Brad and I have been super busy lately and I have had very little time to update our blog. Here's a bit about what's been going on in our lives: Brad is sort of hosting an "exchange" resident from Wales. His name is Lyndon and he is a delight. We were planning on having him over for dinner on Friday night, but we ended up going out to dinner with him and Dr. Saltzman at this very cool, rustic restaurant in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We also were invited to a dinner on Sunday night at Dr. Saltzman's for fellows and first and second year residents. Over the weekend, we did pilates, swam, ran, and biked. On Sunday, we biked Mill Creek Canyon for the first time and it was brutal! My legs were beat from the 7.5 miles of hills I did the day before, but even with fresh legs, this 7.6 % average climb would have still been painful. It was a beautiful ride and we got to see the leaves changing in the higher elevation. It reminded me of a New England fall and I got a little homesick, so I rewarded myself with an apple fritter (one of my favorite fall treats) after the ride was over.
This week went by super fast! Brad and I have been busy, busy, busy! Brad has been getting home very late every night and he has a lot of work on his plate. He is also starting to set up some interviews for academic jobs, so while it's exciting, it's also stressful since our October is chock full.
This weekend, we are flying to Napa Valley for Sarah Gilman's wedding. We are stoked to see Napa Valley and to spend time with some of my college friends. It will be a short trip, but a very fun one.
In other news, we bought our new skis. They are all-mountain wide skis. We are so excited since they are designed for 50% powder and 50% all-mountain. We also ended up getting a ski pass at Solitude and we bought a discount card for Alta. We keep hearing that this winter is going to be even more epic than last winter, so we are so ready! All we have to do is buy bindings and we will be good to go! That's about all I have to report. I promise to update you with pictures and stories from Napa Valley and more adventures next week.
Stay tuned...
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Hello All,
Another weekend is winding down and I'm here to fill you in on our week. Brad and I had a busier week than usual. We attended an Orientation to the Pilates Reformer on Tuesday night. We had a good class and we are more acquainted with the reformer. We ordered a DVD so we can do workouts on our reformer at home. We are very excited for the DVD to arrive as we think it will be a great workout alternative.
I had off from work on Thursday, so I headed out for a hard ride up City Creek Canyon. About 4.8 miles into my ride, I got a flat. It figures that I would get a flat the one time I was riding alone! I hadn't had a flat in a LONG time, but I didn't have any problems changing my tube. Instead of heading up the canyon, I turned around and headed home since I only had one spare tube on me. It was a good thing because my rear tire was half way deflated when I got home. I guess both my tires wore out at the same time. On Thursday night, we attended a Bates event called Welcome to the City. Other NESCAC schools were there and Brad and I mingled with Bates, Bowdoin, Colby alumni. I felt really old at first, but then a lot of people showed up that had graduated ahead of me. It was a nice event and I'm happy I attended.
On Saturday, Brad headed out for a ride and since my new tires that I ordered (from Backcountry) hadn't come in, I went out for a long run. We both had awesome workouts which set a nice tone for the rest of the day. Brad used the early afternoon to get some work done while I went out to check out bridesmaid dresses for my wedding. Later in the afternoon, we drove up to Snowbird for Oktoberfest. Brad and I bought these awesome glass beer steins and we got a really good black bier. We walked around the festival while enjoying some people watching and the crisp air was really nice too.
On Sunday, we decided to venture out on another mountain bike ride. We bought a book at Barnes and Noble and we choose a nice sounding trail ride from it. We headed to Mill Creek Canyon to the Big Water Trail which is 6.5 miles out and back ride. I know I'm not an experienced mountain biker, but the book definitely made out the ride to be a lot easier than it was. We had a really big elevation change in a matter of 2 miles. The area was beautiful and the trail was really great, but all the rocks and roots were very slippery because of recent rainfall. I did a lot better than I had on previous trails. I had one fall, but it happened so fast, I couldn't even tell you how it happened! At the top of the trail, we came upon Dog Lake which is this small, serene lake nestled into the aspens. Brad and I enjoyed watching a dog swim for sticks while we caught our breath. The dog loved the water, but was the least efficient swimmer ever! I took a video of it - see below. The ride down was a lot more fun and wasn't as technically difficult as it was going up. That may be because it's easier to go over rocks and logs when you have more momentum - but I'm not really sure. It was a good, hard day of mountain biking and I look forward to continue to challenge myself.
