Some of my (new) favorite things

An 1862 map of South America--I won it in a daily map giveaway through http://www.rare-maps.com/contest.cfm. You should enter! You'll probably win a map at some point before the year's up.

Blue suitcases = great storage and decoration. Inspired by Elizabeth May and Soule Mama :)

My new Canon Rebel--YAY!!!

Got to bring the new camera on a trip to PA last week to meet my new niece Natalie and see her not as new sister Olivia. We love both of them soooo much! (Also, got to see my wonderful Grandpa in Ohio the next few days.)

Anna and me with the cuties

My Mom

This will be kind of the third post in my series of "influential people in my life," started about a year ago after Father's Day. What better time to write this than a week after Mother's Day, right?? :)




Some of the many things I admire about my mom:

1) She has the most beautiful smile in the world. She really does--I think the word "beaming" best describes the way my mom shares her joy with the world.
2) She is one of the warmest, friendliest people I know, never neglecting the opportunity to strike up a conversation with someone new.
3) She likes to look out for the little guy/is not a respecter of persons. Whether it was taking us to visit the shut-in as kids or telling us to be friends with girls who don't have too many friends at school, she's always tried to teach her daughters to be kind to people who might need a little more "looking out for" than the average Jane.
4) Mom is very perceptive about people. This probably stems from her not being a respecter of persons and the wisdom she has gained over the years. All my sisters and I have noticed over the years that she's usually right about people, but we appreciate that she's not quick to judge.
5) She's one of the most thoughtful people I know, too--always dropping off care packages or little notes for people at the post office.
6) She has born into this world and raised six daughters. Nuff said.
7) She is the BEST when you are sick. She gets Gatorade, medicine, blankets, sometimes little presents, and just checks up on you in this quiet, very caring, unselfish way. It's almost worth it getting sick because she is such a great nurse.
8) She's really good with words: she always knows what to say to encourage people or make them feel great. She also has a stunning vocabulary and likes to pull out a "pusillanimous" every once in a while, which makes us all laugh.
9) She's what you'd call a "woman of faith"--like my friend Haley, you do know what's important to Mom soon after knowing her. And, she's a fighter--she doesn't give up when hard times come, which they do.
10) She has a sensitive heart. She believes in the Spirit's leading and she often examines her own heart--such an important attribute if you want to grow.

Fun facts about Mom:
1) She married my dad when she was 21 and he was 33, immediately becoming a caretaker of two teenage boys.
2) When she was little, she wanted to be a nun, and then the first "Saint Sheila." I think this explains a lot of her current, seriously, saintliness.
3) In my family, we have inherited our lack of punctuality from her, not my dad...
4) She's got a fantastic eye for interior decorating.
5) She has a lovely singing voice--a hidden talent she should share with the world!

Inspiration

Just thought I'd share a couple stories of people who've been inspiring me lately:

1) A little English woman who came to the nursing home a few days ago. Marqueea and I had to figure out how to assemble her jigsaw-puzzle-like back brace before she could get out of bed that day, and she didn't want to waste any more time IN THAT BED! This 80-year-old woman (who looks about 65) had gotten a stress fracture in her vertebrae, a broken rib, and a badly bruised shoulder from hiking the week before. Hiking has been a favorite pastime for the last 30 years, and before that she and her husband were avid cyclers, biking around the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium (which I really want to do now!). Oh, and in the last two years she has hiked to Machu Picchu and spent a month in Costa Rica studying the local flora and fauna (another two things I definitely want to do at some point). She's been taking Spanish classes the past couple years (cool, huh?), but says she confuses the language with the French she learned in high school. This lady ROCKS. I'm sure she'll be back on the trail in no time.

