Life to the full

28 before 28: Join a Church

2011-11-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

When I moved to Hawaii at the end of March, I began to attend Good Shepherd Church with my cousins Karl & Ashley.

This past Sunday, I had the honor of joining the Good Shepherd ohana.

In Hawiian, ohana means family. There's a Disney movie called Lilo and Stitch with the line, "Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind." I have found that to be true at Good Shepherd. They are all so welcoming and open. It has blessed me more than I can say to grow closer to Christ in this community.

The part of joining the church that made me feel the most welcome immediately followed the new member welcome. The members of the church came to the front and welcomed us to the family with leis. It blessed my heart more than I can say.

28 before 28: Snorkel Hanauma Bay

2011-11-03T00:20:00.000-07:00

On the east coast of Oahu, Hanauma Bay glistens like a jewel. The coral sits so close to the surface, and the beautiful fish are easily viewed while snorkeling.

While my friend Kelsey was in town, we headed over there and spent a morning in the water, snorkeling back and forth, looking at the fish and the coral.

The bay is so close to Waikiki that many people go snorkeling there while visiting Oahu (with good reason). It's a beautiful place to snorkel. And the surrounding scenery is lovely.

PS - Electric Beach might still be my favorite place to snorkel in terms of aquatic life viewed. But Hanauma Bay is definitely the whole package. Hanauma Bay has a crater and blue water and palm trees and a sand beach. Electric Beach has an electric power plant.

28 Before 28: Hike Diamond Head

2011-11-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

Diamond Head Crater sits on the coast of Oahu, providing a distinctive texture to the horizon. The geologists tell us that it was created as a steam vent following the collapse of the volcanic crater on the eastern edge of the island.

The US Army built a fort in and around the crater, including an observation station on the upper most rim of the crater. The hike up Diamond Head is a hike to the observation stations. And the view is amazing.

This is the view looking out towards Koko Head and Hanauma Bay to the East.

Looking west, towards Waikiki, with one of the observation stations on the right side of the picture.

Looking down at Diamond Head lighthouse

The hike was made so much more fun because I hiked with my sweet friend Meg, who was out visiting for the week.

This is a pic at the trail head in the center of the crater.

Your Blog Misses You

2011-11-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

This was the message I received from a sweet friend the other day (you know who you are). I must admit, I have been in blatant blog neglect. Life has been moving at an alarming speed, leading to lack of blogging. Hopefully this will be my return!

Team Tuesdays

2011-08-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

Every 4 minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer.

Every 10 minutes someone dies from a blood cancer.

Help the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fight this battle with a donation to Team in Training today!

Clinic on the donation tab in the right column to help!

(I promise there will be a non-Team in Training post coming soon!)

$15 for 15K

2011-08-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

Waking up early on the weekends is not one of my favorite things.

However, when my alarm went off at 4:15 am this morning, I rolled out of bed and threw on the clothes that I had laid out the night before. By 4:30 am, I was driving down the H1 towards H1 for the Norman Tamanaha 15K. Thanks to the perpetually warm temps here in Hawaii, races have rediculously early start times. Example - today was one of the later start times... at 6am. Most of my other training sessions and warm up series races start at 5:30 am... or 5am.... EEKS!!!! Needless to say, I'm honestly considering getting a hotel room the night before the 5am marathon start.

The race today was 15K (9.3 miles... although the course map had it at 9.7.... so it was one of those two). My goal today was simply to get the run in, ideally in under 2 hours, to finish feeling strong, and to be able to hit my running workouts hard again on Tuesday. I think I've accomplished all those things! Can't say for sure about the Tuesday run, but based on how my legs feel right now, I think Tuesday will be a go.

That all being said, my early wake up time, and the 15K that I ran today doesn't hold a candle to what patients with blood cancers go through every day.

With that being said, in honor of the 15K that I ran this morning, I would like to ask you to consider making a $15 donation to help me fight blood cancers! Your support is greatly appreciated!

The Battle

2011-08-10T00:38:00.000-07:00

Every 4 minutes one person is diagnosed with a blood cancer.

Every 10 minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer.

That's 145 people each day or more than six people every hour.

With your help, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, is making a difference!

The overall five-year survival rate for children under 15 years old with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) was 3% in 1964 - today it's 90.5%! The five-year survival rate for leukemia has quadrupled in the past 50 years, from 14% to 56.5%. Statistics have shown a significant imrpovement in the five-year survival rates of patients with myeloma during this same time frame - from 12% to 41.1%.

Hodgkin lymphoma is now considered to be one of the most curable forms of cancer. The five year survival rate for a person diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma has more than double fro 40% to 86.3% in the last 50 years. in children and adolescents ages 0 to 14, the five-year survival rate for Hodgkin lymphoma is 95.6%

In children and adolescent from 0 to 19 years, five year survival for non-Hodgkin lymphoma is now 84.7%. This represents a significant improvement: even in the mid-1970s, most children with NHL did not live five years after diagnosis.

Stay tuned tomorrow to hear about the patient services that Team in Training provides.

Anna vs. Blood Cancers

2011-08-09T01:01:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, I met my team mates and we started our journey to train for the Honolulu Marathon. The first work out went well - a nice 40 minute run along a bike path in Pearl Harbor. The best part though was being with my team mates. Together, we're racing against blood related cancers.

At this point you might be asking yourself, what are blood related cancers?

Excellent question!

Leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are types of cancer that can affect the bone marrow, the blood cells, the lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system. These diseases are related cancers in the sense that they probably all results from aquired mutations to the DNA of a single lymph or blood forming stem cell. The mutated stem cell produces clones, which generate high numbers of abnormal cells (such as neutrophils, momcytes and lyphocytes). The abnormal cells mutliply and survive without the usual controls that are in place for healthy cells. The accumulation of these cells in the marrow, blood and/or lymphatic tissue interferes with production and functioning of red cells, white cells and platelets. Ultimately, the disease process can lead to severe anemia, bleeding, an impaired ability to fight infection, or death.

Please consider making a donation to help fight these diseases!

You can either click HERE or on the button on the right side of the screen.

And stay tuned for more information about the mission of Team in Training and the Luekemia/Lymphoma Society, as well as tales from the trails (and trials) of my training!

PS - for those inquiring minds... yes, I did manage to accidently stick my finger in the puff paint on my training shirt... even after Jen, our fearless coordinator at TNT, warned me to be careful not to smudge the paint. Oops!

Deals, steals, and freebies!

2011-07-31T01:14:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I've ever met somebody who doesn't like a deal, steal, or freebie. While I haven't gotten into the whole coupon-ing craze, I check out a coupon-ing / deal / freebie website about once a day now called Hip2Save. And I have to say, many good things have come out if it! This week, I received coupons in the mail for a free full sized Pantene product and a free 6 pack of Jiff To-Go, and a box of free K-Cups.

With the deals, the site compiles different sales from around the web, and puts them all in the centralized web site. Most of the time, along with the deals, they'll have a coupon that you can use along with the coupon to lower the costs.

For example, Burt's Bees had a summer grab bag event. For $25, you get the grab bag filled with all kinds of goodies. And Hip2Save offered a $5 off coupon code. Thus, I paid $20 for the grab bag and received the goodies in the picture below - Full sized sunscreen, full sized hand soap, full sized after sun lotion, full sized lotion, regular Burt's Bees chap stick, lip gloss, 3 mini hard soaps, tooth paste, eye cream, a pumice stone, a wash cloth, a scrub brush and the handy bag!

Until today, I thought that the Burt's Bees deal was pretty amazing. Then the Bath and Body Works deal came along. It's a combination of several different factors:
1. Free Amour lotion coupon (it's the little lotion by the register, but hey, it's still free)
2. $10 off a purchase $30 coupon
3. The Bath and Body Works VIP Bag - kinda like the Burt's Bee's summer grab bag - but with a purchase of at least $30 you can get the grab bag for $20

All of this culminated in the perfect shopping storm (and a good chunk of Christmas shopping being accomplished!). You can see the majority of my loot below:

7 Hand Soaps (on sale 7 for $20) - a couple of the soaps got cut out of the pic
6 candles (on sale 3 for $5)
3 travel sized products (on sale 3 for $10)
1 Amour lotion (FREE! with coupon)
1 VIP Grab Bag ($20 - includes full sized lotion, full sized body wash, full sized body mist, fill sized soap, car air freshner with lady bug holder, candle, lip gloss, small hand lotion, hand sanitizer with holder, bath poof - all in a nice bag!)
All of that swag was $50... and I have successfully Christmas shopped for at least 10 people at Bath and Body Works! PLUS - I have a couple new things for myself!!!

Team in Training

2011-07-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

In 2007 & 2008 I had the amazing experience of training for the olympic distance Capitol of Texas Triathlon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team in Training. Since that time I've been longing to do another event with Team in Training. I'm excited to say that December 11, 2011, I will be running the Honolulu Marathon with Team in Training!

Thus, I invite you to help me as I race.

I need your help to finish my race, but much more importantly, we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure! Each donation helps accelerate finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Nearly 958,000 Americans are battling these blood cancers. I am hoping that my participation in Team In Training will help bring them hope and support.

Please consider making a (tax deductible) donation to help support LLS and Team in Training's mission!

The first official practice is a week from today. I'll keep you updated on my training and give you more information about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

Thanks for you donations and support!

To donate and find out more visit:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/hi/honolulu11/AnnaDoering

Mt. Olympus Trail

2011-07-06T23:52:00.000-07:00

Nothing says Happy July 4th like hiking straight across and up a mountain ridge! Andrew and i have been wanting to tackle the Mt. Olympus hike since I was out here this past fall for rotation. Unfortunately, life intervened (broken legs tend to prevent epic hikes). Thus, 9 months later we took on this trek. On paper (and the web where it's listed as a beginner/intermediate hike), it seemed quite doable. We didn't know that K&A affectionately refer to this hike as "The Hike of Death" until afterwards. The hike was hike + bear crawl + mountain climb + sheer incline + rappelling with a line attached to a shrub all on a foundation of slick clay (which made everything more exciting in a rain storm). That all being said, it was an awesome hike. The view was phenomenal. (and quite frankly it's really cool to say that we've done it.) As to whether or not we will do it again during our time in Hawaii... well that has yet to be seen. For now, I bring you some awesome pictures.

The first part of the trail is part of a trail system maintained by the state park system. You then brazenly pass signs that say "DO NOT GO FARTHER! TRAIL NOT MAINTAINED!"
The rewards of this hike are the beautiful views - Diamond head with a cruise ship sailing past.
And after you crest the mountains, suddenly you can see over to the other side of the island. I wasn't expecting this, so I suddenly looked up from bear crawling to realize that I was standing on top of my favorite mountain range and could see Kailua. Pretty awesome.

Looking back towards Diamond Head / Waikiki / Honolulu. The mountain range in the center is what we hiked.

To prove that we were there... us with Diamond Head in the back ground.

Followed by shot with Kaneohe Bay.

It started to rain on the way down the mountain... and lets just say that Anna + Rain + steep down hills + clay = accidentally sliding down a mountain on my tush. Oops.

Tuesday Funday - Catch up!

2011-07-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

I have 3 weeks worth of Tuesday Fundays to catch up on.

Today, we headed to the Honolulu Zoo. Where it was totally reconfirmed that zoos are 100x more fun with small children.

While it is not the best zoo I've ever been to, it's still a fun way to spend an afternoon. And it's probably the only place where you can take a pic of a zebra with Diamond Head Crater in the background.

Last week, we went to Teddy's Bigger Burgers. I ate my entire burger with pepper jack cheese and bacon ... a half order of fries... and a cookie. I went running that morning and did Zumba that night to work it off. It was worth every calorie.

(Confession, this is not my burger. This is a pic that I down loaded from the Teddy's web site)

Two weeks ago - the whole day off on Tuesday, as I worked the following Sunday. I met up with Karl and Ashley at Dole Plantataion. We viewed pineapples of all varieties and ate Dole Whip.

Drove up to Laniakea Beach and saw all sea turtles, swimming in the swells.

And went to Hale'iwa town for DELICIOUS shrimp!

Aiea Loop Trail

2011-07-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

When dating someone in the Navy, there are several things I have learned in regards to making life plans:

1. Make Plans

2. Realize that all plans that you've made are tentative up until the moment when those plans are executed.

3. When said plans change, make other plans to keep yourself busy.

4. When creating other plans, realize that hiking by yourself when you're a clutz like me, might not be the best of plans... for fear that you'll either fall off the mountain or fall and break a leg.

That all being said, A was going to be gone on Saturday, then he was going to be here and we were going to take some midshipmen snorkeling and hiking, then, in the end, he had duty. So I was left to my own devices. In efforts to get myself out of the house and not sit on my duff and mope, I took on a challenge, which in retrospect, was probably kinda silly and unsafe, to take on by myself.

I hiked the Aiea Loop Trail. A 4.8 mile long SUPER SUPER muddy trail that runs along some of the ridge tops at the end of Aiea Heights Drive. (when they told me how muddy it was, I totally underestimated it). The good news - I only fell once and didn't break anything in that fall (and I had cell service that entire time). And it was a really neat hike.

A few pics from my trek....

H3 running through the valley below

Looking down at Pearl Harbor sub base.

Amazingly, this pic does not do the amount of mud on my legs justice. The backs of my legs where pretty bad. And my shorts were covered in mud from where I fell.

BUT

It was a really cool hike.

And from here on out, I won't be hiking alone. :-)

For a smile...

2011-06-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

Isn't he handsome?
I sure do think so.

Just so you know, this is what happens when we try to take our picture.
The previous picture was the result of about 50 attempts...
Most of which look like the selection below.

Summer Swap

2011-06-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

Confession: I'm a blog stalker.

Some of the blogs I stalk are incredibly popular.

Example: Pioneer Woman

Some of the blogs I stalk fuel my dreams of being a chef or being crafty

Example: Smitten Kitchen, Joy the Baker, How Does She

Some of the blogs I stalk are friends and family.

And some of the blogs I stalk are typed by women who are in relationships (dating, married) to men in the armed forces.

That's how I stumbled upon Flip Flops and Combat Boots.

And she does one of the coolest things. The "Summer Essentials Swap." It's like a care package or pen pal swap. I thought it sounded like so much fun. So I signed up and was paired with Cat, of "The C.W." blog.

