saddest video ever

at least they are okay in the end

Ly's Parking Adventure

So as many people know, Ly is not the world's best parallel parker. In fact rumor has it that during her drivers test, the guy offered to still pass her if she just stopped trying to correctly parallel park because she got everything else correct.

Anyway, during Lily and Ly's adventure into downtown Richmond, Lily insisted that Ly park on the street. After 20 attempts, Ly finally managed to parallel park her car...with expert directions from her much wiser sister. This was such a momentous occasion it needed to be documented for proof:

Yay! And now Ly can parallel park...sort of

Lily + Ly's Adventures in Tamale Making

Figuring out how to fill the Tamales

Lily taking her job of spreading the masa quite seriously

all stuffed and ready to put in the pot!

Finished product! They were so good =)

Thanksgiving Week(end): Recovery

For Ly + Alan's first thanksgiving in Richmond, Lily decided to fly out to join the fun. Ly had been looking forward to her visit for weeks...and it was everything she thought it would be plus more. Since Alan had two tests to take and study for (such goes the life of a med student), Lil and Ly got to spend a lot of quality time together. They went shopping, went to lunch, talked lots, played games, painted their nails zebra print (or rather cow print as the case may be), baked lots of pies, rolls, made tamales and all sorts of other yummy goodness. On the actual Thanksgiving, Ly, Lily and Alan went over to a friends for a yummy dinner where there was a plethora of food - southern style. There were enough leftovers for days, so good thing it was all tasty.

Making tamales was so much and having Lily over was the definite highlight of the holiday weekend. Hopefully it is the beginning of a new tradition.

Alan's Birthday Week

Recently Ly+Alan celebrated Alan's birthday week. Strangely, Alan requested a homemade cake, and he doesn't even like cake. Needless to say the cake was a bit of a disaster...one layer breaking in half and then it almost falling over a few times. It still tasted fantastic though.

The Lee's family other birthday adventures included bowling, a dinner party with some med school friends, desserts, a movie, a road trip to Williamsburg and of course 2 anatomy tests.

Happy 27th Birthday Alan! Hopefully there will be a million more! =)

Catch up.

Or otherwise entitled "recent happenings of the Lee household"

Ly's 26th Birthday. Since Alan has been rather busy these days with his new hobby called Med School he extended Ly's birthday to a birthWEEK. Each day they did a small bit of celebrating - whether it was going to lunch, shopping, trying dinner at a new place (DeLuxe where Ly had lobster mac 'n cheese), catching a movie, bowling, or even grabbing dessert. Alan bought Ly a new tripod which was exactly what she asked for, a subscription to a cooking magazine, swim lessons (which have yet to be scheduled), some new clothes and Ly got her hair done (red highlights, so fun!) Ly's family and friends called to remind her how old she was (as if she needed the reminding) and show their love. All in all, it was an awesome birthday.

Anatomy. Alan aced his first two med school classes and is now onto anatomy. He spends lots of time in the lab and has learned lots of muscles, veins, ligaments, bones and such. Ly is getting used to him being busy all the time but it'll all be worth it in the end. She is not, however, used to the human bones currently sitting in a box in her living room. Apparently Alan uses them to study.

Mentoring. As many of you know Alan is very interested in surgery...plastic surgery to be exact. This is not to be confused with cosmetic surgery (aka boob jobs) because apparently there are two types of plastics surgeons. Plastic surgeons fix people who have their skulls crushed in, their fingers grown together, holes in various parts of their bodies, etc. It's all rather disgusting. And by disgusting, of course we mean awesome. Anyway Alan has recently teamed up with a doctor who specializes in facial reconstructions and she's become his mentor. He gets to watch her operate whenever he wants and is also working on a clinical research project with her. So if you ever find yourself thinking "gee I really need to hear an operating room tale" feel free to call Alan because he loves to tell (in detail) all about his OR experiences.

Fall Getaway. A few weekends ago Ly+Alan and a few of their friends from VCU drove out to the mountains for a relaxing weekend getaway. It was perfect fall weather - they went hiking, saw some animals, played games, went apple picking, and enjoyed some home cooked meals. It was a much needed break from the hectic med school life.

Sickness. It's that time of the year again - the time when the weather gets a little colder, the days get shorter and Ly inevitably gets sick. Luckily, after lots of rest, homemade chicken noodle soup and lots of water Ly beat her sickness...and passed it onto Alan.

What have you been up to recently?

