Here I am in Dallas, TX with very little to do, so Amy suggested I blog about my recent experiences in my third and fourth year rotations. In case you are not aware, the first two years of medical school are spent in classes, while the last two years are spent rotating with different specialties every four weeks in hospitals and clinics. Last year, I completed my core rotations: psychiatry, ob/gyn, internal medicine, family medicine, cardiology, surgery, and pediatrics. My only two "electives" were required to be a primary care and a rural rotation.
Most of these rotations were around the Phoenix area, but others had to been done out of town. In October, I traveled to Tucson to complete one of my two internal medicine rotations at the University of Arizona. Luckily, my school has several apartments available in Tucson for which they only charge a cleaning deposit. I stayed in a four-bedroom apartment by myself for the first two weeks. The next two weeks, a fourth-year student came to stay for one of his rotations. Now, we are not allowed to have visitors stay with us, but this guy had his girlfriend spend an entire week with us! I felt like telling Amy to come stay with us too and to bring Gabriel along! I was able to go home twice during the month to see my family. Anyway, Tucson was a decent city that reminded me a lot of Provo; it is a college town that is surrounded by mountains and has its upper-class areas in the foothills and its lower-class areas in the valley.
My next "out-of-town" rotation was not as far as Tucson; it was the Gila River Indian Reservation south of Phoenix. I was able to stay at home for this rotation, but it took about an hour to travel there and another hour to get home. This was a family medicine rotation that seemed more like an urgent care. I saw lots of diabetes, drug abuse, alcoholism, and noncompliance. Who knew that Native Americans living on government-granted land with government-funded health care aren't very proactive at managing their health and their lives?
For my rural rotation, I decided to travel to Yuma in February. We can choose whatever specialty we want, as long as it is in a rural setting, so I chose to do anesthesia. Although my school doesn't have any housing in Yuma, the hospital offers temporary housing that is almost as cheap as my school's housing. Apparently, Yuma has a huge influx of residents during the winter and a mass exodus of residents during the summer, so the hospital has to manage their staff accordingly. My preceptor in Yuma was great! He let me manage our patients almost completely by myself! I always thought that I wanted to do anesthesia, and my time in Yuma confirmed my decision. I was even able to visit Amy and Gabriel on the weekends.
My next "vacation" was spent in Philadelphia for one of my board exams. In June, I scheduled my COMLEX-PE exam, which involves performing a history and physical exam on 12 standardized patients. The exam is only given in Conshohocken, PA. I flew out to Philadelphia for a few days for the exam, and, while I was there, I decided to visit some of the historical sites. I spent the first day taking my exam, which went well (I found out several days ago that I passed). The next day, I traveled to downtown Philadelphia where I visited the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the National Constitution Center, the house where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, Ben Franklin's grave, and several other historic sites. Amy insists that I mention the weirdo at the Revolutionary War Soldier Memorial. This man was basically wearing his underwear and some scarf-like rags wrapped haphazardly around his body. In addition, he was balancing on top of a two-by-four piece of wood and using two longer pieces of wood in his arms to maintain his balance. He had some hand-written sign in front of him about why he was there, but I wasn't really interested in reading it. I was more concerned with getting away from him as fast as I could! Overall, it was an amazing experience. It was inspiring to stand where our Founders stood as they debated the possibility of American Independence and the framework of a new Constitution. I have been reading books on US History for the last few years, and to finally see these locations where so many important events took place was incredible!
Now here I am in Dallas for my first audition rotation at UT Southwestern. I flew out here because my hotel offers a complimentary shuttle, but this means that I have no car to go anywhere on the weekends. I'm spending all my free time in my hotel room watching tv, using the internet, and reading. Because there are only two anesthesia residencies in Arizona, I am looking at several programs in Texas (Amy has gotten used to the warm weather). I plan on rotating with the University of Arizona and Mayo Scottsdale later this year, so I will only be away from my family for one more month before I'm done.
That's my travelog. If you are around Dallas the next three weeks come visit me at my hotel! Otherwise, please do what you can to help Amy take care of Gabriel and Elisa.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Random Videos of Gabe...
.... I forgot to post! Here you go. Enjoy!
At McDonald's Play Place.
Aug. 2010
Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes!
Feb. 7th 2011
Gabe loves the sink!
March 5th 2011
Gabe playing with his friend Kade.
