2015 New Year's Resolutions

It's a misleading title for this post - I'm not really making New Year's Resolutions. In  the close to 4 years I've been blogging, I've never written New Year's resolutions. I stopped making them in general because, to directly quote myself from 2012:
     "They have a lot of potential. I love the feeling of a fresh start, but never in my life have I successfully changed my life with a resolution. Too often they've made me discount my successes and blessings because I didn't succeed in some arbitrary guideline I thought I wanted from my year."

My planner. Journal J 2015.

In 2012 I wrote this post about things to look forward to instead, and in the following two years I never really wrote a New Years post at all.

I think this year I'd like to continue with setting just a couple specific monthly goals, so later I'm hoping to write a "January Goals" post.

However the main purpose of this post is to mention my New Years Resolution alternative: 28 by 28.

I made a pretty fair run at 25 by 25 several years ago, but never really continued it despite my best intentions in the subsequent years.

Since my birthday is towards the end of the year, I have almost a whole year to try to accomplish the 28 things on the list. I'll be applying the same guidelines I did before - this is meant to get me to try new things, but not be a point of stress. Things I don't get done will roll over into the following year and I'll be updating as it goes along.

There is nothing work or medical related on this list, and that is intentional. There is quite enough pressure in residency without putting it on a list like this that is designed to exercise other parts of my brain.

There is now a 28 by 28 page along the top tabs where I'll be keeping a record, and so here it is:

28 By 28

1. Read 4 books (for fun).

2. Update my "In Case I Die" letters. I wrote them in 2008.

3. Develop old disposable cameras.
4. Make another video for the blog.
5. Go to Machu Picchu.
6. Do a primarily strength-based workout for at least 2 months.
7. Do a 1000 piece puzzle.
8. Go to Yosemite.
9. Spend a whole day without any non-essential media (i.e. work email ok, cell phone games not).
10. Eat 1 raw meal a day for a week.
11. Change my gym membership to save some $.
12. Try a vegetable that's new to me.

13. Bike to Nob Hill.
14. Take Luna to a new dog park.
15. Learn to play a new song on the keyboard.
16. Try a new type of art.
17. Take the Railrunner to Santa Fe for the day just for fun.
18. Try a new type of tea.
19. Do 20 full pushups in a row.
20. Volunteer doing something that isn't medical.
21. Make a meal plan for dinners and stick to it for a week.
22. Watch at least 50% of the films nominated for a 2015 Best Picture Oscar.
23. Go to White Sands National Monument.
24. Take a non-medical class or workshop - online or in person.
25. Go to Carlsbad Caverns.
26. Grow something.
27. Try every Thai restaurant in Albuquerque [3 star or higher on Yelp]
28. Go camping.

I'm sure I'll be looking to you all for help and troubleshooting as I go along.

I hope you have a great year and fill it up with new adventures too.

Thanks for reading, see you soon.

December Goals: Christmas Edition

The last time I wrote a goals post was April.

If we apply my goal-setting skills to my goal-achieving record they're pretty similar.

Of course I still want to drink more water, be more active, have more quiet time, read more etc. etc.

But it's CHRISTMAS!

So this month I'm setting goals for the season.

Goal 1: Decorate the house.

Just kidding its already done. See above. Like 2 weeks ago. Yeah, before Thanksgiving.

But any list maker knows, it's important to the soul to write down the productive things you have already done, thus starting the mood off right with a satisfying check mark.

Goal 2: Have presents purchased and wrapped before Christmas Eve.

I'm not saying it has to be well in advance. In fact it can happen on the 23rd, but I just want to be done before Christmas Eve.

Goal 3: Drink an absolute ton of tea. 

This Christmas mug was a gift and when I opened our Christmas boxes a couple weeks ago I was so excited to put them in the cupboard.

Although technically tea is great even when it's not Christmas, its even better when it is. This is sort of like a healthy hydration goal, but really its just about the atmosphere.

Goal 4: Try some holiday nails.

I mentioned in my Things I'm Bad At post that I'm really bad at nail polish, but I want to at least try some themed nail art this year. I work in pediatrics after all, it doesn't have to be all beige.

I like them right now.

So these are sort of like goals and sort of like fun things I hope I do this month. Goals should have that tone sometimes. 

What are your hopes for December?

Thanks for reading, see you soon. 

Goals with Limits

In 2011 when I started this blog I used to do monthly posts for goals. For a few months anyway, I tried to catch the beginning of the month and have a list of specific goals to tackle that month.

I was always a smidge too ambitious, (sometimes way too ambitious - see this post from April 2011) but I can't really fault myself for being hopeful in the power of a fresh start.

I'd like to think I've gotten a little more realistic with age, but when I sit down to write goals I still seem to have a long impossible list before I know it.

So now goal writing has an extra step for me:
1. Write them down
2. Pick 2 for the time being and cross out the rest

Here's March:

I only stopped because I ran out of page, but as you can see I had 13 ideas for ways to improve my life that I would love to be able to implement right now. They range from reducing coffee to social activities to blog frequency to multiple study ideas. However, past experience has taught me that with too long a list, I get a bit "all or nothing," get discouraged and abandon them all. 

Therefore, I've chosen only two to focus on this month.

1. Water: I'm the absolute worst with hydration. There are days I drink only coffee in the morning and maybe a cup of water at some point in the evening. I operate in a constant state of dehydration. Part of it is the significant inconvenience of interrupting work to pee, but also I typically feel fine, so I don't think of it. On the off chance that I could feel significantly better hydrated, I thought I'd go for 64 oz. a day this month and see what happens. 

I'm using the app Waterlogged to track it. Above is yesterday, I only hit 41 oz, still better than before. I like that it gives goals by time of day to space it out. 

2. Talk/text with my parents and each of my sisters every week. If you go back to that 2011 post, that's been a goal of mine repeatedly, because it does make a difference in my perspective on my life.

In residency it's really easy to go to work, come home, see the same people every day, interact with no one but my patients, colleagues and John and have no idea what's going on in the rest of the world.

This month it's cheating a little bit, because I get to see all my sisters in real life. (Can't wait!)

Despite a food goal not making the cut, I have been eating some healthy meals. Here's a Coconut Dragon Bowl [recipe here - not my original] I made recently.

Happy March!

The New Year's Resolutions that Weren't

I used to be very dependent on the calendar indicating to me that it was the start of a New Year and time for some resolutions and a fresh start. It's been a few years though.

I can think of one successful New Year's resolution in my whole life:
The year I turned 17 I used one of those Bible in a Year programs and read the whole Bible. That's not to say I didn't have months where I skipped a few days, but I always caught up and at the end of the year I actually finished it. That was awesome, but it was also my only resolution for the year and the plan was broken down day by day.

In order to set myself up for success, I just have to have manageable steps, and not too many things to work on.

At the beginning of 2012 I wrote this post of things to look forward to, which is frankly a lot more fun than listing a bunch of goals that have potential for failure.

I think instinctively there's still that feeling that the New Year is more than just another day, but how quickly we have to go back to our lives and the transition is over.

I wasn't willing to commit myself to any resolutions this year. It felt like too large a commitment, so I just picked 2 goals for January:

1. Study time 6 days a week, even just a few minutes on a patient from that day. 

2. Exercise 4x/week. 10 mins is fine if that's all I have.

And that's it. While I have an enormous list of goals and things that I think would make my life better and I'm very clear on the lifestyle disparities between right now and my ideal life, I'm going to tackle just a couple things per month. 

Do you have resolutions or goals for the New Year?

Things I'll Look Forward to in 2012

Happy New Year!

Did you have a good celebration? I caught up with some friends over a late dinner and then John and I made it home just in time to toast with my family and watch the ball drop in NYC. 

The original intention today was to write resolutions. Then I realized I dislike resolutions. They have a lot of potential, I love the feeling of a fresh start, but never in my life have I successfully changed my life with a resolution. Too often they've made me discount my successes and blessings because I didn't succeed in some arbitrary guideline I thought I wanted from my year. 

So instead of "resolving" things this year, I have a list of things I will look forward to. I think I saw this in a magazine last year, and it's much more the outlook I want. 

2012 Things to Look Forward To

1. Getting married.

2. Seeing my sister graduate from the Air Force Academy.

3. Cooking/baking new things.

4. Writing.

5. Running more races.

6. Finishing my third year of medical school.

7. Going to a concert with my Fiance/Husband. This was something from last year, but we never got to do it. 

8. The world ending? I mean who knows. 

9. More breakfasts like this:

Mom's homemade apple crisp with vegan vanilla ice cream. It was 11 am, so that makes ice cream okay yes?

Yes, I've set the tone for an excellent year.  

It's been a great week of break here at my home in Oregon, and now we're headed up to Portland where we'll catch up with friends and I'll move into my housing for my January Family rotation. 

How did you celebrate New Year's?

November Goals

Hey all. First off, I just updated my Food Philosophy page. It's clearer, more detailed, better organized and gives a better picture of why I eat vegan. Also it's a lot of words. I'm a talker. I feel like I had all these poorly articulated ideas partially on the page before and it's hopefully better. 

So I meant to write a November Goals post on the 1st, because that's the "Calendar Day" to start things like this, and I really like milestones like that. But, eh, it didn't happen. It may seem obvious to you, but I literally have to remind myself that today is as good a day as any to start something. I'm a pretty big sucker for New Year's, new months, even new weeks, so I'm breaking out a little bit trying to set some goals on a Thursday. On the third of the month. Get crazy.

I'm a pretty big fan of The Shu Box and Sarah made the wise observation in setting her November goal that one change at a time works better. 

I love my enormous lists of areas I'd like to work on: my spiritual life, flexibility, sleep, studying, eating, exercise, reading, relationships with friends, relationships with family, my romantical relationship, managing my anxiety so this doesn't happen as often, etc. However, I'd like to try the strategy of just one goal this month.

But if there's only one, I want it to be significant. Something really worth sticking to and turning into a habit. 

Goal: Spend 10 minutes each day reading a verse/praying/listening/sitting quietly.

God and I haven't been hanging out much lately, and I don't think that's helping me be a calm, trusting or kind person.

I plan to set a timer each day to make sure it's actually 10 minutes. Most likely it'll be in the evening on work days because OB mornings start way early and I don't really see myself staying awake if I try to do it in the morning. 

And to make it a real goal, let's fit it into some SMART criteria:

Specific: Read 1 verse, pray, listen, be mindful for 10 minutes each day.

Measurable: I'll move slowly through a Bible section, I'm thinking Psalms. It'll be hard to measure my "mindfulness" level, but I expect practice will help. I'll continue through the month and hope that it becomes something I want to make more permanent.

Attainable: 10 minutes a day is very reasonable. I don't even know what I do to make time vanish the way it does but I wouldn't be surprised if this makes me feel like I have more time, because I'll be spending it better.

Relevant: There's nothing more relevant than God.

Time-bound: As above, 10 minutes a day for the month.

Happy November!

April Goals: Week 3

But first, I just want to share something cool. When my classmates and I came to school on Thursday, this greeted us outside the lecture hall: 

This is one of our favorite professors, Dr. Cao. He teaches pathology, and he's very good at it. 

This rendering is done completely with post-its. Yes. It's good to know I'm not the only one taking the occasional study break. 

Don't believe it's awesome? Compare: 

So now we've appreciated some art. Let's move on to the art of productive goal setting. I must work on my segues. 

_________________________________________

April Goals

1. Family: Talk to them every week.
   I called home on Wednesday and got Mom. Sometime last week I talked to Nicola, then I called Shannon so I got to talk to her too. She's crazy busy right now, you can do it Shannon!  
  I missed Dad and Emma. I'm not very good at this am I? Still, the conscious effort means I'm talking to everyone more often than before, and that's the goal. 

