We felt mislead
3. The apartment needed repairs
4. the overarching fact that we didn't get the apartment we planned on and didn't want to live there

While the management was very kind in handling the issues, they didn't have anything to offer on ending our contract and said we could sublease or relet the apartment (and be held responsible for any damage or fees on the subleaser's part).

Taking advice from parents and friends, we then contacted the regional manager and Texas Apartment Association. Both suggested subleasing or reletting. Still there was not even a hope for ending the year-long contract.

The accompanying trouble is that some apartments won't let us a sign a contract with them until we have written proof that our current contract has ended (understandably, of course). We just feel stuck...

We also learned that many universities have attorneys at no cost for students. We called at set up an appointment. So here we are, staying at a hotel while we pray for a miracle (because the conditions totally stink. Double. Meaning). So my serious question, has anyone been in a situation like this and made it out okay? I'm sure we sound high maintenance, but I ugly cried at the prospect of a year's worth of secondhand smoke piping right into our home we didn't even want. See ya; I've got some Blue Bell consolation ice cream calling my name...

*feeble laugh*

(Okay, first timer here. THIS STUFF IS SO GREAT!!!!! I love the South already.)

TEXAS!!

Moving day! You guys, we are really leaving!! Like, right now!!

See you on the other side, y'all. :)

Loving Life with Mister J

Jeff and I have a whopping two weeks until we move to College Station. Here's how we're spending our last fortnight together (implicating I plan on not seeing him much when school starts...just being realistic).

We are in one of my favorite places: San Diego. There is just something really excellent about this place. Here's a day in the life according to the camera...

We are here for a week and then we're going to Canada with some of our good friends (Mike and Ally and Brett and Julie {and baby Ellie}). Mike and Brett also got accepted to med school this year. We will all be moving south. Brett and Julie are actually going to Texas A&M, too! So awesome.

I mostly say all this because I plan on being somewhat absent until we settle. At least then I will have some things to report about medical school for real!!

Also, I got an interview for a perfect job. I would get to teach three-year-olds at Jeff's school. That strikes me as perfect. Keep your fingers crossed for us, puh-lease. :)

Love you all!