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Go To: The Amazing Adventures of GT and Dr. Watson

The Amazing Adventures of GT and Dr. Watson

2 yrs after an elephant of a weekend
Before realizing it was the first weekend of November, earlier this week I randomly had the idea of going back and reading my recollection of the events of Dr. Watson and my church wedding ceremony weekend now nearly two years ago.  I suppose it was my subconscious reminding me of the upcoming weekend.  I thank you, subconscious (ps I told my lovely wife this morning and she had forgotten too). Anyway, as I read it, I realized that blogging isn't about having a perfect manuscript of clear themes with thorough supporting evidence. It can be simply a jotted down diary.  I also didn't realize how many grammar and spelling mistakes I had made (maybe I need an editor)

But as I sit here at my desk on a Friday afternoon with plenty of work to do (mostly a research project retrospectively looking at the outcomes of men treated here at UC, mostly through the VA, for prostate cancer with I-125 radioactive seeds [brachytherapy]) I thought I should at least enter a quick entry on the precipice of this historic weekend.

I think most of you saw Will's elephant Halloween costume on Facebook, but if not...



We had an enjoyable evening.  I walked him down the street while we worked on "trick-or-treat" and "candy" but we only made it to two houses.  While pretty excited to be outside and skipping along our street, he was pretty tenuous by the time we made it to the front door of those two houses.  He did get out a "bu-bye" at one of them with a concurrent flappy hand gesture.  Otherwise for the evening he was happy to run around the family room in his costume and very excited at the opportunity to have a large portion of his dinner constituted by Kit-Kats, Reese's cups, and the like. Funny, the next morning the leftover candy was on the counter and he thought that would be a great item for breakfast too.  When his mother informed him that this would not be a possible breakfast choice, he choose to share his disagreement on floor level with some thrashing and banging on the ground.  Thankfully moments like these are few and far between.  Other things with the now 17 month old this week: "E" = the alphabet, most obvious in our house with refrigerator magnets.  While at first we thought he actually knew what the letter E is, it turns out, this is a very generic term.  Last night as we played with them I was getting the sense that "O" is the new "E."  We'll see how that goes.  Also semi-new this week, last night he ate an entire yogurt with minimal mess with a spoon.  I guess that is a relatively advanced task for someone his age which is very thrilling as parents because we are thinking that in the next few months he will be able to wash the dishes after dinner as well.

Otherwise our lives are relatively calm for once.  I don't even think we have specific plans for the next 3 weekends other than one Sunday call for the Alicia. I have a presentation in a few weeks, but nothing to important/exciting/difficult.  I have backed-up on photo sorting/editing/posting again so hopefully I can catch-up on that (though motivation is low at this particular moment).  Suppose it is time to start gearing up for the holiday season as well!

The baby in the belly is doing well.  Still no nick-name.  Alicia looked at the with the ultrasound last week.  I guess she was kicking about and practicing breathing.  All good things I'm told.

Well, back to data-entry.  Hope this note finds you, reader of today or reader of the future, at peace.





To my eldest daughter
It's difficult to address you by name, given you have yet to be named, but never-the-less, daughter, this post is written with the intention that you know how excited your mother and I are about the countdown to our first face to face meeting.

For the rest of you, this may be the first you are hearing of such inevitable events.

"Why such an apologetic tone," you may ask.  Succinctly, we found out on Sunday August 31st that we would be expecting our second child and yet here I am nearly 2 months later documenting this knowledge on our family blog.

What has happened in those two months?  Well, like before, the ultrasounds have been frequent as we are both impatiently eager to see her/you as much as possible. We found out that you/she was a girl about two weeks ago.  We are working with Will on the word 'sister' though have had more success with the 'sissy' (as of last night). Pictures?  Of course:

12 weeks and 3 days - 3D Ultrasound

Thinking about what I wrote above regarding your name, when Will was in the womb, we called him Ace.  I think you need a name like that too.  I just haven't figured it out yet.  Oh your due date is Easter 2012, April 8th.  One day before your Papa's 60th birthday.
It was a great weekend, blog.


