Summer Reading 2013

The question of "what to read?" has been on my mind lately. I was asked this question twice today so perhaps I'm not alone here.

Alas. As of yet, I do not have a strong answer on what I personally should be reading. I'm going to the beach in just over a week and I have not yet found THE SUMMER BEACH READ. But I think I'm getting closer with every step.

Selections from the Georgetown Neighborhood Library. And a man studying in the corner. Hottie. 

I do have some good recommendations though, should you find yourself in this same particular quandary. Some of this is repeat from my previous ramblings about good reads. Take it or leave it, here is what I've got:

• MWF Seeking BFF: My Year Long Search for a New Best Friend. I haven't read this but it was recommended from a trusted source. A married white female moves to Chicago with her husband and suddenly finds herself friendless,  so she decides to go on a ton of girl dates as she looks for her new best friend forever. I feel like so many of us women, whether married or single, could relate to this book -- especially living in cities far from where we grew up. Judging from the cover (always a good test of a book's character, naturally) it seems witty and fun.    

• The Pillars of the Earth. A classic! It's a historical fiction read complete with romance and history and suspense and the building of a cathedral in the 1400s or thereabouts. I read it while in the Caribbean a few years ago so I can totally vouch that it's a good beach read. I want to read it again. Loved this book. 

• Cutting for Stone. I definitely have mentioned this one before. It's an epic coming of age story about twin brothers in Ethiopia. If you are at all medically inclined, you will love this book. Or even if you aren't (I'm not), you will love this book. 

• Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. I know what you're thinking. This is definitely not a beach read. But I think it could be! I haven't read this book but my friend Jenn recently read it and has talked so much about it. Yes, this is not sunshine and flowers, but real life isn't either. This book is real life and we need to know about it. 

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The true story of a woman's cells being used and replicated to radically advance science and medicine -- but without her knowledge. I haven't read this book but it's been recommended from several sources. Ethical debates abound!

• The Elegance of the Hedgehog. This is a merry read about the intertwining lives of one apartment building's many dwellers. I read it a few years ago and remember chuckling and smiling the whole time. It's set in Paris. Need I say more? And you need a dictionary for every third word. 

• Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. The true story of Louie Zamperini surviving a Japanese POW camp during WWII. Two words: read it. I read it last Christmas at the beach and it's worth reading while looking out at the ocean since much of the book takes place at sea. Just amazing. It's being made into a movie. 

• The Paris Wife. Again, this is on my to-read list. It's the story of the love affair between Hemingway and his wife, Hadley. A real heartbreaker. If you saw Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris and didn't know who the characters were, this book probably isn't for you. Just saying...

• The Liar's Club. Mary Karr's memoir about growing up in East Texas with a crazy family. Who can't relate to that? At least the crazy family part. 

• Lit. Mary Karr's follow-up memoir about her adult years. I haven't read either of her memoirs, but my mom says they are excellent and humorous. What's not to love about those two glowing adjectives. Why, nothing. Nothing at all. 

• The Jane Austen Book Club. I saw the movie a few months ago and practically fell in love with these women (and man... played by Hugh Dancy... so precious.) Just a simply sweet and wonderful girly read about the intertwining lives of the women who love Jane Austen. Simply the best! 

So, that's what I've got. Do with it what you will. And let me know if you have some favorites to recommend! Please tellll meeeee. I beg you. For all things beautiful like kisses and sunny days, share the wealth. The literary world is a beautiful world. 

To close, I give you a snapshot from my first year of marriage to my future doctor:

Life is sweet. Books make it sweeter. 

Hammered Silvery Surf

I've just returned from six days in Chicago on a work trip.  Yesterday, I began to go a bit stir-crazy in the convention center sooooo I started looking up info on where Michael and I are going for a our second anniversary/celebration-for-completing-the-board-exam trip in 23 days (whose counting???)

I came across this gem of a write-up:

"Once the less prudent tourists have staggered off the beach in search of lotions to soothe their red roasted hides and darkened rooms to ease their pounding headaches, the locals perkily appear with picnic baskets, oversized sheets (so much better than towels), coolers and a barbecue to busily set up for dinner  with family on the shore. The sunset is almost immediate: the sky turns from brilliant hues to dark blue velvet, and the stars have that 3 dimensional effect of being layered and almost within reach. If you have moonlight, so much the better, especially if you have thoughtfully brought someone with you to enjoy that hammered silvery surf extending from the shore to the horizon. The air is so soft and warm, parties tend to commence later in the evening when it cools off a bit. Have a nap before dinner. The night air is heavy with the fragrance of flowers, rich earth, greenery and chirping tree frogs. If you can drag yourself out of bed at dawn, you will hear unusual birdsong and see the sun rise over the ocean, always a breathtaking sight. I like it best when the sky and the sea are the same rosy golden colour. If you can get over to the beach you love best, there will be no footsteps upon it but your own: that’s always a special thrill."

