I do updates about the boys but I haven't given an update about Lee and I lately.
Lee is now a 3rd year resident! PGY3! we're in our last 9 months of residency! Whoa it's actually gone quickly, I can't believe it's almost over. He is the chief resident and is staying pretty busy, but 3rd year over all has been much better than the first two and we have somewhat of a normal schedule.
It is likely that we'll be doing a global health fellowship next year, but there is a ton involved in that and it isn't official yet so I won't even bother going into it. haha.
After that we definitely plan on staying in Ft Myers. We really love it here and are ready to buy a house and make it our permanent home!
This is Lee's 3rd season to be the doctor for a local high school football team. He's having a lot of fun with that and I can definitely see that being something we continue doing in the future.
We're both staying really busy with stuff at our church. For the past year I have been the Sunday School teacher for the College and Career age group and after Houston was born Lee joined me to help teach because you know, I spend half the class nursing Houston typically. haha. We try to get together with our college group a couple times a month outside of church too.
I help with the youth group on Wednesday nights and we are also apart of a parenting class on Sunday nights and attend Bible study every other Monday night! And Lee plays the drums a lot of Sundays and has lead worship several times to fill in for our worship pastor.
We are so thankful for our church and we love the people there. It really has become like family! It makes me happy to know that Leo and Houston have so many people of all ages that care about them and that they feel comfortable with. It takes a village they say. Our church is a big part of our village for sure.
My MOPS group started back up about a month ago. I'm a table leader again this year, which really doesn't mean a ton, haha. I just have to be there and facilitate discussion and send out reminders and stuff. Our first meetings have been really fun. We also do moms night outs once a month and playdates. I have made some really good friends at my MOPS group. I think we had 90 women sign up this year so there is never a shortage of someone to meet at the park or to answer a question I have about something in the area! I love that Leo gets to go hang out with friends for a few hours too. He calls it going to school. haha
A few weeks ago Leo and I joined a gym by our house too! A gym with childcare! It's amazing! I've been going about 4x a week. A friend and I go to a class MWF (pilates, abs, and Tai box) and I've been running and lifting weights ?! what! Yeah after baby #2 I definitely felt like I need some help in the muscle and strength department. Lifting weights is actually pretty fun. I have no idea what I'm doing... but I'm learning. And I can shower at the gym. That alone is worth the $30 a month, right?
Lee has been going before work in the mornings. He's the best.
And finally I reopened my Etsy store a few weeks ago too!
I had missed doing stuff with my hands. I love crafting... but I don't love the messes I make all over the house. It's been steady these first few weeks. My garland that I make is by far my best seller, I really need to figure one out that I might be able to sell year round. Everyone loves the pumpkins!
I am really excited though - I'm doing 2 craft shows in November! I'm slowly working on extra projects in the evenings to build up some stock to have at the shows. I'm also working on using up all the supplies that I already have. I.have.so.much.craft.stuff. I'm starting on some Christmas stuff too. Last year it got hectic for me and I ended up only making 1 Christmas item. Major fail. I'm determined to do better this year!
So yeah, we're pretty busy, but I love it. I prefer being busy to staying home a lot... and thankfully thus far Leo and Houston either like it too or they at least put up with me!
Showing posts with label Lee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lee. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Baby with a snowman cup
I'm still working on Leo's 9 month post.
It's a lot of work you know and we've had visitors and I've been sick and so busy just doing stuff.
Is that enough excuses?
anyway.
I just wanted to write down this sweet little moment that happened on Sunday and save it in my memory bank.
Leo has entered what I guess is the 9 month sleep regression people talk about. I don't know, but all of a sudden about 2 weeks ago he decided that 3am was a great time to wake up and scream. Not cry, but scream bloody murder like he was being attacked... and then continue to scream until I give in and feed him (which I KNOW they say not to do, but come on, if you've had a screaming baby for 5 minutes you know what's it's like to just do whatever it takes to calm them down and get some sleep) or the other option is - Lee paces around the house or bounces him on his lap for over an hour and he finally gives up and goes to sleep. The later doesn't happen too often because Lee actually isn't here in the middle of the night a lot lately! He's off delivering babies!
So I've been fighting a sore throat and cold as well as being up in the middle of the night and then up for the day at 6am most days...
Sunday happened to be Lee's day off, but he was leading the music at church and needed to be there extra early so I didn't even get to sleep in like I usually do on his day off! waaa
That afternoon while Leo was taking a nap Lee and I both laid down to get some sleep (lets face it as tired as I am, I know Lee is even more tired. Dude has been working so many hours this month it's insane) and as soon as we'd fallen asleep Leo woke up screaming....
Lee hoped out of bed immediately and told me to stay in bed that he'd take Leo for a walk.
I needed that nap because over an hour later I woke up rested to Lee and Leo peeking through the doorway of the bedroom.
Leo was holding a snowman cup that was half his size with the hugest grin on his face.
It was just the most precious little sight.
That little baby was so proud of his new cup and wanted to show his mommy.
I said what is that?! and Lee said - we saw it in Target and he really wanted it!
hahahaha.
Isn't that sweet?
I didn't know a silly plastic cup could make me so happy.
or maybe it was the Daddy that wanted his baby to be happy so he bought him a snowman cup.
;)
ps. for the past two nights Leo has slept through the night again... but getting him to sleep has been a struggle and today he skipped his morning nap.
boooo
It's a lot of work you know and we've had visitors and I've been sick and so busy just doing stuff.
Is that enough excuses?
anyway.
I just wanted to write down this sweet little moment that happened on Sunday and save it in my memory bank.
Leo has entered what I guess is the 9 month sleep regression people talk about. I don't know, but all of a sudden about 2 weeks ago he decided that 3am was a great time to wake up and scream. Not cry, but scream bloody murder like he was being attacked... and then continue to scream until I give in and feed him (which I KNOW they say not to do, but come on, if you've had a screaming baby for 5 minutes you know what's it's like to just do whatever it takes to calm them down and get some sleep) or the other option is - Lee paces around the house or bounces him on his lap for over an hour and he finally gives up and goes to sleep. The later doesn't happen too often because Lee actually isn't here in the middle of the night a lot lately! He's off delivering babies!
So I've been fighting a sore throat and cold as well as being up in the middle of the night and then up for the day at 6am most days...
Sunday happened to be Lee's day off, but he was leading the music at church and needed to be there extra early so I didn't even get to sleep in like I usually do on his day off! waaa
That afternoon while Leo was taking a nap Lee and I both laid down to get some sleep (lets face it as tired as I am, I know Lee is even more tired. Dude has been working so many hours this month it's insane) and as soon as we'd fallen asleep Leo woke up screaming....
Lee hoped out of bed immediately and told me to stay in bed that he'd take Leo for a walk.
I needed that nap because over an hour later I woke up rested to Lee and Leo peeking through the doorway of the bedroom.
Leo was holding a snowman cup that was half his size with the hugest grin on his face.
It was just the most precious little sight.
That little baby was so proud of his new cup and wanted to show his mommy.
I said what is that?! and Lee said - we saw it in Target and he really wanted it!
hahahaha.
Isn't that sweet?
I didn't know a silly plastic cup could make me so happy.
or maybe it was the Daddy that wanted his baby to be happy so he bought him a snowman cup.
;)
ps. for the past two nights Leo has slept through the night again... but getting him to sleep has been a struggle and today he skipped his morning nap.
boooo
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Residency 5 months in
Here were are November already! It's hard to judge time going by here in Florida because pretty much every single day is just as sunny, warm, and beautiful as the last, but somehow it's almost Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Lee is finishing his 5th month of residency today.
He has completed - in-patient medicine, sports medicine, pediatrics, another round of in-patient, and will start OB on Monday.
I wrote a post a few months ago about how things were going so far - here.
Overall I still can't complain too much about residency. I know many others who have it much worse than we do in terms of - schedule, program, coworkers, etc.
Lee is so far really happy with his decision to come here and so am I!
However, there are still a lot of aspects of residency that are no cake walk no matter which way you look at it.
Lee has been working A TON. He recently did 20 straight days of about 5am-8:00pm... I'll let you do the math of how many hours a week that is (and how much over time that'd be in a normal job -no such thing as over time in residency) and that doesn't include travel time and all the text, email, pager answering, and studying he does outside of the hospital.
This past week was pretty rough, he went from Sunday - Friday pretty much without seeing Leo because he was only home when he was sleeping :( But then he had Friday off and was able to spend the entire day with us. As a bonus Leo randomly slept in until 8:30am! which NEVER happens, so he must have known we all needed a little extra sleep! (unfortunately I woke up with what looks like a case of mastitis.....ugh. but that's a post for another day)
It makes for long days and weeks when he is gone that much. Not only do I feel like a single parent, but I miss my husband :( If we're lucky we get about an hour together before he falls asleep. We're hoping next month will be better when he's on OB. He'll be on call a lot, but he'll be at the hospital that's only 5 minutes from home so he might be able to come home more often/earlier!
Back in September Lee took (and crushed!) Step 3 during his vacation. He was a little worried about taking it so early in residency, but they were going to make changes to the test come the end of the year so he decided to take it early and, by no shock to me, did really, really well. Although I'm not sure it really matters what their score is on that one as long as they pass.
A couple weeks ago he also finished up the season with his high school football team. He really enjoyed working with them and being apart of their team. They even gave him a polo with the team logo :) He will probably/hopefully follow them all 3 years we're here. Next year it will be more fun to take Leo to the games! Surprisingly it's not that much fun to take a baby to a football game that starts the same time as bed time... haha.
Last week he worked at a special sports physical clinic for the athletes of the Special Olympics. Stuff like that make me so proud and I know make his job so much more enjoyable for him. A nice change of pace from the everyday and difficult patients.
In addition to all of this, Lee is really involved with the youth group at church, He leads worship and teaches Sunday school for the teens on Sunday morning, and when he's able to be there on Wednesday nights he leads a small group of boys. And helps me out in any way he can with projects I've got going on, like the block party or helps me think of games to play with the teens on Wednesday before the service.
And if you can believe it, he is still such a loving and thoughtful husband and father. He always responds to my texts/calls throughout the day (maybe an hour or two later, but still) and on days he's going to get home really late tries to facetime with Leo.
He always brings me a surprise home from work to let me know he was thinking of me - usually a leftover piece of cake from lunch or a granola bar. Those little gifts are the sweetest.
Friday, on his day off, all on his own accord he did about 4 loads of laundry - washed, dried, folded, and put away, while I was busy straightening up the spare room (recovering from Operation Grenada Child mess and preparing for all of our Holiday visitors coming up!). AND then suggested we go to the fair in town because he knew I would want to go!!
I didn't intend for this to turn into a put-Lee-up-on-a-pedestal post, trust me he can get on my nerves from time to time and isn't always perfect, but am I blessed with this man and I love him so.
Lee is finishing his 5th month of residency today.
He has completed - in-patient medicine, sports medicine, pediatrics, another round of in-patient, and will start OB on Monday.
I wrote a post a few months ago about how things were going so far - here.
Overall I still can't complain too much about residency. I know many others who have it much worse than we do in terms of - schedule, program, coworkers, etc.
Lee is so far really happy with his decision to come here and so am I!
However, there are still a lot of aspects of residency that are no cake walk no matter which way you look at it.