2. Fitness
    a. Enjoy half marathon. It really was lots of fun. Recap here.
    b. Strength training 3x/wk. 
       Saturday: Yoga sculpt
       Sunday: Calisthenics and an easy yoga workout
       Wednesday: Those two power yoga flows (still feeling them).
       Friday: "Becki's Combo" from this free iphone app: Workout Trainer by Skimble.        That's 4! I actually didn't realize that until right now. 

3. Boards

  a. Doctors in Training Review Questions 5/day: Totally caught up. 

  b. Qbank questions 150/wk: Actually it was closer to 300. Ya. hoo. 

  c. First Aid Review 90 pg/wk: Not so much. Really still must work on this. I think I did 30?

  d. Pathology or Physiology Review 60 pg/wk: Not even a little bit. I'm actually removing this one and switching to reviewing pathology differently.

  e. 1 USMLE Practice Test - 200 questions. I did my second one today. 

      Bad news: still pretty much wouldn't even pass. 

      Good news: good improvement from 10 days ago. 

4. Food Expense Tracking. 

    I think I did a reasonable amount of grocery shopping this week, but the truth is I just haven't added it up yet. I'll do a total for the month next week. 

So there we go. 

It's Earth Day! How are you celebrating?

April Goals: Week 2

But first a little food love:

Veganomicon Lasagne Marinara. This combines a homemade marinara with a tofu-ricotta spinach layer that's satisfying and so delicious. I followed the recipe exactly, but added a layer of cooked yellow squash and carrot. This is SO good. Definitely a new favorite recipe.

Berry Banana Oatmeal. I took a test this morning, this was good brain fuel. I think I passed, but the scores can always shock me.

I love how much of a creeper the plant is in this picture. 

I should have stirred - there's a pile of berries under those cooked oats. 

I'm also almost out of frozen berries, so sometime this weekend we may go to Costco. I can only afford my berries in bulk, so it's nice that my roommates have Costco cards and are willing to take me sometimes.

Every month I try to set goals (and actually evaluate them, some months that goes better than others.) This month here's how we're going along.

April Goals

1. Family: Talk to them every week.
   I called home on Wednesday and got Mom, Dad, Emma and Nicola all in one call. I also talked to Emma on Monday - it was her birthday. Happy birthday Emma!
  I missed Shannon this week - sorry Shannon - but I know she's keeping up with my life because sometimes she leaves me lovely comments here. Ok, this week I'm really going to talk to everyone.

2. Fitness
   a. Enjoy half marathon. It really was lots of fun. Recap here.
   b. Strength training 3x/wk. I haven't really started this yet. I did one good strength training sesh and some yoga this week, but it's been very much a rest week.


3. Boards

  a. Doctors in Training Review Questions 5/day: One day behind, I'll be caught up this evening. 

  b. Qbank questions 150/wk: I did a few less this week, but it did finish the Qbank, so that means I've done over 2000 total. Let's be excited about that. Now if only I could get some right...

  c. First Aid Review 90 pg/wk: Not so much. Really must work on this. 

  d. Pathology or Physiology Review 60 pg/wk: I think I did 10? Boards kind of took a backseat to the test I had today this week, but I'm working on getting back on track. 

  e. 1 USMLE Practice Test - 200 questions. I did this on Tuesday. I am not ready for Boards, let's just put it that way. 

4. Food Expense Tracking. 

  a. Groceries: $91.16 so far this month. 

  b. Coffee Shops: $7.35

  c. Restaurants: $107.56

  d. Total: $206.07

    Wow. This is why I'm not buying clothes right now...I'm trying to offset the food expenditures. But it's all right I guess, when cooking's one of my only hobbies. 

April Goals: Week 1

We're 1 week into April, safely past April Fool's Day, and just 2 and a bit weeks from Easter!

