Friday Fun and games.

Last night, our church had a church wide small group potluck and game night. We had a small turn out due to weather and likely due to the Daniel fast that our church is currently in the middle of. Despite the small turn out, we had a great time. We got to eat more good tasting foods than we have in a while and we enjoyed playing win loose or draw. I had my camera there and forgot to take any pictures...so no fun shots of people drawing on the white boards or of people trying to guess the answers...sorry...I was still recovering from a crazy day at work. I didn't do so well on my turn up to draw...but my word was Casablanca...I have never even seen the movie! So, that really didn't work out too well for me. We played men against women and the women eked out a win on the last round and won by one point. I think that despite the small turn out, that it was a success for the small group social planning committee! Hopefully we will be able to get something else planned before too long and hopefully the weather will be a little bit more cooperative!

The blind side

Tonight, Zack and I FINALLY went to see the movie "The Blind Side". Loved it! It was such a nice change to go to the movies and actually see a movie that had a good story, good acting, and a good message. It was really a touching movie. if you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend it! :)

Getting sucked in....

Most of our friends are REALLY REALLY into "24". Zack and I watched season 1 a couple of years ago and part of season 6. We are not the die hard fans that our friends are, but we enjoyed the episodes that we have watched...and it can get a little bit addicting. So, this year when we saw that a new season of "24" was starting, Zack and I decided to watch this season of 24 from the beginning. So far, so good! I'm not sure where this season rates when compared to season's past, but I already have characters that I love, characters that I mistrust,...and a few that I already hate! Looking forward to seeing where this season takes us!

Catching up...

This afternoon, I got to hang out with Skye....this was some much needed hang time since we haven't really gotten to spend much time together since I went back to work. That is probably one of the hardest things for me about going back to work...life gets so hectic and crazy that things, or people that are very important tend to get pushed to the back burner. I hate feeling like I don't have time/energy to maintain relationships that are very important to me. I get home and really all that I want to do is sit down in front of the TV or in a hot bath and not think for a couple of hours. I feel mentally and often emotionally spent by the end of the day. And yet, I get frustrated by my feelings of disconnect from family and friends....where do you find the time/energy for it all...I really should do a better job about maintaining those relationships. I have many starved friendships out there that need a little time and attention in order to come back to life. Friendships that I really value and people that I love dearly, but who probably don't realize their importance in my life because I simply haven't told/shown them that they are important. I want these relationships to be healthy and to thrive, but sometimes it is hard to know where to begin tending the friendship.

Perhaps it boils down to misplaced priorities....or poor time management...or laziness...or maybe it is a mix of all of them.

I had a great time with Skye this afternoon. We went downtown and walked around. Skye wanted to do something that required no money, which was fine with me because I really just wanted the opportunity to spend some time with her. It was fun catching up and hearing some of her dreams for the year to come...and doing a little "dreaming" together of crazy/ fun things that we could do with some of our friends in the months to come. I love just brainstorming with Skye for new ideas of fun things to do...most of the time, we don't act on our ideas, but sometime....well, sometimes we do and things like LO09 are born!

i can hardly believe it!

Today as I was walking out of work I was struck by the fact that it was still light outside! I am usually walking out of the door into the dark...there is something just wrong about that if you ask me. I am so glad that the days are getting longer again....I won't lie. I am SO ready for summer.

A little Blessing

Last night, Zack and I received a phone call from Zack's good friend Brian. Brian and his wife Mandy have been pregnant and the baby was due in February. So, we were a little surprised and VERY excited to hear that Mandy's water had broken and that their little one was on her way! When Zack got off the phone, we were so excited that we had to share our news with someone. (good news is always better when shared! :) ha!) So, we called Zack's parents. Brian and Zack have been friends since high school and Brian spent many hours at Zack's house. So, in some ways Brian is like another member of the family. Zack's parents were thrilled with the news!

Little Lydia Anne was born this morning at 12:28a.m. She weighed 6 lbs. 4oz. and is absolutely perfect. I cannot decide if she looks more liker her mom or dad, but there is no denying that she already has them both wrapped around her perfect little finger!



Zack and I were honored to be able to go see the happy little family in the hospital today! Lydia is such a sweet baby with a head full of dark brown hair! Mandy and Brian let Zack and I hold our little "niece"!! I am so excited to see the amazing ways in which God will choose to show His glory through little Lydia Anne. She has only been alive for a few hours and she has already been a blessing to so many!





