Carving Pumpkins

Happy Halloween!

Our apartment complex is having a pumpkin carving contest, so Scott and I thought we would participate. We were hoping to carve one evening with some of the med students I haven't met yet, but that didn't pan out.

We carved two pumpkins, one medium and one small. The milk jug in the middle is a Young Women's personal progress activity I did at church this month based on this blog post.  The young women didn't want to keep this one, so I'm putting it out with our pumpkins.

Can you guess who carved which pumpkin?

Pumpkin #1

Pumpkin #2

Scott is going to be Waldo at school today. So excited! He really wanted me to be Wanda, but I don't think I look as much like Wanda as he looks like Waldo. Hence... no costume for me. I'll post pictures of Scott soon!

On the Crohns Front

I usually don’t give Crohns updates, but the topic typically comes up every time I’m in a conversation with close family and friends. Since this is, after all, a newsletter about me, I figured I’m probably due to give an update.

I started this post a few months ago, when I realized that my last report on Crohns was over a year ago. When I started the post in August I felt great! I had gained weight, and while that sounds like a bad thing, it is a really good sign for me. In fact, I think it was the first time during my marriage to Scott that I came home with the happy news. He was puzzled.

About a month later I started feeling nauseous every day, an unusual occurrence for Crohns (No, I'm not pregnant.). I decided to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist here in Corvallis to see if he had any ideas. He didn't think it sounded like Crohns either and ordered some blood work to get initial clues. Note: The sign of a good gastroenterologist is the ordering of blood work. Not exactly sure why, but my favorite doctor's always have, and my least favorite NEVER asked.

My blood work showed a high level of liver activity, which is not something typically related to Crohns. It could be a sign that something else was malfunctioning, like my gallbladder. Without knowing for sure, my doctor ordered a CT scan, which I had done a couple weeks ago.

Now, don't freak out! Apparently CT scans are the new X-ray. It is a fairly common way for doctors to get a visual of what's going on inside without actually going inside (surgery or scoping). When I told family and friends that I was going in for a CT scan, many of them immediately referred to House or Grey's Anatomy episodes where a CT scan means imminent death. You should know, if no one's told you already, that House portrays an over exagerated, not to mention unethical, practice of medicine. Just ask Scott. He's had to watch episodes for homework... or at least that's what he told me.

The CT scan came back clean. My gallbladder's fine, by kidneys are fine, my liver looked fine. However, Mr. Crohns, in addition to where he's always been, has expanded his territory a tad. My immune system is still a bit overactive, meaning I catch every cold virus passed around the office or church nursery (even though I'm in Young Womens). But hey, the nausea stopped! I'm having discussions with my doctor this week about medicine. I expect that I will be able to get Mr. Crohns under control without any further references to popular television programing.

Notes from Medical School

Life has been so busy that whenever Katie has asked that I blog about med school I've never had the time to sit down and write. She got tired of waiting and sat down to ask me questions for an update post. Here's the Q and A:

Describe your medical school schedule.
Busy. It's extremely busy. The content isn't that difficult, it's the pacing. If you had 8 years to learn all the material then anyone could do it. We only have two years to learn every little detail of the body before getting into the hospitals for rotations. It's been three months and we just finished studying gross anatomy, head and neck, and as of Tuesday began studying molecular and cell biology.

How is med school different from undergrad studies?
Med school requires more time and energy. In my undergraduate work I could attend class if I wanted to, complete the homework, and do well in the class. In med school I get up early to study, attend all lectures and labs, study more before going to bed. All to wake up and do it again the next day.

Does med school meet the expectations you had?
Yes. I felt well prepared. BYU prepared me well for med school. A lot of this stuff I'm already familiar with.

If you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing to better prepare, what would you say?
Take more biology courses.

What has been your favorite med school moment so far?
I enjoyed TAing. It put me in a good position for the rest of school - socially and academically. I have a lot of good friends coming from different backgrounds. It's the real deal.

Sunset Ceremony

Groom walking his mother down the aisle

This last weekend Scott and I were able to get away for a day (with much preparation before hand) to attend the ring ceremony of his good friend, Trevor. Scott and his buddy Erik were co-best men. It worked out pretty well, especially for the maid of honor who was sandwiched between these men walking down the aisle.

Trevor and Ester were married in the Oakland Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A ring ceremony was performed by Trevor's uncle in Roseville, CA for friends of the couple who were unable to attend the temple sealing.

I liked the example Trevor's uncle used to explain how to approach a temple marriage and sealing for time and all eternity. He shared a story of a husband and wife who owned silver utensil set to be used on special occasions. The husband felt the tedious work of cleaning and polishing before and after each use, only to be packed away for another six months. He asked his wife one day why they went through so much effort and why they didn't use the silverware more often. She replied that "if you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by."

We really enjoyed our short, SHORT trip to Sacramento and only wish we could have spent more time with family. Now back to the nine to five... more like seven to six.

A Little Mario

Scott is in a wedding this weekend. It is a welcomed break from studying and working! Even better, we get to see these little characters! So excited!

Spin Master HouseParty

The Spin Master HouseParty was a success! We had six medical school families come to enjoy food and Spin Master games. There is no way all of those people would fit in our apartment, but luckily our apartment complex has an awesome clubhouse that is available to reserve.

