Snowstorm

So Saturday it was 64. Today, most of the schools are closed. Last night we actually had rain and lightning (for my south Floridian readers, you don't usually get lightning in the winter) which transformed into snow overnight.

It is currently quarter to eight on Monday morning and that snow is still coming down. They are predicting another five inches today. I told you a few posts ago that I was not naive or stupid this March -- I knew winter wasn't over no matter how badly I wanted it to be over walking around downtown Decorah on Saturday.

They have actually closed the RLS Foundation office today. You can't even see outside due to the blowing wind. There are warnings all over the news and they are telling people not to drive at all. I am planning to go in from 10-12 to Mayo and will probably just work from home the rest of the day because even a walk to RLSF could be dangerous today.

Also, I really appreciate all the great advice I have gotten about my freelance writing. I wanted to explain a few things. One thing is that I do have a agreement with this company that will hold up. That's why I know they do HAVE to pay me. The issue is that if they go bankrupt, I can't do anything about it. In addition, almost all freelance writing is done work-for-hire. Sometimes you could get a percentage up front but that is generally impossible. You do the work, you get paid. MY mistake was doing too much work before I got paid. For instance, with this woman who I am working with on her thesis, she is paying me every 10 pages. People will not pay first, because, if you think about it, they have more to lose than I do. They will actually lose money. I will only lose time. For big projects you can request a percentage but freelance writing is all work-for-hire. So, I thought I would explain some of that.

Anyways, back to work.

A fabulous Saturday

Well, we have returned from Iowa and what a wonderful, beautiful, relaxing Saturday and Sunday morning we had. Well, I could tell you everything, or let our pictures speak for us.

I did end up going to work from 8-9. We left for Decorah at 10:00 a.m. and by noon, we arrived. It would have been a lot shorter but there was a long detour that we had to take and we stopped to see if a farm JB likes was open.

We found a beautiful park in Decorah that we stopped and had a great picnic lunch that JB had packed. Delicious strawberries, clemintines, chicken/pesto/mozarella cheese wraps, and boiled eggs. It was still a little chilly as you can see from the pictures below.




We couldn't check into our hotel until 3:00 but we didn't care. We started walking around the adorable shops downtown as you can see from the picture below. JB even bought me a necklace and earings at one shop and himself some jam in another. We kept saying how much our mothers would love these quaint little shops. We were just having a wonderful time.



The other thing that was wonderful was that as we walked, the sun came out more and more and the temperature went up more and more. We watched this bank sign as the numbers finally hit sixty and then, OH MY GOSH -- 64! It felt soooo good. Everyone was outside in shorts and t-shirts. We still had on pants and a light jacket, but it was just glorious.


Around 1:00 or so we found our way to our hotel. JB had picked the most AMAZING hotel -- Hotel Winnisheik. (I hope I am spelling that right.) It was an old turn-of-the-century hotel that had been rennovated. It was perfect. Our room included a whirlpool tub and our own bathrobes and a television with like,100 channels. (We were overwhelmed by that after our TV at home with, like, five stations including 4 home shopping and 1 Somalian).

I am including some pictures. They are a little dificult to see but wanted to include some anyway.

After we settled in and watched some NCAA basketball and took some naps, I tore JB away from TV (he found a few farming stations, the discovery channel, and a bunch of other animal shows) ... (okay, actually, he tore me away from basketball but you get my point), we headed back out in our car to drive around and tour some of the amazing architecture in the homes around the downtown area. They were so unique and fun to look at. Here are a few of our favorites:

We also found the "Porter House Museum". The Museum itself wasn't open but we got to view this turn-of-the century rock wall that the owner made himself. Very cool.

There were also churches on every corner as indicated by this picture below and the picture of a church which follows it. These churches were so old and the architecture quite unique.

We ate a great dinner at a restaurant in the hotel and followed it with a piece of cake each. We should have shared but of course I wanted the solid chocolate and JB wanted something with cherry flavor. But it was way too much chocolate.

This morning we had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, took another walk, and then decided to head home as there was a snow storm expected. We ate some lunch when we got home, laid down for a nap, and when I got up, sure enough, there was a ton of snow falling. You can't really see snow good in pictures I have come to realize. But here is a picture anyways. We are expecting another 1-3 inches overnight.

Well, needless to say we are glad to have enjoyed our warm Saturday and sun-filled sky because it appears the cold has returned!

