Her name was TT......

The Harringtons were kind enough to put me up for a few days to milk Lubbock for all it was worth before leaving. We had a good time eating Lubbock delicacies and just spending time together. They played a huge part in making Lubbock home for me and Friday nights with all of them will be sorely missed (even Stanley and his oddly heavy paws). I'm also having a really hard time breaking the habit of referring to myself in the third person as TT (part Stephanie, part Auntie?). I knew that it wouldn't matter what Kate called me, as long as she called me. And who could say no to this little nugget? It's been such a pleasure getting to see her grow up over the past two years and I'm constantly amazed that each phase is even more fun than the last. I can't even think about what I'll miss being so far away. :[

Kate & TT 5 days old at Fish Fry Friday

Kate & TT doing what they do: 25 months old

I've officially been out of Lubbock for a few days now, but am holed up in Amarillo (at Rebels) soaking up a little more Texas hospitality before heading into the Sunset.

Cleaning out my apartment turned out to be way more work than I expected. Numerous runs to both Goodwill and the dumpster helped along with good friends who came to take a lot of stuff off my hands. I also learned to love Craigslist. In short order I sold my couches and gave away my bed. I realize now that I should have taken before and after pictures of my progress, but I had a lot to do, yo.

Tobey is now loaded down with all of my earthly belongings (minus 2 boxes of books and clothes that just wouldn't fit). He's equipped with new tires and just itching to hit the open road. Hildoug's amazeballs grad gift: the iPhd (iPod for PhDs, duh) will help me pass the time through the desolate wasteland that is New Mexico. The caravan heads out Wednesday morning for points West. Stay tuned for updates from the road.

Awesome August

**August 6th Graduation Party at Four Bar K**

Hot Lady Docs

Familia enjoying a little BBQ in the LBK

Beau, Boar, Bush

**August 7th Graduation**

These ain't no cheap seats

Love these ladies

**Vegas Vacay**

California, Washington, Oklahoma, & Texas Represent

Phoning it in

If I had the type of job where I could call in sick without the headache of a bunch of re-scheduling, today would be a sick day. Nope, I'm not physically sick, just sick of work. Four work days left until FREEDOM!!!!!!

Heading for the Hills...literally

This week saw me making some big decisions and actually moving forward with them. I put in my notice at work and my last day will be August 26th, after which I'll pack up my stuff and head up to WA state for what I'm calling my last summer break before becoming a grown up.

Without boring you with all the details of what led up to this rather sudden decision, suffice it to say that it definitely feels like it's time for me to leave Lubbock. I've been dragging my feet on pulling the trigger for quite some time now. It also gave me the opportunity to set a boundary professionally that I think was much needed and will lead to good things for me in the future.

Although, the LBK lacks a few things that I desire, it does make up for it with lots of people that I love! It's been my home for 8 years now and is the place that I've lived the longest in my life. That little tidbit is crazy to me because it seems like only yesterday that my beat up Jeep made it to Lubbock packed to the brim with the basics necessary to start my life here. It's going to be rough, but I'm going to see how close I can come to making it out of Lubbock again with only what will fit in my car (plus a few boxes to be UPSed). That means everything's got to go, folks! So, if you are looking for couches, a washer/dryer, twin bed, kitchen gear, or any other odds and ends you should hit me up. For you, so cheap, almost free!

The scary part in all of this is that I haven't lined up a job yet. Moving home gives me some cushion to be out of work for awhile, but I know I'll go stir crazy if I'm idle for too long. I'm till hoping to line something up on the East Coast (NYC and DC keep beckoning me). I'm a little wary of the stigma that comes with being the creepy 30 year old doctor who moves home to live with her mother. Enter the "summer break" re-frame. Good to know all those years of schooling come with some practical applications. :]

Alright, breaks over, back to cleaning out my apartment. Seriously, how did I collect so much crap?

Waiting and The Way We Were

I'm cooped up at home today watiting for the Lawn Care guys to show up to take care of the jungle that is my backyard. They are now 2.5 hours late, so I'm thinking they might not show. Oddly, this is now the second time that I've been no showed by people I've set up appointments with. I guess everyone is just as reticent about Ivy removal as I have been for the past 7 years. Yeah, it's bad...real bad.

