Christmas Gifting

Well I don't know how I thought I could go through with not putting up pictures on my blog of Christmas. Truth be told, I took very few! It was a very quiet Christmas at home with my parents with a few presents under the tree for each of us. Since I've been living at home with my parents it has been like Christmas daily, they are so generous to me. I got my prized ticketed item, a new camera! Funny I know, how could I have not taken more pictures with my awesome new camera but I was just getting used to it and I didn't have an ultra SD card for it yet so that is my excuse.

Vintage Jacket from my Brother and Sister in Law in NYC

Dana Buchanan purse from Kohl's- so cute even my dog had to check it out

Break-Resistant Wine glasses for my new place! These should last me for a long time!

Make-up Kit by Tarte ... love all the color palates they had in this baby!

MY DREAM MACHINE!

This baby really does it all! It has 3D picture capability, panoramic picture taking, and a fabulous low light setting. I am amazed by how clear all of these pictures are! 

My Parents and I at my Aunt and Uncle's house on Christmas day!

It was a great Christmas, but very low key. I am excited to have my brother in law and sister and their kids moving back to Georgia so we can all do Christmas together next year! I must have been very good this year or maybe my parents love me unconditionally.... maybe it's a bit of both. I have really had a roller coaster of a year but in the end my family has seen me through it all. I look forward to the New Year and all the blessings and trials it will bring. 

+AMDG+

All is calm, all is bright

Merry Christmas Eve! Looking outside today, it looks like any other day but somehow all is calm and quiet. I won't quite say it's the calm before the storm because Christmas should by no means be called a storm but it is the stillness before such a truly extraordinary event. I look forward every year to be going to midnight mass, there is nothing quite like it. Every year when I go to Midnight Mass, especially at my home parish of Most Holy Trinity, I am reaffirmed in my love of Christ and in being a Catholic Christian. There is this wonder and awe that is rekindled in the hearts of everyone, reminding us of how God became flesh so that we may believe. I can say there are many traditions that we as Catholics cherish but it is the most simple and yet extraordinary celebration of the mass that binds us together so closely.

I am somewhat saddened not to have my siblings in town for the holidays, but we all see to be very busy this year. Come to think if it, three of the four of us are moving! My sister and brother in law move Dec 30 to a larger apartment in NYC just 2 blocks away from their place now, and my sister and brother in law will be making a very long journey and moving from Salt Lake City, UT back to Georgia in January. I am set to move beginning of February! I will be starting my job at MUSC in Charleston February 20, God willing. I have so much to be thankful for and God has totally answered my prayers and in a much better way than I could have imagined. Merry Christmas to everyone and remember to cherish your family and friends. Christ will become present tonight in a very real way; let us always allow Christ to be present in a very real way in our live throughout the year and for years to come.

+AMDG+

Drum roll please...

Well it is finally official. I AM MOVING TO CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA!!!!! I got an offer from MUSC's Renal Transplant program and I accepted it on Thursday. I will be moving to Charleston sometime in the beginning of February. Praise God! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and my job situation. Your prayers and moral support have meant so much and I know that this is where God wants me to be. I hated the waiting but it was so worth it.

 +AMDG+

Finally a recipe!

I seriously feel like sometimes I am allergic to blogging or at least I am a sprinter not a marathon runner. I guess that is how the roller coaster of life goes, one day you have plenty of time to write things and the next you are scrambling to write two lines. I still haven't heard from the job yet, it is really starting to weigh on me. I think Jesus is really trying to pull me close to him during this season of Advent, since advent means the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. I have no doubt God is trying to teach me a lesson of patience and awaiting the arrival of the gifts He longs to give me. But I will say waiting is so hard! I want to start planning where I'll be living, starting to do SC state paperwork, hospital credentialing and so much more! God is allowing me time to anticipate His arrival on Christmas and not to get caught up in the worldly things. 

I do have some very EXCITING news to tell everyone though! My sister and bro-in-law and my niece and nephew will be moving back to Georgia next month! Not Augusta, but Athens... 1.5 hours away from us! I am beyond shocked but it has been an intention of the Novena to St. Andrew so I should not be surprised that God has answered my prayers. My brother in law, Christopher, got a post doctorate position at UGA for at least a year, up to three if funding continues. He just defended his thesis and finished his dissertation this past Wednesday out at the University of Utah and has been looking for a post doc position for many months now. All of his most promising options never came to fruition, and on a whim he emailed a gentleman he met at a conference who Christ knew was taking a job at UGA. Little did he know a chance email would turn in to them moving back to GA and Chris with a job. Praise God! The crazy thing is that my brother in law will be starting Feb 1, 2012! So they have to pack everything up and drive across the country in a little over a month. My sister says that she and the kids will come early and stay with our parents so that they can look for a house in the mean time. My sister still has to find a job as an RN there so she won't need to be working. Can't wait to see my super cute niece and nephew again, and on a more regular basis.

I recently tried a recipe that I found on Pinterest. I know this has become the new craze but I love finding new recipes because I am sometimes a very picky eater so I would never have looked up some of these recipes on my own. 

