Christmas Wish List

I have this problem every year where people ask me what I want for Christmas and I just stand there and look kind of dumb. I can never resolve in my head what I really want. I aim to rattle off a list of consumer goods that would be feasible for the person asking to acquire but so often more "stuff" just doesn't appeal to me. Don't get me wrong, I like stuff but I have a lot of it already and I tend to treat myself to things that I want throughout the year.

So then my mind goes away from the would-be-nice-list to the need-list. I need more sleep and more time, but no one can give me that.  I really want for my house to be cleaner so time from a maid service would be amazing. Our bathroom reno is dragging on so it would be great to have some help finishing that. I want my children to enjoy the holidays and the magical feelings of Christmas morning but some may argue that that's not really "for me". I find this list to be too much to ask of most people and its certainly not easy to just swing by the mall and pick these items up.

So I default to the material-possessions-that-would-be-nice-to-have list. I need either a new coat or for the one I own to get repaired and dry cleaned. I need a new printer but I might have to buy that before Christmas. I'm a bit of a girly girl so I enjoy makeup, perfume and jewelry. Gift cards are awesome although depending on the store I'm actually more likely to buy things for my children or as gifts for other people (kind of a sneaky way of re-gifting). Spa treatments never go out of style! Sign me up for fingernail, pedicures, hair cuts etc. any day!!!

Then there are the kind of awkward things that I want (awkward because giving them may imply something unfavorable about myself.) I want teeth whiting, hair removal systems, fitness vouchers or membership in a weight loss program. I guess I accept that I'm chubby, hairy and have yellow teeth 'cause I think these gifts would be awesome!

Ok so I guess there is a list of things a want but I find it to be somewhat out of the conventional realm of things. My Christmas shopping is far from done, I have to pry these kinds of lists out of my loved ones still and all by next Tuesday :)

I guess its a profound blessing to be able to reflect on the most enduring and riches gifts of the season. My beloved Savior who upholds me through trials and forgives my many imperfections as I strive to become more like Him. My family; my beautiful sisters, my loving and supportive parents. The family I am growing in and creating, my husband and my adorable girls. My gratitude for these heavenly gifts is impossible to express fully.

Merry Christmas !


And on a lighter note: this is one of my favorite SNL sketches by Steve Martin. In typical SNL style its a bit irreverent but as I think about my Christmas wish list each year this always comes back to my mind.

Sweet Mercy

So the title of this blog has many meanings, depending on how I say it :P

It has been a very overwhelming time in my life. From the end of June until 2.5 weeks ago Ben was unemployed and I was the primary bread winner for our family. It was a stressful time for everyone in our home. I'm thrilled that Ben has recently been able to find new gainful employment but things aren't 100% back to normal. I will keep working to get us back on our feet and on track to the financial security we were heading for before.

I'm currently working 3 jobs not including my photography business. I have chosen things that I deeply enjoy doing so my jobs aren't as draining as they could be but I work outside of my home 35 to 45 hours a week. Why the variability you ask? One of the biggest jobs I have is as a tutor. I mostly tutor high school level Math and Science and my appointments fill pretty much all night... every night. My students are awesome, many of them enrich my life but its always an adventure heading out each night. And I meet my students in their homes so I drive A LOT!

For my other jobs I work part-time as a technician at the lab I spent most of my Master's degree in and I work teaching science workshops to elementary aged children with Mad Science of Southern Alberta. Both are right up my alley :D

But balancing my work schedule and my family has been hectic at best. My girlies are in a day home, which was hard to secure a position. I would prefer to have a nanny but the price tag for that is still a little out of our reach.

We are also in the middle of a major bathroom reno as our main bath had lots of water damage and accompanying mold issues. So amid the work and family, I've been ripping out tile and flooring. I've got a new sub floor half screwed down and hope to get to trying my hand a tiling this weekend.

I'm still waiting to hear back from med school. I hope this year is my year. I did better on the MCAT, I think I got some solid reference letters from people I really feel can speak to different and important parts of my character, I've been through an interview so I know what to expect and I have some things I know I can improve on there, so here is to hoping that the referees assessments are going to go in my favor.

