1st place: Holiday bake-off

Bring on the baking competitions...

Our apartment hosted a brunch last weekend for all of the residents and also held a baking competition with the winners  getting money off of rent.  Not a bad deal and I always say yes to any chance to bake! I admit, I was a little nervous because this was the moment of truth that I would find out if my baked treats are REALLY good or if people are just being nice.

 Of course I couldn't decide what was the best thing to make, so I ended up baking two things.

My entries...

Whipped Pumpkin Bites 

 and

Chocolate Toffee Squares

I will say I did have some tough competition. 

But the winner was....

The chocolate toffee bites, which I have never made before this event. I even forgot a key ingredient -- but shhh nobody would ever know and hey, they won FIRST place and won me money! 

The pumpkin bites were pretty popular as well and came in 3rd place.  Well, I'm relieved to know that my treats are actually edible. :)

7 cities in 7 days

This week has been another marker along the way that reminds us of the reality and depth of responsibility of B becoming a doctor.  He is in the middle of his busy interview season and is traveling to seven cities this week.  Poor guy goes through 6-12 individual interviews during a day then hops on a plane to the next place.  But He is doing fantastic so far and we are thankful that the Lord is providing him strength and allowing him to enjoy this time. 

We still have more interviews rolling in and we are overwhelmed that he has received this many invitations.  This journey began with us having to be vulnerable and learning to fully put our trust in a powerful God.  I am overwhelmed with His mercy in providing these interview invitations - we would have been happy with half as many interviews, but we are excited for all of the possibilities and his chance of getting into an even better program.

A few of the places he has gone/is going this week are Virginia, Nebraska, Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Interviewing for a surgical residency is a crazy process. I can't think of any other word to describe it than just plum crazy.  300 people apply for a program, 40 are invited for an interview, and 2-4 are selected for a residency position. There are so many different factors that we look at when evaluating a program because this could be our home for at least the next 5 years, if not longer.  Only 1 1/2 more months of interviews and then 3 more months until we learn where he has matched!

Thankfully Bentley came into our lives at the perfect time to keep me company while B is away this week :) This little rascal is keeping me busy but is also a little warm body to cozy up to.

Making these interviews possible has truly been a team effort and is making us learn to work together.  Spending countless hours researching programs and working out the itineraries are just a couple of my contributions to the interview process.  I am learning what it really means to be selfless with my time and with my attitude in helping him with his needs.  I am also realizing more and more that being a doctor will not be just his profession but will be our lifestyle, mine included.  Here are just a couple of ways that our life will be different once residency starts: our close friends wherever we live will probably be his fellow residents and co-workers; I can't expect to see him as much on the evenings or weekends during the next five years due to long hours and call; our home will have an open door to his patients or friends that are in need of medical advice; and maybe any plans of having a baby will be postponed a few years. Our desire is for B to be a compassionate doctor that his patients know and trust, and to do that we have to treat his profession not as a job but as a lifestyle. I wanted to share this with you as a hint of understanding the title of my blog - my reality of a doctor's wife. And my goal is to make this reality lovely and pleasing and joyful.

Up on next week's itinerary...New York! And this time I get to join him on the trip.

Holiday party treat - Raspberry cheesecake bites

We went to our first holiday party for this year which was a cocktail Christmas party hosted by some of our close friends. I made raspberry cheesecake bites (which I realize aren't necessarily a holiday thing) and they were a winner! It is a surprisingly simple recipe which you can find below.

~ Raspberry Cheesecake Bites ~

~ Raspberry Cheesecake Recipe ~

Graham crust: 
3-5 T              sugar
1 stick           melted butter
2 cups           crushed graham crackers 
(This was B and Bentley's contribution, I put the graham crackers in a plastic bag, threw it on the floor and had them jump on it to crush the grahams. Worked like a charm!)

Hand mix ingredients together.  You can use less butter if you are making a regular graham crust but I use more butter when making the individual bites so that it will hold together well. Scoop a tablespoon or so of the crust into each cup of a mini cupcake pan and use your spoon to press the crust together and mold it into the pan.

Bake crusts in 325 F oven for about 5-7 minutes to let them set before pouring filling in. 

