Biking

Last week Philip decided he wanted to start biking. So we looked around at different kinds of bikes. We decided to get road bikes, and based on recommendations from our biker-friend Jordan, we went to Scheller's and 'tried on' several. We both went for the Trek brand. His the male version '1.1', mine the much cuter female version 'Lexa'. 

this handy little device calculates your speed, time, calories and distance

 His was in stock, mine had to be ordered. So he has gotten in several rides without me. 

Yesterday we went and picked up my bike and I got 'fitted' for it. However, the weather was not riding-friendly. So our first ride together was today. and what a perfect day for riding it was!

I wanted to go somewhere where cars would not be messing with me, while I was learning how to navigate and work my bike. We drove to the Legacy Trail to try it out. I had no idea how difficult it was going to be to get on and off the bike! Those cages that hold your feet are like death traps!!!

Case and point:

(yes, this was before we even got on the trail) However, once I got the hang of it, things got better. pleasurable actually. It was so nice and relaxing to be outside on such a beautiful day, with my husband, enjoying our new found hobby. 

I am looking forward to getting better and hopefully not bust my knees up again:)

Tonight we took dinner to JC & Crystal and got to see Emma. She is just so cute. We stayed and had dinner with them and got to visit for awhile. The family of 3 is doing well!! :) 

her favorite position to be held in. she's like a little frog:)

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I will be stuck at work the next 3 days so my weekend is nonexistent. Sorry I'm missing your birthday lunch Doug & Matt. save me a plate ;)

Europe anyone??

CALLING ALL WORLD TRAVELERS!!!

(or even if you haven't been and have ideas!)

Philip and I are in the final stages of planning our Europe trip for April.  Our 'done with residency', ' happy 2 year anniversary' trip :) 

We have always said we want to travel as much as we can, so this trip has been in the making for quite some time!

We are going to Paris France

Zermatt Switzerland

then Venice Italy

I have been researching, reading and asking around, but I still need some more help :) 

We know we want to do the usual tourist things. But I also want us to do the not-so-tourist things. and most of all I don't want to miss anything! This could be the only time we are ever in these countries and I want to make sure we see and do what we can:)

We know Paris is going to be our busiest city. There is just so much to see and do there. Zermatt is going to be more laid back and relaxed. Then back to the hustle-bustle in Venice. 

Any suggestions on restaurants? Things we must do? Things not to bother with? Things you have heard are fun or want to do if you go?  Give me your thoughts, please:) 

Just click the comment button below and help me out:)

Busy Weekend

Whew~ what a fun and crazy weekend!!! 

Friday night we had an early dinner with our friends Perry & Nikki at Saul Good (yum). Then we were low key and rented the movie 'Just Go With It' which we thought was so cute (and yes, I managed to stay awake through the whole thing!). We also got self-serve yogurt at a new place in the shopping center by our house called Cherry Berry. just like orange leaf, but a little cheaper. we loved it.

Saturday Philip worked in Morehead and I had a bachelorette party for my friend Jessie in Louisville (WRONG place to be when the Cats are playing the Cards). It was a lot of fun! a little too much fun for this old woman:) I haven't seen 3am in a loonnng time:) We started out with a personal shower in the suites at the Galt House. Then we walked to a nice dinner at O'Sheas. When we were done a limo picked us up! The limo drove us to several bars on the Bourbon Trail where we got our 'passports' stamped. Then he dropped us off at Fourth Street Live where we spent the rest of the night going from bar to bar there. Jessie got her bachelorette dream of ending the night at a hot dog stand:) 

This afternoon I had a belated birthday lunch with my mother-in-law Joy. We went to Josie's for brunch. And as she always does, she spoiled me rotten. Her gifts are always thoughtful and perfect. She got us this awesome book/box filled with all kinds of things we need for our Europe trip in the spring.

excited to fill this up with souvenirs from our trip!

outlet converters for each country, language cards in Italian, French and German, travel containers, luggage tag, ear plugs:), and other goodies!

