Step 2 [in progress]

Good Morning!
I have yet to succeed at Scott & Selena Sundays (see last blog post), but I'm close. Today was more appropriate.

Scott is off and started in his Step 2 exam.  While we got there approximately 45 minutes early, he officially started 10 minutes ago (at least, according to the paper).  Meanwhile, I'm at the mall to waste 9 hours.  I know, what husband would send their wife to the mall for nine hours?! I think it's just his way of making up for all the studying time in our home the last few weeks.  :)  I'll get to the Step 2 exam in a moment, but first, my current situation:

In preparation for the day, I charged up my laptop so that I could work on my job at Barnes & Noble for a while on my laptop. However, I plugged my laptop in the outlet that is also for the lamp at home...meaning it is controlled by a switch, which was turned off because it was night time. So, I get here to a completely dead laptop.  Thus, I got out of my comfy chair and set out to look for a place with a plug.  Of course, Barnes & Noble strategically place their plugs so that they are behind a bookshelf, or in front of a teller so that they can "monitor your usage.".  Ugh. So, for those that know me well, I'm sure you can picture this... I'm currently crouched in a corner on the floor mooching both the internet and the electricity from a plug that has just enough room for the connection.  Thankfully, it's upstairs and in a corner of a weird book section, so maybe I'll go unnoticed.

Anyway, here's a bit about Scott's exam.  It is scheduled for 9.5 hours.  I drive him to these tests so that he doesn't have that stress, but they make you leave your phone in the car (which he did before he could see my nice reminder about relaxing)... so I'm just going to assume it will take him 9 hours to finish.  During that nine hours, you have to strategically plan to take short breaks for food and bathroom. But, you also don't want to take too long on breaks so that you have time to review your answers before submission.

There's so many factors that go into prepping of the test... not to mention the grueling 16 hour study days for the last month and a half (no joke).  First, the packed food. You can have a tiny locker for snacks.  So, we covered some basic food groups with the list: pbj sandwich, cheez-it's, granola bars, banana, peanut butter M&M's (necessary), coke, gatorade, water, and a nice surprise note from me.The morning is killer, too.  So many decisions... like what to wear.  Seriously, Scott analyzed every article of clothing to make sure it was the most comfortable.  Then, there's the morning routine.  You basically stress yourself out making sure that your bodily functions are working okay so much that you cause said bodily functions to start acting weird...causing panic (Scott's family... I'm sure you're getting a laugh here). Needless to say, it was a stressful morning.  But, he's in, surely doing amazing, but analyzing every question with second guesses.

Send lots of prayers and thoughts for Scott today.  We'll leave for Chicago tomorrow for yet another test on Wednesday. This one is much lighter and said to be easier, but it's yet another hoop.  Friday is "us" time before he leaves for Cincinnati, so I'm patiently and eagerly awaiting that date night.  

Orie & Floyd are sad to see study time go away for a bit.  I have no idea what they'll do without Scott for a month. The boys have been in heaven, as this has been a month of lots of cuddle time while he sits at his desk.  They have quite the routine.

I heard the comment box works down there, so feel free to give it a try. ;)

If it ain't the cat's MEOW!

Believe it or not, that is an expression of disbelief.  Not sure of the origin, but it seems appropriate for this post.

To be honest, I'm almost embarrassed to be back here. It has been over a year.  In that time, I've moved to a new (but familiar) city, started and finished my second year of teaching fifth grade, been through two summers, traveled to the west coast for the first time (!), and have probably juggled life's big mysteries several times.  Okay, maybe not the last one... but we've been trying to map out our futures. Sorry, family, this isn't a post with a baby announcement.

I'd say the biggest announcement is that we've tackled third year medical school.
In short,

Pros:

• Schedule varies so much that while some months seem unbelievable, the lighter rotations are so welcomed
• Leading to more "us" time
• Had a relaxing spring break
• Clearer future ahead
• Step 1 is over! 
• Better stories

Cons:

• Step 2 is looming
• Residency is drawing close, so every step/misstep is a big deal
• Residency choices attract more stress
• Away rotations are coming up!

I've kept busy as well.  Last year, I tackled multiple jobs at once keeping me busy, but I'm ready to relax a bit.  I seem too young to say that, but I welcomed the opportunity to work from home most of this summer.  I feel like I can finally clean up and cook some decent meals. 

