The Misadventures of S & M (and Porter)

Trauma

2011-10-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

So Friday Porter did something he's never done before, he just nodded off while we were playing in the living room. After about 15 minutes of sleeping he woke up and spent another 45 minutes just lounging with me on the couch. I though it was all pretty cute, until I took his temp and it was 102.2. I kinda freaked out a little and felt bad about being so amused by his falling asleep earlier. Michele was a bit stressed by the whole thing since he's never been sick before. Anyway, the fever dropped quite a bit overnight and while he's still running mildly high temps he's mostly back to his normal self.

So after the Saturday visit to the doctor's office I decided it was high time for Porter to get his hair cut. I've been pushing the haircut for months and Michele has resisted all along, she relented ever so slightly and I took the opportunity to strike. I'm not sure who was more traumatized by the haircut, Michele or Porter, but I suspect it was the former. It's by far the worst haircut I've ever given but the boy still looks better than he did (just don't look at the back of his head)

See, no more hair in his eyes!

Great Gandma

2011-08-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

Got the chance to swing by and visit Great Grandma on our whirlwind trip down to Portland. This is the best photo I have unfortunately (blame Michele, I sure do)

Soggy Booty

2011-07-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

So not only is Porter refusing to be spoon fed because he now wants to feed himself, he also insists on feeding me. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that he also seems to think I can't handle the Veggie Booty unless it has been pre-moistened with his own saliva before he shoves it in my mouth. Yum.

The Tooth, The Tooth!

2011-05-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

Can you see it? It doesn't look like much but the damn thing is sharp, for real.

Cutting Teeth

2011-05-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

Porter's first tooth has started coming through which might help to explain his increased level of crankiness over the last few days. Hurray!

This Can't Be Good...

2011-05-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

Porter's been standing up like this for about a week now. There's the occasional crash to the floor, thankfully he usually hits the rug or is caught instead of finding the hardwood, but he's getting better all the time. I fear that unassisted walking is right around the corner, and then there's going to be a whole host of new things to get into trouble with.

Hi Ya!

2011-04-19T23:16:00.000-07:00

This face just makes me laugh every single time I see it, and I'm seeing it a lot these days. Looks even funnier from this angle. He's sucking in his bottom lip, exposing his upper gums, and snorting his nose all at once.

Lap of Luxury

2011-04-03T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hopefully the five star accommodations don't go to the boy's head. Anyway, we're back from Portland, safe and sound. A return visit to PA is lined up for next weekend followed by Spokane the weekend after that. Once all that's behind us it'll be decision time for Michele.

Six Months

2011-03-28T20:36:00.001-07:00

Little monsters for the little monster.

Beyond Cereal

2011-03-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

Porter seems to at least tolerate the strained peas. Actually liking them, I don't know that we're there yet.

So Close to Crawling

2011-03-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

Right now the little monster seems to only be able to move in reverse, until reaching an obstacle that is. No forward gears but I get the feeling that he'll figure that one out very soon.

The Jig Is Up

2011-03-07T20:24:00.000-08:00

The boy figured out that bathwater doesn't have to be a disappointment. So much for dry shirts.

Porter Eats!

2011-02-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

Here are a few videos taken with my cell phone of Porter doing stuff.

The first is Porter talking. Well, mostly me talking. The first 8 seconds are the best part- he makes some adorable faces.

Here is the 1st time we fed Porter rice cereal.

And here's a more recent video of the eating phenomenon. As you can see, it is harder for us than for him.

Porter is doing great. He had his 4 month well child check and is still quite a robust guy. He had no troubles with his 2nd set of shots. He is rolling over both ways right now and has slept through the night a couple of times (of course, not on work nights, but I'm not going to complain too much...).

In other news, Sean and I are considering job offers. We had a lovely time in Port Angeles and have a few more interviews next month (in Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, and Portland). We are going to make a decision in April. We'll keep you posted!

Starting on Solids

2011-02-19T09:50:00.000-08:00

The P-Monster's nearly 5 months old now and he's started hitting the rice cereal every couple of days. So far it's going pretty well except that he really wants to grab that spoon so I find myself trying to pin his arms with one hand and hit his constantly moving mouth hole with the other. Pretty funny stuff.

Four Months

2011-01-25T21:20:00.000-08:00

Porter hit the four month mark today. He's doing well and has a new cousin just around the corner(literally) as of a week ago. That's right, Jeff and Kate had a baby boy as well. He showed up two weeks early and his name is Axel.

Look Who's Doing What

2011-01-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

We were in Port Angeles for a couple nights so Michele could go to an interview(a story for another time perhaps since I'm really tired at the moment). This is what happened the night we got there:

Porter started rolling over for real. He rolled over once before but Michele thinks that was a fluke since we were all on the bed and she believes that I somehow manipulated the mattress to make him roll over. This time it counted for real, I don't think I'm quite heavy enough to manipulate the hotel floor like that anyway.

