So, remember how the weather channel has the 10 day forecast? Well a couple days ago it said it would be 64 degrees on the 17th...not bad, I thought!
Unfortunately, it now says 49!! and there's even a little note under it that says "Brrr! Keep outdoor photos to a minimum."
Weather.com, why???
Thankfully, everything is indoors and nicely heated! :)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Happy Wedding Week!
Yes, friends, I will be a "Wife" in less than a week. It finally started to feel real when we did our "last runthough" of the Mass before the official rehearsal Friday (our priest is a little OCD, we've had many, many practices!). Chris and I practiced holding hands, saying our vows (which although we're just repeating after Father Al we still somehow managed to mess up - whoops!), nearly bringing our priest to tears (I'm hoping because it was touching, not because we were that bad at our lines)... and now things are finally starting to come into place.
Chris and I went up to visit his friends this weekend, his "sort-of bachelor party" I suppose. It was a good time and we got to spend a little time with his family, but mostly it was great to have a little "us time" during the drive--I'm living at my parents house right now and it's hard to find a private moment when we're there. If I haven't told you yet, I am marrying the man of my dreams. On Saturday!
There are millions of tiny little details, everything hopefully getting wrapped up this week but I hope if they don't then I won't care. I like to think I've been a pretty easygoing bride but I still find myself stressing over little stupid things...but I keep reminding myself that at the end of the day it doesn't matter if my brother spills all his food on his tux or if I trip in my dress (OK that would matter a little!), I'm going to be married!
I wish that we could have invited everybody I ever knew, too, because I feel a little guilty that we kept our guest list relatively small...I wanted to invite our whole med school class, all our teachers, anybody and everybody who wanted to join in our special day. Things just got too complicated, though, so we kept the guest list as short as possible - with mostly family and just a few friends. I think it will be a wonderful day, but I just hope no one feels slighted that they weren't invited!
We have a pretty busy week planned, lots of last minute to-do things. One thing I'm looking forward to most is the "Couples Massage" we're getting tomorrow (my birthday gift from Chris this year!!)...I have never had a massage before so I'm a little nervous but I hope it will be amazing!
Chris and I went up to visit his friends this weekend, his "sort-of bachelor party" I suppose. It was a good time and we got to spend a little time with his family, but mostly it was great to have a little "us time" during the drive--I'm living at my parents house right now and it's hard to find a private moment when we're there. If I haven't told you yet, I am marrying the man of my dreams. On Saturday!
There are millions of tiny little details, everything hopefully getting wrapped up this week but I hope if they don't then I won't care. I like to think I've been a pretty easygoing bride but I still find myself stressing over little stupid things...but I keep reminding myself that at the end of the day it doesn't matter if my brother spills all his food on his tux or if I trip in my dress (OK that would matter a little!), I'm going to be married!
I wish that we could have invited everybody I ever knew, too, because I feel a little guilty that we kept our guest list relatively small...I wanted to invite our whole med school class, all our teachers, anybody and everybody who wanted to join in our special day. Things just got too complicated, though, so we kept the guest list as short as possible - with mostly family and just a few friends. I think it will be a wonderful day, but I just hope no one feels slighted that they weren't invited!
We have a pretty busy week planned, lots of last minute to-do things. One thing I'm looking forward to most is the "Couples Massage" we're getting tomorrow (my birthday gift from Chris this year!!)...I have never had a massage before so I'm a little nervous but I hope it will be amazing!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
bullets...and my flu rant
I need to get to sleeping (I do need my beauty rest, you know) but a few quick updates:
1) Swine flu is not regular winter flu. It's earlier, and it consists of mostly an upper respiratory infection (runny nose, maybe little cough, etc) + aches and pains + HIGH fevers and chills (higher in kids, their immune system kicks a little better than ours) + sometimes diarrhea. No other flu since the 1970s has had any sort of GI symptoms so this is new. Everybody always says "oh I caught the stomach flu" but it's not influenza. Influenza is a respiratory thing.
2) The "flu vaccine" does not cover the swine flu. At all. There is a swine flu vaccine coming out (we studied it in B-town) BUT it is not out yet. Hopefully soon. Unfortunately for most of you, you probably won't be eligible to get it (and there won't be enough for all of us). Babies, pregnant ladies, and healthcare workers (me!) will all be eligible first, then down the totem pole from there.
