11/23/14

1. I would like to share an incident that occurred at church this morning. This whole conversation occurred in a whisper during the liturgy. 

Helena: Mina! Look, there is a spider on my purse on the floor!

Me: Cool! What a cute spider!

Helena: You have to kill it!

Me: We are in church, I can't kill in the house of God. 

Helena: But it's gonna kill us, we are all gonna die. 

She give me her look of death

Me: The Priest is praying over the communion right now, I can't kill. He is an innocent creature, completely harmless. 

Helena: There are children in this church!

Silence for 10 minutes 

Helena: the spider came back and just walked across my toes! 

Me: and you didn't die! Can you imagine?

Silence and a reemergence of the death glare. 

Would you kill a spider in church? 

2. After church Helena and I stopped by this place in Culver City called Chocovivo. It makes it's own chocolate from beans it buys from a grower in Mexico and makes incredible dark hot chocolate. On the counter there is a bowl of little brown pepple like things that is labeled "chocolate nibs - try them"

Helena: What is that? (Pointing to the chocolate nibs) 

Chocolate Lady: They are called chocolate nibs, they are bits of chocolate before it is processed. It kind of has a nutty flavor. 

Helena: So they are nuts? 

Chocolate Lady: I said they have a nutty flavor. 

Helena: So what kind of nuts are they? 

Chocolate Lady: They are chocolate, but kind of taste nutty. 

Helena: So they are chocolate covered nuts?

Chocolate Lady: *sigh*

Me: (interrupting in an attempt to end the madness) Thank you so much for telling us about them, they look delicious. 

3. When I was walking our dog this morning we met a dog whose name is "Sugarbear". Sugarbear! Isn't that the cutest name for a dog you have ever heard!? If our dog wasn't 11 years old I would change his name to Sugarbear in a heartbeat! Although apparently there are 2 dogs with that glorious name in the neighborhood. Maybe "Sugarpuppy"?

4. One of my favorite verses ever was in the passage I read for my quiet time this morning. 

"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." -Luke 12:27

5. Today we celebrated my Aunt's and dad's birthdays. It was a joyous time filled mostly with making fun of one another and a lively discussion of how to tell Middle Eastern people from different countries apart just by looking at them (bottom line if they are short and overweight they are probably Egyptian)

1/4/14

1. We spent the day with my sister in law and my parents in law. My sister in law is going back tomorrow to Michigan so it was awesome to get some quality time with them! She is an incredibly good hugger for being such a small person.

2. We bought a gift card from coffee bean, so we got a free drink. I decided to get adventurous, so I got a pomegranate-blueberry soy tea latte and I was handsomely rewarded with deliciousness. It was a lot of flavors at once, but they were good flavors, so it was definitely a win.

3. I got to watch the sun set over the ocean. It was foggy and mysterious and made me feel like I was in a Sade music video.

4. The chapter my wife and I read of the Bible yesterday was awesome. Here is my favorite part:

"Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd." -Matthew 9:34-35

5. My father in law is the best cook ever and he made us an incredible linner (lunch/dinner) of baked salmon, tofu with artichokes(!), mashed potatoes, and salad. I love that man!

1/3/14

1. One of my patients came to her appointment with her 2 year old son. He spent the entire hour dancing and trying to turn off the computer. His dancing made her mother's face light up. The first time I can remember her smile! At first I was a little confused about how we were supposed to have therapy with a 2 year old running around the room, but realized that this was a gift. A chance for me to connect with a part of her life that made her smile. It was one of the best sessions we have had.

2. I got to see 2 of my cousins that I haven't seen in a long time. It was awesome to see their beautiful faces and to hear about the awesome things they are up to (one of my cousins is almost done with exams to be a professional engineer and another is doing awesome in grad school to be a psychologist)

3. At the family get together my sister was telling stories of her days as an inner city high school math teacher. Her stories made me swell up with pride and feel crazy inspired by how awesome a teacher she is. I kept thinking that I want to be like her when I grow up.

4. My wife and I had a really good conversation in the car about what kind of place we would like to live in in the future. We disagree on some things but it makes me excited to build a home with her!

5. My wife is making a scrap book and she just finished the pages from our trip to Florence and Rome. Her creativity is crazy awesome. I mean she put menus, business cards, train tickets, and programs! It is beautiful!

1/2/14

1. I was told by my sister that the best tv series of all time, "alias", is on Netflix! We are having a marathon and we will wear sweat pants and eat Nutella and cuddle under blankets!

2. My wife wore this beautiful orange shirt I haven't seen wear before. She looked radiant!

3. It felt neat and weird to write 2014 as the year on my work documents. It just feels like its gonna be a good year.

4. Got to see a bunch of family members for dinner in LA. Not only was the seafood something I will likely dream about tonight but we ended it with a group hug!

5. There was discussion at dinner of putting together a music video. To a destinys child song. Time to start stretching my twerk muscles.

1/1/14

1. I got to pray the liturgy this morning, which was an awesome way to start the new year. Plus it was a small and intimate liturgy…can't be beat!

2. I didn't have to go to work!

3. I taught my co-resident backgammon. We ended playing 15 games in a row. I never want to play backgammon again.

4. I took a post-liturgy nap. There is nothing like binge eating on donuts after a liturgy and then sleeping after the sugar crash.

5. My wife made this incredible tortilla soup. When you put avocados on it, its the perfect combination of spicy and creamy. I can barely write about it without having crazy urges to binge eat.

5 things I appreciate about 12/31/13

1. Met a older woman patient today who has a history of schizophrenia. She calls herself "the Middle Eastern Queen". She quickly discovered I am of Egyptian descent and proceeded to excitedly tell me about how she was born in Mt. Sinai and was abducted by a white family.

2. I got to eat lunch with my wife today. Date lunch at a thai restaurant. Ate the spicy shrimp, which was delectably spicy and shrimpy.

3. During lunch, my wife and I discussed our new years resolutions. Here are some of mine:
-Hug more
-Eat less sugar (unless its a home baked good, and then come on now!)
-Improve my Spanish
-Improve my English
-Become knowldegeable in psychiatry...somewhow
-Become more structured in my prayer life
-Create more romantic surprises (picnics and crap like that)
-Laugh more, think more, speak less
-Do exercises that are fun..i.e. dancing
-Communicate better and more often with my family

4. I got to take a post thai food lunch nap. It was deep and I dreamed of fondue.

5. I got to kiss my wife when the clock struck midnight. Simple and yet the perfect way to end 2013 and begin 2014.

5 wonderful things that happened today

1. I went to the animal hospital to pick up our dogs after they have been boarded for a weekend. They were so excited to see me (at least I assume) that they started to shake out of anticipation. These dogs are old and fat, but that didn't stop them from (attempting) to leap at my face. One of them (the older, fatter one), started to gyrate like furby while making these cute little squealing sounds. Its a pretty neat feeling to have such wonderfully cute creatures so excited to see your face!

2. Went to visit family members in Dana Point today, and they live right next to the beach. It was one of those clear, sunny days where you could see a dolphin. I didn't see the dolphin, but it was the fact that I could have that made it magical.

3. Playing chess with my co-resident. He says, "come, on! Go already, this isn't a thinking game!"

4. I got to meet my sister's little puppy, "Schmidt", for the first time today! He is adorable and cuddly, and he nips at your hands (because he is teething), and he smells like pretzels. My sister is somewhat abusive with him (she taps him on the nose when he nips), so I spent alot of the day chastising her. However it was somewhat "reassuring" to see that she doesn't reserve her abuse for me alone.

5. Today's morning passage was Phillippians 4:6-7:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 'Nough said!