tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9568479798217917742024-03-12T22:51:20.427-04:00Heidi's Old HouseThis blog chronicles the life and times of a married pair of nerds (one a computer nerd, the other in medical school) and their one-eyed pet, Hondo. Previously, this pair of nerds had a settled life in a 200 year old house where they put much love and sweat into projects (some over their head). Med school had a way of changing their life plans, so... So long old house, your walls served them well while they lived there. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger215125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-64424070712612451882015-11-19T22:09:00.000-05:002015-11-19T22:09:13.663-05:00So much to do! :)<br />
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The last couple weeks have been busy -- I have been able to get home twice in the last month or so (I think first time ever since moving away), and we will be having quite a bit of company in the coming weeks! :) I am so looking forward to that!<br />
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However, holidays away are certainly different than holidays near family... Last year, for instance... Pete and I had Christmas dinner in the hospital cafeteria, and New Year's feast as well. I was working both days, and they provided meal tickets to those who had to work. The food was not bad, but the ambiance of the hospital cafeteria left much to be desired. This year, I will be working on Christmas as well... it is what it is! And I know I am not the only one who has to do this!<br />
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Fall in our area! :) We still have some leaves on trees... </div>
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Headed out to a Halloween party a few weeks back... we do what we can to mark our time while we're here! :)</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-27842416757324674442015-10-20T12:41:00.000-04:002015-10-20T12:41:39.024-04:00Living awayMore than a year has past since I last wrote anything... The last year and couple months has been crazy... All the things they say about residency are true, at least in my experience which is limited to my current program here... I work long hours. I am away from home a lot (and at times feel for Pete, because many days I see him for only minutes between coming home and going to bed!). I don't always have a chance to eat or rest, so when I do... I take full advantage of it! And time off is precious, as it does not come at regular intervals (i.e. I can't just look forward to the weekend), so whatever I get... I treasure... <br />
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And through it all, I have learned so much. I still find it a privilege to be able to help patients. I am gaining more independence with time, and find small thrills when I do something independently and it turns out well! :)<br />
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Anyway, I have decided to restart writing on the blog because although life where we are living is not horrible (and sometimes I even enjoy it), living away from the people you have known all your life at times gets lonely. Having a blog is certainly no substitute for calling up old friends on a random Tuesday and meeting for coffee, but it helps to share the experience, process whats going on through the writing, and having the occasional comment at times begins to feel like a long drawn out conversation.<br />
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So here it goes...<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-58917261053328226182014-06-10T19:37:00.001-04:002014-06-10T22:44:58.489-04:00Last few weeks of summer vacationYesterday, I began orientation for residency. The transition from being relatively "free" to working once again, got me thinking about the remainder of my brief and busy summer vacation.<br />
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After my last post, I was able visit both families in far away states, and spent the 4 days between the two trips crazy busy with errands and becoming legal residents of our new location!<br />
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The drive to visit my family was surprisingly beautiful, making the drive pretty easy. I spent Tuesday through Friday after Memorial Day there, and was able to see both of my sister's homes, the nieces and nephews that live there, my immediate family, and our extended families. It felt great to visit everyone.<br />
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Wednesday through Saturday of last week we were visiting Pete's family. It was a very enjoyable couple days, complete with lots of visiting both friends and family, having the opportunity to help with some of his sister's graduation things, and was productive time for Pete at work as well. We ended up coming home on Saturday because the weather started to look rainy/bad on forecast for Sunday (and we were moving many soft things back here in the back of an open pick-up truck), and in part because I needed to get back.<br />
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We spent Sunday unpacking a load of things from the truck, and taking care of many little things that needed to be done before beginning orientation. I started to worry about finding my work clothes and glasses because they were not easy to locate in the boxes we had taken back from Michigan... With a big sigh of relief, we located located these items late Sunday night intermixed in the recently moved boxes, as well as boxes that had been storing other items at our house! I was beginning to get nervous that I was going to have to show up my first day in shorts and a tee-shirt (so glad that this was not the case)!<br />
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Sorry for the paucity of pictures, I was enjoying my time visiting over the final weeks of break! Hope all of you are enjoying your Summer breaks! :) I apologize in advance, but life in the next couple weeks is going to again get crazy busy! Take care!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-65470309561658807492014-05-26T12:44:00.001-04:002014-05-26T13:30:51.346-04:00Moving (continued)Since my last post in Mid-May, I feel like a lot has been accomplished on behalf of Pete and myself.<br />
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We went back to our apartment on a Sunday, I was convinced that we could be moved out and moved into our house by Tuesday of that week, and had big plans for the remainder of the week (involving a circle tour to get to a graduation and a shower)... but I was wrong!<br />
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Pete helped me start with the packing on Sunday/Monday, and help figure out where the rest of our stuff was going to go... storage (at his mom & dad's), donation to some cause, trash, other. It was a big job. Then, he took off to St. Louis in his plane... taking advantage of nice flight conditions. I stuck around until Thursday of that week, and packed, allocated, and disposed of things with the help of my in-laws and cleaned my apartment. I headed back to our house on Thursday, and arrived Thursday evening to a whole bunch of projects completed! He had been so busy working while I was gone, and it showed! He had finished the living room closet and started to unpack (this is after I finished unpacking):<br />
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He had painted the guest bedroom an olive green (previously a really bright baby yellow color), assembled the bed my grandpa had made me as a teenager, purchased a mattress, and hauled in the accompanying desk (made by my grandpa) and bookshelf (made by my dad). This gave me the opportunity to unpack many of our books, and start assembling my little office area.<br />
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I ended up getting sheets for this bed (as we have not had a twin sized bed ever), and finding a chair for myself on good sales over this weekend! :) Always fun to find good deals!<br />
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He had also purchased a mattress for our room, and bedframe with built in dresser. Due to the size of the room, we can no longer use a king sized mattress. I will post photos after the bedframe arrives/we have assembled it! :)<br />
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Friday, we spent much of the day unpacking. I refilled my spice rack (which had come with pre-filled spices) with ones that I actually use. It was kind of a fun project. I put this picture of our kitchen washcloths and towels up to say again thank you everyone for everything at our wedding many, many years ago. Its amazing how much stuff we get as we are married, and I am reminded of the generosity especially as I move/unpack the many wedding gifts that we had received.<br />