This Jane-of-All-Trades wants to settle on medicine but for now I'm an entrepreneur/photographer/tutor/children's entertainer/scientist/laborer/tiler/interior designer extraordinaire... I need a cape. 

A Message For All Men

Hello!

This message is to be shared with all men... ALL of them!!!

With October coming to a close I feel the need to express my opinions about the impending Movember. My opinions may not be what you expect... so keep reading!

I welcome all, yes I mean ALL, weird-furry-caterpillar-like, haven't-actually-hit-puberty-yet or shaggier-than-expected fuzzy grossnesses 

AS LONG AS YOU ACTUALLY DONATE MONEY TO CANCER!!!!

 

If you are not planning on donating and are just growing facial hair please do not make any attempt to justify the parasitic looking thing on your face as being in support of mens cancers. What's on your face is really only notably helpful in the fight against mens cancers if funds are raised.

And that is my official stance on Movember.

Happy facial hair grooming to my friends with a Y chromosome!

Ok... I Quit! : A Grumpy Rant by Yours Truly

So first off sorry for the TMI but it's my time of the month and I'm grouchy about it!

And now for a link to the Time of the month Tiger!
 A Whole Awesome Blog Dedicated to Amusing Tiger Memes.

Ok so the reason I find myself particularly unimpressed is that my body seems to be playing some weird trick on me and I'm having my "time of the month" more than once a month!!! After some research I have found that is is most likely a result of weight loss plus a diet improvement... which makes me want to throws things!

If you care you can read this brief explanation


It's like mother nature being like, " Hey you want to improve you life? Ok well, for having the audacity to try and make positive change I'm going to sick 'Aunt Flow' on you every 3ish weeks!!!"

In other news (which is apparently the source to my current problem) I am very close to no longer being medically classifiable as obese. Apparently that's maybe only true for some of the more forgiving BMI charts but I'll take it.



Yay, for only being overweight... it sounded more exciting in my head. I did do a boot camp over the last few months of summer but I've actually had more success just being out of my house and away from the fridge more.

I don't feel like I eat very much but when I'm out of my house I don't tend it pick up a quick snack. I eat the food that I packed and that's that. And if it wasn't for the feeling that I need to buy stocks in Midol I am generally feeling quite well.

Oh and as I mentioned before I have changed my diet. I've increased my protein intake and I increased my fiber intake and reduced carbohydrates, refined sugars and dairy.  I feel like the protein helps me feel more full and have greater energy.

Brain hurts...blag

So I'm in the middle of applying to medical school for the second time and I really don't feel as experienced in it as I wish I did (I mean considering I've gone through the process before.)

Every year the application changes and they want information presented differently, or even new information all together. It's a very time consuming process as I try to put my best foot forward- because while the application is a angry hoop jumping fiasco relatively simple process it means so much to me.

Since I was a little girl I dreamed about being a doctor. For quite a while I wanted to be a burn/plastic surgeon (not so sure about that now). So as I'm filling in the application I get these floods of emotions. When I consider the possibility that I could get in this year elation come pouring in, then I consider another rejection and I feel sick to my stomach. I desperately hope every comment I write is interpreted in the spirit it was written by the admissions committee. Uncharacteristic of my general personality, substantial amounts of contempt arise in me when I come across people who seem to be of the opinion that its easy to get into medical school. And anyone with a cavalier attitude towards their own application frankly infuriates me. I have fought really hard for my application to have the high points that it does and the less the shiny points of my application reflect some of my most devastating personal struggles. I hope those who seem to have less emotion invested in their medical school applications are just being guarded towards revealing the strength of their desire because the idea that someone who "just thinks it would be fun" getting in over someone who is fiercely passionate is enough to make my head spin.

To my fiercely passionate comrades out there- good luck! But don't take my spot :P

For those who are interested, I recently got my MCAT scores back and I scored 4 points better this round! I'm cautiously thrilled. It's still no 40+ but hopefully it will be enough to make the difference this year. I still feel like I could do better on the MCAT but studying for a test whose material was presented to me around 7 years ago and caring for my kids is a significant obstacle- I hope admissions committee members get that.