March 19 2011
Gabe had a serious obsession with this train until it broke :(
March 27th 2011
March 27th 2011
Story time at the library. For one horrifying moment I though Gabe was going to pop the bubble on that lady's butt. Phew.
March 30 2011Bubbles with daddy.
May 5 2011
Gabie in the pool. So cute.
May 12 2011
Pin the number on Thomas! Kade's B-day party
5-11-2011
Race!
5-11-2011
A psychotic cat being tortured by curious 2-year-olds. Eva, Gabe, and Kade.
5-11-2011
Just a silly video of Gabe waking up from his nap!
6-11-2011
Gabe loves to mess with the camera!
6-20-2011
Gabe loves to sing. And pick his nose. And give his boogies to me like they're a present.
6-20-2011
6-20-2011
At the AZ science center...
6-21-2011
Gabe and Kade at story time.
7-5-2011
6-21-2011
Gabe and Kade at story time.
7-5-2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Gabe's Room
Okay, I know I did this forever ago...but this was such a HUGE project I just have to share it.
Before we had Gabe, I didn't bother decorating his room at all. I don't know what I was thinking. Actually, yes I do...I was thinking "we are too poor to do anything with his room". So I left the walls blank and bought some ugly winnie the pooh crib sheets at the thrift store for $8 and that was it. Poor Gabe.
Well I hated how ugly Gabe's room looked whenever I went in there so a YEAR after Gabe was born, yes, I said a YEAR, I went to Joannes, bought some wood letters and animals and paints (all for well under $10) and stuck them above his crib: simple and cute.
Then Gabe got some picture frames with the jungle theme (I decided jungle theme because his pack n play was jungle them and I hate winnie the pooh) for his birthday and I hung those up. And then I hung up some pictures of his one-year portraits. Then I drew some jungle animals on foam board and cut them out and stuck them above his dresser.
That was it for a long time and then I went crazy and decided the entire room needed to be redone-- and those darn hideous winnie the pooh sheets just had to go. This was especially important since we were going to have a new baby and they would have to share a room because we don't have enough bedrooms.
I seriously REDID his entire bedroom. I got rid of a book shelf, took out the craft stuff I had in some plastic drawers and put the drawers in the closet, filled them with Elisa's clothes and put all the craft stuff in a long box that fits underneath our bed. I also reorganized his entire closet, packed up his pack n play, and eventually put his twin bed in place of the pack n play. I searched everywhere for a changing table and found on on craigslist for $20 that match the furniture perfectly. Sounds simple just writing it down. NO. You have know idea just HOW LONG this project took me! It took months just cleaning and organizing his room.
Several reasons why: The place was a mess. I hated having the pack n play up because it was too easy for me to be lazy and just throw stuff in there. Or in his closet. Or on top of the bookshelf. Then there was the craft drawers-omg..it was so unorganized and I had to organize it ALL-seriously, it was a DISASTER! Also, I had a big tummy so it was difficult to keep bending down and getting back up again. But the main reason was this: it was Gabe's room--Gabe slept in there. So, I couldn't clean his room while he was sleeping for obvious reasons. Thus I had to clean it while Gabe was awake. And, as many of you know who have toddlers, cleaning is a two steps forward, one step back process. I would clean up one part of the room while Gabe would be busy undoing another part of the room I had just cleaned. So frustrating!
SoOOoo....with that done, I moved on to more fun things. And took care of that eyesore of a bedding. I looked and looked an looked for some cheap jungle theme crib sets that I liked. I looked online, in the stores, on craigslist...nothing worked for me. It was either WAY too expensive or not what I was looking for. Well, I was in Joannes (as usual) when I can across some adorable jungle theme boxes that matched perfectly with the rest of the room. I bought them, and I'm kicking myself for not buying more. Anyway, to make a long story short, Joannes, (and only Joannes) happened to have a line of fabric and home decor in that jungle theme I liked that was the same as the boxes I had bought previously (the boxes were part of the home decor). I was in heaven! So for around $30 I bought all the fabric and went to town on making the bedding (but most importantly ridding myself and the world of those offensive winnie the pooh sheets):
How convenient...I got to use the batting from the pooh crib bumpers. I very much enjoyed tearing up the winnie the pooh fabric, just so you know.
Yeah...I'm crazy. It bugs me when things don't match so I bleached around the edges of the orange fabric so it would look like the tiger in the fabric.
Gabe enjoyed helping me. I didn't use a pattern for this but it miraculously turned out pretty good!
