On we go!

The days are passing very slowly, now, although they have sped up considerably as we approach the closing date on our house and we have to be out of here. Lots of craziness has been going on: our house sold in 10 days, Erik's jeep sold in 3 days and we had to rush to Dallas to buy his new truck. We found a great duplex in Lago Vista on the golf course with a front yard peek at the lake and we're starting the process of moving this weekend. It should be a lot of fun, especially once school is out and I won't have to drive to Georgetown for work. We'll have all the Lago ammenities: lake, parks, fitness center, walking trail...it's really great. It will be sad to see this house empty, but it will make this whole adventure a lot more real as we step out on the first leg of our journey. I hope to finish my financial aid application and packet for Baylor tonight so I can get that out. With all of this moving and buying a car we are quite depleted and we are now living the life of poverty that will come with dental school. :) Work is a daily reminder that I'm making a very wise decision. So, one more week until move-out and 2 until 605 Rock Face Court is no longer our home.

New Year, New Countdown

Upon the creation of the facebook group for the Baylor College of Dentistry Class of 2011 and the subsequent snooping that ensued, I have discovered that I am beyond ready to start classes and meet my fellow classmates. Looking at about 1/10 of the class, almost all are Ags, lots of Christians, and at least two people know people that I know. It seems like a lot of nice people and I'm just ready to sell, move, and get started. I know, however, that there are a lot of goodbyes and good times still to be had here in Austin and I'm also really looking forward to that. The possibility of living out by the lake for a few months is intoxicating and I'm almost as obsessed with that as I am with starting school. Mmmm...boat.... We'll see. For now, I enjoy my day off on this icy MLKJr Day. And the new countdown to August 6 begins.

Received

I got my receipt yesterday from Baylor and they said I won't hear anything until February/March. Here we go. Lots of nothing for a while. Surely having a house on the market and subbing a lot will fill the emptiness. December will fly, January will be super slow but I need to be pushing Erik to do our taxes so I can fill out my FASFA. 5 months of subbing (maybe?) then 2 months of summer moving and dental school begins. Really wierd, huh?

Flossing

There are a few things in life that are very simple to do, good for you, and in the long run, cost effective, but for some reason SOOO hard to actually do. Flossing is one. Spending time with God, at least where I am right now, is another. It's strangely so hard to get back on the wagon (?) but once you're on, it's fun and you look forward to the ride. I've hopped on and off for a while now, but there is absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be in for the long haul. Don't get me wrong, I really do think about God a lot during the day and sing to Him and pray, but really, during the life changing moments it's stupid not to really be studying and reveling in every drop of the Word that I can. I want the skills I gain in dental school to be used for His kingdom and to keep that focus, I, well, need to focus. I have this routine of putting my nightguard in denture cleaner to soak and then hopping on the computer to update my blog, for example, and check the 5 or so other sites I routinely go to throughout the day. At least 20 minutes. There is no reason I should be doing this and then lament the fact that I'm just not in the Word. So. Nightguard cleaning time is now sacred...set apart...holy. I have plenty of time to update this stuff later.

I Accept!

I sent in my acceptance letter to Baylor today with my first tuition payment...a deposit of $200. Small beans. I also mailed my rejection to Houston...but I held on to my SA letter per Erik's request and, well, just a feeling that it's a good idea to always have a back-up. Maybe I should send in the deposit. I'd have to cross out the check on the "decline" box and recheck the "accept" box. That would be kinda tacky. Eh, who cares? :)

I took my 3rd and final biochemistry test tonight after cramming alllllllll day. Glycolysis and the Krebs Cycle really stink. Good thing I get to do it again next year!

I spent some time tonight perusing through Facebook looking for fellow members of BCD class of 2011. There were actually a few out there with me who have claimed it so very early and posted it for all to see on their Facebook page. Kinda fun. So exciting to think about all the new faces and personalities I'll be spending 4 years with!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...

We're going to Dallas. I cried, we hugged, we laughed enough to ease the tension. We shared some really important things and made plans to let Erik win. There's no real solution to our problem, but it's one of those things that will go away with time. Eventually, we will joke about it without hurting any feelings, but for now it's hard. And that doesn't spoil things, it's just how it is. So one step at a time, we will begin to make it a reality. Which is really bizarre. I mean REALLY. It's so hard to imagine any of this really happening. But I suppose that's how it is with all the really big things in life. It's hard to imagine, but then when it actually happens we marvel at how it's nothing like what we imagined.

Hat Trick!

The Evidence

Drum roll, please....

Dear Abby,

Congratulations!!!

Your offer letter is in the mail. If you have any questions, please email or call my office.

Happy Holidays!

--Dr. Barbara Miller

Baylor College of Dentistry

Texas A&M Health Science Center

Dallas, Texas

bmiller@bcd.tamhsc.edu

214-828-8231

Accepted to San Antonio!

The message on my answering machine says this:

"Abby, this is Dr. Thomas in San Antonio. I wanted to call and say congratulations! I've put something in the mail to you. The acceptance letter includes a scholarship offer. And I very much hope that you're thinking about coming to San Antonio for the next four years. Please call me back and let me know if you have any questions at all. Again, congratulations! Bye."

A scholarship offer! Those are hard to get! The Lord is good and making my decision complicated!!! ; ) I can't wait to see what the letter says and what the scholarship offer is for. I have NEVER received a scholarship from a SCHOOL. Oh my goodness. I'm on this really weird almost crying, overjoyed, stressed out, relieved high and I don't know what to do so I'm going to paint. And celebrate tonight when we go out to dinner with the Roeders and Moores! I guess Will's dad might be my professor after all!

Ugh.

2 Days! A guy in class tonight said that UTHSCSA sends out their letters at midnight 12/01, so maybe Saturday? Ok, 3 days. Baylor will probably be forever late - like the 8th. Who knows? Ugh.