photo bug

Since getting a new camera yesterday for my bday. I've been bitten by the photo bug and have easily taken over 150 pictures in the past day. We've even taken family outings in search of the perfect almond orchard to capture. I love it. I'm learning as much as I can now, because I know as soon as I get back to school I won't be able to devote as much time to taking pictures.
Right: almond tree











Random plant at a baseball park near my house.














Sadly, I can't take credit for this one. My dad took it. I love the tunnel of white flowers made by the almond trees. As is often with nature, the true beauty cannot be captured in a photograph. I especially like when the wind picks up just a little and white petals soar through the air.


Part of tonight's dinner. I just couldn't pass up the vibrant colors of the peppers!

Reflections - the real bday post

A brief stroll down memory lane...


Brand new beautiful baby girl!
And Dad still has hair... sort of







Umm.... we call her the Michelin Man









<--cute! - This is one of my Dad's favorites



!Surprise! Apparently a bunny cake is very exciting.






3rd grade - Love the side ponytail. Also note that my scrunchie matches the dress! Very stylish.
And the perfect teeth.





4th grade - even more stylish...haha
Still waiting to grow into my teeth. My mother neighed at me tonight when she saw this photo. :) love ya mom





8th grade basketball

Junior Prom -->

High School Graduation!

TOGA! TOGA! TOGA! (trinity freshman year)

DONE! Finished our last final of college, senior year.
6ish (pm) - post happy hour and a few mojitos!






White Coat Ceremony...before I knew what I truly knew the reality that is medical school :(

But it's not all books -->

Today, I finally made it home. And guess what... there will be many more pictures coming soon!

Take 2

So I didn't make it back to Cali yesterday. So my surprise/ exciting real bday post may not make it up until tomorrow. It depends on how I feel when I finally make it home. Last night my flight was delayed so I couldn't make my connection, which is why I am now at 5:40 am sitting in the harrisburg airport waiting to leave.
It didn't ruin my bday though. My friend Mel picked me up at the airport an hour after dropping my off last night and we had game night at her place. I bought a bottle of wine from the wine and spirits store and the guy made my night by asking me for my ID. He told me I looked all of 19. I said 24 today actually, but thank you!

That's it. Have a great day!
Lady...anxiously awaiting my arrival

not really a bday post

Happy 24th bday! I am now officially in my mid-20s. Gone are the days of my early 20's :(
What's so special about this bday do you ask? Well, Mr. Conway Couto would inform you that if you took the first number of my age and multiplied it by itself that you would get the second number. This is what he told Mrs. Marianne Couto on her bday at least. So there's one reason for me to be excited today, because there is only one more chance for that to happen in my life - 39.

I'm going home (back to cali) today!!! YEAH!!! I'm actually happy to be traveling on my bday. I really enjoy traveling alone. Maybe it's the anonymity of it, or that I relate it with going home on vacation, or the fact that I can't be busy doing anything else. My schedule is determined by the airlines. I go at their pace. Thankfully, I inherited my father's gift of being able to fall asleep anywhere. Normally, I prefer the window seat so I can curl up against the side of the plane and fall asleep whenever I'm not busy reading or doing something of the sort!

Tomorrow, will be my real b-day post. Even though it's a day late - trust me it will be worth it- for your entertainment and possibly my embarrassment. haha

