Sorry, friends. I'm a big fat blogging failure! I don't even really have much of an excuse, except that I haven't had a ton to say lately, I suppose! Not that things haven't been happening... I don't know. I think about blogging from time to time, and I do have the time, but nothing ever comes to me when I think about composing a post.
The last few posts I managed to write were all about my future career path woes, so let's get that out of the way first. Here's the update: I'm done stressing about it. DONE. I decided not to follow through on any of my applications for the fall 2011 semester - I'm staying where I am. As you know, I was driving myself nuts trying to cover all of my bases, still so unsure about all of the dramatically different options I was considering, and SO concerned about time. I felt that we couldn't afford to pay on my student loans for an entire additional year, so I felt I HAD to move on next fall. Well, I finally admitted to myself that I was rushing into the decision, which is the absolute last thing I should be doing at this point in my life, and I NEED more time. NOT taking my time on this one just isn't an option. So I got a loan consolidation to get my student loan payments under control, and I'll be staying put for the foreseeable future. I love my job, I LOVE the people that I work with, and my boss is happy to keep me around for an extra year. AND (bonus) my job is also giving me a lot of exposure to both the research and clinical worlds, and provides me with access to lots of helpful people to shadow and chat with as I work on sorting out what I want in a career. I couldn't have picked a better job or a better work environment for this particular season of my life. So, that's where we stand on that front! I'm completely content, stress-free, at peace, and loving every minute of it :]
In other news... I haven't been to yoga in a few weeks - between the holidays and the illnesses around here (me last week and now Ben), I've just been short on energy and free time. But I'm definitely still into it and I still plan on sticking with it for a good long time. I've found that, when it comes to exercise, the worst thing I can do is guilt myself for not going. I just have to see every day as a new opportunity to exercise (whether it's at home, at the gym, or at the yoga studio), and not see it as an accumulation of days that I haven't gone. So I'll get back to it when I get back to it, and I'll fall back into the routine, and it'll be fine.
Christmas was GREAT. Ben got me some new camera equipment, I got him a PS3, our families gave us some fun Ravens stuff, movies, clothes, jewelry, DELICIOUS coffee (thanks Em!), the "Move" bundle for the PS3 (like the Wii or the XBox Kinect)... I'm sure I'm missing some really great stuff but we just got so spoiled that it's tough to remember it all! What was REALLY fun was watching the kids tear into their gifts. Speaking of which...
Oh, Hello Cara! Who is now 1 YEAR OLD!
And here's Lacy (11), with her new Pillow Pal from Nana
Evan (3) looking dashing in his new Ray Rice jersey from Ben & Jenna!
Leo (5 1/2) as Joe Flacco, and Evan just feeling proud to look like his big brother ;]
The teeniest-tiniest (and most adorable) little Santa you've ever seen... it's Carsen (8 months)!
And here's Lacy again, looking more like a 20-year-old in her new outfit and hat from Em
Leo and his flying Jedi Starfighter from Ben & Jenna
Carsen's Brair.Claire hat from Ben & Jenna... after she got over the tears and realized how cute it was ;]
And that about sums up Christmas at Ben's mom's!
Just thought that after all the reading you've been doing, I should humor you with a few cute photos. All taken with my new camera, of course, and the awesome flash that my hubby gave me :] I can't tell you what a life-saver a good flash is, particularly when it comes to photographing kids (who never sit still) in low light (as in, generally speaking, any time you're indoors).
Alright, before I pass out from the exertion of all this uncharacteristic blogging effort, I'm gonna cut this off. Happy New Year to you all! Hope to give you a reason to stop by again soon :]
I hope you give us a good reason to stop by again soon..... <3
ReplyDeleteHi Jenna! I've been following and often commenting on your blog these last months. I wanted to let you know about a site I've been involved with creating called:
ReplyDeleteLivingTheSacrament: A Catholic NFP Community
Anyway. We are and online forum with the purpose of supporting women who are using NFP.
If you'd like to see what we're all about you can register at:
http://livingthesacrament.com
And I apologize for leaving this as a comment...I couldn't find a link to contact you privately.
Wishing you the best!
Kristin
Thanks, Kristin! I'll definitely check it out. We need more NFP-centered online communities. Lord knows we all come across questions and concerns and spiritual challenges in walking this path, and the more generalized "charting" or "fertility" websites rarely include the spiritual perspective and support that we need most. You'll definitely see me around the site! --Jenna
ReplyDeleteHave you ever considered PA school? It seems like it would encompass a lot of what you're looking for. It would give you similar autonomy to being a doc, but with less debt (I believe less than 30k for the whole program), less school (2 years), and better hours. Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there. Here is a link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.towson.edu/chp/pa/