Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime

We are halfway through December!  I love this time of year, and I can't wait to be home in just a few days.  And, the recent snowstorm has made everything that much more festive.  The subzero temperatures and arctic windchills, not so much.  But it's winter, and even though I complain about the cold and the snow, I do love my seasons. 

Since my last blog post:
-I finished Season 4 of The Good Wife.  I have really enjoyed the show (thanks Robin!).  Watching shows about lawyers makes me positive I would never want to be one, but very glad that there are lots of people out there with the skills and confidence to defend me in court if I ever need it. 
-I finished knitting my cowl!  It's cozy and warm, and the first cowl/infinity scarf I have owned.  Now I need to find a new knitting project for vacation.  I'm thinking about starting a sweater, which would be an exciting endeavor for the next few months.  I'll post later when I make a decision!
-Watched Love Actually (finally!), and of course it was the best.  That movie will never get old.  On a related note, I have been getting in the holiday spirit with music.  Some of my favorites are probably also some of yours: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Springsteen version), O Holy Night (Josh Groban version), You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch (from the animated version), etc.  However, I doubt that many of you are familiar with the great album "Christmas in Maine."  I have listened to this CD/cassette more times than I can count, and I'd encourage you to check it out.  Here is a link to The Maine Christmas Song.  It covers my love for Maine and Christmas in one great track.  What more could you want?
-Last but not least, we're having a cookie swap at work tomorrow, and these melting snow-people are my masterpiece.  I found a lot of websites/mom blogs out there with recipes for them.  I improvised a bit, but I think they turned out well - cute and very chocolatey! 

And to leave you on a happy note, 2 of my favorite scenes from Elf:

could it be? a sunnyside post?

Posting on this blog right now is a daunting task.  How am I supposed to account for months and months of sunnyside-ness in a single entry?  I have been away too long, and even though I have lots of stuff I could post, how do I choose?  Which happy songs or cool videos or random thoughts should have the honor of appearing in this post, my first since March?  Well, I have no answers, so I guess I will just have to pick a few, and try and share the sunnyside a bit more frequently.  Life is slightly less busy than normal right now, and there is much to be sunny about, so I shall do my best!

-I recently finished a great book, The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown.  It tells the story of the Men's 8+ from the University of Washington who took the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.  I had heard a bunch of positive reviews, and I'm so glad I read it.  Having seen parts of the rowing and coaching side of the sport, the book is especially relevant and interesting, and the poetic descriptions of rowing make me miss the feeling of rowing as part of an 8.  It is always great to be reading for pleasure, and I hope to do a lot of it this winter.  Suggestions are welcome!
-It has been chilly recently, which I am honestly not super thrilled about, but it does mean that it's now acceptable knitting weather!  And also that I can watch Love Actually, Elf, and all my other holiday favorites.  There was some snow and ice in Burlington last night, which made for nasty roads, but I am starting to get in the winter spirit.  Slowly but surely.
-Thanksgiving is this week.  It's one of my favorite holidays, and is a great time to relax and reflect.  Of course, I also love all the wonderful food.  Pies of all sorts, stuffing, veggies...lots of favorites.  I am mentally and physically preparing myself for the end of the week!  And also, taking time to remember all the amazing things in my life I am thankful for. 
-It is almost grapefruit season.  Which, if I remember correctly, was one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place.  I love grapefruits.   And I can't wait to eat lots and lots of them this winter. 
-Probably the most exciting thing is that I definitely will be attending med school this fall!  If you're reading this, chances are you already knew, but sometimes I have to remind myself that it's actually happening.  I feel so fortunate to know already, and it takes a lot of pressure off.  I also have loved having a break from school these last 18 months or so, and I know I'll be ready come next August.

And finally, some of my favorite new(ish) music:
-Unconditionally by Katy Perry.  She's not always my favorite, but for some reason I really like this song.
-Timber by Pitbull/Ke$ha.  If you've talked to me recently, chances are I've raved about this song.
-Basically all the music from the Nashville soundtrack.  I like the show a lot, and the music is great.  Check it out.  

Well I always say it, but hopefully this will be the first of more frequent posts to come.  Here's to a happy Thanksgiving!  Safe travels and warm wishes!  And I posted this on facebook, but I have awesome stamps and would love to send letters if you're interested!  Peace and love. 

Happy March!!

