Bits and Pieces

I feel like my life has been in overdrive the past few weeks, and I keep thinking of things to post here, but then I don't have time to so they slip out of my head, probably never to be seen again. Here are a few of the highlights, though:

-Silent Auction: Our class's silent auction went really well. We made over $5000, even though we had a pretty low physician turnout, which was probably to be expected because it was a brand new event. If next year's class builds on our success they'll do very well. I'm really proud we pulled that whole thing off.

-Miami: A bunch of us went to Miami for a weekend to attend the AMSA regional conference. I was the slacker of the group and the only conference activity I actually attended was the free lunch on Saturday! The rest of the time, we sat by the pool, lounged at the beach, and shopped and partied in South Beach -- emphasis on partied. I don't know how people actually go to medical school in Miami -- I'd have flunked out by now for sure, with 80+ degree weather in November!

-Sick: My punishment for going to Miami was getting sick two days after I got back. I had a killer sore throat and thought maybe I should go to the health center for a strep test, but getting seen there is next to impossible. Luckily, I saw one of my physician mentors at a meeting Thursday afternoon and got him to take a peek in my mouth. He declared it viral (but offered me antibiotics if I wanted them anyway -- why do doctors do that?), and sure enough, by the next day it had moved out of my throat and into my nose and chest -- which is much easier to deal with. After loading up on assorted decongestants, expectorants, and cough drops at the store, I've been much better. I realized, however, that I should probably go get my flu shot before much more time passes...

-Turkey: We had a Miami reunion party last night (I know, it's only been a week and a half since we went!) and a pre-Thanksgiving feast. I made green bean casserole and banana bread and brought some leftover honeydew, and I also made the turkey, based on this recipe from Michael Chiarello, chosen after watching Food Network pretty much all weekend. I figured out something about turkey roasting theory. The Butterball theory is to roast at 350 degrees for a million hours and baste constantly to keep it moist. I think this actually dries it out. Instead, I used Alton Brown's method and roasted at 500 degrees for 30 minutes then at 350 degrees until the turkey reached 161 degrees. Then you remove the turkey from the oven, cover it in tin foil, and let it rest for 30 minutes and it will keep cooking to its final temperature (165-170 degrees). The salt rub gave it just enough seasoning, and the lemon and rosemary gave it wonderful flavor. Cooking it at high heat for a shorter amount of time keeps the turkey juicier than if you cook it at low heat for a long time and dry it out. This way, you don't need to baste, either!



A bad picture of me posing with a great picture of the turkey. My right hand was stabilizing a casserole that had been resting on the chair before I sat down. That's my new roasting pan, too -- original price $16.99, marked down by 50%, and bought with a coupon that got me another $1 off the roasting pan and a cake pan. I love deals.


-Today: Finally, a day off! I have a lot of cleaning and packing to do, though. We're leaving tonight to drive to Charleston, WV (there's nothing there; it's just halfway between here and my parents' house) before we make the rest of the trip to Leonardtown, MD, tomorrow. We're eating Thanksgiving dinner at dinnertime on Thursday to give us plenty of time to hit traffic and the forecasted rainstorm. We're taking the cats with us, but I don't think they know that yet; I haven't bothered to try to wrestle them into their harnesses yet. I'm looking forward to being home for the weekend. I haven't been home since July, I think I've convinced my sister we should make my citrus rosemary turkey again, and my mom is just landing in DC as I write (she was in Hong Kong, helping my grandmother, who had emergency gallstone surgery a couple weeks ago). I have a ton of stuff to do and I'd better get at it if we're going to leave at a reasonable time tonight, but I can't go before announcing the biggest news...

-Baby Lea! Eric's sister finally had her baby, 10 days overdue. She had acupuncture after 40 weeks to stimulate labor, and I guess it worked -- she was worried about having to be induced or going past 42 weeks, at which point she would have been forced to deliver at the hospital instead of at the midwife birthing center. Anyway, Baby Lea came into the world on November 21 around lunchtime, weighing in at 9 lbs, 7 oz, reportedly with a head of dark hair. I've heard she's gorgeous, and I'm anxiously awaiting photos. I'm also anxiously awaiting Christmas, when I get to see her! I also realized, however, that I never finished making my baby presents, so I might be doing some knitting this weekend... or just buying lots of cute little baby clothes!