Iowa Domestic Tourism

There is a long list of things I should be doing right now: studying for mock boards tomorrow (for which I will be surely mocked--okay probably not overtly but over my own feelings of academic inadequacy), practicing my golf swing for our golf outing in the afternoon (our "reward" for suffering through the mocking--too bad it is more like punishment for me, a total non-golfer with no idea what I am doing), cleaning my house for the visitors who will be here in a few weeks for my completion of residency, working on work check out stuff like surgical logs and research presentations, and maybe just getting ready for bed.

So why the compulsion to blog? Especially when I don't know what to say? Maybe it is my desire to connect to the world when my husband is at work (again), leaving my chatty extrovert self on her own with only the blogosphere to listen? Or maybe it is my way of putting off what I really should be doing.

I would like to finish documenting my Japan trip but I frankly don't have the time for that currently--hopefully in a few weeks. I am interested to share about how I was able to refinance my student loans for about half the interest rate (Yay! Yay! Yay!), but again, don't feel quite up to the task today. Unfortunately there are crazy or emotional or exciting or scary things in my life I am not able to share (either due to patient confidentiality or my own confidentiality, etc). And I am sure there are some deep topics rumbling around in my brain ready to come out. Something about the challenges of being a woman surgeon or what it is like to be a twin or some of my life goals.

Or maybe we can talk about my plans after June 20, which by the way, is the LAST day of my life as a resident.

I was hoping to go on vacation but that doesn't look like it will work out. So, I am planning a stay cation which mainly I hope will include some major rehaul of the house! Yes, the house I moved in to a few weeks before residency and has only known the love and care of at least one (and usually two) residents. One piled high with medical journal articles, fake dental teeth, and any and all kind of clutter you can imagine would accumulate after four years of living a crazy life.

It may not be Disney...but maybe staying home could be fun!

I am hoping I will have the stamina, time, and desire to actually do a full rehaul. I'm not very good at the organizing thing. Or at the giving things away thing. Or the decorating or having ideas thing. So that is certainly a road block, or rather a mental block. But I'm committed.

Beautiful Iowa!

Some big goals include:
1. Getting rid of clutter once and for all (yeah right!). Wouldn't it be great to have a fresh start?
2. Decorating the beautiful basement we finished and never furnished or decorated. Ideas? Anyone up for a Chicago Ikea run?
3. A few maintenance things like painting the front porch and arranging to have our hazardous 1930s stone steps replaced outside.
4. Clean out and make our second bedroom functional as a guest room.
5. Clean and organize the garage and get the yard in shape.  I was hoping I would be up to this task but I'm not sure I can do it. After all, it is a vacation!
6. Maybe some fresh paint or updates in general in the house.


I am hoping to trick myself into thinking all of this work will be fun! Liberating! Stuff I've been wanting to do but couldn't get done as a resident but now can as a real adult with a job and a domestic plan!

I am also hoping for some fun time. One fun thing per day, maybe... I wish I had more time to structure out my staycation to make it really productive and also fun. Maybe a massage one day, a few matinees, a little shopping, and hopefully a trip or two to Chicago (remember Ikea?). After that I'm not feeling too creative.

Anyone have any good ideas for "vacation" when I am stuck at home? Also I am accepting volunteers, slaves, friends, professionals who are willing and interested to help a domestic novice achieve a higher level of domestic bliss and feng shui. Because really, all the motivation in the world may not overcome a blank slate of ideas or know how.