packing light : cruise capsule

not shown is jeans, hoodie, accessories (sunglasses, necklaces, wristlet) bathing suits, coverup.  no links to anything because well its all "old" stuff there aren't really links for anymore :-)

Packing for me is a little easier to do lightly than it is for Kyle.  I can mix and match and re-wear items at different times in a trip to make it look like something new.  The items above made up my main outfits for the duration of our cruise.  Supplemented with jeans and a light hoodie for cold nights walking inside, 2 bathing suits with coverup, and you have pretty much all that I packed for our 5 days away.  Full cruise recap can be found here.

I kept the amount of space my shoes took up to a minimum by wearing my tennis shoes through the airports instead of packing them, and taking a versatile pair of sandals that looked great poolside or with my casual dinner wear.  One pair of heels for formal night topped off the 3 pairs I needed for the trip.  

Unfortunately I do not have photos for every combination that I wore to make this more understandable because (1) Kyle is terrible at taking pictures unless I explicitly tell him to, (2) sometimes we were in a hurry and it was the last thing on my mind (like our last night when I was seasick after dinner...).  (3) Because sometimes selfies were all we could manage.

Basically, my plan of attack was, wear a tank or t-shirt with the skirt for dinner, and then the next day or so wear that same barely-worn shirt with my variety of shorts for exploring.  So all shirts were worn with the khaki, navy, or light blue shorts that I packed; the white t-shirt was worn with the blue pencil skirt our first casual night, the tropical dress for our 2nd, and the coral tank with sweater and blue pencil skirt the 3rd.  I wore my NY&C floral Eva Mendez dress from the graduation dinner 2 years ago as my outfit for formal dinner (after doing some quick alterations myself).

All in all, it made deciding what to wear easier because there wasn't a whole suitcase to dig through.  I originally planned this because we were going to pack everything in 2 small carry on suitcases, but then we needed to packed a lot bigger ones after we found out we had a formal night (Kyle needed his suit) and that we wanted to take snorkel gear.  So I really only did this as a little challenge to myself; so I should have packed a couple more shirts or tanks just because I did have extra room and plenty of storage in our small cabin.  I managed quite well though!

Today I am linking up with Angie at  #reasonstodress real mom street style!  Check it out... I was featured last Tuesday!

#conwaycastaways2015

Last week, as I mentioned last Wednesday, we were gone on a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas.  We left a day early since we were flying out of Atlanta at the crack of dawn on Monday.  Thankfully the rain was over for the time being, for those of you wondering, we did escape the worst of what our poor state ended up with, no major issues back in Greenville that I know of.

I worried a little that we were being a bit ambitious leaving Myles for the first time overnight, for almost an entire week.  It was just fine.  Sure we thought about him, but for the most part, it felt like we were "just a couple" again.  I think we needed that.  As for the cruise... not the greatest cruise ship experience ever, but we got a great deal, time together, and a lot of sunshine; we can't complain too much.  

The filet tenderloin dinner and Captain's champagne greeting was the best night of food we had.

We had one towel animal the whole trip, room service didn't show up with our breakfast but sent us chocolate covered strawberries as an apology, our waiters didn't really talk to us much and were not too great at their jobs, overall the running of programs/events was a little unorganized,  about half of the evening shows were just terrible (but the good ones were REALLY good!), and the food was just ok.  First world problems indeed.

The stops were fine.  CocoCay was the best.  We packed our snorkel gear and did our own little exploring with that.  I soaked up some sun and Kyle played some beach volleyball with a few other cruisers.  

on the nature trail and Kyle playing volleyball with some other multi-national cruisers; Kyle's shoes make great cup holders in the sand!

The lunch provided by the ship was ribs, chicken and burgers, and pretty darn good.  It never felt overcrowded on the small island because there was plenty of different areas to stop and relax.  That evening we enjoyed a poolside viewing of Pitch Perfect 2 (so good!).

Nassau was interesting.  I loved getting up on my own to catch the beautiful sunrise beside Atlantis, but going into town was another story.  I had several ideas of exactly where I wanted to go but was a little psyched out about how much crime people talk about there being in the city (including tourist areas), so we ended up just going to all of the jewelry shops on Bay street close to the ship.  We followed the shopping guides from the ship and I ended up winning Kyle a men's bracelet during one of the raffles.  We made a quick run through the straw market where we bought souvenirs for Myles (a wooden fighter jet and a biplane made out of old coke cans for his room) and Eliza (next week is her birthday so its a surprise!).