Lee has been working A TON. He recently did 20 straight days of about 5am-8:00pm... I'll let you do the math of how many hours a week that is (and how much over time that'd be in a normal job -no such thing as over time in residency) and that doesn't include travel time and all the text, email, pager answering, and studying he does outside of the hospital.
This past week was pretty rough, he went from Sunday - Friday pretty much without seeing Leo because he was only home when he was sleeping :( But then he had Friday off and was able to spend the entire day with us. As a bonus Leo randomly slept in until 8:30am! which NEVER happens, so he must have known we all needed a little extra sleep! (unfortunately I woke up with what looks like a case of mastitis.....ugh. but that's a post for another day)
It makes for long days and weeks when he is gone that much. Not only do I feel like a single parent, but I miss my husband :( If we're lucky we get about an hour together before he falls asleep. We're hoping next month will be better when he's on OB. He'll be on call a lot, but he'll be at the hospital that's only 5 minutes from home so he might be able to come home more often/earlier!
Back in September Lee took (and crushed!) Step 3 during his vacation. He was a little worried about taking it so early in residency, but they were going to make changes to the test come the end of the year so he decided to take it early and, by no shock to me, did really, really well. Although I'm not sure it really matters what their score is on that one as long as they pass.
A couple weeks ago he also finished up the season with his high school football team. He really enjoyed working with them and being apart of their team. They even gave him a polo with the team logo :) He will probably/hopefully follow them all 3 years we're here. Next year it will be more fun to take Leo to the games! Surprisingly it's not that much fun to take a baby to a football game that starts the same time as bed time... haha.
Last week he worked at a special sports physical clinic for the athletes of the Special Olympics. Stuff like that make me so proud and I know make his job so much more enjoyable for him. A nice change of pace from the everyday and difficult patients.
In addition to all of this, Lee is really involved with the youth group at church, He leads worship and teaches Sunday school for the teens on Sunday morning, and when he's able to be there on Wednesday nights he leads a small group of boys. And helps me out in any way he can with projects I've got going on, like the block party or helps me think of games to play with the teens on Wednesday before the service.
And if you can believe it, he is still such a loving and thoughtful husband and father. He always responds to my texts/calls throughout the day (maybe an hour or two later, but still) and on days he's going to get home really late tries to facetime with Leo.
He always brings me a surprise home from work to let me know he was thinking of me - usually a leftover piece of cake from lunch or a granola bar. Those little gifts are the sweetest.
Friday, on his day off, all on his own accord he did about 4 loads of laundry - washed, dried, folded, and put away, while I was busy straightening up the spare room (recovering from Operation Grenada Child mess and preparing for all of our Holiday visitors coming up!). AND then suggested we go to the fair in town because he knew I would want to go!!
I didn't intend for this to turn into a put-Lee-up-on-a-pedestal post, trust me he can get on my nerves from time to time and isn't always perfect, but am I blessed with this man and I love him so.
At the fair!!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Residency is nothing like Grey's Anatomy
It's been a month since Lee started residency so I thought I'd give you a little update of what life is like for us.
Just in case you don't know - Lee is one of 6 first year Family Medicine residents with Florida State University at Lee Memorial Hospital (wow it is so hard to not say St. John Hospital anymore... you'd think the name would be easy for me? haha!).
Just in case you don't know - Lee is one of 6 first year Family Medicine residents with Florida State University at Lee Memorial Hospital (wow it is so hard to not say St. John Hospital anymore... you'd think the name would be easy for me? haha!).
After some orientation and training sessions, life saving re-certification courses (or something like that), and a trip to FSU in Tallahassee for more orientation and another test, and probably lots of other stuff..... Lee began seeing patients this past month!
He is currently on in-patient medicine - which means he sees people that are patients at his clinic while they are admitted to the hospital. In addition, one day a week he works in the clinic seeing patients that for the next 3 years will be his patients. So when they ask who their primary care physician is they'll say Lee. Kinda cool huh?
I'll be honest, when I heard about the clinic days I thought like.... strep throat, ear infections, the flu... but he sees such a wide variety of illnesses and diseases.... and some really, really serious. I knew he'd see this type of stuff in the hospital, but I thought the clinic would be more of a general learning experience about you know, how a clinic works... but it's really got him working hard and keeping him on his toes.
The hospital is the real world, life and death situations every single day. Obviously this was the case during clinicals as well, but now he's a little more involved. Now he's one of the decision makers. It's stressful.
On top of this he also has certain designated nights where he is "on-call" which means if a patient is admitted to the hospital after hours he is in charge of seeing them and setting up their care.
Right now he is on day 6 of 12 days in a row. Four of the past 6 days he has been on-call.
He's working a lot.
The past couple weeks most days he has left the house at 6AM and got home after 8PM.
Today however, he was on call but was able to come home around 2! If they had got an admission he would have had to go back to this hospital but thankfully they didn't and he was able to spend some time with me and Leo... because if you think about it 6a-8p are all of Leo's waking hours :(
They passed a law not too many years ago saying that residents can only work 80 hours a week... but that is an average for the month. This week he'll probably top 80 hours, but in a couple weeks he'll have a day off here and there so it'll average out. Crazy huh?
And for days off. He gets 4 per month. Sometimes he'll have to work a couple weeks straight before getting a day off. :/
But, on the positive side he gets 4 weeks of vacation per year! That's pretty good actually!
Unfortunately our first week of vacation this fall he is going to be using to prepare and take the USMLE Step 3.
Yes, here is a THIRD step to those awful tests.
He is currently on in-patient medicine - which means he sees people that are patients at his clinic while they are admitted to the hospital. In addition, one day a week he works in the clinic seeing patients that for the next 3 years will be his patients. So when they ask who their primary care physician is they'll say Lee. Kinda cool huh?
I'll be honest, when I heard about the clinic days I thought like.... strep throat, ear infections, the flu... but he sees such a wide variety of illnesses and diseases.... and some really, really serious. I knew he'd see this type of stuff in the hospital, but I thought the clinic would be more of a general learning experience about you know, how a clinic works... but it's really got him working hard and keeping him on his toes.
The hospital is the real world, life and death situations every single day. Obviously this was the case during clinicals as well, but now he's a little more involved. Now he's one of the decision makers. It's stressful.
On top of this he also has certain designated nights where he is "on-call" which means if a patient is admitted to the hospital after hours he is in charge of seeing them and setting up their care.
Right now he is on day 6 of 12 days in a row. Four of the past 6 days he has been on-call.
He's working a lot.
The past couple weeks most days he has left the house at 6AM and got home after 8PM.
Today however, he was on call but was able to come home around 2! If they had got an admission he would have had to go back to this hospital but thankfully they didn't and he was able to spend some time with me and Leo... because if you think about it 6a-8p are all of Leo's waking hours :(
They passed a law not too many years ago saying that residents can only work 80 hours a week... but that is an average for the month. This week he'll probably top 80 hours, but in a couple weeks he'll have a day off here and there so it'll average out. Crazy huh?
And for days off. He gets 4 per month. Sometimes he'll have to work a couple weeks straight before getting a day off. :/
But, on the positive side he gets 4 weeks of vacation per year! That's pretty good actually!
Unfortunately our first week of vacation this fall he is going to be using to prepare and take the USMLE Step 3.
Yes, here is a THIRD step to those awful tests.
Anyway, there are a few plus sides to residency... mostly food.
Haha, but seriously. They have a nice doctor's lounge where he can eat all his meals and get lots of snacks (he may or may not bring me home a surprise every day ;)
He has his own office and computer where he can work on patient notes.
They gave him an ipad.
He has a couple really nice new white coats with his name on them. I've only seen them on facetime as he's yet to bring it home for me to see in person........... probably afraid I'll take a picture and post it online or something........... :)
Haha, but seriously. They have a nice doctor's lounge where he can eat all his meals and get lots of snacks (he may or may not bring me home a surprise every day ;)
He has his own office and computer where he can work on patient notes.
They gave him an ipad.
He has a couple really nice new white coats with his name on them. I've only seen them on facetime as he's yet to bring it home for me to see in person........... probably afraid I'll take a picture and post it online or something........... :)
Overall for me, I don't have too many complaints about residency thus far. He could be home more often, but this is what I expected and was prepared for.
Lee might have a different opinion... but I don't think that we've either one been too surprised yet.
Lee might have a different opinion... but I don't think that we've either one been too surprised yet.
We are so happy to finally be on the other side of medical school and no longer paying tuition and rather earning a pay check! If you're super interested in what his salary is you could google it, it's public knowledge what residency programs pay. And while it's not what people probably think of when they hear doctor, we are thankful! The thought that every two weeks we climb farther and farther out of this pit of student loan debt is a great feeling.
As for the title of this post...
I might have started watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix.
And I have a love/hate relationship with it.
I'm only on season 5 so no one ruin it for me (although lets be real all those #dontgochristina hastags on facebook a few months ago have at least let me know that she doesn't die yet... )
So while Lee is at the real hospital working hard and Leo is napping away I can be found watching this foolishness and commenting to myself - yea right!? They would not let a resident do that!
I might have started watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix.
And I have a love/hate relationship with it.
I'm only on season 5 so no one ruin it for me (although lets be real all those #dontgochristina hastags on facebook a few months ago have at least let me know that she doesn't die yet... )
So while Lee is at the real hospital working hard and Leo is napping away I can be found watching this foolishness and commenting to myself - yea right!? They would not let a resident do that!
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Residency confusion.
Today Lee is off on an interview at the University of Indiana in Indianapolis. Thankfully this was another interview he could drive to, it's about 4 1/2 hours away.
I can't wait to hear all about it tonight when he gets home! This is his 3rd actual interview, and at this point he's been offered 20... we're going through deciding where is the best use of our money to fly to interview and what not. Sunday he flies down to Florida to do a couple..... leaving me alone in cold Michigan. :/
People continue to be totally clueless and ask a million questions about the residency process. I don't blame them, it's pretty difficult to understand if you're not living it every day. But people assume that since Lee's going on interviews that these individual hospitals are going to offer him jobs.... complete with "offers"
Not so much. I try my hardest to explain that we won't know anything until March. We rank the places he interviews at in order of where we'd like to go most, they rank the students in order of who they want the most, and a computer literally "matches" us to a program. We don't have final say.
Here is a pretty good explanation of the process if you're really interested http://b83c73bcf0e7ca356c80-e8560f466940e4ec38ed51af32994bc6.r6.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/NRMP-Match-Process-Run-a-Match-Match-Logo.pdf
And I should note that not all hospitals have residency programs! People ask why we aren't moving home.... well that particular hospital doesn't have residents! That's reason #1.
Also, not all residency programs are created equal. Some are university based (ie OSU Medical Center in Columbus), some are at really well known hospitals (ie The Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic), some are university affiliated (ie St. John's Hospital here is affiliated with Wayne St. U. but doesn't have a whole lot to do with the actual school or medical school), some are brand new this year, some have great reputations, some have poor reputations, some take international medical graduates (IMGs) and some only take American students.... there are LOTS of factors.
This was not an easy decision.
So when you ask why didn't apply more places close to family, the reason is we wanted Lee to have the best opportunities for the best training and education. And it doesn't hurt to go to an awesome program and have it look good for your career. Get me?