Meatless Mondays

A few weeks ago, Ly + Alan decided to try an experiment - meatless Mondays. Basically every Monday they go vegetarian. Now most anyone who knows Ly might immediately worry for her health because she hardly likes anything. Take out chicken and fish, where would the girl get her protein? Tofu? Heck no, she hates tofu. So in an effort to expand her horizons - and eat more veggies - the Lee family has adopted Meatless Mondays. The past 2 Mondays have been a success - homemade pea soup, homemade mac n' cheese, spinach pear salad...and no tofu. But there are lots of Mondays left so in all probability tofu will eventually make the menu.

If you have any excellent vegetarian recipes please share! =)

Butterflies

While in Shenandoah a few weeks ago, Ly+Alan came across a massive field of butterflies. There were hundreds of them in a few square feet. It was awesome.

Photo of the Day

21

21 years ago Lily decided to give up the comfort of the womb and brave the big bad world.


So lets all raise a glass and toast to Lil on her 21st birthday - Happy Birthday and hope that this next year will be better than the last! =)

Clouds

The Ice Cream Man

There is an ice cream man who drives his truck around our new neighborhood. For weeks Ly has heard the tantalizing sound of his catchy pop goes the weasel music and rushed to the door, money in hand to try and buy an ice cream only to find out the truck had already passed her house and was down some other block. In her minds eye she pictured herself running barefooted or maybe in her sandals up to the ice cream man's truck with a handful of quarters and eagerly picking out an ice cold treat, one customer among a throng of children on bicycles. Maybe the ice cream man would have 50-50 bars or big sticks.

This afternoon Ly heard the telltale song, grabbed Alan and ran outside...imagine her joy when the ice cream man was parked right outside her house. Ly eagerly looked on his menu for 50-50 bars or big sticks but they were not there. After she shelled out 5 bucks (Alan wanted an ice cream too) for an ice cream cone, Ly's fascination with the ice cream man ended. Some things are better left in your imagination.

a foggy afternoon in Shenandoah

1 week down, only 207 to go

Well after paying what seems to be millions of dollars and committing himself to years of schooling, Alan finally finished his first week of medical school on Friday. Apparently when the guy at orientation warned the class that attending medical school would be like drinking out of a fire hose, he wasn't exaggerating. Thankfully, Alan seems to have a good study schedule worked out - class 8-2:30 (sometimes only noon, but it depends on the day), study 'til 6 and then dinner, gym, and then more studying 'til 10:30 and then it's off to bed so he can get up and do it all over again the next day. Ly loves the weekends because instead of class Alan spends a few hours with her during the morning before he returns to his studying ways. Such is the life of a med student. Alan's first test is Friday in both his biochem and pop med classes...so wish him luck, not that he'll need it cuz Ly knows her husband is going to be an awesome doctor - eventually.

Alan's first day of Med School.

Baby Birds

Well, Ly+Alan have officially moved into their new place in Richmond. They are loving it - not only do they absolutely adore their cute new townhouse, but living near friends is a major bonus. People in Richmond are quite friendly and Alan seems to be loving school. But more on that later.

This post is instead about Alan's new-found friends the baby robins that live in the tree outside our house. Within the first week of living here, Alan noticed a nest in a tree, complete with a few eggs. Over the next few days, the baby birds emerged and we watched as the mother robin carefully and attentively cared for her babies. As the days turned into weeks, the baby robins began to hop around the trees and flap their wings in anticipation of flying. Finally, a few days ago the babies mastered the skill of flying and we haven't seen them since.

Three years ago...

Three years ago today Ly + Alan were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple. It was the best day ever and full of great memories. The past three years have been full of adventures, laughs, and lots and lots of love.

inspiration for the day

Heat Wave

So I know I don't live in the deserts of Arizona or anything and I probably shouldn't complain but holy cow it's hot outside. It's at least 100 degrees outside plus humidity. Which means it's probably a good day to go to the beach...or jump into a pool. Too bad neither one of those are an option right now.

What are your suggestions for beating the heat?

Philly

This past weekend, Ly+Alan finally went to Philly with some of their friends. They braved the crazy July 4th crowds and got to see everything on her list (well except the Betsy Ross house cuz Ly discovered that it was fake and apparently Ms. Ross didn't even make the first American flag). The best part was hanging out with friends. Here are a few pictures from their adventures in the city of love.

good point

With this in mind...what do you fear?

**illustration via http://stuffnoonetoldme.blogspot.com/**

Happy Summer!

It's one of the best times of the year -- summer!

All the cold weather clothes are boxed and the summer clothes are out and ready to be worn. It's the season for sunshine, the beach, eating outside, roadtrips, camping, and fireworks. Luckily Ly recently got her cast off so she should soon be able to enjoy all of those things to their full potential...well as soon as she gets the okay from the doctors to walk without crutches that is.

