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Boston: Spring

It was this kind of day yesterday:

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60 degrees.  No work.  Sun out and not a cloud in the sky.  That time of the year when everyone around us thinks it appropriate to run around in shorts and tank tops.  So I grabbed my camera bag and Jeffrey and I headed to the park.  We ate lunch at a random grassy knoll and got to work shooting around (with a camera). Ladies and gentlemen, this is Boston in the spring.  All pictures were taken at the Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden.

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We ended the day with a chai latte from L’aroma Cafe and a you-know-what from Georgetown Cupcake.  Then we went home, changed into flannel PJs, and turned on the heater.

Because let’s face it: 60 degrees is pretty freaken cold.

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What a week it’s been.  With the Boston Marathon tragedy on Monday, the angst of watching the FBI put the clues of the case together over the next few days, the heart-pounding manhunt that went on for nearly 24 hours on Friday, and the sadness over the devastation that this incident brought to so many innocent lives, a crisp and quiet Saturday morning was a welcome gift.

Yesterday, Boston and its surrounding suburbs woke up to a fresh new air.  For the first time all week, we felt at peace.  Relieved.  Happy to go outside.  And waking up to such a beautiful day, I realized how lucky I am to have two working legs.  I will never be a marathoner, but shame on me if I don’t take them running more often… if nothing more than for the simple reason that I can.

So that’s precisely what I did, at a comfortable pace and to good music.  Taking the time to stop and smell the flowers along the way.

the grass is GREEN!!!

the grass is GREEN!!! hello spring!!!

the flowers are blooming

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beautiful cemetery

beautiful cemetery

in case of fire... (pray that you have your iPhone on you instead of figuring out this thing!)

in case of fire… (pray that you have your iPhone on you instead of trying to figure out this ancient thing!)

our rhododendron getting ready

our rhododendron patiently getting ready for its time

one neighbor's trash, my next project!

one neighbor’s trash = my next restoration project! (the secret to my eclectic home, guys… TRASH.)

Get off the couch, and have a great rest of the weekend, everybody!

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#BostonMarathon

I was waiting for my 3:30 “Chief Complaint: Rash” to show up when a co-resident’s sister texted her about “an explosion” at the marathon finish line. Almost immediately (as we were skeptically searching Google News and Twitter’s #BostonMarathon hashtag for verification), the hospital over-headed the verification we were looking for: “ALL AVAILABLE ANESTHESIOLOGISTS PLEASE REPORT TO THE OR IMMEDIATELY. ALL AVAILABLE ANESTHESIOLOGISTS PLEASE REPORT TO THE OR IMMEDIATELY.” Within seconds, sirens blared and we saw ambulances rushing out of our emergency department.

It was real.

It took us a minute to gather our thoughts before we rushed down to the ED in case backup was needed. On our trek across the hospital, we ran into numerous other physicians, nurses, and other medical personnel, many of them also in a hurry to get to the emergency room. Police officers gathered at every hospital entrance and placed us on lock-down.

In the ED, the adrenaline was palpable. The non-marathon-associated patients were being mobilized in an expedited manner in preparation for the unpredictable. The trauma teams were there. The beds were clean and ready. And I was surrounded by a variety of colleagues all gathered without having been called, all with the same intention and for the same purpose: to help. There were medical students who had come in on their afternoon off in case the hospital needed extra manpower. A co-resident had run back to the hospital after an exhausting 24-hour shift in the pediatric intensive care unit “just in case.” A pastor was pacing the emergency waiting area, ready to support grieving families.

Fortunately, our hospital did not receive any children with life-threatening injuries. While the same cannot be said of our adult side, one thing is true: there were more personnel immediately available to help than there were wounded. And most personnel stayed at the hospital past the end of our shifts in case we were needed.

Bostonians across the city were busy doing the same. We’ve all heard the stories already… the marathoners that kept running to the nearest hospital to donate blood; the firefighters and cops carrying mangled bodies to safety; the spectators running towards the bomb to help the injured; people opening their homes to perfect strangers from around the world after all the area hotels had closed down.

I can only account for my experience from my own hospital, but I am confident that my experience was a universal one. That out of a horrific day where innocent people lost limbs, and families lost loved ones, we found ourselves united to a common end. Because for every act of evil, there are one-thousand acts of kindness. And because tragedies like yesterday’s do less to highlight what is wrong with the world, and more to reveal what is right about humanity.

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In memory of Martin Richards, 8; Krystle Campbell, 29; Lu Lingzi, 23; and the over one-hundred innocent that were injured in Boston on 4-15-2013

Jeffrey’s family flew up from Texas this past weekend for a quick visit.  Because we only had 3.5 days to enjoy with them, we had a “fairly regimented” activity list to make the most of our time (even though we still spent most of our Saturday lounging around the house, baking cookies, and watching TV… because “doing nothing” is an activity that I highly value these days).