This year we find out on March 17th IF Lee matches to a residency. March 21st we find out WHAT program he matches to. If we find out on Monday that he didn't match then we have that week to scramble around and try to find a hospital, any hospital, with an open spot and beg them to take us.
Ah, I agree it is confusing. If we weren't in this situation I would know nothing about it either. They don't teach you all this stuff on Grey's Anatomy.
In other news,
Things with me are the same, I spent a lot of time over the weekend working on some nursery projects and I've decided to revive my old decorating blog for the occasion :)
http://kelseyinspired.blogspot.com/
I can't wait to hear all about it tonight when he gets home! This is his 3rd actual interview, and at this point he's been offered 20... we're going through deciding where is the best use of our money to fly to interview and what not. Sunday he flies down to Florida to do a couple..... leaving me alone in cold Michigan. :/
People continue to be totally clueless and ask a million questions about the residency process. I don't blame them, it's pretty difficult to understand if you're not living it every day. But people assume that since Lee's going on interviews that these individual hospitals are going to offer him jobs.... complete with "offers"
Not so much. I try my hardest to explain that we won't know anything until March. We rank the places he interviews at in order of where we'd like to go most, they rank the students in order of who they want the most, and a computer literally "matches" us to a program. We don't have final say.
Here is a pretty good explanation of the process if you're really interested http://b83c73bcf0e7ca356c80-e8560f466940e4ec38ed51af32994bc6.r6.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/NRMP-Match-Process-Run-a-Match-Match-Logo.pdf
And I should note that not all hospitals have residency programs! People ask why we aren't moving home.... well that particular hospital doesn't have residents! That's reason #1.
Also, not all residency programs are created equal. Some are university based (ie OSU Medical Center in Columbus), some are at really well known hospitals (ie The Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic), some are university affiliated (ie St. John's Hospital here is affiliated with Wayne St. U. but doesn't have a whole lot to do with the actual school or medical school), some are brand new this year, some have great reputations, some have poor reputations, some take international medical graduates (IMGs) and some only take American students.... there are LOTS of factors.
This was not an easy decision.
So when you ask why didn't apply more places close to family, the reason is we wanted Lee to have the best opportunities for the best training and education. And it doesn't hurt to go to an awesome program and have it look good for your career. Get me?
This year we find out on March 17th IF Lee matches to a residency. March 21st we find out WHAT program he matches to. If we find out on Monday that he didn't match then we have that week to scramble around and try to find a hospital, any hospital, with an open spot and beg them to take us.
Ah, I agree it is confusing. If we weren't in this situation I would know nothing about it either. They don't teach you all this stuff on Grey's Anatomy.
In other news,
Things with me are the same, I spent a lot of time over the weekend working on some nursery projects and I've decided to revive my old decorating blog for the occasion :)
http://kelseyinspired.blogspot.com/
Monday, October 7, 2013
Residency Interviews
So there are two things going on in our lives currently - baby and residency.
Two pretty huge and overwhelming things.
Lee is currently at his first interview in Columbus, Ohio today! I'm so proud of him.
I wish I had words to explain how I feel about that man. I know I say that I love him a lot and am proud of him... but seriously.
I am SO thankful every day of my life that he picked ME to sit down beside at freshman orientation at MVNU. I am thankful that he chose me to spend his life with.
And he's cute. Man is he cute. He seriously gets cuter every single day... and let me just say that wearing scrubs only makes the situation worse! The other day I saw him leaving the house looking extra adorable and joking I said "aw please don't let any nurses see how cute you are" and he said in a extremely unaware of his attractiveness type of way "oh don't worry none of them think I'm good looking.... just the 85 year old ladies that try to hook me up with their granddaughters."
um Lee that is because it is only socially acceptable for 85 year olds to comment on how cute one is!
Wow went off on a tangent there. Ok back to interviews...
Lee currently has 17 interview offers and we haven't heard any rejections from the other 30 programs so we aren't counting them out just yet.
Unfortunately we do not have an unlimited bank account so he is not going to be able to go to all of these interviews, as we have to pay for travel expenses, ugh!
Good news is that every program so far has offered a free hotel the night before the interview, as well as a pre-interview dinner with a group of current residents. So the money we're saving by not paying for a hotel room is going to be super helpful.
Oh! and did I mention that we paid our LAST tuition payment?! We officially owe SGU ZERO money!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We owe RBC Bank considerably more than that, but nevermind that little detail.
We now just need to worry about covering interview expenses, living expenses after the baby is born and I am no longer working, and moving to our new location/home in the spring! And trust me this all looks like pennies compared to tuition....
Speaking of living... I will not be attending many of the interviews with Lee. Sadly he gets to enjoy all these nice dinners and fancy hotels without me :( I will stay in Michigan and work every single day/hour possible to save money to prepare for not working and this baby! I'm hoping this pays off eventually with a great residency location and a house with a yard. I don't ask for much, right? :)
Two pretty huge and overwhelming things.
Lee is currently at his first interview in Columbus, Ohio today! I'm so proud of him.
I wish I had words to explain how I feel about that man. I know I say that I love him a lot and am proud of him... but seriously.
I am SO thankful every day of my life that he picked ME to sit down beside at freshman orientation at MVNU. I am thankful that he chose me to spend his life with.
And he's cute. Man is he cute. He seriously gets cuter every single day... and let me just say that wearing scrubs only makes the situation worse! The other day I saw him leaving the house looking extra adorable and joking I said "aw please don't let any nurses see how cute you are" and he said in a extremely unaware of his attractiveness type of way "oh don't worry none of them think I'm good looking.... just the 85 year old ladies that try to hook me up with their granddaughters."
um Lee that is because it is only socially acceptable for 85 year olds to comment on how cute one is!
Wow went off on a tangent there. Ok back to interviews...
Lee currently has 17 interview offers and we haven't heard any rejections from the other 30 programs so we aren't counting them out just yet.
Unfortunately we do not have an unlimited bank account so he is not going to be able to go to all of these interviews, as we have to pay for travel expenses, ugh!
Good news is that every program so far has offered a free hotel the night before the interview, as well as a pre-interview dinner with a group of current residents. So the money we're saving by not paying for a hotel room is going to be super helpful.
Oh! and did I mention that we paid our LAST tuition payment?! We officially owe SGU ZERO money!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We owe RBC Bank considerably more than that, but nevermind that little detail.
We now just need to worry about covering interview expenses, living expenses after the baby is born and I am no longer working, and moving to our new location/home in the spring! And trust me this all looks like pennies compared to tuition....
Speaking of living... I will not be attending many of the interviews with Lee. Sadly he gets to enjoy all these nice dinners and fancy hotels without me :( I will stay in Michigan and work every single day/hour possible to save money to prepare for not working and this baby! I'm hoping this pays off eventually with a great residency location and a house with a yard. I don't ask for much, right? :)
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Step 2 - DONE
So basically....
Step 2 CS - Lee kicked butt
and Step 2 CK - he took names.
He got his score back this week and I received the following message:
Got my ck score back. I got a XXX!!!!
Please don't tell a soul.
Haha oh that Lee. he thinks that I'm going to like blog to the world our personal business or something.
pppsshhh
His main concern with this exam was showing improvement since Step 1, which was going to be difficult because he did really well on Step 1, but they want to see that you've learned more since then and that it wasn't a fluke or something. And for some reason, I was actually slightly concerned. Oh ye of little faith.
Lee worked his butt off for this test and I am so, so proud of him!
So this is all very good news and a weight the size of Florida has been lifted off my shoulders because this should now mean that he should be able to get a residency where he wants, and I really want Florida... therefore Lee wants Florida.
Warm weather, blue skies, fruit trees, palm trees, beach, ocean, sun.
yes. that is the life for me.
7 months until we find out our residency location! All I want is south of the Ohio River. for reals.
I can't hang with another (after this one) Michigan winter.
and get me out of Detroit ASAP.
In other news, everything else is still the same.
I'm about to finish my 8th class for grad school. How is that even possible?!
It sucks majorly and I've been doing a ton of work for it. It will be worth it in the end, right?
That's what they've said about medical school..... I almost sort of kinda believe them.
Now that there is an end in sight.
6 months and my Lee is a doctor.
he's been doing tons of awesome stuff at the hospital and if I was allowed to tell you all about it I would. and if it wasn't midnight and I wasn't avoiding homework and I hadn't been up since 5:30am I'd tell you more too.
I need to do some more posts about the other things going on in life soon too, but for now school consumes us as usual.
the end.
Step 2 CS - Lee kicked butt
and Step 2 CK - he took names.
He got his score back this week and I received the following message:
Got my ck score back. I got a XXX!!!!
Please don't tell a soul.
Haha oh that Lee. he thinks that I'm going to like blog to the world our personal business or something.
pppsshhh
His main concern with this exam was showing improvement since Step 1, which was going to be difficult because he did really well on Step 1, but they want to see that you've learned more since then and that it wasn't a fluke or something. And for some reason, I was actually slightly concerned. Oh ye of little faith.
Lee worked his butt off for this test and I am so, so proud of him!
So this is all very good news and a weight the size of Florida has been lifted off my shoulders because this should now mean that he should be able to get a residency where he wants, and I really want Florida... therefore Lee wants Florida.
Warm weather, blue skies, fruit trees, palm trees, beach, ocean, sun.
yes. that is the life for me.
7 months until we find out our residency location! All I want is south of the Ohio River. for reals.
I can't hang with another (after this one) Michigan winter.
and get me out of Detroit ASAP.
In other news, everything else is still the same.
I'm about to finish my 8th class for grad school. How is that even possible?!
It sucks majorly and I've been doing a ton of work for it. It will be worth it in the end, right?
That's what they've said about medical school..... I almost sort of kinda believe them.
Now that there is an end in sight.
6 months and my Lee is a doctor.
he's been doing tons of awesome stuff at the hospital and if I was allowed to tell you all about it I would. and if it wasn't midnight and I wasn't avoiding homework and I hadn't been up since 5:30am I'd tell you more too.
I need to do some more posts about the other things going on in life soon too, but for now school consumes us as usual.
the end.
Monday, June 17, 2013
June.
I haven't updated since April.
what's new. I'm the worst blogger.
Well there are actually some new things in our lives.
Lee got his green card. We went to Canada for the weekend a while back and crossing the board was the easiest we've ever experienced. so that's awesome.
Lee passed Step 2 CS! We went to Chicago for the weekend so he could take it. It was an 8 hour exam of him doing physical exams on people acting as patients.
Meanwhile, I went to the 3rd largest mall in America. It was.... overwhelming. I just don't like malls much these days. It's full swing yard sale season here in Michigan and I'm addicted.
Lee finished his 3rd year of medical school with straight As and a few A+s... did you know they gave those in medical school?? that Lee...
Lee started his 4th and final year of school! and it's not even a full year!! He'll finish next March... so we're down to like 9 months of school!!!! with the month of July off to study for Step 2 CK and the month of November off for residency interviews!
Lee and I started juicing! We're so healthy. lol.
and Lee has me on a training regime to do a boy style pushups! and I did one within a week! I seriously never thought that was possible! haha
We try to juice for dinner a few nights a week. We typically do cucumber, spinach, cabbage, carrot, and apple. I suggest making it really cold and drinking through a straw ;)
For me....
