Pilgrims at Oak Ridge

It's been a fun and busy few days. Judah and I came down to Charleston on Thursday. Friday we got to do some shopping and hanging out with my brother and sister in law. Friday night, Jeff came down. Saturday morning I ran the cooper river bridge run and then this afternoon we celebrated the second birthday of my sweet boy with our family. It was wonderful. I'll post more pictures soon, but here's a sneak peak at my two year old (!!) wearing his adorable birthday shirt (a design that I totally stole off pinterest but the link doesnt even work so I can't link to it from here) and playing with all his new trains that he got.

1. I read this exhortation to married couples sometime last week. I am still thinking about what it said, and it has continued to help me think differently about my interactions with Jeff. Good stuff there. 2. I bought some new springy fingernail polish this weekend. My nails are currently this color and I'm loving it. 3. Can someone explain to me the hair color option that involves a bleach blond layer on top and a dark brown or red color underneath? I see this style rather frequently here in Greenwood. (Is it sort of a country thing?) I cannot, for the life of me, understand the appeal of this style. Why would anyone do this willingly? (And apologies in advance if any readers have this style. Maybe you can explain it to me.) 4. I need some more book recommendations. I am currently reading a biography to Ty Cobb, which, if I'm being honest, is a bit boring. Thanks to Jeff, I love baseball much more than I used to, but a dry biography of an early baseball hero is not ex...

I love taking care of women. Women are probably my favorite patients - I love doing obstetric care, well woman exams, elderly women with chronic health problems - I enjoy them all. I briefly considered Ob/Gyn as a specialty during med school but all the OB residents I interacted with seemed miserable, plus the surgical aspects of it were not as appealing to me. Not to mention the landmines that believers have to tiptoe around in the field. I didn't want to spend my whole career fighting battle after battle with the entire department I worked in. I am pro-life for many reasons, but one reason is that I believe that abortion is bad for women (to say nothing of their unborn children). I recently had the opportunity to learn a new procedure, similar to a D&C, that can be done when someone has a miscarriage but doesn't pass the baby on their own. The good part about this procedure, though, is that it can be done in the office under local anesthesia and with oral pain meds as ...

I was recently asked if I had any personal goals. I have to admit that the question actually caught me totally off guard. I sputtered something about being a good mom but didn't have much else to say besides that. Jeff, being in the midst of numerous job interviews, immediately had an answer that was both clever and admirable. I think that ever since finishing having Judah and finishing residency, I haven't really had any personal goals. For the longest time - all through high school and college - I looked forward to the day I would be a doctor. My ultimate life goal. Then I started looking forward to being a mommy. My other ultimate life goal. Then I was a mommy. And a doctor. And since then I haven't really thought about getting some new goals. I think that maybe this sort of transitional period we're currently experiencing has also sort of discouraged me from making new goals. It's hard for me to try to set goals for the future when I don't know how long we...

Since it's been a long week and a really long day at work, I thought I'd post some of my favorite things that Judah says. Mel-mo = Elmo Do-durt = yogurt we-wo = Hello (said in an exceedingly cute way while picking up the phone and pretending to call someone) oose = juice amma = Gramma (yes, I actually got him to say this the other day!) ah-er = cracker duh-dee = cookie Get down = get down (this gets said ALL THE TIME and means either: get down, or I want to be doing something different than what I'm doing right now. Often said while laying on the floor having his diaper changed.) din = again It is amazing how quickly they learn new words once they decide to start talking. I am really enjoying having a kid who actually communicates with me.

One of the coolest things I've seen at the zoo ever was the snake we saw on thursday. There was a (presumably) indigenous snake who found his way into the hen house, and decided to help himself to some delicious fresh eggs. Whole. Of course, I've seen nature shows where the snake swallows things like eggs or other food larger than himself, but I've never seen it live. After he finished swallowing, he just curled up there where he was. I'm guessing he had some recovery to do after that meal.

Yesterday, Melanie called me at 9am or so to invite me to the zoo. Thankfully, I wasn't working and didn't have anything on the agenda and could just get ready and go. We had a great time. A picnic lunch in the zoo, some time on the playground,  and then I brought my exhausted boy home.     (Judah is obviously engrossed in eating his granola bar.) Someone is really getting to enjoy the slide. All by himself. I love being such a short drive from family, especially being so close to Judah's cousins. As our job search continues, I am praying that we can somehow stay near family. But even if we don't, I'm thankful that Andrew and Melanie are finally here and we can enjoy the time we have with them.

Speaking of satisfying things, today I completed a super fast sewing project that satisfied a need I've been having for a while. I'm trying to prepare for running in the first 10K I've done since before Judah was born. As such, I'm doing more running than I have previously over the last 2 years or so. Since Judah doesn't enjoy being in the stroller for very long, most of my runs these days leave from our YMCA. I can leave Judah in the childcare there while I go. I always need to carry both my car keys and my phone because the workers in child watch would prefer to have a way to get in touch with me. I'm also still always running with our dog. Trying to carry the leash, phone, and keys when most of my running clothes lack pockets is nearly impossible. I debated some sort of saddle bag set up for the dog, but I really don't need that much space. What I really needed was a pouch that I could attach to Lucy's harness big enough to hold a phone and some key...