Dr. Watson may not win mother of the year for these antics, but they did make for a funny moment in an otherwise very pleasant and enjoyable weekend with Will. In her defense, he did keep taking the lemon from her. Other activities of the weekend: pointing at lots of objects including "JEEZ" (yes, Jesus), first trip to a pet store to see the "FEEESH", first half of Toy Story 2 (27th time for Will's dad), throwing the big blue and white ball back and forth, clicking a ball point pen, first ride in the new Radio Flyer, walking at Sugarcreek park, bathtime (without too much fuss), Mass (aka one hour in the entry way at church running around), lots of hugs, some kisses, first taste of a cream-cheese pumpkin roll...the list goes on.  I'm off Thursday, Friday, and Monday next week because Will's babysitter Melissa is visiting family in California.  Maybe we can catch up more then, blog.  Have a good week.
Dear Blog
I miss you.  I think of you often.  We should catch up.  I can tell you all about how Will went from a walking and playing cheerful BOY to a chatty, imitative, communicator over about 10 days.  You can hear about how we ask him if he wants to do teeth (brushing) which is followed by him running to his bathroom, pointing at the sink and say "TEEEEF."  If we did have this conversation you would feel less of a stranger to him and to us.  We really do miss you, blog.  We just don't prioritize you.  I am saddened by this.  Shall we schedule something?  Perhaps on a Thursday?  I must go, blog.  My left arm is being pulled downward by a short, polo-shirted, babbling boy.  I can only understand bits of what he is imploring me to do.  Until that day, my friend...
Hanging out


No time to write
As has been the story of the last 10 months.

We have been pressing away at the shutter button as well as racking short video clips though.  Thought I would put up a few random videos  that I posted to YouTube today.  Enjoy.













Took the whole day to get these up to the web.  The little man can be a little distracting.  What is not portrayed in these videos is his progress with regard to walking.  He is braver and braver by the day, shuffling off of the comfort of the couch / coffee table / chair / leg / end table / object to hold on to walk to world unaided.  Still not the most graceful thing to watch, but certainly the most entertaining and joyful part of a very nice Saturday with Will and Alicia.  Went for a walk this morning and as we returned it was just starting to rain.  The rain fell the rest of the day, so it was the three of us hanging around the house for the remainder.  Times are good here.  Hope that is the case for you, reader.

I will be back.
The countdown to chaos begins :)

For the sake of posting
Let the me just tell you, the quantity and quality of this blog is indirectly related to the pace and enjoyment of our lives.

Maybe I've just lost that blogging feeling.

Or maybe I just don't have time to electronically reflect very often.

Whatever the reason, know that The Thompsons are well.  We had a lovely Christmas weekend in Dayton with my parents, siblings, Heather, and of course Alicia and Will.  Dawn and William came into town a few days before to say hello as well.  The little man is less little everyday, now crawling all over, pull himself up to a stand, chattering non-sense, and ever more efficiently manipulating the world around him.  I have slacked in giving detailed verbal updates regarding his growth and maturation, but I remained vigilant behind the shutter.  Documentation through images will have to suffice.

Good times

Back to work.  Happy New Year to all.

(Just to gloat and share my excitement, my New Year's treat is a trip to Winterpark, CO with Eric.  Pictures to follow)
A long needed reintroduction.

The Scurvy
The title is meaningless. Sort of.

Just wanted to check in briefly.  It is Thursday.

Probably should say something about Will and probably would be lying if I said I didn't want to say something about Will.  To wordy of a sentence?

Anyway...wait, no, I was just thinking...  Do I ask too many rhetorical questions in my posts?  Do you find it annoying?  Does it define my writing style? In a bad way? Is it ever funny?  Entertaining at least? Stupid? What did you have for breakfast this morning? Do you think I had cereal?  Are you starting to catch what I'm doing?  Do you like it?  Do you want me to stop so you can read about Will? Are you sure?  How do you know you are sure?  Isn't it just some random firing of synapses in your brain? Do you have a brain? Is reading this making that brain dumber? Are you wondering how I'm going to end this?  What would Will think of this nonsense?

A thousand words

He's not too sure about all that, but he is otherwise doing great!  I've heard people say stuff like this (read below) before, but as a preface, it was really cool:  So one day Will didn't know he had  hands and the next day he knew how to grab things, pull things, push things, etc.  Maybe it was two or three days, but either way, Alicia and I had this moment last weekend where we had the conversation, "When did he start doing that?"  This happened about 5 days ago and since then his abilities with his hands have followed a very steep learning curve now capable of pulling specific toy levers in order that programed musical jingle be played.  It was like a switch flipped and all of a sudden he could control his previously independent-of-his-brain hands.  Truly cool, truly amazing, the human brain.  Besides all this, he is just so pleasant!  Thursdays are his day with Grandma (Mary = not yet to have a clever grandma name) so I'm sure she is making him laugh and squeezing out all kinds of smiles from him while I type.

Toys are way cooler when you know how to play with them

For the wondering: Our adventure is still amazing
In fact, it is so so much more amazing than ever before!
________________________________________________________

So if there was ever a time for the necessity of weekly blogs, the last two months, the black hole of this forum, was it. In fact, daily blogs would not have done justice to the experiences and changes in our lives over that period. Why? I thought you might ask.

