SI-- WEEK TWENTY TWO

And the holidays begin! T and I packed in the fun this past week! Well.. this week started with an all-day board examination.. that was less than awesome. I really wasn't feeling it - so I just plowed through the 8 hour test and only stopped for a total of 13 minutes (in which I used the bathroom then ate a Jimmy John's sandwich and peanut M&Ms). 8 hours of complete focus is a long time. Plus you have to deal with all the testing center antics. You may not know, but when you take a test at these testing centers they are ridiculously serious about test security. I mean, I get it. I'd be upset if people were cheating on these exams. But you have to bring with a magic piece of paper with your testing reservation on it, a government-issued photo ID, take a picture at the testing center, leave a fingerprint, sign into the official book, flip out all pockets in your pants, flash your ankles, and be wanded head to toe (I assume it's a metal detector..?). You have to go through that whole routine any time you take a break during the test. I decided I'd rather be home earlier than take a break - hopefully my brain didn't go to mush from lack of breakage! I'll find out my score in a month or so..

But on to more exciting things! Thanksgiving Day begins every year with a (frigid!) game of football. This year was thankfully not terribly windy, but the windchill was about 10-20F for the 2 hours of playing time. T loves the Turkey Bowl -- and I love watching him play! He typically rushes on defense and often play quarterback or running back on offense. He rarely plays in the secondary (where he played in college!). This year was fancy with hot chocolate and doughnuts after the game.

We spent Thursday with my family. My parents cooked the majority of the meal but we all brought a little somethin'. There was a minor oven-smoking incident due to some rogue turkey broth that I'm sure my mom won't forget for a while.. but otherwise the day was great! I love that my mom *asks* everyone to go around the table and share their happy/sad. The only time we skip the happy/sad routine is when we are celebrating someone - and then we each share a memory of that person instead. My mom actually got us twice by having us all share again while we were eating dessert what we look forward to during the Christmas season. We always end the night at the Nebraska wind Symphony Christmas Concert at the Holland.

Friday, we were back at my parent's house to help hang the outside Christmas decorations and enjoy leftovers & raspberry pastries while we watched the Husker game:

After the game, we capitalized on the 50F weather and shot some trap over the river:

Saturday, we headed to Lincoln to celebrate with T's family! T supervised as they fried the turkey and Grams helped T learn how to carve it. Since the weather was 70F, we gladly volunteered to help hang the Christmas lights after dinner:

Finally, we ended the weekend by decorating our own place! 

December is our "basic science" month. I'll be spending the majority of my time in lectures reviewing important things like reading EKGs. I'll still have my own clinic, too, but just 1 afternoon per week. Should be a good month! Love you all!

xo,

Krista