i'm ready!!!

... ya know, in case that Nor'easter is as strong as they say it will be...

1 = 3.

It was a long hard final night in Intro to Med as we all had to give presentations, so (as you can imagine) it was dragging on a bit. I needed rejuvenation stat! so I turned to my trusted pal, the Diet Coke. As soon as I had my hankering, I could hardly ignore it! The class break couldn't come soon enough! Finally, it was upon me and I scampered down the hall, turned the corner, and there she was: the soda machine. She was a sight to behold, sparkling in all her glory while quiet hallelujahs played in the background. I walked to her slowly, slipped in a dollar bill and three quarters and.... the ole lady spit out THREE WHOLE DIET COKES!! It was a Christmas miracle!!

Oh, and bonus, I'm now officially done with my first semester of grad school :)

say cheese,
katy

barney wisdom.

Jocelyn is taking one more class than I am this semester and the pressure of "The Final Push" is definitely rearing its ugly head. I made her an encouraging note to help her through, but I thought I should share it with any and all who may read the blog and also be suffering from end-of-the-semester blues.

<All wisdom compliments of Barney Stinson, of "How I Met Your Mother">

So be confident, my friends, and know you can do it!! Barney and I believe in you :)

say "suit up!"
katy

dirty pop!

I wanted to make a special goodie for my co-workers at the Health Center so I decided to make a favorite holiday treat: chocolate-covered popcorn (recipe compliments of new Texan, Miss Anna Kerr). It is so delicious and super easy, but (per usual) I have a funny story to accompany its creation.

I should have known to just stop trying to spread holiday cheer and just give them a high-five, instead, when...

so this is supposed to be a smooth, 

melted WHITE chocolate...

not a black clumpy, burned, 

chocolate volcano from satan

... the grocery store didn't have red-colored white baking chocolate
... the grocery store didn't have clear Christmas'y bags to put the treats in
... the paper lunch bags I bought to replace the plastic bags were all glued together (all 100 of them)
... the only red marker I had (to write "Happy Holidays" on the bag to make the boring brown more festive) ran out after the second festive note (with 6 more to go)
... I didn't burn the first bag of popcorn (and I always do)
... the first batch of white chocolate literally caught on fire in the microwave after only 20 seconds of cook-time!
... the second batch of white chocolate crystallized on the stovetop
... the third batch of white chocolate burned into a light-brown cookie-like substance in the microwave in a different (definitely microwave-safe) bowl

But the good news is, the little treats were (finally!) delivered on time and to some very happy clinicians/administrative assistants. All's well that ends well, I suppose...because I accidentally made one too many gift bags so Jocelyn and I got to share a little well-earned Christmas joy, too :)

finally! a finished product! there were three more 

like him...eventually...

say chocolate-covered popcorn,
katy

Recipe for Chocolate-Covered Popcorn
Ingredients:
6 oz. white/dark baking chocolate (they make red but it's harder to find, apparently)
1 bag lite popcorn (store brand is cheaper!)

Tools:
Wax paper or non-stick baking sheet
Spatula

Directions:
Make popcorn according to package directions. Place popcorn on wax paper/baking sheet in one layer, being sure to remove uncooked kernels. Heat chocolate according to package directions (but watch it like a hawk or else it might catch fire!). Drizzle melted chocolate over popcorn. For a cuter corn, desegregate!...drizzle both dark and white chocolates on the same corn. Let set for at least thirty minutes (or place in refrigerator) until chocolate is hard. Remove popcorn with spatula and put in super cute baggies or Seran Wrap with ribbon and a note. Spread christmasful joy by sharing this wonderful treat!

brrrsheeba!

I walked home tonight without being able to feel my nose or my toes!! There were snow flurries falling from the sky, and tears falling from my eyes cried for the inevitable terrifying winter to come.