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Saturday, after much of the stuff had been put away (we still have a few boxes laying about, and have not put things up on the walls as all of our furniture is not yet here), we went shopping. We found a kitchen table at a garage sale (score!), and kitchen chairs at Habitat for Humanity. We have decided to go with a variety of kitchen chairs as Pete favors that look. We also found some rugs, my chair, storage units for the garage, and a few other odds and ends.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyUoc0hYrr_veYQ9qEjkxRc9-eAnQ4j42EM2gGSDhDMxmtm5TllhOaGGrO25oCSQZRMdUbx_SamwcUfd9Et_8ZE4KTiZ5wnojDbQAGzXbdNlmClka8EqRqxx2YbYEXnMftPtyYbBD2vM/s1600/IMG_0453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyUoc0hYrr_veYQ9qEjkxRc9-eAnQ4j42EM2gGSDhDMxmtm5TllhOaGGrO25oCSQZRMdUbx_SamwcUfd9Et_8ZE4KTiZ5wnojDbQAGzXbdNlmClka8EqRqxx2YbYEXnMftPtyYbBD2vM/s1600/IMG_0453.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrav7Cn57KMNKUw2SvXW4SUc7di__P6cG-LEmHsUK-Xsea9Wrlhat4_wK7p7zFduSaODRA8yc-xSqjPqIoUWPGPke32LGRV5FrZ4lIxoLFl3_LK9DKeoHYbXRFj1v6cO228BeULip8sPo/s1600/IMG_0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrav7Cn57KMNKUw2SvXW4SUc7di__P6cG-LEmHsUK-Xsea9Wrlhat4_wK7p7zFduSaODRA8yc-xSqjPqIoUWPGPke32LGRV5FrZ4lIxoLFl3_LK9DKeoHYbXRFj1v6cO228BeULip8sPo/s1600/IMG_0455.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOOObv9x0ROID7y5Ts-Z1t8HCk20ihYm505TwXuNWCHOmaZBzqBFAfb_oxHVIu56q48yGtm35FgJ4O0mjkbYf6T6JvZ0nZQYMIS0zW-40LyWfzMbRDOWgCz8125EcExM7xMf6PDXCkyVQ/s1600/IMG_0458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOOObv9x0ROID7y5Ts-Z1t8HCk20ihYm505TwXuNWCHOmaZBzqBFAfb_oxHVIu56q48yGtm35FgJ4O0mjkbYf6T6JvZ0nZQYMIS0zW-40LyWfzMbRDOWgCz8125EcExM7xMf6PDXCkyVQ/s1600/IMG_0458.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a><br />
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It is really shaping up to look like a house! Kinda fun to start feeling settled once again! :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-83461998557266852222014-05-17T22:25:00.000-04:002014-05-25T23:14:35.596-04:00MovingOn Monday, Pete and I headed to our new home. 2 vehicles loaded with stuff, and altogether too much stuff left at the apartment, basement storage unit and hanger. I had planned on returning early in the week, only to discover that the closets were in dire need of painting and remembering that I don't want to empty the hanger because what-if-I-hit-the-plane... Pete's toy. I would feel awful. Better let him do that job. So off he went early in the week for a turnaround trip to pick up the large items.<br />
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So I stayed for the week with nothing but a change of clothes, a puppy that was intent on getting into all things dangerous, and many, many tubs and boxes that needed to be unloaded.<br />
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At first unpacking was fun -- much of my kitchen stuff, for instance had been packed away for the last 3.5 years, since leaving the house, so opening each of the tubs marked "kitchen stuff" was a bit like opening the Cracker Jack box as a kid... Who knows what surprise lay in store! After I ran out of space though as I could not unpack to my cupboards, the duty quickly became frustrating... So here I sit in my sea of boxes waiting for cupboards to be complete in order to unpack.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen stuff that was fun to unpack</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dsU5scb82xiHTfAKG2Godb4x-rj6VKSag0c9KUsCqtuwe4XXUc3Z0r16tBkmQUJZmgOY7MO6DBPCQ_049xSwR73FJxN6XiaoG_yeDEDJsT2GDT0rZzRkEHeilwfEfClfdFndPvUxjZM/s1600/IMG_0383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dsU5scb82xiHTfAKG2Godb4x-rj6VKSag0c9KUsCqtuwe4XXUc3Z0r16tBkmQUJZmgOY7MO6DBPCQ_049xSwR73FJxN6XiaoG_yeDEDJsT2GDT0rZzRkEHeilwfEfClfdFndPvUxjZM/s1600/IMG_0383.JPG" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More kitchen stuff that was fun to unpack</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzmD4SBTcF-VS6ogULzjS4d9nDXjQVolE2JCnKVoQizg0-q0Dpl0JlYCKTfN6fsVBHywsoAtM0FcSwNIgM7fzogQcB099l-CHxft0imUEmRUjoXKibaTAJyOHfF1zpc5Pq-3i0SBZG3w/s1600/IMG_0381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzmD4SBTcF-VS6ogULzjS4d9nDXjQVolE2JCnKVoQizg0-q0Dpl0JlYCKTfN6fsVBHywsoAtM0FcSwNIgM7fzogQcB099l-CHxft0imUEmRUjoXKibaTAJyOHfF1zpc5Pq-3i0SBZG3w/s1600/IMG_0381.JPG" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curtains that I made for the kitchen (had planned to use the fabric in my last house, but finally got around to making them)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzDWaRl5vUsjAQPmxIx9WrSK3bEzp-FR2Mjc8gerpoX0rjyvZwaY2HECScpstoeJng3_ErE1Xvjpf9WV4o3IyUPy22UbH0xpvJATL6O6J124G_2mqEVO5dIk_EkCHv9D1S29qpTAagZd4/s1600/IMG_0363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzDWaRl5vUsjAQPmxIx9WrSK3bEzp-FR2Mjc8gerpoX0rjyvZwaY2HECScpstoeJng3_ErE1Xvjpf9WV4o3IyUPy22UbH0xpvJATL6O6J124G_2mqEVO5dIk_EkCHv9D1S29qpTAagZd4/s1600/IMG_0363.JPG" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curtains that we had in a former apt that fit the guest bedroom window... sometimes you just have to use what fits. </td></tr>
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I spent the week fixing the cupboards -- repairing holes in the wall, removing layers of paint, muddying, sanding, taping, priming and finally painting. Most of the cupboard work is now complete, just waiting on shelves to be built for the front closet to make it more functional (the shelves previously were haphazardly nailed into the walls, rendering most of the space unusable).<br />
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Living room closet Before -- at time of original posting, closet had not been completed<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjISHCwYT_OT4IvSE3EXMukAmxauq-8y27kUy27PyVRdijTjsuU-efZYTzuc7I2kPUXK_mjWN2xvu8hfUplhw4TjjKTbW5JwX-oEPbQFCWTO3g2X0WE_PvXApQe4f30FSlhFubRV5RRp-U/s1600/IMG_0367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjISHCwYT_OT4IvSE3EXMukAmxauq-8y27kUy27PyVRdijTjsuU-efZYTzuc7I2kPUXK_mjWN2xvu8hfUplhw4TjjKTbW5JwX-oEPbQFCWTO3g2X0WE_PvXApQe4f30FSlhFubRV5RRp-U/s1600/IMG_0367.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQ4d9Qnx_DvZGYQjp4ErZARu4WSMKCvaYm8qVGTVTurN0nMR85PwOwqKcwH0ugEjnC243yuxYSeDgOWPkF5-IOqob5xRommBglNWTDK5G3BCa9ONJMZCeRfnQKhUneAkuH67_GHfy9Vk/s1600/IMG_0368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQ4d9Qnx_DvZGYQjp4ErZARu4WSMKCvaYm8qVGTVTurN0nMR85PwOwqKcwH0ugEjnC243yuxYSeDgOWPkF5-IOqob5xRommBglNWTDK5G3BCa9ONJMZCeRfnQKhUneAkuH67_GHfy9Vk/s1600/IMG_0368.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNlMIX2ajBqeCUzyAGJntoiWgiCLCUzyVCgjFMlzVRRASR7otPDHpU8hZpwQL7enOf4IE0QQwa9tvhZFuKbsgwML-hQ1tC27tEb3u5DivOjdKPgOUife2VXdFEnfq2xl7cDNFgjyNikc/s1600/IMG_0366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNlMIX2ajBqeCUzyAGJntoiWgiCLCUzyVCgjFMlzVRRASR7otPDHpU8hZpwQL7enOf4IE0QQwa9tvhZFuKbsgwML-hQ1tC27tEb3u5DivOjdKPgOUife2VXdFEnfq2xl7cDNFgjyNikc/s1600/IMG_0366.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a><br />
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Master Bedroom Closet #1 Before/After (Duckling card covered hole in the wall)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVUPguZZOys52xuxelSOXTzhddkcl3wfK8s7rpbvzH2oDy5Ey0jmcZV3AeqUW48FTlqR2_oLukC4AKda9R36G19H138W-UGAAtAizRQfOjY__V3tkwLoPCnHg9pNADcRZ9B2OYCdouTY/s1600/IMG_0372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVUPguZZOys52xuxelSOXTzhddkcl3wfK8s7rpbvzH2oDy5Ey0jmcZV3AeqUW48FTlqR2_oLukC4AKda9R36G19H138W-UGAAtAizRQfOjY__V3tkwLoPCnHg9pNADcRZ9B2OYCdouTY/s1600/IMG_0372.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSymDwgLW9Kd_kcaA4mP4q6x3IKy8aPTKIvwZeaSobvuZTbWN4MY35M2QfllJIyLPsIa3zDDg2JPINLmdvKwnuU-rgn479XO4a6QdD5rG5DxJzVAFB7P4FnpvzeNO3DMeU_v9ZlnBsIg4/s1600/IMG_0374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSymDwgLW9Kd_kcaA4mP4q6x3IKy8aPTKIvwZeaSobvuZTbWN4MY35M2QfllJIyLPsIa3zDDg2JPINLmdvKwnuU-rgn479XO4a6QdD5rG5DxJzVAFB7P4FnpvzeNO3DMeU_v9ZlnBsIg4/s1600/IMG_0374.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwPVd_RnnoiQ7ef9ZP_3C0qoASpQTjzo9g7Q-vZ4eo2f-ZmZTOqU4i7Oe4qLl7PlUbD8pcTcvT0TnbI-Jks0HAT9MEEj2OCM4hAqtK9y6T4vqOTEoq7NMijMWxBTdAAaTkL2TgrXqrSE/s1600/IMG_0378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwPVd_RnnoiQ7ef9ZP_3C0qoASpQTjzo9g7Q-vZ4eo2f-ZmZTOqU4i7Oe4qLl7PlUbD8pcTcvT0TnbI-Jks0HAT9MEEj2OCM4hAqtK9y6T4vqOTEoq7NMijMWxBTdAAaTkL2TgrXqrSE/s1600/IMG_0378.JPG" height="200" width="148" /></a><br />
