Blizzards

As we wind down a very, very warm January it was nice to actually see a blizzard worthy of a North Dakota winter this weekend. Megan and Nico enjoyed the day off on Monday, and Andy was home with us for a change. This OB rotation hasn't been as bad as I feared, and in some aspects I even enjoy it. His call days are more often, but when he isn't on call he is home with us. That is a nice change. We see him for 2 days in a row, often during the week, rather than waiting 15 or 16 days for that to happen on his "weekend off." He does one more month of OB, and then is off to do something about cardiac care or critical care, or some other C word. I don't listen that carefully, I guess. The part I am excited about is that it is going to be a non-call month, so he will be home every night and every weekend. I'm not sure what we are going to do with him around so much!
In the beginning of the month Andy started the Biggest Loser with some of the other residents at his clinic. I'm proud to say that he has lost 24 pounds so far, and is doing very well and looking very well! I started the same time and have only lost 3. Apparently this is going to be a harder process than I thought!
I also started my new classes this semester. The study skill sections I am teaching are very different from each other, and that in itself is going to present a challenge. In one group I have students who were looking for extra credits or needed a class to fill in a general ed requirement. They need very little in the way of guidance, and it is a very laid back hour. The other group, however, is a much more needy bunch. For whatever reason, academics has not been a strong point for them, and it is my job to help them make the transition from how they are accustomed to doing things to how they need to do things in order to succeed. Given the time constraints on the class, I am not sure what I am going to be able to accomplish. At this point, I think if I can convince them that they need to be able to set priorities, make schedules, and take responsibility for their own lives - school and personal - then I will call that a success. I'm not sure how much beyond that I'll be able to take it. It would be nice if they walked out having stellar note-taking and reading skills, but I need to remind myself that with this group I need to rethink the skills they are coming in to the classroom with and build on those.
I am taking one class this semester. Dr. Leach, one of my favorite profs, teaches a class called Archaeological Lab methods. My deep affection for the good Doctor, as well as the subject matter, enticed me to take a class that is well beyond my comfort zone. First, I am not a lab person. I have known that since high school when every physic lab I did ended in epic failure. On top of my epic failure history, it is a rule in the lab that you must thoroughly wash your hands before every class and - hold on to your hats people - not put any lotion on after the washing. That in itself is enough to send my OCD into alarm mode. But for 2 weeks I have dutifully washed my hands and tried to ignore the little voice in my head and hands that is screaming for lotion. Finally, we spend most of our time in the lab sorting through small trays of shovels of dirt, looking for things that may have cultural significance. So I did through the dirt and look for artifacts and ecofacts, and in the process my hands get dirty. So not only do I have unlotioned hands, now they are dirty. It is a stressful, stressful 90 minutes! Other than that, I am enjoying the challenge of doing something that I am certainly NOT good at.
Tonight, Andy and I are looking forward to a pinochle battle with our neighbors. If you haven't learned the game, I must insist that you learn. It is good fun!

