End of another semester

It is so good, once again, to be on semester break. To have 3 weeks with no schoolwork to do is so amazing. Only in academics do you get such perks. These 3 weeks will involve taking a couple trips to visit family and friends for the holidays, relaxing, playing with my new iPod touch, drinking hot chocolate, just being Ally's mom, and doing whatever else we feel like doing to pass the time. Here are just a few accomplishments from this semester, as well as some reasons that I am particularly glad that this semester is over.

1. Passing my PhD comprehensive exams
2. Forming my dissertation committee
3. No more late-night teaching for Ben
4. No more late-night lecture writing sessions for either me or Ben
5. A break from the never-ending barage of emails in our inboxes

And now, to find some hot chocolate. . .

Ally's Presidential Campaign Slogan

Remember in the 2008 presidential election how Barack Obama had the slogan "Yes We Can!"? Well, here is Ally's version:

Developing skills and personality

Ally is now starting to talk in sentences with more than 2 words. She doesn't have a huge repetoire yet, but here are the recurring ones:

I do that. (when she wants to do something all by herself)
Sit down. (spoken as a command)
I love you.
I miss you.
I see you.
I read book.

We are also noticing that Ally is developing a long-term memory. Maybe she has had long-term memory for a while, but she is now able to express events or people from the past. For example, in my previous post about Ally's love for raw fish, she actually ate the sushi on a Tuesday night, but asked about eating sushi on Wednesday and Thursday nights too. Another example: Ben's whole family came to visit for Thanksgiving, and Ally got to play with her cousins. Almost every day since then, she mentions something about her big cousins Isaac and Ethan. I guess there is a lot of stuff going on in that little head of hers!

I must say that one thing I am very thankful for is Ally's personality. She is a very happy and easygoing toddler (for now anyways). I don't even remember the last time I had to put her in time-out. I feel like right now, most potential points of conflict can be handled either with giving her choices or giving her fair warning about order of events. "Do you want to eat cereal or oatmeal?" "Do you want to wear this dress or that dress for church?" "We're going to read 1 more book and then it's bathtime." She is not terribly keen on sharing (but what toddler is), and she does not appreciate it when another toddler tries to take something she is playing with. But honestly, I don't particularly like it when someone takes my stuff either, so that's understandable.

Who knew...?

that my 1.5 year old would like sushi. And I don't mean the california rolls; I mean the raw fish. Ben brought home some sushi on Tuesday for dinner for my birthday, and Ally asked about sushi again last night and tonight. Funny, isn't it?!

31 Today

I don't feel old enough to be in my "early thirties." I guess that goes to show that age is just a number.

More overdue photos

Here are some more overdue pics from last month-Halloween and my parents' visit.

Trick-or-treating: Elaina and Victoria, and Ally and me. It was the girls' first trick-or-treating experience. I'll bet they thought it was kind of weird walking up to random people's houses and collecting candy (little do they know that in a few years, they will think this is awesome).

Minnie Mouse and UNC cheerleader on our front steps.

I even dressed up too, as an astronaut. I'm wearing my old flight suit from Space Camp 1997.

Ally loves to have books read to her, so here begins a series of photos of her being read to; first by Ben

Then with my mom.

Next with me.

And lastly with my dad, whom Ally now calls Pa-Pa.

Family photo.

Ally took a shine to my dad's LSU hat. They got her to say "Go Tigers!"

We also visited Andy and Michelle's farm, which we hadn't done in about 6 months. Since then, they have had some animal turnover, with sheep, chicken, and duck comings and goings, and unfortunately the passing of dear Linus the Beagle last Easter. Here's Ally meets one of their new dogs, a rather large and jovial Anatolian Shepherd named Basil.

Ally admires a lop-eared rabbit.

Petting said lop-eared rabbit.

I couldn't resist a cuddle with Abe, the other Anatolian Shepherd.

At the park near our house, swinging on the swingset.

Numbers, Letters, Shapes, and Sentences

One of Ally's favorite toys is her shape-sorter. We actually have two of them; one that belonged to me when I was little, and the Tupperware shape-sorter that looks like a ball and has 10 shapes to sort (one of my fabulous E-bay finds). She has gotten pretty good at picking up a shape and finding its appropriate slot, although more intricate shapes like the pentagon and hexagon are still challenging.

Also, Ally is very much into numbers and letters. She likes to play with her letter fridge magnets as well as the letters that stick to the sides of the bathtub when they get wet. She knows the letter "O" and enjoys the alphabet song. She also likes to point out letters on clothing, particularly the letters on my University of Kentucky t-shirt.