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Master Bedroom Closet #2 Before/After<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TrPfkKtGfv-4AGfChaZRYzXEjdyx3kKoymM2af2JavU5xvClT496Bff1Z93_WjgVcjc2WuJjfRx-IJsUwCzGvpzdjjqIjkfZ7zAoCEV2EzxL2n_wpAsXSNp1PBtIVAduNJzlnIExN2c/s1600/IMG_0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TrPfkKtGfv-4AGfChaZRYzXEjdyx3kKoymM2af2JavU5xvClT496Bff1Z93_WjgVcjc2WuJjfRx-IJsUwCzGvpzdjjqIjkfZ7zAoCEV2EzxL2n_wpAsXSNp1PBtIVAduNJzlnIExN2c/s1600/IMG_0375.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWt3-w2Cu6EXGxuSFkA-Lg88bxjuEVyySGCGDgfB_5g81xP1NUJLMz70Vz0nkvpohd3VahwZdBgSJcKJVjrj4BRh9SD-jFjYITvwTw9cIVbDxOGKKEjDRlr2vJrq5nLOGore2zJTTW7J0/s1600/IMG_0380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWt3-w2Cu6EXGxuSFkA-Lg88bxjuEVyySGCGDgfB_5g81xP1NUJLMz70Vz0nkvpohd3VahwZdBgSJcKJVjrj4BRh9SD-jFjYITvwTw9cIVbDxOGKKEjDRlr2vJrq5nLOGore2zJTTW7J0/s1600/IMG_0380.JPG" height="200" width="148" /></a><br />
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Guest Bedroom Closet Before/After (most of the shelves in the house had decades old contact paper covering the boards)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumMZiS5a3aGw0r4W6qUI8UFyP8quSQqTsUYkBHBRV5m2s20VSJjOaEiX09wv86bFgAmMDihVvd_IH5SXslEbNbZIi1EFRezXyPn2sxFVb_6_QuPRYXwNrqxoARyhEqspcTwo1qJMJ-90/s1600/IMG_0369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumMZiS5a3aGw0r4W6qUI8UFyP8quSQqTsUYkBHBRV5m2s20VSJjOaEiX09wv86bFgAmMDihVvd_IH5SXslEbNbZIi1EFRezXyPn2sxFVb_6_QuPRYXwNrqxoARyhEqspcTwo1qJMJ-90/s1600/IMG_0369.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DsDSlSYpnDZZezWYJkqI18JX9wxJYuweE1MxR4zWF70j5FEMBMUpa7a_sNMRBo1nXUGUILk7MFLW-V4tdLduLb9ZcbeC3USHKTdRNxJuCexoOUemOVM1ERcabFcIElAcX6aF3ytw4gM/s1600/IMG_0370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DsDSlSYpnDZZezWYJkqI18JX9wxJYuweE1MxR4zWF70j5FEMBMUpa7a_sNMRBo1nXUGUILk7MFLW-V4tdLduLb9ZcbeC3USHKTdRNxJuCexoOUemOVM1ERcabFcIElAcX6aF3ytw4gM/s1600/IMG_0370.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0AHwxvR42xsqmNCqpAuhE_QTaLOu4oQ-vXewLkUwkJcGOq3uyG-zfDM0j7FjfGSybmMClW4hWg2voGWshlI7XKpbGoaBAuXi45tY8SMmiCwQO47LMqzvEIhQCHgVda_YoC2ocHw58CAY/s1600/IMG_0377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0AHwxvR42xsqmNCqpAuhE_QTaLOu4oQ-vXewLkUwkJcGOq3uyG-zfDM0j7FjfGSybmMClW4hWg2voGWshlI7XKpbGoaBAuXi45tY8SMmiCwQO47LMqzvEIhQCHgVda_YoC2ocHw58CAY/s1600/IMG_0377.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a><br />
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It took 4 days for me to break down and buy food for this place -- that long for me to decide that I actually live here now and that my trip here was not a quick stop on my way back home. Bittersweet feelings -- leaving our whole support network / starting something new.The current plan is to head back tomorrow to empty the apartment, hanger, etc and wrap up our dealings in Michigan.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-37221214678135142982014-05-12T10:34:00.000-04:002014-05-12T10:34:08.536-04:00GraduationThis past weekend was graduation. After 4 years of studying, many examinations, and hours of patient care in the clinics and hospital carefully watched/guided/nurtured by caring and compassionate physician educators... there is now an MD following my name from here on out.<br />
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This was not a single person endeavor. It was something that took the love and support of my dear husband, our dogs, and family and friends. Without these other people and things in our lives, I would not have made it through intact, whole, and stronger/more resilient for this experience. So thank you all for this support and encouragement, because while I enjoyed the vast majority of this experience... there were times that were hard emotionally/mentally/physically, things that I had to miss, and times I just needed to just "feel human" for a couple hours and the coffee nights, saunas, attending church, etc really helped with that. So thank you all!<br />
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On that note...<br />
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My family arrived Thursday night -- even grandma came with my parents and 2 sisters! It was so fun to visit with everyone in our home, and have company this last weekend that we live in this apartment.<br />
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The party Friday night was so fun. Thank you to all that attended this graduation / going away shindig. It was nice to visit with everyone that was there. It was so nice that even some of my out of town family could come -- 2 of Pete's sister's from MN came with 2 of my nieces, and a sister came en route to home from a business trip despite some airport frustrations!<br />
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And Saturday... I don't know how quite to describe the feeling of walking into a crowded stadium with the people filled with those that myself and my classmates all love to celebrate the attainment of our new title of Doctor. I thought I had prepared for this experience -- felt that my excitement had peaked around the time my diploma came in the mail with the ceremony was mere formality and something I should attend/do. But, was I ever wrong. I think the ceremony made me realize that 1) finishing medical school was an accomplishment, and 2) I did earn my MD and should not feel bad/ashamed about using it. There was definitely a part that belittled the work that I put into getting this degree, and had a hard time as recognizing myself as one of "the doctor's" -- I think the ceremony served to make me realize that I truly have earned this degree and that have joined the ranks of the others that have earned this title that have gone before me. And even the speeches were meaningful and sweet... not verbose, fluffy addresses without any substance.<br />
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And Sunday, Mother's day was relatively quiet. Family left real early, we got a start on the packing/moving that will be going down this week, and were able to meet my in-laws for ice cream, coffee, sauna in the evening.<br />
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All in all, a very nice weekend! So happy to be done! :)<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-2470391675784748042014-05-03T20:29:00.000-04:002014-05-05T09:29:52.527-04:00Well, after a long hiatus,,, I figured I better come back to the world of blogging. As some of you may, or may not know, Pete and I will soon be moving out of our apartment and into another old house in another state which we closed on yesterday! This one is considerably newer -- 100 years newer, in fact -- than the last house. But, an 86 year old house... is still an old house, and so I figured I could again blog from time to time on this site without feeling like the blog title was deceptive!<br />
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This house is in considerably better shape, with no projects at the present that "have" to be done... that being said, we have started a to-do list of projects that we would like done in the future. Most of the house has been really nicely re-done, and it will be an easy place to live. But like our other house... features in the bones of the house remind us of its age... the metal mail slot to the left of the main door, the plaster walls on the main level, knob and tube wiring evident in the attic (which appears to be disconnected from the main electrical supply to the house - not pictured below), old doors in the basement, an old ceramic laundry sink. Things that are still functional and perfectly useful, but remind us that the house is no spring chicken! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpkuBwwDHOsNHqsB2RLuIUw_UcRRHmEEghyphenhyphenEYlfWRAmrnZd2yv5YnUKKkdl3LzCrsc1wDE4TKwDdiDdfrOCFMc7r-iLhOpeAsZNprDPA16HllRYydWXGoZeTHPFvdpr1Ox9RECITLYAM/s1600/IMG_0344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpkuBwwDHOsNHqsB2RLuIUw_UcRRHmEEghyphenhyphenEYlfWRAmrnZd2yv5YnUKKkdl3LzCrsc1wDE4TKwDdiDdfrOCFMc7r-iLhOpeAsZNprDPA16HllRYydWXGoZeTHPFvdpr1Ox9RECITLYAM/s1600/IMG_0344.JPG" height="200" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLg_-Ehn3M7_gHIlTkAfY-T3u7T0AUNcGc3P-4vTEXfbofuk-ZKf-TcjgjPZSYDPhpqNlqPHp9Ke0u1RMagv3L9xgONQ82ogihQrRA5pi0eyEiAyh3M4OEPPNYvxS4B_Zf7OQUvdY1jI/s1600/IMG_0318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLg_-Ehn3M7_gHIlTkAfY-T3u7T0AUNcGc3P-4vTEXfbofuk-ZKf-TcjgjPZSYDPhpqNlqPHp9Ke0u1RMagv3L9xgONQ82ogihQrRA5pi0eyEiAyh3M4OEPPNYvxS4B_Zf7OQUvdY1jI/s1600/IMG_0318.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3mj9EdEySXqTAsmQM09EDDpq_TCT50yF1TnDMGi7152vxb7A3Gzq3QdGJhn6DLUwjt31QlXjA2UQLlvi_cbvqx3T4MCDW4sSl5pBIFICsQ114vF0eAO0GNlLTpe-X5kvnpGUmntzW6w/s1600/IMG_0328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3mj9EdEySXqTAsmQM09EDDpq_TCT50yF1TnDMGi7152vxb7A3Gzq3QdGJhn6DLUwjt31QlXjA2UQLlvi_cbvqx3T4MCDW4sSl5pBIFICsQ114vF0eAO0GNlLTpe-X5kvnpGUmntzW6w/s1600/IMG_0328.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a></div>
