His and Hers

I came home yesterday to find my bed like this:

You know who found his old pillow case... but I guess it's ok because I still sleep with a stuffed animal :p

Jackson County MRC Now Recruiting

The Jackson County Medical Reserve Corps (JCMRC) is now recruiting volunteers!


The Medical Reserve Corps is a group I've been a part of for a good while now. Starting back in Newport News, VA at the Peninsula Health Department and then in Fairfax County. The MRC is made up of committed citizens who prepare for and respond to emergencies through public health departments. Medical and public health professionals are needed as well as others to fill support positions.

There will be 2 orientation sessions upcoming in July on the 9th and the 23rd (you only need to attend one). The trainings will be held at Jackson County Health Department in the back building from 10 am to 2pm. Lunch will be provided! You will receive a portable emergency preparedness kit and a travel emergency kit bag along with information to assist you in filling your travel bag. Other benefits include a uniform shirt, handbooks, and future training opportunities.


For more information pre-register with Tsoetsy Harris by July 6th. 
tsoetsyh@jchdonline.org 

Corry Museum

We had a fun time in Erie last weekend. Brandon and I stayed at my Aunt Jeannette's house in Waterford. On Saturday, Brandon and I went to the Erie Sea Wolves baseball game. They lost bad. But the weather was great and it was fun to be out at the stadium.

The next day was the reunion at Mead Park in Corry. (The town was also celebrating it's 150th anniversary that weekend.) As I learned last year, the park was donated by the first International President of Rotary. Our location was in the front of the park, across from the Corry Area Historical Museum. Which is only open from 2-4 on Saturdays and Sundays. Luckily, when 2 o'clock hit we were ready to check it out:  

a

Chock full of good stuff!

They are really proud of this train. It's a Climax engine - a coal-fired locomotive which was built in Corry up until 1930. Brandon wondered how they were able to get it in the building. Good point. Turns out the building was built for it. Look what I spy:

I gasped when Brandon pointed it out. A passerby thought I was thrilled by looking at the engine. Hehe. No, I just have a Kiwanis problem. Clearly the highlight of the trip

How I Know I Live in the Midwest

Check out this sign I saw today in Kroger:

 They were selling corn in the husk, 4 for a $1.

Cleveland

On Friday night we stayed with our friend Caitlyn who just graduated law school. She is currently studying to take the Bar Exam - tough stuff! She has a sweet studio apartment in Columbus across the street from the Ohio State Law School. We left her place at 8:30 in the morning so she could get to her review class on time.

Our next destination was Cleveland. We drove around the downtown when we got there and then decided to park the car for a 30 minute walk around the city.

We couldn't help but admire the Perry statue. As we learned last year, Gen. Perry was the Hero of Lake Erie. We also found a few more statues:

Mayor Tom L. Johnson

Gen. Moses Cleaveland

John Corrigan

We also stopped at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. You can go inside and read the names of the over 9,000 residents of Cuyahoga County who participated in the Civil War.

And then it was on to Erie!

PS: This is my 100th post, woo hoo!

Louisville and Cincinnati

Last weekend, Brandon and I hit the road for a much needed vacation! Our destination was Erie, PA for my family reunion. However, making the 12 hour drive all at once didn't seem like much fun, so we decided to make some stops on the way. On Friday we stopped in Louisville, KY. I have been wanting to stop here ever since we made the drive from DC to Murphy and back. You can see the giant bat at the slugger factory right from the highway.

Naturally, our first stop was the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. We got a sweet metered parking spot right outside of the front door.

The bat goes all the way up the side of the building! We went in and bought tickets for the factory tour ($10/adult). While we waited for the tour to start Brandon ordered a Father's Day present.

The factory tour was really cool but no pictures allowed. I got to take home a "nub" (the knobby part they cut off the bat) and a mini-souvenir bat (included in the ticket price, score!). Worth it!

Outside I found a Mona Lisa cutout to pose with:

Mona Mitra

Our next stop was lunch at Louisville's famous Lynn's Paradise Cafe. This restaurant was featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay where Lynn made a decadent omelet and french toast. The parking lot was packed at 1pm when we got there. Luckily, they have an extra lot just a block down the road. Totally stumbled upon this by accident but so so glad that we wouldn't be getting a parking ticket. The menu had a wide variety of gormet brunch and lunch options. It was hard to decide! Of course the most expensive breakfast items were the dishes she featured on the show ($14ish) but Brandon and I went for other items.

Mine

I had the Eggs Bernadette which were two poached eggs over garlic buttered grit cakes with a relish of tomato and spinach. And Brandon had the BLT Fries which were home fries baked with bacon, spinach, tomatoes, onions, jack cheese, and garnished with horseradish sour cream topped with over easy eggs. Everything was DELISH.

His

On our way out we found some more awesome cut-outs:

After that we were on our way to Cincinnati, OH. Our first stop was the observation deck in Carew Tower.

Brandon and I entered the builing and headed right to the elevators. There were only a few small signs to the observation deck and we felt like we were in the know. We took the elevator to the uppermost floor where we had to squeeze into another teeny elevator to the top. Then we had to walk up a set of stairs. There was a woman was waiting in a little gift shop. We gave her our $2/person and headed out the door to the roof.

ET phone home

We had a great 360 view of the city:

The weather was scorching hot! But, the downtown is connected by "skywalks" which provide indoor sidewalks for pedestrians. So we walked around for a little bit.

 I don't mind living in the country but can you tell how much I miss the city?!

Weekend Get-away

Brandon and I are traveling to the Kenniston Family Reunion this weekend in Corry, PA. We are leaving tomorrow and plan on taking our time driving out there. Possibilities for Friday include:

Louisville, KY:

• Lynn's Paradise Cafe Bobby Flay challenged Lynn to a breakfast Throwdown here!
• Louisville Slugger Museum Brandon wants to get his dad an engraved bat for Father's Day, shhh... don't tell!

Cincinnati, OH:

• Carew Tower For the view
• William Howard Taft Historical Site Brandon's choice, clearly, but maybe I can trick him into taking me to the Taft Museum (art)
• Cincinatti Museum Center A cool looking building
• Wineries along the way, if open (we're such winos now)

And spending the night with our friend Caitlyn in Columbus, OH.

Any other suggestions for a good time? See you on the flip side!

Fort Massac and The Chocolate Factory

Last Saturday after the Superman Celebration, we went to Fort Massac State Park. Upon arrival we learned that this was Illinois' first state park, preserved since 1908. Currently, there is a historic replica of the 1802 American Fort that includes 2 barracks, 3 block houses and officers quarters. Several of the doors were open and we got to take a peak inside.

The Fort has a neat history that I'll share with you in short form:

• The French originally built the site during the French and Indian War
• After the war, the French abandoned it and then Indians burnt it to the ground 
• The British were the next to take it over but it didn't last long
• The Americans took it over during the Revolutionary War when Colonel George Rogers Clark led his men into Illinois and claimed the entire state for Virginia (woot!)
• George Washington ordered that the Fort be rebuilt in 1794 so it could protect the Ohio Valley 
• In 1839 the city of Metropolis was built about a mile west of the fort
• In 1903 the DAR worked to get the site and surrounding land purchased by the state
• In 1908 it was officially dedicated as Illinois' first state park

Next to the replica of the fort is the archaeological outline of the 1757 French Fort with the most amazing view of the Ohio River.

View of the Bridge into Paducah, KY

There is also a plaque to honor George Rogers Clark:

From there we drove to Galconda, IL to visit The Chocolate Factory.

What a cute little shop. Unfortunately, it's more of a store than a factory but very cute nonetheless. I mean look at these solid white chocolate "deviled eggs!"

Yum!

First (and Last) Day of School

As you know, I've been anticipating the start of summer school. Wondering how I was going to manage all the hours of class and homework. Turns out I will have one less class to worry about.

I showed up to Anatomy today 10 minutes before 6pm. Only 2 other girls entered the classroom. As 6 o'clock hit we all looked at each other and asked, "Are we in the right place?" Turns out we didn't get the notice that the class was canceled. Bummer!

 

So I headed home never to return again! Haha, but really... this leaves me with just one class that is completely online. Maybe next semester.

Bucket List: It's a Bird, It's a plane ...

It's the Superman Celebration! Yesterday, we headed south to visit Metropolis, IL. In 1972, DC comics officially designated the city "Hometown of Superman." The city erected a large statue of Superman just next to the courthouse and has been boasting about it ever since. When we arrived we found a great parking spot in the town square. It had just started to rain so we waited it out in the car for a while. When the sun came out, it was a bit cooler and we decided to walk around. The street fair went down the street just a few blocks. There were many flea market tables (including lots of comic books and toys) as well as crafters and food vendors.

I have to say, it was a bit underwhelming. I wanted to see a lot more people in costume! The fattest Batman I have ever seen was there. Haha, he cracked me up. Poor kids! I hope they look back on their photos with him and laugh. We also checked out the Superman Store and Museum which had this cutout in front, perfect for a photo-op:

The we went over to the giant statue for a pic:

 A bunch of the people in costume went over to the courthouse steps for a photo-op. Superman is looking good:

Not sure who the other guy is? While I couldn't fully geek out over comics, I'm glad to have gone to the festival and checked it off my bucket list.

Another interesting fact about Metropolis is that it is the hometown of Curt Jones, the creator of Dippin' Dots. Our road trip didn't end here, more to come ...

Summer School

Today I headed to Carterville on my lunch break to pick up textbooks for my summer classes.

$480 for 3 books, wahhh

I forgot how expensive textbooks are... sigh... I'll be taking Anatomy & Physiology (with lab) 3 days a week and Genetics online. I'll be working my full time job and studying at night with the goal of becoming a more competitive PA school applicant. Wish me luck! Classes start Monday!

My Office

Since my 2 year anniversary of working as an Ophthalmic Technician has arrived, I wanted to do a couple of posts describing more about what I do on a daily basis. 

An ophthalmic technician is an eye doctor's assistant. My first job was with Dr. Plotsky in Bethesda, MD. I got that job through an ad on Craigslist. Luckily, I gained a lot of great skills with that job which made it easy to find a similar job when I moved to Illinois. I currently work for the doctors at the Marion Eye Center. My home office is Carbondale. I primarily work there but can be sent to other locations if needed. 

Step into my office:

This is just one of the 5 tech rooms. We take patients back to these rooms to get their initial work-up done. Each room has slight variations in size, equipment, furniture ... but the basic layout is the same. The patient will sit here:

Once the initial screening is done, we take the patient to the doctor's exam room. As you can see, it's got the good equipment ...

If the doctors rooms are full we seat the patients in the second waiting room.When I'm not in one of the rooms, you can usually find me back here, filing away:

Art & Wine Fest

The Murphysboro Clarkes played as part of the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail Art and Wine Fest last weekend at Riverside Park in Murphysboro. They played 2 games on both Saturday and Sunday. Did you know that Brandon's Dad, Knute, started the team? They have been playing at this event for several years now.

Seth was in town visiting, so all the Shultz men were playing. This meant Nancy, Mary Jo and I were in the stands cheering through all 4 games (we're saints, I know).

Introduction of the Unions (left) and Clarkes (right) on Sunday

On Saturday the boys played the Springfield Long Nine. On Sunday they played the St. Louis Unions. Unfortunately our team lost all their games :(

However, the most fun was to be had at the Wine Fest. As a perk for playing at the festival, team members and family got to attend as VIPs. This got us a souvenir wine glass, a tasting card with 3 tastes per winery and a meal coupon. The coupon could only be used at Mase's Place. These were our choices:

After lunch (I had the pig burger), it was time to taste some wine. All 12 wineries on the Shawnee Wine Trail participated. They were arranged in a circle, so we just decided to start at the beginning and work our way around.

The weather was perfect, nice and sunny with a cool breeze. Live music was being performed on a stage in the middle. Brandon and I finally got to taste at all the wineries (There were 4 I hadn't tried yet). The revelation of the day was at Kite Hill where we were served the most delicious wine slushie. It was perfecty refreshing. Loved the event and can't wait to go back next year!