 In MI, a discussion came up about Philip 'cuddling' with me.  I brought to light that Philip does not love to cuddle. :) so Joy got me this awesome body pillow for me to snuggle with:)

 

Tonight we got to have dinner with our Life Group at a new restaurant downtown called the Local Taco. It was pretty good. the company was better:) We are all getting so excited for Megan&Brian to have Baby Harper:) it's getting so close!!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I am so glad I am off tomorrow to catch up on sleep and things around the house!:)

 

and because she is just so darn cute and I love everything about her: a pic of Emma

going home from the hospital!

 

Baby Emma

Happy Birthday Emma!!!

Last night, Emma Kaylan Wilhoite entered the world. but not because she wanted to! She was so stubborn and did not want to come out of the comfort of Crystal's belly!

I was at work all day yesterday, so I called and texted like every hour. I am sure JC was about to kill me, but I was just so anxious and excited!

She went into the hospital at 1030 wednesday night. They started Pitocin at 300am. Things didn't really progress on their own, so she had some help in various ways. 

We sat with her, watched the monitor show contractions she barely felt (thank you epidural!), sat some more. THEN the contractions started getting bad. the epidural wasn't working as well, and she was hurting. that was our cue to go wait in the waiting room:) So we sat some more. waiting to hear from JC. 

FINALLY at 10:34 Baby Emma came out! weighing 8 lbs 2 oz. much bigger than we, and the dr, thought!!! 

I won't go into details of the birth- it's not my story to tell and some might not even want to hear it:) All I know is when I went in and saw little Emma I surprised myself with the emotion I felt.  And then to see JC absolutely giddy over his baby daughter, made me even more so. J is smitten. he doesn't stand a chance;)

(AND, he got Crystal a push present ALL.ON.HIS.OWN. I didn't even tell him he was supposed to!)

They are going to be such amazing parents.

I am so ecstatic for Crystal & J and their new family. She is so adorable and I am in love with her already! 

(sorry about the pics- I used my phone, and I was so tired at midnight! Ill have better ones after today!)

Morehead here he comes!

Big news in the Overall House!

I am so happy to say that Philip has accepted a position with St Claire Medical Center in Morehead (not until he is done with residency in July).

I went down with him in July to his interview. I was very impressed with the ER they had just redone. I was impressed with the leadership there, and their concerns for their patients. and I was  won over with the amazing lunch they served us;)

This was probably the biggest decision we have made as a married couple. And it was a tough one. We went back and forth between St Claire and several other hospitals. weighing all kinds of factors. We talked about it endlessly. But most importantly, we prayed about it. We both wanted to feel like we were doing what God wanted us to do. And He seemed to just lead us into this decision. 

Philip has spent a total of 11 academic years to get to this point in his life. I am so proud of him and can not wait for him to be able to have his first 'big boy' job:) 

Philip has been moonlighting at St Claire for several months. as a third year resident you can do what is called 'moonlighting' where you go to rural hospitals and work, just as you would if you were out of residency. its good experience and let's you feel what it is like to not work under someone else. anyway- he has working out there, and fell in love with it. He loves the patient population, the nurses and doctors, the atmosphere. He said when he works there, he feels like he is being the doctor he has always wanted to be. He likes not being as busy as UK is, so he has time to devote to his patients and really care for them. 

As a bonus, our good friend Matt Birdwhistell started his job in medicine there in July! and another friend of ours, Jacob Perry, started there as well in surgery. He is excited to work with them. 

the sign at the hospital. it made me laugh so i took a picture. Dr Turd:)

  He will start his job sometime in July or August. We are NOT moving! He will be commuting, right at an hour there and back.

It is such a relief to have this decision made and we are both looking forward to starting this new chapter in our lives:)

cookout and cincy

Such a fun weekend for us! and the best is, the fun is continuing tonight!

