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!