HL/WWSG - weeks of 5/25 - 6/7

[Leslie Ferguson]

Drive by kick off... hopefully more tomorrow after I get home but today was a great family day and not one that I could sit at the computer... Mom's surprise party was both a surprise and well attended. She didn't expect anything until she got to the site of the party and figured that with ~25 cars from the people who attend her church in the lot something had to be up. We had about 60 people all total and a great time. It was especially great to have my whole family: brother, sister-in-law and their 3 kids; my sister and her boyfriend; and LW and I there, a first for us.

Time to head to bed - I hope everyone has a good Memorial Day Monday if you get it off.

Peace and more to come tomorrow,
Les

[mackandme]

Sorry i haven't been around in a while! It's been a rough couple of weeks. Haven't been feeling great - some of my pain is back, and i'm still struggling with the side effects of the Lupron even tho i haven't taken the junk in months. Plus it suddenly got very hot here (99 degrees one day) and it's really taking it out of me. Add to that the fact that for five weeks straight i never had two days off in a row.... ETA: another of our co-workers died last week. he had a severe stroke, lasted 10 days then passed away. i didn't know him very well, but it has left DBF pretty restless. we are/were the 3 univ. of maryland grads here.

Not much exercise to speak of, except some weeding, mulching, and riding Mack twice a week. Tho that's on hold now as he has a swollen ankle. Hopefully it will resolve itself so i don't have to call the vet.

I'm working memorial day, but taking off tuesday. dbf and i are going to see indiana jones.

Hope everyone has a great holiday.

[karen w]

Les-Thanks for the drive by kick off. It works for me!!;) sounds like you had a wonderful family weekend. Happy b-day to Mom.

Kate-So sorry to hear the news of your co-worker and the crazy weeks plus pain you've been experiencing recently. I sure hope you get a relaxing day off after the holiday weekend and things start settling down for you. Treat yourself to something special on Tuesday!

We had a very nice weekend here with no specific plans, so it was a "play-it-by-ear" kind of holiday. Yesterday we did all ride our bikes together as a family up to our town's Memorial day parade, and had a grand time. I can't beleive how great the kids did on the bike ride. It is a few miles each way with alot of hills on some busier roads. We all went single file with me leading the pack and DH at the tail. We also went into a few side roads to stay off the main ones as much as possible. DD surprised me the most as I was not expecting her to be able to do it, but she was a trooper. They did have to walk their bikes up a few of the hills, but really did spectacular and we all had fun. That evening we grilled at home and had a nice dinner. Other than that the kids played outside alot, had friends over, worked on school projects(DS#1) etc... and I stuck to my morning exercise routines(but also got to sleep in a bit later this morning:)). And tonight I finally decided to put down the towel, so to speak, and we all went out to eat. We went to our local dairy store where they have an outdoor "hoe-down" with lots of grilled foods plus a huge indoor hot/cold soup, salad, and entree buffet. We always pick things from the buffet and eat outside by the Hoe-down in the warm weather. It was perfect for that tonight. Followed up by some frozen yogurt and it hit the spot!

Have a upcoming week everyone,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Kate - Please accept my condolences and please pass them on to DBF. It is never a good time to have someone who you know and share story with to pass away. And to top off your pain from your past medications - that's a double bummer. I hope you get a little break from the heat and that Mack gets better soon. I'm with Karen too - take a little you time tomorrow to follow up with Indy today.

Karen - Thanks for your vot of confidence. Yesterday was a blast and Mom was thoroughly surprised - a fitting day for her 70th birthday in my opinion. It was also good to spend time with my brother and his kids, even though they live an hour away our schedules don't ever mesh or so it seems. It sounds like you had a great family bike ride too - my best to DD for plugging along on her bike. It sounds like you had a good Memorial Day today too with the buffet etc. I hope the remainder of your week goes well too.

Today was a wrap up day at my folks and we didn't get on the road until after lunch then made a couple stops along the way looking for appropriate business attire for Children's Hospital (I think my ties need to be understated yet cheerful - maybe the Muppets and Tweety Bird will do fine. :cool: ). Tomorrow will be a busy day with a dentist appointment at 10:30 to finally get my molar looked at/refilled. Then need to take care of a couple personal things like a haircut so I can look presentable for my first day at Children's Hospital on Wednesday morning. Hopefully, I'll get out and get a run or ride in before things get too weird.

Have a great week and I'll see you tomorrow.

Peace,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Back-to-backs but need to think about an early closing this evening so...

What a day at the dentist - It was what I expected but not what I hoped for. I had hoped it would be a drillout and refill (hoped for) but it ended up with a full blown root canal. 1-2 weeks from now I'll be able to go in for the filling - just what I needed. Now I'm on antibiotics and T3 if I need it. Wouldn't let that slow me down either and took an hour ride to take care of some business for the commute tomorrow - purchased a smartfare card and put money on it so I can commute by bus/metro.

Have a great Tuesday and peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Sorry about your root canal, but at least it is getting taken care of now. Good luck tomorrow at Childrens. Somehow I suspect you will do just grand there amongst the kids!!;)

Had a wild day here today, but I kicked it off with a great swim and boxing class. This afternoon I did my grocery shopping for basics and then went to try to get more crickets for the anole at the pet store. She ate the last one this morning(YUCK! But it's better than meal worms. . . .I guess:rolleyes:). Oh yes, and FYI. . . her egg rotted in the aquarium so I won't have to worry about any young 'uns and there have been no more eggs to speak of since. PHEW!:)) However, seems the pet store gets their crickets on Mon. and Wednesday's so I guess I'll have to stop tomorrow. After I got home and put the groceries away, I started in on a basket of laundry in front of the TV. The skies grew very dark and quiet, then the thunder and lightening started up, and then. . . . .WE LOST POWER!:( At that point the skies opened up and it poured for a bit(20-30 min.), but we did not get power back for about 2 hours. Came back just in time to give the kids a quick dinner and get them to guitar. Seems the entire town including all the schools lost power. Lightening must have struck a transformer or something.

Anyway, tomorrow I will swim and do one of my "at home" routines as I am meeting my friend later in the morning that I was supposed to meet today(she had to cancel today). It will just be a chat to "catch up" over coffee/tea. Hope everyone had an enjoyable day.

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Karen - Thanks for your vote of confidence. I'm fairly certain tomorrow will go well because it's mostly administrative things but I also know there will be tons of stress thrown in on top of everything. But I also know that there are tons of people who will be thinking about and praying for me tomorrow so I'll fly through. Sorry about the pesky lights going out on you - that must have been unnerving and no fun at that time of day. At least it didn't completely clobber meal hour. Congratulations on your anole not being a mommy too. You prefer crickets to meal worms? :confused: I'd figure the other way around because worms are "just" that and don't hop around too much while being chased by the lizard. ;) Have fun with your friend tomorrow, it will be nice to connect again.

Off to bed - need to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow and I may have to take something for my tooth even though I don't want to get into the T3 container it may also be the right thing to blunt the pain when I bite down on the molar. I'll let you know what I decide.

Peace all,
Les

[karen w]

Les-How did the day go?? And I hope your tooth behaved itself and did not cause too much pain or discomfort today.

Speaking of crickets. . . bought them today for the anole. Les, I prefer them because #1 they don't look as disgusting as meal worms #2 I don't have to touch them(I just dump them from the plastic bag into our "cricket keeper" when I get home and they usually climb up the tubes of the keeper which you pull out and shake into the aquarium at feeding time) and #3 the anole likes them. She has not been eating the meal worms much if at all, but dive bombs the crickets when they are dumped in and usually munches down 1 or 2 immediately(YUCK!):eek: So there you go! More than you ever wanted or needed to know about the eating habits of an anole!;)

Good swim today and later did 30 min. at home each on the elliptical and treadmill(I had alot of time to kill before I met my friend, but not enough to get any house projects started:rolleyes:). Anyway, it felt good. Other than that and a nice chat with my girl friend, I stopped at Costco for the "usual" and the pet store for crickets as I already mentioned. So it was a pretty ordinary day here, but a gorgeous one with a sunny sky and brisk temps just like I like(upper 60's to 70). Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same, just perhaps a few degrees warmer which is still OK by me. I will likely swim and box.

