A Voice in Ramah

A voice was heard in Ramah
Sobbing and loudly lamenting:
it was Rachel weeping for her children,
refusing to be comforted
because they were no more

A voice is heard in Ramah
and in all the places of sadness.
It is the voice of God,
who as a mother,
has seen the pain of her children
and seen beyond it.

"Keep your voice from weeping
and keep your eyes from tears;
for your grieving has been heard
and your work shall be rewarded.

"There is hope for your future.
I have prepared a place for your children
and will keep them in perfect peace,
until the old things have disappeared
and there is new heaven
and there is new earth"

Gracious God,
In your motherly heart,
you share and bear the pain
of all who grieve for lost children.

Keep in your kindness
those whose names are written in our hearts
or on our consciences,
until the day when we see them face to face
and know that our grieving is over
and that all your promises are kept.
Amen.

From Cloth For The Cradle, Iona Community / Wild Good Worship Group. Pages 120 - 121.

I saw Lady Mary Crawley on my run

On Monday the high hit FIFTY EIGHT degrees. Alleluia! It was kind of nasty and insanely foggy, but nevertheless, alleluia!

Since the temperature was above freezing, I had to take my new lululemon shorts out for a run. I got to squeeze in a quick, easy three miles on the aqueduct before yoga. The great thing about my yoga studio is that I can park there and then run up to the Old Croton Aqueduct trail. So convenient. Since it was an easy (and wet!!) run, I had to stop to take a picture of this sight. It was a billion times more awesome and eerie in person.

Seriously, those robber barons sure knew what they were doing. You can't see it due to all the fog, but the Hudson is right behind the mansion. I am pretty darn grateful that I get to take in view like that while I run. Does anyone else suddenly have the Downton Abbey song stuck in their head now? Right? Where's Lady Mary?

I somehow managed to fight the urge to pretend to live in Downton Abbey land and go dramatically sweeping down the rolling lawn (but y'all, I do have an antique, 1920s engagement ring. That counts for something, right?) Naturally, Bombs over Baghdad came on my shuffle as soon as I put my headphones on after taking the picture. Of course. Gosh, I'm so hardcore. I really should sync my playlist to play the Downton Abbey music right when I come out of the woods onto this estate. How amazing would that be?

Speaking of amazing, the English countryside, and Lady Mary Crawley, and majesty in general, here please appreciate another view from my run on Monday:

Downton Abbey still stuck in your head? Before I moved to the Great White North, I thought the South had cornered the market on tacky. Wrong again! You better believe this place had loud music to accompany their decorations. Merry Christmas and you're welcome.

December Updates

So here's what has been going on in the Snoop household as of December.

- Mr Snoop has been flying across the country for interviews. He does not have very many, but it has still been insane. I can't imagine what it must be like to have a large number of interviews and have to fly around everywhere to get to those. Then again, all of his interview have been well south of the Mason Dixon, which means longer and more travel.

- My main goal in life right now is to try to stay sane in this interview process. Luckily (I guess) December is such a busy month. So my life has looked like..

- Work

- Yoga. I always knew I had tight hamstrings, but I had no idea they were this bad. My down dog is absolutely atrocious. And I have had many, many sightings of panties man. My theory was correct. He comes in his regular clothes and then just strips down to his underwear. I would freeze.

- In a possibly related note, I am coming down with a sty/pinkeye. This typically happens when I am stressed, but I still blame panties man. Yes, I bring my own mat. But still, I knew that sh*t is unsanitary.

- Christmas prep. Typically I have all my shopping done by December 1. Ha. Not this year. This is complicated by the impending arrival of a new niece (!!!!) soon. Still need to make a big brother gift.

- I made my first lululemon purchase. Typically, I do not like to spend ridiculous amounts of money on clothes I am going to sweat in. But then there was a lululemon outlet. And they had $19 running shorts that have a zipper in the back waist for a car key. And they were marvelously comfortable and pretty darn cute. So I bought 3 pairs. I'm justifying it by the fact that they were originally $68 a piece (I mean really?? Come on!).

The End

This One Time At Yoga

In order to combat my well-documented crazy at this time of year, I had planned to do lots of running. But then I remembered that the sun goes down before I leave work. And I can't run on a treadmill because I'm high maintenance and it makes me feel like a hamster.

Since I can't run on week days, I had the great idea to get a groupon for a month of unlimited yoga at a studio just down the road. So far I really like it and it is helping my daylight savings induced crazy. But y'all, these yoga people are intense. My mom (Hi Mama Cat!) is a super yogi, but she doesn't take herself so seriously.

The other day at my class, I saw this guy walk in wearing jeans and a fleece. He set up his mat and everything, and I was thinking, Wow, he really must be awesome to do yoga in jeans. Well, I looked away and then next thing I know, Bam! There was a guy wearing a black spandex shirt and.... panties! Yep. The jeans and fleece guy had transformed. Quite suddenly, I might add. Teeny, tiny, itty bitty, little, black man panties. Very tight, they were.

