christmas post

hiiiiiii. so sorry its been so long. aren't you so excited for christmas? I haven't been up to much. just finishing year 2.5 of med school while growing in both honesty and akwardness with each day that passes.

so glad to have an entire three weeks off for Christmas and New Years! I drove from harlingen to amarillo, basically the entire length of the great state of texas; and am now comfy and snuggled up at my sister and brother-in-law's house for a pretty good while. here's what i've been doing on a daily basis: (with pics so you don't get bored)

first i spend the entire morning drinking coffee and starting at this big guy:

next, i spend a good 20/30 minutes thinking about her, who is with her parents for the holidays:

Then i generally spend the rest of the day chasing, tickling, and teaching these guys about the world:

a couple of days ago, Hudson, Isaac, and I made and decorated christmas cookies. it was quite an adventure.


and by "making and decorating" cookies, i mean the both of them dipping their hands and faces in icing and sprinkles and eating as much of it as they could without me seeing.

so really, it was awesome.

evidently looking normal in pictures is impossible for our family. must be autosomal dominant.

three days later i finished decorating the ones i saved for myself. they weren't much better.

which reminded me of this:

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.” - the little prince

other things i've been doing:

reading lots of these:

and lots of this:
and drinking even more of this; so delightful! i don't care if it's "girly":

been making lots of these for all of you (besides creepy internet stalkers):

and shamefully looking at this dress online everyday. because i want to buy it oh so bad.

so. thats the end of my lazy christmas post. i hope y'all are enjoying your time, too. as a goodbye gift, i thought i'd tribute a couple of my favorite tunes from my 14 hour texas driving excursion earlier this week. be warned that none of them are new, unheard of, or even christmas tunes (i kind of hate christmas music).

• everyday it's a-gettin' closer, goin' faster than a roller coaster, love like yours will surely come my way...
• we'll rent a comedy, rewind the best parts, and memorize the lines...
• ladies is pimps too, go and brush your shoulders off...
• I sit and daydream, I've got daydreams galore, Cigarette ashes-there they go on the floor,
  Go away weekends leave my keys in the door, why try to change me now...
• I've been looking so long at these pictures of you, and I almost believe that they're real ..
  
  

Things I like right now.

i've had a couple of requests for a new blog post. to be honest, i don't really know what to write. i'm a little afraid of blogging lately, because i think that in a lot of ways, it can become really self-centered and ridiculous. SO, i'm in the process i've reconciling this idea. BUT i have a couple of photos that i want to share, because they make me happy, and i'm not really one to make a facebook album. Plus, they were taken on with my phone to look all antique and vintage-y. love it. Enjoy!

so glad second year of school is over, but i think i miss the excessive giggles and very large binders.



top five best parts of summer: 1. sun 2. the idea that its ok the dress borderline trashy because, well its hot outside 3. enough time to take pictures of your feet. 4. sun

5. POOL PARTIES:

andy mac explains the meaning of life, in a hot tub, drinking beer. duh.



go 'dores. obvi.



"make sure you get my chest hair". right.


ambiguously ethnic, per usual.


summer joy.


maybe the point of this post was to visually represent things that i'm thankful for. great! i'd much rather do it this way than akwardly at the thanksgiving dinner table with all kinds of inappropriate comments running through my head instead......

but the post wouldn't be complete then without a couple more pics.


besties + tankmates 4 lyfe.


beth and i's collage at the new apt. love it so much, and spend hours wishing i could jump into the paintings and tapestries we've acquired from our travels.

oh hey beach, so close to my house! see you soon!


nephews that are so cute it's basically illegal.


hey liv. love you forever.


i'm also particularly enjoying this song right about now. just in case you're curious.

peter bradley adams. the longer i run.



and.

hazy. rosi golan and william fitzsimmons.

