Christmas is pending

Just like that blood culture...

I have some great Christmas cookie recipes to share. For some reason I found it necessary to stay up till 1:30 am on December 23 making cookies...

I had christmas eve off... yessssss. Sort of looks like the ranch, no?

Then I worked over 20 hours on Christmas and Boxing day, so forgive my tardiness. I'll post pictures and recipes soon. or soonish.

So long, farewell. The sound of music is on. Auf Weidersehen, goodnight.

OK

OK Mn stop snowing. Seriously. You are making it hard to get to work...

And veterans, please, keep breathing without intubation. Good lord.

Décembre

I should go to the gym and work off that big bowl of almonds I just ate. Dang you Trader Joes...

I just bought a bunch of new songs. Me gusta pop hitz. Let's see if they are fun to run to...

And done

Done with the VA. Onto Psychosis at the U. Just read through my patients, and looks like I'm in for a wild ride. I must say, psych is pretty awesome :)

Fall favorites

One day left of psych at the VA. This has been a busy 4 weeks. This weekend was my last *HUGE SIGH* 24 hour call shift for quite a while. VA psych went out like a lamb, I must say. On Saturday, I worked non stop till 7 pm... Then I did a little bit of Jillian in my call room, showered, knocked on wood and went to bed. I got woken up once in the middle of the night to take a phone call, and that was it! I slept about 9 hours. Fan-freakin-tastic! Normally, I'm lucky if I get two 45 min "naps" in while on call... But I made it through...

Working on my narcissism! Anyways, good day on call, you know what that calls for...


Sunday Dinner! The recipe search commenced and I decided on a fall themed dinner. It was delish. And, of course, I had to re-make the warm butternut squash salad. Because, holy lord it's delicious. I could eat that non stop.

Warm butternut squash salad  Make it. seriously. "I die"


Dijon potatoes. With purple/red and white potatoes. Fancy.


Karina's pork-all Karina's creations are out of this world. Trust me

And Pumpkin bars-from a box-jazzed up with pumpkin pie spice and vanilla.  With Karina's frosting :)

11

VaSpa'in

I began psych at the VA this past week. Love it! Wake up, make some bfast, get to work and have someone tell me...'I'm pretty sure God arranged my marriage to X (a certain well endowed celeb)". hmm. How do you feel about that? "Well, it's good. I'm pretty sure she'll be a good mother" ... ok

I'm leaving neuro in the dust....pfft. as you may notice, I didn't really post about my neuro experience. No one wants to hear me complain about the ED calling me for a STAT neuro consult at 2 am for an "88 year old man with 2 weeks of left foot numbness...." um ok... neuro. meh, go away.



I do assume you want a recipe...here's how to maintain composure through 3 hours of neuro rounding.... smelly feet, smelly feet. babinski sign is officially the worst test.

Easy peasy. Fry two eggs, season with S&P. Place in bottom of IKEA bowl of choice and top with sauteed veggies in a bit of herbs + balsamic or tamari, ginger, garlic and sesame.... Add extra protein, ie yogurt, to keep the tummy at bay while testing reflexes...or visual fields... or whatever



Anyway. On to pysch. I love it. Except the return of 24 hour call! AHHHHHH.... It will help me process this punishment if I can share my sweet call room digs with the internets.

Bed + Computer. This did not happen as a med student. Holla. The VA psych attendings pitched in to purchase an actual mattress, rather than your typical hospital mattress. We are pretty spoiled.

TV! What?! yessssss. Plus a weird leather chair to hold my junk.

con Baño Privado! Movin on up.

DVD collection.....

Personal stash, in case 30 Rock gets old.... It's gonna be ok...

Holy Lord.

Off!

Home call is done! I only got called in once yesterday. I still give it a big thumbs down, but I'm getting more used to it. In fact I took my pager on a run yesterday a la this great blogger.

Lisa finished the marathon yesterday and PR'd! Can't wait for the recap!

I'm relaxing today. I'm about to go for a run and head home to visit my mom. Thanks Columbus, I'm enjoying my day off.


Pop tunes for your Monday blues

plug along

Finished the PRITE. Psychiatry Resident-In-Training Examination. We take it once a year and it predicts our ability to pass boards at the end of residency. I'm thinking I'm not ready...

Home call for neurology...Two Thumbs Down. Way down

And Monday off! Yipee

October!

I'm not doing so well with posting. Es tut mir leid. I did, however, find the connector thingy for my camera. So now I have no excuse. I made this salad over the weekend. Two thumbs up. I have another squash in the fridge, so I may just whip up another batch! If I do, i'll post a pic... Until then, check out this one.

