Rochester Trip Part III

Mr Medic and I finally joined each other again Saturday evening for dinner and guest speaker. He was glad to be done with the case study and presentation.

 It was fun to be together somewhere out of the ordinary and looking spiffy. I think this is the only picture we got of the two of us most of the weekend.

Sunday morning we left for home. During our long layover in Philly Mr Medic worked on the 3rd and final portion of the competition, his essay. This was our little hangout for the layover. 

And of course we couldn't pass through Philadelphia without getting a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. Granted this is just airport style, but it was still tasty.

We made it home safe and sound just in time to catch a little sleep and send Mr Medic off to work Monday morning. Then we just played the waiting game. I was really starting to doubt a scholarship increase once I knew others had already received offers. Come to find out Simon tried contacting Mr Medic while he was at work, but didn't leave details. We waited a day longer than everyone else, but were very happy with the increase in scholarship he received. Our trip to Rochester was well worth it, and I couldn't have asked for a better mini vacation.

We have felt so blessed all through this process and are excited to make it blog-official that we will be attending Simon Business school for an accelerated 2-year MBA (completed in one year) and then directly on to medical school at University of Rochester.

I'm positive if I were to look back on my thoughts and comments on our first year of applying to schools I would find a very frustrated and confused person. There were so many things we simply didn't understand. I know now we were meant to stay here for one more precious year, for so many reasons. I know now that we were meant to go to Rochester, a school that Mr Medic originally never looked at the first go around, a school that he was late for his interview (by no fault of his own), a school that offered him an incredible scholarship for his first year even though he thought he "bombed" the GMAT. All things considered, we shouldn't have made it, but we did. It is indeed God's will, and we are delighted to do it.

Rochester Trip Part II

Saturday morning Mr Medic woke up really early, took a cold shower (not by choice) and was out the  door in preparation for finishing touches to the case study and to present with his group.

I have to be honest, I thought he would be hosed since he was probably the only person who attended this particular scholarship competition that has had absolutely no prior business education. I was sure he was the underdog and therefore worried all weekend whether we wasted our time/money attending scholarship weekend with such a disadvantage.

I tried to forget about my anxiety and headed to the hotel gym for a run. I only include this because 1) I've never stayed in a hotel with a gym...hello awesome! and 2) I was in the middle of a healthy living challenge, so I was pretty proud I could keep up with my goals even when I ways traveling.)

After my workout, the Partners all hopped on the party bus...oh wait I didn't tell you?!? We rode around in style all weekend in this getup...

Fantastic, right? 

Simon Partners Group

We went to breakfast and then to the Memorial Art Gallery. I swear this entire trip was catered to me., and it was simply fabulous. Not sure about anyone else, but I absolutely loved the museum. It was so nice to quietly enjoy art without kids whining and no other commitments nagging at me. 

The following will be picture overload, so feel free to get bored...

There were no pictures allowed in this area, but I really enjoyed with the prints by Matisse. I was kicking myself for not getting into printmaking before my last semester. I will be doing it again...someday!

This installation was incredible! The wall was filled with random spools of sewing thread in many different colors all lined up. Doesn't really look like much with the naked eye, but if you stand on a dot on the floor and look through the glass orb "American Gothic" by Grant Wood is revealed. So cool! I love unconventional ideas utilizing unique materials. Now if only my brain could whip up something this cool.

What you see far away is the spools of thread on the wall

Close up of the glass orb

   

Again, there were no pictures allowed in this area, but I had to get a shot of my fellow potter, which ends up being Matisse's grandson.

A painting of a woman cutting onions and crying. Domesticity at it's finest.

Maybe it's just me, but I had no idea Georgia O'Keeffe painted anything other than her gorgeous floral/nature pieces. This particular piece was pretty cool because it had a painting on the back of it as shown below...

And what's a trip to an art museum in Rochester without a little Mormonism thrown into the mix? This bonnet inspired by the artists pioneer heritage had an interesting background story, one that I won't bother to share here :) The bonnet is made from corsage pins.

After the museum we went to lunch at The Gatehouse. You might be thinking to yourself, "wow, she spends a lot of time talking about food!" Well....that's because I was spoiled rotten and ate deliciously all weekend. In fact I ate better than Mr Medic did. His best meal (Saturday evening) was actually my "worst" Poor boy ;) 

I sampled some of this delicious salad with berries and edible flowers. Pretty yummy!