Mr. Will

Only having experienced it over the last two months could I imagine the way he has changed and grown in such a short period. I made a mental list during the first few weeks of the things I wanted to remember about his behavior during that time. Since they haven't made it into the electronic format yet, they will serve to exemplify the lead statement of this paragraph. The following three general observations stuck out. First, the little man hated to be naked. I imagine that has to do with being used to the warm and snugly environment that he came from, but, man, he would scream and scream if not in tight swaddle or at least snug onsey. Second and closely related to the first, he loved to be held (and loathed not to be). This was probably the most difficult part for Alicia and I as it is very hard to do things like pack and move a house while holding an infant. Finally, while the obvious fix to any crying of unknown etiology was the ol' boob-in-the-mouth trick, a close second was to simply step outside. Will loves to be outside. I can't tell exactly what part of being outdoors soothes him. The temperature doesn't seem to matter, warm, or cool. Maybe it's the sounds or even the fresh air. Whatever it is, it works, and it is still in my pocket of tricks to this day. That is in stark contrast to the first two observations and takes me back to my thesis statement, how quickly and continuously things change.

If it were socially acceptable or not a waste of the plethora of 3 month clothing that Will has, I truly think he would be happier being shirtless all day and night now. He loves to be bathed. He loves to be naked. Period. Maybe someone swapped him with the baby we took home from the hospital. Not sure. As for the need to be held, it has been truly amazing to observe his increasing ability to entertain himself.  It seems like he cries more often if I hold him (facing over my left shoulder - the tried and true position) than if I just lay him on the bed/couch/floor and let him stare upward.  It certainly is a joy to play with him this way while at the same time improving the overall longevity of my back and allowing Alicia and I to do things like brush our teeth and eat dinner more often.  I joke.  Kind of.
Did I make my point?  Maybe.  For those of you that have been watching Will grow from a single to double to triple chinned little man, this likely rings true.  Others have probably had similar experiences with other chil'ns.  Others may have to trust me.

So what else is going on...Alicia started her new job as an ATTENDING out at Wright Patterson after having graduated from her ObGyn residency at the end of June. I have moved on from a lowly intern at Kettering in internal medicine. I'm now commuting to the University of Cincinnati and have started my real career and residency in Radiation Oncology. As with any big changes, both of us our on a steep learning curve at the moment figuring our new responsibilities and continuing with our lifelong medical learning. Nothing else really interesting to add there unless you want a short dissertation on intensity modulated radiation therapy or stereotatic radiosurgery or updates in the staging of non-small cell lung cancer.

Yeah, I thought not. Will's bored. I'm sure you are too. Fine, the end.

all pictures featured here were taken by my lovely wife more pictures: will's first myrtle beach trip, alicia's graduation, and random others

 

My little man, new pictures often...

Click here to view these pictures larger

semi-urgent message from the new born
You can call me Will.  Or William if you prefer.  But I was born at 3:38 AM on Sunday, May 30th 2010 at WPAFB Medical Center.  My full name is going to be William Arthur Thompson.

My mommy and daddy are very happy right now.  They love me very much and are very excited to have me in their lives.  They will probably go on and on about this at some future date, but told me to tell you in the meantime.

Also in the meantime, I'm supposed to direct you to pictures of me and my family and friends on shutterfly.  Click my picture to get there.


urgent message from the fetus
I'll come out when I'm d@$# good and ready!!!
pre-Five Weeks-post
5 weeks.  5 weeks until we last one-way communicated on this blog. 5 weeks until I'm finished with my internship/transitional year.

Did I beat GT to the punch?
We're back en Los Estados Unidos!!! Who's a happy camper? This girl.

We're sitting at the USO in the Philadelphia airport and are reconnecting to our family and friends. The trip was great and we'll blog about it in greater detail later. But I absolutely must give a shout out to Bridget and Ryan Moore and their adorable little peanut Olivia for opening their home to us while we were awaiting the dust to settle (pun intended) on all the volcano stuff. There hospitality and graciousness know no bounds.

We had an absolutely wonderful time. It was great to just spend the days together enjoying each other's company. And while we there in Dijon, France we received the news that...

I'M STAYING IN DAYTON!!!!!!!!!

What an answer to prayer. God is good all the time. But when your wishes and His plan line up it makes you feel like you could bottle sunshine. In truth, we haven't really been able to take it in and are still a little trepidatious about the whole thing. It can still change. After all, less than a month ago we were facing 3yrs apart. But as soon as I have my official orders I'll feel more relieved. Don't have any idea when that will happen, but I'm hoping to it will be before the end of May. For right now, we'll just be giddy and plan for a life together.