Alright.

Here's a song.



And the line up. Which of these dimes will I actually commit to and make in October? Bets anyone?

1) Butternut soup

2) Bars!

3) Soup before watching eat pray love?

4) With quinoa instead of orzo?

5) mmm Fall

On call

On call today... One more left till vacay :)

sept

I love it. So much cooler. Thank you September.

One-ish more weeks till my VACATION! I have big plans. Haircut, dentist, scrub my kitchen. ahhh

pfffft. thats the sound of a dying pancreas

well. I'm on medicine at the U. Which means every patient has at least one, typically four, organs failing at any given time. I feel like I get to the hospital and just try to keep people from dying. Not super fun to be honest. I'm home from call and feel like I should decompress with something familiar. 10 on tuesday.... and not 10 ways to kill you liver/pancreas/kidney on tuesday. been there done that differential. love my job

1. Pretend it’s Monday morning–take us through a day in the life of you.
6 am - i've been snoozing for a while, but time to get my liver failing saving butt out of bed.
6:30 I should be done simultaneously making eggs and making myself look presentable so I can watch news and chow down
7:00 hop in the Camry, play energizing music, and drive to le hospital
7:30 am finish up chart checking patients, hear about any new admits and get the show on the road

7:30-6 see peeps, write notes and orders, try to keep people alive. maybe eat and maybe pee.
6:30 pm - usually back to la casa, unless i'm on call, then this becomes 11 pm and i'm grumpy and you don't want to know
7 pm - run.
8 pm - stretch shower

8:30-prepare some eats and trashy tv entertainment

10-12-at some point hit the hay. Depending on how much TV I feel like watching. I mean, I study... or something 

2. What’s your favorite reality tv show?
Wow. Housewives. I love them!

3. What motto do you live by?
Be kind.

4. If you knew could you try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt?
hmmm. marriage.

5. What was your first job?
I was a proud employee of midwest vending. Suzanne-secretary/money counting extraordinaire.

6. What is your current job? 

Docta

7. What would you call yourself if you could choose your own name (and you cannot pick the one you already have)?Ruby

8. What musical instruments can you play?
Piano, trumpet, recorder, nose flute, glockenspiel...

9. Is it easier to forgive or forget?
Forgive. I'm an elephant

10. What is one food you’d never want to taste again?
gosh. I can't think of many foods that are really that horrible. probably incredibly spicy peppers.

Song of the week, to get me to the liver saving. or something

No Bueno

Hace calor. Calor sofocante. yuck

Hitting the treadmill....

mmmm yep

Ahh!

Hola Amigos! Medicine came, with great trepidation.

I am indeed alive. I survived my first 4 weeks as an intern. It went ok. Some days I was pretty sleepy. Some days I got a little crabby. Some days I was overwhelmed. Some nights I had nightmares about the ICU. Some days George was a little lonely. Some days I got nasty bodily fluids on me. done.

Honestly, I did ok.

Phew. I got out for runs most nights. I kept my apt mess under control. I saw my friends and family. I watched the Bachelorette (on Hulu!) I took a total of one food picture that was so ridiculously bad i'm embarrassed to post it!  And I can't find my connection cord, so whateves!

 I also:
1. Got pulled over for the first time in my life!  U turn in the parking lot at the VAspa at 9 pm, No no.
2. Found 2 purses while running, and called the police twice. Made the policeman think I might coordinate some sort of purse snatching ring using my 5 year old neighbor kids.
3. Discovered Yogurt is beyond good at holding you over those few extra hours
4. Psych lectures are incredibly fun and interesting
5. My life as a psych resident will be sweet!

I leave medicine at the VA for a psychosis Unit at the U. I'm really looking forward to it! I'm also a bit scared as I'll be the only resident managing the whole team! Yikes. I think I can I think I can....

In other news, Nick's been having a rockin good time as the Beatles 5th member!  Steve's pic!

Dear Veterans,

Please

So I don't have to worry about your EKG late at night...

Man bachelorette!

You are making it very hard for me to learn advanced life support! Orientation is almost over. AHH! now have sat through the U's computer training for the 3rd time, and OMG the VA's for the 5th time! yessss. I also learned to block punches, defend myself against bites and hair pulls and general grabbing/choking. I did actually have a table thrown at me in real life, but somehow they omitted that scenario from our defense training! I start July 1st on medicine...I think I can I think I can!


Running inspiration:





Running advice: do not eat chocolate chips right before a run. Pukey. What was I thinking?!


Cooking: I am eating eggplant like nobodies business. delish!!! Sauteed in balsamic vin.


