Woodside, Queens

The view from our fire escape.

Central Park.

Joelle, Paul, Brett Whittemore and Ajay in Washington Heights.

We're here. Woodside is a funky little Queens neighborhood with an eclectic mix of Irish, Indian, Spanish and Phillipino. I love looking around and realizing I'm a minority. The elevated train runs past our apartment every half hour and, trust me, you know when it passes. The first night we slept in our apartment (by the way, a fourth-floor walk-up does not make for an easy move-in) I thought it had rained the whole night because I heard water pouring and when I woke up the next morning, I discovered it was the corner store's air conditioning cooler that pours water continuously on its rooftop. Our neighborhood is not quiet. But it's definitely unique. My favorite are the Korean girls who sell cheap, fresh produce just below the train so I can pick up something on my way home. I forgot how much I love living in a city.

Ajay and I ate Bangladeshi on Friday night. Ajay's dish was so hot I couldn't taste it after the first bite. For dessert we had sweet lentils. Sweet lentils?! I loved them.

My job is great. I'm working as an assistant to a hedge fund manager. The people there are so nice, surprisingly laid-back and happy. I am still trying to figure out if it's because they make so much or if I just lucked out with a rare handful of cool people. I also lucked out because one analyst has a cousin that owns a surf shop on Long Island and he's given me some good information. Surprisingly I don't miss Florida as much as I thought I would. I guess I'm happily distracted by all there is to do in the city.

Our trip home to Utah was wonderful in every way. It was so good to spend some quality time with family and such good friends. And there is nothing like a Utah summer. It's still sort of surreal that we are in New York now.

June and July

June and July. They've gone by so fast.

My 10-year high school reunion was in there too, but I didn't take ANY pictures. I loved it though. I loved getting to see so many good friends.

So that's why I am the way I am.

Mom, Erin, Haylee and Parker came out to Florida for a few days. They came in and out like a storm. We chattered non-stop and ran around Vero Beach a half a dozen times. We stayed up every night, much to our surprise (we are morning people) and to Ajay's chagrin. Now they are gone, it feels hauntingly still in my house. The silence is killing me.

Haylee just finished her first year at Timpview High School.

She filled us in on what the THS Commons is like these days.

Vibrant, delightful Haylee.

Beautiful Erin and Parker.

Little does Parker know he's going to be a big brother in five months. I hope I am as gracious a mother someday (and as energetic a pregnant-lady)!

What would I do without my sisters?

and my dear mother (who is quite the missionary).

There's nothing like being around family.

You remember more of who you are.

and why you are the way you are.

A much-needed remembrance.

Bed-time stories

I found this one in Susi's pile of children's books. I loved this story as a little girl! The familiar pictures of the elephant eating jars of pickles and growing too big for Grandma Tildy's house made me feel so nostalgic. Ajay found The Giant Jam Sandwich, one that he memorized as a little boy. I think I saw little Ajay as he turned its pages.

I'm interested (for my future collection), my wonderful friends, what's your favorite?...

In defense of mothers

Sierra and Eli

Jen, Christian, David

Cami, Lucy, Grandma, Linda and Savannah

Zoey, Jana, Olivia

Jamie and Aiden

Asher and Tash

Mom and Parker

Erin and Parker

Lots of my close friends are expecting!!!... Erin, Mindy (just found out it's a girl!), Tasha, Joelle, Jen B., Summer, Sarah V., Deirdre (yes, adopting is expecting), - did I miss anyone?

And some of my friends just had babies - JuliaC., Telia, Lindsey, Kim, Jamie, Krista, Julia J., Jessie and Janie (Ok, those last four are somewhat new).

Wow! When I think of the army of little people born to my girls, it makes me proud. And excited for them to have such wonderful women as their mothers!

Bryant and Mindy

Joelle and Paul

Recently Ajay's Great Aunt Helen, upon learning of Joelle's decision to nanny before becoming a full-time mother, gasped in horror and said, "Perhaps you will re-consider. Today's women like to use their brains!" We all sat in awkward silence, while I tried to think of some reply in her defense.

While being a mother might not be as intellectually challenging as it is physically or emotionally challenging, I believe that those women who embrace their roles as nurturers and mothers are ultimately more fulfilled than those who embrace careers or other pursuits. True, a woman can find great satisfaction in her career, but the workplace is such a difficult place to be completely fulfilled. Analytical skills must be emphasized and the inherent sweetness of a woman is abandoned.

