today

so this weekend i painted my living room.

and hung curtains.

i've been brewing the idea for months.

and finally had the time off to make it a reality.

the before picture. technically a "during" pic. but oh well.

better late than never?

i missed the "before" pic by about 27 minutes.

(that's how long it took me to move furniture and lay down drop cloth. duh.)

and here's the after

our new and improved living room

[the curtains are West Elm

and the paint is "Seal" from Martha Stewart Living]

i, for one, love it.

it's the coziest.

perfect space to come home to after days like this

...

so this is the part where you begin to regret following a doctor's blog

...

a baby died today.

at my hospital.

it was on the news.

and it was actually horrific.

i was one of the doctors taking care of the old man.

which was difficult.

i'd like to say that i kept it together and did my job in a professional way.

but i was pretty torn up about it.

even cried all the way home.

and that's all i have to say about it right now.

being a doctor is cool when you can do something to make a patient's outcome better

it absolutely sucks when you can't.

so how was your day?

saturday morning

it's saturday

8:45am

and i've been up for almost 3 hours

thanks, night shift, for effing with my circadian rhythm.

despite this little logistical snag, i'm having a lovely morning

coffee

pumpkin bread (with chocolate chips! thanks mom!)

iTunes

and taking my monthly residency quiz

i have big plans for this day

lots of crafty projects in the works

if we're lucky, i'll like them enough to share pics with you

and this week has been pretty great

mostly because Nick and I got to spend the ENTIRE day together Wednesday

brunch

Friday Night Lights

pool time

gym time

a couple's massage 

(his idea. he's phenomenal)

it was like a vacation in our own town

so that's all i've got for ya.

that,

and this:

my occupational theme song

happy Saturday!

insanely gorgeous

{all images courtesy of Emily Blake Photography}

how insane are these??!

this is my college roommate and bestie Rachel

and her hubby-to-be Jon

i get the honor of standing beside her while they promise each other forever

these are a few of their engagement photos

and i am still drooling

...

aftermath

Hawaii

i'm sensing a theme with my Sunday night shifts

last week, i tubed 2 people

tonight, it was only one

but it was the mother of all intubations:

bloody and traumatic with c-spine precautions

the holy grail. mother load.

so now i'm 3 for 3

still.

that was the highlight.

the rest of the night was filled with crazy people and annoying surgeons.

now i wish i was back in that hammock.

how was your day?

p.s. still haven't seen hubs for more than an hour a day

p.p.s. my Fantasy team is kicking ass right now.

that's all.

gradjamacation

we graduated.

months ago.

but it was still pretty sweet.

and we wouldn't be where we are today without that mah-jor event

(as Rachel Zoe would say)

thanks for the parking garage photo, mom.

warning:

when you give your mother your camera

(which, incidentally, she has no idea how to use)

she will take approximately one million photos

(and you will be able to use 0.01% of them) 

love you, mom.

(:

quickie iPhone pic while waiting to line up. The Doctors Fleming, everyone.

nick wasn't ready.

he's all smirky and "i'm a doctor, check me out"

YES. there were bagpipes.

it's offish. and yes, my first name is mary.

me and Murray, my papa-in-law.

father and son. 

 Nick totally looks like a more Italian version of his dad.

makes sense.

since his mom is Italian, and threw that extra dash of italiano in there

after the deed was done.

nick didn't get the "look this way" memo.

we had both of our families represented

nick's dad

my mom

it was just the right amount.

i can't even imagine how psychotic the day would've been 

if my entire gaggle of bros and sis's had showed

(p.s. my mom, looking fab in her mustard sweater. who picked that one out, mom? (; ) 

15 takes. this is the only one where we're all looking the same direction.

 my med school support group

(above pic)

Jen and Julie got me through 4th year

Jen's in my class

and is now a Family Medicine resident in Chicago

Julie is a (lucky) PA and graduated last year

now she's making the big bucks in Gyn-Onc

(below pic)

Jen, again

(you've seen her before..and Julie, and Quick)

and Quick (that's her last name. and what we call her. real name is Melissa.)

Quick was gone almost all year

doing away rotations in DC and NYC

and now she's a Family Medicine resident in NYC

(who was on call the night that NYU shut down their biggest hospital in fear of Hurricane Irene so she got all their patients. come on, Irene.)

couldn't all look at the camera. too tough for us doctors.

me and Foster. sweetie that he is. 

