Saying Goodbye to Loma Linda

Snowflakes and Snowscapes: A Winter Escape

I really can't think of another perfectly complete Christmas holiday as this year's was. Give me loads of time with my family and I'm perfectly content, but give me loads of time with my family in a spectacular snowy retreat and I can't think of anything more perfect. Our holiday in Idaho was filled to the brim with lots of powder days for snowboarding at Tamarack Ski Resort (a practically brand new and undiscovered ski mountain that I absolutely love), hot chocolate, card games, sledding with my adorable nephew and niece, making snow forts, plotting the elusive paintball war, Jen and I pulverizing each other on Wii boxing (haha!), and painfully laughable moments involving snowmobile crashes and snow-covered stone walls around the lake. Lots of joy and love. The proof is in the pictures. :)

Home for the Holidays

It's sooo good to be home!

Love this! :)

"Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 'Pooh?' he whispered.
'Yes, Piglet?'
'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh's hand. 'I just wanted to be sure of you.'"
— A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh)

Happy Day | Happy Home

A rainy day and a million things to be thankful for...

1. A warm place at night
2. A hand to hold.
3. Joshua Radin's Music
4. Time to make pretty things
5. Peppermint Sticks
6. Blessed to have the opportunity of education
7. A healthy body that lets me run :)
8. Pumpkin Pie a la mode
9. An incredible family to spend the holidays with
10. Faith in things unseen

November Novelties...

*sushi in bed* Can you see Siggy trying to snatch some?

While sifting through piles of Health Policy assignments this afternoon, I came across this delightful little quote from the Chilean biologist, Humberto Maturana:

I want to contribute a work of art in the domain of human existence. I want to evoke a manner of coexistence in which love, mutual respect, honesty, and social responsibility arise spontaneously, instant after instant.

The quote is even more delightful since he happens to be from Chile. Awww...Chile...why do you have to be so many miles away today?

Here's my 20 pieces of zen for the month of November:

1. White Tea
2. This really entertaining article: Babes on Belay
3. The French pop band, Kyo. Especially the song: "Chaque seonde"
4. The NY Times bestseller: Three Cups of Tea
5. Running on the track at dusk
6. These amazing recipes:

• Cranberry-Pear Crisp
• Crunchy Jicama and Mango Salad with Cilantro and Lime
• Pear Custard Pie

7. Plumb's new CD and song "In My Arms". Listening to it nonstop.
8. Gummy Bears
9. This website: Zen Habits for Living

10. My new pale blue antique teapot from the Antique shop on State Street in Redlands
11. Early morning moments at the local coffee shop
12. My new notebook from Anthropologie
13. This book: The Violet Shyness of Their Eyes: Notes from Nepal
14. My Mac
15. My library card
16. The movie: Dan in Real Life with Steve Carrel. Hilarious!
17. She inspires me.
18. Flickr inspires me.
19. Vietnamese takeout from A Dong's
20. Nepal: My soon to be called home in 2008

Just Jess Checking In...

Begin doing what you want to do now.

We are not living in eternity.

We have only this moment,

sparkling like a star in our hand

and melting like a snowflake.

Let us use it before it is too late.
-Marie Beyon Ray

I think Starbucks has the official say as to when the holidays actually begin. And if not I'm not mistaken, the Peppermint Mocha and Eggnog Latte made their fashionable reappearance on November 1, so the holidays have clearly begun folks. I'm all about extending the holidays out this year. The holidays are definitely on this girl's mind as evidenced by the not so stellar study session this afternoon. I was secretly toggling back and forth between low-fat Thanksgiving meal recipes and my "Systems Thinking module for Health Policy and Management" class. Malpractice insurance reform....or...ginger-pear crisp with vanilla ice cream? Continuous Quality Improvement for Physicians with Mandatory Quality Reports .... or.... Cider glazed carrots and parsnips?

The month of October pushed me to the edge of my capabilities as a mere mortal. :) I was wishing for some superhero powers or to morph into that cartoon of my childhood: Inspector Gadget. Needless to say, it was a true challenge to keep a grip on all my projects and work engagements. Between working an average of 3 days/week as a health consultant in LA and 3 days/week as the Community Outreach Program Aide for the Medical Center and then staying afloat in my 15 credits of grad school, I was close to losing my cool on several occasions. I definitely felt as if I had lost all semblance of a personality and became completely devoid of humor and recreation. Endless hours of dog-eared research articles, my Itunes, and non-fat, extra hot caramel macchiatos at Fox coffeehouse were my salvation.

The secret is admitting the enormous stress load and that grad school is kicking your butt and then to reclaim your life...with a vice grip. That can be translated into breaking away for a weekend in Yosemite...have your pick. Yosemite in Autumn with 70 degree days, sparse crowds on the granite faces, and shimmering golden foliage. Now that's a getaway. Settling into Camp 4's Granite Giants' paradise, with campfires late into the night at search and rescue's site swapping "whipper" stories with a whole different caliber of climbers. Tangerine Trip...Generator Crack...Snake Dike...Sentinel Rock...Lost Arrow Spire...Goodrich Pinnacle. I love talking this rock rat subculture's language. Life simplified by late mornings lengthened for a plentiful cup of coffee while flipping through the beta for the day's climbs.

Wilkommen Autumn!

Morning 1: October 1