A random entry!

02-19-07 --> 02-26-07
Hello to all!

I am in my last week of pediatrics. Last week I was at the outpatient office, and had a good time. This week I am at the hospital (a new hospital for me) and at a child abuse clinic. The new hospital is different… Its forms and way of doing things are completely different than the other 3 hospitals. For some reason they don’t want us writing in the charts, so all of our presentations are done orally. Tomorrow I am going to the other center—I hope I learn a lot.

The thing about 1 week at a place is that it takes a few days (2-3) to get comfortable. I know I said the exact same thing two weeks ago, but it is true. I do appreciate the many different environments I have seen in the past month (2 weeks in a peds ER and the inpatient unit, 1 in outpatient, 1 in a different inpatient unit, and the center tomorrow), but… it is still difficult. My friend “J” says that he feels the same way I do at the beginning of each new rotation. Phew! At least I am not alone. I am trying very hard to look at it the way mom told me to: “worrying about something today doesn’t really make tomorrow any better… it just spoils today” AND… “you know you’ll want to extend your stay for a few more days at the end… this is always the case”. This is of course true. By the middle of last week I would have gladly added a few more days at the outpatient site… it was just loads of fun.

Okay, now really enough of this. I will not be venting about this specific topic on my very public journal any more.

So, last week… it was SO much fun!!! I went to the office and basically followed the doc on the first day (that’s the way they do it there), and then by the 2nd day had asked them if they could show me the computer program so I could walk into a room and interview a patient like I would normally. The nicest thing about last week was that I met one of the patients from the ER (and since she was admitted later on, from the inpatient unit as well)—she was doing so much better. It was very nice to have continuity of care.

The weather was amazing on Tuesday and Wednesday—it was in the 50’s and was sunny, and since we just had the week of 15F as our high, this felt wonderful.

Exercise… I haven’t talked about that in a while—well, during the cold week I couldn’t make myself go outside and walk. It was just too cold. So… I had a small lazy spell. But… Dad is the one who kept pushing at me until I started working out again. (Thanks dad!!!) I got out the old ‘pilates workout for Dummies,’ and I’ve been doing that. You know what I’ve realized?…I have some abdominal muscles I never knew I had… Ouch! It was such a nice change I think I might have to run to blockbuster and find some new work out videos for myself.

Speaking of blockbuster—Not that I have rented a movie recently, but I was thinking of joining netflix. Anyone uses them? Are they any good? Since I really don’t watch too many videos, I’d probably get something cheap. Let me know what you think.

Movies—I might not be renting many movies, but I sure like to see ‘em in the theater! I saw “Music and Lyrics” on Saturday. It was great! I told my friends Karen and Matt that I saw this movie and their response was: “We’re sorry.” Ugggg! Can’t they see how amazingly cute Hugh Grant is? Huh??? I mean, just to see him dressed in 1980’s clothes was worth the ticket price!!! :o)

Peanut butter alert—I ate from a recalled peanut butter jar before I knew they were recalling it. I had a nasty stomach ache and diarrhea. I was convinced I had contracted salmonella from the very delicious... I mean... DARN peanut butter. Well, no, actually, I thought I caught a viral bug from the kids, but it was just so out of the blue, so I had to think about the salmonella. Today I was all better, so hopefully this was the end of that lovely adventure.

Soups—I have made the best soup yet! I used this url for the recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cream-of-sweet-potato-soup/Detail.aspx

And for those who read this via regular mail, here is the recipe (taken from allrecipes.com)

Cream of Sweet Potato Soup
SUBMITTED BY: Zoey McCullen
"This easy to prepare yet oh-so-elegant soup is a favorite at my house. Because it has a slightly sweet taste, the kids love it, and it's my husband's favorite soup. Serve warm with buttery garlic bread and a crisp green salad. You can also serve cold with cucumber or watercress sandwiches."
INGREDIENTS
• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 3 (14 ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Black pepper to taste
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bake sweet potatoes in preheated oven until soft, about 1 1/2 hours (you can also use a microwave). Remove and let cool slightly.
Peel sweet potatoes, and puree with chicken broth in batches, using enough chicken broth so that it purees smoothly. Bring puree to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in the sugar, salt, nutmeg, black pepper, and cayenne pepper; cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in cream.
----------------
YUM! Delicious!

