Happy Birthday to Me.

As of yesterday, I'm older.  I'm not sure that really bothers me, though.  At 33, I am firmly entrenched in my 30s, and since my 20s were not my favorite decade, so far this seems to be an improvement.  That said, having a weekday birthday and a hubby who works a lot means that celebratory opportunities were limited.  I really miss the childhood rule of "No chores on your birthday."  My birthday started with dishes and ended with cleaning up after the kids.  Although Mitch put them to bed.  Thanks, honey!

We did still do a bit of celebrating!

My "big" present was my big spa package, but Mitch surprised me with a coupon "book"" with fun things like "a sewing day" and "a night off of kid duty".  Awesome!  We went out to dinner and although Logan had a minor meltdown, he settled down and we had a pleasant time.

Then we came home and had cake!  It's supposed to be zebra stripes, but the HEB baker is apparently not all that artistic.  The idea is there...  And it has that HEB frosting that I LOVE.

And yes, black frosting IS an unbelievable mess...

Even on the kid who doesn't eat frosting.  Eeew.  Black tongue!

Potty time...

Logan has been a real champ when it comes to peeing in the potty, but he has a total block for "#2".  Our current positive reinforcement scheme is that for each poo-poo that he has in the potty, he gets a stamp on his chart (and on his hand/leg/foot-whatever), and after four stamps, he gets a car.  Well, for weeks we've been looking at the same stamp...  So early this week when he developed a GI bug, I was looking forward to some serious messes.

Boy, were we surprised when he hit the potty!!  He had to go so often that the stamps just started adding up and he really wanted that car!  You can see that he is a generous soul and wanted to share the stamp love with Daddy.  Let's hope this is the start of a new Logan.

"Me" Time!

For our anniversary, my sweet hubby gave me a spa package, and even set it all up.  All I had to do was show up!  Yesterday he took the kids to the Splash Park and sent me for a massage, haircut and pedicure.  It was FABULOUS!!  I decided to go a little crazy (for me) with the hair and had Kirsten do piecey layers and straighten it.

I LOVE IT!!

Here's the back.  I guess I'll have to go buy a flatiron...

And here are my pretty toes.  I still have a facial coming up that I am totally looking forward to, but this was such a great day.  It is amazing how rejuvenated I feel, just after a little pampering and alone time.  After the spa, I stopped at Target (because we needed milk), and it was so fun to wander around kidless and feeling great.  Thank you, sweetheart!  You couldn't have given me a better present. (Well, except for the nine years.  Oh, and all of the rest of them!)

My version

Ok, let's be honest: the post immediately below this one is the most important news in the last 2 years or so.

However, it's nice to have something to report other than running. Katie let the cat out of the bag--we're going to Utah for Pulm/Critical Care!

And I'm really excited. Why?

Exhibit A:

And yes, it really does look like that. The U of U campus site on the eastern border of the city, which in this picture is the transition zone between city and mountain, just about where the snowline is on the righthand-most mountain. From there you have nearly 50 miles (as the crow flies) of uninterrupted mountains and trails. Those of you who know me at all know that mountains exert a peculiar siren call to me, and the chance to live amongst them is extraordinarily exciting.

Exhibit B:

This is the newly constructed flagship hospital for Intermountain Health Care, a combination health plan/hospital system. This system was recently mentioned in the same breath as Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, and the Cleveland Clinic as one of the shining stars in terms of delivery of high quality health care. As that's a particular interest (both from a research and a practical point of view) of mine, I am really, really excited to work there.

Katie did mention that U of U was not my first choice. That's technically correct--but it wasn't really my second choice, either. I selected San Antonio as my first choice, as I felt that it was a more family friendly program, with ample opportunity for time off, moonlighting, & etc. Decent research in COPD, good lung transplant program, neither of which are particularly interesting to me. Solid, familial feel between the fellows, which was the tipping point for me. Honestly, however, nothing exciting about the program, nothing about the system that makes me sit up and say--I want to be a part of that. Ho-hum, blah, we'll get you board eligible, khaki pants and drab polo kind of training.

San Antonio

Exact opposite is true for the U of U program. Firstly, it gets us out of Texas. Not that Texas is a bad place, and I'll always be Texan, much to the dismay of all lesser states. However, the 95 degrees for 8 months is a bit trying, and Utah provides a climate more agreeable to me and the missus. The program itself is more rigorous, in terms of research, clinical work, and expectations--all of which I suspect I will look back on with appreciation, and hate in the midst. Moonlighting, by the few reports I have heard, is somewhat limited, requiring me to spend extra time this year working to save up the $$. HOWEVER: I want to be part of this system. I want to know that I am being trained somewhere on the cutting edge of the science. I want excellence. I want a little bit of rock star. And that's what I'll get at Utah.