I can't believe it's MARCH!  While I'm pretty done with winter (February post-college was pretty depressing), I'm not quite feeling ready for spring...but I guess I'd better get ready fast!  I'm crossing my fingers that Georgia is warm this year, because I could use some sunshine time :)  Gotta start getting that watch tan back into top form. 

Last week, I finally took the plunge and got my Vermont license.  It was sad to give up my Maine one, and even though I've been living here for 6 months (shhh), this made it all feel a lot more real.  I also got to play at the hospital, which was a lot of fun.  I played in the lobby, which is a rather hectic environment, but it was great to see people pause and appreciate the music.  I'm looking forward to playing next week!

I went to August First Bakery this morning.  I've been trying out baguettes from the Burlington area, and this was a great one!  I think I'll have to start incorporating bakery trips into my Saturday routine.  There are few foods better than freshly baked bread.  I also stopped by Lake Champlain Chocolates and got to sample their new Organic Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate bar...pretty delicious!  I love living so close to the factory store, because they always have a couple different chocolates to try.  I also bought some discounted Valentine's Day chocolate squares - gotta satisfy my sweet tooth!

And now for some vidos:

 

I think this song is beautiful, and I look forward to seeing more music from him in the future.  Gone, Gone, Gone by Phillip Phillips

 

This song came out over the summer in the UK, but has only recently made it to the radios in the US.  I like it a lot...very sunny side.  Wings by Little Mix. 

 

If you haven't seen this yet, watch it!  I Knew You Were A Goat When You Walked In by Taylor Swift (with a special goat guest). 

That's about all for now.  May the month of March bring lots of literal and metaphorical sunshine!

It's a pretty quiet weekend here in Burlington, but it is nice to have some downtime after the craziness of this past week.  And, I went on a run and did an ab workout today!!  I've finally recovered (mostly) from my soreness after doing chiefs on Tuesday, and it felt good to be out and active this afternoon.  Originally, I wanted to try and run a marathon this spring, but I decided I don't really have time now to be training that much.  So I think I'll just see where I am this summer and maybe try and run a couple road races then.  

If you haven't seen this yet, check it out - Jimmy Fallon and Michelle Obama present the Evolution of Mom Dancing. 

Some musical inspiration:

When I saw Mumford & Sons in August, there were a number of other bands that played over the course of the day, including Dawes.  I hadn't heard their music before the show, but I love their song "When My Time Comes."  I'm bummed that they'll be coming to Burlington when I am in Georgia, but I'll have to see them another time.   

I've also started playing my flute more in preparation for playing a little at Fletcher Allen Hospital!  I'm excited to have the chance to play because I haven't really gotten to since this summer.  I know it sounds cheesy and might be hard to understand if you don't play an instrument, but I really do think that sometimes, music is the best way to convey our emotions and express deep feelings. 

Off to make dinner...here's a pictures of sleeping sea otters holding hands so they don't lose each other (aka the cutest thing ever.)  Happy rest of the weekend!

(from http://cuteotters.com/archives/170-Even-More-Otters-Holding-Hands.html)

Long Weekend

One of the nice things about being out in the real world is having holidays off, since Midd never really seemed to go by the normal holiday schedule everyone else follows.  It has been a most relaxing weekend so far, and it's not over yet!  I love being able to check lots of little things off my to-do list. 





Today was a culinary adventure...I made my first soup, a minestrone!  Homemade soup is one of my favorite meals, and I decided to finally be brave and try it.  It was a long process, starting with soaking the beans last night, but it turned out great.  I think soup is the best winter dinner.  It's so cozy and delicious.  I'm excited that I have a ton of leftovers for this week and beyond. 











And another food picture from today, my delicious lunch of greek yogurt, strawberries (that were on major sale since it's post Valentine's!!) and chocolate chips.  Yummy :)









In non-food news: I watched Definitely, Maybe and the latest episode of Glee (Valentine's version).  Both were very cute, and made me hopeful about the state of romance.  I still can't get over that the main character's name in Definitely, Maybe is Will Hayes - it was so weird to hear it over and over throughout the movie. 

And finally, some musical picks.  Maroon 5 usually isn't my favorite band, but I really like this song, and this version of it is pretty cool, especially the didgeridoo!  And secondly, in homage to the flute, here's a cool group called Project Trio that my mom told me about.  They were recently featured on NPR, and they play some pretty awesome chamber music.  Here's a link to their version of music from the Nutcracker. 

