Getting into a groove!

Wow! It has been over a month since I wrote something on here! I'm pretty bad about always finding something else I could be doing other than sitting down on the computer, but I'd really like to update my blog more often, so I'll just have to make it one of my priorities!

A lot has happened since my last update! Kyle and Mandy's wedding went so well! It was beautiful and they had a great turnout of people there to celebrate their love! It definitely got Jeff and I more excited about our wedding...if that's possible! Just 10 months left until we tie the knot and it is speeding by!

I finished up my radiology rotation in Cookeville and was really sad to leave! Sometimes things just fit, and that's what radiology did. I went to grad school in anatomy, so that's what I am good at, and it was all anatomy all the time! What more could I ask for? The only problem if that stays a top choice is that it is a super competitive residency, so I'm not sure how great my chances are to get in, but if it still feels right, I'll definitely try!

About 2.5 weeks ago, I moved to Cordova to start my next rotation in Neurology, which is turning out to be a lot of fun! It was a little scary the first week, especially when all I got was a list of patients and rooms and was told to go see them, but after a minor "what do I do" moment, I pulled myself together and it ended up being a lot more fun than following a doctor around! One of the hardest parts about this rotation is having patients that aren't mobile or can't speak because of a stroke and trying to figure out how and what to do for my exam. I believe it has to be an art form that doctors eventually pick up, developing your own style of exam and deciding what questions to ask, one that I think will take a little while to get the hang of.

I do love living in Cordova because I have more friends down here, I have an awesome gym that is unbelievably close, and my cousin that I'm living with is a hoot! The only downsides are being farther away from Jeff and family and the traffic (oh the traffic!). But I'm having a blast, still have great hours and am getting lots of sleep, and already lost 12 pounds since I've been here! Slow and steady wins the race, right? Well, I guess that is all for now, just waiting for the doc to get here to spend the afternoon in clinic. So until next time! :-D

Getting My First Glimpse Into the Rest of My Life

Since I'm starting the 2nd week of my first rotation, I figured this was as good of a time as any to put some of my impressions of the week into words.  My first rotation is Radiology in Cookeville, TN.  I thought this rotation would be a good one to ease myself into the "doctor world" since you see a little bit of everything, and it has done exactly that.  It's been a blur of X-rays, CT's, MRI's, ultrasounds, and tons of other imaging.  I love love love this rotation and it's not even one of the ones I thought I would!  I've had unbelievably reasonable hours, free lunch (always a plus!), and the people are great! And its all anatomy all the time!!! What more could a girl want? As much as I want to enjoy the next two years, I hope I don't feel this way about every rotation, or else it's going to be really difficult to choose what I want to do for the rest of my life!

The only thing I wish I had more of in this rotation is patient interaction.  When I see a patient, it is usually for a procedure, so there's not a lot of conversation, but I know that the rotations here on out will be more one-on-one patient-centered, so I'm going to enjoy Radiology and make the most out of each day!

The big event for this weekend is my brother's wedding! Saturday afternoon I will gain a brand new sister! I'm so excited for them and I love how happy they are! I know they're going to have a fantastic blessed and happy life together! And I really love to see our family grow!

The Last Summer Before Reality

As soon as it started....or so it feels like...I can see the end of the summer drawing to a close and I feel like I haven't taken advantage of it! I survived both of my Step 1 exams (and we will see if I passed in the next few days) and went on vacation with the fam to Fort Morgan, AL.  That was an adventure! We nicknamed the trip "A Day Late and A Dollar Short" although the last part wasn't true.  Other than Granny, we didn't spend much money because she paid for almost every meal or activity! The "day late" part of the trip came with making it to a hot air balloon festival in time to see the last balloon deflated and made it to the Blue Angels just as they were landing and 5500 people were leaving! But it truly was a fun trip!

There's the smokey hot air balloon being deflated!

Since we got back from vacation, I've spent a lot of time cleaning my parent's basement so they don't have to have all my belongings in the way...truthfully I forgot what part of the basement looked like what with my stuff and my brother's "free stuff" from Japan.  But he bought a house so that is all moved out and now my stuff is all either waiting for the yard sale this weekend or in his old room.  In less than a year Jeff and I will be registering for new things, so I better clear most of my stuff out or we will be renting multiple storage units!

Speaking of weddings, I was so excited to see friends from DCOM at the Pazik-Huckaby wedding! To put it plainly...it was my dream wedding...outside, beautiful location, tent reception, dancing, everything a girl can dream of!  And it was hot!!! Probably the hottest weekend I have ever seen! Ours will be a quite a bit different, but it's so fun to see such a great couple get married...and get a few ideas of our own.  Alicia's wedding definitely got our creative juices flowing for a few days and we came up with a few more things we'd like at our wedding.  Other than the wedding, it was just an all around great weekend, including a triple date to dinner and Ted, Sounds game, Putt-Putt and more!

Such a fun reception! We had a great time!

I'm definitely looking forward to these next few weeks, and they will be packed! There's a yard sale (hopefully a success), Jonah's 2nd birthday, Mandy and Kyle's last shower and wedding, starting rotations, and hopefully finding time to spend some quality time with friends, family, and my love! 

Another huge priority for the next few weeks and actually the next year is weight loss.  While I was in grad school a few years ago, I lost a whopping 95 pounds, and since I left Mississippi I have been slowly (well maybe not so slowly) packing on the pounds.  Now, I'm dedicated to taking them off again! I have around 100 pounds that I would like to lose before the wedding, so if you subscribe to the whole 2 pounds per week idea, I've got just enough time! 52 weeks --> 100 pounds...and it's going to happen! We have the Warrior Dash coming up in September, and I don't want to have a heart attack halfway through the course.  And, my superficial reason, aside from blood pressure problems and not being able to run 13 miles anymore, is that I don't want to look at my wedding pictures and be unhappy with how I've let myself go.  So here we go again! Wish me luck! :)

Big changes are on the way!

This is my first time blogging, so I'm not exactly sure what all I want to write, but I'm sure it will all work itself out.  For starters, I am a 3rd year medical student about to take what is probably the biggest exam of my life in less than 24 hours.  It's 8 hours and 400 questions and decides whether I can start my clinical rotations or not.  I've studied at 8-12 hours a day for the last month, so needless to say, I am ready to get this over with!!! Being done with this first two years of medical school is HUGE and I am so ready to just get out there and see patients!


At the end of the week, I am heading to the beach with my wonderful family! It's been two years since I've gone to the beach, but for my Granny and nephew, it's their first time seeing the ocean! I'm so excited to get down there and spend time with them, read books other than Step 1 review books, and soak up some sun!

Now, the story behind the title of my blog...because it might be changing a little bit soon! In 13 months and 1 day, I will become Mrs. Hicks, and in 23 months, I will become Dr. Hicks, DO!!! With all of these changes coming up, I thought I could start a blog to chronicle different experiences through rotations and hopefully realize what I want to do with the rest of my life...since that decision has to be made within the next year! So excited to start all these journeys with my friends, family, and wonderful fiance by my side!