1. Paula Deen's Baked Spaghetti . I feel like we don't normally eat stuff like this - carb heavy casseroles (not that there is anything wrong with them) - but last week I just sort of had this craving for it. And my next door neighbor had surgery and I wanted to make something for them. So I basically doubled this recipe, but then added a package of frozen winter squash to it to make me feel like it was healthier. It tasted exactly like I would expect baked spaghetti to taste. I don't think this will be in our regular rotation, but it is great to make ahead and also give away. 2. Coconut rice and beans . I made this tonight for dinner and it. was. fantastic. The coconut-lime-ginger rice was delightful. The actual beans I found to be a bit bland, but I bet some added lime juice and more cumin would help that. I'd also add ginger to the beans next time, as well. But you serve it with mango(!!) and cilantro on top. 3. Vegan Chocolate Mousse . I can't say that I act...

Some days in medicine are more satisfying than others. Yesterday, I worked in the little ER where I sometimes moonlight. Although I still got my fair share of the "I don't have a big health problem, but didn't feel like going to my actual doctor" type stuff, I also had several very satisfying experiences. 1. A dude came in who had gotten into some sort of altercation with his "baby momma momma." (That's a relationship equivalent to a mother in law, if you didn't know.) Apparently a broom was involved. And he couldn't move his finger well. It did look swollen, but not that weird otherwise. I did X-ray it, and lo and behold, it was dislocated! After a quick bit of reading, I successfully performed my first finger reduction. It popped right back into place, and It was fixed! Highly satisfying. 2. A tiny, emaciated man came in who had a history of pancreatic cancer. He hadn't had a BM in several days and was really uncomfortable. A few ene...

After getting inspired to finish the quilt top the other week, I could finally see the light at the end of the quilt-shaped tunnel, which gave me the will power to actually push through and get it finished. A good friend and her large dining room table were very helpful in getting the thing pinned, and although I initially had visions of individually quilting around every triangle, I quickly realized that that just isn't prudent when you are working with a normal sewing machine. I used this tutorial for the binding and love how it looks. Every other quilt I've done I have really struggled with the binding, but this one actually came out nicely. So...without further ado... here is the quilt! (Even though I originally was planning something smaller, it ended up as a twin-sized one. That's Jeff holding it up!) I loved the backing fabric - from the metro living line by Robert Kaufman. So now it's done. Whew. Just in time for the b-day. Maybe I should start plan...

1. Judah has finally gotten over his recent aversion to baths. I'm not sure what triggered it, but a few months ago, he started hating to take baths. Every bath (which I gave him no more than once/week because of the tears) consisted of him screaming the entire time he was in the bath and me trying to finish up as quickly as I could. No amount of enticing him with bath toys would help. While he still hates getting his head wet (maybe the shampoo was hurting his eyes??) we had a very fun time splashing in the water last night. 2. A few of my favorite things that Judah says: "bi-per" (diaper), "bup-pee" (puppy), "mi-mi" (hold me), "olev" (olive), "pease" (please), "off" (off). 3. Smoothies! I got an immersion blender for Christmas and have been putting it to good use. My current favorite combo is grapefruit, strawberry, spinach, a little yogurt and honey. 4. Music. I've been on this big music-listening kick on my i...

My dear mother can attest that I despised Lima Beans growing up.  Not only would I refuse to eat them, but the mere sight of them made me want to toss my cookies. (Seriously). Same with peas. I vividly remembering having to move the bowl of peas across the table so they wouldn't offend my very sensitive gag reflex. (Sorry about that, Mom.) Thankfully, I've (mostly) outgrown the hair-trigger gag reflex and have come to love, LOVE lima beans. And peas. Judah is currently on somewhat of a veggie-eating strike, but will still gobble up lima beans, so we're making lots of them around here. Thanks to Mark Bittman, I've found my absolute favorite way to make them. It's a super easy recipe but so good I have a hard time stopping eating them. So here it is: Super Tasty lima beans As this is more of a guideline than an actual recipe, all quantities have been guesstimated. 1.5 c. frozen lima beans or butter beans 1/2 c. water 1 T. butter. salt and pepper to taste ...

Did you know that President John F. Kennedy had a rare hormonal disease called Addison's disease?  In his case, it was an auto-immune disease that slowly destroyed his adrenal glands. In fact, in 1947, he almost died from it. Most people have never heard this since he vehemently denied it during his presidential election and his family did what they could to keep it under wraps. Although I'm sure part of the reason for their denials were just because he was running for president and wanted to seem strong (until the late forties there were not good treatments for it), there was actually another very, very big reason why they wanted it hidden. At that time, the major cause for addison's disease was actually tuberculosis. TB is fairly rare today thanks to modern antibiotics, but even then there was a lot of stigma associated with it. People like JFK didn't get TB. Drug addicts got TB. Poor, homeless people got TB. But not him. Because of the strong and negative association...

I've really been on a sewing kick lately. Yesterday, I saw a tutorial for a super cute new clutch on one of my regularly enjoyed craft blogs . It looked so adorable (and easy!) that I had to make one right away. And then I decided to make four of them. Because, you know, when you're making one, making four really isn't that much harder. I'm only posting the photograph of one since the others may be making appearances as gifts in the next few months, but this one is mine, all mine. I was totally digging the chevron fabric and bright spring colors. I bought this fabric at a quilt shop a while ago but had been hoarding it to use on something really cute and then it got hidden underneath some less cute fabric. I was happy that I found it while digging through my stash to find fabric for this project.It makes me want to buy a light colored flowy dress for spring and some cute new flats as well. I guess a new bag can have that effect sometimes. I guess it's my new fav...