Frog Flinging...

The weather in Northwest Ohio is warming up, and Stef and myself ran some errands today to get some ideas for Spring projects around the house. We're looking at replacing the sliding patio door, replacing the newel posts on the front porch and installing crown molding throughout the house, amongst other things. When we first moved into the house we had a lot of yard cleanup.

We attempted to do as much yard work as possible, but the pond was the most difficult. From three years of neglect, or possibly more, algae had set in, and no matter what we did we couldn't get it cleared. The pond, yard and waterfall gurue at our local home store suggested we let it be until early spring when the ice thaws, then hit it with the chemicals. This past week the weather warmed up enough and sure enough the water was crystal clear from the winter freeze. When it thawed and cleared I had not realized how many gold fish we had! ~25. At the bottom of the pond I noticed a bunch of leaves from the previous Fall. These needed to be removed.

So, today I took my handy-dandy rake and dredged the bottom of the pond flinging the leafy contents onto the yard. Mid-way into one of my flings, I noticed a sleeping frog being flung into the air. It looked asleep. I ran over to it in the yard, carefully scooped it up and put it back in the water. Stefanie of course witnessed this event and couldn't stop laughing.

We ended the day by shooting some hoops. A nice Saturday I must say. Interesting for sure.

-Tom

Lab life...

I thought I'd put up a little post regarding my day job as a student. For those of you not familiar with the lab I work in, you can click here to find out more:

http://hsc.utoledo.edu/depts/medicine/pulmonary/pulmlab.html

Below is a picture of my lab mates during our annual holiday lunch.

Left to Right.
Lauren - 3rd year MD/PhD student
Me - 5th year MD/PhD student
Dr. James C. Willey - Advisor and Primary Investigator
Erin Crawford MS - Pretty much does everything... can sometimes prognosticate the future...

... When I'm not at home, this is the other family. Outside of that is the night job. Nothing interesting, just urine collection...

-Tom

The Past Twelve Years

Today marks the anniversary of a wonderfully awkward day that changed the path of our lives forever. Twelve years ago today, we were sixteen, getting out of fourth period excited about the prospect of lunch. Today, I don't remember what fourth period was when I was a Sophomore in high school, but I do remember rounding the corner of Clem's classroom, seeing Tom at his locker, and deciding that I would tap him on the shoulder as I passed him to say, "Hi." I did not anticipate his response. "Can I ask you a question?" he said. I responded," Yes." The question that ensued left me at a loss for words," Do you like me or something?" I remember being instantly panicked, wracking my brain for the appropriate answer, psychoanalyzing the situation at hand. Thank goodness he did not wait for my response before he followed up with another question, " Do you want to be my girlfriend?" This question was not as loaded, and could be answered easily, without hesitation, "Yes." The lunch that followed was exciting, but awkward. We typically ate lunch with the same group of people, but on this occasion, we sat together on his flannel since the grass was damp in the shade of the tree.

Twelve years later, being older and hopefully wiser, I sometimes cringe thinking about how painfully awkward the interaction was, but I am amazed at the impact those simple questions and answers have had on our lives. At sixteen, my concern was the upcoming Sadie Hawkins Dance--I had no idea what would would happen a year from then, let alone twelve years from then! At twenty-eight and twelve years into our relationship, we commemorated this day starting with donuts at our breakfast table, putting in our eight hours, cooking an awesome dinner together, and curling up on the couch to watch Survivor and Grey's.

Basketball...

... is not something that I normally play, let alone talk about or even watch for that matter. I'm pretty sure Jr. High was the last time I played. During recess to be specific.


At any rate, Stef and myself have inherited a basketball hoop with our recent home move. I decided that it was time to put it to use. So, I bought a net, and a ball. In my excitement to put the net on, I think I neglected some simple rules of directionality in which the ball enters. See below. No wonder the net was hard to attach...

As I was finishing hanging the net, Stefanie proceeded to comment on the obvious. Citing both her parents that were highschool basketball players as references of expertise. I told her it gave it character, or some statement that alluded to the thought that it was purposefully hung in such a fashion. Truthfully, I would had have to cut it down to actually get it off the hoop. Oh well... it adds "flare." You would think I would have used the 5 other basketball hoops on my street as reference.

*sigh*

-Thomas "Bird" Blomquist

Junk Foodie

Much to our own detriment, we have been on a sweet kick lately. Since Toledo is a little behind the trends found on the coasts, we only recently have been able to experience a cupcake only bakery. We have visited "Cake In a Cup" on several occasions, purchasing favorites such as Red Velvet, Cherry Coconut, and "Devil Wears Prada"--a dark chocolate cupcake with a scoop of chocolate chip cheesecake embedded within the top of the cake, garnished with a dollop of ganache and a fresh raspberry. All of these cupcakes are all very tasty, however they are also very pricey. Most recently I have become partial to the Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting. This interest sent me looking on the Internet for recipes, knowing that I could make several dozen for the price of a half dozen cupcakes at "Cake In a Cup." Yesterday, I decided to try Paula Deen's recipe for Red Velvet cupcakes. The cake is extremely moist, and the cupcake top crusts slightly like a muffin top. I think Tom ate at least 4 in one sitting.

From Shih Tzus to Stand Off

After arriving home from a long, tedious day at work, I opened the door, walked in, and immediately noticed a very distinct smell wafting throughout our house. As I entered the kitchen to put my purse down, it became very clear that I would soon have a problem on my hands. I continued through the kitchen and into the dining room where our Pomeranian, Tala, resides while we are away at work. I turned on the light only to find that my worst fears had been realized....she had gotten sick during the day, had messed in her pen, and probably had some sort of residual residue left on her hindquarters. I quickly ushered her outside, brought her back in, and tethered her to the island in the kitchen for fear that she would roll on the carpet or the couches. Cleaning poop off the kitchen linoleum I can handle, but not off the carpet or furniture. Tala pitifully laid on the kitchen floor as I rushed to get her bedding into the washing machine I had set on "Sanitize." I returned, only to try to triage her fur before we had to leave for dinner with friends. We opted out on dessert to get home to make sure she was okay, and decided for everyone's sanity, she needed a bath.

Tala after her bath....still slightly damp

She had been so pathetic before her bath, sulking, wanting to be carried. Cleaning the poop off and getting her fur blow dried seemed to make her feel totally reinvigorated. Tala was soon back to her old self, harassing the cat and playing with her multitude of toys.

Tala and Tommy in a stand off over the ball.

20 Cardinals Sitting in a tree...

It's cold here. So cold.

And the snow. Beautiful, white, glistening, everywhere, surrounding us, never-ending it would seem.

But in the midst of it all, are 20 Cardinals that have made their home in the Cherry trees in the backyard. Such contrast.