Lauren's Loot

Cozumel

2012-01-15T21:58:00.003-05:00

Cruise Day 4- UnBELIZEable

2012-01-14T13:45:00.001-05:00

Cruise Day 3- Costa Maya!

2012-01-13T23:48:00.002-05:00

Our first stop on the cruise was Costa Maya, Mexico. Jeremy and I had room service bring breakfast for our wake up call and then we met the gang early so we'd be off the ship first. Once at port we met our tour liaison who drove us to the tour office to meet our driver and guide. We drove an hour on the most straight road I've ever seen to the Mayan ruins.

My knee was still hurting so I was on crutches...that's what I get for saying I needed to work out my arms!

It was a beautiful, sunny day!

Our guide gave us a great presentation on the Mayan people and the purpose of the monuments we saw. I learned more than I even knew existed about the Mayan calendars! He also reassured us that the Mayans did not say the world would end in 2012...Only one of their 3 calendars end there! So don't worry- we have a few more years ;)

It really was a great presentation...we were all just a little tired, hot, and hungry by that point!
After seeing the ruins, they took us to a nearby town where some beautiful ladies made us fresh tamales, rice, beans, chicken, and tortillas. It was all really good and it was a great location!

We all took lots of pictures :) Jeremy was in charge of my camera...managing my crutches was enough work for me!

It was nice to get back on the ship, shower, and sit down for a few minutes before going to dinner. The waiters went around the dining room and then lined up and sang a song for us all. It was really cool to see them all lined up!

Trinity/Cross and Crown

2012-01-12T00:17:00.000-05:00

Today I went with Lindsey to Cross and Crown for her Trinity free legal clinic to see my awesome lawyer sister in action. She wanted me to take some pictures for her board members and the newsletter. Here are a few of my favorites :)

Cruise Day 1-2

2012-01-11T15:24:00.002-05:00

We had a GREAT time on the cruise last week. Here are a bunch of pictures from the first two days :)

Jeremy was finishing up some trailer park work before we left internet signal at the port..this was during the emergency fire drill where we all had to group up in designated areas and learn how to put on a life jacket.

The dining room chandelier.

Playing Nertz!

Our first formal dinner night.

Christmas lights!

2011-12-30T23:40:00.003-05:00

Tuesday night mom cooked my favorite meal- peppered steak and fried okra!!! It was SOOO good! Then we went on a limo ride to see the Christmas lights around OKC. I had fun taking pictures and seeing all the beautiful lights!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T21:58:00.000-05:00

Christmas #1 we spent in Glen Rock, Pa where Jeremy's mom made us a spectacular dinner.

Then we flew to OKC and hung out with Linds and my mom.

Next we went to Enid for Christmas #2 at dad and steph's.

Christmas #3 was on Christmas Eve at Gramps and Grammy's.

Grammy made us all aprons!

All the girl cousins got little piggy banks.

Christmas #4 was at Mimi and K's on Christmas day.

Grandma Jacoby's at Thanksgiving

2011-12-21T13:10:00.000-05:00

13.1

2011-12-15T21:31:00.000-05:00

Route:

The Nittany Valley Half-Marathon

Mileage:

13.1

Hillage:

Long stretches of relatively flat ground, with a gentle, hubris-inducing downhill near the beginning at mile 3, a long, steep downhill (the great Rock Road Ravine) after mile 7; two tough little uphills after mile 9 and 10, and a final, soul-crushing climb to finish the race.Total elevation change: Over 300 ft.
Average Grade: 2%. But that's average. Here are some of the local grades:

Fox Hollow Rd.	A gentle drop of 77 ft in 0.55 miles to the Rte 322 Bypass bridge, a 2.6% downward grade.
Toftrees:	A 193 ft rise from the Big Hollow/Fox Hollow intersection to the curve at Fox Hill Rd. (1.6 miles): a 2.3% long upward grade.
Rock Road Ravine:	A 308 foot drop over 1.8 miles: 3.2% downward grade. The steepest part has a 6% grade over 0.8 miles. That'll hurt your quads.
Houserville Rise:	A 96 ft rise into Houserville over half a mile: 3.6% grade.
Final Rise:	A 160 ft rise in 1.24 miles: 2.5% grade. The steepest third of a mile is a 5% climb. This is where the praying starts.

For some strange reason I thought it would be fun to run a half marathon. I signed up in October for the Nittany Valley Half marathon in State College, Pa. I read online that it was a tough course but it was a weekend I could get away so I figured why not:?!

Now I understand "tough course" is an understatement. It was miserable....and yet fun and exciting all at the same time. Jeremy was kind enough to drive me and take pictures during the race.

You can't see me in this picture- I'm in the back with the slow runners

This picture was obviously at the beginning because I'm smiling :)

I'm right in the middle of this one! The first two miles were a big circle around the Penn State agricultural center so we passed by all the bystanders twice. And look, I'm not even last!

This was part of the only down hill portion... It was awesome...until I remembered "what goes down, must go back up". The up was miserable.

I think this was about mile 8...I may look like I'm walking but I promise- I was giving it my all- and I didn't walk the whole 13.1 miles! My goals for the race were 1) to finish (bonus if I'm not last place) and 2) to run the whole time. I did both :)

And here- finally- THE LAST STRETCH! The final 5K was pretty much all uphill. One really REALLY REALLY long, steep, winding, uphill.... There were chalk markings along the way that said "you can conquer the spiral of death!" and "you're almost there!" They weren't kidding in naming it the spiral of death. Lots of people started walking up the hill...It was fun for me to finally be passing a few people ;)

After this turn I could finally see the finish line!!

ALLLMOOOOOOSSSSTTTT there........

It took EVERYTHING I had in me to keep running.

I was kinda in shock by this point...somebody handed me a water bottle and someone else cut the timing chip off my foot. I found Jeremy and begged him to carry me to the car. I then remembered that my toe had started hurting at some point in the race before finally going numb so I took my shoe and sock off in the car and figured out why it hurt. I'll spare you the details but it was gross! It's still all black and purple.

I really just ran it so I could get a 13.1 sticker...and Jeremy surprised me with a pink one!!

(I don't know why it's sideways....)

Here are my race stats... Evidently I wanted to show I was an Okie in Pa so I combined my location and made it York, Ok :)

Lauren Jacoby, 28*, York, OK

Place: 682                            Place in my age group:45
Total time: 2:28:50                   Pace:11:22

412 male finishers
320 female finishers
732 total finishers

So there you go...my first half marathon!

Ellie!

2011-12-14T17:41:00.012-05:00

Hello world...

I've been a very absent blogger...sorry. I have so much to catch up on but since I have an exam Friday it will have to wait!
For now I'll leave you with some pics from Ellie's dance recital since I know her mommy is anxious to see them!
Great job Ellie!!!

sister!

2011-11-19T23:26:00.005-05:00

Ft. Lauderdale

2011-11-14T23:01:00.014-05:00

Jason, Kammie, Jeremy and I went to Florida for a few days before I started my rotation in ok.

We had an amazing time and the boys completely spoiled us!

We ate at fancy places...

drove fancy cars...

had an incredible ocean view...

were entertained by an amazing magician...
and had a most wonderful time with our good friends!!

November!

