Arlington & Georgetown...

I'm on the bus to NYC now, but I thought I would talk about our adventures yesterday...  We took our time in the morning getting ready while it sprinkled outside.  Once we got outside though, it was really warm and nice for our thick Wisconsin blood...  On the way to DuPont Circle we passed the director of Penn State's MD/PhD program which was a crazy coincidence!   I recognized him, then I finally put my finger on it.  We took the metro to Arlington first and was able to see Kennedy's grave and also the changing of the guards.  I could watch the tomb of the unknown solider for hours... it's just so full of honor and respect that it's practically breathtaking.  I was able to capture some good video of the ceremony, so hopefully that turns out nicely.

Tomb of the Unknown amphitheater.

Roomies... running for president...

Arlington National Cemetery...

Kennedy's grave and memorial...

The old amphitheater...

After Arlington, we took the metro back into DC and walked down to Georgetown.  We took M the whole way down to try to go get some cupcakes.  I was starving so we sat down and had some Chipotle, can't go wrong with rice, beans, veggies, and guacamole.  It was so filling and delish.  We were then going to get Cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcakes, but turns out it's not the little store I remember anymore.  Launching their show on TLC has really upped the tourist attraction of the cupcakes.  The line was halfway down the road!  It was insane, so Lyssa and I turned around and just did some window shopping and strolling in Georgetown. We went up Wisconsin and did some shopping at Abercrombie to get some matching pants, haha, classic.  We were then going to walk up to the National Cathedral, but our feet were starting to get sore and it would be cutting it pretty close to when they close at 5:30.  We decided to take M back to South DuPont Circle and see the sites around there instead.  It was a good choice.  We passed some really fancy hotels (Ritz, Westin, etc) and saw a lot of cute shops and restaurants.  We headed back to the hotel to rest our feet which put on over 7 walking miles yesterday.  We finished the night with some Blue Moon while watching the movie "Diary of an Angry Black Woman".  It was our last night in the Marriot and in DC.

This morning we shot up and got ready while trying to fit all of our treats and purchases into the two travel sized suitcases we brought. We then checked out after printing our comedy club coupons and walked down to southern DuPont Circle to grab a bagel at Panera bread for lunch on the Bolt Bus.  We took the Red Line downtown one last time and stopped at a Starbuck for my favorite "Venti Skinny Vanilla".  We strolled over to the bus stop and now we're 1.5 hours away from NYC.  I am very excited to get to the hotel and relax for a wee bit.  Traveling is exhausting and I cannot nap on the bus in fear that I will drool on the person next to me, hehehah.  I'm so excited for the comedy club tonight, I hope it's a good show.  I also hope that they have a few reservations left, because we haven't booked them yet for tonight... We could always good on a week night...

Monumental Ocassion

We are on our third day in this journey and the first two days have been rather successful!  Today we plan to head down to Arlington Cemetery and then walk around Georgetown to do some window shopping and buy the now Food Network famous Georgetown Cupcakes.  Too bad that yesterday their special was pumpkin spice, I would have greatly enjoyed.  Today is a little rainy, but it's all good, we will venture out in the elements!  I hope you enjoy the pictures!


Wednesday:
 We arrived in DC around the lunch hour and took the metro to our hotel in DuPont Circle.  After getting settled, we ventured downtown to the Mall and Holocaust Museum.  It's too bad that we couldn't take more time in the museum, we were just getting to the really interesting content before we had to leave.  We spent some time taking in the National Mall sites and then headed back to DuPont Circle, where we located a small store to purchase a bottle of wine and some brewskis.  We headed back to the room, had a drink while watching a movie on TBS and crashed around 7PM... haha, so classic.  We finally woke up 11 hours later... traveling really takes a lot out of a person.

First trek down to the National Mall

In front of the Smithsonian Castle

Nation's Capital Building in the background...

