I'm back

Oh hi there.

It's been a long time. 

So, to catch up... I moved to Seattle last July. I live in a really beautiful house right next to Volunteer Park with two MDs (coincidence). I love it. Seattle is a dynamic place; it's majestially beautiful. On my walk to work in the morning, I hear a piano through stained glass windows under the canopy of sycamore trees. There's seriously a woman who walks down my street singing songs to her baby in French. And I *love* being able to pick sage from my garden in February. Right now I am knee-deep in lenten roses, hyacinths, daffodils, and muscari. The Scarlet Pimpernel tulips are next! 

Things have changed in my life. I drink coffee now. I ride the bus every day. I do yoga. I shop at farmer's markets all the time. I understand myself a little better. I am more forgiving of myself. I have a great group of friends (we're a bunch of transplants from California, Iowa, Idaho, Texas, and Virginia, mostly) and we have the best time exploring the city (mostly gustatorial!) and the greater Northwest in general. I don't know what I would do without them. There's so much to do here, and I love it. 

I changed jobs in January. It actually wasn't a choice of mine, and I face new, great challenges every day. I work with orthopaedic and plastic surgeons but practice really autonomously. I have to know a lot. It's hard. But it's great experience and I will benefit from it. The patients I see literally have had their lives come down around them, and it's gratifying to be an active part of their healing.

Lastly, my church is amazing. I go to Mars Hill, which just opened a campus downtown. My pastor, Mark, is a genius and challenges my faith and my capacity to grow and understand every week. I attend a community group in First Hill and have met and formed relationships with some really amazing, inspiring folks. Plus, we make really good tacos together. 

My sister is getting married in June in Minnesota so I'll be home then, which will be nice. 

So basically I'm livin' the good life in my favorite city. If I'm not studying at home, you might find me walking around Greenlake, or down at Alki Beach, or Pike's Place Market (or the University Farmer's Market), or eating pho at Than Brothers', or wine tasting at EVS every other Saturday, or checking out music at Sonic Boom or Easy Street Records, or seeing a show at the Moore! or at the Crumpet Shop, or down at Gasworks Park, or dreaming about sailing whilst staring at the Puget Sound, or revisiting my Norsk roots in Ballard, or on the ferry to Bainbridge Island, or up in the Skagit Valley or the San Juan Islands whalewatching or down on Mount Rainier or in Portland! Or looking for a cat at the Humane Society or trying to find a place to buy (eep!)!!!