Foster and the Flemings

 Foster is Nick's med school bestie

and possibly one of the smartest peeps i know

he's an ENT surgery resident in Detroit

we're buying him a gun for Christmas

Melody came!

remember Melody?

she just got engaged.

but she wasn't in this pic.

she was in town for a wedding and got to come watch me walk

pretttty awesome.

p.s. how HUGE is my gown?

ridin sidesaddle

 four years of med school.

walking by that damn pony every day

always wanted to hop on and ride it

but was too chicken.

decided graduation day was my day.

they can't squeeze any more tuition or fees outta me.

nick and my pretty mama

and they lived happily ever after...

so there ya have it.

pictorial proof.

we're legit.

too legit to quit.

day in the life of me

via

you sure, Aibileen?

because i fo sho didn't feel smart last night

remember when i tweeted about watching Grey's Anatomy and calling it studying?

well, my friends, it most-assuredly is NOT.

as evidenced by my idiotic performance on night shift.

i had had the best sleep of my night shift life-span yet, too.

i was energized.

allegedly prepared.

false.

during teaching rounds, i got stupidly easy questions wrong

multiple times

then in answer to a question about a toxidrome that causes loss of control of the ocular muscles,

i--remarkably--answered correctly, and blurted out "strychnine!"

and was so surprised when i was actually right that i told a retired Colonel: "shut your mouth!"

wish i were joking, ya'll.

that's a big military no-no.

it's also a big medicine no-no. 

interns don't tell attendings to shut their mouths.

it was just a rough night.

feeling like an idiot. for the vast majority of it.

and it's been a rough few days.

we're not cooking so there's no good food.

i barely ever see Nick.

somehow, even though i'm barely eating and running around all shift, i'm getting fatter?

miiiight be the beers required to tranquilize me in the morning so i can get some shut-eye

i'm super dehydrated. 

i have no time to drink water, and even less time to pee at work.

also, do you know what i look like when i'm at work?

neither do i. since not-peeing=not-seeing-yourself-in-a-mirror-ever

but i guarantee you it is nothing as good as this:

it's normal. i think.

but then, lo and behold, a patient needed to be intubated tonight

and, to put it bluntly, i rocked that shit.

it was my very first one.

ever.

in my medical career.

(most med students have at LEAST intubated somebody in an operating room on an anesthesia rotation or something.)

i was pretty shocked that i nailed it.

(so was everyone else, i'm pretty sure.)

then

30 minutes later

somebody ELSE needed intubating

and i rocked that shit too.

do i still feel dumb?

yes.

do i feel like a dumb rockstar?

maybe.

am i drinking something alcoholic to try to take the edge off this adrenaline rush so i can sleep?

abso-f-ing-lutely

(i'll curse on this blog. but f-bombs? little harsh.)

Athens

i haven't seen my husband's face since Monday

i've talked to him, in the dark, as i'm going to bed and he's getting up to go to work

but i haven't seen his face.

and that sucks.

know what else sucks?

we just found out that, due to recent schedule changes, 

we don't get any time off together during the holidays

the holidays were our ONE TIME during this entire year to have time off together

and now we don't get that either.

one. entire. year.

without vacay.

good thing we took that major trip to Turkey and Greece, eh?

i'm not feeling so guilty about it now.

Athens: old vs. new

heaven in a fruit stand

so. old.

me.

him.

part of the Acropolis.

 i know it makes me a horrible history buff that i don't remember exactly what that structure is called

but i've warned you before

his expression: "i'm in tourist hell right now"

just me, some centuries-old columns, and the scaffolding keeping them from falling on me

ask jenna lyons: windblown hair is in.

he's so cute (:

just unbelievable

so freaking old

sorry for my "Conquerer" pose here. this was the only one in focus. (i need to hire a new photographer. ahem. nick.)

just in case you were wondering,

skirt: Zara (purchased that morning), tank: Hanes wifebeater (i know it's not PC to call them that, but oh well), sunnies: Banana Republic, earrings: Turkish turquoise, purchased in Kalkan, Turkey 

it just blows my mind that all this stuff- buildings, inscriptions, carvings-

is still here

centuries after they were made and first used

and that we can see the footprints of people that went long before us 

view from our restaurant. last night of vacay.

Nick hated me a little for making him do this.

it looks alright at night

in case you missed it,

Nick and I went on a 3-week trip to Turkey and Greece this summer

before all the residency madness started

originally I had felt bad about the ridiculous self-gratification of it all

but now I'm so so glad we did it

especially since it's looking like it'll be another 3 years

before we hop on a plane and jet somewhere together

these pics are from Athens

our last stop before flying home

we were exhausted, after having taken an overnight ferry from Milos

and only had one day

but we soaked up the Ancient City and loved every minute of it

(in our tired delirium)

p.s.

how bout that guest post yesterday, eh?

love that chick.

she's so much more than a mommy blogger to me

(: