Niagara Falls

Ever since we first got wind that we would be living out on the east coast for a few years, JP has wanted to go see Niagara Falls.  When we moved out, we saw the highway exits, but with the giant moving truck and two restless pups crammed into the cab with us, it just wasn't the time.  So, when I got the bright idea that I would need my Oliver with me during my rotation in MN (I of course couched it as easing the pet responsibilities burden on JP, but let's be real, I need my furry pup boy around as much as possible thank you!) his first thought was "we can go see niagara falls on the way!".  So it's no surprise that our first long day of driving ended in just that place.

Now, if you know my family, you know we are suckers for a good deal.  Often at the expense of the actual reality of the situation, so it should come as no surprise that the budget lodging that I had booked was a gigantic flop.  Like the worst flop in the history of flops.  I seriously can't even describe how filthy the place was, the couch, which as far as I could tell used to be a red sort of floral pattern, was literally black in places, sinking in in the middle and reeked, just REEKED of cigarette smoke.  JP tried to stop me from going in to the bathroom because the laminate was peeling off the ground in every corner and the floor itself was really water damaged.  I almost smacked my face on a completely full sticky fly paper hanging from the ceiling.  Oh. my. word.  It was the most disgusting place I have ever seen, and of course we had just paid for it.  We looked at each other and through our eyes said, nope, I would rather lose the money and pay double for some place else rather than stay even one more minute here.  Luckily the guy, after trying to pawn a different room off on us, did refund our money.  How that place even exists is a mystery.  BUT that is the story of why we didn't get to see the falls that night, we were busy frantically calling all the hotels in the area, and then accidentally booking one in canada and having to cancel that, and the finally finding one in the good old u s of a.  We decided that the falls in the morning might suit us just fine.

And suit us just fine it did.  We got there at just the right timing some how.  We found a shady spot to park the car and eventually leave Oliver, but first the three of us tromped to a side overlook away from the crowds for our first glimpse.  We knew Oliver would want to see the magnificence, can you blame him?

Next we dropped O off and headed towards the main gates.  We stopped first to get a closer look at the falls from above to see where the boat would be taking us.  We even wrangled a passer-by to take our photo.

The view was just breathtaking, and the air so full of energy.

We got our boat tickets and just happened to walk up right as the line had dwindled, so our wait time was about ten minutes.  Behind us the line quickly stretched around and around.  We used those ten minutes to goof off in our giant blue tarpcoats of course.

But in all seriousness, the boat ride was very much worth the ridiculousness of participating in a giant tourist trap.  It was so humbling to be up close to the falls and be sprayed by the crushing water.  It was beautiful and scary and thrilling and mesmorizing.  I fully recommend it. 

So then we hit the dusty trail, with wind whipped water in our hair and an exuberant, waiting pup in the back seat. 

ahhhh vacation

Oh my, can I tell you how decadent my life has been since 10:30 yesterday morning when my Infectious Disease exams left my hand?  I haven't studied a single stitch of medicine.  Not one stitch.  I had two glasses of wine in the middle of the day, I went on a leisurely non-guilty walk with Oliver, I played video games with my boyfriend and I slept in until 9! (well really only 8, but I stayed in bed with my eyes closed until 9 just because I could!) That's the latest I have slept in in as long as I can remember.  I am going to a massage at 12:30, lunch date with the sister afterwards and a dinner date with the boy, the brother AND the sister.  After that my parents fly in, followed the next day by my little brother and we shall celebrate the holidays at a cabin on a lake.  VACATION is glorious, just glorious. 

Here is our little Christmas tree that I made while trying not to over study for my renal exams. If you look closely you can see a totoro ornament JP made!

I passed all my classes with flying colors, even my terrible, scary, heart-palpitation-inducing OSCE!  I feel lighter than I have in a long, long while.  SO glad/proud/relieved to have another semester behind me, and I really feel like I have learned a lot.  Now the impossible thing to believe is that I start my clinicals in just five months.  Yikes, it's so exciting! But right now it's time to celebrate the vacation on hand!

cheating

oh my.  I wrote the previous post over a week ago and it sat open in my browser the entire time, just waiting for me to upload the photos...but I still thought I should get credit for attempting to blog, and so I back published the date.  Haha, something only I would think to notice.  That should give you an indication of just how swamped life has been over here.  I am so fried that I don't even think I have uttered a coherent sentence all day.  I have been burning at both ends studying cardiology, and it is finally time for a break.  Woot!  I am so excited!  We had three exams yesterday and our final class of today was a timed/graded SOAP note for a patient with a complicated history and multiple co morbidities including two different types of cancer.  It was a rough one but I finished with one minute to spare...and then I realized I had forgotten to sign it as soon as I pressed send... ugh.  Oh well, you can't win them all! JP and I are headed out of town tomorrow for an international adventure to our neighboring country of Canada.  We are spending three nights in Montreal, hoping to wander around, eat tasty food and decompress.  Ahh it's going to be great! 

great diamond island

Midway through my second week and already I am dreaming of christmas vacation...  I suppose reliving last weekend will just have to suffice for now though.  Emily and I were lucky enough to stay at a beautiful house on Great Diamond Island on Saturday and Sunday.  Just a twenty min ferry ride away from Portland, we packed up yummy ingredients for a variety of meals, our swim suits and hats, books (both study variety and fun variety), art materials and the Oliver and had a little sister adventure.  My classmate's family owns the house and it just so happened that it was unoccupied, so we occupied it!  It was so nice to get away, and even though their house is right on the ocean with a perfect view of Portland, it felt like a different planet!  I was a terrible student, and we lounged around doing whatever we pleased.  This included swimming, swinging, ice cream eating, puppy playing, hot cocoa drinking, kayaking, mussling, nature viewing, and oh so much relaxation.  I both wish I could go there every weekend, and am glad that I can't because I would be so unproductive forever!  Luckily I didn't have too much to catch up on when I got back on Sunday night, and so I didn't feel too guilty for the break!  

 

Looking like professional ferry riders... no big deal

 

  

 

 O just likes to know what's going on...and then gets in the middle of it and licks it..

coming to a close

My, the past ten days have just flown on by.  It's hard to believe that I am starting my second semester of PA school in just a few short hours.  (and yes, if you are looking at the time, my first day starts at 1:00 and is a measly 2 hour orientation lecture)  Gotta ease into the routine slowly I think!  I think I might be apprehensive about starting again, just because of how different my two worlds of school vs vacation have been.  The truth is, I'm not the best at vacationing.  HAHA.  It's sad, but so true.  I get too angst-y and micro-manage-y, which is ridiculous in many ways, but ten days was a good amount of time for me and my sanity I think.  It certainly helped that the weather was mostly gorgeous, that my family was in town, and that I finally got out on a ferry ride to a near by island.  Joy!  Apprehension notwithstanding, I am excited about school too!  The nerd in me prevails, and first days are always kind of fun with new binders ready, pens and pencils gathered.  Although, I didn't really have to gather anything, I filed away my notes from last semester in my filing cabinet on my second day of break, and my fully prepared backpack has been hanging in the office ready in case I needed to learn anything at a moments notice..

Pictures from the sibling visit were kind of sparse on my end, but here are a few we managed to capture:

 Micah found a skate park super close to my house, so we checked it out.

Emily's car died on the way to Portland, so Micah and I went to rescue her... then the rescue car died as well.  We made the most of the situation and sat in the trunk of the car waiting for the okay to get back on the road.

Cooking at Joe's house...for some reason this is the only picture I have of the four of us.

I guess technically, that statement isn't true.  To the right of me, waaaay back on the stage is Joe playing at the Saddleback Bluegrass Festival.

1/6th of a PA!

Well folks, I did it.  The hellish last push that was finals weeks took a lot out of me but it's over now!!  Yesterday I slept until 8:40!!  It was like Christmas.  Felt amazing.  I happily spent the whole day cleaning and doing domestic things.  JP has been absolutely wonderful at keeping the house up, getting clothes cleaned and making sure I eat, but the last two weeks he was working crazy hours (like 3am-1:00pm for a website launch) and everything turned into a tornado disaster zone that our eyes just glazed over in order to ignore...  BUT yesterday I turned up some music and washed dishes and counters and did three loads of laundry..and that was also like christmas.  There is nothing like the lift of pressure that I now feel.  It sounds pretty silly, but whenever I was trying to wash dishes or do anything helpful towards our household during the semester, I was so stressed out about losing studying time, that I would rush through it and resent everything about it.  I know JP is super glad to have a partner back again, even if it's only for 10 days!

The grocery situation was getting dire...you can only eat so much hummus and probiotics..

In any case, it feels absolutely amazing to have my first semester of school behind me.  People from the program have said that the summer semester is like PA boot camp, and I am glad to be done with it.  I am actually super excited for the next semester!  I have learned SO MUCH, not the least of which includes learning that I can actually do this and succeed.  We are moving on to modules instead of a mis-match of classes that don't really relate to each other much.  By modules I mean when we do pulmonary, we learn everything pulmonary.  Pathology, drugs, presentation...etc.  All our classes focus on one thing, which will be a complete change of tune from summer, and I think works better with how I learn.  Plus I never have to step foot in a cadaver lab again, so that alone is worth it!

Just as dorky as ever...here I am practicing for my last final exam (a full physical on a "patient" classmate), playing the part of patient...with a stethoscope.

So, what am I going to do to fill all this beautiful free time?  My little brother flew in from Minneapolis last night!! True to form, we picked him up and went straight to a comedy club that had open mic last night.  It was a pretty ridiculous place, but Micah got up on stage and did great!  He works really hard on his stage presence and his jokes and timing, it's been so fun to witness his evolution from the first couple of times he went up to now.  Awwww.  In any case, the great sibling hang of 2012 is commencing in just a few short hours!!  Emily is arriving in Portland in time for lunch (even though she is in the midst of her own crazy grad school semester...no rest for the Walshes), and Joe is getting back in town later tonight.  We are going to a bluegrass festival for the weekend that Joe is playing in.  I found a great place for the pups to stay, and I'm super psyched for a little vacation!  Since I have to pack all of summer into these next few days, an outdoor festival seems like the perfect way to start!

..and then I went to Portland too!

As already mentioned, I did in fact get stranded on the East coast, but a quick thinking sister brainstorm got us on a bus to Maine by 2:00 that afternoon before it had even begun snowing. We thought a few steps further ahead when we went to a little deli on the outskirts of Chinatown and bought a wedge of gruyere cheese (mmm my favorite!), and shortie bottles of wine to bring on the bus to go along with the crackers that Erica thoughtfully sent with us. It was a tasty, decidedly unclassy kind of bus picnic.

The ride wasn't bad, and when we got to p-town around 9:00 Joe picked us up and we went straight to whole foods to get taco making supplies. Mmmm again. It was so nice to get in before the crazy blizzard that we woke up to the next morning! No planes were moving out for a few days for sure so we made the most of it and made enchiladas, desserts, ate goat cheese and of course made a Walsh staple: Arepas. Once the snow stopped falling I even made it to the University of New England to get more information about their PA program and to check out the campus, which is quite lovely with its New England charm. It was a little stressful to be away from home for so long right before the semester started, but if I had to be snowed in it was a great place to be stuck!

A snowy trek to the store to get baking supplies.

Famous Walsh rubber faces!

Sibling time!

DONE!

