Our Year in Review

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy New Year!   If we are not seeing you in person this holiday season we hope you have a beautiful and blessed time.  Also, know you are on our minds and in our hearts.  This year has been one of a lot of exciting changes for us and we thought it might even be worthy of an update to let you know all that has been going on.

                This Valentine’s Day was a significant one for our family as it was the residency match day for all DO students.   We found out officially that student DrOgg would have the opportunity to make his dream of being an orthopedic surgeon come true.  We also found out that he would be doing this back in Erie, PA which meant we would be living there for at least 5 years. MrsOgg immediately started planning the upcoming move and we debated whether we should buy a home in Erie or look for a rental.   Of course our hope was to move into our first house but, unsure if we could afford it we began exploring our options.

In April we found out the great news that a 3 bedroom home had come available through the hospital’s resident’s rental program and we were at the top of the list.  Since this was the most affordable way we knew to a nice house we hurried up to Erie to take a look.  After 5 years in all kinds of apartments this little ranch with a big yard in a quiet neighborhood was a dream come true. 

 We signed the lease and made plans to move to Erie as soon as possible.  On March 15^th we moved into our first house and even though it was 10 pm when we finally arrived (through a snowstorm) DrOgg and Ogglet couldn’t help but run around playing and exploring all the space we would be blessed with for the next five years.  Though MrsOgg loved everything she especially couldn’t be happier with her new kitchen that boasts a dishwasher and just about 3 times the space of our previous tiny kitchen.

After settling in for almost two months the day we all had been waiting for finally came:  graduation day!  On May 29^th our student doctor officially became Dr. Ogg and the first leg of his long journey to becoming an orthopedic surgeon was completed.  What a proud day it was for everyone!  Seeing Dr Ogg walk across that stage and knowing all the hard work and sacrifice that had led up to it was wonderful.  We celebrated with some family and food.  We even got to enjoy our yard and patio out back since our central air decided to conk out the day of the party.  But, in spite of the heat,  it was a wonderful weekend of celebration and of course time with our family.

Not soon after graduation we found out the most wonderful news of the whole year, we are having another baby!  So, the past seven months have been full of adjustments and challenges.  For DrOgg learning the ropes of his first year of residency and of course for MrsOgg caring for an active toddler while pregnant have been challenging to say the least.  And of course Ogglet turned two this October.  We have been surprised daily her amazing growth and learning these past months.  Not only is she talking more than ever but, she likes to put together puzzles, learn her alphabet, numbers, colors and shapes.  Basically anything we can teach her she is willing and eager to learn which makes all the “terrible” parts of being two not seem so bad. 

All in all it’s been a pretty amazing year.  Of course now we are trying to finish last minute preparations for the new baby girl and hope to enjoy our last 6 months with daddy before he has to start his rotations at out-of-town hospitals.  In spite of all this joy and the blessings we’ve been given we have already learned and will probably continue to discover that these last 5 years of DrOgg’s training are going to be the most trying.  Please keep us in your hearts and your prayers that we will be able to make the most of these years and stay strong in the Lord and close as a family.  Thanks for all of your support in small and big ways that helped us to get this far.

Dr Ogg's Graduation Day!

What long anticipation and it has finally come! It feels as if our entire life together has led up to this very day. I can even remember on our very first date the yet-to-be-DrOgg and I sharing our individual dreams for the future. He intimated that he had been reading about the life of renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson and it inspired him to perhaps become a surgeon himself. I was certainly impressed with his strong desire and sense of calling. He told me then--and still believes--that as in the parable of the talents, we will all be judged by how we have used the gifts that God has given us and that he did not want to squander his. Though I mostly hung out with grad students and young professionals at the time I had never heard any of them talk about their careers with so much passion. I really admired his ambition and believed --without the slightest doubt or cynicism-- that he could do it...no, that he would do it. Little did I know in that early time of new love and exciting changes in our lives that it would not be like that forever but, the true meaning of the word passion is "to suffer."

It is kind of weird to think that I can mark almost every single step in our life together with some step towards DrOgg's career in medicine. I suppose our dating and engagement was the dreaming phase. Like every new couple we talked about the hopes and dreams we had for ourselves and our future home and family. We also wondered if he could pull it off and get into medical school. Was this God's plan for us as well for were we kidding ourselves? You have to understand that not having any physicians in the family or as friends that this really was a huge unknown for us. But we took a step of faith and just nine days before our wedding (and about 14 months after our first date) DrOgg took the MCATS. And so we were off to our honeymoon, no longer thinking of the leaps of faith that lay ahead.

