Road Trip Part 2!

While in Columbus, Ohio we drove past a replica of Columbus' ship the Santa Maria.  It is a working replica and there is a museum around there.  We didn't have time to stop and I wasn't quick enough with the camera to get a picture.

Daily Penny pic.  Sleeping as usual.  Notice her tongue sticking out. haha

Next stop was a Rock Garden in Springfield, Ohio.  This was my highlight of the day.  Pretty cool little yard next to an old house.  The man and wife who originally built the rock garden have since passed.  Their son kept up the rock garden for a while which has now been taken over by an organization who are helping to restore it to it's original glory. 

Next we drove through Indiana and into Illinois!

                                    

Across the Mississippi River into Missouri!

And finally, Arkansas.

One more pic of Penny to end this post.  More to come tomorrow! 

Road Trip!!!!

Mom and I headed out on our road trip to Tucson the Tuesday after graduation.  We had planned out a few stops from Roadsideamerica.com.  A website that catalogs weird things along the road.  We packed up my Acura (which I actually don't have a picture of the car packed full). 

Penny was ready for the trip - "don't forget me"

Our carry on luggage with our clothes for the trip stuck behind the drivers seat.  A bag full of Penny's stuff and some snacks were also stuffed up near the front.  Mom drove a lot, I sat in the passengers seat and Penny slept on the arm rest in the middle in her bed.

The spoiled little girl got breakfast and dinner in bed everyday of the trip.

On our path we went through:

and

 While in Columbus, Ohio.  Guess where we appropriately stopped?

That's right - the largest graduation cap in the USA! 

Next up in Columbus was a topiary park that is based off of Seurat's famous painting, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

 Here are some pictures from the park.

Penny made a friend.

More pictures and stories from the road soon, possibly tomorrow.  We have been in Tucson for the past couple of days, looking for a place to live.  More on that later as well.  Tomorrow we continue the road trip - 2 more days hopefully until we are back in Chico.

Green Challenge and Graduation!

Welcome...you are now reading the blog of a doctor, Jennifer Chun M.D.!  That's right - I have the diploma to prove it.  The family (my parents, grandparents, and my mom's sisters) came out for the week to help me pack up and celebrate a wonderful day.

Later I'll post more pictures from our family adventures.  Since graduation, I feel the same - not too much has changed.  My mom and I road tripped out to Tucson to start trying to find Sief and I a place to live.  Wish us luck.  And I'll post road trip photos later along with stories from the road.

I'd post more, but I'm still recovering from two 15 hour driving days on the road!

Dr. Chun and Dr. Naser

For now here's my green challenge.
Green Challenge #18:  Become a family physician.

How is this green?  Well, as a family doctor one of my goals will be to prevent disease.  With the prevention of disease that leads to decreased medications.  In turn that means, decreased resources being used for medicines, etc.  It also means less lab work to follow certain chronic diseases - which means less needles, syringes, etc.  The list could continue - use your imagination.

My first year anatomy lab group!  WE MADE IT!!!

Moving, Moving, Moving

It's time to pack up after 4 years.  I can't believe it.  It still doesn't seem real, even though the only piece of real furniture left in my place is my desk!  Graduation is a week from today.  My parents, Grandma, and two of my aunts are flying out on Tuesday, the last of the 4 sisters will join us on Thursday.  It should be fun.
Now, I just need to buckle down and get some packing done!  I'm making progress - slowly but surely.

It's been 4 years since I've had to pack and I've never had this much stuff.  I'm just not exactly sure what the best way to go about it is.  Trial and error I guess.

What I do know is that I'm making this move a little greener than some of my previous moves.
Here's what I'm doing.

Green challenge #18:  Use previously used boxes for moving. 
The other day I went to the grocery store and got some used boxes from them.  I'm also using random other boxes I have around the house from buying items such as a printer, sewing machine, etc.  I will admit that my mom and I did buy 2 new boxes from home depot, but my goal is for those to be the only two newbies.