Washington Monument

Thursday:
We took our time getting ready in the morning for our journey down to the monuments and memorials.  We were able to see a ton of stuff in one day.  We started with the White House and Dwight D. Eisenhower's office building.  On our way from the White House we stumbled upon an American Art Museum and went in.  This was my first time in an art exhibit, and it was massive and beautiful.  Then we headed down to see the WWII memorial, Korean War, Lincoln Memorial, and Vietnam wall.  It was all very sombering and pretty intense stuff.  At least we thought so, there was some chick taking modeling pictures next to the Vietnam Wall, which was quite peculiar to say the least. The monuments and memorials weren't in their most intense form with the reflecting pools full and all the effects, but they were still extremely powerful.  It was my first time seeing the Lincoln Memorial, and I think that was my favorite by far.  It's just so massive, and you can see for miles on top of the stairs.  The reflection pool is undergoing renovation, so we didn't get the full effect, but you can just imagine how powerful Martin Luther King Jr's speech was in that atmosphere.

So tired and delirious at the end of the day...

Backside of the White House - Kitchen Garden

Tip from Franchesca, put your camera behind the fence!

Eisenhower Executive Building!

Obama's party location!

Chilling in Obama's front yard!

White House - Front view

WWII Memorial

Korean War Memorial - "Freedom Isn't Free"

Lincoln Memorial, all about Civil Rights

Lincoln Memorial, on the way to Vietnam Wall

Our shadows in the Vietnam Wall...

Taking a look at the silencing wall...

Star Spangled Banner, inspired the national anthem.

After a long morning of walking and site seeing, we stopped to get a bite at Starbucks near the White House.  I was dying for a "Starbuck" as Paul says, and when Lyssa spotted one, I was saved...haha.  After lunch we ventured back down Constitution Ave to the Smithsonian Museums to check out the American History Museum and the Natural History Museum.  Both were extremely overwhelming, but pretty cool.  I really enjoy the Natural History displays, especially the massive diamonds they have on display on the second floor.  The fossils and replicas are also pretty sweet.  That museum is a little easier on the brain because you don't have to read everything and think so hard. When we were completely drained we walked up to Metro Center and took the Red Line to DuPont Circle.  Our dogs were barking loudly at this time, and calling for mexican food and cheap margaritas.  We ordered two appetizers and a few margaritas to top off a solid day of sight seeing.

Back at the hotel, we were lacking free shampoo and conditioner, so I went down to the front desk to see if we could get some, haha.  I am not one to be skimped on the free conditioner, that stuff is valuable.  Well, while down at the front desk, they told me that there was free wine tasting!  I  grabbed lyssa, we strapped on our shoes and headed downstairs for the last fifteen minutes of free wine and food.  They had fruit, spicy shrimp, buffalo wings, and mussels.  It was delish.  Lyssa was pretty impressed that I ate a chicken wing... but when food is free, I'll usually take one for the team.  The guy serving the wine actually went to school at Marquette, which was pretty wild. After our few minutes, we gulped the last of the free wine and headed upstairs for some TV before crashing.  I booked my flights to Europe (which is now all set to go!) and went to bed... the sleep was much needed after a day full of walking.

Lake Eva weekend, a success!

It’s another week closer to the big day.  This past weekend Paul and I went up north to spend some time with my parents up at Lake Eva.  It was such a good time snowmobiling and hanging out with Curty, Deb, and Uncle Buck.  We got up there late Friday night and left directly from the hospital after Paul’s neuro lecture.  We stopped by the Mosquito for a brewski or two and to see George before heading into base camp.  Once we landed, it was quite chilly in the cabin so we stoked the fire and got Paul’s bed in the basement all set up so he could sleep in (compared to the Marsh’s).  Paul was absolutely drained by this time because it was reaching the 22 hour of being awake mark, haha. 

Camp shot, apple pie! It's tradition...

The jolly Marsh's at the Skeeto!

Saturday morning we all woke up much too early and George came over to look at flight options for Mexico.  I was blowing Curty away on my Crackberry trying to look for flight deals.  He was impressed with technology and my frequent flier antics.  We found a great deal out of Green Bay, so if they end up going to Mexico, I found a nice flight for them.  Unfortunately for George, the flights out of Houghton are a little pricier considering it’s a ridiculously small airport.  After Paul woke up we did Yoga for a little exercise and had some pumpkin waffles (absolutely my favorite) for breakfast.  I am going to have to look for a homemade pumpkin waffle recipe.   After lunch we suited up for a snowmobile run into Houghton.  Thank goodness I asked Joel to swing by and pick up a pair of Brent’s boots for Paul.  He’s the only person with Paul size feet, haha.  Otherwise those running shoes may have been a little cold.  Overall, Paul really looked the part with his Carhart and camouflage boots!  We were granted Dad’s sled with a two-up seat for me to hang on.  Paul was a pretty decent driver, haha.  The trails were really nice, but in some parts they were really icy.  There’s a double hill on the way into Houghton that both Paul and I got stuck on, classic city slickers.  Dad and Uncle Buck had to take our sleds down to the bottom while I did the walk of shame up the hill and Paul rode behind Joel on the way up the slippery slope.  We went to the KBC in downtown Houghton for some home brew and peanuts, and then headed back home to the Mosquito!

