Christmas Spirit

I love Christmas decorations.  The hospital has been full of Christmas spirit with trees, garland, lights, etc everywhere.  I finally had my first day off since Thanksgiving yesterday and Chris and I set out to bring some Christmas into our house.  For the last nine years all we have had is a 3ft fiberoptic tree that i put up.  This year we decided it was time to have a tree, a real tree.

I did a little research and found a tree farm Northeast of where we live and we bundled up, grabbed the dogs, and went to find the perfect tree.  After much tromping around in the snow and closely inspecting tons of trees we found the perfect one.  It is a 7ft, fantastic smelling, Fraiser fir.  Chris sawed it down and we hauled it home.  It was probably one of the most fun things that i have done in a long time.  Now decorated in gold and red, it is the most beutiful tree ever

Winter Fun!!

It has been snowing for the last couple of weeks and I am loving it.  It is beautiful outside, It feels like Christmas.  It is cold but i don't mind  bundling up in my coat, scarf and boots.  Here are some pics of our first snow.  The dogs were crazy excited and didn't know what to do at first.  
The driving has not been bad so far.  Chris has been shoveling like crazy (he even gets up at 4:30am to shovel before i leave for work).  He is beggin for a snow blower already but i just tell him real men shovel snow :)

 

First, thanks to everyone for there kind birthday wishes.  I spent my birthday day and night at the hospital but have spend a lovely five days off since.  Chris and i have hung out and worked on house projects.  For my birthday Chris took me to the 2nd annual Grand Rapids Wine and Food festival.  It was so much fun to dress up, taste tons of wine and cheese, and just spend an evening together.  We ended it with a late dinner of sushi and it was the perfect birthday celebration. 

Life has been good lately.  I am back on the General Surgery rotation and operating almost everyday.  While trauma was fun and sometimes exciting, i much prefer my hernias, breasts, and appendix.  The weather here has been a beautiful fall.  It is brisk but still warm enough to walk the dogs and rake leaves.  We had a fun halloween too.  First i went the "The Haunt" with some friends from work. It is a huge very well done haunted house in which i screamed appropriatly multiple times (i was wishing that hannah and meg were with me).  Chris and I then attended a party (where we were the only losers who did not dress up, oh well, there is always next year) and headed out to play in downtown GR.

The dogs are good.  Zoey has grown so much but she is still my baby.  Thankfully she is fully housetrained now and even learning to follow simple commands (sit, downs, up, etc).  She is a total love and is happy to snuggle me whenever i want.  She did give us a scare the other night when she snatched an ibuprofen that i dropped on the floor before i got to it.  These are very poisonous for dogs and we spent the rest of the night make her throw up and giving her pepcid.  Thankfully she is just fine.

happy times

I just shooed my puppy outside for catching her playing in her water bowel for the third time today. She splashes by putting her two front paws in the water until all the water in on the floor. She is really so funny. Her favorite spot to nap is on the downstairs bathroom floor. Once she is done playing outside, she comes in, gets a drink of water, then trots downstairs and flops down on the bathroom rug. I don't know why, she just likes it down there, even if she is all alone.
It is actually very nice to be around such joy. While i love my work, trauma does begin to wear on me. I see many terrible things on trauma and watch more than my share of people, especially young people die.

On a brighter note, Chris has been assigned to a National Guard Unit here in Grand Rapids. He was given a position in the Mechanized Infantry Unit and is actually drilling as I write. He will be the second highest ranking person in the platoon, which is perfect since he is such a great leader.

The beginnings of fall have come and the leaves are starting to change color. The temperature has been just a bit cooler but still nice and forecast predicts that it will drop into the 50s soon. I am excited for the change in the weather and the fall colors and harvest. I have heard there are orchards around Grand Rapids and you can go pick your own apples, how fun.

The Surgeon and the Psychiatrist

(this one is for you Rachel :)

I hate propagate stereotypes however this was a call i made this morning and afterward i had to laugh. Granted i was post-call after a 30 hour shift and had no ride home. still, no excuse. I reprimand myself!

Surgeon: Dr. Psychiatrist, i have a consult for you. She is a 13 y.o. girl who was involved in an MVA in which her uncle was killed and she sustained pelvic fractures. She is a sweet girl who is morbidly obese and has a history of depression and self-cutting. I am concerned that her grief and trauma will put her at risk for this behavior again.

