Thursday things

1st off- where did April go?  The last i remember, it was the beginning of April and i was trying to figure out what to do with the month.  And now it is the 26th.....month almost over....and "real" work begins on May 1st.  That's right- MICU look out- i'm back!!!
:)
I have to admit, i am excited to get back into the ICU.  I feel a bit rusty because i am a firm believer in "if you don't use it, you lose it"........and i haven't been in the MICU since September (MSICU was December).  And next year i don't do the MICU at all.  This is my last hurrah!  My last month of night float as a fellow.  My last month of running codes, doing admissions, and helping with central lines as a fellow.  You bet your sweet butt i am going to work my tail off.

2nd- Did you know i actually read for fun this month?
I ended up choosing The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks.  Partly because i am a sucker for Sparks and partly because i am a sucker for Zac Efron .  And before you say anything- he is 24.  Completely legal.  And completely yummy.

Ok, so yes, i read the book.  Actually, what happened was i read 3/4 of the book over spring break and got "bored."  And therefore i skipped ahead and flipped to the last few pages and saw that someone died.  Now don't worry- i am not telling who died so it is not like i am giving it away....AND you have to realize that someone ALWAYS dies in a Nicholas Sparks book/movie.  Anyway, i was so pissed about the death that i stopped reading the book all together. 
Fast forward to yesterday (2 weeks from when i swore i would never read another Nicholas Sparks book) and i picked it back up again, attempting to finish the book, although i knew the ending.  And dumb me- i assumed the wrong person had died and was pissed for nothing.  It was a great book and a good ending and i was really happy when i finished it.
Next book for fun- Fifty shades of Grey (ohhh la la).  But i won't read that til studying is done.

3rd- Oh yeah, let me bring up the fact that i might be a t-total bitch over the next few months as i hunker down and start studying again.  Let me remind you, i am studying AGAIN so it doesn't make me happy. What also doesn't make me happy is the amount of money i have paid to become a board certified physician.  And it only gets worse with pulmonary and critical care boards next year when i finish fellowship. What does make me happy is knowing how much i am going to learn from studying.  What also makes me happy is the picture of Zac Efron.....*sigh*   Go look at it


4th- Have i updated you on my craft project?  I was inspired by this blog when i found an oyster shell mirror on Pinterest that i liked.  Unfortunately it was $495 dollars!  Don't have that $ to spend!

So i thought, "how hard can it be to make one???"
Famous last words....
Lucky for me i had oyster shells left over from the Oyster Roast i had for the fellows in November (see, i am such a good co-worker).  I put them in bleach and water to clean them and let them soak for about a week.  Then went to Lowes- bought a square mirror, some plywood, something to hang the mirror with and some extra strength glue.  And i have been back to Lowes approx 15 more times to buy MORE glue.  It takes a LOT OF GLUE!!
This project i though would take about a week....but i am now on the 3rd week!  It has completely taken over my beautiful dinning room and there are oyster shells everywhere!  And Tiberius likes to grab them out of the buckets and chew on them!
Here is some progress pics.....

Another small set back was the gash i gave myself on my R middle finger.  And of course knowing too much medicine, i promptly called my best friend to write me a script for Doxy so that i wouldn't get Vibrio.  And let me tell you- Doxycycline is a drug from the devil.  It is BID dosing and it says to take 1-2 hours before eating or 2-4 hours after eating.  It didn't matter when i took it- on an empty stomach, on a full stomach, on a semi-empty stomach- it made me throw up.  Twice a day.  For the 4 days i took it (i quit early- was suppose to take a 7 day course but my poor stomach couldn't take it anymore).  It gave me flashbacks of my binging/purging days- and i hadn't thrown up in 4 years (whoo hooo go me!!)...so i broke my own rule about taking all of the medications- and i quit early.  And from now on, when i write a script for Doxy to any of my patients, i will warn them of this drug from the devil!