Getting out of dodge

Jb and I are leaving town! It's supposed to be in the fifties (maybe sixty?) tomorrow so we've decided to drive south and get as warm as humanly possible. It's Friday night right now but my hubby is currently scouring the net. I think we've decided to head to Decorah, Iowa -- have a picnic lunch, go out for dinner, see some trails and their historic downtown, get a nice hotel room or bed and breakfast, and head back whenever we want on Sunday. I am so excited!!!

The only bad news is I might have to go in and work for an hour or two tomorrow morning. My boss is heading out of town tomorrow evening and we have to finish a PowerPoint presentation for an oral presentation that he is giving in Atlanta. However, as soon as I am done working we are seriously getting out of here.

I'll take pictures and share with you sometime on Sunday when we get back. Since I won't be posting for two days, here are some bullets discussing what is going on in our lives.

• I do not have any further updates on my $500 freelance issue. However, I am working on thesis editing for a woman and she has already paid me for the first installment so if I am smart, I think I can eliminate this happening, at least to such an extreme degree, in the future.
• Tomorrow is my goddaughter Jessie Wilson's NINTH birthday. Big shout out to Jessie on her special day.
• I have a new possibility in my writing life: a book! To make a very long story short (as I am sure I will update you more on this sometime in the future), I have connected with a women with MS who at 32, started her own non-profit organization. She is interested in writing a biography and has chosen me as her writer. This may not generate any form of income and may never actually even get printed, but the possibility is something very interesting to me so we will see where this goes.
• JB has finished 3 weeks of pediatrics on-call. His next 3 weeks will include: cardiology, infectious disease, and cancer (all with pediatrics.) He has absolutely loved the primary care specialties and definitely feels much more in his element than when he was on surgery.
• We got a letter from JB's brother Matt who is currently in basic training in Missouri. It was great to hear from him and maybe I will share a few clips from the letter in an upcoming post. He graduates May 12th. We would LOVE to go. The issue will be the timing of my IVF. If everything goes as planned, we should be able to go, but any delays/post-ponements could mean we wouldn't make it. Matt said he wants JB to wear his Air Force uniform as he outranks Matt's drill sergeants and they will have to salute JB.

Can you say COATLESS?!?!

Today, I walked to work outside without my coat on.

Now mind you, this was at 1:00 in the afternoon. When I walked outside for just a few minutes at 8:30 a.m. with a coat it was too cold. And on my way back home at 5:00 I nearly froze, but for a few minutes, at 1:00 today, I walked outside WITHOUT a coat!

It was 47. I hesitate to say that because my family in Florida is reading thinking "WARM?!" But let me tell you. 47 in the spring is warm!

I passed a boy in a t-shirt, a woman with her sleeves rolled up, and a man jogging. I actually passed a lot of people and for once we weren't calling each other "morons" under our breath for attempting an outside walk.

None of these events occurred in the underground subway. They occurred outside. In Minnesota. In March.

Spring Fever is here in full force. Unfortunately, this is the third time I have reached a March in Minnesota, and this time, I am not stupid. The first March, I was stupid. The second March I was naive. Now, in my third March, I refuse to let myself fall for it again. It will get cold again. Spring in Minnesota really doesn't arrive until May or June.

Actually I looked it up. The only month in Minnesota without a recorded snowfall was July. In addition, last winter we had a snow the first week in May that was recorded in the history books for the most snow ever received in Rochester during a 24-hour-period. Yes, I said May.

However, I am going to enjoy it for all it is worth today. We are leaving for Bible Study at 6:00 and I am tempted to try the coatless thing again.

It's the principle of the matter.

Little Logan

When I came to Western Kentucky in the fall of 1995, Kristi Hartley and I were as different as two people can get. The newspaper reporters had a field day comparing our completely opposite lives: I was a big city kid who dressed funny and was extremely naive. Kristi was a cowgirl from a guest ranch in New Mexico who turned every head on campus.

I found out months after we moved in and had become life-long friends that Kristi had actually phoned the coaches when she heard they were rooming us together. She had met me on our recruiting visit and didn't see how anyone could see us as compatible. Mary Taylor Cowles assured Kristi that they thought this was best and promised that if she wasn't convinced in a few weeks, they would allow a change.

Kristi and I ended up getting a long perfectly. I can only remember one or two arguments we had (one of which resulted in Kristi's dad telling her to apologize immediately.) We had a great working partnership. Kristi taught me how to dress and loosened me up. I helped her write papers and get through speech class.

