It’s Friday – it’s sunny and I’m looking forward to a great weekend of warm weather at home. Today is an exceptionally happy day.
On the way in to work, I made a decision to think about happy things and I noticed many everyday beauties. It started with a happy dog wagging his tail on his morning walk. Next, the light caught soft white flower petals floating off a tree-lined street…it looked angelic and soft. A young father, cuddling his son before tucked him safely into his car seat. Then a young boy proudly sporting very pale legs – no doubt exuberant to somewhat legitimately wear shorts to school for the first time this year, with mom bundled up in fleece walking behind him to the bus stop.
Anyway…I hope you all enjoyed my Mother Earth/Pollyanna moment.
We’ll be bottling wine this weekend the Harpers and Hesses – which will complete our Christmas present to them, which will be fun! Tonight though it’s time to put the screens in. Sunday we hope to finish our firepit patio project.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Life and Death
Because I write about medicine and science every day for a living, I think about mortality a lot.
Living and dying is such an unpredictable thing when you really think about it. It seems that almost every day, something reminds me to live life to the fullest and don’t ever postpone joy because the ride of life is unpredictable. It’s messy. It’s filled with extreme highs and extreme lows. Small everyday pleasures and occasional life-altering experiences. Humanity is beautiful, ugly, kind and evil all rolled into one.
This morning I was reminded of this today when I heard a segment on NPR’s Story Core, where everyday people interview loved ones who tell some aspect of their story. I find it intriguing because the subject content varies so greatly. It is always interesting – and it usually isn’t earth shattering, just something a seemingly small memory that impacted someone.
Today’s piece featured a woman interviewing her uncle who recently celebrated his 97th birthday. When the man and his sister (the woman’s mother) were children, they were caught in a school bombing. He was reflecting how odd it was that the bomber—who worked at the school—always seemed so kind until that incident. He talked about how he escaped the school, then just 12 years old, and how scared he was to see his sister trapped under the wreckage then to try and help her. He lived through that awful experience and is well on his way to the century mark.
At the same time, I’m reading a book called Hospital by Julie Salamon – a true story about a hospital in Brooklyn, New York and the interworkings of the health system. She spoke of a woman who was just 43 and died of stage-4 colorectal cancer. Earlier this week, one of our dermatologists told me about a friend and patient of hers who is just 22 and has metastatic melanoma. Geez.
Sure, we make decisions that influence or risk for disease. But how much of it is simply fate? Should that be a frightening or liberating concept? I guess it’s all a matter of perception. I’m going to work on living in the moment more – it’s something I struggle with. I catch myself thinking about the next project, the next trip, the next big step…it’s a tough habit to break.
Perhaps I should take more time to smell the roses, eh? This morning, I sure did enjoy laying in bed listening to the birds sing outside my window. That’s a step in the right direction!
Living and dying is such an unpredictable thing when you really think about it. It seems that almost every day, something reminds me to live life to the fullest and don’t ever postpone joy because the ride of life is unpredictable. It’s messy. It’s filled with extreme highs and extreme lows. Small everyday pleasures and occasional life-altering experiences. Humanity is beautiful, ugly, kind and evil all rolled into one.
This morning I was reminded of this today when I heard a segment on NPR’s Story Core, where everyday people interview loved ones who tell some aspect of their story. I find it intriguing because the subject content varies so greatly. It is always interesting – and it usually isn’t earth shattering, just something a seemingly small memory that impacted someone.
Today’s piece featured a woman interviewing her uncle who recently celebrated his 97th birthday. When the man and his sister (the woman’s mother) were children, they were caught in a school bombing. He was reflecting how odd it was that the bomber—who worked at the school—always seemed so kind until that incident. He talked about how he escaped the school, then just 12 years old, and how scared he was to see his sister trapped under the wreckage then to try and help her. He lived through that awful experience and is well on his way to the century mark.
At the same time, I’m reading a book called Hospital by Julie Salamon – a true story about a hospital in Brooklyn, New York and the interworkings of the health system. She spoke of a woman who was just 43 and died of stage-4 colorectal cancer. Earlier this week, one of our dermatologists told me about a friend and patient of hers who is just 22 and has metastatic melanoma. Geez.
Sure, we make decisions that influence or risk for disease. But how much of it is simply fate? Should that be a frightening or liberating concept? I guess it’s all a matter of perception. I’m going to work on living in the moment more – it’s something I struggle with. I catch myself thinking about the next project, the next trip, the next big step…it’s a tough habit to break.
Perhaps I should take more time to smell the roses, eh? This morning, I sure did enjoy laying in bed listening to the birds sing outside my window. That’s a step in the right direction!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Is the Crappy Weather Gone Yet?