Well, those are my thursday things!
Can't wait for the weekend- http://brentapace.com/champagneparty/- this is a CF Birthday benefit on Friday night- get to drink Champagne and help out a good cause, my buddy Brent!  and then it is my last weekend to relax before the ICU.  I am going to finish my mirror (a lofty goal!!)
:)

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Happy 5th Birthday to my 1st 4-legged child.

Look at how little she was!!!

And look how un-tired i was (this was before residency)!!

Her 1st Halloween costume- my little bee.

And of course she loves to swim

Oh- and here is when she 1st met Tiberius- the day when he became "my baby" and she became "taylor's baby."

What a great action shot!!

And here we are.  Love her so much.

:)

Before and After

 Before and After......

Do you remember when i was complaining about my unfortunate pool......swamp......whatever it was.

Here is a pic to remind you of what i was dealing with.....

And now........ahhh....so beautiful!

I ended up hiring a pool company because there was NO way i could salvage the pool- i just didn't have the time or the patience.  And while the pool company quoted me "somewhere between 200-500 dollars," i haven't gotten the bill yet, so i don't know what this cleaning cost me.  BUT IT IS WORTH IT!
The hottub will be fired up this weekend and a pool party will be necessary soon.....i just need to get "bikini ready" first!
:)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Guess who is 1?!?!

Last year on April 11th, i became an aunt.  I had become a mother at a young age and my brother and sister became an aunt and uncle when they were 13 and 15.  Although i am not complaining, i had to wait 17 years to become an aunt and when she was born, oh my goodness- i know that Paul and Erika were happy but i was so proud.  I texted all of my co-workers, all of my friends, and pretty much everyone in my phone- including people i hadn't talked to in YEARS!  lol.

Isn't she beautiful?!?



A whole year went by- i wasn't able to spend a ton of time with her because of work, family, life, etc but i loved watching her grow.  And cherished all the times i was able to spend with her.

:)

And now she is one.  How time flies!



Despite the fact that a birthday party for a one year old seems a little odd (i mean, will she even remember it??), Paul and Erika had a birthday party for Ava over the weekend.  Friends and family gathered for lunch and cake so that they could celebrate Ava's life.....and also celebrate the fact that Paul and Erika survived the past year.

Look at the beautiful cupcakes Erika made...... :)

And a collection of pictures.....

And the birthday girl!  So happy!!

 Here she is trying to walk....

 And of course Auntie Lara is there to help.  :)

 Three generations of beautiful women.

 My mom and Ava

Paul Ray III, Ava Ray, and Paul Ray Jr.

 Ava and her great aunt Patty- i have no idea why Ava is pouting.  Patty is the best!!

 Oh that is right- Ava wanted to be with her dad- she is such a daddy's girl!

 The family.

 And here is Ava and her egg-less cake.

 Oh- and this is what i got her for her birthday- there was a top 10 list of presents for 1 year olds and this was the #1 present.  I thought it looked cool.....

 And apparently Ava loves it!

 And the picture is blurry because she is bouncing so hard!  How cute!  I am so glad she loves it!!!

And here are some professional pictures taken for your enjoyment!  I just can't get over how cute she is!!

Amusement Park Fairy Tale

There once was a little girl who loved amusement parks.  The love affair started when she was six years old, going to Kings Dominion in Virginia with her swim team at the end of the season.  The highlight of that trip was on the White Water Canyon ride, her coach brought an umbrella and avoided all waterfalls while the rest of the riders got soaked.  From that day on, her love affair with amusement parks blossomed.  Every summer she would go to different parks- going with her family, her church, her friends, and even going on senior skip day and dragging her summer school friends at Duke away for the weekend to the amusement parks instead of studying.  She loved the water rides and the rollercoasters, and couldn't get enough of them.  The little girl got older and had a daughter of her own- and of course her love for amusement parks was passed down to her daughter.  Together they would travel between states, going to parks and riding each rollercoaster.  The old wooden ones, the new steel ones, the ones where you stand up, lay down, hang down, ride backwards....it didn't matter.  The girl and her daughter conquered them all.  But slowly  over time, things changed.  The girl had grown up, had been in school working towards a job/career....and somewhere along the way, started worrying about things.....like all grown ups do.  And while she still loved amusement parks, they scared her now too.  She worried about the rides breaking....she while she admitted it was ridiculous, she even worried about dying on the rides.

