Weekly Update June 12 - 18

The Week in Review 

Hard to believe that by this time tomorrow I will have already been at work for 10 hours and will still have about 20 hours left in the shift. How in the world am I going to get through that first day?? I have every intention to keep some notes (if I have a chance to breathe in  between the bouts of craziness) to write up something about my first ever day as a real doctor. I think that would be something that would be interesting to read at the end of this.

As part of our orientation to residency, we got the chance to watch the graduation of the finishing chiefs. It was strange to watch someone at the end when I'm still here at the beginning. It's easy to forget about the finish line when you're still trying to lace up your shoes at the start of the marathon.

There are a lot of miles ahead of me -- good ones and bad ones. I don't know what all those miles will hold or how things will be different this time next year or this time in seven years. But I'm excited for the race ahead.

The Week in Snapshots 

meal prep / last day of slow mornings / sunset on chief's dinner / the last time I look fancy for a bit / the ducks of summer

Reading
I realized that Carry On is the pseudo-sequel to Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, and so I put Carry On aside for a second to read them in the right order. I'm kind of neurotic about reading books that are connected in ORDER

Listening 
So I came across this cute little podcast called Sawbones that every week talks about a medical history. It's really funny and not hyper-technical so they explain all the medical words. But I definitely think some of the history included in it about how we used to treat diseases is really cool!

3 Things

• I went to target like three times this week. I kept forgetting one or another thing I needed -- but now I have lots of snacks all stocked in my locker. 
• I have new supposedly long lasting foundation/eyeliner/etc. We'll see if it lasts through an all night call shift. 
• My new long white coats don't have inside pockets. That's unacceptable. I'm going to have to sow some pockets in there. 

Loving from Around the Internet 

MASON JAR SALADS -- I made a whole bunch of these to get me through the weeks lunches at work. Hopefully they're yummy because if they suck I have like 5 of them to eat.... 

Weekly Update May 29 - June 4

The Week in Review 

Where do we start? This time last week I was in Europe and now I am sitting in a completely unpacked apartment in new ResidencyCity. It's hard to wrap my mind around all the things that happened in the last week from a trans-atlantic flight, to a two day car trip, to unpacking a thousand boxes and moving dozens of pieces of furniture.

And now, it's just me. Just me alone in this new and strange city with only two days left until I'm supposed to go be a resident. I thought that orientation was supposed to start tomorrow, but luckily realized that I had misread the calendar and I actually start on Wednesday, so I had a couple of extra days to get used to being here.

Sweetheart and I have managed the first couple weeks of this new long distance thing, but it's hard when I wake up in the morning and want to roll over to see him or fall asleep at night and miss snuggling. Skype and cell phones can replace a lot, but they can't replace just being in the same room as someone. I used to be really good at living alone, the silence didn't bother me, but I've become much less used to the quiet and the loneliness.

The new apartment is absolutely beautiful and came together so well. I'm so happy to feel like it's an excellent, comfortable, and functional space that will serve me well in the next year. It would be nice if it would stay as clean and organized as it is now through all of intern year -- but I know that will never happen! Ha.

I'm planning on doing a video or photo walk through when I get the chance -- but since everything really JUST finished getting unpacked it might take me a day or two. But I'd love to show you all around while it's still beautiful!

The Week in Photos

cute little duck not too far from the hospital / brand new apartment kitchen / bed in progress / amazing granola from a new favorite brunch place / heartland sky

Reading 
I just finished reading Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald which was a really interesting semi-historical piece! I fell in love with Great Gatsby in high school and this was an excellent piece about the lives of the Fitzgeralds, the prohibition era, and dysfunctional relationships.

Listening 
Everyone needs some upbeat music when they're moving and unpacking and working, and I found myself again and again flipping through to listen to this incredibly old album by Regina Specktor that I hadn't heard since college

3 Things

• I really like IKEA but I am also really glad that I won't have to go back to it for a long time (I hope). 
• I am not handy the way the love of my life is, when I had a fuse blow the other day I had to have Sweetheart walk me through how to fix it on the phone. Good to make him feel needed. (I did get it fixed though with direction!)
• I cooked the first meal in the new apartment today (red lentil dal with cilantro brown basmati rice) -- then I had a glass of wine with dinner to celebrate. All about the small things. 

Loving from Around the Internet 

I am completely loving this recipe I made for dinner tonight from Oh She Glows -- a super healthy and delicious meal you can make in a huge batch and have plenty leftover for later in the week! My new favorite recipes will all make extra so I can cook once and eat three or four times! 

Weekly Update April 10 - 16

The Week in Review 

Another week behind us and I'm not sure where it went. I'm deep down the rabbit hole of wedding planning at the moment. Even though we won't get married for over a year, I'm trying to get as much done now before I have to leave for residency -- it seems like we only come up with MORE decisions to make. I absolutely am suffering from decision fatigue already.

How do people do this wedding thing?? I can't imagine how all the pieces will come together.