Oh I am done, done, done with this semester! What started out as a fairly manageable schedule somehow turned into a crumbling, falling apart semester in the last few weeks of the term. BUT none of that matters now because I can't change any outcomes and for better or worse (oh chemistry final that I probably bombed with flying colors) it is FINISHED. I am so excited to finally take a breath without feeling like I should be studying or making note cards. I have today and tomorrow off from work and I am going to fill the days with making decorations, finishing shopping, sewing, crafting, cleaning and hanging out. I have been so close to the end for a while now, and now I am just going to enjoy the season. Incidentally we aren't even having many of the symptoms of the season, and although Minnesota got a dumping blizzard of a weekend, we are basking in a high of 62 today. I've been a little happy that the cold weather has been holding off because it makes my commute to school that much better, but now that the 16 mile round trip by bike or scoot has been eliminated I am hoping for some snow before I leave for home!

Our first and only "snow" of the season...

In other news, I feel like I am finally settling into a routine at work. I am confident now, and am making friends with my co workers! It's a really hard job, but I do feel like I am making a difference in these people's lives, and that makes me feel good. One of my favorite patients is such a delightful hilarious old man who makes me laugh all the time. He reminds me so much of what I imagine my dad would be like if he were in that situation, commenting on everything, making jokes, getting dressed up in ironic t-shirts (my favorite says "cow pi" with a picture of the pi symbol in cow print) truly enjoying every one's presence and making the best of the situation. But, I could ramble on about work for a while and I won't bore you with that any more than I already have. Outside of work I am very much looking forward to celebrating my birthday (how on earth am I already 26?!), going home for christmas on the 25th with JP in tow and going to NYC in January for a bike & build reunion! I am just feeling very content and blessed at this moment for a lot of reasons. Things seem to be going well for many people that I love, and I am so excited for them too! I am happy to bid good riddance to the fall semester of 2010 and am looking forward to being almost, ALMOST done with undergrad requirements altogether!

portland, portland

I made it to p-land safe and sound, and have been eating wonderful homemade tastyness ever since! We made basil stuffed scallops with pasta the first night, and managed not to burn down Joe's new condo although we did set off the very loud and insistent fire alarm. Last night we made arepas and went out for pool and darts afterwards.

Our favorite filling includes queso fresco, avocado and fried plantains...so delicious.

Yesterday morning Em and I went to pilates and then met up with Joe for smoothies, eggs, hashbrowns and salad. Apparently Joe has a new tradition of salad at breakfast and Emily and I both agree that it is a nice addition to the meal! Yesterday afternoon Joe brought me to the recording studio to watch and hear the mixing of his soon to be released album. What little I heard sounds fantastic, and mixing songs is a really interesting thing! All in all, this visit will be a quick but much needed excursion. My bike has been delivered to the REI in Providence, and tomorrow I will be joining it there as well! In the mean time, here are a few pictures to make you all consider moving here:

and then it was May?!

I still can't believe it is already May! Things just keep trucking right along, don't they? June is now literally right around the corner. I've been collecting fellow bike riders to accompany my group for a day here and there on the road which has served to make me even more excited about the trip! On Thursday I had my last chemistry exam before the final and next Thursday is my final already! I can't believe this semester is drawing to a close. It feels like just a few weeks ago was registration and now I am trying to find classes for the fall!