So here is my latest creation... Strawberry Balsamic Pizza with Chicken, sweet onion and apple wood smoked bacon . Might I add that this was DELICIOUS!!! I normally don't like to mix tastes but this was heavenly. I even made a believe out of my skeptical mother. =)

(pardon the very poor camera quality, took this from my phone and I think I had something on my lens when I took it)

Recipe: from The Cafe' Farine

Balsamic Strawberry Pizza with Chicken, Sweet Onion and Applewood Smoked Bacon 

Ingredients:
½ cup strawberry jam or preserves, use your favorite
¼ cup balsamic vinegar ( white balsamic can be used too)
1 teaspoon Sriracha Chili Sauce
1 ball pizza dough (I used pillsbury's thin pizza crust in a can but you can get premade pizza dough from many grocery stores, like Publix or Trader Joe's)
1 cup diced or shredded chicken breast, from rotisserie chicken or left over chicken of any kind
½ cup applewood smoked bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces, cooked and drained
½ cup thin sliced sweet onion
12 ounces shredded Italian blend cheese 
¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh strawberries, diced small

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 4 to 5 minutes or until reduced to half of the original volume and mixture is thick and syrupy. Add strawberry preserves and Sriracha and mix well. Set aside to cool.

3. Pat or roll out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to approximately a 14 inch circle. Shape does not have to be perfect, this is a rustic pizza. I placed dough directly onto the baking sheet/pizza pan. The original recipes is a bit more involved than I thought it needed to be.

4. Combine chicken with 2 tablespoons of the balsamic-strawberry mixture and mix to coat all chicken with sauce. Pour rest of sauce onto pizza dough and spread to cover. Leave a 1 inch border all around the edge. Scatter chicken evenly over the sauce.

5. Place about 3/4 of the cheese on top of dough and spread to cover sauce evenly. Scatter  bacon and sweet onion over cheese to distribute evenly. Scatter remaining cheese over this layer.

6. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Watch carefully, at this temperature it is easy to burn the pizza!

7. Remove from oven and let cool slightly, 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and fresh diced strawberries. Serve and enjoy! 

Try it, you won't be disappointed! 

+AMDG+

More Waiting

As if Advent season wasn't already a time of preparation and waiting for the birth of Jesus Christ, which I am constantly reminded that most people have forgotten, I am awaiting news about a job that I interviewed for last week. I went and interviewed at MUSC in Charleston, SC for a Physician Assistant position in Kidney Transplant. This would be a non surgical position, dealing mostly with preoperative evaluation and post operative care of kidney transplant recipients. I really enjoyed my interview there, I could tell that the Nephrology department there was a well oiled machine and I was happy to see good working relationships. Obviously as this is said, no department is ever perfect but I think I got a good impression from everyone I interviewed with. I had a long interview, from 10am-3pm. I did choose to go on rounds with one of the physicians, not just because it would show them that I am very interested in the position but because I did want to see potentially what the job would entail. From what I was told I had very positive reviews from everyone that I interviewed with and I hope there will be an offer soon! I miss being in medicine, my current PRN position only allows me to treat "weight loss" so I feel like I am missing out on the diagnostic factor of being a PA. I am constantly reminded at how intrigued I am by medicine and that when I don't know something I am eager to find out the answer or as to what a certain condition is. Being in medicine you never stop learning; there is always some new medicine, treatment, or disease out there, maybe that's why I like it so much.

So right now I am trying to focus on several different things: a potential job, preparing for Christmas, STARTING Christmas shopping, and my cousin's wedding this weekend! I am so excited for Clare and Ben. I have plenty of things going on this week and thankfully I am not working. I am able to help my cousin and aunt with random tasks to make sure there is less stress on everyone. No one wants a stressed bride or mother of the bride. As I am typing this a funny green bug just pelted across my room and flew into my dresser. I was wondering what was making that buzzing noise earlier today, I figured there was a bug in the window but after lifting up the blinds I couldn't locate the darn thing. It's dead now, so no more buzzing. I am also excited to have my brother Fr. Aaron coming into town on Friday. He will be doing the wedding vows for my cousin's wedding. I was hoping I'd be the first family member for him to do marriage vows for but I will gladly step down for my cousin. After all it makes it even more special that one day he'll get to celebrate the wedding mass for me and the man I am going to get married to. Fun stuff to think about for the future.

During this period of waiting I hope to have patience and joy just as we all should for the advent season, awaiting the birth of Christ our Savior. Me being a woman I want to plan and plan and plan some more. I really want to know if I will be moving to Charleston for a job there and start all the preparations to do so. Instead Christ is asking me to grow in patience and to enjoy the waiting time I am in now for the preparation of the Joy he has set for me... in the gift of himself by becoming human and by having me waiting for the revelation of his plan for me as a Physician Assistant. Here's to patience and joy!

+AMDG+

December... already?!

So I realize I've done a bit of slacking in the blogging world... not like most of you care but I can't believe I hadn't written anything in almost a month. Life has been pretty busy I can't lie but I have no idea where to begin on what has happened in the past month.

Went on a girl's weekend trip to Atlanta to visit Erin and Drew ... Drew graciously allowed 10 girls to invade his home. I don't think he had much choice because Erin moved to Drew's hometown after they got married and knew there would be some disgruntled girls if they weren't allowed to visit. Little did he know we would all come at once. Erin and Drew are expecting baby Blake at the end of January so we were all exciting to see Erin's baby bump and to have some girl time with our friend Lindsey who flew in from Tampa for the weekend as well.

Picture of all of us girl's at Atlantic Station in Atlanta

My friend Erin also had her baby shower this month, my camera has actually bitten the dust so I didn't get any pictures after the girl's weekend. But there was tons of good food and baby Blake got lots of things and will be such a well dressed little man. All of us can't wait for him to arrive.