Umm hello. Take. me. here. This is amazing! Why don't more people write like this?? Red roasted hides. Brilliant hues to dark blue velvet. Hammered silvery surf. Fragrance of flowers, rich earth, greenery and chirping tree frogs.

Wait -- there is more:

"The coral and limestone stately headlands are perforated with rock pools and filled with wildlife (no snakes or anything scary, I hasten to add) with seabirds hovering and swooping over the ocean."

Good. No snakes. Double check plus. Wait -- even more:

"Bring your most comfortable shoes, no matter how ugly. We want you to see it all, with no blisters- just big smiles."

Who says comfortable shoes have to be ugly? Ok last bit:

"Another recommendation is to be sure to take some nice soft earplugs because the “night life”  includes a million tiny singing frogs and crickets that come out after sundown to regale you with an account of their day. Some people find it so unusual it takes a while to get used to it. The sound of the waves sighing on the shore is never a problem."

"To regale you with an account of their day." This is magic.

If you can guess where we are going (and if you don't already know... which will exclude a lot of people... SORRY! I'm a yapper...), then you will get a prize in the form of a souvenir from this tropical destination. Just comment on this post or email me at careybeth (dot) catalino at gmail (dot) com. (First correct guess wins. It will be a good prize, I promise.)

WAIT. WAIT!

I just realized that you can totally Google any phrase from these above excerpts and find out where we are going. Oh baaaaah, I'm so lame. Ok fine. My first official giveaway is....non existent. I will have to come up with something more lucrative and workable.... stay tuned.

Since that flopped, I may as well spill the beans. Bermuda! Bahamas...common pretty mama. We are going to Bermuda. Not that this is the most exciting place on earth (or is it?) but man oh man, I am thrilled.

For the time being, I am thrilled just to be home with my man. We had a celebratory cake last night... celebrating the fact that I survived the Annual Meeting, and celebrating the fact that Michael didn't go to the ER like he did the last time I was away. True story.

I'll have to tell it sometime.

While driving home from the airport last night, I was struck with how much I love DC. I mean...... it was 8pm and sunsetty and just gorgeous and not humid (a rarity), so perhaps my affections were under the influence of these affectations. Surely, if it was rainy and cold I wouldn't feel this way? No, I would still love DC. It is my home. It is where I've been since February 2009 as a single girl in the big city, and where Michael and I have lived together since July 2011 as newlyweds. We love our neighborhood, our city, our church, our friends, taking walks at night, playing tennis on the local courts no matter how cracked up they are, eating $5 ice cream cones at Tsweets (worth it, I swear), not needing a car (unless I go to work), and talking with our neighbors on their front porches. Washington has become a perfect little home for this Texas girl and her Yankee boy.

Who I love.

And who loves me too.

Will wonders never cease.

Board Studying

You know your husband's studying for the board exam when....

...you send him a medical article from the Washington Post that you find interesting and he replies with:

Very interesting. I actually had a question about this on my quiz last week. The uterus forms from the embryological structures called the paramesonephric ducts. They are supposed to fuse to make the uterus. In males with a Y chromosome the presence of the SRY gene causes mullerian inhibiting factor production. This hormone causes the degeneration of the paramesonephric ducts so that men don't have a uterus. 

I bet you didn't know that.

...Or when you are at the pool.

All alone.

Because it's -20 outside. In MAY. And no one in their right mind goes to the pool when it's -20. (It was 65 and sunny. Just a bit breezy...)

And so your husband comes to sit with you so you aren't the weirdo at the pool by herself, and he brings his books so that he can study:

White legs. Give us grace. Summer's only just beginning.

.... Or when your husband forgets how to smile because all happiness is zapped from his days.

Naaa, I kid.

He's not smiling because his wife is wearing a UVA lacrosse sweatshirt.

But let's be honest -- Duke won the lacrosse national championship today. I was there three years ago the last time Duke won, incredibly proud of a guy who played in that game -- and I wasn't even dating him yet! Oh man, but I knew. I watched #29 and thought "Yesiree, that's the one for me." .... Or something along those lines.

Also, it was a total false statement about all happiness being zapped out of Michael's days. That would be terribly sad. It is a joy for me to watch my man do something that he is MADE to do. He's not necessarily made to study, but I definitely know that Michael is made to be a doctor. And it's a long haul to get there. Studying for this exam is a big piece of it, and he seems to like it most of the time. (He's nuts!)

