T minus 2 weeks (but who's counting?)

The week was a week. I accidentally consumed 120mg of caffeine on Tuesday (which is much more than I ever consume) and I did not get to sleep until about 4am that night. So I spent the rest of the week catching up. But I did get to work out a couple times with some heavier weights at the clinic still, so that was nice. 

Friday, Roger left to go see his brother play in Page. So I got some stuff done and watched Pitch Perfect. Which is still a hilarious movie (thanks, Fat Amy). 

I drove 2.5 hours to Phoenix to take a 24min test (which I passed) and so now I only have a couple things left to do to graduate and they are all stupid easy. Including show up for 'work' every day. 

While I was in PHX, I though it'd be nice to stop for lunch and a quick temple tour. So I went to Subway, where a man from the Free Mustache Ride team in Tucson paid for my lunch and gave me a gift card for next time I was at a Subway. What a blessing. And there weren't even any mustache rides at all. 

Here's a picture of Roger's Saturday. 

I Didn't Go Through A Portal (thanks and you're welcome)

 One week left and my tests are (hopefully) all done forever. The good news is that this upcoming exam is just a law exam comprising 50 pages TOTAL (as opposed to a very basic 1000 page SUMMARY) and I've summarized everything in 5 typed pages - which is very doable. So here's hoping that goes fine. Anyone that wants to hire me is welcome to contact me at any time.

The halfway point. 

I had a great week of increasing exercise implementation. I've started easing back into jump roping, which is always a hard thing for me, and running - 3mi on T/Th and 6mi on Saturdays when possible. This week I ran from the house to Glen Canyon Dam and back - which includes an 827ft elevation change each way. It's almost as good as the 3000ft elevation change I'll be tackling in the same distance in August. 

We unloaded some wood and I got to spend some time watching Grandma. Which is funny because I've been planning to make her do a series of Tiktok dances with me (which we did) and I had a dream that she died mid-dance (which she did not). Although she did tell me she felt close to it. So there's some progress - and call me a prophet (almost). 

The biggest pants. 

The other interesting news of the week is my new media interest - Missing 411. Basically there's a detective that's been looking into strange disappearances at national/state parks and forests that include about 3% of all disappearances there. The trends are that the victims are wearing bright clothing, at the back/front of a group in a populated area, go out of view for a few seconds, and are gone. Once the others reach them, they can see for miles and there's nowhere these people could sprint to without being seen, but they're gone. It happens closer to granite pits and large bodies of water, the people are usually found ridiculous distances/heights away from where they were lost, the dogs lose their scent at the place of disappearance, and if they're found they either have no memory of what happened or they're dead in a place that's been searched often. There's 8 books and a couple documentaries (which don't do it credit). 

I'm Covid Free and Lauren's Not

Well folks, I'm fully vaccinated. So give me a few weeks and I'll be ready to face the world with my mask still on until we've at least got herd immunity. From what I've heard, dose dos does seem to be a little rougher. I had a sore shoulder and a fever for an evening, but otherwise, I'm doing pretty good. 

Just me, waltzing around in the wind. 

During our last home visit on Thursday, a patient asked us to help them figure out how to get to the bank, so we spent some time working with this couple on getting to/from their car in the garage and at the parking lot. And it was a blast. 

The photos I take of him. 

When we returned, we parked next to a big tunnel the neighbors had dug through about 12ft of their snow bank. Joe said he'd pay me $5 to go through it - so I did. And it was a wet remainder of the day, but the laughs and cash were WELL worth it. 

The photos he takes of me. (They're getting better.) 

For Valentine's Day, I told Roger all I wanted was to go to the temple in Snowflake. So we did. We planned on a few other adventures in the area, but it was so windy, we were getting blown all around - in the car and on our feet. So we took some pictures, grabbed some Mexican grub, and visited the homestead that Roger's great grandfather built by hand in Woodruff. It's neat that they were able to preserve such a cool piece of history. 

And one good one for the books. 

We came back mid-storm to catch Stu's game and eat some grub. And we spent actual Sunday visiting with family and wearing the warmest blankets we could find. (And by WE I mean just me.)

