It’s Stressful

2012 has already been a stressful year and we are less than a month into it. Over the last several weeks I have had to try to learn to deal with the enormous amount of stress in my life. This stress comes from
the following:

1. My cousin/roommate, who was only supposed to be living with me temporarily, is pregnant. She finally told her mother, which is the only reason that I can even write this. This has caused a huge commotion in my family (not a good one) and I feel like they are blaming me for my cousin’s irresponsibility.

2. Results of a mammogram and FNA show that I have a fibroadenoma in my left breast. Benign, yes. Scary at first, definitely. Even though the stress of the initial results has worn off, I think that the shock, when combined with everything else, stressed me out completely.

3. Our family dog, Maximus, has been diagnosed with liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma). I am now in Missouri with family, spending time with Max and with my mother. Understandably, my mother is devastated and she has sought my advice on treatment for our dog. It has put me in a very difficult situation of appeasing my mother while also making sure that Max isn’t suffering. He is now eating well, going for walks and has been less lethargic since we started him on medication (for pain management). Hopefully we continue to see some improvement in his disposition, but his prognosis is still poor.

Older picture of Max, Best Dog in the World. Sorry, for the yellow frame. It was the only picture of him I had on this laptop.

Those three stressors combined with everything else have really made me stop and thing about how I need to handle personal stress better. As a surgeon, I can handle the stress of work no problem. It is how I handle my stress outside of work that has negatively affected my life.

So far I have tried a few different things and the results have been extremely positive! I have increased how much I work out and by that I mean not just running 50 miles a week. I have done more yoga in the mornings and Pilates once a week. I have drastically changed my diet. While I am in Missouri, my cousin is cleaning out the cabinets. Absolutely no processed foods and I am going to try to buy seasonal fare. I have eaten multiple small meals throughout the day and shying away from the larger, sit-down meals that my family insists we have. Even with the diet and activity changes, I think that the best change I have made is taking time for myself.

One of my New Year’s goals is to learn to sew. I purchased several books on pattern-making, sewing basics and choosing fabrics. I have researched sewing machines and I’m very excited to buy a machine when I get back to California! I have taken time out of every day to read the sewing books and I think that focusing on something other than the stress has, obviously, helped.

In addition to setting aside time for this new hobby, I have also been writing more. I wasn’t able to write a blog post for a while. Every time I sat down at the computer to type, I was too overwhelmed to focus. Instead I tried writing short stories and worked on streamlining my book. Not having to worry about the content specifically helped clear the writer’s block enough that I begin to formulate this post in my head.

As always, I am open to suggestions to help me deal with the stress. Some of my friends have suggested meditation, but at the moment I can’t quiet my mind enough for that to work. If you have any tried and true stress busting remedies, do share!

New Year, New Resolutions

It is finally that time of year. Time to set my goals for 2012 and then try to keep up with them until 2013. I am very excited about my 2012 goals, as the 2011 goals I set for myself were either met or exceeded. I had a lot of fun trying to meet the goals and I felt that I challenged myself continually throughout the year. This year, I have tried to choose a list of goals based on feedback from friends, family and my readers. I have also taken into account the amount of time each goal will take and the effort I will have to expend to complete it.

*drumroll*

My 2012 Goals 

Relationship goals:

–Strengthen my personal relationships by spending more time with those I care about. 

This may not seem like that difficult of a goal, but you have to keep in mind that I only have one family member in California, relatively few friends because of the hours I work each week, and a very demanding job. I am hoping that by the end of 2012, I will have solidified my relationship to a certain significant other, made a few close friends, and have a small circle of acquaintances with whom I can have some fun.

–Write more letters, thank you notes and emails.

This is one of those goals I always mean to make myself do. Ever since university, I have tried to write more thank you notes and letters, but I always seem to come up short. However, I have written a few emails this year and I plan to keep that up. My goal is to write an email (outside of work) each day. I would like to email my grandmother, mother, father, brothers and friends at least once a week. My family alone will be 6 days!

–Take a real vacation with someone.

“Real vacation” does not include: going home to see family for a holiday, traveling for a family emergency, traveling for a work-related reason or medical conference. I will only consider it a vacation if I am traveling solely for relaxing and spending time with my travel companion.

Preferable Destinations: Seychelles,  Dominican Republic, Toronto, Spain, London, Belize

Personal Goals:

– Finish my novel

Just last year I started a novel (no I’m not going to post it on this blog 🙂 ). I wanted to take part in NaNoWriMo, but then I had to travel/get sick/deal with personal issues for most of November and was unable to write at all. I only got around to writing about 10, 000 out of 50,000 words. Will I finish my novel in 2012? Maybe not, but I will try to write for a bit each week.

