Ready for 2013!

We went home for Christmas this year! We had enough time to go home for a whole week-- it was FABULOUS!!! Quick highlights: Family! Chachushka!!!! Food Processor! Cuisinart K-Cup Coffee Maker! Friends! Church! Avatar! CHRISTMAS TOWN!! Pretty much, everything was ah-mazing.

Right now, it's New Year's Eve, and I'm watching Alice in Wonderland (the animated version from the 1950's, aka one of my FAVORITE MOVIES EVER) while Seth plays his game. It's actually a wonderful night for us-- hopefully it's a sign of us getting ready for a much more relaxing year with all that we look forward to. :-) We're hoping and praying for the chance to travel and do our real honeymoon finally-- I just learned that I can actually eat eggs, which I haven't been able to enjoy for about 2 years now! So, I can eat what I want, and we can choose what and where we eat!!! If you've never had food problems, I'm sure this is much less exciting, but for me, and for Seth by extension, it's huge that my list is down to three things, 2 of which I don't like anyways! (I love Cabernet Sauvignon, but swelling throat = none of that for me.) Seth can enjoy it, but fortunately we have other options. :-)

So, while home, we got to spend some quality time with the Tweedles!!! I was super stoked to spend time with both of my brothers-- we went shopping, and just in general enjoyed our time with them. They seriously are the coolest. Jon and I had adventures just in cleaning the house for Christmas dinner, but in a good way. When everyone was out, I even got the chance to paint! Rosie was super excited by the painting adventure-- she wanted to stay in the room while I was prepping and painting, and it didn't work so well, so she got locked out. She's been looking for Dante for the past couple of nights-- she's sure that if we just open the door, he'll be there, ready to come hang out with her. Rosie loves my brothers, even Marc's pugs (although I think she relaxed more without them). She remembered Jon from living with him when we first got to Charleston! It was way cute.

We were able to attend my church and then go to breakfast with the Powells on Sunday, then enjoyed Christmas Eve at Seth's church after, which just renewed my conviction to find a church where there's more community service and a chance to truly participate this year.  It's just a matter of finding a church that suits us, and, if it's a Catholic church, one that doesn't use incense, which unfortunately sets off my asthma like none other. :-) It's a non-resolution, since I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. I've also started looking into the gym across the street-- there are tons of yoga and pilates classes that should work for my schedule for both rotations!! I start in just about a week, which is insane to me, in the best possible way. I am SO EXCITED (and sooooo nervous), but I'm also stoked to be one step closer to graduation and real life again (and a real paycheck). Seth and I have been looking forward to and planning for the future, but knowing where I can find employment will definitely have a major impact on how our lives go!

While home, we were able to FINALLY go to Christmas Town!!! I have been looking forward to it for 4 years now, and it was AWESOME. I loved it, wholeheartedly, although in the future I will bring a hat and a scarf to be warmer! We went with both sets of parents and Seth's brother, which was a lot of fun. Lines were much longer than expected-- we thought the line for the Mach Tower wasn't going to be that bad, but we were mistaken. The Mach Tower ride went up and down slowly, although Seth and I both learned that we are NEVER going to go on that ride regularly-- it's too high and feels unsafe. I spent the entire ride worrying that my shoes were going to come off. It was also odd in that they didn't let the ride down to the ground, which made getting out of the seats MUCH more difficult than necessary. It was so high!!! It was beautiful, and that and the trainride let us see all of the grounds, but omigoodness it was too high. I apparently am more scared of heights than I thought. :-) Oh, well. The shows were pretty good, although I had issues with the phrasing of the music for one of the shows. They did manage to do a "Santa Baby/Mama Kissing Santa Claus" mashup that didn't end in me professing my unending hatred for "I saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus," so props to them. I think that is my least favorite song pretty much ever.

What else... Overall, we just had a wonderful trip with family and friends! It was nice to spend so much time at home and getting to spend the time with everyone, both near and far. Chach and Seth and I went to lunch at No Frill and enjoyed delicious vegetarian nachos, an old favorite, which were awesome. I love food. We're actually getting ready to celebrate restaurant week in January, thanks in part to a generous gift from Seth's brother and SIL, and it'll be awesome-- we'll get to go right after my first week of fieldwork as well as a week after Seth's b-day. He turns 29 this year!!! Only 1 year away from the big 3-0!! Part of that celebration will hopefully happen early with our belated honeymoon trips.

I feel like I skipped over most of what happened, but overall, it was just an amazing trip. We loved seeing everyone, more so since we realized there's a good chance we won't see anyone next year with the new job and whatnot. This is, of course, dependent upon me finding a job. While I have loved having the time off the past few weeks, I think I'd go mad without a real job (and a real income), although little Roo would likely enjoy the endless mommy time. :-) We both really appreciated being able to spend quality time with both families, and look forward to seeing everyone again soonish.