Speaking of the end of May...I'm still pregnant. He's still breech. Really no indication that he'll come early at all. But he seemed to enjoy Europe and I'm getting bigger everyday. That may be attributable to cheese and chocolate everyday, but I'm blaming it on the baby :) Still not ready for him to come out yet, but talk to me again in a few weeks.

Hope you are all well. We're happy to be home, on what has been reported as the first flight back from Europe. How cool is that?

Much love from AT, GT and baby T

PS - just wait to you see the photos he took. he's a regular ansel adams. and did you know that segue (pronounced segway) is spelled that way? I had no idea and I know by seeing it written 0ut I've never used it in a sentence before. Crazy.
Any other last minute items before crossing the pond for the week?
How should I start this?

That worked.

Ok, not really.

Blast. I don't know what my deal is.  I'm just distracted this week.  I'm guessing that it stems from the fact Alicia and I will be flying to Zurich on Saturday and the list of items to be accomplished before leaving town is not very short not to mention my gleeful excitement.  I could be wrong.  Segue:However, what I do know is that last weekend was Easter weekend.  Alicia had to work Friday night and Sunday day, but I was off all weekend and made it back to central Ohio Friday-->Sunday to hang with the fam.  Step back a day.  Thursday Alicia and I went to mass at St. Helen's.  They did their feet washing event a little different than I've seen in the past. Instead of having the priest wash the feet of a few people, everyone got in line to go to one of six stations. Once you reached said station, essentially you had your foot washed by the person previously in front of you and once finished you washed the foot of the person behind you. Would you like me to draw a diagram?

Friday I spent most of the morning doing medical records that I had let sit while I was on medicine last month.  Oh yeah, haven't blogged since March ended and Radiology (April) started.  I'M FINISHED WITH INTERNAL MEDICINE TEAM MONTHS FOR LIFE!  I still have ICU, but that I think is going to be much better. We shall see.  Anyway, I went over to the valley (MVH) to see Alicia and have lunch before heading out to Columbus.  Once back in town, I met Eric and Heather at St. Francis in Victorian Village for Good Friday service.  Another long church going experience, but totally worth it.  I won't really go into it now, but the prayers of the faithful were organized such that after every couple prayers someone read a story.  The stories were actually a collection of excerpts, speeches, blogs, articles, etc.  Whoever collected and organized them did a wonderful job.  I was so moved.  You could hear everyone around you snuffling from tears. I want to feature a few of the stories on the blog, but I'm not sure about the legalities on copyright infringement for blog posts so it will have to wait until I can sort that out.  Too many other things going on this week.  It may just have to be web links.  Afterward Eric and I walked Heather home, picked up Jeff, and then played cards for a while at Eric's house.  Actually things got a little more rowdy than I was planning on, but good times overall with the bras (and Mike, Eric's roommate).  No additional details will be transcribed through this forum if I have left you curious.

Saturday Alicia came into town.  Not much to mention for the daytime.  Heather was welcomed into the Catholic church at the Easter Vigil at night though.  Her family came out to Mark and Mary's for dinner before the service.  We had fun getting to know her family.  Another long church experience followed.  Congratulations, Heather!  What a wonderful achievement.  I posted pictures from the night and other events from the last couple of weeks on the Shutterfly page.  Sunday was the Miller celebration of Easter again at my parent's house.  We had a 350+ egg hunt.  You are all probably thinking what I came to realize while hiding that number of eggs.  How are there that many hiding spots in one yard?  The answer: There aren't.  Megan, Jeff, my mom, and I "hid" all the eggs and by about half way through had to pretty much had resorted to throwing eggs over our shoulder hoping they would land in at least a moderately inconspicuous location.  The kids didn't seem to mind the ease of discovering and collecting their allotted maximum of 37 eggs (Jenie's imposed limit) though so all in all the event was a success.  The weather was great.  The company, as always, entertaining.  The drive home relaxing. That about wraps it up.

Ah, every time I write I feel like my blogs are superficial, shallow, self indulging, and whiny.  I apologize if that is your impression as well.  Sadly, truth being told, it probably is a reflection of my personality.  (Reading that first sentence over again, I'm wondering if superficial and shallow are redundant.  I won't change it.) Can't wait to blog about the baby instead.