– Learn to sew

I have wanted to learn to sew for some time now. I always see these amazing dresses/skirts and when I ask where they got the dress I get the, “Oh, I made this!,” response. I need to buy a sewing machine and convert the “cats room” into a sewing room. I welcome suggestions on where to buy fabrics in LA/Hermosa, what sewing machine I need to buy and what the best way to learn is (online tutorials, sewing books, classes) .

– Read 20 books in 2012

In 2011, I read 30 books. I thought about upping the ante to 40, but then I remembered I want to have a life outside of work. I have decided to keep the goal of reading a set number of books, but I want to read less. I would really like to read the Harry Potter series, but only if I can get them on my Nook.

– Make a substantial blog post two (2) times a week or a small post three (3) times a week.

I am looking forward to blogging in the new year! I have some posts I am working on (mostly about my travels), but they are fairly time intensive. I will be posting more often, around 2-3 times a week and I would love suggestions! Anything that you would be interested in me blogging about, I am open to it! 

Goals to Continue

–Take more cooking courses (Persian, Latin American, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish)

I enjoyed this goal immensely. I was able to sign up for a few cooking courses and it was a blast! I would like to cook through a few classic cookbooks for each type of cuisine, while also supplementing my cooking with some outside classes.

–Run 50 miles a week following Runners World MPW Target Goals or 2700 miles for the year. Try for 3000 miles if possible!

Even though this goal was difficult to keep up with in 2011 (due to work, travel or illness), I loved the way I felt after completing the required 50 miles a week. This year I am shooting for 3000 miles, but hitting 2700 or 2600 would be acceptable. If I can squeeze a few races or marathons in, I will definitely try!

–Complete 1-2 detox plans over the course of 2012

This goal was actually a lot of fun for me. I scheduled both of my detoxes after holidays, in hopes that I could rid my system of the toxins I built up eating all that holiday fare. This year, I plan on trying to get in two (2) detoxes, but one (1) detox over the summer will work!

I am very pleased with my 2012 goals. I have already started a few of my goals and will keep everyone updated as I complete or struggle with each one.

Question(s): Have you decided to set goals for yourself in 2012? If so, what are they? Do you have suggestions to help me complete any of the above goals? Would you like to challenge me to complete another goal (I am up for some challenging!)?

Happy New Year!

Dear Me: A Letter to Myself 10 Years Ago

Originally taken from “Dear Me” adapted by “Adventures on the Road”

Dear RO,

I know you’re stressed, but I promise you it will get better. The holidays are coming up and you’re dealing with a lot. It will be your first major holiday without him and it will be a tough one. Everyone will ask about you two and everyone will do it awkwardly, it will be painful. You will want to hide in the guest house, but I promise it will get better. Life does go on and you will find the love of your life.

School is intense. This year will be your most difficult. You will want to quit. Baking will keep you sane and it will also make you a lot of friends. Don’t make those chocolate cake cookies, though. No one will like them and they are pretty disgusting (it’s not you, it’s the recipe). Try to get out more and don’t isolate yourself in your apartment. Don’t take on more than you can handle (though you will regardless) and learn to take time for yourself. Even though grades are important now, they aren’t everything. Allow yourself time away from the books, enjoy your college years.

Don’t worry so much about your appearance. For the next 10 years you will obsess over everything you eat, wear and you will work out way more than you need to. Don’t waste your time worrying over this small stuff, you will miss out on so much because of a few people. Don’t let your life revolve around issues of vanity.

As far as medicine is concerned, it may not be your passion now, but it will become the thing you love most. You will move across the country to practice it, you will neglect your friends and family and you will fall in love with healing your patients. This is ok. You will cry and complain. It will be the most difficult thing you will ever do, but it will be the one constant in your life and it will allow you to do so much. Fall in love with medicine, because it will give back to you beyond anything you can imagine.

Love always,

Future RO

And These Are a Few of My Favourite Things

A gift that I always like to give is a basket/box which has a collection of my favourite things. They are generally small things that I have stumbled across when shopping or messing around on the Internet. They change from year to year, so I thought this year might be a good time to share a list with my readers!

If you were to receive a box of my current favourite things of 2011, you would be getting:

Tulum Napkins – gorgeous Mayan patterned napkins that are bright and cheery
iomoi Loafers – adorable, comfortable and great for just around the house
Rishi Organic Chai – love chai so much and I drink at least a cup a day
Tumbler w/ Infuser – this has been fantastic at work, I think I bought everyone on my list (that drinks tea) one of these
Helveticards – great stocking stuffer and they are a modern take on a traditional object
Leaf Keepers – these make for a cute way to tie flowers together or to bundle small gift items
Kuhn Rikon Frosting Pen – this may be the most amazing decorating tool I have ever purchased, love it
Zum Bar Sea Salt –  love Zum Bars, but this one is my favourite
“Grown Up” Bento Stack – comes in very handy when you are on the go as much as I am
Moleskine Notebooks – have so many of these that I use, great product
A Perfect World Moisturizer – used this for years, will continue to use it for many more

Question(s): Are some of these your favourite things as well? What would you add to the list?