Now I don't know if wearing man-panties to yoga is normal. The first time I took Mr. Snoop to Barton Springs in Austin, there was a dude doing this inversion in a blue speedo:

Source: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/481

But that's Austin. Totally par for the course. I didn't even really think twice because it wasn't a thong or women's underwear, you know? But seeing man-panties here in the suburbs of NYC (in late November, nonetheless) took me completely by surprise. I mean, men wear suits to casual gatherings here.

I guess if I were a real, honest-to-God, crunchy yoga person I would totally not be sharing this information with you. But I'm not. And let's face it, I'm just not mature enough to let this one slide. Fortunately, the panties guy was waaaaaay across the class from me, and I was too focused on not falling down to spy on him. Thank God, because if he had been next to me I'm positive that I would have been comepletely unable to control my giggles. Oh, and after class he just walked around talking to the teacher and other students, right there in his panties like "Hey, here I am, me, my panties, and everything else."

So now I'm doing research. Since Toto, we are not in Austin anymore, is this normal? My co-worker is a total yoga person, so I asked her. After she nearly peed her pants laughing, she told me that no, no it is not. In your experience, are man-panties in yoga an acceptable and normal occurence?

Thanksgiving 2012

Hey y'all. So we went to Texas for Thanksgiving. And it was a wonderful, much-needed break. Frankly, Mr. Snoop's residency application process has been sort of hellacious. And being the supportive cheerleader wife has completely wiped me out. Being back home was really nice. As much as I love my med school friends, it was great for Mr. Snoop and I to hang out with my Austin friends, none of whom are in the medical field. Nice to escape the "everything revolves around med school" world for a week. The trip was a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively.

We spent lots of time outside. After living in such a cold climate for 4 years, I've come to realize how good being outside is for the soul. Cheesy but true. My friends have a tradition of playing football the day after Thanksgiving. And before that, Mr. Snoop, Chris (my brother), and I did the Austin Trukey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. It was a nice, easy 5 mile run. Next year I'm going to get my act together and make us costumes. Here we are afterward:

We also went to the Texas / TCU game. Which was really quiet and we lost. Not unexepectedly, I'm afraid. Here we are with horns up, nonetheless. Chris pointed out that because of the shadows we all look like demon children from the mouth of hell in this picture. That and I really need a tan. See above about the outdoors being good for the soul.

Hey, at least our band is freakin awesome:

I'm back in New York but Mr. Snoop is still in Texas having the greatest time going hunting with the dudes in my family. He has an interview this weekend, which was originally Nov. 1, but there was this little weather event known as Sandy, so his flight got canceled. So in conclusion: I'm retiring my pom-poms for a little bit and allowing myself to be completely freaked out by this whole residency application process. Thanks for hangin' in there with us, in advance.

10K Update

Remember that? How I was training for a Halloween 10K? Well, Mr. Snoop and I ran it and had the best time. I have had some issues in the past with running, and doing this 10K totally got me over all of those. My goal was to run the entire thing (no breaks or walking), which I accomplished. Not having a set time to make and just enjoying myself allowed me to let go of all my "issues." It was so much fun. Since it was Halloween-themed and in the Halloween capitol of the universe, Sleepy Hollow, nearly everyone wore costumes. Some of them were pretty amazing. And oh yeah, the Headless Horseman was there! He even started the race.

Those of you who have known me for a looong time know that I dressed up as the Headless Horseman for Halloween one year (5th grade? 6th grade? Mom??). A little bit of foreshadowing on God's part, no? So here we are pre-race with the man, the myth, the legend.

Yes, our "costumes" were super homemade. But also super cheap. You can't see, but my socks said "eek!" in rhinestones, naturally. One of the best parts about this run was that everyone had their homes totally done up in Halloween decorations. And all the neighbors were out cheering us on, also in full costume. We really had the best time. No, we did NOT run together. I am way too crazy and Mr. Snoop is way too fast for that. This was Mr. Snoop's first fun run, can you believe it? Here we are after the run, not looking nearly as cute.

This is so sad and certainly cast a pall on the aftermath of the race, but someone died on the course. I found out a couple days later. So horrible and tragic. He had a heart problem, I believe. He was running just ahead of me, and though I did not see him fall, I was there right after. People were running backwards through the course screaming for a doctor. A doctor and nurse came right away, and it was right next to a local hospital, but it must have been too late. I felt so horrible, but I did not stop. I have nothing to offer, since people were already giving CPR. I would have just been in the way. So I said a prayer and kept running. Ugh. Guilt.

So aside from that awfulness, I am so glad I ran. And will definitely keep running as long as the weather allows for it. Which leads me to my other update...

SNOW. Already. Like 5 inches last night. I've already broken out the fleece-lined leggings. So grateful to have power and heat.

Sandy

Well, we made it through the storm. With more than a touch of survivor's guilt. We had flashlights and candles a plenty; a hurricane lantern; a battery operated radio; a cooler filled with ice; and pots, pans, and a bathtub full of water.

So at about 6:00pm on Monday, I looked outside and saw that our neighbor's giant, beautiful tree looked like someone was shaking a handful of cooked spaghetti. At that point, we decided to retreat with the cats to the basement. We live in a tiny, two room cottage. It was built in the late 1800s as a hunting lodge and is rock solid. So much so that though we live on a main road, you can't hear the cars. Well, we could feel our little house shaking from the winds even from down in the basement. It was really pretty scary. The cats were spooked and alternated between hiding inside the boxspring or trying to see out the tiny basement windows. The wind sounded like a 747 was taking off on our roof.

