Dance I Said!

Do a little dance for me today- it's definitely time for celebration! I graduate exactly 9 months from today! Sometimes I don't believe it- I only have 6 more months of rotations, and three whole months off. It's going to fly by, because the first 7 years of my post-high school education sure have!

Today is also a day of celebration because I get to go home. Tonight, I'll be in Nashville with my BFF Shari, relaxing and catching up over some tasty mexican food. Then midday tomorrow, I'll be home sweet home! I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find me on the couch watching Dexter Season 4 with Brandon and Phoebe, not willing to let either one of them out of my sight or out of my arms!

This month has been tough at times. Especially the third week, when I was severely homesick. I missed my husband and my Phoebekins like crazy! But a lot of good things have come out of this adventure. I got to spend an entire weekend with just my parents in Gatlinburg, a whole weekend with Kelly shopping for baby stuff and makeup, and a fabulous weekend in Asheville with my husband. Thank goodness for them driving across the entire state of TN or I don't think I would have made it.

Melaina and I had our not so good days at rotation, but the fun always started when our day at rotation stopped. We've climbed to the top of a mountain, enjoyed walking a mile to TCBY so we wouldn't feel guilty about eating the yummy yogurt, and spent lots of time "studying" while watching Sex and the City.

My favorite time was our scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs and dance-like-there's-no-tomorrow sing-a-long to Glee Soundtrack parties!  In case you can't picture this type of shenanigan in your head, you can just watch Glee. I promise, we sound and look just like those guys! 

Ok, maybe not quite just like them, but we sure did have fun trying!

The Biltmore

Brandon and I just returned from our weekend get-away, and it was one of the best weekends we've had in a while!  After I decided to come to Kingsport for a rotation, we decided it was the perfect opportunity to head over to Asheville, NC to see the Biltmore Estate.

We started out with an audio tour of the inside of the house, and learned all about the Vanderbilt family, their traditions, and their extravagant, fabulous lifestyle.

One of our favorite parts of the house was the Winter Garden, which is a huge, open area filled with lush plants and greenery, covered with natural sunlight beaming in through the glass ceiling.  We also lusted over the gigantic well-stocked library, the kitchen with the gorgeous view of the mountains, and the dining room with a 7-story ceiling that houses a 40 foot Christmas tree during the holidays!

That night, we attended the Flower Carpet Event, where we enjoyed an amazing picnic basket filled with gourmet cheese and breads, plus a colorful array of fruits, a bottle of Biltmore wine, and two-souvenir Biltmore wine glasses. We were able to explore the gardens as the sun set over the mountains, with torches and candles lighting the walkways. It was so romantic!

We enjoyed ourselves so much the first day, we went back the next day for some more tours and history. Brandon's favorite was the Rooftop Tour, where we learned more about the architecture of the house. The views were breathtaking, to say the least!  One of my favorite parts was the Friends and Family Tour, where I swooned over 11 extra rooms and guest bedrooms that make Pottery Barn catalogs look like JCPenny. We learned more about the guests at the Biltmore during it's prime, all of which made me fall even more in love with the old days.

The house looks very similar to Pemberly, doesn't it? It's all so "Pride and Prejudice", where Brandon is Mr. Darcy, and I am, of course, Elizabeth Bennet. And we'll live happily ever after, although vacations can't last forever, unfortunately.

Don't look so worried, Mom!

Recently, my parents came to visit me in East, TN! Since I'm staying in Kingsport for an entire month, I need to be entertained on the weekends. We had a great time doing tourist-y things in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We had so much fun! The Aquarium was beautiful, the Tennessee Shindig was suprisingly good, and Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede made me so proud to be southern. (*Insert Sarcasm*) No really, it was very.... interesting.

Mom had this great idea to ride the tram up to the top of the mountain, and assured me that she would be able to make it without getting motion sickness. Well, that wasn't exactly true.

Dad and I had a great time at the very front, enjoying the breeze and the view.

 Mom, on the other hand, didn't seem to enjoy the ride quite as much.....

 Luckily, she made all the way up the mountain, and back down just fine.  We ventured out to the Titanic Museum the next day, which I highly recommend if you are ever in the area!

Kingsport Adventures

It's been a while since I updated, obviously. Kelly wrote the funniest post about our trip to Sevierville and our QVC pajama party, and it reminded me that I've been wanting to post a few things. Plus, it's raining outside so I can't work out, and I'm trying to procrastinate on my project.

For reasons I can't remember right now, Melaina and I picked an Ambulatory Care rotation for the month of August in Kingsport, TN. I learned a lot the first week, and we are having a lot of fun, but I'm very homesick. I can't wait to get home to Brandon and Phoebe!

Melaina and I really wanted to take advantage of our surroundings while we are here, so we ventured out to Bays Mountain Park and hiked over 4 miles to the top of the highest mountain in Kingsport to climb the fire tower for a beautiful view. And boy, was the view beautiful!

There were also several interesting sights on the way up...

This was our first time doing any real "hiking". I sang the chant from "Troop Beverly Hills" for a large portion of the time. So of course, we had to watch that movie as soon as we got back!