Inspiration and Bracelets

I'm not really sure why, but lately I've had an obsession with inspirational quotes and bracelets.  I like wearing at least 10 bangles.  Gold AND Silver...MIXED...and sometimes I even throw in a Pewter bangle or two.  So, the newest addition to my collection is the perfect combination of both. I'm a little behind the times and just discovered my obsession with Etsy.com.  I can spend hours browsing through the thousands of items including jewelry, scarves, wall decor and anything else you could ever imagine.  Anything and everything you'd like monogramed or personalized, go here.  I bet you can find it.

Designed by me
Made by Spiffing Jewelry
Customize yours here!

I've always loved the quote "c'est la vie" for various reasons.  I'm sure many of you are well aware, but if you don't know, in French it means "that is life."  I frequently remember this phrase as I often catch myself dwelling over something I cannot change.  For example, I hate living in St. Louis and can't wait to move far, far away.  But I then try to remind myself I am only here for two and a half years and in the grand scheme of life, that's nothing.  And these short two and a half years are going to define who I am in the future.  Plus, how could I forget all the wonderful new friendships I've made since I've been here?  We're not always happy with how our life is unfolding, and it may not be how you always imagined it would happen, but it's what you make of it that counts.  That is life.

Bad things happen to good people.  That is life.  I drive myself crazy wondering why I feel like I have the worst luck in the world some days.  Days when it seems like nothing is going your way.  I wonder why I've lost so many great people and young lives to tragedy.  Billy Joel said, only the good die young.  It never seems fair, but that is life.

Sometimes I hate how much I care about people who go through their lives without thinking twice about anyone but themselves.  I've wished on SO MANY stars that people like this would change.  But they never will.   That is life.  So it becomes my decision to remove those people from my life, no matter how much it sucks...and believe me it sucks..A LOT.   I naturally tend to care more than I should or they deserve.  That is life.

Less often I wonder why I'm still single and the person next to me is married, living happily ever after with a wonderful husband, children, a house, a dog and a white picket fence.  Those thoughts are quickly replaced with a nauseous feeling reminding me I'm no where near ready for any of that.  I remind myself when I'm ready, someday my prince will come and all the tears I've cried over other boys will be long gone.  I'll be happily living life as "the one who got away."  That is life.

Many times I fail at all of the above.  But then again, I'm only human.  But with one quick glance at my wrist, I can be reminded, that is life.

I'll leave you with these words that I repeat to myself frequently...one of the lines which will most likely will be found on my next inspirational bracelet. 

I can choose happiness whenever I wish no matter what my circumstances 

I am loved by myself and others

I will face and conquer my fears today

I will believe in myself and others will follow

I am my own unique self - special, creative and beautiful

Stay Sassy, xo

         

It's May! And Mother's Day is this weekend!

“Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.” - Hippocrates

Week one is almost over of inpatient internal medicine and I couldn't be happier!  Don't get me wrong, I have a great medical team who have all been very helpful and educational, but these long hours on my feet are not exactly what I'm looking for in the future.  On a side note, I've discovered how great geriatric patients can be.  I used to not like working with "old people" because they were so grouchy.  But now I have a whole new perspective on these one of a kind patients. 

All of the patients I have seen have made me laugh and smile; one in particular.  And how could you not smile when you ask your patient what day of the week it is and she tells you it's Saturday (when really it's Wednesday), it's May (clearly not) and Mother's Day is this weekend and she can't wait to celebrate!?  When I remind her in fact it is January she perks up.  "What is the date?" she asks me every day.  And each day I tell her.  And that's when she remembers.  "My birthday is coming up!" she tells me.  So I ask her how old she is going to be.  Most times she tells me 80, when in fact she is going to be 81.  But what the heck...you're only as old as you feel right?

Although she's not as sharp as she once was, she can tell you all about her husband, how long they've been married, their kids, her family, where she lives...anything.  But when I ask her when her last BM was....well, she's just not sure.  And that's the way it should be.  When I'm the ripe age of 80, I hope my face lights up when I talk about my 50-plus year long marriage, my children and my grandchildren like it all just happened yesterday.  While BMs are important in medicine, especially geriatric medicine, it's just a minor detail in the life of this magnificent 80 year young lady.  And it should stay that way.

As I left her this morning, she reminded me to never lose my smile and she told me she will pray for me.  She might forget to pray for me but I'll try my hardest not to lose any teeth.

-Stay Sassy, xo

True Life: I'm in Dating Detox

I promise this blog is not going to be the journey to me finding my soul mate...I'm actually engaging in Dating Detox (see below).  But is going to be about the so far very intriguing book I received for Christmas, Become Your Own Matchmaker: 8 Steps for Attracting Your Perfect Mate.  I received this book from my favorite sister-in-law after she hoped it would "inspire me" and my blog.  Well it for sure has.  I've blogged about Patti Stanger in the past (read here). I love Millionaire Matchmaker and Patti, so I was super excited to see what she had to say in her book.  

I just finished reading the introduction and Step One: Dating Detox.  While I think I've already been in this stage for the past few months, I'd like to remain here just a little bit longer because I'm loving it!  In Patti's words, during Dating Detox, "Don't even think about going out on a date."  Ok, fine.  I won't.  I'm totally fine with this because I'm getting ready to dive in to the hardest twelve months of my life.  I don't have time for "dating" and all the b.s. that comes with it like wondering when he's going to call or text me next, gchat me, or wonder about whatever the hell he's doing sitting there at his f*cking computer until his name goes idle (don't act like you've never done that ladies). 