However, a woman who fully embraces her role as a mother, nurturer, teacher and friend, adapting to the whims and emotions of her little growing child, is stretched and strengthened in every way. Her innate female characteristics are emphasized and expanded. She becomes a woman of wisdom and strength, and she receives deeper and fuller satisfaction.

When I am with my friends who are now mothers, I am stunned by their growth and depth. They are more selfless, adapting and wise. I wish now I could reply to Helen, "Perhaps you will reconsider. Today's women would do far more for the world if they used their heart."

The last drop of oil in Texas

Sarah Ann is engaged and I am grinning from ear to ear. Paul has succeeded where many men have failed. Since Sarah is the reason Ajay and I are together, we are both protective of her. But we completely approve of Paul: he is her equal in depth, kindness and goodness. With a great sense of humor -- how else would you describe a boy who proposes on April Fools Day to a girl he'd never gone ring shopping with?! We love it! I would agree that Paul treats Sarah like she is the last drop of oil in Texas. Of course, we would expect nothing less with such a treasured girl.

We went to Williamsburg for the weekend. It was full of shuffleboard, cherry blossoms, waffle brunches and driving through the night.

I don't recommend the driving part. Ok, yes I do.

We're moving...!

Ajay's going to get an LL.M. in tax at NYU... so we're moving back to the city! We'll leave our beloved Florida in August most likely. We are SO EXCITED to get back to the energy and constant life of the city. I am personally excited for bagel stands, blue mail boxes, ethnic groceries, and public transportation. We'll find a place in Brooklyn this time.

...BUT I am so sad to leave Vero Beach. I can't even fully express it. The warmth, the ocean, Susi and Spade. It makes my heart hurt.

March 14th

This rodeo on Friday was legit.

We didn't fit in with our hoodie and NFL t-shirt. 

We should have worn boots and beltbuckles.

The orange blossoms are out. And they smell divine.

Sort of like Hawaiian ginger.

We spent the weekend with the Whittemores in Mims.

Beautiful Florida.

Ok, who am I kidding. The real reason I love Florida so much.

Funny story, in hindsight

Twice now I've seen surgeries at the hospital. The first was a hip replacement (chain saw and everything) and the second was the removal of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, where the doctor showed me the liver, intestines, heart and colon. Talk about fascinating. I don't like watching surgeries on television, but to actually see one in person is out-of-this-world. It is so primitive to watch the surgeon cut and sew the body, and surgery always leaves me in absolute awe of modern science.

*

So I wasn't at all nervous to spend some time on the hospital floors. I was job shadowing a nurse on the orthopedic floor last week to learn more about the hospital's different departments. I wasn't there long. 45 minutes at the most. We traveled into two rooms: the first woman had a leaking 6 inch long scar from a spinal surgery and the second woman was recovering from a hip replacement. They were a little gross, but not too bad. Then the nurse checked another bandage on the stomach of the second woman and underneath was something I had never seen before. A pink, palm-sized ball was growing out of her stomach. It was something the woman had had for many years and she called it a pustule, I think. I'm still not sure what it was or really what she called it. I was a little shocked, but I tried to mentally shrug it off. Then I started to get light headed, and I thought to myself, maybe I should sit down. No, I thought, I can talk myself through it, and I propped myself on the nearby counter. Next thing I know, I was waking up on the floor, with four nurses standing over me. I had passed out and hit my head on the patient's bed. I wasn't hurt, just totally embarrassed. The woman told the nurses, "Well she saw my pustule and maybe she was shocked."

.

"No, no," I said, "that didn't affect me."

.

But I guess it did.

My thoughts on a Tuesday afternoon

I've been thinking about families lately. Here are the Whittemores. Some of you may not know them very well, but I am lucky to have such genuine, good, easy-going sisters.

Here's what I've been thinking: I believe that every member of every family is there for a reason. In some way each helps another member of the family. If the saving of families is so important, it only makes sense that each family member has a specific reason to be there - a specific person to touch. In my own family I can name the reason(s) each person is there. And for most I can name a specific person that they are there for. Greg for K.C., Haylee for mom, Erin for dad. I think it's awesome to realize that there is a larger purpose for every person and every personality, which works for the good - the saving - of the family as a whole.