Psychiatrist: wow that will be tough

Surgeon: yeah sorry (me being the sleep deprived, selfish, overworked person i am assumed that he meant that this would be a tough consult for him thus causing more work)

Psychiatrist: No, i meant it must be tough for her to deal with all her problems (being the kind, patient focused, well slept person he is)

Oh well, at least i realize my weaknesses. I will admit when i pray for no more traumas it is so i can go to bed, not so no one else will get hurt. Maybe i am a bad person. sigh.

Family of four

I don't know when i last posted but today i have a reason to post other than whining about how much i work.

We have added a new member to our family. Her name is Zoey and she is (as you can see) the cutest puppy ever. She is 6lb, 8 wk old, American Eskimo puff ball that we found from a breeder south of Chicago. Chris picked her up last saturday and we have had a great first week. Of course we have the normal puppy problems but she hopefully will learn quickly.

We are training her to go to the bathroom outside but of course she is little and forgets or pees inside and then runs to the door. we knew it would be a process though and now i know why God makes puppies so cute.

She is a little naughty and loves to play in her water bowel, attack her brother constantly, and try to bite my nose, but she is overall very sweet and lovey and follows chris and I around the house.

Ichi is happy to have someone to play with and they get along great. Sometimes he forgets that she is little and plays too rough but she quickly reminds him (and us) by crying and barking. During the last week they are either playing or sleeping from playing so much.

I feel like i have a great family to come home to and i get lots of love. for never being an animal person, i am so happy that have my babies. life would not be the same without them.

a few more thing to add to the Grand Rapids list

11) the streets are so narrow and people park on either side so when you are going down the road and someone is coming the opposite direction someone has to pull to the side to let the other through

12) People here LOVE festivals, there is a festival every weekend (Beer festival, Cherry festival, international art festival, i could go on and on) lol i am watching a commercial for the Arcadia Creek festival right now

13) People here also LOVE yard/garage sales. Monday through Sunday you can visit yard sales all through my neighborhood.

more to come as i find the oddities and wonders of grand rapids

Well, i have officially been introducing myself as "Dr. Elliott" for the last 18 days and honestly it feels like it has been months. I am religiously following the rules of surgery

1) eat when you can (which is never)
2) sleep when you can (not so much)
3) Pee when you can (it helps if you don't drink too much)
4) don't touch the pancreas (this one has not been a problem)

Doing pediatric surgery is fantastic because we operate on every part of the body from the lungs, to the testes. and yes, i do actually cut on babies. crazy. kids are so funny too. today i removed from the esophagus a penny from a three year old and a dime from a 10 month old. just wait till the day you here the words "mommy, I ate money!". I have to say though, sometimes the parents are just crazy! While i do make many mistakes, i think i am a decent doctor but i was fired twice this week!

Balancing work and home is hard too, especially with Chris at Annual Training for the Guard in AZ. I force my poor dog outside at 5am when i leave, feel guilty enough to walk him after working 15 hours, then try to study for a couple hours before crashing to bed. Everyday i say i will go to bed earlier and every night i finally make it there by 10ish. I may have fallen asleep while my attending was talking to our pt during clinic.

Life is pretty much what i imagined residency would be and even though it is hard, i am happy, learning, and feel honored to take care of all the babies.

Things to know when living in Grand Rapids, MI

Things are going well here. I have completed a week of orientation training including Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Advanced Trauma Life Support so i now officially know how to save lives, lol. I can (supposedly) now place a central line in your major arteries, put a chest tube through your.. you guessed it, your chest, and stick a tube down your trachea to make you breath, among other amazing life saving feats. Very exciting, lets just hope i don't forget everything when/if the moment ever comes.

In the last few weeks i have learned several things about living in Grand Rapids, some good, some bad, but if you are going to move here or even just visit, these are things you should know....

1) People here are incredibly friendly. Not just kind or polite, overwhelmingly nice
2) at anytime day or night, you may hear fireworks (which sound like gun shots). this occurs on a daily basis
3) sometimes people forget to wear pants... true story. I and other residents have seen women who somehow forgot to put on pants or a skirt or something before leaving the house, just panties
4) there are no grocery stores here. there is walmart and meijer (which is exactly like walmart)
thank god for the Farmer's Market
5) there is no beer at the gas stations
6) it rains ALL THE TIME
7) the cuisine here is fantastic, so many options and they are all good
8) It stays light in the summer until 10pm, not dusky, seriously daytime light. i walk the dog at
9pm
9) There are squirrels everywhere, and they are bold and like to taunt the dog
10) it really is a great place to live

All settled...almost

I can't believe that we have been in Grand Rapids for two weeks already. It seems like so long ago that we sat in a little room and signed more papers at one time than i ever have, then slept on an air mattress in our newly bought but empty house.