Raspberry cheesecake: 
2 packages     cream cheese
3/4 cup           sugar
2                      eggs
1 t.                  vanilla
1 package      raspberries

Mix cream cheese and sugar together with a mixer.  Blend in eggs one at a time.  Add vanilla.  At this point, you can stir in the fruit if you like or continue for a plain cheesecake.  I chose to add a raspberry flare to these bites.  Since I am not a fan of raspberry seeds, I spent a little more time to strain the raspberries over the cheesecake mix and let the juice drop in.  I took about 1/3 of the package of raspberries just to give the mix a slight flavor of raspberry and give it a pretty pink color.  Pour the filling into the graham cups and bake for about 15 minutes at 325 F. 

Glaze:
1 small package  sour cream
3-4 T                     sugar

Mix together and spread over cheesecakes.  Place back in oven for about 5 minutes - just enough to melt the glaze.

Chill cheesecakes for a couple hours or overnight in the refrigerator.  Before serving, place raspberries on top of cheesecakes and enjoy!        

Some of the ladies at the party while all of the husbands took the pictures :)

What are some of your favorite treats to make for holiday parties? 

Meet Bentley!

Meet Bentley, the newest addition to our family! This little guy is such a bundle of joy and we are so happy to have him.  We have been looking for the perfect pup for quite a while and have finally found him! We are so happy with our decision to go with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, he has the perfect personality for us -- very affectionate, sweet and loving and will lay quietly in my lap for a long period of time but is still playful and energetic to run around with us. 

We are loving every moment with him.  Here are some photos from our past few days with this 8 week old pup.   Bring on the potty training :)

I love my boys! B grew up with cats and was very hesitant to get a small dog but it didn't take long for Bentley to win him over :)

Our first family picture

We have been through a lot in our search for finding the perfect pup.  I will share our journey in another post later to offer tips for anyone looking to get a dog. 

New Orleans

Here are a few snapshots from our trip to New Orleans last weekend. Enjoy!

While B had his interview, I staked out at this adorable coffee shop off of Magazine Street to get some work done. And there was a Pinkberry right down the street! 

A taste of the French Quarter below.  In my last post, I mistakenly put the "french corner". Well obviously I had never been to New Orleans before and I now stand corrected.

We had such a fun evening at this local joint and hands down Coop's is the best cajun food in town.

Of course we stood in line for 30 minutes just to get beignets and what else were we supposed to do with a 1/2 lb. bag of leftover powdered sugar except throw it at each other?

B and I had our first experience with Oysters and I think we went to the right place for it.  We made quick friends with the couple sitting next to us and had a really great time talking with them for several hours.  The four of us made good friends with the waitress as well which is always a plus when she brings out several drinks and desserts on the house.

And now we are headed to Austin for this coming weekend!

Life of a med student

May I introduce you to the three musketeers.  These handsome guys are roomates from college, groomsmen in each other's weddings (well two of them are married so far) and all are in their final year of medical school.  It was great to have B's friends in town and hang out with them for a weekend.

You know when you are hosting med students over when a Southwest sale commercial shows in the middle of the football game and immediately all three of them hop on their laptops to buy flights for more interviews.  Between the three of them, man I bet we could earn the 1 million miles club in only three months.

At least this next trip doesn't involve a security check point. Thankfully we can drive to New Orleans and we are headed out tonight.

 

B had an unfortunate surprise of having a minor surgery done on his upper back earlier this week which means that I get to drive him to his next interview.  I can't complain about New Orleans though, I am looking forward to the French Corner and some delicious beignets!  

This surgery was completely free for us and that is one very nice perk of working with doctors!

(I apologize for the semi-graphic image that many of you may not want to see! I only put this up for family that wants to see what he had done.)

Planes and cupcakes

This week is B's first official week of interviews and we are starting him off with a bang!

  He has three interviews in a row and all in different cities.  He just finished one today in Kansas,  is now on the plane to interview in Washington D.C.  and then will be back in Galveston for another interview on Friday.  Thankfully next week there are only two. I am getting exhausted just booking his flights and planning the trips, I can't imagine how he can do it. But he will. He is superman.

So far, we have booked about 17 interviews during the next three months and of course, they are all in different cities.  Man I hope we get to take an incredible trip on all of these miles we are building up!

At least he had a great energizer weekend before this trip bow hunting with one of his best buddies.  

So what do I get to do while he is gone? Clean his deer meat.

And also bake some pumpkin spice cupcakes for the office :)

ESPN desk

Well there have been two big events involving the city of Dallas recently.

1. The World Series - It was very exciting that this was the second year in a row that the Texas Rangers were in the World Series.  They did a good job this run, but man that was a heartwrenching Game 6 which pretty much cost them the championship.  Since B is from Dallas, he is a HUGE Rangers fan and has swayed me into liking them as well. The week that we began dating, we saw Josh Hamilton and several other Rangers in New York for the All Star game and so I guess it was fate for me to be a Rangers fan as well :). B and I had a great time watching it and now we are so glad to have our evenings back.

2. Texas vs. OU - I went up to see my best friends in Dallas a few weekends ago and had a memorable weekend at the Red River Shootout - aka the rivalry game between UT and OU.  We scored VIP backstage passes to College GameDay and had an incredible time meeting the hosts and taking a picture at the desk! The game didn't go so well for our Longhorns, but this experience still made it a great day!

Free fried food from the State Fair? Yes please.  

 Fried cheesecake and a turkey leg at 9:30 in the morning? Why not. 

Dallas was covered in orange and red over the weekend, even the airport. I have never seen an airport decorated for any other occasion before, but hey I won't complain because I love this college football game!

First week back - sports and food

B has been home for a week straight and I feel like we are married again!  I fired up the stove and oven for the first time in two months and thankfully don't think I lost too much of the touch.  It has been a busy week but a good with lots of food, playing and watching sports, and catching up with friends.

B is in an easy rotation and has been in heaven having a light schedule. Rather than waking up at 4am and spending his day in a 16 hour surgery which he travels 5 minutes away to the clinic and works from from 9am-3pm.  His schedule is starting to make me jealous, but I know that it won't last for long. He will start the crazy interview season next week and will take his first trip to Kansas, Washington, D.C. and Galveston all in four days. Of course our schedules hardly ever cooperate together and I have had a busy week at work when he is home, but at least we still had some time to do some fun things.

I won't say much more but leave you with some snapshots of this last week.  Our first week back together looked a little like this:

chocolate chip cookies

 Cinnamon rolls 

Pesto turkey panini

 

Grilled pineapple chicken

 

Teriyaki meatballs with asian noodles

 Fish with mushroom risotto   

                                         

 

Pineapple chicken fried rice

 

Sports - We played lots of sports (tennis, golf, football) and spent every moment possible outside in the beautiful 75 degree weather.

World Series - B grew up in Dallas and is ecstatic that the Rangers are in the World Series. This means that our evenings revolve around watching the games.   

And this is what I find when I get home after work.  That's ok baby, you can sleep all that you want now.  Rest up well before you have a busy three months traveling across the country.

Weekend in Philly

Here are some long overdue photos from my weekend in Philly.   I now realize that I took quite a few pictures of food.  But what can I say, we had some delicious meals and I still think they are worth sharing. Enjoy!

A perfect dinner in the rain --- B researched the perfect place to take me to dinner, an adorable restaurant that had fabulous food. But there was only one slight issue - they had mostly outside seating and it started to rain. We still had a wonderful time and enjoyed the experience even eating under an umbrella!

 A trout specialty with butternut risotto and a crab salad.  Sooo delish.

A few snapshots of the city.

  

Visiting a little history - Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

We are big crepe fans and found Creperie Beau Monde in Philly which we think is comparable to our reigning favorite Flip Happy Crepes in Austin. I have never tried a breakfast savory crepe before with eggs but it was absolutely delicious.  A must try if you are ever in the city. 

B was offered an invitation to interview with the Philadelphia program while he was there, so I brought his new suit up with me and yes I lugged it around New York before I could give it to him.  So we made a run to a few stores to pick up some shirts and ties to complete the outfit.  I must say he looks sharp in a suit!

We met up with the Texas Exes to watch the Longhorn football game and made some great friends and connections with other Longhorns in Philly.  

For anyone wondering, of course we had a philly cheese steak in Philadelphia.  There are two famous places right across the street from each other that both compete for "the best" of the city.  After we couldn't decide which one to go to, we split up to conquer both lines and get a taste of each one.   Honestly, I think they taste the same.

One of the first things that B said after we first saw each other was..."guess what babe, they have a Krispy Kreme factory here,  can we go...now?" One thing you may learn over time is that B and I are big dessert fans and both have a sweet tooth.

Philly has some very old and beautiful but large buildings and one of which has been turned into a Macy's which is shown below.  The store was gorgeous and I loved walking around inside.   The last photo is B in front of his home for a month.  Poor guy has been roughing it though with no refrigerator and no microwave. I am so proud of him for being resourceful and never complaining.  Only one more day in Philly until he is back home!