Photo Contest - Please Vote!!

The Emory Global Health Institute is sponsoring a student global health photography contest over the next couple of weeks, and I want to enter it.  The problem is that I don't think I am objective enough to pick out the photos of mine that are actually good photos, so I need your help!  These are some of my favs--they are numbered on the bottom--but I want to know which ones YOU like.  (You can also find more here, here, and here.)

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Ok, that's it.  Vote!  Tell me your top 3 favorites (and why, if you want) in the comments section below, or email me at littlelifeadventures@gmail.com.  Submissions are due by October 7, so get in touch before then!

LA Weekend

Jake and I flew out to California for a quick weekend trip for the wedding of a college friend.  We stayed with his aunt and uncle, saw a lot of friends from undergrad, ate a lot of good food, dipped our feet in the Pacific, enjoyed spectacular sunsets, and packed all we could into our 48 hours there before flying back to Atlanta late last night. 

As much as I might dislike my schedule right now, the feeling of needing to study every hour possible, it is so much more flexible than what is coming up.  I really do appreciate being able to take a small bag and my laptop and zip across the country for an event like this, studying in airports and planes and kitchens and coffee shops in any state just as easily as in Georgia.  

Saturday morning study time

I realize that I might start to seem like a total weirdo with a strange goldfish obsession, but... I guess I do have a small obsession going on.  Jake's aunt has the coolest giant fancy goldfish named Fred Astaire.  He is 8 years old and huge- I totally loved him.

Dave and Lisa's wedding was in a gorgeous Spanish-style church right on a cliff overlooking the Pacific.  It was the most stunning location I have ever been to for a wedding.

The view from where we were seated in the sanctuary

Jake and Lisa, the beautiful bride

I know it looks like I have a blue bra strap showing here, but it's really just the strap of my purse

(heart)

My date, Elton John

The view from the reception site

Custom-ordered sunset

Trying to look serious

This picture turned out looking all cute and serious and romantic, but what we were actually doing here is totally goofy - we always these have staring contests where we try not to laugh.  Jake always loses, every single time.

Underwater flowers, floating candles, message-in-a-bottle seating place-markers

Catching the Pats game at an airport bar during our flight delay at LAX.  Isn't he cute? <3

Ok, sorry this last one is sort of gross and random, but... the next time someone sticks a needle in your arm, just think about how they must have had to learn that skill... :)

Med school injury

The Cooking Lesson

Back in the spring, my friend Chelsea organized an amazing date auction fundraiser for her trip to Haiti (she went on the surgery trip).  She raced all over Atlanta and got some unbelievable donations, including a cooking lesson and dinner for 8 from the owner and executive chef of The Iberian Pig, one of the best restaurants in the city.  Then she and I and a handful of friends bid on it - and won! 

Last weekend, we finally got around to a date that worked for everyone.  It was an incredible feast of SO much food and wine, and it was a ridiculously good time, too.

the bounty

Chad, our chef and food guide for the night, shows us how to make "sausage flowers"
(I don't think that's what he called them... pretty sure someone in our group made that up)

wine, vinegar, oil, mustard

chorizo, jamon iberico

heirloom tomatoes

Atl sunset from my apartment

salad-makin'

Chelsea learns how to clean fish

colorful Swiss chard

the best shrimp dish I have ever tasted in my life

chorizo and onions

skyline

(windows all open to keep the fire alarm from going off... again)

mmmmm, butter

I actually lost count of how many different courses we were served

is he ducking??  I swear, he really does like me

the sitcom-cast shot

I can't say enough good things about Chad and his cooking (not to mention his tolerance of our rowdy group, especially after several hours... and about a dozen bottles of wine.)  His generosity raised a lot of money for a good cause and made a lot of people very, very full and very, very happy.  If you are in Atlanta, check out The Iberian Pig on Decatur Square!  I promise you will not be disappointed.