I can’t believe I accomplished everything I needed to do in order to graduate this December.

Back in the summer when I was writing a list of everything I had left, I seriously doubted my abilities.

Here’s a list of what I needed to accomplish by early December:

-Pass my two Fall graduate classes
-Finish up my masters thesis research
-Write my masters thesis
-Finish up my 140-hour practicum/internship
-Study for my comprehensive exam (an exam that covered 2.5 years worth of material)
-Take the 9-hour long comprehensive exam (ah!)
-Revise my masters thesis (x5… what a process!)
-Keep up with my classwork (papers, group project assignments, and readings galore)
-Write a review of my internship/practicum (35+ page paper, summary slideshow)
-Stay sane

Somehow, this all got finished.

And that’s on top of working fulltime, nursing Ryan back to health (from his surgery back in August), buying a house, moving, two trips (one 24 hour trip to Chicago to see Ryan accept a national PR award, and another 5 day trip to Minneapolis,MN for work).

As of Wednesday, I am completely done with my graduate school work.

I graduate next week (but I’m going to Chapel Hill to walk in May), and I could not be happier.

Working fulltime while going to school is a lot to have on one plate. This is one of my biggest accomplishments yet.

Now that life has slowed down some, I am excited to focus my enegery on things I want to do for pleasure. Like read books for fun! Watch TV shows! Pin all of the things! And wholeheartedly enjoy my nights and weekends.

On Wednesday, Ryan brought a bottle of Champagne home, knowing I had finished up all of my work that day. Perfection.

Twist my arm.

The past two nights I’ve come home from work and have not had any text books to crack open or any (school related) deadlines looming over my head. It feels SO GOOD and I am just so happy. I have my personal free-time back again. I feel like I can finally focus on me again.

The past few months I’ve really buckled down to get all of this work done. I can’t wait to hang out with my friends again without having to schedule things out way ahead of time, and unpack my house some more! I am ready to decompress.

And to kick things off, Ryan and I are headed to the airport tomorrow! He was asked to go on this trip a few weeks back, and somehow it worked out that I’m able to tag along (my birthday is on Monday and he was hoping to be able to celebrate with me).

What’s even more fun is that Ryan hasn’t told me yet where we are going. In fact, he told me he’s going to take me to the wrong gate at the airport to keep up the surprise-factor. Needless to say, I am SO excited! I don’t care where it is…I’m just going to relax, catch up on sleep, and explore.

Ryan’s been traveling a lot for work recently (he just got back from LA on Sunday…he was at the MLS cup, best job ever for a soccer fan) so I have a feeling it might be a bigger city. But who knows!

All I know is that I’m ready for some R&R.

October is the best month out of the year. Hands down.

In addition to meeting Ryan this month four years ago (10/23/08) and adopting Happy two years ago (10/12/10), we’re adding another reason why October ranks so high…

10/11/12: the day we become HOMEOWNERS!!!!!

Taking the “final walk through” (10/10/12)

How this came about is a crazy story.

Ryan and I weren’t even planning on looking for a new house until after I graduated this December from graduate school. But…I’ve always had buying a house in the back of my mind, especially since we got engaged at the beginning of the year.

My mom has been big into real estate ever since the early 90s so I’ve seen all of the craziness that goes down during the home buying (and selling) process. It’s quite time consuming, and all of the negotiations and potential for deals to fall through can take a toll. And then, of course, there is the upkeep that goes along with owning a home. Needless to say, Ryan and I weren’t ready to start looking yet. With our lease ending January 31st, 2013, we figured we’d start looking in December once I was done with school and go from there, hoping to find something during the spring/summer of 2013.

Well, this whole year I’ve been keeping my eyes out on homes as I go out on runs around the neighborhood. As I said before, I’ve seen my mom do her thing with homes for over two decades. Whenever I saw a home that striked my interest, I picked up the little flyer and took it home with me to look up online later. Usually, the homes were ridiculously out of our price range (even though the square footage isn’t that big) but due to the location of this area (we’re talking a historic district, 5 minutes from uptown, a view of the city skyline, and a great school system), property is prime.  You know what they say…location, location, location.

