30 Before 30

As my 30th birthday is somewhat approaching (September, 2016), I am choosing this occasion to mark the completion of a to do list.  This list consists of mostly fitness, cooking, and travel aspirations.  I hope to have fun with these goals, and will document along the way. 

30 Before 30

1. Run a ½ marathon.* We signed up for the Dallas Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon in March 2016. DONE!

2. Get into a daily flossing regimen.*

3. Go to the beach. Done

4. Pay for someone behind me in a drive through.*

5. Do 20 consecutive pushups.* 

6. Learn the Thriller.* Yes, I will video tape me dancing, so you can learn too. 

7. Bake a sprinkle cake.*

8. Attend Baylor Homecoming. 

9. Be technology free for a consecutive 48 hours.* I am sad to report that when I am alone, I am constantly glued to my phone or my computer. 
10. Donate at least 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love.*
11. Reach and maintain my goal weight: 138lb.* This will put my BMI at 21.6. 
12. Take a Pure Barre Class.* Done
13. Take an exercise class outdoors.*  Done
14. Try Bikram Yoga.*
15. Swim under a natural water fall.*
16. Do at least one pull up.* This is very unlikely to ever happen.
17. Be a vegetarian for one week.*
18. Learn how to sew on buttons and patch up holes and tears.* 
19. Spend a night camping under the stars.* Done
20. Learn how to conduct a clinic visit in Spanish.* In other words, learn Spanish. 
21. Visit the Ellen Show.*
22. Travel to Asia. Done
23. Celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans.*
24. Learn how to make Wendy's Chili.*
25. Successfully bake a souffle.*
26. Put some color on my walls. Paint at least one room in my home.*
27. Perfect the splits.
28. Cook Pad Thai from scratch.* This is Yung's most ordered Thai dish. Also, cook green curry from scratch.* This is my most ordered Thai dish.
29. Watch a movie at the drive-in theater. 
30. Learn how to sing a song and play the piano at the same time. Or the guitar*-Only if Yung will teach me. Yes, I added this after my latest Maroon 5 concert. I was inspired!

It's time to get busy! 
*Denotes a new experience.

Ice Day Catch Up

Today in Dallas, it is icy and slushy. I am spending the day at home from work, because our clinic is closed. A far cry from the days when I would leave before the sun was up and tread slowly to work, because the hospital never sleeps.

Lately, I have kind of been on the go. Colorado one weekend, Louisiana the next, and finally Houston as my last stop. I am looking forward to being home for the rest of the month. By the rest of the month, I mean the next couple of days. It is practically March, ya'll!

I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, and Chinese New Year.

Vday this year came with the perfect weather. We went hiking at Cedar Ridge Preserve, and also had a picnic when we were done. We really could not have asked for a better day.

Our breakfast: Gotta eat up before exercising! Note the heart shaped pancakes <3

Almost done with our hike. It was a beautiful day!

Our picnic. French bread, cheese, hummus, carrots, spicy pretzels, grapes, Teddy Grahams. All the good stuff.

"Please don't take a picture of me." And then that face happened.

So so handsome :) <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

We took the pups to run the field. 

Our dinner--Note the heart shaped rice.

Professor all dressed up for Vday. 

I spent Mardi Gras with Heather and her mom, Ms. Candi in Houston. We made the trip to see Maroon 5. MAGIC! and Rozzi Crane opened for them. We've kept up the tradition of going to concerts together, and we are planning to see Train (our FAV! or at least my fav!) in May.  That will be our 5th concert together in 5 years. I would say that is pretty good. 

I had 2 king cakes this year. One from Nelson's Donuts: This is pretty much a cinnamon donut with bavarian cream filling. Bavarian cream tastes like custard.

I also had a cinnamon/cream cheese king cake from Cakes By Kari.

Aren't these doggie bow ties the best? Courtesy of my mother, who is so creative and an amazing seamstress.

On Saturday, I received the most fun surprise at work! A special delivery from Yung!!! I work with the sweetest group of girls who jumped up and down with me as we admired the flowers. Well, I might have been the only one literally jumping. But you catch my drift. I was excited :) 

And yes, another day in the life on the news. Fun times :) 

Forty-Eight Hours in Colorado

2-6-15

3:15 am: Alarm goes off. Yung immediately gets up and starts dancing. He's pumped to be going to Colorado.

4:30 am: Arrive at the airport. Take a selfie.