Have a good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks and I get why you like crickets more than meal worms. I didn't realize that you had such an intricate cricket delivery system. ;) It sounds like you had a great day with workouts, visiting with friends, and shopping. I hope that tomorrow stays as nice as today was - it's supposed to be warmer down here tomorrow. My tooth behaved today - better than it did last night (and I did something I didn't plan on doing too, took a T3 but I DID need to sleep without issue).

I had a good day today and Looney Tunes tie today was a hit - not just with my supervisor but a lot of the folks at the Hospital, I think that my personality will be very helpful in my stay at Children's. I have a sense it will be very taxing emotionally but I have a good sense that I'll let my "4 year old" shine as best I can and still maintain some semblance of usefulness for families. The last thing to come up with is my unit assignment (which units in the hospital I'll have for rounds) - lots of ICU to share with 6 other students and there are 14 units to spread between 7 of us so I expect 2 - one more intense and one probably less intense.

I had a good day running too - took an hour's run after work and felt good. Luckily it wasn't too terribly hot but still warmer than I'd care to run in too often - and it's only going to get hotter.

Need to get cleaned up and figure out what to do for tomorrow. Thus... peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Sounds like you are off to a great start at Children's with a Looney Tunes tie to boot(excellent choice!). You are right. . . it will be very emotional, but I'm sure you will handle yourself well. This is one of the reasons that I chose not to go into pediatrics. I loved my peds rotations as a med. student, but I was not sure that I would be able to deal with that(emotionally) as a life-long career. It's one thing to treat a sick elderly person at the end of their life, but a sick child. . . it's just not fair. Good luck to you. I am confindent that you will learn alot and grow in the process, too.

I had a pretty good day, but a bit stiff today. Perhaps because I did a double(or triple:rolleyes:) workout yesterday or it might be that I have cut back to twice weekly boxing since my knee has been aggravating me, so the muscles are just not as conditioned. Either way, I had a great swim and I did get to boxing today. However, my arms kinda felt like "jello" at boxing . I'll chalk it up to just having "one of those days." Besides that ran some errands and did a bit of housework etc...

DS#2 had a very important field trip today. His class(4th grade) took a trip to the middle school(5-8th grade) since that will be his new home next year! They were given tours of the school by student council. Of course, DS#1, who is in student council, gave DS#2's class their tour!!! Then there was a question and answer session with the asst. principal. He seemed pretty excited and motivated about his new school when he got home tonight. They are all growing up so fast!!! It's so bittersweet.

That's it here. Have a good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Probably a good call to take it a little easy today after your day yesterday. That sounds like a very important field trip to the middle school - something that DS#2 probably loved. I'm looking forward to the summer and you're right - there will be some trying times. Like you say, adults can make sense but sick and injured kids may be difficult to deal with initially. But I also know that I'll fare well - I've got God on my side and lots of great support going on.

Another good day... got my assignments and got to know my way around the hospital. I have a sense that I'll get a lot of walking done in the building when I'm on the wards, my assignments are in the neuro/orthopedic and surgical (pre- and post-). After I got home and took a ride today - my foot was a little achy this afternoon so a run was out of the picture. In all, my ride was about 50 minutes so it was a grand time.

Have a great Friday and I'll see you in the funnies.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Much better day for me today as I was not so achy today and the "jello" arms were gone so I decided to go to boxing this morning(after the usual swim, of course;)). Turned out to be a very good class and while I was out and about, accomplished a few errands.

Tonight DS#2 is at a friends' house, DD is playing with the neighbors, and DS#1 is at the town library for teen movie night(Nat'l Treasure 2 is the feature). DH will likely pick up the boys on his way home from the hospital.