Okay, did I babble enough?

No actually, there was one more thing I forgot: KC.
KC decided it was a stupendous idea to get into the trash and eat some of the corn cobs I threw out a few hours earlier. Very clever of him. Not only did he get the whole cob stuck in his front teeth, he then growled and hissed at me when I tried to help him get it off…But, nevermind that, the poor cat puked his guts the entire night. He managed to get all of the pieces out of his belly (I hope). He is feeling great now, and he has already shown renewed interest in the trash. I better get a can with a lid.

Now, that’s an entry!

Reut

Winter sucks. Really.

02-12-07--> 02-18-07

Hello everyone,

So another week has passed, this was my last week at the peds-ER, which is a shame because I was having a good time. Next week I will be at the out patient clinic, and then I believe I will be at another hospital. “Hooray” for no continuity. Pffth! This of course is said with a high level of sarcasm. This is the one thing I wish I could change about these rotations at this particular site. I don’t like switching places every 1-2weeks. It is very difficult to get used to a location and then have to change it right away. Okay, I promised no venting, so I am done.

The weather has been dreadful! Last Tuesday (I think) it had snowed and then we had freezing rain. I had trouble getting to work because of the icy conditions. I woke up the next day thinking: “I shouldn’t be driving in this… there should be a law prohibiting people from warm climate to drive in this” But I drove very slowly and made it there and back just fine. It was just like driving on an ice-ring; very difficult conditions. If I stay in this area, my next car will be a 4x4 and I will equip it with snow tires. Sheesh. On a happier note, it has been getting warmer—yesterday it was 32F(0C). Because the mercury has been at around 15-20F for the whole week, this 32F felt much warmer than it normally would. I was actually out and about with a sweatshirt only (don’t worry, it was a sunny non-windy day).

OH! I finally got to walk the dogs at the shelter yesterday!!! We were short on people and the director has asked me to walk the smaller dogs. This was great! I walked them (and played with them), moved them to another cage and cleaned their old one. There was a cute one who looked similar to Daisy (but a Terrier, not a Chihuahua).

Well, after I came back from the shelter I made some delicious stuffed tomatoes (a-la-Savta-Blanca-style) YUM! I swapped the tuna for eggs, but it turned just as good. I still have 3 tomatoes left. I also tried writing my scholarship essay—it took me forever to write the little tid-bit that I did. I have to re-read it today and see if I still like it.

That’s about it from here. I hope you are all doing well,

Reut

Kids are fun

02-05-07 --> 02-11-07

Hi everyone,

I had quite a long week, but I have to say… I really like kids! I mean, you all knew already, but I really do like them—they are fun and completely different from adults! If I wouldn’t have chosen medicine, I would have gone to get my teaching certificate. That said, you can correctly guess that I had a good time in the first week of peds. I mean, it wasn’t fun all the time, and I didn’t like all the doctors, but it was fun for the most part. The first 2 weeks of my rotations are done at the Peds ER. The Emergency Department a completely different environment from anything I have ever done before. I really didn’t like the setting at first, but like anything else, I am getting used to it.

For this whole week (plus a long shift on Saturday) I worked the afternoon/evening shift, which means that I never got home much earlier than midnight. Poor Vega and KC had to get used to a new feeding schedule… they weren’t too happy about it. In the hospital it seemed like the kids started coming in groves at about 6pm with another major surge at 10:30pm. I wonder what the day shift is like. I guess I’ll see tomorrow.

