Christmas-giving, a new holiday tradition...

Thanksgiving this year brought many changes and stories of remembrance and celebration of my brother's life.  We had a wonderful celebration of Joel's life which was an amazing testament to all those Joel has touched and directly impacted throughout his journey on earth.

We bypassed Thanksgiving and focused on the more important treasure of family.  I was able to spend quality time with my parents and focus on the true meaning of the holidays.  This meant that the massive turkey I had sitting in my freezer in Pittsburgh was taking up precious room that Paul would prefer to replace with microwave dinners.  So, I used one weekend when I got back and dedicated it to cooking therapy.

We called this main event: Christmas-giving

The menu was quite amazing and the evening was complete with a Packer win and a log in the fireplace which topped off the already impressive atmosphere that Josiah and Anna created at their house.  I am so happy they allowed us to invade!

Paul coming in to supervise my temperature checking technique!

We had to cook the turkey at their place, my first turkey!!  It seemed to turn out alright, how would I know any different I guess?  I stuffed it and everything!  We also had wild rice stuffing, sweet potatoes, crescent rolls, macaroni with garlic bread crumbs, and mini pumpkin cheesecakes for dessert.  Don't forget the mulled wine!

Ladies in the kitchen, with the resting turkey!

I'd say pretty good for my first turkey!  Thanks for all the tips mother!

We ate and drank until we couldn't move, it was awesome.  The Packers played an excellent game as usual for this season.  Paul was studying on the couch and it was one of Joanna's last nights in Pittsburgh, because she is moving on to bigger animal taming in Texas!

Men doing the carving, Paul might get his finger carved off!

Wishbone... and, I win! This year...

11-22-11

Since my last post, there have been major events and changes in my life that I didn't have the courage to write about until now.  Even now, I am not sure a blog post cannot serve to explain these major life events, but I trust that it will at least be of some clarity...

I was called on Sunday, November 20th 2011 by my father who urged me to fly home as I learned that my brother was admitted to the ICU in a Green Bay hospital.  It felt like a long flight, but I was home in just a few short hours and with my parents by Joel's side.  I spent two amazing and inspiring days with Joel before he passed away gracefully and generously.  Joel taught me many lessons in those two days we spent together that I will remember and cherish forever.

As I have said to those who ask, Joel has brought me this far in life through his guidance, smile and inspiring example, and it is up to me to bring him through the rest of our journey together. 


To learn more about Joel, and how my family and I are keeping his passions and spirit alive, please follow my brother's blog:

joelrmarsh.blogspot.com

My brother, my angel.

Love,

Alyce

Joel R. Marsh

Ladies Wine Night!

In mid November, I decided that it was time for another ladies wine night!  I love to cook and entertain, and it was the perfect weekend!  Anna G and I have been trying to have a cooking party, and I thought that cooking snacks and appetizers for ladies wine night was the perfect occasion!  Anna came over early, and we got all kinds of crazy in the kitchen!  Things went impressively smooth and we had our dishes done in no time!  Soon, we were drinking wine alone in my apartment and drooling over the food!

Shortly some of the girls from class showed up and I called up Joanna to enjoy some wine and snacks!  It was great!  We shared a lot of wine, laughs, and converstation.  Shortly into the party, Paul waltzed in, which was funny because I wasn't expecting him until late in the evening.  So it was a ladies night, plus Paul who helped us eat some of the food!

Girls, girls, girls!

Me, Anna, and Joanna at ladies night...

Also, another update for those reading at home... We have an MSTP Newsletter that goes out biannually, so I thought I would share the link with you!  There is some MS1 Trivia which is pretty fun, if you can figure out which one I am!  I am also in a picture during my poster presentation, just to let you know that I am making a little bit of research progress!  Click Here for the MSTP Newsletter!

Get the pointe?

Recently, I have been feeling that life has been overwhelmed by school work and memorization, so I've been fighting to have a balance.  You all know that I've been cooking a lot more, but just recently I wanted to expand my horizons and get back into some of my old habits.... DANCE!   I danced for a long time on my parent's paycheck at a studio in Green Bay (shout out to Shirley Van's!).  After going to college, I was impressed by the level of the students who were pursuing a dance major, so I shyed away because I was overwhelmed, and it never seemed to fit in my pre-med schedule.  Oh yeah, I also couldn't afford taking private lessons, because I was a college kid.

Recently, I took an adult ballet class in the Strip District at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and absolutely loved it!  I went down there for the second time this past Thursday night and bought a bunch of classes in bulk to get a discount.  It has been weird putting on my tights and shoes from when I was 18, because it seems like yesterday.  Although, I noticed in my first class that I had blown holes in the front of all my ballet shoes, so I had to buy new ones right away...