Of course, they were frozen to my cheeks.

say cheese,
katy

christmasful 2010.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!! Boy, oh boy, do I love the Christmas season! If ya don't know this about me well then ya must be living under a rock! All the wonderful Christmas cheer, lovely Christmas lights, awesome Christmas smells, yummy Christmas drinks! It's definitely sensory overload for a full month, but I absolutely looooove it!

So to kick off the christmasful season in style, Jocelyn and I trekked out to the Cambridge mall at the verrrrrry end of the Green T line on Friday afternoon. We grabbed a few necessary Christmas gifts for our loved ones, drank Starbucks GBLs and soaked in all of the warm and fuzzy Christmas joy floating around us. The mall was tackily/perfectly decorated with oversized Christmas ornaments and we even got a glance at Santa (I'm surprised he's still doing photo ops so close to his big day!). We also wandered around Faneuil Hall for a bit, grabbed some more prezzies and called it a successful christmasful afternoon! But little did we know--the christmasfulness hardly ended there! When we got home there was a precious three-foot Christmas tree waiting from my Daddio! He's so great!! We trimmed it with a few critical christmasful items (aka color-twinkle lights, an aluminum foil star + paper snowflakes) and ghetto-rigged it to stand up straight since we don't have a tree stand. It looks so darn cute in the corner of our kitchen/living room and it smells christmasfully awesoooooome!

I went into NYC on Saturday to experience more christmasfulness with Haley. I've always heard the city is spectacular this time of year and it was absolutely bedazzling! There were people EVERYWHERE! You could hardly put your arm out without touching someone else and walking down the sidewalk felt similar to what I imagine cattle feel like when they shuffle in a herd. All the children we saw were adorable dressed up in their best and there were wannabe Santa's everywhere we turned. The Christmas decorations were stunning and all of the store-front window displays were so so so creative and fun! I'll do my best to remember it all, but here's a little of what we did....

 ..... saw the beautifully decorated Macy's (it's known as the holiday store!)

 ..... saw the NY Public Library + St. Patrick's Cathedral in all their christmasfulness!


  ..... saw Rockefeller Center (take one!)

 ..... to be in a show or shop till we drop? Decisions, decisions.....

 ..... more Rockefeller fun!

 ..... 30 Rock!

 ..... beautiful Swarovski crystals! I hunted long and hard (to no avail) for a crystal bumble bee for Gayle :(

 ..... and the best window display (albeit not necessarily christmasful) goes to Anthropologie! Love. 

 

 ..... saw some of my best friends from NBC :) Tina Fey, Seth Meyers + Lauren Graham send you their best!

 ..... saw a dazzling light + music show at Columbus Center, as well as enjoyed a lovely dinner of smoked salmon and grilled cheese at Bouchon Bakery (founded by a chef from Haley's school)  

 ..... wandered back to Rockefeller and got serenaded by carrollers galore!

I got home around 3:30 a.m. to a remarkably warm Boston and crashed until today...when I'd experience even more christmasfulness! Unbelievable, right??

Jocelyn and I slaved away in the kitchen this afternoon making green bean casserole, pigs-in-a-blanket and deviled eggs for the first Comfort+Joy HComm Christmas party. We all gathered together at Liz's apartment for a lot of eating, a ton of chatting, a smidge of gossiping (oops) and a heaping of christmasfulness! We even threw in a bit of YouTube watching for good measure (go check out a new video made by students at my school here)! It was definitely a wonderful christmasful time and a fabulous weekend to kick-off the 2010 Christmas season.

say christmasful!
katy

oooh we're half-way there!!

Susan, Leah and I successfully delivered a rockin' awesome presentation tonight to all of our HComm peers about our HPV paper. The final paper is due next Wednesday so we've got half officially checked off the list and the other half is quickly approaching (thank goodness)! First semester nearly done--paaaaartay!!

say cheese,
katy

only the tip of the iceberg.

...this is what we have to look forward to tomorrow....gotta love the wind chill!!

it's kinda like a drive-thru, but opposite...

