Feely Hearts

Today in The Healer's Art (an elective I am taking), our facilitator gave us each a "feely heart".  A "feely heart" is a small stuffed heart that was originally intended for kids who were dealing with the loss of a parent.  The feely heart, which is small enough to carry around in your pocket at all times, was meant so that these children could just hold it in their hands and remember their lost parent whenever they felt the need to.

A slightly different way to use the "feely heart" as a physician (or physician in training), is to carry it around in your pocket as a constant reminder for us to keep our hearts open to our patients.  It is a great memento to help us reflect on why we are doing what we are doing, and that to really take the best care of  our patients, we must listen to their stories, forming rewarding connections that make our work worthwhile.

Who Does She Think She Is?!

What a character...

* ps- this video works well on firefox, but not on safari apparently.

Poor little Baby Z has kitty asthma, which got better for a while after her vet prescribed her some steroids, but her prescription ran out so she is back to having asthma attacks.  

Med School Students Like Nature Too!

This morning I went on a hike in Auburn with some classmates.  We had a great time out there!  The weather was GORGEOUS.  Can't wait to get out there again next time!

Oh, and I didn't study at all this weekend.  You might be wondering how I don't get behind... Well, I actually get very behind on studying.  But in this case I feel like it was worth it for me to just take the whole weekend to relax and enjoy myself.  I will make up for it this coming week/weekend since we have a quiz next Monday.  

 Also, I spent some time eating lunch out on my deck since it was so nice today.  I love having a backyard!

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's the year of the rabbit, and just for fun, here are some of my dragon predictions that I might want to keep in mind (according to Yahoo horoscopes):

• Get yourself on a regular schedule for eating, working and sleeping. You might need to be more diligent about staying healthy this year. 
• This year could feel like a roller coaster ride, so buckle up and hang on. 

Sounds doable... I think I can handle it!

This week has been really nice because it has been full of catching up with old friends.  I am so lucky to know so many wonderful, unique, interesting people.  I think its always good to be grateful for the friendships we have.  If you know me, you know that friendship is very important to me, and I thrive on it.  I only hope that I can be as good to my friends as they have all been to me over the years.  :)

Doin Yosemite, Family Style

Went on another mini-vacation this weekend to Yosemite (ps- I need to stop going on these because it is really hard to eat healthy on the road).  It was really nice spending some time with my family and enjoying the gorgeous outdoors!  I think one of the funniest parts of the trip was when we had a bee in our truck on the freeway and we were all trying to squash it or get it out the window while my dad is swerving and my mom is holding mine and my sisters' jackets out of the window.  Good times.  Here is some family magic:

Lady Bug Fren

Gorilla Moss?

Painter (so cool!)