I'm a Doctor and an Author. What's Next?

The good news is that I passed my PT boards. So now I have a hope of regaining some mental and digestive stability. Hallelujah. 

In all its glory.

The other good news is that the book Hannah and I made is up for sale on Amazon for <$10. So thanks in advance (or hindsight) for your support on that. Retrospectively, if I had known we were going to do this, I think we would've made a few changes to the storyline, but I guess we'll save that for the sequel. 

And thirdly, Roger can hear again.

I started working back into some heavy lifting a few times a week when we get finished early at the clinic. And I played pickleball with some people this weekend -so get ready for me to be one of THOSE old people.

There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here on the trail of Christmas Tree. 

I convinced Roger to go on a hike with me on Christmas Tree Trail. Which is a nice 4 miler up a smaller hill next to Mount Elden. And then he fired up our new smoker and cooked me some yummy rabbit and quail with beans and corn and taters while we watched the Chinese version of Mulan (2009). And it was all EXCELLENT. 10/10 Would recommend. 

Hunter or Hobo?

 This week has seriously been four years. It snowed lightly all weekend and then it came down harder starting Monday at 5. Halfway to the clinic, Joe told me we're cancelling for today. Which was good, because Flagstaff doesn't know how to plow - let alone drive - these roads. 

And it allowed for me to go down to Phoenix early. Which was also a good decision, because I got through just before they closed down all the highways in a 100-mile radius. Which then meant that I was driving in the worst of the storm. 

One of the safer sections of road. 

All things considered, the southbound traffic wasn't too bad. It was all the northward skiiers that were a little too excited and ended up slipping off the road into the snowbank. I swear, there were cars, trucks, and trailers in the snowbank about every 30 yards or so - along with standstill traffic. 

The escapees and myself went single-file at a solid 35mph for about half the trip. Verde Valley turned the blizzard into rain and I thought the worst was over. Turns out there was one final hill before we were south enough (and low enough elevation) to not worry about it. 

The difference 7000 ft makes. 

I could see about fourteen cars ahead of me when the slipping started happening. We were driving in the perfect amount / mixture of rain and snow to provide zero traction. We slowed down to a stop and watched 5 or 6 cars get stuck sideways on the hill, blocking the road. And every time a car tried to inch ahead, it started slipping and sliding too. 

So a cop truck with some good chains came to help drag all these cars off the road, but as more cars tried to keep going, the same thing was happening. But there were a couple pickup trucks that found a route along the shoulder that looked promising and so I followed in my Prius (sandbags in the back) and then we ended up weaving in and out of sliding cars to make it past. Cake. 

I love this place. Even in the rain. When it's closed. 

I stayed with my friend Cenita and her family. They are the coolest. We hung out some, they let me study some, and on my way out, her mom prayed for me and gave me a loaf of homemade bread. I went to the temple for a minute because I like it there and I was hoping it would help me not throw up for this test that has made me really anxious for some reason. (It worked. I didn't throw up.)

And then I drove downtown to take this stupid five hour test. And it was freaking hard. That said, hopefully I did well enough to pass. That's all I care about. We'll see in a few weeks what the graders have to say. 

Roger's favorite thing. Hunting, I mean. 

I made it up to Prescott that night - just in time for some pizza and cake and Dinosaur for Brandt's birthday. And then drove up early, changed, and made it to the clinic just a little late for Wednesday. The rest of the week was pretty chill. A lot of cancellations due to weather. 

Saturday, Roger took me quail hunting. Which, retrospectively, was not like I had pictured based on a few stories he's told. I have since concluded that it is silly to try to shoot a flying bird when I've never even tried to hit a target that is moving at all. Kinda felt like I was just wasting bullets and time at that point. 

Watch out for the Olaf sleds - they're slicker than the boogie boards. 

And Sunday after church, we took the kids sledding and ended up having way more fun than them. It's been too long since I've been sledding. And then Roger played games and I had a quiet Sunday afternoon to myself.