You can't make this stuff up

Today was my last day of dermatology. It's been a great month. A little boring because it was all shadowing, but easy (4 half-days/week) and I learned a whole lot. I actually really liked derm - I found it extremely satisfying and I hope my future practice allows me to do some dermatological work. There were some great patients, including this one I had today:

An elderly woman came in after being referred from her PCP. She wasn't really sure why she was supposed to be there (other than a checkup), which is pretty common occurrence in a specialist's office. She was, however, worried about a spot on her chest which she had just noticed this morning.

She got up on the examining table and showed us her chest. There was a sticker with a hole in it (like a reinforcement for paper, see photo) surrounding a pink mole.


Dr. M and I thought this was a really cute way to keep track of which mole you want the doctor to look at. The mole was fine. Dr. M told her she thought it was fine, and peeled the sticker off to finish her examination. The patient looked shocked, and exclaimed "Oh! That was just a sticker! I had no idea!"

Maybe the poor woman needs a referral to see an eye doctor next.

Marathon

That's right folks, I ran a marathon. Nevermind that it took me five days to complete, or that it isn't really running if you're on a machine in a gym, but that I did it and that's kinda cool. I even ran eight miles the other day! Eight! I've been increasing my trips to the gym for one simple reason:

I don't like wearing pants.

This happens every once in a while. I walk around, pantsless (and freezing, given the dreary January weather) either until I find a cozy pair of sweatpants lying around or just give up and curl up in my snuggie and don't budge off the couch.

Why am I pantsless? I think my pants get a little tighter and I just decide not to wear them anymore. Why are my pants tighter? Well, it might have to do with the all-inclusive honeymoon, the holidays, and the fact that I love baking and do it pretty much whenever Chris plays video games. Which is all the time.

So, I've been hitting the gym a bit more and I can say I've successfully worn pants ALL DAY for the past two days. I think of that as an accomplishment!

I've mostly been running on the elliptical machine because the treadmill gives me a weird pain in the side of my foot - I think because my shoes are old. So, I've been "ellipticaling" I guess you could say. You know how they talk about a "runner's high"? Well, being that I've only run 4 miles max in my whole life I'd never experienced that sort of thing. However, the other day I was bored and just kept running...it helped that I was fully stocked with sweat covered magazines, a big window, my ipod, and 3 televisions within eyeshot...and I ran, and ran, and ran. And you know what happened when I stopped running? I wanted to run more! We left the gym and I ran to the car. I know - bizarre. But it was really cool.

I probably won't keep up my crazy habit and I'm pretty sure I will NEVER have the urge to run a real marathon (black toenail, anyone?), but I'm having fun right now, and that's what counts. And I'm still wearing pants.

Dance Blue Bake Sale!

Yesterday I made cupcakes.

Blue and white swirly cupcakes.

Then, I decorated them with fondant made out of homemade marshmallows.

UKCOM had a bake sale today for DanceBlue, a 24-hour no sitting no sleeping danceathon held to raise money for pediatric oncology at UK. I made these vanilla-almond cuppie-cakes and had a lot of fun decorating them, and I also made homemade marshmallows. Chris said they got a lot of attention when he dropped them off today - I sure hope they were a hit!

Thanks

It would be a lot easier if I'd written these residency interview thank you notes about a month ago.

Especially since I apparently have absolutely no recollection of one of them. Oops. I think I can wing it, though! Now just to figure out what I'm actually going to do with my life. Ugh!

Not much new going on here, still on derm - I actually really really like derm and I really can't complain working only four 1/2 days per week, but it's sort of boring since all I do is shadow. I realize I can't do the same things as a dermatologist, but seriously, couldn't I freeze that wart myself? Or talk to the patients at all? I think I can. I'm *almost* a doctor. (Yippee!)

On a sadder note, 2010 hasn't started off on the best foot for our family. After Prancer passed away, my grandparent's little doggie, Max, also passed away (he was like their baby!), so it's been really hard on them. To make it even harder, my grandpa fell and bled into his brain (and was on blood thinners, bad combination...) and is having surgery tomorrow to release the pressure. It sounds like he will be OK right now but will likely need to move to a nursing home (and for a 90 year old like him, they're going to have a hard time keeping up with him!) Please keep him, my grandma, and the rest of my family in your prayers.

Because I don't want a depressing end to this post, I'll tell you something exciting (for me, anyway). I found an opportunity to do two things I love AT THE SAME TIME - volunteering and baking! Why didn't I think of this sooner?! I'm baking cupcakes and marshmallows for the Dance Blue Bake Sale - hopefully some awesome photos tonight!

Weddings and Things

It's that time of year again - time for engagements! Planning a wedding is quite an undertaking (usually) and I have to say I didn't love that part of it - having a constant to-do list is not my idea of a good time!

I've had a lot of people asking me who I used for things and my recommendations and I'm happy to oblige.