So how are those goals going? Original April Goals.

1. Family: Talk to them every week. 

  I believe this week I talked to: 

Emma (2nd sister, 18-on-Monday!, high school senior)

Shannon (1st sister, 21, Air Force Academy) 

and Mom. 

We're missing Dad and baby sister - well, she's 15, very grown-up, but baby of the family. 

I hope to catch up with everyone this next week.

2. Fitness

  a. Enjoy half-marathon. It's in 2 days!! This isn't so much a goal, as one of those things I put on the list so I can check it off, because obviously I'm going to enjoy it. I hope - provided nothing goes awry. Weather says sunny and 69 degrees. A little warmer than I prefer for 13 miles, but better than rain I suppose. 

  b. Strength train 3x a week. I set this with the intention of starting next week, because I don't want to be sore for the race, so we'll have to see how this goes. Even after the race, I could probably do arms and core early next week and give my legs a break. 

3. Boards

  a. Doctors in Training Review Questions 5/day: On track.

  b. Qbank questions 150/wk: I'm not sure the exact number I did this week, but it was at least 150. 

  c. First Aid Review 90 pg/wk: Not so much. I've actually done 75, but it's hard to say what counts. I mean, if I read it, does that count? Or only if I have it all memorized? I guess the point is spending some time on it, retaining as much as possible. 

  d. Pathology or Physiology Review 30 pg/wk: I didn't actually sit down to this one until last night. I got out my enormous pathology textbook and had some lovely bedtime reading. The first 7 chapters in Robbins are supposed to be particularly high yield, so I'm trying to get through them, at least with a good understanding of the images and diagrams. My current goal of 30 pg/wk won't make that happen in time for the test though, so I may up it to 60/wk, or 10 a night. This past week I did...6 pages. Oh dear. 

  e. 1 USMLE Practice Test - 200 questions. This is in my study plan for the afternoon, so it WILL get done. And likely the result will be more than a little depressing, but it'll help me focus the areas that need work a little bit better. 

4. Food Expense Tracking. 

  a. Groceries: $30.55 this week. 

I haven't yet tabulated coffee shops and restaurants...but it was a lot. All well-enjoyed and worth it, but I had an indulgent weekend. I'll update that next week. 

Do you have goals this month? How are they going?

Ducks-in-a-Row Daily Schedule...and April Goals

[source]

Today I'm getting my ducks in a row. I hope that by writing out these details, I'll be increasingly motivated to actually stick to it. 

Last night I had a dream that I had a beard. I was relieved to find when I woke up that I do not have hair growing from my chin, and I thought, "Well Subconscious, Happy April Fool's Day to you too."

So it's the first of April and 57 days until Boards. It was a great day to write a schedule and some goals. 

Ducks-in-a-Row Daily Schedule

Morning

5-6:30 (or earlier) Exercise/Get Ready/Devotion

6:30-7 Boards Study (DIT, Qbank or First Aid)

7-7:30 Breakfast, Pack lunch

Late Morning

7:30-12 Class or Class-related Studying

Afternoon

12-12:30 Lunch

12:30-1 Boards Study

1-6:45 Study (or go to required labs/lectures)

      (2-4 hrs) Class: Review lectures, Make Flashcards

      (2-3 hrs) Boards: First Aid, Qbank

Evening

7-8 Dinner and a break

8-9 Boards Study

9-9:30 Relaxing activities: Reading etc.

9:30-5 am Sleep

Total Study/Learning Hours:

   Class: 6-8 (including lecture)

   Boards: 4-5

   Overall: 10-13

__________________________________

Boards Weekly Goals

Working 6 days a week

150 USMLEWorld Qbank Practice Questions with review (separate from practice test)

90 pages First Aid USMLE Step 1

30 Doctors in Training Review Q's

30 pages Pathology or Physiology Review

1 Practice Test with 150 Questions

________________________________________

April Goals

1. Family: Talk to them every week (continue)

   I want to keep doing this like last month; I feel it was pretty beneficial.

