Things that happen when I should be studying:

Hello!

It's finals week, which means I'm basically a hermit. I wake up early, study, go to class, study, eat, study, and stay up late studying more. 

I eat terribly, consume wayyyy too much caffeine, and discover weird things online when I'm taking studying breaks. 

(I also do things like design and order Christmas cards at 2 AM.... so that happened).

BUT, some good has come of my mindless web browsing that occurs when I can't remember even one more equation or commit one more metabolic pathway to memory and they are THE YEAR-END MASHUPS. 

I live for these. December rolls around and random awesome people combine all the top songs from the year into one song and it's PURE MAGIC. 

So, without further ado (and because the allotted time I've given myself for a study break is up) here are my favs thus far!

THIS ONE is my favorite - their talent is unbelievable. 

THIS ONE is a classic. 

And THIS ONE might be a 100% Taylor Swift mashup but.... It's amazing so you should definitely listen to it. #1989

Also, here are some medical school pictures, because I'm almost 1/8 a doctor and I haven't posted any proof at all on my blog:

#picsoritdidn'thappen

^^^ we learned how to put casts on each other! 

^^^ this was probably the coolest day of my life 

^^^ I have a friend who takes pictures of me every time I fall asleep in class.... 

Snippets of our new place!

We love it up here! 

Below are some shots of our home, and then some of our neighborhood!

We live in the most beautiful area filled with huge old trees that line the streets and we're surrounded by houses that are a hundred years old and full of character, I love them so much!

^^^ JP bought me these gorgeous sunflowers to celebrate our 3-year anniversary!

We've been married for three years, but it seriously feels like we should still be classified as 'newly weds.'

Every day with him is so fun, and I truly don't think I could be doing this whole med-school thing without his support! Oh I love you to moon and back JP! 

Here's to three fabulous years, and a whole lot more to come.

If you're lucky enough to be at the beach, you're lucky enough:

JP and I have just returned from a fabulous week-long (and much needed) vacation at the beach!

Capistrano Beach, to be exact. In San Clemente, California. 

I've vacationed there every summer with my whole extended family since before I can remember and it's where JP proposed to me 3 years ago!

And what a fabulous week it was. As we were packing up to come back home we all agreed that we couldn't remember a week that has gone by so quickly or a vacation that was so hard to leave from. It was just such a wonderful little respite from real life!

We stayed in a beautiful beach house, right on the sand and steps away from the sea. We swam in the ocean, kayacked with dolphins (twice!), boogie-boarded for hours, read books on the sand, played games every night, laughed til we cried, and came away from it all with a renewed determination to own a beach house someday ;)

^^^me, JP, and my little brother!

^^^ There were many intense games of "Spikeball"

^^^ the house had this neon sign that we thought was pretty ironically humorous

^^^ my dad caught a 30lb tuna fish! That then got turned into the most delicious ceviche and seared tuna I have ever eaten, ever.

I am thoroughly convinced that if you're lucky enough to be at the beach, you are lucky enough.

HOW is June over??

I feel like I am experiencing Summer in two dimensions this year -- since I am working full time I feel like these summer days are flying by at an unreasonably fast pace, but since I start medical school in just over 1 month (!!!) I have put special effort into crossing things off my summer bucket list (i.e. food trucks, shaved ice, hiking, swimming, scooter rides, bbq's, etc etc) so I feel like I've enjoyed so much of summer already! Conflicting emotions I tell ya. Weird to think that just 1 year ago JP and I were settling into our littler 100 sq. foot apartment in Paris, France for the summer. Oh my heart aches for that little flat when I see all my friends travelling around Europe via instagram! (Does anyone else feel like this is the summer of everyone-travel-around-europe-for-weeks-at-a-time?? Just my instagram feed? It's painful in a happy-for-them-but-wish-i-was-there sort of way.)

Anyways, 

These past few weeks have been full of Game of Thrones, lots of tennis playing, way too many treat runs (sodalicous, rita's, shaved ice, ice cream straight from the box... we're not picky haha) and most lately of all:

RABBITS!
My sweet friend has 7 giant rabbits and I visited them yesterday and was in absolute heaven. I think I've said this before but the quickest way to my heart is through a small furry animal haha. JP hates it (he has "allergies" haha. Poor animal-hating guy). 

Hiatus is Over:

I realized this weekend that it's been almost 3 weeks since my last post!

A hiatus that I think may be my longest ever... 

The silence has been due mostly to a lack of internet at our home (thank Comcast... You have one job that we're paying you to do.)

and a little bit because summertime has decided to be absolutely wonderful this year. 

Between playing tennis with JP most days of the week, a canyon in our backyard that a big huge great dane puppy and I can't get enough of, and full-time jobs but no homework to clutter up our evenings, I think it's safe to say a majority of our time has been spent outside or adventuring with friends. Which has led to a complete lack of blogging.

But I'm back now! With renewed motivation to document the goings-on in my life with an actual camera, so stay tuned... haha. 

However for now, some iPhone pictures will have to do! 

^^^ this is the face of sheer joy. It is also the face of JP being very mean... I went off sugar and caffeine for a few weeks and this purchase occurred right in the middle of my deprivation... So cruel. 

Thoughts on being off sugar: I didn't feel a huge difference in my overall health, nor did I lose a bunch of weight. But my clothes seem to fit better and I didn't get as many headaches. I also have more steady energy (I'm still keeping caffeine intake to a minimum) through out the entire day and not as many highs/lows.

^^^ Up Rock Canyon in Provo. Does this not look like Narnia?! Oh my, the mountains are seriously incredible. 