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The interior all looks pretty similar to the picture of the living room below. Tastefully decorated, well maintained, nice and functional. The floors are predominantly hardwood on the main level. The rooms are cozy -- like the bathroom below, but should suit our lifestyle perfectly for the next 5 or so years while I do residency.<br />
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This is Amelia, our only dog at the present. She is about 10 months old, still definitely a puppy. </div>
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I will post more pictures of the place in the future... but in the meantime, I'm back! :) This is the beginning to the next part of this adventure!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-27232656584988335322012-10-23T16:50:00.002-04:002012-10-23T16:56:53.008-04:00And... that's all folks!We listed our house in September, received an offer during the first week the house was on the market... And today, Pete closed on our house (I gave Pete Power of Attorney to sign documents on my behalf as I had difficulty getting time off due to a crazy school schedule). We are done with this project, and are back to being very mobile -- with only the commitment of an apartment contract to hold us to the area. [That being said, we still have significant interest in this area -- church, friends, family, a job that Pete enjoys... just no longer physical ties to this region.]<br />
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We went there for the last time last week to pick up the last few remaining items in the house -- a bed and desk my grandpa had made me long ago. I had a few tears -- mostly for the life and wonderful memories that we had there: hanging out in front of the fire on chilly afternoons, having friends/family over, planting things each spring and watching green things grow from the ground (mostly weeds, I will admit -- but proud of my few flowers that came up), among other things. But leaving reminds me of something Pete said multiple times when we moved in: A house this old is never completely your own... you just get to take care of it for a little while. <br />
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The apartment suits our life for now -- its easy, low maintenance, and allows us to be mobile -- something that will be desirable when I apply to residency programs in a year. But, its a strange feeling downsizing/regressing in our adult life from a settled life involving a 5-bedroom, 2-car garage house on 2.something acres and most meals being fairly homemade... to a 1 bedroom apartment with most meals being convenience foods (cold cereal, prepackaged salads, etc). However, I am thankful for our current living situation and for having an understanding/supportive spouse as it allows me to pursue my goal of becoming a doctor, and focus on my learning/school right now.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRqk-7DvOct3YA8VwxmpUoVkiWri-oj6gCe7CxxLFTwS7Z3deUwo894ZQPLBSnM4CAEHHztyi0nbNWmw4H7d7oVgdh7FWeGI-XT2HhgVQn1jvxZ7l-CmYEzALImIGBXDXaFijGKWIWts/s1600/fall+2012+130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRqk-7DvOct3YA8VwxmpUoVkiWri-oj6gCe7CxxLFTwS7Z3deUwo894ZQPLBSnM4CAEHHztyi0nbNWmw4H7d7oVgdh7FWeGI-XT2HhgVQn1jvxZ7l-CmYEzALImIGBXDXaFijGKWIWts/s320/fall+2012+130.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mortise and tenon joints... I will miss these reminders that our house was unique and old.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete moving the last of the bedframe my Grandpa made me from the 3rd floor.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I will miss this magnificent magnolia and its plate sized leaves in all seasons. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back... leaving the house for the last time.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One final good-bye, and "Congrats" balloon for the new owner. </td></tr>
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I had opportunity to meet the new owner a few weeks ago when my mom and sister came to town to help us move a few more things from the place. A middle-aged man with a teenage daughter. I am pleased that he is interested in the history of the house and details of the house. I hope it serves them well.<br />
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Eta: I am not yet done with the blog. Though it did start out as a way to chronicle the progress of our house projects... it became a way to share what has been going on with our life... and I am not yet sure I am ready to give it up. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-11330903089421906092012-10-08T07:22:00.003-04:002012-10-08T07:23:54.725-04:00Tourist in my own town<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This past weekend, my mom and sister came to visit me. It was so much
fun to see them again -- and I totally enjoyed the time we spent
together. The weekend was action packed... we did things such as explore
the capitol, tour a local town and visit all the gifty-type shops that
Pete won't tour with me, went on an airplane ride, emptied the house of furniture and belongings, visited with my aunt
and uncle, went out to eat a couple times -- including once for pie, had cider and
doughnuts from a local cider mill, among other things. It was fun --
and I believe they had a good time too! But today, its back to reality and I am sad to see them go! </div>
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A few pics from the weekend (photo credits: my sister Emma): </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-83432716494953082342012-09-15T15:28:00.000-04:002012-09-20T18:54:12.913-04:00Another sacrificeSo, I have not updated in a while... but I feel compelled to do so this afternoon. Med school IS a lot of sacrifice.<br />
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Sometimes the sacrifices are easier than others, for example giving up weekends and evening to studying some really interesting things. Spending evenings in the hospital evaluating new patients and trying to understand what's the cause for their current symptoms and complaints. <br />
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Sometimes, the sacrifices are not so easy -- such as this weekend; I missed my sister's wedding because of a required school activity yesterday and a combination of other factors (lack of commercial flights that met my schedule requirements, it takes too long to get between here/there to drive, and weather was not cooperating to allow Pete to fly us out there). Even though I knew of this possibility from the beginning when the date was set... I guess I had my heart set on going and just *knew* that somehow I would get out there and be present at the activities of yesterday and today. But, that was not to be and instead, I spent the last 3 days tearful and disappointed. And though this sacrifice may seem trivial or silly to some, to me... there is no place I would rather be this afternoon than being part of the activities surrounding the wedding. Instead, here I sit too many miles away typing, studying, and trying to keep my mind occupied to avoid thinking about what all I am missing. And, I know this probably won't be the last time I feel this way over missing something.<br />
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Don't get me wrong... I usually love what it is that I do each day. I am privileged to hear the stories of many, and get to be part of their healing. I am fortunate to be entering a career with multiple avenues so that no matter what I go into -- I can always try something new if I get bored (ex. teach, research, patient care, etc.). And, there will always be something to learn.<br />
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On a side note, I have finished psych and am now in my internal medicine clerkship. I am learning the foundation of medicine right now. It is so fascinating and most everything I learned my first two years gets used daily. It is, however, a lot of work. I spend M-F from 6:30/7:00 AM - 4:30 PM in the hospital each day + 6:30/7:00 AM - noonish 1 weekend day most weekends + one day each week in the hospital until 11:00 PM. I come home exhausted, and puzzled by the patients that I have seen and spend hours looking up causes/differentials/treatments/etc. so that the next day I am a bit smarter and know a bit more about what's going on. On top of this, I study and complete assignments.<br />
