It Makes Me SICK

This Sunday was a particularly good sermon. I'm not sure if it was because I haven't been to church in awhile (it seems I'm always working) or if Betsy just touched me again. Either way, she spoke about how we are all welcome in Christ's family....all comers....rich, poor, liberal, conservative...you get the point. Anyway, it was a great sermon.

Later that same day we had the tv on when the knews about the shooting at a Knoxville, TN church broke. Apparently, this Unitarian church is very open to everyone (including gays and lesbians) and it advertises this point. In fact, there is a new sign outside of their church that states, "Gays Welcome."

In the middle of a children's production a gunman walked into the church and opened fire. According to several church members, "he was yelling hateful things." They refused to elaborate not wanting to give this person's comments anymore attention. The gunman apparently believes in the "old south" and is a fan of confederate flags. So the thought is that this might be a hate crime. Of course, no one really knows what makes someone do something so terrible. Frankly, I don't want to know.

Out of this tragedy, 2 adults have died and several more are injured. No children were hurt. I'm not sure why this particular event has caused so much thought on my part. Probably because we go to a very open church and this could have easily been our Sunday morning. Please pray for this church and their families. Please pray that there will someday be a safe place for everyone.

I won't say any hateful things about the shooter but I am thinking them.

Suprise Date

Friday turned out to be a really nice day. I finished clinic around 1pm and Britney was at the house with the girls so called Mere and asked if she wanted to go to lunch. We decided to try a restaurant that we don't usually go to. We went to Trios and it was GREAT. We shared some wine, an appetizer, a nice meal, and dessert. There were no kids, no rush, and no cell phones (the restaurant in cell phone free). Just us, talking and eating. It was a really nice date. Even better? It was unplanned. That is what life is all about :)

Later we went to see Wall-E....good movie, good message.

Money Can't Buy Happiness

Yes, I know that money doesn't buy happiness....but sometimes it helps! My wife presented me with my graduation present yesterday and I am in love.

My new iphone :) I am not a gadget person and don't usually get excited about these things. When Mere got her iphone last year, I was not impressed. Furthermore, I was NOT going to like that super hyped up phone just b/c apple is good at marketing. But, over the last year I have grown to really like her iphone and somewhere along the line I decided that I wanted one. Now I have it and it totally rocks!!!!!!

Thanks baby....I love you!!!!

Welcome Life in the Big Green House!!!!

Life is funny. It suprises you when you least expect it.....sometimes good, sometimes bad. Luckily, this time good. It all started at the Indigo Girls concert. We were tired after just coming home from vacation. But my good friend had bought the tickets and asked us to go a LONG time before our vacation. So, we went...knowing we would have a great time despite being super tired.

We got there and had a blast. The concert was great and we had a blast with Brooke. The other thing we noticed? There are a lot of lesbians in Little Rock and we know A LOT of them. The only problem? Most of them are single, without kids, and into a much different "scene" than us. Let's face it when you are the only one with kids in a group of people....it is difficult. Fast foward to intermission when we were standing in line waiting for a drink. We were talking about how "out of the community" we felt since having kids. Most of our friends are heterosexual couples with kids. We don't have ANY problem with this and didn't even really think about it until Syd recently started asking about other 2 mom families. Uhmm....we are bad lesbian moms!!! Anyway, we weren't drunk, we weren't going out after the concert, and we were checking our cell phones to make sure our babysitter had not called. We were feeling like we didn't belong in a community that we used to be super involved in/with.

That is when I overhead a conversation behind me. 2 moms talking about their kids. At least I was pretty sure that was what I heard. So I turned around and said, "do you guys have kids?" Their answer, "yes!!!" What happened next? We all started talking about our kids. Similar ages? Check! Living in LR? Check! This was looking good. One of the women, Holcomb, kept saying that she was sure she knew Mere from somewhere. Turns out they had been at a B-day party for a boy in Syd's class (whose mom I work with) and used to live next door to Bridget and Holcomb. Small world!

So, Bridget told me her full name and where she worked (UAMS...same place as me) and I told her I would email her. What do I do next? Email her the next day...can you say stalker? Luckily, she didn't think I was a stalker and got back to me pretty quickly. A few weeks later, a few dinners and phone calls and we are fast friends. The best part? Our kids really get along. Ok, so Layne and Meric (their youngest) are both pretty strong willed but they will be friends, damnit!!!!! Syd and Breck (their oldest) are definately on the same page....she finally has someone to share her love of dinos and dragons with.

It is really great to meet new friends and have everything fall into place. The real point of this post? To welcome Bridget and Holcomb to blogland. When you get a chance, go to their new blog at Life in the Big Green House and welcome them to the family!!!!!

The Week In Review

Last week was a crazy (but fun) week.

Mon: Pool party for one of Syd's friends
Tues: Mere's photography class. A night alone for the girls and me.
Wed: Pampered Chef party at our house
Thurs: Cancelled work out with personal trainer and ordered chinese food (totally worth it!)
Friday: B-day party at ChunkyCheese + hair appointment
Sat: All day pool party (really fun)
Sun: Shrimp boil at H/B's house (yummy)
Mon (today): Pool party for Mere's Daisy troop

Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it. In the midst of this week we have realized how many AWESOME friends we have and how much we love living in Little Rock. I'm thinking we aren't going to be able to leave. I guess that means I will have to look for jobs here in a few years :)

The Stinky Cereal

The last 2 weeks I have spent a lot of time studying for the boards. Obviously, not enough given the fact that I am blogging all the time (i.e. procrastination). Anyway, all this studying equals a lot of snacking. In an effort to improve my snacking habits I have been eating a lot of GOLEAN crunch cereal.

It is sooooo good. Sweet, crunchy, and super yummy. The only problem? Each serving has 8 grams of fiber. One serving equals one cup. I'm not sure how much I eat in one day but I can definately put more than one cup away in no time. It just sort of disappears. Until about 2 hours later when the stomach starts to rumble. This is followed by hours of loud, stinky farts. These are not ones you can quitely release....no you need a bathroom and privacy. Not always easy, especially at work. It is so bad that Syd calls it the stinky cereal because we have ALL fallen victim to its yummy crunch. When Syd has it for breakfast and we have been snacking on it, you DO NOT want to be in our house!!!! I know I don't get enough fiber and I know that this cereal is a good choice but I'm not sure how to get past the GI side effects. Maybe they will go away with time? I hope so because I have had more than one uncomfortable elevator ride this week. The plus side? My gluts are getting strong from all the flexing. Yeah, I know....TMI.

4th of July weekend in the ER

1. Stab wound to the neck
2. 3 heart attacks
3. 1 intraabdominal bleed (read: very unstable patient)
4. 3 MVAs (motor vehicle accidents)
5. Druggies and alcoholics galore
6. BIG stroke that required immediate intubation
7. Tons of stuff in between

The point: it was a crazy weekend with a lot of sick people. But none of them topped mosquito guy. 45 y/o white male with no past medical history who appeared to be mentally normal. He comes to the ER early Sat morning for 2 "bumps" on his head. He noticed them yesterday. Do they itch? A little. Do they hurt? no. What are they you ask? 2 small mosquito bites...no signs or symptoms of infection. Thank GOD I was there to tell him to use calamine lotion and Benadryl!!!!! When he left, I turned to the nurse and said, "I am so blogging about that one."

In other news....it only took me 3 hours to come up with a chemotherapy regimen for a pt w/ recurrent metastatic breast cancer. Just so you know, it probably should have taken 5 minutes or at least I hope that is all it takes in a few years!!!! Slow and steady, slow and steady.