Cate y el dia terrible, horrible, espantoso, horroroso

Today was great, actually--but tonight was a little rough! I met up with Maggie Brown and my sister Jessica to talk about the logistics of bike riding from Canada to Mexico next summer (!! anyone else interested in coming?). At 5:45 I realized I was already supposed to be somewhere. Searching through my purse, I discovered I didn't have my keys. Went back inside--they were nowhere. Dangit. Must have left them in my car. Opened my car door with Jessica's last wire hanger and apparently left my purse on top of the car. Drove off. Realized in the car my purse wasn't there. Did I leave it at Jess's house? Tried calling her but my phone died on me before she had the chance to pick up!! You are kidding me.

Got in touch with Jessica. No purse there. Combed Main and Augusta Streets--trash cans, bushes--everything. No luck. :( Ordered a new debit card. Need to go to the DMV to get a new license tomorrow.

And I had just put a good chunk of cash in my wallet earlier today--which I never do!

Anyway, on the bright side, I got to catch up with some great people today. I'm going to Nicaragua in a week, for a month, to learn some Spanish and hang out with some orphans! My friend Logan worked at this orphanage outside of Managua (the capital) a few years back and hooked me up with the director, who told me to come on over! I am super excited! Just came up with my packing list today, including the book in the photo. And hopefully a debit card. :)

Qualitative, not quantitative.

birthday party picnic at rock quarry garden

in Asheville with Leah and Carrie. We may or may not have made an Urban Outfitters detour immediately preceding the taking of this photo. :)

at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge in Ash-vegas before seeing Mates of State

Events from the last couple of weeks:
-I turned 26. I can now check the "26 to 30" bracket when subscribing for things like Table 301 newsletters. Dangit. :)
-Took the MCAT, again, on Thursday. Ah, what a relief to have that behind me!! I definitely worked hard for whatever score I will find I earned in six week's time.
-Have been going to some pretty killa weddings: Katie and Eric last weekend, and Catherine and Lyle this weekend.
-I'm looking into going to Nicaragua, or somewhere in Latin America, this fall... Maybe in October, even for just a few (or several) weeks. I had just been thinking about how neat it would be to help out in an orphanage (probably after seeing Alex's story on "This Emotional Life") (on Netflix watch instantly), when I met a girl at (two of my favorite people) Catherine and Lyle's wedding this weekend who worked at an orphanage in Nicaragua last summer, through an organization called Orphan Network. Nothing's set in stone yet. We'll just see where this late October brings me.
-In the meanwhile, I plan on working at the nursing home still (and/or anywhere else? It's hard to get a new job for only six weeks), go to yoga with Anna/Jessica/Eliz/Carrie/Haley weekly (call me!), :) do an interview with VCOM's early decision panel Sept. 16 (!!), go to VEGAS with the sisters, and see my best friend Hannah get married to a kind-hearted Minnesotan.
-I want to do more artwork this year. Ummm... hold me to that! I'm thinking about creating some silhouettes. Gotta love them. I'd also like to get into med school this year, go hiking waaaay more, read a lot, and learn muchissimo mas de Espanol. Oh, and I want to use the pasta maker I just got for my birthday. Viva la cucina italiana!

Notice I'm speaking using qualitative terms, not quantitative. After 26 years, I know myself better than to do otherwise. :)

Kreisler's plays Kreisler

Liebesleid ("Love's Sorrow")--isn't this piece named appropriately? So moving.

Love Poem

When we are in love, we love the grass,
And the barns, and the lightpoles,
And the small main streets abandoned all night.
-Robert Bly

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.