Winter Break: a much needed vacay
Don't you just LOVEEE winter time? It's the perfect combination of crispness in the air, quietness as things slow down, and Christmas lights glistening in windows. There's something about Christmas lights that are so peaceful. Hence, we'll be leaving ours up until we move later next month!
Second year fall semester way verrryyy busy. Between learning how to do crown preparations (hello long nights in the lab cutting millimeters off plastic teeth at just the right angle), to learning the pharmacokinetics of soooo many drugs and their potential interactions and toxicities, to say that my class was looking forward to a break was a very big understatement. Our last final was actually our prosthodontics practical, and omg we were so happy to be done with it.
UNC SoD gave us 3 weeks off! 3 glorious weeks! I thought that I would be sleeping in so much, but I guess school does this funny thing in making sure that your wake schedule is pretty much locked in. So there I was waking up at the crack of dawn, letting out the most hyper dog ever, and making some breakfast for D as he rushed out the door. The days leading up to his 9 day break from work for Christmas break went by so quickly. Between running errands I had postponed to visiting with friends, I wish that I had just sat and enjoyed more of it.
But then came D's break! I love when we both have time to just cuddle and binge watch Netflix together. We used to do that all the time in Greensboro, but we both have pretty hectic schedules now that we can't always relax with one another as often as we'd like. We treasure this time. The days of waking up late, staying in pjs until 2pm, finally getting dressed to get some coffee, then putting on comfy clothes again to make some hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and settle in for the night. I'm telling you, when you find a person who you don't get sick of after doing that on repeat for 4-5 days straight, make sure you commit to them!
We spend Christmas with D's family in Greensboro. D's mom always does the best job of decorating the house. Who else do you know that has 3 Christmas trees in the house, each decorated according the the room they stand in (heyyy "food tree" adorned with pretzels and candy in the kitchen)? It was so lovely being welcomed into his family's house for the holidays since mine was sorta all over the southeastern US for the day. I think one of my fav things about this holiday is watching people's faces as they open the gift that you got for them. For me, seeing the reaction of someone getting the gift that they really wanted is so perfect. Being around happy people, celebrating one another and the holiday spirit always makes me warm and fuzzy inside. And tbh, the food is alwayssss a big draw about the holiday as well!
Two days post-Christmas, we had second Christmas in Charleston, SC, where my sister and grandparents live. Dad flew in, so we were able to stroll around the gorgeous city with him. D and Dad only got into two political discussions, but we're all still friends...for now. The gparents were sick while we were there, so our visiting time with them was short but very sweet. One of the reasons I know that D is the one is his generosity and thoughtfulness. Since Poppy and Gma were super bummed that they were too sniffly to take us to a nice dinner in Charleston, D insisted on making them Crawfish Étouffée. Y'all, my family LOVED that goodness. If you're ever feeling adventurous, try it out! (Far warning though, crawfish are pretty hard to come by in the colder months, so call ahead and make sure they're in stock. Shrimp also work pretty well as a filler if the selection is limited!) We also did an Escape Room while in Charleston, and actually made it out in time! Bless the souls of the random couple that were paired with our group, though. The Lazarchicks are very...loud and controlling...and this couple was so not. We're the kinda family that likes to strongly suggest to others what to do, and these people were very laid back. But I guess Ying and Yang work together because we escaped from the "prison room" and beat the game! I would def recommend doing this as a team boding exercise!
Coming back to school was so tough! While I def was looking forward to seeing everyone again and getting back into a routine, I was really loving going at my own pace and taking in slow sips of the world. I remembered during break how much I love running. I love being outside. I actually like cooking. And I love D. I am so grateful for the time that I had during break and I hope that I'll be able to reflect back on those slow nights and lazy mornings when times get hectic.
I also fell back in love with helping pre-dental students. I'll take ownership for slacking on this platform. I wasn't the best last semester about updating y'all via the blog, getting back to emails on time, or writing pre-dental advice. I promise to change that. I am so incredibly fortunate to be able to help this community in any capacity that I can, and I am very much looking forward to the new things to come.