A few of Ly's summer goals:

+ Ace the GRE
+ Ace her classes
+ Be able to start running again
+ Find a rock awesome job
+ Go swimming on a tri-weekly basis
+ Make the new place feel like home
+ Visit the beach
+ Visit Philly
+ Go camping at least once (shocking, I know)


This summer is bound to be eventful for the Lee family - lots of exciting changes are on the horizon. What are your summer plans?


* image courtesy of cubikmusik.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/08/11/sunshine.jpg

National Zoo

Yesterday Ly+Alan's good friends invited them to go to the National Zoo. Never one to miss a chance to see pandas, Ly dropped her plans and immediately agreed...besides she has to take advantage of her husband pushing her around in the wheelchair while she can. While they did see the pandas, the highlight was the lion exhibit - the lions were quite active, even attacking some ice meat the keepers threw out there for them. Here's a photo for your enjoyment, taken, shockingly enough, by Alan. He's quite proud, as he should be.

Alive & Kickin' (well sorta)

No worries, both Ly + Alan are alive and at least one of them is kicking. They haven't updated in quite sometime because there has been one adventure after another in the Ly+Alan household. First off, Ly's mom is in town to help with her recovery from surgery and they've been to busy having fun to post. So don't worry there will be tales to follow (once Ly downloads her photos) involving geese, purple casts, trips, movies, quilting and wheelchair escapades.

Pain.

This last time in the hospital, Ly got to experience working with Palliative care. For those, like her, who did not know what that means, it's basically a group of doctors who work with people who have illnesses that don't go away and often get worse with time...Alan compared it to Hospice. Anyway. The people are really nice and their method of pain control really seemed to help.

Working with them really got Ly interested in pain management and the whole notion of pain. It is difficult to treat pain when it is so subjective (honestly how effective is that 1-10 scale, really?). Luckily there are so many options and the medications the doctors were finally able to prescribe for Ly's pain have really been helping. They do have some odd side effects though. One of which is having crazy dreams.

Case in Point:

Last night Ly dreamed that she gave birth to a few babies. She didn't dream about the actual birthing process, just a bunch of newborn babies ended up in a hospital bassinet all swaddled up. Anyway more kept appearing and so Ly sat up in bed and literally screamed:

"Where are all these babies coming from!?"

Silence.

"Holy cow. Now they are turning into bunnies!"

Yup, she'll be around all week for your entertainment needs.

Anyway it is now 3:25 in the morning and this talk of pain is reminding Ly that her ankle hurts. A lot. And it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon. In fact, maybe it's time to take a pain pill.


*image courtesy http://farm1.static.flickr.com/68/191905347_9a88e63b02.jpg

In honor of mother's day

Some parenting tips via the Canadian Goose (in no particular order)

1. Great parents provide excellent nests. They always are sure to provide a place where their young can be safe - with a stream or pond, some nice grass, a few hills and lots of shade. Basically they are sure that their nest is where all the other geese want to have their friends hang out.

2. Excellent parents educate their children about dangers of the world (cars, foxes, etc) - and try to protect them, yet are there to help them out when they get hurt.

3. Awesome parents give helpful dating tips - what places to avoid and where the ladies like to be shown a night on the town.

4. Good parents teach the importance of staying physically fit - just to keep swimming and that they will always be a hop, skip, or a jump away.

5. Day care is a plus. Even a goose understands that sometimes a parent just needs a break.


*It should be noted that this blog hasn't turned into a goose blog. Also should also be noted that the author of this blog doesn't actually have any offspring.

And we're back.

After a mere three days in the hospital, lots of specialists, and uncomfortable beds, we're proud to announce that the surgery was an apparent success and we are now resting up at home.

Thank you for all of your well wishes, prayers and thoughts on our behalf.

Here we go again...

Well, we're off to our favorite place aka Virginia Hospital Center for Ly's final (hopefully) ankle surgery. We are cautiously optimistic that the hospital stay won't be nearly as long as it was last time and things will run much smoother....we're not a fan of ambulances, pneumonia, or days of hospital food.

Anyway we'll keep you updated as time permits!

*image courtesy of pipereport.com

Hop's Family on a Sunday Afternoon

For your enjoyment...

Hop's New Siblings

Yesterday was a day just like any other - doctors appointments, grocery shopping, visiting the DMV, basically nothing too exciting that is until Ly spotted some baby geese while at the mall. Excited, she ran home to get her camera (even though you would think she would've learned by now to carry it with her at all times) and immediately went to visit Hop's family. As expected, there were 5 baby geese! Hop must be so excited to have so many new siblings. His family obviously remembered her because they allowed her to get within 10 feet of the goslings without so much as raising their head.

Ly also saw another goose family with 3 little goslings and they were a bit more weary and did not allow her to get close at all. But that's okay, they'll get to know her eventually, just like Hop's family did.