The Second Annual Cocktail Kegger

Friday night was Ellen's annual Cocktail Kegger. The name really is all the description you need: coctail attire is recommended and she and her husband provide a keg. They actually provide the keg, plenty of mixers for drinks, great music, and lots of yummy food. Ari and I were not able to attend last year so we were excited to have our schedules clear for the shindig.

I will be the first to admit that I started getting cold feet Friday night... I was having a fashion crisis and feeling fat (ladies you KNOW what I am talking about) and just overall exhausted. We had promised a friend to drive her to the festivities so off we went. Boy am I glad we made it! I really cannot remember when I have had that much fun. Right when we walked in we bumped into a guy wearing the same outfit as Ari! He had the exact same lavender shirt on, the cousin to Ari's tie, and black pants with white pinstripes just like Ari; it was hilarious! Usually it is the girls worrying that they will match someone! Check out the picture!

We had a great time visiting with the over 60 people that were there, I even indulged in some wine since Ari was the DD. The most suprising thing is that we stayed out until 2 am and I did not turn into a pumpkin! Ari was so excited! After we made it home Ari took really good care of me, making me drink a ton of water and take some ibuprofen. It didn't make much difference yesterday, though. I had quite a nagging headache but it was worth it! We just relaxed last night with Tom, Sara, and Conner. I made homemade pizzas and we played mexican train.

Catch Up Time!

Now that things are settling down from a busy and emotional January, let me just update you on the fun we did have. Early in January we headed down to Chicago to help celebrate dad's birthday. He knows we are super busy (and that our off days don't often coincide) so we kept it a suprise that we would be making it to his birthday dinner downtown. We met Kristen and Larry early for a little sangria at a restaurant whose name I can't remember. Finally the birthday boy arrived with Lily and Kelsey, he was so suprised to see us! We had a delicious dinner. If you click the title to go to the pictures you will see Kristen and Larry opening their Christmas gifts, too.

A couple of days later we went to Andy and Tara's to watch the national championship college football game. The Badger and Illini fans banded together to root for the Big Ten. While the game got off to a promising start, it quickly dissintigrated. We decided to then turn to America's new past time: Guitar Hero. Brian and Lindsay had never played which made it fun to watch. There were new people battles, couples battles (not me, I haven't tried it yet), and girls v. girls, and guys v. girls. It definitely was more entertaining than the game!

A couple of weeks ago, Kristen headed up to Milwaukee for a little girl time. I picked her up at the train station and we headed for Cedarburg for some pottery painting... you know this has become one of my favorite past times! We stopped by a local coffee shop for some yummy warm drinks before starting our craft bonanza. Kristen designed a really super "#1 Hubby" mug for Larry while I took on an ambitious utensil holder. It wouldn't have been nearly as ambitious if I hadn't decided to paint an argyle pattern on it; calculating the size of the diamonds so they would meet perfectly and tracing on the pattern. Needless to say, we shot for the stars and after FIVE hours of painting still had not finished our projects so we were STARVING. We packed it up for the day and headed for Mitchell's Fish Market. We had some delicious gumbo followed by crab cakes, filet mignon, and topped off with a succulent banana bread pudding. Mmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Afterward, we just crashed on my couch and Kristen got to catch up on American Idol since she has no TV right now... they are getting ready to move into their new condo, more on that when the big day arrives... The next day it was back to Cedarburg to finish our painting. We dragged Ari along and he painted this cute little penguin bank. Kristen finished her mug but despite my utmost concentration I was unable to finish the argyle utensil holder. Maybe I just wanted an excuse to go back to Glaze?! A little more relaxing and another excellent dinner later and it was time to take Kristen to the train station.

During the frigid, snow-packed, hospital-filled month of January, I was the senior resident for the hospitalist team. This is easily the busiest team in the hospital as we take care of all the kids who do not have pediatricians or who come from so far away that their own doctors don't have priveledges at Children's. I had the extreme pleasure of working with some great interns, medical students, and some of my most favorite faculty members which helped lift my mood during all the mayhem. The hospitalist team is also known for its team spirit. Affectionately known as the Red Falcons, the team wears as much red on Thursdays as possible to earn points for their team (med students v. interns v. seniors). To end the month, we played a version of Stump the Attendings appropriately renamed Stump the Falcons. Joanne, one of the super interns, went head to head with Dr. Weisgerber and won! She got the crown of glory while Dr. W walked away with a fancy button proclaiming his falcon valor.