Here's an update on our boys.  Orie Porie is still...well... Orie, and the Floydster has quite the personality.  I recently bought them a new toy, and Floyd is downright aggressive, but Orie has trouble knowing how to play or gracefully snag the toy (he spends more time dancing in circles). 

 This is pretty lame and lacks detail for the first post back, but I hope to update more regularly and regain my four followers! Blog posts/Facebook tells me to update you of all my goals to keep myself accountable.  I'm going to shoot for one a week.  So, now it's up to you to hold me accountable.  Maybe we should start Scott & Selena Sundays.  Post Secret had some luck with their Sunday-only blog posts.
 Thoughts? (Disclaimer: Great start - it's Saturday.. but I'll be out of town tomorrow... ).

Happy early Birthday to my Mother in Law & and Happy late Birthday to my niece... and Happy early/belated Birthday to everyone else since I missed it over this past year.

I would love to hear from all of you,

Parenthood?

Don't get your hopes up.  I'm sure many of you saw that title and got a little giddy, excited, nervous, dumbfounded, annoyed, etc. But, that's not this post at all.  After my last post, I figured I was in need to give my small audience a little humor.

First, I am no where near ready to have kids.

That being said, I have learned a lot about my future parenting skills through my first year of teaching.  First, let me start by saying I am scared to death of being that teacher parent.  I have high expectations of my students and while I'll have high expectations for my child, at this point, I would have a hard time separating parent-mode and teacher-mode.  

But, throughout my first year of teaching, I've learned several things that I MUST teach/do with my child before sending them off to a teacher... I feel like I need to create a different tab on my blog so that I can make this an ongoing list.  ...Sounds time-consuming, so I'll do it here for now. 

Objective #1: Require my child to be aware of current events.
Trust me, I don't expect my child to want to watch the news.  But, I can settle that a few different ways.  They could set the table while the news is on, I'll subscribe to a magazine like Time for Kids, or simply force them into discussions at the dinner table about what's going on around the world.  Why? Consider these teachable moments.

• While introducing our Social Studies unit on explorers and looking at a world map... "I've always wondered, what's on the other side of the world?"
  Clearly, we have some students in our society still debating whether the world is flat or round. 
• While discussing past wars and how they compare to the current one....  "I don't get it.  Are we the Iraqis?"
  Nope.. we're still known as the Americans.

Objective #2: Teach child to understand the difference between private and public family facts.

Ha, this one is obvious to just not do.. but I had to find a way to share it.

• While doing an opening activity where you go around and share interesting facts... "My interesting fact is that my mom has been married 6 times."
  ...You're right, Billy, that is interesting.

Objective #3: Thoroughly explain troubling events.  
Caution: This may be offensive.  I want to make it clear that s/he was totally serious when s/he said this and didn't understand why it would be so offensive.  S/He really wasn't trying to be funny and truly did have a misunderstanding

• I don't even remember what we were discussing that brought this up. "I don't understand why we spend so much time searching for the cure for cancer.  I already found it."
  "Oh really? You have? What's the cure?"
  "Hair extensions and wigs." 

If you're a parent and reading this, take a few moments and simply talk to your child about what's going on in the world or clear up misconceptions.  Remember, I teach fifth grade. :)   Despite the terrible things that I hear kids say, there are these candid moments that make me love teaching students of all different backgrounds.   Hope you enjoyed these as well.  I'll keep thinking of more to add. I'm sure there are plenty... I just need to write them down.

I'm Alive!

Wow! It's been so long since I last wrote an update. Clearly, there's a lot of updating to do.  But, I need to do some checking in so that my extended family and friends know that I'm still alive.  Hi Grandpa!  That said, expect this blog to be a lot of rambling.

This post in a single picture.

First, I'll admit it.  I failed at my New Year's goal.  It was too ambitious for this year with all the traveling.  I still try to cook, but I'm at the point where buying a weekend's worth of food for two people is about the same as eating out.  Any greens don't last until the next weekend and we certainly can't eat them all in one sitting.  I did make some grilled chicken, mashed 'taters and asparagus so that Scott could have decent non-frozen leftovers, but I think we waste a lot of food.  I think I've done a new recipe every month like my goal states, but I haven't documented it or put much creativity into it. It's just new to us.