I've been crafting some lately and I invited my friend Joy Beth over to make some ornaments with me, got this idea from Pinterest. I absolutely love vintage/aged looking things. I saw these DIY ornaments from old book paper and I fell in love. Here is the finished product.

Old pages from a book, mod podge, glitter and twine bow

Also this time of year allows me to have one of my favorite all time drinks- Eggnog. Even though I don't drink coffee I do imbibe occasionally on Starbuck's Eggnog Frapaccinos because they are so delicious and don't taste like coffee. They started making them mid November and I was so excited that they were finally out... I got a venti! 

I am ready for the holidays and I am starting to bring down all of the Christmas decorations in my parent's house. Christmas music is now a staple and is almost constantly on in the background. I am enjoying the start of this Advent season and I can't wait to celebrate the birth of Christ in a few weeks. 

+AMDG+

A Bacheloretting we will go!

So I've definitely been slacking in the blogging department but I am trying to catch up while I have the motivation. Last weekend of October we traveled to Helen, GA to celebrate Clare's last few weeks of being a Miss. This also happened to be the last weekend of Helen's Oktoberfest celebration. Helen is a quaint German town or atleast the town's architecture is reminiscent of German gingerbread looking buildings. Well the "we" as mentioned above includes Clare's bridesmaids and a friend or two. Altogether though we had a brigade of 11 girls. All of us pitched in and rented a cabin up in Helen, GA, which had a hot tub. I was all ears when I heard hot tub. After living in Lake Tahoe, I was spoiled because my ex, Ben, had a hot tub at his place and I would be in it all the time because the weather out there was always perfect for it.

So I'm writing this almost a month later and I'm somewhat forgetting the details but I drove up from Atlanta because I had a job interview earlier in the day and on my way up I decided to stop by a grocery store to pick up some beer... well after wandering around the grocery store in circles, it suddenly dawned on me that there were still "dry" counties in Georgia. So I asked a person who worked there and they confirmed my suspicion... they did not sell alcohol in that county and the next county that did sell it was my destination city and the prices are always jacked up in that town. So no beer for me. Only a few of the girls had made to Helen because several had to work on Friday and were driving up later. I arrived to a few of the girls having started drinking quite early and attempting to make dinner. The house was somewhat lacking in certain utensils so I ended up helping make pizza dough and rolling it out with a cucumber.
There was a house next door that was being rented as well and the girls told me that there was a bunch of guys throwing a halloween party and they said they were going to invite us over to later. Little did I know when I heard a knock on the door what I was going to see. i figured it was some of the girls arriving and when i said come in and then nothing happened i came to the door to find a very large baby outside the door... a man dressed as a baby. Since the girls had told me they had seen a guy dressed like a baby earlier I thought they were expecting him so I yelled to the girls that there was a big baby here, and the girls thought it was our friend who was pregnant at the door. I think they died out laughing after they heard me say that and then found a young man dressed as a baby at the door. That was the joke of the weekend.

We had a wonderful night once all the girls got in. I had made breakfast that morning... I saved some of the orange marmalade rolls I had made earlier in the month for this occasion and brought them up and reheated them and served mimosas for breakfast. Nothing like waking up on a crisp morning in the mountains to Mimosas... or atleast I think so.

It took a bit for 11 girls to get ready but we packed sack lunches and then headed into downtown Helen, GA for some shopping. One of the girls spotted an old timey photo place and we all decided to have our pictures taken in saloon girl and cowboy outfits. It was so much fun getting dressed up and the pictures turned out great. Such good memories. I think most of us were worn out by the end of this and we all came back to the cabin to take a nap and to freshen up before going out for Clare's night on the town. We had a fun time at the Troll Tavern in Helen and crashed not too long after getting back to the cabin. We all ended up going to mass in Cleveland, GA on Sunday morning and then I started my drive back home. The rest of the girls ended up going to the Cabbage Patch doll museum/hospital which was not far down the road from the church. So that pretty much concluded the weekend, I am so excited for Clare to be getting married and I can't believe now it's only 1.5 weeks away.

Out shopping in Helen, GA

Me rolling out some dough with a cucumber, the beer is mine too

All of the girls outside the Troll Tavern, complete with tiaras

Amy and I with her prize for winning the bachelorette game... clue is that I'm wearing it and it does have feet!

Pumpkin Eaters

Fall is really my favorite season of all time! What is there not to love about bonfires, college football, crisp cool air, leaves changing colors, scarves, chunky sweaters, boots, spiced drinks, and of course pumpkin carving! After coming back from visiting my brother and sister-in-law in NYC I had a girls night with Joy and Melissa. We made caramel apples, girly drinks, and carved pumpkins! I can't believe I hadn't carved a pumpkin until I was in college and now I feel so deprived if I don't get to do one every year. Each of our pumpkins really captured our personalities, even when none of them were faces!

Joy Beth doing some carving

Melissa with her Pumpkin- "Look at my horse, its amazingggg!" 

(sorry for poor quality picture my camera is about to bite the dust)

Me and my Pumpkin- no greater love with lower case "l" than for Dr. Pepper

Awesomeness that is my Pumpkin... be jealous at my mad skills

Our pumpkins all lit for the night!