Ally also counts to 10 in both English and Spanish. But apparently she does not believe that certain numbers exist. Here is her sequence in English:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10

And in Spanish:

1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10

Evidently, 7 and 9 do not exist in English, and 5, 6, 7, and 9 don't exist in Spanish.

And to finish, Ally said her first inteligible sentence the other day that consisted of more than 2 words. I accidentally spilled my drink at the dinner table, which Ally observed and said, "Mommy no-no agua." It was pretty cute.

Long overdue cabin photos

Last month, we took a weekend trip to Boone with our friends Matt and Victoria and their almost-2-year-old daughter Elaina. It was a much needed weekend getaway, from both the hot weather and our usual surroundings. We stayed in a cool mountain cabin, cooked our own food, went on several nature hikes, and soaked in a hot tub after Ally and Elaina went to bed for the night. Additionally, Ben and Matt challenged each other to a series of ping-pong matches, in which I believe Matt was the overall winner. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Victoria pointing out a huge waterfall. This particular hike was pretty strenuous in that there was a lot of unsure footing (not ideal if there are toddlers in tow). Ben and Victoria did this part of the hike themselves while Matt and I stayed behind with the girls.

Matt, Victoria, and Elaina at another waterfall.

Ben, me, and Ally with a small waterfall in the background.

The two families.

Me and Ally. What transpired after this shot was that Ally accidentally sat down in a very large puddle of water and consequently had to do the return trip in soaking wet socks and shoes with no pants. She did not seem to mind too much.

Me and Ally after eating lunch on a rock in the middle of a stream.

Ally and Elaina. They are doing very typically girly things here-Ally is browsing though an issue of People Magazine while Elaina admires herself in her mommy's flip-flops.

Ally and Elaina in a big chair.

10K race

I ran the Carrboro 10K on Saturday, my first race since April 2008. It was a lot of fun, and the weather was perfect. I did set a 10K PR, but only by 3 seconds. Still, a PR is a PR. I am already looking forward to training for another race; maybe something in the spring.

Science terms that don't sound so scientific

It is pretty apparent that every profession has its own set of jargon; science and medicine being no different. And I will admit, I do occasionally have fun throwing around phrases like VO2max, gluconeogenesis, lymphocytopenia, and respiratory exchange ratio. But I have noticed that there are some scientific phrases that, well, don't really sound all that scientific. These below all happen to come from astronomy:

Big Bang
Theory of Everything
Dark Matter
Black Hole
Red Giant
Redshift
Brown Dwarf

In the astronomers' defense though, at least they are using terms that actually directly tell you what they are talking about. Maybe this is because astronomers are more "down to earth?" (rimshot)

I know, I know, bad pun! But I couldn't resist!

I'll bet my other scientist friends out there can think of some science terms that don't sound so science-ish (if so, leave me a comment!). A good follow-up post might be "Science terms that would make good band names."

I made the committment. . .

to run the Carrboro 10K on October 2nd. I just pressed the send button for the registration site. It will be my first road race since April 2008. I had been going back and forth about whether I wanted to do it, because part of me has been wanting to run a race for a while, but the other part of me wasn't sure because I don't want to post a bad time (I mean, if I'm going to pay an entry fee, I want it to be worth it). However, I started increasing my mileage again a few weeks ago and added tempo runs back in, and what do you know, it has been going better than I expected. I last ran this particular race 3 years ago, so I'd love to improve my time and set a new 10K PR. We'll see how it goes; if anything, it will be a lot of fun to be amidst the racing atmosphere, go for a nice run with a bunch of other runners, and chow down on post-race goodies afterwards.

PhD comprehensive exam-Part 2; DONE

Today, I turned in my grant which comprises Part 2 of my comps. I am sure my committee will rip it to shreds, but I really don't care right now. I'm just glad I don't have to think about it anymore, as it has been stewing at the back of my mind for the last month.

I'm supposed to get some general feedback on my grant and my written test next Friday so that I can start preparing for my oral exam. In the meantime, schoolwork keeps rolling along.

Good luck 2nd years!

Tomorrow, the 2nd year exercise physiology masters students in my department are taking their written comprehensive exam. I'm sure they will kick butt.

As for me, I will be stuck in PhD comps limbo until after my oral exam next month. I am starting to wonder if there is life after comps. I think it might be called "dissertation."