Let's Not Forget Kayla

2011-01-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

My mom brought my twelve year old(nearly thirteen she'll have you know) niece up from Portland as well.

Four Generations

2011-01-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

Hot on the heels of Kathy's visit my mom was back in town again, this time with my grandmother in town for the all important four generations photo. In all our glory, the oldest and youngest members of my mom's side of the family, three and a half months up to nearly ninety six years.

That's One Christmas Down

2010-12-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

Owls, the kid is surrounded by owls. On the walls, above his bed, printed on his bed and now this giant plush one. He seems to sure love them, as you can see here, but let's be honest for a second, owls are creepy. They're predators of the night, stealthily and silently killing all sorts of little creatures. Oh well, it's cool, I kinda like 'em too.

Anyway, Tuesday was Kathy's last day with us, Porter and I dropped her at the train station and she was off. In about another four hours from now she'll be back in Canton. If you're struggling with the math, that's 53ish uninterrupted hours of Amtrak's finest service. I'm glad she was able to visit us this year and got to meet her grandson. We'll miss her and look forward to her next visit, likely to occur somewhere other than Seattle.

Porter Meets His Other Grandma

2010-12-23T08:21:00.000-08:00

Michele's mom, Kathy, has made the trip out from Ohio for Christmas. She got her on the 21st and will be here until the 28th. On top of that, Michele starts a nice four day weekend today so we'll all get to play together for a while. Merry Christmas everybody!

Flying Solo

2010-12-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

So, Michele's been back at work for a couple of weeks now leaving me to care for our kid on my own. I don't mean to blow my own horn or anything but I think I'm pretty damn good at it. Anyway, to help with the transition, my mom came out from Arizona for a little bit to help with the transition. The most important part of her being here was as a safety net as I found my routine, what I need to be thinking about at different times during the day, how I get my normal stuff done without neglecting my child too much, etc. As an added bonus, mom made dinner every night while she was here, dinners that conformed quite nicely to my diet no less. She left yesterday just before noon and I'm feeling pretty good about how it all went. Smooth sailing from here on out, right?

Thanks mom, I got it from here.

Updates Away!

2010-12-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

Things are starting to get exciting(like they weren't already) with the boy. He's regarding his hands all the time, he'll turn them over and clasp them together right in front of his face, looking a little cross eyed the whole time. He's smiling all the time and Michele and I are starting to figure out things we can do to trigger those smiles. Just in the last couple days he's started to grasp things that are within his reach, still not the easiest thing for him to pull off but it's pretty cool nonetheless.

Also, Brandon came over Sunday and graciously took a bunch of pictures for us, I'm still in the process of sorting through them but I'll put the best ones up somewhere soon. On a related note, Brandon's wife Crystal is at the hospital right now in labor with their own kid. Is it just me or is everyone having kids right now?

2 months old

2010-11-29T15:42:00.000-08:00

Porter is 2 months old now. He had his well child check today and everything seems to be great. He is fatter and taller than most kids his age. His head is so big that it is off the charts compared to kids worldwide and in the 94th percentile compared to american babies (I think he has his dad to thank for that...). He got his first set of shots, and it was most definitely more traumatic for his mother than for him. He cried for maybe 2 minutes. I know that will change as he gets older. And we still have the whole night ahead of us.

I go back to work tomorrow. Sean also goes to work! He'll be taking care of Porter full time, which we both agree will be a tiring but fulfilling job.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

2010-11-25T22:10:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately the outfit got puked on before we could make it to dinner, but at least I got a picture before it's retirement.

Porter speaks!

2010-11-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

Porter has been talking a lot lately. Here is a video where we discuss such important topics as the snow and his cuteness.

Snow Day

2010-11-22T16:04:00.001-08:00

Porter got his first exposure to snow today. I don't think he really cares much but it was kind of a big deal for Michele and I. Maybe not a big deal, but a deal nonetheless.

Smiles, For Reals!

2010-11-22T11:07:00.000-08:00

Only one day after waxing about how hard it is to catch a smile I'm lucky enough to get the real thing on film(or flash memory as the case may be). Two months old in only a couple more days.

Elusive Smiles

2010-11-21T16:43:00.000-08:00

So, the boy's been smiling more and more lately, but never long enough to really get a good picture of it. Every time he starts smiling and I whip out the camera, he stops just before I can capture it. This is the closest I've gotten.

Porter Meets His Uncle

2010-11-20T21:29:00.000-08:00

Pat made it up yesterday to see his new nephew and stay the night. He's gone now and hopefully didn't leave too much of an influence on my kid. Can you believe he actually thinks he can make my boy a Raiders fan? I couldn't give two shits about football but I'm going to make Porter into a 49ers fan just out of spite. Seriously though, it was good to see Pat and I was really happy to see him and my boy together.

Just Visiting

2010-11-13T23:31:00.001-08:00

John, Eithne, and Atticus have been in town for the last week. It's been a good visit, unfortunately they head back to Detroit tomorrow. Hopefully we'll live closer together in the future and won't have to wait a year plus between get togethers(it turns out we're all thinking seriously about the 'nix as on option right now).

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T17:25:00.001-07:00

From my lil' skeleton boy.

One Month (Almost to the Minute)

2010-10-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

Well, Michele, Porter, and I have made it through the first 30 days without any major incidents, unless of course you count that the kid keeps a pair of hair trigger loaded weapons in his pants. Doesn't look dangerous, does he?

On the plus side, we seem to be getting closer to a bit of a pattern where he will do the lions share of his sleeping during the night. Not all nights are working out so well of course, last night for example consisted of a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth much to my disappointment. At the moment however he is sleeping quite soundly and that's just about right by me.

Porter and His Seven Ackbars

2010-10-02T00:09:00.000-07:00

So not long after Porter was born there was a lot of doc talk that was taking place all around me. This is how things normally go with Michele around, she and the doc will talk in their own secret code and Michele will decipher everything for my benefit. However, with Michele in her post delivery state I was not getting the interpretation. There was a lot of talk about his Apgar score and what it was at 1 and 5 minutes. Anyway, what I heard was Ackbar and I just kept imagining my boy with the admiral that led the Rebel Alliance against the Death Star in Return of the Jedi. So, later while sitting in our hospital room I worked up a Photoshopped image of what I was seeing in my head.

May I present Porter and his seven Ackbars:

Welcome to the World My Boy

2010-09-26T16:48:00.001-07:00

Porter was born last night at 10:59. At the time of birth he weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and measured 19 inches long. Both Porter and Michele went through the wringer last night(and me a little too) but everyone's doing fine and we'll all be headed home soon enough.

The Biggest Misadventure to Date

2010-04-24T15:37:00.001-07:00

This is Porter:

Michele and I found out that she was pregnant at the beginning of the year. As of right now she's just shy of 20 weeks and due in early/mid September. We found out we were having a boy last Friday and named him Porter. While I actually couldn't give a shit if we have a boy or girl, I've had a boy's name picked out for the last 4 1/2 years. Char, our lovely elderly neighbor from Phoenix, used to tell me all about her husband Porter. He sounded like a good and decent man and I instantly fell in love with the name. On Sunday I told her the news and she wholeheartedly endorsed Michele and I using the name(not that we really needed the endorsement). Anyway, Michele's wrapping up residency in a few months and headed into fellowship while I finish my education in the middle of August. The timing couldn't be better for Porter to come along. I'm getting more excited by the day.

i know, i know...

2009-06-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

i don't post anything for months, and then twice in one day!

i went on a bird walk today with the audobon society and saw my first owl, ever. i know they aren't rare, or anything, but i was beside myself. i made sean go back with me later so we could check in on them.

here are two baby barred owls. their parents are somewhere close by. i saw one of the adults earlier today but couldn't find it when we went back.

a visit from mom

2009-06-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

it has once again been awhile since i've blogged. it was a very busy winter and spring. i'm happy to say that my schedule gets more and more manageable by the month. july is going to be rough, but then it appears to be smooth sailing for the rest of residency.

i recently had vacation and my mom came to visit. it was her first time ever to seattle and our first visit since i graduated from med school. since we stuhldreher descendants are "nervous" travelers, my mom took the train here, enjoying the 3 days of scenery from her sleeper car.

i was somewhat anxious about the agenda as my mom has particular tastes. the only 2 things she wanted to do were go to pike place market and go on the seattle underground tour. given that her visit lasted 7 days, that left approximately 6 days and 22 hours of time to fill.

all in all, we had a good time. we did some touristy things. i've lived here for 2 years and just managed to go on my first duck tour. Sean and mom toured the seattle underground. we ate out a lot. we took a 2 day trip to the peninsula, reminding me just how much i love port angeles and olympic national park. i saw several harbor seals from our waterfront hotel. i played blackjack for the first time ever and lost 20 bucks in the process. we went to forks and rialto beach, seeing lake crescent along the way.

here are some pictures from the trip, in no particular order.

hurricane ridge, one of my most favorite places.

lunch at the red door in fremont. do you see us in the mirror?

jenga and asti spumanti, a perfect combination.

in the elwah valley.

sean enjoying the ediz hook with port angeles and the olympics in the background.

a monkfish at the market.

we all suck at golf, it turns out.

mom and the troll.

feeling nervous about the amphibious nature of the ducks.

bye, bye.

winter in seattle

2009-01-04T16:13:00.001-08:00

the snow, which has been well documented by now, was quite crazy. of course, it was no worse then the average winter day in, say Minnesota, but we got pretty excited. our road made a pretty good sled hill, it turns out.

here's the neighborhood pup, roxie. she was so cute, chasing everyone down the hill.

here's sean (the red blur) snowboarding. too bad the light wasn't better. the white blur is roxie chasing after him.

christmas came and went. i had the day off, which was great, but i was on call that weekend. we spent christmas evening with sean's aunt and her family eating calzone made from scratch.

here's sean trying out his new tripod on xmas morning.

sean got me a karaoke game for the wii. here he is, singing away...

sean got me jenga for christmas. i know, i'm like 10 years late, but it is quite fun. we had a quiet new years with rachel at our place. we played jenga and then scrabble. sean was in bed by 10. i fell asleep on the couch at 1130.

i hope everyone has a happy and peaceful 2009!

it has been awhile

2008-11-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

since i've posted. i've been back in seattle for 2 months- one where i was crazy busy and one where i worked nights so my sleep schedule was wacko (and still is, hence why i'm blogging now instead of sleeping...).

part of my blogging problem is that sean pretty much details everything we do on his blog within minutes of its happening (especially now with his "work" phone). so when i am inspired to blog, he's usually beat me to it.

anyway, last tuesday was sean's birthday. i only saw him for 1 hour before i had to go to work. thankfully, we both had this weekend off, which was great. yesterday we went to check out the salmon spawning on the cedar river in renton. here is sean wearing the special polarized glasses for better viewing. the salmon in cedar river are at the end of their run, so there were very few left.

today was my birthday and we spent most of the day with rachel. we went to eat and then had tasty cupcakes and ice cream.

we went looking for salmon today at piper's creek in carkeek park, but apparently they don't arrive until next weekend.

we had a fun trip to walla walla earlier this month. we drove through some of the remaining parts of washington we haven't already visited, like potholes and palouse falls. sean already posted a bunch of pictures from the trip, but here are some of my favorites.

here are some cows we encountered on the trail. they kind of freaked me out (big surprise). the big one in the front mooed at us. sean wanted me to pose with them, but its one of the few times that i actually rode faster than him on a mountain bike trail.

here's one of the lakes in potholes near othello. i saw sandhill cranes not terribly far from here.

this is downriver from palouse falls. so pretty. it would be awesome to canoe here.

the palouse from inside the car.

well, i'd better try to get some sleep. work awaits in a few short hours. its raining cats and dogs right now which will probably cause me to wuss out of riding to clinic tomorrow. we'll see...

don't forget to vote!! its almost over!

home for the weekend

2008-08-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

i had a 3 day weekend so i went home. i took the ferry at sunset, which was quite pretty.

saturday we rode our bikes to the zoo. i haven't been to a zoo on purpose since i was in college (and forced to go for an anthropology course). my feelings about zoos have changed somewhat since my militant vegan days. i used to think that they all should be closed, no discussion. now i realize there is almost no black and white. about anything.

i used to think animals were better off in their own habitat, regardless of the fact that many zoo animals' lives are arguably healthier than they would be in the real world.

now i think that reputable zoos have animals' best interests in mind, which is good, since no one else does. it would seem that the way things are going, zoos will become the only places we'll see polar bears, african cats, frogs, etc... this makes me very sad.

this is coming from someone who can't watch nature shows. i can't handle poachers killing lions. i can't handle lions killing gazelles. i can't handle lions starving to death because there are no gazelles. i can't handle that there are no gazelles because there is no water. i can't handle that there is no water because the climate is changing because of us. and on and on.

anyway- here's a funny picture of me, sean, a tapir, and some family.

sunday i drove back to port angeles. i didn't have to wait at all for the ferry, which was great. sean would have had a super long wait had he come here instead.

across the hood canal yet again

have a good week!

i saw a bear yesterday

2008-08-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

and i was very excited.

i went to hurricane ridge after work. the road is quite scary, especially now that it is under construction and covered in loose gravel. i hiked as much of the short, paved hurricane hill trail as i could before it got dark. i spent a lot of time looking in the meadows with binoculars and finally saw a black bear wandering around. very cool. i also saw lots of deer and a flock of flickers.

here's a bunch of pictures from the evening. it is so beautiful here!

halfway done

2008-07-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

today is the halfway point of my time on the peninsula. because of housing issues, i've ended up going home the past 2 weekends, and haven't had as much exploratory time as i'd expected.

taking the 6 am ferry back to sequim on monday morning. who would've thought you'd get decent coffee on public transportation?

sean is coming to visit for the weekend. not sure what we'll do but potential items on the itinerary before i'm done include:

1. ferry to victoria
2. rafting the elwah
3. camping at the hoh
4. backpacking into the lowlands of olympic (i doubt i'll convince him to do this...)
5. renting kayaks and going into the strait (i doubt i'll convince myself to do this...)

we've had some fun adventures so far. we went to lake ozette, a place sean has wistfully spoken of multiple times. we went hiking in the elwah. we went hiking/biking at the middle fork of the snoqualmie river.

we went to one of the local wineries and enjoyed their view.

i got to be in a sailboat race- my first time ever on a sailboat. sean was quick to point out that the boat wasn't that big and that we didn't actually go that fast. nevertheless, i was still afraid and excited. it was very cool. you see, i have very little boat experience. i've been in a canoe, on a few ferries, in 1 whitewater raft, and on a dinner cruise into beautiful lake erie (that made me sicker than a dog!). sean and his family have lots of boat experience. oh well. you have to start somewhere.

i like the spinnaker part. my only "job" during the race was to frantically pull it in to avoid getting it wet. i took this job very seriously.

my feet! again!! perhaps pictures of my feet will be my trademark. like the pictures sean always takes of himself riding.

my trademark. clever.

his trademark. nerd!!

pretty.

i've gone on a few bike rides. here's the cool train bridge.

it is lovely here. going back and forth to seattle has really helped me experience and enjoy the contrasts. while home last weekend, we went to the boring- oops, i meant boeing plane museum and to the art museum and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of downtown. we went to the seafood festival in ballard where i saw more people on 1 square block then i encounter in one week here. both are good things. i'm lucky to have this experience.

sean at SAM

nobody in sequim

alone on the peninsula

2008-07-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

today i went to the elwah valley of olympic national park. sean and i went there years ago and i have been itching to go back.

it was a gorgeous day to go hiking. of course, my choice of trail was influenced by my fears of being eaten by a cougar (to my credit, there were signs everywhere saying not to hike alone, you're in cougar country, etc...) and driving on dirt roads. so i stayed close to the main road and went hiking along the river. all i could hear was the roaring of water and the creaking of trees. i didn't see anyone on the trail.

pretty waterfall

pretty tree canopy

pretty trail

i got back to sequim with several hours left in the day, so i went to the dungeness spit for a little walk. it was crazy windy, so i only spent about an hour there. i was surprised to see a lot of people braving the weather.

i have to admit that the beach bores me after about five minutes (unless there are tidepools or exciting animals to observe). i feel, though, that i need to make the 5 mile hike to the lighthouse at the end of the spit before i leave. today was not that day.

tomorrow my man comes. hopefully he'll get here sooner than we both think, because i miss him like crazy.

sequim-ish?

2008-07-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

6 days in sequim, spent mostly in the confines of my retro motel room. salish it ain't.

the two of you who read this already know about my incident on the way over. my trip was great- with the exception of having to pay an overhead fee for my bike. once i found this out, it was too late to do anything because i had too much crap in the car and not enough time to situate the bike in it. a certain someone told me it would be just fine where it was. harummph.

little did i know that this was just the beginning of my bike troubles.

i was in the same class as this crazy truck. can you even see my car?

anyway, the ferry was fine, i read my david sedaris book and laughed out loud lots of times. i drove over the scary bridge, into town, and straight to the clinic. i had some orientation, then went to my accommodations. on the way to parking my car, i drove right under the awning.

which ding do you think is mine?

anyway, the bike appears fine. the rack is fine. the car isn't- thankfully no broken glass. so sean is taking it to the mainland for repair and leaving me with the element. we may need to take yuri's advice and get a hitch mount.

i only worked one day and then had the long weekend off. because i am an idiot, i had to drive to olympia on thursday to get a current copy of my medical license. turns out you need that to do certain stuff, like seeing patients and writing prescriptions. anyway, the drive was lovely, along the coast.

sean came for the weekend and we had fun. he rode some crazy trail. he and i rode around town and found a beautiful park involving an olde tyme train bridge.

we went to some tidepools. i LOVE tidepools. i'm sure sean would rather pull out his fingernails then hang out at them, at least for the amount of time i require. i didn't grow up near the ocean, and find them fascinating.

we saw a bald eagle getting its ass kicked by a crow.

we went to the spit. upon arrival, it started raining (in the town that gets 12 inches of rain a YEAR) and got all foggy, so we left. went to walmart twice. haven't been since kirksville, have now been there several times.

we went to hurricane ridge today. it was still too snowy to hike there, but it was nice to see the mountains.

i did join the SARC ( for those alias fans out there, i'm not searching for a rambaldi artifact...). it has an enormous olympic size pool with exactly one lane for lap swimming. in any case, i can't remember the last time i swam for fitness. after about 30 minutes i felt like an enormous piece of jello. now i'm "home".

i'll try to post a little more frequently these next two months, while i'm lonely and with internet.

ciao for now.

spok-tacular!

2008-06-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

its been a glorious couple months. 2 months of easy rotations with weekends off followed by a mini vacation.

my intern year is now officially over and i am considered a "senior resident". its sort of the same feeling i had at the transition between medical school and residency. yesterday i was a lowly intern. today i am a senior. i feel no different or smarter, yet the job changes.

great friends came to visit and we had fun. i didn't realize how much i missed john and eithne until i saw them. it was just like old times. we stayed up late, drank too much wine, hackeysacked a little. i hope we see them again relatively soon.

here they are at pike place mark.

we've definitely gotten rusty. but still- ski jumps, beaver shots, and leaping stags abounded.

we just got back from spokane. sean and i went there for the weekend and stayed at our friend's parents' house. it was my first time back in almost 2 years. we ate at my favorite restaurant, gordy's. it hasn't changed a bit. which is good and bad, i guess. spokane in general hasn't changed since we moved there 11 years ago.

we went riding a few times in the park where i learned. it was so refreshing to be in open space. i encountered less then 10 people over the course of 3 different bike rides. of course, my mountain bike skills continue to regress. i walked things i used to ride and continued to walk things i used to walk. i'm at a place now, though, where i really don't care. i'm not trying to impress anyone with my riding. i just want to have a good time. and i did!

spokane is always on the short list of places to live when sean and i grow up. after visiting, its higher on my list. we'll see.

mmm... butter.... (note my feeble attempts to utilize picassa's tools)

cool barn.

tomorrow i start back to work. i'm going to sequim, wa for 2 months. i have to go on a ferry AND drive on the world's longest floating bridge in a saltwater tidal basin all by myself to get there. i'm looking forward to it (except for the driving, ferry, and floating bridge), but i'll miss jub jub tremendously. i'll miss sean, too.

check out that tongue.

well, i'd better get packing. come see me on the beautiful olympic peninsula.

intubating ferrets and the trauma of trauma.

2008-05-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

its been a challenging month for me. i spent 2 weeks on the trauma team at the largest center for many, many miles. lots of grossness and stress. these were people who were just living their lives until some very bad, bad thing brought them my way. their stories were varied, from mundane to unbelievably spectacular, from just plain stupid to tragic. i can see why people like trauma, but i know its not for me.

i then spent 2 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit. on the first day, i had to intubate ferrets in an attempt to get a feel for intubating a neonate. having now done both, i can say the ferrets are quite different.

i don't ever want to be on the receiving end of either service.

now life is calmer and i have a lovely outpatient month with most weekends off. i couldn't be happier. sean's dad is coming to visit soon. hopefully other friends are coming to visit as well. the weather is gorgeous.

here's jub jub, trying to help with taxes.

check this out- likely my biggest claim to fame.

Post Call

2008-03-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

just woke up after my first call night on the family medicine service, a seemingly schizophrenic combination of obstetrics, pediatrics, and adult medicine. there's nothing like running from a delivery to admit a 90 year old with heart failure then running back to examine the new baby. oh, and then another delivery, another baby, followed by some pneumonia. although combining moms, babies, and adults is, like, the whole point of family medicine, it is very challenging to combine them seamlessly in real life. delivering babies has yet to be an even remotely unextrordinary experience.

it is so good, though, to be back on days. last weekend my sleep was so screwy that we got up at 3 am and went to the crazy local 24 hr breakfast joint, Beth's. there was the typical combination of drunk people singing Sweet Caroline at the top of their lungs (bop! bop! bahhhhh! good times never seemed so good!...), crazy people who were totally annoyed by the drunk people, and greasy, greasy food.

note the gentleman in the background. he was wearing a top hat, cummerbund, and pirate shirt.

sean, being a good sport about the whole thing.

then we went to watch the sunrise and i saw a sea otter!!!! so exciting! you see it, don't you?

here's jub jub ignoring ira.

Nights Suck.

2008-02-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

i have a new found respect for my aunts and uncles back home who have spent their entire careers working midnights and swingshifts. i've been working 5:30 pm-7:30 AM for the past 2 weeks, and it is very disorienting. i haven't seen sean, or daylight, for that matter. i feel like i've been run over by a truck. my ongoing cold isn't helping. i have today off. i got to see sean last night, a belated valentine's day. we went to an early dinner and opened one of our fancier bottles of wine. he's gone now. skiing in canada with star. i'm jealous.

something that doesn't suck is truffle salt. i had this for the first time at the pike brewing company with radishes and butter. although my dinner mates (sean, his mom, and his grandmother) were less impressed, i found it to be a sublime combination. it is ridiculously expensive, but i did indulge in a jar from whole foods. the ingredients are salt, truffles, and 5% truffle flavor. i have no idea what 5% truffle flavor means, or how this percentage is determined. would 7% be too much? in any case, it is a tasty, tasty item.

99 bottles of wine on the wall...

