Crawfish Boil

We were lucky enough to meet Kenny Tran "Tran-Man", one of Mayo's elite PMR residents  (and Rochester's top Chef) who invited us to an amazing Crawfish boil at one of his consultant's lake house this weekend. Needless to say, it was amazing. Tran-man never disappoints. You should try his Korean barbecue. He has definitely kept us well fed during our time in Rochester! Thanks again, Kenny for the invite. My love handle's and Aaron's beer belly thank you. 

I've never tried a Crawfish boil before. It's pretty gruesome, actually. They're basically little lobsters that you rip apart. Their claws are too small to eat, so you just eat the body- kind of like shrimp! But at least for shrimp, the body is larger than the head so you feel like you're actually eating something. Crawfish- there's not much meat at all and you end up throwing most of the thing away. It's such a waste, and I feel terrible for the poor things and their families. I hope you forgive us, Mr. Crawfish, your sacrifice is much appreciated.

Grace was definitely intrigued!

We spent most of the time on the porch, overlooking Zumbro lake. It was beautiful. I wish we could have a home like that someday! 

Have a good week, everyone!

Movie reviews

Today was a beautiful day in Rochester, sunny with a side of....

Aaron's Quick Movie Reviews!


Just in case you haven't guessed it already this is Aaron. Christy has graciously allowed me to post some of my thoughts in our family blog so hopefully you guys enjoy it. Today we'll be going over, The Hunger Games, Cabin in the Woods and The Raid Redemption.

Lets start with the big blockbuster, The Hunger Games. For some of our more sophisticated movie viewers, Hunger Games in my opinion is an American version of Japan's Battle Royale. Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not! The movie did a nice job of trying to condense a pretty detailed book into a 2.5 hour movie without you feeling bored or confused. There are definitely a lot of characters being thrown at you, but don't worry (spoiler alert!!!) most of them get killed off anyways so don't worry about knowing them all. With cool visuals, an engaging story with love and sacrifice, and quality actors it looks like we finally have some film makers that care about making cherished book franchises into quality movies; unlike other ones (cough cough) tw...ght.
(4 stars **** out of 5)

Wow where to even begin with Cabin in the Woods. One of the tag lines in this movie is, "If you think you know this story, think again." I would have to say that the movie makers hit the nail on that one. I don't care how much you glean from the trailers, or billboards or whatever; if you haven't seen the movie you really wont be able to fully predict the twist at the end. The story starts our pretty predicable. A bunch college kids decide to spend the weekend in some random cabin in the woods for a weekend of drunken debauchery, that's about where the normal plot ends.  I would have to say that this movie was definitely unique in a good way. First off the characters, despite being pretty cliche for the genre, were really fun to watch. You have the hot chicks, the jocks, the lovable loser, the crazy hillbilly and the ends justifies the means government workers, did I miss anything? If you guys are look for some real scares, you're going to be disappointed. If you're looking for the funniest horror film since Army of Darkness, get in your car and start watching it now!
(3 stars *** out of 5)

Finally we come to every guys guilty pleasure, The Raid Redemption. To all the ladies out there looking for the perfect date night movie with your man, this isn't for you. If however your idea of a perfect date night movie is a non stop roller coaster of blood, bullets and mayhem, then gentlemen put a ring on that finger because you have a keeper on your hands. There is so much adrenaline pumping action that you forget that the movie really doesn't have any real plot, character development or decent acting. Honestly though I don't really care, the fight scenes on this movie make Ong Bak look like a night at the ballet.
(4 kicks to the face **** out of 5)

Easter and babies in pink

I think I'm going to give this blogging thing another try. The last time I blogged was over 5 years ago- remember the Xanga days? I think I stopped because things got busy, and I never had anything really interesting to talk about. So what has happened over the past 5 years.... 1) Graduated med school 2) Got married 3) Somehow fumbled through residency 4) Had a freakin BABY! (see below) I tell ya, a lot can happen in 5 years! Makes me wonder what life will be like in another 5 years.


So now, Aaron (Husband) and I are in Rochester, Minnesota as I finish up the rest of my training in Geriatric and possibly palliative care medicine at Mayo Clinic. Aaron's the brand spankin' new loan officer at Well's Fargo, so let him know if you're interested in purchasing a home so he can find you some good interest rates.


We've been here for about 6 months now. Rochester's nice, but there's not much to do around here. I realized recently that I really need a new hobby! All I do around here is go to work, come home, play with the baby and work on research papers. There's nowhere to shop here. I hate exercising. I hate sports. I'm a bad cook. I really want to try some new things while I'm here and I can't believe how fast time is flying by. I wish I had a memory like my good friend, Jared Lee- who can tell you the exact details of what he was doing at 10:30PM August 20th in 1998. Unfortunately my brain does not capture memories very well. God has blessed us with so much these days, and I feel like I really need to start documenting all these little blessings in our lives. Everything is flying by so fast like a blur. Our baby girl is growing up so fast! 


I'm hoping that blogging will give me something new and exciting to do, capture our lives on an online diary, share some of our new/re-discoveries with the world and keep all of our family/friends in the loop with our lives. 


SO... today's sunny with a side of...


CELEBRATING EASTER and BABIES IN PINK!


Meet Miss Grace. Our lovely 4 month old daughter, who is laughing up a storm these days at everything. She really likes pink. BIG BIG thank you to Jalon, Jenny and Jaxon Chan for this beautiful dress! Grace loves it and she has made her mark on it today by drooling all over it!

Easter is a time of remembrance and celebration; Remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice that was taken so that we may experience eternal life and live each day with gratitude and love. 

Miss Chunky thighs

We hope all of you are doing well! We dearly miss all of our friends and family who are far from us and we hope that this may be a way to keep you updated with our lives. 


Some ideas that Aaron and I have for this family blog: 
     - Chan Clan family adventures
     - The simple Geriatrician (patient stories and experiences)
     - Aaron's redneck corner (Movie/video game reviews, turkey/pheasant/deer/squirrel hunting experiences)
     - Full of Grace (baby stuff)
     - Closet re-discoveries (dare I try a fashion section??)
     - Creative crafts and food (with the help of talented mommy Chen)
     - Photography experimentation (better put that expensive camera to good use!)
     - Adventures with friends
     - Spiritual lessons and learnings 
     - And more!