After Brad and I got home from riding and Brad had four hotdogs(!) for lunch, we got busy with our new gear from Backcountry. We both got new tires (and they are REALLY nice) and Brad got a bike computer for his mountain bike. I'm so pumped to go for a ride on my new tires - I wouldn't have been able to afford such a nice set if it wasn't for my sweet discount. Working hard at Backcountry certainly pays off!!
The weather is beginning to change here. The mornings and evenings are very cool, but the days are still warm. We saw some leaves beginning to change in the higher elevation. I'm not sure if there will be any kind of apple harvest here - I don't think Utah has apple orchards. I'll be really sad if we can't get apple cider and cider donuts here! I am already missing the New England fall season a lot, but snow will be here before we know it and Brad and I will be skiing in November. We decided to get season passes at Alta since both of us get decent discounts from our jobs.
In other news, I really hope Rhode Island sends out my duplicate title. Brad is all set with his Utah plates, but Rhode Island has really screwed me over by never mailing my car title when I registered there. But something worth noting is that when Brad and I got our Utah licenses we had to take a written test. Brad is a really good test taker and is obviously extremely smart, but guess who got 100% on her exam?? That's right, I did! This will probably be the only time I ever score better than Brad on an exam, so that is why I am publicizing it. :)
In work news, Brad is enjoying his fellowship and he is learning a lot. He is being kept very busy with a lot of work to do for three surgeons, but it is all contributing to his growth and development as a foot and ankle surgeon. As for me, I got trained in returns last week at Backcountry, so it's nice to be more versatile at work. Even though my work is very physical, I am really beginning to enjoy going in and doing some hard labor instead of sitting behind a desk trying to motivate uninspired college kids. The people I work with are very passionate about outdoor activity and it is very refreshing - that doesn't mean I don't have my bad days, but there seem to be less of them lately.
Well that's enough from me. I'll be back with another update next weekend!! Thanks for reading :)
Another weekend is winding down and I'm here to fill you in on our week. Brad and I had a busier week than usual. We attended an Orientation to the Pilates Reformer on Tuesday night. We had a good class and we are more acquainted with the reformer. We ordered a DVD so we can do workouts on our reformer at home. We are very excited for the DVD to arrive as we think it will be a great workout alternative.
I had off from work on Thursday, so I headed out for a hard ride up City Creek Canyon. About 4.8 miles into my ride, I got a flat. It figures that I would get a flat the one time I was riding alone! I hadn't had a flat in a LONG time, but I didn't have any problems changing my tube. Instead of heading up the canyon, I turned around and headed home since I only had one spare tube on me. It was a good thing because my rear tire was half way deflated when I got home. I guess both my tires wore out at the same time. On Thursday night, we attended a Bates event called Welcome to the City. Other NESCAC schools were there and Brad and I mingled with Bates, Bowdoin, Colby alumni. I felt really old at first, but then a lot of people showed up that had graduated ahead of me. It was a nice event and I'm happy I attended.
On Saturday, Brad headed out for a ride and since my new tires that I ordered (from Backcountry) hadn't come in, I went out for a long run. We both had awesome workouts which set a nice tone for the rest of the day. Brad used the early afternoon to get some work done while I went out to check out bridesmaid dresses for my wedding. Later in the afternoon, we drove up to Snowbird for Oktoberfest. Brad and I bought these awesome glass beer steins and we got a really good black bier. We walked around the festival while enjoying some people watching and the crisp air was really nice too.
On Sunday, we decided to venture out on another mountain bike ride. We bought a book at Barnes and Noble and we choose a nice sounding trail ride from it. We headed to Mill Creek Canyon to the Big Water Trail which is 6.5 miles out and back ride. I know I'm not an experienced mountain biker, but the book definitely made out the ride to be a lot easier than it was. We had a really big elevation change in a matter of 2 miles. The area was beautiful and the trail was really great, but all the rocks and roots were very slippery because of recent rainfall. I did a lot better than I had on previous trails. I had one fall, but it happened so fast, I couldn't even tell you how it happened! At the top of the trail, we came upon Dog Lake which is this small, serene lake nestled into the aspens. Brad and I enjoyed watching a dog swim for sticks while we caught our breath. The dog loved the water, but was the least efficient swimmer ever! I took a video of it - see below. The ride down was a lot more fun and wasn't as technically difficult as it was going up. That may be because it's easier to go over rocks and logs when you have more momentum - but I'm not really sure. It was a good, hard day of mountain biking and I look forward to continue to challenge myself.