My groceries were delivered to my front door at 6 a.m. this morning! So cool, right?

I've got a pretty hectic week ahead (and, let's be honest with ourselves, it's brrrrr-tastic cold outside) so I was struggling to figure out a time when I could grocery shop...in the daylight (remember, safety + not freezing to death are at the tip-top of my priority list). Instead of refiguring my whole calendar, I just pulled up my internet Safari, went to peapod.com, and made my grocery list there! It was awesome!

There's a $6 flat-rate delivery charge, plus tip, so it's not much more than I'd usually spend. Granted, I'd love to have kept that cash...but I would have spent more eating out this week had I not done it the Peapod way, so it all works out! The produce is fresh and they have both name-brand and store-brand items to pick from, so you've still got the option to save a penny here or there if desired. Basically, it's the ultimate grocery experience--without all the huffing and puffing to the T, on the T, <insert awkward search for T pass, here> off the T, to the apartment <insert more awkward fumbling around for keys in bottom of purse, here>, up the stairs, keys in door <insert obvious awkwardness> and to the kitchen counter...all the while icicles are growing on your nose hairs! WHEW! I'm exhausted just thinking about it!!

The only bad thing is that they bring everything in plastic bags, and I'm all about saving the planet with one cloth bag at a time...so that was kinda sad. But I'm thinking about Googling fun plastic-bag crafts to recycle them....sooooo don't be surprised by your "creative" Christmas-present wrappings and/or plastic-bag ornament gifts you get from me this year...

say cheese (at the front door!),
katy

PS--I can DEFINITELY see this coming in handed when I'm up to my ears in snow. Am I right, or am I right?

health comm in a nutshell...

"....and that is why we lift on three...."

say cheese,

katy

let's get trivial.

Guess what I did today!!

If you guessed Christmas shopping...you'd be wrong.
If you guessed sightseeing on a duck tour...that's a negatory (mornin' glory).
If you guessed cozying up next to a fire to read a good book...that ain't right either.
...a banana-jama party...boy, do I wish.
...clapping dri-erase board erasers together...nooooo.
...saving helpless elderly folk cross the street...hardly.
...exchanging my Diet Coke bottles for a nickel or two...nope.
...doing kart wheels through the Common...uh uh.
...fashioning a paper clip and light bulb into a hair blow dryer...not even close.

Today, I (drum roll, please)......sat at the Tufts med school library for nine hours straight! Whoo hoooooooo! So fantastically fantastic you can hardly wrap you're head around it, right?!?! Yea, I thought so.

Approximately 14 days, people. The heat is on!

say cheese,
katy

PS--Sorry for the random pic of a Tufts library mural, but doesn't that "doctor" look just like (a younger version of) Kate Gosselin's ex-husband?!?! Am I right, or am I right?? Gross.

chri'muh.

roomie pic!

LtoR: jackie, jocelyn, mary, kristen, lewis,
kat, cassaundra, liz, me!, kristen, & emily!

Boston Common had a fancy Christmas tree lighting tonight with a big concert with an American Idol and a countdown to the lighting!!!!!....BUT we were in class talking about "Affordable Care" and policy and MRIs....blah blah blah....

So we trekked over there afterward--through the freezing cold, mind you--to enjoy a little Christmas cheer! I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! We were all bundled up, of course, and the church bells were ringing--it was so sweet and fun with all my favorite HCommers! If only there had been some carolers, it would have been the perfect Boston Christmas moment!

say cheese,
katy

sugar rush!!

Today was the wonderful Susan Vitulli's birthday so, of course, we had to celebrate! I made her a heapin' of chocolate chip + sugar cookies for our entire Theory class to share. I didn't think our tiny little oven would make it through all of the batches, but it stayed strong and produced some pretty tasty treats! That Betty Crocker lady sure does know what she's doing...

say chocolate chip,
katy