Kristi met Lee Hunt when we were sophomores and was instantly smitten. A year after I got married, they got married. Then two years ago, Kristi and Lee had their first daughter -- Logan Rae Hunt. Then ... Kristi has asked me to be Logan's godmother.

Yesterday, Kristi sent me this picture of my goddaughter. I almost started laughing outloud and seriously got a grin from ear-to-ear. This picture is sooooo Kristi's daugther (no offense Lee.) Mischevious yet heart-melting look, cowboy boots, and a commanding presence that tells the world "Come and get me!" I wasn't sure if I was looking at Logan or her mom, chilling out on the couch in the locker room, telling me to "Suck it up" when I told her I was having pains in my shin. Weeks later, she finally apologized and got lectured from our trainer when they diagnosed me with a stress fracture.

So today, I share Kristi-Junior with the world. You go girl!

Okay, My Writing Stresses

Okay, so if you want an uplifting post, you may not want to read this today.

Okay, so JB is on overnight call. That's the first thing that is bothering me. I don't feel good (still got this head cold). My third major issue right now: my freelance writing is kinda stressing me out.

Okay, so give me a moment to share my woes with you. I don't feel well to call and talk to anyone (not that I do that very often), and I dont have the energy to type the story many times to various friends, so here is the source of my perplexion ...

Okay, here's the issue. One of the places that I freelance for has not paid me. Now, here's the thing, I am not sure that this is a real problem. This could mean 1 of 2 things.

The first is that it means nothing. They plan on paying me and just haven't yet. Emails exchanged during previous weeks indicated that this was an oversight and they definitely planned on coming through. They apologized repeatedly for the oversight and assured me it would be corrected.

However, this week, emails have not been returned and my website connection isn't working and this is what brings me to possibility #2. I am literally sick about this. They owe me close to $500 and quite honestly, if they go out of business, there is nothing I can do. I am really not worried about them just refusing to pay me as I have enough proof to get my money. However, I remember when JB was self-employed and one company he worked for went bankrupt. They had paid him a certain percentage up front and at the mid-way mark, but they still owed him over $2000, went bankrupt, and he was out of luck.

My husband is so sweet. I just talked to him on the phone from the hospital, and he was so encouraging of the situation. He said that if I don't get my money, it really isn't that big of a deal. I just don't get my money. "It's just money," he says. Then he says, "and we learn a lesson about being more on top of things." Then he says, "all you are out is a little time." (Approximately 25 hours).

I know he is right. It is just money, but I still just hate this feeling. Part of it is my fault, I kept working and didn't really pay attention to my checks coming in. I have so many different jobs, I very rarely even look at my paychecks. The company had two employees leave and my invoices were "misplaced."

This has led me to have concerns about my freelance writing. I just got another freelance job this week editing a thesis for a PhD candidate. If I am going to do this kind of work, in the end, there is always a chance that I can get screwed over. With this thesis candidate, I am charging for every ten pages completed. I complete ten pages, she writes me a check, and then we proceed with the next ten pages. However, even this isn't completely full-proof, and I could end up losing money or actually, losing time.

Okay, so I just wanted to share that with everyone. It really isn't that big of a deal, and in the end, life will go on just as it did yesterday, and goodness knows there are bigger problems in the world to be worried about, but, well, this is my little bothersome item at the moment.

Okay, so thank you for listening to my worries. I honestly would love, if you think of it, for you to pray that this is truly an oversight, and that my check will be in my mailbox tomorrow!

Fast fun facts

Well I don't have too much to report today. I am still a bit under the weather but I haven't taken a sick day since 2003 and don't intend to do so over a tiny cold! JB is making dinner right now (Indian -- my comfort food!) and planning on watching the 2 hour special of 24 with Dave and Lesley tonight.

Thought I would share two fun links with you. The first is in regards to my cousin Justin Huisman and his connection with a baseball team in the Netherlands. Very interesting article form the Wallstreet Journal.

The second link is a link to a new Kit. family blog my sister-in-law just started. I don't know how often she will update it but you can at least view some pics of my only niece and nephew: Grace and Nathan.

In addition, I have a few praise reports/prayer requests on my mind. First of all, I wanted to thank the Lord for bringing my Aunt Janet home from Indonesia safe after three weeks. I also wanted you to remember my cousin Sarah as their child "Slappy" (sex currently unknown) is due very soon. Also, I have quite a few friends struggling with infertility issues right now, and while I can't mention all their requests specifically, I wanted you to pray if you think of it: specifically for pregnancy loss and upcoming IUI/IVF attempts.

