Wednesday, March 30, 2011

#1: Exercise

[Note from the Editor: Change of direction - posts will henceforth be less a chronicle of personal events, and more a cataloging of sequential lessons based loosely upon my life experiences.]

Today's lesson in cultivating happiness and nurturing personal growth:  
Exercise!  
Everyone's favorite activity to hate. ^_^

Every Week: *Center for Disease Control evidence-based guidlines*

- 150-300 minutes moderate aerobic (it's hard to sing a song)
or
- 75-150 minutes vigorous aerobic activity (it's hard to speak more than a few words)
plus
- 2 days a week (at least) strength training of all major muscle groups
     *shoulders, arms, back, chest, belly, hips, legs
     Try: weights, yoga, climbing, resistance bands, pushups, sit-ups, squats, burpees, pull-ups...

Remember: even 10 minute spurts of walking count - and add up! 
More time = More better.

The benefits? Countless.

- Improved mental health, clarity, and mood elevation
- Reduce your risk of Heart disease, Alzheimer's, Diabetes, Bone fracture, Breast cancer, Depression, Fibromyalgia, Irritable bowel syndrome, Anxiety, Chronic back pain, Menstrual cramps, Constipation, Gallstones, Eczema, Varicose veins, Asthma, Chemotherapy side effects, High blood pressure, High cholesterol.....
- Boost your body's natural ability to heal and fight disease

FYI:  *Data from the CDC, 2009*
Notice something? Almost ALL of these are reduced with exercise! This means increased life expectancy.

Really? You need more reasons? 
Better sex! Better sleep!

Exercise is literally the Fountain of Youth. So why on Earth would you not want to do the one thing guaranteed to make you healthier, stronger, more beautiful, and (most importantly) more happy?? 

Take a hint from Nike and  Just Do It.  (LOVE this ad)

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Bicycle Day

This weekend has been full of bits of joy!

Friday - Dinner out with my man. Margarita's in East Hartford was a fun change from the asian food we always (always) get! Not to hate on asian food...it's a mutual love. We started with the taquitos which were fun because they came with a few different sauces to try- a chipotle sour cream, a chimichurri, and some kind of roasted mexican bbq sauce. He got Tio's Super Burrito which literally was the size of the whole giant plate and was very happy with his decision. I got the shrimp fajita which came out in a skillet literally boiling and steaming and filling the booth and our nostrils with delicious smells, with a stack of tortillas and a side plate of toppings including more of that great chipotle sour cream. Paired with the house frozen margarita, warm and brightly decorated atmosphere, and a great waitress - it was a wonderful evening.
Dinner was followed by a sweet Super Nintendo session - Frogger and Star Fox. Excellent reminiscence.

Saturday - Chilling with my girl V. The bike ride to the library was less than ideal since the hill on the way almost killed me. We studied, grocery shopped, and she whipped up some killer chicken quesadillas on the george foreman while I napped ^_^  I also made some Parmesan and Thyme crackers from my Barefoot Contessa cookbook (I used a cup of fresh grated Parmesan). They came out quite well - tasting, as V put it, rather like gourmet cheez-its.
Girls night out later at The Elbow Room with V's friends. Always fun to get prettied up and be girly! Also caught snips of the basketball game - UConn! Finished up the night with the guys watching UFC fights and making fun of the very targeted commercials. Quite entertaining.

Today - Spontaneous breakfast at the Quaker Diner! Hooray for chocolate chip pancakes and french toast and homefries and bacon and all kinds of other deliciousness.
Bike ride with Drew. Pumped up my tires...and realized I had been riding on 13 psi. Out of 50. So we decided I should tackle the hill again (!) which I did and happily did not die. Much easier with inflated tires! Up to Elizabeth Park and around the neighborhoods, commenting on the cool houses.
One obscenely yellow one made me think of the book The Big Orange Splot. You should read it.

As Abraham Lincoln put it "Most folks are as happy as they make up they're minds to be." I find that good food, good friends, and fresh air go a pretty long way in helping out. Now on to the productivity portion of the weekend so I don't feel like a bum come Monday.

(Try the crackers!)

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Happy Spring!

Every year on the Spring equinox my family and I, along with millions of others, join in the ritual of standing eggs on end.

(This can supposedly be done on any day of the year, but I never try. It'd be like staying up all night on Christmas to prove there is no Santa- you also would end up with no presents.)

So I've stood my egg on end, and it is still happily standing there. :)

Happy Spring!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Goodies!

Finally - some pictures to go with all the talk...



This was an experiment with homemade grenadine...I didn't want all the sugary badness, so I boiled up a bag of fresh cranberries with a little cinnamon and a very little honey, and drained off the liquid through a damp paper towel in a funnel into the clean grenadine bottle to make a better syrup. It worked pretty well - less sweet, but Much more flavor! And it still sunk to the bottom like grenadine. I called it a success.