Our guests enjoyed soups, breadsticks, chips and dip. I'm SO glad that Shaila offered to bring dessert because she brought these scrumptious pumpkin cupcakes and oatmeal cookies that were gone in a flash. It's hard to estimate how much to cook for such a large group. One very good reason I'm not a caterer. Somehow we still had extra food! The only thing I under estimated was everyone's love for seven layer dip.

With this group, you really don't need much to entertain. Of course the kiddos had a movie going and a few toys to play with. The adults however could have kept chatting away if we hadn't stopped them to play a couple games and bless the food.

As I described earlier, Quelf is a new game where cranium meets curses. When I first played Quelf, it took me awhile to get into the game. The activities they ask you to do are a little bit outside any adult's comfort zone, but I think the kid inside of us really wants to participate in a big way. By the end of the game everyone is going full blast and rolling on the floor with laughter. I had several party guests tell me it was their favorite.


The Quelf Hoe Down from Katie Chandler on Vimeo.

With moments like this, I'm not sure I could blame them. Though Most Outstanding Duo in a Quelf Series most definitely goes to our two pregnant mamas who danced cheek to cheek... and subsequently belly to belly! I think we all felt the sacrifice they made for the love of the game.

However, by far my favorite game was The Logo Game. The game tests your brand knowledge, and I would say is MUCH easier on the brain than a game of trivial pursuit. I thoroughly enjoyed, and was entertained, by the random facts about slogans and products. Scott and I played this several times more after the party was over, and sometimes he likes to just pull out a card to break the ice during conversation. His favorite cards to be quized on are of course the sports brands. My best performance was with food brands... go figure!

After a full weekend of partying and victory dancing for BYU, we are kind of warn out!

Logos, Quelf and More

I was so excited to get our HouseParty package in the mail a couple weeks ago. It arrived so early, which is fantastic! I think HouseParty has really improved their system, because our first party through them almost went on without any of the supplies! Luckily that box arrived the night before, and we were able to party without a problem.

The HouseParty we are hosting tonight is sponsored by SpinMaster board games! As you can see the package included  The Logo Game and Quelf, $5 off game coupons for our guests, napkins, drink sticks, magnets, and more. Scott and I made sure to test out the board games and learn all the rules before our party. We REALLY enjoyed the games so far and think our guests will have a lot of fun!

I planned out a pretty casual menu of soups and appetizers, since our party will be around dinner time and we are having potentially six! med school families over to play with us. The HouseParty Spin Master games have a suggested age range from12+ . We want this to be a family party, as we are one of only a few med school families without chil'en. So we suggested that families bring games that their kids would like to play.

HouseParty at the Chandler's tonight, and the OSU v BYU game in Corvallis on Saturday! We'll be sure to share the details!

Crafty Advertising

I literally stopped and laughed at this comic that was posted outside a coworkers cube. Sometimes I take advertising too literally. I'm an ad analyzer, and usually I'm an expert when it comes to understanding the statistics behind ad statements. The other day... not so much. I most definitely went to McDonalds just for an apple pie and walked away with a large fry, apple pie, and a burger. Why? One word - Monopoly.

Have you seen the McD Monopoly commercial with Lebron James? Funny, yes! But do not take the 1 in 4 statistic literally. When I arrived at McDs I saw a poster stating that large fries have four monopoly pieces on the package. Of course, I think exactly what those crafty marketers want me to think... " With a 1 in 4 chance of winning, a large fry guarantees I'll get something free next time. So it's an investment." I won nothing and ate more french fries than any one person should in one sitting.

I almost misread and took THIS ad too literally. Luckily I corrected my mental misspelling, saw the logo, and breathed a sigh of relief for society before passing the billboard by on the freeway. It is good to stop and think about advertising. Avoid overthinking.

Raining equals Soup

Having grown up in a rainforest, I am unphased by a little drizzle to even the hardest downpour. In fact, I love rain! I love the sound of rain outside as I'm sitting in my snuggie on the couch. I love the smell of the earth after it's rained. I love how rain makes my garden grow without requiring me to put in any effort. Rain was an almost daily occurance during childhood and is about to be again as the fall season is upon us in Oregon.

I didn't realize that Scott would have a different interpretation of rain. Sacramento doesn't have many rainy days, so when Scott was younger his family would celebrate the weather with bowls of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Thinking that "we" will probably be craving a lot of soup this winter, I decided to try out these two recipes:

Curried Carrot Soup


Rosemary Bread


I highly recommend both for your next rainy day! Bon appetit!

Accounting is not Brain Surgery

Classes started last week at OSU. Go figure my business professors are still trying to find funny intro videos. This BBC clip was shown before my accounting class began.

While accounting is most certainly not brain surgery, I am already starting to feel the toll of taking evening classes while working full time, magnifying my calling at church, and fitting in time with my student husband.

Even Cows like Jazz

Of course, I suppose they are French cows... so they have more class.
You can read about this most random event on Deseret News.

The Moral Recession

Conference was fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed all the talks and was so excited when they announced that a temple will be built in Paris, France! How very exciting for France!

President Monson spoke on the current moral recession that we've lived in for quite some time without significant notice or study. He pointed out that up until 1960 we, as a society, upheld values or moral behavior that are now considered "old fashioned." Virtue is timeless and should never be connected with fashion or seasons. It is probably strange for friends and coworkers to hear of the values I hold and standards I keep. I'm determined to be more bold in sharing them!

President Monson's talk is available to view on the church website. They are so speedy to already have these talks in video format online!