Thanks everyone! Dinner is SERVED!

Eight Below

Well for once the temperature in the title isn't referring to our current temperature outside our home. It has actually been in the thirties and pretty decent outside during the last week. There were even a couple days in the forties. Not quite warm enough for an afternoon stroll (I am so anxious for one of those), but it is getting there.

Eight below is actually not the temperature in this movie either. It has to do with the eight dogs that are below. Anyways, you'd have to see it for it to make sense, and I don't want to ruin it for you.

John finally got off call at around noon. We ended up going home, taking showers, and hitting the Indian restaurant for their buffet. Then after long naps, we decided to take advantage of the two free movie passes we have. I gave my dentist a referral and she sent me two movie tickets!

Eight Below was fantastic, and I strongly recommend it. I am always impressed with how well family movies do at the theatres. This is what people want to see. There was nothing inappropriate in this movie, and we had a great time. It was very entertaining.

Afterwards we went by "The Hangar", a restaurant out by the airport that we have been meaning to try for some time. It was okay -- a sports bar type atmosphere. The best part was getting to see #1 ranked Duke get upset by UNC on all the TV's. We split an appetizer and a meal and then headed home.

It was a great Saturday. Today, Sunday, includes church (we are greeters at the first service), and then grocery shopping, a hair appointment, and naps too. Maybe we will catch a bit of the Oscars as well. I am still feeling really lousy so lots of sleep is definitely on the agenda.

A new experience: Spending the nite in a call room!

Last night I spent the night in a Mayo Clinic call room. How many of you out there can say that?

Well, actually there are quite a few people who read this blog that are JB's classmates so forget it, I guess I'm not as special as it first appeared.

Well, let me just say that my first night "on-call" will probably be my last.

It started off okay. After I went and worked out for a bit, we had dinner in the cafeteria with the three female residents/fellows JB has been working with. Dinner was actually pretty good: fish with vegetables and a roll and potatoes. I was impressed. I then went and saw the floor he was working on. What a fun looking place. If I was a kid, coming to the hospital wouldn't be so bad on this floor.

However, I really wasn't feeling well, and I should have just gone home after that. I got very "met-sick" on Thursday, as we like to call it, which means that the Metformin I am on caused me to get a very upset stomach. We have now realized that this only happens now when I am battling some other infection and my body just can't handle both. I have one doozy of a cold that only appeared on Friday morning.

I played spades until JB finally got off around 10:30 or so. However, I was feeling so crappy that attempting to sleep in a twin bed together was an absolute nightmare. After about an hour, JB mumbled something about going to find another bed and he left! The call rooms were basically empty last night so he slept in another room. I haven't seen him since last night.

Even after he left, I slept horribly but finally got sleep after the sun came up. I had packed some dayquil so am now feeling better. I am attributing this cold to Josh who brought it into my house. Josh tried to combat his cold with anything he could find in our medicine cabinet which included Nightquil cough syrup first thing in the morning! Speaking of that Nightquil Josh, you left the stickiest mess I have ever seen all over the counter and the jar! I had to just throw it away. It was unsalvageable. What's with that? Oh and also speaking of Josh, if you read the comments in one of my recent posts, you realize that Josh is actually Johnny Depp. So from here on it, I think I will refer to Josh as Johnny Depp.

Okay, off track, sorry. Johnny Depp does that to me. Actually he doesn't. My students thought Johnny Depp was SOOOOO good looking. I love him as an actor, but he usually looks a little freaky. Am I the only one who thinks that? Okay, now wait, I am talking about the really Johnny Depp here. Not Josh. Josh, you don't look freaky.

Okay, off track again. Sorry. Back to call night. Josh, I mean Johnny, quit distracting me!

So now I am waiting for JB to finish his rounds. I think we then might meander across the street to the Canadian Honker for breakfast. I got an email from him this morning asking me how my first and last night on call was! Very cute. But he's right. This was a bad idea. We don't sleep well together in a king sized bed. What were we thinking?!

From now on I'll stick to letting the veterans take call.