For my lunch, I again tried to pick something I would not normally try...hence The Fagan! It's a Turkey Burger with Brie, Granny Smith Apples and Cranberry Mustard Sauce.

Just in case you were wondering, those sweet potato fries were the best I have ever had. They were crunchy, slightly spicy, and drizzled with a little honey. To die for. 

If you were to ask anyone from Rochester what their famous dish is they would reply "The Garbage Plate" There are many different variations, but really they just take a bunch of crap and load it all on to one plate. I didn't eat any of this, but the partner who did said it was pretty good. The Gatehouse being a little more classy calls theirs "The Gate Plate"-half pound burger served on pasta salad, garlic rosemary fries, hot meat sauce, onion rings and cheese.

Here is a less "classy" version

Apparently as unappetizing as it looks, its a must try in Rochester. We'll see...

After lunch we had a quick tour of the perimeter of campus. It is very pretty. I really love the old brick buildings. 

Rochester is about the same in the winter, weather wise, as the Burg, but our campus definitely does not have underground tunnels connecting buildings like UofR does. That will be nice for Mr Medic.

With the end of the campus tour over we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and a guest speaker. 

Rochester Trip Part I

Oh boy!  Where do I even begin?!?

I know! With a big fat thank you to everyone who made it possible for Mr Medic and I to go to Rochester NY for his scholarship competition. (April 10-13th, 2014)

It was no small task lining up several different sitters for the boys, and definitely a lot to ask to care for 2 rambunctious little guys. You know who you are...you are AMAZING, and I love you for helping us out!

Mr Medic was accepted to University of Rochester School of Medicine and Simon Business School for the MD/MBA program. Did I not tell you he wants to do a dual program? And, that said program adds an entire year to his schooling?  Doesn't 5 years more of school, not including residency, sound simply delightful?!? 

Anyway, upon being accepted into the dual program, Simon advised him to hurry and take the GMAT (a matter of formality since he's already taken the MCAT) as they may offer him scholarship and the opportunity to compete for additional scholarships.  He whipped that puppy out in a week and did well enough to receive a scholarship AND an invite to scholarship weekend. 

We left our babies, and made the trek east. It was pretty fun getting to go with Mr Medic this time, rather than only getting to hear about his travels (he went to 5 different interview all over the country last fall...I was jealy) 

I realized that this trip was bringing us full circle. The last time we were in an airport together we were MISSIONARIES!  I had to take a picture in commemoration.

Upon arriving in Rochester I also had to stop dead in our tracks at the airport to get this gem.

He looks ecstatic, right?!

Thanks to our amazing friends and my former college roommate, who already live in Rochester, we had a place to stay since we arrived a day early. *how did we not take a picture together Jana?!?* We had a delicious dinner with Ty, Jana and girls, and stayed up too late talking about life and how great it would be if we ended up in Rochester with them. *we have since accepted the offer to Simon/UofR*

First thing Friday morning Jana and I were good girls and went to the YMCA and put in a decent little workout.  Then we spent the rest of the day looking at different housing options.  Did I mention what amazing friends we have?!?!?    

Eventually it was time for us to head to the hotel for check in and orientation for scholarship weekend. We were sad to say goodbye to our friends, but are excited at the possibility of getting to spend a year driving them crazy.

We were welcomed by the Simon Business School and sent right into orientation and a networking reception with hors d'oeuvres and drinks. 

Then, I was whisked away for a fun night out with the Simon Partners (those who accompanied the competition attendees as well as our hosts) while Mr Medic was put right to work on his competition.

**Side note: The competition was 1) A group project where they were given a case study and had to do a business strategy presentation. 2) Interviews with 3 people. 3) A 1 page written statement on what you will bring to the school etc.  

Our dinner destination was TRATA. The architecture and decor of the old armory was really neat, and the food was to die for.  I wanted to be gutsy and try things I would never think to get at home. (I also wasn't footing the bill, so that helped...THANK YOU SIMON!)

We all shared an array of appetizers.  I sampled some of each of the following:

• Artichoke and roasted red pepper dip with handmade tortilla crisps
• Tempura green beans with truffled aioli dipping sauce 
• Duck Quesadillas- duck confet, gruyere cheese, sage mascarpone dried cranberries served with crème fraiche

The last was absolutely amazing and if we end up there I will definitely be eating those again!

