I believe I left you last at around the middle of my second semester of veterinary school. The curriculum included Anatomy 2, Physiology 2, Parasitology, and Immunology. I have many choice phrases and adjectives to relay the thrill of that semester to you, however, since several of my imaginary followers also have imaginary children I will adhere to a more modest vocabulary and simply leave you with the following senario: Imagine you are being chased by a large grizzly bear through a dense forest, dodging trees, hedges, and with gazelle like grace you even manage to leap over the occasional porcupine. In the midst of one of these elegant displays you turn to quickly check on the whereabouts of your friend ursa major and abruptly and painfully cease all forward momentum. You then require being peeled off the front edge of a large boulder. That is how the second half of second semester felt. "Knowing what you know now, would you do it again?" Absolutely. If I knew then what I know now then that semester would be cake!
Onward and upward.
A few days after final exams I was able to board a plane for the first time in 8 months and return to 'merica for the Christmas holiday. It was cold. This is one of the harshest winters the east coast has had with record low temperatures and sub zero chills, ice, wind, and snow. Luckily I was going to California. It was hard to complain about sixty to seventy degree days that were sunny with a slight breeze but don't worry, I managed to still be cold and complain about it (but only a little). I was so thrilled to be going home that several weeks before the trip I created a calendar where I could schedule in times to see friends, plan events, etc... I over booked. Three weeks of daily itinerary. Even with that I didn't manage to see everyone that I had wanted to or do everything I intended.
The week before Christmas Shawn and I were able to attend the ballet in San Francisco to see a performance of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. Shawn had never seen the story before and was genuinely excited for it which made the evening that much more special for us. My good friend and her husband also acquired tickets for the same evening so we could make a night of it ,but sadly due to a medical issue they were unable to attend and gave us their tickets on the day of the event to at least try to make sure they didn't go to waste. A good friend of Shawns' and his wife were able to find a quick babysitter for the evening and join us. All in all it was a delightful evening made even sweeter by the new dress and red jacket Shawn purchased for me earlier in the day just for the occasion.
On Christmas eve Shawn and I went to my cousin Laurie's house for dinner and I was able to see my little fur ball kitten Pandora. I have missed my cat terribly since I've been away as she was my special snuggle buddy and used to always greet my returns. When we arrived my cousin answered the door and the first thing she said was "you are going to kill me". A million immediate possibilities began swirling in my brain and stomach and were only put to rest when she finished her previous thought stating: "she's so fat!". It turned out that she wasn't kidding. My trim 9 pound cuddle bug had turned into a 15 pound tick. I was gifted to a story about how she had been counter surfing for a few months and dining on sticks of butter along with both husband and wife filling the food bowl. Pandora always loved food more than anything and as scolding as I was to Laurie to get her back to a normal weight I couldn't help but be un-surprised at her voluptuousness. After a lovely evening and delicious meal Shawn and I headed back to his families house to take part in what I had hoped would be a new holiday tradition. There are many families who allow a single gift to be opened on christmas eve and I had seen a fun variation of that online and thought it would be fun to give it a try: We put together a "Christmas eve box" for each person at the house that night which consisted of a new pair of pajamas, a new movie, some hot cocoa, some popcorn, and other various snacks and treats. The idea is that everyone gets into their new jammies, chooses a movie, makes some popcorn and hot chocolate and relaxes together for the evening. I love this idea but our execution was a little off: firstly it was a ton of work to put each box together and I think it should be more of a secret santa thing in the future where each person puts together a single box for one other person. Second we didn't get back until after 8pm and everyone was already worn out and tired. Well, better luck next year.
Christmas day was spent with Shawn's family and was delightful. With the Unicorn stocking that Shawn made for me (including going to the city to "fur match" the puppet head),
Just after the holiday we headed to Southern California to visit with my family there and, of course, go to Disneyland.
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