Come back to this week's title after the trip to randomville that happened in the paragraph above. We are getting things together and are very excited about what lies ahead for the next week.  Two days in Zurich, one day in the Swiss Alps, three days in Burgundy, and two days in Geneva.  Not a sentence. (And again...)  We are going to roll fairly low-tech for the week.  That's probably not true at all, but I simply mean, we are not taking a computer.  Hence, blogging may or may not happen.  I'm taking my iPod touch though so I may share a quick hello/update if the WiFi strikes me right.  Don't get your hopes up for pictures though.  It hardly seems feasible with the planned outfitting.

Anything else I'm supposed to mention.  Baby name? Well, here's the deal.  Alicia and I talked about it for a while Monday night.  First, no name has been chosen.  I feel like we are narrowing it down to a list of possibles, but, alas, no such list is in writing.  Second, I think this is my last prenatal blog referencing the name.  Don't blame me, blame you.  Any name that we have suggested to date has been met with mixed results by our friends/family/co-workers/mail woman/neighbors/grocery baggers/online chat rooms/pen pals/etc.  We have come to realize this will always be the case.  You people agree less than us. Therefore, we are going to hold out on you in order that we might finally make a decision and be swayed only by our own likes/dis-likes.  This is not a democracy people. Way harsh?  I'm a little sorry. I'll make it up to you.  You can still suggest whatever names you would like.  Better?  I hope.

How should I end this?

Without a top three.
If the military wanted you to have a family they would have issued you one
As Greg has broken the water’s surface with the big news, I feel I can dive right on in.

Wow.

What can I say? The times they are a changing.

It’s true that we cannot be sure that I’ll 100% be at Scott AFB until I’m there and working, but it seems pretty real to me. We were praying for Wright-Patterson, for obvious reasons. And while it seems magical when your wishes and God’s plans coalesce, it’s important to trust in God’s will for good in your life when they don’t.

Jer 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I wholeheartedly admit to reeling against my inability to control or influence my military assignment. There have been evenings when I lie awake in frustration and anger. But what did that accomplish? Nothing, it made more room for anger. All it did was allow the military to control not only my location, but my emotions. I divulged my feelings to GT after Mass one day because I felt distanced from God. He, being my champion, told me to stop praying for specifics and just ask to trust in God’s will for my/our life.

That’s just what I did and I’ve been really at peace ever since. I’ve been patient and trusting. I realize that when I moved from sunny Miami FL to Dayton OH and found myself alone and depressed in the nondescript Midwest I felt like I was being punished. But then, just shy of 4 years later, the greatest gifts in my life – my faith, my husband, my baking bun, my new family – were all found here. God’s plan was better than anything I could have dreamed up. I feel, somehow, that He’s asking me to trust Him because He knows what’s best.

What I just said may seem far-fetched to the skeptics of faith. That it’s just blowing smoke and keeping a smiling attitude when things, for all intent and purpose, suck. But faith in God isn’t some delusion of happiness. It’s a joy in your soul derived from the undeniable realization that somehow, in the infinite complexity of the universe, an unfathomable creator actually cares about little ol’ me and influences the world for the best interest of all of us.

So with that being said, am I happy about St. Louis? Nope. It’s devastating to think about our new family not being together for the ins-and-outs of daily life and Greg seeing his son over Skype. But things could have been worse. Scott was our 2nd choice because it’s 5hrs away. The 3rd and 4th choices were 8 and 10hrs, respectively. At least it’s a reasonable weekend drive to see each other or a direct flight. And the likelihood I’ll be deployed or re-assigned to someplace farther away is much less for those at Scott than at WPAFB, which is always overstaffed and 1st to send people on last minute re-assignments.

Now we’re trying to figure out not just big things – how will we afford 2 places, who will take care of the peanut (alas, unnamed still) when I’m on call 24hrs at a time, how often will we see each other – but everything else, too. We’re wondering about so many things. But it will all work out. Our son will have no memory of life before we’re all living under the same roof. So I feel like the best case scenario for long-distance has been achieved and now we just have to make it work to the best of our ability.
map of problematique
Before we begin: Map of Problematique by Muse
As a reference, Problematique, per Wikipedia


View Larger Map

While the engraver hasn't been employed yet, the pencil of the Air Force has drafted on stone the opening chapter to the next three years of our lives.

I have a total of approximately 50 on-call days all year.  What are the odds that the discovery the existence of Ace, the results of my board scores, and the list for Ob/Gyn Air Force assignments would all arrive on call days?  To solve this, I think you would have to use conditional probabilities if my memory from high school math serves me. Also if I remember correctly, my brain always got a little jumbled when I had to think these through. I digress.