My package came on Friday, and I was ecstatic!

She sent me a new cute beach towel - check out the awesome hibiscus print!! A new magazine for beach reading. New note cards, notepaper and pens (to help me write my letters for my 28 before 28!). And the awesome red/white/blue bow and bells metal art (It's so cute and it came just in time for July 4th too!!).

So a big THANK YOU to Cat! I love my summer essentials! And a thank you to Flip Flops and Combat Boots for putting together a fun swap!

Tuesday Funday

2011-06-15T10:10:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, Funday

It's better than a Monday.

That's the theme song for Tuesdays.

Yesterday we headed out to the Ko Olina lagoons to relax and float.

It was lovely.

(Please note the small child with the diaper hanging down to it's knees behind us)

Tuesday Funday

2011-06-08T23:26:00.001-07:00

Tuesdays, I have the ultimate pleasure of working a half day. So my sweet cousins and I have started taking full advangage. Every Tuesday afternoon is Tuesday Funday (aka Tuesday Tourist day). And there's even a jingle. "Tuesday, funday. It's better than a Monday."

Anyway, now that K & A are off of school, we have started our adventures.

Last week we went to the Rainbow Drive-In, a quintessential Waikiki Hawaiian fast food local.

I partook in a quintessential Hawaiian fast food dish, the Loco Moco. Two fried eggs, over two hamburger patties smothered in gravy on a bed of rice, with a side serving of mayo covered macaroni salad. All in all, I would rank it as OK and will not be ordering it again. BUT - it's a Hawaiian experience and I experienced it.

This week we headed to the International Market Place in Waikiki, where all the tourists shop. We meandered through the stalls. The best shop by far was an art gallery that we stepped into with the work of Carl Little and Heather Brown. It was amazing. Seriously. Check them out.

The Drought

2011-06-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

Oh my readers.... I am sorry for the blog drought.

I do have very valid excuses for my lack of posting.

1. Andrew is home!! He's been home for almost 2 weeks now and it's just been time filled with joy. After being apart for so much of our relationship, even the mundane feels extraordinary. There's been cuddling and TV watching and cooking and cleaning and grocery shopping and just talking and catching up on life. There been lots of talking and lots of laughter... and I couldn't ask for anything more.

2. Work last week... was intense. It was the perfect storm of overwhelmingly increased responsibility. Two of the other PAs were gone, my schedule was full for the first time, and they opened my schedule up so that now I have double the amount of patient appointment slots. All I can tell you to express the intensity of my work schedule, is that I'm now having nightmares about work. Nightmares where I forget to do something for a patient or forget to chart something or forget to write a prescription. And they're so realistic that I've woken up and signed online to check my patient charts to see if I saw that patient before. BUT I'm learning and adjusting and growing. And slowly, I'm turning into a confident, professional PA.

But there have been lots of fun things too:

- Dinner at BLT Steak, a fabulous restaurant at Trump Tower in Waikiki

- Memorial Day enchiladas (a definite recipe win) with Andrew, Karl and Ashley

- A tour of the U.S.S Columbus with the most handsome J.O. (seriously, I'm not bias). I so wish I could show you pictures... but taking pictures is forbidden. So I'll just tell you that going on a working submarine is just as cool as you'd think. The sleeping quarters are smaller than you think. To finally get to see the tiny rack where Andrew lives when he's gone... to see the ward room and command... and the torpedo just down the hall... and the door to engineering (my silly civilian self can't go in. It's top secret). It was just awesome. And I have to admit, Andrew is a most excellent tour guide.

- The first weekly Tuesday Funday! More to come on that tomorrow! (when we have the second installment!)

Tonight, I leave you with the beautiful flowers/plant that were waiting for me when I came home from work on Friday.

He sure knows how to make me smile.

The Beauty of the UK

2011-05-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

If you know me well, you know that ever since I studied abroad in London in autumn 2004, I have had a love affair with England. I desperately want to go back... and truthfully wouldn't mind living there at all... if it were closer to friends and family and had a US submarine base... That being said, my love for all things from the UK has recently bled over into my music. I'm not saying that US bands/singers/songwriters are doing a poor job. What I am saying is that the musical groups from the UK are shining in a brilliant way. If you have a moment, take a listen. Soak in the musical genius... and know that these groups are providing me with an excellent soundtrack as I clean the house.

Adele - Rolling in the Deep

Mumford and Sons - Roll Away Your Stone

Coldplay - Viva la Vida

U2 - All I Want Is You

WWW

2011-05-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

Weight - Well, this is a happier week in this reporting section! At Weight Watchers this past Saturday I was down a pound! Meaning that I lost the 0.8 that I put on over the past two weeks along with another 0.2. I still really struggle with eating on the weekends. I think if I can have a good Saturday/Sunday, I'll have a much easier rest of the week.

Workout - Still can't seem to hit the elusive 5 runs. I did however get 3 runs, a hike and a Zumba class. (the Zumba class is why my shoulders are currently super tight)

So - Goals for this week:

1. Only use 20 of my "bonus points" on the weekend

2. Go on 5 runs (I think that will continue to be my goal until it actually happens)

Live Fire

2011-05-16T01:18:00.000-07:00

I went on a hike today with a friend in the Waianae mountains on Schofield Army Barracks. This was the sign that greeted us on the hiking trail (which has been validated many times as actually being a safe hiking trail). It still was a little disconcerting to hear the gun shots from the live fire exercises going on in the valley below us.

As I went through the pictures that I took today, I was actually a little disappointed by the panoramics of the coast or the valley that I took. However, some of the nature shots I quite liked. I thought I'd share those with you.

WWW (along with some odds and ends)

2011-05-12T00:55:00.000-07:00

Weight
Well... let me tell you... this was not a post I wanted to write. At weight watchers this past Saturday I was up another 0.6lb. :-( Still not a ton, but up. If I look back on that week, I can see where I went wrong. One of my leaders once said, "If you kinda do it, it kinda works. But if you really do it, it really works." I have been kinda doing the plan for the past couple of weeks. And it hasn't even been kinda working. But this week, since weighing in on Saturday, I have been meticulously tracking. And based on my weight in the morning on the bathroom scale, I'm very excited to see what my weight is on Saturday morning.

Workout
One episode of surfing (please see previous post for details), several toning sessions, two runs. The goal for this week is 5 runs. (counting today, I'm at one. 4 more left to go)

Because my post yesterday was so bleak, I thought I should extend today's post to share an amazing story with you.
Do you remember the super complicated patient form the post yesterday (DM, HTN, hyperlipidemia, and every other condition known to man)? Well he also happens to also be a very nice guy who loves to laugh. Today, he came back to the clinic, and waited for me to be free so that I could run down stairs. He gave me a huge hug and thanked me for taking such good care of him. (and told me I was his favorite Haole!) Additionally, he also brought along a box of doughnuts. I of course had to take a picture because after the way I've felt the past couple of days, this was some amazing affirmation. And in pursuit of my weight goal, the only thing I took from the box of delicious looking doughnuts was a picture!

As another fun side note, these are the chocolate muffins I baked yesterday. So tasty and only 4 points!! Celebration in cupcake form!

Sunday Smiles

2011-05-09T00:26:00.000-07:00

1. Andrew has been in port. For several days now. Which has meant a number of wonderful phone calls and a couple of chats online. Yes, I am living vicariously as he goes went to my childhood dream zoo and Sea World. But it's such a joy to wake up to a text from my sailor and to catch up on life....

2. In another completely gushy smile, Andrew sent me a Ziggy card... it was wonderful and sweet and romantic. Can you tell that I am more ready than ever for him to come back home?

3. The Good Shepherd church ohana. Ohana is the Hawaiian word for family... and I have to admit that I've found that ohana doesn't just apply to the traditional family unit. But they make it apply to the sense of community as a whole. And Good Shepherd makes the word Ohana come alive. With care and hugs... and eating. I remember that one of my college profs talks about the family of God eating... and there really is something to be said about family eating a growing together. And every Sunday after church there's an eclectic assortment of delicious food... from pasta to sandwiches to muffins to cake to sushi to SPAM. All that to say, I am so thankful for that Ohana.

4. I went and tried on dresses this evening. Didn't buy one, but it was just fun.

5. Two wonderful phone calls with friends. Catching up on life and jobs. And planning their trips out to the land of Aloha!

6. My mother. Only fitting that she is a smile this Sunday. How to thank a woman who is not just my mother but a cherished role model and friend? Words can't describe how much I love her. She blesses me continually with love and support. I love you mom.

28 before 28: Surfing Lessons

2011-05-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

This morning, I woke up to rain. It has been raining here, complete with thunder and lightening, for the past week. The only difference today was that I cared. For the past three weeks I have been looking forward to this Saturday, because I was scheduled to take surfing lessons. Thankfully, the weather cleared, and at 8:30 my cousin Karl picked me up and we headed down to White Plains Beach and the Refresh Ministries surf clinic.

This should all be prefaced by saying that by nature, I'm pretty klutzy. Thus when they were teaching us how to get up on the board, I looked kinda pensive.

But after a couple of times through the routine of knees, foot pivot on land
They let me loose in the ocean. Well truthfully, not so much on the "loose in the ocean." I had a fabulous teacher named Sherry who was with me the whole time, helping me choose waves, giving me pointers, having me practice when the water was flat. And thanks to her help and encouragement I caught a couple of waves! ( I also fell into the water a ton, and managed to get a gnarly coral cut on the bottom of my foot)
As you can see in the above picture, my technique still needs a little work. I'm not centered and my feet are way too close together. But even with those flaws, I caught a couple of waves! And you better believe that I'll be back at Refresh Ministries surf clinic next month.

Although next month, I'll be in a long sleeved rash guard, a one piece swim suit and board shorts to prevent a rash from the beginner board. You can see parts of the rash from today in the pic below on my knees. I'm enjoying a SPAM musubi post surfing... a tasty Hawaiian comfort meal.

Oops!

2011-05-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

Weight and Workout Wednesday - Thursday edition

I forgot yesterday.

Forgive me?

Weight

Well, last Saturday, I was up 0.2 lbs. Not too much. But definitely was frustrated that it was the wrong direction. I still struggle the most on the weekends. And this week I had a day of stress eating on Monday too. But the past 2 days have been really good.

Workouts

Ran - Wednesday, Friday, Saturday

Working on doing more this week!

Expect a post tonight about life in general... and this weekend, since I'll be crossing off an exciting "To Do" on my 28 before 28, there will be a post about that too!!

Weight and Workout Wednesdays

2011-04-27T01:09:00.001-07:00

Weight - Down another pound! That makes me down 12.8 pounds since I started at the end of December (post Christmas, pre New Years). I really need to do a better job of eating on the weekends. I think after I weigh in on Saturdays, I treat them too much like a free day.

I've also come up with a reward scheme for myself as I lose weight:

170 = Outfit at Target

168.5 = $80 to spend however I want (Why 168.5? When I get there, I will have lost 10% of my initial starting weight. Why $80? It was my last cash rewards money from my credit card... so as a reward, I'll splurge and spend it however I want)

165 = Amazon.com gift cards (I'm accumulating gift cards via my points at swagbucks.com. Currently I have $15, but we'll see what the total is when I hit this mark)

160 = Scuba Lessons

155 = Sseko Sandles

150 = Stand up paddle lessons

145 = Trip to the Big Island to see volcanos!

140 = Buy my bikini

135 = New fun dress to wear on a date!
Ultimate goal weight = 130 = Swim with the dolphins at Sea Life Park!

Workout - 4 runs (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Monday), 1 work out video (Crunch Abs), 1 Zumba class (oh how I've missed Zumba - I took the class last night. First Zumba class in over a month. I am sure I'll feel it today. Last night after I got home I showered and grabbed some dinner, and as I sat there eating my body had that post really good work out feel. Similar to what I would feel after a really good work out when I was doing triathlons)

WWW

2011-04-20T23:37:00.000-07:00

Weight

Down the 1.2 lbs that I gained during the move! Have had a harder time sticking to the weight watchers plan this week. But am desperately trying.

Workout

So, I didn't get the 5 workouts in that I was shooting for, but I got in 3 runs. Which is one more than last week. The goal for this week will once again be 5.

Ode to a Cantaloupe

2011-04-19T23:43:00.000-07:00

Oh cantaloupe.

Your sweet smell wafted in the breeze

Inexplicably drawing my cart towards you.

With the draw of a supposed online sale pushing you my way.

You rested in my cart, holding the promise of tasty snacks.

Hiding your duplicity so expertly.

Til suddenly at the cash register, your true colors shone,

Weighing $8.44

Dear cantaloupe, you two faced, expensive fruit

Enjoy your lonely resting place at Safeway.

I will savor every bite of my Hawaiian pineapple.

I Live Here Now

2011-04-18T00:25:00.000-07:00

Since graduating from high school, God has taken me on many adventures far from the place I considered home in Texas.

Seward, Nebraska to attend Concordia University

London, England for an amazing semester at Oak Hill University

New Haven, Connecticut (and Branford!) to the Physician Associate program at Yale University

Maseno, Kenya for 10 weeks (which amazingly I returned from a year ago on Friday)

And now, Honolulu, Hawaii

However, there has been a difference with this move.

In the previously mentioned moves, there has always been a transition time. Usually filled with tears. When I questioned the adventure versus what was known and safe.

As I sat and said,

"Why did I move to the middle of no where Nebraska? I could've gone to Texas A&M?"

"England? What was I thinking? I should've just stayed in Nebraska!"

"Yes it's Yale. But it's half way across the country. I could've gone to Baylor!"

"Taking time off to do research in Kenya! It's extra work, and extra time, and so far away! AND by the time I get back to Connecticut A will have moved to Hawaii!"

In the end, God's plan was far better than mine. But there was most certainly a period of questioning. With this move, I had a little panic when I moved from Connecticut to Texas... but two weeks before I moved here, the anxiety vanished and there was just peace. And that peace has been the over arching theme of my time here, from packing, to the moment I stepped on the plane, to the early morning when I dropped A off at the pier for this underway, to my first day of work.

This past Saturday I was driving towards Waikiki, the moisture in the air was low, so I could see all the way down the island to Diamond Head, and suddenly it hit me, "I live here now." Once again, peace. It's pretty amazing to know that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Weight and Workout Wednesdays

2011-04-13T23:54:00.000-07:00

Oh accountability....