Utah

And yes, this is probably the first time anyone has compared Utah to Jimi Hendrix.

More Big News...

Not only will be heading to parts unknown next year, it seems we'll be doing it with one more Deshazer in tow.  He or she should be coming to live with us some time in December.  My due date is Dec 31, but if my first two are any indication, I suspect we might have a little visitor before Christmas.
So far the pregnancy has been medically uneventful, although this first trimester is really taking it out of me.  Perhaps that has something to do with the two busy children that I chase all day...  Either way, I've been pretty sick and tired this last month or two, so I'm really looking forward to putting this whole first trimester nonsense behind me!

For those who might be interested in a fuzzy grey ultrasound image, here is the little peanut at 8 weeks - taken about 4 weeks ago.  All of the appropriate parts are present and accounted for.

And the Deshazer family will be moving to....

Salt Lake City!

Mitch matched to the fellowship program there at the University of Utah.  It was our second choice, but by such a small margin as to be insignificant, so we are really happy with it.  The program is really excellent and we are looking forward to the climate change.  We won't be leaving Temple just yet.  The fellowship starts July of 2011, so we'll be here for one more year before the big move.  It will be really hard to leave Texas, where we have so much family and such good friends.

Naptime

Logan doesn't really nap anymore, but I still send him to his room for an hour or so of quiet time every day.  Usually he just plays quietly in his bed.  Sometimes, he falls asleep!

Apparently playing with his computer was too much for him today!

9 years!

Nine years ago today, Mitch and I braved the biggest flood to hit Houston in a century in order to be sealed for time and all eternity in the Houston temple.

The intervening years have been full of fun, laughter, joy, sadness, tears, trials, changes, children and lots of adventure.

I wouldn't change a thing!  (Except maybe my hair in this picture...)

Black pots

Some of you may know that my Dad is an avid Dutch oven cooking enthusiast.  I, too have been known to cook up some chili and cornbread over a bed of hot coals in a big cast iron pot.  Apparently, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

or in this case, the campfire.

"What, I'm making breakfast here!"  She tells me that she was making eggs.  I'm glad I have a skillet that's just her size.

Big Girl Bed!!

Several months ago, when we got our tax refund, we decided to spend part of it on Myra's Big Girl bed.  She wasn't (or we weren't!) ready for it then, but we decided last weekend that perhaps the time was ripe.  So, Mitch hauled out all the boxes to assemble it, and found that the headboard was cracked.  Grrr.  A check of Ikea's website had no mention of this particular bed (besides, how long ago did I throw away that receipt??), so we decided to fix it ourselves rather than make the long drive to Austin to see about an exchange or something.  We're resourceful that way.  Anyway, it meant waiting another week as glue dried and cured.  So, yesterday we were ready!  Until about halfway through the assembly when we realized that we were missing the support slats that are packaged separately from the beds.  Grrr, again.  Should we try for a fix ourselves, or was it time to make the drive south?

We decided to try to support the bed with plywood slats that Mitch cut.  Here is Myra testing it out.  As you can see, it seems to have worked!

No problems getting in or out.

The side rail seems sturdy.  Thanks for helping with the quality assurance there, Logan!  Unfortunately, after a bit of aggressive jumping on Logan's part, it became clear that our slats slid around and would allow the mattress to fall between them.  Sorry, I should have taken a picture of that!  Don't worry - Logan wasn't injured.  Anyway, that meant that we were going to HAVE to head to Ikea to get the missing part.

Naptime came first, though.  Then we headed south, got the missing slats (and a sheet that fit the new mattress), had a great dinner with Dan at Katz's, then came home, to reassemble the new bed.

And have a picnic,  Check out that awesome sharing!!  Good job, Logan.  Myra slept well on her new bed last night, but it doesn't seem to have occurred to her that she could get out if she wished.  Perhaps we'll let her figure that out on her own...

ROTD 6/5/10, half marathon, and the search for the One True Shoe

Dear reader, after unavoidable absence, I return. In full form. I have haphazardly run 3 miles a day, hardly worth a blog entry, and dealing with unlooked-for problems at work. Back with a splash today:


As you can see, this is a familiar loop, but I added a mile before, an easy mile afterwards, and a mile of "speedwork". All told, nearly 12 miles. Took about 2:10.

Which is important, since next weekend I signed up for the Chasing Lions at Twilight Half Marathon. That's 13.1 miles, and with today's run under my belt, I'm feeling good.

Still on the lookout for the One True Shoe. I went so far as to email the guys at New Balance, looking for a wide width trail running shoe. They only make one:

I'm not yet ready to drop the coin yet, because I'm waiting for that first paycheck. Then I'll really be feeling good. For an excellent interpretation of that, please see below:



Happy running!