Thank you: Marty Keith

I wish I had a picture of Marty and I but I don't. :(

This one is dedicated to my guitar teacher, Marty Keith, who has been a huge inspiration, amazing teacher and a fun part of my life for the past two years. 

I started messing around with guitar on my own after I quit piano but it wasn't until I started actually taking lessons that I realized how much I love playing! Two years, fifty songs and a new guitar later I have gotten over my strumming problems, have learned so, so much (despite the fact I can't remember the Bm chord) and, best of all, have discovered a new passion and have been inspired to continue playing just for the fun of it. It's been an awesome few years taking lessons from Marty and it's something I am certainly going to miss. He's an incredible teacher and I have a huge respect for how he can just listen to a song and pick out the chords or picking or whatever is going on from just sitting there with his guitar. Maybe someday I'll figure out how to do that. ;) 

Thanks for being such an inspiration and fun teacher, Marty!

(also, if you're looking for a guitar teacher - he lost a student last Friday (big sad face!) so take a look at his website http://www.martykeith.blogspot.com/ and give him a call!)

my dog can photobomb...can yours?

Thank You: Joey and the Lab

Beautiful day, isn't it?

I have decided to start this series by thanking a family member and very influential person for his generosity and continued encouragement towards me and my pursuit of science. 

Joey is my mom's first cousin, making him my second cousin and really more like an uncle. Around the dinner table, he's easily distinguished because he's usually the loudest of the bunch and is probably the one telling embarrassing stories about my mom. (They're usually pretty hilarious.) 

Oh, and did I mention he's this genius scientist person who has his own lab at Vanderbilt studying heart valve development problems in babies? (*Initiate bragging rights*)

When I was little I visited his lab while in Nashville and I can vividly picture the chick embryo glowing under a microscope that had a camera attached to it. I can see the little heart beating on the tv screen and being in awe at the whole thing. We have pictures of me putting on a lab coat and gloves and looking at human hearts. And then going to his house and looking at fossils in his backyard. One time, I pretty much destroyed part of his rock wall because I took out the rocks that had fossils in them to show him what I found. (I still feel sorta bad about the wall.) He's told me tons of random science facts and given me numerous science related books to read. And then when I turned sixteen I spent a summer volunteering at his lab.

That lab experience, though admittedly long and sometimes frustrating, was one of the best experiences I have had during high school. The people I met and worked with were absolutely incredible and so inspiring. Not to mention - I learned so, so, much. It was just the coolest experience and one I wish I could have repeated. At the end of it, I was proud of what we had done and even more sure that I could be happy doing what Cindy, Dan, Joseph L., Nora and all my other lab friends do all the time. Each one has been an inspiration and I appreciate all they have done for me. Thanks guys! :)

And of course, thank you to Joey who has continually inspired and shown generosity towards me. I have so appreciated all the time you have spent encouraging and helping me form a path for my future. 

Thank you so much!! 

<3

(My apologies for not having a picture of Joey up. I couldn't find one on my computer. :P Here are a few from my lab experience and if I find one of Joey and I, I'll add it.)

Cindy working on the embryos

Mouse embryo

May not mean much to people who've never worked with this before but we ran a bunch of PCRs. It was always a fun time :)

Update and What's to Come

I think that writing for your blog is easier when you do it often. I'm feeling a bit rusty after my month long break.

Anyway.

I'm hoping you all are enjoying this new season. To me, one of the joys of life has always been the changing of seasons. The months of cold, dead of winter suddenly redeemed with the warmth and life of spring. It's so beautiful, even in the raininess of April. In fact, I had a customer at Yarrow mention that she finds that the flowers and new greenery seem even brighter and more beautiful when it's a gloomy day. Driving around today, (on a day when it has been dumping rain on and off and threatening with tornadoes) I'd have to agree with her.

I've had a busy month. Spring break. Babysitting. College decisions. Two new tutoring jobs. School. Prom. Senior pictures. Nothing terribly unusual but it all keeps me running. They are good things and I enjoy them, and that makes them worthwhile. Spring break was lovely for the short time it lasted. I didn't get a full break, but when Ryan was home we worked around it and had a great ten days. My new tutoring jobs have been a joy. I am continually thankful for the discovery of this passion and the opportunity to pursue it. I love that my job is equally as helpful to others as it is to me. It's hard to even think of it as a job really. School has been slow going, but I realized I only have two more tests in chemistry and my very last 40-hour project ever in the next month or so. All that to say - it's about to get busy fast. But prom was amazing. For me, it started out with a sweet surprise from Ryan's mom delivering the most beautiful corsage ever. It was the sweetest, most perfect thing. Then we went to dinner and West Haven where we all danced till we couldn't dance anymore. It was so much fun, but when our dear friend Wes dislocated his knee on the dance floor, we stopped all and prayed for him. It's this kinda stuff that makes me so proud to call these people my friends and influence for the past five years.

 So that's been my life and now I'm looking ahead. The instant I do I tend to get overwhelmed. So much change and so many new adventures all are happening in such a short time and it's quickly, almost too quickly, approaching. The truth of it is...I don't handle change very well. So, while I am looking forward to everything that is about to happen, I am getting reminiscent and nervous as well. It's hard not to be, and I know I'm not the only one experiencing this.

So I've decided. I am graduating exactly one month from today and during that one month I am going to be extremely busy. Nevertheless, I'm want to set aside time to write posts, even if just short ones, dedicated to the people (and memories) that have been the greatest blessings in my life up to this point. I'm working on a name for this series. It might simply be the "Thank You" series. I'd like to think of a more creative name but it's late and I'm not feeling creative. Just blessed and thankful. Ideas can be posted in the comments if you feel inclined to help me out with names.

Well. That's it for now. Be on the lookout for new posts and keep enjoying spring. It's going to be a lovely rest of the year.

:)
Paula


P.S. Did you notice the new template colors? What do you think?