Weight: I weighed in at Weight Watchers last Saturday. After two weeks "off" thanks to many dinners out and moving, I am up 1.2 pounds. BUT - I have been following the plan this week and recording everything that I eat. I'm within my points. As the leader said when I left the meeting last Saturday, "We'll see less of you next week!"

Workout: Well, after last Wednesday, I was kinda a lazy bum. Until yesterday. Yesterday and today I got in two good runs after work. Next week, I will have worked out at least 5 times.

Please please keep me accountable to this!

28 Before 28 - Update

2011-04-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

1. Make a budget on Mint.com and stick to it

After much deliberation, I actually decided NOT to go with Mint.com. Instead I found a pre-made Excel budget spreadsheet that I could download for free online. From this, I made a monthly budget. I then down loaded a free iphone app called HomeBudget. I input my budget here and am now tracking all my expenses. It's very eye opening. And so far has been really helpful in terms of helping me cut back on my spending.

11. Make a photo book online from my Kenya photos.

I actually used the photo editing software on my Mac book and am really pleased with how it turned out. HOWEVER, the book is more expensive than I was expecting. (Don't ask how I determined what I was expecting to pay for this book, as I had never made one before). Thus, I'm hoping that one of my readers can recommend a quality, but less expensive place to make a photo book. Let me know.

16. Grow an herb garden

My garden has been planted. Three little pots. One with basil, another with cilantro, and the last with Rosemary. I have more soil, so perhaps I will plant a fourth. For now, I'm reading the herb gardening book I checked out from the library yesterday and hoping for the best. I'll keep you updated.

I also should mention that I've been alone pretty much all week here in Oahu. I saw Karl and Ashley on Monday, but since that time I haven't really had all that much human interaction (unless you count the employees at the DMV or the library). Consequently, I've been trying to keep myself busy with other things. Getting myself completely unpacked, cleaning the apartment, doing laundry, planting the herb garden, updating my blog. ;-) One of my projects this week has been to create a jewelry display piece. While it's not as cool as my sister-in-law's, I think it has a nice Hawaiian feel. Tomorrow I might try to make and earring display area that looks a little more like Chelsey's.

For the Win!

2011-04-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

Today for the win...
I crossed so many things off my to do list. Most importantly, I got my new drivers license. It's the first license I've had that isn't from Texas. Also my first license that doesn't sport a picture that was taken while I was in high school.

I also had a number of wins in the food category.
A year and a half ago, my roommates at Bran House introduced me to a hand held milk foam-er, the Aerolatte. It allows you to easily foam milk from the comfort of your own home. So for the past several days, I've been making and drinking amazing coffee concoctions, without the Starbucks price.
This actually isn't coffee, it's Earl Grey tea, but also a wonderful drink.

And I also had a chance to cook.
I made stuffed tomatoes.
I noticed the recipe yesterday on Foodgawker, and on an impulse I decided to make it.
So glad that I did.
You should try these tomatoes.
Now.
It's a stuffed tomato with couscous (or quinoa), tofu, basil, shallots, hot sauce and lots of other deliciousness.
You can find the recipe here.

One Week

2011-04-06T23:55:00.001-07:00

Hawaii
Unbelievably it has been my home for one week now.
If you would have even mentioned to me two years ago that I would move here at the end of PA school, I would have told you that you were crazy.
I guess God has a way of bringing things into my life that I never could dream.
For all you sappy romantics out there like me, yes I do mean my handsome sailor, as well as a job that I'm excited to begin.

I don't have any pictures from my time here yet.
It's been the fairly ordinary moments of life when you move... unpacking, signing paperwork at HR, studying for my exam to get a Hawaii drivers license.
It's just all in the setting of Hawaii.
Honestly, how often is the HR office directly across the street from Waikiki beach?
Or do you see a tan, shirtless, shoeless gentleman walk into the Apple store with a large, LIVE blue parrot on either shoulder?

And then there was a stolen weekend...
When the boat schedule and my arrival schedule overlapped.
Since about Christmas, we knew that we were going to miss each other in Hawaii by a couple of weeks.
But then, two weeks before I arrived, the plan beautifully changed.
I had myself convinced that I wasn't going to see him til Saturday.
And consequently I crawled into bed at 9:30 pm Friday so that Saturday would come faster.
45 minutes after I had fallen asleep there was a soft knock at the door... and I opened it to see a handsome sailor in uniform.
My handsome sailor.
It was a wonderful weekend of just being together and catching up on life.
He made me feel so cherished and loved, helping me to get settled as much as he could in our short time together.
It was a gift.
Which I had to remind myself of time and time again as I dropped him off at the pier at 5:55am Monday morning with a pick up time TBD.
But that too is a gift.
This time, when he comes home, I will be here.

Weight and Workout Wednesdays

2011-04-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

After two weeks off of my plan (secondary to my last week in Texas and my move to Hawaii),

I am back on the Weight Watchers plan.

Thus, because I want to lose 14 pounds before Andrew gets back home

And because I NEED accountability,

Wednesdays from this point forward will be

"Weight and Workout Wednesdays"

Kinda boring blogging I know.

But I honestly need the help.

I seem to only lose weight when I have it.

There will be two areas of accountability:

Weight - how much has been lost in the previous week

Workout - a log of my workouts the previous week

Weight:

For this week, I can tell you where I was when I weighed in the last time, Saturday, March 26 - I was officially down 11.8lbs since starting. The goal here is to have lost 25.8 lbs total (or an additional 14 lbs) by May 28.

Workout:

Today I started the Weight Watchers run a 5K program, and on the rest days will be doing a series of "Bikini Body" exercises that I got from SELF online.

Like I said, not overly exciting, but be ready for the update next weekend.

Aloha!

2011-04-04T16:06:00.001-07:00

These are four bags... filled with my things that were taken to the airport in Houston...

Where I said goodbye to my parents....

And flew 8 hours and 20 minutes to my new home in Hawaii...

True, this is not my island.

This is the coast of Maui.

But it was very very pretty from the air.

And I couldn't take a picture of Oahu, because I had to put my phone away for landing.

Indulgence

2011-03-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

After lunch with a friend today, I pulled out my phone and searched for an address.

You see, for the past month, a Crave cupcake has been calling my name.

So I plugged the address into my GPS and drove a couple of blocks to the bakery.

I walked in and I was overwhelmed.

It was cute and smelled of heavenly baked goods.

And then I saw the cupcakes.

My eyes popped out of my head and I'm pretty sure my brain turned to mush.

Before I knew it, I had ordered four.

FOUR CUPCAKES!

German Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Hummingbird and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut.

And on the way out they door they handed me a mini red velvet cupcake.

For free!

I sat down in my car and my brain came running back to me.

As of this past Saturday at Weight Watchers, I'm officially 12 pounds down at Weight Watchers.

A fabulous start... but I still have 30 or so more pounds to go til my goal weight.

I'm pretty sure that FOUR of these cupcakes wouldn't be helpful.

Thus, I SAVORED every bit of the mini cupcake and promptly drove over to friends house and surprised them with a 2 cupcake delivery.

Two cupcakes did make it home with me. My parents, grandma and I have been cutting off slivers and enjoying them after dinner.

Words can't describe the taste.

They are a celebration with every bite.

28 before 28 - Go to a Concert

2011-03-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo - 2011

If you've never been, the HLSR is like a HUGE fair meets a rodeo meets concert events.

Always a good excuse for a city slicker like myself to put on my cowboy boots and go enjoy all things country.

Thursday night some dear friends and I went to the Rodeo and saw the Zac Brown band in the concert that followed.

While I know that Zac Brown Band was not originally on my list of concerts to see before I turned 28, but the more I look at the tour schedules for Mumford and Sons, U2 and Coldplay, I've realized that those three are pretty unlikely. Zac Brown Band put on an excellent show. And the rodeo before it was a ton of fun too! This is the last weekend of the rodeo, so the events are now to qualify for the big money series this weekend. Thus, we saw really high quality rodeo. We also saw my new favorite rodeo event:

Mutton Bustin'

How can you not love this event?!?!?!?!?!? Stick a 5-6 year old weighing less than 60 lbs on a sheep and tell them to hang on for dear life. LOVE IT! Just watch a little bit of the video. I promise it will make you smile.

The Life of the Employed but not yet Working

2011-03-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

Boards have been taken and passed.

The wedding was an amazingly beautiful success.

(see previous post for details)

This all leaves me employed but not yet working.

I've slept til 9am the past 3 mornings.

I wrote a passionate letter to the Today show after it's chief medical editor, Dr. Nancy Snyderman stated that PA's were "best used in sub-specialties and can't write prescriptions." Here's to hoping that they correct that tomorrow.

I've also discovered some wonderful web sites. They compile things from the blog-sphere and then you can choose what to look at.

Foodgawker

CraftGawker

PA-C and the rewards that followed!

2011-03-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Woke up early.

Drove across town.

Sat in a cubicle with ear plugs in answering 360 questions over the span of 5 1/2 hours.

Left, not feeling good but definitely not feeling terrible, and with my brain in a puddle on the floor, simply from mental exhaustion.

Thursday, March, 10, 2011

Woke up at 4:30am.

Checked email.

Fell back asleep.

Woke up 30 minutes later.

Checked email.

Fell back asleep.

Repeated this cycle until about 7:30 am when I got the email officially saying I passed the PANCE and earned the title of PA-C! (Physician Assistant - Certified)

Needless to say, it was the start of a very good, very relaxing day.

In my previous post, I listed ways that I wanted to celebrate.

I haven't celebrated with any of those things quite yet.

I did find other ways though:

The afternoon after I took the PANCE, I went with my mom and a friend to get a manicure and pedicure. The afternoon of pampering was most excellent. I tried a new kind of manicure where they actually use a shellac based paint on your nails. I am quite impressed with it. My nails were painted on Wednesday, and today (Monday morning) there aren't any chips or dings. Usually if I paint my nails, I can't go 24 hours without chipping them.

I must admit I've filled my cart at the Sseko store with a pair of sandals and two sets of straps at least twice. I still haven't purchased them. (it's the whole no salary yet thing)

I went back to HEB to buy the "Educated Guess" wine, only to find that it mysteriously disappeared. And I went back to check twice. Thus, I bought a nice Tempernillo which was also quite yummy.

The biggest celebration of the weekend though, was a celebration that I was blessed to be a part of as my sweet friend J married H! It was a beautiful wedding and the weekend was filled with countless joyful moments from the rehearsal to the rehearsal dinner to hair and makeup to the most important part, the wedding ceremony.

Rewards

2011-03-07T07:50:00.000-08:00

In just over two days I will have taken the PANCE (Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam). In terms of titles for certifying exams, it's a catchy acronym.

I then will wait 18 hours to find out my results Thursday morning. I very well might have to take a Tylenol PM to help with sleeping that night, since my heart rate increases just thinking about it.

Should I pass, I've started selecting different ways to celebrate:

I've really wanted a Crave cupcake for a while now. And when they have a special Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo cupcake, how can you say no?

I'm also considering purchasing a pair of Sseko sandals.

When you purchase a pair, you get the sandal bottom and then a set of straps. But the straps are interchangeable, and come in a variety of really fun colors.

And you can fashion the straps in a myriad of ways.

Not only are they super cute, but they have an amazing story behind them. They are made by women in Uganda who are earning money to fund their university education.

Check out the web site. It's an awesome organization.

The wine... well I will drink the wine on Wednesday. It will be my immediate reward.

I'm nerdy enough that when I saw a wine label with chemical formulas on it at the grocery store, I was hooked.

Furthermore, the wine is called "Educated Guess."

Goodness knows that's what I feel like I'm going to do on the PANCE Wednesday.

Sweet Friends

2011-03-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

Mom and I just finished day two of our drive from Connecticut to Houston. She's snuggled in bed while I check my email and do some PANCE review questions at our hotel in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

But last night...

Last night, I had the joy of staying with my sweet friends Steven and Jess at their home in Durham.

After living so closely to these two for 10 weeks in Kenya, Jess and I had a conversation that started like this,

Anna - "Hey, I've never seen you in pants!"

Jess - "I know, I've never seen you in pants either!"

Sounds lurid, I know. But it's not. It's crazy the conversations you can have when you only wear skirts in Kenya for 10 weeks.

2011-03-01T19:23:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow I leave Connecticut.

Wow.

And today, for the first time really, I got scared. There's just so much unknown right now. It makes me ache for familiarity.

When I step back, I know that I am really really excited about being a PA and moving to Hawaii. But today, when I packed my cookie sheets in a box destined for Goodwill, I lost it. Yes, I cried over cookie sheets. I think more because of what they represented... a piece of the familiar... (and a piece of the almost entire kitchen that I gave away to Goodwill).

So, for tonight I focus on what I'm thankful for:

- A wonderful phone call with my dear friend Erin, filled with wisdom and discernment and clarity

- My mom flying into Connecticut to help me pack, clean my apartment and travel to Texas

- A new pair of blue, polka dot PJ pants with a pink ribbon and a pink Y near the hip. (yes, I splurged and bought Yale PJ pants... totally cute... totally worth it)

- Kelsey... how I'm going to function without seeing this girl at least weekly if not more, is beyond me. I've been staying at her place for the past couple of days, and it's been like a constant sleep over. Chatting late into the night.

- Sweet words of truth from my beautiful Michaiah (keep in mind, she's 3... and today she spoke a phenomenal amount of truth into my 27 year old heart) "Jesus lives in your heart and he is helping you. He lives in your heart forever."

That is beauty.

28 before 28

2011-02-27T04:51:00.000-08:00

For better or worse, I like to feel like I have some semblance of control in my life. That being said, God constantly likes to remind me just how not in control of my life I am. Right now there are a plethora* of exciting changes in my life: ending school, moving to Hawaii, starting a job. On the whole, I'm riding that wave of excitement. However, there still is this distinctive personality flaw to desire control. A year ago, my sweet friend Sarah made a list of 27 things she wanted to do before she turned 27. I thought it was an amazing idea, which I liked significantly more than New Years resolutions, but I never got around to making a list myself. Several days ago, during a study or packing break, I decided that now would be an excellent time to make a list of goals for the next year. Thus, I bring you a list of 28 things that I want to do before I turn 28 on January 14, 2012. I tried to make the list things that are easily measurable and seemed doable within the next year.