2011-11-14T22:34:00.009-05:00

A group of Lindsey's friends and I went to Iguana grill to celebrate her birthday.

Beautiful birthday roses from one of her friends...

Jeremy flew in to visit Thursday and we all met up for dinner in OKC.
Saturday mom, linds, and I went to a painting class and made some Picasso quality canvases.It's been fun to see everyone while I've been in Oklahoma!

OK!

2011-10-30T21:49:00.005-04:00

Psych

2011-10-17T16:22:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday!

Thankfully I'm almost done with psych. Another rotation on my list of 'not gonna do that'! Next week I start a family practice rotation in Oklahoma! Sorry for the short posts lately...I'm not on my computer much so I don't have much time to update.
Have a wonderful day!!

Pinocchio!

2011-10-12T20:31:00.024-04:00

Last weekend we went to see the beautiful and talented Cora in a play, "Pinnocchio" at DreamWrights theater in York. It was a spin-off of the story we usually hear but it was a cute plot! Cora did a GREAT job and was so fun to watch!

We weren't allowed to take pictures during the show but I was sneaky and took one as they were taking a bow!

Congratulations Cora!!!

NYC!

2011-10-05T21:05:00.013-04:00

I got off work early on Friday and was trying to figure out what Linds and I should do for her last few days here. I knew she would love going to New York so I decided why not! I told her to pack a bag for the night and wouldn't tell her where we were going. She figured it out after a bit but it was really fun to surprise her!

Every road trip with us involves eating lots of twizzlers so I had to take a picture of the Hershey building.

We would have loved to see a musical while we were there but there just wasn't enough time....so we took a picture in front of Mama Mia instead!

We walked and walked and walked (and shopped until we dropped!) and came across a few parades and a protest. This particular picture is a PG version of a wild protest against rape or something- everyone was yelling different things. There was an old woman not wearing a shirt (or bra!), a band with 4 female singers wearing thongs and bras (only!), and a woman on a stripper pole being pulled by a bicycle. I'll spare you pictures of those but trust me, it was crazy. Some of the signs said things like, "I can dress like a slut- but that doesn't mean you can rape me"...
This is overlooking Union square- near where the protest was. We were in a store :)
We had a great time!!!

Seester!

2011-09-29T21:05:00.009-04:00

Lindsey is here!!!!! :)

Today we walked to Central Market for lunch.
There are lots of fun homemade things to explore!

Tonight we walked to White Rose for dinner.

We had to take a picture by the weird park which is actually some kind of a memorial...This is our apt door...I'm so glad Lindsey is here!!!

We also finally got our cable and internet hooked up at the apt...so maybe I'll be better about updating my blog!

Happy Thursday!!

I'm on a roll...

2011-09-11T21:39:00.006-04:00

Here are some more pictures from camping....

Cora, Ellie, and Lucy~Beautiful Ellie~Diva extraordinaire Dillan after fishing~
Here Lucy was in mandatory nap time in the tent. She was so worn out from playing all day she didn't mind at all!

Random bamboo trees in the middle of the forest~

Another one of Ellie...here she's with Lucy's boyfriend, Putter.

Picture Post!

2011-09-10T09:15:00.012-04:00

Happy Saturday!!
Here are a bunch of pictures from camping in West Virginia~

This is Ellie with Putter (Lucy's boyfriend!)

Jeremy took me to a nice restaurant called Sidney last night. We had a great time!Guess I should get back to unpacking boxes....bleh...

Oh my!

2011-09-08T20:47:00.009-04:00

I'm so sorry I've been so absent lately! I am my internal medicine rotation right now and I love it!! It's so much fun and I am learning so much! I was on call Tuesday night so I worked Tuesday morning 7 am until Wednesday at 9 am! It was tiring but a lot of fun too. I got to see a bunch of patients in the emergency department by myself and then write all the orders and diagnosis to admit them to the floor. Then today I got to follow up on a few of the patients so it was fun to recognize them and get an update on how they were doing. The on-call students give morning report so Wednesday at 7 am after being up for 24 hours I presented a patient that I had seen during the night to the medical students, residents, and a few attendings in the doctor's dining room. The first time I was completely nervous and shakey but it has gotten easier each time. I'm usually delirious by that point of no sleep anyway so I just want to get it over so I can go home and sleep ;).

This next picture is from the church picnic a few weeks ago. It was so much fun!! I made my first tie-dye shirt! I am excited to see how it turned out.
Last weekend we went to Paw Paw, West Virginia camping with about 30 wonderful people. We had a great time!! Here's a funny preview picture for Jeremy's tractor adventures.
Lucy had an absolute blast running around, playing with the 10 other dogs (all guys!), and rolling around in the dirt! It has been raining pretty much non-stop since Sunday night. A ton of streets are closed as the Susquehanna river is rapidly filling and flooding the surrounding areas. So far we have been okay but a little sunshine would be appreciated around here!
Have a happy Friday and a marvelous weekend!!!

One more down!

2011-08-28T21:31:00.007-04:00

After a crazy hectic 2 weeks, OB/Gyn is finally over and I can mark one more rotation off my list! It was fun delivering babies and I got to see some pretty cool surgeries but I'm pretty sure it's not my thing. I had this weekend off so we got to have a big crab dinner Friday night, Dillan's soccer game on Saturday morning, and Riley's third birthday party with friends on Saturday afternoon/evening. We survived the hurricane and our apt didn't even lose power! We just had really heavy rain and wind. Church was cancelled today because the building didn't have power so Krista made us a wonderful post-storm lunch.

Here are some pictures from the busy- but fun weekend.

One of these days...

2011-08-22T22:09:00.001-04:00

I'll actually have 5 minutes to update my blog.
For now, I'll just say I am loving rotations but am completely worn out!!
We are moved into our new apt but still have lots of boxes to unpack. I'm on OB/Gyn for another week and this weekend I got to help deliver 2 babies!
I know it's a little late but thank you to everyone for the congratulatory and birthday cards, texts, and emails! I truly appreciate them all!!
Have a happy day and I'll try to post more (with pictures!) this weekend!

Oh happy day!!!

2011-07-31T17:21:00.001-04:00

I passed my boards!!!!!!!!!!!

One week down!

2011-07-24T18:41:00.003-04:00

I survived my first week!

I am already learning so much and am loving the hospital I'm at and all the great people!! I'll have to fill in more details later but for now I'm going to take some Nyquil and read until I fall asleep. It's been the hottest week of the year and somehow I got a cold.
I hear you're not really on a pediatric rotation until you get sick so I guess it's official now.
Happy Birthday to my wonderful brother today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a great week everyone!!

It's Time!

2011-07-15T21:36:00.003-04:00

It's finally time to go to York! Woohoo!!!!

My peds rotation starts Monday!!

FINISHED!!

2011-07-12T17:35:00.002-04:00

400 questions later I'm finally finished!! I already have more studying to get to but for tonight I'm going to take time to smell the roses...Or eat the daisies as Lucy would have it...

Happy Tuesday!!

One week!!

2011-07-04T15:51:00.004-04:00

For real this time -THE exam is next Monday!!

EEKS!!!!!!

The final phase of my freakout has begun. I cannot wait for next week at this time!!!! I'LL BE FINISHED!!! :)

Here are some pics from OK.