Loss and Sorrow

I am sorry for the lack of blogging recently; I have been pondering whether or not I should share our recent loss with you all. In the end I have decided to write down the story, hoping that it will be somewhat cathartic and will bring us some peace. Most of you know that Ari and I have been trying to have a baby for over 2 years now. We have had all the work-up and seen the specialists and nothing has worked. In the midst of starting to seriously consider procedures we thought we would never have to worry about and looking at adoption, in a month without any treatment I found out I was pregnant. You can only imagine how excited we were. I told Ari and 5 a.m. and he jumped out of bed and was so excited that he couldn't go back to sleep. We told our families who where of course thrilled that we would be bringing the first grandchild into the world, on both sides. Kristen started getting her knitting needles warmed up. Amidst all the excitement I was working hard on the wards and suffering from morning sickness; which I joked that I had been waiting two years to experience. Then without even getting to my first prenatal appointment, I had a miscarriage. Despite the grief I have experienced losing loved ones before, this was undoubtedly the worst experience of my life. I have never felt so helpless. So together Ari and I have cried and grieved for the little one we so desperately wanted to bring into the world. We thank everyone for the love and support. Two weeks have now passed and we know that our hearts will hurt less each passing day but we will never forget the blessing that was just not meant to be.

Home for the Holidays

For the first time in three years, Ari and I were able to get Christmas off! We were so excited to get to go home to St. Louis and Kristen, Larry, Uncle Ron, Mai, Emily would be there to celebrate as well! Things got off to a rocky start. Ari had to work the day of the 23rd and it was snowing and SO windy all day. We arrived at the airport not knowing what to expect. As we were getting checked in we found out that our flight was the only American Airlines flight leaving Milwaukee! We headed to the terminal and were thankful we brought our own sandwiches because the airport was out of food! So many people had been delayed and stranded that they were literally down to 1 brat (which the man in front of us bought when we got a soda) and a couple of hotdogs!! Not so good if you are a vegetarian! Down by the gate it was SO cold... see picture. We couldn't even take our coats off. Our plane was about 2 hours late but we were just glad we left... I was more glad that there wasn't turbulence all the way.

Mom picked us up at the airport and we went home to officially meet our new cousin Emily. She is adorable. Sure it was fun catching up with Uncle Ron and Mai but I LOVE babies!! We had a long day so we were ready to crash. Christmas Eve mom and I got up to do a bit of last minute grocery shopping because I volunteered to cook that night. We got back and played some games then Uncle Ron and Mai left us with Emily since they have only gone out once since she was born. They were back for dinner. I made rosemary roasted chickens, celery root and potato horseradish mash, broiled asparagus, and caesar salad. It was a hit!

Christmas day we couldn't wait to open all the presents... but we had to because Kristen and Larry hadn't arrived yet. When they did we had our big meal which mom cooked: beef tenderloin, green beans, eggplant rolled with feta and roasted peppers, twice baked potatoes, mmm. Then we ran downstairs to open our gifts. Ari got guitar hero which was probably the most popular gift. He also got some Sid Dickens tiles. I got a Coach purse from my sister, a pair of candle sconces and a new suit from my mom, and a dock for my iPod from Ari. Uncle Ron made out with a new roasting pan while Mai got some spa pampering things. Kristen and I are sending mom and John to San Francisco for a long weekend as their gift. Larry got some basketball videos that he had been wanting. Of course Miss Em got some new clothes and hair bows. Phew! What a spoiled bunch!! The rest of the day can be summed up as the guitar hero day from hell. Ari and Larry played for at least twelve hours straight. Larry iced his fingers that night because they were swollen!

The next day the girls escaped to the mall when Ari and Larry started tuning up the guitars again. Love those after Christmas sales! Then it was back to reality early the next morning. Believe it or not, our plane left and landed on time!

Resident Holiday Party

To get into the holiday spirit, the pediatric residency has a holiday party for the residents each year over the lunch hour. They cater it with great food and it gives us a chance to exchange gifts and reveal our Secret Santas. This year I had Alisen and Jackie had me. We all exchanged gifts and ironically Tara and I had the same idea this year... we gave the girls each a picture frame and a picture from Tara's wedding!!

San Antonio

Last week Tara and I headed to San Antonio for a pediatrics conference; of course we dragged the boys along with us. When we had scheduled the conference we were hoping that it would be a warm escape from frigid Wisconsin. That was not to be the case as the weather reports kept dropping the temperature forecasts up until our departure date. It didn't get much above 60 degrees the whole time we were there and we only had one sunny day, bummer!




