The Rabbit Hunter

A couple weekends ago Andre and I had the chance to get away for a couple days and stay up in the mountains in West Virginia. My parents--or rather my dad, since my mom doesn't really ever go there--own a hunting camp in Cass, not far from Snowshoe. We used to go up there every Christmas break as a family and go skiing, and I even took a big group of people from school last February for a ski trip. But after five years, Andre still had not had the pleasure of staying at "camp" as we call it. On the drive there, he tried to get me to explain more what it was like. "It's a cabin, right?" he asked. Mmm, that sounds a little too quaint. "A lodge?" Still too quaint. It's just a very hard place to describe. It's an older, two-story house with five bedrooms but only one bathroom (although there is a VERY nice outhouse for when the house is full), furnished and decorated mainly with my mom's (and other wives) discarded things and all the animal heads/antlers/skins that are not allowed in to be hung in their home. I will say, the kitchen is kind of charming because there is this big old wood burning stove and a huge farmhouse sink.

Anyways, we went up there to get away and just relax before the craziness of third year started. We were planning on going cycling on the trail, but since the forecast called for thunderstorms every day, we didn't even bother taking our bikes. We did take fishing stuff, but didn't end up doing that either. So what did we do? Well...we went rabbit hunting. (Ok, not really hunting--we just took a long walk around dad's property, and saw a bunch. No animals were harmed in the taking of these pictures.) It turned out to be pretty easy, since my brother-in-law apparently planted several small gardens just to bait the animals out into the open. Thanks Brian!

Here are some pictures of the rabbit hunter in action.

No deer sightings until our drive home--we saw three, very conveniently running right in front of our car. No close calls though, and everyone lived. There was even a little tiny spotted fawn with its mama. Maybe one day I'll see that fawn again...in a bowl of stew.

Five Years

Dre and I just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary a little over a week ago. We spent it the way everyone wishes they could spend a romantic weekend--at an extended family reunion surrounded by 35 or so people. Actually, we had a really great time, and were even able to sneak away for a quiet walk and a noisy dinner.

It's funny how much we know about each other after these five years. For instance, I know that it is next to impossible to get a nice picture of Andre. So I was sitting with my aunt at the reunion picnic while Andre was watching a rousing bocce ball game and I said "watch this" as I took this picture:

And then I said, "Hey Andre, look over here and smile", and this is what he did:

Every stinkin' picture starts this way! If I wait long enough or make a fuss, he'll stop and smile. I didn't do that this time, and this is what we are stuck with.

Only Child

I got a really special treat last week--my mom joined me in Chicago and I got to be an only child for five whole days! Okay, okay, I know I'm an adult now. But I'll take it when I can get it!

Here are some pictures from the trip.

At the John Hancock Center. Here's a tip (that we learned after our visit)--you can take the regular elevator up to the bar, which is actually higher than the skydeck, and enjoy the view for the price of a drink vs. the $15 ticket to the skydeck.

My aunt Mary, mom, and I before heading off for Wicked, possibly the best show ever. Mom got us AMAZING seats right up front. Now, I am a big reader. I don't get to read as much during school as I would like, but I did get to read the novel Wicked this past year. It doesn't even touch the musical. The story is somewhat different, and oh so good! If you get any chance at all, see this show. If you have an hours-long layover or are on several months bedrest, then you might (only might) want to consider reading the book.

We didn't have time to eat dinner before the show, so we had cocktails and appetizers afterward. Yum!

The big event of the week happened on Thursday. My sister Jennifer suggested we go on a Segway tour of the city. You know--that machine that Weird Al rides on in his video "White & Nerdy". No reflection on what we looked like, of course! Our tour started at 10 on Thursday morning, so we got there a few minutes early. They make you sign your life away, AND THEN they show you the scary video about all the ways that you can fall backward off the thing and smash your skull. Luckily, they are also handing out helmets around this time. Our group of about 10 people, plus the guide, wheeled our machines over to an open area to learn how to get on, off, and turn in circles. One lady decided right then that there was no way she would feel comfortable riding for three hours. She got off and left. Here's mom and Mary in the training area:

The closest you'll ever see me to my Segway.