The next morning we woke up fully prepared to have a tree on our roof. We didn't. Our neighbor's spaghetti tree lost most of its branches, and they have another tree down. After all our preparations, we never lost power. We were so, so lucky. Living on a main road may explain how we kept power. We are so grateful. I know people who are still without power, 8 days later. The devastation is really pretty sobering, especially in the community where I work, which is right along the Long Island Sound. Not to mention Staten Island, where Mr. Snoop and I went on Sunday.

Last week was pretty much a wash. Since the town where I work is just now getting power back more than a week later, I did not work in the office last week. Mr. Snoop is on his ER rotation and saw lots of hurricane related stuff. The neighborhood where we regularly run is trashed. I did 4 miles yesterday and still there are wires down, trees down, trees on homes, etc. So sad.

What I learned

- If you don't have a plug for your tub, duct tape works just great. Better than a plug, even.

- So glad Mr. Snoop and I filled up our cars Sunday night. Since I did not have work last week, we still have half a tank each. I'm grateful for my little hybrid civic. 38 miles per gallon is pretty marvelous right about now.

- If Mr. Snoop and I stay in this area for his residency, we've decided that we will invest in a good generator and emergency supplies. Between the hurricanes and the nor'easters and the blizzards, people are constantly losing power/water here. The infrastructure here is just so old and they do not properly keep it up or repair it. I could go all political and talk about taxes, unions, etc; but I won't. We're just going to keep a supply of water and nonperishables on hand. I think you have to, if you live up here.

My work is doing another run to Staten Island to hook up with Presbyterian Disaster Assitance this week. Having been there on Sunday, I can tell you that they really do need your thoughts and prayers. Thanks, y'all.

Lately-- October

So here's what we've had going on this month.

- Mr. Snoop and I went to Hill Country in the city to watch WVU beat Texas. Sad face. Hill Country is a bar/bbq joint in the city that makes real Texas barbecue. They even have LoneStar, Shiner, and sell mini blue bell ice creams. The mini blue bless are like $4 a pop. Seriously, gotta love New York. But it was fun to go on a little date and get a good taste of home.

This excursion was such a treat. It hasn't really been possible to be spontaneous like that in the last 3 years of med school. I am loving that aspect of 4th year.

- I finally put out Halloween decorations. Midway through October. So we'll only get to enjoy them for like 2 weeks. Oh well. These past few months have flown by so quickly and have been so busy that I constantly feel like I'm playing catch up. Woo was really excited about the decorations. He would spoon this vampire for hours:

- I got new running shoes. I really hate to spend money on shoes that are utilitarian rather than fun. But it was time. Since Mr. Snoop has been back, we've been doing trail runs. I don't run trails on my own, for good reason, I learned.

On Tuesday Mr. Snoop and I were doing 5 miles on a trail we recently found (thanks Emily!), the Old Croton Aqueduct. There are always lots of people out there and it seems super safe. Apparently not always. Mr. Snoop is faster than I am, so he runs ahead. At one point, I saw a man dressed in workout clothes with a dog talking to two women ahead of me. He flagged me down and told me that he runs a gym around the corner. Last week, one of his clients was followed on the trail and she ran into the gym. The guy following her pulled a 5 inch knife. Fortunately this man was there, and the bad guy ran off when he saw him.

So this good samaritan and his wife began warning their clients. Turns out 4 more ladies had been followed on that same section of trail. At all hours of the day. So scary. Goes to show that even in picturesque suburban NYC you are never totally safe. Needless to say Mr. Snoop and I will be running elsewhere.

Such a shame, because there are not tons of running trails up here. But I am so thankful for that kind man. He was stopping all the women and warning them.

- In more light-hearted news I was running on said Danger Trail and not paying attention. I took a good tumble. Of course it was literally at the halfway point in the run so I got to run 2.5 miles with a bloody knee:

Gross, right? Does that make me a hardcore runner now? The blood even dripped on my shoes. The bruises are pretty fantastic, too.

Pinterest Turtles

While Mr. Snoop was gone for two months, I crafted my little fanny off. Pinterest is so marvelous for unrealistic inspiration. This project, which I made for Jeremy's 8 month old housemate in Texas, was one that I found there. Here's the pin:

Source: makeit-loveit.com via Emily on Pinterest

And here's mine:

So mine looks a little sad next to the example. Ha! But I'm no expert seamstress, and it's for a baby, so I doubt that he will care. Really, I dumpster dove for the fabric. It came out of one of those little sample books. Don't worry, I washed it all. Someone left it at the dumpster behind my work so now it is mine! I've gotten a lot of mileage out of those sample books: beanbags for work, doll mattresses for a friend's children, and now they are becoming turtles and burp cloths.

Now that I've made one, I will probably make another for my sister-in-law, who is expecting a girl in December. She has issued a fatwah against the color pink, so I'll have to control my extremely girly instincts. While we're at it, any ideas for a big brother gift for a 2nd grader?

This.

Source: fuckyeahtx.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Yep. Pretty much covers it. Plus Taco Cabana.