Location/Food
We had our reception at Embassy Suites Hotel. I did NOT want a hotel reception but they were actually fantastic. Amy Stamper worked with us and was unbelievably helpful and nice - and she was completely on top of things! We didn't use a wedding planner but she basically did everything for us - she even coordinated our other vendors for the big day. Their chef helped us pick out a meal and they were patient and worked with us to meet all of our needs. Everything was wonderful! Also, we didn't have to pay a "room fee" as part of the package - we just paid for food! Definitely check them out.


Photography
Our photographers were awesome. Seriously. Since Chris dabbles in photography quite a bit, he was really, really picky when it came to our photographers. We used Varland Photography from Cincinnati and they didn't let us down. Annie and Toby (a husband-wife team) were affordable, gave us rights to the photos, threw in an engagement session, and were just downright cool people. We were sad the wedding was over because that meant we couldn't hang out with them more. I definitely recommend them!


Flowers
We used Ivory Rose Floral for flowers. Beth, the owner, runs the business and makes all the arrangements herself. Since she gets wholesale flowers and does all the arranging, it makes her cheaper than other places. She did a really good job, but I felt she seemed to sort of push roses. If you want a crazy bouquet, that may not be the place to get it, but for everything traditional she's your lady! She will loan you vases (like for centerpieces and things), but I recommend buying them from a craft store or flower shop so you can give them away at the end of the day without collecting the vases.


Dress/Alterations
I got a Maggie Sottero dress from Ruth's Bridal. I hate to give bad reviews but I will say that my dress was two MONTHS late and once it finally came in and was at least two sizes too big. Like, waaay too big, maybe even three sizes. Nobody there ever seemed worried about it (even though I was stressing more than a little) and they are terrible about answering their phones. They have gorgeous dresses, but charge a lot and I wasn't a fan of their service. They don't do alterations in store, either.
On the bright side, I did use Barbie at Alter Ego for alterations, and she was wonderful. She knew exactly what she was doing, was prompt, and was reasonably priced. If you need alterations definitely go there!


Tuxes
We got our tuxes from Genos. They were fine, we didn't have any problems with them but a couple of the tuxes didn't fit, so we had to go back and get them changed. Get them as early as they let you to make sure they fit!


Musicians/DJ
The Newman Center provided us ceremony musicians for a donation to the church since we are parishioners there. Our DJ was Thomas from Complete Music, and he was really laid back and had a great personality, not annoying at all. He did get a couple of our songs wrong (like, the "bouquet toss song"), but the ones that were really important he got right! :)


Invitations
Our invitations were beautiful! Emily Mistretta at Minuteman Press did our invitations and she was wonderful to work with. My mom loved her, her dog, and her baby - I swear she would make up excuses just to go visit them! She is very affordable, very professional, and very patient! We couldn't make up our minds with the invites so she made many different proofs, and when we realized two days before the wedding that we had no programs, she whipped them up exactly like we wanted in no time! Very highly recommended!!


Cake
I almost forgot the cake! We used Martine's, a honest-to-goodness French lady who makes delicious, beautiful cakes. Her prices were about the same as everywhere else we looked (maybe a tiny bit higher) but her cakes were richer and prettier. She took my ideas and ran with them!

comfort food

Tonight was one of those nights. On one hand, I've been on derm rotation all week trekking all the way across Lexington (and risking my life during morning rush hour). On the other hand, I only started work on Tuesday, only worked half days (8-noon), and I have a day off tomorrow. The temperatures are dropping lower and lower and panic has set in to our icy town. My street is a deathtrap and my parking lot has spun out one too many cars for my liking (Chris literally had to push someone out of their spot).

In reality, every other road in Lexington is fine, except for my pitiful little street. Thankfully we're not on too much of a hill! Anyway, it was a comfort food kind of night. I pulled out my newly acquired "Joy of Cooking" book Chris gave me for Christmas (thanks, sweets!) and flipped through the pages while Patrick played video games on the couch. We decided on sloppy joes to use up the ground beef we had in the fridge, and I decided that I just couldn't pass up making some mac and cheese to go with it.

Both were delicious, but I have to say that the mac was some of the best I've ever tasted. I like for my mac and cheese to have a lot of flavor (since it's full of calories) and I've been disappointed on many occasions with various store bought mixes (and even recipes of my own). I didn't have the right noodles or enough of any ingredient, but I played with a recipe and just had to share. I sadly don't have any photos because, well, it was just too delicious. Mac and cheese really isn't that photogenic anyway.

Delicious Macaroni and Cheese (adapted from Joy of Cooking)
Makes 4ish servings

1 cup pasta (I used those tiny little alphabet noodles because that's all I had)
- boil pasta according to package directions and return to the pot

Add the following to the pasta:
1 tbsp margarine or butter
1/2 can (a 12 oz can, so 6 oz) evaporated milk
>1cup extra sharp cheddar (I used lowfat cheese and it did just fine)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp mustard (all I had was a packet of Chinese mustard, I think this is what made it so amazing)
1/2 tsp salt (or as needed)
1/4 tsp ground red (cayenne) pepper

Stir on low heat for 5-10 minutes. Don't let it boil or the egg will scramble and you'll have lumps in your mac. The sauce will get really think (you're essentially making a custard base) and everything will get all melty. I love that the mustard and cayenne made it just a little bit spicy, and the cheese sort of sets that off a bit. It makes yummy leftovers too but we only had a couple spoonfuls left over, so next time I will be making a double batch for sure!