I never found anything my style on the island so went back to the ship and got the simple tanzanite ring that I had my eye on from the beginning, and ridiculously cheap Crown Royal Black to bring back for Kyle and my parents.  The rest of the time we just spent by the pool because we just really didn't feel like going back down just to sit in a bar.  So no conch fritters for me.  

I thought it was pretty awesome that they back the massive ships into the dock!  The view of Nassau was amazing!

That night was a fun midnight buffet and dance party around the pool.  Then the last full day was a day at sea.  We spent most of our time on the pool deck either reading, watching the bellyflop contest, or playing pingpong.  We did end up climbing the rock wall that afternoon.  That evening though, a storm set in and I did not handle the rocking ship so well (at least dinner hadn't been amazing that night...) and eventually got locked out of the room and had to go find Kyle without my shoes or glasses, in the rain, to let me back in.   We ended  up with only about 5 hours of sleep that night because I woke us up way too early to make sure we were ready to get going, then had a 6 hour wait in the Orlando airport (all of the good stuff is before security fyi) before our flight, followed by a 3 hour drive back to Greenville.

The entire trip had its ups and downs, but we definitely loved the all inclusive way to travel to more than one place.  Not having to cook or clean the whole time was amazing.  Definitely not interested in taking a kid on one anytime soon.  In the future we will try to pick a port that we fly directly to, because we never want to have to deal with a city-to-city transfer service again (but we highly recommend Cortrans!).  And really, just a newer ship next time.  We really really did love getting away to reconnect no matter all the details while we were away.  

I am quite convinced that Myles never knew we had been gone until we had been home for almost 24 hours when he finally announced "mommy home", "daddy home".  He had quite the time with my parents as I knew he would!  Now excuse me while I go buy him a toy airplane that he can actually play with.

Later this week, I will share a few more photos from our trip, along with my capsule style wardrobe for how I kept my share of the packed bags to a minimum.

currently : cruising!

Currently... I'm on the Enchantment of the Seas Royal Caribbean ship with Kyle.  Specifically, we should be in Nassau today.

Oh don't you worry... I'm not blogging from the cruise ship.  This was written weeks ago!  But the Currently prompts this month were just too perfect to not participate!  It will be fun to see what actually happened on our cruise vs what I'm predicting here.

eating : hopefully some amazing foods on our ship!  From what I've read, conch fritters are a must in Nassau!

exploring : We flew out of Atlanta, landed in Orlando, boarded in Port Canaveral, spent the day on CoCo Cay yesterday where I hope we had some great snorkel time, Nassau today where I plan to do a few tourist attractions before parking our butts at a beach bar, and tomorrow is a day at sea before we head back Friday!

wearing : I managed to pack significantly light (compared to Kyle) because my wardrobe is much more versatile than his.  I hope to share my capsule style suitcase when I get back!  I packed for 3 casual nights and one formal night for dinner in the main dining room.  But I definitely made sure we both have swimsuits in our carryon so we can be sure to enjoy ourselves even if the airline happened to lose our bags!  

admiring : those crystal blue waters and palm trees; plus all the great activities to do on the ship!  I'm sure we will do the rock wall and mini golf at least once!  

collecting : souvenirs to bring home.  Hoping for some great finds in the straw market, and maybe some rum from the distillery I'm hoping to visit!  And lots and lots of good times with my man.  We needed this trip away!

visit to the Smokies

At some point at the beginning of summer, my mom and I planned a 2 night trip to Gatlinburg so that my Texas end of the family could meet Myles for the first time.  I had also not met their youngest addition; having not seen them since their oldest was 1 year old; the last time we went to the Smokies.  He is now 5.  We made sure to take them to all of our favorite spots from the dozen+ times we went there growing up, and a few new ones!

First we fed some ducks while we waited to be seated at a Mexican restaurant.

Then we threw some pennies in the fountain at The Village.  And did some shopping...

We picnicked at The Chimneys and let the kids climb down to the freezing mountain stream to throw lots and lots of rocks.

Myles started getting a little too brave while we were there so we had to keep a tight hold on him at all times!  Because this mom-of-the-year forgot his swim trunks so we couldn't get as all-in as originally planned.

We went to the Ripley's Aquarium as well!  Super fun with tired little kiddos.  It did have its great moments though.

Myles was super excited to get the opportunity to splash in some water.  I'm not sure if he really ever did touch the stingrays or horseshoe crabs.



We took them to Fannie Farkles to win some tickets.  Myles still loves his mardi gras beads that he bought with them.