Friday night we had a cook out with several of our friends. We decided to forgo the usual burgers and brats that we usually do, and make chicken and steak kabobs. I thought they were a success, due to the master griller, Philip:) For dessert we had the creme brulee cheesecake baked by my wonderful mom. it was absolutely delicious. not a crumb was left! well, actually yes there were. on the table. michelle:)

 We played outside and then came inside to play Apples to Apples, which is always an entertaining game. if you have never played, you should- it's a lot of fun.

After everyone left, Ryan and Kim hung back and we decided we wanted to do something fun the next day. We thought spending the day at the lake would be such a good time. However, due to our poor planning, all the boats were rented out for the day (go figure, the saturday of labor day weekend). So instead, we decided to venture to the Cincinnati Zoo and then have dinner at the Haufbraus House. We had so. much. fun. 

In between the zoo and dinner, we went to an arcade and played all kinds of games. and maybe we went back after dinner as well :) 

petting the nasty snake. I did not participate.

sleeping lions

can you see the baby monkey? he was adorable.

this one reminded me of Rosie, from Water for Elephants:)

We had such a good time, as usual, with these two. at the end of the day, we were all so tired....

Happy Labor Day Weekend!!!

Turning 29

I'll admit, I like to celebrate a 'birthday week'. not because I am full of myself or like to receive presents (my love language is not receiving gifts). but because i LOVE to see my family and friends and celebrate life (my love language is quality time). i love any excuse to get together with people I love, and so I use my birthweek to do just that:)
It started out with Budde Birthday Dinner Wednesday night. Grandma B always takes us to the restaurant of our choosing to celebrate. This year I chose Miyako. i love hibachi:)

birthday fruit. with chopsticks that said 'teddy bear' on them. random.

For the past two weeks Philip has been working on my birthday present in the garage. He is so skillful with wood so I was very excited to see what he was creating. Every night he would take blankets and cover up his masterpiece so I wouldn't be able to see. Little did I know, he was using extra wood to skew the figure so i really wouldn't know what he was hiding. such a sneakster!
So yesterday morning I woke up at 730 and was dying to see what he had made! I came downstairs to this beautifully crafted mirror.

These pictures don't do it justice. It is amazing all the cuts and designs he did.
For a long while now, I have been wanting a mirror like this. But I never bought one because they are expensive. Well this one is WAY better than any ol' store bought one. This was made just for me by my wonderful husband:) I can't wait to put it up in our bedroom!

So then, we hatched for a bit (hatching is the term we used for the time when you are awake but not really awake yet). Then we took Jax on a nice long walk. It was a nice morning and he loves going on walks. Philip however doesnt love it, but he went with me anyway, as an extra birthday treat for me:) we were in search of sprinklers because our crazy dog LOVES them. too bad it was too late in the morning and none were on.

My parents stopped by so Mom could deliver a creme brulee cheese cake she made me (pics to come soon). We haven't delved into it yet- but my mouth is already watering thinking about it. what a thoughtful thing to make me- you're the best Mom:)

Then we went to Alfalfas for lunch. This is becoming a birthday tradition for the 4 of us to go there on my birthday:) 2 years ago I didnt see my parents on my actual birthday, and it just didn't feel right. we decided we would never do that again. so they make the trip to lexington to see me. because I am spoiled rotten:) trust me, I know this.

After lunch, we wanted to do something fun outside, but couldn't really think of anything interesting. So we opted to go buy Jackson a sprinkler and hang out in our back yard:) Which was both relaxing and entertaining:)

That night Philip took me to the Melting Pot for dinner. He had never been, so I was excited to go there and see what he thought about it. It was a very romantic and fun dinner. We both had such a good time cooking our food and getting to just enjoy each other.

We came home in time to watch BB, which i am obsessed with and he doesnt mind to watch. and CBS gave me such a wonderful gift of sending Shelly the Rat home. (for all you BigBrother lovers, i know you were excited about this !!!).

The day was a perfect birthday for me. My wonderful family and friends showered me with 'Happy Birthday' posts, texts and phone calls. every single one made me happy and made my day so special:)
Thank you all for being fantastic friends:) :)