st. lucy patroness of the blind and eye doctors

Saint Lucy, you did not hide your light under a basket, but let it shine for the whole world, for all the centuries to see. We may not suffer torture in our lives the way you did, but we are still called to let the light of our Christianity illumine our daily lives. Please help us to have the courage to bring our Christianity into our work, our recreation, our relationships, our conversation -- every corner of our day. Amen

so many states!

phew.
it's been a whirlwind of 2 weeks. after finals jessie and I jumped into her yellow suv and headed out- through mississippi, alabama, georgia (commemorated with peach shakes from chik-fil-a), and south carolina. we were greeted with open arms by her bf kyle. and then we went to the ocean. it was dark. but it was soo gorgeous and calming. every care and stress in the world evaporated with the roar of the ocean in my ear, crunch of shells under my feet and tickle of salt in my nose. i attended mass at Our Lady of the Sea the next morning, ate a Bo Jangles chicken biscut (better than chik-fil-a!) went for a ride on the elmore's boat "like eye care" up/down the intercoastal waterway. some of the houses over looking it are absolutely gorgeous. we ate the most delicious fresh (fried) shrimp and hussssh puppies. i think they were more like circular mini funnel cakes- dip them in honey butter mmmm mmm mmm. calories didn't count on my trip.
the rest of the week we hit up the beach, walking, reading, coffee at java joes (waaay better than starbucks), outlet malls, more seafood, a couple dance clubs, and slept. as much as we wanted.
glorious.
the drive back wasn't good. wasn't bad, but it was sad to leave. we then had 2 days of class.
basic pathology and pharmacology. grosss

then i flew home over missouri, illinois, iowa, maybe some others to NEBRASKA
i had a lovely time with a good friend friday night- sushi and drinks and then headed home.
home.
a wonderful place.
i got to see my preschool teacher, many of my high school teachers, my piano teacher, one of the little girls i babysat since she was a baby, a few high school friends, and a good chunk of my family. my family. i love them. they are some of the craziest, stubborn, loving people that can cook. daaang. can they cook. i couldn't resist. tuxedo brownie tarts, gramma cake, cream cheese mints, TATO SALAD, grilled pork sammys, mmmmmmm mmmmm mmmmm
i woke up sunday morning with a terrible stomachache- so much delicous food! it probably didn't sit well, but i think it was more that i didn't want to come back to memphis. AND THEN they buried the crappy keyboard from the church at home. i can't wait to play it this summer!

4 more weeks.
4 more tests.
7 mini practicals.
2 weddings.
and then home for the rest of the summer!

well THAT's embarassing

i have a ginormo red eye... like as red as my husker shirt. from overwear of contact lenses because of studying... it's odd because its only in my left eye- you'd think that it would affect both equally. i've been a naughty girl and sleeping in them- but was told by doc when he fit me that i could, so... i did. it's embarassing to be in optometry school with a red eye because of "cls abuse"

worst part:
i can't wear cls to the beach.
the 4th years are back from externs to graduate tomorrow. they look like doctors. literally. and i just look like the "stupid freshman" who doesn't know how to take care of her own eyes... not really, but i feel like being dramatic. ; )

best part:
dr. newman said it's just inflammatory (no cooties!) and gave me some steroids to put in it.
i'm on the roids abbreviated FML. ha.
one more tomorrow...
then. paradise.

back to the physiology of the eye...

TWIST on oatmeal raisin cookies

I've been wanting to bake... big surprise, right? I was craving oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but decided that I would eat too many of them, soooo I found this recipe which seems a little healthier. There isn't any eggs nor butter in them. They are made with applesauce instead. I ended up eating quite a bit of dough- no salmonella! Just out of the oven, they kinda taste pasty, but as they cool, they taste pretty good... ok. need to get out of the kitchen and stop eating them AND hit the books again for a little while.

prayers would be appreciated for
1) sanity while studying
2) patience with classmates/profs
3) peace during/after tests

two weeks until i'm a second year

where did the year go to?
golllllllley

this has been a pretty crazy past week. the weeks go by so quickly and yet so slowly. several tests and practicals. the doc who proctored my theory and methods practical talked with me yesterday morning about how i did. he made a point to tell me, 2 days later, that he thought i did a very good job. he doesn't just hand out compliments- he's a military man- short, to the point, doesn't fluff things up, will tell you you are wrong, make fun of you for it, but then will tell you the best way of doing it. he always laughs everytime he sees me- "of course you're blocking the projector, you're so tall!"

there was also some stuff with my extended family- my aunt's father passed away and some other things which really made me want to be home, but also, made me realize how awesome my family is. if i didn't have a solid, Catholic, loving family who raised me to be who i am now, i wouldn't have cared that i couldn't be home to support and see them.  i was reminded of how much of an example my godfather is this week: the strong silent type with a big heart that breaks easily for those he cares about and would do anything for. i thank God daily for the wonderful family he blessed me with.

school is going all right. people are starting to get on each others nerves. stress levels are getting higher because ambition is getting lower. we have an exam this week and then 6 finals the following. thankfully, labs are over, so we can use the afternoons to study this week so we aren't soo burned out (or even more burned out) by the time next week comes.

after baking for easter, i decided to bake cupcakes for my friend's birthday. instead of just frosting them, i decided to decorate them with hershey's chocolate frosting- to DIE for! target had some tips and bags at a reasonable price so : voila!

I'd so rather be baking right now.

Easter

Three Redheads and a Wanna-be...

The four muskateers at the Easter Potluck

Me. Jenny. Kaila. Jessie

The outside of St. Peter's Church.

The trees were in bloom- too gorgeous!

The Left Side Altar

I couldn't get a picture of the main altar... church was packed.

Butterflies and Easter bunnies (semi-Gumby/Donnie Darko-esque)

They taste better than they look!

I wish you all a blessed Easter!

Fr. John reminded us that we are an Easter people-

not a Lenten people, nor a Christmas people.

We should be in awe of the Resurrection.

We should celebrate the Resurrection.

Most importantly, we must LIVE the Resurrection!

easter's almost here!

this morning I woke up realizing today (tonight, actually) is one of my favorite times of the year. I love going to Easter Vigil. I know it's a little long and that's what turns a lot of people off to it, but it's such a beautiful liturgy. I'm super excited to go tonight at St. Peter's. I'm going to try to get a picture of the church in its Easter glory. As gorgeous as it is normally, and Christmas time... I know that the lilies and daffodils and the chorus of Easter flowers will be incredible.

Is it just me or has this Lent FLOWN? It just doesn't feel like it's been long enough yet...

My friend Sam is having a pot luck Easter Dinner tomorrow. I'm really grateful that someone is having something. Since we don't get any time off, not many of us are able to go home. By doing this, we are at least able to have it feel less like a normal Sunday and more like Easter! I think I'm going to make cut-out cookies (mom got me cutters last year) and then strawberry pretzel salad- a traditional Easter "salad" in the Gentrup fam. I'll be sure to grease the pan though, right Beth?

Agenda for today:
Study. Grocery Store. Bake. MASS!

Happy Easter!
May the joys of the risen Christ fill our hearts!