Aside from my obligations in real life I've got to tell you about our vacation, which was amazing. There are few things nicer then vacations that involve boats, water, putt-putt golf, fresh seafood and family, and ours included all of these. Our first day was gorgeous, and although we had only gotten an hour and a half of sleep, we headed out on the boat for raw oysters and happy hour, beach tromping with the gang of dogs, crab racing and dolphin sightings! What a different scene then Denver! It was a good thing we got all those activities in early because the rest of the weekend was cloudy, tropical stormy, windy weather. I was a pretty happy camper though because I recently found out that Denver doesn't really get thunderstorms and they are one of my favorite things. With the weather as it was we were perfectly situated for exactly what we wanted in our vacation: lounging about, eating amazing food and playing wii sports. When the weather cooperated we got out for some putt-putt golf, shopping and ice cream breaks. We were completely spoiled by Judy and Jim, especially when it came to food. We ate and ate until we practically had to unbutton our pants. JP's sister Jess picked up some gluten free bread and brownies from the farmer's market for me and Judy had all sorts of snacks that I could eat waiting at the house when we arrived. We stopped at a fish market on the way from the airport and got enough fresh shrimp, craw fish, grouper to feed a small army. Last time we visited Jim made us some amazing steaks, he whipped them up again and they were just as delicious as I remembered. I feel like we ate our way through vacation, and it was tasty. I didn't get any pictures (too busy being lazy), except the one below that I think captures a bit of our decadence, but I am hoping to have some e-mailed to me sometime soon. I'll share them once they get here but for now here is a little preview:

Jim made us craw fish, shrimp, tomato, onion, cheesy goodness omelets for our breakfast at 2:30 in the afternoon. In the middle is a big ol' plate of bacon which even we could not finish.. but not for lack of trying.

pile up, pile down

It's funny how much papers and bills and annoying little important tasks can pile up into an alarmingly large amount of to-do's, isn't it? I confronted the pile head on yesterday, got quite a lot done and am thus proud enough to share the fruits of my labor with you.

1. Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) re-certification
I promised myself that I would take, and hopefully pass, the CNA re-certification exam before taking off in June. As part of applications for PA programs a certain number of patient hours are required to even be considered a competitive applicant. The only hands on experience I can claim is from my past stint as a CNA in Duluth where I cared for a newborn with kidney failure for the first five months of his life. This was quite a while ago and my certification has since lapsed. My plan is to get certified in Colorado so that upon my return home I can snag a job at a local hospital and start chipping away at the required patient care hours. This plan hits a small wall in the form of my not wanting to take an entire round of training prior to the exam and my inability to find any really helpful youtube videos that would help me circumvent the class. BUT, I've been studying from a guide I found on the internet and I took a practice exam last night in which I missed only four questions out of sixty so at least for the written portion I should be alright. Phew, with some confidence gained I finally filled out all of the paper work and will be sending it in today to secure an exam date hopefully at the beginning of May.

2. Thank You Letters!
At the beginning of this process I bought a package of 50 thank you cards and have had to buy a replacement package to keep up with all of the generous donaters! I've finally caught up with my thank you letters this weekend, so if you haven't gotten yours yet they should arrive by the end of the week!

3. Application Part 8
I have officially been cleared by my doctor to participate in Bike & Build this summer! Part 8 of the application is a medical examination, immunizations and health insurance check. Before my trip to Vietnam I was stuck with every imaginable immunization and should be covered on that front for quite a while so no needles this time! Everything else was normal and so I now have a stamp of approval from a medical professional that I will survive this summer unscathed, (well that might be taking it a little too far) but at least intact!

4. Renter's Rebate
I have also officially finished, finished, finished my taxes completely. My last form was the M1PR for my renter's rebate (a glorious tradition that is sadly not practice in CO), and after sleuthing about on the MN revenue website I finally found a pdf of the required form and a pdf of the instructional booklet. Some of you might know of my ongoing battle with FedEx/Kinko's, but I emerged from this round in one piece and with all of the necessary documents in hand and un-krinkled. Going out with my thank you cards, and my CNA application in the mail today is the final piece to my 2009 tax puzzle. PHEW again.