As can likely be inferred from the map above, Alicia is penciled in to go to Scott Air Force Base outside St. Louis to complete her commitment to the USAF.  While we don't have orders in hand yet (the engraver), we are pretty certain that this is our new reality. (My residency will be in Cincinnati starting July 1st)

The assumption behind the problématique is that a question or problem needs analysis before it can be answered properly, because any question or problem tends to be more complex than might at first be thought.

Duh. Both our minds have been on running full tilt to unravel the ramifications of this news.  I think we are both doing our best to stay calm and take it one step at a time, but let's face it, we are problem solvers by trade. We cannot help but let our minds fly off the hinge to explore the endless complexities of this revelation.  I feel like I'm solving probability questions again.

We were somewhat prepared for this and had spent a great deal of timing praying and thinking about this possibility.  That does not mean though, we were not disappointed.  I think we both had our hopes up that she would stay in Dayton.  But, alas, this will not be so.
My mom has a number of sayings, but the one that has impacted me the most with respect to my approach to life is also my favorite: "Everything happens for a reason."  Imagine if we were able to believe that at every moment. Imagine truly stepping back and putting our lives in God's hands.  Imagine recognizing that our idea of control is merely that, an idea. How appropriate then is Megan's blog post this week, The Audacity of Us as followers, in our current situation?  It must be the Holy Spirit calling out to us, no?

The next three years will undoubtedly be difficult. An inestimably large number of miles will be driven.  A web cam chat will equal the daily hug.  Relationships will be strained.  Opportunities will be lost.  Lonesomeness will conquer companionship too often. Daily routines will diverge. But through all this, I pray that we will pray. That we will trust God's plan for our family and friends.  That we will strive to maintain our relationships and traditions. That we will be the parents of our aspirations.  That we will recognize the countless blessings in our lives everyday. 

Week 12, 2010 - Top Three
to address my agenda from last week

• 1. The Top Ten Name Contenders:
• Yeah, no such thing exists

• 2. The Honey/Babymoon to Switzerland and France

View Honey/Babymoon in a larger map

• 3. The Bassinet

Called the Arm's Reach, the idea is that Alicia can have he-who-has-not-been-named next to her for breast feeding in the middle of the night.  It also can be both a stand alone crib as well as a playpen. I took the photo below with one of our bedroom windows in the background.  Because of the large differences in exposure values for the room and the window and decided to try an HDR shot.  Thought it would be a nice time to re-highlight why HDR can be pretty cool. Notice the ability to see the detail outside through the window.  This wasn't perfect, just a quick hack at it.

Above: Freestanding with rail down, in HDR

Normal exposure

nostaligic for those blogg'n thursdays, among other things
I will skip over the fact that I have missed the last two Thursdays.

The Third Week of March:
This is probably one of the three most nostalgic weeks of the year for me and probably #1 out of those three (Myrtle Beach and Christmas being the other two).  I have been thinking about how to blog this topic all week.  There are so many different things I wanted to bring up.  Idea#1, the great memories of St. Patrick's Day (and March Madness tip off as well) over the last 8 or so years.  All the great places and people who make those memories so rich (and a few of them, so hazy). The best of those being St. Patty's 2008, Alicia and I's first date (I know sappy...but true none-the-less).  Idea#2, I can't help but think about this week in March 2009, Match week.  What an emotional roller coaster that was!  Hard to believe how much has happened since then yet how that day seems like yesterday.  Idea#3, hard to believe how much has happened since then yet that day seems like yesterday!  I thought about doing a quick 'year in summary.' Those of you who know me well know that would have been a long and exclamation point filled quick summary.

Alas, I will not being giving any of those possible themes the attention they deserve this week.  It is my day one day off and there is just too much to do and not enough time.  Plus, spring has arrived here in the great state of Ohio and using any free time that I might be able to squeeze out of the hours that remain in this day to sit inside on the computer and blog would be a travesty.

Instead, let me give thanks for the wonderful memories of St. Patrick's Days past, the blessing and honor it has been to spend the last two years with Alicia, and the ability to be going into a specialty that is my true vocation. Maggie, I think my pie is complete.  And the oven is about to put out another!

Congratulations to everyone that matched today.  It was another great match ceremony at Wright State and a pleasure to be a part of it.

Next week: The new bassinet; internal medicine wrapping up; Switzerland and France quickly approaching; and maybe....the never-ending name hunt.

With that I give you a few pictures:

• 1. Nasri's goal against Porto in Champions league last week.  Who needs teammates?

• 2. Figlio (because it has to be here). Never been here before? There are a few locations, but if you live in Columbus and over the next few months you find yourself one evening looking for a place to sit outside and have a nice inexpensive meal, head over to their location on Riverside Drive.  I think you will enjoy it.