Two Left Feet

oh heyyyy. sorry i've been gone for so long. but the truth is, my absence isn't important. it's where i've been, all that i've learned, and what i will write next that will keep our relationship alive. i promise.

so what happened between april and july of 2010? oh, well i guess i'll tell you in pictures.

i finished my second year of medical school, took my finals, and studied for my STEP 1. it all felt a little like this:

then,

i packed up my house,

picked up my dog,

and moved to Harlingen.

then, Harlingen got a hurricane, so Liv, Beth and i evacuated. it was, well, an experience.

we returned to our new home yesterday and i will start my family medicine rotation tomorrow. get excited!

i've made many noble attempts at blogging before today, and have been unsuccessful for 2 main reasons.

1. this situation:

"look Liv, we're going to blog!"

ok wait, never mind, no we are definitely not going to blog today.

2. the past couple of months have moved past me. to be honest, i've spent many days and nights immersed in studying with little thought of anything else. often, during these times of great devotion to work, i forget to experience my days, to experience those around me, and to reflect on the lessons of every day.

and really, that's it.

it seems like a whole new beginning of the same old story, except for one thing.

last weekend, i went to ash and john's wedding. all i can say is, "wow".

after months of self-centered study time, i returned to a great piece of my home and my heart. the thing about returning home is that we return to being known, and if it is a good home, we return to being both known and loved fully.

it was pure joy to see my girls.

it was an honor to be with ash on her big day.

i could just cry thinking about it.

i want to be around these girls everyday. they give me life not only by reminding me who i am, but by believing in my good as well. they believe in my good, in our collective good, and more importantly in our collective strength. our collective strength is one that pursues both the truth in each of us and the truth of how we interact with our community.

all in all, there is a profound reality in the community of those who love us, and i am extremely grateful to have tasted this reality on the eve of a new beginning.

***all wedding photos by the beautiful and talented holland c. ward. i couldn't love you more.

Guest blog appearance from Sarah

In order to curb the disruption of the fourth floor of briscoe that I have been inflicting for the past three hours, I have been instructed ms. fire-hair to write a blog entry. I don't know if I can live up to Meg's high standards of introspection and cynicism, but I'll try. With school wrapping up and the STEP looming, I've been thinking a lot about the future lately. In a little over a month I'll be leaving San Antonio for a year and relocating to Harlingen....for the most part I can't wait to get out of this town, but since classes have ended the nostalgia has set in, and there are more than a few things I'm going to miss about this place. In that spirit, here is a top 10 list of things that I've loved about the last two years, and will be sad to part with:

1. "Thank You for Making Lives Better" every morning

2. Nan Clare

3. Giggling in the corner of lecture hall at pictures of werewolves, tampoons, and Dr. Lafer's 90,000 key chains

4. Super Target (seriously. the closest one in the valley is at least 100 miles away)

5. Knowing that if I don't feel like cracking Bates or doing a self-study, one will magically land in my inbox (and by magic, I mean Liz Ketner)

6. Dance parties in the third floor group study rooms - turns out the actually aren't soundproof after all

7. Being free to get up and dress like a homeless person when the mood strikes

8. Awkward moments in CAP/ACES ("Can you spread your legs for me?", "I'm now going to feel you for thrills", making patients bleed with the tuning fork)

9. Tonic Bar....or not

10. "Have a Great Day" as I'm leaving the parking lot

Its funny, looking back on first year, most of it is a blur...I can't distinctly remember exactly when I made friends, discovered pandora, became lactose intolerant, or developed a sick caffeine addiction. Soon, second year will be a blur and we won't even remember what a pwn the GI exam was...and on that emo note, there's only one proper way to end this blog entry:

goodnight musings.

Long walks in the dark through woods grown behind the park,

I asked God who I'm supposed to be.

The stars smiled down on me,

God answered in silent reverie.

I said a prayer and fell asleep.

I had a dream.

perfection.

i am so into this right now, it's not even funny.

Priscilla Ahn - Dream from Jay Kim on Vimeo.

exactly how i feel today in every possible way.

also, i'm loving that the first lady of France is officially one of my new fave artists. you go, girl.

check out carla bruni (sarkozy) for the most perfect study/life music

paper chain.

this was so appropriate. thank you kaili elaine, for the newest addition to my bedroom decor: a paper chain!

obvi, it's for counting down the days to ash and john's big day. i can't wait.