3) Older people (like, 60-70ish) actually have a partial immunity to this H1N1 (Swine) flu. This is because there was a similar virus that was around 50-60 or however many years ago, and they probably got it partly then. That's why they're not getting sick and dying from this, but the sickest of us are in their 30-40s.
4) GET A FLU SHOT because it can not and will not give you the flu. You may still get the flu (because 1) you already got infected BEFORE you got the shot and it was just incubating or 2) the shot didn't cover the strain you got or the the strain mutated) but one measly little shot may save you a heck of a lot of trouble. And it's pretty cheap. Do it.
5) This isn't proven but it has shown to be pretty true: The "FluMist" which is what they give kids now is a live attenuated vaccine that you squirt up your nose instead of getting a shot. The docs in B-town believe that the FluMist gives you partial immunity to the H1N1/Swine flu, because we had enormous numbers of kids with the Swine flu, but none of the docs that got the Mist got sick. Including me. So, keep your fingers crossed for me so I can go take care of my soon-to-be-husband! I need him healthy to walk down the aisle!
Anyway: if you get a chance to get the FluMist then I would try it out. For some reason they don't give it to adults - I think it's because of the live vaccine thing, adults have more medical problems...etc. and also I have heard that adults don't mount the immune response from that as well as the kids. However, getting a squirt up the nose is much nicer than a sore arm so I recommend it.
- I had the most. awesome. weekend. Super huge humongous thanks to all my friends and family who made it great. I feel like a human being again (after studying and being a lame-o the past couple months) and it's great.
- Poor Chris has the swine flu (I think...I am pretty much an expert on it after being in B-town). I hope he gets better soon! He called tonight and said he's got chills and his body is just shaking...oh dear. 1) I hope he gets better really soon. and 2) I hope myself and my family don't get sick - we've been around him all weekend!
1) Swine flu is not regular winter flu. It's earlier, and it consists of mostly an upper respiratory infection (runny nose, maybe little cough, etc) + aches and pains + HIGH fevers and chills (higher in kids, their immune system kicks a little better than ours) + sometimes diarrhea. No other flu since the 1970s has had any sort of GI symptoms so this is new. Everybody always says "oh I caught the stomach flu" but it's not influenza. Influenza is a respiratory thing.
2) The "flu vaccine" does not cover the swine flu. At all. There is a swine flu vaccine coming out (we studied it in B-town) BUT it is not out yet. Hopefully soon. Unfortunately for most of you, you probably won't be eligible to get it (and there won't be enough for all of us). Babies, pregnant ladies, and healthcare workers (me!) will all be eligible first, then down the totem pole from there.
3) Older people (like, 60-70ish) actually have a partial immunity to this H1N1 (Swine) flu. This is because there was a similar virus that was around 50-60 or however many years ago, and they probably got it partly then. That's why they're not getting sick and dying from this, but the sickest of us are in their 30-40s.
4) GET A FLU SHOT because it can not and will not give you the flu. You may still get the flu (because 1) you already got infected BEFORE you got the shot and it was just incubating or 2) the shot didn't cover the strain you got or the the strain mutated) but one measly little shot may save you a heck of a lot of trouble. And it's pretty cheap. Do it.
5) This isn't proven but it has shown to be pretty true: The "FluMist" which is what they give kids now is a live attenuated vaccine that you squirt up your nose instead of getting a shot. The docs in B-town believe that the FluMist gives you partial immunity to the H1N1/Swine flu, because we had enormous numbers of kids with the Swine flu, but none of the docs that got the Mist got sick. Including me. So, keep your fingers crossed for me so I can go take care of my soon-to-be-husband! I need him healthy to walk down the aisle!
Anyway: if you get a chance to get the FluMist then I would try it out. For some reason they don't give it to adults - I think it's because of the live vaccine thing, adults have more medical problems...etc. and also I have heard that adults don't mount the immune response from that as well as the kids. However, getting a squirt up the nose is much nicer than a sore arm so I recommend it.