Consequently, certain things did not get put on the list:

- Master the art of managing hypertension and diabetes (definitely a must for the next year, but how do I measure that? And with new drugs and therapies always arriving on the market, can I ever say that I've mastered it?)

- Keep my apartment clean and organized (Once again, a question of how best to qualify what makes a "clean and organized" apartment and how to definitively say that I have achieved that goal)

- Ironman 70.3 (Believe it or not, I think this is on my goal list for the next several years. NOT doable in the next 11 months.)

- Returning to London for a visit (my heart is missing London... a visit is due. However, the PTO and the finances will not be there for a visit this year)

I also did not include things that MUST happen:

- Passing the PANCE (Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam)

All that being said, without further to do, and in no particular order, I bring you:

28 before 28

1. Make a budget on Mint.com and follow it

2. Run a 5K in under 30 minutes

3. Run a marathon in under 5 hours

4. Go snorkeling at Haunauma Bay

5. Finish my scrapbook from when I studied abroad in England... in the fall of 2004

6. Start playing piano again, and learn Chopin's Nocturne in E flat

7. Audition for a community theater production

8. Join and become involved in a church

9. Read through the Bible

10. Hike up Diamond Head crater

11. Make a photo book online from my Kenya pictures

12. Cook a 4 course meal for Andrew... that doesn't involve smoke filling his kitchen or a seasoning flop

13. Pray through the Psalms

14. Get a pet - preferably a dog, but we will see what my apartment allows

15. Journal 5 things that I'm thankful for daily

16. Grow an herb garden

17. Visit the big island of Hawaii and see an active volcano

18. Take a wine tasting class

19. Pick 5 classic novels and read them, cover to cover. Without cheating a reading the ending first.

20. Write letters to my grandparents telling them why I love them

21. Find an organization that I believe in and volunteer

22. Master the art of applying make up

23. Reach my goal weight

24. Confidently wear a bikini

25. Go to a concert, preferably Coldplay, U2, or Mumford and Sons, but it's all dependent on if they come to Honolulu

26. Take a surfing lesson

27. Get my SCUBA certification

28. Write snail mail letters to 10 friends that I haven't talked to in a while, just to catch up.

Bonus:

- Try one new recipe a week

I'll keep my progress on here and let you know how it goes!

*not a goal for the 28 before 28, but just a general life goal: I'm trying to cut my usage of the phrase "a lot." Thus, today I brought you words such as plethora and overabundance

It's Over

2011-02-26T08:34:00.000-08:00

I started this blog in August (or July... I'd have to double check to make sure) of 2008 as I quit my job and moved from home in Houston, Texas (family, friends and church) to the wild unknowns of New Haven, CT to begin the Physician Associate program at Yale.

29 months later, it's over.

50 tests didactic year, 14 clinical rotations, 1 thesis, 10 weeks in Kenya, countless procedure minimums.

Finished.

Complete.

And truthfully, it feels surreal. I'm positive that at any moment the program is going to call or email or contact me by carrier pigeon to say that I forgot to do something... I can't grasp that at this time next week, I'll be sitting at a desk in Houston studying for my boards as opposed to sitting on my air mattress in my empty apartment writing a blog (when I should be studying for boards). Even more than that, I can't fathom that in just over a month I'm moving to Hawaii... and several weeks after that will be starting at Waikiki Health Care with my own panel of patients. Luckily at this point all I can do live the day that I've been given. Otherwise, I'm fairly sure that this would all be way too overwhelming for words.

I remember feeling almost the same way in the months prior to my move to Connecticut. Excited yet scared... However this time, my nerves about moving seem a little more manageable because I am so excited about my move... And about the fact that I will no longer be in a long distance relationship... Well, except for when Andrew is underway... but when he's in port, I'll be there too! On top of that, Karl and Ashley are there... and I'm super pumped about my job... and it's Hawaii! I never pictured myself living there, but it's going to be quite a nice place to live. Sun, sand, the "aloha" culture....

With all the ups and downs, I'm more thankful for my time in CT than I can say. I made dear friends in my class. Lived with an amazing group of girls ON LONG ISLAND SOUND. Had countless movie nights. Kayaked. Ran 2 marathons. Saw 4 shows at Shakespeare in the Park, including the best show I've ever seen (Twelfth Night). Relaxed with dear friends and family in NYC and Norwich. Fell in love with an amazing man. Visited Groton countless times. (I kid you not, I was talking to someone this past weekend and they said, "Groton? That's a town name? That's terrible. It sounds like a curse!). Went to Boston for a weekend. Had wonderful visits with my family when they came to visit. Fake graduated from Yale twice (with all the pomp and circumstance befitting a Yale graduation). The list could go on and on...

But for now, I should stop reminiscing, go take a shower, and get back to studying for boards!

2011-01-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

I feel that my blogging comes in waves. Sometimes there are wonderful or exciting or just random things going on in my life that I feel like I need to share. But then that raises the question of who exactly I'm sharing these things with. When I was Kenya, this blog was a place to update family and friends on my life. However, at this moment, I'm not exactly sure what the point of this blog is.... does it give me some sort of importance and semblance of control as I cling to Christ (as opposed to my predilection to worry) in the face of the unknown which is rapidly approaching? Or is it just that I've always been prone to keeping a journal and this provides a place to do it? I honestly don't know.

For now, I'll keep putting pictures up and updating when I can. My 365 days of pictures are already going to be less than those 365 pictures... and I refuse to feel like a failure simply because I can't blog. :-)

This was taken on Saturday at the Tasting Room, an excellent restaurant near River Oaks in Houston. A friend was playing live music there this weekend, and his wife, another friend and I met there to enjoy wine, cheese, and truffle pizza. (if you ever go, you MUST try the truffle pizza. I'm drooling thinking about it). It was a wonderful night of catching up with friends.

Playing Catch Up

2011-01-13T17:37:00.001-08:00

Confession - I forgot to take a picture for Day 3! And I also forgot my camera in the glove box of my car the past couple days. Thus I bring you iPhone photos, which didn't help me increase my photography skills... but are still fun none the less. And a slightly dorky photo to make up for the lack of a day 3 photo....

I discovered last week that my cheap-o Wal-Mart glasses DO NOT stay in place during surgery. Thus my first week during plastics that I had major problems with my glasses sliding down my nose mid-case. Problematic because when you're in sterile scrub, you CANNOT reach up and put the glasses back into place. I tried tucking them into my hair under my cap without much success. So, yesterday, before scrubbing in, I taped my glasses to my hat. Luckily, no one commented on them during either case.

Day 4

After work, I went over to my dear friends' house in midtown Houston. As soon as I walked in the door, their sweet daughter M, invited me to play with her and her teddy bears. However, she was enjoying play time in this bin (where they typically store their toys). In the sweet way that only M can say it, she looked at me and said, "Anna, I don't think you can fit in the bin. But you can snuggle next to me. (which I did)

Day 5

A glimpse into where I'm working. I've been on the plastic surgery service at MD Anderson for almost 2 weeks now. MD Anderson is a class of medicine by itself. While I'm on the plastics surgery service, don't think plastics. Think reconstructive surgery. (with so many microvascular components it's insane.) And the size of MD Anderson... is INSANE. I even lived right next to the Texas Medical Center for 2 years... and I couldn't fully comprehend the size of MD Anderson. There is a 1/4 mile long sky bridge that connects most of the main buildings. Every time I walk onto the sky bridge, I have to look both ways, because there are carts flying back and forth every so often, transporting patients, family and staff. This picture is taking ALMOST at the half way point of the sky bridge.

Looking straight ahead in the picture you can see the "Main" buildings of MD Anderson. (There are 30 ORs located in that section). To the right you can see a piece of the faculty building. (The plastic surgery offices are on floor 19 there). What you cannot see is the ACB bulding/Mays clinic where there are another 16 ORs and the Plastics Surgery clinic.

Monday, Monday, da da doo da doo doo....

2011-01-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

Day 3

While I wish that I could bring you a more exciting photo for this day, I can/t. I couldn't take pictures of one of the coolest (and longest) surgeries I've been in.... which involved reconstructing a patient's face out of the patient's leg bone. HIPPA forbids it. And honestly, even for me, the first glance was somewhat shocking. Thus I bring you this, my socks... as I unwind after work, watching TV with my parents. Dad is watching the National Championship football game, and I personally am living for the commercial breaks when we watch Castle.

PS - I know that I need to work on the picture sizing.... that's a job for tomorrow.... when I haven't spent 14 hours at work. :-)

365 days of memories

2011-01-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

I like the idea of blogging. I really do. Unfortunately, over the past months it has been pushed aside.

HOWEVER,

I saw this idea on another blog and it just might revive my blogging. The idea is to take a picture. Everyday. To chronolouge what happens over the course of the year. (and hopefully help me learn how to take better pictures and use the limited number of editing tools I have along the way).

SO, without further to do I bring you yesterday's picture and today's

January 8, 2011

An early birthday dinner with the family, minus T&C who are freezing in St. Louis, before M headed back up to school today. You'll note that in this picture, I only look 2 inches shorter than him....

January 9, 2011

An experiment with the macro option on my camera.... with so/so results. This is a picture of what Physician Assistant students do in their free time: tie knots! I think the tricky thing for me is that I have to break all those bad habits I picked up over the years as I made friendship bracelet after friendship bracelet. Currently this suture is sewed into my pants leg. There's still quite a bit of it left for tying practice... so I'll probably cut it out in a couple of days.

2010

2010-12-28T20:35:00.000-08:00

Free picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

I am the worst blogger ever... but for a quick look tonight... here's a glimpse of 2010... the year in review!

Thankful

2010-12-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

There are very exciting things happening here at the Yale PA Program. My class is graduating! The joy is tangible... and even though it's slightly bittersweet for me as I will not be "officially" done until the end of February, there's so many reasons for celebration here. Next week Sunday we are having our graduation celebration extravaganza. As part of the banquet, we are having a "Thank You" slide show to say thanks for all the support through school. This is my slide... There's not nearly enough pictures on this to adequately express gratitude to the multitude of people who helped me survive this past two and a half years... (and I didn't have some of the pictures that I needed to say thank you to some friends). BUT.... here is the thank you slide that has been put together!

My Moment of Fame!

2010-11-28T18:44:00.001-08:00

To say thank you to all of the people who helped me fundraise for cancer research, I made individual name signs and took pictures with them in front of the Fred's Team booth at the expo. Evidently, people at the Fred's team booth thought that this was a good idea. Thus they took a picture of my dad taking my picture!

Thankful

2010-11-21T19:31:00.000-08:00

26.2

2010-11-11T18:11:00.000-08:00

This is a post that is long over due (ok, not too long... but today is Thursday... and I should have posted it a couple of days ago)
Sunday, November 7, 2010 my dad and I ran the ING NYC Marathon. It was painful and awesome and awesome (and the awesomeness just keeps on growing the more I think about it)

26.2 Things about the 2010 ING NYC Marathon
1. The Expo - I love expos... the excitement starts building... and you get your FREE tshirt... and at the NYC marathon there are celebrities... like Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor (they weren't running, but I was very excited to see them). And former Bachelor Dr. Andy Baldwin.
2. My dad and I stayed the night with my cousin Elizabeth and her husband Chris (who also ran the marathon). It was fun to have a group NYC experience: going to the expo, making pasta, watching 30 Rock, just being together
3. Time change - in a brilliant move, the race organizers for the NYC marathon schedule it on the 1st Sunday of November... which also happens to be fall back time change day... meaning that there is an extra hour of sleep to be had
4. The Staten Island Ferry - such a fun and quintessential New York City way to start the day... sailing across the harbor past the Statue of Liberty, with the Verezzano Narrows Bridge (aka miles 1 and 2) in the distance
5. The start with "New York, New York" blaring in the background
6. Getting to use sharpie on clothing... I'm a firm believer in writing my name on whatever shirt I'm wearing for the marathon (increases cheering)
7. The guys (and a few girls) who after running the first 2 miles on the bridge decide that they can't make it to mile 3 where there are porta potties, so they pee on the bridge (just because you can, doesn't mean that you should... gross)
8. The block party feel to the NYC marathon... so many people out cheering... the groups that would chant names... the bands along the course... it really is phenomenal
9. The porta potties of the NYC marathon... definitely the grossest things ever... two words: runners diarrhea... and by mile 11 by legs didn't really want to hold a squat that long.
10. Food on the course - not official race food... but just spectators who handed out orange slices and mini snickers and the AMAZING couple between miles 18 - 19 who had an entire table set up with chips and pretzels and cheese nips.... and lots of other things (I at the previously mentioned food)
11. Slipping on a banana peel (I can now say that I have really done that) Luckily, no harm done
12. The way your shoes stick to the pavement after water stops because the gatorade has splashed everywhere
13. Goo... the next time I run a marathon I will be faster simply so that I have to take fewer goos during the corse of my run... by the 5th one, I almost choked. I think it's the consistency.
14. Salt... yes, I ate a packet of salt.
15. Thu and Jenn and Jenny who all came in from New Haven to cheer me on along the course.... they gave me things to look forward to
16. Texts from Andrew... goading me along every step of the way
17. Running in Central Park... even though there are hills, it's such an excellent way to end the race
18. The first "you're almost there" sign.... at mile 4... I was not almost there
19. Fred's Team - I wasn't overly involved with the team because I live in CT... but they had people there greeting us at the end... and they gave me a hug. I cried. And then they took us to the Fred's Team tent. Which was warm... and had chairs. :-)
20. Mile 24... where the finish line actually seemed within reach
21. Wanting to smack the person at mile 25 who said, "Why are you running so slow?"
22. Passing the signs over the last mile that counted down to the finish... 1/2 mile, 800 yards, 400 yards, 300, 200, 100
23. FINISH!!!!!!!! (I finished after Edison, the Chilean miner, but before Al Roaker)
24. Chris and Elizabeth waiting to go home with us
25. The metro police giving us free subway admission because we had just run the marathon
26. I saved the best thing for last... I did this whole thing with my dad. He was amazing. Going with me on this whole journey... pushing me when I didn't think my legs would move any more (putting up with me when I cried at mile 20)... I am so blessed to have him as my dad. Always believing in me and telling me I'm beautiful... and teaching me about faith... to get to share this with him... means more than I can say. And the memories and stories just get better day after day.
.2 - IT SNOWED THE NEXT MORNING (did I mention that the weather was perfect the day before)

ING New York City Marathon Course Video

2010-11-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

It takes 7 minutes to see the entirety of the course... in fast motion

Goal - Update

2010-11-02T05:43:00.001-07:00

Down another 1/2 lb! (and there was much rejoicing in the land!)