I finished my first year of grad school with a 4.0! yea
I'm pretty proud of that. It's hard man. I have never, ever thought school was hard until this, so I guess that means it's fitting I guess. Just a ton of writing papers. bleh.
I start my next class in one week! gross!
I celebrated my one year work-aversary at Clairpointe Family Chiropractic!
Have I mentioned how thankful I am for this job? (I'm at work now.lol)
In the city of Detroit and the metro area there are like.... 0 jobs. So finding this one was a huge huge huge blessing. And the people I work with are nice and have become my actual friends and I don't dread getting up and coming here every morning. BONUS!
I've been doing a lot of art in my break from school. I've finished several little paintings and have developed an interested in sculpture. I have 0 experience with it, but after researching some stuff about art therapy I read that for one's portfolio they must have sculpture and so I want to make one just in case you know? I think it'd be awesome to work with kids and incorporate art in therapy...
and............ that's about it for now.
what's new. I'm the worst blogger.
Well there are actually some new things in our lives.
Lee got his green card. We went to Canada for the weekend a while back and crossing the board was the easiest we've ever experienced. so that's awesome.
Lee passed Step 2 CS! We went to Chicago for the weekend so he could take it. It was an 8 hour exam of him doing physical exams on people acting as patients.
Meanwhile, I went to the 3rd largest mall in America. It was.... overwhelming. I just don't like malls much these days. It's full swing yard sale season here in Michigan and I'm addicted.
Lee finished his 3rd year of medical school with straight As and a few A+s... did you know they gave those in medical school?? that Lee...
Lee started his 4th and final year of school! and it's not even a full year!! He'll finish next March... so we're down to like 9 months of school!!!! with the month of July off to study for Step 2 CK and the month of November off for residency interviews!
Lee and I started juicing! We're so healthy. lol.
and Lee has me on a training regime to do a boy style pushups! and I did one within a week! I seriously never thought that was possible! haha
We try to juice for dinner a few nights a week. We typically do cucumber, spinach, cabbage, carrot, and apple. I suggest making it really cold and drinking through a straw ;)
For me....
I finished my first year of grad school with a 4.0! yea
I'm pretty proud of that. It's hard man. I have never, ever thought school was hard until this, so I guess that means it's fitting I guess. Just a ton of writing papers. bleh.
I start my next class in one week! gross!
I celebrated my one year work-aversary at Clairpointe Family Chiropractic!
Have I mentioned how thankful I am for this job? (I'm at work now.lol)
In the city of Detroit and the metro area there are like.... 0 jobs. So finding this one was a huge huge huge blessing. And the people I work with are nice and have become my actual friends and I don't dread getting up and coming here every morning. BONUS!
I've been doing a lot of art in my break from school. I've finished several little paintings and have developed an interested in sculpture. I have 0 experience with it, but after researching some stuff about art therapy I read that for one's portfolio they must have sculpture and so I want to make one just in case you know? I think it'd be awesome to work with kids and incorporate art in therapy...
and............ that's about it for now.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Almost there!
Hi! Exciting update!
Lee and I got our interview date for his Green Card!!!
You know how on the movie The Proposal they have to go through an interview to prove they’re actually married.
That’s what we have to do in just a couple weeks. We also need to take pictures and any other evidence we think will support our case for the validity of our marriage.
Lee said – can’t we just print off our “see friendship” on Facebook? Haha!
Lee and I got our interview date for his Green Card!!!
You know how on the movie The Proposal they have to go through an interview to prove they’re actually married.
That’s what we have to do in just a couple weeks. We also need to take pictures and any other evidence we think will support our case for the validity of our marriage.
Lee said – can’t we just print off our “see friendship” on Facebook? Haha!
We’re really not worried, obviously we’re actually married. I have about a billion kissing pictures to
prove I love the man.
It is a little intimidating to go to the immigration office though. The boarder patrol always give me creepy vibes.
If all goes well we should be approved and get his Green Card within a few weeks following the interview and Lee will be a permanent resident and legally be allowed to live and work in theUS
for 10 years!
Which the biggest advantage we will have is he will no longer need to be sponsored for an immigrant VISA by a hospital. So he will not be restricted in who will take him for residency
Praise Jesus!
Anyone else ever dealt with immigration??
It is a little intimidating to go to the immigration office though. The boarder patrol always give me creepy vibes.
If all goes well we should be approved and get his Green Card within a few weeks following the interview and Lee will be a permanent resident and legally be allowed to live and work in the
Which the biggest advantage we will have is he will no longer need to be sponsored for an immigrant VISA by a hospital. So he will not be restricted in who will take him for residency
Praise Jesus!
Anyone else ever dealt with immigration??
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Happiness Challenge
Several months ago our preacher spoke about this study that showed people who wrote down 3 things they were thankful for each night were happier and less depressed.
Sounds easy enough, right? Read all about it here!
Showing gratitude enhances how we feel and increases our overall satisfaction with life. But we often focus on the bad and completely forget when good things happen to us. We should be making a point to remember all the little good things that happen to us during the day.
There is even a website that will email you every single night and ask you for your responses and then store them privately!
I think we could all benefit from getting a little happier right?!
I'm going to post them here. Maybe not every single day, because I plan on actually writing them down. with a pen and paper -what! But some days. here goes.
1. Today I went over to my friend Kensi's house to drop some stuff off and got to sit and talk for about an hour and hold her precious little 4 month boy. It's nice to get to talk/vent to other med-school wives who relate to our situation!
2. This morning I woke up to the sun shining in our bedroom window. It was warm and beautiful.
3. I made homemade pizza with a new whole wheat flour and it was so good! I am always really happy when I cook new things and they turn out good. Have any of you baked cookies or anything else with wheat flour??
4. Tonight Lee and I went to play volleyball with the teens from our church. I played only because it was so cold in the gym I couldn't sit, but actually ended up enjoying myself. I am a terrible player, but was never picked for a team last and actually made it over the net most of the time! Lee is such a great influence on these teenage boys and they all look up to him. My husband overflows my heart.
5. After church we went to 7-Eleven because Lee knew how much I would love a donut. I got their new skinny salted caramel mocha too. It was delicious! and the reason I'm up at 1:30am writing this/doing homework. Thankful for 7-Eleven and their late night bounty of sugary goodness.
Want to join me in appreciating your life more? All you need is 5 minutes and a pen :)
Come on lets get happy....
Sounds easy enough, right? Read all about it here!
Showing gratitude enhances how we feel and increases our overall satisfaction with life. But we often focus on the bad and completely forget when good things happen to us. We should be making a point to remember all the little good things that happen to us during the day.
There is even a website that will email you every single night and ask you for your responses and then store them privately!
I think we could all benefit from getting a little happier right?!
I'm going to post them here. Maybe not every single day, because I plan on actually writing them down. with a pen and paper -what! But some days. here goes.
1. Today I went over to my friend Kensi's house to drop some stuff off and got to sit and talk for about an hour and hold her precious little 4 month boy. It's nice to get to talk/vent to other med-school wives who relate to our situation!
2. This morning I woke up to the sun shining in our bedroom window. It was warm and beautiful.
3. I made homemade pizza with a new whole wheat flour and it was so good! I am always really happy when I cook new things and they turn out good. Have any of you baked cookies or anything else with wheat flour??
4. Tonight Lee and I went to play volleyball with the teens from our church. I played only because it was so cold in the gym I couldn't sit, but actually ended up enjoying myself. I am a terrible player, but was never picked for a team last and actually made it over the net most of the time! Lee is such a great influence on these teenage boys and they all look up to him. My husband overflows my heart.
5. After church we went to 7-Eleven because Lee knew how much I would love a donut. I got their new skinny salted caramel mocha too. It was delicious! and the reason I'm up at 1:30am writing this/doing homework. Thankful for 7-Eleven and their late night bounty of sugary goodness.
Want to join me in appreciating your life more? All you need is 5 minutes and a pen :)
Come on lets get happy....
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Answers to ALL Your Questions!
People ask me the following questions ALL the time
(even if it's only been a week or two since they've seen me!)
so... is Lee finished now?
is Lee an American citizen?
what rotation is he in?
how is he doing?
how much does he get paid?
you're in HOW much debt?
what kind of doctor does he want to be?
long will residency be?
do you get paid for residency?
what is the residency process?
how much longer in Michigan?
where do you want to live?
when are you having kids?
how do you deal?!
and occasionally someone says - so what do you do? :)
I've decided to answer every single question as plainly as possible! If you have anymore feel free to ask, I really don't mind answering, promise. As you may have noticed I have no qualms with personal questions about money or our lives.
so... is Lee finished now?
nope! Medical School is still a 4 year degree process! We began in January of 2010 and will finish January of 2014!!! Lee is a 3rd year medical student (MS3).
is Lee an American citizen?
no my sweet boy is still a true Canuck. He may never become a US citizen, we don't know. We have applied for his Green Card so he can be a permanent resident of the US and not need a student or work visa. This will greatly increase his options for medical residency positions because the hospital he applies to will not be responsible for sponsoring his visa. Is it easier because I am American? Yes and no. It's not easy, but me being American helps. I am technically his sponsor, but to be a true sponsor one must make a certain amount of money for 3 year and have assets. I have none of these (remember those 2 years on a tropical island with no job?) So we applied with a joint sponsor (a family member, THANK YOU!). Lee had to do a physical exam and xrays to prove he has no diseases. We had to have the pastor who performed our wedding write a letter saying it wasn't a hoax. We had a friend who knows us well write a letter stating our relationship is ongoing and sound. My boss wrote a letter saying I have a job and will make x amount of dollars. and lots of other personal things...
Lee goes Monday for his biometric exam - where they will fingerprint him and ask him lots of questions.
If that gets approved, as well as my sponsorship abilities we should find out sometime in the next 3-12 months!
One little stipulation is that he cannot leave the US while this is processing. We live 15 minutes from Canada but he cannot cross the border until it is either approved or denied. Here's to hoping it gets approved fast!
oh and it costs about $1,800 to do this. gross.
what rotation is he in?
currently he is in his Internal Medicine rotation. It is 12 weeks long and is his last rotation of 3rd year! whooooo!!!!!
Here was his schedule for 3rd year - (I may be off on these week amounts, I get confused if it was 4, 6, or 8)
12 weeks Sugery
6 weeks OB/GYN
6 weeks Psych
6 weeks Family Medicine
6 weeks Pediatrics
12 weeks Internal Medicine
How is he doing?
well if you know Lee you know what a hard worker he is. Every rotation they have tried to convince him to go into that specialty because he would be so good at it. His patients love him because he's so patient, thorough, and empathetic. The residents like him because he makes their lives easier. We ran into one of the residents in the grocery store and he basically high-fived me for marrying Lee because he's that awesome (as if I didn't already know)
And he absolutely would hate for me to tell you anything about his grades or scores but I'll just say I know that the grade of A+ exists on shelf exams for a reason......
how much does he get paid?
zip, zero, zilch. In fact since he is still in school we pay tuition. and a lot of it.
you're in HOW much debt?
for Lee's schooling we're going to end up in the ballpark of $200,000 in debt (hopefully less!) Which truthfully is a walk in the park compared to some medical school grads we know and have talked to. Residents at Lee's hospital think nothing of being $350,000 in the hole. yikes.