2. Fitness

   a. Enjoy the half-marathon in just a little over a week. 

   b. Maintain some kind of exercise schedule after the half-marathon, but give my ankles/feet some time off to rest. I'd like to increase my strength training to 3x a week, because I'm kind of a slacker when it comes to strength training, but I really like the results. 

3. Boards

   (see above) I'm not setting goals in terms of scores for school or Boards, because the only thing I can control is how much time I put in, and that will hopefully reflect in my score, but I'm going to have to be proud of myself if I put in the time I want, whether it leaves me feeling completely prepared or not.

4. Expense Tracking

   This is a new one for the month - I want to track all my food expenses to see specifically what I'm spending to most on and whether I want to cut back or increase certain areas. I'm going to do it by category: groceries, eating out, coffee shops and we'll see how it turns out. 

Besides writing a schedule and studying, it was also a gorgeous day with some great food.

Lunch: Salad and an apple in my undergrad cafeteria. I was visiting a professor, but it was strange being back. It made me feel old. 

Some campus, beach and bluff-walking:

And for dinner, we went to California Pizza Kitchen. It was surprisingly vegan-friendly: the thin crust is vegan, all their soups are vegetarian, and the spaghettini is vegan. I got the Vegetarian with Japanese Eggplant (no cheese) on Thin Crust, and our server, who was also vegan, suggested I add the balsamic on top and it was a great touch. I ate 2/3 of it, so I'll have some for a snack tomorrow. Another vegan in our group got the Pear Gorgonzola with No Cheese, add Balsamic, on Thin Crust as well. 

On other cheeseless pizzas, I've felt the flavor's been lacking, but this was everything it should have been. 

March: A Summary

But before we talk about the successes and failures of the past month, I'm going to regress to the age of 5 and say, "Mom! Mom! - look what I made!" When I was 5, it was probably something made out of Play-Doh that I would proceed to smash into the carpet somewhere, but now...

Look at this bowl I painted! Yeah, I didn't actually make it, I just put on some glaze. 

About a month ago, we went to Color Me Mine and this is the finished product. 

Filled with an even better creation:

Maple Almond Butter Oats

In the mix:

1/4 cup milk

5 oz. water

1/2 cup oats

3 g flax meal

1 tbsp almond butter

1 tbsp maple syrup

Other good eats today:

Awesome craisin/walnut/squash/spinach salad.

Soup.

High-priced water. This is actually leftover from test week, I don't usually buy water like this. I have loans. 

And now, it's the end of the month; I want to recap some goals. Original goals, Week 1 Update, Week 2 Update and Week 3 Update.

1. Family: Talk to them every week.

   I'm going to get a little sappy now. Fair warning. 

   Here's the thing: the more you talk to the people you love, the more you want to talk them. I've loved staying in better touch with my family this month, and although I definitely did not succeed in talking to every member of my family every week, I was in much more constant contact with them. I think it really enhanced my ability to adapt to the challenges I faced this month, because I really felt their support. It also made me wish I could visit home more. I miss them.

2. Fitness:

  a. Keep up with runs: You can see the whole month (actually the past 12 weeks) over in the exercise tab. As we can see, I took a few off. This week I'm 2/3, hoping to be 3/4 if I go tomorrow. My pains have sort of been migrating, but nothing's too bad, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to enjoy the race in just 10 days. 

   b. Trim up a bit: My weight's been steady this week. I've been eating and fueling well and I'm trying to remember that's what's important. 

3. School

  Winter finals are done, and now it's just a crazy whirlwind to real finals and Boards. 

4. Boards

   I had a bit of a freakout today. I had to go outside, get some sun, take a few deep breaths. Responsible studying would have put me far ahead of where I am in my review. I ought to be most of the way through the first pass of my major review book (First Aid), and actively studying others. Instead, I'm maybe 1/30th into the book, I consistently perform well below passing on my practice questions, and I seem to be getting worse. 

