Archery Deer Season

Week 6/10 for round 1. It was a rough start due to the events of last weekend, which had me shook. But at least we both had vehicles and insurance and were good enough. Seriously. This whole process is kind of a bummer, but there's a lot to be thankful for. 

We're just calling this week a wash as far as clinical progress is concerned. Although I am still getting better, which is nice. And I only have 4 more weeks (scary) until this clinical is over, which makes me a little sad. I like it here. But at the same time, I'm ready to be done with school. 

I went up to Flagstaff to figure out insurance stuff with Roger and work on my dress with Carol. She had me exchange a couple yards of fabric that came pretty dirty. So I did, and somehow they ended up giving me $35 off my total order. So that brings the cost down to $40 total that I'm at with this dress so far. 

We had church with Carol's family on Sunday and I crushed them in a game of dice and called the fam. Overall, life is good, and I have nothing further to report. Good day. 

Wright Place, Wrong Time

After another long week wherein I was learning much and my brain was not handling it well, I got a flu shot. And so the start of the day on Friday, I felt like I usually do at 4pm. But Roger came and picked me up, Subway in hand, and we were off to California. 

We arrived in LA around 10:30 and found a parking spot within a few blocks after about 10 minutes. Not bad. Shannon told me about Pavloving Violet into better sleeping habits and how she's going to be a hunchback forever since she never wants to do her PT exercises. (C'mon lady). We stayed up until Derek got home and had a brief and ridiculous chat (TBC in December) and promptly fell asleep (and didn't even notice Violet screaming). 

Watch out for sharks. 

At 5am, we left for Morro Bay (3.5h north) and Roger slept most of the journey. And then stayed in the car because he was scared we were at the wrong place. We chilled with Carson and his family and Joe changed my life with avocado/hot sauce bagels (thanks to Chase) and we had a good time. We went to the beach and found one million sand dollars. 

Eventually, we headed 45minutes away for the wedding at Taylor's grandparents' house on the golf course. I hung out all day while Roger took his suit coat on/off for photos. The wedding was short and personal and had enough funny moments. And too many tears. They stranded me again, leaving for pictures, and I avoided all political discussions by pretending to be asleep. Classic. 

The crew. I like these guys. #nojumpingtoetouches

They had an intermittent dance party and delicious tacos and cookies and cornhole. Joe insisted I play with him, which I warned him about, but I ended up scoring all six of our points. You're welcome. We left around 10 (because we lost the keys...) and had plenty of honey to go in hand. Quality gift choice. 

Me with some random guy. 

After a good night's sleep, I was still tired, but we headed onto the road, where I slept some more. I woke up mid crash in Bakersfield, CA. Everyone was ok (except Alex, my car). The other guys drove off, AAA picked up and is housing my car for free, and some guys from the ward helped use out for a bit, thanks to my mission companion, Abby Luthi's connection there. There were no rental cars, so we convinced the Wrights to reroute and grab us on their was back to AZ. Brandt picked me up, they dropped Roger in Flag, and we were home by midnight. Except the Wrights, who probably got in around 2, but God bless them. Good times, 0/10 would not recommend. 

Not too shabby. We aight. 

Is Gesso the Besto?

 Another week, another headache. And I mean that in the best possible way. My CI is challenging me in good ways at the clinic, I study and write papers for him at night, and then I watch additional conferences over the weekend. 

Me after moving 10 tons of rocks. 

The fun news of the week is that - the day before the final inspection - the inspectors decided to drop the bomb that our swales (trenches running from the drain pipe down into the mini canyon behind the house for water runoff) need to be lined with rocks in order to pass the final, own the house, and prevent erosion. So Brandt bought 10 tons of rocks on his way home from work and we spent the night loading the truck and unloading the rocks nicely into 2 100-ft swales running down a steep hillside behind the house. 

Pros and Cons.

The other fun thing of the week was painting. Neked Stu asked us to help with a project for his dad's birthday in October. So I've been gathering supplies and figuring ideas and Roger helped paint the background and I investigated the difference between water painting on a canvas with and without gesso. I know my preference. LMK yours. 

How to Mooch as an Adult (part 1)

 First of all, let me tell you that clinicals are...going. I work everyday officially from 7-4 and then we chat and finish our documentation. And then I workout and I study. And that's it. I'm a few weeks in and my brain hurts everyday, but I sleep really well. 

This is where they go when they're naughty. 

But more importantly, this weekend, I went to Flagstaff so that Roger and I could go yard sailing. Which I'm really glad he enjoys, because it brings me back. We found an app (Yard Sale Treasure Map) that makes it so much easier and helps us decide if certain sales are worth it. 

So here's the loot. For $16.50, we got a nice pair of waders that fits me, a space tarp, an old knife, a pot with a lid, a yoga mat, a book, some maps of the area, and a portable shovel. I do have some regrets on my original offer that would've changed it to $2 cheaper. Next time. 

And they hide under the bed for fun. Or play "Walk the Plank".

We tried to go on a hiking adventure afterwards, but the car overheated, so we went back to the apartment for food and yoga. And took a day trip to Phoenix to get Roger's second fitting for a suit for Carson's wedding. 

A Home (for my stuff only)

These "clinical experiences" take me back to my mission days, where the weeks are long and the days longer - but at the same time it feels like it passes so quickly because it's thoroughly enjoyable. I'm getting better at a lot of things and my CI pushes me to remember a lot more, and sometimes I realize that I actually am pretty good at this. I just have to get my brain out of the jello stage. But overall, we work well together and we're getting shiz done. 

Happy Valley

I worked one day this week and saw a beautiful part of town. The rest of the days I spent studying at Wildflower, a local restaurant with free wifi and no obligation to buy anything. It's hard to have energy to work out after ten hour days, but I'm working on that too. 

The best way to entertain kids is to lock them in a room with this. 

The apartment now has most of its stone exterior done and the carpets and driveway should be finished by now. And we may even be getting wifi at the house - so that'll make me feel a lot better about things because I'm running out of data. 

After work on Friday, I drove up to Flagstaff to help Roger move into the new apartment. We slept on our new mattress topper (that I bought at a garage sale last week, per his request) and I only got bit in two places by probably spiders. 

The view from our back porch. 

Saturday morning, Stu and Collin helped us take Ryan's trailer and truck to load everything up. I let them handle the couch and the freezer and the monster of a dresser (I also bought at a garage sale last week). And I took most of the little stuff and unpacked a lot of it. We also have a recliner (I got for FREE at a garage sale) that was well worth the price. 

In case you needed some evidence of my studies.

We went to dinner at Olive Garden, thanks (in part lol) to a gift card I had. And it was delicious. We talked to Grampy and made some good plans and I finished a paper for my CI. I was exhausted by 9, so I went to bed while the guys checked trail cams until 1am.