I love running in the cold... definitely more than running in the heat and almost more than running in cool weather.  There are many reasons I love running in the cold.  I like being warm when it's 20 degrees all around me.  I like that I can wear a hat, meaning I can wear headphones and listen to music.  I like wearing sweatshirts.  I like getting in the shower being freezing cold and warming up. 

This morning I was off (so I was not at work by the time it got light out, which I usually am), so I headed out for a run about 10am.  It was raining and about 39 degrees.  Just how I like it.  I came back and snapped a picture, looking a little like a soggy Nike advertisement that hadn't slept in 48 hours...

Friday's keep happening... about every 7 days.

And every other Friday (that's every 14 days for those of you keeping track), I find that someone has put money into my checking account.

And no one expects me to pay this money back.

I get to keep it.

And spend it on things like a mortgage, Halloween candy, boots, and ... loans.

Let's ignore that last one...  I plan on ignoring it for at least a year.

Tomorrow, I bet someone puts more money into my checking account...

And I'll be pleasantly surprised... again.

I could get used to this.

I'm ending this medicine block on call, standing by while one of my patients slowly dies.

She's 95, a DNR, and this is what she wanted: an unexciting death.

But still, I wish there was a way to make it easier for her family to watch... she's comfortable, they agree that this is what she wanted...  but it's not easy to stand vigil when you know the outcome and are just waiting for it to happen.

The end of a block is less exciting when it coincides with end of a life.

Ironically, tomorrow is the start of a new rotation, and the start of some new lives as I head into the world of OB.

Talk about the circle of life...

After four months (and 4 days) of living in my house, I FINALLY have a room I can show you that's (almost) done.

It figures it's the guest room... the room that gets less regular use than any other.  Oh well, at least I'm making progress somewhere! 

Yes, I really took this picture...

And, yes, I took this picture also...

Let me tell you something about feet.  (And you should listen to me, since I'm a doctor and all...)  They love them a good sock.  And boy do I have a good sock for you.

And by a good sock, I mean the best sock ever.  Unless, of course, you live in a place where you have to wear boots all the time, like Antarctica, or a swamp.  These are short socks for short shoes.  But as far as short socks for short shoes go, these are DEFINITELY the best.

I present to you, the Smartwool PhD Running Micro.
I'll give you the breakdown (since it's got such a long name for a sock)...

Note:  I just thought about turning the name into an acronym, but it became SPRM, which I decided was not a good name for a sock.

Smartwool:  The brand of the sock, and/or a special material specifically for making socks that comes from very intelligent sheep.

PhD:  Ummmmm, maybe they're really intelligent sheep?  Or really intelligent sock makers?

Running:  Great for running... or cycling, hiking, general wearing during the day if you have long enough pants to hide them with your dress shoes, skipping, walking, or snowshoeing.  But that's definitely too long for the name of a sock.

Micro:  This is the best part.  The are nice and short.  But have a little lip on the back so they don't fall off your heel and into your shoe (seriously, how annoying is that!?). 

The Smartwool people have really outdone themselves on this sock.  The snuggle your foot perfectly.  The tops are breathable and thin so as not to take up too much room in the shoe.  The heel and toes have a smidge extra squish to make the repetitive pounding less fatiguing and more comfy.  They have a little extra support across the arch, keeping the squishy areas and the thin areas in place.  The lip on the back keeps the sock up, and prevents blisters on your Achilles better than a box of mole skin ever could. 

They hold their shape, take FOREVER to wear out, are resilient, and come in many a fun color. 

Seriously, if you're the outdoorsy type, exercising type, or just want a good sock, pick a pair of these up.  They are a bit pricey ($10-14 a pair), but honestly totally worth it.  They'll make your feet so happy.

And who doesn't love happy feet.

Disclaimer:  Smartwool did not pay me to write this review.  Nor do they know that I wrote it.  Nor would they care, if they did know.  They're too busy tending to the sheep to read blogs. 

I like to be organized... in certain areas of my life.  I like things to have a place.  And, in my opinion, the place for emails is NOT stacked up and lost in an overflowing inbox.  The place for emails is in a folder, or in the trash bin.  I love, love, LOVE when my inbox is cleaned out and everything fits into one screen.  See below.


Don't make fun. 

Now, this doesn't mean that I delete emails.  In fact, I'm an email hoarder.  Once I've read and dealt with a message, I put it in a folder.. or a subfolder.. or a subsubfolder.  But they're out of the inbox, and that's all that matters.

Every once in a while, when open my inbox and get a little panic attack, I have to clean it up.  Which I did this morning.  Resulting in the picture you see above.

And then I'm very very happy.

You can do it in a

 White Frigidaire Refrigerator

or a...

 gibson refridge

or a...

Whirlpool Estate Silver Stainless Steel color Fridge Refridgerator

or a...

Ge Frigerator

or a...

Kenmore Fridge

or a...

fridgerater

Ohhh, craigslist, you never fail to entertain me.

Well, today was a very productive day off.  It started by productively sleeping in.  Really, that's important.  Promise.