Brian and Mandy, we are so excited for you as you enter into the world of parenting and we are looking forward to watching Lydia Anne grow physically and spiritually over the years and watching you grow as you fill your rolls as parents! Thank you so much for letting us be a part of it all! I mean we already got to be there to support Brian through changing his first wet diaper! :) haha! We love you and will be praying for you as you adjust to life as a family!

Have you ever had one of those moments?

You know, the moments in life where you wish that the Earth would open up and swallow you whole? Well, I had one of those at work on Friday. The day started out as any other day. I slept to the latest possible minute...after snoozing my alarm...a "couple of times"...because we all know that I am NOT what you would call a morning person. Then, I got up and got ready for another day at the office. The morning went by without incident and Dr. D and I headed to the cafeteria to grab some lunch just like we do pretty much every day. The cafeteria was having a special on soup and sandwiches and it just sounded too good to be passed up. So, I ordered my sandwich and doled out my soup. Dr. D and I headed back up to the office to have our daily "working" lunch (eating while trying to catch up on our notes from the morning). In order to get back into the office, we have to use a special badge to unlock the outside door...which usually is not an issue, albeit at times awkward while carrying food. However, this day was not a typical day. We both had our hands full carrying take out boxes, drinks, and a bowl of steaming hot soup. I tried to readjust my many packages in order to get my key card....I thought that things had been properly balanced when all of a sudden my soup cup slipped from my grasp. Everything turned to slow motion then....you know, like on TV, when you hear that slow "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" and see people moving in slow motion....the soup cup slipped from my hands and as I tried to warn Dr. D, it hit the floor next to her spilling soup and splashing warm orzo, vegetables, tomato sauce and ground beef everywhere. It was an amazing display. Soup was EVERYwhere....and when I say everywhere, I mean primarily all over Dr. D. It was also all over the floor and had splashed up on the walls on both sides of the entry way. At first I didn't see the extent of the damage and I thought, "Oh man, I cannot believe I did that." I asked Dr. D if she was ok and if any soup had gotten on her. I was still trying to pick things up off the floor. She replied cheerfully, "Oh, only a little". That is when it happened....THE MOMENT...I looked up at Dr. D to see her COVERED in soup....pieces of orzo and tomato sauce dripping from her sleeve and pants, but with smile on her face...I felt TERRIBLE (ugh!! kill me now!)...sure could have used that Earth swallowing right about then! Dr. D went to the bathroom to "clean" herself off while I went in search of something to clean up the rest of my mess in the hallway. Ugh! I felt like calling it a day and going home to crawl under the covers and pretend that the day had all been some crazy dream! There is nothing like covering your boss in hot tomato based soup...lets hope that never happens again!!

On the bright side, I guess that I gave Dr. D a story to tell her family...ugh!

Italian Inspired Dinner at the Puddle

Today was my day off and so I decided to make dinner...I have to tell you that I feel really proud to have made several home cooked meals for Zack in the last 2 weeks. It makes me feel like a little better wife than I have felt for several months now. Tonight I tried 2 new recipes, Pizza Pork Chops and Parmesan Basil Orzo. They both turned out pretty well. The meat was moist, tender, and had good flavor to it and the orzo had a nice flavor as well. Zack really liked both recipes....Now if I could just get my house clean!!!

Christmas Presents for People at the office.

We had our Christmas party for our little corner of the office tonight at Dr. D's house. We had an amazing dinner and it was so fun to get to fellowship with the girls outside of the office. I have had their presents cut out waiting to be made for WEEKS, but I had not had time to put them together. So, this weekend I FINALLY found time to sit down and get them done. I was literally sewing until minutes before we walked out the door to go the party. I think that they all liked their gifts.

Another homecooked meal...I feel like such a good wife!

I did it! I actually made 2 home cooked meals in a weeks time! Aren't you so so proud of me!? Saturday night, I made Teryaki Beef Tenderloin, smashed garlic potatoes, and salad. It turned out pretty good. The meat had really good flavor.

Let it Snow!!

It started snowing Thursday around noon and our little town seemed to shut down. I got to go home early from work because I only had three patients in my schedule and Dr. D only had a few more...so, there was no reason for us both to be there. I really was ok with this, because I have a fear of driving in snow/ice ...simply because we don't get much and I don't have that much experience with it....SO, I was very thankful to be home, warm, and safe before the snow really started coming down.

My family members up north would laugh at the amount of panic that an inch of snow causes down here in the South, but really the south is not well equip to handle snow. I had gone to the grocery store on Wednesday and you would think that it was Y2K all over again. People were mobbing the place and there was hardly any milk or bread to be found. If it had not been 3 weeks since my last visit to the grocery store, I probably wouldn't have gone.