My paleo fridge. I was quite proud of it. (Except for the giant cheese in the drawer - it's parmesan from Italy. It stays.)

My yummy roasted veggies! I do this the same way my Italian Nonna does it. Pick your veggies first - this is carrots, eggplant, zucchini, butternut squash, onions, and kale. Drizzle generously with olive oil, and sprinkle evenly with salt, black pepper, garlic, and plenty of basil. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, turning/mixing halfway through. Stir them up off the pan more often if it's not a non-stick.

Here is the bread I made for Max as a thank you for being my ride while my car was in the shop. The little roll in the middle was for Drew :)

Rosemary Herb Bread - second rising
Due to my crazy schedule and limited budget, I had to drop from full Paleo to about 70/30. I still eat mostly veggies and lots of good meats, but lentils are wonderful and came in handy last week when I was out of the house from 5am to 7pm. And now I don't have to say no when my friends want to hang out and make cupcakes. Memories are worth a lot. (I only ate 1! ..and a few little tastes along the way)

Last weekend Cynthia wanted to make Boston Creme Cupcakes...they were delicious and super fun! She added nutmeg to the cake mix, and cinnamon to the vanilla pudding filling which really gave them a wonderful depth.


<3

Friday, March 4, 2011

The higher up the totem pole, the more jewelry I get to wear.

First - I want to publicly give thanks for the incredible life that I am privileged to have. My humble, and genuine, thanks.

On that note - I'm sitting by a fire in Panera sipping black coffee and enjoying a small sourdough roll with butter. I finished my orthopedics rotation and am here at my favorite study place to work on all the many tasks involved in preparing for fourth year. And pay my electric bill. And blog. All of which is more fun with company, a fire, coffee, and a sourdough roll.

So I didn't like inpatient pediatrics. ...oh well.

Orhopedics? 6am lectures, and clinic until 6 or 7. But I didn't dread a single hour. What a riot, and what a cast of characters:
- The Jaded Podiatrist: "Me? I don't like medicine. I tell everyone to go home. Plantar wart? Duct tape. It's not evidence-based per se...but I like it." Followed by a lengthy conversation on ingrown toenail care.
- The Greek (Ortho Surgeon #1): He swears in Greek, a lot. There are pictures of Greece everywhere. He kindly bought me falafel because he felt my homemade soup was...(insert some Greek word here). He speaks very fast. He reminds everyone at least five times daily that he or his mother or his father belonged to a very prestigious medical society of Columbia or Harvard. He's a straight shooter who tells it like it is, in any of the five languages he knows, and flips his reflex hammer in the air every time he checks a reflex- because he's a drummer, too.
- The Ex-Army guy (Surgeon #2): Some guy in Tims, a construction jacket, and smelling of cigars stops me in the hallway of the office and asks me my name. I shake his hand with my signature firm handshake and say "Elizabeth Artrip, Medical student, sir," thinking he's a patient, maybe? He nods, says "Don't call me sir," and walks off. The secretary calls after him, "Doctor! Wait I need you to sign something."  ...Good thing I used my firm handshake. He wears boots everywhere because "they bring him up to average male height." The Greek, who swears a lot, says the Army guy has Tourette's. He's a single dad with four kids. He doesn't like camping, and doesn't read books- only People magazine. He always slows down to look at car crashes. He shakes everyone's injured hand- left or right- to gauge how it's doing and to congratulate them when it gets better. It works. They love it.
- The patients: The 2 year old girl who was sinking into her mom to hide but gave me a high-five and snatched the sticker I offered her and hugged it. How do you hug a sticker? She managed. The 13 year old girl who was a true stoic and kept a stiff upper lip while the Army Guy to his credit very gently examined her injured wrist, then broke down the moment he left the room. She initially refused a lollipop on the grounds of being too big for such things until I told her I'd had a green apple one that morning. She lit up like the sun. The 83 year old woman who still lives by herself and shovels her own snow. The 52 year old woman who looked like a 29 year old supermodel. The 6'4" formidable guy who came in with a broken pinky. Painful? Of course. Funny to see this giant pout and show me his little finger? Absolutely.
- The secretary with great earrings: I commented on these great earrings one day - great dangling things with beads. She said mine were nice as well and I said no, no - they are very plain and I can't wear my great ones to the office. She says why not? So I say: "As a first year med student I didn't even wear jewelry, maybe pearls once in a while. My job was to be quiet and look quiet. As a third year I certainly branch out and wear more interesting things as far as is appropriate. It's like a totem pole, the higher up I get - the more jewelry I get to wear. By the time I get to be an attending, I'll be so shiny you can't even stand it. If my patients don't like it they can take a hike!"

So I'm a little sad it's over, but what a great time. And now that I have my computer back, I'll get pictures and recipes up later - I cooked up a storm last week!

à bientôt!

-Elizabeth