Kenya Revisited

2010-10-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I am headed to school for the 2010 Downs Fellowship Symposium. The Downs International Health Student Research Fellowship allowed me, a novice researcher, to travel to Kenya for 10 weeks... Truthfully my life has careened along at such a fanatic pace since being back that I haven't completely processed through my time there. At times memories of Kenya will wash over me out of no where. It still has a surreal feel to it. So here are a couple of my favorite pictures of my time there...

Autumn

2010-10-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed every autumn that I've been given here in Connecticut. While on my long run this past Sunday, I used my iPhone to document some of the reasons why....

The Goal - Week 1

2010-10-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

Well... I didn't lose this week.
But, I didn't gain either.

So, over all it was a neutral week.
I'm more dedicated than ever to shed something this week. (ideally 1.5 pounds... we'll see)

My other goal for this week has to do with nutrition and is two fold:
1. Eat 5 fruits and/or veggies a day
2. Drink 8 glasses of water per day (my kidneys sometimes cry out in pain with how dehydrated I let them get).

The Goal

2010-10-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with my weight... It's gone up, it's gone down... and then I went to PA school and it went back up again.

Quite frankly, I'm tired of it being a fight.

I'm 26 years old (about to turn 27). 19 weeks from graduating from school with my master's degree, as a physician's assistant... who will be telling all her patients that they should lose weight. (OK - not all my patients... but i will be practicing in the USA... which means that the majority of my patient's will get the 'You know that you'd be better off losing a couple of pounds" talk). And quite frankly I don't want to feel like a hypocrite.

(And secretly... I'd love to be able to wear a bikini...)

And so it's time... time for the weight to go.

I want to be able to wear my favorite running shorts again, and have a BMI in the normal range, and wear my cute polka dot dress to the Christmas party. (and possibly someday find the aforementioned bikini for next summer)

Somehow (miraculously...) I lost 3 pounds while I was in Hawaii.

From when I weighed myself on Monday, there are 8 weeks until the Christmas party. My goal is to lose 12 pounds by the party (and wear the aforementioned polka dot dress) which will be 1.5 pounds lost per week.

So - check in on Monday's. I'll let you know how it's going. Goad me along (in a loving caring sort of way of course... or in a sarcastic sort of way... I'll take it in either way).

I'm going to accomplish this one.

Waiting Rooms

2010-10-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, about a week and a half ago, 6:50am, checking my email and rejoicing in the fact that I don't have to be at work until 8:30am... when suddenly I get a text from Andrew

"At Kaiser, broke leg"

Being the amazing girlfriend that I am, I of course assume that it's a joke.
Until his buddy calls on his cell because he's in xray.
In approximately 10 minutes I'm dressed, out the door, and (amazingly) flying through Honolulu traffic.

That started a very long day of waiting... waiting for Andrew to have XRays, waiting for the orthopedist to come, and finally waiting in the waiting room for his surgery to be over. (It took 4.5 hours) He was amazing during the whole process (I was the one trying to get him to say he was in more pain so that they would up his meds a little).

After being on the other side of the waiting room for quite a while now, I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of actually being the one in the waiting room. And this was a pretty simple procedure all things considered, on a healthy guy. (Granted, it probably didn't help that immediately before he was rolled back to the OR he looked at me and started a sentence with the phrase, "Anna, if I die....") It meant the world to me when the nurse called me half way through the surgery just to update me on how it was going... and talking with the surgeon when she was done was excellent.

Now, 11 days post op, he had a doctor's appointment at Tripler Army Medical Center today to have his staples removed. I would have given anything to be able to be there waiting for him...

Glimpses of Hawaii

2010-10-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

2010-09-30T02:08:00.000-07:00

Each day I have a mental battle...

To run or not to run.

After the way my long run kicked by tush this weekend, the answer generally needs to be running.

Because the NYC marathon is in 6 weeks. EEKS!

I'm still over $2000 away from reaching my fundraising goal for the marathon.

I'm running to raise money for cancer research and treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering, one of the USA's foremost cancer hospitals.

Cancer is a disease that effects so many people... this is the least that I can do to help.

So, as I set my alarm for 5am so that I can get a run in before another day at Kaiser Permanente, I'd ask you to consider giving a donation to help in the fight against this disease.

Visit http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR?px=1760313&fr_id=1310&pg=personal to find out more about why I run and to donate!

In the 808

2010-09-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have been in Hawaii now for over 2 weeks.

During this time, I have grossly neglected my blog.

I can't say that I'm sorry, as I have been filling every day...

With things like Andrew and Karl and Ashley

And the beach

And exploring

And snorkeling

And runs in humidity

And, lest we forget... going to rotation for about 10 hours a day.

It has been wonderful.

I really don't want to leave.

Because I love lists

2010-09-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

1. What time did you get up this morning? My alarm started going off at 5:30 but thanks to being on call last night and my inability to go to sleep immediately after I get home I snoozed til 6. Looking forward to sleeping til 6:30 tomorrow

2. How do you like your steak? Medium

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Switch

4. What is your favorite TV show? The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Alias, Gilmore Girls, Castle, Glee, House

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? London... As long as it was next door to Texas and Hawaii

6. What did you have for breakfast? Mini-Luna bar, yogurt

7. What is your favorite Cuisine? That's hard... generally I like food - I have really come to appreciate Vietnamese cooking while living with my roommate

8. What foods do you dislike? Lima Beans - when I was a kid, I would swallow them whole or hide them in my napkin or feed them to my dog

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Pappasitos Mexican Cantina

10. Favorite dressing? I just had a Basil Vinagerette on my salad at dinner - it was excellent

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? 2004 Toyota Corolla... however, for the next 4 weeks I will be driving whatever compact car the rental company sees fit

12. What are your favorite clothes? Cute dresses, sweaters

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Italy... and New Zealand... and Irland... and Scotland... and London

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? usually 1/2 full

15. Where would you want to retire? Near my family

16. Favorite time of day? Sunrise and sunset - I miss seeing them over the water at the Taft House

17. Where were you born? Craig, CO

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Live - Hockey, TV - College Football, Olympics - swimming and figure skating

19. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning - I have a tad bit of narcolepsy if I stay up too late

20. Do you have any pets? Yes and no.. I have a dog... his name is Buddy... he's really my parent's dog... but I consider him mine too (my brothers will say the same thing)

21. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I will arrive in Hawaii in LESS THAN TWO DAYS!!!!!!

22. What did you want to be when you were little? A doctor, or a garbage man (lets face it, they have a cool truck), or a checker at the grocery store (the scanners just inherently seemed cool)

23. What is your best childhood memory? Laughing uncontrollably with my family... about inner jello jiggling or Fish Dance lake or bacon presses...

24. Are you a cat or dog person? Dogs - particularly golden retrievers

25. Are you married? Nope

26. Always wear your seat belt? Yes

27. Been in a car accident? Yes - I hydroplaned and spun out while driving on Highway 290 in Houston

28. Any pet peeves? Inefficiency (Ex - wasting time on hospital rounds), acting like a princess

29. Favorite Pizza Toppings? I just tried the most amazing pizza at Stoney Creek Market that had sausage, spinach, feta, and gorgonzola... but in terms of everyday toppings, I'd have to say mushrooms and sausage

30. Favorite Flower? Hydrangeas

31. Favorite ice cream? French Silk

32. Favorite fast food restaurant? Chick-Fil-A or Sonic

33. How many times did you fail your driver's test? NONE!

34. From whom did you get your last email? The PA program with tomorrow's schedule for callbacks... :-(

35. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? For clothing I would choose Anthropologie or Ann Taylor Loft or JCrew... For housing things I pick Pottery Barn... However, as I'm severely in debt from student loans I pick not to have credit card debt

36. Do anything spontaneous lately? I spontaneously got ill from pediatrics... More seriously, I've been allowing myself to impulse shop a little as I've been getting ready for Hawaii... and I ended up buying a Vera Bradley garment bag that I'd been wanting (it was on sale). Typically I like my spontaneous things to be more spontaneous than that... but recently that's all I've got. This past December, I spontaneously rejoined eHarmony after receiving a note saying that Andrew, an officer in the navy who lived in Groton, wanted to talk to me. I ignored the fact that I was leaving for Kenya in 1.75 months and signed up anyway. I think that was pretty spontaneous. And it has such a happy ending too!

37. Like your job? No current "job" - but I'm really excited about what I'm going to school for and can't wait to be a PA

38. Broccoli? Yes ples

39. What was your favorite vacation? My family took wonderful summer trips... there was always something magical about Minnesota in the summer, especially the north shore of Lake Superior... but in terms of favorite vacations... one summer we flew out all our camping gear to the west coast and camped our way down it (Portland, The Redwood Forest, San Fransisco, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon). I don't know if I can count London as a vacation... but it has a special place in my heart. And my vacation from my research to the Masaai Mara while I was in Kenya was pretty amazing.

40. Last person you went out to dinner with? Courtney and Megan at SBC Grill this weekend!

41. What are you listening to right now? Ray LaMontagne - "You Are the Best Thing"

42. What is your favorite color(s)? blue

43. How many tattoos do you have?None - I am all too aware of how the skin ages

44. Coffee Drinker? Yes - and may I add that I'm so excited that the pumpkin spice flavor is back for the fall

45. What is your biggest fear? Not being in control (I've also turned into a closet hypochondriac since starting PA school)

The Children

2010-08-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

The children have made me ill. Literally. Don't get me wrong... I love kids. But when you're seeing them at a pediatricians office they tend to becoming in BECAUSE THEY ARE ILL and evidently they have a germ pool that I haven't been exposed to in a while. Note my fever to 102.7, shaking chills, nausea, vomiting, several trips to Yale Health Plan and overall a whiny, crying, miserable Anna. Can't say that I enjoy waking up in the middle of the night because every time I swallow it feels like there's a thumb tack being driven through my ear drum. (I did discover quite possibly the 1 good thing about being in a time zone that's 6 hours different from Andrew - I called him at 2am my time, which was only 8pm his time so I knew he'd be awake, and made him talk for several minutes while waiting for the advil to kick in... I think that's the only positive thing I can think of about the time zone difference.)

I'm on day 3.5 of this process... developing new symptoms as I go (yay for a cough and runny nose today...) And am trying to decide at what point I should make a decision about going to the hospital tomorrow... for work that is. Not to check myself in.

Whew. Now that I have my whining over and done with, it's probably time for me to be thankful again. So I bring you my 5 things to be thankful for while I'm ill list...

1. Molly - my wonderful nurser practitioner at Yale Health
2. Popsicles - I'd forgotten just how wonderful they are
3. The joys of modern medicine - acetaminophen and advil and sudafed and cough syrup... As a random thought... for anyone else who has ever taken Sudafed. I'm thinking that if this is the stuff that they use to make meth, it must be an insanely crazy drug. I end up feeling a little tripped out after taking 1 Sudafed. On the bright side, it does help dry my nose up.
4. Start Trek was available for check out at the Branford Library
5. I got sick this weekend... as opposed to 13 (!!!!!!!!!!) days from now when I board a plane to fly to Hawaii... oh I cannot wait. Not at all.

Fun Salad of the Week

2010-08-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

Every one should try this salad.
It's not very creative on my part... but it really is oh so yummy.
Light and fresh. The perfect mix of summer veggie tastes.
Chop up 1 tomato, 1/3 of a cucumber, how ever much onion you want, 5 - 10 basil leaves.
Put in a bowl.
Stir.
Add a dash of salt, a dash of pepper and a drizzle of EVOO.
Stir.
Add 1/4 c. fat free feta cheese.
Let sit for 3-5 minutes to let the flavors mix (My hunger level typically determines how long I let the salad sit)
ENJOY!
Like I said, nothing earth shattering, but really tasty.

Addictions

2010-08-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Every now and again I sign onto this blog just to see who has visited. Yes, I have a secret addiction to checking the FeedJit bar on the bottom right of the blog to see who has dropped by. I've often wondered all of you are... especially the ones I where I don't know who would be visiting my blog from a certain place. Like my visitors from England. (Can I come visit you please? I miss England so much. Part of my heart will be forever there.)

That being said, I'm shocked that you all have stayed with me during my blogging dry spell. Surgery was wonderful in the sense that I loved the work... but terrible in the sense that the schedule killed me. I don't function well on minimal sleep. All in all, I think it was a good rotation as it solidified in my mind that I love the OR... and that I am meant to be a PA... as I could never hack surgery residency hours.

I have now rotated to pediatrics. I'm in the midst of 2 weeks of outpatient pediatrics which will be followed by 2 weeks of inpatient pediatrics. Pediatrics thus far... I love the kids. I just want to play with them all day. BUT... I'm not overly wild about the medicine. However, I've only been there 3 days. Ask me again in 4 weeks.

I started this email talking about addictions... so to make this a well rounded post, I'll sign off with a list of 5 current addictions

1. English muffin with egg whites and a slice of Kraft fat free cheese - not as good as a breakfast sandwich from Nica's market, but so much healthier. And it really is almost as good.
2. Zumba. I know I've mentioned this before, but seriously. I've now made a rule that I can't Zumba unless I've gone on my run for the day. That's right, I'm rewarding myself for going on a run with working out.
3. Big House Red Wine - it now comes in a box!!!!!
4. Reading the Oahu tour book that I checked out from the library. I think I've read the Lonely Planet book 2-3 times. I also work on my packing list in my free time. The only reason that I haven't already started packing is because Andrew teased me about a week ago... saying that I'd probably have a suitcase on the floor of my room over a month before I left... he knows me too well.
5. Flossing my teeth. I'm back on a flossing kick, and I'm flossing close to 4 times a day.

Have No Fear...

2010-08-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

I am not dead!
Surgery, with it's crazy hours, has just been monopolizing my life and leaves little time for much else.

