Pet peeves...

1. Protecting yourself from the sun. All it took was one skin cancer lecture my first year of med school, and I haven't laid out in the sun since. I cover myself with sunscreen religiously, and encourage anyone I'm with to do the same. And it drives me crazy to see people at the beach laying out in the sun, almost naked and bright red. One in three people will get skin cancer in their lifetime, and having fair skin increases your chances.

2. Motor vehicle safety, i.e. placing your infant in a rear-facing child seat until at least 12 months of age and 20 pounds, and a forward-facing child seat until at least 6 years of age and 60 pounds. Furthermore, don't place your child under 12 years of age in the front seat (air bags kill kids!), and use a child seat with a 5-point harness (not a booster seat with an adult seat belt) until your child is at least 40 pounds.

3. Proofread what you write. Spelling and grammatical errors drive me crazy. (However, I do know that I am not completely exempt from making them occasionally. I am, after all, not completely perfect... ;)

4. Don't waste food. For whatever reason, I can't seem to throw away food until it is obviously too old to eat.

5. Letting your cell phone ring and interrupt church/lectures/conversations/etc.

6. Lateness. I can't stand being late, but I don't mind it as much in others.

7. Eating in front of people without offering the other person some (I mean, that's just plain rude).

Today I decided to get my car washed...

But first I had to clean it out...and yes, all of this was it in. And I did say car, not moving van.

Don't let the plethera of kid stuff - the stroller, snuggli, baby formula, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, etc. - fool you, I don't actually have kids, even though I do spend a lot of time with them.

My car looks great now, although I'm still getting used to how well I can see out the windows when I drive. ;-)

Beauty for Ashes?

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me...to grant consolation & joy to those who mourn in Zion - to give them a garland of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, & failing spirit - that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." Isaiah 61.1 & 3

These past several years have been so difficult in so many ways. If I could have known three years ago at the start of medical school, or five years ago when I started at Westmont, where I would be today, I don't think I could have handled it. In fact, I know I couldn't have. There is a reason we cannot see or know what the future holds. At this point, consider how the past few years have been, I wouldn't want to know the future even if I could. I keep waiting for the "beauty for ashes", to see how this puzzle fits together, to figure out the why of all this pain. But I may never know this side of heaven, and things may never get any better or easier...Which is kind of hard to swallow

Things I like

In no particular order...

Rain. My kittens. The beach. My car. Chocolate. My house (condo). My family. Babies. Sleeping. My church. Friends. My watermelon bowls. Picture frames. Babysitting. Decorating my house. Shopping. Coffee Bean. Buying new clothes. Playing games. Starbucks. Drawing and painting (sort of. I'm not really very good at either). Phase 10. Driving. Blankets. Old Navy. Santa Barbara. Getting my car washed. Christmas trees. Pictures. Music. Fireworks. Flying. Dancing. Christmas lights. My digital camera. My Bible (which, incidentally, I stole (borrowed?) from my church after mine was stolen when my car was broken into last March!). Having company. Shoes. Journals. My guest book. Weddings. Children's books. Dresses. Candles. Miniature golfing. Grey's Anatomy. Reading (sometimes. Only if it's a really good book). Bowling. Watching movies with my sisters. Buying things for my cats. My air conditioner. Pens (of any kind, really). Organization. My garden. Children. Buying things for people. Jigsaw puzzles (as long as they're not missing any pieces...that drives me crazy for whatever reason!). Roller coasters. Dolphins. Baby showers. Furniture.

(I was having a bad day, not for any particular reason, so I figured maybe thinking of all the things I love would make me feel better. Hmm, that should do for now.)

Summer...

This summer my time has primarily been occupied by an internship I have been doing at Kids Come First, a medical clinic for uninsured or underinsured children. When I finish this, I will be completely finished with my MPH in global health. I have also been busy with WorldWorks, as I was part of a Leadership Practice team for the past three months (that finished the last weekend of July). We worked with a homeless shelter for families in Corona, and put on several "Kids' Days", on-site carnivals of sorts. Pictures below.
I have continued working three afternoons/evenings a week with autistic children, and I've started going to a Bible study on Friday nights. So far I've only been to one, but I liked it a lot and plan to keep going.
Lastly, I've been babysitting a ton these past couple of weeks. Lots of fun, but a little tiring too.