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I love having a friend whose house I can walk to!
17 Monday Mar 2014
Posted Regular Life
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I love having a friend whose house I can walk to!
01 Sunday Sep 2013
Posted Med School, Regular Life
inTags
Bacteria, Cookout, Fellow Med Students, Food, Food Poisoning, Friends, Labor Day, M2, Mayonnaise, Microbiology, Staphylococcus, Weekend
We’re having a cookout for Labor Day tomorrow. One of The Husband’s classmates asked what she could bring. He said a salad, but without mayonnaise because it would be hot out and we don’t want everyone to get a Staph infection toxemia.
Can you tell they’re in the middle of Microbiology?
31 Wednesday Jul 2013
Posted Med School, Practical Concerns, Regular Life
inTags
Alone, Anniversary, Attachment Parenting, Babysitting, BMF, Breaks, Budgeting, Coffee Shop, College, Confederacy, COT, Crunchy, Errands, Evangelicals, Exams, Facebook, Family, Fellow Med Students, Friends, Jesus, Library, Lonely, M1, M2, Me Time, Med School, MOPS, Museums, Natural Disasters, New Hampshire, Outsider Status, Parks, Real Estate, Richmond, Single Parenthood, Storytime, Summer, Tax Refund, Weather, Weekend
Yesterday marked one year in Richmond. I’ve liked it more than I thought I would. There’s a lot more stuff (parks, libraries, museums, funky shops, etc.) close by than there is in New Hampshire. We’ve met some nice people and reconnected with others from college.
Still, I miss things like snow and mountains and not-I-want-to-die-heat-and-humidity (doing better than last summer though). I miss our friends.
I still feel like a bit of an outsider. Mention on your Facebook that you think modern military bases shouldn’t be named after Confederate generals and you hear about it from a parent at the park. I don’t think I fit in with the other stay-at-home parents here. It seems there are two groups: the MOPS type (too Jesus-y*) and the organic, all-natural, attachment parenting type (too crunchy). Staying at home didn’t seem so political in New Hampshire. Maybe I just didn’t get out enough. I don’t know. I have found a BMF (Best Mom Friend, not to be confused with BAMF) who is neither so we go to the coffee shop together once a week after storytime at the library.
Medical school is both easier and harder than I thought it would be. I don’t get breaks until The Husband gets breaks, so I feel like a single parent at times. Weekends are not guaranteed. Often Saturdays become another weekday in terms of schedule. The Husband leaves for the library or school that morning (usually an hour or two later than real weekdays) and then I see him again around dinnertime. Sundays can be the same, although not as often. He’s pretty burned out by then.
Most of our friends are fellow med students, so potential babysitters are busy at the same time I’d want them the most. Not many errands get done the week before a test. This summer–well, the two weeks after COT and before classes–I worked hard to get a little “me” time in. I hope it can continue a little bit into the school year now that we have a year’s perspective on scheduling demands, but we’ll see.
The New Hampshire house is back on the market. I don’t have faith it will sell, so it will probably be rented out again. I hope people like moving in October. No? Bummer.
Our savings account is about the same as last year, so that’s good. We did have a big tax refund thanks(?) to a drastically reduced salary for the second half of the 2012, but we also had a tree hit the house, so I’m not sure where exactly that puts us in terms of successful budgeting.
In the past year, The Baby has become The Toddler. He has gradually dropped from two long naps a day to one not-so-long nap (hence the reduced frequency of blog posts). He’s very mellow and easy-going, but fiercely independent. He’s not into talking very much and would rather observe people and situations than participate. So, pretty much the same personality as last year, except for the independence. It’s hard to know if it was always there but we couldn’t tell because he wasn’t as mobile. His interests include tractors, planes, trucks, and cars. This has manifested into very distinct preferences for which shirts he wears. If he can see into the drawer, he wants the clothing with the motor vehicle on it.
The Husband has been back at school for 2.5 weeks and has had his first test already, so we’re 26% done!
*And seems to prey on vulnerabilities to covertly evangelize. Not cool, MOPS!
16 Thursday May 2013
Posted Air Force, DoctorSpouses, Regular Life
inTags
Air Force, Boot Camp, COT, DoctorSpouses, Fellow Med Students, Friends, Lonely, Maxwell AFB, Thankful
New DoctorSpouses post is up.
Well, I was worried about being lonely for five weeks, but now that I’ve put travel and visits and everything on a calendar, I’m not sure I’ll even have time to get any projects around the house done!
There are two days “alone” when P. first leaves and then it’s non-stop action until he gets home except for five days “alone” at about the 2/3 mark. I say “alone” with quotation marks because those will also be jam-packed with all the other plans with friends that haven’t yet been officially scheduled.
So the bedroom will get painted (my aunt offered to come and help) but I don’t think any other projects will really get finished.
It’s a nice problem to have.
This experience of P. leaving for boot camp has really made me aware and grateful of how awesome our friends are. It helps that med school ended up being approximately an hour from our college, so we are thankful for that too.
But even if our college friends weren’t nearby, I’m confident my schedule would be nearly as full. There is a real camaraderie among the medical students and the spouses. It makes sense; we’re all in this crazy, stressful experience, unlike anything else in the world, together. And it’s brought out the best in people. (And also brought out a lot of beer, but that’s beside the point.)