• 3. Do you have the Rock Band drum set? Is it annoyingly loud? Annoyingly falling apart? My friends have devised a solution as seen below.  I few minutes at the local thrift store collecting some t-shirts and sweatshirts followed by layering them three thick and applying a large amount of duct tape gives you a quiet, durable and I would go so far as to say hip solution. (Red:Spiderman. Yellow:Bumblebee. Blue:High Point Elementary, my fifth grade basketball practice location. Green:"Trveling Green" Hybrid)

• 
  

no excuses | a pic's worth...

March is my return to staff internal medicine teams
Sleep/recovery has to take priority over blogging
Funny that Nikki said I looked tired this morning
Pretty sure I looked better than now (picture)
I pity everyone who has to see me tomorrow

Sent from Greg Thompson's BlackBerry
Last Night (1) of Night (2) Float
Not for me. For my lovely wife.  After a combined ten months of living as a creature of the night over the last 4 years, it all ends tonight.  Congratulations, Alicia! You made it. Selfishly, I'm happy to have you (and Ace) around one again in the evenings.

People, I'm not feeling it (blogging) today at all. But...you really should know something about the trip Marcus, David, Kevin, Brandon, Luke, and I made to Snow Shoe last week.  I would say that Wednesday (2/17/10, Kevin's Bday) was probably the best snow conditions I have ever experienced.  No joke. 6 inches of powder to start the day.  Probably two hours of making fresh tracks (no one was there).  Beautiful non-stop large flake snow all day. Pretty windy at the top of the mountain but otherwise a quite warm 15 degrees. Just a great day snowboarding with friends.  I don't have the motivation to say much else.  I posted some of the pictures we took up on Shutterfly along with some other pictures from this winter. Nothing to exciting. (Wintery '10 Album)

To make things as complicated as possible, I've also decided to use Flickr for our photos.  I'm only going to post the photos that I either especially like or have spent excessive time editing.  I wouldn't go checking that page often (or really at all).  Anything of note I'll make sure ends up here or on facebook.  If you feel compelled though, Flickr pages have a feed URL associated with them and can be added to an RSS reader if you like.  Not much on there yet, but the link is in the top three this week (#1) and also on the link bar above.

The baby is moving and growing.  He'll be 28 weeks on Monday!  No name yet.  I called him Ace above but he will also answer to Vern, Peanut, Sven, and Mustard.

Week 8, 2010 - Top Three

• 1. Flickr Favorites  

These are the only four I've put up.  Doubting I'm going to go back and post older favorites.

• 2. WSJ Photojournal 

I stumbled across this blog earlier this week.  Each day they post some of their best images from around the world with an associated caption. Many of them are fantastic and it gives a sense of the many things going on with our fellow human beings around the world. Not being one that follows the daily news much, I find it interesting. I included one image below.

This picture comes from the WSJ Photoblog site and is licensed by the WSJ.  Please click on it to be directed to their site.

The topic of the image is of course a favorite of the week by itself, but I'm combining it with this one.  On 2/21/10 the US Olympic Ice Hockey team defeated (upset) the hosting Canadian team 5-3!

• 3. Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta 

Just downloaded this free beta this week.  I'm really enjoying it so far.  Most of te images on the Flickr site were edited with Lightroom.  It is a great way of managing, accessing, and editing your pictures.  I think the final version probably will cost like $300, but often students can get it for around $100.  Me, I'm going to use this free version until it expires and then decide.  So far though, I'm leaning toward making it my primary photo software.  Try it out!

shorts are not for february
but today will have to be an exception.

I'm in the backseat of the death star riding back from Snow Shoe, West Virginia. This is coming from my not so efficient for blogging blackberry. We aren't going to make it back in time to get the weekly blog out before Thursday passes by. I send this message as a surrogate. Hope you all are surviving this snowy month. I'll be back on soon.
Back on my computer, jpegs in hand
I just read Dr. Watson's most recent blog.  As with most subjects, she brings much more clarity to the topic of our Euchre disappointments and textures a much  better picture of our frustrations with losing (to those two in particular).

However....hem, hem...

Some of the more directed comments, if you will, led me to think of an image from last weekend taken in our driveway as Alicia cautiously and deliberately made her way out on the snow and ice.

I have renamed it in response to her response.

