A Change Of Pace

   On Friday we took the last test of our last rotation of third year.  That's right, we're officially done with third year.  The end was pretty anticlimactic, considering how long I had waited for it to be over.  The Internal Medicine shelf was really hard, so I'm not really sure what my final clerkship grade will be, but I'm almost positive I passed.  We spent the weekend celebrating with classmates and finally getting to those "lifey" things we've been putting off for months.  We finally put in our garden for 2013, which I'm particularly jazzed about.

DIY succulent garden (inspired by pinterest) 

African daisies

Pink carnations (had to represent G Phi up in my garden)

Hydrangeas 

Napping puppy - oops, that's not part of the garden!

   Anyway, the weekend was really nice, and I feel like I got a bit of my "lazy" out, but tomorrow will entail a very different change of pace.  Tomorrow begins my very short study period for Step 2 CK.  Yes, I am freaking out about how few days I have to prepare for the big test, but I'm just going to keep pushing a little bit longer, and then have a real vacation after the test.  Funny enough, I think it will actually be nice to just study all the time for a change.  I won't have to try to impress anyone, and I can be on my own schedule and decide when I wake up, eat, sleep, etc.  

   In addition to my study crunch for the next couple of weeks, I have decided that I'm also going to use this time to lose some weight.  I was pretty healthy in the beginning of the year, but in the last month, Internal Medicine left me feeling exhausted, drained, and anxious - which is the perfect recipe for triggering stress eating.  So I've crept up on my weight again... But it's nothing I can't fix with a few weeks of diet and exercise, which I'm actually looking forward to.  So here goes!  Tomorrow is day one of working hard for a couple of weeks, but this hard work will definitely be rewarding in the end.  

Medical Student By Day, Spider Wrangler By... Day Off

    Since I finished USMLE Step 1, I have been making good progress on my "To Do After Boards" list.  On Easter Sunday, I "installed" my garden for this year.  I had such a relaxing afternoon working outside in the sun by myself.  I forgot how peaceful and enjoyable gardening is.  The official line-up for 2012:

• rosemary
• basil
• green onions
• cilantro
• watermelon
• tomato
• sage
• thyme
• dill

    This year, I decided to do less veggies and more herbs, since the veggie plants don't produce as much as I would like.  At least with the herbs, I'll use them all the time.  Unfortunately, the hardware store I always get my starter plants at had a terrible selection this year, so I am actually going to try starting from seeds for a few of the items.  I've never done that before so I'm nervous, especially with my vacation coming up, the timing of watering and planting might be a little tricky.  

Starting from seeds 

     I can't remember if I ever blogged about this, but last year when I was putting in my 2011 garden, I came across a family of black widows.  They decided to take up residence underneath an unused bag of garden soil, and there were a LOT of them.  Normally, I am not too scared of spiders (in fact, I am the official "spider wrangler" of the household), but black widows just give me the heebie jeebies.  Ick!  So anyway, at the time I tried to smash them with my shovel, but I don't think I got them all, so now every time I'm out in my garden, I always keep my eyes peeled in case they have decided to return for revenge.  This year, I encountered a variety of nasty spiders, but they weren't black widows, so I wasn't scared.  I can't imagine how arachnophobes would ever manage to garden.

Eat, Pray, Love (-Pray +Eat More) = Eat, Love, Eat More

This last week (post Quiz 6) has been FULL of wonderful cooking adventures and lovely dinners with friends.  Here are just a few highlights:

Beef/Lamb Seekh Kabobs

Bacon-wrapped mac and cheese sushi

Antelope Sliders

Bear Spring Rolls

A Wonderful Feast By a Wonderful Cook

Shrimp, Basil, Rosemary Pizza

Artichoke, Shallot, Prosciutto Pizza

Wheat Soft Pretzels

Btw I totally forgot to post that I have officially put in my garden for 2011!  Complete with green onions, basil, rosemary, oregano, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, small bell peppers, lettuce, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.  While planting everything, I had a little drama with a family of black widows who decided to make a nest on my bag of soil... Let's just say it ended in me pounding my shovel repeatedly and spraying the entire area with the hose.  Hope they don't come back!  Anyway, can't wait to see how everything does!

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

My Veggie Garden

I have officially planted my little veggie garden in the back.  I have tomatoes, basil, oregano, rosemary, eggplant, lemongrass, hot peppers and bell peppers.  I hope they stay alive! I have been enjoying eating them!