When Zack got home, we got in our car and crept over the snow coated roads to our friend Anna Lauren and Eric's house to watch part of the Alabama Texas game with friends. We left shortly after half time so that we wouldn't get stuck there...and so that we could get to bed and be ready to go to work the next morning.

Friday morning, I was supposed to go into work a little later than normal and so, around 8 I called Dr. D to see how the roads were. She was on her way into the office and thought that the roads were likely to be ok. She told me to come in at nine. So, I hung up with her only to get a call about 5 minutes later from Dr. D telling me that she had slid through a stop sign and she was heading home. We also found out that the office was going to open at 10 due to the weather conditions.

I went in about 10 o'clock...it took me much longer to get there than normal due to road conditions. None of the other mid levels were able to make it to work and a couple of the Dr.s were snowed in. One of our Dr.s biked to work because the roads by his house were so icy. We had a LOT of no shows and rescheduled appointments yesterday...and so the day ended up being a little slower than normal. We left the office a little early because the roads were thought to be at risk of refreezing last night, but as I headed home, I noted that most of the main roads had already dried.

Zack wanted desperately to make a snowman. I don't think that we have had a snow where there was any kind of accumulation in several years, so this was a big deal. Zack tried so hard to make a snowman...and I have to give him some credit. Here is Zack's Snowman:


I came home from work yesterday to find a proud pile of snow sitting in our driveway. It took me a minute to figure out why it was sitting there...and then it hit me. Zack made a snow man! :) The snow was just so powdery that it wouldn't stick to itself. I told him last night that he should have put a scarf, nose and eyes on him to give him a little more life! :) haha!

1st homecooked meal of 2010!

Poor Zack, the home cooked meals have been few and far between since I started back to work and if it hadn't been for the holidays, I think that he might have wasted away completely.


I made the first home cooked meal of the year Wednesday of this week. I made Portabella Roast Beef Sandwiches. Zack LOVED these!! He said to me today, "Can we please have those sandwiches again sometime?!" That's a lot coming from Zack. He usually lets me go along and make a new recipe every time that I cook without suggestion or complaint. So, the fact that he made a point to ask for the meal again could mean one of two things. 1 the fact that it was home cooked was SO exciting to him that he was grabbing onto the hope of having it again because it was home cooked or 2 he really did like it. I have to admit that the sandwiches really were pretty tasty. So, I guess that that recipe is a keeper.

I also tried 2 other new recipes to bring to our friend's house Thursday when we watched the Alabama Texas game. They were Pretzel Candies and Pretzel Cereal Crunch. Zack LOVED the Pretzel Cereal Crunch. He was having a little trouble watching other people eating it...Zack and his food envy! :) ha! He eventually got the best of his food envy and he was telling everyone that the gorp was actually very healthy for you because it has cereal and nuts and pretzels in it ....hmmm...maybe, except for all of the chocolate and sugar that is in there with it! :)

Pretzel Candies

Pretzel Cereal Crunch

Just in case you were wondering, we are still alive!

Wow!!! What a busy couple of months we have had. Work has been CRAZY! I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but hopefully things will improve over the next couple of months. I enjoy my job, and love the people that I work with, but it has been an adjustment as far as time management.

I am going to have to reach way back into my memory to try to catch you up with all of the things that have happened here at the puddle since I last updated you. So, be prepared, this will probably be a long post!!

Zack and I spent Thanksgiving nestled up in the mountains. We were scheduled to spend Thanksgiving with Zack's side of the family this year, but my parents and brother were able to come down and join us. I was so excited that I was going to have some time off work to spend time with family. This time off was going to be my first real time off since starting my new job back in September and I was sooo looking forward to it. Things ended up being a little crazy at work the week of Thanksgiving and I ended up having to go in for a half day on Wednesday (which is usually my day off.) It really wasn't too big of a deal since Zack and I were still able to leave home early enough to get to our mountain hideaway before it was too late ...and before we missed to much of the family fun.



We always enjoy going to the mountains with Zack's family because it is always a time of games, laughs, outdoor fun and fun family memories.



My parents and brother came down Thursday morning...they ended up making it later than expected due to some rock slides which caused road closures. We had a great time hanging out with family and playing games, and eating WAY too much. We gathered together with several other families which have been family friends for generations now. It is always good to see them and catch up on what has been going on in there lives over the last year or so.