The driving back and forth combined with sleeping in 2-3 different places is starting to get old.  Really old.  I used to appreciate the drives.  I'd catch up with the news on NPR, relax from a stressful day, and if I'm lucky, watch a sunset/sunrise.  Now, it's construction season! Ugh.  I don't think there's any possible thing that can make driving through construction multiple times per week exciting.  But, I'm listening to new podcasts and updating my iPod to accommodate the additional half hour or more of time.

More so than the construction, I feel like I'm literally going crazy sometimes.  For any frequent traveling female, I have no idea how you live out of bags.  I tend to wear the same wrinkly clothes over and over (I suppose that's just me being lazy) but lately I have been forgetting items.  Take today for example.  I woke up and realized I left pants at home.  Therefore, I had to dig through my closet at my parent's to find something suitable.  I ended up with an old skirt... thank goodness I haven't changed sizes much since early college.   Then, I was at school and noticed the beautiful weather outside.  Over the weekend, I saw it was going to be a nice week so I packed running clothes.  I spent a good chunk of time convincing myself I was going to run while at school (I don't particularly love or even like running).  I went home to go forth with my plans and guess what?! I only have dress shoes.  Since I haven't mastered running in tennis shoes, I'm certainly not going to upgrade to heels.  Alas, I'm stuck here blogging and trying to convince myself to do something like a workout DVD (boo!).  I don't think I've worked out in like 2 months.. (and I'm left wondering if that is or isn't an exaggeration.  Yikes!)

Overall, I'm finishing up my first year of teaching and Scott's in his last week of his second year of med school.  Don't celebrate yet, while I'm wrapping up school, he'll be in his intensive study period.  Then, it's the STEP 1 Board Exam.  The score, combined with some other things, help determine you're likelihood of getting where you want for residency.  So, it's pretty stressful.  About 8 weeks left until both of our first actual week long break.  We'll be moving to Kalamazoo during that short break, but I plan on enjoying every waking minute of it.  Then, it's right into the Kalamazoo hospitals for rotations and me into my summer jobs.

All in all, we're nearing the end stretch.  We found our place for next year (contract pending), and are excitedly awaiting living together both on the weekends and during the week.

Now, that I've updated you... stay tuned and I'll try to write a more enjoyable post.

January in Review

Phew! We made it through January.  Going into January, I was dreading the month: terrible weather, crazy schedule, getting back into the groove, etc.  First, let me say how relieved I am that we skipped the terrible weather.  I did have a treacherous longer than necessary drive, but overall it wasn't too bad.

Once my winter break was over, there were only three January weekends left.  Here are how those went for me:

First weekend - spent the weekend at the Devos Place/Amway Hotel to talk to Fair enthusiasts about the possibilities of using QR Codes in marketing.  Luckily, I was able to have Scott tag along with me to this conference.

Second weekend - I took around 42 middle schoolers to Shipshewana to a water park/hotel for the weekend. While this was fun, it was entirely exhausting.  I am happy to say that it went very successfully thanks to some great leaders and even more entertaining students.

Third weekend - I went to a Youth for Christ conference to get energized to spend more time with the kids that  I spend the second weekend with.

All were very refreshing, and fun weekends... but boy, it left me exhausted.  Needless to say, I failed at my New Years goal.  I guess I fall in that 92% of American's who fail at their New Year's Resolutions (statistic heard on the radio...).  However, I think the above clearly states why I wasn't making elaborate meals over the weekend.  Cooking was about the last thing on my to-do list.  I did try two meals this past weekend...ad I'm not joking, they were disgusting.  I was going to just post them for the sake of meeting my goal, but I figured it wasn't fair to you if I posted and convinced you to make something I found disgusting.

Anyway, I successfully made a delicious meal last night, and figured I'd share. :)

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu w/ Mashed Potatoes

Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients:
(I estimated most of my amounts, but I'll estimate for a serving of 4)

• Chicken Breast (however many people you're serving)
• Black Pepper
• Dash of Salt
• 1/4 cup of Swiss Cheese
• 2 tbsp. Reduced-Fat Cream Cheese
• 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), divided
• 1/2 cup chopped ham

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit 

1. Salt & Pepper Chicken Breasts on both sides

2. Combine Cream Cheese and Swiss cheese in bowl (mine came out like a thick paste)

3. Combine bread crumbs, about an 1/8 tsp. pepper, and 1 tsp. EVOO in another bowl
4.  Heat remaining 1 tsp. of EVOO in an ovenproof skillet

5. Place chicken in skillet and brown on both sides (about 2 minutes per side).  Once done, move chicken to the center of the skillet so that they are touching.