Mmm, Mmm, Good!

A few days ago, I was in the middle of a not so great week. I was moping around and in a generally bad mood. It was really a culmination of things that had gotten me to that point, but I was being a brat to everyone anyway.

Then I decided to go out and get some dinner with a friend who was in town. It was an extremely short dinner (since I had to get back to work), but I was able to do a quick catch up over sushi. Halfway through the first roll I stopped and snapped a picture

I actually made my friend stop eating so I could take a photograph of our food. It was this action that made me realize I had a slight obsession.

Slight is an understatement, however, as I went through the pictures saved on my phone and found over 50 pictures of food.

I apologized to my friend and felt a little embarrassed. She was completely cool about it and said that she use to do the same thing. She showed me an album on her phone titled “My Secret Shame” which was filled with photos of food.

After my apology I asked her if she shared the pictures with anyone and she told me that she use to post them on Facebook and then realized it probably made her seem strange to potential guys so she stopped.

Should I stop? It doesn’t really do any harm, it’s just a little strange that I can’t sit through a decent meal without thinking, “I need to get a picture of this!” Maybe it’s because the food always looks so pretty and then is devoured so quickly. I’m not sure why I do it, but I have my own “My Secret Shame” folder on my phone now.

Questions: Do you take pictures of your food? What do you do with the pictures?

Gift Giving

I pride myself on my gift giving abilities. I am that person who stresses over each person on my list, not only when it comes to what I’m getting them, but also how I will give it. Over the years I have wrapped gifts in a lot of creative ways, but this year I fell in love with this:

I love the idea that you can use fairly simple paper to actually wrap the gift and it doesn’t need any kind of tag. I’m excited to personalize each person’s name with special paper and little extras.

In the past I have gone with sponge paint designs on wrapping paper for Christmas/Hanukkah, wrapping birthday gifts in newspaper from the day the person was born, hand drawing comics detailing how the couple met for wedding presents and even painted designs. Even though the wrapping paper is not the part of the present that everyone enjoys, I try to make it that way.

I absolutely love giving gifts and I find any excuse I can to buy them. First day of summer? Fall weather just starting? Going on a trip? I have given gifts to friends on all those occasions. I am also the person who buys cards throughout the year, for when I need to grab one for an event. I have a very organized box of greeting cards that has saved me more than once. I use to send out between 50-75 holiday cards each year, but with my schedule as of late it looks like I may only get to send out a few to my family.

Maybe I should just send eCards this year and be really lame.

As far as gifts go, I have yet to really start shopping. The only thing I know is that I am making “Apple Cider Caramels” for my co-workers. I plan on making boxes, à la Martha Stewart, and filling them with the caramels. I’m excited to do this and I plan on getting all the boxes done sometime after Thanksgiving. I will definitely take pictures of everything I decide to do, including all the wrapping!

**I apologize for not updating in a while. I was in Boston for a CELEST event and since my return to LA,  I have a wicked case of bronchitis.**

Planning Ahead and Not Giving Up

At the beginning of the year, I promised myself that I would complete a set of goals by the end of 2011.

So far I have finished 4/10 goals in a 10 month span (almost 11). Now that it is the beginning of November, I decided to look back at my list of goals and see how I can improve upon them, complete them or realize that I have failed.

The problem with this is that I don’t feel like it’s ever alright to quit. The thought of not completing my goals upsets me and I really want to find someway to finish all of them by the end of the year!

Goals Completed:

-Read thirty (30) books in 2011 (officially completed 10/16/11)

-Buy a house in California (completed 7/19/11)

-Volunteer with Doctors without Borders (9/23/11, placed in pool for matching)

– Allow myself to be more artistic (blog posts, baking, sketching, began writing novel)

Goals I Have Partly Finished:

-Run fifty (50) miles a week following Runners World MPW Target Goals (Target: 2600;  Completed: 2300 -20 for sick days = 2280;  To Run: 320 miles in 7 weeks + 6 days)

-Complete two (2) detox plans (first plan completed on 6/20/11, second plan tentatively completed 11/25/11-12/16/11)

-Set aside time everyday to write (I have not been writing creatively everyday, but I have done it almost every other day. Between blog posts, writing a novel and writing a few short stories, I have really tried to complete this goal!)