He's Back!

Mr. Snoop, reunited with Shammy Boy. Shammy Boy is not loving the improvised cat-bjorn, but I promise you that he has been floating around the house on a cloud of happiness since the return of his favorite person.

That's right! Mr. Snoop is back! For good! Where did he go? He spent over two months in the great state of Texas. Late July and August were spent in an away rotation at a program he loved and September was a research month at a big cancer center in Houston. We are so grateful to my aunt and uncle plus my cousin and his wife for hosting Mr. Snoop these past two months. I know it made his time away from home much easier and lots of fun. Not to mention cat-filled.

In July, right before these past two months in Texas, Mr. Snoop was doing a rotation in the city. Which meant he was leaving before 5am and coming back at around 9pm. This month, he is on a well-deserved more relaxed rotation. So I actually get to see him for the first time in like three months. Which is marvelous.

What's next? His application for residency is turned in, so in about a month and a half he will begin to hear about interviews, hopefully! We also have lots of October-type fun plans this month, since there is a chance this could be our last New York fall.

PS: He came back to New York with cowboy boots. Can we now say that the Texan transformation is complete?

Cutest Baby Ever.

Last weekend I went to Houston. I got back Monday. Y'all. Holy mother of bumpy flights. Have you heard about the storms up here in New York? Well that's what I flew over the entire flight back. The drinks were spilling everywhere and the flight attendants were seated most of the flight. It was good for my prayer life.

Mr. Snoop has been so generously hosted this month by my cousin and his wife while he completes a research month at MD Anderson. The best part is that he is housemates with my cousin's baby, Jack. Who is the most precious baby ever invented by God. I'm convinced that on the 8th Day God created Jack's cheeks. And it took the entire day, I'm sure. Behold:

Please note that immediately before I took this picture of Jack passed out on Mr. Snoop, Mr. Snoop said "I don't like babies." And then everyone in the vicinity laughed in his lying face.

Don't worry, not sunburned. Just hot. He fratted too hard and passed out.

With mom and dad. Can you believe he is only 7.5 months old? Nom, nom, nom.

Pinterest Skirt

Yes, I actually made something I pinned on Pinterest. Last night, even! After making slipcovers for my sister-in-law, I have caught the sewing bug (again) big time. Plus Jo-Ann's is having a huge September Sewing sale, so after spending nearly $70 there (WITH coupons, y'all), I was feeling (p)inspired. No, I'm not even sorry about that pun.

Here's the pin:

Source: whatwouldanerdwear.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

And here's the skirt I made, which I am wearing today (sorry about the selfie, you know how I roll):

So if you should choose to use the tutorial on Pinterest, know that the girl's yardage is wrong. She calls for 3/4 of a yard of fabric, which must be a mistake. I'm a size zero (probably smaller around the hips) and that would not have been enough fabric for me. Unless you are a small child, you'll need more fabric. So mine has some awkward side-seam placement issues from the mis-measuring, but hey, I'm not pretending to be an expert here.

I just realized my skirt is polka-dotted too! This is actually old fabric that a friend gave me when she was cleaning out her stash. I'm glad I used it... I think I'll be able to wear the skirt with brown boots + tights when it gets colder and then wear it all summer, too.

Just a warning, there will be more sewing projects coming up. My sister-in-law (not the one I sewed the slipcoveres for) is having a baby. So, yeah, get ready.

Applying to Residency 101: Basically it's Rush

So I decided to do a post on the process of Mr. Snoop in applying for residencies.  Since this ole blog here is for family and friends, you might want to know what is ahead of him/us.  If you don't care, I get it.  Don't read.  Because I literally had a read a book to figure out the hot mess that is the residency application process (no really, I did), I thought I'd break it down for y'all.  After my exhaustive research, I've come to the conclusion that all you need to know is that matching into a residency program is just like Rush, er, Recruitment, for fraternities and sororities.  

The Timeline:

1. Medical School: 4 years long

2. Medical Residency: 3 - 7 years long.  For Mr. Snoop it will be 5 years.  This is where you train in your specialty.

3. Fellowship: Optional additional, specialized training.  1 - 3 years long.

4. Medical training is finally over!

Since Mr. Snoop is in his 4th year of medical school, he is in the process of applying to residency.  He would like match in ENT; aka Ear, Nose and Throat; aka Otolaryngology.  Matching is the term for, you guessed it, matching up a student with a residency.  My overview will be specialty-specific.  Other specialties would be slightly different.

Let the Great Analogy of Residency Application Process as Rush begin!

Oh yes.  Yes, I did.

1--Applications
The first step in applying for residency is like the first Rush party.  The students turn in their applications.  They can apply to as many programs as they want.  Everyone's invited!  Including all the weirdos!  Mr. Snoop is applying to 55 programs.  This is because his specialty is super competitive: each of the >100 programs in the US only has 2 or 3 spots, on average.  In other specialties, hundreds of programs might have 15 or more spots.  Hence the reason he has to apply so broadly.  Applications are in a common ap format online, and he will turn them in this Friday.  Yep, he's a rushee!