^^^ JP and I have totally re-kindled our love for tennis (we first started hanging out 5 years ago by playing each other in tennis matches!) this summer and we love playing doubles with friends!

^^^ Me and that puppy I was talking about. He just turned 1 but weighs 150 lbs and is taller than me on his back legs! 

He's also the gentle-est giant you will ever meet, as well as a little bit lazy when it gets hot outside haha. 

 ^^^ laying in the grass on Father's day. My mother-in-law was telling me all about how spending time outside barefoot in the dirt realigns your personal magnetic field with mother earth's and I have to say, although I'm not sure how scientific that is I definitely feel happier when I've spent good quality time outside. 

^^^stargazing on my parent's trampoline. I was telling JP how it reminded me of when I used to sneak out and lay on the tramp with my boyfriends in high school (I had to sneak because we were NOT ALLOWED to go out there at night with boyfriends hahaha)

Best Of: Utah Edition

Ooh I love living in Utah!

There is so much to do! Winter or Summer. 

And there's so many great places to eat, as evidenced by most of my blog posts... moving on:

Not being in school this semester (hello graduated life) lets me enjoy a lot more of Utah than I usually do during this time of the year!

First up, skiing!!

My dad and I head up to Sundance resort -- I've been skiing there since I was 3 years old so it might not be the biggest resort in Utah, but I always feel like I'm home when I'm there, I love it!!

We went on the weekend with the HUGE snowstorm so the snow was A-MAZ-ING. And then it's decided to rain and be 50 degrees for the last two weeks so...

<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

Next up: BYU Basketball games!

Which are seriously so much fun to go to. 

They're so loud and everyone gets so into it!

BYU played Gonzaga last night and it was the best game! 

JP and I got a little cameo on ESPN too! haha for like 3 whole seconds.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And then this isn't really a Utah-specific thing but...

HAVE YOU TRIED THESE?!?

Delicious. So so yummy. 

Get out to your nearest grocery store and purchase some! You won't regret it. 

The marshmallow crispy ones are my fave.

:)

Working Woman

Well I should probably clarify, I've worked through all of college but it's only been part time, so now that I'm working full time, WHOA. 

I got to Friday and was exhausted! I fell asleep at 11 PM and didn't wake up until 11 the next morning! 

But I love having this little break from homework. I get off work at 5 and head right to the gym (I'm terrible at maintaining a good workout schedule when I am in school! I'll be good for a week, and then I'll have a couple tests to study for, and then somehow it's been 3 months and I haven't been back to the gym haha), then I come home and actually make dinner! 

I love it. Having time for all this homemaking stuff is awesome.

A few of my new year's resolutions include some big apartment projects that I'm excited to have time to do, and I'll most definitely share on here as I complete them, like:

- reorganizing and cleaning out all my kitchen cupboards (I probably won't share pics of this one haha boring!)

- redesigning my bookshelves (still toying with a few ideas on how I want to do this one!)

- replacing and rearranging my picture wall! I am so excited about this one.

To name a few. 

Ooh I've also started back into my shopping fast! 

Starting Jan 1  and ending May 1. 

Remember it from last year? 

Feel free to join me! It's so refreshing to exercise that self control and really makes you realize wants vs needs in a way I was never able to before. 

Plus come May 1 shopping is suddenly so much more fun. 

via

I'm Going to Medical School!

So I graduated from college just this last December. 

 I feel like I should be buying books and finalizing my class schedule for winter semester but I'm not, I'm done! And it hasn't really sunk in yet. 

Instead, I"ll be working full time, actually cooking dinner (fingers crossed), and attempting to eat/live a tad healthier now that I don't have the excuse of "it's a test week" at my disposal haha. 

But that's only for the next 8 months, because come August, I'm headed to medical school!

I've mentioned it a few times here and there on this blog but I was pre-med my whole time in college, took the MCAT and applied to medical schools last May, have gone out on interviews this past fall, and have been anxiously waiting ever since. Very very anxiously haha. 

Now real quick let me just give you an overview of the situation:

JP is exactly halfway done with law school. BYU law school. Which is located in Provo, UT. 

Most medical schools are located in California, Texas, or on the East Coast. All of which are not in Utah. 

I think the number one question we got when JP and I would talk to people or meet new people was: 

"Wait... what are you guys going to do if Grace doesn't get into the University of Utah [the only medical school in Utah]"

And our answer was always the same, "We don't know!"

Because if I learned anything in college, and I certainly feel like I've learned a lot haha, but the number one thing I walked away with is that when it all comes down to it, after you've made all your plans and done everything in your power you can possibly do, you have to put your trust in Heavenly Father. 

And He comes through for you, every single time. 

And usually not in the way I had planned for or thought was the best idea haha but it always ends up being the exact right thing for me. 

I didn't know what we were going to do if I got into a medical school that was far away. 

But I did know that I had tried my best in all my classes, I had studied hard for the MCAT and felt like I had a good application, so there was nothing left for me to do except pray and trust that Heavenly Father was going to help me get into the medical school that was the best option for me and JP and our mission here on this earth. 

I knew whatever happened would be the right thing for us.

So, when I got a phone call from the dean of admissions at the University of Utah School of Medicine telling me congratulations and that I was one of the first five admitted into their Class of 2018,  I can't remember a time I've ever felt more loved and taken care of by my Father in Heaven. 

It was such a confirmation of Heavenly Father's awareness of me and my particular needs and situation here on this earth. 

So there you have it! I'll be attending the University of Utah School of Medicine in August 2014.

And I'm so excited to start I can hardly stand it!

:)