2) My good friend Haley. We did dinner a few nights ago. Not only is she a beautiful and delightful person, but she is also one of the sweetest, godliest, most humble people I know. I am always a little taken aback, in a really good way, when I hear her telling one of her prayer stories--how she was praying that God would help her love people on the way to the clinic that day, like she does every day, and listen to what God had to teach her about love. I appreciate her openness, unjadedness, and honesty. I love that she would rather talk about how to love like Jesus than debate theology. She is one of those rare people who, when you get to know her just a little bit, you know what she's all about--following Him more nearly. Very cool girl. If you haven't met her yet, you should go out of your way to do so ASAP.

A week in Minnesota

Hannah watering her flowers in the greenhouse: lilacs, lupines, statice, dahlias--all to be bouquets at this summer's market.

Last week I got to visit my dear organic-farming best friend Hannah, her beautiful, great-with-child sister Rebecca and dexterous brother-in-law Joe, in the rolling country of southeast Minnesota, about a half hour from Rochester. About thirty minutes after pulling up to the farm in Hannah's red '91 Tercel, I milked my very first cow, Frieda. :) Milking a cow is HARD, I learned. Hannah's about four times as fast as I am, but I think if I milked twice a day like she does, in a couple months, I could get the hang of it.

Hannah milking Frieda

tenacious Frieda

Hannah and I got to have lots of espresso-talks, just like old times, transplant baby flowers in the greenhouse, make butter from Frieda's milk (isn't that awesome??), check the maple trees for sap (which is actually just water--not sticky, like you think of it. And it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of delicious maple syrup!), feed her chickens, cook really good food, eat really good food, speculate about the new baby, and get to know her boyfriend and other friends a little. Such a delightful week.

Oh yeah, did I mention we watched Season 4 of LOST every night? Just like last time Hannah and I saw Becca and Joe at their farm in NY! :)

Back home, with Danny at the pool the day I got back, to be followed by a delicious shrimp and mushroom pasta he made me!

Norovirus

I've had to miss work at the nursing home the last two days due to infection with the highly contagious Norovirus--the illness that struck over 400 of 1800 passengers on a Celebrity cruise ship late last month. It's been going around the nursing home the last week or so. It's HORRIBLE--I hope you never get it!! Really, two nights ago was the worst night I think I've ever experienced. And, guess what: alcohol doesn't kill it. And you can get it from contact with just ten of the virus particles. Oh, and you won't become immune to it just because you've had it before. It's bad!

In other news, I had an interview with the Medical College of Virginia / Virginia Commonwealth University last month--I felt like it went well! It was really great to get to catch up with one of my best friends from middle school, Sheinei, who's in grad school up there. She, Danny and I grabbed Thai food the night before my interview and she gave me a pep talk (which Danny told her to do while I was in the bathroom :)--sneaky!).

My Aunt Kate is visiting from NM. She and my parents are at the beach right now--I'm supposed to join them, with a few sisters--hopefully I'll be well enough to go in the morning.

The last several months

Sorry I haven't written in so long! I've actually started a few blogs and then just haven't finished them. These days there seems to always be something else hanging over my head (that's commanding more of my attention than my blog)... right now it's secondary applications for med schools. And working at a nursing home--which I love! But here are a few photographic highlights since JULY!

One of my New Years Resolutions is to blog more, which shouldn't be too hard at the rate I'm going right now! :)

Danny telling me to study for the MCAT, Cate! Probably 90% of the first months of our relationship were spent in a coffee shop studying.


Elizabeth and I playing tennis this summer. Have to say, we're both pretty bad... but I'm worse!


The day we watched the National Parks documentary premier on PBS, Danny and I went hiking in Pisgah. Lovely fall day.

Leah and I went camping with her church--such fun.

Haley and me going "wild" at the Greenville Zoo.

Elizabeth, Ellen and I in NYC--we got to stay with the lovely Erika Grace Powell. Trip of the year :).

Biz and Tim got married in Memphis December! What a party!! Hannah and I were honored to be in the wedding.

You Are the Blood

I just downloaded this beautiful song from the Castanets (Sufjan has a much longer version that's also good). Hope you like it.



You are the blood
Flowing through my fingers
All through the soil
Up in those trees

You are electricity
And you are light
You are sound itself
And you are flight