Lastly, I want to wish all of you a very wonderful spring semester! Whether you're just starting science classes, halfway through and shadowing a dentist, or you've been accepted and are beginning your tooth journey in the fall, I'm here for you. I look forward to what this semester brings, and I'll check in with y'all again soon!
Second year fall semester way verrryyy busy. Between learning how to do crown preparations (hello long nights in the lab cutting millimeters off plastic teeth at just the right angle), to learning the pharmacokinetics of soooo many drugs and their potential interactions and toxicities, to say that my class was looking forward to a break was a very big understatement. Our last final was actually our prosthodontics practical, and omg we were so happy to be done with it.
UNC SoD gave us 3 weeks off! 3 glorious weeks! I thought that I would be sleeping in so much, but I guess school does this funny thing in making sure that your wake schedule is pretty much locked in. So there I was waking up at the crack of dawn, letting out the most hyper dog ever, and making some breakfast for D as he rushed out the door. The days leading up to his 9 day break from work for Christmas break went by so quickly. Between running errands I had postponed to visiting with friends, I wish that I had just sat and enjoyed more of it.
But then came D's break! I love when we both have time to just cuddle and binge watch Netflix together. We used to do that all the time in Greensboro, but we both have pretty hectic schedules now that we can't always relax with one another as often as we'd like. We treasure this time. The days of waking up late, staying in pjs until 2pm, finally getting dressed to get some coffee, then putting on comfy clothes again to make some hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and settle in for the night. I'm telling you, when you find a person who you don't get sick of after doing that on repeat for 4-5 days straight, make sure you commit to them!
We spend Christmas with D's family in Greensboro. D's mom always does the best job of decorating the house. Who else do you know that has 3 Christmas trees in the house, each decorated according the the room they stand in (heyyy "food tree" adorned with pretzels and candy in the kitchen)? It was so lovely being welcomed into his family's house for the holidays since mine was sorta all over the southeastern US for the day. I think one of my fav things about this holiday is watching people's faces as they open the gift that you got for them. For me, seeing the reaction of someone getting the gift that they really wanted is so perfect. Being around happy people, celebrating one another and the holiday spirit always makes me warm and fuzzy inside. And tbh, the food is alwayssss a big draw about the holiday as well!
Two days post-Christmas, we had second Christmas in Charleston, SC, where my sister and grandparents live. Dad flew in, so we were able to stroll around the gorgeous city with him. D and Dad only got into two political discussions, but we're all still friends...for now. The gparents were sick while we were there, so our visiting time with them was short but very sweet. One of the reasons I know that D is the one is his generosity and thoughtfulness. Since Poppy and Gma were super bummed that they were too sniffly to take us to a nice dinner in Charleston, D insisted on making them Crawfish Étouffée. Y'all, my family LOVED that goodness. If you're ever feeling adventurous, try it out! (Far warning though, crawfish are pretty hard to come by in the colder months, so call ahead and make sure they're in stock. Shrimp also work pretty well as a filler if the selection is limited!) We also did an Escape Room while in Charleston, and actually made it out in time! Bless the souls of the random couple that were paired with our group, though. The Lazarchicks are very...loud and controlling...and this couple was so not. We're the kinda family that likes to strongly suggest to others what to do, and these people were very laid back. But I guess Ying and Yang work together because we escaped from the "prison room" and beat the game! I would def recommend doing this as a team boding exercise!
Coming back to school was so tough! While I def was looking forward to seeing everyone again and getting back into a routine, I was really loving going at my own pace and taking in slow sips of the world. I remembered during break how much I love running. I love being outside. I actually like cooking. And I love D. I am so grateful for the time that I had during break and I hope that I'll be able to reflect back on those slow nights and lazy mornings when times get hectic.
I also fell back in love with helping pre-dental students. I'll take ownership for slacking on this platform. I wasn't the best last semester about updating y'all via the blog, getting back to emails on time, or writing pre-dental advice. I promise to change that. I am so incredibly fortunate to be able to help this community in any capacity that I can, and I am very much looking forward to the new things to come.
Lastly, I want to wish all of you a very wonderful spring semester! Whether you're just starting science classes, halfway through and shadowing a dentist, or you've been accepted and are beginning your tooth journey in the fall, I'm here for you. I look forward to what this semester brings, and I'll check in with y'all again soon!