The New Year

Greetings everyone, and welcome to the New Year! In early December, we said goodbye to "Big George," my maternal grandfather. While it is always sad, sometimes death is a blessing. I am hoping that is the last we will see of the grim reaper for a while.
After a great Christmas with Andy and the kids, I am slowly getting back in the routine. The kids go to school and Janelle's, I get work done, the kids come home, and I don't get any work done!
Andy has started his OB rotation. He gets to deliver babies for the next two months! So far he is enjoying it, and I have been enjoying it as well. I know that will change as his call schedule starts to increase this week, but I am appreciative of the time we've been able to spend together. Last night we did another candidate dinner. This time, rather than the Toasted Frog, we ended up at Sanders 1907, which used to be the best fine dining place in town. I think it has outlived its glory days. One of my pet peeves is restaurants that have huge TVs every four feet. I figured that since Sanders used to have a dress code, the TV issue was one I wouldn't have to worry about. I was wrong. As soon as you set foot in the front door, there is a giant TV hanging over the bar. Once we found our party, we were greeted by a rather inept waiter, who tried describing the specials but tripped over his words and used incorrect forms of plurals. Repeatedly. If you are going to work in fine dining, you'd better know your food. Then, he proceeded to leave work, go home, play video games, built a shed, and painted it before coming back to take our order for appetizers. He actually stuck around to bring the appetizers to our table, but failed to give any indication of what slabs of cheese were stuck to the fruit and cheese board, and also failed to explain the gloppy looking fruit type mass that was in two of the corners. We were on our own. A few moments later, he came back to demand our dinner orders, again tripping over the specials. We scrambled to make a decision, and then sat back to wait. And wait. And wait. Drink glasses were empty. The water was gone. And we waited some more. Evidently he forgot to build his treehouse when he went home earlier, so he decided to plant a tree, nurture it, wait for it to grow into a towering oak, and then build his tree house. And paint it. With two coats of paint.
Finally, he came back with our dinners. Two diners had pasta with the same white sauce. Both remarked that it was watery and flavorless. One had crab ravioli. While you could see the crab, there was no other indication it existed. The flavor was completely dominated by pepper.
While the candidate dutifully ate her salmon, I was unable to tell if it was enjoyable. She did drink a lot of water with it. I ordered Chicken Florentine, thinking that with the ingredients listed in the specials speech it really couldn't be messed up too badly. And it wasn't messed up too badly. It just had no flavor. No flavor at all. And very little texture. I can't even say it was like eating paste, because paste has flavor. This was so bland I cannot even come up with a comparison. At first I thought it was comparable to a slice of plain bread, but that has a rich flavor. Then I thought of tofu, but even tofu - plain and unadorned - seemed flavorful compared to this. How do you take chicken, spinach, bread crumbs, and cheese - all very flavorful ingredients - and end up with that awful, bland dish? I asked for a to-go box and brought mine home for my neighbor. Maybe she could coax some flavor out of it in the magic of her kitchen!
After dinner, glasses again sitting empty, our waiter brought us our dessert menus, then promptly left for his vacation in Amsterdam. I have no idea if he had a good time, as Andy and I left about 45 minutes later. He had yet to return. Maybe he was detained at customs trying to sneak his recreational items into the country.
Maybe I've been spoiled the last few months by the Toasted Frog, but when I am staring at a $40 entree, I shouldn't be wishing for a meal prepared by the public school system instead.
In other, slightly less critical news, the family is headed to Fargo for the weekend to frolick in the hotel pool and watch UND women's hockey. Andy is playing team doctor, so we are taking advantage of the free hotel and going with him. Friends of ours have a room at the same hotel tonight, so I am sure a good time will be had by all!
I hope all of you are well and that these cold months fly by!

Meeting the Candidates

Among the more interesting parts of residency is the opportunity to meet and screen hopeful candidates for the residency program. My understanding of the process is that these hopefuls fill out applications, get called, go to the appropriate city, stay in a hotel, eat dinner and lunch with strangers, tour the hospital, and meet with the current residents and attendings. My role in this process is that every few candidates I get to play "adoring wife #1" and accompany Andy to dinner at a local restaurant to wine and dine these folks. So far, this has gone well for us! Our last dinner was at the Toasted Frog - easily my favorite restaurant in town - and the candidate was a young woman from Pakistan, who had gone to London after medical school to practice. While I admit I have forgotten her name, I do remember that she was extremely interesting and friendly. We had a nice dinner (I had lamb, Andy had shark, and she had pesto pizza...we all had the fried pickles and baked brie) and I had someone to give me first-hand insight into living in a part of the world that I have spent the last few years of my life studying in some depth. The downside to this is that when our turn comes to escort the next candidate, I fear it will be a letdown!
In other news, we have had a rather rough month. My aunt Bonnie (my mom's younger sister) died last month. Close on the heels of that my maternal grandfather's health is rapidly declining, and none of us believe that he will be around to greet another year. While disturbing for me, I can only speculate as to how awful this is for my mom. We lost her mom in January, 14 years ago. This is not a good time of year for her family!
Close on the heels of the news that Auntie Bonnie had died was news from Andy's family of a significantly happier event. Joey's wedding has been officially scheduled for June 3, 2010. In Key West. Immediate family only, children under the age of 20 are optional. Mine will be spending the week with my parents. Andy and I are going to enjoy our trip to Key West and call it the honeymoon we never had. I know that sounds terribly rude, to impose our honeymoon on Joey's wedding, but I promise not to tell him!
As I finish writing this, I am watching the snow fly (the first snow of the season!) and I realize how badly I need a vacation! Maybe if I crank up the heat, get a beach towel, and turn on the travel channel I could convince myself I was already in Key West!

