Rank List

We did it! Last night we submitted Ryan's rank list for Residency Programs. I wish I could tell you where we ranked...but I have to be careful about all of the program directors out there who are reading my blog...so if you want to know anything, you'll just have to call me.

Now, all we can do is wait until March 15th to open the envelope and see where we will actually end up. It feels really great to have that part of the journey done. Life is so exciting. I can't wait to see where we'll be in June.

Ryan becomes Dr. Ryan on June 3rd when he graduates. I can't believe how fast these med school years have gone!

On getting things done...

Whew. I have been getting things done. That pretty much sums up my week so far. Yes, it's only Tuesday...but a productive two days it has been.

Monday:

1.) Washed all cross country ski clothing...including gloves/hats/coats/snowpants. This was an adventure, because we have a horrendous washing machine in the basement that gobbles quarters, and a dryer that is even worse. Luckily everything turned out okay.

2.) Logged 6 hours working online for AspireOne

3.) Took Ryan's Jeep to the car wash to get all of the salt and sludge off.

4.) Got the Jeep's oil changed...for freeeeeeeee! Thank you JiffyLube

5.) Got new windshield wiper for Jeep...for freeeeee! Thank you again JiffyLube

6.) Paid JiffyLube a heafty fee for much needed Fuel System Cleaning (which is how I got everything else for free)

TUESDAY:

1.) Did some Yogalates

2.) Finished reading "Real Owl's Don't Bark" (full review to be posted soon)

3.) Looked in cook books for recipes, and actually made a list of things I need from the grocery.

4.) Logged 5 hours working/called some pastors/researched some church websites

5.) Watered my plants. I have 2 that are sort of living...nearly dead, but not quite.

6.) Did the dishes (my least favorite is Ryan's daily stovetop oatmeal pan)

7.) Dropped off 2 bags of goodies at GoodWill.

8.) Now I am about to go to the bank and the grocery...or I might do those things tomorrow.


How was your day?

Cross Country Skiing

Today, every muscle in my body is mad at me. Yesterday, we were cross country skiing in Wisconsin...

We invited the Scheffers along for some cross country skiing up at Kettlemoraine State Park over the weekend. We booked out hotel before there was snow, and we were getting a bit worried that there wouldn't be any, but as you can see, it was a glorious snowy day.


Michelle, Ryan & Bryan are awesome on the hills. I, on the other hand, have not found any way to stop or slow down other than throwing myself into a heap on the ground.

See those groomed trails?

It was a weekend filled with great friends (we love Bryan and Michelle), great food (Cracker Barrel, Coldstone, Potbelly's Sandwiches), and lot's of fun times. We are so blessed!! These are memories that will last a lifetime!

John Daker

This makes me die laughing everytime I see it. Click HERE to see (and hear) what's so funny.

So, my recent housewifliness post generated quite a few helpful tips from all of you...a couple of which were really HILARIOUS! My friend Jessica sent me this link to the hillbillyhousewife and I am learning so much from it.

Did you know that you can save money by making your own sanitary pads?

Thank you Jess, for finding this glorious site to help me improve my housewifeliness

where in the world is...

I've visted 17 states (33%)...

...and 7 countries (3%)

How many have you been to?

Click HERE to create your map

On Housewifing

Sometimes I get a little bit worried about my NATURAL ability to be a housewife. Today has been one of those days. To tell you the truth about me, I don't NATURALLY find cooking, cleaning, decorating, knitting and the like to be enjoyable. This could be due to the fact that I generally want to be really good at everything I do...I want to be the best at it, I want to set some kind of record and win some major award....which partially explains why, in other areas of my life so far, if I discover that I am not very good at something, I just find something else that I am better at that is more fun, and I do that instead.

The following are a few examples of times that I have tried, and miserably failed at being housewifely.

I have had many troubles while at the grocery, including looking for scallions in the seafood aisle and being unable to locate "oleo."

I tried to crochet a blanket once...but I didn't count, so it turned out looking like a tornado.

I kill plants. I just let them die, alone and unloved

And finally, Ryan has outlawed the crock pot...that's right folks, I didn't even do the crock pot right!