(From right to left: Joy's, mine, and Melissa's)

Enjoy Fall before it starts getting too cold! +AMDG+

Back from an Empire state of mind

I had gone to visit my brother, sister in law, and my niece for 5 days starting last Wednesday. They live in Brooklyn, NY and as much as people would like to say you went to NYC... I really didn't go into the city at all until I was on my way back to the airport. I have been to NYC quite a few times and the nostalgia has somewhat worn off, also when you're broke it keeps you from traveling anywhere with lots of clothing stores! I stayed in Brooklyn for the majority of the trip, and still there is plenty to do. It is also harder for my brother and sister in law to tote their 14 month old daughter around NYC, especially when it starts to coincide with her nap times. We went to the park, a few times actually, went out to brunch, hung around the house and made some delicious dishes. I also had the opportunity to meet up with my friend, Gali, who was in the US visiting from Israel. I met her on study abroad in Italy during my undergraduate degree at GCSU. We went and ate at a wonderful French restaurant, Moutarde, that is featured in Julie & Julia.

no I didn't take this picture but I only brought a card home from the restaurant, I

was enjoying the place too much to take pictures.

And then we went and walked around Prospect park in Brooklyn before parting ways, I really need to go visit her in Israel. I love having friends from other countries! It means I always have places to go visit!

Picture of us in front of Columbus circle in Brooklyn

We opted for the old camera timer instead of finding a person

Never know when someone will run off with your camera!

I had a great time spending time with my brother and sister in law, we cooked a lot of different things- potato skins, my aunt nogc ahn's infamous egg rolls, and an awesome blossom. Don't worry pictures will follow after I'm done writing. I really do love the area they live in, Brooklyn is a great neighborhood and a nice alternative to Manhattan. I considered looking for jobs there but I don't know if this southern girl is ready for the big city yet. What I do know is that I love going to visit and it makes it so much more enjoyable since I have family there. My brother and sister-in-law are actually moving to a new apartment 2 blocks from where they are living now which will give them more, much needed, space with their growing family. So blessed to be able to visit them while I am still job searching, until next time... I'll be having my Georgia State of Mind.

Emma and I sharing lunch at the park in their Neighborhood

Playing at the park

Having a great time on the carousel in Prospect park

My sister in law, Maddy, Emma and I at the wigwam replica

My brother Joel, his wife Maddy, and Emma- beautiful family

Me frying up some eggrolls! Before I burned myself with the hot grease...

AND NOW ONTO THE FOOD!!!! (sorry these are not "light" foods)

Potato Skins with Bacon and Onion

My Aunt Nogc Ahn's Eggrolls

Awesome Blossom

Hope you enjoyed all the pictures! +AMDG+

Great Green Gobs

I've been out of commission for the past few days due to Bronchitis. It had been coming on slowly for 3 days or so but started out with a horrendous sore throat, even though I had my tonsils out when I was 8 I thought or a moment that I finally was getting pay back for 17 strep free years. Thankfully this ended up not being the case. Being a medical professional I was staring into the back of my throat constantly looking for signs of strep, and at first it looked quite streppish. For you non medical people, there is usually white stuff or spots on the back on your mouth or on your tonsils. I won't get into any more detail. I started losing my voice tuesday and I have the first semblance of a voice today. There was a lot of rasping and deep voiced talking for the past days and numerous cracks mid sentence. I stayed in bed from wednesday til saturday, and saturday I got brave... more likely cabin fever, and went to run a few errands around town.

I ended up getting my PA diploma framed at Michaels and then I went to Lowes to get some paint. Why would this girl get paint when she's sick you may ask? I guess for me nothing makes me feel better than turning something ugly into something beautiful. I have been working on repurposing my grandmothers old dresser and I had it totally sanded down but since it was raining earlier last week I couldn't paint it and then I fell ill, so now as the perfect day to get things done. Plus dad was home and I could enlist his help for using the Wagner power sprayer for this project! Pictures to come, I have to add another coat of paint to the top of the dresser (since it will get the most wear and tear) and then give the dresser a clear coat of polyurethane for some extra durability and a shine. ;) I am also going to do a super sweet lace detail on the drawer fronts and I found some really awesome cabinet knobs online that I am waiting to come in so I can finish giving the dresser a makeover. I love being crafty. Ideas for this dresser were inspired by this lady on Pinterest.

So during all of this my dad is trying to paint all of the sliding leuvre doors to the closets as well. So we were both covered in paint by the evening. Dad finished up painting the doors today, its hard to paint in all the slats with a paint brush so my dad is getting a lot of use out of this past year's Christmas present. I was originally supposed to go to Alabama this weekend to visit two girl friends that I had met out in Reno/Tahoe. They have relocated to the South for the time being and were throwing a birthday/house warming party. Well I am very sorry I missed it but I was in no condition to go. Sometimes it sucks to do what is best for you, I will have to remember that when I am treating patients because I'll be telling them they have to do what is best for them in the long run.

I also learned how to use my mom's sewing machine last night... my mother and I completed a pillow but we sewed half of it by hand. I saw a cute idea on Pinterest for making a pillow from old cable knit sweaters. I had a sweater that I just didnt' wear anymore and if this lets you know how long I've had it, I wore it for my HS Senior portraits. Do the math. Since I am a petite person the size of clothing I have doesn't yield hardly enough material to make a pillow but I made it work. I'll post a picture when I've fully finished it. I know I'm promising so many pictures, guess my next few blogs will have lots of pictures instead of words. Anyways I leave for NYC in 2 days so there is lots to do before I leave. I guess there will be pictures to come for that entry as well upon my return. Buona notte!

+AMDG+

Shower time!

