My 30th Year in Review

Since I am now officially 31 (Happy Birthday to me!), I wanted to take a moment and look back on my 30th year.

January 18, 2009 – Turned 30. My parents came in town for the day and met my then boyfriend, Derrick. I told my dad not to get to attached because we weren’t serious. (yes, I actually said that…little did I know…)

January 19, 2009 – Totaled my car while driving to a “Night Before” gathering for my interview the next day.

January 24, 2009 – Stood beside Elizabeth as she married the love of her life, Paul.

February 14, 2009 – Derrick said, “I love you!”

February 28, 2009 – Stood beside Melanie as she married the love of her life, Brent.

March 13, 2009 – 6 month-a-versary of Hurricane Ike. A friend once told me that what feels like destruction in your life will look so much different in 6 months…just continue to press into the Lord. A dear friend ended up in the emergency room causing Derrick to quickly change his plans, but…HE PROPOSED!

March 19, 2009 – We found out that I had matched to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and would be spending the next 6 years in Galveston.

April 2009 – I finished my last rotation as a medical student in a pediatric clinic during the Swine Flu outbreak. We were busy!

April 11, 2009 – We bought a new car. Yes, I bought another Hyundai Elantra…in the same color. It just goes to show that I was really, really happy with the car I totaled.

May 30, 2009 – This was the happiest day! And a very big day! I graduated from medical school in the morning. Derrick and I MARRIED in the evening. Thinking back, it seems like two different days, but it wasn’t.

June 17, 2009 – I started residency orientation.

July 1, 2009 – I started seeing patients and introducing myself as “Doctor”. Whoa!

September 26, 2009 – We witnessed James and Cheri marry. It was beautiful.

October 3, 2009 – After several long discussions (and at Derrick’s prodding), we moved into a house in Galveston. I left work from our apartment and came home to our house. Thank you to all the amazing people who helped us move.

October 4, 2009 – We were able to witness Ross and Amy’s wedding. What a blessing! That’s a 10-4, good buddy!

October 9, 2009 – Our niece Christabelle Lynn was born.

October 19, 2009 – I was diagnosed with the Swine Flu. Yay!

October 24, 2009 – Derrick was best man in Chris and Emily’s wedding. We enjoy their friendship so much.

November 1, 2009 – We started attending First Baptist Church of Galveston. It’s was a difficult decision to leave our previous church, but we have been so blessed by the change and are excited as we watch God work within the church and in our lives.

November 18, 2009 – We traveled to San Diego to spend some time with Derrick’s dad and MeMe.

November 26, 2009 – We celebrated our first Thanksgiving together with Derrick’s family. Derrick smoked a turkey and has been declared the “official turkey smoker” for years to come.

December 25, 2009 – We celebrated our first Christmas. We were still only “talking” the previous Christmas. We visited with my family in Azle.

December 31, 2009 – January 1, 2010 – Celebrated the New Year with a fever and going to the doctor. Yay! Fun times.

January 15, 2010 – Celebrations for my 31st year began with dinner with friends at Chuys.

January 16, 2010 – Celebrations continued at a bbq cook-off with my parents in Katy and Cheesecake Factory with Derrick’s family.

January 17, 2010 – I started cooking out of one of my new cookbooks, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

My 31st year is off to a great start. I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store.

*Jeanine

Happy New Year!

We rung in the New Year with style. Okay, so I could be fibbing just a bit. I am sick and sound like…well…I actually sound like a squeaky mouse, so I’ve spent most of the last couple of days high on cold medication. My sweet husband continually checks on me to make sure I have enough hot liquids to drink.

Derrick and I have decided to make a few resolutions for this next year.

1. Finish the thank you notes from our wedding. Yes, I know. It’s horrible of me. We haven’t finished. All of our showers and the wedding were so close together that I didn’t have time to get them all finished before starting work. Then we ended up moving and now the holidays. Anyway, the goal is to have them completely finished by February. That is still before the 1 year we have according to proper etiquette. 

2. Run again. We were doing an amazing job of running 3-4 times per week, and then I started with even crazier work hours. We are signed up for a 5K on January 17th (the day before my birthday) and hope to have the momentum keep us going well into the spring. There’s a half marathon I want to try to talk Derrick into running in April. We’ll just have to wait and see.

3. Invite people over more. Since moving to Galveston, Derrick and I have joined a local church and are making new friends. Living in Friendswood was difficult because everyone was at least 30 minutes away. However, we now have quite a few friends that are within 10 minutes. We would like to entertain more as my schedule will allow.

4. Continue to make our own bread. For the most part, we don’t buy bread. Occasionally, we will buy a load if we are really out of time, and we do still buy bagels and english muffins and the like. However, we usually bake 2 loaves a week. We started this back in October and really enjoy it so much. We are even looking at purchasing a grain mill (I want The Wondermill), so that we can grind our own flour. We need to find a good way to store large amounts of grain and flour first. At the very least, we are going to start buying flour in 25 pound bags. Oh, and Derrick makes most of the bread. He’s amazing.

5. Create an office. Currently we are using our sewing machine (which was my great grandmother’s) as a desk and have several book cases scattered throughout the house. We are wanting to consolidate everything into what is currently the guest room. We are going to take down the guest bed and store it in the attic (we are so thankful to have a very large attic) and then turn the room into an office. It will be much more useful to us as an office. Our sofa is a queen sleeper, and I actually have a futon left over from college days that we are considering putting in the office for guests should people decide to wander down to the island.

6. Overcome a fear. Yes, I realize this sounds like a possibly overwhelming resolution, but I don’t think it has to be. Derrick wants to overcome his fear of oysters. He’s never actually tried them but has just decided that he doesn’t like them. I, on the other hand, know that I don’t like raw oysters. Not only are the slippery little suckers (a la Pretty Woman) but they are down right gag inducing. Baked oysters, however, are fantastic. I’m going to overcome my fear of brussels sprouts. Derrick believes my fear comes from not ever having a well-cooked brussels sprout. Any cooking suggestions?

*Jeanine

Sticks and stones

I spent several hours this afternoon outside with my husband working on our front yard. He was cutting down trees that fell victim to IKE. I was picking up the sticks and pulling weeds from the flower beds and our stone walkway. As I was doing this, I couldn’t help but think of the childhood saying “Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

This is so very false. We have all experienced times when we have been hurt by words. The tongue is a powerful weapon that I know I too often use. 

So I ask you…or rather urge you to think…when was the last time you used your tongue for encouragement? Use it today to encourage your spouse, a friend, a family member, a coworker, or your child. It may be exactly what they need to hear today.

*Jeanine

Rain…rain…go away…

I normally like it when it rains, especially when I need to be resting or sleeping as I need to be doing today. However, after waking up early to send Husband on his way and then settling down on the couch to fall back asleep, I eventually made my way to the bathroom. This was where I found the problem. Evidently, there is a leak in either one of the windows or somewhere in the ceiling because it was raining inside!

*Jeanine

Home sick

I’m home sick again today. I’ve been home sick for two days, and I can’t go back to work until Sunday.

This is not fun.

*Jeanine