Our journey there was not easy... it never is, is it? We had super early flights the day after the tundra pictures were taken. We were so worried that our flights would be delayed because of weather. The plane from Milwaukee took off on time, however. The problem was actually in Memphis where we circled waiting to land for at least 40 minutes. By the time we landed our layover time was up (no time for breakfast!) and we had to run to make our next flight. We boarded on time but taxied for at least 30 minutes waiting for clearance to take-off... you know we all wished for those minutes so we could eat!! When we finally arrived to San Antonio we were starving. We checked in and descended on the hotel restaurant. They actually had this cool set up where you could pick ingredients for either a stir fry or a pasta dish; it hit the spot!


After lunch, Ari and I had to take a nap since we had stayed up late packing and then woke up at 4 am to get to the airport. Tara and Andy met up with Andy's aunt Megan and had a few welcome Margaritas. By the time Ari and I were ready to go, Megan was ready to introduce us to the Riverwalk. In the course of one evening we ate and drank at three restaurants... Margaritas, guacamole, and quesadillas at Boudro's; beer and ceviche for the girls and a white russian and dessert for Ari at Pesca on the River; then rounding the evening out at... uh oh, those drinks were good... at some festive TexMex place with more margaritas, jalepeno poppers, and mariachi. As you can imagine, we crashed afterward and slept in... I didn't wake up until 7:15 am!! Thursday was a bit on the dreary side. After a late breakfast, we headed to the Riverwalk mall... not the nicest of malls but it was something to do. Then in the afternoon we walked around the Alamo. The Alamo really is not as exciting as you would think it is. It is right smack dab in the middle of downtown and is mostly a wall with a couple of buildings.



That night we had reservations at Sushi Zushi... probably the best name for a sushi restaurant ever! Andy's college friend Mary joined us for a sushi extravaganza. The wine was great and my favorite fish was the yummy yummy roll! For those of us missing home, there was even a Greenbay roll on the menu; I wonder if that is Brett Favre's favorite... After a delicious dinner we finished the night at a bar appropriately named Drink. After a chocolate truffle martini I was ready to call it a night.




The next day we attended a portion of the conference... definitely not exciting! Then because it was another dreary day, we decided to head to a nicer mall. Our cab driver was a hilarious old man; he even parked the taxi at the mall so he could come in to shop for hats... he ran all of his choices by Ari and Andy! After some shopping and a quick lunch we headed back to the hotel so Ari and I could hit the gym. We decided to have a low key night and pick up pizza and beer to bring back to the hotel and play games. Mary came to pick us up and we had quite the adventure trying to find the pizza place. Mary is one of the funniest people we have met but her sense of direction is questionable! We finally got back and inhaled the pizza while playing Phase 10.

On Saturday, it was actually sunny! (Obvious, from the picture I know!) We took a walk down the Riverwalk to La Vallita which is a little cluster of buildings housing artisans and their crafts. We had so much fun investigating the shops from fragrant candles to copper metalsmithing to a very interesting lady named Sherry that mastered the art of bonsai trees. We all got a Bonsai starter kit; we'll keep you posted on the progress. Then Mary picked us up and took us to a place called the Flying Saucer. They had every beer imaginable and an assortment of Wisconsin influenced food... bratwurst nachos and pretzels with three kinds of cheese. I had a delicious Hefewiesen and shared a pretzel with Ari. Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready since we had tickets to a show that night. We met Mary and her husband for drinks and appetizers then saw a musical called "The Great American Trailerpark." It was a hoot. The best part was that it was in this small quaint theater. They even served drinks during the show. Following the show we ate a fabulous TexMex feast at Rosarios. It was then off to the hotel because the boys had to catch a flight in the morning.

