A Glimpse of Things to Come...

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us and it's December tomorrow{!}, it's time to think about all things Christmas! I'm hoping to get our decorating done this weekend...I can't wait to have twinkling Christmas lights all over the house!

I haven't bought very many new Christmas decorations this year {at least not yet}, but I did buy one very important thing...

Wait, what is that you see? It's a third little stocking for Baby Stochel!!!!!!

It has been soooo hard keeping this secret from everyone over the last couple of months, and I am so happy that I can finally tell all of you! This may help explain my slight absence from blogging over the last couple months...growing a baby makes you really tired!! I'll have many more details next week, but until then, let me leave you with our little peanut's first couple of pictures!

8+3 weeks

10+5 weeks

So far, everything looks perfect! :)

See you back here on Monday!
Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Sunday Social {4 is the Magic Number}

It's been awhile since I linked up with Ashley and Neely for their Sunday Social link-up, and since I have a little bit of time while I eat my cereal before church, I thought I'd get a quick post together!

{4 Jobs You've Had in Your Life}

1. Sports Medicine Fellow: My current job, and I love it. It's 1 year of additional training beyond the 3 years of Family Medicine, and I'm learning all about caring for musculoskeletal issues, especially in athletes. Next summer, I will finally get a real job, and I can't wait!!

2. Research Assistant: I spent several summers during college and med school helping a local orthopedics practice in their research department. I learned a lot about infection rates in total joint replacement, and even got a paper published!

3. Physical Therapy Aide: The summer after sophomore year of college, I worked at a physical therapy office as an aide. It was fun to learn about PT, but I figured out that summer that it was a good thing I didn't decide to go the PT route. It was also part-time, so it allowed me to get plenty of studying in for the MCAT.

4. Receptionist: For a couple years in high school, I worked as a receptionist for a local real estate office. I would work 4:30-7 after school and either 9-1 or 1-5 on the weekends. It was a great job that paid well and let me do my homework when they weren't busy...which was quite often later in the day or early in the mornings!

{4 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over}

In the spirit of Christmas, I'm going with some of my favorite Christmas movies...

1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: My all-time favorite Christmas movie...I can't wait to watch it!

2. A Christmas Story: Definitely a classic. My hubby and I saw the musical last year in Chicago, and it was fantastic!

3. Love Actually

4. The Muppet Christmas Carol: Who doesn't love the Muppets?!??

{4 Places You Have Lived}

Zionsville, IN

Midland, MI

New Orleans, LA

Indianapolis, IN

{4 of Your Favorite Foods}

Cereal

Chips

Ice cream

Bread

{4 Things You Always Carry With You}

iPhone

Chapstick {I'm seriously addicted}

Wallet

Gum

{4 Places You Have Been on Vacation}

1. Europe! We went to London, Paris, and Normandy this summer, and I loved it! Can someone fly me back to Paris...please!!!!

2. Orlando, FL: My parent's have a time share there, and so we always went to Florida for Spring Break when we were younger. Even now, we usually make it back once a year...I love it!

3. Philly, PA: We just went a couple weekends ago to visit my brother. So much to see and do and eat in the City of Brotherly Love!

4. Cabo San Lucas, MX: We went there for our honeymoon and can't wait to go back!!!

~~~~~

Sorry for the lack of pictures today...apparently, I'm over my quota, and I don't have the time to fix it right now! Any ideas on what I need to do?

Hope you have a great Sunday...I'm off to church then I may do some Christmas decorating and/or shopping. Do we really have to go back to work tomorrow? How do 4 days off work go soooo fast!!!

Thankful

Source: englishmuse.com via Emily on Pinterest

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! As you're sitting with friends or family today, don't forget to take a minute to look around you at all the blessings you have. I, for one, have so much to be thankful for, and I am so grateful that God has blessed me with this life I live.

Source: modernhepburn.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

I hope your day is not only filled with multiple plates of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pie, but also lots of laughter with the ones you love.

Source: am.newuvision.us via Emily on Pinterest

Cheers everyone! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Friday Brain Dump

Who else is happy it's Friday? I am super excited because for the first time in what seems like months, I will not be standing in the cold on the football sidelines. The high school team that I've been covering lost in regionals last Friday when we were flying out to Philly, so high school football is over for me. Sure, it would have been fun to stand on the sidelines at the state championships at Lucas Oil Stadium next weekend, but I'm even happier that I get a Friday night date night with my hubby again. :)

I am on an orthopedics rotation this month, and I spent this morning in the operating room with one of the docs I'm working with. The first case was an ACL reconstruction, and I have 2 things to say about that: 1) I now understand even better why they hurt so much after surgery and it's such a long recovery process, and 2) I pray to God that I never tear my ACL. Oh, and 3) Thank goodness I decided against being an orthopedic surgeon...I'm not nearly strong enough for the job! {I started med school thinking I would go into orthopedics.}

I am still kind of in shock that Thanksgiving is less than a week away. I am so excited that I only have 2.5 days of work next week before I get to spend Wednesday afternoon helping my mom make pumpkin and pecan pies and spaetzles! For those of you that are thinking, what the heck are those?, they are German egg noodles that my great grandmother {who immigrated here from Germany}, my grandmother, and now my mom make for Thanksgiving every year. We make them from scratch, which can be quite a process, but so totally worth it.

Bring on the endless hours of sitting around the table with family and eating waaaay too much food....I'm ready!

Philadelphia 2012

As you may know, TJ and I went to Philly this past weekend to visit my brother for a belated birthday celebration {his birthday was November 4}. My parents ended up driving out as well so our whole family could celebrate together! We had a great weekend full of a ton of walking around the city, some shopping {clothing is tax-free there!}, and {of course} a lot of delicious food. If you follow me on Instagram {@pagingdrgrace}, you already know that I had a few delicious treats over the weekend. Did you miss it? Don't worry, I'll make your mouth water by the end of this post...

{Sorry this is kind of a long one, but I didn't really want to split it up into multiple posts...if you don't make it through the whole thing, be sure to watch the video at the end :) }

TJ and I flew out to Philly Friday night and didn't get to my brother's apartment till about 10/10:30. My parents were already there and had gone out to dinner, so we just hung out at Joe's place that night. He opened his birthday presents then we ate an apple cake that my mom had brought for dessert. It was a nice low key night. 

Saturday morning, we slept in {ahhh....}, then TJ, my mom, and I went shopping for a little bit. Around lunchtime, we met up with my dad and brother at this little coffee shop, Chhaya, for brunch. My mom and I split a breakfast sandwich and a Nutella and strawberry crepe. While it was delicious, it was nothing compared to the ones we got in Paris this summer...

Saturday morning brunch

my dad and Joe

my parents

After brunch, we walked through the Italian Market on our way back to my brother's apartment. We passed the mosaic-filled buildings on South Street which are really cool. Unfortunately, this picture doesn't give you the full effect...

We did a little more shopping on Saturday afternoon, including going to the big Macy's. It was already fully decorated for Christmas, and while we were there, the organ started playing music and the tree lit up. Kind of got me in the Christmas spirit... :)

When it came to dinner Saturday night, we didn't plan ahead, which meant that we didn't end up eating until 11pm. We went to Audrey Claire, which is a little restaurant that doesn't take reservations on the weekends. My parents got there first, put our name on the list for a 2.5 hour wait, then we went to their sister restaurant, Twenty Manning, down the street for drinks and appetizers. We got the call a little before 11 that our table was going to be ready shortly, so we made our way down the street again.

hungry!

our waiter brought us a complimentary flatbread with apples, gorgonzola, and honey because we had waited so long...it was delicious!

my dinner...penne arrabiata with shrimp

We stayed up pretty late Saturday night, so sleeping in again on Sunday morning was a must. After we got up and got ready, we walked a few blocks to Green Eggs Cafe for brunch. Unfortunately, they told us there would be a 90 minute wait for a party of five. {boo!} Thankfully, they seriously overestimated, and we didn't wait much longer than 30 minutes. Even better, the weather was beautiful, and we got to eat outside!