In theory, I've kept up with my practice question and review question goals - my fear is that my goals were set far too low.

I'll be working out a new study schedule in the next couple days. I haven't much mentioned my love for schedules and lists, but I'm actually kind of excited to work it all out. 

I think I just need to get my ducks in a row and I'll feel less panicky. Ducks in a row, that's a phrase my mom uses. I kind of love it. 

[source]

Coming up tomorrow - some April goals (and hopefully a study schedule).

March Goals: Week 3

Last night I had a dream that Natalie Portman and I got in a plane crash over a lake and had to wade through chest deep water helping lots of people with amputated limbs. I was also concerned that she was going to be injured and, since she's pregnant, end up with Sheehan's Syndrome, or pituitary dysfunction because of blood loss. Although technically the blood loss typically comes from the actual childbirth, and if she's injured in a plane crash, her pituitary is one of the least of her problems.

[source]

I have no idea what this dream means, but I feel like in real life we would be friends, though of course we've never met so I've no idea why I would think that, but she's vegan too. And hilarious. Remember this SNL Natalie Portman Rap from a few years ago? [This link, though the edited version, carries a drug reference, swearing and innuendo warning. Mom, Dad, probably don't click that.]

Perhaps it means one day I'll be an award-winning rockstar doctor with the kind of notoriety of one of Hollywood's favorite actresses? Likely.

Well anyway, when I'm not saving people from hypovolemic shock and drowning and hanging out with Oscar winners in my dreams, I'm muddling my way through a pretty normal life.

We're 3 weeks (and a couple days) into March. I'm working on some goals, so here's how that's going:

Previous posts on this can be found here: March Goals.

1. Family: Talk to them every week.
   This week I didn't do quite as well, partially because my sisters are on Spring break as well and rather busy. I have at least text-communicated with everyone, and I had a great hour-long talk with Shannon on Sunday, her birthday. Happy Birthday sister!

2. Fitness:
  a. Keep up with runs: Though I've tried to be faithful to occasionally resting my twisted foot, it's not completely healed. It hurts a little less and I've been doing all right, but I'm trying not to push it too hard because I don't want to be miserable during the race, which is only 2.5 weeks away. So far both this week and last week I've just skipped my short run (Wednesday 3 miler). If you're interested in more detail on my weekly workouts you could check out the race page. I'm supposed to run a full 13 this weekend. We'll see how that goes.
   b. Trim up a bit: In the past 3 weeks I've lost a little over 5 pounds. I definitely don't expect that rate to continue, but the (relatively) quick drop just tells me my body's more comfortable closer to where I am now. More importantly I'm just feeling better and my clothes are fitting more like I prefer.

3. School: Pass winter finals.
  For my reaction to this, I refer you to Monday's post. I'm going to go ahead and try to be satisfied with the fact that I'm passing all my classes, but I was disappointed with my performance, and it has made it harder to refocus on Boards studying.

4. Boards: 
I think I'm going to start a Boards countdown ticker: just 64 days to go. How can I possibly learn everything in just 64 days?
  a. Practice questions: Qbank
        Down to 300 from 500 last week. I'm not actually certain I can reset it right when I finish because I have to wait 6 months from the time I activated it, and I think that was mid-october, so it might still be like 3 weeks until I'm eligible for reset. That's all right though, I'm just going to slow down and start taking more time with the explanations. That was the plan for after I reset it anyway, so why not now?
  b. Doctors in Training: Stay Caught Up
      Even in the midst of finals, I've not fallen behind with these at all, and a couple times this week I found something I learned from these questions helping me with a practice question from the Qbank. It's a great feeling to be learning something. I'm trying to remind myself that every little fact is one potential question, and although the total volume of information seems insurmountable, I'm capable of learning those little facts one by one.

One week left. Let's make it a good one.

March Goals: Week 2

Well friends, we're two weeks into March.