- ok back to the bullets. Sorry for the little tirade, I just think that people have no idea what they're reading most of the time, and for some reason there is a lot of misinformation regarding the flu. I hate to sound arrogant but I really do know what I'm talking about. :)
- As an aside-my hair looks AWESOME...eee!
- OK, it's time for bed. I wanted to talk about how awesome my weekend was but I need some sleep. More to post soon. Pictures may not come soon seeing as how Chris thinks he may die...so...don't hold your breath for them. ;)
Saturday, October 3, 2009
whew
Well, step 2 is over.
Thank goodness!
It actually wasn't half bad, it was WAAY better than Step 1 (promise) so that is something major to be thankful for. There were no jackhammers, no girls behind me with tuberculosis (seriously I was going to kill that woman last year), and no ridiculously weird questions. Just me and 352 questions. I hope that the test went well, I am pretty confident I can pass it but I want to redeem my Step 1 score since it wasn't quite what I wanted. Of course, I'll settle for just passing again too, because I sure as heck don't want to retake it!!!
Last night after the test Chris and I rushed over to Dr. Smyth's house, the director of the MD/PhD program at UK. There was a big cookout and everything was nice and it was cool to see some of our old buddies. I had two (two!!!) glasses of wine and felt all warm and a tiny bit dizzy which was fun too. Although before you call me a lush: the glasses were tiny (like, those cute little plastic wine goblets you get at liquor barn) and I can't hold liquor to save my life. I'll have to start practicing.
Anyway, this morning I had an absolutely amazing "bridal luncheon" hosted by my Aunt Susie. It was seriously awesome, I have some wonderful women in my family and we got to spend time together and had a delicious meal (brunch, my favorite!) and everything was just lovely. Ah. I have some pictures of that I should post up too.
I also got my wedding hair practice done today! WHOO! I got my hair re-blonded for the wedding and she practiced the updo. My hairdresser is SO nice and helped me FINALLY make up my mind on the hair. Pictures to come (or maybe you'll have to wait for the wedding!)... I know, I always promise pictures but Chris always has them, and since I'm staying at my parents it's hard to bug him every day about pictures when I'm bugging him about all those other things.
Today was Gregory's birthday, the last in a huge line of birthdays for our family. Gregory was 18 today so he bought a lottery ticket. He wanted a funfetti-flavored ROCKETSHIP cake, so there will be pictures of that too. It turned out pretty freakin' awesome!
Tomorrow is my bachelorette party, I'm super excited. I already had a bachelorette party with the gals in my rotation group, so this one is a little added bonus. Today, though, I freaked out that nobody was going to come to my party except Sabrina and me (and although I would have tons of fun anyway with just her that would be lame) so I invited boys. My brothers, Chris, Sab's fiancee, all sorts of boys. So I guess it's not a bachelorette party, but it will still be fun. And there are people coming, they just never RSVP'd until, like, today. Oh well. We're going to paint pottery (apparently a prerequisite to becoming a bride), have a cookout at my parents, then have little fruity girly cocktails (those were planned before the boys were invited, but I'm still excited to try the 'appletini' that my mom plans to fix!)
I learned today that apparently I am a "laid back bride." I didn't really know what that meant until I found out that many brides require their bridesmaids to have matching hair and shoes. The dresses are long, so I think my maids can wear what they want.
My mom works with a lady who has a side business as a wedding planner and apparently she had just gotten her nails done for a vacation she was about to go on and a bride said "you will NOT have hot pink nails at my wedding!" so she had to take off all the polish from her manicure for the wedding, even though she paid for a manicure. Seriously people, there are more important things in life.
Of course, I think the focus to be on the marriage, not just the wedding. I could go on and on about that but I suppose I better be getting some rest, I have a crazy party planned for tomorrow! ;)
Thank goodness!
It actually wasn't half bad, it was WAAY better than Step 1 (promise) so that is something major to be thankful for. There were no jackhammers, no girls behind me with tuberculosis (seriously I was going to kill that woman last year), and no ridiculously weird questions. Just me and 352 questions. I hope that the test went well, I am pretty confident I can pass it but I want to redeem my Step 1 score since it wasn't quite what I wanted. Of course, I'll settle for just passing again too, because I sure as heck don't want to retake it!!!