Next, our newlywed year was the wishing and waiting phase. I remember us just wondering what his scores would be, waiting just to get and interview and finally wishing and hoping for that letter of acceptance. I will admit that i was not, always sure that it would come. We had heard that a lot of people (many with higher MCAT scores) had applied to medical school --even multiple times-- without ever matriculating. It was a scary thought and I didn't want him to be discouraged or have to reapply (another year seemed like forever at the time, haha). Also, DrOgg had really put himself out there and told everyone we know about his dream and put in what seemed like a lot of work at the time to prep for the MCATS. But, luckily our newlywed bliss was increased with the knowledge that he would be given the opportunity to fulfill his dream. I remember us coming home one day to our little apartment and checking the mail (as we did every day) with the expectation and there it was: a letter from The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine!!! It said that they would be pleased to have DrOgg as a member of their class of 2011. We were so happy, excited and relieved! Now we were more certain than ever that this was God's plan. Soon MrOgg would become DrOgg! And we were moving to Erie, PA....um, where is that?

So, just after celebrating our first wedding anniversary we moved to Erie to start this unknown journey. To me a medical education felt like navigating a wild river without a map. If you have ever gone white water rafting than you know there are times of relative peace followed by amazing turbulence and even waterfalls to navigate. When navigating a medical education you can feel like you are participating in an Olympic level event with little to no training on how to navigate these hazards. It can be an isolating time but, if you are lucky you will meet other friendly travelers on the way. At times they will be just a little further up river and can tell you what to expect and other times you just find out for yourself.

The most discouraging were the times when we saw those who started the journey along side us fall behind or worse yet, lose their families along the way. I believe that our God was our Guiding Star through this entire journey. You needn't know every whirlpool or waterfall along the way that threatened to destroy our faith and our little family. Just know that in every night there was a North Star and that in every watery trap when I thought I would never come up for air that was the very moment when I did. Even when we considered leaving that crazy river for good somehow we carried on. I think that God has shown us through His guidance that this was the right path. From DrOgg's admittance with not so great MCAT scores to his acceptance into the the competitive specialty he had dreamed of since day one...we can see God opening doors.

Passion: Suffering. I feel like this is perhaps a good definition of the medical profession. Physicians sacrifice so much for this "passion"; for their love of medicine and commitment to serving their patients. I imagine that the sacrifices don't end with medical school or residency either. As we are just starting on the long road of DrOgg's five year surgical residency I feel a little like a westward traveler who has just made it to the Mississippi. We've made it half-way but, the most difficult leg of our journey mat still lie ahead. The unknown is still scary but, I think that if we had stayed at home and built a nice safe white-picket fence existence for ourselves than we would have always wondered "What if...?" We've learned many difficult life lessons and our family has grown since we first set out. One thing has never changed for me since that first innocent conversation when we shared our hopes and dreams. I still believe without a shadow of a doubt that he can do this. Orthopedic Surgery is a hard road but, I know he will be great. And I believe that he will be conscientious and excellent in his surgical skills but, also in his patient care because he is a truly compassionate. So, now that he is graduated and finally fulfilling this long sought after dream I want DrOgg to know how proud I am. Proud of the courageous dream he chose to follow. Proud of the hard work he has done to make it happen. But, most of all proud of his faith which has gotten him --and sometimes carried us both-- through it all.

Yard Sale = Success!!

