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.