These mishaps proove that I am not NATURALLY housewifely. However...I am a wife, as you know, with a husband who likes to eat, and we have an apartment (which can be cleaned and decorated) so it is difficult for me to imagine escaping from these housewifely duties all around me.

If any naturally gifted housewifely people out there would like to offer advice on how to be housewifely if it doesn't come NATURALLY, I would be happy to take it.

My Friends are Populating the Earth

Check out this Duck Tub! Carolyn makes it look really really cute...someday...not today...someday, when I have a baby, I'm getting it a duck tub!

Speaking of babies, everyone is having babies! Here's Mark & Tara's new little buddy, and below that is Lacey, holding her new little one, and Nurse Anna (next to her in the pic) will have a baby of her own in a few months too!

Brian and Brittany had baby Lucas last week (the night of her baby shower) They are doing well, but Lucas was 3 weeks early so he is at Children's Memorial Hospital while his lungs strengthen up before coming home...then I'll have a picture to show you.

Here's Erika with her tiny guy, and a picture of Johnnie boy holding Corey & Debbie Mann's little man.

Matt & Eli had little Emma and Tiece has #2 on the way! Whew!

DAAAaaa Bears, Da Bears, Da Bears, Da Bears

It's times like this that I love living in Chicago. People are setting off fireworks and dancing in the streets right now...I called my mom, and rumor has it that she was dancing in the street too.

The Interview Trail

Hooray Hooray! We've finished interviewing and have managed to narrow our choices down from 11 to 5 to 2! I can't give you a list...because we haven't officially submitted our ranking's yet...but as soon as I can, I will fill you in on the deets.

It is absolutely crazy that I got to travel with Ryan on all 11 interviews. We had lots of adventures along the way, including getting trapped in Cleveland at the airport, going house hunting in Wisconsin, learning how cheese is made, almost getting to see the birth of a baby calf, eating at many fine resturaunts (I ate some loud bruschetta), meeting people from Fargo (which is a real place!), and crossing paths with tons of really cool...and a few not so cool interviewees.

I am so proud of Ry. He has become a professional interviewer, which means he could write a book about it. However, I don't think he has time to write a book right now.

He takes step 2 of the Board Exams next week, so you can be praying for him on Wednesday and Friday. This entire month has consisted of him studying all day every day for 18 days so far. He does about 5 hours of questions each day (and says he may be getting carpal tunnel syndrome from clicking the mouse so much) and ready around 40 pages of his USMLE review book each day. He is amazing!

Pray for Sandy

PRAY FOR MY FRIEND SANDY! Greg just updated their blog and I learned that they have decided not to return to the DR for at least another month because Sandy is very sick with headaches. You can read Greg's post below:

Once again we find ourselves in desperate need of prayer. We spent the Christmas season in Michigan with our families and it was a great blessing. During our last week home Sandy started getting headaches again. So bad that we canceled all of our plans for that week. We waited and prayed and waited and prayed and she was getting worse, not better. Well, we were supposed to fly back to D.R. on January 8th, 2007 but instead we found ourselves in the ER with Sandy on the morning of January 7th. For those of you who do not already know we have decided to extend our stay here at home to try to get some answers. Right now the plan is to stay an extra month. Sandy is seeing a chiropractor three times a week and we are seeing doctors in the meantime. Like the doctors in the D.R. the doctors here are concluding that Sandy is struggling with migraine headaches. Sandy is trying a migraine medication called Imitrex right now, and she has been on it for about a week. The first four days brought excellent results and we were hopeful that we had found a solution, however, the last two days she has really gone downhill again. Please pray for Sandy! Pray that the Lord our God would heal her. Pray for the doctors that will be treating Sandy. Please Pray! Thank you

Flashback Friday

I came across this picture recently and couldn't believe what I saw! That's Ryan in the grocery cart...and that's Johnnie in the cart behind him with the goggles! Who would have known at that moment that I was looking at my future husband and my sister's future husband. Hilarous!

What are they doing in grocery carts, you ask? Well, this is a little event called "The Push" at Hope College. Near the end of each year, in May, a bunch of crazy guys do a race around campus and each team has their own theme. "The Push" began back in 2001 with some guys in my class, and is now on official Hope College Tradition.