Last night after the test Chris and I rushed over to Dr. Smyth's house, the director of the MD/PhD program at UK. There was a big cookout and everything was nice and it was cool to see some of our old buddies. I had two (two!!!) glasses of wine and felt all warm and a tiny bit dizzy which was fun too. Although before you call me a lush: the glasses were tiny (like, those cute little plastic wine goblets you get at liquor barn) and I can't hold liquor to save my life. I'll have to start practicing.
Anyway, this morning I had an absolutely amazing "bridal luncheon" hosted by my Aunt Susie. It was seriously awesome, I have some wonderful women in my family and we got to spend time together and had a delicious meal (brunch, my favorite!) and everything was just lovely. Ah. I have some pictures of that I should post up too.
I also got my wedding hair practice done today! WHOO! I got my hair re-blonded for the wedding and she practiced the updo. My hairdresser is SO nice and helped me FINALLY make up my mind on the hair. Pictures to come (or maybe you'll have to wait for the wedding!)... I know, I always promise pictures but Chris always has them, and since I'm staying at my parents it's hard to bug him every day about pictures when I'm bugging him about all those other things.
Today was Gregory's birthday, the last in a huge line of birthdays for our family. Gregory was 18 today so he bought a lottery ticket. He wanted a funfetti-flavored ROCKETSHIP cake, so there will be pictures of that too. It turned out pretty freakin' awesome!
Tomorrow is my bachelorette party, I'm super excited. I already had a bachelorette party with the gals in my rotation group, so this one is a little added bonus. Today, though, I freaked out that nobody was going to come to my party except Sabrina and me (and although I would have tons of fun anyway with just her that would be lame) so I invited boys. My brothers, Chris, Sab's fiancee, all sorts of boys. So I guess it's not a bachelorette party, but it will still be fun. And there are people coming, they just never RSVP'd until, like, today. Oh well. We're going to paint pottery (apparently a prerequisite to becoming a bride), have a cookout at my parents, then have little fruity girly cocktails (those were planned before the boys were invited, but I'm still excited to try the 'appletini' that my mom plans to fix!)
I learned today that apparently I am a "laid back bride." I didn't really know what that meant until I found out that many brides require their bridesmaids to have matching hair and shoes. The dresses are long, so I think my maids can wear what they want.
My mom works with a lady who has a side business as a wedding planner and apparently she had just gotten her nails done for a vacation she was about to go on and a bride said "you will NOT have hot pink nails at my wedding!" so she had to take off all the polish from her manicure for the wedding, even though she paid for a manicure. Seriously people, there are more important things in life.
Of course, I think the focus to be on the marriage, not just the wedding. I could go on and on about that but I suppose I better be getting some rest, I have a crazy party planned for tomorrow! ;)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
goodbye, september.
Holy cow, September will be no more in 37 minutes.
I take Step 2 on Friday, which will hopefully go a little smoother than Step 1 (I am praying that the concrete slab that they had to jackhammer out for 4 hours on June 17, '08 is still looking good, and they don't need to touch it up on Friday, and that the girl with TB who coughed for the remaining 4 hours either got cured or died, because if she shows up again I may as well kill her myself)...Anyway, wish me luck. A lot of luck, because I'd really like to kick some test butt and show 'em who's boss. You know.
I have a weekend full of fun and partying followed by two exciting last-minute wedding weeks, then I'm getting MARRIED and going on an awesome honeymoon. (We picked up the travel docs today, St. Lucia- here we come!)
Anyway, I'd love to ramble on and on about how awesome my life is going to become, come 4pm or so on Friday afternoon, but I must 1) Study and 2) Sleep, so I can rock the socks off that little test. At least that's what I'm telling myself, ok?
I take Step 2 on Friday, which will hopefully go a little smoother than Step 1 (I am praying that the concrete slab that they had to jackhammer out for 4 hours on June 17, '08 is still looking good, and they don't need to touch it up on Friday, and that the girl with TB who coughed for the remaining 4 hours either got cured or died, because if she shows up again I may as well kill her myself)...Anyway, wish me luck. A lot of luck, because I'd really like to kick some test butt and show 'em who's boss. You know.
