Thursday, December 31, 2009

Bailey's New Bear

Santa left some presents for me at Buffy's house (my new coworker). One of the presents was a little white bear. I decided to open it up, pour in some catnip, and give it to Bailey. She loves it. She's licked it and slobbered on it so much that the catnip inside has gotten wet and the bear is turning green!

Sorrel

I got to try Sorrel yesterday thanks to Ross's coworker Ainsmar. I'm referring to the Jamaican drink, not the green leafy vegetable. Ross brought it to me in an insulated mug and told me to guess what was in it. As soon as I opened it I realized it had ginger in it, and possibly cloves. When I tasted it I knew it was fire and water. The ginger is the fire, but I couldn't figure out what the water element was. My best guess was apple juice. If I'd seen the color of the liquid I might have figured it out on my own. The water element is sorrel, which is also known as hibiscus or jamaica (in Spanish). I really enjoyed it. It kind of reminded me of the cucumber-ginger drink we had in Jamaica and the apple-lemon-ginger juice from CM. Very good. Thanks Ainsmar.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Snow Special

Bailey liked licking up the snow that she dragged in from the porch, so every day (sometimes twice a day) she's been getting a special treat. Ross scoops up a bowl full of snow from the balcony and she eats some snow, and then licks up the water as it melts. Last night the balcony was pretty much cleared, so I ran downstairs to get her some snow. She's so spoiled! The rain yesterday and today (along with higher temperatures) has pretty much melted the snow, so it will be a while before she has special snow water again.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Work

Working is hard work! I'm exhausted! Ha!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Snow and Stuff

We have quite a bit of snow out there and it is continuing to snow heavily. It looked like a great day for the movies. We drove the Subaru around and I think Ross had fun skidding around a bit. The stores are all closing and the movie theater was closed. Lame! You'd think they would know how to handle snow here. Apparently not. I think the state of Maryland has declared a state of emergency. Wha? I remember going to the movies in our 4wd truck when we lived in Nebraska. So much fun. Oh well. We have The Wrestler from Netflix sitting here, so we will watch that. At least I got to go out in my wellies and fur coat.

Now, let me rant. People around here don't know how to drive. Not just in inclement weather, but all the time. They just LOVE to tailgate. Anyway, we are cruising down the road today and nobody had their lights on, despite the heavy snowfall. I like to be able to see people's tail lights. They don't turn on their lights in the rain either. The other thing that drives me crazy is how people drive with their hazards on. In some states it is illegal to drive with your hazard lights flashing. Hazard lights are for alerting people that you are stopped on the side of the road, not for when you are scared to drive, so you are driving obnoxiously slowly. Okay, I feel better now that I've ranted. Time to watch a movie.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

It is Officical

I have a job. I applied for the job 2 months ago, and now I'm officially hired and cleared to work. I even have an email address! It seems my ID# and email address are the real measures of my existence at Johns Hopkins. I'll pick up my badge tomorrow when I'm down at the hospital.

My official job title is Research Program Assistant II. I will be working with the RIVUR study. My job is to organize all the old paperwork, make sure everything is up to date, and then keep things running smoothly after that. We have 30 patients, and we are a couple of months behind in paperwork, so I have plenty to do.

I'm hoping to learn a lot about how research studies work. Whenever this is over (we have at least one year left on our grant) I will finally have some clinical research experience. When things are finally running smoothly I'm hoping to learn how to draw blood and insert IVs (on children). Also, I may be able to go into surgery with the doctor that I'm working under.

One of the best parts of the job is the flexibility. I will be able to do some work from home and I won't have to go into the city every day. Being back at work full time is going to be very, very strange. So far Bailey doesn't like it. I need to remember to turn on the radio and leave a light on for her. By the time we get home it is dark.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Scripted Answers

I still haven't come up with something to say when I hear someone say something hateful. It needs to be short, direct, and non-emotional. I don't want to sound like a crazy person (even though I am).

Another hot button topic--the fact that I'm a doctor. When people ask if I'm a nurse there is an easy answer--No. But generally people aren't satisfied with that and want to know how the hell I know the big fancy word for tummy grumbles (borborygmi) or something like that. I suppose I could just answer "No, I'm a doctor." but that seems to open up a whole other can of worms that I don't want to deal with (primarily "What kind of doctor?").

I finally got a job (more on that later) and I'm going to be working with a nurse. If I say I'm a doctor it automatically gives me more authority (in most people's minds), but in reality she will be my supervisor. Skirting around the issue this week was awkward. I don't want to be a bitch, but I don't like talking about that part of my life. I still see it as unfinished business, and that is really painful.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Pop and Crunch

Well, I'm on day three of my 10 day bootcamp. I did all my workouts on day 1 and 2. Today I still have to do the shred. My calves are super stiff and sore. The scale moved a bit yesterday, but nothing today. I'm really amazed that I've stuck with it this far. No excuses. My knees are crunching and popping, but I'm still working out. I'm avoiding back lunges on my right side and just doing one legged squats instead. Watching the Biggest Loser finale last night was a bit inspiring. I always get riled up when the girls weigh less than I do. I've been doing pretty well on the No C diet too. Time to rehydrate and then work out.

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Plan

So, trying on pants this weekend was eye opening (and pout inducing). The bottom line is that I've been eating non-stop and I can't remember the last time I worked out (other than yoga). All that bad behavior has caught up with me. The scale is up and while trying on pants I realized how lumpy bumpy I've become. I've got to get back with the program. The plan is to do Jillian Michael's shred dvd and a Firm (cardio or sculpt) dvd every day for the next 10 days. I will also do booty exercises every other day for the next two weeks. Ross's company Christmas party is in 10 days, so that has given me extra motivation.

Valerie and I are planning to start Jillian Michaels 30 Day shred for 30 days straight starting on January 1st. Anyone else want to join in?

I almost forgot to mention. I'm also on the no C diet for the next week. If I don't start having nightmares then maybe I'll go No C for 10 days. That's about when I start dreaming about Cake and Cheese.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

National Aquarium Dollar Days

It was one dollar, yes, one dollar for general admission to the National Aquarium in Baltimore this weekend. I wanted to see the jelly fish exhibit, so we headed down this morning. Thankfully we didn't have to stand in line very long to get tickets. Once inside we headed straight to see the dolphins and jellyfish. The jellyfish exhibit was awesome. I forgot my camera, so these shots are from Ross's cell phone.

The aquarium wasn't as crowded and crazy as I thought it would be. Things ran pretty smoothly until we reached the
entry to the rain forest area. We had to wait in line and then shuffle through the whole exhibit. The aquarium has a new octopus, but unfortunately we didn't get to see it. It was behind the scenes getting settled. We spent about two and a half hours in the aquarium. I'm not sure what my favorite part--but I always enjoy the Amazon exhibits.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Statue of Liberty

When we were in New York we went to the Statue of Liberty and climbed a bunch of steps up to the crown. The stairs weren't too bad. I really would have rather gone up twice than up and then back down. The inside of the crown (and the whole statue really) was smaller than I thought it would be. The skies were clear, so we had a wonderful view from the crown. Here are some photos: