I'm Famous!

Every Portland Marathon participant received an email asking them to complete an online survey about MP3 use during the marathon. Upon opening the link to the survey, this is what I (and all of the other runners) saw...

Thanksgiving Update

Back in October, Ryan and I attended an event we had been hearing about for months… MACtober Fest. Yes, beer, wine, German food, and dancing at the MAC. We went with our friends The Browns and had a great time. It wasn’t quite the wild party we expected… not only were we the youngest ones there, most guests were older than our parents.

The next party we attended was the week before Halloween: The Annual All-Hill Halloween Party for all of the students at OHSU (medical, dental, nursing, pharmacy, engineering). I dressed up as Greg Oden (I even had a REAL cast put on!) and Ryan was Grumpy Carebear. The party was poorly organized and we didn’t stay long, but it sure was fun riding the tram in our costumes! On the REAL Halloween night we went to the Browns house (Amanda and Aaron Tinkle came too) for some dinner and board games.

That same week, I took my final exam for my first course of the year: Circulation. The first four tests comprised 50% of my grade and the last test was the remaining 50%. I went into the test with 90%, so I had very little wiggle room. I ended up getting a 95% and thus got HONORS in the course!!!

The day after the test I hosted a bachelorette/wedding shower weekend for Kara. Yes, we went to Vegas in September, but we wanted to have an invite in Portland so more of our friends could attend. We had a great time (see photos) and even though I could play hostess the next morning for the shower, I was struggling to recover from the night before. Kara’s wedding is less than 2 months away… stay tuned!

Less than one week later I threw Ryan a ‘surprise’ birthday party. After planning for months I was anxious to pull the whole thing off. Unfortunately, Ryan knew something was going on, but was still surprised on the night of… at least he pretended to be. Some of his classmates came, as did some non-school friends, and Andy and Sara came all the way from Bend for the night. We had a great time celebrating the BIG 25 for Ryan!

The next morning I hurried off the Clackamas High School for the CHS Dance Competition. I worked the whole comp. and also performed an alumnae dance that I choreographed and taught to other alumnae. I don’t think we’ll be asked to perform at any other upcoming occasions, but it was sure fun while it lasted!

As for school now… we have started our Metabolism course. It is only 5 weeks long. We just had our first test today which covered the GI tract, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. The test was worth 50% of our final grade…. I got 94%!!!! Now I get to relax for all of Thanksgiving weekend with NO STUDYING!

In order to celebrate Turkey Day, Ryan and I are running the Turkey Trot. Then we will go to his dad’s house, then to my aunt and uncle’s house in Vancouver, and finally to my dad’s house. On Friday I will head to LA with my mom to visit Gabe and Mia. We are also going to the Oregon – UCLA football game while we are down there… Cross your fingers for a win. Without Dixon, our chances of finishing this season strong are slim.

Finally, I have included some more pictures of COLBIE. She gets cuter every day! She is still afraid of most people, but comes out to play with Ryan and I. She runs around like crazy, plays fetch, begs for food, and snuggles at night. My favorite ritual is when I get home everyday, I lay on the floor and she comes and headbutts me as an attempt to be petted. It is sometimes hard to study when she is very playful, but she is all-in-all a great roommate!

Second year has begun...

Before school started in late August, I participated in Hood to Coast… a 197 mile relay race from Mt. Hood to Seaside, OR. I was on a team organized by one of my sorority sisters… the final team roster was a somewhat random group of 12, but we ended up having a great time. I didn’t train much before and was pleasantly surprised to do better than planned. I always run at about a 10:00 minute pace, but the excitement of the relay kicked me to gear with 8:30 miles. I ran the 9^th, 21^st, and 33^rd legs… this grouping was ranked as the hardest. I didn’t have terrible hills, but I did have the longest distance to run. My brother ran with a different team and Ryan ran with yet another team. After the two day race Ryan and I stayed at the beach with his parents and then came home so I could get ready for the next day… my first day of school!!!

Second year is thus far just like first; classes are from 8-12 every day, one day a week we have class from 1-5 too, and one day a week I shadow a physician. I started the year off working hard because our first test (two weeks into class) was going to fall on a Monday morning just following a trip to Las Vegas for Kara’s bachelorette party!!!

Vegas was amazing! We stayed at The Wynn and truly enjoyed laying by the beautiful pool… don’t worry, we stayed away from the topless pool. We spent one night out on the town with a limo and a trip to the world famous show “Thunder From Down Under”. We spent the remainder of the night allowing 40 year-old men (a bachelor party) pay for a wild and crazy time at a night club. Let me just say that staying out until 5am, getting up at 11 just in time to check out and get to the airport, and then flying back to Portland was not the BEST way to prepare for my test. Nonetheless, I got an 89%!

I had much more time to prepare for my second test, yet I got about the same score (90.57%). My third test was today and followed a busy weekend filled with Gabe and Mia’s engagement party and the Portland Marathon. The party was a great time with about 30 guests (friends and family) at Serrato in NW Portland. Unfortunately, I had to leave right after dinner to get home and get a rest before the race. I ran this marathon two years ago; at that point in my life I had loads of time to train correctly. I ended up hitting a wall around mile 22 and really struggled at the end. This year I didn’t train as much and really just wanted to finish and feel good at the end. Because of this I didn’t hesitate to walk when I needed to and I stopped at many aid stations for water, juice, candy, whatever they were offering! Treating myself so well on the day of the event sure paid off because I ended up finishing in 4 hours 22 minutes (12 minutes faster than my previous time!). Unfortunately, I couldn’t fully relax post-race because I had to study for my test. This morning I went to class, feeling slightly unprepared, and ended up getting a 90.63%! We have one more small test in this class (the first four tests make up 50% of my final grade in this course) and then our final. So far, so good…

Other than school and running, I have been keeping busy with dance. I go to Clackamas once a week and lead a conditioning hour for the dance team girls. I’m having a great time with them and really enjoy teaching them about fitness and nutrition. I also am now a volunteer advisor for the Willamette University Pi Beta Phi chapter. What can I say? I like to stay busy! When I finally get some free time I love to come home and play with my adorable little Colbie (who has doubled her weight in the past month and is now 3.25lbs).

Summer's Done

Sadly summer is coming to a close (with less than two weeks left) and I'm about to embark on a long haul... I will get winter and spring breaks this year, but then my next break is in May and June during which time I will have to study for and take my first set of boards (not exactly a vacation!). Now I get to reflect on the 8 weeks of freedom I've had and hope that it has had enough fun and relaxation to get me through...

Pub Crawl

July 4th and Newport Beach



I went to the beach, Sunriver (twice), and had a great deal of fun with friends and family. Plenty of pics are included from the 2nd First Annual Nob Hill Pub Crawl, pool parties at my new friend Ken's house, Brew Fest with Pi Phis, Devon's wedding, the Bridge Pedal, and much, much more... (sorry, no pictures of the Nordstrom sale, but I promise that I still did some damage).

Sunriver with my family


Decemberists Concert and Pool Parties


Brew Fest


Sunriver with Ryan's family

Unfortunately I flaked out on doing the triathlon, but I'm still training for Hood to Coast and the Portland Marathon. I started the summer out strong, but have flaked out the past few weeks. I just found out that I'm running the three leg set of H2C that is ranked as the most difficult... thus tomorrow morning I will be out and running! I'm still thinking that I a triathlon will be in my future.

Some other big events of the summer.... One is that Ryan moved to a new apartment on the waterfront. After a great deal of discussion, the difficult decision was made in hopes that it would make our relationship stronger; so far so good. We have been doing really well and I'm beginning to understand that sometimes the BEST thing is not the easiest, but often worth the trouble. Plus, his new place is very close to school so I'll be able to easily drop in and out to and from school. The hardest part now is just convincing everyone close to us that this really is what is best and that it is making us happier in our relationship than we have ever been... so, for all of you, trust me, Ryan and I are happy and are planning on remaining so for a long time.

Devon & Tyler's wedding



White Trash Bash
Bridge Pedal


Second big piece of news... I got a kitty!!! Colbie (named after the singer Colbie Caillat) came into my life on Tuesday, August 7th (estimated to be 6 weeks old) after being found in a construction dumpster on Ryan's mom's property. She is adorable and slowly warming up to me and my place. She is still quite skiddish, but has been very well behaved. She has had no accidents (knock on wood) and finally started playing with some of the toys I got her. Mostly, though, she just sleeps. Today was her first time meeting her new Vet, Dr. Gowing, for a check-up and a vaccination. She is only 1.25 lbs (underweight for her age) so I have started her on a new high calorie food. She has met four dogs (Lucy, Dolce, Jake, and Gen) and has come out of her shell just enough to let out a hiss and a swat at their faces.

Colbie Kitty



As for work, I haven't been nearly as productive as planned this summer. I have made headway on one research project that will hopefully be completed and submitted for publication by winter break. If it is published, I will travel sometime next year to present it at a conference. Cross your fingers that it all works out because this will really help me get into residency.

Now I'm just going to prepare to work hard this year. I plan to continue with my research through the fall, start a new season helping coach the Cavalettes, volunteering as an Alumni Advisor for the Willamette University Pi Phi chapter, train for my races, and start the school year out strong! A few fun things that are coming up include: Hood 2 Coast, Gabe and Mia coming to town for a family party and a wine tasting adventure with Ryan and I, school starting, Vegas trip for Kara's bachelorette party, Colbie Caillat concert, Gabe and Mia's engagement party (did I mention my brother got engaged?!?!), and the Marathon. Should be an eventful few months.