I haven't posted in about 8 months on here!

So here's a quick update on my summer:

- Got a job promotion and am in training for a year... so far I love all the medical info I'm learning! My coworkers are very cool!

- Going away from July-September to who knows where for 8 weeks of special job training! (Rumor is that we'll go to Winston-Salem, NC.)

- Bought a SLR camera and am teaching myself how to be a photographer (and am currently a volunteer photographer for the amazing Tennessee Association of Blind Athletes)!

- Enjoying volunteering at the homeless shelter! I just help make breakfast for 100-200 guys!

- Traveling to Switzerland, Germany, and Austria! It's a road trip... starts in June... we'll do lots of hiking in the Black Forest, Bavarian Alps, Swiss Alps, and see castles and medieval towns.

- Falling in love with God more and more each day! He's totally AWESOME.

"If we think happy thoughts, we will be happy. If we think miserable thoughts, we will be miserable." Dale Carnegie

"The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past . . . we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. . . . I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it." Charles Swindoll

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Martin Luther King Jr.

"It is our choice of good or evil that determines our character, not our opinion about good or evil." Aristotle

"As long as a man lives he should study. Death alone has the right to dismiss the school." Robert Ingersoll

"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful. . . . Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I will follow my logic, no matter where it goes, after it has consulted with my heart. If you ever come to a conclusion without calling the heart in, you will come to a bad conclusion." Robert Ingersoll

"The person who is truly effective has the humility and reverence to recognize his own perceptual limitations and to appreciate the rich resources available through interaction with the hearts and minds of other human beings. . . . When we're left to our own experiences, we constantly suffer from a shortage of data." Stephen R. Covey

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Mohandas Gandhi

"The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance, and even our very existence depends on it. Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to our lives." Albert Einstein

I just had a fabulous past few days… last Saturday my sister married her best friend, Matt! Then two of my brothers stayed with me for a few days. I took off work Monday-Wednesday and we went water skiing, rock climbing, horseback riding, wading up a creek trout fishing, and to the zoo! Now I’m back at the grindstone, but in two days I get a three day weekend! YAY!!! And I found out at work today that my coworkers did so well while I was off vacationing that we get pizza today! It seems to me that they don’t need me here since they broke station records while I was gone… maybe I should go back home! :)

LOVED Alaska!!!!! Best trip EVER!!! In the wild we saw 7-8 black bears (including a momma with two cubs), about 18 moose, 3 caribou, about 6 porcupines, a red fox, a handful of mountain goats, rabbits galore, sea otters, sea lions, Dall's porpoises, bald eagles, a shark, jelly fish, 5 skates (sting rays), caught some great atlantic cod, it was AWESOME!!! Hiked, camped in Denali, sea kayaked among iceburgs, went deep sea fishing, flight seeing trip through the mountains, climbed a relatively little mountain, mingled with the locals, etc.

Think you would make the right decisions to survive in the Alaskan bush?! You can test your skills here: crazy Alaskan game

Tomorrow morning, I'm headed out to test mine for real!! Out of the urban and into the wild! Whether I'm ready or not, Alaska here I come!!!!

PS Uh oh…. I failed the game on the 3rd or 4th question & got a message that says something like, "The Alaskan wilderness isn't for everyone, and preparation goes well beyond being outfitted by your local sporting goods store. Survival means weathering the elements both physically and emotionally. Prepare yourself-- and try again."

PPS ARG! I failed it again, this time I got a note saying "Come back next year"

PPPS Whew! After about 5 failed attempts, I finally won the game. I'm confident that I'm ready to survive in the Alaskan bush now! :) (yeah right!)