A Creole Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's all about food and family, I don't think it gets much better than that. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family in New Orleans and a fabulous trip. I am going to be posting pictures for days.

Cooking, cooking and more cooking.

 

My great Aunt Dot and Uncle John

Creeper

View from our room.

The next day we went to Aunt Dot's and Uncle John's house.

Ode to Stan the Man(nequin)

I recently lost my first cardiology patient. Even though he was just a mannequin, he seemed real enough to me. He talked, blinked, he had a heart beat and pulses, his chest rose and fell with his breath. His nails turned blue when he became cyanotic. With a little help from my sister, I wrote him a poem.

Stan the Man(nequin),

When you showed up in class,

I tried to act fast.

But your heart stopped beating,

And it was so defeating.

I asked myself “Have I done all that I can

For the world’s greatest mannequin?”

At this point, Stan,

I doubt you are my fan.

But the cardiac knowledge that I did gain,

Ensures your death was not in vain.

Gratitude

Before we leave town for Thanksgiving, I wanted to share my "5 things I'm thankful for". I think this list goes without saying but sometimes you need to say it anyway.

I am thankful for this guy. He has been so supportive of me in PA school, even when school makes me crazy. He has been working insanely hard and been so successful at his job. I am so proud of him!

 

I am thankful for family, no matter the distance that separates us, I love them all.

Utah family

Louisiana family

I am thankful for my kitties. They are always by my side while I'm studying, making it more bearable.

I am thankful to be in PA school. Despite all my complaining, I am really looking forward to being a PA. It will provide me with a great opportunity to help people and make a difference.

Some days we actually manage to have some fun at school. In our health promotion/disease prevention class, we learned about teaching patients how to use protection. I was in a blind condom race and I'm proud to say I lost.

I am thankful for my yoga practice. It's almost been a year since I started and my life has been so blessed by it and all the wonderful people at Gratitude Yoga.

The great thing about listing what you're thankful for is that once you start, it's hard to stop. I am grateful for my health, my friends, I am lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life. I am thankful for books, that it is the end of November and I am wearing flip flops and running the air conditioning. (it was 80 degrees today!) I am thankful for sunsets, even though they happen every day, they still have the power to stop me in my tracks and take my breath away, make me pause a moment and recognize a power far greater than myself. They put things into perspective for me, making me realize how insignificant my problems are. All you have to do is look.

I took this one last night.

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Ariel

I have to introduce the new addition to our home, a piano!  I have played piano for about as long as I can remember. In college at BYU, it was never hard to find one of their 400+ pianos to use. But since being in PA school, I haven't been able to play. I am beyond ecstatic about it. I gathered all my old music but my poor fingers are so weak, I don't get very far before my arms start cramping up on me. I am making my way through all the Hanon exercises to get my hands back in shape.

Isn't she beautiful? I named her Ariel. Yes, after the Little Mermaid. It seemed appropriate because that movie was one my first musical inspirations. My mom loves to tell the story that I had the whole movie memorized at age 2. I was constantly signing all the songs whether I was riding in the car or standing on a chair in a restaurant or airport for all to hear. (my sister likes to remind me this behavior did not cease until I was12) Some days, I would refuse to answer to my name and insisted on being called Ariel.

The cats were pretty excited about it too.

Oh the Places You'll Go

Last weekend, my sister and I went with some friends (another pair of sisters) to the Texas Book Festival in Austin.We has such a great a time!

All of the authors of these books were at the festival.

I think more work would get done in the House if these chairs weren't so comfortable.

Almost all the panels and lectures were given in the state capitol.

 

We saw lots of great Halloween costumes.

Jami Attenberg signing her new novel The Middlesteins (I am almost done with this book and I would definitely recommend it)

If any of my friends and family are wondering what to get me for Christmas, I would love this giant container of nutella.

Look Mom, we're sharing!

Me standing with the Texas school children. For I am a Texas school child.

Saturday night we went to a lit crawl at the Texas state cemetery.  It was a full moon and we listened to scary stories and walked over thousands of graves. A perfect night for the Halloween weekend.

I was excited to meet Naomi Wolf, I had just seen her interviewed on the Colbert Report a few weeks ago.

                "Somehow you'll escape 

                 all that waiting and staying.

                 You'll find the bright places 

                 where Boom Bands are playing.

                 With banner flip flapping, 

                 once more you'll ride high!

                 Ready for anything under the sky. 

                 Ready because you're that kind of guy!

                 Kid, you'll move mountains!

                 So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
                 Or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O'Shea,
                 You're off to Great Places!
                 Today is your day!
                 Your mountain is waiting.
                 So…get on your way!"
                 -By Dr. Seuss

If you haven't read Oh the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss in a while you can read it here.
It is such an insightful poem.