6. Spread cheese mixture on chicken (it was really thick... so I used my hands)

7.  Sprinkle ham and then top with breadcrumbs

8.  Bake in the oven until chicken temperature reaches 165 degrees (about 7 minutes). 

9.  Enjoy!  

Next, Delicious Parmesan Potatoes! :) Seriously, they are yummy.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of Yukon blend potatoes
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• You can add 1/3 cup chives, but I didn't have any
• Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Boil potatoes in salted water until you can break apart with a fork

2. Mix everything else in a bowl

3. Add potatoes and mix with a potato masher (I don't have one... so I just used a low speed with a blender)

Voila - you have a delicious meal.  :)  I paired it with steamed veggies and bread. If I made this again (which I will), breadsticks would have been a better bread pairing.   It was delicious (and we have plenty of leftovers!)

P.S.  I had a chocolate craving for brownies topped with 1/2 cup cream cheese,  1/2 cup powered sugar and strawberries.  I liked it. 

Let me know if you try it. 

In other news, Scott has been extra creative lately.  If you're a facebook fan, I now have a more creative timeline header. 

Now, on to make some homemade chicken wings for the Super Bowl (speaking of which, I'm not too excited about either team).

Feel free to pin the recipe above to pinterest:

Pin It

Love,

Surviving the Holidays & Resolutions

Well, today is the last day of our vacation.  I'm definitely sad to see the return come so quickly, but I'm somewhat ready to get back in the routine. I just am not looking forward to the drive that comes with that routine.

Our first holiday together went smoothly.  We have done the whole sharing holidays with multiple families for a few years now, so this one wasn't all that different.  Sadly, schedules forced us to miss one of the Christmas', but we were able to successfully get to four others.

In the middle, we did take a short vacation in Canada (thanks to Scott's family).  For some reason, I've married into a family that decides to travel north during the cold months rather than south. ;) It's okay, it's always a pleasant trip.

Some pictures from the trip:

Butterfly Conservatory

The Gorge

While the new year has just begun, I have already accomplished something on my bucket list:

We went skiing! Sorry, we didn't get any action shots.  Don't we look darling in our helmets?  :P

I suppose bucket lists makes a nice transition to New Years Resolutions. I just asked Scott his, and he replied, "I don't have one."  I don't know if I have some "new" resolutions, but I do like to keep goals throughout the year.  They're basically on-going and have been for a few years... things like trying something new (skiing), eating healthier, exercising more, becoming more organized in my classroom, etc.  However, after watching Wheel of Fortune, I think I'll copy Vanna White's resolution.  She said that she wants to make a new recipe every week.  I feel like I've done that numerous times over break, but I like this goal.  Unfortunately, I'm not home to cook much for the week, so I'm going to say that I'll create (well, copy), one amazing meal per month. Or, at least cook an entire meal that I hope to be amazing.  Don't worry, I'll share.

While this isn't my amazing meal of the month for January, I did make a new recipe tonight: Chicken Spinach Pasta Bake.  Here's a link if you want to try it.  It was an odd concoction, but good.  It should make for decent leftovers for Scott during the week.  Feel free to share your favorites.

Well, I have an early night planned, as school starts in the morning.  Happy New Year! :)

They picked the right resolution. 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is fast approaching.  Thankfully, Scott and I are all set to go.  I just need to figure out a couple of desserts to bring to the family gatherings.  This year, we'll have four Christmas celebrations and one trip to the "Great White North."

Scott's on break, and it's been wonderful to have some quality time together. He successfully completed his first semester of second year. I have four days to go... but the students are so ready for break. They are getting frustrated with one another (lots of tattling) and have decided they no longer care what I'm teaching.   They were probably ready for break a week ago. So, this week will be a bit rough.

To get us all through the last work week before the holidays, here's a lovely homemade e-card form us. This wasn't some fancy website either.  Scott started from scratch using Photoshop.  Enjoy!

We went and got the kitties their Christmas present: cute sweaters, hats, and scarves.  Yep, we're those people.

I'm pretty sure they were slightly disappointed this Christmas.  Really disappointed (see previous post)

Love,