Happy Fourth of July :)

We're back!

2011-06-30T16:42:00.003-04:00

Lucy and I are back in Erie and have been studying hard as usual! It's weird to be back in Erie, especially with no classes and Jeremy out of town, but I'm so thankful to have Lucy and lots of pictures from Oklahoma :)!!

Happy Thursday!!

Summer!

2011-06-26T21:27:00.006-04:00

Splish Splash!!

Sister Slumber party

2011-06-24T14:19:00.010-04:00

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."

Marion C. Garretty

Phew!

2011-06-23T10:43:00.010-04:00

So I was supposed to take the big exam today. Last week on Wednesday I decided I just wasn't where I wanted to be yet so I moved it to July. I actually have through August to take it but I was trying to get it over and done. Now I have a few more weeks to get a lot more memorized. Thursday morning after deciding to switch my exam, Jeremy said, "Well, I guess we should get you a ticket to OK so you can go there and study while I pack up our house and move everything." (I certainly couldn't argue with an offer like that!!) We haven't found a place yet to move but we knew we had to be out by the 30th and he was starting to pack everything up last weekend (with the help of his AWESOME mom!!!). So I quickly packed up anything I could think of I might need for a few weeks in OK and then a few weeks once I was back (since we don't have a house lined up I was told I might not see anything left in Erie for the next few months if we have to put it in storage!) So I threw a few things in a suitcase, put a few things in my car to have for rotations when I get back, and Lucy and I headed to the airport for OKC! I'm here until next Tuesday studying and spending a little time with the family. It was SO fun to surprise my dad and the rest of the family in Enid for Father's Day!Maddie and Ethan LOVED the pool! Then Sunday night I surprised everyone on my mom's side~We found out Sunday AFTER the wonderful husband and his awesome mom had packed up most of the house that they actually are going to let us stay through August now. So while we wanted to be mad at the timing of it, we are thankful we are not being kicked out as soon as we thought and hopefully we can find a place in York to move in the meantime!

Thank you, Jeremy for sending me home to study while you deal with the stress of moving and packing! You are the best!!Okay, I better get back to studying. Just wanted to give a quick update and to say thanks to everyone who's been praying for me and the exam! Keep it up :) I definitely need it!!

9 days!

2011-06-14T10:28:00.006-04:00

Jeremy and I went to dinner Friday night to finally cash in on his free lobster dinner (he caught a lobster while skiing this winter and won a free dinner!). I made him take a picture with me since it was probably the last time I'd be spending more than 30 seconds getting ready until after boards. :0 I promise to at least shower every....(other).....day.

Lucy has been learning a lot the past few weeks. She can now jump 12 inches, chase a ball across the room, and recite the functions of all the cranial nerves. She's a genius I tell you.

9 days until boards...This is Lucy's freak out face......mine looks awfully similar.

2 weeks until boards-

2011-06-09T06:13:00.002-04:00

Phase 2 of panic mode has commenced.

Happy Sunday!

2011-06-05T07:17:00.002-04:00

A day in the life of Lauren!

2011-06-02T20:33:00.032-04:00

I had a request for a post on "a day in the life of Lauren" so this is my best attempt at a full play by play to really give you an idea of what I do! (You're going to be sorry you asked for this! hahaha) Right now I'm required to study 60 hours a week on campus at LECOM in addition to any time I spend studying at home. So this is a typical day for me:

I set an alarm for 5, 5:05, 5:10, and 5:11...just in case. This morning I have absolutely no recollection of the 5 and 5:10 alarm. I think I finally rolled out of bed at 5:11.

Each morning, I excitedly jump out of bed anxious to get things done.

Okay, that's a total lie. I set reminder alarms to myself saying "get to school by six and you can leave by dinner" or "GET UP- BOARDS IN 3 WEEKS". That one usually gets my heart racing and ready to move.

I run up to get Lucy who is always so excited to see me :)

I love how peaceful it is (for about 3 minutes as I sit and wait for Lucy to do her business) outside in the crisp morning air as I watch the sun creep over the trees.Despite the sleepy eyes in this picture, Lucy is always up and ready to play!

I am SO thankful for daylight saving's time! It is much easier to get up when the sun is up!

I quickly shower, get dressed, make coffee, gather my pre-made lunch and all my books, kiss the wonderful hubby and say bye to baby Lucy and rush out the door!

Here's my huge pile of stuff...I'm seriously considering bringing a suitcase tomorrow....Definitely can't forget the blanket and sweatshirt- it gets FREEZING on campus!
Today I left a few minutes later than usual (550-I usually leave by 540) so the sun was RIGHT in my face the whole way! It took me a good ten minutes to focus my eyes once I finally got in school! After months and months and months of never-ending dreary weather, I certainly won't complain though!!

This is the front of the school (don't worry, I pulled over before taking all the pictures!). It has this big fancy entrance and a pretty forum but we are NOT allowed to touch foot in that part of the building!I was a little too late in taking a picture of the school- they just started the construction and tore out all the landscaping at the back (main) entrance. It does make it look a little more like the prison I feel like I'm in when I study there 60 hours a week though!

This is the door I've gone through a bazilion times now to get into school.

(The sign says "No food or drink beyond this point" and the tv screen above it reminds us of the dress code---as if we'd forget! ). Monday-Friday a security guard stands at the door and watches to make sure we all badge in properly (our ID tags open the doors) and another man (a retired professor and physician) sits in a chair making sure we are all in dress code (professional dress--guys have to wear button down shirts and ties!)

Here is my usual corner in the cafeteria. When you walk into school and pass the night shift on their way out, you know you are there too early! But it also ensures your pick of any table in the place so I always get the best seat! My friend Bri sits at the next table, then Vicki, then Mary. Misery loves company!
So yep- this is where I've sat for the last few weeks for 12+ hours a day. Looks comfy, right?

NOT.

After spending a few hours at the main campus this morning, and going stir crazy being in the same hard chair, I decided to try out the Bayfront Campus. It's usually reserved for a different pathway than mine but since they are doing construction on the main campus we are allowed to study there. A friend of mine (Swati- she is moving to York soon too!) said she was going to try studying there so I thought I'd check it out too!

The fancy entrance:

It is in the middle of a big park and right close to the lake so the trees are beautiful! For a split second I thought I was on vacation! Then my heavy backpack wearing down on my shoulders snapped me back into reality!

Look how precious this little study area/50s diner is!!!
I chose the booth in the far left corner of the picture where I'd be surrounded by sunlight!!

I mean seriously! Look at this scenery out the window where I studied!!!

Look at the pretty bright orange flowers!

Do you see the lake in the back of the picture?! It's so close I could throw a rock in it!

Okay, maybe it's not that close but it seemed like it.

To help you get the full effect of my awesome new study place I set my timer to get a picture of me in the corner studying away...obviously. hahaha.

Note the dry erase board- THE big exam is computerized so we can't write on it or anything but we are given a small dry erase board to make calculations, notes, etc. on so I thought I should practice!

After I FINALLY finished my 12 hours of studying at the Bayfront campus (and no, I did not include the taking of all these pictures in my hours!), I got to leave while it was still daylight!

My brain is still tired though!