Anyway, that's my rant for now- I gotta get back at it! Comment! All the cool people are doing it :P Lame, I know but I do like comments.

Feeling ok just being myself.

I think that everyone at one point or another has felt insecure about themselves. I think some people go through an unfortunate amount of their lives trying to act like someone else to please others or to just simply hide their true selves. I know that in high school I struggled and often attempted to hide my true self to avoid criticism; or to make perceived criticism not impact me as deeply.  It hasn't been until recently that I have felt that I know myself well enough and feel confident enough in myself to act in a manner that is more coherent with my current concept of my true self.

I have been learning so much about myself and life in general recently that I thought I'd share my insight. I know that not only one philosophy works for everyone and I'm sure that someone out there will disagree with me but just refer to the title, I'm ok just being me. For simplicity sake I have tried to organize my thoughts into some bullet points.

Saying what you really mean and really meaning what you say.
For me being able to practice this is one of the most important forms of integrity but as it is with many good things its harder to put into practice than it is to talk about. I know many of us through our upbringing feel compelled to say good things or what we think others want to hear. While I don't advocate brutal honesty I do think many people need to check their line between being nice and lying. If you have no intentions of following through on what you are saying maybe you shouldn't say it-even if it is a nice thing to say. For me I have had to find ways to be nice and understanding of others while not saying I'll do things I don't have time for. Furthermore, I have had to find the confidence to either decline from giving my opinion or respectfully disagreeing when I'm in a conversation with someone and I can't honestly agree with what they are saying. My motivations in this are to be more true to who I am and not just an agreeable lump of a human who then secretly thinks her own things but doesn't share them.

Respectfully disagreeing
So I think that respectfully disagreeing is such an art that it deserves its very own heading.The key, of course, is the respectful part. It's rather easy to be generally disagreeable and to shoot down everything others say but that's more being a troll than being confident in who you are. While its true I do still generally avoid a situation in which I am prone to disagree with others I'm in the process of learning how to disagree gracefully. I legitimately want to be the kind of person that just emanates respect for others.We are all fighting our own battles and I do hope to not make life more difficult for others along the way. I find pointing out the merits of another persons opinions to relay a certain level of respect and I also find not overly promoting my views, to be a good idea. No one is obliged to see the world as I do and conversely I don't have to take on the views of anyone else and we can still peacefully coexist together.

Finding greater love for myself and finding motivation to find greater love for others
I feel that discussing love flows out of discussing respect because deep and abiding love is often manifested through respect. As I come to to truly feel worthy of respect and love I realize the need to love and respect others because I'm not the unique snowflake- I am just like everybody else. And being like everybody else doesn't diminish me. I think that feeling greater sameness with those around me helps me to have more of a Golden Rule prospective. If people aren't like me , treating them how I would like to be treated wouldn't produce favorable results. I think philosophies that we are unique and special can cause and artificial sense  of separation from others. As I come to love myself not for my relative differences from others but just simply because I am who I am right now and that is enough - I think I'm finding a deeper level of self acceptance and one that breeds a need for me to be more accepting of others.

Other important pearls of wisdom I currently believe -

•  We're are all changing, I know I'm not the exact same person I was yesterday growing together and apart is a natural process but the level of respect can be constant.

• Self deprecation is NOT humility - I get so tired of hearing people put themselves down thinking that somehow that means their humble. Being humble can mean acknowledging faults but more than that I think it's realizing that you are not innately superior to another person in any way. Even if a person is involved in what you would deem to be morally questionable behavior it is quite an assumption that you would fair differently if in their shoes.
• The only "fair" criticism (if there is such a thing) of others is their motives and intentions and those are often very very difficult to accurately determine.

These are my thought for the day. I really desire to be a loving and accepting person. I know I fall short more often than not and I don't mean to be a hypocrite by posting this. In a way I want people to know more of my true self- someone who struggles but generally intends to go about doing good and lifting others.

