It's a rough life...

It's a rough life.

The alarm goes off so early in the morning.

What does a girl have to do to get breakfast in bed around here?!

Happy Anniversary to us... and Sunday morning Blueberry Pancakes

Bryan and I celebrated 2 years of dating on August 17th! Our first date was coffee and conversation at Starbuck's. We celebrated with dinner at home and watching one of our favorite shows. Bryan surprised me with a dozen beautiful red roses, too

The rest of our week was uneventful. Bryan actually got off work at 2:30pm on Friday! I had a better week on orientation. I watched a robotic mitral valve replacement on Friday. It was unbelievably cool. Click HERE to read a little more on St. Joseph's Hospital and the cutting-edge surgery using the da Vinci robot. The surgeon sits (NOT scrubbed in) in a little "bat cave" in the corner of the room and operates remotely, sending commands to the four or five robotic arms placed in the chest through small incisions. I was impressed with the anesthesia, which was delivered by a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. I got to recover the patient, a young woman, up in the CVICU after the surgery. She did very well and was up sitting in a chair within 4 hours of returning to the ICU! Rumor has it that I will be off orientation in another two weeks. Hooray! We have a new Sunday morning tradition around here... Blueberry Pancakes! I feel compelled to share some tips to make the best blueberry pancakes EVER. 1. DON'T add the blueberries to the pancake batter. Pour the batter onto the griddle, which you've preheated to 375 degrees, and place the fresh blueberries directly onto the pancake, like in the above picture. 2. The pancakes are best if you only flip once. So, wait until they are well-bubbled, and take a peek under the edge. The result is a plump, fluffy pancake!

3. You simply haven't had the best blueberry pancake unless you've topped it with MAPLE BUTTER! To make maple butter, heat EQUAL parts real butter and real maple syrup over low heat, stirring frequently. (This is Bryan's job.)

Bryan says, "The tart blueberries pair perfectly with the sweet maple butter."

I couldn't agree more!

We hope you had a great weekend.

Not me MONDAY... and other news.

Are you feeling guilty for eating ice cream for breakfast? Mortified because your child undressed during church? "Not me Monday" is a feature from Mckmamma's blog, mycharmingkids.net. It allows you to reveal your more embarassing moments in true "I didn't do that!" fashion.

For instance, I certainly did NOT get down on my hands and knees to get a closer look at an upside-down palmetto bug wriggling around on our kitchen floor. And you know that I DEFINITELY did not squish the bug after it made eye contact with me. I also want it to be known that I did NOT laze on the loveseat for the entire PGA final, and would never pretend to have seen Tiger putt and comment on it, when I was actually asleep. Not me!

So, in other news, we've had a pretty busy week and weekend. I worked three shifts in the CVICU, and Bryan was on call this weekend. He took his exam on Thursday, and we celebrated by having dinner at

The service was truly exceptional, and we enjoyed a nice view of the river (we're not sure what river it is!) from our table. They even called Bryan on Saturday to see how we liked dining there! Bryan will get the results from his exam in about 4 weeks. He's nervous, pending the results, but he's definitely enjoyed not having to study every night after work. He is now working with a different surgeon in the practice for the next several weeks. We're looking forward to next weekend and getting to visit the World of Coke! Work for me has been going well. It has been a big internal struggle reconciling the differences in practice between Methodist and St. Joe's. I have enjoyed the patients, though, and am trying to be open to the change, realizing that there can be more than one way to do something.

Kitty and Susie have been happy and healthy. Susie seems to be able to "break out" of the baby gate when her Dad fastens it. She thinks her Dad is somewhat of a pushover! I prefer to seclude her to one room when we are both gone. Something about having the whole house to herself sometimes brings out naughty behavior.

Kitty has developed a close, personal relationship with a red blanket we have. This blanket is special, and we call it "Red Snappy Blanket," or "Red Snappy" for short. Bryan used to have a chenille blanket on his couch that was getting frayed, so his Mom gave him a beautiful fluffy blanket for Christmas. The blanket was so staticky, it snapped and popped whenever Bryan used it. We started calling it the red, snappy blanket, and it stuck. He doesn't snap anymore, thanks to fabric softener, but the name remains.

Here's Kitty enjoying some time with Red Snappy. She kneads him for long periods of time, and gets a little... uh... catty if you try to interrupt her! I've also tried a few new recipes lately that I will post on here soon. They're quick and easy, but taste like you've spent a lot of time on them! I hope you all have a great week.

TGIS (Thank God it's Saturday!)

What a week... we're all glad it's finally the weekend. I've clearly been spoiled from working three 12 hour days a week for the last 11 years! We've been missing Sawasdee, our favorite Indianapolis Thai restaurant since we moved to Atlanta. We ordered out from Thai Lanna, a restaurant just a mile down the road a couple of weeks ago, and it just wasn't up to par. Last night we ate at Wild Ginger, and it was EXCELLENT! The service was incredible, and the food was delicious.

Tonight we're going to try a restaurant Bryan has had his eye on for awhile called Wildfire.

The weekend also means its time for two things...

a bath for Susie,

and laundry.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Re-joining the workforce.

Day two of orientation is complete, and I'm convinced there is really no need for pharmaceutical sleep aides. Nope. Just sit yourself down in front of a series of videos recounting the history of the Sisters of Mercy (circa 1880). All kidding aside, I am nearly half-way finished with the mandatory week of corporate compliance education, computer training, and yes, videos recounting the history of the Sisters of Mercy. Speaking of the Sisters, I met one, and was delighted with her. Very nice ladies, indeed. Today I dumped a 32oz soft drink in the cafeteria. I know, I know. You're wondering why I needed a 32oz soft drink... it was necessary to counteract the sedating effects from the computer training.

While doing the usual weekend chores, I was entertained (very easily) by how many shades of blue and green scrubs Bryan and I have between the two of us. My navy scrub top is on the left, and Bryan wears a different color for each of four different hospitals he rounds/operates at! He sees patients at a fifth hospital soon, so there may be a new color.

Susie would like all inquiring parties to know that she is dealing well with her Mom and Dad both being gone during the day. And there was a first tonight! She greeted her Dad's homecoming with happy "Oooooo Oooooo Oooooo"s! (She hopes it will result in larger quantities of string cheese being shared...)

Hope you're all having a great week.