As usual, I was "starving" when I left so I had to decide what to do for dinner. Sometimes when I really really want to run through taco bell but know I shouldn't like today, I stop by Wegmans to get something fresh for dinner like veggies for a salad or a pre-made meal.

It's been really nice having a Wegmans on the way home! I snuck a few pieces of bread from the Italian loaf I bought for dinner (I didn't want to pass out of starvation lol!). It was really yummy.

I finally pulled back in at home and on the way inside I always check the mailbox- I LOVE GETTING MAIL ;)

That reminds me, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Mimi and K for sending me another package!!! Did I mention I love getting mail?! ;)

Anyways, I go inside and put my heels on the stairs...I'm usually too tired to actually take them up the stairs and put them in the closet, lol.
It's nice to come home to a cheery, handsome husband!After eating breakfast, lunch, AND dinner at school yesterday (I studied there from 6am to 8pm!), I decided to go all out tonight-Wegman's ready to cook parmasan tilapia for me, pork with stuffing for J, and fresh corn on the cob!!!

After dinner each night, I pack my meals for tomorrow---yes, I take a huge cooler to school with me- since I'm there for 14 hours I need more food than will fit in a normal lunch box!

Watermelon, beans and rice, grapes, Yep- those are lucky charms---breakfast of champions!

Then I pick out what to wear tomorrow- 5:00 is way too early to make such decisions!!

If I'm lucky I have time for a warm cup of tea before bed.And then finally, IT'S BEDTIME!!!!!

Unfortunately, gotta set the alarm to start this all over again tomorrow!

GOODNIGHT!!!

Indy 500!

2011-05-30T18:28:00.013-04:00

Jeremy, Lucy, and I picked Lindsey up from the airport in Columbus, Ohio Friday afternoon and headed to Indianapolis to meet dad and Steph for the weekend.

They had the bus set up and ready to go when we got there! They cooked us a great dinner and then we took the dogs for a walk and people watched around the stadium. It was amazing how many crazy people there were around!!! (and I'm not just talking about the people I was with :) hahaha)

Steph had little bandanas for Lucy and Boomer that said, "Pit Crew." They were precious!

Lucy was very excited to see her aunt Lindsey :)

I was very glad to see my beautiful sister too!!!!!

We went to the Indy parade downtown on Saturday morning. It was so fun! They let out thousands of balloons at the beginning and then had tons of floats, bands, and of course, cars!

There were a few celebrities in the parade too! Most of them I didn't have a clue who they were but I did recognize this guy from CSI:Miami!

We were intrigued by the outfits they make the poor band members wear. It was SO hot and they were in full velvet one piece pant suits!

After the parade we had a great lundin (that's lunch and dinner in one :) ) downtown.

Sunday we headed to the track for the big race! It was unbelievable how fast the cars zoomed by! The average speed is 231!!!!

Thanks so much to my dad and Stephanie for such a great weekend!!

Happy Fifth Anniversary! (yes I know I'm late)

2011-05-30T17:52:00.005-04:00

Jeremy and I got married 5 years ago today!

May 12, 2006

This one is from our one year anniversary trip to Las Vegas!

Our second anniversary we went to Erie to find me a place to live and then went to a Cleveland Indians game!

3 years...after a quick dinner and before he helped me cram for finals...

4 years- again he helped me cram for finals!

This year our FIFTH anniversary fell the day of my final so we were actually able to take the night off!! It was spectacular! We drove to Pittsburg to see a baseball game but it was storming so we went to a nice dinner, stayed in a hotel, and then went shopping :) instead. We had a great time!

a few pictures from last week

2011-05-25T06:57:00.003-04:00

Good morning! Aside from my impending doom in a month, another reason for the absence on my blog was the lack of a computer--my laptop got a bunch of huge trojan viruses a few weeks ago and starting going crazy on me before finally crashing. I have a warranty and geek squad protection at Best Buy, but they still wanted $300 to clean up the viruses and protect my stuff. Luckily I had updated my external hard drive a few days before it completely went wacko! We weren't about to pay that much to some random company to do that! We have a friend who is super computer savvy and he was SOOOOOOOOOO nice to say he would take a look at it and see what he could do. Jeremy took it to him last weekend and he was able to erase all the bad viruses and save all my stuff in the meantime!!! I am so thankful for his willingness to help!! Now I have my computer back just in time to complete my Doctors in Training online 75 hour board review course. It's a 15 day program that reviews everything on the boards in a high yield and somewhat interesting way. I'm only on day 4 but so far it's been so helpful!

Okay, back to it. I have to finish by dinner so I can go home to my Lucy :)

Happy Wednesday!

LUCY!!!!!!

2011-05-23T18:50:00.005-04:00

Last night Jeremy got back late from visiting his family and he came in and said he needed me to help him unload his truck. I could not figure out why in the world it had to be unloaded at 1130 at night or why I had to help but I was too tired to think anything of it. He told me to unload the passenger side and I saw this:

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!! She is SOOOOOOOOOO precious!!!!!!! Her name is Lucy and I love her very very much :). Evidently my mom and sister have had little Lucy for a month now and I didn't have a clue!!!

The reason for my absence:

2011-05-21T17:54:00.005-04:00

If you are wondering where I've been lately or why I haven't been blogging, just check the countdown at the top of the blog....34 days until my boards.

Insert freakout moment here:

I'll see you in July!

PS my little baby hearts grew back :)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T13:44:00.001-04:00

Color!

2011-04-21T19:12:00.005-04:00

I feel like I've been living in black and white all winter...but today, the sun was out and there was COLOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;
To-day the glint of green is there;
Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;
I know no thing so wondrous fair,
No miracle so strangely rare.
I wonder what will next be there!
~L.H. Bailey

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn

Last week's date night with:

2011-04-20T19:14:00.004-04:00

My wonderful husband....my immunology notes...my microbiology pictures...and the man on the moon ;)

A little bird told me...

2011-04-16T15:17:00.002-04:00

Cuckoo--cuckoo--cuckoooooooo........

I obviously don't understand bird :)

The most exciting thing around here lately:

2011-04-14T22:16:00.005-04:00

Jeremy learned how to complete a Rubik's Cube in under four minutes.

He also has some very holey socks...

Great job Jeremy!
:)

How to:

2011-04-07T16:45:00.007-04:00

How to make a room full of medical students completely freak out in less than 5 seconds:

change their schedule.

Medical students like order,

consistency, and structure. We are planners.

We do NOT like being told 2 months before beginning our rotations that the first 3 months have been changed.

You would have thought the clinical education staff told us we'd have to move to Africa the way everyone was flipping out. One girl cried while trying to say they couldn't do this to us. One boy argued with the doctor in charge of the entire clinical education department (NOT a good idea) only to be told if he didn't like it he should have gone to an army school.

I sat quietly with my head down and prayed it would be over soon.

Then I went home, cried, argued with Jeremy, and then realized he was right and it was better ;)

Turns out the switch is actually for our benefit- the clin. ed. department knew what they were doing.....

go figure...

:) :) HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!! :) :)

March 31, 2011

2011-03-31T07:24:00.010-04:00

It snowed last night.

It is almost April.

I am in awe....

So here we are in what is supposedly SPRING yet I'm in my sweats with my space heater on looking out the window at a snow-covered tree.