6:00 am: Waiting to board the airplane.

7:15 am: Arrive in Denver. Adjust to the altitude. Eat breakfast.

11:00 am: Meet Leta. Go hiking in South Valley Park. It was unexpectedly warm, muddy, and a little slushy from left over snow.

11:30 am: All of us either got a tan or got burned. I left with a sweet ankle tan from my leggings. 

11:45 am: Photo op with this guy.

12:00 pm: Head back to the car.

2:00 pm: Meet the rest of our group. Eat lunch at Ted's Montana Grill in downtown Denver.

3:00 pm: Say goodbye to Leta. Now awake for 12 hours on 3 hours of sleep. My eyes were straining to stay open. 

3:30 pm: Stop in Freshcraft while the rest of the party committee ran an important errand.

5:00 pm: Grocery shop for 14 adults.

6:00 pm: Spot a frozen lake and several ice fishermen.

6:10 pm: Arrive at our house in Georgetown, CO.

6:30 pm: The great debate: Can you taste the difference in the different colored Skittles with your eyes closed?

6:45 pm: The great discussion: Hot Cheetos followed by Skittles are the bomb.

7:00 pm: Watch Jonny cook macaroni and cheese with hotdogs.

7:15 pm: And the serving assembly line starts.

9:00 pm: Start getting ready for bed. It was a long day.

2-7-15:

7:00 am: Wake up. Yung immediately starts dancing again. It is hiking day!

8:00 am: Watch the boys make breakfast tacos.

8:30 am: 14 sandwiches for the crew.

10:00 am: Another frozen lake. 

10:30 am: Quick shot before our trek to Silver Dollar Lake.

11:00 am: The snow is up the Griffin's knees. Kevin is trying to swim in the snow. No big deal.

11:10 am: Peace. Love. Snow.

11:30 am: We saw several dogs on our journey to the lake.

12:00 pm: Walkie talkie-ing it up. These were a life saver. FYI: no cell reception in the mountains.

12:15 pm: "Will you please take a picture of me holding some snow?"

1:00 pm: We made it to Silver Dollar Lake. It was cold and windy, but as you can see, worth it.

1:30 pm: Sandwich break.

1:45 pm: Typical. Yung posing nicely, while I'm making a terrible duck face. Thanks for the shot, Ben. 

2:00 pm: "Take another picture of me with the snow!"

3:00 pm: Letting the boots dry out.

4:00 pm: Selfie along the Mount Evans scenic drive.

6:00 pm: Burgers on the grill.

8:00 pm: The puzzle.

9:00 pm: The fire.

10:00 pm: Look at the stars. We found Orion's belt, Jupiter (the PLANET!), big/little dipper, Seven Sisters. Thanks star gazing app.

2-8-15:

3:45 am: Wake up. There was no dancing this morning.

6:00 am: Arrive at the airport, say good bye to Colorado for the time being, fly back to Texas.

10:30 am: Arrive in Texas. Say good bye to our friends.

1:00 pm: Eat our feelings away at Dallas Grilled Cheese Co. (We highly recommend it!) and wondering why Texas is so flat. 

3:00 pm: Take a nap and return back to the real world.

Thankful for the opportunity to travel with new friends. Catch you on the flip side, Colorado.  

That Time That I Was On The News...Twice

During the last weekend in January (Superbowl Weekend), I had an interesting start to my "work week." Not only did plenty of sick children make appointments to come see me (when I was hoping for a quiet Saturday and Sunday), so did FOX and NBC. Yep, I was on the news! Both interviews were incredibly spur of the moment, and I received about an hour notice each time. FOX came on Saturday to discuss RSV, and NBC came on Sunday to talk about the measles. I had good experiences with each news station, and everyone was very professional and nice. I was nervous and kind of jittery before and after the interviews, but was surprisingly okay once the cameras were rolling. It only took one take to get everything they needed. I called my boss (Dr. Tsai) in a frenzy on both days because truth be told, I was kind of freaking out about being on TV, and was secretly trying to plot a way to keep the whole thing a secret.  Dr. Tsai is interviewed a lot, so he had many helpful tips for me, and we also reviewed talking points about each disease. All in all, I truly appreciated the opportunity to represent the clinic.  Thank you all for watching it on TV or through Facebook. I hope our community took away a few tips to keep their kids and themselves healthy throughout the year.

Here are the links to the stories:

FOX- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

NBC- Measles