Thanks silly rabbit!

Today was a day that seventh grade me would have hated. But 30-year-old science maniac me woke up excited.

Today we dissected rabbits in my Anatomy & Physiology class.

It was smelly, weird, intriguing, surprising (livers are enormous and glandular tissue is pebbly), and wonderful.

My lab partner and I had a good rabbit -- it took the dye well so most of its anatomy was pretty clear. With my diminutive sense of smell and obsessive interest in medicine I was keen to check everything out. We identified all the elements of the cardiovascular, digestive, urinary and respiratory systems. We saw how everything fit together, how the large and small parts are, and how interconnected all the pieces are.

When people in my class were grossed out or being too gentle with the rabbits, I stepped in. "Find the spleen!" I encouraged. "Go ahead, check out the nervous system." The rabbits weren't there to be coddled - we were learning.

If I could, I'd tell my seventh grade self how much I learned today. And how words, diagrams and charts can't tell the story that this rabbit told me today.

I'm proud to say that my grandparents gave their bodies to science. This excellent article that my dad sent me chronicles how important and respected these donations are for medical students.

Thanks rabbit.

Ready

I'm feeling ready.

I'm ready for spring.

I'm ready to hear from nursing schools (though I actually still have time to apply to Resurrection University, Loyola University and Rush University). I'm ready to find out what the hell is going to happen with my/our life(lives) and what's next. No matter how qualified I am, how much I think I've got to offer nursing schools, I'm still freaked-the-hell-out about what's going to happen.

I'm ready for moving! Moving! Yes. We are moving from our view-of-the-skyline apartment (with its craptastic kitchen, creaky floors, lack of heat and horrifyingly fungal bathroom) to someplace new. We're continuing the rental ride so we aren't looking for The One, but we are looking for a place that will work for the next several years. We're hoping for a 2-bedroom place, with a nice kitchen, modern amenities (especially a dishwasher and a clothes washer/dryer) and a location near the train. We saw a place last weekend and another today -- both duds, probably. But it's fun to look, consider the options and find what's next. Exciting!

I'm ready to run. It's just wonderful to run. We're experience our last cold spell and I'm going to the gym as much as possible, swimming every Monday and preparing to run something interesting. (Women's 10K in July or Soldier Field 10-Mile in May? We'll see.) Swimming - each Monday after work - is heavenly. I do about a half-mile swim which takes me about 25 minutes. Though I assure you I can pull a full-size person off the bottom of a pool (as a lifeguard), I prefer to swim a reasonable breaststroke, between laps of intense freestyle, my sad attempts at butterfly and a few random swimming moves. Anyway, swimming makes me feel like $1 million bucks. It's wonderful!

I'm ready for our Community Supported Agriculture share to start! We love supporting community agriculture, Big Head Farms and farmers farming good food. I'm excited for new food to try, the delicious bounty of summer and our continuing evolution into better cooks/healthier people.

I'm ready for what's next. For real! :)

Whew!

Life is excellent! Can I tell you why? I shall!

1. My best friend Julie is in town! Her workplace recently imploded so she's enjoying life as a hot journalism commodity. More specifically, she's enjoying being a hot commodity from Chicago -- we've shopped, ate good food and worked out so far. Up ahead - pie-making, game night, movies, shopping more, niece time tomorrow, and some serious cocktails.
2. My job is awesome -- it's strange to have a job that I'm both good at and completely unconcerned about. Don't get me wrong, I am focused on the kids while I'm there -- we paint, play, use our words, have a great time -- but I don't take work home. I don't worry about that place besides when I'm there. Heavenly!
3. School is super. We just finished the digestive system (and the corresponding trickiness of nutrition). Though the urinary system is decidedly less delicious I'm enjoying all of this. Physiology is awesome.
4. Spring is near!
   
5. Debt is gone! B and I ran into a little debt and just knocked it down! POW! It's a wonderful feeling. I can't recommend Mint.com enough -- it's an excellent way to see where the hell all your money goes and make smart decisions with the facts in front of you.
6. Two of my favorite people are celebrating awesome birthdays next weekend -- my MOM and one of my delightful nieces. I love parties and I'm helping to plan both!