Well life has been going a mile a minute lately but hey, that's what I live for. I had the great honor of hosting my cousin, Clare's, first bridal shower this past weekend. Clare and I have been friends from the very start, we used to live on the same street as each other before we both were 2. Then our friendship continued as we started the same school together and we went kindergarten through 12th grade together and graduated from the same school. We went to different colleges where we met new friends, but no matter how much time elapsed it was always as if not a day had gone by. I am very honored to be a bridesmaid in her wedding on December 10, 2011. Clare is marrying a wonderful gentleman named Ben, for many of you who know me... Ben is not a name I want to have repeated often, but I love who they are individually and who they have become together. I admire their faith and trust in God's plan for them and how both Clare and Ben were open to the many changes God had in store for them.

Here is a lovely picture of Clare and Ben after he was received into the Catholic Church!

And after all the growing up together and now Clare is getting married! I knew this day would come but I didn't realize how much of a profound impact it would have on me. I am so excited for her and I'm probably going to cry my eyes out when I see her walk down the aisle. So anyways back to the shower I threw Clare. Well since I haven't started my job yet I have had ample amount of time to do some projects and to coordinate a shower, not that I haven't been busy but I have spare time. As many of you know I am somewhat of a Martha Stewart but I really have been more of a Paula Deen lately. I LOVE to cook and to feed other people. So I was excited to get to plan the menu for the shower, although it was a bit challenging because although it was a family shower, family along comprised over 50 people. I won't say thankfully that some family members couldn't make it but I was worried about how much seating we were going to have. We had about 40 people show up and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful! I wish I had gotten pictures of the back deck while it was decorated but I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off as it was. 

Here is a picture of the spread: top left: Red velvet cheesecake brownies, Carrot Cake, Sausage cheddar balls hiding next to the cake, then a basket of croissant rolls for putting chicken salad in. bottom left: veggie tray with chipotle ranch dressing, pickles, antipasta salad, fruit salad, and then chicken salad hiding in the corner.

The game I chose to play with the guests was called "Mustaches and Tiaras"... found this game off Pinterest (as soon as I find out how to tag Pinterest I'll do so!) Basically I asked each the bride and groom a set of the same questions, and they weren't about each other. So how the games works is that I read a question I asked the couple aloud and then I read one of their responses, then I had teams of two people who had to either hold up a mustache to their face to indicate it was a response that the groom had given or put the tiara up to their head to indicate the bride had said it. It was really funny to see all of these ladies with mustaches on. Since I was proctoring the game I didn't have time to take pictures but I know some of Clare's future in law's were snapping away. I did snag a picture or two after the game with my cousin.

 and now for a not so silly one

Clare had a mountain of gifts, and she will be even more excited once her and Ben find a place to live so she knows how much space she'll have and what colors she wants to decorate with. All in all I couldn't have had a better shower and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful friend and she truly is a pearl beyond price. Ben you are a very very blessed man, and I know she feels she the same way about you. Love ya'll!

+AMDG+

It's the little things

I just realized I haven't written in over a week; I have been busy and yet not busy. Hard to describe where I am at, but it involves a lot of waiting! I volunteered to help out with a Youth 2000 retreat 2 weekends ago and since then things have been going non stop. I accepted my first job last friday, it is just a PRN position but it will tide me over until I find a full time position. God has really blessed me because I wasn't too keen on interviewing for the position in the first place because it is for a Medical Weight Loss clinic but the Lord urged me to give the manager a call back and to set up an interview. I wanted a job working in a hospital or even a place that would be practicing more medicine than this job offered but I explained my situation to the manager and he understood completely how I felt but also said hey, here is your opportunity to get your foot in the door... get your license, get some experience, and get some connections. What did I have to lose? The staff has been more than helpful to me and surprisingly has guided me through the licensing process. I am glad some people know how this is supposed to go because the GA composite medical board hasn't been very helpful, besides telling me that all of the information is available online. I have signed all of my papers and they are sending in my stuff to get my PA license. SO EXCITED! So as soon as I have my temporary license I can start working!

I am still searching for a full time job in the area, but this doesn't put so much pressure on my search and allows me to pay some bills in the mean time. I am hosting my cousin/bestfriend's bridal shower this weekend at my house (aka the parents) and will have close to 50 ladies there! So I am going to have my hands full for the rest of the week getting things ready for that. I also have been busy with wedding plans for several of my brides, I will be in 3 weddings over the next 6 months. I am visiting my brother and sister in law in NYC Oct 19-24th. I am super excited as well because a friend of mine that lives in Israel will be the U.S. and in NYC during that time frame so I get to visit with her as well as my brother and sister in law! A little time away after studying for boards and all of this job hunting should do me some good.

There are so many things coming up that I'm looking forward to but I guess I will blog about them as they come along because you people could be reading for a very long time. I just know that I've really come to appreciate the little blessings I've received recently, sorry God for me being so prideful and no grateful for what I have. It is the little things that really have been keeping me going, little bits of light shed on my life allowing me to have hope and to stay positive about all the things God is doing in my life. Thank you Lord for the littlest things to the greatest, I don't deserve them but I am so glad you give them to me. Help me to have more grace to forgive, to heal and to love.

