Selfish Saturday

8:00am (okay, really, 8:30): Wake up!

9:00-1:30pm: Work in the Nationwide Children's Hospital Dental Clinic as a staff pediatric dentist

1:30-3:30: Lay on couch with Carla. Watch episodes of Lipstick Jungle on Carla's laptop and Dr. 90210 on TV. Eat frozen dinner. (Sad, I know, but a staple of my diet and a the main reason I've lost almost 25lbs since dental school!)

3:30-7:00: Errands with Carla to Alan Ray Bridal (just looking!) in Dublin, the Halloween store, Filene's Basement, and my absolute favorite: WHOLE FOODS.

Have you ever been to a Whole Foods? It is like the BEST grocery store you have ever seen. They have a grand commitment to sustainable goods and eco-friendly packaging and foods, happy, interactive, employees, and lots of samples of yummy, healthy food. The store makes healthy produce look FANTASTIC and the icing on the cake is their amazing deli and prepared foods section. ( Too selfish to cook today!) Seriously, they must pump something in the air there, because I get such a positive RUSH every time I go. Carla and I were supposed to go "for something for dinner." I got:

Gouda cheese

Shrimp bisque

Marinated tofu

Parmesean green beans

Homeade tortilla chips

Salsa

Guacamole

Large bottled water (So L.A.)

My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach. 

But! As the cheesemonger told me, "Gouda goes well with a really fruity red." 

I can't help but agree. :) 

Sweetest Day and a Cereal Killer

My roomie Carla went to a fun Halloween House Hop party as a not-so-scary Cereal Killer. Ha! Yes, she is always this funny! I know we will be eating those boxes of cereal later tonight...

My sweetie bought me these pretties for Sweetest Day. I only had to remind him once. :) 

 Truth be told, I had forgotten completely about Sweetest Day, too.  I guess I must be pretty busy (no matter what I try to tell myself) because I would have never, ever forgotten a "giftable day" in the past. Ahh, maturity.

Happy Birthday Kristin!

This is my sister, Kristin! 

Isn't she pretty? Today is her birthday! She's engaged to a nice guy, Adam, and they're getting hitched in May! 

Kristin has always seemed to go by a nickname: Gooch or Gooch Mouse as a wee lass, Kramer in school, and now she's just Kiki as an auntie to our lovely nieces.

She works very very hard in grad school at the University of Toledo (my alma mater, too!); she's getting her doctorate in occupational therapy. Her passion is working with children with autism. Jeremy and I don't get to see her or Adam nearly enough--that's what happens when you live in OPPOSITE CORNERS of the state!

Okay, so sometime I think I have patience with kids, but one time Kiki worked at a summer camp and spent one whole week teaching "thumbs up" to a boy with autism. One whole WEEK!

Thumbs up, Kiki, and Happy Birthday to YOU!!

Envy

Jeremy and I were talking to my mother the other day about our (lack of) any weekend plans. 

She said, "Oh, its going to be beautiful. Why don't you take Peanut to the park for a walk?"

Great idea, right? Jeremy and I are lucky to live part time in Columbus, where we reside just one block from lovely Schiller Park.

It was a great Indian Summer day, and there is always lots of dog activity at the park, so wouldn't it be swell to join those athletic fidos in a fun game of Frisbee or fetch?

So you would think.  But athleticism has never been Peanut's strong suit.

Exhibit A: Peanut stops walking a mere 50ft from our house and demands to be carried instead.

Exhibit B: After much bribery Peanut resumes short walk the park. Jeremy tries not to look embarrassed walking 3lb fluffball, but this is the only way it works. If I'm not at least 15ft ahead calling and cheering for Peanut, she's not motivated to keep walking.

Exhibit C: Peanut climbs to the top of Mt. Jeremy instead of playing frisbee with the rest of the dogs at the park. 

The defense rests.

A few things on fall...

Hey, do you remember the Great Pumpkin?

You know, from the Peanuts cartoon special that came on around Halloween? When Linus waited all night and the Great Pumpkin didn't show? Gosh I loved that cartoon, officially titled, "Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."  The Christmas special is great, too. I love Peanuts for about 1000 reasons--simple animation, a SOLID, subtle moral, and written with a heavy hand towards the bittersweet, even for kids. Really, how many times would Lucy pull the ball from Charlie Brown just before he kicked? Also, my friend Kaye can play the theme on the piano, and my sister Kelly played Lucy in the school play one year. 

Here are my own versions of Peanut and the Great Pumpkins! Hey, and check out that awesome mum! :) 

    

My friend Tiffany at work gave us this little cutie, affectionately called a "Squashkin." When I brought it home, Jeremy immediately held it like a football and asked me to drop back for a pass. Ahh...boys.

Other great things about fall:

Spiced candles smell better now

Sweaters

Chili with all the fixins' on Sundays

Daylight Savings Time and "Fall Back" (Mom's favorite day of the year!)

Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks

Leaves changing color and getting to fully appreciate them as I drive to and from Columbus each week...

Mmm...I can smell my spiced pear candle already! Yay for fall!

Honey, I shrunk the dog!

This morning I woke up to my sweet doggins, Peanut.

She was this big:

Then, I brought her to Nancy at Petsmart in Dublin. 

Nancy has been our friend for 2 years now. 

Even though its such a long drive, we always come back to Nancy because she does an AMAZING job with our little girl. Highly recommended!

Anyway, I picked her up, and she was THIS BIG:

Now she is even softer and fluffier and ready to cheer for the Browns! They need all the help they can get!

Tonight some young volunteers for the Democratic party stopped by to canvass for Barack Obama.  This happens a lot in my neighborhood. What a political hotbed, that German Village. I never want to open the door, you know, because its a stranger, but I always do because door-to-door ANYTHING would be such a hard job. I always feel sorry for them. The volunteers were very nice and Peanut made fast friends again, even though she tends to vote Republican.

  Jeremy says: "Peanut is a red state, for sure."

Me, on the other hand, not so sure. I'm still undecided...but that's another blog.

This is a picture of Peanut and me the night I brought her home. I drove all the way to Powhatan Point, Ohio to get her. It was a long drive, and I was really nervous.  I had never had a house dog before, and still wasn't sure how it was going to work with residency and call in full swing. She was born at Carol Galavich's kennel, Pixie Poms. When she came home, she was six months old, not potty trained (at all!), and was a pleasant home for a family of fleas.

  YUCK!

But we loved her anyway. 

Now, we just couldn't imagine our life without her. She is always happy to see you. Always wants some of your food. Always wants to be in the middle of the party. Rarely barks. Never bites. And her favorite thing is just to be held. 

And I am happy to oblige. 

My New Practice

        

Makes me happy

Makes me anxious

Makes me proud

Makes me tired

Makes me new friends

and makes me thankful for old friends.

 

Sometimes I miss  my residency pals so much!