Minnesota State Fair 2009

Wow, I have been such a slacker with the blog. I have been really busy (lame excuse). I took my Step 2 boards 2 weeks ago. I've also submitted my applications for residency and now I'm just waiting for interview offers. I can't believe I'm in my last of year of school already. I am applying to anesthesiology residencies if you were wondering!

Also for big news, John had his last day at Deloitte on Thursday. He has one week off and will start at Target on October 5. I hope John will be happier at his new job. Plus he will have a better schedule that will give him more time to do what he truly loves . . . his photography.

We went up to Duluth this weekend for an engagement session and had a great time. I will try to post some pictures of us later!

For now, here is John's post from his photo blog about our annual trip to the Minnesota State Fair:

One of our favorite traditions, since moving to Minnesota a few years ago, is attending the state fair. This state fair is like none other. It is one of the biggest and busiest fairs in the nation. It seems everyone goes and the main attraction is always the food. Everything deep fried or on a stick can be found here. It’s a grand time! This year Em and I compacted our fair excursion into about two and a half hours. We ate the entire time. Our meal consisted of the following:

- Wild Rice Burger (this was to die for and I’m already craving it for next year)
- Fried Cheese curds (this is a staple fair food)
- Nitro Ice Cream
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- Martha’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (ate enough for a small army)
- All you can drink milk

Can’t wait to go again next year!

The sea of people is commonplace at the fair

All you can drink milk for a $1 anyone?

This is how I dominate a wild-rice burger

Can’t leave without the cookies

My Grandpa Lafe

John posted this on his photography blog and I wanted to share with all of you! It was so much fun spending time with my Grandpa Lafe. I love you Grandpa!

From John's blog:

As many of you know, we took a family vacation up to the North Shore of Lake Superior a few weeks ago. I took hundreds of pictures and therefore will be sharing bits of the trip periodically over the next couple months. We were so excited to have Emily’s grandpa Lafe join us from Nebraska for the trip. Emily told me she had just one request for me on the trip…that was to capture some fun images of her grandpa.

During this trip, I had the wonderful opportunity of getting to know Lafe even better. I spent a whole morning out on the deck with him overlooking Lake Superior. As a photographer, I love to capture images that tell a story of the person. During my discussions with Lafe, I watched diligently for his mannerisms.

I was lucky enough to talk one-on-one with Lafe. We discussed everything from careers, to his condo in Vail, to his time in Ecuador. Lafe is one of those people that can make a friend with anyone. He always has a joke, song, or poem ready for you. He loves to entertain and tells great stories. Enough talking, let the photos tell the rest of the story. Meet Grandpa Lafe:

I shot a portrait of everyone on the trip. In an attempt to get Lafe’s photo, I received the following faces. I love these images! Now I know where Emily gets it :) Thanks Grandpa Lafe for making the trip, it wouldn’t have been the same without you!!!

You’ve Had A Birthday…Shout Hooray!!!

This weekend was great!!! Since Emily’s birthday is tomorrow (Monday August 10th), we went out to celebrate with our good friends the Roses.  Em was stressed about picking a good place for here dinner, but she came through with Stella’s Fish Cafe.  It’s in Uptown and has absolutely fantastic seafood and amazing deserts!!! Nothing beat great friends and fun!  After dinner, we took a stroll around the art fair that was going on.  It was nothing special but nevertheless, it was good times! 

Since Emily is on overnight call tonight, I wanted this blog post to be her official notification that she is one year older and wiser too.  Hott Wife, just wanted to thank you for being my biggest fan and always supporting me.  You never cease to amaze me.  I hope you have the bestest 27th birthday possible.  I love you and am still convinced you are the best decision I’ve ever made. 

Loves,
Hubs! 

Everyone please leave Emily some love (comments), she deserves it!!!!

For desert…mmmm Red Velvet cake and some strawberry short cake

We are so happy as we just dominated that strawberry shortcake

Sometimes...

I love medical school. I really do. I often hear some of my attendings talk about how they hated med school. I don't, I really love it. I have had the most amazing experiences and met the coolest people. And I am living my dream!

But some days are better than others. And some days are worse. Like today when my last patient came in with shortness of breath. About 15 minutes before my shift was over we got a call from the radiologist that she most likely has stage IV lung cancer. I kept hoping that this was just a COPD exacerbation or a pneumonia, but once I saw her hyponatremia (low sodium), I knew something was wrong. And I was right, unfortunately.

So, why does it hurt so bad when I don't even know this patient?

Another reminder of how grateful I am for my health and my family.

Still, I am ready for today to be over...

Summer BBQ

This blog has been neglected, sorry! John and I have been super busy.

Yesterday we had a BBQ at Jon & Erin's with a bunch of my friends from med school. We are so lucky to have such great friends out here in Minnesota. It was fun to see Christina and Carmen who are about 30 and 32 weeks pregnant!

We were given a badminton set for our wedding (5 year ago) and have used the raquets once but this was the first time we were able to pull out the net. After badminton we ate yummy BBQ burgers and hotdogs then made smores over the super smokey bonfire. Zoe came along and had lots of fun playing with Erin & Jon's dog Mia.

Ryan getting ready to serve.

John (my hot hubs).

This is Meghann! We are going to be study buddies in August as we prepare for our Step 2 board exam in September.

Erin & Jon have a nice big yard. Here is most of the clan playing badminton (we make up our own rules).

Ryan & Christina (Isn't her belly so cute?!)

I must have been having lots of fun.

I didn't realize John put in 3 pics of me in a row.

Mark & Carmen (Notice cute baby belly #2)!

Carmen and Me (we both are going into anesthesia, I knew I liked her for a reason when I met her on the first day of med school!)

Fun sun spot pic of Ryan & Christina

I do not know what I am doing here... let's pretend I just made a great shot...

This is Mia! Zoe loved playing with her. The best story was John was making the dogs do tricks and he was using a hot dog. He had a small piece in one hand and the rest of the hot dog in another. While he was giving the small piece to Zoe, Mia jumped and took the big piece right out of John's hand (I hope she's not sick today).

Mia is seriously posing for these pictures!

I love love love fireworks! We were driving home on the freeway and saw the beginning of this show. We quickly pulled off and were able to watch from the side of the road. It was perfect, we had an excellent view and didn't have to fight any crowds! It was a perfect end to a great night!

Come see all my hard work

OK, so for the past month, I have spent a lot of time working on my new blog.  I have coded the new blog from the ground up.  So go take a look and let me know what you think!!!  

 http://blog.johnsharpephotography.com

Cheers,
John

If my marriage was a child, it would be starting kindergarten!!!

This week Emily and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary.  I cannot believe how time flies. Our marriage just seems to keep getting better and better.  Even though our anniversary was on Thursday, we were able to finally go out tonight.  We made dinner reservations at the ever fabulous Pazzaluna.  It’s a very nice and tasty restaurant in St Paul.  Emily wanted me to make sure and bring the camera to get some shots to remember this special day.  Fortunately, I brought the camera, but unfortunately, I forgot the memory card. Doh!! So when we got home, Em made me make it up to her.  We pulled out some of my lighting and staged a quick shoot of the two of us.  For anyone who has tried this, it is not easy.  Plus, it was getting quite dark. Well we lucked out and got a few nice images.  Em, I love you more and I look forward to many many many more wonderful years together!!