resolution countdown: #9, book larnin’

December 30, 2009

alternate title: no one wants a dumb doctor.
which one of these january issues is not like the others?

oh pediatrics . . . some splashy cover graphics might help your cause!
last year i resolved to read more, and i did. for a month or so. but the past several rotations, my academic commitment has been abysmal. i think my roadblocks have been a combination of:

burnout/senioritis. let’s face it — i’ve been at this whole education thing for a long freaking time. it’s only natural that there are ups and downs to my motivation, and i’ve just been in hanging out in a bit of a knowledge valley lately, if you will.

complacency. i’ve always scored well on the yearly in-training exam. honestly, i think it’s more my test-taking ability coming to the rescue than actual mastery of the material — and my score actually plateaued this year. it was still a fine number, but i think that may be a signal that i need to stop coasting and work a little harder. the REAL boards are just 10 months away, and failing would be rather mortifying (and extremely expensive . . . think 3 DSLRs).

overeagerness to specialize. it’s hard to convince myself to read about, say, sports injuries when i know i’m going into endocrinology. but i need to remember that i’m still in residency (for the next 6 months!) and this is my last chance to obtain that general pediatrics knowledge that could come in handy someday (and will certainly be tested on the boards).

so: resolution #9 is to recommit to reading and studying. since this is rather vague, my specific goal will be to do 5 reading/studying sessions of at least 30 minutes each week (although as boards and fellowship loom closer, i’d like to lengthen the time frame).

i will be accountable to this goal in my posts, so look for exciting pediatrics-related facts in the bottom section. january is adolescent month, so be prepared to learn alllllll about contraception and STDs. fun!

i ♥ staycation
yes, i miss seeing family in miami (our traditional new year’s week custom . . . last year there was even turducken!!). but josh and i haven’t gotten to just relax and chilllll together for a long time now, and so i’m really glad we’ve decided to just spend this minibreak hanging out at home.

he had one last night shift to work yesterday, so i busied myself with domestic affairs. delicious domestic affairs, such as:

sausage-red pepper-ricotta calzones + millet muffins!
mmmmmm . . . millet-y crunch. these muffins originated at philadelphia’s metropolitan bakery and are a family favorite.
messes + successes: not all of my calzones came out so cute. oops!

and speaking of cute
anthro has released a whole bunch of new things to drool over! i have decided that my strategy will be to put them ALL in my shopping cart just so that i can patiently watch to see if any of them go on sale.
sale-stalking is my only option because i am not about to drop this kind of cash, moonlighting or no moonlighting! here are some of the items contributing to this (outlandish) sum:

emmer corset. maybe not the world’s most practical garment, but enticing nonetheless.
close-up of the print. is that . . . wheat?
tic tac toe blouse. aaahhhh, i reaaaaally like this one. i can only hope it makes it to the sale rack!
there’s just something i like about this jacquard drape jacket.
sugar-on-top makes me think of ballerinas. in a good way.

today
is going to be another relaxing mishmash of domesticity + just living life in the slow lane. we are going to see up in the air and go somewhere fun for dinner. hooray for staycation!

———————————————————————-

12.29.09

workout: 6 miles outside. i think it was in the mid 30s — and honestly it felt so good! i can’t believe i’m saying this, but i think i actually REALLY like cold-weather running. after the first 10 minutes or so, my body had plenty of warmth, and moving just felt easy. average pace 8:46/mi.

culinary corner: a super-late lunch (so that josh and i could eat together before his shift)! this calzone looks structurally sound, but it really wasn’t. my problem was that i tried to make them smaller (this one is half the size of the ones shown next to the muffins above) and this turned out to be much harder than i thought — i’m not all that experienced with dough, after all.


the recipe for the dough is from sara moulton’s sara’s secrets for weeknight meals (great cookbook, by the way). the filling recipe is on the sidebar — but BEWARE, because it makes A LOT — double what i needed for the amount of dough! i am going to make more dough and then freeze a bunch more calzones (and perhaps gain some much-needed dough-manipulating practice in the process).

in line with my food resolution for sustainability, i chose local and organic sausages and organic dairy to make these calzones. maybe a few $$$ more, but worth it. and the recipe made A LOT, so the overall cost isn’t so bad!

9 Comments

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    i love all those clothes. i&#39ll be sending some sale vibes your way!

    good luck with the reading goal. i love that i&#39ll be directly benefiting from the facts your plan on posting 🙂

  • Reply Aimee March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    You best back off the Tic Tac Toe blouse. I&#39m only going to warn you once 😉

  • Reply pen March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    I totally do the same thing with lululemon clothes. I constantly have about 10-15 items sitting in my cart. But, it&#39s also a little embarrassing when I see that my "check out price" is over $1000.

    And, good luck with the reading goal! It&#39s one of my goals too for next year. Once I left school, I stopped reading "professional" material. I read voraciously. But, books on clean eating and running rarely help me in the court room! 🙂

  • Reply Meg March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    Love the ballerina-like top! Oh, and did you know you can get sausage from Bella Bean? I haven&#39t tried it before but I want to!

  • Reply Lu March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    I love your Anthro bag. That tic tac toe shirt is awesome. Hope they go on sale for you soon. I&#39m so glad you&#39re enjoying your staycation.

  • Reply hjlongmo March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    Those millet muffins look so yummy! Thanks for linking the recipe so we can try them too.

    I really agree with you on running in the cold. I find that when I&#39m appropriately dressed, I ran my best in cold weather. Plus I&#39m vain and like the rosy flushed checks afterwards 😉

    Enjoy your stay-cation, hopefully you can fit some fun reading in! (That&#39s my resolution for 2010, actually inspired by one of your posts – 50 books for pleasure during 2010. Will definitely be a challenge with all the required reading I have for school…)

  • Reply atilla March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    you&#39re going to miss Miami even more when you see the pix of the dinner (Julie and Julia notwithstanding,may I say the Beef Bourgenoine is in the oven) we miss you and happy new year

  • Reply BroccoliHut March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    You have got the best taste in clothing! I am totally in love with the corset and the "sugar on top." Sigh. I wish I could afford Anthro.

  • Reply Aimee March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    Do you think tic tac toe has a slit in the front between the top button and the first waist button? I&#39m very concerned.

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