Sloppy Joe's not from a packet (also adapted from Joy of cooking)
-Chris dubbed these the Best Sloppy Joes Ever, but I'm pretty partial to the powdered stuff...it feels good not eating a bunch of preservatives, though!

Heat the following in a skillet on medium for about 10 minutes or until everything is soft but not brown:
1 onion, finely diced
1 red or yellow pepper, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Remove vegetables from skillet. Brown 1 lb ground beef, then add the vegetable mixture back. Next, add in:

1/2 c ketchup
1/2 c beer (water works too, but why use water when you can use beer? Plus, you have to finish the bottle off somehow...)
3 Tbsp Worcerstershire sauce
Hot sauce or salsa to taste

Simmer until thickened, 10-15 minutes. Toast up some buns and pile it on high! They're called Sloppy Joes for a reason. :)

Now it's time to curl up in my Snuggie (don't bash it - they're SO cozy!) and watch some Netflix! My doc is off on Fridays so I get a snow day tomorrow!

Prancer Lucky Twist

The first movie I ever saw in the theater was All Dogs Go To Heaven. I was 3 1/2 years old, and I thought the movie was ridiculous. "I didn't like the movie" I told my mom while leaving the theater. When she inquired why, I told her "because everybody knows, dogs can't talk!"

I now understand fictional cartoons a bit better than my 3 year old self did, but I still hope that all dogs go to heaven. Because I think a lot of us won't go unless our pets come too!

I lost a best friend today. Prancer, our boxer, has been sick since Thanksgiving, and finally just couldn't keep going today. I've been heartbroken over it for some time now - aside from some goldfish (and a short-lived chameleon), Prancer was our only pet, so I've never had to deal with one passing away before. She lived a wonderful life and I think she touched many of us in a positive way that maybe we didn't realize until now. She's only a dog, but one that will never be forgotten. I wanted to share some of my memories here.

Patrick had been asking for a dog for almost a year (Patrick is the persistent one). We'd researched and researched, and decided that Boxers were athletic dogs that my dad would want to run with, they were good with kids, and they seemed like pretty good overall pets. Patrick even went so far as to start praying for a fawn color boxer with a black mask and white paws at the dinner table. We got her for Christmas in 1998. She started crying in her kennel early Christmas morning, waking up Gregory. My mom eventually just brought her upstairs to let us see her. They brought her into my room and I thought she was a puppet until they put her on my bed and she started to move!

I was in the 8th grade, finishing up with that "awkward middle school phase," and I remember wanting to stay up on New Years Eve that year. She slept in my lap while I stayed up to watch the ball drop on TV. (And by the way, how boring is watching the ball drop? Who came up with that idea anyway? Silly.) She was always there for you to cuddle with.

Throughout the years, Prancer has been a friend to everyone who entered our home. She used to be barely able to contain herself, wiggling everywhere when guests would come over. That's how she got her name in the first place, prancing around (and it helped that she was a Christmas pup-we named her after the reindeer!). We initially were going to name her Xena (because she was strong, like the warrior princess show on TV) but Patrick and Gregory couldn't remember her name...so she ended up as Prancer Lucky Twist. "Lucky" was Gregory's idea...I don't know why. Maybe because she was!

We moved to Colorado my sophomore year of high school. We moved about a month before school started, so I didn't have any friends. I would take Prancer for walks around the lake behind our house hoping to make friends. I never made a friend over at Waneka Lake, but Prancer and I shared plenty of good times there. I remember letting her get her feet wet on the shallow water, and watching her pounce on the dirt and sand that floated up from where her paws dug into the shore. One day, I took her to the neighboring lake that had a dock (instead of the shallow water like the other lake did)...Prancer walked right over to the water, touched it with her paw, felt that it was like the other lake, and stepped right on down...except that it was a couple feet deep! She fell in and couldn't hop back out onto the dock. I had to climb into the lake and pull her out! We were both smelly and wet and still had to walk back to our house...half a mile away. We got some funny looks on that walk!

When we moved back to KY after Colorado, we moved into a house that was all hardwood floors. My dad is a little OCD, and had a hard time when Prancer would get excited and her nails would scratch the floors. The solution? Prancer had to wear shoes! Prancer had her very own set of booties that she would wear each day. It was hilarious to watch her initially getting used to the shoes - she would walk around lifting her feet high above her head with each step. She eventually got used to them and actually couldn't hardly get down our stairs without wearing them (with their "no-slip grip" bottoms). Everyone loved to see her with her bright yellow boots!

Prancer was a sweet little dog that will never be forgotten. I'll miss you!

11/9/98-1/4/10