What's up at #202

Okay so time for the nuts and bolts of our lives:

• We got a new dishwasher (have I mentioned that?) We ran it last night. It was a glorious sound.
• John is currently on his pediatrics rotation. He likes this SOOOO much more than surgery and is definitely made for primary care medicine. He is on a Q-4 call which means every fourth night he is on overnight call. This includes going in at 7:00 a.m. one day and coming home after lunch the next. As long as he gets sleep while overnight, this is not too painful. If the night is busy and he doesn't get any sleep, it can be very painful.
• Speaking of call, JB is on call tonite (Friday). I plan to go to the hospital after work and take a long walk on the treadmill. There is a gym at St. Mary's for employees. Then, hopefully, we can connect and have dinner together. I also may just go hang out and get on his computer in his call room as I don't have plans tomorrow. I haven't ever actually tried this before so we will see how this works out.
• An interesting development in my writing is the chance to include our infertility story in a book being written by a woman I have met online. To make a long story short, she is proposing this story right now for various publishing companies and would like me to include our story. Some of these she is rewriting, however, it looks like I will actually be the author of my chapter. Anyways, I am not sure if anything will ever come of this, but I am excited by the opportunity nonetheless.
• In my other work, I am continuing to keep my eye open for other freelance writing opportunities. As I have shared before, it is my hope that in May of next year, when we most likely will move to an Air Force Base, that I will be able to write from home full-time. I am currently very close to being able to do that and hoping this will continue.
• John has been busy planning his fourth year of medical school which will actually start the day after his third year ends (sometime in May I believe). Fourth year is spent doing various rotations. Some of these are required and some of them he chooses. Included in this will be a four week rotation at Elgin Air Force Base in the Panhandle and possibly a rotation in Africa for four weeks. He is also looking into a 2 week rotation in Utah doing wilderness medicine. I am also excited because he is going to do a 4 week rotation in reproductive endocrinology.
• Our birds are fine and driving me crazy. The boy, Monet, has found his voice, and his voice is incredibly loud.
• I am getting my hair cut on Sunday. It's about time.
• We have been greeting at church about once a month. This is a little out of my comfort zone, but I enjoy it. We usually do the first Sunday of the month which will be this week.
• Did you guys know JB has a fish tank? It's pretty cool.
• Did I tell you we got a new dishwasher? It's pretty cool too.

A Big Day

Wendi and Maytag II (ISN'T SHE LOVELY!?!?)

Today is the day I have been waiting for since before Christmas. Maytag 100 is being replaced today for the 300 series. The company has deemed it "unfixable" and therefore, WE ARE GETTING A NEW ONE!

I will include pictures and updates later tonite. (You think I am joking, but I am quite serious.)

More on Mayo

Well I thought some of you might be interested in watching the video of my boss, Dr. K, at Mayo on the news. Again, this link is only good for seven days, but its pretty interesting to see what I am working on. Again, I don't do anything with the science -- just the writing and grammar for manuscript preparation.

KTTC VIDEO

A Shameful Admission

I have to admit something that I am not proud of.

Last night while JB was on overnight call, I got quite bored, and I did something I am not very proud of.

I watched "The Bachelor".

What is it with that show? It is so painful to watch. It is so horribly frustrating, and yet whenever JB isn't home, I find myself flipping to this guilty pleasure, debating about which girl he'll pick. Yelling at the screen. Afraid to miss any of the drama. What is with reality TV? How twisted is all of this?

This was the season finale, and I watched as the Bachelor fell for two women. One of these women, Moana, had protected herself from men her whole life. She finally decides to let her guard down, and Travis dumps her, for Sarah, from Nashville. (Travis is from Nashville too which didn't hurt Sarah's chances. He's actually a doctor at Vanderbilt. This didn't hurt his chances either.)

Now I like Sarah. She's a kindergarten teacher and perfect "wife material". I definitely think Travis made the right decision, but man, you have to sit there and watch Moana in the car just sobbing and going on about this deep pain in her soul, and you are thinking, "Why the heck is American watching this crap?" "Why the heck am I watching this crap?"

Of course, did I change the channel? Heck no! I had to see who he was going to pick. I had to watch it up until the very last rose.

I thought about putting a picture of Moana and Sarah up on my blog, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It feels so wrong. It is like admitting permanently, for the rest of eternity, that I watched The Bachelor. Of course, just writing that I watched it is completely different. It means I watched it, but my devotion wasn't quite so deep.

And don't you give me a hard time because I know a bunch of you watched it too and even worse, a lot of you watched it (especially the men out there) and won't admit you watched it! At least you can have the guts to do as I have done and BLOG about your pathetic Monday evenings. Be proud!