Mary and Steven were so kind to take the guys to the airport the next morning while Tara and I were left to roam around San Antonio. The concierge suggested brunch in the historic King William area just about a mile or so from our hotel... that is if you walk directly there. We started off on the Riverwalk but got turned around so we headed up to street level. An hour later we were there! Unfortunately, there was quite a wait and we wouldn't have had time to eat and walk back before it would be time to leave for the airport. So we headed back to the hotel (on the Riverwalk, no problem this time!) and had Italian food that hit the spot... we were so Tex Mex'd out. Then we watched a bit of the Packer game and headed to the airport. We were so glad we got there early because the lines were HUGE. As we were waiting, we got a call from the boys who were still at the airport... in San Antonio... 3 hours AFTER their flight was supposed to leave!! Needless to say, they were a bit aggravated. It turns out there was a giant breast cancer research conference that let out on Sunday and approximately 6,000 people had come from all over the world to attend. That meant 6,000 people crowding the airport and not all of them speaking good English, making it super difficult to rearrange cancelled flights. Long story short on our trip home: boys got rerouted through Chicago and then taxied to Milwaukee, while we went as planned through Memphis (yummy BBQ for dinner) and traveled on home in a plane that smelled like the lavatory. Not the best ending!!

The Land of Snow and Tundra

Looks picturesque, right? Not if you are continually digging yourself out of it and praying to get in the driveway!! We have had over a foot of snow already this year which has led Ari and I to be even more ready to move to Cincinnati... and hopefully get a house with an attached garage!

We bit the bullet this year and found someone to plow our driveway for us. The problem is they only come when the snowfall is finished. That's why there are pictures of Ari shoveling away. The guy who does our driveway was shocked to hear we have been clearing it by hand for the last three years!

Peds Holiday Party

For the first time in 3 years, I was actually NOT on call the evening of the Pediatric Department holiday party. I was beginning to feel left out... but I should not have. We went for about 3 hours (before Ari had to go in for his overnight shift) and it was actually kind of dull. We sat, ate, and chatted with the people we usually hang out with... just a little more dressed up. Oh well, at least it got us out of the house (which I have been reluctant to do since it is so cold and snowy). The holiday season can only get better from here!

Trimming the Tree

Last week Ari and I put up our Christmas tree. Originally, we were going to pick it out over the weekend but the weather report said snow so we went a little earlier. We were a little over zealous this year - the tree touches the ceiling and there is no room for the star! It didn't seem that big on the lot :)

Saturday I made homemade bean soup... enough for an army and served it in my tureen. I took pictures to show off the tureen since I had to fight really hard to get it; Ari seems to think it is a superfluous serving piece but I disagree. Luckily, the soup was delicious because we are still eating the leftovers! I turned on my favorite christmas cds and we were off. We got a new tree stand this year that lets you spin the tree; it made putting on the lights so much easier... there are about 800 lights on our tree! Unfortunately, it is hard to capture the detail of the ornaments on film so you'll have to trust me when I say it looks great. So far there haven't been any mishaps with the cats and the tree, but I anticipate at least one before the tree comes down. Happy Holidays!

Belated Thanksgiving

Although I was on call Thanksgiving Day (but luckily did not get called in), I was still able to celebrate with mom, Kristen, and John the next day. Unfortunately, Ari was scheduled for a week of overnights and then was off to Cincinnati for three interviews in three days. Because we decided to go so late, we decided it would be best to drive so I picked Kristen up on Friday morning and we were off. The trip was long but at least the weather was okay. We were starving but we waited until Springfield to eat so that we could have the best sandwiches in the world at Head West. I must have eaten there at least once a week while I was in med school. After her tummy was full, Kristen fell asleep until we go to mom's house. Mom was cooking like a fiend when we got there and the house smelled wonderful. We cracked open some wine and enjoyed each other's company then stuffed ourselves with all of the Thanksgiving staples: turkey and gravy, mash potatoes, stuffing, cranberries and green bean casserole mmm... we rolled ourselves in front of the TV to watch some football and then headed to bed.

Saturday, we slept until 9am... what a treat! We went off to the gym to work off a fraction of the meal the night before and then it was time for Kristen and I to get ready for Hollie's baby shower. Hollie is our cousin Martin's wife on our dad's side. She is expecting a baby boy whom they plan to name Braden in January. At the shower they had the most adorable center pieces which all had clues to a nursery rhyme that you had to guess. We also had to guess different baby foods in jars and finish lines of nursery rhymes. Kristen and I totally lost these games. Not being mommies ourselves was a huge disadvantage. It was wonderful to see our family; Aunt Camille is simply glowing at the prospect of being a grandma and Aunt Kathy was in great spirits. Baby Braden totally made out at this shower and it was fun to see all of the baby things. After the shower, we headed to Aunt Camille's to visit with the rest of the Pope/Caupp clan before going back to mom's. As usual, mom made a fabulous dinner and we had to be rolled to bed.

