Best words ever: A Clean CT!!

This week I got an AMAZING e-mail from my mom!
"My CT scan is negative!!!!! They cannot measure any lymph nodes for they are all normal size!"

For those of you who aren't aware, my mom has been fighting Non-hodgkins Lymphoma for about a year and a half. Non-hodgkins Lymphoma is non-curable {I hate that word - but it's the truth}, but her type is VERY slow at progressing.
Although the doctors caught it very early on, and she is in the very early stages, she eventually decided to go ahead with a relatively non-aggressive treatment. She's been getting a (non-chemo) treatment that adds antibodies to her system so her immune system to target the cancer cells and leave the healthy cells alone. The goal was to keep the cancerous lymph nodes from getting larger or spreading {they didn't even think that it could reduce the size of the lymph nodes!}. 


Last year when she was diagnosed, she had 4 enlarged lymph nodes. Now all 4 have shrunk down to normal size! She's continuing with treatment (to finish out the course of treatment) and they will continue to monitor her with scans. So far none of this has affected her ability to live life the way she wants to - mostly because she doesn't {and won't for the forseeable future} need chemo.


Thank you all!
As anyone whose life has been affected by cancer knows, there are so many people that help you get through it. It was really difficult initially dealing with this diagnosis {especially the non-curable part}, and I had so many friends reach out to my family - people who have gone with my mom to treatments, and brought food so she wouldn't have to cook - people who have asked me every time I've talked to them how my mom is doing - and those who have been there for hugs when I just needed someone to listen. I would like to thank you all for your support!


Love you always, Mom!

Love what you do

It's one of those simple things people always tell you growing up: "Love what you do." But they never tell you  how you are supposed to know what you want to do for the rest of your life. I think it was easier to decide that I wanted to spend my life with Travis than choose a career I thought I would enjoy. I kept wondering:

How are you ever supposed to know that you won't be bored in your career?
How do you choose something that you will enjoy doing the day-to-day, and not just the end result?

There has been a lot of questioning in my mind the last two years as I went through classes, and picked my lab. I enjoyed the people I was working with, sometimes enjoyed the science I was learning, but I wasn't really happy to be there most of the time. Then these last couple months when I was studying for my "preliminary exam," {the terrifying oral exam you need to take to become a PhD candidate, in which they can ask you anything they want to}, I really began to question whether I was where I wanted to be. I just kept telling myself "Just get through this and then you can decide what you want to do."

Then came the epiphany... Well not so much epiphany, but I finally seem to have jumped through enough hoops that I can spend most of my time doing the part of science that I enjoy - experiments. I realized I was actually enjoying going to work for the first time since I started grad school, despite the fact that I am working almost 12-hour days {by choice} and am often on my feet the whole day.

It has been so rewarding to have the time to do what I want, rather than worrying about other random "checkpoints" that I need to pass.

I don't have any sage advice to give to someone who is trying to pick a career - but know this: When you do find that something that you really enjoy and love going to work -- it is well worth all the "hoops" you had to jump through to get there.

15 Minute Spicy Chicken Strips

So I really wanted to share with you all my quick, easy recipe for chicken strips. 

In college Travis was  obsessed with always excited for chicken strip night at the cafeteria. So I was out of ideas for dinner the other week and had some chicken tenders in the fridge that I hadn't used up yet and I decided to try out a homemade spicy chicken strip recipe.

The verdict? Delicious - and certainly not as greasy as chicken strips from a restaurant/freezer bag!

15 Minute Spicy Chicken Strips

Ingredients:

 1 c. Italian bread crumbs
1 tsp. Chipotle Chile Pepper {This is the key ingredient - it has a sweet heat, but add less if you are sensitive to spice}
1 tsp dried red pepper
ground pepper to taste
Egg whites {enough to coat your chicken tenders}
Chicken tenders

Time: about 15-20 minutes from fridge to plate

Steps:
1. Mix together bread crumbs and spices.