PhD comprehensive exam-Part 1; DONE

Last Friday, I took my written comprehensive exam. It was a LONG exam, and I am really glad it is over with. My morning questions took 4 hours to complete, then I had a 1 hour lunch break, and then my afternoon questions took 4.5 hours to complete. So 8.5 hours and 24 typed pages later (1.5 spacing), my brain was definitely mush. But it was so nice to have the weekend to recover, as I did not do any studying. Now, it's back to the grind, as classes start tomorrow, and I will receive my grant topic to complete for Part 2 of my comprehensive exam. Even with all the craziness and business of school, it is really nice to feel like I am progressing forward in my PhD program.

Crunch time

My PhD comps are getting close; less than 2 weeks away. I think I need a Faraday cage-like object to put over my head so that the brain waves that carry my exercise physiology knowledge don't escape.

Ethical dilemma?

Is it unethical for a vegetarian to eat a carnivorous plant?

Feared medical procedures

Last night, I caught most of a show on ABC called "Boston Med." It's one of those reality hospital shows, kind of like "Trauma, Life in the ER," or those similar-type shows that run on TLC and Discovery Health a lot. I do like watching medical shows, as the cases can be really interesting. Last night, one of the patients featured was a teenage girl that was getting a heart transplant.

I thought, "wow, that sounds like just about the scariest surgery anyone could every have." I mean, let's think about what happens here. They cut you open, they hook you up to a heart-lung machine, they TAKE OUT YOUR HEART, they stick a new one in there, they reattach stuff, and hopefully the new heart starts beating again, and I guess at that point they disconnect you from all the machines. I mean, I know people survive these procedures on a regular basis, but still, for a little while there, YOU DON'T HAVE A HEART. It's like you're kind of not all the way alive. Yikes!

Next to a heart transplant, open heart surgery sounds pretty scary to me too. Again, lots of people survive open heart surgery and bypass surgery. I personally know several people who have had this procedure. But still, for a while there, YOUR HEART IS NOT BEATING. I mean, there is a possibility that you might not be here after the procedure if your heart doesn't restart.

Okay, so I really really hope I never have to have heart surgery. But there is one other surgery I really really hope I never have to have either. Brain surgery. The idea of someone opening up my skull and rooting around in there is just weird. Okay, I know they don't actually "root around" as they have finely calibrated instruments and microscopes and stuff. But still, you have to admit that it's still a bit scary.

Okay, so those are pretty big medical procedures, and honestly, I don't think I'm scared of anything else, medical-procedure-wise. But seriously, even a trip to the dentist can be a terrifying experience for some.

So out of curiosity, what are your feared medical procedures?

Bowser vs. Mario (and Luigi). And the winner is. . .

Mario (and Luigi). We finally did it. Last night, we got up the courage to beat Bowser in the final castle of World 8 in the new Super Mario Wii game. We had attempted this a few weeks ago, but we kept dying in hot lava, so we left it alone for a while in order to collect the remaining star coins in the lower worlds. But last night, about the only thing left for us to do was to defeat Bowser. I will admit, we were a little nervous about it at first. But it only took 3 tries to send Bowser to his demise in a sink hole of hot lava. Our next endeavor is to make it through the secret World 9, although unfortunately the only prize for making it through World 9 is personal satisfaction.

An interesting side note: If you look around on Ebay and Amazon, you can find a great many of the characters and charms from Super Mario in plush form, and some for very cheap. Seriously, you could probably buy all of the Super Mario cast for a very small sum of money and stage your own Super Mario adventure (maybe something to keep in mind as children's presents for birthdays and holidays in the future). Also, when you see Bowser as a 10 inch tall plush figure, he doesn't seem so scary; in fact, he's almost cute!

My new favorite dog breed

Bernese Mountain Dog! Don't they just look so sweet and cuddly? It is unfortunate that their average life span is only like 6-8 years.

Preparing for comps. AGAIN!!!

If you go back into my blog archives, you will see that many of my posts from July-September, 2007, talk about my preparations for the comprehensive exam that I had to take for my master's degree. Well, now I get to do the whole thing over again, this time in preparation for my PhD comprehensive exams.

My PhD comps are a little different from my masters comps from 3 years ago. My masters comps entailed a 6-hour written exam that covered exercise physiology, sports nutrition, and statistics. My PhD comps will be in 3 parts: a 6-hour written exam, a grant proposal, and an oral exam. The written exam will actually be quite similar to the one I did for my master's comps, but instead of being tested on a wide variety of exercise physiology topics, I will only be responsible for topics relating to metabolism, the endocrine system, and the immune system (but I'll have to know those topics really well!). Additionally, since my specific area of interest is the effect of aerobic exercise on physiological functioning in cancer patients, there will be a section on the written exam with questions pertaining to that area. Once I turn in my written exam, I will then have 3 weeks to write a grant, in the format of a NIH-RO3 grant. My committee then grades my written exam and my grant, and if they have any questions about anything I wrote, or if they would like me to clarify any of my answers, I will then have the opportunity to do that during the oral exam.