2007-12-26T09:15:00.000-08:00

sean rarely follows my carefully laid out christmas lists to acquire my gifts. this year was no exception. I asked for the Food and Wine 2008 Guide To Wine. instead i got this:

which is awesome. the exterior is made of eco-friendly, beautiful bamboo and the inside is made of delicious, anti-oxidant containing grapes. he chose a range of reds- zins (my new faves, thanks to tim and lucy), merlots, cabs, varietals, etc... he also provided a range of "quality". charles shaw is well represented, along with a few bottles i will reserve for special occasions (a rombauer zin and a l'ecole 41 table wine). all and all a very sweet and thoughtful gift. however, if you find me brown-bagging it underneath a bridge sometime in the future, you might think back to this day.

i got him a video game. and some underwear.

we were in a similar predicament as thanksgiving- i worked late and sean apparently was banking on grocery stores being open all night. of course they weren't, and we have no food at home. we ended up at a chinese buffet- quite surreal. it was very busy with all sorts of people. the food was as i remember chinese buffets to be- greasy and salty. sean did well for himself, eating a large portion of a roast beast on display.

i'm in the intensive care unit right now. our patients are, as the name implies, critically ill. it was so sad watching families visit their loved ones yesterday. being there makes me so thankful for my good health and that of my family.

jub jub says happy holidays to you all!

by request

2007-11-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

should jub jub have a brother?

i'm just not sure. she seems so happy with this big house to herself, but she gets SO excited when ira comes to the window...

thanksgiving

2007-11-25T19:59:00.000-08:00

thanksgiving started early for me- in the cafeteria of the children's hospital for a traditional dinner at 1 AM. i was on call and up all night, so i slept most of the day away once i got home. i felt bad for keeping sean from celebrating, but when i finally got up, he was sleeping on the couch. it was surprising how little was open, so thai food it was. i keep thinking back to 1 year ago- making thanksgiving dinner for eithne, john, a brand-new atticus, and their family. i miss my people!

we went riding today in anacortes, north of whidbey island. it started out well enough- pleasant drive, beautiful weather, lovely lake- but, as usual, the trail got the best of me. as it turns out, i totally suck at mountain biking. this particular trail just had too many obstacles** for me. regardless, it was fabulous to be outside on a gorgeous day whether riding or hiking with a totally awkward and not helpful walking stick (i.e. bike).

here i am, apparently about to fall.

here's my person. he took this photo of himself, apparently. probably killing time waiting for me to catch up.

i do want to get better, as i have such a great time when i know the trail. someday...

**obstacles for me include the following, in no particular order: climbs, downhills, turns, rocks, gravel, roots, leaves, wetness of any sort, other people on the trail, sean, mud, sand, heights, my gears, being overly hot, and being overly cold.

time flies

2007-11-09T11:12:00.001-08:00

i've spent the last month in clinic and lecture with few weekend or evening obligations. these are the final couple days before the reality of internship returns. i'm somewhat torn. i'm definitely weary of sitting in a classroom feeling like a student again, but i'm not so psyched about returning to the world of q 4 call and medical decision making. in any case, my ambivalence is irrelevant, as time marches on.

it has been fun getting to know my 7 fellow interns. we have vastly different experiences and interests, no big surprise. i wouldn't say we're best friends, but we're certainly congenial enough.

i invited the whole clan over last night, only a few came. i made some food, had plenty of wine available. i felt quite vulnerable opening my house and cooking for new people, something that had previously been very calming and fun for me. making friends is hard! sean was a champ, chatting people up, showing folks how to play the wii. we played a game that tests intelligence, and i scored only slightly better than a ten year old. that was post wine, mind you, but still... sean, of course, beat all of the doctors in the room by a significant margin.

sounds like sean and i are headed to vashon island for some biking tomorrow if it doesn't rain too much...

salmon in seattle

2007-11-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

we went to see salmon spawning in piper's creek at carkeek park today. what a strange thing to observe. the natives probably don't find it unusual, but i sure did. rarely do urban folks get to witness wildlife in their natural environment on such a large scale.

the salmon are just starting to spawn at this particular site, and already there were several carcasses in various states of decay. i can't imagine what its gonna look like (and smell like) there in a month or so. we saw a couple who were really active and pushing upstream. i kept asking sean questions about the whole thing, but he didn't really seem to know. i guess all of his childhood field trips to the hatcheries didn't really leave an imprint.

it was interesting and quite sad to watch all of these animals at the end of their lives. sean took A LOT of pictures, but this is by far the coolest...

my man

2007-10-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

that's him, alright.

today is sean's birthday. he's 31 years old now. we started dating when he was 20 (!), not even old enough to imbibe. i remember his 21st birthday well, watching sean order his first legal drink. he didn't even get carded, probably because of his grizzly adams-esque beard.

in any case, today's the day, and i wanted him to have a good time. last year's birthdays weren't so great. little cat died right before sean's birthday, and sprout died right after mine. jub jub has agreed to remain well for at least the next week.

it started out well for him because he sold his commuter bike on craigslist. now he gets to experience the romanticized affair that is getting yet another new bike. i've watched him do this a few times now. its cute until it becomes totally annoying.