July cannot come soon enough!!!

(Okay, so actually it can. I'm not ready for boards yet!!! But nicer weather would be much appreciated.)

Side note: sorry to those of you I completely confused with my blurry picture text of the snowy tree last night. The picture was supposed to come with a caption of "I had to shovel 2 inches of snow off my car tonight" but somehow that didn't come with the picture. I have spoiled you all with my super-mega-pixel camera that an iphone pic just doesn't show reality properly. ;)

In other news, we started dermatology last week and our second (and final) exam of the system is tomorrow. Of course since it's derm and we're learning all about skin lesions, I now have a random itchy rash on my leg. I guess I should just put some cortisone on it and be thankful I didn't get pregnant in repro ;)

(this guy could use some serious anti-wrinkle cream)
Since I can't change the weather, I'm closing the blinds and pretending I'm here:

Back to studying eczema and zits...Oh the glorious life of a medical student....

Happy Thursday!!

In search of spring!

2011-03-26T17:01:00.010-04:00

In honor of the first day of spring this week I went in search of sings that it really was spring here in the north pole.

Um yeah...still iceBUT it was a tiny bit of a good sign that this bush was completely covered in ice because the snow on the roof from last week was finally starting to melt a little!!!!
It looked really neat dripping down from the roof, along a long tree branch, and then covering this small bush on the ground by our front door.
See?! It's completely covered!!

It may be hard to truly appreciate but this is where it was dripping down from on the tree.

The sky has been really blue the past few days and I even heard some birds chirping this morning so I think those are good signs of spring!!

And even though there is still snow on the ground, the green plants are pushing through.

They're screaming, "It's the end of March!!!! WE ARE TIRED OF YOU WINTER!!!"

Oklahoma people, I don't want to hear about how warm it is in there right now. And no, I do NOT feel sorry for you that it was so "chilly" there today.

It's 25* here and supposed to snow next week.

Happy Spring ;)

It is snowing here.

2011-03-22T18:05:00.002-04:00

Just thought you should know.

How to:

2011-03-20T19:14:00.015-04:00

How to write a sermon when you only have a week!

First, read a book about effective preaching and getting your point across using only one point- or something like that...I obviously didn't read it.

Second, get really busy and wait until Friday night to actually start writing anything down.Third, make sure your wife has an exam Friday morning so she won't have to study and can help you over the weekend.

Fourth, make your wife stay up way too late Friday night after hardly getting any sleep the past week due to aforementioned exam so she gets loopy and makes you take goofy pictures during a much needed five minute break from the sermon writing cramming session. :)

Fifth, get a few hours sleep friday night, wake up early saturday, send wife to her practice physical exams and start actually writing down a few things.

Sixth, make a big pot of caffeinated hot tea so both parties can stay awake to finish the sermon.Seventh, finally finish a rough draft and practice speaking in front of a kind and forgiving audience.

(PS bear accessories courtesy of Lindsey's visit- It took me a week to notice!)Eighth, put together the ppt and go to the church building to make sure the ppt will actually work on the old school projector system. Ninth, find fun clip art to add into the ppt.10th, plan the full order of worship including songs, scriptures, prayers, and the lesson and put into the ppt. 11th, get together visuals to go along with the tool lesson theme.
12th, go to bed at 2 am and get up at 530 to be at church really early to practice the full run through before everyone gets there.
Finally, preach a GREAT sermon on How to Build a House When All You Have is a Hammer!

Then be sure and take a nap! ;)

SPRING!

2011-03-15T18:10:00.003-04:00

Okay so it doesn't really look like spring here yet...

But I wanted to move that icky snow post down a bit and put in something happier...and warmer...

Plus I learned how to make pictures bigger on blogger so I'm trying it out!
Comment/reply to the email if it doesn't work right please :)

NEVERMIND....That was TOO big!!

Spring forward???

2011-03-11T19:13:00.013-05:00

Yesterday, I came home to green grass, green trees, and just a tiny bit of snow.......today, I woke up to this!!!

This does NOT look like spring to me....so I get to lose an hour of precious sleep AND wake up to snow I have to shovel to get anywhere????? BOOOO!!!!

But as Jeremy reminded me this morning, just 90 more days in Erie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is a light at the end of this awfully dark tunnel they call medical school!! ;)

Happy Friday!!

2011-03-06T18:35:00.001-05:00

Happy Sunday!!(I couldn't let it be over a week since I blogged last...I'll catch up soon...
But for now I have to keep cramming for my first repro exam tomorrow!)

Lindsey in Erie!

2011-02-27T19:04:00.005-05:00

Lindsey got to take part in the full Erie experience as she helped me shovel the foot of snow we got Thursday night/Friday morning so we'd make it to school in time- well, almost in time...there was a lot of snow and we got a little stuck a few times...

She came with me to school with the intention of taking my car and going to the mall and then meeting us for lunch, but it kept snowing and snowing so the roads were too bad for her to drive. So she sat in the library and read all day!! I felt so bad for her but it was good to have her close and to eat lunch with her so she could meet my friends! Friday evening when we got home we played in the snow for a bit and made our very first snowman- snowLADY actually!!

Chipmunk!!

2011-02-23T20:30:00.010-05:00

I spotted the CUTEST little chipmunk hiding in a tiny little hole outside our front porch yesterday. He dug himself a little spot in the snow and kept popping his tiny head out to see but by the time I grabbed my camera the little bugger ran away. This morning when he popped out of his spot, I was prepared and caught a few pictures of the cute little guy!

Kinda reminds me of those games at Chuck-E-Cheese where you hit the chipmunk with a big hammer as it pops up and down in different holes!

So anyways, since I last blogged, I started, and finished, another system- Endocrine. It's all about hormones, pathways, and feedback loops. I was determined to master the system, so I bought colorful sharpies and some mini poster boards and went to work! 2.5 weeks, 10 posters, 2 exams, 6 books, and countless hours of studying later Endocrine is finally over and I have some new posters for my office ;)
In other news...

We had a GREAT weekend with Pete, Krista, Chris, Stacey, Chad, and Holly. It was a full house but a ton of fun. I still managed to study during the day and met up with them for some great dinners. I have a few pictures from the weekend but I think I'll save them for blackmail later ;)

And last but not least,

TOMORROW MY LULU IS COMING TO VISIT MEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monica's 1920s bday party in pictures!

2011-02-11T22:40:00.013-05:00

Finally Friday!!

2011-02-11T07:04:00.001-05:00

It's finally friday and I finally got my computer back!!!

I'll post more this weekend but I wanted to give you a sneak peak from Monica's 1920s style 30th birthday party. We had SO much fun!

Happy FRIDAY!!!!!!!

Snow day

2011-02-01T08:41:00.002-05:00

Dear Oklahomans,
Enjoy your snow day and stay safe in the snowpocolypse. We got about eight inches last night but they don't cancel school around here or we'd be shut down from December-March. I'm thankful for the kind man who got out of his car in his business suit to push my car up the hill and get me out of the huge snow pile Ii got stuck in this morning. I was still close to home and had he not come along then I was about thirty seconds from abandoning my car, walking home, and going back to bed until summer.
Happy Tuesday!!

Just so you know...

