After Holidays Haul

 

This is a bit late, but I did a little bit of shopping after the holidays. You would think after all the shopping I had to do for Christmas presents I wouldn't even want to think about it. I did have a couple coupons that were going to expire so I decided to stop by the mall.

I still had a few "Christmas" gifts that I had to give to friends (that I just waited to do at the end since I wasn't going to see them till the new year), so I managed to pick up some great 50% holiday-themed gift bags and wrapping essentials. I tried to pick the least Christmas-y ones so I could potentially use them during the year as well. 

I've been wanting to try a few things from The Body Shop so I stopped in. I only wanted to get the Vitamin E Eye Cream and the Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream, but they had a buy-three-get-one-free deal so I ended up with the Tea Tree Pore Minimiser and the Seaweed Clarifying Toner. The last two were recommended by one of the girls working there. She definitely steered me in the right direction after asking me questions about my skin type. I've used all four of the products at least once, but I'd probably need to try it more to get a solid opinion on each. So far I am really liking the eye and night cream from the Vitamin E line.

I also stopped by Bath and Body Works since they were also having a 50% off sale on certain items. My mom is always wanting candles so I mainly stopped by to pick up a couple for her. I picked Party Dress for myself (which I'm actually burning right now) and I might get another one as soon as it's all gone. While I do like BBW's candles they can be quite strong, so as nice as the scent can be in the store it can be overwhelming once you start burning it. This one is lighter and I haven't gotten sick of it. For my mom I purchased Tuscan Herbs (pretty unique and light as well), Lily Ponds, and Villa Bergamot. The last two were strong though and the last one especially smelled like a cologne so might steer clear of those.

Since this "haul" I haven't gotten shopping since, which is probably a good thing since I bank account needs to recover after the holidays. That and I shouldn't be distracting myself when this is supposed to be a hardcore study month for my OATs in February. And like I mentioned in my last post, this month is pretty hectic surgery-wise. The chief optometrist just e-mailed us the other day with a break down of the schedule for tomorrow. I need to be in there a little before 8am meaning that I'll have to be on the train by 6am...This is why I can't get any studying in after I get home from work. After dinner I am passed. out. She did mention that we're having really nice/awesome patients tomorrow though so we'll see how that turns out. Crossing my fingers for no complications and that everything will go according to the schedule.

Merry Christmas!

 It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks. When I would actually have a lot to blog about I just can't find the time to do it. Especially since once I get home I'm so tired I usually pass out right away. Unless I happen to get two days off in a row I won't be able to stay up past 12am which is pretty sad.

A few updates...

• The main thing that has been keeping me busy is work. At first I just asked to work an extra day a week here or there just so I would have a good cushion of shopping money for Christmas. So that in itself tired me out. Then all of a sudden they asked me if I was interested in working at the LASIK department. Honestly my co-worker (who used to work down there before she started optometry school) had been asking me about helping out when she still used to be there. The optometrist who is the chief of the refractive surgery department (and the contact lens department) joked around that they had been trying to get me to work down there for a year. I finally gave in mainly since I need any edge I can get on my applications. So on actual surgery days, which have been pretty consistently once a week, I've been coming in an extra day (earlier than normal depending on which surgeon is in that day). They haven't had much time to really sit down and train me since they only have one staff member doing each job, but it's been good so far. I'm the type of person that has to be productive and constantly doing something so the fact that I haven't been able to do more bugs me. It's very different than being up front where you're always doing something. They told me they really want me to be able to help out with the "hallway" procedures which is basically taking the patients into the exam room and going over the medication and post-op instructions with them. We'll see how it goes, since January is supposed to be a pretty jam-packed month.
• So on top of this and social obligations it's been difficult to get a good amount of studying in. I've been trying to go over things at work when I have some free time, but with the holidays too it's been hectic. Since my OAT test date is on the first of February I really have to be on top of it once the holidays are over. I definitely have to get a study schedule going.
• I'm the type of person that needs to have time alone to recharge after doing things, so I think that's another reason why I've been especially exhausted. On days that I haven't been working I've been running around doing errands or catching up with friends I haven't seen in a while. On top of that I accompanied my friend to her work holiday party the day after mine. And of course the boyfriend's family does their own celebration, and since he has two sets of parents there's a lot of back and forth there as well. Don't get me wrong it's been so fun! But the fact that I've got to just stay home for the past two days and not do anything has been the best Christmas present ever. That on top of the awesome food.

Daylight Savings

I'm missing summer already. As much as I like having an extra hour the whole getting dark before 5pm aspect kinda blows. It is nice when I have to get up really early for work and by the time I've commuted over the sun is out (if it's not going to be a cloudy day. Then we won't see the sun till after noon. If even).

A few weekends ago the weather was nice even in the city, so we decided to go for a motorcycle ride. My boyfriend and his friend love to do this every now and then, but ever since I've gotten a headset for my helmet I've been enjoying it too. My boyfriend's stepdad was nice enough to get me one and got to say it's one the best inventions ever. The intercom system is a lifesaver since trying to communicate during a motorcycle ride is not the easiest thing to do...Plus listening to my favorite playlist while going across the Golden Gate Bridge and passing by the ocean? AWESOME.

(His hair, lol)