The exciting events of October 27th

CONGRATULATIONS to two of my favorite people in the world!!!!
Alisa Stone officially became Alisa Stone Herring in one of the most beautiful ceremonies I've ever attended. Jonathan and I had a weekend of fabulousness at their big event in Eufala Alabama. The Stones reserved the beautiful Candlelight Inn for Alisa and her bridesmaids (including me :-) for the weekend. We had a marvelous time at the rehersal dinner at Fendall Hall, followed by amazing wedding at the old Presbyterian Church in Eufala, and then culminated by the reception and post-wedding brunch at the Shorter Mansion. In addition to this picture of the lovely bride, everyone please look at the pictures on our online album! They are fantastic.


Julia and Andy Fisher gave birth to the beautiful Lydia Grace Fisher On October 28th at 10PM. She weighed just under 9 lbs and is so healthy :-) I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be an honorary aunt to this new little bundle of preciousness! It's killing me not to be there to welcome her, but I hope to keep in touch with LOTS of pictures (hint hint Julia :-) I am making her a very special gift and when I finish it I will post a picture. It's almost done and now that I know the lovely name I can complete it.

Lovely times!

So Jonathan made it through 2 months of surgery!!! And relatively unscathed at that. He actually really enjoyed it but doesn't think he would like to be a surgeon (thank goodness!). Starting tomorrow...or I guess today actually, he will be starting his Heme/Onc elective at a private practice at Ft. Gordon. He's super excited and it will be interesting to see if he likes it enough to pursue it as a career.
In addition, I must say that Jonathan is the most marvelous husband in the universe (sorry ladies, but I really do believe this). On Saturday he took the dogs and himself to get hair cuts, cleaned the house, grocery shopped, and cooked an amazing mexican feast for my intern class...ALL by himself since I worked until 6PM and everyone came at 7! We had SO MUCH FUN!!! I loved having you guys! I lighted lots of candles and we at inside and outside and the little tykes had so much fun playing with the Shih tzus :-) Quite entertaining!!
In other news, I am wrapping up my ER month. I have really enjoyed it but it does have its challenges. I've had to get used to going to bed MUCH later (as you see by the time of this post) since I get home a lot of nights around 2-3 AM. I've learned a tremendous amount though and done lots and lots of procedures. I feel comfortable suturing pretty much any lac now. This evening I had a 22 month old come in who had bitten her tongue in two. I was drenched with sweat by the end, but the result looked really good :-) I think that may be the hardest thing I ever have to sew up though...even though she was sedated she was still moving...it was like trying to sew a slippery little worm in a small hole that kept moving using buried stitches! Anyway, I've really enjoyed it and am looking forward to next month in the newborn nursery. Enjoy the dinner club pics (sorry I only got a few people, but the babies were the most cute :-)

Costume ideas?

SO...I have to decide what to be for Halloween. I'm working till close that night so it should be AWESOME :-))) All the little trick or treaters sick from eating a years worth of candy, etc. I have to have a costume that will be entertaining, yet able to work a trauma if one comes it...which is a definite possibility. All the nurses are going to be Disney princesses so I can't do that. It also can't be scandalous. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Rested and Relaxed at last!

Oh my goodness!!!!! I don't think I've ever been as tired as I was coming off service last month! I think I nearly had a melt down! However, I had the first week of October totally off and I enjoyed every SECOND of it! Waking up as late as I wanted (which still was around 9AM, but 4 hrs later than usual :-), lounging around all day, doing normal things like getting nails done and grocery shopping, watching Food Network and doing laundry, exercising, reading a novel, and just generally decompressing. I don't think anything could possibly feel as good as rest and free time after working super hard...it's the best feeling in the world. It's also such a great way to put thing in perspective too. I REALLY enjoyed my week off, but after 7 days of loafing, I realize that I couldn't do this for more than a week or two. It would stop being fun and just be boring and tedious. I'm really excited and ready for my ER shift tonight! I LOVE the ER!! Most of my shifts are afternoon/evening, so I'll still have my days free which will be wonderful too. I love my job :-)
Jonathan is at the tail end of his surgery rotation. He is working SO HARD! He gets up everyday at 4AM and then gets home around 7PM....poor thing! I've been taking him lunch and snacks so that he stays nourished and hydrated. I'm so proud of him though. He's handled it really well and actually hasn't seemed overly tired. He hasn't had any caffeine the whole month!!! Amazing!! Also he's gotten to see lots of cool surgeries...AAA repairs, amputations (he IS at the VA after all), kidney transplant, etc. Next month is going to be a lot of fun for him. He's set up an elective at a private practice Hematology-Oncology Clinic in town. It will be a great experience to see what life would be like as a private Heme/onc physician and if that's really the specialty he wants to pursue. I'm so proud of him :-)
The Shih Tzus are doing wonderfully. They really like me being home more. Pippi Amanda has developed a bad habit though. All the dogs occasionally have little "asthma attacks" during which they wheeze and look pitiful. Pippi Amanda (or Peppy Jennifer as one of Jonathan's friends now calls her), has learned to simulate this behavior for secondary gain! She loves to be petted and coddled and knows that his is a good way to get it. What a little imp!
Again, we love our family and hope you will all have a good month!