Finally ‘R’ at the school has provided me with an estimation of when I could try and do my ER and Cardiology rotation next year, so I have a bunch of paper work to complete today. Blah. I also have to do laundry, clean my abode, hunt some food in the store and cook. Major blah. I better hurry up and get these boring tasks done so I could quilt a little bit. OH! I don’t know if I told you or not, but I finally finished the lion’s mane on the quilt. It took forever!!!

Better get going.

Re

Squirrel 1 Cats 0

Kneidalach to warm you up!

01-28-07 --> 02-04-07

Hello everyone,

***** if you'd like Kneidalach (Matzo Balls) recipe go to: Recipe for Kneidalach *****

Oh, it is WAY too cold outside! I really really REALLY don’t like this weather. BRRRR! I know I chose to come here for my 3rd year rotations, but I can still hate the weather, can’t I?

Okay, so with this nice preamble I can let you all know that I have now driven in snow at least 4 times. I am hoping that no more snow will fall this year, but if it will, I am not afraid of driving in it anymore; careful, yes, but not afraid.

OBGYN is now officially over. I finished the test on Friday and have got to get something signed by Dr. R, but besides that it is all done. I am kind of sad about it—I had a good time in that rotation. As I would still like to write my paper I printed many articles today and hope to finish reading all of them by mid week and start writing it soon.

My pediatrics rotation is starting tomorrow—I got the afternoon/evening shift at the hospital. I am hoping this will be a good experience. I always dread the first few days in a new rotation. It takes me a while to get used to a new place, new people and figure out what exactly the expectations are. Uggg… It is always hard on the first week and then it gets better. Okay, no more venting from me (unless you are mom and dad and then you get to hear it on the phone :o) sorry guys!)

This past week was a tough one as far as exercise goes—since my toe still painful I couldn’t start walking until Monday, but I had an early class (yes, one that we actually sit and listen) on that day. I walked on Tuesday and on Wednesday, but couldn’t wake up on Thursday and on Friday I had another early morning class… I did walk during the weekend. I opted on not running at this point—I’ll attempt running again when the weather gets warmer.

On Wednesday of last week I hurried out to the clinic and as I stepped out my eyes rested on a big package from my friend Lori. I had no clue what the package held and I didn’t have the time to open it. When I came home I opened it up and saw a huge collection of vegetables!!! She works at the Green Houses at a certain park and she sent me a bag full of tomatoes, another one filled with cucumbers and squash and in addition to all of this, a HUGE pomelo!!! I called her and thanked her for all of this, and asked her why she sent me a random present… it’s not my birthday and there isn’t any holiday that I am aware of. She said she thought I’d like it. I sure did! The best was that night when I sat and ate a great big salad!
The next day I once again stepped out (running a tad late) and found another package! This one was from my friend Banana! As I didn’t have time to open the package right away I put it at home and got to it much much later that day… She got me a cool book all about the early days of Queen. I actually think that that is the title of the book (the Early Days of Queen). I called her up and thanked her and asked her why she sent me a random present—she replied with: “Oh, it’s your Chanukah present!” I had a good laugh. What cool friends I have! Now I am itching to surprise them too! I hope to come up with something just as unique for them!

So for the past 3 weeks I have been making Kneidalach soup (aka matzo ball soup)—YUM! I have tried several different soups and the Kneidalach(s) go well with all of them so far! The most interesting was a weird Indian Soup my friend Deepa taught me how to make last year—the kneidalach turned very yellow :o) Today I made them in plain old vegetable soup… yum! So my question to you all is… how do you like your Kneidalach? I like them hard and kind of dark on the inside. We call them Kibbutz Geva’s Kneidalach. YUM! I think my dad likes them soft and fluffy. I believe both Omer and Mom like them hard and dark. So, really, how do you like your Kneidalach? I’m very curious to know!
And then another question, especially to those who cook—what’s the secrete to turning them hard and dark? I always hope for the kind I like, but can never tell how they will turn out…

Wow! That was a complete digression!!! I must be hungry!

Hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Reut