Sunday morning we slept in! Kristen and I left at noon so we would get back at a decent hour... which happened to be 9pm for me. The freezing rain started somewhere around Bloomington and it was stop and go around Chicago. What a mess! I was so thankful when I finally made it to our house. Despite the long trip, I am so glad I got to celebrate Thanksgiving!

Mommy Time

Two weeks ago... where does the time go?... My mom came up to visit for the weekend. Ari was diligently studying for his board exams so it was perfect timing; plus, sometimes you just need a hug from your mom! She flew in on Friday and she, Ari, and I went to eat at the Pasta Tree. We discovered a new wine and had wonderful meals, they practically had to roll us out of there. Then we headed for the casino. Potawatomi has not been good to me in the past but I was up for a challenge. I started off on the craps table, mom wandered toward the slots, and Ari watched me for a while and then decided to try his hand at roulette. My winnings were slow and steady but mom found me quickly when she was down to her last few dollars. She was so bummed! She decided, she would risk the last of it and won $250!! Both Ari and I walked away winners too! Take that Potawatomi!! Saturday, we headed up to Cedarburg for some pottery painting (I am addicted). I think mom was more stressed than enjoying it... she is such a perfectionist! We painted little holiday plates. Then we shopped down the main street. We both found fun holiday items. Finally, it was time to head back to Milwaukee. For dinner we decided to try McCormick and Schmidt's Fish Market. We had the best meal. The crab cakes were sensational and our steak was cooked perfectly. When we got home Ari was done studying for the day so we played a few rounds of dominoes. Sunday we slept in and went to the gym. Before long it was time for mom to go. I am so glad she came!

Halloween...finally

After years of avoiding dressing up (I don't think I have celebrated Halloween since my third year of medical school) Ari finally got to get into the Halloween spirit this year. There was some debate but we finally decided on King Arthur and the Black Knight from Monty Python. We should have taken better pictures so you could see that one of my arms was detachable! Just a flesh wound!! Ari even had fake coconuts to hit together like they do in the movie.

So after a short call day, I left the hospital at 9pm to meet Ari at Aaron and Ann's house. Everyone was dressed up and having a great time. Aaron provided entertainment by dancing like Napoleon Dynamite. Then in true Wisconsin drinking game fashion, the old stump came out. The Stump Game is this silly drinking game where you have to pound nails into a stump with a hammer. I have never played and it certainly seems dangerous to mix alcohol with hammers, but it always is fun to watch others. At about 11, I couldn't keep my eyes open so we headed home.

Ward Senior

Believe it or not, for the past month I have been the Green Team wards senior. For those of you who do not know the ins and outs of Children's Hospital, that essentially means that I supervise 4 interns and 4 medical students while they care for patients on the 7th floor... the baby floor. I just cannot believe that I am the senior because it seems like just yesterday that I was the intern! Time flies when you never sleep! I had a great group of residents and students so on the last day we played "Stump the Attending." I basically made the game like Stump the Schwab on ESPN and the residents and medical students tried to be the last one standing so they could face the attendings in the final round. One of the medical students, Mike, faced off with the attendings and just came a little short! I had made a crown for the victor, however, and he wore it proudly during our rounds. The categories of questions ranged from developmental milestones to rashes to rheumatologic and infectious diseases. I was so impressed by how much everyone learned this month!

Welcome Baby Emily!!

On October 14, a new addition arrived to our family. We have a new cousin; my Uncle Ron and his wife Mai welcomed Emily Jordan Droegmyer into the world after waiting 4 days past her due date. She was born in Portland, Oregon so we haven't met her just yet but we are certainly hoping to meet her soon (maybe around Christmas). Congratulations Uncle Ron and Mai! Welcome, Emily, we can't wait to watch you grow!!

Ari's Birthday, Part II

To keep the celebration going, Saturday the 13th Dan, Amber, Jason and Jen came to town. We joined them, Tom, and Sarah for a bike ride along the intraurban trail that is just a few miles from our house. It was a perfect day for a bike ride and we completed 20 miles round-trip. After we got back, it was time to get cleaned up and have some celebratory libations. Andy, Tara, Corey (yes, Corey!), and his girlfriend Angie arrived as well. We rented a chauffeured van to drive us around so we could enjoy the evening. Once it arrived we went to pick up Tomer and Michelle and we headed to Buca di Beppo. Brian and Rob met us there... are you keeping track? We all enjoyed a delicious, family-style Italian dinner. We even embarrassed Ari by singing and the brought a candelabra to the table! We then headed to the Hi Hat Lounge and Garage for libations. The martinis were delicious but the company was better. Before we knew it, it was time to head home. Some of our guests stayed up, but this old lady headed to bed. 2:30 am is WAY past my bedtime! Thank you everyone for coming to celebrate!!