Speaking of which. . . likely it will be a low key weekend since DH is "on call" and it is supposed to be stormy tomorrow. The kids had planned on washing mommy and daddy's cars, but that won't happen tomorrow with the forecast. Perhaps, Sunday or next weekend. I'm sure they will try to arrange play dates instead. I'll do my ellipticizing, abs, weights etc... in the mornings and I must also begin the camp packing process. DH brought the kids duffels up from the basement today. YIKES!! Less than a month to go before they leave and I have not done a thing yet! At least "panic mode" has not set in yet. I know it may end up being a scramble during that last week, but it always gets done. . . somehow or another!:rolleyes:

Have a good weekend everyone,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sending calming thoughts your way as the countdown begins for the kiddos departure for camp. I'm sure that you will get everything ready for them in plenty of time. Glad to hear that your arms are feeling better and that you got both a swim and boxing in today - I know how that makes you feel. I hope that you have a good weekend with DH on call. Still sure that you'll come up with something for him to do around the house.

I gladly finished the first three days of my internship and it was a good week. Lots of administrative things done and some time today sharing stories so we'll be ready to go next week. But it was a long day so I didn't run or ride today but will get out tomorrow before the rain comes.

Need to get to bed - it was a long week and I haven't been sleeping well. Take care all and I'll see you.

Peace,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey all, I had a good day yesterday - slept in, rode a ton, didn't get rained on (missed being stuck in the torrential downpour by 15 minutes). I had a good day today too, church, shopping, and cooking getting ready for the coming week. I hope it isn't too hectic but I have a feeling...

Hope everyone had a good weekend and I'll be in touch tomorrow.
Peace,
Les

[mackandme]

Hey all, sounds like lots of changes going on with internships starting and thinking about getting kids off to camp. Karen, I hope your knee eases up on you.

More bad news out of the office here. A co-worker with whom I work closely fell off her horse last week and broke a vertebrae. She's been in the hospital for several days already, tho they did say she shouldn't have to have surgery. So keep your fingers crossed for her that she heals quickly. Also, my ex-boyfriend's mom fell and broke her arm. It was a bad week to get out of bed, apparently.

I have gotten in a few short rides on Mack. His leg is still a little swollen, but he's not lame so I've been riding him lightly. The swelling is gone by the time I finish, but it always comes back the next day.

And yesterday I even made it to the gym and did 25 minutes on the bike.

Friday night, DBF took the night off work so we could do a wine tasting/pairing class. It was a lot of fun. One of the wines the instructor selected was one we've been buying, so I guess we've got good taste! :D

[Laura]

Hi everyone,

We had a nice weekend here; it is finally starting to warm up. I took advantage of our club and swam 2000 on Saturday. Wow is that a workout for me. I also took Buddy (our dog for a now) on a 2 mile walk. Sunday, I walked Buddy and lifted.

DD gets home today, so I am quite excited.

Les, glad you had the opportunity to sleep in and missed the rain. Our daily afternoon thunderstorms have not yet started.

Karen, It is great that the kids wanted to wash the cars even though they did not get the chance to do so.

Kate, I will keep your co-worker in my prayers. What a scary situation.

I plan to lift tomorrow and Thursday. My walking buddy "Buddy" is going to be gone for a few days, so I will need to motivate myself to get some other cardio in.

Have a good week everyone!

[karen w]

Les-Sounds like a great weekend your way.

Kate-Get out of bed VERY VERY carefully! PLEASE!!:eek:

Laura-Enjoy your time with DD. Is she home for the whole summer?

Well, the kids DID get to wash the cars on Sunday as the weather was very cooperative. Now I must come up with some cash to pay them.:rolleyes: And as much as I hated wasting a nice afternoon indoors, I did manage to get all of their underwear and socks labeled for camp. Since that is usually the worst of all the clothing labeling, that much is good to be done with and out of the way.

This morning was a great swim, but not in my ususal lane. A "foreign" swimmer took mine(and I don't mean that he was from another country; just not one of our morning "regulars"). Variety must be good, though, since the swim was excellent. Boxing also was excellent this morning and the knee is behaving as best it can these days.:)

Tonight DH took the kids to the synagogue for a night of Israeli dancing with some "scouts" from Israel. I was pooped and still need to get some stuff done, so am taking advantage of the quiet( and a break to surf a bit, of course;)).

Tomorrow gotta vote for the town budget again(round #2:().