I so want it to be done so that we can relax together and go to the beach and Michael can rest! But I know that these are important days and special days and days not to be rushed. And days that are in His hands and full of little gifts. Like taking a stroll and discovering a new street in your neighborhood that you have never walked down. We did this tonight and then got ice cream. It was perfect. Will wonders never cease.

Nearly Royalty

Michael and I are in the midst of our 2nd spring together as a married couple in DC, and we marked that anniversary by making our 2nd annual pilgrimage through the woods (literally through Rock Creek Park) to Embassy Day. Where we saw Winstuuuunn!

Winston Churchill 2012:

Winston Churchill 2013:

He ages so well.

Winston is the statue that I see most in DC. He presides over a large portion of Mass Ave where I often go for runs, and he actually has become a pretty regular goal-marker for me. Typically in this way: "If I can just get to Winston, then I can walk." (Or breathe, if I haven't run in a while...) It's worth noting that the #1 statue I see in the capital city of a nation that rebelled from its mother country is a statue of a man from that mother country. My my, how far we have come!

And -- that the prince from that mother country comes to visit his former subjects.....

Lord knows I would have been in that crowd snapping a pic of Prince Harry last week if I worked on the Hill, but the closet I came to him was visiting the British Embassy two days after Harry had dinner there. I talked to the head chef of the Embassy who cooked for Harry...

He is saying "Wowww! Harry ate a ton of summer pudding!"

What's summer pudding??

I don't really know, but Harry ate it!

In this room!

and that's all I've got! 

I mean not really -- I've got a lot. For starters, Prince Harry doesn't have this blue-tongue cutie to hang out with during Girls on the Run:

And he doesn't have an adorable sister-in-law like Lolo:

Oh wait, maybe he does.....

Ahhhhh whatever.

Spring has sprung in DC! Or maybe now it's summer? FINALLY. Yesterday was the first day I have gone outside in the evening and not needed a sweater. Now that is cause to celebrate.

Huzza!!

My heart

Michael's last exam of the classroom part of medical school is...............MONDAY!!!!!!

I'm so proud of my man. This was taken earlier this week while I dutifully played the sick patient and he practiced doing a physical diagnosis exam on me.

The verdict??

I'm living life! And he is by my side. Or I am by his side. Or both. Always both.

I love him.

That's all.

Texas

I should have posted this yesterday, April 30th, because then I would have blasted 'NSync's "It's gonna be May" through the roof (on the blog. The blog roof. Of course.) Because as we all know, JT is not singing "It's gonna be ME."  I mean why would he when it's April and "it's gonna be MAY."

I don't make these things up. Watch the music video. Watch the full thing if you want to relive the year 2000 (who doesn't?), but for the sake of welcoming the month of May, fast forward to about 3:14.

Guess what?? (Guess what?) It's gonna be May!

ANYWAY.

There is so much! There is just so much. There is so much excitement because summer is around the corner. I do this all the time, and I think it's not necessarily a good thing, but I always look forward to the NEXT BIG THING. And the next big thing after that, and after that, and so on. But that's totally not how we are supposed to live. Max Lucado said (I think it was he who said this but really I first heard it from my friend Dargan) that God gives us grace for the moment. (Do not worry about tomorrow...) So we really shouldn't be so forward-thinking as much as we seem to be. It's hard to do this because it is a great thing to anticipate all that we have planned, but it can sometimes take away from the here and now if we focus too much of our attention on the future.

Capiche?

Totes.

So to put a spin on it, I have some pictures to share from another MAGNIFICENT friend reunion from a few weekends ago that I had been really looking forward to..... in....... TEXAS! Oh my sweet state. To which I am not a native but to which I ascribe my allegiance for rearing me from age 6 to 18. What formative years! (Like your entire childhood, basically.) Oh how I love thee, Texas. And Virginia.... can't forget her. But a house divided will not stand, so I guess I have to choose Texas. Yikes but it's hard. But really it's not hard when you're there where the stars at night are big and bright. And your with these kiddos:

And these two love nuggets:

It's true. The chicas of DC circa 2010 were reunited. Come one, come all. These girls at one point or another have all lived in DC (most of us in the same house until we got evicted...no lie) and have been praying for each other in various Bible studies, small groups, fireside chats (just kidding, but I wish,) poolside layouts, stranger makeouts (just kidding... I think,) weddings, laughters, tears, WHAT-DO-WE-DO-WITH-OURSELVES-AFTER-COLLEGE thoughts, breakups, makeups, dating, falling in love, surviving Snowmaggedon 2010....I could go on. That's a lot of things to be praying about with these lovelies. But it was so worth it! Still is.