Tuition is twenty-something thousand per semester and we're paying for 10 semesters (I think).
what kind of doctor does he want to be?
we're pretty set on Family medicine. Mainly for the lifestyle. We want a family! and Lee wants to be actively involved in all our lives too, so surgery is out. lol.
Family is also interesting to Lee because you see a wide variety of patients, you can have your own practice, and still have options to specialize in OB/GYN, Sports Med, or ER. And you can work in a hospital if you prefer that to a clinic setting and do more internal med type stuff.
how long will residency be?
Family Medicine residency is 3 years.
We will begin residency in July 2014. All medical residents, every year, begin in July. Never schedule a surgery for the first week of July at a teaching hospital. It's apparently chaotic.
Do you get paid in residency?
yes!!! not a doctor's salary, but enough! average is between like $45-60,000 per year.
what is the residency process?
well.... I don't know 100% yet. That will be our life this fall. Lee will start applying this fall and will apply to LOTS of programs at hospitals all across America. The average student applies to 70ish programs. Out of that 70 hopefully lots of them will offer Lee an interview. That will be Nov13-Jan14. He will spend a lot of time and money traveling around to these interviews, impressing lots of people! After your interviews you rank the program and they also rank you. They compare up these rankings and in March of 2014 we'll enter THE match and find out where we're going!! We're hoping to interview at 10+ hospitals to make sure we have the best chance of matching and in a place we want!
Sadly, not everyone matches..... and you pray you're not the one.
how much longer in Michigan?
not completely sure. Lee will finish rotations (4th year) around Jan/Feb 2014. He will "match" to a residency program in March 2014, and begin in July 2014. If we match outside of Michigan (please God) we will move a some point between March and July! Probably depending on where (how far) and what my job situation.
where do you want to live?
south!! south of the Ohio River preferably. It seriously makes such a big difference in weather. I'm begging for Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, or Texas. And my BFFFFFF Amber and her husband put Arizona and Virginia on their list and they will match in just a couple weeks! so where they end up will be added to my list of desired places ;)
when are you having kids?
someday! Lee and I want a big family. 4+ kids so the sooner we can get things going to better according to my biological clock, but we definitely will be waiting until after he starts residency. Why? someone in this relationship needs an income and I currently don't have health insurance that covers maternity care. Pretty good reasons if you ask me. So we will re-asses after July 2014 and see where I am with my career and my longing for Grenada.........
how do you deal?!
you know what, medical school sucks. suck suck suck sucks and we're poor and in debt... but everyday we get up and life goes on and we're genuinely happy and are trudging along. Lee is so over school and the process, but we're 3/4 the way done and $140,000 in debt, so no turning back! Someday, sommmmmmmmmmmmmeday, we'll look back and be thankful for this experience and the hard work will pay off. But if one of my children says "I want to be a Dr. like Dad" hahahaha we'll probably discourage it.
When you're in love and married to someone who makes life easy, you'd be surprised at how much you can handle. And I stay busy to avoid getting lonely!
so what do you do?
Well, I am still at the job I got the week I moved to Michigan, I am a Chiropractic Assistant, Front Desk, Office Manager type person. It isn't necessarily glamorous, but I love the people I work with and LOVE our patients. They really feel like family and I'm happy to come to work every morning. My boss is super supportive and accommodating. I work 4 (long) days a week and have a 3 day weekend every week... which leaves time for me to do school. I'm getting my masters in Counseling/Human Services through Liberty University (I work full time, go to school full time, and Lee is still usually busier than me if that gives you an idea) This semester I'm doing 12 credit hours. Last semester I did 9 and felt like I handled it really well, so I upped it....... might not have been my absolute best move, but I want to finish asap! Unlike Lee I'll let everyone know my grades, I worked hard for them! so far I've got straight As!
The plan is do do another full 12 hours this summer, 6 credits the first sub-semester of Fall and the second sub-semester do my big Capstone project! And finish December of this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What do Lee and I do together?
We are working with the youth group at our church. There is a youth pastor, so we just assist and support him. Lee is the Sunday School teacher and seriously is the best teacher I've ever had. He's so good. I look at him sometimes and am amazed that I get to share my life with him. He explains things to the teens and I'm like wow, wish someone had told me that when I was 15. We have fun doing other stuff with them like Wednesday night church and volleyball on Friday nights.
And we try to eat dinner together each night and go to bed at the same time. So we get about 2 hours together a day, which is better than nothing!
So, that was... long.
Anything I didn't cover?
(even if it's only been a week or two since they've seen me!)
so... is Lee finished now?
is Lee an American citizen?
what rotation is he in?
how is he doing?
how much does he get paid?
you're in HOW much debt?
what kind of doctor does he want to be?
long will residency be?
do you get paid for residency?
what is the residency process?
how much longer in Michigan?
where do you want to live?
when are you having kids?
how do you deal?!
and occasionally someone says - so what do you do? :)
I've decided to answer every single question as plainly as possible! If you have anymore feel free to ask, I really don't mind answering, promise. As you may have noticed I have no qualms with personal questions about money or our lives.
so... is Lee finished now?
nope! Medical School is still a 4 year degree process! We began in January of 2010 and will finish January of 2014!!! Lee is a 3rd year medical student (MS3).
is Lee an American citizen?
no my sweet boy is still a true Canuck. He may never become a US citizen, we don't know. We have applied for his Green Card so he can be a permanent resident of the US and not need a student or work visa. This will greatly increase his options for medical residency positions because the hospital he applies to will not be responsible for sponsoring his visa. Is it easier because I am American? Yes and no. It's not easy, but me being American helps. I am technically his sponsor, but to be a true sponsor one must make a certain amount of money for 3 year and have assets. I have none of these (remember those 2 years on a tropical island with no job?) So we applied with a joint sponsor (a family member, THANK YOU!). Lee had to do a physical exam and xrays to prove he has no diseases. We had to have the pastor who performed our wedding write a letter saying it wasn't a hoax. We had a friend who knows us well write a letter stating our relationship is ongoing and sound. My boss wrote a letter saying I have a job and will make x amount of dollars. and lots of other personal things...
Lee goes Monday for his biometric exam - where they will fingerprint him and ask him lots of questions.
If that gets approved, as well as my sponsorship abilities we should find out sometime in the next 3-12 months!
One little stipulation is that he cannot leave the US while this is processing. We live 15 minutes from Canada but he cannot cross the border until it is either approved or denied. Here's to hoping it gets approved fast!
oh and it costs about $1,800 to do this. gross.
what rotation is he in?
currently he is in his Internal Medicine rotation. It is 12 weeks long and is his last rotation of 3rd year! whooooo!!!!!
Here was his schedule for 3rd year - (I may be off on these week amounts, I get confused if it was 4, 6, or 8)
12 weeks Sugery
6 weeks OB/GYN
6 weeks Psych
6 weeks Family Medicine
6 weeks Pediatrics
12 weeks Internal Medicine
How is he doing?
well if you know Lee you know what a hard worker he is. Every rotation they have tried to convince him to go into that specialty because he would be so good at it. His patients love him because he's so patient, thorough, and empathetic. The residents like him because he makes their lives easier. We ran into one of the residents in the grocery store and he basically high-fived me for marrying Lee because he's that awesome (as if I didn't already know)
And he absolutely would hate for me to tell you anything about his grades or scores but I'll just say I know that the grade of A+ exists on shelf exams for a reason......
how much does he get paid?
zip, zero, zilch. In fact since he is still in school we pay tuition. and a lot of it.
you're in HOW much debt?
for Lee's schooling we're going to end up in the ballpark of $200,000 in debt (hopefully less!) Which truthfully is a walk in the park compared to some medical school grads we know and have talked to. Residents at Lee's hospital think nothing of being $350,000 in the hole. yikes.
Tuition is twenty-something thousand per semester and we're paying for 10 semesters (I think).
what kind of doctor does he want to be?
we're pretty set on Family medicine. Mainly for the lifestyle. We want a family! and Lee wants to be actively involved in all our lives too, so surgery is out. lol.
Family is also interesting to Lee because you see a wide variety of patients, you can have your own practice, and still have options to specialize in OB/GYN, Sports Med, or ER. And you can work in a hospital if you prefer that to a clinic setting and do more internal med type stuff.
how long will residency be?
Family Medicine residency is 3 years.
We will begin residency in July 2014. All medical residents, every year, begin in July. Never schedule a surgery for the first week of July at a teaching hospital. It's apparently chaotic.
Do you get paid in residency?
yes!!! not a doctor's salary, but enough! average is between like $45-60,000 per year.
what is the residency process?
well.... I don't know 100% yet. That will be our life this fall. Lee will start applying this fall and will apply to LOTS of programs at hospitals all across America. The average student applies to 70ish programs. Out of that 70 hopefully lots of them will offer Lee an interview. That will be Nov13-Jan14. He will spend a lot of time and money traveling around to these interviews, impressing lots of people! After your interviews you rank the program and they also rank you. They compare up these rankings and in March of 2014 we'll enter THE match and find out where we're going!! We're hoping to interview at 10+ hospitals to make sure we have the best chance of matching and in a place we want!
Sadly, not everyone matches..... and you pray you're not the one.
how much longer in Michigan?
not completely sure. Lee will finish rotations (4th year) around Jan/Feb 2014. He will "match" to a residency program in March 2014, and begin in July 2014. If we match outside of Michigan (please God) we will move a some point between March and July! Probably depending on where (how far) and what my job situation.
where do you want to live?
south!! south of the Ohio River preferably. It seriously makes such a big difference in weather. I'm begging for Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, or Texas. And my BFFFFFF Amber and her husband put Arizona and Virginia on their list and they will match in just a couple weeks! so where they end up will be added to my list of desired places ;)
when are you having kids?
someday! Lee and I want a big family. 4+ kids so the sooner we can get things going to better according to my biological clock, but we definitely will be waiting until after he starts residency. Why? someone in this relationship needs an income and I currently don't have health insurance that covers maternity care. Pretty good reasons if you ask me. So we will re-asses after July 2014 and see where I am with my career and my longing for Grenada.........
how do you deal?!
you know what, medical school sucks. suck suck suck sucks and we're poor and in debt... but everyday we get up and life goes on and we're genuinely happy and are trudging along. Lee is so over school and the process, but we're 3/4 the way done and $140,000 in debt, so no turning back! Someday, sommmmmmmmmmmmmeday, we'll look back and be thankful for this experience and the hard work will pay off. But if one of my children says "I want to be a Dr. like Dad" hahahaha we'll probably discourage it.
When you're in love and married to someone who makes life easy, you'd be surprised at how much you can handle. And I stay busy to avoid getting lonely!
so what do you do?
Well, I am still at the job I got the week I moved to Michigan, I am a Chiropractic Assistant, Front Desk, Office Manager type person. It isn't necessarily glamorous, but I love the people I work with and LOVE our patients. They really feel like family and I'm happy to come to work every morning. My boss is super supportive and accommodating. I work 4 (long) days a week and have a 3 day weekend every week... which leaves time for me to do school. I'm getting my masters in Counseling/Human Services through Liberty University (I work full time, go to school full time, and Lee is still usually busier than me if that gives you an idea) This semester I'm doing 12 credit hours. Last semester I did 9 and felt like I handled it really well, so I upped it....... might not have been my absolute best move, but I want to finish asap! Unlike Lee I'll let everyone know my grades, I worked hard for them! so far I've got straight As!