2--Interviews
The second step, the interview, is like the second or third Rush party.  Programs make cuts: not all rushees are invited back.  Residency programs invite a number of students back for an in-person interview.  For Mr. Snoop's specialty of choice, interviews take place in December and January.  For other specialties, the lucky ducks, this happens sooner.  Out of the 55 programs to which Mr. Snoop has applied, he would be over the moon if he got 10 interviews.  Yes, yikes, it's crazy out there.

3--Rank List
The third step happens in late February, when the med students, you guessed it, rank their top 15 programs.  They can only rank the programs where they have interviewed, in the same way that for Rush you can only rank the houses that have invited you back.  Meanwhile, residency programs rank their candidates (and the houses rank the rushees).  Like in Rush, a computer algorithm matches the candidates and the programs. 

If only Match Week involved matching (haha!) outfits.

4--Match Week
Match Week is the second week of March.  On that Monday, students learn IF they have matched.  So on March 11, 2013, Mr. Snoop will learn if he matched in his specialty.  Students who fail to match take the next 3 days to "scramble," which is exactly what it sounds like: they scramble to fill any random open residency position in any specialty.  This is very scary to me.  Then on Friday, March 15, the students gather at their med schools and receive an envelope.  This tells them to which program they will go for their residency.  Just as in Rush, you must go to the place where you have matched.  Unfortunately, there is no Pref Night and no mad run for the sorority houses in Match Week.  I know, what's even the point?

5--Graduate And Begin Residency
Mr. Snoop graduates in late May.  Residencies begin anywhere from June 1 - July 1, depending on the program.   

Did you make it?  Phew, I know.  And even though y'all know Mr. Snoop's real name, now you have probably figured out why I keep him anonymous on here. 

As far as where specifically Mr. Snoop is applying, the best I can tell you is to sing the "50 Nifty United States."  While of course there are certain areas where we would both prefer to go, the fact of the matter is his speciality is so competitive that we will be thrilled for him to match anywhere!

Lately

I've been the worst about updating.  Going out of town every two weeks is cramping my blog update style.  Here goes.

- This past weekend Mr. Snoop and I visited his sister Michele in Florida for Labor Day.  We went to the beach, ate lots of Bluebell banana pudding ice cream, and did DIY/odd jobs around her house.  Plus girls' trips to Target, TJ Maxx, and Homegoods.  My kind of weekend.  This is how I felt about being at the beach:

- A note on the Bluebell banana pudding ice cream.  My cousin's wife, Kathleen, introduced it to me when I visited Mr. Snoop while he was doing his away rotation in Galveston.  Now I'm about to make a strong statement here.  It might be better than Bluebell peppermint ice cream.  I know.  Amazing.  And I don't even really like ice cream.  Behold the crack:

 

- Michele and I spray painted her wicker and had planned to make new slipcovers for one of the sofas.   But then I was introduced to her sewing machine, my new mortal enemy. Have any of y'all used a computerized Brother?   It was ugly. After lots of bad language, tears, yelling, prayer, and wine I was only able to make two of the slipcovers.   Needless to say, I'm making the remaining ones here on my Singer and mailing them to her.   I'll post pictures of the "after."

 

- I will never complain about running in New York again.  Florida is so freaking humid.  Did I tell you my girl Keely and I are running a Halloween 10k in October?  It's true.  There will be costumes.  What is even more true is what my coworker said to me: "I was really surprised you were so into this running thing that you are doing a 10k.  But now that I know there are costumes it totally makes sense."  Truer words were never spoken. 

 

- Did I ever show you what we found on the beach in Galveston back when I visited? 

 

 

It's a Portuguese Man of War.  Maybe I should start a section of this blog for terrifying, possibly murderous creatures.  And include the scorpions.



- I have lots to say about what's going on in the land of med school right now.  But I can't really say anything on the intertubes for a while.  Like a month or so.  But I can say that applications for residency will go in on Sept. 15.  Woohoo!

- I also have things to say about what is possibly our final year in New York.  But I am going to try to tackle that after back-to-school this week.

- This post is finally ending.  You're welcome.

Ugliest Shorts in the World

So I haven't been keeping y'all up to date.  As usual, it is because I am a paranoid weirdo.  Mr. Snoop has been in Texas the past month doing an away rotation.  I didn't want to put it on the internet until he came back (today!) because I'm afraid someone will come attack me in my lonesomeness (issues, I know).

While he has been having a fabulous time in Texas, I've been getting used to my alone time.  Most of the time it looks like this:

Me + Couch + Book + Shammy Boy.  Yeah, SB has pretty much been velcroed to me.  And it has been an issue.  Mr. Snoop is ShamBoy's person.  So in Mr. Snoop's absence he has had to make do with me.  It's been exhausting.  That cat requires tremendous amounts of love, at all times.  I don't know how Mr. Snoop does it.

Otherwise, while Mr. Snoop is away I do things like waste time at Loehmann's.  I was there the other day to take advantage of their end of summer sale.  BCBG and Michael Kors sweaters for $15?  Don't mind if I do.  While perusing the sale, I chanced upon The Ugliest Shorts In The World.  So naturally, I had to try them on.  Without a husband to feed, what else I am to do?  Don't worry, I documented it.  Front, Back, and Side views.  You're welcome.

