December 2012

During the month of December I continued my EMS rotation, studied for Step 3 and watched a lot of made-for-TV holiday movies. Grandma Thilo sent me a gorgeous silver tea service set that I polished up to its former glory.

Harbor holiday Christmas party with most of the intern ladies.

Adam helped out with the holiday decorations. I subjected him to various Pandora holiday stations, and he put in a good effort on his stocking.

My apartment was small, but the cheer was mighty. I decorated a fake tree, and Adam helped me decorate a living tree to spruce up the place!

There's no place like home for the holidays! After taking my final USMLE Step exam and finishing up my two-week anesthesia rotation, I went from intubating patients to catching up with friends in snowy North Idaho. First stop: Starbucks with Rachael!

I felt so lucky that my trip home coincided with Kate McKeown's bridal shower. It was fun to see so many girls from high school and to share in the excitement of Kate's upcoming nuptials. 

The following day, Jil, Kate, and I went to Moontime for lunch. We reminisced over our debate days and I got to meet Jil's not-so-new-but-new-to-me man.

Kami and I visited our old haunt Applebee's. I never would have thought that ten years after our Steel Magnolias run we would still be enjoying the same half-price appetizers and quality conversation.

Then it was south to Boise to join the Tuttles in their holiday celebrations. We fought the frigid weather and icy streets to meet up with Adam's cousin's family for pizza.

Made the obligatory trip Idaho's great Capitol.

Met Adam's good friends Lisa and Matt for coffee.

Even with the fire barrels and hot chocolate, frostbite seemed like a very serious possibility on our outing to the Winter Garden Aglow at Boise's botanical garden.

In a final farewell to 2012, Adam, Emily, Alex, Emma, Danny, and I spent New Year's Eve playing games, pigging out, and even setting off a few fireworks.

November 2012

Hanging out with residents in Hermosa Beach during a break from orthopedics

Baylor friend Adrienne stopped by a couple times on the interview trail; she will match into an Emergency Medicine residency program in March.

Spontaneously booked a last-minute trip to visit Chelsey and Joel in Utah

Enjoyed a beautiful hike and wonderful conversation

Coffee, goals, pedicures, and looking forward to the time when her family would grow a little bigger

Home for the Thanksgiving holiday with Adam; mandatory lunch at Hudsons was delicious!

Stopped by Barb's amazing, creative and artistic tribute to Coeur d'Alene entitled Portrait of a Town and was proud and happy to see Mom's portrait on display 

Thanksgiving dinner was as tasty as it was colorful; filled my belly and my heart!

Lunch with friend Kami, her husband Dan, and her playful kids Eli and Logan (so much personality!)

Eli cracked me up when he randomly started stripping- such a cute little guy!

It was great to catch up and hear about Dan's plans for dental school... congratulations on UW!

Pre-parade stop by Barb and Marty's. We added leaves to the chain of thankfulness and I opened my clever graduation gift that has continued to bring balance and amusement to residency

A rainy Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Coeur d'Alene followed by the fireworks show

Dinner at the Hayden Lake County Club with Sam, Megan, and the divvied up gift basket

Double taping of The Talk in Los Angeles including the Christmas Eve show! Left with nearly $1000 worth of fun giveaways and gift cards.

EMS rotation involved ambulance rides, walking on the 405 during rush hour, a trip to dispatch headquarters, trying out the HazMat suits with co-resident Alyssa, and studying for Step 3 

October 2012

Two weeks in the main (adult) emergency department and the start of my orthopedics rotation

Cousin Beth's "Bed, Beth, and Beyond" bridal shower in San Francisco

Blue Angels Fleet Week air show

Dinner at Slanted Door in the Financial District

Beth and Kieran's wedding with some Asian flair

Breckenfelder sibling reunion- my mom, her sister Ann, and her brothers John and Dave; so great to see so much family!

Wedding favors highlighting the great distances the couple traveled to make it work

Breckenfelder cousins!

Toured the USS Makin Island

Back to southern California; out with my fellow residents in Hermosa Beach

Orange County's Pacific Symphony with Adam at Segerstrom Concert Hall

September 2012

More time in the pediatric emergency department and brushing up on my bedside ultrasound skills in the adult emergency department

Hanging out at Jimmy's place and eating delicious carne asada

Celebrating Charley's birthday

Harbor get-together at April, Lee, and Manny's place

Emergency Medicine annual retreat at the UCLA conference center on Lake Arrowhead. Donning afros to honor retiring faculty Dr. Bessen.

Karaoke. Amazingness.

Ropes course with a high jump (Charley taking the leap) and other obstacles.

Pool time (Jonathan showing a dive in expert form)

Hollywood-themed costume party; I went as an Academy Award.

Jumping for joy as an intern class

Celebrating Adam's 28th birthday at Mama D's in Newport

August 2012

Emergency medicine interns happy hour at Congregation Ale House in Long Beach

Relaxing weekend with Adam in Irvine- tossing the Frisbee in William R. Mason park

Emergency Medicine resident gathering for the "Beer Olympics" at Chief Maggie's

Not sure how these patriotic glasses got up in the mix, but the interns rocked them

More intern bonding at Bombay Tandoori

3-day weekend road trip up the coast. Overnight stop in at the Santa Maria Inn for fancy ice cream, a wine tasting, and a drive-in movie (ParaNorman). Then up to Morrow Bay for some seaside sightseeing including...

...starfish! We stayed at the quirky Madonna Inn in the Swiss Chalet themed room. We explored a bit of San Luis Obispo and ate some tasty meals.

More sea life was found further up the coast- sea lions!

Our final northernmost destination was Hearst Castle, which boasted some very picturesque pools including the Neptune Pool (above) and the Roman Pool (below).

The trip was a great getaway from the busy days of the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) and the pediatric emergency department which awaited me back home.