A few weeks ago I read about Eva Markvoort, a young Canadian woman who had lost her battle with Cystic Fibrosis and her body's chronic rejection of a pair of lungs she had received two years ago when she had a double lung transplant. She was just shy of her 26th birthday when she passed away.
Since I read about her death, I have spent the past couple of weeks reading her LJ account 65_Red_Roses. I started reading her blog from the beginning. Let me tell you, it is amazing. I highly recommend people read it. I don't think I can take any part of my life for granted ever again and the phrase, "at least you have your health," has a totally new meaning to me. If you are interested in reading her blog here is a link to it: http://65redroses.livejournal.com/
It was so interesting to hear Eva's thoughts about her love of life and what her life was like living with a chronic disease. She was vibrant and creative. She loved life and fought for her life until the very end. In the process she touched countless others whether they be people she actually knew or people she met online through her LJ account. She posted pictures and videos of herself during her best moments, her worst moments and everything in between. At times you can see how she is a young 20-something just living life and at other times you hear about her struggles and loneliness when she is stuck in the hospital for weeks at a time. Towards the end she was receiving mail from people around the world wishing her well. She started what she called her, "Wall of Love," by putting all her cards and letters and pictures she received on her bedroom wall. She even thanked many people personally for the mail they sent by showing pictures and videos of all of the mail she received . . . until she was no longer strong enough to do so. One of her important messages was how she was amazed by how she had put her love out into the world and she was receiving it back through the letters of people from around the world. She began to realize that even though she would die that she wouldn't be gone because she would be remembered by the love of the people she had touched. Between her words and her photos you can tell she was just a beautiful person both inside and out! I wish I could have discovered her blog before she died so that I could have sent her a card or a letter as well.
Two major causes that Eva worked hard at was raising awareness about Cystic Fibrosis and the importance of being an organ donor. Friends of Eva's who were film makers made an award winning documentary called 65_Red_Roses that showed her wait for a double lung transplant. I am going to purchase a copy. You can pre-order a copy of the documentary until the end of May at http://www.65redroses.com/
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Time Flies When You Are Having Fun
Boy, it has been nearly a month since I last posted. So much for posting every day until June 30th! So, what has happened since April 15th . . . .
Well, on April 15th Craig and I went out for appetizers and drinks at Mccormick and Schmick's with our friends Rob and Kim. The restaurant was running a special so we got these coupons that were for $10.40 off of our next visit before the end of May (excluding mother's day of course). We went back last week for dinner and used one of the coupons. Dinner was really good but we also had dessert which made me feel pretty guilty afterwards.
We went rode our bikes a few times on the greenway. We were able to go farther and faster every time we went out. We bought these little speedometers that we attached to the bicycles. We can record how fast we go, our maximum speed, average speed, how long we rode, how many calories and fat calories we burned, what the temperature was etc. We are keeping a spreadsheet of all of this information on our computer to see how we are doing. We are also thinking of trying new trails on the greenway for variety.
We've been out for ice cream and slushes a few times. There is a new ice cream place that is just minutes away from our apartment. They the ice cream they sell is from a local farm in Carborro. Everything is organic yada yada yada. It is pretty yummy though. I am sort of a purist when it comes to ice cream and I have had chocolate and strawberry so far. Craig has tried some of the other flavors such as Carolina Crunch and Chocolate with Almonds. The Sunset Slush place is a little farther away from where we live but definitely worth the drive. They sell slush that is sort of like an italian ice but much better. I'd say it was like gelato but I have never actually had gelato (I think). It does not have dairy in it so it is very low in calories and I don't think it has any fat in it at all.
My God Son was baptized in April. It is pretty neat that my sister lives across the street and down the block a little bit from the church. A lot of us walked from her house to the church before the ceremony. I liked that it was a little procession with Andrew in his christening outfit and the family behind him walking together to the church. It reminded me of what it might be like if we lived in some small european town where people actually walk to church. Afterwards my sister and her husband threw a nice party in their back yard. They had fried chicken and pork bbq, hush puppies and all the fixin's. They had tents up in the back yard which came in handy since it rained a little bit. There were little kids running around playing and the adults sat around the tables talking, eating and drinking. It was especially nice to see friends and family from out of town who had flown in for the baptism. One of Marybeth's good friends, Jennifer, from College came to town from Texas and surprised her. It was great! I'll have to post a picture of Marybeth's face when she saw her friend standing in her kitchen! I'm especially proud since in my family I am given a hard time quite often for not being able to keep a secret, however I was an integral part of keeping the surprise a secret and I did it! Mb gave me kudos since kudos were due!
Ironically, on the same weekend of the Baptism, it was the First Communion for one of our nephews on Craig's side of the family. Craig and I woke up early on Sunday and drove to Wilmington for the occasion. It was a very nice ceremony because there was only one class of about 14 students who were receiving their communion for the first time. Most of the people at the mass were family of the recipients and the mass itself was very intimate. Afterwards we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for lunch and cake. After lunch Craig and I went over to his parents house for a little bit and had tea and just talked for a while before we had to drive back to Raleigh. Before we left, Craig's mom gave me a really pretty candle holder made of wrought iron and hand blown glass that she said she had and kept forgetting to give to me. I think she may have picked it up during our vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains last year during the Freeman Family Vacation but I am not sure.
