It's "Bin" Around for a While!

It started out as Blue's bed.

He slept there when he was a tiny puppy.

Then it became a toy box.

Moose tried it out when he was a not as tiny puppy, and it worked okay.

Now, he's fallen asleep in there the past two evenings...by choice!

He barely fits, and it seriously cracks me up!

Job Offer...of Sorts...

I sort of had a new job offer recently.  And by "sort of," I mean that I had a physician ask me to consider transferring to his area at MCG because his unit had just lost  its social worker, and he felt I could do well there.  It would have been a big transfer, too, as it would have meant a change in departments as well as a switch to impatient.  When I tried to gracefully decline the offer, he asked if I'd consider it if there was a pay raise involved.  While I again declined (quite respectfully), it really got me thinking about how much I enjoy my current job, how far I've come since graduating school, and how much my ideas have changed.

Every once in a while, I think about how I miss inpatient work.  But, I don't miss it as in "I wish I was doing that instead of this."  It's more of an acknowledgement that there was a unique challenge presented inpatient, and I'm really good at rising to the opportunity.  Also, the unit I would be on was one I loved to visit during my internship at St. Mary's.  I really only ever worked with one or two patients there during that whole year, but would have given anything for a job in a similar unit right out of college.  Granted, the work would frequently be heart wrenching and all consuming, but it would also be so, so fulfilling and uplifting, too.  I would be very, very needed there.

So, why was my instinct to say no?  I know a good thing when I see it, I guess.  I work with two physicians that I highly respect and enjoy, and they respect and appreciate me.  I have a tremendous amount of autonomy and self regulation.  I get along with everyone I work with.  And, even though I work with geriatrics, I don't face death nearly as frequently as I would on the inpatient unit.  Sure, there are days when the circumstances of my patients bring me to tears.  But, there are at least twice as many good days where I get to hear life stories that predate my existence by decades--stories about love and war and pets and families.  I never thought I wanted to work with the elderly and frequently said so during undergrad.  But, as Devin frequently reminds me, I love them.  It's a natural fit for me.

While I would love the opportunity to tackle a new challenge, I just don't feel ready to leave place.  And, I loved the reminder that made me reevaluate my good fortune for having such a wonderful job.

Confession: I'm Obsessed with my Stats

Yes, it's just like it sounds.  One of my favorite parts of being a blogger is looking at my stats page.  It's so addicting to see how many people are looking at my blog, where they are looking from, and what browser and operating system they are using even! (I have many more PC friends than anything else apparently...woot!)  However, since switching over to this new blog a few months ago, I've really enjoyed seeing how people arrive at my blog.  This is particularly interesting because I know allow my blog to turn up in Google search results.  In the past month, the most common searches to redirect to my blog are (drum roll please)...

     in my heels

     sand sculpture sunset beach nc

     what to wear to labadee haiti

     "i'm too tall"

     ecrh hospital in augusta ga

     my dads the greatest dad and my dads the smartest dad

     orbit mist gum

     orbit mist watermelon

     super high heels

Yeah, not as exciting as you may have thought but pretty fun for me.  These results come from 6 different posts.  However, I feel badly that there is probably a young girl out there trying to deal with the fact that she is a head taller than everyone else she knows, and all I did was complain that the top of my head was chopped off in a picture because I wore really high heels when I was already at least 3 inches taller than everyone else in that photo.  Hopefully she moved on to a more helpful search result quickly...

Autumn Fever

For the past few weeks, I've been pretty much obsessed with Autumn.  While waiting for it to arrive, it's very easy to idealize the season.  Even though I don't typically read fashion articles, I'm finding myself clicking on titles like "6 Must-Haves for Fall" just because the season is in the title!  Well, in exploring my blog (and the internet at large), I've come up with the Top Ten Reasons I am currently obsessed.  Without further ado:

10. TV Shows - Umm, Modern Family returns.  And, Law & Order: SVU will be back on with it's gazillionth season...which means new episodes.  Since I've seen EVERY episode but one, I think, this seems wonderful. Of course, I love some medical drama, 20/20 Friday (I've been watching since I was 11!), and now the Office, too!  I'm also interested to catch the premieres of a few new shows (Pan Am, Once Upon a Time, Up All Night) to see if they are any good.

9. Produce - Really fun stuff grows, or I guess ripens, in the fall.  My wives' club has a trip to a corn maze/pumpkin patch planned in a few weeks.  Every year Devin and I have carved a pumpkin.  He's already talking about what it should look like this year.  I also want to try to make pumpkin pancakes...again.  Also, apples may be my favorite fruit.  I love when they are on sale and I get to eat an apple that I can declare THE BEST APPLE EVER every single night!

8. Leaves - I love the colors of fall.  I remember living in PA as a small child and loving to watch the leaves as we drove a very scenic route home from church every Sunday.  When we moved back east to WV, it was during October.  I remember feeling so dizzy every time we were in the car--not from the winding roads but from the hillside glowing like fire.  Last October, the color on the trees was one of the more comforting, reassuring parts about the trip north Devin and I took.  This year, I'm hoping to maybe make it to Morgantown for a football weekend!!