I just discovered that you can directly load photos from Picasa...pretty cool. I think I may have to download the program to my computer. (I am currently on B's computer.)
It's crappy and rainy today, so I'm posting a photo of a sunny day in Hawaii to make myself feel better. Ah, palm trees....
It's crappy and rainy today, so I'm posting a photo of a sunny day in Hawaii to make myself feel better. Ah, palm trees....
We had a nice trip to Columbus last weekend for Easter. We spent Friday night/Saturday morning with Anna and Andrew catching up. I had a salty wench drink at the Surly Girl Saloon -- it was awesome. Saturday we went to the Starliner where I had an awesome chorizo omlette and cuban toast. YUM. Saturday afternoon we colored Easter eggs and took a nice long walk, then chilled at Brandon's parents house that evening. Sunday was Easter service at Johnstown Methodist Church -- during which Kevin lead the praise service -- and celebrating Kevin's birthday before heading back to Cincy.
I'm looking forward to a weekend at home this week...I need to sleep in! We also have several unfinished projects to complete around the house, including the kitchen trim paint and final clean-up in the basement.
Well, I'm grumpy...and I think for my husband's sake, I need ot retreat upstairs and read a book so I don't take my grumpiness out on him.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Busy, busy bee
It’s been a bit a busy few weeks, hence the absence of blog updates. Here are the highlights:
I spent March 24-28 exploring the Big Easy as part of the Association of American Medical Colleges conference. I was fortunate enough to get approval to go down a full day earlier so my colleague and I could participate in a Habitat for Humanity project across the bridge from the ninth ward. It was absolutely incredible being part of the rebuilding effort – which still has a long way to go years after Katrina.
Here a few shots from the building site – we basically put in the entire floor support structure, which included a lot of wood sorting/crowning, nailing and termite flashing:
Work was nuts last week because our office has picked up new responsibilities, two of my co-workers were out of the office, I was on call for media and on deadline for a newsletter. YIKES. Fortunately, I made it through the week and had a great weekend of relaxing that started with some great girl time with Paula and Emily on Friday. Saturday Brandon and I spent all day working in the yard -- which is shaping up nicely – then we had brunch with dad on Sunday. It was a great weekend!
I spent March 24-28 exploring the Big Easy as part of the Association of American Medical Colleges conference. I was fortunate enough to get approval to go down a full day earlier so my colleague and I could participate in a Habitat for Humanity project across the bridge from the ninth ward. It was absolutely incredible being part of the rebuilding effort – which still has a long way to go years after Katrina.
Here a few shots from the building site – we basically put in the entire floor support structure, which included a lot of wood sorting/crowning, nailing and termite flashing:
Work was nuts last week because our office has picked up new responsibilities, two of my co-workers were out of the office, I was on call for media and on deadline for a newsletter. YIKES. Fortunately, I made it through the week and had a great weekend of relaxing that started with some great girl time with Paula and Emily on Friday. Saturday Brandon and I spent all day working in the yard -- which is shaping up nicely – then we had brunch with dad on Sunday. It was a great weekend!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Friday
I'm glad it's Friday. It's been a busy week.
Since our walk with Ginger, Brandon has been glued to the recliner watching Xavier then OSU play in the NCAA tournament. That means I retreated to the upstairs to do anything but watch basketball. (The only sport I can get into is baseball...and I definitely have a time limit!)
I decided to watch back-to-back episodes of Sex and the City. I love that show -- it's smart, funny and highly entertaining. I've been working my way through season 6 again. I cried at least three times tonight. That last season has some emotional moments.
So to summon my inner Carrie Bradshaw...I've been thinking about my own life and the way I react to things. Does anyone else let little things get to them? Are we so hung up on the little things that we begin to sweat the small stuff? I know I do. It seems to pop out of me unexpectedly -- like tonight when the darn Donatos line was busy for like 10 minutes. I got annoyed it was absurd looking back on it. Oh well -- I guess everyone is allowed a little irrational freaking out once in a while, right?
Since our walk with Ginger, Brandon has been glued to the recliner watching Xavier then OSU play in the NCAA tournament. That means I retreated to the upstairs to do anything but watch basketball. (The only sport I can get into is baseball...and I definitely have a time limit!)
I decided to watch back-to-back episodes of Sex and the City. I love that show -- it's smart, funny and highly entertaining. I've been working my way through season 6 again. I cried at least three times tonight. That last season has some emotional moments.