At this point, I know my mom is asking herself: “Why did she post these pictures before posting pictures of our trip to the Mayan Riviera?!” And to that I respond: “My Mayan Riviera pictures amounted to nearly one-thousand, so it’s taking me a while to pick out the good ones.  PATIENCE!” :)

Ok?  Ok.  So here are the highlights of the weekend:

1. Girlie brunch at Stephanie’s prior to some Newbury Street shopping

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2. Perusing Anthro for cool home-decor ideas (like fish-tank pebbles between dinner plates!)

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3. Quick pit-stop to pick up a six-pack… of GEORGETOWN CUPCAKES!!!

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4. Assembling Jeffrey’s new bike in preparation for the 2013 JDRF Lake Tahoe Ride to cure diabetes (support Jeffrey as he rides for team Tyler+Jeff HERE!)

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5. In-laws being all lovie-dovie as they shared the back seat with our new stand-up freezer… HAHAHA!!

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6.  Prepping to host a delish family lunch-party

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7. R family reunion!

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8. Guests doing the dishes.  How rude of me!

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9. Nature hike

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10. …..and dinner at Tenoch Mexican Taqueria!  It’s the real deal.  Best Mexican food in Boston.  At Mexican prices.  Because you can get the girl out of Mexico, but you can’t get Mexico out of the girl.  And the girl puts Mexico into anyone around her.  AY AY AY!

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Thank you for a great weekend to the whole R Family!

It’s lovely to hear from you. Comments and “likes” make my day, so don’t be shy! Subscribe for email post notifications on the right-hand sidebar, and follow DoctorOnTheSide on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest!

Hi!!!!!!!!!!!!

You may have noticed that I’ve disappeared from the face of my blog’s earth for a little while, but that’s because I’ve been working nights for the past 2 weeks.  And the week before that I was busy frolicking the powdery white sandy beaches of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.  What can I say? Life is tough sometimes.

Last night was my shift off for the week, so today Jeffrey (whom I hadn’t really seen in 2 weeks) and I slept in and then enjoyed a delicious homemade brunch in our sunroom.

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Jeffrey is an expert bacon maker.  No joke.  They turn out delicious golden crispy every time.  And I am an expert pancake maker.  Also no joke.  My pancakes are pretty close to perfect (I think).  The trick is  using more water than the recipe calls for so they are thin but fluffy, and for the pan to be really hot.  If you splash water on it and the water doesn’t bounce around the surface as it evaporates, then it’s not hot enough.  And you must not flip them over until they are covered in air bubbles.

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It’s also finally starting to feel like spring.  It’s a toasty 50 degrees outside!  We even opened windows today and heard birds chirping. And the squirrels are also out again. Finally!

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Happy Easter, everyone!

It’s lovely to hear from you.  Comments and “likes” make my day, so don’t be shy! Subscribe for email post notifications on the right-hand sidebar, and follow DoctorOnTheSide on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest!

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It’s been 1,095 days! That’s 26,280 hours! Which equals 1,576,800 minutes! Or 94,608,000 seconds! Wowza!  Time flies when you’re having fun :)

Suuuuuuuure do love you!

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Growing up, my favorite thing of all time was to have slumber parties with my best friends. Then I grew up. And it turns out slumber parties with my best friends are still my favorite thing of all time. They consist of good (read: terrible) food, great chatter, and an insane amount of laughter.

When I got into residency, I hoped and prayed for a good group of co-workers. But only a few days into my new “job,” it was obvious that I had just become part of the coolest new family. And to tell you the truth, I pretty much can’t get enough of them. So what better way to have a great time and celebrate friendship than with a huge, obnoxious, all-girls (sorry, boys) slumber party at mi casa? Fortunately, I was not the only fan of the idea…

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Wolfgang had a good time too, making sure every single person paid attention to him between sips of their margaritas (THANKS FOR MAKING THEM FOR US, JEFFREY!).

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After about 3 hours of scarfing down chips and queso, delighting in fine cheeses with crackers, and stuffing our faces with veggie dip, chocolates, cupcakes, and caramels, we made smores. You know, for dessert.

Wolfgang helped start the fire, obviously.

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People slowly trickled away over the next hours due to important stuff like work, dental appointments, and severe cat-allergy attacks bordering on impending anaphylaxis. And others stayed through breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next day. The true mark of a fellow slumber-party fanatic like me! Thanks, K!

We feasted on sushi, took a walk along the the quiet, snowy sidewalks, and had a therapeutic arts-and-crafts session.

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The cherry-on-top was ending with a surprise brownie-sundae birthday party for one of the boys.

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Now if only Jeffrey would get home from his fun weekend of skiing with the guys, my weekend will be complete.

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