איזה כיף שבא אביב!!!

04-02-08

Hi everyone!

I am in my very last rotation, which is actually a ‘left over’ from last year for an elective, so this rotation is only two weeks short! I decided to do peds neurology, and I am SO very happy I am doing it!!! My goal was to master the neurological examination, and I am definitely feeling good about it :o) My second goal was to really understand the classification of seizures, and… well… I’m still working on it.

The doctors I work with are very different from one another. One is from Canada, and he is just so kind. I love working with him. Unique to him from most doctors I worked with before is that he likes me to present the patient in front of the patient. I actually have no problems doing it, and was surprised at the fact that I ended up liking it and seeing how involved the patient feels in the process.

The second doctor looks like Savta Adina (my grandmother) when she was in her early 40’s. Tee hee hee! It is very weird to work with someone who looks like your grandmother, because all I want to do is be like… “Oh, Savta, I forgot to tell you about this and that…” This doctor is excellent and enjoys teaching a lot, it’s too bad my time in this rotation is SO short.

The last doctor looks like John Travolta. No kidding. I spent the whole of Monday morning grinning inside because I was chatting with ‘John Travolta’ about neurology and financial plans for residency… LOL! I actually called up my friend Tala when I came home, and exclaimed: Tala, I spent the whole day talking to John Travolta!

On Thursday night my stomach started feeling funny (again), and by Friday I was feeling terrible; but I vomited and felt so much better afterwards that I actually dressed up and went to work. I was there for about 20 minutes and I started feeling bad again, and then after we finished seeing the first or second patient I asked to leave, and they were more than happy to let me go. I spent the rest of Friday and Saturday sleeping it off. On Sunday I woke up and felt better. Yesterday I returned back to my normal self, hurrah!

Last week, or two weeks ago, I told you how everything has started to bloom… now the whole neighborhood looks like the film set for a wedding! It is gorgeous! I promised some pictures, so here you go:










These guys are nice, but…




They leave this around.





I know you saw this one already, but I like it!




The wedding tree! I think E.ma would have loved it!!!












Well, that was my week. I had a small cooking disaster today… I made Avocado Soup from http://startcooking.com/blog/238/Avocado-Soup . Startcooking.com is a cute little website for people who are just learning to cook. Obviously, I have been cooking for a while now, and can usually make decent stuff… However, I really like her videos and enjoy reading the blog. BUT… today… I made the avocado soup. It smelled great, and I was so excited to eat it. The first bowl tasted good, it was smooth and delicious. The second bowl tasted HORRIBLE! I don’t know what happened, but in the time span between one bowl to another my taste buds did a ‘180’. I had to toss out the rest of the soup because I just couldn’t make myself eat the rest. Blah!

But I redeemed myself with this creation (I don’t know which website I got this one from, I thought it was from the same site, but I can’t seem to find it today):
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 T olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. Moroccan Spice Mix (see below)
salt to taste (I used about 1/4 tsp)

Spice Mix:
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. chile powder
1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice--> didn’t have
1/4 tsp. ground ginger--> didn’t have
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 350 F. in toaster oven for me.

Drain garbanzo beans into a colander and rinse well. While beans drain, make spice mix. (Store the rest in a glass container)… I put my ‘Chauayaj’ (the mix) in a zip lock for now.

When beans are well drained and dried, toss with olive oil, spice mix, and salt. Arrange in single layer on baking sheet. Roast 40-50 minutes, or until they are slightly browned and make a rattling sound when you shake the baking sheet. Serve warm or let cool.

YUM! But… this was very filling and I think it should be for 2 people, not just one. Also, no need for extra salt, it would have been okay without. I thought there was too much olive oil.

Anyways, it was very delicious!
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My friend Lori sent me an early birthday present… the whole Sweatin’ to the Oldies set!!! Thank you Lori!!! I was disappointed I couldn’t dance with it today, but it was too late to ‘thump’ on my downstairs neighbors. Instead I did weights and toned while listening to the DVD in the background! It is lovely and I can’t wait to start learning the new moves!

Well gang, it is getting late here, and Vega is calling me to come to bed… I better go before KC starts bugging her and then she’ll get all wild up and won’t go to bed until midnight…

Happy Spring!
Happy Birthday to Saba and Abba!!!

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