And now Patti says, it's time to determine my type.  So, according to Patti, I start with the last few guys I've dated.  They each get 5 qualities I loved/liked about them, and 5 qualities that made me want to shove their faces in to a brick wall.  Here it goes...(no specific order of course to obscure any identities):

Likes:

1. Funny
2. Always paid for dates (said it was his duty)
3. Successful
4. Tall
5. Educated
6. Handsome
7. Amazing cook (could also lead to weight gain)
8. Smart
9. Grounded
10. Amazing sex*
11. Chivalrous
12. Romantic
13. Pleasing
14. Loved traveling
15. Educated
16. Outgoing
17. Tall
18. Educated
19. Athletic
20. Gentleman 

Dislikes:

1. Immature
2. Sketchy
3. Drank too much
4. Not aggressive enough
5. Smoker
6. Unemotional
7. Closed off
8. Jaded
9. Blunt
10. Selfish
11. Mama's Boy
12. Fake
13. Label obsessed
14. Bull shitter
15. Immature
16. Smoker
17. Too quiet
18. Lacked confidence
19. Known serial dater
20. Partied...A LOT 

So from that Patti, I conclude um...not much.  Thanks for nothing.  So... I like an educated guy...that was about the only thing they all had in common. I'll leave you with these words in case you do the same exercise and conclude only that you've dated a lot of selfish, immature jackasses:

"It’s usually the smartest ones who take the longest to get married, because they can’t get their minds in sync with their hearts and bodies." - Patti Stanger

I'm hoping to figure it out by the time I'm 30.  I have a little over 3 years to go...it's game on...after detox of course.  Until then, all you handsome suitors out there dying to date me (pshhh...good one, I know, it's funny, right?), I'm taking reservations.  Remember, the best restaurants are booked weeks in advance, why not me?**  And until then, I'm thinking of myself like a great wine.  For sure a Pinot Noir.  According to About.Com, "Pinot Noir may be the toughest grape to grow, but the effort is often well worth the constant care and investment."  Sounds about right and I promise, as all (or a few) of my exes are kicking themselves for being dumb, the right guy will already have realized I'm well worth the investment...when I'm ready for him, of course.  Plus, I'm only getting better and more valuable with age.**

-Stay Sassy, xo

*Sorry to disappoint anyone who thought I was holding out until marriage.  It is 2010.

**Text adapted from Patti Stanger's book, Become Your Own Matchmaker

Back to December

So I know there are several people out there who can't stand Taylor Swift...but I am not one of them.  Love it or hate it, I happen to love her and most of her songs.  I love her lyrics and can relate to a lot of them.  "Back to December" is her newest release from her latest CD "Speak Now."  Quick synopses - the song is reportedly about her short lived relationship with Taylor Lautner that ended last December.  

Although I cannot quite relate to every specific lyric in this song, I like it and there are some lines in it I can relate to.  More than anything, I probably have a guy or two in mind saying these things to me when I listen to it.  There's no way I want to go back to any point in my past relationships and change what happened so we could still be together today, but there are things I have done I would apologize for.  Anyway, I of course have the CD and listened on my drive back to STL yesterday.  When this song came on, it got me thinking about last December, and the December before that.  Making the 3-1/2 hour drive, I had plenty of time to reflect on how much my live has changed yearly, most notably over the past 5 years.   

Oh what a difference a year (or five) can make...
Dec 2005 - I was embarking on my last semester of college. What a whirl wind that was. I was enrolling in my last semester of undergrad and preparing for SB06 with my closest friends - a week that will go down as the best spring break ever under the worst possible circumstances. Life was good.

Dec 2006 - still wondering what to do with my life, I stayed in Lawrence and pretended to still be in college.  I was "happily" still dating my future husband (one of many "future husbands" I've dated over the years). I was excited to be accepted in to KU's School Of Med MPH program and planning to make the move to KC in the future months.

Dec 2007 was a bit different. I was on again/off again with my college bf as I battled for his attention and competed with his frat brothers as he partied away his last year of college. I think I even went home with him for Christmas - a place I never exactly felt welcome at. Thank God that didn't work out.

December 2008 - happily living in KC I was still working on my MPH and working. I enjoyed the holidays with all of my new friends I had met over the past year and who are still among my best friends!  I had a few new love interests and was so happy!  But there was one who I was most interested in and remember exchanging small gifts every day up until Christmas.  Thinking back, those were probably some of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received.

Dec 2009 - my first december in STL. I was preparing for my trip to Buenos Aires to see my latest love interest and will forever remember that amazing trip. I was happy and couldn't imagine life getting any better. Little did I know how much would change over the ensuing year.

Dec 2010 - here were are. The past 12 months have been full of roller-coaster emotions.  Between the hardest year of my life academically and emotionally, I have survived and am stronger.  I lost a love and a best friend within a matter of days.  I dealt with the loss of an amazing friend, Dylan.  But the craziness of it all, within that short span of days, an amazing life was brought in to the world as well, baby Gunnar. In regards to school I can't believe I am embarking on 2011 and will soon be in the clinic actually taking care of patients...a thought that thrills me and scares me shitless at the same time. I never thought this day would come!  I'm one year closer to being Mel Plouv, MMS, PA-C, MPH!  Even though 2010 was a hard year, it was probably the biggest year of change for me on a personal level...and for that I would never go back to any other December.


-Stay Sassy, xo