Green challenge #19:  Wrap all breakables in newspaper or old shirts.
You know how when it's time to clean out the closet for a move or a yard sale there are a pile of old shirts you don't know what to do with.  Like the free Trinity T-shirts, an old softball shirt, or a senior class t-shirt, etc.  There's some sentimental value, but you don't really wear it.  And well I guess I'm a bit of a pack rat and it's hard for me to get rid of some of that stuff.  I could donate it or try to sell it, but really who wants a Willows High Class of 2002 T-shirt?  So...I decided I will make a t-shirt quilt out of the designs of the t-shirts and the remainder will go to wrap my valuables.  For what I don't have t-shirts for newspapers it will be.  (again, one confession - mom and I bought a small thing of bubble wrap for the really fragile things - but no more after that little roll is gone).  And of course I'll recycle the newspaper once I'm done with them.

And...there you have it I'm all caught up on my green challenges!  whew...finally!!

Ok, game time!
In the next 2 pics of my messy room in the packing process - find Penny!  (she's only in one)

One more - Penny helping me fold my clean laundry - aka knocking over 1/2 the stack and sitting on it.

Bully Stick / Beef Pizzle

Ok, so a while ago I went into the pet store across the street with Penny.  The clerks ooh'd and ahh'd over how cute and small my little Penny bear was.  I told them that she was shy and a rescue dog, etc.  I went in to buy her a small tennis ball, thinking that since she rarely played with her other toys that maybe she would like something that rolled. 

One of the clerks suggested this chew stick thing.  It was expensive like over $3 for one stick, granted it was ~12 inches long, but still.  Anyway, I said that I would pass, because I wasn't sure if she was a chewer or not.  On our way out the woman hands me a smaller version of the original stick she suggested and told me to take it home to find out if she's a chewer or not.  Well...guess wo didn't like the ball I bought her, but LOVED her stick.

That's right, Penny did.  She chowed down on it and finished it that night.  Since I've been gone I thought I would treat her to another chew stick.  I went into the pet store and bought a cheaper version of the one before a 6 inch Beef Pizzle.  This time I checked out the name.  I was curious, because last time Sief joked and said he thought it was a bull penis.

Well....would I be posting this right now if it wasn't?  Yup that's right, I feed my dog bull penis.  One article I found on the internet states that some merchants will claim it's dried beef tendons or muscle, to make it seem more appealing, it's not.  Interesting fact is that at the beginning of the bull stick or beef pizzle making process the penis is 23-25 inches long!  They drain them of their fluid, then stretch them, twist them or braid them into different shapes which are dried or smoked.  This sticks are then cut up into various sizes and sold.

Being the eco-friendly dog owner I am, I did not take a bag, but rather stuck the dried beef penis directly into my purse.  Later I came home and cut them in half with a saw mind you because they are so hard, so Penny could have a 3inch pizzle.  6inches would be too long for her and I picked out thick ones because I wanted to get my moneys worth.

The internet article also states that "bully sticks last an incredibly long time.  It can take weeks for a small dog to chew on one bully stick"  Let me say that my small dog can finish a bully stick in a couple of hours.

And since I know you all would like a better picture here is one from Naturalicious pet treat's website.

Presenting....the Beef Pizzle.  YUM!

Crafts and Catch Up!

First the fun stuff.  It's getting closer and closer to my move out date!  I'm super excited to find a place and redecorate.  This week my mom and I planned out our upcoming road trip to Tucson.  That's a post for another day.  We've been looking online at places to live and it seems that either places are pretty dumpy or super nice - not a whole lot in between.  With that said, I've fallen in love with 2 places, a little higher priced, but...super super nice.  I'm hoping once we get to Tucson my favs will still be available or that some of the other places will look better in person.

Mom and I completed our first craft for my new place.

We found the instructions at a blog called Monkey See - Monkey Do.

Here are the pictures of the message board my mom and I created.  We bought a cheap frame at the thrift store and then spray painted it black.

