Ravens Gnome

I don't know why, but Joe has an affinity for gnomes. I think it all started when Travelocity used a gnome as their mascot, but I could be wrong. Either way, when I see gnomes I automatically think of Joe. While I was at the mall this past weekend, I ran across the Baltimore Ravens gnome. I had never seen it before and I knew I had to get it for Joe. I thought, "what a perfect Christmas gift?!" The thing, it's football season now and I didn't think I could wait for Christmas. So, I ordered one and sent it to him as an early Christmas gift. He loved it! He says right now it's currently planted on our kitchen table looking over our tickets for the Ravens game this week. Let's hope the gnome is a lucky gnome!

96 hours?

Also known as four 24 hour days. Or, the amount of time I spent at the hospital this past week. Of my first 7 days, 4 of them were on duty. Needless to say I haven't seen anybody in Baltimore other than my parents and brother yet. Now, you might be thinking, "Isn't that illegal?" Nope. The ACGME has duty hour requirements for residents--maximum of an average of 80 hours a week over 4 weeks. The kicker, these guidelines apply only to residents, not med students. No fear though, I chose to work that many hours last week so I can have time off this coming weekend. Joe is coming to visit and we're going to a shrimp feast and Ravens game. And, even as a resident I could work 96 hours in 7 days as long as it averages out over 4 weeks. The joys I have to look forward to next year as an intern. However, in all honesty, it's not as bad as it sounds. I love working with the kids and learning how to manage their illnesses. As long as I'm busy, the time pretty much flies. That's not to say I'm not exhausted at the end of the day.

Scratch Pediatric Endocrinologist...

...off the list of future professions. I'm about 85% sure I want to go into general pediatrics, but I'm still keeping my mind open to specialties. I took an endocrinology class in undergrad and loved it. It's amazing how the body's hormones control so many things in such an ordered fashion. So, these past two weeks, I spent my time rotating in the pediatric endocrinology clinic. It was only OK for me. The endo cases themselves are interesting, but there's not much variety. Almost every patient was a growth hormone deficiency or hypothyroid patient. We'd maybe have one congenital adrenal hyperplasia patient or type one diabetes patient a day. (Most of the diabetes patients were seen by nurse practitioners). I'm not going to lie, I was bored after two weeks, I can't imagine seeing the same cases over and over my whole life. Yes, I know the patients get sick and some cases are more interesting than others, but it's just not for me. I'm realizing more and more how much I like well-child checks and the teaching opportunities for general well being general peds offers me. Plus, as a general pediatrician, I'll still see the endocrine disorders, but I'll also see lots of other things too.

Declined an Interview

It's always hard to predict how many interview invitations a fourth year med student will get and honestly, I'm not one of the most competitive med students to cross the program directors' desks. I'm a strong candidate, but there are definitely candidates above me. That being said, for pediatrics, I applied to a large number of programs, especially since Joe and I want to get closer to Baltimore. I was hoping for a 33% interview invite ratio, as of right now, I'm at over 50%. I am very grateful for this, but it's placed me in the position where I've had to decline an interview. I can't describe how I felt when I declined the interview and withdrew my application. Yes, it wasn't an ideal location based on our other offerings so far, but the program still wanted to give me a chance. They took the time to give my application consideration and a chance for me to learn even more about it. I know I've been fortunate to get these other interviews, but I still couldn't help having a "what if I have to scramble?" thought as I withdrew my application. My dean thinks I'll be fine matching and I'm starting to believe him, but it's still an odd feeling for me to cut strings from a program.

Post Op Appointment 2

Can you tell I'm back on rotations? No cooking, baking, or even blogging this week. Yesterday was my second post-op appointment. It's been just over 5 weeks since my surgery. My ortho doc continues to say I'm doing better than expected, so that's good.

As mentioned, last week was rough. I was the most swollen I'd ever been and limping like crazy. This week, the complete opposite. It was actually a little weird. Monday I expected to come home and be really swollen again, but nope. By today, I'm not even really limping anymore. I still feel a little weak walking down stairs and I can't squat as low as normal yet. I'm making progress!

The doc would like me to build some more quad muscle before I try to start running. I don't want to undo any progress we've made, so I'll hold off a little longer. I admit, I'm starting to get tired of my knee exercises. They're all about strength training and I'm more of a cardio girl. Either way, I'm keeping them up, no fear.

Pumpkin Sausage Baked Ziti

After going to the store today and not finding more pumpkin, I knew I had to use the half of a can I had left from this weekend's baking. I just couldn't justify tossing it. I love to bake, but I'm a little tied of pumpkin desserts. I found this recipe on Nestle's site and knew it was a go. Since I only had 1/2 a can of pumpkin, I halved everything else, plus Joe won't eat it anyway. I'd love to make this again. Perhaps for my family when I'm home next month. I'm afraid they'll not like the spinach, but it's really subtle. Recipe adapted from Nestle.

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 4 cups (12 oz.) dry regular or whole-wheat ziti
• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Fat Free Milk
• 4 links (12 oz.) fully-cooked Italian-seasoned chicken sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices I used 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  
• 1 pkg. (6 oz.) or about 4 cups pre-washed baby spinach I used one package of frozen chopped spinach, heated
  
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded part-skim or 2% milk reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup (1.5 oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese - Didn't have any on hand, so didn't use

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 425º F. Spray 4-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

PREPARE pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and set aside for later use. Drain pasta; return to cooking pot.

MEANWHILE, COMBINE pumpkin, flour, garlic powder, salt, nutmeg and cayenne pepper in medium skillet over medium heat. Slowly add evaporated milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken slightly. Pour over pasta in pot. Add sausage and reserved pasta cooking water; stir well.

SPREAD half of the pasta mixture into prepared baking dish. Top with spinach. Cover with remaining pasta mixture. Lightly spray piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray. Cover ziti with foil, greased-side-down.

BAKE for 20 minutes or until heated through. Combine mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses in small bowl. Remove foil; sprinkle with cheese mixture. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese

I have an uncanny affinity towards pumpkin. This wouldn't be so bad if Joe liked pumpkin, but he has his mind set that he doesn't. I've been hearing about fellow nesties on the What's Cooking board having problems finding pumpkin in the stores and I thought I had been spared. Not. so. fortunate. This makes me sad. I'm hoping a shipment will have arrived by my next grocery trip.

Well, enough rambling and onto the cream cheese. I didn't have any agave nectar, so I left it out at first. I've since added honey instead, but I've yet to try it. The cream cheese is a nice change. It's not too sweet (at least without the honey), but just enough to top some wheat bagels. Recipe from Gina's WW Recipes

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 12 • Serving Size: 1 oz • Calories: 63 • Points: 1.5 pts

• 8 oz Philadelphia 1/3 fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (canned is fine)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp agave nectar

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat until smooth. You can easily 1/4 or halve this recipe if you wish to make less.