Paging Dr.McDreamy

I am in love with my doctor! Ok, maybe not "in love", just far more satisfied with his treatment than I thought I would ever feel again with a doctor. For years I had driven 45 minutes or more to see my doctor because I thought she was a great doctor. It took me so long to find someone that I really liked, that I didn't want to give her up. After a while, the long drive and the difficulty in getting an appointment (she was a solo practice) was just more than I could take, so my quest began. I had been more than 2 years since I'd visited a doctor and the one that I had seen since then was your typical family practice doctor - leaves you waiting for 15 minutes or more in a room, comes in, hardly looks up at you while talking to you, diagnosis you and leaves all within 2 minutes. Exactly what I was scared would happen. So, recently I had decided that I needed to start my search in earnest again. I'm getting older and really needing to take care of myself more, so I asked around. I settled on visiting a (gasp!!) large practice, Wake Internal Medicine and chose to visit Dr.Gillespie since he had a cardiology background and heart disease runs in my family. First visit goes great. He ask lots of questions, seems to genuinely be listening, lets me do some talking, and schedules test for some issues that I was worried about. Not once did I feel rushed or like I was wasting his time. Within 2 weeks, I've had more of my concerns cleared up than in the previous 14 years.
Now, none of this is what you would consider extra-ordinary. This is all stuff that doctors should do. What really has put this doctor over the top is the extra little things he does that I appreciate. If my appointment is at 1pm and I don't see him until 1:10 because he's behind, the first thing he does is apologizes profusely. Most (if not every) doctor that I've ever gone to feel that my time is not valuable and I've had to wait more than 30 minutes past my scheduled appointment to see a doctor, without an apology or any consideration for my wasted time. Also, I left a message for the doctors nurse to call because I had concerns about the price of a prescription the doctor gave me ($170 - with insurance). I called on a Friday morning and never got a call back. So, what happens?? Saturday while I'm out with my mother, he leaves a message on my home phone ( I can hear his kids and family in the background) apologizing for not retuning my call and for prescribing such an expensive medicine and leaves his cell number for me to call him when I get home. Is that not the most insane thing you've ever heard? Then today, I come in to work after having been sick for an entire week and he calls me at the office. I had gone to see him twice last week and the last time I went to see him, I had pretty much begged for pain killers because I had strep throat and it was really, really hurting. I ended up leaving with a prescription to Prednisone and no pain killers. So, he calls to see how I'm feeling and to apologize for not giving me any pain killers. He went into a bit of a story as to why he failed to give me anything for the pain - but it didn't really matter to me. How could I even be upset with my doctor??!
So, I have found my Dr.McDreamy. No - not like in a lusting for Dr. Ross from ER or anything like that (not that my doctor is hard on the eyes), but in a "I have my dream doctor" way, someone who actually acts like a doctor should act - respectful of their patients and attentive to their needs, while giving firm, honest answers and advice.

Snow day

How wonderful to get to stay home and watch the inauguration and have a snow day - yeah!!!

This is the first time Isabel has really seen snow and had a chance to play in it and boy did she play. She completely wore herself out playing in knee deep snow.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy

Happy birthday Noah. Hope your first year has been as enjoyable for you as it has been for us.

No more golden curls, so sad

So, today was my babies first real haircut, and boy is it short. Both my kids look just like their dad and I was so happy to see my baby with curls, something that is definitely a mommy trait. Alas, the curls got to looking like a bouffant, so they had to go. Here are some before, during and after pics.

Before: my baby and his messy curls

During: I think he's as annoyed as Mommy

After: Still cute and very happy

Support Lance (not Bass)

Finally, good news coming from corporate America. Lance Foods bought Archway Cookies while in bankruptcy and have rehired some of the workers that were let go, right before Christmas. I love to support companies that understand that it pays to be a morally good company.
Here's the article: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/12/23/cookie.factory.reopens/

Gatlinburg in Fall

We just got back from a trip to Gatlinburg. We got to stay way above the city with a wonderful view to below. Well worth the 6 hours it took us to get there.


This was taken from our place looking down at Gatlinburg in the valley.




In the Great Smokey Mountain National Park.





Fall view of the mountains.

America the Racist

Let's all pat ourselves on the back and consider ourselves forgiven. We have elected America's first black president. We have finally proven to the world and ourselves that we are no longer racist, that the black man has all the same opportunities and is as equal as the white man in America. Or have we??
In our quest to show that we are no longer biased toward someone based on the color of their skin or their sex, we have wholeheartedly proven how racist we still our. While watching the news last night, all I heard is that America has finally elected a black president, how this is such a historic event and how proud we should be that we did it. Proud?? Come on. Commentaries before spoke of how Obama is articulate and well educated. Is that just a nice was of saying that he doesn't sound black, that he's not some "homey from the 'hood"? Speaking of the color of his skin as if it is an issue only proves how much of an issue it still is. Wake up America - you're still prejudicial!
If race truly did not matter to us we would not have been so excited about electing a black president, we would have been celebrating electing a man who we thought could bring us out of the economical turmoil that America is in. We should be celebrating because we know that this man, Barak Obama, is exactly what America needs right now.
Now, I wonder when we'll elect our first Mexican to the White House??...