I spent about 2 hours today watching samples of wedding videos online trying to decide IF we need a videographer... and IF so then how much does that cost... and who do we hire... and what do I tell them?

When I'm not exhausting my decision making powers with wedding things I stared at 800 apartments and houses and condos online trying to find a place to live. I'll let you in on a secret, they all look the same. All of them.


The Week in Photos 

Wedding DIY / Climb on / Completed baby blanket! / Tiny park / Bacon quiche for women in Surgery Potluck

Reading

I'm currently reading ALL THE TRAVEL GUIDES since I'll be headed to London in less than a month. Have we talked about this yet?

Listening

I've been listening to this song by Skinny Lister all week thinking about how great it woudl be if we could pay only forty pounds for our wedding. I'd be perfectly happy with the bunch of wildflowers for a bouquet and shawl for a veil that this song talks about.

P.S. We have every intention of playing this song at the wedding at SOME POINT

3 Things

• For those of you on #knittingwatch2016 I finally finished the baby blanket I was kitting!! It only took me a month and a half and by the end of it I was so sick of it that I probably won't do a knitting project again for a while. 
• Our dishwasher died yesterday. Woohoo. There's nothing to make you want to go out to eat as much as having to wash EVERY dish by hand. 
• I packed up all my scrubs in a box this week. It was strange realizing that I won't be wearing them again until I'm a doctor. 

Loving from Around the Internet 

This absolutely delicious looking recipe from Smitten Kitchen for sheet pan Chicken Tikka -- we haven't tried it yet and I'm out of town this coming week, but believe you me it's going to be on the meal plan for the following week! 

The Week in Review 

We celebrated Sweetheart's birthday a few days early because he'll be working nights on his actual birthday. I took the chance to make him a birthday pie. I really appreciate that neither he or I are traditional birthday cake people. My mom has been making chocolate mousse for my birthday since I was a kid. I hated cake.

I've since recovered from my loathing of cake. But I'll still pick pie or cookies or most other desserts over cake any day.

I feel like I've been working through long lists of things to get done. I've run shopping errands getting more work clothes, looking at apartments online, sending off my licensing paperwork. But no matter how much work I seem to get done I feel like I'm not doing enough every day.

Additionally, the preparation for residency has lead to me to develop severe insomnia. I completely fail to sleep at night these days. I just lie there and think about the fact that I'm supposed to start residency in two months!! It's awful. Then I stress out about not sleeping because of how sleep deprived I'll be in a few months.

On nights when I do sleep, I have extraordinarily strange dreams. Last night I had a dream I was hiding dogs from Batman, had a dream I was pregnant and trying to get my OB to explain how that could have happened, and had a dream people I knew were telling me what day they would die. I won't belabor this point because there's nothing as boring as other people's dreams -- but either I don't sleep or I just wake up really confused! 


The Week in Snapshots 

Muffins / Happy birthday / Birthday Pie / Wedding DIY

Reading

I'm still working on this book -- it's really excellent I just need time to finish it off!

Listening 

Guess who has a new EP -- my favorite!!

3 Things

• I love the birthdays of people I love -- but I hate my own birthday. I spend hours picking out gifts for other people. I love trying to come up with or make a perfect gift. But I hate when people make a fuss about my birthday -- I mean I didn't do anything! 
• I have to retake BLS this week so I can then go get my ACLS certification. Aye. All the pre-residency things to do. 
• I have finally finished half of my knitting project. It only took me a month to get this far, but I'm getting faster and faster. Hoping to have it done in two and a half more weeks. 

Loving from Around the Internet 

I had these hoodies recommended to me by a friend -- while they run a little on the pricey side I've been told they're worth EVERY penny. I just ordered one for myself -- review in the coming weeks. (P.S. Click through and I think it should give you $15 off!)

The Week in Review

On Friday I opened an amazing envelope.

That envelope told me that not only was I going to be a doctor with a job next year -- I was going to get to be a doctor with a job at my #1 pick. I matched at my top choice for residency!!

The unfinished sentence I told you about on Friday has suddenly come to a period and now a thousand new sentences have started up. I have a million things to do. I have a new apartment to find, I have paperwork to do, I have a whole new life to start in only a few weeks. It's really hard to believe. I am really excited to be sharing this journey with you all as we go along.

The Week in Snapshots

I matched / chocolate bailey's cupcakes / I tried on my wedding dress!! / surgery studying

Reading 

Favorite Song

3 Things

• I'm trying for the first time to knit a blanket. I bought a TON of yarn on Amazon and have started the process. Send me good wishes. We'll see how this goes. I am by no means a champion knitter. 
• We cleaned our whole house in an hour this morning. It was such a nice thing to do on a Sunday morning (after pancakes of course!). Maybe we'll keep doing it?
• I already have a to-do list a mile long for this week, but I'm hoping to swing a recipe and maybe even a vlog somewhere in there. 

Loving from Around the Internet 
This adorable ModCloth dress!!! Why does it have to be $100 more than I have right now??