Everything went very smoothly beginning with our three day drive, then the movers coming right on time, and finally our furniture shopping extravaganza. The blue wall has even grown on me. I started my orientation today (really just a bunch of CPR and shocking dummy hearts) and met all my fellow interns who seem very cool.

now that i have caught you up on the last two weeks (kinda, i am doing pictures when the furniture arrives), i will write about what is really bugging me.

The Elliott family (all of us) in an effort to become more healthy have created the Elliott Family Biggest Loser Challenge. It is very fun and i am excited for Chris and i to get back into shape. some of my new rules are no eating after 7pm, no seconds, and no sugar snacks (ice cream, red vines, brownies, just to name some favorites). Tonight we had a lovely dinner of steak, baked potato, and salad. Just one hour later i feel that i am starving. I am craving a big bowel of cereal. I want to know why??? is it just because i know i am not allowed to eat that i want to? am i really hungry or is my evil mind just trying to ruin me? How come at this very moment my stomach is eating itself even though i ate dinner? I would love someone to tell me why my own brain/body is trying to mess this up and risk the winning money that i would use to do something nice for it? The challenge ends in September. wish me well.

Oven Cleaner

I know that i should be posting pictures from graduation and talking about what a fabulous weekend i had with my family...... but instead i feel the need to write about oven cleaner

Our movers come tomorrow and since everything is pretty much packed, i have begun the deep- cleaning of my home. I have lived and cook and baked in the same house for two years now and have yet to clean my oven a single time. It has become more and more dirty with overflowing casseroles and falling of pizzas through the racks. Several months ago i bought all of the proper equipment (cleaner, sponges, rubber gloves, etc) to give my oven a good cleaning but managed to always find a reason not to do it despite the smell of burning bits every time i use it.

Today, no longer able to push the oven cleaning to another day, i donned my gloves, spread newspaper over the kitchen floor, held my breath, and sprayed the noxious foam into my oven. After an hour in the backyard raking pine needles, i filled a bucket with water and went to work.

With the first swipe of the sponge i was amazed, enthralled, and totally enamored with cleaning my oven. The grease, grime, and ugliness was so easily wiped away and the beautiful oven beneath shined. I spent a happy 30-45 minutes washing the cleaner out of my oven and watching the smooth blue surface reappear.

I know i am crazy. I know my crazy OCDness is why i loved cleaning my oven today... but for all of those other cleanliness OCDers out there, go feel the joy of a good oven cleaning. It is truly amazing and oh, so satisfying.

More Michigan Pics

The beach in Grand Haven, I just had to take a picture of the sign!

Nice open layout on top floor, This is Hannah's sweet room

Some great built-ins on the bottom floor

I am adding some more pics of the new house at the request of many viewers

On our last couple of days in Michigan we drove around to get to know the area, visited one of the four (that i know of) malls, and visited the beach town of Grand Haven.

We are told that after school gets out, all of the beach towns (7 of which are withing 30-60min) come alive with festivals, active boardwalks, and fantastic restaurants. It was a little quiet this time of year but Lake Michigan is beautiful with miles of sandy beach.

Success!!

Chris and I are in Michigan. We flew to Chicago on Monday and stayed over night with a friend of mine before driving the three hours to Grand Rapids, MI the next morning. Things happened quicly once we arrived starting with an appointment with our lender (for which we were 15 min late b/c we didn't realize that GR is an hour later than Chicago!). When we were done signing about a million papers, we were off to look at houses and saw six the first day.

We liked a couple on Tuesday but Wednesday afternoon we saw three great houses.
(in house hunter's style, HGTV)
1. a 1940's super charming house with wood floors, a huge walk-in closet, next to the Great River and an amazing park, but only had 1 &1/2 baths and a 1 car garage

2. A newer home with a great layout, big kitchen, and everything we were looking for but had the smallest backyard and no deck and was next to a borderline neighborhood.

3. An older home that was completely renovated and had a great yard w/deck in a fantastic neighborhood but was priced 10,000 more than the others

So what did we pick? Well, we had one in mind but wanted to sleep on it. On our way home thought, our realtor called and said that there were two other offers in and if we really wanted it we had better submit ours that night!!!

With no time to sleep on it or even discuss it over dinner, we decided to go for it! We put an offer on house #2 and it was accepted!