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| I'm very happy to have made it up the trail! |
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| Brad hanging out among the "quaking" aspens. |
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| Quaint Dog Lake at the end of our mountain bike ride. |
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| Beautiful bluebird sky and nice view on our descent. |
After Brad and I got home from riding and Brad had four hotdogs(!) for lunch, we got busy with our new gear from Backcountry. We both got new tires (and they are REALLY nice) and Brad got a bike computer for his mountain bike. I'm so pumped to go for a ride on my new tires - I wouldn't have been able to afford such a nice set if it wasn't for my sweet discount. Working hard at Backcountry certainly pays off!!
The weather is beginning to change here. The mornings and evenings are very cool, but the days are still warm. We saw some leaves beginning to change in the higher elevation. I'm not sure if there will be any kind of apple harvest here - I don't think Utah has apple orchards. I'll be really sad if we can't get apple cider and cider donuts here! I am already missing the New England fall season a lot, but snow will be here before we know it and Brad and I will be skiing in November. We decided to get season passes at Alta since both of us get decent discounts from our jobs.
In other news, I really hope Rhode Island sends out my duplicate title. Brad is all set with his Utah plates, but Rhode Island has really screwed me over by never mailing my car title when I registered there. But something worth noting is that when Brad and I got our Utah licenses we had to take a written test. Brad is a really good test taker and is obviously extremely smart, but guess who got 100% on her exam?? That's right, I did! This will probably be the only time I ever score better than Brad on an exam, so that is why I am publicizing it. :)
In work news, Brad is enjoying his fellowship and he is learning a lot. He is being kept very busy with a lot of work to do for three surgeons, but it is all contributing to his growth and development as a foot and ankle surgeon. As for me, I got trained in returns last week at Backcountry, so it's nice to be more versatile at work. Even though my work is very physical, I am really beginning to enjoy going in and doing some hard labor instead of sitting behind a desk trying to motivate uninspired college kids. The people I work with are very passionate about outdoor activity and it is very refreshing - that doesn't mean I don't have my bad days, but there seem to be less of them lately.
Well that's enough from me. I'll be back with another update next weekend!! Thanks for reading :)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
And we're back...
Hello, Hello! I'm so sorry for the absence! My computer needed to go to the infirmary because of a redirect virus, but it's back and better than ever. Let's see - where do I begin to catch you all up...it's been awhile.
I'll start with Labor Day Weekend. Brad had an opportunity to go on a fly fishing trip in Idaho with other doctors from the University Orthopaedic Center. He had a great time. He went out on Friday evening and caught a few fish (which were much bigger that what he is accustomed to) and he went out with a guide and floated on the Snake River on Saturday. Overall, it was a great fishing trip for him and I'm looking forward to when he takes me out.
While Brad was fishing, I had the opportunity to host my good friend from Cranford (my hometown). Bethany flew into SLC on Saturday and spent the day and night with me and then headed to Jackson Hole for her brother's wedding. We had a great afternoon catching up and had a wonderful dinner at the famous Mexican place in the area- the Red Iguana.
For the rest of the weekend, Brad and I relaxed and went for a few bike rides. Fortunately, we got offered tickets to go see Alison Krauss on Sunday night and we hit the jackpot! The concert was at Red Butte Gardens and it's basically all lawn seating. The tickets were for the VIP section and so that entailed VIP parking and hor d'ouevres, dinner and dessert - as well as, our pick of seating with lawn chairs. Brad and I didn't know what VIP entailed so we biked (all uphill) there and packed our own picnic, but we were happy to supplement our picnic with catered food from Whole Foods. The concert was amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed listening to Alison Krauss' amazing voice.
Although our work week was shortened, it was both intense, tiring, and long for both of us. My job required me to work from 5 am to 3:30 pm on Tuesday. I'm a morning person, but waking up before 5 am is just brutal! We were so happy once Friday came along and we celebrated by having a date night!