Check out our friend Matt in the background waving the American Flag. Those elbow pads were drawn on with a marker.

Good Times

Friendly Advice

I have this wonderful friend Katie, who I have been friends with since I was 5. That's right...we met in Kindergarten and have been friends ever since. So, today on her blog I noticed that she may need some friendly advice, so I figured I'd post what she wrote and give you the link to offer her soem friendly advice.

She wrote:
"i've decided that i'm going through a midlife crisis. is that possible at 25, does that mean ill die at 50? this can't be a good sign. my brain keeps jumping back and forth between,
1.) i'm 25 and i'm not in a long term career, i don't own a home, i'm paying off debt and i don't know what i'm doing with my life (enter labored breathing here)
and 2.) i'm only 25, i'm too young to have a career and far too young to be married.

the problem is that either argument has me wanting to either drink heavily (not really, just kidding, no one panic) or get a new job. i'm not kidding, i'm actully stressing about this. it doesn't feel good.

what is your opinion of me joining the LA police department? my mom about came through the phone...what about everyone else?

off to talk myself off a cliff...and talk myself out of hyperventilating,
k

Click HERE to offer your advice

Riley Children's Hospital

We're off to Indianapolis for our 10th of 11 interviews! It is so exciting to be on this journey with Ryan. He is going to be the best pediatrician EVER! By the end of this week, we will be making our list, from our top choice down, and deciding which residency programs would be the best for Ryan for the next three years. Pray for us as we make these huge decisions. We won't know where we are going until March 15th when we open the envelope to find out which of his favorite programs picked him as their favorite as well! The only problem is that everyone wants Ryan as a resident, so I am about 99.9% sure that he will get his first choice...but then again, I am a teeny bit biased

more later

the lies I believe...

"What ever happend to Flea Circuses?" I asked the question at lunch today...innocently enough, but apparently no one believed them to be a real thing except for me. I think that Looney Tunes and Sesame Street made me think they were real...
Fleas jump around so much it seems like if you put a bunch of them into the box, it would look like a circus. Did anyone else out there think these were real? ALRIGHT, alright, no more excuses. I guess now that I think about it a Flea Circus probably isn't a real thing.












Flea Circus - An Extraordinary Entomological Exhibition Featuring Trained Fleas Excecuting Acts of Skill and Daring

Tonight's Office is going to be HILARIOUS!! Yahoo.TV just posted a short clip.

Watch The Clip

I Heart Ryan & warm weather

It doesn't seem like January. Can you see the sun shining in that picture? Now, don't get me wrong, I love it. I am pretty pumped that we have had a mild winter so far...infact, I didn't even have a coat on yesterday when I walked to lunch! The problem is that deep down inside I am nervous that this weather is too good to be true. We're going to get pounded. It's going to be negative 31 degrees. Oh, the horror!

Unless it happens on January 26th...which would be good because we will be able to take out annual cross country ski trip to Whitewater, WI.

Scott the Nametag Guy

Scott the Nametag Guy on NBC

Check This out! It will make you wish you came up with his idea...

Happy 2007!!

These are some of my best girl friends from home. Ruby, Brooke, Kristie, and Michelle. I love them dearly and New Years Eve was the first time we have all been in the same place at the same time in 2 years! We're as different as 5 people can be, but we love eachother, we pray for eachother, and we have tons of fun together.

Thank you Michael W. Smith..."Friends are friends forever if Lord's the Lord of them, and a friend will not say never, no the welcome will not end..."

I know...I am cheezy

Camp Manowe

I love my family. We have such a great time together and over Christmas break we got to spend some quality time doing fun things together. Mom and Dad took us all to Camp Manowe for a thrilling day of hiking, horseback riding, and building memories. Manowe is such a beautiful place, the staff is awesome, the horses were great...except for when aaron's horse (which seemed to be a bit of a bucking bronco) kicked angela's horse...
As you can see, the horses liked to run...eventhough we kept saying "WOAH, WOAH" and "EASY" and all of the other words we could think of to slow them down.