Darrell Scott at the American Tobacco Campus

On Thursday May 29th, Nathan and I went to see Darrell Scott at the American Tobacco Campus. Adrienne, Lloyd, and June joined us for the first set as well as Nathan's co-worker Michael. June enjoyed strawberries and had a good time dancing. Michael and I discussed the intricacies of ACL surgery since he had one in college.

During the second set, Mark and Michelle's mom, dad and brother joined us. Michelle was at home napping with Camden. Nathan and I really loved the music and we started singing one of the songs a few days later. We were so impressed we bought "Long Time Gone" on itunes.

Softball is very dangerous!

Sorry about the lack of updates from the Marvelles during the month of May. We have been busy traveling, working, and injuring ourselves. Well only I did the injuring... here's the update.

In the fall, while playing flag football (see article where I'm quoted) during a play I planted my foot while pivoting and a player from the other team collided with me. Covered in little black rubber specs from the intramural field, I had to be carried off to the training room where I was iced and bandaged up in a foam leg brace from my quad to my ankle. They sent me off with crutches and an appointment with the orthopedic doctor the next day. The next day the doctor did several manual tests on my leg, but everything hurt. He couldn't get an end-point on my ACL (the Lachman's test), but that could have been because of the swelling. I hobbled around on crutches and hardly used my leg, fearful that I would hurt it more. After the initial swelling went down, I started physical therapy. Since I had not walked on the leg for almost two weeks, I had so much atrophy of my muscles and couldn't straighten or bend my knee. The doctor suggested an MRI, but he also said I might have just stretched my ligaments. and I could just wait till all the swelling went down and I completed PT. About 2 months after the initial injury, the doctor did another Lachman test and was able to feel my ACL, so he thought I did not completely tear the ligament.

It took almost 6 months to get my knee back to "normal". And this spring I felt good enough to play intramural softball. Even while running around the bases I didn't feel too bad although a few times it felt weak and wobbly. Kneeling down was also harder than it had been before the injury.

On Sunday May 18th, Nathan and I went to softball practice to prepare for Summer session I intramurals. After a nice warm-up we started playing. I was playing shortstop and a ball was hit my direction. As I was going to catch it, I planted my foot in a normal straight-forward running direction. I felt the top part of my knee move without the bottom part of my knee moving and I collapsed. After having what I coined as an adult tantrum because I was so mad that I had done this again. I was carried off the field by Tim and Toby. Thank goodness Nathan came to practice even though he is not on the team! He drove me home and I spent the whole evening moping.

The next day I went to the same doctor who dealt with me in the fall. He remembered my injury. After testing my knee, he recommended an MRI, saying he thought I had torn my ACL and my meniscus. I had to wait until Thursday. On Thursday, I went to UNC's hospital and had my MRI. I spent 45 minutes in the big machine. It was so loud! I was prepared to not move for 45 minutes... but I was not prepared for the noise. I was hoping to get the results soon after the procedure, but I had to wait until Tuesday of the next week (1 wk 2 days after the injury). On Tuesday I got the news that I had actually torn both the ACL and the meniscus. I was really upset and was feeling completely down on myself. Unfortunantly I got this news on our 1 year wedding anniversary... Nathan helped me put it into perspective but allowed me to be a little down on myself, and after a short cathartic cry, I felt much better. I dawned the dress I wore at our rehearsal dinner and my knee brace and we went out to dinner then watched our wedding video.

On Monday June 2nd, I met with the orthopeadic surgeon and talked about my options. We decided to do the surgery mid-August after our trip to the Galapagos. I started prehab immediately to get my muscles strong enough to stabilize my knee while walking in the Galapagos and to get the muscles 110% before the surgery so there would not be as much atrophy.

Happy Mother's Day!

To each of our moms,
We love you very much and are so fortunate to have such loving and caring people as our moms.

Love,
Amanda and Nathan

Camden Ross Leslie

Camden was born on May 10th at 1:37 in the morning. He is a healthy baby boy weighing in at 7 pounds 8 ounces.

Camden Leslie is about to be born!

Michelle and Mark just called me to let me know that they are on their way to the hospital! I am so excited for them! It is crazy that Michelle is about to be a mom!

Here's a picture of Michelle taken on April 17th:

BPA - Throw out your #7 Nalgenes!