My Cousin Josh

I hesitate to say too many nice things about my cousin Josh. If you don't know Josh, it's difficult to summarize him adequately. However, I will let the signature he left on our wall when he returned to Chicago this morning do the explaining for me:

Josh wrote: "Great friends only come along once in a lifetime. I hope someday I find some. Until then, Sarah and I love settling for the two of you."

You see what I mean? You aren't sure if you should hug him or kick him in the knee. Sometimes I do both.

However, I have to give Josh some "props" for what I witnessed this weekend.

Friday evening Josh played at a youth center in Winona. It was a Christian center, but the kids that attend are just neighborhood skateboarders who take advantage of the indoor skating ramps. There is also a large assortment of old video games. I actually took my chance at some legendary favorites like Mario Brothers (the original), Ms. Pac Man, and Arknoid while waiting for the concert to get started. If I closed my eyes I could actually picture the celebration that ensued in the video arcade in south Florida when my brother beat Mario or my dad hunched over an Arknoid machine delicately bouncing a tiny ball all over the galaxy.

Okay, sorry, back to Josh (as I am sure he is mumbling as he is reading this.)

While the kids were rather distracted with other activities, it was great fun to watch Josh and our friend Ron Ray perform. I was reminded just how good Josh is! And, now, I hate to say it but how funny he is.

Josh takes his humor pretty seriously. I remember when JB and I returned from our trip to Europe and told Josh that our tour guide was funnier than he was. Josh didn't say anything about this until about two weeks later when he informed us that he had figured out why this guy was funnier -- he could reuse the same jokes on various tour groups. Josh on the other hand had to continually come up with new material.

At the concert, we joked that this wasn't really true anymore. He can now use the same jokes on every audience he performs for. Despite having heard some of the same lines before, I still found myself laughing hysterically.

On Sunday morning, Josh played for the youth at Christ Community and then spoke on worship. He started the lesson with an analogy comparing worship to the hot girl he asked to couple skate at the roller skating rink in the 8th grade. He even played "Lady in Red" when his date entered the rink. There wasn't a person in the audience who wasn't laughing. I had no idea how he would tie this in to why we should worship God, but Josh did it! Later he somehow paralleled his buddy who fell down the side of the cliff at a Burrito restaurant, with God's devotion to us. Just amazing.

I had the pleasure of working his CD table both that morning and in the evening when he performed for the Singles Group at our church again. What an amazing weekend. I am dog-tired as goodness knows John, Ron and Josh wanted "food" after these late night performances, but it was wonderful to watch Josh do what he loves and do it SOOO well. I pray that someday his music can be his ministry full-time as I know this is what he really wants.

So now, the house is quiet, and no one is making cutting remarks about anything he can think of and making me laugh every other second. The next time I see Josh, he will have a second kid in tow! Praying for you Sarah and your new little one. Could it possibly be a GIRL!?!

Heisman

My cousin Josh came into town on Friday night. His wife Sarah and son Tyler were unable to come as Sarah is due to have a baby in just a few weeks and Sarah works tomorrow.

Last night Josh played for a youth center in Winona, today he played for the youth at Christ Community, and tonight he is playing for the singles at CCC.

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Josh play and sing as always. I'll write a bunch more tomorrow but thought I would include a picture of Josh, Ron, and JB after he spoke to the youth this morning (and made me and the teens laugh 'til we cried!)

New procedure to fight heart disease

I work for a cardiovascular researcher at Mayo Clinic, Dr. K. Dr. K is a great guy, and we have a great working relationship. One of my main responsibilities for Dr. K is manuscript preparation. When he decides to submit his research in paper format to a journal, I work on all the requirements for that particular journal, format all the references, and edit and grammar check the piece over and over again. I also create some of the charts and graphs myself or work with Mayo's Visual Department to complete these. I do a lot of other work for him as well, but this is one of my major jobs.

To summarize Dr. K's research ... many people have heart attacks that are expected -- they are overweight, sedentary, diabetic etc. However, a large number of people have heart attacks who do not fit the mold -- they are thin, in shape, and take great care of themself. Dr. K is trying to figure out what these other high-risk categories are.

I really enjoy the work and have contemplated moving into it full-time instead of part-time, but sometimes I have struggled with feeling like I am really making a difference. When I was teaching, I truly felt internally motivated. However, this job, while very enjoyable and demanding, was often just a job for me.

