PETCO Play Date

Michelle was gone all day today moonlighting at a nearby clinic, so I had instructions on how to keep Ginger occupied: take her to the weekly playdate at Petco Pet Store. They have an indoor play arena, where parents let the dogs run loose and tussle. It was a lot of fun, similar setup to the dog parks we frequented back in Florida. I also bumped into a fellow physician with her new puppie Zhowie, very cute all around :-) Ginger made several new friends as usual, and left after getting a good workout. We'll try and get back there later this month, schedules permitting ...

We Passed!

Just to pass along ... Michelle & I passed our Certifying Internal Medicine Board Exams! We're now both board certified internists (at least for the next 10 years), and will have to face the same grueling process in 3 years for our subspecialty boards. What a relief :-)

Fall & Halloween

When I arrived back from Las Vegas, I was greeted by wind and rain. We had arrangments to go to Greenfield Village Halloween. Rain or shine... and that's what it was. There were over 300 pumpkins in all on a sub-40 degree chilly night. It's about the time for the cold weather to set in. Halloween time and the first really cold night were the norm in Reno when all the costumes had to be modified so as not to be chilled to the bone. Last night we set out candy and dressed up a jack-o-lantern for Halloween night. I carved it into all sorts of patterns and shapes. It was a great time. We both got into our jackets and set out to beat the cold with all the kids and parents. Trick or treat everyone!

Home Improvement: Part II

Since Michelle was away this past week in Las Vegas attending a medical conference (and visiting her family), we decided this would be the best time to commence Operation Destruction/Renovation of our kitchen and bathrooms. The previous owners chose this cheap laminate surfacing (white & pink, respectively) that stained quite easily. Once again the before shots:











First step was removing the surfacing. Since we were installing two sinks in the master bathroom, the old cabinet had to come out and a new custom-designed cabinet was put in its place:











Next step was inserting the granite counter-tops. Michelle & I had pre-selected three different patterns, one for each room. Most of the pieces were pre-cut, but the sink openings and backsplashes were cut outside on our driveway:










It was only at this point that the plumber could begin connecting the sinks & piping. His job took the longest, at least 8 hours of labor involved:












An voila! A nicely finished project after all ... you'll have to visit to see the real thing :-)

Winter?

We had our first snowfall in Michigan! I was told that it starts snowing around December... not so... it's October and it is snowing. Ginger does not know what to do with this white stuff from the sky. Albeit, not much snow but what a surprise -- we woke up with a layer of white stuff on the deck. It melted and then started again.

Family visit

So we welcomed my parents last week as our first out-of-town guests. After a delayed flight leaving LaGuardia airport Wednesday night, they finally landed and settled into our condominium. Right away my mom felt at home, preparing all sorts of delicious meals :-) They also got to spend time with Ginger while we were away at work.









Our free weekend included all sorts of sight-seeing in the greater Detroit area. Saturday we did the Rouge Factory Tour (Ford-Dearborn headquarters). They had a nice rooftop view of the auto plant, as well as several Ford models on display. Michelle & Myriam enjoy the new F-150 pickup truck :-)













Later that afternoon we walked around Greenfield Village, which currently has the "Special Taste of History" theme. There were numerous machines on display from the 1800's, including those making yarn, metal, and cloth. The weather was gorgeous, with several trees showing pretty fall color changes ...













Sunday we checked out the popular Franklin Cidar Mill. It was packed, customers ordering all sorts of apple products (pie, cidar, donuts, etc.) They also had several large pumpkins on display, with little kids getting into the act:










The rest of the day was spent shopping, exploring the Sommerset mall in Troy, and seeing our hospital. Overall very relaxing, they left just in time as the weather got chilly soon there-after (see the following post). We'll be seeing the fam soon again in November for Thanksgiving. Until then ...

Home Improvement

So Michelle & I started the process of renovating the interior of our condo. First in order was taking down these hideous blue drapes and roll-down blinds in our common room. The previous owners decorated as if they were in the 1970's (our place was built in1994). Installing the new pleated and vertical blinds was tougher than we thought (probable metal behind the walls), but we persevered and finished our task. See the before and after shots ...

Next up was installing a shower door in our guest bath. As you can see, the previous owner was enamored with pink! Overall I think the doors are a bit more practical and classy ...




Next up is removing the laminate surfacing in our bathrooms and kitchen. We're looking at some granite options later today, and will hopefully get this project started soon. Stay tuned for some more pics ...

Puppy Love ...

There' s no getting around the fact how much we adore our "baby girl" Ginger. We're now getting used to the idea of letting her hair run a bit longer, especially since the temps have been under 60 at night. We didn't experience this in Florida until January, Michelle thinks we're in for a rough winter :-( ... but I digress ... anyways, enjoy these candid shots ... not much going on at the present, we're getting some contractor quotes for interior design work. Stay tuned for more details ...

Windy City ...

So Michelle & I survived the 2-day ordeal that encompassed our studies for the past several months: our Certifying Internal Medicine Examination. The test is offered once a year at the Wyndham Hotel in downtown Chicago, so we flew in the day before and had a comfortable stay at the Radisson two blocks away (thanks Al!). Overall the test was quite difficult, 600 multiple choice questions that got harder as the test wore on. We won't know the results until November. We also caught up with several classmates from medical school in between, many are doing fellowship (pulmonary or cardiology); the rest are attending internists.

Michelle & I celebrated with dinner and drinks after the exam, catching up with our close friends from school: Patrick & Tochi who both live outside the city. They're both enjoying life in the midwest, we were up past midnight talking about all sorts of things ...










Our last day in Chicago was a productive one, we hit the streets early doing some local sight-seeing. Highlights included a nice view from our hotel roof-top, as well as public pilates & cool sculptures in Millenium park ...












With only a couple of hours left we caught a guided boat tour on the Chicago River. It was awesome, the guide was quite knowledgable of the city and pointed out all the major buildings along the city skyline. We also made in out to Lake Michigan via a "locking station" and saw even more of the city.













We made it back Saturday night and relaxed the rest of the weekend. We'll try and visit again soon under less stressful circumstances!

Bundles of nerves

Well, in a little over 48 hours our albatross will be completed (hopefully successfully). For those of you that have endured us for the last (well few months specifically), you know what we mean. Thanks again for the support. We hope that you will be praying for us.

All in all, things are not so bad. We have our health and each other. We know there are two huge support systems (aka our families) that are behind us. It's very comforting to know that. Really, thanks. And our friends... some of you will be with us for the main event going through it yourselves.

We'll write more on the flip side of this adventure. Hope all is well. We'll be back to blogging in no time!!!

One month down ...

So Michelle & I finished our first month of fellowship! Overall things went pretty smoothly, and we're slowly getting the handle on how things run in the hospital. I spent July doing endoscopy (mostly colonoscopies) while Michelle was on the floors, getting a handful of bronchoscopies under her belt. Our confidence will hopefully grow with each opportunity, everyone at work has been very supportive and understanding.

Not much new to report on the home front, Michelle & I are hunkering down with studying for our Internal Medicine Certification Exam, which is coming up in a couple of weeks. We're flying to Chicago for the 2-day test, 8/24-8/25. Hopefully we'll meet up with some med school friends and do some sight-seeing afterwards.

We will certainly do more exploring of the area after the test is over with, and have newer pics to put up. We also plan on doing some interior decorating (i.e. removing the pink bathroom countertops) when time allows. For now, enjoy the pics of Ginger after another "summer-cut." Notice her devilish red eyes, fortunately cataracts haven't set in yet :-)