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My mom and youngest sister are coming out here in a few weeks. I am excited to see them. They have never seen where we currently live (post move from the house), so it will be fun to show them around the area.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-56216807704519813512012-08-24T14:19:00.003-04:002012-10-23T16:51:09.660-04:00"Normal" WeekendToday (with any luck -- we find out exam scores in 10 days) I finished my first rotation/clerkship in medical school -- 8 weeks devoted to learning about psychiatry, seeing patients (along with physicians and residents), and even occasionally attending the patient therapy sessions to learn about what goes on while patients attend these groups. While I can't say that I am an expert in psychiatry, I can say that my understanding and appreciation of psychiatric conditions and addictions improved greatly during this 8 week clerkship.<br />
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That being said... I now have 2 days off before I start my next adventure (internal medicine). It feels great to have a "normal" weekend -- a weekend where I have nothing to study and I get to wear "normal" clothes for a change (and comfy shoes)! I am looking forward to having this time to do "normal" summer things -- like maybe visit a beach and enjoy the outdoors (provided the weather holds out)! :) Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-3309849604914250992012-07-22T22:23:00.002-04:002012-10-23T16:51:41.268-04:00Biking around town/catch upThis past weekend, Pete and I had planned for a day trip to Mackinac Island -- however, the forecast did not hold out for this plan. So instead we made a short flight to a local tourist town for a good lunch (chicken dinner), some window shopping, and a 4-5 mile bike ride. It was a good day.<br />
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The bikes that we rode are collapsible bikes, borrowed from one of Pete's coworkers. Boy, are they slick! It made the trek into town (2-2.5 miles each way) much easier, especially since Pete's feet hurt if we walk long distances.<br />
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Outside of this little jaunt, we have mostly been keeping on keeping on.<br />
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School has started again for me -- this keeps me entertained. I spend my days at the hospital -- seeing patients as part of a team and learning the clinical part of medicine. I spend evenings reading/studying, or catching up on the day-to-day household stuff. The transition to the clinical part of medical school has been interesting, exhausting, and integrates all I've learned the first 2 years of medical school. I am really enjoying it! :)<br />
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Pete's sister and brother in law stopped by this evening -- we met at the hangar. So fun to catch up, and see family again. Pete was able to give rides to their two oldest who missed their turn at the Flying Finns tourney -- he had a good time doing this, and they seemed to enjoy their ride! :)<br />
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Anyway, happy summer!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-92041766492960687452012-06-24T20:32:00.000-04:002012-10-23T16:57:29.506-04:00Camping at Beaver Island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This past weekend, Pete and I went to Beaver Island to go camping. We were surprised by the hospitality shown by the islanders, enjoyed
the beautiful island views and small town feeling of the place. We
definitely would like to go back in the future for a longer period of
time and would take our bikes -- there are many miles of nice bike
trails that would have been fun to explore! </div>
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The campground was really reasonable -- $5 a night. Plenty of wood around to burn -- either found in the woods, or dropped off by people to burn (at some of the campsites -- looked like left over building scrap). The sites were really nice too -- private, quiet. I was very impressed. </div>
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First sights of Beaver Island ~ Michigan's Emerald Isle. <br />
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One of the biking paths -- comfortably fits 2-3 bikers across (you can approximate the size by my dog who is ~6-8" across). <br />
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Mainstreet -- looking at the historical museum staffed by volunteers. One of the more unusual museums I have visited -- even the items have stories of how they arrived at the museum and the descriptions give you a glimpse at the stories of the people behind these donations. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The marina.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Through the campfire smoke... overlooking the lake. </td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-70960930499369205972012-05-28T17:56:00.000-04:002012-05-28T17:56:18.578-04:00Welcome to Summer! :)This past weekend, Pete and I made our first long trip -- home to MN to see family! It cut the trip in half -- even with fairly frequent stops! And... along the way we got to see some pretty neat scenery. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqOBv7NsLPORXl95PpPZw-4wZRt_7q6mpB4goEMLjHRmPuGTqbxoogVvgQk4Ihn0ZAnXzcqn6_gamtax-1ioBcQOdmyB4BIWN0noduM80Y3MIY5Q8Wyzf6vR2aYJS5MD2P8lK-q8H_N-U/s1600/Spring+2012+134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqOBv7NsLPORXl95PpPZw-4wZRt_7q6mpB4goEMLjHRmPuGTqbxoogVvgQk4Ihn0ZAnXzcqn6_gamtax-1ioBcQOdmyB4BIWN0noduM80Y3MIY5Q8Wyzf6vR2aYJS5MD2P8lK-q8H_N-U/s320/Spring+2012+134.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div>
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A Steel Mill - Gary, Indiana; something I found remarkable -- you can see the smoke settle along I-94, essentially forming a band directly above the highway. </div>
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Chicago-- absolutely amazing flying through/over Navy Pier at 2000 feet through the VFR corridor. We had to talk to O'Hare traffic control while traveling through this area, and were able to see big jets go above us and other little planes around us. A really neat experience! Also, we could see the backed up traffic from Chicago rush hour and I was reminded that we never would have been able to go out there for this last minute weekend trip had it not been for the ability to fly out there. It cut the travel time in about 1/2 even with frequent stops.<br />
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Welcoming committee at the airport. This pic is a bit blurry, but makes me smile. Never have we ever had such a crew out to watch us land! :) It was so fun to see everyone both at the airport and at a little party at Mindy's afterward! :)<br />
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Outside of the gathering at Mindy's where we got to see family and friends, while in Minnesota...<br />
<ul>
<li>I went shopping with my mom and sister's to find a few new shirts for school (and make use of the no sales tax on clothing).</li>
<li>Visited with most of my maternal aunts/uncles after a wedding.</li>
<li>Went boating and water skiing on the below lake until the skies turned dark and twisting with fingers coming down from the clouds (and yes, tornado sirens were going off.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnK1SXLRdqvMT0MV22MRiDvG6auyx7yU_F0JGXlIJubCnvHNx-YhENzathXTSwFUoXPUECBvOyNowz3JLDZzcBLUeVqSjGxJdqzF7PQnVs7ZtlRCpSgqbwXsaTq4qtxUvwf2BQ4JddBCY/s1600/Spring+2012+313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnK1SXLRdqvMT0MV22MRiDvG6auyx7yU_F0JGXlIJubCnvHNx-YhENzathXTSwFUoXPUECBvOyNowz3JLDZzcBLUeVqSjGxJdqzF7PQnVs7ZtlRCpSgqbwXsaTq4qtxUvwf2BQ4JddBCY/s320/Spring+2012+313.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li>Had my first grilled hamburger of summer at a cookout at my mom and dad's (along with all the sides -- scrumptious watermelon, baked beans, chips, among other good food). </li>
<li>Did a lot of visiting, and even managed to get some studying in.</li>
<li>And Pete was able to share his hobby of flying with a few more people (i.e. he gave a few airplane rides to my siblings, parents and his brother). </li>
</ul>
It was a very fun weekend and great way to kick off summer! :) But, now it feels good to be home, be unpacked, and ready to return to some serious studying for the next couple weeks. Wishing all the best to you and yours! :) <br />
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A few more pics of Chicago (for good measure) -- taken on the way home.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aXeii1uH0M7Imdmh3cXygU5tIwP34olRx3JA9Dfml9wbYqxWJgn2eVU3Qo8NB0MCzV63ECa5ZO-5PuUOz1H-hG8LkFFBqMF0Hpra6WmDXbgUAwCw4wWYajmAnMUuDVoWQOhCX5d5oOw/s1600/Spring+2012+428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aXeii1uH0M7Imdmh3cXygU5tIwP34olRx3JA9Dfml9wbYqxWJgn2eVU3Qo8NB0MCzV63ECa5ZO-5PuUOz1H-hG8LkFFBqMF0Hpra6WmDXbgUAwCw4wWYajmAnMUuDVoWQOhCX5d5oOw/s320/Spring+2012+428.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-12990282424560481362012-04-07T11:12:00.000-04:002012-04-07T11:12:28.438-04:00Weekend updateIt looks like I am not going to be able to do this newest photo challenge~ somehow, as boards creep closer (about 2 months from now -- Jun 18th)... my time seems to be less and less in conjunction with studying and required activities. I have been told that this time limitation only gets worse next year -- but, oddly I am looking forward to that. Third year is spent in the hospitals and clinics. It involves some rotations requiring 24 hour call, overnight call, and coming in on the weekends. I am looking forward to applying all that I have learned these last 2 years in the care of patients, and learning more about many areas of medicine... despite having a crazy schedule.<br />