Traveling into the cabin in the wee morning hours...

Paul the human pack mule... always trying to get it in one trip.

The Mosquito was a blast.  We grabbed a drink and went to a back table with Mom, Dad, George, Kay, and Joel.  We chatted with the owners who informed us that there were 2 retired Vikings in the bar.  One was a dead giveaway, he was a huge dude, clocking in around 365 when he was actively playing.  David Dixon was his name and he started quite a few games, we looked him up on the crackberry.  The other guy’s name I didn’t catch but I think he admitted that he was a benchwarmer!  Paul bought the table some deep fried bar food covering the essentials of French fries, onion rings, and mozzarella sticks.  Over the bar food, mumsy, Paul, and I covered the basics of retirement planning and ROTH IRAs, ahah, what a dinner conversation for nerds!  After we had our retirement planned, it was time for a heated game of shuffle board… 

The first game, Paul wasted me.  So I think he was looking for another win to really drive the point home.  Not so fast, I won the second game in good fashion with a lot of smack talk.  The third game was when it really got competitive.  It was back and forth and we were neck and neck.  I kept knocking his puck off the board whenever he would put it in a sweet spot.  The last round to win the game was the best.  Paul was pretty much set to win by one or two points, all he needed to do was to toss the puck down without interfering with the board.  Except, he went for mine for some reason, and bumped mine to be a hanger, hanging just slightly farther off the board than his… so… I WON! Booyah.  After that win, George and Kay were rolling with laughter and we headed home to camp.  Dinner was great, mum cooked up some chicken.  We had a glass of wine and everyone was pretty tired from the fresh air, so we were off to bed early.

Sunday consisting of us waking up and turning on the news, to find out that a massive storm was going to be taking over most of Wisconsin.  We decided to leave as soon as possible and were on the road by 8:45 AM.  After a white knuckle drive back to Madison, we made it back around 4PM.  There were a few cars in the ditch, but Little Richie took on the storm by force.  I was probably the slowest one on the road, and Paul shouted for joy once I finally passed someone in Madison, haha.  Paul then headed off to run 10 miles at the Nat.  It was a great weekend; we had a ton of fun snowmobiling.  We also had a lot of driving and car time to talk about the rank list.  I talked with my parents and did a good hard priority check regarding going to school or being with Paul.  We decided to rearrange Paul’s list to give us the best opportunity to be together in the same town.  We’re both hoping we’ll end up in Pittsburgh, but it’s a good possibility that we could end up in Wisconsin.  I guess we’ll see.  There’s no going back now, because the list is officially due tomorrow.  Roach did the same thing; he shifted some more prestigious programs down to better coordinate with his fiancé as well.  It’s not all about school; I think I would be awfully lonely in a town with Paul 12 hours away… not the ideal situation.

On our way out and heading home to take on the storm...

Today I babysat and am getting pack for my Washington DC and NYC adventure.  Yesterday consisted of finding hotels online which was quite a debacle.  I used Priceline to try to find us some deals.  In DC we are in northern DuPont Circle at a Courtyard by Marriot, and in NYC we are on Times Square in the Milford.  Sounds like it will be a great time.  It feels good to have the essentials booked, now we have to figure out when we want to do tours and the statue of liberty.  I’ve been reading about NYC today, and I think that I want to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge as well.  It’s going to be SO much fun!  Lyssa and I let free in the Nation’s Capital and the Big Apple!  Beautiful! 

I’ll hopefully update the blog while we are traveling, we have a 3 hour bus ride from DC to NYC, so I think that will be the best time to get some blogging done.  Wish me luck, I have to pack, work, and pick up treats yet today!  Off we go!