I also bought ingredients for this...

I can only hope mine will look as good as this picture from Eclectic Recipes. YUM. Check out the site!

Blog Fail

Sorry, blog, I totally ignored you. I will try to be better, but let's get real, I make no promises. My glorious fantastic vacation came and went. I did a lot of hanging out with friends, watching TV, and a ridiculous amount of napping.

Orientation has officially started. I have not one, not two, but three white coats. I have a pager. I have fancy name tags with MD by my name. I feel like I'm in some sort of Halloween costume walking around the hospital. And yes, the fear of God is quickly sneaking up on me.

Tomorrow we learn how to defend ourselves from violent attacking psych patients. Intern karate camp or something...I'll let you know how that goes! I'm eating, it just hasn't been anywhere near photo worthy. You might have to just bear with a paucity of posts involving recipes. I'll do my best, or something.


Sweet running song...




Ok. Let's get back on track with a little 10 on tuesday. A little warm up lap so to speak, gotta get back in the game.

1. If you could trade lives with another blogger for a day, who would it be and why?
Hmm. Probably my Mom. I could be retired, instead of gearing up for intern year. AHHHHHH.

2. Do you prefer receiving handmade or store bought gifts? Be honest!
I prefer a handmade gifts. I don't turn down sparkly store bought gifts though!

3. Would you rather camp or stay in a hotel?
It totally depends on the occasion. In general I would rather camp. But, if for example, I am supposed to attend a wedding I would much rather be in a hotel. With nice water pressure. Thanks.

4. What’s your favorite comfort food?
Ice cream probably. Or cheese. I guess I'm a dairy queen!

5. You’re having a really bad day at work. How do you unwind when you come home?
I call my mom usually on the way home. Then I would go for a run, take a shower and sit in my pajamas watching BRAVO. Wait, I do that everyday..

6. What’s your favorite chore? (Or, the chore you hate the least)
Dusting. I also like to vacuum and make sweet vacuum marks on the carpet. I then try really hard to be careful walking to preserve the lines. No, that's not abnormal.

7. What got you interested in blogging?
I wanted to record and organize my gluten free explorations. I love love love Karina! Trust me that was the original intent. Due to busyness and lack of sufficient time management, I tend to eat a lot of salads. Yes, I realize in the time I spent typing this post I could have whipped up a hot dish. Bite me.

8. Are you currently reading a book? What is it?
I am reading Stiff. Why? I have no idea. I guess I want to relive the trauma that was anatomy.

9. Do you have a favorite artist?

Like, Lisa I'm a Monet freak.

I've had many a Monet hanging in my various bedrooms over the years.

My MIA favorites!

Jean-Léon Gérôme, The Carpet Merchant,

Rembrant Lucretia

10. Have you ever met someone famous?
Hmm. Weathermen? Chuck Klosterman. Not really... I'll get back to you.

Graduation!

I graduated!! Yes, that's right! Strange but true, with snazzy outfits to prove it. I will miss these ladies, about half of them are headed out into the great wild world! The rest will be close by at trusty HCMC!

The great Rondino! Ronda and I spent COUNTLESS hours studying in my apt, traveled to Europe together, and in general just made it through. She is amazing, and matched in dermatology!

My Body Buddies! Yes, that's a slightly brash term, but literally we shared a cadaver...thus we were body buddies. Me (Psych U of Mn), Chad (Ortho NC), Joe (Diagnostic Radiology RI), Sancia (Internal Med, Tulane)

Flashback! 4 years ago at our white coat ceremony!

And, my fantastic family. I could NEVER have made it through without them. Especially my Mom. Thank you Mom. I can't even tell you how much your support means to me! Dad and Nick, you are alright too:)

Jayne and Elizabeth came!

And my uncle Al! He also had reason to celebrate...

My cousin Vanessa graduated the next day from MNSU!

And the lovely Ellen also attended!

After the ceremony we had lunch at Ecopolitan, my favorite restaurant! I was so lucky that Mike, Beth and Gary all joined for lunch. The fun continued the next night as Lisa joined us for a sushi dinner...And I got one of the long coveted Anthro aprons! Thank you everyone for making my graduation so special!

The Inca Trail

And it began. 4 days of hiking to reach Machu Piccu via the Inca trail. Day 1.

 The top of dead woman's pass, day 2

The woman, see her?

The top of the second mountain, day 2

The first ruins, late afternoon day 2

Still had to hike all the way over there for camp!

The view from my tent, morning of day 3

The ruins, end of day 3

The almost there.

Finally, 7:30 am day 4

 

 

Hasta Luego