Well, that's it for now.  Happy President's Day!

a midweek list

-Downton Abbey is the best thing ever.  I'm sad that the season is ending on Sunday, but I could always just rewatch all three seasons - kind of like how I periodically reread all seven Harry Potter books (and let's be real, who doesn't?).  Also Dan Stevens is gorgeous, though I might just be falling for his blue blue eyes. 

-I really enjoy this video.  It's strange but also perfect, and I definitely have some great inspiration for tomorrow!

-MAKE THESE.  They are the bomb, I just made some for myself for Valentine's Day.  They've been one of my go-to desserts over the past few months.  So start baking, you won't be disappointed.
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chocolate-chip-salted-caramel-cookie-bars/

so much gooey, chocolatey caramel goodness

-I didn't get to see the State of the Union Address last night, but I did read the manuscript/watch the last five minutes.  What a moving appeal to our elected officials.  I'm hopeful that the next four years will bring some important and necessary changes that will benefit all Americans. 

-The Grammy's!!  I was especially happy that Babel won album of the year.  And even though I think Call Me Maybe best describes the past year, I was also happy for fun.'s two awards.  I can't believe I got to see Mumford and Sons and fun. live this past year.  How cool.  Also, Taylor Swift?  What was up with that?  I enjoy your music, but the rabbits were pretty...special. 

-I was cleaning my bench space in the lab today and did a little artwork.  Happy Galentine's/Valentine's Day world!!  Love, Catherine

False Alarm

Well, after a (very) brief foray into the world of Tumblr, I've returned back to the original sunnyside.  Tumblr seems a little too similar to Twitter and Instagram, and for now I'd like to keep all those parts of my social-networking life separate.  There are just way too many options for online sharing!  Anyways, I guess I realized that I'd rather use my blog, when I use it, as a place to share slightly longer musings on happy and exciting life events, or my way of spinning things to see the sunny side. 

At the end of February, I'll be coming up on 6 months in Burlington!!  Kind of hard to believe...time has absolutely flown by since this fall.  I still feel like I have a lot more of this city to experience, mostly involving nightlife.  But I don't feel too bad about that.  At Middlebury, it was always a task to get motivated enough to go out on cold nights, and when you're not living a five minute walk away from your end destination and don't have friends urging you to get ready, it's even harder to get excited about going outside.  This will be my first Vermont summer though (I know, looking ahead quite a bit), so there is definitely still lots of time for exploration.

Well, this week is Valentine's Day.  And honestly, between the Super Bowl last week and February 14th, I'll be pretty excited for March...sorry if I sound scrouge-like.  I just am not a huge football fan (but gotta love Beyoncé).  However, I do love love.  I love romantic comedies, cute "how I met him/her" stories, small thoughtful gestures.  And really, I've been pretty ok with being single these past few months.  But when every ad in the newspaper or commercial on TV is Valentine's themed and when everything is pink and red and decorated with hearts, it's a little hard to grin and bear the solitude.  I think being alone, and even being lonely, can be good for you.  It makes you think - about what you want out of life, out of relationships, out of the activities you do in your spare time.  Mostly, it gives you the opportunity to do what makes you happy.  And I think I have also had the chance to realize who matters to me most in my life and solidify and enjoy amazing friendships.  So, this Thursday, I'll be sending my love out to my friends and family who have make my life better every day and who help me see the positive side of things even when it's hard.  Here's to a year full of happiness and love and kindness and beauty. 

And now, for some more uplifting little gems.  Some of these are repeats from my Tumblr, but there are worth repeating because they're just that good:

Great Commercials:
-slinky on an escalator, can't help but giggle at that laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOUbW2A-e2Q
-Pampers beautiful mornings, these babies are just too much: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdE2W91hxT4
-Kaley Cuoco and one of my theme songs - who doesn't wish they were a little bit taller?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i34jMCPmLFo

Songs I've Been Enjoying:
-Ke$ha, one of my favorites, and an overall awesome video for C'mon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8A4QVop3-8
-I recently watched Pitch Perfect for the first time.  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching.  The music is great and it was just a really fun movie.  Here are two of my favorites: Cups (the original, by Lulu and the Lampshades, although Anna Kendrick (Mainer!!) is also great), such great harmonies and I used to (ok, confession, still do) love doing the cup thing.  And the Bella's final performance mash up, but really, you should just watch the movie. 

Well, that's enough for now, and I promise to be back sooner than last time!  PEACE.