+AMDG+

Patience

Well if God is trying to teach me one thing, it's patience. Although trusting in His will for me is a close 2nd but having patience in His timing has been even more difficult. I mean seriously would God lead us down the wrong path or put us in a harmful situation? no... but as we seek His will he does give us the free will to choose otherwise. Time and time again I have been provided for and blessed continuously, but why is it so hard to accept God's timing right now?!
I graduated PA school in August and with all of me moving back to Georgia and such my diploma is lost in the mail and so is my new GA license. This is another frustrating piece of life to deal with at the moment, because apparently 1.5 months is too short of a time for them to get my mail forwarded here. Plus I changed my address that long ago and things still are not getting to me. I feel like part of my life is still out there and I have to deal with it, and I am really just tired of living two lives. I just found out today I did not get the job I had really wanted and the one alternate job lead I had turned out to be a dead end for now because they will not know for atleast another month if they are going to have the finances to hire a PA. I have begun to search further outside the Augusta area out of desperation almost. I have been considering: Savannah, Charleston, D.C. and NYC although I have yet to hear back from any of those places. I really am struggling and trying to grasp what seems to be thin air; not know as to where God wants me to be. I do truly desire God's will for me and I know my heart will not rest until it rests in Him.
On a side note I've started to unpack my life of boxes, since moving back and having plenty of boxes of my belongings shipped back to GA, I have had little desire to unpack anything. Maybe somewhat hoping I'd have a job and I'd move out and it would be a pain to pack everything back up again but now I'm resigned to the fact that I'll be living with my parents for the next few months and since fall is coming, my cool weather wardrobe must be accessible. I'm also realizing I have too many clothes and I really need to go through them and commit to giving stuff away I just don't wear. I keep things bc they are nice and I wear them every once in awhile but besides special occasion dresses and winter wear, things that aren't worn in 6 months time shouldn't be in your closet. We had such a tease of fall weather last week and this week has been hot, then muggy, then hot and muggy and now rainy and muggy. Not my favorite type of weather to say the least. I am ready for boot wearing, boiled peanut eating, leaf falling, football watching, hot apple cider sippin' kind of fall weather! Another thing I guess I'll have to work on my patience for.

PS. Good quote I found recently... ok two.

It is within my power either to serve God or not to serve Him. Serving Him, I add to my own good and the good of the whole world. Not serving Him, I forfeit my own good and deprive the world of that good, which was in my power to create.

- Leo Tolstoy

AND...

Do everything calmly and peacefully. Do as much as you can as well as you can. Strive to see God in all things without exception, and consent to His will joyously. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to him in word and deed. Walk very simply with the Cross of the Lord and be at peace with yourself.

- St. Francis de Sales

+AMDG+

Day 9: Loves

9 loves:

1. Glitter, it goes great with everything
2. My Catholic Faith, I would be no where without Christ and the Eucharist.
3. Dr. Pepper, ok now this is a total obsession.
4. Boiled Peanuts, meh. i just bought a bag full of raw green peanuts so i could boil them!
5. Family, all of my cousins, nieces, nephew, aunts, uncles, 2nd cousins once removed... you get the picture
6. University of Notre Dame- football, the campus, the atmosphere, the legacy. how could anyone forget the grotto after visiting?
7. Autumn- no better time of year
8. Cooking/Entertaining, love love love this!
9. Newborn babies- they make me melt, love how everything is so small and fragile.

10 day "you" challenge

10 secrets:

1. When I am nervous I constantly touch my face or I play with my hair

2. My least favorite chore is dishes, I'll cook all day long and clean up things as I go but I usually leave a sink full of dishes.

3. Not only do I let my dog sleep with me but he sleeps under the covers with me

4. I can't sleep if I know there is a bug that is not dead, aka escaped my wrath, in my room

5. I like to bake sweets more than I like to eat them

6. I am borderline obsessed with Dr. Pepper, I have 2-3 a day.

7. My shoe size has actually decreased by almost a whole size since high school

8. I place my worth intellectually on my grades, trying to get away from this.

9. Although I travel quite a bit and I want to see so much more in this world, I can't wait to settle down in the country somewhere.

10. I eat pixie sticks with the paper wrapper, yes and swallow them.

Thanks Lori Williams for giving me this idea, now we'll be doing this on the same days!

+AMDG+

Renewal

I had the opportunity to go on a retreat this weekend with my alma mater, Georgia College and State University's, Campus Catholics group. I was kind of hesitant to go at first because its been 3+ years now since I graduated from GCSU and I knew I would hardly know anyone. Plus being out of school now and a few years older than the other retreatants, I figured I'd wouldn't be able to relate as much to them since I am at quite a different stage of life than them. Boy was I wrong in so many ways. I realized that being a youth, no matter what age, has the same challenges and the same frustrations throughout. I heard countless youth share how they longed for a community of people they could call family, and that they could trust and count on. I realized that not only had I longed for that when I was in college but I still sought it now. Don't get me wrong I have a wonderful family and a great group of friends but most are married, having children, or are too far away from me. I missed being around a great group of people all the time, to have that sense of comradery and belonging to Christ's body, we the Church. 

I remember when I was a freshman at GCSU and maybe 8 people came to Campus Catholics functions religiously (no pun intended), and it seemed everyone had their own separate lives outside of the weekly meetings. I went to mass every Sunday by myself for almost 2 years, and people would ask me why I went every Sunday when they would see me walk to church alone. I had to think about that for awhile because I knew I wasnt' going because I thought I was supposed to but because one thing I found different between my protestant brothers and sister's is that I go to church for Christ, because he is present there, not because my friends are present with me. But I also longed for a sense of community as well, and because of this I was torn, I even bargained with God in some ways saying "I have gone to church by myself for almost 2 years, I hope this pleases you because I feel terribly alone in my faith sometimes." I also realized that God put me through that time to see how much I loved him and how blindly I was willing to follow in some ways. I am so happy to see how much Campus Catholics has grown over the past few years; it brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. I love knowing there is a group of people out there who love Christ as much as I do and who I can share my life with. I am so happy to be a member of the Body of Christ, His Church. 