Gabe's bed. I bought the bedding at walmart (jungle theme of course)--$20 for all of it! Except the bed skirt. I made the bed skirt. It was the most boring sewing project I have EVER done. I bought the crib rails for $10 at Other Mothers.
The other side of the room. I also made a shadow box to hold a few mementos of Gabe's babyhood.
In short, I decorated Gabe's room for just over $100. Not too bad, considering crib sheets alone cost that much. It pays to look around and do it yourself! And to have wonderful in-laws that will give you a crib, dresser, and bed! I will not mention, however, the hours spent redoing his room and making everything. Whew. I'm so glad his room his cuter and more organized. I'm proud of me for doing it pregnant AND all by myself. Well, not exactly all by myself. Erik did vacuum the room.
Before we had Gabe, I didn't bother decorating his room at all. I don't know what I was thinking. Actually, yes I do...I was thinking "we are too poor to do anything with his room". So I left the walls blank and bought some ugly winnie the pooh crib sheets at the thrift store for $8 and that was it. Poor Gabe.
Well I hated how ugly Gabe's room looked whenever I went in there so a YEAR after Gabe was born, yes, I said a YEAR, I went to Joannes, bought some wood letters and animals and paints (all for well under $10) and stuck them above his crib: simple and cute.
Then Gabe got some picture frames with the jungle theme (I decided jungle theme because his pack n play was jungle them and I hate winnie the pooh) for his birthday and I hung those up. And then I hung up some pictures of his one-year portraits. Then I drew some jungle animals on foam board and cut them out and stuck them above his dresser. That was it for a long time and then I went crazy and decided the entire room needed to be redone-- and those darn hideous winnie the pooh sheets just had to go. This was especially important since we were going to have a new baby and they would have to share a room because we don't have enough bedrooms.
I seriously REDID his entire bedroom. I got rid of a book shelf, took out the craft stuff I had in some plastic drawers and put the drawers in the closet, filled them with Elisa's clothes and put all the craft stuff in a long box that fits underneath our bed. I also reorganized his entire closet, packed up his pack n play, and eventually put his twin bed in place of the pack n play. I searched everywhere for a changing table and found on on craigslist for $20 that match the furniture perfectly. Sounds simple just writing it down. NO. You have know idea just HOW LONG this project took me! It took months just cleaning and organizing his room.
Several reasons why: The place was a mess. I hated having the pack n play up because it was too easy for me to be lazy and just throw stuff in there. Or in his closet. Or on top of the bookshelf. Then there was the craft drawers-omg..it was so unorganized and I had to organize it ALL-seriously, it was a DISASTER! Also, I had a big tummy so it was difficult to keep bending down and getting back up again. But the main reason was this: it was Gabe's room--Gabe slept in there. So, I couldn't clean his room while he was sleeping for obvious reasons. Thus I had to clean it while Gabe was awake. And, as many of you know who have toddlers, cleaning is a two steps forward, one step back process. I would clean up one part of the room while Gabe would be busy undoing another part of the room I had just cleaned. So frustrating!
SoOOoo....with that done, I moved on to more fun things. And took care of that eyesore of a bedding. I looked and looked an looked for some cheap jungle theme crib sets that I liked. I looked online, in the stores, on craigslist...nothing worked for me. It was either WAY too expensive or not what I was looking for. Well, I was in Joannes (as usual) when I can across some adorable jungle theme boxes that matched perfectly with the rest of the room. I bought them, and I'm kicking myself for not buying more. Anyway, to make a long story short, Joannes, (and only Joannes) happened to have a line of fabric and home decor in that jungle theme I liked that was the same as the boxes I had bought previously (the boxes were part of the home decor). I was in heaven! So for around $30 I bought all the fabric and went to town on making the bedding (but most importantly ridding myself and the world of those offensive winnie the pooh sheets):
Out, out demons of tackiness!!
Yeah...I'm crazy. It bugs me when things don't match so I bleached around the edges of the orange fabric so it would look like the tiger in the fabric.
Gabe enjoyed helping me. I didn't use a pattern for this but it miraculously turned out pretty good!
All done!
The other side of the room. I also made a shadow box to hold a few mementos of Gabe's babyhood.