That happened...  I now wish I had also gotten a picture of Myles by himself, but by the time they posed for this, he was just done.  I was rather amazed they sat still and serious for so long!

We enjoyed our little balcony overlooking the stream and mountain view.  Although the road noise was a bit much when motorcycles went through around middle-of-the-night o'clock, the Baymont Inn on the Parkway was really really great.  The rooms have been renovated, the view is awesome for being downtown, and we were greeted with a goody bag for each adult (snacks, water bottles, coupons) and for each kid (coloring books, crayons, snacks).

And I enjoyed the scenic drive back home.  Getting there was not scenic at all.  I'm pretty sure I was scared for my life on some of the backroads my GPS took me through.  

So so grateful mom went with us.  Not sure if I could have handled a hotel stay alone with Myles!  He really did great but 2 nights was enough time away from his normal sleep habits!  This trip also solidified his major obsession with having ice to crunch at all times.  

While I may not be thrilled with much of downtown Gatlinburg anymore, this place is still one of my favorite places to visit time and time again.  I am really glad we got to let Myles experience it, whether he remembers the trip or not.  That's what the camera is for.

Mom followed us back to SC, and after spending the weekend with Kyle, drove us back to KY for a weeklong trip where we got to SURPRISE my grandmother who had just had hip replacement surgery.  So that was our little adventure this summer!  Now we are looking ahead to our quickly approaching no-toddler-allowed cruise!  I intend to be a little faster with sharing that trip!

weekend replay : easter

It was a good weekend.  And a hard one.  We had some fun with Kyle's family and relaxed some.

Friday was dinner with his sister and her husband, at his favorite Chinese restaurant.

Saturday was hard.  We went to Tennessee to see Kyle's grandfather.  He had a stroke a few months ago.  Kyle went and visited him right after it happened when we got back from an interview trip, but this was my first time seeing him.  I love that man, and was very nervous to see him.  While he is doing much better than the last time Kyle saw him (he can move his left hip a little and is speaking much clearer), he has changed a lot from the last time I saw him at Christmas.  Before the stroke.  The stroke that has shown that his cancer has returned.  The cancer we thought was confined to the kidney they removed.  This is one of the main reasons moving so far away is hard for us.  I'm glad we were able to visit this weekend, it was the first time his grandfather had been in his home since January, and was only for a few hours, but I think he really enjoyed getting to sit in his very old recliner and watch sports with his family.  It also makes me cherish that I was able to capture his 80th birthday celebration with his family and friends back at the end of summer.

Sunday was very long.  The morning started before 6am (I barely slept after 3:30) for the sunrise service out in a small country church.  A few of the Methodist churches in Kyle's home area switch up who hosts each year.  Starts at 6:30, lasts 30min-1hr, lots of old hymns and a short message, followed by a huge breakfast.  Go home, get fixed up, and return for Easter service.  Sunday school starts at 9:30, service from 10:30 to 11:30am.
Rushed home, packed, and headed to my grandmother's an hour away for an awesome lunch with my part of the family.  Drive 3 hours back to Louisville and start the laundry.  Arrive in time for the beginning of the 2nd half of the UofL v Duke game.  When we turned on the tv, they were tied, it was a great game...and I'm glad I missed the terrible leg break of one of the UofL players in the first half.  While Kyle isn't bothered by that stuff (thank goodness since he will see a lot of it), I am forever scarred from witnessing a classmate break his arm in gym during middle school.  Can. not. look.

It was a good weekend.  Delicious food.  Good time with family.  And UofL is headed to the Final Four.  I don't typically care about sports... but this is exciting.

And to top it all off, Game of Thrones returned.  If you have HBO... you should give it a shot.

Its Medical Monday ya'll.  Go link up!

weekend replay : puppy love

So this was my weekend:

It was a fun weekend.  I learned something about myself again...

I'm not very good at relaxing.

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happy weekend!

Goodbye city

Hello small town

As I mentioned in my Thankful Thursday post this week, we have gone home to see my parents.  Let the relaxing begin.

Enjoy your weekend!  I get to spend it playing with these two!

before residency: interviews

Our Travels: 

Trips to the west by air, north and east were by car.  