We are so happy and can't wait to move into our new home!

my new haircut

When Hannah and Megan visited last week, Meg and I got a very strong urge to cut our hair. We spent all evening researching salons, reading reviews, and trying to decide who to trust our precious hair with.

We found places that offered an "relaxing aromatic journey", salons that would restore energy and heal our minds and souls, and some that vowed to give the best haircut ever.

The next morning, we called as soon as our chosen salon opened and amazingly were able to make appointments for Megan and I later that day. Hannah, after watching our excitement finally decided to take the plunge and cut her hair too. We had a great time and i am happy with my new fun style.

Some cute pics of my puppy

Ichi eating his new toy, his favorite
way to play

Ichi pretending he is a cat


Ichi snuggling with his dad

Ichi eating his bed, what a punk! I was washing
sheets and this is how he thanks me!

Fun week of family

I just want to say, hurray for spring break and new jobs! Due to both i enjoyed the company of almost all (way to ditch out nik, jk) my sisters at my house this week.

Hannah, with a push from Megan and a lot of courage, drove herself and Megan from Kingman all the way to Tucson to visit me. We had a fantastic time shopping, cooking, and even got our hair cut together! They even helped me out with teaching first year medical students by being my patients. It was so nice to have someone to hang out with all day and play around. I only wish they had been able to stay longer.
(i would also like to note that i would have had a great picture to post too but they both covered their faced and then Ichi ran away)

As soon as Nan and Meg left, Sarah came with her girls. We also had a great time. We went to the park and fed the ducks, we visited the zoo and rode the train, and we got some good mall time in too. The girls were great and i loved having Sarah here. It was great training for Ichiban too. He has always been afraid of children and after having the kids here for a few days he is much better (and they are too).
(no excuses for no pics, i forgot my camera everywhere we went and i am so sad about it)

Our horrible walk

My puppy and i walk everyday, usually from 30min to an hour all over the neighborhood. Today we were taking an especially long walk when my worst nightmare happened. another woman was walking her dogs (a rottweiler and another big dog) and when they saw Ichiban and i they went crazy. They dragged their owner across the street and attacked us. The Rot had Ichi by the leg and the other dog had him by the neck. I threw my body over the rest of him to protect him and the four of us along with the dogs' owner were screaming and rolling on the ground. I don't really remember what happend but it seemed like it was lasting forever and Ichi was screaming and I could not get the dog to let go of his neck. I put my hands in its mouth and tried to pry it off, I hit him in the head, i tried everything i could think of and was terrified that he was going to kill my dog in front of me.

Thankfully, the man who lived in the house who's yard we were rolling around in heard me yelling help (which i don't remember doing) and Ichi screaming and came out to see what was going on. He beat the dog until he let go of Ichiban and we quickly ran into his house to hide from the crazy dogs.

The man's wife called 911 and watched ichi as i ran after the woman and her dogs who were leaving the scene. The police came and took pictures and got our story. The whole thing was very surreal, i was shaking and had blood and scratches all over me. As soon as the police were done, the man's kind wife drove me and Ichi back to our house where i called our vet, put Ichi in the car, and headed to get him some help.

After concern's of a broken leg or dislocated hip, he thankfully is ok with no damage to any vital organs or bones. They fixed him up, gave him antibiotics and pain killers, and sent us home. He is still shook up (so am I) and can't walk on his back leg which is bit, cut, and very bruised. His neck as well as many other parts of him are cut up but he is a trooper. We survived and I am so thankful to the people who helped us and for the fact that we both came out ok from the ordeal.

Happy Anywhere

I am supposed to be cleaning my house right now. I should be valiantly striving to rid my couches, floors, etc of the masses of dog hair that coat (heehe) my home (the weather is fantastic but Ichi is shedding like no other). Instead i am drinking coffee, watching Regis and Kelly, and clearly not cleaning.

I feel obligated to clean (beyond my normal OCD) because there will be a party at my house tomorrow celebrating the announcement of where i will live for the next five years. I have been very stressed and nervous about match day until last night when after many St. Patty's day Guineeses, Chris asked me why i was nervous because it effects him just as much and all he is, is excited.

I feel more pressure because it i feel it is my fault if we don't go somewhere high on the list. He told me wherever we go we will be together and we will be happy. He is right. We only applied placed in the US we thought would be fun to live. Chris makes me happy, not my location. This should be exciting, not nervous.

I won't lie, i still have that nauseated feeling in my stomach when i think about opening that envelope. I believe in the match though. I belive in the process and I know i did my best in the last five years to make this moment good.