I have been carrying so many burdens recently, as many of you know, but in my mind I had given forgiveness but after going to confession, the priest said... "you have forgiven in your mind, but you speak otherwise." I know this will hurt for some time but God will given me total healing in His time. I had a wonderful talk with the retreat leader, Chris who happens to run the campus ministry at Kenesaw State University. I don't know why but I felt that God was telling me to just be open and to just sit down and talk. I don't even remember how we got on the topic of what was going on in my life but before I knew it, things were spilling out and I was starting to feel bad for just letting things just topple out to someone I hardly knew but he just sat there and listened. He had so many words of wisdom for me; and although some of the things he said to me I already knew, hearing them come from someone else, especially a total stranger, made all the difference. The healing process started during confession that morning, moved to the conversation with Chris out on the dock and hit the pinnacle during adoration that night. I love spending time with Christ in adoration. I am most drawn to going to adoration when my heart is heavy, I go to lay down my troubles at the feet of Jesus and to be renewed in my walk with Him. One thing I have somewhat lacked during adoration is actually realizing the word "adoration" and how I often come to spend time with Christ but rarely do I come to just adore Him. I have gone countless times to adoration and presented my burdens to Christ and pray for answers and wisdom but one thing I haven't done is to leave my burdens at His feet. Instead I have gone and prayed and then picked up my burdens once again instead of leaving them in the hands of God. I also realize I haven't come to just adore Christ and his true presence in the Eucharist. Although I believe in it and I believe it is the most personal time I ever spend with God, I do not adore. I remember last night having Chris lay his hand on me while I was kneeling down and with my head down praying and I just felt my burdens lift and for the first time I felt like I could just sit there and adore, and nothing else mattered. What an amazing feeling?! A quote from the retreat leader, who gives credit to his wife...

"The closest thing to Christ besides the Eucharist, is the person sitting next to you." 

+AMDG+

The Sting and the Pain

I don't know why it still hurts, I have forgiven him but it is not as easy to forget. I can't seem to shake the words that were spoken to me, "if I stayed with you... I would be settling... I would rather be alone than know I settled." I have never been so insulted in my life. I have grown so much from this experience and I have come to a deeper faith and trust in God, for this I am so happy. I just don't know why my peace is so easily disturbed by him. When you put trust in any person, other than God, you are most certainly going to be let down from one time to another. I just didn't think that not only was my trust in another person destroyed but also my heart. I cant' describe the feeling of your heart being split, but then to have it stepped on and kicked after the fact... torture. I really have forgiven him, but I can't as easily forget and I cant as easily not be affected by the situation.

A very wise priest, Fr. Brett Brannen once said  
"the one muscle we cannot control is the human heart. You cannot force yourself to be detached from someone even if you have been hurt by them. You just have to continually ask God to heal your heart and to fill yourself up with Him."

The pain that comes from this is a part of the human condition, and will be there until God sees fit to take it away. I pray that I will be able to continue to carry this cross gracefully, Lord knows I am imperfect but through his healing and grace I may become holy and pleasing in His sight. I want to be healed from this hurt and I want my heart to be whole again. God please help me to pick up the pieces and to make me whole. Give me the strength to love those who have hurt me and to carry my cross joyfully. 

"To Love means loving the unlovable, or it is no virtue at all." - G.K. Chesterton

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me, please continue to pray. The devil knows where I am weak and I need all the help I can get to fight the spirits of rejection, doubt, and bitterness.

+AMDG+

Rejoice, Rejoice and again I say Rejoice

The Lord has blessed me immensely and I can't sing enough praise! I found out this morning that I passed my national physician assistant certification boards, that means I am now Bridgette Pidel PA-C. I took my boards last Thursday and after quite the fiasco of the test center being moved and my GPS taking me in the wrong direction to the supposed new site I arrived and God allowed me to remain calm and collected. I arrived a few minutes late but the test center was quite forgiving and I was able to complete my exam with a clear mind.  I can't explain how awesome it feels to be done and to know that I am certified. It seems only yesterday that I was starting PA school and even that I was applying. I went up to the PA department today to ask a few questions and to hand in a few forms. I wasn't sure if they had everything they needed to submit information for a GA license since when they asked for forms before I was planning on residing in Nevada. I also have to say that I am pretty darn excited to have my Georgia license back and the next thing on the to do list is to get my car registered back with GA plates. Luckily for my Uncle Joe, who collects license plates, he gets to add one other state to his collection that he didn't have before. You really have to enjoy every small victory and not just keep waiting for the big ones.

Among other fun things going on in the life of Bridgette, I was honored to be asked to be a bridesmaid in my friend Dorita's wedding. Dorita was my first friend in undergraduate, we were both nursing majors at the time and had 4 out of 5 of our first semester freshman classes together. She is getting married April 21st and I am in my friend Joy and Max's wedding the weekend before. I am going to be in the running for 27 dresses in no time. This will make 4 weddings this year that I will have the honor of being a bridesmaid in. Any of my other friends out there who are thinking about getting married, wait til atleast next fall please?! It has been even more apparent to me lately how blessed I am. I know it is easy to say that when things are going well but through everything I've had to go through in the past month and all of the hurdles I've had to jump, family and friends have been there every step of the way. I am eternally grateful for the gift that you guys are in my life. I know God has had his hand behind me every step of the way and He has given me those people to help me see it through. God knows what He is doing, even when you have doubts. He has taught me to trust in Him in all situations and to lean not on my own understanding but to trust in God's plan for me. It is a very humbling but gratifying experience to lean solely on God but we will only be truly happy when we are doing His will, not our own.