My dinner was started with a Brussels sprout salad- poached and chilled leaves, tossed with tomato cherries, bacon, crispy truffled shallots, asiago lemon-vinaigrette.

It had some unique flavors, but I didn't eat much of it because I wanted to save room for my main course.

I may or may not have ordered the most expensive item on the menu. But I was saving money in the drink department, so I think it evened out with everyone else when all was said and done ;)

Dinner was Pan Seared Ahi Tuna topped with a blood orange chipotle salad, and basil mashed potatoes.

I usually don't like seafood, but the Ahi was cooked well and looked beautiful. I wasn't able to eat everything, which again, was fine since I am working on controlling my portions. 

When I got back to the hotel i vegged out watching the tube. Coincidentally got sucked into some "Jake and the Neverland Pirates"...whaaaaa??? No kids around and this is what I watch? Eventually I gave up on Mr Medic coming back to the room, but heard him come in around 1:30 or 2 am....just in time for our noisy neighbors to start partying. 

Do I long to be there?

Scripture of the Day: 

"Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angles, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there." -Alma 36:22 (The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ)

I couldn't stop thinking about this verse. I kept wondering what it would be like to "long to be there." I mean I get it...being with God is a pretty fantastic thing, better than anything we could ever imagine, but at the moment I don't long to be there over where I am now.

After thinking for a while, I have come to realize that I I don't feel assured I will actually be able to be in God's presence. I haven't done anything terrible, but I can definitely always do better.  I would never want to leave this earth with a feeling of "I wish I'd done better at________, I wish I had mended my relationship with ________, or I wish I had changed ________ about myself." Which are all things I can say right now, hence why I don't long to be with God.

Life should not be lived full of regrets, and thankfully through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can all be forgiven of sin and wrongdoings.

The Saviors suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. He took upon Him all our
sin, pain, suffering, etc. that we might be forgiven of our wrongs, and be relieved of our own suffering.

I love the experience of Alma, in the same chapter:

"And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people conceding the coming of the one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world." 

"Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my hear; O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death." 

"And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more." 

"And oh, what joy, and what marvelous like I did behold; yea my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!" 

"Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy." 

         -Alma 36:17-21

I have been blessed to know what it feels like to have sin removed from my memory. It is a gift from the Savior that I truly cherish. I hope to one day live in such a way that would allow me to "long to be there." Until then, I will work each day to improve (repent) and progress.

My Original Idea...Maybe

 Picture yourself gearing up for one of those big grocery shopping trips. The ones where you have to get yourself mentally and physically prepared, like some olympic athlete. You probably spend countless hours meal planning, dividing up the shopping list into categories that coordinate with the layout of the store, and double check the ad sales, just so you can be in and out in record time without any hiccups all while still saving as many pennies as possible.

You may even spend a full week at the gym prior to your shopping trip in order to be in peak physical condition. You know you will have to endure pushing carts filled with granola bars, millions of gallons of milk, some "healthy" breakfast alternative like Nutella, and kids who are not quite old enough to be trusted to walk outside the cart without a degrading animal child leash.

Your olympic training also prepares you for that child you will have to wrangle away from the bakery kicking and screaming cause they didn't behave well enough to get the oh-so-coveted complimentary velvet and white chocolate chip cookie that turns their poo insane shades of red, or drag them from those colorfully designed sugar-filled boxes of cardboard cereal some lousy person so conveniently placed at kid level.

You've got the kind of shopping trip I'm talking about in mind, right?

Well...these olympian trips are the only way my poor fridge is ever lucky enough to be cleaned out and wiped down. If you are anything like me you usually have no idea what is lurking in the depths of the fridge collecting mold specimens that would put a 6th grade science experiment to shame. There's always so much stuff crammed in there, that it's impossible to know whatcha got goin' on in there.

As I give the fridge a beloved make-over, my calm and collected demeanor quickly changes to a sleep-deprived and cranky "I'm-stuffed-like-a-sausage-in-these-jeans-cause-my-leggins-aren't-clean" madwoman when I see this...

