New Adventures in Knoxville

So I would like to think that I will be able to maintain this while in school and keep everyone informed of the all the happenings in the life of a pa student...only time will tell if this is possible. I've officially been here for 2 weeks and survived the first week of classes. I'm getting more and more settled into a routine with classes, running, studying and doing things to avoid the studying :). The latest I go any day with a class is 3pm which provides plenty of time to study (or procrastinate) and after the revelation of all the studying I will be doing over the next 9 weeks there will be no procrastination occuring in my little world. For those of you who know me this is a huge deal and I will let you know how it goes. After the first day of class I had the NEED to run, no desire but a definite need. In order to cope with all the information that is going to be shoved into our brains the only beneficial coping mechanism would be to run because sleeping would simply be a waste of time in the middle of the afternoon. So yes I am running and it feels great, well sort of. It will feel great at some point I'm sure.

For those of you who don't know, I am living with Rich and Hannah Stolze. They have very graciously opened their home to me and I am so incredibly blessed to be living with them. They would be a huge support spiritually and mentally during my time here and to simply have a family to live with is definitely God's provision to me. It has been wonderful thus far even though I am adjusting to trying to study with little children wrestling around on my bed. I am only about 10 minutes from school so that is saving me a huge chunk of change on the gasoline. And I must say it may be a miracle that I have yet to be in an accident. The drivers here are not the greatest. I'm not sure if they are completely unaware of what is going on around them or if they are simply just bad drivers. Even my anatomy teacher, who is from Tennessee I believe, made a comment the other day in class about the number of rear-end accidents that occur in Knoxville. I just laughed and recalled the horrible accident I had seen the day before which appeared to be a rear-end accident. What can I say?

So here begins a new chapter in my life adventure. Exciting times are ahead and I'm excited to see what God has in store for each new day and hope to be able to share them with you. Thank you for all your prayers!!

xoxo kendra

Caribbean Cruise

I know this post is way over due, but I figured better late than never. The cruise was incredible and we had a very relaxing time. We read, slept and probably ate enough food to feed a small army (seriously!)...it's probably a good thing it was only 5 days! The ship was massive. You think you're able to imagine what it's going to be like, but then you step foot onto the ship and it is almost impossible to comprehend how huge it actually is. I was still getting confused on the last day of the cruise about which way to go for certain places. It is a good thing they put maps on the wall by every stairway and elevator :). Below are just a few of the pictures during our time on the boat, at Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Enjoy!!

The Carnival Inspiration

The Carnival Inspiration (view from Cozumel Port)

Our second day of the cruise was spent at sea. This is the view from my lounge chair that I claimed for the day. As you can see the water is incredibly blue and the weather was fantastic.

The night of the second day was the Captain's Dinner. We all dressed in our finest, had lots of free drinks before dinner and indulged in a ton of food including lobster. This is one of our few group pictures we were able to get during the cruise.

Kristin and me after the Captain's Dinner.

The third day we stopped at Grand Cayman. We had to be back on the boat by 1pm so we didn't stay on the island very long. I was hoping to go to a few markets, but there were mostly jewelry shops around and not enough time to explore further without the risk of being left behind.

After spending a few hours shopping around Grand Cayman we ended up at Royal Palms Beach and took a quick swim in the ocean. We were only there for about 45 minutes, but it was worth every minute to be able to swim in the ocean.

Our fourth day we stopped at Cozumel, Mexico. Due to severe storms the night before our snorkeling excursion in Cozumel was cancelled. We ended up renting a jeep and driving to Chankanaab State Park...it was worth every penny we paid to get in so we could have flushing toilets for the day. We actually snorkeled there on our own. It probably didn't compare to what we would have seen on the excursion, but I still loved it and saw some incredible fish. I was stung by a jelly fish, but after spending $8 on a tube of gel from a local pharmacy I was ok...worth the $8 even though it was ridiculously overpriced.

Our lounge chairs on the beach at Chankanaab.

The view from our lounge chairs...it was a phenomenal day!
If you are thinking about going on a cruise I would really recommend it. It was very relaxing and there is plenty to do on the boat if you are worried about getting bored. And considering all the food we ate plus accomodation the price is great for all that you get. If you want to see more pictures I have them posted on Facebook.

Cruise Time!!

Sunday I will be flying to Tampa, Florida and will be boarding 'The Inspiration' on Monday afternoon. I've never been on a cruise so I'm really excited about the new adventures and everything that's involved with the cruise from laying by the poolside to putt-putt golf on the top deck of the ship. Although I'm quite used to 5-7 days off at a time because of my work schedule I am really looking forward to relaxing in the Caribbean sunshine. We will be stopping in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Grand Cayman is a short stop so I haven't not planned anything for that day and will probably end up shopping on the island. In Cozumel a small group of us have made plans to go snorkeling and will be taken on an excursion to 3 different spots to see the coral reef and tropical fish. It should be an incredible time and I'll post lots of pictures (especially on Facebook) when I return.

The Inspiration

The Inspiration Lobby

Jersey Boys

Tonight my friend Sarah Burgess and I went to the LaSalle Bank Theater to see the broadway musical Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Although we had no idea what it was truly about we had a great time and it was a wonderful performance. The musical included more songs than I can mention here, but some of my favorites were "Sherry", "My Eyes Adored You", "Walk Like a Man", and my favorite performance of the night "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". It was a great night and I would recommend it to anyone who gets a chance to see it.

Birthday Day

My family actually had a birthday celebration with cake and all about a week ago because that was the only time we could all get together. Kristin and I still wanted to make a day of our actual birthday and although Chicago had a winter storm the entire day, Kristin and I still managed to go out to breakfast in the morning before Kristin went to work. We ended up getting a free breakfast at Egg Harbor which honestly came at no surprise because we are regulars at this restaurant and everyone knows us by name. Cora called a few times to sing happy birthday which was the cutest thing ever. It was a pretty relaxing day since I stayed inside out of the storm and the Stolze Family came over for a wonderful salmon dinner. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes - each one put a big smile on my face :).

The night we celebrated our birthday.

Enduring the snow storm for our birthday breakfast.