Learning in the Florida Sun

The orthopedic conference for our PGY-3 class this year was the International Pediatric Orthopaedic Symposium in Orlando, Florida.  Our class of five set forth to sunny Florida last week to enjoy a combination of learning and fun.

We stayed at the Disney Swan Hotel, which also served as the location of the conference.  As soon as we stepped out of the taxi, there was no doubt we had arrived in paradise.  Don't get me wrong, Orlando is by no means true paradise, but after leaving the cold and wet of Charlotte winter, you would have thought we landed in the Caribbean!

After some resident and fellow specific sessions, we set out to Downtown Disney for our first dinner.  It would seem that the 3.5 miles from hotel to restaurant would be a quick trip.  Little did we realize that it would eventually take us 75 minutes to finally reach our destination - Fulton's Crab House.  The boys enjoyed sharing a seafood tower - featuring oysters, crab legs, lump crab meat, and shrimp.   I  feasted on a crab cake and caramelized brussel sprouts.

The conference days were jam packed full of learning from 7:30am to 6pm.  I snuck away for a brief reprieve from the bitterly cold conference room temperatures and enjoyed a nap in the sun.

Dinner night two was at Kouzzina - a restaurant owned by Cat Cora.  The Mediterranean and Greek influenced food was well executed despite lackluster service.

I ordered the fisherman's stew, which included a very large serving of muscles, oysters, scallops, shrimp, and mussels in a tomato broth.  On the side for something green, I chose roasted garlic field greens.  And to compliment the meal, a glass of sangria.

The Disney Boardwalk had a carnival type atmosphere, so naturally we had to take part in some overpriced carnival games.  Our competitive efforts won us a stuffed frog and a princess mini basketball.

So nice to enjoy time with our whole class!

Despite the lure of pools and sunshine, I tried to maintain some discipline and actually chose learning over leisure.  Until, of course, our last full day, when I opted for a half-day of sunbathing and beach volleyball.  

Thursday evening's meal was at Kimono's, a sushi restaurant and last night karaoke bar.  I started with a bowl of seaweed salad, then followed it with a vegetarian roll and bonsai roll.  The bonsai roll was a delicious combination of salmon, eel, and avocado.

One morning, I ran past this beautifully decorated Christmas tree.  With temperatures in the mid 80s on a daily basis, I almost forgot it was even December.

I enjoyed many early morning runs around the hotel property, boardwalk, and hollywood studios.   There was also a gym and lap pool that allowed me to keep up with some workouts.  Considering the long hours of sitting in lecture, the exercise was much needed!  In the peace and quite of the morning, there were many picture-worthy scenes around the property.

Each evening that we walked along the boardwalk, we would pass Boardwalk Bakery.  I kept eyeing the cases of pastries and even did a bit of research to learn that their desserts were worth a visit.  Friday night I wandered into their shop to select a dessert.  I was torn between two great looking options, so naturally, I chose both.  On the left is a peanut butter tart in a chocolate cookie crust, topped with a banana cream, and sprinkles of candied bacon.  FANTASTIC!  On the right is a caramel pecan sticky bun that I saved and enjoyed as a midmorning snack the following day.

For our last dinner, we stayed close by and ate at Il Mulino, an Italian restaurant in the Swan Hotel.  After a starter of warm bread and eggplant dip, I had a caesar salad.  For my entree, I went with the seared grouper over broccolini.  The fish was a bit overcooked and portion quite small given the $32 price tag.

Saturday afternoon arrived, and in a blink of an eye, our conference trip to Orlando came to an end.  It was a terrific conference and helped to reaffirm my interest in pediatric orthopedics.  After a short flight, I arrived back in Charlotte, returning to the reality of a cold rainy December.

Thanksgiving 2013

The past several weeks have been a complete whirlwind, but I'm finally getting back to posting some Thanksgiving pictures.  After my final evening of night float, I hit the road early Thanksgiving morning in route to Atlanta.  Fueled by some breakfast and a rather large latte, I made it door to door in 3.5 hours.  After a quick hello, Bailey somehow sensed my arrival as a sign that we needed to go for a run. So despite having been awake for 20 hours, that is exactly what we did.  

Later in the evenings the whole family gathered for a Thanksgiving feast.  In typical fashion, Mom and Dad combined to prepare the perfect feast, completed by a few dishes made by Grandma.

