09

i may not bat 1000 when it comes to keeping new years resolutions, but i don’t think i will ever stop making them. for me, there is just something nice about taking time, on a yearly basis, to decide what is going well and what could use a change.

and, call me a mystic or a cheese-ball, there is something magical about that 1.1 date that will never cease to inspire me.

so here they are: resolutions for 2009

1. floss. every night. i swear, this time IT IS FOR REAL. IT IS ON. anyone want to challenge me to a flossing bet? (ie, first one to fall off the wagon has to give something to the winner)?

2. continue to explore new music, books, and movies. i always want to be reading something, because i really enjoy it and find it incredibly relaxing (and decadent, actually). in addition, i will keep a list of movies that look interesting as i hear about them. and, i will definitely continue the ‘2 albums/month’ policy that i started in 2008.

3. plan fun trips. so far, i know josh and i will be going to napa/san francisco in may (our big ‘just us’ vacation of the year), and we’ll also be going to maine in october for a wedding (!!! YAY !!!). i will also be going to philadelphia/new jersey in early may and charlottesville in april for races. entering into a somewhat gentler era of residency, i will have a decent number of weekends off in the coming year. and since we’re still childless with a quasi-respectable combined income, i feel like now is the time to take advantage of the freedom to venture out.

4. dress better. still an ongoing project. i need to take clinton kelly’s advice, especially about tailoring and trying multiple items on. i also need to realize that it’s okay to replace basics when they are 5 years old and falling apart. interestingly, being married has added a layer of guilt about shopping (‘cuz it’s OUR money now, not mine) that is both good and bad for me. i definitely don’t want to overdo it, but i don’t need to go around looking like a broke college student, either.

5. continue working on mindfulness. and by this, i mean focusing on each moment, slowing down to enjoy life, and recognizing/acknowledging unhelpful thought processes as they arise. it’s an ongoing battle, but i will keep up the good fight.

6. train smart. i have a lot of fun race plans for the year: i’m hoping to run the chapel hill shamrock ‘n’ run 5K in february, the cary road race 10K and the charlottesville half marathon (just for fun/as a training run) in april, and the new jersey marathon in may. however, this resolution isn’t about sticking to my running training schedules — i am already good at that. it’s about being smart about training, which means listening to my body and STOPPING at any sign of injury. it also means using cross-training, strength training, and stretching to full advantage in order to get to this marathon sans injury (something i failed at in both 2007 and 2008!). i wish i could go back to 2006 and feel indestructible, but i’m older and wiser now. hopefully i can use what i’ve learned to have a safe and successful racing season this year.

7. eat healthier. overall, i do pretty well with this one. i definitely want to continue packing my lunch for work (free unhealthy food on a daily basis? no thank you). but: i have a few mini-goals.
a) increase the number and variety of vegetables i eat daily
b) learn how to enjoy a meal out without leaving feeling like i am going to die from a stomach perf
c) eat slower!
d) quit drinking diet sodas. (i actually have cut out almost all diet sodas but i will still drink an occasional diet coke or sunkist. honestly? they don’t even taste good to me anymore. so i would like to quit altogether. water is better!)

8. try more new restaurants. see, despite wanting to be healthy, i LOVE interesting and gourmet food. we have such a vibrant restaurant scene here, and i would like to make an effort to try more new places (or places we’ve only been to once or twice) rather than falling back on old standards. i will be adding to this list as the year goes on!

9. go on more dates. by this i am referring to both dates with josh and dates with others (friends, my sister, etc). running dates, dinner dates, movie dates, whatever. alone time is nice, but i have been actually overloaded with it lately. and i’m an extrovert who deals with my problems by blabbing about them. i need some release! but these things actually require some minor advance planning, and so i’ll work on doing that more this year.

10. read for work daily. 15 minutes. how about that, just a minimum of 15 tiiiiiiny little minutes per day. i am sure that sometimes i’ll go over, but this way the goal won’t be overwhelming. because seriously, who doesn’t have 15 minutes? i can even read a quick peds in review column while something is simmering on the stove — that counts! exceptions are vacations, but other than that i would like to be really consistent and stringent about this one.

11. appreciate each day. there are worse things that i could be doing than PICU call. seriously! and i am sure there is something good in each day. i just have to remember to take note of it.

12. relax more (and relax about relaxing). YES. sounds like a plan.

13. take more pictures. and not just of my culinary creations! life is beautiful, and it’s fun to capture and share it with the world. i definitely want to take more shots in ’09.

14. become a better teacher to students and interns. teaching becomes a bigger part of my job every year. while sometimes i still doubt that i have much to offer, that’s just silly. because things that i now consider basic definitely weren’t so obvious back when i was in medical school, and those practical things are exactly what the students now want and need to know. i really appreciated residents who were nice and took time out of their days to teach me stuff, and now it really is my turn.

so that’s it! i’m excited and pumped for the new year (and for champagne in miami tonight!). have a great end to ’08, and um . . . see you next year.

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12.30.08

workout: 7 miles total, 0.5% incline
– 2 mile warmup @ 9:13/mi
– 3 miles @ 8:19/mi
– 2 mile cooldown @ 9:13/mi

i took it relatively easy because my legs were feeling tired — probably from the lunges on monday and because i never took a day off after my long run. today is a forced rest day because my japanese-straightened hair is NOT to get wet, so the legs should be able to recover now.
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