We/I’ve had so many offers for things like babysitting, walking the dog, driving us to the airport, picking us up from the train station, going out to lunch, the park, and so on.
Read more here.
11 Monday Feb 2013
Posted Med School, Regular Life
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Behavioral Science, Exams, Family, Fredericksburg, Friends, Histology, M1, M2, Physiology, Problem Solving, Review
After three weeks of no tests (a record!), The Husband is slammed with four in a week. Behavioral Science was on Friday and he did really well. He’s hoping he got the highest grade in the class because then he would get some award.
Today is a problem-solving/review day for the other three tests. There’s the Histology Practical tomorrow and the Histology Written and Physiology tests on Wednesday. An M2 The Husband talked to said just to focus on passing because those are so hard. Blerg.
But after the last two tests, we’re heading up to Fredericksburg to visit some cousins and meet a New Hampshire friend for dinner. Yay!
25 Friday Jan 2013
Posted Med School, Regular Life
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Cary Street, Friends, Lee-Jackson-King Day, Med Ball, North vs South, Sick, Virginia, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
We’re finally over our Christmas to Lee-Jackson Day* parainfluenza with aggravating bacterial infection and had a lovely weekend with some friends who drove down from D.C.
We discovered an amazing chocolate/candy store on Cary Street and then wandered around the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Husband and I had seen part of the VMFA at Med Ball** and were very impressed, so it was neat to be able to see the parts that had been closed.
And then two days ago I felt terrible and yesterday The Toddler developed croup. Fun.
* Formerly Lee-Jackson-King Day, until it was pointed out that combining Confederate and Civil Rights leaders on one day was kind of weird.
** Formal party for the Medical School in November.
07 Monday Jan 2013
Posted Air Force, Regular Life
inTags
Anatomy, Books, Breaks, Commissary, FCM, Fellow Med Students, Fort Lee, Friends, Fun, Grocery Shopping, Groupon, Gym, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Military, military discount, New Hampshire, Preceptorship, Restaurant, Sick, Weather
New semester, new adventures!
The Husband re-started classes on Wednesday, and since there were only 3 days of class to fall behind on, and despite our slow-to-return health, we went out this weekend.
Friday night we went with friends to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens to see the Gardenfest of Lights. Military Discount FTW! The Toddler enjoyed running around and staring at the Christmas lights and model trains. We also unexpectedly ran into a college acquaintance of mine who also has a toddler, so we’re going to try to meet up sometime for a playdate/catching up session.
Saturday morning was our long-awaited trip to Fort Lee for the Commissary. As we drove in we passed some very nice officer housing, a golf course, fitness trail, track and nicely manicured lawns. Allegedly the Air Force stations are nicer than Army ones, so I think we’ll be pretty happy staying on base.
The verdict on the Commissary is that it’s great for dog food and cleaning supplies, good for meat and frozen items, and about even for produce and dairy, with variation within the categories. Kielbasa and ground turkey were really cheap, chicken breasts were about the same as the local stores. Yogurt was half-price. If you already shop mostly generics though, it won’t save much money. Everything there was name brand. There was a great selection of produce, international, and luxury* items, so I’ll definitely be heading there again to stock up for parties.
I’m glad we went, but I’ll stick with the local stores for most of my grocery shopping. I’ll probably go once a month or so to stock up on meat and dog food.
As we left, we saw a platoon? (troop? brigade? About 30) of army privates sweeping the parking lot.
Finally, on Sunday we met a larger group of friends at Alamo BBQ. There was a Groupon, so we decided to check it out. It was pretty good and we’ll probably go back, so Groupon accomplished? We were a little taken aback that it wasn’t really a restaurant so much as a food stand, but there was a tent and it was gorgeous out according to the people from Canada, Seattle, and New Hampshire. To the Southern Californian, not so much. He ended up borrowing my jacket. We talked about books we read over break (Abraham Verghese seemed a popular choice), about the upcoming preceptorships (15 miles away is apparently considered “close” to school) and how we all (me included!) were glad Gross Anatomy was over.
That evening I met up with my gym buddy for the first time since early December. Today my pecs are sore!
* Fancy cheeses, salmon, etc.
01 Tuesday Jan 2013
Posted Regular Life
inTags
Air Force, Antibiotics, Breaks, Car Troubles, Christmas, Complaining, Ear Infection, Family, Febrile Hallucinations, Fever, Food, Friends, military discount, New Jersey Turnpike, Road Trip, Sick, Sinus Infection
Don’t read this post if you don’t like medical discussions. Heck, if you don’t like medical discussions, why are you reading this blog to begin with?
This Christmas was topped only by Christmas 1996 when my grandmother died and I missed the wake because I was vomiting (7 times!) instead.
Two-and-a-half weeks ago, we had our annual Thanksgiving gathering of some college friends. The original Thanksgiving weekend date was postponed due to illness of our friends’ daughter. This time, she was “mostly over” a cold, so we thought it was no big deal. Major mistake apparently. The Toddler almost immediately stole her sippy cup and drank from it.