Nalgene water bottles and baby bottles made with plastic #7 are extremely hazardous to your health because they contain BPA (an artificial estrogen). The evidence is virtually indisputable and has been downplayed by companies producing this plastic for several decades.

What does the #7 represent? Most plastic containers are marked (usually on the bottom) with a number within a triangle with arrows – commonly known as a recycling symbol. These numbers, known as the resin identification coding system, were created in 1988 to facilitate recycling programs across the country. These recycling numbers can range from #1 to #7, depending on the type of plastic. The #7 recycling label is a catchall indicator for plastics made with a resin other than those in the #1 to #6 designations, or made of more than one resin. The #7 category not only includes polycarbonate, but also includes compostable plastics made of organic material and other types of plastic that do not necessarily contain BPA (Bisphenol-A). For example, our new Everyda™ line manufactured with Eastman’s Tritan™ copolyester is a #7, but does not include BPA.

What's wrong with it? The conclusion from the Chapel Hill panel, a group of university scientists studying the effects of BPA from these bottles on humans, concluded that there is an increased risk in prostate and breast cancer, uro-genital abnormalities in male babies, a decline in semen quality in men, early onset of puberty in girls, metabolic disorders including insulin resistant (type 2) diabetes and obesity, and neurobehavioral problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The scientific panel found over 95% of people they tested had active, and therefore dangerous, levels of BPA in their bodies. Don't listen to companies or people who state that the levels humans are exposed to from their bottles are "safe".

Nalgene has a whole part of their website that is dedicated to talking about BPA. They are even "transitioning from polycarbonate to other materials". You can make your own conclusions from that...

But PLEASE don't stop using water bottles! There are good durable water bottles out there, plastic ones not made with polycarbonate and ones that are made of metal. Both of which I would highly recommend people using. The United States has an obsession with bottled water, so here are a few scary facts:

* Last year, Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water, even though bottled water isn’t healthier or safer than tap water.
* While the EPA regulates the quality of public water supplies, the agency has no authority over bottled water. Some studies indicate that certain brands of bottled water test positive for chemical and bacterial contamination at higher levels than tap water.
* Americans went through about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year, 167 for each person. We pitch into landfills 38 billion water bottles a year - more than $1 billion worth of plastic (while the recycling rate for this particular kind of plastic is only 23%).
* We’re moving 1 billion bottles of unnecessary water around a week in ships, trains, and trucks in the United States alone. That’s a weekly convoy equivalent to 37,800 18-wheelers delivering water.



Diane Rehm did a whole show about BPA on NPR last week after a draft report by The National Toxicology Program found there is 'some concern' that exposure to BPA could lead to human health risks. She had 5 very knowledgeable guests: Steven Hentges, American Chemistry Council PhD Senior Director Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group; Frederick vom Saal reproductive scientist and professor, Division of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia; Warren Foster director center for reproductive care and reproductive biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario; John Bucher associate director, National Toxicology Program, National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences; Tony Clement Health Minister, Canada.

Here is an article that I think takes a non-biased look at BPA: BPA is cause for concern, but not hysteria

Bottom line... just get rid of your #7s.

(Got to give credit where credit is due. The idea to post and many of the points for this post were taken from another blog)

Pancake's Beauty Shots

DERBY!

Here are some pictures... a description to come later!

11 people stuffed into a car (you can't see Nathan taking the pic and the driver). Wow was it tight! Thank goodness everyone took a shower that morning.

My Derby hat... although I did not dress up, I found out you can't go to the Derby without a hat.

An artistic 134 Derby glass with a yummy mint julep inside.

My winning ticket! I won a total of $18.65 after you subtract the $20 I spent on betting. Stu won $450! He was the big winner of the day



The picture of the replay of my horse (#7 orange) winning.

The horses. This is as close as we could get to them since we were in the infield.


The sun was setting and I snapped a shot of the winners circle and all the beautiful flowers. This is where everyone celebrated Big Brown's win. Unfortunately this was overshadowed in my mind by the loss of Eight Belles.

Lily's birthday

Little Lily Lankford turned 1! And the most appropriate way to celebrate was to give her a cake and let her put her face in it! Here are some select pictures from her birthday party.

Beer Fest!

My favorite beer at the festival!

Free Burger

On the weekend after my birthday my parents came into to town to celebrate. My dad brought another rain barrel that he made himself... it shamed my rain barrel! He also helped us with a few projects around the house.

