Least worst

I'm crabby today. My kid is mildly sick -- just a runny nose, just sick enough to keep him home from day care, keep me home from work and keep us both completely crabby. And we canceled our Halloween plans in order to prevent spreading the baby germs to our friends' toddler son. And it's raining. And Brian took our shared car to his consulting gig.

Blech.

In order to cheer myself up, here's a list of 10 things I don't completely hate:

1. My new trench coat. Whereas I usually look like a rumpled and disheveled mother when Sam and I take our morning walk to Starbucks, today I looked like a rumpled and disheveled mother with a snazzy trench coat on. Vast improvement.
2. My housekeeper. She came yesterday, so today I may be trapped inside, but at least it's clean in here.
3. Baby saline nose drops. Utterly ineffectual, but they give me the illusion of doing something to help my son's stuffy nose.
4. My ridiculously flexible work schedule and absurdly supportive boss. Enough said.
5. The Grocery List Generator from Mozilla. Just discovered it this morning. Neat-o.
6. tinyprints.com. I'm having fun playing around with different photo Christmas cards. (Aside: what is it about becoming a parent that makes you suddenly want to send photo Christms cards?)
7. Martha Stewart's cookie cookbook. I think I'll make some of those chocolate chunk gingerbread cookies this afternoon. Cheeriness increasing all around.
8. Daydreaming about how wonderful it's going to be to have my parents, my in-laws, my sister, my brothers and my brother's girlfriend gathered in my home for Thanksgiving. Magic.
9. Lentil soup and crusty bread for dinner. (Maybe a rainy fall day is good for something after all.)
10. Ombligo. Probably the only face that can reliably make Sam smile, even when he's sick. God save us if anything were to happen to him.



Feeling better already. :)

Mama mojo

As much as I am loving being Sam's mother, there are certain aspects to my new life that leave a little to be desired. The one that's bugging me most right at this moment is the very limited time I have (make? take?) to maintain my appearance. I haven't had a haircut in six months. I haven't waxed my eyebrows in nearly that long. No pedicure since the beginning of the summer. And my chronic lack of sleep is really messing with my skin. Not to mention: I have been to the gym exactly twice since Sam was born and I still have seven or eight pounds to lose.

Not a pretty picture.

To be fair, this slow slide into frumpery started long before Sam was born. During my third year of medical school, the busiest year, I neglected my workouts and my eyebrows. And my wardrobe has been in an ever-increasing state of paucity and disrepair for years. So really, Sam's arrival has only exacerbated an already disturbing trend.

Well, I've had enough. I can't diet right now because I'm breastfeeding. But the other stuff can and will be addressed. Here are my beauty resolutions:

1. Haircut. Not a trim. A cut with real style. Something that requires blowdrying.
2. Brow wax and pedicure. Bring Sam along if I have to.
3. Change up my skin care routine. It's time to starting using a richer eye cream and a better daily moisurizer. I'm not 18 anymore.
4. New hip-er glasses. Actually hip would probably give me whiplash, but I can go for hip-er.
5. Department store "make-over" and splurge on at least one new make-up item.
6. A pretty new dress ... not for special occassions. Something I can actually wear.

I'll report back on my progress.

Park on Park

Last night we took Sam to one of the several parks within walking distance of our apartment. This park is down the street from the house where I lived during the summer after my junior year of college. I have such fond memories of the place. And the park itself was just recently "remodeled" ... so the play equipment is all new and there are always plenty of other children and parents buzzing around. I think we'll spend a good amount of time there in the coming months.

Best of all, the light was just gorgeous last night, so Brian was able to get some really lovely pictures.

Flu shot

Every few months for the past several years, I catch the real estate bug the same way people catch the flu. For a few days, I'm under the weather: endlessly checking movoto.com and redfin.com ... plugging numbers into online mortgage calculators ... updating and revising my various spreadsheets, all of which -- inevitably and definitively -- tell me the same thing: we can't afford to buy a house.

I caught my most recent bug when I saw a headline in the San Jose Mercury News: prices in some Bay Area towns and neighborhoods are down 20-30%. For the first time, it appears we may actually be able to afford a place of our own. Of course, we'll need to wait until after the Match and after Brian graduates and is gainfully employed. Even then, it may be difficult to quality for a mortgage, given the current credit crisis. And who knows if the dip in local prices will last into the spring. It's anyone's guess.

But ... maybe ... maybe we could buy something. And that's enough to keep me logged in to movoto and spinning my spreadsheets. We would almost certainly have to buy a fixer-upper, in a neighborhood that oculd only be described (generously) as up-and-coming.

For example, check out these pictures of places in our price range:



Who takes pictures like this when listing their home for sale? Seriously? You couldn't move the tub of clothes off the bed?



This last one is the best. Just looking at it makes me laugh.



What you can't see from these delightful picitures is that the house is in a terrible school district. But at least the Mexican food is great. And I'm wondering if maybe that isn't enough. A place of our own, and great Mexican food. Sounds pretty good to me.

My family

Because my blog is looking a little sparse and lonely, here's a picture of what I love most in this world: my husband and baby son.

Anyone out there?

I'm going to give this blogging thing a try.

By way of introduction, I'm a 29 year old wife and the mother of one wee boy. I'm also a medical student in my last year, applying to residency programs in internal medicine this fall. I'm hopeful that blogging will be a way for me to record my progress through the residency application process and will help me make the most thoughtful decisions possible when I create my rank list. I also want to provide encouragement and commeriseration for other medical mamas out there. And I never shy away from yet another venue to post pictures of my adorable son.

So, here we go!