The plan is do do another full 12 hours this summer, 6 credits the first sub-semester of Fall and the second sub-semester do my big Capstone project! And finish December of this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What do Lee and I do together?
We are working with the youth group at our church. There is a youth pastor, so we just assist and support him. Lee is the Sunday School teacher and seriously is the best teacher I've ever had. He's so good. I look at him sometimes and am amazed that I get to share my life with him. He explains things to the teens and I'm like wow, wish someone had told me that when I was 15. We have fun doing other stuff with them like Wednesday night church and volleyball on Friday nights.
And we try to eat dinner together each night and go to bed at the same time. So we get about 2 hours together a day, which is better than nothing!
So, that was... long.
Anything I didn't cover?
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Lent - Week 2
Preface: I wrote the italicized portion of this on Friday 2/22... the rest is the real story on Tuesday 2/26. lol.
I am so glad I chose to do this for Lent.
I has really kept me thinking before I make unnecessary purchases!
I have consciously avoided the thrift stores and have been re-wearing some of my favorite clothes. I know this sounds terrible and vain and extremely wasteful, but I don't like to re-wear things. I re-wear pants and skirts and dresses I guess, but tops..... they typically get worn like once every 6 months and I never re-wear complete outfits. I don't know what it is. It's not that I think I'm so cool or that I'm going to get a full page spread in Life and Style if I'm caught re-wearing something.
So this is why I LOVE thrifting! I can get a couple new shirts every single week for a few dollars and never have to re-wear what I've got.
How dumb is that?!
I must stop!
I've been doing really good with groceries, only buying what we need and no extras.
I've been creative with my meals using up what we have in our freezer and pantry. I have all this stuff that I no longer deem as "healthy" but we're too poor to throw it out! So I've been trying to make it as healthy as possible. For instance that big box of pancake mix that I will never buy again.... but we already have... I made strawberry, blueberry, banana pancakes! All 3 in one!
And those two big bags of tortilla chips I've been eating with some healthy, yummy salsa and made taco salad with ground turkey and lots of veggies the other day.
And then I asked Lee to go to the store with me after church on Sunday.................dun dun dun.
I heard things like:
"wow! didn't know black berries were so cheap!"
"let's buy the really BIG thing of coffee, we'll save money in the long run"
"Vodka sauce?! I love vodka sauce!"
"oooh spices for meat rubs are on sale"
and when I reminded him of the budget he said "well that'll teach you to take me to the store again!"
He's so cute, and doesn't ask for much and never gets anything for himself.... so I let him get the spices and pasta sauce :)
I went over budget :/ but since we bought a lot of stuff on Sunday I shouldn't have to go to the store much this coming week! It'll balance out. At the end of the 40 days I'll do a total amount I've spent and if it's less than $300 I'll consider it a win. right?
Here are my purchases for the week:
Kroger - $9.44 - I went in for cheese (for taco salad) but found so many great deals I didn't have to shop again for a few days! My best purchase was a whole roasted turkey breast for $2.99! We ate that thing for DAYS! Turkey on salad, turkey quesadillas (with spinach and tomatoes, so good!), turkey sandwiches...
Aldi's - $40.58 - the shopping list included: coffee, tomatoes, banana, lettuce, milk, almond milk, cereal, bread, and spinach. we also bought - 2 things of pasta sauce, blackberries and blueberries, spices, olive oil, and guacamole.
Wendy's - $5.15 - this was an impulse stop... should have skipped it, but I didn't and it put me over budget. Lee and I did a lock-in with the teens Friday night and I stayed up from 7am on Friday till about 1 pm on Saturday and on my way home I was starving and there was traffic and Wendy's was there calling my name! Stop it Wendy's!
Kmart - $4.47- yes I went back to Kmart, like I said I wouldn't, but they had donuts on sale for $3.49! a $1.50 cheaper than Kroger! and I bought some clearance Hershey's hearts. sue me. The Sunday School kids are like way too happy when there are donuts that I can't bear to disappoint them now. They really are a sweet group of teenagers. I'll do a post about them soon. (oh and I saved the milk and oj I bought last week in the church fridge so I didn't have to buy that again!)
Total: $59.64
$9.64 over! so disappointed... but I'll only spend $40 next week. or attempt to. I'm going home this weekend and getting my hair done, but my beautiful, sweet friend from high school does it and sometimes I don't even think she charges me enough to cover the supplies she uses, so I may just make it under $40!
I am so glad I chose to do this for Lent.
I has really kept me thinking before I make unnecessary purchases!
I have consciously avoided the thrift stores and have been re-wearing some of my favorite clothes. I know this sounds terrible and vain and extremely wasteful, but I don't like to re-wear things. I re-wear pants and skirts and dresses I guess, but tops..... they typically get worn like once every 6 months and I never re-wear complete outfits. I don't know what it is. It's not that I think I'm so cool or that I'm going to get a full page spread in Life and Style if I'm caught re-wearing something.
So this is why I LOVE thrifting! I can get a couple new shirts every single week for a few dollars and never have to re-wear what I've got.
How dumb is that?!
I must stop!
I've been doing really good with groceries, only buying what we need and no extras.
I've been creative with my meals using up what we have in our freezer and pantry. I have all this stuff that I no longer deem as "healthy" but we're too poor to throw it out! So I've been trying to make it as healthy as possible. For instance that big box of pancake mix that I will never buy again.... but we already have... I made strawberry, blueberry, banana pancakes! All 3 in one!
And those two big bags of tortilla chips I've been eating with some healthy, yummy salsa and made taco salad with ground turkey and lots of veggies the other day.
And then I asked Lee to go to the store with me after church on Sunday.................dun dun dun.
I heard things like:
"wow! didn't know black berries were so cheap!"
"let's buy the really BIG thing of coffee, we'll save money in the long run"
"Vodka sauce?! I love vodka sauce!"
"oooh spices for meat rubs are on sale"
and when I reminded him of the budget he said "well that'll teach you to take me to the store again!"
He's so cute, and doesn't ask for much and never gets anything for himself.... so I let him get the spices and pasta sauce :)
I went over budget :/ but since we bought a lot of stuff on Sunday I shouldn't have to go to the store much this coming week! It'll balance out. At the end of the 40 days I'll do a total amount I've spent and if it's less than $300 I'll consider it a win. right?
Here are my purchases for the week:
Kroger - $9.44 - I went in for cheese (for taco salad) but found so many great deals I didn't have to shop again for a few days! My best purchase was a whole roasted turkey breast for $2.99! We ate that thing for DAYS! Turkey on salad, turkey quesadillas (with spinach and tomatoes, so good!), turkey sandwiches...
Aldi's - $40.58 - the shopping list included: coffee, tomatoes, banana, lettuce, milk, almond milk, cereal, bread, and spinach. we also bought - 2 things of pasta sauce, blackberries and blueberries, spices, olive oil, and guacamole.
Wendy's - $5.15 - this was an impulse stop... should have skipped it, but I didn't and it put me over budget. Lee and I did a lock-in with the teens Friday night and I stayed up from 7am on Friday till about 1 pm on Saturday and on my way home I was starving and there was traffic and Wendy's was there calling my name! Stop it Wendy's!
Kmart - $4.47- yes I went back to Kmart, like I said I wouldn't, but they had donuts on sale for $3.49! a $1.50 cheaper than Kroger! and I bought some clearance Hershey's hearts. sue me. The Sunday School kids are like way too happy when there are donuts that I can't bear to disappoint them now. They really are a sweet group of teenagers. I'll do a post about them soon. (oh and I saved the milk and oj I bought last week in the church fridge so I didn't have to buy that again!)
Total: $59.64
$9.64 over! so disappointed... but I'll only spend $40 next week. or attempt to. I'm going home this weekend and getting my hair done, but my beautiful, sweet friend from high school does it and sometimes I don't even think she charges me enough to cover the supplies she uses, so I may just make it under $40!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Valentine's Day Love
EIGHT!
crazy.
As our usual, it was a little low key. We both had to work and are on that "not spending money" thing.
I go home everyday for lunch for about an hour and half b/c I live 2 blocks from work and have a long break in the middle of the day (probably the best part of my job!ha!) so Lee always knows that I'm home from 12-1 or 2.
On Valentine's Day he came home for lunch and surprised me by bringing me a beautiful bouquet of flowers (mini carnations) and my favorite lunch food!! (Chicken Orchard Salad and Tre Color Sandwich from Brioche -a shop in the hospital)
I am so blessed by that husband of mine. I love him so overwhelmingly much and we have so much fun together. As much as I love what an amazing man and soon-to-be Dr he is, I love his silly, boyish side even more! and that's the side that I think (and am secretly happy) that only I see.
We spent the weekend getting snowed in watching children's movies!
I'm slightly embarrassed to admit how many movies we watched, but I got all my homework done (and some for next week!!) so whatever, I spent all that time cuddling with my husband.
We watched:
Friday night - Wreck it Ralph (well I fell asleep in that one...) but it started off funny and I'm planning on watching it at some point
Saturday night - Hotel Transylvania - really cute! and lots of funny people do the voices. I don't know if little kids would like it that much though...
And on Sunday afternoon we had an Ice Age marathon! I love those movies! We watched the 4th one a few weeks ago so we re-watched 1-3.
We didn't like the picture of us (and Lee's only good for one picture at a time) so I just blurred us :)
My Valentine's Day outfit, the patients at our office loved it! haha
Chocolate covered strawberries I made my Lee!
We were going to go out for dinner on Saturday night, but I woke up craving breakfast food so we went out Saturday morning instead and good thing because during the afternoon it snowed several inches!
ps. all that food for $12.70! (plus tip)
ps. all that food for $12.70! (plus tip)
We didn't look outside for a few hours and then I heard a snow plow and saw this!
I'm beginning to forget what our street looked like when it wasn't blanketed in white!
Only 30 days till Spring!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait to wear those new coral skinny jeans I got at Target on clearance before Lent started ;)
oh! and I wanted to know do any of you, that I don't already follow, do instagram?! I LOVE it! Even more than Facebook!
you can find me @kelseycoghill
real tricky name I know.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
remember Lee?
enough about me and definitely enough about food.
remember medical school?
remember Lee?
the good looking, hardworking, doctor-to-be, love of my life?
he's still around!
he hasn't kicked me to the curb yet
and medical school is an ever-present force in my life. ugh
He is currently in his pediatric rotation at St. John's.
not his favorite.
and it's not because of the sick kids, it's just a lot of work and homework. blah.
He finished up family medicine just before Christmas break and decided that is what he wants to do with his life.
He loved it. He like the doctors he worked with, he liked the wide age range of patients, the diversity of their ailments, as well as the work load and schedule.
yay for knowing what to specialize in!!!
He just got his final grades in for his first two rotations - Surgery and OB (like 6 months later...) and did extremely well and is continuing to make all the doctors and residents like him (which is great, but not good for me since I DON'T want to do residency in MI and if they love him they'll want him.ugh)
but I'm a good wife and will go where ever... right?
I told Lee I wanted to live somewhere warm so last week he comes home and says "How about Oklahoma?!"