Going up to the U.P. ey.....

It's been a while since I last had time to write in here, which I'm not sure why.  A lot has happened this past week starting with Monday which was Valentine's Day!  Paul and I had decided a while ago that we are cutting down gift exchanging to Birthdays and Christmas, haha because we're so cheap.  For Valentine's Day and our Anniversary we are going to do something together instead like grabbing a bite to eat.  This year I had Monday off, so I wanted to make a really special meal that I knew Paul would like.  We had marinated Salmon, Bruchetta, fruit and green salad, asparagus, and homemade mashed potatoes.  It was really good, except the potatoes were nasty haha!  Paul whipped those potatoes to a pulp... crazy kid.  We had dinner and then sat on the ground so full that we couldn't move.  I got him a card and he bought be a rose which is beautiful.  I will be drying it and putting it in my "Paul Box" for sure.

Paul enjoying his Valentine's Day Dinner!  It's going to be hard to top this dinner!

The whole dinner with the cook! Booyah!

Tuesday consisted of my babysitting in the morning, doing a little shopping at Macy's to try to burn a gift card, then meeting Lyssa at the house.  She was down here protesting Governor Walker's bill to screw state workers.  It's really getting heated down at the capitol right now.  Most of the Madison schools have canceled class so that the teachers can protest, the democratic senators have left the state so they don't have to vote on the bill.  It's absolutely insane, we are getting A LOT of media coverage both sate and national news.  NYC citizens are also protesting in NYC to support us.  It's absolutely wild, and I hope that the state can the unions and come to an agreement.  It seems like the bill is completely unnecessary to me, as a state we are doing pretty good financially. We'll see how it unfolds in the next few days.  Anywho, Lyssa came down and we went out to Wandos to use up some coupons that Paul had for $20 worth of drinks.  Wando's was pretty gangster in the beginning, but it turned out to be a pretty good dance party by the end of the night.  A lot of the usual creepers and what not.  Lyssa and I got a cab back to Kendall Ave and indulged in toppers sticks.  Eewwww, that was a mistake.  We didn't drink much, but the ball of greese was more than enough to make us want to toss our cookies the next morning.

My car was parked snug against the tan car in front of it... Turns out ice is not Little Richie's friend...

Wednesday, I went to find my car, and it was sitting in the middle of the road... hahaha!  WHAT?  Turns out you can't park your car on the hill in the winter because over the night hours, it will slide down and out into the middle of the road.  Thank god it didn't hit another car behind me.  I even had the parking break on, which I never do.  I was afraid it was going to be towed, but something else was in store...classic.  The rest of the day I helped with therapy, then I had to give a speech at the Undergraduate Biochemistry Student Organization about taking a year off.  I was brutally honest with them about what had happened and how my life plans had changed.  I hope they took away a good message and don't get down on themselves if they don't make it to medical school the first time.  It really has been a blessing in disguise.

Yesterday I took a morning nursing shift then babysat in the afternoon for Drewski.  God I love that kid.  Then Sarah and I went to meet an older women we will be spending time with in the evening.   We basically are making her dinner and helping her with household chores.  She's very independent and doesn't need help transferring or anything, so we're there to provide companionship.  She is not so hot on the idea of having us there yet, but I think she'll warm up to our company after a few nights.

Today I am going to be running a few errands, doing some shopping, exercising, and picking up my man at school!  We are taking off to the north woods to go snowmobiling at Lake Eva!  I'm very excited.  Poor Paul is going to be exhausted, so I'm going to try to find a way where he can comfortably fit into Little Richie and take a nap while I drive up north.  I had the luxury of sleeping in until 9 this morning, while Paul dropped off his luggage and moped at my house at 5:30AM.  Eeeeeekkk.  I owe him for coming up north with me.  I think it will be fun, it's just a lot of driving to cram into 48 hours.  I think it will give us a lot of quality time to chat about the Match and his Rank list. I was able to talk to my parents last night about it and now I am feeling better about my direction and getting some clarity.  I hope Paul and I can chat about it too. 

