Leaving a Legacy...

Toas, New Mexico

My life is on a ledge, and I'm not sure where the fall will take me.  I'm trying to complete my PhD in Molecular and Developmental Biology while looking for a post-doctoral position in a city that will also have job opportunities for my husband.

In the midst of all this positioning for change I've been introspective about what kind of legacy I want to leave with my life.  Kimberly Wilson provides a great starting point for brainstorming and organizing your life vision of and the legacy you hope to leave in her book hip tranquil chick.

I've used the tools in this book to aid my thoughts.  First, I wrote a list of the things I want out of life including aspects related to personal, health, and career.  Here are a few:

• Maintain a strong relationship with open communication with Jonah that adapts to what life throws at us.  
• Share activities with friends.
• A research position where I can work productively with passion and balance a family.
• Healthy, organic eating to maintain health into advanced age.
• Active lifestyle filled with many outdoor activities. 

Next, I made a list of causes that inspire me such as the SPCA, fitness for children, gay marriage, and nutritional education.  Then, a list of my strengths and values that I feel embody me.  After all this brainstorming I've created two vision statements that are representations of the life I want to live in order to accomplish the legacy I see myself leaving behind.

I wanted to share here the overarching vision statement I created, the other one is much more in depth in regards to each aspect of my life.  Here is my vision statement:

I will pursue a life of adventure with those I love.  I will seek to be a woman of integrity both professionally and personally, and have strength both physically and mentally.  I will do all this while exuding gratitude for all the people in my life.  

Do I live all these values every day/every minute?  Honestly, no.  These are the goals and things I'm striving towards, but having a written reminder is always a motivator when things get tough.  

Top 10 funny lies told to me by family members...

After talking to a friend about my family, I came to the realization that I was told a lot of nonstandard childhood lies.  Although these lies bring amusement to my friends and I now, they were really used to get me to behave as a child.  As a naturally curious person I wanted to know the "why"  and "what will happen" of everything.  I'm sure I was an annoying child, so the following lies were born out of necessity...

• ·      Eating while standing up your feet will get bigger. (I still feel wrong standing and eating.)
• ·      Eating a watermelon seed or apple seed will result in that plant growing in your stomach.  (Freaked out as a 9 year old and thought I was going to have a watermelon patch in my stomach.)
• ·      Swallowed gum will stay in your stomach for 7 years. 
• ·      If you don’t wear a bra your boobs will be down to your knees. (Resulted in 24-hour bra wearing for several years.)
• ·      “Holding it” for too long will make your bladder burst.  (This one was ineffective on me since I’ve always thought that going to the bathroom is a waste of valuable time. Pun intended)
• ·      Reading in dim light you will damage your eyes. (Still do it all the time, if I can see the words I can read. I do have glasses, but not from this)
• ·      Eating cheese will make you constipated. (Being lactose-intolerant, I’ve never had this experience but feared it)
• ·      Swiss cheese is made from using acid to burn off the mold, that’s where the holes come from.   (This is just ridiculous, and I believed it until college.)
• ·      Sitting too close to the TV will give you radiation poisoning and damage our eyes.  (It doesn’t unless you have one specific model of TVs from GE from the 60s.)
• ·      Eating bananas before bed will give you nightmares.  (To this day if I call my mom and tell her I had a nightmare she always asks if I’ve been eating bananas after dinner.)

I'd like to say that I won't tell lies to my future children to get them to behave, but I have a feeling these types of things are used for a reason.  What I've learned from my brief stint working in a daycare and all the years of babysitting is that toddlers are not easily convinced of anything.  

Chicago trip in photos...

We had a little time to see the city while we were in Chicago for a conference. We traveled by Megabus, which is always an experience...fun in this case traveling with friends/labmates. While in Chicago, I ran most mornings either along the lake or the canal and it was beautiful.  The feeling of getting your body moving and watching the sun reflect off the water and awaken the city or watching the fog burn off is rejuvenating.  One of the other highlights was visiting Fox and Obel to get some delish dark chocolate, candy, and some pastries!

Here are a few pics I took while visiting Chicago...

View from our room

Bill Goat Tavern....it was an experience, and we sat in VIP. 

Marilyn statue, of course.

Cloud gate....the bean