I went out for sushi with a co-worker one night after work. She and I had said that we would go out for sushi for at least 5 months now and we finally did it. I really like her a lot but we don't get much opportunity to hang out together. I think we have a lot in common and I hope we get more opportunities to hang out. I am a little worried though, that I may have bored her with my conversation. I hope not!
Craig and I vowed that we were going to lose weight before we went to NY for Josephine's wedding but even though we have been trying really hard by exercising more and eating better we really haven't lost any weight--which is kind of frustrating. I guess we will have to do even more exercising and stop going out for ice cream altogether --boo!
I guess the last thing we did since my last post was that we went to a party of a friend of mine, who I went to HS and college with, last weekend. We stayed longer than I thought we would -I'm not really sure how late I actually thought we would stay but we ended up staying until about 11:30 p.m. We were not the first to leave but there were still a good number of people there when we left. My friend's husband grilled some very nice kabobs and vegetables. He had different sauces for the kabobs, one was african, one was peanut and the last one was a cucumber dill sauce. My friend had fresh pita bread and made a nice tsatsiki sauce and home made hummus for dipping. Their two year old daughter was the star of the party as she kept going to the cooler and getting beers out and handing them to the adults. People were joking and calling her a beer wench. My friend's husband is part Scottish and part Norwegian. One thing that blows me away is when she talks to her little daughter in Norwegian. I told her, if anyone would have told me back in HS or college that she would know how to speak Norwegian I would have said they were crazy! But it is true, she speaks Norwegian and even goes to Norway for several weeks every summer! How cool is that?
Well, on April 15th Craig and I went out for appetizers and drinks at Mccormick and Schmick's with our friends Rob and Kim. The restaurant was running a special so we got these coupons that were for $10.40 off of our next visit before the end of May (excluding mother's day of course). We went back last week for dinner and used one of the coupons. Dinner was really good but we also had dessert which made me feel pretty guilty afterwards.
We went rode our bikes a few times on the greenway. We were able to go farther and faster every time we went out. We bought these little speedometers that we attached to the bicycles. We can record how fast we go, our maximum speed, average speed, how long we rode, how many calories and fat calories we burned, what the temperature was etc. We are keeping a spreadsheet of all of this information on our computer to see how we are doing. We are also thinking of trying new trails on the greenway for variety.
We've been out for ice cream and slushes a few times. There is a new ice cream place that is just minutes away from our apartment. They the ice cream they sell is from a local farm in Carborro. Everything is organic yada yada yada. It is pretty yummy though. I am sort of a purist when it comes to ice cream and I have had chocolate and strawberry so far. Craig has tried some of the other flavors such as Carolina Crunch and Chocolate with Almonds. The Sunset Slush place is a little farther away from where we live but definitely worth the drive. They sell slush that is sort of like an italian ice but much better. I'd say it was like gelato but I have never actually had gelato (I think). It does not have dairy in it so it is very low in calories and I don't think it has any fat in it at all.
My God Son was baptized in April. It is pretty neat that my sister lives across the street and down the block a little bit from the church. A lot of us walked from her house to the church before the ceremony. I liked that it was a little procession with Andrew in his christening outfit and the family behind him walking together to the church. It reminded me of what it might be like if we lived in some small european town where people actually walk to church. Afterwards my sister and her husband threw a nice party in their back yard. They had fried chicken and pork bbq, hush puppies and all the fixin's. They had tents up in the back yard which came in handy since it rained a little bit. There were little kids running around playing and the adults sat around the tables talking, eating and drinking. It was especially nice to see friends and family from out of town who had flown in for the baptism. One of Marybeth's good friends, Jennifer, from College came to town from Texas and surprised her. It was great! I'll have to post a picture of Marybeth's face when she saw her friend standing in her kitchen! I'm especially proud since in my family I am given a hard time quite often for not being able to keep a secret, however I was an integral part of keeping the surprise a secret and I did it! Mb gave me kudos since kudos were due!
Ironically, on the same weekend of the Baptism, it was the First Communion for one of our nephews on Craig's side of the family. Craig and I woke up early on Sunday and drove to Wilmington for the occasion. It was a very nice ceremony because there was only one class of about 14 students who were receiving their communion for the first time. Most of the people at the mass were family of the recipients and the mass itself was very intimate. Afterwards we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for lunch and cake. After lunch Craig and I went over to his parents house for a little bit and had tea and just talked for a while before we had to drive back to Raleigh. Before we left, Craig's mom gave me a really pretty candle holder made of wrought iron and hand blown glass that she said she had and kept forgetting to give to me. I think she may have picked it up during our vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains last year during the Freeman Family Vacation but I am not sure.