Like I said before, if you follow me on IG, then you've already seen a picture of my glorious breakfast...RED VELVET PANCAKES. They were unbelievably delicious, and I kept getting looks from people at other tables for my {slightly} over-indulgent breakfast. Whatever, people, I was on vacation, and we walked a heck of a lot over the weekend. Plus, I only ate half of them so I got to enjoy them again on Monday morning. :)

random pretty garden on our way back from brunch

Sunday afternoon, while my dad and brother had to get some work done, my mom, TJ, and I walked up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the famous Rocky steps. My mom and I did that last October when we visited my brother, but since TJ hadn't seen them/run up the steps, we had to go.

first stop...the LOVE sign!

I was surprised to see that most of the trees still have their leaves...they are all bare here at home already

walking to the museum

me and T with Rocky

ready to run!

this was after we had already gone to the top...we came down a bit so my mom could get a better picture

beautiful views from the top

views behind the art museum

Since we slept in on Sunday morning, we went to Sunday evening Mass before heading to Little Fish BYOB for the 8pm Tasting Menu. It's a five course tasting menu that is set by the chef, so what they're making that night is what you get. It's all for $33, so it's a pretty good deal for the quality of food. My mom and I went there with my brother last year and had an amazing dinner, so we decided to go again. This year, we had a frisee salad with blue cheese dressing, kampachi sashimi, scallop with kale and housemade focaccia, swordfish with barley and some kind of yummy sauce, and coconut bread pudding for dessert. While it was all very delicious, it wasn't nearly as good as our dinner last year. I didn't take any pictures that night, but here's a couple pics from last year. It's a pretty intimate restaurant, and doesn't seat more than 25-30 people total!

tiny kitchen!

menu from last year...much better in my opinion

Our flight didn't leave till late Monday night, so we had most of the day to do some more sightseeing. We started off walking around Washington Square, which apparently was used as a burial ground for thousands of Colonial Soldiers during the Revolutionary War.

memorial in Washington Square

so much history in Philly!

We couldn't leave Philly without indulging in some Philly Cheesesteaks {TJ's special request} so we went to Pat's Steaks for lunch. There are so many cheesesteak places in the city, and they all claim that they're "the original" or "the best." These were pretty good and definitely better than the ones we had at Jim's Steaks a couple years ago.

chowing down

yum!

After lunch, we walked up to the Liberty Square and Independence Hall. Once again, we had a gorgeous day to be outside!!

Liberty Bell!

We worked up an appetite with all that walking, so we went to The Franklin Fountain for an afternoon treat. If you watched Man vs. Food, you might recognize it...Adam went there on the episode in Philly where he had the Mt. Vesuvius Sundae. It was like stepping back in time in there....and very good ice cream too!

Inside The Franklin Fountain

my mom and I split the Great Pumpkin Sundae with pumpkin ice cream, caramel, pecans, malt powder, homemade whipped cream, and cinnamon...can you say amazing???

And just for fun, here's a video of TJ running up the Rocky steps a second time....he's such a little kid at heart. ;)

Hope you enjoyed our weekend recap to Philly! It's definitely a fun city, and I can't wait to go back!

Ahh, Weekend...

It's been awhile since I've been this excited for the weekend. Not only do I have the next 4 days off work {i.e. no football}, but we are getting away for a long weekend! In a matter of hours, we will be chilling with my parents and brother in the city of brotherly love...Philly!!! It should be a fun weekend full of family {my brother's birthday was last Sunday}, sightseeing {including running up the Rocky steps}, and lots of good food!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I'll be back with pictures next week! :)

A Short Race is Better than No Race

This past weekend was the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K. I had been planning on running the half for awhile and had been sticking to my training plan religiously until football season got in the way. I had made it to an 8 mile run {and felt pretty darn good}, but that was the highest my training went. Having games on Friday nights, Saturday afternoons, and Colts games on Sundays made it hard to get a long run in on the weekend. Sure, I've done a couple half marathons in the past, and I probably could have been fine, but I really wanted my next half to be a solid shot at getting a PR, preferably under 2:10. I knew it just wasn't going to happen, so when I missed the deadline {oops!}, and the registration was going to be $90 for the half {yikes, that's a lot!}, I took it all as a sign that this wasn't my race to PR. I ended up doing the 5K, and it was a nice brisk morning for it. Plus, the 5K finished before it started raining, so I was really happy about that!

my mom and me, all smiles before the race

the sun was so pretty downtown...this picture doesn't do it justice!

My mom and I got coffee after the 5K, then we went back to the finish line to watch my dad finish the half. I found a front row spot right by the finish line, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the runners finish the race. It never fails that I even get a little teary eyed...I think it's because I know exactly how that feels to accomplish such a feat. Sure, you may be a little tired and sore, but it's such a runner's high...it feels great!

Hope you all had a great weekend too!