Nevertheless, I’ve always dreamed of having a home in this neighborhood one day. Not only is the location incredible, but the public school system is very, very good. Both Ryan and I grew up in public schools and we want the same for our kids some day (because, well, private school is WAY too expensive and we still want our kids to go to a great school). So, our plan was to buy a starter home somewhere in Charlotte and work our way towards moving into this school system in the (far away) future.

Welp, the universe had other plans for us. We stumbled across a house in the historic Dilworth area on Monday, September 10th… and as it turns out, we are buying that home… TODAY!

Closing is late this afternoon, and I could not be more excited

This home is our dream home. It’s got a HUGE fenced-in back yard (we’ve taken Happy to see it already and she *loves* it), a large deck out back with a cozy patio underneath, and room for expansion if we decide to add an addition later on. Our new home has 4 bedrooms, 3 (full) baths, a bright and fresh kitchen, and a fully renovated lower level. It’s located in a historic district in Charlotte and literally a block away from Freedom Park. In fact, it’s only 2 blocks away from where we are currently renting our apartment. And! It has a man-cave for Ryan. Well, a bedroom-turned mancave Things have fallen into place so seamlessly.The gal who showed us our apartment 3 years ago when Ryan and I were apartment hunting for the place we are currently in now is actually involved with the whole house process (she changed jobs in those years and just happened to be connected to the seller’s side). She’s an incredible woman and I’ve kept in touch with her over the years. Coming full-circle in this way really made the decision feel “right.”

In fact, circumstances with our lease have turned out in our favor as well. Instead of having to pay rent until the end of January, we are able to break our lease as our complex has a waiting list of people who are wanting to rent. There is more “full-circle-ness” to this piece of the puzzle as well, but I don’t want to divulge too much. Let’s just say I am very sad to be leaving our apartment (our first place together! we got engaged here!) but I am excited for who will be moving into it next

Our realtor is an incredible woman as well (she reminds me SO much of my mom). For those of you in Charlotte, her name is Debe Maxwell — she’s with Savvy & Co. and is AMAZING at what she does and has been such a pleasure to work with. Truly. She also has incredible connections in Charlotte, too. It’s amazing all that goes on during the moving process… we’ve learned quite a bit!

Ryan and I are starting to pack things up tonight and start moving tomorrow! We have a moving company to help us with our big pieces of furniture late next week, and next weekend we will officially be all set up in our new house — just in time to host some visitors, as BOTH sets of our parents (well, the moms) are coming to town (both visits were planned WAY before buying a house was even on our radar, so this makes their visits even extra exciting!).

Ryan’s mom, Rhonda, and stepdad, Marty, have come to celebrate Thanksgiving with us for the past three years –with a Christmas celebration thrown in there at the same time. We call it “ChrisGiving” –it’s a tradition we all absolutely adore. This year is a little different, though, as Ryan’s mom is unable to come for the actual Thanksgiving holiday. Because she can’t come this year, she has been planning on visiting us in late October, instead, and turning that visit into an early ChrisGiving feast. My parent’s venture down to Florida was postponed due to some health issues, so instead of early October, they are now driving to Florida the same weekend Ryan’s mom is coming into town. My mom and Ryan’s mom have never met each other in person before (although they’ve chatted on the phone and Skyped throughout the years, ha!). I am SO EXCITED they finally get to meet for the first time! And on top of that? We all get to have a Thanksgiving feast together! I haven’t had a Thanksgiving feast with my mom and Gerry since my senior year of college – 5 years ago. Needless to say, I am SO EXCITED!

Now we just need to figure out where to seat everyone. I don’t think our two queen sized beds or rocking chairs are going to cut it…

Looks like Ryan and I might take a break from packing this weekend to venture out and look for dining room furniture! We will see

Homeowners!!!!

And now… some more pictures.