I went out for sushi with a co-worker one night after work. She and I had said that we would go out for sushi for at least 5 months now and we finally did it. I really like her a lot but we don't get much opportunity to hang out together. I think we have a lot in common and I hope we get more opportunities to hang out. I am a little worried though, that I may have bored her with my conversation. I hope not!
Craig and I vowed that we were going to lose weight before we went to NY for Josephine's wedding but even though we have been trying really hard by exercising more and eating better we really haven't lost any weight--which is kind of frustrating. I guess we will have to do even more exercising and stop going out for ice cream altogether --boo!
I guess the last thing we did since my last post was that we went to a party of a friend of mine, who I went to HS and college with, last weekend. We stayed longer than I thought we would -I'm not really sure how late I actually thought we would stay but we ended up staying until about 11:30 p.m. We were not the first to leave but there were still a good number of people there when we left. My friend's husband grilled some very nice kabobs and vegetables. He had different sauces for the kabobs, one was african, one was peanut and the last one was a cucumber dill sauce. My friend had fresh pita bread and made a nice tsatsiki sauce and home made hummus for dipping. Their two year old daughter was the star of the party as she kept going to the cooler and getting beers out and handing them to the adults. People were joking and calling her a beer wench. My friend's husband is part Scottish and part Norwegian. One thing that blows me away is when she talks to her little daughter in Norwegian. I told her, if anyone would have told me back in HS or college that she would know how to speak Norwegian I would have said they were crazy! But it is true, she speaks Norwegian and even goes to Norway for several weeks every summer! How cool is that?
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Photo Journal: Mice
These little mice were living in the window display of an upper east side florist.
It kind of inspires me to write a children's story about mice living in the window display of an upper east side florist.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
February Trip to NY: Part 2
The the second leg of my New York trip was meeting up with my friends May and Josephine at areally awesome Japanese restaurant called Inayaka http://www.inakayany.com/ . I posted a photo of my desert here because even though May and Josephine are both beautiful, I unfortunately look horrible in all of the pictures we took.
It happened to be restaurant week during my visit and we were able to get quite a good three course meal at a very reasonable price. I loved how the waiter would call out our orders in Japanese to the chefs and the chefs would shout back to the waiter. I had no idea what they saying but it was very cool because it was in Japanese. Craig later made fun of me (in a lovingly joking sort of way of course) saying that it was akin to ordering at a Waffle House or something that the waiter would shout out, "2 egg special! Side of hash browns!" and the short order cook would repeat it back. This was A LOT better than the Waffle House though!
Another thing I thought was super neat was that since we were eating at the sushi bar our drinks and food were served to us on a paddle that the chef used to reach across from the kitchen to where we were sitting. Then, toward the middle of our meal there was a slight commotion in the dining room when two chefs were taking turns pounding sticky rice with large mallets into sheets of mochi.
One thing that really stands out to me about the friends I have made in NY is that even though nearly two years had gone by with very little action in the keeping in touch process, I feel like the three of us got together as if no time had really passed at all. Everything fell into place as if it was just one of our many get togethers when I was still living in NYC. I wish the three of us had more time to spend together during my visit but I am really glad that we were able to get together even for a short time.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Photo Journal: Adventures at the Black Bear Lodge
Also, we have no idea who the girl actually playing the game or her friends were. I sometimes wonder if they ever talk about the time when some random girl came up and licked the Big Buck Hunters gun!
Monday, April 12, 2010
February Trip to NY: Part 1
What I do miss are the friends I have in NY. When I first arrived I stayed for two days with my friend Samantha. Samantha and I know each other because we were cubicle-mates at a magazine publishing company in lower Manhattan. (more about that later though).
During my first night we relaxed at her apartment, ordered Thai food and just caught up with each other. After work on the second night we met up at the Gramercy Park Hotel for a drink and a snack with our friend Sue. From there we walked around the park and went to an art show at the National Arts Club because two of Sam and Sue's friends were showing pieces.
It is kind of funny how when you live some place, sometimes you don't really take advantage of the things around you since you are busy living your life from day to day. I literally lived around the corner from the National Arts Club, on 23rd street, and have walked passed it countless times without ever giving it a side glance except to maybe admire the architecture. Oh well, ces't la vie!
Aside from the actual art show, which was very cool, there was a side hallway that I really enjoyed walking down. This hallway was lined with large photographs all depicting love--probably due to it being February and Valentines day. Most, if not all of the photographs were black and white shots of couples embracing and such. One of my favorites was of a couple, mostly nude standing face to face to kiss, but there was a lampshade over their heads. Not sure why, but the photo sort of stuck me. Another photo that struck me was one of a love note that had been left on a dresser. The memory of this photo is a bit hazier though.
The photo above was taken at the National Arts Club by one of Sam and Sue's artist friends. It is of Sue, me, Sam and their other artist friend.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Photo Journal: Boating
This photo is actually from February 2006 when Craig's brother took us out on his boat. This is a picture I really love of Craig and one of his nephews.
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