Oklahoma? It's warm there? hmmmmmmm keep trying.
Last week we also finished all the paper work for his Green Card!
As a Canadian, this will drastically improve his chances of getting a residency in the US because the hospital will not have to sponsor him for a VISA - I am his sponsor! haha :)
It could take up to a year, but we're very hopeful that it will just be a few months.
The process is stupid and expensive... if you're interested in asking me any questions about it thought I'd be happy to help.
As it stands here is the timeline the next year or so
January - Mid February - Pediatrics
Mid February - Mid May - Internal Medicine and finish 3rd year!
May - take that one test in Chicago (I forget what it's called... BSCE? maybe?)
Mid May - June - Lee will have off to study for the STEP 2. Oh happy day, it doesn't end with Step 1... nor 2 for that matter.
July - begin 4th year (which isn't really a year, but like 30some weeks of rotations)
Fall (I'm not exactly sure August-September-ish) - Apply for residency programs all over the country
Late Fall/Early Winter- interview for said residency programs
February 2014 - finish 4th year rotations!!!
March 2014 - MATCH FOR A RESIDENCY PROGRAM! (I hope and pray!)
May 2014 - Graduate!
July 2014 - start residency!!!!!!!!!!
What once seemed so far away now seems possible! Hallelujah!
remember medical school?
remember Lee?
the good looking, hardworking, doctor-to-be, love of my life?
he's still around!
he hasn't kicked me to the curb yet
and medical school is an ever-present force in my life. ugh
He is currently in his pediatric rotation at St. John's.
not his favorite.
and it's not because of the sick kids, it's just a lot of work and homework. blah.
He finished up family medicine just before Christmas break and decided that is what he wants to do with his life.
He loved it. He like the doctors he worked with, he liked the wide age range of patients, the diversity of their ailments, as well as the work load and schedule.
yay for knowing what to specialize in!!!
He just got his final grades in for his first two rotations - Surgery and OB (like 6 months later...) and did extremely well and is continuing to make all the doctors and residents like him (which is great, but not good for me since I DON'T want to do residency in MI and if they love him they'll want him.ugh)
but I'm a good wife and will go where ever... right?
I told Lee I wanted to live somewhere warm so last week he comes home and says "How about Oklahoma?!"
Oklahoma? It's warm there? hmmmmmmm keep trying.
Last week we also finished all the paper work for his Green Card!
As a Canadian, this will drastically improve his chances of getting a residency in the US because the hospital will not have to sponsor him for a VISA - I am his sponsor! haha :)
It could take up to a year, but we're very hopeful that it will just be a few months.
The process is stupid and expensive... if you're interested in asking me any questions about it thought I'd be happy to help.
As it stands here is the timeline the next year or so
January - Mid February - Pediatrics
Mid February - Mid May - Internal Medicine and finish 3rd year!
May - take that one test in Chicago (I forget what it's called... BSCE? maybe?)
Mid May - June - Lee will have off to study for the STEP 2. Oh happy day, it doesn't end with Step 1... nor 2 for that matter.
July - begin 4th year (which isn't really a year, but like 30some weeks of rotations)
Fall (I'm not exactly sure August-September-ish) - Apply for residency programs all over the country
Late Fall/Early Winter- interview for said residency programs
February 2014 - finish 4th year rotations!!!
March 2014 - MATCH FOR A RESIDENCY PROGRAM! (I hope and pray!)
May 2014 - Graduate!
July 2014 - start residency!!!!!!!!!!
What once seemed so far away now seems possible! Hallelujah!
Monday, January 7, 2013
New year, new attitude
I'm for real doing some resolutions.
and sticking to them!
or at least trying really hard to.
1. Blogging!!
I had a bit of a difficult year... I've felt a little "off" and I've associated it with the loss of things that I love. I lost Grenada. I lost the sunshine, the warm air, the beach, my friends, my kids, my "I'm doing something with my life feeling".... and along with that I quit blogging. on both blogs. I quit updating about our lives, just assuming that since I feel like our life sucks, no one else will want to hear about it. But really, interesting things happen to me everyday! Detroit is a crazy place! Life is never truly boring...
and I really do love my Kelsey Inspired blog. I love crafting and sharing things with the blogging world. I'll to do better with updating and I know I'll be happier for it. So look for a blog layout makeover coming soon!
2. Volunteering
When we moved to Detroit I really wanted to get involved in something. I started volunteering with the crisis pregnancy center, but I had to miss a couple of weeks and then to be honest lost interest. It's is such a needed, important ministry... but I as a young woman with no kids, no experience with child birth or parenting I didn't feel as though I was really that much of a help to these girls and usually left feeling as though I had short-changed them or something. If that makes sense.
I need to find something I am passionate about, there is so much need in Detroit, I just have to find my place. yea?
3. Get Healthy.
Exercise!? - ugh. I had to say it. Lee and I are going to be so much healthier in 2013. We were so good when we were in Grenada and then we get back to America and it all goes to pots. Whatever. It's a new year and I need to get skinny skinny for that trip back to Grenada for 2013, right?? :)
What are we doing differently? Well eating better for starters. Less snacking, less carbs, less sugary drinks. More fruit, more vegetables, more fish! I got a new programmable crock pot for Christmas (thank you Lee's parents!) and I'm going to use it. Healthy dinner Mon-Thursday is the goal.
Lee has this ab ripper dvd that he's been doing and I did like 5 minutes of it... once. so I'm going to try to do that more often and elliptical. all that. and walk! I need to go outside and walk a little to get what tiny traces of sunshine exist in Michigan. I need vitamin D in my life!
4. Think positive.
I promised Lee that in 2013 I will not hate Michigan. I spent June-December 2012 hating this state. the entire place. and secretly, not so secretly I still do.... but I'm not going to say it anymore! I'm going to be happy about life and where I am, or at least make an attempt. and that's all you can ask for, right Lee??
5. Stay in better contact with family and friends
It's tough to admit you're a bad friend, but I kinda am. I get so stupidly busy during the week that when I get home Mon-Thursday all I do is eat and go to bed. And the weekends I've been traveling a lot so I forget to keep up to date with my family and friends' lives. They are important to me so I need to show it! I'm going to be better about facebook messages, emails, texting, and calling my family! Isn't it a wonderful problem to have too many friends to keep up with?! :)
To kick off to a good start we're having a party on Saturday with our friends from Grenada who are now in the Detroit area!
and this was my 400th post?! whoa!!!
and sticking to them!
or at least trying really hard to.
1. Blogging!!
I had a bit of a difficult year... I've felt a little "off" and I've associated it with the loss of things that I love. I lost Grenada. I lost the sunshine, the warm air, the beach, my friends, my kids, my "I'm doing something with my life feeling".... and along with that I quit blogging. on both blogs. I quit updating about our lives, just assuming that since I feel like our life sucks, no one else will want to hear about it. But really, interesting things happen to me everyday! Detroit is a crazy place! Life is never truly boring...
and I really do love my Kelsey Inspired blog. I love crafting and sharing things with the blogging world. I'll to do better with updating and I know I'll be happier for it. So look for a blog layout makeover coming soon!
2. Volunteering
When we moved to Detroit I really wanted to get involved in something. I started volunteering with the crisis pregnancy center, but I had to miss a couple of weeks and then to be honest lost interest. It's is such a needed, important ministry... but I as a young woman with no kids, no experience with child birth or parenting I didn't feel as though I was really that much of a help to these girls and usually left feeling as though I had short-changed them or something. If that makes sense.
I need to find something I am passionate about, there is so much need in Detroit, I just have to find my place. yea?
3. Get Healthy.
Exercise!? - ugh. I had to say it. Lee and I are going to be so much healthier in 2013. We were so good when we were in Grenada and then we get back to America and it all goes to pots. Whatever. It's a new year and I need to get skinny skinny for that trip back to Grenada for 2013, right?? :)
What are we doing differently? Well eating better for starters. Less snacking, less carbs, less sugary drinks. More fruit, more vegetables, more fish! I got a new programmable crock pot for Christmas (thank you Lee's parents!) and I'm going to use it. Healthy dinner Mon-Thursday is the goal.
Lee has this ab ripper dvd that he's been doing and I did like 5 minutes of it... once. so I'm going to try to do that more often and elliptical. all that. and walk! I need to go outside and walk a little to get what tiny traces of sunshine exist in Michigan. I need vitamin D in my life!
4. Think positive.
I promised Lee that in 2013 I will not hate Michigan. I spent June-December 2012 hating this state. the entire place. and secretly, not so secretly I still do.... but I'm not going to say it anymore! I'm going to be happy about life and where I am, or at least make an attempt. and that's all you can ask for, right Lee??
5. Stay in better contact with family and friends
It's tough to admit you're a bad friend, but I kinda am. I get so stupidly busy during the week that when I get home Mon-Thursday all I do is eat and go to bed. And the weekends I've been traveling a lot so I forget to keep up to date with my family and friends' lives. They are important to me so I need to show it! I'm going to be better about facebook messages, emails, texting, and calling my family! Isn't it a wonderful problem to have too many friends to keep up with?! :)
To kick off to a good start we're having a party on Saturday with our friends from Grenada who are now in the Detroit area!
and this was my 400th post?! whoa!!!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Babies Galore!
Lee is in his OB/GYN rotation currently and I am volunteering at a pregnancy center. We did a "Walk for Life" this weekend to raise awareness about abortion, which is rampant and casual almost in Detroit.
It breaks my heart that young women think nothing of killing their unborn baby... but that's a whole different post. While I am counseling women dealing with a multitude of issues and circumstances that have led them to consider abortion as an option, Lee is bringing new lives into this world!!
He has delivered about a dozen babies now! It is amazing and rather than being a little grossed out like I thought I might be, I am in awe of how awesome Lee is and what an experience he is having!!
OB/GYN has been an interesting rotation. He started out in the surgical aspect of it, which was completely similar to his surgery rotation. Then he moved into the clinic where he did routine exams, inserted IUDs, and dealt with STDs etc. In OB he is with mothers during the labor process, watching football games with the dads to be, and wishing he was playing with the babies rather than cleaning up after delivery :)
His schedule has been erratic, but do-able.
He has worked a typical 7am-5pm schedule, he's worked 1pm-midnight, 5pm-7am, and some days he has nothing other than lectures for a few hours.
I think he's enjoying the learning experience and the celebration and miracle of a new life entering the world, but this isn't exactly what he wants to do for the rest of his life.
And I'd prefer to not introduce people to my husband the gynecologist.....
Sweet baby feet....
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
playing house
I'm just going out on a limb here and guessing that some of you probably think that Lee and I are pretty boring.
Maybe not me (haha... flattering myself here) but that Lee and I as a couple are a little... well... dull.
We may not go out that often, we don't go to parties, we don't have a huge group of friends (ok that is an exaggeration we have 0 friends in Michigan) and we don't see much of each other with our schedules, the whole medical school bit, and we're usually in bed by 9pm.... so how much fun could we possibly be having?
Well let me just tell you!
My everyday life is so. much. fun. I've been asking myself how did I get so lucky?
You may think that you know Lee. He's level headed, calm, very strategic, and an over-all genius (perhaps you'd even use the term know-it-all? gasp)
But that's not Lee to me.
