Well hello!

It appears that we haven't posted on this blog in a few days... err months. What can I say? We're just not that into blogging. I know I know. Every time I post I say something along the lines of, "we're not that great at this, but we're trying to get better"! Ready for some honesty? We're not really trying to get better. The truth is we just don't think to blog very often! Granted, our lives are not nearly as exciting as my sisters' who both have little kids running/crawling around these days. But even though it's just us, we still have notable things going on! Right now I'm sitting at my desk on a rainy Saturday and I happened upon our blog and realized it has been, oh I don't know, 9 months since our last post. Allow me to fill you in on some of the major events of the last few months!

Let us start where the last few posts left off. I mentioned a while ago that I got a spot for my 4th year externship at the VA Medical Center in Nashville. I officially became a federal employee at the beginning of June and have been working full time since then. This externship is a very important time for me because I am still trying to decide whether or not to pursue a Ph.D. in Audiology/Hearing Science. Applications will be due this coming winter so I have about 6 months to work in the clinic before I must apply. Frankly, I'm quite torn between the two. I vividly recall the words that came out of my mouth when leaving Bellingham and Walla Walla to drive to Nashville for my Au.D.. I said, "it's OK guys, we'll just be gone for 3 years and then we'll move back to the Northwest". Well, we're entering our 4th year in Nashville. What can I say? Things came up! Since we moved to Nashville, I've been steadily busy in both Au.D. work and a few different research labs. I've definitely enjoyed the research and have been told by several professors that I'd do well as a Ph.D. and would find it very rewarding and more stimulating than staying with the Au.D.. If only it were as easy as figuring out if I'd rather be a clinician or professor. I won't bore you with the details of my thoughts. Suffice is to say that I'm really torn between the two. We both miss the Northwest quite a bit and it would be a bit of a sacrifice to stay away for 3-4 more years. On the other hand, it is a great privilege to have a spot in the Ph.D. program at Vanderbilt if I want it. It would be an honor to earn two professional degrees from the top school in the country for Audiology. Vanderbilt has great labs, very nice faculty, and I know I would be trained to be a good researcher and teacher. The bottom line is that I'm trying to give myself until mid September before making a decision on if I will apply for the Ph.D. or not. So stay tuned! Seriously. More posts WILL be coming later this summer and fall!

While I got to stay in Nashville for my externship, most of my classmates left town for theirs. Of course when I say my classmates, I might as well be saying "Heather and my best friends". Seven of them, in fact. It's definitely been an adjustment not having our whole big group together anymore. In case you didn't know, Heather and I have been incredible close with all 10 of my classmates the entire 3 years we were together. We were both truly blessed to have such an incredible group of classmates to share in this experience. We all supported each other along the way which really made the entire experience one I'll never forget. They are dearly missed and Friday happy hours simply aren't the same without them. We are all planning on making it to our profession's annual conference where ever it may be. Can't wait to see everyone this April in Anaheim!


A couple of my favorite pictures of my class. The first is from our 3rd-year banquet, and the other is possibly a holiday party from a year or two ago!

Though most have left, new friends have arrived! I have one fellow extern at the VA named Sol. She is from Ohio and we have had such a great time getting to know her! We all went out to happy hour yesterday and I'm looking forward to including her in many of our shenanigans throughout the next year. And of course there is the incoming Au.D. class that is just now beginning to arrive in town. Though, I suspect with me being exclusively at the VA, I don't imagine I'll have many chances to get to know them. Ahh, how things change.

Heather is still working at Zander Insurance here in town. She's been there for three years now and has been promoted yet again to case manager. Not bad!! She'll likely stick it out there until we leave Nashville.

In other news, we've decided to make a trip to Bellingham in October!!! The flip side of this is that this trip will be in lieu of a trip to Walla Walla over the holidays. Heather and I have missed Bellingham every since we left, and we figured this would be a great time to go! Bellingham is a nice place to vacation because it is not too tough for family and friends back home to join us for a few days. Also, since many of you (I assume most of you reading this are family...) are planning on coming to Nashville for my graduation, a trip near home will break up the next year quite nicely.

Well, Heather is telling me it's dinner time and I bet you are all pretty tired of reading this thing. So here ya go! Our first blog post in way too long. Hope it tastes good going down.

Just because...  :-)