I present to you:  D&G Diaper Shorts.

Please note the square of fabric in the middle.  It buttons on three sides.  Like a diaper.  And that's elastic at the leg-holes.  Oh but wait.

 

Ah yes.  You can see the monstrosity much better from this angle.  But the best is yet to come. (PS, recognize the evil giggle face?)

 

Shabam! 

 

I know, I know.  I should totally switch over from a I Live Far Away From Everyone So Here's a Blog So You Know I'm Alive-blogger to a fashion blogger.  I mean, check out that last pose.  Why aren't I a model with moves like that?

 

Seriously though, I know Dolce and Gabbana makes bizarre stuff.  But honestly.  Who wants to wear shorts that look like a diaper?  How is that flattering?  For $175 on sale? 

 

Basically it's a good thing Mr. Snoop returns today.  So that I can give up my life of being smothered by a cat while wearing a denim diaper.

 

The end.

 

Weekend + Bad Cat

This past weekend, my cousin and his wife came into town.  It was super hot and even more humid, but we had a great time.  It was so nice to spend time with them.  Mr. Snoop said that they saw more of the city in two days than he had in three years.  He's not wrong.  We did everything!  You name it, we went there.  Even some new places for me: Top of the Rock and FAO Schwarz.  Both were awesome and must-sees.

Here I am at Top of the Rock.  Told you it was hot and humid.  Check out the pollution.  That's the freedom tower waaaay down to the right. 

Here we are at Shake Shack (after the Natural History Museum).  So flipping good.  I love that place.  My mouth is watering just typing this.  

On to more domestic issues.  Let's talk about Shammy Boy.  And what he did Monday night.  Mondays are my day off.  So I deep clean the house, do laundry, grocery shop, etc.  By the end of the day I am worn out.  This past Monday I was enjoying the Olympics and relaxing.  I was winding down for bed, brushing my teeth in the bathroom when I heard a gigantic crash.  Of course I immediately panicked.  Burglars?  Aliens?  Zombies?

No....



Just Shammy Boy.  Knocking over an orchid.  Onto my newly clean floors.  How it landed upright but exploded so much dirt everywhere, I will never know.  So I lugged the vacuum back up out of the basement.  And don't you know the bag was full.  Back down to the basement, got a new bag, and cleaned the orchid explosion.

And the culprit just laid there and gazed while I cleaned up his mess, smirking and doing his best attempt at an innocent and angelic face:

Look at my pink nose and pink ears... aren't I just precious?



Random Thoughts

Here's what is going through my mind this week.....

- Summer.  In New York it is too dang short.  In a month it will be feeling like fall.  I'm sure someday when I (hopefully) live someplace hot again, I will miss this.  But when the cold and dark weather drags on and on I would love a summer longer than 2.5 months!

- Olympic Gymnastics.  Oh dear.  I just cried and cried watching Team USA win the all-around.  And those poor sweet Russian girls, bless their hearts.  I felt so bad for them and wanted to throttle the camera people getting in their faces while they sobbed.  They are children, jeez, give them some space!  Seeing Jordan Wieber smile as she hit tumbling pass after tumbling pass just did me in.  And isn't Gabby Douglas just the most darling thing you have ever seen?  Too cute for words.  I can't stand it.

- Chick-Fil-A.  I like my delicious chicken served by well-mannered teenagers saying "My Pleasure" without a side of politics.  Any politics.  I'm just annoyed about everyone's reaction to it, left and right.  What's wrong with live and let live?  On both sides. 

- I have lots of projects around the home coming up.  Including a cabinet that I'm re-finshing to (hopefully) consolidate all of my craft storage.  I may have to share if they turn out pretty.

- Olympics in general.  I'm probably the only person who is not the hugest fan of swimming.  It all looks the same to me.  Plus Michael Phelps needs subtitles in his interviews.  Such a party pooper, I know.  I do love diving, even though I'm constantly terrified that someone will die.  And I can't wait for track and field!

Hope y'all are doing well!

Radio Rant

I'm going to whine now, ok?  It's ok if you don't feel like reading.  I'm feeling bratty.

By and large, Mr. Snoop and I have had a marvelous 3 years in New York.  It has been a great experience.  Let's face it, I never would have lived up here if Mr. Snoop hadn't gotten into med school in this area.  It's been a great opportunity.  And yes, certain things drive me crazy.  Like the way people drive, or any given moment at the grocery store.  But I try to focus on the many positives: the seasons, proximity to the city, great friends, wonderful job, etc. 

But then there's the radio.  Don't get me started on our local NPR affiliate.  Oh but I will.  First of all, there are four week and half long pledge drives a year.  Count 'em.  And the afternoon anchor (Deejay? What do I call it?) is terrible.  She can't get through a single sentence with stuttering or um-ing once.  Neither can I, but I'm not on the radio.  Listening to her do an interview is like stabbing a knife in your ears.  I don't get it.  This station comes out of the city.  Can't you find better talent?  It's New York Freaking City.

But I deal.  First World Problems, right?  It's so tough being privileged and listening to NPR, I know.

