Yummy yummy in my tummy

So back in October, my mom came up for the weekend and this happened:

It sure lasted me a while. This week I used up the last bit of meat to make a red pepper paste-garlic-turkey-bulgur concoction:

Typical dinner at Chez T

And these crescent rolls are ridiculously easy to make. Just put a mixture of thyme seeds and olive oil and bake for 20 minutes until golden-brown. Super fast and easy. You can also do a parmesan-oregano spread instead or even Nutella and chocolate chips (see friend's blog here for recipe). :)

I like YA fiction and I cannot lie

Every year I look back and list the books I've read throughout the months. I usually average 23 books per year, but of course this year it's going to be half that number. I did not read a single book between mid-July and mid-December, sigh. Here are some thoughts:

1-4) The Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

I read these because I was intrigued by the trailer for Beautiful Creatures and like to read books before I see the story on the big screen. The story is much more rich and you are the one creating the imagery in your mind. The movie was okay. Not too bad, but I think it didn't do too well so I don't expect the other books to be made into films. I really really enjoyed reading this series. It had a nice blend of fantasy, romance, and mystery. I initially thought the beautiful creatures are the witches, or "casters," but it actually refers to humans. (BTW, that wasn't a spoiler, don't worry.) Pretty easy and fast read and you get hooked.

5) A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

I admit, I put off reading this one because I am stubborn and was waiting for the paperback to come out so that my entire set would look the same (I have paperbacks of the first four books). But the publishing date kept getting pushed back...and back...and back. So I caved. I'm sure I actually would have held on to my resolve and waited for the paperback had I not been starting med school in a few months. Since these books are usually 1000+ pages, it's a huge commitment, and I really did want to finish (whatever's been published of) this series ASAP. It was one of my least favorites of the five, but perhaps I'm biased because the book is Dany-heavy and she is one of my least favorite characters. Sorry Khaleesi fans. (Side note: I know the show refers to her as Khaleesi a lot, too much for my taste in fact, but really that's a title, not her name. She is Dany. Please.)

Tell me this asymmetry does not give you heart palpitations.

6) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

What a charming book. Don't expect a happy ending since the central premise revolves around two teenage cancer patients, but it's really sweet. Can't wait to see the movie!

7) Stiff by Mary Roach

A book about what happens to bodies after people donate them. Each chapter is dedicated to a different thing - anatomy lab, crash testing, forensic testing, etc. Not that morbid, believe me. And eyeopening.

8) This Won't Hurt a Bit (and Other White Lies They Tell You) by Michelle Au

Ha! Dr. Au has her own blog (the underwear drawer) and is the brilliance behind the scutmonkey comics. This is sort of an autobiography and I just love her tone and honest musings about third year, internship, residency, and how to balance work life with family life. She explicitly states things you know we are all thinking so it's very validating.

9-10) The City of Ember/The People of Sparks by Jeanne Du Prau

The first book in this series was gifted to me by one of my undergrads that I supervised at my old lab (cue the aww!). She apparently asked an employee at Barnes and Noble about something that would be appropriate for a Harry Potter fan (she knows me too well :) and this is what was recommended. I really liked it! It has the post-apocolyptic/dystopian future vibe that is so prevalent in lit these days, but the main characters are 11 or 12 years old so things are told from a more innocent/less jaded perspective which is refreshing and interesting when you realize what they are referring to through their descriptions. I didn't like the second book as much. It felt less character-driven and more plot-driven, but I still read through it. I started the third book as well, but I'm not sure if the same characters are going to show up since most of the storylines were tied up during the second book and the setting suddenly changed in the third. I stopped after the first chapter to switch over to Divergent (see: below), and now it's the end of break so I probably won't get to this for a while.

11-13) The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

I admit I wasn't too intrigued when I first heard about this series. I think I saw it on a BuzzFeed post or something and thought it looked mildly interesting so I wiki-ed it and didn't think I wanted to read it. Saw the trailer last month and thought, hmm, it does look good. And then one of my friends read the entire series in the middle of finals week because it was just that good. So of course I had to read it. I did spend the bulk of my reading time on this series and didn't get to read as many other books as I thought (I had 8 set aside, and got through 4 which is better than nothing!), but I don't care! It was so so good. I know a lot of people are disappointed with the way things ended, and I can definitely see why. There are a bunch of questions that are still open or the answer wasn't satisfying/didn't fit, but I'm not regretting reading it. I definitely cannot sit down and write a short story let alone a trilogy so you have to give credit where it's due. The books are definitely page-turners and they're easy. I don't think it's fair to compare to Harry Potter or The Hunger Games. They are all different. And at this point in my life, I'm reading more for entertainment than analysis (see: # of YA lit on this post) so I'm happy! Guess I will be seeing plenty of Shailene Woodley next (yikes!) this year at the movies.

Things I did over Winter break

Movies seen: 4
Books read: 4
Number of times went out with friends: too many to count

What a relaxing, glorious 16 days this has been. This was the first break that was truly a vacation - nothing to study, no presentations coming up, no clinic since I went back home for two weeks, no waking up with alarms. I cannot believe I go back tomorrow. I wish I had a timeturner. It's going to be back to the grind starting Monday, with more difficult classes (I presume), more responsibilities at clinic, and who knows what else.

Movies seen:
Catching Fire (again!), Frozen, The Desolation of Smaug, and 12 Years a Slave

Other fun stuff:

Annual Cooking Baking Pahtay. This was from last year because we ate all the cookies this year before I remembered to take a picture, ha!

Traditional BJs date with college friend R who is also in med school. Yeah, we go for the pizookies. :)

Three future docs