Leftovers gone wild

Not only is it super obnoxious having to deal with this before I can even put my olympic "winnings" away, but I just can't comprehend how I could let so much food go to waste.

Here's how it happens...

As you joyfully make lunch for the babes (while they tear the apartment to shreds when your back is turned) knowing their affinity for pineapple tidbits, you crack open a can to go with the ever-so-healthy mac n' cheese, or yellow death as my friend likes to call it. During clean-up, you put the remaining tidbits in a tupperware and throw it in the fridge.  That tupperware gets shoved farther and farther back into the abyss, until you are no longer aware of it's existence and mindlessly crack open another can several days later.

As I angrily cleaned each petri dish, still exhausted from the olympic event called grocery shopping, I pondered how I could put an end to this world problem.  In an instant my muddled mind came up with a genius idea:

I can use a dry erase marker on this nifty little do-dad which is attached to the side of the fridge every time I throw leftovers in. Then before I go to make lunch for the boys, or crack open yet another can of green beans, I can check here first to see what's already available.

Then to solve the little problem of "how long has that been there?" I came up with this solution:

Write the contents and date with a grease pencil, which washes off easily with soap and water

This may not be a 100% original idea, and even though Mr Medic doesn't see it as that big a deal, I did come up with it without turning to Pinterest to solve my problem.  Go me!

Now let's see if it actually helps...

TO BE CONTINUED.

Count Your Many Blessings

Thanksgiving was so much fun. I love to be surrounded by people I love...and delicious food!  

FABULOUS FOOD-

My babies ate this for breakfast. Thank you Pinterest, they thoroughly enjoyed eating their turkeys!

There was no way I could pull off Thanksgiving dinner for 10 adults and 3 kids alone.  Everyone graciously contributed some of their favorite dishes which made the meal a huge success.  We had plenty of food for everyone.

All the desserts/appetizers **chips with cottage cheese french onion dip, frog eye salad, cranberry salsa, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, apple crisp, pumpkin pinwheels, cranberry jello** The spread took every inch of counter (and sink) space

 Relish tray, light and dark meat turkey, homemade rolls, stuffing, potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes

Just a few dishes I made:

Can't have Thanksgiving without pecan pie.  I even made an extra for the father in law.

I attempted this dessert a few weeks prior to Thanksgiving and the cream cheese filling was too runny. Glad I could redeem myself with these pretty pinwheels.

DECORATIONS-

It's amazing what you can do to decorate when you rub to nickels together! 

Mini pumpkins from a friends garden. Fake leaves from my preschool teaching days. "Tablecloth" is dollar store wrapping paper. Pinterest for the name cards- I "borrowed" the wheat lookin' stuff from a ditch on the side of the road ;)

THE COMPANY-

Quite a few people had to go to work at some point or another in the day.  We ate mid afternoon, then sent the poor men on their way to work.  Later, Some of the ladies braved the Brown Thursday crowds. (is that really what it is called? Maybe cause it's totally crappy that people have to work on Thanksgiving hahaha) Then most everyone came back for seconds.  We were stuffing our faces, enjoying games, watching a little football, and sharing bargain deals till midnight or later.

Deeana and Chris Alexander

Brittany, Teancum, and Michael Livingston

Ben Knecht (his boo went home for the holiday since he had to work...we missed you Aubs)

Twodles enjoying olive fingers :) 

Mr Medic is seriously the best ever!  He may prefer spending time as a small family, but definitely goes all out to help me in my party-making shenanigans, and always without complaint. 

Momma Brown pulled off her fair share of the food-making.  

Christopher and Vanessa Hannan

THANKFUL FOR...

I really love our little Thankful tree tradition.  We try to add something every day in November, but as you will see we miss a lot.  But...we truly are so grateful for all that we have been blessed with.  We know that the Lord has been mindful of us!