I have a weekend full of fun and partying followed by two exciting last-minute wedding weeks, then I'm getting MARRIED and going on an awesome honeymoon. (We picked up the travel docs today, St. Lucia- here we come!)
Anyway, I'd love to ramble on and on about how awesome my life is going to become, come 4pm or so on Friday afternoon, but I must 1) Study and 2) Sleep, so I can rock the socks off that little test. At least that's what I'm telling myself, ok?
Monday, September 28, 2009
so much to say!
Well things have been crazy these past few weeks, I'm finally home from B-town now and trying my best to cram before boards (Friday--eeeek!). I don't have much time for a huge update, but here are a few tidbits of things going on in my life:
Chris' birthday was the 19th, we had a beautiful cheesecake and his parents came down. It was a fun weekend.
Grandma's 80th birthday party on the 26th, was awesome, I'd say 80ish people showed up (seriously!) and we had a special Mass at her (gorgeous) church beforehand with just our family. It was really nice. I made the cake, and it was SO AWESOME if I do say so myself. Pictures to come, I promise. (I promise those more than the train cake, which STILL hasn't been put up, because Chris put them on his hard drive then lost them. Who knows if you will ever see it!)
PS- Guess what my grandma wanted for her birthday? An iPod. Seriously. I must have the coolest grandma ever. Except that it's probably already lost, and she's forgotten how to turn it on. We'll see.
Boards on Friday - 4 more exams left on USMLEWorld to finish, then 1 full length exam. Hope to be done by tomorrow night so I can review all Wed/Thurs and rock out on Friday. Pray for my little brain, please!!!!
Saturday is my "bridal luncheon" held by my Aunt Susie. It should be really fun, she has great taste so I'm looking forward to a party from her!
Saturday night I get my hair practice for the wedding - woohoo!! I'm also FINALLY getting it highlighted again - my 3 inch roots are KILLING me. Can't wait.
Bachelorette party on Sunday! Yeaa! It's going to be relatively low-key, and if you can read this (and you don't have a Y chromosome) then you are invited, I can't even remember who I invited (and with boards I haven't updated that list)...so...we'll see what happens!
I finally got to try on my dress today! Woohoo! Except it's too big. I haven't lost any weight, so somebody messed up a little. I was trying hard not to be disappointed but we took it to the place for alterations and the lady there is going to fix it and make it awesome. And my shoes are sooooooooooo cute!! :) Eeep!
Back to studying. Lots of pictures to come. Promise!!
Chris' birthday was the 19th, we had a beautiful cheesecake and his parents came down. It was a fun weekend.
Grandma's 80th birthday party on the 26th, was awesome, I'd say 80ish people showed up (seriously!) and we had a special Mass at her (gorgeous) church beforehand with just our family. It was really nice. I made the cake, and it was SO AWESOME if I do say so myself. Pictures to come, I promise. (I promise those more than the train cake, which STILL hasn't been put up, because Chris put them on his hard drive then lost them. Who knows if you will ever see it!)
PS- Guess what my grandma wanted for her birthday? An iPod. Seriously. I must have the coolest grandma ever. Except that it's probably already lost, and she's forgotten how to turn it on. We'll see.
Boards on Friday - 4 more exams left on USMLEWorld to finish, then 1 full length exam. Hope to be done by tomorrow night so I can review all Wed/Thurs and rock out on Friday. Pray for my little brain, please!!!!
Saturday is my "bridal luncheon" held by my Aunt Susie. It should be really fun, she has great taste so I'm looking forward to a party from her!
Saturday night I get my hair practice for the wedding - woohoo!! I'm also FINALLY getting it highlighted again - my 3 inch roots are KILLING me. Can't wait.
Bachelorette party on Sunday! Yeaa! It's going to be relatively low-key, and if you can read this (and you don't have a Y chromosome) then you are invited, I can't even remember who I invited (and with boards I haven't updated that list)...so...we'll see what happens!
I finally got to try on my dress today! Woohoo! Except it's too big. I haven't lost any weight, so somebody messed up a little. I was trying hard not to be disappointed but we took it to the place for alterations and the lady there is going to fix it and make it awesome. And my shoes are sooooooooooo cute!! :) Eeep!