Today i am going to clean my house and try to focus on the excited. Tomorrow i am going to smile for my class picture, turn in my keys and pager, pick up my graduation regalia, and open my envelope.

Then i am going to party because i am moving to one of 11 amazing places with my husband and we will be happy. Oh and PS, i am going to be a surgeon!

as much as i love kingman, it is really good to be home. there is really something to be said for sleeping in your own bed, cooking in your own kitchen, and just hanging out on your own couch.
I have only been back for 5 days but it feels like i never left. that is another nice thing about home, it waits for you. it stay the same except for the collection of a little dust. it is comfortable in that familiar, everything is where it is because i put it there way.

my days are slow and quiet now. i wake up around 8-8:30; i putter around the house and while i enjoy an entire pot of coffee by myself. I leisurely clean, do laundry, shop, and cook. I hang out with my dog and watch endless hours of the food network.

I have also been learning. This morning i did a two hour tutorial on understanding mortgages. I have been researching articles about renting vs. buying. I have also been searching for houses in salt lake (i know i am going to jinx myself but i can't help it!). It is really amazing how fast the day goes by even when you don't think you have that much to do.

i imagine my days will continue to be full yet relaxed and this is a very nice way to live with all of the excitement and work i know is in my future.

There is Hope!

Just wanted to add an update on last night's grumpiness....

I called Sallie Mae today and discussed options for deferring my loan or getting a forbearance which thankfully are still available to me despite the new legislation and most likely i won't have to pay anything for a while (good thing cuz that is NOT the loan you want to default in!)

My very generous grandparents have offered to pay for three months worth of my medication so that i can still have it

Still coughing, was up a lot last night despite breathing treatments, cough medicine, etc but hoping for a better night tonight

Another gorgeous baby has entered the world by my hands, hope i did not pick the wrong specialty!

Life is good, but i am exhausted !!

Warning, this is a VERY grumpy blog

I am a generally happy person and I do feel that i have many things to be thankful for, however, this week is becoming quite frustrating.

First of all, i can't stop coughing. it is endless, all day and all night and i can't breath and i feel like an old woman who takes twenty pills a day and is still sick.

Second, after fighting with three different doctors in Tucson, all who refused to prescribe me the medicine that i really want, if finally had a doc here in kingman write it for me only to find out my insurance does not cover it and it is $116.00 a month!

Third, legislation recently passed that students now have to pay off there medical school loans during residency and Sallie Mae has officially changed my first payment due date from some time in the far future to 6/2/09!! I won't have even started residency yet!!

On the positive side, i delivered three beautiful healthy babies (by myself) this weekend. I also spent some more quality time with my family. Best of all which may cancel out all of the above bitching, my amazing brother in law recovered all of the info from my previously crashed hard-drive and i now have all of my music back, YEA!!!!!!

PS for all who are interested, Chris and I are having our final residency ranking conversation on Thursday night and I will be certifying my list this weekend. Wish us wisdom!

So i hate to start a blog with excuses but i feel that i must explain my long pause in postings. Once i finished all of my interviews, all i wanted to do was lay on my couch, play with my dog, and not think about anything. After doing nothing for two weeks, i headed to Kingman for my rural health family practice rotation. I really had planned on telling tales of my patients and life back in Kingman but i have been having some very annoying internet problems. Today is the first day that i have been able to play on the net in my own home (kinda) on my own computer so i am back.

As always, Kingman is great and terrible at the same time for me. I love the medicine, my family, and the slow pace of life here. On the other hand, my lungs hate the air here and i am back on a million meds just to breath. Despite my lack of oxygen, i have been enjoying myself. I see sweet elderly patients along with pregnant mommies all day. I have already had the pleasure of babysitting for all of my nieces (not at the same time), had many dinners with family, and have already delivered 3 babies with more to come this weekend.

While i am in Kingman, i am staying in the house the hospital owns with other medical students. There are 7 of us altogether and it is quite a full house. While it is a little like Real World on MTV, we all get along well and it is fun sharing stories and advice at the end of the day.

So close but so far away

These last couple of weeks have been filled with lots of traveling, hard decisions, and uncertainty. For someone who likes to be very planned, organized, and think through her choices, all of my spontaneity of late has left me a little unsettled. While i am glad that i was bold and wrote to the program directors of my top choice programs and the results were very encouraging the last minute changes have been hard. I hope that i am making the right choices.