The (old) Deck (it’s currently being redone by the seller – all new wood!)

Lower level leading out to the patio through the double French doors

Kitchen (with all new appliances, our seller is awesome…)

I <3 the blue backsplash

Back of the house

View of firepit area and backyard from the deck

<3 the architecture!

Ryan in deep thought over whether or not we want to move forward with putting in an offer

Bar in the lower level? Yes, please.

Secret doorway (in the form of a bookcase) leading into the spacious laundry room

porch swing!

Happy’s heaven (!!!)

This month is one of my favorites for so many reasons — the change in weather to cooler days, the beautiful colors of fall leaves, road trips, apple picking (!), and the start of the holiday season – my ALLTIME favorite time of the year!

This month is also special to me for a few other reasons, namely… it is the month I met Ryan some four years ago (10/23/08 –howww has it been 4 years already?!), and it is the month we adopted Happy (2 years ago, 10/12/10).

Hopefully we’ll have one more thing to add to our list by the month’s end  

But first? I need to take (and pass) my 9-hour long comprehensive exam this coming Saturday.

NINE hours, people. I don’t think I can even sit still that long….

It’s a written exam and it covers all 2.5 years of my graduate school classes. If I don’t pass, I don’t graduate in December. Talk about pressure.

Currently, I am up to my eyeballs in papers, notebooks, & textbooks (and sometimes tears).

Literally.

Ryan came by me the other night thinking I was studying hard on the couch,  surrounded by papers and books with a pen in hand. It wasn’t until he got closer to me that that he saw the drool all over the pillow. And highlighter on my face. His laughter woke me up. Whoops…

Apparently I’m trying a new studying skill called “osmosis by sleep”.

I’ll let you know how it works come Saturday.

Wish me luck!

I guess some background would help!

Ever since Ryan was four years old, he’s been a soccer player. He played year-round on club teams at a national level, and his pipe dream as a kid was to be a professional soccer player.

Look at that blond hair! (bottom row, second from right)

By the time Ryan hit his late teens, his movement slowly became limited due to pins-and-needles type pain in his shins, surrounded by numb feet and extreme tightness in his calf muscles. Coaches and trainers always told him he suffered from shin-splints, so Ryan never complained, thinking what he had was not a serious issue.

Fast-forward 10+ years, Ryan wised-up (ahem, and met me) and realized that maybe it wasn’t normal to have pain during every-day activity. Little things such as walking through the grocery store, climbing up stairs, standing on his feet for a few hours, and even shifting gears in the car became a challenge.

As Ryan matured into his adult frame, the tightness and pain in his legs escalated, and he realized the shin-splints diagnosis didn’t make sense, especially since he was no longer active like he used to be and sitting at a majority of the day at a desk job.

This shows his calf size almost 10 years after he stopped playing soccer, so you can imagine how they were when he was actually playing…

Ryan has spent the past three years visiting different doctors here in Charlotte, and it wasn’t until he saw Dr. Greenapple this past spring that he first learned of compartment syndrome.

When Ryan googled “compartment syndrome” and read the symptoms, he nearly fell out of his seat, as everything described on the page were things he had been experiencing for over a decade. Even more startling, some of the severe effects of the syndrome include loss of limbs and even death, so he knew he couldn’t afford to let it get any worse.

Ryan was diagnosed with Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome (CESC) back in April, as the doctor performed the pressure test to determine how serious his case was. Turns out, Ryan was a “worst-case” scenario, needing all 8 compartments relieved. (You can read more about CESC, the different compartments in the leg, and the actual surgery in this academic journal article, here).

After a summer trip to visit his family in Arkansas, a few work trips across the US (he’s been traveling with the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team for work – lucky guy!!!), and a wedding the last weekend in July, Ryan’s schedule was finally free enough to accommodate surgery and the long recovery to follow.

Chillaxin’ at Ryan’s parents house in AR for the 4th of July

My alma mater, Furman Univeristy

The Happy Couple!

Epitome of a fun night!