In short, I decorated Gabe's room for just over $100. Not too bad, considering crib sheets alone cost that much. It pays to look around and do it yourself! And to have wonderful in-laws that will give you a crib, dresser, and bed! I will not mention, however, the hours spent redoing his room and making everything. Whew. I'm so glad his room his cuter and more organized. I'm proud of me for doing it pregnant AND all by myself. Well, not exactly all by myself. Erik did vacuum the room.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Baby Aaliyah
As of Friday, July 8th, I finally became and auntie!! Which means Gabe and Elisa have their very first cousin!! Welcome Aaliyah Ann Blaylock!! I am SO excited to have a little niece I could just die! And I cannot wait to finally meet her! I am planning a long trip up to Idaho next month to see her. Her are some pics of adorable Aaliyah. And congrats to her mommy and daddy aka Lisa and Erik! Isn't she just darling?!
7lb 14 oz
Born Friday at 7:25pm
19.5 in
Born Friday at 7:25pm
19.5 in
Look and those dimples!
Aaliyah and pretty (pretty darn tired) mommy
Proud papa
Friday, July 8, 2011
Ear Piercing!
If you haven't noticed already, Elisa got her ears pierced!! I had my mind made up on getting my daughter's ears pierced long before we even had children. Erik knew there was no arguing with me about ear piercing-it has always been a given that if we ever had a daughter, I would take her to the mall to get her ears pierced as soon as I could. Ever since we found out we were having a girl way back in December, I have been SO excited and looking forward to the time I could get some darling little studs in those darling little ears!
Last Friday I was finally able to do it! I went with my friend Brandy to a Kiosk in Arrowhead Mall (the Piercing Pagoda) to get Elisa's ears pierced along with her BFF Kinley. All the girls needed was their DTP vaccine and be two months old! And $50 of course. I had been anticipating her ear piercing for a very long time, so when I got to the Kiosk, I started to get nervous, especially when they held the piercing gun up to her ears. But it was over in a minute and Elisa only cried for a minute. She cried a lot less then she did with her shots. I was torn between getting her the diamond studs or pearl studs, but decided to go with the pearl. I wanted Elisa's earrings to go with about every outfit. I didn't realize that the pearls they had were pink-I wanted white. I was disappointed and regretted not getting the diamonds for her, but now I love the pink pearls on her-they seem to suit her very well.
I am surprised how few people get their daughter's ears pierced as infants. IMHO, it's the best time to do it! Even though I got some rude looks from people while getting her ears pierced (I know they thought I was a barbarian), the piercing itself was NOT traumatic at all--Elisa was smiling at me not long after we got her earrings. They have not become infected as I clean them twice a day. They haven't bothered her in any way since, and look how DARLING she looks in them! I am so happy we got it done early. Now she doesn't have to bug me later to get her ears pierced. I've done her a great favor!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Happy 4th!
Gabe wasn't too fond of the smokers at first. I'm not either..they're stinky!
Gabe loves those poppers!
Sorry, sideways video. Elisa enjoying the 4th.
Elisa's signature scowl
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Father's Day
As usual, I'm way behind. Sorry. I'll try to be better.
Father's day was a special treat this year, because I got to have my dad here for a visit! I was confused and thought he would be coming the week after, so it was a nice surprise to find out he would be coming out on father's day weekend. Gabe sure enjoyed playing with him! We had a nice father's day dinner with a shirt cake I made and pulled pork sandwiches. We also went to the AZ Science Center, which was fun.
I got a free $20 gift card in the mail from Sports Authority (how nice of them!) and bought a gun cleaning kit and a water gun for Erik (Gabe picked out the water gun). I love getting free stuff, even if it's not for me! Happy Father's Day to Erik, my dad, and my father-in-law, a few weeks late!!
Father's day was a special treat this year, because I got to have my dad here for a visit! I was confused and thought he would be coming the week after, so it was a nice surprise to find out he would be coming out on father's day weekend. Gabe sure enjoyed playing with him! We had a nice father's day dinner with a shirt cake I made and pulled pork sandwiches. We also went to the AZ Science Center, which was fun.
I got a free $20 gift card in the mail from Sports Authority (how nice of them!) and bought a gun cleaning kit and a water gun for Erik (Gabe picked out the water gun). I love getting free stuff, even if it's not for me! Happy Father's Day to Erik, my dad, and my father-in-law, a few weeks late!!
Shirt/tie Cake
My re-gift to Erik, from the ward :)
Erik got some cologne
Fun with G-pa
Baby Elisa and G-pa
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