I guess this is going to be a bit of a brag post. So if you can't handle it just stop reading now. ;-) But seriously, I am possible becoming irreparably hooked on yardsaling and the such. It's no secret in our circle that soon to be DrOgg and I are always low on cash. It is definitely part of the med school experience and having a child only adds to the financial burden. Of course I worked hard at my full time furniture sales job to support our little family until our sweet girl came along. Since then I have done everything from sell Mary Kay, discover every government program possible that we could benefit from, picked up some odd jobs when available, and of course our family and friends have pitched in. They've done a lot of little things like buying us lunch or giving us hand me downs for our Ogglet. And some bigger ones like my folks buying us tires one year when we really, really needed them, or Dr Ogg's family lending us money until our student loans came. My Sis and Bro gave us their old washer and dryer! I can't tell you how helpful this was because it came soon after we had our little Ogglet and had none at our apartment. But, after moving back to PA I found out that we were going to no longer receive one government program we had in Ohio. This was going to be a huge problem. So I'm back to the drawing board on ways to make $$ that won't take me away from my Ogglet on a regular basis. Fast forward to the MOPS yard sale at our local church. I went through all of our belongings trying to find things we no longer needed but, might possibly be of value. I felt I needed more and asked my girlfriends to contribute items if they could. Only one came through but, she did it in a big way: Thanks Kristen!! She gave me some really nice stuff. On the day of the indoor yard sale I was running a bit late. But, I managed to get all of my boxes to my reserved tables before they opened the doors. I had the tables full of items to display when people started coming in but, was still putting items out for at least an hour so it would have been much better if I had taken advantage of the early set up time they had the day before (but, it was our 5 year anniversary AND the royal wedding ). The first few hours of the yard sale were very exciting with lots of people between 9 and 11 am...lots of sales, too. It really slowed down big time and I still sold items up until the last half hour but, it seemed that it should have opened earlier and closed well before the 2pm scheduled end time. DrOgg came with our SUV and loaded the unsold items super quick. I was so thankful for him since at this point I was pretty tired. I didn't count the money until we got home and hoped I had covered the $20 cost of my table space. All I know was that I had had so much fun greeting lots of people and haggling...being handed cash is always gratifying as well :-P It wasn't until we were sitting down for our late lunch that I realized we had made a profit of $117 !!! So I realize people in this world make much more than this for 10 hours of work but, for a SAHM this seemed pretty good since I was only gone for one day and DrOgg and Ogglet had a wonderful daddy/daughter day together.
On top of this small victory I already sold a bookcase on craig's list for $400 that I had originally purchased for $40! I feel so good that I have already earned the money we would have been short this month due to our move. And I'm even more excited for my streets annual neighborhood yard sale coming up on May 14th. Here's hoping and praying I can scheme my way into another $450 to hold off financial disaster in June. Wish me luck!

My Yard sale Tips I found online and thought worthy of sharing:
1. Place a box of FREE items out to create a positive energy...it also helps to attract attention to your space if you are in a group sale.
2. Use blue painters tape and a sharpie for labels instead of stickers. This way you will never damage any items. This is an especially awesome tip if you have lots books and paper items. But, I found it sticks to everything including fabric quite well, but also comes off easily...win/win.
3. Start EARLY. In my case the people couldn't come by until 9 but, it a real yard/garage sale situation on expert told me the first people show as early as 7:15-7:30 so it's best to get setting up no later that 7 even if you advertise your yard sale for 8...they will want to be the first to see your items. (After my May 14th sale I will let you know if this is true). I still wonder though, if I had set up ahead if I would have sold more because I was setting items out well into the second hour....I guess I will never know.
4. Price it to sell! Don't try to price things like they are in a retail environment or you will be stuck putting everything away at the end of the day like the table next to me. I thought my prices were good but, in retrospect some could have been lower. I did sell some higher ticket items like my old flute for $15 and some discontinued Mary Kay but, most of what I sold was priced $2 or less and the 25 cent stuff just flew. I'm going to try to have tons of 25 cent items at my next sale because it just totally breaks down any resistance people have to buying with a price that low and it all adds up!
5. Now, this might be my BEST tip and it's an original...learned by my own personal trial and error. If you are really hard up for cash like I am than do NOT donate your leftover items after your sale. I literally need every penny I can get so, do like I did and bring your items to a local flea market and sell them to a vendor there (if you don't feel like having another yard sale). I even discovered that sometimes they will trade things with you. recently I traded an extra microwave, old cell phone and a pur filter for a faucet partially used no less (ick) for a beautiful lamp, an outdoor rug for our patio and a very large mirror that is now reflecting light beautifully in our living room. These trades might be my proudest moment yet, and I'm crazy in love with the lamp. So if you're really poor it's okay not to donate...unless you need the 20% off coupon that they give you. :-) Happy hunting!

Working My Way Back to You...Erie (Part 2)