About a month ago – August 1st, to be exact – Ryan underwent a double fasciotomy on both of his lower legs. This surgery aimed to “relieve” all 8 muscle compartments under the shin and calve area of his legs.

We were counseled about just how invasive and traumatic the surgery would be, so we made sure to prepare ourselves mentally and garner as much support as we could.

They told us short-term recovery would take one month to be walking again, and 6+ months for a full recovery. Now that we are about one month out from surgery, I’d say that is exactly right!

Ryan’s mom came into town the day before the surgery (July 31st) and stayed with us until August 5th. His surgery ended up going about an hour to an hour and a half longer than they expected.

Me and Ryan’s mom, Rhonda, waiting for Ryan to come out of surgery!

Two and a half hours later, the surgery was over.

When the doctor came out, he said that when he cut the muscle fascia of each compartment, Ryan’s muscles immediately expanded out to where they “wanted” to go. The doctor said the surgery was definitely going to work in Ryan’s favor.

Ryan’s surgery consisted of 6 incisions that were 6 inches long, each. Two on the outside of each leg on the calve muscles, and one on the inside of each leg. That’s a total of 36 inches of open wounds – three whole feet. THREE!

Ryan’s lower legs were basically held together with stitches and lots (and lots) of bandaging. Talk about painful.

all wrapped up and ready to go home

Finally home from surgery

ice ice baby

Unwrapped for the first time, day #3. Not looking too shabby!

Needless to say, it was such a blessing to have Ryan’s mom here with us for the first few days after the surgery. She was such a great support, and she even got to be with Ryan on his birthday (August 4th) – the first time they’ve spent his birthday together since early college!

Birthday cupcakes!

Peanut butter, Chocolate (x2), and Red Velvet (I die).

The first two weeks were quite brutal for Ryan, pain-wise. He was given hydrocodone, but that only took the edge off the pain. The pain was so bad it would keep him from sleeping, so he felt pretty exhausted 24/7.

It may look like he is sleeping, but I assure you, he is not. This is what ultimate pain looks like.

Also, Ryan developed a pretty nasty hematoma on the inside, right calf incision on the third day after his surgery, and it’s still there even now.

Oh hey there, hematoma (Day 4 after surgery)

I even had to leave work and take him to the hospital unexpectedly the Tuesday after his surgery to make sure he wasn’t suffering from any blood clots.

Unexpected trip to the hospital. “So, uh, can we take these wheels home with us?” (Day 6 after surgery)

Getting an ultrasound on his lower leg, checking for bloodclots

So many buttons. So tempting to push.

Ryan has had great support from family, friends, and coworkers. People have brought over food, delivered gift baskets, and have sent cards.

SO funny!

Ryan’s best friends since elementary school (who are now married and expecting a baby girl!) sent him this awesome care-package

Cookie basket from Ryan’s family in Arkansas

“Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down…”

So many cards… so much love!

Ryan’s all-time favorites!

Gourmet popcorn from Ryan’s grandma

“I like tur-tels”

His co-workers even organized a “gorilla-gram” (aka, a singing telegram) that completely surprised Ryan one evening after I got home from work. The pink gorilla delivered a pretty clever telegram one of Ryan’s supervisor wrote.

“Ryan, we want you, no scratch that…we NEED you, to come back to the office”

Ryan also made sure to let those taking care of him know how much he appreciated them. He went above and beyond to show me how much he cared by surprising me with flowers when I got to work one day!

Goooorgeous!

Melt my heart.

Anywho, back to Ryan’s recovery.

The whole  hematoma thing has been the most painful part of Ryan’s recovery process, as it’s presence is keeping him from being able to put pressure on his right foot, therefore making walking quite the struggle. If it weren’t for the hematoma on his right leg, he would be much closer to feeling himself again.

Thankfully, physical therapy has been helping out quite a bit. Ryan always looked forward to his PT appointments as it was the only time he got out of the house (riding in the car was *super* painful due to his legs not being elevated).

PT at home. With Happy’s leash.

