The List is in

And our rank list is in!  We ranked all 17 programs and cities in order and submitted it to the official matching system for residencies. We will really be ecstatic if we match into any program in our top eight (which is pretty likely); and so now we wait until the BIG DAY coming up on March 16 to find out what kind of doctor B will be and where we go for the next 5 years for residency!!

 

17 Cities

I can't believe that we are done with interview season and are now to the week that we have to turn in our rank list! 

Ranking 17 programs is quite a bit tougher than I expected.  Thankfully B had so many wonderful interviews that we have some great options to put down on our list, but man it is tough to rank our top cities knowing that we will be there for 5 years.

We appreciate your prayers over the next couple of days! 

Change can be a good thing

Well I'm sorry that I have disappeared again. Bentley chewed through all of my computer charger cords and so my laptop is dead. I can't pull myself together to pay more than $15 for a cord that I know we have more of around somewhere, so I have ordered one from Amazon and will hopefully be back and running again soon.

So our big news is....I accepted a wonderful new position with another hospital!

I  know it is not as exciting as saying a little baby is on the way or that B has matched somewhere, but this is a pretty exciting and somewhat unexpected change in our lives. This was a tough decision to make, but the best move for me and I am so much happier.  I think there are a lot of lessons from my experience in transitioning that can apply to a lot of people in the working world. 

Why the change?

I will say that I really loved what I did at my job, but there were some things that I was unhappy with.  I kept brushing these things to the side for about 9 months and would tell myself "this is just how it goes and no job is perfect" and kept pushing through it.  It got to the point that I didn't feel valued and it really gutted me both professionally and personally.  I was unhappy, but I kept trying to convince myself that I was expecting too much and it was my own fault. 

The awesome thing about my experience during these months was learning to really rely on the Lord to give me strength each and every day, pursuing him to conquer my anger, frustration and sadness and turn those feelings into joy and kindness, and trusting Him with my future.  I will say that it was definitely a struggle to do this day in and day out, but looking back it is just awesome to see that God was faithful in forgiveness, having grace on me and giving new mercies in the small things and now in the big.

I was not really intent on changing jobs, I still hoped things would improve. But I went ahead and sent out a few emails just to know if there were any options available that I may be missing out on.  Sure enough, there was one that was an incredible opportunity, a senior position, and they wanted me. Even when I was offered the position that seemed to give everything that I was looking for, it was still a tough decision because change is scary.  I wasn't sure that the things that  made me unhappy wouldn't necessarily be gone from the new job.  But after lots of prayer and discussion with B, we took the plunge forward, and it is one of the best decisions that we have ever made.

So the new job...

I am doing the same thing still - working with the news on stories about doctors and patients.  But I am now working for one of the largest hospital system's in the country and leading the public relations efforts for five of their main hospitals.  My opinion is respected, I feel valued for my work, my days go by very quickly and I don't mind staying late because I am enjoying everything that I am doing and more importantly I really like my team. 

I probably won't talk much more about work on here just to try and keep it separate so here is a quick snapshot of what I do just from my schedule this week -

Monday -  I filmed a story on a young patient with a local news station,  did a photo shoot with our CEO and got the story picked up with all of our local news in Houston.

Tuesday - Did an event with eight of our Texans NFL players at the children's hospital and got them in the news had several meetings with teams. 

Wednesday - filmed a documentary with Katie Couric, handled a crisis in the Emergency Center.

Thursday - I am going with one of our doctors to a news station studio to do a live interview on a morning show then am filming for the rest of the day on another patient story.

Friday - Doing a story about "24 hours in the Emergency Room". Yes I will have to work during the night, but it is with a reporter who I am good friends with and I'm looking forward to it.

All of this in summary to say that I encourage you to know that you are in control of your own future.  I have known so many people that feel like they are stuck where they are and don't even know what else could be in store for them if they just opened their eyes to new opportunities.

I can't wait to share some updates of Bentley and B once I get my laptop back.  B just called and is on his way home so I better get back to dinner - spaghetti squash, spinach and chicken. Have a great week!

Six weeks in a nutshell

I apologize for neglecting this blog for 6 whole weeks.  I know that you simply cannot do that in blogger world, but I hope my excuses win you over and get you back on the train. To catch up a little, I will try and only share the main highlights from our last 6 weeks.

New York

B had several interviews in NYC the week before Christmas so of course I went along! We had a great time with friends and seeing the city all dressed up for the holidays.

The front of Roosevelt Hospital on the West side.  B really liked this program and the housing perks are pretty great!

We spent some time at some of the holiday markets which turned out to be the perfect place to pick up last minute gifts.  B was a trooper walking past every booth with me and I think he secretly enjoyed it too :)

 

Birthday

We successfully celebrated B's birthday on the actual day which falls on Christmas Eve and always poses challenges with family plans.  

Christmas 

 We are so thankful that both of our families get along well and B's parents and aunt came down to celebrate Christmas with my family.  Everything went very well and it was great to spend the day with both families.

Some of the gifts I made for coworkers with cookie bar treats

New Year's

 We continued our tradition of spending New Year's weekend with B's two best friends from college and their wives and went to a ranch out in West Texas.

 

The guys hunted

while the girls had a great time talking about life, enjoying God's beautiful country, cooking for the gang and recharging our batteries for the new year

There are still many more updates and some exciting news to share that I will post later this week but I will leave you with this cute little guy for now.