-Take a cooking course in one of the following cuisines: Vietnamese, Japanese, Indian, Persian (Middle eastern), Spanish, Latin American (signed up for an Indian cooking course held on 11/29/11)

Goals I Have Yet to Complete:
-Travel back to Poland to see family
-Learn to say “No” 

These last two goals have been the hardest for me to complete. I have been unable to find the time to fly back to Poland during the year, but I have seen family members periodically. I really want to travel back home to Łódź, but this goal may have to wait until I have more free time.

The second goal, which seems easy, is terribly difficult. I can never seem to find it in myself to say no to someone. I always volunteer for everything and it has worn me very thin. I will continue to work on this, but I have a feeling I will just resign myself to tacking this on my goals for 2012.

Speaking of 2012, I have thought about the goals I want to set for myself. So far I have come up with:

Possible 2012 Goals
-Strengthen my personal relationships by spending more time with those I care about.
-Finish my novel
-Keep a “365 Food and  Exercise” Journal for a year (make it a page on my blog)
-Take an actual vacation with someone
-Complete at least one (2) marathons (shoot for 4) or six (6) races (shoot for 10) in 2012
-Read Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series
-Learn to do one of the following: sew, knit, screen print
-Host a dinner party once a month to meet new people
-Get back into photography
-Write more letters and thank you notes (emails do not count)
-Make a substantial blog post once a week or a small post once a day
-Try something new once a month
-Read 40 books in 2012
-Watch AFI’s 100 Best Movies in 2012
-Learn a programming language
-Take a course in something I know nothing about (and get an A!)
-Build a computer (desktop)
-Learn to surf, snowboard or ski
-Meditate once a day for one (1) hour

Goals to Continue
-Take more cooking courses (Persian, Latin American, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish)
-Read at least a book a month (shoot for 20, hit 30 if possible)
-Allow myself to be more artistic
-Write something, creatively, each day

Obviously I will not use all these goals. I need ten (10) solid goals, which do not include the goals I would love to carry over into the new year. I really need to make sure that I understand the time I have to invest in each to complete them on time. Setting the goals I did this year, really pushed me into trying some new things and I enjoyed the feeling of completion when I finished a goal!

Questions: Are you going to set goals for yourself in 2012? What are some of the goals you have in mind? What do you think of some of the goals I have in mind for next year? Have you completed a similar goal? Do you have any advice on completing any of the goals above?

 

D’awwww

The adorableness continues. It’s times when she looks like this, that I forget she’s pure evil! She is the perfect pet for Halloween though, no costume required!

Recipes I Can Cook in My Sleep

Today my, “only living with me for a week” cousin, informed me over my lunch break that we would be having guests for dinner. She hadn’t asked if it would be alright, so I was a little peeved with her. Thankfully it was only three of her coworkers and they were laid back. I decided to make a vegetable soup recipe that I love and the dinner went swimmingly. I felt pretty good about throwing a delicious dinner together on such short notice and it was all because I have stashed away four, “go to” recipes which I thought I would share. These recipes are easy, quick and don’t need ridiculous ingredients.

1. Fish Tacos
– This recipe is fairly easy and the fact that it is highly customizable means you can make a variety of guests happy. I really like fish tacos because they are light, quick and it is often something people haven’t tried. I enjoy introducing people to new foods and this recipe is easy enough that I have used it on plenty of occasions.

Fish Taco leftovers make a great meal the next day!

2. Spinach Pesto

– One of the easiest recipes I have ever made. Its simplicity is what makes it so delicious. This particular pesto is low in calories and can be made in a matter of minutes. It is great when you need to fix lunch quickly or when you would rather showcase a side dish at dinner.

3. Vegetable Soup
– Do you have vegetables that you purchased at the Farmer’s Market that need to be used? Do you have a large stockpot? Then you have the main ingredients for this easy recipe. I often empty the contents of my crisper drawer for this recipe and it has never let me down.

Vegetable soup for the surprise guests.

4. Pierogi
– Not only can I make this recipe in my sleep, I think I learned how to make pierogi before I could even talk. The secret to a good pierogi is the dough/filling ratio. Make sure your pierogi aren’t too thick, but also that they don’t bust when you cook them.

Morel mushrooms make the best pierogi filling, but they are difficult to find and expensive.

Each of these recipes have saved me many times. I recently purchased four bins and filled each with the non-perishable ingredients used to make the above recipes. I figure that, if I ever find myself in a bind, I can grab one of those bins and quickly prepare a meal without having to look up a recipe! Since I used the vegetable soup recipe today, I will have to refill the bin for future use.

Question(s): Do you have go-to recipes that you know by heart? Willing to share?

Perfect Halloween Decoration

If I could just get her to sit in my front window and arch her back….