I'm Going to Miss...

Things I'm going to miss like crazy after spending two lovely weeks in Florida (I head home tonight):

• playing peek-a-boo with A.
• waking up to baby giggles, cries, and babbling
• faces that break into a smile when I appear
• K's various quinoa concoctions
• listening to theology lectures any time we drive anywhere
• frozen yogurt
• sunshine
• warm temperatures even when it rains
• long conversations with K & J
• taking our cameras with us, and always taking the time to capture the shots
• lazy days with netflix while the baby sleeps
• grouchily responding to Jillian Michaels while we do her Yoga Meltdown workouts
• Target
• long conversations about life, abortion, and all sorts of other hot topics
• safe friends for venting
• glasses of wine on the harder days
• hugs from good friends

Tuesday Ten

I have almost zero blogging mojo these days.  Most days it's pretty much all I can do to get from point A to point B and home again without forgetting something important.  Case in point: on Sunday I entirely forgot a skype date with my best friend, one that I'd been looking forward to for a couple of weeks.  It was only when I glanced at my phone screen and noticed a facebook message to the effect of "are we still on to chat" flash across the screen that I realized that there was in fact something on my schedule for the day.

That said, somewhere in the interweb realms today, I noticed a point form post that was basically a list of ten random things going on in the person's life right now, and I thought, "I can probably manage that!".  So, here I am, and here are ten things on a Tuesday night:

1. I'm trying to eat less starch in my diet.  I was inspired by a good friend.  I'm pretty much terrible at this.  What's worse is that I did well for a couple weeks after I got home from spending some time with my friend, and I felt really good.  So, now I'm doing terrible at the whole less starch thing, and I don't even feel good.  Sigh.  How depressing is it when bread ceases to solve all problems???
2. My reading list these days is eclectic.  A Brene Brown book.  A midwifery memoir.  Some Catholic theology.  A few cookbooks. Nursing textbooks. A random collection of novels.  All are contributing to various things I'm thinking, praying and pondering.  But definitely it's an eclectic list
3. I'm currently in love with anything teal or turquoise or any shade in between.  Basically anything in that greeny blue range.  I daydream about finally having a house one day, with lovely white walls, lots of windows, and accessories in these shades of bluish green.  (and some of the peacock images I've been collecting!)
4. Since google reader will be extinct (tears!) this summer, I've recently adopted Feedly as my RSS reader, and I'm actually really loving it.  (Mostly because, once I worked some of the kinks out, I can basically get it to look like and do what Google Reader did, but against a lovely minty green background).
5. Today I made chicken, lentil and potato curry in the crockpot, and it actually turned out great.  Only problem is that the recipe made WAY more than I thought it would.  I may now be eating nothing but curry for the next week.
6. While I still love the idea of real books, I've kind of been converted to ebooks since buying my ipad mini.  I mean, seriously, I can read bits of each of my eclectic reading list, all on the same bus trip, and I only have to carry the light weight ipad, not all ten books.  Plus, I'm kind of into the instant gratification of downloading books to my kindle app immediately, and not having to wait out the process of shipping.
7. Which brings me to Lent, and the fact that I gave up book buying for Lent.  Which is challenging when I such an addiction to the cheaper kindle prices and it's instant gratification.  But which has been good for my highly limited budget. and a good reminder on a daily basis that I'm supposed to be sacrificing, studying, and remembering Christ in this season.
8. I'm going back to Florida in 22 days.  I pretty much can't wait.  Sunshine, friends, cute baby, flip flops, and great conversations.  And just a chance to settle into really feeling like myself and moving more slowly for a couple of weeks.
9. Not so long after that I'm going to become an Aunt.  My brother and his wife are expecting in early June, and though they've stubbornly resisted finding out what they're having, it really doesn't matter to me.  I will officially be "Auntie Lisa" and that is a role that I know I will excel at.
10. Plus hey, I get to spend my summer clinical rotation dealing with mamas and babies in one form or another.  Don't know the exact details yet, but I know I got assigned to a perinatal rotation and that that pretty much has me jumping for joy!

And just like that, I made it to ten!  Maybe I'll have to make this a weekly feature?  At least it gave me a bit of blogging mojo for the day!

A Few Smiles

Just a few things as a reminder of joys in my life right now:

• adding some images to my wall of smiles tonight
• the color turquoise
• Martha Stewart organizational products from Staples
• my Curly Girl calendar
• trying a new recipe
• slow paced but productive evening (the best kind!)
• pictures of honorary nieces and nephews that make me smile (or cry, or both!)
• reading, reading, reading theology these days, and praying and processing
• texting with dear friends who are far away
• a clean desk
• thinking and working through thoughts on health and my body
• netflix
• books and more books
• Call the Midwife (book and show)
• friends who keep me accountable
• being finished my psych rotation
• bus commutes with podcasts and audio books
• reading on the kindle app on my ipad
• anticipating the arrival of spring (even if in Calgary it won't be here for quite some time still)
• looking forward to a summer placement full of babies and mamas
• Words with Friends on my phone

Blessed

I went to bed and woke this morning feeling blessed.

It's not been the most common feeling over the last year, but this last week or so, I've been basking in it.

I feel held. Known and seen and loved.  By the people around me, and by Jesus.

There are things in my spiritual life that I can't quite describe that are contributing to this feeling.  A knowing calm and peace that I don't always have.  But right now, right now it's present, and I'm basking in it.

I feel blessed to have friends who are praying and holding me in the midst of some challenging new directions of life and faith.

I feel blessed to have sat in St. Mary's Cathedral on Wednesday, and worn ashes on my forehead for the first time since I received them at the Vatican five years ago.  I feel blessed to have been joined in that evening by two good friends.

I feel blessed by the way this most challenging of clinical rotations turned out.  It went well, and my eyes have been opened (both physically and spiritually) to new things.  I passed my psych rotation - the rotation that seemed like it would be my undoing as it triggered my own mental illness symptoms.  Not only that, but I passed with flying colors!

I feel blessed to have shared dinner with good friends and two adorable little boys on Valentines Day.  To have spent the evening laughing and talking, teasing and being teased.  To have elbow bumped my favorite date (in lieu of a kiss or hug) as I was dropped off at home.

I feel blessed to have spent last evening resting and packing and eating chocolate mousse cake.

And today I feel blessed because I had the means to buy a plane ticket, and in a few short hours I'll be boarding a plane and winging my way to spend a week with several dear friends, and enjoying palm trees while soaking up some natural vitamin D.

This is a good place to be living, this place of knowing blessings, and I wanted to stop for a minute today and celebrate that.  I'm blessed.  Thanks Jesus.

Thankful

In the tradition of the Daily 5, today I'm thankful for:

• a weekend that was so encouraging to my heart
• that though I overslept my alarm, I still made it to school on time
• dear sweet friends
• big mugs of green tea
• berry white chocolate scones
• a reason to laugh
• worship music from Matt Redman, Kim Walker-Smith, and John Mark McMillan
• tears that flowed freely
• open sharing of stories
• the anticipation of time with dear friends and warm weather