B had the weekend off, so we drove out to the Shenandoah mountains to go hiking.  Too bad the colors are changing a little later than expected.  It was a beautiful weekend though. 

(You know you're in Virginia when you see this! )

We did the South River Falls trail in the morning...

 had lunch at the Wayside (at Byrd visitor center), then did a shorter hike to Bearfence mountain (with some rock climbing!) to get a 360 degree view...

Had some Mexican food for dinner and drove up to church the next day. 

B took more pictures with his film cameras... 

poor xanga...  is it just old-age or sick?  just dying...... 

Happy Birthday Mama Chang! 

Wow - October already...

here's a cute story about my niece from last weekend... 

Adia calls dad 'baobao' (since she is half-Chinese) and calls any insect a 'bee' -
well, somehow there was a mosquito inside and Adia said, 'bee!  bee!"  
I tried catching it by clapping my hands together in the air, but didn't get it. 
Instead, Brian smashed it against the wall and I saw a little bug juice before he wiped it up,
so I said  "EEEW!" 

then Adia retells the story by saying "baobao!"  *clap*   "eeew!"

supposedly she hadn't said "eeew" prior this incident...   it was so cute........

Sat Breakfast: fried dough dipped in warm soy milk, beef noodle soup, and beef/scallion sandwiches with plum sauce...  there was also a sampling of these sticky rice mounds (about the diameter of a sushi roll, but wrapped in saran wrap, not seaweed) - with sweet or savory fillings...  yum! but I guess I didn't get a picture of them...   
 

Saturday Lunch:  korean bbq

aaaahhhh, the cold naengmyun broth is yummy!!!!!
   

Saturday Dinner: at Bento cafe - grilled chicken drum... so moist and flavorful! 

Sunday breakfast:  yummy homemade blueberry muffins - thanks J!

Sunday lunch: picture's kinda blurry huh.... Vietnamese grilled beef on fragrant rice...

Sunday dinner:  ribeye steaks grilled by Brian along with grilled sweet potatos and cucumber salad 

So eating and playing with my niece...  that's all I did this weekend!  well, I guess we played Settlers of Catan also....  3 games in 2 nights!  it was fun...

Moo's in Atlanta visiting Brian, Jennifer and Adia - had to come without Boo since he was working Friday night - Saturday.  Moo also had lunch with Aunt Mary and Ann after visiting Grandma who didn't feel up to going out.  It's pretty much been an eatfest today.  maybe i'll post pictures later....

Boo actually found out a little while ago...  but Moo only found out several days ago...

Now Boo can be a licensed physician and Moo is a certified FPer for another 7 yrs!  Yay! 

I think the evening I was actually checking my scores online, I had one living room window and the kitchen-deck walkout door open (screens in place) because the air was much nicer outside (cool!)...  I felt a couple sensations on my toes/legs but just brushed it off without a thought and then shut everything before I went to bed.  The next day, I started itching!!!!!!!  I think one of the screens must have holes in it, and I realized the walkout door screen actually is not touching the sliding door part, so there's this 1-2 inch open gap there the whole length of the door... 

ARGH!  

The problem is I'm a bit allergic to bug bites...  not like I need an epi-pen, but most bites turn into big hive-like welts, are REALLY itchy painful, and last like a week.  so for too many days now, i've been putting steroid cream, benadryl cream, bug-bite-begone solution, and ice packs on the 15 or so bites on my legs... 

On my left foot, I have one on the big toe, one on the second toe, and one on the third toe - the one on the third toe is on the side, but when it got swollen, made the whole toe end red and painful to walk!  boohoo...  Somebody pity me!!!    Actually, it's quite a bit better now... 

Yesterday, we drove out to Mt. Vernon where they were having a crafts fair...  saw GW's mansion (from the outside) and estate - went mid-afternoon so didn't get to see the grounds in detail...

Then had dinner on a second-floor balcony at Fish Market in Alexandria - got to people watch from above! 

Went to DC to take some pictures...  what a beautiful day and night it was!

(moo) had a busy day today...  what can you do?  if you schedule too few people and some don't show - you sit around twiddling your thumbs, but then you get those days when EVERYONE shows up on the schedule and then some - and then it's crazy.

i feel bad for people who end up waiting a long time, but are always smiling and patient. 

everyone is so different though - some patients love you even though you haven't really done much for them, others feel like the world is trying to kill them, some come asking for certain medications, others don't want to try anything at all (then why come in?)... 

i had a 13-yr old today for a follow-up visit; last time she had a rash on her hands which by looking at - in my opinion - looked eczematous (an inflammatory condition, not an infection) and after talking further, found out she did most of the dishwashing in the home.  bingo.  as i tried to explain what my impression was, the patient said, "no"    (i'm thinking ----WHAT?!  i'm not asking you, I'M TELLING YOU----) 

Well, today, her skin was better only by avoiding soap/dishwashing, but her mom was still concerned that it was something contagious.  And again, i started to explain the condition, when again, the daughter shook her head and said "I know what eczema looks like" 

argh. 

granted i know i don't have all the answers.  there's just too much information.  and when i'm not sure, i'm not afraid to say it.   but when i am trying to say something and people don't believe it, what can i do?  then it just feels like a waste of time. 

Residency trains you by rotating you through different experiences...  for me in family medicine - some time in pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery and ob-gyn...  for Boo in internal medicine - some time in the ER, in the ICU, on the regular floors, at the VA, at the University hospital, in outpatient clinics...  well these two weeks, he's back on a night float shift.  9 pm - 9 am.  supervising admissions to 4 different teams...

then he comes home and sleeps...  I come home from work, we have dinner, then off to work he goes again... 

today, maybe he's catching up on the few days of switching his days and nights, because he's still sleeping!  hasn't moved even in the past hour and a half.  poor baby.  15 more minutes then i think he needs to get up to have enough time to eat... 

actually he had a flat tire on the way to work yesterday as well...  changed it fast!  wasn't too late to work...