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Last night, I shadowed in the Emergency Department. I felt like I was able to help the doctors with a few things (like removing patient bandages, handing equipment, etc. nothing major) and in the process learn something about Emergency Medicine and review stuff I should already know. It was a lot of fun, and reminded me of why I want to be a doctor -- to help people, solve puzzles, and never be bored.<br />
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So, here is my weekend: Friday night shadowing. Going to try on short white coats today, so that they can be ordered and ready before I start 3rd year at the end of June. Hopefully, getting the chance to go to church tomorrow (Easter). And interspersed... getting a LOT of studying done. T-9 days and counting until my next big exam where I regurgitate all I know about metabolism, nutrition, hormone disorders, and reproduction.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-22221455787981143552012-04-01T15:32:00.002-04:002012-04-01T20:51:16.814-04:0030 Day Photo Challenge - Catch Up, Days 25&26About a week ago -- I had a killer exam, a 3-hour test on everything I need to know about the cardiovascular system to do well on boards and get me started next year when I am in the hospital. For me, this was probably my most difficult exam of the year -- both because I studied less for it/had more of a life during this domain and there was a lot of content. Most of the content was of the teach yourself variety as the school is trying to push us towards figuring out what we need to learn, rather than spoon feeding us material in the form of lectures... because once we get into the clinics it will be up to us to review/learn in order to best serve our patients. But, I did well on the test and can now move on to the next subject: metabolic, endocrine and reproductive disorders.<br />
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I feel like I am still in some sort of fog and recovering from this test, and so I have not posted pictures. That being said, this week was pretty busy: Monday evening I went to a shower & visited friends (a very rare treat!), Tuesday night I went to my sister-in-law's soccer game and had dinner with family, Wednesday I spent cleaning the apartment & doing laundry so it looks a little less like a college bachelor pad, and Thursday until now... I spent in yoga pants and long-sleeved T reading up on women's hormones... BTW -- it is so amazing that we are all here. How can one not marvel at the miracle of life!<br />
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Day 25 - Sunflare - Last Sunday's beautiful weather!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIWzXyL93Xbj2hzmAsxg6HugCQVagsJ7RRxi5d8m280BQPab_VAEar1EdTx-38ea1NS2odhW8tYjbEAi9T9UpmmD4gU8-p2DLesdOuTJeir5W7-t8eCcwqejgaDobuZmIn2hhrviFgA8/s1600/Winter+2012+012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIWzXyL93Xbj2hzmAsxg6HugCQVagsJ7RRxi5d8m280BQPab_VAEar1EdTx-38ea1NS2odhW8tYjbEAi9T9UpmmD4gU8-p2DLesdOuTJeir5W7-t8eCcwqejgaDobuZmIn2hhrviFgA8/s320/Winter+2012+012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Day 26: Something old. Pete and I picked up a bin (I think 31) of these old books from the 40's for $5 at a garage sale for the day when we build - built-in bookshelves in the recesses next to the fireplace.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ahhCwGY1S3h2BWVUThuSt-F3_qKuDqhmq5OY8pp7eIcr2ll50hqckQ5ksR7YVnXmbAOx09GTWIuVJzDJKJEqF3Ak8OsSmAUDiH45A-kb51IyKei9w93xtJSwkFz-6A7OMgfs0R1brYk/s1600/Winter+2012+021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ahhCwGY1S3h2BWVUThuSt-F3_qKuDqhmq5OY8pp7eIcr2ll50hqckQ5ksR7YVnXmbAOx09GTWIuVJzDJKJEqF3Ak8OsSmAUDiH45A-kb51IyKei9w93xtJSwkFz-6A7OMgfs0R1brYk/s320/Winter+2012+021.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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I will post the rest of the pictures later. Until then, take care!</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-37875311487380426772012-03-24T18:32:00.001-04:002012-03-24T18:56:35.220-04:0030 Day Photo Challenge: Day 24<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And while Pete & I did go visiting last night to Grandma & Grandpa K's, and also saw Pete's parents + younger sibs, and Mindy & Aaron + kids... I forgot to grab a picture while we were there. It was a fun night -- but today's back to the studying hard. I took a bit too much time off from studying this domain, and am playing catch-up this weekend in hopes of doing well on Monday's 3 hour exam! (We have 1 exam each 3-4 week class!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCycFZSLLLXNHxGWXPlgLwLhILotf3WSsiWBZOCOLp011IAfHfkk6oTbqv-RdXvRGJIdDosYzX90Ip6pRoS4krsAumC3AeWzF8FaDsm7NfxNvMECU3SQkGdIsiPV691PqMRihJ-Bz7qY/s1600/Winter+2012+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCycFZSLLLXNHxGWXPlgLwLhILotf3WSsiWBZOCOLp011IAfHfkk6oTbqv-RdXvRGJIdDosYzX90Ip6pRoS4krsAumC3AeWzF8FaDsm7NfxNvMECU3SQkGdIsiPV691PqMRihJ-Bz7qY/s320/Winter+2012+004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>So, today's photo challenge: A smile. Pretty sure this counts ~ this is my happy dog on our walk this evening. And yes... our grass is this green (you can also see that it's been misting today -- the grass is pretty wet)! His happiest 2 minutes each day are between the end of the walk and mealtime.<br />
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On another note: I really am liking this springtime weather!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-44765987049568097822012-03-23T13:51:00.003-04:002012-03-24T01:53:35.920-04:0030 Day Photo Challlenge: Day 23As last night was rainy, I did not get a picture of the sunset... and since tonight does not look promising, I figured I would take a trip through the picture archives...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8itSyB4Fo292dKWgnr4OsQb7IcU5Mw6Xu889nfJpAlucX9PuNTA1-DRUgZaQgy1KmdZLUaObDerK44idVrfP744QEhs71A1FSvVTamz-vytDOFCYa3dWbJH1xZ0FMHTB6ELWJyIJ_BM/s1600/2010.07.17+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8itSyB4Fo292dKWgnr4OsQb7IcU5Mw6Xu889nfJpAlucX9PuNTA1-DRUgZaQgy1KmdZLUaObDerK44idVrfP744QEhs71A1FSvVTamz-vytDOFCYa3dWbJH1xZ0FMHTB6ELWJyIJ_BM/s320/2010.07.17+010.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Sunset over Lake Michigan - D family camping. Probably my best picture of the sun slipping slowly beneath the horizon. No matter where you are... sunset is a beautiful event, and I don't think I have seen 2 that look identical yet! :) <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVR3dIC-8W-Q5zk5F5WN0EdSlcvgGGfpcFvaP1W-32ats4MoN867897LldVBb09l6CXPilIHiT6Sem5v8a2DdJHn3YKxEMlrFWwe5TYTR87neRS1LGCIfDb3unsvRFFiNZUn42wOHAwGE/s1600/China+188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVR3dIC-8W-Q5zk5F5WN0EdSlcvgGGfpcFvaP1W-32ats4MoN867897LldVBb09l6CXPilIHiT6Sem5v8a2DdJHn3YKxEMlrFWwe5TYTR87neRS1LGCIfDb3unsvRFFiNZUn42wOHAwGE/s200/China+188.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWW5j_xdPhMMqrZk4OhjuK_tLCpd2U7YedLQmhouZsD9racefHTJNopMP7C1GyZhnMN5-0OIDcR0eF4TAUegabZJsmWLTMR1h8fIFOMssDnb_DlFBvG6jHHPL2kVuvwo0_TAABZXdVM94/s1600/China+210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWW5j_xdPhMMqrZk4OhjuK_tLCpd2U7YedLQmhouZsD9racefHTJNopMP7C1GyZhnMN5-0OIDcR0eF4TAUegabZJsmWLTMR1h8fIFOMssDnb_DlFBvG6jHHPL2kVuvwo0_TAABZXdVM94/s320/China+210.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Sunset over canals in Venice, Italy. This was probably one of the most picturesque places I have ever been. The buildings are old -- much older than buildings in the US, and the multitude of bridges and crazy sidewalks keeps navigating around the place interesting. Motorized travel around Venice is by boat and you get to feed the birds! Fun place to visit! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZG3n9fNtnKf6WzpOLZDxBzTP9nGaknGgkf6IzgZGaB6lCJ4vD7lwcl_4hFFb1zpqWh92QjeTrUSRraVlySx5fGlqWtJjxbKVGz4t1E1NZ_g8VlBnPUYPtTNB11SnA0N6hVf89U-sQlhA/s1600/China+641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZG3n9fNtnKf6WzpOLZDxBzTP9nGaknGgkf6IzgZGaB6lCJ4vD7lwcl_4hFFb1zpqWh92QjeTrUSRraVlySx5fGlqWtJjxbKVGz4t1E1NZ_g8VlBnPUYPtTNB11SnA0N6hVf89U-sQlhA/s320/China+641.