My Weight Loss Journey

So I've been thinking for a while about blogging about my journey through weight loss. I know its something a lot of people go through especially as babies come and life gets busy. The pounds seem to just sneak in there for me. So as I've noticed the problem I have tried to correct it, here are some of my thoughts and experiences with weight loss.

At high school grad

Numbers really bother me- I'm not 100% sure why. I always felt like I never fit into the "right" numbers. It definitely does have something to do with my fitness as a youth. I was very active but still never weighed less than 140 pounds in high school (which for my height at the time was outside a normal BMI). For most of my teen years and early adulthood I refused to weigh myself concluding that looking and feeling good were more important than a number on a scale... soo much so that I refused to own one for a long time.

A few months pregnant

After I got married I found that eating with a boy all the time was a hard thing to do. I didn't want to prepare different meals for the two of us yet I just couldn't eat the meat and potatoes type deit that my husband requested all the time. As I result I was already on my way up when we found out we were expecting our first little girl.

After my first pregnancy despite many efforts I never got back down to my true pre-pregnancy weight. I tried not to focus on it too much though and largely assumed that this was just what happens when you have kids. I had heard several women speak that way- I dismissed it as to be expected. So having lost very little weight despite the 4 years between my girls I started pregnancy #2 at almost my max. weight from being pregnant with Abbi. I was however grateful to have concerned midwives who instead of stroking my ego and saying it was all alright expressed concern and came up with an eating plan during pregnancy that would minimize excessive weight gain. It was really hard to explain to people that it was actually healthy for me and baby to be losing weight while pregnant. I got a lot of ," but your not THAT big" or "are you sure you are doing what's best for baby?" etc. While I appreciate that people's comments were motivated by love and concern I caved to them more than I should and still gained nearly 30 pounds while pregnant. My peak weight was 225 pounds... an absolutely horrifying number for me. Pictures of me are kinda hard to find from that time. 

While I still refuse to buy into the scale as a source of really any emotional stimulus, I do now own one as it's hard to be sure that you are losing weight without tracking weight. I also now go through phases of weighing myself compulsively- I think it's just wishful thinking that, "hey maybe I lost a ton of weight that last workout!" I think for me it's just a struggle for the insides of me (my self perception) to match the outsides of me (reality, I guess). See I think I personally suffer from a sort of positive body dismorphia- I actually think I look better than I actually do. My personal image of myself is of someone who is very fit and active with notable muscle tone. I catch glimpses of myself looking kinda flabby and I'm shocked! I'm used to having big thighs because my quads were huge as a skater (figure skated for 12+ years), not because they're chubby! Anyway, realizing my need to fight the flab I've taken to eating better and exercising more.

Despite my general resolve, I have yoyo ed quite a lot over the past year. My current goal weight is 150 which will take me to a normal BMI and back to my real pregnancy self. We'll see how I feel as I get closer to that number, I may feel it possible to push it further or stop a bit shy, we'll see. My healthy range is anywhere from 115 to 152, nearly a 40 pound range gives me lots of wiggle room inside the classification of healthy. I know I'll have to work for or even fight for each and every pound I lose. I have found lots of motivational things form , "nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels" to needing to buy new clothes when I drop significant weight to the empowering feeling of being in control of this aspect of my life. It all helps but the process is long and really tough.

I'd love to know your struggle and what works for you... I'll blog about this more in the future too I'm sure so if there is something specific you want me to rant about let me know!

Shoot I forgot I had Another Blog!

... Just kidding :P

I've been fighting that bloggers guilt for quite some time. Life has gotten away from me.

I wrote in MCAT Aug.17th... it was epic. My impressions? "Man alive! I hope I did better than I did last time!" We'll see in about a months time.

So I'm in full swing applying for medical school, again. After writing the MCAT in Edmonchuck I starting to prepare myself for the idea of applying in Edmonton- cause if I were to get in you betcha we're movin'! I still feel lost in Edmonton but that's what you get for visiting once every 5 years or so.





