You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2010.
Two weeks ago:
1. Major micro test. It was hard. I don’t really want to talk about it, so we won’t.
2. I tried (and failed) at making cake pops. I am no Bakerella. However, the beauty of this baking project is that it lent itself to improvisation. I was making these pops for a fundraiser/bake sale to support a free clinic in the area, so I couldn’t give up. Here is the result of my improvisation:
my first attempt at cake balls
i was excited to try to make them pops...but it didn't work
they wound up like this...a few pops and a few "cake bites"
Luckily, despite the tragic demise of my hopes and dreams of adorable cake pops, they still sold out at the bake sale before anything else, AND the bake sale alone raised over $250 out of the $1200 raised that night!
3. Vandy basketball was playing in San Juan. They won two games (including one over UNC!). They lost one game (but had a great comeback to challenge) to a very good team. I got to watch one of the games on television, so I chalk that up as a great part of the week.
4. I helped decorate the church for Christmas!
5. I made banana bread/muffins. These were not a failure. They were, by far, the best banana bread products I’ve ever made…especially the mini loaf with chocolate chips. Yummmm.
This past week:
1. I had a midterm. Gross.
2. I skipped class on Wednesday and drove to Nashville!
3. Aiden was there!
love him.
4. I baked a Chocolate Pecan Pie (and forgot to take pictures). My pecans were arranged as only an OCD person could arrange them (concentric circles, obviously). Despite some worries by my mother, the pie was perfect.
this person is obviously not ocd.
5. I got to see a Vandy men’s basketball game in person! They beat Grambling State, and I was excited to get to see the team. Again, no photos because I’m failing at life/camera use.
6. Thanksgiving was delicious. I highly recommend fried turkey…but only if you don’t care about your arteries. Again, I forgot to take pictures, but again, Aiden was there!
7. Black Friday shopping. 5 am: Home Depot. 5:15 am: Bed, Bath, and Beyond. 5:45 am: Joann’s. You wish you were as cool as me. It was totally worth it because I got…
8. …a new tree! I decorated today for the holidays. I’m in love. Oh, and the Cranberry Spice candle I bought on Black Friday? It is totally worth 100x what I paid for it.
christmas has come to the jc!
9. Coach Robbie Caldwell has resigned/been fired/come to a mutual agreement that he will no longer be coach of the Vanderbilt football team. I like his personality, his character, and his willingness to give it a go. That being said, I won’t necessarily miss him as coach, but I do wish him the best in whatever is to come for him and his family!
I hope your Thanksgiving was full of food, family, and fun!
Reasons this week was great:
1. I passed my path test!
2. Glee was awesome. Specifically, the Warblers:
3. Chris Pine has been all over the media thanks to his new movie, Unstoppable.
4. A triple-double for Brad Tinsley and a huge win (albeit against a mediocre opponent) for my Vandy basketball team.
5. Vandy football is currently leading UK at halftime. I *almost* don’t even care what happens in the second half because I’m so pleased to see the offense do something…and I might have just witnessed the highlight of Larry Smith’s career with a three play, 74 yard touchdown drive.
Edit: Lost. Terrible second half. Oh, well. I’ve been a Vandy fan long enough for that not to bother me.
Yay for good weeks!
A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to be in Sunday school class at the local church I’ve been attending for the past year. We discussed extravagant generosity and began a discussion on risk-taking missions. At the end of the class, the teacher pulled out a twenty-dollar bill for each of us in the room. He challenged us to tithe 10% of the amount of our own money and then find a way to use the $20 on someone else or for someone else.
what would you do with $20?
My brain immediately went into overdrive trying to figure out what I should do. Luckily, I had a head start. Last spring when I was at home, my church there did a similar project. I was inspired by the many ways people choose to multiply their given amounts and find ways to impact the world. A couple that I’m blessed to know began a project to build a well in Sierra Leone with their money. My plans weren’t quite as ambitious as theirs, which you can read about on their blog about the project.
I decided to use the $20 to purchase supplies to bake my “famous” cinnamon rolls.
a pan pre-icing
the finished product...tempting?