2011-01-27T19:48:00.003-05:00

When I can't button my pants tomorrow, it's this (wonderful) lady's fault:

Krista sent Jeremy with a care package full of fancy popcorn and homemade white chocolate chip cookies.

Oh.
My.
Word.

You can't eat just one...(or two...or three...)

Wednesday's wisdom

2011-01-26T22:02:00.003-05:00

Today I learned that Emperor Constantine, in the year 315, made the passing of gas illegal.

Hippocrates said "Gas makes one feel whole".

Claudius permitted gas to be passed in Rome.

Just another day in medical school...

Did you know?

2011-01-22T20:33:00.005-05:00

An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water dripping or falling from an object freezes. Typically, icicles will form when ice or snow is melted by either sunlight or some other heat source, and the resulting melted water runs off into an area where the ambient temperature is below the freezing point of water (0 °C/32 °F), causing the water to refreeze. Over time continued water runoff will cause the icicle to grow.

Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when cold winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, providing energy and picking up water vapor which freezes and is deposited on the leeward shores.
It takes about 24 hours to grow an inch of ice at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. A few days at 20 degrees or less would have the same effect on the lake.

Weather forcast:
Tonight
Snow. Snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Lows around 10 above. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 90 percent. Wind chill values as low as 6 below.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. Snow showers likely...mainly in the morning. Snow accumulation around an inch. Highs around 11. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 60 percent. Wind chill values as low as 7 below in the morning
The liver possesses a remarkable regenerative capacity and horses and rats don't have gallbladders.

Now you know :)

Finally Friday!!

2011-01-21T09:36:00.002-05:00

FINALLY!!!!! This has been a long week! Another weekend spent studying, exam on Tuesday, tons of lectures on hepatitis and other liver diseases, lots of snow, a trip to the dermatologist (4 spots removed on my back :( ) and a lot of studying in between. I'm glad it's finally friday!!!

Happy Friday!!!

Snow Queen of Dutch Road

2011-01-17T13:18:00.005-05:00

The Ice Kingdom:

The Snow Guard:

The Throne:

The Snow Queen:

Flashback...December 29th!

2011-01-16T18:23:00.002-05:00

I finally downloaded the forgotten pictures from my other camera yesterday and I found this picture from dad's birthday dinner at a yummy restaurant that I've forgotten the name of....Anyways, it was really fun for all three of us kids (and Jeremy and Stephanie!) to be there on his actual birthday!! I also have some REALLY great video from playing Kinect on Christmas but I've been threatened with my life if I ever post it.
Here's a great picture of Jeremy and Linds the night we went downtown to meet Rach and then had dinner at some Latino restaurant that I've also forgotten the name of. Catching the trend? I turned my brain OFF for the entire break ;)

Happy Sunday!

Super random Saturday :)

2011-01-15T15:37:00.008-05:00

This is the view from my window:

We've gotten sooooooo much snow this past week. It's awesome! Jeremy took a bunch of the youth group kids to shovel driveways around the church building this morning and now they are snow tubing! I'm "enjoying" my three day weekend studying. I really am appreciative of the extra day to study and my warm office (which currently smells wonderful like winter due to my balsam fir candle burning beside me!) but it would be fun to play in the snow!

I was playing with my camera the other day and decided to take a picture of my running shoes on my pretty workout mat. Jeremy says running keeps me sane; I think I'm still pretty crazy but it does make me feel better after I run!
J's little bro Stephen also went with them today and when they stopped by for lunch he brought me a present with this on it:

So fitting!!!
I also took a picture of our yummy clementines while I was playing around the other day. We go through a box of these a week!!

Yummmmmm :)
Well back to studying...you know what.... ;)

Happy Saturday!!

Birthday Break!

2011-01-13T20:46:00.005-05:00

Tuesday night a group of our friends took a break from studying and went to dinner for Melissa's birthday. We had a great time at Matthew's Trattoria downtown.
These are my 4 favorite girls at school!!
Sarah, Melissa, Me, Monica, and DianaIt's been snowing a TON this week and it was snowing REALLY hard that afternoon and into the evening but luckily we were all able to make it there and home safely! I'm thankful for Jeremy's truck--my little car had some trouble not sliding when I drove home earlier in the day!This is our backyard as of this afternoon! There is over a foot on the ground and more keeps coming!! I like it :)The icecycles are almost from roof to porch!! The longest only has about an inch to go!Welp, back to studying the gastrointestinal system (aka studying poo..Linds, you were right it has a big name!)
~Love,
Laur

Joy

2011-01-10T22:17:00.001-05:00

Saturday's total randomness..

2011-01-08T20:10:00.006-05:00

Today it snowed and they were HUGE flakes. It was really pretty to watch from my window....I've been sitting in this chair studying since I woke up. Okay, I'm exaggerating. I did get up for a few bathroom breaks, a run, meals, and a shower but otherwise you should feel sorry for me! ;) Just kidding....

I talked to Landen on Skype for a few minutes. We got to video chat so I could see him! It was fun.
I have some random pictures from New Year's Eve and since it seems I won't be getting to a big post about the evening anytime soon, I'll just say we had an absolute BLAST at the Lewis' house with a bunch of great people! !!

I have no words to describe the awesomeness of this one:

Hahaha!! There were tons of kids running around making LOTS of noise until AFTER midnight!!! I really need some of their endless energy now!!

This is Chloe. She is PRECIOUS!!
Alright...back to studying poo.
Happy Saturday!!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T18:53:00.008-05:00

I have tons of unpacking, homework, organizing, and cleaning to do but I wanted to write a quick post to say we made it back to Erie safely and to wish you all a Happy New Year!!!

I hope it has started out spectacularly! :)

Merry Christmas Part 2 :)

2010-12-26T20:59:00.007-05:00

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T10:37:00.008-05:00

Grand Cayman!

2010-12-19T17:54:00.014-05:00

Greetings from the Cayman Islands!!

Haha just kidding- those pictures are from Erie right before we left!! :)

Aaaa, that's better ;)

Jeremy and I are having a GREAT time here in Grand Cayman!!

After a 6 hour drive, 3 hour nap, 1 hour flight, 2 hour layover, and then a 3.5 hour flight, we finally stepped off the plane on Grand Cayman Island.

Our bodies went into a bit of shock as we soaked in the warm sun and smelled the salty ocean air stepping off the plane but we got used to it quickly! A quick trip through customs, me barely avoiding being attacked by a killer bee (okay, I'm exaggerating...but after my bee sting experience memorial day I was not taking any chances when this bee started buzzing around me!) we were off to find our hotel.

I was in charge of the map since Jeremy had to drive the rental car- on the opposite side of the road....from the opposite side of the car!! Those of you who have had the pleasure of traveling with me- or even driving around town with me for that matter- know that I am directionally- and all things related- challenged. So anyways, after driving aimlessly up and down the coast- (I mean exploring) we (okay Jeremy) realized there was another side to the map that had the entire Eastern part of the island and our hotel on it.

Oops...

I just wanted to give us a full tour of the beautiful island ;)

We stopped off for lunch at a place right on the beach where we were welcomed by a nice little lizard.......I did not so much appreciate him creeping so close to my feet while I was eating but Jeremy thought it was pretty funny.
Seriously, that thing is BIG and CREEPY!!!!!!