Winter finals start tomorrow, but I needed a little study break (as my previous post indicates, studying really wears my nerves down), so I thought I'd do a little check-in. I'm getting really frustrated with GI drugs - and all the other drugs, and the pathophys, and the pathology and jiminy Christmas is it Friday yet?

(Want to test yourself? Here's my online flashcards: GI Drugs via Quizlet.)

As you may or may not recall, I have some goals I'm working on this month: Original goals. and Week 1 Update.

1. Family: Talking to them every week.
    I talked to everyone!! yay! Even Shannon (the next sister after me). She's at the Air Force Academy and almost impossible to get a hold of. We played phone tag for like 3 days. Cheers for persistence.

2. Fitness:
   a. Keeping up with runs: I had to give my twisted foot a little break this past week, so I skipped my Wednesday 3-miler and my Friday 4-miler. But this week I'm 2/2 (11 on Saturday and 7 this morning).
   b. Trim up a bit: I'm happy to say I'm feeling really well and I've lost a couple pounds in the past 2 weeks.

3. School: pass midterms (actually winter finals)
  Ha. We'll know Friday or possibly Monday, depending on when they get scores up. Not to worry, there will be plenty of angsting about it in the next few days while I take the tests.
   
4. Boards:
   a. Practice questions: 
       I have 500 questions (down from 700 last week) left in the Qbank. It's depressing though; I score really poorly on these.
   b. Doctors in Training: Stay caught up
       Well, I was caught up as of Sunday. I'm actually planning to do the Mon-Tues-Wed set all tomorrow after tests. I don't consider myself behind until I have more than one set in my inbox, so I'm going to count this as successful. 




And now a little lunch highlight, because the most exciting thing that happened to me today was getting kicked out of the lab where I study (freshmen had tests starting this afternoon). I had to find a new spot, so I headed to Stell, a local coffee shop, and I've been here approximately 6 hours. I'm about to head back to school, now that it's afternoon and they're done testing, but while here I had a lovely lunch:

Hummus Sandwich with Avocado on Wheat and Spring Mix Salad

And now back to work. Pharmacology I WILL figure you out.

March Goals: Week 1

Well it's March 7, that means we're a week into this month. I set a few goals for the month and I wanted to check in with them and see how I'm doing.

1. Family: Talking to them every week.
    Um...I'm about to call them? Really though, tomorrow I hope to be able to say I talked to everyone.

2. Fitness: 
   a. Keeping up with runs: Despite my twisted foot (which I've been icing - thanks Kelsey!), I haven't missed a run. We'll see how it feels tomorrow though. If I need to take a day off, that will just have to be okay.
   b. Lose a little Christmas padding: I have set in motion some concrete plans for this one. I'm currently eating for about 1 pound weight loss per week. For me that's a net intake of about 1375 calories a day. I decided to have once-a-week weigh-in "count," in order to track how that's working/if the speed of loss is too little/too much for what I want. It'll be Tuesday mornings (since the month started on a Tuesday), so that will be tomorrow morning. It's far too soon to expect much of a difference in number. I do feel great though, and I try to keep in mind that that's really the point.

3. School: pass midterms
   It's too soon to say for this one, as tests are still a week and a half away, but I've been doing my best to stay focused and I am more caught up now than I was a week ago, even if that still means several lectures behind, let's focus on the fact that it's progress.

4. Boards:
   a. Practice questions: A week ago I had 900 left in the Qbank. Today I'm pleased to say I have 700. I think (I hope) I'm going to be able to finish by the end of the month, leaving a couple months to reset it and go through it all again. More importantly, though my percentage correct is still abysmal, it's on an upward trend.
   b. Doctors in Training: Stay caught up
       I've been fitting these questions in during the morning between my workout and breakfast and I'm honestly surprised but happy to say I haven't fallen behind (in the past week anyway).

So there we are. I hope I have mostly positives to report in next week's update too, but right before exams there's a good chance my soul will be in a bit of a dungeon of despair. Test cycles are like roller coasters.

[source]

Hopefully not like this one.