“What is this using my leash for a non-walking purpose nonsense!?”

“Don’t even try to explain. I’m not listening”

More visits to the PT

We had a follow-up appointment with Ryan’s doctor on 8/16 where we learned Ryan might need a second surgery to alleviate the painful and seemingly growing hematoma on his inside, right leg. If the wound didn’t heal up by our next follow-up appointment on 8/23, they were going to go back into that inside right leg incision and drain out the hematoma (shudder).

Changin’ up the bandages. Right leg still draining quite a bit. (8/16)

War wounds. (16 days post surgery)

See the swelling in the right leg? Painful.

Before putting sterri strips back on (8/16)

A few days after that follow-up appointment, Ryan really took a turn for the better. I’d say it was about 8/21 or 8/22 when he started to actual stand up on his own and attempt to “hobble” around. Leading up to this time, he had been scooting around everywhere on his butt (well, by everywhere, I mean to the bathroom. He hadn’t been in the kitchen since July b/c he couldn’t stand up, and he’d been sleeping on the couch b/c getting up on the bed was too painful).

Needless to say, this whole standing up and hobbling business was a HUGE improvement, even if he wasn’t really putting much pressure on his right leg.

Ryan even attempted to go outside and grab the mail.

First trip hobbling outside… didn’t even use the crutches! (8/23)

Success! (And babying that right leg)

We had a follow-up with his doctor this past Thursday 8/23 to see about that second surgery for the hematoma. Thankfully, because the incision the hematoma is surrounding has officially stopped draining  the doctor decided to wait out the hematoma and let it dissolve on its own. Ryan said he’d rather embrace his hobble and be limping for a few months than open up the incision again to extract the hematoma.

Our latest follow-up visit, 8/23/12

Right leg… looking so much better!!!

Since our follow-up visit with the doctor this past Thursday (8/23), Ryan has gotten exponentially better. On Saturday (8/25), we ventured out and got him some new running shoes (for support, not for running, ha!) and later that evening we went out to dinner to our favorite Mexican joint.

Out to eat to celebrate Ryan’s huge jump in progress! (8/25)

Sunday, Ryan offered to drive our rent check down the block (his first time driving since July!) and he declared that it felt the same as sitting on the couch… no extra pain!

First time back at the wheel!!!!!!!!! 8/26/12

And on Monday? Ryan has had his biggest achievement yet!

He drove himself to work and had his first day back in the office!!!!! (Ryan’s been working from home for the past week since 8/20 – and before that, he was on short-term medical leave. Let’s just say Happy has been in heaven this past month having him home all day– talk about quality time!

Man’s best friend. Woof. (Picture from 8/4/12)

Someone was spoiled while I was off at work…

Feeding the dog by candle light… because that’s what happens when Ryan’s bored…

I am seriously so proud of the huge progress he has made since last Tuesday/Wednesday when he was last scooting around our apartment to get everywhere. It broke my heart into 1000 pieces seeing him in so much pain. I even broke down crying in the car driving to work one morning because I had to leave him when he was in a state feeling so, so sad (early August).  Seriously y’all. Seeing loved ones in pain is one of the most heart-wrenching things. I am so, so thankful that those first stages of recovery are behind us.

Relaxing and elevating on the couch after his first full day back at the office! (8/27/12)

Check out that hematoma… it looks WORLDS better! (8/27/12)

Whew, what a ride August has been!

Ryan is doing so, so much better than he was at the beginning of the month… but we still have a long road of recovery ahead of us. We’re now facing a lot of nerve pain (like, extreme shooting pain up and down his lower legs all the way to his toes, sometimes coming from nowhere, and other times due to our dog body slamming herself), and the doctor warned that this nerve pain can last a few months, to even a year or two. We’re hoping for the best, though. Only time will tell!

So yes, as you can see, August has been quite a busy month.

It’s actually been quite the challenge for me to balance everything.

On top of working full time, finishing up my 140-hour practicum, and taking care of Ryan, I’ve spent the past month trying to write the first draft of my Master’s Paper.

