Good morning, everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend. This last week just flew by! Zooming right through 2020 (some would say quite literally), we find ourselves at the end of May. It was my sister, Halston’s, bday, so we decided to meet outdoors at Keller Park to celebrate her while keeping safe distance.
We played some cornhole (I am still terrible), exploding kittens (I hate the name, love the game) and just caught up! It was really special and easily one of my favorite days of the whole year.
We ordered some awesome eats from Devivo Brothers along with a yummy carrot cake. I know with carrot cake, you love it or you don’t, but our fam loves it. This one was good, but if you want the best carrot cake EVER it is from Gasoline Alley in Bath, Ohio.
Later on our drive back to Austin, DJ and I decided Sonic looked really good (as if we hadn’t had enough sugar already, ha!), so we veered off and grabbed a milkshake to split. It was a great choice (I cannot remember the last time I had Sonic!).
The next day I had to go get my car cleaned- it was just long overdue. During summers in Texas our cars can get dusty pretty quickly. Does anyone get slightly nervous in car washes? I am always irrationally worried my wheels aren’t aligned and that the spinner cleaner thing is just gonna just come through my windows or that my car will get crushed by it. Or maybe it is the claustrophobia of it all. IDK! Anyone else? Just me?
By the beginning of June we were in the thick of school, DJ’s internship, and for me, clinicals. I started out the first half of the summer at an Integrative health site! I learned quite a bit about diseases/illnesses I would not have elsewhere. Some of the complex diseases we managed were Lyme disease, PANDAS/PANS in kids, mold toxicity and chronic pain. I am grateful for the experience. I had a super long drive to get there, but it was a gorgeous route, and I looked forward to the drive each day.
Austin never ceases to amaze me with its beauty. I have said before, but this is the one thing I didn’t not know about Austin before moving here- just how stunning this city is! We have this huge green area pictured below smack dab in the middle of the city that people will exercise on, do work/homework or just hangout with friends. DJ and I have been meaning to do a picnic here. Hopefully we get around to that soon on a warmer day! (For reference, cold= anything under 70). We have grown WEAK!
Walks were our way of getting out of the house and clearing our heads over the summer. We took a lot. It’s funny because when you are so bogged down by school work/work you look forward to anything that isn’t studying- so for example, we would jokingly argue over who got to do the dishes, because doing the dishes meant time to listen to a podcast while doing some mindless task and not be studying for a moment, lol.
On June 4th, I wanted to show Deej this gorgeous bridge on Ladybird lake below at night I had discovered a few days prior. We had been on it many times during the day, but at night the way it’s illuminated with the city in the background is just magical. I remember on this walk we debated the existence of aliens. WoooOOOoOOoo.
When things started opening back up, we did some research into what would be a safe place to eat. We had been to El Alma’s before (after skydiving) and knew they had massive outdoor seating, so we decided to try it out. It was great, and we felt very safe. We were tucked far away from anyone else.
To replace exchange of menus, they used this QR code to access the menu. I think this would actually be a great replacement for material menus moving forward!
I still think they have my favorite queso around. It is so. good.
DJ had their tacos, and I had their tostadas. Last time, I didn’t love the dish I ordered, but this time it was great!
We weren’t going to make going out to eat a habit, but it was sooooo nice to get out of the house for one night.
On another walk during June we noticed these turtles doing some morning yoga. I’ll tell ya what, the critters around here have such personality.
On June 13th we watched The Matrix. I had never seen it before, can you believe that?!
I love when I drive down South Congress at night and see the regal capital lit up.
So, part of the reason this passed summer was so stressful is because clinical sites were extremely hard to find given COVID. I felt majority of my time was just trying to figure out my fall rotations rather than focusing on my school work, which was incredibly frustrating. I was scheduled for my pediatrics rotation for the fall, which was already one of the more challenging sites to get in the program, throw in a pandemic- and woof! I actually heard about this idea on a podcast, so I stole it to confirm a placement: I bought a pack of little mini shoe keychains from Amazon, and in a folder included my resume, cover letter, preceptor benefits and this little shoe. I mailed it out to different sites, and I stated I was “trying to get my foot in the door”.
It was so well received and the practices loved the idea, but none of them were taking students at the time (understandably so). I am SO thankful my school was able to help me find the site in Fort Worth.
More of Austin in all its glory!
One of the nights I made some chili to serve with Siete chips. We discovered the brand Siete after moving to Austin (they are an Austin based company), and all their products are delish!
Have a great week, and thanks for reading! 🙂
Question for you:
- Feelings about carrot cake?