That changed a little this week. Dr. K's last submission has finally gone to press. He was on the news last night, and all of a sudden I realized that this is important work, and I am getting to be involved with it. Here is a quick synopsis of the article from KTTC's website:

A noninvasive test that uses a pencil like device may help prevent a sudden heart attack. The ten-minute or so test is called aortic pulse wave velocity.

Doctors explain it measures how stiff a patient's aorta is by how fast a pulse wave travels to it. It's done by placing the pencil like device, called a tenometer on arteries in the neck and groin. Doctors say knowing the stiffness helps them determine treatment for patients who are in between high and low risk of heart disease.

That's about 40-percent of the population.

This test is in its final phases of a five year study other studies are showing promising results as well.

Dr. Iftikhar Kullo, Lead Author of Study says "We are trying to assess the arteries in a more elaborate fashion in several different tests and hopefully we think that will be part of a routine clinical assessment in the near future."

The findings of this study up to date have been published in a journal of the American Heart Association called Hypertension.

Anyways, this has been exciting for me. John and I often joke about this because Dr. Kullo has been acknowledging me in his papers which means I actually got to see my name in a scientific journal before JB! I finally feel like what I am doing has some value outside of just paying the bills, and I've realized that is pretty important for me.

I know most of you know what jobs I hQave, but I very rarely talk about what I actually do there. So, now you know.

P.S. My cousin Josh has come into town for a visit and some concerts. I will update you on this sometime this weekend.

American Idol & Survivor

Okay, so I have flirted with American Idol during past seasons. We usually watch the first few shows when they throw in some contestants who are really horrible, have a good laugh, and then only watch occasionally for the rest of the season. However, this season, we have really gotten into this show due to the fact that there are a few contestants who are really fun! I am including our favorites below.

Taylor Hicks (TL), Chris Daughtry (TR), Paris Bennett (BL), Kellie pickler (BR)

Now last night presented me with an interesting dilemma. Not only were the Olympics on (which I love), but the only two other shows that I really watch each week, Survivor and American Idol were on at the same time. I opted to watch Survivor, tape American Idol, and flip to the Olympics. How pitiful am I? I also updated JB on the results when he called inbetween patients. Actually, I got an email from JB this morning, and it was slow in the hospital. He was able to sleep from 10:30-4:30 which is very good.

Okay, so Survivor. Now it's pretty early in the show to develop any serious connections with people, but I have to admit that there are a lot of people on this year's show that I just DO NOT like. However, I do have a few favorites, and I am including my three favorite below. Honestly, Chrie, has next to no chance to win Survivor, but she's a lot of fun. The guys on either side could easily do it especially after Terry found the hidden immunity idol on the show this week.

Dan, Cirie, and Terry

All right so this was a pretty pointless post. But hey, we all have frivilous events that fill up our day. I just happened to write a blog about them.

Poor JB

Well, I just made JB some toast and eggs and now he is getting ready to go into the hospital. He has to be there at 7:00 a.m. for his Pediatric rotation. What makes it worse though is that he won't be home until Friday afternoon! That's a lot of time without sleep. He'll try to come home and get some sleep on Friday before my cousin Josh comes into town on Friday evening.

I truly do not know how they stay awake that long! I remember when we went to Europe and I was awake for almost 40 hours straight. It was a miserable existance. I was angry at the world! However they tell you to stay awake or you'll never get on the right sleep schedule. I'm not sure the people that made up that rule have ever actually tried it!

Another bad thing about John being gone overnight is that I really don't like staying at home bymyself. I do feel very safe in our condo, but I still just don't enjoy alone time. I will have the Olympics to keep me company, and I am sure I will end up falling asleep on the couch watching the women's figure skaters.

Speaking of JB, some of you mentioned the vocabularly in his last post. If you thought he was stretching, you couldn't be more wrong. John has an incredible vocabularly and is actually a very good writer. He was actually an English writing minor in college. Sometimes that bothers me. I feel like writing is the one thing that I truly love and, goodness gracious, the guy has way too many interests and things he is good at. I took a second to make a list of his current interests, and they include:

1. Farming
2. Space
3. Reading
4. Medicine
5. Art
7. Nature
8. Animals
9. Ocean
10. Cooking

These are not minor interests. He is very involved in all of these things. My current interests?