Friday I was supposed to be on call, but I had been reassured that it would not be too bad. Well, starting at 7:30 - 8:00 the calls started coming and I would literally finish a call and hang up the phone only to have it ring again. I think that I got about 15-16 mommy calls in a 2 hour span. I was miserable! It was so discouraging to be there with family and not to be able to BE THERE with family. The rest of the family went for a hike, but because I was on call and my cell phone did not have service in the mountains, I was tied to the cabin phone. My mother and I stayed and watched some movies while the rest of the family went hiking. The calls slowed a little in the afternoon and I was at least able to breath a little.



Dr. D saved me by taking call for me from about 7 o'clock till 7 o'clock the next morning so that I didn't have to worry about the calls waking the family all night long as the cabin phone rang. My parents had planned to leave on Friday, but thankfully they were talked into spending one more night at the cabin so that I actually got to spend a little bit of time with them before they headed home.

Mom, Dad, and Peter headed home Saturday afternoon after brunch. I was sad that they had to leave, but they had a long drive to get home, and Peter had some things to do at home before heading back to Memphis on Sunday.

After they had left, we headed out for the traditional trail blazers hike. Last Thanksgiving, while Zack and I and Rach and Ben spent Thanksgiving with our respective families, Zack's brother Matt and Daddy G went and scouted out routes for this years bushwhacking adventure. About 2 years ago we had taken a hike and decided to just blaze our own trail down the mountain to the valley where our cabin laid in wait. We had a BLAST...well, most of us did...Rach wasn't quite so sure that she LOVED the experience...So, this year, we hiked up the other side of the valley and then blazed a trail back down on the opposite hillside from 2 years ago. This year, we all had an equally fun experience.





Saturday night was of course filled with playing more games and more delicious food.







Sunday came and we hated to leave to head back to reality. It was so nice to spend time with family. Zack, his father, and brothers invented a new game (they tend to do this a lot). They all rode around the front yard on their mountain bikes throwing a Frisbee back and forth to each other. It took them a while to make it from one end of the yard to the other, but they eventually made it.




Sadly, before we knew it, it was time to head back to reality.

The first weekend in December, Zack and his Ultimate Frisbee team went to a Frisbee Tournament. I didn't think that I was going to be able to go because Dr. D and I had to work clinic on that Saturday. The friday that Zack's team was leaving, Dr. D and I talked about it and she told me to go ahead and go watch Zack play. I was THRILLED!!! (I really have a great boss) I called Zack and told him to wait for me. I rushed home threw some clothes in a bag and Zack and I rushed to meet with the rest of the people that were car pooling. We stayed in a Foster Home that one of our friends is a social worker for...it was A-mazing. It was huge and beautifully decorated. They are not at capacity right now, so there was lots of room for all of us to crash. It was SOOOO nice of that family to open their home to us and to feed us all!





The Tournament was a Saturday/Sunday affair. The team had had to finagle their way into the tournament, because no one had ever heard of them before, since they just started the team a few months ago...and the tournament director was concerned that they would not be competitive enough to play in the tournament. The guys played really well despite the FREEZING cold temperatures and they ended up plcing second overall. Way to go team! :)




I was really proud of Zack. He played really well, and it was so much fun to watch him enjoying himself out there on the field....although, I was a little surprised at the contact level out there on the field while playing a "non contact" sport.

About 2 weekends after Thanksgiving, Zack and I went to a family wedding. Our Cousin Carson got married down in Savannah. So, Friday, we headed down to Savannah with Zack's parents. We made it there with about a half an hour to spare before we needed to be at the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner was held in an old inn with a restaurant in the basement. The walls were brick and there were big exposed beams on the ceiling...it was beautiful. Carson's mother did a GREAT job decorating the site for the rehearsal dinner. She had chosen a silver and blue theme. It was beautiful and the food was A-mazing.



That Saturday, Mama Sandy and I went shopping. I desperately needed to get some Christmas shopping done, and we needed to get a gift for the wedding...nothing like waiting till the last minute huh! :) While we went shopping, the guys went and played frisbee golf.



The wedding was an evening wedding and the church was decorated with greenery and poinsettias. It looked beautiful, and Carson and Jennifer looked so happy. The reception was a lot of fun. The food was good...but didn't quite taste as good as that the night before...Matt thinking that it was white chocolate like the night before, ate an entire pad of snowflake shaped butter! :) haha! We all got a big kick out of that and poor Matt...not sure when he'll live that one down!

Sunday morning we had breakfast with the family and then headed home.