Happy New Year!

Love,
Cassi (and Seth and Rosie)

Savannah Anniversary Trip

Waving Girl statue-- she used to welcome all ships in and was known throughout the world!

We finally made it down to Savannah!  It was the perfect end of school trip. :-) After 1.5 years of didactic portion, including days when Seth had to counsel me that this is my dream and I truly love what I'm doing, I am DONE! And ready to move on to clinicals. I still have a poster to put together and a few other small things to do for follow up, basically, but I am done, and as far as I know I passed, so I am feeling very proud! Seth and I were able to celebrate our 3 year and 1 month anniversary there, which was fun.

Last day of school!

We had our pinning ceremony on Thursday after the exam. It was almost sad, but I'm so relieved to be done that I don't think it's really fully hit me yet. I will be sad, I'm sure, especially once my favorite Texan leaves, but right now, I'm just like, oh, wow, I have free time! I have a couple more Christmas presents to make/get, and have plans to READ and play video games (yes, this is a priority) and catch up on shows. We're 90% done with shopping, and even know what we're getting for the last bits! Anyways, back to the end of school, we then had our OT Holiday Cocktail party at Upstairs at Midtown! It was a very pretty place, and I rocked my favorite dress and shoes (which will also be making an appearance at Seth's holiday party next week). I may have been a little tall...

With Seth, Cherisa, Courtney, Becca, and Greg.

OT girls at Cracker Barrel! So glad I could finally go to one. :-)

Before we left for Savannah, I went out to breakfast with my classmates at Cracker Barrel! Seth and I got a later start, but it was fun. Rosie spent the weekend at Paws in Paradise, which is her favorite place pretty much ever. We took a nap (a much needed nap after festivities), then headed out. It was a lovely drive-- relaxing, and full of fun sights! The trees are so pretty down here-- I'm obsessed with Spanish Moss.  My ipod decided to be a little punk, so we had much more random music for the trip than expected, but it wasn't bad for an hour and a half. :-)

Seth in front of the John Wesley statue.

In Savannah, we checked into the hotel, then went downtown for dinner and exploring. The first night, we really just took it easy, but we did discover lots of John Wesley stuff! I made Seth take a picture next to it. We saw the Marshall House, which is apparently the first hotel in Savannah. We got to see some of the things down by the River, but then went off for food. We had Thai, and I tried Thai Tea with bubbles for the first time. The meal was only okay-- apparently the chefs threw a mini temper tantrum when I had to send my food back for being drenched in onions, as my second dish was about half the size of the first. Seth's dish was awesome, though, and we had a good time anyways!  It was actually just really nice to walk after then head back to the hotel-- we caught up on HGTV and Food Network shows. It's the little things in life. :-) We got to sleep in, too, which was amazing. I love Rosie, but it was fun to not have to wake up super early to escort her first thing in the morning.

"Silence is Golden" fountain.

The next day, we spent pretty much the whole day exploring. We visited several shops and parks, and even checked out the SCAD museum. Seth and I have very similar taste in art-- a.k.a., not modern like at all. There was one installation that was all orange yarn and crochet pieces-- it was kind of ugly, really. There was one piece I liked, pictured to the right, and one being installed that I loved, but most of them were just not that attractive or our style. We saw some cool art down by the River Walk, and Seth and I found an awesome nativity ornament that we really liked. It's such a dog friendly place there-- Seth and I have decided we're going to take Rosie down to Savannah to check out the parks and do more sightseeing.

At the Cotton Exchange before lunch.

Such delicious food!

For lunch, we had an AMAZING meal at the Olde Pink House! (I keep wanting to call it the Olde Pink Lady, combining this restaurant with the Painted Lady Tea Room in Norfolk.) I had Fried Green Tomatoes, and they were super duper helpful about my no-onion thing. Seth even enjoyed the FGT! I am super obsessed with them now. I also had an amazing beer with lunch, and enjoyed delicious cheese straws. Seth had the Lobster Roll (and remarked how funny it was that we traveled further south to enjoy more lobster), and I had a fabulous Mahi-Mahi sandwich. Seth's side was better-- he had asparagus, and I had sweet potato fries, which just weren't as good as Sesame's. We finished with delicious key lime pie, one of the best we've ever had. Thanks to a friend's recommendation, we had a later lunch, and were able to explore the house afterward! The ballroom was ah-maz-ing, and it was really fun to just explore and read the history. We ate outside, because the weather was seriously divine, then did a little more shopping.

Forsyth Park- beautiful!