Back to studying. Lots of pictures to come. Promise!!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
On Food
Note to self: make this!
Anyway, things are OK here, still haven't decided Med vs Med-Peds but leaning towards just Med now. Already got sick (Wednesday, seriously, how do I get sick TWO DAYS after starting peds?), but I'm much better.
Oh and I had an awesome birthday. I got to hang out with an old friend from high school (well, she's young, but, well, you know what I mean) who was in town and it was great, had some delicious dinner and amazing cheesecake (baked by my mother, The Best Chef In The World), and got to spend lots of time with Chris despite living at my parents house. Good Weekend.
Chris also was a super sweetie and got me a couples back massage for my birthday. I've never had a massage before, so this is pretty big stuff for me. I'm super excited, and also glad that he'll get to be there too (because it's a little scary!).
Anyway, B-town is good. Quiet. I've been trying to secretly work out here in my back room and have been relatively successful, but I have to do things like "Ten Minute Abs" instead of Jillians Crazy 30-Day Shred, which is what I would rather do. It just packs more punch. But any exercise is good, right? I'm also trying despirately not to get fat, seeing as how I have a wedding dress to wear in almost a month, and I'm living with the two biggest food-pushers ever (my grandparents). Seriously. I can't leave the table without having seconds of at least half the food options, and there are usually a lot of options. Then they tell me I'm eating like a bird! Grandma, you don't have to cook so much stuff with bacon grease, and I definitely do not need thirds. Plus, Bardstown Peds is feeding me lunch every day, so I've been trying to be good, but it's very hard to eat out and eat healthy at the same time.
I'm managing, though, maybe I'll finish up this USMLEWorld test (blehhhh, I have around 40 more to do!) then work up a bit of a sweat. Quietly. :)
To do this week:
Study
Finish applications
Plan a wedding
Not get fat (that includes not making the aforementioned recipe for a while, doesn't it?)
Wish me luck!
MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
What you need:
- 1 Coffee Mug (large mug)
- 4 tablespoons flour (that’s plain flour, not self-rising)
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
- some nuts (optional)
- Small splash of vanilla
What you must do:
- Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
- Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
- Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.
- Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! (*Mine didn’t do this)
- Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
- EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to share!)
Anyway, things are OK here, still haven't decided Med vs Med-Peds but leaning towards just Med now. Already got sick (Wednesday, seriously, how do I get sick TWO DAYS after starting peds?), but I'm much better.
Oh and I had an awesome birthday. I got to hang out with an old friend from high school (well, she's young, but, well, you know what I mean) who was in town and it was great, had some delicious dinner and amazing cheesecake (baked by my mother, The Best Chef In The World), and got to spend lots of time with Chris despite living at my parents house. Good Weekend.
Chris also was a super sweetie and got me a couples back massage for my birthday. I've never had a massage before, so this is pretty big stuff for me. I'm super excited, and also glad that he'll get to be there too (because it's a little scary!).
Anyway, B-town is good. Quiet. I've been trying to secretly work out here in my back room and have been relatively successful, but I have to do things like "Ten Minute Abs" instead of Jillians Crazy 30-Day Shred, which is what I would rather do. It just packs more punch. But any exercise is good, right? I'm also trying despirately not to get fat, seeing as how I have a wedding dress to wear in almost a month, and I'm living with the two biggest food-pushers ever (my grandparents). Seriously. I can't leave the table without having seconds of at least half the food options, and there are usually a lot of options. Then they tell me I'm eating like a bird! Grandma, you don't have to cook so much stuff with bacon grease, and I definitely do not need thirds. Plus, Bardstown Peds is feeding me lunch every day, so I've been trying to be good, but it's very hard to eat out and eat healthy at the same time.
I'm managing, though, maybe I'll finish up this USMLEWorld test (blehhhh, I have around 40 more to do!) then work up a bit of a sweat. Quietly. :)
To do this week:
Study
Finish applications
Plan a wedding
Not get fat (that includes not making the aforementioned recipe for a while, doesn't it?)
Wish me luck!
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