We had a great time at Palo Verde ranch. There were some cows involved.

Farm boy, fetch me that pitcher cow. 

As you wish.

Farm boy, fetch me that other cow. 

Princess Buttercup looking good

As you wish. 

Farm boy, make the cows come closer.

As you wish. 

Well, we found the cow whisperer.

These friendships are just so sweet to the soul (I think I said that in the previous post) but I mean, it's true. Believe it or not, I think of myself as not that "girly" in the sense of needing to be with girlfriends all the time. In fact, I seriously get just as excited as to rush home to sit on the sofa and read a book as I do to take a walk with a friend. Mmmmm actually, that's definitely an overstatement. I'd pick being with a friend over a book, but sometimes you just need some downtime, you know? So as much as I think I'm fine not seeing these soulmates of mine for a long time, the second I do see them, it's like a hot knife through the butter of my erroneous assumptions that I am doing JUST FINE, and I am wonderfully reminded that we need each other. We need people, especially our girlfriends, in our lives. Thank goodness for them. 

These chicas make me want to roll my windows down and cruise. 

Don't act surprised.

Everything's bigger in Texas. 

Goodnight, yall! 

To Be Known

Ooooh friends! They are the refreshments of life.

I gathered with my best friends who grew with me through the growing pains of college last weekend in the hills of Tennessee. The occasion? Not that we have to have a reason to get together, but this time we did actually celebrate something other than our friendship. A baby!!!! New life on the way!! Oh man, nothing like a bun in the oven to get us excited. Sara is our first friend from our college (and only my second close friend to have a baby or be preggo... like who I would definitely consider myself to be an auntie to their child) to take the pregnancy plunge and she is doing it with class. So much class that we think she should name her child Tally. Short for Talladega. Because Sara was definitely pregnant at Talladega but didn't know it.... hot dog! That child is gonna be a race car driver. Or really like beer...

I'm kidding! Geez louise.

The truth is, that baby is going to be so well loved by not only Sara and David, but also by all the aunties. And the aunties' husbands. Because yes, the husbands came along on our weekend get-together. It was certainly nice having them there, but honestly, there were some low points. Like when my husband (remaining nameless for anonymity's sake - HA HA) decided to tell everyone what we hope to name our baby boy if we are ever blessed to have one.

Which is so out-of-bounds!

Yea..... the thing is, no one would have ever known that we like the name that Michael said except for the fact that I gasped "WHAT???" right after he mentioned it as a suggestion for baby names if Sara's baby is in fact a boy. I was so caught off guard that I didn't have time to even think clearly enough to keep my mouth shut and play it cool so that no one would know that the name he said is actually a name we love.  

That's supposed to be sacred information shared just with your hubby! Not to be revealed until the baby is born! Oh for heaven's sake -- I know. I am being overly dramatic. And a lot of parents actually do reveal their child's name beforehand. But really, it was so shocking to me that Michael said that name. And it was kind of funny to hear everyone's reactions to it: it wasn't exactly well received. We got some puzzled looks and comments. Oh wellll.... can't please everyone. We still love that name and I trust my friends to take the secret to their grave (or to when we have a baby boy one day.)

Side note -- the cake in the above picture is 2/3 blue and 1/3 pink which reflects the percentage of the group that thinks the Lewis baby will be a boy (blue) or a girl (pink). I think pink!

Anyway.........

It was a huge joy to get to see my dear friend about to be a mother. Sara literally was there on day numero uno in Dallas when we moved to town when I was 6 years old. She taught me how to ride a bike while holding a slurpee. And now she is going to have a baby. Wow! I mean, really. It's crazy to wrap my head around. It's the Circle of Life! And it moves us allllll.....

It's also always, without fail, incredibly wonderful to be with these friends. I need to stop here and say that one friend couldn't come, and that definitely meant that the fun quotient was lowered by a good bit:

Oh hey, Tilly! Tilly was so missed. Here we are as bitty first years at UVA.

As we all discussed together last weekend, it is just sweet to be with the girls who know you so well. These are the girls that we lived with in some shape or form for 4 years, the ones who grew with you through hard times, the ones who can make you laugh and cry in an instant, the ones who know what you mean when you say "I can't feel my elbows," the ones who roadtripped with you 8 hours away to visit a sick parent, the ones who knew your bizarre eating habits, the ones who knew who your crushes were and would go to frat parties with you so you could spy on them, the ones who walked-in on each other all the time when they were kissing their boyfriends, and the ones who would stay up with you into the early morning hours talking on the sofa about the future.

It is a sweet, sweet thing to be known by these women.

Any future babes of ours are in good hands, I'm confident of that!