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

We did more exploring after dark, and found a few fun parks and got to see pretty streets and holiday decor, including a holiday party. We did go by Lady and Sons, but definitely didn't feel obligated to eat there (we have awesome Southern food here in Charleston, realistically). There was a theatre there playing It's A Wonderful Life, but not until next weekend. All the holiday decor was gorgeous, though! We also saw an amazing church downtown (well, several, but this was our favorite). It's the Catholic church, and it was just stunning, even at night, with all these fabulous details and designs echoed throughout the building. It reminded me of the awesome churches in England that I fell in love with. We also got to enjoy antiquing, and it was a lot of fun, although I hate going into stores where I'm terrified of breaking everything because it's too close together.

Now, Seth and I are back with our little Roo, and it's been a good day overall. We took a nice long nap with Rosie, which was much needed, and did a little shopping. We're now watching Christmas with Holly, based on Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor, which is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors, Lisa Kleypas. It's not like the book in many ways, but it's still a lot of fun. Time to start enjoying vacation! (Including all the awesome Disney movies now on Netflix!)

Feeling Thankful!

So, we've been busy, just with surviving school, running, and travel to and fro. I love all the thankful-for lists going on Facebook, so I wanted to do a quick one on here! I'll just make it 25 so I'm ahead for a bit. :-)

1. I'm thankful that Seth and I just celebrated 3 years of marriage on November 7th!
2. That we have an adorable, protective, loving, fluffy puppy who brings joy into our lives every day... Even when she's a fink.
3. That I've been able to work so long and so hard on my occupational therapy degree, and it's almost done with coursework!!!
4. That I got accepted into the conference for the Society of Student Run Free Clinics in January!!!! 
5. To go with 4, that I finally am doing my research, which I am so passionate about and cannot wait to share the results of, both for our school and for other groups thinking about making a free clinic for people who need OT and PT.
6. That I've had the opportunity to work with so many people through classes, fieldwork, and the CARES clinic. It's amazing, and inspires me to keep going on the path God led me to.
7. That Seth and I both have such awesome families! I love my inlaws, and he loves my parents and siblings, so it's awesome.
8. That I got to see my now-sister-in-law get married, and reconnect with her on an honest level. :-) I am looking forward to spending some real time with her in the future.
9. That Seth has a job he loves, with awesome people.
10. That we're doing running, which is just fun! We're doing the Jingle Bell Run in a few days.
11. That my brother starts his new job soon! It's a different path than he expected, but it's apparently what was meant to be.
12. For Netflix, for keeping me sane when I'm working on assignments I'd rather pretend didn't exist.
13. For library books, both digital and hard copy, because I'm a serious bookworm.
14. As weird as it sounds, I am so thankful that I live in a time where I have access to medicine to help control my asthma. I had a random attack this morning, and I was just thinking how horrible it would be if I couldn't just take my inhaler and breathe again. 
15. For our amazing friends, near and far, who have touched our lives both as individuals and as a married couple.
16. For being able to live in such a beautiful city, and have such an AMAZING backyard-- there's nothing like waking up, walking down the back stairs, and seeing Shem Creek with my prancing puppy.
17. For my aunt, who recently had a stroke, and I am so incredibly thankful that it was a mild one with an expectation of a full recovery. Also, for the health of the rest of my family.
18. For Facebook and technology, which allows us to keep in touch, and contact people when we get lost in schoolwork or playing games (I feel like it's obvious who's who in each category).
19. For all the blessings in our lives, and the people who have been a part of it, bringing us signs of grace and God's love every day. 
20. For the chance for Seth and I to both work in the fields we love, and be mentored by amazing people along the way.
21. For being able to celebrate Thanksgiving in a low-key way.
22. For being over most food allergies, and restaurants (and weddings) that will accommodate the very odd ones I still have (onions, coconut, and cabernet sauvignon). I missed dairy.
23. For living so close to history and the beach-- it's wonderful to spend time with my husband and puppy as we walk and explore and discover beauty in nature and in the amazing things people made. I am always impressed that they made single story houses before they had all the technology we do now... And that they did a better job than we do now with designing them for air flow.
24. That we're taking an anniversary trip to Savannah in a few weeks! When I'm done with school, we're heading for a month-delayed trip, to see food, history, and art galore! And did I mention food?
25. That we're heading home to Norfolk for a week at Christmas to spend with family and friends! And we finally get to visit Christmas Town.

That's just a short list!  Rosie is thankful that we feed her and take her to daycare and love her.

Also, we had a great time this weekend at the wedding, and I loved my shoes and dress! Hopefully someone else took real photos, because I definitely didn't. I was so glad to get to spend time with my sister in law. :-)

Cheers,
Cassi