I am headed out to French Market Grill, a local favorite in Augusta, to celebrate my passing boards with my parents. I very vividly remember going out to celebrate with them when I found out I got into PA school and now it is ending one chapter of my life and entering into a new one. So many exciting things lie ahead! I have a job interview tomorrow for a hematology/oncology position here in Augusta, I pray that God will show me where he wants me and that I will be open to whatever He wants. I am his servant and I hope to serve others through my work as a PA. To whom much is given, much is expected and I hope to always use the talents Christ has given me to bring glory and praise to His name.  "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do for me."

+AMDG+

Done

I am proud to say that I finished my PANCE exam this afternoon. This is something that I have been working towards for the past 28 months of my life and I surely hope I have gained enough knowledge and skill to have passed the exam to become a certified PA. I can't thank all of my friends and family enough for supporting me and constantly giving me words of encouragement and praying for me through it all. Grace definitely abounds when you are seeking God's will. I will have to wait a week for the results of the examination but I am excited to start this new stage of my life. I am excited to work as a PA, to gain more knowledge, to help the sick, and to offer an ear to those who need it. I am also excited to finally be getting paid to do something instead of paying to do everything! lol. I have two job interviews tomorrow here in augusta and then flying back out to Tahoe to move all of my stuff back in my car. I will miss Tahoe terribly, it is hard not to fall in love with a place like that; but I will be back in Georgia where my family is and where my heart is. My heart is on its way back to being whole again and even though I will leave a little part of me in Tahoe, it is Tahoe that my heart belongs to, not someone there. Things do get better with time and this is one more step in the right direction for me. Please keep me in your prayers, they keep me going. Love you all.

“Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

+AMDG+

Never Going Back to Ok

As I think back to where I was 3 weeks ago, I have to shudder. To see how far I've come in the last 3 weeks is really like night and day to me. I still think sometimes about what would have happened had things not ended then and if I had accepted a job out in Nevada. I still wonder why a person has to be "broken" in a sense to have their life turn in a different direction but I am ok with that. The more days that pass by, the more I am at peace with not knowing and realizing it is all a part of God's plan. I think of the the After's song "never going back to ok" and I think it is fitting that I realize that nothing in this life should be "ok" ... life is meant to be lived with zeal and vigor. Mediocrity and apathy is the destroyer of society. People have certain morals ingrained into them by their parents and previous generations but yet society has created this middle ground of mediocrity and apathy. This apathy and mediocrity are what bring our society down, people who are ok with only doing the minimum required to slide by in life and yet hope for everything. I would beg to say that if you only put in part of anything you will only end up with partial result.
I constantly have discussions with my mother and several friends about how our society and the people of my general seriously lack work ethic. People think that other better things will come along when they do absolutely nothing for them, and maybe they are right to some extent... we have the government to thank for that. I don't understand how people can not show up to work, will steal from their employers, and will not lift a finger to help someone if they don't get paid extra for it. I wonder where the days have gone where people actually take pride in their work and lend a hand to help their fellow man. It is odd for me to be saying this because normally I have a pair of rose colored glasses on but as I am applying for jobs now after completing my MPA I think about the people I'll potentially work with and the type of people I want to work for. I think of the patients I potentially get to minister to and think of the qualities that would make a good PA and a good health care provider to them. I understand its easier for someone who has been through school and has a certain set of of job skills to say all of these nice things when I'm not having to flip burgers at the local drive through. But I will say that I was a nursing assistant and I wiped people's butts all day, gave bed baths and   emptied urinals, took stool samples and had people barf on me and I did my best to be the best nursing assistant I could, even when I knew I was going to PA school. No act, no matter how small or how "gross" should ever be beneath someone. These are acts of love for your fellow man and every fellow man is deserving of love and respect. On thing I always remember my dad saying "I am not here to be served, but to serve." We are here in this world to make it a better place, to spread the Gospel of Christ to as many people as we can and to live a life pleasing to God so that one day when I meet my creator at the gates of heaven He will be able to say "well done my good and faithful servant." The scripture that comes to mind of this is

 "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." 
-Matthew 25:40.


I challenge ya'll, to think of parts of your life where you are not living fully and may think are "ok" but would be too much work to change or be different. Then live it more fully! As in the words of the After's song- "I'm never going back to ok."

+AMDG+

Thomas Merton

I have recently come to discover the works of Thomas Merton... an early 20th century writer, poet and Roman Catholic Franciscan priest. Every time I read excerpts from his works or quotes from his writings I am completely taken aback at how I instantly relate to his writings. I am having a hard time focusing today, being somewhat lazy in my studying and I needed some inspiration to keep me going. Just a few quotes that I came across today that make my heart happy and hopeful.

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to... fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."
— Thomas Merton

"Do not depend on the hope of results. You may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. You gradually struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationship that saves everything."
— Thomas Merton

"You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope."
— Thomas Merton

"Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy."
— Thomas Merton

"A man knows when he has found his vocation when he stops
thinking about how to live and begins to live."
— Thomas Merton

"Despair is the absolute extreme of self-love. It is reached when a person deliberately turns his back on all help from anyone else in order to taste the rotten luxury of knowing himself to be lost"
— Thomas Merton



Hope you enjoyed this. +AMDG+