So to summon my inner Carrie Bradshaw...I've been thinking about my own life and the way I react to things. Does anyone else let little things get to them? Are we so hung up on the little things that we begin to sweat the small stuff? I know I do. It seems to pop out of me unexpectedly -- like tonight when the darn Donatos line was busy for like 10 minutes. I got annoyed it was absurd looking back on it. Oh well -- I guess everyone is allowed a little irrational freaking out once in a while, right?
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Back in the Groove
It's been a few weeks since we got back from Hawaii, so I'm finally back in the groove. Work is busy and changing--we recently took over media relations for University Hospital--and Brandon and I have been focusing on relaxing at home and not overbooking ourselves.
Last weekend, I had a great night with the girls on Friday. We were supposed to scrapbook, but we ended up just eating and chatting until midnight. Cat well checks were Saturday morning, which is a bit stressful. Leonard got away from us and scratched the heck out of Brandon. Fortunately, the actual vet visits went much better. Sassy was officially diagnosed with chronic bladder infections -- DUH -- so she got an antibiotic shot again. It's frustrating, but at least it's nothing something more serious.
This weekend, Brandon will be glued to the couch watching basketball. On Saturday, we're looking forward to dinner with Paula and Kirk at Brown Dog Cafe. It's local restaurant week, so there are some great specials going.
I finally loaded all our Hawaii pictures to Shutterfly. If you are interested, you can see them at: http://harpervacationphotos.shutterfly.com/.
Last weekend, I had a great night with the girls on Friday. We were supposed to scrapbook, but we ended up just eating and chatting until midnight. Cat well checks were Saturday morning, which is a bit stressful. Leonard got away from us and scratched the heck out of Brandon. Fortunately, the actual vet visits went much better. Sassy was officially diagnosed with chronic bladder infections -- DUH -- so she got an antibiotic shot again. It's frustrating, but at least it's nothing something more serious.
This weekend, Brandon will be glued to the couch watching basketball. On Saturday, we're looking forward to dinner with Paula and Kirk at Brown Dog Cafe. It's local restaurant week, so there are some great specials going.
I finally loaded all our Hawaii pictures to Shutterfly. If you are interested, you can see them at: http://harpervacationphotos.shutterfly.com/.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Back to Reality
We returned from another great two week vacation in Hawaii last Sunday. It was rough work week -- lack of sleep and no Hawaii will do that -- but we made it to the weekend.
I haven't loaded all of our photos from the trip yet (they are organized on Brandon's computer and he is still sleeping), but I'll post them to to Shutterfly soon if you are interested in seeming them. We take A LOT of pictures, though, and the digital camera really took that to a new level. (Thanks, Jane!)
We did about 40 miles of hiking between Poli Poli State Park (redwood forrest), Haleakala State Park (volcano), Hana and West Maui Mountain. I loved it all. Tito also rented a car for part of the trip, so we were able to do two shuttle hikes. The first started at the Haleakala Summit (10,000 ft up) and we down to the crater floor then up the other side. We saw Nenes, the Hawaiian goose, and tons of gorgeous scenary. I'll post photos later. West Maui Mountain gave us sweeping views of the island. Poli Poli was an unusual scene for Hawaii. It's a redwood forrest like you would see in California. Here's a picture of me doing what I love to do: HUG TREES!
We also did a fair amount of sunning on the beach, playing in the water, snorkeling, TONS of greate whale watching (including a boat trip with Brandon's grandparents with the Pacific Whale Foundation) and a day trip to the island of Lanai exploring four-wheel drive roads around the island.
I'll post more later. Right now, I need coffee stat.
ALOHA
I haven't loaded all of our photos from the trip yet (they are organized on Brandon's computer and he is still sleeping), but I'll post them to to Shutterfly soon if you are interested in seeming them. We take A LOT of pictures, though, and the digital camera really took that to a new level. (Thanks, Jane!)
We did about 40 miles of hiking between Poli Poli State Park (redwood forrest), Haleakala State Park (volcano), Hana and West Maui Mountain. I loved it all. Tito also rented a car for part of the trip, so we were able to do two shuttle hikes. The first started at the Haleakala Summit (10,000 ft up) and we down to the crater floor then up the other side. We saw Nenes, the Hawaiian goose, and tons of gorgeous scenary. I'll post photos later. West Maui Mountain gave us sweeping views of the island. Poli Poli was an unusual scene for Hawaii. It's a redwood forrest like you would see in California. Here's a picture of me doing what I love to do: HUG TREES!
We also did a fair amount of sunning on the beach, playing in the water, snorkeling, TONS of greate whale watching (including a boat trip with Brandon's grandparents with the Pacific Whale Foundation) and a day trip to the island of Lanai exploring four-wheel drive roads around the island.
I'll post more later. Right now, I need coffee stat.
ALOHA
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