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Sunset over Beijing, China. We were in Beijing about 2 weeks before the 2008 Summer Olympics. The weather there was warm and muggy (so the sunset is not so brilliant). Really neat to watch the Bird's Nest (pictured above), and other places in the city ready themselves for the games and foreign tourists. I would go back to China in a heartbeat to visit -- great food, nice people, and we were able to find enough people who spoke English making travel about the country relatively easy.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-28032477109888570532012-03-22T08:29:00.000-04:002012-03-22T08:29:43.327-04:0030 Day Photo Challenge: Day 22<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZOC_vZ9sUpgSVnIHgzmiDExzsZpU1LufeI61EVGkS9mMes6IyJPlYwvzh0hHq96Q-KnNzVkBuxonqPriBWkqCL2mbk07KVih4Ptw-P7L78YJLLdkGLYiy2335_pOp9IMcTSU1MxGFhI/s1600/Winter+2012+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZOC_vZ9sUpgSVnIHgzmiDExzsZpU1LufeI61EVGkS9mMes6IyJPlYwvzh0hHq96Q-KnNzVkBuxonqPriBWkqCL2mbk07KVih4Ptw-P7L78YJLLdkGLYiy2335_pOp9IMcTSU1MxGFhI/s320/Winter+2012+002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>My view this morning -- sun coming up over the trees. It's going to be another beautiful summer-like day; I plan on being outside and enjoying it!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-33507876550313710472012-03-21T20:12:00.001-04:002012-03-21T23:35:18.662-04:0030 Day Photo Challege: Days 19-21<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRrojp7GQKTqyeM8SPO01HcZZo561LXpZ6PLfi5k89g-PzIxJ9gT9so6jVDXnnOhWQB8g74UBmknbrp8U1Og1ILPSldV9qdrpHBmcYjfJ-fViBx7Iushx_9AvcDWnjQdUV-LYMksjQhA/s1600/Flying+-+2012+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRrojp7GQKTqyeM8SPO01HcZZo561LXpZ6PLfi5k89g-PzIxJ9gT9so6jVDXnnOhWQB8g74UBmknbrp8U1Og1ILPSldV9qdrpHBmcYjfJ-fViBx7Iushx_9AvcDWnjQdUV-LYMksjQhA/s320/Flying+-+2012+011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyR-cC77c2QllgT6DfsrW-UgKYlUJeg6pNq0J3GvCxJz7TpjdYe1m_X5sVrOhiAccDduklI6J7QFKe3BHorRZ4zdL7vvVpqObm4m1aHjeYNEk1iywVwZNrqCDj0Vuj-5cdD2_QC6yrwLk/s1600/Flying+-+2012+013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyR-cC77c2QllgT6DfsrW-UgKYlUJeg6pNq0J3GvCxJz7TpjdYe1m_X5sVrOhiAccDduklI6J7QFKe3BHorRZ4zdL7vvVpqObm4m1aHjeYNEk1iywVwZNrqCDj0Vuj-5cdD2_QC6yrwLk/s320/Flying+-+2012+013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Today we were able to take the plane out and just around the area... certainly looks like summer!<br />
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In addition to Pete getting a plane Monday, I had to have a breast biopsy. Today's a great day -- not only is the weather good, but I found out the results & I do not have cancer. All the same, it was scary to be told that I needed a biopsy and it was not the least painful thing I have ever done.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJJQOWYiBNTs7CU9ggOyU045utGCvQ3dD7yd6YjXHRxsLFkueoxn6QdtDf0F5OhiIb974V-WGNyqkf2vWjX6xIzgPBi4N4oh7px6NoVyhded5dT8aK9Jpuq5sYqj0XIkdV-8cMcH-xDg/s1600/Winter+2012+021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJJQOWYiBNTs7CU9ggOyU045utGCvQ3dD7yd6YjXHRxsLFkueoxn6QdtDf0F5OhiIb974V-WGNyqkf2vWjX6xIzgPBi4N4oh7px6NoVyhded5dT8aK9Jpuq5sYqj0XIkdV-8cMcH-xDg/s320/Winter+2012+021.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Following my biopsy, I came home and napped here on the couch (Day 19: where I slept) -- following strict instructions to not clean, vacuum, lift anything, or move too much.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMxMtKgeDs103lu66nsQpNC6HsI73aa5yqqu4nrtMAb2-L5gnmPNaI31Ko3U9gU1Q7VIZuj7gXC_tApRtnRKjes_V1m-txRluKl2h9M0lYw0_kPakWwO5PBmZnh6zUzpXVz6ylInacKA/s1600/Winter+2012+039.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMxMtKgeDs103lu66nsQpNC6HsI73aa5yqqu4nrtMAb2-L5gnmPNaI31Ko3U9gU1Q7VIZuj7gXC_tApRtnRKjes_V1m-txRluKl2h9M0lYw0_kPakWwO5PBmZnh6zUzpXVz6ylInacKA/s320/Winter+2012+039.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>These are the books that I am reading (Day 20). Unfortunately, school leaves little time for much recreational reading during the semester. As for "recreational reading", I did get through the Breast Health pamphlet as well as the pathology report (top document) -- not so exciting reads, but important all the same. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_x8Rt-flPD6JM6dnh-DeNMmapyOXqDzaKqRTU5_Kh7Q9A1wJbRXkAg5DgVCx1xb6GzKvutln4LdoY5x61WosrB2B1KSY4_CNq9Xfr2AJkN7HDBbhhJ0VmNEanbfF2neAB89IqBFcLAek/s1600/Winter+2012+045.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_x8Rt-flPD6JM6dnh-DeNMmapyOXqDzaKqRTU5_Kh7Q9A1wJbRXkAg5DgVCx1xb6GzKvutln4LdoY5x61WosrB2B1KSY4_CNq9Xfr2AJkN7HDBbhhJ0VmNEanbfF2neAB89IqBFcLAek/s320/Winter+2012+045.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And... today's pretty pattern: the top of the tea box we got from China (contains a wonderful loose leaf fruit tea and unfurling flower jasmine tea). I like this pattern, and today especially -- with all the sunshine, the box seems to glow. One thing that I found interesting when traveling over there, packaging matters almost as much as the product itself. We have a beautiful wood box (in storage) that contains the glass figurine of the Great Wall of China, and a nice patterned box containing my tea set.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-54903572756829641872012-03-19T21:00:00.000-04:002012-03-19T21:00:57.853-04:00Interrupting the regularly scheduling program... Pete got his plane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepSWXa7btI5mjqSS8RO-VJCbgOFK35ll4fQZIejf0nPDJ2lk3L5CFVIV5LxEkQmNaNgM_rdF7FYgGCFJNCfjv06QcrQ-bx8sW5LnFSv9ImoCNJNIdMan7VfsfDVq0ee7K7ph-QAV3FM8/s1600/Winter+2012+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepSWXa7btI5mjqSS8RO-VJCbgOFK35ll4fQZIejf0nPDJ2lk3L5CFVIV5LxEkQmNaNgM_rdF7FYgGCFJNCfjv06QcrQ-bx8sW5LnFSv9ImoCNJNIdMan7VfsfDVq0ee7K7ph-QAV3FM8/s320/Winter+2012+011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Pete got his plane today! Kind of exciting news for the two of us! It is housed at the airport (in a hanger). I imagine that we will be spending some time here -- enjoying the outdoors, watching planes take off, and also taking off ourselves to explore the skies!<br />
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This makes many places all that much closer -- and with seats that are nice and cushy, and an interior wide enough for both of us to have elbow room... I really am looking forward to flying with him!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-17188434002529087372012-03-18T18:50:00.005-04:002012-03-19T21:05:58.173-04:0030 Day Photo Challenge: Day 18My bags are boring (at least to me); the contents were previously photographed in the <a href="http://heidisoldhouse.blogspot.com/2012/03/30-day-photo-challenge-days-7-11.html">Day 7-11 challenge.</a> <br />
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My bookbag contents vary daily (and often hourly) -- but contain a mixture of laptop, current coarsepack(s), Robbins (the 9 lb book of pathology, per bathroom scale, that feels like 25 lb), First Aid (the book used to study for boards), Pathoma (a pathology review book), and some special text for whatever unit we are studying (currently -- Lilly cardiology). It also contains a wallet, keys, cell phone, Excedrin and Ibuprofen, highlighters, pens, and a calculator. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsln78Y6TyPTwFOrp1jhamqwalVAWrmt7xxLFYjvHSWeIeiq7WpJjG1stK_iTw9YgiJtHaX33yicO1qYFNXZWYE9EHs25GfRAWEzJXS0kBr-BTO-GtbvYg5NQxTqNgLUTVOcasGw3_wM/s1600/Winter+2012+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsln78Y6TyPTwFOrp1jhamqwalVAWrmt7xxLFYjvHSWeIeiq7WpJjG1stK_iTw9YgiJtHaX33yicO1qYFNXZWYE9EHs25GfRAWEzJXS0kBr-BTO-GtbvYg5NQxTqNgLUTVOcasGw3_wM/s200/Winter+2012+004.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznG84LT-qi2Ns_89SDKw20MlX-r7rFxTmmlvGGidxz37r6FEJDGpf-B52m_tAEsDc554rv5ENKIPA5328gXVJp52b5kOgHUjnGql4h7FhQTmX6frXGgPhGOT59hogSVzu_c8ruaAZcXU/s1600/Winter+2012+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznG84LT-qi2Ns_89SDKw20MlX-r7rFxTmmlvGGidxz37r6FEJDGpf-B52m_tAEsDc554rv5ENKIPA5328gXVJp52b5kOgHUjnGql4h7FhQTmX6frXGgPhGOT59hogSVzu_c8ruaAZcXU/s200/Winter+2012+007.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
My clinical skills bag contains my clinical skills equipment: stethascope, flashlight, reflex hammer, tuning fork, opthalmoscope/otoscope (thing used to look in the eyes, and the thing used to look in the ears), otoscope tips (those black things that are put on the otoscope before looking in ears), my blood pressure cuffs, a watch, a pen, and an assortment of papers. On days that I have clinical skills -- it will also contain my white coat, and perhaps a change of clothes.<br />