He loves me in a way that I can't even describe. He's spontaneous and adventurous, lets his guard down, includes me in all decisions, and (thankfully for me) has a really hard time telling me no.
I sometimes feel like we're just playing house. The "real world" couldn't possibly be this much fun.
Married couples are boring and predicable and stressed, right?
Maybe we've just been on a good stretch, oh the last 3 years.... but I think we've got a good thing going here.
When we get home in the evenings we are so excited to see each other and have so much to talk about. We enjoy each others company over dinner every night. (Sunday we actually just had ice cream for dinner. Lee's idea and I did not complain). Lee has never complained about dinner. ever. not about it being gross, or late, or non-existent. If I haven't cooked he'll go make us both something or ask if I'm in the mood for pizza :) i
When we're out and I see somewhere I want to go he says "sure! why not". Even if it's the 100th yard sale we've been to.
We still act like we've just started dating (and we're going on 7 years!) We kiss, we hold hands, he still pulls out his wallet every time we're in a restaurant even though we both know he never has money in it. lol.
And just the opposite, we act like we've known each other forever. like we've never been apart. We're so comfortable and know how to deal with each other. He knows when I'm in a mood or being completely unreasonable.
We are happy with the church(s) we've found and we're involved. This Friday we're playing volleyball with the teens and Saturday there is a dinner. He's going to be playing the guitar soon during service. God has blessed us abundantly.
We talk about what we want in life.
We talk about our future babies, and even though we're both more than ready and so excited, we re-assure each other the reasons it's good to wait a bit longer. So we have a fish. And talk to him like a child.
We talk about where we'll live someday (most recently we've been discussing Maine or Washington - just for a change of scenery :) and of course our many, many, visits to Grenada.
We laugh, we dance, we sing, we are in love.
And in the midst of all that - we pay bills, make difficult decisions, we miss our families, we have hard days at work, and we're tired. a lot.
But it works.
And I love playing house. just not dirty dishes.... so Lee takes care of that :)
Maybe not me (haha... flattering myself here) but that Lee and I as a couple are a little... well... dull.
We may not go out that often, we don't go to parties, we don't have a huge group of friends (ok that is an exaggeration we have 0 friends in Michigan) and we don't see much of each other with our schedules, the whole medical school bit, and we're usually in bed by 9pm.... so how much fun could we possibly be having?
Well let me just tell you!
My everyday life is so. much. fun. I've been asking myself how did I get so lucky?
You may think that you know Lee. He's level headed, calm, very strategic, and an over-all genius (perhaps you'd even use the term know-it-all? gasp)
But that's not Lee to me.
He loves me in a way that I can't even describe. He's spontaneous and adventurous, lets his guard down, includes me in all decisions, and (thankfully for me) has a really hard time telling me no.
I sometimes feel like we're just playing house. The "real world" couldn't possibly be this much fun.
Married couples are boring and predicable and stressed, right?
Maybe we've just been on a good stretch, oh the last 3 years.... but I think we've got a good thing going here.
When we get home in the evenings we are so excited to see each other and have so much to talk about. We enjoy each others company over dinner every night. (Sunday we actually just had ice cream for dinner. Lee's idea and I did not complain). Lee has never complained about dinner. ever. not about it being gross, or late, or non-existent. If I haven't cooked he'll go make us both something or ask if I'm in the mood for pizza :) i
When we're out and I see somewhere I want to go he says "sure! why not". Even if it's the 100th yard sale we've been to.
We still act like we've just started dating (and we're going on 7 years!) We kiss, we hold hands, he still pulls out his wallet every time we're in a restaurant even though we both know he never has money in it. lol.
And just the opposite, we act like we've known each other forever. like we've never been apart. We're so comfortable and know how to deal with each other. He knows when I'm in a mood or being completely unreasonable.
We are happy with the church(s) we've found and we're involved. This Friday we're playing volleyball with the teens and Saturday there is a dinner. He's going to be playing the guitar soon during service. God has blessed us abundantly.
We talk about what we want in life.
We talk about our future babies, and even though we're both more than ready and so excited, we re-assure each other the reasons it's good to wait a bit longer. So we have a fish. And talk to him like a child.
We talk about where we'll live someday (most recently we've been discussing Maine or Washington - just for a change of scenery :) and of course our many, many, visits to Grenada.
We laugh, we dance, we sing, we are in love.
And in the midst of all that - we pay bills, make difficult decisions, we miss our families, we have hard days at work, and we're tired. a lot.
But it works.
And I love playing house. just not dirty dishes.... so Lee takes care of that :)
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Date night in the Village
Downtown Grosse Pointe is called The Village.
It's a beautiful downtown area about 3 blocks long, both sides of the street. I wrote about it a bit before here.
If you're from the Columbus, Ohio area it sorta reminds me of Easton.
Stores that are typically in a mall, but have outside entrances and lots of flowers, benches, and fountains!
We walked over from our apartment, it's about 4 blocks away from us.
It was a perfect summer evening. We strolled around, had dinner, and considered getting ice cream at Cold Stone - but decided to go to Kroger and get a whole carton for the same price instead :)
It's a beautiful downtown area about 3 blocks long, both sides of the street. I wrote about it a bit before here.
If you're from the Columbus, Ohio area it sorta reminds me of Easton.
Stores that are typically in a mall, but have outside entrances and lots of flowers, benches, and fountains!
We walked over from our apartment, it's about 4 blocks away from us.
It was a perfect summer evening. We strolled around, had dinner, and considered getting ice cream at Cold Stone - but decided to go to Kroger and get a whole carton for the same price instead :)
We had dinner at the Village Grille. I had actually been there before {when I finally met my blogging friend Marisa in real life! She blogs at Count On Me For Life about her life as a SO to an SGU medical student, now resident! } It was pretty good, so we went back to try some of their other stuff. I can now say that their hamburger, "lumber jack" aka french dip, and calzones are really good.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Lee's Life in Michigan
Lee has been doing his rotations at the hospital for about a week and half now.
They started my poor boy in Surgery ICU.
Right off the bat he has been on his feet for about 10 hours a day and witnessing horrific and incredibly sad situations. I'm not allowed to talk about specifics but - gun shots, stabbings, drugs, and death after death after death.
His alarm goes off at 4:45am and he's out the door by 5:30.
We live about 1 mile from the hospital so Lee has been walking each day. He said he didn't know when he'd squeeze in exercise otherwise.
He has a pager that goes off whenever they have someone come in. He has to spend some time on call and will have to do a few 30 hour shifts.
Right now he isn't really with any other students. He is with about 3 residents and does whatever they do. He has an Attending Doctor they all report to and some days they're really nice and patient and other days they're jerks and try to make you feel like an idiot, even though it's your first week.
He's been in suture clinics and can now sew someone up.
He's learning trade names for drugs, proper settings on the machines, how to keep up and act like he's been doing this his whole life, and how to deal with nurses.
He'll be in surgery until the end of August. Next he has vascular, general surgery, trauma surgery, pediatric surgery, and then another general.
fun!
Surgery life is not for us.
They started my poor boy in Surgery ICU.
Right off the bat he has been on his feet for about 10 hours a day and witnessing horrific and incredibly sad situations. I'm not allowed to talk about specifics but - gun shots, stabbings, drugs, and death after death after death.
His alarm goes off at 4:45am and he's out the door by 5:30.
We live about 1 mile from the hospital so Lee has been walking each day. He said he didn't know when he'd squeeze in exercise otherwise.
He has a pager that goes off whenever they have someone come in. He has to spend some time on call and will have to do a few 30 hour shifts.
Right now he isn't really with any other students. He is with about 3 residents and does whatever they do. He has an Attending Doctor they all report to and some days they're really nice and patient and other days they're jerks and try to make you feel like an idiot, even though it's your first week.
He's been in suture clinics and can now sew someone up.
He's learning trade names for drugs, proper settings on the machines, how to keep up and act like he's been doing this his whole life, and how to deal with nurses.
He'll be in surgery until the end of August. Next he has vascular, general surgery, trauma surgery, pediatric surgery, and then another general.
fun!
Surgery life is not for us.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Apartment Found!
when does a girl like me blog??
when I am procrastinating.
It's been almost a month since we found out that we got placed in Detroit....
in that time we have been to visit, found an apartment, and I have applied to 3 billion jobs with a reply or some sort of contact from only 3....
thus I am blogging.
avoiding the internet job search.
which BLOWS.
Lee has already moved!! He's getting things set up in our little apartment and I am finishing up my last 2 weeks at work, then my best friend is getting married, then it's the social event of the year in this little town - MEMORIAL DAY PARADE!
Then I will join my Lee and start our life over again in a new strange place.
that isn't Grenada.
I told someone the other day we were moving to Grenada.... when I meant to say Detroit.
How do you make that mistake?
I sorta teared up...
but guess what................ ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO FOR ME TO VISIT THIS SUMMER/FALL!!!!!!!!!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
My heart is more at ease just knowing I can visit soon.
My heart longs for the kids and my body aches for the ocean.
I still truly feel like Grenada is our home and where we belong. I haven't changed my mind one iota since being back in the states. Everything is better there... even though the food sucks, it's disgustingly hot and there isn't a place to buy a decent pair of shoes or piece of clothing....
I haven't kept in touch nearly good enough with my kids.
I feel so guilty. I write letters that never got mailed. I talk to them sporadically on the phone...
I'm bad a long distance. I just need to be there. But that's selfish.
I wrote 6 cards today and am mailing them tomorrow. for sure.
Anyway, we found an apartment in a super safe neighborhood. In a building with 8 apartments and a super nice property manager. Lee says there is a nice old lady who lives across the hall. aw.
This is us!
I'll update more about it later! Off to research plane tickets and more jobs. boo.
when I am procrastinating.
It's been almost a month since we found out that we got placed in Detroit....
in that time we have been to visit, found an apartment, and I have applied to 3 billion jobs with a reply or some sort of contact from only 3....
thus I am blogging.
avoiding the internet job search.
which BLOWS.
Lee has already moved!! He's getting things set up in our little apartment and I am finishing up my last 2 weeks at work, then my best friend is getting married, then it's the social event of the year in this little town - MEMORIAL DAY PARADE!
Then I will join my Lee and start our life over again in a new strange place.
that isn't Grenada.
I told someone the other day we were moving to Grenada.... when I meant to say Detroit.
How do you make that mistake?
I sorta teared up...
but guess what................ ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO FOR ME TO VISIT THIS SUMMER/FALL!!!!!!!!!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
My heart is more at ease just knowing I can visit soon.
My heart longs for the kids and my body aches for the ocean.
I still truly feel like Grenada is our home and where we belong. I haven't changed my mind one iota since being back in the states. Everything is better there... even though the food sucks, it's disgustingly hot and there isn't a place to buy a decent pair of shoes or piece of clothing....
I haven't kept in touch nearly good enough with my kids.
I feel so guilty. I write letters that never got mailed. I talk to them sporadically on the phone...
I'm bad a long distance. I just need to be there. But that's selfish.
I wrote 6 cards today and am mailing them tomorrow. for sure.
Anyway, we found an apartment in a super safe neighborhood. In a building with 8 apartments and a super nice property manager. Lee says there is a nice old lady who lives across the hall. aw.
I'll update more about it later! Off to research plane tickets and more jobs. boo.
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