a most glorious normal day

You know those days where everything just seems to be going wrong? Well....today I had the exact opposite of one of those days. Everything just seemed to be going right, even though nothing in particular about my day is especially out of the ordinary.
I woke up at 7:30 to the sun streaming in through my window. This was after sleeping for 10 hours!!!! Woke up did some cleaning around the condo (trust me there was a lot to be done - post exam / post ski trip). I ran out to Costco to get my tires rotated and then walked to the Target and Old Navy nearby. It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside - 64 degrees! Had leftovers for lunch, cleaned a little more, and then decided it was way too beautiful to be inside cleaning. I left to go to starbucks to have an iced coffee and a snack. I sat outside and read a book for fun! Then at my mother's suggestion went to the White House Black Market that is in the Hershey Outlets. They were having a sale (all dresses $39.99, plus a bunch more). I spent over an 1 1/2 hrs in there - shopping and debating between a few things. Most of the stuff I bought was for clinical rotations next year. After I walked out to my car with my new purchases, I called my mom to gush about the amazing savings. It was in my car that I realized I had a coupon that if I spent $6, I would get $25 off! Of course I headed back inside the store and ended up buying 2 more things!
After I got home, I called my friend Rich and we walked to the grocery store together - enjoying the beautiful weather. I needed to pick up a few ingredients for my cooking experiment. From another blog I read, I picked up an idea for dinner (walnuts, garlic, and lemon pasta). Per usual for me, I took it as a starting point. I learned this from my father - a recipe is merely a jumping off point. You find a recipe that sounds good and then you tweak it. Take out stuff you don't like, add in stuff that you do or whatever happens to be in your fridge that you need to use. The unique thing about tonight's recipe was that I was not using any measurements. It was all guess and taste and see what happens. I love cooking. It is the entire process that I enjoy. It starts with choosing the recipe and modifying it in my mind. Then shopping and picking out the ingredients if necessary. Then setting the mood with music to sing/dance to in the kitchen while cutting, grating, tasting, and creating. This is truly cooking.
I am proud to say that I was happy with tonight's meal. Basically it was all improvisation and no measurements! My creation for the evening was baby portabella mushrooms, with garlic, cream, lemon, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, and walnuts over whole wheat rotini!

I told you - there was nothing terribly out of the ordinary in my day, but it was that feeling of normalcy of not being rushed or pressed for time that made it so enjoyable. As a med student these days are rare and are to be cherished.

Lost and Found

My hobbies... there just never seems to be enough time (except for the weekend after an exam). I guess there will be plenty of time after I retire!

The most recent hobby I've added is quilting. My Christmas present (2006- I think) was a sewing machine. My first real project was making my mom a lap quilt for Christmas that year.

Currently, my room has been turned into a makeshift sewing room. This means there are scraps of fabric strewn all over the floor and tables. There is an ironing board blocking the entrance to my closet and a cutting board covering up my desk. Despite the mess - I love it. I find it completely relaxing to turn on my music and quilt. Ironing, cutting the pieces, picking out which pieces of fabric to put next to one another, sewing, and repeat. It's a melody of color and patterns all in shades of pink. The art of quilting. It is very mathematical in terms of calculating the proper amount of fabric, cutting the pieces, and then arranging them. I wonder if my mind is drawn into this math part of it all, seeing that my mind is scientifically orientated. Or is it the entire experience - a blend of art and math that soothes me. When matching pieces the overall color or tone of the piece of fabric is what matters, the pattern is secondary. It's only noticed upon closer inspection. The key is to not be thrown off, because it just doesn't match. Each individual piece of fabric won't match - it's impossible. The key is to step back, take in the overall entity of the piece. It is from here that you can gain a clear perspective.
Just as in life - Even though individually each piece may not be beautiful, it is the unique combination that contributes to the beauty of the whole.


Mom's quilt

flying

Ahhhh...... it feels so good to be done! The best feeling post-exam for me is the next morning, when I wake up knowing that I have nothing to get up for - no studying, no class, etc. That's my favorite feeling - just lying in bed, soaking in the morning sun, relaxing.

Tomorrow I am taking Mel, Brandon, and Rich all skiing for the first time. This trip seems so familiar because of all the ski trips I took as a child, yet I'm playing mom.

My ski memories.... (a typical day going to Shasta)

Mom would wake me up while it was still dark outside. I would climb into the car still in my PJ's, curl up in the back seat with my pillow and fall asleep. I would wake up just long enough to get donut holes and chocolate milk at Karen's donut shop - then back to sleep. Usually I had a friend sleeping next to me in the back seat and the moms were sitting in the front chatting away (I guess that's what they were doing - I don't know, I was sleeping). I would wake up with the sun after being on the road for a while and eat those delicious donut holes from Karen's. Then just wait in anticipation until we made it to Shasta. The mom's would stick us kids in a ski lesson and be off. We would meet back up at lunch time and ski the rest of the day together. The drive home was much the same, with me falling asleep in the back.

Tomorrow - that's my job. Wake up the kids, drive them to Camelback, throw them in a lesson (or stick around and take some pictures) and then hopefully convince one of them to drive home or at least stay awake to keep me up on the drive back.

Skiing - on those great runs when you are perfectly comfortable just cruising down the mountain with the cool, crisp mountain air in your face - it feels like flying. I imagine that's what the birds feel as they soar through the air.
And that feeling of taking off your ski boots at the end of the day and slipping your feet back into your tennis shoes. You would swear your tennis shoes never felt so good.

Lake Tahoe