Tuesday, The Toddler came down with the sniffles. Wednesday, The Husband was also sniffling. It was enough that we cancelled an end-of-the-semester potluck at our house. Thursday, The Toddler was worse and woke up with an amazing amount of gunk in his eyes–enough that it was tough for him to open them. So The Husband brought him to the pediatrician and The Toddler was prescribed a course of antibiotics (he had a double ear infection in addition to the eye gunk).
I got sick on Friday. Sore throat, stuffy nose, cough, sneezing, all the good stuff. Saturday I got an ear infection. I didn’t even know adults got ear infections! Sunday morning we cancelled going to a friend’s toddler’s birthday party. Sunday afternoon I threw up. Sunday night, The Husband threw up. Monday (Christmas Eve) morning, The Father-In-Law prescribed us both antibiotics just in case, so we wouldn’t have to find an open pharmacy on Christmas Day or on the road. Yes, we were still planning on traveling up to New England! It’s good to have a physician in the family.
Christmas Day we drove to Northern Virginia to say hello to The Parents and The Grandparents and to rest a while before continuing to stay with my uncle in New York for the night. We were there for about 5 minutes before The Father-In-Law said we weren’t to leave before he wrote us a prescription for codeine. It’s good to have a physician in the family.
We were feeling much better with the codeine and we were sure we were on the mend, since we felt better than the day before and it had already been a week. Colds only last a week, right?
So we loaded into the car and headed north with a bag full of ham sandwiches that The Husband’s grandmother made us take because everyone else refused to take home leftovers.
We made good time through Delaware and headed onto the New Jersey Turnpike around 9 p.m., where we promptly heard a thunk and then the thwap thwap of a flat tire. We called my uncle to say we wouldn’t make it that night, since we only had a donut. The Husband attempted to remove the tire, but was unsuccessful. We called AAA, and not only would they help change the tire, they said, they could actually repair/replace it that night. Wonderful! We called my uncle to say we would make it after all. AAA arrived and he couldn’t remove the tire either. According to him, it was the first time in 6 years on the job he couldn’t get a tire off. He called the tow truck. We called my uncle again to say we weren’t coming again.
So after about 1.5 hours on the side of the Jersey Turnpike, the tow truck arrived and he drove us to a motel, since by that time the shop was closed. The motel was empty except for us, and we got the military discount which felt a bit like cheating since the only thing we’ve done regarding the military so far is the swearing in and the IDs and the collecting money. Nothing actually hard yet.
The Husband started his antibiotics that night on the advice of his dad since he had been out in the cold and dirt. I decided to hold off since I was still convinced it was still just a cold. This is probably why I’m not the one that’s going to med school.
That night I had these extremely vivid hallucinations of my sister-in-law as a fairy surrounded by light and wind, book pages made of sugar in wine glasses surrounded by laughing aunts, and colorful parrots with feathers made of paper. I wondered why The Father-In-Law said it was okay to drive on the codeine. Turns out I had a fever and that was why I was hallucinating. I also had major sinus pain and eye gunk in the morning so I also started the antibiotics. We ate the ham sandwiches for breakfast. They were dry and cold by that point, but they were delicious.
Wednesday morning, the 26th, the car was ready. One tire had been slashed by some metal and had to be replaced and the tire behind it had been punctured and was slowly going flat also, but could be patched. So, even if we had gotten the original tire off, we would have only made it a little bit further until we were stymied again.
We left the motel around 10 and still had hopes of making it to my parents’ house in Connecticut around 2.
This post is getting very, very long and it’s getting late, so I’ll say to be continued tomorrow…
10 Monday Sep 2012
Posted Regular Life
inTags
Belle Isle, Brown's Island, Family, Fitness, Friends, Grocery Shopping, Health, MCV, Parks, Recipes, Richmond, Studying, Weekend
We had a nice weekend. Here are some highlights.
Made some chocolate chip cookies for the college freshmen in the family and mailed those off.
The Husband signed me up as his “Plus One” at the MCV gym, so now I can continue my quest to do my second lifetime pull-up. (The first and only was in 6th grade for the Presidential Fitness Test.)
Checked out the Farmers Market in Forest Hill Park on Saturday. It was a bit overwhelming with the crowds, but we picked up some fresh corn-on-the-cob and some sausage. Several places were advertising fall farm shares, so I’ll look at the details next week and perhaps get one. That way I’m less likely to be paralyzed by all the choices and maybe I’ll branch out a bit with vegetables.
We took those sausages and had some school friends over for dinner. It was the best sausage and peppers I’ve had. Normally I hate peppers, but this recipe made them so sweet. Maybe it was the wine?
Sunday, The Husband went to the library to study for his second test and afterwards we met up with his classmate T and T’s wife and 16-month-old at the park. We intended to go to Belle Isle, but driving in we saw a festival at Brown’s Island so we went there instead. The Baby enjoyed crawling around and throwing gravel. The Husband got a free burger because the food tent was packing up. I spoke to a human being that I don’t live with IN PERSON. It was a good time.
And then at 8:05 p.m., The Baby took 3 steps in a row. He is now known as The Toddler.