I will try to take some pictures of our northern adventure.  I am sure there will be some taking at the Skeeto!  I'm bringing up my Skeeto shirt!  Paul has to run 10 miles on Sunday, so I don't think he'll be able to do much skeeto action.  Welp, another day and week has passed!  Updates following soon about this weekend's adventure!  Next week Wednesday Lyssa and I fly out to Washington DC, so that will result in a few blog updates I am sure... we started planning a bit about NYC, and I have a feeling it will be and absolute blast!!

Tickets are booked...

Well, it’s official; we have our tickets booked to Regan National Airport and New York City!  Lyssa and I booked our tickets on a Tuesday (traditionally the cheapest day to book airlines) and we got the round trip fare for $143, a ridiculously cheap flight.  Now the challenge will be to find a good hotel in the area that’s affordable.  I had a great deal on a double tree hotel right in DuPont Circle for $96/night, which was ridiculous.  Turns out that was a part of the Hilton deal to book a hotel stay by January 31^st, so I blew it!!  It’s somewhat bittersweet though because I didn’t realize that I also had the Thursday before our trip off, so we’re staying two more days, one in DC and one NYC.  Our plan now is to try to “Priceline” a hotel in each area.  We’ll see how that goes, but hopefully the February weather and cold will make it easier to get a deal.

This weekend I went back to Seymour with Paul.  We both rode in Little Richie to save on some gas.  We had plans to have a meet the parents (or as Joel calls is “Meet the Fockers”) dinner on Friday night after work.  Paul got out of surgery impressively early and then we headed back to Appleton.  We met out for dinner at Mark’s East which has a good fish fry and menu.  The food was good, my chicken cesar was delish, but my dad’s plate left something to be desired.  We both were sick after dinner, haha!  The dinner itself though went great.  It was nice for our parents to finally meet and see the faces behind the names.  Jack and Kathy knew a lot of people out for dinner, mainly because of his practice and where they live.  The restaurant was in the neighborhood that Paul was born in before they moved.  They also had some family friends that were out to dinner and sat beside us.  We chatted about our Europe trip and other traveling adventures.  It was a good Friday evening.  After dinner I came home and crashed, the influenza really took a lot out of me this past week.

This week ahead consists of babysitting, nursing shifts, and trying to keep the house spotless for some showings.  Hopefully we’ll have a few bites on the property and I can show the house to a few people.  I really hope the property moves, and it would be even better if it moves quickly.  I am going to be gone all of April to Europe, so I will not be around to talk to potential buyers.  It’s a crazy time!

I am also in the midst of looking for people to rotate with at Pittsburgh.  I’ve been in contact with Dr. Binion out there and he has given me some great suggestions on labs who would fit my interests in basic science that can be easily translated to IBD work.  Some of the people and PI’s he suggested are pretty high profile, so we’ll see if it will all work out.  I am looking for someone who has a tinge of Dr. Carlsson in them, so our personalities mesh nicely.   I have a lot to do ahead, but it’s taking it day by day now…

Superbowl & Madison Blizzard!!

The most important update and news in my life is the… wild, crazy BLIZZARD 2011!  We got a ton of snow this past Tuesday night!  Of course the Blizzard was expected to hit as Paul was scheduled to drive down to Chicago and take his USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills.  He ended up going down a night early after much heavy suggesting on my part!  Anyway, it was just Sarah and I in Kendall Ave braving the elements.  I had to work the night of the blizzard for BrightStar for a bedtime shift.  It was a crazy ride coming home from the shift, very blizzard like conditions.  I’m just surprised Little Richie made it through that storm!  I found a spot to park on the road, knowing that I would be digging myself out the next morning. 

Sarah and I watched the storm from inside and waited for her work to be called off!  Luckily I didn’t have to work on Wednesday until 3PM.  We went to sleep and woke up completely freezing!  I had my whole body and head under the blankets, as did Sarah.  It was wicked cold.  After a little investigation work on my part, I realized the heater was working, but blowing cold air.  What do you do when that happens?  Call CURTY!!  We chatted about the weather and figured the intake pipe outside was covered… so I slapped on my boots, grabbed a shovel and went tearing through our yard, snow up to my thighs, trying to find my intake pipe.  Sure enough, the beast was covered in snow and read “DO NOT COVER”.  Makes sense right, otherwise you can sit in the heater fumes and die!  YIKES!  Thank god our furnace worked as it should and it tripped off once the snow blocked the intake pipe.  After that, we spent most of the day shoveling and hanging out while I was thinking about Paul who was taking his clinical skills exam.

