XC skiing in Grand Teton National Park

I spent the last two days XC skiing in beautiful Grand Teton National Park. 

Check out some of our pics and a quick movie below!

 Amazing blue skies and clouds flying above with the huge gusts of winds whipping through.

Me looking scared and David looking totally relaxed.

XC skiing is harder than I expected, especially being afraid to fall! 

Today I improved so much, but am still far from graceful...

David picked it up in no time. You can see me trying to keep up with him in the movie (below).

 Following the trail through the aspen trees into the coniferous forest.

Click here for movie!!!

Movie: Chasing the man in the yellow pants 

It's a glimpse of my first day on XC skis. 

Apologies in advance for the rocky camera (if you get motion sickness, just skip this one). 

Where's your winter getaway spot?

This year ours is Jackson Hole, Wyoming!  At the beginning of February, I started working at a different hospital in Queens where they require that you stay for two months of electives back-to-back. But at orientation I learned that I had a full one week break in between those two electives. A week long vacation?!?!  Yippee!!! Being at the beginning of 3rd trimester of pregnancy, I couldn't comfortably fly too far away (thought about visiting the Dandapani's in the Netherlands), and I couldn't go to the warmer climates (Zika virus), so David let me tag along with him on his ski vacation week he had tentatively planned out west! 

Since we arrived mid-day yesterday, we took the day to walk around Jackson and check out the scene. Welcome to the land of cowboys - boots, hats, and saddles for seats at the bar!  See the hot orange flag David is holding in the pic above? That's for crossing the street! We did a little shopping and we even got a little onesie for Dylan to remember that she was on this trip with us. Don't worry Jill and Rach, we got stuff for you too :)

p.s. check out the new cable knit ear warmer that I knit! (i'm a little obsessed with knitting right now)

#awwwww

David gets the best hubby award!!! First of all, he let me crash his ski trip when I can't even downhill ski! I decided that I'll try cross country skiing and he said he was going to give up a few days of skiing the awesome downhill terrain at Jackson Hole to come with me. On our flight out here his seat was upgraded to first class, which he insisted that I take since I was pregnant. He sat alllll the way in the back of the plane with the crying babies (there were at least 3 of them!) and no complementary sparkling wine. Then when we got here he jumped at every street crossing and every stairwell to grab my arm and make sure I didn't slip on the ice. I'm the luckiest gal <3

Stay tuned for more updates from our trip!

Feb is flying by!

This past week came and went so quickly - just a quick post of some of the great things that happened this week.  

I got to see my friend and Step 1 study buddy, Amanda, for an awesome dinner in Brooklyn. She too has moved every month since the summer for med school electives and eagerly awaits the results of the residency match.  The med school process is so exhausting and chaotic that sometimes its hard to see the growth and the hopes and the potential in ourselves and in those around us...but its been over a year since I've seen Amanda and hearing about her plans and what she has accomplished was so exciting and reinvigorating. Less than one month until we find out where we match, and only two months left before we're ready to graduate!! The pic of us is from our trip to Kenya after our 1st year of med school - we're standing on the air strip in Masai Mara after a few days on safari. It's amazing how time flies. 

David and I got to meet Miss Avery Lyn, Tim and Jena's precious little girl who was born on Superbowl Sunday. It was so cool to see Tim and Jena in their new role as parents! She's the happy baby in the teal outfit in the pics.

I finished two chemo caps this week!  Last year I decided that I would learn how to knit hats for donation to patients undergoing chemotherapy and experiencing the unfortunate side effect of hair loss. I'm really enjoying knitting and now I think I'll try a more advanced pattern.

Finally, my friend Christy came over today with her 9 month old son, Jaxson, who entertained us for hours wiggling all over the place and showing off his new teeth.  

Although I miss being in the OR, I'm so happy to be on a more laid back rotation so that I can enjoy some time away from work catching up with all these friends who I've been missing!!!

Valentines Day!

Five years ago, Jill and I decided that we were going to make heart shaped pancakes for breakfast on Valentines Day...and so began the tradition.  Now we have included dogs (Jakes) and elephants (Lemoyians) too, AND our pancakes were pink this year (naturally colored with beet juice).  


  

We also enjoyed one of my favorite juices - beet, carrot, apple, ginger - perfect for the occasion!

Happy Valentines Day!!

100 days

When I was young, my dad used to hold his arms out wide and say "I Love You Thiiiiiiis Much!" He was imitating the little statue above, which he said was obviously him because they had matching big bellies :)  

Today marks 100 days till we get to meet our little monkey. We're already so excited to meet her, we already love her Thiiiiiiis Much!

Happy snowmen!

Last night when we came home from our friends Super Bowl party I noticed that our snowmen now had faces!  Check out what David did when I wasn't looking :D  They're already getting covered by new snow - another 3" down and its still coming...

Fun in the snow!

Yesterday we were surprised by almost 8" of snow!  

Today we got to enjoy it...

Sledding at JBHS!

What I'm missing the most

There are lots of things you can't do during pregnancy: wine, sushi, delicious unpasteurized cheeses...travel to warm places because of Zika virus...but the thing I'm missing the most is skiing (ok and maybe the apres ski Moscow Mules from the Little Nell)!

As a kid, my parents would take my brother, sister, and I skiing almost every weekend through the winter. My mom would pack up the old wood-paneled station wagon and then when my dad got home from working all day in the city, we'd hit the road for a 6h drive from Long Island to Stratton (VT). My sister almost always got sick, and then there was the usual sibling stuff - the fights over who would sit in the middle or who would get the all-the-way-in-the-back seat - all sans iPhones/iPads for music and video distractions to pass the time. Just plain old family car trip fun! Then there was the lugging of gear, the endless laundry, and the cleaning up after all of us that I sooo could not appreciate at the time. Now that we do our own ski trips with the girls, I get it! Ski trips are no small feat for a family... but those were some of the best memories that I had growing up and I am so grateful that my parents did that for us weekend after weekend, year after year!! 

Last year we had so much fun skiing. One weekend we took the girls and their friends skiing at Stratton and then made our first movie with the GoPro footage! Check it out (here).

While I practically never fall skiing, it just seems unreasonable to risk getting slammed into by another skier and jeopardize our little monkey, so I'm taking a seat on the sidelines this year and am looking forward to next year when we can all hit the trails together again...