Yesterday I was listening to the radio, a station I like, while running errands.  They played Lyle Lovett.  Yes, in New York.  For the second time in as many days.  And the first time I heard Lyle played in New York, ever.  Unheard of.  It was incredible.  I was rocking out the "Private Conversation" and thinking of writing a special happy letter to the radio station for playing my jam.

And then the deejay came on.  This is what he said.  About my boy Lyle.  In a nasty, snide tone. 


"There's Lyle Lovett.  Sounds like something out of a barn!  A little hoedown music there."

--record scratch--

Excuse Me?!  Have you ever actually HEARD hillbilly music?  Who are you!?

And therein lies my problem with New York.  There are a number of people (not everyone, of course) here that have the attitude that anything/one not from the greater NYC area is provincial, inbred, and probably illiterate.  Pardon me, but if your job is in music and you work for a station that bills itself as playing a wide variety of alternative music, maybe you should educate yourself a bit.  There are many different types of music that come out of the South.  Some do sound like they come out of "barns."  But that ain't it.  For a part of the world that loves to think of the South as backward and prejudiced, there sure is a lot of close-mindedness up here.


And no, this post was not really about Lyle Lovett.  Thanks for listening.


PS: If you want to hear "Private Conversation," go here.  It's not a music video but it is the song. 

The Snoops in New York

During the first week of July, my parents came to visit Mr. Snoop and I in New York.  We had such a great time hanging out and seeing the sights.  The weather really showed off for them that week.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

As you can see, we hit it all.  Here's the guide:

1. The text we sent my brother.  To taunt him.  He was writing a paper. 

2. View from the Brooklyn Bridge.

3.  Mama Cat checking out the South Street Seaport.

4.  Neato clouds and light.

5. My dad getting his Irish on at McSorley's

6. Patio at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

7. Brooklyn Bridge.

8. Dinner after walking the HighLine.

So Maybe I'm Running Again

I have a new old hobby.  That's right.  Big news.  I'm running again.  Running is probably overstating it as my pace falls more under the category of jogging.  Honestly, I never thought I'd run ever again.  Haven't run at all since college.  But given the crazy that was going on back home, my beloved zumba just wasn't cutting it any more.  Plus after three solid years of zumba-ing, the routines had begun to seem the same. 

This all happened a month or so ago when the family stress level back in Texas reached a pinnacle.  And I felt the urge to go for a run.  Two very fast miles fueled by Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead" on repeat later, I felt better.  The next day I was hurting, y'all.  Which I guess is what happens when you run two hard and fast miles after not running in years.  Anyway, much to my surprise, I've kept up the whole running thing. 

Mr. Snoop runs several times a week, but he often runs on a local high school track.  I have too much PTSD from my own high school track days to do that.  So I've found some pretty sweet trails near our house.  I saw two red-headed woodpeckers on my run yesterday.  They came out of nowhere and dive-bombed me in the middle of Bombs Over Baghdad.  Well played, woodpeckers.

Not so hard to keep up the habit when the trails look like this:

Or this:

I've even splurged --read: Target and TJ Maxx-- on new running shorts.  Since the ones I have are literally 10 years old.  And I've got a pretty awesome music mix with some Nicki Minaj, Kanye, and Three Six Mafia.  Any suggestions for good workout songs that I should add to my list?

In conclusion, please enjoy these fantastic shades that I've been rockin on the trail.  A thank-you gift from the mission trip.  Don't be jealous:

New Orleans 2012

During the last week of June, Mr. Snoop and I took 26 (yep, count 'em) teenagers (14 - 18 yrs old) to New Orleans on a Mission Trip.  We were not the only chaperones, thankfully.  This was Mr. Snoop's first time as a chaperone and he did swimmingly.  The kiddos called him Dr. J.  Pronounced "doctah," naturally. 

2 weeks later I have just now stopped having nightmares about losing a child on the trip.

Last year the chaperones had a gnarly stomach bug, but this year the pestilence was limited to one ear infection and two cases of heat exhaustion among the kiddos.  Heat exhaustion is scary, y'all.  Thanks to Dr. J/Mr. Snoop, we got them under control quickly before things got bad.

Like last year, I think the kids really fell in love with New Orleans, of course.  They were so tiny during Katrina that they don't really remember it.  They know what went on now, of course.  It is a real experience for kids from New York to spend a week in New Orleans.  Definitely a different culture.  And much more hot.  But they really worked hard and got along well.  I was proud of them. 

I have tons of great pictures, but I don't feel comfortable putting close-up, easily identifiable shots of the kids on here.  So enjoy these shots of Mr. Snoop working hard :)  And yes, we did tie-dye as a group. 

Oh Hello

Well.  It's been awhile. 

Just a quick update on where I've been the past two weeks.  Cue the photo montage.

Mission-tripping in New Orleans (along with 26 of our favorite teenagers)

Hanging out in the city with the parents of the Snoop

Having a blast at a family wedding (Mr. Snoop's side) outside of Detroit

More to come later on....

Lately- Birthday Boy

Last week was Mr. Snoop's 27th birthday! 

Mr. Snoop's #1 Fan, Shammy Boy, celebrated by wearing his plaid bowtie and having a reacurrence of his nasty eye infection:

The backwards ears were because I was taking his picture, not the bowtie.  He loves looking dapper.

The night of, I made cupcakes for two (from Pinterest, holla!) that were super delicious:

So I doubled the recipe.  Sue me. 

Also, do you like our teensy weensy dirty oven?  It fits precisely one cookie sheet.

Mr. Snoop's birthday cupcake.  Strawberries from our CSA.  They are the bomb.com

As for the birthday boy himself, he celebrated by spending his last week of his pediatric rotation--and his 3rd year of med school (!!)--in the well baby nursery.  It was a fruitful endeavor.  He overcame his pathological fear of newborns and now can actually hold, swaddle, feed, and change a diaper.  No freaking way!  Here he is demonstrating his swaddling technique on a cat toy with a napkin:

Earlier in the week, we went to dinner with Mr. Snoop's parents.  We took super adorable pictures but they are with his parents.  So I'll leave you with the view from the restaurant.  See if you can spy Manhattan.  Gorgeous, right? 

Language Arts

After three years in the Great White North, I have observed that among other cultural differences (ahem, manners), certain words have different meanings up here than they do down South.  In my experience, anyways.

Here is a chart with my preliminary findings.  Just what I could think of off the top of my head or words that have caused confusion when I speak to people. 

Word	Southern Use	Yankee Use
Coke	Any soft drink	Coca cola
Tennis Shoes	Athletic Shoes	Shoes used for tennis
House Shoes	Shoes worn in the house/Slippers	N/A
Roll	Roster or bread	Bread only
BBQ	Smoked meat with a tomato-vinegar sauce	Cooking outside with a grill
Grill Out/ Cook Out	Cooking outside with a grill	N/A

 For example.  The following sentences might or might not have been in an actual email draft that I was going to send out to my mission trip kids and their parents.  That I then had to translate before I sent the email, because they would otherwise be unintelligible.

"We need one parent to pick up cokes for our grill out with XYZ Church."

"For the worksite, bring a pair of tennis shoes that you don't mind getting ruined.  Only bring work boots if you already own a broken in pair." 

Also, if you are in the North and use one of those words that for yankees is N/A, you will be met with a blank stare.  Tennis shoes in the North are sneakers. 

Any other words that y'all can think of?

The One Where My Brother Got Attacked

Hi Y'all.

I've been away from here for quite a while.  Major family drama.  Totally sucks.  Can't talk about it in detail here because it is not about me.

So, in more lighthearted news, I have to tell you about what happened in the dead of night when we were at my uncle's ranch over Memorial Day.  We had gone down to celebrate my grandfather's 80th.  Mr. Snoop, my brother Chris, and I all went down a day early to help my uncle with the deck he was building:

Mr. Snoop on the left, Chris on the right.

After a long afternoon of construction, we all went to dinner.  My uncle is a super talented carpenter/builder/handyman/etc.  So he and my aunt built two guest rooms in a metal building on their ranch.  And let me tell you, they are nicer than any hotel or probably your own home.

So Mr. Snoop, Chris, and I all shared a room.  Mr. Snoop and I were in the bed and Chris was on an air mattress on the floor.  We passed out at around 9:30 in the pitch dark of rural Texas.  It was glorious.  Until.

Right around midnight, I woke up to someone screaming and cursing bloody murder.  In that twilight state between sleep and wakefulness I couldn't figure out what was going on, so I guess my brain just went to "INTRUDER!!!" and I apparently rolled into the fetal position started saying "no... no... no... no... no..." over and over.  Haven't lived it down since.

Eventually, in the pitch black, I pieced together that Chris was still screaming but was not being murdered by any intruder I could see.  He was frantically searching for the light, and eventually found it.  By this time, Mr. Snoop was up and we still had no idea what was going on.  Keep in mind that both Chris and I are completely blind at night without our contact lenses.

It was surmised that Chris had been bit by something, several times.  Something wicked.  On the neck, arm, and hand.  Chris is no pansy, and he was hurting bad.  He went and took an advil and then shook out his clothes and bedding to no avail.  We couldn't find anything.  After what felt like endless searching, we decided that whatever bit him was long gone, but just in case--and this is where it gets good--we would all triple up in the bed.  You heard me.  Mr. Snoop stomped to the bathroom in anticipation of being sandwiched between two thrashing Sullivans the rest of the night.

As soon as Mr. Snoop was in the bathroom, Chris started screaming bloody murder again.  Something like "Mother%*$#@^ bit me AGAIN!"  And then began spinning around looking for the beast.  Blind, remember?  As he was spinning, I (also blind) saw something seemingly huge and dark scitter up his back.  I screamed "STOP!!" and commenced to beating the ever loving crap out of his back with my pillow. 

And then Mr. Snoop -the only one of us not blind- came back and saw this on the ground:

Yeah, that is a big ol scorpion.  Notice that it is missing something?

Oh yes, that's what you were looking for.  A stinger.  In my adrenaline-fueled beating of my brother, I whacked that sucker right off.

So anyway, the moral of the story is that I'm a hero, obviously.  And Chris went back to his bed on the floor.  And Mr. Snoop said that both Chris and I were brushing imaginary scorpions off of us in our sleep all night long.  You better believe our little nighttime adventure was the source of much laughter all weekend.

The End.