No other news to be had here. Have a good one,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Kate - I'm with Karen and Laura, take it easy getting out of bed. But seriously, a prayer or two for those who are hurting in your life especially for your co-worker in the hospital (hopefully they get a good visit from the pastoral staff). Sorry that Mack isn't in top shape these days, I hope that it isn't anything too serious. It sounds like you had a lot of fun with your wine tasting/pairing. I hope you have a good week.

Laura - 2000 is a good swim for one of your first times back in the pool. Greeting to DD for me. I would like to see Buddy lift - what is his speciality? One paw curls? Lunges? ;) Did you find motivation without Buddy? My weekend was grand too - I'm listening to my body when it complains/talkes to me.
Karen - A car wash this weekend? That must have been grand. Obviously the person didn't see your sign on your lane... Way to take advantage of the quiet time with the boys away at Scouts. It sounds like a lot of fun for them too.

Rebounded from a good weekend to have to sit through an 8 hour new employee training at the hospital. If I never have to do that again it will be too soon. I think we have two more days that are predominantely preparation then our first trip to the units. That will be a blast (I think). After getting home tonight I took advantage of an early return (more or less) and rode for an hour. Went looking for new roads and found a bunch with gut-busting hills. Did my hour on the bike then came home to try to get to be relatively early (not a chance but I hope).

See you all tomorrow and peace,
Les

[karen w]

Quick summary tonight from me:

Started off with a good swim(in my usual lane all to my own:)) after which I voted(town budget), trip to Target, boxing(good class), lunch, Costco, picked up DS#1 from school for his appt. and back home to make dinner/put things away etc...

Tomorrow will be similar, but this time I have to pick up all three kids from school early for their camp physicals at the Pediatricians office. They won't do "well" check-ups during after school hours.

So that's my "hit and run" for the day. Have a good evening,

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Drive by here too - Glad you had a decent day and that's too bad about the kids not getting in for their physical today. Hope it works tomorrow.

Our last day mostly in the classroom and got to do a walk around by myself on my two units. It was great and I had a blast talking with the clerical staff, techs, and Social Workers. It's amazing how our group of 8 has bonded considering we've only known each other for a week. Derailed (proverbially) coming home out tonight due to an incident on the Metro (nothing terrible as best I could tell just got traffic backed up) so a workout was precluded.

Tomorrow morning - first patient interview, group processing, and the first real day focused outside the classroom, so I'll shove off.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Sorry about the misunderstanding. . . the kids DID not have their physical appts. for yesterday; it was scheduled for today. Hope today went well with your first patient. Let me know how it went for you.

I had a great swim this morning(as usual). Stayed home this morning to do a few things so I used the treadmill for 45 min. and did some weights/abs. I have been going easier on the treadmill because of my knee, but since it has been a bit better, I "kicked it up a notch" today and all seems OK with things. It was actually quite an enjoyable run/power walk cardio workout. This afternoon made a few quick stops before picking the kids up for their physicals. They all got clean bills of health and only one of them had to get a shot this time around(DS#1 got meningococcal vaccine). Next year DS#2 is going to get bombasted with the vaccines.:rolleyes: Camp forms are now all complete so tomorrow among other errands, I have to get them out in the mail ASAP. While I am at the post office, also have to remember to get stamps and postcards so the kids can write home.

So speaking of tomorrow, aside from a swim, boxing, and a trip to the post office, there are a few "other" things in the "honey do" list. . . not all of which may get accomplished tomorrow. I have a feeling it is going to be busy between now and the kids leaving, but it will get done.

On that note. . . have a good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Drive by - this time because the lights didn't come on until 10 minutes ago. I had a good day and had a great first visit. No problem about our miscommunication - that's par for the course (for me) these days.

Bed calls - a busy day with plenty of calls for the afternoon after seminars and didactics in the morning.
Peace,
Les

[Laura]

Quick post for me too as my lunch hour is almost up, but I did get two weight lifting sessions in this week. I hope to walk this pm if the thunderstorms go away and will swim this weekend.

Karen, I am glad your knee is behaving for you.

Les, I am glad you are enjoying your internship.

I will check in later in the week. The weekend is almost here! :D

[karen w]

Les-A good but tiring day is a success in my book for a first day of working with the patients. When you have more time, I'd be curious as to what the day entails.