 2. Dip chicken tenders in a small bowl of egg whites {or whole eggs, beaten}, place in hot skillet with olive oil.

3. Cook chicken through, flipping when chicken browns on each side {about 5 minutes per side}.
Enjoy!

Summer List 2012

ARGH!! I just had this whole post written and then accidentally exited without saving and it LOST the whole post {even though it had been saved many times before. I didn't realize I could loose the whole thing!} It also simultaneously duplicated one of my other {shorter} drafts. So, before I forget all of the wonderful things I have planned to do this summer:

Summer List 2012!

{To be completed by Sept 1st}

Work-related goals:

1. Clean swipe of laptop {it runs so slow right now!}
2. Finish data set
3. Write my first paper!
4. Write and submit a grant {Due August 8th}
5. Make Poster for various presentations

House-related goals:

1. Put together new desk
2. Varnish new desk
3. Sort through office papers
4. Clean out old clothes and donate
5. Clean apartment and schedule {free! - courtesy of our managment} carpet cleaning
6. Make jewelry organizer
7. Finish reading The Wise Man's Fear
8. Read The Magician King
9. 
   
10. Crafts that I have pinned
1. T-shirt vest: one or two - use shirts from thrift/second-hand stores...
2. up-cycle old t-shirts to exercise shirts
3. Cute wraparound dress
4. Save wine bottles for cups and candle-holders
5. Cherry blossom paint design on canvases {which I have been trying to figure out what I wanted to do with!}
11. Make at least 3 of the recipes I have pinned
1. some kind of avocado ice cream - I have seen these all over the place and they look fabulous!
12. Bring up porch furniture
13. Small sewing projects:
1. black and white checkered dress - needs quick fix
2. drape-shirt that I bought too big - needs to be taken in

Five years ago... {Part Two}

We're celebrating 5 years (!) of our relationship this Sunday, so I thought I would share some of my favorite moments in those years with all of you.

Did you miss Part One? Read it here.

Year Four {2010-2011}

More family time...

 We both graduated.

 More boating with Travis' family {he doesn't always cooperate with the sunscreen...}

We went camping at Pike's Peak {Iowa}.

 We were really proud of our fire and tent!

Lots of beautiful views!

And we moved to Ann Arbor! {Thanks to our family for all their help!}

Travis received his white coat and started Medical School!

We decorated our first Christmas tree!

And then again there is a gap in my pictures - probably due to the large amount of time spent wedding planning, and going to wedding showers.

Year Five {2011-2012}

Most importantly, this was the year we got married!

We went to Aruba for our honeymoon!

 {Oranjestad, Aruba}

 Yes - that's a flamingo!

 Our favorite restaurant of the trip - it had delicious seafood.

 Snorkeling and typical underwater photos

 We both did lots of reading - in and out of the pool/hot tub/ocean.

The north side of the island during one of our tours.

 The whole north side of the island has rough cliffs along the ocean - a stark contrast to the beautiful sandy beaches on the south side.

 The old fort

 I learned how to feed ostriches.

 One of the caves that the natives used to inhabit - it still has paintings covering the walls and ceiling.

 Beautiful sunsets

 Lots of fish and coral seen during snorkeling expeditions.

 A little cove that we snorkeled on the north side of the island.

 More fish pictures

 Land sailing.

Visited Niagara Falls with our friends!

 I swear I did take these pictures myself - the falls are just that beautiful!

We welcomed our two little gliders {my first furry pets!}

Managed a whirlwind trip to both Iowa, {Sophie and Travis are playing with sock puppets.}

 and made it to Chicago.

It seems like the gap in my pictures is always in this January to March/April season of the year, and I think it has to do with our school schedules after the holidays. *Mental note to self: make sure to still plan activities during the winter months.*

We went through a lot in these first few years, broken teeth, medical school and graduate school applications/interviews, traveling, being apart in the summer for research, and more experiences than I can count. I don't think I would change any of it. When we started dating, I had no idea I was dating my future husband, I had no idea what I wanted to do or where I wanted my life to go. He is a big part of who I have become, and I can't thank him enough for all of the times he's been there.

So for our 5th year anniversary, we're going to Gratzi, an Italian restaurant in Ann Arbor, that we've been meaning to try. Then we're planning a re-re-watching of the Matrix, which was the movie we watched together the night Travis asked me out {for the second time-more on that here}.

I've loved every minute of our time together and I can only hope for many many more years to come.