We survived our first January in New England without so much as a light dusting of snow on one occasion when I happened to be off of work. It seems that February is shaping up to double that at least, but it's funny how quickly we've adapted to winter weather (or should I say, how quickly I've gotten used to the "usual" winter weather that I grew up with).
Big news on the job front for Tom -- he's been offered a job at FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency and he starts 2/27/17! It's not surprising to me (or to anyone else probably) that he nailed another great job with his impressive resume. It's one more step in the direction of his dream career investigating and/or enforcing financial crimes. The only downside to the job is that it's in Boston. It means Tom will be commuting every day and I might see even less of him than I have been because he'll be gone about 12 hours a day. But, I'm so happy for him! I can't wait to see where this leads him!
I'm working in the emergency room at Rhode Island Hospital for the month of February. It is the Level I trauma center for Rhode Island. It feels like "coming home" to be in the ED. It reminds me so much of my time at Harborview medical center in Seattle, and of my years in the ER at Tacoma General before medical school.
My first week on the rotation was composed predominantly of night shifts. On my first night shift I felt great until I got a text from the crew that was getting to hang out while I was at work! They were all making dumplings together and Chi Fong and Karen's house. Doesn't that look like fun?!?
I got over my jealousy quickly because the next night we hosted everyone for the Super Bowl. Now, I seem to forget to take group pictures when this little one is around. All I ever manage to take is pictures of little Ali :) Can you blame me?
It was strange to be watching a superbowl where everyone was cheering for the Patriots, that's for sure. But it was still a good game and fun to have everyone over. I even had time to mark the occasion with some strawberries disguised as footballs!
Chi Fong was celebrating her birthday and we got to dine on a nacho bar
and enchiladas with carrot cake (Chi Fong's favorite) for dessert! It
was my first attempt at a carrot cake (with a sloppy attempt at writing happy birthday on it with the left over white chocolate from the footballs). Despite it's lack-luster appearance, I will say that the recipe was a hit and I'll be making it again for sure!
It's a good thing the first half wasn't much to watch, it gave me lots of time to snuggle with Ali!
The next week brought winter storm "Niko". It was nothing but blizzard like conditions out of our window all day. We lost power for several hours (thank goodness it wasn't more than that!).
We made it through the crazy sideways snow and wind with a grand total of somewhere between 11 -13 inches, more depending on which snow drift you measure from the 20 mph winds. With working 11pm - 7 am (well...sometimes closer to 9 am) it allows me to get some amazing daylight and a nice post-nights walk with Tom!
Tom collapsed to make a snow angel, and it summarizes well how he feels about his last few weeks of non-stop studying for the bar. We are nearing the one week mark before he takes the exam on 2/21 and 2/22. I've seen him work this hard before, but it's still impressive.
We got to let our inner child come out as we played on the snowy play set.
It truly was a gorgeous winter wonderland!
We both were amazed how the blanket of snow covered everything so perfectly, including the basketball hoop.
Good thing I found these great snow boots at BJ's warehouse (our Costco alternative) for $30 a few weeks ago or I would have been struggling with some cold ankles and shins on this walk! Now, we just have to find a deal like that for Tom. He won't admit it, but he had cold ankles from the walk :)
It's remarkable how high the snow banks get when you clear the sidewalks and streets.
Our street looks just a tad bit different this time of year than it does in the summer when we moved in doesn't it?
The weather is warming up this week, so we're treading carefully around the side of the house where these beautiful icicles are set up.
They are definitely natures artwork!
Yesterday after my night shift I needed to find a way to stay awake while pulling my body back into the world of the day and I thought what better way than to literally dig my way out of the snow pile so I can park my car out front again. We've been having to play "tetris" with the neighbors upstairs about who parks when. With my unpredictable schedule it gets a little ridiculous sometimes. But we've had so many days in a row that there's a parking ban in effect I couldn't park on the street. Well, it's not supposed to snow for a few days, so I set to work.
The car is now snuggled in between snow burms and we're enjoying some home baked artisan bread as we enjoy the snowy view from our cozy little home. Thanks to Vicky for sending me the cast iron pot and amazing 5 minutes-a-day bread cookbook that now has me convinced that we will have freshly baked bread at least twice a week in this house! Yum!! I can't wait to experiment more with flavors and styles of breads. But even if nothing else turns out but this kind, we're happy with it!
Sending you love from Rhode Island. We miss family so much, particularly in the winter for some reason. Maybe it's because we're inside more often? Maybe it's because we want to be playing in the snow with our family? Or maybe it's just time for us to feel this way as we're approaching the 8 month mark since moving to Providence. Just a little over one month from now on March 17th we'll be welcoming the next round of medical students that match to our program. How is that possible?
One day at a time, little by little, I'm getting a little more used to being called a doctor. It's hard. It's rewarding. It's scary. It's exciting. Have I mentioned it's hard? All I can do is keep breathing, moving forward one step at a time. Thanks for all your love and support from afar!
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