Two new ballet shoes next to my old loves...

I think that Anna and I are going to go to the Nutcracker sometime during the Holiday season.  It's a tradition to see the Nutcracker, and I have a feeling that this show will be MUCH better than Anna's last experience watching "The Nutcracker on Horseback"... Picture that for me for a second.

In addition to ballet, I recently got in touch with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and the local Pittsburgh chapter.  I am hoping to get involved in mentoring youth with IBD, which is one of my absolute favorite things to do!  This includes hanging out with all the kids during the CCFA walk next summer, and also potentially going to camp and serving as a mentor!  I hope I am able to attend at least one camp this summer, whether it is Onaway or CCFA, we'll see!

Last thing before I stop rambling... today I had a wonderful meeting with a potential research mentor and will hopefully be taking on an IBD related project next summer.  I came home from work to an empty apartment, but was soon surprised with gifts from Paul!

Flowers and cheese!

The flowers looked a wee bit thirsty, and perhaps a little on the tired side... So, I had to ask paul, "So what was the deal on flowers today?.."  "Ohh... they were half off, $2.50 baby!"

Let's just say, I knew it.  Hahah, but it's the thought that counts and now I have some thoughtful flowers to show for it!

Long time coming...

I feel like I haven't had the time to post in a while....  But it's been more of the same around here.  Paul is working hard, I'm trying to study and have been mostly unsuccessful.  We are moving on to genetics now which has been fun.  We were able to learn and meet individuals with autosomal dominant disorders.  It was wonderful to see individuals motivated for the cause and willing to teach a bunch of first year medical students...

Paul started his surgery rotation (one month only, thank goodness) on the thoracic service.  He is running on fumes already and it's only the first week.  We have a routine down now to maximize Paul's sleep, so it's working out, and we'll make it through.

Other things to note... My stethoscope came!  That first stethoscope is kind of a big deal, so it's been fun to fling it around my neck like I know how to use it, but I really don't...

Beyond that, I've just been trying to study and prepare for how fast November is going to fly by...  In just two weeks I get to fly home and see my family, especially Grandpa Jack who has been in the hospital.  It's been hard being away, and learning about the very pathologies that are going on inside of his body, but the visit home couldn't come at a better time!

Littmann Cardiology III - Alyce's first stethoscope!  Burgundy to represent Bucky!

Snow in Pittsburgh!

It's a snowing in Pittsburgh and it's only October!  I woke up to Paul this morning who yelled in disgust "Ohhhh Noooo!"... I thought he had broke something important, so I ran out to the kitchen to see what was wrong... he just put his head down and said..."ugh, it's snowing."   Paul and I have different opinions on snow, because I happen to enjoy a few flakes here and there!

Snow in the courtyard of Children's Hospital!

It snowed most of the morning until noon!  I am at the Children's hospital today finishing up a few research projects that have been left hanging for a while.  Western blots take so long to process and finish, it's quite impressive the time commitment to one blot.  I have learned to do two at once now though which makes it a bit easier...  Although, I'm not up to Amin's level yet of doing like 5 at once or 20 PCR plates!  I have something to aspire to I guess!

Tonight, I am going home and doing some major laundry, grocery shopping, and catching up on the odds and ends of life.  We finished our Biochemistry course this past Thursday, so we've had a little bit of a break before genetics hits us in full force.  One more syllabus to get through before I get to go home for Thanksgiving!

The AMAZING view from Joel's front deck... No snow in Wisconsin yet!

More news, Paul finished his USMLE Boards Step 3 yesterday!  We celebrated in style by taking an adventure to Bed Bath & Beyond, and I ran next door to PetCo to buy a fish!  I bought a Beta fish this time, finally one that will survive in the small bowl I have... whoops!  Sorry Blinkin and Dale, rest in peace.  Anyway, I bought a red one, and named it Becca the Beta.... perfect isn't it?

Must find the nearest pumpking...

If you want pumpkin inspiration... look no further than:

http://villafanestudios.com/gallery/the-pumpkins-2

Oh the time it took to carve this baby....

When all this biochemistry business is done, you can bet that I'll be trying to track down pumpkins (conveniently located at Home Depot) to carve.... If I remember correctly, I can even buy a turkey costume for my pumpkin to make it fit into my holiday dinner.  I cannot believe that November is creeping up so quickly!  I'll be heading home for Thanksgiving in about a month to see the landscapes of Wisconnie.  Biochem finishes this week, and genetics starts up shortly after...

I feel like Dorothy in a tornado of basic science...  Toto, it looks like we're not in undergrad anymore...  Oh well, at least I can still find time to carve pumpkins!