For sean's big day, i bought him a wii. it is so ridiculous. he'd much rather have a PS3, but i just can't bring myself to do it. plus, at least with the wii, we'll burn some calories while we waste our lives away. he's "bowling" as i blog.

we went to a lovely little downtown restaurant for dinner. he wanted well-prepared seafood, so i did some research and found a place that i'd hoped would fit the bill. he said it was good. i tried to make him a cheesecake, but it totally failed. turns out our oven is a good 100 degrees hotter than the dial reads. sean apparently knew this, but forgot to mention it until the burnt cheesecake made itself known to the world.

4 months in seattle

2007-10-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

sean and i have lived in seattle now for 4 months. i've just completed my 4th month of residency. after 4 months of working pretty hard, i now have a month of mostly clinic and lectures with no call and no weekends. it is a great feeling to have 2 days off in a row!

residents, myself included, spend a lot of time bitching about how much we work. the reality, of course, is that we signed up for this, and are actually paid pretty well. i try to be mindful of what life was like before the 80 hour work week, because it seems so hard to manage now!

i'm feeling thoughtful about living in this new city. seattle is somewhat familiar to me from our multiple visits while living in spokane. i didn't know it well- just enough to navigate myself to rachel's house in capitol hill, and of course, to ikea. four months living here, and i still haven't really figured out my surroundings. we've found a handful of decent restaurants, gone to several parks, explored a little bit by bike. i've found the local food rainbow (much closer than in phoenix, thank god...). i've yet to find a middle eastern restaurant or a good breakfast joint. i haven't been to the art museum.

most significantly, we haven't really made any friends! sean has some folks from work we've hung out with a couple of times, but that's it. i haven't made friends with my co-residents yet. i'm hoping this will evolve over this month as we're essentially seeing each other for the first time, really, since orientation.

i really miss my medical school friends, and keeping in touch has been hard. everyone has busy schedules, and we are all over the country. i was the member of a very tight-knit group of people. we saw each other for literally hours everyday. we got on each other's nerves frequently, but also laughed and cried and had great conversations and generally challenged one another. it was great. a circumstance not likely to happen again.

missing them has made the transition to a new place more difficult. i am so thankful that sean is happy and successful. we are in a beautiful, green, lush, progressive place that i should embrace. and i will, dammit. i just need to find some good felafel first...

Ahh, Pediatrics...

2007-10-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

So i am 4 days from the end of my 1st month of peds, and all had been going well, illness wise, that is. I was nervous because my two previous months of peds, during my 3rd and 4th years of medical school, led to week long illnesses, the flu my first year, and a wicked sinus infection my 2nd. However, the more time that passed, the more confident i was feeling about making it through. i mean, i only had 4 days to go! i got a little nervous when my co-intern came down with something last week, but i made it several days past the onset of her illness without feeling a thing. i thought i was golden.

then i had my last call night, this past thursday. at around 10 pm i started feeling not so good, belly-wise. then, catastophically, during the interview of a family with a sick toddler, i had to make a quick exit. it was a bit of a blur, but i somehow made it in time to the nearest rest room, and proceeded to puke my guts out. it didn't get any better from there. poor sean picked me up from work and had to pull over twice on my behalf. of course, both times, he pulled over on very busy streets, lined with bars and hipsters. so, fellow seattle residents, if you happened to witness someone barfing out of a honda element, sorry. pride takes a backseat to puke, as it turns out.

i'm feeling slightly better now, but worried about my 2nd month of peds, which is coming right up...

a blogger is born

2007-10-04T22:12:00.000-07:00

so i've contemplated blogging for some time, but have been held back by my general slothfulness, as well as the nagging notion that blogging is inherently selfish- why would people want to read about me or my thoughts of the day? but i've enjoyed reading sean's blog (at least the posts that aren't soley devoted to bike masturbation) and have decided to give it a go. i can't guarantee regularity, continuity, originality or creativity. i can, however, guarantee frequent pictures of jub jub, my kitty. and posts by sean, who is quite anxious to get this thing cooking.

cast of characters:

me- family medicine intern in seattle. a fish out of water currently.

sean- the person with whom i've joined forces, and generally the light of my life (when not waxing poetical about bike parts).

jub jub- aformentioned cat, the lone survivor of a mysterious liver ailment that killed her 2 peers, now living large with huge windows and flirtatious neighbor cats.

a multitude of others- you'll have to stay tuned...

Vacation

2007-09-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

Michele's Vacation started yesterday and now she's got a full week of nothing to look forward to. I scheduled Monday and Tuesday off so that we could at least get away a little bit. Right now we're staying in Forrest Grove, OR with my parents and later today we'll all head down to the beach to visit my grandfather.

Stay tuned because Michele's bound to get something up here sometime.

Why?

2007-09-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

Michele's been flirting with the blog idea for a while so I figured I'd give her a little nudge. If it doesn't work out than so be it but at least we can try. I pulled the name out of my ass and my lady may change it but it seems fitting to me the way our trips always seem to fall flat all the time.

Enjoy!(hopefully)