On Thursday JP and I are headed out on vacation again, this time to visit his family and celebrate his grandmother's birthday in Florida and Mississippi. I am so excited to only have a three day week (and only a one day of chemistry week, woo hoo!) and then off to lounge about on a boat and swim in a pool (that counts as cross training right?) and eat tasty food. With my renter's rebate coming soon maybe I can even justify purchasing my new camera in time for this little excursion so that documentation can be properly acquired. Other then that, Happy Monday to you even though it's kind of a Happy Wednesday to me!

a vacation and a throughly soaked bum

Vacations are always so refreshing! Last year for spring break Emily, Joe and I went to NYC, the year before that I visited Joe in Portland and JP in Denver. This year took me from a blizzarding Denver back to a snow-less Minnesota! I love to travel, love getting to a different place so quickly and, once there, feeling as though I've barely left. This trip was a special treat for me because I hadn't thought I would be able to get home until after my trip, probably next Christmas. That would have been my longest time away from my Minnesota friends and family, and seemed so far away! Of course once I arrived I got right down to business and ate thai food four times almost back to back. In Duluth I talked at my parent's church and fundraised $200 for the trip! My mom tried her hand at homemade GF pasta and it turned out splendidly! I even heard that the leftovers were great, which is a true feat for that sort of pasta as it usually gets rubbery and inedible after a short amount of time. We relaxed at the beach and traipsed around Canal Park, played pool and stopped at Annie's favorite brewery for wild rice burgers that are to die for. Everything went by so quickly, but it was such a great distraction from real life work and school.

JP and the papa hiked at Tischer Creek on one of the gorgeous, sunshine-filled Duluth days and JP documented for me while I was busy shopping with my mom.

Looking for agates with Nora.

Snowy, weirdly blizzardy Denver kept me from my planned return flight and so I was treated to a bonus vacation day. Annie, my gracious host and even more gracious chauffeur this trip, and I got to spend the day together, getting out for a bike ride and run around Lake Nokomis and a day time tromp for little Abby. It was a perfect little extension of spring break, so much so that I almost didn't even mind the prospect of returning to work the next morning...almost.

Once back I had to buckle back down to training, and even though there was a slight drizzle Friday afternoon I figured I should brave the weather as most likely the trip this summer will not deliver two and a half solid months of sunshine. Geared up and ready for a 20 miler I headed out as the rain started to come down a little faster and thicker. It's nice biking in the rain most times, very solitary and meditative I think. For some reason, probably due in some part to my lack of training while vacationing, I was under the impression that I was biking against the wind and pushed forward to the 10 mile turning point, at which juncture I quickly realized that I had in fact been biking with the wind and was now in for a challenging back track. This would have been harder regardless of the rain, but as soon as I made my aboutface it started to hail. It started to hail in the direct path and angle of my face and eyes if I dared to lift either of these in an attempt to see the path in front of me. I had dressed for rainy, drizzly weather, not haily, wind whipping weather, and it turns out there is a pretty big difference although taking mental stock of my lycra-based choices I probably wouldn't have had too many other options anyway. I thought maybe I should stop under a bridge and wait it out, but as soon as I did this I realized that the sole reason I wasn't standing in the puddles of my own shoes was precisely because I was not standing and as soon as I changed positions I was sloshingly rewarded with two little miniature lakes inside of my shoes and socks. Showing no sign of ceasing I tried to keep going, but gave up when I realized that my hand were turning a purple-y shade of blue. Having no real idea of where I was in relation to things I would like to be near to, I picked up my bike and headed towards the road. I was in a warehouse district and spotted a mechanics warehouse with an open door into which I gratefully slipped. JP later told me I looked like a popsicle (probably in both color and demeanor) and so I shouldn't have been surprised when the men inside gave me such alarmed looks asking if I needed any help. They were more then willing to let me stand dripping all over the floor trying to warm up while waiting for JP to come rescue me. Clad head to toe in spandex, some portions of which are padded in a certain area which when wet give the distinct impression that the wearer is hiding a lumpy, very full diaper beneath her clothes was not the most pleasant thirty minutes I have ever spent. After getting home and peeling off all of my clingy, soggy, diaper-like garments I've never had more appreciation for my always absurdly overly heated apartment. Fortunately, for me and my remaining shreds of dignity, I have no photos to post of the hail face story so you can just go ahead and imagine drowned-rat-popsicle Elise in your head.