Once we reached our hotel we were excited and ready to get on the beach!! We were a bit worried though because everyone was talking about how cold it had been lately and there were some really stormy clouds across the sky. We were hoping to wish the rain away so we headed down to the beach. Jeremy started to snorkel and I started on my second book (which I read in the shade of a palm tree- while wearing SPF 70- no sense in taking chances!).

Our wishful thinking didn't last long though and it started POURING down rain. I got up to the room just in time to stay dry and Jeremy ran up soon after. Luckily the rain didn't last long and we were left with a BEAUTIFUL sunset!!

We stayed three nights at our first hotel, The Reef Resort, where we had a beach front view.

On our way to dinner in town last night Jeremy pulled over so we could take a picture at "Lover's Wall." It's right after Surfer's wall and we had a gorgeous view of the sunset over the ocean.

Well, it's time for dinner so I gotta run!
Hope you had a great weekend and are looking forward to Christmas in just a few days!!! :) I know I am!!!

CRAZY fishermen!

2010-12-13T13:33:00.005-05:00

I bundled up in multiple layers, grabbed my camera, and went for a little walk outside the other day. Much to my surprise there were actually guys fishing in the icy waters!!! BRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

Remember this picture from October?

Here's the same view now:

Quite a difference!! We're supposed to get 5-14 inches of snow over the next 24 hours or so but we'll see...so far it just flurries for a few minutes and then stops.

Well, back to studying Geriatrics...

Only 2 more finals to go!!!!

Studying on a snowy Saturday!

2010-12-11T17:30:00.002-05:00

Happy Saturday!! Just 4 more days of studying and then it's VACATION TIME!!!! I'm so excited I can hardly sit still!!! Time to get back to it :0
See you Okies soon :)

Friday's Funny story

2010-12-10T15:54:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday!!

I have so much exciting stuff to write about but I am studying now so I just wanted to write a quick funny story and say I haven't forgotten I have a blog :) I will update fully soon!

Jeremy ordered room service at his hotel last night and when he opened the door the guy holding the tray said,

"Hablas Espanol?" (do you speak Spanish?)

Jeremy answered, "Un poquito...muy poquito" (a little...very little)

Hotel guy -looking a bit confused, "Oh. Where are you from?"

Jeremy, "Pennsylvania."

Hotel guy, "Oh. I thought you were Spanish."

SNOW!!!

2010-12-02T14:45:00.000-05:00

Wordy Wednesday Catch up!

2010-12-01T08:45:00.009-05:00

Good morning and happy Wednesday!!
Let's see...since I last posted, I finished up the Renal system, took a bunch of exams and practicals.... blah blah blah....
(this is a picture of the nephron poster I made to remember where everything happens in the kidneys)...

And then...

I had FIVE DAYS OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeremy drove us to his parents house for Thanksgiving break. On thanksgiving morning we got up early to run the Turkey Trot 5k in York, Pa. It was a very cold, rainy morning but we found our friends so Jeremy had someone to run with and I put in my headphones and was off :). Well, after I finally got past all the thousands of people!! There were 3000 people signed up!! It was CRAZY!!! So much fun though!!
Our friends Chris and Stacey ran too and we all drove together. Pete and Krista watched their 3 boys while we all ran and the boys had signs to cheer us on!
Precious!!

Here's J and I after the race. We made it!!!

I took a picture of thanksgiving day on my phone but haven't uploaded it yet. We were masters of technology that day and were able to skype (video chat) with Megan in Myanmar and Brian & Amy in Oklahoma!

Friday the magnificent Krista took me to get a manicure, pedicure, highlights, and haircut!!! We had a lot of fun and I am so thankful for that time!!!
Friday night we went to El Serrano's for Tapas with Chris and Stacey. It was so yummy and a great time!!
Saturday I sat on the couch pretty much the entire day and watched Lifetime movies. It was marvelously relaxing.

This is a picture of Jeremy and I my very first time to Pennsylvania. I look horrible but in my defense, it was like 4 am and I was about to get on a plane for 6 hours...
Here we are almost 7 years later!Sunday we got up early for church and then Krista made us a gourmet meal. After lunch we ran by to see Cora for her 10th birthday!! We couldn't stay long as we had to head back to Erie but it was good to see everyone. We found a Sonic on the way back and I was SO excited about my Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke!!

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving break and in just a few weeks it will be time for Christmas break!!

Monday I only had a half day of class and when I got back from my afternoon run, I had a package waiting for me!!!!! It was full of all sorts of goodies from mimi and k. I was SO excited!!!!! It's still sitting on the counter so I can sneak candy on my way by and think of my wonderful family :)

Yesterday I took a shelf exam for OMT (my manipulative medicine course) and then when I got home I started AND finished my online medical jurisprudence course. I took 5 exams and ended with a 98% in the class :). It's been quite a productive week and it's only Wednesday. Since I finished my online course, I DON'T HAVE CLASS MONDAY!!!!!!! WAHOOOO!!!!!
And TODAY IT IS SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I listened to Christmas music that I downloaded from Krista on my way to school this morning. With the pretty snowfall and Julie Andrews singing Joy to the World, I walked into school smiling :)

Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. I look forward to seeing my Oklahoma family in just 3 weeks!!!!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T23:08:00.002-05:00

I hope you all had a spectacular turkey day!! I'll update more later but wanted to write a few sentences at least since it's been over a week since I last blogged! Oops!! Sorry- it's been crazy!
Happy Thanksgiving and have a wonderful weekend!
Love,
Lauren

Backwards!!

2010-11-15T20:11:00.003-05:00

It all started when we had waffles for dinner last night....breakfast for dinner- that's backwards.

This morning I parted my hair on the opposite side- I felt like my head was on backwards all day!

On my exam this morning I had to do long division, subtraction, and multiplication WITHOUT a calculator! That's moving backwards people!!

On my run today I couldn't cross the street at my usual spot because of cars and a red light so I decided to just run the path backwards. I felt so off the whole time!!! Although, I did discover 3 horses and a hidden farm around mile 2.5--crazy how I'd never been able to see them from the other side of the street!!

I'm going to bed early tomorrow so I can have a normal forward day please!!
:)
Happy YADNOM!!!!! :)

Beautiful blue eyes!

2010-11-11T10:57:00.006-05:00

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thirty things I'm thankful for random thoughts Thursday!!!

2010-11-11T00:07:00.013-05:00

Yesterday I received a GREAT package from my dad and Stephanie and it got me thinking how thankful I am to have such a great family and friends!!! So today's post includes 30 pictures of things I'm thankful for!
(disclaimer: these are in no particular order and this list is obviously not all inclusive...I'm just taking some random pictures from my computer and doing this during class breaks so please don't get your feelings hurt if you're not on here!!!....if you read this blog, I'm definitely thankful for you!!!! Especially if you comment ;) )

I'm thankful for fun packages from my family!!!
(this package also included some very yummy white chocolate covered pretzels but these were eating within about 10 minutes of opening the mail and didn't last long enough for the picture!)