I'm also doing photography like a mad woman- but it's awesome. Finished a wedding- it was an amazing experience. We had a good day found a wonderful location for pictures and the couple are just warm people. I'm a sucker for weddings even when they're stresswad central but this was such a great experience for me. Here's a taste.. for more check out my photography blog Glowing Photography

Oh and I have a super awesome photography sale of greatness! You should message me for the details... because its a secret sale :D I'm almost all booked though so don't delay!!!

This month I also finished tutoring my fab Math students. I'm happy to report that they passed! One actually did pretty darn well. I'm kinda sad to see them go, they brought routine to my life and a reason to clean my house every Thursday morning. I'm now looking for new clients in the tutoring department. I have a kijij ad called I tutor it! 'Cause in reality if its a class you can take before post-secondary chances are I can tutor it and have likely tutored it before :) I love seeing people achieve. It's literally heart warming, education really changes peoples lives. Especially my upgrading alumni who are in a way looking to prove to themselves that they can do it, they really have inspired me to have a better attitude about learning and what a privilege- no blessing- it is that I have the education I do. PS. thanks to everyone who has ever contributed to a scholarship fund.

So yeah that's what I've been doing during this radio silence... I have soo many things I could blog about... lately I've been really into art and design so I feel a project coming on...or maybe I should just finish some old ones. Oh and I've been watch/reading more third wave feminism stuff and its so worth talking about but those will need to wait for another time.

Leave comments! 'Cause they make me feel less like I'm talking to myself... maybe I should make a vlog... then I would really be talking to myself... might wake the baby though...hmmm

Crazy or something like it

I just Satmpeded (sp???) for over 12 hours with my 2 girls in 28 degree C weather... and I'm not even that frazzled! I think I deserve a cookie...wait how many calories does stampeding burn???

Tips for Stampede:

• It was $20 for parking, so I recommend taking transit.for parking though the Impark lot with that old yellow house on it was the cheapest and was monitored.
• The entrance line ups were long so I recommend the 2 for $25 deal from Macs 1) because its cheaper and 2) because it saves time at the gate by getting you into the shorter "pass" line.
• Food is outrageously priced so pack a lunch and bring a water bottle (it's worth it to carry it). If you really want to buy food Weadick (sp?) Ville is your best bang for your buck. We spent $3 on a slurpee/ice cream mixture. That's all the money we spent on the grounds.
• Super dogs tends to take a long time to see- we skipped the waiting in line, I personally feel that that show has declined over the years.
• Tail was alright a little slow in the beginning and a little cheesey but no wait and generally entertaining.
• The free facepainters at the kids BMO area were worth the line up today, they did a great job.
• The Saddledome is a great place to cool off or even snooze in a comfy chair if you sit floor level for events during the day 
• Pack medium- not too light that you forget needful items not so heavy that you have to carry a lot. We  brought a stroller, a small cooler, our diaper bag with diaper and a change of baby clothes, a baby carrier (no hoodies required!), blanket, sunscreen, hats and umbrellas (other than umbrellas everything was used).

So if you consider our ticket price, parking and my ice cream it cost our family about $4/hour to be there or $1/person/hour... not horrible. Anyway, if you are headed down to the grounds in the next week enjoy yourself and be safe.  Hopefully some of my tips help!

Cheers and goodnight pictures to come later! I need sleep :D

The worst shopping trip ever!

In a break day from working and studying (although I read a chapter tonight) I went out this morning to buy groceries, sounds simple enough right? NOPE!! Any mom knows that shopping ...and well life, is more complicated with children. Usually I do alright, the odd loss of patience, once I decided that it would just be better to go home then brave another planned store, nothing like today.

I was in Walmart for almost 4 hours today :(

Zipporah started off the day at 6am which was not my cup of tea, but I decided, "Hey, if I'm up lets be productive!" By the time we checked out our local whole foods market and got some goodies at the dollar store (Is it sad that my retail therapy involved $2 foam sandals?) it was maybe 10am as we were rolling into Walmart. And while I generally find Walmart sorta evil and generally avoid shopping there I find them a more kid friendly option because: the food is cheaper AND they bag my groceries AND they don't make me feel bad if I didn't bring my own reusable bags.

