Not sure if anyone is still reading this thing but I'm back. For now. To be honest, I haven't really felt like blogging. Perhaps, it was the winter or the fact that we've really been doing a bunch of nothing. Maybe the spring/summer weather will get me motivated. To get back into the swing of things I'll do a camera dump.
We have joined a Sunday School class that we really like. It's been nice to make some new friends and see some familiar faces around our church. Our Sunday School teachers are two couples around our parents ages. They are really supportive and are constantly planning activities for the class. One of the girl's nights activities I did was at Sips and Strokes. It was my first time going and I thought it was pretty fun. Our painting for the night was an angel. It's now displayed in my office.
Some of the gals in my class and our two of our teachers
At some point at the end of January/beginning of February we went to Tuscaloosa to the Alabama/Ole Miss basketball game with our friends, Stuart and Callie. It was a fun weekend of us reminiscing about our college days. We ate dinner at Phils and then went out after the game. We realized we aren't as young as we wished we were.
In February, I helped host a brunch/shower for my friend, Caroline. I'll keep it real and say hosting a shower with a bunch of different personalities can be challenging but in the end I think it was a really nice shower. I am beyond excited about baby William arriving in April. I think I'm going to enjoy playing the role of "aunt" along with watching Caroline become a mommy.
The shower did not have a theme but we did use a baby blue and green color scheme (taken from the invite Megan created) and asked guests to bring their favorite children's book (unwrapped) in lieu of a card. Megan (the creative one) designed matching book labels for all the guests to place in their books and sign. We took the books when guests arrived and used them as part of the decor. My sister, Hayden (a.k.a lil' Martha) was a lifesaver and made the breakfast and shrimp and grits casseroles for us.Yummy! Virginia showed us that she's not just a smarty pants but pretty creative herself and arranged the flowers for us. She did an amazing job! She was able to take the gorgeous vase my Aunt Kay gave me as a wedding shower gift and make the most beautiful centerpiece. What did I do? Boss people around... naturally.
We gave these cute little lamb cookies from Icing on the Cookie in Homewood as favors. I wanted them more or less for their looks but let me tell you...those cookies were SO GOOD. I took a bunch home and may have eaten them all.
Creative Genius Junior with her centerpiece
Caroline and her new baby bag
Me and the baby mama. It's still hard to believe my life-long friend is having a baby. It seems like just the other day we were playing on the playground at school. O, and yes her baby bump is just about as high as my boobs!
In other friend news, this past Friday I got to experience Virginia's medical school match day with her. The logistics of medical school have always been hard for me to grasp but I do understand that on Friday she found out where she will be doing her residency after she graduates from UAB medical school in May. The day was full of excitement as we found out she will be doing a transitional year at Baptist South here in Birmingham (yey for her being here for one more year) and then doing her residency at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Words cannot express how proud I am of my dear, sweet friend. Not only is she really smart (obviously) she is pretty humble about her accomplishments. I was thankful to be included in such a special day and enjoyed watching her family's reaction to her match.
Dr. Planz full of anticipation as she waits for her name to be called.
This is how the day went. We got to the auditorium at 10:15 and had to wait until 11:00 for the school to officially start the process. At 11:00, the school began randomly calling out names. When the med students name was called they went to the front of the stage, got their match envelope and walked behind the stage where they opened up the envelope and found out where their new life began. Ha, so dramatic! Moments later, they popped back on stage and announced to the entire audience where they had matched. It was a pretty chaotic, yet organized process. Needless to say, the environment was pretty charged. After the student formally announced their match, they went over to a map and signed on the state they would be doing their residency. O, and they are given a rose. Just like the contestants on the bachelor.
Hugs from her dad
Hugs from the boyfriend. I was hoping for a kiss.
And finally a hug from mom. This picture makes me happy and kind of makes me tear up. It was one of those hugs only your mom can give you.
Lastly, a shot with friends. Caroline, Virginia and I have been in school together since kindergarten. We added a fourth special friend in the 8th grade when Megan moved to Dothan. It dawned on me the other day that this spring/summer is full of some exciting changes in my friend's lives. In April, we'll add a baby. In May, we'll officially add a the title of Doctor to the group and in June, we'll have another wedding. Let's keep it rolling and say in July, I'll hopefully pass my comprehensive finals for school and be able to breathe like a normal person. Party! Fingers crossed.
This past Saturday, Kyle and I went to a concert to see The Avett Brothers. It was St. Patty's day so we both were sporting our green.
Whew! I think we are caught up now.