In addition we spent Saturday morning at the Durham Farmer's Market, Scrap Exchange, and Southern Portico. Nathan had to coach his little league baseball team so for lunch my parents and I went to Red Robin. I had never been and we had a friend who told us about this great deal. If you go to Red Robin's website and sign up you will get a free $3 off coupon a few days after you sign up which can be used on anything. The only catch is it has to be used within 15 days. Also near your birthday you get emailed a coupon for a free gourmet burger and I have to say they were quite delicious. Nathan signed us up and I was able to use both my coupons at this outing. They have crazy burgers to choose from:
*Blackened Bayou burger - a burger topped with roasted red peppers, Angry Onions, Pepper-Jack cheese, Creole mustard sauce and cabbage-carrot mix on a jalapeño-cornmeal kaiser roll.
*Bleu Ribbon burger - a burger basted with a tangy steak sauce and topped with crumbled Bleu cheese. Served with onion straws, lettuce, tomatoes and zesty Chipotle mayo on an onion bun.
*Guacamole bacon burger - homemade, zesty guacamole and three strips of hickory-smoked bacon with melted Swiss cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes & mayo.
After lunch we spent almost 2 hours in Home Depot where my dad bought me my birthday present - a Dremel tool and we got all the needed supplies for the home projects. Following our outing we went home to cook for dinner and then we watched the awful slaughtering of UNC in the final four.

Another paper

I've been published again! This time I am the first author.
Association of FTO with obesity-related traits in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS) cohort. Marvelle AF, Lange LA, Qin L, Adair LS, Mohlke KL. Diabetes 2008 Apr 21 [Epub ahead of print].

It is kinda sad though, I was talking to my sister and she asked how long it took to do this paper. And I realized I worked on this paper for over a year! But at least the work paid off.

Our tree!

It's Blooming! I think that my tree might survive. Especially with all this lovely spring rain. However, now that it is blooming we are certain it is not the tree we actually wanted. Nathan got me a tree last year for my birthday and our wedding to remind us of our time in DC. He wanted a Prunus Yeodonis, Yoshino Cherry, which is the species that blooms around the tidal basin in DC. Unfortunately, our tree is the Prunus serrulata, Kwanzan flowering cherry.





OUR TREE:




An excerpt about our tree:
Hardy and well-known, this cultivar combines show-stopping flowering display with great foliage and habit. Double rose-pink flowers are abundant and appear in early spring before the foliage. New foliage is also interesting in that it comes out a bronze color quickly changing to dark green. Fall color is excellent for a cherry, with bronzy orange or orangy red hues. Our own-rooted starts eliminate the problem of unsightly graft unions and our source material is virus free (VC). The strongly vase-shaped habit is also very useful as a structural element in the landscape.

Here is what it will look like when it matures:

Rebecca and Danny's Wedding

Rebecca, my friend that I met while studying abroad in Denmark, got married this weekend. The weekend was jammed packed with wedding events: Friday night 80's Karaoke bachelorette party, Saturday meet and great, and the main event (wedding) on Sunday.

MIchelle Leslie's Baby Shower

On Sunday March 30th myself, Andrea, and Michelle's friend Laurel hosted a shower for Michelle Leslie. Although the weather was a little nasty (baby shower does not mean that it has to rain!) we have a lovely time.

1. For the invites I was inspired by a cutesy card I saw at Cameron's in University Mall (my favorite store by the way for anyone looking for gift ideas... hint, hint Nathan). We tweaked the wording to sound more "Michelle" and this is what we ended up with:

DON'T FLUSH
because we're about to shower
our favorite child-bearing girl-
friend and give her a proper
send-off into motherhood. So
please join us, because before you
can say "Baby powder”, she'll be ankle-
deep in stuffed animals, grooming
hair with saliva, and talking in
baby babble like, "I wuv you" and
"oopsie-daisy" and we may never be
able to have a coherent conversation with her again.

2. For the food, we took our inspiration from good ol' Martha Stewart. In February she featured recipes of dumplings from around the world, and Michelle had commented that she wanted to throw a party where everyone brought a different kind of dumpling.

I made two types of dumplings:

*Gnudi - A specialty of Florence, gnudi (Italian for "nude") are luscious little dumplings made with fresh ricotta cheese and spinach. Essentially, they are ravioli fillings without their pasta wrappers.
*Kroppkakor - A traditional Southern Swedish potato dumpling with a filling of pork, bacon, and onions and served with lingonberry.