I've taken care of a lot of odds and ends while I've been waiting and am now treating myself to a viewing of The Way We Were. Just a few short lines sum up the whole movie for me (posted below **major spoiler alert if you haven't seen it**). It's heartbreaking really. Is it better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all? I'm still not sure, but it makes for a good movie plot!

Katie: I don't have the right style for you do I?

Hubbell: No you don't have the right style.

Katie: I'll change.

Hubbell: No, don't change. You're your own girl, you have your own style.

Katie: But then I won't have you. Why can't I have you?

Hubbell: Because you push too hard, every damn minute. There's no time to ever relax and enjoy living. Every things too serious to be so serious.

Katie: If I push too hard it's because I want things to be better, I want us to be better, I want you to be better. Sure I make waves you have I mean you have to. And I'll keep making them till you're everything you should be and will be. You'll never find anyone as good for you as I am, to believe in you as much as I do or to love you as much.

Hubbell: I know that.

Katie: Well then why?

Hubbell: Do you think if I come back its going to be okay by magic? What's going to change? What's going to be different? We'll both be wrong, we'll both lose.

Katie: Couldn't we both win?

~Later~

Katie: Wouldn't it be lovely if we were old? We'd have survived all this. Everything would be easy and uncomplicated; the way it was when we were young.

Hubbell: Katie, it was never uncomplicated.

Katie: But it was lovely, wasn't it?

Hubbell: Yes, it was lovely.

~Finally~

Katie: Your girl is lovely, Hubbell. Why don't you bring her for a drink when you come?

Hubbell: I can't come, Katie. I can't

Katie: I know...

Which came first?

I have a thing for intelligently bizarre men (not to be confused with bizarrely intelligent men). Case in point, Zach Galifianakis. From The Hangover to SNL, my crush has continued to grow. I think that Dinner for Schmucks might just cinch the deal and it’ll be time to order my

Team Zach t-shirt.

Over the weekend I had two different friends tell me that they had men they wanted to set me up with.

Description of Dude #1: He’s a really great guy with a healthy dose of redneck in him. The only con is that he’s missing some teeth. This was reframed by telling me that missing teeth could easily be fixed after I find a job with benefits.

Description of Dude #2: He’s a single guy in my friend’s ward (these days that’s all it takes for people to think they should set me up with someone). The con is that my friend predicts that he has a porn addiction. The reframe was that I could just love him into recovery.

So, does my love of unique characters lead my friends to try to set me up with these types? Or is it the increasing number of friends trying to set me up with oddballs that has influenced my preference?

Talk amongst yourselves….

What's in a name?

A few years ago, my intrepid travel companion Hildoug and I were tromping around the South, Georgia to be more specific. We spent some time in Atlanta and then made the drive down to Savannah. I wanted to see the city, but was really hoping for a Paula Deen sighting, or better yet one (or both) of her boys. I failed on all accounts. My Paula obsession hasn't let up yet. I'm still tempted to dress up like her for Halloween and walk around feeding people biscuits and dropping colloquialisms in my best southern accent.

One of the major thorough fares in Savannah is called Abercorn Street. I had mapquested directions to our hotel and it told us that our hotel was on this street (note: this is pre iPhone days). Now, I pride myself on my directional abilities. Let me loose in a city and I can find my way around no problem, and even if my subsequent visit(s) to the city is a few years later it's like I haven't even left and can still find things based on landmarks. Yes, I know, I'm awesome.

My directional genius was quickly rendered incapacitated upon entering the Savannah city limits (due to the humidity, perhaps?) I held course and continued to follow Abercorn street into downtown Savannah and then out into the boons. After driving in the boons for quite some time we did manage to locate a Piggly Wiggly and a major highway shortly after that. We were able to find our hotel (fyi: with no help from an iPhone or locals) which was actually nowhere near the downtown area. What stood out to me was the fact that we had a great time getting lost and I don't know if I'd ever laughed so hard before, or since then.

What in tarnation does this story pertain to, you ask? Well, this little experience led to the name of my blog. It's become my way to keep things in check. Life is a cornucopia of abercorn streets. There's really no way to avoid them, it's all about what you do with them. Hence the blog detailing my life: Abercornucopia.

Thank you, and good night.