Laura-Yep. . . weekend is almost here!! Yee-ha!:) Have a good one.

Busy day here. I had a good swim. After the kids got off(DD and DS#1 on their buses; DS#2 off for his field trip to west Point and taking the sloop ride down the Hudson), I went to pick up my veggies and fruit for the week. I think I am going to have to go back to this store tomorrow. First they charged me for 2 watermelon(only bought one), then they forgot to take off my coupon(hey, it's only 55 cents, but it would be in my pocket!), and finally I bought freezer pops for DS#2's end of year party at school next week, but it turns out they already have enough. That and I already have plenty of popsicles for my own kids in the freezer at home. So looks like I will have to make a quick trip back for a few adjustments:rolleyes:. I somehow volunteered myself to bring in marashino cherries for DD's ice cream sundae party next week anyway, so I guess I'll have to pick up those when I am out and about tomorrow. Anyway. . . enough with the store. . . I had a great boxing class after my shopping trip. After lunch, stopped at the post office. I mailed the kids physical forms off to camp and picked up postcards/stamps for them to write home while at camp. Then I went to Target and found DD a simple little summer sun dress. She wanted one for Friday nights(Shabbat) at camp. Also made an appt. to get DS#1's eyes checked when he gets home from camp. Looks like he is going to suffer the same fate as I did as a kid and end up with glasses. He wore a prism correction when he was younger for a weak muscle, but now it looks like he is beginning to have some deficits with distance vision. I figured he would not need them at camp, though. Besides, if he took them, who knows if they'd even come home so we will wait until August. Finally just picked up DS#2 at school from his field trip. Their bus must have gotten caught in rush hour because it was 30 min. late getting back(came back at ~6PM). He had a long day, but the weather cooperated and he had fun. We are all fed now. I just need to get them(the kids) in soon for baths.

Tomorrow I plan on swimming and biking plus weights/abs. This weekend I need to get moving on more camp packing among other things. It is supposed to be hot and humid here, so staying indoors to do this won't be so bad. And I think we may actually have to turn on the A/C for the first time this season.

Have a good evening and a good weekend.

Karen

[mackandme]

Hey all, just a drive-by. Les, aren't orientations a drag? Glad you're moving on to the hands-on part.

Mack's leg has really improved and we got in a nice ride Wednesday. Got home from work and DBF had gotten me some tulips (I like them much better than roses!) b/c today is our one-year dating anniversary. Tonight at work we had a "hot date" for takeout burgers/veggie burgers, which we unfortunately just had to take back to the office and eat at our computers while working. How romantic!

His parents are in town this weekend. It'll be the first time I meet them. We are going to his brother's and hitting the pool and grilling. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hi Laura, it's good to hear from you and I hope that you had a good day and the storms held off for you.

Congratulations Kate! A year of dating - and tulips none-the-less. How cute and romantic. Hey, time with DBF is time with DBF even if it was eating burgers at your computer. Glad that Mack is better too, hopefully your weather will behave and let you ride him more frequently now (but I'm not going to hold my breath). Orientation isn't ever fun any more too.

I agree Karen, a busy and tiring day with patients is a great day. There are lots of fantastic kids at the Hospital too - one's that can tell all kinds of great stories and love to chat (not that I'd ever want to do something like that ;) ). The next time it's not after 11 I'll post out what a day entails but in general there is at least 4 or 5 hours of making calls and administrative work after making calls in the day and the rest of the hours are spent in "group" events like classes, seminars, and didactics (teaching sessions with nuts and bolts kind of things) and (of course) lunch. At least that's the schedule for now but I expect it will change later in the internship when the patient hours will go up.

But I wasn't deterred tonight and I rode when I got home (it's easy to ride when I get home at ~ 6:45) for about an hour. Then did some packing for my trip to Norfolk for the weekend (and a romp in the swamp on Saturday :cool: ). Work is going well, sometimes a roller coaster but I'm making friends and having a great time with the kids and staff.

Happy Thursday all and I'll see you sometime this weekend. Stay cool (if you can) and stay hydrated!

Peace,
Les