*And purchased Chinese potstickers from the frozen section of Costco... which are excellent!

We also had Polish pierogis and Nutella wontons.

3. For the activity, each guest made a square to a quilt, which was inspired by a baby shower I went to several years ago for my friends Adrienne and Lloyd.

4. For the party favors we made little baby food jars with pictures of baby Michelle and baby Mark.

Ingredients: Love, hope, prayers,
tears, smiles, laughter, hugs, kisses
Produced in Durham, North Carolina
Distributed by UNC Hospitals
Best if used by May 16th, 2008

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: As many as you can take
Servings per container: 1
Amount per serving % Daily Value
Snips 100%
Snails 100%
Puppy Dog Tails 100%
Poop 33%
Tears 12%
Giggles 75%

Michelle and Mark holding their jars:

American Idol

Yes, I, like millions of other Americans, watch American Idol. I know it is a silly indulgence of mine but I am willing to admit it...
Generally I poke fun at the contestants outfits and how poorly they interpret a song, but here is one of the reasons why I have enjoyed this season:

We Celebrate Carolina

I'm not going to lie... it hurt a little on Saturday when Carolina was exterminated by Kansas, but I think this ad in the New York times puts things into prospective. Carolina is a great place to be on and off the court. Sometimes we put too much focus on a single game and lose sight of the other things that are going on at UNC.

"As the nation's first public university, Carolina has paved the way for a brighter future for more than 200 years. Dr. Oliver Smithies recently won the Nobel Prize for his pioneering research that helped lay the foundation for lifesaving medical breakthroughs. Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine ranked us the No. 1 best value in American public higher education for the seventh consecutive time. Next month, we will graduate our first class of students in the Carolina Covenant, a national model for providing love-income students with a debt-free education. And on the court, our men's and women's basketball teams had great seasons that made us proud. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, we have a lot to cheer about."

I've been published in Nature Genetics!

On March 30th the paper "Meta-analysis of genome-wide association data and large-scale replication identifies additional susceptibility loci for type 2 diabetes" went online on the Nature Genetics website.

If any of you had a chance to talk to me in early December you might recall that I was a bit stressed... well that stress and hard work paid off because I am one of the authors: Zeggini E, Scott LJ, Saxena R, Voight BF, Marchini JL, Hu T, de Bakker PI, Abecasis GR, Almgren P, Andersen G, Ardlie K, Boström KB, Bergman RN, Bonnycastle LL, Borch-Johnsen K, Burtt NP, Chen H, Chines PS, Daly MJ, Deodhar P, Ding CJ, Doney AS, Duren WL, Elliott KS, Erdos MR, Frayling TM, Freathy RM, Gianniny L, Grallert H, Grarup N, Groves CJ, Guiducci C, Hansen T, Herder C, Hitman GA, Hughes TE, Isomaa B, Jackson AU, Jørgensen T, Kong A, Kubalanza K, Kuruvilla FG, Kuusisto J, Langenberg C, Lango H, Lauritzen T, Li Y, Lindgren CM, Lyssenko V, Marvelle AF, Meisinger C, Midthjell K, Mohlke KL, Morken MA, Morris AD, Narisu N, Nilsson P, Owen KR, Palmer CN, Payne F, Perry JR, Pettersen E, Platou C, Prokopenko I, Qi L, Qin L, Rayner NW, Rees M, Roix JJ, Sandbæk A, Shields B, Sjögren M, Steinthorsdottir V, Stringham HM, Swift AJ, Thorleifsson G, Thorsteinsdottir U, Timpson NJ, Tuomi T, Tuomilehto J, Walker M, Watanabe RM, Weedon MN, Willer CJ; Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, Illig T, Hveem K, Hu FB, Laakso M, Stefansson K, Pedersen O, Wareham NJ, Barroso I, Hattersley AT, Collins FS, Groop L, McCarthy MI, Boehnke M, Altshuler D. (Yes I promise my name is in there!)

Ok, so, I am one of 97 other people to contribute to this paper... But look who else is on here! Collins FS - also known as Francis Collins, the geneticist noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes and his leadership of the Human Genome Project. He was also mentioned in a toast given by Mike Wipfler, our best man. As well as many other notable scientists.

This is certainly a high point in my scientific career, and hopefully it wont be the last. It is times like these that make all the work and frustration of being a scientist worth while.