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I don't carry a purse as that's just one more thing to think about -- and place to forget the wallet, keys, cell phone etc. To non-school places (like the grocery store, church), I hand carry my wallet, keys and cell phone; or stuff these items into whatever pocket I can find.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-38844470678969260582012-03-17T11:20:00.002-04:002012-03-17T16:28:05.714-04:0030 Day Photo Challenge: Day 17Today's challenge was to take a photo of a shelf. Outside of bookshelves and flat surfaces doubling as shelves containing many books, the only shelf in my house contains tea -- a storage shelf above the sink in the kitchen. We have so many books -- filling 4 bookshelves and a few large storage containers in the basement.<br />
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In lieu of posting these photos, I re-interpreted the challenge as "collections". I do have a collection of foreign currency (kept behind some books on a shelf). We like to travel, and everywhere we go we add our loose change to this collection. So far it contains coins from: the US, Jamaica, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, China, Japan, and various European currencies: Euros, Francs (Switzerland), and Pence (UK).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YQgULwGT9fNI_Qp6a4OURpqeQY5twUV4jCbCAIqhOBHWoohaOM8no7qzMuP_Um4tYC9V42w8D9LW2kwjYmzROTcYrBn4ZOVw2kkBThdnHTBiFtSd8W2vfsQw5Nnrc6jJOClWmpLtMr4/s1600/Winter+2012+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YQgULwGT9fNI_Qp6a4OURpqeQY5twUV4jCbCAIqhOBHWoohaOM8no7qzMuP_Um4tYC9V42w8D9LW2kwjYmzROTcYrBn4ZOVw2kkBThdnHTBiFtSd8W2vfsQw5Nnrc6jJOClWmpLtMr4/s200/Winter+2012+011.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flat surface filled with books</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj56D0Y-ugqyHaKuDs9uhyphenhyphen616_KhVR7fPmrrhb2F7jzx71_AEtH_cJieaNe5Ki1Gywj2sULxcE6yf63bqKqz-5lNb1npOHzoXOvowCm6IcUgdtANBYFOj-7sgeP5yb8cNf0hs96olHJww/s1600/Winter+2012+020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj56D0Y-ugqyHaKuDs9uhyphenhyphen616_KhVR7fPmrrhb2F7jzx71_AEtH_cJieaNe5Ki1Gywj2sULxcE6yf63bqKqz-5lNb1npOHzoXOvowCm6IcUgdtANBYFOj-7sgeP5yb8cNf0hs96olHJww/s200/Winter+2012+020.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foreign coin collection - cheap souvenirs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-65942784346507790772012-03-16T12:33:00.003-04:002012-03-16T13:13:15.636-04:0030 Day Photo Challenge: Day 16Yesterday, I had the need to feel human -- and have a normal challenge not medically related. So, I made a turkey that Pete had got from work a while back. First time making turkey ever, and it turned out delicious!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65f7U_i10M5o2Gj3JYMgC7w-iGjqDmbiTLde-BqB9xTxlYTiITw0llyISF9HOT51PJN568Eqle7ZKuIldmdyd-psXaGKUm97N8qXQpn8X46JrL4OBbOVQ_iQTR6U2VoQg1bixfWAn-mE/s1600/Winter+2012+018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65f7U_i10M5o2Gj3JYMgC7w-iGjqDmbiTLde-BqB9xTxlYTiITw0llyISF9HOT51PJN568Eqle7ZKuIldmdyd-psXaGKUm97N8qXQpn8X46JrL4OBbOVQ_iQTR6U2VoQg1bixfWAn-mE/s320/Winter+2012+018.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpsAjhMw7EkRG8zkZAQ9fNkTEa4GC-AmR2SeLZyRkBAK3r8Xr0pR6sLC8L6XTWgXabEjfxAI1sFeGYZto8vpjGkTqzxDY-Bch9T1bngakdrebhlvdiGyYx4DiItPqa8-5dLKXKNrlEdI/s1600/Winter+2012+020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpsAjhMw7EkRG8zkZAQ9fNkTEa4GC-AmR2SeLZyRkBAK3r8Xr0pR6sLC8L6XTWgXabEjfxAI1sFeGYZto8vpjGkTqzxDY-Bch9T1bngakdrebhlvdiGyYx4DiItPqa8-5dLKXKNrlEdI/s200/Winter+2012+020.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxmij1Hsm7EIOvYHxZCLdiHR5pz3c0m8ymQ8T08WNyoY7f_xScpOqwJugAqvgijF-OJWUnGtFifo6_XiannRvheswlbYjljpJcF6las9caZ8TbW_kpmQZOi9G-rAwh7GH8_RW_Cr-ZbWY/s1600/Winter+2012+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxmij1Hsm7EIOvYHxZCLdiHR5pz3c0m8ymQ8T08WNyoY7f_xScpOqwJugAqvgijF-OJWUnGtFifo6_XiannRvheswlbYjljpJcF6las9caZ8TbW_kpmQZOi9G-rAwh7GH8_RW_Cr-ZbWY/s200/Winter+2012+022.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcWigQKcrDf_BSRSYtQhLoMxnwOkdgPHrSzmZ_wFf98NsrO0Y0kCWvLb1zimc4IRBU599zjfs1M2QLkhciyiGIDbKkfscF1BL_InnR12vtOH-LFMsKDrzm6UypYawcpFYWmlTo2aj88o/s1600/Winter+2012+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcWigQKcrDf_BSRSYtQhLoMxnwOkdgPHrSzmZ_wFf98NsrO0Y0kCWvLb1zimc4IRBU599zjfs1M2QLkhciyiGIDbKkfscF1BL_InnR12vtOH-LFMsKDrzm6UypYawcpFYWmlTo2aj88o/s200/Winter+2012+033.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzyRhldQm0o1p9qf59AHl6vk0H3qA93aSSps3iWl550MtwMbl9PYvGUSEwho6Bzmv07jqCs8LqV8UMV9pEOzg_QagFhdwTnivdfB7QmtTHPbr2HuVLLEhhKv1BM-n5eU2QxtEI6UoJnZo/s1600/Winter+2012+037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzyRhldQm0o1p9qf59AHl6vk0H3qA93aSSps3iWl550MtwMbl9PYvGUSEwho6Bzmv07jqCs8LqV8UMV9pEOzg_QagFhdwTnivdfB7QmtTHPbr2HuVLLEhhKv1BM-n5eU2QxtEI6UoJnZo/s200/Winter+2012+037.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrq3-s7-PoeyLipzCiPdBOa-PPO3PbOynh4ayIudNm8kxjp945Kuk0MUCG6x4ovhRIYRc15xlHX3eKueb3ZGEVXetoZbsGTo_sHhxtFf0CcMZN_1Plr4QflKGL8pnUQz1RwG-V0UffgPM/s1600/Winter+2012+043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrq3-s7-PoeyLipzCiPdBOa-PPO3PbOynh4ayIudNm8kxjp945Kuk0MUCG6x4ovhRIYRc15xlHX3eKueb3ZGEVXetoZbsGTo_sHhxtFf0CcMZN_1Plr4QflKGL8pnUQz1RwG-V0UffgPM/s320/Winter+2012+043.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>On the menu:<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moms_roast_turkey/">Roast turkey with vegetables</a> (I used more vegetables than called for -- enough to stuff the turkey + juice from a whole lemon; fresh herbs, and mixed parsley and celery when I stuffed the neck region)</li>
<li>Roasted asparagus (easy -- toss asparagus with olive oil and a bit of salt, put in 350-400 degree oven for ~10 min, turn cook another 10 min)</li>
<li>Mashed potatoes and gravy</li>
<li>Cranberry sauce</li>
<li>Cesar salad</li>
<li>Croissants</li>
<li>Strawberry Angel Food Cake.</li>
</ul>It tasted good to have a real home cooked meal -- certainly better than my usual dinner of cold cereal! :) While we now have a LOT of leftovers and will be eating good for a while -- making this reminded me of the many reasons why I have not made a big meal in the apartment yet!<br />
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Eta: We do not have a table in our apartment. These pics were taken on my desk. Our apartment does not have enough room for 2 desks and a table , so we just have 2 desks!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-956847979821791774.post-66707154198682923932012-03-15T08:37:00.004-04:002012-03-15T08:43:51.178-04:0030 Day Photo Challenge: Day 15<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDN5Hu4MFLrAbZl6qX0G4g26SDQzFeex6-DBv8w8kBZMy-QadG5ps1hzYCXNJA_6nh0ZXHQppL3MiNIinDqzJq1xQl8YlSLgFH3LiTZCVuGQ0pJV2583ZL6-dyVMYZK9MH5arAmNC2xGs/s1600/Winter+2012+016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDN5Hu4MFLrAbZl6qX0G4g26SDQzFeex6-DBv8w8kBZMy-QadG5ps1hzYCXNJA_6nh0ZXHQppL3MiNIinDqzJq1xQl8YlSLgFH3LiTZCVuGQ0pJV2583ZL6-dyVMYZK9MH5arAmNC2xGs/s320/Winter+2012+016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>My shoes. Comfortable. Well worn. Water proof -- never had wet socks in them despite frequent walking through snow and the occasional puddle. Insulated and warm. I only wish they were a bit less slippery on ice, and perhaps a bit dressier. I wear these about every day in the cooler months. Since it is getting warmer now... its almost time to put them away and take out the more breathable tennis shoes.<br />
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Although I require my shoes to first and foremost must be comfortable, and I would not mind walking miles in my dress shoes... its hard to beat the worn-in feel of a still supportive pair of tennis. I am going to miss wearing these daily next year. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9CiK52v7bdMLuYh1gyvVLSPBrIIWNGWGTkS2AujZCuoOdkNXwWb3xezA2bFfGkJ5uAtIxHjx0S6BJyxVLnaEF1dIDSrX1dDYDfUkbS1bLpcIyh-xH8lhEKsrU4T2wx8yLqVErbe-9QE/s1600/427060_521817906750_117900430_30312790_922787133_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9CiK52v7bdMLuYh1gyvVLSPBrIIWNGWGTkS2AujZCuoOdkNXwWb3xezA2bFfGkJ5uAtIxHjx0S6BJyxVLnaEF1dIDSrX1dDYDfUkbS1bLpcIyh-xH8lhEKsrU4T2wx8yLqVErbe-9QE/s320/427060_521817906750_117900430_30312790_922787133_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute pie made by my sister-in-law Michelle! Perfect for pie day (and very tasty too)! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Last night we went and celebrated Pi day with my in-laws, Ed & Michelle and the boys, and the K and L grandparents. Such a fun, quirky holiday to celebrate that lets the inner-nerd of the guys shine. Lots of pie, fun conversation, and even got a sauna in out of the deal. The above pie was made by my sister-in-law, Michelle (photo taken by her as well) ~ so very perfect for pi(e) day! :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3