Treading Carefully | Scrutiny Avoidance


I can't promise a trend...
As the title implies, I cannot promise a trend here in regard to blogging. Everyone knows that I'm not technologically savvy and that I don't really care to be. And while that may seem like a lame excuse for not blogging, I'm sticking to my guns about it. I just don't like to sit in front of a screen for longer than I already am forced to do at work. But in catching up with what my husband has written I discovered the motivation to say something to you fine folks. What spurred this on, you may wonder. Well I'll tell you.

Euchre.

I'm a little miffed (though not really) that the ol' ball and chain thinks we're not good partners. And while I'm not going to argue, I think I am entitled to delve a little more in order to defend our partnership potential, euchre and otherwise.

Here's the real problem, which he didn't say. My sister and her husband are NOT good at euchre. It's unbelievable how poor their skills actually are. They don't have an effective strategy for winning or any stragety for that matter. And they do this horrific thing called "Respect the Barn" that I cannot describe for fear of scandalizing the readers. Which is why losing to them is frustrating in the extreme. And we lose because of one reason - WE DON'T CALL TRUMP!!!

Why don't we? The full answer could warrant a dissertation. So I'll simply say that I don't because I'm afraid that somebody, who will go unnamed but I'm sure you all can guess to whom I'm referring, will chide me for making a bad call. When you're playing with someone that can remember every card you play and in what order and then point out how things should have/could have been done differently, you hesitate to place yourself under that kind of scrutiny.

I realize I'm whining. But as GT has eluded to in his writings, we are a game playing family and we take it seriously. I don't gloat when I win or rejoice when others lose (playing William in Catan being the exception), but I can't stand to lose and it pains me that we are so terrible at euchre. I think it can be overcome. But we need to be more brazen. I shouldn't fear the constructive criticism of my partner, but rather embrace it as an opportunity to develop and foster our partnership. I feel certain that we could be reigning champions of 824 Buckingham Rd, nay the world, but we have to step out on a limb and assume we can count on each other for pulling one of the requisite three of five on a 3 suited hand.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'd be happy to inform you. Just ask me at our next juncture and bring a deck of cards.

In other news...

Night float is going well. I do love the singular focus of direct patient care. Tonight alone I pushed with and delivered a 9lb 2oz first baby to a lovely, committed, educated couple (a rare thing in our clinic), did a c-section for breech, pulled a baby out with forceps and did GYN surgery. What more can I ask for? Maybe sleep and to see my husband. But in the realm of my job, this really is the epitome.

The pregnancy is going smoothly. The little man moves all the time, more than my bowels actually. Too far?? Well I said it and I'm not taking it back! But in all earnestness, this pregnancy has been so easy it's a blessing. Greg is the ideal partner, supportive and loving. He rubs my belly and talks to him all the time. He tells me I look great and asks how I'm feeling. When I've woken up in the night and had back pain he rolls over and tries to relieve it with counter pressure (thank you Bradley Method). He faithfully attends birthing classes with me and doesn't complain. On the contrary, he encourages me and tells me how proud of me he is. We're so blessed to have him in our lives - me and the peanut. Just imagine what a great father he's going to be!

Ok. Enough sappiness.

We're going to Columbus in a few short hours and I need to get some sleep. I try to switch as best I can from PM to AM living. We've got the hockey game tonight and G Michael's Bistro tomorrow. The following weekend is Wicked with Dawn and William. I'm super excited!! At some point I need to get a haircut and pedicure, neither of which have occurred since the wedding. I'm not high maintenance, but seriously, I'm grossing myself out. Maybe on Sunday...

Later.

Kickn off 2012

Xmas '11

Las Vegas 12/11

Autumn 11

September of 11

Ben's 2nd Bday

Summer Days 11

Bdays, Lake, Vacation, and Lens

May11 ET's grad and other

April and the start of walking

March to Spring

Feb11

Jan11+WP,CO

Tis the Season Rnd 2

Tis the Season Rnd 1

Sunday Walk 11/21

Other 2010 Fall

Florida 10/10

Sept/Portsmouth

Summer and Baptism

MB 2010 etc

William Arthur

More Spring 2010

SwitzFrance

Spring 2010

Wintery '10

Christmas 2009

Ultrasounds

Wedding-from Mag

Wedding Rehearsal

London: August 09

Florida May 09

Memorial Day 09

Graduation = MD

May 2009

Hocking Hills 4-09

1st Jackets Playoff

Ali's Baptism 4/11/09

Will+Dawn Wedding

Proposal

Match 2009

HighSchool Prty 09

Jan,Feb,Cast 09

Mexico Jan 09

Napa - Fall 2008

Summer 2008

Michigan Vacay 08

May 2008

Snowshoe 2008

Whistler 2008

Random Late 2007

Myrtle Beach 2007