Where did this past week go?!

Well well well, this week has been SUPER busy! I can’t believe it’s Friday already. And yet, I am SO happy that it is! Bring on the weekend

So… what have I been busy doing this week?

Well, on Monday I was actually able to nab one of the 200 coveted tickets to the Healthy Living Summit, and I cannot be more excited!  I know I decided to buy a ticket at the last minute, but I can already tell it was a great decision, and is SO going to be worth the cost of the ticket, hotel and travel. Now it’s time to save up my money (oh wait, I already do that like whoa). So scratch that. Now it’s time time to find some more babysitting jobs!

In addition to a ticket, I also landed myself some *awesome* roomies for the event – Carly, Jenny, and Jess! None of us know each other in real life… but judging from the hilarious g-mails we’ve been sending back and forth, it’s safe to say that we’re gonna have a haaaalarious time. I mean how could it not be when you’ve got roommates proficient in dance moves such as the ever-so-classic “amoeba-slide” and the “flailing octopus arm?” Yep. That’s what I thought. It’s gonna be a good time.

Party animals

I can’t wait to explore Philly and meet the rest of the lovely ladies in attendance. Oh, and of course, I’m excited to sit-in on all of the discussions.

I’m just proud of myself for “splurging” and investing in something that I think will be a really great time. I tend to be super tight with money (so I can attend things like this when they pop up!), so this is something I am greatly looking forward to.

Other things I splurged on? A plane ticket. Yes, I was really hoping to drive and save a ton of money, but after calculating out the price of gas and miles (4$ per gallon and 960miles) to Philly and comparing that to the cost of a plane ticket… I decided that the time I’d be saving by flying (direct) was worth it. In fact, the cost of driving to Philly by myself was actually more than the price of my round trip plane ticket. Needless to say, I’m happy with my decision.

In other news, the roomsicles and I have our hotel room booked and set to go! I seriously love having all of my ducks in a row.

Line up, son.

Other exciting news? Ryan and I have officially booked a trip to Wilmington, NC for the 4th of July! Ryan has never been there and I’ve only driven through. I remember it being a lovely little town, and I can’t wait to explore the historic downtown area as well as the Riverwalk, and of course… the beaches!!!! Get me near any body of water and I am one happy girl.

Twist my arm...

Oh…didn’t I tell you? Ryan bought me a RIVERBOAT!

It fits in line with his private jet…

On a dimmer note, school is rough this term. And it’s using up a lot of my brainwaves (hence, the lack of blog posts…). Maybe it’s because it’s summer? Actually, that probably has a lot to do with it. Regardless, though, this epidemiology stuff is *hard*!   Overall, I think I am doing okay, but we are already 1/3 of the way through the term (!!!!!) and we haven’t had that many graded assignments yet. I guess I’m just experiencing anxiety over the fact that I feel like I haven’t learned much since I haven’t received a grade yet. I am very feed-back oriented and love to know how I’m doing/if I’m doing well. (Probably why I ❤ blogging so much… helloooo comments – I love ‘em! *hint hint*).

Luckily, my home-girl Colleen (a fellow MPH-er up at a program in Michigan) has appeased my fears a little bit. She informed me via twitter that the math-heavy stuff should be over soon if it’s anything like the Epidemiology class she took. I am crossing all my fingers and toes that she’s right… and that soon we’ll be focusing more on different types of experiments and clinical trials.

Blehhh

This week I also set up my dermatologist appointment! Remember when I got my skin-screened last week and they said I need to have 2, maybe 3 biopsies? Yeah, well I took that as a big sign that I needed to get in to see my own dermatologist ASAP, so I made a phone call to set up an appointment. Sadly, according to my dermatologist, ASAP means July 14th. Oh well, at least I’m in their appointment book, even if the date is far away. (Don’t be like me – if you need a doctor’s appointment, book ahead! Don’t wait until you *need* to go). So while I was in doctor-mode, I decided to heed my own advice and set up my annual physical exam. Take THAT super-long-waiting-times.

Nothing feels better than crossing things off my to-do list!

I feel like these past few weeks have been super-happy in the blog world. Sooo many people have announced that they’re pregnant in recent months (Emily, Jen (!!!!), Gina); Julie quit her day-job to take on her dream-job of blogging from home and freelancing; Katy and her Hubby are moving up to Charlotte after months of job-searching; and Heather is enjoying herself in a whole-new, blissful world of a budding romance! My goodness, I love it all! I even have been loving Caitlin’s super heart-felt and awesome blog posts about reproductive health, mental health and overall wellness. I’m actually now inspired to dive even deeper and write about some of my own personal things. Just need to find the correct words to do it… (and y’all are well aware of how wordy I can be!). Like Caitlin said, a lot of bloggers seem to be “blog-autobots” and peachy-keen all the time, but in reality, they’re just choosing to talk about the happy stuff. I know I’m guilty of this, but let me tell you, my life is not perfect and I have my bad days — plenty of them (and if you follow me on twitter, you most certainly know this!). I am quite an emotional person and don’t hide the way I’m feeling — which is both a blessing and a curse, just ask Ryan :P.

I’m also pretty dang sure I suffer from anxiety to some extent — it runs in my family, as well as depression (and being type-A, ha!). But I am completely open in talking about it, and find that it helps me relate to my patients at the YMCA quite a bit. They’re always so amazed at how open and “like-them” I am. I love that I can be a force in “normalizing” mental health, and trust me, it’s a platform I strongly stand for and want to continue supporting on my public health journey. Mental health, women’s health, skin cancer awareness, the obesity epidemic… oh my goodness there are just so many things I want to shout from the rooftops! I’m so glad I’m getting my Masters in Public Health Leadership.

Anyway, I know I’d be well-received, but I’m a little hesitant because after all, this is a public space. I have a number of nieces and nephews who are computer whizzes, and I think a certain topic I am hoping to bring up would overwhelm them if they somehow came across the post, especially since the majority are boys (yes, they are on facebook and therefore know about my blog). I know I personally love the bloggers who are “real” and share both the good and bad. Ah, well, with time… I will share.

Oh, and before I forget! A few weeks ago I had the honor of guest-speaking on Bobby Demuro’s Radio Exiles show about my first marathon experience. If you’re interested in hearing me babble on about running for a good 20 minutes, check it out here! (In addition to being the producer for Radio Exiles, Bobby is the mastermind behind the incredible NoFizz Charlotte movement and the owner of the mobile personal training business, Fusion South. He’s also one of my new classmates for the UNC’s MPH Public Health Leadership Program! I bet good money we’re the youngest ones in our cohort. And we’re totally gonna take it by storm!.

Have you had any good news to share recently? Do you have any summer-trips planned? Are you attending HLS? Have you ever guest-spoken on a radioshow before?