Babies are so cute and cuddly!

I visited my great friend Stacy today with her new beautiful baby girl Ella. Her name is short for something, but it is 4 names and I like Ella better. :-)
I stayed for a while, had a great time and put a stroller together with her mother. I took some pictures for all of you to enjoy!

Ella and I



Ella and her mommy!


The three of us relaxing...


Just when you thought I really was not that big. this is my left hand and Ella's right. Amazing stuff!


See you next post!

Life is a valuable commodity!

Hello again everybody! I hope you all enjoyed my little MA vacation. I had a great time up in the "wilderness" of a small historic town. Tom and Sheila were great to me and I look forward to returning.

The past 2-weeks of school has been very educational. I am taking two courses that occupy the majority of my time: Ortho I (Upper Extremity) and Neuro I (Spinal Cord Injury). The Ortho class is a lot like the undergraduate classes I have had, but I still find it very interesting (duh!) and the teachers are great. The Neuro class is very interesting and challenging to me. I have worked with SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) patients before, but not this closely. We have had 2 great labs with a really smart and well versed instructor who treats SCI at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in the city. In addition, we had a field trip to Helen Hayes Rehab Hospital in West Havershaw, NY. I am crazy, so I rode my bike up there in the early AM before we were supposed to meet. Dr. Sliwinski arranged a shower for me (my classmates were grateful) and we had a great time. It was so powerful to not only meet the patients, but to observe them in action and talk with them. I appreciate how much I have in life even more since Wednesday. I know that I take a risk everyday on my bike when I ride on the road, but I cannot let fear overcome my exercise enjoyment. I wish I had pictures of Wednesday, but I would have broken too many laws to even count.
On our way back to the city it was storming, so Julie gave me a ride in her full van. I was in the back with Jon and Eyal discussing the "finer" things in life. The storm had knocked down a bunch of trees on the Palisades Parkway too. I counted 7 myself!

So here I am today. Sitting in NJ at the home of my parents after an early morning ocean swim. I love life, the people in my life and especially this cat who keeps spying on me!!

This is Angus. Like all boys, he is nothing but trouble!





See you next post!

There is something in the woods that makes me crazy....

Day 4 & 5:

Yesterday was another great day. I got up at 5:30AM with Sheila and Tom and had a great swim workout at the pool. Following the pool I had breakfast and a nap before gearing up for a run in the sun. I headed out at "high noon" for a long run through the country. The scenery was beautiful, the sun hot and after 100 minutes of running I finally made it back to the house. It was such a great workout! I showered, grabbed some lunch and rested on the couch while reading the Lance Armstrong book.
Tom, Sheila and I went to dinner at one of their friend's homes and had a superb meal, only to be surpassed by the plum tort dessert!

Wow! What a day.

Before we went to dinner, Tom and Sheila played a little "friendly" badminton on the lawn. Sheila is so competitive, but very talented!



On our way to dinner, Tom demonstrated just how tired he was feeling. I think he needed it, but Sheila and I just laughed (quietly) at him.


After dinner we snuck out to get some ice cream. Yummy stuff for my tummy!


Today was another great day. I slept in (finally) and met Tom for a swim workout at noon. We swam an hour in the pool before I came back and took (another) nap. Tom left work early and we went for an easy recovery ride for 90 minutes around the local farms.
Following the ride we picked up some beer, pizza and Tom's friend Andrew before coming back for a "Toilet Seat Up" night while watching the Tour de France.

The firehouse (old school) next to Tom's house...


The front house, which is a historical landmark. Tom and Sheila live in the rear attached house.


On our way to get the food and beer!


Locals at the supermarket. These dogs were soooo sweet and friendly...


Andrew, Tom and I enjoying a Boys' Night In!


Hey! I am on vacation, so back off!


See you next post! (Hopefully without a hangover!)

The equation for vacation is simple!

Day 3:

Vacation = exercise + rest.

I am following this formula rather well. Today was another beautiful day and I got outside to enjoy quite a bit of the sunshine. I began with another 3+ hour bike ride, except today was mostly flat and much easier than all the hills Sheila tortured me with yesterday.

Sheila showed me off this morning before the ride. If you notice in the photo, my bike is more than half of her height. Tom thinks I should call my bike the "747 Boeing" because it is so huge.


Following the ride I had 45 minutes for a quick rinse and a small snack before heading to the pool to meet Tom and Sheila for my second workout of the day. This pool is magnificent, and the picture I took certainly does not do it justice. This is a private academy for grades 5 - 12 or something like that. All I know for sure is that it costs almost as much to go here as it does for me to go to an Ivy League Medical School.