People in my med school class often ask when I was going to make them again. Now, I’m not usually one to email the whole class, and I hate soliciting, but I felt strongly that this was what I was supposed to be doing. I hoped that if I went out on a limb, people would meet me halfway. So, I decided to challenge my class to order cinnamon rolls in exchange for a donation to either Amazima Ministries or Second Harvest Food Bank. I wanted to choose organizations that I believe in and that were diverse to give people options. One is international and the other is local. One was a monetary donation and the other was a donation of canned food.
At first, the response was slow, and I was worried that my leap of faith had resulted in a belly flop. Slowly, though, people began discussing my idea with me, and I got several orders. In addition, a few people offered donations without the cinnamon roll bonus!
At the end of the project, I’m happy to announce that with the help of my classmates, we made a donation of $50 to Amazima Ministries and we donated 57 pounds of food to Second Harvest!
57 pounds!!!
God blessed and multiplied our gifts, and as we approach a season of thankfulness and giving, I can’t imagine a better beginning.
“Freely, freely you have received. Freely, freely give.”
I was inspired by my friend Melanie‘s blog post to make something apple last weekend while I was studying for my exam. This wasn’t the best recipe for apple crisp I’ve ever had, so I’m not posting it, but I do want to post some pictures for future apple inspiration!
Happy Friday to you lucky people who actually have “weekends” instead of the “two-uninterrupted-by-class days of cramming” that med students seem to have instead! We have a pathology test on Monday, so I’ll be cramming, but I hope you enjoy a little bit of time relaxing. Anyway, it is supposed to be cold here this weekend, well, at least cold for early November! Not to mention, my forecast for tonight includes a few of these:
seriously? (from weather.com)
I’m okay with it as long as I don’t get this quite yet:
we had lots of this last year...and apparently they are calling for more this year.
My exciting plans for the weekend include sitting here:
if you need me, here is where I shall be
Studying these:
yes, every single word is/will be highlighted. buy stock in highlighters!
With a constant supply of this:
peppermint. mmmmmm.
So, cheers! Have a great weekend for me, and don’t forget to change those clocks, “fall back,” and enjoy an extra hour for sleeping/studying/relaxing this weekend!
So, I’m kind of a big deal. I’m pretty much the star** on my volleyball team. They couldn’t play without me***. Like I said, BIG DEAL. Intramurals are a BIG deal here****. We even have a super-cool-very-fierce-and-intimidating-not-at-all-nerdy team name*****! Here are some photographs from our M1/M2 matchup the other day…
a pretty great fall afternoon for volleyball
I taught him how to do that
Oh, yeah...him, too.
M is really grateful and excited that I'm on the team.
*Hahaha. This is obviously a test to see if you know me at all, but believe it or not, I am on a volleyball team! Intramurals. B league. What now?
**Can a star sit on the bench? If so, I’m totally the star. If not, well…
***This part is totally true…except they couldn’t play because they needed a fourth girl, not because I’m any good. In fact, I fully expect never to play even for a minute, but I’m great at moral support…and trash talking. That’s really why they wanted me on the team.
****I’m still struggling to understand this. I mean, they are hard core. They have different leagues. They have co-ed. They have single-sex. They have lots of teams. Please note my use of “they.” I’m obviously not hard core.
*****If you believe that, did you hear they took “gullible” out of the dictionary? Our team name is “Setters with Netter’s.” Setters clearly is volleyball related, and Netter’s is a famous anatomy atlas:
Okay, okay, I give in. We're totally nerds...but they're actually good at volleyball.
Go team!
I’ve been following the blog “The Journey” written by Katie for a while now. A girl from my neck of the woods, she has moved to Uganda and now is the adoptive mama of thirteen precious girls (fourteen in her heart…read her latest post, but I’ll warn you, it brought me to tears). Adoption is something that fills my heart with so much joy, and her post helps show the joy of adoption while also showing the struggles and the realities.
As Katie quotes on the blog from Genesis 33: “These are the children that the Lord saw fit to bless me with.” Her blog is currently featured on this website. They are donating $2 toward finalizing the adoption of her children for each comment left on the site. Will you help?
"I give Thee back the life I owe, that in Thine ocean's depths its flow may richer, fuller be."