We had our small group Christmas party the following Monday and I knew that I was not going to have much time to prepare food for it. We were having soups and salads...so, I made a cranberry apple pie and got stuff to make salads...something that would require very little time to prepare, which turned out to be a godsend since I ended up having to run a late clinic that Monday. We ended up getting to the Christmas party a little bit later than planned, but we had such a good time getting to spend time with our friends and celebrate Christmas together.

Things were really busy at work between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I felt completely unprepared when Christmas snuck up on me.

Zack and I went to my parent's house for Christmas this year. We left Tuesday night after work and ended up getting to my parent's house close to midnight.

The Wednesday before Christmas, my mother and I went out shopping...Zack and I still had not finished our Christmas shopping....I know...there is a pattern of last minute desperation starting here.

Thursday, we spent the day hanging out at home and then headed to Church for a Christmas Eve service. After the church service, we got to open our Christmas gifts. Zack and I brought the majority of our Christmas gifts to each other with us to my mom and dad's, but Zack wanted us to save out at least one present to give each other at his parent's over Christmas at New Year's. We were very blessed and got lots of great gifts. My favorite definitely had to be the new sewing machine that Zack got me! ...now I just have to learn how to use it! I cannot wait!



Zack's big gift was a new mummy sleeping bag. The jury is still out on whether he likes it or not. He is going to have to get used to it...he says it makes him feel claustrophobic....excuses, excuses! :)



Christmas day, w spent most of the day cooking because my Aunt, Uncle and cousin's/families were all coming over for Christmas dinner. Mom was cooking all day! Peter made some mashed butternut squash and I made a dutch apple pie and Oreo truffles. The meal was really good, and it was so nice to spend time catching up with family. We don't get to see my aunt, uncle, and cousins very often because they live spread out in different parts of the country...We played some games and had a good time just talking and catching up.

The day after Christmas, we decided to go to a movie. We wanted to go see The Blind Side...only to discover that all of the matinee shows were already sold out. We were pretty bummed out, but decided that we would watch a movie later at home. Zack and my dad went and played frisbee golf while my mom and I went to see what kind of after Christmas sales we could hit. We ended up watching Ice Age 3 and Night at the museum 2 later that night.

The Sunday after Christmas, we went to church and then spent some time hanging out with my parents before heading back home. We had such a good time spending time with my parents and brother that it was sad to go, but we both had work the next day and needed to get on the road home. We got stuck in a little Christmas traffic and ended up having to find a detour to take...I think that our detour at least saved us a little time...it at least allowed us to keep moving.

The week between Christmas and New Year's was a bit of a mad house at work...we had several Dr.s and mid-levels out for vacation and so we were functioning at a decreased level of staff....meaning things were crazy! Dr. D and I were also on call several days that week. I ended up working a half a day on Wednesday and Dr. D graciously took my call for me that night. That was a blessing because I needed that time to work on some Christmas presents for Zack's side of the family.

We were supposed to make our Christmas presents for Zack's side of the family this year....that did not really happen for us. The only present that I actually was able to make was an apron for Zack's mother. And the rest were store bought.



We headed down to Zack's parent's house on New Year's Eve night after work. Zack's parents have a big New Year's get together every year with family friends. It was SO much fun to spend time with all of these special people....people that are more like family than friends. We love them all and really enjoy getting to spend time with them whenever we can.



New Year's day, we opened gifts with Zack's side of the family...it is always so fun to see what goodies are hiding in our stockings and what fun gifts are underneath the tree. Rach and Ben made every one fleece blankets. They picked out fabrics that they thought that each person would like. They are SOOO soft and I have gotten a LOT of use out of mine already with all of this cold weather. I absolutely love it!





New Year's Night Mama Sandy's side of the family came over for dinner and white elephant gift exchange.






The weekend after New Year's, Dr. D and I were on call. So, Saturday was a lazy day. Zack and his father and brother went and played frisbee golf while Mama Sandy, Rach and I watched Dr. Quinn Medicine woman...having to take a couple breaks due to calls that I had to answer. After dinner, the guys played a game of Settlers of Catan while Rach and I played Wii fit plus...We had a really good time and I was actually able to spend some quality time with family despite being on call.

Sunday we went to Zack's parent's church...which I always love because it give me the opportunity to catch up with some of my dear friends that I made on my mission trip to Belize back in 2008.

After Church, we headed to Zack's grandparent's house for Christmas Lunch and white elephant. We played a left right game using the Christmas story...and some random gifts (a plunger, a pregnancy test, a calendar, a magic kit, etc.) ....which was pretty humorous. Dr. D graciously took calls for me for about three hours so that we could have uninterrupted family time.



So, despite the business of the holiday season, we were blessed with many new memories with family and friends...