We have already set a date for my written exam: August 20th. That would make my grant due on September 10th, and then my oral exam would be shortly after that. So basically, the next 2-3 months will be all about comps. Once that fun is over, then it's on to dissertation fun!

We got a Wii

Yep, we finally did it. We bought a Wii. We bought a used Wii, so it was quite a bit cheaper than what one would pay for a new one. Since Ally goes to bed around 7-7:30pm, we kind of have to stay home at night, and our options for entertaining ourselves (in the absence of schoolwork) were to either watch TV or read; neither of which are terribly interactive. But now with our Wii, we can play games together. Last night, Ben and I challenged each other to 9 holes of golf, a game of bowling, tennis, and baseball (the Wii sports game that comes with the Wii). We ordered the new Super Mario Bros game for Wii, so we're excited for that one to come in so we can play it together.

My current reading list

1. Runner's World magazine
2. The Happiest Toddler on the Block, by Dr. Harvey Karp
3. I'll Mature when I'm Dead, by Dave Barry
4. Peer-reviewed articles about immune system responses to various levels of aerobic exercise intensity

Ally's first birthday party

Last Sunday (Mother's Day), we had a small birthday party for Ally. She shared it with two of her fellow 1-year old friends, Elaina and Miriam, as well as her godparents (Jim, Victoria, and Matt), Miriam's parents Andy and Michelle, and my parents. Since Ally's birthday is the day before Cinqo de Mayo, we served tacos and fajitas with all the fixings, and I made a dulce de leche birthday cake for Ally. A good time was had by all. Here are some pics from the weekend.

The birthday cake

Ally and Grandpa

Ally getting ready to blow out her birthday candle


Ally eating birthday cake.


Ally opens her present from Andy, Michelle, and Miriam-Veggie Tales!

Ally and Elaina


A present from Matt, Victoria, and Elaina-beach/pool toys!


Taking a bath after the big day


Me and Ally


Ally and Grandma

Ally sits at a table and chair set that belonged to me when I was little

Ally is 1 year old!

Today is Ally's first birthday. In some ways, I can't believe the year has already gone by, but in other ways I can't believe that it's ONLY been a year! To do a little "then and now" comparison, here are a few pics from May 4th-ish 2009, and May 4th-ish 2010.

Me, 40 weeks pregnant, and 1 week before Ally was actually born (remember that I was induced at 41 weeks)


Me, this past Easter, 11 months post-partum. I returned to my pre-pregnancy weight fairly quickly (thank you genetics, running, and nursing!), and all my pre-pregnancy clothes fit like they used to

Ally, right after coming home from the hospital

Ally as a 1-year old

Here are some more pics of her opening her first round of birthday cards and presents from her aunts and uncles.

You know it's going to be a hard final exam when

The first page of your in-class, closed-book cancer pathobiology final asks you to describe the functions for each gene in a list of cancer-related genes. Have you seen how genes are named? It's like alphabet soup! Okay, a couple make sense, like how BRCA 1&2 are associated with breast cancer, but when a gene looks something like p18MSH2q&*#$!, it is not inherently obvious what cancer that gene is associated with or what it does.

The second essay question on your in-class, closed-book cancer pathobiology final asks, "Who gets cancer and why? (worth 20 points). Oh, where to begin. . .

There are no "choices" for essay questions on your in-class, closed book cancer pathobiology final. If remembering the difference between oncogene addition and non-oncogene addiction and which types of cancer treatments go with each one is not something that you spent a whole lot of time studying, oh well.

The point values of all the questions add up to ~150 points (i.e., it's a long test).

A tongue twister

From my cancer pathobiology class:

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer

Say that one five times fast! But if you can't even say it once all the way through, you can just call it HNPCC.

Sold the condo

On Thursday, we had the closing for our former residence, our little 1170-ish square-foot condo. We sold it to a very nice young couple who has a baby about Ally's age. We are happy that we can pass it on to a first-time homeowner, as it was our first home purchase too, over 6 years ago. Before the closing, Ben and I went over there one last time to make sure everything was as it should be (electricity on, fridge running, etc) We were a little nostalgic, as we remembered all the home improvement project we did: painting bathrooms and our bedroom, installing two tile floors, and the concrete countertop that Ben built for the half-bath. So goodbye, little condo, you were a great place and you served us well!

Easter pics