Thursday, October 27, 2011

I didn't get in?

Not this time, by golly!  Okay, well not specifically-- While I did have the privilege of uttering these words in HS, I decided not to go the Stanford route for med school.

Instead, I applied to the University of Miami (among other places), and you know what:
            >> I GOT IN! woo hoo!

It's all about the

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

a clean room is a happy room.

          before...                                                                               and after...                                         (and vice versa)

 When life gets busy, my room gets ridiculous.



Monday, October 24, 2011

mindful monday x4

Busy day today + my fourth-to-last early morning Cross Country practice (EVER!) in the morning = not much time devoted to this mindful monday post. Forgive me.

As graduation (and hopefully at least one more interview for post-grad) approach, "success" is something more and more often considered in this lil' head of mine. Luckily, my roommate has a quote on her wall to give me the answer every time I wake up. Talk about convenient. So here's your little dose of Ralph Waldo Emerson for the week:

"To laugh often and much; 
To win the respect of intelligent people 
     and the affection of children; 
To earn the appreciation of honest critics 
     and endure the betrayal of false friends; 
To appreciate beauty, 
To find the best in others; 
To leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
     or a redeemed social condition; 
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived...
This is to have succeeded."

[insert inspirational picture here...]

Happy Monday, y'all.
 

Saturday, October 22, 2011

FOOD DAY!


I'm celebrating tomorrow at Hatter Harvest's monthly farmers market. 
How are you celebrating FOOD DAY?

Friday, October 21, 2011

questions.

there were so many fewer questions when stars were still just the holes to heaven.


Jack, you are always right.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

i wouldn't be a man...




this song was stuck in my head all day. every time i went to sing the chorus aloud, however, i realized i probably shouldn't. hah.

PS- is this the cheesiest video or what? but i <3 josh turner so it's okay. i forgive him.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Mindful Monday, numero tre

Ciao!

Right now my skin hates me: I have ice burn (from icing my hip after a tough workout this morning). On top of sunburn (from sitting out in the sun for, apparently, a little too long w/out sunscreen). Ouch.

But besides that, I feel a good--albeit busy--week ahead! Today's quote from my African Proverbs calendar (and my "thought" for this Mindful Monday):
"The leader who leads by pointing the way leaves no footprints for his[/her] followers."

I like that one. I also like oatmeal. And I made a delicious batch of it today:

Doesn't it look delicious? And all gooey-on-the-inside--yet-crispy-on-top? Yes?! That's because it's baked oatmeal! (I've been drooling over this "boatmeal" idea (baked+oatmeal=boatmeal, get it?) since seeing it on CCK's site, and finally got a chance to try my own rendition)

So why spend so long on a bowl of oatmeal when I could have popped it in the microwave and been done in 30 seconds? Here's a list:
1. My roommate pawned off an extra-ripe banana on me, so I needed to use it in something.
2. I was sitting in my kitchen working on something anyway, so I figured I might as well be sitting there with the anticipation of something delicious coming out of the oven.
3. I sometimes pretend like I cook.

Here's what I did:
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • a couple dashes of salt
  • about 1/2 of a mashed, very-ripe banana
  • 4 T milk (non-dairy or reg.) or water (I used vanilla Rice Dream, since that's what I'm currently experimenting with, but you can use regular milk or water, probs) 
  • ~1 T brown sugar  (optional)
  • ~1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
  • a little sprinkling of chocolate chips (optional)
  • 1 T peanut butter (optional)
(As you can see, there are a lot of options here. Basically, mix together a bunch of things you think sound good and BAKE!)

Preheat your oven to 380 deg. Mix together the dry ingredients, then add in the wet (I mashed the banana, milk and peanut butter together before adding. Somehow in my head that seemed easier). Pour into a small baking dish (I used my favorite little CorningWare ramekin). Cook for ~15 minutes, until firm. Finally, set your oven to “high broil” for ~3 more minutes to give it a nice crust. My advice: if you want to add choc chips or something sugary on top: don't. The broiling step will burn it to a crisp, and there's no need to ruin perfectly good chocolate. Instead, make sure they're well mixed into the concoction.

Now back to work.





Monday, October 10, 2011

Mindful Monday #2

It's October! I've finally had a minute to sit down and realize it. Jeesh. Unfortunately, at least in my neck of the woods, it hasn't quite felt like Autumn yet, just...monsoon season. I fiinnnnnallllly can see blue skies after 60 HOURS OF RAIN. (if you need to revisit an earlier post to learn of my dislike of rain, have at it. I hate rainy days, much less 3 wholly rainy days in a row!) Here's my "road" yesterday, thanks to DeLand's superb drainage system...


But enough of that. It's beautiful outside and I feel a great week coming on. In hindsight, last week was good too: I had a med school interview, I submitted my application for the Rhodes Scholarship, and Zack took the LSAT and did a lil' info session at UFLaw (this is "zackandmaria.blogspot.com" after all...). So onward and upward! Prayers for our progress are most welcome!

Now, on to my actual Mindful Monday thought:
Last night at Encounter, Wesley House's weekly worship service, a local pastor came and talked about the 5-loaves-2-fish story. I've heard/read this story a zillion times, but this time it was presented in a way I haven't really thought about it before: Instead of looking at it as a miraculous event, it is a lesson, one of using our gifts--no matter how insignificant we might think they are--to do great things through Christ. Prayer for the needs of others (like the hunger of the 5,000+ in the story) is important, yes, but only if it also leads to action. So go, do something good today, and know that it was accomplished through the love, strength, and amazing-ness of our Lord : )

Happy Monday!



Thursday, October 06, 2011

looking forward.

Back in, ohh, let's say 2004, I passed by a local church whose marquis message I keep pretty active in my repertoire of inspiration/encouragement/motivation gems. I've seen it quoted by various people (Dan Zadra, Steve Chandler, etc.), but that's not really important. (note: ignore the cheesy background pic)

Want to know another one I keep at the ready?
yes, I made this freshman year and still have it on my bulletin board. it's just that good, folks.

Everyone goes through rough patches (myself included...), but with these positive messages floating around, things always tend to turn around. Happy Thursday, y'all! (and...if you're not into greeting cards and aren't easily offended, happy thursday to YOU)

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

The first official Mindful Monday. Hooray!

The first time I drove the banyan-lined streets of Miami, many of these trees were strewn about after Katrina ripped through the 305. (Yep, turns out it's possible for even these giants to be strewn...)
This time, they were looking as beautiful as ever along these streets, as well as in the research quadrangle of University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine. Today I toured the UMMSM facilities in Miami, and will interview tomorrow at their Palm Beach County regional campus to be a part of their new, integrated MD/MPH dual degree. Better get my beauty sleep!

-M

Sunday, October 02, 2011

wowzer!

So thanks to one of my newest and bestest buddies, I have a new addiction: perusing the wisdom of Chocolate Covered Katie at all times. It's a blog. It's a recipe-lover's heaven. It's a healthy-recipe-lover's heaven! It's a healthy dessert-recipe-lover's heaven!! I can't get enough.
"Pumpkin Bread in a Bowl," anyone? (via ChocCoveredKt)
Now go! Look at it! When I finally get around to making some of these recipes you can count on a post about it. If you gather the courage to make one yourself, be sure to leave a comment about how it turned out!

Happy October, y'all!