I really struggled when i had to choose between interviewing at University of Washington or Vanderbilt but when it came down to it, the people at Vanderbilt were so overwhelming nice that i could not say no and i am excited to go there. I will interview at Good Sam in Phoenix on Thursday and fly from Phoenix to Nashville immediately after (and when i say immediately i mean i hope i don't miss my flight!).

Anyway, I am tired, mildly depressed, over traveling, and done spending money but i only have a couple interviews left and i know will make it. I am really looking forward to going home to kingman for a month and getting away from the whole interview scene. In fact, i plan to try to go a whole month without thinking about residency at all!!

Well, that is where i am at in life. I will take all well wishes, prayers, etc for stamina, wisdom, safety, and all other good things.

Taking fate into your own hands

When I went to Utah to interview i forgot to bring a book to read. While i could have bought a book at the airport, I had one I was working on at home and another i wanted to start. I chose to fly to and from with nothing to occupy my time but my thoughts and my ipod. I thought a lot. I thought about all the places I had been to interview and the first through fourth drafts of ranking lists Chris and I had put together. I began to panic as i realized that there were only two places on my list which had both an excellent program and a ideal location! I panicked more when i remembered i only had three places left to go, all locations i have been to (seattle, phoenix, las vegas). By the time Chris picked me up from the airport in Tucson I was really worried. I want a strong top five, not top two!!

Through this whole process I have taken the approach that i would do my best and let fate decide the rest. I accept my rejections, have taken every interview offered to me, and i let my intuition guide me. After my airplane panic and now growing concern i decided to take some initiative. Of my original top choice schools i have only been to two and this was not ok with me.

I took action. I wrote emails to the program directors at the schools that i continue to consider to be top choices and told them i should come interview, that i should get a chance because i will be a great resident and a great surgeon. As a result I am now going to UNC to interview on Friday instead of Las Vegas (although i hope to reschedule). I am proud of myself and while fate is great, knowing what i want and going for it is even better.

Oh My Puppy...

Yesterday as i was happily sleeping in, my husband kissed me good-bye and asked if it would be ok to leave the dog in the house when he left for work. I peeked over the side of the bed and saw my puppy sleeping in his bed and said of course. About ten minutes later, Ichi came over to lick me good morning and let me know he was awake and i made a note to get up soon. A little while later i heard him eating and playing in the living room and thought what a good dog he is.

Then i got up. It was about 20 minutes since he first woke me and as soon as he heard me he ran into the bedroom and gave be a guilty look and i knew something was not good. Warily i put on my glasses and headed out to the living room where i found his handy work.

My camera bag and camera were on the floor sporting chew marks (how he got it out of the bag i don't know, my dog can undo zippers!), there were pieces of plastic everywhere (which i later identified as my memory chip), i found a plastic knob that came out of a still unknown piece of furniture, and worst of all, my paperback of Atlas Shrugged was shredded.

I learned early as a dog owner that you can't get mad at your dog for getting into things because that is what dogs do when you are not paying attention, just like little kids. I yelled anyway. I bumped my dogs nose with my shreded book. Ichi hid his face with his paws and gave me his "sad i am sorry" look.

The story ends with me cleaning up the living room and then taking my dog for a walk. He really is a good dog and i have learned my lesson about sleeping in. I would never let an eight month old baby play alone in the living room while i slept and now never an eightt month old dog either!!

Vacation and Holidays

Ever since i got back from Seattle life has been wonderful. Every morning i sleep in till 8 or 8:30, I get up and drink a few cups of coffee, then i walk my dog in the amazing Arizona sun. I spend the rest my day leisurely doing errands, cleaning my house, working on small projects, and best of all, laying on the couch watching the food network and reading. I have also been cooking my husband the best dinners ever!! I finally have time to spend hours in the kitchen and try all the recipes I have been collecting. (not to mention my wonderful husband gave me a cast iron skillet and a gorgeous ceramic coated cast iron pot for christmas, i love him!)

I could not be a happier girl right now and i wonder how i can be so happy at home and yet so happy with my 80 hour a week real life.

The holidays have been fun. I was going to make a beautiful lamb dinner for Christmas but then we were invited to the Brownstein's for a Jewish Christmas dinner of brisket and potato pancakes. On New Years Eve we went to a party with all of our friends and it was fun (what i remember of it). New Years Day was spent recovering from our big night, doing dress fittings for Rachel's wedding, and assembling her invitations.

My vacation ends on Monday and i leave Tuesday for Utah. I am sad for my quiet time to be over but i know i need to get back to work and finish up these last few interviews.