This weekend was relaxing and productive. It's doesn't get better than that! Brad and I got in a 30 mile ride and climbed 2800 ft on our bikes. Afterwards, we ran some errands and then settled in to watch Penn State football. Unfortunately, Penn State didn't play well, but it was a fun afternoon relaxing on the couch. After the PSU game, we listened to Utah football play USC. That was a competitive game, but unfortunately they didn't win either. At least Syracuse had a winning weekend! On Sunday, Brad and I went for a nice hike in the Wasatch Mountains. We hiked about 6 miles roundtrip and gained about 2300 ft. We saw three beautiful alpine lakes at the top of our hike. We ate our lunch on glacier-scratched rocks with a gorgeous view of Lake Blanche. We finished up our Sunday with a nice home cooked meal of scallops, green beans in a bacon cream sauce. Everything is better with bacon!!
Other highlights from the past two weeks include Jill surpassing her 30-day work period which means she earned her discount. She gets to buy items from all of Backcountry's sites for a significant discount. She also has a Bro Code discount to give out to anyone which is wholesale cost + 40% so if any of your Blog Readers would like it, just send us an email/text/FB post. Brad found out his abstract he submitted to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery was accepted! So he gets to present his paper at the conference in San Francisco in February (and hopefully I'll be tagging along!). Brad has also been doing a lot of work on sending out his CV and applying for jobs. It's a stressful situation, but it will be really nice to find out where we will be living next Aug/Sept.
Coming up this week, Brad and I will be deciding on whether we will be buying ski passes this winter. We also signed up for an orientation to Reformer Pilates (we have a reformer in our house and we are both looking forward to learning how to use it). We also will be attending a Welcome to the City hosted by Bates. Jill hopes to meet up with some fellow Batesies. A lot of good stuff is headed our way! Thanks for following our adventures and stay tuned for Brad's post - he claims he will write a blog post one of these days! :)
I'll start with Labor Day Weekend. Brad had an opportunity to go on a fly fishing trip in Idaho with other doctors from the University Orthopaedic Center. He had a great time. He went out on Friday evening and caught a few fish (which were much bigger that what he is accustomed to) and he went out with a guide and floated on the Snake River on Saturday. Overall, it was a great fishing trip for him and I'm looking forward to when he takes me out.
While Brad was fishing, I had the opportunity to host my good friend from Cranford (my hometown). Bethany flew into SLC on Saturday and spent the day and night with me and then headed to Jackson Hole for her brother's wedding. We had a great afternoon catching up and had a wonderful dinner at the famous Mexican place in the area- the Red Iguana.
For the rest of the weekend, Brad and I relaxed and went for a few bike rides. Fortunately, we got offered tickets to go see Alison Krauss on Sunday night and we hit the jackpot! The concert was at Red Butte Gardens and it's basically all lawn seating. The tickets were for the VIP section and so that entailed VIP parking and hor d'ouevres, dinner and dessert - as well as, our pick of seating with lawn chairs. Brad and I didn't know what VIP entailed so we biked (all uphill) there and packed our own picnic, but we were happy to supplement our picnic with catered food from Whole Foods. The concert was amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed listening to Alison Krauss' amazing voice.
 |
| A view of Allison Krauss and Union Station at Red Butte Garden |
This weekend was relaxing and productive. It's doesn't get better than that! Brad and I got in a 30 mile ride and climbed 2800 ft on our bikes. Afterwards, we ran some errands and then settled in to watch Penn State football. Unfortunately, Penn State didn't play well, but it was a fun afternoon relaxing on the couch. After the PSU game, we listened to Utah football play USC. That was a competitive game, but unfortunately they didn't win either. At least Syracuse had a winning weekend! On Sunday, Brad and I went for a nice hike in the Wasatch Mountains. We hiked about 6 miles roundtrip and gained about 2300 ft. We saw three beautiful alpine lakes at the top of our hike. We ate our lunch on glacier-scratched rocks with a gorgeous view of Lake Blanche. We finished up our Sunday with a nice home cooked meal of scallops, green beans in a bacon cream sauce. Everything is better with bacon!!
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| A view of the Great Salt Lake from our hike. |
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| Rock slide! |
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| Lake Blanche! |
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| Lake Blanche's sister lakes - Lake Lillian and Lake Florence |
Coming up this week, Brad and I will be deciding on whether we will be buying ski passes this winter. We also signed up for an orientation to Reformer Pilates (we have a reformer in our house and we are both looking forward to learning how to use it). We also will be attending a Welcome to the City hosted by Bates. Jill hopes to meet up with some fellow Batesies. A lot of good stuff is headed our way! Thanks for following our adventures and stay tuned for Brad's post - he claims he will write a blog post one of these days! :)
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| Our reformer!!! |
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