After a delicious breakfast of leftover... breakfast (for dinner), I made some phone calls and arranged to drop of my cabinet doors to get powder coated.  Yes, it's true, I've bitten the bullet and given up on DIYing this project solo.  It has FAR more to do with motivating myself to do the prep work than the actual painting.  The professionals have blasters and dippers and negative pressure booths and all sorts of stuff I dont have.  So I finally gave in and took the doors in to get done.  Woot. 

Then I grabbed some lunch and went to Home Depot to get more mulch, because I ran out this weekend.  Unfortunately, they were OUT of the mulch I'd used, so I had to pick something that looked similar.  Apparently they don't restock mulch in the fall... because most people don't mulch in the fall... slackers.

I also picked up a mum, some heavy duty trash bags, and rubber gloves (because I may or may not have melted holes through my old ones with paint stripper/thinner...).  Because I can't make it out of a home improvement store with only the things on my list.  Oh, I also got some screws to remount the cabinet doors when the time comes (you know, because I didn't think it'd be cool to put the ones with 7 layers of paint back up).  Shockingly, the screws aren't a particularly standard size, so they only had 24 of the 130 I'll need...


I went for a little stroll because it was BEAUTIFUL out, organized my house, took a shower (because the mulch bags were nasty, meaning I was covered in mulch nastiness...), did some dishes, went for a run, ate some more breakfast for dinner... for dinner, and now I've settled in to watch football and/or The Sing Off (I'm just so unpredictable). 

I love days off.

Happy Monday!

Kari

PS.  I like to point out words that spell check thinks are wrong.  Mumpkin and fallifying are apparently not official parts of the English language.  Obviously Webster didn't live in a place with seasons.

One of our responsibilities while on call is to do death pronouncements for people who die in the hospital.  These are generally people who were DNR, frequently in palliative or hospice care.  We get called with a couple hours after they die and have to go and confirm it, and declare a time of death. 

It's always a little disconcerting, walking towards the room of someone you only know as dead.  Rarely have we ever met these people before.  I don't know how they died or how long they'd been sick.  I don't know their family, what the patient will look like, or who they left behind.  I know nothing, yet my job is to go and say yes, your family member really is gone forever.  When I step back and think about it, it's a strange job.

But generally that's not what I'm thinking about when I'm pronouncing someone.  I'm thinking about the admissions I have waiting for me, or the labs I have to follow up on, or the RAT call I just finished.  It's another task to check of my long list of things to get done in a 12 hour period. 

It only takes a few minutes... check for breathing, check for heart sounds, feel for a pulse, check their pupils, see if they respond to voice or pain, write a note, declare a time of death. 

Usually I see the chaplain in passing, and they fill me in on some of the details: what happened, how the family is doing, whether or not this was expected. 

And then I leave, on to the next task, one pronouncement down, more things to do.

Just another day for me, and a day the family will always remember...

I tend to be easily entertained.  That's why this series of "Things That Make Me Happy" posts exists.  And nothing is more entertaining or exciting to me than seeing a palindrome on the odometer in my car.

I'll wait for you to stop laughing... at me.

I'm not sure when my love of odometric palindromes started (yes, I know odometric isn't a word, but I like the way it sounds), but it's been a good 60,000 miles I'd say. 

I wait patiently for the odometer to tick through mile after mile until it gets to a palindrome, and then I take a picture.  And then I send that picture to Betsy.  And I get a message back that says "PALINDROME!!!", because she finds them as entertaining as I do.

It's good to have friends who appreciate your quirks.

The problem is, when you have over 150,000 miles on your car, palindromes start to become few and far between...


Don't judge me. 

I've come to the conclusion that there are too many options in this world.

Take, for instance, my recent mattress hunt.  I walked into the store (after already narrowing down the many options of stores to actually go into down to one), and was met with a wall to wall options.  Really, are there 72 different ways a mattress can feel when you sleep on it?  I think not.  I want to be given four options.  Then I can make a decision.

Also consider writing ICU orders.  Okay, so maybe you don't do that on a regular basic.  I happened to be doing it a lot last night.  There's a whole long set of orders with 14 different options for glucose control and oral care and blood pressure support and vent settings.  I know what I want to do, but at 4:30AM, I don't want to have to make it a cohesive set of orders.  I just want someone to stand in front of me with flashcards, hold up a couple options, and I'll pick one.  Too many options.

Never was this more clear than when I was couch shopping the other day.  Picking a couch was pretty easy... I had some specific measurements it needed to fit within, and there were only a few sectionals that fit them.  Perfect.  But then, I had to pick a fabric.  AND PILLOWS.  There was a wall of choices.  I wanted neutral.  There were at least 97 neutral options.  At least.  Textured?  Microfiber?  Washable?  Grey tones?  Green tones?  Price range?  Polyester?  Nylon?  Rayon?  Leather?  I narrowed it down to about... 12.  Then I  walked them around the store to see them in different lighting, laid them over various pieces of furniture, put them next to each other one at a time, took pictures of them and sent them to various people, and generally was indecisive for a long time.  Seriously, there were just TOO many variables!  And then there's the issue of what it looks like as a couch vs. as a swatch of fabric.  Finally I had it narrowed down to two, and then finally made a selection.  Which I think will look awesome. 

And then I had to pick pillows.