After the exam, Paul’s car wouldn’t start.  He was all over the town trying to get help to get his car started. Due to the wind, there was snow in his engine and under his hood, so the whole thing was soaked.  He dried off the spark plugs in his room and tried it again around 10:30PM… finally it started!!  He spent so much time in Chicago because he went down a day early and had to stay an extra night because his car wouldn’t start.  While he was driving back Thursday morning to Madison, I was getting on a plane to head to Pittsburgh!  Thursday I arrived around noon and met up with some current MSTP students for coffee.  After coffee we met with some program leaders and had wine and cheese.  I really enjoy Pittsburgh and their wine, but the cheese was so sick, haha!  I guess we’re spoiled by Wisconsin’s cheese!  After the wine and cheese we went over to a current MSTP student’s home and had dinner, then out for margaritas. 

Friday consisted of a lot of meetings with program staff including the chief of medicine.  He is so nice and asked how Paul was doing.  I was impressed he remembered Paul’s name and he application status.  I let him know that he’ll be ranking Pittsburgh number one, and he was happy to hear that news.  I am so anxious for match day.  After Friday’s long day meeting with different investigators, we went out for a dinner at Elbow Room and had some drinks over dinner.  Josiah and I sat next to each other and had a good time chatting and getting to know one another.  After dinner we went out to a bar with a couple other PhD applicants, and Josiah and I hit it off and decided the night wasn’t done yet.  So we went out to another place with two other applicants.  Then we met a current student out who brought us to other bars on South Side.  It was a classic night, I was dancing as usual and by the end of the night I was making the usual comments and calling Josiah my big brother haha.  It was a really fun night, and was going to make the tour that started the next morning nice and long.  Saturday we had a tour all day, and then a faculty dinner.  I was spending time with Alex, another MSTP student who was completely cracking me up.  After the dinner, Josiah and I were going to meet up for one drink to say goodbye.  Then we ended up staying out far too late, haha, and I had 2.5 hours to sleep before my shuttle came.  Of course I woke up from the phone call for my shuttle.  I was completely frazzled and had to pack in 5 minutes.   I packed, changed my clothes and was ready to go in 5 minutes, it was a ridiculous turn around.  I felt awful though, and the day in the airports was terrible. I didn’t sleep much, and I got a cold from some lady on the plane to Chicago.   After that plane ride I started to feel under the weather which escalated until the Super Bowl… I was running a nice fever, but tried to keep it under control. 

Let’s rewind, because I forgot how adorable Paul is.  When I got off the plane in Madison, Paul was waiting to pick me up in the Jetta.  He worked on surgery that morning, but went home to make me some pumpkin spice coffee (with creamer) and a pumpkin scone from Starbucks.  I was so overwhelmed, and tired, that I almost was crying because of how thoughtful it was for him to bring me those treats.  I went to his place, showered, and tried to nap.  Then we got ready, Paul went to make some guacamole, and headed to Mike’s parent’s house.  It was so nice that they invited us over for a little Packer party.  We had a wonderful time watching the game with Mike and Ashley and we were on the edge of our seats for the game.  Luckily of course, the PACKERS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!  It was so crazy!  We were jumping up and down and celebrating!  Paul lifted me into the air, haha!  It was so wild!  It’s too bad I was feeling so crummy, but we had a great time.  I was so sick that night and needed to get home asap.  Monday I called into work because I didn’t want to get my client sick, my fever was relentless and kept going up all day.  I took the whole day to rest, and didn’t do much at all.

Today, I’m babysitting and feeling better.  I am going to meet Laura J for some treats at La Brioche for her birthday, so I’m going to have to pick up a card on my way home.  I’m going to rest a lot tonight and hopefully kick this cold for good.  Last night I used a trick I heard of, which was to get rid of a cough, put Vicks Vapor rub on your feet instead of your chest.  I hate how Vicks feels on your chest, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the foot trick worked!! I woke up and my cough was almost completely gone.  I cough every once and while now, but nothing like yesterday.  I am pretty certain I have the flu, and Paul was of course reminding me that I should have got my flu shot, haha.  What a character.