I'm thankful for (and SO ready for) holiday BREAKS with family!!!!!!Precious little children who are growing up so fast...Fun times with a goofy uncle Jeremy...(I know maddie looks scared...but she really was having fun!!)I'm thankful for great times at the LAKE!! MMMMM....birthday cake....yum I'm thankful for cameras! If you hadn't noticed I like taking pictures ;)I'm thankful for great memories with grandparents!I'm thankful for goofy faces!!I'm thankful for good friends...I'm thankful for my precious niece and nephew and their beautiful mommy. Thankful for beautiful Christian grandmas!Thankful for big brothers!!Thankful for Christian grandparents..Thankful for vacations...and fun pictures taken before everyone is ready :)Thankful for my gorgeous cousin Thankful for great inlaws!!!Thankful for snow...and snow boots!!Thankful for packages from my sister!!!Thankful for my romantic husband who carves our initials out of a lemon and a lime...Thankful for my fun, sweet, protective big brother Thankful for sunny days at the park in the summer Thankful for GREAT breaks with my mom and sis!!!Thankful for sleepovers with this little dude. Thankful for great dinners with my dad and Steph!Thankful for beautiful sunsets after birthday dinners at Sher-Sher's Thankful for precious children of great friends and fun times camping thankful for goofy goggles and my precious god-son wearing them!thankful for beautiful flowers I'm thankful for chemotherapy and great friends!

I'm thankful for beautiful sunsets Thank you, God for all your blessings!!!

Wordless Wednesday!

2010-11-11T00:00:00.003-05:00

I have a really happy post for tomorrow but it's going to be Thankful Thursday and that just wouldn't work on Wednesday so I decided to show you this picture of the hydrangeas that grew in our yard last spring. I'm pretty sure they are frozen dead now but they sure were pretty when they bloomed!! Ooops... I guess "Wordless" Wednesday isn't the best title since I'm definitely writing words now. Oh well...that's what I get for posting after midnight I guess...I should be sleeping!!
Love and sweet dreams!!
~L

Happy Day!!! :)

2010-11-01T15:06:00.001-04:00

My Run

2010-10-27T18:47:00.011-04:00

Do you have your running shoes on?? I'm about to take you on a photo journey and show you the answer to my question from yesterday. I was so excited to see all the emails with guesses on where I was when I took that picture!!! While studying was the most likely guess since that's me 90% of the time, that wasn't correct. Neither was driving to school or raking leaves! Landen was correct- and the first to reply- I was on my run!!! And now, I'm going to take you on my 2 mile loop!!

Are you ready??

Here we go!!

We start out a bit slow with a slight uphill climb to the Peppino's restaurant on the corner. We see the old schoolhouse on the right and make a left turn on West Lake Road. Our first beautiful fall sight is easy to miss if you're not paying attention and you're too focused on the daunting view of the HUGE hill ahead. But we are very observant on our run so we see the hidden treasure (we need a distraction from the pain beginning to creep into our legs and the tension in our lungs as they gasp for air!!) See the creek? It's such a beautiful sight!Now we go down a HUGE hill which is SO nice...but we know- what goes down, must go back up...so we press along knowing we'll be to the top soon! We pass a dead squirrel and jump as far away from it as we can... then we get to the top and see the barn. This red barn was repainted last summer and at first I was upset- the old red chipping paint was such a cool site and I never got a chance to take a picture!! But the new shiny red coat is starting to grow on me- and it still makes for a pretty picture!

As we round the corner past the big red barn, we look up at the tree branches about to whack us in the face and notice there are APPLES on it!!!!

I wondered what that crunchy feeling was under my feet....

Now we're headed down another hill....wahooooooo!!!!!!
Time to pick up the pace a bit while we have the chance!!

Look there-----on the left----- a hidden trail covered in beautiful bright yellow leaves!!!

Now we're at the bottom of the hill and we get another view of the creek; Walnut creek to be exact.

Here we come upon a familiar scene- the well and BRIGHT yellow tree!!

Now we're to the turnout to go down to the lake, but we'll keep on our 2 mile loop for today. As we cross the bridge over the creek (passing a couple of fishermen walking back with their loot- huge fish hanging down to the ground!! YUCK!!) we see 10 fishermen lined up at the creek. That's a small number...last Saturday there were too many to count- they were literally lined up shoulder to shoulder across the shoreline!!!! This picture is taken at 11 am on a Tuesday and there are still a bunch of guys standing out there!!!

We speed up a bit now as it's the last flat area before THE big hill. There's a sign to our right that states, "No trespassing in vehicle or on foot." We are tempted to ignore it and run that way just to see what the fuss is all about...but we save that for another day when we are feeling more devious and we continue on our path.

Ah, now we are at THE BIG hill. Take a deep breath...we can do this.

Seriously though-

It's a big hill.

It's so big we can't even touch our heels to the ground as we run...our toes push us forward

and.....up....up.....up...we climb.

We want to stop...to lay down...to pass out...but we keep climbing.

Up...Up...Up...

Wait....

What's that??

There! Hidden in the green and yellow!
I see PINK!!! So pretty...and such a great distraction from this awful hill!!!

Now we're almost to the top and we see a GINORMOUS house with GORGEOUS landscaping. Then we notice the sign that states, "Heavenly". We say a quick prayer thanking God for the beautiful sights along our run and asking Him to help us make it just a little bit further---we're almost done!!

Lastly we see a great stretch of beautiful bright fall colors...

And now we must quit taking in the scenery and focus on our breathing------ now we SPRINT.

GO!!!!

RUN!!!!!!

You can do it!!!!!!! Don't quit now!!!!!!!!

Allllllmmmmmmoooooosssssstttttt......

THERE!!

Phew!!!!

And to think, that was only 2 miles...20 minutes...

Let's do it again tomorrow!!

Teaser Tuesday :)

2010-10-26T23:16:00.001-04:00

Who can guess what I was doing when I took this picture??

Easy ;)

2010-10-25T17:31:00.008-04:00

So you know how I love mail?? I'm not even that picky on what kind it is...I just love opening things that aren't junk or student loan documents......SO......feel free to take advantage of this easy offer by Kleenex to send me a package!!!!!

You'll make my day!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, not even kidding....it's about to get cold up here, I could use some tissues! :) Remember this?

Go now: http://www.kleenex.com/softnessworthsharing/Send.aspx

DO IT!!!!! :) :)

http://www.kleenex.com/softnessworthsharing/Send.aspx

Praise!

2010-10-24T19:50:00.001-04:00

"On such a day each road is planned
To lead to some enchanted land;
Each turning meets expectancy.
The signs I read on every hand.
I know by autumn's wizardry
On such a day the world can be
Only a great glad dream for me--
Only a great glad dream for me!"

- Eleanor Myers Jewett, An Autumn Day

I like research!

2010-10-21T11:21:00.003-04:00

Today is research day at LECOM. Now, I actually despise research...it's boring, tedious work full of statistics and analyzing and numbers. But today, I like research; I might even say I love research.

So why this sudden love for research?? As I mentioned, today is research day. For those of us who don't do research, this means a WHOLE day of NO CLASSES!!!!!! So I'm spending the day sleeping in, getting my notes together for the next week, and updating my blog. With this view of it, you're starting to love research too aren't you?!
Happy Research day!! :)

(Disclaimer- I really do appreciate the great things research brings us and am grateful for the scientists who do it!)