Residency interviews were a unique experience.  My husband secured various interviews for general surgery residency throughout the country, mostly in the southeast coastal region.  While the whole process can be pretty pricey, we decided to make the most of it and turn four of them into vacations of a sort.  The various stages of the process are as follows.  And if you just don't want to read all of this information, please, at least skip down and take my advice for post-interview time.

the residency dinner:
A few locations were gracious and provided the hotel for us the night of the interview.  Most, if not all programs, provided dinner at a local restaurant the night before the interview.  This gives applicants a casual opportunity to ask the kinds of questions you wouldn't normally ask during the interview.  Though I believe the main point of these dinners is to allow the residents to feel out the applicants and form their own opinion of them, since only a select few may actually interview them the next day.  Mostly they want to know if they could stand working with you for the next several years.  So while more casual, it is still a part of the interview process.  Best to behave.  Enjoy a drink, it may or may not be covered by the hospital, but either way, this isn't the best time to show them you can party hard with the best of them.

I was invited along on most occasions but only ended up going to one of the dinners.  For the most part I did my own thing.  Sometimes because I wasn't feeling well, others because the programs didn't make it as clear as others that I was invited. In those situations, I used the opportunity to scope out the city and enjoy a good book with my dinner. I would advise, though, that spouses go if they can.  In hindsight I wish I had attended more of the dinners.  This is also your time to possibly meet the resident's spouses who may just be your best friends in a year.

the interview day:
Interview day starts pretty early so make sure you have done all of your ironing the night before and don't go on to the after-party if there is one after dinner.  You are going to want some sleep.  You have a long day ahead of you.

Usually the day starts with a conference of some sort.  Maybe M&M (morbidity and mortality) or a journal club.  There might be a breakfast but I would still grab a muffin on your way out of the hotel.  My husband was offered breakfast at the conference a few times only to find that there was just a few pastries and maybe fruit when he could have had biscuits and gravy at the hotel.
The rest of the day was filled with 3-5 separate interviews usually consisting of the Program Director, Assistant Program Director, Chairman, a few select attendings, and possibly a panel of residents, singularly or in groups.  Biggest suggestion for this time is to have plenty of questions ready.  Probably 75% of the individual interviews my husband attended, their only question besides "Tell me about yourself" was, "so what do you want to know?"  Because lets be honest, they don't want to take the time out of their day anymore than you want to sit there in your suit or skirt and pretend to be more interested than the person before you.  But it is all part of the dance.
And that is my favorite part of the medical residency interview... while you are trying to impress them, they are equally trying to impress you.  How many other interviews have you been on that you can say that about?  They are trying to impress you.  Because they ultimately want you to see how cool they are so you will rank them highly on your list.
Other than the interviews, there is going to be a presentation by someone important there to tell you about their pay, benefits, working conditions, and perks.  Followed by lunch, most likely in the cafeteria, and a tour of the hospital campus.

post-interview!!!!!
So then what?  Do you hop in your car, begin the long trek home or speed to the airport?  Perhaps.  But don't forget that if you have a little spare time because your interview was on the weekend and you don't have to be on call at your home institution the next day, you might want to take a little time to look around the city.  Because in all reality, the location is almost as important as the program.  Maybe you will be stuck in the hospital all day, but your spouse won't be, or your family who comes to visit will need to entertain themselves, or how about that random day off you might be blessed with?  You might want to do something other than sleep (not likely).  No matter what the reason, you will be in that city for 3-7 years, depending on specialty and research (longer if you do a fellowship or accept a position there), and it might mean the difference between dealing well with a bad program or being miserable despite a good program. 
Or maybe you don't have any time to explore... so here is what you absolutely should do:  keep a notebook with you in your suitcase and take 10 minutes before you head home to write down all the details of what you just witnessed.  Everything you learned about the program, your intuition about the people you might work with one day, the perks, the pay, what you thought about the little bit of the city you saw.  Because in a few months you will need to weed out who you want to be #1, #2, ...#10, or #15 on your list.  And after a while, all of those interviews you were so excited to get- they run together. You forget who paid what amount, who gives you an iPad in your second year, who gives you extra money for the cafeteria and who makes you pay for your own food, what program had residents who were all best friends and who seemed miserable.  This information is usually in some of the handout information, but do you really want to sort through the giant stack on your desk every time you can't remember a detail only to find out that what you are trying to remember isn't in that stack but was told to you at the resident dinner?  Or you could have all of the programs information that was important to you in the same notebook for easy reference.  This is a great job for a spouse to take over.  Your medical student is going to have just been through a brutal/boring 7ish hours of nonstop information, so they might need someone to ask them questions to get all the details on paper.

So all in all, enjoy the experience.  See some new places.  Shop around for the best deals, book your flights early if possible.  Eat some darn good expensive but free-to-you meals.  And if you are married, try to include your spouse in this time because they need to be happy with the places you put on your rank list as well.