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Next craft - make my own green rags/"paper" towel/napkins.

I am behind by 4 green challenges.  My excuses are my little Penny poo and the fact that I've been relaxing and enjoying the time I have off before graduation.

Green Challenge #15:  No more paper towels.

• this includes cleaning up after Penny's accidents, wiping down the counter, drying my hands in public bathrooms, etc

Green Challenge #16:  No more paper napkins at home.

• I'll do my best to use my new towel when out - whenever I remember, like at the airport tomorrow on my flight back to Hershey.

Green Challenge #17:  No more Tissues.

• I'll give my Dad credit for using handkerchiefs for as long as I have known him.  Sief thinks it's gross, but whatever, it's not like I blow my nose all the time anyway.

So what's the big deal with all of these paper products? 

Are you thinking, well...duh?  it's paper - and paper comes from trees.  Well yes, that's correct, but...there's more to the story.

• Remember those gorgeous pictures of the rain forest I posted?  The ones that don't do justice to the beauty of the place, nor show even a minascule amount of the diversity that relyies on that forest.  Well, guess what is being cut down to make those wonderfully (but really not that soft) of kleenexes that you blow your snot into or those paper towels that soak up whatever mess...well blow or wipe away that rain forest.  I haven't given up toliet paper yet, but....if I run out of ideas for more green challenges you never know.  No Impact Man did it during his no impact year.
• In a New York Times article, it states that the fact that Americans demand soft and fluffy toliet tissue or kleenexs that new trees must be cut down, recycled productes are just as easy and cost effective to make, but...they aren't as soft, but maybe with a little research could be made to be just as soft.
• Large companies like Kimberly-Clark don't even deny the fact that they use virgin trees to make their product!  They may argue the percentage (14% in one article) of ancient trees that are part of the boreal forest and an integral part of that eco-system - when really none of those trees should be cut down for me to wipe my ass or blow my nose.
• K-C used 3,113,000 metric tons of virgin fiber in 2005
• NYT states that "barely a third of paper products sold in America are from recycled sources -most of it comes from virgin forests."

Here's a link to a GreenPeace article where I got most of my facts. 

So how do I plan to do without all of these paper products that we rely on everyday?  Recycle of course!

I took an old pair of comfy PJ pants, that had a hole in the waistline.  I stuck my finger through there everytime I pulled them up.  Mind you that these pants are much softer than any kleenex.

Snip, snip with some pinking shears and...

wa la...napkin/hanky/rag, etc.

Rachel's Wedding

Friday was my younger cousin Rachel's wedding.  She was a gorgeous bride and married a great guy who somehow stuck around after meeting all of the women in the family!  Tough dude :)
It was a terrific celebration for Rachel and Scott, but also for me.  It was my own little celebration for being done with medical school!!!!!  That's right I'm officially finished.  No more classes.  I just have to wait 2 more weeks until graduation.  Rachel's wedding actually got me excused from the final day of class on Friday.

I know I've been a bad blogger and I owe you 3 green challenges.  Also, an update on how some of the other challenges are going.  I've blow dried my hair twice - once for graduation photos and once for Rachel's wedding.  I've also made the mistake of eating with plastic cutlery a few times.  At least one of those times was in the San Francisco airport and it said on the spoon "biodegradable."  That's not the point though.  I'm still working on making that one a habit.  Also, I've eaten beef a time or two in the last day.  So I guess I'm failing slightly at my green challenges.  Big changes are in the works, so bear with me.  I'm doing some necessary research for a few of the upcoming challenges and that has delayed some of my blogging.


In exchange for waiting another day or two for my new challenges - I give you fun pictures from Rachel's wedding! 

  Lovely Family Photo.

Grandma and I

Mother and Daughter - oh so sweet

Aunt Ed lets her hair down!

Grandma and her daughters

For Fun ;)

More Dancing...the sisters are so cute together :)

The cousins plus some!