The pool with the diving well behind it.


Tom and I after our workout. Delirium has set in for me due to the lack of food and the 4+ hours of exercise...


Before the swim I stopped by Tom and Sheila's offices to see what they actually do all day and to find out what this "job" thing was that I have been hearing so much about. Tom just sits at a desk and looks important all day. I guess it's a living...


I just prefer to lounge in the chair and watch him... I am amazed at this "job" concept. It looks very tiring.



After the swim I had another snack, watched some pre-recorded footage of the Tour de France and am typing this post.

See you next post!

I am enjoying my vacation...

Day 2:

My vacation is proving to be a good sign of things to come. Yesterday Tom decided to "kill" me with a 70 minute run up some "short" hills. I have an altimeter in my Heart Rate Monitor watch (unknown to him) and after running up the first hill and climbing 111 meters, I almost choked him to death. Actually, it was not that bad. It was a glorious run to start my vacation and no better way then with a great friend on a quiet country dirt road.

Today Tom, Sheila and I went out for a leisurely 3 hour bike ride with a few small climbs (according to Sheila). Needless to say, we did approximately 1 mile worth of climbing in the 45 or so mile ride. It was a little cloudy at first, but then cleared up and I have the tan lines to prove it. :-) After our return I showered up, got a sandwich and read a little of the latest Lance Armstrong book. It's pretty good, but reading is just not my thing right now. I think it's too much text book reading that is turning me off to it.
I decided to follow the old cycling ways and recover quickly.

Step 1: Make sure you are laying down with your legs above your heart to promote venous return.
Step 2: Make sure there is some good food in your belly to aid in recovery.
Step 3: Take a nap. (my favorite part)

As you can see here, I was in the process of completing Step 3. Tom and Sheila said I did not snore, but rather I made really funny noises. I did not hear a thing...


Sheila got in on it too and took a quick nap of her own!


After the nap and a quick run to CVS, Tom and I headed out to a local pond to go for a swim. I have not done open water swimming in a while, but the pond was refreshing and a lot of fun. I think we are going back with Sheila at 6AM tomorrow! I am psyched!



I have to admit that being on vacation means that I am being spoiled for all my meals by Sheila, and Tom and I just like goofing around..







I was trying to get an after dinner snack... and got caught on camera by Sheila...




I have a bunch of pictures from Sarah's (a classmate) bachelorette night out. She is married by now (yesterday as far as I know) and enjoying a week of relaxation with her new husband. I have no idea what happened this night, but it seems like everyone was in the marriage mood! Check it out for yourself...

For the record, this is Sarah

















Tonight is going to involve food, beer, ice cream, bloody game of badminton with Sheila and a whole lot of sleep!

See you guys next post!

There is no Cookbook for Life...

I know I keep vowing to be more diligent with this blog and keep everyone updated. I really have no excuses as to why I have been away for so long. I can only tell you that my life has no order to it. I am in school, stressed, trying to workout more, dealing with family issues, personal issues and living in NYC. It's quite a bit of stuff. With that aside, I am on a 10-day vacation beginning today! Yippee!! I have made my friends (Tom and Sheila) remind me to update this blog several times this week, so you will be seeing pictures of my vacation and some from things this past semester, including Sarah's Bachelorette fun. (Nothing dirty, trust me).
Currently I am in Deerfield, MA visiting my great friends Tom and Sheila and staying in their house which has to be as old as this country! There are no subways, buses, or noisy sirens at 3AM out here. I slept well last night, with raindrops putting me to sleep way before midnight. It was such a relaxing beginning to my much needed vacation.

Here are a few pictures I found in my camera of a fun trip downtown with my new neighbor Christine Walmsley. She is from someplace in California (I really forgot) and she is a Nurse Practitioner student. The other pictures are from today in Massachusetts.

Christine was studying in my room, and working on her sitting posture. I actually thought she was trying to study by putting a book on her head an "absorbing" the information.


We went downtown for a bite to eat and I got some field experience with a NY native crossing the street. I guess I never really noticed physically challenged people as much before PT school.


We did a lot of walking, and Christine became thirsty. I warned her about the NYC water, but she insisted...



Tom drove to NY yesterday to pick me for my vacation. We always have fun together, and his wife likes to get in on the fun as well. He got his bike back from the Ironman race he recently did in Idaho, so we made him ride in the back.

Chipper in the AM!






The corner fresh farm market. Sheila even knows the owners by name! The fruit is so fresh and tasty!!


Tom got a watermelon, and would not let it go!




Sheila was just enjoying the drive..


See you next post! (really shortly!)