Our list of thankful's with some explanation (so I can finally throw away the little discs without feeling guilty and fuel my hoarder-phobia at the same time haha)

• Flower pen- Twodles got it from the dentist
• Books- Goob loves to read
• Skinny hot mom- Mr Medic wrote that one. (I met my weight loss goals. His tribute to my success)
• Grammy- the boys are spoiled rotten by Grammy and they couldn't love her more
• Clothing Swap- I got some stinkin' cute clothes that actually fit, from an activity with girls from my ward...$FREE.99
• Tulane Medical School- MR MEDIC WAS ACCEPTED!
• Haircuts- Mr Medic would love to have his hair cut every 2 weeks if he had his way
• Binky- Goob is in love
• Orange plants- I don't think I have blogged about the TREES Mr Medic is growing in our house...I'll have to do that sometime.
• Good health- We've been uninsured since April 2013 and thankfully haven't had any serious issues requiring medical attention.
• Sock and shoes- Goob loves to put them on...several times a day!
• Daddy kissing owies
• Best friends
• No skids in the undies- Twodles is...a boy, so everyone is glad when we don't have to deal with that little mess. Even he was thankful for that since we've been making him do his own cleanup.  #meanparentaward
• Grandkids- Grammy loves her babies
• Flynn Ryder- Twodles loves to get his boots on and carry his satchel around just like Flynn
• Madison Fire Dept Gym- I can workout most anytime I want for free, even on holidays.  
• Bishop Kunz- There couldn't be a greater person in all of married student wards for us to love and adore
• Tangled- boys fav movie at the moment
• Mommy
• Blankies- our boys love 'em
• Ben and Aub- any friends specifically singled out are compliments of Twodles.  He has big kid BFF's and these two are some of his favorites.
• Diaper changes- no explanation necessary
• Baths- I think I may have given birth to two little fishies.  They scream out of excitement, strip down as fast as humanly possible, and run for the tubby
• Momma Brown- no words can express my appreciation for all she does for us
• Milk- Come on, I have 3 Idaho boys living with me. What do you expect? 
• New coat- I won't go in to detail on this cause I might throw a clot.  Needless to say, Mr Medic now has a new coat that we both agree on.
• JESUS- We are eternally indebted to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is because of Him that we can be clean from sin, have perfected bodies someday, and have hope to be together forever.  

"...cast about your eyes and being to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgement day, according to their works." -Alma 33:22 (The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ)

The Results Are In

Before I share with each of you the results of my weight loss goals, you must first enjoy this. It just so happens to be Twodles latest YouTube request, which is also very fitting for this post :)



On August 12th, 2013 I finally decided to get serious about losing baby weight. I'd tried earlier in the year, but because I was still nursing Goob, I had zero success.

Here are my stats from my first weigh in and body measurements:

144.2 lbs.                                         

Neck: 14"

Chest: 38"

Waist :33"

Hip: 40"

R. Arm: 13.5"

L. Arm: 13"

R. Thigh: 23"

L. Thigh: 22.5"

R. Calf: 13"

L. Calf: 13"

And after:

124.8 lbs.

Neck: 13"

Chest: 35.25"

Waist : 31"

Hip: 37"

R. Arm: 11.5"

L. Arm: 11.5"

R. Thigh: 20"

L. Thigh: 20.5"

R. Calf: 12.5"

L. Calf: 12.5"

In 15 weeks I've lost 20 lbs. My goal was to lose 2lbs a week, and most weeks I did.  The weeks that I didn't lose wasn't because I didn't try. I never worked out less than 5 days a week (sometimes 6 days a week, and even 2x per day) I did really well with portion control, and not eating as much sweets. It seems like I'm trying to excuse my occasional failure, but in all honesty, I did everything I said I would.  Let's just say being a woman is obnoxious!  No matter how hard you try, sometimes you just can't fight mother nature!   

I must thank so many people for keeping me motivated...

My sweet husband who knew it was important to me and therefore made it important to him.  My mom, who complimented and encouraged me all along the way, and even watched my boys so I could work out.  My awesome friends, who inspired me to get going again, after seeing their weight loss journeys.  And so many more!  I love you all, and couldn't have done it without you...THANK YOU! 

I'm feeling great about where I am at (124lbs being my realistic goal) I will still continue to work hard to see if I can make it to my target weight of 120 lbs. It may never be possible...my mom pooch loves me too much, but I will try.

What I need from all you lovely people is your best tips on those problem areas.  No matter how much weight I lose, I always have love handles and a baby gut.

What tried and true exercises really work?

I really like Jillian Michael's 6 week 6 pack, but it's pretty tough. I don't think I can do that AND run every day.  I fear that if I don't keep running, I will quit all together.

So what say you smart, intelligent, people?  What's a girl to do?!?!?