Wow! I can't believe we've already been here for only 6 weeks! Maybe it's because we already know the area or maybe it's because we already have friends here but, it just seems like we've been here for months. Of course we love all the extra space we have in our new house but, we sure have filled it up with no problem. The only additional furniture I've acquired are 4 dining sized rattan chairs. Love them because of the style but, also because I purchased them for $10 each when The Thrifty Shopper was having a 50% off sale. The plan is to recover the cushions but, is on hold until I find the perfect fabric. Perhaps I will figure out how to add pictures to these posts and share some before and afters :-)
I was working obsessively to unpack the first month we were here and now have lost that momentum. The house is pretty good but, the office is about 60% unpacked...this is not good for my MK business and I really do need to make some extra $$ to get through these next few months until DrOgg's residency starts (June 28th!). Also, since I've weaned off Strattera my ADHD symptoms have come back in full force. As a result my housekeeping seems to have declined. I'm starting to notice some old piles creeping into our master bedroom and need to figure out a way to break through these old bad habits with out meds. One idea I'm trying right now utilizes a kitchen timer I found at The Christmas Tree Stores (words can't describe my newly discovered love for this superstore). The timer is cheery and yellow with a smiley face with the hope that it can make me feel better about doing tasks I'm not in the mood for. Basically, the idea is that by timing your activities to 45 minutes or less that it will help get you started because you can do almost anything for 15-45 min. Also, for someone like me with severe ADHD I think it will help keep me from wasting time. For example, when I intend to spend 15 minutes checking on some blogs and instead spend 2 hours. Instead I will limit myself like I am doing right now...25 minutes left!!! A side perk I didn't realize is that the timer is quite a bit louder than I expected so it gives a sense of urgency to the task as well. :-) Can I live my life like this? We will see. I know my natural bent is to balk at routine and time management even though I so desperately need it. I suppose "normal" people have an internal timer and/or ticking sound that helps them get things done in a timely manner. Maybe this is how they can actually get things done on schedule and not be 5-15 minutes late to absolutely everything. Must be nice.
Since the ADHD struggles are a separate issue I would say that all in all being back in Erie is good. It's been nice catching up with the girls that I used to spend time with before. And it's been fun meeting other moms in the new playgroup that the Ogglet and I have been going to. Also, we're enjoying watching an unbelievable number of flowers pop out of our new house's flower beds. I am so thankful to the previous owners for their apparent care and love for the outdoors. Hopefully soon the weather will clear so we can also enjoy the covered patio out back. Next, we can put up the picket fence to keep our doggies and babies in the yard...hang a porch swing...make some lemonade...I guess we've made it back.

I'm Working My Way Back to You...Erie (Part 1)

If you read my last post then you know we were preparing for our big move back to Erie. My husband's school is actually located here and we lived here for his first two years of Medical School. We enjoyed having some time back in my hometown and with family for about 20 mos and now we are back because this is where he will be completing his residency training for the next 5 years. Woo hoo!! It feels so good to be moving onto this next step in the process. Seeing him beginning training in his dream field is just the first fruit of our hard work and sacrifice.
Well, enough about Dr Ogg... I wanted to update on our move and how it went. Also, how life in Erie has seemed thus far. Interestingly, I did not live out my fears of being unprepared or not fulfilling my husband's expectations when preparing for the move. I will say however, it did not go smoothly or as I had hoped...at least not at first.
In the week leading up to our planned move date I wast on schedule and finishing the last packing while saving some things for the last day. DrOgg had the days leading up to the move off which made me rest easy as well. My rest was abruptly interrupted at 5:45 am 2 days before our planned move when DrOgg woke me saying that the weather was showing a snowstorm coming in and needed to get the truck loaded a day early in order to avoid the bad weather. Once I really woke up completely I said ok and we rushed to change the truck reservation and see if our guys could come a day early. Everything fell into place and by noon one guys was over with DrOgg loading the truck (the other couldn't get off until after 2). This sounds great until you consider that I still had an entire day of packing (together) planned!!! I was rushing around trying to pack our possessions while two guys in a "let's get it done!" mentality were trying to load everything out! I can't tell you how many times that day I wanted to cry; it was so stressful. I believed DrOgg's instincts were probably correct so, I did my best to just keep working and suck it up. The only saving grace in this situation was that my mom was able to take a day off of her job on short notice and come over to help with our 18 month old. She also managed to pack most of what was left in the kitchen. The guys were able to work steadily until about 2:30 and took a break for lunch then started again when the other one arrived. Poor guys didn't finish until the sun was going down around 6:30 or 7 pm. We were all exhausted.
That night we crashed at my folks then, rose early to get back at it. I think we had severely underestimated the amount of work to get done because about 5% of our stuff still was not packed. Thankfully my awesome aunt and another of Rob's friends came over that day. The guys loaded the rest of the stuff while my aunt and I worked on the last few items and packed the food. Finally we were packed around lunchtime...exhausted again. Rather than return to my parents we just set up our daughter's pack n play for her nap and we camped out on a blanket and rested while eating what was left in our fridge for lunch. My aunt came back back after our "nap-time" with much-needed coffee and pizza hut. She really saved us this day because she even stayed behind to finish the cleaning once we headed up to Erie.
By the time everything was said and done we got to our new house right after sunset of the second day. This was earlier than we had planned so we couldn't unload until the next day when our friends were planning to come over. "No problem" we thought, "we will just get our keys from the hospital and camp out with blankets." Unfortunately when we arrived at the hospital there had been some sort of mix up and no one knew where our keys were. They had to call the housing coordinator at home...and we finally got our keys about an hour after arriving. It didn't ruin our excitement though. Once we got inside Annabel woke up and DrOgg was chasing her around our empty house. We just couldn't help but feel that we had found our promised land. It felt so good to be in our first ever house :-)