Anyway so we start off ok until we hit the second isle and Zipporah decides that she's too sleepy to carry on and she screamed at the top of her lungs!!! I've dealt with a screaming child before so I tried to play it cool. I was trying all angles, maybe I could calm her down, maybe we could abandon our cart and leave, maybe she'd just fall asleep. Anytime I thought I should just give up and leave she'd settle long enough for me to think it was doable and go back to my cart. I must have been a sight to watch! I was hushing a 13 month old, herding the 5 year old and constantly gathering my things to leave getting half way out of the store and then heading back. Anyway she fell asleep but only in my arms, despite my efforts to make her a little nest in the cart.

So I recalled seeing  on Pinterest that you can fold a hoodie to make a baby carrier (check out the video!) . So in true, "Jane of All Trades" style I MacGyver-ed a makeshift baby carrier out of my hoodie to continue the grocery trip. The only problem was is that the hoddie carrier would only hold tight if I didn't bend at all which meant that I kinda had to just drop all my groceries into the cart. So here I am clanging canned fruits and veggies into the cart with a baby tied onto me with a hoodie, but don't worry... it gets "better"

So just before we hit the refrigerated foods I felt all warm and wet down the front of me...that's right! I got peed on!!! Somehow in our hoodie entangled stroke of genius, her diaper had gotten all bunchy and performed seriously sub optimally.


My only luck for the day would be that there was a sample kiosk handing out free diapers and wipes (because in an effort not to ALWAYS have my hands to full I left the diaper bag in the car.) I somehow manged to get this hoddie contraption off me and changed her diaper. My shirt wasn't as wet as I had thought it would be and the samples wipes where scented so I used them on her and then on my shirt. Put my hoodie back on like a sane person and continued to shop with a cranky 13 month old who hadn't had a long enough nap and a 5 year old who picked up every other product in the store and tried to put it in our cart. Amazingly the only unplanned purchase Abbi contributed to was a box of blueberry egos about the same size as she is. (I said unplanned not unnoticed)

So here is the good part of the blog! Since Mommy almost had  a nervous breakdown in Walmart we came home and played on the slip and slide for the rest of the afternoon!

Late night posting

Apparently I post before I give up studying for the night. I think I need a newer book! That's right, I'm studying from Kaplan 2005... sadly that was the first year I told everyone I was going to take the MCAT soon... you know within the decade :P

On another note, Happy Birthday to my high school best friend who is turning 27 today!! Journeying through my memories brings back images of Calaway park and silly backyard games. I need to go through old photos and scan better images into my computer- not sure when I'll ever have time to do that... but its a really good idea.

Rant about Studying

Studying is driving me nuts! Everything feels so familiar until I try and answer questions then then I struggle, really rather badly. On top of the frustration with learning the topics themselves comes the battle to even study in the first place. I'm a pretty pro procrastinator so having the motivation to study isn't easy to come by, combine that with my husband, 2 girls and a fun loving dog and I'm surprised I've even half cracked a book. Frequently I end up studying very late at night and then I can't even keep my eyes open. I know its not optimally effective.

So I've mapped out what I'm considering a 40 day challenge which outlines the sections that I will need to study and the reading that I feel I need to do to be ready before the night of my exam- in about 40 days to be exact :P I planned things out and set some goals. The main goals I've set is to achieve a minimum of 10s across the board (which is a moderately competitive MCAT score) I would love to think that I can get 15s in the Verbal Reasoning and Biological Sciences but 10s seems like a more attainable. I mean I shoot for those perfect 15s but if I get 11 I still want to walk away considering that a HUGE success. I'm so hopeful that some kind of magic will happen and I'll get an exam suited to all my strengths but I know that's unlikely to happen. I will as my blog title suggests need to become a Jane of all things sciencey or at least MCATy.