Oh, okay, fine. Here's one for Megan and Jenn.

Mom and Mary doing great, taking a short break by Soldier Field...

And then...

Filling out their incident reports!

There was a bit of a collision while trying to cross a busy intersection crowded by ten Segways and lots of pedestrians. Mary wasn't quite able to make the ramp part of the sidewalk and tried to step foward off the Segway. These machines are kinda scary in that they don't turn off when you step off, so they will continue to go backward or forward onto your feet and legs if you aren't in complete control of the handles. So when Mary stepped off of hers, it continued forward, knocking her over and into Mom. Mom then fell off her machine, and one of them ended up on her leg, pinning her down. She also hit her head, but thanks to the trusty helmet, did not end up with a brain injury. Yay! There were maybe seven other random people in our group. One of those seven JUST HAPPENED to be an orthopedic surgeon. Divine intervention, maybe? Anyways, he checked Mom's leg out, talked to her about the possibility of getting a little lightheaded and sitting down before she passed out, and gave me some follow-up instructions. I can't wait to be able to do things like that!

One very unfortunate consequence, though, involved Mary. As you can see in the above pictures, she started off with a button-down shirt over her tank top. But the day got warm, the sun beat down, and the overshirt came off. When she stood up from her little spill, her tank top must have caught on something and twisted, and she had a bit of a, well, wardrobe malfunction. Not completely revealing, but certainly not how she would walk down the street! We actually tried to do a reenactment for my mom later on, but we couldn't for the life of us figure out how the top could get so twisted and expose so much. The moral of the story: always wear a pretty bra. :)

Pampered

Anyone who knows my mom probably also knows that she's a Donald Trump junkie. She loved The Apprentice. She called me after she went to New York to tell me she went to Trump Towers and saw a member of his family. So, since we were spending a week in Chicago, what better way to treat her than to take her to the spa at the new Trump building? We spent 2 1/2 hours last Tuesday morning drinking fruited water and getting mother-daughter mani-pedis.

Apparently, I really needed that. I got my pedicure after mom got hers--which meant that my feet had been soaking twice as long. And I still made our poor little nail lady frown. I think she used her entire bottle of callous softener on my heels. Sorry to gross out any feet-sensitive people reading, but mine REALLY needed help! And now they are smooth and soft and I have pretty pink toes!

Updates on the way!!

It has been a crazy busy couple of weeks! First (chronologically) I finally found a local hair stylist. My sister Melissa has been doing an amazing job, but I only get to see her every 5 months or so, and that won't work now that I have short hair (for the first time since I was 8 years old!) She was actually the one that lopped off all those inches, and I was not looking forward to finding someone else. My new stylist Kate, though, is absolutely wonderful. I hope she doesn't move anytime soon!
Second, I survived The Big One. Step 1 of boards is OVER!!!! It's actually been exactly two weeks since I took the test, but I tried not to think about it at all during my vacation. It won't be truly over until the results come in sometime mid-to-late July.
Third, I am so happy for the two main Jennifers in my life. Lets just say that they both have left hands that are newly quite weighed-down.
Fourth, I am having one looooong vacation since The Big One. That will require several separate posts--with pictures to match, I promise.

Cleaning

Shockingly, I don't love to clean. I do, however, like for the house to be clean. So I am willing to put in the work when I have time so that the clutter doesn't drive me crazy.

Why is it then, that now that I am supposed to be studying all day, every day, I can think of nothing more enjoyable than scrubbing my floors or ironing every piece of dress clothing in my closet? I find it really sad that my ten minute break in between subjects or after a practice test is "allow myself" to unload the dishwasher or change the bedsheets. I think I need help. Of the psychiatric nature.

But it'll all be over on Tuesday!! I am told by my board review book to "expect some reentry phenomena as you try to regain a real life." Isn't that the truth. My carpet may not get vacuumed for 6 months after I'm finished with all this!

Dancing

Here's Dre, teaching our little buddy from Bible study how to dance. Poor thing is terrified--luckily the baby is really mellow!