Here's a look at our eats . . . .

Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Topping + Green Bean Casserole

Oyster Stuffing (a Perkins family tradition) + Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips

Bourbon Smoked Organic Turkey + Bourbon Gravy

My plate with portions of everything - including whole berry roasted cranberry sauce (my favorite!)

We had no trouble cleaning our plates while taking turns answering hypothetical questions.  What is one thing you wish to do in your life that you have yet to accomplish?  If you could go back to high school and choose a different career, what would it be?

Despite full stomachs, we had no trouble making room for some dessert - apple pie and vegan pumpkin pie with whipped topping.

In the several months since I had been home, there were some major renovations in the backyard.  One of the highlights is the addition of a fire pit and seating area.  We bundled up and enjoyed an hour of relaxation watching the flames.  Bailey insisted on joining the gathering and very quickly made her way into my lap, sitting quite contently for a half hour.  Yes, she wears a sweater, and yes, she wears a muzzle.  The crazy dog won't stop eating wood chips, so that is her punishment.  Don't feel bad for her . . . she is spoiled rotten.

Saturday morning I offered to make breakfast, preparing a broccoli frittata, pumpkin bread, and a fruit salad.  Lazy breakfasts are a treat that I always enjoy.

Bailey and I hit the pavement for an 8 mile run and then joined Mom and Dad for a hike through the trails.  It was a cool, yet sunny morning, not a cloud in the sky.

Speaking of beautiful blue skies, we had exciting plans for Saturday afternoon - Let's Go Flying!  Some might call it a midlife crisis, yet others would consider it realizing a lifelong dream.  Regardless, Dad is a very proud owner of a plane, and very quickly learning how to be a pilot.

Armed with his flight instructor at his side, we made two loops through the North Georgia skies.

The views on a clear day were spectacular!  As the sun began to set we were treated to the true beauty of nature.  I'll let the pictures do the talking.

I was really impressed with the smooth flight and Dad's ability to fly the plane.  I'm sure there will be many family trips in the future.  Or, at the very least, I'll be making some reservations on Perkins Air for the trip from Charlotte to Atlanta!

This picture of Bailey essentially sums up our Sunday.  It was quite a surprise that I slept until 9:30 that morning.  My laziness continued with a couple of hours curled up by the fireplace.  Suddenly it was time to pack up and make the drive back to Charlotte.  The four days of vacation flew by in the blink of an eye!  Is it too early to start the countdown to Christmas vacation?

A Sleep Deprived Fog

5 nights down, 15 to go!  I'll spare you the whining associated with night float, and instead piece together random pictures and happenings over the past two weeks.

1.  Ironman Florida was last weekend and I literally couldn't peel myself away from the live coverage.  Between several friends that were racing and my own Ironman debut (Chattanooga 2014!), it seemed so much more real than before.  I kept thinking about my own race and the upcoming long training cycle that will carry me to race day.

2.  In an effort to keep healthy while living the vampire life, I stocked up on a ton of fresh produce from the farmer's market last weekend.  Can you believe there were still some heirloom tomatoes left?  The appearance of cranberries screams fall - pumpkin cranberry muffins, cranberries on pancakes, and cranberry orange sauce at Thanksgiving.

3.  I am currently addicted to a new sandwich creation.  Great Harvest Dakota bread, dijon mustard, smashed avocado, heirloom tomato slices, salt and pepper.  This may become my mainstay meal on night float.

4.  There's not much worse than the food offered in the hospital cafeteria most nights.  Instead of the mushy vegetables (broccoli and carrots, day after day) and the counter of brown (fried everything), I planned a easily portable meal.  Quinoa pasta + asparagus + spinach + clams + garlic sauce.

Simply sauté the asparagus in a tablespoon of EVOO, add the spinach, toss with one cup of trader joe's garlic simmer sauce, and finally mix in a can of clams.  Once heated through, combine with your cooked pasta and serve.  My inspiration was a clam spaghetti that Mom has made several times in the past.  It was delicious!

5.  I'm contemplating running a spring marathon.  On one hand, if I could build run mileage sufficient for 26.2 miles than that would be one thing to feel confident about going into Ironman training.  On the other hand, I seem to be injury prone with long distance running.  Regardless, last weekend I headed out for a 10 miler, but felt so great, that I decided for a nice round 13.1 miles.  Not a bad way to begin a Sunday morning, right?  It was followed promptly by an ice bath, of course.