7. Food - Even aside from the gorge fests that are the holidays, autumn is full of good eating.  It's a season for soups, chili, warm bread, and hot breakfasts.  As much as I love salads and sandwiches and stuff that's cooked on the store (so as not to heat the house), I love the cozy foods that come from the oven and crock-pot as well.  I also love hot cocoa, herb tea, cider, and wassail.  Desserts will be more baking and less freezing.  There are few things in life more comforting than warm, fresh chocolate chip cookies on a Sunday evening.  Now I'm really hungry...sigh.

6. Smells - Everywhere you go, there are smells of cinnamon and apple and pumpkin and cranberry and maple and nuts. It's intoxicating.  We bought a cinnamon broom this past weekend.  It's making our kitchen smell wonderful.  Unfortunately, we can't take the plastic off and put it anywhere yet, because the smell is still too strong.  My eyes water if I get too close to it right now.

5. Savings - Devin's in medical school, which pretty much means we budget our little hearts out.  So, it's tons of fun to open the electric bill and have it be low and then open the gas bill and have it still be low because we aren't using our heater or our air conditioning.  Of course, we then try to see how long we can go without the heat by piling extra blankets on the bed but then when I'm freezing and miserable in the mornings we finally give in...as we should.

4. College Football - This gives me a constant pastime and internet distraction for several months straight.  I love to watch the games, but I also love to read the analyses (is that the plural form?) after the game.  An article about why my team is poised for an undefeated season will make me smile before I even finish reading the headline.  Also, the first time I ever talked with Devin, we discussed football.  We fell in love during football season.  We watch the games together now and reminisce. (Or, he "listens" to me talk about all our football memories without complaint.)

3. Pants - Seriously, I miss them.  I spend all summer wearing skirts and dresses to work.  I wear shorts when I get home.  But, I really like jeans--with a tee shirt, or flannel top, or sweater.  Also, switching to my dress slacks and cords for work will be nice.  Evenings will be cozier with sweats or gym pants.

2. Holidays - We made a pretty good showing of Halloween last year and the year before.  We've already started checking for candy on sale, and have been debating our costumes.  Any suggestions are definitely welcome.  I also can't not mention Thanksgiving.  Just the thought of sweet potatoes and green beans and stuffing makes me warm and happy inside.  I appreciate that it's a laid back, relaxing holiday more about food and time with family than anything else.

1. Being Outdoors - For the past couple months, it's been too hot to be outside pretty much at all unless you were in water.  Even in the middle of the night it was sweltering hot and humid.  With the cooler temperatures, though, there will be more walks, porch swing talks, and trips to the dog park.  I'd really like to get some fall camping in (especially since our trip this summer was rained out), but I don't think Devin's schedule will allow that.  Mostly though, I just want to make sure I appreciate the beautiful weather because it'll be gone before I know it.

Does anyone else have autumn fever?  Did I forget anything important on this list?

Belated Labor Day

So, I know I promised an exciting post about our awesome three day weekend, and now a week later as less-than-exciting post is going up.  I do have to say, the third year of medical school is a lot less predictable than the first two.  Devin ended up having to work all three mornings, which put the kibosh on us doing too much, but the low key weekend was what I needed at the time.

On Saturday, we kicked off college football with the UGA game.  We planned to go to Chick-fil-a since they were sponsoring the game, but we used a gift certificate somewhere else instead.  Honestly, the loss was disappointing, but it was fun to have football back.  Two losses in a row has been a little more painful now.  But, it was fun to wear red and black and talk up the game with our waitress beforehand.

On Sunday, Devin agreed to be a good sport and wear Gold and Blue while we watched the WVU game after church.  I made lil' smokies, pepperoni rolls, and sugar cookies for dinner.  We (mostly me) got excited. Then, there was a rain delay during the game.  And then there was another one...and another one.  Finally, I gave up and went to bed.  It was nice to wake up and find out the game had finally been called resulting in a win for us.  It was even better watching us play two days ago and seeing us win again!

On Monday, I slept in.  I finished a book.  I went to Target and Publix.  And, we had a great dinner with friends.  I think I ended the weekend a few pounds heavier, but definitely happy and well rested.  I hope your weekend(s) have been wonderful also!!

It's that time again...

Tomorrow is Saturday in Athens!!!  Following that is A Great Day to be a Mountaineer!!!  Of course, UGA is playing in Atlanta.  And, I won't be going there or to Morgantown this weekend, but I still love me some college football!!! [here here here here here & here]  Okay, I'm busted.  Mostly I love college football when it has to do with my Mounties or my Dawgs, but I will watch other games for enjoyment, especially as the season goes on.  For those of you who don't know, the first conversation I ever had with my husband was about the 2006 Sugar Bowl, so football runs deep for the two of us.  I have big plans for the weekend to celebrate.  I promise to take pictures and blog about the events, but it should be pretty wonderful!  Enjoy your weekend friends!!