The State of Maine and the state of Gay Marriage in America

Not long ago, it was illegal for a black person and a white person to marry. In addition, it was highly discouraged - if not outright illegal - for mixed marriages to occur - that is, people of different religious backgrounds were not to marry. Today, while some people still look down their noses at such unions, the general consensus is that it is the right of those involved in the marriage to make decisions regarding their choice of marital partner. So why doesn't that apply to everyone?
When Andy and I were in college, we spent many evenings at his fraternity for the obligatory parties. While Andy did his duty by the brothers, I hid out in an upstairs bedroom. I have no idea whose room it was, nor do I care. What I do remember is that one of the older brothers spent most of the evening there as well. He kept me entertained, kept me supplied with whatever drink or snack I wanted, and was quite wonderful while Andy was doing his official "business." While with Todd, I never worried about my safety or the safety of anyone else around him. He was capable, compassionate, and always the gentleman. Having served as President of the Student Body while at UND, Todd was an interesting man, capable of holding an intelligent conversation for extended periods of time. Today, he is an accomplished lawyer, a thespian, and very handsome. And he is openly gay.
What I am not able to understand is how people who have never met Todd can presume to dictate his marriage partner. I am not referring to the marriage ceremony that takes place within a church. Each religion and each congregation needs to decide that issue for themselves. What I am questioning is how in a nation, that has made a deliberate separation of church and state, can legally block the marriage of two consenting adults. When Andy and I applied for our marriage license, the person who sold it to us didn't ask any questions regarding our history, our religion, our intentions towards child-bearing, or any other personal questions. She simply had us fill out a form, then stamped it when she took our money. That was it. Why should it be any different for Todd, or the countless others? Why should other people get to choose the person his employee benefits can protect, or what tax form he will file? These people did not get to voice an opinion about my marriage to Andy, and they should not get a voice in this either. It is a ridiculous notion, and it is time we accept that.

The End Is Near

Friday, October 23 will be Andy's last day on the surgery rotation. It has been a long, long two months. These are the days that make me look fondly back at the third year of medical school - the one everyone said would be the worst year of this journey - as a kinder, gentler time. I think Andy's longest stretch this month was 19 days in a row. And his days begin before 5 am. I cannot imagine keeping that kind of pace.
To make life more interesting, Megan and I have been sick with sore throat, cough, and fever for the last week. And despite the media attention and local fervor, I refuse to believe it is H1N1. It is a cold. I believe in this atmosphere of fear about swine flu, people have lost all common sense. I am missing at least 1/4 of my students every day, and they are all convinced that they have swine flu. I, on the other hand, having lived most of my 33 years in North Dakota, understand that in September, October, and November people in North Dakota get together indoors for long periods of time. And we have weather that changes rapidly. It will be 90 degrees one day, and snowing the next. And we like to throw a little rain in there for good measure. And sometimes a person has a little sniffle. And because we pack in like sardines, the 40 closest people also get a sniffle. And then it spreads. And most of North Dakota will get a cold, or two. Or three. Or four. It happens every year. But this year, rather than saying "Jeez, this is a nasty cold," people are saying "I have swine flu and I must be isolated for 5-7 days." I think this is getting a bit ridiculous.
Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Andy has been fighting this cold as well. They sent him home yesterday afternoon after he had spent most of the afternoon huddled in a blanket. I wish we would have figured that one out a few weeks ago: Huddled in Blanket = Go Home Early. Who knew? We will file that under lessons learned.
Also, in our really big exciting news category, I am pleased to report that our friend (and my new hero!) Chester found truffle butter for us. In Boston. And that wonderful man not only bought it, but carried it home on the airplane for us. Now that I know that it is available in Boston, I am determined to find it a bit closer to home. Has anyone had any luck yet?