Ari's Birthday, Part 1

On Ari's true birthday, last Friday, we celebrated at home by opening presents and carving pumpkins. Since Ari's favorite holiday is Halloween, he got many Department 56 pieces to put together a miniature Spooktown. (See pictures). He loved the gift and had a great time setting it up on our console table. We then went to pick our pumpkins. We picked 4 very large pumpkins so that we could use stencils to make more intricate carvings. While I ruined dinner... my second attempt at gnocchi was better than the first but I am definitely finished trying to prepare it, thank goodness I made good asparagus... Ari prepped the pumpkins. After dinner we got down to business with Ari carving a bat and I chose a cat. I think they turned out awesome. We have two pumpkins each still to carve when we get a free moment. It was a low key night in preparation for more festivities the next day, more soon...

Cheeseheads

After the marathon, when Ari was feeling rehydrated and refreshed... which amazingly didn't take long, we headed to Tara and Andy's for dinner and to watch the Packer v. Bears game. Since we moved to Wisconsin, I have become a bit of a Green Bay fan so I brought along my cheesehead. We ate Wisconsin fare: brats, baked beans, cole slaw, and at first were enjoying the game. Then things took a turn for the worse and the Bears won! Ari was thrilled but the rest of us were disappointed.

Run Ari run!!

This past Sunday, Ari completed a huge fete: he ran the Milwaukee Marathon! The enormity of this accomplishment was increased due to the fact that it was 86 degrees on race day... the average temperature for the day is 54 degrees! You may have heard that the Chicago marathon was cancelled due to these extreme conditions. The morning started early as we met Tom, Sarah, Conner, and Tom's work colleague Doug to drive up to Grafton, Wi together. There was so much excitement and nervous energy at the start line. Nearly 2500 people were registered to race and then additional people were running the marathon as a relay. We cheered the boys on as the started off and then went to grab a quick breakfast in nearby Cedarburg. We caught up with them again at about mile 14. I was amazed at Ari's split time... just 2 hours! We caught up to Ari again at about mile 17 and he was lookin' a bit exhausted. We then made our way down to the lakefront for the finish. Sarah and I were getting nervous waiting; it was so hot and the medical tent was filling up. Luckily, Ari, Tom, and Doug finished without major incident. Ari's time was 4 hours and 50 minutes... a bit longer than he had hoped because of the heat. I was just proud of him for finishing!! I also told him not to worry about his time... that he would do better next time! To which he replied, "There will be no next time!" I think that was just the lactic acid talking. I want him to run another just because I was so unprepared for this one... next time I will definitely have to make a shirt and get a cow bell! Way to go Ari!!

Pottery Glazing

Yesterday, Jackie and I headed up to Cedarburg, Wisconsin to paint pottery. Cedarburg is this really quaint area with shopping, bed and breakfasts, and even a local coffee roaster. My preceptor had told me what a great time she had there, so we decided to flex our creative muscles. Which, as you can imagine, are quite stiff from disuse. Glaze is this fantastic shop where you can pick from hundreds of pieces what you would like to glaze; they have everything from seasonal items to piggy banks to dishware to magnets. It was a hard decision, but I decided on the travel coffee mug and Jackie chose a pumpkin candy dish. For my delta zeta girls reading this... I chose to glaze my cup gray with green and pink polka dots! So after about an hour and a half of painting, we were finished (thank goodness because the shop was closing). The pieces don't quite look like they will until they are fired but we are excited to see the finished projects next week!

Something Other Than Kickball

By now you all must be wondering why there have been very few posts and why they have all been about kickball. This past month has been a busy one while I finish my last month of Q4 (every fourth night) call and Ari has been working hard. Our only real social escape, besides the occasional dinner out, has been our Tuesday night kickball games. This past Friday, however, we joined our friends to celebrate Andy's birthday. We started off at Mo's for dinner and then went downtown to Hotel Metro for martinis. We picked Hotel Metro because it has a very chic bar on the roof called Zen on 7. As luck would have it, the rain began to fall as we headed downtown. This first round of martinis were inside, but then the weather cooperated and we moved the group outside. It was a super fun coincidence that some of the interns were having a night out there as well. Not being quite the party girl that I used to be, we called it a night at about midnight.