I was SOO freaking close to getting in this past year (in fact, parts of me clings to the fantasy that everyone on the waiting list will decline and I'll get some amazing last minute phone call...its not going to happen, but I can't seem to get the thought out of my head) that I really waiver between being super motivated for this year and being just frankly pissed off! Getting my application scores back pretty well summed things up for me. My application scored pretty well on everything (like high enough to get in) except the MCAT and while I did ok at interview I didn't make up for the MCAT difference and I didn't shine like I had hoped that I would have. I acknowledge that I could improve in all areas and I do endeavor to... but yeah, "MCAT you are my nemesis!!!"

Aug 17 2012 round #2

So Aug 17 2012 is round #2 with the MCAT exam... yes I took it last year and no I didn't fail (technically there is no "fail" but whatever) yet in the end it would seem that better MCAT scores are really what stand between me and some mildly over achieving but still totally realistic dreams. And so I give you the count down clock until that day that I smash the MCAT once and for all!!!

A quick thought for the day...

.... I was looking at quotes and found this anonymous  one:

A creative mess is better then idle tidiness

I found it both inspiring and a good excuse for the state of my home :D

HAPPY EASTER!!! 

 

Welcome

So this is me starting a personal blog and it's my first blog about.... well.... myself. I've blogged about other stuff before and hopefully you are familiar with my photography blog HERE. But alas I've felt the need to rant about myself (sounds rather egocentric, I know) I thought I would indulge myself in ranting to seemingly no one while generally accepting that people, whether they know me well or not, will read this (at least I think they will).

Anyway, so I’ve dubbed myself a bit of a “Jane of All Trades” for a while now and although I don’t actually think I can do everything, I do admit to having more than a few activities in my schedule.

My plan is to write about myself and what I do in hopes of  1) understanding myself better 2) finding and connecting with like-minded people 3) encouraging others to feel good about themselves and all the “trades” that they are up to

Here is a list of what I’m currently up to:

• First and foremost I am a Wife and Mother. I have enjoyed the last 11 months staying at home with my girlies but one way or another that will soon be coming to a close for a season.
• I consider myself a “life long learner” I finished my Master’s degree in Neuroscience… oh you know 11 months ago :P and while I’m not currently formally studying anything I have on more than one occasion found myself still reading journals (*shudders* it’s like I like it)
• I am also at the end stretch of my first med school application cycle (I hope there isn’t a second but the verdict is still out… the waiting IS KILLING me!!!!)
• I have a photography business and while I love maternity and newborn photography I - no shock here- do a little of everything :P I had a shoot a week ago and I’m planning another in a couple weeks
• I strongly support other people (especially women) to be as educated as they can be so I currently have 2 students that I’m tutoring in math 20… they are preparing to KICK butt on the final!
• So many of these bullets deserve a future blog post of their own but this one especially, I’m currently enrolled in driver’s ed… yeehaw!! If all goes well I should be a REAL licensed driver by the end of April. No one should have their class 7 for 8 years :(
• I volunteer as I am invited to at church, helping to organize all the women to visit each other and form sisterly bonds and a new assignment assisting in the Nursery which means teaching/entertaining/playing with around ten 18 month to 3 years olds for 2 hours every Sunday :)
• I’ve also developed a rather messy craft habit in which I shred old clothes and bed linens and crochet rugs and hats out of them… that and beading earring and necklaces… and making hair accessories...ok I love crafting.
• Oh and I own and on semi- regular occasion choose to cloth diaper my infants. 

So here are my answers for people when I give them this information…yes I do sleep. I make most of my family’s meals from scratch. I employ no Sherpa, Nanny or maid (although that would be awesome! I’ve always wanted a Sherpa). My husband and I do like each other and we frequently talk. I love my children and we make time for singing songs and craft projects on a pretty regular basis. I’m not crazy, or a serious perfectionist. I don’t often feel run off my feet or overwhelmed and my elusions of being super human ended several years ago. I’m just me…doing all the stuff I do.

We should talk about all the stuff that I usually do but have cut back on or enjoyed in the past… next time!

So if you are out there reading this, leave me a comment so I don't feel like I'm talking to myself and subscribe to hear more of my stories of being a "Jane of All Trades"