Trying is the key word, here.

It was due August 21st, a self-set deadline I established for myself knowing I wanted it done and out of the way before my two Fall classes started on 8/21/12. (The final paper is due November 21st if I want to graduate in time, and we have to go through a few drafts before turning it in).

When Ryan’s complications came about, my attention to schoolwork completely fell by the wayside. In fact, I don’t even think I started writing until the 18th of August. My focus was completely on taking care of Ryan and getting him to and from all of his physical therapy appointments and follow-ups with the doctor. Well that, and working. I’m only human.

Thankfully, I have a super-understanding advisor and she told me to just turn it into her whenever I could. So, after spending this past Saturday (I was up until 4AM) typing and editing away, I finally got my paper turned in Sunday evening! All 41 pages of it.

Going cross-eyed

The final (first) draft! DONE.

I can’t even express into words how good it feels to know the first draft is done. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling.

Also? I’m pretty sure I need a vacation.

Thankfully, we have something fun to look forward to this Labor Day weekend. Ryan has gotten the “ok” from the doctor to travel to Cincinnati with me (he’ll be elevating in the backseat, probably feeding Happy peanut-butter with a golden spoon from a crystal bowl), and we are attending our first wedding shower!!!!!!!!

We are both *beyond* excited and can’t wait to be surrounded by friends and family and relax after such a trying month. Only four more days until we hit the road!

-Reason number one. Its providing quality entertainment for Ryan while he’s recovering from his big-time surgery. (I’ll do a post to update y’all on this in the near future, I need to gather my thoughts first — it’s been one whirlwind of a week! Just know that we are full-speed ahead on the road to recovery and, all things considered, he is doing GREAT!).

-Two. A certain buddy of mine is on Team USA. More on this later (see reason number six).

-Three. Women’s gymnastics. (Duh.) But let’s not state the obvious.

Gold!

Gabby Douglas = AMAZING!!!!

-Four. P&G’s “Thank you, Mom” campaign. Ryan’s colleagues are in London representing one of their clients, P&G, for this campaign. Every time one of the commercials comes on TV for this campaign, my eyes get a little teary – such a sweet message! And what lucky coworkers Ryan has

This clip is probably my favorite one out of all of them… (it aired back in the Spring):

-Five. Handball. Ummm… I don’t know how I never realized this was an Olympic sport… but it is AWESOME!  In a way, it’s like lacrosse and basketball all mixed into one.

-And finally… number Six. Because let’s be honest. Nick’s swimming in the Olympics is another big reason why I’m lovin’ the coverage.

A week ago he won Silver swimming the men’s 100 back.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOHOOOOOO!!!! Silver!

Matt Grevers and Nick Thoman, grabbing 1 and 2 for Team USA!

And in addition to medaling, he was also interviewed by Matt Lauer on the Today Show.

Oh you know, no biggie… (Source: Mary Nash via FB)

And just a few days ago he was part of the 4×100 medley relay that won GOLD!!!

usa! usa!

Gold and Silver medals for his first Olympics? Not too shabby!

I’ve loved seeing friends from elementary and high school pull together and share their enthusiasm for Nick on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. It is so neat to see! He’s also been ALL over the local news in Cincinnati – and even national news.

craaaazy.

Even here in Charlotte, the city where he trains, news outlets and restaurants are all highlighting Nick’s accomplishment’s in London. I am just absolutely beyond thrilled for him and his entire family (<—read that for a really sweet article about his family!).

Celebrity much? (Source: Lisa Thoman via FB)

Speaking of celebrity… Nick’s twitter handle officially has that blue checkmark by his name! Pretty dang cool, huh?!

Nick’s got a great head on his shoulders and I’m sure won’t let the “celebrity-dom” get to his head.

See? Pretty standard.

I have a feeling Mariemont High School’s Class of 2004 is going to have one pretty badass 10-year reunion coming up! Nick might be the only Olympian, but the rest of us have our own accomplishments to tout in a few years.