1. Writing
2. Exercise

Seriously, I can't think of anything else to put on my list! I really am trying!!! I do like to travel. Maybe I could add traveling to my list. Okay, that's three ... um, being on the computer. Is that an interest? Geeez, I'll have to get back to you my list. That's pretty pitiful.

BLOG HIJACK

So, after weeks of prodding, I finally acquiesced. I have decided to write an entry for Wendi’s blog. That is right. This is not Wendi. This is John. Please, hold your gasps of horror, Wendi is alive and well. Please subdue your worries of boredom, I may actually be interesting, too. Just maybe.

I have been given some ground rules, though. I am not allowed to write about anything political. Actually, that is the only ground rule. Wendi said something about not wanting her blog to become a soapbox for dogmatic ranting … or something like that. Whatever. She did say I could write about fashion. I don’t think so.

That left me with a dilemma. What should I write about on the first blog post of my life? This actually troubled me for some time. It is a rather important event. One day little kids will run up to an old man (me) and ask, “Do you remember your first blog?” I want to have an answer that is profound, something that has a potential to shape those young minds. To make them stop and think to themselves, “Why do old people always smell like sour milk?” But right after that they would think, “I have just been inspired to change the world!”

Okay, who am I kidding? I have never heard those words from an old man. I don’t think words from mere mortals could ever be that monumental. Alas, I will have to answer those little kids, “My first blog post was about my first blog post.” A quizzical look will contort their faces, and they would think, “No, it is not really sour milk. It is more like musty bread.” But then they would think, “Hey, that is kind of cool (or whatever hip slang has permeated youth vocabulary by then).”

Now, Wendi is probably reading this wondering why she ever asked me to contribute to her colossal electronic endeavor… hovering her mouse over the DELETE button saying to herself, “Why didn’t he just write about the new spring line from New York and Company?” But, I have to admit, this is fun. I have decided to make occasional visits to the site. However, in the future, I plan to pontificate about something with substance, something… educational! You have been warned. Till then…

Poor Man's Velvet

Today, I did something, that I swore I would never do again.

I wore corduroy.

Well it gets worse. I bought corduroy and then I wore corduroy.

I assume most of you right now are contemplating how to tell me that I have gone off the deep end. "What the heck is this girl writing a blog on corduroy for?" "Has she completely lost it?"

Well, let me explain.

Growing up in south Florida, corduroy was considered something that the kids without a lot of money wore. JB and I attended a private school where we did not wear uniforms, and let me just tell you that those rich kids I went to school with wouldn't be caught dead wearing . . . corduroy.

Years later, when we moved to Kentucky, JB and I were walking through the mall, and we saw some people wearing this ungodly fabric on PURPOSE! We both looked at each other and nearly gasped! What were they doing? I asked JB if he held as much animosity toward corduroy as I did. Of course he did! We both realized that the reason the "not-rich" kids wore these pants was because they held up for a long-time and were therefore infamous for serving as hand-me-downs.

So I did some research on corduroy online and came to find out that our animosity toward it was actually founded on some actual concrete facts. One definition reads "At one time the ribs were cut by hand, one at a time. They were then brushed to raise the pile. It was in effect a kind of poor man's velvet because its pile is made of cotton rather than more expensive materials like silk or satin." Another description read: "Corduroy was generally looked down on by fashion writers in the 19th Century. One writer, Sydney Webb, declared that corduroy had been regulated to the use of navies and tramps."

However, over the past few years, I have realized that the teasing I took as a child for my corduroy was because I went to school with spoiled-rich-snobs, and that, quite honestly, corduroy could be fairly stylish.

I have mentioned my "new friend" Kelsey Spoon a few times on my blog. Kelsey recently married one of JB's classmates and also took a job at RLS. Kelsey and I have a lot in common. For one, we both played Division I basketball. Check out Kelsey in uniform! Kelsey also lives five floors up from us in our buildling. And, we also wear the same size pants! Kelsey is a little shorter and a little thinner, however, we both share the neverending quest to find stylish pants with good length. So we decided to go in together at Alloy and sharing the free shipping.

And that brings me to how I started this blog. Without any prodding from Kelsey, and with the full agreement of my husband, I bought, not one, but TWO pairs of corduroy pants from Alloy.

Forget being the poor man's velvet. I have since learned that rich snobs aren't necessarily the only people who know how to dress. So the picture above, now hangs in my closet, in not one, but two colors, and I thought it was time I hide my embarrassment and let the world know!

I am okay with poor man's velvet.

I am okay with corduroy.