candy canes & chapstick

you thought i gave up?

I'm still here i promise. I haven't given up on the ol' blog. Can you believe its been over a month since my last post?! I'm sure you can especially if you check occasionally just to be disappointed...again....at a "looking out my surgery window" title. I know. To my credit i've been a bit busy, which is really strange since i thought i'd have more time on this rotation. [Currently on pediatrics, which i assumed early in med school, is what i'd be doing with the rest of my life.....more on this to come]

anywho...i have lots of pictures to share. Matthew and I had a great trip to Washington, DC with Rob and Julia. Lots of fun, lots of walking, lots of shopping, lots of historical thing-a-ma-bobs. I'm hoping to get a post up this weekend with those pictures. I've been having a weee bit o' trouble with the device i use to upload my pics :( frustrating.

So get pumped up people, i'm trying to make a come back! *i hope* Check back soon :D

btw: Congratulations to Sara & Tommy who will be blessed with another little one this spring!

Lookin' out my Surgery window:

I know i've been absent for awhile, but dang was I busy! Surgery was a taxing rotation, long hours and lots and lots of studying but all my hard work paid off! So here's a little peak at how it went. Hopefully on this next rotation (Pediatrics) I'll be able to keep you all updated a little more frequently. Enjoy this wonderful weekend....matthew and i are off to the big city...Washington, DC that is! I'm so excited I've never been there before so you'll definately be getting some pics soon :) ~e

dinner at sonic/study time

Our back yard, great place for pictures

The season is a changing

Welcoming committee....one of our litttle skunk buddies.

When we first got to trover this is how we learned to suture, on pigs feet!

We're here!

The best part about getting to work super early

Surgery Pals

A huge ol' thyroid that we took out in one of our cases

Just another day in the O.R.

They apparently called each other for this clinic day

Trover Regional Medical Center

Part of the madisonville team with our attending Dr. Rao

L-->R: Yelena, Erin, Clint, Mona, Dr. Rao, Amita

Amita, Clint, Mona, Uttam

The building named after one of our attending docs. He's the oldest practicing Cardiothoracic surgeon in the US 74yo and I can't keep up with him when he runs down the hall!

He's an amazing teacher & we miss him already :(

This pic of him is so funny! His assistant called it the before&after lol

I'M HOME!!!! YAy!!!

1. Last night I was in a house that didnt smell like the boys cabin at camp
2. I have a freshly painted kitchen
3. I showered in my shower, with my incredible rain shower head!
4. i slept in my own bed last night.....and it was AWESOME
5. I sat on my comfy couch
6. I'm having SKYLINE for dinner, whooo hooo!
7. My house is sooooo cold and i love it, and no one hear complains about it
8. I got too see my hubster :)

Surgery Oral Exam tomorrow.....quick prayer please??!
e

Home ________ Home?!

650 North Kentucky Avenue

Madisonville, KY 42431

My new address for a short while longer (October 17th)

It's already been three weeks. Sorry it's taken so long but welcome to humble abode!

Clint in the front of "the surgery house"

In the bend of the stairs there....the mini condo for the family of skunks

wall to wall windows on this end of the house

Mona's first day in Madisonville was her birthday so I decorated the kitchen for her

(Sam, ya diggin' those cabinets?)

Our lovely kitchen...all these decorations are still up

Is that a new microwave? Why, yes. Yes it is, because when they put these appliances in microwaves weren't invented yet!!

The hallway back to my bedroom, littered with those lovely "Spider, Mice, and Scorpian" Traps.

My private bathroom, that tile lookin' familiar?

My bedroom. Luckily, since i got me one of those husbands i got a two bedder and we pushed'em together lol. Very Brady Bunch no??

Clint studying feverishly already.

Boy bathroom downstairs.

Clints room

You can see in here but we couldnt the first time we went in the basement. It was all tapped up like a murder scene. Very creepy.

Our grove of trees where the skunks play

family room with the awesome decor and nasty carpet

You like that wall to wall to wall to wall to wall wood paneling

Another awesome bathroom

Spare bedroom that now contains a punching bag.

Our random creepy barn

....and there you have it. stimulating right? I know you all are so jealous, you wish you could live here! :D

e

All of my lay-deees

Here's a friendly reminder for all my lady friends: Don't just read it. DO IT!

Step 1: Begin by looking at your breasts in the mirror with your shoulders straight and your arms on your hips. *Look for....Breasts that are their usual size, shape, and color without visible distortion or swelling.
If you see any of the following changes, bring them to your doctor's attention: Dimpling, puckering, or bulging of the skin, nipple that has changed position or inverted, redness, soreness, rash, or swelling

Step 2: Now, raise your arms and look for the same changes.

Step 3: While you're at the mirror, look for any signs of fluid coming out of one or both nipples (this could be a watery, milky, or yellow fluid or blood).

Step 4: Next, feel your breasts while lying down, using your right hand to feel your left breast and then your left hand to feel your right breast. Use a firm, smooth touch with the first few finger pads of your hand, keeping the fingers flat and together. Use a circular motion, about the size of a quarter. Cover the entire breast from top to bottom, side to side — from your collarbone to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit to your cleavage.

Follow a pattern to be sure that you cover the whole breast and do it the same way every time, that way if something changes, you'll notice!

Step 5: Finally, feel your breasts while you are standing or sitting.

**Try doing your breast exam in the shower when you are soapy, its easier to feel lumps and distortions that way.

**Best time to do a breast exam? Right after you finish with your period, don't do it before you start because many women have lumps that show up every month with hormone changes, this is ok. Lumps that come and go are usually benign.

**Rubbery feeling, movable, and fluctuating lumps...usually ok, but if you're worried about it DO NOT hesitate to tell your doctor!

**If I no longer have a period or a uterus do I need to do a breast exam every month....uh...YES!!

**Just as a side note, if you have a cervix.....YOU NEED A PAP SMEAR! (i don't care if your uterus is gone, you can still get cancer in your whooo haa!)

Have a happy monday---don't worry you'll be getting another reminder next month to

FEEL THOSE TA-TAs!