ok- i am done with my story.  obviously it was about me...hehe.
Taylor is on spring break and i took vacation- and while we didn't do much, we did pack ourselves and her BFF Cali, and took a trip up I-77 and spent some time in Charlotte. 

Here are the girls....

We shopped at Southpark Mall- which was A-mazing.  So many stores (which i of course couldn't afford)....but it was so fun and a bit overwhelming to walk around and take it all in.  There were also 10-15 large restaurants located around the mall perimeter.  We chose to eat at The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar.
http://thecowfish.com/
Interesting concept- so we had to try it out.

 The girls looked thrilled to have their picture taken AGAIN......hehe....you will see a trend here, i promise.

This is what i got for dinner- the "Bento box."  Had edamame, fries, a specialty mini-burger, and a spicy cucumber salad.  It is a strange combo but it worked- i devoured it all.  Even the fries!

The next day- CAROWINDS!!

Here is one of the "newer" rides, the Intimidator.

And thank goodness the girls are tall enough to ride the rides....hehe.

The Intimidator- our 1st rollercoaster of the day.  It is the tallest and longest rollercoaster in the Southeast- and lasts 3 minutes and 33 seconds.  213 seconds of pure hell for me- as i feared for my life. And i swear to goodness, it was going to be my last of the day after it was over.....there are no loops, just plenty of TALL hills and  sharp twists and turns that made me worry that it would be my last twist and turn.

The newest ride- The WindSeeker.  Nope.  Didn't go on it.  Neither did Cali.  But Taylor did.  :)

Oh- and randomly we ran into their friend, Astrid, and her family.  Here is Cali, Taylor and Astrid.

And me and Tay!  Proof that i was there!

This ride is the Southern Star- otherwise known as the "upside down pirate ship."
Didn't ride that one either.
If you look closely at the middle of the ship- Taylor and her friends (Cali and Astrid) and then Astrid's dad and sister are in the 1st row after the middle of the ship.  (Astrid's dad is on the outside- has a long sleeve white shirt on and his hands are up in the air.)

Here are Tay and Cali going on the Carolina Cyclone.  It was one of my favorite when i was growing up but now it gives me such a headache with all the head jostling, that i didn't ride today.  The ride opened in March 1980, and it was the first rollercoaster in the world to turn riders upside down four times!  It turned 30 in 2010!  Holy cow- it is younger than me!

Tay and Cali are in the 2nd cart, 1st row.  Love action shots!!

Oh and i saved the best for last.  And i say this because it is a PRICELESS picture.  And while i am totally embarrassed by it, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at????

This rollercoaster is the Cobra- it is a rollercoaster basically cut in half.  From the gate, you get pulled up a hill and then shot back down, through three loops and then pulled up another hill, and then you go backwards through the previous three loops.

Here are the four girls.
Astrid (L front) and Cali (R front).  Doesn't Cali look like she is crying???
Taylor (L back) and me (R back).  Ok, Tay is laughing hysterically.  And my face is pure "wtf am i doing on this ride because i could die?!?!"  Hahaha.

After 7 hours at the park and the girls riding every rollercoaster there- we piled back in the car and drove home.  By the way, i did ride more rollercoasters.  I prayed going up the hills and saw my life flash before my eyes at every loops, twist and turn.  I think i have watched Final Destination 3 too many times.
Lol.

We did make it back to Charleston safe and sound.  And look who was waiting to snuggle with me!!!

Have a good weekend y'all!