6.  I spent the majority of my run tossing ideas around in my head of what I would eat for breakfast.  Pancakes sounded perfect, but the process of making so many always seems to take longer than I want - especially post 13.1 miles.  Instead, I whipped up a vegan pumpkin cinnamon waffle in less than 10 minutes from start to finish.

For some reason it decided to stick to the pan in some areas, so it certainly was no work of art.  Nonetheless, topped with bananas, cranberries, and maple syrup, it tasted just fine.

7.  Thank goodness the OITE (orthopedic in-training exam) is over!  After what feels like months of studying, I need a break from practice questions and notecards.  The morning of the test I woke up with a killer migraine, so needless to say, I was pretty miserable for the first hour of the test while waiting for medicine to kick in.

8.  Last but not least, you won't be seeing many gourmet meals around here over the next few weeks.  Night float has a way of zapping my hunger, and certainly results in a major lack of cooking time.  Hence, you can expect meals like this - roasted broccoli, radishes, and a Trader Joe's masala burger (doused in ketchup for good measure).

Happy Halloween

Growing up, Halloween was one of my brother and I's favorite holidays.  When it came to costumes, we dressed up as a range of characters - soccer players (by far the easiest costume and used a few too many times), dogs, Pocahantas, a witch, Cinderella, and a hockey player, just to name a few.  We'd carry our pillow case from door to door in strategically selected neighborhoods and accumulate a slew of sugary treats.  Our favorite part, however, was not the trick-or-treating itself, but rather the days that followed.  Every afternoon when we arrived home from school we would dump out our respective bags of candy, sort everything into piles, and spend far too long contemplating which 4 pieces of candy we would have for dessert that night.  No more, no less, four pieces was the rule.  There were negotiations and trades, as we each had our favorite candies.  It was serious business, and easily kept us busy for an hour each afternoon.

Today, I'm far too old for trick-or-treating.  In fact, over the past couple years, I haven't even been home to hand out candy.  Although I won't be donning any crazy costumes this year, I did celebrate the holiday with some friends with a night of pumpkin carving.

After a barbecue dinner, we set forth to plan our designs, using pre-made templates to guide our creativity.  I chose the cat design, hoping that the designated beginner-intermediate level would be fail-proof.

Being the group of orthopaedic surgeons that we are, power tools and scalpels were ready and available for use.  Have you ever seen a pumpkin gutter?  This thing is seriously the best invention ever.  No more scooping handful after handful of slimy pumpkin guts.  If you carve pumpkins, it is without a doubt the best $11.99 you could spend.

Despite my complete and utter lack of artistic talent, I managed to succeed in my carving.  I think it actually looks like a cat, so I consider that a win.

Camden carefully oversaw the carving festivities.

A whole family of pumpkins - ghost, cat, scary face, and bat.

All of the girls and their respective pumpkins.

 With a little coaxing, we even managed to get the guys in the picture.

And last, but not least, no pumpkin carving session is complete without saving the seeds for roasting.  A quick boil in salt water, sprinkling with EVOO/cinnamon/cumin mix, and then 20 minutes at 375 degrees resulted in perfectly crispy pumpkin seeds.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

What were your favorite childhood costumes?  Did you have any similar candy-sorting rituals?

Fall is in the Air

Temperatures are dropping, darkness comes earlier each evening, leaves are changing colors, and pumpkins are being sold on many street corners.  Here are a few things that I consider to represent the start of fall:

1.  Warm soups, stews, and crock pot meals.  

2. An abundance of squashes and gourds.  Butternut, delicata, and kombucha are just a few of my favorites.

3.  A new season of farmer's market produce (turnips!) and a hot caramel latte to sip on while strolling from vendor to vendor.

4.  Roasted vegetables with nearly every meal.  My oven can go nearly the entire summer without getting turned on more than a few times a month, yet the second the weather cools off it's on a few time a week.  Broccoli and turnips were the roasting victims this week.

 5.  Perfect running weather.  Without a doubt, spring and fall are the absolute best climates for running.  I even splurged on a new pair of shoes to kick start a great running season.