The first 3 weeks I was working 12 - 14 hours a day... not counting commute. Needless to say, when I got home at the end of the day, I crashed. Hard core.
I really do enjoy surgery. There's a certain rush that comes with it... to literally see someone's insides... to touch a beating heart... the OR is addicting. That being said, I am looking forward to a normalized schedule starting next Monday. (I go to pediatrics next)

Speaking of addictions, I have a new one. I took my first Zumba class several days ago... and have been back every day since. I'm sure I look like a fool - but it's so much fun. I didn't realize how much I was working out my arms until I woke up the morning after my first class... they're still sore. My legs... well they're sore from my long run this weekend. Thus, the run today was less of a run and more of a chance for me to gently remind my legs that they like to move at a pace faster than a walk.

2010-07-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

In approximately 60 days, I will disembark from a plane in beautiful Honolulu, HI to begin 26 days with Andrew and Karl and Ashley and blue water and clear skies and turtles and snorkeling and kayaking and pineapple and vascular surgery. Never fear, I'm not going to Honolulu to HAVE but to DO (or at least help with) vascular surgery. :-)

The implications of this fact are numerous...

1. I really need to learn my vascular anatomy much more thoroughly. (sorry to say... the arterial and venous system of the leg is a little sketchy right now)

2. I might need to buy stock options in a sun screen company to reap the financial benefits of being a skin cancer risk.

3. A new swim suit is in order that can handle the demands of snorkeling and possibly scuba diving. Like most girls, I'm not exactly wild about the prospect of looking for a new swim suit. I have found a couple that I like... but they're all quite pricey (> $90).

I bought another one at target this past weekend... which I still have wishy washy feelings about... and I might return and pinch pennies to save for the other... but either way, I'd like to lose 12 pounds before I go to Hawaii. I'll be posting how that's going once a week. (I need the accountability)

Speaking of accountability, I went for the 3 mile run tonight! It felt good. Expect more running updates!

Running Plan

2010-07-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

If anyone wants to follow along (or hold me accountable) to my running schedule, it can be found on this link.

I'm on Tuesday of week 2 and will be running 3 miles tonight!

If you want to help me race against cancer, visit here!

Running with Anna

2010-07-09T04:29:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken this morning, on a run through the misty mountains of Kentucky. I'm training for the NYC Marathon. I ran the marathon back when I was more in shape, thanks to triathlons, in 2008... needless to say, training was a little easier for that one.

But this one I'm not just running for me. I'm running this one with Fred's Team, which raises money for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, one of the nation’s preeminent center for research and treatment devoted exclusively to cancer. Since 1995, Fred’s Team has helped underwrite pioneering research in pediatrics and dozens of other areas, and the extraordinary advances in prevention and treatment have made a real difference in the lives of millions of people affected by this deadly disease.

So, I'm not running on my own or for myself this year, which is what gets me out of bed in the mornings to run (even when I really don't want to... I quite often am a reluctant runner, but that's a story for another time)

This kind of progress is made possible by the generosity of people like you. The link below will bring you to my Fred’s Team Web page, where if you would like, you can make a tax-deductible online donation. No donation is too small!!

http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR?px=1760313&fr_id=1310&pg=personal

Soundtrack of Summer

2010-07-02T20:18:00.001-07:00

Have you ever noticed that summertime seems to come with it's own musical soundtrack?

The music starts to have a different feel.
I can distinctly remember sitting on the tarp under the pine trees of Kingwood at a swim meet, waiting to swim the 50 back, and listening to MmmBop.

My summers at Camp Lone Star will forever be associated with DC Talk's Jesus Freak, Jars of Clay's first album, and Burlap to Cashmere (the only album).

July 4th brings with it a montage of music all its own... the 1812 Overture... Stars and Stripes Forever (if I think hard enough, I might just remember how to play some of the piccolo part on that)

This summer has several tracks that I think will be associated with it in my mind...

Hey Soul Sister - by Train - quite the catchy tune, which makes me feel like I should on a beach somewhere, like, I don't know... perhaps on the north shore of Oahu, sitting on the beach with Andrew, having just snorkeled and seen amazing fish and coral. Makes me look forward to September.

Rain is a Good Thing - Luke Bryan - My friend Heidi has been in love with Luke Bryan for the past couple of years, and I now understand why

California Gurls - Katy Perry/Snoop Dogg - First of all, I must ask if the words "gurls" has a different pronunciation from "girls." Does it sound more gutteral? I'm not really sure. That being said, any song that has alliterations in the chorus deserves mentioning (Fine, fresh, fierce...)

Talking about my friend Heidi, I need to pack to head out for the weekend with my friend Heidi. We're meeting up in Louisville for Heidannapalooza. It should be wonderful. :-)

A Cookie Worth Baking

2010-06-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

I've never shared a recipe before, but I tried a new cookie recipe on Monday that merits sharing: Paula Deen's Monster Cookies. I decided to bake and found this recipe online during my lunch break. Having fallen in love with the fact that it calls for 12 oz of peanut butter I jotted the recipe down quickly... so quickly that I didn't realize that there's no flour involved in these cookies until I was in the midst of baking them (at which point, I thought it was an accidental omission on my part and gently persuaded my computer into connecting to the internet in my trailer to double check that the recipe doesn't call for flour - it doesn't). They're a really yummy cookie and very easy to bake. And, one batch makes 2-3 dozen very large cookies. I took a plate of 20 into work Tuesday morning... they were gone before lunch.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup raisins, optional - I totally opted NOT to put raisins in... why ruin this cookie w/ raisins?
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
1 stick butter, softened
1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon baking soda
4 1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

Kentucky Snaps

2010-06-29T15:26:00.001-07:00

For those who are curious - my trailer and two pictures of the Cloverfork clinic (where in the past two days I've given 15 vaccines, put on 1 plaster cast, approved someone to work in the mines, seen more hypertension/hyperlipidemia/diabetes than I care to count, and saved a young person from a hordeolum... yes, a hordeolum. Sounds serious doesn't it?) I'm really enjoying my time in the clinic here. The responsibility they've given me forces me to step up my learning and come to grips with just how much I don't know.

PS - a hordeolum... is just a stye. Hordeolum sounds much more impressive.

Keepin' with the K theme

2010-06-28T10:35:00.001-07:00

Keepin' with the K theme of the year (think Kenya... and 75 day's from now I will be staying with Karl & Ashley Ashcraft in Honolulu), I headed down to Kentucky a week ago for a month of rural primary care. (the Keepin'word pays homage to the dialect down here). After having been here a week, I think the other overarching theme for my year is: "It's a different world here."

I'm in tiny Evarts, KY, living in a double wide trailer, 1 door down from the Cloverfork Clinic, nestled in a valley of the Appalachian mountains, and surrounded by coal mines.

So, without further to do, I bring you the ABCs of my little Kentucky world:

A - ATVs - Yes, Evarts is the ATV capital of the world, holding the Guinness Book of World records title for "most ATVs in a parade." No, I haven't yet been on one. Yes, I have almost been run over by one.
B - Bluegrass - The Harlan Bluegrass festival was this weekend. I went on Saturday night with one of the doctors and her husband. The music was incredible and the musicianship was out of this world.
C - Cell phone coverage - there's none to speak of in Evarts and it's spotty in Harlan
D - Dry - In a slightly ironic move, Harlan county is dry. Dr. Colton told me that it's the preachers and the bootleggers that keep it that way.
E - El Charrito - the Mexican place in Harlan. (the big town down the road). It serves what can only be described as Kentucky - Mex. For example, I ordered a taco salad for dinner on Saturday night. It contained as much lettuce as one taco bell taco, and a slice of tomato.
F - fresh produce - the grocery store here in Evarts has very little. Luckily, Don's super market in Harlan has a nice selection. (and they have soy milk. I was ecstatic) - the other f word here could be fried. They fry everything.
G - Green - the color of the mountains...
H - Harlan, KY - the county seat and the nearest big town. It has a Wal-Mart. I'm content.
I - Internet - While I have it at work, there's none to be had at the trailer. I think I'm coming to grips with my addiction.
J - July 14 - the day that I will head back to CT (also, Sisters Day)
K - Kentucky - duh
L - Louisville - I'm headed there this weekend for the 4th of July and to catch up with my dear friend Heidi
M - Movies - the movie theater in Harlan charges $2 for a matinee and $4 for an evening showing. I've seen "Knight and Day" and "The Karate Kid" since being here. Planning to see many more.
N - North Carolina - will be my destination in two weeks. I'll be headed to Ashville to tour the Biltmore and see my sweet Carrie Anne
O - Outpatient - I always pictured myself as more of an inpatient kind of PA. But between this rotation and my OB/GYN rotation, out patient medicine is capturing my heart.
P - Post Office - This past weekend, I was mailing some things at the Evarts post office. The postmaster and I got to chatting and discovered that her daughter was a pediatric nurse at Duke before spending 6 months in Kenya... just like my Jess. It was so exciting to make the connections, that she accidentally over charged me $28. As the packages were going overseas, I just assumed it was more expensive than I thought. Until she stopped by the clinic this morning to return my money. Gotta love small towns.
Q - Quiet - the way I expected it to sound at night. However, there's been a ot of fire crackers going off recently. I thought it was gun fire the first time I heard them.
R - Rotation - this has been an excellent rotation so far. I've gotten to see patients on my own which has been incredible. I'm learning so much.
S - slow - the word that describes the office today (thus, a blog is being written). I said the word out loud so hopefully it picks up.
T - Trailer - yes, that's right, I'm living in a trailer. But it's really quite plush.
U - Up - the inevitable direction on my runs. When you live in a valley, you have to run UP (bleck). However, eventually you get to run down.
V - view - the view on the drive here is amazing. Mountains, the views from the top, rivers, streams, winding roads...
W - Waiting... for the next patient to come in...
X - XRays - just read a chest xray... not many words start w/ the letter X
Y - year - more time than I have left in the PA program. YAHOO!!!
Z - zebra - none to be seen here

Well, this post was much longer than anticipated. Hopefully I'll post again soon.

You Make Everything Glorious

2010-06-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend.... was amazing. I search for the words to encapsulate the weekend and find myself grasping at air. How can I possibly describe
- The laughter of ironing table clothes with my parents, brothers and the groomsmen
- The girl time getting nails done with the bridesmaids
- The nervous anticipation as I pulled up to the Austin airport and SAW Andrew (as in, there he was in person) waiting at the curb side... and then getting to hug him
- Simply being able to see Andrew and hold his hand... not to mention that he got to meet my family
- Singing Black Eyed Peas and Ke$ha with the bridesmaids and Chelsey) while taking pictures before the service (to say that they were a fun group of girls would be an understatement)
- The beautiful moment where Chelsey walked down the aisle towards Ted... and they became one in Christ
- Praying over them with the other friends and family that gathered to witness this amazing event... and making a vow to support them in their marriage
- Dancing with my dad during the first dance at the reception
- Dancing with Andrew at the reception... more than once :-)

Yes I took pictures... but they are grossly inadequate (as can be seen by the fact that I don't have a group picture of my family or a picture of me and Andrew on my camera from the entire weekend)

You make everything glorious... and I am yours. So what does that make me?

Lists

2010-06-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

This post is neither insightful or overly interesting. But I have a confession to make: I LOVE filling things out and making lists. Applications, tax forms, to do lists, lists of places I want to visit... I think I should probably make a bucket list too. However, today I am combining my love of completion and lists by filling out this chain email/note/thing that I recently got. I filled one out last summer, and for some reason I just find it to be incredibly fun.

So without further to do...

5 things I am thankful for this week...
1. My rotation - I love the patients, the material (OB/GYN), and the practice (from the PA to the Dr. to the office staff)
2. Skype - for the first time in 4 months I actually got to see Andrew while I talked to him. Facial expressions are a wonderful thing. :-)
3. I got to feel a baby kick yesterday... such an amazing sensation to feel the baby kick in utero. Can't begin to imagine what it feels like for the mom.
4. My doctor surprised everybody in the office with a drink from Starbucks.
5. Friday night relaxation with my roomies.

5 things I am looking forward to...
1. Ted and Chelsey get married ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!!!!
2. Andrew lands in Austin (and begins the adventure of meeting my family) 6 DAYS from today!!!!!
3. My next rotation - primary care in Evarts, KY. Rural KY, coal mining town.
4. September 11, 2010 - October 6, 2010 - Vascular surgery rotation... in HONOLULU!!! Living in the same town as Andrew, living with Karl and Ashley... and, oh yeah, it's in HAWAII!!!!
5. November 7, 2010 - NYC Marathon - running with my dad for 26.2 miles!

5 things to do today...
1. Go for a 30 minute run (long run tomorrow morning in NYC!)
2. Get the oil changed in my car
3. Drive to Milford and catch a train to NYC
4. Dinner/dancing/drinks with the girls for Jen's birthday!
5. Sleep at some point!

Faux Graduation

2010-05-25T03:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend was Yale Commencement 2010. Although the program doesn't end until December, my class got to walk in the ceremony. It really was fun. Felt like Yale meets Oxford meets Hogwarts. All the Pomp and Circumstance... and all the CRAZY robes. (seriously, I don't know if I've ever seen that many doctoral robes in one place). My parents made it up for the weekend and we had a great time.

Too many blessings to count...

2010-05-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

I have too many blessings to count today (and I'm in the middle of quickly cleaning my room before my parents get here) - so this will be a short post... but I at least had to update my thankful things.

- Must start with this... I FINISHED MY THESIS!!!!!! (sure it could have been better... BUT IT IS FINISHED!!!!) I started making a to do list yesterday and was shocked when it was short!

- My adviser. She patiently edited about 4 different drafts of my thesis and encouraged me through this whole process.

- My parents fly into New Haven in about 2 hours!!!! I am so excited to see them...

2010-05-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

1. When my writing tutor opened with the line, "You know your thesis support seems a little thin, right?" My heart sank. Luckily, things recovered... and she expressed her doubts as to whether or not adherence was an issue for people in Africa (Her: They do know that they'll die if they stop taking the medications right? Me: Yes, but adherence is a multifactorial issue... and the explanation continues from there. Her: Well, I guess then it's a well supported thesis). Other than that the meeting went well. Minor grammatical edits (don't know how to use the et al. phrase... kept saying et. al.)

2. Just got chapters 2 and 3 back from my adviser. While there are edits, it's not terrible... it's enough to know that she's read it, and didn't think it was too shabby. And truthfully, what she says matters more to me than the writing tutor.

3. There was an accident on the freeway today. Which meant that I got stuck in traffic on the way to meet with my writing tutor. This meant that I wasn't at my appointment when Andrew called at 5pm... and we got to talk for just a little before my meeting. :-)

4. Tacos and roof gardens (mixed drinks) w/ Kelsey and Meg tonight.

5. Picked up my bridesmaids dress yesterday and it fits really well.

6. Friends who listen to my thesis induced bipolar moods.

7. Plans with Jenny to meet up at her house at 11pm on Wednesday and drink wine and celebrate the end of the thesis.

8. My parents get here in 5 days!!!!!

9. The fact that I can move into my new apartment gradually.

10. Bed time.

4.

* Warning **

2010-05-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

***Warning - this thankful post contains more than the average recommended serving of romantic gushing... if you dare to proceed, I remind you, that you have be warned.***

1. At 6:01 am this morning my phone rang. As I groggily answered, I heard one of my favorite voices saying, "Hi Anna. It's Andrew. Sorry if I woke you up. I just couldn't wait to call you." An amazing way to wake up if I do say so myself

2. It looks like the odds are amazingly good that he'll get to make it to Ted and Chelsey's wedding.

3. AND - the odds are good that he'll be on land when I rotate in Honolulu this fall!

4. All the letters that I've mailed to the boat over the last 2.5 months finally caught up with him.

5. I got to play with kids today. Well, actually, I got to read a book about asthma to 6th graders, but I vote that still qualifies as playing with kids.

6. Quote o' the day from Frank the resident: "Anna, you are officially one of the cool kids." (a close second, "Yeah, so I have my PhD in micro virology. Don't be that impressed. Anybody can do it." Right... OH and since he has his PhD and his MD, that makes him Dr. Dr. Frank.)

7. A patient who... is... unique. He makes me think hard, medically and philosophically. And then there are times when he has breaks with reality and I just shake my head. Example:
Mr. R: "You know, I don't really like girls who dress like you" (I was wearing a black dress with pearls and ballet flats)
Me: "Explain a little more to me about that" (the quintessential psych question)
Mr. R: "Well, you just look so... classy. I don't really like that."

8. Sunset on the water tonight. The sky turned the water pink...

9. My phone rings again this afternoon... "Hi Anna. Are you done with work? I hope so..." Oh how I love it when Andrew is on land.

10. My adviser. The poor woman has read more thesis pages in the last couple of days...

(256 - 60 + 4)/20

2010-05-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

1. Emails. Yes, I know that these have made the list several days in a row. But not only did I get the emails on Sunday... but within the last 24 hours I got not 1 but 2 emails from Andrew! AND they were writeen about 8 - 10 hours before they arrive in my inbox... it was the closest I've had to talking to him in real time since a phone call a month ago. What a blessing to hear from him. Oh how I miss my sailor..

2. I finally wrote this paragraph: "Assuming a two tailed alpha of 0.10 (CI = 99%) to correct for multiple measures during the objective data collection of pharmacy refill records, a beta of 0.20 (power 80%), and an 30% effect size between the average adherence of 54% and the adherence level after intervention of 84%, both the intervention and control arm of the study need to enroll 55 subjects. However, it must also be assumed that at least 15% of subject will be lost to follow up, necessitating the enrollment of 10 more subject in each arm. Thus, a total of 130 subjects must be enrolled in this study to show statistical significance." If you don't know what this means, consider yourself blessed.

3. "Anna, you just look bright today. Maybe it's because your hair's in a pony tail. Or... did you do something different with your eye makeup? Are you wearing eyeliner (no) or did you not wear mascara today (definitely was wearing mascara)? I don't know what it is today, but you just look bright and good." - Frank

4. I cooked dinner tonight. So relaxing. Haven't actually cooked in a while. Just have cereal or easy meals...

5. I watched House MD during dinner. This has inspired karaoke dreams in my head.

6. I wore a really soft sweater today (yes, you read that right... it has suddenly regressed to winter here in CT. Thus, I'm pulling out the sweaters. On May 12. CRAZY!)

7. This thesis process will be over, for good or for ill, in just over 1 week. I CANNOT WAIT.

8. I've gotten a couple of really good runs in this week.

9. I only have half days on the ward the rest of the week (thanks to class and reading to elementary school kids about asthma).

10. It's bed time. As I'm pooped, this is a good thing.

Things for Thanks

2010-05-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

1. Kelsey. She's sitting here across from me here at the counter at Bran House and we've just laughed since I emerged from my thesis cave 5 minutes ago.

2. I had my mid-rotation eval w/ my attending today. It went really well. It's so encouraging, as I'm in the process of the thesis, to hear that I'm doing well w/ the clinical medicine part of things.

3. Broccoli and Goat Cheese pizza. We had a class tonight for psych and they bought us pizza. This was the best one.

4. Liz (my cousin) called to do research for an audition tomorrow. So I got the experience of explaining fragmin (a low molecular weight heparin) as background work for an acting job. It was really fun (I am that big of a dork).

5. My emails. I know I mentioned my emails from Andrew yesterday... but as I reread them a number of times today, I think I will list them again. Because they made me smile just as much today as they did yesterday.

6. I got a basic table 1 back from the statistician for my Kenya research. (if you have to ask what a table 1 is... trust me when I say that you are blessed... it's basically the demographic data/CD4 coutns/etc for all the women of my study divided by support group vs. nonsupport group stratified and given a p-value).

7. I picked up a new patient today. He's super complicated... but that also means he's super interesting.

8. I managed to get up and get a workout in before I went to work this morning.

9. Fudgecicles

10. I'm about 30 minutes away from emailing chapters 1 and 3 to my adviser for edits!!!!!

10 + 10

2010-05-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

Ten Reasons Why I am Thankful for my Mom

1. The woman is the most amazing bargain shopper EVER. You should see the shoes that she bought me for $5 or the beautiful black dress she found for $10.

2. She likes to move it, move it! :-)

3. When I start clucking like a chicken to the tune of the William Tell overture after driving for 14+ hours, she doesn't look at me like I'm crazy. Instead, she joins me! (same goes for when I/we sing like muppets)

4. She is an amazing woman of God and has taught me how to seek his face.

5. She has taught me what it means to serve.

6. She loves my dad, my brothers and me unconditionally. It's a really beautiful thing to be loved like that.

7. Her cooking. Oh to eat some of her cinnamon rolls... or her granola... or her enchaladas... or her soup... and that's just the beginning!

8. We can talk about anything.

9. She has a wonderful laugh.

10. She's my mom. That statement might seem simple, but it encapsulates more than I can say. I love you mom

AND (because it's 10 + 10) Ten things I'm thankful for this weekend....

1. I discovered a way to make my own google search video thing!

2. Were starting to move some stuff into our new apartment. Including a super comfy couch.

3. I think I'll be able to send a draft of chapters 1 -3 of my thesis to my adviser tomorrow!

4. I have all the numbers that I need for sample size calculations!

5. Last night, the power was out for close to 12 hours, forcing me to go to bed early. It was excellent.

6. Kelsey and I went shopping at Target and DSW yesterday. So much fun! I got my shoes for my bridesmaids dress.

7. Hydrangea. There's a huge bush outside our new apartment.

8. The long sleeve t-shirt I found at redwoods national forest years ago. It's probably the most comfortable t-shirt I own.

9. I got to walk into my favorite Yale college today... up until now I had just gazed at the courtyard from outside the walls.

10. Emails. 5 of them. I miss Andrew terribly... just to hear how he's doing through email is such a joy. Prayerfully soon... oh so soon, I'll get to hear his voice and his laugh too. And hopefully, I'll get to see his smiling face and hold his hand...

For the beauty of the earth

2010-05-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies, Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

1. Starbucks Latte this morning. What a treat.

2. My patient, who we'll refer to as Guppy, told me today, "Anna, it's because of you that I've received good care during my stay here."

3. Phone calls with my mom and dad on the way home from the VA

4. A polka dot skirt that flutters in the breeze

5. Sore arms

6. Pandora. How often can you listen to thousands of different music combos for free???

7. Online sample size calculators (boring I know... but right now, my life is boring.)

8. My parents are here in 14 days!!!! (the converse of that is that my thesis is do in 13 days... EEEEKKKKKK!!!!!)

9. Chocolate Chips

10. Last night I had a dream involving some of my favorite people: Andrew, Jess, Steven and my dad. I woke up with a smile on my face.

(yes, it might seem like I'm reaching for thankful things... at times it's because I feel like I am... but I truly am thankful for all these things)

Not 9, not 11, but 10!

2010-05-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

1. Wearing a Kenya outfit. I wore a skirt and top that I took to Kenya with a necklace and earrings that I bought there today. It made me think about my time there... I will always treasure it. Jess - I wore the dark brown skirt that you stitched up in about 4 places... I am sad to report that there's officially another tear in the same area as the 4 others. I don't know how much longer the skirt will be with us.

2. Thu cooked dinner tonight. What a treat.

3. I got to go on a walk tonight... perfect weather... setting sun. Awesome.

4. My parents. I am so blessed to have parents that love me so dearly... and love each other.

5. An interesting child psych lecture this afternoon.

6. I carried 5 lb weights on the previously mentioned walk and occasionally would do different exercises with them while walking. As I sit here and type my arms now have a baseline tremor and I fear that I will hurt tomorrow. HOWEVER, if I keep this up, my arms will rock in my bridesmaids dress.

7. Notes on facebook and the blog from LizO! I miss you girl and it brought a smile to my face to get your notes!

8. I think I've said this before, but I'll say it again... the sound of the waves outside my window.

9. Tomorrow is Friday! (granted that means that it's time for the weekend AKA THE MOST MASSIVE THESIS WEEKEND EVER... but still. At least I can be totally focused on that)

10. 36... which is one less than 37... and tomorrow it will be 35. Oh to be blessed with times of waiting so that I can learn more completely to rely on the Lord.

Ten

2010-05-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

1. Friends. Seriously... I did not touch the thesis tonight, but I did talk with Thu for about 2.5 hours. It was worth it.

2. Found a new running trail tonight - through the woods near the golf course. I felt like I had an extra spring in my step tonight. Semi-gazelle like.

3. Cleaning the kitchen. Unlike working on my thesis, after cleaning for 30 minutes I can look and say, "Ah ha! Progress!"

4. Frank, the resident. Seriously... wish I could keep him with me more frequently because he just can make me smile. Today the comment was as follows, "Anna, I just can't keep it in. Your outfit, it looks good. Just couldn't keep that in." (for clarification, Frank is straight and married)

5. Rich Mullins. Rediscovering his music via pandora. The hammer dulcimer... and the lyrics:
"Hold me Jesus cause I'm shaking like a leaf. You have been king of my glory, won't you be my prince of peace... surrender don't come natural to me. I'd rather fight you for something I don't really want, than take what you give that I need. And I beat my head against so many walls. I'm falling down. I'm fallin' on my knees."

6. Red Wine. :) Currently Black Box Cab.

7. Glee. Even in the serious episodes, this show makes me smile.

8. Psalm 63. Check it out. "Because your love is better than life I sing in the shadow of your wings."

9. Mary. I got to talk to her on the phone for a little while tonight. How blessed I am to have someone who understands me so fully even if I don't know quite how to express what I'm feeling.

10. A bed that doesn't sag in the middle (sometime I can describe the foam bed turned hammock that I slept on while I was in Kenya)

One Huge Reason for Thanks

2010-05-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

My adviser.
She is amazing.
A phenomenal researcher, and quite frankly anything that someone could want in an adviser and more.
She believes in me and makes me believe in myself.
I walked into her office and after talking about Kenya, she said this comment, "Anna, I feel like this thesis is just an exercise. So lets get over that hurdle. You've already done the hard work."
What followed was the 30 most encouraging minutes I've had about my thesis since... the last time I met with her last December.
I wish I could meet with her everyday... for her wisdom and for her encouragement.

Reasons to Give Thanks (10 of them!)

2010-05-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

1. Morning Glory muffins. I know I mentioned them yesterday... but I treated myself to another one this morning. How did I not know of their existence before yesterday?

2. A 15 minute nap on the window seat at my house. Woke up feeling immensely refreshed.

3. First good run since... well... it's been a while. But this run made me happy to be happy to be running again (if you want to help me as I race against cancer in the 2010 ING NYC Marathon visit my website!

4. A fairly good thesis weekend. Chapter 1 (background) is in a tentative lock (it needs a sentence here and there and some editing, but it's looking good). Chapter 2 (the bear) is progressing nicely. Still needs work, but is looking alot better. Chapter 3 - about 60% written, and the parts that aren't written will write themselves after Chapter 2 is complete. And Chapter 4 - well, I'm not really stressed about that one at all. Thinking of the thesis - I'm meeting with my adviser Tuesday at 1pm. It's a long stressful story, but prayers for that meeting would be greatly appreciated.

5. My dad called. It was wonderful to get to talk to him.

6. Chelsey "tagged me" in pictures from graduation. I wanted to be there so badly... and it was wonderful to be in her thoughts on such a busy day.

7. Gummy Vitamins. Silly I know, but Meg bought a huge bottle from Sam's Club... and it makes vitamin taking so much more exciting when you get to eat two gummy bears in the morning (Meg, I think I owe you $2)

8. Lilacs. There's a beautiful bush that I ran by twice on my run... and the smell is heavenly.

9. The sense of humor of the people at Google Maps. Example - lets say that you wanting to map the distance from Branford, CT to Honolulu, HI... there is a step that says "Kayak across the Pacific Ocean." I literally laughed out loud.

10. Shoshtakovich Piano Concerto #2 in F, Op. 102, - 2. Andante. Listen to it. It's one of the most beautiful things ever.

The 10 for Saturday

2010-05-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

1. A gift card to Common Grounds (thank you Erica) - where I worked on my thesis for 2 hours this morning before moving to the library - which bought me a cup of their coconut coffee and an amazing morning glory muffin.

2. The Branford library. It's a really beautiful library with a nice atmosphere.

3. It's a beautiful day. Which means that when I took a 30 minute break from the thesis this afternoon, I sat outside in my swimsuit and got a little sun (have to even out those Kenya tan lines for the bridesmaids dress).