Busy Weeks and the Miracle of Skype

Over the last few weeks our family has gone from busy to a place where we look back at busy as being a kinder, gentler time. Nico started hockey on Saturday mornings 3 weeks ago. This means that Megan and I spend our Saturday mornings freezing in Eagles Arena, watching Nico skate around with a bunch of other 7 and 8 year olds, whose fondest desire seems not to actually score a goal, but to celebrate after the scoring. They are equal opportunity celebrators. They give the double-pump, down on one knee, stick in the air for anyone who scores for their team. Then they give a double-arm up in the air salute for anyone who scores on them. I think if Nico spent half the time working on his skating that he spends celebrating he would be as good at hockey as he is at golf. Unfortunately, Nico doesn't appear to be headed down the "Hockey God" path taken by his uncles and grandfather. Let's hope that means that there will be a medical degree in his future, rather than a coach's whistle!
Tuesdays and Fridays mean speech therapy for Megan. We got a new therapist for her, and Jennifer (or Jenny, as Meg calls her) is wonderful. Megan looks forward to each of her sessions. I love to see her so enthused about speech, as it was such a struggle to get her there for the first few sessions with the other therapist. At one point I had fooled myself into thinking that Tuesday and Friday would be research days, as I was not teaching or doing office hours those days. It is amazing how that time has disappeared between Meg's speech and the Grand Forks school district's calendar that seems to give every other Friday off of school.
Friday evenings Meg has dance, and her favorite part is the Magic Box at the end of every class. In a large box, the dance instructors keep various costumes and accessories that the little ballerinas delight in wearing while they dance for the last five minutes of class. Though parents are officially banned from the studio, we all line up at the windows outside to catch a peek of the little princesses!
Thursday evenings mean Nico's Tae Kwon Do lessons at the community center near where we live. They are free, he likes them, he gets to practice doing pushups, and he can walk over by himself. We LOVE Thursday nights!
Piled on top of kid activities, we have normal things like homework for Nico and me, laundry, dinners to make, dishes to do, bathrooms to clean, and enjoying each other to do. Unfortunately, Andy is gone more often than not, so in order to enjoy some time with Dad we spend a lot of time at the hospital. The on-call room is in the maze Altru calls a basement, and we have been there enough that my kids can not only find the on-call room, but also 2 different sets of elevators, the cafeteria, and the entrance to the clinic. Impressive considering I still cannot find my way around down there!
Andy has begun to count down the days until the end of this rotation. He gets the last week in October off for vacation, so he is down to a bit over two weeks left. I think his first few days at home may be like someone who has returned home from an overseas business trip - the return to "our time" may take a few days to get used to!
In light of the craziness of our household, I still have not made it to Wisconsin to see Cathy's new baby, Ethan. I am itching to go, but the fates seem to be conspiring against it. To top it off, I haven't been able to find the time to make a simple phone call to talk with her since August when Ethan was born. I know what you are thinking, and yes, it really is that hard to find the time these days! I don't know how to explain it, but we really are that busy. Thankfully, Cathy and I have each discovered Skype and webcams, and on Sunday I actually got to talk with her face-to-face. While the computer images are never as good as actually being in the same room together, it was a wonderful conversation. Sometimes I need to be reminded to slow down and reprioritize my life!
Tonight, we are headed to the UND men's hockey game. Nico was picked to be the Sioux Kids Club Captain of the Game, and he will be introduced on-ice with the team. He also gets to ride the Zamboni. What more could a kid ever ask for??
Tomorrow morning, bright and early at 6 am we are headed to Sioux Falls. My niece, Annabelle, is going to be baptized, and Andy and I get to be godparents! We are very excited to go, especially Megan who has been talking about seeing her cousin, whom she refers to as "My Best Friend Kaden", for the last 2 weeks.
On a more personal note, Andy and I are celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary tomorrow as well! At times it seems like the days and years have flown by, and sometimes it surprises me how very lucky I am to have married such a wonderful man! And to those of you who were around when we got married I just have this to say: When did we all get so old?

The Elusive Truffle Butter

Have you ever heard of truffle butter? No, not truffle oil, truffle butter. Neither had I. But this summer, while visiting my sister and her family in Sioux Falls I bought Andy a Barefoot Contessa cookbook. Of all the Food Network stars, only Ina Garten and Alton Brown have my undying devotion. They simply make you want to try new things! (By the way, Alton's recipe for Dulce de Leche is simply amazing!) So I paid way too much for the cookbook and on the way home to Grand Forks Andy and I drooled over the wonderful things she was cooking up in the pages. One recipe, in particular, caught our eye. It was a truffle butter pasta. You took some heavy cream, salt, truffle butter, pasta, and a bit of the pasta-cooking water, threw it together with some parmesan cheese on the top and you have a meal fit for a king. It is one of the simplest meals we have ever made and also one of the most delicious. We have fallen in love with it. So much so that we were willing to order the truffle butter required to make said meal through an internet company that was amazingly reasonably priced. The 8 oz. of white truffle butter was around $16. If you know anything at all about truffles, I am sure you are saying "Wow! That's a great deal!" And it was! Until they hit us with the shipping charges. You see, truffle butter needs to be kept cold, which means that it needs to be packed on ice and shipped overnight UPS. If you are keeping track, that runs about $35 for shipping. Suddenly, my butter was up to $51.
Due to our truffle butter pasta addiction, we have paid the shipping fees more than once, all the while hoping we would be able to find the butter locally for a decent price. Here are the results as they stand so far:
It is unavailable in Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, and Bemidji. Also unavailable in Sioux Falls (and we checked all the specialty stores we could find - including those that the people who worked in the stores named!). A friend of ours spent a considerable amount of time searching Byerly's and Whole Foods in the Twin Cities to no avail.
So my question to all of you is this: Does anybody have any idea where I can buy truffle butter in the tri-state area? We have run out again and I don't think Andy's salary is going to support much more of these delivery fees!
Just in case you were keeping track - the tomato soup from an earlier entry came from the same cookbook. The woman is a genius!