Goals

First something exciting: I forgot to say this, but I found out that I HONORED my surgery clerkship! This is incredible, I didn't think it was going to happen but I am so proud that it did. I also got a high pass on OB/Gyn (I was *this* close to getting honors...dang!). Pretty exciting to close out the year with a bang!

Next, I am making some life goals. Now that I am on a clerkship that (I feel) gives me a pretty good idea of what my life will be like the next few years, I have the urge to try to develop the rest of my life around my schedule...what better time to start than now!

-Like I said before, I am trying to cook more. This doesn't amount to actually cooking that much because all the stuff I make can feed like 6 people so I end up eating it for days (which can get boring, but that's a whole different story). I made a pretty good "chili cornbread pie" the other day...next time I think I'll use a different kind of cheese and milk in the cornbread mix instead of water, but overall satisfying, healthy (it was from Cooking Light), and EASY (hey, I did it!).

-Along with cooking I am trying to eat healthier. I always did a fair job I think, but definite room for improvement. This is tricky when I don't eat at all the whole time I am at work usually (maybe a granola bar and a glass of water...maybe) and I get home at strange hours...can't really cook up a whole meal when D is sleeping right next to the kitchen! However, I need to get used to it, so we'll see how it goes. Today I joined the MyPlate website that allows you to track what you're eating. I don't really believe in food diaries (even I'm not that OCD-esque), but I think doing it for a short period of time can be useful to really see what I'm eating and what kinds of things I need to eat more of. The website is really cool and SUPER user friendly...I highly recommend it (but hey it's only the first day, what do I know).

-Too many goals for one time, but I am also trying to workout more. This has always been the weakest part for me, so I am starting SUPER slow...just doing my little ghetto elliptical machine for 30 minutes as often as I can (probably amounts to 3 times a week right now). Again, this can get tricky because I can't do that at 4am with a roommate, but I'm doing my best! I'm trying to stay positive about this measley little bit of exercise because at least it's more than what I was doing before. Not super, but it's a start.

-My Mid-Year Resolution is to take my vitamins. My New Years Resolution this year was to floss, and I seriously am still flossing basically every night (at least 5 times a week on average), so I decided to do resolutions more often. I think the key is to be specific, so right now it's vitamins. I even bought a pill box to remind me. Going pretty well so far. It's been over a month since I made the resolution, and I've probably averaged 4 times a week. Not great, but better than I was doing before so I'll take it.

-I have been reading more non-school stuff than I have in the last year, which is SO nice. I live and breathe reading, so it is nice to have time for that again! Currently reading Mansfield Park. 500 pages, which normally would take me like a weekend if I really sat down to it, but I've been reading it a little over a month. I got a good chunk into it on the drive back from CA, and have been plugging along pretty steadily since then. Next up: The Jungle Books I think!

Kind of a long post, but really more for me to remain accountable and remember that I am trying to get it together. A friend of mine from school and I had a long talk the other day about how we feel like the last 3.5 years have LITERALLY been all about medicine, and how we feel like we are so much more than that and how frustrating it is to feel so limited. The light is at the end of the tunnel when we can hopefully break free, but what better time to start than now!