4. My friendship Kanga! Right as I was leaving Kenya, Jess bought us friendship Kangas (like a friendship bracelet, but a Kanga instead. So we each have half of it.) I wore it as my swimsuit cover up today.

5. My thesis. Let me explain. I'm challenging myself to be thankful for all the things that I typically whine about. I am thankful for my thesis... because it's allowed me to study in depth a fascinating disease and more fully understand the people that are living with it. Seriously, when I'm not having an anxiety attack about the thesis, I really do enjoy reading about HIV.

6. Andrew's dedication and passion for his job. I am so thankful for Andrew... and while I might miss him like crazy, I'm so proud of him for his service to our country... I am so thankful that Andrew and other men like him are protecting the freedom of our country and the liberty of others. (and as an added bonus, I think he looks extra handsome in his uniform)

7. Rice pudding jello cups. They're pretty amazing. Enough said.

8. My sister-in-law to be, Chelsey. I am so thankful to be getting a sister - and so proud of her as she graduated from college today!

9. My brothers. My mom sent me a pic of the two of them from Chelsey's graduation... and while it really made me miss home... it also made me so thankful that I have such AWESOME brothers who can make me laugh so hard (can we say inner jello?)

10. I have another month in the Bran house... a month where I can come out and sit on the sea wall and write my blog posts and listen to the tide roll in and out and smell the salt in the air and look at the Thimble Islands and see Long Island in the distance. I am blessed.

10 Reasons to Give Thanks (4/29/10)

2010-04-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

1. I took tonight off from writing my thesis. I think this was the best thing I could have done for my brain.

2. My attending pulled me aside today just to tell me that I write really good notes.

3. Evidently my outfit today was a big hit. This is even more funny because I literally got dressed in 10 minutes today. And just put my hair in a pony tail. But as soon as I walked on the unit one of the nurses immediately complimented my dress and she threw in for good measure, "And your pony tail just makes everything pop." Later on both of my residents complimented me on my outfit. The winning comment once again went to Frank who said, "Anna, your outfit. It just looks awesome. And the black border... it just looks so good."

4. I was hypnotized in a class on hypnotherapy this afternoon. I was a little skeptical at first but it was quite relaxing.

5. It was an absolutely beautiful sunny day today.

6. Jen and I made frozen pizza for dinner. So yummy.

7. For the first time since I was a small child, we had an official snack time in the middle of class this afternoon. They provided snacks and sodas. (seriously, these psychiatrists really know something)

8. I have the best roommates. Ever. I asked my roommates to help me think of the last things that I'm thankful for... they suggested breathing and not having a heart attack.

9. After tomorrow, I will be 25% of the way done with another rotation.

10. I received a card in the mail today from a friend of my mom's at home. It was so unexpected. And so wonderful.

For now, I head to bed. Have a day filled with psych... and a night filled with thesis in store tomorrow. Keep praying for the thesis.

10 Thankful Things for Wednesday, April 28

2010-04-28T17:33:00.001-07:00

1. After writing up a fairly complicated interview, my resident told me I wrote a good note.

2. About 8 of the guys from the unit were out on pass for an hour and were riding the elevator down with Meg and I as we went home for the day. As we're getting on the elevator, they look at Meg and I and one guy says, "We promise, we don't bite." It just tickled me. I'm really enjoying my time getting to know these guys.

3. Baked Cheetos. I splurged and bought some at Wal-Mart the other day.

4. Chicken. Let me explain. I had pasta w/ tomato sauce for dinner Monday night... and then I had the leftovers Tuesday for lunch and dinner, and I had it for lunch today as well. So as I'm getting more of the leftovers out for dinner tonight, Thu looks at me and says, "Do you want to trade dinners?" She had eaten chicken as many times as I had eaten pasta... so we swapped. It was excellent.

5. The other resident on my team complimented my shoes... in the middle of rounds. I look up from taking notes to see Frank mouthing to me, "Your shoes are awesome." He makes me laugh.

6. Microwave popcorn. What an excellent snack. (why is it that all of my thankful things seem to have to do with food tonight?)

7. I was able to sleep last night without taking nyquill.

8. My dad called tonight.

9. The Twelfth Night soundtrack by Hem. I have listened to this goodness knows how many times... and it still has the magic of the first night I heard it on a rainy night in Central Park.

10. 44. The number of days remaining until June 11... the day I get to pick Andrew up from the Austin airport. That number shrinks every day... and for that I am thankful.

Thankful

2010-04-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

I just had this conversation with my roommate in passing:
Me: I think I'm going to go bang my head against a wall.
Roomie: What?
Me: I hate my thesis. I think banging my head into a wall might be a little more satisfying because then at least I could see progress.

That typifies my conversations as of late. I am saddened to find that they all seem find me whining around several recurrent themes.
The most dominant theme - My thesis. I so strongly detest this thing. I chose to go back to school because I wanted to go into medicine. Not because I wanted to write a thesis... which is really just a glorified research proposal... and will serve the purpose of... well, sitting on a shelf and collecting dust.

And so I whine. When truthfully, I have absolutely nothing to whine about. I have been blessed beyond measure... so, everyday until I hand in my thesis on Friday, May 21, I will be compiling a list of 10 things that I'm thankful for that day. I can't promise that this will be good blog reading... but I can promise that it will be me... being honest.

Thus, I bring you the 10 List for Tuesday, April 27

1. Washing machines - I currently am running a couple loads of laundry, and after washing my clothes by hand in Kenya, this is such a luxury.

2. Running. First run since January complete. Yes, it technically was more of a Wog than a run (walk + jog) but it's a start

3. Megan is on rotation with me at the VA

4. A really good interaction/teaching time with my attending today on psych.

5. Car pooling. As I said, Meg is on rotation w/ me at the VA... this means gas will be saved.

6. My adviser. I received an email from her last night that said one line, "Don't be so hard on yourself." She believes in me more than I believe in me right now.

7. Internet. Fast internet. Enough said.

8. Putting on a warm sweatshirt straight out of the drier.

9. A small foam heart that has some sort of recording device in it... which contains a recorded message from Andrew. I may or may not have played it enough times since receiving it with my flowers to know exactly where the "um" falls in between two sentences... It's just nice to hear his voice.

10. Chuck. I watched it while eating dinner. All is right with the TV world.

10 more to come tomorrow...

Monkeys

2010-04-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

1 week ago today, I got on a plane in Nairobi, which was thankfully routed through Dubai and NOT any of the European countries, narrowly allowing me to escape from the ash.

I can't believe that it was only one week ago. So much has happened since then... visits from family, thesis draft handed in... it feels like it was yesterday, and yet it feels like it was forever ago.

I thought to honor the 1 week mark, I'd put up a video of the monkeys in Kakamega forest.

Back in the USA

2010-04-16T01:48:00.000-07:00

I wrote this post last evening as I was on the train from NYC back to CT (the last leg of my journey home).

Back in the states about 3 hours (since the plane touched down) and I already don’t quite know what to think. Part of it can be chalked up to jet lag. US time, Hubert and I left our hostel for the airport at 1pm on Tuesday. I landed at JFK at 3:30pm on Thursday, and I don’t expect to be home until 8pm ish. Needless to say, everything is being filtered through a jet lag lens.
But it’s not just the jet lag.
I can feel the US associated worries storming into my mind with force One monster, which I visualize as a Muppet cross between cookie monster and animal, runs around my brain screaming, “THESIS!!!! Thesisthesisithesisithesis THESIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On the whole, I’m not to found of him and am so looking forward to kicking him out of my brain in 5 weeks.
The most pervasive filter currently is the culture shock filter. After spending 10 weeks in Maseno, which is rural western Kenya… different things are coming as a jolt…
- Flying into Dubai last night and noticing the well lit the roads in the countryside. Even at the hospital, electricity was never a guarantee… sometimes forcing decisions like, “Which patient needs oxygen the most, since we only have 1 nonelectrical oxygen tank.”
- Duty free shopping in Dubai, was impressive when I flew out to Kenya. Dubai has the most duty free I’ve ever seen. This morning, I knew I needed to walk around for a while during my lay over, so I started to browse. The consumerism of it all became oppressive quickly.
- Simple pleasure on my flight from Dubai to JFK. It seemed extravagant, and dare I say, luxurious, to get to choose from 150 movies and nearly that many TV shows.
- The sheer amount of people and the pace of life at grand central station in NYC – as I ran to catch my train. It felt almost chaotic, and once again, overwhelming.
- The beautiful homes with the newly budding trees that I can see through the windows of the train. It all looks so clean…. And so perfect… and so easy. I know that it’s not. But after my time in Maseno, I am keenly aware of just how blessed I am.

Kwahari

2010-04-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

This will be my last blog post from Kenya.
I can’t believe that I actually just wrote that sentence.
I am officially out of internet minutes on my modem at home and this is the last chance I’ll have to make it to the cyber café before Hubert and I get on a plane early Tuesday morning to fly to Nairobi. We will spend about 36 hours in Nairobi, and then we’ll head to the airport. I fly out at 11:35pm on Wednesday (Kenya time, East coast time that’s 4:35pm). Hopefully, I’ll arrive back at the Branford House around 7:30pm on Thursday (following a flight from Nairobi to Dubai, a flight from Dubai to JFK, a subway ride to Grand Central, a train ride to New Haven and a car ride to Branford).
Whew. I’m already tired just thinking about it.
Back to the subject matter at hand, I can’t believe that it’s time for my Kenya adventure to draw to a close. At times it seemed as though I felt every minute… while at other times days flew by without my noticing. I am ready to come home, but I will forever treasure my time here. The women I got to meet… the things that they taught me. Living life in a culture that is so different from my own. Kenya has changed me. I’m sure that at this moment I only know a fraction of the ways that it has changed me. As I go home and return to life in the States, I think new facets will be revealed each day.
I’ve tried to elaborate more on that previous paragraph for about 5 minutes now… and words are escaping me. How can I capture 10 weeks in a single blog post? Thank you for reading as I’ve tried to process this journey.
Kwaheri from Kenya. (Goodbye)
-Anna

The Fight

2010-04-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let you all know that I will be running the NYC Marathon this November as a member of Fred's Team, raising money for cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Located in New York City, Memorial Sloan-Kettering is one of the preeminent cancer research hospitals in the United States.

In between college and graduate school, I had the opportunity to live in a home where I met over 100 different cancer patients and their family and friends. They quickly became my friends as well and I watched as they fought the cancer which had invaded their body, with chemotherapy, radiation and experimental surgeries that sometimes seemed worse than the cancer itself. Their determination to live and the joy they brought to life inspired me.

And so I run. I run in honor of my friends... both the ones who won and those who lost their battle. I run to make strides in the race against cancer. Since 1995, Fred's Team has raised over $38 million helped underwrite pioneering research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in pediatrics and dozens of other areas – research that has funded new treatments that have made a real difference in the lives of millions. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and there's a crucial need for ongoing research to fight this deadly disease.

But I can only do this with your help. I am aiming to raise over $3,500 for cancer research with Fred's Team. To help me achieve my goal click here:

Thank you so much for your help and encouragement as I begin to fundraise and train for the race marathon!

If the hyperlink above doesn't work, put try this link! http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR/FredsTeamEvents/Freds_Team?px=1760313&pg=personal&fr_id=1330&et=p4OT2TGewcYoXhLQ7qDjIw..&s_tafId=9183

Maasi Mara Pictures

2010-04-07T01:05:00.001-07:00

Finally had the chance to put up some pictures from Maasi Mara. Sorry the photobucket slide show uploaded a little off center. Spending time downloading additional thesis articles, attending my last support group meeting, and writing my thesis today. Things are starting to wrap up here in Maseno.

The Two Es

2010-04-05T04:07:00.001-07:00

I know that I have promised more Maasai Mara pictures. They will come once the internet cafe is open. For now, I'm limited by the turtle like speed of my connection at home. Thus, I bring you some newer pics of two big Es: Easter and the Equator. As I will be home in less than 2 weeks, I find that I'm starting to keep a list of things that I want to do here before I leave. One of those things was to take a picture at the office Lion's Club equator marker here in Maseno. We checked that one off the list this past weekend.

The next picture is of Jess and I on Easter Sunday. We're wearing the traditional Kenyan skirt - a kanga. The women here can tie them... personally, I think I had about 6 safety pins securing mine together. Mom - you will be very proud. I hemmed the edges by hand!

Maasai Mara

2010-04-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

As promised, the brief video that I threw together from Maasai Mara. Pictures and stories to follow.

Life to the full

28 before 28: Join a Church

28 before 28: Snorkel Hanauma Bay

28 Before 28: Hike Diamond Head

Your Blog Misses You

Team Tuesdays

$15 for 15K

The Battle

Anna vs. Blood Cancers

Deals, steals, and freebies!

Team in Training

Mt. Olympus Trail

Tuesday Funday - Catch up!

Aiea Loop Trail

For a smile...

Summer Swap

Tuesday Funday

Tuesday Funday

The Drought

The Beauty of the UK

WWW

Live Fire

WWW (along with some odds and ends)

Sunday Smiles

28 before 28: Surfing Lessons

Oops!

Weight and Workout Wednesdays

WWW

Ode to a Cantaloupe

I Live Here Now

Weight and Workout Wednesdays

28 Before 28 - Update

For the Win!

One Week

Weight and Workout Wednesdays

Aloha!

Indulgence

28 before 28 - Go to a Concert

The Life of the Employed but not yet Working

PA-C and the rewards that followed!

Rewards

Sweet Friends

28 before 28

It's Over

Playing Catch Up

Monday, Monday, da da doo da doo doo....

365 days of memories

2010

Thankful

My Moment of Fame!

Thankful

26.2

ING New York City Marathon Course Video

Goal - Update

Kenya Revisited

Autumn

The Goal - Week 1

The Goal

Waiting Rooms

Glimpses of Hawaii

In the 808

Because I love lists

The Children

Fun Salad of the Week

Addictions

Have No Fear...

Running Plan

Running with Anna

Soundtrack of Summer

A Cookie Worth Baking

Kentucky Snaps

Keepin' with the K theme

You Make Everything Glorious

Lists

Faux Graduation

Too many blessings to count...

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(256 - 60 + 4)/20

Things for Thanks

10 + 10

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